PtM Book 16 - Chapter 5: The Final Day

3/3 this week!

--

The entrance trial saw a sharp increase in difficulty over the next few days. The enemies they faced grew stronger, and Cha Ming’s Savage Deity Aura began to lose its effectiveness. He was soon forced to fight smaller waves of elite demons at least once every hour.

Rank 11 monstrous demons became more common. They were a bad match-up for him, but he could fight them to a standstill and find an opportunity to retreat. As for rank 12 demons, they popped up everyone once in a while. Those he could only run from as quickly as possible.

The number of participants dwindled until finally, only one day remained. He knew that because a series of shifting numbers appeared inside his mind. A countdown. A timer.

Twenty-four hours remained in the trial. According to common sense, all the survivors would enter the Heartforge Realm regardless of how many remained. That being said, the number of participants was likely to reach 3500 hundred by the time that happened. Moreover, the 3500-person threshold was still shining bright red right next to the timer.

Cha Ming was currently in a miserable state. A familiar presence had locked onto him and was closing in at a frightening pace. Facing it was suicide, he knew from experience, so he wasted no time in vaulting off the ground with his staff, propelling himself straight through the dirt-covered branches of the first canopy.

He caught sight of golden fur and red eyes just before speeding off into the distance. Perhaps this time, it would give up early?

Cha Ming naturally had no such luck. The creature Huxian called a crimson-eyed golden ape had been hunting him for a long time and was getting increasingly determined in pursuing him. It crashed through the campy and smashed its palms down on the tangled vines and branches. The nearest hundred meters of greenery collapsed as soil fell through the interlocked leaves and branches.

The lack of intelligence the demon showed – and yes, Huxian confirmed it should have been intelligent – was both a blessing and curse. Without something egging it on, it wouldn’t have bothered chasing him in the first place, but because of its reduced intelligence, Cha Ming was able to use the air pressure form its simple attack to launch himself forward.

Wooden shrapnel still struck him, and he had to use valuable energy to force the pieces out of his skin. I don’t know if I can escape this time, Cha Ming sent to Huxian worriedly. This thing has it out for me. Should I break my limit?

Absolutely not, Huxian said. That’ll basically kill you.

Cha Ming had come to the same conclusion, but after three encounters with it, he was getting desperate. He looked back to see how close it was, only to find the ape’s meaty fist heading straight for his face.

He immediately activated Clockwork Boots of the Golden Dragon. Even with its time distorting properties, he could only reduce a direct hit to glancing blow. Half his body was destroyed; it only took a second to regenerate, but it severely depleted his dwindling divinity reserves.

His destruction domain was useless against the ape’s brute force, so he switched over to his creation domain, knowing full well what the consequences would be. He began building walls out of the five elements to hold the ape back, buying himself a precious second, after he used another charge of Clockwork Blitz to avoid certain death.

Using his creation domain came at a price. By gathering so much energy onto himself, he advertised his presence like a lighthouse.

The forest came abuzz. A swarm of wasps came at Cha Ming, but he was able to repel them with his Savage Deity Aura.

A dozen birds were not as easily cowed, however. They chirped out sonic attacks and used them to force their way forward. Cha Ming swept his staff in an unpredictable arc and smashed them to bits. He then used fast footwork and pushed off with his staff, barely avoiding the ape’s fist once again.

The aftershocks sent him reeling, and he knew that he could no longer hesitate. He bit the bullet and became lightning before speeding off as quickly as was possible for him.

Every second in this form cost him a full percentage of his divinity stores, a full hundredth of his life, but he pressed onward for a full minute before finally stopping and assuming the form of defenseless moss on a tree, hoping desperately that it would pull the wool over the ape’s eyes.

Several tense minutes passed before Cha Ming was certain he hadn’t been followed. He peeled himself off the tree and popped a few blood pellets into his mouth along with some divinity replenishing pills. Once again, he had come too close to death.

I’m really hating this Heartforge Realm, Huxian, Cha Ming said. Remind me to kick Sun Wukong’s tail when we’re out?

