Chapter 57: Unearthing the Origin! The Complete Red Dragon Symbol!
The morning sun pierced through the thin mist, and Arthur and Kurogane Ikki pushed open their respective doors almost simultaneously.
The former was refreshed, a habitual faint smile gracing his lips.
The latter, however, had a pair of dark circles under his eyes, his steps unsteady, as if most of his energy had been drained.
Arthur glanced at Kurogane Ikki's greatly weakened state, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes, but his tone was warmer than usual.
"Oh, Ikki-san, it seems you had a very fulfilling rest last night."
"Heh... heh heh..."
Kurogane Ikki, like a rusty robot, stiffly twisted his neck, forcing out a smile uglier than a cry, without even the strength to retort.
Immediately after, Kurogane Shizuku gracefully emerged, already bathed and radiant.
The young girl naturally linked arms with Kurogane Ikki, half-supporting, half-leading him towards the dining room.
Arthur watched the Kurogane siblings' retreating figures, his face clearly showing the four characters for "schadenfreude."
On his side, he had merely accidentally attracted a naive, slightly clumsy Princess.
Compared to the genuine and fervent emotional entanglement between the siblings over there, this little interlude was truly nothing.
Everyone gathered for breakfast, and Saikyō Nene appeared at the opportune moment to announce the day's training content—
The six of them needed to engage in group sparring practice.
Before the bright-eyed Kurogane Shizuku could make a move, Kurogane Ikki darted to Arthur's front, dropping to his knees with a "thud," his tone utterly earnest.
"Lord arthur, I beg you to be merciful and let me be in your group!"
Arthur elegantly put down his knife and fork, slowly and deliberately wiping his mouth with a napkin, exuding an aristocratic air in every gesture, like a young master from a prestigious family.
"I refuse."
"Nani!?"
Kurogane Ikki was instantly struck by lightning.
He never expected that at a moment of "life and death," his most trusted friend would stand idly by?
Arthur slightly tilted his head, his gaze falling on the other end of the dining table.
Stella was nervously fiddling with the vegetable salad on her plate, her head almost buried in the bowl.
He explained, "Because today, I'm training with Stella."
At these words, Toudou Touka and Toutokubara Kanata, who were discussing sparring details with their heads down, along with the chaos-loving Saikyō Nene, all had their eyes light up.
The three ladies' gazes darted back and forth between the Kurogane siblings, and Arthur and Stella.
In an instant, their eyes had completed a complex exchange of no less than a hundred thousand words.
... ...
The exclusive training ground behind the mansion.
Arthur led the way in, while Stella, uncharacteristically, reined in her usual spirited demeanor, her head lowered, following closely behind him.
"What do you think of this place?"
"Hm!?"
Stella was pulled back to her senses by his sudden question, she looked up blankly, surveying the luxurious surroundings.
The training ground was clean and spacious, with a flat surface and excellent visibility.
Not far away, a large swimming pool shimmered, and two conspicuous large floating beds were even tied by the poolside.
Stella: (⁄ ⁄ • ⁄ ω ⁄ • ⁄ ⁄)
"W-will it be too easy for others to see us... here?"
Although her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, Arthur clearly caught it.
His habitual wrist stretches paused, and a few dark lines couldn't help but appear on his forehead.
He looked at this Princess, who had mentally conjured countless mosaic-filled scenes, and helplessly retorted.
"I was asking you how you feel about sparring here. What are you thinking about all day long?"
"I... I was, of course, also thinking about sparring!"
Stella's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, radiating a palpable heat, as she hastily explained.
"My Noble Art is so powerful, and this place is so close to the pool. What if I accidentally cause damage!"
Well, that's what she said.
Arthur naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to expose her, instead, he followed her lead.
"Indeed, both you and I are the type who hardly need to worry about the amount of magical power."
"So, today's training focus is to learn how to precisely control magical power, to restrain our strength as much as possible, and avoid unnecessary waste during combat."
Seeing Arthur switch to serious mode as soon as he talked about cultivation, Stella couldn't help but grumble.
"Honestly, who confirms a relationship with a girl and then immediately drags her into such boring cultivation?"
