The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop - Chapter 52: Battlefield Grinding II

“That strange hellfire they used to ignite the soul nexus,” Orodan said. “Any idea what it could be?”

Prince Zhou Shan looked apprehensive as the question was asked. He frowned as he spoke.

“It could be a few different things… but one of the most likely is soul-devouring hellfire,” the Prince answered. “A wicked flame unique to the hells which can cause soul explosions in the target. It must’ve been a modified one capable of virulently spreading.”

“I sensed a pulse of world energy go out before the nexus went off,” Orodan added. “From a ring on that Devil’s finger no less. Is that his crown?”

“Yes, having dominion over a world core allows a Sovereign to direct world energy to various ends, as you no doubt know,” Zhou Shan said. “With that thing possessing his body, the puppet Sovereign has essentially ceded control of his world core to the Devil King within.”

Orodan nodded in response, yet in truth his control over world energy wasn’t anything special. In fact, he suspected there were skills related to it which he didn’t currently have. His current abilities with it were limited to increasing or decreasing the density of world energy upon Alastaia.

Using world energy to set a virulent hellfire upon a soul nexus? He wasn’t sure if he could do anything of the sort.

“Before I charge in, tell me more about these bull demons that compose the enemy’s front ranks,” Orodan said as he drew his weapons.

“The rank-and-file chaff of the typical devil army. The cultivators among our foes are pacified only by the fact that they’re mere slaves and not equal soldiers within the army,” Zhou Shan explained. “The puppet Sovereign must have some method of controlling them. Still, while their battle methods are crude, they possess the physical attributes of a body cultivator and can be a genuine threat in melee combat. Forcing our troops to confront fifteen-thousand bull demons first is a devious but undeniably effective tactic. Their cultivators can then sweep in, fresh, to unleash their full might against our exhausted front line.”

 

“Their loyalty to the enemy doesn’t run deep. Once I eliminated the control mechanisms within their minds, they broke and ran rather quickly,” Orodan said.

 

“Truly? How many of these bull demons do you think you could subvert in such a manner?” the Prince asked.

“If I managed to gather them together, all of them. Of course, their common-sense measure of keeping respectable distances between each regiment makes it difficult to catch them all in one go,” Orodan answered. “Anyhow, I’ll ask more questions once I’m back here again. For now, battle calls!”

“I’ll be keeping you updated on the status of the battlefield, Orodan,” Zaessythra said as she fluttered about. “If I’m going to sit here and go along with your insane training regimen, then the least I can do is keep you informed.”

He nodded and then turned to take stock of his foes.

Forty-thousand troops. Fifteen-thousand of whom were bull demons. Not a real threat, but enough of a distraction to him that the enemy captains and commanders who were Transcendents and Gods could capitalize. Hells, in the last loop just thirty enemy Transcendents working together had posed a serious threat to him.

Not every enemy Transcendent was a monster. Hells, he estimated he was stronger than a newly ascended Transcendent, and the bulk of them consisted of new ones. Of course, they also had some monsters among them, such as the gold cultivator. The existence of strange and deadly abilities among the enemy was something to respect. Particularly the anti-healing techniques that gold cultivator had used.

It was time for war.

There was no fancy announcement or declaration that Orodan would be facing the puppet Sovereign’s army by himself. One moment, the enemy army was arrayed before him, expecting battle against the third army. And the next…

…space was mangled with brute force and endless power as a Teleportation tore through their space-lock formations. Orodan stepped through, eyes blazing white with excess soul energy.

“The enemy Celestial!”

“Our space-lock formation was overpowered!”

“Front ranks! Advance and engage! He’s isolated!” barked the Transcendent whip cultivator, the commander of the center-line bull demon regiments. Unlike last time, he had no allied forces supporting him. No friendly flying dragons, no allies on the flanks occupying the enemy. No allied Transcendents and Gods occupying a portion of the enemy elites.

Which meant…

“Orodan! The flying fell beasts are converging on your position! You’re about to become the target of focus fire!” Zaessythra warned him mentally. She was the only one he allowed inside his mind to communicate with him. He wouldn’t say he trusted too easily, but she’d given her life for him before.

Last time, he’d seen one enemy unit working together to coalesce into an energy beast, a formation assault which amplified their destructive prowess. Then, they’d stopped firing due to him entering melee and for the threat presented by the rest of the Third Army.

Now, however, as more than ten enemy formation assaults began winding up, Orodan realized that facing an entire army by himself was a tall order.

Each unit of enemy missile troops sent their own volley at him. Four separate barrages of empowered projectiles hit him and blasted holes through his body. Although each bow cultivator in the formation was a mere Grandmaster, when empowered by formation flags and working together, they could strike with devastating power capable of felling even a Transcendent. These units of Grandmaster-level troops weren’t mere chaff. They wouldn’t have been fielded in warfare unless they could present a genuine threat to beings a tier above.

