V5C36: Proof of People’s Will

On that day, the quiet and unchanging Gang District experienced one of the strangest days of the last few hundred years, at least. A few of the locals were aware of the cause of the upheaval, having seen the altercation the previous night, but the news had not yet been able to spread far.

As a result, when a large number of people suddenly emerged from the eastern part of the district, dressed in unusual clothing and acting in ways that did not befit them according to tradition, it came as a surprise to most. There were even some that questioned whether this was some kind of attack on the district, but the relatively calm and collected nature of their spreading procession led to most avoiding direct confrontation and simply watching from the sides when their traditions permitted this. The rest went about their day.

“Everyone, consider the restraints of tradition! You have all spent so long following along with it, without any regard for yourself or the potential betterment of the district, so think to it now!” Gang Ya Hui called out at one point, having gone through quite a bit of the district attempting to promote her ideas.

She had been keeping an eye out for opposition using her spiritual perception, but she did not perceive the presence of a powerful aura until it appeared right before her.

At that point, she had only a moment to stop before she might have otherwise gotten a little too close for her own comfort, and in that moment she was able to comprehend who it was that had gotten in her way. After all, there were few who had a cultivation of Linked Channels, like she did, but before her was the obvious aura of the seventh realm, radiating freely and with the clear influence of wood-type energy manifesting itself before her.

“P-Patriarch. How nice of you to check out our little march.”

“This is an attack on our tradition. You must cease your activity at this very moment, or else you should be prepared for punishment,” the Patriarch spoke directly, glaring at her and ignoring those behind her, “Do you understand?”

“Apologies, Patriarch, but this is not an attack. We are merely promoting our ideas. We do not have the intention of challenging your position.”

“… So, Gang Xiu Ling had put you up to this?”

“Not exactly, but we are siding with her.”

Gang Shu Wen blatantly disliked the lack of immediate response, but he understood the situation well enough, saying, “When I deal with her, the rest of you shall return to your intended path. Any opposition shall be dealt with according to the traditional punishments, and no disagreement shall be heard from those that cannot respect the system by which we have survived for over a million years.”

“If you defeat her, you mean… Patriarch,” Gang Ya Hui added nervously, “That much is not guaranteed, actually.”

“You think that she is capable of… ah, you must be thinking that the other woman I’ve heard about has some ability. Very well, I shall humour you and take my sibling’s attempt at insurrection seriously,” the Patriarch said, turning around and vanishing the next moment.

Only then was the leader of the New Community able to release her held breath, being forced to loosen her collar as she felt her entire body sweating more than it had ever done before. Although the expression of their Patriarch had not changed much during their conversation, the pressure that he was releasing blatantly grew with every single moment, and his advantage of a single realm combined with the additional benefits of cultivating techniques intended for Patriarchs meant that he certainly felt far more powerful than she was.

To simply stand in his presence was incredibly difficult, so she was finding it very difficult to imagine how Wei Yi and Gang Xiu Ling could possibly oppose him with their own power. Nonetheless, she had decided with them this time, and she would have to quietly believe in them until the inevitable conclusion of the day, whatever that brought them to.

Hopefully, the future would be better than the past for them and the rest of the district.

“Do you realise what you are doing? You’ve brought this upon yourself!” the soldier of the Gang family called out as he and his fellow combatants summoned a series of enormous planar construct trees with which they targeted the armoured woman before them, “We will kill you this time!”

Gang Xiu Ling replied to their attacks with a series of her own wooden tendrils, blocking the attacks of the tree constructs while she rushed in and struck the nearest soldier with the sharp point of her staff spear. It pierced the defences at his leg and caused him to crumple down after she followed up with a strike at his back, having little time to do anything else as the others broke down what defences she had been able to put up and attacked her.

She retreated, and it did not take long for her to be backed up against her core, within which her wood-like anchor stood and emanated its energy, boosting her power while it stood outside.

‘They have been training far more since Shu Wen took over… Fuck,’ the potential future Matriarch thought, her fighting skills having been one of her weaker points since the first moment that she had begun training with her body and, later, her planar energy.

