Chapter 121: Unparalleled Control
"So, Aether Energy is today’s topic, huh..." Norman nodded with a speechless look. "If you hadn’t told me, I would have thought Aether Energy was the name of some kind of demon-summoning ritual."
William barely held back his laughter upon seeing Norman’s speechless look and shook his head.
’This guy’s thoughts are still as simple as ever...’ He thought as he glanced at Brown, who was scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
Norman stared at Brown for a few seconds before rubbing his temples.
"Sit down."
Brown obediently sat down, looking relieved that he hadn’t been kicked out of the classroom.
Norman didn’t punish or embarrass Brown for his answer, as he knew it was difficult for commoners to have knowledge about things related to cultivation.
He looked around the class and was about to ask a different student. But after a moment of thought, he simply gave up, as he felt it was too troublesome.
Even if a student answered the question, he would still have to explain everything to the other students.
So, instead of wasting his time and brain cells, he decided to directly explain everything himself.
Norman pointed towards the colorful particles floating throughout the classroom.
"Aether Energy is the fundamental energy that exists within every living being capable of cultivation. It is also the reason we are able to evolve beyond the limits of ordinary humans."
As he spoke, the colorful particles suddenly began moving and gathered in front of the podium, forming a tiny ball of light.
"Although Aether Energy exists everywhere, it is extremely difficult to control in its natural state. That is why every cultivator needs an Aether Core."
Norman looked at the students, and the tiny ball of light shrank to the size of a grain of rice.
"An Aether Core can be considered another organ of our body. Just like how our heart circulates blood throughout our body, an Aether Core works in a similar way. It absorbs, refines, stores, and continuously circulates Aether Energy throughout your body."
Norman explained everything in great detail, and everyone, including William, listened carefully.
Although William already had a deep understanding of Aether Energy, it never hurt to know more.
Once he finished explaining everything, Norman waved his hand again, and the small, rice-sized ball of light enlarged.
As the ball enlarged, the students could see countless strands of Aether Energy revolving around it.
"All the things that I just mentioned, including the quality of your Aether Core, the quality and amount of energy you possess, are very important. But even more important is Control."
Norman’s expression turned serious as he pointed towards the strands of energy revolving around the sphere.
"The first three realms of the extraordinary—Star Warrior, Star Commander, and Star Lord, are all about your control over Aether Energy. Without sufficient control over your Aether Energy, you can’t progress through these realms."
Norman looked at the noble students and then shifted his attention towards the students at the back.
"There are many students in this class who come from influential families. With the resources provided by their families, they should have broken through to higher realms very easily, but why can’t they?"
The bright ball suddenly became chaotic and collapsed into small particles of light.
"It’s because their control over Aether Energy is not strong enough. If they mindlessly raise their realm without sufficient control, this is what will happen." Norman pointed towards the collapsed sphere.
"Their Aether Core won’t be able to contain the energy properly and will collapse during a breakthrough."
The expressions of many students, especially the commoners at the back, changed because they did not know about this.
They thought that as long as they gathered enough resources, they would be able to increase their level.
But only after hearing Norman did they realize things were not that simple.
Noah, Maya, Edrin, and some other noble students were not surprised by this, as this was precisely the reason they were still at the middle stage of Star Warrior.
Although they could break through to the peak of Star Warrior at any time with the resources in their hands, they did not do so because it would only increase the difficulty of controlling Aether Energy.
Although their cores wouldn’t collapse because of a minor breakthrough, as core collapse only occurred during a major breakthrough, such as breaking through to the Star Commander level from the Star Warrior Realm, they still did not break through right now.
It was because the instant they broke through to the peak of Star Warrior, the amount of Aether Energy in their cores would increase dramatically.
They couldn’t even control all the Aether Energy they currently possessed at the Middle Stage, so increasing their energy any further would be nothing but foolish.
After informing them about the importance of control, Norman explained how to control their energy more easily, and around half an hour later, he looked around at the students.
Soon, his gaze paused on William.
"William, come here."
William was taken aback when he was suddenly called, but he still stood up and went to the podium.
The other students immediately became interested.
After yesterday’s battle, William had already become the most talked-about student in the academy.
Now that Norman had called him out during class, everyone naturally wanted to see what would happen.
