Xue Ruyue.
It was truly a name that matched her beauty. Her presence was like the moon, and even her name reflected this fact. Actually, Damien had been so focused on her mana and personality that he hadn't taken the time to admire her beauty.
Still, beauty wasn't enough to make him change his impression of her. Even if she had looks that even surpassed Rose, her personality didn't hold a candle.
Taking his eyes off of his new senior sister, Damien turned back to Tian Yang. "Master, now that the introductions are over, what are you going to teach me today?"
Tian Yang smiled at Damien's impatience. "Calm down. While I am prepared to teach you many things, some clarifications need to be made first."
Beckoning Damien to come towards him, Tian Yang continued. "For different types of meridians, there are different methods that need to be used during training. Some meridians don't hold the flexibility to cater some methods, while others are too flexible to treat roughly."
"Now come hold your arm out to me so I can check the structure of your meridians."
Damien walked in front of Tian Yang and held out his arm as he was asked. He was well aware of the fact that he didn't possess meridians, but he wanted to see what would happen.
His Ananta system was built to evolve with him, so he was sure he could tweak it if he ever found a more practical method. He was also curious what the denizens of this world would think of his system.
When Tian Yang grabbed Damien's hand, he let a gentle stream of mana enter his body. This mana didn't contain any malicious intent, instead, tracing along Damien's mana circuits and seeing their design.
Oddly enough, Damien's Void Physique had no reaction to this new foreign mana.
Tian Yang was almost forced to do a double-take when he saw the system running through Damien's body. Countless intricate amethyst veins lined his internal body, creating a second nervous system.
Not only did they reach his extremities and all his organs, they even connected to his brain. When Tian Yang reached the center of this system, he saw a large pulsing crystal that looked like a second heart.
This crystal continuously refined mana and sent it back through those veins connected to it, creating a feedback loop of refinement. Like this, as long as Damien continued improving, his mana would refine itself to a higher level.
'What is this?'
Tian Yang had never seen anything like it before. One thing he was sure of, however, was that they weren't meridians in the slightest.
The smile on Tian Yang's face widened. 'I see. So that's how it is.'
By this point, Tian Yang had already lived for many centuries. It'd be odd for him to not understand what was going on.
'This kid is more daring than I originally thought.'
Someone who could inherit the Void Heart Sword Law would never be a normal person, but this was a different degree of abnormal.
Tian Yang was an adventurous spirit back in his prime before he realized his limits and settled down. He wasn't someone who would be content with sitting idly by while time passed around him.
Not only that, but he was also someone with a spatial affinity. It would've been impossible for him to reach his current level of attainment if he didn't explore the cosmos himself.
He had left the Celestial Star Palace that he grew up in to explore other worlds. He adventured, he fought, and he grew in power to reach his current strength.
By the time he returned to the Cloud Plane, he was an entirely different person with a wealth of experience under his belt.
At that time, he had already entered the Law Sea realm. Being at the peak of the world, he once again settled in at the sect he grew up in, supporting it and protecting it from his post as the Grand Elder.
Now, in front of him, there was another boy similar to him. A boy whose adventurous spirit could be clearly felt in his aura who also had the same spatial affinity as him. And this boy was visiting the Cloud Plane from some other star in the vast cosmos
The difference was that this boy's potential was much higher than his. 'Even after being a part of this sect that excels at divination for so long, I've always doubted fate. Yet, can this be considered anything else?'
Tian Yang removed his hand from Damien's wrist as his smile deepened. "You're quite a bold child, aren't you?" He said teasingly.
Damien knew exactly what he was talking about. From the start, he was aware he wouldn't be able to hide his origins from someone so much more powerful than him, so he decided it'd be best to be upfront with it.
With a large grin on his face, Damien decided to quip back. "Hm? What could you possibly be talking about?"
'He has the spirit of a cultivator too. Daring to act smart even in the face of power he can't comprehend.' Tian Yang thought.
It was their first true interaction, not counting when Damien first woke up after the disciple examination, and it had a great start. The two of them took an immediate liking to each other.
Xue Ruyue was watching the whole ordeal occur from across the room, and her eyes became complicated seeing the smile on her master's face. Still, her thoughts were known only to her.
There was an odd thing that could occur when two people with the same affinity met. There was a small chance that they would gravitate towards each other and develop a stronger bond than most.
When the affinity was as elusive and esoteric as the space element, this kind of connection could become even stronger. These people could bounce ideas off of each other and progress much faster through gaining enlightenment.
Even if Damien's strength didn't match up to Tian Yang's, his views and ideologies would be different. Through the intermingling of two perspectives and the exchange of their values, many newer and stronger ideas could be born.
Tian Yang naturally was aware of this, and he couldn't help but become somewhat excited over the prospect. How many years had it been since he'd made progress?
"Alright then. With this kind of meridians, you shouldn't have any problems with the training I will be putting you through. So, let's get started right away."
Slight undulations leaked from Tian Yang's body as he revolved his mana. Sensing this, even Xue Ruyue made distance.
Without warning, a suffocating pressure burst out of the old man's body. The pressure alone caused space to ripple, forming slight cracks. However, the small residence remained undamaged.
Unlike that of the guards, Tian Yang's pressure made Damien feel like an entire planet was being forced onto his back. He was doing everything in his power to hold himself back from kneeling.
With his own aura flaring to negate a portion of the pressure he was feeling, Damien raised his head and grinned maddeningly.
"Let's play then, old man."
