Ad Astra

144. All That Power (XIII)

Dorian spent much of the next few hours in a delirious haze. He grew well acquainted with the texture of the floor. He rolled about, groaning and twitching, in a mattress of his own sweat. It was like having the multiverse’s worst case of indigestion, constipation, and diarrhea—all rolled into one singularly unpleasant cocktail.

At least the power kept coming!

They’d streamed ...

143. All That Power (XII)

There were times when it was right to push. When opportunity crested like a wave, and it was the task of the master cultivator to ride that oh-so-thin line straddling destruction and transcendence. So when Dorian felt those Resonances swirling below him, he’d grinned and bared his teeth. Bring it on!

Then he felt the Dweller, and his face changed.

Dorian was beyond the pe...

142. All That Power (XII)

A few important things had changed since his last visit to the Sinkhole.

First was his qi reserves. They’d doubled. Which meant his raw power output was also twice as great.

Second was his qi quality. His Bloodline density had more than doubled; its density had visibly reached a new level.

All qi had a ghostly quality to it, a sheen of shimmering energy—his qi had...

141. All That Power (XI)

Before Dorian left, he made sure to pocket the leftover Relics. He ended up with a nice haul: three Scales, a minor Fang, and a strange purple, swirly bead. All of them brimmed with Bloodline Essence. Perfect!

He climbed out of the Serpent’s mouth, still grinning, and was met by a sea of officials on the shore. They gaped at the sight of him, perched on this floating barge of a...

140. All That Power (X)

There wasn’t even time to play with his nasty new Javelin forme, no time to settle down and soak in his new power gains—the Bloodline would not stop flowing!

Dorian was a man of many flaws; this much he admitted, and he didn’t really care a whit about most of them. But one flaw he did acknowledge as a real issue was his sheer thirst. That inner goblin of undying gr...

139. All That Power (IX)

A rule of thumb: creatures impenetrable from the outside often hid a soft interior.

The Javelin gored through a huge chunk of flesh and kept going, spearing through a bulbous bulge of throat, quickening as it went.

He saw the Torchdragon’s pupils flare out, dilating, a trembling corona of pale orange. The Beast’s jaws made to clamp down, and gagged—mere feet from crushing Dori...

138. All That Power (VIII)

Breath check: no issues there. He still had a good half-hour, maybe more.

Qi check: good, and fast recovering. Merely swimming these waters gave him a pleasant boost to his qi recovery; he felt the energies of the universe seeping through his skin.

He was ready.

His mission had changed. Where once he’d come as a treasure hunter, come to clear out some Beasts and perhaps snag...

137. All That Power (VII)

Dorian took the plunge. Ker-plunk!

At his stage, one breath could last an hour if necessary. He could go a month without eating if needs be. His body was fueled mostly by qi. So he was heedless as the Sinkhole waters enveloped him in a cool embrace, heedless as he sank farther and farther in, feeling vast currents swirling and coursing all about him. He went on, seekin...

136. All That Power (VI)

It was fast becoming clear that Dorian’s current strength level was not going to cut it.

Not by far.

He was at best as strong as that other Oasis Lord. The one who’d gotten wiped off the face of the plane by that blast of Fire Law. And that was one Sky-Realm dragon, among a dozen! And what’s more—

There was Nijo to contend with. And whatever else human experts...

135. All That Power (V)

That night, Dorian climbed into his cot in a foul mood. Lots to deal with. Lots to think about. And he only had two weeks of prep time?! But all this was fodder for tomorrow. For now, sleep.

He’d put his body under an immense amount of stress. First there was the Tournament, then the breakthroughs, then the total qi depletion… his brain felt like it was about to leak out of h...

134. All The Power (IV)

Really? It’s been nearly a month! What took you so long?!

Dorian stared deadpan at Nijo’s smiling face.

And this is how you choose to do it? No face-to-face meeting? No secret lair? A scroll in the middle of the damned street?

“I’m fine, thank you,” Dorian said evenly. “And you?”

“Lovely,” sighed Nijo. “It is, as ever, a joy...

133. All That Power (III)

It was a shame, but it had to be done.

The Javelin swerved around, angling for its newest victim.

Then Dorian paused. A neat idea had come to him.

“How about this?” he said gently. “You seem like the honest sort, Pebble. And you’ve been of great help to me. Renounce the Rat-King! Join me.”

“…Hum,” said Pebble, wide-eyed. “I can do that?”

132. All That Power (II)

[Bloodline Density]

[17% -> 19%]

[Core Saturation]

[5% -> 11%]

At last, the Tear’s gifts were slowing. What was a torrent was now a stream, and fast winnowing to a trickle. But before it petered out it bestowed upon Dorian one last gift.

[Bloodline Density]

[19% -> 21%]

[Level-Up!]

[Bloodline Technique: Serpent’s Senses] Lv. 0 -> 1...

131. All the Power (I)

Every god in the Multiverse knew Houyi’s Three Principles by heart. If they hadn’t had it drummed into their heads growing up, they found the Principles on the martial path. They were one of the first things any ascended Martial Artist learned—for they were the fundamental theorem of all combat.

These three principles propelled the Godking Houyi to his title as the most powerful bei...

130. The Tournament (IV)

A/N: sprinted this one out last-minute, no edits—feel free to point out any mistakes!

//

This time, the terrain was like the Outside: a field of dunes, rising and falling like humps on a herd of camels. Not a shadow in sight.

Already Dorian was off to a rough start.

He eyed the Rat-King, who stood idly on the other side of the arena. His arms were cros...

129. The Tournament (III)

A/N: Patreon-only bonus chapter! 

