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The Demon King appeared from the skies, aiming to destroy me and find Song Weisheng.
I thought that thing was uncontrollable and just expanding everywhere.
But it actually was moving towards a goal.
This meant that the Constellations were controlling it somehow!
RUMBLE!
"EXTERMINATE ANNOYANCE. PROCURE TRUE VESSEL. COMPLETE DEMON KING TRANSFORMATION. ENSURE VICTORY OF THE MACHINE RACE."
[The Cosmic Throne {Mechanical Librarian} tells Song that he must not trust this evil woman that has slaughtered his innocent kindred.]
[The Cosmic Throne {Mother of Artificial Life} assures Song that they don't have bad intentions and that if they let the machine become one with him, he'll be able to be with his parents forever.]
"What bullshit are you saying?! Don't believe them, Song! They're monsters that want to invade this world and kill your parents!"
"A-Aah! I-I know!" he cried. "But they're so annoying, my head hurts…! Uuaagh!"
They're constantly sending messages to him; eventually the information will pile up into sensory damage into his brain. They literally want to melt his brain if he doesn't obey!
And to prevent this from continuing, to help Song, and somehow face this thing, I needed to take a decision.
And see if it was truly possible to do what I had thought about.
Can this system really do it?
It just allowed me to summon someone from another world—no, another dimension—in a split second!
So why couldn't it do something like this then?!
Let me see if I can!
Ding!
[Character [Song Weisheng] is eligible for a Sponsorship!]
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[Player Name]: [Song Weisheng]
[Titles]: [Heavenly Dao Child of Fate] [Son of the Heavenly Empress] [Son of the Heavenly Demon]
[Sponsor]: [None (Currently two Constellations are trying to forcefully Sponsor him)]
[Potential Innate Skills (4)]: [Divine Domain of White and Black Heaven's Balance (SSS)] [Matter Restructuration (SSS)] [Divine Dao Child of Fate Aura (SSS)] [White Heaven Crane and Black Heaven Crow Hybrid Immemorial Bloodline Legacy (SSS)] […]
[Overall Description]: [The Divine Child born from the forbidden love between the Heavenly Empress and the Heavenly Demon, inheriting the two bloodlines of his parents, was born with only a single wing due to the bloodline defects. He possesses a gentle and naïve heart, his innocence, and the overprotectiveness of his parents, making him take a rash decision that would change the destiny of the Murim World of Bestia forever.]
[Usually, children do not inherit cultivation levels, techniques, or martial arts from their parents at birth; cultivation is the same for every living being, and there is no "race of immortals." Immortals give birth to mortals, and this child should have been no exception. However, the Heavenly Will has blessed him, a Divine Child of the Dao; he inherited the potential and elemental powers of his parents; their auras now dwell within him.]
[However, too young to truly understand his strength, he doesn't know how to use any ability, and all of his abilities are within a dormant state… To be taken advantage of and used as a tool, this was his destiny.]
[Yet can such a destiny change? Can the child find himself and his own strength within you?]
[Skill Copy Conditions]: [As someone who misses his parents all the time, Song desires nothing else but to spend his day with them and also to explore the world outside. Help his parents apologize to him for neglecting his growth due to their own overprotectiveness and to allow him to be known to the world and to also learn about the world. There is nothing else that this child wants than to explore the vast world with his parents, meet many friends, and learn about it.]
[Sponsorship Cost]: [25.000 Plot Points]
[Do you wish to proceed?]
[Yes] [No]
…
It works?!
But he isn't the real one, right?
Well, maybe it works until the trial is done.
To sacrifice 25k plot points is nothing; I got 100k anyways!
His background description and then the skill copy condition are very sad as I speedread them, and his potential abilities are insane.
If he can use those Skills, then I would gladly receive some of his help!
Illusion or not, trial or not, memories or not, the boy with me is real to me; he's breathing, afraid, and living, touching my back; he's warm and scared.
He's in pain.
I'll sponsor him and help him so he can help me back!
"Yes! Sponsor him!"
FLASH!
My Divine Powers surged from my body, Plot Points rapidly imbuing themselves into the boy's body, fusing with him and quickly boosting his soul's power.
Ding!
[You have selected [Character: Song Weisheng] for Sponsorship!]
[You have exchanged 25.000 Plot Points!]
"Wooaaahh! My head… it doesn't hurt anymore?"
As he gasped in disbelief, golden and black-colored ki surged from his soul and body, generating a powerful and incredibly strong aura.
