Shion Lan noticed the distorted arm, which had turned into a cord, targeting him, so he moved aside. However, the sword at its end changed direction at once.
"Damn it!!"
Shion barely dodged the attack, but the sword didn't give him a moment to rest.
"(Chasing the Wind)!!"
Shion's body became lighter, allowing him to move around the cord. However, the deadly aura weighed heavily on him.
He smelled the stench of a rotting corpse and sensed death through Shi Yun Lan.
"Haa... Haa... Haaa!!"
He struggled to breathe, but he activated his Stellar Aura.
The nebulae appeared in Shion's eyes, allowing him to resist the aura. However, he couldn't relax, as the sword was still closing in on him.
Shi Yun Lan said,
"Look carefully at me and find the best place to cut."
Shion summoned his sword within the domain and tried to cut the cord, but he sensed the bones inside it and failed.
"Look out."
Shi Yun Lan warned Shion, who was about to be killed by the sword. Shion managed to dodge it again, but a cut appeared on his cheek.
"What the...?!"
"(Blood of the Dead)."
The blood spread through the capillaries in Shion's face, so he used his other element: earth.
"(Condensation)!!"
Shion condensed his Stellar Aura, recalled the capillaries in his face, and directed his aura toward them.
He managed to get rid of the deadly blood, then breathed heavily.
"Will your opponent wait for you?"
Shi Yun Lan asked as he approached Shion, then continued,
"You have to use all your power in harmony. No one will wait for you to change your fighting style."
Shi Yun Lan moved his distorted arm, and more cords appeared, each holding a pointed, bony end ready to pierce Shion.
"You will face the Bimal students, not just one of them."
Shion wanted to complain, but Shi Yun Lan pretended not to notice and attacked again.
Shion couldn't use his fire or water elements, as he was too busy dodging the attacks with the wind element and switching to the earth element to defend himself.
He was stuck in a defensive position, unable to attack.
Shion thought,
'If only I could use both the wind and earth elements at the same time, I could use my other elements to attack him!'
Shi Yun Lan showed no mercy, and injuries began to cover Shion's body. Fortunately, they were inside the Veins Domain, but Shion's soul was becoming increasingly affected.
'I have to end this, but how?'
Shion's eyes grew dimmer as the nebulae began to lose their brightness. However, his consciousness remained clear.
Shion found another opportunity to strike the cords, so he used the fire and water elements, combining them into a Stellar Technique.
"(Stellar Summit Art: Star Severance)!"
His aura was thin but precise. He saw a line of stars that needed to be cut, so he simply severed it.
"Yes!"
Shion cut through the cord, but Shi Yun Lan's indifferent voice reached him.
"You relied on power to cut it, not knowledge."
There were bones inside the severed section of the cord. Shi Yun Lan continued,
"If you rely on power to solve your problems, you will become exhausted halfway through a battle."
Shion wasn't using the wind or earth elements at that moment, so the bones pierced him.
Shion's eyes lost their brightness, and he opened them again in the real world.
He touched his body and felt the effects of the wounds, along with the death lingering within them.
"..."
Shion was about to use the potion, but Shi Yun Lan said,
"Don't use the potion now. You can have two more battles with me."
Shion nodded, but he felt death beginning to consume him.
'When I was ignorant, I couldn't feel it so clearly. But now... I can't even pretend not to notice it.'
Shion entered the Veins Domain again, this time after attempting to merge the wind element with the earth element.
"KGHGHAAA!!!"
His Stellar Domain was suffering because of his stars. The wind and earth stars were interfering with the merging of the blue and red stars, causing Shion intense pain. His techniques were weakened, giving Shi Yun Lan an opportunity to finish him off once again.
The deadly aura penetrated Shion's unstable aura, reached his body, and began destroying it. Finally, the sword struck him.
Shion opened his eyes again in the real world, but his soul had been consumed even further.
