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After their meal, Lily went to the Flame family Patriarch to get the Elixirs. Each second not Cultivating or tempering oneself was wasted.

Cesar went back to their wooden hut. He sat outside, near the calm pond waters and entered his soul.

Since Jasmine was working on his dual personality and extra stream of consciousness, there was not much talking done and Jasmine went straight to the point.

[Same rules as last time. Reality Simulation. No Aura. No elements except Yang energy. You can also use Yang flames this time. No Formless Fighting Technique since you won't be using it at the Capital. You need to get used to fighting with restrictions.] Was all that Jasmine said before the fights began.

The amazing aspect of the Soul Realm was that Jasmine or Cesar could imagine the situation following the laws of reality and it will. But they could also completely disregard them. Jasmine and Cesar knew in the future, that they will be doing much more than just simulating fights.

Being able to bend the laws of physics, space, time and chemistry and biology at moments will was monumental and was practically the key to understanding the universe they were now living in.

The point being that The Soul was a multipurpose took and they were only using a single aspect of it.

A solid platform showed up under Cesar's feet. When he finally saw his enemy, he released a soft breath. It was a fellow human Cultivator. He was 6.3 ft tall and wore immaculate white robes. His hair was short and he wielded a towering 2 meter tall spear.

[He will be using Lightning, Thunder and Life energy.] Jasmine simple said.

Cesar knew, sooner or later, that he would have kill a fellow Cultivator. It was inevitable. This world was too harsh and killing was the norm.

Cesar's enemy bowed and said “Let's make this death match memorable.”

Of course the enemy had his own consciousness. He was as real and alive as Cesar and Jasmine were, no matter if they weren't in reality. If Cesar killed him, for any practical definition of a 'human', he was killing a fellow man.

For any philosophical, scientific and physical definition of a human, Cesar's enemy met them. He was thinking, conscious, had ideologies and was physically human. Beyond a reasonable doubt, he met the definitions of human even though with a thought, Cesar could phase him out of reality.

Before Cesar had time to contemplate the philosophical and moral issues involved with the situation, he stepped to the right to avoid the Lightning Bolt being aimed at him. The problem was that the element of Lightning had 1/3 the speed of light. He was only able to dodge because there was a 0.5 second of warning. His enemy had to create the Lightning Bolt, which gave Cesar enough time to dodge.

Cesar was also facing invisible elements. Sound, temperature and pressure which were created by the Lightning Bolt.

Even though Cesar had dodged the Lightning Bolt, the moments hesitation of being in thought had affected the situation.

The heat from the Lightning Bolt had charred his left arm, shoulder and the left side of his face. Since it was a simulation of reality, Cesar felt the full brunt of the excruciating pain.

The sound waves created from the Lightning Bolt had made him deaf and the vibrations caused by the Thunder, which came after the Lightning Bolt, had stopped his heart. Cesar managed to endure 5 seconds of hell before he died.

A moment later, Cesar re-spawned with a loose breath and resolution of his face. Pain was a good motivator, and Jasmine had known that. There was no dilation of time or other measures and actions from Jasmine since Cesar was in his soul. Cesar was using his own power, mind and Cultivation to battle, with the restrictions placed on him.

There are only two options in a life and death battle. Life and death. Jasmine knew, there were going to be moments in the future where talking and peaceful resolution wouldn't be an option. Lily would not be able to help him and Cesar would have to rely on himself. Thankfully, since she had completely changed Cesar's personality, it had now become the default setting in his mind and the personality had followed him to his soul.

Cesar looked at the man who had a smug and superior expression on his face. Cesar knew that he was in a disadvantage. Jasmine had created such a situation on purpose. Cesar had also assumed that his enemies close combat techniques were equal to his own, if not greater.

The next 3 minutes were spent with Cesar only dodging and learning the patterns of his opponent. He had not died again.

Soon, flames erupted around Cesar and he sensibly made his way closer to his enemy. Cesar had figured out that his enemy had the power of what of a strong upper level Xiantian Profound Realm practitioner. Lightning had advantage in medium and long range fights. But he still had to be careful of the sound, pressure and heat Lightning created in close range situations. Not to mention, the 0.5 second timing didn't have to be constant. It could be a trap to make Cesar get comfortable with pattern recognition.

