Phrenic Realm 9th Stage

Under the prison, where Ciemnosc always carried his slow and 'efficient' tortures right before the death of the tortured. On the night of the 2nd day of the vacation and already towards the early morning of the 3rd day since then.

"Mosto, leave now. I'm going to cultivate." Ciemnosc could be heard from the torture chambers below the prison, and Mosto, who was just outside of it and ready for anything as soon as he heard even the slightest of strang...er noises, stood up and looked at the door. After giving it a nod once several seconds went by, he turned around and left the 'basement' to leave the Commander with ease at cultivating.

“...” Ciemnosc was silent as he looked all around himself, a bunch of corpses with barely any skin and bones remaining, as organs, blood, and bone marrow were sucked in quite fast and deliciously by Ciemnosc’s ‘whip’. He could’ve eaten them all, fully, leaving the eew stuff away, of course, but if he did then how is anyone else going to fear him taking them down to the basement? And also, how was he then supposed to explain where he threw the corpses when there are from some hundreds to a couple thousand some days even?

As such, every damn time he was done absorbing the entirety of a person’s cultivation and most essential ‘parts’ of their bodies that were the most nutritious so to speak, especially for one’s cultivation, Ciemnosc would let Mosto call the carriers who would see a shriveled bunch of corpses and carry them back up, while the next batch of soon to be corpses watched their fellow prisoners be carried away in such a state.

All in all, it was not a nice sight to behold, much less a sight that would allow someone anyone, to get used to it. But even then, nobody really worried about some demonic ritual or unknown Creature mind-controlling their Commander, the reason for that being that he only did that to enemies and not even to all of them as many have their own ‘slave’ that might or might not be their actual slave from captured enemies from the battles fought.

Some were already stockholm-ing the shit out of them, forming little couples here and there not too habitual but still clear to see as long as one went around the dining buildings and relaxation buildings for troops.

In any case, for Ciemnosc to be eating them wasn’t just because he found it fun to do. And though he indeed felt really good whenever he ate somebody, it was more so when it came towards someone who was strong himself; of a much higher cultivation base than himself.

The best part of Ciemnosc eating them, be it by his most primitive, bestial, and non-human ways or with his ‘whip’; was also quite…helpful for him in his own cultivation. However, that wasn’t in the way that many meeeh novels he has read from the Warmlord City, absorbing, somehow, others’ cultivation base and adding it to himself; oh no no.

Instead, it was Ciemnosc feeling as if he was training for hours and hours under the sun back then when he was learning to control his strength and designing the 2 stances he made for himself, just so that he could really pose as a swordsman as much as he could. To that, even though he had even somewhat improved in his swordplay, it was really more thanks to his brutal raw strength that gave him such an illusion-like image of being a great swordsman with his speed and nimbleness.

After all, with Ciemnosc being the only one with such a large amount of bodily strength, in the entire world and since time immemorial even for those at the Obsidiafying realm’s peak, the laws of the world such as the effect on his weight and the weapons he could hold and how he held them would be a great deterrence for poor Ciemnosc if he didn’t have his All-Devouring Forces Chronicles…his innate ‘something’ that even up to today is extremely unknown.

In any case, even with Ciemnosc eating lots of bodies in this way, he was still required to use Powerful Stones to gain the required amount of Power Energy before really gaining something from his cultivation base and all the worthwhile time of ‘training’ and honing his body in this such a strange manner…

A strange manner that seemed to be just as innate as his All-Devouring Forces Chronicles is, but that is yet somewhat making Ciemnosc feel as if he could do this kind of ‘training’ with and within his body if he just wanted to do it himself…but somehow ‘he’ decided that it would only happen whenever he did something as grievous and unthinkable as ‘cannibalism’... To by this time. Ciemnosc was more than sure he couldn’t be human - so maybe not cannibalism.

And so, every time that Ciemnosc ate a bunch of these, he could feel his body having ‘moved’ and ‘acclimatized’ enough to his current stage, his current cultivation base. But it wasn’t just this body that was affected. When he felt the strange sensation of his body had been ‘filled up’ enough and he became content enough as well, it would also be his Spirit Sense that felt a sense of relaxation and a twinge of pleasure even from his Linked Psychogenic and Dantian.

