To Devour, or not to Devour. That is the question.

One I consider with great care, for the implications are staggering indeed. No man is an island, but the Eternal Emperor is about as close to it as one can get, a functionally immortal hegemon who conquered the known world and has kept it under the boot of his heel ever since. With a little help from faith and the Heavens above, I’ve summoned the Natal Souls of my allies and loved ones to aid me in battle against this most formidable foe, and yet I am concerned that this might not be enough. No man is an island, yet my foe is the next best thing, a man alone unwilling to back down as he puts on a clinic of power and skill. Though the weight of numbers is on my side and the battle appears to be going in my favour, the Eternal Emperor stands strong against the tide. More than that, I sense that he could flee at any moment and there’s nothing I could do to stop him, meaning he could live to fight another day, assuming he doesn’t succumb to Zhen Shi’s madness in the process. I don’t believe he will, for he stands firm before his host’s Natal Throne and guards it well, giving the fight his all in spite of the seemingly insurmountable odds.

Maybe he knows something I don’t, or is preparing something big to wipe out these Natal Souls all at once, or maybe he really is strong enough to hold out on his own. Honestly? If not for his complete and utter lack of empathy, I could almost admire him, though I admire the man he was even more. Clad in his golden Imperial robes and wielding a Materialized sword and spear in each hand, both of which feature dragons and phoenixes prominently on the hilt and haft, the Eternal Emperor’s cutting figure makes for an awe-inspiring sight as he makes his desperate last stand, but from his expression, you’d think it was merely another day in the office. Cold and distant, that’s how I would describe his grim demeanour, so calm and in control whilst embroiled in a jumbled, chaotic mess of a melee brawl, one in which he is woefully outnumbered. The Natal Souls who’ve come to support me are skewered and cut down dozens at a time, their borrowed vessels exploding into billowing, incandescent clouds of unbound Heavenly Energy with every touch of the Eternal Emperor’s deadly weapons. The mechanism behind the Eternal Emperor’s actions have yet to be revealed, for I am unable to connect with his soul and share in his perspective, one which would be most useful since I would love to know how he’s eliminating the Natal Souls of my allies so I can in turn use this skill against him.

Even then, things are looking good for me and mine, but the outcome is not quite set in stone just yet, meaning it’s anybody’s game until the fat lady sings. There’s another option however, one in which I play a more active role in this final clash and subdue the Eternal Emperor myself. The power is right there in front of me, contained within the Natal Souls of these heroes who’ve come to my aid, Balanced Spirits that could easily become Unbalanced with just a little nudge in the wrong direction. Once Unbalanced, there’s nothing to stop me from Devouring them all and taking their strength for myself, an act which would afford me a more personal and in-depth look at their respective perspectives and thus more Insight and understanding into their Paths. Right now, all I can sense is an echo of their actions, a taste of their Dao and comprehension, but if I were to Devour them, then I would have everything, a wisp of their souls to tack onto mine and make us greater than the sum of our parts. It’s no different from what the Eternal Emperor has done with his court of souls, except these are merely Natal Souls, a compressed copy of the original which will dissipate once it is spent, so why not put them to better use instead? If I take them in, then they will become a part of me, a part of my Dao, and their strengths will become mine to wield, strength I could use to defeat the Eternal Emperor as easily as turning a hand, and perhaps even supplant him as the new Emperor of the Azure Sea to fulfill all my dreams of making this world a better place.

Except absolute power corrupts absolutely.

A proverb from my past life which holds all too true in this one, and a warning I would do well to heed before seizing absolute power for myself. The secrets of Heaven lay well within reach, so close I only need to step forward and seize them, but I hesitate to do so because I’m worried I would be doing it for all the wrong reasons. I am already a Divinity, perhaps even a Nascent Immortal like the Eternal Emperor claims, which means I am plenty strong as is. With help from the Natal Souls of my allies and loved ones, I have a good chance of emerging victorious as it stands, while I can only guess at how strong I would be after Devouring all these Natal Souls. I assume I’d become more powerful than I could ever imagine, but what if nothing happens? What if the Natal Souls are all just Cleansed and turned back into Heavenly Energy, putting me back where I started before all this?

