The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

Chapter 55: Campaign For The Cluster II

“By yourself?” Zaessythra asked. “Do you think that wise?”

“I’m not implying you’re useless, especially with those two shiny new trinkets of yours,” Orodan replied. “But when our enemies throw around attacks capable of destroying planets and perhaps more, I’ll have a difficult time protecting you and fighting at the same time.”

“Hmmph… have it your way,” she said. “Just don’t die.”

“Poor choice of words to take with me, isn’t it?” he remarked with a smirk, earning him a smack upon the head.

“You know what I meant.”

He did. She was worried about the potential for his permanent end, particularly if the Administrator got a hold of him.

Still, there was no backpedalling now. His allies were under attack, and his aid would be crucial if Prince Zhou Shan was to survive. The conscripted assault force he’d been put in charge of weren’t worth much in even an easy fight, so dragging them to their deaths against the full force of the enemy would be worthless.

“Where are they located specifically?” Orodan asked the captain of the space cultivators.

“The battle rages on the world of Xuejin my lord,” the captain replied. “The enemy have erected some kind of powerful space-interference formation. Quite expensive to set up, but it prevents us from scrying closely or seeing anything.”

“Ten-thousand miles from the planet,” the captain answered.

That would do. In fact, Orodan would have to spend some time learning the Spatial Rift skill these cultivators were capable of using. Teleportation only brought him places he had been to or could sense through Space Mastery. Spatial Fold, despite his incredible increases in power, still had range limits. And at most, Orodan felt he could jump from one star system to a nearby one at maximal power, without channelling enough power to destroy his body that was.

A ludicrous feat, one that would make any spatiomancer or space cultivator quake in awe. Spatial Fold was meant for local use within combat, short distances, meant to divert enemy attacks, cover ground in swift maneuvers and so forth. What it wasn’t meant to do, was fold space all the way to another star system.

Yet, Orodan’s growing needs made even this seem a bit lacklustre nowadays.

The space cultivators he’d met however, were capable of working together in a formation to ‘scry’ space and jump halfway across a cluster if needed. Useful.

“Alright, open up the spatial rift, I’ll step through,” Orodan ordered. “Remain here and hold the planet to the best of your ability. If any enemy armies show up, don’t bother wasting your lives, just evacuate and fall back to a position of strength.”

The space cultivator captain nodded, and the men got to work in conjuring a small crack in space which led to the planet of Xuejin. It was much farther away from the embattled world than the cracks they’d opened during their initial assaults, yet even from this great distance Orodan could immediately see the signs and evidence of battle.

Great shockwaves of Qi and soul energy erupted throughout the void between stars and the surface of the planet looked badly ravaged, with massive storms of fire, ice, wind and lightning exploding all around. Combat at the Transcendent level was devastating, and when he’d fought Devil King Gutriyaz upon the moon, the damage had outright destroyed it.

Frankly, it was more surprising that Xuejin still seemed intact.

As the space cultivator captain said, not only did the enemy have a space-lock formation in place, but also a rarer and costlier space-interference formation. It was more energy intensive however covered a larger area and made spatiomancy quite difficult to work as the formation continually scattered and caused ripples in space on multiple dimensional layers. It made spatiomancy targeting a difficult task.

Orodan’s first Spatial Fold was shot in, but diverted off-course by a distance of three-thousand miles. A devious formation, almost specifically designed to counter brute-force attacks like his.

His second cast of the spell had better results as he threw even more power into it, but still off by a thousand miles. Finally, his eyes blazed white and he poured in as much power as he could while remaining whole of body. The space almost wailed as it was mangled by raw might, the rippling waves and shifting currents of the formation were brutalized and scattered, like a hurricane mangling the natural waves of the ocean.

[Spatial Fold 74 ? Spatial Fold 75]

And with a singular footfall, Orodan Wainwright stepped into a battlefield of chaos.

Pure horror, failure, weakness. Inevitable and permanent death. These were the thoughts which assaulted his mind, as though a million voices were demanding he accept their proclamations.

It took but a moment for Orodan to realize this was a mental attack and one more to identify the ten-thousand strong corps of mind cultivators that launched the assault immediately upon his arrival. Most of whom were now on the ground, groaning, bleeding from the orifices as Warrior’s Reciprocity made them pay.

The Celestial Emperor’s insidious Dao was deadlier, and these mind cultivators, even ten-thousand at once, didn’t compare. However, the enemy knew that. After all, they were but a distraction.

Space began to warp in a bubble around him, and at the same time a gigantic glowing device in the distance began to glow, and Orodan felt time itself slow for him even as his enemies remained at the same speed.

An assault of the mind, a cage of space and time, and who knew what else?

The cavalcade of assaults would’ve severely throttled the old Orodan. The one that hadn’t yet faced the battle for the soul nexus.

Now however?

[War Cry 39 ? War Cry 40]

A roar tore free from his lips, frightening some of the nearby enemy soldiers whose hearts weren’t as steeled. And immediately, multiple Spatial Folds smashed outwards obliterating the bubble that was attempting to form around him. Simultaneously, his Time Mastery showed its use as he countered the enemy attempt at freezing him through chronomancy.

[Time Mastery 65 ? Time Mastery 66]

Again, the enemy were proving smarter than expected. They’d either received reports of or had some method of seeing the battle he’d fought against the rebels for the soul nexus; for they were ready to counter his abilities. The chronomancy they were attempting wasn’t powered by one individual, or even a collective. Instead, it was the glowing device in the distance, many miles away and guarded heavily that was fuelling it. They knew of his power generation capacity and decided that attempting a competition head-to-head was a waste.

“Welcome, time looper,” a voice called out. “Do you like our personalized greeting? The space-interference formation guided you into landing exactly where we wanted through your constant corrections of your aim.”

