Chapter 688: Book 38 TBA
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Chapter 688: Book 38 TBA
The pieces were all falling into place and victory lay close at hand, but Zhen Shi would not allow himself to fall victim to complacency.
Securing Falling Rain was the key to ultimate victory, for the savage runt was a veritable font of usable Heavenly Energy, the details of which even Zhen Shi himself was unable to wholly comprehend. In all likelihood, Falling Rains ability to create usable Heavenly Energy arose from the unique combination of his innate Devourer Talent and his assimilation of the Heavenly Tear, the Elemental Spirit he so fortuitously stumbled across in Sanshu. Fate working against Zhen Shi, of this, he was most certain, and it irked him to know young Gen had been born and raised in such close proximity to that same Elemental Spirit but failed to ever catch its attention. Even if young Gen had Awakened to the Blessing of Earths Fire, in what way was he inferior to a tribal savage with more luck than sense? What was so special about Falling Rain, for him to repeatedly stumble across such valuable treasures and unique Insights that made him a persistent thorn in Zhen Shis side?
By all accounts, the runt should have long since been neutralized and tossed aside, his defeat all but certain after Zhen Shi personally took action in Sinuji. There, he destroyed Falling Rains Spiritual Weapons and shattered his Core, but even now, the memory was bittersweet. Gazing upon the broken and defeated foe, Zhen Shi had mentally stepped back to allow Gen a moment to savour his glory. This was the rustic hunters crowning achievement, to be used by one as brilliant and talented as Zhen Shi, and Gen yearned to see the despair and dejection in his hated foes eyes, but even in defeat, the savage runt refused to accept his fate.
For instead of fear, denial, or any other reasonable reaction, Falling Rains response to his indubitable defeat was to chuckle and laugh.
Even now, more than a year after the fact, Zhen Shi was still unable to understand where it all went wrong. That moment should have been the end of Falling Rain, beaten and broken on the fields of Sinuji for all to see, his choices limited to surrender or death. So much effort had been put into this endeavour, not to simply kill Falling Rain, but to defeat him and bring him closer to the Truth, to show him the error of his ways and enlighten him to a better path, one he would walk at Zhen Shis side. In the savage runts lowest moments, Zhen Shi exerted his Will to inform Falling Rain of his alternatives, to draw him towards the Razors Edge and find True Balance within, for never before had there been a more promising subject so suitable to share Zhen Shis Path.
And yet, when faced with the prospect of imminent demise, the crippled runt had the gall to laugh out loud for all to hear. Madness is what it was, sheer madness, yet within his lunacy lay a bedrock of brilliance, one Zhen Shi yearned to explore and comprehend. Chosen, Transcendent, or Defiled, regardless of which choice the boy made, it would have suited Zhen Shis purposes well enough. Becoming Chosen wouldve left Falling Rain with most of his sanity intact and made it easier to study his unique steps along his Path, but even if the savage were to give into his despair and wholly surrender to become a Transcendent, Zhen Shi would still have benefited greatly. Not all Transcendents were born equal, and a Transcendent born from a host bearing an Elemental Spirit would have been formidable indeed. Even one born in close proximity to the Elemental Spirit had been able to harness the ambient energies released by the Heavenly Tear to become an indomitable Water-Blessed specimen, one which Zhen Shi made good use of in the past year, so how powerful would the Transcendent have been if the host of the Heavenly Tear were to surrender?
Exceedingly powerful, if Zhen Shi were to guess, though any fool could have arrived at the same conclusion. Perhaps it might even succeed and Shatter the Void unlike any Transcendent who came before.
Alas, the most optimal scenario would have been if the savage succumbed to despair without wholly surrendering, becoming akin to the tribal Defiled who amalgamated their souls with the Spectres, as opposed to the Chosen who segregated their souls in order to make use of the Spectres without most of the unfortunate side-effects that presented alongside the melding process. Though turning Defiled would have left Falling Rain locked in the throes of madness and made extracting usable answers from the runt more difficult, this Path had the most synergy with his innate Talent, for his Path to Divinity would have been near effortless so long as he continued to consume Spectres and consolidate them into his soul without first using the Heavenly Tear to Cleanse them. This path would have firmly locked Falling Rain to Zhen Shis side, and it frustrated him to no end knowing that the runt would have long since become a pawn on his board if not for a maddening quirk of fate, but such was life, trials and tribulations without end.
Try as he might, Zhen Shi could not make sense of the Devourers Talent, aside from noting the process was remarkably similar to the birth of a Transcendent, wherein the host drew in a multitude of Spectres to fuel an unpredictable transformation process. A most useful Talent, especially if Zhen Shi could learn how to replicate it himself and maybe even harness it for his own use, but he would have to first seize the runt in order to uncover his secrets. Gens Talent of Oration, while not exactly common, was not all too rare either and only suitable for empowering others by convincing them to take on Spectres. Though Zhen Shi made good use of this Talent while he could to lure weak-willed fools to his cause, Gens well of passion and dedication to the cause has long since dried up and his remaining emotions were of no use. In contrast, if Zhen Shi were to uncover Falling Rains secrets, he could then empower himself without limit save for the number of ambient Spectres in existence, and he had long since mastered the art of Spectre creation by suffusing a subject with a careful balance of inescapable torment and unspoken hope. Despite his centuries of research and unparalleled intellect, True Divinity still lay out of Zhen Shis reach, but once he unravelled the secrets to Falling Rains success, he might well become the most powerful being alive on this plane of existence.
To this end, he could not afford any mistakes in his efforts to acquire Falling Rain, a feat made all the more difficult by the existence of the formidable Penitent Brotherhood.
Alas, he knew little of this monastic fraternity, for their downfall predated his birth in the Imperial Clan, an admission which came as something of a shock. The circumstances of his own birth should not have been surprising to him, but Zhen Shi knew he was not the true Zhen Shi, merely a Natal Soul created to take control of the malleable fool Gen. To have gaps in his knowledge was only understandable, as there was no sense in dedicating so much effort on a mere puppet, so Zhen Shi focused on controlling his host and arranging the assault on the Brotherhood as information from his true self trickled in.
It would have been much faster to have Gen coordinate with Vyakhya directly, but the excommunicated Wisdom had grown prideful in his exile, seeing himself as an equal to Zhen Shi rather than the defeated dog he truly was. Ego was the reason why the former Wisdom played his games, recruiting new monks from the ranks of the Defiled and Chosen while withholding vital information from Zhen Shi until the timing suited Vyakhyas own needs. Even the promising Goujian had fallen under the monks sway, yet another pawn taken from Zhen Shis own board, one ruined by the stubborn ineptitude of a man too proud to admit his own mistakes. Vyakhyas Path to Divinity focused too much on the body at the expense of the mind and soul, and it was laughable to watch the arrogant monk and his deluded student Goujian stumble about with concepts they could not comprehend. Such fools to believe that their admittedly powerful physiques could be considered a Spiritual Heart, blind to the fact that increased physical abilities were merely a byproduct of the refinement process as opposed to the actual goal.
No matter though. Goujian was never Zhen Shis first choice, as he was too old to make proper use of, and while there were still a handful of other promising pawns, none of them would matter once he had Falling Rain in his hands again.
Of course, Gen was also a useful puppet, one whose strengths far outweighed his minor shortcomings, which was why he would be Emperor while Falling Rain would merely be a subject to study, but all that would come in good time.
