by William Bill
Since Damien had never interacted with gods, he couldn't exactly predict what was going through Luna's mind.
Damien had gone through enough betrayals in his life that he never would easily trust another person, especially when they are linked to his soul plane.
Luna was currently using Damien's soul plane as an anchor to recover her soul. But he knew the voice wouldn't lie to him since it had basically given away the source of its life, its legacy to Damien.
"If there is one thing I can tell you is that I am completely sure she only has your well being in interest, even if it's for herself. Tell me, if it weren't for her would you be even talking to me now? If she wanted to, she could even absorb your soul essence to strengthen herself a bit no matter how inconsequential it would be for her soul as a whole. But she is currently dependent on you. She would only be putting her life in danger if she did something detrimental to you. Even she must have realized by now that she won't find a soul like yours which can host her soul plane in this mortal plane."
Damien knew that he was vulnerable all this time. But he had no choice but to take a leap of faith and trust Luna with his life before he let her modify his ethereal core points.
Seeing how she claimed to be the strongest god, surely she would have extraordinary tricks up her sleeve.
Even with her fragmented soul, she would be able to absorb his soul essence after suffering some backlash due to the soul link.
But if Damien resisted her attempt to read his memories or thoughts, she would not be able to intrude into Damien's soul plane without suffering some kind of backlash.
But if her soul wasn't linked with Damien's, she would only need a mere thought to go through Damien's memories or read his thoughts.
Damien hated this feeling of being vulnerable. It was the last thing he wanted to feel. To always look back behind his shoulders and being continuously wary of the person closest to him.
"Even if she doesn't want to do anything to me now, how can you guarantee she won't have any ill intentions towards me in the future?"
Damien knew that if Luna wanted him to raise his cultivation fast, she would surely guide him in the best way possible. But he couldn't help but feel apprehensive of what comes after.'
The voice answered, "I can guarantee because she can gain nothing from you. Why do you think she mentioned those conditions to you? Those three conditions are enough for her to recover her powers on her own, no matter how long it takes. Even if she absorbs your soul essence, it wouldn't be much of a help to her unless your soul is at least as powerful as hers. If you truly want to feel completely safe, then at least become as strong as her."
Damien inwardly rolled his eyes, hearing its answer. If it was so easy to become a god, then he wouldn't be in this state.
But in his heart, he decided to see for himself if he could trust Luna since the voice wouldn't say anything that could put its successor in danger.
Thinking that Luna basically had nothing to gain from him and remembering those three conditions she demanded, he felt that what the voice said makes sense.
"I don't have much time left. I have given you the answers you needed. Now, accept my 'Nethereal Arts'!"
Chapter 34: Anti-God Forbidden Arts
"Nethereal Arts? I have heard of Ethereal Arts, then what is Nethereal Arts?" Damien asked puzzledly.
The voice answered, "You could say my origins are from a different dimension, a different universe, and that dimension is known as the Nether Dimension, a realm of the living and the dead. The dimension you are in is known as the Aether Dimension, where Aether Energy or Ethereal Energy is predominant. But in my dimension, there is almost no Ethereal Energy...only Nether Energy is present. My dimension was dying...that was how I ended up here. But then...forget it…you don't have to bother with these things now."
It seemed as if the voice was remembering some unpleasant memories, but there were no emotional fluctuations in its voice.
The voice continued, "The reason you got crippled was that my Origin Seed could only accept Nether Energy. That's why your ethereal core points got destroyed due to the backlash. But fortunately, that goddess made new ones for you, which could adapt to my Origin Seed. You could say she made you a new set of core points that have the characteristics of both ethereal and nether core points."
Damien finally felt that things were making sense now...like how he was crippled. He had wondered why his Origin Seed had rejected the energy from his old ethereal core points.
But he was flabbergasted when he heard that there was another dimension or a universe other than the one he was in. He realized that the longer he spent in this world, the more unbelievable things he was experiencing and learning.
He even conversed with two gods!
He felt as if he was so inconsequential in the midst of these things and felt a bit uneasy when he thought how he would find Sofie when there are other dimensions or planes out there.
How powerful would he have to become to find her quickly?
How long would it take him to reach those heights?
The worst part was he didn't know whether Sofie was waiting for him. His best hope was to become as powerful as possible in the shortest time.
Damien's spirited determination to raise his power to new heights only intensified further instead of getting depressed, when these thoughts resurfaced.
The voice sensed Damien's turbulent emotions and acknowledged his vehement resolve.
Damien repressed his needless thoughts and said, "Then please bestow upon me your Nethereal Arts."
"Hmm, good...now steady your mind and focus. My Nethereal Arts have my memory imprints so that you will know how to make use of my arts."
Damien emptied his mind as a sudden surge of information entered his soul plane.
[Anti-God Arts]
1st Stage - [Undying Wrath] - Tears open your limits temporarily and mutates your ethereal energy to give rise to Anti-Energy. This energy will increase and amplify your strength, including your destructive power, through five phases.
