Soul of Searing Steel

To Joshua, whether it was the otherworld champions queuing up to fight him, Imperator Amos who had split out seven to eight clones hiding in the crowd to challenge him, or the clash in knowledge of Extraordinary powers with other civilizations, it had all been very interesting.

Using his own power and knowledge to spar with other powers allowed both to gain mutual growth, before clashing at the next level…it was a spiral that endlessly headed upwards and was conflict in itself, with nothing more interesting or more worthy of investment.

It was also fine to have so many encircling him—even counting in every aspect, domain of Extraordinary abilities and Joshua’s own speed of mind, he did not have to fight more than ten at once. It meant that despite being surrounded by a hundred thousand, Joshua was actually fighting ten.

He could fight ten alone, and as for endurance…with the manner in which he beat one before accepting another challenger, Joshua estimated that he would still have strength to spare even after he had fought to the point that everyone else was left with their minds broken. That was why every being challenging or waiting to challenge Joshua realized in shock that the human, who had been fighting over an extended period, was showing no sign of fatigue at all, but becoming even more elated and stronger instead.

Was he unbeatable? Certainly not.

Joshua certainly would not match beings in some Extraordinary powers, after they had studied extensively and invested their entire civilization’s effort into it. Their various specialties were outstanding and sagely, with fine applications that the Wise One who had founded said power never having thought of it. It was similar to how the old sages who invented the wheel, boiling water, or fire would never have thought of new gimmicks for those things until civilizations succeeding them did.

Against such forces, Joshua would certainly promptly be defeated and admit it, before absorbing the knowledge therein and beating that opponent from another angle—just as it was true vice versa. Then, as other champions losing to Joshua would learn from the way they were beaten, some would simply retreat and watch as Joshua clashed with others, while certain champions subtly split out a few clones, bringing what they had learned to spar with Joshua and probe if a better outcome could be gained.

They certainly did—just as Joshua did too. Neither were weak as they had the depth and wisdom as champions, and learning was a mutual matter in the first place.

Such was the function of exchange, debate, and discourse: individual wisdom had limits in a certain period of time. Every civilization and individual who saw things differently would only see a part of Truth, just like how countless people would only see one part out of the numerous facets upon a diamond.

It was through exchange and absorbing the edge of many others that everything would be connected to a near-complete Truth.

And the simple fact that Joshua was swifter than the rest of them.

“To preach to a billion is equal to having a billion preach to myself. I’ve challenged the races of the cosmos and they have learned from me, which is the same as having the races of the cosmos challenging me and having me learn from them.”

Joshua was well aware of that, which was why he did it.

***

At the moment, a titanic and imposing Ether Drake was challenging Joshua. It was a very rare Extraordinary species with great born power comparable to Void Behemoths, capable of decimating the world—and it was in beast form. Should they have obtained intelligence and grown by absorbing civilization knowledge, their future would have been inestimable.

The Ether Drakes had very much created new heights in the aspect of ether. With a long draconic howl, other challengers surrounding the one challenging Joshua were thrown away by the powerful shift in vector. Then, like a burning falling star, gushing but transparent light instantly formed an area which the Drake dominated, controlling all vectors and momentum—after all, it was an Ether Drake profoundly developed at the limits of Legends that even True Gods would have tried not to engage.

For a brief moment, it even gained the opening to fight Joshua in a single duel, with great strength mustered in its body in anticipation of the timing to burst out.

However, Joshua had likewise unleashed ether: endless transparent radiance descended like a waterfall from the skies, tightly suppressing the Ether Drake as the same dominating force clashed.

It was Imperator Amos who was an expert when it came to ether. Being able to distort universal rules to assimilate stars and worlds as a part of himself, he was essentially about to become a smaller galaxy. In Joshua’s own process of defeating him, the warrior naturally learnt many intricacies of ether powers, with the consecutive sparring without a fall in standards allowing Joshua to master that knowledge.

The Ether Drake was absolutely powerful and was probably the guardian deity of a civilization and another individual treading the same path. Still, Joshua used a combination of the three Extraordinary powers of Steel Strength, mana, and ether to defeat and conclude the conflict.

However, that did not mean it had returned unrewarded. Even in defeat, the Ether Drake realized that it was not fully resistant against various arcane phenomena—it could control any direction or momentum, but that could not stop a barrage of attacks combining Steel Strength and magic. A case in point was how Joshua had used the same barrage to create a cluster of mass with near-infinite friction which could not be worn away no matter how the Ether Drake manipulated it. The attack was therefore inescapable, and coupled with Joshua’s own technique in ether application, the Ether Drake was thrown out of the ring.

