Path of the Ascendant

There was a large wall separating the Coastal Lord’s Kingdom from its border, and another wall at the Empire of the Dawn – reinforced by copious heaps of metal shards so numerous that they seemed to be cutting and jabbing the very air with their existence – and then a third wall originating from the lands of the Heavenly Peak Court. They stood close to one another, but far enough away that a cultivator within the initial four realms wouldn’t be able to cross with ease.

Clearly, these three hadn’t trusted one another before, but also had constant enough borders for these walls to form. With the minimal number of troops upon each wall, it was curious that none had thought to intrude and take over a region or two, or perhaps even conquer the entire nation, but that wouldn’t matter for very long.

When the Coastal Lord’s Kingdom and the Heavenly Peak Court became part of Yi City and the Empire of the Dawn fell, these walls could go with it.

The Heavenly Peak that had given the Court their name was a tall mountain at the coast of the nation, preceded by many others that led to the entire nation existing on a growing incline. At the edge that bordered with the Coastal Lord’s Kingdom and Empire of the Dawn, it was close to sea level, as were the other two, but the further one went to the south-east, the higher the nation rose. At the very end, it reached into the clouds, and then dropped sharply into the ocean at the end of the nation, creating an enormous cliff from which few things could fall and survive without terrible and permanent injury.

Much of the land was occupied by villages and small towns separated by very short expanses of grass and young trees surrounded by numerous stumps from former trees. Many lumberjacks populated these towns, from her observation, and it seemed that this was the primary focus of these towns.

She wasn’t sure why they decided to harvest ordinary wood of all things, but it was being put to good use in the small towns, but also in the Heavenly Peak Court itself, if that was what one would call the enormous structure being constructed over the mountains. Much of it was still unfinished, putting into question the time already spent on his enormous undertaking, but the makings of a world wonder were slowly manifesting upon the mountains.

The only thing that stood completely finished was the part at the tallest peak, and it did not resemble a structure made of naught but wood – mostly because it wasn’t, and the wood instead acted as support beams, scaffolding and kindling for torches and fireplaces, among many other purposes. Shiny metals adorned the towering structure, polished stone made up much of the walls and floors, and polished wood was present in every other space that it managed to fit into. That much was obvious with her eyes, but her divine sense could peer inside and locate the court that was the nation’s namesake, positioned at the far end.

It was made up of four levels of seats and tables positioned in three-quarter circles that started only half a metre from the floor, accessible by steps on either end of the platform, then rose to two, four and eight metres, the number of seats diminishing with the height.

Thirty-two were seated at the first level from the bottom, then twenty-four at the second, sixteen at the third and eight at the fourth, and if the height alone wasn’t indicative of the rising status and importance of the people sitting in these places, then their chairs and desks made it all the more obvious to any outside observer. From the tidy but otherwise drab cushioned chairs and plain desks of the first level to the throne-like seats and incredible tables fit to be used by some of the weaker Patriarchs of Yi City.

At the moment, not all seats were filled, and there was also no hint of a man or woman that would serve as the leader of the nation, despite the fact that the Coastal Lord had not indicated that it might be ruled over by several people on a similar level. It might be that one of the occupants of the thrones was considered more important, but she had no way of determining that when they were mostly empty.

Furthermore, it seemed that court was not currently in session, so simply strolling in and looking for the one with the most authority would pose a bit of a challenge.

She needed to take a different approach, though not one that she couldn’t achieve by going in and making herself known anyway. Just as she didn’t care much about being spotted in the Coastal Lord’s Kingdom, she actively wanted to be seen in the Heavenly Peak Court, as it would make it far easier to get to the person – or people – that she wished to speak with, whether she could perceive them now or not.

With a few uses of Omit Movement, she appeared right at the doorstep of the large court and then took smaller steps inside, though those alone were loud enough to be noticed by the people on the inside. Everyone turned towards her, whether they were builders or those that occupied the seats of the court, but only the latter even thought of engaging with her.

The builders and common men of the Heavenly Peak Court fled quickly, realising from the ease with which she appeared before them without their knowledge that she was not a force that they could take on, whether she came in peacefully or not.

On the other hand, the people in the courtroom were wary and looked directly at her with caution. Unlike the regular workers, who were at the second and third realms primarily, they were in the fourth realm and above, so their spiritual perception was sufficiently capable of perceiving something about her that hinted at her real power, even if they were likely to have a similar problem to the people of the Coastal Lord’s Kingdom in failing to realise her identity. After all, she was not currently doing anything that would be associated with the Ascendant, save for wearing red and having crimson hair.

Nobody stepped forward to speak with her, so to make sure they understood exactly what they were dealing with, she stopped at the doorway to the courtroom and addressed them.