Her temporary work as a tailor and craftsman in the Qiang District was far less profitable than something like mercenary work or fighting in an arena, both of which she could have theoretically done had she wanted to, but she would be far weaker than anyone else in the same realm. Although her technique was not inferior to what Gang Shu Wen had started with prior to switching to his current cultivation method, and her combat methods were equally effective, she did not have the innate sense for planar energy usage and combat that many others in the Planar Continents had.

Combining this with her lacking experience brought her to this state, where she could barely fight off those in the same and lower realm.

“Alright, enough. I shall be the one to deal with her,” an incredibly familiar voice forced her gaze up into the air, where one of her most despised enemies stood, two thick branches forming within the air to support his position.

“Shu Wen. I may be bad at this in general, but I recall exactly how you fight!”

“I am disappointed with you. With you being a member of our family, I had intended to let you go free and safe, ignoring your activity further south. You could have gotten away with whatever you had wanted, strayed from however many traditions you may have wished to, and we would have done nothing against you,” Gang Shu Wen said, his hands behind his back in a calm manner, “You should have come back on your own, since you were intent on doing so. The fact that you had brought along an outsider who is even more brazen in her disregard for our tradition is completely unforgivable.”

He looked to the warriors that stood on the side, waiting for further instructions, and waved towards the potential future Matriarch.

With nothing more than that, countless dark wooden roots burst out of the ground and enveloped the core behind her, pressing down upon it and releasing countless thin needles and thorns that struck the surface with sufficient force to produce numerous thin cracks. It was not enough to break it instantly, but the sounds that the pressure created made it clear that it wouldn’t last too long.

“Get the others to come out, too. Attack her.”

The orders were contradictory to what he had said not long ago, but everyone complied and attacked readily, unleashing attacks that they had time to prepare within their bodies and in the air around them. Blasts of nearly raw energy combined with intricate and complex planar constructs and fell upon Gang Xiu Ling, striking a few layers of her own energy that she hastily threw up, one after another, trying to stop those attacks from landing. She tried desperately to put them up more quickly than her opponents could attack, but she witnessed the four layers quickly falling to three, then two, and then one.

At the moment of the last layer’s collapse, before she was able to establish another one, she saw the space before her tear open as numerous figures dressed in plain robes suddenly emerged from the air, each one throwing up their arms together.

Her vision was covered up with a pure violet barrier, thin yet powerful as it absorbed all of the incoming strikes and dissipated them into a raw mist. This mist hovered towards her and allowed her to recover her lost energy almost a dozen times more quickly. At the same time, a number of the robed figures stepped towards her core and laid their hands on the roots, slowly transforming them into a pure mist as well.

“There you are. Qi Su, what caused you to betray our agreement?”

“You were the one that tricked us all! Right now, it is obvious that you cultivate wood-type energy, and yet you attempted to assert otherwise to obtain our support. We are fortunate to have had someone capable of dispelling your illusion, or else we may have appeared on your side and have assassinated that woman without proper cause!”

“Dispelled the illusion? Let me guess, it was that woman again… You have found an incredibly powerful figure to support you, Xiu Ling. I have to wonder how it is that you pulled her to your side,” he asked, shaking his head, “Nevertheless, I had anticipated this. So, since you want to claim the position of Matriarch, why don’t we do this properly? I had never called upon the guardians for the very reason that I wished to give you a chance, my wayward sibling, and I can allow you to challenge me before the entire district.”

“Challenge you? In what way?”

He merely smiled as put his hands behind his back once more and raised his head slightly, exhaling slowly.

Gang Xiu Ling first thought that she was imagining things when the distance between the two of them suddenly grew greatly, and her view of the world suddenly rose significantly, as if she was gaining a dozen metres in height each moment. Nothing she knew of should have been able to produce such a result, but in the next moment, it was as if a seal was lifted in her mind.

“So that’s what it was…”

“You had tried to reveal our precious secrets to the outside world? To that woman, presumably. Fortunately, it is tradition to suppress all knowledge of the Proof of People’s Will array within the minds of those that depart our district and their position on the chain of succession, so you had been unable to speak of this to her,” Gang Shu Wen said, seeming to stand before her in a regular fashion and yet towering above the district’s structures, reaching a hundred metres in height in the form of a deep green phantasm that phased through the same buildings, allowing him to stand at one side of the district without causing unnecessary destruction.

