...…
"..."
Yang Fa noticed the same thing happening to Azmodeus again.
'As expected, those 'two youngsters' would do something like that.'
He let out an aged sigh at the thought of these two trouble-making geniuses. "Although I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, I can tell you for certain that you will never gain more strength if you rely on me alone," he said. "And I'm sure you already know that as well. So, why don't we talk about how you plan to take down the Black Tiger Family with your own individual strength—?"
"Can we not help him just a little teensie bit, Father? Pretty Pwease…?" Yang Hua chimed in a pleading tone, her big green eyes terrorizing her father with a weapon of mass cuteness.
"T-This, my dear, you must understand that Azmodeus here needs to grow—"
"Pwease…?" she interrupted with her lips curling up, about to break the cuteness barrier that restricted all beings.
Urgh…!
Yang Fa nearly had a heart attack. Struggling to breathe, he mumbled, "I guess I can give him a few more pills…"
Yang Hua's eyes brightened up at his response. She jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. "You're the best, father! Thank you, thank you!"
Normally, the Sect Leader would have been pleased after receiving such affection from his daughter, but when he caught the greedy glint in the young black-haired boy's eyes, he felt a spike go through his heart.
'My money… All the wealth I have accumulated over the years… Why do I feel like I will need to weep tears of blood for my soon-to-be net worth…?'
Yang Fa grimaced a bit before looking at the black-eyed boy, only to see that the boy was no longer there and had left a note in his place.
The first part of the note was for Yang Hua, telling her that he'd consider dropping by whenever he had time, while the second part was for Yang Fa, 'You owe me pills, old man. I will be back to take them from your hands when I run out. Thanks for the technique, and try not to croak before I get my pills.'
The Sect Leader nearly died of anger when he saw what was written on the note. 'That little bastard is so much like him,' he thought. 'And that is exactly what worries me when it concerns the future of the Fire Nation…'
He let out a deep sigh. While reminiscing of all that he had seen over the years, he gently picked up the now-sleepy Yang Hua and brought her back to her room.
Afterwards, he returned to the chair that overlooked the rest of the Yang Sect from atop his nigh-insurmountable mountain.
'I wonder if this boy's path will coincide with his parents, or if he will end up somewhere entirely different…'
_____
Meanwhile, a few dozen miles into the Yang Forest, inside a small shed that was barely holding itself together, Azmodeus sat cross-legged, meditating. His goal was to comprehend the profound mysteries of the Cloud Chasers Technique.
So far, he hadn't learned much more than the fact that the Cloud Chasers Technique was split up into twelve different levels. Of those twelve levels, only the first level was attainable for someone in the Body Refinement Realm.
"Although the first level is supposed to be the easiest, I can't seem to understand a single thing I'm looking at," Azmodeus mumbled with a discontented expression etched across his face.
Although his comprehension wasn't the highest out there, with his improvements to his cultivation talent, his comprehension speed should've been boosted along with it!
And yet…
'Why do I feel like understanding even the smallest section of the first level will take me at least half a day?'
Half a day may not sound like much, but for him, it was like flushing all the opportunities for obtaining tens of thousands of potential Evolution Essence straight down the drain!
'Should I keep focusing on understanding the Cloud Chasers Technique, or should I go out and hunt some more Spiritual Beasts in the depths of the Yang Forest?'
After a brief moment of contemplation, he ultimately decided to persist in his effort to comprehend the Cloud Chasers Technique.
After all, if comprehending this technique requires such a great amount of time, then it must surely be a technique that would give him insane amounts of benefits!
So that's exactly what he did, while time passed by like the passing of seasons…
Half a day later.
Outside a small hut, a young boy with black hair and eyes moved in intricate foot movements. His bare, slightly muscular chest was exposed in the open.
He leaped to the left, skidded to the right, dashed forward and backtracked to where he had initially been.
As he repeated all these motions a few more times, something started to change in the way he was moving.
His speed was gradually increasing!
Not only that, but his feet almost seemed like they were gliding above the ground with the help of some mystical power.
After improving his speed even further with the help of the Cloud Chaser Technique, Azmodeus began to look like a blur, his speed reaching new heights.
A few minutes later, he had successfully reached the very first level of the Cloud Chasers Technique!
Once he had attained this level of proficiency, he immediately felt a newfound power course through his veins. While he didn't know exactly how much faster he had become, he knew that it was enough to say that his speed had instantly become his strongest aspect of existence.
In fact, if his estimations were right, then his speed had already surpassed that of someone at the 60% Tempering Marrow Stage!
Even so, gaining this new level of speed only stroked his hunger for power. Without hesitation, he got right down into cultivation once again.
A few hours passed by, and all the pills given to him by the Sect Leader had been used up.
The pills which would usually take weeks if not months to digest, Azmodeus had taken a few measly hours to assimilate. This degree of speed could all be attributed to his exceptional cultivation talent!
...….