PtM Book 16 - Chapter 28: Destruction Edge

2/3.

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Cha Ming did not have the luxury of returning to the Heartforge Realm very often. Slaying fiends was very important, but since there were other Invited on the Chasewind Plane, including Cao Wenluan, improving his personal strength was as priority.

This was especially the case, given that Cha Ming was only ranked moderately high in terms of relative power. He also had the disadvantage of being unable to use soul burn techniques.

To make matters worse, Cha Ming would not be able to catch up any time soon, at least in terms of absolute cultivation realm. This was the price he’d paid to practice the Divine Law Spirit Stitching Scripture – until his qi cultivation caught up, he would be unable to advance. As a result, he could only increase his strength relative to his cultivation level.

One way to do this was to accrue merit. The more he gained, the faster his soul would heal. Once his soul recovered enough, he would be able to use Triune Soulburn again and make up a part of the growing strength gap.

Alas, he could not control the rate at which fiends spawned, and the way things were going, it would take him over a decade to fully heal. Cha Ming could not wait that long.

Cha Ming therefore decided to visit Godking Heavenbind for advice. The Godking trainer had done wonders for his cultivation in the past, and his advice was beyond useful.

“You’re back already!” the Godking said as Cha Ming entered his office. The Godking’s coffee drinking habit had gone from the slightly problematic to extremely worrisome. His desk was now covered in castles and walls of half-finished coffee mugs. “Come here. Have seat. Tell me how I can help my favorite student.”

“I thought Petros was your favorite student,” Cha Ming said.

“He was,” the Godking said with a scowl. “But then broke through his core’s restraints and started crushing the law trials. Treachery is what it is. Pure and blatant treachery.”

Cha Ming let out a light cough. “I was there, and I don’t think he would have managed it without the strong body you helped him cultivate. Even then he almost died several times.”

Godking Heavenbind’s expression brightened. “Right! It’s like I was saying, Petros has always been my favorite student. In fact, let me fetch the poster I prepared.” He flicked a finger, and one unrolled on the coffee-stained walls. It was a likeness of the archer, complete with rock-hard abs and golden hair flowing in the wind.

“Right…” Cha Ming said. “Anyway, I came here for advice.”

“That makes sense,” Godking Heavenbind said. “Proceed.”

Cha Ming’s eye twitched. “I came here because I’m not really sure how to go about improving my strength going forward. My relative strength.”

“Yes, and you know exactly how Immortal White and I feel about that,” Godking Heavenbind said. “Give me a goal, Clear Sky, and I’ll help you achieve it. Give me your endgame, and we’ll craft a plan. In the meantime, I don’t lack ways to help you reinforce your body, as long as you’re willing to spend points. With your current plan, I don’t see why you shouldn’t e able to clear the violet-gold body tempering and strength trials within a few decades.”

Cha Ming couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He’d done a great deal of thinking about how to move forward, but he was at a loss. “I just don’t know which direction to go in, Heavenbind. There are too many options.”

“Why don’t you use me as a very expensive sounding board?” Heavenbind said. He held out a hand. “Points.”

Cha Ming sighed and tapped his badge on the Godking’s and transferred a few thousand points. He then summoned two images. They were both three dimensional likenesses of himself. One was executing the Savage Deity Battle Arts. The other was using the Clear Rune Battle Arts.

“My Savage Deity Battle Arts have reached a bottleneck,” Cha Ming said. “I’m not completely sure about this, but I have feeling that this bottleneck will resolve itself by killing a lot of things. What I’m missing is savagery, but it’s something I really don’t want.”

“That is a big problem,” the Godking said. “Most people who cultivate the technique cultivate it exclusively, at least for a while. The best way to do it is toss yourself in the wild for a few years and let it do its thing.”

“As for the Clear Rune Battle Arts, they’re great,” Cha Ming said. “Wonderful even.”

“You don’t seem to think so,” the Godking said.

“Fighting with them is just very tedious and time consuming,” Cha Ming said. “I’ve more or less discovered the key to generating a lot of runes, whether they be simple runes like flame runes or the more complicated clear runes.

“At first I thought they just appeared out of nowhere, \ but then I discovered that I was really just actually stretching out my divine body over a larger area. The more runes I have spread out, the more space I occupy, and the better I can channel different energies.”

“That sounds about right,” Heavenbind said.

“The main problem is what to do with these energies,” Cha Ming said. The runes on the projection began spinning around in different arrangements. “Defense, binding, striking, stepping, and transformation. This is the template I’ve based everything on.”

“I don’t a problem so far,” the Godking said. “But you seem to think there is one.”

