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. It’s been a long time since I dusted off the old Honed Aura, so it can’t 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 she’s 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, it’s more or less functionally useless.

It has to do with the way multiple Aura’s 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. That’s only to be expected, because unlike with most facets of the Martial Path, it’s 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 they’re quaking in their boots and unable to move, or it doesn’t and everyone fights like normal.

As for Honed Aura, even though it seems pretty awesome and overpowered, it’s more or less functionally useless on this battlefield. Pitting my singular Honed efforts against the combined metaphysical mass of the Enemy’s 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 elite’s Aura and try to pop it and it alone, but that’s 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 doesn’t expect me to singlehandedly shatter the Enemy’s 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 Legate’s contest and won the title of Number One Talent in the Empire, though admittedly, he didn’t have his Aura up at the time or anyone else’s Aura to protect him.

Even if I don’t shatter an Aura, the mere presence of an unseen threat should be enough to make most Warrior’s falter, especially in the chaos of battle. I should’ve 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, I’m getting ahead of myself. First, I need an appropriate target, someone with an Aura who isn’t 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, it’s clear those limits still exist and I’m not keen on falling into another coma here and now.

Or ever, really. I’ve 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 he’s 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 Officer’s 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 haven’t 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 I’m not trying to pierce through it all on my own. Even if I could, I’d only be popping my target’s Aura leaving countless overlapping Auras still in place all across the battlefield. Again, my goal isn’t to break the Chosen Officer’s Aura, but to merely put pressure upon it and distract my target for even a moment. Warning bells go off in the armoured giant’s 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 Officer’s Aura and almost shatters it despite the overwhelming defensive strength of the Enemy’s 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, that’s 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 Officer’s 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 Aura’s stack defensively, it’s 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 haven’t deployed any defense against Emotional Aura. Probably because they can’t 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, I’m 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.

There’s also no denying that my Aura has gotten much stronger, but I can’t 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 it’s a result of having progressed along my Dao. Aura has always been difficult to gauge, as it’s 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 what’s 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 sword’s wrapped hilt feels so familiar in the palm of my hand, I only register its presence mid-movement. I can’t tell if I grabbed the sword out of the air or if my Natal Soul delivered it to me, but it doesn’t matter as I become One with the Sword. Though I don’t 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 I’ve 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 I’ve 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, I’ve 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 I’m 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 pierce through their defenses, but by the time I finish the thought, I’ve gone through nine more targets and found a test subject whose Aura didn’t immediately give way before my attack.

The target in question is a half-naked half-mammoth wielding a wicked bone battle-axe that’s almost as long as he is tall, one that would technically be a poorly-balanced pole-axe in anyone else’s hands. Though I sense my Honed Aura clearly connect with the formidable half-beast’s own, he doesn’t even blink as he continues swinging his honking big great-axe at the deceptively quick and nimble Vichear, who weaves his way around his opponent’s attacks without use of his sword or Runic Shield. Thankfully, there are no tell-tale ripples of Chi denoting a dispatched Sending warning the Enemy of my abilities, so I gather my Will and hurl a second sword of Honed Aura at the half-mammoth, one with twice the power that costs almost six times more Chi. This time, the tusked behemoth falters a single step as he pursues his slippery foe, a brief opening Vichear is quick to take advantage of as he reverses momentum with a graceful pirouette to cleanly separate his foe’s head from his neck.

No matter how many times I see it, I will never not be impressed by the sight of a bulky giant of a half-bear twirling about with the grace of an anorexic ballerina. Zian has learned a lot from his dance lessons, but I don’t think he’ll ever be able to match Vichear in terms of poise and bearing.

Seizing upon a baseless suspicion, I task my supervising Natal Soul to pick out a good dozen half-beasts who are weaker than the half-mammoth Vichear just killed, and immediate test their mettle with swords of Honed Aura using only a base amount of Chi. The majority are susceptible the attacks and succumb to their foes shortly after, but three resist ever so slightly while a fat, near feral half-bristleboar defends without blinking. Though far from conclusive evidence, this leads me to suspect that half-beasts are less affected by Aura in all its variants, for no real reason than the fact that animals, Spiritual, Divine, or otherwise, all enjoy some modicum of protection from Aura as well. I know, I know, it might come off as racist of speciesict or whatever, but I don’t think this innate defense is natural, but rather acquired.

