Chapter 814
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Chapter 814
The somber lyrics struck with the ponderous weight of a thousand mountains, but this was merely the start of a ruinous calamity unlike anything this Sovereign could ever imagine.
The impact stole his breath away and left him reeling in a sea of despair and dejection, dragged into those murky depths by currents of loathing and lethargy which bound him tighter than any chains ever could. Not physically, a quiet and all-too-logical portion of his mind observed, for he was free to move about as he pleased, but the prospect of simply standing upright robbed him of all strength and desire. Falling to his knees, he toppled over into the scorching desert sands and tucked his chin to his chest, cradling his head close before shutting his eyes tight. The sun, the wind, the sky, the sand, the heat, the glare, the shame, it was all too much to bear, so he closed himself off from all sounds and sensations in an effort to stymie the burdensome torrents of apathy and adversity threatening to drown him on dry land. His chest ached with hollow emptiness and his lungs burned from lack of air, but try as he might, he could not bring himself to draw breath. The world spun as his throat closed and stomach heaved in abject distress, his body rejecting the processes required for life itself in response to his minds demands that he do just that, for the gravity of his incompetence was too much for him to bear. This was an affliction of the mind and soul, a mad malaise of morbidity and melancholy from which there was no escape, for it stemmed from the deepest, darkest recesses of his existence and had finally come to reclaim him.
This was where he belonged, surrounded by the bleak desolation of his own cheerless despair in a prison of his own devising. There was no sense in avoiding it, no point to rising above it, for even if he were to rise up beyond the Heavens themselves, it would only make the fall that much worse when he plummeted back down into this pit once more, for here in the heart of anguish and misery was where he made his home.
Victory was at hand. That was what a single voice claimed, the thread of logic to which this Worm had clung to for millennia now, yet he could not bring himself to care. Eight centuries of meticulous effort had gone to waste, so if he were to try again, who was to say he would get any further? How much time did he care to dedicate to this cause? Overthrow the dog Emperor? The lowly outer provinces had proved too resilient for this Worm to topple, their courage and determination more than a match for his best laid plans. How laughable a stumbling block for a man of his accomplishments, this loose conglomeration of disorganized bumpkins who could barely see beyond their own paltry desires. Perhaps he would succeed the next time, but behind the outer provinces lay the Imperial Clan, and now this Worm no longer possessed the confidence to face them. The least of the Royal Guardians were comparable to the best the outer provinces had to offer, so while the Living Legends and Exarches might still stand out, anyone beneath them would find it difficult to keep pace with an average Royal Guardian, while the true elites were good enough to hold their ground against any Warrior short of a Divinity.
Not without reason. Unlike the Death Corps whose ranks were filled with rebels, criminals, and the defeated, the Royal Guardians were the Emperors elites, and the Supreme Families sent their spare Scions to fill their ranks in order to win honour and glory for their households at the Emperors expense. Just like the Academy which produced the finest Imperial Servants throughout the province, the Royal College trained the Empires finest military Officers. Every trainee drafted into their ranks received the finest instruction from the greatest Warriors drawn from the entire Empire itself, but such an education could be found within the hallowed halls of any Supreme Familys manor. No, the true advantage lay in their meals, which were made with the finest Spiritual Plants and the meat of Spiritual Beasts provided by the illustrious Di Family. Again, this was not an advantage unique to the College, but the Emperor demanded the lions share of the Di Familys harvest each season, leaving only a pittance to be split between the Five Supreme Families and their allied factions. As such, even the Grand Marshal and Prime Minister themselves were unable to indulge themselves in cuisine as fine as what the lowliest Royal Guardian enjoyed each and every day within the college walls, where multiple generations of cooks laboured day and night to provide meals to the Emperors elite caste of loyal Warriors and Officers alike.
The greatest fires could only burn so long as there was fuel enough to feed it, and this culinary advantage provided Royal Guardians with strength, stamina, and durability unmatched. Such extravagance was largely wasted being consumed for their everyday meals, but the Emperor could easily afford the investment, and the prize was well worth the cost. The Spiritual Plants and Meat helped refine the bodies and minds of his Royal Guardians, which smoothed out the Path to Divinity to allow even the most mediocre of talents to eventually try their hand at Shattering the Void. Most put off the attempt until they had no other choice, and few ever survived, but those infrequent successes meant that the Emperor still counted more loyal Divinities among his ranks than the Five Families combined.
For this reason alone, the Royal Guardians formed the core of the Emperors armies, but the Scions of the Imperial Clan were formidable enough in their own right. While phenomenal talents such as Nian Zu, Jeong Hyo-Lynn, and Akanai would still be considered remarkable Warriors in the East, they never would have achieved Divinity without Falling Rains help, and the Peak Experts below them were only middling at best when compared to the Warriors of the Imperial Clan. This was because the Imperial Clan as a whole possessed a more complete understanding of the Dao and the Path to greatness. Disregarding the restricted secrets of the Five Families and the misinformation spread by the Emperor himself, the East was still the true centre of the Dao, for the outer provinces were so blind to the truth that most believed the Martial Dao was the only Path to greatness. Theyd long since forgotten the accomplishments of Warriors of Legends, ignorant of how the Yang Ancestor wielded the fires of Heaven to burn down an entire province, or how the Liang Ancestors flute could compel whole armies to take their own lives. Between the two of them, they respectively presented the West and North to the Emperor himself, almost half of the inhabited lands claimed during the First Imperial Inauguration, but even then there were not the most formidable of the Five Ancestors. The Xing Ancestor was a master of all weapons and a warrior unmatched in possession of three different Intents, a Martial God who only ever tasted defeat at the hands of the Emperor. As for the Tian Ancestor, he was the most feared of all, for though he was unable to stand against the aforementioned three in open battle, if he wanted someone dead, then only the Emperor could stop him.
And then there was the Di Ancestor, whose personal strength was no match for even the subordinates of his fellow Ancestors, yet wielded the greatest power of them all, for he possessed an understanding of life, death, and human biology which enabled him to empower the Emperors armies and turn them into a force unmatched.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com
Of course, most of these accomplishments were only possible before the Treaty came into play, when powerful Divinities the world over combined their efforts under the Emperors guidance to limit the Dao from mortals and their ilk. Uniting the Azure Empire had left the world largely ruined and uninhabitable, and no one wanted to see a second Mortal Emperor rise up from amongst the people, for another conflict of this magnitude might well break the world. This alone was not enough to excuse this Worms lacking accomplishments however, for though the Laws of the World had been obscured by the Heavens themselves due to the Emperors meddling, to still be unable to unravel the Di Ancestors greatest secrets after so many millennia immersed in study was embarrassing to say the least. It seemed like the most appropriate avenue to take at the time, or rather the only option given the circumstances. This Worm had no Blessing to follow in the Yang Ancestors footsteps, no affinity for the arts to chase after the Liang Ancestor, no supreme strength and Insight to match the Xing Ancestors abilities, and no unparalleled natural talent to compare himself to the Tian Ancestor. Though this Worm had dabbled in all four paths at one point or another, his greatest focus had always been on the Di Ancestors secrets, for once he had those answers in hand, then the Emperors greatest advantage would be no more. This Worm had come so close, yet was still so far, because while his Ascended Transcendents being a close match for the Royal Guardians in quality, the process to create them was nowhere near as versatile. Ascended Transcendents required a Defiled test subject to start with, which in and of itself was a marked disadvantage given the inherent weakness of a Defiled subjects Will, but this Worm also made use of a different source of sustenance, namely corpse matter and Death Energy rather than plant matter and Life Energy. All Paths lead to the Dao, but this Worm knew full well that his methods were inferior to the Di Ancestors.
Granted, the deficiencies in his methods were mitigated by the speed with which he could raise his armies, even after accounting for time spent in preparation. Human corpses and Death Energy were easily obtained and replenished in times of war, and the Western Province alone had resources enough to build an army to dwarf the Royal Guardians and Death Corps combined, but just as this Sovereign stood upon the cusp of victory and success in Shi Bei, Falling Rain went ahead and surpassed this Worm and the Di Ancestor both by providing Insight to the entire Imperial Army.