According to Vyakhya, the Abbot was the Brotherhoods sole Divinity now that the Destroyer had been taken off the board, and the former Wisdom was confident in his ability to contain his former friend and associate. Erring on the side of caution, Zhen Shi enlisted the help of the three Divinities standing before him, all trusted allies to the cause who would be first to benefit from the acquisition of Falling Rain. The first was a hairy, hulking Ancestral Mammoth whom Zhen Shi himself designated as the Behemoth, a towering figure the Imperial Clan had yet to come into contact with. With his colossal frame, rough hewn features, and enormous tusks jutting out from under his bushy, brown beard, there was nothing pleasant about the Behemoths appearance, while the crude sledgehammer crafted from the bones of a gargantuan beast left no room for doubt. A Defiled Ancestral Beast, the Behemoth hailed from the northernmost frozen wastes, the Chieftain of his own tribe where his powerful half-blood spawn formed the backbone of his forces, all of whom inherited his prodigious innate strength and size. Though quite mad and nearly blind from living so many centuries in near pitch-black darkness, he was fiercely loyal to Zhen Shi after being defeated in single combat, a simple task considering the Behemoths atrophied intellect and lacking comprehension of the Dao. Pure physical might and durability might seem impressive to a mere mortal, but as a Divinity, the Behemoth was far from impressive, a shortcoming Zhen Shi hoped to make up for once Falling Rain was firmly in hand.
The second Divinity was one native to the Empire, someone who helped the original Zhen Shi escape from Imperial pursuit all those centuries ago, and had remained undetected ever since. An Ancestral Badger by the name of Shih Yang, the formidable woman had remained a staunch supporter of the Treaty and trusted ally to the Imperial Clan until the Defiled were knocking at the gates of the Western Wall, at which point she revealed her true allegiance alongside that of her formidable son, the Pirate King Huanhuzi. Without the bandits help, it would have taken Zhen Shis forces significantly longer to overrun the Imperial defenders and take a foothold in the Western Provinces, even with the Mataram Clan sabotaging the defences from within, and so Zhen Shi was suitably polite to his benefactor and ally.
Last, but not least, was yet another Imperial Native, Mataram YuKon, former King of the Mataram Clan, ancestor of Mataram YuChun, and Zhen Shis most successful Disciple to date. Born a lowly branch clan member who dreamed of greatness, YuKons venomous personality marked him as a pawn to be used, so Zhen Shi contacted the lowly labourer and guided him along the Path. Though merely one of many such pawns, YuKon was the first and only one to ascend to Divinity thus far, for even though Zhen Shi was able to supply them with the necessary guidance to walk them through the process and direct them to much needed resources to help them along, even he himself was unsure how to successfully Shatter the Void with a one-hundred percent chance of survival. As such, YuKons success was something of a fluke, but his greatest value lay in his ability to take control of the Mataram Clan and lay the groundwork for future generations to join the cause, all without the Imperial Clan ever taking note of his existence or ascension. Had Yo Ling succeeded in Sanshu, the bandit might well have become another of Zhen Shis successful Disciples, but the hateful Falling Rain had put an end to that. Goujian was yet another candidate, but in his weakness, hed given himself over to Vyakhya, meaning Zhen Shi would eventually have to deal with the fool before matters got too out of hand.
All this was a matter for the future though, so he instead focused on the task at hand. These three Divinities were not the strongest of his allies, but they were the most loyal ones Zhen Shi could call upon, and they were also the least likely to be noticed on the journey to collect Falling Rain. Though he would have preferred to have a fourth Divinity come with them, he could not afford to pull too many away from the front lines, lest the hateful Imperial Clan become tempted to disregard their own treaty and strike without warning. The Behemoth had power enough to overcome any threat the Divine Turtle might present, given how it had only recently ascended and would also be sorely lacking in comprehension. Shih Yang was there to keep Vyakhya honest, or at least as honest as the snake could be, while YuKon would deal with any unpleasant surprises, like the possibility of a fully recovered Abbot playing the pig to eat the tiger. Having long since identified most of the Divinities guarding Falling Rain, Zhen Shi was confident the boy would have two with him at most, with the others dead, injured, or guarding the Saints Tribulation Mountains and Western Border. Even if Falling Rain had more Divinities to protect him, it shouldnt matter too much, as the greatest threat lay not in their destructive prowess, but rather in the speed with which they could bring the runt away. Killing Falling Rain was easy enough, so long as Zhen Shi was willing to sacrifice another Divinity, but if that were the case, he would much rather sacrifice Vyakhya than any of the Divinities loyal to his cause.
No, the Divinities were only there to ensure Falling Rain couldnt escape and keep his own Divinity Protectors from breaking the Treaty without retribution. If all went well however, not a single Divinity would even lift a finger in battle, for Zhen Shi was loath to unleash such destructive power upon the lands he intended to conquer, even if the destruction could be contained to the Arid Wastes. Instead, the success of this mission largely depended on the Wraiths and Chosen of Heaven, one thousand hand-picked Warriors whose strengths ranged from notable Expert to Half-Step Divinity. This was the definition of an Elite force, packed full of the strongest Wraiths at his beck and call as well as the most powerful and disciplined Warriors of the Mataram Clan, all of whom were clad in various sets of Runic armour. According to Vyakhya, the Brotherhood monks were largely pacifists, but Zhen Shi had seen one such monk dispatch two powerful armoured Transcendents in a single move, so he refused to leave anything to chance. Unless the Brotherhood comprised of nothing but Peak Experts and Half-Step Divinities, then victory was all but assured, but death and destruction was not the goal here today, a fact he repeated once more, just in case.
Remember, Zhen Shi said, fighting the urge to look at any of the Divinities lest they think his warning for them, Falling Rain must be taken alive, no matter the cost.
Hmph. Cutting a stately figure in his flowing Western robes, Mataram YuKon seemed like nobility personified, right down to his superior, holier-than-thou attitude. The Warriors of the Mataram Clan are second to none, but only those of the royal blood may command them. An odd stance to take considering YuKon himself was a branch clansman, meaning his ancestors had likely been inducted into the Clan at some point or another. These days, YuKons kinsmen claimed they were descended from the blood of Kings, but the true Mataram Bloodline had been ended by YuKon himself, when he ascended to the role of Patriarch and had the relatives of his rivals all murdered, right down to the last man, woman, and child. Even the chickens and dogs had not been spared, as Zhen Shi remembered his pointed amusement at how YuKon had interpreted the common idiom as a literal command.
And now this uppity, low-born pretender had the gall to look down on Zhen Shi, just because this Natal Soul was inhabiting the body of a peasant. Though this Sovereign has changed in form, Zhen Shi Sent, while graciously apologizing out loud for overstepping his bounds, I am still your Mentor and benefactor, so you would do well to mind your manners, little worm.
Pride and disdain flashed across the Divinitys eyes, a pretender like all others who dare lay claim to the title. Others would call Zhen Shi himself a Divinity, but he cared not for the appellation, for it reeked of falsehood and needless pomp and pageantry. No doubt chosen for that very reason, to flatter and fawn over those who Shattered the Void, yet failed and faltered at the final step, only to plummet from the true heights of the Heavens above back down to the mortal world below. Though they stood above all others, these so-called Divinities were still mortals at the core, subject to the rigours of time and the laws of this world, just like any other.
No offence taken, Junior Brother, YuKon said, replying to what was said out loud and ignoring Zhen Shis Sending. This Senior has been remiss however, for surely the future Emperor should have more substantial ties to the Mataram Clan. I shall speak with my family about finding you a suitable wife, one with the requisite prestige to lift you from your otherwise humble origins.
