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"How did you know about the Kayar-Elu?" Zac asked, finally expressing the question that had been burning in the back of his mind for the past hour.

"It just made sense," the Realm Spirit shrugged. "When you've lived as long as me, you start to see some patterns in the river of time."

"Made sense, how?"

"What do you know about the Technocrats?"

"The usual stuff. Dao of Technology, Technomancers, Transcenders, Machine God Faction," Zac said impatiently.

"Sure," Sendor said. "And do you know why the System hates them?"

"Because the Dao of Technology isn't within the purview of the Seventeen Peaks? Because they're functionally Unorthodox Cultivators?"

"Bah," Sendor scoffed. "The Dao is the Dao. Why can't it be applied the way those people want to? They're not breaking the four laws. Usually not, anyway. But who doesn't cheat now and then? It's not like this is the first Era these ideas have appeared. Much of their accomplishments are built on their predecessors. Such is the nature of technological advancement, no?"

Zac nodded hesitantly.

"The reason's simple. War!" Sendor laughed. "The faction you know as the Technocrats today was originally founded by an empire called the Selvari. They weren't anything special, just a slightly powerful force in that ancient epoch when the Dao still was rough and tumble. But they stumbled upon something. Or rather, it stumbled onto them.

"An Eternal Heritage," Zac surmised.

It seemed odd that the technological foundation of the Technocrats would come from something as ancient and mysterious as an Eternal Heritage. He had a hard time picturing something like Ultom containing a bunch of schematics. But having an Eternal Heritage as backing would explain how they could stay strong with the whole Multiverse standing against them.

"Just so," Sendor said. "Well, sort off. The Selvari controlled the better part of a galaxy when it happened. This was before dimensional travel was commonplace, mind you. One day, a huge energy field appeared, consuming almost a fifth of the galaxy. It was a disastrous loss for the Selvari, but they forgot about all that when they found the Technocrat Codex.

"Most Eternal Heritages were created through untold sacrifice and an Era's worth of accumulation. The Technocrat Codex was a bit different. I don't know how, but someone threw a bunch of ideas into the future, avoiding the Dao's collapse."

"Ideas?" Zac asked.

"The people from the Primordial Era probably didn't have the strength to transport matter through such a vast stretch of time, bypassing the Cataclysm. Instead, they sent ideas. Theories, inventions, schools of thought. They suddenly popped up in the minds of the Selvari across the galaxy. The impartment also expanded the minds of these lucky few, letting them stand far above the rest. Using the gift, they became the leaders of the Selvari and founded the Technocracy.

"The Technocrats became a ruling caste far above the rest, especially after it became clear even their descendants enjoyed the cerebral enhancement from the Technocrat Codex. However, while the Technocrats quickly usurped the old structures and took full control, they also elevated the Selvari to new heights.

"Soon, they built wondrous machines that allowed them to visit other galaxies. Other dimensions. They saw themselves as the masters of the universe, delving into its secrets with wild abandon. But then, a small empire rose in a neighboring galaxy. An empire which would come to change everything."

"The Limitless Empire? Two such powerful factions appeared in the same dimension?" Zac asked. "What are the odds?"

"Greater than you might think," Sendor smiled. "Mystic Realms are not born equal, and neither are dimensions. The Selvari and the Limitless Empire were founded in one of the most flourishing dimensions closest to the Heavens. The Dao was clear, and the road toward the peak was wide. Of course, there's another reason. The original inhabitants of the Limitless Empire were Selvari."

"What?" Zac said with confusion.

"Far from all Selvari were satisfied with the changes brought from the Technocrat Codex. The Technocrat Inheritance was simply too alien compared to the natural path of cultivation. Many renounced the Technocracy, especially those belonging to orthodox sects and clans. They fled their homeland and migrated to remote galaxies in a bid to return to traditional cultivation.

Zac's mind was abuzz with the new information. The origin of the System and its hatred of the Dao of Technology suddenly felt much clearer. Not only was the Technocracy an enemy of the Limitless Empire, but the citizens of the Limitless Empire were also formerly under the thumb of the Selvari.

"I think you can understand why the conflict arose," Sendor continued. "The Selvari originally considered the region that later became the Limitless Empire an unofficial colony filled with technologically inferior citizens. The first true war of the Limitless Empire was not only one of expansion but one of liberation."

"And I'm guessing the empire won?"

"The Technocrats found themselves outmatched even before the System's appearance," Sendor nodded. "Emperor Laondio was like a radiant beacon, a savior to free the citizens from the tyranny of technology. He and his powerful subordinates were like a testament to the Heavenly Path, proving the Technocrat Codex was nothing but false truths."

It wasn't hard for Zac putting two and two together after knowing that.

"What does this have to do with the Kayar-Elu?" Zac asked.

"The Kayar-Elu was one of the founding Clans of the Technocracy, direct inheritors of the Technocrat Codex."

"So I'm not human?" Zac asked. "I'm Selvari?"

"Honestly, I don't know what you are," Sendor laughed. "You should be human, but so were the Selvari. In fact, they are the origin of your race and the reason your kin are all over the place."

