Path to Transcendence

Chapter 737: [Lord of the Dying Sun]

Despite already having high hopes for the new skill, he couldn’t quite believe just how different the skill was.

Congratulations, you have learned the skill [Lord of the Dying Sun] (Legendary+).

His body underwent a completely new structural construction. His muscles were burned away only to be replaced with new ones. Only this time around, they were closer to braided ropes of steel.

His skin turned to ash and was replaced by even more durable skin, akin to thick plated armor, yet somehow retaining its flexibility and softness.

His bones were melted away and reforged into pillars of adamantium. He couldn’t believe how much heavier his body became. Thankfully, the increase to his strength made this new development a non-issue. The weight was there, but he could lift his arms as easily, if not more so, than before. However, with this additional weight, he couldn’t wait to see just what kind of damage each of his punches could dish out.

On top of the structural changes to his body, he was aware of the simmering pot of energy and potential resting within his flesh. It was like a dying sun on the verge of exploding, just waiting for him to let some of the energy out. The only reason it was contained was because of his willpower. He knew that if he stopped controlling it, he would quickly destroy everything around him.

To be honest, it was quite difficult to hold it back. Even with his more powerful soul and mind, the energy was just that volatile. It was even damaging his body each moment it was contained. As if the container still wasn’t enough to hold it back. Which he supposed made sense. This skill definitely seemed like it was meant for a Tier 5 body. Fortunately, his Ruinous Phoenix Body was quite special and resilient enough to withstand such a dangerous skill.

He was also lucky to have a very powerful healing skill. Without [Phoenix Incarnate], he didn’t think he would have survived the process of acquiring this new skill. It was that volatile and extreme.

On the bright side, he did get a few levels out of this.

[Phoenix Incarnate lvl 3 -> lvl 4]

[Calm Before Ruin lvl 6 -> lvl 7]

He glanced down at his hands and clenched his fists tightly together. He grinned excitedly and looked up at the small group that had gathered around him. He also realized that he was quite indecent and pulled the cloak Lily had thrown over him tightly around his body.

“Enjoy the show?” he asked.

He felt Lily jab him in the ribs. “Why didn’t you let either of us know? We could have set something up that would have helped with the process.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

“Say that to the garden,” she retorted.

He looked beneath him and realized what she was talking about with an embarrassed wince. The stones he’d been sitting on were molten slag, and everything within ten feet of his body had been utterly destroyed.

“Sorry about that.”

Lily simply sighed and shook her head disapprovingly.

“Was it at least worth it?”

He perked up. “Absolutely. I think so at least. I haven’t really given it a try yet.”

She had a weird smile on her face. “Would you like to try it now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah, you might as well see how the skill works. It is a new skill, right?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah, that's a good idea.”

“Then we should spar for a bit, see what changed. I also haven’t really seen how much you’ve improved yet. I’m curious.”

He frowned at her. “Are you sure? I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“Oh? So you’re saying that I’m too fragile to spar with you now?” she asked with a dangerous undertone.

He put up his hands frantically. “No, not that. I’m just saying that I don’t have enough control over the output of the skill and don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“Sounds like you’re just scared I might actually beat you this time around,” she teased him.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not scared.”

“Yeah, you are. I can feel it in your emotions.”

“You’re just making stuff up,” he accused.

“No, I’m not,” she said unconvincingly.

When he was silent for a few moments, she dropped her shoulders. “Come on, just give it a try. We can go slow and then slowly increase your output. Please?” she asked pleadingly.

He sighed. “Fine. But if it starts to get dangerous, we stop, okay?”

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She nodded with a bright smile. “Sounds good to me.”

He frowned when he sensed how excited she was. He didn’t know why, but she really wanted to do this.

She quickly escorted him to a downstairs chamber below the house. He hadn’t known about this chamber and realized that this would have been a safer place to do his skill evolution. The chamber was a typical training facility. There were several configurations for various training regimens, whether you were a mage or a warrior. At the center of the chamber was a large sparring circle, surrounded by a powerful barrier.

He was quite astonished by the amount of mana being channeled through the enchantments. He didn’t know how well protected the area would be, but now he felt a lot more comfortable. He had a feeling this chamber was built to accommodate a Tier 5 and could withstand anything he could throw at it.

Lily had already gotten changed into a more practical outfit. Slim pants and a tight-fitting shirt showing her surprisingly muscular frame.

Marcus was off to the side spectating. Even Angelina had joined them; for some reason, the woman had been giving him a weird look since he evolved his skill. Perhaps she had been disturbed by his nakedness?

That was the only thing he could think of.

“Ready?” Lily called to him as she readied her skills. He could feel a large amount of densely packed psychic energy flowing throughout her body. It felt eerily similar to Marcus, and he let out a small grin, realizing that this might be a little more fun than he was expecting.

