Chapter 682

Chapter 682

Rage and joy.

Two emotions which rarely went hand in hand, but this was what Goujian felt as his sword scythed through Nian Zus neck. To think that hed come so far as to open with a killing blow against a Colonel General, even if it was one dealt in the ensuing chaos moments after his allies murdered the newly appointed Legate Yang Jixing. This was Goujians crowning achievement, his moment of glory after a lifetime spent wasted in service to a lie, but he had many lifetimes ahead of him yet, so long as he emerged from this battle unscathed.

Easier said then done, for Nian Zus life had yet to fade when Clearsky Bao made his move, the iconic blue-steel sabre brushing against Goujians robes before his own initial swing was even complete. Moving on Insight alone, he followed through with the already completed attack and turned it into a brilliant textbook parry, one that sent his foe hurtling back from whence he came. Still yet to learn his lesson, Clearsky attacked again, and now that Goujian was ready and watching, the fastest Warrior of the North seemed to move at a veritable crawl. Sidestepping into a blind angle of the attack, Goujian lowered his shoulder and met speed with raw power, and the latter handily won with a splat.

And so died Goujians second victim, his life gone before his corpse hit the ground, and soon enough, Clearsky Bao funeral pyre would darken his namesake with clouds of smoke and ash.

Immovable Binesi and Singing Spear Yukun arrived next, two more of Nian Zus Famed Fifty, and Goujian was more than happy to send them to join their beloved commander. Despite being outnumbered and supposedly outmatched, Goujian held the upper hand in all their exchanges, a development that surprised even him. Never would he have thought to have progressed so quickly, and he relished the power of Heavens Truth. The heady rush of combat coursed through his veins as he traded blows with the two spearmen, but even though their movements were easily read and his power was unmatched, he was not yet used to direct confrontation, and old habits died hard. Whenever he saw an opening to attack his foes, his instincts held him back, for even ants can bring down an elephant provided there were enough of them. Weaving in and out of battle through clever use of Concealment, he took full advantage of the chaos to engage his foes on more favourable terms, as Binesi and Yukun were a difficult pair to dispatch. The former exposed Goujians weaknesses for all to hear, but he made use of this in combat and tried to mend his erroneous ways. A mistake, in hindsight, for despite his flaws, he was still stronger, faster, and more clever then both his foes combined, but his overabundance of caution kept him from killing the stalwart veterans who made full use of their superior experience to hinder his efforts to dispatch them.

Then, when victory almost seemed at hand, Dreadnaught Han BoHai joined the fray, an unstoppable powerhouse of force and fury that pushed Goujians reforged body to its utmost limits.

Slow and powerful, that was Han BoHais reputation, a mighty yet cumbersome Warrior, but that was only in comparison to his peers sitting at the peak of the Martial Path. Or rather, what common Warriors saw as the Peak, where mere mortals like Nian Zu, Shuai Jiao, Mitsue Juichi and their ilk stood, head and shoulders above everyone else but still a long ways away from the true summit. Goujian had touched upon this summit for a brief, ephemeral moment, but in his weakness, he could not see the way forward and stumbled back down to the valleys below, which left him in a unique position. Hed tasted the air of the Martial Peak, but hed been blind, deaf, and dumb at the time, which offered him little advantage against those who had yet to even discern its existence. As such, despite Goujians superior Path laid out before him, he was far enough from the summit to struggle against the likes of Han BoHai, a graceless oaf whose solution to every problem was to pummel it out of existence.

Not the worst solution, as Goujian himself discovered first hand when trading blows with the behemoth Dreadnaught. Disgraceful for someone like himself to be found lacking in raw power, especially to a damned gorilla like Han BoHai, but it gave Goujian a fresh perspective of his reforged body. At first, his body had been riddled with flaws, forcing him to relearn how to move and fight without damaging himself, flaws hed since corrected in some minor fashion with help from the Uniter and his exploitation of Heavenly laws. That was all there was to it, or so Goujian believed, but Han BoHai showed him that he was still holding himself back. Though unable to go all out, Goujians limits were far beyond what he dared push himself to, at least not until the Dreadnaught forced him to surpass those self-imposed boundaries. The resulting exchange showed him that he was not only able to match Han BoHai in pure strength, Goujian even came out a little bit ahead once he cut loose and gave everything to the fight.

