Chapter 55: Demonstration Of Power

Seeing that the boy had finally woken up, the old man donned a smile and stepped forward to greet Aziel.

"Greetings to you, young man." He bowed his head ever-so-slightly. "I have to say, I am glad to meet another martial artist in the making! My name is Gaius Marshal, it's a pleasure to meet you. May I ask what your name is?"

Sensing no ill will, or malice in the old man's words and actions, Aziel nodded at him in response, speaking curtly.

"Hmm... Aziel." He snorted his reply coldly.

The girl frowned in reaction, whilst the old man remained smiling and civil, showing no visible displeasure if he took any offense at all. The smile was retained over his wrinkled face.

Looking over them once again the tightened bodies of the two, Aziel could guess that what could have caught their interest and brought them to him was the sight of his cultivation.

*Khm!*

The old man, Gaius Marshal's polite smile never faded from his face. He coughed to grab the attention and continued with his inquiries.

"Young man... ehrm, Aziel, could I be as bold as to ask, where do you come from, and I may have the honor to know who your teacher is?"

Aziel shook his head at the old man's questions. He found being called a 'Young Man' by this elderly human rather amusing.

"Hmmm... I..." Thinking about it, Aziel decided to test the waters a bit, and probed the granddaughter-grandfather pair.

"No, I'm not a Martial Artist... Say, Old man, what do you know about the world of cultivation?"

Though Aziel didn't believe these two mortals would have even understood the true meaning of the words, he wanted to see that they had any information seeing as they more or less stepped on the journey. Even if they were probably unaware of it, the unrefined energy in their bodies was superior in terms of quantity than that of others Aziel had met so far.

"Cultivation? Are you...?" The old man looked visibly confused at Aziel's question. Wasn't he a martial artist?

"Grandpa, let's not waste our time on this rude, arrogant brat any longer. Let me spar with him already," Kora turned around and shot an icy glance at Aziel. "Why did you lie to me earlier? Now show me what you can do!"

"Are you... perhaps trying to provoke me into fighting... you?"

Aziel frowned with a hint of disdain flashing across his face, as he measured up the girl from top to bottom once more. From the look on his face, it was clear he didn't put the woman in his eyes at all.

Though he couldn't help but feel like his blood boiled in anticipation at the request, he felt that it wouldn't be fair on these mortals if he were to respond. The gap in terms of power between them was as vast as an ocean after all.

After weighing his options for seemingly only a few seconds, he decided not to get involved in such petty squabbles. There was no real hostility between them, and there was no point in the exchange, the other side simply had nothing to offer at all.

He smiled, faking a humble look, and bowed at the glaring young maiden.

"I must apologize, but I have to decline your offer, young miss. I love peace, and am against wanton violence."

His words, if it would be heard by his past self would sneer and probably fall to the ground in laughter. The self-crowned Apex Predator of prehistoric times, the Eternal One, that's kill count is probably already in the high millions preaching about peace...

"Don't bullsh*t me, you *sshole!" The girl cursed, rather crudely and uncharacteristically to a girl of her stature. "I saw you sneering at me just before when I was practicing my forms! Don't play with me!" He roared, flinging back at Aziel.

"Young man, what harm could be in a little sparing session? Although my granddaughter was still at the beginner level, she was well underway to master our family's first technique. I was hoping that with your help, she could advance even faster." The old man said slowly but firmly.

Despite the old man's calm voice, his suspicion didn't recede the slightest, instead, it grew with each passing second. He had given the boy his name, but the latter seemed to have never heard of it before. How could any powerful martial artist not recognize his name?

Aziel shook his head and heaved a sigh of resignation. Though he could still decline, that would most likely offend not just the girl but the old man as well. He knew he now had to oblige the girl's request.

Still, not wanting to hurt him much, he decided to play it easy, and just prove his point. He turned to face the large, old oak tree he was just resting under.

Looking at the center of the trunk for a moment, he clenched his right hand, and with a casual, seemingly effortless-looking swing, he struck at the tree.