Fact: Animals are more in tune with their emotions and better at keeping Balanced. There’s no argument here, because it’s the truth, as animals know when to indulge in their emotions and when to put them aside in the interest of survival. Another fact: Animals don’t turned Defiled. They can attract Spectres, sure, but they never go full tea-drinking Defiled. They’re either not Defiled, or they Demonify, there’s no middle ground to speak of, but this raises an interesting question. Are they unable to become Defiled because they hold to Balance, or because animals instinctively refine their souls and quickly become immune to Defilement?

If it’s the latter, then it would explain why animals are less affected by Aura in general, and why their reaction to Aura wildly varies even within a single species. This is important because I think this more or less establishes that Aura is an attack aimed not at the body or mind, even though both are affected, but rather at the soul itself. It makes sense, right? Emotions are a big component of souls, a necessary ingredient one might even say, so what better way to attack a soul than with emotion? Knowing this, I target twenty more Defiled combatants with Honed Aura and pay close attention to the strain on my own soul. Only then am I able to sense the minute erosion each attack costs me, with a single attack nowhere near the cost of severing a Natal Soul, but not so infinitesimal as to be wholly ignored. It’s not life force I’m expending, thank the Heavens, but… soul force, I suppose, yet another new term I need to add to the quickly growing list.

At this point, I am wholly convinced that Aura is a soul attack, and Blobby somehow bestowed upon me the power to manipulate my soul and even sever it away, meaning I owe him even more than I thought. This also means the reason why Akanai can tank my Honed Aura without blinking is because she has a powerful soul, and the same can be said of the others. How does one get a powerful soul? By experiencing the vicissitudes of life, I suspect, and indulging in emotions both good and bad without losing hold of Balance. Explains why I was able to shake off Zian’s Aura during the trial at the Wall, as I’d suffered plenty in the mines and kept hold of my sanity, to say nothing of having retained some memories of my past life. This is also why Gerel can also more or less ignore my Honed Aura, because he’s spent his whole life with one foot dangling over the edge of Imbalance, which has in turn tempered his soul far beyond those of his similarly-aged peers. Fascinating stuff really, because it opens up a line of thought on how to refine the soul without going to the same extremes as I have over the course of my life, an experience I would not recommend to anyone, not even my worst foe.

The most important takeaway from all this is one that fills me with fear and excitement both, namely that Martial prowess is not a reliable indicator of the strength of one’s soul. You could be a weak, seventeen-year-old former slave without an Aura yet still possess a powerful soul, or you could be a Peak Expert standing at the pinnacle of Martial strength with an anemic soul that has the durability of wet tissue. Granted, those are both extreme outliers which are unlikely to transpire, though that’s not the same as saying impossible, seeing how I myself am living proof of the first. Knowing this, I put aside my concerns and throw caution to the wind to start hammering away at the most dangerous targets with my Honed Aura just to see which ones are vulnerable to distraction, and the results are most satisfying indeed.

The first major target to succumb to my meddling is none other than the Mataram Patriarch, who thankfully took his sweet time picking and choosing his moment even though Akanai had long since sussed him out. Unfortunately, Mataram YuGan is made of sterner stuff and doesn’t die to the first Honed Aural attack, and I suspect the game is up as I sense him frantically Sending in his moments before death. Not only am I able to save Han BoHai, I also get a front-row seat to Nian Zu grasping Insight as he becomes the Shooting Star and shield-charges his way through YuGan and hundreds of his clansmen. Situ Chi Gan shares in my next greatest success as a single burst of Honed Aura is enough to send Mataram Minzhe in a downward spiral from which he is unable to recover from, for the formidable Situ Guardian is too cunning and experienced to let such a beautiful opportunity pass him by and ends their exchange with a domineering overhand slash. A sure sign that the Whirling Dervish had a weak soul, because he succumbed to my Honed Aura in an instant while the Crimson Reaper continues to hold his own beneath my Aural barrage despite being indisputably inferior to his senior Clansman in strength. This isn’t to say my Honed Aura has no effect on him, but only enough to skew the odds even further in Gerel’s favour, but I have more pressing battles to pay attention to than that of my older brother.

Ugh. I don’t think I’ll ever not shudder when calling him that.

