Currently, Damien's figure could be seen sprawled on the floor, virtually painted black and blue.
"Ugh…Master, was that really necessary?" He groaned, his pain evident in his expression.
"You're the one who got cocky after landing a single hit. Did you think I wouldn't teach you a lesson?" Tian Yang responded with a smirk.
After learning how to use magnitude manipulation to offset and minimize the fluctuations that occurred during teleportation, Damien immediately appeared in front of Tian Yang and landed a solid punch.
Since Tian Yang was lost in thought, he didn't have time to block. His powerful body that was leagues ahead of Damien's completely absorbed the punch, but he definitely lost face during the exchange.
And so, Tian Yang proceeded to lay down the law on Damien in a manner that he wasn't even able to counter or block. Tian Yang would appear out of nowhere and disappear just as fast, beating Damien to a pulp.
He didn't even use his raw strength as a Law Sea expert, only using 3rd class power to totally dominate the battle. The final result was the current scene.
While Damien waited for his body to regenerate, which felt like it was going much slower than it should, he caught sight of Xue Ruyue in the corner with a slight smirk on her face.
"What're you laughing at?" He quipped, slowly sitting up.
Noticing that she was caught, she reverted to her icy expression before responding cluelessly, "what do you mean?"
'This bitch!' Damien thought. Still, he didn't focus on her for long. His thoughts shifted to the previous exchange.
Not only did he learn how to teleport silently once again, which would be immensely useful in battle, but he also gained the realization that he had barely scratched the surface of what he could do with his vector control.
There wasn't even a real lesson involved, rather it was a showcase of prowess that let Damien learn by feeling it himself. He definitely appreciated this method of teaching.
Though, he didn't think that was all he would receive. At least, he hoped so. He wasn't a masochist to enjoy having this kind of lesson too often.
While Damien was digesting his gains, Tian Yang suddenly spoke up. "Do you know what the two main affinities necessary to practice our sect's divination arts are?"
Damien looked up. "Why would I know that? I just got here."
Not minding the sarcasm in his tone, Tian Yang continued. "It's a rare thing for someone to appear in the world with control over the two elements naturally. Most of our elders who practice divination only gained small amounts of inherited comprehension from their predecessors."
Even Xue Ruyue began paying attention at this point. The divination techniques of the sect weren't made available to disciples, so she was naturally curious about their workings.
"Divination is an odd profession. It allows one to see into the future, but never more than the heavens permit. It can even allow one to gaze into the past or gain a deeper understanding of the present.
"In summary, there is a reason why the term Seers is used when referring to those who practice this branch of arts. The main power of divination is to see through the fabric of reality."
Panning his gaze between his two disciples that were listening with rapt attention, Tian Yang spoke once again. "As for the two main elements necessary for divination? They are space and time."
"A Seer at the peak of their power is said to peer through space and locate anyone or anything they desire. They can also peer through time and decide which path would be best to achieve their goals.
"This kind of power is always frowned upon by others since it gives a seer nigh omnipotence in that aspect.
"At one point in time, people even banded together, attempting to eradicate all those who practiced divination techniques, but they were unsuccessful.
"Those seers also gathered, forming the beginning of what would later become our Celestial Star Palace."
Damien was intrigued by the topic and raised a question. "So why is it Celestial Star Palace? What correlation does that have to the Seers?"
Tian Yang smiled and answered him patiently. "It's simple. The legacy of those seers can only be inherited by a limited number of people, so an entire sect formed on their foundations was close to impossible.
"But they looked to divination for the answer, and according to legend, they all saw the same prophecy. It was a scene that began and ended with stars. A massive cosmos formed by unknown means. However, before they could witness any more, they met with heaven's wrath.
"Looking too far into the secrets of the universe, or important events that will change the flow of fate and destiny causes immense backlash for those who wish to know too much.
"Of those thousands of seers, around 80% of them immediately lost their eyesight, becoming permanently blinded. Even the most valuable healing pills were unable to solve the problem. The rest who got off lucky were nearly crippled, unable to use divination techniques ever again.
"It was their punishment from the heavens."
"And what is this concept of the heavens?" Damien pressed. He had heard the term many times since arriving on the Cloud Plane, and even more in novels he previously read. Yet, none of them explained exactly what the heavens are.
"You don't even know that much" Xue Ruyue interjected with disdain. "Even the smallest of children know about the mighty heavens. Where were you raised? In some filthy mountain by beasts?"
However, before Damien could vent his rage back, Tian Yang began calmly explaining. "The heavens are…well the heavens are everything. They are natural law, the law of the universe, the overseer of existence, and many more.
"The heavens manifest themselves in various ways that us mortals cannot comprehend. The holographic window that appears before us at birth and quantifies our power is one of the heavens' many faces.
"Another is the Heavenly Tribulation that descends when one enters Law Connection realm."
"Heavenly Tribulation?!" Damien exclaimed. He didn't need an explanation about those, but he had no idea they actually existed. The system had shown signs of sentience before, being aware of every individual's progress and recording their legends, but he didn't think it'd manifest physically.
"That's right. Upon entering 4th class, there is an extremely large change that an individual will go through. To deem one worthy of such change, the heavens enact a tribulation for them to pass.
"If they fail the tribulation, they die. And if they pass, they are allowed to continue their path to strength.
"Not only that, but it is also fabled that upon entering the demigod realm, one experiences an even greater tribulation to shed their mortal body. It is the final step towards gaining divinity."
Damien was in awe at this information. He finally realized how fast the universe was. How much power people could hold. He felt ashamed of himself for being proud of his measly strength in the grand scheme.
'There is always a peak above the peak.' He felt that this old saying was truly apt.
But he swore on everything he knew and loved. One day he would reach the highest peak. The one that looked down upon all creation in contempt.
