{Author: Challenge part 4 of 6.
Just a heads-up: there might be two chapters tomorrow or Saturday—the regular one and an extra/OVA titled "Experiments."
In this OVA chapter, I'll include small experiments that would be tedious to cover in the main story.
Thanks for reading my story.}
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Weed was finally ready to advance to Rank 1 Middle Stage after roughly another twelve days.
He focused on his aperture.
Using his Primeval Essence, he struck against the aperture's walls.
They were already riddled with cracks.
One strike.
Two strikes.
Three.
Four.
Five...
...
...
...
Each attack was carried out with unwavering determination.
Never allowing the aperture enough time to regenerate.
After several hours, his Primeval Essence was nearly exhausted, forcing him to replenish it with Primeval Stones.
The cracks continued to spread.
Until they covered the entire aperture like a giant spider's web.
And finally...
The walls of his aperture shattered.
A pale green Primeval Essence flooded into the newly expanded space.
He had taken longer than expected.
By only a small margin, he missed the reward awarded to the first disciples who reached Rank 1 Middle Stage.
The two winners were both Grade A talents.
As a mere Grade B talent who had divided his time between cultivation, business, and research—instead of joining a faction to receive resources and favors—he had inevitably fallen behind.
Yet...
It hadn't been a bad trade.
Weed had not wasted those twelve days.
Floating peacefully within his aperture swam a brand-new Gu.
It resembled a snake biting its own tail, forming a perfect circle like an ouroboros.
However...
Its entire body was lined with razor-sharp edges.
Rather than a snake...
It looked more like a living chakram.
The reason he had lost those precious twelve days...
Was this tiny Gu.
And honestly...
He didn't regret it.
[Flashback]
[Workshop]
The workshop looked exactly as before.
Wood.
Steel.
Primeval Stones.
Ashes.
Nothing had changed.
Nothing.
Except Weed.
He remained silent for several minutes.
One hand rested gently upon the ancient log.
His eyes...
Were fixed upon the Blade Gu.
Now...
He saw it differently.
It wasn't metal.
Nor was it a weapon.
Much less a tool.
It was a concept.
A fragment of the Blade Path.
The concept of cutting.
Separating.
Dividing.
Defining where one thing ended...
And another began.
...
The same was true of the Sculpting Path.
Sculptures had never truly been wood.
Wood was merely the vessel.
The true value had always been hidden...
Within what the sculpture represented.
Weed didn't want to waste this rare moment of clarity and inspiration.
He could feel it.
This realization could become something.
A creation.
A new step forward.
So...
If refinement was a conversation between concepts...
What concept could converse with a blade?
Weed folded his arms.
The question sounded simple.
Yet...
The more he thought about it...
The more difficult it became.
And so he reflected.
Not only upon refinement...
But upon himself.
And upon the road that lay ahead.
"I know what I have."
"I know what materials I should use."
"But I still haven't decided where I want to arrive."
"Nor how I should get there."
"I know the what..."
"But I still lack the how."
"And more importantly..."
"The why."
A journey without a destination has no meaning.
A story without a middle or an ending remains incomplete.
He wanted power.
Yes.
That was his goal.
To manifest overwhelming power through essence itself.
Power.
Born from the Blade Path...
And the Sculpting Path.
Born from the meeting of those two concepts.
If he were baking a cake...
He would say he still lacked the butter.
Something capable of binding all the ingredients together.
His goal was to create a Gu...
A child born from the union of the Sculpting Path and the Blade Path.
If there was one thing both Paths shared...
It was cutting.
His ideal result...
Was a Gu capable of cutting anything.
What is the greatest power in this world?
Power...?
But...
What kind of power?
And how should that power manifest itself?
A blade.
What did a blade truly do?
It cut.
It separated.
But...
Separated what?
Flesh?
Wood?
Stone?
No.
Those were merely applications.
The concept itself remained unchanged.
Separation.
Then...
What should be united with such a concept?
What meaning could be given to something whose very nature was to divide?
What should be given?
What should be taken away?
