Chapter 203: Realizing True Power
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Chapter 203: Realizing True Power
Trial Planet had nine rings. Garden Ring had twelve gardens. And Trial Garden, the most dangerous but rewarding of those, had a core guarded by seven different formations, one behind the other.
In the Systems world, numbers were everywherethough, if these particular numbers had any mystical meaning attached to them, it flew right over Jacks head.
The entire group paused as they came into sight of the gardens core. A lone tree stood in the middle, with a single, blood-red apple hanging from its branches. Seven concentric domes of color surrounded it, each a formation barrier that shimmered with power. Even the mist had receded from this areaa tribute to the formations power.
We have arrived, Lady Minerva said breathlessly. Her eyes were glued to the tree in the middle, barely visible through the formations, and the apple on its branches. As were the eyes of the other two Lords.
They had come a long way to reach here. They had traveled through seven rings of Trial Planet. They had defeated an immortal labyrinth guardian and overcome a series of deadly traps.
Finally, they were herebut only one of them could claim the prize. Only one of them could have the Eighth Ring Conqueror title, and most importantly, the Dao Sprouting Pill. Jack didnt know what exactly that was, but he could see the limitless desire in the Lords eyes.
He leaned towards Dorman. Hey, he asked in a low voice, what exactly does that apple do?
The Dao Sprouting Pill? the young man replied in a whisper. Supposedly, it helps a peak E-Grade consolidate their Dao and grow their Dao Tree, reaching the D-Grade.
Jack nodded. I see. So it speeds up the process?
Not just that. The more Dao Roots one has, the stronger they are, but the harder it becomes to breakthrough. Since the Lords have fused three Dao Roots each, breaking through is not guaranteed at all. Even if they succeed, it could take them years or decades, which cuts away at their D-Grade cultivating time. Essentially, theyre in an all-out gamble. Either theyll reach the top of the world, or theyll end up mediocreand this pill is a shortcut over the greatest hurdle.
I see. So theyll stop at nothing to get it.
Dorman nodded. The title of this ring is good, of course, but the pill itself is the real reward.
How does the System know who got the pill, though? Is it the first person to touch it?
Getting Garden Rings Top Treasure was the prerequisite to getting the Eighth Ring Conqueror title. However, when traveling through the labyrinth previously, Lord Longsword had told Jack that only one person would get it.
Exactly. Whoever touches it first will get both the pill and the titleand, by agreement between the factions, the battle ends there. Which means that, the moment the final formation falls, or even before that, the Lords will be battling each other. Thats why they are so tense.
Jack looked around. Each Lord team was gathered aside, talking over their plans. The final bits of jovialty had already evaporated. Now, everyone was at war. Faces were stern, eyes were hard, fingers twitching.
Jacks mind was also racing. To defeat the planetary overseer within a year, he had to take the absolute best road to power. Yet, from what he understood, becoming an immortal was a long, difficult process.
He needed a shortcut. And here, in front of his face, was a legendary treasure offering just that. The problem was the existence of three super strong cultivators between him and the treasure.
He wanted to join the battle for the Top Treasure. He wanted to face off against the Lords and defeat them, gaining the power he needed to save his people.
But he couldnt.
Jack had done his homework. Hed carefully observed the Lords and their followers in Trial Gardenand even before that. He had seen how they spoke and acted, dissected their personalities for weaknesses he could exploit.
There were some. Bocor, for example, hated Jacks guts. He would be easy to bait into action. The ice witch always remained by Longswords side, if possible. Longsword himself was prideful and arrogantand also kind of a dick. He knew that Jack would never join his faction, so he wouldnt mind killing him if the opportunity arose.
Lady Priya was a direct individual. She would not employ underhanded means. Chuto was eager to battle, so he could be lured into what he thought was single combat. Kareena used soul attacks, which Jack hoped to resist with his Indomitable Will.
The Hand of God team was the most difficult to deal with. Lady Minerva was a calculating and cautious individual. Moreover, she didnt really care about her summoned beasts, so they couldnt be used against her. Vocrich knew Jack, and they were already enemies, sort ofbut he was too cold-blooded. Jack didnt feel confident in tricking him in any way. As for the dryad, she usually remained by Minervas side and wasnt particularly strong, but her healing powers were phenomenal. When a treasure hunter got a deep slash on his thigh facing a trap, she cured it almost instantly.