“There are two problems,” Cha Ming said. “Firstly, I believe that my Clear Rune Form is incomplete. This mostly has to do with my control over my own body. Currently, I can expend a great deal of energy to maintain all five elements at once. But it feels forced. Unnatural.”

“I think it’s just a matter of practice,” the Godking said. “With the right body tempering exercises and training and tweaking, you’ll be able to stabilize and maintain the form a little better and make better use of its strengths. I see a lot of wasted energy where creation and destruction conflict. I think its possible to channel that.”

“I agree,” Cha Ming said. “And I was going to ask for your help with that. My real issue is this: When I stretch out pieces of my body in the form of runes, I can use them as a conduit to unleash more power at once from my inner world. That’s why it can be used to create passive effects and damage and enhancement my movement speed. I’m essentially overlapping my elemental body overtop an area much like a domain. The problem is that like a domain, its inefficient, and I have no way of using these runes properly. I would like to explain, but I’m not sure a demigod would understand.”

The Godking rolled his eyes. “Explain it like you would a mortal then.”

“It’s like… I’m making a bunch of rocks, then throwing them at a giant from many different angles. Or like I’m producing a lot of strings and throwing them at people and hoping they’ll stick. There’s no method to it. No concentration of effort. I’m just throwing it at them and hoping it will work.”

“But with strings, you can braid them, and I can’t do that with runes. Runes are typically arranged in formations with other runes and energy lines to complement each other. But I’m stuck with a lot of the same runes. I have five elemental runes and clear runes to work with. That’s it.”

“I think you need a better example,” Godking Heavenbind said. “Perhaps a coffee cup analogy?”

“Coffee cups are a good analogy, actually,” Cha Ming said. He picked a coffee cup off the table gingerly. It still had about a quarter of the contents inside, and it was cold. “You can make many different kinds of coffee, all of which are tasty, but no matter how you mix them, they’re still coffee. You could never make an alchemical pill.

“You could concentrate them into a caffein pill,” the Godking pointed out.

“But that’s just it,” Cha Ming said. “In the end, it’s all just concentrated coffee. Another comparison I could make is building a house. You can’t build a house using only screw. Even if the screws are perfect, they can only hold things in place. The runes are screws, and I have a lot of them, but I don’t have wood. My body is arguably a foundation, and perhaps even a framework, but I don’t have roof tiles or flooring or paint, forget furniture. And neither do I have the tools to put them all together.”

The Godking did not look enthused by this analogy. As Cha Ming spoke, he slowly grabbed a bag of coffee beans form his desk and proceeded to use his divinity to roast them. He then summoned water from out of nowhere, then pressed and mixed them under high heat and pressure to create two very perfect cups of coffee.

“Then don’t build a house,” the Godking said after his first sip. “Build something else.”

Cha Ming nodded. “It’s not like I haven’t thought about it. People use flying swords this way. You can make formations out of flying swords, and even use small swords as pieces of a sub formation. But it’s not a very good solution. We’re talking about my body not specialized pieces of treasure.”

“In my experience, having a solution is better than not having one,” Godking Heavenbind said. “As for major techniques and developments, those come from epiphanies. As for sword techniques, you don’t have to use the exact method. What’s stopping you from hitting up Immortal Heartlock and doing your own research?”

Cha Ming furrowed his brow. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but that he was short on time. There were fiends attacking his territory, which meant mortals and cultivators alike were dying. Training was actually at the bottom of his priority list.

“I’m not trying to make things difficult for you lad,” Godking Heavenbind said. “This is just a new phase in your development. You have duties, but you need to learn to deal with them while simultaneously improving.

“You came to me when you needed to polish up your basics. That was easy. But now, you need to learn to prioritize. I can teach you how to temper your body, Clear Sky, and I can help you hone a few techniques. But I can’t take you the whole way. Otherwise, what’s the point?

“If you know what you want and just need someone to help tweak it or test it, I can do that. Take your Clear Rune Transformation, for example. You got it to this point, and you know you want to polish it up. I can help you do most of that, but I can’t personally do it. Nor can I finish it. Because it won’t be yours anymore. Understand?”

Cha Ming sighed. The Godking wasn’t wrong. Phase two had changed many things. They were just a month in, and the atmosphere of the twin mountains of the Heartforge Realm had changed. The once friendly atmosphere within his residential area had vanished and been replaced with a competitive silence. People didn’t get together to chat anymore. Everything was about problem solving, alliances, and how best to deal with fiends. Everyone had their secrets, and no one wanted to give away any information, even if it could save hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives.

