Chapter 803
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Chapter 803
Stifling a sigh of bitter regret, this Sovereign laid his ambitions to rest alongside his fallen Commander General, but not every trial and tribulation was meant to be overcome.
The foundation of civilization itself was built upon a bedrock of failure, a truth he understood well enough, but even a Sovereign as discerning as he was discouraged by so egregious a setback. Centuries of planning and preparation all gone to waste largely due to the efforts and actions of a single infuriating boy, one barely even two decades old and unpredictable to the extreme. Fury and hatred welled up from within, emotions this Sovereign had long since mastered, but what aggravated him the most was seeing the boys unmitigated delight. There he lay upon the battlements of Shi Bei, dazed and bloodied but unbroken as he celebrated an accomplishment in which he played the part of bait. A wounded fledgling, so defiant in his ignorance, a life so feeble and fragile it would take little more than a thought to end his wretched existence, except the cost of doing so was more than what this Sovereign was willing to bear.
Vague and precarious though it might be, maintaining the Treaty proved more boon than burden to this Sovereigns end goal, for he was not yet strong enough to directly contend with the Emperor outright, to say nothing of the various monstrous existences hiding in the shadows of the Supreme Families. An admission of weakness which brought the Sovereign no shame or discontent, for the Imperial Clan had come into existence several millennia ago and had been building its strength ever since. The only reason they cared not to deal with this Sovereign outright was because they saw his efforts as an entertaining change of pace, for theyd been playing the same game on the same board with the same pieces for far too long and delighted in seeing something new. This and the fact that his new allies within the Clan saw to it that their rivals made no direct action against him, but this setback in Shi Bei might well turn his supporters against him. There were no eternal friends, only eternal interests, and the fact that this Sovereign was unable to ravage the outer provinces as promised meant his allies within the Supreme families were already re-evaluating his worth.
No matter though, for even if the Imperial Clan united against him, he was more than confident of evading death and capture so long as the Emperor himself did not deign to act. He wouldnt, because to do so would present the Supreme Families with an unprecedented opportunity to overthrow him themselves, meaning this Sovereign was safe from reprisal so long as he kept his wits about him.
All this and more flashed through his mind in the blink of an eye as he readied his plans for the immediate and distant future both, laying out the steps he intended to take over the next century and beyond. Though the battle in Shi Bei itself was not yet lost, there was no longer anything or anyone of value worth salvaging from this ruinous disaster. Bai Qi had been the most promising sapling of the bunch, and while there were a handful of other seedlings who might one day ascend to Divinity, this Sovereign no longer possessed the desire to nurture them. What use was there in saving a handful of pawns when the whole board was about to be overturned? Better to save his efforts and start anew while his enemies dealt with the chaos and anarchy left behind in the ravaged Western Province.
There was still some small benefit to be had in this most disgraceful of defeats, one which would have wide-reaching consequences to be sure. These last two years had been especially enlightening, and this Sovereign had learned much from his trials and tribulations. It would take time to untangle the truths hed uncovered, but of this, he was in no short supply, and the benefits gleaned would more than outweigh the cost of failure here today.
And yet, even knowing all this and more, this Sovereign was still sorely tempted to throw caution to the wind and eliminate Falling Rain here and now, and not solely due to the boys latent potential.
It all started in Sanshu, where this most promising young seedling foiled this Sovereigns plot to annex the city in order to later destabilize the Northern Province. Had his plans gone to fruition, then the city would have emerged victorious against Butcher Bays Yo Ling thanks to the efforts of this Sovereigns puppet, affording the Golden Highlands Coalition the opportunity to deal a death blow to their competitors within the merchant council and seize control of the city for themselves. Alas, all this was not meant to be as the actions of a single fledgling Warrant Officer forced Yo Ling to accelerate his plans and rush headlong into a disastrous death and defeat, while laying bare the corruption within the Merchant Council itself and leaving the city in control of the once impotent Magistrate who proved far more formidable than expected.
A most frustrating setback all things considered, especially considering how Falling Rain should have fallen under this Sovereigns sway. A pawn turned against him by an Elemental Spirit no less, entities of power and Balance that even the Imperial Clan didnt entirely understand. Add to this the Cloud Divinitys interference preventing the savage tribal foreigners from breaking through the Northern Wall, and this Sovereign was forced to abandon the province and seek ingress elsewhere. He was met with similar failure in the South, where even centuries of planning were not enough to eke out a foothold in that most united of provinces, for their custom of venerating Spiritual Beasts made it all but impossible for this Sovereigns puppets to rise to any position of high standing. This left him no choice but to focus all his efforts on the West, an outcome which was far from ideal, but it was his strongest base of power thanks to the unshakable position of the Mataram Clan.
A poor start to his plans to conquer the outer provinces, but he was too far gone to fall back. If this Sovereign were to do it all over again, he would have razed Sanshu to the ground and annexed Shen Mu instead, but how was he to know a single brat lacking hair on his chin would ruin all of his best laid plans? Sanshu was the far more valuable prize, the rice bowl of the North from which this Sovereign could destabilize the entire province and supply the West with much needed food and lumber, whereas Shen Mu was merely a gateway to the Northern Wall and therefore the second line of defense to overcome. When choosing a city to test the weapon crafted by the Canston Trading Group, Shen Mu had been the obvious choice, yet events since had proven that this Sovereigns path to victory would have been laid bare had he chosen to obliterate Sanshu instead.
For then Falling Rain would have undoubtedly died in the ensuing chaos before ever familiarizing himself with his Elemental Spirit, and taking the outer provinces would have been as easy as plucking over-ripe apples from a branch.
There was still fortune to be found in disaster yet, as this Sovereign had found Insight and Inspiration in studying the boys most recent advancements, to say nothing of the ideas and innovations he championed as Legate of the Outer Provinces. The weapons of war alone would keep the Imperial Clan occupied for at least another century or two, for if left unchecked, the crossbows, catapults, and cannons would lead to rebellion and revolutions as the masses rose up in revolt against their overbearing overlords. To make matters worse, the rediscovery of poured stone meant building new fortresses was merely a matter of weeks, rather than years, which was the very reason why knowledge of it had been suppressed in the first place. Granted, widespread Runic Cannons would soon render traditional fortress walls moot and ineffective, which would further serve this Sovereign well in the years to come, for civil unrest and bloody insurrection were breeding grounds for Spectres and Demons alike. The so-called Defiled were of limited use, but gather enough droplets of water and a river would form, and the collective peasants of the Empire were an ocean of potential just waiting to be exploited.
Already, this Sovereign had the working outlines of countless tests to conduct and plans to set into motion, ones which would continue to destabilize the outer provinces and further his understanding of his most recent discoveries. No matter how dreary or tedious arranging the tests might be, the mere prospect of uncovering new information filled him with anticipation and longing, rare sensations to be savoured and relished given his extensive experience. The boy called him an eight-hundred-year-old monster, but this Sovereigns lifespan was better measured in millennia than centuries, a secret known only to one other entity in existence and a secret he would keep for so long as he lived. This Sovereign had done more than bear witness to the rise of the Azure Empire, and he would have a hand in its fall as well, a dream which had been delayed thanks to Falling Rains insufferable interference, but not by long for reasons much the same.
No matter though. Two steps forward and one step back was still progress in the end, and this Sovereign was nothing if not patient. Eager too, for Falling Rains Path enabled him to carry out feats once previously believed to require the attainment of half-step Divinity at the bare minimum, meaning that the very foundation of the Dao as the Empire understood it was considerably flawed at best. Even the so-called Sword King Ryo Dae Jung had only just touched upon the secrets of Sword Intent, yet young Falling Rain had already successfully merged it within his Manifested Domain to strike down Surkithyrs prized First Blade. Though admittedly a failure who had reached the pinnacle of his potential, the half-beast Junta had formed a bond with the Transcendent Spirit residing within his armour which brought him to the forefront of his peers in terms of defensive strength. Even a Peak Expert with the potential to reach Half-Step Divinity within a handful of years like Du Min Gyu had been unable to easily kill Junta, yet Falling Rain cut him down in an instant from three-hundred paces away, dealing a blow that neither half-beast nor Transcendent Spirit could sense or defend against.
So imagine what this Sovereign could do with only a hundred Falling Rains, true Cultivators of the Dao who wielded the power of a Divinity without the restrictions set upon them by the Heavens above. A goal which would be all too easy to accomplish if he had the boy in hand, for the boys soul possessed the unique ability to meld flawlessly with anothers and form a connection to the Dao itself. Bestowing Blessings was but the least of what one could accomplish with Falling Rain in hand, for his soul could guide this Sovereign steps along the Path to find the true pinnacle of mortal strength, and perhaps even carry him further beyond.
A result of bonding with an Elemental Spirit, or a rare quality of the boy himself? Difficult to say, but this Sovereign hungered for the truth.
