Child of Destiny

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The next day, Professor Henry personally called Professor Kyrie and Old Man Lin to inform them ahead of time regarding Shin's absence.

The consolidation of Shin's realm took longer than they had expected. His deep meditation alone lasted until it was eight in the morning. When it ended, Professor Henry still needed to check if there were some hidden problems or flaws in the current Mentalism Method that Shin had.

With that in mind, the professor asked Benedict to spar with Shin a little more. He wanted to personally oversee everything to make sure that there were no drawbacks or hidden side effects left behind.

The poor senior had just woken up at that time and had not even brushed his teeth yet, but he was immediately dragged back inside the training room before he even got out of the room.

Benedict had not recovered yet from Professor Henry's sudden arrival, so he could not respond in time. He was immediately thrown back into the training room while having a sleepy look.

As a result, Shin had to suffer.

At least that was the plan at first, but Benedict almost got a heart attack when the spar started. Shin was completely different from what he could remember. Whether it was the battle style, the mentalism techniques, energy and technique applications, or Shin's temperament – everything was way different compared to last night.

Benedict could not process everything as he was quite confused about what was happening. He could not put his finger on it as he was trying to understand what was going on.

It was until he remembered that Shin was supposed to complete or do something later that night. Benedict had fallen asleep at that time, so he almost forgot about it. And adding the drowsiness that he currently had due to him just waking up.

Shin's continuous assaults made Benedict fully awake.

After regaining his composure, Benedict returned to his steady pace and started responding to each move that Shin was trying at him. He was able to properly put up a fight right now and even snatched the initiative. He was now the one who was dictating the pace of the battle and controlling its rhythm.

But despite that being the case, Benedict still could not help himself but became more confused and surprised as more time passed.

He could clearly see the rapid growth that Shin was making during the battle. It was so fast that it could even scare Benedict, who was witnessing it firsthand.

Benedict was aware of Shin's combat talent, which was the Battle Genuis Talent. This was the reason why he was always taking the initiative to ask Shin for a spar rather than exchanging insights through words.

He knew that Shin would grow much faster when it came to practical training and sparring sessions, so he preferred to teach this junior this way. But what he was seeing right now clearly scared him.

This rate of growth was way beyond his understanding. It was like watching a monster undergo a growth phase from a mere cub into a full-grown adult within a short period of time. It greatly surpassed his imagination.

But after seeing the calm look from Professor Henry, Benedict quickly realized that it was a 'normal' occurrence. At least, from the current state that Shin was currently in.

From what Benedict could see, it seemed like Shin was currently in the middle of building a towel with the current foundation that he already had.

Or to be more precise, it seemed like Shin had crushed everything that he had before re-building everything with a much faster pace.

It was as if Shin was picking up all the broken pieces from the ground and started arranging and putting them together, placing them into their most suitable position.

At first, Benedict could still see some flaws and recklessness from Shin's movement, but as time went by, everything gradually disappeared as the latter got rid of them instantly.

Then Benedict witnessed how Shin rearranged his mentalism techniques and put them in great order.

If before, Shin was only able to transition between the 'Four Divine Beasts Methods', then he was now able to link all of them together without leaving a gap or brief pause that his opponent could take advantage of.

Everything was flowing like a steady river.

From what Benedict could see, it seemed like Shin had perfected his Mentalism Method and created a perfect cycle between the techniques under it.

And it would not take that long before Shin was able to fully master it and make it his own.

…

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions could be heard as Benedict left his afterimages within the training room. He continuously moved around while continuously using the teleportation technique with his Spatial Elemental Attribute.

Despite the limited space within the room, he was able to maneuver himself without being cornered by his junior. He disappeared and reappeared in different places within the room while Shin was continuously chasing after him.

Shin, on the other hand, repeatedly threw a series of attacks during the chase. He perfected and linked each of the techniques that he was using, switching from one special method to another. He even fused some of them together, making Benedict almost panic when facing them.

But despite all his efforts, he still could not land a clean hit to his senior. Although he was able to engage in an intense exchange of blows, all his attacks were either blocked or avoided.

Regardless, he could still put up a good fight until Benedict decided to toy with him using spatial movement techniques.

Shin relied on his sharp Spiritual Sense and True Sight Ocular Technique to track Benedict's movements.

Swoosh!

At this moment, Benedict appeared in a corner of the training room. He was about to use another movement technique when he realized that Shin had unknowingly appeared right in front of him.

"Sh*t!" he could only curse out loud when he realized that he had fallen into a trap.

Shin was reading his teleportation pattern earlier. After analyzing it and memorizing the timing of the teleportation technique of his senior, he had finally gotten a change like this.

He would naturally not let this opportunity slip away from his hands and quickly made his move.

But to Benedict's surprise, Shin did not throw a punch or execute a complicated technique. Instead, he saw his junior make a series of seals with his hand in an instantly fast but very smooth motion.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

He then saw his surroundings being filled with multiple runes that formed a mentalism array that disturbed the flow of energy. It also shook his control over the Spatial Elemental Energy, making him unable to use any movement techniques.

'Perfected Four Symbol Scripture: Divine Yellow Dragon Method – Mountain Seal'

Shin had just learned about this method earlier during his deep meditation when he was consolidating all the knowledge that he had gotten from the 'Jade Kirin Scripture'.