Besides, with the limited understanding I currently possess with regards to the Dao, I’m fairly confident I have the means to end the Eternal Emperor’s existence with a single attack, render his soul unto nothingness and consign him to oblivion. I saw this happen first-hand with Mahakala, when he was doused with Anathema, which I now know is merely a manifestation of Death Energy in reality. From my tests with my own Natal Souls, I know I can conjure some up, or at least a close enough approximation to destroy the Eternal Emperor’s soul, but I would really rather not have to. Not because I’m squeamish, but I’m not talking about killing him here. If I were act against him directly in this manner, I would be forever denying him the chance to reincarnate, and who am I to judge him so harshly? Though he’s committed all manner of horrible crimes over the millennia, killing him would suffice, and any more would weigh heavily upon my conscience. Death severs all karma, so how can I deny anyone a fresh start in a new life with a clean slate, one in which they might not make the same mistakes they did in this life? Yes, mistakes, because I believe at the core of it all, the Eternal Emperor was once a good man trying to do what he believed was right, only to stray from his Path to proceed down the dark route he took to become the monster he is today.

Which makes him a poignant warning of things to come should I step up and replace him, which is why I’m so hesitant to act.

I jokingly called my Dao the Dao of ‘don’t be an asshole’, one in which I remain true to myself and my morals, but what’s to keep my definition of self and my morals from changing over the years? I identify most strongly with my past life and all the memories which came with it, but the Rayne I was in my past life would be horrified by many of the things I’ve done. He was no Warrior or soldier, no hunter or killer, but just a regular guy, an office drone in a call centre who probably never lifted a hand in anger his entire life, much less clubbed a helpless man to death in anger, but I have. I have fought and killed out of necessity, but I cannot deny the joy I derive from it either, a thrill and pleasure which the Rayne I remember would be repulsed by. I get this from Amigui, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Amigui was shaped to behave like this by the man who sired him and the circumstances he grew up in, because to kill is to survive, or at least that is how he… how I see it. Kill or be killed, such is the law of this world, one in which others believe might makes right. I disagree on a philosophical level, but I also accept it on a rational level, else I’d be more like the Abbot trying to convince the Eternal Emperor to change his ways rather than dead set on killing him here and now.

I wholeheartedly believe that Ying Zheng is too far gone to ever find redemption again, and thus deserving of death, but eternal oblivion?

No.

The man I see before me is a monster, there is no denying that, but at one point in his life, this was not the case. What’s to stop me from following in the Eternal Emperor’s footsteps once I possess power unrivalled beneath the Heavens? I would love to believe that my moral convictions will always remain firmly rooted in the beliefs I adhere to today, but I’ve already deviated a fair bit away from Rayne’s moral compass, and will continue to deviate as things change. What happens if ten years down the line, I decide that my efforts to improve the world are progressing too slowly and turn to more forceful measures instead? Difficult to argue against killing a thousand slave owners to free ten-thousand slaves, especially if the conflict is quick and easy as it would be if I were to seize phenomenal cosmic power here and now, but that’s a cut and dry example that sets a precedent which leads me down a slippery slope. At what ratio is massed killing no longer worth it? One slave owner’s life for two slaves? Three? What about killing in other facets of life? Should I kill a political rival who blocks my efforts at every turn? An outspoken critic utilizing rumours and misinformation against me? An ignorant commoner who doesn’t understand my plan to urbanize farming and insists on doing things the old ways instead?

Might does not make right, but it sure as hell makes getting results a whole lot easier. Even though I have good intentions, I have to go about fulfilling them the right way, because the road to hell is paved with good intentions, an idiom Ying Zheng’s story encapsulates all too well. For this reason alone, I believe he deserves a second chance in another life, or at least I believe I am not qualified to deny him one. Monsters aren’t born monsters, because all children are born innocent and untouched by the red dust of the mortal world.

And so my dilemma, as I struggle to hold firm to myself beneath a deluge of perspectives offered by the Natal Souls of my allies. Seize their power and make it my own to become something more than what I am now, more than a mortal Divinity wielding power unmatched, or reject this power out of fear and uncertainty? The latter would be for the best really, because I am too immature and uncertain for such power, too ignorant to the ways of the world and yet to experience all the vicissitudes of life. Maybe in a hundred years, I’ll have a better handle on who I am and what my Dao entails, because right now, it’s pretty much just, ‘do as I please and hope it all works out for the best’. The optimism of youth, which is beautiful and inspiring, except the cynicism of experience tells me to always prepare for the worst. Even though I possess memories of my past life, those fragmented experiences don’t count for much on the maturity scale, especially since I was something of a man-child in my past life. That being said, what those memories do tell me is that I’ll change in ten thousand different ways over the next decade at the very least, and probably ten-thousand more in the decade after, because that is what life is. Growth. Progress. Change. Advancement. At ten, your priorities are vastly different from you at twenty, or you at thirty and forty, and that’s completely normal, but how can I ensure that the me at forty, sixty, or older won’t make the same mistakes the Eternal Emperor made when he proceeded down the wrong Path?