"It was humans who founded the Technocrats?" Zac exclaimed.

"Well, the Selvari were originally humans. However, their empire had grown diverse after eons of expansion through their galaxy."

"So how did Humans become one of the most populous species of the Multiverse if the Selvari were the System's enemy?" Zac asked curiously.

"For one, there were just as many humans in the Limitless Empire, so targeting your race specifically would make no sense. The war was over ideology, and resources, of course. Be it the Limitless Empire or the Selvari, both needed vast amounts of resources. Saying that The Limitless Empire targeted the Selvari solely for freedom would be a revision of history. They especially needed a specific ability of the Selvari, which incidentally is the reason you can find humans in every corner of the Multiverse.

"The Selvari knew they wouldn't last for long. The Limitless Empire's War Machine was terrifying in a way you can't imagine, and their forces grew daily. But the Selvari had something the Limitless Empire didn't—the ability to travel through dimensions en masse.

"Back then, the realities weren't as interlaced as today. Forcing your way through the dimensional barriers and the chasm between was something only the greatest of Emperor Laondio's generals could accomplish. But the Selvari built enormous Arks and sent trillions of their citizenry, mostly humans, into every corner of the Multiverse. It was a lifeline and a counterattack; forming millions of safe enclaves through all realities. Growing in secret to one day strike back at their hated enemy.

"The System made all that irrelevant, though," Sendor snickered. "The Dark Ages arrived, and most societies collapsed. A million years is an unbelievably long time without Cosmic Energy. Almost all the colonies were erased by the river of time, and the few surviving descendants had forgotten their origin and mission long before the System awoke. Later they were integrated, having no recollection of their old enemy.

Zac saw the holes in his understanding of the universe rapidly fill in. The origin of the Limitless Empire and the purpose of the System. He even had an answer to why the System had rearranged the Multiverse into such a confusing mesh of dimensions. Zac could almost picture it. The Limitless Emperor's main adversary had suddenly sent their people to innumerable dimensions just as he was about to win the war.

So he built the System, a War Machine that would span all realities by fusing with the Heavens, possibly integrating the Selvari's dimensional understanding. That way, he'd be able to hunt down the scattered Selvari while exploring the other dimensions for opportunities.

"Oh, don't go spreading these things," Sendor added. "It can be a touchy subject."

"Of course," Zac said. "You still haven't answered my questions, though. About the Kayar-Elu."

"I was providing context," Sendor snorted. "You youngsters are always so impatient."

"I'm not immortal like you," Zac sighed.

"I guess that's true," Sendor nodded. "Around four thousand years ago, my connection with the System received such a powerful shock that it was almost severed. It had entered an almost manic state as it forced its way into the Eternal Storm. The Heavens only returned to normalcy after two months, but I could tell the System had entered a weakened state. Later, I heard that one of the ancient Technocracy clans had fallen, smote by endless Tribulation Lightning.

"I am guessing the event involved your birth."

"What? four thousand?" Zac said. "That can't be right. I'm only 52, including time distortions."

"You were likely placed inside a seal. To hide you from the Heavens, the System, and even the Technocracy Alliance. " Sendor said, thoughtfully looking at Zac. "Possibly also to shield you from the Dao. Too much of that before you started cultivating, and it might have damaged your bloodline."

Hearing he might be thousands of years old was a bit of a shock, but Zac had always suspected he was older than he seemed. Leandra had apparently been at death's door after her family's fall, and recovering for millennia was nothing special for people at that level. At least he was still considered a youngster by the System since it had given him the quest for ultom.

"You said it made sense I was related to those people," Zac said. "Why?"

"I'm closing in on some dangerous topics. Suffice it to say, just like the Limitless Empire had a complicated relationship with the Technocracy, so did the Void Emperor. Few things are black and white, especially at the peak," Sendor said, looking at Zac with a complex gaze. "I wonder what is chance and what is predestination. I wonder if he…

"Nevermind," the Realm Spirit said with a shake.

The Realm Spirit had stopped short of giving clear answers about Karz, but Zac could infer a few more details to add to the growing web of his origin. It sounded like the Void Emperor had some connection to either the Kayar-Elu or the Technocracy as a whole. Had Karz betrayed Laondio to ally with the Technocrats? No, that didn't seem right. If that were the case, would his mother really say he carried the Original Sin?

Was it the opposite? Had Karz infiltrated the Technocracy, befriending them before taking them out on the emperor's orders?

"As far as I know, the Kayar-Elu received two main inheritances from the Technocrat Codex," Sendor continued. "One was related to shielding and aura manipulation. They were a major player in setting up Sanctuary, the Holy Land in the depths of the Eternal Storm. I'm no expert in those matters, but I felt your protective array held some similarities to their heritage, and the same is true for your newfound resistance to Karmic Links.

"And you've just experienced their second inheritance," the Realm Spirit smiled. "They hold the secret of twinned existence, something beyond cloning or puppets. Two bodies, each as strong as the other. Of course, one of those bodies was supposed to be mechanical, not whatever they accomplished with your weird Void Duality.