What happened to calling him Teacher? Huxian asked.

That was before he threw me into a secret realm that kills half the people who enter it, Cha Ming said. It’s not right. I shouldn’t have been put into this situation. Then he sighed and confess to the fox. I’m tired, Huxian. I didn’t realize it before, but after meeting Longshen… I’m just exhausted. I can feel myself falling apart at the seams.

Just last out one more day, Huxian said. One more day, we’ll meet up, and I’ll take care of you.

But will it matter? Cha Ming asked. Can I… do I need to be fixed? I know this isn’t something that’s physically wrong with me. She… she… His body seized up, and stopped thinking and focused on his breathing.

Don’t worry about it, don’t even think about it, Huxian said. Just know that your teacher sent you here for a reason. Out of all the places in the universe I’d pick to fix your soul, this place ranks in the top five.

What are the other four places? Cha Ming asked.

The Seven Heavens and the Seven Hells, Huxian replied without any hesitation. The Buddha Realm, and the Evil Spirit Realm are also good. And all of those are immortal realms. The Heartforge Realm is a personal realm, so it’s like a mix between a transcendent plane and an immortal one.

I feel cold again, Huxian, Cha Ming said. He shivered, and a stream of warmth travelled through their bond and supplemented his shivering soul.

His spiritual sea was not looking good. Before, it had been covered in gray mist and protected by the gray seed. But now… now the iridescent seed was pulsing and thrumming. It was forcing him to remember. Forcing him to feel.

You’ll get through this, Huxian repeated. One more day.

One more day, Cha Ming echoed. One more day, and he would be forced to return to civilization.

***

Twelves hours remained in the entrance trial, and things weren’t going well for Cha Ming. He was a ragged mess, and even with all the food and divinity pellets he’d pilfered, he was having trouble keeping up with his expenditure.

Roughly half his energy remained – not enough to survive another encounter with the Crimson-Eyed Ape, which had appeared several times over the past few days. Only 3503 participants remained, and this was likely the final hour.

Cha Ming was currently hanging off a tree branch just below the first canopy. A small swarm of birds flapped their wings menacingly at him, though they didn’t dare do more given his fearsome presence.

He ignored them and focused on the largest group of humans he’d seen to date tromping through the forest, fending off wave after wave of monstrous demons.

Cha Ming had no interest in eliminating the competition anymore. All he wanted to do was survive and return to the Heartforge Realm. He wanted to escape the pain that was getting increasingly intolerable the more his memories returned, and his mind woke up.

Yet he couldn’t ignore the person leading them, Cao Wenluan, so he watched with cold fascination as he led his efficient group in collecting beast cores and valuable herbs and fruits.

Cao Wenluan. His old enemy from the Burning Lake Prefecture. The one who’d led a human army to conquer the demon lands and topple Shimmerwing City and Stargazer City. He wasn’t just surviving in this place but thriving.

Cha Ming’s enmity with the man was bone deep, so as much as it would be smarter to peel away unnoticed and hunker down for what remained of the trial, he stayed. He stayed and stared hatefully at the man who’d convinced Yu Wen’s family to sell her off to him.

If it were him from two weeks ago, he might have ignored Cao Wenluan, but in this alternating state savage coldness and intense emotions, he couldn’t ignore hatred.

So he waited, waited for him to show an opening or slip up. Waited to see if there was an opportunity to put down this threat before the trial ended.

Cha Ming, don’t do it…

Cha Ming ignored Huxian’s wise advice. He stalked the group as it travelled, hopping from tree to tree and taking great care not to attract any attention. If there was one advantage to tailing such a large group, it was that any demons directed towards him would probably go for the much more obvious target in front of them.

He followed them for minutes until they finally stopped at the edge of a lake. A three-headed hydra appeared from within that lake and spat acid at the troop of twenty cultivators. It was a legitimate tier 13 beast, the equivalent of a middle fusion realm demon, yet their group somehow held on without casualties.

