Brilliant galaxies were suspended in the universe like fish in an endless sea. Their colors varied, as did their sizes, but flying between them really made one understand how inconsequentially tiny they were in the grand scheme of things.
Galaxies, however, were not as far apart as Jack had expected. They were clustered together. Unlike stars, which were tiny dots compared to the massive distances separating them, galaxies were more like neighboring islands. Sure, there were gaps in between, but sometimes the gaps were smaller than the galaxies themselves.
Their starship was like a tiny fish crossing a dense archipelago.
âEnjoying the view?â a voice came behind Jack, startling him. He looked away from the large window and towards the new arrivalâStarhair, the peak B-Grade Envoy whose hair resembled rivers of stars. The man walked beside Jack and gazed out the window.
This starship wasnât too small. There were various rooms and compartments. Right now, Jack and Starhair were alone.
âItâs nice,â Jack replied. âBetter than looking at the other wall, which is just metal.â
Starhair didnât laugh. Jack frowned.
âIs something the matter?â he asked.
âNothing much. I just donât understand why we had to waste a month to escort a C-Grade.â
This time, it was Jack who didnât reply. What could he say? âI have great potential and might be able to affect the war situation?â That would sound extremely arrogant coming from a C-Grade, even one with Jackâs accomplishments. He also couldnât reveal the existence of the death cube which Elder Boatman wanted, as it was a secret.
âYeah, I guess itâs hard to understand,â was all he finally replied.
Starhair turned and raised an angry brow at him. âAre you mocking me?â
âWhat else do you want me to say?â
âGive me a reason to believe this is not a waste of time.â
âCan I?â Jack smiled without meaning it. âIf you believed in my talent, you wouldnât need me to say anything.â
âYou sound pretty sure of yourself. Me, believing in your talent? What do you think you can accomplish? I know youâre strong, but youâre just another cog in the machine until you reach the A-Grade. This whole mission is just an Elder abusing their authority to protect their disciple at the expense of everyone else.â
âI would advise you to speak about Elders with a little more respect,â Jack replied calmly. âEspecially when said Elder is my master and Iâm honor-bound to protect his reputation.â
Starhair snorted. He turned to walk away. âIâm looking forward to your future achievements,â he said. On the way out, he bumped into Jackâs shoulder, probably expecting to push him aside. Instead, Jack easily remained immobile, while it was Starhair who had to turn his body. He paused for a moment, then didnât look back and left the room.
Jack shook his head. Another clown⊠he thought. In his experience, these people were divided into two typesâthose who hopped around asking for a punch in the face, and those who hid their intentions in the dark and struck quickly, efficiently, and unexpectedly. He hoped Starhair was the former kind.
***
The journey from Milky Way to the wild galaxy which served as the Crusadeâs current battlefield was neither short nor long. Bottomless steered the ship, using their extreme understanding of spacetime to constantly wormhole forward. They covered almost a hundred thousand light years a day. They passed by many galaxies, some spiral, others egg-shaped, as they speared deeper and deeper into the unexplored parts of the universe.
Jack spent most of the time meditating. He would soon attempt to break into the B-Gradeâthe clearer his Daos were, the better. However, without life and death battles propelling him forward, progress was slow. He focused his time on the death cube, slowly deepening his understandings of Death.
Meanwhile, the many Dao stones heâd gotten as spoils of battle were useless to him. He couldnât level up anymore without breaking through. Therefore, he gave a lot of them to Brock, who used them to rapidly increase his cultivation base. Maybe he couldnât level up without the System, but he sure could use Dao stones.
In the five days they spent traveling, Brock successfully reached the peak C-Grade. He had grown all nine of his fruits to maturity and was ready to take the next step. Both brothers were at the same spot.
Eventually, however, the journey came to an end. Jack watched from the windows as their starship angled towards a new galaxy, one similar in size and shape to the Milky Way but slightly redder overallâthe stars here were older and larger.
