Hearing Wei-Lan's statement left the watchers stunned for a moment... even some clueless citizens noticed that Yanhuan's condition was declining rapidly, and that the best option was to end the fight and get him the necessary help.
Whether he was spoiled or a prick... his immense talent and strength still reigned supreme amongst most Daywalkers of his generation.
It was too much of a waste to lose such an asset when they were already struggling to cultivate decent Daywalkers.
"Wei-Lan... don't tell me you are going to allow your ego to ruin another son of yours," Dominic uttered coldly.
Tyrese, Evangeline, Shia, and the rest of the watchers were caught off guard, having no idea that Wei-Lan used to have another son... It wasn't just them; almost the entire world was ignorant of such a shocking secret.
"Dominic... it's best that you keep your nose out of my family's matters." Wei-Lan narrowed his eyes icily. "My son has made his choice, and I respect him more for it... only failures go out without a fight to the bitter end."
Wei-Lan brushed off Dominic's remark and refocused on his son... his expression was stern as he watched Yanhuan's form change drastically from human to a semi-blue serpent, resembling his contracted Nightcrawler immensely!
Two small horns protruded from his bleeding forehead. His torn robe displayed bluish scales coursing from his hands to his elbows... the same was true for his legs. His pupils disappeared, replaced by a misty haze that was forever emitted, matching the misty blue tail attached to his tailbone.
Once the transformation was finished, Yanhuan resembled a semi-beast... his form was hunched down, and he was breathing raggedly, each breath resembling a cloud of blue mist.
Before anyone could react to his peculiar transformation, Yanhuan snapped his head in Levi's direction and instantly disappeared!
The watchers were left stunned as a dense blue cloud manifested beside Levi, and then a single blue-scaled leg tore out of it at full speed!
Boom!
The kick carried the weight of spatial momentum behind it, smashing into Levi's crossed arms with immense force!
Levi's aetheric barrier flared brightly for a split second, absorbing a significant portion of the assault... and yet, Levi still found himself sent flying across the rugged floor.
Levi rolled, slid, and barely managed to stabilize himself before skidding to a stop, his arms still twitching from the force he had absorbed.
'What strength... is this the infamous unnatural evolution's mutation?'
Levi frowned as he gazed at Yanhuan, who was already on the move... the moment Yanhuan started the transformation, Levi immediately recognized that he must have activated the Overload Mutation.
It was common knowledge within the Alchemist Field that a limited amount and types of mutations were born after a successful unnatural evolution. Unlike natural evolutions, which provided all kinds of mutations based on the genetic codes of their users and the quality of the evolutionary formula, unnatural evolutions were extremely limited in this department. They were split into four types: spiritual, physical, aspect-based, or a mixture of two types.
The mutations born from these three types were almost always the same to avoid creating too much conflict with one's natural evolutionary path.
Overload Mutation was considered a mixture of physical and aspect-based mutation that enabled a Daywalker to semi-transform with some physical qualities of their Nightcrawler. It gave them an all-rounded enhancement in addition to a higher affinity to their main Aspect, which made its control much easier.
Though... for a price: Life force!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yanhuan dropped low like a wild beast and sprinted around Levi in a wide circle. He was breathing blue mist continuously from his Briar Pipe, leaving behind a blue trail like a flying jet.
Immediately, Levi figured out that he was attempting to create a closed circle around him with his mist... if he were to succeed while Levi was still inside, Levi was going to receive the same treatment his illusionary clone suffered during their last alteration.
However, each time Levi tried to step out of the circle, Yanhuan vanished and reappeared beside him, striking once before blinking away again!
It didn't matter if Levi tried to fly, sprint, or use combustion leaps... Yanhuan was always there to smash him back inside the circle!
His skills as a fighter might not be that great, but he was still a Perfectly Evolved Warden Daywalker with an additional unnatural evolution... with the activation of the Overload Mutation, his all-rounded strength was enhanced to the point that it posed a serious challenge for Levi in his current condition.
After all, Levi's strength might be enough to leave anyone in despair, but he could not tap into everything without putting his life in jeopardy.
Bam! Boom! Thud!
Punches and kicks came in short bursts, each one reinforced with spatial momentum, leaving Levi to feel like he was being hit by a hummingbird holding a sledgehammer... It was simply too hard to lock down Yanhuan in one place when he kept blinking all over the arena.
Of course, with every teleport, another trail of mist was born, slowly forming curved lines that began to connect into a massive blue cloudy ring.
He was moving so fast that even the watchers struggled to keep up with him... those familiar with Yanhuan's arts were left with deep frowns, understanding the severity of Levi's situation if he did nothing to break out of the massive circle.
This time, Levi didn't attempt to escape the circle... he planted his feet on the ground and then clapped his hands together with full force.
Kabooom!!
A resounding soundwave exploded in every direction, slamming into the blue mist like a physical wall... the blue ring was deformed, the mist scattering across the arena as the formation collapsed under the pressure.
For a brief moment, Shia, Arthur, and his teammates sighed in relief... but then, the mist moved.
It flowed back into place on its own, woven together forcefully by Yanhuan's will... under everyone's stunned eyes, the scattered clouds rejoined, smoothing out the gaps in no time!
"Levi is in big trouble now." Tyrese knitted his brows, not a fan of this development.
'Yanhuan's strength is now equal to a decent Solarbound Daywalker... it's near impossible for Levi to win against him, regardless of how much of an anomaly he is.' Wei-Lan smirked coldly, his eyes darting across the stands.
He loved the shocked and awed looks his son was getting, as this was exactly what he wanted from him... In his eyes, if the Imperial Sun Heir couldn't inspire those reactions in his battle, then he was doing something wrong.
Now... even when he knew that his son was burning through his own life force to achieve this kind of overwhelming prowess, he felt no remorse... only gratification.
In less than a second, the circle reformed completely, sealing Levi inside once more... only then did Yanhuan blink hundreds of meters above Levi, hovering in the air with a twisted expression.
His hands rose and formed a rough circle, fingers trembling as blue mist leaked from between them... then his voice came out hoarse and raw, representing the harsh state he was putting his body in.
"Sever!"
He slammed his hands together, closing the circle... and almost instantly, the massive blue ring gleamed for a brief moment.
Rumble! Rumble!
Then the space inside the ring began to collapse inward, causing the atmosphere to turn rampant. It folded in on itself as countless invisible spatial blades snapped into existence, born from the spatial disturbance!
Understanding that he was standing amidst a storm of invisible spatial blades, Levi refused to move an inch... he let out a short exhale as he focused his senses to the limit, hoping to catch their emergence before they sliced him.
'I can't sense space yet... but I can see the agitated atmosphere's frequencies shattering out of nowhere.'
Author's note: I tried my best to give you three chapters, but my writing speed is severely hindered while writing in bed... good news though, the fever is almost gone now... hopefully, I will get better in the upcoming days. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Love, Midgard.