?1997 Perception

In sharp contrast to the countless golden silhouettes he faced from the two Ancestors, to his back, there was only one man. One man that took on his very own likeness.

Origin Ancestor Dyon Sacharro!

The two Ancestors trembled. No, it wasn't just them, but rather each and every cultivator in attendance. They realized now just how foolish they had been to believe that Dyon was from some hidden Clan.

Never in the history of the mortal plane had anyone ever built an Emperor Grade Clan in a single lifetime. Even the best needed two, three or even more generations.

However, not only had Dyon done this But he reached the First Level Planet Grade in a single step!

The three men clashed once more. But it became very obvious very quickly that the new situation was much different than it had been in the past.

The movements of Yadmere and Estein became more fluid, their attacks more potent, variable and enigmatic.

'So this is what it feels like to battle a Higher Existence at their true pinnacle.'

Dyon's eyes closed as the injuries on his once blemishless body began to quickly accumulate.

What truly set Higher Existences apart wasn't the qi. Just like Dao Experts, Higher Existences could only wield Enigmatic Qi, albeit to a far higher degree.

No, what set them apart was their ability to bend the laws of the mortal plane to their whim. Each of their attacks were capable of shattering the void, causing distortions in the fabric of reality. This allowed a variability to their attacks that was impossible for a normal dao expert to match up against.

Quick strikes somehow landed far later than they should have. Slow strikes met their mark far quicker than they were meant to.

Up became down, and down became up. Dyon found using his Immortal Sense to keep tabs on all of these rapid changes was weighing on him even when he had his halo activated.

He realized then just how right he was about the importance of battle experience. Not every battle could be settled because he could use his senses to read his opponents intentions before even they were fully clear.

Even if Dyon's Immortal Sense read that there was a punch coming, he had no way of seeing through the kind of law manipulation that would be the foundation of said punch.

On top of all of this, Dyon's Faith was lacking. Luckily, as the Origin Ancestor of the Sacharro Clan, his Faith was purer than Yadmere and Estein's who were Ancestors several generations down. However, this benefit wasn't enough to completely bridge the gap. It was only enough for him to be a level beneath.

Despite controlling only 300 or so universes, the Sapientia had Faith just as powerful as the Nephilim Alliance precisely because they were just a single Clan while the latter was an Alliance. At the same time, Dyon's own Faith was about equivalent to what the Sapientia had upon conquering their 200th Universes. This level an entire level gap between them that was hard to close.

Dyon coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body explosively retreating as his figure flickered, riding the ebbs and flows of spatial laws to appear as several versions of himself to the untrained eye.

'Perception'

This word suddenly appeared in Dyon's mind. He knew immediately that it was his mind subconsciously telling him the answer. Often times, his intuition worked faster than he could explain.

Perception He hadn't thought about this ability since he left the first trial of the Epistemic Tower.

Back then, the trial had been to exit a maze. It seemed simple enough, but one's senses were completely cut off. Still, Dyon relied mostly on his intelligence to make it out. It was only after he vaguely sensed this 'Perception' grow in his body. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he hadn't actually met the true goal of the first trial.

There were two abilities the trials taught. The first was Presence And the second was Perception But due to his own uniqueness, Dyon only progressed with the former, but completely ignored the latter.

Perception was simply another form of using the senses. For Dyon who had such overwhelming soul talent, why would he ever bother?

But if he truly reflected upon it Presence played such an important role in his strength currently How could it be that the Epistemic Tower would ever teach anything useless?

Dyon continuously dodged techniques as he suddenly became lost in thought.

Perception was a sense that extended from the body, just like Presence was rooted in the body. It was akin to a sixth sense rooted in one's intuition. The weakness of Perception, though, was that one's eyes had to lay on the target. This was why Dyon never bothered with it. His Immortal Sense could see through even hidden things, what need did he have for a sensory technique with such a blatant weakness?

It had been useful to him when his soul was sealed But after that period, he never used it again.

But, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe Perception wasn't as simple as he assumed. Maybe the reason his battle sense hadn't grown as fast as his other abilities was precisely because he ignored this 'Perception'.

Thinking to this point, Dyon suddenly cut off his Immortal Sense completely.

As though on cue, two near lethal strikes landed upon his body. A palm from Estein blasted into the left of his chest, while a finger from Yadmere burrowed into the side of his ribcage.

The sudden change shocked the two Ancestors, but they were both veterans of battle. They didn't hesitate for more than a moment before following up.

The strikes landed upon Dyon's body like a barrage of nuclear bombs. The sound of a Higher Existence striking such powerful defenses was no joke. It felt as though the world was shattering around them as concentric blasts of air and shattered space blew wildly about.