The answer is rather simple yet also infinitely complex at the same time, because all I can do is try to be the best version of myself that I can be. That’s the most I can really ask of myself, because I still don’t know enough to have my life figured out, and I doubt I ever will. To be human is to choose, a statement I shared with the captured prisoners of the West as the Enemy gathered them before the walls of JiangHu and forced them to commit horrific acts against their fellow prisoners or have horrific acts committed against them. As I stood there and scanned the crowd of prisoners awaiting their turn to choose, it took everything I had to keep from breaking down into sobs as I waxed poetic about the freedom of choice and the nobility of man. I told them to not give in to despair, that where there is life, there is hope. I said, “While I cannot promise to march out and rescue you, know that your pain is fleeting and life impermanent, but the choices you make will have lasting consequences. All you who lie there awaiting death, know that you have chosen to be human, to be better than what the Enemy desires us to be, and for this, you have my utmost respect and admiration.”

A lovely little speech, full of optimistic nobility that led those prisoners to revolt against their captors, a short-lived resistance that was quashed without mercy and saw hundreds of prisoners die as they refused to play along with the Enemy’s games. I believe they made the right choice, but seen from another perspective, I essentially convinced them to commit suicide by proxy. How can I be sure that was the right call? Maybe some of them could have survived had I not spoken up, could have kept their heads down, done what was necessary, and atoned for their sins after the fact. Where there is life, there is hope, those were my words, yet I drove them to choose death over inflicting pain and suffering to others, a choice I am not sure I would be able to make in their place. For all I know, maybe some of those prisoners who survived in JiangHu were in the harbours we liberated, or Pang Si Xing, and now happily in the Citadels where they can rest and recuperate, while those who died are gone forever because I gave them shit advice. Nor am I sure that all this suffering is even proof against the existence of a Mother Above, or some other deity on high, because now I see the moral dilemma of using absolute strength to solve all the world’s problems. Might does not make right, and the ends do not justify the means, this I know and believe in my heart of hearts, yet cannot wholly elucidate in a way I can agree with without question. As things stand now, I could return to reality and slaughter the army of Half-Demons single-handedly, but would that be right? Would it be just? Forget about whether the Half-Demons deserve death, but even the Defiled Divinities have yet to overtly act against mortal soldiers, so I can hardly hold the moral high ground while embarking on a slaughter of tens of thousands of Defiled, right?

Not because they’re mortals, and I am now a Divinity, but because this deluge of differing perspectives has painted a world steeped in shades of gray, rather than the black and white I wish it were.

The army of Natal Souls who answered my prayers is not comprised solely of Imperials, for much like Bai Qi supported me in death, many of the Half-Demons fighting on the walls of Shi Bei have found it in them to support me in life. Many of them have lost their way and have no desire to make their way back, but there are many who are fighting for a better life for their tribesmen, and I cannot claim I would not do the same. If the mountains I call home were to be rendered inhospitable tomorrow, and the People denied a place in the Empire proper, I would be the first to take up my sword against the powers that be, and I would be justified in doing so. Yet the soldiers I would fight would not be fighting to oppress me, but merely following orders from on high, the death knell of many a righteous revolution. From one perspective, it is right to kill the Defiled and drive them out from the Empire’s borders, but looking at it from a different angle, how can I in good conscience send Defiled children back to the outlands where they’ll be forced to compete and slaughter one another just to ensure their tribes don’t grow too large to survive?

The same dilemma presents itself with the Death Corps Guards and Royal Guardians, who are sure to be caught in the crossfire should I choose to wage war against the Empire over slavery, civil liberties, income equality, or any other cause I might take up. Of course, the best option would be to solve these issues without spilling any blood, but that is an unrealistic expectation. Even with all the strength I would possess if I should Devour every Natal Soul present, there will still be those who refuse to bend the knee and follow my vision, if only because it threatens their vested interests. I have always known that change would come at the cost of bloody revolution, and I’d hoped to be long dead before all the killing kicked off, because even though I believe in an ideal, I’m not confident I can hold true to my convictions in the heat of the moment without going astray. Can I reign in my anger if someone I love suffers an unjust death? If my children are bullied by others, would I just stand idly by? What’s to stop me from using might to oppress others and see my vision carried through once I’m more powerful than the Eternal Emperor?

Nothing. And that in itself is terrifying.