These were merely the most valuable aspects of Falling Rain, to say nothing of his many seemingly miraculous discoveries of which there were almost too many to name. Honed Emotional Aura which he used to distract and dishearten, awakening Transcendent Spirits within his Spiritual Weapons which allowed them to attack and defend of their own volition, harnessing the Energy of the Heavens to guide the masses to Core Creation, the boy stumbled across answers to questions this Sovereign had once touched upon in the distant past. The foundational knowledge required to solve those problems had yet to be unearthed, so there was no sense digging aimlessly in hopes of striking gold, yet Falling Rain had done just that. This Sovereign would have counted himself lucky to have stumbled across success in any one of these areas over the last millennia, yet Falling Rain had accomplished all this and more with only a decade of practice. Without the benefit of guidance from his so-called patron no less, for contrary to what most believed, this Sovereign knew that even the Imperial Clan did not possess the answers provided by Falling Rains Path, meaning his progress had nothing to do with his Imperial Peerage whatsoever. No, if the Supreme Families had made such progress in this Sovereigns absence, then there would have been strife and chaos aplenty in the Eastern Province, but as far as he could tell from his own sources and the schemes played out by the prospective heirs to the throne, the Imperial Clan was still bitterly embroiled in the same political infighting he'd left behind several millennia ago.
A battle against progress and innovation of all things, for those in power disliked change or any departure from the norm. As the saying went, better a bird in hand than two in the bush, so why make the effort to progress and risk being left behind? Such greed, such ignorance, to censure any and all developments which the Imperial Clan could not control, because they thought it better to wallow in mediocrity rather than aim for greater heights and risk crashing back down to the world below. They cared not for the glory of Heaven because they feared losing what they had on the earth below, like frogs sitting in a bucket and pretending it was a well because they were too afraid to venture beyond the confines of their current comfortable position.
Not this Sovereign however, but working apart from the Imperial Clan came at great cost, and not just personal. Though the true secret of his origins was known only to one other living being in existence, his methods and abilities were proof enough that his Path was part and parcel of the Imperial Clans. Rather than embark upon a new, untested, and likely inferior Path to hide his origins, he instead embraced them by hiding the truth with an all too obvious lie to keep others from looking too deeply into his persona as Zhen Shi the Uniter. To the outer provinces, he was a madman nicknamed True Corpse who indulged in all manner of atrocities, but to the Imperial Clan, his name all but identified him as a disgraced Scion living in exile. A most useful cover all things considered, given how the names of all banished exiles were struck from record to hide the shame of the Imperial Clan, but it was not without its drawbacks. Even though this Sovereign was beyond the petty infighting of the Supreme Families, the exiled Zhen Shi could hardly behave in so overbearing a manner lest it raise questions as to which of the Supreme Families was backing him and how much support they were willing to offer. In truth, even though they all suspected that he was a pawn of this family or the other, this Sovereign had no real support from within the Imperial Clan. A fact one enterprising Imperial Scion discovered all too easily, leaving Zhen Shi no choice but to make a show of fealty to his new sponsor or throw away all pretenses and engage in a battle he was not yet ready to take.
Tapping into the Spirits trapped within his golden robes, this Sovereign gauged the reserves of energy gathered by his puppets and hoped it was enough for his purposes. Without the ability to measure Energy in all its different forms, this Sovereign had been unable to determine just how much he would need to complete his transformation, nor was he able to accurately calculate how much his Spectres and Transcendents had gathered. What he possessed appeared to be enough considering it seemed like more than what was used in the Transcendent Divinitys Ascension, but that had been a flawed transformation in the end, meaning this Sovereign might well require more. For this reason, he continued to watch and wait as news of Bai Qis death spread across all of Shi Bei, a grievous blow to the morale of even the most crazed tribal or devout Chosen. It was so alarming that even this Sovereigns first Disciple saw fit to contact him, but rather than give YuKon permission to withdraw his Clan from the fray, he commanded his Disciple to have the Mataram clansmen fight to the last, for their deaths would only further his cause.
The same order was passed along to every Chieftain, Champion, and Chosen Officer still standing, as this Sovereign used his shackled Transcendents as intermediaries to avoid being discovered. His expectations were low to begin with, but even then, his conquering army managed to disappoint him as vast swathes of his soldiers sought to flee the battlefield, setting off a concatenation of events that resulted in a full-blown rout. Not the worst outcome, but far from the best, and this Sovereign could only console himself with the fact that Falling Rain was a bloodthirsty young man who jumped at the opportunity to run his enemies down from behind. Credit where it was due, Chen Hongjis cavalry forces were mounted and readied even before the order was given, for the brilliant tactician had seen the writing on the wall and knew well what to do with this knowledge. Horses streamed out from the gates alongside a multitude of other diverse mounts, mostly rhinos and roosequins with a smattering of elephants and cattle as well as the odd bird, lizard, or what have you sprinkled alongside them. The death toll already numbered in the millions and continued to climb as the Imperial cavalry ran roughshod over their fleeing foes, and this Sovereign allowed himself a moment to taste the heady bloodlust and vulgar carnality which grew thick in the air. More evidence of the link between life and death, for in the process of dealing death, humans and beasts alike were driven by their instincts to create life as well, to fornicate and procreate in order to sustain the necessary Balance required of them.
Everything came back to Balance, a verifiable truth which helped rein this Sovereigns own desires back in. Though hed long since divested himself of such urges, he would be lying if he claimed to not miss the indulgence. A flash of Insight accompanied this seemingly inconsequential acknowledgement, one which brought him even closer to the Truth, for an emotion unexpressed would remain rooted in body, mind, and soul, only to be expressed in another, possibly detrimental manner. Better to retain the ability to express such urges and indulge within reason, which changed much of what he had planned regarding his next step, so he took the time to reconfigure his Intent to better match his new vision.
A process which took longer than expected, but in reality, less than a handful of minutes had passed, and the battlefield of Shi Bei was looking sparse and ruined indeed. The bulk of this Sovereigns forces were well on their way past the horizon, while the Imperial cavalry was already circling about to deal with the stragglers left behind, as well as those Defiled who were too crazed or stupid to flee. A resounding Imperial victory all things considered, and this Sovereign could only begrudgingly admit admiration for his foes. Not just the outlier and anomaly Falling Rain, but those who supported him as well, like Chen Hongji, Situ Nian Zu, Akanai, and so many others who shouldered the weight of the Heavens and bought the boy enough time to bring yet another miracle into existence.
But even as the Imperial Army raised their voices in celebration, this Sovereigns lips parted in a smile as he committed to the next step. The Energies of the Heavens surged and kicked like a wild stallion unwilling to be mounted, but he had no use for it just yet as he tapped into the vast reserves of death energy held by his army of enslaved Spectres and the liquefied remains of millions upon millions of corpses gathered by his Transcendents. With their souls shackled within his Natal Palace acting as a conduit, he drew upon everything theyd collected in these past fifteen days and more to fuel his impending Ascension, one which would surpass the Ascension of a Transcendent Divinity and bring this Sovereign to the pinnacle of mortal strength. Better if he could solve the riddle of how to progress beyond mere mortality, but better this than nothing at all, and even this much was already in defiance of natural law. Time was a luxury he could ill-afford, but he acted with care and deliberation before proceeding with each and every action lest he slip up and incur Heavens retribution, for he knew not what form it would take and had no intention of discovering this firsthand. As he broke down his mortal flesh alongside the grafted Transcendent, he let loose a scream of agony unlike anything ever heard before, for this was a pain that went beyond the mere activation of nerves and delved into the workings of the soul itself. Body, mind, and soul came together as he wove the material and immaterial into one, doing away with everything hed built upon a flawed foundation and reducing himself to something weaker than a babe and less than a basic commoner.
Then, and only then, did he bring down the barriers between his soul and the Void, and for the first time in untold millennia, this Sovereign knew fear as the Spectres poured into his Natal Palace to devour everything within his Domain.
Theyd been waiting there all along, hungry and eager for a taste of his soul, for he had kept them in check for far too long. Where the Imperial Clan and outer provinces saw the Spectres as a plague upon humanity, this Sovereign saw the potential hiding within. Disincarnate shards of severed souls, poisoned by Imbalance of emotion, the Spectres were capable of driving weak-willed mortals to madness, but poison and medicine often differed only by dosage. Alongside this poison came a connection with the Heavens themselves, and this Sovereign had used that connection to forge ever forward along his Path in centuries past. Even though his initial premise had been flawed, not all his subsequent conclusions were erroneous and unusable, and it was this knowledge which brought him to the cusp of his next step. Balance in all things, but this Sovereign had long since noted that Balance was often kept in check by natural extremes. Just as a forest fire cleared out old growth to make room for the new, an excess of Imbalance could bring about a return to Balance. This was why the Defiled indulged in bouts of murderous debauchery, because they were driven to their limits by the Spectres plaguing them, disincarnate souls seeking Balance through the only Path left to them. Balance through Imbalance, life found in death, dominance discovered through submission, and true victory obtained from surrender.
