Yet, now he noticed only one Presence there. The Elder, presumably the guards, and Yun Li left.
"You have offended the Yun clan; thus, you must die. None who deny the greatness or attack the Yun Clan deserve to live!" The Elder spoke, his voice booming from the distance.
Yet as he spoke, Caelus paid no care for what he said; he sounded generic, almost lost, someone stuck in a time before it was natural to think this way, someone keeping the Clan back.
Caelus gave no reply; he didn’t need to. Even if he was more refined, more powerful, or even more intelligent, it wouldn’t matter to such a big gap... Yet he felt a slight difference; if it had actually been ten times stronger, as the manual said, he still would have survived.
"...If Mana can do almost anything, almost everything, then it can change how I react, maybe then, I’ll be able to handle what he’s throwing at me... But I’ll have to survive that. If not even blood is left, only ash, or dust, then I’m done for."
[New Technique in Development]
Caelus ignored the notification; it became sidelined as Caelus stood still, Horizon Step activated, another use was too cross a long distance easily, hence, as he moved the Elder turned, about to move and attack only for Caelus to grab the hand and pull him back, feeling the weigh, it was way more than anything he’d held before, probably the weight of a Blue Whale even. Throwing the Elder to the side, Horizon’s step finished. Caelus’s body reacted; the force used caused his hand to feel immense pain, only for him to suppress it.
As Mana fluctuated in his body, he felt different; his body shifted physically, more muscle, stronger muscle. His body became stronger after the throw, since he’d almost broken his hand.
The Elder hit a tree, crashing into it and being lightly scraped, but nothing too much. He stood up, annoyed, looking towards Caelus, who became different, stronger, his body bigger, ready to throw him around more.
Caelus felt his body strain against the new additions, only to slowly grow accustomed to them.
All of a Sudden, he heard the Elder speak.
"Four Elemental Palm!"
the Elder spoke, his palm facing out and swinging forward, crashing into Caelus, sending him flying back only for the palm to follow and make him crash into a mountain and go right through it, he could barely even stay conscious as it happened, being overloaded with pain, only then did he notice blood wasn’t out, it didn’t seep anywhere, like there was no injury.
"...What?" Caelus said to himself, confused about how he looked untouched.
[You have completely healed your body. Be careful; the Elders’ attacks hit the soul. The only reason yours hasn’t been hurt is because of the Draconic Core.]
"...How Peculier, you survived, normally a Virtuoso Cultivator wouldn’t. Tell me, what is your name? I am Yunlei." He spoke, staring at Caelus, waiting for some sort of reply.
"...So I should probably have Tellus come here, or no?"
[That would be Ideal.]
Caelus was willing to distract Yunlei and then teleport to bring Tellus, though he probably assumed she’d be fine with it, especially given how she acted. But he found it suspicious how Aphro said it would be ideal. All because of Aphro’s previous antics.
Thus, he became Careful, waiting to see what Yunlei would do next. He stood upright as the effects of the four elemental palms dissipated.
"Are you willing to become a part of the Li Family’s Sect?"
Caelus already had his answer; it was going to be a no. There was no way he’d be a part of any Sect in the first place, let alone one like this.
"No. I won’t. Why should I join a sect that hates me?"
"Because then you’ll disprove the fact that Reptiles are lesser and unintelligent. Just like you choosing not to." Yunlei replied.
"Why do I need to disprove?’ Caelus replied. Thinking for a second. "No, why do I need to disprove something when you haven’t checked for the entire picture, you haven’t tried seeing how reptiles, as you call them, are actually like? Why do I need to do that?" Caelus continued.
"Well, you must justify your own existence; a prejudice exists only because of a group doing something, not because of others. It is obviously the fault of the one with the stigma." Yunlei spoke calmly, confused about why Caelus said others had to see, check, and disprove themselves. "Being wrong is a fate worse than death." Yunlei finally spoke.
"...I- What?" Caelus straightened himself as he heard that.
"What’s wrong? My reasoning couldn’t be flawed." Yunlei spoke, his voice a little irritated. "A Wyvern like you should know this- only Dragons are the ones worthy of being above us in anything. Meanwhile, an offshoot like you is anything but a Dragon."
Caelus listened and gave a soft chuckle. Hearing Yunlei say that, it felt so out of place in a world like this, so he had to shake his head to make sure he had heard it correctly. "I’m sorry, what?"
"I thought I was clear-"
"No, No, You think... Dragons are the only ones able to be right, and yet I want to know, do you even know anything about a Dragon?"
"Well, we know they have a humanoid form, their face is humanoid with scales, and their tail is usually triple their own body length. Additionally, they have scales on their legs and hands. And also, they have horns which can be changed in color." Yunlei replied, realizing Caelus was about to attack. He moved, Mana floating up, denser than Caelus’s, as it formed around him.
In that Moment, right as Caelus appeared closer to the Elder, he disappeared. Since about ten minutes had passed, he went exactly to where he last saw Tellus, at the bench, eating. He saw her sitting there with her friends, but he’d have to take her now. Grabbing her hand, he teleported back once more, farther away now.