"I can't imagine the work that went into transforming a peak Technocrat invention into something that would work within the purview of Heaven's Path. It's like forcing a previous Era's cultivation System into this one. And that's not even taking into account merging the technique with your bloodline."

Zac slowly nodded, remembering how he'd seen Leandra seamlessly shift between a gargantuan metallic body and her normal human form. He'd already drawn the parallels to his situation. However, that didn't account for Jeeves' existence—a living AI that seemed to be integrated into the Heavenly Path.

That technology seemed even more groundbreaking than his duality, especially considering what he'd just learned about the Selvari. Did that mean the Kayar-Elu actually had three heritages, with Jeeves being a hidden technology of theirs? Or did the AI come from somewhere else, like another ancient Technocrat clan? The latter would explain why Firmament's Edge knew to look for Leandra and the Digital Nexus.

"Here, read the rest yourself," Sendor said, throwing over an Information Crystal.

Zac infused his will into the crystal and was greeted by a wealth of information. Dozens of books worth, including everything from the ancient era before the System to current events. It even detailed methods to enter the Digital World without implanting yourself with Technocrat machinery. However, a brief scan left Zac frowning, and he looked up at the Realm Spirit.

"This is just general information," Zac said.

"General information that's very hard to get in integrated space," Sendor countered. "Information I believe you will need soon. And it's not all general information. The locations where the System struck the Kayar-Elu and some of their hidden domains. Some of their connections within Integrated Space. Spatial Gates deep inside the Eternal Storm. These things are worth a fortune among the established factions."

It was true. While there were no deeper explanations for his Duplicity Core, there were some very pertinent pieces of information in the crystal. It actually mentioned the Six Profundity Empire and even listed three factions suspected to be founded by the Kayar-Elu—the Pravosti Clan, the Heavenly Palace, and the Huarki Consortia. There was a good chance Leandra hid in one of those three factions.

Of course, these factions might have opted to erase any traces of their origin after the Kayar-Elu's collapse. Luckily, Sendor had listed another fourteen factions across six empires, giving him a direction to keep looking in case he came up emptyhanded in the Six Profundity Empire.

The suspected locations of some of their hidden realms might be the key to fusing his body. He needed to figure out what other secrets hid inside his core, and visiting Kayar-Elu's hidden labs was a promising solution. However, the marked places were all inside the Eternal Storm, far beyond his reach.

"Still," Zac said. "Nothing here will let me fuse my bodies or take control over the cores. Nothing that can help me in the short run. Compared to what I—"

"This is all I know; it's not like I'm some Technocrat information merchant. And don't you try squeezing more benefits out of me," Sendor snorted. "This is more than fair."

"Fine. Nothing on their recent movements?" Zac ventured.

Zac didn't know if it was good or bad news, but the information crystal lacked information about Leandra and Kenzie.

"Honestly, I thought them eradicated until you appeared on my doorstep. That's the consensus among the few who actually know who the Kayar-Elu are," Sendor said. "Those who survived must have concealed themselves quite well. If you don't know, then I have no idea how to help you."

"That's fair," Zac said, stowing away the crystal. "Just one more thing, then."

"I'm telling you, I'm not giving you any more resources," Sendor said with exasperation. "With your disgusting Luck and the System's attention, just go find them yourself. Things given for free are rarely appreciated."

"No, not that," Zac said, though he wouldn't have said no to some more benefits. "Can you send my bodies back separately? One three hours before the other."

"You want to test the limits of your mysterious connection," Sendor, his eyes lighting up with interest. "That's fine."

"Can I say goodbye to Null first?" Zac asked.

"Null begun the process of rebirth while you were unconscious," Sendor rejected. "Her existence is based on your path. It will take her centuries to form a true soul with such heavy baggage."

Zac was disappointed, but what could you do? He took in the surroundings of the mountaintop one final time. Its destruction had actually made it easier to leave, in a sense. It was like his presence had been erased from the region, his Karma with Mount Illumination severed.

"What about the brands?" Zac asked.

"I've already placed them on both your bodies," Sendor said, rolling his eyes when Zac's eyes thinned with suspicion. "Here, see?"

Zac first didn't understand what sendor meant, but he soon felt a mysterious ripple within the chests of both his bodies. Zac's heart was gripped with fear as it felt like Sendor had hidden a whole universe within a bead no larger than a grain of rice. The next moment, the marks were gone, letting Zac breathe out in relief.

"They'll activate on your will but not on their own," Sendor said. "So don't let yourself get knocked out before you can infuse a wisp into your chest."

"Thank you," Zac said. "I'm ready, then."

"Then off you go," Sendor said as a cocoon of runes grew around Zac's human form.

"Please have my other body catch up if something odd happens," Zac added, suddenly realizing the experiment might be a bit dangerous.

"No problem," Sendor said before throwing over a token. "Come visit if you ever find yourself in my neighborhood. The Cosmic Gallery only holds some low-grade baubles, but I have other regions that would astound you."

