"He is actually able to use outer energy." He mumbled silently. Ray was stunned by what he was seeing. Typically, body wielders trained for a relatively long time before being able to manipulate edict. The fastest he had heard someone gained access to outer energy was after three months of training. Mane had been training for only 1! And although he could only maintain this state for ten seconds, and couldn't necessarily use it in combat, it was only a matter of time before that weakness was overcome.
As for why he couldn't use it in combat, it was simply because no one will wait for him to prepare himself so comfortably before attacking. Since Mane was now learning the ropes, he wasn't used to entering this state on a whim. He would grow more talented in it in the weeks to come. That much Ray was certain of.
"Good. Again." The 4th didn't say much. But his commands were conveyed, and his praise was flattering. Mane nodded, and continued to deepen his connection to outer energy.
"Hah!" he exclaimed once more. And once again, the atmosphere around him changed as the edict in the surroundings were stirred. This was the difference between body wielders and energy wielders. Whereas energy wielders connected to the edict in such a way that the energy was stored in their bodies, body wielders didn't have such a connection. What body wielders did was to use the surrounding energy of edict in combat, instead of storing that energy in their bodies. They trained hard to strengthen themselves so that this will be possible. This was because unlike inner energy, outer energy wasn't so docile. Inner energy wielders siphoned edict from the atmosphere and accepted docile inner energy. But outer energy was a bit different. Although edict was said to be docile in nature, and not at all turbulent like chaos, it wasn't exactly so. It was calm in comparison to chaos, but it wasn't just a pussy cat. If chaos was a wild lion, the edict was a wild cat. The wild lion could be tamed, but it took amazing skill to do so. That was why spiritualists were so impressive. And although the wild cat was also difficult to tame, the level of difficulty was in no way comparable to that of taming the wild lion. If taming chaos had a difficulty of ten, edict was at a mere 4. Hence, as long as one used the right method, they would be able to successfully tame this energy and store it in themselves.
But when one refused to tame this energy and use it directly, that was referred to as body wielding. In this case, the edict was accepted in its raw form- challenging and slightly destructive. If one's body wasn't strong enough to withstand its embrace, they would be torn apart. This was why body wielders trained their bodies so harshly. The stronger their bodies were, the more outer energy they would be able to use. And under the constant baptism of this untamed energy, their bodies will constantly grow stronger. So much so that even without any energy, they would be able to cause a lot of damage. Mane is a perfect example of that. The training dummy he was using was meant for mortal realm experts. To leave dents on it was equivalent to the strength of a high level mortal realm expert with strength in the eighth level of the mortal realm. Yet Mane, under his consistent and ruthless training, was able to perform such a feat in just a month.
"That's enough." After Mane's tenth outburst, the sweet voice of the 4th allowed him to take a break. Mane silently walked towards the dummy and then began to meditate right in front of it. After about thirty seconds, the voice of the 4th announced that his break was over.
"You know what to do." The 4th stated. "I do" Mane replied. And without wasting any more time, he readied himself before the dummy, and prepared himself for another outburst.
"Hah" Along with his voice, came a surge of energy. But this time instead of trying to maintain his state, he struck at the dummy with full power.
*bang*
The unfortunate dummy was knocked back about ten metres. The dummy had been blown of its stand cleanly. If one looked at it, they would see a huge dent on its chest. The dent was large and so deep that it almost seemed to create a hole in the dummy.
"That's enough. Your power is good. After you learn to better use outer energy we will work on your control. Rest" The 5th said.
Mane nodded his head in affirmation. His breathing was uneven, with sweat flowing profusely down his face. That one punch had greatly exhausted him. Maintaining the state was much simpler than using it. Using outer energy required that it be directed at an opponent. For Mane who had only built a connection to this energy a few days ago, this was a strenuous feat. As for his control, he had none. An experienced body wielder wouldn't knock the dummy cleanly off its stand. They would use just enough force to create a hole in its chest, but leave it standing as it was. He was yet to get to that level. For now, he needed rest. So when he heard the voice of the 5th saying he should rest, he didn't resist. Even if he wanted to continue, his shaking legs and aching arms will surely disagree. He entered a meditative state immediately. He had only 30 seconds to rest. He had to use his time frugally.
"Time's up." Mane reluctantly left his meditative state although he was still exhausted. He was aware that it was in such a state that he would see the greatest progress. "It's time dad." Mane beckoned his father as he run towards the older man. Ray grinned when he saw Mane's figure rushing towards him. He had been sparring with his son for a week now. It was their constant battle that was slowly shaping Mane into a capable body wielder. Ray always reduced his strength to the peak of the mortal realm before the spar. This was to make it 'fair'.
Ray easily sidestepped the kick that was meant for him and delivered a punch towards the mid-section of his assailant. Mane was calm even as the punch approached him. There was no way he would be able to avoid it since he was mid-air. His father was much taller than him, so anytime he attacked the older man, he had to jump. This made his attacks very predictable. One would call this unfair, but the little boy didn't complain. There weren't many his age who were capable of going against him. He had always been fighting against enemies much bigger than him, and he always came out on top. Maybe now that he was body wielding, he could get a sparring partner his age, but he didn't have any at the moment. So for now, his father will do.
When the punch was almost upon him, he grabbed the wrist of his father and used the older man like a swing. He held the arm of his father and used it as a fulcrum. He then delivered a flying kick by borrowing his old man's arm.
*Bang*
"Nice" Ray praised as he wiped the footprint off his face. Due to the nature of the attack, there wasn't much power in Mane's strike. But it was enough to put some distance between them.