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Monster? No, I'm a Cultivator! (Percy Jackson): Chapter 36
🕑 Added 2025-06-04 02:09:52 +0000 UTCDespite the mission given and his own excitement, Ocean Song didn’t immediately depart. No, when he took a moment to think about it, he decided that it was best to be cautious when dealing with a god.
If it were just him, he may have just rushed in and completed the mission without hesitation. But now, he had his sect members with him, and they were still noobs.
It would be a good learning experience for them to master the ways of the Dao, seeing firsthand how their Sect Master operates.
But this was no trial by fire; he wasn’t raising Gu.
A good Sect Master protects his fellow Sect members.
Therefore, Ocean Song postponed the mission for…a few hours.
Goddess Styx didn’t seem to mind; it’s not like he was given a strict timetable. While he recognized that she would be upset if he put it off for several days or weeks, she wouldn’t speak against a few hours to prepare beforehand.
So, Ocean Song sat cross-legged in his room.
In the Sect Master’s Quarters, at the tallest point of the Sect, overlooking everything.
It was time to break through.
Qi Condensation Realm, to open one’s Meridians and fill each one with Qi, refining it into your Dantian.
Foundation Establishment Realm, to turn the Qi into an internal lake, to liquify the Qi making it gain a qualitative leap in existence.
And Core Formation, his current Realm.
To condense the Lake of Qi into a Core, once more, gaining a qualitative leap in your Qi’s existence.
Heavier, thicker, more powerful.
If it could be measured as such, one unit of Qi from a Core Formation Cultivator was magnitudes better than one unit of Qi from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
Ocean Song was unique in that he had two Cores. He briefly thought of his younger Brother Tyson, but he didn’t think his younger brother would walk the same path. His younger brother would probably keep his Demonic heritage intertwined with his Divine Heritage.
Ocean Song was different though. They were separate.
He had a Demonic (Monster) core, and a Divine Core.
Yin, Yang.
They complimented each other and his Dao.
His body was in harmony.
Now, it was time to advance to the next Realm.
A Nascent Soul. It was one of the biggest leaps in a Cultivator’s journey. It was perhaps the first true step to becoming a true Immortal.
Once his Nascent Soul was formed, even if his body was destroyed, he could survive.
The method was rather simple, but also infinitely difficult. To take the next step, one has to have unwavering confidence in themselves because if you fail, you lose your cultivation. That is to say, to form his Nascent Soul, he would need to shatter both of his Cores.
Ocean Song sat there silently, his Qi subtly pulsed around his body, harmonized with the world. Slowly, a Tai Chi formation expanded out underneath him and his third eye opened.
His Demonic Qi exploded out, and his normal Qi surged to meet it.
The building shook from the force of the two energies intertwining. However, they began to harmonize under the pressure of his Dao.
Ocean Song took a deep breath, the two surging Qi were swept back inside him and in one fell swoop, both his Core cracked.
He felt pain rush outwards from his metaphysical organs. Unconsciously, he spat out a mouthful of blood, but pushed forward.
His Divine Core and His Demonic core, cracked further.
Ocean Song grit his teeth and shouted inward.
Shatter!
Both Core fully shattered at his command, and all his power suddenly rampaged. He felt jolts of pain tear through his body, like swords trying to push outwards from within him.
The remnants of his cores, the rampaging power, he grabbed it all and forced it together.
The two sides collided, and the Tai Chi under him rotated, trying its best to control the energies.
A Nascent Soul was like a miniature version of the person.
It was a reflection of them, however silently different still.
It was their Immortal Soul.
Ocean Song’s eyes shot open, and roared.
“Combine!”
His essence, his Qi, and the remnants of his Cores all merged together, and the building began to shake again.
High up in the sky, clouds rolled forward from the sheer weight of his power erupting. Storms began to gather at the strange phenomena occurring.
An aurora appeared over head.
The Mountain itself began to tremble.
Ocean Song his eyes glazed over and it was like the world disappeared.
Instead he stood in a void.
Around him, was nothingness, until a faint light shined. He reached his hand out, and he could feel it, it was the Nascent Soul taking shape inside of him.
However, its shape was still yet undetermined.