And what a wonderfully refreshing experience it was, to stand in the limelight after decades spent skulking in shadows. This was where he belonged, at the forefront of the war against the Enemy, Heavens Chosen Champion here to uphold their cause.

There was nothing quite like a battle to the death, with two combatants putting everything on the line to settle their differences through pure Martial Might. As Goujian traded blows with Han BoHai, he exulted in glorious combat even as he raged at his foes stubborn refusal to break and die. Their duel was not without its merits, as Goujian gleaned much from the exchange with regards to the Martial Path, and were he not deep in Enemy territory, he would have happily let the duel play out to its natural conclusion. Alas, time was short and his foes were closing in on him from all sides, so he pushed himself to the utmost limits in an attempt to kill Han BoHai before more flies came to bother him.

But there were too many notable Warriors here in the Northern Citadel and they all seemed ready to ruin his fun, though Goujian didnt expect that damnable Bekhai savage to interfere by casting blades of Chi from her empty hands. The blades struck and mangled both his feet, but he could still fight, and as he turned to face his new foe, one eye was cast into darkness and all he knew was pain and hatred.

The empty Void consumed him and he woke in the safety of his Natal Palace, a facsimile of the stark, bare room he lived in while under Mahakalas tutelage, a servants room offered to them by a particularly pious merchant. Looking back on it now, he realized his time spent here was among the happiest years of his life, for even though he loved and cherished his Disciples like sons and daughters of his blood, hed been too consumed by his misguided crusade against the Defiled to ever truly enjoy his time with family. Every spare moment had been devoted to work or training, for there was no end to evil, and thus no rest for the benevolent, and revelations since had tainted those few pleasant memories that remained. As Mahakalas student and an initiate of the Brotherhood however, Goujian had been free to do as he pleased, for the sinful monk believed that the lessons of life were best learned by living through it, experiencing all that the mortal world had to offer so that one might understand the sacrifice denying it entailed.

How foolish of Goujian not to see Mahakalas hypocrisy, which was all so clear to him now. The monk spent his mornings chanting and flagellating himself to atone for his sins and reflect on his actions, only to pick up right where he left off the day before. Some monks of the Brotherhood likely stayed true to their Path, but Goujian imagined most strayed day after day only to assuage their guilt with what his teacher would have called meaningful suffering. Deceitful as Mahakalas lessons might have been, Goujian couldnt deny hed been happy then, learning to read and write, appreciate art and calligraphy, build homes and carve wood, alongside a multitude of other meaningless skills the Brotherhood put much stock in, all while under Mahakalas protection. It was a simple, carefree existence, but one he ultimately realized was no different from hiding ones head in the sand, for even though the Brotherhood sought to experience the Three Poisons in order to lend significance to eschewing them, they did so whilst isolated away from the world, a contradiction of goals Goujian only recently realized. At least Mahakala had the courage to immerse himself in the red dust of the mortal world under real life conditions, rather than replicate the experience behind the safety of their isolated monastery walls.

Thus it came as no surprise to learn Mahakala had been something of an outlier when it came to the Brotherhood, but Wisdom Vyakhya was another, one whod discovered the Truth just as Goujian had, but was far further along his Path. The old Wisdom had an interesting take on the Noble Eight-Fold Path and the direction the Brotherhood should take, one Goujian was most intrigued by. The Right Livelihood dictated to live in a way to cause no harm, while the Right Effort necessitated the prevention of unwholesome states, those of evil and unwholesome thoughts dictated by the Three Poisons. However, the First Noble truth stated that life is suffering, while the second Noble Truth was that mortals suffer because of the Three Poisons. Together, this brought about an interesting dilemma, for if the Brotherhood sought to follow the Noble Eight-Fold Path, then they were bound by the Right Effort to end all suffering. However, if life is suffering, then there could be no end to suffering without also an end to life, which the Abbot took to mean that the Brotherhood could not end all suffering, because doing so would be in violation of the Right Livelihood, among other virtues.

Wisdom Vyakhya disagreed. Ending all life and suffering was akin to freeing all the souls trapped within Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation which begets all life, which in turn was a state of existence the living only valued because they feared the unknown which came after. As enlightened monks of the Brotherhood and adherents to the Noble Eight-Fold Path, they knew that life was merely a transitory phase to prepare our eternal souls for what came next: ascension to the beyond. Without Samsara to trap us within the cycle of reincarnation, there would be no barrier to ascension, so by ending all life and the means to propagate it, the doors to Nirvana would then be open to any and all who cared to step through them.