Yes, came the admission, before Gen could stop it. It was horrible. Wrapping his arms around his sweet, precious Qing-Qing, he trembled in her warm embrace. You were dead, and so was Da, and Ma, and everyone else.
All dead by your own hand, no less.
...What?
Unable to understand what Qing-Qing just said, Gen leaned back to study her beautiful face, only to see her familiar soft smile waiting to greet him. You dont remember? She asked, in that same playful tone she used to use to tease him when they were younger and the best of friends. You killed them, Gen. Beat your Pa bloody, you did, with your own two hands no less. How did it feel? There was no mockery in her tone, as if she were asking how his day went, but Gen recoiled in terror all the same.
Youre not Qing-Qing.
Of course not silly. As she sat up in bed, the sheets slipped away from her naked body to reveal the injury that killed her, a set of ugly, rotting lacerations that went deep into her belly and oozed pus and blood as she ran her fingers against them. And these? Did you forget these too? You didnt do this, but you might as well have.
Leaping out of the bed with a strangled cry, he bolted out the bedroom only to find Pa and Ma waiting for him in the living room, their bloodied, bloated features exactly as he last saw them. Why, son? Pa asked, his single working eye unable to focus with half his skull caved in, and cheeks purple from lack of air. Whyd ye kill us? Were we bad parents?
We loved you so, Ma said, raising her mangled hands to stroke his cheek, and he was unable to tear his eyes away from her array of injuries, cataloguing how shed been beaten and abused by Laughing Dragons Firebrands before they roasted her alive on a spit. We still love you, even after all ye done.
Im sorry, Gen sobbed, reaching up to take his mothers hand only for her to wince and jerk away, for his bladed, metallic fingers had inadvertently severed what was left of her maimed hands. Oh Heavens above, Im so sorry.
Sorry aint gonna cut it now, is it? The baritone voice came from behind and Gen pivoted to see poor Beis father laid out next to the stove, while Bei herself carved strips of flesh from his chest. Sorry aint gonna bring us back, the butchered body said, watching him as he lay there helpless and afraid. Not a single one. Were all dead thanks to you.
Dead because of your weakness, Deng said, as his twisted, broken body dragged itself through the front door.
Dead because of your failures, Kash chimed in, and Gen remembered how the three of them had always been inseparable until he killed them both with his bare hands.
Join us, son. Pa said.
Join us. Gingerly taking his wrist with her remaining hand, Ma pulled Gen close for a hug.
Join us. Bei and Qing-Qing completed the circle, and Gen could not bring himself to move away from their warm embrace. Join us.
Surrender.
A rumbling growl sets his bones to shaking as it pierced him to his core, and his metallic hands chimed as the world came into focus around him once more. Gone were his parents and everyone else hed just seen, and instead he was surrounded by familiar faces he could not quite place, all of them glancing around in disoriented confusion so similar to his. The massive tiger emitted yet another raspy snarl, and Gen felt the sand shifting beneath his feet, angered by this challenge to its authority. The old, decrepit monk appeared in his sights, studying him with a curious expression. Nightmare Wurms, he Sent, with a shrug that wasnt quite an apology. Quite deadly, and one of only a few invertebrates capable of utilizing Chi. To devastating effect, as you no doubt experienced first hand, able to incite dread, horror, and despair in their prey through the use of mental illusions. They werent always so vicious, but they developed a taste for darker Heavenly Energy and learned how to best develop it. Yet another mis-step along this monks Path, though the Abbot is not without blame, for it was the development of his Spiritual Garden which led us down this unfortunate track.
Unable to understand half of what the monk was talking about, Gen tried to find his bearings and understand why he was out in the desert with so many strangers, but for the life of him, he couldnt
FOOLISH WORM...
Glaring at Vyakhya, Zhen Shi studied the crafty Wisdom for long seconds before deigning to speak, his words chosen with the utmost of care. You were unaware of the threat?
I knew of the nest, Vyakhya replied, with yet another half-shrug. But they are usually dormant this time of the year. Someone must have recently passed by and roused them from their slumber, or perhaps our group was too tempting a target to pass up.
Lies and deception. The monk wanted to see how Zhen Shi would react, and now he knew this form was susceptible to these insidious mental attacks. The tiger was more than capable of warding off the threat, but it didnt act until Vyakhya allowed it to. The weakness was Gens, not Zhen Shis, but he was vulnerable all the same, a shortcoming with no simple solution in sight. Unwilling to fall out with the Wisdom here, Zhen Shi feigned acceptance and gestured for the monk to continue on. There would be a reckoning in days to come, but until Falling Rain was in hand, Zhen Shi had no choice but to tolerate Vyakhyas insolence.
Once Zhen Shi unravelled the secret to controlling limitless amounts of Heavenly Energy, no one would stand in his way. Not Falling Rain, not Vyakhya, not even the Dog Emperor himself, for Zhen Shi would be unto a True Divinity, and then this world would know true suffering.
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Chapter 688: Book 38 TBA
The pieces were all falling into place and victory lay close at hand, but Zhen Shi would not allow himself to fall victim to complacency.
Securing Falling Rain was the key to ultimate victory, for the savage runt was a veritable font of usable Heavenly Energy, the details of which even Zhen Shi himself was unable to wholly comprehend. In all likelihood, Falling Rains ability to create usable Heavenly Energy arose from the unique combination of his innate Devourer Talent and his assimilation of the Heavenly Tear, the Elemental Spirit he so fortuitously stumbled across in Sanshu. Fate working against Zhen Shi, of this, he was most certain, and it irked him to know young Gen had been born and raised in such close proximity to that same Elemental Spirit but failed to ever catch its attention. Even if young Gen had Awakened to the Blessing of Earths Fire, in what way was he inferior to a tribal savage with more luck than sense? What was so special about Falling Rain, for him to repeatedly stumble across such valuable treasures and unique Insights that made him a persistent thorn in Zhen Shis side?
By all accounts, the runt should have long since been neutralized and tossed aside, his defeat all but certain after Zhen Shi personally took action in Sinuji. There, he destroyed Falling Rains Spiritual Weapons and shattered his Core, but even now, the memory was bittersweet. Gazing upon the broken and defeated foe, Zhen Shi had mentally stepped back to allow Gen a moment to savour his glory. This was the rustic hunters crowning achievement, to be used by one as brilliant and talented as Zhen Shi, and Gen yearned to see the despair and dejection in his hated foes eyes, but even in defeat, the savage runt refused to accept his fate.
For instead of fear, denial, or any other reasonable reaction, Falling Rains response to his indubitable defeat was to chuckle and laugh.
Even now, more than a year after the fact, Zhen Shi was still unable to understand where it all went wrong. That moment should have been the end of Falling Rain, beaten and broken on the fields of Sinuji for all to see, his choices limited to surrender or death. So much effort had been put into this endeavour, not to simply kill Falling Rain, but to defeat him and bring him closer to the Truth, to show him the error of his ways and enlighten him to a better path, one he would walk at Zhen Shis side. In the savage runts lowest moments, Zhen Shi exerted his Will to inform Falling Rain of his alternatives, to draw him towards the Razors Edge and find True Balance within, for never before had there been a more promising subject so suitable to share Zhen Shis Path.
