Capítulo 230: Book 6: Chapter 53 – Linley Vs Ace (2)
Whilst Ace and Linley were talking between themselves, the crowd, most of whom had forgotten to breathe throughout the whole of the earlier exchange, were now trying to wrap their minds around what they had just seen.
Even Beirut, an expert who stands near or at the apex of deities throughout the universe, felt his heart turn turbulent.
"Whilst fighting," Beirut began to mutter to himself, not caring who heard him. "Linley seemed to become the embodiment of water – gentle, fluid, yet constant. On the other hand, Ace's glaivesmanship seemed to become the embodiment of fire – wild, unrestrained, and explosive…
Neither were utilising the profound mysteries, yet the increase in power they saw whilst fighting, it was as though they had been…
How is this possible?"
Beirut suddenly turned to Aiden. Although he barely intervened in the matters of the continent, he still kept up to date with what was going on.
He had heard about Aiden killing Byrius O'Brien and defeating Fain. He had even heard about how impressive his Glaivesmanship was.
At first, he had been shocked beyond measure. A mortal defeating not one but two prime saints should have been impossible.
With his level of power, he didn't even have to leave the comforts of his own home to find Aiden with his divine sense. As such, he was instantly able to sense the man's soul had reached that of a Demi-God, and although shocking, Beirut had seen more than his fair share of incredible treasures which could achieve such effects, some even more impressive. As such, he didn't think much more of it.
But now, after seeing the display of Ace and Linley, he couldn't help but think back to the words being used to describe Aiden's own glaivesmanship. Like Ace and Linley, apparently, Aiden's fighting style allowed him to become an embodiment of the wind.
Feeling the intensity of Beirut's gaze, not even Aiden was able to keep from feeling uncomfortable. Still, with a deep breath, he was able to calm his nerves, at least on the surface.
"As you guessed, it was me who taught those two brats about this style of fighting," Aiden sighed, knowing in front of an expert like Beirut, lying or keeping secrets was futile. "I call it the art of [Concepts]."
"Concepts… Concepts… Concepts," Beirut repeated. "How apt."
"The method of cultivating it is fairly straightforward," Aiden explained as though he hadn't noticed the surrounding experts – saints and deities alike – listening in. "But I would prefer to keep it a secret from others for now."
Hearing that, whether it was Dylin, Catherine, or the other saints, everyone bar those in or connected to the Pavilion all cursed in their heads.
Had Aiden been the one to spread his Divine Sense to keep others from listening in, although the saints and mortals would've been helpless, both Catherine and Dylin would've still been able to listen in.
"Haha, of course, of course," Beirut nodded happily as he spread his own divine sense to cover only him and Aiden.
With the power of Beirut's soul, every expert on the continent could forget about eavesdropping.
Watching Aiden reveal the secrets of this new method left Catherine deeply frustrated. After watching Ace and Linley, she realised that by utilising these so-called [Concepts], both young men had the power to oppose peak saints.
She had already assessed that between their respective current levels of comprehension and their bloodlines, both could, at most, match a mid-staged saint. For something that these boys had only spent a few months learning to be able to increase their strengths by so much…
How could she not want to get her hands on such a profound method? Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. Forgetting the difference in the powers of their souls, even if she had a way to sneakily bypass the divine sense of the lord of the forest of darkness, she still wouldn't dare. Offending him would only end in her death!
What made it worse was that as Aiden was still a mortal with the power of an unparalleled saint, because of the rules created by Beirut, she couldn't target him, especially as any of the saints that served her and O'Brien were too weak to pose a threat to him.
Worse still was that even if she did have a way to find Aiden without Beirut knowing, with Aiden and Arianna tending to be together at most times, she would still have to get past the monstress that was Arianna Qingya.
Similar thoughts were going through the heads of all the other experts. Unfortunately, Aiden had no idea, nor would he care, even if he did.
"Incredible, incredible indeed," Beirut sighed in amazement as he looked at the unassuming mortal in front of him. "To think that such a simple concept had been sitting under the noses of all of our universe's leading experts without any being any the wiser…
Truly incredible!
Virtually every deity knows to nurture their own weapons over time. Still, because becoming one with your weapon is one of the most basic levels of comprehension and is something that everyone learns very early on, it's no wonder that none would think to unearth all its potential.
If they had, with their insights into the laws of nature, how could they not have realised that by becoming one with the weapon whose spirit they had been the one to awaken, they could utilise the concepts of their elements."
Beirut once again sighed in amazement. Till now, although he was appreciative of those in the Pavilion, that was all it was. Aside from Ace, whose bloodline and natural talent allowed him to stand above most beings he had seen or even heard of, he didn't think much of the others, but now…
He had to admit that Aiden's talent was no less than his disciple's. In fact, for the simple fact that he had created this path himself, even after all the struggles and adversity he had faced, in Beirut's eyes, Aiden's worth had surpassed that of even Ace's.
"Become my emissary," Beirut said, unable to contain his excitement.