Barrages of fire, water, ice and lightning also made contact, but these weren’t an issue thanks to his resistance skills. The threat came from the missiles delivered by the enemy archers and javelineers.

Arrows, javelins and even a small volley of throwing axes struck him, with the axes hitting especially hard, signifying they were an elite unit. This was just the beginning though, as not even the skies were safe! From above, flying monsters carrying enemy forces rained down all manner of attacks upon his devastated physical form.

He was but chunks of glowing meat upon the ground. And the enemy Transcendents hadn’t even gotten involved yet. Facing a regiment of five-thousand bull demons was one thing. And receiving the assault of multiple enemy ranged units at once, was another.

Orodan was near death.

Yet, in exchange…

…his enemies paid a severe price.

Striking Orodan Wainwright in great numbers without adequate preparation could spell disaster.

“How…! How have all these troops died!” the whip cultivator bellowed in shock and disbelief.

Last time, he’d been struck by a single unit of enemy bow cultivators working in concert. Perhaps the confusion of battle had caused their deaths to be overlooked then. But to now be struck by multiple enemy ranged units, the effect was devastating.

Even if barely, Orodan had survived. The same couldn’t be said for the enemy missile troops who assaulted him though. Over two-thirds of their number were dead, slaughtered by the more than five-fold return of damage. Warrior’s Reciprocity was deadly enough when facing a strong foe. In the context of a battle, it could spell instant disaster, cutting enemy numbers by a third in an instant.

The army of forty-thousand, was now an army of less than thirty-thousand.

“Stop! Hold fire! Hold fire! He can somehow return damage when attacked!” one of the enemy Gods commanding their own formation roared. “We must engage with Gods and Transcendents!”

“Front line! Pull back! Time and Soul cultivators! Replenish casualties!” the gold cultivator in the back ranks ordered. “Captains and commanders, advance and engage the enemy Celestial in combat! Xue Ran! Gather your healers and help offset that ability of his to return damage!”

Orodan reformed, and before the enemy could pull back their bull demon regiments in time… Domain Of Perfect Cleaning shot out. The effects were immediately apparent, and the enemy’s reactions swift.

“Mind cultivators defend! He targets the control mechanisms upon the demons!” the commanding whip cultivator ordered. Unfortunately, it was too late.

The first sign that the five-thousand strong regiment of bull demons had their minds cleansed was when the bloodlust in their eyes suddenly abated. Without corruptive mind control effects upon them, their natural instincts returned. And they realized that facing Orodan was a bad idea. Immediately, they began scattering, refusing to follow the retreat order in a disciplined manner.

“Cowardly slaves! Our front line erodes! Send in the reserves!” the whip cultivator ordered. “Target the Celestial! Now!”

Unlike last time where he’d fought only thirty enemy Transcendents at once. This time, without the distraction and reprieve an allied army provided him… he was up against over two-hundred enemy Gods and Transcendents.

It was totally unfair, and he could put up no resistance whatsoever. Although he did gain four levels in Divine Resistance from the Gods landing their incredibly destructive attacks of divine energy. Frankly, even without the gold cultivator attacking him there were plenty of enemy Transcendents who were especially lethal in their own right. In the last checkpoint loop, he’d not met these foes as they were likely keeping Zhou Shan or the Third Army occupied.

Yet as a gravity cultivator created multiple singularities around his body, forcing his flesh to be torn apart, Orodan had to respect the fact that the forces of the puppet Sovereign had some diverse foes who he couldn’t easily overpower. The shredded chunks of his body were then devoured by an enemy cultivator with a profound level of control over acid, and he was finally killed when the gold cultivator stifled his healing, and a beam of energy destroyed the chunks.

[C$h@ec(kp*oi#nt R#es%to&red]

[U@ses Re^ma#in@ing – 2212]

“My Prince! The puppet’s army has been spotted on the horizon! They… they come in extreme numbers!” a messenger declared.

“They have over two-hundred Gods and Transcendents altogether,” Orodan said.

“Huh? How do you know the exact-”

“Ugh! You’re time looping and fighting the army by yourself, aren’t you?” Zaessythra asked and Orodan nodded. “Why am I not surprised, of course you would do something like this.”

He smiled.

“They’re stronger than I expected though,” Orodan replied. “They killed me before the puppet could even set the soul nexus aflame and cause that gigantic explosion.”

“-what?!” the Prince roared in shock.

“Ah, right. Upon realizing that I won’t work alongside him, the puppet Sovereign decides to set the soul nexus aflame in a bid to cause me permanent damage,” Orodan explained. “From what you explained, it’s something the System itself will punish him for.”