Unless the Ether Drake could produce the First Law of Motion out of nothing, it would be helpless against such an attack—in reality, lowering the friction of the mass to a minimum or creating a smooth surface enfolding itself would work, so that both surfaces could contact, but the Ether Drake thought that it was a hassle and naturally could not escape with its adversary right beside it. If it spent too much time on that, it would also be easily defeated.

Still, that one defeat allowed it to come up with many other scenarios of its defeat, allowing the Ether Drake to come up with more solutions to perfect its own power system.

Meanwhile, as Joshua as fought again and again, he picked up on many familiar presences that were probably clones of champions just beaten but having thought of a solution. It was also the fifth time that he noticed Imperator Amos’ presence as well, with that fellow having assumed various forms and improving on every move, even coming up with ways to nullify Joshua’s previous moves. In turn, even as Joshua was pleasantly surprised, he did not refrain from defeating everyone.

He certainly would not stop them from coming either, since it was a good thing for the warrior who yearned for battle—heaven knows how long it would have taken for another group of champions so formidable and willing to be his opponent. It was actually difficult to find sparring partners at Joshua’s level, with his single breath blowing away any ordinary foes without any hope of mutual improvement.

Naturally, it was not as if every being had to have the ability to fight. That was why there had been a few powerful individuals residing in remote areas of the cosmos simply which engaged Joshua in discussion as projecting their power was troublesome. Both sides examined the essences of Extraordinary powers, looking forward to developments of their strength and sharing hybrid versions of Extraordinary abilities such as Emotion Power.

Joshua was assuredly not lacking in that respect, since he was the Heir of the Holy Light Sage. He was also the one who had obtained the first Psi model from the Triple Curtain left by the Wise One of Psi and had a full informational exchange with the Knowers, who in turn were Heirs of the Wise One of Arcane. He was one of the top champions of Steel Strength too, and he was only comparatively weaker in elements, ether, and Shadow over the cosmos.

Still, it was only the tiniest fraction of weakness for an ultimate champion. He still had the Unified Archives of Mycroft supporting him, meaning that the wisdom of the ages was one with Joshua, and it was essentially pitting the wisdom of the Mycroft civilization against other civilizations.

***

“Your wisdom and power are magnificent. We are willing to follow your guidance.”

“What greatness! Your opinion is right—against the oncoming assault of the World Eaters, we certainly should not waste our strength on meaningless things.”

“We are at your command. You might be the only one who could lead us to triumph against the future threat!”

Although there were still no end to individuals reluctant to give up challenging Joshua, there were those who felt enriched and would not prolong the conflict, saluting Joshua before they dispelled their clones and left—because they knew that the broadcast and sermon was deliberate on Joshua’s part, an opportunity he gave to all civilizations and intelligent life in the cosmos.

Before that, all of them had been champions isolated across the cosmos, rarely encountering each other, much less interacting or exchanging knowledge. In turn, their strength as a singular race made it common for them to be lost when they treaded upon a wrong path or a blind spot in perspective.

Joshua had therefore solved the issue of rare encounters, even giving the excuse of ‘challenge’ so that they could observe, perceive, and understand the power of the others, hence broadening horizons, establishing better fundamentals for the chance to strengthen…it would sound like they were all competing and up to nothing good, even escalating future conflicts between civilizations and upsetting the balance of the diverse galaxies—since one’s improvement might have been less than one’s enemy.

That said, one must also remember that they were isolated from other galaxies with zero encounters in the short term, and much less competed. In a sense, they would not have had the time to feel the aftermath of a potential enemy strengthening over the present ‘conference’ upon the arrival of the legions of Evil Gods, just as they had improved significantly thanks to the meeting.

When that was understood, the civilizations had a deeper understanding of Joshua’s idea: it was a harmless discussion benefitting everyone, save for Evil Gods. He assuredly desired to repel those World Eaters, and the purpose of his provoking declarations was actually a sincere request, apart from stirring them into action… civilizations of Order should absolutely not be fighting each other because it was no different from latent suicide that burdened other civilizations.

After all, from the Ultimate Sublimator Collective’s description, the Final Wars where the Evil Gods vanquished eras had campaigned in units of cosmoses. Should one cosmos collapse from civil strife, the Evil Gods could then focus more on another, causing a critical chain reaction. No civilization was an island in a war of such scale, with their own strength, past, and future all proving decisive of the fates of all races and countless beings.

