Brady's expression was one of disbelief. Just a moment ago, he was preparing to take Kedar's life, but in an instant, the situation had flipped, and he still couldn't understand what happened.
Dyon, however, just smirked, leisurely eating his fruits as though nothing had happened. Even if everyone else in existence didn't understand what happened, how could he not?
He noticed immediately when Kedar's perception of time slowed down. This was a sign that his soul qi halo had subconsciously activated, allowing his thinking speed to quicken by a considerable degree.
What was interesting though was that no halo appeared above Kedar's head like it had for Dyon, Clara and Little Alauna. After some thought, Dyon believed that this was due to the fact Kedar didn't have an Innate Aurora. Maybe only those who could form golden arrays manifested the halo phenomena when flooding their brains with soul qi.
'I might have to change the name from soul qi halo then…' Dyon thought to himself. '… The name doesn't make much sense if only some can evoke the halo.'
Following this, Kedar blasted Brady away from him without even touching him. Dyon understood this phenomena the most, even more than his soul qi halo. After all, he almost killed him own wife and daughter because of this.
When someone with their Mortal Clan's special meridians fuse their qi and blood for the first time, it's incredibly difficult to control. That lack of control created an energy field around the body that repels anything around you and could potentially be quite dangerous.
Kedar in his agitation had accidentally crossed this barrier. Of course, this made sense. To now, he had been taught conventional cultivation, which means that he had been avoiding mixing his blood and qi. This education had caused him to subconsciously place barriers in front of his own power, thus limiting himself.
Finally, that barrier had been lifted.
Kedar hardly even realized what happened as he became to rain attacks upon Brady's pitiful figure.
'There definitely needs to be a special training program for those born with mortal meridians. The awakening process is too dangerous, and the method of cultivation is too different…'
Dyon feared that he might not be getting the most out of his special constitution. It was very much possible that by following conventional cultivation paths, Dyon, Clara, Alauna, and everyone like them could be placing figurative chains on their potential.
As things stood now, Dyon was cultivating his body and his qi separately, before fusing them in battle. But, what if he wasn't meant to cultivate this way any longer? What if the optimal method of cultivation for him and his people was to cultivate them both at once?
Dyon had not a single clue of where to even start on a problem like this. And, even if he solved it, could he really abolish his cultivation? After all, cultivating in a new method would require at least that much.
Shaking his head, Dyon sighed. He knew he couldn't afford to do such a thing. Before, Dyon had planned to be the figurehead, using his mind to guide the Mortal Alliance forward. But, things had changed.
Right now, Dyon was the strongest fighter his Mortal Alliance had outside of Granny Celest – of course, not including Luna. In fact, it was doubtful that even Granny Celest could be his match currently after he broke into the Dao Realm. It would be fine if he hadn't grasped this power, but now that he had, it wasn't appropriate for him to let it go.
After experiencing just how domineering Faith was, Dyon couldn't afford to take a step backward.
But… That didn't mean he couldn't pave the path for others. If he took the correct next steps, there might be a day in his lifetime where his little girl was even more powerful than himself.
Thinking to this point, Dyon stood from his seated position and turned to leave.
"None of you are allowed to leave until either all of my true geniuses are dead, or all of you commoners are defeated. Do keep in mind that I'm watching, so follow the rules as I've laid them out."
After creating a few sets of weapons the clan geniuses could choose from, Dyon left, leaving the sight of Kedar beating Brady black and blue.
**
"Researcher Lei, I have a keen interest in your Hive Mind, I wonder if you'll hear my proposal out." Dyon smiled toward a short woman with stocky features. She looked like what one might expect an attractive dwarf to appear like.
"I wonder what Leader Sacharro has in mind?" Researcher Lei responded respectfully.
"You've been working on creating the perfect battle puppet, correct?"
Researcher Lei's research was surrounding creating a hive mind, or an artificial intelligence. Her original goal was to use a special branch of formation theory to create an intelligent machine capable of learning and adapting.
Dyon found her research to be dangerous, so he deviated her path. Initially, she was a bit saddened by this, but quickly found Dyon's ideas to be revolutionary beyond compare.
Currently, she was working on fusing the Mortal Library of the Mortal Network with her hive mind. When it was complete, she would be able to attach her hive mind to battle puppets, essentially allowing them to battle with countless techniques from the Tower Quadrants in mind. Should this be successful, she would create the greatest battle puppets to ever exist.
So, when Dyon asked this question, she nodded enthusiastically. But, Dyon's next words somehow made her even more excited.
"I have an idea that will take your battle puppets to an unprecedented level…"
"This humble researcher is willing to listen." Lei responded with bright eyes. "Though, Leader Sacharro, if you took up researching yourself… I believe you'd find more success alone than we ever could."
Dyon smiled lightly. "I appreciate the kind words, but I don't believe myself to be so infallible. A good ruler should trust the talents around him, and I believe in your talent."
Lei subconsciously felt a welling of pride. Maybe if Dyon asked her right now, she'd gladly run through a brick wall for him.
