He moved on, back towards his original destination. The arrival of the Twilight Titan had put a bit of a spanner in the works in terms of planning for the death of the other Titans, but the original plan still stood. The Solar Titan was dead, which meant that the Flood Titan was next to go. It was the closest one at this point, and it was a bit easier to kill than the others, presumably, given that it was not a pure energy monster.
By the time Sam had reached the city hall, his new skill had firmly cemented itself in his mind, and he distracted himself by playing with it absently in his free hand. Tiny weapons of reddish gold formed and dissolved as he worked his Dao into reality, gradually increasing his comprehension of the skill. If his Dao Echo had enough juice to reliably create powerful new skills, then it would be invaluable going forward in the long run.
As he entered the main chamber of the city hall, he was surprised to find that nobody was in there. Normally, the captains were having some sort of meeting about either the city, or the plans for the future. This time, it was completely desolate. Sam shrugged, and left, heading off to do some training. Whatever his captains were up to, it did not concern him. All that mattered to him, as the Faction Leader, was gaining enough strength to act as the sword and shield of his people.
On a distant planet
A man meditated on a lonely mountain peak, watched closely by his mentor. Without his normal mask, or his cloak, he looked nothing more than a mortal man, albeit with a heavily developed musculature. However, there was no way that he could ever be truly mistaken as such, as the concentrated aura of pure Supremacy that surrounded him was like a blanket of power. The Overlord, for that was the only person it could be, was flourishing under the tutelage of his mentor. Although the man was an alien, the Overlord found him to be somewhat of a kindred spirit, a fellow follower of the path of Supremacy. Rather than have him practice with his body, the mentor had instead instructed the Overlord on how to use his mind as a weapon.
The Dao that he cultivated was special in that it could gain power simply from his own mental state. In addition to this, he had learned the ability to draw power from his future self through his Dao, using the idea that one day he would be truly Supreme to send his energy into overdrive. However, if he then lost, his Dao would be severely weakened for a long period of time.
As well as this, he had gained a multitude of levels, all the better to pad his ego with. Neither man spoke to each other much, but they both recognized each other as cultivators of the same path, which was enough. The power that the Overlord was gaining from this was nothing short of astonishing, and he could not wait to get back to Earth. In the process, he had learned an important truth. One such as him could only ever walk as his own man. The presence of others above him diluted his Dao, as well as those below him. Without his faction burdening him, he had realized his true potential. Perhaps by the end of this, he could defeat his nemesis, Sam Atlas, and regain the lost Dao energy from his defeat at the hands of the man. Then he truly would be whole. His face remained completely still as he contemplated his revenge. What use was there in perfection being marred by the emotions of mortals?
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In the Faction Headquarters
A week later, Sam was fully prepared for the next battle with the Titans. He had gained enough mastery over his new skill to use it like an extension of himself, and he was now able to summon another hammer to supplement his own. More importantly, his Dao Echo of Inspiration had an added effect on his other Daos. It massively increased his comprehension speed. Coupled with the effects of the Dao Tree, and his other bonuses, he was getting closer and closer to forming a Dao Seed. That would provide him with multiple benefits, from the natural stat points, the potency of the Dao, and the added stat points from his Dao Echo.
Sam had taken to living in the Dao Tree enclosure, pushing towards that final breakthrough. His stats and rank really helped in allowing him to simply sit and cultivate without any adverse effects. As the insights of his Dao and the world swirled around him, he slowly became a fixture of the area to the citizens. In order to pay for his permanent slot, he used his Dao Pedagogy skill to create an extra boost to the Dao formation speed of his allies. After that happened, nobody complained about him taking up space any longer.
In any case, there were two routes that he could take his Dao. He could simply upgrade the Dao to the next form along its normal upgrade path, or he could attempt to fuse his other Dao Fragment with it. Normally that would be impossible, unless he managed to get the Dao Fragment of Resolution to the peak of the rank, but with his special abilities, it was within reach. He knew that both options leaned towards a Dao to do with vengeance and the punishment of sins committed against him and his allies, but he knew that the combined Dao would be more powerful. The only problem was that it would be a lot harder to form.
In his fugue, the days ticked by like hours, and the hours like minutes. As the primal energies and ideals of creation trickled through his mind, he gradually became closer and closer to his Daos. It was hard to tell, but he knew that he was slowly getting better at entering this state, and staying within it.