Chapter 17: My Apologies for Disturbing
Ultimate Essence.
Now that he had become a Legendary, Joshua had a deeper understanding of these two words than ever before.
If Force's Ultimate Essence meant breaking through the shackles of talent and obtaining a powerful evolutionary ability that transcended the limitations of one's species, then Technique's Ultimate Essence was the comprehension of approaching the Dao through skill, unbound by rigid techniques.
Tremendous strength, extreme speed, superhuman senses, and bloodline awakening were all manifestations of Force's Ultimate Essence. Possessing it allowed one to gradually transform oneself into a more powerful life form. Just as Joshua had done back then, his body grew increasingly sturdy, nearly indestructible. Even a dragon's flames and molten lava were as harmless as warm water to him.
Meanwhile, microscopic control, reaction speed beyond limits, instinctive warnings akin to predicting the future, and perception that could directly grasp the flow of energy were manifestations of Technique's Ultimate Essence. It was a sublimation of one's means of observing the world. Because one could see clearly and understand thoroughly, one could use one's power freely and thus form various skills—this was the truth behind so-called skill unlocking.
One allowed a human to wrestle with a dragon; the other allowed a mortal to found a school of combat. On the Mycroft Continent, most of the powerful experts possessed these two Ultimate Essences. Initially, they were mostly soldiers and generals who fought on battlefields, hunters and adventurers who hunted magical beasts in dense forests. Because of their existence, the talents within human bloodlines and the schools of combat techniques grew increasingly rich, elevating the entire race.
While holders of Force's Ultimate Essence improved themselves and their descendants' bloodlines, they also effectively spread their optimized bloodlines throughout the entire human population, causing the human race to continue evolving even now. Similarly, no two holders of Technique's Ultimate Essence were the same. The techniques and branches they developed for magic, Battle Qi, and various supernatural abilities all enriched the foundation of this supernatural civilization. For example, spellcasters of the past had now been subdivided into categories like Alchemists, bloodline Sorcerers, Psionic users, Elemental Mages, and diviners, and in the foreseeable future, they would continue to branch out into various other types.
In Joshua's previous life's terms, these two Ultimate Essences were equivalent to the sublimation of hardware and software. Force's Ultimate Essence improved basic qualities, while Technique's Ultimate Essence expanded breadth and upper limits.
But the last one, Soul's Ultimate Essence…
"The most primal, most ancient Ultimate Essence, but also the one with the fewest awakenings."
Era of Falling Stars 836, April 27th, Northern Lands evening. The setting sun sank below the horizon, casting a hazy yellow light over the main city of Moldavia. Joshua stood on Black's head, while the Black Dragon slowly flew through the clouds high in the sky. From the dragon's head, he looked down at the twinkling lights gradually lighting up in the city, and the stars emerging one after another in the night sky. His eyes watched the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people, but his mind was pondering matters related to Soul's Ultimate Essence.
Soul's Ultimate Essence was said to be the first Ultimate Essence comprehended in this world, far earlier than Force's Ultimate Essence and also earlier than Technique's Ultimate Essence. Its first recorded instance was in ancient texts from the Era of Radiance, and even then, only in a few scattered lines. Legend had it that the awakener was a sage from humanity's barbaric ancient times. Together with several other sages, he created the initial systems of Psionic power and magic, and established the name 'Soul's Ultimate,' the earliest name for what would later be called Ultimate Essence. He was also the first recorded undead being in this world; after him, the term 'spirit body' appeared.
Joshua's previous understanding of Soul's Ultimate Essence was limited to two points: the soul not dying after the physical body decayed, and soul strength far exceeding that of ordinary Transcendent beings. But this strength wasn't absolute. Many Legendary experts, even without comprehending Soul's Ultimate Essence, had Psionic strength far surpassing those who had comprehended it. Joshua originally thought he was one of those people and didn't need to deliberately cultivate in this area. But now, it seemed that Soul's Ultimate Essence might not just mean simple strength and sturdiness, but rather a state of perfection.
