Tower of Heaven

Atlas didn't say anything. He couldn't. Whether he denied the man's words or supported them, nothing good would come out of it.

He didn't show anything that gave away his secret. Not once had the man seen him use either Dao, so how was he able to tell?
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'Did he look at my dantian while I was unconscious?'

Atlas' gaze was hostile. Such intrusions were unacceptable. The dantian was a sacred space to a cultivator. The only people who had a right to look at it were one's master or parents.

This man was neither to Atlas. Regardless of his intent, the immediate perception Atlas had of the man was negative.

Seeing the turmoil on the young cultivator's face, the man only smiled.

"You do not need to worry. I am not so rude as to intrude in another cultivator's inner world, no matter how young they may be. I know of your uniqueness only because of my physique. I am…something of a special person, after all."

He raised his hand under Atlas' gaze and flicked his fingers. A bulb of water appeared in the air. With a single wave of the same hand, the water qi was transmuted into that of fire.

Transmuted, not changed.

"You…how?!"

Atlas' eyes widened in surprise.

Transmuting qi was different from merely dispersing it and switching it out for another kind of qi. Water qi originated from the Dao of Water and inherently could not be "transmuted" into anything unrelated to that Dao.

It would have already been impressive if the man was able to smoothly change out water qi and flame qi to make it look like transmutation, but the Eyes of One told Atlas otherwise.

It was a true transmutation, not a gimmick.

"It is called the Thousand Changes Body. With it, all qi becomes one and the same. I was born an Azure Dragon, but I could no longer be considered one once this physique was discovered. There is no such thing as a branching Dao path for me. There is only the singular Great Dao. And, of course, because of this, I can see what is invisible to others."

Atlas nodded.

The phrase "There is only a singular Great Dao" was filled with meaning. To not just glimpse the Great Dao but be in direct contact with it was a mystical thing. Though Atlas knew nothing about this "Thousand Changes Body," the description given to him by the man was enough to convince him.

"Is this information you should be sharing?" he asked.

He was less agitated now. He didn't consider the possibility of this man lying because his demonstration was undeniable. If he was facing someone he couldn't fool from the start, then there was no reason to admonish himself or others about it.

The man shook his head in response to the question.

"It is useless, is it not? Though my body was blessed with this physique, it was also cursed in the same moment. I cannot leave this sanctum, so does it matter if my abilities are publicized?"

"Are you not afraid of this sanctum being attacked?"

"It cannot be. Such is the impact of my curse."

Atlas didn't quite understand, but he didn't question it any longer. He figured that it would do him more harm than good to know.

"So, why did you call me here? Was it out of sheer curiosity?"

"It was," the man confirmed.

"I thought that you might be like me, but I was incorrect. You are instead an even more special being, aren't you?"

Atlas shrugged.

"I am not so sure about that. I am merely another cultivator who wants to ascend this Tower."

"If you truly believe that, then you are a fool."

It was the first time the man's tone became serious.

"Boy, I know that you are aware of your special situation from the way that you responded to my prompting. However, you are not aware enough. If you can truly contain multiple Daos within your vessel without contradiction, then your potential is unspeakable."

"Every Dao has its weaknesses. The way of nature begets that no Dao overshadows any other. Even weaknesses and strengths can change depending on how a cultivator perceives their Dao. If you gather Daos and bring them together, then you can cover every weakness and become utterly untouchable, a state that no other has reached."

Atlas was definitely surprised. He gathered that this was the exact purpose of the Heavenly Unification Law when it first gave him the Five Element Technique. This man was able to reach the same conclusion after only seeing that Atlas had both fire qi and water qi existing in equilibrium inside his dantian.

Just…

'Who is he?'

He mentioned in passing that he was born an Azure Dragon, insinuating that he was a pure-blood. If so, then he was part of Artemia's family, but why had Atlas never heard of him?

As he sunk into his thoughts, the man looked over him strangely. Glancing over at the green-haired woman, his assistant, he nodded. It made her sigh, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her master was always a willful person.

"Boy, have you ever properly learned the Dao of Water?"

The question came out of nowhere, but Atlas answered honestly.

"No. I comprehended it on my own and I am going to create my techniques the same way."

"That is very inefficient, you know?"

"I know, but there is nothing else I can do, is there? You mentioned it yourself. I cannot reveal my abilities openly to anyone who could become my teacher."

"..."

The man took a moment before speaking again.

"What about me?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you consider letting me teach you? I am quite skilled in the Dao of Water as it was my birthed connection. Moreover, I am also an Azure Dragon. In terms of Dao comprehension, I am no lesser than the rest of them."

"You know who I am," Atlas realized.

"I do, however, I was unsure of it at first. Only recently did I confirm that you are indeed the one my niece has been talking about."

It was always like that, wasn't it?

'Just how much did Artemia tell her family?'

Realistically, it was only the one time. Artemia came home and told her father and mother about her travels on the first twenty floors of the Tower. Her time with Atlas was only a portion of that, but it was the first time Artemia ever talked about another cultivator so strongly.

The fact that she'd made a friend was an exciting thing for everyone, so as word spread, that one small piece of her story was told to every single person in the Tatsuya Clan.

Though, Atlas would never know that.

"Why do you want to teach me?"

Really, it was the most important question. Atlas put his lesser concerns down to ask it, provoking an immediate answer.

"There is no reason more than interest and curiosity. You are someone born with as much potential as me, yet you were not cursed the same. Perhaps through you, I can see some of the changes I wished I could enact with my own hands."

It was a matter of selfishness like all things were.

'But that is the same wish of most masters. Merely, they are not self-assured enough to admit it.'

The man's openness was respectable. Atlas couldn't immediately say that he wanted to be this man's disciple, as that declaration was sacred, but he also couldn't say that he wasn't interested.

'First, I shall learn more about him.'

Then, if he truly was the kind of person that he portrayed himself to be, then perhaps it was okay for Atlas to trust him.