Then, something very deep hidden within himself, something he had no idea what it could be, but that was he himself, would also shiver in utter elation whenever such a thing happened. It would all make Ciemnosc realize that what he was doing to his body was rather…okay, like a simple way to eat, just different steps compared to other races; cough.

And it was only until a few minutes ago…that Ciemnosc suddenly felt bloated, as he had been feeling before ‘forcefully’ breaking through the 8th stage of the Phrenic realm a little over several weeks ago. But he didn’t feel ‘full’ of Power Energy, just from having toned his body up to the maximum possible.

Now, if his thoughts were right, then all Ciemnosc needed was to absorb enough Power Energy, pure energy from his surroundings or…the Powerful Energy Stones, Supreme grade ones. Though the previous eating for the past few days has been filling his Power Energy, easily making it his without any trouble about it whatsoever, not a single inconvenience, it was too tiny an amount.

Compared to one Supreme grade Powerful Stone, eating a cultivator at the Spirit Gathering realm in the 1st stage was even worse than eating a tiny piece of a Supreme Powerful Stone. It wasn’t any better than he had eaten hundreds and hundreds of those or higher already - it was all still too tiny an amount.

But now, after several days of consuming cultivators left and right, even being slightly medically treated before being sent to the prison, which was an utterly rare thing in the world, all Ciemnosc could need was the refining of large amounts of pure energy into his own.

Tak top taptap tok tak tak…

Falling on the ground were a total of 6 Supreme grade Powerful Stones. Ciemnosc let them out from his Covert Space bags, directly transporting them out of nowhere on his palms, with Ciemnosc letting them fall on the ground right away.

They, of course, didn’t break. How could they when they are basically mined every now and then nonstop with pickaxes and even hammers made out of harsh material? In any case, Ciemnosc sat down right after around the Supreme Powerful Stones, his legs folded as he appeared to be kneeling with his straight back and his hands and forearms on each thigh.

With this pose as if he was praying with his devoted heart, but in reality being a freak, a monster of sorts, Ciemnosc’s surroundings were quiet yet as the only sound and changing images were those coming from and of the Supreme Powerful Stones breaking apart every few seconds…

…crack! … Crack! ... Crack! ... Crack! … Crack! … Crack!

“Siiigh~,” Ciemnosc didn’t even need to hold any of the Supreme Powerful Stones to have them turn into his strength, which was much needed and much more so in these times of worry. A little over a minute later, he was already breaking the 6th Powerful Stone apart, and his cultivation base soared by a single stage to the 9th stage of the Phrenic realm!

It was simple and swift, nothing at all like the arduous trials that many Self-Mutilating Honores Sect disciples have to go through in their times at this cultivation realm, with many needing battles between other fellow disciples or other major organizations, which left the fatality rate for those in this stage high - not allowing the core disciples and believers of the 4 major organizations have an increase in their numbers every 10 years for that matter.

Rustle, rustle.

Ciemnosc stood up, feeling his Power Energy up a bit and really noticing the change from before. Compared to before, it was naturally better, stronger, and more bountiful, not just of a better ‘grade’ than before; not just the ‘next stage’.

And feeling his powerful body, still not having any actual changes, he still began to feel that he was reaching the peak of his body prowess. So, like with his cultivation, will his body also improve? Would he gain more bodily strength in the future? He was already strong enough that he could maintain a one-on-one battle against someone a whole realm above himself. How would it be once he ‘improved’ his bodily strength then?

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

‘Ah, no matter…’ Ciemnosc shook his body off a little, then opened his eyes to the sight of hundreds of shriveled corpses around. His eyes were insatiable as he finished looking at all of them. ‘A little bit more… A little bit more, and then I can go try the ships.’

As the boy thought of that, he called Mosto over to bring the other batch of snacks before opening the door and letting the odor, scent of death but not of those corpses’ waste, come out of the room and let the next batch of unwanted prisoners get their welcome gift right away…

. . .

A few hours later, within the waters of the Little Lake, just the morning lights were already illuminating the world below, and its glow reflected on the warmest waters of the same.

Splash, splash- splatter, sputter…!

“...Phoow,” Ciemnosc was on top of a ship that was easily as big as any other built within the port, which was normal considering the little time that Ciemnosc had to design new ships that would work for cultivators, and even more so for the warfare of such.

