Chapter 374 Long Time no See
As Wu Long sped down the mountain passage that led to the Fantian Kingdom his thoughts were occupied by the Dao Rune and he paid close attention to both runes he had.
"I see, so the runes are made of smaller ones"
As he concentrated, he was able to see that what made up the shape of the rune that always changed form were smaller runes that also changed form and consisted from even smaller ones. Though he was not able to peer how far this process repeated and thus did not know how many layers of existence his runes represented.
He failed to notice it earlier since he did not consider that Dao Runes could absorb each other. However, it did make sense to him now as small streams of water had no other way than to become part of a larger stream just as a small lightning charge would unite and follow the stronger lightning charge in nature.
All of these things were new to him as he was making discoveries that were far more advanced than it seemed, because the very existence of Dao Runes were not confirmed and only theorized in the Seven Boundless Worlds.
What surprised him was that the rune that absorbed a new one did not change in size, rather, the one it absorbed was gradually becoming smaller, as Wu Long expected it to become a complete part of it eventually.
"Tch, it's another skillset alltogether"
He muttered below his nose with some frustration as little arcs of electricity danced around his fingers in completely chaotic disarray.
His initial joy from being able to finally control the Lightning Rune was dampened by the realization that the way to control both attributes and runes was too different from each other. His experience with the Water Rune did not translate into him being able to use the Lightning Rune with the same or even any proficiency.
"Hmm, lightning seems to be more difficult to control... is it simply perception or actual difficulty... or is it compatibility and affinity... or is it because it is more powerful than the Water Rune...? Haa~ there is absolutely no telling"
He was at least able to make droplets of water move according to his will almost as soon as he made a link with the Water Rune, but now he couldn't do anything other than haphazardly discharge some electric currents without any direction or control.
'Hmm, as I thought, with the Water Rune as well, there is no actual consciousness to them'
Wu Long thought as he never really got to compare a Rune before it was linked and after, since the Water Rune became linked almost as soon as he obtained it.
The behavior of the Lightning Rune before where it seemingly was trying to trick him to get the Annihilation Lightning made him think that a higher order rune perhaps had a semblance of intellect, but as soon as he made a Soul Connection, it became clear it did not have a clear mind of its own, only instinctual-like impulse.
"What seemed like an intellect was simple impulse, and the docile behavior prior was likely an instinctual reaction to the Annihilation Lightning, huh"
Due to this lack of consciousness, the moment he made the link his soul became the dominant driving force, and the power the rune exhibited over its domain was fully in his control.
It was like the runes became additional limbs or fingers, a thought was enough to use their powers. Which had both positive and negative implications.
The positive was that he was the sole decision maker, meaning there was no lag between his thought and the execution of that thought, as well as no resistance from the rune in any way. He suspected that now that he made a soul connection with the runes the Lightning Rune would not move of its own instinct whatsoever.
The slightly negative part was that this lack of consciousness meant no explanation on how to use the rune's powers so he had to fumble in the dark until he found the way. He also didn't know if there was a more efficient way.
'This absence of communication means absence of even basic information'
A thought went through his mind, not bringing any particular joy to him.
What he clearly understood, was that the rune did not gain anything from absorbing the power of their attribute, only by absorbing other runes that controlled that power did it gain new strength.
Which made sense since a rune was able to produce the Qi of its attribute without limit as long as it had enough Spiritual Qi supplied.
That was the difference between refining a rune and refining just a chunk of attribute Qi.
Thus, he theorized that feeding the rune the single charge of Annihilation Lightning that he had would be a waste and would not give the rune the ability to create it, it required to absorb the rune of the Annihilation Lightning that he did not have.
He soon crossed the passage and was basked in light again as he sped through the regular mountains that formed in front of the Serpent's Spine, which seemed comically small in comparison.
They also were not devoid of vegetation, and a strong, comforting and fresh pine aroma filled his lungs. The tall pine trees on the hillsides of the mountain valleys were contrasting the white snow with the rich dark green.
This sudden change in surroundings distracted him from the slightly gloomy thoughts, and a smile appeared on his face once again. The sun was already starting to go lower on the other side of the horizon as he spent too much time with the rune, thus spending the part of his journey after descending the peak in darkness.
He stopped to take in this beauty, breathing in the air when he detected something on a far corner of his spiritual sense.
Wu Long raised his eyebrows as the corners of his lips went up, and sped in the direction as he became more and more sure.
"Hah, what a pleasant encounter"
Wu Long stopped on a mountainside as he looked down into a ravine where Kingdom's soldiers were making a patrol. It was not that far from the capital from this location, and therefore was not that unusual, but he still chuckled at the sight of a commander with fiery red wavy hair and stunning figure commanding her troops on horseback.
There was an army camp not far and it seems that their patrol for the day was coming to an end.
Wu Long's eyes followed the figure of the commander for a few moments as a playful light appeared in them. His figure then disappeared, as snow in the place he stood in rose into the air to then be caught by the wind. The small snow cloud that quickly dissipated attracted a cautious gaze of olive green eyes.
A few moments later a soldier noticed the sound of twigs and snow being stepped on in even and steady rhythm and alerted the others with a sign.
"Who's there? Show yourself! This is an order from the Royal Army of the Fantian Kingdom! If you refuse to-..."
The captain leading the squad confirmed his men were in position in case of a sudden ambush, and then raised his voice toward the forest.
A figure gradually revealed itself from the bushes as an incredibly handsome young man took off his bamboo hat while coming out, raising both hands to show no ill intent with an amicable smile.
"...!"
"...Fuck!!!"
"No fucking way!"
"This son of a-...!"
"This is so damn unfair!!!"
"Captain! This bastard is a thug or a bandit for sure! Permission to attack!"
"Captain! He's some kind of fiend, I just know it! I second the-...!"
"Me too! Captain! I think he's no good too!.."
The soldiers first gasped at the sight of the man's face and then erupted into curses and accusations as the young man's smile became wry, his looks often infuriated men around him so he was quite used to this sight. In fact it was the second time this happened in the borders of this same country.
"Shut up!!! You useless lot, if you'd put half of effort you just did shouting and finding reasons into finding more demonic beasts you would've already earn me a promotio-... khe-khm, already brought glory to our country!!!"
The captain first froze with the others and then as the surrounding noise woke him up shouted at his subordinates as they immediately quieted down with disgruntled faces.
"What is this commotion?"
A beautiful voice resounded behind the captain who almost lost his helmet with how fast his head turned.
"Ah! Commander Feng! Sorry to disturb you, it's nothing much! We just ran into a traveler and my guys just made too much noise of how me and him look too similar, hehehe"
The captain made a silly laugh while his soldiers' faces showed "As if!" and "No way in hell!" so clear that even a person who has trouble recognizing facial expressions would read them like giant signs.
"Haa~ seriously, to create so much noise, is your discipli-..."
*Niiieeegh*
As a red-haired beauty's olive green eyes turned past the crowd of soldiers who moved out of the way, she froze in place, her horse almost choking on the reigns that were pulled so suddenly and with force as it went on its hind legs.
"Haha, long time no see"
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