Chapter 798

Chapter 798

Having only just been taught a costly lesson about overestimating my own abilities, I scan through the notable combatants of Shi Bei in search of an appropriate target. Its been a long time since I dusted off the old Honed Aura, so it cant hurt to take it slow and reacquaint myself with its usage before getting ahead of myself. Way back when I first learned how to Hone my Aura, I remember testing it against Akanai and barely making her blink even though I shredded the Auras of three Defiled Champions in Sanshu. Despite having come so far since then, I still have no idea why my Grand-Mentor proved to be so resilient, and shes not the only one either. Dad, Ghurda, Naaran, and even Gerel learned how to power through having their Auras shredded so long as there was someone else around to defend against a standard Aura once their own was no longer Condensed. Honestly, Aura is still mostly a mystery to me, and Honed Aura even more so considering its limited scope of use. If I ever find myself facing a handful of lowly Champions or Imperial Experts, Honed Aura would allow me to shred through their respective Auras and render them defenseless against my standard Aura, but otherwise, its more or less functionally useless.

It has to do with the way multiple Auras stack up multiplicatively, defense wise. Against a single Defiled Champion who just recently Condensed their Aura, I stand a reasonable chance at crushing their Aura without even needing to resort to Honing, but add in a second Defiled Champion of similar Aural strength and their two Auras meld to become one giga-Aura that is all but impossible for me to break naturally. Shortly before Blobby opened my mind to the versatility of Chi skills, I tried crushing the Auras of three Defiled Champions in Sanshu with pure willpower because I believed that was the only path to victory before me, but I failed miserably even after giving it my all. Thats only to be expected, because unlike with most facets of the Martial Path, its much easier to defend with Aura than it is to attack, as Aura is really an all or nothing sort of tool. Either it works and you terrorize all your foes until theyre quaking in their boots and unable to move, or it doesnt and everyone fights like normal.

As for Honed Aura, even though it seems pretty awesome and overpowered, its more or less functionally useless on this battlefield. Pitting my singular Honed efforts against the combined metaphysical mass of the Enemys Auras would be like trying to dig a tunnel through a mountain using a spoon. Technically possible given enough time and energy, but time is what we lack most. I could theoretically isolate a single Enemy elites Aura and try to pop it and it alone, but thats only useful if there are only a handful of Aura users present. Here in Shi Bei, I could pop a thousand Auras and there would still be thousands upon thousands of other Auras out there to contend against, which would change nothing in the grand scheme of things. Of course, Akanai knows all this and probably more, but she doesnt expect me to singlehandedly shatter the Enemys Auras and win the battle outright. No, she wants me to target a single individual with my Honed Aura to distract them in battle so that my allies can take advantage and seize the upper hand.

Which is exactly how I defeated Wu Gam in the Legates contest and won the title of Number One Talent in the Empire, though admittedly, he didnt have his Aura up at the time or anyone elses Aura to protect him.

Even if I dont shatter an Aura, the mere presence of an unseen threat should be enough to make most Warriors falter, especially in the chaos of battle. I shouldve thought of this sooner, but better late than never, and as soon as Akanai reminded me of the existence of Honed Aura, I began imagining all the possibilities and came up with dozens of half-baked theories on how it works and how I could improve it, but again, Im getting ahead of myself. First, I need an appropriate target, someone with an Aura who isnt strong enough to resist my efforts and warn others about my meddling, but not so weak that their Aura crumbles the moment I give it a good poke so I can gauge the most efficient use of my efforts. Honed Aura requires a fairly large expenditure of Chi, and even though I am able to harness the Energy of the Heavens and technically have infinite Chi, I do still have my limits regarding I guess speed and volume of expenditure? I dunno really, but considering the throbbing headache I received after two minutes of running a fully staffed Call Centre of the Void, its clear those limits still exist and Im not keen on falling into another coma here and now.

Or ever, really. Ive had enough comas to last me a lifetime, thank you very much.

