Chapter 920: Sword Heart

Chapter 920: Sword Heart

As I was focusing on the finalization of the rules that governed the divine world I was created, I heard space shattering next to me. I turned my head, and saw a panicked Scarlet looking at me with wide eyes. Perhaps because she was the Goddess of Ki, but my energy felt slightly off when I noticed her panicked state.

“Dad! I think I messed up big time!” Scarlet called out with wide eyes, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

“Calm down, Scarlet. Your power’s leaking out.” I tried to comfort her, but she quickly shook her head.

“That’s not my power, dad! I think I changed ki!”

“I’m sorry, what now?” I blinked in confusion, unable to process those words. Changed... ki? Ki was a fundamental energy, as integral to the universe as the concept of a soul. How does one change ki?

Scarlet took a deep breath, and began to explain to me what had happened, how she had wanted to create a new form of martial spirit. In truth, I had considered doing the same in the past. The reason that I didn’t was actually because of Scarlet herself. I didn’t want her and her people to be pushed aside by some new and improved martial spirit.

However, as her story came to a close, and she told me about the achievement that she had earned, my lips were pursed tightly in thought. There is a ‘True’ Martial Spirit? Is that anything like the ‘Complete’ World Spirit? But why would the word change from ‘Complete’ to ‘True’?

I furrowed my brow, piecing together the information that I had access to. Basic world spirits were considered incomplete beings, because a ‘complete’ version would be able to completely control the natural energy within an entire universe. Such a being would be unkillable, unless the world itself perished. They could be weakened, but ultimately they existed together with the world.

At the same time, the weaker world spirits didn’t have a modifier to their name. There were no ranks like there were with martial spirits, it was just the difference between an incomplete being and a completed one.

Now, applying this line of logic to martial spirits... Lesser martial spirits like those Scarlet governs wouldn’t be considered incomplete beings, but an evolution of a concept. When I created the first batch of martial spirits, those with lower ranks were more simple forms of life, with only the last few having any form of intelligence, and rank ten entities like Scarlet having fully sentient minds from birth.

If this concept continued to evolve... I glanced up at Scarlet curiously. “How much ki did you need for this spirit?”

Scarlet gulped, thinking back. “Four-point-seven million... give or take a hundred thousand or so.” My brow twitched when I heard that number.

That was over three hundred times the amount of ki used to create a rank ten spirit. A rank one spirit only used one thousand points of ki, so the difference in scaling should be rather clear. What Scarlet created should have been something along the lines of a rank thirty spirit. But, for some reason, the system referred to it as a ‘true’ martial spirit.

“Let’s go back to the Admin Room.” I told her, glancing off to the side. “We should be able to see all the changes from there.”

Dana hummed happily to herself as she walked into the living room of the Sky Citadel, having just ordered several new items to update the technological standard of their home. However, as she was moving along, she suddenly had to duck rapidly, a thin line drawn on the wall behind her.

Her eyes went fierce, conjuring a black whip in her hand. Who would dare to attack the citadel? She wondered, her body flying towards the source of the attack, passing through solid walls and having to dodge past numerous blades of energy that threatened to strike her the closer she came. Even in her incorporeal state, the energy gave her a dangerous sensation.

“So that’s what it is.” I muttered, shaking my head as I sat on the couch in the Admin Room, Scarlet sitting nervously beside me.

“S-Sorry, is it that bad?” She asked, stammering as she tried to look at the screen that had appeared in front of me. Unfortunately for her, it was something only I could see.

“No, it’s not bad. You did a good thing.” I assured her gently, reaching over and patting her shoulder. “Just... maybe a bit of warning next time, before you go casually rewriting the laws of the universe.”

Scarlet’s eyes went wide at that, her body going stiff. “Rewrite... what?” However, I simply gave a playful smile.

“It’s nothing that major. For a while now, ki seems to have been missing something. It’s why archers like Thelsa and martial experts are so rare at the high levels, compared to mages. Even high level monks dip into magic or natural energy for their advanced classes, so there aren’t many that go pure monk all the way.”

“You... found what was missing?” Scarlet asked hesitantly, and I nodded my head.

“It’s will. Ki is an incredibly powerful energy, but it can only follow set paths. As the physical energy that represents life itself, isn’t that too limiting? Look.” I picked up the remote, turning on the television. “This is Samira Black, one of Accalia’s Huntresses.”

On the screen, we could see a woman standing in a field, having apparently just finished a hunt. For a moment, she seemed to have been dazed, dozens of lines drawing themselves in the air around her. When her gaze focused again, there seemed to be something... different about her. She looked down at her bow, and then to a nearby tree.

There was a crisp sound, and a dozen holes were neatly drilled into the tree, though Samira never lifted the bow in her hand. I paused the image, and then slowly rewound it. This was just rewinding the playback, not actually interfering with the world’s time.

However, as soon as the holes started to vanish from the tree, we could see transparent arrows flying through the air, tracing themselves back to Samira’s body. In only a fraction of a second, her ki had unleashed a dozen attacks, taking the form that she most commonly trained.

“But... why is this the ‘True’ Martial Spirit?” Scarlet asked in confusion.

“I’ve been thinking about that ever since you told me about it. Honestly, you used way too much energy if you were going for a simple rank increase. What you created should be the ultimate form of a martial spirit. The final evolution of your race, where the spirit itself becomes one with all the ki in the world. Just like how the completed version of a world spirit becomes one with all natural energy. In a way, your original martial spirit pacts can be seen as the prototype for this being. Like comparing a stone axe to an antimatter rifle.”

“The difference here is that natural energy is untamed, and nobody can claim dominion over it. Ki, however, is different for every living being. Because of this, the spirit doesn’t have a single, defined form. Instead, it should be the case that the spirit is subtly inhabiting everyone in its own way. For those that have mastered a weapon to such a degree that it is second nature, the spirit is able to take on the characteristics of that weapon, launching similar attacks through the user’s ki.”

“So... I didn’t mess up?” Scarlet asked, and I could feel the hope in her voice.

Shaking my head, I let out a light laugh. “Not at all. Honestly... I’d like to ask if you can do it again for the different worlds. I would... but I could at most make one spirit with my own ki reserves. This time, though... let’s make an announcement to prevent any accidents.”

While reviewing the data I went over to determine the nature of the spirit, I saw many cases where people were attacked during their awakening. In most cases, this only led to the demise of the attacker, with the spirit controlling the user’s ki to retaliate autonomously. However, there were some that hadn’t mastered their fighting style to a high enough degree, the spirit being unable to properly defend against the opponent.