Even with all these doubts and reservations, the temptation to go through with this is almost too powerful to resist. Just think of all the good I could accomplish if I were to use this power to become Emperor myself, rather than try to work with the Imperial Clan. My former patron would resist of course, as would the other Supreme Families, but that’s hardly anything to balk at. Even though they all worked together to put Liang Wu Di on the throne, that only means they also have the power to depose him, so I would bet dollars to donuts that the other families are already sharpening their knives in the dark. Whether Wu Di survives to his coronation day is still up in the air, and I’m not even sure if he’d be a better Emperor than the man he’s succeeding. No, he’ll likely be more of the same, happy to keep the status quo and amass power for the Liangs, but even if he wants to be a better Emperor, the other families would oppose him on principle alone, so why not simply seize power and authority for myself?

If I were Emperor, then it would be my hands on the tiller of humanity guiding our progress into the future. I could end slavery with a single mandate, put new laws into effect condemning abuse and exploitation, start work on a transcontinental highway connecting every major city in the provinces, and build schools in every town and village to educate the next generation before installing a system of service and reward based on skill and merit rather than nepotism and greed. If I were Emperor, those who rise up against me would be the rebels and insurgents, meaning the vast majority would see my actions as right and just by virtue of being the default option. Then there’s all the perks, like the wealth and respect that comes with the role, to which I am not entirely immune. I love being rich, but mostly because I would hate being poor, and anything extra is used as funding for my charitable pursuits, but as Emperor, I would have the wealth of the entire nation to use as I please.

Not to mention a city to hold my massive harem, because an Emperor’s gotta have descendants right? Hardly seems fair to expect Lin-Lin and Luo-Luo to do all the birthing if I am to kick off a new dynasty, or at least that’s how I’d frame the argument. I love my wives, and have more than I deserve already, but when has greed or lust ever been rational? Then there’s the benefits of the power itself. I would be functionally Immortal probably, an unageing existence that could survive for thousands of years so long as no one sees fit to separate my head from my shoulders in violent fashion. I’m not entirely sure, but I think I would be a being akin to Pong Pong, who is obviously more than a Divinity and perhaps even more than a Nascent Immortal as the Eternal Emperor claims to be. What would that be like? To live forever? I only just said that a single mortal’s lifetime is enough for me, but that’s because I’m young and jaded. Will I still say the same when I’m old and frail, or when I see the trials and tribulations awaiting my children and grandchildren? What if a single lifetime isn’t enough to see all my dreams come to fruition? I would love to bear witness as humanity climbs the technological ladder and maybe play a video game again someday, though I would do everything in my power to do away with social media and all the horrors it would bring.

And then? There would always be something else to accomplish, another goal to pursue, a wrong to right, or a new possibility to explore. None of this is inherently wrong or bad, but there is so much room for error when the fate of the world rests on my decisions, and my decisions alone. Besides, being Emperor sounds like a shit job, but more importantly, goes against everything I want. I don’t really want to be Emperor, any more than I wanted to be Legate. I did the job because it was given to me, but I would never have asked for it, not in a million years. It’s not all bells and whistles, because the burden of responsibility is real and I would rather not have it, since I am not one to shirk my duties. The bard said it best, for heavy lies the head which wears the crown, so why bother fitting my head for one when I could do without?

Which brings me back to square one, in which I have no idea what to do now. Do I Devour all these Natal Souls and hope for the best, or reject this obvious step out of fear? Neither one seems like the right answer, because even though victory is already within my grasp, the trials and tribulations I will face in the coming days and weeks are still daunting to behold, to say nothing of what surprises the future may hold. More strength could always serve me well, but is the prize worth the price? Devouring all these Natal Souls might not be morally or ethically wrong, seeing how they’re destined to be expended regardless of my actions, but it still feels wrong to me, and being illogical has never stopped my fears, guilt, and shame from bringing me down before.

So lost in my thoughts, it takes a moment to realize Lin-Lin’s been poking me in the cheek repeatedly for some time now in an effort to get my attention. “Copper for your thoughts, hubby?” Her beautiful brown eyes open wide in the very picture of innocent curiosity as she rests her chin on my shoulder and tilts her head ever so slightly, the only Natal Soul not to join the battle besides cowardly Buddy hiding behind my legs. “It’s not like you to be distracted in battle, ya?”

