Lucio looked at Krune and laughed.
"This time, I won't just stay put receiving your attacks. It would be of no use, after all. But don't worry, I won't hurt you... much."
Krune didn't care. In fact, it would be even better! Krune then changed back to his wisp form and immediately took his 38 Shields out. They started to orbit around Krune at high speeds, and one could see each one with a different Element.
Krune, of course, immediately took distance. He has never been a close combat fighter. After that, 30 of his Shields separated from him and moved in Lucio's way in various directions.
"Tribulation Thunder Line!"
Immediately, the Lightning Element plus Tribulation Lightning hit the closest shields, and from there, it followed to another one around Lucio. Thunder line was supposed to be a straight-line attack, but thanks to Krune's flying shields positions, the attacks can change route and confuse the enemy. That made it very difficult to know which Shield would be the one to send the attack.
Lucio saw that and snorted.
As soon as the thunder line was about to hit him from the side, Lucio raised his hand as if he was going to block it.
Krune saw that and wanted to smile. Unfortunately or not, his wisp form doesn't have a face to start with.
Just as the attack was about to be blocked, something unexpected happened. The Tribulation Thunder Line was supposed to move in a straight line after leaving a Shield, but surprisingly, it made a curve!
Lucio didn't have time to adjust, and the attack passed right through his defense. Sure enough, Lucio was hit!
Right after, several other Tribulation Thunder Lines hit at the same time.
"That's what you get for looking down on me, old geezer!"
But suddenly, Krune heard a voice behind him.
"Is that so?"
Krune was startled and only had enough time to reposition the 8 Shields that he left behind for his protection.
Boom!
His shield wall was struck by a powerful fire-lightning attack and was sent back against Krune. He did his best to stop the incoming shields, but they still hit him and sent his core flying back.
Krune was confused for a second, but when he looked in the direction where his Tribulation Thunder Line hit Lucio, he noticed a congregation of spiritual energy dissipating. Immediately, Krune understood what was happening.
'That wasn't the old geezer from the very start, it was nothing more than a spiritual energy clone! His one is also a lot better than the Elemental Ones that I and the others used in the past. Even after hitting it, I didn't notice any difference until it started to dissipate.'
But Krune wasn't sad. If anything, he was excited!
'I guess I know how it works, I will try to do that later as well.'
Lucio didn't continue his attack after the first hit. He only looked at Krune and said.
"Come on now. I'm suppressing my cultivation to the 3rd stage of the Core Formation Realm too, so you can't say that I'm bullying you."
Only now did Krune pay attention to his Master. That was right, he could feel that Lucio's cultivation was the same as his.
"Hmph! Practice makes perfect, it won't work twice!"
Krune then controlled his Shields and started to attack again. This time, he only sent half of his shields out while he kept the other half with him.
Lucio didn't try to block Krune, he only dodged while approaching him at high speeds. But that made Krune amazed! After all, Krune is using his Tribulation Lightning movement at 80% of the power. But his Master, with the same cultivation and without the Tribulation Lightning, was even faster than him!
'How's that possible?!'
Lucio then started his attacks.
"Lighting Palm."
"Azure Dragons."
"Meteor Shower."
While using several attacks of various elements, Lucio still looked calm and composed.
Krune, on the other hand, was doing his best to simply keep himself in the combat. Still, he was getting even more excited! Every movement, attack, defense, control, and everything else was helping him to comprehend his own shortcomings. Lucio was always striking where it hurts, but Krune was taking it all!
Of course, Krune hadn't forgotten his objective of giving his Master the taste of one of his attacks.
After a few more exchanges, Lucio once more found an opening in Krune's defense and immediately charged in. Krune noticed that I tried to retract his Shields, but it was too late.
"Haha! You fell for it, old geezer!"
Just as Lucio was about to hit Krune, he suddenly noticed the power of the Tribulation Lightning, Water, and Fire congregating around Krune!
'Oh! Is it that Tribulation Fire Attack?'
If Lucio wanted, he obviously could leave the perimeter. But at the moment, he is pretending to be at Krune's level, so he couldn't do so.
It only took a split of a second for Krune's attack to be ready. It shows how much smooth his control over the Tribulation Lightning had become after the final impurities cleaning.
The Shields that Krune pretended to retract to defend himself then took their position, making it look something like a dome around the two of them.
"Tribulation Calamity!"
