The Dao Seeking realm wasn't merely a single step forward after the Nascent Soul Realm.
As Ocean Song sat cross-legged, consolidating his newfound realm and insights, he realized that there existed a chasm between the two. In hindsight, he could acknowledge that he was able to take this step because he had already touched upon his Dao earlier in his Cultivation.
There were many other factors that aligned that allowed him to step forward as well.
Most importantly, his Dao heart.
He had been cultivating his Dao Heart since day one, and he hadn't even realized the purpose or true importance until now.
Ocean Song knew he would have to write down his insights for his fellow Sect members to look over. And he would have to help them start focusing on their Dao hearts this early so they stand a chance to break through.
But even so, the him before and the him now were the difference between Heaven and Earth.
Getting used to his new profound cultivation, he understood that the him at Nascent Soul would be an ant to him now. He felt like he could take ten versions of himself at the cultivation realm at the same time and come out victorious without any major mishaps.
Or maybe that was an exaggeration.
But from the sacred texts in his memories, he knows all the Heaven-blessed like to compare themselves that way, to say how much stronger they are.
Thus, he must join their ranks and declare that he could defeat ten of him in the previous realm!
He focused on his Dao.
The difference between the Dao of the Heavens and his own Dao Heart.
Within his heart he is free and unfettered.
That is his Dao.
But he pursues the Great Dao of Equalization—Yin and Yang—Tai Chi.
Your Dao heart could be compared to the road you walk, the path under your feet. While the Great Dao is the destination you march towards.
Both are equally important.
One is your driving force, the firm resilience you have to pursue the ultimate truths. The other is the laws of the world that you grasp and claim as your own.
Both are needed; one can't exist without the other.
Every step of cultivation tests the path under your feet. If you falter, if you stumble, then it shows that you are unworthy to touch upon the Great Dao.
Whereas the Great Dao gives purpose to your unrelenting pursuit.
With his newfound cultivation, he could see far beyond what he could before. That is to say, he could now see the proverbial path forward to the Immortal Realm.
Qi, Essence, Soul.
The three main components of one's being.
Qi needed no explanation. It was the power of Heaven and Earth, the bridge between the Great Dao and humans.
Essence referred to the physical. The Body. Without a properly tempered body, you can't handle strong cultivation, nor can you shoulder the bearings of the Great Dao.
Lastly, there was, of course, the soul.
Without an immortal soul, how could you withstand the weight of the Dao?
But those three weren't enough to achieve immortality.
That's where the Dao Realm came in.
When your Dao converges with the Great Dao, it's then that the Heavens evaluate if your Dao is worthy to be immortalized upon the world.
All paths converge.
And with your Dao, your cultivation, you challenge the Heavens and steal away immortal providence, declaring that your Dao is true.
But those thoughts were still far away.
He had a feeling that he would be in the Dao Seeking realm for a long time because he still needed to clear a path forward.
With his new Cultivation, he felt like his view of the world expanded exponentially.
His Divine Sense easily swept over hundreds of miles.
He felt brimming with power as well.
Ocean Song felt that with but a twitch of his fingers, he could command storms, hurricanes, and disasters if he so chose.
With a clench of his fist, he felt like he could destroy a mountain if he threw a punch.
If he fought the God of War again like last time, he fully believed, in those same circumstances, that he would not need to rely on the Heavenly King's Divine Weapon at all.
The qualitative leap was indeed substantial.
He would need to continue to carefully explore and understand his new power so he doesn't make any mistakes in the future.
For now, his mind weighed upon his dao heart.
He declared it in the heat of the moment without thinking. But perhaps that meant it was his most earnest thoughts and feelings.
To be free and unfettered.
That didn't mean to be apathetic or indifferent to the world. That doesn't mean that you don't help others, that you don't have friends, that you don't have responsibilities.
No, what it means at its core is that you take responsibility for your own actions even more.
It means to reject chains that others try to bind you with but willingly accept the ones that you bind yourself with.
It's to make your own choices.
To not bow your head unless you wish to.
To not accept the world, but to make the world accept you.
To understand that, you can live with regrets, but you can never stop moving forward.
Yes, he continued to ponder his Dao for a long while.
And it was certainly not because he was recovering after being struck by multiple lightning bolts.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song stood up from the spot he was in after not-healing properly.
He dusted himself off and stepped onto his sword as he floated up into the sky. He wasn't oblivious to the many different eyes on him right now.
Most of them were godly; some of them were not.
However, for the first time, he looked back.
It wasn't a matter of simply looking towards the source, but now, at his current realm, it was as if he were looking them right back in the metaphysical eyes.
And for the majority of the gods, that startled them enough that they hastily pulled their gazes back.
Without caring, he flew back to the Sect, and under the protection of the Sect Protecting Four Divine Beasts of Four Directions, something-something barrier.
He forgot the name.
"Behold, fellow Daoists!" His voice boomed as they all gathered in the usual courtyard. Ocean Song clasped his hands behind his back, his robes billowing heroically as he slowly floated down. "This one has ascended to the next realm. Now, you may refer to this one as Venerable. However, I also accept Saint, Sage, Perfected One, Heavenly—"
"I'm not calling you any of those." Daedalus interrupted him.