When they understood the greater purpose behind Joshua’s action, many races felt earnest respect for the Giant God who still fought in the heart of the vortices.

“Joshua van Radcliffe—a champion certainly deserving of respect. His name should resound over the cosmos!”

“A pleasant conference, a grand ideal. A champion generous yet compassionate!”

“…”

“I concede, and admit my inferiority.”

As time passed, one civilization after another admitted the fact and withdrew from battle, acknowledging Joshua’s might.

Still, there were still some civilizations that were still reveling in the thrill of combat, development, and sublimation. Like Joshua when he had challenged one champion after another and gained exponential growth, they understood the essence and delight of battle, feeling immeasurable pleasure despite their development and exchange of knowledge slowing rapidly…even if that delight was having themselves blasted away and obliterated into pieces or pulp by Joshua, or simply having their bodies tied into a dead knot.

It was pain of the flesh, but delight in spirit.

Most civilizations were equal when it came to studies of Extraordinary powers, with some at most having certain specialty gimmicks or trump cards. That was because the Wise Ones were fair to all and would not curse a particular race so that they were unable to observe certain powers of the Multiverse, with every species at most having varying degrees of innateness or sensitivity. As long as they put their minds to it, they would receive much through thorough research.

It was like how Earthlings in Joshua’s preexistence could at most directly observe certain electromagnetism, and it had been impossible for them to directly observe its entire spectrum or control it. Even so, with various tools, they had developed it to a proportional standard.

Moreover, there was a close relationship between the various Extraordinary powers, and mastering one would provide a solid base to others…that was why when the conference called a battle concluded, most participants had benefited significantly, enriching their horizons and procuring much verified stores of knowledge, even glimpsing a path ahead in the battles of finest quality.

There were even beings who were already on the doorstep of breakthrough succeeding on the spot, and conveyed their gratitude to Joshua, just as others would salute him quietly before returning to their homeworld.

“The civilization of Nar willingly follows your guidance.”

“The Enbang civilization understands your will and are willing to obey.”

“We will cease our conflict and await the coming World Eaters, and spill our rage upon those foes of Order.”

“This defeat does not mean that we would be defeated in the next one. But with this defeat, the Cookers are under your command.”

“We will fulfill our agreement, champion worth following. Would there be another chance to hear your preaching?”

Soon, with words of parting, the crowded gathering point on the Court borders within the Galaxy of Bloodbath was now empty, leaving Joshua alone with those echoing messages from the other champions and civilizations.

It was not to say that every civilization now willingly followed Joshua’s previous demand. There were likely unhappy champions and civilizations who would protest privately, but most were still willing to acknowledge Joshua’s power and his will, which kept him fighting with neither fear nor fatigue even when encircled by countless other champions.

They had willingly admitted that they were no match for Joshua presently. In future, before they would challenge him again, the Mycroftian would probably be the most powerful individual of the cosmos.

The races pacified, and now all of the cosmos was united beneath one profound Order.

That was one of the gains after he had come to rescue Creed and Elma, battling Imperator Amos and then broadcasting his sermon…although it was not the most major one.

***

“Phew…”

There were now only erratic vortices whirling rapidly in the empty Void, a phenomenon embodying Extraordinary powers that could leave a mark and reduce the quadrant into a forbidding place for all life if left unchecked. If that happened, even Legendary-advanced individuals would be in mortal danger, as few steps meant bombarded by the ultimate skills of several Ultimate champions.

Certainly, it was a treasure vault that contained the finest skills and experiences of champions who could leave a mark. If consumed entirely, even an ordinary civilization could advance exponentially to become the sovereign of an entire galaxy.

Nonetheless, after some thought, Joshua did not nullify the vortices that would need endless years to fade naturally. Instead, he withdrew his hand and actually slightly augmented the Void wonder so that weaker individuals would be unable to enter.

It could be a sample for those who would come later.

To reduce something to nothing had never been better than leaving something behind.

With that thought, the warrior closed his eyes and breathed a sigh.

“Alright…it’s been some time since I’ve had a battle this fun.”

From a comprehensive view, the sermon had firmly raised everyone up to the next level that even Imperator Amos, one of the beings who seemed to have no room for improvement, felt rewarded.

Still, Joshua remained the one most rewarded.