Reaper of the Martial World

Chapter Book 4: 60: Help - Flame

Book 4: Chapter 60: Help – Flame

In another plane of existence, an old man’s brow furrowed. He sat in a rocking chair, looking out onto a war that had already raged for hundreds of thousands of years. And yet, this was the first time his features had fluctuated from his normal calm smile in just as much time.

‘One of my chosen lost their ownership of their key?…’

It was absolutely impossible for any one entity to keep tabs on the going-ons of ten thousand universes at once. However, what this old man could do was keep his mind tethered to 100 specific towers. This allowed him to anchor his mind in the lower planes much like the Dragon King had done with his weapon – except this was on a much grander scale.

The rarity of a chosen losing their key could not be understated. These were usually warriors that were coddled and groomed to perfection by their universes. And, even in cases where they weren’t, the advantage that an Epistemic Tower key gave you in hiding and biding your time was unprecedented. If you had been talented and clever enough to conquer the tower, there was no doubt that you were also smart enough to use the key effectively.

With all things being equal, the likelihood that a key holder would lose possession of their right was minimal.

When the old man cast his mind out and trained it onto the tower that was now ownerless, he couldn’t help but sigh.

This old man was Dyon grand teacher, of course. How many young geniuses had he seen die in his millions of years of life? He had lost count, truthfully speaking…

But, that didn’t mean that some didn’t pain him more than others. Although he had plenty of geniuses he favored, and none of them would surpass his first disciple in his heart, Dyon was one that had left a lasting impression on him.

To the old man, the words of a genius meant little. With his abilities, he could delve so far into the mind of a person that he would likely know them better than they knew themselves in a mere breath of time. And yet, Dyon seemed to have a depth that even he couldn’t see all the way through.

Because of this, he had had no choice but to ask Dyon directly how he would react to knowing the truth of things. In any other situation, that would have been a waste of his time. He had become so lofty and otherworldly, that he had begun to see the thoughts of lesser beings as predictable and pattern driven. But, somehow, the thoughts of a child who had an age that wasn’t even fit to count as a mere second to him had caught his interest.

‘And here I was hoping to give him some guidance when next the gates opened…’ The old man sighed. Truthfully speaking, the gates only needed to close because he himself was gradually losing the power to keep them open. Realistically, if he continued to pour his soul strength into the gates, they’d never need to close for ‘maintenance’. But, even he had his limits – limits he couldn’t help but hate right now.

The old man closed his murky eyes, ready to cast his mind away from that universe. ‘Maybe it’s time 100 Epistemic Towers became 99… That way, maybe I’ll last a little longe –‘ The old man paused, ‘Hm?’

With Dyon’s grand teacher’s level of True Empathy, if Lyla and King Acacia could tell he was still fighting, how could the old man not? However, given the oddity of the situation gave him, even with all his experience, cause to pause.

‘What…?’ How long had it been since he was confused? The emotion was almost foreign…

He closed his eyes once again, and used the Epistemic Tower of Dyon’s universe as a beacon to project his mind outward. If the experts in that universe were on a high enough level, they would have felt a formless presence of unprecedented power descend onto their world… The likes of which they had never, nor would ever feel again.

However, the old man’s cultivation was simply too high for them to fathom, let alone sense.

The old man sighed again when he noticed the floating key and Dyon’s upright form. ‘Don’t tell me you died in this garbage tournament. You’d make all my hope in you seem like a joke…’

But, when the old man noticed the residual soul of Dyon’s opponent still slowly dissipating, his brows furrowed again, ‘Soul burning technique… Your personality is truly infuriating Dyon. To make someone go so far just to kill you.’

Despite his thoughts, the old man still continued to ponder the situation. Even if Dyon’s opponent had done such a thing, with how many life saving measures Dyon had, it should have been possible to survive for the length of the burning…

‘This young man is an upper grade 2 expert, but that’s still a far cry from Dyon’s grade 1 peak level… Although it is quite rare for someone to reach such a level in this universe, just what is going on here?…’

The old man, out of curiosity, spread his mind outward, scanning the rest of the arena. Everything was happening so quickly that it was as though everyone was locked in place, when in reality, the old man’s processing speed was just that quick… Miles ahead of even Dyon’s. No. It was more accurate to say light years. Even light millennia.

‘Shruti Clan?… Indra’s faith seed?…’ The old man got another surprise, ‘What are they doing here?…’

‘Kitsune?… Ragnors?… Oh? Amethyst’s faith seed? Oh? Kukan’s faith seed? Isn’t this supposed to be a weak universe?’

The more the old man looked, the more shocked he became. He recognized Thor’s faith seed, then Vidar’s, then Asura’s faith seed.

When he finally settled back on the young man who had burned his soul, a sudden realization hit him.

‘To think the Jafari still exist in the cosmos…’

The old man turned a pensive gaze toward Dyon and sighed again. He had more or less figured out what was going on, and was quite impressed that Dyon was still fighting. Even the fact that Dyon hadn’t once thought to rely on someone other than himself was impressive – having thought of the Dragon King for but a moment before tossing away the idea entirely.

