Ashlock looked down the short list of options, and as with Kaida's evolution, there was a very obvious one at the top that glowed with a sense of grandeur and divinity.
But he skipped it to check out the others to satisfy his curiosity, as this was the first ever S-grade evolution that would put Larry firmly into the Nascent Soul Realm power level. So what would the system have offered Larry if he hadn't eaten the eggs of a Midnight Inkwing?
[Ashen Emperor]
Larry's royal bloodline progresses, and his control over ash becomes absolute. He can now create constructs or creatures from ash, and his tactical prowess is heightened. Larry's horns will turn silver, signifying his royal status, and the halo of ash orbiting his crown of horns becomes more pronounced and controlled. His mere presence will be enough to inspire awe in allies and crush enemies.
"So the first option would have been a natural upgrade to the Ashen King evolution path he was already going down," Ashlock pondered, "This evolution appears to turn Larry into a summoner-style control mage. Which makes sense for an emperor. He would go into battle by crushing his enemies under his royal presence and then unleash an army of creations made from ash to kill them."
It was a good option, and he was curious about what else the system would offer.
[Ashen Stormbringer]
Larry becomes the wielder of mass destruction. Gaining immense insight into many Daos, this evolution allows Larry to summon not just ash storms, but also thunderstorms, blizzards, and windstorms. His fur becomes stormy grey, swirling with mini-storms, and his horns crackle with lightning.
"If the Ashen Emperor was a control mage class, this is more of a destruction mage." Ashlock thought back to how the Winterwrath Grand Elder had attacked the Ravenbornes while riding a titan of ice flanked by a blizzard that engulfed the valley. "Large-scale storms sure are destructive... to mortals and weaklings. But to stronger opponents, they are nothing but a hindrance to their spiritual sense and Qi regeneration rather than a life-threatening attack."
There was a reason so many of his sect members were better at single-target fighting: it was the best way to win in this world. Battles weren't won by defeating an army but rather by taking out the strongest member of the opposition. This is where people like Khaos, Diana, and Stella came in, as they could reach and kill anyone they needed through movement techniques.
It also mentioned that Larry would command these storms due to heightened Dao understanding rather than gaining more affinities. So Larry could only summon a blizzard in an area of dense ice Qi, for example.
"I would prefer that Larry had the capabilities to fight someone in the Nascent Soul Realm by himself rather than be a support style mage by summoning storms because until I reach Nascent Soul myself, Larry will be the strongest sect member beside Maple."
[Venomous Overlord]
Specializing in toxins, this evolution grants Larry the ability to produce and control various deadly venoms that he can merge with his ash. His fur takes on a sickly green hue, and his horns drip with a potent poison.
Ashlock read over the description of the last offered evolution, and rather than thinking about its fighting capabilities since it could be countered by simple poison resistance pills, he focused on a different angle.
"Wouldn't this evolution be perfect for the poison pills that Stella was working on?"
Even if it were useful, Ashlock definitely wouldn't pick this option as he could already imagine how sad Larry would be to learn his S grade evolution had reduced him to a poison-making lab rat. The spider would do it if ordered, but Ashlock knew Larry preferred to serve the protector and hunter role for him.
"It seems the S grade evolutions for Larry were less about changing his body or form to something like an Arachne and more focusing his fighting style," Ashlock concluded, "Out of these three, I would have chosen to progress Larry's royal bloodline and control over ash with the Ashen Emperor evolution path, but I think it's obvious which one I will be picking..."
Ashlock looked back at the top of the list to the option that had been so hard to overlook and not peek at while he went over the other options.
[Herald of the Divine Ash: Larry (???+)]
Having eaten the flesh of a divine being from an upper realm, Larry has unlocked a new path to power. As a Herald of the Divine Ash, he will begin his path to become a deity. Alongside unlimited cultivation potential, Larry will gain divine authority over ash and decay. He will be able to decay any matter at will within his realm of influence. Also, as a divine being with governance over an affinity, Larry's body will be reformed entirely from divine ash, allowing him to reincarnate from ash and gain immortality.
"His body will be reformed from divine ash?" Ashlock felt that was familiar and was starting to see a pattern. "When Kaida had his divine evolution, his body turned from flesh and blood to one made entirely from divine ink. Are all divine beings made from their affinity, or is this something unique to my summons? No, wait... the Midnight Inkwing had been entirely made from ink, too, so maybe it is common for divine beings to be made from their affinity."
That aside, there was a lot of information hidden within the text describing the evolution.
"Since this evolution puts Larry on the path to godhood, will he become a deity at the SSS grade, or will he need to go higher than that to achieve true godhood?" Ashlock wondered but knew the only way to get a hint of the answer would have been upgrading his {Skyborne Bastion [SSS]} skill, which he hadn't done.
