My fake flesh buzzes, the oppression rattling my true mind. To this I can only pretend.

"A new trick?" I try to laugh, but nothing manages to escape past my lips, nervously chuckling in my mouth. "I don't know Jack, were my previous blows tricks? Did they feel like tricks? I understand, guess I'll punch you harder then." I want to question his intimidating presence, but his fading in image can barely be avoided. "Good reaction time Jack, very good. You're indeed as talented as I claimed. But the Greed Dao is not one you should underestimate. The world of Immortals is more profound than you could ever imagine..."

"For one, it is possible to crush a weakling's mind through sheer domination."

As I try to escape with a back step, travelling an infinite distance and some more, a purple mist envelops my vision. I see a purple spark, then another. When they flicker by the dozens, like weeping stars lost in the cosmos, I hear him. "Like so."

I already know what's about to happen, but no matter how far I escape, I'm still stuck in this scenario.

At last, the purple sparks finally grow to their destined size, the entire mist spanning infinity itself, transformed out of nowhere into a purple explosion.

As the colored smoke clears up, I see him glare at me. "A yellow shield of light. A sphere as well, to protect yourself from most of it. But... tsk, tsk, tsk. Jack, I expected more from you." He's right, my body is a mess, charred like a steak, purple dust sprinkled all over me. I should've made another layer of skin and pushed it away to remove all of the particles. But at least I didn't bear the entire explosion.

"Jack, I don't think you understand quite well why I'm disappointed." I raise a brow, sending a giant claymore of light cleaving down at him. With a finger, the sword spanning mountains is reduced to shattered particles. This same hand remains raised, now pointed at me, as his fingers touch. "Jack, if it's purple, it's bad. Do you not play video games? It's basic knowledge." With my remaining brow raised as well, I see his fingers snap.

Soon, a purple glow blinds me from beneath. My eyes dart below, before another explosion erupts.

Screaming at the intense pain, my fingers run across my face. Everything is bloodied. This bastard could blow up the purple dust multiple times. I had some almost all over my body. So the result isn't pretty.

"I said don't cry Jack, can you not even remember this? Let me remind you Jack, you asked for this. But I'll be kind. Surrender now and I won't shatter your mind. Give me control, so that we can both live in wealth, health, and happiness."

I remain silent, before straightening my posture. I could tell with my sense of touch and finally omniscient vision. My face was missing, and so were my right forearm and left leg from the knee down. The rest was brutalized, bones shown, ribs exposed, organs crushed.

"You keep repeating the same words." Yet, my spoken words are clear and my mind steady. "Jack..." Sour and betrayed, my golden self sighs as my invisible blow explode in front of him, shockwaves visibly spreading out. "Jack. Stop. Drop the tough act and I'll forgive you. But, another transgression and..."

Ha! The more I hear you, the more I feel like you aren't even a part of me. His words are too arrogant and eloquent, it cannot be me.

"And? And what?"

"Jack..!"

"Why are you mad now? I just asked, that's all."

"Surrender Jack." I smirk this time. "No."

"Surrender."

"Nope."

"Surrender! Jack!!!"

Are you salty golden bitch? Want some pepper to go with that? You don't seem as seasoned now.

"I said no. Can't you hear properly?"

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"Jack... this fight is getting annoying." Yeah, for you. I don't have a choice, so I don't have the luxury for that. But why are you so pissed golden piss boy? Can't win over me? "Hey loser, even after all that damage, why do you sound so desperate? Aren't you getting too greedy? I know you can't win in the end."

I regained my smug look, but it is soon shattered as the bastard teleports in front of my face. "Maybe before." A purple flaming fist sends me away. "Now? I can kill you for good." Worried again, I feel like the copy is getting more and more out of hand. I see it raise his arm up above, where a massive purple planet forms. Its luscious environment is soon set ablaze, metamorphosing into a much hotter, purple star. As my body regenerates, my lips part ways. "Okay golden weirdo, are we really going there?" I focus this time, a faint glowing white orb forming in my right hand. Due to the lack of intensity, it almost looks grey. But looks don't matter much in my mind.

