'Alright. I've decided. I'm going to completely ignore any and all System errors. All of them.'
Between dying, getting his soul reconstructed, having weird memories of past lives, a crazy void being grandpa with insane powers, an overprotective family, a dubious reputation, getting caught in the crossfire of higher beings, being stuck with a frickin' higher netherdemon, and more… The System starting to display errors and corrupted text was the last straw.
'Peaceful thoughts… Peaceful thoughts…'
"Sebastian, light."
Han De took his diary and started to write down random thoughts. Mainly to calm down. Writing English words with the familiar Latin alphabet was probably the most normal feeling thing he could do inside a Xianxia. For Han De, that is.
Of course, Sebastian was right in front of him. Even if Sebastian were under the influence of the bloodline, it could not stop itself from perceiving Han De's every move. It felt every vibration from the quill touching the paper, how every strand of fiber absorbed the moisture from the ink. Whether it was 5 meters away or 500 kilometers away, it did not matter. Higher beings perceived all that was around them, whether they wanted to or not.
Every single letter Han De wrote was engraved in Sebastian's mind. The contents were a mystery. In fact, Sebastian was sure that nothing good would come out if it were to make an attempt to decipher the incomprehensible symbols. Leaving aside the disrespect to its young master, learning an ancient -and almost certainly forbidden language was a quick way to get struck down by tribulations.
Whatever ancient secret that was being recorded into the paper, was better left alone, Sebastian thought.
'F#$%. Motherf#$%#/. My f#$%$#% luck...'
Han De was just writing his random thoughts.
'Why is it so hard for me to become a forgotten hidden expert and live a filthy rich life?! Holy F#$%€& S#$%.'
Random thoughts.
But it did help him calm down. After a while…
'Safety first. What are my options if- no… when I encounter a higher void being again?'
His bloodline was the source and the solution of all higher void being related problems. The bloodline itself had also changed, and so far Han De had been successfully ignoring it. But now was a good time as any to review.
[Bloodlines]
-------------------------------------------
[Primordial Chaos Dragon (Dormant)]
[Concentration: 1.04%]
[Power: Extremely High]
[Effects:]
[Aura of the Progenitor]
[Higher beings touched by the aura cannot be disrespectful. Inter-dimensional beings that detect the aura may lose their sanity.]
[Notes: Cannot be detected by lower beings.]
[Scent of the Progenitor]
[Beings evolved from spiritual animals will pay their respects when they detect the scent. Beings evolved from the netherworld will accept your rule when they detect the scent.]
[Notes: Effects will be very limited on lower beings.]
[Will of the Progenitor]
[Higher beings will understand your will by instinct. Communications from higher beings can be understood regardless of their medium.]
[Additional Effect: Active use of the bloodline will force all higher beings to accept your commands. Cannot be resisted.]
[Reality Sense]
[Nothing can hide from your senses. Nothing can fool your senses.]
[Untethered]
[Past, present, and future cannot be divined.]
[Notes: Permanent. Cannot be removed or modified.]
[Chaos Domain]
[Passively collapses other domains.]
[Notes: Permanent. Cannot be removed or modified.]
[Notes: Effects will be very limited before Unity Realm.]
[Chaos Bringer]
[Fate will be distorted under your domain.]
[Notes: Permanent. Cannot be removed or modified.]
[Further effects are locked.]
Han De felt speechless after reading some of the effects. Some of the changes were subtle, like the effect of the Scent of the Progenitor. It changed from being extremely limited on lower beings, to very limited on lower beings. In the System speak this was at least one tier higher. Unfortunately, testing the difference between "extremely" and "very" was quite difficult, if not impossible.
'What the…'
[Will of the Progenitor]
[Higher beings will understand your will by instinct. Communications from higher beings can be understood regardless of their medium.]
[Additional Effect: Active use of the bloodline will force all higher beings to accept your commands. Cannot be resisted.]
Han De narrowed his eyes and read that last part over and over again.
'System, I seriously need some clarifications on this. What constitutes a command? Really. If you can speak this is the best time.'
Naturally, there was no response.
'Ok, considering even speaking to the higher void beings is damaging to my body and possibly my soul, somehow giving them a direct command will not be easy…'
These kinds of skills usually involved backlash of some sort. Though Han De had significant aversion towards such abilities, for the first time, he thought this was worth the cost.