And this was not the first time either, for the boy had done something similar in JiangHu and again in Meng Sha, yet the Worm was at a loss to explain it. There was so much he had yet to discover, so much he had yet to comprehend, he was a fool to think he could ever overthrow the Emperor, much less the Heavens above. No matter how much firewood you stack together, it all paled in comparison to a handful of gold. What was he thinking, placing so much effort and emphasis on the debased tribes of the Defiled? No wonder his plan had failed, for to make good weapons, you first needed good materials, because no amount of hammering could turn copper into steel. This Worm had provided his Chosen and Defiled with resources and attention enough to improve their physical forms, but they were still sorely lacking in mind and soul. In contrast, Falling Rain only provided his army with Insight and nothing more, meaning their advancements were restricted to the soul alone, yet this was more than enough to give them the upper hand. Whether it be the battle between mortals or Divinities, the Imperial Army would soon seize the advantage and turn the tides against the Defiled forces. Not due to superior strength, but the superior tactics theyd relied upon so heavily to make it this far, as Peak Experts banded together to fight alongside one another while this Worms Ascended Transcendents threw themselves into the fray like rabid wolves chasing sheep off the side of a steep cliff.
It wasnt that the Ascended Transcendents lacked intelligence, but rather their leaders were unable to control them as a whole. There were pockets of organized chaos scattered throughout the battle, small areas where individuals like Vithar and other former Defiled Chieftains kept their allies in check, but their influence was limited at best. Most of the power lay in the hands of Mao Jianghong and the exile Ankhbayar, but they were both massive disappointments. They were too blinded by their own interests to see past the present, too focused on winning their own duels at the expense of the overall battle itself, and too indulgent in their own emotions to care about the consequences. Perhaps things would be different if Bai Qi still lived, but he was little more than an arrogant fool, unable to look past his selfish desires and take in the Dao as a whole.
No wonder this Worms efforts ended in so abject a failure, for the Emperor had his five Supreme Generals, while this Worm struggled all on his lonesome with no one to support him.
Oh how it burned to think of the Supreme Families laughing at his incompetence, this Worms failure so complete that he was unable to win even after Falling Rains allies abandoned him mid-way through the war. His Death Corps guards were withdrawn, his Royal Guardian escorts ordered to slip away in the dead of night, and his reinforcements cut-off and kept out of the fight, and still Falling Rain proved too formidable for this Worm to overcome. Even if given another millennia to prepare, who was to say Falling Rain would not still be there to thwart this Worms plans a second time? Though not yet a Divinity, he satisfied all the conditions necessary to become one, and while this was no guarantee of success, this Worm had never seen a candidate more promising than Falling Rain. To think, he already possessed power enough to fight this Worm to a draw as a mere Martial Warrior, not even a Peak Expert in truth, so how much stronger would the boy become once he was a man and Divinity grown? Add to this the talented Scions of the Imperial Clan, like young Shen ZhenWu who might well be the second coming of the Martial God, or the formidable Tian Family Scion who unearthed this Worm in the first place, and the chances of success grew infinitesimally small without accounting for the Emperor himself.
And then there were the hidden reserves of the Imperial Clan, which this Worm knew little about. The Five Families had always been secretive, and this Worm had been too far removed from the Imperial Clan for too long to have any inkling of how much strength they might have hidden away. The Divinities whose names and faces were known to this Worm were long since dead and gone, their bodies entombed beneath the fields of the Di Family farms and their power returned to Heaven and Earth. New Divinities would have been raised to replace them, and now that Falling Rain had discovered how to mitigate the Wrath of Heaven, this Worm could no longer count on the Divinities of the Supreme Families to keep the Emperors Divinities in check, for no longer did they need fear a calamitous clash bringing ruin to what remained of the habitable world.
Faced with all these failures and more, what was the point of persevering? All that awaited this Worm was failure and humiliation, for his chances of victory were slim to none now that all the variables had been taken into account. The only way forward was for this Sovereign to become akin to the Emperor himself, an existence to surpass Divinity with power enough to subdue the Five Family Ancestors and the rest of the known world. How laughable a goal, for in all the millennia since the Emperor first rose to power, none had ever come close to matching his formidable attainments. Not even Falling Rain could compare, for the Emperor was a born talent found only once every billion years, the accumulation of fate and karma from who knows how many lifetimes before, a true Son of Heaven clad in human flesh just waiting for the opportune moment to Ascend to the next plane of existence.
This world was his and his alone, with mortals and Divinities alike merely set-pieces to provide him challenge and support on his Path to True Divinity.
There was a time when this Worm sought to contest this, to usurp the Emperor and take his place as this plane of existences Sovereign in order to ascend beyond the Heavens. How foolishly laughable, to think that he once dared believe such a goal was not only possible, but that his success was all but set in stone. The Emperor had grown complacent, but not without reason, for this Worm had learned today that the Heavens would not sit idly by while their Chosen Son was overthrown. How was this Worm to fight against fate itself? Impossible is what it was, for the Heavens were too indomitable and unyielding to ever allow a mere mortal to meddle in their affairs. If that was the case, then there was no sense continuing with his efforts. Better to resign himself to defeat and submit to fate, to lie here and await his inevitable death, for there was no chance of victory in sight anymore, not even with ten more millennia to prepare.
Resign.
Submit.
Surrender.
The Razors Edge.
It's not just me that doesnt like it, as Buddy starts growling at the Heavenly Tear, his hackles raised and chest rumbling to make him sound way more threatening than he looks. Its all a ruse, because Buddy doesnt have a mean bone in his body and would sooner roll over to greet a robber than bite one, so I just stroke his fur and hope for the best while I prepare for the inevitable end.
Hide, I Send to Pong Pong, because powerful though he might be, I fear hes no match for Zhen Shi. The day we first met, the tiny Divine Turtle knocked out four Divinities, my teacher among them, but none of them were prepared for a barrage of Emotional Aura, but after my last attack, Zhen Shi would be suicidal not to have his guard raised. In fact, hes so alert, I can actually feel his emotions closed off to me, like an almost invisible surface plastered across his body, mind, and soul in reality and the Void both. Yea, theres no way Pong Pongs Aura could break through, since with Aura, its much easier to defend than attack, and without the advantage of surprise, the little Divine Turtle stands no chance against Zhen Shi. I doubt Pong Pong can hit harder than Grandpa Wolf, and I know he lacks the killer instinct needed to slay his opponent in a single strike, so rather than drag him to death alongside me, its better for him to lay low and survive as best he can.
Hmm maybe if I Hone Emotional Aura, I could crack open Zhen Shis defenses, but Im all out of feelings now. I drained the swamp of all emotion in order to power that attack, years of repressed sorrow, misery, anger, hatred, resentment, and more all given up in my last strike, and now there is only apathy in its place. I have no fight left in me, no hope for tomorrow, only tired resignation of my fate. I will die here today, and though I know my death will bring pain to the people I love, the decision is out of my hands. I would love to go back to Lin-Lin and wrap my arms around her waist, to tell her how sorry I am while twirling her about. Id love to do the same to Mila and Yan, give them both a big kiss and grin as their lips protest but their eyes demand I keep going. Id love to give Luo-Luo a proper hug, and Li-Li a pat on the head, then see Dad, Alsantset, Akanai, and everyone else in turn before stopping to cuddle my floofs for at least an hour. I want to hoist a drink in celebration with the soldiers who fought alongside me, and pour one out for those who died. I want to congratulate Mister Rustram for a battle well fought, tease Fung about falling in love again, and throw an arm around Wu Gams shoulders so I can see him squirm as I introduce him to as many lovely ladies as I can. I want to shake Huus hand and pull him into a hug, and share a smile with Zian as he stands apart and warns me away, the young Patriarch too proud to hug in public. I want to shake the hand of every new Divinity, Peak Expert, and Martial Warrior, raise support for my bid to see Chen Hongji promoted to Colonel General alongside accolades for every soldier who took part in this campaign, while setting aside some time to talk to Liu Xuande about what to do next. I want to reclaim the West and resettle everyone who was displaced, raise the funds to rebuild everything that was destroyed. I want to return to Central in triumph and glory, hold my head up with pride as I lock eyes with Shuai Jiao and silently promise bloody retribution for his betrayal, but not before I destroy his reputation and legacy both. I want to become the Warrior, a hero of the Empire worthy of this life my brother gave up for me. I want to make this world a better place, not just to satisfy my ego, but so no one will ever have to suffer like I did, and no one will have to die like my little brother. I want to be strong and hold my head up high, to look in the mirror and not hate myself, to remember Baledagh for what we shared rather than how we parted ways.