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His arm traveled at an incredible speed, turning blurry as it drew a dark shadowy line in the air. As it hit the thick, gnarly bark the collision released a massive, explosive surge of energy into the air in the form of a shockwave. Splinters were sent flying like tiny projectiles to all directions from the impact, one such grazing past the girl's face as if it was an arrow or a bolt fired from a crossbow.

"Watch out!" The old man shouted out as soon as he quickly raised both of his arms in defense, but his warning came too late.

"What in the..." Kora was in a state of shock. Her long dark hair on the right side was cut to shoulder length; the crystal earrings she was wearing also fell to the ground.

She touched her cheek and found a thin line of a wound where blood was seeping through. She turned around and saw how the willow tree's trunk was riddled with holes; the splintered off parts of the old oak tree's bark have lodged deep into the willow tree, as if they were pieces of metal.

"What in the god's name have just happened?! What is this power?"

The old man's heart was caught in his throat during the turn of events. Seeing the girl was unharmed, he finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Casting his gaze back at the young man who was standing cool and collected once again as if nothing extraordinary had just happened, he smiled wryly.

'I have never even dreamed of seeing such incredible power, such martial prowess in my lifetime. No...' He shook his head. 'This is not martial arts; this is something far more powerful. Even I wouldn't dare to say I would be able to take such a blow directly...'

Aziel was looking carefree and nonchalant, however inwardly he was delighted, happy with himself. For the first time, he managed to practice proper control, and whilst showcasing his strength, at the same time he managed to control it just like he wanted. Instead of destroying the entire tree with a single, powerful punch, he exerted just enough strength to properly scare these two mortals.

The old man came up to Aziel and saluted him. "It was our absolute honor to meet you, Grand Master!" Gaius Marshal spoke with great emotion in his voice. Never had he thought that he would encounter a hermit grandmaster, a very young one while at it!

Kora couldn't stand in the ceremony any longer and bolted towards the willow tree. Reaching for the many small holes in his trunk he pulled out one of the deeply lodged-in splinters with a bit of difficulty and then turned to Aziel. She looked at him with an incredulous gaze.

"H-how did you do it?! W-what in the hell even are you?!" She muttered.

Even the man in the car was shocked by the development. He almost forgot that he was still holding the gun in his hand.

What was the point of using a gun when his opponent was faster than a bullet?

---

Aziel spoke candidly, waving his hand in a dismissive manner.

"Think nothing of it."

As a matter of fact, if the elderly man would know of a proper technique to circulate and use his Inner Energy, he could have been able to do similar feats as well. Whilst Aziel's attack looked terrifying it was nothing more than some parlor trick, and easy demonstration of the proper utilization of one's internal strength.

Even though the old man was only at the Foundation Establishment stage in the Mortal Realm, he could channel the available [Aether] in his body to reinforce his fist, and release it in a similarly explosive fashion. Even more, he could probably lodge his fist deep into the trunk of that willow tree if he wanted to, looking like a supernatural being to the average citizenry.

Yet, the reality was the old man could not achieve such feats, he probably wasn't even fully aware of his own strength, and merely counted whatever he gained during his lifetime to his skills and experience.

"It might be a small trick for you, sir, but for me, it was like an unbelievable miracle!" The elderly man exclaimed. He no longer called Aziel "young man", but now called him "Sir" instead.

Although the elderly man had lived through a tumultuous life and had eventually earned himself a great fortune, his life-long dream was to become a powerful martial artist. To stand at the level of those legendary figures! However, over the years, he had come to terms with the fact that his talent was simply mediocre.

Even though he was rather resourceful and quick-witted, he has not yet got the opportunity to meet a real grandmaster in person... until now that is.

The words of the old man have kept on bothering Aziel. Finally, he could no longer hold back and asked.

"These... grand master's you keep referring to... Could they do what I just did?"

"Of course!" The old man nodded. "The Martial Grandmasters are the basically legendary figures, heroes etched into the threads of history! They stand above us feeble mortals, capable of unleashing impossible feats and wonders! For some of them, it wouldn't be too difficult to even kill someone from a distance!"

Suddenly, confusion flashed across the elderly man's face. He asked curiously, "Sir… as one of the grandmasters yourself, how could you not be aware of what I have just told you?"

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