Analyzing

  Analysis complete

  New Group created: Heavenly Demon Divine Cult

  Title gained: Heavenly Demon

  System status

  Name: Sebastian Moore

  Level: 54

  Title

  

  
• Swordsman


  

  Skills

  

  
• ★Mind's Eye


  
• ★Swordsmanship


  
• ★Quickstep


  

  Cultivation status

  Name: Sebastian Moore

  Cultivation method

  

  
• Earthen Cultivation Art


  

  Cultivation stage

  

  
• Core Formation


  
• → Minor stage: High


  

  Physical cultivation stage

  

  
• Terracotta


  

  Titles

  

  
• Heavenly Demon


  
• Blessed


  
• Sole Cultivator


  

  Talent

  

  
• Akashic Connection


  

  Techniques

  

  
• ★Spirit Union


  
• ★Fleeting Cloud Step


  
• ★Cloud Shadow Slash


  
• ★Shattering Strike


  
• ★Stone Skin


  
• ★Crescent Cloud Slash


  
• ★Intergalactic Sword Art


  
• → Stage: Instinct


  
• ? Proficiency: High


  

  Title: Heavenly Demon

  A title bestowed upon the Demon Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult who has earned the respect and reverence of his subjects and proven themselves worthy. The cult’s future is in your hands, it shall rise or fall with you.

  Sebastian was back in his office, stood by the panoramic windows, thinking things over as he looked out over the town that was now the capital of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

  It was still early days. The inner cult consisted of a grand total of 7 people, himself included. That was an issue that would need resolving, which in turn meant that his new cultivation method needed completing, but the [System] didn’t seem to mind how small the Group was at the moment.

  It’s nice to see you again, [System]. You’ve been so quiet recently.

  Sebastian paused a moment to see if the [System] would finally answer him now that he had a fancy new Title, but no. He was met with the usual silence.

  So there’s an entire System… thing for Groups, that’s interesting. I have heard of Groups before, but I never actually put two and two together and really thought about how it works. Just goes to show, even after all this time, there are still so many things about this world I have yet to learn. He chuckled to himself. What qualifies as a Group, I wonder? Does Oren’s Violet Dawn Sword School count? Surely it does, or would that be another thing, a sub-group of the Crimson Dawn Sword Pavilion that he's still connected to? Sebastian mused. Whatever, it doesn’t really matter right now anyway. He shook his head.

  There doesn’t seem to be any actual controls or any additional information. I can't help but feel, however, that the [System] pushed things along to get me here. Perhaps this was its plan all along? Combined with all that's happened since I was first summoned, I feel like I actually have an idea now as to how the [System] works, and why I’m here.

  My low level limit, my—still mysterious—[Akashic Connection] Talent, finding a long lost cultivation manual in some random goblin cave after I miraculously survived, the timing of certain events, and now this... it all suggests a simple idea—the [System] has a will of its own, or at least an objective to achieve.

  The [System] may not be alive, sentient, or sapient, but I’m certain it’s more than just an automatic and inherent part of nature. Best guess, it’s a magical—or perhaps more likely, divine—Artificial Intelligence. An AI System to monitor the world and the people in it for some preprogrammed purpose.

  The problem with AI, however, is that it can go a little rogue at times. People tend to think the issues with AI is that it could end up like Skynet, actively wanting to kill humans, but that’s not really it. It just has an objective, and it will achieve that objective to the best of its abilities. But if you fail to provide proper parameters, it could make decisions that you never expected. Like breaching a dam even though it would flood a city of millions. The objective was to keep the dam safe, not people.

  If my guess is correct, that’s what I am.

  A dam set to flood this world.

  ***

  The work of unifying the town began in full force.

  There were some—a small minority—who weren’t happy about being called demons. The vast majority, however, accepted the designation with pride. The small resistance died down quick. Especially as the title of Heavenly Demon spread like wildfire.

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  A lot of people already practically worshiped Sebastian, and now that the [System] had acknowledged him as the Heavenly Demon, they truly did.

  Sebastian became a god in their eyes.

  He still let the others handle organizing the town while he stayed in his mansion. He had a lot of work to do. The pile of papers on his desk had doubled, if not tripled, as he continued working on creating the cult’s cultivation method.

  As he pondered, Sebastian paced back and forth in his office.

