Left with no other choice, the team followed the Unique Sage's orders and sent in their next member, Manny.
Another grey soldier flew forward, and the Barrier Formation Array activated again.
Manny had volunteered to enter so that he could test the waters. The team didn't know how the foreign Seekers would react to an Imposing Law. It was possible that they respected Imposing Laws, but there was also a chance that they would view it as something akin to heresy to divinity or something.
Manny's opponent carried a two-handed sword, just like him.
When the battle began, Manny charged forward, while his opponent gathered Energy to launch a powerful attack.
Sure enough, an illusory two-handed sword appeared in front of the grey soldier.
Another powerful Imposing Law.
Yet, while the opponent gathered his Energy, Manny's body shone, and Kyle's eyes widened when he saw what happened next.
Four Mannys appeared, and all four of them scattered in different directions!
'Is this Manny's Imposing Law?' Kyle thought.
Manny had been pretty secretive about his Imposing Law, which was why Kyle didn't know anything about it.
The opponent's face barely moved as three more illusory swords appeared.
Based on the density of the Energy in the surroundings, the grey soldier had emptied his entire Center to conjure four swords.
The next moment, each sword targeted one of the Mannys and shot forward.
Three of the Mannys dispersed like smoke.
BOOOOM!
Manny's sword hit the illusory sword as his muscles bulged. White water surrounded his body and weapon. After a short collision, the illusory sword lost its hold on Manny's sword and slipped past Manny and his weapon.
Manny had natural Light and Water Affinities with an artificial Space Affinity. With his External Complex Law, he could conjure illusions and manipulate the matter around him. After blocking the majority of the force, Manny let the attack slip past him.
This stunt only cost him about 10% of his Energy.
After getting past the attack, Manny charged towards his opponent, who only held his sword up. It was more than clear that the grey soldier was out of Energy, but he still didn't give up.
Since the end of the fight hadn't been announced yet, Manny got another opportunity to gain more information. He flew towards his opponent and launched a purely physical attack.
The opponent blocked the attack with his sword.
BANG!
The opponent's defense collapsed like paper, and the Formation Array intervened to save the soldier's life.
The fight was over, and this time, it hadn't even really been a battle.
"I was right," Manny transmitted to the others. "I wasn't sure before, but now, I am."
"I don't think they have Complex Laws."
Kyle's brows furrowed when he heard that. 'Is that actually the case?' he thought.
He remembered the past two fights while thinking about Manny's hypothesis. Neither soldier had Infused Center Laws. Kyle would have noticed if they had. While he couldn't be sure about the first guy, Kyle was also sure that the second guy didn't have an Infused Body Law. Manny had a Level 3.5 Infused Body Law, and he had obliterated the opponent's defense with ease. Kyle had also only seen Pure Gravity Metal from the first guy, which meant he probably didn't have an External Complex Law.
'That might actually be possible,' Kyle thought. 'But then, how do they have Fulfilled and Unique Seekers? It can't be that they don't know about Complex Laws. Even if, for some reason, nobody ever got the idea to combine Laws, this world still receives a bunch of ascenders on the regular. These ascenders know what Complex Laws are.'
'So then, why? Why do none of them have Complex Laws, and why are their Imposing Laws so powerful?'
The Barrier Formation Array deactivated, and the soldier returned to his unit. Meanwhile, the Unique Sage looked at Manny with an expression that wasn't completely cold and detached.
"Is this Battle Rite your creation?" the Unique Sage asked.
"I am unfamiliar with that word," Manny answered.
"A Battle Rite is a technique that fuses several different concepts to create a single, powerful attack. You may also call them techniques, skills, or Energy attacks."
The Unique Sage glanced at Fierce Breaker. "Your companion has shown the components of a Battle Rite, but he has not shown a Battle Rite. He has shown unrefined insights into nature, which have not been turned into a true attack yet. I assume he doesn't have a Manifestation."
"You mean, an Imposing Law?" Manny asked.
"Imposing Laws or Personal Laws are Manifestations, yes," the Unique Sage said. "However, they are not Battle Rites. They are just one half of a Battle Rite."
Manny smiled uncomfortably. "Then, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. I have used a Manifestation, as you call it. I didn't-"
A streak.
Manny's arm fell to the ground.
Silence.
The team froze in shock and horror.
In a mere instant, a streak had traveled from the Unique Sage to Manny, cutting his arm off. Manny hadn't even noticed the attack before it had hit him, and the same thing was true for all of the others.
Kyle couldn't even form a coherent thought. He had expected the Unique Sage to be powerful, but this speed was unreasonable!
"Do not attempt to lie in front of me," the Unique Sage said with a reprimanding tone. "I know the difference between a Manifestation and a Battle Rite. You used a Battle Rite, not a Manifestation."
Manny's arm regrew.
For a mere instant, Kyle felt like he had sensed an intense aura emanating from Manny before everything returned to normal.
"I have supplemented my Manifestation with natural insights," Manny confirmed, choosing his words carefully.
"That is a Battle Rite," the Unique Sage said. "Have you created yours yourself?"
Meanwhile, Kyle thought about Manny's words. 'Supplementing an Imposing Law with Laws? I thought I was already doing that by using an Infused Center Law! Also, I've never read or heard about that even being possible. Nobody ever told me that you could do that!'
"Yes, I have created this Battle Rite myself," Manny answered neutrally.
The Unique Sage nodded. "You may go back."
Then, he turned to the team. "Next battle!" he ordered.
However, the team barely heard the Unique Sage's words over the words Manny had just transmitted to them.
"I think I know why there are no Immortals coming from this world," Manny transmitted.
This immediately grabbed everybody's attention.
"Is there a problem with the Battle Rites?" Sebastian asked. He sounded like he was also already suspecting something. "Is that also the reason why I've never heard about a way to fuse Laws and Imposing Laws?"
"Inherently, Battle Rites are not a bad thing," Manny explained. "In our world, we call them Refined Laws."
'Never heard of Refined Laws,' Kyle thought, glancing at the others. Surprisingly, none of the others had heard of Refined Laws as well.
"However, they are more known under a different name. Shortcuts," Manny said.
'Still not familiar with that,' Kyle thought.
"That's a Shortcut?" Sebastian asked.
"You've heard of it?" Kyle asked with surprise.
"Yes," Sebastian transmitted. "The Red Witch mentioned them when I was experimenting with something. She said that going down this path would only destroy my future, but I'm not entirely sure what she meant."
"Refined Laws, or Shortcuts, are very powerful," Manny said. "However, they are also very dangerous to yourself."
"In what way?" Star Genesis asked.
"They can easily corrupt your insights if you don't know what you're doing," Manny explained. "If you take a wrong step, your Law will no longer be a Law. You are mixing the Laws of this Cosmos with your self-created Law. If done properly, a Refined Law will be about as powerful and difficult to create as a Complex Law. If you do it properly, it won't be dangerous."
"But if you do it improperly, the Refined Law will be just as powerful, but it will be created within 10% of the time necessary to create an equivalent Complex Law. If you rush things, you get to the end, but your foundation will be severely damaged."
Manny glanced at the foreign Seekers.
"The picture's becoming clear," he transmitted.
"Is it really that bad?" Fierce Breaker asked. "Can a concept like Refined Laws really cripple an entire world like this?"
"I can imagine how," Sebastian commented. "You guys probably noticed that the grey soldiers seem almost identical to each other. What if their auras are identical because they practice the same Refined Laws?"
Kyle's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean that..."
"Yes," Manny transmitted, confirming Sebastian's suspicions.
"Refined Laws are not unique. They can be traded and taught, and if you learn one, your foundation will be corrupted."
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