Arthur was momentarily speechless, a slightly awkward but still graceful smile appearing on his face.
"I apologize. My past has always been intertwined with various forms of cultivation, and I'm indeed... not very good at handling relationships in this regard."
For some reason, Arthur's face was clearly smiling, but this smile, reflected in Stella's eyes, cast a subtle ripple across her heart.
She ultimately just pursed her lips lightly, then with a flick of her wrist, Hiryū Zai Ken was summoned, and the dashing heroic spirit of the Vermillion Princess reappeared.
"Don't think I'm still the same as before! Today's victory will surely be mine!"
"Oh? Then I shall look forward to it."
...The Crimson King's dividing line...
Under the professional guidance of Yasha Princess Saikyō Nene, everyone wholeheartedly threw themselves into two weeks of intensive special training.
Time flew by; some successfully developed brand-new Noble Arts, while others completely refined skills that were still in the conceptual stage.
At this moment, in a corner of the crater-filled training ground, Arthur sat cross-legged, his eyes closed.
He focused his mind inward, carefully searching for deeper, hidden powers within his body.
Ever since he mastered the Demonic Breathing Technique, he had vaguely sensed a more violent, primal power stirring within him.
Arthur, who had once studied the ancient texts of the Ubuyashiki Clan, initially thought this awakening power was the so-called Mark.
After all, when discussing the extreme of Breathing Technique, besides the Transparent World, there was only the Mark that squeezed biological potential.
As a secret technique that burned life to exchange for powerful strength, Arthur had never considered actively activating it before.
However, as he became more proficient in Demonic Breathing Technique, his previous conjectures about the Mark were completely overturned.
This power was not driven by the Breathing Technique; its root seemed to point towards the essence of the Symbol of the Red Dragon.
Or rather—Origin.
If attributes were the fundamental elements defining a Magus's power, then what was even more profound than attributes, directly pointing to existence, was Origin.
Every Magus possessed their unique Origin, and Arthur was naturally no exception.
By squeezing potential with the Mark, and skillfully combining it with Ittoshura's flexible control over exceeding limits, he finally touched upon that deeply buried Origin.
Hiss—!
Crimson, blood-like magical power steam surged from Arthur's body, instantly condensing into a ferocious cloak flowing with ominous flames around him.
The steam billowed and roared in mid-air, lingering for a long time, its form strikingly similar to the phantom of a colossal red dragon with its neck craned towards the sky, wings poised for flight!
With each sway of the Symbol of the Red Dragon, the surrounding space violently twisted and trembled!
Arthur slowly opened his eyes, the divine light within them restrained.
He carefully examined the layer of crimson flame covering his entire body, almost solidified, and silently began to time himself.
One second, two seconds... one minute... two minutes...
Thump, thump!
His heart suddenly clenched, and an unprecedented sharp pain instantly swept through his entire body!
Even Arthur, who was already accustomed to pain, couldn't help but have his face contort, veins bulging on his forehead!
In an instant, the violent crimson flames completely retracted into his body, and the Symbol of the Red Dragon hovering behind him also vanished without a trace.
"Hoo—!"
Arthur exhaled a long breath, slowly stood up, and savored the immense power that allowed him to cause spatial tremors with every gesture.
"Is this the complete form of the Symbol of the Red Dragon?"
"If I were to fight in an over-limit state... it would be around two minutes and thirty seconds?"
"Well~ even Stella, who controls the concept of dragons, only barely makes me serious, so occasions where I can use this trump card must be exceedingly rare."
Moreover, Arthur also had to consider the immense burden the over-limit state placed on his body.
Currently, it seemed that alleviating this fatigue would require at least one day.
Having thoroughly integrated the Mark and the secret of Ittoshura, and successfully unearthed his own Origin, Arthur's thoughts cleared, and he turned to walk towards the mansion.
'Two consecutive weeks of high-intensity training must have exhausted everyone physically and mentally; it's time for a break.'
And so, the main representatives cultivating in the mountains prepared to rest for a while, while the main representatives hidden in the shadows had already embarked on a path of destruction.