Though all this takes some time to mentally lay out, it all comes together in an instant once the broad strokes are all there. With help from my supervising Natal Soul, I immediately pick out the perfect target, a Chosen Officer locked in combat with Tam Taewoong nearby. The former member of the Hwarang is in top form despite having spent the last fifteen days scrambling to keep up with Hongji, and I can sense his determination as he throws himself at his superior foe in a bid to keep the Commander safe on the battlements. Even though he knows his foe poses no threat to Hongji, Taewoong refuses to back down just yet, because even though Chen Hongji is more than capable of dealing with this Officer and holding up the Heavens with his sublime mastery of the Ethereal Palm, he is still mortal yet and thus of limited strength, stamina, and Chi. His energy and focus are better spent on stronger foes like the Half-Demons assaulting him from all sides, as dictated by the whole soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals maxim that the Imperial Army lives and dies by. That being said, Taewoong realizes hes bitten off more than he can chew as he blocks blow after blow with his Spiritual gauntlets, slowly giving ground to his foe inch by precious inch as his flesh and bones bruise beneath the Chosen Officers powerful swings of his heavy, two-handed mace.

Unwilling to distract Taewoong with a Sending, I make ready to send Peace and Tranquility hurtling over just in case things go south before taking a deep breath in preparation, for I intend to try something I havent done before. Reaching deep down into my pool of stored emotions, I touch upon the sensation I wish to deliver unto my foe, the gut-wrenching anxiety of an overwhelming threat and the heart-stopping panic of near death, emotions I know all-too well from firsthand experience. Were this on my emotional colour wheel, I would describe it is as an ugly greyish yellow emotion, one that is far too bright for so unpleasant a hue, an intense and jarring sepia which saps away all hope and confidence. Holding fast to this emotion in mind, I use it to kindle my Aura and harness the Energy of the Heavens to Hone it into a whirling, jagged projectile chainsaw which I send hurtling headlong towards the Chosen Officer with an effort of Will.

The Honed Emotional Aura bites deep, yet the amalgamated Auras of the Enemy hold true, but Im not trying to pierce through it all on my own. Even if I could, Id only be popping my targets Aura leaving countless overlapping Auras still in place all across the battlefield. Again, my goal isnt to break the Chosen Officers Aura, but to merely put pressure upon it and distract my target for even a moment. Warning bells go off in the armoured giants head as my attack hammers into his Aura and rebounds off as expected, except regular Aura and Emotional Aura are two different beasts. The Honed outer layer exerts a pressure on the Officers Aura and almost shatters it despite the overwhelming defensive strength of the Enemys combined Auras, then the emotional core of the Aura pierces though without resistance and engulfs my target in a deluge of shock and dread, leaving him reeling in place as he struggles to come to terms with the unexpected Aural assault and unwelcome torrent of emotions threatening to overwhelm him where he stands. A half second, maybe even less, thats all it takes for this above-average Enemy Expert to shake off the effects of my Honed Emotional Aura, two syllables of a Mississippi at most, yet that is all the time in the world to him as Taewoong takes advantage of this momentary pause to drive his fist into the frozen Officers face just as he resumes his overhead swing.

To an outside observer, it would appear as if the Chosen Officer raised his mace too high too quickly and took a moment too long to reverse his momentum, and Taewoong merely took advantage of this mistake. A great outcome for him and the Imperial Army in general, but for my purposes, the Chosen Officer proved too weak a target since my Honed Aura almost actually broke through. Even though Auras stack defensively, its apparently not evenly spread across all targets, meaning that if the Aura were a piece of armour, the Chosen Officer was a weak link in the chainmail. While I could just use Emotional Aura to bypass the Enemy Aural Defenses, the Enemy Half Demons can collectively counter my efforts, except for some reason, they havent deployed any defense against Emotional Aura. Probably because they cant keep it up for that long, as it is quite literally emotionally draining, unlike with regular Aura which is set and forget. By going about it in this roundabout manner, Im able to hide my Emotional Aura inside a layer of regular Aura, leaving my foes none the wiser to my hijinks until they experience it themselves firsthand.