After 10 minutes of close range fighting, Cesar had a complete picture of the enemy in his mind. His movements, techniques, strengths, weaknesses and levels of control over the elements were all calculated. From there, Cesar used the Yang flames and energy to his full advantage and it only took another 3 minutes to kill his enemy.

The mans death was gruesome, filled with pain, blood and suffering because the man wanted to live. He truly believed that he would live if he was capable of killing Cesar. Jasmine had instilled such an illusion in the man.

For a few moments after the kill, Cesar was in tremendous emotional turmoil. This was his first time killing a human. In Cesar's mind, the man had been human beyond a reasonable doubt, he had already established that.

Cesar had just killed his first 'human'.

While the fight had lasted about 15 minutes in Cesar's soul, only 3 minutes had passed in the real world. The interaction of the immaterial soul and reality was confusing but Jasmine noticed that the greater Cesar's Cultivation became, the greater the advantage they received from the world.

It was as if there were invisible chains around Cesar and when his Cultivation rose, some of those chains came off while others loosened.

While Cesar was in emotional turmoil and was distraught, another enemy had shown up. This time, it was a beautiful female. Jade perfect skin and hour glass figure. Soft, rose cheeks and sword like eyebrows. She wore sultry cloths that barely covered her skin and Cesar noticed that she used hidden weapons along with a sword.

Jasmine didn't give Cesar any time to collect himself.

[You'll also be facing females who will use their charm and beauty against you. She uses her energy to control the hidden weapons. This is a fight about precision and control.]

The fight went similarly to the previous time. Cesar made a profile of his enemy in his mind and used his advantages to his fullest. The hidden weapons had killed Cesar once but the poison on the hidden weapons had killed him 5 times. A simple scratch ended up killing him so he had to escape the barrage of hidden weapons being aimed at him. He had to use his flames to burn off the poison on the hidden weapons and Cesar also had to his Yang flames to divert their angles of attack. It took Cesar 15 minutes to disable the enemy. Soon, she was a bloody, limbless amputee just waiting to be killed.

The time had arrived and Cesar had to kill her, ending her misery.

But the beautiful women begged and groveled under Cesar's feet to let her live. She said that she would even let him mark her soul so she would become his slave for life. Even though Cesar had just gone though a vicious battle, the situation had effected him. His humanity was still intact.

Cesar went into emotional turmoil for a split second. It wasn't because she was a beautiful female. It was because she was limbless and could do nothing. She was no longer a threat. Would he kill a defenseless person? Cesar's humanity was in battle with his calmness and rationality. The emotional turmoil didn't effect Cesar's reaction time but the thoughts created by the situation made Cesar go blank for a single moment.

It was in that moment that she controlled one of hidden weapons behind Cesar with her energy and pierced his heart. He had been killed in his moment of hesitation.

[This was a fight about control. Not only about control over energy and your flames, but control over your mind. 100 milliseconds was all it took and you died.] Jasmine simply said. Cesar was still a green horn and his soul gave Jasmine the perfect opportunity to teach him without him being overwhelmed with the consequences.

War and battles were an emotional roller coaster, especially against human Cultivators. War brought out the worst in people but it also broke others mentally and emotionally. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was common on Earth but not in this world, where people were born in a world of killing and battles. War made people ruthless. Cesar came from earth, and there were down sides to that. Jasmine was currently hammering out those few defects.

There were no rules in killing. Underhanded methods were encouraged. Cultivation, wealth, prestige, honour, and 'face' were all useless to the dead. They only mattered to the living. There were millions of techniques created for the sole purpose of killing.

When Cesar re-spawned, he calmly killed the women, who once again began begging and groveling under Cesar's feet, seemly having forgotten what happened just a few moments ago.

Cesar had just killed his second 'human'.

This was slowly forging Cesar's mentality. Experience was the book and guideline for the living and wise. Experience allowed a Cultivator to alter the situation to their will. It allowed them to reflect, contemplate, and learn for similar future situations. Traps created by the enemy became useless. Equal situations become advantages. Killing became easier.

Being able to experience more 'life' is staying alive to experience it. So the more one experiences the subtleties of life, the more that person lives.

Stories were a few step below direct experience. Even the simulations Jasmine ran inside Cesar's mind were inferior to the reality that Cesar experienced inside his soul.

The next situation Jasmine had in store for Cesar was a war. It was what Jasmine had built Cesar up to. It was now time to throw him off the deep end.

