The morning sun pierced through the cracks of the cliffs, illuminating the gorge that now felt so foreign to Zego. His heart was filled with a mixture of conflicting emotions: deep sadness over the Elder's departure, a burning anger at himself for being asleep for so long, and a confusing riddle about the Elder's leaving. He returned to the gorge not to mourn the past, but to face a new reality and seek answers to the questions that haunted him. He had to understand the power that now flowed through every inch of his body.
Zego walked carefully. The cave where he was first trained and where he woke up after two years felt empty and cold. All traces of the Elder seemed to have been erased by time, leaving only memories. Zego walked to the edge of the waterfall, where he used to practice his Wuji Step. He stood on the slippery stones that bore silent witness to his training. The wind howled, as if welcoming him back.
He sat cross-legged on the flat ground, closed his eyes, and began to activate his Taichi Breathing. With ease, the Yin and Yang energy flowed out of his body, forming two vortices of energy around him. But this time, something was different. The energy vortices no longer just spun; they emitted a brighter and stronger light, as if the stars from his eyes had merged with his energy.
Zego felt the energy in his body like a rushing river, flowing without obstruction. He tried to measure this power, focusing his energy to his fingertips. Suddenly, a very small flash of lightning appeared from his fingertip. Zego was startled, his eyes wide. A blue-white flash shot from his fingertips, illuminating the AETHEN symbol etched into the stone where the Elder used to sit. The flash was not ordinary lightning; it was a manifestation of pure energy that was far more potent. He had reached a level beyond his imagination.
He tried again, this time with both hands. He gathered his Yin and Yang energy, merging them in the center of his palms. Instead of creating the Yin-Yang Fist, he created a ball of energy that emitted a golden and silver light, spinning at high speed. The energy ball was the size of his head, and inside it, Zego could feel a terrifying power. This leap was impossible without the Chaos Seed—the energy seed that had devoured two years of his life.
With burning curiosity, Zego tried to measure his own strength. He focused all his energy into his inner eye, a technique the Elder had taught him. The inner eye was a reflection of a person's strength, a mirror that never lies.
As he focused his energy, an image appeared in his mind: In his eyes, four stars were aligned like a shattered AETHEN crown—just as in his childhood nightmare. Below it was text indicating his power level: Low Four Star.
Zego was shocked, his eyes wide. "Low four star?!" he shouted, his voice filled with surprise and happiness. "I... I have reached the low four-star level?!" He remembered the Elder's words that Commander Vald was at a mid-four-star level. "Four-star level? That's only enough to bury Vald, not AETHEN's rottenness!" he muttered coldly. The Elder's sacrifice was not in vain. He now had a chance to seek revenge, to search for the truth, and to protect the people he loved.
However, he also realized that power alone was not enough. He had reached a new level, but his fighting style, his techniques, and his experience were still at the old level. He was like having a very sharp legendary sword, but he didn't know how to use it properly.
"I have to improve my fighting style," Zego muttered. "Power without control is destruction."
Zego immediately began his training. He no longer followed the old routine. He knew he had to create a new fighting style that was suitable for his current power.
He started with his training. He ran along the steep cliffs, jumping from one rock to another, using his Wuji Step. This time, however, he was not just moving fast. His Wuji Step shadows gave birth to dark doppelgangers—each holding Vald's grudge in their eyes. Zego had to evade their attacks, while at the same time, he had to counter-attack. This training forced Zego to think, to adapt, and to react quickly.
Every time he failed, he would fall to the ground, his body covered in bruises. But he did not give up. He got up again, and again, and again. Three months passed: his once-loyal shadows had now become his most vicious opponents. The shadow could stab Zego's collarbone with the cold of a grave. But Zego kept training until the sun set, until his body was exhausted and his breath was ragged.
He also practiced using his Yin-Yang Fist. Instead of just using it to attack, he also used it to defend. He would merge the Yin and Yang energy in his palms, creating an invisible shield that could withstand attacks from the illusory shadows.
He trained for months, not thinking about time. He didn't think about anything other than improving his fighting style. He ate when he was hungry, drank when he was thirsty, and slept when he was truly exhausted.
One night, while he was meditating under the moonlight, he felt something strange. His Chaos Seed energy screamed in harmony with the flowing river—like two brothers separated for thousands of years. He felt the energy around him, in every tree, in every rock, in every drop of water. He felt the energy of the world, and he realized that his own energy was a part of the world's energy.
He opened his eyes, and he saw the world in a different way. He saw the energy flowing in every living creature, in every plant, in every inanimate object. He could feel the life around him.
Zego smiled. He finally understood what the Elder meant by Taichi Breathing not being something he did, but something he was. He had become one with the world. The power he now possessed was no longer limited to himself.
The next day, Zego returned to his training. This time, he was no longer just training with his illusory shadows. He was training with nature. He used his Wuji Step to dodge falling rocks from the cliffs, he used his Yin-Yang Fist to break large rocks, and he used his Taichi Breathing to withstand the flow of the waterfall.
He had found his new fighting style. A fighting style that flowed like water, was fast like the wind, strong like the mountain, and unpredictable like a flash of lightning.
After three months of training, Zego felt he was ready. He sat by the riverbank, crumpling the Elder's note. The paper smelled of medicine and betrayal. He read it again. "Find me in the Eastern Continent... City of LOUYANG." Then, he thought about Grandfather Borin's whisper: "The Elder went to the AETHEN Kingdom."
A frown appeared on his forehead. The Elder's note: LOUYANG. Grandfather Borin's words: AETHEN. One of them is a death trap. Why did the Elder give different destinations to him and the villagers? What was the connection between the AETHEN Kingdom and the city of LOUYANG? Was the Elder just testing him? Or was there something bigger that he was hiding?
Zego crumpled the Elder's note—the paper smelled of medicine and betrayal. "AETHEN = DETOUR".
Zego knew his journey was no longer as simple as finding the Elder. He first had to find out the truth behind the Elder's departure to AETHEN before he could fulfill the promise of meeting him in the Eastern Continent.
"It doesn't matter," Zego grabbed his backpack. He looked to the east, not at the rising sun, but at where Louyang was hiding behind the Elder's deceitful fog. "I will expose your lies," he whispered to the shadow that twisted like a snake. "In AETHEN or Louyang... the truth will bleed. I will destroy both to find you."