Theres so much more I want to do. All those small dreams still apply, and theres so much Ive left unfinished. Seems strange that I was all ready to die only minutes ago, in the process of making the ultimate sacrifice before quietly fading away without anyone noticing until it was too late to say goodbye. Whether it be nihility, reincarnation, Heaven, or some other afterlife awaiting me, I didnt really much care, but Lin-Lin showed me how wrong I really was.
I care.
I dont want to die.
I dont want to leave everyone behind.
And more than anything else, I want to live.
So how ironic is that that I am now closer to death than ever, with Blobby here to offer the gift of nihility and oblivion only after I no longer desire it?
Perhaps this is for the best. Even if I survived, it would be a fate worse than death. Im so tired. Everything hurts. My enemy is too strong and Im helpless to resist, so I would really be better off with a quick, clean death. Would it even be death, or would it be oblivion and nihility? What happens to a Cleansed soul? Would I become one with Blobby, or would I be processed and pooped out as usable Heavenly Energy for Buddy to partake of? Even with death upon me, my curiosity knows no bounds, and I lay still as the Elemental Spirit slowly stretches out to surround my soul without touching me.
Buddy does not like this, and he sets to barking as if to warn Blobby away. Shhhhh, I whisper, silencing my sweet doggo with a kiss on the forehead, and his whimper shatters my heart into pieces as I push him outside the boundaries of Blobbys transparent grasp. Im sorry puppy, but I dont think theres any other way.
And its true. Despite everything Ive done, everything Ive accomplished, my only options are death or suffering. Ha. Life is suffering, how apt. This time however, there is no longer any hope, because Zhen Shi is just too formidable a foe to go up against. Its unfair really. The dude is an eight-hundred-year-old Divinity, whereas Im only twenty-one, plus however many years of memories my past life counts for. Lets say thirty for a sum total of fifty years of life experience, though I would argue that a man as obsessed with memes as I was probably doesnt count for much in the maturity department. Whatever, I digress. Either way, if I had eight-hundred years to figure this Heavenly Energy shit out, I would definitely be strong enough to squash Zhen Shi like a bug. I mean cmon, I almost took him out as is, so imagine what it would be like if we had a fair fight.
But alas, this is not to be. The Heavens demanded too much of me, but even with all the odds stacked against me, I almost delivered. So close, yet so far, and it would appear my Path ends here. Fuck you Heaven, and you too Mother Above, because this was not even remotely fair, but if you want to make it up to me, then please take care of everyone I hold dear. Thats all I can hope for now, as I cease my struggle against misery and despair and await the inevitable, because there is nothing in me left to give. The Spectres sense my weakness and capitulation, appearing out of nowhere inside the Void as they rush to seize my mortal vessel and reshape it to their liking, but I know Blobby will end things before it gets too far. Ive become Unbalanced, which is why hes been looming closer and closer, for hes gotten a taste of my soul before and hungers for more.
Well, dinner is served Blobby. Eat your heart out, but I would like to make note of my objection.
The Elemental Spirit drifts over to engulf me whole, and I hold my gaze in place out of a stubborn determination to meet my fate with eyes open. No idea what that will change, but my brother kept his eyes open to the very end, so the least I can do is try and match his courage. It all happens in an instant, with Blobby stretching and wrapping around me in the blink of an eye, except rather than death or oblivion, I hear Buddy snap with a malevolence Ive never heard from him before. The Elemental Spirit hesitates, and this is its undoing as Buddy goes to town as if Blobby was a doggy treat and hes been starved for days.
So like his typical reaction to food, really.
I blink once. Then a second time, followed by a few more as I try to make sense of what just happened, because while Im pretty sure my dog just Devoured Blobby and all the Spectres to boot, Im not exactly sure what to make of it. Meeting my eyes with a hangdog look of mournful contrition, Buddy gives away the act by wagging his tail and glancing up every half second to see if Im buying it. Amused as I am by his antics, Im also relieved I wasnt broken down and Cleansed, because honestly, that seems like a pretty shitty way to go. Blobby isnt really gone either, because I can still sense him in Buddy, and honestly, neither one seems any worse off in this new arrangement. I may be guilty of anthropomorphizing the Elemental Spirit more than I should have, because Im pretty sure he was simply reacting to circumstances as a quasi-sentient blob of Heavenly Water would. My soul was on the verge of becoming not just Defiled, but Demonic and unnatural, so Blobby was going to Cleanse it, but then Buddy stepped in just in time and Devoured the Spectres and Blobby both. It didnt magically do away with my depression, but it interrupted the Demonification process long enough for me to get a hold of my emotions and find Balance once more.
I succumbed to a moment of weakness, but a moment is all it takes unless you have Blobby and Buddy both on your side. Both are still present and accounted for after arriving at some unspoken agreement, likely no different from the agreement I shared with Blobby. New host, same circumstances, except Buddy is much better at this Balance thing than I am, and thus in no danger of being Cleaned. Patting my furry friend on the head, I sigh and say, Good dog, while checking him for any side effects and considering my other options. Well Option, really. Singular.
Where there is life, there is hope, so I suppose I must suffer a little while longer.
Lifting my head to look at Zhen Shi in reality, I find him a good way away instead of looming over my defenseless body. Cocking my head in curiosity, I give up on trying to figure out his thoughts and flash him my best smile instead. Well this is kinda awkward, but you were supposed to die just now, so do you mind?
I mean, it cant hurt to ask, right?
Chapter Meme
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Chapter 814
The somber lyrics struck with the ponderous weight of a thousand mountains, but this was merely the start of a ruinous calamity unlike anything this Sovereign could ever imagine.
The impact stole his breath away and left him reeling in a sea of despair and dejection, dragged into those murky depths by currents of loathing and lethargy which bound him tighter than any chains ever could. Not physically, a quiet and all-too-logical portion of his mind observed, for he was free to move about as he pleased, but the prospect of simply standing upright robbed him of all strength and desire. Falling to his knees, he toppled over into the scorching desert sands and tucked his chin to his chest, cradling his head close before shutting his eyes tight. The sun, the wind, the sky, the sand, the heat, the glare, the shame, it was all too much to bear, so he closed himself off from all sounds and sensations in an effort to stymie the burdensome torrents of apathy and adversity threatening to drown him on dry land. His chest ached with hollow emptiness and his lungs burned from lack of air, but try as he might, he could not bring himself to draw breath. The world spun as his throat closed and stomach heaved in abject distress, his body rejecting the processes required for life itself in response to his minds demands that he do just that, for the gravity of his incompetence was too much for him to bear. This was an affliction of the mind and soul, a mad malaise of morbidity and melancholy from which there was no escape, for it stemmed from the deepest, darkest recesses of his existence and had finally come to reclaim him.
This was where he belonged, surrounded by the bleak desolation of his own cheerless despair in a prison of his own devising. There was no sense in avoiding it, no point to rising above it, for even if he were to rise up beyond the Heavens themselves, it would only make the fall that much worse when he plummeted back down into this pit once more, for here in the heart of anguish and misery was where he made his home.
Victory was at hand. That was what a single voice claimed, the thread of logic to which this Worm had clung to for millennia now, yet he could not bring himself to care. Eight centuries of meticulous effort had gone to waste, so if he were to try again, who was to say he would get any further? How much time did he care to dedicate to this cause? Overthrow the dog Emperor? The lowly outer provinces had proved too resilient for this Worm to topple, their courage and determination more than a match for his best laid plans. How laughable a stumbling block for a man of his accomplishments, this loose conglomeration of disorganized bumpkins who could barely see beyond their own paltry desires. Perhaps he would succeed the next time, but behind the outer provinces lay the Imperial Clan, and now this Worm no longer possessed the confidence to face them. The least of the Royal Guardians were comparable to the best the outer provinces had to offer, so while the Living Legends and Exarches might still stand out, anyone beneath them would find it difficult to keep pace with an average Royal Guardian, while the true elites were good enough to hold their ground against any Warrior short of a Divinity.
