PtM Book 16 - Chapter 16: Rapid Improvement

1/3 this week!

--

From the moment Cha Ming accepted Godking Heavenbind’s instruction, the bitterness of his training increased several-fold. This was in part due to the bitter medicine he was forced to take before every trial, but mostly because said medicine increased his sensitivity to pain by an order of magnitude.

Body tempering formed the core of his training. Instead of aggressively drawing energy into his body, he used mantras he learned from the library to accelerate the effectiveness of each tempering. The damage to his body, and therefore his inner universe, became focused and structured. The density of his divinity increased dramatically in the first few weeks.

As they’d discussed earlier, passing each of the tempering trials efficiently would bring Cha Ming little benefit. He began challenging the latest trial with off-elements. In the fire-tempering trial, for example, he would alternate between wood form and metal form.

There were many benefits to this type of training. For one, he was able to start minimizing how much damage he took even in these sub-optimal matchups. His control over each form greatly increased. In the beginning, for example, his metal form would constantly collapse into a liquid metal puddle. But after many months, he was able to reorganize the components of his metal form such that it had a heat-resistance structure and flowing metal components.

Body tempering was truly the ultimate foundational exercise. It benefited all aspects of his physical prowess. That was because whenever he took damage, the divinity to regenerate his body had to come from somewhere. These same energy pathways were used to mobilize divine strength, and as a result, his performance on the strength trial improved, as did his performance in the battle trial.

Cha Ming’s strength training regimen also benefited his performance in the tempering trials. By concentrating his divinity and preventing it from scattering, he could both increase raw damage output, but could also prevent himself from scattering and exposing weakness in the tempering trials.

Training his battle arts was by far the most difficult. Godking Heavenbind had separated his training into two parts and had imposed strict limitations. When he used the Runebound Arts, he was only allowed to take on five-element forms; at all times he needed to keep his staff in hand, despite the martial art having been designed for hand-to-hand combat or a Runebound Clan saber.

Conversely, when using the Savage Deity Battle Arts, he could only use either his original body, his wind form, or his lightning form.

In both situations, he was forbidden from using any divine abilities save Crown of the Starry Sky to aid his comprehension. The others would be added in at a later point in his training.

Every night, Cha Ming was to return to his residence. Returning to Huxian’s was also allowed. Originally, Cha Ming wanted to train twenty-four hours a day, but with time acceleration, this proved to be too much.

Rather than curl up around the Savage Deity Seed inside his spiritual sea to cope with the pressure, it was better to open up. As a result, the Seed of Iridescence grew, and his days became all the more brighter.

Godking Heavenbind’s specialized training showed immediate and startling results, confirming that hiring the Godking had been the right decision.

His control over his elemental forms increased greatly, and his martial arts began to transform. Even his lightning form, which he didn’t practice as much, became much easier to control and required decreasing amounts of divinity.

Six months after accepting Godking Heavenbind’s instruction, Cha Ming passed the indigo battle trial.

A year after that, he succeeded in learning Savage Deity Rush.

That same year, he managed to incorporate his staff and five elemental forms into his Runebound Arts and developed a new martial art that he dubbed the Clear Rune Battle Art. It currently had five forms, and four techniques, with a fifth that was on the way. In time, he would develop it and advance to the peak of muscle empowering.

After four years of training in the Heartforge Realm, he finally managed to complete the violet body tempering trial. He still had ways to go if he wanted to clear the strength trial and battle trial and breaking through to the peak of muscle empowering would require him to comprehend the last technique for his newly minted Clear Rune Battle Art, Clear Rune Transformation.

It was on the evening of the last day of the fourth year that Godking Heavenbind summoned Cha Ming to his office. Cha Ming, having just finished his latest attempt on the violet battle trial, rushed over without any reservation.

“Instructor you called?” Cha Ming asked.

“Sit,” Godking Heavenbind said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of his crowded work desk, which was filled with scattered papers in half-drained coffee mugs. Contrary to what one might believe, the papers weren’t haphazardly scattered, but contained densely organized training data. As for the coffee mugs… well, suffice to say that even gods could be corrupted.

“Well done, Clear Sky. Well done,” the Godking said.

Cha Ming raised an eyebrow. “You called me here just to tell me I’m doing well?”

“What? Can a teacher not be proud of his student?” Godking Heavenbind asked. “You’ve done extremely well for having trained under me for only two and a half years. My congratulations are sincere.”

“I’m still not in the top ten,” Cha Ming said. “Or the top five hundred in the body trials, for that matter.”