‘Too stubborn. So what if the Dragon King takes over your body? You’d still have a chance to live.’ The old man shook his head, ‘Much too prideful…’

‘Hm?…’ At this point, the old man was tired of being surprised, and yet, another overwhelming shock came to him. ‘Peak 7^th stage soul?… How is he still alive?…’

As Dyon had expected, his grand teacher had not once thought of the possibility of Dyon’s soul reach the saint stage so quickly. Even with understanding just where Dyon’s soul talent came from, seeing it in action in front of you was the only way to truly understand the level of domineering it was…

‘He won’t survive a celestial level soul… He’d have to permanently separate his body and soul and operate his flesh as though it was a puppet – but then it would become impossible to energy or body cultivate anymore. That’s the only way… Actually, there’s another.’ Suddenly the old man smiled, ‘You’re quite lucky to have the inner world sanctuary technique…’

The old man sighed, ‘Sometimes I can’t tell whether this child is a genius or an idiot. He has the most robust thinking I’ve ever seen in someone with such weak cultivation, and yet his knowledge of the martial world is so limited that he can hardly put it to use.

He has access to so many wills, and yet his use of them is so shallow and one dimensional. He uses wind will as a simple speed boost. He only sees sword will as an attack qi. His death qi is only used to erode. He doesn’t even know what that black and white flame in his manifestation mean. He’s simply wasting heaven’s treasures.’

‘Old man, how long are you going to spend standing there berating me!? I get it already!’

‘Oh? You sensed me? One with world hm… I guess you would be more sensitive to such things as compared to these clowns…’

Truthfully speaking, Dyon had only caught the end of his grand teacher’s thoughts. The old man processed things so quickly that even with his one with world, Dyon had only just caught onto the fact that he was here. That said, it was only because his grand teacher hadn’t bothered to hide his presence, nor his will and voice.

‘With grand teachers like you, who needs enemies.’ Dyon continued to try and separate his soul and body, struggling mightily.

‘What you’re doing isn’t going to work, you know. It’s not that you have less soul control than that Arios character you’re thinking of. It’s more so that your soul is simply too difficult to control. In a lot of ways, even my Aurora technique isn’t able to make full use of it, quite shameful really…’

‘Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I can’t really divert my attention right now.’

‘Your body’s time flow is closing in on real time. Who asked you to provoke a Jafari?’

‘His wife tried to make my wife barren!’

‘And? So what? Who asked you to pretend as though you didn’t know this Ulu was pregnant? Who asked you to let him think that you wouldn’t save his child? You put yourself in this situation because you’re too arrogant. Always trying to one up people. Even if I couldn’t read your mind, you think anyone on my level would believe that someone with a 6^th sense as sensitive as yours wouldn’t have sensed life in her womb? Dumbass.’

‘Tch.’ Dyon didn’t really have a response for that.

‘Had you just chopped his head off in an instant, instead of playing around with him to make him reform himself, your wives wouldn’t be crying right now.’

‘A transcendent level being calling a junior a dumbass. The world itself is rolling over in its grave…’

‘Speaking of your wives,’ Dyon’s grand teacher continued, ignoring Dyon’s comment, ‘You’re quite lucky to have the virginities of both Amethyst and Kukan. Usually, faith seeds don’t contain primordial yin considering those who formed them lived entire lives of their own. But, Kukan and Amethyst were both abstinent. Technically speaking, you have 4 primordial yin seeds within yourself.

I suggest that if you ever come across Amethyst or Kukan in the future, you run. I doubt even with their demeanors that they’d let that slide…’

Even in Dyon’s state, he couldn’t help but shiver. ‘Why can’t people tell me things like this in advance… I don’t even know what having primordial yin means…’

‘Of course you don’t, you know nothing. You have no idea how valuable a powerful woman’s virginity is. How you stumbled onto two amazing wives like this is beyond me. How they fell for such an idiot is even further beyond me.

You have access to a ridiculous amount of power in you. Goddess’ disposition primordial yin. Elvin Queen’s Reign primordial yin. Violet Phoenix primordial yin. Void Kitsune primordial yin. And you probably just thought it meant an immediate boost in your cultivation, but that was nothing more than the effect of dual cultivating for the first time.’

‘I don’t exactly have someone to teach me these things.’ Dyon snorted. ‘All my grand teacher does is shit on me. Wait…’

‘Don’t even think about it. Yes, the ice phoenix is the phoenix of life. And the fire phoenix is the phoenix of reincarnation. But, you simply don’t have the time to comprehend such things right now. Not to a level where it’ll be of any use anyway…’

‘You’re forgetting something.’ Dyon said. As soon as he heard his grand teacher’s voice, something had clicked in Dyon’s mind.

‘Pft. I’m old and weak. I can’t divert my strength to such an ungrateful grand disciple.’

‘Don’t be like that grand teacher. Think about how sad your nieces would be if I died.’

‘Ridiculous. In my opinion they’re better off without you.’

Suddenly, a pillar of dark aura erupted from Dyon, reaching high into the skies and tearing through space.

‘Oh…’ Dyon barely understood what happened. But, the shuddering of the skies and the arcing black lightning told him all he needed to know. ‘One with mind… Intent level death qi…’

The moment a Supreme Law tore through to the intent level, the universe would react as violently as it would during a break through in cultivation. The idea of a being grasping the power of a supreme law wasn’t something the universe was willing to accept. This was the same as allowing a person capable of bending the most important laws of the universe to their whim!

