Tian Yang's lecture continued into the night, teaching the duo many things and widening their horizons far past what they thought possible.
"That should do it for today. I can't give you all the answers at the start now can I?" He teased.
"Hmm, since there's nothing else to teach you for today, how about you spar each other? You two haven't really had much interaction before today, after all."
Damien and Ruyue looked at each other, their interest peaked. While Ruyue had seen a glimpse of Damien's power when he was learning about teleportation earlier, she didn't know his true capabilities.
And for Damien, Ruyue was a complete mystery. She had two elements whose mana looked similar to ice, but neither of them were the same. He had Zara's ice element for comparison so he was sure of this fact.
The only thing he was sure of was the fact that she was at the mid-levels of 3rd class, perhaps at the Core Expansion realm.
And technically by Cloud Plane standards, Damien was also at this realm even if his level didn't match up. He had formed his core long ago and expanding it wasn't something he had to do manually.
It was one of the greatest benefits of his Ananta System.
Seeing that both disciples expressed their willingness, Tian Yang released his spatial mana and teleported them out of the pagoda.
Even if the pagoda had the strength to handle their power, it didn't mean that there was enough space for them to have a proper fight.
When the two were able to see again, they found themselves in the middle of a grassy plain. They could clearly see the Star Mountain in the distance, but they were far enough to where nobody from the sect would be alerted to their battle.
Standing between the two, Tian Yang smiled. "Alright, since this is just a friendly spar, I want you both to hold back a bit. Just enough so there are no serious injuries. I'm looking at you, Damien. I don't want another incident like the one during the disciple examination."
Damien averted his gaze while whistling the tune to an old anime he used to watch. It's not like he would ever admit that his actions back then were a mistake.
Ignoring Damien's amusing reaction, Tian Yang turned to Ruyue, who also nodded lightly. Seeing that they were both ready, he didn't waste any more time.
Taking out a circular token, Tian Yang threw it in the air, making it flip around its own axis. "The match will start when this token hits the ground."
It was like the token moved in slow motion. It flipped continuously until finally, it landed on the ground with a soft thud.
But the sound was overrun by the sonic booms that came forth when both Damien and Ruyue charged at each other.
Damien pulled out his sword while a shining white spear emerged in Ruyue's hands.
'Void Sword Art First Form: Bladeless'
'Moon Goddess's Spear First Form: Tide Formation'
A wave of spatial mana charged forward, wanting to tear the world asunder, but it was met by a firm yet gentle force from Ruyue's spear.
The tide of mana was pushed and molded to her will, completely dispersing before it was replaced by her own.
An iridescent white mana gushed out in waves as Ruyue swept her spear in a horizontal motion.
Seeing the incoming tide, Damien didn't move. Instead, he changed tactics.
'Magnitude and Direction'
The space around him bent as he tapped his fingers in the air. Swirling vortexes were formed before they charged towards the tide.
And similar to what Ruyue did to him, Damien dispersed her tide. Its forward charge suddenly altered slightly to the left, missing him entirely, and by the time it even reached his position, it was barely at the level of a love tap.
In their first altercation, they came out in a tie.
Without wasting any time, they charged forward once more, knowing that such ranged tactics would only be futile.
'Void Sword Art 3rd form: Dance of the Void'
'Moon Goddess's Spear 2nd Form: Moonlight Serenade'
Although the names of their attacks seemed to allude to a beautiful night filled with elegance and grace, their actual clash was anything but.
Ruyue swung her spear, its weight bearing down on Damien's sword. Although he was moving in and out of the spatial layers and his body became elusive, she was still able to pinpoint his every motion.
Clang-!
Once again their weapons connected, causing a massive shockwave to emanate from their location. Luckily, Tian Yang was there to minimize the damage.
The scale of their clash became wider and wider, with both of them becoming ethereal to the point where they were almost one with mana. The sparks flying from each of their clashes being the only indication that they existed within reality.
Looking into those fierce golden eyes that burned with fighting spirit, Damien grinned.
'Void Sword Art 4th Form: Spatial Collapse'
He didn't overcharge the attack this time, so there was no gaping black hole. Still, the results of the strike were devastating.
Boom-!
Everything around them crumbled, with the fabric of reality seemingly shattering like glass.
The duo was within an entirely black space where even light couldn't penetrate, but the nauseating swirl of the blackness made it clear that space was still collapsing,
Ruyue felt lightheaded and she could barely understand how time was passing. Everything seemed so muddled together as if things that weren't meant to collide were fusing. She knew that if she didn't get serious, she would fall.
'Blood Moon'
A seemingly impossible thing happened. Cracks started appearing in the black space before one portion of it turned entirely red. It wasn't just a red light, though, it was an entire miniature celestial body.
A true blood moon appeared within the black space, illuminating it with its light. The ebbing tides of collapse slowed to a halt as tranquility was brought back to the atmosphere. But before space could reconstruct itself, Ruyue made her move.
'Moon Goddess Descent'
Her pristine white hair began to glow with an almost holy aura, turning into a shining silver. Her bright golden eyes became dyed in silver. If anyone saw her right now, they would truly think she was the embodiment of the moon.
Ruyue raised her hand lightly before gracefully waving it like she was conducting an orchestra. All this while, Damien could only stand in a stupor. It was as if he got charmed by her new appearance.
But Ruyue didn't wait for him to return to himself. Her movements sped up, causing the tides of chaos to flow once more. This time, in reverse.
The blackness that encompassed them enveloped Damien like a cocoon, limiting his movements before beams of lunar energy tore through space towards his location.
Bang-!
Holes were pierced through the cocoon and although Ruyue couldn't see Damien's state at the moment, she was sure he had been injured. Although it may not have sounded like much, her lunar energy was as destructive as it was gentle.
Not to mention, she added a little something else into it.
However, if she could see Damien at the moment, she'd be endlessly surprised. He was bleeding with several holes in his body, but a wide grin painted his face.
He had just learned something new, after all.
Damien looked up at Ruyue's beautiful form, his eyes piercing through the abyssal darkness of the cocoon. An iridescent light began to shine from his pupils as two commanding words left his mouth,
"Celestial Authority."