She seemed to stand on the other side, with a slightly smaller form that reached only ninety metres, as well as one made of a lighter green light. In truth, neither of them had been transformed, and instead they stood somewhere in the phantasm and were projected out in an expanded form with the power of a seven-star array beneath the Gang District. It brimmed with planar energy at all times, and now affected not only them, but also linked to the people of the district, bringing it to their attention.

The purpose of the array was simple enough – it allowed two or more opponents to argue their case before the entire district, and allowed the people of the district to make up their minds regarding the winner far more quickly than usual via some mental stimulation and acceleration.

If conflict of a more ordinary, violent kind was occurring on the streets, the combatants on the side of the winning participant would be empowered accordingly to the gap between them and the others. Furthermore, as part of the ancient array, phantoms representing their forces and potential would manifest the moment that they established their positions, allowing them to display exactly what it was that they were offering to the people of the district.

It was a marvel of design and had never been replicated by the people of the Gang District, and they had obviously never allowed outsiders to look upon it. They were content with having something of this power and ability to settle significantly major disputes, and it was also possible to use this array to empower defenders of the district during invasions or attacks from the outside.

In the last few hundred years, this array did not see much use, mostly due to the traditions of the Gang District being so clear and developed that there was little more to question and debate. Given that possibilities only seemed to decrease with each passing year due to the decay of planar energy before Wei Yi’s return to the Planar Continents, a traditional district could hardly come up with more cases and situations that had not already been considered in the past.

From the moment that their phantasms formed, all the people of the district could hear their words, and see their bodies, even through buildings and the embrace of sleep. They could see, and they could decide the victor.

Hence, Gang Xiu Ling began with a smaller form, and the Guardians of Purity that began to fight with the warriors of the Gang family on the streets below her point of view did not receive a benefit in their fight. Being an ancient organisation with a great deal of strength, both personal and in larger numbers, they were fine for the moment, but provided that she did not provide any sufficient arguments to defend herself, she would only become less significant and her opponent would only gain more power. A loss at this point would guarantee his stay as Patriarch for the rest of his life, as he would have proven himself twice before the people and the guardians alike.

“If I had adhered purely to tradition, I would have never been able to obtain a method for two women to have a child together. The previous impossibility of such a thing was the basis for a great number of traditions that both ordinary folk and the Gang family adhered to, which could now be improved to prevent important women from being incapacitated for several months each time they are required to have a child,” she stated, starting somewhat hastily with the first and only valuable change that she had to offer to the people.

At once, before anyone could evaluate her words, they became manifested in the forms of numerous phantasmal combatants, all of whom were female. They radiated energy and rushed towards her foe, walking on the air above the homes and streets as if they were on a battlefield and they were merely seeing their projection from that point in space and time.

Gang Shu Wen replied immediately, “Assuming that this does not stop women from birthing children, little would change. The majority in the district are married, and so this would still mean that most women would be married to other men, and would still need to do the same. In fact, even if you could provide an inverse technique, allowing a man to become pregnant, all it would allow is for a better usage of certain individuals, something that has rarely been a problem up to this point. In other words, your insurrection, upset of our traditions and peace, as well as the introduction of a dangerous outsider to our district, would be exactly as unforgivable as if you had come here with nothing at all.”

When he had begun, the agreement of some had made Gang Xiu Ling’s figure grow to one hundred and thirty metres, but soon her growth stopped and his own began. Alongside the agreement of a great number of people, numerous organised warriors appeared in the air before him, with most being male and most being more powerful than the equivalent troops on the side of Gang Xiu Ling. These phantasms were also affected by the agreement of the people, and of the perceived validity of their words.

As much as she despised him, the potential future Matriarch had to admit that the district as it was would not benefit too greatly from her technique. It wasn’t even meant to be shared too extensively in the first place, according to its creator, but even if each woman knew of it, their population balance would need to change greatly in order for it to matter.

