Chapter 132: Walking One’s Path
The hours ticked by. Jack and Brock remained in their little cave between the tree roots, waiting out the consequences of their battle. They had blocked the entrance with a big rock, casting them in near-total darkness.
This time, Brock was the one on guard duty. He sat on the soil with his ears perked up, ready to act at the first hint of danger. They had to be ready for anything. There could be colossal worms digging under them, or the tree roots could come alive, or another giant could smell them and come running.
Fortunately, it seemed that the two dead giants were the only ones in the vicinity. No others roars had come in hours. Nothing had moved.
The reason Brock was on guard duty wasnt because Jack was injured. It was because he wanted to meditate.
There was something about killing monsters. Pushing yourself to the absolute edge to survive, facing an enemy knowing that one of you has to die, tasting the dread of death when all seems lost and the triumph when you come up with a way to turn things around.
Even the simple act of butchering the conqueror ants gave Jack insights. They bubbled into his soul, pulled to the surface by the here-and-now, the total clarification of battle, and inflicting death.
Exterminating ants in direct combat, even if easy, was a world of difference from using experience balls. Jack was even beginning to suspect that these insights werent all natural. Perhaps he absorbed more than levels when he killed things. Or maybe it was psychological.
Whatever the case, the fact remained that the days fights had given him things to consider. There were thoughts flitting in the back of his mind, just waiting for him to give them proper attention so they could unravel.
Currently, he had nothing else to do while healing. Now was the time.
He recalled his battles against the ant armies. Well, not really armies. More like batches. Each was made up of around thirty ants, including the scouting parties he attacked until they called for reinforcements.
He had taken down fifteen of those batches. Almost five hundred ants, each stronger than anything in the Forest of the Strong besides the black wolves. Back then, every battle had been an uphill struggle. Hed only briefly experienced superiority at times. Most battles involved him outsmarting stronger opponents. The goblin tribe, the earth and rock bears, the wolves Even if things ended up in heated combat most of the time, Jack was always the underdog.
Not this time, though. He was the hunter now. The conqueror ants were prey, and he was picking them off by the dozens. The battles against them were trivial matters. He was simply on a whole different level.
And there was something about those battles. His soul, the Dao Seed of the Fist, called out to him. Something was off, a tickling sensation at the back of his mind, but what?
He sank into the feeling.
What was the fist? The fist represented a path. Power. War. The carrier of his will. The unyielding resolve to grab the world and bend it to his wishes. To not accept things as they are, but rather change them. To not step back. To choose a path and fight for it until his knuckles bleed. To stand in the center of the world, bare and vulnerable, and demand that his voice be heard. To struggle.
And yet, what struggle was there in stomping ants?
Jack was stumped. The dichotomy was clear. The fist, or at least his fist, didnt include bullying weaker opponents. Had he misstepped?
But no. He had not. The conqueror ants were simply on his path, and he had no reason to show them kindness. They were unfeeling, cruel, murderous machines. Stepping on them to advance further wasnt the most gracious thing to do, but it was part of his path. The Dao of the Fist agreed. He could feel that.
So, why was there a contrast? Why was this hunt clearly part of his path, but it somehow didnt fit into its current definition?
Jack got excited. He had the feeling that, if he solved this riddle, he would be one step closer to mastering his Dao.
He acknowledged the excitement, then suppressed it to keep going. Meditation required a focused mind.
He thought back to what his fist signified. In one word, it was struggle, and there was no struggle in defeating the ants.
But there was overwhelming power.
He was on to something. Suddenly, Jacks mind spun in a whole new direction. Hed had similar thoughts in the past, and he always felt he was close to something but never reached the end of that thought process.
Power was at the core of his Dao. How did it relate to the ants?
He had destroyed them because he was powerful. He had the power to do it. Against him, it didnt matter if they were tiny or dog-sized, they remained ants. It was their weakness that defined them. Their lack of power.
They had no mind of their own. They acted cruelly, but that was just their instinct. They were neither good nor badthey were furniture. However, even if they did have a mind, so what? They were too weak. They would have no choice but to bow to Jacks will, hope and beg for his mercy.
When those cultivators butchered the forest giant, did it not want to live? Of course it did. But its opinion didnt matter, because the weight of opinion is power, and it didnt have any.