"I don’t think I’m really needed here,” I reply, and to my surprise, that’s actually true. Even as the Eternal Emperor lashes out to kill another ten or so Natal Souls in a spectacular spray of brilliant light, I can see the writing in the wall now that I’m no longer lost in my thoughts. “His court of souls is packed with the greatest talents of multiple generations dating back to the founding of the Empire, but they’re all puppets under his strict control, and there’s too much going on all at once for him to pay attention to any one of them. The Flautist over there is being countered by Luo-Luo, while eight Elementally Blessed Warriors are taking turns suppressing the Flame Sovereign. That one there is a Martial God, but I don’t think the Eternal Emperor can control him well enough to survive against the hordes of Natal Souls, and the same can be said of the stealth assassin guy, whose talents are best served killing people stronger than him, of which there are none. As for the Emperor himself, he’s stronger than anyone in existence, but he’s burning the candle at both ends to keep this up. At the rate things are going, his host will drop dead long before he runs out of Natal Souls to kill, so even if I stand here and do nothing, this battle has already been won.”

“Oh.” Snuggling against my back with a comfy little sigh, my sweet wifey shrugs and says, “I didn’t know those souls were that strong. They’re all just standing around while the stinky Emperor protects them. What happens if he runs away though? Will you hafta chase him down?”

Even as a Natal Soul, she’s adorable as can be, her arms tightening around my neck and shoulders as if afraid I’ll run away. “He won’t.” Again, I answer before even thinking it through, only to discover that I’m right. How do I know this? It doesn’t occur to me until I consider the question, but the answer was there all along. “Retreating would destroy the foundation of his Dao, one built upon the principle of might makes right, so admitting defeat is to admit weakness. He can’t run, or it will ruin him in a way that would be no different from death.” A Dao which I suspect differs greatly from Ying Zheng’s Dao over the course of his mortal lifetime, one that has since been warped beyond recognition by the ravages of time.

And just like that, something clicks in my head and the pieces all come together. “That’s it!” I exclaim, throwing my arms back behind me to wrap around her waist. “Thanks wifey.”

“You’re welcome hubby. What’d I do?”

“Your questions led me to the answer I needed.” Another thought strikes me and I turn to get a better look at her calm, sleepy expression, her half-lidded eyes so full of love and affection. “Hang on. Are you here, like here here? As a soul instead of a Natal Soul?”

My sweet wifey takes a long moment to consider the question, and it’s almost too much for my heart to bear as she puffs her cheeks and furrows her brow in thought. “I dunno,” is the answer she arrives at, shrugging in clueless indifference. “I didn’t do anything differently, so I guess I’m here in the same way I always come to visit, ya?” The answer to which is still up for debate. Studying my expression even as I lose myself in her eyes, she smiles and asks, “So you figured out the solution to whatever was bothering you before?”

“Yea,” I reply, without surprise, because honestly, the answer was self-evident before the question even presented itself, but I still had to go through with all the motions regardless. My tendency to stew in anxiety and overthink my problems is not exactly a blessing, but these are flaws I’ve learned to embrace and even indulge, because I would not be the man I am today without them. While my doubts and introspection are exhausting to go through, I don’t know any other way to deal with my problems in life, because this is part and parcel of who I am, something which has kept me honest and mostly undefiled to this day. Relieved of my burden, I heave a sigh and smile at my sweet wifey. “And thanks to you, I even know what to do next.”

I just need to keep in mind the advice Charok gave me all those years ago. I cannot allow myself to be driven by my fears, or any other emotions, but at the same time, I cannot avoid them either. Another concept that seems simple, yet is so difficult to follow through with, because it is all too easy to give in to fear, or anger, or hatred, and infinitely more difficult to rise above it. Yet rise above it I must if I intend to be true to myself and do as my conscience demands, for my Dao is not one of pursuing strength for the sake of strength. It is a complex system of morals and beliefs which I find impossible to describe in a few words or even sentences, but simply my Dao, my everything, the culmination of who I am and what I intend to do. This isn’t the same as The Dao, which is everything and nothing, as well as anything else in between. The Dao is eternal life and inevitable death, unchecked Creation and untold Destruction, an endless cycle of push and pull, up and down, left and right, and any other opposing force you might conjure up in mind. It is trials and tribulations without end, yet an end there must be, for all things must come to an end. A contradiction which cannot be proven or disproven, because both are true, and both are false, depending on your perspective.

And my perspective? Life is hard enough already, so why make it harder if you don’t have to?

The ineffable sense of urgency pushing me to move forward along the Path disappears, and I’m left with a sense of relief and reassurance. What was I even thinking? Why would I Devour all these Natal Souls just for the chance to become stronger when they’re pretty much already solving all my problems? That’s not me, because I do not pursue the Dao for strength, or at least not solely for strength. I do it because it’s awesome as fuck, and I want to know how it all works in a way I can understand and pass along for others to build on. I never liked knowing without knowing and understanding without comprehending, but now that I have strength enough to stand on my own, I can take my time to science the shit out of magic and work things out to my heart’s content. That’s the real reason why I pursue the Dao, for bear arms and other cool shit, which is as good an answer as any. That’s why knowing without knowing is such a bummer, and why I get such a kick out of debating with the Abbot, Grandpa Du, and anyone else who will listen to me ramble on about the mechanics of the Martial Path.

