Jackâs message had been broadcasted throughout the constellation. Various rebeling forces received it, spreading it through their planets. His war declaration to the Animal Kingdom set aflame the hearts of his supporters, and the fact that heâd already killed a B-Grade negated any doubts about his ability.
Fireworks crackled in the sky. Cheers echoed. People ran to the streets and celebrated. Their idol, the source of their courage, the angel of freedom, had returned for them! Their liberation was no longer just a dreamâthey could do it!
They believed!
In a single week, the scattered rebels across the constellation united in one common front, campaigning in the name of Jack Rust. It didnât matter that he wasnât with themâthey knew he was fighting the same war, battling against the same enemy. That was enough.
For the first time, they believed they could win.
Banners and flags flew over starships. The drums of war beat. Elite squads zipped into space, aiming to ambush the Animal Kingdom forces, while armies prepared for war.
And Jack calmly went about his own business, letting them fight their battles.
***
Developing a new Dao Fruit tested three things.
One was the cultivatorâs comprehension into their Dao. It needed to be deep and multifaceted enough to support more manifestations. The second was the robustness of the cultivatorâs Dao Treeâthe degree to which they identified and respected their Dao. Finally, the third test was the cultivatorâs ability to withstand the influx of power. In Physical cultivators, this manifested as their bodily intensity.
Needless to say, Jack excelled at all those things. Developing a new fruit was a trial for most, but for him, it was just another day.
Jack sat in meditation. Six fruits hung before him, proud and full, and one question filled his mind: Which would be the seventh?
Again, he had plenty of ideas. Perseverance, Grief, Wrath⊠Those and more were available, as Jack had already embraced them to a degree. This time, however, he thought heâd do something different.
He remembered Brockâs words. That he was beginning to walk down the wrong path. It wasnât that Jack didnât see it himself, but that he struggled to face it. No matter how tenacious his willpower, he was bound to make tiny slips, and they werenât easy to notice. He needed someone to stand by his side and let him know when he misstepped. He needed a brother.
Brock was there for him.
Jack thought back to their previous conversation. It had been a few days, and after his defensive anger had subsided, he could see that Brock hadâŠat least half a point. Without him, Jack would have been lost for longer. Who knows if anyone else could have mustered up the courage to tell him he was wrong.
Therefore, Jack decided to make his seventh fruit about that one critical thing. Not his composure or the correct path forwardâthe real kicker in this situation was the fact that someone reliable was beside him.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Nobody could reach the top by themselves. And Jack had Brock.
The seventh fruit was one of Brotherhood.
It grew on the branches of his Dao Tree, resembling a monkey fist. Jack smiled and bumped it with his own. âThanks, bro,â he whispered. âI couldnât have done it without you.â
The way forward was cloudy, and his mind remained filled with darkness. He would surely misstep again. However, as long as he had Brock by his side to show him the way and the willpower to see it, he would never be truly lost.
That was the way.
After developing his next Dao Fruit, the remaining levels from destroying that outpost also arrived.
Level up! You have reached Level 341.
Level up! You have reached Level 342.
He, obviously, invested everything in Physical.
Name: Jack Rust
Species: Human, Earth-387
Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (C)
Grade: C
Class: Gladiator Titan (King)
Level: 342
Strength: 6820 (+)
Dexterity: 6820 (+)
Constitution: 6820 (+)
Mental: 1000
Will: 1000
Free sub-points: 1
Dao Skills: Meteor Punch IV, Iron Fist Style III, Brutalizing Aura III, Neutron Star Body III, Supernova III, Space Mastery III, Fist of Mortality III, Death Mastery III, Titan Taunt II
Dao Roots: Indomitable Will, Life, Power, Weakness
Dao Fruits: Fist, Space, Life, Death, Battle, Revenge, Brotherhood
Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1), Ninth Ring Conqueror, Planetary Leader (1), Grade Defier, Planet Destroyer
As Jack left meditation, he whistled in joy for the first time in a while. He was already back at the Dark Ram, so Brock looked over. âSup, bro?â he asked. âAll good?â
âAll good, Brock. My seventh fruit is ready. Say whatever you want for the System, but itâs damn good for leveling up.â
âHmm.â
âHow do you think that works, anyway? How does the System give me levels?â
âGood question.â
âI know!â Salin exclaimed from a nearby chair where he lounged. âThey told us that when I was studying in the Kingdom. The difference between the ambient energy of the universe and a cultivatorâs inner energy is that the latter is more condensed and also attuned to the cultivatorâs Dao. That is why you canât just absorb energy; it needs to go through a purifying process. The caveat is that while you canât recklessly absorb energy from the universe, you can steal the already purified energy in another cultivatorâs soul.â fÉŸÄewebnÏveâ.com
