The Path of Ascension Chapter 311

Chapter 311

Long Zhiyuan blinked as he entered the Zanbar system. An otherwise unremarkable Tier 1 planet that had only been captured, and locked into the network of Great Powers, because no one wanted their populated planets to be directly linked to another. Having an uninhabited buffer zone was like having a fence, and everyone knew fences made good neighbors.

While his eyes did drift to the planet, as the almost unnatural clean delineation of environments along the planet’s latitude lines was a unique sight, what surprised him was the gargantuan ship under construction. The ‘ship’ was in the early stages of fabrication, with only the main spine finished. At five miles long, it was substantially larger than even the obsolete super dreadnaughts that the Great Powers had fielded as capital ships a few hundred thousand years ago.

Those ships had been discontinued because, after a point, size didn’t translate into more offensive or defensive power, merely a larger target. The current limit of battleships was a half mile long dreadnought, which was already large enough to carry dozens of armies, and had the firepower needed to quickly blast through even the heaviest of planetary shielding. Even they had their issues, mostly speed in chaotic space and maneuverability in both real and chaotic space, and they were a tenth of the size of the ship in front of him.

It made him ponder.

Was it being made deliberately large because they simply wanted it to be a show of force, something only really possible when the three Great Powers worked together? If so, he was uncomfortable with what that meant for the rest of the Harmony Accords.

On the other hand, if they could make a ship like that really mean something in the war, then maybe it was necessary for the type of missions the Harmony Accords would be undertaking. That thought sent a thrill down his spine. He liked the idea.

It felt fitting for any team that he was a part of to be so outfitted.

Even the armor, at least what little he could see being constructed off to the side in orbit, was five hundred feet thick.

He took it all in and allowed his Talent to simulate it. Minkalla had bestowed upon his First Revelation the ability to simulate far more of the world around him for his spiritual clones, and with his Second Revelation, he had devoted himself fully to the planning abilities which it had granted. Now, instead of an ever-changing yet ultimately meaningless background, it would display a very concrete simulation of a place or situation, down to the finest detail.

It was mercifully easy, too, unless he was attempting to learn about something warded against divination, or simulating a creature he didn’t have enough information on. Thanks to the veritable centuries he had spent within the Thousand Lives Mountain, his willpower was a finely honed and sharpened blade, and he could use that to determine a plan for any situation.

Between his own Revelations and a bit of information obtained from the local Sect network, Long Zhiyuan adjusted his simulation to behold the final ship, then closed his eyes to explore the area. His Tier 25 Talent allowed him to turn his attention wholly inward to accelerate the pace at which his spiritual clones worked, and while it was remarkably taxing on his spirit to do so while modifying skills or working with his Revelations, something as trivial as exploring the ship was scarcely more difficult than breathing.

Of course, he usually utilized the ability to form instantaneous plans, which his Revelations further empowered, giving him the power to instantly develop devastating and immeasurably well-practiced plans in the literal blink of an eye.

That was how he earned not one, but two Tier 40 escorts.

Tier 47 Smithing Hands Sect valued him because, while he had fallen off the Young Master program, he was stronger than anyone they had been able to throw at him.

Once he had a satisfactory understanding of the ship, he fed that information back into his clones and simulated what it would be like to fight alongside it.

It was… impressive.

Though not designed for normal combat, its shields were designed to shrug off direct hits from dreadnaughts, and it was armed with a massive cannon capable of cracking planetary shields. With it by their side, they would have an invulnerable fortress that could fell all but the most potent of normal siege shields.

The thought made him smile.

The Great Powers didn’t just create the ship as a token gesture, but instead made something that could make an impact.

More than that, the ship was a mobile fortress meant to house ten Tier 25 armies to fight alongside the Harmony Accords or secure planets they took over. The ship, once fully created, would also be fully self-sufficient, and the Harmony Accords would never need to retreat to heal, resupply, or rearm. The ship would have healers, supplies, and the finest crafters the Great Powers had to offer. The republic had even managed to link the ship itself into the Between, though the ship would need to sit for an entire week to establish the link to the mystical transportation space. That meant if they ever did need supplies, they could get them no matter where they were on the war front.

It was glorious.

Or would be when it was finished.

Currently it looked like the picked over bones of a fish, spine and ribs exposed with none of the meat that would eventually fill the ship.

As they approached the main shipyard, one of the elders handed Long Zhiyuan a storage ring. A Tier 15 storage ring.

Odd, but Long Zhiyuan simply waited for the elder to speak. “The Sect Master wanted us to give this to you before we arrived. He said you would know what to do with it.”

The man then very studiously looked away.

Curious, Long Zhiyuan sent his spiritual perception into the ring and grinned. Despite all his training, he couldn’t help it.

After carefully committing the contents to memory, Long Zhiyuan squeezed his hand, obliterating the ring and all the contents inside the pocket space just as they were nearing the docking yard.

Long Zhiyuan bowed slightly to the two elders to show his respect and appreciation for their guiding him here before leaving the shuttle.