“By the heavens, for that devil to sink so low… I abhor it all the more, yet I cannot blame it,” the Prince said, and then elaborated when Orodan gave him a look of confusion. “Think about it, you’re the single greatest enemy a being of power could have. Once your allegiances are made clear, who wouldn’t want to strike a permanent blow against you?”

It made sense. The Devil King possessing the puppet Sovereign had the pragmatism and decisiveness to sacrifice itself in a bid to strike such a blow.

“Of course, I’ll have to actually reach the puppet Sovereign first,” Orodan remarked. “Fighting the enemy army by myself gets me killed before it even deigns to come out.”

“Is that how you’re doing it? Such a ridiculous method of acquiring strength,” the Prince said. “Yet, if you really are a time looper, then perhaps this is the most effective method. It also does not harm us to have you soften our enemies up.”

“Right, after all, you have to turn around and deal with your tyrannical father after this, no?” Orodan asked, and in response, the Prince’s face took on a stormy look.

“That is… a complicated matter,” Zhou Shan said.

“Alright, we can talk about it after I win,” Orodan said as he picked up his weapons and faced the direction of the enemy. “Eventually, that is.”

He charged the enemy battle lines, ravaged the enemy ranged backlines through reciprocity, routed the regiment of five-thousand bull demons and was then promptly eradicated by the assault of over two-hundred enemy Gods and Transcendents.

At least he’d gained levels in Divine Resistance, Harmony of Vitality and Domain Of Perfect Cleaning for it.

#

[C$h@ec(kp*oi#nt R#es%to&red]

[U@ses Re^ma#in@ing – 2211]

“My Prince! The puppet’s army has been spotted on the horizon! They… they come in extreme numbers!” a messenger declared.

“Alright, what’s the name of that gold cultivator,” Orodan asked. “His abilities are an excellent counter to my self-healing.”

“Eh? What do you mean? The Sovereign of Endless Riches? He’s one of the inner-circle commanders of the enemy forces,” Zhou Shan said. “You have a grudge against him?”

“Far from it, rather, I respect his abilities and the opportunity he’s providing me.”

“Let me guess… you’re time looping against the enemy army?” Zaessythra asked and Orodan simply smiled in response. “Of course, why am I not surprised? How many tries has it been?”

“Only two so far.”

“And the hardest challenge at the moment?”

“The moment when more than two-hundred enemy Gods and Transcendents focus fire on me,” Orodan answered. “I just can’t seem to survive it yet, even if I’ll eventually grow to overcome it. Another issue is that the enemy’s formation spacing doesn’t allow me to cleanse all the enslaved bull demons at once.”

“You can purge them of their masters’ control?” Zhou Shan asked.

“Yes, but I’m wondering how I might go about doing so,” Orodan said. “There are three regiments of them. However. causing one regiment to rout makes the enemy commanders pull back the other two.”

“Why not use Spatial Folds and extend your reach?”

“Spatial Folds you say?”

Now that was an idea.

He kept it in mind as he entered battle once more.

He rushed the enemy army as usual, caused massive numbers of their ranged troops to fall, and when the time came to subvert the enemy bull demons…

…two Spatial Folds were cast to the left and right of him, towards the left and right flanks of the enemy where their remaining bull demon regiments were. Each regiment was five-thousand strong, and Orodan could reach those flanks in a single step if he now wanted.

Yet, that was not his intent.

Domain Of Perfect Cleaning shot out, purging the bull demons of the center regiment, and at the same time the skill shot through the compressed space of the Spatial Folds to the left and right of him. A devious method of extending his reach with the skill.

The commander of the centre, the whip cultivator, could only stare with widened eyes.

“Mind cultivators! Defend the slaves!” she ordered. Of course, it was far too late for that.

Domain Of Perfect Cleaning targeted all dirt, filth or corruption within its radius immediately. The only times it would take longer was when the corruption was deep rooted and particularly powerful, otherwise it would apply equally to all.

Which meant the enemy’s mind cultivators stood no chance of salvaging the situation, as by the time the order was given, the bull demons had their minds purged.

Immediately, the front lines of the enemy army fell apart as fifteen-thousand bull demons suddenly had their minds cleansed of their masters’ magically enforced commands.

“Stand in line, maggots! Maintain ranks!”

“M-master! The control mechanisms on the bull demons are gone!”

“Spear cultivators move up! Form ranks! The slaves have broken and are fleeing!” the gold cultivator ordered from the back ranks.

“Well done, Orodan! The bull demons are all routing,” Zaessythra said. “Enemy aerial forces have been decimated, their missile troops are in utter disarray and their reserves have been forced to step up. If the Third Army fought now, victory is a possibility.”

She was right.