He didn't enter the Veins Domain again until he had fixed his Stellar Domain. While rearranging the stars, he noticed the faint ones and said,
"Using Shi Yun Lan's power will destroy me. But my body is unable to keep up with his movements."
The green wind stars were above the merging blue and red stars, while the yellow earth stars were beneath them all.
Shion said,
"The red fire stars and blue water stars represent my techniques and spells, while the green wind stars and yellow earth stars represent my body. But I can't merge them all."
Shion was creative, but he wasn't as abstract in his thinking as Shi Yun Lan, whose voice suddenly rang out.
"The techniques are already inside you, so you must make your body stronger."
Shion initially paid no attention to the remark, but he suddenly stopped and asked Shi Yun Lan,
"How did you come up with that idea?!"
Shi Yun Lan didn't understand what Shion meant, so he replied,
"I don't know. I heard it from someone before."
Shi Yun Lan was about to think about someone he had loved, but he shook his head and pushed the memory away.
On the other hand, Shion had found the solution to his problem. A glow appeared in his eyes again, like a spark of hope amid despair.
Shion said,
"I was a fool!"
Shi Yun Lan, who was gradually being affected by Shion's emotions, smirked and showed a hint of emotion.
"Don't say you were. You are still a fool."
Shion ignored him and used his Stellar Spirit to control the stars, making the green wind stars expand alongside the yellow earth stars.
Shi Yun Lan didn't understand what had happened, as he had no intention of entering the Stellar Domain. He didn't want the Veins Domain to accidentally destroy it.
Shion made sure that the green and yellow stars covered the merging blue and red stars. He thought,
'The body is the vessel of the technique, so let's strengthen the outer shell without interfering with what's inside.'
Shion had been wrong to try to merge them through the blue and red stars, so he decided to take a different approach.
Shion used the complicated magic circles of the wind and earth elements, along with the star manuscripts, Weapon Fundamentals, and the Stellar Body.
Lines descending from the green stars met lines ascending from the yellow stars, forming magical pillars that surrounded the merging red and blue stars.
Aura and energy flowed through the lines, while the aura gathered within the merging red and blue stars under the pressure and became condensed. The continuous supply of energy from the outer stars kept feeding it.
Shion watched the energy take shape and smiled.
"Once I release this energy, I will reach the fifth level!"
His eyes glowed with renewed brightness, and he entered the Veins Domain.
"Shi Yun Lan! This is our final training session! Let's give it everything we've got!"
Shi Yun Lan didn't know the reason behind Shion's enthusiasm, but he didn't hesitate to attack.
Shion used his body to move effortlessly, and Shi Yun Lan noticed the difference.
'He is no longer relying on just wind or earth. He is using both.'
Shion dodged and blocked the attacks without switching between the elements.
(Chasing the Wind) and (Solidification) did their jobs effectively.
Shion focused on his Stellar Aura and embedded (Condensation) and (Pressure) within it.
Shion began to sense his surroundings. He felt the stabs coming from behind him, so he used his movements to dodge them. Then, he condensed his aura and struck the cords.
Shi Yun Lan saw that and was satisfied.
"Let's get serious."
Shi Yun Lan was at the Pillar Level, just like someone at the fifth level, but he hadn't been serious until now.
Shi Yun Lan decided to attack with his own body. He restored his arm to its original form, and Shion looked at him.
"What? I haven't learned how to use my knowledge against my opponents!"
Shi Yun Lan replied,
"I will explain it myself."
He spoke casually,
"You can't use the same measurements to judge every opponent, as their biological structures are different. One might have longer bones than another, thicker skin, or organs in different locations."
He raised his sword and let the aura flow through his body.
"Now, I won't distort any part of my body, so you can detect the flow of my aura. You can see it, right?"
Shion noticed the aura from this new perspective. It flowed smoothly through the capillaries, circulated through the muscles, became compact around the bones, and spread through the skin.
Shion had seen the flow of aura through the manuscripts before, but this time, it was much clearer to him, as he could see everything with his own eyes rather than through his aura.
"This is amazing..."