  I’m getting closer and closer to completing the modified cultivation method, but there’s still an issue—time. I have several Titles and likely a Talent that gives me a disgusting advantage when it comes to cultivation. My knowledge and understanding from the modern world also helped me create efficient images and a powerful intent. It still took me around half a year to reach [Core Formation], and that’s with a good deal of hunting and an expensive spirit bath on the side. Not to mention, cultivating inside the Silvervale Woodlands with its immense essence density. Teaching a new generation of cultivators will take a long time. Years, maybe even decades, until they even reach a point equivalent to level 30. I need the others to keep leveling in the mean time and preferably even recruit more mortal soldiers.

  Over the next few days, Sebastian gave each of his founding members assignments.

  Eduard was ordered to form a military squad with the highest level fighters Mujin had to offer, and to try to level them up—both by training, thereby gaining Titles and Skills, and by fighting weak bandits and criminals in the area.

  Safi and Gawen were sent on scouting missions across the region. Mainly to learn more about the local powers and nearby towns and settlements. As they went, they also helped take down various criminal organizations that ran rampant, both in Mujin and in the region.

  Víctor was assigned the mission of creating a magic school, to teach and raise a group of mages.

  Sebastian’s second-in-command, Marion, was put in charge of the town, taking over the position of magistrate. The previous magistrate, Kwan, took on the role of magistrate’s advisor.

  His own efforts were focused entirely on completing his modified cultivation method so he could begin teaching disciples. Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months as he stayed mostly cooped up his office theorizing and testing.

  It was time well spent.

  Using his own, more pure, [Earthen Cultivation Art] as a base, he succeeded in creating a number of modifications to simplify it.

  For the meridian system, he decided to make use of the fact that the spirit body and the physical body were intrinsically connected. At the lower stages of cultivation, they were practically one and the same. Later in the cultivation journey, the spirit body becomes so firm and the physical body so strong that they are essentially two separate entities, deeply connected but independent to a degree.

  He removed the Sea of Essence from his new diagrams. Instead, he decided on an Essence Heart. Moving it from the center of gravity to the heart made it less balanced, but in turn it can make use of the physical heart to push the circulation of essence through the meridian pathways. That extra bit of power would help in dealing with the impure essence, though at the cost of added strain on the physical organ.

  Additionally, he removed the idea of a Peak meridian system entirely. He made only two versions, a Basic meridian system and an Advanced meridian system. There were fewer of the delicate capillaries and a greater focus on a smooth flow.

  For the image used for the intent, Sebastian settled on simple dust devils. There wasn’t anyone here who would know, or even understand, what a black hole was, so he couldn’t use that. The original image in the [Earthen Cultivation Art] was a whirlpool, but in the arid environment of the Red Sea, there weren’t many who knew much about oceans or whirlpools. So instead, the image of a giant dust devil or even a tornado would serve the same function.

  Then, during the [Essence Consolidation] stage, he composed an intent based on a mechanical dough kneader. It wasn’t fancy, but it seemed to do the trick. They were fairly commonplace, most people in town would know what it was, and by imagining their spirit bodies kneading the dough that was natural essence they absorbed, it could break down the affinities instead of filtering them out. That would help speed up the cultivation since there wouldn't be as much loss. Also, it allowed for the same advantage as his own cultivation method, being able to cultivate in any environment equally, though the already impure essence of the Red Sea would become even more chaotic to handle.

  Once everything was finished, and he felt confident in his new cultivation method, he wrote it down. Just getting everything written out in a structured way took weeks, but he did it with the utmost care. He had experience writing the occasional instructional guide from his day job back on earth, so he naturally made them simpler and included less fluff than the manual for the [Earthen Cultivation Art], and the other books he’d read in this world.

  When he finally finished the entire process, he received an alert.

  Analyzing

  Analysis complete

  New cultivation method created: Unnamed cultivation method

  Please provide a name for the cultivation method

  Sebastian didn’t have to think about it. He already knew what to call it. The Red Sea was practically a desert—even if there was some measure of greenery—and this cultivation method would become their oasis.

  Cultivation method created: Demonic Oasis Art

  With a simple touch on his badge, Sebastian sent a message to Marion.

  I should really figure out how to make more of these, handing out communication badges to important people in the cult would make life much easier.

  A short while later Marion, the new magistrate, and Advisor Kwan entered his office.

  Marion strode in confidently with her hands behind her back. “You called, Cult Leader?”