“My name is Wei Yi. You might have heard of me from Yi City, where I am known as the Ascendant.”

“We know who you are,” one of the third-level court members said, though they waited for her to pause before even attempting to raise their voice, “If you would explain your purpose here, then that would clear up far more.”

“I want to speak with whoever is in charge, and offer cooperation against Primordial Metal.”

The members of the court shared a few looks as they considered the situation, but their contemplation was ultimately cut short when a few more people in the higher realms arrived and walked right past her, ascending onto the highest platform and occupying five of the eight seats, joining the one that had already been sitting up there.

Those seven looked down upon her and were the first to speak.

“The Heavenly Peak Court will not tolerate working with the conquerors of the free world.”

“Right. Interesting terminology there. When are you planning to disband, then?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, clearly those people cutting down wood hadn’t chosen to serve the lot of you, so I presume you are intending to free them the moment I finish wasting your time over here,” she said, shrugging, “I can’t say I entirely support this, but I am fond of freedom as a concept, so I will not oppose you in this. If the people you are currently controlling choose to head to Yi City, I shall gladly accept them and offer them a new home.”

“Are you mocking us?”

“Oh, you figured it out? Well done.”

“Ascendant, you have… already arrived, I see,” the Coastal Lord finally made his way over, breathing heavily and sweating a great deal from the effort it must have taken, “I would apologise in her stead, but I suspect that you would not hear it and she would not wish for it.”

“We’d never accept such an apology.”

“You’re entirely correct about that.”

One of the court members of the fourth level and the Ascendant spoke at the same time, though neither one cared much about the other’s words. From the start, the Heavenly Peak Court had set out to be in disagreement with her – that much was certain from their surface thoughts, which were not hidden well enough for a cursory glance to pass them by – and Wei Yi didn’t want to bother arguing with them until she had a little more certainty about the approach that would be best taken when dealing with them.

The Coastal Lord indicated that he might have some decent ideas in this regard, so she was willing to give him a chance to showcase his usefulness.

“What are you doing here, Lord of the Northern Coast? Your ancestors proclaimed their desire to be separate from the Court, and we have let you be alone, despite the great list of problems this has caused us. IF you wish to meddle with our proceedings, you should-”

“Re-join? I could do that, just differently from the way you imagine it. The both of us can join Yi City.”

“Nonsense!” another of the fourth level court members exclaimed, “That place is purely tyrannical and horrible to live in! Some figure dominating everything without regard for rules or laws is simply absurd! Have you any concept of a nation that is even worse than your own, Lord of the Norther Coast? It is torment incarnate!”

“… Have you heard what Dao I specialise in, by any chance?”

“The Dao of Tyranny, of course. It is very obvious based on your gait and appearance that you have no interest in anything but this!”

The one proclaiming such things appeared to be genuine about it, and the Ascendant struggled to determine whether that was better than his constantly and knowingly disparaging Yi City for some deliberate purpose. It didn’t matter much, ultimately, as both lies and ignorance could be addressed by someone far more familiar with a subject, and there were none present that knew more about her own path than she did.

“Actually, it is the Dao of Law.”

“Dao of… Law. What is that?”

“Have a guess, you idiot. Here you were telling me how great law is, so I’d imagine you know what the word itself means. If you need to tell me how a word can be connected with a Dao, then I’m calling into question your ability to reach the sixth realm without using forbidden skills and failing to understand them.”

“It’s possible to go wrong with cultivating forbidden skills? No, never mind that, explain yourself to the Heavenly Peak Court! What is the Dao of Law?”

This time, he seemed even more genuine, though it only made her more concerned about his mental state, as well as that of his peers, who were just nodding along. She was beginning to assume that there was some kind of mistranslation resulting from the difference in language caused by the great separation between the districts of Yi City and the two coastal nations on the east. Otherwise, so long as someone had even the slightest clue of what a Dao was, and what law was – which the people of the court seemed to have – then there would be minimal confusion.

There had to be something that caused a gap in understanding, or otherwise an unwillingness to consider the possibility of a Dao oriented around the concept of Law, rules and other fundamental aspects of society and reality alike.

“Law, meaning the rules of reality that influence the manner in which all existence behaves. It is Law that gravity affects matter, and it is Law that a flame burns through the combination of oxygen, flammable material and energy. Everything is bound by endless chains of Law, forming an enormous network that joins everything together yet manages to remain outside of direct contact with one another, or with people.”

Her words made the people hearing them see something strange. It was as if the world was twisting, and faint shadows of straight, long shapes that cluttered the region more and more.