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Jack raised a brow. âYou can?â
âDamn right you can! Stealing is always on the table!â Salin laughed. âItâs not easy, of course, but the System is good at its job. When you kill an enemy, that causes their soul to implode, harmlessly releasing all their gathered Dao into the atmosphere. The System uses the Dao of Swallowing to absorb part of that energy for you.â
âBut then how is it attuned to my Dao? If I kill someone with the Dao of Water, do I absorb Water Dao?â
âNot really. The System canât make it into your own Dao but it can transform it into distilled energyâsimilar to absorbing a Dao Stone. It can then use this energy to either enhance various aspects of you, like your body and mind, or feed it to your soul so you can rapidly rise in cultivation. At the C-Grade, it does a bit of both.â
âOh,â Jack replied. âI didnât know that.â
âYou never asked.â
âIâm pretty sure I did.â
âThen whoops.â
Jack rolled his eyes. âAnd I guess that the higher you go, the more energy goes into your soul compared to being used to increase your stats?â
âYeah!â
âBullshit. The stat gains per level become larger the more I rise in Grade. By what youâre saying, they should be lower.â
Salin narrowed his eyes. âOh, you want to play hard. Okay then. The full explanation is that the higher you rise, the smaller the fraction of energy which goes into your stats. However, your opponents are also much stronger, meaning that the total volume of stolen energy is larger. That is why the actual stat increases are greater. Theyâre a smaller piece of a larger pie.â
Jack cupped his chin. âYeah. I guess that makes sense.â
âSee? Never doubt me again, Jacky.â
âIâve told you not to call me that.â
âSo what? You think Iâm afraid of you just because you destroyed a planet or two?â
Jack raised a brow. Salin coughed in his palm. âOkay, Iâm a little afraid. Can you not murder me please?â
Jack stared for a moment, then burst into laughter. âJust kidding, man. You should have seen your face.â
âYou should have brought a mirror.â
âNever change, Salin. Never change.â
âI hear someone left seclusion,â a new voice came from the corridor. Nauja emerged, chewing on a piece of hexagonal candy. âCongratulations on your new fruit, Jack. I guess itâs time for a strategy meeting?â
âHigh time,â Jack agreed.
Nauja plopped down on a chair, as did he. They were flanked by a large glass window showcasing the colorful emptiness of space. Stars twinkled in the distance, a symphony of innumerable suns, while the branches of the galaxy stretched overhead.
Underneath the starlight, the four of them sat in comfortable chairs, reclining into the pillows and enjoying this moment of peace. It was only after Bomn and Vashter arrived that they kept talking.
âThe rebellion is proceeding in full,â Nauja reported. After learning how to read, she enjoyed it, so sheâd become the crewâs information gatherer. It paired well with her excellent eyesight. âSince we forced the Kingdomâs C-Grades to retreat, there are only D-Grades on the battlefield. Itâs the equivalent of a D-Grade faction against a constellation. Unless the Hand of God acts somehow, the rebels are going to win. The Animal Kingdom will lose its constellationâthat is not a price they can afford. If we just sit back and wait a bit, they will be forced to send out their C-Grades again, at which point we can go around assassinating them.â
âThatâs a good idea,â Jack said, âbut I donât want to wait. I like how theyâre all grouped together. I want to storm their capital and kill them all at the same time.â
Salin raised a brow. âI appreciate the bloodthirstiness, but how exactly are you going to do that? They have Eva Solvig, a late B-Grade, and who knows what else.â
âI need to level up just a little more,â Jack said. âIf I can reach nine fruits, Iâm confident in defeating Eva Solvig. Even if a peak B-Grade shows up, I should be able to escape.â
âStrong,â Brock said.
âThanks. I try.â
âSpeaking of storming their capital and killing everyone,â Salin said, âmy father is a C-Grade of the Kingdom. We arenât in touch anymore, and heâs a little bit cooked in the head, but would you mind sparing him?â
âAbsolutely,â Jack replied. âYouâre my friend. I wouldnât kill your father.â
âThanks. You know itâs a bit weird that you had to say that.â
âYeah.â
âCan we not talk about this like weâve already succeeded?â Nauja asked. âThe Kingdom is a hard nut to crack! Eva Solvig must be shivering by nowâshe might call more late B-Grades to assist her, or maybe sheâll even summon her mother, that late A-Grade Elder of the Hand of God. We canât afford to take this lightly!â
âElder Purity is not going to come,â Jack replied with certainty. âThe war between the Church and Hand must be proceeding in full force. If not, Elder Boatman would have arrived first. Either that or heâs dead.â
âI hope Grandpa Dead is okay,â Brock said. âHe was cool.â
âYeah,â Jack agreed. âWe should find a way to contact him. We need to go over after weâre done here.â
âGuys. Focus,â Nauja said, waving her hands to get their attention. âAnimal Kingdom, B-Grades, danger. Stay on subject, please.â
âIâm so proud of them,â Salin said, wiping a fake tear from his eyes, while Bomn and Vashter glanced at each other and shrugged.
