54 GENERALS OF THE CULTIVATION WORLD (2/2)
The way it looked, Wang Clan, and in particular the main Wang lineage, were indeed named King for a reason. But then again, wasn't his own Qi named Sovereign as well, an aloof ruler that could imitate and surpass everyone else? If he could have that extra time and used the path of a general to cultivate, then-
”Bzzz, wrong answer.” Cheng Hao stretched as he quickly dispelled those thoughts from his mind. He sighed, as it looked like even he had yet to become impervious to greed when it came to power. In fact, after his powerless struggle and ultimate demise met at the hands of Tian, he had come to crave strength even more.
However, it wasn't like he could just go ahead and use the Trial of the Gate by just thinking about it. According to his deduction during his talks with Lu and Fuyin, the secret to the Trial laid in the Ancestral Blood in their bodies, which contain the legacy of a late expert of the Wang Clan. At that time, that unknown senior had used some heavenly methods to create the Trial of the Gate parallel space and connected it to his bloodline: even after his death, his legacy and mighty Wang Protectors he created would be able to help his descendants avoid peril and be worthy of the surname Wang!
In short, if he ever wished to possess the unique Sensed Qi…
He'd have to somehow possess the bloodline of Wang!
There were many methods, and it wouldn't be too difficult to do so, especially with one specimen at hand. However, he had already decided the path he would follow this time around would be different.
In the past, the Evil Saint had been a juggernaut of the battlefield mostly thanks to his absorbing techniques that could enhance his strength limitlessly the stronger and the more his enemies were, syphoning more and more of his opponents' energy the longer they fought. This was the main reason he had come to wear the mantle of a commander: because he could abuse the weakening effect to stomp on armies, even if he had comrades that had lower might than that of the cultivators belonging to the other side. Over time, not only that gap would close, but he would eventually become more powerful than any other person on the battlefield.
Add that onto his pseudo-immortality, and he had eventually turned into the 'fake' juggernaut that had been toyed around like a child by the truly mighty Tian.
This time around however, he had chosen the path of a 'true' juggernaut! And although the Wang's Trial of the Gate would be a rapid way to increase his own cultivation through unorthodox methods -ones that did not require Cores, Satellites and the such, but merely mastery of the art of war, and time- he would not renege his current path! Just as he had followed the one of a 'fake' juggernaut to its untimely end without hesitation, he would do the same with this one!
Because he believed in himself, now more than ever. And for some reason, despite the threat of death never having been as close before now that he could also die, he felt much at ease, a feeling that came from deep within.
Although Cheng Hao had yet to realize, this feeling was that of having truly found himself and his own road. He now wholeheartedly believed that he would achieve it. And as such, even the world could do nothing but watch on powerlessly as it let him forcefully carve his own path into it.
With his eyes brightly lit with a golden gleam even while half-opened, Cheng Hao sat crossed-legged atop his bed. As he breathed rhythmically, he entered his consciousness and slowly scoured his memories for methods to increase the rate of his Spiritual Energy absorption. On the bedside table lay a scarf whose hexagonal patterns would occasionally flicker from the moonlight. On the other side of the wide bedroom, Xiao Wu and Wang Fuyin lay on her own bed and the floor respectively, fast asleep.
As today approached tomorrow, the Mysterious Light-Shadow Sect's millions of Vacant Sect Disciples went to bed and fell asleep while listening to the summer song of the crickets and cicadas.
And at this time, the twelfth bell rang out.
It was midnight.
~ ~ ~
Author's Note:
[1] Essentially, there are many 'kinds' of generals, but the ones that used to have the greatest success in a world where armies are made up by cultivators is that of the Gardener, a grandmaster that thinks countless steps ahead, where a single seemingly random move blooms into a thousand-foot-tall man eating plant and devours the enemy (or something like that as man-eating plants don't actually eat people, smh).
The Tamperer path however is the specific counter to the mainstream Gardener path and is the one to follow when seeking to defeat bigger armies with equally skilled strategist at their helm. As for why THIS hasn't become the mainstream path, that's because (as I made sure to point out) it requires one to face the changes in the battlefield first-hand, in the front-lines, and THAT means having to divide one's attention between cultivation and the path of a general.
To this day, few but Xu Ling have ever managed to attain anything as they either died, or their cultivation couldn't keep up with their art of war (or the other way around).
Usually people who sought to walk the war path would cultivate on the side, while their main focus would be on battle strategies and tactics. When the time to fight came, they would stand waaaay in the back, hiding their sorry under-leveled asses behind as many powerful warriors as they could. And that's also the reason Xu Ling has such success with it: Tamperer path maims the chain of command and lower the moral of the opposing army, and with the opposing general not leading their soldiers first-hand, all their stratagems would eventually fail in the chaos that ensues.
Basically, it's a David vs Goliath situation... But as it's been mentioned, it's not foolproof. Even our MC had suffered many losses at the hands of accomplished Divine Gardeners. And it's not like there's only Gardener generals to begin with, that usually only happens in large-scale organizations that can afford to cultivate a few talents and guides them in their studies as master tacticians from birth.
But then this begs the question; is the sole reason Fu Yin walked this challenging, dangerous and risky path... because he 'could'?
...or is he planning on following Xu Ling's footsteps and go against an overwhelming group himself? And just mayyybe, might that group be the one he has escaped and is hiding from?
[2] Blah, blah, Wangs are Kings, double the time, you should get what is going on by now.
Oh, and Tower of Babel. Important thingy that's been teased and mentioned here and there from the very start; what is it? True OG readers (hi there, love you) might have a general idea from the pre-reboot version: although it's not quite the same anymore...
...
Actually, it still kind of is, nevermind that.
[3] TRUE Juggernaut! And of course, the Will of a person is strong enough to shape destiny... more on that later on (Insert speech about true OG readers here...). And by that, I mean a very long while as it lays upon the rules of Cheng Hao, Xiao Lan, Xiao Wu Goldy, Fuyin, Lu and everyone else's ingenious (and might I even add extremely well thought out?) universe.
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Will be updating again tm, updates might pick up as school is over and I have a few chaps saved up (Take that with an ocean of salt; do recall all the hiatuses for no apparent reason), peace.
~ Cookie