Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 147! This chapter marks the end of Book 2. 147 chapters written... It sounds a bit crazy, but it's true. I hope you're still enjoying the story and that you will stay for the following book 3 and beyond. It is far from over, I can tell you as much!
Interestingly, whether it was a coincidence or fate, my 'project' I've been working on is finally ready. I've created a youtube channel, which will be a mix of audiobook and visual novel. Even if you're not interested in the visuals(they are nice too), the audio is guaranteed to be soothing. The story is obviously 'A Knight's Journey', but adapted to youtube's rules (No R18 for example). I also changed some dialogues slightly. Anyway, if you're interested, the first video will be out on April 11th at 6PM GMT+7. I will put the link to the channel below.
Anyway, that's it for today, so if you can and want to support my work, do pledge at least a month on Patreon (Starts at 1€/month) and/or buy my book (8€=9USD) through the links below.
Bye!
Support Links:
-Don't hesitate to Follow, Review, Favorite, Power stone, share etc. (Depends on the platform you're currently reading on) if you like my different novels. It helps a lot with growing the number of readers.
-YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheWanderersUniverse
-(Ebook Format)Book 1 - 'Memories Of The Past' is available for purchase through this link for those of you interested (8€=9USD): https://book.stripe.com/4gw9Dr9n0aMn7dK3cd
-I've set up a Stripe page, so if you feel like making a one time donation of any amount, don't hesitate to swing by. Thank you in advance! https://buy.stripe.com/4gwdTHfLo2fR2Xu6oo
-If you prefer having something 'tangible' for your donation, you can visit my patre0n page.
My patre0n: https://www.patre0n.com/CalmWanderer (Switch 0 with o)
To all my Patrons: Thank you very much for your support!
**********************
Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Back to the situation.
With the arrival of the golden Creation Lotus Cloud, the Energy inside his body skyrocketed, the previously liquid body swiftly turning a lot more condensed.
From his bones to his skin, each part of his body now emitted mystical fluctuations, their aura akin to Heavenly Treasures.
Indeed, as the saying goes: 'The human body is filled with treasures, an internal universe in a speck of living dust.
Flesh that could be refined into mystical armor, blood able to be refined into mystical pills, and bones capable of becoming mystical weapons.
With such a treasure-filled body, Demian's foundation could be considered beyond perfect, granting him strength beyond what he should have been able to access with his current cultivation.
As his body reformed, his consciousness was restored along with it, his mind feeling as if surrounded by warm clouds, giving him a feeling of awakening from a deep and restful sleep.
As time passed slowly, his mind became progressively more active, until he exclaimed inwardly.
'So comfortable!'
With the previous scars inflicted on his mind by the torturous Tribulation now completely gone, Demian felt as if he had been reborn.
If before he had barely had a foot in the Immortal-Grade 'level', then now he could truly be considered having entered that level, even having reached almost all the way to the top of that Grade, though there wee not true limit to that grade of Talent.
A quick sweep of his senses, and he could feel the Golden Immortal traces in his Bone Marrow, the hint of Gold on his Nine Main Acupoint, and their corresponding Energy Veins.
Even the golden traces floating in his Soul Power had grown much thicker and more numerous.
Those three characteristics could only mean one thing...
'My special Physique has evolved into a Pseudo-Immortal Physique...'
Well, saying he was surprised would be hypocritical, since the fluctuations coming from his body were extremely familiar to him, eerily similar to the time his Soul Power had previously evolved.
However, what was surprising was the lack of Heavenly Phenomenon appearing in the sky, beyond the Lightning Lotus, of course.
'Could it be because it was achieved during the tribulation instead of before it? Not that I'm complaining, since that makes it much easier for me. I just need to be careful when I go through my Nine Elemental Lightning Tribulation. At that time, I might as well leave the Federation to hide my current circumstances.'
He pondered, knowing that even by following that plan, it may be impossible to hide the commotion.
However, as long as there was no definitive proof that he was the one behind the Tribulation with three Immortal Phenomena, it should buy him some more time to grow strong enough to deal with his enemies.
Suspicions were better than certainty in his case, as High Immortal-Grade talent was merely a myth and thus, without clear evidence, others would most likely deem it a mere rumor.
In any case, that was something for his future self.
In the current situation, it was better to ascertain how many benefits he received.
After observing himself through his Soul Sense, his body still in the midst of absorbing the Heavenly Creation Energy granted through surviving his Tribulation, he noticed a startling fact.
The traces of Golden Energy were slowly and passively growing as time passed, while also tempering the other parts of his Physique at a relatively high-speed.
The effect was almost like... Almost like his Physiology Perk's benefits.
Well, it may not be as comprehensive as the latter, but it was still constantly strengthening his body, akin to a Passive Cultivation Booster.
After a few seconds of pondering, he realized.