And yet, when faced with the prospect of imminent demise, the crippled runt had the gall to laugh out loud for all to hear. Madness is what it was, sheer madness, yet within his lunacy lay a bedrock of brilliance, one Zhen Shi yearned to explore and comprehend. Chosen, Transcendent, or Defiled, regardless of which choice the boy made, it would have suited Zhen Shis purposes well enough. Becoming Chosen wouldve left Falling Rain with most of his sanity intact and made it easier to study his unique steps along his Path, but even if the savage were to give into his despair and wholly surrender to become a Transcendent, Zhen Shi would still have benefited greatly. Not all Transcendents were born equal, and a Transcendent born from a host bearing an Elemental Spirit would have been formidable indeed. Even one born in close proximity to the Elemental Spirit had been able to harness the ambient energies released by the Heavenly Tear to become an indomitable Water-Blessed specimen, one which Zhen Shi made good use of in the past year, so how powerful would the Transcendent have been if the host of the Heavenly Tear were to surrender?
Exceedingly powerful, if Zhen Shi were to guess, though any fool could have arrived at the same conclusion. Perhaps it might even succeed and Shatter the Void unlike any Transcendent who came before.
Alas, the most optimal scenario would have been if the savage succumbed to despair without wholly surrendering, becoming akin to the tribal Defiled who amalgamated their souls with the Spectres, as opposed to the Chosen who segregated their souls in order to make use of the Spectres without most of the unfortunate side-effects that presented alongside the melding process. Though turning Defiled would have left Falling Rain locked in the throes of madness and made extracting usable answers from the runt more difficult, this Path had the most synergy with his innate Talent, for his Path to Divinity would have been near effortless so long as he continued to consume Spectres and consolidate them into his soul without first using the Heavenly Tear to Cleanse them. This path would have firmly locked Falling Rain to Zhen Shis side, and it frustrated him to no end knowing that the runt would have long since become a pawn on his board if not for a maddening quirk of fate, but such was life, trials and tribulations without end.
Try as he might, Zhen Shi could not make sense of the Devourers Talent, aside from noting the process was remarkably similar to the birth of a Transcendent, wherein the host drew in a multitude of Spectres to fuel an unpredictable transformation process. A most useful Talent, especially if Zhen Shi could learn how to replicate it himself and maybe even harness it for his own use, but he would have to first seize the runt in order to uncover his secrets. Gens Talent of Oration, while not exactly common, was not all too rare either and only suitable for empowering others by convincing them to take on Spectres. Though Zhen Shi made good use of this Talent while he could to lure weak-willed fools to his cause, Gens well of passion and dedication to the cause has long since dried up and his remaining emotions were of no use. In contrast, if Zhen Shi were to uncover Falling Rains secrets, he could then empower himself without limit save for the number of ambient Spectres in existence, and he had long since mastered the art of Spectre creation by suffusing a subject with a careful balance of inescapable torment and unspoken hope. Despite his centuries of research and unparalleled intellect, True Divinity still lay out of Zhen Shis reach, but once he unravelled the secrets to Falling Rains success, he might well become the most powerful being alive on this plane of existence.
To this end, he could not afford any mistakes in his efforts to acquire Falling Rain, a feat made all the more difficult by the existence of the formidable Penitent Brotherhood.
Alas, he knew little of this monastic fraternity, for their downfall predated his birth in the Imperial Clan, an admission which came as something of a shock. The circumstances of his own birth should not have been surprising to him, but Zhen Shi knew he was not the true Zhen Shi, merely a Natal Soul created to take control of the malleable fool Gen. To have gaps in his knowledge was only understandable, as there was no sense in dedicating so much effort on a mere puppet, so Zhen Shi focused on controlling his host and arranging the assault on the Brotherhood as information from his true self trickled in.
It would have been much faster to have Gen coordinate with Vyakhya directly, but the excommunicated Wisdom had grown prideful in his exile, seeing himself as an equal to Zhen Shi rather than the defeated dog he truly was. Ego was the reason why the former Wisdom played his games, recruiting new monks from the ranks of the Defiled and Chosen while withholding vital information from Zhen Shi until the timing suited Vyakhyas own needs. Even the promising Goujian had fallen under the monks sway, yet another pawn taken from Zhen Shis own board, one ruined by the stubborn ineptitude of a man too proud to admit his own mistakes. Vyakhyas Path to Divinity focused too much on the body at the expense of the mind and soul, and it was laughable to watch the arrogant monk and his deluded student Goujian stumble about with concepts they could not comprehend. Such fools to believe that their admittedly powerful physiques could be considered a Spiritual Heart, blind to the fact that increased physical abilities were merely a byproduct of the refinement process as opposed to the actual goal.
No matter though. Goujian was never Zhen Shis first choice, as he was too old to make proper use of, and while there were still a handful of other promising pawns, none of them would matter once he had Falling Rain in his hands again.
Of course, Gen was also a useful puppet, one whose strengths far outweighed his minor shortcomings, which was why he would be Emperor while Falling Rain would merely be a subject to study, but all that would come in good time.
According to Vyakhya, the Abbot was the Brotherhoods sole Divinity now that the Destroyer had been taken off the board, and the former Wisdom was confident in his ability to contain his former friend and associate. Erring on the side of caution, Zhen Shi enlisted the help of the three Divinities standing before him, all trusted allies to the cause who would be first to benefit from the acquisition of Falling Rain. The first was a hairy, hulking Ancestral Mammoth whom Zhen Shi himself designated as the Behemoth, a towering figure the Imperial Clan had yet to come into contact with. With his colossal frame, rough hewn features, and enormous tusks jutting out from under his bushy, brown beard, there was nothing pleasant about the Behemoths appearance, while the crude sledgehammer crafted from the bones of a gargantuan beast left no room for doubt. A Defiled Ancestral Beast, the Behemoth hailed from the northernmost frozen wastes, the Chieftain of his own tribe where his powerful half-blood spawn formed the backbone of his forces, all of whom inherited his prodigious innate strength and size. Though quite mad and nearly blind from living so many centuries in near pitch-black darkness, he was fiercely loyal to Zhen Shi after being defeated in single combat, a simple task considering the Behemoths atrophied intellect and lacking comprehension of the Dao. Pure physical might and durability might seem impressive to a mere mortal, but as a Divinity, the Behemoth was far from impressive, a shortcoming Zhen Shi hoped to make up for once Falling Rain was firmly in hand.
The second Divinity was one native to the Empire, someone who helped the original Zhen Shi escape from Imperial pursuit all those centuries ago, and had remained undetected ever since. An Ancestral Badger by the name of Shih Yang, the formidable woman had remained a staunch supporter of the Treaty and trusted ally to the Imperial Clan until the Defiled were knocking at the gates of the Western Wall, at which point she revealed her true allegiance alongside that of her formidable son, the Pirate King Huanhuzi. Without the bandits help, it would have taken Zhen Shis forces significantly longer to overrun the Imperial defenders and take a foothold in the Western Provinces, even with the Mataram Clan sabotaging the defences from within, and so Zhen Shi was suitably polite to his benefactor and ally.