Alas, few possessed the strength of will to remain true to themselves whilst approaching the limits of human emotion. None thus far in all of human history, in fact, save for this Sovereign himself, as he would soon prove to the world and to himself.
The deluge of death energy was accompanied by a torrent of negative emotion as countless Spectres crashed into his soul and sought to tear him apart for succor. There he sat upon his Natal Throne, clad in his flowing golden robes like an Emperor in truth as the waves of emotions crashed into his psyche and threatened to capsize him beneath their dark intents, but he held the course and emerged from each wave stronger and more determined than before. The waves hammered into him and washed away the impurities of his body, mind, and soul, for they were all linked as one and inseparable from the whole. Every blow hammered into him and moulded his existence into a singular mass of thoughts, experiences, and emotions, a blank canvas upon which he would paint perfection to mark his first step along his new Path.
Through extreme Imbalance, he found True Balance, with Insight and Inspiration aplenty as he reforged himself anew, struggling against causality and the innate order of the world every step of the way. The Heavens fought against him for they knew his efforts would bring him one step closer to True Divinity, and thus one step closer to overturning them with his might, but this Sovereign refused to relent when he was so close to success. There were laws in place meant to keep him from achieving his goals, ones meant to restrict and bind him alongside all other mortals, but these laws held no sway here within his Domain, where his Will reigned supreme. For this, the Heavens sought to unmake him and reclaim their authority over him, to sabotage his endeavours and crush him beneath their weight, but even as the world itself turned against him, he held firm to his Intent to transcend the limits of this world and prepare for his Ascension to the next.
And when all was said and done, only a handful of seconds had passed, but as this Sovereign opened his new eyes to gaze upon the smooth, pale flesh of its unmarred body, he let loose with a laugh that rang all across Shi Bei and far across the desert sands. This body was perfection itself, not just in appearance, but in function as well, a finely-tuned construct powerful enough to contend with a Divinity through pure muscle alone. Beauty was subjective, but this body was without flaw and its features fully symmetric, resulting in an appearance that many would find attractive. At first glance, most would find it difficult to determine if this form was male or female by appearance, for his bald head and androgenous features were appealing to both genders. Earlier, hed noted that one must indulge in order to be truly free of temptation, which was why he revised his plans to do away with his sexual organ and was even tempted to create a body with characteristics of both genders. Only then could he experience all the pleasures that life had to offer, but hed been unable to work out how this could have been viably accomplished, so such modifications would have to wait until he possessed a better grasp of the Dao.
An indulgence for a different day however, a thought which this Sovereign placed aside as he rose through the sands and emerged within the city itself. His arrival did not go unnoticed, and he took great pleasure in the reactions of all who gazed upon perfection itself, with most showing signs of revulsion and captivation both as their feeble minds struggled to comprehend what they saw before them. It was not lust or affection which drew their eyes to him so, but the unconscious acceptance of this Sovereigns superiority in all ways. Though still falling far short of a true Divinity, this Sovereign would soon ascend beyond the limits of a mere mortal, and thus, was best described as a nascent immortal, the very first of his kind in all history.
And as this Sovereign laid eyes upon his most hated foe, he considered his newfangled strength and re-calculated the odds in record time to discover that perhaps securing Falling Rain in hand would not be so impossible a feat. As an Immortal, he not only had access to the raw Energy of the Heavens as a Divinity would, but he also discovered that there was even more to the world than he previously understood, a higher power that went beyond even the Energy of the Heavens. This was Immortal Energy, something this Sovereign could only just barely perceive and lacked the ability to control, yet knowing it was there was more than enough. A vast reservoir of untouched potential, thats what this Immortal Energy represented, the same energies which Falling Rain used to turn shards of his severed soul into an elixir for others.
An ability this Sovereign could eventually replicate, but why pay the cost when it could use Falling Rains soul instead? Even better if he could secure the boys soul in hand and leave the body and mind behind, leading others to believe the boy hale and healthy while this Sovereign unearthed his secrets in safety. An opportunity made possible because of the boys division of his soul, for this Sovereign could sense a second spirit inhabiting the boys Natal Palace, a Natal Soul possessing power enough to rival the boys eternal soul. This division left the boy weakened and vulnerable, for the body and mind were anchored to both souls and liable to release one in order to save the other, meaning this Sovereign could easily snatch up the true soul and leave behind an empty vessel to be occupied by the Natal Soul. Why, it might even thank this Sovereign for making freedom possible, though that might well change once it fell into the hands of the Imperial Clan, but this Sovereign will have already escaped with the true prize in hand.
From there, the possibilities were endless, for no Treaty could constrain an Immortal, and in time, this Sovereign was confident of bringing even the Emperor himself to his knees. It would only be a matter of centuries, or perhaps even decades given how much improved this Sovereigns mind and soul had become, for once the boys secrets were extracted and deciphered, the Path forward would be made clear. The decision made, this Sovereign reached out to take Falling Rains soul in hand, only to draw back on instinct to catch a sword in mid-flight. Mere millimetres more and it would have driven itself into this Sovereigns eye and brain, areas of weakness even this Immortal body could not avoid.
How curious. Did the boy pinpoint these weaknesses based on logic and facts, or was it merely habit which drew him to attack in such a manner?
No matter. Following on the heels of the boys attack was none other than the Old Wolf Calamity himself, and this Sovereign was eager to see how this newfangled body would hold up. So what if one of them lost control and brought Heavens Wrath down upon them? Much like the Old Wolf, this Sovereign no longer had anything to lose, and so much to gain from a conflict now that its forces were scattered to the winds. After today, this Sovereign would no longer be constrained by the red dust of the mortal world, for his sights were set far beyond.
Life and Death were only the beginning, and this Sovereign was eager to see what came next, just as soon as the Imperial Divinities in Shi Bei were dealt with and Falling Rain secured in hand.
Chapter Meme
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Chapter 803
Stifling a sigh of bitter regret, this Sovereign laid his ambitions to rest alongside his fallen Commander General, but not every trial and tribulation was meant to be overcome.
The foundation of civilization itself was built upon a bedrock of failure, a truth he understood well enough, but even a Sovereign as discerning as he was discouraged by so egregious a setback. Centuries of planning and preparation all gone to waste largely due to the efforts and actions of a single infuriating boy, one barely even two decades old and unpredictable to the extreme. Fury and hatred welled up from within, emotions this Sovereign had long since mastered, but what aggravated him the most was seeing the boys unmitigated delight. There he lay upon the battlements of Shi Bei, dazed and bloodied but unbroken as he celebrated an accomplishment in which he played the part of bait. A wounded fledgling, so defiant in his ignorance, a life so feeble and fragile it would take little more than a thought to end his wretched existence, except the cost of doing so was more than what this Sovereign was willing to bear.
Vague and precarious though it might be, maintaining the Treaty proved more boon than burden to this Sovereigns end goal, for he was not yet strong enough to directly contend with the Emperor outright, to say nothing of the various monstrous existences hiding in the shadows of the Supreme Families. An admission of weakness which brought the Sovereign no shame or discontent, for the Imperial Clan had come into existence several millennia ago and had been building its strength ever since. The only reason they cared not to deal with this Sovereign outright was because they saw his efforts as an entertaining change of pace, for theyd been playing the same game on the same board with the same pieces for far too long and delighted in seeing something new. This and the fact that his new allies within the Clan saw to it that their rivals made no direct action against him, but this setback in Shi Bei might well turn his supporters against him. There were no eternal friends, only eternal interests, and the fact that this Sovereign was unable to ravage the outer provinces as promised meant his allies within the Supreme families were already re-evaluating his worth.
No matter though, for even if the Imperial Clan united against him, he was more than confident of evading death and capture so long as the Emperor himself did not deign to act. He wouldnt, because to do so would present the Supreme Families with an unprecedented opportunity to overthrow him themselves, meaning this Sovereign was safe from reprisal so long as he kept his wits about him.
All this and more flashed through his mind in the blink of an eye as he readied his plans for the immediate and distant future both, laying out the steps he intended to take over the next century and beyond. Though the battle in Shi Bei itself was not yet lost, there was no longer anything or anyone of value worth salvaging from this ruinous disaster. Bai Qi had been the most promising sapling of the bunch, and while there were a handful of other seedlings who might one day ascend to Divinity, this Sovereign no longer possessed the desire to nurture them. What use was there in saving a handful of pawns when the whole board was about to be overturned? Better to save his efforts and start anew while his enemies dealt with the chaos and anarchy left behind in the ravaged Western Province.
There was still some small benefit to be had in this most disgraceful of defeats, one which would have wide-reaching consequences to be sure. These last two years had been especially enlightening, and this Sovereign had learned much from his trials and tribulations. It would take time to untangle the truths hed uncovered, but of this, he was in no short supply, and the benefits gleaned would more than outweigh the cost of failure here today.