All across Shi Bei, the Defiled Peak Experts are dropping like flies as I turn my attentions towards them and deliver invisible blades of terror and panic. Exarch Gam’s staff slams down atop his Half-Demon foe’s head, cracking chitin and bone before reducing the rest to a meat paste, and the old half-fox huffs and puffs with pride and fatigue before moving onto his next foe. Marshal Huong’s oversized halberd sweeps through the Enemy Chosen with ease, and I can sense his confusion as to why the Enemy Peak Experts keep freezing in place the moment they enter into his range. Lei Gong doesn’t even notice as I lend him a helping hand, though to be fair, it doesn’t appear as if he needs it considering he has a giant honking sabre of lightning that cuts down anyone and everyone who catches his eye. Radiant Fist Wugang most certainly notices, and is also the first person to show any sign of suspicion directed my way after his foe misses a step and critically fails to parry a deadly punch. Likely because he was once a candidate for joining the Brotherhood and knows more about Aura and souls than your average Martial Warrior, so I make a note to talk to him and the Abbot about this when I have time.

Assuming there will be time after, because in spite of all my successes, we are not out of the woods just yet. There are a good number of Enemy combatants capable of withstanding or altogether ignoring my flying swords of Honed Aura, as not everyone reacts to terror and panic the same way. Jeong Hyo-Lynn’s foe for one, a Bristleboar Half-Demon with two honking big maces, has eaten no less than eight Aural swords of increasing intensity, with each one costing exponentially more Chi than the last to the same lack of effect, proving that the resilience of his soul is every bit as hardy as his seemingly impervious armour. Du Kang Bin takes a grievous blow as his Half-Demon foe falters and recovers all too quickly to counter his wild strike, leading to an awkward pause in both of their rhythms which leaves Yan’s cousin, a husband to nine wives and father to far too many children, in dire straits as he staggers back before his foe. The three Half-Demons encircling Rang Min also prove to be resistant to Honed Aura, but before I can make up my mind regarding whether it’s worth the added effort to help him, the Situ Clan Patriarch explodes into action in a display of speed and power rivalling that of Guardian Chi Gan. Easy to see the similarities in their styles, a savage and domineering two-handed sword that erupts with killing intent without warning, one which emphasizes substance at the cost of grace and dignity. Though on the surface it appears utterly at odds with the man Rang Min presents himself as, seeing it in action shows that the Situ Patriarch is a true Dragon among men who might well have dominated his generation if he’d not been born in the same decade as the dragon Nian Zu.

Most distressing of all is seeing Grandpa Du’s struggle against his Half-Demon foe, Yan’s half-brother who goes by the name of Junta. Seems like I’m not the only one reuniting with undesirable members of the family, and my heart goes out to my resilient wife as she watches her beloved grandfather do battle against a most formidable opponent. Though Junta is not quite as tough as Jeong Hyo-Lynn’s bristleboar assailant, his Domain Plated Demonic Chitin is doing a damn fine job of keeping him in the fight as Grandpa Du executes a superlative onslaught of endless aggression to keep the Half-Demon on the back foot. There is no fear or despair in the Sanguine Tempest as he fights in what appears to be full form, but I sense he has regrets and misgivings aplenty as he delivers what he believes might well be his swan’s song. Unwilling to let him die just yet, I unleash Aural Sword after Aural Sword at Junta from afar, increasing in power and intensity until I realize I’m unconsciously executing the forms in reality as I stand unopposed on the battlements. No idea if that has any bearing on the power of my Aural swords, but try as I might, the formidable Half-Demon more or less shakes my attacks off while biding his time for his chance to strike and bring down a Living Legend and beloved member of my family.

Quality and quantity of my Aural Swords fails to make any difference at all, and after launching twenty-eight increasingly expensive Aural attacks in the space of two seconds, all I have to show for my efforts is a growing headache and upset dog as Buddy senses Blobby’s ill-intent regarding my spiralling emotions. Grandpa Du looks in fine form as he batters his foe about the battlements, wielding his saber in one hand or two while dancing in and out of range as if he can read Junta’s mind and knows exactly when to advance and retreat. It’s a thing of beauty to watch him work as he takes two steps forward to deliver a powerful slash, then side-steps to the right to dodge an errant kick, his movements so smooth and fluid it almost looks rehearsed. Thrusting his sabre and wedging it inside the gap of Junta’s pauldrons, Grandpa Du follows up by smacking the hilt of his weapon with the palm of his hand, driving his opponent back three steps and causing Junta’s wild retaliatory strike of the glaive to miss by a mile. Circling around to the left, Grandpa Du delivers an unexpected upwards slash, one that skirts against the Half-Demon chitin armour and misses Junta’s chin by the barest of margins as he throws himself back to avoid death, his speed and reflexes saving him where a lesser Warrior would have died.