Theres also no denying that my Aura has gotten much stronger, but I cant always count on almost breaking through, since there are definitely Peak Experts to rival the likes of Gerel in the crowd. The good news is that in the full second and a half it took to prepare, deliver, and observe my Aural attack, my supervising Natal Soul has put together a list of possible targets of interest so that I can continue my tests without interruption. My second, third, and fourth trial runs end the same as the first, with the target almost succumbing to my Honed Aura and dying at the hands of their foe. No idea if this increase in Aural strength is because I Shattered the Void and started the process of refining my body, mind, and soul, or if its a result of having progressed along my Dao. Aura has always been difficult to gauge, as its always been a sort of set and forget skill that I use in large scale combat.

One issue that immediately becomes obvious is the time it takes for me to Hone my Aura, less than a second of focused intent for each attack, but still far longer than I would like. Kindling a regular or emotional Aura happens with little more than a thought, but the Honing is whats slowing me down, meaning it could be minutes before I find the perfect target. How can I speed this up?

The rough cord of my swords wrapped hilt feels so familiar in the palm of my hand, I only register its presence mid-movement. I cant tell if I grabbed the sword out of the air or if my Natal Soul delivered it to me, but it doesnt matter as I become One with the Sword. Though I dont understand why, I flourish the sword about in a slow figure eight, and it feels so right in a way I cannot explain. The cold steel radiates a mild chill and pulses with an eager energy which mirrors my own excitement, a reminder that I am the Sword, and the Sword is me, and I sink into the sensations with a sigh of contentment. Then it hits me, the memory of Blobby showing me how to Hone my Aura by mimicking the flow of my Chi as if I were Honing my sword, a lesson which I failed to fully comprehend. Yes, Blobby was showing me that I could Hone my Aura, but Ive been doing it directly all this time. For every attack, I must focus my Will and Visualize my Intent whilst kindling my Aura in order to Hone it, which is slow and inefficient. I know how to kindle my Aura, and I know how to Hone, so why am I going about it like a two-step process when I could just combine them into a single step?

I already noted how Unity in its rifle form is akin to a Keystone, one Ive been using to fire off Chi bullets at the Enemy, but I failed to realize that Peace serves a similar purpose. Ever since I learned how to Hone, Ive never had to put any real effort into it, as I just draw my sword, pour Chi into it, and like magic, I have a razor-sharp chainsaw edge that can cut through armour - and still cut a tomato.

Why did I say that last bit with a super racist accent? There are times when I suspect that Im actually living out a fever dream and none of this is real, until I remember that dreams are usually pleasant

Putting aside my inner weirdness, I hold fast to my desired emotions once more and kindle my Aura through Peace before Guiding the sword-shaped, panic-inducing Honed Aura towards my desired target with a lazy swing in his general direction. Without pause, I pick out another target and send a second Aural Sword towards him, then another, and another, and another, all without missing a beat. The end result is more or less the same, but prep time has gone from less than a second to not even a blink of an eye, a most impressive improvement that lets me move through the list with startling alacrity. Twenty-nine targets later, I remember that I was supposed to take it slow so I could guarantee my target would die before warning others that the Imperials have an Aura user capable of piercing through their defenses, but by the time I finish the thought, Ive gone through nine more targets and found a test subject whose Aura didnt immediately give way before my attack.

The Energy of the Heavens surges through my Sword and into my Spiritual System, the reverse of what I normally do, but it feels as normal and natural as breathing. With my weapon in hand, I raise it high in defiance of Heaven and cast aside natural Law in favour of my own, leaning heavily on Blobby to do so. Whatever it is he wants, he is free to help himself so long as he doesnt kill me or leave me too weak to keep fighting, and the Elemental Spirit is more than happy to ignore Buddys howling to do just that. Remembering what Ive gleaned from Hongjis Ethereal attacks and Nian Zus Shooting Star, from Gerels flowing movements and Alsantsets swift attacks, from Jeong Hyo-Lynns consecutive blows and Ryo Geom-Chis singular strikes, from most of what Ive observed here today and so many memories of times past, I smile as it all comes together in the most beautiful and frustrating of ways, the pieces falling effortlessly into place thanks to Insight.