The point was, Jack knew the Lords and their followers. He had watched and cataloged them. He had cards to play. What infuriated him was that his cards didnt seem enough. Despite having done his homework and actually invested effort in securing as many advantages for himself as possiblehe still came up short.
Will I really have to give up the Top Treasure? he thought, gritting his teeth.
He didnt lack understanding, Dao Skills, or titles. The only thing he lacked was levels. He was at 97. The Lords were all around 124. With each level representing five stat points, those were almost a hundred and fifty points of difference. He couldnt overcome that against the most talented people of the galaxy.
He gritted his teeth harder. Throughout Trial Planet, he had struggled to grind levels. He had risen by forty-five since enteringa tremendous amount! But he had been chased out of Giant Ring. He had been ambushed and forced to escape Barbarian Ring after only hunting a tyrannosaurus. The desert of Village Ring had been relatively empty, and the space monsters of Space Ring had been too few and far betweenor too strong to hunt consistently. Even in Labyrinth Ring, bone monsters had been rare occurrences, not letting Jack rise by much. As if those werent enough, he was always on the clock, for one reason or another.
Finally, Garden Ring wasalmost empty.
Trial Planet was a treasure trove of experience and levels, and Jack had already gotten a ton of them, but there was a limit to how much he could grind when everyone was after him.
When all was said and done, he was just too damn underleveled.
He had good titles, yes, but so did the Lords. They were the prized children of B-Grade factions with a million years of experience in the System. They definitely had a way to feed their disciples the right titles. Against them, Jack was not at all optimistic of his chances.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
Perhaps he could exchange a blow or two with a Lord, but winning would be very difficult without using the Life Dropwhich he absolutely couldnt reveal, especially with the Hand of God snooping around. Given the Exploding Suns standing offer, the risk just wasnt worth iteven if it meant giving up on the Top Treasure.
Can I sneak through? he wondered. If the Lords are busy fighting each other, maybe I can just rush to the fruit But this requires them being idiots, which is not the casewell, except for Bocor, maybe.
With a spark of inspiration, he strangled the Dao flow to himself. It was now a trickle rather than a stream. Instantly, his power was reduced.
Copy Jack raised a brow but complied. He came in with fists blazing. Jack tried to fight back, but he was too slow, too weak. Copy Jack was dominating now. His punches struck like mallets, his arms blurred at the limits of Jacks perception, and his defense was unbreakably rock-solid.
It took everything Jack had to remain standing. Powerlessness creeped into him again. He didnt like this feeling. He hated it. It reminded him of the times before the System. He had no control. He was suffocating.
Yet, he did not yield. He kept restraining the flow of his Dao. His defense was broken, his attacks were useless, his eyes couldnt follow the copys punches. Jack was toyed with like a toddler.
And yet, he kept rising. Again and again, he threw himself at Copy Jack, only to fail miserably. Every failure only reminded him of his weakness. Every painful punch he received emphasized his helplessness. The power difference between them was just too much, and Copy Jack was too skilled. There was nothing Jack could do. Absolutely nothing. He even resorted to less dignified tactics, throwing dust at his opponents eyes or distracting him with odd movements. He tried to receive a punch on purpose just to throw a weaker one himself. He just wanted to land one strike.
Everything failed. Before absolute power, all tricks were useless. Jack could do nothing. His weakness was a purposeless hole, a bottomless abyss in his chest. He felt lost and alone. Small.
Copy Jack threw a Meteor Punch. Jacks chest caved in, his ribcage shattered, and his body was almost broken in half. He couldnt die in this place, so he quickly regenerated, but the feeling of weakness was even stronger than before, almost swallowing him entirely.
His entire existence was predicated on power. If he was weak, he couldnt do battle. He couldnt use his fists or stand up for anything. He was useless. Helpless. Alone. Despondent.
Only a tiny part of Jack remained now. Everything else was blanketed by mute despair. But this small, remaining part was the one focused on progress. It was the part forcing him to throw himself at this inevitable suffering repeatedly, analyzing his feelings.
He kept at it for hours.
Weakness seeped deeply into Jacks psyche. After a while, he felt true fear. Was this experience against his Dao? Was he harming himself in the name of progress?
