Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

“You wish to challenge me?” Aiden asked, almost as though he was surprised by Fain’s choice.

“How shameful. A prime saint challenging a mortal!” Jordon said mockingly before Fain could respond, his tone particularly frigid. “If you want to challenge someone, you need not look any further. Let us continue where we left off.”

Like everyone else, Jordon was also shocked by the ability his older brother just displayed. Still, although he sensed Byrius’ breakthrough before death, he couldn’t sit back and watch as his beloved older brother went on to fight a genuine, uninjured prime saint on his own.

“Jordon, you need not get involved,” Aiden said casually, understanding the thoughts going through his little brother’s head. “Since he challenged me off his own back, I’d be more than happy to stretch my legs for a bit.”

“But brother…”

“That’s enough,” Aiden said, cutting his brother off mid-sentence. “I’ve made my decision.”

Jordon opened his mouth to continue arguing, but when he saw the look in Aiden’s eyes, he knew that all he could do was step back. As carefree as Aiden came across most of the time, as his little brother, he knew better than anyone that when he made up his mind, there was no changing it. “I understand.”

“Haha, good!” Fain sneered. “If nothing else, I respect your bravery.”

Like Jordon, Fain didn’t believe that Aiden’s strength had made such a leap that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with prime saints. As far as he was concerned, there was a simple explanation for Aiden being able to take advantage of Byrius’ crazed and injured state and make killing him look so simple.

He and all the powers at be already understood that a big part of Aiden’s strength originated from his ability to use [Impose] at such a monstrous level. From that, they were all able to decipher that his ability stemmed from the power of his soul.

As shocking a fact as it was, they understood that his soul had to have surpassed the prime saint level and approach that of a deity.

Still, the only way he could use [Impose] to increase the power of his body to that of a prime saint would be if his soul genuinely reached the deity level, but whether it was the War God or the High Priest, both categorically stated that although his soul was nearing that of a deity, it was literally impossible for his soul to increase any higher.

When going from a mortal to a saint, the individual’s spiritual sea would see a drastic increase, but it was only a matter of quantity. But upon becoming a deity, the natural laws would descend, transforming said individual’s energy and soul.

The difference wasn’t just a matter of quantity but also quality. This qualitative change was what allowed them to use abilities such as Godrealms.

In their eyes, there was simply no way for a mortal to achieve such a breakthrough. As far as they were concerned, it was literally going against heaven’s will. It was this that gave Fain his confidence.

Unfortunately, his allies didn’t share his confidence. Whether it was Ace or Arianna, the ability they displayed had already gone against heaven’s will. So, although sceptical, subconsciously, they didn’t dare push too far.

Still, Aiden didn’t care what they believed. He casually unstrapped the glaive on his back, sliding both halves together as he turned to his disciple.

“I came here today to fulfil my troublesome job as your master and continue teaching you,” Aiden sighed in an almost lazy manner, completely disregarding Fain’s presence. “Originally, I had planned to teach you by beating my teachings into you, but since a guinea pig has delivered himself to me, I’ll spare you this time.”

Both Ace and Fain’s eyebrows twitched at Aiden’s words, but before either could respond, Aiden continued. “Watch carefully, brat.”

As he said that, everyone noticed a sudden change in Aiden’s aura. Whereas before, it was virtually non-existent, now it had become exceedingly sharp, like the blade of Aiden’s glaive, or at least that was how it seemed to most of those watching.

“Stop acting all mysterious,” Fain snorted coldly as his body shot forward at a speed that virtually no one present, Ace included, could follow. “JUST DIE ALREADY!”

Ace’s eyes widened in shock, not because of Fain’s ridiculous speed but because of his master. His [Observation] allowed him to see things that others couldn’t. He also felt Aiden’s aura was shockingly sharp, but it also seemed fleeting yet tempestuous at the same time.

Still, that wasn’t the reason behind Ace’s sudden shock. No, the real reason was because his master’s voice was being transmitted directly to his mind.

