A floating stream elongated into the distance, passing behind an especially large mountain, with a peal taht aid to reach up into the sky itself.
Zeras sat down between the two figures, his expression at peace. Peaceful—that was why he had chosen this place.
The silence was greatly appreciated, and the presence of a stream only made things more welco, as the breeze gently blew his hair, giving him so ease in his wrinkled heart.
This was the best place for him to properly practice his art, and the first thing that he had chosen was to practice the Nine Stars Fist Art.
He had wanted to pay more attention to it because of its na rhyming with the Nine Star Hegemon Manual.
Imdiately, he opened to its first page, where an introductory note lay.
“An art for the greatest warrior of the Cangu Universe. The Nine Star Heirs!!!”
“Quite the grand statent,” Zeras said to himself, quickly moving onto the next page, where various images and pictures of an arm’s pathway were shown.
“Hmmm,” he mused, and silence quickly enveloped the entire area, the only sound being that of air rustling hairs around his head. Zeras sat down once more until the sun rose just above his head.
He had spent close to five hours contemplating the art, and after he saw the bright sunlight on the book, he was finally brought out of it and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Very complex, but understandable,” he mused out loud, after being able to finally understand the context of the art.
Cultivating the First Star would double one’s power, and that worked on the basis of passing Astral Power through certain places in the body, consisting of the veins in his arms and his heart.
Imdiately, Zeras began practicing. He closed his eyes, directing Astral energy right from his spine directly into his heart, and then through various pathways linking his heart and into his arms.
Instantly, golden-colored veins wriggled out of Zeras’s hands, causing his arms to twitch in size. Then, he clenched his fists tightly before…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Zeras threw a punch forward, and imdiately space rippled like a wave, emanating towards the stream. The second it made contact, the stream in the path of the punch was blown into two, causing a large mushroom of water to blow into the sky.
“That is definitely powerful, but sothing is wrong,” Zeras mused to himself as he swerved to the second page of the book, and he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at what was written.
“You would have successfully practiced this art if your strikes are as gentle as a single drop of water on a sea, yet as destructive as a falling mountain.”
“As gentle as a single drop of water on a sea, yet as destructive as a falling mountain?” Zeras mused as his eyes narrowed before it finally dawned on him.
“Only one person fits that criteria,” he thought, rembering the Nine Star Heir that he had been shown in his vision.
The young man, though he had poured the sa energy just like the one Zeras had poured into his arm, had sent him crashing away like a rag doll.
Now that he had seen the words, he could tell the young man’s punch fit the description.
His punch had been so gentle that they created simple ripples in space instead of outright blowing space apart, yet when they landed on him, it was like a mountain was thrown on his chest, thrashing him to the ground.
“He must have been using the First Star Fist Art when he pushed out. In conjunction with the Desolate Star Ring, it was no wonder he had beco a powerful force.
But his explanation of the art was sothing about dominance. Having dominance in one’s heart? Just what does that an?” Zeras contemplated, hundreds of ideas entering his head, but ultimately, he decided to go for one.
That was to pretend to himself that he was the crimson-haired young man.
Slowly, Zeras’s unsettled expression changed to that of absolute calmness. He floated up to his feet, his eyes flashing with a hint of disdain.
Then suddenly, he turned his head into the distant space before a mocking smile appeared on his face as he muttered,
“Desolate Star Ring. OPEN!”
Zeras’s spine area imdiately lit up with a bright astral light, and imdiately, the phantom of a gigantic ring appeared behind his back, followed by a single star appearing in his eyes.
In the next instant, his gaze was once more pulled into an instant void, and once more, he saw the red-haired young man looking at him with the sa mocking smile on his face.
But Zeras didn’t pay attention to it. Instead, he proceeded to clench his fists, and then, with the sa mocking smile that the young man had, he threw out a single punch towards him.
RIIIIIIIIPPPLLLEEE.
Instead of a powerful bang that he was used to, what followed was the space rippling towards the red-haired man, whose face changed before he smiled mockingly. In the next instant…
“Desolate Star Ring. OPEN!” he whispered, as the star also appeared in his eyes, followed by an extra gigantic ring. He also clenched his fist and punched back towards Zeras.
Space rippled towards itself, and what followed was…
KAAABOOOOOOOOOM!
A devastating ripple as Zeras was once again tossed back and smashed into the mountain behind him, thick crimson veins wriggling in his eyes followed by…
BLEEEERGHHHH!
Blood burst out of his mouth as he lay flattened to the mountain wall, struggling to raise his head up, seeing the mockery in the smile.
“No matter how good you replicate, you will still fail!” he said, as the stars in Zeras’s eyes faded away and his star ring also disappeared. A smile appeared on Zeras’s face.
“Then I’ll keep trying and trying, until I get it,” he said.
“Desolate Star Ring! OPEN!” The whisper rang out once more as Zeras stood upright and threw out a punch again.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, let’s see how long you can keep on it…”
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