Truthfully speaking, Dyon hadn’t even been trying to comprehend intent level death qi. All this time, he had been trying his best to control his soul separating from his body.

Time was still moving much too slowly in comparison to the reaction of those in the arena, so only Dyon and his grand teacher noticed the change. And, it was suffice to say that Dyon’s grand teacher was shocked.

‘A sixteen-year-old, without an affinity, capable of learning a supreme law to the intent level… Your soul’s ability to connect with the universe truly surpasses everyone else at your cultivation level… Maybe I was wrong, if I helped you, you might really be able to grasp life will using your wife’s primordial yin as you once used Lotus Tower’s environment to learn death will.

But…’

Dyon furrowed his brow, he suddenly felt like he could last longer in this near death state than he had before. He had such a grasp of death, that it innately came with an ability to avoid it. But, it wasn’t enough to get out of this situation completely. That said, he suddenly felt that if he improved his death comprehension enough, he would be able to survive… There just wasn’t enough time!

‘But?’ Dyon asked.

‘The near death state you’re in right now is a rare opportunity… It would be a shame to waste it learning the opposite will… Not to mention, the only way you were able to learn a supreme law so quickly, even with your soul’s advantage taken into account, is because you used your clones to experience death again and again. Even with your wife’s primordial yin, it’ll be exceedingly difficult without that hands on experience. In fact, if you tried to do so, your death qi would interfere heavily to the point where it would be nearly impossible.’

Dyon took a deep breath, feeling like he had some breathing room. Even if time unfroze now, he felt like he had at least ten minutes of life with his death qi comprehension. He could divert death from looming over him.

‘What level of intent do I have to reach to get out of this situation?’

‘One with body,’ Dyon’s grand teacher responded without hesitation. He had long since known this, it was just that he didn’t believe that even if he helped, that Dyon would be able to reach such a level. ‘That level allows you an undying body as long as your head and soul aren’t destroyed… There are other limiters like having the necessary energy to heal the rest of your injuries, but with your soul strength, that shouldn’t be a problem.’ The old man snorted. ‘Imagine thinking that death couldn’t also grant you life. Your understanding is so shallow I could puke.’

Dyon sucked in a breath. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen that level of intent before. In fact, many of his demon generals were at that level. However, there were major differences between him and his demon generals.

For one, his energy cultivation was far below the saint level. Even if he could push it to the essence gathering level anytime, that would make him unable to use anything but his body’s power for at least a decade. And, if he couldn’t use his wills or his soul was locked away, he would immediately die.

Without saint level cultivation, the connection to the universe was hampered. With each increase in energy tier came a higher sensitivity to the laws of the universe, which made learning wills easier. This was why a saint could learn even wills they had poor affinity with when their cultivations reached a high enough level, like Madeleine’s master and music will.

Although Dyon’s soul gave him a connection with the universe few could match, that was only when compared to those at his level of cultivation.

This universe was nothing but an anomaly. One exceedingly weak when compared to others. Even in other lower level universes, mastering a will to the ninth level as an essence gathering expert was seen as no big deal. It was Dyon’s ability to fluctuate his wills from level to level that was truly seen as impressive – that and the ability to master multiple paths per will.

That said, Dyon had only two years of cultivation time, was still a meridian formation expert, and had multiple wills mastered to the 9^th will level… Not just one. That was in addition to having now grasped three intents!

All in all, Dyon’s ability to learn wills was still marginally inferior to saint level experts with talent comparable to his demon generals, although not by much. But, ridiculously impressive for those of his standard.

Unfortunately, that meant that he would need at least as much time as they needed to learn wills to the one with body level… That meant at least 5 to 10 years! And, considering the fact his body and energy cultivation lagged so far behind his comprehension abilities, it was unclear just how long Dyon could maintain a supreme law of that level should he succeed.

That said, if it was completely focused comprehension, without being distracted, the time could be severely lessened. However, that would still require one to two years – and was also something warriors weren’t willing to do, that being because there was more to cultivation than just will comprehension.

‘Wrong.’ Dyon’s grand teacher interjected. ‘Like I said, I’m ashamed that my aurora technique is actually holding you back. Everything you use your soul for, you use your aurora as a medium of action. Whether that be your sixth sense or your will comprehension.’

‘But I thought that since my aurora was awakened to 100%, I should have access to 100% of my soul?…’

‘By normal measurements, yes. But, considering the fact it was because I used normal measurements that your saint soul almost killed you, it’s safe to say that it’s best that I throw that out of the window. You don’t need to use your aurora as a medium to comprehend wills. After all, not everyone has awakened their aurora, and yet don’t they also comprehend wills?

Truthfully speaking, if the aurora was perfect… The soul wouldn’t be looked down on so much. At the end of the day, it’s just a technique I cheated to make seem as though it was a natural part of the world’s laws. As such, it’s flawed like every other technique.

There’s another thing that separates you as well. Most people have wills that they simply cannot learn, no matter how hard they try… But, I don’t think you have that problem. That said, this isn’t necessarily a good thing either. You have almost too many paths to follow.’

