Grikori was able to run almost twenty miles before the Purple Mist Sect members caught him. His strange shadow powers made it very tricky to pin him down, but it only took a small amount of their poison to slow him down and make him easy prey. Sage caught up with them and sent all three to the Inner World together. Thankfully, they had been considerate enough to bring him out into the middle of nowhere before attacking so Grikori was quite far from a settlement he could hide in. This level of...
2022-10-06 20:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“Have you had enough fun yet?”
“Fun? I’m just trying to see what he can do.”
“You’re just wasting time because you’re itching for a fight. Don’t try to pretend.”
At this time, Sage was interrupted by the voice of Guan Zhenyan. He was just starting to enjoy the battle, but that excitement was instantly fizzled by those words. What he said was true, just a few weeks of traveling monotonously through the levels of the tower meant it had been years since he...
2022-10-05 20:00:05 +0000 UTC
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A moment later, Sage found out first hand that his guess was correct. The green eyed zombies gave him a little more space, leaving a large clearing like this gloomy forest was a dance floor, or a bare knuckle boxing ring. The burly woman and the thin Count stepped into the ‘ring’ and lifted their large weapons. They spread out to try and circle around to two sides of him, and he moved to prevent this. Unfortunately, if he strayed too close to the edge of the circle the zombies would try t...
2022-10-04 23:44:24 +0000 UTC
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Sage wasn’t sure what Count Voctem hoped to accomplish with these empowered zombies. They weren’t instantly defeated by the First Light, but they still weren’t very powerful. He could send them flying with a single punch and with just a little more effort cleave them apart. After knocking a few more of them back he saw the first zombies he hit had recovered. The severed arm was collected and pressed up against the shoulder. A green light flashed and the limb was reattached. They were pr...
2022-09-30 20:50:59 +0000 UTC
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After this flurry of attacks, the spreading Parasitic Roots seemed to cause an immediate result. The front of the tree immediately split apart, but it did not seem to be because of the roots. Instead this split grew into a large door sized opening and from a dark alcove Count Voctem showed his face once again. He frowned at the sight of the roots and he drew the large scythe out from the center of the tree and swung it against the place the seeds had burrowed into the dark wood. He cleaved of...
2022-09-29 22:22:46 +0000 UTC
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Sage treated these ghosts with caution, but that didn’t mean he feared them. He had quite a few methods that were supposed to be good when used against spirit type beings, but since this was the first time he’d faced ghosts in this manner he took the opportunity to run some tests. Purely physical attacks were basically useless. Qi and Spirit Power could harm them, but it was quite inefficient. These ghosts were infused with Count Voctem's law power and if he used Qi power without law ener...
2022-09-28 21:40:06 +0000 UTC
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Having removed the immediate threat from the servant, Grikori, as well as the Cerberus and any surprises that might be waiting in the carriage, Sage turned his attention to Voctem. It was also somewhat of a loss as he hadn’t dealt with Grikori permanently, but the Blacksilver Pawns and the injuries should keep him out of the way. This wasn’t bad, but he’d allowed Count Voctem time to complete whatever move he was doing over there. It was always a good rule of thumb to not let the enemy ...
2022-09-27 20:30:06 +0000 UTC
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With the huge scythe blade swinging towards him, Sage finally felt a bit of threat from this Count Voctem. Before the weapon could strike him a large figure appeared in front of it. A nearly ten foot tall figure appeared between the two of them and interposed its body between Sage and the scythe. The large form used its hand to grab hold of the scythe’s haft, rushing forward to slam its body into Count Voctem. In the process the blackish-green energy as well as the blade it surrounded conne...
2022-09-23 21:28:56 +0000 UTC
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The manor owner led him back to the side of the carriage and opened the door before climbing inside. Sage followed after him and they sat upon a luxurious set of soft cushions upholstered with a thick dark leather covered in way too much stitchwork. Whatever beasts it came from, they were not taken down easily. The leather from at least a dozen different creatures was stitched together in a patchwork fashion and the coloring almost looked like it was dyed with blood afterwards.
Ignoring...
2022-09-22 20:40:42 +0000 UTC
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The strange servant didn’t stop him, instead hustling to catch up and then move in front of Sage to lead the way. The huge hallway was more like a dark tunnel without a shred of light outside of that created by the open doorway behind them. After a few moments the darkness was broken by a light source up ahead and Sage found himself walking into a yard. To either side there were no walls, which meant this wasn’t a courtyard. He glanced back directly through the whole building.