"And I just need to share some of my secrets to access them?" Zac said with a roll of his eyes.

"Such is the Law of Balance," Sendor laughed. "I have lots of treasures, so make sure to think of ways to entertain me. Now go. Have fun in the Left Imperial Palace. Some of the answers you're looking for might be found there."

A small gate appeared beneath Zac's feet, and he lost the connection as he began the return journey through the Void. His mind slowly grew quiet, matching the empty surroundings. Seven years had passed, but he was finally going home. He had been full of expectations for his visit to the Perennial Vastness, yet the experience had exceeded anything he could have imagined.

Most importantly, he had accomplished his goal of reaching Hegemony, even if things had taken a sudden turn. It had thrown many of his old plans out the window but also provided him with some new options.

With the biggest roadblock out of the way, it was time to plan for the future.

Comments

Tsunami

I wonder if he...had a son.

George

huge!

Mason W

Got some answers, good chapter!

Andrew

Thank you!

Anonymous

Some (many) answers but if twinned existence is one of their two inheritances, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.. Welp.

RandomAnkle

It's funny how even a eons old spirt finds Zacs luck disgusting

Russell Widger

But the ability to merge bodies is confirmed part of that heritage so we can still see it happening

Jack Trowell

True, but on the other side Leandra showed it was possible to do a sort of switch between them, or at least it looked like it

Anonymous

I hope Zac gets to show off his power on earth 😄

Michael Fannon

Lore chapter! I love these big dumps of answers. Plus, feels like the end of the arc is this week. I've noticed a slight pattern with that, that we get a lore chapter near the end of most arcs.

Anonymous

I have definitly missed something. Can someone tell me what the brands are? I seemd to have missed that bit.

Tyler

Imagine how hectic battles could be if he's able to swap, split, and merge at will... Well, probably a huge energy price, but still.

Anonymous

Good chapter finally learning about the technocrats and we are finally going back to earth! The core formation and all the soul cultivation slowed down this arc but it was overall pretty good.

Anonymous

If you go back a chapter or two Zac asks for a protective boon from Sendor which is I believe what the brands are referring to

Tyler

He literally just tells Zac to go take a walk and find treasure if that's what he wants. It's almost like the Luck stat is a fourth wall nod to plot armor. "You're the main character, you don't need this specific once-in-a-life-time opportunity for freaking treasures."

Luke Scheffe

But it’s implied that they are still supposed to be interchangeable, at least.

Lex Luther S

Great info dump; quite interesting learning about how humans have popped up across the multiverse. I also love how we'll definitely see sendor again, this absolute ancient being is a well spring and Watching him and zac interact is actually somewhat enjoyable.

Omiso

When I see Zac bargaining with an old monster it seems to me like a child stretching things to see how far he can go, whenever he's rebuffed he doesn't complain or throw a tantrum he simply lowers his demands and ask for something else. Is no wonder the old things keep calling Zac a Brat, eventually he'll get a good grasp of things and negotiate in good faith asking things for what they are worth. Hell even with 4,000 years he's still a brat for people like A'zu, Be'zi and Sendor.

Anonymous

Awsome thank you ill check it out! I was going to re read but was worried it was all the way back at the conflict palace place.

Random Information

Will Arcaz journey to the Abyssal Lake before the Zecia wars? Or is there not enough time?

EnigmaticOne

Thanks for the chapter! Finally, we're back! I wonder how close the war is to reaching Zac's sector...

Naotsugu97

Great chapter! Thank you.

Darnell Maxwell

TLDR: I'm about as smart as Zac is in book 1 so alot of this chapter went over my head. What I gathered is the technocrats were originally just og humans that found an eternal heritage. Now with the doa of technology they were to the rest of their universe what the dominators were to the Zhix. A group got tired of their behavior and rose up to form the limitless empire. Limitless Empire use numbers to overcome the technocrats power advantage. Eventually the Limitless Empire comes out ontop and makes the system to maintain their lead. Zac is annoyed that this info doesn't help him in the short term. Sendor gives an info crystal with a bunch of general info on the technocrats. After finding out Zac is actually like 4 thousand years old, he was just sealed away for most of it Zac performs one last test. Sending his bodies back to Port Atwood with a 3 hour difference to see how that effects the link. Sendor is fine with Zac visiting in the future to and will give him more stuff if Zac gives updates on his cultivation. You people that have Zac's current intelligence score and read this story. Did I miss anything major? Not stuff like the Technocrats are good at hiding and could cross dimensions before the system. Stuff relevant to where Zac is in the story now.

Joel

I don't know why people are all up in arms about 2 bodies? He always only fought in one form at a time. If anything now we can read about arcaz doing sick undead shit, while Zac might be spending months traveling, and vice versa. We know now in the future they will fuse back together, that's the keyar-elu path or whatever. Just let it cook, y'all. Freaking out over a small change is rude as hell. Over 1000 chapters to get to this point no reason to drop everything because of a twist you didn't see coming.