Power makes the world go round. Morality, desire, decision, emotions Everything is supported by power. Only when one has power do they really exist. A powerless person can be a saint or a devil at heart, but it doesnt matter, because they are completely unable to affect the world, because they are powerless. Anyone with superior power can easily overwrite them.
Only when two creatures are on the same level of power does anything else matter.
Power is the foundation of everything.
The moment Jack had that thought, his soul pulsed. His eyes snapped open. He was ejected from his own thoughts, and his realizations swirled and combined inside his soul, coalescing into the shape of a dark fist that moved in tandem with the other one, the dark blue Dao Root of Indomitable Will.
Oh, man, he said, suddenly fully aware. I messed up.
He opened his status screen.
Name: Jack Rust
Species: Human, Earth-387
Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)
Grade: E
Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)
Level: 64
Strength: 240
Dexterity: 240
Constitution: 240
Mental: 30
Will: 30
Skills: Iron Fiend Body (II), Ghost Step (I)
Dao Skills: Meteor Punch (II), Iron Fist Style (I)
Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (early), Dao Root of Indomitable Will, Dao Root of Power
Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1)
The stat points of his last four levels were also there, invested in Physical, but the most important change was in the Daos line: Dao Root of Power.
Another screen popped up by itself.
Congratulations! You have developed the Dao Root of Power.
To see through the veils of the world. To reach its deepest secrets. To understand that power is the foundation of all, the only truth of the universe. That is the one true path.
Noo! Jack groaned. I didnt want another Dao Root.
Brock walked up beside him and made monkey sounds. Though the darkness was deep, their eyes had adjusted somewhat.
Because its dangerous! Jack replied. I wanted to connect my previous Dao Root to my Dao Seed. Then, I would carefully plan on which extra Dao Roots to getand how many.
Brock cupped his chin in question. He raised one brow and half a thumb.
Yes, it is nice, and it feels pretty suitable to my Dao, but I have two now! Dont you remember? Very few people manage to break through with two Dao Roots. Three is an incredible achievement. Four is the stuff of legends. He sighed. I now have two I was planning on either this or three, to be honest, but I wanted to research on them first. Maybe find someone with an adjacent Dao to mine, or even a B-Grade faction with records on the Dao of Fistlike the Exploding Sun, which surely has people in Trial Planet. Now, I have to be reaaally careful not to accidentally develop a third Dao Root.
Brock shrugged.
First world problem, I know. Jack smiled weakly. But its a problem nonetheless. I dont want to be careful. Too bad success takes temperance.
At this, Brock finally agreed. He nodded, then pointed to his flexed biceps and Jacks head.
Practice my brain muscles? Yeah, I can do that. Theyre pretty strong, you know! I almost have a Ph Brock threw him a handful of dirt. Jack was startled for a moment, then laughed. Ive been saying that a lot, havent I? Okay, okay. In any case, I suppose you arent that wrong. He scratched the back of his head. More powerhehis always a good thing. I have a feeling this Dao Root will fit nicely with my Dao of the Fist, so its as good a bet as any. Plus, I can probably use it offensively, somehow. I just have to be a little careful not to get a third one by accident.
Brock smiled. This time, he gave a double thumbs-up.
Thanks, bro! Jack smiled back. You sure have your way with words. How did you turn me around so fast?
Brock shrugged smugly. They exchanged a fist-bump.
Okay, Jack said, putting the new Dao Root aside for the moment. He noticed he was almost fully healed. They would be ready to move soon. Lets go over the plan again to make sure its fool-proofthough we are no fools, right bro?
Brock gave a big thumbs-up.
Good. Now, remember all those ants we killed? Nobody came to pick up the corpses, at least until a few hours ago, so many of them will probably still be around. All we have to do is
***
Professor Margaret Rust opened her eyes. She stayed in bed for exactly one minute, finding peace in counting down the seconds before getting up. These days, even her dreams were full of tension.
She got dressed, opened her bedroom door, and entered the bathroom. Three minutes later, with her face still dripping cold water, she descended to the living room. A hot cup of coffee waited on the table, poured by an assistant exactly two minutes agoshe didnt have time to brew it herself.
She took a sip, then sat on the couch. The clock on the wall indicated it was five minutes after six oclock. Right on schedule.
Good morning. Progress report, were her first words of the day.