"You know about higher void beings, right?"
Han De didn't wait for a response, but Sebastian nodded all the same.
"Take Qi Condensation as the 1st major realm, Immortal Realm as the 7th, and Transcendent Realm as the 12th. What would be your, and those higher void beings' realm in this context?"
Thanks to the numerous master and grandmaster level scriptures, Han De's mind was filled with cultivation information. But none of those went higher than Transcendent Realm. He didn't even know the names of realms above Transcendent. Though the cultivation idiot did inquire about this subject, he was met with the excuse that he wasn't ready. And the cultivation idiot being a cultivation idiot, of course he accepted that explanation.
|I beg for young master's mercy. I am merely at the 25th major realm by human reckoning. Knowledge of void beings is extremely limited. I have only heard of speculations and rumors that they should be higher than the 37th realm.|
'…
Excuse me, what?'
For a second, Han De couldn't believe his ears. Was Sebastian counting the minor realms? He recounted the major realms once again in his mind.
Qi Condensation
Foundation Establishment
Core Formation
Nascent Soul
Spirit Origin
Unity Realm
Immortal Realm
Dao Seed
Ancient Realm
Dao Sovereign
Divinity Formation
Transcendent Realm
'Nope, 12th realm really is Transcendent Realm. I wasn't wrong the first time.'
Though the feeling of impending doom had increased many folds, Han De's mind still couldn't fully accept Sebastian's words. He couldn't stop leaking some of his frustration, impatience, and even some sarcasm when he sighed.
"37th realm… That low huh…"
What was his family's realm? Quite a bit above 12th, but surely nowhere near 37th. The Long family had experts that were above 24th, but did they have anyone that was above 37th?
'Higher than 37th isn't even specific. It could be 38th, or 41st, or even 67th for all I know… S#$% how many steps is that?
*Sigh*… What a S#$%& template. A proper grandpa should be powerless for F#$% sake…'
After coming into a Xianxia world, Han De's favorite method of keeping himself sane was looking at the events from the perspective of a Xianxia. What started as self-deprecating humor ended up becoming a strange habit after a few days.
Ultimately, the reason why Han De could joke about Xianxia elements right now, was because his mind was still refusing to accept the fact that he had encountered an end boss, only a few months after his arrival.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
While Han De was pondering whether the bloodline would work on a 37+ realm ancient freak, Sebastian was inwardly nodding to itself.
Han De's frustrated sigh had a profound effect on Sebastian. Of course. Of course, a being like the young master would consider the 7th Step as frustratingly low. No wonder the void being that enslaved the leviathans tucked its tail and ran away…
Meanwhile, Han De's mind was working non-stop.
'Well… If the grandpa is friendly, then fine. But why would a grandpa like that be friendly to an arrogant young master like me? No, grandpa should be after either the Primordial whatever bloodline, or the System.'
Neither possibilities were favorable for Han De. Bloodline extraction without the System was problematic. System extraction was impossible without saying goodbye to Han De's soul.
'F#$%. It's decided. If I see the grandpa or any other dubious higher void beings, I'll just command them to kill themselves.
Somehow…'
Broad strokes of a contingency plan against the higher void beings were now in place. With time, fine details and different crisis scenarios could be added and refined.
Han De didn't dwell on the impossible and immediately focused on the second layer of safety.
'I don't have my lackeys with me, but I did get a super-lackey of sorts. That's not bad. As long as the bloodline effect doesn't disappear everything should be fine.'
Han De couldn't help but glance at Sebastian. To be on the safe side he decided to carry on with the Profound Expert facade. If the bloodline effect turned out to be unreliable, at least his demeanor could give Sebastian some pause before doing something hasty.
For Sebastian, those glances held profound meaning. Young master was both giving his approval and warning it at the same time. Naturally, Sebastian was well aware of the difficulties that its current path would bring. But, it was ready to prove itself, no matter the cost.
'I should make a branch on the Profound Expert series and create an Ultimate Expert series based on that template…
Anyway, since I am still on the same planet, that means the sects that wanted to kill me should still be here as well. Any enemy I inherited from the cultivation idiot should be assumed alive and active.'
And the final 'threat' to Han De's safety, was the False Ruler. Now that he could think about the events, Han De realized there was no immediate threat.
'In the first place, it was Tentacle-chan mentioned stopping False Ruler from arriving. If the Void Grandpa were following me in invisible mode, it makes sense that he would use that name to make me panic.'