For the moment, around half of the Gang District’s population was male, and the other half female, with one or two dozen at most that happened to have manifested a trait of a draconic bloodline, although that was more likely to be one or two in total with the appropriate trait to matter.

Unless there was suddenly a fifty percent growth in population, with all of that growth consisting of women that had used the modified Yin Soul Yang Root technique, alongside another fifty percent consisting of ordinary women, then all that would happen is that the men would need to get used to seeing women with larger dicks than their own – in certain instances, at least. Even if that was only a coincidence the first two times, both users of the technique were rather certain that this was not a sight that most would be willing to see.

With the accelerated thought provided by the Proof of People’s Will, most realised this as soon as it was pointed out to them, and thus their support grew for the one that had not upset the district’s peace.

“You… aren’t you failing to consider anything past the moment? Right now, the reason that you see fewer powerful female combatants, and other significant figures in the district, is because too much of our time is taken by dealing with pregnancy, and it too often leads to our stagnation.”

“You believe that there would suddenly be a surge of sufficiently competent people to offset the damage dealt to our foundations? What reason to you even have to assume that there would be any significant benefit to our district? Instead, I believe that you are simply doing this for your own sake, to avoid some of the responsibilities that you would otherwise need to have, and you wished to have some excuse to re-enter the district when the opportunity presented itself,” he said, “I shall give you a chance. Provide me with a single example of another district where an alternate policy had actually resulted in something positive. Come on, I will not speak again until you either accept your mistakes or give me something which we can discuss.”

She was about to provide him with something, when their battlefield above the district was suddenly distorted by an influx of nebulae that overwhelmed nearly half of the entire region, forcing the two to shift to the side and look over to the source of this disturbance. Slowly, a figure rose from the streets, made up of violet light combined with an arm made purely of stars and galaxies.

“Ah, so this is the fourth point you couldn’t remember. Took me longer than I would have liked to handle, I must admit,” Wei Yi said, looking to the other two, taking the opportunity to freely wave her phantasmal left arm, “Need I introduce myself, or should I just begin to respond to you and explaining exactly why miring yourself in tradition will inevitably lead to your downfall, alongside the fall of the entire world as the Great Families destroy it right before your eyes?”

He did not speak right away, which she took advantage off the very moment that her figure grew slightly to fifty metres from public interest in her brazenness.

“You wish for an example of success without tradition – look no further. I am only forty-one years old, and yet I am comfortably in the sixth realm, having achieved a perfected stage each and every breakthrough, and I have rocked the world north of here, with my faction successfully uniting several major districts together in a way that has been unseen since Yi City had effectively fallen apart,” she said, her words manifesting as a single figure that approached the edge of the nebulae and released its phantasmal energy.

In an instant, all of the phantasmal combatants were utterly overwhelmed with five distinct layers of energy, and that power brought over a great deal of support to the one producing it, thus increasing its power and leading to a kind of feedback loop.

One thing that was definite about the Proof of People’s Will, even if none of those currently using it truly understood much about the array’s structure, was that the phantasms that it manifests needed to be based on reality to some extent. Whether it was based on the user’s knowledge and belief, or some universal property of truth obtained from the heavens or the world itself, that which was shown was possible, even if it was nearly impossible or unlikely.

“At the north, we have begun to use more than one type of energy at a time, with some developing additional meridian networks and others choosing to circulate both through the same network. Only a few months have passed since research on this began, and yet this much is already possible. Just consider what will occur in a year or two, and what the potential peak of combining physique energy, spiritual will, killing intent, bloodline power and planar energy is. Alternatively, just look at me,” she smiled, spreading the arms of her phantasm.

A few armies formed before her, each one faceless and lacking a specific form but possessing an obvious strength that far surpassed that of any individual phantasmal soldier other than Wei Yi’s own manifestation.

“You may have noticed the increase in planar energy density in your district, and all over the world. It is something that I am directly responsible for, and it is something that will continue on and on until everyone can reach the seventh realm, and until the ninth realm is something that is attainable by the most capable and strongest cultivators in the world,” she paused to allow the phantasmal battlefield to flood with a thin violet fog that mingled with her nebulae.

