Chapter 6: Pacifying All Races, Part 2
For Joshua, whether it was the alien powerhouses who fought him one after another, or Emperor Amos who split into seven or eight avatars mixed in the crowd, repeatedly trying to challenge him, or the many other knowledge exchanges regarding different supernatural powers from other civilizations—all of it was extremely fascinating.
Using his own power, wisdom, and clashing with other powers and wisdoms, both sides growing from the exchange, then clashing further... This spiral of infinite ascent was 'combat' itself. There was nothing more interesting, nothing more worthy of one's investment.
As for the number of attackers being too many, that was even less of a concern—even counting all aspects, all fields of supernatural power, given Joshua's current thinking speed, he would never need to engage more than ten opponents simultaneously. It might look like thousands upon thousands were besieging him, but for Joshua, it was only ten.
One against ten—he could still manage that. As for endurance... following this method of defeating one, then facing the next, Joshua estimated he could fight until everyone present had their minds collapse, and he would still have strength to spare.
Thus, every being currently challenging or waiting to challenge Joshua was astonished to discover that this human, who had been fighting continuously for a very long time, showed no signs of 'weakening'. On the contrary, he was growing more energized, even becoming 'stronger'.
Was he undefeated? Of course not. In certain supernatural domains, Joshua was indeed inferior to many beings who had spent thousands of years—or even entire civilizations—dedicated to those fields. In their respective areas of expertise, they had reached transcendent levels. Some of their subtle applications might not have even occurred to the original sages who created those powers, just as the ancient sages who invented the 'wheel', 'boiling water', and 'fire' could hardly have imagined in their time how later civilizations would develop these concepts into something extraordinary.
In the relative clashes of these powers, Joshua certainly lost. He admitted defeat cleanly, absorbed the knowledge, and then defeated his opponent from a different angle. Similarly, the powerhouses who lost to Joshua also learned. They had indeed been defeated, but they now understood how Joshua had overcome them. Some straightforward beings withdrew to observe Joshua's battles with others from the sidelines, while some powerhouses quietly split off avatars, carrying these insights to challenge Joshua again, seeking better results.
And they did achieve better results—and so did Joshua. Neither side was weak; both possessed the talent and wisdom to become strong. Learning was inherently a mutual process.
This was the function of exchange, the purpose of 'debate' and 'discourse on the Way'. Individual wisdom, within a certain timeframe, has its limits. Every race and civilization with different methods of observation can only see one facet of truth, like countless people touching only one side of an infinitely faceted diamond.
Only through exchange, drawing from the strengths of many, integrating everything, can one gradually approach a more complete truth.
Joshua was simply faster than them—that was all.
"Preaching to billions is equivalent to billions preaching to me. I challenge the myriad races of the star river, and they learn my knowledge, which means the myriad races challenge me, and I learn theirs."
The warrior understood this clearly, which was why he acted this way.
Currently challenging Joshua was a massive and majestic 'Aether Dragon'. This extremely rare supernatural species possessed innate, immense power, comparable to a powerful Void Behemoth, capable of easily overturning a world—and that was merely in its bestial state. If an Aether Dragon gained wisdom and grew by absorbing a civilization's knowledge, its future achievements would be limitless.
In terms of aether, the Aether Dragon could be said to have reached the pinnacle. With a long, resonant dragon roar, the other challengers nearby were flung away by violent vector changes. Surging, transparent light, like a burning meteor, instantly formed a region around it completely dominated by its control over all vectors and forces... This was clearly an Aether Dragon that had stepped deep into the Legendary Limit realm, a powerful existence that even a true deity would temporarily avoid.
For a short time, it even gained the opportunity to duel Joshua one-on-one. Vast power brewed within its body, waiting for the moment to erupt.
But Joshua also wielded aether. Endless, transparent light cascaded down like a star river waterfall from the heavens. The same dominating force clashed, firmly suppressing the opponent.
When it came to aether, Emperor Amos was the true master. He could even disrupt the operational laws of the World Star River, making stars and worlds part of his body, as if trying to incarnate into a small-scale World Star River. In the process of defeating him, Joshua naturally learned many of the essences of wielding aether power. Through intense yet high-quality sparring battles, he had now mastered this knowledge.
This Aether Dragon was indeed extraordinarily powerful—likely a guardian deity or fellow traveler of a civilization—but it was still defeated by Joshua's combination of Steel Force, Arcane Power, and aether, tied into a knot and thrown out.
But this did not mean it gained nothing. Even in defeat, the Aether Dragon realized its insufficient resistance to various special phenomena created by Arcane Power. While it could control nearly all directions and forces, the combination of Steel Force and Arcane Power could create numerous attacks that even control over force and direction could not defend against. For instance, Joshua had used Arcane Power combined with Steel Force to create a mass of matter with nearly infinite friction, enveloping it. No matter how the Aether Dragon tried to control, its power was inevitably dissipated by friction. Combined with Joshua's own aether techniques, it was forcibly tied into a knot and thrown out of the combat circle's center.