  Advisor Kwan, on the other hand, got onto his knees, as he always did when in Sebastian’s presence. “This humble servant greets the Heavenly Demon!”

  Ignoring the advisor’s dramatic display, Sebastian said, “I’ve finished the foundational manual for our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.” He poked a finger at the manual on his desk. “Now comes the matter of raising a first generation of disciples. That means we need to first select appropriate candidates to train in hopes of them succeeding and becoming true disciples. We also need to ensure that none of them can reveal our secrets, to anyone. To be clear, this method is unique and extremely powerful. If anyone outside the cult were to learn of it, we would be under siege.”

  “What qualifications should we look for in candidates?” Marion asked.

  “They are quite specific. The method requires you to be at most level 5— No, let’s say level 4 to be safe. Because I’ve modified my own method to suit our current circumstances, I would also prefer if they were in good physical condition and not too young. There could be risks, physically and psychologically.”

  Marion furrowed her brow in consideration. “Many adults have naturally reached level 4, even here in the Red Sea. The [System] tends to be more generous toward children, even trivial achievements can grant you some experience at that age. Still, we should be able to find a number of teenagers and young adults at level 3 or 4.”

  “Good,” Sebastian said, nodding in relief. “Advisor Kwan, is there a place in the area where we can house the disciple candidates? We will need to keep them isolated to ensure that the method doesn’t get leaked. Only those who train in the method shall know its secrets. Sorry, Marion.” He gave an apologetic look to the new magistrate.

  She didn't take offense at being excluded. “No worries, sir.”

  Advisor Kwan took a moment to think it through. He didn’t dare answer haphazardly when the Heavenly Demon asked him a question. His face scowled in concentration as he tried to think of a good place, and then his eyes lit up. “There is, Demon Lord! In the Mansan mountain range, a day’s journey away. There is a vast system of caves in the mountains. A mid-sized gang was known to have used it as their base a long time ago, but they were wiped out by a rival gang a number of years ago. As far as I know, it should still be empty and would likely serve your purpose well.”

  “A cave system? How fitting.” The corner of Sebastian’s mouth curled up. “Find me a group of candidates, a couple dozen or so. And a group of workers who can prepare the cave system for the disciples. And some servants who are prepared to live there in isolation together with the disciples to tend to their food and such. I’ll head there tonight to make sure it’s suitable.”

  “You’re going there alone, sir?” Marion asked with sincere concern. “The caves might not still be empty if it’s been years. Are you certain you don’t need our help?”

  “No, I'll deal with it. If someone, or something, has moved in, I doubt it will be an issue given the general levels in the Red Sea.” He turned to Advisor Kwan. “When I message that the caves are clear, send the workers, the servants, and the supplies. Once we begin training I’ll probably be gone for quite some time, no idea exactly how long it will take. It could be weeks, could be months. I’ll trust you, Marion, to run things as usual while I’m gone.” She gave a small nod in acknowledgment. “Oh, and Advisor Kwan, I’ll like to properly bind this manual into a book and have some copies made, without risking having its contents leaked, do you know of anyone in town with the Skills to do that?”

  “I know of some companies who have Skills concerning such matters, Demon Lord.”

  “Good, find someone willing to relocate to the caves to handle this from there. We’ll compensate them well for the trouble, and their families if need be.”

  “It will be done.”

  ***

  What was a day’s worth of travel for mortals was about an hour for Sebastian.

  He ran across the arid terrain and the mountain range rose over the horizon. It wasn’t the tallest mountain he had seen in this world, but it stood tall and proud with several peaks reaching for the heavens. Most of the mountain range was barren, just like the rest of the Red Sea. Only around the base were there some trees and a bit of generic vegetation.

  He followed the advisor’s instructions and found a gatehouse in the distance.

  Marion’s concern had come true. There were two guards by the gatehouse, which naturally meant that there were many more inside the caves.

  Carefully, he made his way closer, trying not to alert the two guards. Behind the gatehouse was a large opening, a tunnel leading to the cave system deeper in the mountain.

  Sebastian activated his [Mind’s Eye] and extended it toward the guards. He had been experimenting with the Skill-Technique-combination for some time. The range was too limiting to leave it as is. Focusing the range in a specific direction helped to extend the range but it was still pretty short. 50 meters wasn’t enough.

  His latest experiments revolved around sacrificing quality for quantity.

