Arc was hardly able to hold his consciousness let alone walk, so Aurora took him to the infirmary
While that was happening Regen continued damage control to prevent the extreme ending of the fight become anything more than a incident between the "younger" generation,
Xuanyin herself decided to withhold from following Aurora as rumors may begin to spread regarding their relationship
She would wait until he was stronger before bringing it up publicly due to her immense reputation
Instead she looked into the audience, listening closely to their reactions
"How are we supposed to top that??"
"Top that??; how are we even
supposed to fight those mad men??"
Many of the contestants all whispered amongst themselves with blanketed awe and fear
While others tightened the grips of their weapons as their eyes glowed with a determination
Xuanyin smiled proudly before then sending a mental message to ink-star
'You saw that right?, your dad is super cute when he fights'
"Uhh, y-yeah mom i don't see how getting his lungs vaporised is cute…"
He responded while a thought flew into his mind
'Mom is from the abyss…. so does she find gruesome things adorable?'
Aurora sighed gently looking at Arc as he sat in a chair within the infirmary
He had consumed almost a dozen healing pills and yet his wounds were slow to heal
"This is why you don't allow yourself to be hit by "intent" based attacks; they contain the will of the attacker and that remains long after the qi dissipates"
Arc nodded before muttering
"This was my first time encountering sword intent… I hadn't expected its power to be so contamining…"
Aurora shook her head before muttering
"at least the unique properties of your body mean it will heal within a few hours, for others it may take weeks or months"
Before he could celebrate Aurora leaned in almost as if listening to his heartbeat
"Hm, we might have misunderstood something about your physique…"
"What makes you say that?"
"At first we believed it to be one that alters emotions or accelerates them when engaging in direct contact"
"But that sword intent seems to be breaking down in a strange manner, so it might have something to do with "Will" or "intent"
"Direct contact with me naturally lead to an acceleration of emotional connection due to the fact we were already sleeping together"
"As for Xuanyin it might have be further amplified due to both of you being connected through ink-star"
"Your physique having to do with "will" or "intent" would also explain how you made me capable of "reading" not only your soul but Xuanyin's temporarily"
"Hm, i didn't particularly care about you having feelings for xuanyin and i saw how strange she was acting around you",
"What bothered me about that previous alteration is that she didn't say anything and then how she tried blotting me out entirely"
"Acting as if my word or presence didn't matter just because she felt happy for the first time in her life"
"Also added with the fact that you just didn't say anything and went along with it, you brat"
Arc remained silent realizing Aurora was going off topic, clearly venting her frustration towards what had happened
"Im sorry, we should've been more clear; had we all been aware of my physique we wouldn't have allowed it to alter our perception…"
Aurora flicked his forehead hard causing him to fly back a few feet, cracking the wall behind him Arc grunted in pain before muttering
"Yeah I deserved that…."
Aurora sighed gently
"We are kinda stupid, clearly none of us are children, yet we cried and argued like a group of them"
"Don't think that our deal has vanished, reach golden core within a hundred years or i will follow the dao regardless if you can follow me"
Her words contained a conviction, as if all these trials condensed into a breakthrough in her mental state
Arc nodded solemnly understanding that she wasn't one to play around; he would have to be strong enough to stay by her side
Same with Xuanyin though she hadn't yet said anything to him it, her overflowing pride would never allow her to feel content with someone who stops moving forward
They had decided to put trust in Arc's potential, he wouldn't let them down
Aurora then left Arc to rest in the infirmary heading back to the join the others watching the tournament, just as he lied his head on the bed he heard someone call out his name
He turned his head to see Wei Li open the door to his room, while coughing slightly he said
"Congrats on your win, that was impressive I don't think I've ever seen someone fight like that"
"You only used the most basic attacks and yet i won't fully recover for a few months"
Arc smiled lightly "Thanks, you fought pretty amazing as well; had i known the depths of your "sword intent", i most definitely would've ran from that last attack"
"If not for my Master swopping in to take me to the infirmary I would've probably died from my injuries"
Wei Li shook his head gently
"I appreciate the praise but i can see your chi movements, with precision like that the fight wouldn't have gone so far if you tried your hardest immediately"
Back at the area
Xuanyin opened her eyes slightly seeing Aurora return, she smiled lightly before saying
"That brat fights awfully like you, all brawns and no brains"
"How long will it take for your horn to grow back?"