Robes bearing the glyphs of the System, a familiar double-edged sword in hand, and a voice bearing arrogance, although Orodan wasn’t sure how much of it was the man’s own.

“Jian Song, I’m surprised you came at all,” Orodan said. “You’re normally quite the coward.”

“You call it cowardice, I call it tactical thinking,” the cultivator replied. “And given what trouble your big mouth has landed you in, perhaps you could use some of it yourself.”

“Too late for that advice now,” Orodan said. “Does the Emperor’s Dao control you like a puppet as well? Where are your siblings? Are Jian Yixia and Jian Ren under its effects too?”

Jian Song snarled and his face reddened.

“Compare me not with the short-sighted. Our eldest brother would not harm his siblings, he yet retains enough of himself to not stoop so low,” Jian Song said.

“Then you knowingly fall in line with his tyranny,” Orodan replied. “You know that he’s corrupted by the Eldritch, why side with Jian Huangdi?”

“Because he will lead us to freedom! To greater heights than any before us have ever reached!” the cultivator passionately argued.

“And he’s the thrall of something wicked, guiding his actions,” Orodan said. “Anyhow, enough of this mincing of words. Fight me. Why have you stopped?”

Around them, the ranks of cultivators were oddly inactive. They’d particularly stopped once he displayed his ability to thwart their attempts at space warping and chronomancy.

“Fight you? But that would risk killing you,” Jian Song said. “And we can’t have that when it comes to a time looper now, can we?”

Orodan’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re stalling for time.”

“You catch on quickly!” Jian Song exclaimed mockingly. “Let’s see if your ability to kill matches your tenacious survivability.”

The enemy cultivators weren’t attacking, rather, they had zealous looks upon their faces as though they would give their lives and very souls to stop him. The foes nearest to him weren’t ranks of sword or spear cultivators, no, they were massed ranks of shield cultivators wearing heavy armor and projecting combined shield lights in front of them.

This would be annoying.

Orodan was confident in his ability to bully a singular shield cultivator. His own Shield Intent was monstrously powerful due to being empowered by his soul. Many of these shield cultivators used Qi, and those that did use soul energy to fuel their shield light weren’t on Orodan’s level of the soul arts.

What they did have however, was a dogged insistence on standing their ground and dying. And when a unit of one-thousand Grandmaster-level shield cultivators massed their shield light together… it was a powerful thing.

Running footsteps carried him before their massed defense and All-Strikes began lashing out.

Each cultivator that was the target of a full-power blow died… but not quickly enough.

As soon as one fell, another took its place. And while an All-Strike would normally kill dozens of Grandmasters at his current level, with the enemy’s shield formation and massed Shield Intent, it only killed a handful at a time at most.

Time enough for the massed ranks of enemy soul and time cultivators in the back ranks to begin resurrecting them.

And throughout it all, Jian Song wasn’t inactive. He periodically shot out beams of sword light while hiding behind the massed ranks of cultivators. These beams weren’t meant to kill him, but to distract, hamper and weaken his offense. Sometimes an All-Strike would be intercepted by one of these beams, and other times, his leg or an arm would have a hole blasted through as he struck, reducing the power of his attack.

And as his attacks were hampered and the slain enemy troops brought back, the enemy space cultivators continued attempting to form spatial bubbles around him. These weren’t threatening in and of themselves, although Orodan had no doubt that if successful they’d send him out far away. Instead, their real effect was the fact that he had to keep four ‘clones’ on Spatial Fold duty at all times to continually shatter the bubbles they were attempting to create. This doubtlessly detracted from his current offense.

Thirty minutes of battle passed, and at the very least Sword Mastery had gained a level from smashing against such stiff defenses. Still, time was wasting, and his allies were more than likely dying. He simply couldn’t enjoy the thrill of a good battle for days or weeks while knowing that Zhou Shan and the Third Army might be dying as he fought.

So, until he could reunite with the Prince and his army, Orodan decided that playing dirty was acceptable. Even if it irked him…

…even if Zaessythra would be insufferably proud of him for it.

“He channels a monstrous attack! Be ready!” Jian Song called out as Orodan’s eyes began blazing with the white light of his soul.

He overflowed with raw power and directed it into something he normally wouldn’t use offensively.

“S-stop him! Space cultivators! Counter that with everything you have! Use the batteries to draw power if you need!” Jian Song roared.

Orodan admitted that his sword-to-sword prowess was probably the weakest part of his arsenal at this time. Defensively? He was solid and could survive some horrific attacks. Yet offensively this wasn’t the case. Something he’d need to rectify in the future, but for now, could sidestep.

Spatial Fold.

It was a skill which compressed space for massive distances and allowed him to casually step through. A power which enabled him with his unique advantages to cross vast gulfs in a single footfall. Yet, the hint of its true potential was that he’d destroyed an entire mountaintop in the spell’s path the very first time he used it.

And just before he let loose, Orodan admitted to himself that his preference for sword-and-shield melee combat benefitted him, yet also benefitted his enemies as it was a great handicap.

For the truth was, that if he wanted…

…Orodan Wainwright could be a very terrifying mage.

Unlike the enormous distances that the spell normally rose to when he flooded it with power, this time he focused on a different aspect to empower with the endless soul energy.

How strongly space was compressed.

He was reduced to a glowing soul reactor of flesh, barely holding on to the life of his physical form. All his soul energy, his concentration, it went towards folding the space as many times, compressing it as tightly as possible.

