Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Whilst Ace was reeling over his most recent breakthrough, in the outside world, just outside the front gates of the Necropolis of the Gods, a truly mesmerising battle was taking place.

Well, the word battle is probably a little too much…

Aiden Rohault, the founder and creator of the path of "Concepts", was facing off against the true overlord of the Yulan Plane – the original God Eater Rat, Lord Beirut.

In a battle between these two, everyone alive would expect Beirut to be the one dominating in what should be a completely one-sided battering, but the truth was anything but…

Aiden moved with an otherworldly grace, his glaive an extension of his very being. It was as if the wind itself danced with him, amplifying the speed and power of his strikes. Each was a perfect and mesmerising blend of sharpness and fluidity, each strike carrying the weight of a tempest. His glaive moved with a natural ease as if it were an extension of the wind's own breath.

The clash of Aiden's skill and Beirut created a spectacle that echoed through the Forest of Darkness. Aiden pressed forward with relentless precision, his glaive cutting through the air with a deadly elegance. Beirut, a supremely powerful deity, found himself unable to respond, forced to be what can only be described as a punching bag for this heaven-gifted emissary of his.

Ace's improvement since entering the Necropolis could only be described as blazing. In fact, even that wouldn't do Ace's rate of improvement justice. Still, despite honing his [Blazing Glaive Art] to an incredibly high level, when compared to his master's, it couldn't even be mentioned in the same breath.

The manner in which Aiden's glaive moved through the air… it was like there was a silent form of communication taking place between Aiden and the wind itself, in a language that only he could understand.

Unfortunately, despite the incredible power behind each swing, Beirut's defences held strong. Aiden's peerless strikes, capable of slaying even Demi-Gods, met what may as well have been an impenetrable barrier, unable to leave so much as a mark on the formidable defences that was Beirut's skin.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Beirut sighed helplessly as he casually waved his hands, creating a seemingly gentle gust of wind that somehow sent Aiden flying back. "You really are something else. After over two years, my progress in the utilisation of "Concepts" should be considered fast, but somehow, the gap between us only seems to be widening.

After first gaining a basic understanding of the "Concepts of Darkness" and suppressing my realm to the Demi-God realm to spar with you, even though you were definitely the superior of the two of us, I could at least respond to your attacks, but now…"

Aiden casually dusted himself as he let go of his glaive, allowing it to float to his rear before responding. "That may be so, but what does skill matter if I'm unable to even cut off a single strand of hair on your head."

"Even if I were to stand still for a day and let them attack me freely, not even a seven-star fiend would be able to harm me, and yet you, a mere mortal, are actually disappointed that you weren't able to pierce my defences? You really are something else," Beirut sighed exasperatedly before looking back at his emissary curiously. "I still don't understand how you're able to progress so quickly…

Even if you are a genius seen only once in an era, even if you were the one who created this path, there should still be limitations to your rate of improvement, but no matter how I look at it, you seem to have no limitations."

"I don't understand it much myself, and I can't really put it into words," Aiden replied casually. "But ever since you first gave me that wind-based Sovereign's Might…

It's like I can hear the wind communicating with me. It's like the wind itself is whispering its secrets directly into my soul."

Aiden's expression was absentminded as he tried to explain what he was experiencing. As a result, he didn't see the look of disbelief on Beirut's face, which quickly turned into a frown.

"I just checked," Beirut voiced. "And your dantian is still crippled, meaning you still don't have an affinity to any of the Laws or Edicts. As such, what you're explaining, it should be impossible."

"Like I said, I don't understand it either," Aiden shrugged. "All I can say is that the more we fight, the faster I improve."

As he said that, an excited and faintly battle-hungry glint flashed across Aiden's face, causing Beirut to shake his head helplessly.

"Don't you think you've embarrassed me enough in front of our newly arrived guests?" Beirut sighed as he motioned up to the group of youngsters who stood in the skies looking down in disbelief at what they were witnessing.

A sigh escaped Aiden's eyes as he once again let go of his Glaive, allowing it to float to his rear, understanding that they wouldn't be able to continue their training anymore – at least not that day.

It wasn't that he didn't sense the arrival of the audience. With his soul matching that of a Demi-God, there were very few people on their continent who could approach him without him realising. No, the truth was he was just more interested in his training.

He wasn't too dissimilar to Ace in that sense – he was also addicted to the feeling of getting stronger, but where every step forward in the past was incredibly difficult, that side of him rarely came out, but now, with him able to feel himself getting stronger by the day, he found it increasingly difficult to focus on anything but his training.