“Tighten your defence!” Cao Wenluan shouted. “Activate your defensive treasures! Don’t skimp out!” These people were clearly cobbled together from various planes, but they did exactly as commanded. There was a fervor in their eyes that Cha Ming recognized, that enraged him even further.

Cao Wenluan. Cao Wenluan. Cao Wenluan!

The hydra’s initial blast of acid was successfully defended against. The large group of Dao Gods sprang forth and began to swarm the creature, attacking its many necks and torso. It was a known fact that hydras regenerated rapidly and could even heal entire heads if they were cut off, at the cost of time and vitality.

It wasn’t a perfect opening. The Cha Ming form two weeks ago would have been patient. But the Cha Ming now didn’t care. This was an opportunity, and he was so close.

He crept over in a monkey-like crouch, staff in hand and cloak drinking light. The hydra had expended most of its acid, so it now fought with its powerful three heads and a field of acid that steadily wore away at qi, metal, and divinity.

It’s enough, Cha Ming thought. I need a weakness. And since I don’t have it… I’ll create it! He snuck a little closer and drew on his rapidly pulsing Iridescent Aura.

Drawing on it brought back painful memories, but he bore with it with the help of hatred. Then, instead of boosting their techniques, he channelled their fear and their dread into them, thereby weakening their shields at a critical moment.

“Steady!” Cao Wenluan shouted, bolstering their morale. Cha Ming’s tampering was nullified in an instant.

The failed attempt only made the seething feeling in his heart more unbearable. He had to strike. He had to do it now. Besides, he should have anticipated commander skills.

Cao Wenluan. Cao Wenluan.

Since he could not tamper with their shields, Cha Ming decided to upset the situation using external forces. He cast out the creation domain he typically kept contained and began to plunder energy from several kilometers out.

Countless howls filled the air and shook the ground. The commotion was such that even the hydra was frightened. Cao Wenluan’s group lost cohesion for a few seconds, enabling the hydra to bite down on one of their members and devour them, bringing the number down to 3502.

“Retreat!” Cao Wenluan called out. Their formation fell apart. They began to make mistakes, and Cha Ming’s Iridescent Aura, which now functioned as a curse, only made things worse.

Demons appeared from the wilderness and charged at them ferociously. “Form battle lines!” Cao Wenluan called out, and to his credit, they did just that.

It was just that there were far too many demons, and many of them poured through the cracks in their formation.

Cha Ming had completely retracted his domain by now, so he was well hidden just beside the chaotic battlefield. But he knew it was only a matter of time before the demons found him. But he didn’t care. As long as he found that opening.

That was when an old friend appeared. The crimson-eyed golden ape. And when it arrived, Cao Wenluan’s defensive lines fell apart a second time.

Cha Ming knew he didn’t have much time. The crimson-eyed golden ape was here for him, not these other people. He could see it now, glaring in his direction.

Cha Ming immediately assumed lightning form and zipped over to Cao Wenluan’s side, suppressing him. He activated his Savage Deity Aura at full strength and lashed out with the Savage Deity War Staff.

Alas, Cao Wenluan was too experienced, and his battle instincts far too sharp. Cao Wenluan’s soul-bound treasure, the Wrathful Blade of the Conqueror, blocked his staff. Their auras pushed back and forth, with Cha Ming’s Savage Deity Aura pitted up against Cao Wenluan’s prestige and momentum.

Cha Ming’s Savage Deity War Staff could crush all obstacles. Cao Wenluan’s blade could shatter all bonds and topple entire kingdoms. In the end, both of them were blown back several meters with blood trickling out the corner of their mouth.

“You,” Cao Wenluan said grimly.

“Me!” Cha Ming replied with a mad grin.

He shot out at Cao Wenluan again, using his destruction domain to block out any techniques Cao Wenluan might have.

Unfortunately for him, Cao Wenluan didn’t use any techniques. Instead, he used similar ability to level the playing field.