[Spatial Fold 75 ? Spatial Fold 76]

[Space Mastery 76 ? Space Mastery 77]

Ranks of shield cultivators were present one moment and pulped into a singularity the next. The distance of folded space wasn’t much, perhaps a half-mile, yet the entirety of this area that he’d spatially folded became like a vacuum. His enemies ground down to the atom and compressed beyond what was naturally possible. The mass, the sheer compression, it was ludicrous. And Orodan could feel that the tightly packed together particles were roiling with energy, on the verge of an explosion.

Hells, his own control over this incredibly dense bit of matter was under incredible strain for every moment he held it tight. It was begging for release, like a boiling pot of water that had been perfectly sealed, yet the walls simply wouldn’t allow any venting.

And he allowed it.

A blinding explosion erupted, one which sent even Orodan flying backwards.

He regained his bearings mid-air, amid the clouds, to find that the continent he’d been battling upon… was gone.

This world, Xuejin, was far larger than Alastaia, by a factor of four. To completely obliterate one of the largest continents upon it… translated to Alastaia itself…

His thoughts were quietened at the thought that he held in his hands the power to destroy a world. All through spatiomancy. And he hadn’t even truly pushed it to the very limit in that cast either.

Frankly, it felt a bit cheap and unfulfilling to know that his ‘magic’ was currently his strongest offense.

A small Spatial Fold quickly brought him down to the ground, and it was a scene of utter devastation. The ground was crystallized from the heat of the explosion, there was no life around… and the very air was on fire. There was practically no atmosphere left in the surroundings from the devastation he’d wrought.

On the ground, only one man remained. Rather injured, yet still alive. It was Jian Song, bereft of his robes and his sword shattered.

The singularity he’d allowed to explode was but a mere after-effect of folding space and focusing purely on the compression aspect as strongly as possible. And with it… he could grievously wound a Transcendent on the caliber of this man.

“And you call the Emperor a tyrant…” Jian Song muttered. “Look at what you’ve caused, how many innocents you’ve killed! An entire continent destroyed!”

Orodan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Yes, he wouldn’t make any excuses… this was his fault. He hadn’t expected the explosion to be anywhere near this strong, but it was his hand that had dealt this all the same. His offensive capabilities weren’t anywhere near this powerful. Previously, he’d held the belief that he could destroy an entire nation and perhaps a continent the size of Inuan over the gradual course of battle against a strong foe.

It was no lie to say that his defensive prowess was far stronger than his offensive bladework.

But this…

…this was the chilling reminder that his power could cause much unintended damage if he wasn’t careful. That the laws of reality had their own designs.

In truth, while he’d studied natural phenomena at Bluefire, he hadn’t been aware that spatial compression of that scale could cause such calamity.

This was his fault, and he would fix it.

His eyes blazed, and the dust and orange-flame filled atmosphere was briefly illuminated white.

“You’re right, I accept responsibility for this,” Orodan said. “I’ll reverse this.”

And Jian Song could only look on in awe as Orodan began casting an overpowered Time Reversal upon the entire continent. One the size of Alastaia itself.

[Time Reversal 70 ? Time Reversal 72]

[Time Mastery 66 ? Time Mastery 68]

It wasn’t as difficult as he would’ve thought. Not when he’d reversed time for trillions of souls in the soul nexus. But still, reversing the flow for a conveniently gathered vortex of souls was simple, even if the bar for power was incredibly high. Reversing the effects of a gigantic explosion where he had to focus on a continent and all the people, objects and landscape within…

…was a different matter.

The strain on his body from the soul energy wasn’t the issue, it was the sheer amount of pressure his mind was under as he was forced to account for so many living things and objects.

His eyes bled, and he nearly went insensate, going into his own mind as it was taxed at a level it’d never faced before.

Reforming the moon of his home world to its regular state wasn’t too difficult. There were Grandmaster-level monsters, golems and ruins upon it. A continent with billions of living beings wasn’t the same.

Orodan was so absorbed in his work that he genuinely lost track of time. Not even realizing an entire hour had passed until he was finally done.

Before him, the resurrected enemy cultivators he’d just slain. Minus their energy pools and the corruptive influence of the Dao of Domination and Supremacy upon them which bade them to suicidally hold ground against him.

“You… what are you?” came a weak voice.

Orodan looked Jian Song dead in the eyes.

“A time looper. And I’m late to assist my allies. Tell me, where is Prince Zhou Shan?”

“If you think to make me talk, you’re mistaken,” Jian Song answered. “I’ll gladly die if it means I get to delay you and assist the Emperor.”

“Your resolve is admirable, but your soldiers are standing right here,” Orodan said. “I don’t doubt one of them will be eager to speak now that any foul Daos affecting their minds are taken care of.”

Jian Song sharply turned around, his glare promising death to any who spoke up, yet Orodan swiftly marched up behind him and a swift but powerful punch to the head knocked the Sword-Transcendent down. A follow-up usage of Domain Of Perfect Cleaning sent him into unconsciousness.

His knuckles cracked.

“Now then, who wants to talk?”

[Intimidation 16 ? Intimidation 20]

#

The continent Orodan had landed upon was a designated trap, but not one truly meant to subdue him. More so to delay him. In hindsight, while annoying and more than a little toilsome, the enemy’s usage of space and time cultivators alongside a staunch line of shields wasn’t a bad idea.

Either that, or they were expecting a different Orodan than the one who’d come out of the battle for the soul nexus. After all, none of them truly knew about the checkpoint system he had access to. For them, perhaps this was just the same loop, and his inexplicable rise in strength caught them off guard too.

However, his potential destructive power with spatiomancy had caught even Orodan off-guard. It stood to reason then that his foes were doubly surprised.

Unsurprisingly, the enemy cultivators had happily spoken up. Many were grateful to be free of Jian Huangdi’s Dao, although some were confused and more than a little apprehensive of the future. These few were counselled by their comrades and assured that the future would hold better tidings now that their minds were their own.