In the end, Cha Ming discussed a future training plan with Godking Heavenbind and made his way to Immortal White’s training facility. The law trainer and researcher asked much the same questions as Godking Heavenbind. Fortunately, he asked more pointed questions and tried to provide a framework for Cha Ming’s thought process.

“You said your law techniques are lacking, Clear Sky, but in what ways are they lacking?” Immortal White asked in his usual inquisitive tone.

“My applied law abilities aren’t up to snuff, for one,” Cha Ming said.

“Then keep studying books and repeating the trials,” Immortal White said. “You have All-Heaven’s Eye. It will all come together in due time. I also recall you having one of Fuxi’s puzzle boxes that you work with from time to time.”

“My techniques aren’t that good either,” Cha Ming said. “I’ve practiced my spiritual painting a lot, but I don’t have many big hitters.”

“Elaborate,” Immortal White said. “And note that I’m not trying to be difficult. I just don’t want to decide your path for you. You’ve done a wonderful job building up your River Lake Brush Art and your Sky Canvas Domain. The less I meddle, the more unique it will be.”

Cha Ming fell deep in thought. Immortal White liked concise and accurate statements. He wasn’t like Heavenbind, who would talk about anything that came to mind. “My paintings are too slow. I’ve found a partial solution to that – I can assemble entire paintings in my realm treasure and send them out. Doing so still requires a lot of qi, but it’s manageable.

“I’ve also figured out a way to manage qi consumption. The first way is to premake paintings, but that’s a lot like crafting and storing a lot of talismans. The results are lackluster. Painting a skeleton and assembling the details as they emerge as a compromise. These half-complete paintings don’t require as much attention, and I can pour in as much qi and attention to detail as I can spare. I have quite a few mid-sized paintings for each element, not to mention Descent of the Five Sovereigns.”

Cha Ming then proceeded to record these things down on an information jade. The immortal went over the data and recordings and smile. “That’s wonderful,” Immortal White said. “A very good start. I knew you had it in you, Clear Sky.”

“But it’s not enough,” Cha Ming said. “How is this any different from being a summoner or a pure talisman artist? I lack a variety of big techniques, and the flexibility I’ve been shooting for is non-existent.”

Immortal White quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t see it. Your self-created River Lake Brush Art and Sky Canvas Domain Technique is about as flexible as they come.”

“Yes, if I have hours to paint things, I have ultimate flexibility,” Cha Ming said. “But I don’t. I never will. What’s the point of having thousands of different inks stored in a realm treasure when I even use them? It takes me thirty seconds to paint anything useful. Let’s say I wanted thirty swords. Well, by the time I painted them, I wouldn’t need them anymore. I might as well just pack swords.

“It’s the same with other things. If I want a box, I don’t need it by the time I paint it. I’d be better off using my Clear Sky Cauldron and hoping things work out.”

Immortal White let out a soft sigh. “I can’t help you, Clear Sky. The first problem, that of techniques, is something you will need to figure out on your own. Original techniques need original insight, and so, by definition, I cannot assist you. “As for your second problem, I can only give you a good piece of advice: Paint.”

“Paint,” Cha Ming repeated.

“Allow me to clarify,” Immortal White said. “Whenever you see something interesting, paint it. Whenever you see something outstanding or have a great epiphany, even if you can’t fully comprehend it paint it out in abstract. Whenever you see something you hate, paint it. Whenever you have a feeling you can’t express, paint it.

“Think about it this way: Some people’s entire skill set relies on poking things with their finger. There are Immortal Emperor techniques that can destroy worlds, with a single finger poke. Tell me, Clear Sky, how do you think they got good at poking things? Don’t overthink it, the answer is obvious.”

“I supposed they practiced poking things an awful lot,” Cha Ming muttered.

“And…”

“And they probably put a lot of thought into how they could best poke things, and likely tried poking a variety of things in different ways,” Cha Ming said.

“Artists need experience, Clear Sky,” Immortal White said. “They also need their own style. Take a thousand painters, and none of them will paint the same way. Painting often will help you develop that style. It will also help you improve your speed.”

Cha Ming remained silent for a while, the nodded. “I guess I was just hoping you could give me a simple answer.”

“To me it just seems you’ve reached a conceptual bottleneck,” Immortal White said. “You’ve painted yourself in a box. You need to paint yourself a way out of that box, and only then will you be able to accomplish everything you’re hoping for.

“I just want you to consider one thing: This is not the first time this has happened. When you started painting, how big of a stream could you paint? Didn’t it take a while before you could paint wider creeks and waterfalls?”

Cha Ming knew the immortal was right. He just wished there was a better way. “What about destruction qi. I remember you saying at one point in the past that it was best if I ignore it for the time being. Back then, you said it would interfere with my brush arts. That wasn’t the only reason, was it?”

