Chapter 352 - Changes (IX)

[Congratulations, Host, on creating the 'Heavenly Speed Steps' Movement Art]

... hmm.

Why does it sound kind of weird now that I'm reading it back? Are my naming sensibilities out of whack?

... nah. I'm overthinking it.

[...]

[Heavenly Speed Steps]

[Type: Movement Art]

[Rank: peak-Heaven]

[Host Comprehension: Initial]

[...]

[An extremely weary art meant only for those with bodies capable of enduring wear and tear that would have most others crippled. Sharpened to a point, it focuses on minute movements within a very small stretch of space, making it virtually useless outside of direct, melee combat. If correctly supported by an accommodation constitution, however, it would allow the martial artist to move in the most unnatural and body-aching ways without strain, over and over, so long as the body itself can endure it. Regardless of the momentum, allows the martial artist to quickly stabilize; dispersing momentum, however, comes at a cost, consuming a rather large amount of Qi, further requiring even more specialized constitution. It was an art that most Sects would consider far too specialized and would treat it as a failure, but for those perfectly capable of executing it, its rank would shoot well beyond its current one]

[Creation Points Value: 400/400]

[Comprehension Difficulty: Difficult --> Lowered to Intermediate]

[...]

[!!!]

[Tinkerer (Epic) trait has been triggered! A new effect has been added]

[New Effect: Momentum Storing (Legendary)]

[Momentum Storing: instead of momentum gathered through stopping and going being dispersed, it is temporarily stored. Martial artist can used the stored momentum for an acceleration of either a movement or offensive art, proportionally increasing its strength]

[!!!]

[Creator of Myths (Legendary) trait has been triggered! A new effect has been added]

[New Effect: Minor Imbuement of Sound Dao (???)]

[Minor Imbuement of Sound Dao (???) -- movement becomes deathly silent, no matter the amount of Qi unleashed]

[...]

[Creation Bonus: New 'Innate Art', Phantasmal Devourment (One of a Kind); Sage (???) Trait has evolved; Host's cultivation realm advances]

[Phantasmal Devourment (One of a Kind) -- can devour ongoing Heart Demons of any Martial Artist (even if they are not your Disciple). May require expenditure of Creation Points if the Heart Demon's particularly strong]

[Sage (???) Trait Evolution: now allows for Comprehension Transference once a month; you may transfer your comprehension of the art onto one of your Disciples, OR may inherit one of your Disciple's comprehension of the art. In the latter scenario, you must first acquire your Disciple's consent]

[Host's Cultivation Realm Advances, Fifth Cycle of Revolving Core Realm --> Sixth Cycle of Revolving Core Realm]

[...]

[Congratulations, Host, on reaching the peak of Revolving Core Realm! In order to advance into the Void Transformation Realm, you must comprehend a trace of Law of Space]

[Note: There are 4 distinct paths to Void Transformation Realm, vastly differing in quality]

[First Path: the path most taken, it only requires you to recognize the existence of Law of Space. It severely limits future accomplishments, and makes it almost impossible to escape the Space-Locking of anyone. Most commonly referred to as: Path of the Blind]

[Second Path: comprehending a trace of Law of Space to a degree of infusion; becoming capable of infusing domain of Space externally into objects indicates capacity of basic spatial manipulation. Most commonly referred to as: Path of the Weak]

[Third Path: internalizing a trace of Dao of Space. By capturing a loose essence of Dao of Space, and internalizing it within either your Dantian or, more commonly, your Core, it indicates capacity for 'Tunneling', an extremely Qi-intensive ability of Void Transformation Realm martial artists, allowing for connection of two points of space and traversal between them. Most commonly referred to as: Path of the Great]

[Fourth Path: contemporarily considered impossible, it is referred to as 'Path of the Ancients'. Per the records, the way to achieve it was the simplest of all others: being acknowledged by Dao of Space directly. Due to the existential state of Dao, there have only been 2 martial artists in the past 1,000,000 years who have achieved this path]

[...]

[System strongly recommends host pursue the Fourth Path. The easiest way to achieve it is to locate a point in the world where the Laws of Spacetime are unfolding; by submerging yourself in the Chaos Storm and surviving, Host will be acknowledged]

[...]

[Searching...]

[Two locations that fit the parameters have been found: Center of the Nirvana Frontier Island and the tallest peak of the Phoenix's Rest Mountains]

[--note that Chaos Storms are extremely deadly. System recommends that the Host exercises extreme preparations before submerging himself]

[Recommendations: Void-Nullifying Pills (???) x5; Eternal Regeneration Pills (???) x2; Enduring Qi Pill (???) x1; Secondary Physique, Immortal Tortoise Physique (Imperial)]

[...]

[All pill recipes have been freely deposited in the Host's spatial ring. In consideration of Host's circumstances, all Pills can be concocted with contemporary materials]

[In order for Host to obtain Immortal Tortoise Physique (Imperial), you must ingest Heart of a Tortoise. Guardian of the derelict False Phoenix Realm is an Immortal Tortoise; it is suggested that the Host meet the Guardian and seek its help]

[...]

[Good luck, Host!]

Goddamn, that took freakin' forever!

Just as I thought I was done, more kept popping up.

Alright. Take a deep breath, Jake.

First take the good: Dai Xiu's art turned out to be even more brutally insane than I thought. After a speedy experiment, I realized that if I tried to move using it, I'd literally break my legs. So, that was amazing.

I'm honestly not even sure how well Dai Xiu could utilize it; though her body is sturdy, it's not like she has Wan Lan's constitution. I'll probably have to ask Lao Shun or Long Tao for some medicinal baths that can make her body stronger...

More of the good: Sage trait evolving is honestly kind of... amazing? Does that mean I don't even need to freakin' study 'cause I can just inherit kids' effort?

I am well aware of how lame that made me sound, but considering our comprehension abilities... unless I take in some truly stupid kids, the only one I'll ever be able to teach is Dai Xiu.

Even Xing Feng, depressingly, had almost caught up to my comprehension of Heart-Stitching Art before it evolved.

Then there was the Phantasmal thingamabob; such a cool name for an art I probably won't even use that frequently. None of the kids will ever need it since, with the choices I've made, they can't ever even develop Heart Demons, so this is exclusively something I have potential to make money with.

If I ever run into some big shot who has a kid undergoing a Heart Demon, I can just offer my services for the right price...

Anyway. That's it with the good.

Now the bad.

I should be happy that I've reached the peak of the Revolving Core Realm--per its name, it's now rotating on its own, passively gathering and restoring Qi without me needing to do anything. It's sort of like... breathing? If I don't think about it, it's automatic.

But I'm not really that happy.

Why?

Because of the implications. Namely, this is the first time system has outright told me to do something without framing it as a quest. Even though it's a 'suggestion', it's really not; it's telling me to keep up with the 'perfect breakthroughs', and that can only mean one thing: there's something in the future that I'm being groomed for, and I can't half-ass my cultivation, even if I am just a Master of a bunch of monsters.