What should be transformed?
What should be shaped?
What should be sculpted?
What was the greatest form of power?
Power determined supremacy among Gu Masters.
Yet power could manifest itself in countless different ways.
Money?
No.
In this world, money was merely Primeval Stones, materials, Gu worms, and at the Immortal level, Immortal Essence Stones.
Money was simply a means to cultivate further.
...
Strength?
The Strength Path?
He shook his head.
No.
It was humanity's most primitive expression of power.
But he saw no way it could serve as the foundation of this recipe.
...
Humans?
They stood at the very peak of this world.
Every Venerable had ultimately relied upon Human Path.
It fit perfectly.
Almost too perfectly.
But he possessed neither Human Path materials...
Nor Human Path Gu.
Those were exceedingly rare.
Exceedingly valuable.
(And he certainly wasn't foolish enough to experiment with corpses and end up being mistaken for a Blood Path cultivator.)
The same was true of Heaven Path.
Fate was powerful.
But touching such a Path at his current level was pure fantasy.
...
For hours...
He wrote down possibilities.
Only to cross every single one out.
None of them felt right.
...
"Perhaps..."
"I should use something I already possess."
"Instead of searching outside..."
"For something I might find within."
Objective things were out of the question.
Soul.
Flesh.
Blood.
Bones.
"The mind..."
"Yes..."
He remembered the very words born from his recent enlightenment.
"The body is merely the vessel of the mind..."
"...just as the world is the vessel of the Dao."
If I wish to cut...
If I wish to cut everything...
If I wish to cut the world itself...
Then I need something...
Greater than the world.
Hope?
That Gu already existed.
But it belonged primarily to Human Path, a Path he barely understood.
Hatred?
Rage?
No.
Too destructive.
Too unstable.
Too shallow.
"Joy?"
"Sadness?"
"Memory?"
"Wisdom?"
"Lust?"
"Greed?"
...
No.
No.
No.
...
The pile of notes continued growing.
Yet...
For the first time...
He wasn't frustrated.
Each failure eliminated another incorrect answer.
That, too...
Was progress.
...
Then...
A memory surfaced.
Love Gu.
The strangest Gu in existence.
Capable of defying logic.
Defying Fate.
Defying reason itself.
Not even Venerables could fully control it.
And yet...
It existed.
Weed slowly leaned against the table.
If a Gu capable of embodying Love truly existed...
Then...
Love itself was a concept profound enough to sustain an entire Dao.
A feeling.
Yet also...
Something infinitely greater.
He stood motionless.
Thinking.
Love.
What exactly was love?
Love was irrational...
Yet immensely powerful.
Chaotic...
Yet somehow orderly.
It had become the driving force behind centuries of peace.
And thousands of years of war.
Love Gu possessed enough power to wound Fate itself.
Chaotic...
But never meaningless.
Yes.
Love possessed the strength to overcome everything.
"Romantic love."
"Parental love."
"Obsessive love."
"Friendship."
"Bromance." ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Just like sculptures...
Love existed in countless forms and sizes.
It didn't take long before a face emerged within his mind.
Black hair.
Silent eyes.
A girl who rarely spoke.
Yet somehow...
Always remained by his side.
Seoyoon.
...
Fifteen years.
Even after crossing into another world...
Her face remained perfectly clear.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Not because remembering hurt.
But because it felt...
Strange.
Throughout all those years...
He had rarely allowed himself to truly think about her.
Not because he wished to forget.
But because there had never been time.
There was always work.
Bills.
Survival.
Cultivation.
Money.
Tomorrow.
...
Now...
For the very first time...
Silence allowed him to remember.
He remembered her quietly walking beside him.
Never saying a word.
And yet...
Her company alone had always been enough.
He remembered sharing simple meals together.
He remembered the faint smile she wore while watching him sculpt.
He remembered how she never needed explanations.
She always understood.
Weed remained motionless.
For a long time.
Then...
He slowly picked up another block of wood.
Took a deep breath.
And began carving.
What does it truly mean... to love someone?