"Divine authority over ash and decay is interesting. Ash is easy enough to imagine as Larry already uses it, and having divine authority should mean that Larry won't need to consult heaven as much to use techniques and can simply do things with ash. But decay is a state of matter rather than an affinity... right? How can he have divine authority over a state of matter? Can he simply command something to disintegrate into ash before him?"
That certainly sounded like something a deity would be capable of, and that wasn't all. Apparently, as a Herald of the Divine Ash, Larry could also reincarnate from the ash, technically making him immortal.
"I suppose that's the same for Kaida as well. Since they both have bodies made from the condensing of their affinities rather than one of flesh and blood, so long as there is enough of their affinity nearby, they can endlessly reform." Ashlock contemplated, "So, with all the information I was given, would Larry's fighting style with this evolution be an immortal drain tank? So long as he fights an opponent within a storm of divine ash, he can keep reforming his body even if destroyed, and he would deplete the opponent's Qi pool until they cannot resist the decay and disintegrate into a pile of ash."
It was terrifying, and as expected, the divine option was far better than the basic ones provided by the system.
"System, I choose the Herald of the Divine Ash."
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
[Evolution path {Herald of the Divine Ash} chosen, evolution initiating....]
"Thank you, Master," Larry said gruffly as a tear in reality opened above him. Silver flakes of ash poured down like divine glitter and began to swirl around Larry, forming a cocoon. Even as the tear in reality vanished, there was still a divine presence weighing down on the mountain from Larry's cocoon.
Ashlock used telekinesis to float the divine ash cocoon up into his branches and nestled it close to his trunk, where he could protect and watch over him while he evolved.
With his new void skill picked and Larry's evolution out of the way, Ashlock could finally focus on his sect members who had left the Mystic Realm. Glancing over them with his {Demonic Eye}, he would be able to quickly assess their progress by the amount of Qi stored within their souls.
But first, he gazed up at the behemoth of twisted dark red wood that loomed over the entire mountain peak, casting a shadow. It was the Titan Tortoise that Ashlock had turned into an Ent and named Geb. It felt like he was looking up at the canopy of a four-poster bed, with the underside of the Ent creating a ceiling overhead with its four legs taller than even him.
Geb wasn't quite mountain-sized, but he was darn close to the size of a smaller one. Perhaps a large hill was a better descriptor, just with legs, a maw that could swallow a Bastion whole, and a small forest of red bark trees adorned with golden brown leaves that matched the color of its 5th stage Star Core soul fire.
Ashlock needed Geb to move for a very tree-specific reason. The darn thing was so big it shrouded him and his offspring from the glorious morning sunlight.
"Geb, can you move to the south side of the mountain range? There should be a space near there that you can settle down, and you won't look too out of place," Ashlock told the Titan Tortoise, "You're blocking my precious sunlight."
The behemoth let out a low roar that shook the whole peak before it turned its enormous body and descended the mountain. Since its legs weren't solid and were more a collection of twisted red roots, it could step around Ashlock's offspring without flattening them as it moved, which he appreciated.
As Geb left, Ashlock got a clear view of its turtle shell-like back. Nestled among the golden brown-leaved trees were many huts built from stone, and he saw thousands of Mudcloaks scurrying around and looking back at Red Vine Peak with their glowing blue eyes.
"Wait... there were more of them?" Ashlock looked before him. Gathered around the hole to the citadel, there were orders of magnitude more Mudcloaks than before. He had been worried that they wouldn't all be able to fit in the citadel, which was a hole spanning a hundred meters wide and eight thousand meters down. But there were even more living on Geb's back?
"Douglas," Ashlock said through {Abyssal Whispers}, "Just how many Mudcloaks did you manage to save in a single month?"
The man wearing a beige suit and casually leaning on his walking stick met the gaze of his demonic eye, and judging from the earth Qi flowing through his body, he had broken through to the 9th stage of the Soul Fire Realm. It made sense he hadn't managed to leap into the Star Core Realm as he had been too busy commanding a war.
"Many are still left, but I believe we saved at least half of them." Douglas said respectfully as he stepped forward, "With the help of Geb, we saved six large settlements of Mudcloaks and wiped out eight kobold strongholds."
That was impressive progress. Perhaps all of the Mudcloaks would be saved within the next Mystic Realm visit, but then he would need to think about where to put them all.
Douglas glanced to the side at the departing back of Geb, "Immortal, would it be possible to make a portal or tunnel between the citadel and Geb so the Mudcloaks aren't separated? During our war, many Mudcloaks made Geb's back their new homes, and I don't believe they will all fit inside the citadel."
"I can handle that, so don't worry," Ashlock replied. He would have one of his hollowed-out {Ethereal Roots} connect Geb with the citadel so the Mudcloaks could move between the two places. "Could you show the rest of the Mudcloaks the citadel and have them settle in? They are crowding the peak."