He sends the star at me, slowly, but the size makes it reach me extremely fast. With nothing better to do, I clutch the grey orb and send a clawing palm ahead. The orb in the crux of my hand collides with his star, obliterating it as my orb transforms into a blinding white laser. Its surroundings sizzle the useless air and birth grey flames all over the place.

It finally hits him, but his forearm is more than enough to deflect it. After a few seconds, he is visibly pissed, waving this same arm away, extinguishing the laser at its source.

Holding a cracked orb of light, I crush it to pieces, letting them fall between my fingers as they soon dissipate.

"Is that all you can do? I don't get why you're always acting cocky."

"Oh, you'll see Jack. You'll see... In fact, why not show you now?" He once again raises his arm high up. But the star I expected doesn't come, instead a smaller orb appears. It is like rampaging goo, unable to truly keep a steady shape. Its brown, golden, purple and green shades merge and collide randomly.

I can sense the surroundings tune down, light struggling to maintain clarity around us. "That... does seem tough to deal with..." It doesn't look like much, but the pressure is undeniable. My mental endurance has long since withered. But I don't have much of a choice.

Slapping my cheeks, I close my eyes and focus. I take a deep breath and try again. In an instant, an invisible blow reaches him, exploding onto his purple flames. "Is that it Jack? Are you done now? Then die!" Lowering his arm, the gooey uneven orb flies at me slowly. I retreat, but it doesn't work, this thing stays at the exact same distance throughout. Worse, it's still gaining terrain on me.

Grunting along my paling skin, I put both hands toward it. I send countless explosions at it, but it does not budge. Focusing, fictional adrenaline courses throughout my flesh as energy bursts forth from my vessel. Wildly swinging my right arm back, it comes back upfront with lacking martial prowess. But the devastating waves of raw, unfiltered might are felt across this space.

"Jack, give it- uh?" As my fist brutally clashes with the giant concentration of greed in front of me, I find the world all around to dim considerably.

Colliding, my fingers begin to disintegrate into white fragmented lights, a much bigger one sparked in between our attacks.

About to react, my golden clone is struck asunder as whiteness blinds us both. "Wha-"

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Silence.

Peace.

Desolation.

"Alright Jack..." Coughing aloud, a golden man struggles to his feet. Half of his face is missing, parts of his limbs too far gone already. His chest is exposed, as if a crater had formed. In the middle of his torso stands a large round jewel. Green, purple and gold. "Are you finally done? No more tricks up your sleeves?"

"..."

"Jack..."

"Drop the act. I can tell whether or not you're gone."

"..."

"It hurts."

"No shit. Now get back up and let me finish you off. Can't believe you would be the one to cause your very own downfall. The mind is fragile Jack, you should've known. Don't go around using so much imaginary energy. This uses your mental energy, which isn't free."

Laying like a lazy bum, I take a deep breath. "Figured."

Vanishing, a golden shade appears above me. "Farewell." I see a golden foot about to smash my head in. I just gaze at it silently, before it transforms into his head full of metallic hair. "What?!" My disappearance was unexpected, but not as much as my white glowing hands. "Jack!!" With a teleportation of his own, he tries to vanish away, but cannot. "What? How!?" He attempts to focus, but I can feel my entire being crumble. "Farewell indeed." Grasping at him, his horror is reflected all over his body. "Don't-" My body shivers as a migraine splits my head open. A massive white laser comes out of my palm, obliterating an infinite distance ahead. But I can still see his golden shade within, immobilized under white smoke. With another grunt, widening my maddened eyes further, the laser proudly exude even more strength, turning into a fluctuating rainbow mess of chaotic energies.

Explosions ring out as far as the horizon is allowed to exist, soon hearing a powerful, deep, nauseating crack.

"AAHHHHHH!!!!"

"JAAAACK!!!"

"THIS!"

"THIS ISN'T OVER YET!"

His screams echo as I lose myself to the enchanting slumber.

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[SOUL↑↑↑]

[SOUL : F- → F↑]

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[You have cleared the Quest successfully!]

[Calculating your reward based on the achieved results...]

[Reward calculated. Congratulations on gaining the skill : Dao of Greed (??)]

Dao of Greed (??)

Unleash your greed.

>Temporarily increases selected stats and grants specific skills, for a price.

>Level 1 : One stat increased. All other stats decreased.

>Can be upgraded.