And yet, even knowing all this and more, this Sovereign was still sorely tempted to throw caution to the wind and eliminate Falling Rain here and now, and not solely due to the boys latent potential.
It all started in Sanshu, where this most promising young seedling foiled this Sovereigns plot to annex the city in order to later destabilize the Northern Province. Had his plans gone to fruition, then the city would have emerged victorious against Butcher Bays Yo Ling thanks to the efforts of this Sovereigns puppet, affording the Golden Highlands Coalition the opportunity to deal a death blow to their competitors within the merchant council and seize control of the city for themselves. Alas, all this was not meant to be as the actions of a single fledgling Warrant Officer forced Yo Ling to accelerate his plans and rush headlong into a disastrous death and defeat, while laying bare the corruption within the Merchant Council itself and leaving the city in control of the once impotent Magistrate who proved far more formidable than expected.
A most frustrating setback all things considered, especially considering how Falling Rain should have fallen under this Sovereigns sway. A pawn turned against him by an Elemental Spirit no less, entities of power and Balance that even the Imperial Clan didnt entirely understand. Add to this the Cloud Divinitys interference preventing the savage tribal foreigners from breaking through the Northern Wall, and this Sovereign was forced to abandon the province and seek ingress elsewhere. He was met with similar failure in the South, where even centuries of planning were not enough to eke out a foothold in that most united of provinces, for their custom of venerating Spiritual Beasts made it all but impossible for this Sovereigns puppets to rise to any position of high standing. This left him no choice but to focus all his efforts on the West, an outcome which was far from ideal, but it was his strongest base of power thanks to the unshakable position of the Mataram Clan.
A poor start to his plans to conquer the outer provinces, but he was too far gone to fall back. If this Sovereign were to do it all over again, he would have razed Sanshu to the ground and annexed Shen Mu instead, but how was he to know a single brat lacking hair on his chin would ruin all of his best laid plans? Sanshu was the far more valuable prize, the rice bowl of the North from which this Sovereign could destabilize the entire province and supply the West with much needed food and lumber, whereas Shen Mu was merely a gateway to the Northern Wall and therefore the second line of defense to overcome. When choosing a city to test the weapon crafted by the Canston Trading Group, Shen Mu had been the obvious choice, yet events since had proven that this Sovereigns path to victory would have been laid bare had he chosen to obliterate Sanshu instead.
For then Falling Rain would have undoubtedly died in the ensuing chaos before ever familiarizing himself with his Elemental Spirit, and taking the outer provinces would have been as easy as plucking over-ripe apples from a branch.
There was still fortune to be found in disaster yet, as this Sovereign had found Insight and Inspiration in studying the boys most recent advancements, to say nothing of the ideas and innovations he championed as Legate of the Outer Provinces. The weapons of war alone would keep the Imperial Clan occupied for at least another century or two, for if left unchecked, the crossbows, catapults, and cannons would lead to rebellion and revolutions as the masses rose up in revolt against their overbearing overlords. To make matters worse, the rediscovery of poured stone meant building new fortresses was merely a matter of weeks, rather than years, which was the very reason why knowledge of it had been suppressed in the first place. Granted, widespread Runic Cannons would soon render traditional fortress walls moot and ineffective, which would further serve this Sovereign well in the years to come, for civil unrest and bloody insurrection were breeding grounds for Spectres and Demons alike. The so-called Defiled were of limited use, but gather enough droplets of water and a river would form, and the collective peasants of the Empire were an ocean of potential just waiting to be exploited.
Already, this Sovereign had the working outlines of countless tests to conduct and plans to set into motion, ones which would continue to destabilize the outer provinces and further his understanding of his most recent discoveries. No matter how dreary or tedious arranging the tests might be, the mere prospect of uncovering new information filled him with anticipation and longing, rare sensations to be savoured and relished given his extensive experience. The boy called him an eight-hundred-year-old monster, but this Sovereigns lifespan was better measured in millennia than centuries, a secret known only to one other entity in existence and a secret he would keep for so long as he lived. This Sovereign had done more than bear witness to the rise of the Azure Empire, and he would have a hand in its fall as well, a dream which had been delayed thanks to Falling Rains insufferable interference, but not by long for reasons much the same.
No matter though. Two steps forward and one step back was still progress in the end, and this Sovereign was nothing if not patient. Eager too, for Falling Rains Path enabled him to carry out feats once previously believed to require the attainment of half-step Divinity at the bare minimum, meaning that the very foundation of the Dao as the Empire understood it was considerably flawed at best. Even the so-called Sword King Ryo Dae Jung had only just touched upon the secrets of Sword Intent, yet young Falling Rain had already successfully merged it within his Manifested Domain to strike down Surkithyrs prized First Blade. Though admittedly a failure who had reached the pinnacle of his potential, the half-beast Junta had formed a bond with the Transcendent Spirit residing within his armour which brought him to the forefront of his peers in terms of defensive strength. Even a Peak Expert with the potential to reach Half-Step Divinity within a handful of years like Du Min Gyu had been unable to easily kill Junta, yet Falling Rain cut him down in an instant from three-hundred paces away, dealing a blow that neither half-beast nor Transcendent Spirit could sense or defend against.
So imagine what this Sovereign could do with only a hundred Falling Rains, true Cultivators of the Dao who wielded the power of a Divinity without the restrictions set upon them by the Heavens above. A goal which would be all too easy to accomplish if he had the boy in hand, for the boys soul possessed the unique ability to meld flawlessly with anothers and form a connection to the Dao itself. Bestowing Blessings was but the least of what one could accomplish with Falling Rain in hand, for his soul could guide this Sovereign steps along the Path to find the true pinnacle of mortal strength, and perhaps even carry him further beyond.
A result of bonding with an Elemental Spirit, or a rare quality of the boy himself? Difficult to say, but this Sovereign hungered for the truth.
These were merely the most valuable aspects of Falling Rain, to say nothing of his many seemingly miraculous discoveries of which there were almost too many to name. Honed Emotional Aura which he used to distract and dishearten, awakening Transcendent Spirits within his Spiritual Weapons which allowed them to attack and defend of their own volition, harnessing the Energy of the Heavens to guide the masses to Core Creation, the boy stumbled across answers to questions this Sovereign had once touched upon in the distant past. The foundational knowledge required to solve those problems had yet to be unearthed, so there was no sense digging aimlessly in hopes of striking gold, yet Falling Rain had done just that. This Sovereign would have counted himself lucky to have stumbled across success in any one of these areas over the last millennia, yet Falling Rain had accomplished all this and more with only a decade of practice. Without the benefit of guidance from his so-called patron no less, for contrary to what most believed, this Sovereign knew that even the Imperial Clan did not possess the answers provided by Falling Rains Path, meaning his progress had nothing to do with his Imperial Peerage whatsoever. No, if the Supreme Families had made such progress in this Sovereigns absence, then there would have been strife and chaos aplenty in the Eastern Province, but as far as he could tell from his own sources and the schemes played out by the prospective heirs to the throne, the Imperial Clan was still bitterly embroiled in the same political infighting he'd left behind several millennia ago.
A battle against progress and innovation of all things, for those in power disliked change or any departure from the norm. As the saying went, better a bird in hand than two in the bush, so why make the effort to progress and risk being left behind? Such greed, such ignorance, to censure any and all developments which the Imperial Clan could not control, because they thought it better to wallow in mediocrity rather than aim for greater heights and risk crashing back down to the world below. They cared not for the glory of Heaven because they feared losing what they had on the earth below, like frogs sitting in a bucket and pretending it was a well because they were too afraid to venture beyond the confines of their current comfortable position.
Not this Sovereign however, but working apart from the Imperial Clan came at great cost, and not just personal. Though the true secret of his origins was known only to one other living being in existence, his methods and abilities were proof enough that his Path was part and parcel of the Imperial Clans. Rather than embark upon a new, untested, and likely inferior Path to hide his origins, he instead embraced them by hiding the truth with an all too obvious lie to keep others from looking too deeply into his persona as Zhen Shi the Uniter. To the outer provinces, he was a madman nicknamed True Corpse who indulged in all manner of atrocities, but to the Imperial Clan, his name all but identified him as a disgraced Scion living in exile. A most useful cover all things considered, given how the names of all banished exiles were struck from record to hide the shame of the Imperial Clan, but it was not without its drawbacks. Even though this Sovereign was beyond the petty infighting of the Supreme Families, the exiled Zhen Shi could hardly behave in so overbearing a manner lest it raise questions as to which of the Supreme Families was backing him and how much support they were willing to offer. In truth, even though they all suspected that he was a pawn of this family or the other, this Sovereign had no real support from within the Imperial Clan. A fact one enterprising Imperial Scion discovered all too easily, leaving Zhen Shi no choice but to make a show of fealty to his new sponsor or throw away all pretenses and engage in a battle he was not yet ready to take.