A novel view of the matter, to do harm in pursuit of the greater good, and while wholesale slaughter might seem morally reprehensible, nature was not so kind as to let all its creatures live in eternal peace and harmony. Death and conflict were two core tenets of existence, ones meant to propagate suffering and sin, so better to let the fires run rampant and burn the world to ashes, so that a new path might be cultivated in the aftermath.

And so Goujian found his lifes true goal, not merely to overthrow the Dog Emperor and supplant him, for he saw the errors of this Path. The Emperor would still have to die for his sins, but Goujian had no intentions of taking the throne for himself, or bestowing it upon another. No, overthrowing the Empire would merely be the first step, for now he had a higher purpose, to elevate all of humanity and bring them with him on his journey to Nirvana.

All this and more, he discussed with Wisdom Vyakhya in great length, who took it upon himself to mend Goujians patchwork foundation while also Healing his body, mind, and spirit from the wounds he took in the Northern Citadel, where hed failed to kill Nian Zu and only escaped alive thanks to Zhu Chanzuis direct interference. Grateful though he was to his two-time saviour, Goujian was in no condition to thank the Ancestral Beast, for his injuries were so serious he had yet to wake. His discussions with Vyakhya took place within the sanctity of Goujians Natal Palace, and for a time, he was reminded of the happiest time in his life once more, when his only purpose was to learn for the sake of knowledge itself. How the Wisdom made his way into Goujians Natal Palace was a question the man refused to answer, stating that some lessons were best learned without guidance. Not the most helpful response ever, but Goujian knew the truth behind the Wisdoms words because hed used them often enough when teaching his own Disciples.

Wen Zhong, the serious scholar who lived for his work. Stoic Sochun who never wavered once when facing the trials and tribulations of Heaven. Sun-Sin, the wild southern child who grew into a fine, educated young man with a unique perspective few could truly understand. Chubby Mapan, whose love of sweets was only surpassed by his empathy for humanity, his eyes always full of tears when administering the Mothers Mercy. They were all gone now, dead by Goujians own hand because they did not understand the Truth and sought to hinder his new Path. A necessary sacrifice to make, but it pained him to know they were suffering still, trapped within the cycle of Samsara and unlikely ever to emerge. Only Yuanyin was left to him now, a determined and resolute young man who lacked the ability to think for himself, but Goujian loved his boy all the same. Thus, he asked Wisdom Vyakhya to oversee the boys education, for it was clear Goujian himself was too lacking a Mentor to ever guide anyone successfully.

The Wisdom was most gracious and accepted Yuanyin as his personal Disciple, an honour denied even to Gen and Mitsue Hideo, two of the most promising young Chosen of Heaven to join their ranks. Goujian had yet to meet the latter, but he had little hope that a spoon-fed noble possessed the requisite empathy and determination required of those Chosen Champions of Heaven, for their Path was long and arduous indeed. Regardless of his worries, Goujian gave his full attention to Wisdom Vyakhya and immersed himself in his lessons, and for a time, life was nothing short of perfection.

Observe. Pointing at the dissected corpse spread out across the table, Wisdom Vyakhya directed Goujians attention to the tigers flesh. In what ways does the tiger differ from the human? Spare me the obvious answers, for I know you are capable of so much more.

Quality of muscle. The texture was completely different from human flesh, denser, thicker, yet also more pliable as well, giving the tiger added strength and resilience compared to human counterparts. The organs were more efficient too, capable of making use of more while wasting less. Heart, lungs, kidneys, stomach, this was true for almost every internal organ, as Goujian discovered firsthand by studying the beasts innards. There wasnt actually a dead tiger, here in his Natal Palace, but only a facsimile so perfectly sculpted it was all but indistinguishable from reality. Created by the Wisdom himself, this showcased his understanding of tiger anatomy as well as his painstaking attention to detail, because while Goujian held absolute control here in his Natal Palace and could conjure whatever his imagination desired, he lacked the information needed to create a replica of a living beast. Without knowing the texture of a tigers muscles or how their organs were situated, any attempt to will a tiger corpse into existence here in his Natal Palace would result in an inaccurate representation of the real thing. His mind would simply fill in the unknowns as it saw fit, because as Wisdom Vyakhya pointed out, power was meaningless without knowledge to guide it, and that was a flaw they worked tirelessly to fix.