Visible shock could be seen on the face of the drunkard.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," Beirut chuckled. "I'm not forcing you; you are free to say no, and you have my word; I will not hold it against you. I just think, as you are now, your talents are wasting away. If you become my emissary, not only will I fix your dantian and heal your soul, I'll also introduce you to a world you never dreamed existed.
Don't answer me now; just think about it," Beirut smiled appreciatively as he dispersed his divine sense. "You can give me your answer at a later date.
For now, let's just enjoy the rest of the show."
At that moment, curiosity was the one emotion everyone shared. Even his wife and disciple were no different.
Still, as his master didn't appear to be in danger, Ace was able to put it to one side for now and focus on the task at hand.
"Sorry about that," Ace said, refocusing on Linley. "Where were we?"
"We were just about to bring this show to an end," Linley replied as he re-entered his combat stance, an unprecedented look of focus on his draconian face.
"Right," Ace nodded with a smile. "It's about time."
Sparks seemed to fly as the eyes of the two geniuses met once more. Then, as if preplanned, both Linley and Ace took off simultaneously. Both young men turned into streamers as they charged at one another.
Everyone expected them to clash once more, once again showing off their skilled use of 'Concepts', but just before entering the range of Ace's glaive, Linley began channelling elemental power as he gracefully swung his Jian swords across his body, causing a wave of bone-chilling coldness to radiate outward, sweeping towards Ace.
"[Serenity Sword Art: Frost Wave]!" Linley uttered lightly.
Ace felt an icy grip tighten around his body, and for a moment, it was as if his very blood had turned to ice. He gasped for breath as his movements slowed, and his skin paled in response to the intense cold.
Desperation welled up within Ace as he felt his body freezing from the inside out. In a desperate bid to survive, he summoned all the fiery mageforce from within, allowing him to transform his body into what appeared to be a blazing inferno.
Flames erupted from his skin, and with a burst of searing heat, he managed to break free of his opponent's ultimate technique – [Frost Wave]!
Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to completely dodge the attack. Linley's twin swords left a large sword-shaped scar across Ace's chest just as he leapt back.
Ace staggered backwards, clutching his chest, his fiery aura flickering as he fought to melt the remnants of Linley's frosty energy and regain full control over his body.
Linley, still in his graceful and elegant stance, didn't try to follow up with another attack; he merely watched Ace with a mix of respect, steely resolve, and a hint of excitement. The battle was far from over, but for the first time since they met, Linley had finally landed an attack on this incredible rival of his
Looking down at the wound across his chest, Ace raised his index and middle fingers, coating them in an intense flame, allowing him to burn the bloody wound shut before looking back up at his rival., a devilish grin on his face.
"You kept that quiet." Ace grinned devilishly. "I didn't know you'd begun comprehending a profound mystery."
"After studying the forbidden spell [Absolute Zero], I was finally able to gain insight into the Profound Mystery of Freezing," Linley admitted before smirking back. "I was hoping to use it to defeat you in one go."
[Frost Wave] was a technique Linley had developed after finally gaining insight into the Laws of Water's Profound Mystery of Freezing. When using it, it enabled him to freeze water with a mere swing of his sword, and as the human body is predominantly made up of water, it was particularly effective on other humans.
"You almost had me there," Ace nodded, the grin on his face widening as he readjusted his grip on his glaive. "Too bad you lost your chance."
"We'll see about that," Linley roared as he charged towards Ace once again.
Once more, he summoned his elemental essence to utilise his ultimate technique – [Frost Wave].
With a calm swing of his swords, his dense elemental essence began freezing the air around them. That all too familiar bone-chilling coldness radiated outward as the moisture in the air turned to ice. Linley wasted no time in unleashing his frigid onslaught toward Ace, determined to freeze him once more.
But Ace, ever the resilient warrior, was ready. With frighteningly explosive speed that seemed almost like teleportation, he too shot forward. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right on top of Linley, his glaive poised for a devastating strike.
Linley's [Frost Wave] was already upon him, and Ace felt the icy grip tightening around his body once more, but this time, he was ready.
Despite Linley's best efforts, the temperature around Ace's body soared as the skin-tight crimson aura around his body blazed hotter than ever before.
Having neutralised Linley's technique, Ace no longer hesitated, unleashing his ultimate technique – [Myriad Point Convergence]!
In an instant, he struck three times with blinding speed, each thrust hitting the exact same point on Linley's chest. The strikes appeared to converge into one, and as they hit their mark simultaneously, each released a devastating explosion of fiery energy simultaneously. The combined force created a colossal explosion that engulfed them both.
Linley was caught off guard by the sudden and explosive assault. Despite the freezing effects of his own technique successfully slowing Ace down – albeit only barely – he still couldn't react in time.
The force of Ace's [Myriad Point Convergence] sent him hurtling backwards; his body was engulfed in the fiery explosion as he crashed into the ground with tremendous force, creating a massive crater in what could now only be called a desolate wasteland.
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