Way of the Knights

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"I should've known…"

"How can I forget that I too, follow the unorthodox path of cultivation? Book of Chaos remember? I don't have regular Quintessential Energies, instead I have Cosmic Energies."

"Since the soldiers are connected to me, of course there will be some mutations to them, duh!"

Raven berated himself inside his quarters after receiving the reports about the strange changes to their Soldiers' bodies right after they were made. 

Currently, all of the soldiers are in deep sleep. More specifically, they are all 'incubating' within a hardened energy egg. It is currently unknown when they will wake up or if they will even wake up at all. 

Raven had finished naming all 25 of his soldiers. Vermillion Bird One - Ten, Black Turtle One - Five, White Tiger One - Five, and Azure Dragon One - Five. 

Everyone that he named were found encased inside a egg the day after. It was a bizarre development but they aren't dead, just in a deep slumber. 

Raven originally wanted to postpone the naming of the soldiers but he decided against it. The soldiers themselves could feel that their comrades are experiencing heaven and earth changes within that egg and that they were fine. They could even tell that once they wake up, they'll be way above what they were before the naming. Due to this, Raven threw caution to the wind and named everyone else. 

Currently, everyone is slumbering, making this fortress a little lonely. Kyrie wasn't around since she was tasked to watch over the pocket dimension. 

Raven eventually came to a conclusion that this is due to him being an unorthodox cultivator. As for what this change going to bring to his soldiers, he currently has no idea. He could only wait until they broke our of their shells and report to him the changes on their bodies. 

As of now, Raven decided to stay in the fortress in order to finish the modifications to some rooms. 

He planned on using them as training grounds for the soldiers so that they'll be much stronger when they officially started operating. 

Raven set up multiple formations to finish the modifications. Some of them were centered on allowing the soldiers to increase their battle instincts while others focused on tactics and so on. Right now, Raven had no clue on how long these guys are going to sleep, however it's best if the things they needed are ready by the time they wake up just so that they won't waste time. 

They've been asleep for a week now. And from the fluctuations, Raven guessed that they needed more time, which was fine for him. 

As they sleep, Raven wasn't idle at all. 

He continued training in and out of the Crown Space. He's steadily moving forward with his cultivation, however even if that's the case, his progress obviously slowed down.

Speaking of the Crown Space, Raven visited the Monument of Stars not too long ago and received yet another recognition. This time, it was the Extreme Yin Shroud. 

Extreme Yin Shroud and Extreme Yang Illumination. Even with the insights he got from these constellations, Raven still found it too vague. It was as if there are multiple doors appearing in front of him yet he didn't know how to get to them just yet. It was confusing but Raven didn't mind them too much. 

Aside from training, Raven also decided to explore Gaia's Secret Realm whenever he's bored. 

Of course he did it covertly, he's not yet ready to announce his participation to his 'neighbors'. 

So far, he explored the whole north and found some interesting vistas in there. 

Gaia's Secret Realm is the designated battlefield for the Chosen of Zeus. Raven's territory is at the Deep North on the map. Which means that this whole area of snow capped fields and peaks are his to use. 

Like what was mentioned earlier, the Fortress - Raven and his army's base of operations, are hidden within snowy mountains. During his adventures, Raven sensed some hidden lodes of resources within the depths of this mountains, and based from his observations none of them were discovered just yet. 

This got Raven thinking. 

If the Grand Elder could freely manipulate the landmasses of this Secret Realm, what would happen to these lodes then? Will they disappear or not? Is it even worth to mine these lodes or would it be a waste of time? 

Everything appeared real to him at least, however he didn't do anything for now since he didn't want his neighbors to have an excuse to closely monitor them just yet. He didn't want any frictions between camps since there's still much that needs to be done. 

Furthermore, even with the relentless cold weather of the Deep North, his neighbors still managed to somehow find a way to leave Spying Sentries which are tasked to monitor his territory and inform his neighbors about any movements. 

Too bad since they were dealing with Raven. 

Not only did he fooled these Sentries, he even tinkered them to work for him instead. 

Spying Sentries are mini-constructs that are made by the smiths. Their job is to monitor everything within a kilometer radius around them and send feedback to their owners whenever something out of the ordinary was seen. 

These little things couldn't hope to match Raven at all. He simply casted a strong illusion that fooled the sentry and he began tinkering them in a way that will work for him instead. 

Now, whenever these sentries sense anything but Raven and his army, they will send him details about it so that he could prepare. And since this is Raven we're talking about, no traces will lead to him. Not even the very creator of these sentry would be able to know how he tinkered with these things. 

Additionally, he also placed some traps along the way which could be triggered with a single thought of his. These are just some nasty surprises for whoever thinks about setting foot to his territory without his permission. 

For now, Raven adventures are limited to the deep north. He decided to study his own territory first before the enemies just so that he'll be able to make full use of his natural resources to gain advantage. 

It's still too early anyway. He still had time to spy on his neighbors in the future. 

---

"So that's how it was..." Raven murmured as he stared at the skies.

His eyes were somewhat dull and he was expressionless. Raven was in the middle of his deep cultivation and was currently digesting some of the information his Avatars accumulated for him. 

"In a way, Laws can be visualized as Inscriptions too."

"Inscriptions are what form Seals. Seals are needed to create Arrays and multiple Arrays can be fused to create a Formation."

"Laws work the same way too. It could be said that the Heavenly Laws of the Divine Realm itself is just a massive semi-intelligent Formation. And under the discerning eye, it could be broken down into smaller details which creates the whole picture."

"Inscriptions are the basics. Multiple Inscriptions are used to create a Seal. Numerous Seals are needed to form an Array so on and so forth. This trend remains the same and it carries one of the simplest yet most profound concept of all..."

"From Simplicity to Complexity. And from Complexity to Simplicity. The cycle just goes on and on! I understand!"

*Weng!*

Strong waves of fluctuations were released from Raven's body. Multiple hymns and tunes echoed from his location, signaling the deep attunement of Raven's mind to the Heavenly Laws right now. 

Currently, Raven was floating several meters off the ground, carried by an invisible force. His mind was currently being flooded by multiple insights yet Raven remains oblivious to it all. He just processed the information as if he was a by-stander and that it had nothing to do with him. 

The Brush of Wisdom suddenly appeared and began releasing hymns that melded with the tunes surrounding Raven. The brush was orbiting around him, mysteriously trying to draw something without Raven's control. 

The Law Diagrams on Raven's body were currently being dissolved at an alarming pace yet they were also being replaced by new ones. 

Raven could feel his insights climbing at an alarming pace. The things that didn't make sense to him before were finally becoming clear to him. Still, even with all of that, Raven remained unconscious. 

This whole process lasted for a good amount of time before calming down, when Raven opened his eyes. A majestic lotus bloomed with him at its center. Each lotus petal looked somewhat strange, at first glance, no one would discover anything but if one looked closely, each petal are composed of wriggling lines that changes the longer one observes. It's as if these lines were alive and had a story to tell. 

When consciousness returned to Raven's body, a peculiar feeling rose from his chest. 

Omniscience. 

This is what Raven was currently feeling right now. He had the impression that there's nothing in this world he didn't understand. It was a very empowering feeling yet also frightening at the same time. 

"I need some time to digest my gains properly. Back to seclusion we go.." He said as he disappeared from where he was.