Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

With this being the third time Ace and Lachapelle had fought, Ace was well aware of all of her abilities; as such, when Ace felt the air around him constricting him, he remained perfectly calm. He understood that the Profound Mystery Lachapelle had gained insight into was the Mystery of Spatial Winds.

It was also this which made the attacks of each of her vines so deadly. With her insights into the Mystery of Spatial Winds nearing the level of a Demi-God, the aura coating her vines was so sharp it actually caused the space in the surrounding area to ripple with instability.

To make matters worse, they had the horrifying ability to absorb and consume those trapped within, leaving nothing behind but memories.

Her countless vines lashed out like serpents surrounding Ace, aiming to close off all of his paths of retreat and pierce every inch of his blackened body.

Unfortunately for her, Ace had no intentions of retreating.

Even as the terrifyingly sharp vines neared his body, his smile never left his face. In fact, it only widened as his blade was thrust forth in what could only be described as a casual manner. Still, despite his lack of apparent effort, the power behind it was terrifying!

A dozen giant vines, each with the thickness of a grown man and the ability to pierce even the sturdiest of defences, met Ace's glaive and paused momentarily, but if that wasn't shocking enough, in the next moment, an enormous fiery explosion was set off, instantly incinerating all the vines that threatened to pierce Ace's body.

Like Amira and Leona, Ace had also improved drastically during his time on the fifth floor, and although his cultivation level still remained the same, due to his comprehension, his rise in strength was monumental, to say the least.

His mastery of the Law of Fire's Profound Mystery of Explosions had broken through to the peak saint level, while his fusion of the Profound Mysteries of Explosions and the Essence of Fire was approaching the 70% mark. It was because of this that even his casual strikes were so devastating.

Not only had his insights into the profound mysteries improved, but so too had his understanding of the Concepts of the Laws of Fire. A fact that became very much apparent as Ace ignored the explosion, his body moving like a flash appearing directly before Lachapelle, glaive in hand.

Lachapelle, who was still getting over the shock of Ace's last attack, almost forgot to breathe as she sensed Ace teleport directly in front of her, his glaive drawing a near-perfect, fiery arc as it seemed to want to tear her in two.

Still, as a warrior who had been through more than her fair share of battles, she quickly suppressed her surprise to focus on the task at hand.

With the Pearl of Life assisting her, the vines which had been incinerated by Ace's attack had already finished reforming by the time Ace attacked.

Without a second thought, Lachapelle acted on instinct to control her vines to both attack Ace and create an incredibly thick barrier that separated her body from his.

Ace, though, acted as though he hadn't noticed his opponent's actions as his glaive struck out once, then twice, then again, each strike far more potent than the last.

Because she had yet to break through to the deity level, Lachapelle couldn't actually see the improvements Ace had made to his [Blazing Glaive Art], but she could definitely feel it.

Each of his strikes tore through dozens of her vines at a time, and to make matters worse, she could feel him speeding up to the point where he was now attacking faster than the pearl of life could heal her.

Within a minute, Ace had torn a path through Lachapelle's seemingly endless vines protecting her body, appearing directly before her with that same infuriating smile, which may as well be a smirk at this point, hanging on his face.

But that was when she saw it. Despite Ace's smile being one of complete and utter serenity, his glaive's movements were anything but serene! Ace's sweep was the epitome of simplicity, yet the wild and untameable aura it gave off was so mesmerising that even Lachapelle faltered slightly.

As his insights into the laws of fire increased, Ace found it easier and easier to translate them into concepts and incorporate them into his [Blazing Glaive Art]. Right now, his glaivesmanship had reached a level that would make even sovereigns blush with shame at their inferiority – at least when it came to weapon handling.

Space rippled as his glaive tore through the air, threatening to sear anything that dared stand in its path.

It was only when she felt the scorching heat that accompanied Ace's attack that Lachapelle snapped out of her daze. Unfortunately, by then, it was too late.

