Krune was taken aback. All his elemental attacks were based on the Elements Regulation Technique. He had just recently arrived at the Advanced Stage after decades of training in it. Sure, he was several times faster than Lucio in doing it. However, how many thousands of years had Lucio lived already? Because of his trip to the Godly Path Realm, Krune hasn't lived for even a century yet. Lucio simply had way too much time to train it.
The problem here was that Lucio knew the fused form of the Elements Regulation Technique much better than Krune. That being said, the elements' fused power through the Elements Regulation Technique didn't work on him. The worst thing for Krune was that he had been using the Elements Regulation Technique since he was just at Core Formation Realm. Although he couldn't fuse the Elements like now, he still used it to have better control over them.
If it was anyone else, Lucio definitely wouldn't be having such an easy time. It's because Krune and the same Elements Regulation Technique have this advantage over him. Of course, Lucio also stopped Krune from using Luvile's power since it wasn't part of the technique. Even Lucio didn't think he had a chance against that thing.
"Old Geezer! You tricked me!"
Lucio laughed out loud.
"Tricked? Of course not! The Elements Regulation Technique is definitely an amazing technique that can increase your power. The proof of it is that even in the higher realms, you still never stopped practicing it. How come you are blaming me for your lack of comprehension of it? Now, stay still while your master teaches you a good and painful lesson."
Krune gritted his teeth and immediately returned to his wisp form.
"So what if I'm not used to the five primary elements without the Elements Regulation Technique support? I still have Space, Time, Light, and Darkness Elements and Laws. Old Geezer, you better be prepared!"
Lucio didn't care.
"Bring it on, idiot wisp!"
Finally, Krune recovered, and the two began to fight in an even manner. One must not forget that Lucio was given the Myriad Energies Technique in the past and already concluded their evolution to Chaos Meridians. This was just one form behind the Godly Ones. Other than that, as Krune's Master, Lucio received Heavin's Soul Cultivation Technique as well. After 157 years of training, Lucio also reached the 5th Stage of the Soul Control Realm.
The Soul Cultivation Technique was different from standard cultivation. Being in the Godly Path Realm or the Mortal Realm didn't change its progress much. With ten times the time available to train, not only Lucio but everyone Krune knew was able to at least reach the Soul Control Realm. They simply had a lot more time to do it. In a certain way, Lucio was even better than Krune in using Mental Energy in his attacks since he had a lot more time to train.
Last but not least, one couldn't forget that Lucio also had an Elemental Divine Soul. Now the two were in a situation where Krune can't use the five best elements while Lucio can. One must not forget that all Krune's strongest attacks other than the Tribulation Lightning related ones used the five primary elements. He could use Dark, Light, Time, and Space, but he was nowhere near as proficient as the five primary ones.
Now that Krune switched to the other elements and powers like Space and Time, he finally regained his bearings, and the two started to trade blows.
Feifei and the others saw how both master and disciple fought for over an hour until they finally began to run out of stamina. In the end, neither side left unscratched.
Krune's Wisp Ethereal Body was quite dim, and one could see several marks on his Wisp Core.
"Old geezer, you are despicable!"
Lucio, who wasn't any better with his several injuries and ragged clothes, laughed without caring.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Feifei then appeared in the middle of those two idiots.
"Alright, you two had your fun already. Let's stop it here."
Lucio nodded.
"Hmph! Your master will give your wife some face."
"Ha! It's because of Feifei that Master can leave this place with just this many injuries. Just you wait! The day I fully master the Elements Regulation Technique is the day you fall."
Feifei shook her head as she signed.
'Who are those idiots trying to fool? Both sides can barely move already.'
Krune then took his clothes and returned to his human form inside them.
With that, they returned to where everyone was.
Wang Xin then looked at those two and sighed in disappointment.
"And here I was, thinking that you two would kill each other. I guess I can't be that lucky. Well, seeing you two like that feels pretty nice already."
Lucio snorted.
"Said the guy who can't withstand a blow from me."
Xin narrowed his eyes.
"Wanna try me?"
Lucio shrugged his shoulders.
"Look at that, everyone. I'm this injured and spent. Only in a moment like this, only then does he dare say such words. So shameless..."
Xin gritted his teeth.
"Who the hell needs that advantage? Good, I'll give you the healings pills and as soon as you reco-"
*Pah!*
Suddenly, Millia slapped Xin's backhead.
"Enough of this bullshit already. I want to prepare for Feifei's marriage ceremony."
Xin bitterly smiled, but nodded in the end.
After that, they went back into the Wang Clan territory. Krune and Lucio then sat down in the room to recover. After some time, the two were talking as if nothing had happened at all.