“Five hundred and seventy-sixth place isn’t bad at all, considering you’re being ranked alongside geniuses,” the Godking said. “You need to remember that you’re not just competing against Dao Gods, but demons as well. Demons have an edge in body refining. Especially Godbeasts.”

“But I’m slowing down,” Cha Ming said. “Despite consuming ridiculous amounts of sensitivity medication and undergoing your person tutelage.”

“Everything takes time, Clear Sky,” the Godking said. “But you’re right. You are slowing down. And that’s why I called you here.” He placed his elbows on his desk and pressed his fingers together in a mysterious manner. “I’m reccomending you cut your training in half.”

Cha Ming frowned. “I still have a long way to go. Why should I cut my training in half?”

The Godking ignored his question. “I recommend no more than twelve hours of body training per day – time accelerated, over course, but in most cases no more than eight. You won’t be requiring as much tutelage from me going forward, so I think that a 40,000 point a year allocation should more than cover your medicinal supplements.”

“Wasn’t it 60,000 last year?” Cha Ming asked. He’d barely made up that amount from this year’s battle trials, and if not for the influx of 250,000 points from clearing the violet body tempering trial, he would have lost points for a second year in a row.

Godking Heavenbind sighed. “I don’t know why you do this to yourself, Clear Sky, but tell me: Are you or are you not a Dao God?”

“That…” Cha Ming grimaced. “It’s a bit of a complicated story.”

“I have time,” the Godking said. “Free of charge.” With such a rare offer from the Godking, Cha Ming could only explain his cultivation situation, and how his qi cultivation had stalled due to lack of immortal energy.

“Cha Ming – can I call you Cha Ming now? I hope we’re close enough at this point.” the Godking asked.

“Of course,” Cha Ming said.

“Cha Ming, you have a gift,” the Godking said. “A gift at understanding laws. This is a gift that this old man never had, despite all his attempts. And yes, I’m old. Millions of years old, in fact.” He summoned a drip coffee maker and used his godly presence to accelerate time in the immediate area. He poured them both a cup of coffee he’d grown in his own inner world. “Cha Ming, you need to learn to appreciate what you’ve been given. In the immortal realms, talent in both divine cultivation and law cultivation is rare.”

Cha Ming frowned. “That’s the opposite of what I’d expect.”

“Yet it is the reality that all must face in the immortal realms,” Godking Heavenbind said. “This has to do with bloodline inheritance. The lifespan of immortals and gods is much longer than those of mortals, and as a result, far fewer of them are able to have children, assuming they want to in the first place.” Heavenbind explained. “Talent is also hereditary. If gods have children with gods, their children would have talent in the divine arts, and the same applies to immortal arts. It’s only in the rare case that Gods have children with immortals or their descendants and vice versa that their children would have both affinities.”

“Can’t mortals simply develop both talents?” Cha Ming asked.

“That’s very rare,” Immortal Heavenbind answered. “Talent in one field is far more common. And if one wanted to awaken their talent as mortals do…” He shook his head. “Either way, the number of resources required to dual cultivate laws and divinity is astronomical. Only the heirs of large clans or core disciples of a large sect could afford to do so. That’s if they were lucky enough to awaken both talents in the first place.”

He summoned a leaderboard. It was the performance for everyone on the monthly battle trials.” “Notice anything?”

It didn’t take long for Cha Ming to see the pattern. ““They’re all Dao Lord and Dao Gods.” Then he frowned. “There’s not even any God Beasts on there. Interesting.”

Godking Heavenbind summoned a few other leaderboards. Cha Ming noticed that most of the top performers on each one cultivated a single path. Most were pure demons, demigods, or immortals. “If you had to chose between the monthly battle trials and performing well in the body, law, and soul trials, which would you pick?”

“Probably the monthly battle trials,” Cha Ming said.

The Godking smiled. “Also consider that your brother fox willingly chose to give up his Godbeast Bloodline to dual cultivate body and laws.”

Cha Ming sighed. “This bottleneck isn’t something easily overcome, Instructor. With time, I will have enough immortal jades to cultivate to the peak of the Rune Gathering Realm. But what about after that? How will I be able to afford to continue cultivating in the Law Stitching Realm?”

“You are afraid, and that fear is understandable,” Godking Heavenbind said. “But you are in the Heartforge Realm. Is there any better time to rid yourself of the mental baggage that’s preventing you cultivating?”

Cha Ming unconsciously gritted his teeth. A memory came to mind. He was deep in the tombs of Kerava with Yu Wen. They were taking a risk, converting a drop of demon emperor blood into immortal jades. It was dangerous, but this was the only way.