Not without reason. Unlike the Death Corps whose ranks were filled with rebels, criminals, and the defeated, the Royal Guardians were the Emperors elites, and the Supreme Families sent their spare Scions to fill their ranks in order to win honour and glory for their households at the Emperors expense. Just like the Academy which produced the finest Imperial Servants throughout the province, the Royal College trained the Empires finest military Officers. Every trainee drafted into their ranks received the finest instruction from the greatest Warriors drawn from the entire Empire itself, but such an education could be found within the hallowed halls of any Supreme Familys manor. No, the true advantage lay in their meals, which were made with the finest Spiritual Plants and the meat of Spiritual Beasts provided by the illustrious Di Family. Again, this was not an advantage unique to the College, but the Emperor demanded the lions share of the Di Familys harvest each season, leaving only a pittance to be split between the Five Supreme Families and their allied factions. As such, even the Grand Marshal and Prime Minister themselves were unable to indulge themselves in cuisine as fine as what the lowliest Royal Guardian enjoyed each and every day within the college walls, where multiple generations of cooks laboured day and night to provide meals to the Emperors elite caste of loyal Warriors and Officers alike.
The greatest fires could only burn so long as there was fuel enough to feed it, and this culinary advantage provided Royal Guardians with strength, stamina, and durability unmatched. Such extravagance was largely wasted being consumed for their everyday meals, but the Emperor could easily afford the investment, and the prize was well worth the cost. The Spiritual Plants and Meat helped refine the bodies and minds of his Royal Guardians, which smoothed out the Path to Divinity to allow even the most mediocre of talents to eventually try their hand at Shattering the Void. Most put off the attempt until they had no other choice, and few ever survived, but those infrequent successes meant that the Emperor still counted more loyal Divinities among his ranks than the Five Families combined.
For this reason alone, the Royal Guardians formed the core of the Emperors armies, but the Scions of the Imperial Clan were formidable enough in their own right. While phenomenal talents such as Nian Zu, Jeong Hyo-Lynn, and Akanai would still be considered remarkable Warriors in the East, they never would have achieved Divinity without Falling Rains help, and the Peak Experts below them were only middling at best when compared to the Warriors of the Imperial Clan. This was because the Imperial Clan as a whole possessed a more complete understanding of the Dao and the Path to greatness. Disregarding the restricted secrets of the Five Families and the misinformation spread by the Emperor himself, the East was still the true centre of the Dao, for the outer provinces were so blind to the truth that most believed the Martial Dao was the only Path to greatness. Theyd long since forgotten the accomplishments of Warriors of Legends, ignorant of how the Yang Ancestor wielded the fires of Heaven to burn down an entire province, or how the Liang Ancestors flute could compel whole armies to take their own lives. Between the two of them, they respectively presented the West and North to the Emperor himself, almost half of the inhabited lands claimed during the First Imperial Inauguration, but even then there were not the most formidable of the Five Ancestors. The Xing Ancestor was a master of all weapons and a warrior unmatched in possession of three different Intents, a Martial God who only ever tasted defeat at the hands of the Emperor. As for the Tian Ancestor, he was the most feared of all, for though he was unable to stand against the aforementioned three in open battle, if he wanted someone dead, then only the Emperor could stop him.
And then there was the Di Ancestor, whose personal strength was no match for even the subordinates of his fellow Ancestors, yet wielded the greatest power of them all, for he possessed an understanding of life, death, and human biology which enabled him to empower the Emperors armies and turn them into a force unmatched.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com
Of course, most of these accomplishments were only possible before the Treaty came into play, when powerful Divinities the world over combined their efforts under the Emperors guidance to limit the Dao from mortals and their ilk. Uniting the Azure Empire had left the world largely ruined and uninhabitable, and no one wanted to see a second Mortal Emperor rise up from amongst the people, for another conflict of this magnitude might well break the world. This alone was not enough to excuse this Worms lacking accomplishments however, for though the Laws of the World had been obscured by the Heavens themselves due to the Emperors meddling, to still be unable to unravel the Di Ancestors greatest secrets after so many millennia immersed in study was embarrassing to say the least. It seemed like the most appropriate avenue to take at the time, or rather the only option given the circumstances. This Worm had no Blessing to follow in the Yang Ancestors footsteps, no affinity for the arts to chase after the Liang Ancestor, no supreme strength and Insight to match the Xing Ancestors abilities, and no unparalleled natural talent to compare himself to the Tian Ancestor. Though this Worm had dabbled in all four paths at one point or another, his greatest focus had always been on the Di Ancestors secrets, for once he had those answers in hand, then the Emperors greatest advantage would be no more. This Worm had come so close, yet was still so far, because while his Ascended Transcendents being a close match for the Royal Guardians in quality, the process to create them was nowhere near as versatile. Ascended Transcendents required a Defiled test subject to start with, which in and of itself was a marked disadvantage given the inherent weakness of a Defiled subjects Will, but this Worm also made use of a different source of sustenance, namely corpse matter and Death Energy rather than plant matter and Life Energy. All Paths lead to the Dao, but this Worm knew full well that his methods were inferior to the Di Ancestors.
Granted, the deficiencies in his methods were mitigated by the speed with which he could raise his armies, even after accounting for time spent in preparation. Human corpses and Death Energy were easily obtained and replenished in times of war, and the Western Province alone had resources enough to build an army to dwarf the Royal Guardians and Death Corps combined, but just as this Sovereign stood upon the cusp of victory and success in Shi Bei, Falling Rain went ahead and surpassed this Worm and the Di Ancestor both by providing Insight to the entire Imperial Army.
And this was not the first time either, for the boy had done something similar in JiangHu and again in Meng Sha, yet the Worm was at a loss to explain it. There was so much he had yet to discover, so much he had yet to comprehend, he was a fool to think he could ever overthrow the Emperor, much less the Heavens above. No matter how much firewood you stack together, it all paled in comparison to a handful of gold. What was he thinking, placing so much effort and emphasis on the debased tribes of the Defiled? No wonder his plan had failed, for to make good weapons, you first needed good materials, because no amount of hammering could turn copper into steel. This Worm had provided his Chosen and Defiled with resources and attention enough to improve their physical forms, but they were still sorely lacking in mind and soul. In contrast, Falling Rain only provided his army with Insight and nothing more, meaning their advancements were restricted to the soul alone, yet this was more than enough to give them the upper hand. Whether it be the battle between mortals or Divinities, the Imperial Army would soon seize the advantage and turn the tides against the Defiled forces. Not due to superior strength, but the superior tactics theyd relied upon so heavily to make it this far, as Peak Experts banded together to fight alongside one another while this Worms Ascended Transcendents threw themselves into the fray like rabid wolves chasing sheep off the side of a steep cliff.
It wasnt that the Ascended Transcendents lacked intelligence, but rather their leaders were unable to control them as a whole. There were pockets of organized chaos scattered throughout the battle, small areas where individuals like Vithar and other former Defiled Chieftains kept their allies in check, but their influence was limited at best. Most of the power lay in the hands of Mao Jianghong and the exile Ankhbayar, but they were both massive disappointments. They were too blinded by their own interests to see past the present, too focused on winning their own duels at the expense of the overall battle itself, and too indulgent in their own emotions to care about the consequences. Perhaps things would be different if Bai Qi still lived, but he was little more than an arrogant fool, unable to look past his selfish desires and take in the Dao as a whole.
No wonder this Worms efforts ended in so abject a failure, for the Emperor had his five Supreme Generals, while this Worm struggled all on his lonesome with no one to support him.
Oh how it burned to think of the Supreme Families laughing at his incompetence, this Worms failure so complete that he was unable to win even after Falling Rains allies abandoned him mid-way through the war. His Death Corps guards were withdrawn, his Royal Guardian escorts ordered to slip away in the dead of night, and his reinforcements cut-off and kept out of the fight, and still Falling Rain proved too formidable for this Worm to overcome. Even if given another millennia to prepare, who was to say Falling Rain would not still be there to thwart this Worms plans a second time? Though not yet a Divinity, he satisfied all the conditions necessary to become one, and while this was no guarantee of success, this Worm had never seen a candidate more promising than Falling Rain. To think, he already possessed power enough to fight this Worm to a draw as a mere Martial Warrior, not even a Peak Expert in truth, so how much stronger would the boy become once he was a man and Divinity grown? Add to this the talented Scions of the Imperial Clan, like young Shen ZhenWu who might well be the second coming of the Martial God, or the formidable Tian Family Scion who unearthed this Worm in the first place, and the chances of success grew infinitesimally small without accounting for the Emperor himself.
