by Yuri Ajin
For the next seven hours, he was busy with untangling these mysteries, after which he kept conducting experiments for another five hours.
The first thing he realized was that Yang was essentially a permanently unstable force. It was constantly in a state of transformation, which meant that it was constantly changing from one element to another. Freeze it in time, and you could transform it into any desired element.
This was perfect for alchemy since it usually required small amounts of elements, but it didn’t work with techniques, making the whole thing too complicated. So Kai decided not to just try to make Yang freeze in a specific state, but to stabilize it. This idea came to him at the moment of enlightenment.
And so the experiments began. However, in the end, all he was able to achieve was half of what he planned. There was no way to stabilize Yang. And since he possessed the maximum understanding, he knew that the problem wasn’t in the quality of his strength. Something else was missing. Another concept perhaps.
From there, he engaged in new attempts to combine Yin and Yang. At first, they didn’t give any results. The elements either didn’t interact or they destroyed themselves when he tried too hard. But he was persistent. He didn’t give up on the idea of merging these two concepts, and finally, with the help of the destructive power of Yin, he managed to destroy Yang’s instability, spending almost all his spirit stamina on it. As a result, he received a completely new power. Oddly enough, it most resembled... normal energy.
However, it was still somewhat different from ki. There were five key differences Kai noticed: it was so much denser that it was practically liquid, it was visible, it possessed immense power, it constantly tried to disintegrate, and it also invoked a strange feeling of peace.
Finally... Finally, I’m getting closer to creating it. There’s only one more element missing. But I can’t experiment on myself, which means that it’s time to leave the Abode, he thought as he stood up. I hope everything works out as I’ve planned…
***
The door of one of the palace rooms, which hadn’t been opened for almost half a year, suddenly trembled, forcing the three cultivators standing next to them to jump. Looking at the door, they waited for it to open. Two Exorcists kneeled, and the third glued her forehead to the floor.
A whirlwind of power burst out of the dark room, slamming the door open and making everyone’s hair and clothes flutter.
“Mia, Raiden, get up,” a voice came from behind them.
They got up and turned around. They had long gotten accustomed to the fact that no one could see Lightus move around. Especially now that he had finally broken through to the mid stage.
“Lord Lightus, your breakthrough was prolonged,” Mia spoke first. She sounded worried.
“Don’t worry.” Lightus chuckled. “I was lucky enough to experience the highest level of enlightenment. That’s why I stayed in there for so long.”
“I’m happy for you.” She smiled in response.
“I see that I missed out on a lot of things while I was gone.” Lightus looked sideways at Yukie who stood frozen in a bow.
“Allow me to report, my lord,” Raiden said in a lifeless tone. “A series of explosions occurred in the Abode. On every floor, except for Ground and Heavenly. In total, two thousand six hundred and seventeen students of all factions died. The explosions were set off by the Bloodfang clan, who belong to the Seventh Faction. They blew themselves up using their ki, soul energy, and forbidden drugs.”
Surprise flashed across Lightus’ face.
“What was their motivation?” he asked.
“It remains unknown, but... During the explosions, I was in the arena on the first floor, where the largest number of ranked students were gathered. I managed to neutralize one dorgan before he destroyed his body. Then I exposed him to one of the explosions and let him die of internal injuries. I protected his head, and later, I was able to resurrect him as an undead. After that, I interrogated the corpse and found that he and ninety-nine of Seven’s subordinates, by her orders, went to the Northern Wasteland to monitor Two. For four months, their assignment went well, but then the entire team disappeared without a trace. A month and a half ago, they all returned at the same time and hid in the Abode without informing their mistress. A few days later, the explosions occurred. Each of them shouted “This is your first warning” before exploding.”
Lightus had to give it his all not to shout at someone. Closing his eyes and pausing for a couple of minutes, he spoke.
“Is that true?”
Everyone knew who the question was for.
“Yes!” Yukie loudly answered, without getting up. She didn’t care about her subordinates. But she cared that she had violated Lightus’ order. “I ask—”
“Shut up!” Lightus growled. “Not another word! Raiden, how did the Guardian react to this?”
“He didn’t.”
As expected... Lightus thought. Once again, he’s turning a blind eye. But this is no longer just a violation of Abode’s laws, but a direct attack on them!
“I see. Then I’ll repeat once again for those who didn’t get it the first time. No one is to disturb Two. You aren’t even allowed to follow him! If someone dares to violate my order, I’ll personally stop their cultivation and throw them out of the Abode! Pass this message to each member of the Ten!” he hissed. “Mia, continue with the preparations for the Games. I want everything to be ready in two months. Gather the Council. In a week.”
“Yes.” Mia bowed.
“You’re free to go.” Lightus waved his hand and walked away.
Hiding in the darkness of the corridor, he tried to suppress his anger. Anger at himself. At his weakness...
Even thinking about Two made him almost tremble with horror every time, forcing him to remember how he got to where he was now.
Their fight was notable because no matter how hard Lightus tried, he couldn’t even touch his opponent. It seemed as if Two was playing with him. He could’ve easily won, ending the fight at any moment, but he eventually surrendered, allowing Lightus to take his place.