Omiso

Ah yes the Tyranny of technology... if I didn't have my devises to read this novel and others like it then I would probably be a more productive member of society... I don't think I can live that life I've grown fond of my chains.

Tsunami

I hope you're not expecting my Doctoral Dissertation on the subject. Just a guess. Ultimately, the answer is way above my pay grade.

Henscratch

Zac asked for defensive measures against the bigwigs. Sender promised marks containing bits of his own consciousness to activate temp assistance as an escape option.

Anonymous

Void emperor confirmed not limitless? Sendor specifically mentioned limitless empire and void emperor in a sentence that implies they were separate if my reading is correct

Ben Heggem

Not nearly enough time, he has to fight in the wars to gain contribution and progress thru hegemony

Louis Kalman

Screen addiction is probably one of the biggest issues in society today. But it also lets us read stories like this.

Draega

Man D grade is looking packed. We’ve got the war, and then Ultom. Probably the Abyssal Shores because upgrading his Draugr bloodline shouldn’t be put off to C grade, and then some sort of balancing Buddha/Life arc. And then Kayar Elu stuff if he wants to merge before C grade and finally an arc for reaching C grade.

Anonymous

I think we also learned that back from the Void Priestess, she said the Limitless Emperor was Leandio Everlock (Sp?), which is the sect genius Karz used clean up after.

john henderson

Directly stated they were two separate entities, yeah. Karz the garbage rock eater and Leo the preppy prep were void and limitless emperor respectively. Zac shares his bloodline with Karz, but I suspect he's also received a gift from Leo.

Anonymous

Thank you 😊

john henderson

Looking over it a little bit more, I wonder if Karz and Leo were actually the same soul initially, but they split the way Zac did and for some reason, possibly void bloodline related, the connection between them was blocked, and they grew as two different people.

Michael Fannon

The splitting of his body is likely supposed to happen as it is part of his mother's heritage, just they split a cultivator and a technocrat while Zac split his life and undead sides. With time, he should be able to use both bodies simultaneously the same way his mother does. The information crystal has several leads for his journey to find Kenzie. And between this chapter and the bloodline visions Zac has had, it is becoming increasingly likely that all 3 of his origins were interconnected. Also, with the knowledge of the left inherentance being awakend specifically for Zac, now it is a question of how that is related to the technocrats like Sender foreshadowed.

Michael Fannon

Because it ruined a huge build up of hype and is a way over used trope. I'm willing to wait and see where this goes, but this is a rsiky gamble that could lead to the story being ruined.

Will Mill

ok, I'm much more comfortable now after this chapter with the dual Zac's.

Wilson Lessley

The marks are so that he can talk to Kruta and some other about what happened in PV

john henderson

twinned existences between a technoself and a chill dude, not just making two dudes is the standard. I'm hopeful that we'll see Arcaz join the war right away, and Zac will go around thwumping technocrat bases for a method to combine them, and then before the inheritance begins he'll be able to control his existences. Hopefully able to store one inside whatever space pocket it belongs in, switch between the two, and pop out both if needed.

Anonymous

I’ll give you an honest answer, but it will probably be deleted by the mods. I’ve read a lot of litrpg - 700+ books and probably another 100 web series. The one unique thing that this story had that no other story did was the ability to swap back and forth between bodies/abilities. This was replaced with the 2 bodies we have now, which is a relatively common theme in the genre. Those other stories that use this vehicle struggle with multiple PoV shifts and pacing. Coupled with how this change was delivered, left some readers feeling like the last 150-200 chapters were now lesser in retrospect. And while TFD has made clear that this is most likely temporary in the grand theme of the story, in real time a “fix” is a long time away. I don’t really see this as a twist, but rather a fundamental shift in how this story will be told going forward. Hope that helps.

Anonymous

From what I understood there was never a dao of technology just something sort of similar with the eternal heritage. It provided ideas to those that used it giving the technocrats ideas for advanced technology that they used to dominate the universe. The limitless empire also was founded with people who were from the technocrat faction who wanted to use normal cultivation methods.

Surgebinder

If he was born 4000 years ago then who is his father?

Justin van mele

Do you think Zac will be able to upgrade his Daos when he gets home? I see no problem with him getting to high or even peak branches with all the experience of different Daos he has now.

Gabriel F

So when Leandra calls the system a crazy AI it's not an euphemism. Possible the creation of the system required knowledge of AI development, using his enemy knowledge against themselves.

Anonymous

Finally going home!!

Michael

It’s seeming more and more likely that Karz=The System and Zac being not just a descendant of Karz but his son. So basically Zac is being watched so close by the system because it’s essentially his dad

Mugatu9

Sick

Anonymous

Eh I'm still skeptical but I'll give it a shot and see how TFD uses the split to further the story. It could be awesome or disappointing but it's a big story shift for sure.

Lex Luther S

Given how his mother called his bloodline "the original sin" its likely karz was either a key component in forging it, like the vessel or nucleus, which woukd make your theory right; or his bloodline was a key item that helped the system come into being before the heavens could smite it down.

