Chapter 445

Chapter 445: [Bonus chapter] Cracking

“DAD!” Ania finally reached her father’s side, along with Vloz and the other gorillas.

“Heh, heh, heh... Baby girl, you don’t need to worry about me. Daddy will be- OWW!”

Thud, thud...

“Right, you’re fine!” Ania shouted, dispersing her essence hammer after hitting her father across the ground.

Groaning, Bradok groaned and yelled, “WAIT! Ania, I’m not steady yet! I need to stabilize or I can still die!”

“H-huh?! WHAT??” shouted Ania, just as shocked as the rest of the gorillas.

Zelsh nodded and agreed, “He’s right, Ania. You’ll have to save the beating until after he’s stabilized his essence.”

.....

Ania was too confused, asking, “Wh-what’s going on? I thought-”

“What you just witnessed was one of the leading causes of death for peak-perennial cultivators,” Warak interjected, striking the entire crowd dumb. “This idiot ape actually attempted cracking... And he might actually pull it off! Something I’ve never seen before!”

“Cracking?” Turning to Warak, Ania calmed down and asked, “What’s that?”

Warak awkwardly chuckled in both satisfaction and disappointment, “... For most people, the ascension from elder to perennial is the most dangerous. That’s because you must shatter your mortal core and reform it with a more condensed, powerful essence, creating a divine core. That’s true for most people. Unless someone attempts cracking.

“Since most perennials will fail to ascend to be kings, let alone become peak-perennials, that’s another wall on the road of cultivation. It’s just as difficult as forming your divine core but not as deadly. However, in the case of some peak-perennials that have constantly failed to break through that barrier, the most desperate cultivators might attempt cracking before they die of old age. Cracking is exactly as it sounds. A peak-perennial will forcefully crack their divine core in an attempt to force a reformation of essence and trigger their ascension. There are only three possible results of cracking. The result that the vast majority will reach is death.”

Ania felt her heart quiver at those words. She glanced at her’s father’s giddy expression, struggling to understand what was going through his head.

“The second most common result, the result that the lucky few will experience,” continued Warak, “is becoming crippled and having their cores destroyed during the process. Yet... The third possible result, the one I’ve never seen happen with my own eyes, is that someone manages to regain control of their rampant energy and reform their core successfully... Of the three results, it would seem that this idiot gorilla might actually reach the least likely conclusion.”

“OF COURSE!” Bradok’s pride was beaming and glowing at an all-time high. “This mighty gorilla can only survive through suffering! An easy death will never find me!”

Sighing, Warak finally loosened up and laughed for real, “Yeah, and to pull it off you had to send most of that energy into my son with that last attack!”

“Hey! With your clan’s incredible defenses, he’ll be fine after some rest and cultivation!” argued Bradok, still laughing. “Besides, Bro Warak, this might help the squirt! He might wake up as a low-king.”

“Maybe...” Unable to deny that fact, Warak shook his head. “But he’ll still wake up with a shattered tail and damaged internals. It will take him a long time to properly recover.”

“Then get the cat lady to help! She owes us plenty of favors, so I’m sure she’ll do it for free,” chuckled Bradok, still rushing to consume the divine core in his hand. Despite the casual, boastful attitude Bradok was showing, he didn’t dare to take his situation lightly.

“Cat lady?” Warak blinked, turning his attention to Treeda. “Is he talking about Inka?”

Nodding, Treeda replied, “Yeah. They are, and they’re not wrong. I’ll call in the favor, as Bradok’s superior. Oh, and I hope to see you challenge a region soon, Bradok-”

“NOT HAPPENING!” Bradok shouted, catching the prefecture lords off guard.

“And why’s that?” Treeda asked.

Scoffing, Bradok answered bluntly, “I refuse to be a king under the Coward of the West! I’d sooner move to the Forbidden Mountains than join his line-up of stooges!”

Pfft! “Ha, ha, ha!” Again, Warak couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, Bro Bradok... I’m glad to call you my friend. If only more people were so recklessly honest...”

Blinking, Treeda sighed, “You know, I’m one of those stooges you’re talking about...”

“That’s not my fault,” argued Bradok, not caring about decorum. “When I one day meet a dragon as daring as I, without the backing of a god to protect them, then maybe I’ll give dragonkind more respect. Until then, each clan will have to earn my respect on their own, plain and simple.”

“So, you’ll just stay here in your territory?” asked Warak. “Wouldn’t that slow down your cultivation? Here, perennials may be able to grow, but not kings.”

“I don’t know about that,” Vloz chuckled, joining the discussion. “Don’t forget, since we founded Iron Town not long ago, we’ve had to face three invading kings, killing two of them by our own hands. Not to mention how unstable his cultivation will be. It will take him a while to completely stabilize, so why not relax here in a territory while hiding his true cultivation? If Rhyner could do it, why not Bradok?”

“Either way,” Bradok cut in again, “I WON! You know what that means, right, Bro Warak?”

“That... Yes. You’ve won...” Sighing and shaking his head, Warak wasn’t sure how he felt at that moment. There was plenty of respect and pride in seeing Bradok defeat his son and forcibly break his limits, but it was impossible for Warak to not feel at least some disappointment when he thought about letting Bradok call on his ancestor’s soul. “... When do you want to go?”

“Just give me a few more minutes, then I’ll be ready.” Jarring everyone, Bradok clambered up to his feet and started walking toward the nearest arena tunnel, ignoring the trail of blood he left behind. “Warak, come on. This won’t take long.”

Warak fumbled his words and didn’t know what to say. “Umm... Well, Treeda... It’s been a pleasure to be here.”

“Stop with the goodbyes! We’ll be back before bedtime!” Bradok shouted while limping away. “We still have to spend the night drinking and celebrating!”