The moment his foot touched down on the floor, a flood of messages contacted his [Spiritual Self] containing the rules of war he needed to know, must follow, should follow, and those he could disregard.

One of his clones studied and diligently read the information several times over, held within a frozen moment from his Talent. It wasn’t a perfect transfer of information, but still gave him the knowledge as though he had thoroughly read through it. Better than relying on immortal memory, as good as it was, or even his [Spiritual Self]. Truly reading the information several times was the best way to fully grasp the information. That same clone even meditated on the information, looking for any loopholes everyone else might have missed.

It didn’t find any, but it was good practice.

After he went through those messages, he went through the more personal correspondence. He’d already determined where the Sect quarters were, but as he prepared to go directly there, he saw that his own quarters were elsewhere.

If he was reading in between the lines correctly, he and all the other core members of the Harmony Accords were being housed in a separate space.

Long Zhiyuan wasn’t sure he liked being surrounded by two other Great Powers’ strongest people, but understood he didn’t have the necessary clout to disregard such an order. Not yet, at least.

Contrary to his expectations, the area he was to live in was very well appointed. He hadn’t expected it to be a simple communal barracks hall, but being greeted with a carefully manicured garden complete with water works was a pleasant surprise.

Someone with a good eye for design had planned this place out, and he immediately felt at ease.

Recognizing that as odd, Long Zhiyuan immediately started scanning himself and his surroundings for mood-altering formations. He went as far as to check the molecular structure of the walls, the layout of the garden and its greenery, even the currents of air being circulated around the room.

There was nothing which even touched upon emotion magic to be found. The effect was entirely mundane.

That eased Long Zhiyuan’s apprehension a little, but didn’t remove it entirely.

He was still in unfamiliar territory, and kept three of his clones simulating everything and everyone who would be on this team.

There were a few that even he was wary of.

Thanks to the Sect leader’s gift, he had far more detailed information about his ‘allies’ abilities than he should, but even the Tier 47 Sect Master had limits on his information gathering abilities. Though Long Zhiyuan suspected a number of the reports he had read had been gathered by higher Tiers, despite credit being given to their spies inside the Federation and Republic. The information was just a little too good and detailed for anything but a little friendly rule bending to be explained by.

The rules on higher Tiers noticing things were far more lax with one’s allies than they were with enemies, but even that wasn’t perfect as those with truly important secrets hid them behind masks that even the high Tiers couldn’t penetrate without making it obvious.

As he inspected the fish pond, he thought he noticed an oddity on the rock next to him and when he tossed a blade of mana at the spot, a man appeared.

Appeared was the wrong word. That implied he had been invisible or hidden, but once Long Zhiyuan got a look at him, he knew neither had happened. He had simply been ignoring the man in question.

Who?

Long Zhiyuan focused and pushed through the memetic effect and got a good look at Ari Kai. The man’s deeply tanned and weathered skin seemed out of place on an immortal, but Long Zhiyuan had seen weirder.

Instead, he looked at— Nothing. Because there was nothing and no one there.

It was just a rock.

Long Zhiyuan looked at his clones and saw one of the three still had someone sitting on the rock. Seeing that seemed to break the forgetfulness, and Long Zhiyuan was able to see Ari Kai once more.

That seemed to catch the man’s attention, and he finally looked up from the pond and at Long Zhiyuan, though his hand never stopped scratching the head of the small, shadowy dog on his lap. “You’re good at this, aren’t you? Not many people find me first. Anway, if you remember this conversation, sorry about the trouble. Wish I could turn it off, but you know.”

Long Zhiyuan immediately dedicated a clone to reminding himself of Ari Kai’s existence. It would never tire or stop, which should prevent the clone— and therefore Long Zhiyuan himself— from forgetting Ari Kai’s existence. It wasn’t a perfect counter, but a decent one for now. He’d have other clones work on something more permanent, but he didn’t want to suddenly forget the man until the moment he was driving a blade into Long Zhiyuan’s chest.

That didn’t mean he shouldn’t be polite. “It’s an incredibly strong Talent if it can even briefly affect me. I look forward to doing battle with you.”

Ari Kai rolled his eyes and Long Zhiyuan noted the man didn’t seem to have any practice at controlling his emotions or reactions. Undoubtedly, he was far too accustomed to those few individuals who noted his disrespect simply forgetting soon thereafter. It was sloppy.

Good for Long Zhiyuan, though. Someone who relied on their Talent too much would be easier to plan against.

Stepping away and pretending to forget about Ari Kai’s existence tested the man’s Talent. He found that even his [Spiritual Self] would stop displaying reminders about the antimemetic at seemingly random intervals.

It was a bizarre power that somehow felt perfectly suited for the Republic and their foolish notions of secrets and hidden worlds, going so far as to hiding their own presence from mortals, instead of basking in their worship as was the right of the strong.

Moving to his room, Long Zhiyuan scanned it for any hidden spying devices. And after removing the obvious bait ones, he noted where the actual ones were.

He couldn’t even be sure they were put there by the other Great Powers, as his own was more than willing to spy on him as well. The only place he could be without concern was his Talent, as that was his only true place in the realm.