"Release your Aether Energy."
William paused for a second upon hearing Norman, but soon nodded and extended his palm.
A pale blue glow appeared around his palm and enveloped it entirely.
The eyes of students like Noah and the others narrowed when they saw this, and their hearts shook slightly.
’He can already control his Aether Energy to flawlessly cover his palm.’
All of them thought the same thing, as they knew how difficult it was to cover their palm with Aether Energy without injuring it.
"This shouldn’t be your limit, right?" Norman spoke with a look of interest, because even he wasn’t sure to what extent William could control his Aether Energy.
He knew William’s control over it was very high after seeing yesterday’s battle, but he wasn’t certain to what extent he could control his Aether Energy.
Since he was going to teach him his sword techniques, he wanted to confirm his level of control so that he could make a detailed teaching plan.
William also understood what Norman wanted, so he didn’t hesitate. The next instant, the Aether Energy that covered his palm moved and slowly enveloped his entire arm.
Norman wasn’t surprised when he saw this, as he had expected this kind of result.
But the other students were deeply shocked.
"How can his control be so high?"
"Damn it, forget about an entire arm, I can’t even cover a single finger of my hand."
Noah and the others were also stunned when they saw this, their eyes wide open.
But soon, even Norman’s expression couldn’t help but change because, even after covering his entire arm, the Aether Energy did not stop. It extended to William’s shoulder, then to his chest and the left side of his body.
In just a few seconds, his entire upper body was covered in Aether Energy. It flowed smoothly throughout his body without causing any damage to him or his clothes.
Norman’s pupils contracted slightly, as he never expected William’s control to be so high.
’Just what kind of freak is this boy?’ He shouted inwardly, feeling his scalp tingle slightly.
Then, he thought about how this guy was close to a psycho woman, and his mouth twitched.
’No, I need to guide him onto the right path. If he grows up and joins forces with that psycho, wouldn’t both of them turn the world upside down?’
Norman immediately felt a great sense of responsibility, and his eyes became firm.
’This should be enough...’
William, on the other hand, looked at everyone’s reaction and decided not to overdo it.
In fact, he could cover his entire body with Aether Energy without any problem, but he felt it would be too much.
The reason he went so far and bothered to cover his entire upper body was to once again show his potential and power.
With this, it would be even easier for him to attract people to join his faction.
"Alright, that’s enough."
Norman’s voice brought William out of his thoughts, and the Aether Energy covering him disappeared.
Norman looked at the other students in the class and wanted to say that was how they needed to control their Aether Energy.
But upon closer thought, he felt it was a bit too much for these kids.
"You don’t need to follow this guy’s example. Don’t try to cover your entire body. First, control your Aether Energy and try to cover only a small area, such as your fingers. Once you become proficient, slowly increase that area."
He signaled William to go back to his seat.
As William walked back, he felt numerous gazes filled with shock directed at him, but he did not care about them.
"You really are a freak..." Liam couldn’t help but say once William returned.
"It’s better to be a freak than a dumbass who can’t even control his Aether Energy properly."
Liam’s mouth twitched upon seeing William’s smug expression, and he immediately stopped talking.
"Alright, for the next one hour, all of you will practice your control over Aether Energy."
As soon as Norman spoke, a collective groan immediately filled the classroom.
Norman’s expression remained unchanged, and he spoke in a flat voice.
"Anyone who complains can leave, and they don’t need to come to my class from now on."
All the groans instantly disappeared, and everyone began to practice diligently.
William did not bother with this and instead focused on compressing his Aether Energy within his core.
Norman noticed this but did not say anything.
Soon, one hour passed, and the light particles covering the classroom disappeared.
"That’s all for today," Norman said before immediately leaving the classroom, as if he wanted to catch up on some lost sleep.
"It’s finally over."
"Damn it, I nearly blew away my finger earlier. If Professor Norman hadn’t stepped in, the Aether Energy would have destroyed my finger."
"Your control over energy is really lower than your IQ."
The instant Norman left, the students immediately began to discuss as they left the classroom one after another.
William was also planning to leave when suddenly, he saw Maya coming towards him.
He paused for a second before understanding what was going on.
’Right, it would be strange if they didn’t come to me after what happened yesterday.’