W...
2022-09-21 20:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Flustered by his words, the manor owner spoke rapidly to one of his subordinates and they brought a tray carrying multiple Storage Rings to Sage before he left, handing them over with a smile, “Forgive us, Sir. We forgot about the interest. Please take the extra as our compensation for making you wait so long.”
Sage took the Storage Rings and then nodded, giving the manor owner a smile, “Thank you for your prompt payment. The Dream Dealer looks forward to receiving your future bus...
2022-09-20 20:56:21 +0000 UTC
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Climbing the levels of the Tianxia Capital was quite an odd experience. Each of the floors felt like a gigantic city, and after passing through the first ten they started to become far more varied. Some had huge open wilderness areas with immense nature preserves and wild animals roaming freely. Others were rolling farmlands on gentle hills, filled with crops and quaint little villages. There was even one with mountainous peaks, with sharp cliff-faces and fertile valleys. These themes seemed ...
2022-09-16 20:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Putting aside his thoughts of the nature of this world, Sage traveled into the first level of the Tianxia Capital and saw that it was less like a city and more like a gigantic port. Most of the people entering the city were actually here to drop off and pick up goods for transport. Even those who weren’t traveling with a large carriage or caravan, many of them had many storage treasures filled with goods. Once they did their business they would unwind at inns, taverns, or other seedier esta...
2022-09-15 20:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Flying down towards the surface entrance, Sage saw a massive line waiting to enter the tower while there was also a steady flow heading out. The line was filled with a motley crew of all sorts of different beings and creatures. House-sized wagons being pulled by Demonic Beasts were quite common and the appearance of those beasts varied greatly. There was one wagon that was covered in sharply twisted and pointed scrap metal being pulled by a team of immense one-eyed green-skinned oxen. Then ju...
2022-09-14 20:20:23 +0000 UTC
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“One, two, three,” Sage’s golden eyes passed over the object dotted through the sky in front of him, “Thirty four.”
Finishing the count, he couldn’t help but to whistle softly with amazement. The objects in the sky he was counting came in many different shapes and styles. Some were wide and stocky, others were slim and elegant, a few were covered in sharp angles and pointed plates that made them look ready for war. Whatever the case, it was quite astonishing to see more than...
2022-09-13 20:00:05 +0000 UTC
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At this point, Sage felt he’d reached a decision point. He could continue to wait around to defend his Clan and pass the decades until his next appointment came up. Or, he could take care of an obligation that he still had plenty of time to fulfill. This second obligation had a far longer period before it had to be undertaken, but his distaste for it was much greater. In a few decades the Realm Heart would reach the state he was looking for and could try to study the laws within it. In addi...
2022-09-09 20:00:04 +0000 UTC
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After handling the potential leaks from the Chong Clan, Sage paid a visit to one other suspicious party. This time he brought more than just the Purple Mist Sect. He also brought along his wife, Jiao, as well as some of his descendants who were skilled diplomats. That’s because they’d returned to a place he hadn’t been for some time: the Zhu Clan. The in-laws. Sage didn’t have a very good relationship with these people, but that was mainly because of how little his wife thought of the...
2022-09-08 20:00:03 +0000 UTC
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The problem was how difficult they were to perform. They required helpless subjects, long procedures, and consumed resources to create their effects just like the products other Professions produced. Worse yet, if a Restriction were to fail, it would cause permanent harm to the person it was placed upon. It was much safer and easier to spend effort creating tools, formations or even talismans. They could be passed on to others or traded for resources. Many feared that Restrictions would be us...
2022-09-07 20:01:01 +0000 UTC
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The Chong Clan filed into the room in groups where they were suddenly overwhelmed by a powerful sleeping poison and then sent to the Inner World. The quantity of poison required to knock out the whole clan of thousands might be too much for others to handle, but Sage could simply have the Lang Clan on the Inner World manufacture it for him. It took a few hours for the whole of the Chong Clan to be sent away, completely stealing away the leadership of the Lucky Star Province.
Without was...
2022-09-06 20:01:01 +0000 UTC
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“Make your announcement, then pass control to me. Unless you’d prefer to be the one using your Sect Protecting Array to trap your own Clan.”
Xie Bian’s face twisted with his declaration. This order was truly distasteful to her, but if she trusted Lang Sheng’s words then it would be best for the Chong Clan to comply. By trapping her own Clan in then it would help squash any misguided hope of escape. The Blood Contract Lang Sheng showed her proved that as long as they surrendere...
