Silence filled the interior of the ship as John finished his story, detailing his encounters with Laia, starting in the Yuan Continent Ancient City, and ending in Alliance City when the Astral Emperor had taken her away once more.
Lilian had sat there listening without saying a single word, her face stoic most of the time. However, small expressions occasionally appeared on her face. Sometimes it was a tinge of sadness, such as when she heard of Adam's miserable and gruesome fate, or surprise when she learned that Laia had miraculously revived him, or worry when they had faced the apocalyptic tribulation together and was later taken back to the Astral Empire by her father. These expressions were almost imperceptible, but caught by John, nonetheless. If he had not known his master so well, he would have never noticed such minute changes in her expression.
'It seems the troubled emotions she felt when she found out the truth have been mostly controlled, and she's back to her usual self. Or it appears that way on the outside at least,' John thought to himself as he sat there in silence as well, allowing Lilian to gather her thoughts.
The deafening silence remained for quite some time, but John dared not speak before his master did. He would allow her to take as much time as was needed to process the whole thing.
A million questions swirled in his mind, all regarding Lilian and Laia, but he kept them unvoiced for now. His thoughts shifted to other things, such as the talent both Lilian and Laia had displayed.
Lilian commanded the Daos of Death and Space, while Laia commanded the Dao's of Life and Time. John shuddered when he thought that this combination used to exist in a singular person, his master's true identity, before she had somehow managed to do the impossible, and divide her soul in half.
Just how frighteningly powerful would his master have been had she remained as one, in command of all four of those terrifyingly powerful Daos. It was inconceivable to think someone had been born with the natural control and command of those four Dao's, but the proof was right before him.
It reminded John that despite the fact that he was a heavenly genius amongst geniuses, that there might always be someone more powerful or talented than him. If Lilian had her full power under her control, and trained her entire life in the Astral Empire, John had no doubt she would be a threat to him, even with their cultivations in the same realm.
"Thank you for telling me everything," Lilian said, her voice breaking the silence. John raised his eyes to meet hers. She slumped back slightly in her chair and sighed deeply. "And also thank you for before," she added.
John nodded, as he could tell she truly meant it. She had been bombarded by Zeras and the shocking truth, and it had been John to help her snap out of her fragile mental state. She felt a warmth when she thought of that moment not long ago, that her disciple would take action for her like that, placing himself in the middle of her harrowing ordeal with the Astral Empire.
Her gaze lingered on John for a while, and she couldn't help but think he looked older than she remembered him. While it had been about a year since they had last met, he seemed to have aged more than that in her eyes. He appeared like a boy to her back then, one that required her constant scoldings. But now he appeared more like a young man to her, stronger and more reliable.
Silence filled the room for a short time again before Lilian breathed in deeply, and focused her gaze back on John.
"I'm sure you also have many questions you want to ask?" she asked him, to which John nodded his head.
"I do," John replied firmly. "I want to understand you, I want to understand Laia, and I want to understand what happened that caused you to do what you did."
Lilian exhaled the deep breath she had taken, and nodded her head slowly. Her eyes closed for several seconds before re-opening, and she began to explain the truth of what had happened all those years ago.
…
Thirteen Years Ago…
…
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Steel swords collided in quick succession, filing the air with sharp metallic rings. Two figures dashed about an arena, exchanging attacks. One of the fighters was a man who appeared to be in his twenties, while the other was a small girl, no older than thirteen years old.
The baby fat still clung to her cheeks, making her look quite adorable as expected for her age. Her face was vibrant and stunningly pretty, and it was beyond obvious that she would one day become a heavenly beauty.
The girl's blue hair danced in the air as she dashed around the arena quickly, trying to land a decisive blow on her opponent. Despite her young age, her speed and power were beyond shocking, with each blow shaking the arena beneath their feet. Her sword slashed and pierced forward, each at a different angle and speed, making her attack pattern quite unpredictable and difficult to defend against.
At the end of the unpredictable barrage, she hastened her speed and appeared to the man's side. Her sword pierced forward at an upward angle towards his ribs, making it quite hard to block.
"Good!" the man shouted out before unleashing a counterattack. His sword struck against hers, successfully parrying the attack. The girl's face scrunched up in a disappointed frown as her barrage of attacks failed, and then her eyes widened as the man appeared to her side and unleashed a kick towards her.
The heel of his foot struck against her shoulder before she could react, and she sailed through the air for dozens of yards before colliding with the arena wall.
Boom!
The arena trembled from the impact, which was strong enough to greatly injure a Core Formation expert if they had been struck like that. She fell to the arena floor afterwards, flat on her face, remaining motionless for a moment.
The man placed the tip of his sword on the ground and rested his hands against its hilt as he watched the girl lying on the arena floor.
"Awwww! I was so close!" the girl said with a pouting tone, her voice slightly muffled as her face was against the arena floor. She quickly stood up, revealing herself to be completely unharmed despite taking such a powerful attack, and brushed off the dirt from her dress.
"Yes, you were, but you lack focus. If you had continued your barrage instead of pouting like a distracted baby, you might have been able to land an attack on me," the man said with a smile on his face as he walked over to the girl.
The girl pouted again.
"I am not a baby!" she protested with puffed cheeks and fists clenched in front of her chest, to which the man laughed and agreed.
"Alright, alright. You're not a baby. I take that back," the man laughed.
Her pout quickly vanished and was replaced by a cheerful smile, and she ran up to the man and hugged him, fully endeared with the man despite the attack he had just landed on her.
She was half his height and her arms wrapped around his lower waist, and she quickly parted and took a few steps back to look up at the man with equal parts awe and enamor. The man smiled and reached out his hand, ruffling her hair, making it even messier than it already was.
"You're improving quickly, Lilian. Much quicker than I did, at your age. Thirteen and already in the Meridian Forging Realm, and quickly approaching the Heaven Tribulation Realm. You really are incredible," the man said, smiling. "It won't be long before you're stronger than me."
"Just you wait," Lilian said, her voice childlike, yet determined, as was her gaze. "I'll keep training, and before long, I'll even be stronger than you, big brother Zeras!"
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