Chapter 17 – Explosive Strength

*plop*

The rod started to sink towards the bottom of the lake while Elias’s hands continued to tremble.

“Huh? How did you…”

Elias struggled to get his words out due to the immense shock that he felt, but how could he not see through Calron’s true cultivation with the legendary Divine Perception?

Divine Perception was a God class technique that stood at the peak when it came to detecting the changes in essence, as no other technique or ability even came to a close second. No kind of illusion could ever hope to deceive one who practiced this technique, and it was no wonder that Elias saw through Calron’s masking of his cultivation.

Calron’s heart started to frantically pound against his chest.

He could not have found out, could he? Teacher said not even a Heavenly stage expert could see through my cultivation.

Calron inwardly thought in panic.

How could Calron know that the technique his Master practiced belonged to that of the God class?

“Child, how did you suddenly advance to the third rank? It has barely even been a day since I last saw you, and you were only at the first rank! In a few hours, you have actually advanced by two whole ranks?”

No matter how one looked at it, it was simply impossible to advance that quickly in a matter of few hours. How would the other cultivators feel if they found this out? They had to cultivate for years to reach the same rank as a boy who was just in his eighth year!

After his Master spoke those words, Calron knew without a doubt that his secret was revealed. He felt slightly anxious about revealing the Thunder-Bird technique, as it would raise questions of who taught it him, but at the same time Elias had always been kind to him, and had even saved his life before!

Elias was the only one besides the Voice that Calron felt a kinship towards. Furthermore, his new Master shared the same loneliness as him as they had both lost their families, and were orphans in this world.

They shared the same pain of loss and it was that bond which brought forth their unlikely friendship on the first day they met, as they were subconsciously able to sense each other’s tormented past.

“It is alright, Calron. You do not have to say anything. I already knew you were an unusual boy from the moment I met you, and everyone has secrets that they do not want to reveal to others.”

At the end of the last sentence, Elias’s mood abruptly turned a bit somber as a tinge of pain suddenly flashed within his eyes before he instantly suppressed it. Elias turned to give the distressed boy an assuring smile in hopes of soothing Calron’s anxiety.

Calron’s cultivation had shocked him to his core, but looking at the troubled expression on the child’s face, Elias decided to leave the matter alone. Calron was a good kid, and that was all that mattered to him. Furthermore, the boy was now the Prime Inheritor of his family’s Legacy, and since it had chosen Calron, Elias had the utmost trust in him.

“Master, I…”

Calron hesitantly started to mumble out words as he did not know how to address his Master.

“Child, I said to leave it. Let us begin our lesson now. Look out far into the lake, and tell me what you see.”

Seeing the stern look on his Master’s face, Calron dropped the issue as well and proceeded to observe the lake in front of him.

“It’s very calm and peaceful. It’s really beautiful, Master.”

Calron said in wonder, as he reveled in the peaceful and soothing presence of the lake.

“Look closely and answer me again. Observe the creatures in both the sky and the water.”

Elias calmly replied as he told his new student to pay a closer attention.

Calron tried to discover something amiss, but he could not see anything noteworthy besides the birds flying in the sky or the fish swimming in the water. There were various species and sizes of fish and animals, but nothing appeared to be unusual within Calron’s sight.

“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, Master.”

Calron responded while shaking his head.

“Nature, Calron. You see nature, but you only notice its beauty and fail to see the cruelty hidden within it! Look at the fish; they are swimming right now to escape from a larger fish behind them. The big animals hunt the smaller ones. The strong eat the weak. This is an unbroken rule of this world!”

Elias stated softly as he continued to gaze at the scenery in front of him.

“There is nothing fair in this world, Calron, and only the power you wield will decide your fate and that of those around you. Remember these words, child.”

Calron steeled his mind, as he knew that Elias was right. Calron himself was the living proof of nature’s brutality, after experiencing the loss of his entire family, and being constantly oppressed by stronger cultivators like the city Lord. Even now, the only reason Calron remained alive was so the city Lord of Vernia could exploit him.

“Your disciple will ingrain this into his heart, Master.”

Seeing the resolved look on the boy’s face, Elias did not doubt Calron’s words for a second.

“Let us begin your training now. Stand up, and start drawing the source energy from the legacy’s pool, but remember to start slowly in order to reduce the strain on your body. Close your eyes and just listen to my voice. Nothing exists in this world besides you and my voice. Begin!”

Calron immediately stood up and started the same movements he had learned before. Slowly drawing the energy from the source pool, Calron felt his muscles bursting with power! However, Calron stopped drawing the source energy once he started to feel a bit of pressure from it.

He recalled the first time he drew from the source pool, and the pain that he had experienced from drawing too much source energy was simply agonizing.

“Good, you are learning to control your intake. Now, continue those movements while adding more power to your fists, and start circulating the source energy within your blood vessels!”

Elias strictly instructed when he saw that Calron was steadily controlling the source energy within his body.

Calron felt strong. Very strong. He did not know whether it was due to the recent breakthrough he had, or the source energy coursing through his veins, but he felt an unlimited amount of power surging within him!

“Now, enter the lake and continue those movements underwater. The water is quite shallow at the edge, so you should still be able to breathe. You will feel some resistance as the water will constrict your movements, but persevere through it.”

Elias calmly guided his student.

Calron slowly entered the lake and resumed his training. It was noticeably more difficult as his movements were slowed down by a large margin, but Calron continued to push his arms through the resistance while drops of sweat formed on his forehead.

“Draw more energy from the source pool, and continue the movements.”

Elias’s soft voice sounded out from behind Calron.

Following his Master’s direction, Calron started to slowly draw more source energy from the legacy’s pool. His body suddenly began to rapidly heat up, but he still did not feel that he was in any danger.

This was because his body had grown immensely tougher after his breakthrough to the third rank, and was now able to endure more pressure than before.

“Not enough! Draw more. Your body can withstand it now, and without any extra pressure, how will you ever get stronger? Push through your body’s limits, Calron!”

Elias yelled as he tried to get his student to break past his natural limits.

Without hesitation, Calron abruptly began to draw colossal amounts of source energy! His body was filled with a violent energy, as waves of heat could be seen radiating out from above Calron. His body’s temperature was extremely high right now, as steam began to burst out from his skin.

The water around him started to sizzle and boil, but Calron still did not feel any discomfort from the changes happening within his body. It was as if Calron’s skin was completely immune to the intense heat surging around him.

“This is the true might of the First Layer of the Blood Arts. Now punch!”

With his muscles coiled in tension, Calron switched to an offensive stance mid-movement, and suddenly struck his fist out with all the source energy focused on his knuckles.

The water in front of Calron immediately burst apart when it came into contact with his fist.

BOOOOM!

A loud explosion echoed throughout the lake while the boiling lake-water violently sprayed everywhere. The body of water quaked with faint tremors, as the water surrounding Calron instantly burst into vapor. Further ahead at the lake, dead fish began to slowly float on top of the water with their insides being cooked under the boiling lake.

At the edge of the now dry piece of land, a scorching red-skinned boy stood as he heavily panted. There were no traces of moisture around him and clouds of steam continued to rise from his skin.

Even under that extreme heat, the small figure’s skin did not blister or crack. All the muscles in the boy’s body fervently twitched as if unable to contain that berserk energy within him.

Struggling to calm his racing heart, the boy stared in shock at his fist!

……………

Meanwhile, a blind old man stood gazing towards the lake with his cold grey eyes, and suddenly, a faint smile escaped from the corner of his lips.