'Actually, that makes sense. The body is a whole. Grow one part, and the others benefit. Hurt another, and the whole body is damaged. Those three attributes of Soul Physique and Mana System are pretty much the roots of my entire cultivation, so by upgrading each of their Essence, it's actually normal that the rest of my body benefits from it.'
Pausing for a second, he added.
'Well, having just one might grant a similar but much weaker effect, but since I got my Perk always active, I never noticed it in the past.'
Of course, the upgrades were not limited to that.
Aside from his now Peak Third Level cultivation, he sensed that his Affinity with Water Energy and Law had experienced a ridiculous leap upward, propelling his mastery of Water Energy manipulation to unfathomable heights and making it much easier to comprehend Water Intent and Water Law in the future.
Greater cultivation, Massive increase in Strength, and improved Elemental Affinity.
Those were the most obvious changes he experienced, though he was sure that other, more minute ones would be unveiled with time.
However, all those tremendous benefits concerned only half of his own power.
They were part of the 'regular' benefits.
As for the 'irregular' ones?
It was obviously his Perks!
'Alright, my lovely Perks, I hope you won't disappoint me...'
He whispered inwardly before moving his senses toward his own mind, where the Chaos Soul Ring was still floating peacefully, its aura strangely 'inviting'.
Indeed, the Item felt 'inviting'.
It was a strange sensation, as if it was communicating with the young man's subconscious, suggesting he used his Soul Sense to connect with it...
After hesitating for a brief moment, he decided to heed that subconscious 'calling'.
After all, a slight reflection was enough to realize that if that Entity wanted to hurt him, there was nothing he could do about it with his current weak cultivation.
Thus, if it was not detrimental, it had to be beneficial.
'In that case, might as well go for it.'
Having decided, his Soul Sense swiftly moved toward the mystical treasure, wondering what the result would be.
His doubts were resolved as soon as his Soul Sense touched the Item, triggering a massive influx of information inside his mind, briefly overloading his brain before his mind finally returned to normal, prompting him to exclaim in awe.
'Damn! I was expecting a lot, but this...'
Unlike the first time his Perks activated a few months prior, this time, the information about the effects of each of the three was extremely extensive, with even the previous evolution routes included.
That was why his mind had been briefly overwhelmed.
Take his Physiology Perk, for example.
Not only were the overall effects described, but the latter was also divided further, from how it acted on every type of cell in his body to its influence on comprehension.
It was very... Thorough.
However, the young man's focus was not on the small details but instead on the overall effects.
After assimilating the information, he summed it up in a few words:
[Physiology Perk:
-Passively absorbs every type of detrimental Energy before converting it into 'fuel for the rest of the effects. Current limit: Intent-level.
-Amplifies Healing Factor.
-Amplifies cultivation growth.
-Amplifies comprehension.
-Lowers bottleneck difficulty.
-Improves Foundation. Current limit: Pseudo-Immortal-Grade talent. Effect depends on the level of Energy absorbed/converted.
Soul Bond:
-Can Soul Bond with other beings (Primary or Secondary Bonds).
-Primary Soul Bond(Permanent). Current limit: Nine Primary Bonds.
-Grants a passive Dual Cultivation effect for Demian and his Bonds, its effect varying depending on the act, and can even trigger from afar depending on the extent of Demian and his Bonds' transformation.
-Grants access to the Physiology and Soul Shield Perk to the Primary Bonds, though the effect is halved compared to Demian's own.
-Grants the unblockable Soul Communication Skill between Demian and the Bonds.
-For each Bond, the Physiology Perk's effects are multiplied by 2 for both Demian and his Bonds.
-Secondary Soul Bond(Temporary). Current limit: 81 Secondary Bonds.
-Grants 10% of Demian's cultivation speed to Secondary Bonds, while Demian can access 1% of their comprehension, and the Primary Bonds can access 0.5%.
Soul Shield:
-Grants an invincible protection to the Soul Core and a Partial Protection to the Soul Itself. The Partial Protection's extent depends on the difference between the enemy's cultivation and Demian's and his Bonds' own. Current Limit: Peak Tier 3.
-Will help awaken past lives' memories for Demian and his Bonds as their cultivation grew stronger.
-In case of physical death, the Soul Core will be preserved and reincarnated with full memories of the previous life.]
Although some subtleties may have been missed, that was pretty much the whole extent of his Perk, at least currently.
As for the exact changes compared to before his breakthrough, sufficed to say that the improvements were substantial, though there was no need to linger on them.
After he was finally done taking stock of the benefits he received from one 'simple' breakthrough, a subconscious smirk appeared on his face, while an almost overwhelming feeling of satisfaction surged in his heart, prompting him to hum
a happy tune.
"Air so sweet, it makes you grin,
Life's so wonderful, grass so green,
How can one not be happy,
When everything's so lovely?"