And then there were the hidden reserves of the Imperial Clan, which this Worm knew little about. The Five Families had always been secretive, and this Worm had been too far removed from the Imperial Clan for too long to have any inkling of how much strength they might have hidden away. The Divinities whose names and faces were known to this Worm were long since dead and gone, their bodies entombed beneath the fields of the Di Family farms and their power returned to Heaven and Earth. New Divinities would have been raised to replace them, and now that Falling Rain had discovered how to mitigate the Wrath of Heaven, this Worm could no longer count on the Divinities of the Supreme Families to keep the Emperors Divinities in check, for no longer did they need fear a calamitous clash bringing ruin to what remained of the habitable world.
Faced with all these failures and more, what was the point of persevering? All that awaited this Worm was failure and humiliation, for his chances of victory were slim to none now that all the variables had been taken into account. The only way forward was for this Sovereign to become akin to the Emperor himself, an existence to surpass Divinity with power enough to subdue the Five Family Ancestors and the rest of the known world. How laughable a goal, for in all the millennia since the Emperor first rose to power, none had ever come close to matching his formidable attainments. Not even Falling Rain could compare, for the Emperor was a born talent found only once every billion years, the accumulation of fate and karma from who knows how many lifetimes before, a true Son of Heaven clad in human flesh just waiting for the opportune moment to Ascend to the next plane of existence.
This world was his and his alone, with mortals and Divinities alike merely set-pieces to provide him challenge and support on his Path to True Divinity.
There was a time when this Worm sought to contest this, to usurp the Emperor and take his place as this plane of existences Sovereign in order to ascend beyond the Heavens. How foolishly laughable, to think that he once dared believe such a goal was not only possible, but that his success was all but set in stone. The Emperor had grown complacent, but not without reason, for this Worm had learned today that the Heavens would not sit idly by while their Chosen Son was overthrown. How was this Worm to fight against fate itself? Impossible is what it was, for the Heavens were too indomitable and unyielding to ever allow a mere mortal to meddle in their affairs. If that was the case, then there was no sense continuing with his efforts. Better to resign himself to defeat and submit to fate, to lie here and await his inevitable death, for there was no chance of victory in sight anymore, not even with ten more millennia to prepare.
Resign.
Submit.
Surrender.
The Razors Edge.
It's not just me that doesnt like it, as Buddy starts growling at the Heavenly Tear, his hackles raised and chest rumbling to make him sound way more threatening than he looks. Its all a ruse, because Buddy doesnt have a mean bone in his body and would sooner roll over to greet a robber than bite one, so I just stroke his fur and hope for the best while I prepare for the inevitable end.
Hide, I Send to Pong Pong, because powerful though he might be, I fear hes no match for Zhen Shi. The day we first met, the tiny Divine Turtle knocked out four Divinities, my teacher among them, but none of them were prepared for a barrage of Emotional Aura, but after my last attack, Zhen Shi would be suicidal not to have his guard raised. In fact, hes so alert, I can actually feel his emotions closed off to me, like an almost invisible surface plastered across his body, mind, and soul in reality and the Void both. Yea, theres no way Pong Pongs Aura could break through, since with Aura, its much easier to defend than attack, and without the advantage of surprise, the little Divine Turtle stands no chance against Zhen Shi. I doubt Pong Pong can hit harder than Grandpa Wolf, and I know he lacks the killer instinct needed to slay his opponent in a single strike, so rather than drag him to death alongside me, its better for him to lay low and survive as best he can.
Hmm maybe if I Hone Emotional Aura, I could crack open Zhen Shis defenses, but Im all out of feelings now. I drained the swamp of all emotion in order to power that attack, years of repressed sorrow, misery, anger, hatred, resentment, and more all given up in my last strike, and now there is only apathy in its place. I have no fight left in me, no hope for tomorrow, only tired resignation of my fate. I will die here today, and though I know my death will bring pain to the people I love, the decision is out of my hands. I would love to go back to Lin-Lin and wrap my arms around her waist, to tell her how sorry I am while twirling her about. Id love to do the same to Mila and Yan, give them both a big kiss and grin as their lips protest but their eyes demand I keep going. Id love to give Luo-Luo a proper hug, and Li-Li a pat on the head, then see Dad, Alsantset, Akanai, and everyone else in turn before stopping to cuddle my floofs for at least an hour. I want to hoist a drink in celebration with the soldiers who fought alongside me, and pour one out for those who died. I want to congratulate Mister Rustram for a battle well fought, tease Fung about falling in love again, and throw an arm around Wu Gams shoulders so I can see him squirm as I introduce him to as many lovely ladies as I can. I want to shake Huus hand and pull him into a hug, and share a smile with Zian as he stands apart and warns me away, the young Patriarch too proud to hug in public. I want to shake the hand of every new Divinity, Peak Expert, and Martial Warrior, raise support for my bid to see Chen Hongji promoted to Colonel General alongside accolades for every soldier who took part in this campaign, while setting aside some time to talk to Liu Xuande about what to do next. I want to reclaim the West and resettle everyone who was displaced, raise the funds to rebuild everything that was destroyed. I want to return to Central in triumph and glory, hold my head up with pride as I lock eyes with Shuai Jiao and silently promise bloody retribution for his betrayal, but not before I destroy his reputation and legacy both. I want to become the Warrior, a hero of the Empire worthy of this life my brother gave up for me. I want to make this world a better place, not just to satisfy my ego, but so no one will ever have to suffer like I did, and no one will have to die like my little brother. I want to be strong and hold my head up high, to look in the mirror and not hate myself, to remember Baledagh for what we shared rather than how we parted ways.
Theres so much more I want to do. All those small dreams still apply, and theres so much Ive left unfinished. Seems strange that I was all ready to die only minutes ago, in the process of making the ultimate sacrifice before quietly fading away without anyone noticing until it was too late to say goodbye. Whether it be nihility, reincarnation, Heaven, or some other afterlife awaiting me, I didnt really much care, but Lin-Lin showed me how wrong I really was.
I care.
I dont want to die.
I dont want to leave everyone behind.
And more than anything else, I want to live.
So how ironic is that that I am now closer to death than ever, with Blobby here to offer the gift of nihility and oblivion only after I no longer desire it?
Perhaps this is for the best. Even if I survived, it would be a fate worse than death. Im so tired. Everything hurts. My enemy is too strong and Im helpless to resist, so I would really be better off with a quick, clean death. Would it even be death, or would it be oblivion and nihility? What happens to a Cleansed soul? Would I become one with Blobby, or would I be processed and pooped out as usable Heavenly Energy for Buddy to partake of? Even with death upon me, my curiosity knows no bounds, and I lay still as the Elemental Spirit slowly stretches out to surround my soul without touching me.
Buddy does not like this, and he sets to barking as if to warn Blobby away. Shhhhh, I whisper, silencing my sweet doggo with a kiss on the forehead, and his whimper shatters my heart into pieces as I push him outside the boundaries of Blobbys transparent grasp. Im sorry puppy, but I dont think theres any other way.
And its true. Despite everything Ive done, everything Ive accomplished, my only options are death or suffering. Ha. Life is suffering, how apt. This time however, there is no longer any hope, because Zhen Shi is just too formidable a foe to go up against. Its unfair really. The dude is an eight-hundred-year-old Divinity, whereas Im only twenty-one, plus however many years of memories my past life counts for. Lets say thirty for a sum total of fifty years of life experience, though I would argue that a man as obsessed with memes as I was probably doesnt count for much in the maturity department. Whatever, I digress. Either way, if I had eight-hundred years to figure this Heavenly Energy shit out, I would definitely be strong enough to squash Zhen Shi like a bug. I mean cmon, I almost took him out as is, so imagine what it would be like if we had a fair fight.
But alas, this is not to be. The Heavens demanded too much of me, but even with all the odds stacked against me, I almost delivered. So close, yet so far, and it would appear my Path ends here. Fuck you Heaven, and you too Mother Above, because this was not even remotely fair, but if you want to make it up to me, then please take care of everyone I hold dear. Thats all I can hope for now, as I cease my struggle against misery and despair and await the inevitable, because there is nothing in me left to give. The Spectres sense my weakness and capitulation, appearing out of nowhere inside the Void as they rush to seize my mortal vessel and reshape it to their liking, but I know Blobby will end things before it gets too far. Ive become Unbalanced, which is why hes been looming closer and closer, for hes gotten a taste of my soul before and hungers for more.