They informed him that Prince Zhou Shan was on the nearby continent, defending against an ambush from the Celestial Emperor. That much Orodan had known already, but the location was now known to him, and he wouldn’t have to scramble about using Vision Of Purity to try and narrow it down.

The resurrected enemy soldiers had been told to go take a hike, which again, they were happy to do since the Dao of Domination and Supremacy was no longer controlling their minds. And as they left, a Spatial Fold was cast into the air in the direction he’d been told of.

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With a single step, he crossed through space to approximately where the battle was occurring. Not too difficult to find once he’d been told where it was, and when the collateral destruction in one part of the planet was dramatically worse than the rest.

The first thing he noticed was two figures battling in the skies high above the battlefield. He recognized both of them. The Emperor, and the Prince. And Zhou Shan seemed to be in dire straits, fighting a retreating battle where he was attempting to survive.

Orodan had a good sense of his current power level. Even with the newly discovered potential of Spatial Fold, being able to best Jian Song meant he was perhaps as strong as Devil King Gutriyaz, and maybe on the same level as a Transcendent in the high 130s. Maybe upto level 140 at most. And it wasn’t that he could overpower them, but rather, that he could outlast them. His defensive capabilities were his strongest weapon.

Yet, in a fight between Zhou Shan and Jian Huangdi, he simply didn’t measure up to either combatant. Not when Zhou Shan was a Celestial skill bearer of 147 and the Emperor at level 150.

“How good of you to join us, Orodan Wainwright,” the Celestial Emperor called out. “I see you’ve bested Jian Song and his welcoming party. Your strength has grown a bit more than my expectations would allow. I’ve received word of the soul nexus being tampered with, was that your doing?”

“I merely prevented its ignition through the reversal of time,” Orodan answered. “And your lackey was weaker than expected. Not difficult to emerge victorious when he didn’t even want to kill me.”

“Naturally. Do you think us foolish enough to kill a time looper? That would be akin to handing you more power. Worry not however, your due will come soon, and no number of loops can save you,” Jian Huangdi’s voice boomed out as he sent Zhou Shan flying as the Prince continually attempted retreat. “A shame that the Administrator is kind enough to simply desire your end. I’m most curious about how your soul can produce enough power to reverse time on a soul nexus.”

“These troops you have here… recruited from outside your ranks, have you?” Orodan asked.

Upon closer examination, the composition of the enemy army was most strange. Ranks of cultivators yes, but also regular armored warriors, mages and… werewolves?

“Ah, I see you’ve noticed my new allies. I’m told your home world is within their territory, even if we’ve not managed to find it yet,” the man said.

These were…

[Dimensionalism 18 ? Dimensionalism 19]

One moment the world he stood on was within the material plane. And then it wasn’t.

A gigantic moving void, ten times the size of Xuejin, the world they were upon, enveloped the sky. And this moving wall was a dimensional entryway, moving to swallow the entire world. It was only at the last moment, before the wall connected and devoured the planet whole, that Orodan saw for a brief moment what it truly was…

…a dragon. A dragon whose mouth was ten times larger than this gigantic world.

The transition was relatively harmless, at least, initially.

The atmosphere and the stars above vanished. The void surrounding the world of Xuejin became filled with impossible geometry and the very nature of reality became a bit more ethereal, the laws of the universe, different.

An entire world pulled into another dimension. Swallowed by an apocalyptic dragon.

“Do not bother trying to flee, time looper, your spatiomancy will avail you not,” the Celestial Emperor spoke. “Your anomalous ability to generate power far beyond your level of strength is intriguing, but there are beings that can match it. A peak-Transcendent dragon God is one of them.”

“Good. I look forward to the fight,” he said. A feral grin and the lust for battle emerging.

“We shall see how long your bravado lasts,” the Celestial Emperor said, and then a single order boomed out towards the enemy troops. “Capture him.”

And before he knew it, a veritable wave of enemies swarmed him. And it was a true swarm, for there was none of the caution that would be expected when a regular army faced him down. No distance management, no coordination to ensure their own survival. Simply a tide of bodies all bent on piling atop him, doing little damage, but seeking to restrain and hold him captive.

Simultaneously, the back ranks of spatiomancers and chronomancers - for they weren’t cultivators but mages like those of his own world - began casting as many restrictive spells upon him as they could. It was yet another attempt to delay him much like Jian Song had tried. Except, with vastly greater effectiveness.

It seemed that these new allies of the Celestial Emperor were far better at the magic side of combat than the time and space cultivators he’d seen.

The waves of Grandmaster-level cultivators who threw themselves at him weren’t the problem. Matter of fact, perhaps a few dozen at a time could feasibly grab onto him. However, they were an excellent visual distraction for when the enemy back ranks began employing a familiar force.

[Psionic Resistance 77 ? Psionic Resistance 78]

[Mana Resistance 63 ? Mana Resistance 65]

A wave of nearly fifty-thousand minds slammed into his own. At least a third of the force wasn’t empowered by soul energy but by mana, a familiar force from his own world. However, despite the resistance skills he possessed, fifty-thousand was still enough to, for a moment, occupy his attention.

Which was the moment the enemy’s metal mages took advantage of.

A sphere of liquid metal enveloped him, and although it couldn’t quite penetrate the gaps between his cells since he’d acquired Absolute Body Composition, it still functioned as an excellent cage to lock him in place.

“Calculations have been done. Given your proclivity for battle and lack of fear towards pain or death, it is only natural that you would have many resistance skills. What you cannot resist however, is a powerful material wrapped around you,” the Celestial Emperor spoke, and Orodan realized with some concern that the sounds of the titanic fighting above had ceased. “Now that you’re here, the bait will no longer be needed. My bastard always was the greatest of my children. Perhaps with a few million years more he would’ve been my match, yet it was not to be.”