BB8ALREADY

It sounds like some group of people in the past sent their knowledge to the future and that’s what led to the technocrats

Anonymous

Well this chapter seems to support my theory that the System is modified Technocrat technology. I am also of the mind that either Emperor Limitless or Void are part of the system or some kind of Tool Spirit for it.

luxrus

AT LONG LAST

Michael

I have a feeling that a latent part of karz will is still present in the system however small. We’ve seen greed and human like tendencies from it. Karz was shown as someone who always wanted more power in the same way the system seems desperate to reforge broken peaks. Sendor speaking to the heavens like an old friend speaks something to that theory as well

Russell Widger

Zac's sector is Zecia and that is where the war starts, Zecia was quarantined by the system to help protect the integrity of the left imperial palace challenge

Joshua Little

Thanks for the chapter.

Aaron Schwartz

Will he be able to reach peak with Al his branches? Almost certainly. But will he be able to form earthly daos… I don’t think so. He’d need more origin Dao to do that on a planet like earth

Mason W

Human Zac: “wiggles eyebrows as Iz”

Anonymous

Also it seems that the Technocrats are the "enemy" that the System was created to raise soldiers against?

Anonymous

What doesn't make sense to me is that Leandra suggested that with his Duplicity Core, he could have become the incarnation of the Machine God. Yet, she and her clan seem to have the same ability? She swapped from a machine back to a cultivator on earth, and was a Late stage Autarch, so why would they even need Zac for the same purpose?

Indy

thats wrong, it was never stated that Karz was the void emperor

Tsunami

...Suffice it to say, just like the Limitless Empire had a complicated relationship with the Technocracy, so did the Void Emperor. Few things are black and white, especially at the peak," Sendor said, looking at Zac with a complex gaze. "I wonder what is chance and what is predestination. I wonder if he… "Nevermind," the Realm Spirit said with a shake.

Sprightly Ebbie

Perhaps I took out my pitchfork and torch a little too soon with previous chapters Zac split. Our boy Zac might be 4000 years old, interesting. A little concerned for Zac when he runs out of Cosmic energy in his human form and can't elden ring his second race with full miasma. Curious to see the fictional characters of Zac's world reaction to this change. Ogras, catheya, Johanna, etc

Ether Harwell

In past chapters, it said that when the Technocrats use materials to make something, they suck all of the spirituality out of it, and I would assume that means that the dao is removed from the treasure, from this, I would guess that the dao of technology is the same thing as the void of dao, and that the Technocrats got their knowledge from The First People who cultivated the void of dao, just as Zack got his profession from them

Ether Harwell

I also think that Zack will have to go to the Technocrats to learn about the void of dao and how to sense it, in order for him to start cultivating it

Anonymous

He is also one of the few beings that had the capability to cultivate nearly any energy source.

Sean

I sort of hope that the war is only covered a little bit and we instead see Zach mostly exploring the Undead Empire for an arc. Avoids introducing more complicated plot points.

Victor

I wonder what will Draugr Zac do for three hours in the PV with Sendor keeping him company. Maybe he can get more answers or extra tokens for his followers? It’ll be nice to see Vilary take the PV opportunities and evolve even more.

Amani

The splitting into two don’t bother me anymore since it’s a bloodline. Finally back to earth. I am kinda nervous. We didn’t get any storyline from earth, so hopefully nothing crazy is going on.

Adam

Altimar. You are forgetting jeves. He was part of that equation. Merging of human and machine with a new AI. It would be interesting to see what the plan was before the system stepped in and stopped her clan.

Anonymous

I am still maintaining my dislike of the split. My issue with it has more to do with pacing than anything else. My second issue would be with it further muddying already murky complication with the story. Heck I'm still wondering what exactly a cultivation manual is and why it would provide attribute boosts.

Anonymous

I think that technology would be more akin to the absence of Dao, rather than the Void of Dao. I think of the Dao, Void of Dao, and absence of Dao to be kind of expressed by the numbers 1, -1, and 0, respectively. If I am misunderstanding then I blame my low affinities.

Lucas Gulick

Really great chapter, I loved seeing some of the big series questions get answered

Anonymous

You forgot the arc for upgrading his skills, he will need to spend some time preparing and possibly studying for that upgrade, unless his studying fractals in prep for his core is sufficient for that already. Oh, and weapons upgrades, war regalia.

Henry Wartemberg

Plus, keep it real. I’m sure eventually he will figure out how to merge and Split at will. As things stand it’s mainly upsides.

Henry Wartemberg

I mean I think it’s inevitable he will at some point in the future be able to merge or split at will

Henry Wartemberg

Split essentially doubles his progress speed. Also likely adds a lifeline so the ability overall is def a plus

Anonymous

I got the McKesson the technocrats got their legacy from something pre-dating the first people. The first people were just in between eras, the legacy is from a padt one.

Sean

Damn, I forgot how old Zac is. It makes the whole vibe different now that I'm thinking of all these people as middle aged people instead of like 20 somethings with less perspective.

Michael

Tbf physically he’s not a 52 year old. He probably looks closer to 20 something. Wasn’t Ogras like 70 something when the integration started?

