Chapter 97: The Power of the Stars |
After quite a while, Kyle finally finished recounting the entire story in as much detail as possible.
He cautiously raised his head and awkwardly looked at the ancestors, clan leader, and elders gathered around the stone coffin.
Not only had their expressions not softened, they had instead become even more serious.
Kyle sighed inwardly. He had already sentenced himself to “death”—it seemed a brutal beating was unavoidable.
Clan Leader Rayleigh Aiven wasted no time at all. He picked Kyle up and vanished from the Ancient Silver Moon Pool with lightning-like speed, so quickly that Kyle did not even have time to cry out for mercy.
The elders exchanged a look of “you know what I mean,” and their figures disappeared one after another behind the clan leader.
Only the Fifth Elder, Irlton Aiven, faced the direction where everyone had vanished and hurriedly sent out a telepathic message:
“Just teach that little bastard a lesson. Don’t injure him too badly—I still need him to attend the Blood Clan Assembly!”
“Got it!”
“Don’t worry!”
Several thoughts were transmitted back almost simultaneously, carrying impatience mixed with traces of barely concealed amusement.
Irlton shook his head helplessly and skillfully cast several runes, reactivating the protective array of the Ancient Silver Moon Pool and sealing off this holy land of the family once more.
Only after finishing all of this did he calmly walk toward the family training grounds.
Caitlin had been hiding behind the shadows of the colonnade the entire time, anxiously observing the situation’s development. Now, clenching her fists tightly, she transformed into a faint shadow and quietly followed behind them…
At the Aiven family training grounds, the floor was paved with extremely hard cold ironstone.
“Alvaro, hurry and save me!!!”
Kyle frantically shouted Alvaro’s name through Isos’s spiritual energy sea.
At this moment, he was no longer merely suffering. After all, he had mortgaged multiple combat skills away.
Now the clan leader and elders had begun enthusiastically giving him “practical guidance” one after another, and he had absolutely no way to refuse.
“Not bad, not bad. This child’s body is much stronger than when he was little!”
After finishing a round of “training,” the refreshed Great Elder Alec comfortably sat beside Clan Leader Rayleigh, picked up a bottle of Swallowing Cloud Demon Whale Blood Wine, and drank deeply from it.
Clan Leader Rayleigh leisurely sipped the ruby-like Blood Moon Flower Dew in his cup, yet his gaze continuously followed the panicked figure dodging around the arena as he calmly said:
“Indeed. Although his combat techniques have been completely lost, he possesses extraordinary physical abilities. With this sort of ‘training’ method and intensity, he should recover his original skills within half a month. No… perhaps within a single week.”
“What a pity…”
Great Elder Alec smacked his lips, his face carrying a trace of regret.
“I thought I’d be able to ‘play’ with him for a few more days.”
He was extremely “dissatisfied” with Kyle’s astonishing adaptability and learning ability.
Clan Leader Rayleigh glanced at him and chuckled lightly.
“It’s fine. Aside from you, the rest of us have all already participated. The remaining days are entirely yours—you can deal with him however you want…”
Rayleigh poured himself another half cup of Blood Moon Flower Dew and gently took a sip before casually looking at Kyle in the distance, who had just been struck by the Third Elder’s sword sheath and was now covered in swollen bumps.
“Mm?!”
“Wonderful! This time I can finally properly stretch these old bones of mine. It’s been ages since I’ve encountered such a suitable ‘sandbag.’”
Hearing those words, excitement flashed through Great Elder Alec’s eyes as he twisted his neck from side to side, producing crisp “crack crack” sounds…
Kyle completely broke down at this point. This bullying had gone way too far!
It wasn’t as though he had gained nothing from this trial. In fact, he had gained a tremendous amount. Unfortunately, before he even had the chance to properly study those gains, he had been caught by these old monsters and “beaten up”!
But Kyle was not someone easily affected by setbacks!
A thought surged from deep within his soul, and those stars formed from pure will and emotion instantly began to shine!
He wanted to see what kind of changes the [Power of the Stars] he had obtained at the end of the Path of Rebirth could bring him!
The instant the stars lit up, Kyle’s entire sensory perception underwent a dramatic transformation!
He felt as though he had entered a state of comprehensive, all-encompassing, transcendent observation.
This state was not merely visual—it enhanced every aspect of his perception.
At this moment, he could clearly see every movement change, movement intensity, and aura fluctuation of Third Elder Melina, who was battling him.
At the same time, his instincts themselves seemed to tell him how to block and counterattack.
He was extremely familiar with this feeling; this was the state of unity between man and heaven, achievable only when one reached an extremely high realm in a certain field or possessed extraordinary talent.
Moreover, he clearly realized that each type of star possessed its own unique ability, but for now those abilities were only superficial, mainly functioning as passive enhancements.
It seemed further research would be needed before he could develop special abilities like Isos’s.
Feeling his spiritual energy being rapidly depleted, Kyle shut off several star abilities that were not especially useful for his current battle.
He only retained the stars that enhanced his reaction speed, observation ability, and learning ability.
“Tsk tsk, looks like I really have a chance to grow into a hexagonal warrior!”
Kyle thought to himself as his longsword accurately blocked the incoming sword sheath.
Clang—!
A crisp metallic sound rang out as sparks exploded between the longsword and sword sheath.
“Oh?”
The astonishing transformation Kyle underwent in that instant naturally did not escape the perception of the old monsters seated around the arena.
Several elders nearly sat upright simultaneously, surprise flashing through their eyes.
The longsword and sword sheath rapidly separated. Kyle no longer focused solely on defense; the stance of his longsword continuously shifted and transformed. Though lacking the solid foundation forged through countless repetitions, it now displayed an incomparably natural feeling.
Simply put, his talent was absurdly high—every single move he made was correct!
Within the arena, Third Elder Melina’s eyes burned even brighter.
Whenever sparring with Kyle, she always suppressed her own strength to the absolute limit, even down to the most fundamental level, relying entirely on her exquisite swordsmanship in combat.
As the strongest swordswoman in the family, it had been an incredibly long time since she had experienced such an exhilarating contest of technique with anyone.
Now, Kyle’s sudden transformation naturally brought her immense delight.
The sword lights of the two instantly transformed into a sky enveloped in silver radiance.
Buzz—!
The humming of sword blades rang endlessly.
Their sword lights intertwined into a barrier. Under the fierce collisions, not a trace of power leaked outward; at the points where the sword tips met, the forces perfectly canceled one another out.
This sudden and spectacular duel left everyone present stunned speechless.
Great Elder Alec had still been thinking about how to “take care” of Kyle over the next few days. Now he stood there with his mouth hanging open, his expression looking as though he had seen a ghost.
Even Alvaro, who had hurried over, now stood completely motionless as he “watched” the battle unfolding within the arena while rapidly recording and learning the combat techniques of both fighters.
In the end, Kyle was the first to step back. His longsword fell to the ground as he voluntarily ended the duel.
It was not because he did not want to continue, but because the consumption of his spiritual energy had outpaced the speed at which it could recover.