Which meant Zhou Shan was likely dead. Damn it all to the hells.

Here he’d come, hoping to assist the Prince, yet now he was in a tight spot, facing down the Emperor by himself when the tyrant had brought unknown new allies too.

Still, not all was lost. After all, he always had one fall back he could use.

Soul energy began blazing and his own body faced destruction as Eternal Soul Reactor was churned at an increasingly higher intensity. The liquid cage of metal around him was slowly pushed away, and Orodan got a good look around him.

The Celestial Emperor was stood perhaps fifty feet away, and behind him, rows of cultivators, except these were…

“Ah, attempting to end your own life, are you?” Jian Huangdi asked. “That would be inconvenient. Come, they tell me you have some sense of morality. Let us put that to the test and see if you’re willing to slaughter your former comrades of the Third Army.”

Another human wave rushed him, except these were the people he’d come to know during the battle for the soul nexus! The very first man to leap, arms outstretched for him, was the cleaning cultivator whose basic broom Orodan had ‘borrowed’.

“A dirty move,” Orodan said.

“All is fair when dealing with a time looper. Dirty tricks are but a necessity,” Jian Huangdi replied.

It was a foul trick, meant to elicit some sort of moral conundrum in him. However, he was no soft-spined boy. Growing up in Ogdenborough had inured him to the harsher realities of life, and Orodan had no problem taking lives if he had to. He had killed and would continue to kill. However, it might not be necessary in this instance.

So, what if it was a dirty move? Orodan was a fair hand at cleaning anyways.

The Celestial Emperor’s face was mocking, almost arrogant, however it immediately turned to one of rage when the Domain Of Perfect Cleaning shot out and began targeting the minds of the affected soldiers of the Third Army.

A domineering aura of supremacy erupted from Jian Huangdi, and the battle for the minds of the troops began. Yes, in straight up combat he was no match for the man. Frankly, Orodan held an advantage that the Emperor was actively avoiding his death.

But despite the vast gulf of strength between them, even if Orodan stood no chance in a direct battle yet, what he did hold some faith in… was a battle of his Celestial skill against the Emperor’s.

It was a struggle without any real stakes. These were mere chaff, even if they were Orodan’s allies. Hells, the Emperor might turn around and kill them out of spite. Surely Jian Huangdi knew this!

Yet, the look of utter concentration on the man’s face told a different story. That he was was as committed to this battle as Orodan was.

And that despite the difference of two tiers and over sixty levels, Orodan’s Celestial skill held more skills under its umbrella. Something which allowed him to compete on even ground against this man.

No wonder Jian Song had been shocked when Orodan mentioned he had six skills under the domain of his Celestial one. It was now eight. He wasn’t sure what the galactic metric was, yet surely, he surpassed all but the most monstrous of beings in terms of pound for pound talent.

Altogether there were roughly eight-thousand soldiers whose minds were corrupted by the Dao of Domination and Supremacy. And as Orodan’s Domain enveloped them all the first soldier whose mind he entered gave him some serious pushback. Or rather, it was the Celestial Emperor himself, enhancing and empowering his Dao within the man.

The poor cultivator’s body began to disintegrate from the sheer power of the Dao much like Orodan’s had in the past. However, the Basic Healing portion of his Celestial skill worked to patch that up and prevent the man’s death. Absolute Soul Dominion clashed against Domination of the mind and soul. The Emperor’s supremacy attempted to take control of the man’s Qi and vitality; however All-Consuming Rage absorbed these hungrily, leaving the man nearly empty, Orodan then refilled these pools of power with the Basic Healing aspect of his Domain. And Psionic Assault and Cleaning worked to scour the cultivator’s mind of the foreign Dao, while Soul Defense and Incorruptible Being worked to spread a stalwart defense against it.

The cultivator’s mind, soul and body were a battleground upon which Orodan Wainwright, and the Celestial Emperor waged a war.

And it was one Orodan was winning.

A snarl of rage and disbelief echoed out, and a blast of lethal energy from the Emperor’s fingertips instantly vaporized the soldier before Orodan could completely cleanse him.

“That one was your loss,” Orodan said, an excited grin upon his face. “A sore loser, are we?”

“I could crush you like a worm, do not become over-arrogant.”

“No, that would be your job. All you’ve done since I’ve met you is act arrogant and make an enemy of me,” Orodan said. “Even if I can’t defeat you just yet, I will eventually. How about it, Jian Huangdi? You call yourself the Celestial Emperor, yet you can’t even beat another Celestial skill-bearer at the Elite-level. You’re an embarrassment, face me toe-to-toe in a battle of Celestial against Celestial and let’s see who’s better. Or are you scared to face me and have your Celestial skill proven a sham? I vow I’ll cleanse these men of your dirty Dao despite your best efforts to stop it.”

It was a blatant provocation, and there was no way the man didn’t know it. And yet…

…the look of bloodthirsty rage on his face told Orodan that it worked better than he thought. Perhaps it was the Eldritch madness, or maybe it was the man’s very Dao that demanded he adhere to supremacy. Either way, the duel was on as the troops behind Jian Huangdi were cowed into standing down with but a single backwards glance from the man.

There were no words spoken between them after that. The next two minutes involved multiple clashes and engagements between his Domain Of Perfect Cleaning and the Emperor’s Dao of Domination and Supremacy. It was a battleground involving the subverted minds of the Third Army’s soldiers, and every time Orodan was on the verge of successfully cleaning one of them, the Emperor promptly killed them.

As he faced the man’s Celestial skill, he learned, acquired insights and grew. The opportunity to compete head-to-head against another Celestial skill bearer was a precious opportunity, one he didn’t let go to waste.