The opposing army had started off forty-thousand strong. This was reduced to slightly under thirty-thousand when the enemy’s missile formations had assaulted Orodan in a combined volley. And now, another fifteen-thousand bull demons had routed, leaving the enemy with just under fifteen-thousand remaining troops.

In two small moves, a force of forty-thousand was brought to fifteen-thousand, and the dire odds of ten-thousand troops of the Third Army facing forty-thousand foes of the puppet Sovereign was no longer as lopsided.

Of course, the problem of over two-hundred enemy Gods and Transcendents focusing their fire on him still remained. And he faced complete eradication.

Yet this time, just before his approaching death, he heard the sign of progress.

“Wait! Do not kill him! He’s only going to come bac-”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

The darkness took him before the puppet Sovereign could finish.

[C$h@ec(kp*oi#nt R#es%to&red]

[U@ses Re^ma#in@ing – 2210]

“My Prince! The puppet’s army has been spotted on the horizon! They… they come in extreme numbers!” a messenger declared.

“It worked Zaessythra,” Orodan immediately declared.

“What did?” she asked.

“The strategy you proposed in the last loop, to use Spatial Fold to extend the reach of Domain Of Perfect Cleaning,” Orodan said. “It worked better than I thought it would. I hadn’t considered using Spatial Folds to extend the range of my cleaning like that.”

“Then that means – of course. Of course you’d be using the loops to face an army,” Zaessythra said, sounding utterly resigned. “That does sound like a creative use of spatiomancy and your Celestial skill though. Well, creative insofar that nobody else I know of can meet the energy requirements to do so. Will you be using it from now on?”

“No.”

His favorite book practically slammed onto his head.

“Try again.”

“I mean, yes, but also no,” Orodan said, and then placatingly raised his hands when she looked to be winding up for another hit. “I’ll obviously add it to my repertoire but using it in this battle would be sacrificing the opportunity to train! Think about it, what if I trained my skill to the point where I had the range to cleanse all the bull demons without utilizing spatiomancy?”

His companion sighed, and it was a long and drawn-out thing.

“I suppose I can see the wisdom in that,” she conceded. “Don’t neglect the usage of spatiomancy just because it’s magic.”

“I’ve been making progress on growing out of that mindset,” Orodan replied. “Thanks to your help of course.”

Power was power. The thrust of a blade and the cast of a spell were but the means to his desired end. While he still held some preferences towards engaging the enemy in honorable melee combat, the days where he would disdain magic were behind him. Besides, he had enough self-awareness to recognize that Domain Of Perfect Cleaning was basically ‘cleaning magic’.

“Glad to see you have some gratitude,” she said with haughty arrogance. “Now go on and get to it so this insanity can be ended.”

“Well, I’ll still need at least a hundred loops, so we have a ways to go.”

“No, you have a ways to go. For me, I’m just along for this loop, so the quicker you get to work and end it, the faster this madness ends for me,” Zaessythra said.

Fair point. The only one who experienced the loops in their full continuity was Orodan, far as he knew at least. That, and whoever had put him in the time loops in the first place maybe.

His gaze went towards the enemy, and he looked forward to the fact that there was much work to be done.

After all, this endeavor would take many, many repeats.

#

Finding a gathering of multiple Grandmasters and Transcendents was difficult. Orodan had continually ruminated on just how he would train upon leaving Alastaia, yet in a stroke of excellent fortune, powerful opponents had presented themselves to him without much searching on his part.

This battlefield was a lucky opportunity then.

And this battlefield was also full of death. Both his own and the enemy’s.

The real problem was the enemies among his foes who could restrict his movements and stifle his healing. The gold cultivator was one of them, however two more foes of note were the gravity and acid cultivators. Both were inner-circle commanders of the enemy army. People who he hadn’t met the first time as they were too busy occupying Zhou Shan.

The gravity cultivator was a Transcendent who could create multiple singularities around Orodan’s body and use the incredible forces to rip him apart. His flesh, bones and entire limbs would be pulled right off and drawn into a singularity to face utter annihilation. He’d experienced powerful gravitational forces before, but this cultivator was a true powerhouse whose control over such a fundamental force of reality was absolute. His own Whirlpool Whirlwind, which was a part of his Celestial skill, paled in comparison.

The acid cultivator was a simple woman in a light green robe who looked unassuming, yet the acid she controlled was lethal beyond compare. His natural healing was ravaged and rendered ineffective; cells struggled to be born anew when acid was present everywhere and new cells were birthed only to be instantly disintegrated. Similar to the gold cultivator, it was difficult to actually destroy the acid coursing through his body once she struck. It practically melted his flesh, and his Fire Resistance didn’t help at all.