Immortal White smiled. “Have you ever tried studying a destruction art?”

“There was that one you forced me to learn, Law-Destruction Eye,” Cha Ming said.

“That is a vision technique with mostly spiritual components,” Immortal White said. “It’s not the same at all. Originally I was going to wait longer, but since it seems your soul is in a bit better shape, why don’t we try something? Your soul bound treasure has a carving knife form you often infuse with destruction qi, does it not?” He pulled a book from his bookshelf and handed it to Cha Ming. It was a thin book that looked like it belonged on the fourth floor of the library.

“Destruction Edge?” Cha Ming said. “This might be useful for a rune carving cultivator, but its useless for someone at my level.”

“Since that’s the case, it should be easy enough for you to learn, shouldn’t it?” Immortal White said. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

Cha Ming accepted the book and moved to a training mat in the office. He was short on time, so he entered the Clear Sky World. He’d learned many techniques here in the past.

The book looked small and simple. He snuck his spiritual sense into the book and encountered no resistance. One minute he was outside the book, and the next, he was inside its mindscape, a world filled with tiny blades. Each blade was glowing black and filled with destruction qi.

Cha Ming tried summoning the Clear Sky Brush, but the moment it appeared, it shattered. The same thing happened with his staff and other techniques. When he summoned the Clear Sky Carving Knife, however, the tiny blades flew at it with hostile intent.

The first ten blades broke on the Clear Sky Carving Knife, and in doing so, filled it with a dark, destructive energy. In was unstable and difficult to control.

The blades attacked his carving knife in waves of ten. This continued until a hundred blades had shattered and filled it to the brim with dark light. The knife shook then, and the dark light materialized on its edge.

The other blades in the realm, frightened by the knife’s sharp presence, formed groups of a hundred blades. The fused together to form nine larger blades of pure destruction. They floated there, awaiting his challenge.

Cha Ming’s carving knife struck the first blade, shattering it, and absorbing its remnants. The film covering it grew and expanded, materializing mind-twisting runes.

He continued attacking, and the second, third, and fourth blades all shattered without any problems. The problem was the runes on his own blade, and the fact that with each added rune, the pressure on his mind increased exponentially.

Once the fourth blade was destroyed, the fifth through ninth blades recombined. They took the form of a heavy blade with runes that were much more intricate than the ones on his own carving knife.

The Clear Sky carving knife clashed with the heavy blade, but the blade didn’t budge. Cracks appeared on both it and his carving knife.

The collision of the two sent waves of pressure through Cha Ming’s inner world, which then travelled through his three-colored pool before reaching his spiritual sea. Upon breaching its membrane, it directly attacked his soul.

Again! The carving knife and the blade collided, and this time, a piece of blade broke off and combined with the dagger, expanding the runic pattern. The process repeated itself until the blade completely shattered and combined with the dagger.

The sudden infusion of destructive energies sent painful ripples through Cha Ming’s soul as the technique took shape in his spiritual sea. Its mere presence was uncomfortable and chased away all other knowledge. Fortunately, Cha Ming had his angelic Blessing of Tenacity, so the damage wasn’t too deep.

When he opened his eyes, Cha Ming saw that he was bleeding from the mouth. His robes were covered in blood, and he had a splitting headache. He left the Clear Sky World and appeared on the training mat. Unknowingly, thirty days had passed inside the Clear Sky World. Three days in the Heartforge Realm. Another fiend had appeared on the Chasewind Plane in that time, and tens of thousands had already perished.

Cha Ming summoned the Clear Sky Carving Knife and executed Destruction Edge to cover it in a deadly runic pattern. Manipulating destruction qi in this way was more strenuous than he’d anticipated. “My ability to break spells and formations will increase by at least fifty percent with this,” Cha Ming said. “Not bad for a weak ability.”

“Destruction techniques are quite powerful,” Immortal White agreed. “Since you managed that one, would you like to cultivate a destruction art from the fifth floor of the library?”

Cha Ming shuddered. Cultivating even this small technique had been extremely painful. It had also taken him thirty days. Learning a fifth-floor technique would be orders of magnitude more difficult. “I see what you mean. My soul cannot handle the strain. Not yet.”

Immortal White shot him a guilty smile. “Destruction edge should be useful, both practically and in the law trials. As for your future path, I can make suggestions, but I have much less experience with destruction than creation. This applies to techniques, qi manipulation, and domain control.”

“Many thanks for your advice, Teacher,” Cha Ming said, then left the immortal’s training facility.

There were fiends to kill, and Cha Ming had precious little time to waste.