Combining it with the Mentalism Rune Application that he had learned from Grandmaster Benn, he was able to bring it to heights.

And with his meticulous preparation, he was finally able to catch his senior with his trap.

Bang!

Benedict felt a huge mountain trying to crush him when the mentalism array was completed.

"Ugh!"

He could only groan painfully due to how powerful the pressure was.

Left without a choice, he could only extend his hand and wrap it with his 'Spatial Spiritual Force. He was planning to grab Shin and cancel the activation of the array.

Swoosh!

Unfortunately, right after he grabbed onto 'Shin', the latter suddenly turned into smoke that quickly dissipated in the air.

Then Benedict saw Shin standing in the distance. The latter was doing yet another series of hand seals before clasping his hands together.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Then a series of Mentalism Runes suddenly appeared in the air surrounding Shin. They revolved around him while releasing a brilliant glow. Then they formed a huge series of 'Rune Sequences' while they lined up behind Shin and turned into multiple circles.

"Condense!" right after Shin shouted that word, the Mentalism Circles suddenly rotated before fusing into one and absorbing the surrounding energy. Then it turned into a huge Mentalism Rune behind Shin that was releasing a blinding light.

Wail!

Howl!

Shriek!

Roar!

Then the sounds of the four beast cries could be heard as they manifested right behind Shin for a brief moment before spinning and fusing together with the glowing rune behind Shin.

Then Shin suddenly extended his right hand forward while maintaining a seal and his left hand holding onto his wrist.

Pointing at Benedict, who was still locked in place in the distance, Shin suddenly shouted. "Blast!"

Boom!

Following his words, a powerful beam of light suddenly flew out from the glowing rune and went straight to Benedict.

'Perfected Four Symbol Scripture: Unity Ray of the Divine Beasts'

Swoosh!

Seeing the incoming ray of light that was flying at him with an insane speed, Benedict suddenly lost his calm demeanor and could not help but curse under his breath. "F*ck! Is this kid trying to destroy everything?"

He then paused briefly and threw a quick glance at the professor. When he saw the calm look that the professor was wearing, he instantly knew that the old man had already expected this to happen and even deployed a powerful barrier within the training room.

Realizing that he would not need to worry about anything, Benedict decided to show Shin what he was capable of.

As if the leash that was restricting him earlier was finally broken, the power that Benedict was suppressing finally exploded.

Boom!

Then, quickly following it, the apparition of a demonic marten with silver-white furs suddenly manifested behind him.

The silver flow of Spiritual Force also appeared around his body, creating an extra layer on it. It flowed continuously and moved upwards like a gentle stream.

His extended hand earlier remained in its position before he flipped it upward.

After that, he made a snapping gesture before finally snapping with his fingers.

Snap!

When the sound finally reverberated in the air, the time seemed to have slowed down before a cluster of energy suddenly appeared in front of him.

'Dark Heaven Cannon: Black Hole'

Swoosh!

Then a small ball of energy suddenly appeared a few meters away from him, which rapidly turned into a black sphere that sucked all energy around it.

Swoosh!

And when the beam of light that Shin had sent came in contact with that black hole, it was immediately absorbed until it exhausted all its powers.

When the beam of light finally dissipated, Shin stared at the black hole that was still absorbing everything before shaking his head.

It was still the strongest technique that he had up until now. He even made a couple of modifications to it after perfecting the 'Four Symbol Scripture', so its might was supposedly much stronger compared to the time he first used it against David.

Moreover, it was also reinforced by his Divinity Grade Mental Energy and was even executed under the influence of his Natural State, so the might could not be compared to the first time he had used the technique.

Yet it was still neutralized by a single technique by Benedict.

"Tsk! Tsk! I guess the gap was still huge," murmured Shin as he looked at Benedict who was currently covered with Spiritual Force with the Spatial Attribute.

Just standing there alone was more than enough for Shin to feel threatened. Shin could easily tell the difference between Benedict and the opponents that he had met before, who were at the Ethereal Opening Stage and Peak of Grandmaster Realm.

Understanding that he still did not stand a chance, Shin raised his hands and surrendered. He had already familiarized himself with his newly improved Mentalism Method and adjusted his battle style along with it.

He could also use the Perfected Four Symbol Scripture with his Natural State, so there was no point in continuing right now and asking to get beaten up by his senior one-sided.

Seeing that Shin surrendered without any hesitation, the corner of Benedict's mouth suddenly twitched. He was forced to enter this state and ready to teach the cheeky junior a lesson, but the latter surrendered straight away, not giving him the chance to put his thoughts into action.

"Why do I feel that I have been played?" said Benedict before retracting the Spiritual Force that was covering his entire body.

He then shook his head and sat in the corner, sulking. He knew that the professor would not let him beat Shin at the moment, so he could only dejectedly draw circles in the corner.

Professor Henry ignored Benedict and called out for Shin. Now that this new apprentice of his had familiarized himself with his newly improved Mentalism Method, it was time to tell Shin at the next training course that he had prepared.

At the same time, they were already aware of which element Shin could possibly have, they did not need to look for them blindly.

At this moment, preparing the body and creating a perfect vessel to host those elements would be their next course of action.

...