Last, but not least, was yet another Imperial Native, Mataram YuKon, former King of the Mataram Clan, ancestor of Mataram YuChun, and Zhen Shis most successful Disciple to date. Born a lowly branch clan member who dreamed of greatness, YuKons venomous personality marked him as a pawn to be used, so Zhen Shi contacted the lowly labourer and guided him along the Path. Though merely one of many such pawns, YuKon was the first and only one to ascend to Divinity thus far, for even though Zhen Shi was able to supply them with the necessary guidance to walk them through the process and direct them to much needed resources to help them along, even he himself was unsure how to successfully Shatter the Void with a one-hundred percent chance of survival. As such, YuKons success was something of a fluke, but his greatest value lay in his ability to take control of the Mataram Clan and lay the groundwork for future generations to join the cause, all without the Imperial Clan ever taking note of his existence or ascension. Had Yo Ling succeeded in Sanshu, the bandit might well have become another of Zhen Shis successful Disciples, but the hateful Falling Rain had put an end to that. Goujian was yet another candidate, but in his weakness, hed given himself over to Vyakhya, meaning Zhen Shi would eventually have to deal with the fool before matters got too out of hand.
All this was a matter for the future though, so he instead focused on the task at hand. These three Divinities were not the strongest of his allies, but they were the most loyal ones Zhen Shi could call upon, and they were also the least likely to be noticed on the journey to collect Falling Rain. Though he would have preferred to have a fourth Divinity come with them, he could not afford to pull too many away from the front lines, lest the hateful Imperial Clan become tempted to disregard their own treaty and strike without warning. The Behemoth had power enough to overcome any threat the Divine Turtle might present, given how it had only recently ascended and would also be sorely lacking in comprehension. Shih Yang was there to keep Vyakhya honest, or at least as honest as the snake could be, while YuKon would deal with any unpleasant surprises, like the possibility of a fully recovered Abbot playing the pig to eat the tiger. Having long since identified most of the Divinities guarding Falling Rain, Zhen Shi was confident the boy would have two with him at most, with the others dead, injured, or guarding the Saints Tribulation Mountains and Western Border. Even if Falling Rain had more Divinities to protect him, it shouldnt matter too much, as the greatest threat lay not in their destructive prowess, but rather in the speed with which they could bring the runt away. Killing Falling Rain was easy enough, so long as Zhen Shi was willing to sacrifice another Divinity, but if that were the case, he would much rather sacrifice Vyakhya than any of the Divinities loyal to his cause.
No, the Divinities were only there to ensure Falling Rain couldnt escape and keep his own Divinity Protectors from breaking the Treaty without retribution. If all went well however, not a single Divinity would even lift a finger in battle, for Zhen Shi was loath to unleash such destructive power upon the lands he intended to conquer, even if the destruction could be contained to the Arid Wastes. Instead, the success of this mission largely depended on the Wraiths and Chosen of Heaven, one thousand hand-picked Warriors whose strengths ranged from notable Expert to Half-Step Divinity. This was the definition of an Elite force, packed full of the strongest Wraiths at his beck and call as well as the most powerful and disciplined Warriors of the Mataram Clan, all of whom were clad in various sets of Runic armour. According to Vyakhya, the Brotherhood monks were largely pacifists, but Zhen Shi had seen one such monk dispatch two powerful armoured Transcendents in a single move, so he refused to leave anything to chance. Unless the Brotherhood comprised of nothing but Peak Experts and Half-Step Divinities, then victory was all but assured, but death and destruction was not the goal here today, a fact he repeated once more, just in case.
Remember, Zhen Shi said, fighting the urge to look at any of the Divinities lest they think his warning for them, Falling Rain must be taken alive, no matter the cost.
Hmph. Cutting a stately figure in his flowing Western robes, Mataram YuKon seemed like nobility personified, right down to his superior, holier-than-thou attitude. The Warriors of the Mataram Clan are second to none, but only those of the royal blood may command them. An odd stance to take considering YuKon himself was a branch clansman, meaning his ancestors had likely been inducted into the Clan at some point or another. These days, YuKons kinsmen claimed they were descended from the blood of Kings, but the true Mataram Bloodline had been ended by YuKon himself, when he ascended to the role of Patriarch and had the relatives of his rivals all murdered, right down to the last man, woman, and child. Even the chickens and dogs had not been spared, as Zhen Shi remembered his pointed amusement at how YuKon had interpreted the common idiom as a literal command.
And now this uppity, low-born pretender had the gall to look down on Zhen Shi, just because this Natal Soul was inhabiting the body of a peasant. Though this Sovereign has changed in form, Zhen Shi Sent, while graciously apologizing out loud for overstepping his bounds, I am still your Mentor and benefactor, so you would do well to mind your manners, little worm.
Pride and disdain flashed across the Divinitys eyes, a pretender like all others who dare lay claim to the title. Others would call Zhen Shi himself a Divinity, but he cared not for the appellation, for it reeked of falsehood and needless pomp and pageantry. No doubt chosen for that very reason, to flatter and fawn over those who Shattered the Void, yet failed and faltered at the final step, only to plummet from the true heights of the Heavens above back down to the mortal world below. Though they stood above all others, these so-called Divinities were still mortals at the core, subject to the rigours of time and the laws of this world, just like any other.
No offence taken, Junior Brother, YuKon said, replying to what was said out loud and ignoring Zhen Shis Sending. This Senior has been remiss however, for surely the future Emperor should have more substantial ties to the Mataram Clan. I shall speak with my family about finding you a suitable wife, one with the requisite prestige to lift you from your otherwise humble origins.
Yes, came the admission, before Gen could stop it. It was horrible. Wrapping his arms around his sweet, precious Qing-Qing, he trembled in her warm embrace. You were dead, and so was Da, and Ma, and everyone else.
All dead by your own hand, no less.
...What?
Unable to understand what Qing-Qing just said, Gen leaned back to study her beautiful face, only to see her familiar soft smile waiting to greet him. You dont remember? She asked, in that same playful tone she used to use to tease him when they were younger and the best of friends. You killed them, Gen. Beat your Pa bloody, you did, with your own two hands no less. How did it feel? There was no mockery in her tone, as if she were asking how his day went, but Gen recoiled in terror all the same.
Youre not Qing-Qing.
Of course not silly. As she sat up in bed, the sheets slipped away from her naked body to reveal the injury that killed her, a set of ugly, rotting lacerations that went deep into her belly and oozed pus and blood as she ran her fingers against them. And these? Did you forget these too? You didnt do this, but you might as well have.
Leaping out of the bed with a strangled cry, he bolted out the bedroom only to find Pa and Ma waiting for him in the living room, their bloodied, bloated features exactly as he last saw them. Why, son? Pa asked, his single working eye unable to focus with half his skull caved in, and cheeks purple from lack of air. Whyd ye kill us? Were we bad parents?
We loved you so, Ma said, raising her mangled hands to stroke his cheek, and he was unable to tear his eyes away from her array of injuries, cataloguing how shed been beaten and abused by Laughing Dragons Firebrands before they roasted her alive on a spit. We still love you, even after all ye done.
Im sorry, Gen sobbed, reaching up to take his mothers hand only for her to wince and jerk away, for his bladed, metallic fingers had inadvertently severed what was left of her maimed hands. Oh Heavens above, Im so sorry.
Sorry aint gonna cut it now, is it? The baritone voice came from behind and Gen pivoted to see poor Beis father laid out next to the stove, while Bei herself carved strips of flesh from his chest. Sorry aint gonna bring us back, the butchered body said, watching him as he lay there helpless and afraid. Not a single one. Were all dead thanks to you.
Dead because of your weakness, Deng said, as his twisted, broken body dragged itself through the front door.
Dead because of your failures, Kash chimed in, and Gen remembered how the three of them had always been inseparable until he killed them both with his bare hands.
Join us, son. Pa said.
Join us. Gingerly taking his wrist with her remaining hand, Ma pulled Gen close for a hug.