That fight was now forever engraved in Lightus’s mind, appearing before his eyes every time he thought about Two.
Monster. That damn monster! How could there even be such a powerful Exorcist? Why did he come to the Abode while I was here? And why can’t these idiots follow my orders?! Do they really think that they can harm him? Each of them fought against him. But they seem to not remember. And every time I try to tell these idiots about his true power, no one hears me. What did he do to their brains? Did I manage to win, or did he feel sorry for me and let me have his place? Finally calming down and pulling himself together, Lightus sighed. What’s the matter with me? Panic? Hysteria? Was that really me? I have to act quickly. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but the more time passes, the more difficult it becomes to control my emotions... I’ll go to the capital. I need to meet my father. Someone as strong as him will definitely be able to help me...
Chapter 23
CONTINUING THE EXPERIMENTS
There were only six public portals in the Abode, each of which led to one of the largest anomaly zones on the continent. Grimwolf Darkshire was the official name of the least dangerous of them, and where Kai planned to go.
The elves guarding the Portal Hall twitched, noticing a cultivator who hadn’t paid for the passage. Realizing who he was, they stopped. Kai walked past them, chose the required teleportation platform, paid ten Coins, and disappeared.
The transfer point was a similar platform on the outskirts of Darkshire under a huge protective dome, situated in a small settlement of explorers.
Having no reason to linger there, Kai headed toward the largest local landmark — Grim Wolf, a lonely dark mountain, which, when observed from a certain angle, resembled a wolf.
This anomaly territory was divided into three zones: outer, inner, and central. The first was the periphery of Darkshire, where Kai currently was. There weren’t many natu
ral traps and the monsters weren’t particularly strong. It was here that students came to hunt. The inner zone was too tough for them.
Since the ancient war, monsters reached the Tyrant Stage due to the natural arrays scattered throughout the area, making Elementalists the only ones that could deal with them. As for the central zone, or more precisely, the mountain itself, it was the ancestral land of the Divine Animals. Only peak-level Elementalists and powerful Masters dared to go there. But even then, they traveled in groups of five or six.
In this area, the laws of the Abode were no longer in effect, and murder wasn’t punishable, which was why Kai needed to be extra careful.
Once he was away from the camp, he compressed his aura and changed its frequency to an animal one, effectively hiding himself from anyone who might’ve been searching for him.
After a couple of hours, he turned west, sensing a beast nearby.
The Soul Stage monster sensed him only when he got a bit too deep into its territory, making it slowly get out of its den. The beast turned out to be a six-foot-tall Steel Needle Bear, named for its ability to turn its fur into metal needles that it used to fend off attackers.
The Steel Needle Bears usually led a secluded life, aware that they could easily fall prey to stronger monsters and the Abode’s disciples, making their dens behind an anomaly that distorted spirit perception. This allowed them to sense intruders in time, which gave them a chance to escape or prepare for battle. Unfortunately for this Bear, it didn’t react in time. Once it realized that someone was trespassing, its fear was replaced by anger.
The Bear roared and then rushed at the intruder.
The distance was shrinking, and yet the stranger did nothing. Just as it was about to reach its goal, the Bear ceased to feel its body, and then it suddenly stopped right in front of Kai. It could only stare at him in horror, realizing that it had fallen into a trap.
Kai raised his hand and reached for the Bear’s head. It wanted to run, but couldn’t.
“Sleep,” Kai whispered, touching the Bear’s forehead with his fingertips.
The beast’s consciousness floated away. There was nothing it could do to resist.
Having transferred his test subject into the Night Space, Kai entered the den. There, he found a small supply of relatively rare, but not so valuable resources, which the beast had collected in Darkshire. Not giving a damn about them, he just went into his pocket dimension and got down to work.
Putting his hand on the Bear’s back, he merged Yin and Yang, recreating the strange energy he had felt before, which he then carefully began injecting into the monster’s body through the acupuncture points. After that, he channeled the energy through its meridians until it finally reached the Source.
“Are you ready?”
“Of course,” Rune’Tan replied. “Bring the energy as close as possible, and then give me partial control over your body. I hope this will work...”
As instructed, Kai covered the Bear’s soul, hidden in its Source, with the energy he had created. Then Rune’Tan allowed him to briefly break through the Shell of the beast’s soul, moving the energy inside. There, Kai almost lost control of the power, but he managed to keep it. Little by little, he manipulated the energy, moving it further and further, until he finally reached what he wanted — the Spark.
No longer hesitating and ignoring the fatigue that was taking over him, he began infusing energy with the Spark until it covered it.
“What’s next?” he asked as nothing happened.
“You’re asking me? This was your idea.” Rune’Tan chuckled. “But if you want advice — give it some time. This could still work.”
Kai nodded. He hadn’t planned on giving up.
Minutes passed. Kai’s spirit endurance was running out, and his eyes were strained to their limit as he kept using his energy vision to look at the Spark. He was as exhausted as he was after the fight with Ranmaru.