Because discovering the answers for yourself is half the fun, and if I cheated to get ahead, there would be no such satisfaction.

This was a trial and tribulation, I realize this now, one of the Dao and my heart, for had I gone ahead and Devoured these Natal Souls for the sake of power and power alone, then I will have gone against my Dao, or at the very least be forced to adopt a new and different perspective before proceeding down this new fork in my Path, one for which I am ill-suited. Thankfully, Lin-Lin was here to help distract me and set my head on straight, allowing me to make what I believe is the right choice in the end. I choose not to take this step now not out of fear or concern, but confidence, confidence that I would fuck things up if I progressed now, and confidence that I will find the way forward again in the future. Maybe not tomorrow, and maybe not next week either, but in a few decades or centuries depending on how many years I have left, after I’ve had time to live, laugh, love, and learn but before it comes time to die.

I think it’s better this way, because I am not the same man I was yesterday, and tomorrow I will be a different man again. As such, even though the Truth and the Dao is immutable, the way I perceive it will change countless times over the course of my life, so why should I commit to one interpretation now? Why am I working so hard to define my Dao and myself when I still have so much left to do and experience? I have wives to grow old with, children to raise, floofs to spoil, and a whole slew of goals to accomplish, ones which may well give new perspectives and help me uncover a better Path, or at least one more suitable for the me I will become. If it turns out that I’m wrong and I’ve gone and blown my one and only shot, then that just means Immortality and possible godhood was never meant for me, which is totally fine too. I am still a man mildly in love with death after all, and I have no desire to ever outlive any of my wives, and even the thought of losing my parents or elders gets me a little choked up inside. So even if Lin-Lin could share her Life Force with me to keep me alive longer, I would really rather she didn’t, because death is merely a new beginning.

I suppose it’s a little selfish, wanting to die first so I don’t have to mourn any losses, but who knows? Maybe this too will change with time. Maybe there will come a day when I regret this decision, or maybe I’ll look back on this moment and laugh at how stupid I was, but at the end of the day, I chose to follow my heart and do as I please, which is something at least, and I continue to do so as I approach the battle between the Eternal Emperor and the heroes of the Empire to put an end to this conflict once and for all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten-thousand Natal Souls fell before this Sovereign’s blades, but there were still at least ten-thousand more to go, and though his spirit was eager and willing to fight on to the bitter end, that end was drawing near due to the deficiencies of his borrowed body.

An imbalance between the body, mind and soul, one he’d long since accepted as the cost of an eternal existence, but today proved that he’d erred along his Path. A most lamentable end to the story of his long life, one in which he failed to live up to its full potential. This army would be the end of him, whittling him down one Natal Soul at a time, for if he did not spare the effort to kill them, then their unified Intent would see him dead. In their eyes, he was the villain who’d brought the Enemy to their doorstep, rather than their rightful Sovereign who gave them so many millennia of peace and prosperity, and there was nothing he could do or say to make them believe otherwise.

Not after they’d seen Zhen Shi’s appearance, one which was a match for this Sovereign’s own, a blunder that he could never have foreseen even if given ten more millennia to prepare.

Though full of righteous fury and bitter dissatisfaction, this Sovereign made no effort to reason with his assailants, presented not a single word of argument or explanation in his defense, for he was the Eternal Emperor, and these rebels too far beneath him to address. Though surrounded by wolves, he was still a dragon yet, and possessed of a dragon’s pride, so he would not give them the satisfaction of hearing him make a case for his life. There would be no declarations for them to refute, no demands they could ignore, no pleas they could deny or excuses for them to tear apart. This Sovereign had held true to his Path, but the Heavens saw fit to deny him his rightful place above them, meaning these Natal Souls were merely the tools of Heavens’ Will and the instruments of his demise.

Instruments which ceased their endless assault as Falling Rain made his presence known once more, and this Sovereign was surprised to see how much the boy had changed. There was an air of confidence about him that wasn’t there before, not the bold brashness of a man with the upper hand or the cocky impudence of a boorish victor, but a certainty about his poise and a tenacity of spirit which was baked into the core of Falling Rain’s essence, qualities which were not present before. Oh he had his arrogance, that casual disdain and pretension about him, but now he had the confidence to pair with it, and this Sovereign had no choice but to admit that the boy wore it well.

