Chapter 33: Ch-32:Close Yet Far
As Altair entered the state of trance, the aura emanating from her changed completely, as if Raon were facing a new person altogether.
Her sword intent was being compressed to a whole other level, and her energy wastage levels were dropping ridiculously.
Her entire body seemed to have become one with the sword as Raon got completely serious and let out his own sword intent in response.
The two intents seemed to resonate for a short moment before Raon took a deep breath and attacked Altair's sword for a collision.
He didn't have any other option than draining Altair of her energy to bring her out of the trance without sustaining damage.
Surely, entering a trance was a positive thing, as it could make one improve by leaps and bounds in a short period of time.
But it wasn't without any shortcomings, as the cultivator wouldn't be aware of their actions during the trance and might do something that they would regret.
It could also end up causing fatal self-harm as the cultivator would be unaware of their own body's state, which was the reason Raon was concentrating to his utmost.
His goal was to stop Altair at the correct time, which maximizes her benefit and minimizes the loss incurred by her.
He was aware that her condition wasn't optimal in the least to stay in the trance for a prolonged period of time.
Raon had never gotten such an opportunity, but he was aware of it as he had seen the talented disciples from different powers going through this.
As the two clashed their swords, Raon was thinking of the possibility of Altair overexerting her body and going out of range of the protective dome around the arena.
The arena might seem big for cultivators, but at their level, it was like a playground, if not for the fact that they were going to spar based solely on swords.
Raon, deep in his thoughts, suddenly felt pain on his left cheek that brought him out of his inner world.
He noticed that he had gotten various cuts on his body superficially while also defending against Altair's persistent attacks.
It had been less than five minutes, and Raon was feeling the energy inside Altair's body reaching the end of her reserves.
Raon was glad that she didn't give her all in that state but was focused on the sword that contained the fight and damage inside the arena.
As soon as Altair exhausted the last bit of energy in her body, her body stopped moving as it was falling to the ground.
Naturally, Raon caught her and fed her a healing pill as he carried her to lay on a bed while he continued to recuperate after the fight.
He waited for her to wake up to look for any negative effects that might happen to her due to going into a trance.
Altair was unconscious for the next 2 hours, which Raon used to recuperate and recover to his peak state as he waited for her to wake up.
He noticed her waking up as the energy flow in their surroundings became different since she had started absorbing it to refill her dantian.
Raon was observing the energy flow to notice any discrepancies, but all he noticed was that it had gotten even smoother compared to before.
He simply waited while noting how the energy flowed, as he had never gotten a chance to observe from this close, and this was a lesson for him too.
He didn't notice any major changes, but the energy flow became smooth without getting wasted at any of her pathways.
He also noticed that the energy flow was slightly altered from her latest cultivation technique, meaning she improved even her basic cultivation technique.
It wasn't a major thing for anyone else in the world, as they were all busy preparing for the competition that would allow inter-world traversal.
Due to this, the bigshots in the Arcane Empire ignored the Liakroso Empire, thinking it was no major threat to them, yet it had developed hidden fangs.
Altair was currently one of the ten strongest beings in the Empire, and the reason she sparred was to get a group of cultivators under her.
Due to their ignorance, they gave birth to Altair's private group, which would go on to become their nightmare in the near future.
Raon told Altair about her trance and discussed with her the benefits that she gained to give her correct guidance on the path of the sword.
The other reason Raon was so focused on this was that he was also waiting for his chance to transform his sword intent and reach the same stage as his master.
Weapon intents were not something that could be taught to anyone and were insanely rare, to the point that only 1 in 10 core disciples of Daiyu Sacred Land ever achieved it.
At the end of their discussion, Raon was in deep thought about what Altair tried to explain, as it was difficult to put into words.
"Uh, so can I lead my private group?" Asked Altair, bringing Raon out of his thoughts.
"Hmm... Sure, but don't get into trouble." Raon easily agreed as he hadn't been going to say no since the beginning.
Well, Altair was clueless regarding that, so she was obviously happy that her dad allowed her to lead troops rather than go solo.
Yes, Altair had gone and fought solo under disguises, as Raon didn't trust anyone to be sent together with her.
Even the private group that she will lead will have cultivators who have signed a soul-binding contract to never bring harm to Altair.
One might call him a cruel and ruthless ruler, but even he was a helpless and protective father to his daughter.
For him, despite her becoming centuries old, Altair was still a kid, and the reason he cared so much was his own childhood as well as that of Lia.
Surprisingly, Raon had spent approximately the past nine centuries single after he consummated with Lia and Altair was born.
He had seen many cultivators have multiple partners or change them after death, having multiple kids with different wives or husbands.
For some reason, he didn't feel any such attraction towards any female that he met, irrespective of their physical features.
It mattered not whether the female was alluring, strong, talented, or had any other features; Raon wasn't attracted to anyone.
Only by spending such a long time alone, either cultivating, fighting, or taking care of his empire or Altair, did he realize and figure out that he might not have loved Lia, but he could have loved her.
As he progressed in cultivation, the monotonous life of a cultivator bored him to the point where he felt like quitting everything and living like a hermit.
If not for Altair, he would have already done that. During one such lonely time, he realized that he missed Lia, as he felt mixed emotions upon remembering her.
He even sometimes felt that she was still alive and somewhere out there, but he never spoke about it, as he might've just gone crazy.
He was unaware that he was absolutely correct in thinking that Lia was alive, and she was even observing him sometimes.
As Raon was lost in his thoughts, a cold wind blew past his face, carrying with it a serene feeling that fluttered his hair across his face.
His countenance suddenly turned frigid as he left the spot and went straight to an isolated barren land full of huge rocks.
He brought out his sword and swung it, targeting a huge stone 100 meters away from him without using any energy.
He kept repeating the motion hundreds of times before his sword let out a frosty energy that struck the stone, leaving a small part of it frozen.
The entire aura around Raon was changing as if evolving to a whole new level of existence, but the process had just started when it stopped.
Raon didn't seem to care though, as he started using his sword intent and kept compressing it on his sword before unleashing it towards the sky.
The clouds in the sky seemed to be split apart in a rough line as Raon continued with his weird sword practices.
As time continued to pass, Raon's sword attacks became smoother and more destructive in nature.
He kept swinging his sword for an hour, yet he stayed in that barren land for an entire week, consolidating his progress.
He gently smiled as his eyes shed a single teardrop each before he slashed without any sword intent or energy.
His wide swing from the ground to the clouds left a deep, sharp, smooth, and destructive scar in a line from the ground to the rocks to the clouds.
He had finally touched the barrier and crossed it, which was stopping him from reaching his master's level in swordsmanship.
Unfortunately, Raon couldn't cross the barrier and stay in that state for long as he hadn't overcome it completely.
He regressed to his previous state but was just a step or small understanding away from breaking the barrier once and for all.
"I am ready..." murmured Raon as he was leaving.
As he sheathed his sword and left, the entire area froze, collapsed, and got buried under the soil there.
Raon never returned there, as he had achieved his goal and finally waged war to conquer the territory around the Liakroso Empire.
It would be Raon's first step that would lead him to get involved in things far more complicated than met the eye.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Hardy1j
Hardy1j The chapter title is a hint!!
He will regress in 10 or so chapters for sure!!
10 PS for second extra chapter!!
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