Those whose souls had reached the saint realm were capable of using their spirit to send their voice directly to the ears of another, but ultimately, they were still talking.

But Aiden, who was standing directly in front of him, had his lips firmly closed, and yet…

“As you know, due to my crippled dantian, I’m incapable of sensing the laws of nature. As a result, I’m also incapable of utilising the profound mysteries of said laws,” Aiden transmitted as his body moved with the grace of the wind, allowing him to dodge Fain’s sword by a hair’s breadth. “But, I never gave up believing that there was another way of incorporating the laws of nature into my glaivesmanship.

That was the main reason I spent so much time honing my glaivesmanship, taking it to its current level.”

Everyone watched in awe as Aiden seemed to toy with Fain. Each of them was a peak talent in their own right with a wealth of experience. There should be very little that could cause them to be shocked at their current level, but Aiden’s glaivesmanship was damn near godly. The way it danced through the air, steadily suppressing its target was simply mesmerising.

What was strange was that Aiden’s glaive seemed to move at a speed so slow, it almost seemed as though he was being gentle, as though he was trying his best not to hurt his opponent and yet, the speed Fain was moving prevented them from seeing him as anything more than a blur.

If they didn’t know any better, they’d believe that this was simply a wonderous use of utilising the profound mysteries, but no matter who it was, when one utilised a profound mystery, as long as you had comprehended a trace of a profound mystery, you too would be able to sense it – though understanding it was a different matter altogether.

Still, it was this that allowed them to know with absolute certainty that Aiden wasn’t utilising any of the laws. But that simply gave birth to all new questions – for everyone but Ace!

“I was beginning to think it was impossible, but everything changed when my soul broke through to the Demi-God realm.” Aiden transmitted. “I still can’t sense the laws or utilise their mysteries directly, but I can imitate them!”

Ace watched in awe as his master’s body and glaive moved like a leaf being carried like the wind, gently avoiding and parrying each of Fain’s ferocious and destructive strikes.

Not once had Aiden taken the initiative to go on the offensive, and yet, it was clear Fain was being completely suppressed. He had completely fallen prey to Aiden’s flow and found it impossible to extricate himself.

“I call this style of utilisation, [Concepts]!” Aiden transmitted his voice, still casual as ever. “Instead of focusing on comprehending the wind’s power directly, I focused on trying to understand the ‘Concept’ of its more esoteric nature and infuse it into my glaivesmanship.

Although I didn’t see a sudden increase in my physical strength or the power of my battle-qi like one would when infusing the profound mysteries into their attacks, the increase in skill still increased the power of my glaivesmanship several times over.

It’s why, even when only using my former level of physical ability, I can still comfortably suppress those at the prime saint level.

I believe that whether it’s Concepts or Profound Mysteries, they’re actually two sides of the same coin. Only by using both in conjunction with each other can you truly reach the apex of understanding of the laws.”

This was the first time since their meeting that Ace had ever heard his master speak so much in one go. He could literally hear the excitement bubbling over in his voice.

Still, he couldn’t blame him. This discovery of his was truly mind-blowing, and for it to have come from Aiden. Ace knew full well how much it meant to him.

It only took one look at the genuine and pure-hearted smile on Aiden’s face to understand how much this discovery meant to him.

Though he had never said anything, how could a talent on the level of Aiden not be distraught by his future being stripped away from him?

Still, that only went to show how strong Aiden’s inner heart and resolve were.

After being ‘crippled’, Aiden didn’t complain once; he merely kept his head down and created one technique after the next, each one more heaven-defying than the last, and now, though still very much in its embryonic stages, it seemed as though Aiden had created a brand-new path.

Everyone refers to him as the son of heaven, claiming he’s the most talented person their Yulan Plane has ever seen, but in Ace’s eyes, that title belongs to his master.

If he hadn’t been crippled back then, Ace was under no delusions; Aiden Rohault would’ve gone on to be the most dazzling genius the continent had ever seen.