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nThe nervous system is arguably the most important part of the body. Being separated into two main parts – one consisting of the brain and spinal cord with the other containing their branching segments – the nervous system is essentially the central hub of the body.

nIn the martial world, this system is no less important. In fact, it was so important to cultivation that during the foundation stage, the 7th, 8th and 9th levels were all dedicated to priming this system.

n‘It seems that the nervous system is what gates the natural to the supernatural…’ Dyon pondered over the complex array, slowly teasing apart its simpler parts before building toward the more complex.

nFrom what he could see, the array wasn’t 2D. In fact, it was his own lack of foundation that made him assume that it was 2D.

nWhen studying an array of any kind, there were layers one must take into account. These layers were like a building block to proper understanding. And, from what Dyon could tell, the building blocks of this array stemmed from the information it held about the foundation stage and its importance.

nAccording to the array – or, more specifically, how the array was constructed – it was becoming clear that energy cultivation built on itself much like the array did.

nStrengthening accustomed the body to the foreign essence energy. Flesh was strengthened to support the coming increase in bone density and strength. And the increase in bone density and strength primed the body for an increase in marrow quality all before each of the last steps could properly protect the and sustain the improvement in your internal organs.

nThe last step was to improve the nervous system, and when you thought of the benefits – or more accurately, the strain – that came with that, it was suddenly very clear why you had to prime the rest of the body first.

nThe reasons for the importance of the nervous system were manifold.

nFor one, many neglect the fact that with faster movement speeds, faster communication is needed. If a martial artist could move at speeds close to that of sound or even light, but couldn’t think or react faster than that, what was the use of the added speed? This was part of Dyon’s problem. His aurora’s 6th sense was useful, but it was greatly handicapped by his movement speed and reaction time.

nSecondly, muscles rely on constant signals from nerves to respond. However, there are always refractory periods with such things – meaning times where signals are redundant or can’t be sent due to a cool down time.

nAn improved nervous system eliminates this. Instead of being limited by how many signals you can send in rapid succession, you’ll instead be limited by the amount of energy you have. Something that would greatly benefit a martial artist.

nThirdly, there was the idea of limits that stemmed from this second point. The nervous system of the mortal realm often limited mortals to what their body could handle, only rarely allowing them to surpass these limits. However, the martial world was different.

nIn a world where will power was among the most important things you could have, wouldn’t a nervous system that didn’t limit you based on your body’s capabilities be ideal?

nWith the proper priming of the nervous system, a martial artist would suddenly gain full control of those limiters, able to push them at will should they have the mental fortitude to do so.

nFourthly, there was still the concept of the autonomic nervous system. This is a segment of the nervous system that perform involuntary actions a person wouldn’t have to think about. These would include the pumping of your heart, or you digestion.

nIf properly primed, a martial artist at the peak of the foundation stage can control these systems at will. In fact, there were many techniques that relied on increasing heart or digestive rate.

nThe former could greatly boost combat abilities by increasing blood circulation at the expense of some internal damage. While the latter allows martial artist to replenish themselves more efficiently. In the mortal realm, digestion was very efficient, even to the point of resulting in waste material. However, this wasn’t something martial artists had to worry about. By using techniques, you could suddenly deal with hard to digest things all while gaining energy efficiently and quickly.

nIn the end, this was why the nervous system was tempered so thoroughly. It was so important that those connections be refined and improved that the time investment was worth it. After this priming was complete, the future energy cultivation would increase one’s control over it even more.

nHowever, maybe the most important and intriguing point that Dyon found in his study was that the nervous system was actually the main connection to the main character of energy cultivation – the meridians.

nThis was how everything built up from each other. Every former stage of the foundation stage all led up to the remodeling of the nervous system, all so that one could have a proper gate way into energy cultivation.

nWithout this gateway, even sensing your meridians was near impossible. Why? Because the improvement of the nervous system is exactly what allowed one to sense their dantian… Without absolute control of one’s body in every aspect, it would be impossible to even fathom what it took to energy cultivate.

nThis was why when Dyon finally reached the top – when he finally hit that pinnacle – his eyes brightened as though he had entered an entirely new world.

nHe could feel every cell of his body breathing in the energy around him. He could see his blood flowing through his veins. He could even feel the shocks of electricity that arced through his brain with every thought. It was as though he had entered a new state of being, a state he wasn’t willing to let go.

nAnd yet, he felt empty. He felt as though there was something missing, a part of him that was locked away. The feeling of loss pained his heart… He knew there was no road to continue forward from here.

nWithout Dyon realizing it, a month had passed.

nHis talent in energy cultivation was so poor that even in the densest energy pool he had ever been in, it still took him this long. When you coupled that with how demanding the inner world cultivation technique was, you would be hard-pressed to be surprised.

nHowever, Dyon was truly disappointed in himself. Had Ri or Madeleine been here instead of him, they would have finished within a day… If that. Even the normal talents from Focus Academy would have taken a week at most. That was how dense the essence energy here was.