2022-09-02 22:08:13 +0000 UTC
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Sage was faced with a difficult position. The only way to ensure the Four Major Businesses didn’t get their hands on the Insect Immortal Index was to take very drastic measures. If this concerned only the profits of the Prosperity Company, Sage would never do something so radical, but the strength of the Lang Clan was very reliant on modifying their bodies. Dragoons, Adjutors, and their own bodies were all created in this way. Giving others insight into their secrets could help them find th...
2022-09-01 20:00:06 +0000 UTC
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“I’m glad you could take the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me, Xie Bian. You’re the Clan Head now, so you’ve probably got endless problems to deal with.”
“Others may have forgotten, but I will always remember the part you played in getting me this position, Lang Sheng. Aren’t you busy as well, you brought your Clan back and control of a whole Province. You can’t be as relaxed as you act.”
“It was my duty, don’t worry about it. As for my Clan, yo...
2022-08-31 20:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Thousand Treasures had put all the biggest traveling merchants in the Dou Kingdom out of business because they could never move goods faster than Transportation Arrays over long distances. At least that was the case when they had access to every type of commodity. With the introduction of a new supply of items that Thousand Treasures didn’t have access to, many merchants who specialized in transportation were eager to show their support for the Prosperity Company. As long as the Prosperity ...
2022-08-30 20:00:03 +0000 UTC
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The fact that the Four Major Businesses used ‘bandits’, and conspiracies before attempting to compete in the business field was only further justification to the Lang Clan that they chose correctly. If this was how they handled all their business, then it was time for someone to knock them down a few pegs.
In addition to guarding against physical attacks outside the cities and dealing with harmful agents, the Prosperity Company also began to face actual pressure in their business de...
2022-08-26 23:04:55 +0000 UTC
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The conflict between these two sides started out with loss for both. Or at least that’s what the Four Major Businesses thought of it. They had no idea of the scale of lower level resources that the Lang Clan had access to. The quality of the resources on the Inner World were somewhat dependent on Sage’s own strength as well as the varieties of Heavenly Materials he gathered. Whenever he got stronger or assimilated another Heavenly Material they learned that new resources started to appear...
2022-08-25 20:01:01 +0000 UTC
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With a third of their number devoting themselves to defense, the rest of the Dragoons were unable to completely overwhelm the mercenaries who outnumbered them. Or at least that would be the conventional wisdom. This expectation was completely overturned by the weapons carried by the Dragoons. With these armaments, it was almost like their numbers were doubled and this made for a very powerful offense being leveled against the army of mercenaries.
After the first two waves of Dragoons, a...
2022-08-24 20:15:59 +0000 UTC
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The Four Major Businesses of the Dou Kingdom had a very prestigious name, and it would certainly be beneath them to openly go to war with another group. As a business, it was expected they would defend their assets, but if they were in competition with another business and directly attacked them, wouldn’t that be an admission of their inferiority? How can they claim to be the top businesses if they use their fists instead of competing with goods?
Of course, that was only on the surfac...
2022-08-23 20:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Sage was a little surprised to see such flirting right out of the gate, but he was briefed beforehand that this was one of Zhuge Xinyan’s most common tactics. There were many men that were easily swayed by a pretty face and just like having a gorgeous auctioneer, having a pretty and flirtatious business partner gave them an advantage. Even if they didn’t fall for her entirely, they were still more likely to give her a better deal after she flirts and pouts at them. It was just unfortunate...
2022-08-19 20:00:14 +0000 UTC
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Since they’d taken the respectful approach, the most relevant members of the Lang Clan were able to assemble properly to greet them. That meant those most skilled in business were in attendance, namely Ling and the Clan Leader, Yating. Yating inherited a sense for business from his mother, and this acumen got him the spot as the Clan Leader. They needed a shrewd manager that wouldn’t overextend or lead them into bad investments, not just in their business ventures, but their other activit...
2022-08-18 22:44:19 +0000 UTC
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The difference between the two worlds had only become greater and greater over time. With the great influx of sea life from the Depths, the oceans of the Inner World became far more diverse. Sage had slowly collected many species of land creatures before heading to the Depths, and while it wasn’t comparable to the actual outside world, it was still enough to create many complex ecosystems. Especially after all those creatures had thousands of years to develop and change. Yet, the developmen...
2022-08-17 20:00:04 +0000 UTC
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