Chapter 46
Lucas stood high upon a thick tree branch, looking down at the ground below.
Aris stood there, his head tilted up, staring directly at him.
This time, Lucas's eyes began to change.
They glowed with a bright, fierce blue light, like two small burning suns.
The very air around them seemed to grow heavy.
The invisible mana in the surroundings trembled and bowed, as if kneeling before his powerful gaze.
Lucas looked down at Aris, his face showing no emotion at all.
His voice was calm and clear as he spoke. "So, what do you say? Are you ready for this?"
Aris did not answer right away.
He first looked down at the sword in his own hand, thinking quietly.
After a moment, he spoke. "You said you can help me. Is that true?"
Lucas gave a single, firm nod from his perch. "If I study your body's pathway, I can remove your Physical Limits.
This will let you reach a level where you can match the powerful Saint Classes of this hidden city and the others.
About your Mana core… there is a safer way to break its limits, but I cannot use it now.
Even the method I want to use is just a theory from my studies.
It would increase your Mana Core talent to reach the same level as the Saint Classes, or even higher.
But the risk in doing that is very great. You may die."
Aris did not even pause to think.
His reply was instant. "I do not fear Death."
A low chuckle came from Lucas. "Okay. But for my help, I want something from you."
"Whatever you wish, I will give it," Aris said quickly, not wanting to miss this chance.
"I want you to tell me more about the energy you are using," Lucas said, his voice growing more interested.
"The energy for sensing me and, I think, everything around you. You are blind, which is rare for cultivators. Yet you see even more clearly and better than those who have eyes. I am very interested in what you are doing. So, tell me what you have been doing." The excitement in his question was easy to hear.
Aris gave a small smile. "I cannot teach you."
The smile vanished from Lucas's face.
He frowned, looking confused. "Why not?"
"Well," Aris began, his smile turning awkward,
"it is because I was just born being able to use that. To me, it is like a second nature. As for teaching… I do not understand it myself. So, saying I could teach you is too much."
Lucas let out a long sigh and looked up into the sky above the trees. "What can I do?" he murmured.
He truly wanted to understand what was happening.
He started thinking hard about what to do next, another sigh escaping him.
Then, he moved his hands, placing them together into a special sign.
Suddenly, a deep hum filled the air.
A huge, invisible Barrier spread out, covering his entire land.
This seal was created to make sure that nothing happening inside could be sensed from the outside, no matter what powerful method someone used.
It was a powerful Rune he had learned and placed around his home long ago.
The barrier did not need his own mana to work; it used the natural mana in the atmosphere.
Lucas then jumped down from the high tree branch, landing softly on the grass in front of Aris. "Do not move," he said. "And do not freak out."
Remembering the ancient spell, Lucas began to chant in a strong, rhythmic voice:
"Upon the stars, where silence weaves,
A boundless force no fate perceives.
Light and shadow, flame and frost,
All are mine, none are lost.
By the sun's wrath and the moon's grace,
I break all chains, I bend all space.
Let chaos rise, let stillness reign,
In my grasp, all shall wane.
O heavens, bear witness to my decree,
For I am the will of infinity."
With each line of the verse, he moved his hands in intricate, beautiful signs.
The mana in the air began to twist and shift in an unnatural way.
Then, it suddenly exploded outward in every direction in a silent rush of power before surging back towards Lucas.
It engulfed him completely, forming a fiery, glowing coat of pure mana around his body.
Aris watched this new form.
He could feel Lucas's Mana quality growing stronger and denser, rising to the level of the mighty Saint Classes.
But his physical strength was on a completely different level.
Just the raw power in his body was something a Saint Class could not compare to at all.
Through his unique sight, Aris saw Lucas had become a being who seemed above everything else.
In truth, Lucas saw himself that way too in that moment.
But he did not let this powerful form change his inner mindset.
Because in truth, he knew he was nothing more than a stronger mortal. In the end, he was still a Mortal.
That was the truth, because as long as death existed, seeing himself as a godly being was foolish.
A smooth Mana cloak formed around his body, colored a luminous, bright cyan-blue.
It did not flare wildly or crackle with energy. Instead, it flowed and wrapped around him like a second skin made of solid light.
The aura was clean and refined, almost sterile, giving the impression of an overwhelming power that did not need to shout or announce itself.
The edges of the mana shimmered gently, as if the air itself was being bent and polished softly around his form.
The mana in the entire area had improved greatly, becoming somewhat richer and thicker in just those few seconds.
Lucas raised his hand toward Aris. "Do not move," he spoke, and his voice now sounded otherworldly, echoing with power.
Aris found he could not even resist.
A gentle but inescapable force surrounded him, scanning him carefully from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.
Lucas only had five minutes in this supreme form and he wanted to use every single second to study Aris and his mysterious power.
What he found was something astonishing.
The energy that was scanning him at that very moment was not mana.
It was Will. In the body, Lucas understood there are four main types of energies.
These are Mental energy, Life energy (which is also called Ki), Soul Essence, and lastly, Will.
What was this Will?
Lucas had named it 'Ora'. From what he could see now, this was the most powerful thing he had ever witnessed in his life.
He wondered why Aris had never truly used its full power.
Ora is the pure manifestation of a person's will.
Every living being possesses it, but for most people, it lies completely dormant, thin and weak as a breath, unnoticed even by themselves.
In those with strong resolve, deep conviction, or ambition sharpened through hard struggle—and sometimes by pure Luck—it grows.
For someone to notice it was nearly impossible because of the distracting presence of Mana everywhere.
It presses outward.
It begins to softly affect the world.
Ora is not energy, and it is not mana. It does not flow like a river.
Instead, it radiates like a silent presence.
When two people stand face to face, before any blades cross or fists move, their Ora collides first.
The person with the weaker will feels it immediately—a pressure on the chest, a tightening of breath, an instinctive urge to step back and away.
For those who have learned to sense Ora, the world becomes much clearer.
A person's intent reveals itself before any action is taken.
Hostility feels sharp and prickly, killing intent feels cold and heavy, deception feels hollow and weak.
Skilled users can read the rhythm of another's will, predicting movements not by sight, but by feeling the shifts in their presence.
With great mastery, one can even reach the point of sensing the will of the Soul itself, allowing someone to feel another's Soul or understand its nature.
With further mastery, Ora can be hardened. Will can enhance the Body beyond normal measures.
If focused on a single point, it can harden the body to reach a point that no normal blade, or even a Magic blade, can harm it.
Blows strike with unnatural, crushing force, defenses become unyielding like mountain rock, and fragile things simply shatter against it.
This is what Lucas understood in those final seconds before his Astral Mode faded.
The powerful cloak of mana vanished, and he returned to his normal form, breathing slightly harder.
Aris stood before him, confused by the deeply thoughtful and amazed expression now on Lucas's face.