Novels2Search

Chapter 36

They were all used to the man’s strange powers by now. Sam had theorized that the man was about E Rank from what Jeffrey had told him about the powers of the Multiverse, but he was completely wrong.

On the D Rank Planet Karenna

Three universes away, in the middle of the universal core, Berrigious let out a deep breath. He was situated in his office on the highest floor of the crowning jewel of the city world of Karenna, the headquarters of his media empire. It was named after the first of his wives, who he had been with for millennia. As a cultivator should, he possessed a vast harem of wives, but of those only the first was the one who he truly loved. She had smiled upon seeing an entire planet dedicated to her name. Creating a solar system sized planet out of high grade materials had cost quite a bit of credits, but it was money well spent in Berrigious’ mind. In addition, it gave him a place to relax when he was feeling stressed.

Visiting such a pauper’s den of a universe such as the newly initialized one was mentally taxing, and he needed a good dose of opulence and splendor to recover. His physical body was also drained as well. The use of his astral imprint was quite taxing on him, even though he was a peak D Rank cultivator. The only reason that he had done so was because of the money that he would gain from personally attending the tournaments of the newly initialized universe. Someone high up in the multiversal totem pole had paid him a fortune in C Rank monster cores to keep an eye on The Arbiter, A.K.A. Sam Atlas.

He had initially refused, such a task as babysitting a peon from some new universe was beneath him, but when he heard that the man was not only the first person in his universe to form a Dao, but that he had also done so faster than anyone in this sector before, he had become intrigued. It was not every day that the head of the largest news network in the nearest 10 universes was surprised, but this was one of those occasions.

Upon meeting the man through his astral imprint, Berrgious had been astounded by the clarity of his spirit and Dao for one so young. He had heard of the geniuses that initialized universes sometimes created, but he had never witnessed one for himself until now. Growing up in a wealthy universe that had been inducted into the System billions of years ago did wonders for one's personal safety and peace of mind, but it also led to most of its inhabitants stagnating in their cultivation.

He had also sensed the presence of a few other prodigies, an old man, a causal anomaly who had adapted to the System far more easily than any other inhabitant of his planet, and a strange creature who was not entirely human. How such a creature made its way onto the planet was unknown to him, but he was sure that quite a few sects would be interested in him.

Berrigious hadn't bothered to visit the other parts of that universe, but he had felt a few rising stars among the other species. Compared to the blazing beacon of Earth, they were but candles however. Something had happened on that planet, something that allowed its cultivators to grow at an unprecedented rate.

If Berrigious was able to capitalize on that efficiently, then he would have a slightly higher chance of breaking into C Rank. He had been at the bottleneck for millenia, and he could find no way to break through. Expensive pills, monster cores, even seeking out natural expressions of the Dao such as the last moments of stars did nothing. This was perhaps his last chance for glory, for the chance to become a universal king. He would not waste it. It was a pity that the universe was already claimed by the Butcher, but Berrigious was wise enough not to go anywhere near that mad man. This meant that he would not be able to recruit anyone from that universe, but that was fine with him. He could find a way, just as he had built his company from a small leaflet business on an unnamed moon near the fringes of the universe.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Leaning back in his Starfire Tiger skin couch, he closed his eyes and sank into a trance, envisioning the future with his Dao. The visions that he gleaned were always muddy, but sometimes they had meaning to them. Recently, the image of Sam Atlas had blazed within them like a dying star, outshining everything else. He would turn the boy to his cause, or he would die. It was as simple as that.

The Tournament City

Unaware of the universal level intrigue that he had created simply by existing, Sam roamed the streets of the unnamed city that the arena stood in. He had tried to find out where it was, but had so far been unlucky in that regard. There were no natural landmarks or any sort of way out of the city. It seemed to stretch on forever, far beyond what a normal city would be able to reach.

He had given up after an hour, and went off in search of that delicious food stand that he had visited on the first day. It had taken a while as the city was built like a maze, but he eventually made his way to it.To his surprise, there was a line in front of it. Upon seeing him, everyone made way, but he had no wish to profit off of the other’s fear.

“No, I’m fine. I’lll wait in line like everyone else,” Sam said, as much from the uncomfortable twinge in this Dao of the Arbiter when he had toyed with the notion of skipping, than out of common decency. His Daos were beginning to root themselves strongly in his body and soul, and he knew that he would have to follow them faithfully or risk unforeseen consequences.

After the line of about 50 people had finished buying their food, Sam bought his own meal and walked around the city as he ate it. It was just as mouthwateringly delightful as he had remembered as he polished it off in a matter of seconds. Now he had to get to the more important business, which was replacing his mask.

He roamed the streets for a good while, looking for a shop that sold masks. Most of them were mobbed with people looking for cheap knick knacks or weapons, but he eventually found one that was almost empty. There was only one person in it, an older man, at least judging from his white hair. Sam did not bother to speak to him, as he seemed busy, but instead made his way to the back of the shop where a rack of clothing stood. There, on the top, was what he was looking for. An ivory mask that would completely cover his face. Sam picked it up and prepared to pay for it, but a crash came from over where the older man stood. He had tripped over a rack of goods and was lying on the floor, bleeding heavily.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked as he rushed over. He tore off a piece of his clothes and wiped at the blood on the man’s leg. Then he paused in confusion. It was not blood, but cherry juice. He looked into the twinkling eyes of the man, and saw his face for the first time. It was Profound Visionary. The man smiled at him mischievously and got up.

“You are an honorable man. There was no need for you to stop to help a strange old man who had fallen, but you did so nonetheless. None of the other people that I had tested acted in that way. Some of them pretended to care, but they did not, in their heart of hearts, have any time for me. But you were different. Curious…”

Sam paused for a minute and then answered.

“What can I say? It was the right thing to do. Just because we are all superhumans now, does not mean that common decency should be a thing of the past. If those other people treated you like that, then they were wrong to do so. However, why did you test them in that way in the first place?” Sam added at the end with a narrowing of his eyes.

“Oh ho, we have a sharp one here. That befits your Dao well indeed. Imagine my surprise when I met the man who had managed to form a Dao before me. I had thought that you were a fraud, but now, I can tell the truth. You really did surpass me in the following of the Way. Even though I have spent my entire life in search of the universal truths of the Dao, you still managed to beat me to it when we gained the ability to truly connect to them. Only time will tell how you choose to use that power however.”

The door of the shop opened suddenly and Sam looked over. It had just been a gust of wind. He turned back towards Profound Visionary, but the man was gone. Shaking his head, Sam picked up the mask and walked out of the store, his clothes conspicuously missing a piece of fabric. So confused by his strange encounter he was, that he did not even notice.