[ First phase - 20% mutation; Second phase - 40% mutation; Third Phase - 60% mutation; Fourth Phase - 80% mutation; Fifth Phase - 100% mutation(Forbidden) ]
2nd Stage - [Shackles Of Death] - Sealed
3rd Stage - [Shadow Of Time] - Sealed
4th Stage - [From The Ashes I Rise] - Sealed
5th Stage - [Anti-World] - Sealed
6th Stage - [ ??? ] - Sealed
7th Stage - [ ??? ] - Sealed
"Since you have my Origin Seed, you need not comprehend anything to use my Nethereal Arts. Also, you need not follow the way others cultivate to increase your cultivation realm. You can also increase your cultivation by absorbing the vitality of others' lives and their soul essence as long as they are at least having stronger cultivation than you. Absorbing these two will improve both your ethereal and soul cultivation."
Damien was amazed when he assimilated the [Anti-God Arts] in his soul plane.
Even though he didn't have a clear idea of how much power he can draw upon, he could imagine the immense and mysterious power that can be released using these cheat-like arts.
"But why are the other stages sealed?" Damien couldn't help but wonder why they were restricted.
"Because you are too weak to use them at your current cultivation. But the more powerful you become, the more skills you can employ from my forbidden Nethereal Arts. Also, potentially my forbidden arts don't have any limits...which means the more powerful you become..., the more terrifying and stronger your skills will be.
"But if you make use of those sealed skills now, either your soul essence would get completely exhausted and dissipate, or your ethereal core would explode and thus bring upon an inevitable death. Even the unsealed skills you can use would be very punishing because it will exhaust a lot of either your soul energy or your ethereal energy. So, you should know how and when to use these skills wisely. You can also ask that goddess how to make the best use of your art
s."
'Damn. If these skills require such tremendous energy, I wonder how extraordinary those skills are. Well, at least I won't be tempted to make use of the sealed ones.'
The voice then became a little distant, "It's time. I have trusted you with my legacy. So, make sure you are worthy of it. Before I dissipate, I will bestow upon you the remnant energy from my soul fragment. Even though the energy is too minuscule, it could strengthen your current cultivation by a small margin."
Damien didn't feel any sadness that the soul fragment was going to dissipate, but he felt pity that such a powerful entity had to meet its end in such a way.
"Thank you for trusting me with your legacy. I won't bring any shame to your legacy." Damien felt thankful because now his hopes increased since he now had the means to realize his wishes.
The voice simply answered, "I know...you won't." The voice became completely distant as it faded away.
Suddenly Damien felt waves and waves of energy coming from his Origin Seed flooded in, which made the ethereal energy in his ethereal core rapidly convulse and swell up again and again...Until it made his ethereal core expand to its limit.
*Bang…*
A faint sound. Damien clearly heard the sound of something being broken through.
The ethereal energy within his ethereal core continued to contract rapidly.
The gaseous ethereal core became even denser as the ethereal energy inside the core increased in quantity.
This was clearly...the wondrous reaction of an ethereal strength breakthrough!
In the blink of an eye, his ethereal strength at the second level of the Initial Ethereal Realm had broken through to the third level of the Initial Ethereal Realm!
But it wasn't completely over just yet; the ethereal energy in the ethereal core was still rapidly swelling; the energy from the Origin Seed flooded in like crazy and filled the ethereal core that had just made a breakthrough to the brim again, followed by....
*Bang!*
The quality of the ethereal energy inside the ethereal core made another jump in level; from the strength of the third level of the Initial Ethereal Realm, it crossed into the fourth level of Initial Ethereal Realm.
Damien's jaw inwardly dropped wide open from shock. Even with a mental state that was built from two lifetimes, he still could almost not accept this advancement in ethereal energy that could even shock the world.
Not even half a minute had passed, and his ethereal strength actually crossed from the second level of Initial Ethereal Realm into the fourth level of Initial Ethereal Realm!!
Not only had this sort of thing never been encountered before but even just hearing it was also improbable!
It was so much to take in that he had a feeling that it was all just a dream.
The jumping of two ranks was still not the end. The energy from the Origin Seed continued to madly swirl in like a tide, slowly filling and expanding his ethereal core...making the strength of his ethereal energy explosively grow in a terrifying manner.
… Initial Ethereal Realm level five!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level six!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level seven!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level eight!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level nine!
... Initial Ethereal Realm level ten!
Damien felt like pinching himself to see whether he was dreaming or imagining the things that had just happened.
He didn't even have the time to react to the inconceivable shock he received when his ethereal strength had risen by two levels, because afterward his ethereal strength had madly increased and directly broken through to the tenth level of the Initial Ethereal Realm...the peak of the Initial Ethereal Realm!
In just a few minutes...not even a single day, but in minutes his ethereal strength had broken through several levels!
Even for a genius that grew up in a major family or sect that had access to a significant amount of resources and teachers, it would still take around two years for them to advance from the fourth level to the tenth level of the Initial Ethereal Realm.
This was why Damien was very surprised when he learned the cultivation level of Lily.
