Reaper of the Martial World

Book 7: Chapter 222: Crown (1)

Dyon looked toward his manifestation, his heart calming.

“I disdain the sovereign path!” Dyon’s ancient voice roared.

It was faintly obvious that his manifestation was enraged. Not with the world, or with the path itself, but at Dyon for aiming too low. If it wasn’t for the fact that it couldn’t, it would have ripped itself from Dyon body and forged a path on its own.

“Not only were you pathetic enough to lose yourself to the despair of a mere Chaos Path, you actually have the face to be arrogant even while you rely on the hopes and dreams of others to keep yourself stable. How is this the demeanor of a Ruler?!”

Dyon didn’t so much as frown. After shaking off the initial nervousness, he realized that his manifestation was simply roaring out his most inner thoughts. He and his manifestation weren’t two separate entities, they were one in the same. It was just that his manifestation represented the peak of what would be one day, while the current him wasn’t even remotely worthy of such things.

Everything his manifestation said was correct. No matter how much Dyon ignored it, he had still not gotten over the matters of that day. He only sparingly used his most powerful offensive attack simply because he was scared. There was no avoiding this truth.

In Dyon’s life, he had only felt true, unbearable fear, twice. The first was when he saw the body of the entity, and the second time was when he comprehended the truth behind his flames. The second broke him so thoroughly that he actually attempted suicide. If it wasn’t for his undead body, ironically amplified by the very same black flames he feared so much, he would be a dead man right now.

The irony was uncanny. Dyon lost his temper, even shoving the innocent Lilianna into a torture chamber for almost one hundred years, all because she made a mistake. He had been so angry with her because she dared to attempt and take his life, so why wasn’t he equally angry with himself for doing the same?

This rage his manifestation felt, this unbridled will to destroy everything to vent its anger, this was how Dyon truly felt on the inside. As angered as he had been toward Lilianna, he was even more angered with himself!

“You muddle around everyday, making fools of people who are unworthy of even our attention, yet feeling pride in doing so. Who is a mere God Goldeen? True God Tatsuya? True God Hydra?! Who are these fools in comparison to us? How dare you feel pride in defeating them?!”

Even now, the only thing keeping Dyon’s dao heart stable were the hopes and dreams of the older generation of the Mortal Clan. The reason he could ignore his comprehension of Chaos wasn’t due to his own prowess, but due to the prowess of those who couldn’t even lift a finger toward him if they stood right here. How pathetic was that?

This was the reality of the Sovereign Path. As much as you ruled and lorded over others, you could only grow by stepping upon the faith your people had in you. Since the beginning of time, this was the way was the way people climbed the latter of True Presence.

Why was it that the second trial was so necessary to comprehend Presence? It was because one needed to comprehend what it meant to be a ruler before they could grasp this path.

“Do you know how many have reached God Presence relying on the Sovereign Heart?” The deep, boiling voice of Dyon’s manifestation continued. “The answer is zero! Why is it that a Half-Step King Dragon Soul is already as powerful as King Level Presence?! It’s because this path is WEAK.

“The number of people who could truly call themselves Gods, the kind of experts that would wipe out you so-called True Gods with a single breath, can be counted on a single hand even if you stretch back to the dawn of time itself. Yet you want to use such a feeble Path to comprehend such a thing… Should I call you head strong or foolish?!”

Dyon suddenly began to laugh. His body trembled, not from any sort of profound emotion, but rather of relief.

He suddenly understood what the crown of his manifestation meant. It didn’t refer to mere sovereignty, it was a representation of standing above all things. What did a crown mean? It was simply a symbol of authority. However, an authority in what lane was the question?

Would Dyon rule over a small fief? Would he rule a planet? A galaxy? A universe? A quadrant, maybe?

What a joke. His crown didn’t represent any of these things. It stood above that. It didn’t even refer to ruling over a mere Mortal Plane or a mere Immortal Plane. What it stood for was absolute control of not these things, but of Dyon himself!

“Good!” The roar of his manifestation shook the very skies of his inner world. “Not even the Heavens themselves can dictate what you can and cannot do.”

Who in existence could say they ruled over themselves to the fullest? Could anyone say such a thing?

Mortals had their Presidents and Prime Ministers. Immortals had their Clan Heads and Kings. Kings lowered their heads to Emperors and Emperors lowered their heads to Transcendents.

Transcendents must lord over their own lives then, right? However, didn’t Transcendents die? Even the mighty Abraxus was coming close to the end of his life. In the end, Transcendents lowered their head to the Heavens themselves!

Dyon’s laugh increased, carrying a hint of madness as a resolute expression appeared in his eyes. With a single thought, his Dao Heart shattered for a second time.