"As you have chosen the concept of flexibility, I will focus our training there. Considering what you have said about your situation, there is no need to pay attention to the rest."


    Veradon immediately put As to work. First, he learned as much as As was willing to share. It wasn''t much, but it was enough.


    Unfortunately, As couldn''t share anything about the Heavenly Unification Law with Veradon despite the connection they''d formed. It was too risky.


    The treasure he had in his position was mostly an unknown entity. It did what it wanted to when it wanted to. But, there was one thing that As did know.


    ''Despite being able to sense my unique dantian, this man, with his connection to the Great Dao, could not sense my treasure.''


    It had to be something with origins even more mysterious than Veradon''s physique. For both his own safety and his master''s, As only spoke about what he needed to.


    Therefore, all Veradon knew was that As was practicing a technique that allowed him to cultivate the five elements as long as he focused on only a single concept of each. At this level, it was a bit easier to ept the scale of As'' potential.


    After all, the Five Element Technique was something magical, but not something impossible.


    Nevertheless, knowing that As chose the concept of flexibility for water and the concept of everburn for fire, Veradon immediately created a training n.


    "Take this talisman and use it to return here every day when the sun rises. We will first focus on water and then move on to fire. I will teach you techniques to use both, their intricacies, and more. It is only a matter of how much you can absorb."


    The teaching method was the same. Really, the Tatsuya n was filled with the same kind of people.


    Training with Veradon started As'' day and training with ric ended it. For 6 hours, he learned how to manipte water. He learned about the properties of flexibility and the best way to use it, andter on, he learned some specific techniques to utilize his power for both defense and attack.


    The training with ric became fiercer as well.


    Bang!


    As jumped back andnded in a crouched position with his chain sickles in hand. ric lowered his arm with a grin on his face.


    "Good! This is a good state! You''re finally at the starting line. Now that you''re properly adjusted, we can move into the real training."


    He said it casually, but he didn''t mean it casually at all.


    "These past two years, I''ve seen how stupid you are, so I created a technique specialized for stupid people like you. With this, even you can use those weapons to their best potential."


    It was a sentence filled with insults, but it was filled with just as much care. Though he still acted like he didn''t want anything to do with As, he''d grown quite ustomed to his half-disciple.


    As soaked up everything he taught at a magnificent pace. Training someone who showed visible improvements every single day was fun even for the trainer.


    ric had been carefully paying attention to As'' growth over these years. With what he learned, he put his trait to use and created an entirely unique technique for him alone.


    As couldn''t help being touched, but he didn''t say words of thanks. With ric''s personality, he''d react negatively to such words.


    ''For now, I can only absorb his teachings. Still, I will have to repay these graces eventually.''


    He couldn''t let ric do this much for him without doing anything in return.


    Six hours in the morning were spent learning how to manage energy while six hours in the night were spent learning how to wield the body and weapons. As felt like he was a real young cultivator. He was absorbing so much new information, gaining so many new abilities that even he had to be surprised.


    And it wasn''t just a matter of strength.


    "Seriously, it''s too much!"


    The one speaking was Artemia, who squeezed herself into the time As had between his lessons with the two masters.


    "You can''t be that much older than me. Why do you talk like an old man?!"


    It was an issue that As wasn''t nning to address.


    "Say it right now. Say ''Don''t.''"


    Still, with her prodding, he had no choice.


    "Doo..nt…"


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    The sound was strange. It felt like a differentnguage.


    These things called "contractions" that had been invented since the induction of the Tower differed from thenguage he knew but had the same roots. Everyone used them. With his perception skills, As was able to understand their meanings long ago.


    He was using them too at a point, but that changed when the Heavenly Emperor''s memories settled within him.


    The sounds just felt strangeing out of his mouth. He couldn''t express himself the same way that the young As Vaun of the past would.


    He couldn''t say those words with confidence. They were sounds he knew, but using them in this context wasn''t easy.


    Thenguage went through many changes during the rapid development of society caused by the Tower. As was born in an era after all of those changes when thenguage was rtivelyplete. As such, the discrepancies between what they spoke now and what they spoke before his death were hard to bear.


    Artemia was the one who decided to put a stop to that.


    Shemented on it before, but after living alongside As for some time, she realized that it was a real problem. How was it that As spoke like he was older than both of her parents?


    It was truly uneptable.


    With her nagging, she forced As to understand the newnguage and perfect it. No, she made him go beyond that so he could learn how to properly express himself like the young cultivator he was supposed to be.


    It was definitely the strangest of his lessons, but he didn''t mind it too much. In the end, this time could be counted as rxation, so he epted it happily.


    Until five years passed in Vanatos, nothing major would change in As'' routine. He would train and spar with Artemia, learn from his two masters, and eventually get himself an alchemy furnace in the city.


    There were only two real events in those five years that deserved focus.


    The first was his progress in alchemy. It had to be borated on in detail as it was an extensive process even with the Formation Spark''s help. And the second…


    The second was a conversation that he was forced to have with a certain Spirit King.


    It was a conversation that was meant to give him answers about the things he didn''t know, but he was fated to be left with only more questions.


    It was after one of those sessions with Artemia.


    "Oh, by the way, Sylvanus has been nagging me for a while. It seems like he really wants to talk to you," she said.


    She used her artifact and summoned him before As could object.


    "What the hell did you summon me for this– Oh! Boy, I''ve been looking for you!"


    The Spirit King entered the world just as loudly as always.


    With that, As knew that he could no longer avoid it.


    He had to confront the man who knew him in the past.


    And he had to hear the things that he didn''t want to hear.