Tapping into the Spirits trapped within his golden robes, this Sovereign gauged the reserves of energy gathered by his puppets and hoped it was enough for his purposes. Without the ability to measure Energy in all its different forms, this Sovereign had been unable to determine just how much he would need to complete his transformation, nor was he able to accurately calculate how much his Spectres and Transcendents had gathered. What he possessed appeared to be enough considering it seemed like more than what was used in the Transcendent Divinitys Ascension, but that had been a flawed transformation in the end, meaning this Sovereign might well require more. For this reason, he continued to watch and wait as news of Bai Qis death spread across all of Shi Bei, a grievous blow to the morale of even the most crazed tribal or devout Chosen. It was so alarming that even this Sovereigns first Disciple saw fit to contact him, but rather than give YuKon permission to withdraw his Clan from the fray, he commanded his Disciple to have the Mataram clansmen fight to the last, for their deaths would only further his cause.
The same order was passed along to every Chieftain, Champion, and Chosen Officer still standing, as this Sovereign used his shackled Transcendents as intermediaries to avoid being discovered. His expectations were low to begin with, but even then, his conquering army managed to disappoint him as vast swathes of his soldiers sought to flee the battlefield, setting off a concatenation of events that resulted in a full-blown rout. Not the worst outcome, but far from the best, and this Sovereign could only console himself with the fact that Falling Rain was a bloodthirsty young man who jumped at the opportunity to run his enemies down from behind. Credit where it was due, Chen Hongjis cavalry forces were mounted and readied even before the order was given, for the brilliant tactician had seen the writing on the wall and knew well what to do with this knowledge. Horses streamed out from the gates alongside a multitude of other diverse mounts, mostly rhinos and roosequins with a smattering of elephants and cattle as well as the odd bird, lizard, or what have you sprinkled alongside them. The death toll already numbered in the millions and continued to climb as the Imperial cavalry ran roughshod over their fleeing foes, and this Sovereign allowed himself a moment to taste the heady bloodlust and vulgar carnality which grew thick in the air. More evidence of the link between life and death, for in the process of dealing death, humans and beasts alike were driven by their instincts to create life as well, to fornicate and procreate in order to sustain the necessary Balance required of them.
Everything came back to Balance, a verifiable truth which helped rein this Sovereigns own desires back in. Though hed long since divested himself of such urges, he would be lying if he claimed to not miss the indulgence. A flash of Insight accompanied this seemingly inconsequential acknowledgement, one which brought him even closer to the Truth, for an emotion unexpressed would remain rooted in body, mind, and soul, only to be expressed in another, possibly detrimental manner. Better to retain the ability to express such urges and indulge within reason, which changed much of what he had planned regarding his next step, so he took the time to reconfigure his Intent to better match his new vision.
A process which took longer than expected, but in reality, less than a handful of minutes had passed, and the battlefield of Shi Bei was looking sparse and ruined indeed. The bulk of this Sovereigns forces were well on their way past the horizon, while the Imperial cavalry was already circling about to deal with the stragglers left behind, as well as those Defiled who were too crazed or stupid to flee. A resounding Imperial victory all things considered, and this Sovereign could only begrudgingly admit admiration for his foes. Not just the outlier and anomaly Falling Rain, but those who supported him as well, like Chen Hongji, Situ Nian Zu, Akanai, and so many others who shouldered the weight of the Heavens and bought the boy enough time to bring yet another miracle into existence.
But even as the Imperial Army raised their voices in celebration, this Sovereigns lips parted in a smile as he committed to the next step. The Energies of the Heavens surged and kicked like a wild stallion unwilling to be mounted, but he had no use for it just yet as he tapped into the vast reserves of death energy held by his army of enslaved Spectres and the liquefied remains of millions upon millions of corpses gathered by his Transcendents. With their souls shackled within his Natal Palace acting as a conduit, he drew upon everything theyd collected in these past fifteen days and more to fuel his impending Ascension, one which would surpass the Ascension of a Transcendent Divinity and bring this Sovereign to the pinnacle of mortal strength. Better if he could solve the riddle of how to progress beyond mere mortality, but better this than nothing at all, and even this much was already in defiance of natural law. Time was a luxury he could ill-afford, but he acted with care and deliberation before proceeding with each and every action lest he slip up and incur Heavens retribution, for he knew not what form it would take and had no intention of discovering this firsthand. As he broke down his mortal flesh alongside the grafted Transcendent, he let loose a scream of agony unlike anything ever heard before, for this was a pain that went beyond the mere activation of nerves and delved into the workings of the soul itself. Body, mind, and soul came together as he wove the material and immaterial into one, doing away with everything hed built upon a flawed foundation and reducing himself to something weaker than a babe and less than a basic commoner.
Then, and only then, did he bring down the barriers between his soul and the Void, and for the first time in untold millennia, this Sovereign knew fear as the Spectres poured into his Natal Palace to devour everything within his Domain.
Theyd been waiting there all along, hungry and eager for a taste of his soul, for he had kept them in check for far too long. Where the Imperial Clan and outer provinces saw the Spectres as a plague upon humanity, this Sovereign saw the potential hiding within. Disincarnate shards of severed souls, poisoned by Imbalance of emotion, the Spectres were capable of driving weak-willed mortals to madness, but poison and medicine often differed only by dosage. Alongside this poison came a connection with the Heavens themselves, and this Sovereign had used that connection to forge ever forward along his Path in centuries past. Even though his initial premise had been flawed, not all his subsequent conclusions were erroneous and unusable, and it was this knowledge which brought him to the cusp of his next step. Balance in all things, but this Sovereign had long since noted that Balance was often kept in check by natural extremes. Just as a forest fire cleared out old growth to make room for the new, an excess of Imbalance could bring about a return to Balance. This was why the Defiled indulged in bouts of murderous debauchery, because they were driven to their limits by the Spectres plaguing them, disincarnate souls seeking Balance through the only Path left to them. Balance through Imbalance, life found in death, dominance discovered through submission, and true victory obtained from surrender.
Alas, few possessed the strength of will to remain true to themselves whilst approaching the limits of human emotion. None thus far in all of human history, in fact, save for this Sovereign himself, as he would soon prove to the world and to himself.
The deluge of death energy was accompanied by a torrent of negative emotion as countless Spectres crashed into his soul and sought to tear him apart for succor. There he sat upon his Natal Throne, clad in his flowing golden robes like an Emperor in truth as the waves of emotions crashed into his psyche and threatened to capsize him beneath their dark intents, but he held the course and emerged from each wave stronger and more determined than before. The waves hammered into him and washed away the impurities of his body, mind, and soul, for they were all linked as one and inseparable from the whole. Every blow hammered into him and moulded his existence into a singular mass of thoughts, experiences, and emotions, a blank canvas upon which he would paint perfection to mark his first step along his new Path.
Through extreme Imbalance, he found True Balance, with Insight and Inspiration aplenty as he reforged himself anew, struggling against causality and the innate order of the world every step of the way. The Heavens fought against him for they knew his efforts would bring him one step closer to True Divinity, and thus one step closer to overturning them with his might, but this Sovereign refused to relent when he was so close to success. There were laws in place meant to keep him from achieving his goals, ones meant to restrict and bind him alongside all other mortals, but these laws held no sway here within his Domain, where his Will reigned supreme. For this, the Heavens sought to unmake him and reclaim their authority over him, to sabotage his endeavours and crush him beneath their weight, but even as the world itself turned against him, he held firm to his Intent to transcend the limits of this world and prepare for his Ascension to the next.
And when all was said and done, only a handful of seconds had passed, but as this Sovereign opened his new eyes to gaze upon the smooth, pale flesh of its unmarred body, he let loose with a laugh that rang all across Shi Bei and far across the desert sands. This body was perfection itself, not just in appearance, but in function as well, a finely-tuned construct powerful enough to contend with a Divinity through pure muscle alone. Beauty was subjective, but this body was without flaw and its features fully symmetric, resulting in an appearance that many would find attractive. At first glance, most would find it difficult to determine if this form was male or female by appearance, for his bald head and androgenous features were appealing to both genders. Earlier, hed noted that one must indulge in order to be truly free of temptation, which was why he revised his plans to do away with his sexual organ and was even tempted to create a body with characteristics of both genders. Only then could he experience all the pleasures that life had to offer, but hed been unable to work out how this could have been viably accomplished, so such modifications would have to wait until he possessed a better grasp of the Dao.
An indulgence for a different day however, a thought which this Sovereign placed aside as he rose through the sands and emerged within the city itself. His arrival did not go unnoticed, and he took great pleasure in the reactions of all who gazed upon perfection itself, with most showing signs of revulsion and captivation both as their feeble minds struggled to comprehend what they saw before them. It was not lust or affection which drew their eyes to him so, but the unconscious acceptance of this Sovereigns superiority in all ways. Though still falling far short of a true Divinity, this Sovereign would soon ascend beyond the limits of a mere mortal, and thus, was best described as a nascent immortal, the very first of his kind in all history.
