Daman
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TDE Book 6 Chapter 8 - Enflamed Fist
🕑 Added 2024-03-17 22:02:52 +0000 UTC“Possibly? You don’t know for sure?”
Calron took a moment to think about what Martial said. It made sense. The Titan core was acting as a separate pathway inside his body. It didn’t obstruct the dao circles, but neither were their pathways conjoined.
“Well, you’re the first one to use the Titan core, so we don’t really have a lot of information on it. Theoretically, other path walkers should be able to use it as well. However, we don’t know if their bodies would be able to assimilate any of the elements. Keep in mind, Taranis created the Titan core for his successor, not the path walkers.”
The black pig stared at the still sky above as he pondered.
“May we could try giving the Titan core to other path walkers who join our cause?”
Calron posed the question as he thought of Serina and Kirren.
“It likely won’t work. Your body easily accepted the Titan core because you were born with an element. The Titan core was also designed for someone with a more powerful soul in mind. Other path walkers might not be able to handle both the dao and the essence inside their body. Not everyone has a capacity to host two systems inside them. You’re the weird one here, bastard.”
Martial grunted as he poked Calron’s knee. Now that the Titan thought about it, it was quite strange how Calron’s body absorbed the Titan core without any struggle. It wasn’t like he just ate a juicy fruit. Calron had ingested an entire cultivation system inside his body.
“That’s a shame. Do you think I’d be able to merge the two domains?”
Calron clicked his tongue. He wondered how both Serina and Kirren were faring. His last encounter with the feisty woman hadn’t ended smoothly, but he still cared for her. As for the boy, his thoughts were a bit more complicated. Kirren was a liability, but Calron couldn’t help but like the kid.
“Do you know how I became the youngest Titan in this sector’s history? It was all because of my domain. It took me 70 years to reach the 4th circle, but once I got my domain, I quickly got my 5th circle in only 5 years, my 6th circle in another 15 years, my 7th circle after 35 years and my final 8th circle a full 50 years after that. I broke every single record to become the youngest Titan!”
The black pig spoke with pride as he raised his furry chest and patted Calron’s shins.
“What does that have to do with my question of merging the domains?”
Calron gazed down at the giddy black pig reminiscing about his accomplishments. Calron was curious about the latter circles and how Martial obtained them, but he couldn’t let the pig know or the buffoon would hold that information over his head.
“I was trying to tell you that despite my vast and extensive knowledge about the domains, I have no idea about merging them. No one has had to deal with two domains before.”
Martial answered with a shake of his snout.
“So you told me all that to brag about yourself?”
Calron raised his eyebrow at the blushing pig.
“If the domains were similar in nature, I’d have a few ideas we could try. But blood and lightning have too many contrasting attributes to meld together. The only person who could answer your question is Taranis.”
Martial cleared his throat with embarrassment and diverted the topic away.
“You got a secret method to bring him back from the dead?”
Calron chuckled.
“No, and you don’t need to dig his grave, brat. Attain your 6th circle to become one of the immortals, and the book Taranis left will open of its own accord. You’ll find your answers there.”
Martial darted from his position and climbed back to Calron’s shoulder.
“Forget about that now. It’s too far in the future. Let’s focus on your current domain instead. Bring it out again, brat.”
Raising his arm, Calron brought forth the crimson mist, his Blood Kingdom.
“You see those 6 empty spots? You have two options available for you. Since the 7th spot is taken by that pagoda, you could either get 7 unique abilities in total, or you could combine those empty spots for fewer abilities, but with much greater power and potency. If you used the empty spots for your pagoda, you could enhance the Armory by several folds. I don’t know what the result would be, but it’s bound to be imposing.”
Martial pointed at the noticeably empty spots within Calron’s domain.
Should I concentrate the domain into a few abilities or maximize its number?
Calron mused at Martial’s words. Having more abilities would give him versatility in combat, but that would also mean that each ability would not be as strong as a single one. Calron expected that there would be limitations to the domain.