It seemed like it hadn’t yet solidified and was waiting for his affirmation.
It turned into an ocean, tidal waves rolling across the horizon. Calm waters welcoming sailors, and tsunami’s crushing coasts.
It then changed again, turning to Lightning, arcing across the sky. Dark clouds, that crackled with the might of Heavenly fury.
The images continued to change, different scenes, different……symbols.
It was possibilities.
Justice.
Contracts.
Water.
Sky.
Battle.
Lightning.
Crafting.
Magic.
Many more flashed before his eyes, all of them promising an immediate answer. Ocean Song looked at them, and he could hear the call; all it would take is him reaching out, and he could step into the Dao.
He could possibly skip several realms and ascend to the Heavens in a single step and acquire Immortality!
Ocean Song hesitated, then he chuckled.
“My Dao Heart seems to be trembling; I am not yet qualified to step into the Dao.” He chided himself. “Regardless, this Heart Demon, you are dismissed!” He summoned his sword and slashed through them all.
“I, Ocean Song, walk my own path; my Dao is the only Dao I accept!” He roared defiantly, and he forced the Nascent Soul to take shape.
It was a miniature image of him, and it entered his body.
His back arced and the void around him collapsed, and as if taking a deep breath for the first time in months, he gasped in the same spot he was sitting in before.
He looked into their eyes, and they glowed brilliantly with a five-colored light that expanded outwards and illuminated the entire Mountain.
Ocean Song stood up, hands clasped behind his back.
Inside him, his Nascent Soul churned slightly, and the rampaging Qi in the vicinity was quelled.
It took a single step and was already out the door, touching down on the cobblestone pathway that led to the courtyard where everyone was gathered.
His arrival was only signified by the faint gust of wind that swept away a few leaves nearby.
Styx was the first to notice, having been here, waiting for whatever nonsense he spouted to be finished with.
She was about to throw out a sarcastic remark, but all words died in her throat.
She hadn’t really been paying attention to him, not caring about whatever ruckus he was kicking up, as he had done similar things already.
But now that she got a look at him, she was speechless.
Speechless, because he wasn’t even trying to hide it, and she could peer deep into his essence.
There were many steps to Godhood. Some were born gods, some would were made into gods. Many had to take the long route.
She already knew that he was walking the path of Apotheosis, technically, all Demigods did, they just didn’t know it.
Their parents didn’t exactly want to give a step by step instruction on how to become a god. Zeus was already paranoid enough without every new Demigod trying to become a god.
One of the most important and indisputable facts of every god was that they all had a Symbol. Some had a physical manifestation of it. Zeus with his Lightning Bolt, Poseidon with his Trident, Hades with his Helmet. There were benefits to this, as shown with how empowered they were with their physical manifestations of it. Likewise, they could technically be stolen and they would lose that ‘power’ until they get it back.
Others, it was just a Symbol in the most basic expression of the word. Many lesser deities didn’t have a physical expression of their Symbol, but they all still had a Symbol of power.
Boreas, the god she wanted punished, had the Symbol of a Conch. However, he didn’t have some Divine Conch he carried around.
Styx herself didn’t have a physical example of it, for different reasons. There was no point; the River Styx sat in the underworld, she was the River, the River was her symbol, and she didn’t need to create a Divine Armament or Representation of what already existed.
But that’s what left her speechless as she stared at Ocean Song.
“Did…..did you take yourself as your own Symbol and Idol and worship yourself!?” She blurted out in utter disbelief.
“...what?” Ocean Song blinked.
Styx threw her hands up and disappeared, she didn’t want to deal with his nonsense any longer. Though, just before she left, she pointed a finger at Ocean Song and the relevant information regarding the ‘mission’ entered his mind.
Ocean Song just shrugged.
“It’s a day worth celebration, Fellow Daoists! This lowly Cyclops has stepped into the Nascent Soul Realm and has taken another step towards Immortality!” Ocean Song announced to the ground.
Lightning boomed over head.
They looked at him and then up at the sky that looked all kinds of wrong. Lots of fancy lights mixed in with the growing storm.
“Ahem.” Ocean Song cleared his throat and pointed up at the sky. “Quiet.” He announced and the storm dispersed, the colors faded, and the world seemed to return to normal.