‘So…’

‘I’ll help you. But, in exchange, when next the gates open, you must listen to exactly what I say for twenty years. You don’t get to have an opinion of your own in that time frame.’

‘Okay.’ Dyon responded resolutely.

In reality, his grand teacher was his best shot. Why? Because his grand teacher had 5 abilities, but there was one in particular that caught Dyon’s attention.

Dyon’s memory flashed back to his first journey into the Epistemic Tower and to the words written above the trial entrances…

True Empath.

Innate Aurora.

Ethereal Permeation.

Cycle of Reincarnation.

But, most importantly, the beacon of Dyon’s hope… Temporal Lock.

‘Truth be told,’ Dyon’s grand teacher started, ‘You’re quite a fool for putting hope into this technique. But, considering I can see your thought process, it’s on the borderline between insanity and genius.’

Dyon had no real idea what his grand teacher’s Temporal Lock did, but if the name was any indication, as the old man seemed to imply, he had the ability to change the flow of time in a given space. However, there was a problem that Dyon was very much aware about when it came to time locked areas.

This wasn’t Dyon’s first interaction with changed time flow. In fact, the celestial deer sect’s remnants had many such cultivation rooms although they required an exorbitant amount of energy stones to use. That said, the reason why Dyon hadn’t been able to use them because time distortion came with it distortion of laws themselves. Unless you had a high level of time comprehension, it was impossible to simultaneous slow or speed up time and comprehend other wills.

However, this was a very different situation… In theory. In this case, Dyon wasn’t trying to grasp a law outside the scope of the time lock. No. This time, he himself was dying! In theory, this should alleviate all potential issues with distortions. Or, more accurately, lessen them enough that it would be a feasible use of time – that being because this distortion was inevitable.

That said, to increase the chances as much as possible, the first step would be dangerous… Dyon had to be as infinitesimally close as possible… To death…

‘Before you take this chance, there are a few things I need to tell you.’ Dyon’s grand teacher started. ‘For one, I can’t only give you half a year at the most. I’m not all powerful and am much too far away to give you any more time than that.’

Dyon was inwardly shocked. ‘You can extend a fraction of a second to 6 months and you somehow think that’s too little?…’

The old man snorted, ‘If you were next to me, extending a fraction of a second to thousands of years would be child’s play.

The second thing you have to promise me is that you’ll save this Jafari clan member.’

Dyon inwardly raised an eyebrow. It was well within his power to stop Zabia’s soul from dissipating. In fact, whether the old man said anything or not, he would have if Zabia was able to answer one of his question to his satisfaction.

However, if Dyon used his method, Zabia would still be crippled for life. His soul would take so long to recover that properly cultivating would be nearly impossible.

‘I’m quite surprised that you planned to save him… Maybe I didn’t misjudge you then…’ The old man sounded sincere for the first time since Dyon had known him, as though he was reminiscing about something.

Dyon’s mind was something that always made odd conclusions much too quickly. In fact, he often leapt over tens of steps to reach an answer without even often times knowing what those steps were. But, something was telling him that maybe the Jafari’s time specialty and his grand teacher’s Temporal Lock ability weren’t so separate after all…

If he was right, then maybe in an odd way, he owed his death and life to the Jafari.

Despite seeing Dyon’s thoughts, the old man decided not to answer to them directly. Instead, he said something else entirely too vague and enigmatic…

‘I’ve walked through many lives and have sowed karma with too many people…’

Dyon snorted in laughter, ‘I was wondering when you were going to go all vague sentence sensei with me. Seems it was only a matter of time.’

‘Snotty nosed kid. Keep it up and I’ll let you die.’

‘Hey, I had a perfectly good plan going until you so rudely interrupted.’

‘Ah, ah, ah. What’d I say? You have no opinions of your own for the next 20 years.’

With a wave of his hand, an endless pain invaded Dyon’s senses. Time began to move forward, and the crowd of the arena suddenly noticed the changes in the sky.

The crackles of black lightning and vortex and torrents of winds picked up. And yet, all the celestial experts had their eye on was the key floating in the air just in front of Dyon. They all seemed to think that this phenomenon had everything to do with the key. After all, to them, Dyon was dead.

Madeleine and Ri instantly understood what that key was, but that only pained their hearts further.

“He lost ownership…” Madeleine’s shoulders trembled. Her eyes were listless, it was as though her soul had been taken from her body. She wanted nothing more in that instant than to trade her life for Dyon’s, and it was in that very instant, that her celestial will evolved…

But, she took no notice…

Dyon’s pain increased, but in the very next moment, he felt nothing at all… In fact, it was as though he was disconnected from everything, sent away into a vast sea much larger than himself…

And that was when time stopped once again.

Dyon’s once golden soul had become swathed in an eerie black aura that seeped into it deeply. There was no time to waste, Dyon, for maybe the first time, sat and truly began to think and comprehend a will.

He was immersed in the feeling of death, but at the same time, he was contemplating the most efficient way to reach past a state of one with mind to a state of one with heart.

It wasn’t long before Dyon realized he would have to do the most counter-intuitive thing he had ever done… He would have to accept death with his very being…

One with mind was a relatively easier state to reach. In fact, without even trying to comprehend it, Dyon had.

