Chapter 18 – The Formless Fist

*puff* *puff*

“My fist…”

Calron muttered as he absentmindedly stared at his hand.

Currently, there were a series of strange crimson symbols swirling around the center of Calron’s palm! He felt an eerie sensation as the symbols continued to wriggle on top of his skin, as they constantly changed their shape.

“That is the legacy armor of the Prime Inheritors. It is still getting used to your body, so it will move around for a while before finally settling in place.”

Elias’s calmly stated while he approached Calron from behind.

Prime Inheritors? Is that different from a normal Inheritor?

Calron thought inwardly. This was the first time he had ever heard about Prime Inheritors, so he was curious as to how they were related to the regular Inheritors.

“Prime Inheritors are the main successors of the legacy and the ones who the legacy deems to be the most worthy of its power. Since the Blood Legacy has chosen you to be the next Prime Inheritor after me, it bestowed you that armor.”

Elias said with a gentle smile.

Calron turned to glance at his hand again while wondering how the symbols were even supposed to protect him. This tiny thing was supposed to be an armor? It barely even covered his hand!

“Do not look down on those symbols, Calron. They might be small now, but as you gain a deeper mastery over the Blood Legacy in future, the symbols will continue to grow until they cover the entirety of your body! With your current cultivation, even those tiny symbols on your palm would be able to hold off against an attack from a genuine sixth rank cultivator!”

“What?! This tiny thing is so powerful?”

Calron exclaimed in a disbelieving tone.

He highly doubted that this seemingly fragile series of symbols could actually take an attack from a sixth rank expert, but Calron decided to keep those doubts to himself.

Seeing the unconvinced look on Calron’s face, Elias did not know whether to laugh or to cry. Any Inheritor would gladly chop off one of their limbs to obtain a legacy armor, but his disciple did not even put it in front of his eyes!

Giving a defeated sigh, Elias continued.

“Never mind the armor, take a look around you, Calron. Do you notice any changes?”

Elias asked with a teasing smile on his face. He was clearly amused by the fact that Calron had not even realized the destruction he had caused in the lake.

“Huh, what the- ”

If Calron’s jaw was not attached to his mouth, then it would have fallen onto the ground at that moment.

The previous surrounding water around him had completely evaporated. The lake had receded about ten meters back, leaving behind an entire area of dry ground with near-boiled fish flopping around.

If someone had never seen the lake before, then they would never think that this part of the dry ground once used to be full of aquatic life!

“The punch…it was the punch that did this! Master, that punch was too powerful! What is it called? Aren’t I so impressive? Hehe.”

After the initial shock had passed, Calron puffed up his tiny chest and boasted about his physical might. This was the first time that he had ever unleashed such a powerful attack, and which young kid did not dream of becoming strong and powerful?

Thus, Calron shamelessly gloated over this moment of triumph.

“Hmph, you think this is powerful?”

Suddenly, Elias stepped his right foot back while he leaned his whole upper body slightly forward. Immediately, he punched the air in front of him.

Elias’s fist moved excruciatingly slow and it appeared almost as if he was simply extending his arm rather than punching.

BOOOM!

The sound of a loud explosion abruptly reverberated throughout the lake.

The sound of this explosion was much louder than the one Calron had previously made. However, the shocking fact was that the lake was still calm as ever, and not even a single ripple had formed on the water.

Elias continued to perform his extremely slow movements, as each of his punches flowed in its own rhythm. The transition between every movement was perfectly executed, and almost as if the first punch had never even ended.

The punches might appear to be moving at a snail-like pace, but in fact, they were extremely fast.

Calron was currently seeing just the afterimages of the punches, rather than the actual movements. It was simply because Calron’s eyes could not follow his Master’s real speed.

A string of explosions continued to resonate throughout the area, but Calron still did not see anything bursting apart or being destroyed. The fish continued to swim as usual, however, some of them seemed to be trying to stay away from Calron. It was as if they had seen the way Calron had previously cooked their friends.

