Skyfire Avenue

This lightning, laden with the substance of life and death, was terrifying. It was strong enough to destroy the great beasts of the ancient days. This tribulation lightning bore great opportunity, but it also wrought destruction. Whether man or monster, everyone shuddered at the flash of tribulation lightning.

As a lightning-based Adept himself, the chance to use this extermination lightning was wonderful. Jun Yongye’s aim was to have him absorb the life-extinguishing lightning into his own thunderbolt Discipline. If he succeeded, than every attack from him would be like a blast of tribulation lightning.

Lan Jue’s cultivation continued to improve by leaps and bounds. Through the process of manipulating the yin-yang lightning he could sense the rise and purification of his own energy.

But there was a roadblock. Namely, his state of mind.

Over the last year he had been blessed with one great insight after another. From the Banishing blade and being forced to recultivate, to yin-yang lightning, lightning essence, Taiji and now extermination lightning. All of them had been an important step along his path, giving him hints at the nature of his protogenia.

It was undoubtedly a great thing if an Adept came to recognize protogenia, but Lan Jue had experienced so much in so short a period. Initially he thought he knew the righteous course his thunderbolt Discipline demanded. However, righteous came in many forms. He’d experienced a plethora of different kinds of protogenia, and although it has empowered him it was difficult to keep stable when so much was in flux. The things he’d undergone changed him, not just his Discipline.

His cultivation had also become a search for a suitable path. Once an Adept broke through to Paragon there was no going back. He had one chance to get it right.

ζ

The next morning Majesty and Zeus-1 left Skyfire, under the guise of military secrecy.

They’d only gotten back and they were off again. It was exhausting by any standard. Only, this time they weren’t leaving to fight, and they had been motivated by the arrival of a new Paragon. Even now, all seven hundred Star Division soldiers were in their bunks cultivating. They were all looking for that elusive opportunity.

Over a hundred Division soldiers were left back on Skyfire, those that were still working to understand the insights granted by the Pauper. Even small insights needed time to sink into the mind. 1

They were fewer in numbers for this excursion, but they were ludicrously protected. The Gourmet stayed behind, but he was replaced by the Wine Master, Clockmaker, Photographer and the Pauper. Four in exchange for one, totaling more than half of Skyfire Avenue’s strongest fighters.

The Pharmacist didn’t join them this time. She’s been separated from her daughter and wished to remain near her. Jun’er was still cloistered away to cultivate. She was young, but had tremendous focus. No one knew where she and the Clairvoyant were in the process of transference.

“Should we take a break during the flight?” Lan Jue asked the Driver, who seemed excited.

But the excitement changed to stern reprobation. “Of course not! A boxer never sits on his hands, and a singer’s notes don’t stay in their mouths. We have to strike while the iron’s hot! Don’t you want to evolve your Discipline as soon as possible? Look, when the transition is complete I’ll stop bothering you. Alright?”

“There are hundreds of souls on this ship,” Lan Jue pointed out. “One mistake and this ship explodes. That’s hundreds of corpses.”

The Driver was beginning to lose patience. “We’ve been at this for so long already, you’re just making excuses. We’re wasting time – three months at the most and the transition will be complete.”

The Driver had the same misgivings, but to him this opportunity was too good to pass up. He hadn’t had the wealth of good fortune Lan Jue had enjoyed, especially in the sense of improving his Discipline. He’d only just begun to comprehend the flows of protogenia. Through the yin-yang lightning, he’d begun to establish his own thunderbolt protogenia. His Discipline and his heart were both racing for the same goal.

At first the Driver was never sure he had what it took to become a Paragon. However, now he was convinced that if he could absorb the yin-yang lightning then would join their illustrious number in the not too distant future. It was too enticing for him not to doggedly pursue.

Lan Jue went on. “I’ve been thinking about the changes we’ve noticed. Our combined Disciplines are different, of course, but they’re different because of what leads them. For me, yang is the predominant force. For you, it’s yin. I think this accounts for the change in color.”

The Driver nodded. “I had the same thought. It’s not important, though. What’s important is that we complete the transition as quickly as possible. Once we thorough grasp the nature of this lightning, it’ll be lightning equivalent to what a Paragon commands.”

Earlier in the morning after their cultivation and before boarding the ships, Lan Jue and the Driver attempted to use the yin-yang lightning. The Driver in particular was surprised at what they found. The result wasn’t flashy, but everything the lightning touched was obliterated. It was at least three times stronger than what they’d experienced the first time. It reminded him of the blast created in his fight as Skyshade during the miracle god-battles.

Instantly he understood why Lan Jue’s Taiji borrowed force was so overwhelming, to the point where the Clairvoyant hadn’t been able to ward it off. The union of taiyin and taiyang lightning transcended the Adepts that used them. It became protogenia.

Lan Jue entreated caution. “You shouldn’t be so hasty. I asked father and he said you could only really master yin-yang lightning after you’ve achieved Paragon. Until then there was no way to really comprehend its nature.

The Driver nodded. “Fine, but the first step is transforming our Disciplines. When we eventually become Paragons, understanding it will be a cinch. Our Disciplines will be ready when the time comes, and they’ll get even stronger”

A grin split the Jewelry Master’s face. “The Driver I knew was never this diligent.”

He chuckled in response. “Guess you missed the change. Besides I didn’t have the same goal I do now. Only an idiot would give up this chance. Honestly, thank you.”

Lan Jue chortled at his friend. “Come on, I can’t stand your thanks. It feels weird.”

Majesty and Zeus-1 left Skyfire’s orbit and tore through space, with no concern for fuel economy. They had to get to An Lun as quickly as they could.

1. As a serial typo-ist, it warms my bones to see others make mistakes. TJSS mixed up the characters and wrote ‘even though the insights were few, they still needed time to make jokes,’ mixing up 消化 – to digest or mull over, and 笑话 – a joke. I prefer the image of a bunch of soldiers taking the piss out of each other about existential truths.