Elder Cultivator

Chapter 1027

Chapter 1027

The damage to the Scarlet Alliance had been kept to their fleets and orbital platforms, due to the swift appearance of Zaur Beridze. It was over so swiftly it almost didn’t feel like a war, but that was part of the reason they created the formations to force their enemies to attack a certain point. It would have also been terribly difficult for them to bypass the system after entering.

Zaur’s retreat had been a great victory, but with their forces concentrated there were still significant losses in a short time. It didn’t necessarily feel like they won, but more like a disaster had struck.

It was difficult for most people to process, but some ended up with more mundane issues. “I didn’t even get to fight!” Yuval complained to his brother. “I was with the planetary forces defending the ground...”

“Be glad it wasn’t necessary. If you seek combat, war is not the best place for it. You might learn much, but the risks are not worth it.” Chidi shook his head. “Trust me when I say a protracted war is worse for everyone involved. The war with the Harmonious Citadel was a bitter struggle.”

“But you got to be a war hero,” Yuval sighed. “I’m just a kid with important parents who didn’t even get to see battle.”

Chidi shrugged. “You were still on the frontlines. It wasn’t like you were placed back on Xankeshan, like some people. Nobody in your squad was lost, and you were ready to battle. That’s all that matters.”

“Fine. But I need to experience something real or I’m going to grow old as I fail to advance much beyond the hundredth star.”

“I would suggest asking Vari for advice on proper challenges. Her style is most similar to yours and she could judge you best.”

“Maybe I can fight the Trigold Cluster...”

“There are plenty of challenges outside of the great powers,” Chidi said. “The rest of us don’t go charging into their territories and battling them. Most of those that go perish.”

“What about the Everheart System?”

“You have enough information to judge the lethality yourself, Yuval.”

“Well, maybe. But unlike the rest of you I’ve never really experienced it.”

Chidi thought that was for the best. But everyone got to make their own mistakes, and Chidi wouldn’t stop his brother from trying to grow.

-----

Though there had been a strange drop in their population lately. Probably due to the wars down there, though. There had been a few systems that were pretty much wiped out, she recalled. Wars were a good way to gain insights to ascend, and also a good way to die before you could make use of said insights.

-----

Durff was sad to see the most compatible weapon he’d ever held be taken away, but he was also glad that he’d be able to use two arms to swing a weapon again. He wasn’t quite sure how they stitched his arm back on. He watched it all, but all he really understood was that they had special needles, string, and some solid and liquid goops.

The goops were used to replace the missing parts of his shoulder, since it wasn’t a perfect and clean cut. He was amazed to see that over the course of several months, they turned into his arm. Or his arm grew into them? Either way, it was pretty sturdy at the end of things. Perhaps even more than his shoulder had been before.

Durff wasn’t willing to accept that, though. The original sturdiness, of course. Sure, he’d been fighting enemies well above his power, but he still shouldn’t have let an injury like that happen so easily. He needed to be more durable, like the seemingly unbreakable planet he had smashed together. He also needed a weapon that could stand up to him- and that was compatible with him, or he couldn’t perform the same regardless of how good it technically was.

The smith who had made his latest hammer seemed like a decent guy, and Durff had to admit that Sadiq’s technique wasn’t at fault. It wasn’t even the materials, necessarily. It had merely been an experiment, and while swords had been turned into what should have been a good hammer... it just didn’t fit.

While Durff kind of wanted to tear some chunks off of the planet he’d smashed together, that wasn’t quite right either. It had the right sort of weight, but it was a bit too feisty. At least that was what he thought. Maybe he’d change his mind later.

-----

Chidi sat in silence in the middle of a sensory deprivation chamber. No feedback came to him, not sounds or energy or even a sense of touch. It was as if he floated in a void. He felt that was just perfect for recalling a memory. He replayed it over and over, the moment where he cut Zaur.

He could have done it better. Not that he was beating himself up, as if it was some sort of failure. Instead, he simply recognized the potential growth. If they ever came into contact again Chidi doubted that Zaur would make it so ‘easy’ to enforce Negation on him, but an improved technique could help. He saw the minute imperfections in his mind, and repeated the attack over and over until it was perfect.

His theoretical attack cut the man directly in quarters, centered on his dantian. That would have the best probability of preventing any sort of backlash upon his death, or at least a controlled one. Great as the power of a Domination cultivator was, it was not limitless. When spread out in all directions, it would diminish quickly.

Chidi would prefer to survive, however, and since he would have to be up close it was in his best interests to consider the possibility. He was quite satisfied with his results so far. Negation had been his idea precisely because of Zaur’s previous attack. It had worked better than he expected, even. He hadn’t actually been confident in facing off against him so soon.

But he wasn’t going to sit out of the fight either, and with his mother’s formations helping he’d found reading the flow of energy... tolerable. Enough that he was able to actually do it. A shame the only route he could comprehend had taken his sword where it did through his arm, instead of through a vital point. But landing a wound at all on a cultivator who was a whole stage ahead of him and more than a thousand years older was satisfying.

As a bonus, he hadn’t even died after. Even though Zaur absolutely could have killed him and Timothy. But fear of the unknown got to the man, and he’d run. Regardless of when he changed his mind and came back for revenge, his martial path would be weakened. Even if his cultivation for some reason dealt well with cowardice, Chidi was prepared to face him again. If he didn’t instantly die, he thought he could manage mutual destruction this time. Of course, the chances of not being annihilated from a distance were a bit dismal. Maybe he should practice cutting apart light beams. He could do it, but he might need to be better. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to have experience with it.