He realized that the Godking was onto something. Previously, his ability to cultivate qi was entirely reliant on Yu Wen. And now… and now…

“Stop.” Cha Ming’s attention was forcibly brought back into the present moment. “If it’s so painful, there’s no need to force yourself,” the Godking said gently. “Your soul is a still a mess, after all. But that doesn’t mean you can’t at least try cultivating. Besides, didn’t you already choose to cultivate the Divine Law Spirit Stitching Scripture?”

“I did,” Cha Ming.

“Why?” the Godking asked.

Cha Ming thought a moment before answering. “To become the strongest at my current cultivation level. So those in power can’t bully me. Can’t bully the ones I love and want to protect.” Once again, images flashed through mind. This time, only briefly, but they filled him with a deep sense of loss and resentment.

“It’s impossible to be the strongest,” Heavenbind said. “Why bother trying?”

“I just need to do my best,” Cha Ming said. “I also feel that destiny has things in store for me that will require such strength. And I absolutely loathe destiny pulling me around as it pleases.”

“If that’s the case, then you know what you have to do,” Godking Heavenbind said. “I knew that you hadn’t given up on qi cultivation when you mentioned the Divine Law Spirit Stitching Scripture, Cha Ming. I knew you were dealing with difficult things, so I let you slack off because I saw the struggle in your heart. But as your trainer, I can only recommend you continue your law cultivation. If you ignore your skillset, it will not only impact your ability to survive the next phase of the Heartforge Trials, but it will also have severe financial consequences. You do realize you’re leaving a lot of money on the table in the monthly battle trials, don’t you?”

“But my soul’s condition is affecting my law comprehension,” Cha Ming said.

“But I bet your comprehension has improved, has it not?” the Godking said. “Few deities are blessed with the management of so many mortal planes, so it’s natural it doesn’t get mentioned, but training your body to this point has surely improved the stability of your soul. With the right medicines, and the right trainer, there’s no reason you can’t keep cultivating your qi and laws.”

Cha Ming could not refute his logic. “Do you have someone you’d like to recommend?”

“I recommend Immortal White,” Heavenbind said.

“Immortal White?” Cha Ming said. “An immortal, and not an immortal king?”

“While there is an Immortal King trainer, Immortal Shadefire, but I don’t like him,” Heavenbind said. “Immortal Heartlock would do fine, but he’s too preoccupied with calligraphy and his precious book collection. Immortal White, on the other hand, is studious and well-read. He is a five-element cultivator like you are, and is on the path of elemental fusion, which has made his cultivation much slower than others but his law comprehension much sturdier than Immortal Shadefire’s.”

Cha Ming saw a strangeness in the Godking’s expression. “There’s something fishy going on. Spill it out.”

The Godking chuckled wryly. “Immortal White has a few… quirksthat you need to work around. He also won’t give you the time of day unless he’s interested. He also has a bit of a reputation as a trainer.”

“What are the quirks?” Cha Ming asked.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” Godking Heavenbind said.

Cha Ming frowned. “I don’t like walking into anything blind.”

“Then talk to him first and decide after that,” the Godking said. “We’re trainers, not minders. Just know that he has my utmost confidence, both as a trainer and as a researcher.”

Cha Ming’s eye twitched. “Researcher?”

“Forget I said that,” Godking Heavenbind said.  “Just know that if you follow his instructions to the letter, you probably wont’ die.”

“Die?”

The Godking pretended not to hear him and fished a letter from a pile atop his desk. “Here. Take it.”

Cha Ming took the letter and was reminded that he too had a letter for Godking Heavenbind. It was one of the items he’d received at the start of the trial. He retrieved it from the Clear Sky World and placed it on Godking Heavenbind’s desk. “I forgot about this letter. Apologies,” Cha Ming said. “Maybe it’s a letter of introduction?”

Godking Heavenbind glared at the letter, ripped it open, scanned the contents, then scowled. “Run along now. I need to go see that boy Petros again. Perhaps he’ll give me another pleasant surprise.”

“Petros…” Cha Ming muttered as he recalled memories he’d rather not dwell on. “How’s he doing?”

“I can’t give you any specifics about his training,” Godking Heavenbind said. “Student confidentiality.”

