"...
.....
..... Hmmmm?"
Shion Lan opened his eyes...
Well, not his eyes.
Because he existed as a concept without a body.
"Where... am I?..."
His realisation was off.
"Why can't... I feel my body?..."
His sensations were off.
"Where did... my voice go?..."
He couldn't even talk.
He perceived the world around him through pure awareness.
And what he saw stole his heart because of its overwhelming beauty.
The clear blue sky mixed fantastically with a crimson sky, as if sunset itself had descended upon the world.
Within this mesmerizing and captivating scenery, countless stars filled the space, creating a galaxy divided into two halves.
There were two enormous stars, around which smaller stars revolved according to paths Shion could perceive.
"These are my stars... and my circles."
At the center emerged the power Shion had unleashed when he broke through.
It released a glow that was not bright, yet it could be felt.
Although it seemed the least impressive among everything around him, an enormous energy appeared from it, forming the concepts he had previously built.
The foundations and principles of both swordsmanship and magic.
"Weapon Aura..."
He smiled.
"Mage's Mind..."
Shion realized something important.
"Wait a minute! Have I lost?"
There was no one to answer his question.
No...
Instead, an answer appeared to another question he had waited for a long time.
"What is happening?!"
From nothingness, a thin thread appeared.
It had not been visible before.
But an invisible aura emerged from it, carrying a faint feeling of emptiness.
As if nothing in life truly mattered.
Shion regained that feeling he had lost for months.
"Shi... Yun... Lan...?"
He decided to approach that thread.
The same thread that had connected him to the curse before.
The thread that connected him to a distant soul.
Because he was something non-material, he was able to rise and touch the thread.
And in the very next moment...
He found himself inside Shi Yun Lan's vein area.
There, he saw that companion.
With his black hair.
His terrifying and suppressive presence.
It was Shi Yun Lan.
For a moment, Shion felt joy.
"Shi Yun Lan!!"
"..."
But then he noticed,
"Is he alright?"
Shion approached Shi Yun Lan and asked,
"Is he conscious?"
.....
In the arena, Shi Yun Lan appeared within Shion's body.
However, he thought,
'The connection between us has been restored.'
As he felt the power of the fourth level running through his veins.
'It seems this idiot is doing his job perfectly.
But he is incredibly foolish.'
He looked toward Glass Sano.
Or rather...
Toward the existence controlling him.
'Unlike the boy in front of me, who already had four stars...
Shion released power equivalent to the fourth level with only two stars.'
Shi Yun Lan sighed internally.
'If I use this power without the protection of another star aura, my body will be torn apart.'
He smiled perfectly.
'This is his problem now.'
Glass pointed his sword toward him.
"I advise you to surrender, Shion."
Shi Yun Lan smiled coldly.
"If you are worried that you cannot defeat me after injuring your spirit because of your own stupidity, then you are the one who should surrender, not me."
The audience became confused.
"What is wrong with Glass's spirit?"
"I don't think Glass has any techniques related to spirits."
"Could it be related to the guardian spirit?"
"Are you stupid?! Why would a great hero like Yossi Sano take action against a young person?!"
"Shion is probably just boasting."
Despite the words of the common people, the head of the Torano Family, Sond Torano, said to Braj Torano sitting beside him,
"You were defeated by Yossi Sano, yet Shion is still struggling against that man. Impressive."
The truth was becoming clear.
The one currently controlling Glass was none other than the great hero...
Yossi Sano.
Braj frowned while thinking,
'I could only withstand him for a short time.'
He looked at Shion.
'Yet even after receiving an attack close to the fifth level, that brat is still standing?!'
Solan Neumann, who discovered that Yossi had possessed Glass's body, was shocked by how similar their souls were.
She had barely failed to recognize him.
But she became angry.
"That bastard!
How dare he fight those younger than him?! I will expose him!"
However, no one reacted to her at that moment.
The area around her was frozen in time, and she did not understand what was happening.
"What...?"
"Solan Neumann."
Director Tim Ayr spoke.
"I believe I want to see what happens next."
He smiled.
"And I will not allow Shion to be harmed. I promise you that."
But Solan did not care.
Even when dealing with a ninth-level Time Element mage, she spoke without concern.
"I dislike that senile bastard. And I want to expose him."
The director shook his head.
"Do you know what will happen if one of the Six Great Families is targeted and one of their symbols is disgraced?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued,
"Unnecessary problems will occur."
Solan replied,
"Then they should not have left old fools in important positions."
The director said with his usual smile,
"Shion will defeat him."
But Solan replied,
"I do not know what you are talking about."
She began to threaten the director.
"But I will not allow Shion to be harmed again. Otherwise..."
"Otherwise what, Sol Hart?"
"!!!"
Solan was shocked.
The director knew her true identity and disguise.
This time, the director spoke with a harsher voice.
"There were things I wanted to observe calmly regarding Yossi Sano. But you continued speaking unnecessarily and disrespectfully."
He sighed.
"And now..."
With a powerful aura, the director said,
"If you do not want Shion to be harmed...
Do not speak!"
Immediately, time returned to normal.
And Solan sat back to her seat.
...
Shi Yun Lan thought,
'Does that old man still continue playing his games?'
He glanced carefully at the director.
But Glass...
Or rather, Yossi...
Moved quickly.
'I do not know how he escaped the freezing effect.
But now...'
As he approached, he drew his blue sword.
'I will defeat him!'
However, his eyes widened in disbelief.
His sword, filled with aura, had been blocked.
But what shocked him and everyone else was that the sword blocking his attack released a majestic aura.