Aurora snapped back with an annoyed expression
Xuanyin froze before muttering
"Most of it won't…" she then send a mental message to Aurora
'Ink-star's essence is comprised of two main components, a portion of Arc's mental energy forming his soul, and my horn forming his physical body'
'I physically cannot heal that part of the horn anymore since it no longer belongs to me'
'that's why i rushed here from the astral realm upon sensing that change, i was absolutely livid'
Aurora eyes went wide understanding the true scope of what that meant,
Since Xuanyin's horns were essentially her "spiritual roots", her talent was damaged by Luton, and now repairing it was no longer a possibility….
Aurora her expression unreadable responsed
'Why tell me this?'
'We are in the same team, as the head wife i have to keep my lessers informed'
'Anyways that information doesn't help you against me, since even with my horn damaged i can still defeat you'
Aurora wanted to roll her eyes at Xuanyin's arrogance but it didn't come out of thin air,
Changing the subject she began informing Xuanyin on her theories regarding Arc's physique
Xuanyin's eyes narrowed slightly hearing those words, "intent" based physique's were incredibly rare in many cases
Yet in one form in the cosmos it appeared very commonly, amongst the outer realm demons; for they were "will" made flesh
Xuanyin felt a chill run up her spine at the thought of Arc truly being an outer realm demon
Yet something felt wrong with that assessment, his soul felt too human….
Also That grey knight apprentice would have reacted instantly if he was such an evil creature
Xuanyin then laughed at her own thoughts, as she, a Vampire Abyssal-Dragon wasn't much better…
Aurora frowned slightly seeing Xuanyin laugh, yet before she could say anything, Xuanyin spoke
'That would make the situation much easier then, as long as he masters something like "sword intent", then he can contain the effects of his physique'
Aurora nodded gently and turned her attention over to the sect leader; they began having a conversation via mental messages
Xuanyin scoffed at their blatant effort to prevent her from knowing what they were speaking of
Back in the infirmary Arc began cultivating after Wei Li said his goodbyes
His heart was fractured and his lungs were almost entirely vaporized during the fight
The gaps in his heart were filled with spiritual energy to prevent internal bleeding
While he used his chi to pump oxygen throughout his body due to lacking lungs
Eating countless healing pills did cause the flesh to slowly return but that alone wouldn't be enough
Cultivating would force new flesh and blood to form due to his technique being one of body tempering
Yet this wasn't easy, as he absorbed spiritual energy into his body he felt his dantian constantly expanding to the maximum before then immediately shriveling up
Each rotation of his technique forced him to cough out black blood, this blood contained "impurities", including the sword intent that was trapped in his body
His flesh blossomed almost like a rose as it rapidly grew out filling all the void spots caused by Wei Li's attacks
While this was happening Arc focused on his spiritual energy, a short while ago he had gained a better understanding of "life force"
This would be the perfect time to better understand of this aspect of earth spiritual qi
Yet something was blocking this, the faint "gravity" Arc previously felt when practicing Xuanyin's technique
Gravity was another manifestation of earth energy, since he was currently exhibiting this property; it dampened his senses towards the other ends of earth spirit qi
This greatly confused Arc as he still didn't fully understand where that property came from, it simply just appeared
Focus? Density? Color? What was the mechanism behind this change; perhaps it's something even simpler than that
Arc removed his chi from his spiritual qi; and almost immediately the faint life energy was immediately reborn
Seeing this Arc had a glint of enlightenment, chi was the extreme representation of "life force" one brought up only to harm
Since his chi was of earth elements when combined with his spiritual qi new properties were born
It seemed that the fusing of chi and qi didn't come without detriment, since he would lose out on such possible calm energies
"Well it's not completely unavoidable; I'm sure I can learn some of those calmer aura based techniques"
"Yin and yang technique would probably be suitable for this, going to both extremes would definitely give me more options than locking myself to one"
Arc murmured under his breath as he focused on this feeling of life; it was a difficult experience to describe
It was like tasting sound, or hearing color; a wondrous feeling that seemed to sink deep into his bones, only then did Arc notice the dozens of small fractures lingering on his spine
It seemed as though the healing process was going to be slower than he originally believed….