Much to the Celestial Emperor’s consternation, Orodan left each exchange the victor. The man’s Dao simply couldn’t stop Orodan’s cleaning of the affected cultivator. Slowly but surely, Orodan’s comprehensions grew. It was only a matter of time until the System caught up and recognized this.

Until finally…

[Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 89 ? Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 90]

[New Title ? Celestial Master]

[New Title ? Perfect Cleaning Master]

[New Title ? Cleaning Master]

The tide turned.

The Celestial Emperor’s eyes widened, and Orodan’s smile turned positively bloodthirsty and manic. Skills naturally had a jump in power at tier thresholds. A Mythical skill advancing a tier was already a monstrous improvement, but for a Celestial skill to advance? It was shocking.

He’d already been winning individual engagements against the Emperor’s Dao. The Emperor doubtlessly had fewer skills under the umbrella of his Celestial skill, and even then… Orodan was confident that his talent in cleaning could outstrip even the most ancient of monsters in whatever art they chose to use. Skill levels weren’t everything. Two people with the exact same level could still have widely different talents and be stronger or weaker depending on their passion, insights and perspective.

And Orodan had plenty of insights to spare when it came to cleaning. It allowed him to mop the floor well above his weight.

Orodan began swiftly outpacing the Celestial Emperor. Clashes which were previously competitive but, in his favor, were now far more one-sided as his foe’s Dao was smashed aside and the Emperor’s control over his thralls, shattered.

Within three more minutes Orodan cleansed all of the remaining Third Army soldiers of the Dao affecting them and then proceeded to move onto a new target…

…the Emperor. Specifically, the Eldritch corrupting the man.

“Enough.”

It was a single word, but alongside its utterance, he was reduced to a small pile of glowing flesh. Yet, he cared not as his Domain Of Perfect Cleaning continued working despite this.

“Cease your assault immediately! Your soul will be tortured for all eternity!”

Jian Huangdi’s desperate pleas were ignored. The Celestial Emperor began writhing upon the ground as Orodan’s Domain Of Perfect Cleaning lashed out and hit the man hard.

His opponent was without a doubt, stronger than Orodan in direct combat. If they fought earnestly and the man wanted it, Orodan would be dead a hundred times over. Yet, it was hubris and the very adherence to dominance and supremacy that had Jian Huangdi thinking he could best Orodan Wainwright in a head-to-head clash of Celestial skill against Celestial skill.

Goading hadn’t worked against Devil King Saathmaraz at all. Yet, against the Celestial Emperor, it had proven more than effective.

Against all odds, Orodan somehow rode the momentum and now had the man on the backfoot. Yes, he was a Celestial skill-bearer, and yes, he was a peak-Transcendent of level 150 and yet…

…the Celestial Emperor was now utterly vulnerable as Orodan began targeting the Eldritch taint the man was corrupted by. It was the same deal Orodan had with the Eldritch Avatar. Sure, it had been stronger than him at the time, but once its corruption was targeted, it was vulnerable. A corrupted being unused to having its plague attacked in such a manner.

Truly, cleaning really was the antithesis of the Eldritch.

A peak-Transcendent of level 150, reduced to a vulnerable mess.

Things were going well, and victory and the cleansing of the Eldritch looked all but certain.

Unfortunately, things rarely went as planned.

[Dimensionalism 19 ? Dimensionalism 20]

“Your defeat here would be inconvenient Jian Huangdi. We mop up the rebel armies for you, and you cannot even handle a Master-level foe?”

Orodan actually sensed the fluctuation before the dimensional boundaries were torn asunder this time. Yet he could’ve done nothing to stop the appearance of a familiar being. One he swore vengeance against for its killing of Zaessythra in the last long loop.

It was the size of an entire nation, the ethereal skies of this strange dimension they were in darkened overhead as it approached. A hymn of pure radiance that demanded subservience rang out for miles, and the face of this God was composed of impossible geometric shapes which contradicted one another.

And it had fifty arms, carrying deadly golden weapons, just as he remembered.

“Astalavar…” Orodan muttered, his hands clenching around his weapons.

“Ah, you know of me time looper? By all rights you should be swearing fealty and kneeling before me, after all, your world is within the territory of the Hegemony we preside over,” it said. “I see the Celestial Emperor is faring worse than he should. Have you perhaps aimed for the taint within? I always thought that foul Eldritch corruption was a weakness. Temporary power and mad knowledge in exchange for an over-reliance upon it. A shame, for he used to be a feared leader who even we were wary of.”

“If you know he’s corrupted by the Eldritch, why do you support him? Why is the Hegemony getting involved in an internal matter of the Celestial Court?” Orodan asked.

“When we hear tell of a man marching around claiming to be a time looper it is no longer a mere internal matter. Our lord’s interest was greatly piqued,” Astalavar answered. “Do you think to do as you please? You shall find that time loopers are not so novel a concept among the wise and powerful of the universe. There are ways to permanently put an end to you.”

“Such as what? Dragging me outside of System-space like the Administrator plans?”

“For one. Alas, it is no option available to us,” the God of the Hegemony said. “My lord, however, wishes to see you. Your words with him will determine your fate.”

He felt yet another fluctuation, and two figures caused the very world they were upon to become blackened with shadow as the ethereal stars projecting light onto Xuejin in this new dimension were entirely blotted out.

One, a dragon. It looked incomparably ancient, yet Orodan felt it was the weakest of everyone present here. He would perhaps rate it as being slightly weaker than Zhou Shan based on the feeling his instincts were giving him.

The other…

…two utterly gigantic cosmic eyes. They were the size of stars and only up close did Orodan realize just how colossal this being was. The dragon that had swallowed Xuejin, this gigantic being could ride it like a horse as they were comparable in size.