I could feel it within him—the fusion of his parent's powers—the Heart of Hope, the Cursed Seals, their Heavenly and Demonic Ki, all into one.
It was like what I have been trying to do this entire time, yet even better, an innate talent within him, something he was born with.
Usually children don't inherit cultivation-related powers; they're not stored within bloodlines or something most of the time; they're martial arts after all.
The whole thing about cultivation is that any wimp can become a god through constantly cultivating themselves after all.
But in some Cultivation Stories, there's sometimes this type of character, a son of heaven, a blessed one, the virtuous child of the Dao.
Song…
He's the Divine Child of the Heavenly Dao, perhaps the true [Protagonist] of this world!
FLUOSH!
His powers erupted as he looked at these little hands; his single wing grew longer, and then a second wing appeared, made of his aura.
Ding!
[You have become the Sponsor of [Character: Song Weisheng]!]
[Character: Song Weisheng] has Awakened the Following Skills: [Divine Domain of White and Black Heaven's Balance (SSS)] [Matter Restructuration (SSS)] [Divine Dao Child of Fate Aura (SSS)] [White Heaven Crane and Black Heaven Crow Hybrid Immemorial Bloodline Legacy (SSS)]
[Character: Song Weisheng] Stats have increased greatly!]
"What's happening to me?! Big sis Anna! What is this light? What is this darkness? Is it like Mama and Papa? D-Did I get powers too?!"
"I've used my ability to awaken a part of your potential, Song! Do you feel like you can use it?!"
As I asked him, I wielded my two swords and swung them downwards as I kicked the air and pushed myself deeper into the layers of clouds in the heavenly sky.
"HAAAHH!"
I swung my swords and spun around, imbuing both the power of [Demonic Snake's Gluttony (SSS)] and my Raijin transformation, plus several other effects activating at the same time.
If I want to get them out of the picture, I have to be precise and put everything I have into this very technique.
The culmination of all my power right now…
A new evolution!
There…
I can feel it!
While Song awakens his powers, and while the Demon King rushes to grab us.
Come on…
Just do it!
FLASH!
"{Thousand Blades} + {Myriad Self Arts}"
I felt it.
A new form.
The combination of my Martial Arts, and everything else, the power of Myriad Self Arts, fusing with it!
An image appeared in my mind, imagining a thousand-headed snake devouring everything.
Materialize it!
Turn your vision into reality.
Ki and my Soul itself emerged from my body, then merged with my Cosmic Energy.
"{Ten Thousand Heavenly Snakes that Swallow the Heavens}"
RUMBLE!
My blades, my Aura, my powers all transformed into a thousand-headed white snake, opening their jaws; they devoured all machines below me without leaving a single one to escape.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
As five hundred snakes devoured them all, the other five hundred snakes rushed upwards, attacking the Demon King, who so annoyingly chased us.
Their bites tore through his metallic arm, yet the wounds regenerated quickly, forming new mechanical tentacles that arranged together and quickly regrew even more arms together.
"Dammit!"
I kept swinging my blade, synching with the snakes as they battled the titanic Demon King. His enormous arms and tentacle easily tore through the snakes, destroying them one after another even when I was dealing tremendous damage!
Yeah, this technique still lacks a lot of things; it has tremendous range, but I mostly designed it and imagined it to be to fight a large quantity of foes; naturally, its quantity over quality.
However, as long as I harness the snake heads and combine them, and then add Hope Essence and Cursed Seals powers…
I can create Echoes, Techniques derived from already existing Techniques that can only be activated once the previous Technique is active!
"{Echo: Eight-Headed Demonic Heavenly Snake: Yamata-no-Orochi}"
How about that?!
RUMBLE!
Now that I had dealt with the nuisances below, and while the Demon King's enormous body was coming towards me, accompanied by hundreds more machines coming from the mortal on his chest.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
It was better to concentrate everything within eight heads, which turned enormous and thick, capable of clashing and holding their own against the Demon King's arms and mechanical tentacles.
But I wasn't done yet, not yet!
I have designed this echo to become ever evolving.
By infusing my powers into it, each head has unique properties.
Yes, this goes beyond simple swordsmanship or martial arts; it also includes spiritual techniques.
"{Echo: Yamata-no-Orochi's First Head: Heavenly Flame Breath}!"
"SHAAAAHHHH!!!"
The first head opened its jaws, unleashing a sea of golden and white flames of purification, rapidly burning over the demon king, and temporarily making it groan in agony.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!
