After the man lost his memories of Shi Yun Lan, he began to say something else.
"I believe my lord heard that Shion Lan has obtained a completed art and now has a master."
The grey-haired man stood in surprise "Don't tell me that person has appeared! I searched everywhere to confirm if someone like him truly existed, but I couldn't find a single trace! Are you sure?!"
"Well… what I remember is only the voice and the words. He told me he would erase my memories after erasing Shion's, as a fair exchange. So I don't even remember what he looked like."
At that, the gray-haired man began pacing in circles.
"What is his power level?"
"I can't remember anything, my lord."
"According to the royal advisor's report sent to the prince, that person supposedly has six stars and seven circles. You, on the other hand, have seven stars—so your strength should be roughly equal. But you're telling me he erased your memories, and from the looks of your clothes, you didn't even fight him… it seems you submitted the moment he released his aura. That means his strength must be at least in the eighth level! Not the seventh, as the royal advisor believed. That would make him one of the strongest experts in the kingdom—on the same level as me, the king, and the heads of the Six Great Houses!"
"But, my lord, why would someone that powerful want Shion as his disciple?"
The gray-haired man could only search through the report sent by the royal advisor, and when he found what he was looking for, he said:
"Look at this!"
When the man received the report, he saw it contained part of a conversation between Shion and the royal advisor.
It read:
"If I wish to illuminate the world with my light, then I must stand alone. If I stay with my family, they will block the light I wish to show. So I chose to abandon the family name, so that no one would claim the art that my master will teach me."
The gray-haired man said,
"I believe that the Radiant Star—his supposed master—is somehow connected to either the Ranus family, or to the family of the clan leader's wife, or to the Lan family, which Shion's mother comes from. We'll have to investigate all of them."
"Yes, my lord!"
---
When Shion left the house, he went to the river. There was something strange about it—so much that even Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai noticed, though they didn't approach unless Shion told them to.
He remained there for a long while before finally standing up and saying to them,
"Tomorrow, I'll see how far your skills have progressed."
Baro and Fiore bowed to him before leaving.
Shion then returned home, lost in thought:
"When I left that house, I felt as if I had lost many things… as if I'd lost life itself, my emotions, my sense of care—as if I were someone else entirely, yet still familiar.
I thought it must be connected to Shi Yun Lan.
When I examined my veins, I found his essence faint and weak.
It seems he was forced to take my place without following the rules, since I wasn't on the brink of death.
Because of that, both of us were affected—he became weaker, and I can no longer face him, learn from him, or reach the second meridian anytime soon.
There's also something strange in my heart… as if nothing in this world seems beautiful anymore.
If this is the price of learning the Art of Annihilation, then damn it—I don't want it.
I don't even know how Shi Yun Lan can live his life so calmly, while just a taste of his power makes me feel like I want to die silently…"
Shion stopped his thoughts and examined his physical condition.
"Thanks to the body-enhancement manuals, I've strengthened my body. Once I master them, I'll reach the third physical level and be able to use my star power without collapsing from exhaustion."
The star power and aura of Shi Yun Lan flowed through Shion's veins and muscles, strengthening them.
The next day, Shion went to his mother, thinking:
'It's strange… even though I've tried to purge that deathly feeling from my heart, seeing my mother—and thinking of Baro and Fiore slightly—lightens the burden. I can actually smile… and feel happiness.'
After breakfast, he said goodbye to his mother and returned to the river, where Baro and Fiory were already waiting.
When he saw them, he smiled just like always, which relieved them both.
Shion said,
"I trust you've trained well. Now, let's test your skills."
Both Baro and Fiory stood to face their teacher, each taking a stance and position.
Shion observed and smiled.
'Looks like they've trained diligently.'
Baro was the first to attack, thrusting his long spear with the technique (Spear of Light), moving at high speed.
Shion blocked the strike effortlessly with his sword, thinking:
"That technique has three strong movements based on speed and direct power. I modified it recently, so Baro should've mastered at least one of them by now."
He parried Baro's rapid thrusts while keeping an eye on Fiore, who wasn't engaging directly but was charging up a powerful strike.
