The throne room was silent. Or, it would have been if it wasn’t for the screams of the Minister Brodaya. This only managed to send yet another cold sweat down the backs of those Dyon had singled out. Who had ever heard of a mere saint causing a dao formation expert to scream like this?
The truth was the aurora flames were very volatile and dangerous. It wasn’t until Dyon’s grand teacher that they were managed to be reigned in. However, that only worked when the power they flames wielded was closely tied to your soul – this was, of course, something that old man learned after hundreds of thousands of years of experimentation.
As you might expect, this was also one of the requirements for creating a technique that fused with the will of the universe and could be passed down. Dyon’s grand teacher had taken a natural substance, and tamed it, thus making it docile.
That said, it was no wonder why the old man said his technique was imperfect. His technique was the equivalent of domesticating a wild animal. On the surface, it seems like a great idea, but if you toss that animal back into the wilds, they’d be at a severe disadvantage. Although you gained something, it was an inferior and much weaker product. This was why Dyon’s grand teacher said that, in many ways, the aurora was actually holding back Dyon’s soul.
However, Dyon didn’t have any thoughts of improving the aurora despite having deduced this. How could he not figure it out after having seen the original form of the flames? The problem was that it was truly much too dangerous and the soul was much too fragile. One couldn’t even attack directly with their soul, even when facing a much weaker opponent, without fear of being severely injured. How could you then, in good conscious, place a combustible and violent flame near it? Wouldn’t you be asking to die?
Acknowledging this, Dyon placed the idea at the back of his mind. Maybe in the future he’d find a way. But, for now, his grand teacher was right in taming these flames.
All of that said, it wasn’t like Dyon didn’t have an idea of how it could work.
Why was he able to use these violent flames now? It was because of his overwhelming Perception and body control – that latter of which stemmed from his drastic increase in body cultivation talent. He treated the flames as though they were part of his blood, using his body’s prowess to forcibly take on their violent nature and manipulate it to his will. This was why he was restricted and also why it was much more tiresome to use them.
Seemingly, that meant the solution was to either find a way to form an aurora that used the body as its power source, or somehow link his existing aurora to his body. There were other ideas Dyon had, but they seemed even more fantastical. After all, how could he make his soul as robust as his body? If such a thing was possible, wouldn’t he be invisible with his current soul talent?
“Why is it you…” Dyon’s brow furrowed as he held Minister Brodaya’s neck.
Suddenly, in the midst of his screams, a dangerous light flashed within Minister Brodaya’s eyes. Hate, anger, regret – all of it swirled within.
Amphorae’s heart clenched, she knew it was much too dangerous for Dyon to get so close. How could she be fast enough to help him now?
Dyon’s Perception immediately caught onto the killing intent. However, he didn’t panic. Hadn’t he faced odds like this before? Except this time, it was different. This time… He was in control.
His Presence dampened his heart and forced him to remain cool headed. It had only been fractions of a second since he detected this traitorous Minister’s intentions, but he had more time to work with than most. As Dyon had decided during the first trial, if his body wasn’t fast enough to react, what he needed wasn’t just faster reaction, but Prediction!
“Husband!” Amphorae’s voice sounded out, but Dyon had already made his move. Minister Brodaya’s first mistake was pretending to be weak and allowing the aurora flames into his body. Now that he had, he would bend to Dyon’s will now.
In an instant, the aurora flames diverted from the blood in Minister Brodaya’s veins and propelled themselves toward his meridians. Minister Brodaya’s eyes widened when he realized what was happening, but it was already too let… He had let a tiger into his home.
Raging gold flames stormed through the once enigmatic energy filled meridians, completely disrupting the flow of energy. It stalled Minister Brodaya for half a second, and that was all Dyon needed.
A majestic twin pair of black and white wings erupted from Dyon’s back as he shot backwards. Moments later, three ministers sprang forward and restrained the raging Brodaya. From start to finish, he never got the opportunity to attack.
Dyon smirked to himself when he realized all three of the ministers who moved were three he had called out. It seemed they were eager to prove their loyalty.
Although Dyon seemed focused on saving himself, he had actually been inspecting the room. Those who were traitors would likely know that Brodaya was also one, no? In that case, why would they move to help? If the King died, that was even better for them.
After his inspections, Dyon pretended not to notice anything. It seemed this round of noble games was getting interesting.