"Shit, i better heal before the next fight or Aurora and Xuanyin will Kill me"
Arc shook his head removing those impatient thoughts from his mind; right now he should remain focused on understanding life energy
Any doubts or hesitation will only delay his cultivation; Arc took a deep breath returning to his normal calculative state of mind
Xuanyin yawned gently, before tilting her head down to see ink-star restless
"What's the matter?"
"Dad is cultivation; i should be there helping him, if i synchronize with him i can help him heal faster"
He murmured under his breath, his tail drooping
Xuanyin placed her hand on his head and rubbed it gently while speaking with a warm tone
"Don't worry, That brat is fine; those are hardly considered serious injuries for someone like him "
"I drank almost all the blood in his body and he recovered the same day"
"But if your so worried no need to stay here go back into the formation flag; have the spawn take you"
Ink-star nodded softly, before jumping out of her arms and into the arms of Vampire servants Xuanyin had converted
Just then someone approached Xuanyin a rather nervous expression on her face
The young gray knight apprentice, she bowed gently before speaking with a youthful and gentle voice
"It's a pleasure to meet you Xuanyin; I've heard much about you"
"Oh? Is that so; i always assumed the gray knight factions didn't communicate with outsiders"
"Well, your leaving the Abyss resulted in a rather…Eventful effect"
Xuanyin's eyebrows twitched, that was not a moment of time she looked fondly of
"What do you want, brat?"
"N-Nothing, it's just i heard a certain rumor during my journey and i-i-i wanted to ask"
The apprentice stuttered over her words in both excitement and nervousness
The apprentice unable to her curiosity had approached the black mountain sect leader and learned who Xuanyin was
Upon hearing the name she instinctively knew that she must ask that question…
Xuanyin clicked her tongue gently and said with a cold expression
"No, i'm not telling you anything regarding that blasphemer"
"I-I didn't even asked anything yet"
"I know of your sect, and I know their history; it was carved in stone in the abyss"
"So I know what foolish question you wish to ask, and i tell you now give up on that dumb idea; or you'll kill more than just yourself"
She lowered her head clearly disappointed before murmuring
"I can pay, even it just a fragment of information"
"Im not intere- "the Sect Master can probably help you become a earth immortal, or at the very less reduce the effects brought by the abyss"
Xuanyin froze as if remembering that day all those years ago and with great pain she spoke once more
"No…it's simply not worth it"
Xuanyin felt disappointed as those words left her mouth but she remained firm in her decision; doubts were detrimental for a cultivator
The apprentice eyes flashed with indescribable emotion sighing gently she remained calm while saying
"Few people lived to see that event.. i'm sorry for bringing it up to you; thank you for letting me speak to you"
Xuanyin remained silent, yet her tail swiped as if shooing her away.
The Sect master rubbed his chin curious of what they were talking about, from the looks of it Xuanyin knew something of great importance
"Perhaps I can leverage Arc to get that information"
The Sect master murmured under his breath only to feel a deadly stare
"O-oh, Aurora, S-Sorry i didn't mean that"
Aurora remained silent for several seconds, looking at him with a cold emotionless expression before saying with a deceitfully kind tone
"No need to apologize Uncle"
The sect master felt a cold sweat rolling down his back, before Aurora turned away no longer teasing him