"GRAAAAGGGHHH…!"
Despite talking like a machine before, its screams were very much lifelike; this thing wasn't just a machine; it was a demon on its own. Every Demon King Seed was a demon too, a living, fleshy being that these Constellations had somehow shaped into a machine-like entity.
Is this their own creation? I am fairly sure only the Void Rulers can assign Demon King Seeds!
Unless these Constellations somehow have a Void Ruler friend?
"GRRRHHHH…! EXTERMINATE! DESTROY-TROY-TROY-TROY…!"
The machine demon king started fighting back against the holy fire, and to resist it, his titanic arms began to punch the first head until its entire body exploded into particles of light.
CRAAASH!
However, there were seven more!
"{Echo: Yamata-no-Orochi's Second Head: Demonic Thunder Blast}!"
"SHYYAAAHH!"
The second head zapped with black and purple lightning, unleashing several blasts of explosive demonic thunder, leaving large holes across the demon king while disintegrating its machine army.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Demon King, however, relentlessly moved forward, its mechanical body regenerating rapidly as it fired beams of converged Ki and Electromagnetic energies, blasting the snake head into smithereens.
I continued unleashing the power of each head: Venomous Corroding Fangs, Abyssal Windstorms, Bleeding Prison, Holy Chains, and more. Each attack accumulates more damage or slowing down the titan.
Only a couple of seconds have passed, but this fight felt like an eternity. I continued swinging my blades as the snakeheads responded, hitting the demon king.
But that only lasted so long before the snakes were destroyed again.
"Hahhh… Hahhh…"
I felt anemic and exhausted; this technique was taking everything out of me…
The Demon King fists rushed down again.
"Is everyone not here yet…?"
Dammit, they sure love to take a while…
"Big sis Anna!"
"Huh? Right, Song…"
FLUOOOSH!
And out of nowhere, I felt a comforting warmth encompassing my entire body.
It felt as if my exhausted body was immediately… was remade anew.
"Ahh!"
I felt exhausted yet fully imbued with life and energy.
Ki was back to normal too, despite having spent it just now.
What was that?!
"Song?!"
"Hahhh… Hahhh… I used [Matter Restructuration]! I think it healed you!"
"What?!"
[Matter Restructuration], a Skill I saw within his Status.
So it can… restructure a living body?
He restructured me before I was exhausted; it even recovered all my energies.
"EXTERMINATE! SECURE VESSEL!"
The Demon King drew closer.
"Not yet!"
I imbued my Ki back to Song; I knew he was the key to all of this.
"Song! You have the potential to save everyone now! Please believe in yourself! Can you unleash more of your Skills?! Like the domain, or the aura!"
"I-I… I'll try!"
Song nodded timidly, but his eyes were filled with determination and excitement.
This was perhaps the biggest thing that had happened in his entire life.
He looked like he was both terrified… and happy.
"HAAAHHH!"
FLAAASH!
As the demon king's claws drew closer, a domain within the skies materialized. Holy light and demonic darkness combined and swirled together into clouds of light and darkness.
The skies themselves distorted, space bent to his grasp, and then, the demon king's arms, upon contacting Song's domain…
Crack, crack…!
CRAAASH!
Were crushed into smithereens, and the smithereens turned into nothing but ashes.
No regeneration.
That's…
This child's power.
It's ridiculous!
"GE-GE-GE-GEEEHH…?!"
The Demon King glanced at his own arms; he couldn't regenerate them anymore; the "wounds" left behind looked gray, this unholy combination of metal and flesh falling into ashes, withering away.
"SONG!"
"ANNA!"
And right in that very moment, two figures, followed by many more, emerged from the layer of heavens above us.
The Heavenly Empress, the Heavenly Demon, and my friends!
"You sure took your damn time!"
I couldn't help but smile.
There's still hope!
[The Cosmic Throne {Mechanical Librarian} is incapable of calculating a good outcome from this!]
[The Cosmic Throne {Mother of Artificial Life} is beginning to rapidly heat out due to the many erroneous calculations.]
[Both Constellations are shocked; they can no longer touch Song Weisheng!]
Yeah, get scared!
You shouldn't have chosen this demon king as your avatar, dumbasses.
Maybe we'll be finishing this trial sooner than expected!
If we can eliminate the problem from the root right now.
There'll be no need for a third trial.
"Song! Let's do this!"
"O-Okay!"
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