"For most cultivation ranks below the Emperor Rank, all you need is an improvement in the quality of Qi and the vessel that is your Dantian, for it to be able to evolve further to host even grander amounts of Saint Qi. The Emperor Rank however is different," Master Rain explained.
"If you consider cultivation as a shape it would be a reverse Pyramid standing on its tip. The start is easy, and the higher the cultivation the wider the size becomes. That's why even if your start in the world of cultivation is easy, we always try and teach the younger generation to have strong foundations. That way it can carry the weight of this pyramid."
Master Rain gazed at the stars, remembering his first days cultivating and all the beatings and lectures he received from long since gone people of this world.
After a sigh, he resumed. "Every stage going forward becomes incrementally bigger and harder to cultivate. All the way to the Emperor Rank, it's when you no longer build-up, but you build sideways. The Pyramid will take its final Shape at the Emperor Rank, meaning that the base, in this case, the bottom of the pyramid that's facing up needs something other than just increasing its size. It's the density." Master Rain said.
Meng Hao nodded understanding what Master Rain was saying was simple for a genius of his caliber, as for Dao Shen he didn't even entertain the ideology, because he knew all of this beforehand.
"The reason why there are only ten Emperor Ranks in the current Vast Expanse is because of the lack of Dao."
"Dao?" asked Meng Hao.
"Yes, Dao, the beginning, the end, the middle and all between, the roots of this world, its trunk and its branches and leaves. The laws that make everything and anything. To reach the emperor rank, the Qi your body harbors is irrelevant. There exist some monsters who have even more Saint Qi than I do, but they're still stuck in the King Realm. One example is sitting right next to you," said Master Rain.
Meng Hao turned to Dao Shen who just shrugged.
"Dao is law, and Law is Dao, to understand Dao, one must understand themselves and all that is around them. I cannot tell you of my own understanding since it will not help you in any way shape or form, since my understanding of Dao stems from my own experience. As for you, you must understand your own Dao. Your own belief and you goal in this life by your own," Master Rain said.
"My goal…" Meng Hao trailed.
"I can give you a hint," said Master Rain, "Your current goal right now is to defeat the Fire Lord and take back your person. But, do you consider that your lifelong goal?" Master Rain said.
"I'm willing to give up my life for it," Meng Hao said.
"And that is why, you won't understand Dao right now," Master Rain shook his head, he knew one thing for sure, Shen Bao's answer would have been completely different.
"Think about it this way, imagine that you went to the fire realm, found the fire lord, defeated him and took back your person…then what?" asked Master Rain.
This question seemed to rock Meng Hao to his core.
"Indeed… then what…"
"Same thing for you Dao Shen, what is it that you truly desire? If it's something achievable in the near future, but afterward it yields nothing then it isn't truly seeking your goal in this life. Find your Dao, seek it, and then understand yourself. Once you do understand yourself, then you'll have taken the first step toward reaching the Emperor Realm," said Master Rain.
"Lord Zhang Tian, you don't seem impressed with these words, or do you not care for reaching the Emperor Realm," Dao Shen asked.
"Oh, not really, I can step into the Emperor Realm whenever I want," said Zhang Tian.
This caused Master Rain to frown.
"Then why have you not done so? I believe by doing so, you'll be able to surpass your brother who's been struggling at the peak for centuries now," Master Rain asked.
"It's because I refused," Zhang Tian replied.
"This is something worth discussing, care to explain?" Master Rain asked.
"A thousand years, I sat in the Celestial City, I achieved enlightenment as I took that time to go through the knowledge of the Everlasting Knowledge within my Wisdom of Ages domain. I saw worlds be born and torn and the lives of many crumble and emerge. I believed it, that my Dao was to understand Dao, it was my goal and my purpose, and because of it I was able to step into the Emperor Realm. However… I declined," he said.
"May I know why? Your goal is grand and far too heavy to achieve, but to understand its heaviness is understanding it, and understanding oneself and the effort needed to seek it, it is a fine goal and by my understanding is more than enough for someone with your ability to step into the Emperor Realm. Thus I am confused about why you refused," Master Rain asked.
"It's because of Shen Bao. He showed me the way, a different way, a new path. We all believed that enlightenment comes from following the teachings of the heavens. But he pointed out something to me that stuck with me to this day…why have we not fallen after the Severing," Zhang Tian asked.
"Oh, he mentioned that in a lecture in the Heavenly Academy, I'd rather not talk about it much since it might destabilize the younglings' cultivation, but I believe that shouldn't affect you, now should it?" Master Rain said.
"It doesn't, but it left a bad taste in my mouth, since if I were to seek the Emperor Realm without answering that question, I'll feel… incomplete," he said.
"Fair enough, then you seek a more elevated and perfect understanding of your own Dao, it may be even harder to answer than to answer the everlasting question, what is Dao. It is a hard-to-answer question, without an actual reply… and you still wish to seek it. I find that commendable," Master Rain sighed.
"This brings me to the question, how did you achieve your Dao, Master Rain?" Zhang Tian asked.
"Oh, I have yet to do so, because I seek not the Dao, I seek its teachings, and my goal is to understand life and death, and the reversal of causality itself. Why does the rain fall, and why does it go down to the land, drench the dirt and grass, then goes to the sea to become rain again? The circle of life was my pursuit, the endless circle, and after figuring out some glimpses of this truth, I was able to advance further. And thus my emperor realm. So I didn't achieve my Dao by pursuing it but rather decided to understand the underlying meaning of Dao. Which was the same, apparently," Master Rain shrugged.
"The Emperor Realm seems too fickle…" Meng Hao asked.
"It is not," Dao Shen replied.
"The methods may be different, from what Master Rain and Lord Zhang Tian experienced, but the result is always the same, it is to understand oneself before trying to understand the world. Try not to peruse a goal to give meaning to your life, but give yourself a goal that the mere pursuit of it, gives your life meaning.
Just as Dao Shen finished these words his whole body began shuddering, the hair on his head stood to no end and blinding light emerged from his eyes.
Black Clouds materialized in space itself, without any hint or source, as suddenly as the approach of death itself.
"Oh…now that's unexpected…" Master Rain mumbled.
***
All over the vast expanse, throughout the realms and the vast domains of mankind. All the leaders of the four forces, the mightiest of beings in the current vast expanse, the leader of the Black Tower, and the ruler of the Galactic Society Alliance all looked at one point in space.
A new powerhouse was joining the field.
The birth of the eleventh Emperor Rank.
***
Somewhere Far away from all of what was happening, in a calm-looking field of grass. Hundreds of people were slowly working the fields, feeding cattle, and growing crops. Some built houses and huts to live in, and some were practicing diligently.
One man sat underneath the shade of a tree, immersed in the study of a golden inscribed book that seemed to have words of no meaning to anyone but himself.
The young man's gaze suddenly looked to the north, something seemed to pull at his attention as if a change was occurring in the world itself.
As the young man spread his divine sense, thinking that whatever was happening was within his domain, he realized one thing. No one else noticed this feeling, no one but one man.
An inconspicuous librarian, who clearly looked no more than a mortal too busy taking care of old books that no one wished to read.
Only this old man was looking in the same direction, a frown clear on his face.
Before the young man under the tree could even put one and one together, the old man turned his face towards him and said, "Come to me…we need to talk." The voice was no longer that of an old man that had been conquered by age.
No, it was the voice of a man that had been through calamitous events and survived innumerable destructions. It was the voice of a veteran warrior of old.
"Emperor Rank…"
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