Like the receptionist had said all those months ago, often times, clues to comprehending intents were tied to the name given to their level. One with mind was exactly that, it was a state of comprehension that allowed your mind to accept the will. However, it was still much shallower than one with heart.

You could think of one with mind as a state of understanding, while one with heart was a state of acceptance. But, it was obviously very difficult to come to a compromise like this with a will such as death.

One could easily understand that they were likely to die. But, just how many would accept such a thing?

However, Dyon felt that boiling down one with heart to acceptance was simply too shallow. He needed to think deeper. There had to be a reason why higher cultivation, lead to higher comprehension, which lead to quicker will advancement. Dyon couldn’t accept the idea that higher cultivation would help you ‘accept’ a will with greater efficiency. If anything, wouldn’t being a greater expert make you even less likely to accept death?

Dyon began to immerse himself in the feeling of death. In fact, he didn’t even just focus on his current situation.

He thought about Darius Storm for the first time in months and how Ava had had to save his life then… He thought about his one vs eleven fight, and how he nearly died then as well… He thought about his fight with Chenglei… He thought about his first run-in with Alidor… He thought about how death qi had almost killed him at Lotus Tower… He thought about how many times he had thought of dying when he accepted his new set of meridians… He even thought of how Iris had attacked him and nearly taken his life. In fact, had Iris not wanted him to suffer, maybe that would have been his last day on Earth…

And yet, none of these stories bred any acceptance in Dyon. If anything, it fueled a defiance and hatred of death.

How could he accept death? He needed to protect his friends and family, he needed to spread a name for himself so his parents would be proud of him, he needed to live! Too many people were counting on him.

His wives. Little Black. Little Lyla. Clara. G man. Unc. He had to rebuild the celestial deer sect and he had to avenge the demon sage.

He couldn’t accept death… No… he wouldn’t…

‘Idiot…’ Dyon’s grand teacher watched silently, keeping his words to himself.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed with no progress.

By this point, Dyon wasn’t even thinking about himself anymore. He had been trained on the idea of his parents and their death for the better part of a month now.

They were probably his largest barrier to accepting death. Dyon couldn’t help but admit to himself, that the more he learned about the martial world, the more he hoped to one day find something to help his parents come back to him. Whether that something allowed them to be back permanently or just for a few moments, he would accept it.

Everything Dyon did was in hopes that they were somewhere, capable of seeing him and watching him do them proud. He hoped that the essence of their beings were being held somewhere in a stream of something in the unknown. With how the laws of the universe and wills seemed to dictate everything, why wouldn’t there be some sort of formula that made a person who they were? And why couldn’t Dyon find this formula? Find his parents?…

Dyon had lost track of how many times he had combed over those same exact words. With how quickly he thought through, he must have reached that same dead end thousands of times by now…

And just like that, yet another month path… Leaving only 2 more…

‘So stubborn,’ Dyon’s grand teacher watched quietly. When it came to the comprehension of an intent, no one could help. Dyon currently had access to the most potent helper there was – he was being faced with death itself. By all rights, with his comprehension abilities, crossing over to one with body should have been as easy as blinking an eye.

When he hadn’t been focused on it at all, his soul had crossed the barrier without him even being aware. And yet, now that he was actively trying he seemed to be putting up barriers for himself. It wasn’t as though Dyon wasn’t intelligent enough to understand what was going on, but how could he bring himself to change the very foundation of his personality just to live?

He wanted nothing more than the sacrifice even his very values themselves – not for himself, but rather his loved ones. He didn’t want to see his wives in pain, nor did he want to think about how his little sister would fair without him. What about his little brother? What about his promise to his master to protect him? Weren’t they supposed to turn the lands of the Drago-Qilins upside down together?

‘Little Black was improving so quickly everyday. Am I not going to be able to witness his peak?…’

Flames of dense blackness began to dance around Dyon as his defiance only seemed to grow stronger. Yet another month passed, leaving only a single one left.

Time continued to trickle as Dyon’s black flames pulsed, but his mind still refused to give in. No matter how hard he tried, he could get his mind to accept and understand death, but he couldn’t do it to the depths of his heart…

Dyon was on the same forked road Patia-Neva had tread… The question was whether he should build his dao upon a fake version of himself? Or his real self…

But, if he built his dao of death upon something fake, the backlash of a supreme law crumbling from its base was far more profound than an elemental will… If there came a day where Dyon’s stubborn personality shone through again, there wouldn’t be any redemption… There wouldn’t be a chance to build up again… There would only be death…

Time passed much too quickly…

Soon, there was only a day left…

Dyon was stubborn, but truth be told, he had no idea what he was working toward.

The first step in mastering a dao, and the first real journey in understanding a will, was to first reach a state of one with mind. Dyon knew this, he understood this, and had long since taken this step.

However, the second step increased to an all new level of difficulty. This was why affinities existed and also why said affinities often influenced your personality.

Madeleine had an unmatched affinity for purity path type wills even before she gained new affinities with her faith seed. As a result, much of her personality revolved around being caring and selfless. Although having a Goddess’ Disposition didn’t automatically mean that you would be a magnanimous and benevolent individual, it still meant that your personality would lean toward such things.