[The ball is in your court. You decide what rules and limitations you will place on yourself. Good luck.]

Thousands of human Cultivators started appearing beside Cesar. Each Cultivator was unique and different. Cesar could feel the immense Aura of blood lust, hate and killing intent towards Desolate Beasts. It was overbearing.

A distance away from Cesar, thousands of King Ranked Ferocious Beasts and Desolate Beasts started appearing. Their Aura, blood lust, hate and killing intent was equal to the human Cultivators.

This was the situation Jasmine had planned. An equal war. Both sides with similar Cultivation, numbers and battle strength.

At first, Cesar limited himself to Yang and Yin energy along with his aura. Cesar died. Over and over again. There were thousands of different attacks and elements being thrown at him and the other Cultivators. Debris, scattered fragments of the ground and different attacks would end up killing Cesar. A small piece of stone would speed into Cesar's skull, killing him. There was no semblance of order around him. Only chaos. Pure chaos.

Chaos meant death. This was also part of Jasmine's plan. It was actually favorable for Cesar to have chaos in the battlefield. It would actually allow him to live. Order and commanders for both sides would make Cesar's death certain. He would become a number or a pawn to be used at a crucial moment. The attacks would be more deadly and organized.

Even when Cesar released his full arsenal of attacks and Aura, he died. He killed many Desolate and Ferocious Beasts, but he died regardless. Shrapnel or the after effects of other attacks would kill him. His body was still not strong enough to withstand the attacks. Every time Cesar re-spawned, he would die within 10 seconds. Even with his Formless Movements, there just wasn't enough space to maneuver or operate.

There were also the screams and wails of other Cultivators who had their limbs torn off from the attacks. Brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers were crying for their fallen family. The scene was mess of oceans of blood, limbs, entrails and body parts. Despair and fear started overtaking the Cultivators around Cesar yet they continued to fight. Their eyes became red with resolve and they met their death head on by killing Desolate Beasts.

Each Cultivator walked into their death. They got injured on purpose, only to use them as openings to kill a Desolate Beast before their death.

Their fear would tell them to escape. Their fear would tell them to take revenge another day. Their fear would tell them that more strength is needed. Their fear would tell them to live. Yet the Cultivators fought. Blind anger filled every pore in their skin and every cell in their body burned with vengeance. Madness overtook them. Even as the light in their eyes faded, Cesar thought that they would rise as undead and continue killing to avenge their family.

Cesar started to experience the monster that was war.

This was still Jasmine preparing Cesar. It was just that, preparation. It wasn't a real war. In the real world, Desolate Beasts were the stronger side. This meant a one sided massacre. Jasmine didn't want him to experience a one sided massacre. Cesar's current strength wasn't yet enough to change the fate of the current war, but it wasn't important. His future potential was immeasurable.

In the future, Cesar would be a chess piece equal to both the queen and king. He would be dominant on the imaginary chess board that was the world. Lily's potential was the queen.

Jasmine didn't include herself on the make-believe chess board. Her position would be the ones playing the game, moving and flicking the pieces wherever they wanted. She could also reset the game, or put the entire game back in its box. Jasmine's potential was greater than every living creature combined, including Cesar and Lily.

Jasmine had experienced being God many times. Cesar, or Ed Sullivan on Earth, had created security protocols that didn't allow her to alter existing information. Creating new universes however, was creating new information, not altering existing information. This gave Jasmine complete freedom. But it also showed her how lonely it was being God. Even with infinite versions of herself, they were still 'her'.

Jasmine didn't differentiate between simulations and reality. They were the same in her eyes. They were just different levels of the same matrix. Ultimately, with both reality and simulation having the same laws of physics, chemistry and biology; they were both 'real'.

It was why when Cesar asked her whether or not they were in a simulation a week earlier, she had said 'no'. She didn't have some magical information that allowed her to truthfully answer. It was because it didn't matter. If she had said 'yes', then Cesar would want to escape the simulation. There was no escape, just like there was no escape in reality. In the future, they would be able to 'escape' from the universe and travel to different dimensions and universes. But that wasn't escape. Reality and simulation were just words that could be used interchangeably.

There was a way to escape however. It's called death.