He remembered these two eyes being the last sight he saw in his long loop in Novarria. These eyes now peered deeply into him.

The dragon spoke first. It wasn’t a God, but a Transcendent.

“I smell the foul stench of a hybrid’s soul around him, not too far in the past either. He is but a mortal, and yet…” it muttered. “You, have you been harboring any filthy half-blood hybrids? Speak now and perhaps receive mercy.”

A hybrid? The only person he could think of was Zaessythra, who he knew was partly draconic from the times he saw her in his mindscape. He’d rather face an eternity of death and pain than ever betray her to this arrogant Transcendent dragon.

“Hold a moment, Excromon. I see it. It truly is a time looper. Very subtle… incredibly so, yet still in line with the existing records we have of how the soul is marked by the System,” it spoke. “We shall not bandy words with it. Time looper, you have two options. Submit and open your soul to us or face a fate worse than death.”

“I refuse to submit. I have a grudge against you lot. Kill me if you must,” Orodan declared.

“A shame. Yet another case we shall have to explain to the Custodian when it arrives to mediate affairs… unless the Reject arrives first of course,” it spoke. “Do not resist. The pain will be lessened.”

“My lord… is it truly wise to court the Warrior’s ire by using that again?” Astalavar asked.

“An unfortunate situation, but the Reject will shield us, and perhaps even reward us for dealing with this time looper,” the cosmic eyes said.

Orodan could hear no more words as a strange device was produced and brought in front of this supposed leader of the Hegemony. At the sight of it, a deep, almost paralyzing fear struck the deepest parts of his soul. The very inner core where all his skills and connections to the System were housed, this inviolable part of his soul that was supposed to be untouchable.

This part of his soul trembled with fear.

The device was a focusing lens of sorts, and this giant cosmic entity began channelling a beam of titanic power to be fired through it.

Orodan just knew that getting hit with it was a bad idea, and yet, fifty arms immediately descended to restrain him in place while a sudden full-force mental assault by the Dao of Domination and Supremacy by a now recovered Celestial Emperor distracted him.

He only saw the beam coming at the last minute as dimensional boundaries shattered and the material plane intermingled with this strange one the world had been swallowed into.

Just before the beam made contact, he saw…

…a tentacle made of metal?

His surroundings exploded, and for a few moments all he knew was the feeling of being reduced to a handful of cells. Yet, his soul was intact.

Something had blocked the attack.

“Directive: Protect Orodan Wainwright. Multiple threats identified. Solution: Elimination.”

A cold and emotionless voice… a golem…!

“W78!” Orodan exclaimed. “You… how?!”

“Directive: Monitor Orodan Wainwright. Aware of time looping nature. Intervention necessary due to imminence of critical attack,” it intoned. And Orodan could swear there was some manner of golem-like emotion underneath that guise of cold intonation.

“Foolish machine. Has the Unity at last decided to act? Your body shall be stripped for parts and melted down to fuel our forges!” Astalavar angrily roared.

In fact, it wasn’t his good friend W78 who’d intervened to protect him. While he adored his golem-like friend, the threats arrayed here were simply too much for it. Rather, the planet-sized mass of metal and tentacles in front of him was his savior.

“Information: Unit A1, prime combat unit. Designated leadership unit for Unity,” W78 explained. “Equal combat strength with enemy level 150.”

This unit, A1, was the leader of the Unity? As strong as a peak-Transcendent too… yet, there enemies were numerous.

“W78, this still won’t be enough! Let me fight alongside you to help secure your retreat!” Orodan said.

“Directive: Protect Orodan Wainwright. Information: Allied faction arriving.”

Allied faction?

He needn’t have wondered any further as the dimensional walls shattered yet again and someone came riding forth.

Golden light. That was the only description truly needed.

A horse of blinding golden light, and a heavily armored rider wielding a lance of light. This woman, this God, looked every bit the picture of a holy crusader meant to exterminate demonkind.

“Your Hegemony has gone too far today Agrimon! The Conclave comes to assist its allies! The Light shall purge your sins!”

Her glowing golden horse and lance made an immediate beeline for the leader of the Hegemony, and the two began an utterly furious melee. It was comical, seeing a woman his size fight against something the size of a world, yet she was not only keeping up, but dare he say… pushing Agrimon back.

In the meanwhile, A1, the mightiest machine he’d seen, began combat against the recovered Celestial Emperor and Astalavar at the same time. And behind him, he heard a familiar flutter.

“Zaessythra… this is your doing,” Orodan stated.

And in response, she practically slammed down onto his noggin.

“You absolute, blithering, idiot! What was your plan for when that attack hit you?!” she angrily asked.

“Defend against it?”

“No! You buffoon! That’s the sort of attack which led me to my current situation! We need to fall back and recoup our losses! Enough is enough!” she demanded.

“Zhou Shan is likely dead, at the very least I need to bring him back,” Orodan said. “I’m sorry for dragging into you this mess Zaessythra.”

“You’d better be… stubborn oaf…”

Their reunion was cut short as an angry dragon made its presence known. One that had just a while ago declared its hatred for hybrid draconic beings.

“I smell the stench of a foul hybrid! You dare harbor one of them?!” it roared as its flight path made directly for Orodan and Zaessythra.

“Well… this is the part where I ask you to do what you do best,” she said.

Orodan simply rolled his eyes, but he had a smile on his face.

[Flash Strike 74 ? Flash Strike 75]

Why bother waiting for it to reach when he could simply soar to the skies and reach it first?

It was big, at least the size of a small island, but nowhere near the size of the other foes engaging in cataclysmic battle above. Frankly, in comparison to the other fights occurring, his was but a mere footnote.