Ri’s beast blood heavily influenced her personality even before the clash between her faith seed and God level constitution was settled. And, once that conflict was resolved, her domineering traits became more pronounced, because that was simply what came with the Elvin Queen’s Reign constitution. Let alone the innate superiority provided by being a prideful supreme level beast.

It was clear that the wills one could comprehend, depended on what their heart leaned toward. And, what their heart leaned toward, also decided just how powerful a dao could be…

Patia-Neva’s failure and the near crippling of his cultivation was a perfect example of this. His heart leaned toward the more natural aspects of the Patia-Neva bloodline, and yet, he threw all of that away for power.

The ice belt had been too much of a temptation… The progression in Patia-Neva’s cultivation had been so staggering that he was almost willing to throw away everything he loved just for the benefits he thought he would receive. But, what he noticed much too late was that his thinking was twisted and contradictory….

Why had Patia-Neva wanted to grow stronger in the first place? Wasn’t it so that he could repay Kawa Acacia for saving his life? Wasn’t it so that he could perform meritorious deeds for the universe? Wasn’t it so that he could help forge a better place for his wife and future child to live?

He was by definition a compassionate man. Compassionate to the point where it became tainted, twisted and ultimately blinding…

And yet that compassionate man had tried to sever his emotions… for the sake of being compassionate?

From the very beginning, Patia-Neva’s one with heart had been built upon crumbling ruins. His foundation was so shaky that it would have been near impossible for him to form a dao. He was driven so mad that he nearly did something unforgivable…

Patia-Neva’s story was just a single example. The journey of cultivation was rife with warning tales like his. Dealing with and manipulating the laws of the universe wasn’t meant to be easy. It was meant to be an uphill battle, and trying to learn something you had no compatibility with… Well… Simply shouldn’t be done.

In one way, Dyon’s grand teacher was right. Dyon didn’t have any affinity barriers… With his intelligence, he knew exactly how to break through to the next will level, it would only take some time, patience, and coaxing. If he slowly tempered himself, he would eventually have a break through and reach a new level of understanding.

However, where Dyon’s grand teacher was wrong was in assuming that Dyon would be okay with acting on that knowledge… That he’d be okay with laying down and allowing death to take over… That he’d be okay with bending to the whims of the universe…

Dyon was arrogant to the extent that even his manifestation’s mere potential tore apart a weapon of the 33 heavens. It used its own residual energy to write letters so fiery and so corrosive, that even celestial level experts couldn’t last beneath them for too long. And yet, the old man had somehow expected this very Dyon to accept death for what it was…

In the past 6 months, Dyon’s comprehension had long since reached the one with soul level, surpassing both one with heart and body. However, he hadn’t even broken through one with mind yet… Not in any tangible aspect…

Dyon understood why he had felt that death was simply part of a cycle… He understood that it lay at the end of the inevitable road everyone had to walk… He understood that the one will that would never erode was death, because in the coming times where there would be nothing, it was inevitable that something had been there first – and for that something to be gone, could only mean that it had died…

Dyon understood that death was in itself its own form of chaos, and that as the organization of life decayed and broke down, death would inevitably come to scatter what used to be…

Dyon understood that sometimes death was necessary… He understood that if there was no death, the drive that pushed people would be lacking… If you could live forever, could you say with any certainty that your motivations would stay the same? Even things as fundamental as the beauty of raising a child would seemingly become meaningless… If you could live forever, was there any use in passing on your genes?

The potency of Dyon’s one with mind had reached unprecedented levels… And yet, he still couldn’t bring himself to take the next step.

Dyon’s soul could no longer be said to be gold. It had become a dense and dark black… Almost as though it was a single step away from crumbling entirely…

Despite the ticking time, it seemed as though Dyon was at peace.

One minute…

His soul was like a calm lake, tranquil and without ripples.

Ten seconds…

He was very much aware of the time he had remaining and was very much aware that his failure meant death.

One second…

The flickers of black flames engulfed Dyon.

Even in the end, regardless of the fact he understood it was coming… He would never accept it.

Zero.

Time flow returned to normal in an instant as the raging clouds in the sky crackled with black streaked of lightning.

Since Dyon’s apparent death, little more than ten minutes had passed. And since the appearance of the key? Less than a second.

King Acacia was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do.

His wife was likely consoling their daughter, trying to get Ri to calm down and not do anything too reckless. It was up in the air whether she had even noticed what was going on. And, even if she had, it was another question mark as to whether she would act or not. To Kawa, there was nothing more important than her daughter. After being away for eleven years, it was unlikely that she’d be willing to fight for such a worldly matter while Ri was in pain.

The other problem was whether or not it was worth it to reveal themselves now. He knew that despite their best efforts, Patriarch Ragnor knew of their connection with King Belmont, but, the larger issue was whether or not he saw them as a threat.

Very few knew of Queen Acacia’s origins, and by proxy, very few knew of her power. In addition to this, with King Acacia’s entering display, many of the clan heads would have come to an understanding of his power – and have also likely concluded that he was fairly weak. Which meant that if they waited, they could still bide their time and use the element of surprise.

Yet another problem was seen in the choice of whether to act at all. With King Belmont’s order in place, everyone understood that they weren’t meant to move. There was a possibility that that might be enough to hold people back from charging toward Dyon’s treasure. However, if King Acacia acted, it would be like putting up a beacon, letting everyone know just how important that key was.