Some of the more peculiar events also made sense in the context of Void Grandpa.
Ning Bi and Han Bai were distressed after 'hearing' Void Grandpa's whispers. Clearly, there was some sort of mental manipulation going on there. Which brought Long Xiu's actions in the Ming capital into mind.
While Han De would describe his mother as crazy, under normal circumstances she wasn't crazy enough to leave Han De for his death. She knew better than anyone that the shockwaves from their battle could kill her son 10 times over, but she didn't even bat an eye.
'Her explanation at the time was naive but borderline plausible. I did strengthen the flagship with bunker formations, and those experts being there was a total coincidence. I waved it away by calling her crazy, but her actions were really opposite of her personality.'
Some other odd coincidences came to Han De's mind but there was no way of knowing if they were a result of the Void Grandpa's influence. However, Han De decided to assume that they were. He also started to assume that the Void Grandpa was there from the beginning.
'A being of that level is probably aware of the System. How could it not be?'
Whether the System had any value for a 37+ major realm ancient void monster, Han De didn't know. What he did know, was that the System had immense value for him. Even with memory alterations, and possible personality rewrites, Han De needed the System. More than the System needed Han De.
Han De sighed once again, then stared at Sebastian.
"Can you send a message without breaking the seal?"
The simple answer for this was no. But Sebastian understood that wasn't the answer the young master needed. It had been observing this remnant world for the past 23 days if nothing else but to gain context. Sebastian's preparations were all for this moment.
|Information cannot go in or out without disabling the sealing arrays. Breaking them is possible, but the sealing arrays are also stabilizing the remaining plates. The seal cannot be disabled without disintegrating the plates themselves.|
After a moment of surprise, Han De gave another mental +1 to Sebastian. This guy really knew how to be concise. That confidant and soothing voice was quite impressive as well.
|There is one remaining access point in the 746th part to the 213th junction. Underneath a small settlement called Brass Stallion.|
'… That's…
…
Wow, this guy isn't a higher being for nothing, huh…'
This was exactly the information Han De needed, which was exactly why he immediately became suspicious of it. After a moment of hesitation, Han De decided to put his trust into the bloodline. He had nothing to lose anyway.
'OK, then getting out of here should be simple. If he is this confident, he'd surely know how to operate the ancient whatever array.'
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Sebastian didn't understand anything about arrays. Nor did it need to. It was a netherworld resident, not a cultivator. Leviathans ate miasma and netherdemons. Pill refining, forging, formations, talismans… they were from different cultivation systems, and had no relation to the leviathans.
Sebastian was confident because it was relying on its higher being senses to survey its surroundings. Plates had numbers underneath them. Finding the access point was easy thanks to constantly leaking highly dense energy. Seals and restoration functions were just molded energy. Recognizing them and their properties was instinctual.
'Not bad. All that remains is the F#$%&@# quest…'
[Quest: A Master to Look up To]
[Difficulty Level: Rating Requirements Not Met]
[Status: In Progress]
[Summary: Your beloved disciples have surpassed you in their cultivation levels! A joyous moment for any master@__!
_____
Increase your cultivation level by [ph_str_hghst_dscpl_mjr_cltvtn + 2] to prevent your disciples from getting complacent. Create a new cultivation art to further emphasize the immensity between Heaven and Earth!]
[Bonus: Create a [ph_str_hghst _scrptr_mjr_qlty + 1] quality cultivation method]
[Time Remaining: 17.96 days]
[Success: __ Profound Points_ .]
[Failure: Privilege level strike (Current: 0/3)]
'Yeah, it's doomed to fail, just like the last one…'
Not even Ning Bi could reach the Nascent Soul level in less than 18 days. Han De would be lucky if he could reach 3rd Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm.
'Maybe it would be possible if the System didn't count the time spent in cultivation realm or something. Maybe.
…
The quest was focused on the disciples though, so maybe 18 days is from their perspective?'
Han De rejected the idea almost immediately. Depending on the quality of the cultivation realm, those 18 days could be stretched to 18000 years. Even Han De could come up with a cultivation method in that time. Probably.
Would the System allow a loophole that obvious? Of course not.