And yet, he kept at it. He took the risk. Deep despair drove him. The undeniable urge to obtain more power. The reasons why he fought passed through his mindso many faces, so many fears, a deep desireuntil he was just a weak, tired, little man. Another meteor punch came at his face. Finally, he almost gave up. The deep confidence he always felt wavered, and he knew that he couldnt resist Copy Jacks fist. It filled his entire world, a power far greater than anything he could muster.
The tiny part remaining of Jack shone. Now!
His Dao returned at full force, flooding him with power. He felt like a god. At the same time, the copys Dao flow was strangled, becoming a fraction of what it used to be. The situation was reversed. Copy Jacks meteor punch faltered. Suddenly, it was laughably weak and slow. Jack simply slapped it aside.
Such a punch could never touch him. He held absolute power now.
For a single moment, the sensation of crushing weakness and overwhelming power coexisted in his mind. He felt the strength brewing in his fist, but he also saw it from the Copys eyes. He saw his strongest punch from the other side.
He was no longer the one facing an unstoppable god. He was the god, watching himself through the eyes of the weak. And his punch was so undeniably powerful. Only through weakness came true understanding of power.
Jack smashed out. It was a Meteor Punch stronger than any other, fueled by the mirror image of the helplessness that he knew his opponent was feeling. It was absolute. Jack had never felt more certain that his strike would land and decimate.
Finally This was true power.
The copy tried to block but was blown away. The Meteor Punch tore through his crossed arms and chest, drilling a hole straight to the other side. The copys body flew away, spiraling out of control and into the distance.
Of course, he couldnt die, either. The soul world warped, and the copy was standing before Jack again, safe and sound. But Jack remained in his after-punch stance. He hadnt moved. Understanding was flowing through his brain, filling it. Everything clicked together, and Jack laughed at the sky.
I got it! he shouted. I finally got it! Thank you! Thank you, Copy Jack!
The copy smiled and nodded. Both were pantingnot from physical exhaustion, which they couldnt feel here, but from spiritual one.
Jack turned his gaze to the sky. The dark blue star was shivering. Slowly, tendrils extended out of it, connecting to the surrounding sky and pumping its essence out. The star lost its color, but it was stronger than everthe dark blue was just fused with the purple of the sun, the vastness of the sky.
Jack felt so happy and relieved. He also felt deeply exhausted. He didnt even know how long hed meditated for.
I have to go, he said with a big smile. Thanks again, Copy Jack. See you soon.
The copy waved, and Jack opened his eyes in the real world, finding himself surrounded by figures, some sitting, some standing.
Hey, Dorman said. Took you a while.
Jack didnt reply. He only had eyes for the screens hovering before his face; especially the very first one.
Congratulations! The Dao Root of Power had been successfully fused with your Dao Seed.
Strength +20
Constitution +20
Will +20
Congratulations! Meteor Punch II Meteor Punch III
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 203: Realizing True Power
Trial Planet had nine rings. Garden Ring had twelve gardens. And Trial Garden, the most dangerous but rewarding of those, had a core guarded by seven different formations, one behind the other.
In the Systems world, numbers were everywherethough, if these particular numbers had any mystical meaning attached to them, it flew right over Jacks head.
The entire group paused as they came into sight of the gardens core. A lone tree stood in the middle, with a single, blood-red apple hanging from its branches. Seven concentric domes of color surrounded it, each a formation barrier that shimmered with power. Even the mist had receded from this areaa tribute to the formations power.
We have arrived, Lady Minerva said breathlessly. Her eyes were glued to the tree in the middle, barely visible through the formations, and the apple on its branches. As were the eyes of the other two Lords.
They had come a long way to reach here. They had traveled through seven rings of Trial Planet. They had defeated an immortal labyrinth guardian and overcome a series of deadly traps.
Finally, they were herebut only one of them could claim the prize. Only one of them could have the Eighth Ring Conqueror title, and most importantly, the Dao Sprouting Pill. Jack didnt know what exactly that was, but he could see the limitless desire in the Lords eyes.
He leaned towards Dorman. Hey, he asked in a low voice, what exactly does that apple do?
The Dao Sprouting Pill? the young man replied in a whisper. Supposedly, it helps a peak E-Grade consolidate their Dao and grow their Dao Tree, reaching the D-Grade.