nAnd yet, it took Dyon a month.

nHis heart couldn’t help but ache at the thought of him leaving Ri along for that long. And what about Madeleine, was she still fighting for the legacy?

nAnother problem was the fact that giving Alidor a month, plus even more time, to improve is aurora even further. That additional time might very well wipe out the advantage Dyon had gotten by consolidating his foundation.

n‘Whatever. I want to beat you at your best.’ Dyon’s emotions steeled. He would allow himself to worry about his wives but worrying about how powerful an opponent would be just wasn’t within his personality.

n“Old man are you there?”

nSilence answered Dyon, causing him to furrow his eyebrows.

n‘Grand teacher?’ Dyon projected out his mind to try and find the entity once again.

n“Who are you calling old man? Should I shove you back in that trial world have your father teach you some more lessons?”

n‘It’s a term of endearment in the mortal realm! I call my dad, old man all the time.’

n“Hm, I’ll forgive you.

nTruth be told, I thought it would take you years to comprehend and cultivate up to this point.”

n‘I wouldn’t have cultivated so quickly if I didn’t have knowledge of human anatomy… And yet I was still this slow…’

nThe truth was that energy cultivation talent was about more than just sensing essence energy or its higher forms. It was also about having an understanding of your body and having a feel with what to do with that energy.

nIn fact, talent related to sensing energy was a bit redundant when the room you were in was so densely filled.

nAs such, much of the talent required in a room like this was focused on an understanding of your body and the instinct necessary to flow the energy to the correct places.

nThis was a talent that should have been provided by one’s meridians. Even in a closed state, they acted like checkpoints for foundational cultivation… However, Dyon didn’t have that.

nAs a result, he could only rely on his human world knowledge to fumble around with energy in his body. He had to first learn how to sense energy – a task made much easier by the room he was in. And then, he had to memorize a map of his body using the energy as an appendage.

nIt felt like… writing with your left hand or trying to do something you usually did with your hands, with your feet instead. Except, imagine that it was a limb that you had never had before…

nAnd yet, none of this described the difficulty in following the inner world technique. Even with Dyon’s improved basics, seeing through to the right layers of the 3D array with nearly impossible.

n“I see… Your human world is quite interesting. Are you prepared?”

nDyon took a deep breath. ‘Do you know how long it would take?’

n“Think of it like your normal human world operations except on an abstract scale. It would probably take a few weeks to integrate properly, then up to two months to heal appropriately…”

n‘But – ‘

n“If you’re worried about your fiancée, it’s likely that you shouldn’t. Use your head to think instead of being so caught up in your emotions.”

nA sudden realization hit Dyon as he pondered the meaning behind the old man’s words.

nWithout Alidor, any reinforcements would take a long time to move across the gates. Especially if they were a large force!

nLotus Tower had been close to Earth Tower, and yet it had still taken them a bit more than a week to reach it, and that was with having to deal with only one incident. And, the only reason there was only a single incident to deal with was because they had been moving from the very stable Earth Tower region.

nHowever, the reinforcement of the basilisks would have a host more to deal with.

nWithout Alidor, they would need to move the normal way through the gates since Alidor had never planned on sending reinforcements to begin with – he had assumed he had an accurate gauge on Ri’s abilities and he thought Dyon was too weak.

nThis meant that those large armies would need to leave the stable space of Gautama Tower, then cut through their instability of their own tower, all before cutting through Rod and Looming Tower to reach Lotus Tower.

nAnd, none of this accounted for the most unstable reason they’d have to traverse – Epistemic Tower.

nIt could very well take them months…

n‘Grand teacher… Will I finish before the gates close?’

nThere was another thing Dyon had neglected. The reason why campaigns were fought in spurts was because the gates were closed off to the outside world for four months a year. Now that he thought about it, this was likely to recuperate from damage and accumulate energy. After all, the entirety of the gate was an array.

nThis was why the Elvin Kingdom was ‘late’ to the campaign and had also returned home ‘early’ from the previous ones. There were actual set times it was optimal to campaign.

nThat said, it was possible to remain in the gate during the time it was closed, it was just that it would be more dangerous – with the exception of Gautama and Earth Tower that is. Those two remained as stable pillars.

n“Ai. You should finish with about two weeks to the end of the cycle… But, it is likely that those armies would have already reached your fiancée by then. So, you’d have to beat Alidor rather quickly if this is still what you want to do.”

nDyon’s eyes flashed. ‘I’m ready.’

nThe old man said nothing as Dyon’s senses were completely blocked.

n“This’ll be a pain you’ve never experienced the likes of before…”

nDyon steeled him at the final words he’d be hearing for the next few months.

n‘Think about it this way. In two months, you’ll be strong, right?’ Dyon chuckled to himself, trying to ignore the nervous sweat creeping down his back.

nFeeling something touch down on him, Dyon took in a sharp breath, trying to prepare himself… But, nothing could have made him ready for this…

nSuddenly, Dyon felt like screaming. He didn’t know whether he did or not. In fact, he couldn’t even feel his own throat vibrate anymore. It was as though the ripping in his chest was all there was to the world.