Each time he rushed forward and broke their rank and file, the enemy army’s Gods and Transcendents unleashed ranged destruction upon him without fail. The enemy Gods were simply a means of increasing Divine Resistance. The Transcendents however, were the true threat. And the three most lethal enemies among the lot of them were the gold, gravity and acid cultivators. Yes, the others were dangerous, deadly even. However, beams of fire, tsunamis, ice spikes and wind blades weren’t as concerning when he had existing resistance skills for them.

Beyond these foes lay the prospect of what he’d face when he survived to reach melee range. And past that, the puppet Sovereign and the detonation of the soul nexus itself. Needless to say, the odds were stacked against him, and Orodan had a number of successive hurdles to overcome.

So, he began by setting targets for himself.

Checkpoint repeats one to thirty were spent improving his ability to take damage and heal. His combat skills were slowly improving across the board as he suffered death after death against the horde of enemy Transcendents. However, he needed to survive for longer if he wanted to develop resistance skills against the three problematic enemy ranged cultivators.

He fought, he died, and he focused on pushing Harmony Of Vitality and Body Tempering to their utmost limits. And slowly but surely, results were beginning to show.

[C$h@ec(kp*oi#nt R#es%to&red]

[U@ses Re^ma#in@ing – 2180]

It was now checkpoint repeat thirty-one, and Orodan felt he was on the cusp of acquiring something that would help make a difference.

“My Prince! The puppet’s army has been spotted on the horizon! They… they come in extreme numbers!” a messenger declared.

“Acid. What is acid?” Orodan asked. “Zhou Shan, are there any acid cultivators among your troops?”

“My captain of the second regiment is a rather proficient acid cultivator,” the Prince said. “Why do you ask, Orodan?”

“Can I speak to him?” Orodan asked.

“If you feel it will help in some way, certainly,” the Prince said, and then at a gesture, a silver-robe wearing captain stepped forward from the back ranks.

“My Prince, you called?” the captain asked.

“Yes, our Celestial ally wishes to speak with you.”

Orodan looked the man up and down.

“There’s a woman among the enemy ranks. She wears a light green robe, and her acid is rather deadly,” Orodan explained. “Are you stronger than her?”

The captain’s face held a look of slight frustration as he shook his head.

“That woman is the Scouring Liquid Sovereign. Honored ally, I must regretfully admit that our force has none who can equal her in the acid arts,” the captain spoke.

“That’s fine. Rather, you’re a Transcendent, correct?” Orodan asked and the acid cultivator captain nodded. “Then, can you tell me what acid is and how it works?”

“Certainly. Acid is a reactionary substance. What makes it deadly is its ability to react with the very composition of a vulnerable material and destroy it, breaking apart the very joining forces,” the cultivator explained. “Advancing in the Dao of Acidity involves honing a more reactive acid that can break down stronger objects, and even things which it ordinarily would not react with. The corrosive properties of one’s acids should only grow stronger with levels as their comprehensions in the Dao of Acidity evolve. I myself ascended by focusing on pushing my acid to be capable of reacting with even reactionless materials.”

It corroded through reaction? That was just one part of it.

“I see, thank you. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind as I face her down this time,” Orodan said, and he could swear he heard Zaessythra mutter ‘of course’ in a resigned manner as she came to the realization that he was time looping to fight over and over.

“This time? What do you mean, Orodan Wainwright?” the Prince asked, but Orodan had already turned to face the enemy army.

“I’m time looping and will eventually best the entire enemy army,” he said. “Stay back and don’t interfere.”

If the Prince had something to say to that, it wasn’t heard by Orodan who tore space apart and stepped through with a Teleportation.

[Teleportation 51 → Teleportation 52]

[Space Mastery 68 → Space Mastery 69]

Just like in every loop prior, the enemy space-lock formation was overwhelmed, and Orodan smashed through. What he also came to learn over the numerous repeats was that it wasn’t just the space-lock formation protecting the enemy army’s vicinity against hostile teleportation, but also a contingent of space cultivators.

So, when Orodan overpowered not just the formation but also these cultivators who specialized in space? The Transcendents among them were placed on high alert. His very arrival was loud and not at all subtle, and it explained why the enemy commanders so immediately ordered an attack upon him. There was no taking Orodan lightly when he made their space cultivators look like amateurs.

The enemy commander barked her usual orders, and Orodan faced the onslaught of the enemy, causing mass casualties among their ranged backline of missile troops. Following that, his mind strained, and he reached out with bloody determination, pushing the bounds of his Celestial skill’s range as far as possible.

[Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 84 → Domain Of Perfect Cleaning 85]

Initially, he had only been able to cleanse the centre-line bull demon regiment of their mind controlling effects. Now, however, almost twelve-thousand bull demons were purged of their masters’ domination, and they routed. He had increased the range through hard work and stubborn determination alone. Without using the nifty trick Zaessythra had recommended either!

