Aotian did not sit with the others. He simply scratched his chin and looked at the first stone among the many monoliths arranged on that mountain.
'Rising Claws of the Deep Sea… a Core-Tier spell. It is basically based on gathering water-element energy to form claws for a short-range, high-damage attack.'
He analyzed it thoughtfully as the spell's energy circulation patterns filled his mind.
With Aotian's current knowledge, he did not even need his avatars to quickly master the technique, but with so many avatars, why not take it further?
Smiling faintly, he raised his hand casually.
Without his knowledge, someone, besides his wife and the disciples, was paying very close attention to his group, still shocked by what they had witnessed in the corridor earlier.
Thus, the simple act of raising his hand was enough to draw even more attention from the one watching, especially since, in that being's perception, he was one of the greatest monsters present.
Aotian's analysis of the origin of the spells, after only a brief glance, had already been enough to horrify the observer hidden nearby.
However, upon seeing him attempt to use a spell so quickly after only reading it, the being seemed to finally find a way to balance the shock he felt through a simple tactic: despising him.
'He doesn't think he can use the Rising Claws of the Deep Sea so quickly after just glancing at it for a few moments, does he? Sure, his previous analysis and his performance in the corridor were incredible, but these spells aren't like the trash they find in any pla—'
Mocking him in his heart, the being prepared to see Aotian embarrass himself, when the words slowly died in his throat and he froze in shock.
In Aotian's hand, a stream of blue energy gently emerged and then enveloped his hand in ethereal water claws, like a great glove of light with long nails, which slowly became more and more solid with each second, seeming to reach an extreme.
The being's jaw dropped, for he had never seen this spell condense energy so intensely. The illusory claws vibrated the air simply by existing there, proving that it had been brought to absolute mastery.
But his shock did not stop there, because Aotian, who was curiously looking at and moving the energy claws he had created, slightly raised his head and stared at the eleventh stone slab.
On it was written the name of another spell.
'Deep Sea King's Claws…' Aotian raised an eyebrow at the slab where the advanced version of the spell he had just mastered was located, and soon cast a brief glance at its contents.
As he did so, the energy claws on his hand suddenly began to grow and change, no longer appearing so ethereal, with some scales emerging on their surface, making them more beautiful and ferocious.
At this point, the being was already horrified.
'He mastered it again!'
Then, he saw Aotian shift his gaze to the 21st stone slab.
'No! No! He wouldn't—'
The being did not even have time to finish the thought when the blue claws on Aotian's hand slowly began to shrink, until they formed something resembling a scaled glove, with sharp fingertips.
Aotian looked curiously at his hand.
"It looks like a dragon claw," he murmured, curious, as he recalled the final name of that technique. 'Sea Sovereign's Tyrannical Claws, huh…'
Thoughtfully, he looked at his hand, a smile slowly growing.
At this point, even the disciples were looking at him with wide eyes of astonishment.
It was not only about Aotian having mastered the techniques so quickly, but also the fact that he was apparently displaying a Formation-Tier technique, despite his cultivation being only at the Golden Core.
Unfortunately, he did not seem to care about their shocked gazes, nor did he give any explanation.
The reason it was so difficult to use techniques above one's own realm came from the fact that, to do so, it was necessary to be very familiar with the operation of energy at that realm. This was normally only possible once that level was reached.
Furthermore, upon reaching higher realms, a cultivator's mind and spiritual energy also evolved, becoming stronger and more vivid, which greatly facilitated the use of more powerful and complex spells and techniques.
However, for Aotian, who had avatars exploring ahead of him, he could not be more familiar with the Soul Formation Realm. With the combined help of his many minds and his powerful foundation, he managed to achieve the unprecedented feat of using a Formation-Tier technique within his small Golden Core realm.
Even if the power was far inferior to what a cultivator in the same realm as the spell could achieve, it was still extremely beyond what anyone else would be capable of.
But, as if he thought it was not enough, Aotian stared at his draconic hand with a faint smile.
Slowly, the details of the scales became sharper, the claws more refined and sturdy, and the growth did not stop at the hand, extending up to the elbow, where a long and elegant spike emerged. Overall, it looked as if he were wearing an exquisitely crafted blue piece of armor, while at the same time seeming to be a natural part of his body.
There was even texture and a cold touch to it, as if it were truly the paw of a real dragon.
He raised his other hand, and an identical glove appeared there as well, making it so that he now possessed two elegant, yet also ferocious, draconic arms.
The disciples stared at him in static silence.
Then, one of them finally moved, throwing herself at him like a missile.
"Brother Aotian! Brother Aotian! Please!! I want it! I want it! I want it!!"
It was Lin Xiaoxue, who held onto his hand with eyes shining with eagerness, shaking it and pleading, ignoring everything else for the simple desire to have cool dragon arms just like her senior brother Aotian.
Bai Jingjing, with her large, pitiful eyes, also looked longingly at his arms, but did not run to beg, since she had no affinity with the water element. She could only lament not being like Xiaoxue, who had affinity with the five elements and might have a chance to learn such a beautiful spell with senior brother Aotian.
If other people outside the Infinite Dao Sect knew that there was a little girl with a Spiritual Physique feeling envy toward another little girl with five-element roots, who knows what kind of curses they would hurl at the heavens.
Finally, but not least, there was the reaction of the hidden being who watched everything, or rather… the lack of reaction.