nIt felt like his entire body was restructuring itself, breaking down into its smallest components before reforming… Just to break down again.

nAnd maybe the worst part was that he couldn’t hear himself scream. It made him feel as though his pain was insignificant… As though in the grand scheme of things, his feelings meant nothing…

nAll he could do was endure. To feel his organs being shoved apart and rearranged. He had to feel his rib cage expand and contract, bursting out of itself just to reform again – then repeat.

nMaybe the most uncomfortable feeling was the invasion of his brain… The uncomfortable crawling of his skin… The feeling of having himself turned inside out…

nAnd yet, there was still worse to come… The nervous system was the connection of the natural to the supernatural as Dyon had said.

nNow, what do you think happens when untold pain finds its way to the system responsible for letting you know that you’re in pain…

nIt was as though there was no break to breathe. The meridians were forcibly attaching themselves to a system of things they had no business being a part of before.

nThey ripped apart Dyon’s nerves, finding homes for themselves within. They pumped Dyon’s body with essence energy, only amplifying his senses to everything that was going on… and yet still, there was more to come.

nBecause… the implanting of the meridians was only the first part…

nWhat happens when fully opened meridians enter and merge with the body of a boy still within the foundation stage? … Agony. Pure and untold agony.

nDyon’s body began to bulge as new energies ravaged him. He felt every new will of the Gama energy the meridians had been tempered with coursing through him, but they were of no help… They were like a doorway he was barred from, only to supply him with pain when he poked and prodded.

nAnd yet, still, Dyon couldn’t hear himself scream… There was no one to hear his pitiful cries and the old man had pretended as though he had never known Dyon in the first place.

nIt was as though nuclear bombs were going off … 108 of them… And Dyon was just a spectator to the destruction of his own body…

nIn the end… Dyon’s body really did burst apart…

nJust the bulb of his aurora protecting his soul within remained as the blood and gore floated around him, trying to slowly reform itself.

nBut, somehow, the pain was still very real.

nEvery blob of blood felt as though it was still a part of Dyon… every bit of flesh that had been torn asunder… And still, he couldn’t hear his own scream…

n**

nAt Lotus Tower, a battle still raged on. It had been months since Dyon’s disappearance, and Ri no longer worried as much as she had… But, she still got the sinking feeling that something major must be going on for her fiancé to still not have come back yet.

n‘Are you conquering the Epistemic Tower right now?… Are you safe?…’

n“Commander! We need to pull back!” Arios’ voice snapped Ri out of her trance.

nShe suddenly realized that her vision was red and that she could barely feel her arms even though he sword was held out in front of her. ‘What’s wrong with me?…’

nA strong hand grasped Ri’s shoulder as they teleported away from the battle field.

n“Ugh.” RI collapsed to her knee, stabbing her sword into the ground as she took deep breaths.

n“What’s going on?” She asked. Looking around, Ri was truly confused.

nAll of the demon generals had teleported away along with the elves and the few from the Niveus Sect. Right now, they stood as the center of a teleportation pad, distortions fluctuating around them faintly.

nAkash kneeled beside Ri, wiping the blood from her forehead. It seemed that Ri had been fighting so hard that she hadn’t even noticed a gash had opened up, reddening her vision.

n“Akash?”

n“Silly girl. You’re a princess. Didn’t you realize you were out there fighting alone? We were worried sick so we sent Arios out to get you.”

n“Alone? Since when?” Ri truly hadn’t noticed. But, that was beside the point. Why had everyone pulled back?

n“It was only a few minutes before we noticed, but, it took Arios quite a while to cut his way to you…”

n“But, what’s going on?”

nArios sighed. “You’ve been too distracted to notice. But, I can’t blame you.”

nRi was too disoriented to understand what was going on. If Dyon had been here, he would have likely diagnosed her with a concussion. But, symptoms like that for a martial warrior would disappear within minutes.

n“On the first day,” Akash spoke up. “Dyon took out four hundred thousand.” She said solemnly. “With the following two weeks, we managed to whittle them down to just one hundred thousand by using your tactics… But…”

n“But?” Ri’s eyes blinked, still trying to adjust to her surroundings.

n“But, it’s been more than two months since then and yet it doesn’t seem like their numbers have gone down at all. In fact, in that time, we’ve only taken out an additional ten thousand…”

n“What?” Ri tried to stand but stumbled. It was suddenly clear to her that she had long since lost her faith seed transformation. Why had it taken her so long to realize something like that? She was supposed to be commanding! ‘Dammit!’

nOver the past two months, the basilisks had been stalling for time… And it seemed like the lotus alliance was running out of time to figure out why such aggressive beasts had suddenly become so clever…

nAnd now, suddenly only their most elite of warriors were left…

nWhat the lotus alliance didn’t know was that a massive army of essence gathering experts was headed toward their location. And Bas and Liska were certain it wasn’t something they were prepared for…

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