Douglas chuckled as he glanced around at the thousands of Mudcloaks, staring at the sky or the ground to avoid Ashlock's demonic gaze. "Okay, everyone, follow me to your new home. Don't get too comfortable, though, as I am sure the immortal will have some very reasonable work for us soon, like building an entire city in a single night."
"I deserved that," Ashlock sighed, ignoring Douglas's smirk as he led the Mudcloaks into the citadel's depths. It took a while for all the little monsters to vacate the peak, but once they did, Ashlock could let out another sigh of relief. He didn't usually get claustrophobic, but having the entire peak being a sea of little monsters had unnerved him.
With that out of the way, he swept his gaze over the remaining sect members. Since he wanted to have a more private chat with the core group, he focused on the Redclaws, who happened to be standing next to one another.
"Excuse my gaze. I am just checking everyone's progress," Ashlock told them through {Abyssal Whispers}. Most of them had to gobble down Mind Fortress pills upon him forcing his presence into their minds. From the looks of things, everyone had experienced a single stage of growth. This was solid progress for some, but it showed signs of a lack of talent or focus in others.
The Redclaw Grand Elder had gone from the 6th to the 7th stage in the Star Core Realm, meaning he was getting closer to the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul Realm that Ashlock was now stuck at. Meanwhile, Elder Margret and Elder Mo had both gone from the 1st to the 2nd stage of the Star Core Realm.
"Good growth but not very impressive considering what the more talented younger generation can do." Ashlock thought. He knew this world had a different view of the word 'talent' as they deemed people with poor spirit roots or drowning in heart demons as talentless, which he could cure with his truffles.
In his eyes, talent was something else. He had started to notice that just like studying in school or practicing martial arts, some people simply don't like or have a talent for cultivation. Even if given a path to a longer and safer life, not everyone was willing to sit in a dark cave for sometimes years to contemplate heaven's whispers.
Elder Brent was a good example. He willingly remained behind to supervise a new city of mortals rather than delve into the Mystic Realm and try to reach the Star Core Realm.
"Something about being blasted by heavenly lightning that has the chance to obliterate his soul must not have appealed to him." Ashlock chuckled as he finished his inspection of the Redclaw elders, and then his gaze landed on a young woman with the same crimson-red hair as the rest of her family and a bright smile.
Amber was the most talented of the Redclaw's younger generation, and it looked like she would hold onto that title.
Humming within her chest was a freshly formed Star Core, and Ashlock started to suspect the reason why all the Elders hadn't made as much progress as he had hoped.
"Amber, you reached the Star Core Realm. At such a young age as well, I am impressed." Ashlock praised her and enjoyed how excited she looked despite trembling a little under his demonic gaze. Her Elders also wore proud expressions. They must have worked hard in the Mystic Realm to help her ascend. "You should return to your peak and celebrate your ascension with the others. And to the Elders, you have all made good and steady progress."
The Grand Elder stepped forward and bowed, "It is only due to the immortal's generosity and guidance that we have come this far. For decades, maybe even centuries, I have been the only Star Core cultivator holding our family together. Yet in a few short months, not only have a few of my fellow elders joined me in this realm of power but so has a member of the younger generation. Such progress is unheard of and, if continued, would put us on par with the other major families of the Blood Lotus Sect."
"Then my investment and trust in you will not have been wasted," Ashlock responded as he saw resolve in the Grand Elder's eyes, "With a war brewing nearby, the beast tide on the horizon, I will need all the firepower we can muster."
All the Elders and Amber followed their Grand Elder's lead, paid their respects with a bow, and said in unison, "We will do our best to serve and repay the immortal."
"Did they have that speech practiced?" Ashlock thought with some amusement. The more he interacted with the Reclaws, the more he liked them. "Next Mystic Realm, I should give them all the skin improvement truffles and have some more of the younger generation join."
The Grand Elder clearing his throat drew Ashlock's attention. "If that is all, we will be on our way."
"Yes, that is all. Check on Elder Brent when you return. I hear he has been having some headaches due to the mortals of Ashfallen City."
The Grand Elder nodded while taking to the skies on his flying sword. Elder Margret, Elder Mo, and even Amber, with less grace than her Elders, followed closely behind, drawing streaks of crimson flame through the air.
With them gone, Ashlock looked down at the bench below his demonic eye where the others had gathered. Elaine sat on the bench, tending to Stella's wounds while Diana played with Kaida nearby.
It didn't take more than a glance with his demonic eye to notice how shockingly far all his inner circle members had progressed. Especially Diana and Kaida. There was also something hard to miss...
"Was Kaida always that big?" Ashlock wondered as the ink Lindwyrm towered over Diana and licked her forehead.
