The Innkeeper

Chapter 1902: Second step

"Lords, while protecting the mistress is our main focus, we cannot let the balance of the garden fall out of place," said one of the Dao Lords. "We also have to address the protection of the citizens from the new realm. If they all die, the Death energy they produce will cause a significant influence on the balance of the Primordial Garden.

"We should either shift them all to the Deadend Desert, or safety zones will need to be put in place to ensure their integration into the realm. The mistress will consider moving the population of an entire realm to the Deadend Desert to be quite rude, so safety zones are a better idea. There’s just one issue."

"What’s that?" asked one of the Dao Lords curiously. How could there be an issue for thirty-six Dao Lords inside the Primordial Garden? There was nothing that they could not control here.

"One of the new races brought with the new realm, the Trelops, they’re adapting really quickly. They’re a new race, so they didn’t exist in Primordial times, but they’re entirely undaunted by the presence of Primordial energy. At this rate, not only will they not require protection, but they might alter biomes that the mistress has set up."

A heavy silence fell upon the congress, all of them taking in the seriousness of the possibility. Looking into the future of any race, or divination of any kind at all did not really work in the Garden for complex reasons, so even as Dao Lords they could not predict the actual future. They could, however, speculate, and their vast exposure and experience meant that even their speculation was akin to divination.

"For now, just watch any changes that might happen and compile a report. For this matter, we shall let the mistress decide herself what she wants to do. After all, the balance of the garden is already ruined somewhat, so she has to make a decision about the future of the realm anyway. Who knows, with the addition of the Crystal realm, the foundation of the Primordial Garden might have been strengthened further, allowing for some of her abandoned projects."

With that, this discussion was over, and the rest of the congress could focus on more important things, like the immortal who held the mistress’s hand. Should they eradicate him? Yes. Will they? Not unless the mistress says so. But that won’t stop them from complaining.

*****

Cornelius stood still, looking out at the unfamiliar expanse in front of him, not reacting to the ongoing tribulation at all. Lightning fell from the sky, one after another, striking him as he rapidly approached the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, but he could not be bothered.

For hundreds of years, he led the Humans of the Crystal realm, bringing them from a small, insignificant force to a major power of the realm. But that was not enough. He put a stone on his heart and let them fight an endless war, all for the sake of improving them, of strengthening them, of creating a cultivation technique that can allow all humans to cultivate the True Path.

Most humans only cultivate one aspect of themselves, whether it be their body, their soul, or their spirit. But as a result, the chance for them to become an immortal drops drastically. Yes, he was not aiming for some great or grand ambition such as Dao Lord. For now, his goal was simply to create a cultivation technique most humans could practice until they became immortals.

That was the first step, and it was the one he had been stuck on for so long. Having humans cultivate was easier said than done. Most of them weren’t so talented, and would reach their limit at the Golden Core. The elite ones could reach the Nascent soul realm, and only those ’geniuses’ who had the backing of powerful organizations, or resources already at the level of immortals, could actually become immortal.

Of course there were exceptions, but Cornelius was working for the average fellow, not for the exceptions. Over countless years, he had already made tremendous progress, though he wasn’t satisfied yet.

That’s when it happened. The Crystal realm went crazy, to say the least. They all entered a new realm, and his nation that he had so carefully nurtured was lost. They were spread across the realm, far and wide, entirely out of reach.

But that was not enough to overwhelm Cornelius. No, the reason he stood there, literally stunned, completely ignoring the lightning striking him from the sky, was because once he entered the Primordial Garden, he experienced what every other citizen of the Crystal realm experienced.

He underwent a baptism, strengthening him, enhancing him, setting him up so that he would not immediately die in the new realm. Such was the natural order of realms fusing with one another.

So, his body was enhanced to be able to tolerate Primordial energy, enhancing him in ways he could have never even hoped for. When he, then, inevitably was exposed to the Primordial energy, Cornelius underwent sudden enlightenment.

He suddenly perfected the technique that had eluded him all his life, and achieved the goal he had been pursuing for so long. It came so suddenly. It came without warning. He used it again, and again, yet no matter how many times he successfully ran it, he found it hard to believe.

He had done it! HE HAD DONE IT! The destiny of the human race... was changed forever!

Lightning struck once more, and Cornelius completed his tribulation, reaching the peak of the Earth Immortal realm. But this was no longer enough for him. With nothing holding him back anymore, he was ready to take the second step.

Yes, this was merely the first step in the revival of the human race back to their rightful place. Grand ambition burned in Cornelius’s eyes as he summoned his Major tribulation, ready to become a Heaven Immortal.

*****

Primary Realm, Ruins of Ascension

"The human race keeps going up. They’ve now moved up 130 places in a short time. This is incredible," marveled one of the Primals.

"Who cares about that? The Fanged Sparrow race dropped 19,000 spots in the last hour as every single Celestial in their race was slaughtered. If this trend continues, they may drop out of the Immortal tier altogether soon enough," said another.

"This war is terrible," said another Primal as he mixed a cup of coffee for themselves. "This is absolute madness."

"Hey, on the bright side, a lot of energy is being released back into the universe. Not to mention, every single Immortal alive is a strain on the universal laws. With a lighter strain, the universe will be able to mature more easily."

Another Primal scoffed.

"What’s the point of killing a bunch of immortals? Even a single Dao Lord is worth a million immortals if not more. If that’s the purpose of this war, then why don’t they try sacrificing a few Dao Lords to ease the strain."

Most just rolled their eyes instead of answering the question, leaving only the original speaker to answer.

"You know Dao Lords aren’t easy to kill. Besides, who would be willing to sacrifice their own Dao Lords? They’re too hard to come by, and each one of them is a major asset. Not to mention, it’s not like the strain on the universe is a big deal anyway. We were just saying that with a lighter strain, the universe will mature more quickly - not that the universe is struggling under its strain."

He had tried to diffuse the situation, but it was too late. Once the topic of universal strain was touched, everyone had opinions to share. No where in the universe was free of politics and political ideologies.

"Guys, pay attention to the rankings," one of the Primals said. "There’s a new race that’s shot up the Immortal tier. They’ve gone up by 300 positions. It seems they suddenly gained a whole lot of Heaven Immortals."

"Which race is it, then? Why are you keeping the suspense?" another asked.

"The Trelop race. That’s odd, they have a few Celestial Immortals, but not many. I think they’re a fringe race that only exists in one realm or something."

"While all the races of the universe are suffering, these random races are benefiting," someone remarked casually.

"Well, someone note down the Trelops and remember to rank how much they rose or fell once this war is over. I feel like we’ll need to create a whole new ranking once this ordeal is over."

The whole host of Primals groaned when they heard that. No one liked the idea of stacking up more paperwork.

"The humans are rising again."

"So are the Trelops..."

"The Giant race went up one rank. Did they gain a new Demi-Dao Lord?"

"There’s a beast race that’s suddenly shooting up. They are a sub-breed of rabbits. Good for them."

"The politically correct term is bunnies..."

"Shut up."