"Control power, don't be controlled by power… Black, tell me, what is the perfection of the mind?"
Cruising over his territory with his mount for the first time in a while, Joshua and the Black Dragon weaved through the clouds in the night. Looking at the uneven cloud tops illuminated by moonlight and starlight, he casually asked this question that troubled him. The warrior didn't expect an answer, but the holder of the sea-dwelling Ancient Dragon bloodline, who was somewhat afraid of heights, thought for a moment before cautiously replying: "Not retreating from threats, not bowing to power? Facing danger head-on, brave and fearless, never timid, never looking back… Uh, I really can't think of anything else, Master…"
"…That's not called perfection, that's just being stubborn."
Joshua paused, then patted the Black Dragon's horn with some satisfaction. "But not entirely wrong. It seems, just like Ying said, you have been reading books lately. Your cultural level is much higher than before."
"Hehe." The Black Dragon chuckled foolishly, then flapped her wings slightly to control her flight direction. She said with some pride, "After all, lately, besides eating and sleeping, I haven't had anything else to do. Little Guang doesn't come to play with me anymore, so I can only maintain my life by reading books…"
"Indeed, I can't let you stay idle—report to Winterfell Academy tomorrow. You'll train with those White Dragon whelps. Twenty times the standard training volume. If you can still breathe by night, double it the next day."
"Master?! Master!!"
Ignoring the Black Dragon's wails, Joshua, though he hadn't gotten any useful advice from his mount's words, did understand one thing: everyone's mind was different. Like two trees, because their branches and leaves differed, their perfect forms were also different. There were no two identical people in the world, and naturally, no identical minds. The requirements for perfection were naturally different as well.
"What exactly is Soul's Ultimate Essence? What is the limit of the soul? It seems I should indeed ask those who have already achieved it."
Visiting a powerful expert who held Soul's Ultimate Essence might be difficult for ordinary people, but with Joshua's current strength and reputation, it wasn't hard. Moreover, he knew quite a few people who possessed this Ultimate Essence.
"Affected by Divinity, so you want to try solving it by starting with Soul's Ultimate Essence? No wonder your behavior was so strange before. That explains it."
On the experimental airship above the Great Aias Mountains, William, who was conducting an experiment, thoughtfully raised his head from the experimental table and looked at Joshua. He thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "But you've asked the wrong person about this problem. Although I'm good at controlling mental vulnerabilities and dissecting information deep within the soul, I actually achieved Legendary through Technique's Ultimate Essence—I've seen too many imperfect souls and never considered myself perfect. I even scoff at the word 'perfection.' As for Divinity, although I have some methods that might suppress it, I doubt you could use them."
Just as Joshua was shocked to learn that the Mind Master wasn't a holder of Soul's Ultimate Essence, he learned another even more shocking fact: Rune Master Baniel, the strongest mage in terms of runes, had advanced to Legendary through Force's Ultimate Essence—he had inscribed runes on every single cell of his body, completely sublimating his life form before gradually advancing to Legendary. This person was first a master of Ancient Dragon biology, and only then a mage.
But thinking about it carefully, it wasn't strange. How could someone obsessed with Ancient Dragons not be proficient in biology? It was just hard to imagine that Baniel's specialization in this area had even surpassed his talent in runes, which was truly astonishing.
William also didn't mind Joshua's surprise, as he had seen too many people shocked by this over the decades. He explained his plan for suppressing Divinity to the warrior in detail. It was an incredibly complex mental network, a ten-layer binding ring composed of two thousand and forty-eight mental traps and soul seals. Each mental trap was interlocked with another, capable of producing various chain reactions. Joshua wasn't incapable of doing this, but he suspected that after adding this thing to his own soul, while the Divinity might be suppressed, his own mind would probably be suppressed into idiocy.
"This is a seal I prepared to deal with a Demon Lord. It's still experimental." William explained concisely. He looked at Joshua with bright eyes. "However, if you could help test it…"
"My apologies for disturbing."