The remaining three-thousand bull demons were a paltry force, reduced in battle-prowess, and the enemy’s actual melee cultivator troops were forced to move up and reinforce the front line.

“The bull demons have broken! Reserve troops, shore up the front line!” one of the commanders bellowed.

“Target the enemy Celestial! Captains and commanders! Advance and focus fire!”

The trick of using Spatial Fold to extend his reach was nice, but it wasn’t proper training. Refusing to use it was the right decision. People often called Orodan stupid, but hard work and the dogged insistence on doing things the difficult way had its own rewards. His Celestial skill was growing without bottlenecks as he cleansed their minds each loop.

Of course, his successful performance led to the group of over two-hundred enemy Gods and Transcendents deciding it was time to focus their attention on him. A cascade of fire, ice, lightning and water struck him with fury as the enemy ranged cultivators blasted him. The elemental attacks were the easy part, Orodan was gleeful as they caused his resistances to slowly increase. The real damage came from the javelins, arrows and thrown projectiles of his enemies.

And he might’ve had a chance if not for the familiar gold creeping into his veins, and the acid which corroded his very body, all while powerful gravity ripped him apart.

His healing was stifled, his flesh and bones pulled from his frame, and his cells corroded to nothingness. He was on the verge of death when finally, the train of thought he’d been pursuing all this time came to a head.

Acid.

What was it?

The acid cultivator he’d spoken to in the Third Army’s war camp had explained that acid was a liquid which, through reaction, broke down target material, interacting with the smallet units of matter and breaking them down to further constituent parts. Yet, this was just the fundamental nature of acid.

It had different names in different places. Here, in the Ascendent Sword Cluster, it was the Dao of Acidity. Upon his home world of Alastaia, he’d heard of Acid Mastery. Certainly, the concept of acid wasn’t unique to any particular world or faction. Yet, the concept was empowered and pushed past its limits by the System.

So, while he was on the right track in trying to stop the reaction, attempting to just prevent the acid from reacting wouldn’t help him. Not when System-empowered things could do so much more than what one would expect of them. This enemy acid cultivator’s fluids could corrode even glass, much like his cleaning could purify the mind and soul. Utterly illogical, but he needed to acknowledge that high-level concepts could begin to bend reality.

Then… the key was tying this high-level concept back down to its roots.

Acid achieved its effect through a reaction. A reaction which broke the bonds between a particle and broke it down into smaller parts. To resist it then involved denying the reaction itself. But what if he went even further? What if… the reaction wasn’t possible because there was no smaller part to break something down to. What if his cells were a whole thing in and of themselves?

It was madness, Orodan admitted. Even for him.

To reject the very basis of matter-form composition, that everything was composed of parts which made up a whole. Even the soul, which some quack philosophers often theorized was a thing in and of itself with no parts, was in fact composed of parts. The outer soul layer, the inner soul core, the Blessings and Rewards. And deep within… the skills granted by the System itself. Yet, Orodan refused to entertain this notion.

To create a cell which was a thing in and of itself, with no parts. Was a tall order. Yet, instinctively, he felt he was onto something.

He strained, struggled and bled, yet he felt his mind was on the right track.

What did it mean to create something that was a thing in and of itself? Indivisible, whole… unified.

His body had many parts, the lungs which were responsible for the intake of air, the heart which pumped blood, the veins which carried it in a network across the body. The body, by its very nature, was composed of parts. And each part of the body had different sorts of cells, some specialized, some generic.

The goal then, was to create a cell which could handle each and every one of the body’s functions by itself. A cell that could power the brain, as well compose heart muscle, as well as compose the lungs. A cell that could fit in anywhere and do it all.

Yet even cells had parts they were composed of. To create a cell which had no parts, but was a thing in and of itself, it was madness. His fourteen minds worked together, and all the remaining vitality in his body was smashed together as his iron mind forced reality itself to bend and break to accommodate his desire.

The entirety of his body’s remaining cells coalesced into something. He was down to a single cell, and near darkness… yet this single cell was something else entirely. It couldn’t even be called a ‘cell’ anymore. Something that defied the traditional understanding of matter-form composition. It was unified and indivisible, unable to be dissected and pried apart.

A thing in and of itself.

It’s composition… absolute.

[New Skill (Mythical) → Absolute Body Composition 1]

[New Skill (Rare) → Acid Resistance 26]

Orodan didn’t have time to dwell on the fact that he’d acquired another Mythical skill, nor could he dwell on the fact that this insight was an especially critical one and not at all reflective of the skill rarity. To become something unified and indivisible… just how far could this extend?

The differences were immediately apparent. The gold could no longer find purchase in his veins, because there were no veins to find purchase within. His body was a strange thing now, and he felt that he could breathe through his skin, taste through his eyes and hear through his feet if so chose. Each cell was a thing in and of itself, and his body felt exceedingly strange, yet not in a bad way. It was as though all the functions of his physical form were condensed into each cell.

