Divine Beast Ascension

Zelsh’s words were replaying in Oli’s head while comparing the techniques.

“... Any cultivator with dark essence can gain death essence… But death essence isn’t necessarily stronger than dark essence…”

Oli replayed those phrases in his head, determined to find a connection between the techniques. He felt so close to an epiphany… yet it was impossible to determine whether that was just a gut feeling or a fact of reality without verifying the connection in the first place.

The drake relentlessly scanned over the techniques. After a few minutes of study, Oli held them both up to his face, one in each hand.

*So… if death essence is more like a broad form of essence nature…* Oli’s mind was overclocking while searching for the answer he longed to discover.

*... If I view characteristics of death essence as an additional level between dark essence and essence nature... That would make more sense,* pondered Oli. *Death essence can still use dark-based battle arts, though they need more time to train and master. So… Death essence is like a… a magnifying glass. A magnifying glass concentrating dark essence into a niche group of essence natures!

*If that’s the case, then perhaps the bloodthirsty nature of the Phantom Assassin technique is the same way. That bloodlust isn’t the essence nature itself, it’s the lens that focuses dark essence into a different subcategory of essence natures! Just like how death essence works!*

With a few potential bridges formed in his reasoning, Oli looked over the techniques again with his newest idea in mind.

.....

*... It works…*

Oli’s enthusiasm suddenly vanished. Instead, Oli sat in the middle of his tent with a silent smile of realization and a surreal look in his eye. It was hard for him to believe that he had truly realized something without verifying it with some kind of experiment or asking an expert.

*In theory, it works. That means… if you would treat it the same way as death essence, Vloz and Netra are using… Bloodlust essence? And then…*

While piecing it all together, Oli paused for a moment. He gave himself a moment to brief and keep calm.

*... They use, in theory, bloodlust essence, which is a subcategory of dark essence, just like death essence. That’s how it’s not two opposing essence natures. The essence nature turns the radiation of bloodlust on and off… maybe?

*Yesss… That’s how they go from all-out power in each strike to no traceable essence at all,* Oli thought, unknowingly diving into the complex, philosophical world of essence theory. *... Vloz and Netra have both abandoned training defense altogether. They rely on illusions and being untraceable to make up for that.

*That would be possible if their essence nature was exactly that, the ability to turn radiate pure killing intent at will! That’s why you either sense Vloz or you don’t. He is either completely untraceable or you feel like he’s about to stab you through the heart!*

Sitting alone in his tent, Oli took another moment to calm down. The last thing Oli needed was to accidentally lead himself down an essence theory rabbit hole without a clear head able to discern what could or couldn’t be true.

Either way, even if Oli wasn’t completely right, Oli would never view essence nature the same way he had before that epiphany.

*Is that why Netra can become invisible, without anyone detecting her?*

Oli’s train of thought began to pick up speed down the newly found tracks of inductive reasoning. At the same time, Oli made sure to look back over the Phantom Assassin technique every time he came up with a new theory or possible conclusion.

*... This technique is incredibly specialized. Far more than the Death Abyss or Dark Abyss techniques,* Oli thought. *The only person capable of bringing out its full potential is someone willing to be a forever assassin, destined to have a cold personality for the most part.

*And with the technique being so specialized, that’s why Vloz only has a handful of battle arts! That’s why he never looks for more arts to add to his repertoire, and why Netra just emulated Vloz instead of branching off of his teachings with new battle arts and battle strategies… Because the essence subcategory of bloodlust isn’t as general-use as death essence… It might have one or two essence natures unique to bloodlust, but it’s even harder to use and apply general, dark-based battle arts into those niche essence natures.

*This is beyond limiting! It’s taking a gamble that a cultivator might never recover from…* Oli’s genuine surprise and intrigue were beginning to fade into shock and partial concern. *... Committing to such a niche, specialized technique is close to cultivation suicide. It’s crazy powerful in many ways, but the technique is too weak to push cultivators to become kings.

*And the usual strategy of finding a relatable, more powerful technique later is virtually impossible. This is too specialized… And to shift into a new technique as a perennial, that would be the same as developing death essence before forming a divine core. Then, trying to revert it back to regular dark essence and abandon at least half of your well-trained battle arts in the process, praying to Dominus or whoever you want in hopes that you don’t get stuck at that same realm until you die, with your strength effectively halved as the result…

*... But it is phenomenally powerful…*

Despite the flood of pessimistic thoughts forming a whirlpool of negativity in his mind, Oli still couldn’t fault Netra and Vloz for training such a radical technique.

Oli stored the scrolls and mentally dove back into his soul jade.

A wisp of ethereal energy floated out of Oli’s mind, wandering into the abyss around him. Suddenly, the wisp was absorbed into the abyss and the entire space changed.

Sitting at a table, Oli was back in his human form. Around Oli there were more tables and plenty of mortal candidates filling the colosseum balcony. Just past the ledge, the open area stood wasn’t too far away and three beasts were facing off against each other.

Oli was reliving his memory of Netra’s battle against Yeter and Kako. He wasn’t able to turn his head or change how he reacted, since it was only a memory recreated within the soul jade. But it was exactly what Oli wanted, to examine how Netra could casually hide herself in plain sight without any need for shadows or illusions. Though the added illusions were an incredible tool to further fool and deceive Netra’s opponents, especially when she could make the illusions feel more real than her true, hidden body.

The fight didn’t last long. So Oli watched it again. And again… And again.

Inside the soul jade, Oli used the time dilation to the fullest. He insistently watched the fight over and over again. Since his relentless comparison of the cultivation techniques had borne fruit, Oli figured studying Netra in action could only help.

*If I could also pull off true invisibility with death essence, that would be ideal… But how the hell could that be possible?*

That was the question running through Oli’s mind on replay.

Oli knew how devastatingly powerful his gorilla physique and earth-based technique were. It was impossible for Oli to not understand that fact after growing up with his gorilla troop.

However, it was during the past few years that Oli was introduced to dark essence in general. And since it was mutated into his bloodline, Oli’s use of dark essence had either been minimized or hidden.

But learning that Vloz had killed and caught a king during Oli’s time trapped in that weird formation, Oli was eager to learn how his leopard uncle had pulled it off. Along with training under Zelsh and witnessing how deadly Netra had become, Oli now understood that he was severely undercutting his potential by not properly training and using dark essence.

And if there was a way Oli could get the best of both worlds, the corrosive death essence that blended well with Oli’s earth-based technique and the lethal capabilities that Vloz casually boasted, then Oli would pull it off.

*Imagine that. A gorilla assassin… A draconic gorilla that could vanish before your eyes and reappear with a body-folding punch out of thin air…*

Finally, Oli was starting to visualize the exact sort of cultivator Oli wanted to eventually become. It wasn’t just Oli dreaming to get stronger and faster. There was a visually depictable goal for Oli to reach and surpass.

*Add Dad’s soul art to the mix, and that might make me the most terrifying assassin I’ve ever imagined! … Right, Eeole?*

Still. No response…

*If you don’t answer me now, then I’ll make sure you answer me later! If there’s a way for me to pull it off, and I can’t figure it out on my own, then you’re the one that should know the answer. And since you’re determined to make the strongest beast in the world, I’ll make sure you answer at least that one question.*

With that question locked and loaded for the next moment Eeole reappears, Oli hastily resumed his repeated study of Netra’s fight in the depths of the soul jade.