Join us. Bei and Qing-Qing completed the circle, and Gen could not bring himself to move away from their warm embrace. Join us.
Surrender.
A rumbling growl sets his bones to shaking as it pierced him to his core, and his metallic hands chimed as the world came into focus around him once more. Gone were his parents and everyone else hed just seen, and instead he was surrounded by familiar faces he could not quite place, all of them glancing around in disoriented confusion so similar to his. The massive tiger emitted yet another raspy snarl, and Gen felt the sand shifting beneath his feet, angered by this challenge to its authority. The old, decrepit monk appeared in his sights, studying him with a curious expression. Nightmare Wurms, he Sent, with a shrug that wasnt quite an apology. Quite deadly, and one of only a few invertebrates capable of utilizing Chi. To devastating effect, as you no doubt experienced first hand, able to incite dread, horror, and despair in their prey through the use of mental illusions. They werent always so vicious, but they developed a taste for darker Heavenly Energy and learned how to best develop it. Yet another mis-step along this monks Path, though the Abbot is not without blame, for it was the development of his Spiritual Garden which led us down this unfortunate track.
Unable to understand half of what the monk was talking about, Gen tried to find his bearings and understand why he was out in the desert with so many strangers, but for the life of him, he couldnt
FOOLISH WORM...
Glaring at Vyakhya, Zhen Shi studied the crafty Wisdom for long seconds before deigning to speak, his words chosen with the utmost of care. You were unaware of the threat?
I knew of the nest, Vyakhya replied, with yet another half-shrug. But they are usually dormant this time of the year. Someone must have recently passed by and roused them from their slumber, or perhaps our group was too tempting a target to pass up.
Lies and deception. The monk wanted to see how Zhen Shi would react, and now he knew this form was susceptible to these insidious mental attacks. The tiger was more than capable of warding off the threat, but it didnt act until Vyakhya allowed it to. The weakness was Gens, not Zhen Shis, but he was vulnerable all the same, a shortcoming with no simple solution in sight. Unwilling to fall out with the Wisdom here, Zhen Shi feigned acceptance and gestured for the monk to continue on. There would be a reckoning in days to come, but until Falling Rain was in hand, Zhen Shi had no choice but to tolerate Vyakhyas insolence.
Once Zhen Shi unravelled the secret to controlling limitless amounts of Heavenly Energy, no one would stand in his way. Not Falling Rain, not Vyakhya, not even the Dog Emperor himself, for Zhen Shi would be unto a True Divinity, and then this world would know true suffering.
Chapter Memenove(l)bi(n.)com
Chapter 688: Book 38 TBAThe pieces were all falling into place and victory lay close at hand, but Zhen Shi would not allow himself to fall victim to complacency.Securing Falling Rain was the key to ultimate victory, for the savage runt was a veritable font of usable Heavenly Energy, the details of which even Zhen Shi himself was unable to wholly comprehend. In all likelihood, Falling Rains ability to create usable Heavenly Energy arose from the unique combination of his innate Devourer Talent and his assimilation of the Heavenly Tear, the Elemental Spirit he so fortuitously stumbled across in Sanshu. Fate working against Zhen Shi, of this, he was most certain, and it irked him to know young Gen had been born and raised in such close proximity to that same Elemental Spirit but failed to ever catch its attention. Even if young Gen had Awakened to the Blessing of Earths Fire, in what way was he inferior to a tribal savage with more luck than sense? What was so special about Falling Rain, for him to repeatedly stumble across such valuable treasures and unique Insights that made him a persistent thorn in Zhen Shis side?By all accounts, the runt should have long since been neutralized and tossed aside, his defeat all but certain after Zhen Shi personally took action in Sinuji. There, he destroyed Falling Rains Spiritual Weapons and shattered his Core, but even now, the memory was bittersweet. Gazing upon the broken and defeated foe, Zhen Shi had mentally stepped back to allow Gen a moment to savour his glory. This was the rustic hunters crowning achievement, to be used by one as brilliant and talented as Zhen Shi, and Gen yearned to see the despair and dejection in his hated foes eyes, but even in defeat, the savage runt refused to accept his fate.For instead of fear, denial, or any other reasonable reaction, Falling Rains response to his indubitable defeat was to chuckle and laugh.Even now, more than a year after the fact, Zhen Shi was still unable to understand where it all went wrong. That moment should have been the end of Falling Rain, beaten and broken on the fields of Sinuji for all to see, his choices limited to surrender or death. So much effort had been put into this endeavour, not to simply kill Falling Rain, but to defeat him and bring him closer to the Truth, to show him the error of his ways and enlighten him to a better path, one he would walk at Zhen Shis side. In the savage runts lowest moments, Zhen Shi exerted his Will to inform Falling Rain of his alternatives, to draw him towards the Razors Edge and find True Balance within, for never before had there been a more promising subject so suitable to share Zhen Shis Path.And yet, when faced with the prospect of imminent demise, the crippled runt had the gall to laugh out loud for all to hear. Madness is what it was, sheer madness, yet within his lunacy lay a bedrock of brilliance, one Zhen Shi yearned to explore and comprehend. Chosen, Transcendent, or Defiled, regardless of which choice the boy made, it would have suited Zhen Shis purposes well enough. Becoming Chosen wouldve left Falling Rain with most of his sanity intact and made it easier to study his unique steps along his Path, but even if the savage were to give into his despair and wholly surrender to become a Transcendent, Zhen Shi would still have benefited greatly. Not all Transcendents were born equal, and a Transcendent born from a host bearing an Elemental Spirit would have been formidable indeed. Even one born in close proximity to the Elemental Spirit had been able to harness the ambient energies released by the Heavenly Tear to become an indomitable Water-Blessed specimen, one which Zhen Shi made good use of in the past year, so how powerful would the Transcendent have been if the host of the Heavenly Tear were to surrender?Exceedingly powerful, if Zhen Shi were to guess, though any fool could have arrived at the same conclusion. Perhaps it might even succeed and Shatter the Void unlike any Transcendent who came before.Alas, the most optimal scenario would have been if the savage succumbed to despair without wholly surrendering, becoming akin to the tribal Defiled who amalgamated their souls with the Spectres, as opposed to the Chosen who segregated their souls in order to make use of the Spectres without most of the unfortunate side-effects that presented alongside the melding process. Though turning Defiled would have left Falling Rain locked in the throes of madness and made extracting usable answers from the runt more difficult, this Path had the most synergy with his innate Talent, for his Path to Divinity would have been near effortless so long as he continued to consume Spectres and consolidate them into his soul without first using the Heavenly Tear to Cleanse them. This path would have firmly locked Falling Rain to Zhen Shis side, and it frustrated him to no end knowing that the runt would have long since become a pawn on his board if not for a maddening quirk of fate, but such was life, trials and tribulations without end.Try as he might, Zhen Shi could not make sense of the Devourers Talent, aside from noting the process was remarkably similar to the birth of a Transcendent, wherein the host drew in a multitude of Spectres to fuel an unpredictable transformation process. A most useful Talent, especially if Zhen Shi could learn how to replicate it himself and maybe even harness it for his own use, but he would have to first seize the runt in order to uncover his secrets. Gens Talent of Oration, while not exactly common, was not all too rare either and only suitable for empowering others by convincing them to take on Spectres. Though Zhen Shi made good use of this Talent while he could to lure weak-willed fools to his cause, Gens well of passion and dedication to the cause has long since dried up and his remaining emotions were of no use. In