He’d essentially re-created his own form into something more.

Blood? Air? He needed neither of those as each cell did its own work self-sufficiently, packed with vitality. Life in and of itself.

And with Harmony Of Vitality, he began pushing back against the tide. Acid failed to corrode his cells since there was nothing to break them down to. His cells were a thing in and of themselves, and the gold had vastly reduced effect upon him as well.

Brute force or energy could still destroy him, but no longer would the cells of his body be divided. The acid also began washing over him ineffectively. If he had his old body, the Acid Resistance skill itself would’ve still caused minor corrosion damage. With this new form however, the acid was entirely ineffective as there was no lower base particle to break a cell down into.

Against all odds, despite the cataclysmic assaults crashing into him, he began to heal and recreate his body anew. Cell by cell, Harmony Of Vitality began to heal a new blueprint for his body. With this new form, Harmony Of Vitality wasn’t any stronger, but its task of reforming him anew was made dramatically easier. Now, for the same amount of power, he could heal far more since the blueprint was so much simpler.

His entire body was composed of this new cell. It had no parts, it performed all the functions of his body, and there was no dividing or prying it apart. As a result, he no longer had veins as they weren’t necessary. Organs? Veins? A brain? None of it was needed as each cell in his body could take the place of all of them.

The vulnerable spaces in his body where the gold had infiltrated before were now filled with densely packed muscle. These new cells of his were much more conducive to being tightly packed together too, so he felt his reformed body was at least half again as strong. All his physical abilities felt as though they would go fifty percent farther. He was a human, but one that had altered his own biology to be free of the unnecessary parts.

He’d seen golems at Bluefire, the well-made ones composed purely of one powerful material, and in a sense, he was now similar to them. A human still, but without any organs, veins and unnecessary vulnerabilities. Composed purely of densely packed muscle and bone. Those golems were powered by either their creator’s mana pool, or a power core within. And now, he was a man powered by naught but his soul.

“My acid isn’t working, he must have developed some kind of resistance,” the Scouring Liquid Sovereign said.

“My gold is having a difficult time entering his veins as well… what is this?” the Endless Wealth Sovereign uttered, baffled.

And while Orodan would’ve loved to beat back the enemy ranged tide and engage them in melee to see what they had to offer up close, it wasn’t to be.

“The enemy general is approaching you Orodan!” Zaessythra warned.

Sure enough, he saw the approaching form of a flying fell beast in the air, two familiar figures standing upon it. The puppet Sovereign and the Thousand Broom Sovereign.

“Hold all attacks!” the puppet bellowed. “Time looper, your brazen display of charging my army by your lonesome is admirable and amusing. But do not presume I don’t recognize the possibility that you’ve been looping.”

“Was it obvious?” Orodan asked. “You gave it a fair try, detonating the soul nexus in an effort to permanently cripple me, but I’ve recovered from the complete destruction of my outer soul layer before.”

The puppet Sovereign’s eyes narrowed and the foul thing wearing the face of a man looked to be deep in thought.

“You survived even that? Hmm… you truly are a most troubling foe, I will admit,” the possessed being said, and to its right the Thousand Broom Sovereign looked utterly incensed at the mention of the soul nexus’s destruction. “Very well, you’ve convinced me.”

Orodan had a perplexed look on his face.

“Convinced you of what?”

“That this is unwinnable in the long term.”

The puppet Sovereign’s body promptly exploded. Or rather, something came out of the ruined remains of the possessed man’s corpse.

Seven feet tall, not quite as big as Devil King Gutriyaz, but then this must’ve been a Devil King more specialized in underhanded methods of war. Pitch black skin, deep red eyes the color of rubies, and horns which gave off a fierce aura.

The sight would’ve made Orodan’s blood sing for a fight on any other day. Save for a minor matter…

…the Devil King had turned around and began fleeing.

“Get back here!” Orodan roared and immediately gave chase.

The Gods and Transcendents of the puppet Sovereign’s army were shocked silent, either from the revelation that their general was a puppet possessed by a Devil King, or by the knowledge that the soul nexus had been detonated in a past loop. And their attention was then drawn by the charge of the Third Army who finally decided to intervene.

Leading them was a furious Zhou Shan.

“Pursue the devil! Thousand Broom Sovereign, join us and strike down the Devil King! We need not fight!” the Prince said.

“Prince Zhou Shan! I’ve always had respect for you, but your father is a tyrant whom we cannot defeat without the aid of these foul demons!” the Thousand Broom Sovereign roared back in reply. “Desperate circumstances necessitate this wretched alliance.”