This setback was not enough to dissuade Goujian, and he returned to his holy crusade against the Enemy. It was during one of these missions where he found Wen Zhong, a mutilated child who barely still drew breath from within a charnel pit of death and depravity. That was how the boy remembered it, a boy who would forever remain one in Goujians eyes, even though Wen Zhong was only a few years shy of sixty when he died.

Killed by Goujians own hand. Oh how that pained him, as did the deaths of his other Disciples, each one as precious as a child in his eyes. While BoLaos death had almost destroyed him, at least it spared him the pain of having to kill her himself, for sacrificing the others had been necessary in order to pursue his Path. It was his fault, this Goujian accepted, for he had taught his children poorly and was unable to undo a lifetime of indoctrination in only a single day. The Heavens were cruel, denying them the Truth it shared with him, and he would forever have to live with their blood on his hands, blood that would only wash out when hed fulfilled his destiny as Heavens Chosen Champion.

Pain. Anger. Sorrow. Shame. Regret. Joy. Pride. All this and more, Goujian experienced anew as his mind and body drew close to death, the emotions welling up from within like an endless font of the human condition. All this and more, Goujian fed to the Void, a sacrifice of Soul and Emotion to fuel what was to come next. The Energy of the Heavens gathered around him, seeping into his Core and the herbal bath he was immersed in, but he refused to give this power free rein and clung to the Razors Edge instead. Too much was as bad as not enough, so he immersed himself in power and emotion while anchoring his thoughts with purpose and obligation, for hed come too far, sacrificed too much, to simply falter and fail here.

Were he to allow it, the Energy of the Heavens would mend Goujians injuries and renew him to full health, no different from before he took this near-death injury. However, that was not his goal here, for by coming so close to death, it pushed him to the brink and enabled him to find True Balance once more, an opportunity too sweet to pass up. Armed with Vyakhyas lessons and the power of a Divinity, Goujian would once again be given the chance to reforge his flawed, human body and reshape it into something more suitable for his needs. Even with all of the Wisdoms expertise, there was no way for Goujian to create a perfect body, for perfection was anathema to life itself. Nothing could ever be perfect, for there could always be room for improvement, but Goujian would do his best to get as close to perfection as possible.

That was why he needed to study all those animals and learn how their organs functioned, so that he could take what hed learned and use it to improve himself. The strength of a bull, the agility of a tiger, the durability of a rhino, the tendons of a deer, the metabolism of a bear, he gave himself all this and more, but he was not yet done. He took elements from the chitin of the mantis and used it to improve his skeletal frame, adding another reinforced layer over his overburdened bones. He modelled his skin after the thick, porous hide of the elephant, while simultaneously bringing more blood vessels to the surface to enable him to better shed the heat generated by his dense musculature. Then, he added a second layer of chitin in strategic areas of his flesh, a benefit modelled after the orioles hollow bones, one that would reduce the strain on his joints without negatively impacting his strength or durability. In fact, the added empty space was in some ways a benefit to toughness, providing an extra layer of protection to his inner organs from Resonation and other such internal attacks.

There were thousands of other minor modifications he added as well, but here in his damaged body and mind, he was already fast forgetting what they might be. The Soul was a vessel for Heavenly Energy, enabling him to process far more information than what the human mind could comprehend, but he was expending his Soul to control the Heavenly Energy fuelling his bodys reformation. That was the crux of the Martial Dao, the realization that the Soul was the linchpin of it all, a lesson one could not teach with mere words, for how could one explain the concept of a soul without first learning how to perceive or quantify what a soul really was? Even Wisdom Vyakhya had no answers here, and Goujian knew that if one were able to grasp the answer to this question, then they would wield the power of a True Divinity.

The power of Creation and Destruction itself.

How long the reformation process took Goujian could not say, but at times it felt like only seconds had passed, and others, as if hed been lying in this tub for weeks without end. Only when he sensed his work was almost done did he allow the Energy of the Heavens to mend his physical mind, and as his mending organs forced the shard of metal out of his head, the renewed pain was almost too much to bear. The darkness rose to greet him once more, but he fought against the urge to submit, struggling to the very last because his work was not yet done, and this final but vital part required he take full control by himself.