“....what the hell happened to you?” Medusa asked.
“I broke through to the Nascent Soul realm.” Ocean Song clasped his hands behind his back and let his robes billow heroically.
“We have no idea what that means.” She deadpanned.
Right, Ocean Song just realized he hadn’t explained that far head.
He gently swung his hand out and swept everyone up onto a newly formed cloud, rising into the sky. There were gasped of surprise at his sudden actions. “I’ll explain on the way. Nessie, you’re in charge of the Sect until we get back!” He called out.
“Bawhoooo!” She bellowed in return, splashing in her kiddie pool happily.
Ocean Song nodded, knowing the sect was in good hands.
The others just looked confused and stunned as they shot off towards the horizon on a literal cloud.
“Come, fellow Daoists, I will explain the Realms you must ascend to reach Immortality.” He gestured for them to sit.
They didn’t really seem to want to argue; they could feel that Ocean Song was different, that his presence was sort of…magnified in a way.
“Come, I shall dispel your doubts, fellow Daoists.” He gestured for them to speak.
“What happened to you?” Daedalus cut right to the chase.
“I ascended to the next Realm on the path of Immortality.” Ocean Song, he said with a short smile, his hair blowing in the wind giving an ethereal image.
“.....explain it properly.” He sighed.
“You are in the realm of Qi Condensation. You will be opening your Meridians to channel Qi into your Dantian.” Ocean Song said simply, as they already knew this much. “Once that is complete, you can break through the realm of Foundation Establishment. A foundation establishment realm Cultivator is far stronger than a Qi Condensation Cultivator.”
They all looked at him blankly, Tyson just because it was his normal state of existence when Ocean Song explained things. He mostly just did as he was told and somehow got results, like a true Cultivator.
“After Foundation Establishment, the next realm is Core Formation. That’s where I was previously and I just broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm where I formed my Immortal Soul. Past Nascent Soul Realm, one enters the Dao Seeking Realm. And lastly, once one has progressed through Dao Seeking, the last is to ascend to Immortality, gaining a lifespan equal to the Sun and moon, their Dao becoming eternal.”
Daedalus was…actually taking notes.
Medusa raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“You mean you weren’t just making this all up as you went along?”
“.....” Ocean Song refused to answer. “Let’s prepare for our assignment. You will be assisting me with punishing a god for breaking an oath.”
Tyson raised his hand. “Did he do something bad?”
“Good question, Junior Brother. If one makes an Oath on Senior Goddess Styx’s river, then breaking it comes with consequences.” Ocean Song briefly spoke. “This god callously broke his oath, thus he must suffer punishment.”
“What oath did he break exactly?” Medusa asked, crossing her arms.
“Senior Goddess Styx shared with me that he broke an oath to a Dryad. After he got her pregnant, he refused to accept responsibility for the child even after he swore on the River Styx to take care of both the mother and child.” Ocean Song replied.
Medusa’s lips thinned. “I suppose I won’t have any moral issues then.”
Ocean Song nodded.
He also had a sore spot for being abandoned by a parent.
Ocean Song noted that this situation seemed to resonate with all of them, surprising enough.
He then made a mental note to make a Hall of Therapy in the sect in the future. Truthfully, everyone probably needs some of it.
“Alright, fellow Daoists.” Ocean Song clapped his hands. “Here’s the plan.”
@***@
The God of the North Wind – Boreas – walked down the sidewalk.
He wore his favorite white suit and took out his antique and carefully maintained pocket watch, noting the time.
He nodded to himself, looked up at the sky, and snapped his fingers. A new cold front started moving in and he smiled to himself.
The weatherman said that it would start getting warm, but Boreas took that as a personal insult.
He lived in Canada because he wanted it cold.
Who dared to tell the God of the North Wind that it should be warm? If he wanted warm, he would take another vacation to Hawaii.
He flicked his hand and summoned a cane, walking down the street with a little swagger in his step. His short a grin to a young lady walking by, one of particularly beautiful looks. He marked her, unnoticed by any mortals, so he could find her later and ‘accidently’ run into her.
She was just his type.