“Good! Very good! I wasn’t wrong about you,” Cao Wenluan said. “Only a late muscle empowering Dao God, but not too bad.” Cao Wenluan had reached the peak of the rune gathering realm and the peak of the muscle empowering realm. He was a whole level stronger than Cha Ming.

But Cha Ming didn’t care. He’d known this coming in. He activated all his divine abilities and attacked again!

“Fate Severing Blade!” Cao Wenluan shouted. He swung out with the Wrathful Blade of the Conqueror, which was now wreathed in qi that slightly destabilized space.

Only then did Cha Ming feel death coming for him. Memories came rushing in, and words urging him to survive chased away his anger and cleared his mind long enough to see what had to be done. He avoided the blade by abandoning his dignity and throwing himself to the ground, where he was practically licking Cao Wenluan’s boots.

With that memory came pain. Terrible pain. And then said boot caught Cha Ming in the face, sending him flying backwards.

“You clearly can’t sustain this,” Cao Wenluan said with a frown as he looked at Cha Ming’s pain-wracked body. “Why are you pushing yourself like this? It isn’t like you.”

“I… don’t have… to sustain this…” Cha Ming said.

Cao Wenluan immediately realized hat he meant. “These are my soldiers, and I won’t let you take claim them. Apologize and back off, and I’ll let you go.”

Cha Ming’s body broke apart and became lightning and shot to a distant point in the battlefield. He aimed for one of Cao Wenluan’s men, but Cao Wenluan appeared beside the man and blocked. Three pairs of wings had appeared on his back. They were black and seemed as though they were no fire. He was using a soul burn technique.

“For threatening my men, I can only kill you off early,” Cao Wenluan said. He raise his blade and brought it down, and Cha Ming could only raise the Savage Deity War Staff to block. It shattered every bone in his body.

“What happened to you, Clear Sky?” Cao Wenluan said. “I was hoping to see you here, but not like this.”

Cha Ming moved to attack another target, but Cao Wenluan’s sword came down once again, lopping off an arm, then another arm, all of which grew back at great cost to his nearly empty divinity stores.

“You can’t escape,” Cao Wenluan said. “Just stay here until the competition is over, and we’ll see each other again in the Heartforge Realm.”

But Cha Ming didn’t want to give up. He didn’t want to give Cao Wenluan the satisfaction. Staying still made a lot of sense, but Cha Ming was not in his right mind.

There was still one last card he could play – the ape, which was madly rushing over. It had followed him towards Cao Wenluan’s original location and was currently on its way.

Cao Wenluan seemed to realize this, and he immediately lashed out. But not before Cha Ming took on lightning form and shot towards the ape.

The ape smashed own as he landed, catching an unfortunate Dao God in the process and killing him. Cha Ming barely avoided death. The count became 3501.

“I’ll kill you for that!” Cao Wenluan said, appearing side him and stabbing his sword into Cha Ming’s chest. Golden blood leaked out of the wound, and his life began to leave him.

Cha Ming could no longer move, and destructive lightning now filled his body. Even so, he still had one last move.

He tossed out his staff, and it became a throwing knife. Just a throwing knife, nothing else. It travelled twenty meters before stabbing one of the few Daoists on the battlefield in the back of the head, a split second before the ape appeared before him and came for his life once again.

“See you in the Heartforge Realm,” Cha Ming said as the blade in his chest came lose, and the ape howled in rage as it vanished. The forest disappeared, as did the demons, the humans, and the dirt-filled first canopy. It gave way to a bright blue sky with lightly brushed clouds and a shadow of twin mountains and a confluence of jade and ochre light.

He saw people and heard voices but couldn’t make out a word that they were saying. A stream of warmth poured into him, instantly healing his physical injuries. But when that warmth reached for his soul, the likeness of a fox appeared around it and growled protectively. The warmth receded, but the warmth of the fox curling around it remained.

You made it, the fox said.

Yes, he had made it. He had entered the Heartforge Realm at last, and Huxian was right there with him.