For the next few weeks, Dyon fell into a monotonous cycle of training.
His first step was to 're-cultivate' his wills from the first will level to achieve the level of control his master wanted from him. The good news was that his soul was so powerful that those steps seemed to go quickly. Still, controlling 9999 clones while exhausting his stamina was taxing, which was perfectly in line with Dyon's Master's third phase of the plan: to solidify his soul cultivation. As for the second phase, it was left to the side for now.
Dyon sweated profusely atop the golden dragon, surrounded by his clones that fought off bestial birds that tried to attack him.
His torso was bare, but brimming with power.
Suddenly, Dyon roared.
A mighty music will of the sovereign path erupted from his chest, booming outward and causing the bird beasts to tremble in fear, making them easy targets for his clones.
The scene was magical. The level of music will Dyon used, despite having comprehension to the 1st intent level, was only of the 5th will level. However, the vibrations in the air made it seem that this music will was as powerful as a 9th level will!
This was a combination of two energy manipulation techniques Dyon labored over.
The first was of the vibration path. There were many vibrational type energy manipulation techniques. Some were defensive and required the user to use the frequency of their energy to cancel out that of another, but others were like what Dyon just used: offensive.
This particular energy manipulation technique was known as [Rapid Change]. By quickly alternating between low and high frequencies of energy, the power of a strike was multiplied many times over. This erratic form of energy was incredibly difficult to control and often caused damage to one's meridians. However, Dyon was applying it to his wills and not his conventional energy, so it was even more dangerous, putting the soul in harm's way.
Still, Dyon stacked a second type of energy manipulation technique deviating from the vibrational type known as the granular path.
The epitome of this path was being able to control one's energy to the atomic level. Obviously, Dyon was nowhere near this level. However, it was because of this granular control type technique that he was able to roar yet not effect his clones at all.
This technique was known as [Striking Chain].
[Striking Chain] was an interesting technique. Although it was of the lower common grade, it intrigued Dyon.
The concept was simple and found within the name. One was meant to use the soul as an anchor that the will extended outward from like a chain.
The goal of this technique was to give warriors the ability to control their wills at larger distances from themselves with added precision. Essentially, the portions of the will closer to the user would link with further away portions, just like a chain. The user would then treat this chain like a whip, snaking their wills through enemies for fierce and pointed strikes.
One had to remember that unlike Dyon and Clara, others had to emit their wills from within themselves. This same thing was true of their conventional energies. So, techniques like [Striking Chain] were created to mimic the ability to form wills away from one's self.
Still, since Dyon could emit wills from anywhere within his divine sense, with the range deciding the decrease in power, he technically didn't need this technique. However, he found that it had many other applications.
For example, even if he emitted a will away from himself using his divine sense, [Striking Chain] gave him surprisingly flexibility in changing the direction of the strike should targets try to move. This was especially useful for beasts who were highly instinctual and could often sense the danger just as Dyon's wills began to form.
While Dyon trained hard, Head Arie began to like him more and more.
'Hmph. Who said my grandson is a hothead? He could have come here immediately if he wanted, but he's making us wait while he takes his time to train. I can't wait until he gives those bastards a surprise.'
If others could hear this absolute goddess' words, they'd be shocked to know she even had these words in her vocabulary. Even her two attendants that followed her around almost anywhere were shocked by their family head's change in demeanor. Although she was the light of everyone's eye, they had never seen her smile so genuinely ever since her daughter died…
"Esteemed family head." One of the attendants finally spoke after two weeks of silence. She was a shy, frail looking young girl. The tenderness of her watery white eyes, the brightness of her blinding white hair and the rosiness of her cheeks gave this small girl the absolute picture of innocence. Although she looked no more than 16 years old, she was actually almost 200 years old and had already stepped into the 10th celestial realm. "Why is he wasting so much time on such useless things?"
This innocent young girl was a Saintess of Celestial Deer Clan, meaning she was among the few candidates to become the 26th White Mother. Unfortunately, their sacred altar seemed to have not chosen any of them, forcing the clan into yet another drought.
Head Arie's second attendant also happened to be a Saintess and shared a very similar temperament to this innocent young girl. They were known as Saintess Rue and Saintess Ray.
"Oh?" Head Arie smiled mysteriously, looking toward the two young girls who always followed her.
Although Saintess Rue tried to hide it, how long had she been by Head Arie's side? The family head could easily see that these two young girls who didn't know much of the outside world were intrigued by her brash grandson.
Head Arie couldn't help but giggle to herself like a proud grandmother. 'Of course they would be intrigued, my grandson is so handsome after all.'
Saintess Ray remained quiet, but her watery eyes betrayed the fact that she agreed with Saintess Rue. Why spend so much time mastering such weak techniques?
Truth be told, they were absolutely shocked. By now, in these two weeks, Dyon had mastered 882 techniques to the One with Self realm. That wasn't even mentioning the progression of the control he had over his wills. He hadn't even rested for a moment! It was to the point where they had become numb to it all.
But, One with Self realm or not, they were still lower common grade techniques. They felt that Dyon was wasting his genius.
Head Arie continued to smile. "Isn't he just a 12th stage essence gatherer? You cannot master Earth grade techniques fully until you enter the saint stage, is it not appropriate for him to focus on common grade techniques?"
"This…" Saintess Rue stuttered. In all of her shock, she had completely forgotten Dyon's cultivation level. "Isn't this even more of a reason? He should focus more on his energy cultivation. With his genius, he doesn't deserve to be evaluated the way Head Todu analyzed him, but he's holding himself back."
Despite her words, Head Arie's mysterious smile didn't fade. "I see. How old do you believe he is then?"
Saintess Rue blinked. "To cultivate to the peak of the celestial realm with one's soul? Even the best of geniuses would need many centuries. I believe the quickest that I'm aware of was Saintess Esmeralda who did so in less than 300 years. Considering his talent, I believe that Head Todu was a bit biased in her assessment of thousands of years. He is likely about 400 years old."
Knowing the age of a person without using special means was incredibly difficult. The situation within Dyon's body made it especially difficult for others to do so with him.
Why? For one, he has integrated with 32% of the blood essence of a being who was hundreds of thousands of years old before he died. Secondly, his soul was very strange… Its form wasn't even meant to appear in the mortal world. Thirdly, Luna forcibly added about 40,000 years of lifespan to Dyon, something even he wasn't aware of just yet.
Knowing all of this, it was difficult for even Head Arie who was a master of the soul path to tell, let alone Head Todu and Saintess Rue.
"Why?" Saintess Rue asked. "Am I wrong?"