No matter how you slice it, Grandpa Du looks in fine form for a man of a hundred and twelve years, but from the slight catch in his knees and the minor quivering in his fingers, I can tell that he is fast approaching his limits. All I can do is watch as I wrack my brain for a solution however, even while a part of me can’t help but appreciate the raw violence and pure poetry that is Du Min Gyu as he fights to the tune of Luo-Luo’s haunting melody, his every action and movement worthy of a lecture regarding the vast intricacies of the Forms. It’s not just the Movements themselves, because even though they’re superlatively chosen when viewed in a vacuum, they also come together to form a near hypnotic cadence that I cannot quite describe. There’s a rhythm to his timing and attacks that matches perfectly with the music, a give and take and ebb and flow to the dance which reminds me of my efforts to move all my Water Chi from the Azure Sea to Shi Bei. It took me the better part of a half hour to get the feeling right, the motion of the ocean if you will, but once I found the proper cadence and put my finger on the pulse, it was easy getting all that Water Chi to go where I wanted it. The same thing is happening here with every single one of Grandpa Du’s movements as he seizes control of the match and holds it for dozens of one-sided exchanges, leaving Junta as little more than a punching bag who would have died in the first ten moves if not for his transcendent defenses.

And though I was unable to see it at first glance, I now understand how Grandpa Du is able to accomplish such a staggering feat. Just like how Hongji melded multiple basic Chi skills together to produce the full suit of Ethereal attacks, Grandpa Du is merging those Chi skills within his Domain Augmentation to make his movements appear almost otherworldly. It’s not just power and speed that are being enhanced, but grace, elegance, rhythm, and so much more, all of which is wholly under his control as he sets the pace of battle. Alas, there will soon come a time when he pushes himself past his limits and can no longer keep this up, at which point Junta will undoubtedly take his head and leave Yan an orphan once again.

With sword in hand, I stumble across the answer in a moment of Insight as I channel the Energy of the Heavens not into my sword, but through it, for though I am the Sword, what I have never once fully acknowledged is that the Sword is me. When my Core shattered, Peace broke alongside it, and I scattered its metallic dust to the winds in order to clear away the old and make room for my new and improved ‘Core’. This was a case of I am the Sword, but when have I ever allowed the sword to become me?

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 doesn’t kill me or leave me too weak to keep fighting, and the Elemental Spirit is more than happy to ignore Buddy’s howling to do just that. Remembering what I’ve gleaned from Hongji’s Ethereal attacks and Nian Zu’s Shooting Star, from Gerel’s flowing movements and Alsantset’s swift attacks, from Jeong Hyo-Lynn’s consecutive blows and Ryo Geom-Chi’s singular strikes, from most of what I’ve 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 isn’t enough, try three. Then four. And so on. And so forth.

That’s 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 don’t 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. There’s 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 can’t 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? That’s the scientist in me who’s 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 isn’t always about using your head. Sometimes, you need to follow your heart, your gut, your instinct and intuition, because if you can’t 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. It’s as easy as breathing once I time everything to Luo-Luo’s 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 I’m 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 I’ve 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 Phantom’s location, but now I have other options to respond with. Having long since expected this most formidable of assassin’s 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 Phantom’s 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 Phantom’s 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 isn’t enough to kill a Divinity, but thankfully, I have allies ready and waiting to act, and the Old Wolf doesn’t hesitate for even a second as he slams his fist into the Phantom’s 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 Blobby’s 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 the he’s sneaky enough to attack and slip away unnoticed, but everything came apart the moment I blasted him with my Honed Emotional Aura, and there’s 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 that’s a lot of damage.

I didn’t want to escalate this into a battle of Divinities, but unlike Han, I didn’t 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 I’m finally ready share my feelings.

Chapter Meme