His shock could still be described with words earlier, when Aotian somehow mastered, as if it were nothing, all three spells. However, when, in the end, he somehow seemed to refine them and bring forth a form far superior and more perfect than what the original creator could ever envision, that being's mind simply exploded.
His extreme emotional turbulence seemed to trigger something at that very instant.
"Huh?" Aotian, who was focused on the cool spell he had synthesized, was suddenly startled when he felt all the formations around him—and even throughout that entire small world—violently fluctuate for a moment.
Confused, he frowned and quickly analyzed his surroundings with narrowed eyes, trying to identify what was happening.
But the oscillations vanished as quickly as they had appeared, and in the end, he discovered nothing.
"Brother Aotian!"
His mind was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by the pleading call of the little girl who was still clinging to his hand like an adorable tick.
Helpless, he raised his hand, which directly lifted Xiaoxue's entire small body into the air. Even then, she did not let go, continuing to look at him pitifully with her arms raised above her head and her feet off the ground.
Rubbing his temples, he could only try to shift her focus.
"Junior sister, this spell wasn't created by me. It's just a sect spell, and there are many versions of it with different elements in our sect's library. The version I used is called the Sea Dragon Emperor's Claw."
He explained weakly, hiding the truth, but all he received was a suspicious look from the little girl.
"Don't look at me like that. When you return to the sect, just ask and the truth will come out. When I used the spells on those slabs, I ended up recalling this technique, and that's why I used it. Although I really am amazing, I'm still not capable of improving techniques in an instant."
Aotian lied shamelessly with an amused and weary expression, as if the weight of the little girl's expectations were simply too much.
Only after such reassurance did Xiaoxue reluctantly let go, thinking that what he said made sense.
Then, with a renewed goal in mind for when she returned to the sect, she ran back to her friend, who now had sparkling eyes upon learning that this beautiful spell had other elemental versions, and that there might be one compatible with her metal affinity.
Aotian sighed in relief when he saw the little girl being convinced.
In truth, he said the spell belonged to the sect only because he found it very beautiful and intended to use it from now on, which would inevitably reveal its true power. Thus, it would be bad and far too blatant for him to claim that he had created, in an instant, a spell of the same quality and strength as those from the sect's inheritance.
If he did that, it would be obvious that everyone would suspect him, and that would not be good for him in the long run. The only benefit of such a reckless move would be showing off in that moment, which was unnecessary, considering he had already shown off more than enough by mastering those spells so quickly.
Fortunately, the disciples already knew that Aotian's identity was very special within the sect, always being placed in a leadership position, and they did not think too deeply about why he possessed such a powerful sect technique—especially considering that he had passed the immortal mode of the Hundred Thousand Beasts Tower, which must have granted him many contribution points.
The real problem at this point…
Aotian had only just begun.
The disciples and the hidden being soon saw him suddenly master three more footwork techniques, going from Core-Tier to Formation-Tier in mere moments, and then present an even more refined and powerful technique.
Under the disciples' silent gazes at his blue draconic feet, Aotian now appeared to have almost become a half-dragon.
With a disarming smile, he quickly justified himself.
"This spell is called Sea Dragon Emperor's Steps, a spell combined with the Sea Dragon Emperor's Claw. It and its variations are also in the sect's library. If you're interested, you can take a look later. It seems like quite a coincidence that this place has two techniques so similar to the sect's inheritance."
Seeing the suspicious looks linger on his body a little longer this time, Aotian broke into a light sweat and decided to stop playing around, choosing to simply finish mastering the techniques there without upgrading them any further… at least not showing them after doing so.
Thus, time slowly passed.
…
In a small, gloomy world where sunlight was swallowed by a corrupt black mist, a massive battle spread across a clearing of astonishing dimensions in the middle of a forest that resembled an ocean in its vastness.
At the center of this clearing stood a human camp that looked small within that immensity, yet already housed a little over a million inhabitants.
This time, however, it was not the inhabitants who were participating in the battle—not completely, at least.
The humans merely watched from atop the walls, sweating nervously, while enormous and small shadows engaged in fierce battles among the trees, often hurling them into the skies along with massive rocks and debris, which soon crashed violently from above, crushing everything in their path.
To the observers in that dark world, it resembled the end of days.
On one of the central walls of that camp-city, a black figure stood, holding an enormous spear of the same color. It was the Shadow King, in all his majesty, coldly observing the battlefield.
Behind him, two Shadow Guards protected him without emotion or even movement, while at his side stood the pair of holy son and daughter he had encountered earlier, who had become his spokespersons among the humans over the past five days, now waiting uncomfortably to report.
The king's eyes swept back and forth across the forest, and only calm seemed to emanate from those eyes, absolutely black like his body.
'7 million shadow soldiers… but we're still at a disadvantage.'
Aotian pondered with a heavy gaze at the battlefield, where one of his shadows, a massive bear, crushed the brain of a wolf-shaped Shadow Beast.
He then grabbed the corpse, along with two others he had killed earlier, as he retreated.
But the retreat was not easy, and Shadow Beasts, as if endless, continued to emerge nonstop.
Fortunately, just as it was about to be attacked, other shadow soldiers like him hurried over and closed the gap, with one or two ending up perishing in the enemy's claws, yet still allowing the bear to return with the corpses, which soon became his comrades-in-arms.
Pulling his eyes away from the scene, which instead of calming down was growing ever more frantic, Aotian controlled the Shadow King to look at the two beside him, who waited with nervous expressions, and issued a cold order.
["Report."]