Because from what he learned, it was quite impossible for even a genius of her age to have the same cultivation as hers. He felt as if she was some kind of a monster when it came to cultivation...who was even more powerful than his late adopted father.
He always wondered if there was something special about Lily that allowed her to achieve the cultivation she has now.
But Damien's thoughts reeled back in as he felt his soul energy expanding!
His soul also broke through from Late Origin Soul Stage to Peak Origin Soul Stage and realized he could spread his senses around a 125-meter range!
He then sensed his ethereal core stabilizing, and the energy that was coming out from his Origin Seed had already subsided and completely disappeared.
He also felt that the soul fragment had dissipated as well.
Damien opened his eyes, which were filled with incredulity, and slowly got up as he asked, "Luna, what the hell just happened?"
Chapter 35: Death Laws?
However, Luna didn't answer him. She was sitting in her Shard Of Essence, witnessing all the things happening to Damien as she finally opened her mouth to speak in a low mumble: "Looks like his Origin Seed had finally reacted. Maybe it had to do with him forcibly manifesting his etheric fire. But that rapid surge of energy from his Origin Seed...seems like it was not a coincidence that he was able to house the Origin Seed."
Shortly, Luna appeared before Damien, who was still drunk with astonishment.
"Hmph, congratulations on breaking through to the peak of the Initial Ethereal Realm. I guess your cultivation could be considered as average around here for someone of fifteen years old, right?" Luna flatly stated.
At this moment, the previous overwhelming shock, terror, and apprehension he had when he stepped into the peak of the Initial Ethereal Realm faded.
It was true that considering the whole Rong Empire, his cultivation would come off as average since in the place he was in right now, that is, the imperial capital, even an eleven-year-old kid from a reputed family, would have the same cultivation as Damien.
But in the Ward Family, Damien would be considered a genius. That was how drastic the difference would be when it all comes down to resources and guidance.
Suddenly Damien felt something in his ethereal core and raised his right hand as he opened his palm.
As he moved his thoughts, a small crackling sound resounded when an illuminating black streak of lightning manifested in his hands.
The lightning seemed chaotic and violent as another twisted flickering streak appeared in his hand. As seconds passed, another streak appeared.
He felt a similar chilliness and scorching heat from the streaks of lightning but not the same extent as his Fallen Flames. Yet his skin wasn't scorched or injured in the slightest.
As he looked at the spine-chilling streaks of lightning staying alive because of his ethereal energy, he silently laughed.
'Was this phenomenal power some kind of compensation sent by the heavens for all my suffering? To live years in suffering, only to give back everything I deserved all together in a single day.'
As Damien inspected his Origin Seed, he found that his lightning seed had taken the form of flickering streaks of jet black lightning compared to the tiny sparks before he broke through.
He guessed that just like his Fallen Flames; his lightning seed was also probably altered by the Origin Seed.
Also, there was a faint strand of connection between the lightning seed and his Origin Seed.
"Seems like your comprehension of lightning laws has also improved along with your breakthrough. I was expecting some reaction from your Origin Seed after you had manifested your etheric fire. And soon enough, it reacted today. I am guessing there were some memory imprints on the Origin Seed, right? Did you find out anything
useful? Like why that god left his Origin Seed with you?" Luna asked as her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Damien shook his head, "Nothing much, actually. I didn't get the answers I wanted to know. But he said he was an entity that even gods feared. I guess he called himself the 'Anti-God'. And he did leave me his legacy...his Origin Seed officially including his Nethereal Arts. Do you know him or what exactly this Nether Dimension is?"
Luna squinted her eyes as if she was running through all her memories, "I have never heard of any Anti-God or Nether Dimension. Hmph, if he said that all gods feared him, it must be his luck that he didn't meet me."
Damien didn't know whether to cry or laugh seeing her haughtiness.
Luna touched her chin, "But all this seems new to me. Maybe I did know about such an entity, but I don't remember now. But it's good that you have comprehended his arts. Do you want me to guide you on how to use those arts? Because I don't want you dying just because you didn't know how to use those arts. A god's Ethereal Arts or your Nethereal Arts, as you say, is not a child's play. It is not something a mortal is supposed to use. But if he gave it to you, I am sure you wouldn't be able to make use of all the skills in the arts…right?"
Damien sighed, "Yes. It's true. He also warned me that I could not use certain skills unless my cultivation becomes powerful enough. Well, then please do guide me...I also don't want to kill myself by accident."
Damien then transferred the memory imprint of his arts to Luna. He transferred them to gain guidance and see for himself if Luna could be trusted. Based on her reaction, he can at least confirm what the voice told him.
Luna instantly scanned all the information, and after a few moments of silence, she said as she gazed intently at Damien, "Ha...I can't even explain how ridiculously fortunate you are...with these arts, there's nothing stopping you from rising to the top. I can't believe that such a powerful god existed...maybe because he was in another dimension, I didn't know. Anyway, these Nethereal Arts or Anti-God Arts are very punishing, but at the same time, your combat prowess would soar through the skies. It gives you a power that goes against all laws and logic you know of. A power that even transcends the whole universe."