“I was initially thinking of having the domain cover all aspects of my combat from weapons, attack, defense, healing, and support. But if there’s a possibility of a second lightning domain, I think I need to change my original plans.”
Calron spoke slowly. With the prospect of a second domain, he didn’t need the Blood Kingdom to encompass everything. Besides, lightning was much more ideal for offense, while the Blood Dao excelled in support.
“Hmm, not a bad approach. Concentrating the purpose of the domain rather than its individual abilities might be better suited for your present situation.”
The black pig nodded enthusiastically as he listened to Calron.
Hearing Martial’s affirmation, Calron had another idea he wanted to try out. Reaching out for the hazy pagoda, Calron manifested the weapon he wanted the Armory to re-create. A flash of bloody hue flared around Calron’s hands as a small object gradually formed within his palms.
Martial peeked curiously at what Calron was doing. Upon seeing what the young man had fabricated, a tinge of confusion was plastered on the black pig’s face.
“You want to teach your enemies how to fish?”
The Titan muttered as Calron displayed the object in his hand.
It was a fishing reel. Not the entire rod, but only the part which contained the wires.
Calron laughed at Martial’s comment while he leisurely spun the reel on his palm.
“My biggest mistake was using the Blood Dao like I’d been using my lightning from before. They’re not the same. I was so focused on trying to extend the reach of my blood attacks or improve its accuracy that I forgot blood doesn’t naturally behave that way. I was forcing against its inherent limitations. Why use blood to chase enemies when I can control their movements instead?”
Calron then unleashed a wave of blood energy into the reel, causing the wires to unfurl with a burst of cardinal light. The wires snaked around his body as Calron grabbed them and began pulling it apart.
The outer fibers of the wire started to erode as the blood energy devoured the external layers. The wire was now even thinner that the breadth of a human hair. Normally, the slimmer the wire was, the easier it should have been to tear it apart. However, Calron was utilizing the blood energy to infuse with the wire, augmenting its fragile bond. The fishing reel itself was created with dao, so it wasn’t difficult to bond them together.
The wire was now almost invisible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, Martial was silently watching the scene unfold. The Titan seemed to have already guessed what Calron’s intentions were.
Seeing the barely visible wire before him, Calron manipulated the blood energy inside it and whipped it at a blade of grass a few feet away from him. The reel shot ahead, and the wire encased itself around a sharp blade of grass.
“By now, I know the Blood Siphon is going to be the most important ability of my Blood Dao. Its only weakness is that can’t leech someone’s blood without an open wound. This means, I need a way to draw blood without my opponents knowing until it’s too late.”
Calron then willed the wire to slice through the blade of grass. Not even a whisper of a sound leaked when the blood-infused wire cut through the grass.
“That might work on weaker enemies, but 4th circles and higher would have their own domain, and it’s impossible to sneak a foreign dao inside their sphere of control.”
Martial grunted, steam expelling from his snout.
“I know. This isn’t meant for 4th and 5th circles. It’s meant for the fodder.”
Calron’s gaze turns sharp as he wills the wire to slash the entire bed of grass. Torn blades of grass hail through the air as the herbal scent seeps into the wind. In a single reap, the wire severed through countless stalks. One could only imagine if they were replaced by living beings.
“Martial, we are thinking of going against the council, path walkers, the cultivators, the gods and the primordials. Everywhere we look, there are more enemies instead of friends. We’ll always be outnumbered. Sometimes, it’s not a single powerful enemy that’s the obstacle, but the volleys of endless insignificant arrows.”
Calron turned to the black pig and looked into Martial’s dark eyes. The Primordials were a visible threat they knew and could foresee. However, they still needed to worry about the enemies they didn’t know yet or who could appear at any time. They needed to be ready for anything.
“Not bad. Maybe you should have picked the Martial Dao like me.”
Martial grinned and patted Calron on the back, impressed at the young man’s foresight.