Morning, professor, the woman sitting across herEmilyreplied. We got one dungeon during the night. The Ice Peak alliance also got one. However, they annihilated our team in that dungeonthe Stinky Marsh in China.
I see. Survivors?
None.
Was there anyone important?
No, professor. It was a dungeon of lesser significance. Our team was a group of ex-special forces from Egypt.
I see. Send my condolences to Emir, and promise that Egypt will undertake more favorable assignments from now on.
Understood, professor.
The professor sipped her coffee again. Its warmth did little to alleviate the pain in her heart. She was talking about dead people like they were nothing more than assets But what choice did she have? The survival of many hinged on her efficiency. Between failing her alliance and numbing her heart, she would always choose the latter.
Any news from the other major factions? she asked.
Emily hesitated. The professor raised a brow but waited. Yes, the brown-haired assistant finally replied. Our two contacts in Ice Peak reported the presence of high-ranking lycan merchants in their headquarters. Both reports were made independently; we believe they are accurate.
Lycan merchants means the Animal Kingdom.
Yes. We believe they arrived to negotiate a further alliance with Petrovic.
Bad news.
They were already losing the cold war. If the Animal Kingdom chose to assist the Ice Peak, they might as well pack up and retreat their entire alliance to the Forest of the Strong, where Sparman held the fort.
The Animal Kingdom couldnt interfere formally, but they had already shown how much they cared about the Star Pact. They could pressure the Merchant Alliance to raise prices for the Flame River and decrease them for the Ice Peak. They could send Fesh Wui and the elef scion back to Earthsince there were no E-Grades on the planet presently, just those two would steamroll anything Vivi and the professor threw at them.
However, there are no further indications yet, Emily hurried to add. We believe their negotiations are lagging.
All the better for us. We must develop at least two combat E-Grades before the Animal Kingdom steps in, preferably three. I dont suppose Edgar broke through last night?
He did not. He says hes almost there, buthes been saying that for a week now.
Okay. Not much that can be done. If push comes to shove, perhaps the pressure will tip him over the line. Another sip. Inform Vivi to send her elites into the fray. Since Petrovic is willing to sell out our planet, we cannot afford to delay.
She will complain.
We will also send out the Rattlesnakes.
Emily looked up from her notes. Were pulling them out of training so soon? After investing so much in them?
We knew our deadline. It has arrived. Now, we must increase the pressure and hope our cultivators bloom rather than die. But make sure they keep up their combat training until deployment.
Very well. She scribbled down a few lines.
Instruct everyone that we must overtake the Ice Peak in dungeons within two days, the professor continued. Activate half our sleeper agents to disrupt their forces in dungeon boss battles. No doubt they will do the same. Thats why the Stinky Marsh squad got eliminated, right?
We are unable to confirm that. But we suspect so, yes.
We can only fight fire with fire. Or rather, ice with fire. The professor allowed herself a chuckle. If theres nothing else, lets move to resource allocation. With the Rattlesnakes entering the fray, we have some open slots. Allocate one high-end dungeon to Emir. He will ask for more, but we cannot risk that if his forces had spies. Spread half the remaining allocations to our most loyal allies and the rest to those who hesitate. Ask our allies if anyone has soldiers ready for battlemore resources must have run out in the night, anyway.
Dungeon resources, like the High Speed Bush or the Ice Pond, werent endless. They eventually ran out and needed time to restore themselves. This was why the Forest of the Strong had been closed off to outsiders. It was also why they raced so hard to conquer more dungeons than their enemies. Not only was each dungeon a victory, but it also offered useful resources that could tip the scales of battle.
Very few dungeons had E-Grade resources, though, and it wasnt easy to know beforehand. Whenever they discovered one, entire armies moved to battle. In this cold war situation, dungeons were the only places where open warfare took place.
Of the E-Grade resources discovered after the Integration Tournament, the Ice Peak had gotten two out of three. Things were looking grim.
And advise Vivi to tighten her defenses, the professor added in a moment of inspiration. The alliance between the Ice Peak and the Animal Kingdom is almost certainly happeningbut theres always a chance those lycans are a feint to make us allocate forces from defense to attack. Petrovic is a selfish sell-out, but a devious one.
Yes, professor.
Good. Now, walk me through last nights dungeonsin detail.
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