So, he nodded in agreement.
“Very well. However, I will not use a magic attack this time,” he explained. “The power of a spell is difficult to control; a single slip and you might be directly vaporized. This time, I will use a different method—Spiritual Pressure.”
“Spiritual Pressure?”
“Yes. When I engage in true combat, energy naturally leaks from my body, and this energy forms a pressure.” He gestured with his hand. “You can imagine it as an extremely dense aura. It has no destructive power in itself, just pure pressure. Using this to sense the gap is more intuitive and safer than using a spell.”
Hogg nodded, though he only half-understood.
“Stand steady.” Li Yuan stepped back a few paces, stopping about ten steps away from Hogg. He reinforced the barriers around the martial arts hall to ensure that the internal aura would not leak out and disturb the outside world, then turned to face Hogg. “Are you ready?”
Hogg took a deep breath, re-condensing his mana. The four-element shields unfolded layer by layer before him. He planted his feet firmly in a horse stance, his robe fluttering despite the lack of wind.
Li Yuan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his aura shifted abruptly.
A faint golden light radiated from within him, coating his entire body in a warm, golden glow. The hem of his cyan robe slowly rose, and the surrounding air began to vibrate at a low, deep frequency.
The rubble on the ground was lifted by an invisible force, hovering a few inches above the floor, as fine cracks spread silently along the seams of the stone slabs.
The golden light grew more intense, enveloping him from the inside out. He released a small portion of the spiritual energy within him, controlling it at a level roughly equivalent to the Soul Transformation stage.
In that instant, Hogg’s eyes widened violently.
He felt as if a mountain range had descended from the heavens to crush him. This was not the effect of magic, but rather the space itself becoming incredibly heavy at that moment.
The air solidified into a solid block of iron, and the pressure was everywhere—on his shoulders, his back, his limbs, and every inch of his skin, pressing until it hurt. His bones let out faint creaking sounds under the strain, and his chest was squeezed so tightly that he could barely expand it; every breath required the full strength of his body.
The four-element shields emitted cracking sounds the moment they touched this pressure. The first layer, the fire barrier, exploded—followed by the wind, then the lightning. The final ice shield lasted less than a single breath before being crushed into a shower of ice shards.
Hogg’s knees buckled, and he was pressed flat against the stone floor.
His cheek was pressed against the cold stone, and he could not move. The mana within him completely stopped flowing under this oppression, like a frozen river that could not stir even a ripple. The only thing he could do was desperately keep his eyes open, watching his own breath condense into a small, blurry patch of mist on the stone.
So this was his true strength—no, this wasn't even his strength. It was merely a trace of the aura naturally leaking from his body.
He didn't even have the right to feel fear.
Just as his consciousness was about to sink into chaos, the pressure vanished.
Li Yuan withdrew his spiritual energy, and the golden light around him dissipated. He raised his hand and sent a sliver of pure spiritual energy into Hogg’s body. The warm energy transformed into a current upon entry, spreading rapidly through his meridians.
The chaotic mana gradually calmed under the guidance of this power, and the internal bruising was repaired within a few breaths. His pale face slowly regained its color.
Hogg lay on the ground, gasping for air for a long time, each breath carrying the heavy echo of a narrow escape. Once his body regained sensation, he used his trembling arms to push himself up, bit by bit, from the floor.
He looked even more disheveled than he had when he was besieged at the academy—his long grey hair was mostly loose, the front of his robe and his knees were covered in dust, and a trace of blood remained at the corner of his mouth.
But his steps did not waver once he stood firm. He carefully straightened his robe, pulled his loose hair back, and then clasped his hands, bowing deeply to Li Yuan.
“Thank you, sir.”
His voice was hoarse, yet every word was clear.
Li Yuan accepted the salute calmly. Over a hundred years of experience had shown him too many geniuses who stopped in their tracks after facing an insurmountable gap, but Hogg was not one of them. When the old dean straightened his back again, there was not a trace of hesitation in his eyes; instead, they were brighter than before—not because he had seen his goal, but because he had seen himself clearly.
In Hogg’s heart, he now had a clearer definition of Li Yuan’s strength: an existence no human could rival—not even a god. If that spiritual pressure had descended upon the Incarnation of the Blood Moon God, the outcome would have been no better than his own. Perhaps the only one who could defeat this man... was himself.
Li Yuan looked at Hogg’s expression and paused for a moment. He felt it was necessary to say a few things first.
“Royal Preceptor, there is something I wish to remind you of.”
Hogg looked up, waiting for Li Yuan’s instruction.
“The spiritual pressure you just felt accounts for only a tiny fraction of my power.” Li Yuan’s tone was as level as possible, not wanting to make the other man feel belittled or cause unnecessary psychological damage. “The pressure you endured is negligible compared to the power I release when facing an opponent I truly take seriously.”
He paused, allowing Hogg to digest those words.
“Therefore, though it may sound blunt, I suggest you do not use me as a point of comparison or a goal to chase. My strength has no reference value for you.”
Hogg was silent for a long time, as if turned to stone.
This was not Li Yuan boasting. Back when he shattered the Immortal Gate, he had only released about ten percent of his spiritual energy. Who knew the gate was so fragile? The problem was that in the entire history of the Kyushu Continent, no one else had ever been able to break the Immortal Gate... so his own power lacked any reference value—whether in Kyushu or here.
After a long while, Hogg slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding in his chest, his voice very low.
“Can you tell me exactly how much it was?”
“The spiritual pressure I just released was roughly one hundred-millionth of my total power under normal circumstances, perhaps even less.” Li Yuan did not dodge the question, giving an honest answer. “The gap between us is not something that can be bridged by effort alone. That is not your fault.”
Hogg closed his eyes... that power, which could crush him into submission just by leaking out, was only... a hundred-millionth?
This fact made it so that he couldn't even feel despair. The gap had exceeded the bounds of his understanding and entered a completely unknown realm.
When he opened his eyes again, his expression had returned to calm. It was a strange sort of peace, not numbness or self-abandonment, but a sense of liberation after having completely set down a certain burden.
“You are right, sir.” He nodded slowly. “Chasing you truly has no meaning. That is a distance I cannot even imagine.”
Li Yuan looked at him and offered a specific suggestion.
“However, if you wish to go further on the path of magic, it’s not as if you have no goals.” He added, “The intensity of the spiritual pressure I just released is roughly equivalent to the level of the gods in your world. Gods are not unreachable—at the very least, they are a much more realistic goal than chasing me.”
Hogg was stunned for a moment, then nodded solemnly. “Thank you for your guidance, sir.”
The business was finished, and everything that needed to be said had been said. Li Yuan waved his hand, dispelling the barriers around them. Moonlight poured down completely once more, and the sounds of insects and the night wind rushed back in.
“It is late. Get some rest.”
As his voice fell, his figure vanished from the spot like light smoke blown away by the night wind.
Hogg stood alone in the moonlight, not leaving for a long time. It wasn't until much later, when the first light of dawn appeared, that Hogg bent down to pick up his staff, tucked it into his sleeve, and walked out of the martial arts hall, his steps slightly lighter than when he had arrived.
Gods—a goal he had never dared to imagine before.
But now, it was something he could perhaps try for.
Rate on N.U.