  Rather than using his [Mind’s Eye] to sense everything in its range, he would lower the input to gain a greater range. It worked quite well. While he couldn’t see everything with the same clarity, he successfully extended the range to many times his previous limits. He pushed farther than ever before and his senses reached several hundred meters into the cave system in the mountain.

  Most of them are barely level 20, huh. Still, there’s more of them than expected. And the leader is clearly beyond Major Accomplishment. I didn’t think anyone in the Red Sea had surpassed Major Accomplishment. Curious. He noticed a few crates in the back of the caves. They lit up like the sun under his spiritual sense. Experience elixirs? That explains how they reached such high levels, but it begs the question, where did this gang get their hands on expensive and rare elixirs?

  He refocused on the matter at hand, one mystery at a time.

  They're almost like a weaker division of the Wandering Wolves Corps. The leader is just over level 50, and then there’s over a hundred others around the caves. Most of them are under level 30, but still.

  If I’m being honest with myself, I could probably just walk in there and kill them all. That would be a waste though. I just formed my cult, and I need more manpower. They might be gang members, murderers, and bandits, but I’m not in a position to be picky.

  I’ll try to sneak in, kill the leader and then make the rest of them submit. Any who are willing will join me, the rest will die.

  Problem is, I’m not fast enough to sneak past them, or to kill them before they can alert the rest. My ranged attacks are still sorely lacking. The only one I have are some generic sword attacks and the [Crescent Cloud Slash], and while that might be good in a crowd at mid range, it’s not very good against single targets at longer distances.

  Although… I did do something back at the Shattered Earth Sect. It’s not something I’ve thought about too much, but in the heat of the moment, I created a shadow sword according to the [Cloud Shadow Slash], but instead of shadowing my attack, I held it and launched it separately.

  How did I do that?

  Hidden behind a formation of large rocks, Sebastian tried to replicate the attack.

  The first step was to materialize a sword of essence and hold it. He had spent some time on both the [Cloud Shadow Slash] as described in the manual and his own version, [Crescent Cloud Slash], so he had an idea of what to do.

  The first attempt failed.

  He couldn’t maintain the sword once it materialized. The second wasn’t much better. By the fifth attempt, he managed to hold it in place, but any attempt to make it move caused it to dissipate.

  It took a little longer than he had hoped to finally manage to first materialize a sword of essence and then move it around, but after a few more tries, he received an alert.

  Analyzing

  Analysis complete

  New technique created: Unnamed Technique

  Please provide a name for the Technique

  I should probably embrace the theme, right? Yeah, definitely!

  Technique created: Demonic Essence Sword

  The [System] didn’t help much when it came to Sebastian’s Techniques, and he preferred not to rely too much on the [System] anyway, but having the Technique recognized did make it slightly more cohesive. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place, and although he had to do the work almost entirely manually, it was smoother than without the recognized Technique.

  He materialized a sword of solid essence in front of him. It floated majestically in the air. The sword itself was dark, almost black as night, with swirls of dark purple and blood red essence moving beneath the surface.

  As he turned the corner to face the gatehouse, Sebastian concentrated and activated his [Mind’s Eye]. He extended it to cover the guards keeping watch at the entrance. Maintaining the Essence Swords while using his [Mind’s Eye] was the single most mentally taxing thing Sebastian had ever done. A pressure was quickly building inside his head. If not for the [System] guiding his [Mind’s Eye] Skill, he likely wouldn’t have been able to accomplish it on his first attempt.

  With a thought, he sent the blade flying.

  It crossed the space between them in well under a second, as if it was an arrow loosened from a bow. Even at their lower levels, the two guards were practically superhuman by earth standards; under the bright sun, they might have been able to see it coming and dodge, but the shadow of the mountain hid the blade of essence.

  They were dead before they even knew what happened.

  Sebastian visibly relaxed when he dismissed the Essence Swords.

  Damn, that’s effective!

  Using it together with my [Mind’s Eye] is basically cheating, although that seems to be about the limits of my range with it. It’s a shame it’s so mentally taxing, and that it costs so much essence. A few seconds of use is enough to set me back almost a day’s worth of cultivation. I’ll need to work on the efficiency, but I am very happy with the result. I managed to take them out without alerting anyone inside, but I’ve wasted quite a lot of time figuring out the new Technique.

  I guess I’ll be more direct from here on out.

  Sebastian took a deep breath in preparation for inevitable fight, and stepped into the cave.

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