Sebastian had mentioned the phrase 'Quasi Nascent Soul' before, but Han De didn't know what to make of that. He was clearly in the Qi Condensation realm, and there was no fast pass to cultivation. He couldn't ask it either, because 'Quasi Nascent Soul' felt like something a Profound Expert should already know.
'I guess I could ask as a last resort…'
Though the quest was useless, he still needed a cultivation method matching his roots. Considering his options now wouldn't hurt, or so he thought.
After the privilege level upgrade, Han De noticed two original features.
[Scripture Creation feature unlocking requirements not met]
[Scripture Modification feature unlocking requirements not met]
At the time he didn't pay attention because he didn't have access to either of them. Then there was the reward from the leaderboard entries.
[Inventory]
------------------------------------------------
[Martial Arts Method Fragment] [x200]
[Derive Cultivation Method Token] [x5]
[Potential Point Upgrade Token] [x1]
[Tier 7 Exchange Token] [x1]
[Tier 5 Exchange Token] [x1]
[Tier 3 Exchange Token] [x1]
Han De could smell the Tier 1 bulls#$% hidden in those exchange tokens.
[Tier 7 Exchange Token] [x1]
-------------------------------------------------
[Can be exchanged with a Tier 7 token.]
[Notes: Limited to tokens available in Privilege Level 3]
[Low-Tier Bloodline Removal Token]
[Low-Tier Constitution Removal Token]
[Low-Tier Soul Constitution Removal Token]
[Low-Tier Spiritual Roots Removal Token]
[Derive Method Token]
[Method Modification Token]
[Tier 5 Exchange Token] [x1]
-------------------------------------------------
[Can be exchanged with a Tier 5 token.]
[Notes: Limited to tokens available in Privilege Level 3]
[High-Tier Random Bloodline Token]
[High-Tier Random Body Constitution Token]
[High-Tier Random Soul Constitution Token]
[Method Creation Token]
[Tier 3 Exchange Token] [x1]
-------------------------------------------------
[Can be exchanged with a Tier 3 token.]
[Notes: Limited to tokens available in Privilege Level 3]
[Bloodline Cleansing Token]
[Spiritual Roots Cleansing Token]
[Body Constitution Cleansing Token]
[Soul Constitution Cleansing Token]
[Low-Tier Bloodline Modification Token]
[Low-Tier Body Constitution Modification Token]
[Low-Tier Soul Constitution Modification Token]
[Enlightenment Token]
'Well, gee, isn't this the exact thing I'm looking for? Yay…'
Han De had become aware of the System's manipulations and fully expected them to continue. But… he just didn't expect them to become this blatant this quickly. Though he was surprised and a bit annoyed, he still couldn't take his eyes off the Enlightenment Token.
'Yeah, that's it. That's the one. Right there.'
[Redeeming Tier 3 Exchange Token with Enlightenment Token]
He breathed a sigh of relief once the token appeared in his inventory. Even if the results end up becoming disastrous, he still could exchange for a Method Creation Token and try his chance that way.
Knowing that he had options was both relieving and concerning at the same time.
Though for some strange reason he wanted to activate the token as soon as possible, he held back. He hadn't even looked at his 'new' body constitution yet. Everything had to be considered before entering enlightenment mode!
'OK. Alright… I'm ready. Just give it to me straight doc.'
[Constitutions]
-------------------------------------------
[Otherworldly Light Body (Unawakened)]
[Progress: 8.05%]
[Power: Extremely High]
[Effects:]
[Tremendously increases the efficiency of all types of Light element body cultivation methods.]
[Moderately increases the efficiency of all types of Light element soul cultivation methods.]
[Considerably increases the passive healing speed.]
[Can passively absorb all types of Light Qi that comes in contact.]
[Can passively cleanse the body by emitting Primordial Qi or any type of absorbed Qi.]
[Can only cultivate, contain, or interact with Primordial Qi types.]
[Overrides all other body constitutions.]
[Complete immunity to Chaos energies.]
[Further effects are locked.]
'...
T-Tremendously?! Seriously?!'
All types of Light element methods. That was the most significant difference between the new body constitution and the old one. This meant that any Light element related method could benefit from the body constitution.
As he read the next few lines he was rather impressed. This was a clear upgrade over the Luminous Body. Han De couldn't help but feel suspicious. After reading all of the effects, he realized one of them stood out a bit more than the others.
[Can only cultivate, contain, or interact with Primordial Qi types.]
'… Come again?'