Defiance of the Fall

Zac's greed-induced confidence came under attack as the tribulation clouds grew stronger without end. They soon surpassed the levels Zac faced when stepping into Late Hegemony and showed no signs of stopping. There being no hint of the Four Desolates wouldn't matter when the amount of lightning approached the levels of a Middle Monarch's attack.

"You're expecting too much of me," Zac warned.

Roan didn't answer. The Earth Child was going through a mysterious transformation while absorbing the immense amounts of faith stored underground. It was this process that had called down Heaven's Judgment. The tribulation appeared related to the Law of Impermanence. Roan was becoming something more than human, similar to how Alea was transitioning into a true Tool Spirit.

It wasn't exactly the same, though. Rather than becoming an undying spirit, Roan was becoming an incarnation of the Fertile Earth. Zac suspected he was getting some of the blame because of the unique location. He was the only real person in the realm, while the rest were replications of long-dead cultivators.

Zac released his breath just as he was about to give up on his plan to act as Roan's lightning rod. While the tribulations grew stronger, they grew more unfocused. Heaven's attention was being spread out as Roan's essence harmonized with the soil. Fusing with the lands had its advantages. The Fertile Earth was hiding its champion from the heavens.

By the time the clouds stopped growing, none of the lightning targeted Roan. The part focused on Zac was roughly at the level of when he formed his Earthly Daos. Zac was already back on Team Greed. So long as the tribulation didn't reach the calamitous levels of his Core breakthroughs, Zac was confident in surviving—even with Tam's body.

Getting a free serving of Tribulation Lightning could even be considered a windfall. The premature tribulation during Zac's core formation became the sword that brought Kator to his knees. That came at the cost of losing out on a round of purification. [Void Heart] had released its refined lightning during the breakthrough when Zac was barely holding on. He'd only dragged a few slivers into his yet-reassembled core before expelling the rest from his body.

The real problem was the Technocrats. The incoming vessels had stopped at a safe distance the moment the Heavens descended, even masking their aura to avoid getting implicated. Zac wouldn't just sit still while they plotted from a distance. He rushed out but immediately stopped in his tracks with a curse.

The Heavens noticed Roan if Zac moved too far away. And while Roan's aura of faith was rapidly growing, he was still a mortal without any cultivation. Taking even the weakest bolt was asking too much. Hell, any errant streak of lightning could reduce Roan to ash. It looked like he'd have to do without his specialty of turning tribulations into a weapon.

Dealing with the threats in succession made Zac's life much harder, but there was still a decent chance of coming out ahead. There was a huge difference between a Half-Step Monarchs and the real deal. Forming a proto-space was a defeat that severely limited one's future, something you'd mostly see on the frontier.

The Technocrat was likely a deathsworn who'd forcibly opened his space for the mission. Such an opponent wouldn't be much stronger than a Peak D-grade elite. It was within acceptable range, though the two-dozen subordinates could introduce dangerous variables. Of course, the biggest question was whether Tam's body could go the distance.

While the Technocrats observed, Zac prepared. A protective layer of bark from [Conformation of Supremacy] covered his skin as countless spores spread through the area. Squirming vines wriggled and grew larger, and Zac threw out dozens of D-grade Divine Crystals to provide additional fuel. [Primal Edict] also got a surprising boost from the underground faith that made it grow at twice its original speed.

Only the clearing was left unexposed, intentionally so. [Primal Edict] couldn't do much against tribulation lightning. Instead of implicating the web of vines in the tribulation, Zac would use the time to erect a barrier against the Technocrats. They couldn't even do anything about it. Attacking would get them dragged into the tribulation.

The first bolt finally descended, accompanied by scattered lightning strikes as far as Zac could see. The whole shallows were forced to face the calamity. Zac rose into the air and unleashed a series of fractal blades. It didn't weaken the lighting bolt by any significant degree, but it did help focus its attention.

The bolt crashed into Zac's head and he fought back through conventional means. He grimaced with pain, giving the impression of a cultivator struggling before Heaven's wrath. The reality wasn't quite so bad. Three Earthly Daos and the Void joined forces to wage war against the invader. The tribulation lightning had a hard time causing any significant damage to a body repeatedly tempered by Law.