With each passing explosion, the intensity behind the punches only seemed to be getting more and more powerful.

Finally, Elias came to rest as he exhaled a long deep breath.

“That, my boy, is the true power of the technique you just performed. Strength is not destruction, Calron, and by destroying the area around you, you only show a lack of control in your power. It is wild and uncontrolled, and that kind of power will only backfire on you later on. Control. That is true strength. Destroy what you want to destroy, but leave everything else intact!”

Elias somberly stated, as his grey eyes pierced into Calron.

Calron was always taken aback at the uncanny accuracy of his Master’s gaze whenever he looked into his eyes, and if he did not know any better, then he would have never thought that Elias was actually blind.

Calron’s eyes shined when he heard his Master’s words. This was his first step into the world of Martial Arts, and it was at this moment after seeing his Master perform, that Calron’s thirst for perfection took root within his soul.

“Master, this disciple will follow your words!”

Seeing the childish eagerness in the boy’s face, Elias could not help but smile at his student’s enthusiasm. Calron’s actions reminded him so much of when Marcus had started to learn Martial Arts. Thinking back about his nephew, a tinge of sorrow flickered across his face.

“Um, Master, how did you do that? I heard the explosions, but your fist was moving too slow!”

Hearing Calron’s voice, Elias abruptly returned back from his brooding and composed himself before responding.

“What I was punching was not a target or an object, Calron. I was punching the very air around me. To be able to punch something that has no physical form or shape, that is the basis of controlling your power. Those explosions were literally the air bursting apart under the pressure of my fists!”

Elias did not explain any further, as he wanted Calron to understand this technique on his own, or otherwise in future, his disciple would rely too much on others. It was better for the boy to start learning on his own, as that was the only way his fighting potential could grow.

“This style of punching is a technique of the First Layer of the Blood Arts! Training under this style will temper your body and muscles in better control the strength of your attacks. Take some rest for now, Calron, as I can see that you exhausted a lot of your energy in the previous attack. You have the whole day off tomorrow, so go try making some new friends. Power means nothing if you do not have someone to care for in this world.”

Elias gently addressed the boy, as he started to slowly walk back into his hut.

Calron really wanted to try executing the punches again, but he knew that his Master was right and he should let his body recover before training again. Too much strain on his body without proper rest might stunt his future growth.

“By the way, Master, what is the name of this technique?”

Calron suddenly asked, just as his Master was about to enter his hut.

Elias slowly tilted his head back while he softly stated.

“It is called the Formless Fist.”

…………………….

After exiting the Artifact’s dimension, Calron began trudging back to his hut.

“Huh, the symbols stopped moving.”

He noticed the strange symbols that were previously worming around his hand, now stood completely still as they formed a crimson print on the palm of his hand. Gingerly stroking the symbols with his other hand, Calron’s palm felt cool to the touch.

There were a total of three different symbols etched onto his palm. The first two were shaped like a sickle with varying sizes, while the third symbol was akin to that of an icicle or a needle. The bigger sickle’s ends were directed towards the tip of Calron’s fingers, while the smaller one faced the opposite direction. The remaining needle-like symbol was in the dead center of the big sickle as it faced the same direction.

The three symbols did not touch each other, but at the same time, Calron got the feeling as if they were a complete single entity. Within a few seconds, the symbols started to slowly fade away until only a faint outline of it remained on Calron’s palm.

Shaking off the thoughts of these mysterious symbols, Calron continued walking back to his hut.

“Hmm, maybe I should get some food…I’m starting to feel hungry… ”

Calron began muttering, as he swiftly changed his direction towards the gathering hall.

“I wonder what Gretha has cooked for today! Hehe, I bet she will give me an extra serving!”

While Calron drooled on the thought of the delicious food he would soon be eating, a commotion seemed to be forming in front him.

*SMACK*

Suddenly, a lump of a small figure flew towards Calron’s feet.