Well, dinner is served Blobby. Eat your heart out, but I would like to make note of my objection.
The Elemental Spirit drifts over to engulf me whole, and I hold my gaze in place out of a stubborn determination to meet my fate with eyes open. No idea what that will change, but my brother kept his eyes open to the very end, so the least I can do is try and match his courage. It all happens in an instant, with Blobby stretching and wrapping around me in the blink of an eye, except rather than death or oblivion, I hear Buddy snap with a malevolence Ive never heard from him before. The Elemental Spirit hesitates, and this is its undoing as Buddy goes to town as if Blobby was a doggy treat and hes been starved for days.
So like his typical reaction to food, really.
I blink once. Then a second time, followed by a few more as I try to make sense of what just happened, because while Im pretty sure my dog just Devoured Blobby and all the Spectres to boot, Im not exactly sure what to make of it. Meeting my eyes with a hangdog look of mournful contrition, Buddy gives away the act by wagging his tail and glancing up every half second to see if Im buying it. Amused as I am by his antics, Im also relieved I wasnt broken down and Cleansed, because honestly, that seems like a pretty shitty way to go. Blobby isnt really gone either, because I can still sense him in Buddy, and honestly, neither one seems any worse off in this new arrangement. I may be guilty of anthropomorphizing the Elemental Spirit more than I should have, because Im pretty sure he was simply reacting to circumstances as a quasi-sentient blob of Heavenly Water would. My soul was on the verge of becoming not just Defiled, but Demonic and unnatural, so Blobby was going to Cleanse it, but then Buddy stepped in just in time and Devoured the Spectres and Blobby both. It didnt magically do away with my depression, but it interrupted the Demonification process long enough for me to get a hold of my emotions and find Balance once more.
I succumbed to a moment of weakness, but a moment is all it takes unless you have Blobby and Buddy both on your side. Both are still present and accounted for after arriving at some unspoken agreement, likely no different from the agreement I shared with Blobby. New host, same circumstances, except Buddy is much better at this Balance thing than I am, and thus in no danger of being Cleaned. Patting my furry friend on the head, I sigh and say, Good dog, while checking him for any side effects and considering my other options. Well Option, really. Singular.
Where there is life, there is hope, so I suppose I must suffer a little while longer.
Lifting my head to look at Zhen Shi in reality, I find him a good way away instead of looming over my defenseless body. Cocking my head in curiosity, I give up on trying to figure out his thoughts and flash him my best smile instead. Well this is kinda awkward, but you were supposed to die just now, so do you mind?
I mean, it cant hurt to ask, right?
Chapter Meme
Chapter 814The somber lyrics struck with the ponderous weight of a thousand mountains, but this was merely the start of a ruinous calamity unlike anything this Sovereign could ever imagine.The impact stole his breath away and left him reeling in a sea of despair and dejection, dragged into those murky depths by currents of loathing and lethargy which bound him tighter than any chains ever could. Not physically, a quiet and all-too-logical portion of his mind observed, for he was free to move about as he pleased, but the prospect of simply standing upright robbed him of all strength and desire. Falling to his knees, he toppled over into the scorching desert sands and tucked his chin to his chest, cradling his head close before shutting his eyes tight. The sun, the wind, the sky, the sand, the heat, the glare, the shame, it was all too much to bear, so he closed himself off from all sounds and sensations in an effort to stymie the burdensome torrents of apathy and adversity threatening to drown him on dry land. His chest ached with hollow emptiness and his lungs burned from lack of air, but try as he might, he could not bring himself to draw breath. The world spun as his throat closed and stomach heaved in abject distress, his body rejecting the processes required for life itself in response to his minds demands that he do just that, for the gravity of his incompetence was too much for him to bear. This was an affliction of the mind and soul, a mad malaise of morbidity and melancholy from which there was no escape, for it stemmed from the deepest, darkest recesses of his existence and had finally come to reclaim him.This was where he belonged, surrounded by the bleak desolation of his own cheerless despair in a prison of his own devising. There was no sense in avoiding it, no point to rising above it, for even if he were to rise up beyond the Heavens themselves, it would only make the fall that much worse when he plummeted back down into this pit once more, for here in the heart of anguish and misery was where he made his home.Victory was at hand. That was what a single voice claimed, the thread of logic to which this Worm had clung to for millennia now, yet he could not bring himself to care. Eight centuries of meticulous effort had gone to waste, so if he were to try again, who was to say he would get any further? How much time did he care to dedicate to this cause? Overthrow the dog Emperor? The lowly outer provinces had proved too resilient for this Worm to topple, their courage and determination more than a match for his best laid plans. How laughable a stumbling block for a man of his accomplishments, this loose conglomeration of disorganized bumpkins who could barely see beyond their own paltry desires. Perhaps he would succeed the next time, but behind the outer provinces lay the Imperial Clan, and now this Worm no longer possessed the confidence to face them. The least of the Royal Guardians were comparable to the best the outer provinces had to offer, so while the Living Legends and Exarches might still stand out, anyone beneath them would find it difficult to keep pace with an average Royal Guardian, while the true elites were good enough to hold their ground against any Warrior short of a Divinity.Not without reason. Unlike the Death Corps whose ranks were filled with rebels, criminals, and the defeated, the Royal Guardians were the Emperors elites, and the Supreme Families sent their spare Scions to fill their ranks in order to win honour and glory for their households at the Emperors expense. Just like the Academy which produced the finest Imperial Servants throughout the province, the Royal College trained the Empires finest military Officers. Every trainee drafted into their ranks received the finest instruction from the greatest Warriors drawn from the entire Empire itself, but such an education could be found within the hallowed halls of any Supreme Familys manor. No, the true advantage lay in their meals, which were made with the finest Spiritual Plants and the meat of Spiritual Beasts provided by the illustrious Di Family. Again, this was not an advantage unique to the College, but the Emperor demanded the lions share of the Di Familys harvest each season, leaving only a pittance to be split between the Five Supreme Families and their allied factions. As such, even the Grand Marshal and Prime Minister themselves were unable to indulge themselves in cuisine as fine as what the lowliest Royal Guardian enjoyed each and every day within the college walls, where multiple generations of cooks laboured day and night to provide meals to the Emperors elite caste of loyal Warriors and Officers alike.The greatest fires could only burn so long as there was fuel enough to feed it, and this culinary advantage provided Royal Guardians with strength, stamina, and durability unmatched. Such extravagance was largely wasted being consumed for their everyday meals, but the Emperor could easily afford the investment, and the prize was well worth the cost. The Spiritual Plants and Meat helped refine the bodies and minds of his Royal Guardians, which smoothed out the Path to Divinity to allow even the most mediocre of talents to eventually try their hand at Shattering the Void. Most put off the attempt until they had no other choice, and few ever survived, but those infrequent successes meant that the Emperor still counted more loyal Divinities among his ranks than the Five Families combined.For this reason alone, the Royal Guardians formed the core of the Emperors armies, but the Scions of the Imperial Clan were formidable enough in their own right. While phenomenal talents such as Nian Zu, Jeong Hyo-Lynn, and Akanai would still be considered remarkable Warriors in the East, they never would have achieved Divinity without Falling Rains help, and the Peak Experts below them were only middling at best when compared to the Warriors of the Imperial Clan. This was because the Imperial Clan as a whole possessed a more complete understanding of the Dao and the Path to greatness. Disregarding the restricted secrets of the Five Families and the misinformation spread by the Emperor himself, the East was still the true centre of the Dao, for the outer provinces were so blind to the truth that most believed the Martial Dao was the only Path to greatness. Theyd long since forgotten the accomplishments of Warriors of Legends, ignorant of how the Yang Ancestor wielded the fires of Heaven to burn down an entire province, or how the Liang Ancestors flute could compel whole armies to take their own lives. Between the two of them, they respectively presented the West and North to the Emperor himself, almost half of the inhabited lands claimed during the First Imperial Inauguration, but even then there were not the most formidable of the Five Ancestors. The Xing Ancestor was a master of all weapons and a warrior unmatched in possession of three different Intents, a Martial God who only ever tasted defeat at the hands of the Emperor. As for the Tian