And as this Sovereign laid eyes upon his most hated foe, he considered his newfangled strength and re-calculated the odds in record time to discover that perhaps securing Falling Rain in hand would not be so impossible a feat. As an Immortal, he not only had access to the raw Energy of the Heavens as a Divinity would, but he also discovered that there was even more to the world than he previously understood, a higher power that went beyond even the Energy of the Heavens. This was Immortal Energy, something this Sovereign could only just barely perceive and lacked the ability to control, yet knowing it was there was more than enough. A vast reservoir of untouched potential, thats what this Immortal Energy represented, the same energies which Falling Rain used to turn shards of his severed soul into an elixir for others.
An ability this Sovereign could eventually replicate, but why pay the cost when it could use Falling Rains soul instead? Even better if he could secure the boys soul in hand and leave the body and mind behind, leading others to believe the boy hale and healthy while this Sovereign unearthed his secrets in safety. An opportunity made possible because of the boys division of his soul, for this Sovereign could sense a second spirit inhabiting the boys Natal Palace, a Natal Soul possessing power enough to rival the boys eternal soul. This division left the boy weakened and vulnerable, for the body and mind were anchored to both souls and liable to release one in order to save the other, meaning this Sovereign could easily snatch up the true soul and leave behind an empty vessel to be occupied by the Natal Soul. Why, it might even thank this Sovereign for making freedom possible, though that might well change once it fell into the hands of the Imperial Clan, but this Sovereign will have already escaped with the true prize in hand.
From there, the possibilities were endless, for no Treaty could constrain an Immortal, and in time, this Sovereign was confident of bringing even the Emperor himself to his knees. It would only be a matter of centuries, or perhaps even decades given how much improved this Sovereigns mind and soul had become, for once the boys secrets were extracted and deciphered, the Path forward would be made clear. The decision made, this Sovereign reached out to take Falling Rains soul in hand, only to draw back on instinct to catch a sword in mid-flight. Mere millimetres more and it would have driven itself into this Sovereigns eye and brain, areas of weakness even this Immortal body could not avoid.
How curious. Did the boy pinpoint these weaknesses based on logic and facts, or was it merely habit which drew him to attack in such a manner?
No matter. Following on the heels of the boys attack was none other than the Old Wolf Calamity himself, and this Sovereign was eager to see how this newfangled body would hold up. So what if one of them lost control and brought Heavens Wrath down upon them? Much like the Old Wolf, this Sovereign no longer had anything to lose, and so much to gain from a conflict now that its forces were scattered to the winds. After today, this Sovereign would no longer be constrained by the red dust of the mortal world, for his sights were set far beyond.
Life and Death were only the beginning, and this Sovereign was eager to see what came next, just as soon as the Imperial Divinities in Shi Bei were dealt with and Falling Rain secured in hand.
Chapter Meme
Chapter 803Stifling a sigh of bitter regret, this Sovereign laid his ambitions to rest alongside his fallen Commander General, but not every trial and tribulation was meant to be overcome.The foundation of civilization itself was built upon a bedrock of failure, a truth he understood well enough, but even a Sovereign as discerning as he was discouraged by so egregious a setback. Centuries of planning and preparation all gone to waste largely due to the efforts and actions of a single infuriating boy, one barely even two decades old and unpredictable to the extreme. Fury and hatred welled up from within, emotions this Sovereign had long since mastered, but what aggravated him the most was seeing the boys unmitigated delight. There he lay upon the battlements of Shi Bei, dazed and bloodied but unbroken as he celebrated an accomplishment in which he played the part of bait. A wounded fledgling, so defiant in his ignorance, a life so feeble and fragile it would take little more than a thought to end his wretched existence, except the cost of doing so was more than what this Sovereign was willing to bear.Vague and precarious though it might be, maintaining the Treaty proved more boon than burden to this Sovereigns end goal, for he was not yet strong enough to directly contend with the Emperor outright, to say nothing of the various monstrous existences hiding in the shadows of the Supreme Families. An admission of weakness which brought the Sovereign no shame or discontent, for the Imperial Clan had come into existence several millennia ago and had been building its strength ever since. The only reason they cared not to deal with this Sovereign outright was because they saw his efforts as an entertaining change of pace, for theyd been playing the same game on the same board with the same pieces for far too long and delighted in seeing something new. This and the fact that his new allies within the Clan saw to it that their rivals made no direct action against him, but this setback in Shi Bei might well turn his supporters against him. There were no eternal friends, only eternal interests, and the fact that this Sovereign was unable to ravage the outer provinces as promised meant his allies within the Supreme families were already re-evaluating his worth.No matter though, for even if the Imperial Clan united against him, he was more than confident of evading death and capture so long as the Emperor himself did not deign to act. He wouldnt, because to do so would present the Supreme Families with an unprecedented opportunity to overthrow him themselves, meaning this Sovereign was safe from reprisal so long as he kept his wits about him.All this and more flashed through his mind in the blink of an eye as he readied his plans for the immediate and distant future both, laying out the steps he intended to take over the next century and beyond. Though the battle in Shi Bei itself was not yet lost, there was no longer anything or anyone of value worth salvaging from this ruinous disaster. Bai Qi had been the most promising sapling of the bunch, and while there were a handful of other seedlings who might one day ascend to Divinity, this Sovereign no longer possessed the desire to nurture them. What use was there in saving a handful of pawns when the whole board was about to be overturned? Better to save his efforts and start anew while his enemies dealt with the chaos and anarchy left behind in the ravaged Western Province.There was still some small benefit to be had in this most disgraceful of defeats, one which would have wide-reaching consequences to be sure. These last two years had been especially enlightening, and this Sovereign had learned much from his trials and tribulations. It would take time to untangle the truths hed uncovered, but of this, he was in no short supply, and the benefits gleaned would more than outweigh the cost of failure here today.And yet, even knowing all this and more, this Sovereign was still sorely tempted to throw caution to the wind and eliminate Falling Rain here and now, and not solely due to the boys latent potential.It all started in Sanshu, where this most promising young seedling foiled this Sovereigns plot to annex the city in order to later destabilize the Northern Province. Had his plans gone to fruition, then the city would have emerged victorious against Butcher Bays Yo Ling thanks to the efforts of this Sovereigns puppet, affording the Golden Highlands Coalition the opportunity to deal a death blow to their competitors within the merchant council and seize control of the city for themselves. Alas, all this was not meant to be as the actions of a single fledgling Warrant Officer forced Yo Ling to accelerate his plans and rush headlong into a disastrous death and defeat, while laying bare the corruption within the Merchant Council itself and leaving the city in control of the once impotent Magistrate who proved far more formidable than expected.A most frustrating setback all things considered, especially considering how Falling Rain should have fallen under this Sovereigns sway. A pawn turned against him by an Elemental Spirit no less, entities of power and Balance that even the Imperial Clan didnt entirely understand. Add to this the Cloud Divinitys interference preventing the savage tribal foreigners from breaking through the Northern Wall, and this Sovereign was forced to abandon the province and seek ingress elsewhere. He was met with similar failure in the South, where even centuries of planning were not enough to eke out a foothold in that most united of provinces, for their custom of venerating Spiritual Beasts made it all but impossible for this Sovereigns puppets to rise to any position of high standing. This left him no choice but to focus all his efforts on the West, an outcome which was far from ideal, but it was his strongest base of power thanks to the unshakable position of the Mataram Clan.A poor start to his plans to conquer the outer provinces, but he was too far gone to fall back. If this Sovereign were to do it all over again, he would have razed Sanshu to the ground and annexed Shen Mu instead, but how was he to know a single brat lacking hair on his chin would ruin all of his best laid plans? Sanshu was the far more valuable prize, the rice bowl of the North from which this Sovereign could destabilize the entire province and supply the West with much needed food and lumber, whereas Shen Mu was merely a gateway to the Northern Wall and therefore the second line of defense to overcome. When choosing a city to test the weapon crafted by the Canston Trading Group, Shen Mu had been the obvious choice, yet events since had proven that this Sovereigns path to victory would have been laid bare had he chosen to obliterate Sanshu instead.For then Falling Rain would have undoubtedly died in the ensuing chaos before ever familiarizing himself with his Elemental Spirit, and taking the outer provinces would have been as easy as plucking over-ripe apples from a branch.There was still fortune to be found in disaster yet, as this Sovereign had found Insight and Inspiration in studying the boys most recent advancements, to say nothing of the ideas and innovations he championed as Legate of the Outer Provinces. The weapons of war alone would keep the Imperial Clan occupied for at least another century or two, for if left unchecked, the crossbows, catapults, and cannons would lead to rebellion and revolutions as the masses rose up in revolt against their overbearing overlords. To make matters worse, the rediscovery of poured stone meant building new fortresses was merely a matter of weeks, rather than years, which was the very reason why knowledge of