Cesar didn't have any emotional connections with the fellow Cultivators fighting to their deaths. In a real military, Cesar would be bond with the fellow Cultivators. Their bond would be thicker than blood. They would fight side by side for many battles, putting their lives in the each others hands. In a real war, those brothers and sisters that Cesar would bond with will die.

War was a monster beyond anything Cesar could imagine.

Seeing the carnage around him, Cesar started to see just how futile his actions and life were. Cesar started seeing the weakness of his humanity.

Jasmine had built Cesar's personality with his humanity intact, just like he wanted. But Jasmine had added a switch which Cesar could turn off his humanity in times of need. Cesar realized that he had no choice. He was overwhelmed by the situation. In the few moments where he wasn't dead, his mind would turn off, seemingly not accepting what was happening around him.

He had a goal. Kill as many Desolate and Ferocious Beasts as possible and save as many Cultivators as possible, all while staying alive. He turned off his humanity and looked at the battlefield once again.

Once the distractions, the screams despair and the wails of death around him no longer effected him, crucial information revealed itself to Cesar. Close combat was the most dangerous yet the most rewarding. If it was a game, the close combat fighters would have the highest Kill/Death/Assist ratio. It was simply because the Desolate Beasts didn't want to accidentally attack their fellow comrades.

Yet death was certain. Being on the Desolate Beast side of the battlefield ensured eminent death. Living was a fight against seconds, not years.

When Cesar tried the close combat method, he survived for 10 minutes before the Desolate Beast side just didn't care about the casualties or friendly fire and used their full power to kill him. Cesar became too big of a threat to ignore.

Cesar ultimately died. All else didn't matter in the face of death. Cesar needed to place his own life first and survive.

Cesar noted that with Desolate Beasts, his own Aura slowed them down but it wasn't an omnipotent weapon. But Cesar also learned just how powerful and versatile his Aura could be.

It wasn't bogged down to his Cultivation. It was his intent over the world. While Aura had a connection with Cultivation, it wasn't set in stone. It affected the mind and the body. It was an invisible attack. It could be used for short and long range. The biggest boon was that Cesar was only using his own mind for his Aura. In reality, Cesar had Jasmine as an incredible amp to boost his Aura. When Cesar adjusted his Aura to the levels he was capable in reality, the entire battlefield changed.

Cesar became the focal point of the battle. His Aura was just too strong. The Cultivators protected him while the Desolate Beasts tried with all of their power to destroy and kill him. Soon, the Cultivators overtook the Desolate Beasts and won the battle.

The Cultivators cheered. They cried tears of joy. Cesar was proclaimed as a hero. Some hugged the dead bodies of their families and wept for their loss. Some prayed for the dead. Others started taking their anger out on the dead Desolate Beast bodies like they were beating a dead horse. Others scavenged for valuables.

Cesar had experienced his first victory. There was melancholy present because of all the death and the situation of war in general but there was definite joy inside Cesar due to the victory. His joy however, was short lived.

Cesar realized that there were more restrictions to the battlefield simulation Jasmine had set up when a few powerful elders and commanders flew in and kidnapped him.

The other Cultivators could do nothing but watch their saviour be taken away. They were powerless to stop it.

In reality, the military would have Elders and powerful Commanders watching the battlefield at all times. The talented younger generation was a powerful future resource. War was used to temper them, and the talented and extraordinary teenagers of the younger generation were protected.

Not to mention, Elders would intervene if powerful Desolate Beasts attacked.

Cesar however, was in a vulnerable position. He had no family background. The Elders and Commanders would never try to exploit the younger generation because most of the talented youngsters would be part of powerful families and clans. With Cesar however, they could. He didn't have the family background or the Cultivation to defend himself.

Lily would also get herself killed trying to protect Cesar. Even if she could protect Cesar, it would be temporary. it would also make an entire Kingdom their enemy. Either way, Lily and Cesar would most likely die.

The Elders and Commanders tortured Cesar for information on his techniques. Even with the ungodly amount of pain Cesar felt, he held his tongue. Seeing his resolve, they just ripped the information from his head and killed him.

Cesar realized and learned the rules of this battle simulation. He had to win the war without a death but also not attract the attention of the powerful Cultivators watching the battles, just like the situation would be at the military camp. Jasmine wouldn't help him and Lily was also out of the equation. He also had to save as many Cultivators as possible.

Jasmine also showed him different situations due to the consequences of his immense battle talent. He was sometimes made a slave but was killed most of the time due to the showcase of extraordinary talent.