Despite the size difference, Lachapelle found that she had really been cut in two, even though Ace hadn't even used an energy slash. It was as though anything and everything in the path of the arcs of Ace's sweep would be torn in two.

Still, Ace could only sigh helplessly at the sight of Lachapelle's body reforming almost instantly.

Each of his strikes was powerful beyond measure, to the point where he was confident in his ability to suppress and kill the average prime saint like Fain. Still, no matter what he did, any wound he inflicted on his current opponent would heal seemingly without end.

He knew that this fight would be a test of endurance, and he was prepared to persevere. Still, he was only a mortal; as such, even if his willpower was limitless, his body and mageforce were anything but!

"That Pearl of Life really is a heaven-defying treasure," Ace admitted. "Because of that, killing you is almost impossible!"

"Exactly!" Lachapelle replied as her body finished healing. "So why bother trying any further? It's clear neither of us can do anything to each other, so let us just go our separate ways from this point on."

Lachapelle had to suppress the terror she was feeling as she attempted to reason with her young opponent. That last strike was like nothing she had ever seen before. If not for the Pearl of Life, she really would be dead. Unfortunately, it seemed Ace had no intention of giving up!

"No rush," Ace replied with a warm smile as though he were talking to an old friend. "I said "almost" impossible!"

Lachapelle wanted to tell Ace that his attempts were futile, but before she could, Ace's body flickered, once again appearing directly in front of her at a speed she could barely react to.

"Let's see if you can survive this one," Ace voiced calmly as he thrust his glaive out several times in an instant. "[Myriad Point Convergence]!"

Ace had always trained harder and faster than his peers, but when he finally found the creature holding the Pearl of Life, the treasure that would heal his master's injuries, he found that his training speed seemed to skyrocket.

Previously, his limit for simultaneous strikes was five, but with the increase of his comprehension of the fused mysteries of Explosions and the Essence of Fire, he had managed to increase it to six, but Ace wasn't sure that would be enough to completely incinerate Lachapelle's whole body in one go before she could reform.

But just as he was prepared to throw caution to the wind and go for broke, Ace's eyes seemed to glaze over. In that moment, every fibre of his being was focused on killing his troublesome opponent and taking the treasure that could heal his master, a man he greatly respected.

He was well aware that as calm and composed as his master was, there was nothing Aiden wanted more than to reach the apex of this world, but because of his injuries, for many years, it seemed like that particular dream would never come to pass.

For a man like Aiden, there was no greater source of misery, especially as everyone around him continued to progress down a path that eluded him. Still, he never complained; in fact, he even took Ace as a disciple and gave his all into training him.

It was because of his master that Ace was able to become the monster that he is today. In Ace's mind, there was nothing he could do to repay Aiden for everything he had done for him till now, but being able to give him the pearl of life would definitely be a good start!

Because of his overwhelming desire, Ace managed to gain sudden enlightenment to the point where the laws of Fire seemed to gain sentience, whispering their deepest secrets in his ears, allowing his comprehension to leap forward like never before.

Ace's six strikes suddenly increased to seven before once again advancing, reaching an astonishing eight strikes.

As all eight strikes landed, the air was filled with a scorching explosion of fiery devastation.

Lachapelle's body was engulfed in flames, and even with the assistance of the Pearl of Life, her ability to heal was no match for the sheer power of the explosion. She didn't even get the chance to scream before her whole body was incinerated, leaving only ashes in her wake.

The size of the explosion was unlike anything the fifth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods had ever had to bear before.

Even Leona and Amira, who were well over a mile away, were caught off guard, almost unable to stay on their feet. As for their opponents – or rather the few that were left – each of them were directly blown away.

As the dust cleared and the smoke settled, Amira and Leona saw Ace standing victorious in mid-air with an ecstatic grin on his face as he stared excitedly at the surprisingly small, glittering, translucent orb sitting in the palm of his hand, glowing with a warm green light.

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