“We are all bound by these chains, and many seek to break past them, to escape their control. Perhaps that is possible, given that it is already greatly affected by planar energy. It distorts everything beyond its original state, one that had only been seen in part by the otherworldly demons, but it seems to make people forget that working within the boundaries of Law is significantly more effective until you are able to completely escape it,” she continued, partially unaware of the results of her words upon those that heard them, “A thousand chains restrict every one of us, yet they link to countless other things. With a pull, we can change so many things with barely any effort at all…”

She sighed, and then noticed that everyone’s eyes had lost focus, and their attention had been pulled elsewhere. A moment of consideration also brought her to realise that the influence of her Dao of Law had somehow manifested itself within the world, and did so far more strongly than it had any right to be.

After all, she hadn’t advanced in the Dao of Law for ages, and all she had done was talk about it for a little while. That should not have produced this kind of result even if she had secretly gained a stage or two in her Dao.

While she didn’t have any kind of proper answer for what exactly she had managed to do, she could guess that most people wouldn’t benefit too much from being immersed in a concept that they didn’t understand, and that was very keen to bind them in one way or another. Even if they fared well, they wouldn’t take too kindly to her springing such a thing upon them, and might use that as a reason to force her out and thus force her into taking a less friendly approach to taking the might of the Heavenly Peak Court for herself in the coming battle against Primordial Metal.

Her preferred method up to this point had been a snap infused with a few principles of the Invader’s Roar, so she executed it once more, and saw instant results.

Everyone quaked from the Invader’s Roar, but their eyes refocused and they found themselves in reality once more, an ache growing in her head and eyes. Their surface-level thoughts were mostly empty, suggesting to the Ascendant that they had either forgotten the incident or instantly moved it away in their minds to focus on it later. Both were fine by her, as she wasn’t too concerned about exposing her Dao.

Not only had she merely shown them a glimpse of her own concept of Law, at best, but she had then damaged that glimpse with her use of the Invader’s Roar principles. If someone still had the ability to extract a deeper understanding of Law than her own, then they would deserve to gain an advantage over her, as it would still benefit her in the end.

The heavens needed a taste of Law when they knew so little about it, and the improvement of the world’s comprehension of it would also let her attain some more insights from it, improving her chances of advancing herself.

It wouldn’t be the way she wanted to go, but if things went poorly then she wouldn’t be too upset at a slightly worse than ideal outcome. It was vital that she achieved a certain result, and everything beyond that was an additional objective that could be ignored for the briefest while. She would still need to make up for any errors in the future, but it was better than failing entirely. Of course, all of this was an unnecessary tangent of the mind, one that she moved on from to a more significant topic, which was the alliance of two nations and one great City.

“I hope my explanation has been sufficient, because I don’t intend to repeat myself. Can we move on?”

“W-Well… Uh… What were we talking about again?” one of the fourth level court members said, and the others clearly shared the overall sentiment.

Fortunately, the Coastal Lord spoke up then, a half-way decent notion appearing in his mind, “Would defeating the Empire of the Dawn not be best for fighting against the tyranny that you dislike? With this Ascendant’s commitment to Law, surely you could receive something that satisfies your desires, aside from my return?”

“What kind of thing would that be?”

“Since I have had to spell everything out to you so far, don’t complain if I continue. You see, you appear to be interested in law, and I appreciate Law. Note the difference in intonation, by the way. I don’t mind having a court preside within my Yi City, so long as it follows the laws I and my predecessor have set out, rather than whatever it is you’ve come up with here. Of course, if you have anything even vaguely decent here, I don’t mind including those laws here as well,” she explained, “How’s that?”

“Hm. This could work for us…” one of the court members muttered, looking to his fellows, who took a little while to ponder the matter on their own.

The Ascendant stepped away and let them think while looking out through the large entrance to the primary court chamber. Through it, she could see out into the world and the Empire of the Dawn, even if her divine sense was more effective at perceiving that place than her eyes.

Her current reach of divine sense, when taking into account her recent breakthrough and the power of the oblivion halos turned True Apertures, went as far as four and a half million metres, or four and a half thousand kilometres. Still, she wasn’t actively using the entire power of her divine sense, as she was rather cautious about overusing her mind to such an extent. It had to be remembered that such a large range was, to her knowledge, entirely unprecedented. The greatest increase to divine sense range offered by regular planar cultivation was only seven hundred and twenty-nine metres, or a total of two thousand, one hundred and eighty-seven with perfected realms and stages.

When combined with the other realms and full perfected realms, one could reach three thousand, two hundred and eighty-five. In other words, more than one thousand, three hundred times less than what she currently possessed… at the seventh realm in every cultivation path. This meant that she still had a lot more room to grow.

At her peak, she would not only be able to peer beyond the boundaries of the Western Continent, but, perhaps, the very boundary of the Planar Continents.

