"Don’t roll your pretty red eyes at me, Old Dragon. Unlike you, I’m still alive, with a beating heart and actual feelings that can get hurt…" Leo said, eyeing Moltherak as the dragon exhaled in exasperation.
*Snort*
Moltherak let out a puff of smoke through his nostrils, visibly reining in his temper before shifting gears and presenting his final question.
"Very well. One last thing before I allow you your turn—tell me more about your cultivation manual. How do you circulate mana in the modern age, and how do you track your progress?" the dragon asked, his tone calm but genuinely curious.
Leo nodded, then began explaining the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex] in detail.
Moltherak listened in absolute silence, his expression unreadable, until Leo mentioned his brief success in observing his own aura. That’s when the dragon’s eyes widened in visible shock.
"You mean to say… you, a golden core cultivator, managed to perceive your own aura?" Moltherak asked, stunned, as he still couldn’t wrap his head around Leo spotting the color maroon when exiting the merchant district.
"I mean, yeah… I only managed it once and haven’t had a chance to train the technique since, but yeah. Why?" Leo replied, as Moltherak suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha—!"
The dragon laughed like a madman, his deep voice echoing through the mural space, while Leo tilted his head in visible confusion.
"Who are you, kid? No, seriously—who are you?" Moltherak asked, his gaze shifting into something almost reverent, as for the first time, he recognized that Leo wasn’t just arrogant—he was genuinely extraordinary.
"Being able to observe the aura of living beings is one of the most elusive daos in the universe.
Even I, the Great Moltherak, only brushed the surface of that path after becoming a Monarch Tier Beast. And it wasn’t until I ascended to King that I fully mastered it.
For you to comprehend aura at such an early stage… it suggests your affinity with that dao is remarkably high.
What you achieved is not just rare—it’s something I wouldn’t have believed possible back in my time." Moltherak said, as Leo blinked his eyes in confusion.
"Do you even have any idea what you could achieve if you manage to master this method at your current stage?" Moltherak asked, his voice cracking with excitement.
"What?" Leo asked, his expression curious, as Moltherak burst into laughter once more.
For a while, the ancient dragon couldn’t contain his disbelief. He shook his head again and again, as if the very idea of a golden core cultivator grasping the aura dao was beyond comprehension. But eventually, he pulled himself together, his gaze sharpening as the smirk on his face widened.
"You will become unstoppable," he said in a low voice, this time with the full weight and sincerity of an ancient beast who truly believed it.
Leo raised an eyebrow at the dragon’s words, unsure whether to laugh or take it seriously, but the intensity in Moltherak’s gaze gave him pause, as he realized that the dragon wasn’t flattering him and that what he was saying was indeed a fact.
"Do you have any tips on how I can master this technique faster?" Leo asked, his voice growing more excited, as he hoped that Moltherak could give him some insights that the damn manual did not.
Moltherak didn’t respond immediately. He paused, thinking, before his eyes flicked to the dagger strapped to Leo’s waist.
"Pull out that blade of yours," he said calmly, as Leo obeyed.
"Now, I want you to focus your mind. Pick a part of my body to attack, there’s no need to actually attack me…. just choose a target and lock onto it with intent. Do not speak it aloud. Think it. Resolve to attack it. Fix it as your target."
Leo did as instructed, as he locked his focus on Moltherak’s left foot, but to throw the dragon off, he kept his eyes on the right, while also turning his body towards it.
"You want to target my left foot," Moltherak said calmly.
Leo blinked. "What?"
"I can see it," the dragon continued, tilting his head slightly. "A thin thread of killing intent, linking your blade to my left leg. It’s invisible to your eyes, but not to mine. It’s connected like a string, drawn by thought and anchored by will."
Leo stared at him in disbelief as Moltherak folded his claws behind his back.
"This is the essence of aura perception. When you master it, you won’t just feel killing intent—you’ll see it. You’ll trace its origin, its trajectory, and its endpoint before the blade is even swung.
Imagine being able to see the exact path of your enemy’s attack before they move.
Imagine knowing where they will strike before their muscles even contract.
That is why I say you will become unstoppable. Because aura perception does not merely reveal threats—it reveals structure, weakness, intent. It is the one thing all warriors at my level rely upon.
We use it for defence, and we also use it for offence, to find gaps in our opponents stance,"
Leo’s grip on his dagger loosened slightly, the weight of those words slowly sinking in.
"It’s not just about reacting faster," Moltherak said, voice lowering. "It’s about understanding more. Seeing more. Aura opens the battlefield. It unmasks your enemies. It speaks truth when eyes lie. Once you can see it clearly… the rest is just execution."
And for the first time since discovering the [Sevenfold Revelation Codex], Leo finally saw what this technique could become. Not just a passive meditation tool. Not just a weird aura drill.
But a gateway.
A door into a realm of combat only those with true instincts, vision, and talent could walk through.
A realm where he could be—just as the dragon said—unstoppable.
"And it’s not just useful for offence or defence, it’s useful for life as a whole.
If someone loves you dearly, you will see the thread of love connecting you both.
If someone hates you, you will see the thread of hate connecting you.
If someone lies before you, their aura will flicker slightly
And if they say the truth, it will glow.
Your life will change on a fundamental level, and the information you will have at your disposal to make better decisions will be leaps and bounds better than any other mortal around you…." Moltherak spoke, as Leo could feel his heart beating louder and louder from the implications behind his words.