"(Whirlwind of Destruction)… that technique has two forms, both relying on the correct circulation of aura. But from the look of it, that genius brat managed to combine them after realizing the secret that bastard Shi Yun Lan spoke of."
Shion smiled as he noticed that, and Baro retreated, preparing to use one of his advanced moves:
"(Spear of Light: Line of Light)!"
He charged energy into his spear and hurled it in a blinding, straight beam of light.
Shion gauged its strength.
"It's at the second level. But if he wants to increase its power, he'll need his second star."
He deflected the attack with the edge of his sword, redirecting it toward Fiore—who was just about to strike and was caught off guard by Baro's attack, falling to the ground.
Shion turned his sword toward Baro and said,
"Your coordination isn't bad—but you have a fatal flaw: Fiore takes too long to gather his power, and his aura becomes exposed. As for you, Baro, your attack is impressive but still too light and lacks precision.
Even so, reaching this level in just a few days is a great achievement."
He then corrected some of their movements and sat beside the river to teach them about (Stellar Summet: The Stellar Body Manuscript).
When he focused on his own condition, his first star—which had seemed depleted before—was now shining again, restored through the Star Body. It glowed steadily like a calm sea under starlight, the star dust illuminating his inner Star Ocean.
"I've regained a bit of strength. Now, I need to grow stronger—to be safe at the academy."
He focused his aura and said, "Let's begin!"
He meditated and concentrated on a fire-element technique from his new collection called (Cutting Flames).
The technique resembled raindrops—each fiery spark gathered around his sword, swirling as he moved, striking with burning precision.
He began forming new Star Halo, but his body suddenly trembled.
"Hmm?"
When he checked his condition, he saw something strange—while forming a fire-element star, a bit of his water-element star dust disappeared.
"So… will I have to learn other elements first before learning the opposing element, just to maintain balance? That'll take too long… I won't reach the fourth level anytime soon and—wait a minute!"
He realized that even though he stopped gathering fire-element dust, it didn't vanish—and the water element didn't extinguish it either.
"Why?"
He experimented for a long while, testing every theory he could think of, but nothing worked. Eventually, he grew tired and decided to focus on body enhancement first.
When he did, he suddenly felt a response within him—the fire element subsided, while the water element gathered again in full.
"So it's the body... Even though I can perform different elemental techniques, I can't contain them both in my body—unless the Star Body allows it."
He decided to test his theory by using the (Spear of Light) in his mind. Some light-element dust gathered, but without consuming any of the water-element dust.
That confirmed his theory.
If Shion followed the normal path, he'd remain at the third power level until his third star.
But if he could combine the fire and water elements now, he'd leap far ahead and be able to protect himself in the future.
He chose to focus first on perfecting the Star Body, then deal with the fire element later.
So Shion sat by the river and began strengthening his body, letting streams of star power flow through him while also training until he reached an incredibly high level.
Five more days passed.
Shion said to his students,
"Both of you—come here! This will be my last lesson before the academy!"
"Yes, sir!"
Fiore moved first, surrounding himself and his weapon with aura before charging at Shion, who calmly countered each strike with water-element techniques.
Baro stepped forward, thrusting his spear, which Shion blocked easily. Then Baro darted back just as Fiore attacked again, giving Shion no chance to counter.
Shion noticed Baro charging his spear with aura again. Fiore retreated, while Shion conjured a water vortex to defend himself.
"(Spear of Light: Line of Light)!"
The spear shot toward him at incredible speed. Shion's vortex slowed it down, and he looked toward Fiore, who decided not to merge his attacks this time, instead using only one form:
"(Whirlwind of Destruction: Shatter the Defense)!"
Fiory struck the vortex, destabilizing it slightly—but not destroying it, since Shion had already reached the third level of power and achieved first-level Star Body, greatly enhancing his endurance.
When Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai saw that their combined attack had failed, they collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Shion smiled and praised them:
"I have to admit—you've both managed to create far more offensive power than before. The only issue is your endurance. But your timing and control were excellent. Keep training your bodies before advancing to the next star, and everything will come easily."