He and Excromon wrestled in the air, and although he was quite outmatched, he was holding his own well enough despite the repeated savaging and constant destruction of his physical form. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much time. And while he might have held some confidence in eventually outlasting this foul dragon, it wouldn’t do to be distracted and have some other foe potentially target Zaessythra.

To that end, he began contributing in the one way he knew would make a massive difference.

The manipulation of time.

He focused on a particular thread of time, the soul connected to it, not slain too long ago. However, it had timeline protections upon it. It was a good thing then, that Orodan had already overpowered timeline protections on a soul before. Except this time, he intended to be successful. He had two targets in mind, the first would make an immediate contribution and give him some breathing room… and the second… long overdue.

The first wasn’t difficult, and there were no skill level gains to be made. Yet the reaction from his enemies was immediate.

“Stop him! He’s overpowering my timeline protections and bringing a fallen Transcendent back!” Astalavar roared.

The dragon, Excromon, had the immediate reaction of attempting to grapple and use gravity magic to pin Orodan down, yet it was of no use. Excromon was specialized in close-combat, and when the restriction of not killing Orodan was in place… there was no real way to stop him.

Time reversed, the Hegemony’s Gods desperately attempted to break off from their fights and interfere, yet it was futile. Orodan could reverse time and avoid being distracted even when reduced to a handful of cells.

Within seconds, a soul was pulled back to its ruined corpse, and the corpse reverted to pristine condition.

Zhou Shan had been resurrected.

“What the… I died… but- ah, resurrection. Thank you, Orodan.”

“You’re welcome, now mind keeping them off me while I do one more,” Orodan said.

Zhou Shan complied and immediately engaged in battle with the dragon Excromon, buying Orodan some precious time. The dragon was taken aback by the newly resurrected foe. The Prince was a Celestial skill bearer, and one at level 147 at that.

“Zaessythra… you were cursed to your current form about five-hundred thousand years ago, no?

“Yes…? Orodan, what are you planning?”

“Something I think I’m finally capable of.”

Eyes blazed with raw power, and he was reduced to but a few cells. Yet, this was within expectations.

He had reversed time on a soul nexus of trillions. He’d reverted an entire continent the size of Alastaia itself. Yet these were different in the sense that while massive objects with lots of things to account for… the timescale was short.

Going back in the river of time by five-hundred-thousand years was a different matter altogether.

His mind strained, the ravages of time began gnawing at his soul, and the very river itself seemed intent on resisting him. Hells, the entirety of the river of time was trembling due to the sheer amount of energy he was exerting upon it, and just the aftershocks of his energy caused strange temporal phenomena such as ancient echoes flitting in and out.

He was all but certain this was akin to broadcasting his position and presence to the entire galaxy and perhaps even beyond.

Yet, he continued. And slowly, Zaessythra’s musty tome began to look fresher as the years began rapidly cycling back. Decades were reverting in seconds, for such was the pace as Orodan poured all his soul energy into the spell.

The battlefield went silent for but a moment.

“The very river of time trembles… where does that power come from?” Agrimon muttered, and even the golden lancer of light stopped fighting to look.

Decades continued to revert as the battle continued. And soon, centuries began passing in seconds once Orodan got into the proper flow of things and his skill levels kept increasing.

Time threatened to gnaw at his mind and soul. He nearly lost himself multiple times as he almost felt as though he lived many of the ancient lifespans and eons. Yet, his willpower held on, and he refused to falter.

Near the end, a change occurred, and Zaessythra’s book form looked rather remarkably fresh. And from there, in an instant…

…she suddenly shifted into something else. At which point Orodan immediately stopped lest he go too far and de-age her into a child. He was fairly certain he heard screaming near the end, but his keen eyes focusing upon her soul saw that it was only the process of it finally becoming whole.

[Time Reversal 72 ? Time Reversal 74]

[Time Mastery 68 ? Time Mastery 70]

What was before him, was ten feet. Ten feet of woman.

Or rather, draconic-woman. He’d always known she was a half-dragon hybrid. Her words, the carvings upon Alastaia’s moon, the reaction of Excromon, it all came together to all but confirm it. Yet, seeing it was a different matter altogether.

Mismatched white and gold eyes, flowing silver hair, a towering and muscular frame of might. Zaessythra looked every bit the Warrior-Queen the carvings portrayed her as.

“Now this changes things…” she muttered as she hefted the world-sword he’d given her. “Not my old blade, but it’ll do.”

“Well, at least I can’t bully you and throw you into the ring anymore,” Orodan said with a smile. “You look strong.”

“I’ll be the one throwing you around,” she threatened, and then looked to the battlefield.

“Five-hundred thousand years of time reverted with such ease. And to bring back a most vexatious enemy of ours too…” Astalavar muttered in shock.

“Enough. We have failed here today. Their forces swell and we lack the strength to continue fighting,” Agrimon said. “We also cannot kill the time looper lest it return and exact vengeance. Retreat. The Administrator remains our only hope from this point onward.”

The leader of the Hegemony and its Gods and Transcendents fell back, the Celestial Emperor in tow.

A1 and the glowing lancer from the Conclave attempted to give pursuit, however the gigantic dragon that had initially swallowed the world of Xuejin whole simply spat the world out of its mouth and retreated while pulling the enemy combatants away with it. And if Excromon was a powerful dragon, then that peak-Transcendent dragon was another thing entirely. Fighting it would be too costly for their current forces.

Soon, the battlefield was silent. The world of Xuejin had been turned to chunks of rubble and debris throughout the fighting between multiple peak-Transcendents and peak-Gods.

Orodan, Zaessythra in her true form, Zhou Shan and the allies that had come to aid them stood quietly amid the devastation.

“So… who’s going to clean all this up?” Zhou Shan asked.

Orodan simply smiled.