Kaya and the Rat-King took center stage.

Kaya bounced back and forth, loose and limber and grinning. The Rat-King, meanwhile, wore an expression that could’ve belonged to a rock face. He looked bored at an existential level.

“Begin!” cried the referee.

Kaya burst out with a lively cry, fists smolderin...

128. The Tournament (II)

A/N: From now on, [Profound] Patrons officially get an extra perk: 1 extra chapter a week compared to RR! This also means advance chapters will expand by 1 chapter a week.

Expect a Patreon-only bonus chapter tomorrow. 

//

The Artificers were nothing if not efficient. In a day they’d rearranged the main floor of their forge. Now Dorian and Artificer Head...

127. The Tournament (I)

“The name was Jez,” said Kaya again, licking a puff of cream from her upper lip. “‘Least, that’s what the priest said…”

She paused between munches, then squinted. “Um. Why’re you staring at me like that?”

Dorian was lightheaded. Hells, this Jez guy is fast! How many Lower Realms did Gerard say he’d run over? A third of them?

The chance t...

126. A Divine Warning (II)

A/N: First time scheduling a chapter, hope this works :D 

//

“I mean…”

Dorian made a sour face. “Pooling qi shouldn’t be possible. Qi is individual—one creature’s qi shouldn’t be compatible with any other’s! Even I can’t pool qi between bodies, and I’m me. But if you’ve found some way to do it… it’s kind of ge...

125. A Divine Warning (I)

The moons rose high over the Azcan Oasis, where qi-lamps winked softly over empty, forgotten streets. A sheen of sleepy quiet settled in like a winter’s first snow, blanketing high-rises and Guild halls and boarded-up stores alike. Far above, the waters of the aqueducts streamed swiftly, silently, down their buffed steel tubes. The night was thick with dreams.

It was the Second Solstice...

124. Splendid Weaponry (IX)

A/N: 

I finished typing the last sentence of this chapter 10 seconds before I made this post :D 

Most of the more irksome COVID symptoms are past me, I think, but there's still a lingering fatigue that's messed up my writing schedule (which usually takes place in the mornings >.>). Fingers crossed it goes soon... 

If I could keep up my pro...

123: Splendid Weaponry (IX)

A/N: Still tired, but feeling much better :) Think I should be fully recovered by Friday.

//

“It’s sexy. Sexy as hells! I get hard just looking at it!” chuckled Thon, the Artificing Head, as he marched down the hall. “Your Stick. I fuckin’ love it!”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” said Dorian.

“Excuse me?” said Bin, reddening.

“He m...

122. Splendid Weaponry (XIII)

“HEAVENS! HE’S DONE IT! HE’S DONE IT!”

Even the announcer’s voice was trembling. “THE HERO IO DOWNS THE FOURTH-SEEDED PRINCESS IN THE FIRST ROUND!! JUST. LIKE. THAT!”

If Dorian thought the crowd had been crazy before?

They might as well have been monks in a monastery compared to what happened now.

It was like Dorian was som...

121. Splendid Weaponry (XII)

It was like she’d been struck by a wrecking ball. But being struck by the weighty brunt of the Heilong Javelin wasn’t the worst of it. The worst of it was that huge force spearing her through a point tinier than a needle’s head.

The Heilong Javelin was so sharp that even its holding case, forged of twice-smelted brightsteel, was designed to leave an air pocket around its tip—for a...

120. Splendid Weaponry (XI)

A/N:

A few quick things:

1) Starting tomorrow, each chapter will come out at 6 PM EST.

2) Highly Tentative, Unofficial Upload Schedule:

-4x a week. M-W-F and Sunday.

-If it’s a really good writing week, I’ll drop a bonus chapter, chapter #5, on Saturday too. I...

119. Splendid Weaponry (IX)

I feel I should give y'all a (sheepish) disclaimer: I don't want to set the expectation of daily chapters! This is *not* an official schedule. It's just happening this way, naturally?

Habits, routines, and experience are proving to be quite the productive combo. Writing feels really easy right now.

(but still, don't expect dailies >.>)

//

The youth was a well-groom...

118. Splendid Weaponry (VIII)

This could not be a coincidence.

This Eudora girl must’ve pulled strings. The first round was supposed to lob him easy meat! It was meant to be a warm-up, a showcase for his new abilities! He felt as though he were a baby bird still a week away from hatching—and then Fate cracked open his egg, dumped him on his ass still bleary-eyed and dripping yolk, and chucked him straight...

115. Splendid Weaponry (V)

A/N: We return to chapter 118 after this! Which I hope to get out tomorrow. See y'all then.

Kaya spent the rest of the morning playing with the feeling. It was a warm gold light in her spirit, buoying her mood, and she felt it curled in her stomach like a smoldering hearth: always there, low but burning softly. Ready to flare up.

A normal [Ray], done calmly, might b...

114. Splendid Weaponry (IV)

The force fields encasing the Oasis only repelled Spirit Beasts, so humans were free to slip out as they pleased. Most of the time it was for hunting or rare herb-gathering.

This morning, Kaya headed out alone for some target practice.

Something about the day had her pumped up. Maybe it was the sunrise, hot and red like warm blood. Maybe it was the rush of air on her skin...

117. Splendid Weaponry (VII)

A/N:

A helpful patron pointed out to me in the comments of the last chapter that I was missing a scene. The chapter I release tomorrow, 114, will be a 'prequel' chapter to fill that scene in. I plan to write quite a bit this week, even more than last week, so this little change won't affect the release rate of the other bonus chapters I plan to get out. 

Happy ...