Manually whittling down the lightning took a bit of time. The second bolt was already on its way by the time Zac dispersed the final streaks. Panting, Zac unleashed a second round of fractal blades in a show of defiance, even going so far as to punch the angry streak. Of course, this was to hide using [Void Mountain] to extinguish a good chunk of the tribulation as it entered Zac's body.

Zac had seen enough tribulations to confirm this one was limited to a minor cycle of three bolts. What Roan was doing had clearly infuriated the Heavens, but there were checks and balances in place to limit what kind of punishment a mortal could face. It was a good thing, too. Zac was playing things up for the Technocrats, but Tam's body wasn't strong enough to eat Tribulation Lightning and walk off unscathed.

The third bolt descended, and Zac thanked his foresight for not feeding [Void Heart] since stepping into the memory realm. He hadn't expected to encounter a tribulation, but the Hidden Node was quite useful in dealing with all forms of hostile energies. Normal lightning was no match to the hungry Void, who'd sharpened its teeth against much greater foes. Zac had to forcibly suppress [Void Heart] to keep some lightning for show.

Zac fell onto the ground after absorbing the final bolt, gasping for breath as the Heavens reluctantly retreated. Roan remained unmoving, still in the middle of his transformation. The distant ships burst into action before the clouds had time to disperse. The Technocrats might have avoided interfering with the tribulation, but they were clearly unwilling to let Roan continue.

At the same time, they showed no intention of blowing him up from a safe distance. It was the same in the previous clashes. The Technocrats hadn't even tried to kill Roan when they were about to die. Their fear of hurting the child was partly why Tam survived the second battle. The Selvari's plans weren't limited to killing a Holy Son of an Imperial Order.

The Technocrats felt more like thieves wanting to steal a precious crop the night before its owner would harvest it. They could be planning on using Roan's unique connection with 'the Earth' to pollute the Imperial Faith permeating the Left Imperial Expanse. Zac would take advantage of that greed.

A vast jungle appeared to block their advance while a cocoon of vines enclosed the meadow. It would take even the Half-step Monarch a moment to cut his way through such a sturdy shell, but Zac had no plans on fighting a siege. Passively defending wouldn't work. Zac needed to reduce their numbers before they could overwhelm his domain skills.

Zac emerged from a tree at his domain's edge, his body thrumming with forbidding power. He'd shed his disguise of a cultivator teetering on the brink of collapse now that his targets were within reach. Two glowing axelights rotated around [Verun's Bite], each with a distinct power of either Life or Conflict. Zac's swung his weapon, and the two blades were pushed together.

The fusion was the complete opposite of Life and Death's polar opposition when using [Rapturous Divide]. The two forces joyfully merged into a deadly yet beautiful swirl. A stream of Creation Energy poured into the mix just as it detached from his axe. There was no way to intercept Zac's ambush at that point. Life and Conflict formed an accelerating cycle of growth and decay that almost instantly reached critical mass.

The glowing swirl shrunk to the size of a grain before it exploded. It unleashed the Evolutionary cycle's accumulated carnage, with Zac's will imposing direction. It carved a rift in space that stretched over a mile, cleanly bisecting the shuttle and three unlucky cultivators inside. The barrier that endured [Evolutionary Edge] in the previous fight couldn't mount a resistance against [Rapturous Beginning] empowered by [Spiritual Void] and his Shards of Creation.

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The infusion of foreign Creation Energy gave power at the cost of stability, drastically shortening its lifespan. That wasn't a bad thing in this case. The manmade chasm he'd imposed on reality collapsed, killing or grievously wounding the rest of the shuttle's shell-shocked crew. The shockwave even intercepted most of the attacks coming Zac's way.

Zac started off the battle in explosive fashion, and he had no intention of slowing down. Thousands of vines emerged from [Apex Jungle]'s perimeter, greedily targeting their new source of food. Zac already had his sights on a second shuttle. The Technocrats wouldn't just sit and take the abuse. More than a dozen warriors came pouring out of the ships, releasing attacks the moment Zac came within view.

Two Technocrats were enough to deal with the incoming vines. One of them destroyed huge swathes with deafening roars. Odd gill-like appendages on his neck indicated he was a sound-based cultivator, while the other was more of a conventional mage. A series of mid-air earthquakes caused countless fractures in space that shredded Zac's juvenile vines. Together, they fought back [Primal Edict] while clearing the first layer of trees.