Henry Wartemberg

Yeah. Emily and Mackenzie aren’t teenagers (late 30s, early 40s) Vilari is literally like 10years old though and casually Queen Boss 😆

Russell Widger

Their bodies are more like 20-30s while their mentality is older. When you're lifespan gets elongated to the extent Zac's has, he's not even close to middle aged

Henry Wartemberg

I can’t imagine that. Undead Empire is still dangerous for him. The Draugr will (quite fairly) basically imprison him until he can and had re-established Eoz’ bloodline. He’ll need a little more strength before heading there

Will Mill

Not so sure about that time delay. $$$ and the system make things happen.

Anonymous

Don’t forget some time to bankroll all of that with his ship building and other ventures with the Thayer Consortia. I’d like to see what the Creators Shipyard is capable of as they evolve.

David Ballantyne

Everyone else: Mad about the split Me: Mad about "thinned eyes" instead of "narrowed"

Michael Fannon

Test tube baby. Karz is probably the biological father. And I still hold that Karz was made into the system. So Zac is literally the son of the heavens.

Michael Fannon

So I still have the theory that Karz was made into the system. And seeing that how Leandra likely made Zac with Karz as the biological father, doesn't that make the system Leandra's crazy stalker ex in a certain view?

Michael Fannon

You know the question that Cat will bring up is if it counts as a threesome if both of Zac's bodies are involved.

Michael Fannon

So, am I the only one thinking Leandra will show up with Kenzie because she needs another specific treasure for Kenzie not to be destroyed by the system?

Anonymous

It wasn’t stated. But Karz was the subject of his bloodline visions and the old man on a rock was subject of his bloodline node unlocks. None of the old monsters have specifically named the void emperor that I recall but Zac knows at least one of them was Karz, unclear if old man is old Karz or some other dude

Tyler Gibbs

That actually makes sense with his ability to increase affinity and assimilate new daos. Although there’s been no hints at the system making extensive use of void energy

Michael

I wonder if Zac will go into the tower of myriad dao with both of his bodies. I want to see Yrial’s reaction to Zac splitting himself in two

OutKast MerkeR

I definitely think he will go before monarchy if only to strengthen his drauger side and escape through the void or blow the place up lol

Allen

Yep this is a great time to take a break. It took 1000 chapters to get to D grade, I hope everyone is ready for 2000 to get to C grade and hopefully a fusion.

Andrew Kluttz

Yeah, not really a fan of the 2 bodies thing. Like other people have said, 1000+ chapters just to get to C grade. It's too long.

Luke Scheffe

I wonder if it’s coincidence that Sendor gave him the locations of 17 factions, which could mirror the peaks of the Dao.

Mack

I disagree. I like longer stories like this. There’s no rush imo.

Anonymous

Hell, he’s still a baby. Pretty sure that his total life span as a middle D-grade is 10s of thousands

Mark Thorne

For me, it's even simpler. With 2 bodies we're likely to see them separated and two plot lines. The author will have to distinguish the two Zacs, which will effectively create 2 separate main characters, and will also run the risk of very repetitive identifications. Undead and Live Zac--you'll have to have some kind of naming convention besides just Zac, or try to pick it up from contextual clues about where they are (which will get old fast). With two plotlines, you're looking at double the cliffs as he flips around in the stories, with slower resolutions. All this on top of 1000 chapters of build up to finally hit D with all of his planning to see it go to hell. It's not a small change. It's a very large, very bad change.

Anonymous

The System suborned the heavens and usurped it for the most part. There’s a reason it’s referred to as the “Ruthless Heavens”.

Tyler S.

So i just remembered that the peak Draugr are waiting for Zac so he can help them open the last seals on their Eternal Heritage. I believe that their heritage may be able to connect with Ultom of Zac can swing some things his way. He needs more understanding of void and life/death and to keep balance with his body / TLA body. Fighing in Ultom will improve his E.C. side and could help with void and why waste the use and get more things done, so he will send Arcaz over to the Shores while Zac fights in the war. And using 3 Eternal heritages to improve is an obvious move, (i forget if the first people count) using the void hammer to adjust the Dao and Void of the other two to his benefit. Not to mention this gives Zac the ability to better collect his final pair of shards/splinters, because it is almost atrocious the rate that he has found bound pairs. And in terms of POV split im between the opinion of swaps during events and cultivation or if it would be more interesting to swap between books. Both seem like a interesting read.

Tyler S.

In terms of soul age hes mid 50s, in lifespan its hard to say as hes used and lost lifespan but has had his limits extended due to race and body cultivation upgrades and as you can loose but not gain back extended life (normally) id say his body is probably late hunderds with an extension of tens of thousands of years left

Tyler S.

I can imagine hes able to swap places before merging back together

Tyler S.

Using the Etnl H. The Draugr are in possession of and perhaps the gaining of the 4th seal to swap places with his bodies

Tyler S.

This just makes the fights he faces more dangerous and interesting, the reactions will be fun to read

DirePants

Please tell me we POV swaps. Arcaz in the Undead Empire while fighting a war as Zac.