Facing such an attack, unless the Aether Dragon reached the level of 'creation from nothing' or 'prime mover', it was helpless. In fact, reducing the friction of the matter mass to nearly zero was also a solution, or even creating a nearly perfectly smooth membrane to wrap itself, allowing the true surface area of both sides to make full contact. The Aether Dragon felt this was also a major problem. Of course, it could break free, but with an enemy right there, spending too much time on these matters would lead to being easily suppressed and defeated.
Defeated once, it imagined more possibilities of defeat. Beings like this Aether Dragon, who could draw inferences and think of more solutions to perfect their power systems, were not rare—they were everywhere.
Joshua struck again and again, fighting simultaneously with numerous challengers. Among them, he could detect many familiar auras—likely avatars of powerhouses who had failed earlier but had now thought of solutions. The warrior sensed Emperor Amos's aura for the fifth time. This fellow had changed his life form several times in succession, improving with each strike, even devising methods that completely countered his previous self. While feeling pleasantly surprised, Joshua mercilessly defeated all of them again and again.
He certainly wouldn't stop this behavior. For a warrior thirsting for battle, this was a good thing—who knew how long it would take to find another group of such powerful, genuinely willing opponents? At Joshua's level, even finding a sparring partner was extremely difficult. Enemies of ordinary rank would vanish with a single breath from him, providing no mutual improvement whatsoever.
Of course, not all beings insisted on physical combat for theoretical discussion. Many powerful beings from extremely distant regions of the Multiverse Star River, for whom projecting power was too troublesome, chose to engage in purely theoretical conversations with Joshua. They discussed the roots of supernatural power, envisioned the future development of various forces, and even shared information on 'fusion supernatural powers'—special forces like Emotion Force.
Naturally, Joshua would not fall behind in this kind of debate. After all, he was the inheritor of the Holy Light Sage, had obtained the 'Primordial Psionic Model' from the Psionic Sage through the Triple Veil, and had engaged in a complete information exchange with the 'Knowledge Seizer', inheritor of the Sage of Demons. Moreover, he was a top-tier expert in Steel Force. Across the entire Multiverse Star River, only the three aspects of Elemental Force, Aether, and Shadow Essence were relatively weak for him.
But this 'weakness' was only slight, and only from the perspective of Limit-level experts. Behind him lay the accumulated foundation of the Mycroft Civilization's Unified Grand Database. The wisdom of past sages now merged with Joshua, making it as if the entire wisdom of the Mycroft Civilization was contending against the wisdom of other civilizations.
"Your wisdom and power are awe-inspiring. We are willing to follow your guidance."
"How powerful! Your opinion is indeed correct. Facing the approaching World Devourers, we truly cannot waste our strength on meaningless internal conflict."
"We are willing to obey your command—perhaps only you can lead us to overcome the future threat!"
While there were individuals who persistently refused to give up their challenges, there were also those who felt they had gained enough and saw no point in continuing. Before withdrawing their avatars and leaving, they saluted Joshua with respect—because they understood clearly that this live broadcast and discourse on the Way was an opportunity initiated by Joshua and gifted to all civilizations and intelligent beings in the Multiverse Star River.
These powerhouses, isolated in their respective star rivers, rarely had opportunities for exchange, let alone sharing knowledge. Relying solely on the strength of a single race, falling into errors, encountering cognitive barriers, and being unable to see the path ahead were all very common.
Joshua solved their problem of meeting and gave them the excuse of 'combat', allowing everyone to observe, study, and comprehend each other's powers, thereby broadening their horizons, solidifying their foundations, and gaining the chance to become stronger... This might sound like a bad thing for civilizations that were mutual competitors, as it would increase the intensity of future conflicts when civilizations met. After all, if you became stronger, your enemy might become even stronger.
But don't forget—they were originally isolated in their own star rivers, unlikely to meet for a long time, let alone compete. In a sense, they wouldn't even have time to suffer the consequences of 'a potential future enemy becoming stronger from this opportunity' before they had to face the approaching Evil God army. And compared to before the exchange, their strength had increased significantly because of this opportunity.
Realizing this, many civilizations gained a deeper understanding of Joshua's intentions: This was a discourse on the Way that benefited everyone except the Evil Gods. He genuinely wanted to fight the World Devourers. The seemingly provocative and oppressive declaration, aside from arousing their desire to challenge, was also a sincere request... Order civilizations could no longer afford internal conflict. It was equivalent to slow suicide, even dragging down civilizations in other star rivers.
After all, according to the description of the Ultimate Sublimation Aggregate, the final war of the Evil God Annihilation Era would be fought on the scale of the Multiverse Star River. The collapse of a civilization in one star river due to internal conflict would mean the pressure from Evil Gods in that star river would shift to another, causing a severe chain reaction. In a war of this scale, every civilization was no longer an island. Their strength, their 'yesterday' and 'today', would no longer determine only their own 'tomorrow', but also the 'tomorrow' of all races and countless lives across the heavens.
Understanding the profound meaning behind Joshua's actions, many races felt genuine respect for the giant god still fighting at the center of the vortex.