Jack nodded. I see. So it speeds up the process?
Not just that. The more Dao Roots one has, the stronger they are, but the harder it becomes to breakthrough. Since the Lords have fused three Dao Roots each, breaking through is not guaranteed at all. Even if they succeed, it could take them years or decades, which cuts away at their D-Grade cultivating time. Essentially, theyre in an all-out gamble. Either theyll reach the top of the world, or theyll end up mediocreand this pill is a shortcut over the greatest hurdle.
I see. So theyll stop at nothing to get it.
Dorman nodded. The title of this ring is good, of course, but the pill itself is the real reward.
How does the System know who got the pill, though? Is it the first person to touch it?
Getting Garden Rings Top Treasure was the prerequisite to getting the Eighth Ring Conqueror title. However, when traveling through the labyrinth previously, Lord Longsword had told Jack that only one person would get it.
Exactly. Whoever touches it first will get both the pill and the titleand, by agreement between the factions, the battle ends there. Which means that, the moment the final formation falls, or even before that, the Lords will be battling each other. Thats why they are so tense.
Jack looked around. Each Lord team was gathered aside, talking over their plans. The final bits of jovialty had already evaporated. Now, everyone was at war. Faces were stern, eyes were hard, fingers twitching.
Jacks mind was also racing. To defeat the planetary overseer within a year, he had to take the absolute best road to power. Yet, from what he understood, becoming an immortal was a long, difficult process.
He needed a shortcut. And here, in front of his face, was a legendary treasure offering just that. The problem was the existence of three super strong cultivators between him and the treasure.
He wanted to join the battle for the Top Treasure. He wanted to face off against the Lords and defeat them, gaining the power he needed to save his people.
But he couldnt.
Jack had done his homework. Hed carefully observed the Lords and their followers in Trial Gardenand even before that. He had seen how they spoke and acted, dissected their personalities for weaknesses he could exploit.
There were some. Bocor, for example, hated Jacks guts. He would be easy to bait into action. The ice witch always remained by Longswords side, if possible. Longsword himself was prideful and arrogantand also kind of a dick. He knew that Jack would never join his faction, so he wouldnt mind killing him if the opportunity arose.
Lady Priya was a direct individual. She would not employ underhanded means. Chuto was eager to battle, so he could be lured into what he thought was single combat. Kareena used soul attacks, which Jack hoped to resist with his Indomitable Will.
The Hand of God team was the most difficult to deal with. Lady Minerva was a calculating and cautious individual. Moreover, she didnt really care about her summoned beasts, so they couldnt be used against her. Vocrich knew Jack, and they were already enemies, sort ofbut he was too cold-blooded. Jack didnt feel confident in tricking him in any way. As for the dryad, she usually remained by Minervas side and wasnt particularly strong, but her healing powers were phenomenal. When a treasure hunter got a deep slash on his thigh facing a trap, she cured it almost instantly.
The point was, Jack knew the Lords and their followers. He had watched and cataloged them. He had cards to play. What infuriated him was that his cards didnt seem enough. Despite having done his homework and actually invested effort in securing as many advantages for himself as possiblehe still came up short.
Will I really have to give up the Top Treasure? he thought, gritting his teeth.
He didnt lack understanding, Dao Skills, or titles. The only thing he lacked was levels. He was at 97. The Lords were all around 124. With each level representing five stat points, those were almost a hundred and fifty points of difference. He couldnt overcome that against the most talented people of the galaxy.
He gritted his teeth harder. Throughout Trial Planet, he had struggled to grind levels. He had risen by forty-five since enteringa tremendous amount! But he had been chased out of Giant Ring. He had been ambushed and forced to escape Barbarian Ring after only hunting a tyrannosaurus. The desert of Village Ring had been relatively empty, and the space monsters of Space Ring had been too few and far betweenor too strong to hunt consistently. Even in Labyrinth Ring, bone monsters had been rare occurrences, not letting Jack rise by much. As if those werent enough, he was always on the clock, for one reason or another.
Finally, Garden Ring wasalmost empty.
Trial Planet was a treasure trove of experience and levels, and Jack had already gotten a ton of them, but there was a limit to how much he could grind when everyone was after him.