"But—"
"Me either," Medusa added.
"But it's tradition!"
"No."
In fact, Medusa and Daedalus turned around and walked away as Ocean Song pouted.
It wasn't that they weren't interested or curious about what just happened. In fact, they had a great many questions, but they refused to acknowledge any of those titles.
Hel was watching from a distance. She didn't feel like she had the social credibility to interject herself right now despite her own curiosity and confusion.
As-859
7 for the angel, she was still standing still under the tarp, unmoving.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother!" Tyson cupped his hands and bowed.
"Thank you, Junior Brother!" Ocean Song was happy that he at least had Tyson.
"Bawhooooo!" Nessie joined in, though she couldn't really cup her fins, but she waved them in excitement.
"And Nessie!" He nodded to her.
Truly, they have the greatest sect protecting divine beasts.
It only took a moment for Hecate to reappear as well.
She looked at him wanting to say something, but she found herself silent.
If before she could maybe, kinda, sorta say he was a lesser god, albeit that wasn't exactly true. But it was the closest approximation she could make at the time. Now, without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, she could point to him and say that he had become a god.
The thing is, she could no longer evaluate him; she couldn't see through him anymore.
Where he fell on the spectrum she had no idea.
Only that his existence had elevated to a level to be on par with her fellow deities. Not an Olympian mind you, but simply a god in a general sense.
For so long, she had looked at him as a mortal creature—a monster. Monsters were technically immortal, but it wasn't the same as a deity.
Their immortality was based on a primordial entity bound to the pits of Tartarus. Gods, while they also usually regenerated in Tartarus as well, were not tied to it the same as monsters.
If one day the Pit just up and decided to stop respawning monsters, gods would be wholly unaffected.
Their immortal existences were tied to cosmic concepts.
Now, Hecate could plainly see that he had stepped completely out of the Monster threshold.
She had no idea what would happen if someone tried to kill him.
If she could brush off all his previous actions as just him being the strange creature he was, then this time, she was well and truly unsure of what to say or do.
She did her best to recant how he even got to this point.
She remembered the first time he started doing stupid things to himself. How he began to stuff his body full of magic to mimic—in a very basic and brutish way—how deities exist. It was novel; she had never seen someone try to do that before.
She could acknowledge that it was…clever, in a way.
To try and adjust yourself to mimic higher beings in order to gain strength.
It made sense on paper, but every step along the way, it just pulled further and further away from her common sense.
If anything, she was dismissive of it. Sure, he was much stronger than other mortal creatures; she could acknowledge that much. But she didn't think he would have been able to take this step truly.
Not that she was…dismissing him as much as his actions.
Was she the fool now?
"Great Goddess!" Ocean Song looked at her happily.
Hecate was silent because she was having trouble answering him in this new state. It wouldn't be strong to say that before, they weren't equals. No matter what, between a god and a mortal, they would never be on equal ground.
Now though…things changed.
"Great Goddess." Ocean Song turned serious. "I have broken through to the next realm. I thank you for your assistance in defending me while I broke through."
Her lips twitched, remembering how Zeus tore through her mists.
That was going to be annoying to deal with later for her.
She knew that eventually, the King of Gods would summon her and demand answers. Politely, since she had a good relationship with Zeus. Well, as good as it could be in their circles. She never crossed him before, never did anything to make him particularly angry.
That was about as good as a relationship as one could have with him.
But the King of Gods didn't like being ignorant of things happening on his doorstep.
Ocean Song once more clasped his hands behind his back. "Great Goddess. I have taken a step forward. My view of the world has broadened. I now stand upon a peak that many can only gaze up upon.
She didn't answer him, wondering where he was going with this.
She blinked because she noticed that he seemed to blush slightly.
"Is this lowly Cyclops worthy enough of you now?" He hesitantly asked.
Hecate was silent.
Unconsciously, she felt her heart beat a few more times than normal.
She was about to answer but blinked when she realized that he put the pope hat on his head when she wasn't paying attention.
The Goddess of Magic's eye twitched slightly.
With a low growl, she pulled his collar and kissed him again. This time much more aggressively, not giving him a chance to speak before shoving him to the ground and disappearing.
She returned to her home in the Underworld, letting out a breath as she relaxed.
She just started cursing the idiot in her head.
"Stupid fool." She let out a sigh. "Who else in the world would put up with your nonsense?"
To take her mind off certain things, she was going to do some work she had been putting off. However, that went right out the window when minutes later, she heard a very familiar voice.
"Uncle, Uncle!" A certain idiot started shouting as he descended into the underworld. "Uncle! I need help! If you confess to a girl and she kisses you after, does that mean she likes you too!?" His voice was loud enough so that everyone could hear it at that point.
Hecate let out a sigh, palming her face.
That was her idiot.
[Line Break]
A/N
Ocean Song confesses Hecate doesn't reject him. Ocean Song seeks advice from his most revered uncle in the matters of love.
On a side note, something something; he ascended.
But that's much less important.
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