"So that's what happened so far, uh?"
Krune nodded.
"I was also surprised that such a thing like a Primordial Kun-Peng existed. Thanks to that Space Heavenly Fragment, I was able to make so many breakthroughs at once. Otherwise, I would still be in the First Stage of the Divinity Realm at most."
"No wonder your attacks seemed a little unbalanced. You increased your cultivation way too fast, so you were not able to keep up with the changes."
Krune nodded, not denying it at all.
"Indeed. There was also that time in the Kalame Sect, where I spent two years to open that chamber. In that state, I did not have the chance to go out to practice even once. Well, I'm planning to slowly cultivate her in the Mortal Realm from now on. I don't see a reason to rush anymore."
Lucio couldn't help but ask.
"What about the God Realm's situation? Shouldn't you cultivate fast to arrive there as soon as possible?"
Krune shook his head.
"Did you forget, master? The time on the Godly Path Realm passes ten times slower. After I found about it from Luvile, I asked about the God Realm. The Space-Time there is even more stable than the Godly Path Realm. Because of that, they experience time one hundred times slower than us. Besides, I doubt that Sentoi expected my actual cultivation speed. Still, he said he could hold the gods' horses until Luvile comes back. We should have more than enough time for it."
Lucio nodded. His Divine Path Sect didn't have any connection to the Higher Realms like those Universe Powerhouses. Obviously, he had no idea that the time up there passed faster. Cinia, the hidden protector in the sect, also never talked about it with him.
"Anyway, your Elements Regulation Technique reached the advanced stage really fast. If you continue like this, I believe you won't need more than a hundred or so years to achieve Culmination."
It was then that Krune thought.
"Oh, right! Why did my elemental attacks become useless against you, master? Even if your Elements Regulation Technique was a stage higher, can it really block my own?"
Lucio nodded.
"Hahaha! Too bad it only works between users of this technique. Yes, it can since we are all people from the same branch. Do you remember what you told me about Liriu? How his Dracophoenix Race makes weaker Dragons and Phoenix simply helpless against his control? You can think about the Elements Regulation Technique in the same way. I'm the Dracophoenix while you are the weaker Dragons and Phoenixes. Your attacks and Domains simply can't go against this natural order."
Krune nodded.
"No wonder Grandmaster and Master had never passed it to anyone else. Still, you could have told me about that before."
Lucio snorted in response.
"As if! Where would be the fun in that?"
Krune's mouth twitched, but he didn't complain.
"Anyway, what's the difference between the Advanced Stage and the Culmination? The sliver of will that Master left behind inside your token only knew how to guide me until the Advanced Stage. It didn't have the memories of the fully mastered version."
Lucio nodded.
"The Advanced Stage Allows you to fuse the Elements and Laws. When you reach Culmination, it will allow you to shape the element accordingly."
Krune became puzzled, prompting him to ask.
"What you mean?"
Lucio then extended his hand and summoned all five elements in a fused manner, which looked dark.
"This is what you can do, right? Try to touch it."
Krune nodded and did as his master said. Krune then felt the power of the fused five elements attacking his hand. Without a doubt, that was the same as his own fused five elements.
"There is nothing different."
Lucio nodded.
"Yes."
Suddenly, that black energy trembled for a split of a second. However, it still looked exactly the same.
"Touch again."
Krune nodded. The moment his hand touched the Dark Element, Lightning attacked his hand instead. However, its power was several times stronger than before. He also could feel the other four elements in there.
"This... I see... You can still fuse the Five Elements in the culmination stage but choose a primary element to be the main power. At the same time, the other four will just support it."
Lucio smiled.
"Correct. I guess I don't need to tell you just how much better it is, right?"
Krune agreed with Lucio.
"Yes. I can target specific elements against their weaknesses."
Lucio laughed.
"It's quite funny, isn't it? You go all the way through the difficulty of fusing the elements and laws just to return to the basics in the end. Even before we started using the Elements Regulation Technique, both you and I already used each situation's best elements. Water against fire, Earth against Lightning, etc. What I'm doing now is the same. The only difference is the enormous support that the other fused elements give to the element you choose as the main power."
Lucio smiled as he continued.
"This is what we call 'return to the roots.' In the last stage of the Elements Regulation Technique, we are making the complex return to simplicity."
Krune was really surprised by that. However, something came up in his mind.
"Master, how come even in the Godly Path Realm I didn't find such a powerful Elemental Technique? Where did you get this thing?"
Lucio was taken aback for a moment.
"To be honest, I don't know either. It was my Master who passed it to me, after all. You will need to ask him."