Ancestor, he was the most feared of all, for though he was unable to stand against the aforementioned three in open battle, if he wanted someone dead, then only the Emperor could stop him.And then there was the Di Ancestor, whose personal strength was no match for even the subordinates of his fellow Ancestors, yet wielded the greatest power of them all, for he possessed an understanding of life, death, and human biology which enabled him to empower the Emperors armies and turn them into a force unmatched.This chapter is updated by novelbiin.comOf course, most of these accomplishments were only possible before the Treaty came into play, when powerful Divinities the world over combined their efforts under the Emperors guidance to limit the Dao from mortals and their ilk. Uniting the Azure Empire had left the world largely ruined and uninhabitable, and no one wanted to see a second Mortal Emperor rise up from amongst the people, for another conflict of this magnitude might well break the world. This alone was not enough to excuse this Worms lacking accomplishments however, for though the Laws of the World had been obscured by the Heavens themselves due to the Emperors meddling, to still be unable to unravel the Di Ancestors greatest secrets after so many millennia immersed in study was embarrassing to say the least. It seemed like the most appropriate avenue to take at the time, or rather the only option given the circumstances. This Worm had no Blessing to follow in the Yang Ancestors footsteps, no affinity for the arts to chase after the Liang Ancestor, no supreme strength and Insight to match the Xing Ancestors abilities, and no unparalleled natural talent to compare himself to the Tian Ancestor. Though this Worm had dabbled in all four paths at one point or another, his greatest focus had always been on the Di Ancestors secrets, for once he had those answers in hand, then the Emperors greatest advantage would be no more. This Worm had come so close, yet was still so far, because while his Ascended Transcendents being a close match for the Royal Guardians in quality, the process to create them was nowhere near as versatile. Ascended Transcendents required a Defiled test subject to start with, which in and of itself was a marked disadvantage given the inherent weakness of a Defiled subjects Will, but this Worm also made use of a different source of sustenance, namely corpse matter and Death Energy rather than plant matter and Life Energy. All Paths lead to the Dao, but this Worm knew full well that his methods were inferior to the Di Ancestors.Granted, the deficiencies in his methods were mitigated by the speed with which he could raise his armies, even after accounting for time spent in preparation. Human corpses and Death Energy were easily obtained and replenished in times of war, and the Western Province alone had resources enough to build an army to dwarf the Royal Guardians and Death Corps combined, but just as this Sovereign stood upon the cusp of victory and success in Shi Bei, Falling Rain went ahead and surpassed this Worm and the Di Ancestor both by providing Insight to the entire Imperial Army.And this was not the first time either, for the boy had done something similar in JiangHu and again in Meng Sha, yet the Worm was at a loss to explain it. There was so much he had yet to discover, so much he had yet to comprehend, he was a fool to think he could ever overthrow the Emperor, much less the Heavens above. No matter how much firewood you stack together, it all paled in comparison to a handful of gold. What was he thinking, placing so much effort and emphasis on the debased tribes of the Defiled? No wonder his plan had failed, for to make good weapons, you first needed good materials, because no amount of hammering could turn copper into steel. This Worm had provided his Chosen and Defiled with resources and attention enough to improve their physical forms, but they were still sorely lacking in mind and soul. In contrast, Falling Rain only provided his army with Insight and nothing more, meaning their advancements were restricted to the soul alone, yet this was more than enough to give them the upper hand. Whether it be the battle between mortals or Divinities, the Imperial Army would soon seize the advantage and turn the tides against the Defiled forces. Not due to superior strength, but the superior tactics theyd relied upon so heavily to make it this far, as Peak Experts banded together to fight alongside one another while this Worms Ascended Transcendents threw themselves into the fray like rabid wolves chasing sheep off the side of a steep cliff.It wasnt that the Ascended Transcendents lacked intelligence, but rather their leaders were unable to control them as a whole. There were pockets of organized chaos scattered throughout the battle, small areas where individuals like Vithar and other former Defiled Chieftains kept their allies in check, but their influence was limited at best. Most of the power lay in the hands of Mao Jianghong and the exile Ankhbayar, but they were both massive disappointments. They were too blinded by their own interests to see past the present, too focused on winning their own duels at the expense of the overall battle itself, and too indulgent in their own emotions to care about the consequences. Perhaps things would be different if Bai Qi still lived, but he was little more than an arrogant fool, unable to look past his selfish desires and take in the Dao as a whole.No wonder this Worms efforts ended in so abject a failure, for the Emperor had his five Supreme Generals, while this Worm struggled all on his lonesome with no one to support him.Oh how it burned to think of the Supreme Families laughing at his incompetence, this Worms failure so complete that he was unable to win even after Falling Rains allies abandoned him mid-way through the war. His Death Corps guards were withdrawn, his Royal Guardian escorts ordered to slip away in the dead of night, and his reinforcements cut-off and kept out of the fight, and still Falling Rain proved too formidable for this Worm to overcome. Even if given another millennia to prepare, who was to say Falling Rain would not still be there to thwart this Worms plans a second time? Though not yet a Divinity, he satisfied all the conditions necessary to become one, and while this was no guarantee of success, this Worm had never seen a candidate more promising than Falling Rain. To think, he already possessed power enough to fight this Worm to a draw as a mere Martial Warrior, not even a Peak Expert in truth, so how much stronger would the boy become once he was a man and Divinity grown? Add to this the talented Scions of the Imperial Clan, like young Shen ZhenWu who might well be the second coming of the Martial God, or the formidable Tian Family Scion who unearthed this Worm in the first place, and the chances of success grew infinitesimally small without accounting for the Emperor himself.And then there were the hidden reserves of the Imperial Clan, which this Worm knew little about. The Five Families had always been secretive, and this Worm had been too far removed from the Imperial Clan for too long to have any inkling of how much strength they might have hidden away. The Divinities whose names and faces were known to this Worm were long since dead and gone, their bodies entombed beneath the fields of the Di Family farms and their power returned to Heaven and Earth. New Divinities would have been raised to replace them, and now that Falling Rain had discovered how to mitigate the Wrath of Heaven, this Worm could no longer count on the Divinities of the Supreme Families to keep the Emperors Divinities in check, for no longer did they need fear a calamitous clash bringing ruin to what remained of the habitable world.Faced with all these failures and more, what was the point of persevering? All that awaited this Worm was failure and humiliation, for his chances of victory were slim to none now that all the variables had been taken into account. The only way forward was for this Sovereign to become akin to the Emperor himself, an existence to surpass Divinity with power enough to subdue the Five Family Ancestors and the rest of the known world. How laughable a goal, for in all the millennia since the Emperor first rose to power, none had ever come close to matching his formidable attainments. Not even Falling Rain could compare, for the Emperor was a born talent found only once every billion years, the accumulation of fate and karma from who knows how many lifetimes before, a true Son of Heaven clad in human flesh just waiting for the opportune moment to Ascend to the next plane of existence.This world was his and his alone, with mortals and Divinities alike merely set-pieces to provide him challenge and support on his Path to True Divinity.There was a time when this Worm sought to contest this, to usurp the Emperor and take his place as this plane of existences Sovereign in order to ascend beyond the Heavens. How foolishly laughable, to think that he once dared believe such a goal was not only possible, but that his success was all but set in stone. The Emperor had grown complacent, but not without reason, for this Worm had learned today that the Heavens would not sit idly by while their Chosen Son was overthrown. How was this Worm to fight against fate itself? Impossible is what it was, for the Heavens were too indomitable and unyielding to ever allow a mere mortal to meddle in their affairs. If that was the case, then there was no sense continuing with his efforts. Better to resign himself to defeat and submit to fate, to lie here and await his inevitable death, for there was no chance of victory in sight anymore, not even with ten more millennia to prepare.Resign.Submit.Surrender.The Razors Edge.It's not just me that doesnt like it, as Buddy starts growling at the Heavenly Tear, his hackles raised and chest rumbling to make him sound way more threatening than he looks. Its all a ruse, because Buddy doesnt have a mean