Aether and Morax finished off the entire basket of soup dumplings together.
"If you need my help with something, you can simply say so next time."
"Friends helping each other is only natural."
Morax's words made Aether scratch his head awkwardly. He hadn't expected his little scheme to be seen through so quickly.
"Uh… um, Morax, could you teach me some combat skills?" Aether asked.
Morax looked at him.
"Generally speaking, a demon god's combat methods are unique, because each demon god's authority is different."
"For example, I typically use the Authority of Geo as my means of attack."
"There are no special techniques. It is merely experience accumulated over time."
"As demon gods, we already stand at the pinnacle of strength in this world."
Morax said.
His meaning was simple:
Each demon god wielded a different authority, and the combat style derived from that authority would naturally be entirely different as well.
He could teach Aether some of his own ways of attacking, yes—
But Morax believed that would only suppress Aether's own unique path.
Aether's authority should be developed by Aether himself.
After hearing Morax, Aether felt like he understood something.
So there are no useless authorities—only useless demon gods, huh?
He knew his Authority of Manifestation would be powerful, but he ultimately lacked combat experience.
And if combat experience was something accumulated day by day—
Then… he got it.
"Alright. I know what I need to do."
"Then can you go outside and practice with me?" Aether asked, looking at Morax.
Morax replied, "Naturally."
After leaving Liyue, Morax was extremely familiar with the surrounding terrain. Under his guidance, Aether soon found a group of Geovishaps.
These Geovishaps were Geo-elemental creatures. They had sturdy Geo armor, and their strength was nothing to scoff at.
If something like this charged into a human settlement, the casualties would be devastating.
Aether stared at the Geovishap. It looked rather vicious.
Just from its appearance, it was clearly not something to be trifled with.
"I'm going in!"
And yet Aether still chose to step forward.
He knew that if he didn't dare to fight, if he didn't accumulate real combat experience, then he would never grow.
And if he didn't grow, how could he stand firm during the future Demon God War?
He didn't want to end up like the God of Salt.
"Rooooar!!"
The moment Aether landed, he drew the Geovishap's attention. It had a strong sense of territory.
When it saw a human-looking youth trespass into its domain, it immediately entered an aggressive state.
With a violent leap, its massive body slammed down toward Aether.
Aether felt as if a meteor was falling right on top of him.
He hurriedly dodged.
The Geovishap crashed into the ground, and for an instant the earth trembled and the mountains shook.
Meanwhile, Aether began to adjust, gradually settling into the flow of battle.
He steadied himself and faced the Geovishap.
"Bind!"
Aether activated the Authority of Manifestation. In almost an instant, twelve metal pillars—each as thick as a man—appeared and trapped the Geovishap in place.
"Flameburst Punishment!"
Next, a searing pillar of fire erupted from Aether's hands—dozens of meters thick—blasting straight into the Geovishap while it was still briefly restrained!
"ROOOOAR!!!"
The Geovishap howled in agony as its body was scorched by the extreme heat.
In the end, it was reduced to ash—
and even the metal pillars melted into a puddle of molten iron.
"How was that, how was that? Am I amazing or what?"
After dealing with the Geovishap, Aether flickered and appeared beside Morax, patting him on the shoulder with a grin.
Morax had watched the entire battle.
He didn't want to discourage Aether—but combat was a matter of survival, and it would determine Aether's future.
So he needed to be honest.
"Your fighting is too flashy and not practical at all. It only works against something heavy and foolish like a Geovishap."
"However, it is still quite good—this was your first battle, after all."
Morax said.
Ah… so that's how it was?
Aether began reflecting as well.
His combat style did seem to have problems.
If his opponent were different, would his slow, deliberate moves even be able to hit?
Attacks should be—
fast, accurate, and ruthless.
Use the quickest speed and the greatest power to kill the enemy in a single strike.
Mm. I understand now.
"Alright. I understand. I know what I need to do," Aether said to Morax.
Morax nodded.
He didn't actually know what Aether had understood.
But the training wasn't over yet.
After that, he continued to patrol around the territory with Aether. While accompanying Aether in combat practice, he also took the opportunity to clear out dangers in the surrounding area—
so that these monsters and beasts wouldn't stray into the settlement and threaten his people.
"Morax, is that a huge white tiger over there?" Aether pointed at the beast below.
Morax nodded.
"Just a beast. Nothing to fear."
"You want to try?"
Aether nodded. "I do. I want to test a new move I just realized."
"Very well. Let us go," Morax said.
Following Morax's advice, Aether changed his approach.
He pursued one thing only—
ultimate burst.
End the enemy as quickly as possible.
Aether flew above. The white tiger hadn't noticed him yet.
This was called striking first.
A blazing fireball appeared in Aether's hand.
It even looked a little like a miniature sun.
Aether could feel it—within that tiny sphere was immense, extreme power.
He called it the Little Fireball Technique.
"Catch this!"
Aether hurled the fireball.
It flew fast, dragging a dazzling trail of light as it streaked straight toward the white tiger.
The tiger caught sight of that bright little dot in the sky.
In an instant, it sensed danger!
With a sudden slide, it bolted in the opposite direction.
But unfortunately, it wasn't faster than the fireball.
The fireball struck down beside it.
Then an even more blinding light erupted. The fireball swelled violently like a star, swallowing the terrain for several thousand meters around.
When the light finally faded, only a spherical crater remained—several thousand meters in diameter.
"How about that? This time it's good, right?"
After admiring his handiwork, Aether returned to Morax with a smile.
Morax… now fully understood that Aether had, in fact, misunderstood something quite badly.
And yet…
it also seemed strangely reasonable.
"Good. A fine combat technique," Morax praised.
But in truth, what combat technique was there?
That was pure brute-force burst, stacked with raw power.
That one move alone had consumed a full tenth of Aether's strength.
"Stop praising me—this isn't some 'combat technique.'"
"Morax, you really don't know how to compliment people!"
"Alright, alright. Let's keep clearing monsters."
Aether had a fairly clear understanding of himself.
Moves like that… should stay as his trump card.
If it ever came to that, he could just throw ten fireballs at the enemy and watch their face go blank.
Firepower coverage—ever heard of it?
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