Whether those who came to this universe knew or not, that key was essentially every single one of their goals. With the information the Epistemic Tower held, there were no cultivation resources in the quadrant that could be hidden from their eyes, and that wasn’t even to mention the cultivation resource the Epistemic Tower itself was! After all, the creator of the tower was a man with a will so strong that his very own techniques became new laws of the world to the point where everyone was born an with an aurora. He had even created his very own supreme level law!

‘He truly didn’t cheat to become number one…’ King Acacia thought this for maybe the hundredth time since the appearance of the key. But, even he could still not believe it.

“Edyrm.” Suddenly, King Belmont’s voice snapped King Acacia out of his thoughts. “Is that what I think it is?…”

King Acacia nodded solemnly.

Silence reigned. No one knew how to proceed from here. With the natural phenomenon booming through the arena right now, shaking the very Earth itself, who would believe that this was a normal item?

King Belmont had a mind to allow those closest to Dyon the ability to head to the stage and take him away, but in the cultivation world, when it came to situations like this, no one had an inkling of respect for the dead. How many would really listen to a decree like this? It was likely they were already itching to break his moment of silence command, and barely a few minutes had passed!

It was suffice to say that the temptation for the geniuses closest to the battle were even higher. After all, they had been the top ten rankers, so they were on standby for when next their name was called. They hadn’t expected for two of their own to die before their eyes, but they were still quite close to the arena… And many of them had eyes shining bright as they eyed the key.

The truth of the matter was that normal Tower keys were illusory. They would be given ‘in spirit’ to a clan that conquered the tower and would only appear within the gate. When the rules deemed that the tower had been sufficiently conquered by another party, then the ownership of the illusory key would shift. However, this key was tangible! It didn’t take a genius to understand that there was a massive difference. For a key to manifest itself in solid form outside the gate could only mean that it was extraordinary.

Suddenly, Patriarch Ragnor’s voice boomed as his laughter filled the stadium, accompanying the rolling thunder of the skies. “Let’s let the younger generation fight over it, then.”

The faces of Caedlum and Saru twisted in disgust. This was a person who had just died, and yet this supposed member of the older generation was trying to sow chaos.

Tau Aumen’s eyes flashed with something imperceptible as wreathes of golden flames spread from his long golden hair and outwards from him. He arrogantly took a step forward, walking slowly and deliberately toward the key. He didn’t seem to see a need to rush, he felt that Lionel’s first place was nothing but luck considering he ran into a legacy temple. In terms of combat power, he was unmatched.

King Acacia frowned. He didn’t understand why Ragnor would say such a thing. Vidar and Thor were clearly too weak to compete with Tau or even Lionel. What did he get out of this? Unless…

‘Are they in an alliance?…’ King Acacia’s True Empathy wasn’t omniscient. It wasn’t possible for him to peer into someone’s brain and extract whatever information he wanted. If you wanted him to tell whether or not someone was lying? It was possible. If he had to tell an enemies motives in a heated battle? It was possible. If he had to read the surface intentions of a person? It was possible. But, something as complex as understanding whether or not two clans were in an alliance was too much, there were too many nuanced threads of thoughts to sift through.

Pillars of dark flames continued to erupt around Dyon’s corpse, cracking the ground beneath his feet and shattering the air itself.

Ri trembled with rage. “I’m not going to let them do whatever they want to do!” She suddenly disappeared from her mother’s arms, much to Kawa’s shock. Ri’s figure flashed through the skies, her anger bearing down on Tau.

In an instant, Madeleine was by her side. The rage in their eyes had reached such a palpable level that Tau was forced to pause and frown.

“Move.” He said plainly. “For the disrespect your deceased husband has shown my planet, taking away his things is the least of what I should do. If you don’t want to follow him in death… MOVE!”

A cyclone of golden flames rose into the air, combating the eerie darkness with a blinding light. The head of a lion rose above it all, roaring into the skies with an arrogance that matched its pride.

Suddenly, the world vibrated to a resounding beat.

Baddum. Baddum. Baddum.

The sound was so fierce that it drowned out the thunder in the sky.

Lionel Belmont flashed forward, not caring for Tau’s perceived superiority. As far as he was concerned, his rank at number one wouldn’t change.

However, what they were all burying deep within was an apprehension… A doubt that had Dyon lived… They wouldn’t have stood a chance…

Lionel’s figure was bathed in red and blue flames, dancing along his feet as the drastic hot and cold caused small explosions that increased his speed even further.

Tau Aumen immediately noticed this. His eyes narrowed, a deep disdain settling into his features. “It seems I’ve let you strut around for too long.”

The rest of the rankers stayed back… They simply didn’t have the strength to take part in this battle. Even Saru, who should technically have, was so heavily wounded by her fight with Dyon that she had lost too much of a step.

A roar reverberated through the skies, drowning out Tau’s lion completely.

In the next moment, everyone froze… It was in that moment they all seemed to realize something odd…

Dyon’s manifestations had yet to disappear…

The rage of Dyon’s humanoid manifestation boomed, a tempest of soul strength threatening to shatter the arena.

Lower eighth soul stage. Middle eighth soul stage. Upper eighth soul stage…. Peak eighth soul stage!