Yossi retreated instantly.
Impossible disbelief filled his expression.
"This... this is impossible!"
Shi Yun Lan spoke indifferently while examining Shion's memories.
"Are you saying it is acceptable for you to advance to the fourth level, but not me?"
Shion's sword released an astonishing silver aura with traces of stars.
Everyone was amazed.
"Did Lord Lan reach the fourth level?!"
"Even Kin Light couldn't do it!"
"Damn! My bet is in danger!"
Pearl Jewel smiled while watching.
'Yes! Advance further, Shion!'
Solan's shock deepened.
'Did he reach the fourth level?
I must reach the fifth level quickly so I do not fall behind!'
She felt worried.
'How can I protect him?!'
However...
On the battlefield...
Shi Yun Lan was suffering in silence.
'This will hurt him a little.'
A burning aura was scorching his skin.
When Yossi saw this, he smiled mockingly.
"It seems something went wrong when you reached the fourth level.
So I suggest you surrender..."
"Silence, you arrogant fool."
Shi Yun Lan noticed something.
The fire body and water body had merged.
The water aura merged with the fire aura without conflict.
It was as if his body was iron being heated, forged through techniques, then cooled to reach a new level.
Despite the pain, Shi Yun Lan thought,
'This is only my consciousness controlling the body.
That is why I do not feel the pain.
I hope the body responds well to my next movements.'
He prepared himself.
Yossi did the same.
"I must admit..."
Yossi looked at Shion with sharp eyes saying,
"You are the most talented person I have ever faced.
But your luck ends here."
Pointing at his body.
"Your body will collapse here!"
Without a word, icy blades spread throughout the battlefield.
And without a word from Shion either, threads and small bombs appeared.
With a gesture, the spells collided.
The center of the arena was destroyed.
Yossi moved forward while thinking,
'He did not only reach Weapon Aura...'
He saw the unspoken spells falling on him.
'He reached Mage's Mind as well?!'
"No!"
He breathed deeply.
'I must defeat him!'
But Shi Yun Lan remembered the technique,
"(Path of the Stellar River)"
A technique that originally required both hands.
Yet now...
With a single hand movement, the technique formed within the sword aura.
He began countering,
"(Subzero Duel)"
Both attempted to use magic spells to strike the other from behind.
But they interrupted each other.
The blades collided with the bombs the moment they approached.
However, Shi Yun Lan smiled.
He used:
"(Paths of Stars)"
The technique moved around Yossi's spells and struck his back.
But to everyone's surprise...
A layer of frost covered Yossi's body.
He moved away again.
Although exhausted, he whispered,
"It does not matter...
His body is already in a miserable condition.
Yet..."
He was talking in a low voice but he clenched his teeth.
"Why is he standing like this?!
As if nothing affects him?!"
Shi Yun Lan looked at his body's condition and frowned.
"I cannot endure for long."
He looked at Yossi coldly.
"I must end this..."
Suddenly, Shi Yun Lan felt a change within his body.
He heard Shion's voice.
"It seems you are fighting now."
"I want you to defeat that thing controlling Glass."
Shi Yun Lan communicated with him while watching Yossi's movements.
"What is happening?"
"I felt something strange in your body."
Shion, inside his star realm, replied,
"During the fusion process, many stars deviated from their paths.
The magic circles became weaker."
Shion explained everything.
"So I am reorganizing them."
Shi Yun Lan smiled.
"It seems you can be relied upon sometimes."
Shion became annoyed.
"I am doing this because it is my body."
Shion remembered Glass.
"And because this match matters to me."
Shi Yun Lan said,
"So do your job!"
Within Shion's vision, the stars extended into a surreal and magical scene.
He took a deep breath.
He pointed toward certain stars that had merged.
Then he separated them.
He remembered:
"(Weapon Fundamentals)"
The training he received at the beginning.
He distributed the stars according to the star inscriptions implanted within his body.
'If I place fist techniques in the hands...'
He began to imagine.
'And movement techniques in the legs...
The aura produced will become unstoppable.'
The aura stars and magic circles began to work and shine.
'Every technique represented by the stars will be placed in the muscles suitable for it.
With strengthened magic circles...
My body will reach enormous power.
And by merging the magic circles together...
New possibilities have opened before me.'
If Shion had a face at that moment...
A perfect smile would have appeared.
"Let's begin."
The aura and magic shone up in his domain.
....
While Shi Yun Lan fought Yossi Sano under the cheers and excitement of the audience, he began feeling countless flows inside his body.
With every improvement he noticed, he immediately used it against Yossi.
The technique:
"(Path of the Stellar River)"
became stronger.
Sharper.
Smoother.
His attacks began reaching Yossi.
Yossi received the attacks using his frost armor.
The spells began forming better.
Faster.
More accurately.
Yossi looked with disbelief.
His back had suffered many injuries.
He whispered,
"This is impossible!
How can he evolve during battle?!
The aura no longer harms him.
It is becoming better!"
He noticed Shion's body releasing steam.
Yet a calm expression remained on his face.
Finally, Yossi decided to release his strongest power.
A majestic aura emerged from his hands.
It was the same technique as before:
"(Ice Age Touch)"
He prepared to attack again.
But Shi Yun Lan became interested.
He extended his hand.
A starry light covered it.
The light extended until his elbow. Not just his hand.
Shi Yun Lan whispered:
"(Stellar Summet Art: Star Claws)"
The aura erupted from his hand with overwhelming force.
Shi Yun Lan said with a perfect smile,
"I want to see the possibilities of this body."