When all was said and done, he was just too damn underleveled.
He had good titles, yes, but so did the Lords. They were the prized children of B-Grade factions with a million years of experience in the System. They definitely had a way to feed their disciples the right titles. Against them, Jack was not at all optimistic of his chances.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
Perhaps he could exchange a blow or two with a Lord, but winning would be very difficult without using the Life Dropwhich he absolutely couldnt reveal, especially with the Hand of God snooping around. Given the Exploding Suns standing offer, the risk just wasnt worth iteven if it meant giving up on the Top Treasure.
Can I sneak through? he wondered. If the Lords are busy fighting each other, maybe I can just rush to the fruit But this requires them being idiots, which is not the casewell, except for Bocor, maybe.
With a spark of inspiration, he strangled the Dao flow to himself. It was now a trickle rather than a stream. Instantly, his power was reduced.
Copy Jack raised a brow but complied. He came in with fists blazing. Jack tried to fight back, but he was too slow, too weak. Copy Jack was dominating now. His punches struck like mallets, his arms blurred at the limits of Jacks perception, and his defense was unbreakably rock-solid.
It took everything Jack had to remain standing. Powerlessness creeped into him again. He didnt like this feeling. He hated it. It reminded him of the times before the System. He had no control. He was suffocating.
Yet, he did not yield. He kept restraining the flow of his Dao. His defense was broken, his attacks were useless, his eyes couldnt follow the copys punches. Jack was toyed with like a toddler.
And yet, he kept rising. Again and again, he threw himself at Copy Jack, only to fail miserably. Every failure only reminded him of his weakness. Every painful punch he received emphasized his helplessness. The power difference between them was just too much, and Copy Jack was too skilled. There was nothing Jack could do. Absolutely nothing. He even resorted to less dignified tactics, throwing dust at his opponents eyes or distracting him with odd movements. He tried to receive a punch on purpose just to throw a weaker one himself. He just wanted to land one strike.
Everything failed. Before absolute power, all tricks were useless. Jack could do nothing. His weakness was a purposeless hole, a bottomless abyss in his chest. He felt lost and alone. Small.
Copy Jack threw a Meteor Punch. Jacks chest caved in, his ribcage shattered, and his body was almost broken in half. He couldnt die in this place, so he quickly regenerated, but the feeling of weakness was even stronger than before, almost swallowing him entirely.
His entire existence was predicated on power. If he was weak, he couldnt do battle. He couldnt use his fists or stand up for anything. He was useless. Helpless. Alone. Despondent.
Only a tiny part of Jack remained now. Everything else was blanketed by mute despair. But this small, remaining part was the one focused on progress. It was the part forcing him to throw himself at this inevitable suffering repeatedly, analyzing his feelings.
He kept at it for hours.
Weakness seeped deeply into Jacks psyche. After a while, he felt true fear. Was this experience against his Dao? Was he harming himself in the name of progress?
And yet, he kept at it. He took the risk. Deep despair drove him. The undeniable urge to obtain more power. The reasons why he fought passed through his mindso many faces, so many fears, a deep desireuntil he was just a weak, tired, little man. Another meteor punch came at his face. Finally, he almost gave up. The deep confidence he always felt wavered, and he knew that he couldnt resist Copy Jacks fist. It filled his entire world, a power far greater than anything he could muster.
The tiny part remaining of Jack shone. Now!
His Dao returned at full force, flooding him with power. He felt like a god. At the same time, the copys Dao flow was strangled, becoming a fraction of what it used to be. The situation was reversed. Copy Jacks meteor punch faltered. Suddenly, it was laughably weak and slow. Jack simply slapped it aside.
Such a punch could never touch him. He held absolute power now.
For a single moment, the sensation of crushing weakness and overwhelming power coexisted in his mind. He felt the strength brewing in his fist, but he also saw it from the Copys eyes. He saw his strongest punch from the other side.
He was no longer the one facing an unstoppable god. He was the god, watching himself through the eyes of the weak. And his punch was so undeniably powerful. Only through weakness came true understanding of power.
Jack smashed out. It was a Meteor Punch stronger than any other, fueled by the mirror image of the helplessness that he knew his opponent was feeling. It was absolute. Jack had never felt more certain that his strike would land and decimate.