bone in his body and would sooner roll over to greet a robber than bite one, so I just stroke his fur and hope for the best while I prepare for the inevitable end.Hide, I Send to Pong Pong, because powerful though he might be, I fear hes no match for Zhen Shi. The day we first met, the tiny Divine Turtle knocked out four Divinities, my teacher among them, but none of them were prepared for a barrage of Emotional Aura, but after my last attack, Zhen Shi would be suicidal not to have his guard raised. In fact, hes so alert, I can actually feel his emotions closed off to me, like an almost invisible surface plastered across his body, mind, and soul in reality and the Void both. Yea, theres no way Pong Pongs Aura could break through, since with Aura, its much easier to defend than attack, and without the advantage of surprise, the little Divine Turtle stands no chance against Zhen Shi. I doubt Pong Pong can hit harder than Grandpa Wolf, and I know he lacks the killer instinct needed to slay his opponent in a single strike, so rather than drag him to death alongside me, its better for him to lay low and survive as best he can.Hmm maybe if I Hone Emotional Aura, I could crack open Zhen Shis defenses, but Im all out of feelings now. I drained the swamp of all emotion in order to power that attack, years of repressed sorrow, misery, anger, hatred, resentment, and more all given up in my last strike, and now there is only apathy in its place. I have no fight left in me, no hope for tomorrow, only tired resignation of my fate. I will die here today, and though I know my death will bring pain to the people I love, the decision is out of my hands. I would love to go back to Lin-Lin and wrap my arms around her waist, to tell her how sorry I am while twirling her about. Id love to do the same to Mila and Yan, give them both a big kiss and grin as their lips protest but their eyes demand I keep going. Id love to give Luo-Luo a proper hug, and Li-Li a pat on the head, then see Dad, Alsantset, Akanai, and everyone else in turn before stopping to cuddle my floofs for at least an hour. I want to hoist a drink in celebration with the soldiers who fought alongside me, and pour one out for those who died. I want to congratulate Mister Rustram for a battle well fought, tease Fung about falling in love again, and throw an arm around Wu Gams shoulders so I can see him squirm as I introduce him to as many lovely ladies as I can. I want to shake Huus hand and pull him into a hug, and share a smile with Zian as he stands apart and warns me away, the young Patriarch too proud to hug in public. I want to shake the hand of every new Divinity, Peak Expert, and Martial Warrior, raise support for my bid to see Chen Hongji promoted to Colonel General alongside accolades for every soldier who took part in this campaign, while setting aside some time to talk to Liu Xuande about what to do next. I want to reclaim the West and resettle everyone who was displaced, raise the funds to rebuild everything that was destroyed. I want to return to Central in triumph and glory, hold my head up with pride as I lock eyes with Shuai Jiao and silently promise bloody retribution for his betrayal, but not before I destroy his reputation and legacy both. I want to become the Warrior, a hero of the Empire worthy of this life my brother gave up for me. I want to make this world a better place, not just to satisfy my ego, but so no one will ever have to suffer like I did, and no one will have to die like my little brother. I want to be strong and hold my head up high, to look in the mirror and not hate myself, to remember Baledagh for what we shared rather than how we parted ways.Theres so much more I want to do. All those small dreams still apply, and theres so much Ive left unfinished. Seems strange that I was all ready to die only minutes ago, in the process of making the ultimate sacrifice before quietly fading away without anyone noticing until it was too late to say goodbye. Whether it be nihility, reincarnation, Heaven, or some other afterlife awaiting me, I didnt really much care, but Lin-Lin showed me how wrong I really was.I care.I dont want to die.I dont want to leave everyone behind.And more than anything else, I want to live.So how ironic is that that I am now closer to death than ever, with Blobby here to offer the gift of nihility and oblivion only after I no longer desire it?Perhaps this is for the best. Even if I survived, it would be a fate worse than death. Im so tired. Everything hurts. My enemy is too strong and Im helpless to resist, so I would really be better off with a quick, clean death. Would it even be death, or would it be oblivion and nihility? What happens to a Cleansed soul? Would I become one with Blobby, or would I be processed and pooped out as usable Heavenly Energy for Buddy to partake of? Even with death upon me, my curiosity knows no bounds, and I lay still as the Elemental Spirit slowly stretches out to surround my soul without touching me.Buddy does not like this, and he sets to barking as if to warn Blobby away. Shhhhh, I whisper, silencing my sweet doggo with a kiss on the forehead, and his whimper shatters my heart into pieces as I push him outside the boundaries of Blobbys transparent grasp. Im sorry puppy, but I dont think theres any other way.And its true. Despite everything Ive done, everything Ive accomplished, my only options are death or suffering. Ha. Life is suffering, how apt. This time however, there is no longer any hope, because Zhen Shi is just too formidable a foe to go up against. Its unfair really. The dude is an eight-hundred-year-old Divinity, whereas Im only twenty-one, plus however many years of memories my past life counts for. Lets say thirty for a sum total of fifty years of life experience, though I would argue that a man as obsessed with memes as I was probably doesnt count for much in the maturity department. Whatever, I digress. Either way, if I had eight-hundred years to figure this Heavenly Energy shit out, I would definitely be strong enough to squash Zhen Shi like a bug. I mean cmon, I almost took him out as is, so imagine what it would be like if we had a fair fight.But alas, this is not to be. The Heavens demanded too much of me, but even with all the odds stacked against me, I almost delivered. So close, yet so far, and it would appear my Path ends here. Fuck you Heaven, and you too Mother Above, because this was not even remotely fair, but if you want to make it up to me, then please take care of everyone I hold dear. Thats all I can hope for now, as I cease my struggle against misery and despair and await the inevitable, because there is nothing in me left to give. The Spectres sense my weakness and capitulation, appearing out of nowhere inside the Void as they rush to seize my mortal vessel and reshape it to their liking, but I know Blobby will end things before it gets too far. Ive become Unbalanced, which is why hes been looming closer and closer, for hes gotten a taste of my soul before and hungers for more.Well, dinner is served Blobby. Eat your heart out, but I would like to make note of my objection.The Elemental Spirit drifts over to engulf me whole, and I hold my gaze in place out of a stubborn determination to meet my fate with eyes open. No idea what that will change, but my brother kept his eyes open to the very end, so the least I can do is try and match his courage. It all happens in an instant, with Blobby stretching and wrapping around me in the blink of an eye, except rather than death or oblivion, I hear Buddy snap with a malevolence Ive never heard from him before. The Elemental Spirit hesitates, and this is its undoing as Buddy goes to town as if Blobby was a doggy treat and hes been starved for days.So like his typical reaction to food, really.I blink once. Then a second time, followed by a few more as I try to make sense of what just happened, because while Im pretty sure my dog just Devoured Blobby and all the Spectres to boot, Im not exactly sure what to make of it. Meeting my eyes with a hangdog look of mournful contrition, Buddy gives away the act by wagging his tail and glancing up every half second to see if Im buying it. Amused as I am by his antics, Im also relieved I wasnt broken down and Cleansed, because honestly, that seems like a pretty shitty way to go. Blobby isnt really gone either, because I can still sense him in Buddy, and honestly, neither one seems any worse off in this new arrangement. I may be guilty of anthropomorphizing the Elemental Spirit more than I should have, because Im pretty sure he was simply reacting to circumstances as a quasi-sentient blob of Heavenly Water would. My soul was on the verge of becoming not just Defiled, but Demonic and unnatural, so Blobby was going to Cleanse it, but then Buddy stepped in just in time and Devoured the Spectres and Blobby both. It didnt magically do away with my depression, but it interrupted the Demonification process long enough for me to get a hold of my emotions and find Balance once more.I succumbed to a moment of weakness, but a moment is all it takes unless you have Blobby and Buddy both on your side. Both are still present and accounted for after arriving at some unspoken agreement, likely no different from the agreement I shared with Blobby. New host, same circumstances, except Buddy is much better at this Balance thing than I am, and thus in no danger of being Cleaned. Patting my furry friend on the head, I sigh and say, Good dog, while checking him for any side effects and considering my other options. Well Option, really. Singular.Where there is life, there is hope, so I suppose I must suffer a little while longer.Lifting my head to look at Zhen Shi in reality, I find him a good way away instead of looming over my defenseless body. Cocking my head in curiosity, I give up on trying to figure out his thoughts and flash him my best smile instead. Well this is kinda awkward, but you were supposed to die just now, so do you mind?I mean, it cant hurt to ask, right?Chapter Meme