“Weren’t the Blood Dao and the Star Dao more popular than the Martial Dao? Why would I choose the weaker dao?”
Calron smirked and playfully goaded the black pig.
“You bastard! I didn’t have centuries like those old men to spread my feats. By the time I became a Titan, the dastardly primordials were already pillaging this sector. If not, the Martial Dao would be known as the coolest among the four original daos.”
Martial snapped his tusks at Calron’s elbow and began angrily gnawing on it. Calron simply chuckled and nudged him away as he asked.
“So, how strong were you in your prime?”
Martial stopped at those words. He lifted his snout to Calron and his dark eyes glinted with mischief.
“Brat, the current you is not even qualified to have a spar with me.”
“Why don’t we try?”
Calron cracked his knuckles. He was itching to test how powerful a Titan was.
Martial let out a peal of laughter at Calron’s taunt, his hooves mirthfully stomping on the ground.
“You’re too wet behind the ears to challenge a Titan, brat. But you know what? I like your guts! Defeat my weakest minion and then I’ll play with you.”
Following that, Martial’s eyes glowed with a dark light, and a humanoid figure coalesced beside him. It was a golem construct made entirely of stone. Calron could see faint cracks along the edges of its chest and neck. The stone itself appeared aged with time.
The golem shakily took a step ahead, as if it was calibrating its movements after a long period of hibernation.
Calron inspected the golem but failed to gauge its circles or cultivation. Seeing the crack widen on its neck, Calron wondered if Martial was playing a joke on him. The golem was falling apart.
“Well, what are you waiting for?”
Martial teleported a few yards away and asked Calron, a half-smile etched on his face. Meanwhile, the golem continued to stutter, its feet unsteady as it rotated its body to get its bearings.
Calron sighed and held out his hand to grab the golem before it dropped to the ground.
“Huh?”
The golem abruptly vanished from his sight. It was now standing right next to him. Its arms were twitching, the stone grinding as the golem clenched and unclenched its fists.
Calron frowned, his gaze focused on the golem. He couldn’t even detect a trace of dao energy when it moved. His domain was still active, so how did the golem evade his senses?
With rapt attention, Calron attempted to grab the golem again. His hands met the cold, empty air. The golem dodged yet again and was now standing behind him. And this time, its feet weren’t so wobbly on the ground.
Calron clicked his tongue and dispelled the domain. He then called the lightning into his eyes, enhancing his reflexes. Was the golem using an ability, or was it that incredibly fast? He held his hand towards the golem. Lightning ricocheted within his eyes as time slowed down.
His hand was a mere inch away from the golem’s chest.
And then he touched something. It was cold.
It was the golem’s stony chest.
Just as Calron was about to react, he suddenly felt a pang on his head and the world flew around him. No, it wasn’t the world. It was Calron flying away upside down. He landed with a crash around the bed of grass he recently destroyed.
His vision distorted as his ears rang with vibrations, but he could make out the golem in the distance. Its fist burned like molten lava, wisps of smoke whistling out of it.
When did the golem even attack him?
Calron raised himself from his elbows, rubbing his head at the area of impact. It had been a while since someone had pommeled him like this. The fact it was done by an inanimate toy didn’t help either.
“It’s not bedtime, brat. Why are you lying down?”
Martial appeared on top of Calron’s chest and teased him.
Calron merely groaned in response. That golem wasn’t a 4th circle.
“Oh, I forgot to mention something. When a domain is completed, it’s no longer visible to others. Your body itself becomes an instrument of your will.”
Martial chortled as he eyed the golem. The construct began gradually walking towards Calron. Its molten fist dripping lava on the grass as it passed through. It seemed it wasn’t done with Calron yet.
An explosion of lightning crackled around Calron as he slowly stood up. Bolts of charged electricity danced over his skin.
“The best way to train a domain… is to have it beat into you, brat.”
Martial smiled as he spectated Calron rush to meet the golem’s enflamed fist.