“You’ve seen the power of the Celestial skill bearer with us! You doubtlessly know of the rumor that he is in a time loop! Join us, and we can work to bring down the Celestial Court together and usher in a new era for our people!” Zhou Shan said.

Orodan was the nearest to the fleeing Devil King. And a Spatial Fold brought him right into melee range…

…only to witness the familiar pulse of world energy going out from the crown-shaped ring on its finger.

“The soul nexus!” the Thousand Broom Sovereign called out.

It was an incredibly quick pulse of world energy, and neither Orodan nor anyone else was quick enough to react.

The hellfire contacted the gigantic white vortex of trillions… and in the final moments before disaster struck, Orodan reached out and attempted to lash out with Time Reversal.

[Time Reversal 50 → Time Reversal 52]

[Time Mastery 50 → Time Mastery 51]

His new body was powerful, far better suited to channelling the copious amounts of soul energy running through him. Yet, he was but a candle before a cosmic storm. Generating the requisite amount of power necessary to reverse the destruction of the soul nexus would kill him, and the alternative in any case was its detonation.

The searing white wave of annihilation reached him, and darkness was all he knew.

[C$h@ec(kp*oi#nt R#es%to&red]

[U@ses Re^ma#in@ing – 2179]

“My Prince! The puppet’s army has been spotted on the horizon! They… they come in extreme numbers!” a messenger declared.

Broom in hand, it took Orodan a minute to sweep the camp and get one more level in Domain Of Perfect Cleaning, bringing it up to 86. Which subsequently helped him remember who he was.

“That cravenly devil!” he yelled. “Running away and then detonating the soul nexus again, how irksome!”

Zhou Shan looked outraged at the suggestion of the soul nexus’s destruction, but Zaessythra seemed calm.

“Looping to beat the threat, are we?” she asked, accepting the fact that Orodan had time looped easily enough. “How many more tries do you think you’ll need?”

“Well, last loop I managed to survive their Gods and Transcendents long enough that the puppet Sovereign came in and simply accepted defeat,” Orodan explained. “It was during my pursuit of the devil that it decided to ignite the nexus anyways.”

“So… you won, but then decided to pursue it regardless?” Zaessythra asked. “Why not leave the matter be? Given the foes you have after you, don’t you think you have bigger things to worry about?”

Orodan clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Yes, and how else do you expect me to acquire the strength to face the approaching foes?” he asked. “If I can’t beat this Devil King and stop its detonation of the soul nexus, then I’m no match for the Celestial Emperor, who’s far stronger. And this Administrator who’s beyond even that? Forget it. There’s only one way forward, and it’s through hard work and death. I know my methods seem nonsensical at times Zaessythra, but in our current circumstances every whetstone we can find before the imminent confrontation is to our advantage.”

“Fair enough. I can already sense your body is… different. More dense and whole. I’m sure you’re working on it,” she admitted. It was a bit strange, to see her agreeing with him on many things nowadays. Then again, he’d begun to prove that his method of training could provide results. “How does it detonate the soul nexus? Hellfire?”

“Yes, it uses a pulse of world energy to begin the chain reaction.”

“Have you tried intercepting the pulse?” she asked.

“Far too fast,” Orodan said. “It reaches the soul nexus quicker than anything I’ve seen so far. And then, using Time Reversal would kill me with the amount of power I’d have to draw upon to reverse the entire nexus.”

“How about cleansing the nexus of hellfire after the reaction begins?” she asked.

“I’ll try that in one of the attempts, but the detonation of the first soul causes a chain reaction that quickly spirals out of my control,” Orodan said. “The entire thing also lasts less than a few moments before annihilation. Although, seeing what I can do in that time would be good training.”

All in all, his one-man crusade against the enemy army had excellent results. Skill gains across the board, the shattering of the enemy bull demons, the massacre of their missile troops and back ranks, and the diversion of all their Gods and Transcendents in combat.

If he fought alongside the Third Army, victory was very much a possibility now.

That was, if the detonation of the soul nexus wasn’t a concern.

An incredibly quick pulse of world energy which caused a chain reaction leading to the soul explosions of trillions. Destruction which could obliterate an entire solar system and without fail managed to eradicate his outer soul layer.

Moving to prevent the explosion in the first place might’ve been the wise move. However, this wasn’t the case. He had over two-thousand checkpoint repeats left, and a loop in which the Administrator would reach the galaxy after a month. Orodan’s methods were stupid to many, but in this case, hard work and determination would be the only things that gave him a fighting chance against what was to come.

And before the arrival of the foe, each and every challenge to surmount was an opportunity to grow stronger.

Still, his ruminations would suffice.

Intercepting the pulse or interfering with the detonation of the nexus wasn’t his way. He had work to do, and a soul nexus to clean.

And it would be done the hard way.