Opening his Core to the Heavens, he greedily lapped up every drop of Chi he could and directed it throughout his newly forged body, suffusing his bones, muscles, organs, skin, and even his hair with Chi to the utmost limits. No longer did he intend to store Chi in his metaphysical Core, he meant to draw the Energy of the Heavens into his physical body itself. One with the World, he walked the thin line between struggle and surrender as he bound his body and soul even closer together than they already were. Doing so was a double-edged sword, for while destruction of his body would now result in damage to his soul, it would take a Peak Expert on the level of Mitsue Juichi to physically harm Goujians body, because not only had he physically improved himself to the best of his abilities, he was now a walking, talking, breathing Spiritual Heart.

This was the secret of the Brotherhoods Path to Divinity, one they uncovered by studying animals in the wild. A secret jealously guarded by the Imperial Clan, according to Wisdom Vyakhya, and a step their Scions intuitively took much earlier along the Martial Path. This explained their significantly higher strength and talents, but now Goujian would use this to bring Heavens justice down upon them.

How ironic that in order to pursue the True Human Path, Goujian had been forced to study mere beasts. Praise to the Heavens, indeed.

Well done. The glowing praise echoed softly in Goujians ears, enhanced so that they were able to hear the ants crawling underneath the floorboards without the risk of going deaf from a loud shout. Opening his eyes, he reeled under the deluge of information that greeted him, for he saw more than before, yet another enhancement he was highly proud of. With these new eyes, nothing would escape his notice, and even the speediest of Peak Experts would be captured with crystal clarity. The Wisdom glowed with pride as he took in Goujians looming form, needing no inspection to tell that his student had done everything as instructed. Good, good. Not yet a Divinity, but above all except the strongest of Peak Experts, you will be a formidable weapon of war indeed.

Thank you, Teacher, Goujian said, bowing in heartfelt thanks. Your student could not have succeeded without your guidance.

Words of gratitude are unnecessary, the Wisdom said, his smile fading away beneath the weight of his statement. Show me your conviction through action, and that will be gratitude enough.

Knowing what the Wisdom wanted, Goujian glanced at his hooked sword, the one hed renamed himself for. It was his favoured weapon, but he was no longer the same man he was before. Where the sword once fit comfortably in the palm of his hand, he now had to awkwardly clutch it between three fingers, for he was now a behemoth of a man compared to his former gaunt and spindly frame. To make matters worse, the weapon was too light and too short for his reach, the balance no longer a good fit for his size, and though it had served him well for many decades, it was no longer suited for his needs.

Placing the tip into the palm of his hand, Goujian Honed the blade and pressed down hard.

Flesh compressed and skin stretched, but as he put more strength into the blade, it was the weapon which gave way first. Metal snapped and screeched as he bent and broke his blade, the bound fragments of his Soul spilling out into the world at large, and though he was saddened by the loss, he knew this was for the better, because Spiritual Weapons were but another lie, propagated by the Imperial Clan to help keep their stranglehold on the Empire tight.

He would forge a new weapon for himself, once he learned to wield the Energy of the Heavens at will, but until such a time, he would have to make do. No matter though, for the Wisdom was right; Goujian himself was the weapon now, one which he would use to take the Dog Emperors head and put an end to the endless cycle of Samsara.

What next? he asked, knowing the Wisdom would have things all planned out, for there was nothing that could escape his notice.

You will go speak with Gen, the Wisdom replied, his disdain for the brat evident in his expression. And tell him that Falling Rain is with the Abbot, hiding in the Arid Wastes. Your Senior Brother knows the location, and he will guide you all there. Switching to Sending, the Wisdom continued, Once there, you will ignore the Uniters orders and kill Falling Rain, for we can ill afford to let such a prize fall into that fools hands. Kill the boy and bring his body back for this monk to study, and then we shall uncover his secrets together.

There were more layers to this than Goujian understood, but he was nothing if not loyal to the cause. Yes Teacher, he said, bowing low in respect. Your student will do as instructed.

And gladly too, for it was long past time for that damned brat and Imperial puppet to die.

Chapter Meme