Going for over a length of 80 meters and a width of 40 meters, they were all made out of wood, as even if Ciemnosc got to study them right away, they would be as useful as those made out of wood since there wasn’t any real advancement from the ‘artillery’ advancement in the cultivation world and cannons were the best that Ciemnosc and anyone else could get.

Some had a paint of the ‘alias’ of their team, squad, section, bla bla and bla bla bla; at their sail on the main mast, but each of them had a bit of a fat ass at their keel. The sole was really wide and it allowed for even armored cars to be ‘installed’ temporarily on top of it.

Right now, Ciemnosc himself had brought his commanding vehicle with him and placed it on the starboard of the ship. Hence, it couldn’t really be called a warship itself but a carrier if anything. One that carried the weapons that are installed on other vehicles for that matter, it was quite a bit of a contrasting image to have an armored car so damn large it was almost as long as the entire ship itself on a wooden ship, but that was all that Ciemnosc had to work with.

“Commander, are we gonna shoot it?!” Ciemnosc looked down to his left as he stood on top of his commanding vehicle with its cannons aiming at the deeper parts of the Little Lake towards the starboard of the ship. He looked at the excited young man with a silly and badly done ‘sailor’s hat’ before responding with his head cocking to the left, hanging it there.

“We? This baby is mine, the baby that is carrying us around is also mine. What ‘we’?”

“Ahh…” The young man, excited for way too much, lowered his head in embarrassment and then nodded before bowing at Ciemnosc and leaving for his post somewhere else. Ciemnosc rolled his eyes a bit upwards and turned to look at the deeper waters of the Little Lake. There was so much distance between their current stationary position and the medium depth section of the Little Lake that only Ciemnosc was barely able to see a tiny bit of a darker blue color.

“Commander, you don’t have to be so ‘fierce’ to our troops right now. Not only are they on their first voyage on a ship, a real ship for cultivators even if it is the most elementary level it could reach as you say. But they are also on this first voyage with their Commander. They are really excited!” Situ Shi, who was below the commanding vehicle, which he no longer dared to even board in reality, said as he spoke up for the poor young man of just then.

“Mm,” Ciemnosc ‘answered’ lightly with his lips closed. He put on some binoculars up to his eyes and seemed to fall pensive. After a couple of minutes of looking far ahead but the images being worse than even his own naked eye, Ciemnosc turned his head around and looked at Situ Shi. “Call the rest. I’m gonna show them all the power of my baby then.”

As he said that, Ciemnosc sat down on top of the bonnet of his commanding vehicle, with Mosto following but standing right behind it. Meanwhile, Situ Shi lightly called out to those only in this ship through his medallion, something he could now do specifically thanks to Ciemnosc’s ‘little tweaks’ to the arrays and adding a tiny bit of some material into each medallion.

The process was, of course, facilitated enormously by the remaining Craftspeople of the sect, who had already begun to take students. And some even dared to make disciples here and there from the subordinate cultivators and sect disciples who seemed to have ‘talent’ for Craftsmanship; for creating. This was just the beginning of sustaining his own army in the future to an even greater degree, just the beginning; just the start.

“Sir, are we really getting to see them shoot?!” - “Wow! They’re so big. No wonder they can kill Conflagrate realm cultivators so easily. Are they gonna shoot an aquatic monster? Creature? Enemies?!” - “Shhh, idiot, silence already! Commander is here letting us witness the future of warships of the sect. What are you doing becoming so idiotic?!” - “Sniff, sorry…”

“...” Ciemnosc kept his mouth silent and looked down at Situ Shi by just leaning his head backwards and twisting his neck, lazily giving his direct subordinate a nod before returning to look at the Little Lake’s waters of the same color in the distance. Situ Shi then began talking to his subordinate cultivators with a stern face and severe tone.

“Attention! Keep quiet for the Commander is about to show you the prowess of these warships for the future. There will be cannons instead of such large and bothersome armored cars in the future. But for the moment we can only try with these as those pets and dogs of Craftspeople need some discipline!!”

“This is not a test but a show, a demonstration of the power that we already have over the other major organizations and over the entirety of the Little Lake! Look at us, look at the Commander, and at these ships on top of the unconquerable waters of the world!!”