Still, he knew that he had other tasks to handle aside from his training.

"Are you brats gonna stand there like that forever?" Aiden sighed, ignoring the shocked looks on the faces of the remaining Acolytes of the Yin-Yang Pavilion that hadn't already entered.

That's right, the newcomers were Killian and the rest of Ace and Amira's classmates. Still, even with Aiden addressing them, they weren't able to get over the shock of what they had just witnessed.

They all knew Aiden was powerful, but what they had just witnessed… Aiden suppressing Lord Beirut to the point where the overlord of their whole plane was unable to fight back was beyond shocking.

It didn't take a genius to understand that Beirut had suppressed his realm so that it would be an equal fight, but it had to be remembered that Beirut was a peerless expert whose power and ability were simply unfathomable to them.

As far as they were concerned, even if Beirut was inferior to Aiden when it came to comprehension of Concepts, he should still be able to overwhelm their Grand Elder with far superior battle experience and intelligence.

The first to get over his shock was Killian. In fact, other than a brief moment of surprise, he didn't feel much else. As far as he was concerned, Aiden being able to do something like that was to be expected. It was only a man like that who was qualified to be his "big" brother's master.

As such, hearing Aiden's words, using his incredible mastery over [Impose], he walked on the air as if it were solid ground, appearing around 10 meters before Aiden and Beirut with but a single step.

"Grand Elder, Lord Beirut," Killian cupped his fists and greeted the two experts in a respectful yet un-servile manner.

Killian's unhurried steps woke the others who followed behind him, greeting the two experts.

"Mmh, not bad," Beirut nodded with an appreciative light in his eyes as he looked over the group of seven youngsters. "Clearly, you haven't been sitting around wasting time since the Necropolis of the Gods opened."

Beirut remembered the first time he saw the seven juniors back on the day of Ace and Linley's showdown. Even back then, though each of them would be considered an elite genius seen only once every other generation, they still had this air of immaturity, but now…

'I'm looking forward to seeing how far each of them will be able to climb in the future,' Beirut thought to himself before turning back to Aiden. "I'll leave their pre-entry selection to you."

With that, Beirut's body suddenly disappeared, his movements reaching a speed that not even Aiden was able to even begin to follow.

Aiden, though, didn't seem phased in the slightest as he proceeded to address the young Acolytes before him. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you but to be allowed entry as a mortal, you need to display the power of at least an early saint.

But the fact that you're all here now after all this time… I'm guessing you're all ready and confident.

As such, I won't waste any more time boring you all."

As he said to there, Aiden summoned the familiar humanoid Deathgod golem from his interspatial ring.

"To put it simply, to enter, you merely have to knock down this puppet who has the power of a fairly weak early-stage saint," Aiden continued. "Now, which one of you brats is coming first?"

Aiden's eyes scanned the group, and as he did, like Beirut, his eyes glimmered with appreciation. There was no fear or hesitation on any of their faces. In fact, all he could see was anticipation and excitement.

Still, before any of the others could raise their hands, Killian stepped forward.

Seeing that, Aiden's eyes widened with a hint of surprise. Not because Killian was making his move before giving him the go-ahead, but because the movement technique he used to appear in front of the puppet in but a fraction of a second was simply exquisite!

Like all the members of the Pavilion, Killian had mastered [Soru] years ago, but with Aiden's vision, he was able to see that, like his unruly disciple, Killian had taken it a step further, infusing his comprehension of the Laws of the Earth into it.

The Profound Mystery Killian had first gained insight into was the Mystery of the Pulse of the World. The Pulse of the World was a mystery that had many different applications; it just depended on who you were and how you chose to use it. For Killian, it allowed him to merge the pulse of his heart and his very being with the Earth beneath his feet, allowing him to borrow its power, and by the looks of it, Killian had taken that application even further.

Aiden sensed Killian's pulse merge with that of the vibrations of the tectonic plates near the centre of their planes; it was then that Killian did something that even Aiden could only describe as genius, fusing the explosive movement of [Soru] with the shifting of the tectonic plates near their plane's core, he was able to erupt with a straight line speed that even some peak saints would be proud of.

Before the Deathgod Golem could react, Killian thrust his palm forward in the most casual of manners, slapping the puppet in the centre of its chest.

Aiden watched with a pleasantly surprised smile as the oversized puppet was sent crashing back, breaking the sound barrier as it flew, crashing straight into the side of Beirut's metallic castle. "Not bad, brat!"

-----------------------------------------

Story Complete!

Currently 142 chapters ahead!

Head over to the P atreon if you wish to read to the end uninterrupted!

P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon