TDE Book 6 - Chapter 9

“Haah… Haaah…”

Sounds of panting echoed in the empty meadow as the gentle breeze carried those sounds of exhaustion to the vicinity. Lying prone on the grass was a half-naked man with patches of torn fabric spread around him. His robes were in complete tatters.

On a closer look, a series of burns and coarse bruises spanned all over his exposed skin. Some of the cauterized wounds were even emitting faint traces of charred smoke. The man’s left shoulder appeared to be dislocated while the bones below his elbow were twisted into an odd shape. It was a complete wreck of a man.

Hells, if this stone freak is this strong, just how monstrous were the actual Shackle Lords and the 5th circle path walkers?

Calron swallowed his tongue to divert away the pain from his internal wounds. He could feel the blood rust within his lungs threatening to come out. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for long as his Blood Dao triggered and began rapidly healing his body.

The patches of burned skin pulsed until new skin enveloped it. His left arm thrummed as it sought out his shoulder’s socket and re-attached itself back in place. Even the bones within his limb re-aligned themselves in perfect harmony.

Calron’s breathing returned to normal as he got up and stared at the dull frame of the golem. It didn’t even look fazed at the havoc it had wrecked on his body. If Calron had access to his Blood Berserker, he thought he might have had a chance to inflict some damage back on the golem, but with no source of blood in this dimension, that was a fruitless plan.

The whole time, Calron hadn’t even managed to land a single strike on the golem. He tried using his lightning, but his essence was limited to the early Saint stage, which only led to a worse pommeling. For some reason, the azure lightning had yet to wake up.

“Had enough for the day?”

The black pig cheerfully pranced over to Calron, his curly tail swaying with a swag. Martial had been enjoying the onslaught for hours. He had to give it to Calron. The young man remained resolute despite the thrashing he received.

“How many hours has it been? I can’t tell the time. That sun’s been stuck in that same spot since I’ve arrived here.”

Calron wiped the sweat away from his brow with his newly healed arm. He glanced up at the motionless sky as he talked to the approaching black pig.

“That sun ain’t going nowhere. Time’s frozen here, brat.”

Martial plopped over to Calron’s shoulder and tapped his hoof against various sections of the young man’s body. He seemed to be checking for something.

“I thought that would make it easier for the Gods to track you if you tampered with time.”

Calron took in a long, deep breath. He was getting ready for another bout with the golem. Despite his numerous defeats and restricted access to blood, Calron felt invigorated and eager to test out the raw limits of his new 4th circle body. Where else would he have the opportunity to spar safely with a 5th circle opponent?

“You’re right, it’s a massive risk. Yet, there’s no other option. We froze it for you. The most important thing you need now is time. You’ve only lived for a couple of decades, and albeit your impressive progress so far, it can’t overcome the mental fortitude that comes with time.”

Martial pressed his hoof deeper into the crease between Calron’s shoulder and chest.

“Is that why the lightning essence in the surroundings hasn’t recovered?”

Calron noticed that since he previously absorbed the lightning essence to break into the Saint stage, the dimension had yet to recover that lost essence. If the time was frozen, his cultivation would be halted until he returned outside.

“None of us are adept at manipulating time. We can only do this because of that tree Nature found when she was traveling to another sector. That’s why it looks like it’s dying.”

Martial pointed to the familiar dead tree in the center.

“How long will it last?”

Calron observed the looming tree and its withered branches. It already looked to be on the brink of collapse.

“I’d say you have another 50 years or so.”

Martial let out a low whistle after taking a closer look at the roots.

“I can’t cultivate my essence, and neither can I absorb blood to grow my circles. What will I do in those 50 years?”

Calron turned to the Titan with confusion on his face. Wasn’t it better if they trained outside where he could cultivate both his lightning and the Blood Dao?

“Unlike others, you won’t face much issues in attaining your 5th circle besides completing your domain. Your Blood Siphon ability will take care of the enormous pool of energy you’ll need for that. Same with your elemental cultivation. You possess one of the Divine Elements to aid you in that. This leaves only one glaring weakness inside you. Your experience.”

Martial stated calmly. Calron would eventually face against behemoths who had lived for centuries. Cultivation became much slower in the latter stages, so those old monsters had other techniques they trained in that time. It wasn’t just techniques, some Shackle Lords and 5th circle path walkers regularly hibernated through time, and had access to forbidden knowledge that someone like Calron wouldn’t even be able to fathom.

“You will be teaching me techniques then?”

A hint of excitement dripped from Calron.

“What are you talking about, brat? You’re already training in it.”

Martial chortled as continued to poke various parts of Calron’s body.

“You think the golem was hitting you randomly? No, it was concentrating on hammering out your recessive muscle fibers. We only use certain parts of our muscles to fight, while a large majority of them are never actually used in combat and remain dormant. These muscle fibers limit your flexibility and constraint your movement.”

The black pig traced an area on Calron’s shoulder blade to highlight this point. Turning his attention to the muscles there, Calron indeed noticed a small difference in how his shoulder blades rotated from before. There was less friction and a smoother proportionality to his movement when he stretched his back.

“What in the heavens…”

Calron whispered to himself as he inspected his body even more. All the changes were very subtle, and that’s how he missed them until now. The way his abdominal muscles contracted, to the supporting muscles around his spine, all of them worked in junction. Even for a small movement, all opposing muscle fibers moved in line to reduce the tension on one side.

It didn’t make him physically stronger. His body was just better equipped to handle more stress before succumbing. It was a very minute change, but Calron could sense how more cohesively his body moved now.

“This technique treads on the path of the Martial Dao, where one uses the entirely of their body as a singular weapon. Try to figure out a way to incorporate your Blood Dao into your body. This will help you complete your domain as well.”

Martial suggested as he dropped from Calron’s shoulder and walked to the golem.

“Incorporate the Blood Dao into my body…”

Calron muttered as he gazed at the looming golem in the distance. He couldn’t extract blood from a non-living being. How could he use his Hemomancy ability on the golem? His lightning would be better suited for this situation, if only it was at the same cultivation rank as the Blood Dao.

Wait, the dao isn’t weaker. I’m going about this the wrong way.

Calron paused as he stared at the stony golem. The Blood Dao wasn’t weak. He was using it wrong from the start. It wasn’t meant for an attack. The Blood Dao didn’t necessarily only encompass the blood itself. It represented life.

Life wasn’t merely breathing. There were undying creatures that could still walk the path of the dao. In a way, the journey to the Grand Dao was a way of life. And if all the dao were interconnected, then that golem was also ‘alive’ through the use of its dao.

Calron’s left blood-colored eye glowed with an intense light. Countless sigils fluttered inside his irises as something unprecedented took place.

“Eh?”

Martial turned around in surprise at the fluctuation he felt from Calron.

In the corner of Calron’s domain, beside the hazy pagoda, a new structure was forming.