Ch 30 : Combat Art True Form

After entering the Combat Tower, Auron was immediately enveloped by a thick mist. His vision was obscured, and for a moment, he felt disoriented. Gradually, the mist faded, revealing an empty white space that stretched infinitely in every direction.

"So, what now? Just an empty, spacious white void?" Auron thought, slightly puzzled.

Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed through the air, "Level 1, commence."

Auron immediately snapped into a combat stance, preparing for anything. In a flash, a stone guard materialized before him, its appearance resembling the statues outside the tower, clad in the same heavy stone armor. Without hesitation, the guard lunged toward Auron, its fist flying through the air in a direct attack.

Auron sidestepped swiftly, his instincts sharp. As soon as he dodged, he countered with a quick strike, employing Shadow Step to enhance his movement. His foot collided with the stone guard, and to his surprise, the guard shattered instantly.

"Hmm, that was easy. Only one hit?" Auron mused.

Before he could relax, another stone guard appeared, this time armed with a spear. The guard wasted no time and thrust the spear toward Auron with deadly precision. Unprepared for the reach of the spear, Auron could only block with his body. Fortunately, his body cultivation was strong, and the attack didn't penetrate his defenses.

"Close call," Auron thought, as he quickly retaliated with Void Shatter, obliterating the stone guard in a single, powerful strike.

"I can't afford to get complacent. These guards will keep respawning, and they're only going to get stronger," Auron realized. He understood that while the early enemies were easy to defeat, each wave would grow progressively more difficult.

Determined to push his limits, Auron decided to focus on mastering Shadow Step. He refrained from using his more destructive techniques and instead limited himself to just this technique, hoping that the continuous pressure would help him break through to the Initiate Realm of Shadow Step.

As the minutes passed, more stone guards began appearing. Now, five of them surrounded him, each wielding spears. Their increased numbers and longer reach made it difficult for Auron to land any clean hits. Worse, their defenses had grown sturdier, forcing Auron to put in more effort just to damage them. His initial confidence began to waver as he struggled to avoid their coordinated attacks.

"I can't keep up with this anymore," Auron thought, feeling the pressure. The guards were relentless, and he found himself getting hit more often.

Realizing that brute force alone wouldn't be enough, Auron calmed himself. "I need to stop forcing it and go with the flow."

In that moment of clarity, Auron switched tactics. He began to use his other techniques, Void Shatter, Ripple Palm, and Shadow Step. Then he began integrating these techniques together. At first, the transitions between techniques were clumsy, and he found it hard to switch from one move to the next fluidly. But as time passed, he grew more proficient. His strikes became smoother, his movements more precise.

It was then he realized something important: These techniques aren't meant to be used in isolation. They are complementary, and together they form a cohesive combat flow.

With renewed confidence, Auron unleashed his full potential. He dodged an incoming spear thrust, delivered a crippling Ripple Palm to destabilize a guard, then followed up with Void Shatter to obliterate it. His movements were now a blend of grace and power, and the stone guards, who had once posed a challenge, were quickly dispatched.

As the final guard crumbled into dust, Auron stood tall, feeling the breakthrough in his mastery. He was on the verge of reaching the Initiate Realm for Shadow Step, and his understanding of combining combat arts had deepened significantly.

Breathing heavily but satisfied, Auron thought, "This is it. This is the path forward. I need to combine my techniques, not just rely on raw power."

There was still a missing link in Auron's technique—the Voidfoot Step: Shadow Glide. This was the movement art from the Void Nexus Combat Art series, and once mastered, it would allow him to completely integrate all the first forms of the Void Nexus techniques.

"I need to learn that later. For now, I need to finish this," Auron reminded himself, shaking off any distracting thoughts and focusing on the battle ahead.

The challenge had intensified. Eight stone guards now surrounded him, their combined strength and coordination forcing Auron to the edge of his abilities. His current mastery of combat arts was no longer enough to keep up. After racking his brain for a solution, Auron decided to try something new: he began casting Fireball Toss toward the enemies. With the assistance of Xiao Yu, the spellcasting felt smoother, almost second nature.

"Auron, let me handle the casting. I can make it easier for you," Xiao Yu's voice rang in his mind.

But Auron shook his head. "No, Xiao Yu. I need to do this on my own. I can't rely on you every time I need to cast a basic spell. If I can't manage something as simple as a fireball, how will I ever cast my unique Primordial Fire spell later? That will require far more concentration than this."

His first few attempts were clumsy. His fireball's spell structure kept collapsing before he could release it, the chaotic environment making it hard to focus. However, Auron quickly adapted. With each failure, his technique improved. Soon, he could cast the fireballs mid-battle with increasing accuracy and speed.

With his Celestial Aura, the destructive power of the Fireball Toss was terrifying. Each explosion shattered large chunks of the stone guards' bodies. Despite the increased toughness of their armor—already comparable to the defense of a fifth layer of tier 2 augmenter —Auron's fireballs still managed to break through, dealing substantial damage.

"That's overwhelming," Auron thought, smirking as he witnessed the destruction caused by his seemingly simple spell. "If this small fireball is already this powerful, I can't imagine what my unique spell, based on the Primordial Fire Heavenly Rune, will be capable of."

Unbeknownst to Auron, he was being watched. Hidden in the control room of the Combat Tower, a strange creature observed the battle with wide eyes. Its form was obscured, but its glowing eyes tracked Auron's every move.

"Who is this kid?" the creature murmured, perplexed. "His combat arts are already abnormal, but his spellcasting... it's even more terrifying. How is he doing it? That's just a basic Fireball Toss, but the amount of destruction it causes... Is it because of his Heavenly Runes? He must have carved something extraordinary on his mana core to produce this level of power from a basic spell."

The creature leaned closer to the control panel, trying to discern more details about Auron's technique.

Auron, oblivious to the watchful eyes, continued refining his techniques. His concentration sharpened, his combat arts and spellcasting growing more fluid with each passing second.