Zac couldn't do much except continuously supply his skills with more energy to delay their advance toward Roan. He already had his hands full with the rest of the party. A barrage of diverse attacks hounded Zac from every direction, forcing him on the defensive. Haro fought back with great fury, and Zac never stopped launching nimble blades with [Evolutionary Edge].

The Selvari infiltrators' teamwork was no worse than any modern elite squad. When seeing Zac endure the onslaught, they switched to restricting his movement. Zac felt the noose getting tighter as he inched his way toward his targets. Suddenly, there was no room to navigate. Barriers disguised as attacks suddenly sprung around Zac, creating a tight corridor.

All paths beneath the Heavens had been closed off, at which point the leader made his move.

Nine energy circles formed around the floating Technocrat. Three thrummed with Life and another three with Space. The last three, the circles positioned right above the Pseudo Monarch's head, gave off a more unusual aura. For lack of a better word, it gave Zac the feeling of 'civilization.' Perhaps it was an expression of the Dao of Technology, which rejected the common division of seventeen Dao Peaks.

The nine circles shot toward Zac, fusing into a single concept. Space, Life, and Civilization joined into a vibrant world, one with inhabitants that advanced with the speed of light. One breath, the world was a scarred mess that could hold no life. The next, it was a flourishing hub with huge citadels. The pioneering spirit of civilization elevated the world beyond its original limits, artificially raising its grade while creating vast structures to safeguard its survival.

The marvelous scene almost made Zac almost forget to dodge. He felt like he'd been given a front-row seat to the formation of an Inner World. The Transcender had turned the plan for his ascension into an attack. The world even carried the pressure of his proto-space, giving further credence to the imagery.

This was not something Zac could take head-on. Zac had hoped to get a bit closer, but this much would do. [Void Mountain] in Zac's aperture shook like a gong being struck, and Void of Death came pouring out of [Spiritual Void]. The inescapable net was suddenly full of holes. Zac disappeared like a ghost, breaking free from his cage while sidestepping the world-shaped bomb.

The world exploded in a deafening blast. It left a huge crater and almost managed to collapse [Apex Jungle]. The majestic scene was followed by a wet gurgle, which alerted the Technocrats of their enemy's position. They turned around, shocked to find an unscathed Zac at the rear of their group. No, a Zac that looked more imposing than ever.

His skin was covered in golden-white runes that evaporated the blood drenching his armor. He'd activated [Arcadia's Crusade] to gain an additional surge of speed. Of course, it wasn't just the berserking skill that allowed Zac to slip through the cracks. It was mostly thanks to the true Evolutionary Stance, which incorporated the Void of Death.

No one but the leader was even close to Zac's level when the flames of Arcadia coursed through his veins. Zac could feel cracks spreading through Tam's body from his current form. The agony mounted, but an even greater bloodlust suppressed it. Another five Technocrats died before they could react.

Zac would have liked nothing more than to continue his indiscriminate slaughter. It took even the most experienced of warriors some time to adapt to the unpredictable movements of his Void-empowered technique. Unfortunately, one glorious burst was all that Zac's weakened bloodline could endure.

[Spiritual Void] felt like a punctured balloon. It stopped producing the necessary Void of Death and was reluctant to even provide normal Dao. Zac's wounds were also catching up to him. Activating [Arcadian Crusade] in his current state was no different than giving one's car a burst of speed by blowing up its fuel tank.

Keeping his body from exploding was a chore and maintaining [Apex Jungle] and [Primal Edict] demanded all the energy Zac could transfer. He'd already been forced to give up on [Conformation of Supremacy]. Activating more skills was out of the question—at least the normal way.

A slew of incoming attacks crumbled from an even greater scar of evolutionary destruction. Adding over 30% to his attribute pool was only half of what [Arcadian Crusade] brought to the table. Completely resetting the cooldowns of all skills except [Arcadia's Judgment] was an equally powerful perk. It allowed for a second serving of [Rapturous Beginning]—one that came without warning, courtesy of [Force of the Void].

It was only the beginning of Zac's coup de grâce. The sky silently split open while the Technocrats joined hands to block [Rapturous Beginning]. Arcadia's radiant blade of extinction was upon the group before they could react. When they didn't think things could get worse, a wooden wheel suddenly blinked into existence behind Zac.