it had been suppressed in the first place. Granted, widespread Runic Cannons would soon render traditional fortress walls moot and ineffective, which would further serve this Sovereign well in the years to come, for civil unrest and bloody insurrection were breeding grounds for Spectres and Demons alike. The so-called Defiled were of limited use, but gather enough droplets of water and a river would form, and the collective peasants of the Empire were an ocean of potential just waiting to be exploited.Already, this Sovereign had the working outlines of countless tests to conduct and plans to set into motion, ones which would continue to destabilize the outer provinces and further his understanding of his most recent discoveries. No matter how dreary or tedious arranging the tests might be, the mere prospect of uncovering new information filled him with anticipation and longing, rare sensations to be savoured and relished given his extensive experience. The boy called him an eight-hundred-year-old monster, but this Sovereigns lifespan was better measured in millennia than centuries, a secret known only to one other entity in existence and a secret he would keep for so long as he lived. This Sovereign had done more than bear witness to the rise of the Azure Empire, and he would have a hand in its fall as well, a dream which had been delayed thanks to Falling Rains insufferable interference, but not by long for reasons much the same.No matter though. Two steps forward and one step back was still progress in the end, and this Sovereign was nothing if not patient. Eager too, for Falling Rains Path enabled him to carry out feats once previously believed to require the attainment of half-step Divinity at the bare minimum, meaning that the very foundation of the Dao as the Empire understood it was considerably flawed at best. Even the so-called Sword King Ryo Dae Jung had only just touched upon the secrets of Sword Intent, yet young Falling Rain had already successfully merged it within his Manifested Domain to strike down Surkithyrs prized First Blade. Though admittedly a failure who had reached the pinnacle of his potential, the half-beast Junta had formed a bond with the Transcendent Spirit residing within his armour which brought him to the forefront of his peers in terms of defensive strength. Even a Peak Expert with the potential to reach Half-Step Divinity within a handful of years like Du Min Gyu had been unable to easily kill Junta, yet Falling Rain cut him down in an instant from three-hundred paces away, dealing a blow that neither half-beast nor Transcendent Spirit could sense or defend against.So imagine what this Sovereign could do with only a hundred Falling Rains, true Cultivators of the Dao who wielded the power of a Divinity without the restrictions set upon them by the Heavens above. A goal which would be all too easy to accomplish if he had the boy in hand, for the boys soul possessed the unique ability to meld flawlessly with anothers and form a connection to the Dao itself. Bestowing Blessings was but the least of what one could accomplish with Falling Rain in hand, for his soul could guide this Sovereign steps along the Path to find the true pinnacle of mortal strength, and perhaps even carry him further beyond.A result of bonding with an Elemental Spirit, or a rare quality of the boy himself? Difficult to say, but this Sovereign hungered for the truth.These were merely the most valuable aspects of Falling Rain, to say nothing of his many seemingly miraculous discoveries of which there were almost too many to name. Honed Emotional Aura which he used to distract and dishearten, awakening Transcendent Spirits within his Spiritual Weapons which allowed them to attack and defend of their own volition, harnessing the Energy of the Heavens to guide the masses to Core Creation, the boy stumbled across answers to questions this Sovereign had once touched upon in the distant past. The foundational knowledge required to solve those problems had yet to be unearthed, so there was no sense digging aimlessly in hopes of striking gold, yet Falling Rain had done just that. This Sovereign would have counted himself lucky to have stumbled across success in any one of these areas over the last millennia, yet Falling Rain had accomplished all this and more with only a decade of practice. Without the benefit of guidance from his so-called patron no less, for contrary to what most believed, this Sovereign knew that even the Imperial Clan did not possess the answers provided by Falling Rains Path, meaning his progress had nothing to do with his Imperial Peerage whatsoever. No, if the Supreme Families had made such progress in this Sovereigns absence, then there would have been strife and chaos aplenty in the Eastern Province, but as far as he could tell from his own sources and the schemes played out by the prospective heirs to the throne, the Imperial Clan was still bitterly embroiled in the same political infighting he'd left behind several millennia ago.A battle against progress and innovation of all things, for those in power disliked change or any departure from the norm. As the saying went, better a bird in hand than two in the bush, so why make the effort to progress and risk being left behind? Such greed, such ignorance, to censure any and all developments which the Imperial Clan could not control, because they thought it better to wallow in mediocrity rather than aim for greater heights and risk crashing back down to the world below. They cared not for the glory of Heaven because they feared losing what they had on the earth below, like frogs sitting in a bucket and pretending it was a well because they were too afraid to venture beyond the confines of their current comfortable position.Not this Sovereign however, but working apart from the Imperial Clan came at great cost, and not just personal. Though the true secret of his origins was known only to one other living being in existence, his methods and abilities were proof enough that his Path was part and parcel of the Imperial Clans. Rather than embark upon a new, untested, and likely inferior Path to hide his origins, he instead embraced them by hiding the truth with an all too obvious lie to keep others from looking too deeply into his persona as Zhen Shi the Uniter. To the outer provinces, he was a madman nicknamed True Corpse who indulged in all manner of atrocities, but to the Imperial Clan, his name all but identified him as a disgraced Scion living in exile. A most useful cover all things considered, given how the names of all banished exiles were struck from record to hide the shame of the Imperial Clan, but it was not without its drawbacks. Even though this Sovereign was beyond the petty infighting of the Supreme Families, the exiled Zhen Shi could hardly behave in so overbearing a manner lest it raise questions as to which of the Supreme Families was backing him and how much support they were willing to offer. In truth, even though they all suspected that he was a pawn of this family or the other, this Sovereign had no real support from within the Imperial Clan. A fact one enterprising Imperial Scion discovered all too easily, leaving Zhen Shi no choice but to make a show of fealty to his new sponsor or throw away all pretenses and engage in a battle he was not yet ready to take.Tapping into the Spirits trapped within his golden robes, this Sovereign gauged the reserves of energy gathered by his puppets and hoped it was enough for his purposes. Without the ability to measure Energy in all its different forms, this Sovereign had been unable to determine just how much he would need to complete his transformation, nor was he able to accurately calculate how much his Spectres and Transcendents had gathered. What he possessed appeared to be enough considering it seemed like more than what was used in the Transcendent Divinitys Ascension, but that had been a flawed transformation in the end, meaning this Sovereign might well require more. For this reason, he continued to watch and wait as news of Bai Qis death spread across all of Shi Bei, a grievous blow to the morale of even the most crazed tribal or devout Chosen. It was so alarming that even this Sovereigns first Disciple saw fit to contact him, but rather than give YuKon permission to withdraw his Clan from the fray, he commanded his Disciple to have the Mataram clansmen fight to the last, for their deaths would only further his cause.The same order was passed along to every Chieftain, Champion, and Chosen Officer still standing, as this Sovereign used his shackled Transcendents as intermediaries to avoid being discovered. His expectations were low to begin with, but even then, his conquering army managed to disappoint him as vast swathes of his soldiers sought to flee the battlefield, setting off a concatenation of events that resulted in a full-blown rout. Not the worst outcome, but far from the best, and this Sovereign could only console himself with the fact that Falling Rain was a bloodthirsty young man who jumped at the opportunity to run his enemies down from behind. Credit where it was due, Chen Hongjis cavalry forces were mounted and readied even before the order was given, for the brilliant tactician had seen the writing on the wall and knew well what to do with this knowledge. Horses streamed out from the gates alongside a multitude of other diverse mounts, mostly rhinos and roosequins with a smattering of elephants and cattle as well as the odd bird, lizard, or what have you sprinkled alongside them. The death toll already numbered in the millions and continued to climb as the Imperial cavalry ran roughshod over their fleeing foes, and this Sovereign allowed himself a moment to taste the heady bloodlust and vulgar carnality which grew thick in the air. More evidence of the link between life and death, for in the process of dealing death, humans and beasts alike were driven by their instincts to create life as well, to fornicate and procreate in order to sustain the necessary Balance required of them.Everything came back to Balance, a verifiable truth which helped rein this Sovereigns own desires back in. Though hed long since divested himself of such urges, he would be lying if he claimed to not miss the indulgence. A flash of Insight accompanied this seemingly inconsequential acknowledgement, one which brought him even closer to the Truth, for an emotion unexpressed would remain rooted in body, mind, and soul, only to be expressed in another, possibly detrimental manner. Better to retain the ability to express such urges and indulge within reason, which changed much of what he had planned regarding his next step, so he took the time to reconfigure his Intent to better match his new vision.A process which took longer than expected, but in reality, less than a handful of minutes had passed, and the battlefield of Shi Bei was looking sparse and ruined indeed. The bulk of this Sovereigns forces were well on their way past the horizon, while the Imperial cavalry was already circling about to deal with the stragglers left behind, as well as those Defiled who were