Despite suppressing its body and mind with the Field, the Bear somehow moved. With every passing second, it twitched more and more, threatening to break its bonds.
“What’s happening?” Kai asked in surprise, chaining the Bear with ice.
“It’s in pain... This is a powerful spirit pain that you feel even when unconscious or without a body,” Rune’Tan explained. “Look closely, it has begun!”
Kai stared deeper into the Bear’s soul and was amazed by the transformation that began to take place before him. The strange energy was suddenly drawn into the beast’s Spark, slipping out of his control. The Bear calmed down only once it disappeared.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then...
“Oh, you’re one lucky son of a bitch, kid!” Rune’Tan shouted joyfully, still not believing what was happening. “You did it! You actually did it!”
Hearing these words, Kai tried to look even harder. His eyes hurt, but he kept looking. What he saw amazed and delighted him. So much so that some of his emotions even broke through the Cold Void and reflected on his face.
“Indeed...” he gasped, relaxing. “I was able to create soul energy!”
The strange energy absorbed by the Spark flowed back out in the form of soul energy.
Having achieved the long-awaited result, Kai stopped suppressing the Bear and removed the ice chains.
Staggering, the drowsy beast slowly rose and shook its head. Memories of wild spirit pain were still fresh in its mind, making it tremble and stare at Kai as if he were a demon. Kai, in turn, sat down in a meditation position and began to recover, looking at the Bear with only a piece of his consciousness. Fortunately, the beast, tired and frightened, wasn’t even trying to resist, or do anything.
After five hours, Kai finally finished his meditation, regaining much of his spirit stamina. Getting up to his feet, he examined the bear with energy vision.
“There are no side effects. Good. You can go.” He waved his hand, after which the Bear disappeared, returning to its den.
Closing his eyes and sitting back down, Kai concentrated. Particles of Yin and Yang appeared in his Source in equal measure. Combining them, he directed this power straight into the Shell. It was much easier to control it in his own body.
Soon, the artificial energy, that was how he called it, was inside his soul, wrapped around the Spark. After a couple of minutes, it absorbed this force and turned it into soul energy. After repeating this a couple more times, he was able to determine the right amount of each component, after which he filled his soul with it, returning the hundred years of his life he had spent both on Earth and on this world by using his soul energy in fights.
“Hey, I’ve been thinking…” he asked, coming to. “Since I can now create soul energy, do I need more Spirit Fruits to prepare the Heavenly Flask?”
“Try to isolate the soul energy from your body.”
“I don’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Wait… You can teach me that? Why haven’t you done so earlier?”
“Because you’re an idiot! You would’ve died long ago, having spent every last drop of it. I was afraid to give you the opportunity to throw your life away so easily,” Rune’Tan replied angrily. “But now… things have changed.”
“I see. You’ve done the right thing,” Kai admitted in a cold, hard voice. “Please, teach me.”
The training lasted several days, during which Kai learned to channel any energy through the Soul Shell, without harming himself. After that, he created reserves of soul energy, which he infused with the Source and led along the shortest meridian outward. As a result, as soon as the soul energy was outside his body, it immediately began to dissipate.
“As we can see, without the support of the Spark, soul energy — any form of it, mind you, not just the one you created will disintegrate. As long as it’s inside the Shell, this process slows down, and it can last for centuries. It can be done faster if you move it into the Source, but not too much. In the outside world, it has no support, and it’ll last from a
few seconds to a minute. Don’t even think about your physical body. Flesh won’t work as storage.”
“But how does energy stay in Spirit Fruits?” Kai wondered. “They die and lose the Spark when they are ripped off. And yet, the energy remains.”
“Because Spirit Fruits are ideal storage for this type of energy. The Fruit itself grew while simultaneously absorbing the Forces of the Soul. Therefore, even without the Spark, the contents disintegrate extremely slowly. The same goes for other plants. They act as a cage for a certain element,” Rune’Tan explained. “Granted, such storage can be created artificially. However, to do this, you need to be either a high-level Master — like me — or to concentrate the power of a particular element in one place for years without interruption, which is what makes Spirit Plants grow.”
“So, the Fruit is still a must…” Kai nodded, and then remembered something. “By the way, do you know what was that strange feeling that arose when I filled my soul with energy at the end of the process?”
“I don’t.” Rune’Tan shrugged. “I feel the same things you do, but not everything and not always.”
“I see. We ought to check that…”
The Night Space dispersed, and he returned to the now empty den.
“Did it escape?” Kai pondered, and then shrugged. “Well, it’s been four days.”
Leaving the den behind, he continued his journey through Darkshire in search of another test subject.
***
Two monsters were running along the river. A small but rather agile Thunderous Two-Tailed Fox was catching up with the intruder who dared to enter its domain.
The Steel Needle Bear stopped in front of a lonely rock, cornered by the Fox. It couldn’t get around it, but it was afraid to jump into the river, straight into the jaws of its inhabitants.
Trapped, it decided to fight. But the Fox was more than a level higher than it, and it didn’t take it long to punish the fool who disturbed its slumber.