RWS

Well, that answers why Leandra kept saying, "Broken AI." Always wondered about that.

RWS

Anyone know what the four laws are??

Andrew P

I interpreted that chapter to imply Zac would eat all the tribulation lightening kenzie has been trying to avoid

Michael Fannon

Law of balance is one. Maybe law of conflict is another one? No idea on the other 2.

Chemistrywarrior

Well probably Arcaz goes to a lake resort and gets a cleansing. While Zac goes fighting like a mad man in the war. Even without the 2nd class attributes he should hit pretty damn strong.

Chemistrywarrior

Well, he is gonna fight a war soon. And since it is the frontier. It is likely the system uses newly integrated plantes

Michael

I might be wrong but I think he can go in right away. The only reason he had to wait in E grade was because of the dao impartment he got in F

Anonymous

I just remembered. On top of all this, we also have the high-grade guy that was considering to take on Zach as a disciple after his showing in the Tower. He was planning to wait until D-grade when Zach’s path had been solidified

Anonymous

I dont think Leandra can re-enter zecia due to the inheritance and the age limit. but she might just send kenzie to get one of the treasures with zacs help.

Random Information

A’Feris. But he was planning to mentor Zac "after the shroud (on Earth) has been lifted." This is in 80 years time. Also A'Feris is (probably) a member of The Radiant Temple. The Radiant Temple is subordinate to a faction that is competing for the Left Imperial Palace (see chapters 989-90). This could be a problem - it could be one of the Imperial factions for example. Finally Zac now has connections with A-grade factions, so he is probably looking for superior mentors - both for better opportunities and better protection.

Random Information

I don't remember that. But it's been a long time since I read the early chapters. Also TFD may have changed it since.

Inv7ctus

There is no way this story doesn't last a few centuries and we get to see null again. If zac goes all the way to beyond autarchy then it has to take that long. A critical part of stories like this is the cultivation of clan and family, and frankly, a lot if time skips. She'll be back for sure.

Lex Luther S

To be honest, A'Feris doesn't have anything to offer zac; he would have been a good umbrella of zac was still E grade and not as over powering as he is now but after becoming a flamebearer and experiencing far more opportunities and tribulations zac is so far beyond this guy it's insane. my guess is TFD put him there and would use him depending how the story went. But orom and later thr void star and ultom would change everything. Besides, he was only Peak D grade and by ultoms end zac will likely be able to clash against most peak hegemons from the frontier.

Anonymous

It was mentioned back when Zac arrived at his mountain in the start of the PV arc, the 4 Buddhist oceans are based on them, he looks at each of the temples and associates them with the Laws (Ch 987). They are Truth, Balance, Cosmos, Impermanence

Anonymous

I mean if nulls true soul birth happens inside the time dilation, it might be even sooner

Anonymous

It said centuries but presumably most if not all of that time will be in time dilation.

Anonymous

“Either no chapter today or it’s going to be late” -TFD discord

FriendorFo

I think he was being facetious based on that the chapter is already about an hour late from when TFD has been releasing them this week.

Anonymous

I saw the message when I was scrolling up in the Heavens-Chosen-Discussion as @Chemistrywarrior said.

The Lost Pages

Time dialation does have issues with the dao. So could be objective time and not subjective time.

Anonymous

Was it confirmed that A’Feris was D grade? I remember having the impression that he was C grade.

M S

Why didn’t he ask Sendro to put him back together? See if he could merge him back to normal?

Vash119

Same I’m just along for the ride, the longer the better as long as story quality doesn’t tank. Not a fan of the split but also excited to see how it gets fixed and the adventures it’ll cause.

Den

Higher grades are more boring, the real fun is at the lower where everything is out to get you.

Micaiah Gillies

I want to wait and see, my initial reaction was negative I must admit, but even just a few chapters I am leaning in to it. TFD has got me here and I am excited to see what what comes next. Also looking back the foreshadowing was strong, the number of people we have met who split themselves at higher tiers of cultivation. Zac is not at that level but this has been coming :)

Anonymous

Thankfully, your opinion matters little in how things play out. Lack of fate, I suppose.

Anonymous

Yoo I thought that exact same thing yrial's gonna be either so proud of his student or be pissed

Havics Child

It is taking a long time to go through the grades, but I suspect that by the end of ultom he will be pushing c grade, it probably won't take quite as long but so long as the series doesn't take another 20 years and he cleans up the mess he just made ill probably keep reading. Zac needs to learn to fuse back into 1 person sooner rather than later... also I can't tell how catheya is going to react to this.

Anonymous

No way Zac should be C grade by the end or Ultom. It usually takes cultivators several millennia to reach C grade and he will do it in Less than 100. That would be so broken. TFD needs to incorporate a time skip after Ultom. If not he breaks the logic of the multiverse. We need to have some Structure. Too many authors makes their main character too powerful to quickly. Will Wight did the in Cradle. I love Landon but a 20 something monarch was so unbelievable.