Finally This was true power.
The copy tried to block but was blown away. The Meteor Punch tore through his crossed arms and chest, drilling a hole straight to the other side. The copys body flew away, spiraling out of control and into the distance.
Of course, he couldnt die, either. The soul world warped, and the copy was standing before Jack again, safe and sound. But Jack remained in his after-punch stance. He hadnt moved. Understanding was flowing through his brain, filling it. Everything clicked together, and Jack laughed at the sky.
I got it! he shouted. I finally got it! Thank you! Thank you, Copy Jack!
The copy smiled and nodded. Both were pantingnot from physical exhaustion, which they couldnt feel here, but from spiritual one.
Jack turned his gaze to the sky. The dark blue star was shivering. Slowly, tendrils extended out of it, connecting to the surrounding sky and pumping its essence out. The star lost its color, but it was stronger than everthe dark blue was just fused with the purple of the sun, the vastness of the sky.
Jack felt so happy and relieved. He also felt deeply exhausted. He didnt even know how long hed meditated for.
I have to go, he said with a big smile. Thanks again, Copy Jack. See you soon.
The copy waved, and Jack opened his eyes in the real world, finding himself surrounded by figures, some sitting, some standing.
Hey, Dorman said. Took you a while.
Jack didnt reply. He only had eyes for the screens hovering before his face; especially the very first one.
Congratulations! The Dao Root of Power had been successfully fused with your Dao Seed.
Strength +20
Constitution +20
Will +20
Congratulations! Meteor Punch II Meteor Punch III
Chapter 203: Realizing True PowerTrial Planet had nine rings. Garden Ring had twelve gardens. And Trial Garden, the most dangerous but rewarding of those, had a core guarded by seven different formations, one behind the other.In the Systems world, numbers were everywherethough, if these particular numbers had any mystical meaning attached to them, it flew right over Jacks head.The entire group paused as they came into sight of the gardens core. A lone tree stood in the middle, with a single, blood-red apple hanging from its branches. Seven concentric domes of color surrounded it, each a formation barrier that shimmered with power. Even the mist had receded from this areaa tribute to the formations power.We have arrived, Lady Minerva said breathlessly. Her eyes were glued to the tree in the middle, barely visible through the formations, and the apple on its branches. As were the eyes of the other two Lords.They had come a long way to reach here. They had traveled through seven rings of Trial Planet. They had defeated an immortal labyrinth guardian and overcome a series of deadly traps.Finally, they were herebut only one of them could claim the prize. Only one of them could have the Eighth Ring Conqueror title, and most importantly, the Dao Sprouting Pill. Jack didnt know what exactly that was, but he could see the limitless desire in the Lords eyes.He leaned towards Dorman. Hey, he asked in a low voice, what exactly does that apple do?The Dao Sprouting Pill? the young man replied in a whisper. Supposedly, it helps a peak E-Grade consolidate their Dao and grow their Dao Tree, reaching the D-Grade.Jack nodded. I see. So it speeds up the process?Not just that. The more Dao Roots one has, the stronger they are, but the harder it becomes to breakthrough. Since the Lords have fused three Dao Roots each, breaking through is not guaranteed at all. Even if they succeed, it could take them years or decades, which cuts away at their D-Grade cultivating time. Essentially, theyre in an all-out gamble. Either theyll reach the top of the world, or theyll end up mediocreand this pill is a shortcut over the greatest hurdle.I see. So theyll stop at nothing to get it.Dorman nodded. The title of this ring is good, of course, but the pill itself is the real reward.How does the System know who got the pill, though? Is it the first person to touch it?Getting Garden Rings Top Treasure was the prerequisite to getting the Eighth Ring Conqueror title. However, when traveling through the labyrinth previously, Lord Longsword had told Jack that only one person would get it.Exactly. Whoever touches it first will get both the pill and the titleand, by agreement between the factions, the battle ends there. Which means that, the moment the final formation falls, or even before that, the Lords will be battling each other. Thats why they are so tense.Jack looked around. Each Lord team was gathered aside, talking over their plans. The final bits of jovialty had already evaporated. Now, everyone was at war. Faces were stern, eyes were hard, fingers twitching.Jacks mind was also racing. To defeat the planetary overseer within a year, he had to take the absolute best road to power. Yet, from what he understood, becoming an immortal was a long, difficult