contrast, if Zhen Shi were to uncover Falling Rains secrets, he could then empower himself without limit save for the number of ambient Spectres in existence, and he had long since mastered the art of Spectre creation by suffusing a subject with a careful balance of inescapable torment and unspoken hope. Despite his centuries of research and unparalleled intellect, True Divinity still lay out of Zhen Shis reach, but once he unravelled the secrets to Falling Rains success, he might well become the most powerful being alive on this plane of existence.To this end, he could not afford any mistakes in his efforts to acquire Falling Rain, a feat made all the more difficult by the existence of the formidable Penitent Brotherhood.Alas, he knew little of this monastic fraternity, for their downfall predated his birth in the Imperial Clan, an admission which came as something of a shock. The circumstances of his own birth should not have been surprising to him, but Zhen Shi knew he was not the true Zhen Shi, merely a Natal Soul created to take control of the malleable fool Gen. To have gaps in his knowledge was only understandable, as there was no sense in dedicating so much effort on a mere puppet, so Zhen Shi focused on controlling his host and arranging the assault on the Brotherhood as information from his true self trickled in.It would have been much faster to have Gen coordinate with Vyakhya directly, but the excommunicated Wisdom had grown prideful in his exile, seeing himself as an equal to Zhen Shi rather than the defeated dog he truly was. Ego was the reason why the former Wisdom played his games, recruiting new monks from the ranks of the Defiled and Chosen while withholding vital information from Zhen Shi until the timing suited Vyakhyas own needs. Even the promising Goujian had fallen under the monks sway, yet another pawn taken from Zhen Shis own board, one ruined by the stubborn ineptitude of a man too proud to admit his own mistakes. Vyakhyas Path to Divinity focused too much on the body at the expense of the mind and soul, and it was laughable to watch the arrogant monk and his deluded student Goujian stumble about with concepts they could not comprehend. Such fools to believe that their admittedly powerful physiques could be considered a Spiritual Heart, blind to the fact that increased physical abilities were merely a byproduct of the refinement process as opposed to the actual goal.No matter though. Goujian was never Zhen Shis first choice, as he was too old to make proper use of, and while there were still a handful of other promising pawns, none of them would matter once he had Falling Rain in his hands again.Of course, Gen was also a useful puppet, one whose strengths far outweighed his minor shortcomings, which was why he would be Emperor while Falling Rain would merely be a subject to study, but all that would come in good time.According to Vyakhya, the Abbot was the Brotherhoods sole Divinity now that the Destroyer had been taken off the board, and the former Wisdom was confident in his ability to contain his former friend and associate. Erring on the side of caution, Zhen Shi enlisted the help of the three Divinities standing before him, all trusted allies to the cause who would be first to benefit from the acquisition of Falling Rain. The first was a hairy, hulking Ancestral Mammoth whom Zhen Shi himself designated as the Behemoth, a towering figure the Imperial Clan had yet to come into contact with. With his colossal frame, rough hewn features, and enormous tusks jutting out from under his bushy, brown beard, there was nothing pleasant about the Behemoths appearance, while the crude sledgehammer crafted from the bones of a gargantuan beast left no room for doubt. A Defiled Ancestral Beast, the Behemoth hailed from the northernmost frozen wastes, the Chieftain of his own tribe where his powerful half-blood spawn formed the backbone of his forces, all of whom inherited his prodigious innate strength and size. Though quite mad and nearly blind from living so many centuries in near pitch-black darkness, he was fiercely loyal to Zhen Shi after being defeated in single combat, a simple task considering the Behemoths atrophied intellect and lacking comprehension of the Dao. Pure physical might and durability might seem impressive to a mere mortal, but as a Divinity, the Behemoth was far from impressive, a shortcoming Zhen Shi hoped to make up for once Falling Rain was firmly in hand.The second Divinity was one native to the Empire, someone who helped the original Zhen Shi escape from Imperial pursuit all those centuries ago, and had remained undetected ever since. An Ancestral Badger by the name of Shih Yang, the formidable woman had remained a staunch supporter of the Treaty and trusted ally to the Imperial Clan until the Defiled were knocking at the gates of the Western Wall, at which point she revealed her true allegiance alongside that of her formidable son, the Pirate King Huanhuzi. Without the bandits help, it would have taken Zhen Shis forces significantly longer to overrun the Imperial defenders and take a foothold in the Western Provinces, even with the Mataram Clan sabotaging the defences from within, and so Zhen Shi was suitably polite to his benefactor and ally.Last, but not least, was yet another Imperial Native, Mataram YuKon, former King of the Mataram Clan, ancestor of Mataram YuChun, and Zhen Shis most successful Disciple to date. Born a lowly branch clan member who dreamed of greatness, YuKons venomous personality marked him as a pawn to be used, so Zhen Shi contacted the lowly labourer and guided him along the Path. Though merely one of many such pawns, YuKon was the first and only one to ascend to Divinity thus far, for even though Zhen Shi was able to supply them with the necessary guidance to walk them through the process and direct them to much needed resources to help them along, even he himself was unsure how to successfully Shatter the Void with a one-hundred percent chance of survival. As such, YuKons success was something of a fluke, but his greatest value lay in his ability to take control of the Mataram Clan and lay the groundwork for future generations to join the cause, all without the Imperial Clan ever taking note of his existence or ascension. Had Yo Ling succeeded in Sanshu, the bandit might well have become another of Zhen Shis successful Disciples, but the hateful Falling Rain had put an end to that. Goujian was yet another candidate, but in his weakness, hed given himself over to Vyakhya, meaning Zhen Shi would eventually have to deal with the fool before matters got too out of hand.All this was a matter for the future though, so he instead focused on the task at hand. These three Divinities were not the strongest of his allies, but they were the most loyal ones Zhen Shi could call upon, and they were also the least likely to be noticed on the journey to collect Falling Rain. Though he would have preferred to have a fourth Divinity come with them, he could not afford to pull too many away from the front lines, lest the hateful Imperial Clan become tempted to disregard their own treaty and strike without warning. The Behemoth had power enough to overcome any threat the Divine Turtle might present, given how it had only recently ascended and would also be sorely lacking in comprehension. Shih Yang was there to keep Vyakhya honest, or at least as honest as the snake could be, while YuKon would deal with any unpleasant surprises, like the possibility of a fully recovered Abbot playing the pig to eat the tiger. Having long since identified most of the Divinities guarding Falling Rain, Zhen Shi was confident the boy would have two with him at most, with the others dead, injured, or guarding the Saints Tribulation Mountains and Western Border. Even if Falling Rain had more Divinities to protect him, it shouldnt matter too much, as the greatest threat lay not in their destructive prowess, but rather in the speed with which they could bring the runt away. Killing Falling Rain was easy enough, so long as Zhen Shi was willing to sacrifice another Divinity, but if that were the case, he would much rather sacrifice Vyakhya than any of the Divinities loyal to his cause.No, the Divinities were only there to ensure Falling Rain couldnt escape and keep his own Divinity Protectors from breaking the Treaty without retribution. If all went well however, not a single Divinity would even lift a finger in battle, for Zhen Shi was loath to unleash such destructive power upon the lands he intended to conquer, even if the destruction could be contained to the Arid Wastes. Instead, the success of this mission largely depended on the Wraiths and Chosen of Heaven, one thousand hand-picked