As soon as , Aries said that , the leaves of the trees started to rustle . It was as if a storm had hit them . Aries just stood by and patiently waited for the enemy to expose himself .
Suddenly , a figure clad in a silver white armor crashed in front of Aries as the dust and smoke released upon impact . The dust cleared to reveal a young man . He was not older than Aries but the most important part is that his face . His skin was smooth and flawless , his eyes were golden and his hair was of whitish-gold colour .
Aries observed him for some time before asking :
"Who are you ?" confusion was eminent in his tone .
The enemy before him saw his state and just smiled a little . His small grin made Aries seemed to realize something and that is , this person before him is no human .
"You are a Celestial , am I right ?" asked Aries in a icy tone .
The enemy before him stopped smiling for few seconds before the grin returned . He said in a mocking tone :
"Bet I am . My name is Ao"
"What is it that you want ?" asked Aries .
"I have an offer for you , Aries Voidhaven"
"And ?"
"I want you to join the Celestial Race . To do this , you just need to accept my hand and abandon your Human Race"
"And if I don't want to join ?"
"Then , you will have to die . Our race can't tolerate any more competition in it's path"
"I don't think you will be able to kill me , though"
"We'll see about that"
Ao slowly took out a sword from his storage ring . Aries just left a sigh and took out his own soul weapon . His sword was named 'Void Breaker' . This sword was once used by the current patriarch 'Argent Von Voidhaven' himself .
They both didn't engage in combat right away . Aries was calmly observing his opponent and trying to get a perfect review of his strength . On the other hand , Ao was also curiously watching Aries who was emitting the aura of Upper Level 1 . But , suddenly , something happened which he never have expected . Aries's lips curled up to a smile and he took the stance .
Ao sensing the heavy air around him also took position and their eyes locked . They both vanished into thin air as sparks of blades clashing could be seen occasionally . Their blades clashed with precision . Aries was trying to read his opponent's movements while also focusing his swordmanship .
Ao too wasn't slacking off a bit . He was also reading Aries . He was a bit surprised when he saw that Aries was maintaining his speed in comparison to him which should have been impossible . The average stats of an Lower Rank 3 expert starts from 1000 points and Aries was far from it but he somehow still managed to counter him .
Aries was able to maintain his speed as he was imbuing more [Star Essence] into his movement . His reserves are infinite and he doesn't have to worry about running out but the opponent doesn't have his reserve and so , the longer the battle goes on the better .
They both appeared out of thin air and landed on the ground . They both retreated from each other . Ao and Aries were standing approx. 10 meters apart . Ao couldn't believe what he felt during the fight . Aries who was merely a human and four whole levels below him was actually keeping up against him and also slightly gaining advantage .
Rage was clear in his eyes as Aries felt the bloodlust he was feeling to increase . Aries closed his eyes and let out a sigh . He concentrated his energy into his body . The 'Star Core' in his heart was slowly rotating and the [Star Essence] which seeped out spread throughout his body through the [Energy Veins] .
-Ding
-[Formless Sword Body (incomplete)] activated
Aries opened his eyes . His purple eyes now glowing with an amethyst glow . Ao who was not standing far away flinched when his eyes met with Aries . A new feeling originated in his mind . He was feeling 'fear' . This was the first time he felt fear against a human and not only a human but one who was weaker than him .
Ao couldn't hold it any longer as he charged towards Aries . His speed was so fast that even Rank 2 experts might not see him but Aries was different . His sword physique allowed him to view things at a far more precision than any Rank 2 or even Rank 3 can achieve .
Seeing Ao head towards him , Aries didn't even flinch . He just tilted his head as Ao's sword brushed passed him . Aries didn't waste time as he delivered a kick to Ao's abdomen . Ao didn't manage to get the footing and crashed on the ground .
Aries's usual combat power was now as strong as a Rank 3 expert . With the boost of 'Formless Sword Body' , his combat power is currently 20 times greater . Even a Middle Rank 3 might not be able to defeat him . After obtaining his sword physique , Aries's body now naturally absorbed energy from the surroundings and convert it into [Star Essence] .
This energy was naturally infusing with his body as his reserves are endless and saturated . His body is as a reason getting stronger at an expontential rate without raising his cultivation level . The energy also doesn't add muscles to him and thus his body is slim as ever but stronger than those bulk freaks can handle .
Ao got up to his feet . Blood was trickling from his mouth as he wiped it . He looked towards Aries with his eyes . His eyes were filled with hatred and rage which met Aries's cold eyes . His rage immediately flared by several levels .
Ao took out a pill from his storage ring . Aries's eyes focused on it and his pupils constricted . That was a Blood Raging Pill . It is able to raise someone's rank by two levels temporarily but it has a usage time of 10 seconds . After the pill's effect is over , the user is met with a severe backlash and would require atleast 3 months to recover .
Ao took a stance . Aries was sure that he was now going to use a skill . Up until now they were fighting on pure strength . Ao actually thought that killing this low level human wouldn't require him to use his skills but he was wrong .
Ao's energy coated the blade . His golden aura shimmered and the blade started to glow like a light source . Aries didn't move . Ao slashed the sword towards Aries as a wave of energy forwarded towards him .
–Holy Sword Art : Form 1 : Raging Holy Blade
Aries just stood quietly as the strike forwarded towards him . Ao felt amused by Aries's expression and thought that he was frozen due to fear but he failed to noticed the sparks of black lightning which was now covering Aries .
Aries inserted his sword inside the sheath as he ducked down and released a breath . The bolts of lightning growing and raging with each passing moment . Aries opened his eyes as sparks of black lightning resonated with his eyes and making him more deadly .
–Thunder Sword Art : Form 1 : Heaven's Cleaving Flash
Aries's pulled out his sword coated with black lightning and striked . His sword slash was much powerful than Ao and it directly eliminated the golden aura and the sword strike . It didn't stop and rushed towards Ao . He raised his sword to block the attack .
The black lightning attack was cancelled when it was struck with Ao's blade but he used much of his strength to block the attack . As soon as the attack dissipated , Ao's eyes widened . Just behind the sword strike was Aries himself .
His sword was covered with shimmering energy as he striked . A clean strike .
Ao's head was dicapitated as it fell on the ground and rolled . Ao's body was still standing after the strike slowly dropped to the ground . He was dead .
Aries swinged his sword once as the blood on his sword immediately dropped on the ground . Aries looked towards the dead body and squinted his eyes .
'The Celestials actually dared to send someone after me ?'
'But how did he cross the borders . I should report it to father as soon as possible'
'These Celestials are growing violent by each day'
'Just wait . I will sever all your heads along with the demons'