After delivering the kick, Mane flipped mid-air and landed stably. He kept his body crouched and poised for an attack. But unlike before, he didn't make the first move. He patiently watched his father like an eagle stalking its prey. But this time, it wasn't going to play out as it always did. For his father was no prey; dude was a hunter.
*Boom*
The ground beneath Ray exploded as the full power of a mortal realm expert burst out from within him. Just like the outburst of outer energy that body wielders were so adept at, the outburst of inner energy was also explosive. However, unlike outer energy, inner energy manifested in a strange glow that covered the body. As could be seen on Ray currently, the green glow that covered his entire frame was born from inner energy. Outer energy made no such manifestations. It was rare to see this glow on Zandorians however. In Zandor, the residents of this tiny planet did not truly know how to properly use inner energy. What Ray had done was a basic form of inner energy use. But the people of Zandor weren't accustomed to this. The use of inner energy to manipulate the elements was a very high level of control with regards to using inner energy. It was amazing that Zandorians didn't know the basics of inner energy manipulation, but could attain such high levels of elemental control. This was truly attributed to their bloodlines. And it was evidence that Zandor had a history that was much deeper than what it appeared to be. For if bloodlines with inherent control over the elements were passed down on an unknown planet, it signified that this planet was more mysterious than it appeared.
Ray's speed was exceptional, it took him less to no time to get to Mane. But even under this exceptional speed, Mane didn't panic. He poised himself like an animal, choosing to be on all fours. His eyes glowed beautifully like turquoise and read his opponent's movements with serenity. His aura was grandiose, almost like he was a king surveying his land- nay, an alpha watching his pup. But his father's aura was no weaker than his. The Brute King was a conqueror of many worlds, and a survivor of a million battles. The smell of blood on him was dense, his aura stifling to the average man- and the average god. Even with his strength reduced to the mortal realm, his bearing was that of a peak level ascender. And his son's aura had no effect on him. He had sparred with Mane a few times already. The first time he had experienced the boy's aura he was startled. Such an aura was born from not only winning a hundred different battles, but staining your hands with the blood of several. It was disheartening that his ten year old boy had such an aura already. But it also spoke of his son's strength and progress. So totally ignoring the beast-like aura Mane was giving off, Ray calmly delivered his punch.
*Bang*
The ground where Mane previously stood was cracked apart like an eggshell. The cause of this destruction was the big fist that struck it right now. As for he who previously stood in that position, he had calmly leapt out of the way. Right before Ray attack had hit Mane, the little boy had jumped to the side- whilst still on all fours. His leap was similar to that of a wolf avoiding a fatal blow- quick and efficient. Yet Ray didn't plan to let him off so easy. After he missed his first attack, he span to the left, where his son had leapt to, and dashed towards the boy who was still mid-air. Ray's reaction was fast, but Mane was no slouch himself. He didn't allow his father to strike first. Even though he was mid-air, he wasn't helpless. He tucked himself in, and pushed out with his legs as though the air was the sea and he was a fish. His strange action pushed him towards the wall of the training room. It was almost as if there was an invisible springboard in the air, and Mane had used that to get away. But that wasn't his true intention. Once he was close to the wall, he performed a backflip so he would land on it with his legs, and not strike it headfirst. It was fascinating how one could so easily change his direction mid-air, and perform such complex actions without the ability to fly. Ray was very impressed with what he was seeing. Yet his pleasure at seeing his son's strange actions didn't stop his march one bit. It took a bit longer to get to his son's location, since the little boy had opened up the distance between them, but he got there anyway. Once he did, he delivered an unimpressive fist towards the boy.
*Bang*
Ray missed his target, striking the wall instead. The new dent on the previously even wall surface was testament of the power that was hidden in that ordinary looking fist. As for Mane, he cleverly allowed himself to fall slightly as the punch came in and narrowly avoided it. Once he had landed on the wall, his father was almost upon him. He didn't do anything too impressive, choosing to let gravity do its job and fall off a bit. There was a small smile on his face as he pushed with his legs and delivered a solid punch to the belly of the man who was his father.
*Bang*
Mane's fist struck his father firmly on his midsection. Both figures flew forward for about ten metres, with Mane's fist sticking to his father's belly like a cat with a piece of fish in its mouth. Once they had reached the ten meter mark, Mane exerted more force into his fist and unleashed his full strength.
"Hah!" he exclaimed, sending his father crashing onto the ground, his strength beyond the level of the mortal realm. Mane had successfully unleashed outer energy onto his father. Although the older man had assumed that Mane couldn't apply the skill in combat, the younger boy had proven him wrong. It wasn't that Ray's previous logic wasn't sound. He was right in every way to believe that someone who had just began to learn how to access outer energy wouldn't be able to use it in a fight. And he was right. In a true battle, Mane wouldn't be able to use outer energy in a fight. It took too long for him to get into the state, and it was difficult for him to unleash an attack with it. As witnessed earlier, he got exhausted after utilizing outer energy for just one simple punch. But Mane had an eidetic memory. He could remember everything that happened, when it happened. The more he experienced something, the better he got at it. This was so for everyone. But it was doubly so for Mane. And he had displayed why his memory was so useful. Although he still couldn't use outer energy in a true fight, the time he needed to slip into the state had decreased by two seconds. It may sound insignificant, but it had helped him tremendously. In that brief moment where he had latched onto the wall, he had begun his preparations for entering into the state. And even after he delivered the punch, he still wasn't there yet. It was only after they had traversed that short distance did he feel outer energy beckon, and he was happy to seek its aid. But the effects of the attack on him was obvious. His breathing was shallow and ragged. He was dead tired. The training from before was exhaustive enough, but now he had gone past his limits once more, and his body was groaning, pleading its master for a much needed moment of rest. But Mane couldn't rest just yet. Although the energy that surrounded his father's body was enough to block a mortal realm attack, it couldn't fend off an above-mortal realm level attack. And that was the force behind Mane's fist. Mane wasn't relieved at all. He needed to see with his own eyes that his attack had been successful. But the dust that filled the room from the ground where his father had fallen made it difficult to see the results of his fist. And the silence that filled the room was unsettling. The longer his father stayed down, the more anxious he got. He had sparred with his father several times, and not even once had he emerged the winner. For someone with a winning streak like himself it was totally unacceptable, even if that person was his father. Although he didn't know how powerful his father was, he knew from his masters that his father was at the peak of the ascension realm. He knew that even among the gods, his father was no figure to be trifled with. But that didn't stop him from wanting to win. It only made the zeal to beat the Brute King even stronger. But the zealous boy was slowly losing his footing. His eyelids were gradually closing and a dizziness spell was creeping in. But before he even had the time to worry about that, he felt movement from his back.
"Not again" he mumbled. His body was too tired to heed his commands. All he could do was smile wryly as he received a knife chop to the neck. As he lost his consciousness, all he could think of was, "How did he do it this time?"