Rings of sonic booms blasted into the air.

The domineering clouds separated, cowering in the face of a sound so arrogant that the heavens seemed to bow down. The crackles of black lightning struck into the ground but felt like mere whimpers in the face of the growing wave of black flames.

Ri and Madeleine turned from their position in the sky, their delicate bodies trembling against the violent surges of wind.

“You all have a lot of fucking nerve.” A voice laced with music intent sent rage filled words tearing through the stadium.

‘Death isn’t something that’ll be dictated for me. Death isn’t something that’s inevitable to me. Death isn’t something that I’ll bend over and accept.

The laws of this universe are meant to be used. The path of cultivation is meant to be in defiance to the heavens. What would I look like if I folded to the will of the universe? Why? Because that’s what it wanted? Ridiculous.

You won’t dictate my death. You won’t dictate the death of my loved ones. There’ll come a day where I’ll rewrite your laws with a wave of my hand. A time where even the cosmos itself won’t be able to dictate my actions.

This is what my dao will be built on. There is nothing in this world that will ever shake my heart. Even in the face of death!’

A flaming black gold circle hovering behind Dyon’s manifestation began to glow, prominently highlighting a blinding white flame.

In an instant, the black flames that once coated the arena disappeared in a flash, replaced by such a strong purity that Madeleine nearly felt inferior. But, in her heart, all she felt was an endless happiness.

Dyon hadn’t reached one with body. In fact, he had just barely stepped into one with heart, increasing his life by just a few seconds and extending the time he had by a fraction. He had forged a path even his grand teacher hadn’t seen. He tossed away all conventions of how death intent should be mastered. No. Dyon wouldn’t become a puppet of death. He would become a reaper. This martial world would come to know his wrath.  

His control of death qi increased with each passing moment.

The crowd watched with baited breath as Dyon’s death omens fluctuated wildly. Every time his death seemed inevitable, he would extend his life by just a few more seconds, before the cycle repeated itself again and again.

The universe groaned in agitation and anger. Dyon’s life, it wanted it!

But Dyon’s defiance and arrogance roared into the skies again and again, daring the universe to act if it could.

“My life is mine!”

The gaping hole in Dyon’s chest slowly closed, pushing death further and further away.

The white flames caressed Dyon’s wounds, fusing with his aurora and pushing his soul’s prowess to the limit. With Dyon’s soul talent, and how long he had spent using his soul to sense the laws of death, how could its power not increase? He had managed to jump an entire stage in 6 months! With just a single more step, he would have a celestial soul!

Madeleine looked over at Ri who was to her side. She saw eyes that were all too familiar to her… Eyes that expressed nothing but love…

Celestial will bloomed within Madeleine, and yet, it felt so much different than before… So much more powerful…

King Acacia’s eyes snapped away from Dyon’s heaven defying feats toward Madeleine. His sensitivity to things matched what Dyon’s 6^th sense would be like once he reached his level of cultivation. Except, instead of it being because of an innate aurora, it was because of his True Empathy! How could he not understand the substantial change in Madeleine?

‘Her celestial will… It’s a supreme law now….’

A pillar of blinding light fell from the skies, accompanying Dyon’s white flames.

Suddenly, Dyon’s life began being extended by minutes instead of seconds. And then it was hours instead of minutes. And then it was days… Then weeks… The months… Then years…

In an instant, no one could see the end of Dyon’s lifespan. It wasn’t that he had become immortal, but rather, he had returned to his youthful self. Just like every other youth, the looming presence of death was too far away to calculate.

A hand tore through the pillar of light, grasping onto the key that hung in the air. There was no resistance. In fact, the key sung happily, disappearing in an instant.

Stunned silence filled the arena as a handsome young man stepped out of the dissipating light. His looks had gained a dark edge to them that only seemed to make his appearance more captivating. This was a man that had seen the edge of death and fought his way back. Defying the heavens themselves.

King Acacia chuckled bitterly, ‘You little bastard… I can’t see through your soul strength anymore…’

Dyon flashed into the skies, instantly swooping his wives into his arms, not allowing them to say a word.

Suddenly, he laughed as he felt their soft waists. “I guess I won, huh?”

Tears drenched Dyon’s bare torso as neither of them seemed able to speak. It had only really been ten minutes, but it had truly felt like a life time…

But, all of that was interrupted.

The sound of clapping made Dyon’s brow furrow. He looked up in the skies to find a man with long blond hair and striking blue eyes strolling in the air, his hands clasped behind his back. Shockingly, this man was lean in stature, yet stood at least five meters tall!

“Truly spectacular.” The man spoke with a barely perceptible pressure. And yet, he managed to fill Dyon with a feeling of unease that he had never felt before. This was the first time in the martial world that anyone had made him feel a need to take a step back.

“For me to see such an outstanding young talent in my life has truly broadened this old one’s horizons. I can only hope that my sons manage to become a tenth the talent you are.”

King Belmont frowned. He had commanded for no one to move, but he had used Dyon’s death as an excuse. The problem was, Dyon was clearly alive now!

“This old one would like to broaden his horizons even further,” A small smile played on the man’s chiseled and handsome features, “Won’t you take that treasure out again? I would love to take a few moments to analyze it.”