No, not a boy, but a cultivator, a Nascent Immortal who’d surpassed this Sovereign’s millennia of effort in little more than two decades of life.

There was still life and Prana left to this Sovereign’s host yet, but he saw no point in delaying the inevitable, so he accepted his defeat with grace. Dismissing his sword and spear even as his foe dismissed his army of Natal Souls, their eyes met in an exchange of mutual understanding, wherein this Sovereign placed the fate of his empire into Falling Rain’s hands, for Liang Wu Di and the Supreme Families would only bring disaster to the lands this Sovereign had guarded for so many years. There was no need for any promises or demands, because he could see that Falling Rain loved these lands just as much as he, if not more because his love extended to the people and beasts who inhabited it as well.

And yet, even knowing he left his Empire in able hands, this Sovereign could not accept his defeat without first asking one, last question. “How?”

“A difficult question to answer,” Falling Rain replied, pursing his lips in thought. “But I’ll give it my best try. Let’s start from the beginning.” Gesturing at the vast Void stretching out in all directions from beyond the boundaries of Liang Wu Sheng’s Natal Palace, he said, “Shatter the Void and become One with the Heavens, the first step in the process of refining your body, mind, and soul and removing the distinctions between the three. This is where one would lay the foundation of everything which comes after, and as such, I would call it the Foundation Establishment stage. Not just the foundation of your physique, but the foundation of your Dao, which you laid piece by piece over the course of decades spent embroiled in bloody warfare.”

There was no judgement in Falling Rain’s tone, no condemnation or admiration to be found, merely a rote recitation of the facts as he saw them which did much to soothe this Sovereign’s wounded pride. Moving his hands to his chest, Falling Rain continued, “The next step is to become One with the World, harmonizing your breathing and inner flow of Heavenly Energy with the physical and metaphysical world around you. A process which changes the ambient Heavenly Energy flowing through you, as well as the channels it flows through, though I will not speculate on how since I am still unsure. I can only say that the Heavenly Energy becomes more than just that, for it is marked by your essence, your emotions, and your Dao to become yours and yours alone, which you then take in as nourishment for your physique and Spiritual System.” Tilting his head to one side, he paused for a moment before adding, “I would call this Chi Purification, or maybe Chi Condensation.”

It was all too clear that Falling Rain was making most of this up as he went, putting his thoughts and experiences into words for the first time ever, but thus far, this Sovereign agreed with every word he said, and found no flaws in his logic. Though Fifth Brother used different names for the individual parts, the details remained almost exactly the same, showing just how brilliant this young man truly was, a genius to surpass all geniuses. “At first, there is no need to do anything more,” Falling Rain continued, his gaze distant and turned inwards as he discussed his Dao, and though this Sovereign could have taken this chance to attack, he stayed his hand because the answers were more important to him than even his eternal life. “Your body, mind, and soul are being Refined, your Dao is taking shape, and your Spiritual channels are being cleansed and widened, all of which will take time to complete… unless you have an Elemental Spirit to help pave the way, and a genius Medical Saint to help lay the foundation of your Refined Physique.” So that was the explanation for Falling Rain’s speedy progress, one this Sovereign should have guessed at before, but only because there could be no other explanation besides being a freak of nature in possession of a rare physique found in one in a hundred trillion mortals which enabled them to cultivate with extreme speed.

No doubt thanking the Heavens for his dog shit luck, Falling Rain paused to smile before moving on, and this Sovereign could only shake his head in envy. “Eventually however, there comes a point when your physique is fully Refined and your Spiritual System Cleansed and completed, at which point you will begin to see an excess of marked Heavenly Energy flowing through you. Left to its own devices, this marked Heavenly Energy will eventually pass through and return to be reassimilated into the Heavens, so in order to retain it, you must become One with the Self. In doing so, you demarcate a section of your Refined Physique to hold said marked Heavenly Energy, one which remains permeable to regular Heavenly Energy so as not to affect the flow. A realm within a realm, a plane within a plane, seamlessly divided and connected again to form a Core that is not a Core, a distinct Domain in which your Authority reigns supreme, and your Authority alone, without ever disconnecting from reality and the Void itself.”

This marked the first deviation from Fifth Brother’s theories, and yet, this Sovereign could find no fault in Falling Rain’s words because it explained away why the cultivators who Formed their Inner Cores using information gleaned from this Sovereign’s success were either unable to succeed, or created False Cores which were so flawed they would eventually prove more hindrance than boon. “What is One with the Self? How do you achieve it?”