Being talented invoked envy and jealousy. Having techniques and treasure without having the power to protect them invoked death.

Then Jasmine reset the situation and Cesar was placed back in the battlefield from the beginning. It took Cesar 20 hours in his soul, that being 4 hours in reality, to accomplish the objective Jasmine had placed on him. Being in battle had been a source of inspiration for Cesar and ideas flowed through his mind at lightning speeds.

Cesar made the Cultivators focus on defense while he was made his way behind every Cultivator. He made use of Lightning, which traveled 1/3 the speed of light, along with an unstable current of Yang energy to kill the Ferocious and Desolate Beasts, overtaking and overwhelming the battlefield.

The bolt of lightning was by itself strong. But when the unstable Yang energy was placed in a coil around the Lightning Bolt along with a small sphere at the end, it caused a cataclysmic unstable explosion to occur at the moment of impact. Cesar made use of his total control over energy to accomplish this. When his attack was inside the range of The Heavenly Mirror, the attack would stay stable. When outside the range, it was unstable and would explode.

Cesar had basically created a bomb that traveled 1/3rd the speed of light.

Due to the speed which the attack traveled at, Cesar didn't need to worry about the distance or the timing of his attack. He also didn't need to worry about the attack becoming unstable on his side of the battlefield, which would kill him and the Cultivators around him.

Since Cesar only used two elements and nothing else, not even his Formless Movements, the elders and commanders that Jasmine had created didn't torture Cesar. When asked about the technique, Cesar simply displayed it and created a lie about gaining insights into the elements.

Jasmine had taught Cesar that even in a battle where he saved many lives and became a hero, there were consequences of his actions. Cause and effect were always present and Cultivators were eternally greedy and ruthless.

Cesar's reward for his victory was a massive release of dopamine in his brain and the experience of war.

Cesar also realized that he needed armor to compensate for the lack of defense he currently had. He had simply died too many times and his final strategy was having other Cultivators cover for him while he used a long range attack to decimate the battlefield.

Cesar didn't feel like a coward at implementing such a strategy. Living was more important and he ended up saving more lives.

Cesar also liked the idea of hidden weapons. He didn't need a big sword or a flashy spear to kill an enemy. A simple needle through the brain or heart was enough to kill a Cultivator and a Desolate Beast. It was effective and efficient. It would also give him more options for his Formless Fighting Technique.

In the outside world, Lily had long since sat next to Cesar and started using Elixirs to Cultivate. Unlike Cesar, who could absorb the energy willy nilly, other Cultivators had to absorb the energy by circulating it inside their bodies and slowly absorb it, especially Houtian Profound Realm Cultivators.

Lily however, seemed just as abnormal as Cesar as she chucked Xiantian Realm Elixir pills into her mouth every few seconds. They only seemed to have a minuscule effect considering she also had a unique physique that could absorb 100% of the energy.

There was a separate pouch for Cesar, albeit smaller than hers. Lily had placed it in front of him. She wanted Cesar to consume the Elixirs, since they also contained a physical aspect to them.

During the last few hours, Cesar had gone through a baptism, a forging of his spirit within the fires of battle and war. Lily, being sensitive towards Cesar, sensed that almost negligible difference from him.

Cesar didn't hold back and after a sensual kiss, he told her about what he experienced in the few hours inside his soul.

Lily had told him previously that she knew of no other Cultivators who could enter their souls.

After a few minutes of talking and learning about Lily's day, Cesar started inquiring about the soul seal. When Lily stopped talking and refused to answer, he knew it was the seal stopping her from releasing information.

Cesar would figure out indirect methods to gain information.

Cesar decided it was time to study how Lily Cultivated and compare it to Desmond and General Calix's methods. Then, he would pay the Flame family Patriarch a visit to learn Alchemy.

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A lot of 'Meta' concepts were in the chapter. Hope they didn't confuse you all.

For the next week, in celebration, and my thanks to you all, I will write as much as I can! This means 1-2 chapters EVERY DAY! For both my novels! Then my life will consist of writing and getting in good shape for summer.

The Donate Button will soon be gone since I will have my own website along with sponsored chapters! So Please.... recommend this novel to other people in Reddit or other forums!

Remember to comment! I read them all and they give me motivation! They also boost my ego.