Chapter 309 Den
“There you go. The energy is known as Gama. Something I guess someone who was too lazy came up with. It’s just short for amalgamation. The energy in real pockets of s.p.a.ce is just the combination of everything we’ve come to know. Which obviously also includes all of the wills.”
‘But if it’s all of the energy, doesn’t is also include saint energy and the like? Wouldn’t people at low cultivation levels explode?’
“I really have to explain everything to you, don’t I? These s.p.a.ces obviously have levels to them. And it’s a misconception that you only need to temper your meridians once. You can temper your wills at every change of level. After all, why would it be better to temper your meridians with wills? Wouldn’t you like to temper yourself with intents too?”
‘I see. That does make sense… So a lack of tempering is probably what also holds people back.’
“Now that I think about it, any G.o.d Clan above a King G.o.d Clan has access to at least one of these s.p.a.ces. It’s really not that impressive… Your universe is just too weak.”
‘Alright. Then What do I have to do to earn these meridians.’
“I’m glad you understand I won’t just give them to you. Usually, you can choose a prize of that level by mastering one of my abilities to perfection.”
‘So that means I’ve already earned it, no?’
“Ah – “
Dyon grinned.
“Listen kid.”
‘Grand teacher, you wouldn’t lie to your grandson, would you?’
“YOU!”
‘You said you don’t like it when people bend rules. You wouldn’t take advantage of me, would you?’
“Hmph. I can do whatever I want.”
Dyon sighed. ‘Alright. Alright.’ He didn’t like being used for entertainment, not at all. But, something was telling him that there was no way that all of this was just for entertainment. If it was, why would he send out the basilisks? Why wouldn’t he let him earn it for his little sister? And why would he, despite his words, spend so long explaining things to Dyon?
Even the fact he was willing to tell Dyon about the solution to his meridian problem was enough for Dyon to be grateful.
‘I think it’d only be fair if you allowed me to complete something a bit simpler, no? And also… I have more questions…’
“Learning one of my abilities to perfection, even if you have some pieces of it, takes decades. I guess I could give you some leeway. But, you’ll have to do something for me.”
‘And that is?’
“You have no choice but to partic.i.p.ate.”
‘Partic.i.p.ate? In what?’
“In the compet.i.tion between this and other Epistemic Towers obviously.”
‘Huh…’
“Idiot. I already told you that there are 99 other towers like this. One for each of the hundred quadrants of the universe.”
‘What is this compet.i.tion for…’
“You’ve already heard the demon sage’s story. The watershed moment he was close to requires completely conquering a tower. He just happened to take an unfortunate turn. If he had just taken the last step in conquering his epistemic tower, he would have had a better time.”
‘Wait, but I thought he was a universe away from transcending. What does that have to do with the tower?’
“Conquering universes is what unlocks later levels of the tower. If you haven’t acc.u.mulated enough power outside, there’s no point in you being inside. Once you have a break through outside, you can take the tower’s challenge on. Simple.”
‘But… I have no conquered universes… How could I compete?’
“You idiot. The fact you can make it into the tower now means that there are obviously levels you can tackle without having conquered a universe. If that wasn’t the case, why would I put an Epistemic Tower in an essence gathering gate?”
‘True… But why the tower?’
“Without the tower, the outside world quite simply doesn’t have the energy density or resources necessary to transcend.”
‘So, you really aren’t going to tell me the reason you’re putting so much effort into improving the strength of everyone?’
“You might not even survive until the time information like that becomes relevant to you…” A rare tone of solemnity laced the ent.i.ties voice. It suddenly became very obvious to Dyon that this was a lot more serious than he was ready for.
‘But, what about those students you mentioned. That first disciple that created the dao of array alchemy. Someone that powerful should be more than enough help, no?’
“My disciples are fighting. I’m fighting… We’re tired of fighting.”
‘But then, what does the Timeless Library have to do with everything? It’s supposed to have the legacies of everyone who transcended, no? Wouldn’t those be everyone who conquered your towers?’
“No. There was a time where my towers weren’t necessary to reach that level. There was a time where resources and energy were so abundant that you could become a dao formation expert just by eating and sleeping. There was a time where there was a near infinite number of universes. There was a time where no one had to conquer universes to cultivate.
Unfortunately, forcing wars is the only way I can find those worthy my energy. I can’t give you all power, no matter how much I’d like to. So, I can only force you all to fight amongst yourselves and earn it.”
‘Turns out your games have a purpose… hm.’
“Of course. This tower is all about resources. It’s the training needed to transcend and it has access to my five main abilities. As such, it’s protected by what you all call an ancient game.
The legacies on the outside, left by my disciples, like the dao of alchemy you picked up, are also protected by ancient games. The dead kings valley of the Elvin Kingdom was originally an award given by me to one of their ancestors. He just decided to use it in a unique way to help his lineage.”
‘So, your disciple was the one who put a lock on everyone’s ability to discuss the rules? I guess it would have to be the creator of array alchemy who could put the whole of existence under his power.’
“Ha! Actually, that was me. Why wouldn’t I be able to use something my disciple created to perfection. I created the ancient games using his concept as well.”
‘Well… At least he was serious for a moment?…’ Dyon sighed. ‘But, you still haven’t told me. What then is the Timeless Library?’
The ent.i.ty paused…
“The den of my enemies.”