“Over in the Ju District, the people had figured out how to create automatons that require no cultivation and can be produced nearly automatically, and yet are able to contend with Patriarchs and entire districts purely on their own. Their shields cannot be pierced by ordinary planar attacks, and their attacks easily bypass most planar barriers without any work needed by the people who invented them. Had I not been there, the Ju District could have conquered the Chao and Ping Districts easily.”

All of the automatons of the Ju Districts that she had learned of appeared on the battlefield, starting an immediate bombardment against the forces of Gang Shu Wen. Factories appeared behind Wei Yi’s phantasm, and they manufactured even more of the automatons with immense speed. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the fact that these automatons would not be produced in great quantities any longer, for they used anchor energy, but all that mattered was that they were possible.

None of the people in the Gang District should be familiar with that in the first place, and it was unlikely that they would find out until the world plunged into a complete War of Ascendancy against the Greats.

“Do you honestly believe that this can all benefit our district? All of the madness at the north-”

“Let me ask your people this instead: Do you wish to live as the flame on a candle, calm but guaranteed to perish once the candle expires, or would you rather rise as an inferno, going further and further, surpassing anything that you have ever imagined possible, to either go out in one burst or rise beyond the heavens?” Wei Yi asked, her figure having reached two hundred metres by the time she began.

A moment of silence was all that preceded the sudden growth of her phantasm, as well as the incredible empowerment of everyone on her side, both in the phantasmal battlefield and on the streets.

There was no loud cheer on the streets, nor any kind of outcry that could be used to comprehend the thoughts of the people, but the fact that they wished to pursue greatness and glory wherever possible was blatant. It was only natural, and it was a sentiment shared by the rest of the districts, very likely including the Shun District, even if they were best known as the providers of servants to the rest of Yi City. What man had not looked at the sky at one point in their life, and wished to rise into it, to ascend beyond mundanity and to attain things that seemed impossible?

People became cultivators because they wished to live longer, be stronger, and rise beyond their mortal forms. They sought something that a mundane existence could not grant, and those that did rise could never stop their ascent, not even if they convinced themselves that they should.

Hence, while one could argue time and time again that it was risky to seek the seventh realm, the eighth realm, the ninth realm, and then going to the peak of the world and seeking the path to rise ever higher, there was no argument against the fact that further success was proven possible by the fact that the first step, that of cultivation, was possible. So long as one step could be taken, why would another ever be impossible?

The only problem was that change could not be accomplished while remaining still, and this was something that Gang Shu Wen advocated, hence why his phantasmal avatar visibly shrunk while Xiu Ling’s grew, although both paled in comparison to Wei Yi’s violet form. She quickly taxed the power of the Proof of People’s Will to the point that she – due to the physical connection that she had been forced to make with it in order to make her voice heard – could clearly feel it burning out and failing after only another minute. With it temporarily disabled by the excessive stress, their avatars scattered just as quickly as they had formed, placing them back roughly where they had begun. Gang Xiu Ling and Gang Shu Wen faced one another, and only a moment later the Ascendant joined them, going straight to the former’s side.

“Patriarch, do you intend to surrender? You rightfully should, given that you’ve lost.”

Shu Wen glared at her, maintaining a calm facial expression but unable to hide the obvious displeasure from his failure.

“I had agreed to discuss, and it is clear that I have lost in this regard. The people’s will has been made clear by your actions, and I will not dispute that,” he spoke with surprising restraint when taking into considering the immense quantity of killing intent that radiated from him and increased in quantity with each passing moment, “However, if you truly wish to take over, then I will not give up my position without any complaints. Fight me, if you dare!”

At that moment, his wood-type energy burst out and covered the nearest fifty metres, roots overwhelming the streets and tearing through them without any regard for the damage he caused. It raced towards the Guardians of Purity, Gang Xiu Ling and Wei Yi, countless roots ready to pummel them.

The first wave was blocked by the rebuilt barrier of the Guardians of Purity, but it was damaged badly.

“Gang Shu Wen, if we fight, then you also acknowledge your loss. Very well, let me prove to you why you are not suitable to remain in your position!” Wei Yi exclaimed, rushing past the barrier and towards him.