If one Chi skill is not enough, try two. If two isnt enough, try three. Then four. And so on. And so forth.

Thats not the Insight part, because that much seems obvious. No, the Insight comes as I raise Peace high and bring it down in a diagonal slash from right shoulder to left hip of my imagined foe. Nothing happens, because I have yet to do anything besides swing my sword in order to get a good feeling for the movement. Then, without stopping, I raise Peace high once more and repeat the motion, only this time, I dont swing my sword and instead let the weight of my sword bring my arm down in an arc. The third try sees me set off on a mental journey to find the perfect Balance between the two, neither struggling nor surrendering to the cold steel in my hand, for I am the Sword, and the Sword is me.

Closing my eyes as I continue to swing, I track the flow of Chi as I perform this singular movement in a loop. The flow surges into my Core and back out to my right shoulder in the most direct manner possible, only to circulate about the joint twice before flowing into my arm, past my elbow, and all the way to the tips of my fingers before making its way back in a similar but not quite equivalent pattern. All along the way, the flow is Honed and Amplified, Reinforced and Stabilized, Guided and Deflected, Lightened and Reverberated, the eight basic Chi skills all present and accounted for in countless subtle and profound ways, both directly and indirectly as they meld together to form a near infinite number of new and interesting compound forces. Theres no need to pay attention to the specifics however, because even though I now know this sort of thing can be analogous to the forces within an atom, this knowledge does nothing for me. I cant even name the forces inside an atom, or what sort of forces they exert, or explain why they combine the way they do to form elements and compounds, so how ridiculous is it for me to want to understand everything about the Martial Dao with just a few years of pondering? Thats the scientist in me whos quick to demand all the answers, the curious student who wants to understand the ins and outs of everything. The Warrior, however, the Baledagh in me, he just wants indoor plumbing and knows that fighting isnt always about using your head. Sometimes, you need to follow your heart, your gut, your instinct and intuition, because if you cant trust yourself, then who can you trust?

Again and again I swing my sword even as it swings me, until finally, it starts coming together and feeling right. The cyclical flow of Heavenly Energy starts up and pulses through my arm as I raise it high once more, building up in power and speed thanks to Amplification and Reverberation and smoothed out by Stability, Deflection, and Lightening. Its as easy as breathing once I time everything to Luo-Luos rousing melody, which speaks to me in a way I never experienced before, the language of the Heavens telling me the answers I need not so much in words, but emotions. Reinforcing the sum total of those combined forces, I then Hone and Amplify the results once more before finally beginning my swing, an attack made with body, mind, and soul as one. My Aura Condenses from within before billowing out into existence, merging with the flow and transforming in ways I cannot even perceive much less explain to create a new force for which I have no name. Peace guides me through it all as my Domain Manifests to form a sword that is not a sword, containing Aura that is not an Aura, a working of Creation driven by Destructive Intent. Guided by my Will, the sword that is not a sword hurtles forward through reality to cleave my target in twain from shoulder to hip, not just in body, but in mind and soul as well. Unaware of how he died, Junta succumbs to his wounds with a belly full of regret which quickly fades alongside his final breath, leaving behind two halves of an empty shell of a corpse and an out of breath Grandpa Du who turns his eyes towards me in gratitude and confusion.

For there in my hand, he sees Peace as I follow through with my swing, even though he swears he just saw this same sword cut his foe down.

Both true and untrue, for this sword is not a sword, but the sword as me, and here within my Domain, I stand supreme.