"This is indeed a respectable powerhouse—Joshua van Radcliffe. His name should be spread throughout the Multiverse Star River!"
"A delightful discourse on the Way. A great conviction. A generous and benevolent powerhouse!"
"..."
"Outmatched in skill, I concede defeat."
As time passed, one civilization after another acknowledged this, withdrew from the challenge, and recognized Joshua's authority.
But some civilizations and powerhouses remained immersed in the pleasure of the 'combat', 'progress', and 'ascension' trilogy. Like Joshua when he had challenged powerhouses one after another and grown by leaps and bounds, they finally understood the essence and joy of 'combat'. Even though their rate of progress had slowed dramatically as knowledge had been mostly exchanged, they still felt immense happiness.
Even if this happiness came with being blasted away by Joshua again and again, shattered into pieces, bodies broken, flesh and blood mangled, or even tied into a dead knot.
Physical pain, spiritual pleasure.
But no matter how pleasant, the discourse on the Way would eventually come to an end.
In the study of supernatural power, the vast majority of civilizations were equal. At most, they had some unique tricks in their specialized fields, some cards up their sleeves. After all, the Sages had not played favorites, cursing a particular race to never be able to observe a certain power. Within the multiverse, any race could sense any supernatural power—at most, there were differences in talent and sensitivity. As long as they wanted to study, many things could be researched.
Just like the Earth humans of a previous life. At most, they could directly observe a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and feel some forces. They couldn't directly observe or manipulate, let alone see the complete electromagnetic wave. But with various tools, hadn't they still developed a civilization of considerable level?
Moreover, the various supernatural powers were closely related. Mastering one often provided a solid foundation for others... So, as this exchange in the name of combat came to an end, the vast majority of participants had gained a great deal. They had broadened their horizons, acquired a large amount of verified knowledge reserves, and through high-quality combat, vaguely glimpsed a trace of the path ahead.
Some beings, who were just one step away from a breakthrough, even advanced on the spot. Some thanked Joshua with joy on their faces, some saluted silently, then left to consolidate their gains back home.
"The Nar civilization is willing to follow your instructions."
"The Enbang civilization understands your will and is willing to comply."
"We are willing to cease conflict and await the arrival of the World Devourers, venting our fury upon these enemies of order."
"We failed this time, but that doesn't mean it will be the same next time. Since we failed this time, the Kukel civilization submits to your command."
"We fulfill our agreement, worthy leader to follow. May we have another opportunity to hear your discourse on the Way again?"
Soon, with one farewell after another, one message after another, the border of the Bloody Star River Royal Court, which had been crowded with numerous powerhouses, became nearly empty. Only Joshua and the lingering messages of many powerhouses and civilizations echoed in the void.
It couldn't be said that 'all' civilizations were willing to obey Joshua's earlier demands. Some unconvinced powerhouses or civilizations might still engage in private conflicts, paying lip service while acting otherwise. But the vast majority of civilizations and powerhouses were willing to acknowledge Joshua's power, to acknowledge the will of this warrior who, even under siege and continuous challenges from countless powerhouses, showed no fear or fatigue, fighting to this very moment.
They were willing to admit that, for now, they were indeed inferior to Joshua—until they came to challenge him again in the future, this Mycroftian should be the most powerful individual in this Multiverse Star River.
All races pacified. The entire Multiverse Star River was willing, at least nominally, to unite under a great order.
This was one of the gains from this journey—rescuing Ke Lei Le and Ai Er Ma, battling Emperor Amos, and broadcasting the discourse on the Way... But the greatest gain was yet to come.
"Hoo..."
In the empty void, only chaotic vortices formed by various supernatural powers remained, spinning rapidly. If left unchecked, the power of the various races' powerhouses residing in these vortices would turn into imprints, transforming this star region into a life-forbidden zone. By then, even a Legendary High-rank powerhouse entering would face mortal danger, as every few steps they took, they would encounter the residual waves of at least seven or eight Limit-level powerhouses' former ultimate techniques, likely being blasted into a hasty retreat.
Of course, this was also a massive treasure trove, containing the ultimate techniques and experiences of all the powerhouses who had participated in this discourse on the Way and were strong enough to leave imprints. If one could fully comprehend it, an ordinary void civilization could undergo a qualitative leap, becoming a star river overlord.
After thinking for a moment, Joshua did not erase these void energy vortices, which would likely take countless years to dissipate on their own. He withdrew his hand and even slightly reinforced this peculiar void spectacle, preventing the weak from accidentally entering.
—This might become a dungeon for later generations.
Erasing something, from existence to nothingness, was ultimately inferior to leaving something behind, from nothingness to existence.
Thinking this, the warrior closed his eyes and let out a breath.
"Good... It's been a long time since I've fought so comfortably."
Looking at the overall situation, this discourse on the Way had forcibly elevated almost everyone present by one level. Even Emperor Amos, who was nearly at the point of no further advancement, felt he had gained a great deal.
But the one who gained the most was still Joshua.