The more Adonis fought Atryan, the more disappointed he felt.
He was weak, pitifully so.
Obviously, he knew Atryan most likely had all his strength sealed away by this trial but still, he should be a seasoned veteran and yet…
'Predictable.'
By simply reading the Colours he'd begun to see after his enlightenment during Eteha's trial, he dominated.
These Colors seemed to stretch across time as they told him everything. They told him Atryan's deepest secrets, they told him his thoughts, they guided him and so much more.
A few hours ago, he couldn't understand any of it but the awakening of [Flawless] now made it as easy as breathing.
He became even more terrifying when he stacked [Perfection] and [Control] atop [Flawless].
[Perfection] was the active ability of [Prime] and was what he'd used before he learnt of his trinity. It was the application of perfection he'd used to improve the high level guard's style when he fought him.
Now, instead of using it onto his experience, he used it on his body, creating a sort of paradoxical loop where he tried making something flawless, perfect. This alone made him as fast and powerful as he would be if he used [layer] three hundred times.
Then when he added [Control] atop it all, his strength suddenly became precise and maintained, fully under the leashes of his own will.
Adonis swung and the winds howled, parting like the sea as he cleaved down and tore yet another wound onto Atryan's body.
He took a step back and dodged one of his swings before he burst forth again and his leg moved, positioning itself behind Atryan's foot as with a slight push, he tripped his opponent, rewarding him with an embarrassing fall.
His cold blade lay on Atryan's blood and sweat soaked neck as he panted in exhaustion, looking at Adonis in pure and utter awe.
He wasn't surprised by the power he was displaying, no, that was expected from his creator's True Heir.
What he was surprised by was the synergy of his Gifts.
Could it truly be luck or was it…thought out?
It almost seemed like Adonis' Gifts were made to give him the ability to control himself. If Atryan looked back on what he'd seen during Eteha's trial then perhaps…
"You lose."
"Boy, just wait till I get my real body back, I'm gonna-"
"Sure."
Veins popped along Atryan's forehead as he heard Adonis' chuckle but eventually, he relaxed.
"Fuck you, kid."
"Quite Vulgar, no?" Adonis said with a smile as he helped him up.
"Whatever. Either way, I was only in charge of the training part, the Trial part will come soon. You weren't able to form your martial style due to my incapacity but hopefully these opponents are powerful enough to push you to your limits."
"Only by reaching your limits will you birth a martial style worthy of a Sovereign's."
Qi flooded Atryan's body as he rapidly began to heal.
'Ah, right. He barely used his qi during our fight.'
"Hey, before I start this trial, I have a question."
"Ask away."
"How come the cultivators I've met so far have all been so weak? I was able to kill a tier six guard with barely any experience. Surely I'm not that strong, right?"
Atryan only thought for a moment before he answered.
"There are two paths you can use to cultivate. You either follow the Blank Path or the Golden Path."
"In simple words, the Blank path are fake cultivators that barely awaken their elements and simply gather qi while the Golden path cultivators are the real deal. I doubt you would've survived even a single hit from a tier one golden path cultivator." He explained.
Adonis fell into deep thought.
'Does that mean Arel was following the Blank Path…really? This doesn't seem right. I know Arlo was hiding his power but could Arel have been hiding his own as well? Why? Does that mean the entire camp was in on the nonsense Arlo was pulling off?'
'Why…?'
He sighed and rapidly shook these thoughts away. He had a trial to take.
"Alright, I'm off. Good luck, kid."
With these last words, Atryan vanished and Adonis was left alone in the middle of the arena.
[You have completed the Sovereign's Baptism of Steel, you will now proceed to the Sovereign Trial of Steel.]
[The trial will be made up of ten levels. Each level will have one more enemy than the last with the first level having one enemy.]
[To move on to the next level, you must defeat all enemies. You can not give up. Only death will sign the end of this trial.]
[The trial will begin in five minutes. Good luck.]
Adonis didn't pay attention to the voice as he closed his eyes and began to wait, sinking into his own thoughts to fill the silence.
'He said that each of my movements must contain an artistic origin. Moving like the wind, as explosive as flames and all that kinda stuff but I have to make it mine. Create my own style, my own anchor.'
'What could my style be? No, what do I even like about battling? Do I even love it? Yes, I definitely do. Stupid thought.'
'What do I like about battling…? How does it make me feel…?'
A gong resounded and slowly, Adonis opened his eyes.
He tightly gripped his spear and widened his stance as he took a deep breath in and steadied his core before he slowly breathed out.
In front of him, a figure began to materialise, covered in grey clouds.
Soon, the clouds cleared and his first opponent was revealed to him.
With long red hair, deep blue eyes and an imposing armour of golden steel, the woman that stood before him left him speechless.
It wasn't because of her attractive body, no, he was too young for such vanities. What left him baffled was the weapon she wielded.
The woman grinned and her fist slung forth, her steel whip following along as she left the air crackling.
Violet lightning erupted all around her body as wings of blue flames burst forth from her back.
Two mutated elements.
"Fuck…"