too crazed or stupid to flee. A resounding Imperial victory all things considered, and this Sovereign could only begrudgingly admit admiration for his foes. Not just the outlier and anomaly Falling Rain, but those who supported him as well, like Chen Hongji, Situ Nian Zu, Akanai, and so many others who shouldered the weight of the Heavens and bought the boy enough time to bring yet another miracle into existence.But even as the Imperial Army raised their voices in celebration, this Sovereigns lips parted in a smile as he committed to the next step. The Energies of the Heavens surged and kicked like a wild stallion unwilling to be mounted, but he had no use for it just yet as he tapped into the vast reserves of death energy held by his army of enslaved Spectres and the liquefied remains of millions upon millions of corpses gathered by his Transcendents. With their souls shackled within his Natal Palace acting as a conduit, he drew upon everything theyd collected in these past fifteen days and more to fuel his impending Ascension, one which would surpass the Ascension of a Transcendent Divinity and bring this Sovereign to the pinnacle of mortal strength. Better if he could solve the riddle of how to progress beyond mere mortality, but better this than nothing at all, and even this much was already in defiance of natural law. Time was a luxury he could ill-afford, but he acted with care and deliberation before proceeding with each and every action lest he slip up and incur Heavens retribution, for he knew not what form it would take and had no intention of discovering this firsthand. As he broke down his mortal flesh alongside the grafted Transcendent, he let loose a scream of agony unlike anything ever heard before, for this was a pain that went beyond the mere activation of nerves and delved into the workings of the soul itself. Body, mind, and soul came together as he wove the material and immaterial into one, doing away with everything hed built upon a flawed foundation and reducing himself to something weaker than a babe and less than a basic commoner.Then, and only then, did he bring down the barriers between his soul and the Void, and for the first time in untold millennia, this Sovereign knew fear as the Spectres poured into his Natal Palace to devour everything within his Domain.Theyd been waiting there all along, hungry and eager for a taste of his soul, for he had kept them in check for far too long. Where the Imperial Clan and outer provinces saw the Spectres as a plague upon humanity, this Sovereign saw the potential hiding within. Disincarnate shards of severed souls, poisoned by Imbalance of emotion, the Spectres were capable of driving weak-willed mortals to madness, but poison and medicine often differed only by dosage. Alongside this poison came a connection with the Heavens themselves, and this Sovereign had used that connection to forge ever forward along his Path in centuries past. Even though his initial premise had been flawed, not all his subsequent conclusions were erroneous and unusable, and it was this knowledge which brought him to the cusp of his next step. Balance in all things, but this Sovereign had long since noted that Balance was often kept in check by natural extremes. Just as a forest fire cleared out old growth to make room for the new, an excess of Imbalance could bring about a return to Balance. This was why the Defiled indulged in bouts of murderous debauchery, because they were driven to their limits by the Spectres plaguing them, disincarnate souls seeking Balance through the only Path left to them. Balance through Imbalance, life found in death, dominance discovered through submission, and true victory obtained from surrender.Alas, few possessed the strength of will to remain true to themselves whilst approaching the limits of human emotion. None thus far in all of human history, in fact, save for this Sovereign himself, as he would soon prove to the world and to himself.The deluge of death energy was accompanied by a torrent of negative emotion as countless Spectres crashed into his soul and sought to tear him apart for succor. There he sat upon his Natal Throne, clad in his flowing golden robes like an Emperor in truth as the waves of emotions crashed into his psyche and threatened to capsize him beneath their dark intents, but he held the course and emerged from each wave stronger and more determined than before. The waves hammered into him and washed away the impurities of his body, mind, and soul, for they were all linked as one and inseparable from the whole. Every blow hammered into him and moulded his existence into a singular mass of thoughts, experiences, and emotions, a blank canvas upon which he would paint perfection to mark his first step along his new Path.Through extreme Imbalance, he found True Balance, with Insight and Inspiration aplenty as he reforged himself anew, struggling against causality and the innate order of the world every step of the way. The Heavens fought against him for they knew his efforts would bring him one step closer to True Divinity, and thus one step closer to overturning them with his might, but this Sovereign refused to relent when he was so close to success. There were laws in place meant to keep him from achieving his goals, ones meant to restrict and bind him alongside all other mortals, but these laws held no sway here within his Domain, where his Will reigned supreme. For this, the Heavens sought to unmake him and reclaim their authority over him, to sabotage his endeavours and crush him beneath their weight, but even as the world itself turned against him, he held firm to his Intent to transcend the limits of this world and prepare for his Ascension to the next.And when all was said and done, only a handful of seconds had passed, but as this Sovereign opened his new eyes to gaze upon the smooth, pale flesh of its unmarred body, he let loose with a laugh that rang all across Shi Bei and far across the desert sands. This body was perfection itself, not just in appearance, but in function as well, a finely-tuned construct powerful enough to contend with a Divinity through pure muscle alone. Beauty was subjective, but this body was without flaw and its features fully symmetric, resulting in an appearance that many would find attractive. At first glance, most would find it difficult to determine if this form was male or female by appearance, for his bald head and androgenous features were appealing to both genders. Earlier, hed noted that one must indulge in order to be truly free of temptation, which was why he revised his plans to do away with his sexual organ and was even tempted to create a body with characteristics of both genders. Only then could he experience all the pleasures that life had to offer, but hed been unable to work out how this could have been viably accomplished, so such modifications would have to wait until he possessed a better grasp of the Dao.An indulgence for a different day however, a thought which this Sovereign placed aside as he rose through the sands and emerged within the city itself. His arrival did not go unnoticed, and he took great pleasure in the reactions of all who gazed upon perfection itself, with most showing signs of revulsion and captivation both as their feeble minds struggled to comprehend what they saw before them. It was not lust or affection which drew their eyes to him so, but the unconscious acceptance of this Sovereigns superiority in all ways. Though still falling far short of a true Divinity, this Sovereign would soon ascend beyond the limits of a mere mortal, and thus, was best described as a nascent immortal, the very first of his kind in all history.And as this Sovereign laid eyes upon his most hated foe, he considered his newfangled strength and re-calculated the odds in record time to discover that perhaps securing Falling Rain in hand would not be so impossible a feat. As an Immortal, he not only had access to the raw Energy of the Heavens as a Divinity would, but he also discovered that there was even more to the world than he previously understood, a higher power that went beyond even the Energy of the Heavens. This was Immortal Energy, something this Sovereign could only just barely perceive and lacked the ability to control, yet knowing it was there was more than enough. A vast reservoir of untouched potential, thats what this Immortal Energy represented, the same energies which Falling Rain used to turn shards of his severed soul into an elixir for others.An ability this Sovereign could eventually replicate, but why pay the cost when it could use Falling Rains soul instead? Even better if he could secure the boys soul in hand and leave the body and mind behind, leading others to believe the boy hale and healthy while this Sovereign unearthed his secrets in safety. An opportunity made possible because of the boys division of his soul, for this Sovereign could sense a second spirit inhabiting the boys Natal Palace, a Natal Soul possessing power enough to rival the boys eternal soul. This division left the boy weakened and vulnerable, for the body and mind were anchored to both souls and liable to release one in order to save the other, meaning this Sovereign could easily snatch up the true soul and leave behind an empty vessel to be occupied by the Natal Soul. Why, it might even thank this Sovereign for making freedom possible, though that might well change once it fell into the hands of the Imperial Clan, but this Sovereign will have already escaped with the true prize in hand.From there, the possibilities were endless, for no Treaty could constrain an Immortal, and in time, this Sovereign was confident of bringing even the Emperor himself to his knees. It would only be a matter of centuries, or perhaps even decades given how much improved this Sovereigns mind and soul had become, for once the boys secrets were extracted and deciphered, the Path forward would be made clear. The decision made, this Sovereign reached out to take Falling Rains soul in hand, only to draw back on instinct to catch a sword in mid-flight. Mere millimetres more and it would have driven itself into this Sovereigns eye and brain, areas of weakness even this Immortal body could not avoid.How curious. Did the boy pinpoint these weaknesses based on logic and facts, or was it merely habit which drew him to attack in such a manner?No matter. Following on the heels of the boys attack was none other than the Old Wolf Calamity himself, and this Sovereign was eager to see how this newfangled body would hold up. So what if one of them lost control and brought Heavens Wrath down upon them? Much like the Old Wolf, this Sovereign no longer had anything to lose, and so much to gain from a conflict now that its forces were scattered to the winds. After today, this Sovereign would no longer be constrained by the red dust of the mortal world, for his sights were set far beyond.Life and Death were only the beginning, and this Sovereign was eager to see what came next, just as soon as the Imperial Divinities in Shi Bei were dealt with and Falling Rain secured in hand.Chapter Meme