It wasn’t until after the fact that this Sovereign realized he’d voiced the question out loud and revealed the depths of his ignorance, but Falling Rain simply answered without gloating. “How can you expect the world to accept you if you cannot accept yourself? This is where you erred along your Path, for you are no longer the Ying Zheng who reached Core Formation shortly after uniting the Empire, yet you have made no effort to acknowledge this change, and even outright deny it.” Again, there was no heat or condemnation in his tone, but this Sovereign burned with shame all the same, for he could hear the unmistakable ring of truth within Falling Rain’s declaration, but he was not yet done. “Even then, you could have found your Path again had you not buried your heart and humanity both, but at least you re-discovered a part of it here today.”

Following Falling Rain’s gaze, this Sovereign turned to see the souls of his sworn brothers standing at attention behind him, four empty shells and a fifth so spent it might as well be empty too. For a long moment, he could not understand the meaning behind Falling Rain’s words until he remembered all the fond memories he shared with his sworn brothers, and why he’d been willing to stand guard over their empty shells right up until his final moment of bitter defeat. “Earlier today, I asked you why you seek strength,” Falling Rain reminded, and this Sovereign remembered the heavy blows he’d suffered following that seemingly innocent question, blows which would have been light as a feather had this Sovereign not strayed from his Path. “You fought for fame and wealth, then for vengeance and escape, fighting for the sake of fighting because you knew no other way to live.”

“Until I met them,” this Sovereign continued, unable to tear his eyes away from his five sworn brothers and wishing he could go back to those early days. “I defeated First Brother Wushen when we crossed paths in the state of Qiong, winning by the narrowest of margins after three days and three nights. Had he not admitted defeat when he did, I might well have in the next breath, and he knew it too. Though enemies on the battlefield, we knew we’d found a kindred spirit in one another, and we swore brotherhood then and there.” He met Second Brother in a winehouse, playing moving melodies for spare coins which were few and far between, for the cost of constant war was staggering indeed. There, they drank themselves deep into their cups and discovered that they shared a hatred for the established norms and a wistful hope for a better future. Third and Fourth Brothers were soldiers in the employ of respective warlords, and this Sovereign won them over with his words and his deeds. Together, they embarked on a quest in their war-torn world to bring peace to the lands once more, so theirs was a bond forged in conflict and quenched in camaraderie unmatched.

Aside from Fifth Brother Di Zi, of course, but they all liked him at first glance, because he possessed an exuberant gaiety and merry outlook on life which few could match.

“Fifth Brother was the best of us all,” this Sovereign continued, narrating all of this out loud for no reason than to share his reminiscence. “A brilliant man, but what made him stand out was his generosity and compassion, willing to spare no expense to help others even complete strangers he’d just met. He had a way of seeing things that made the complex seem simple, and he always knew just what to say to help me see things clearly too. He was more than a friend, more than a brother, but a guide, a mentor, and a counselor of conscience, one whose motives were always in favour of everyone involved, especially for those without a voice. Perhaps things would have turned out differently if we’d not fallen out, if I’d not let my pride, my rage, and my fear consume me.”

Such was life, but it was far too late for regrets. Finished with his narration, this Sovereign made no effort to defend himself as Falling Rain took his sword in hand and raised it up high, glowing with a light that transcended the limits of mortality and touched upon the powers of Immortals in truth. “I do not know how to kill you without consigning your soul to oblivion,” he began, unapologetic to the end, but this Sovereign cared not to explain the method of his own death, nor did he particularly mind this unenviable fate, a harvest reaped for the sins he’d sown.

Never one to stand on ceremony, Falling Rain struck without warning and this Sovereign welcomed the bitter end, only to discover that he was not yet dead. Turning an inquisitive glance upon his foe, this Sovereign’s heart skipped a beat as he heard a familiar sigh, one he hadn’t heard in long millennia. “I told you, did I not,” Fifth Brother Di Zi began, his tone so full of regret as he plunged his hand into this Sovereign’s back and unravelled the ties keeping his soul anchored to Liang Wu Sheng’s body. “To cultivate is to nurture the truth, the Truth of the Heavens, the Truth of the World, and the Truth of the Self. You have long since lost your Truth of Self, big brother, which is why we turned against you, but I pray that you hold fast to it in your next life.”

“Fifth Brother,” Ying Zheng gasped, feeling like a child who’d been caught sneaking sweets by mother once again. “I understand now. I’m sorry. For everything.”

“I know. I too am sorry, for I wish there was another way.”

And as the darkness stole away all awareness, his last thought was one of pleasant comfort as he slipped into the warmth of the Mother’s embrace, one which he had denied for far too long.

Chapter Meme 1

Chapter Meme 2

Chapter Meme 3