“Hundreds of thousands of years, perhaps even millions! Of years, all years; those! Without anybody conquering them, why? Water domination was never seen as important in the cultivation world, especially when it came to small bodies of water that aren’t even connected to the sea. They are, but useless things that only mortals would have a desire to conquer!”

“But ever since tens of thousands of years ago when a sudden great enemy from outside the most powerful Region emerged into our overall territory, only then did we notice the richness of owning this body of water and dominating it as having this Little Lake s the same as having more than ⅓ of the Region!”

“The sects and cult have failed to obtain it, but at the same time, each time that we or another foreign power was to achieve that dominance, they were stopped because there was virtually no fight over the water besides Conflagrate realm and Obsidiafying realm powerhouses of all organizations meddling into the western part of the Region.”

“Now that the Commander has achieved such a thing despite the derogative disdain for him as a genius in Craftsmanship, he still managed to create what even General Hanato Wang wasn’t allowed to accomplish! And now! Now that we have such an advantage and such a leader to follow, if you still behave as you did in your previous missions, back in the sect, or even within your own tent when you are either jacking off, mating with your buddy, or finding a nice lady to be with - you will be severely punished by my own standards - so respect the Commander whenever you are close to him even if you aren’t like that when with me and the other commanders!”

“...” - “...” - “...” The chatter and small words being spoken had all fallen silent the moment most of the ignorant sect disciples, direct subordinates of Situ Shi, were being taught a lesson of history and manners at the same time in different forms.

There was also the fact that their blood burned hotter as they could tell their commander’s words reached even those other ships behind this ‘flagship’ where it had the only armored car on its sole. They could tell they had made their commander embarrassed and ashamed not only in front of his own soldiers but also in front— or the back? —of the Commander, and felt much more embarrassed because of that.

“Yes, sir!!” Suddenly, one of the talking idiots who had fallen silent spoke out, and somehow in his mind, it all seemed to connect as his left hand formed a fist and was placed against his left chest. Then his right fist was in front of his neck with his right elbow directly bent below his right chest towards his ribs on that side. And then, everyone else followed suit as if controlled by the mind.

“Understood sir!!” - “We are sorry for our discipline!!” - “Punish us later, sir, but please let us see the Commander in action, sir!!”

As Situ Shi smiled in embarrassment, Ciemnosc shook his head in a way that not even Mosto could discern, he thought in his mind as he also formed a little smile inside his head. ‘General Hanato Wang wasn’t without generals, direct subordinates… But none of them were remotely capable, be it in strategy, charisma, or honor… It is a good thing that I do am having those…’

“Prepare,” called out Ciemnosc, softly and quietly without an ounce of hostility, simply holding in his tone a flat yet somehow…warm— ?! —tone. And the rest, with their left fists against their chest and their right fist against their neck, didn’t relax their pose, with even those behind them in the other ships slowly coming to take the same stance…when Ciemnosc’s commanding vehicle cannons fired out 3 times in a row for a total of 9 shots being fired into the large, wide distance!

Poom- pum poom! Poom- pum pum! Poom poom pum! Whiiistleeee~~... BOOM~!...

The little balls of pure energy made a bit of a trail through the airway above the water, their reflection below not even showing from how fast yet smallish they were as they shot hundreds of kilometers in just a few minutes, reaching farther away than 2,000 km after some more minutes before finally colliding down against the waters still in the shallowest section of the Little Lake.

SPUUUUTTERR~~ SPLAAAAASH!!

From so far away, a large explosion that was easily more than 100 meters became as large as almost half a kilometer tall, breaking the jaws of all spectators including Mosto and Situ Shi. As a few minutes passed, they could only let their ships become all bumpy and moving roughly with the waves and waves that came towards them before a sudden gust of fresh, foaming water came rushing at them at the height that everyone was standing on watching the marvels happening.

Washing their bodies and moved their ships a little bit, some even rotating a few degrees in the opposite direction from where that huge gust of fresh water came from, but not a single bit of damage was made to their ships nor themselves without the need to put up the protective arrays.

“....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAA~!!” Acclaimed the overly excited troops; sect disciples, subordinate cultivators, and commander. Even Mosto looked at the waters still barely waving and trying to jump up into the ships with clear fun in his eyes, glinting with enjoyment.

…