From Krune's body, Tribulation Lightning shot everywhere! But they all had a target, which was the Flying Shields! At the same time, the Water Element and Fire Element covered the entire dome as well. The Tribulation Lightning, which was being reflected everywhere by the Flying Shields, then ignited the elements. Soon, the whole 'dome' was filled with Tribulation Lightning and Purple Flames! Not only that, Krune also used Wind Element to fuel the Purple Fire, turning the attack even more fearsome!
If you consider the power alone, this attack was at least 3 to 4 times more potent than the one Krune used against Wang Ting! The best thing is that even though Krune is right in the middle, he is confident enough to move freely without being hit by his own attack. If someone could see inside, they would notice a tiny space void of both Tribulation Lightning and Purple Flames. It was just big enough to hold a core, or better, a wisp core!
The attack used too much power, and maintaining it put a heavy burden on Krune. Because of that, the attack stopped just three seconds later. The power of Tribulation Lightning ceased, and the purple flames disappeared right after. One could only see the small sparks and of lightning and flames here and there, which would soon disappear too.
Krune then looked at the spot where his Master was, and his mouth twitched.
Lucio was glued at the same place while looking at Krune with a smile. Around him, one could see the Water and Earth Element forming something like a barrier. Those were the two elements best suited to deal with Krune's power, and sure enough, that's what Lucio did.
Lucio might be at the same cultivation level as Krune. Still, his understanding of the Elements wasn't something that Krune could match at the moment. Not to mention that he has already comprehended laws. Thanks to that, he was still able to defend himself against Krune's attacks.
"Not bad, not bad. This attack just now. If I was an ordinary early-stage Divine Soul Realm cultivation, even I would have been hurt by this attack of yours. Also, the fact that you were able to keep it hidden until the last second is commendable. You didn't let you Master down."
Krune then returned to his human form and put his clothes on. He knew that the battle was over at that point.
"Sigh. Old geezer, couldn't you let me hit you just a little? It could have boosted my morale a lot if you had, you know?"
Lucio immediately retorted.
"Boost your morale your head! I just said that this attack could even hurt an early stage Divine Soul Realm! Can I boost your confidence more than that?"
Krune, of course, was happy to know that his trump card was this strong. But his objective of giving his Master a beating seems to still be far, far away.
Lani, who watched everything from the side, was still smiling as if nothing had happened. But inside, he was totally different.
'What kind of monster did my disciple find? Even that Myriad Energies Technique couldn't make Krune this powerful! Is it because of that improved Elemental Core that he told me? No! The improved Elemental Core indeed plays a big role in this issue. But most likely, it is the fact that both the Elemental Core and the Elemental Meridians complement each other. They are just way too much suited for each other.'
Lani continued to ponder.
'Also, that Tribulation Lightning that he uses seems somewhat different. I've seen a lot of cultivators and demon beasts using it before, but Krune is by far the one with the best control over it at his realm. Not to mention that it is a lot more powerful too! Is it because of those impurities cleaning that it turned out like that? I've seen a lot of Tribulation Lightning users using the Heavenly Tribulation to increase their Tribulation Power. But I've never heard about anyone using it for cleaning the already existent one.'
In the end, Lani got to a conclusion.
'There is no doubt, he is not just fortunate, his talent is also far higher than those around his level. The fact that he was able to find about the Myriad Energies Technique real form and even create the Myriad Wisps Technique is the best proof of that. I still think that he has some secret that he hadn't told Lucio. But who doesn't have a secret or two in the cultivation world? My disciple really found a gem this time.'
Lucio, of course, had passed a copy of the Myriad Energy Technique to his Master. So Lani already got a grasp of how the technique worked.
Lucio was still discussing with Krune about their battle when suddenly, Lani came forward to talk.
"Alright. I've seen everything, and I can say that I'm very satisfied. Krune, you will be entering the Dimensional Realm to train with the others in a few days. But don't let your guard down. Even though you have this trump card, it is evidently not something you can use all the time. I reckon that your combat power is somewhere close to the others at the moment. Of course, except for those with Major Cores. Feifei, Uriu Orion, and Hulibe Acrol have them. So they are definitely stronger than you at the moment."
Krune nodded. His Master had already told him that against other Major Core owners, he would jump only two or three levels to fight. With the addition of his peak Nine Silver Stars shields, he might be able to skip one more realm stage, though. But the three mentioned are all at the late stages of the same realm as him. Krune had never been overconfident, and he definitely wouldn't start now.
Lani also nodded and said.
"Alright, come with me then. I will help you reach the 4th stage of the Core Formation Realm before you leave for the dimensional realm."