A disruptive pulse destabilized defensive skills and caused multiple defensive items to fail. The wheel turned again, unleashing a second pulse for good measure. The whole memory realm trembled as Zac's two ultimate skills combined into a devastating attack that almost unraveled the fabric of the fading memory.

Zac ignored the danger and rushed straight into the mayhem. He'd done so before, but never without the Void to help navigate a safe path. There was no time to wait for his Void Emperor Bloodline to recover. Tam's body couldn't endure much longer, so Zac had to make sure the job was finished. His all-out assault, boosted by [Arcadian Crusade] and launched with [Force of the Void], was absolutely terrifying. Still, a Half-Step Monarch was bound to have a few ways to stay alive.

A whirlwind of spatial blades suddenly appeared just as Zac was about to reach his destination—the epicenter of the blast. They crashed into [Empyrean Aegis]'s defensive barrier and exhausted the last of its power. [Ossuary Bulwark] provided a secondary layer of defense, but it still wasn't enough. The blades dug into Zac with enough remaining momentum that they almost cut him into pieces.

Zac lost his left leg beneath the knee and started bleeding like a sieve, but he still forged ahead until he found what he came for. Not much remained of the Half-Step Monarch except an incomplete skeleton and some strips of flesh. However, he was actually still alive. Nanomachines amplified by the Dao of Life were already reconstructing flesh while the Technocrat's consciousness hid inside a sphere of supercondensed energy and Dao—the proto space.

Another spatial attack was already gathering inside the space, and Zac had run out of protective measures. It became a battle of determination, where Zac furiously called on [Void Mountain] one last time. Zac pivoted, ensuring a beam of concentrated space only punctured his lung and not his heart, before weakly slapping the sphere.

A physical attack at that level would never be able to destroy a proto space, even a damaged one. The threat posed by the rune hidden on Zac's palm was another matter. Void and Dao clashed, resulting in mutual extinction. For Zac, it meant wasting most of his remaining Void Energy. For the Half-step Monarch, it meant death.

The already embattled subspace couldn't maintain its structural integrity when pieces of it suddenly disappeared. Zac slunk away with a Void-activated [Skystriker] just before it went supernova. The collapse of the semi-formed Inner World joined the devastation that had turned the surrounding miles into a lifeless hellscape.

Zac was in no condition to enter the fray again, so he kept watch for potential survivors from a safe distance. There were none. Only a crater half a mile deep remained when the chaotic flux faded. If some of the remaining Technocrats had survived, it would have been through using powerful escape treasures. They wouldn't become a threat in the short run.

It was at that time [Arcadian Crusade] ended, and its backlash almost pushed Zac over the edge. Zac furiously channeled [Surging Rebirth] to soothe his body while keeping his eyes glued to the hatchet floating before him. Victory came at a steep price. He'd greatly avoided strain on Tam's body by activating most of his skills with Void Energy. However, a battle at this level was still far beyond what the aged veteran could endure.

Zac felt like a crumbling statue held together through sheer will. He'd explode the moment he relaxed and let Tam rise to the surface. The world was in an equally wretched state. The short battle had completely overturned history, draining the remaining Imperial Faith in one go. The realm was already fading away.

Out of better options, Zac took out the [Fuxi Mountain Gate] and held it against the ground. He hoped the Earth Spirits would uphold their side of the agreement before it was too late. The earth remained silent as the world ended. Just as it looked like it was all for nothing, an ancient voice reverberated through the world.

"This land is fertile."

The gravelly voice carried unshakable authority. The statement may as well have been Heaven's will, and the realm's collapse abruptly halted. It didn't recover from its faded state, instead gaining a contradictory aura of simultaneous prosperity and decline. The plants around them trembled with untapped potential from Roan's blessing, but hidden laws were preventing them from being reborn.

The blessing wasn't limited to the world. Zac's wounds closed, pathways recovered, and boundless energy poured into his drained core. The backlash from using [Arcadian Crusade] faded, and even the imminent collapse from overloading Tam's body was suppressed by Roan's decree. Zac drew a deep breath and his lungs filled with Life.

Zac turned toward the clearing and saw a vaguely familiar figure walking his way. He'd overcome the challenge, which meant it was time to reap the reward.

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