I couldn't help but collapse against the warm stones, the biting of the wind suddenly not as painful as I suddenly started to deal with the implications of my epiphany.
Providence was not a singular entity.
It was an ephemeral realization, but it wasn't wrong. I knew that what I felt wasn't just the presence of the mountain, shaken by the cultivators, but something greater. Much greater. Unfortunately, the contact was too brief, and my own knowledge of Providence came as an auxiliary to Alchemy.
More importantly, it was limited to the perspective of Kartpa Valley.
As I idly captured some snow in hand and flicked it to molten rock, watching it fizzle, I tried to understand my understanding, which flowed away just like a half-remembered dream. Most of the details were already gone, but some of the facts I didn't doubt.
The moment I interacted with it, I could feel that it was a great, concept, surpassing not only the mountain, but even the misty mountains. It was a much greater challenge.
For a fleeting moment, as I interacted with the providence, I felt in contact with a great concept, far more expansive than just the mountain range … or even the area that had been ruled by the historical Everdawn Empire.
Yet, it was shackled, locked, tempered down, even the slightest shuffle locked down by Providence itself. It was a groundbreaking realization, one that forced me to revisit everything I had concluded about the world I was in, and the clues from the Providence.
Of course, that raised the question of when I moved according to the suggestions of Providence, which was one of the two sources I had been following. Was it the imprisoned part, or the dominant one —
Then, a big realization hit. My encounter with the Nascent Soul cultivator. What if I wasn't the only one that was directed by Providence there.
"It was a trap," I growled. While it had been helpful in the end, if it wasn't for all the abilities granted by the System, I might have been captured by him. And, I had a feeling that, once a cultivator had a treasure like me that could multiply any resource they granted, it wouldn't have ended well.
In the end, I stopped thinking about it. The realization was too big for me to properly process. And, I was still in the middle of a supernatural volcano that might make my life very difficult if I let the path of balance I had been following slip away.
Not to mention, the cultivators were still outside, trying to suppress the eruption.
I took another step, my foot slipping on a patch of slick ice, and I barely caught myself before I tumbled backward. "No distraction," I reminded myself even as I continued to walk forward, paying more attention to my surroundings.
Before I reached the summit, the path of balance had finally led me into a tunnel, one made of stones that finally radiated the familiar presence of Burning Ice, properly combined into one existence rather than being left out to fight.
"Finally," I muttered as I walked the tunnel, enjoying the story of the faded murals, each showing flickers of life that made me suspect that the recent presence of Providence had been helping. I could have rushed through the corridor, but I did not, as each mural revealed a story, the embedded concepts letting me learn more about Ancient Martial arts than my whole research combined.
None of them had related above Blood Qi realm, but it didn't make them worthless. There were different arts, Apothecary, Forging, their own brand of formations that they called Land Mastery, and many different weapons.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
It wasn't a guide of how to do them, but more of what the sect had achieved. I was sure that they had never imagined anyone like me, with a deep foundation in every art imaginable — cheating during learning was an incredible luxury — glancing at the secrets of their art from their murals.
But then, considering everything that happened to them, I doubted that they would be unhappy about it.
I didn't let myself lost in the details of every single art, but focused on the general lines. And, those general lines gave me the impression that ancient martial arts were … primitive.
It was not a value judgment, but a statement of fact. Apothecary techniques were nothing compared to the flexibility of Alchemy, their fighting arts lacked the explosiveness of Qi arts, and Land Mastery was rough and inflexible compared to everything that could be done with formations.
Yet, I wasn't sure about the source. Trying to compare Qi and Essence was difficult since they worked with such different principles. It was almost like trying to compare an old historical machine with a computer-operated one.
Their disparity didn't just come from the principles, but also the time and effort that had been put behind each.
I was tempted to stop and think about the implications, but in the end, I decided against it. I was already in a race against time, as it was unknown how long it would take for them to arrive. I continued to move, until I came across a locked door.
Breaking it down was easy, but instead, I used the environmental Qi to simulate the feeling of Burning Ice essence, a trick that required both formation knowledge and a deep insight into Burning Ice essence. The door pulled open under its own might, inviting me in.
"An intact library. Finally," I said even as I rushed in. It was filled with text that had been printed directly on some kind of metal, no doubt to make sure it stood against the ravages of time. It succeeded.
The shelves were filled with many scripts that went into detail when it came to every single art, both production and combat. Of those books about techniques, I put all but one into my storage ring … the only exception being land mastery.
I had a feeling that it would be useful.
But, at the center, there was another book, one about the history. I read it first, unable to contain my curiosity. It explained more, but also less. Most of the history, like the great battles between the Everdawn Empire and many sects, didn't really capture my attention, other than the reason for the constant battle.
The sects, at least ones that had been called orthodox ones by the author, believed that martial arts should not be a part of the secular world, but a way to bond with nature and chase a higher level of existence.
While Empire 'debased' the martial arts by making it a part of the secular world and using their rulers as the spiritual pillars instead.
I didn't let the wording influence my conclusions too much, as the broken records I had managed to cobble from the ruins of the Everdawn Empire showed a similar strong bias.
However, the records about the last battle were the most interesting, as it started showing mentions of the 'outsiders' that offered to support the sects against the Empire, bearing gifts. The sect mentioned that they had chosen neutrality, only for some of their members to turn traitors and start serving the outsiders, tales that I had to skim over due to the threat outside.
There was no name for the outsiders, but the way their abilities had been discussed, it was becoming increasingly clear that those they mentioned were cultivators. The description of abilities like formations and storage rings was simply too distinct.
"Why they are so weak, though," I said. The historical records mentioned the cultivators as mysterious but weak, only a threat to Blood Essence realm cultivators. I would have assumed that it was about Blood Essence realm martial artists being significantly stronger in the past, but it was clearly not the case either.
One good benefit of having such a detailed breakdown, I could set some accurate understanding of the situation. And, on that description, there was no cultivator achievement that couldn't conceivably couldn't be replicated by any of the sect cultivators I encountered.
Unfortunately, I didn't know why. For the Burning Ice sect, up until the end of the records where they had decided to seal the mountain and retreat, they were yet to understand the true power of cultivators, treating them as slightly stronger merchants and troublemakers rather than a source of overwhelming power.
As for why, I had many ideas, but none of them was supported. So, instead of wondering about it, I packed the historical records at me, but not before peeking at some of the auxiliary historical records that showed the recordings from the cultivators.
Of those sigils, I recognized only one of them. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
It would have been shocking … if it wasn't for the giant flying boat outside. But, with that, I could only acknowledge that the Treasure Pavilion was too mysterious to be poked around, and focus on my next step.
Safely retreating in a way that I couldn't be followed.