This wasn’t unprecedented in itself, as those in the seventh, eighth and ninth realms could travel rather easily to the east or west – mostly depending on which continent they were at – and reach the edge of the world without excessive effort. Thus, it was well-known that some of the beliefs of the otherworldly demons did not apply to the Planar Continents, since there was no spherical world, nor any of the principles that came with a spherical, orbiting world.

It was much more difficult to escape the boundaries of the Planar Continents, however. Everyone was bound to the world, and Kong Shi Meng might have been the only one to even begin breaking through them, given that he had successfully separated the azure light from an otherworldly gift and also discovered the method of accomplishing such a thing with energy attainable at low realms.

Part of it was due to his otherworldly gift, which now resided in Wei Yi, but the talent required to transform it as he did couldn’t be ignored by anyone wishing to examine his life accurately, without some bias due to their great ancestors being easily beaten by a man that did have a certain skillset handed directly to him. Frankly, it was rather amazing that the people of the Planar Continents had as positive a view of the Master of Yi City when there were plenty of explanations for them to rely upon to malign him.

Returning on topic, the Empire of the Dawn was gaining more and more metal shards, while the source of their problems, Primordial Metal, was moving about and influencing just about everything that it could. Clearly, it did not wish to remain stagnant for long, but it would first complete… something.

That something gave her, the Heavenly Peak Court and the Coastal Lord some time to prepare.

“So, have you decided? I literally hadn’t been listening so far, so if there had been any secrets mentioned, you can rest assured that they weren’t leaked.”

She didn’t mention the fact that everything was still recorded via her divine sense, and thus stored in the Ascendant’s Library, but nothing she had said directly contradicted that. By the standard of fairness and honesty, she was probably still better than the majority of the factions she had dealt with up to this point in terms of her honesty.

“We might be able to agree to your proposal, but we should make a proper promise amongst ourselves. An oath that the terms of our agreement shall not be knowingly broken.”

“Unless you have a method to guarantee such an oath, I don’t see how it would benefit any one of us,” Wei Yi said, with the Coastal Lord nodding before he caught himself and stopped. The court members were universally displeased at first, but a moment of consideration made them realise the problem.

Despite that, they didn’t seem too bothered about it.

“We are uniting for a common goal. If we break an agreement, you should have the ability to make things very difficult for us,” one of the lower court members said, “On the other hand, if you break the agreement after coming all the way here to make it, then there’s not much that we can do but fight to ensure that things we hold most dear are upheld even after our demise. In the case of the Coastal Lord, it would be his life.”

“Hey! What is with all of you portraying me and my ancestors as greedy bastards? We simply didn’t think that a slow, rambling court like this could possibly rule a country decently! It seems we’re right, since you don’t even have immortal gold around here!”

One of the fourth level court members spat audibly, “Do you think that the quantity of immortal gold is the only defining factor here? What, are you some savage beast that can only see material wealth?”

“Are you going to deny the power that immortal gold has? Will you try to say that everything can be done with heaps of wood brought over by your subjects? There’s only so far that you can reach with that stuff, and you know it! That is the way of the world! The wood isn’t even in the first realm, so it will probably collapse when some expert breathes on it too much!”

As they were shouting, Wei Yi stood by the side and examined the method that the court seemed to use to somewhat unify their thoughts into a more cohesive whole than the typical collection of random people of various ages and sexes. It let their various exclamations flow along in such a manner that one could almost assume that only one person from the Heavenly Peak Court spoke, or was present at all, even though the sounds of their voices were very different from one another.

The method didn’t lead to a full merging of the minds, which would have been rather dangerous for a group of people that weren’t trained from birth to maintain the exact same thinking patterns, and in her view, it was superior as a result.

“Let us perform the aforementioned oath, and then you can get to preparing your forces, while I do the same. Details of our united nations, district names and whatever else can be worked out afterward, since that hardly matters at the moment in comparison to the threat of the Primordial Deity itself,” the Ascendant stated, “Because I’m nice, I’ll let the lot of you decide the oath, since you began with the notion in the first place.”

“It is very simple, Ascendant,” the man to speak was the Coastal Lord, “Speak your name and make the promise of alliance. I can begin.”

“Then do so. The Court, or some representative, can go next.”

“Very well. I, Tao Hui, pledge to work alongside Yi City against Primordial Metal.”

Only one of the members of the court rose, “I, Tai Yi Min, pledge to support Yi City in the battle against Primordial Metal.”

“I thought this was about the general alliance, but alright…”

Wei Yi shrugged, taking a step forward before the Heavenly Peak Court.

“I, Wei Yi, pledge to fight alongside the Coastal Lord’s Kingdom and the Heavenly Peak Court against Primordial Metal.”