process.He needed a shortcut. And here, in front of his face, was a legendary treasure offering just that. The problem was the existence of three super strong cultivators between him and the treasure.He wanted to join the battle for the Top Treasure. He wanted to face off against the Lords and defeat them, gaining the power he needed to save his people.But he couldnt.Jack had done his homework. Hed carefully observed the Lords and their followers in Trial Gardenand even before that. He had seen how they spoke and acted, dissected their personalities for weaknesses he could exploit.There were some. Bocor, for example, hated Jacks guts. He would be easy to bait into action. The ice witch always remained by Longswords side, if possible. Longsword himself was prideful and arrogantand also kind of a dick. He knew that Jack would never join his faction, so he wouldnt mind killing him if the opportunity arose.Lady Priya was a direct individual. She would not employ underhanded means. Chuto was eager to battle, so he could be lured into what he thought was single combat. Kareena used soul attacks, which Jack hoped to resist with his Indomitable Will.The Hand of God team was the most difficult to deal with. Lady Minerva was a calculating and cautious individual. Moreover, she didnt really care about her summoned beasts, so they couldnt be used against her. Vocrich knew Jack, and they were already enemies, sort ofbut he was too cold-blooded. Jack didnt feel confident in tricking him in any way. As for the dryad, she usually remained by Minervas side and wasnt particularly strong, but her healing powers were phenomenal. When a treasure hunter got a deep slash on his thigh facing a trap, she cured it almost instantly.The point was, Jack knew the Lords and their followers. He had watched and cataloged them. He had cards to play. What infuriated him was that his cards didnt seem enough. Despite having done his homework and actually invested effort in securing as many advantages for himself as possiblehe still came up short.Will I really have to give up the Top Treasure? he thought, gritting his teeth.He didnt lack understanding, Dao Skills, or titles. The only thing he lacked was levels. He was at 97. The Lords were all around 124. With each level representing five stat points, those were almost a hundred and fifty points of difference. He couldnt overcome that against the most talented people of the galaxy.He gritted his teeth harder. Throughout Trial Planet, he had struggled to grind levels. He had risen by forty-five since enteringa tremendous amount! But he had been chased out of Giant Ring. He had been ambushed and forced to escape Barbarian Ring after only hunting a tyrannosaurus. The desert of Village Ring had been relatively empty, and the space monsters of Space Ring had been too few and far betweenor too strong to hunt consistently. Even in Labyrinth Ring, bone monsters had been rare occurrences, not letting Jack rise by much. As if those werent enough, he was always on the clock, for one reason or another.Finally, Garden Ring wasalmost empty.Trial Planet was a treasure trove of experience and levels, and Jack had already gotten a ton of them, but there was a limit to how much he could grind when everyone was after him.When all was said and done, he was just too damn underleveled.He had good titles, yes, but so did the Lords. They were the prized children of B-Grade factions with a million years of experience in the System. They definitely had a way to feed their disciples the right titles. Against them, Jack was not at all optimistic of his chances.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Nvl1n.Perhaps he could exchange a blow or two with a Lord, but winning would be very difficult without using the Life Dropwhich he absolutely couldnt reveal, especially with the Hand of God snooping around. Given the Exploding Suns standing offer, the risk just wasnt worth iteven if it meant giving up on the Top Treasure.Can I sneak through? he wondered. If the Lords are busy fighting each other, maybe I can just rush to the fruit But this requires them being idiots, which is not the casewell, except for Bocor, maybe.With a spark of inspiration, he strangled the Dao flow to himself. It was now a trickle rather than a stream. Instantly, his power was reduced.Copy Jack raised a brow but complied. He came in with fists blazing. Jack tried to fight back, but he was too slow, too weak. Copy Jack was dominating now. His punches struck like mallets, his arms blurred at the limits of Jacks perception, and his defense was unbreakably rock-solid.It took everything Jack had to remain standing. Powerlessness creeped into him again. He didnt like this feeling. He hated it. It reminded him of the times before the System. He had no control. He was suffocating.Yet, he did not yield. He kept restraining the flow of his Dao. His defense was broken, his attacks were useless, his eyes couldnt