âI present to you, the Spiral Stair galaxy,â Sovereign Heavenly Spoon said, suddenly materializing next to Jack. âThe Churchâs new home.â
âHow far away from System space are we now?â Jack asked.
âThree hundred thousand light years away from the closest System galaxy,â the sovereign replied. âAnd half a million from your Milky Way.â
âThatâs a lot.â
âDonât think about it in terms of distance. Itâs one week of traveling. Iâd say thatâs pretty sensible.â
Jack considered it, then nodded. âWhere exactly are we headed now?â he asked.
âThe Church forces are scattered across this galaxy. Not even I know the precise location, but I do know where Elder Boatman said heâd pick us up. See that slightly denser patch of stars? Up there, to the right. Thatâs pretty much the area.â
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âHeâll find us in all that?â
âOh no, Bottomless has the exact coordinates. I just couldnât bother to remember.â The sovereign gave Jack a lazy smile. âAnyway, we still have a few hours. Tea?â
âI guess.â
The starship dove into the galaxy, and soon they were lost in a three-dimensional sea of stars. The scenery looked similar to the Milky Wayâit was hard to imagine they were inside a completely different galaxy. Bottomless led them through a winding track, following unknown directions and reference points, until they finally came to rest near a red giantâa star which ballooned and reddened greatly as it approached the end of its life.
âWhat now?â Jack asked. All of them were gathered at the starshipâs bridge, including Dorman, whoâd spent most of the time in his room. The Sage was the first to bowâimmediately afterward, space rippled before them, and a hooded figure appeared directly inside their starship. The entire Spoon Squad and Dorman bent their backs.
âWe greet Elder Boatman,â they said as one.
âGreetings, Master,â Jack said, while Brock nodded.
âGrandpa Dead, hello.â
Elder Boatman scanned them with his gaze. His face was hidden, but red eyes shone under his dark hood. Covered entirely in the black robe and with a scythe hanging on his back, he directly resembled the Charon of Earthâs mythologyâmaybe the two were related somehow, or this was a universal image in line with the Dao of Death.
âRise,â he said in a raspy voice. Everyone stood straight again. âThank you for bringing my disciple.â
âWe are happy to be of service, Elder,â the sovereign replied. âBy the way, I heard you acquired a certain delicacy recently. Do you think I couldââ
âJack,â Boatman turned to his disciple, ignoring the sovereign. âI am glad to see you well. Youâve grown much stronger, tooâwhatâs your current battle power?â
âI should be able to match ordinary peak B-Grades,â Jack replied.
âReally?â The red eyes shone brighter. âExcellent. Come. We have things to discuss.â
He waved a hand. Instantly, the entire starship was wrapped in darkness. This wasnât really teleportingâmore like the surrounding spacetime died, reducing the distance between them and their destination. Jack spread out his perception, but before he could realize how exactly this was happening, they had already arrived.
A starship floated before them. Calling it huge was an understatementâit stretched for at least a dozen miles and contained multiple floors. It was like a city. Swarms of cultivators circled it like fliesâeither guards or people traveling from one place to another.
âMy starship,â Elder Boatman said with a hint of pride. âThank you, Head Envoy. I will make sure you and your squad are rewarded appropriately. Feel free to rest here for a few days before heading to your next mission.â
âThank you, Elder,â the sovereign replied. âOur navigator is exhausted from the trip so weâd be glad to rest here for a day or two. About that item youââ
Elder Boatman waved his hand again, teleporting just himself, Jack, and Brock away. They reappeared in a grand throne room, complete with piles of bones and skeletal guards. White columns speared a hundred feet into the ceiling, giving the room a heavy, somber feel, while the ground was gray marble.
Boatman gave a tired sigh. He threw back his hood, revealing a pale vampiric face. He looked a billion years old. âDonât mind the decorations,â he said. âI agree theyâre in bad taste, but excess is necessary at times. Please, sit.â
A round table occupied the middle of the room. It was surrounded by thirteen seats, one of which was more clearly more elaborate than the others, carved with skulls and velvet. That was the chair Boatman had sat into. Jack found another chair, while Brock pulled his back and sat on the ground. This way, he wasnât towering over the rest of them.