Shi Yun Lan said,
"Now, you have to detect it through your aura."
He concealed the aura and began to distort both arms before attacking Shion.
Shion used (Pressure) to sense the directions of the attacks, but he still couldn't detect the aura flowing through the body.
"That's bad!"
Shion tried again and again, but the new arms only made it harder for him to concentrate.
He tried to notice anything, but it was useless. Then, he had an idea.
'What about sensing it?'
Shion still couldn't see the attacks, but he could sense them through the pressure of the air.
"Let's give it a try!"
Shion focused all his concentration on the distorted arm that moved like a cord.
"It didn't work!"
Shion was about to be struck by the other arm, but he moved quickly.
Shi Yun Lan said,
"I covered my body with an outer layer of aura. You won't be able to sense my body so easily."
Shion thought for a moment, and his eyes glowed.
"(Condensation)!"
Shi Yun Lan realized what Shion was about to do, but he tilted his head in surprise when he saw something unexpected.
"What are you doing?"
Shion didn't answer. Instead, he spread his aura more thinly, allowing it to extend farther around him. Without realizing it, Shion was using the basic principles of the Simple Domain.
Shi Yun Lan thought,
'It's not the Simple Domain itself, but a simple application of it. Perhaps he has regained some of the senses he developed through the Simple Domain of the Sword of the Sins.'
Shi Yun Lan was impressed, but he couldn't show it. He attacked Shion again, who stood without changing his expression.
Their connection was affecting them both, and the bond between them was growing stronger. However, Shion ignored the curse and focused on the flow of the aura.
'There.'
Shion raised his sword without using any technique. He simply dodged the attacks with small steps, as the space around him was under his control. Then, he finally saw it.
'Now.'
He swung his sword steadily, without using any power, and the distorted arm was cut cleanly.
The other arm stopped and returned to Shi Yun Lan, who picked up his severed arm.
"... You did it."
Shion, who had sensed the aura, finally understood the true power of the current Shi Yun Lan.
'He is still dangerous. He was playing with me.'
He knew that if Shi Yun Lan had wanted to kill him, he could have done so easily.
Shion left the Veins Domain and took out his soul-regaining potion. He smelled Jina's perfume on it, but his current emotionless state prevented him from feeling anything.
He opened the bottle and sensed the power inside.
'An advanced potion?'
SWALLOW!
He drank the potion without hesitation, then closed his eyes. He could feel the connection between him and Shi Yun Lan growing weaker, as it should.
"..."
Shion sat on the ground, getting rid of any remaining traces of Shi Yun Lan. His Stellar Aura gradually recovered.
---
Glass Sano was furious when he heard about Crown Princess Jina Joul and Shion's challenge.
"If it weren't for that #####, I would have defended Her Highness alongside Shion!"
He remembered the Bimal student who had blocked his way and delayed him. Then, he learned what had happened.
Marine Sano was walking beside him as they headed toward Jina's wing.
"Is she okay?! Sherry went too far!!"
Glass spoke coldly.
"I will bring all those bastards down."
They reached the wing and noticed the other students from the Royal and Noble Divisions. However, something else caught their attention.
"As we saw, none of the commoners defended Her Highness. We have to remind them of their proper place!"
One of the royal family members, Remo Joul, who was also courting Jina, was talking about the commoners.
"Our lovely princess was humiliated by those bastards from Bimal, but they didn't do anything!!"
The noble students around him were even angrier, as they felt that their dignity had been trampled on by foreigners.
Remo wanted to direct the conversation toward someone else.
"Then there's a former commoner pretending to be a noble who is now preparing to fight for her honor. Do you want Shion Lan to look down on us?!!"
"Huh???"
The noble students were confused.
"You're stupid."
Remo hadn't expected someone to insult him, so he became furious.
"Who the bastard said that?!!"
He looked around, then his eyes widened as he saw an unexpected person approaching him.
"I'm a bastard?"
Braj Torano spoke in a deep, heavy voice.