âWe can go after more Hand of God outposts,â Jack said. âJust one of them gave me sixteen levels. A couple more and Iâll reach the nine fruits boundary.â
âThat couple more will be difficult,â Nauja argued. âThey know weâre after them now. Theyâll either evacuate everyone important or send late B-Grades to secretly guard the outposts.â
Jack sighed. âI know that, but itâs the only plan that comes to mind.â
âThen we need to think a bit harder.â
So, they thought. Five minutes later, Gan Salin said, âSorry, I fell asleep. Are we done yet?â
âI have nothing,â Jack said, slightly annoyed. âWe could go to other constellations and try to hunt down random C-Grades, but I donât want to involve innocents. Itâs not like I have any more enemies right now. Who knew a lack of them would become a problem?â
âTrue,â Brock replied. âThat used to be our strong suit. What went wrong?â
âWe can always go after Hand of God outposts in other constellations,â Nauja said. âThey canât possibly evacuate the entire galaxy. However, constellations are large⊠Traveling there would take a long time if we want to avoid major teleporters, and if we donât, we might fall into a trap. If itâs our only option, itâs predictable.â
âCan you fight a late B-Grade, bro?â Brock asked.
Jack shook his head. âMaybe, maybe not⊠It would be hard. But I can probably run away.â
âThen, we can afford some risk.â
âTrue.â
âOnly if the ship stays at a safe distance,â Bomn saidâthis was the same trick theyâd utilized when Jack assaulted the previous outpost. âThat way, if things go wrong, Jack doesnât have to think about protecting us. He can just escape.â
âAs much as I hate saying so, Iâm good at that,â Jack said. âBut I donât think the Hand would make such a mistake. They know Iâm fast. If they predict our next move and prepare a trap, escaping will not be so simple.â
âThen, what?â Nauja asked. âWeâve come full circle and we still have no idea.â
âThere is only one solution,â Jack said. âIf they find us, we loseâŠbut they canât know what weâll do if we donât know what weâll do. Salin?â He turned to the canine. âYouâre insane, therefore unpredictable. What do you suggest?â
Salin gave everyone a triumphant smile. âI know just the thing,â he said. âLetâs attack Hell again.â
âWhat?â everyone replied at the same time.
âWhat? They wonât expect it.â
âBut whatâs the point?â Nauja asked. âTheyâve already recalled everyone. Hell has no objective for us.â
âThey say theyâve recalled everyone,â Salin explained, âbut I donât believe it. Hell is full of D-Grade disciples. Most remain there even at times of war, and theyâre too many to evacuate into Animal Planet. I donât think theyâd just leave the planet unprotectedâif only to defend against sabotage from another major faction. There has to be at least one C-Grade thereâprobably at a pretty high level, too.â
Everyone looked at each other.
âBut itâs so close to Animal Planet,â Nauja said. âEva Solvig might make it in time.â
âUnless sheâs setting up a trap elsewhere.â frŃewebnoŃ”el.Æoàč
âSo you want us to assault Hell, risking being found, just in case theyâve left a late C-Grade to watch over the D-Grades.â
âHey, you are the ones who asked for an insane plan.â
âI donât know,â Jack said. âI think we can get in and out pretty quickly, but is it even worth it? A late C-Grade will only give me a couple levels.â
âYou said that destroying Earthen Gemini last time gave you a bunch. You can just destroy Hell. Plus, it will throw them off, and we can more safely assault a high-value target next time.â
They mulled over it. âI mean, sure,â Jack finally said. âEven I feel a bit bad for bullying Hell so much, but what the hell? They deserve it.â
âI agree with big bro,â Brock said. âThis is war. The more they fear us, the more we can harm them, the better.â
Everyone else eventually agreed. For the third time in his life, Jack was about to visit Hellâone of the Animal Kingdomâs most important locations. Unlike the other two times, however, he wouldnât sneak around. He would arrive in force.