âNo throne?â Jack asked.
âDonât get me started. The throne is for official hearings. When strategizing, this is where I sitâitâs far more comfortable.â
Jack nodded. âThank you for your guidance, Master. Both the death cube and the Dao Visions you gave me helped a lot. My Dao of Death has grown tremendously.â
Elder Boatman gave his disciple a long stare. âBut thatâs not all, is it? I can sense youâre dabbling in more Daos. Life is there, obviously, but so are Space and Time.â
There was clear doubt in his voice. Generally speaking, people avoided spreading their attention between many Daos.
âThe opportunities came up and I took them,â Jack replied. âI believe it was a wise choice. It has worked out so far.â
âMm. I can sense so, yes.â Boatmanâs gaze pierced into Jack as if observing his soul. âYou know best. I support your decisions regardless. If this goes well, your potential will be limitlessâif hard to realize.â
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âThank you, Master!â
âAbout your Dao of DeathâŠâ Boatman trailed off. Jack could sense the unspoken question.
âMy son passed away recently,â he replied. âIt hurt me deeply, and I almost lost myself in grief. I believe it also gave my Dao of Death a perspective more suited to myself.â
Boatman nodded slowly. âI am sorry for your loss,â he said. âDeath is a natural occurrenceâeven that of your descendants. I am glad you managed to not only overcome your grief, but also understand it. It was a pivotal experience for you. On the road of cultivation, everyone must form their own path, or they will forever be limited to a fraction of what their predecessor achieved.â
Jack nodded. Heâd already figured this outâafter his experience in the Black Hole World, where his Dao of Death had undergone a subtle transformation, heâd realized that the insights Elder Boatman had left him had become far less useful. They referenced Boatmanâs path, not Jackâs. Even the death cube had shown decreased efficiency. As a result, Jackâs progress in the Dao of Death had slowed down, but he could feel this was the right path regardless.
It didnât matter how quickly he followed the path of anotherâat the end of the day, only his own unique path had the potential to reach the top.
âI am on the cusp of reaching the B-Grade, Master,â Jack said. âIs there any advice you would like to give me?â
âNo. Trying to gleam insights from the experiences of others will not help you, only further your insecurity. You will naturally understand everything when you go into it. However, I will oversee your breakthrough in its entirety. With me there, nothing will go wrongâbut, as for how far you can get, that will depend entirely on you.â
Jack nodded. âThank you, Master. If you donât mind, I had another thing to ask. Brock and I are brothers sharing a spiritual connection. He is also at the cusp of the same breakthrough, and he is as talented as myself. Could you accept him as a disciple as well?â
âNo problem,â Boatman replied immediately, turning towards the brorilla. âThat was my intention as well. Brock, would you like to become my disciple? You may not cultivate the Dao of Death, but you do follow an offshoot of the Dao of Life, which is my other area of expertise.â
âThanks, Grandpa Dead,â Brock replied.
Elder Boatman gave a strained smile. âYou can call me master now.â
âOkay, Master Grandpa Dead.â
The Elder looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he just sighed. âIt is customary for a master to provide his disciples with treasures for the breakthrough,â he said. âHowever, itâs not about the quantity of treasures, but their quality. Jack, am I correct to assume you already have enough?â
Jack grinned. âAbsolutely.â
âAnd you, Brock.â Elder Boatman gave him an inquisitive stare. âYour Dao is one which makes most treasures ineffective. Correct?â
âRight, Master Grandpa Dead. I have everything I need in my bros.â
âGood. Then get ready, both of you. I will have people fill you in on the current status of the war and assign you positions, but that is meaningless before you break through. You must reach the B-Grade as soon as possible.â
Jack looked up. âHow soon, Master?â
âTomorrow.â