“I’m just concerned about him, that’s all,” Cha Ming said. “If there’s anyone more antisocial than I am around here, it’s Petros. He… did a lot for me on the Inkwell Plane. He was a ranker, but he lost his class by doing something for me and… a friend. I just want to know how he’s doing, that’s all. And if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Godking Heavenbind hestiated. “In truth, if I were to pick the single most hardworking person in the Heartforge Realm, it would Petros. And if I were to pick the person with the strongest will and perseverance here, it would also be Petros.”

“So he has a lot potential despite losing his class?” Cha Ming asked.

“Technically? Yes,” Godking Heavenbind said. “Practically? No.” A murderous aura boiled off him briefly but was quickly reigned in. “That meddling goddess ruined a perfectly good cultivator, Cha Ming. Wasting such good material should be a sin. Potential-wise, I’d consider him top ten in all the realm. He would have gotten a golden invitation if not for his circumstances.”

“Is there no way to recover it?” Cha Ming asked. “His class, I mean.”

“If it were four years ago, maybe,” Godking Heavenbind said. “But now? Not a chance. He’s… he’s incredible, Cha Ming. He might have lost his class, but you should know that he has a body infused with divinity and a core blessed with runes that grant him his abilities. He lost all of these abilities and most of his strength, but he’s managed to overcome many body and law trials despite that handicap.”

“How is that surprising?” Cha Ming asked.

“Because it’s fundamentally impossible!” Godking Heavenbind said. “Through sheer force of will, he’s stripped away a God Emperor’s divinity and made it his own, strengthening his own body to the point that it it’s deity-like despite not having strictly become a demigod.

“He’s also peeled away at the laws on his core and can forcibly activate some of his old abilities. He can see through laws and break through them with arrows, without a domain, and without law runes. If that’s not talent, I don’t know what is, Cha Ming.” Then he shook his head regretfully. “Alas, he’ll never reach the top.”

“Can you tell me why?” Cha Ming asked.

Once again, Godking Heavenbind hesitated. He’d clearly already said too much. He looked up at the sky fearfully, then came to a decision. “He just doesn’t have the points, Cha Ming. The medicines you take? He can’t afford them. The time acceleration you and the others take for granted? He can manage three-fold time acceleration at best. And still he manages to afford my lessons by diverting time to complete missions.

“His problem is that he needs a breakthrough point. He has shackles that are just as strong as Godbeast Shackles holding him down. Breaking free of them requires more than will – it requires luck and opportunities. As an angelic cultivator, he can’t rely on the first, but no one will give him a chance at the second.” There was something incongruous about that statement, but Cha Ming couldn’t put his finger on it. “He needs a chance to shine, Cha Ming, and for that, he needs teammates he can trust. And in a hyper-competitive environment like this, no one will even look twice at him.”

“He never mentioned anything about that,” Cha Ming said.

“Because he’s too prideful,” the Godking said.

Cha Ming could see that. They’d spent a few evenings together with Huxian, but Petros had always been cagey and withdrawn, just like he was. Most of the time, they simply sat and drank for a few hours before calling it a night.

“I’ll think of something,” Cha Ming said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

The Godking raised his hands. “I may have said too much, but the Patriarch hasn’t punished me. Perhaps I was meant to say it.”

“What did teacher write about in his letter, by the way?” Cha Ming asked. “Was it an apology?”

Godking Heavenbind burst out laughing. “The opposite, actually. He told me he had no regrets and that I should suck it up and accept things as they are. That he’d be back in a few centuries and kick a few rears to teach people not to mess with me.”

“That sounds like something he’d say,” Cha Ming said.

“If you spit in the immortal realm, you’ll probably hit someone he’s offended,” the Godking said. “And the moment he steps foot in the immortal realms, there will be immortal emperors, god emperors, and a few demon monarchs and Primordials chasing him down. Whatever you do, Cha Ming, never admit to being his student.

“When he was around, things were fine. Knowing him was probably one of the best protection amulets you could find in the immortal realms. He was notoriously unreasonable and overprotective. You step on his disciple’s toes, and he’d destroy your entire sect!

“Alas, those times have passed, and the fear is gone. Now it’s not just powerhouses who come asking about him, it’s the collection agencies and bar owners and dozens of ladies claiming he fathered their illegitimate children. The sheer volume of hustlers… Hey! Where are you going? I’m commiserating here!”

Cha Ming froze halfway over the doorframe. “I just thought now would be a great time to go visit Immortal White, instructor,” he said. “Make sure you take care of yourself. Don’t drink too much coffee. Try to clear the cups off your desk everyone once in a while.”

“Hey, I’m not done talking here!” Godking Heavenbind said, but it was too late. Cha Ming was gone. He became one with the wind and sped off with everything he could muster.