“Ready,” he confirmed and gestured for her to come at him.

She simply smirked and blitzed at him without hesitation. All that was left of her was a trail of purple energy. He widened his eyes as he was forced to duck underneath the punch heading straight for his nose. He swiped her arm away, but to his astonishment, he was met with a lot of resistance.

He was forced to put more effort into his arm than he expected; then he pivoted and leaned back to avoid her elbow that almost crashed into his chest. However, a phantom limb extended from her arm, making her arm double in length. He wasn’t able to react in time, and the elbow crashed into his shoulder, sending him staggering backward a step.

She didn’t give him a chance to recover from his shock, and she hunted him down. He could feel her wrapping him in psychic energy, as if trying to restrict his movements. It wasn’t just that either; she was doing this to read his movements. His mind was well protected, but she was still able to get hints of his intentions despite his best efforts.

She kept him on the back foot and kept finding openings in his defense. Openings that he didn’t even know existed. Not to mention, she was able to manipulate her body through a weird form of telekinesis that was almost unnatural. It was quite impressive really. He was being outfought at the moment by someone who hadn’t even been a true close combat fighter the last time he sparred with her.

Nice job, Marcus, he thought with a grin. The man had done an excellent job at training her and preparing her for her future opponents.

Her physical strength was quite imposing in its own right. Just like Marcus, he could feel an extraordinary amount of power in each of her blows. It was quite telling that one strike from her had been enough to stagger his heavier frame. Her deep connection and talent for psychic energy were really demonstrating their worth as well as their chilling potential.

Though he was almost more impressed by the fact that her body was able to handle all of it.

Realizing that he underestimated her, he started to crank things up. The first thing he did was activate [Calm Before Ruin] around his mind. He created an isolated bubble and used his ruinous aura to disrupt her attempts to read his movements and thoughts.

It worked pretty well because he could see her confusion when the connection flickered. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough for now.

Then he finally drew on a small piece of his new skill [Lord of the Dying Sun]. The sudden rush of power almost overwhelmed him, and he gritted his teeth as he fought the skill for dominance. He growled, and with a violent surge of his willpower, he slammed it back into its place.

However, the power he got from the skill and the way the power flowed through his flesh was unlike anything he had experienced so far. He was so distracted by this new sensation that he completely forgot about Lily’s fist coming straight for his head.

She did seem to notice he was distracted and, at the last moment, changed her trajectory, slamming her fist into his chest instead. Except he didn’t budge an inch. It was like the energy inside his body had a mind of its own and met her strike with a blast of its own. A mixture of fire, kinetic energy, and ruinous aura rushed out to meet her fist head-on.

The force between the clash was instantly siphoned by his body and redistributed automatically. And instead of him getting knocked back, it was her that was sent stumbling.

She quickly gathered her balance and shook her hand.

“Ow, what was that?” she asked with a frown.

He shrugged and examined his body. “I’m not sure yet. What did it feel like?”

“It felt like punching a steel pillar but one that hits back,” she said with a hint of annoyance.

He grinned. “Nice.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath. But before he could ask what she said, she was already blitzing him again. This time, even more psychic energy surrounded her body, reinforcing her flesh. She was basically wearing a suit of armor composed entirely of psychic energy.

He decided to test his defenses a bit more, and instead of dodging, he met her head on. He lifted his arm up to block her kick. Just like before, a force erupted out of his skin to meet her strike and then some. She was prepared for this, though, and used the momentum to flow into her next strike, twisting her body as she swung a vicious elbow at his face.

He grinned and leaned forward slightly so that he met her elbow head-on.

Literally.

When they met, it was like a gong ringing out, and he stepped back with a slight stinging sensation as he rubbed his head. She was also holding her elbow with a wince. It would appear that she even felt that through her armor.

“What are you even made of now?” she asked with an appalled expression.

“That’s rude.”

“And you almost broke my elbow,” she shot back with a shake of her head.

He suddenly stood up straighter and, with wide, concerned eyes, asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I reinforced my arm just in time. Just seriously, did the evolution really make your body this tough?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, it seems to have made my body quite dense.”

She laughed with disbelief. “How much more can you bring out?”

He rubbed his head. “I’ve only used about a quarter of the skill’s potential,” he admitted.

She stared at him flatly. “You’re shitting me.”

He shrugged. “You want to keep going?”

She nodded immediately. “Yes, I’ll let you know when it becomes too much.”

He was going to argue against this, but he saw the competitive grin on her face and thought better of it. Instead, he nodded and slowly let more of the skill flow through his body.

“Ready?” he asked.

She bobbed her head. “Ready.”

Then, this time, it was him who moved, and unfortunately for him, he underestimated his speed and crashed straight into the barrier.