This singular swing cost me more than I realized as I sag in place and sink into the Void, my consciousness wavering even as I fight to remain standing. Inside my Natal Palace, Buddy ceases his mournful howling and presses himself up against me, his big brown eyes and tiny whimpers breaking my heart without ever shaking my conviction. This had to be done, and the price needed to be paid, but this is the full extent of what I can do for now. I still need to keep something in the tank for whenever Zhen Shi shows up, because I can hardly fight him if Im blinded by the pain of a raging migraine threatening to explode my skull from within. Despite the pain, my Natal Souls are still fully functional as they warn me of an impending attack, and I subconsciously release my hold on Peace once more so it can autonomously defend and attack for me.

Seven Wraiths die, though I would be hard pressed to say how without first consulting the Natal Souls who made it happen, but there is little to no joy to be had, for I sense yet another threat which is about to strike. A significant threat despite his complete and utter lack of presence, a creature hidden perfectly within plain sight, yet I expected him to show himself eventually. Opening my eyes to reality, I find myself face to face with a grotesque, vaguely human figure with misshapen, mottled features and enough loose skin to turn into a damn couch if need be. There is no anger in his heart, no hatred, fear, or even pride and satisfaction as he plunges his twin black daggers towards my chest, moving a reasonably speedy pace even though everyone else might as well be frozen in place.

For this is a creature of patience, cunning, and murderous delight, a Human Divinity and deadly assassin known the world round as the Phantom, who has come to claim my life here in Shi Bei.

An accomplishment which is not as easy as he thinks, because he just activated my trap card.

Even Dad and Naaran have yet to realize I have yet another foe standing before me, a powerful assassin who has killed more Imperial Divinities these last two years than anyone else has managed in the past thousand. I only noticed him because Ive been waiting for him to appear ever since one of my unused Natal Souls stumbled across him in Meng Sha and hitched a ride on his soul so I could better keep track of him. Before, I was mostly counting on Pong Pong to keep me safe, which is why my Supervising Natal Soul has been keeping the little guy up to date on the Phantoms location, but now I have other options to respond with. Having long since expected this most formidable of assassins arrival, there is no need for me to dig deep down into my pool of emotions, as I have futile rage and unresolved regrets aplenty to draw from here and now, freshly procured thanks to the Phantoms startling and intimidating presence. Those emotions surge through Peace as I unleashed a more standard Aural Sword with everything I can spare, and the attack pierces through the Phantoms defenses as his daggers plunge towards my heart and neck. His surprise and horror are beautiful to behold as I overwhelm him with an avalanche of senseless self-recrimination and good old-fashioned self-loathing, for where my previous attacks were but a droplet of emotion, for him, I have opened the floodgates and dipped deep into the darkest recesses of all my suffering and despair.

Even a Divinity is not immune to Emotional Aura, as evidenced by how easily Pong Pong trounced four Divinities in one go the first time we met him in the Azure Sea. Granted, emotional damage isnt enough to kill a Divinity, but thankfully, I have allies ready and waiting to act, and the Old Wolf doesnt hesitate for even a second as he slams his fist into the Phantoms face. Stopping my Emotional Aura as quickly as it started, I set everything I have and more to maintaining the structural integrity of reality with Blobbys help, but mercifully, the Old Wolf only needs one attack to end it all. Ordinarily, a Divinity as careful as the Phantom would have all his defenses readied just in case, even though hes sneaky enough to attack and slip away unnoticed, but everything came apart the moment I blasted him with my Honed Emotional Aura, and theres no stopping my smile as the sickly, headless corpse collapses at my feet, marking the death of the first Divinity here in Shi Bei.

Now thats a lot of damage.

I didnt want to escalate this into a battle of Divinities, but unlike Han, I didnt shoot first, so my conscience is clean here. If the other Enemy Divinities want to take issue with the death of the Phantom, I have plenty of crippling depression to go around. Come one, come all, because misery loves company, and Im finally ready share my feelings.

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