Warriors whose strengths ranged from notable Expert to Half-Step Divinity. This was the definition of an Elite force, packed full of the strongest Wraiths at his beck and call as well as the most powerful and disciplined Warriors of the Mataram Clan, all of whom were clad in various sets of Runic armour. According to Vyakhya, the Brotherhood monks were largely pacifists, but Zhen Shi had seen one such monk dispatch two powerful armoured Transcendents in a single move, so he refused to leave anything to chance. Unless the Brotherhood comprised of nothing but Peak Experts and Half-Step Divinities, then victory was all but assured, but death and destruction was not the goal here today, a fact he repeated once more, just in case.Remember, Zhen Shi said, fighting the urge to look at any of the Divinities lest they think his warning for them, Falling Rain must be taken alive, no matter the cost.Hmph. Cutting a stately figure in his flowing Western robes, Mataram YuKon seemed like nobility personified, right down to his superior, holier-than-thou attitude. The Warriors of the Mataram Clan are second to none, but only those of the royal blood may command them. An odd stance to take considering YuKon himself was a branch clansman, meaning his ancestors had likely been inducted into the Clan at some point or another. These days, YuKons kinsmen claimed they were descended from the blood of Kings, but the true Mataram Bloodline had been ended by YuKon himself, when he ascended to the role of Patriarch and had the relatives of his rivals all murdered, right down to the last man, woman, and child. Even the chickens and dogs had not been spared, as Zhen Shi remembered his pointed amusement at how YuKon had interpreted the common idiom as a literal command.And now this uppity, low-born pretender had the gall to look down on Zhen Shi, just because this Natal Soul was inhabiting the body of a peasant. Though this Sovereign has changed in form, Zhen Shi Sent, while graciously apologizing out loud for overstepping his bounds, I am still your Mentor and benefactor, so you would do well to mind your manners, little worm.Pride and disdain flashed across the Divinitys eyes, a pretender like all others who dare lay claim to the title. Others would call Zhen Shi himself a Divinity, but he cared not for the appellation, for it reeked of falsehood and needless pomp and pageantry. No doubt chosen for that very reason, to flatter and fawn over those who Shattered the Void, yet failed and faltered at the final step, only to plummet from the true heights of the Heavens above back down to the mortal world below. Though they stood above all others, these so-called Divinities were still mortals at the core, subject to the rigours of time and the laws of this world, just like any other.No offence taken, Junior Brother, YuKon said, replying to what was said out loud and ignoring Zhen Shis Sending. This Senior has been remiss however, for surely the future Emperor should have more substantial ties to the Mataram Clan. I shall speak with my family about finding you a suitable wife, one with the requisite prestige to lift you from your otherwise humble origins.Yes, came the admission, before Gen could stop it. It was horrible. Wrapping his arms around his sweet, precious Qing-Qing, he trembled in her warm embrace. You were dead, and so was Da, and Ma, and everyone else.All dead by your own hand, no less....What?Unable to understand what Qing-Qing just said, Gen leaned back to study her beautiful face, only to see her familiar soft smile waiting to greet him. You dont remember? She asked, in that same playful tone she used to use to tease him when they were younger and the best of friends. You killed them, Gen. Beat your Pa bloody, you did, with your own two hands no less. How did it feel? There was no mockery in her tone, as if she were asking how his day went, but Gen recoiled in terror all the same.Youre not Qing-Qing.Of course not silly. As she sat up in bed, the sheets slipped away from her naked body to reveal the injury that killed her, a set of ugly, rotting lacerations that went deep into her belly and oozed pus and blood as she ran her fingers against them. And these? Did you forget these too? You didnt do this, but you might as well have.Leaping out of the bed with a strangled cry, he bolted out the bedroom only to find Pa and Ma waiting for him in the living room, their bloodied, bloated features exactly as he last saw them. Why, son? Pa asked, his single working eye unable to focus with half his skull caved in, and cheeks purple from lack of air. Whyd ye kill us? Were we bad parents?We loved you so, Ma said, raising her mangled hands to stroke his cheek, and he was unable to tear his eyes away from her array of injuries, cataloguing how shed been beaten and abused by Laughing Dragons Firebrands before they roasted her alive on a spit. We still love you, even after all ye done.Im sorry, Gen sobbed, reaching up to take his mothers hand only for her to wince and jerk away, for his bladed, metallic fingers had inadvertently severed what was left of her maimed hands. Oh Heavens above, Im so sorry.Sorry aint gonna cut it now, is it? The baritone voice came from behind and Gen pivoted to see poor Beis father laid out next to the stove, while Bei herself carved strips of flesh from his chest. Sorry aint gonna bring us back, the butchered body said, watching him as he lay there helpless and afraid. Not a single one. Were all dead thanks to you.Dead because of your weakness, Deng said, as his twisted, broken body dragged itself through the front door.Dead because of your failures, Kash chimed in, and Gen remembered how the three of them had always been inseparable until he killed them both with his bare hands.Join us, son. Pa said.Join us. Gingerly taking his wrist with her remaining hand, Ma pulled Gen close for a hug.Join us. Bei and Qing-Qing completed the circle, and Gen could not bring himself to move away from their warm embrace. Join us.Surrender.A rumbling growl sets his bones to shaking as it pierced him to his core, and his metallic hands chimed as the world came into focus around him once more. Gone were his parents and everyone else hed just seen, and instead he was surrounded by familiar faces he could not quite place, all of them glancing around in disoriented confusion so similar to his. The massive tiger emitted yet another raspy snarl, and Gen felt the sand shifting beneath his feet, angered by this challenge to its authority. The old, decrepit monk appeared in his sights, studying him with a curious expression. Nightmare Wurms, he Sent, with a shrug that wasnt quite an apology. Quite deadly, and one of only a few invertebrates capable of utilizing Chi. To devastating effect, as you no doubt experienced first hand, able to incite dread, horror, and despair in their prey through the use of mental illusions. They werent always so vicious, but they developed a taste for darker Heavenly Energy and learned how to best develop it. Yet another mis-step along this monks Path, though the Abbot is not without blame, for it was the development of his Spiritual Garden which led us down this unfortunate track.Unable to understand half of what the monk was talking about, Gen tried to find his bearings and understand why he was out in the desert with so many strangers, but for the life of him, he couldnt FOOLISH WORM...Glaring at Vyakhya, Zhen Shi studied the crafty Wisdom for long seconds before deigning to speak, his words chosen with the utmost of care. You were unaware of the threat?I knew of the nest, Vyakhya replied, with yet another half-shrug. But they are usually dormant this time of the year. Someone must have recently passed by and roused them from their slumber, or perhaps our group was too tempting a target to pass up.Lies and deception. The monk wanted to see how Zhen Shi would react, and now he knew this form was susceptible to these insidious mental attacks. The tiger was more than capable of warding off the threat, but it didnt act until Vyakhya allowed it to. The weakness was Gens, not Zhen Shis, but he was vulnerable all the same, a shortcoming with no simple solution in sight. Unwilling to fall out with the Wisdom here, Zhen Shi feigned acceptance and gestured for the monk to continue on. There would be a reckoning in days to come, but until Falling Rain was in hand, Zhen Shi had no choice but to tolerate Vyakhyas insolence.Once Zhen Shi unravelled the secret to controlling limitless amounts of Heavenly Energy, no one would stand in his way. Not Falling Rain, not Vyakhya, not even the Dog Emperor himself, for Zhen Shi would be unto a True Divinity, and then this world would know true suffering.Chapter Memenovelbin.com