Just as he was about to hum himself one of his favorite tunes, his eyes widened as water splashed overtop him, soaking him and his favorite suit completely.
He stood still, slowly, his eyes turned upwards to the source.
There was a monster—a Cyclops on top of the building next to him, holding a big bucket, turned his way.
Boreas was about to snap his fingers and smite the monster so thoroughly that he would beg to be reincarnated back in Tartarus. However, before he could formulate the correct response, he heard a very loud horn.
He turned around, and bright lights made him flinch slightly, right before a truck rammed right into him.
The god Boreas went flying onto the street, rolling across the ground like a test crash dummy.
The god Boreas wasn’t hurt; he was a god; getting ‘run over’ wasn’t going to hurt him, other than his pride.
But he was confused because he was on the sidewalk.
He stood up, only to hear another horn and a car slammed into him, running him over completely. The car even stopped, some few feet in front of him, as if getting ready to check on him, but instead, it reversed and ran over him again before shifting back and running over him a third time.
The god Boreas stood up again, unhurt, other than his pride and his suit—which was in utter tatters. And his face had been smeared with dirt and grime.
Fury was an emotion Boreas should be feeling, but the incredulousness of it all rounded it back to utter confusion and bewilderment.
Who would dare to run over a god!?
He had never experienced something like this before, so he was taken completely off guard and didn’t immediately start throwing around divine power.
He looked up to see the driver of the truck was…he didn’t know what he was looking at, some kind of mechanical flesh body with a soul in it?
Then at the driver of the car that…was that Medusa? He could see the snake's hair!
“Fellow Daoist.”
Boreas turned around to see another monster, wearing strange robes and with three eyes.
“You’ve come to the wrong neighborhood, fellow Daoist.” The monster hit his knees with the club and a very audible cracking sound was heard.
Boreas fell to the ground crying out, clutching his now broken legs.
Ocean Song admired his handiwork.
He nodded to himself for a job well done, but then called out to his sect members. Medusa and Daedalus got out of their vehicles and came over, Tyson also climbed down off the building and they all surrounded the downed god.
Ocean Song admired the divine club he was given. Apparently, it’s able to enforce the punishment for oath breakers. That is to say, for Oath Breakers, it essentially treats them as mortal when it hits them.
“Okay, fellow Daoists. First priority after you down your opponent, you need to loot them for anything valuable.”
Boreas cried out again, unused to being physically in pain.
Ocean Song raised up the club about to hit him again but then paused. “Oh, where are my manners? Fellow Daoist, would you like a turn?” He offered the club to Medusa.
“That would be lovely, thank you.” Medusa smiled and took it happily before she started hitting the god on the ground.
The group stared as Medusa beat the god with the divine club that essentially treated him as mortal.
Ocean Song thought it was therapeutic for her, in a way, so he didn’t stop her.
“Now, time for looting, fellow Daoists, as proper Cultivators do.” It was his job to teach them the ways of Cultivation.
There was a beat of silence.
“.....I think those shoes are Allen Edmonds; they’re worth over a thousand dollars.” Daedalus commented, looking at the barely scuffed shoes the god was wearing. “They look about my size.”
Ocean Song was proud; they were truly taking their first steps into becoming proper cultivators!
@***@
A/N
Chapter name: A god gets mugged.
So, the punishment for breaking an oath on the Styx is mythologically something like, being turned mortal for a period of time and suffering a lot of physical torment and being exiled.
Three guesses on what the Divine Club Styx gave to Ocean Song does.
Comments
CosmicInsomniac
I wonder if Ocean Song (The Symbol of his Dao) was the one to protect his fate from being cut, rather than Ocean Song (The Cultivator)
Raibeart TReiss
Breaking a River Styx Oath? HE IS COURTING DEATH V:
Raven
Would they react? The type of cultivator OS is more manga then actual Chinese cultivation. Pulse their gods are different then the mangas… naturally born or going through trails and tribulations to become gods
Einar Strandberg
The sect was great, but being the personal leg breakers of the river Styx really ties everything together. It gives them quests, makes them feel more official and like they have a purpose outside of LARP, and most importantly -- is fucking hilarious.
Phantom knight who can’t think of a better nicknam
I really would like to see the Chinese pantheons reaction to this