"C-CAELUSSS. WHAT IS THAT FOR?" Tellus shouted, clearly annoyed, only noticing his body was different, bigger, and a bit more muscular, her cheeks becoming a brighter red.
"No time, this guy, from the Yun Family, is trying to kill me, and I need your help since I can’t really, you know, kill them," Caelus replied, standing completely still as his body shifted back. He was burning Mana the longer his body held the changes, so once it changed back, he became shorter once more.
"What do you mean, kill you? Surely- Wait..." As soon as she realized the Clan’s name, her voice dropped. Standing upright, her hand moved, grabbing her blade and unsheathing it.
"I see." Though she didn’t fully trust Caelus, it had been only a little time since they’d met and talked, but she’d already heard about the Yun Clan from Minerva and Arjuna, and they weren’t people she would’ve been with.
"Oh? You brought someone else to die with you? And it’s your... Wife?" Yunlei spoke, and a chuckle came from his mouth.
"Her? Dying to someone like you? As if." Caelus replied, his hand moving, Mana shifted as he pointed his finger towards Yunlei, and just then-
CRACK!!
Once again, space cracked, though Yunlei went to block it. Keeping his Mana barrier up, it bypassed that and went directly for Yunlei, launching him back and sending him past the empire in exactly twenty-five seconds.
Both Caelus and Tellus looked at each other, then towards where Yunlei had been thrown, launching themselves forward. Caelus was way slower than Tellus as of right now, so as soon as he activated Horizon step while midair, he slowly caught up to her, finally reaching the other side in about Eight Seconds.
Landing right past Yunlei, who stood with an enraged expression. "You...Now you definitely aren’t going to live!" His hand moved as he launched ahead to catch Caelus off guard, both his hands about to grab his head.
A swift movement of the sword, as Tellus’s blade swung up, cutting through skin like jelly, and bone like it was paper.
"...What!?"
Yunlei launched himself back as his hand healed, only to feel something different, noticing his vision becoming obscured with blobs of light.
"Okay, so... I definitely can’t compare to you right now," Caelus replied with a soft smile. He stopped panicking as much, but he still had the habit of panicking when something violent happened.
Right as Yunlei was about to attack, Tellus’s blade swung up, a slash flying out as it split into three if they tried to dodge to the side.
Jumping up, Yunlei cleared their sight, their hand clasping together as a ball formed facing towards Caelus, who readied himself, only to see it blast out. In that split second, they moved to the left, pushing Tellus away while also just barely getting hit by it.
The right side of his body was instantly evicted, only to return within a second. His body reacted by creating an artificial barrier that could block the attacks Yunlei was using specifically.
Yunlei stood, contemplating what he should do next... Maybe he could just kill Caelus off, but then he’d have to deal with Tellus-
"RESONANCE!"
A ball flew as it crashed right through Yunlei’s head, blowing it clean off while sending him flying.
"...That didn’t hit the soul, so he’s fine..." Tellus spoke, seeing it after it happened.
"Sooo, what are both of you kids up to? On a date and disturbed by some old geezer?" A voice from the top of a mountain, Nyx. She sat with a soft smile on her face.
Caelus looked up as he shook his right hand and leg, slightly irritated that two people assumed they were dating already, but from Nyx, he found it more genuine. He knew Yunlei didn’t actually believe Tellus was his wife, especially from the tone of his voice.
"Oh, it’s you," Caelus replied. A sigh came. "No, not a date, it’s just an argument."
"An Argument? Then why would they be- Oh, never mind, it’s those of the Yun clan, I see, that’s expected then! Well, I’ll be seeing you off, though if you’re willing, Caelus, I’d need a favor for you for something I need when cultivating!"
In a flash, Nyx had shifted away, disappearing before he could even see her move. Even light couldn’t keep up with her. Noticing ripples from where she was, yet no water, enhancing eyes to notice what it was, he quickly stopped shaking his head. A streaking blur following the direction Nyx went.
"...Okay, long way to go before I can even try and track her."
Tellus chuckled softly. "Seriously? You tried tracking her? Well, not wrong for trying, everyone’s tried once, even the holy mothers, they’re at the realm right below her, yet she’s at least fifty times stronger than her."
[Nyx is currently at the realm of Tribulation Transcendence; her power is almost seventeen thousand times faster than you.]
"...Ah." Caelus thought, getting up, that he noticed his tail swinging back and forth quickly, only to hit what looked like a deer, sending it flying... But it was probably going to be dead by the time of the landing, so he felt a little bad.
Seeing Tellus grab him and pull him, falling to the side only to regain balance, he moved and smacked her right in the head. "HEY. Maybe warn me next time." Caelus shook his hand as Tellus let go.
"Apologies for that, just tell me when you want to go." As he followed Tellus, he looked around to see if anything was going to happen. Seeing as the Yun family was probably not going to let this slide, he was going to be as alert as possible.
"Ah- Sorry, I’m used to having to drag people everywhere because they start daydreaming."
"Okay- Maybe just poke them or something, not actually pull them. Imagine if you did that with your teacher, and she reacted quickly." Caelus replied, a little annoyed.