follow the copys punches. Jack was toyed with like a toddler.And yet, he kept rising. Again and again, he threw himself at Copy Jack, only to fail miserably. Every failure only reminded him of his weakness. Every painful punch he received emphasized his helplessness. The power difference between them was just too much, and Copy Jack was too skilled. There was nothing Jack could do. Absolutely nothing. He even resorted to less dignified tactics, throwing dust at his opponents eyes or distracting him with odd movements. He tried to receive a punch on purpose just to throw a weaker one himself. He just wanted to land one strike.Everything failed. Before absolute power, all tricks were useless. Jack could do nothing. His weakness was a purposeless hole, a bottomless abyss in his chest. He felt lost and alone. Small.Copy Jack threw a Meteor Punch. Jacks chest caved in, his ribcage shattered, and his body was almost broken in half. He couldnt die in this place, so he quickly regenerated, but the feeling of weakness was even stronger than before, almost swallowing him entirely.His entire existence was predicated on power. If he was weak, he couldnt do battle. He couldnt use his fists or stand up for anything. He was useless. Helpless. Alone. Despondent.Only a tiny part of Jack remained now. Everything else was blanketed by mute despair. But this small, remaining part was the one focused on progress. It was the part forcing him to throw himself at this inevitable suffering repeatedly, analyzing his feelings.He kept at it for hours.Weakness seeped deeply into Jacks psyche. After a while, he felt true fear. Was this experience against his Dao? Was he harming himself in the name of progress?And yet, he kept at it. He took the risk. Deep despair drove him. The undeniable urge to obtain more power. The reasons why he fought passed through his mindso many faces, so many fears, a deep desireuntil he was just a weak, tired, little man. Another meteor punch came at his face. Finally, he almost gave up. The deep confidence he always felt wavered, and he knew that he couldnt resist Copy Jacks fist. It filled his entire world, a power far greater than anything he could muster.The tiny part remaining of Jack shone. Now!His Dao returned at full force, flooding him with power. He felt like a god. At the same time, the copys Dao flow was strangled, becoming a fraction of what it used to be. The situation was reversed. Copy Jacks meteor punch faltered. Suddenly, it was laughably weak and slow. Jack simply slapped it aside.Such a punch could never touch him. He held absolute power now.For a single moment, the sensation of crushing weakness and overwhelming power coexisted in his mind. He felt the strength brewing in his fist, but he also saw it from the Copys eyes. He saw his strongest punch from the other side.He was no longer the one facing an unstoppable god. He was the god, watching himself through the eyes of the weak. And his punch was so undeniably powerful. Only through weakness came true understanding of power.Jack smashed out. It was a Meteor Punch stronger than any other, fueled by the mirror image of the helplessness that he knew his opponent was feeling. It was absolute. Jack had never felt more certain that his strike would land and decimate.Finally This was true power.The copy tried to block but was blown away. The Meteor Punch tore through his crossed arms and chest, drilling a hole straight to the other side. The copys body flew away, spiraling out of control and into the distance.Of course, he couldnt die, either. The soul world warped, and the copy was standing before Jack again, safe and sound. But Jack remained in his after-punch stance. He hadnt moved. Understanding was flowing through his brain, filling it. Everything clicked together, and Jack laughed at the sky.I got it! he shouted. I finally got it! Thank you! Thank you, Copy Jack!The copy smiled and nodded. Both were pantingnot from physical exhaustion, which they couldnt feel here, but from spiritual one.Jack turned his gaze to the sky. The dark blue star was shivering. Slowly, tendrils extended out of it, connecting to the surrounding sky and pumping its essence out. The star lost its color, but it was stronger than everthe dark blue was just fused with the purple of the sun, the vastness of the sky.Jack felt so happy and relieved. He also felt deeply exhausted. He didnt even know how long hed meditated for.I have to go, he said with a big smile. Thanks again, Copy Jack. See you soon.The copy waved, and Jack opened his eyes in the real world, finding himself surrounded by figures, some sitting, some standing.Hey, Dorman said. Took you a while.Jack didnt reply. He only had eyes for the screens hovering before his face; especially the very first one.Congratulations! The Dao Root of Power had been successfully fused with your Dao Seed.Strength +20Constitution +20Will +20Congratulations! Meteor Punch II Meteor Punch III
