Damon's Ascension-Chapter 123: New Skills

Apart from the main Skill he had pined for, there were also the four external martial arts he had learned to complement the Empty Soul Palm which had been materialized by the Universe Will.

[Flowing Iron Curtain - Fortitude-Based Skill]

[Rank: D|| Stage: D]

[Effect: This is a defensive martial technique that uses subtle body movements and Qi blood to redirect, absorb, or collapse momentum-based attacks as well as deflect certain projectiles.

The higher one’s Fortitude, the higher the effectiveness of this Skill.

Note: If imbued with Internal Force, this Skills enjoys a 1.2x/1.5x/2x/5x/10x bonus depending on the grade of the Internal Force.]

When Damon first began practicing the defensive Skill, he realized its core principle was to spread his palm while channeling infused physical energy, the same energy he gained through Devour and the one used by the Energy Flintlock, and shape it into a barrier, functioning like a living shield.

It was all about precision and timing, redirecting heavy attacks with gentle force. It was much akin to the various Yin-element palm defensive skills in oriental fiction, expect this one counted as a ’yang’ type.

Thanks to his mastery, Damon enjoyed a tenfold amplification, his Internal Force had reached the level of a Martial God, even if his physical stats had yet to catch up. How much exactly this made him stronger defense wise was yet to be seen.

[Silent Wheel Palm - Power-Based Skill]

[Rank: D|| Stage: D]

[Effect: This is an offensive technique that uses generated spiral force from Qi blood. The user builds invisible rotational pressure within their palm and on contact, it erupts by causing delayed internal devastation without external damage.

The higher one’s Power, the higher the effectiveness of this Skill.

Note: If imbued with Internal Force, this Skill enjoys a 1.2x/1.5x/2x/5x/10x bonus depending on the grade of the Internal Force.]

Damon had already made frequent use of the Silent Wheel Palm, a technique he clearly favored. It paired disturbingly well with the Empty Soul Palm, creating a synergy that bordered on excessive.

The Empty Soul Palm’s Internal Force had the element of ’void’ and the concept of penetration, meaning that it basically ’ignored’ any defense the enemy could muster to inflict ’true damage’.

As for the Silent Wheel Palm, it was basically no different from the famous Rasengan - yes, even Damon had watched Naruto as a child, Ghana had the foundational animes on TV stations - which could pierce through the external body and deliver an explosion of force directly within, and on top of that, the force was the spiral type.

This was the Silent Wheel Palm on its own without Internal Force, just the same ’Qi blood’ (physical energy) as various other Skills and Items. When you added the Empty Soul Palm to it, what was the final result?

Terrifying to think about.

No wonder those other sects had ganged up on the Zen Sect, if those Buddhists had ever decided to become greedy and wished to dominate the others, no one would stand a chance.

[Shadow Tide Step - Mobility-Based Skill]

[Rank: D|| Stage: D]

[Effect: This is a movement technique not meant for pure speed, but evasion. The user’s body shifts in unnatural patterns - mainly zig-zag - and disrupts targeting perception of any foe, be they organic or inorganic. To observers, it appears like the user is skipping time in reality, impossible to predict or tie down.

The higher one’s Mobility, the higher the effectiveness of this Skill.

Note: If imbued with Internal Force, this Skill enjoys a 1.2x/1.5x/2x/5x/10x bonus depending on the grade of the Internal Force.]

Ironically, when Damon had ’appeared’ behind his target during the Jiangxia Festival, he had actually veeb using this technique mixed with the Empty Soul Palm’s Internal Force.

The external martial art used physical energy to make him move so fast between two spots in a short range that it looked like teleportation and the Empty Soul Palm also enhanced this by making his existence harder to detect, allowing him to travel longer distances in a short amount of time.

This was not really useful for long distance traveling, but Damon felt he could acquire far better means for that either from other Instances or the Chaos Realm itself.

[Withering Thread Style - Weapon-Based Skill]

[Rank: D|| Stage: D]

[Effect: This is a weapon technique meant for extremely thin and flexible blades or wires. It uses minimal movements, exploiting angles and blind spots to disable or sever tendons, pressure points, and meridians. The higher the rank of one’s weapon, the higher the effectiveness of this Skill.

Note: If imbued with Internal Force, this Skill enjoys a 1.2x/1.5x/2x/5x/10x bonus depending on the grade of the Internal Force.]

The Withering Threat Style was an insidious combat method that could disable the foe or trap them using wires. As for flexible blades or the like, Damon had no interest as weapons were not suitable for his range of Skills and Abilities.

If he got Excalibur, that would be great, but which Avatar would use it? On top of that, even if he got other legendary blades like Durandal or Masamune, that might be great due to the different attributes, but it would be extremely confusing for him since his ultimate plan was for him and his Avatars to sync their attacks.

Hence why he craved unarmed martial arts with esoteric powers, so that no matter where or when, he could rely on his own body to attack or defend freely.

As for this Skill, it worked exceptionally well with wires, and while Damon had made do using tensile wire scavenged from the Instance, he fully intended to acquire a spool of the strongest wire-like material in the galaxy, no matter the cost.

When Internal Force was added, your enemies wouldn’t even know how their body was cut into pieces because they wouldn’t even sense the wires, which was why Damon felt it was excellent for setting traps or ambushes.

As for his Worldly Essence gains in the Instance, he was pleased to note that the rewards had increased with the Tier.

At Tier 2, basic enemies now dropped 50 units of Worldly Essence (up from 10), elites gave 200 (up from 50), and bosses rewarded 500 (up from 100).

In this Instance, the boss-level foes Damon defeated included the four sect elders, the prefecture envoy, and the county governor, earning him 3,000 units of Worldly Essence.

As for elite-level foes, they comprised the three soldiers from the execution platform, the Cao family genius, Sun Jianhao (the second-place contender), his retainer, and Liu Yuren, netting a total of 1,400 units.

As for common foes, Damon took down... none!

That’s why he did not give the Universe Will’s warning any mind. It was talking as if he had gone full on murder hobo on them, while the number of lives he took did not surpass fifteen, and they had ultimately all been necessary to an extent.

Compared to his time in the Ghanaian Instances, one could even argue that Damon had practically behaved like a saint.

Interestingly, even the basic settlement reward in terms of Worldly Essence had also increased.

Previously, at Tier 1, an F-Grade objective awarded 5 units of Worldly Essence, increasing by 5 per Grade, meaning each EX-Grade had been worth 50. Completing 4 EX-grade objectives would yield 200 units total on the settlement screen.

Now, at Tier 2, the system had scaled up: F-Grade was worth 10 units, with each Grade adding 10 more. An EX-Grade now awarded 100 units, and with Damon earning 3 EX-grades plus 1 A-grade (worth 60), he had received a total of 360 units from objectives alone.

These changes were fascinating—logical, even. As beings progressed through the Stages, their bodies and souls demanded greater amounts of Worldly Essence to grow. It made sense: you couldn’t expect a creature at a higher level of existence to thrive on the same meager scraps that nourished a fledgling. The system had been built with that scalability in mind.

After all, the entire framework of Essence AR Instances was developed without factoring in shortcuts like Godin’s sacrificial trade method. It had to be sustainable, self-contained, a loop where gradual, earned growth was possible, even for the most ordinary.

Unless, of course, you were cursed like the humans were.

Blessed with immense soul talent, they had to pay dearly for it with horrifically poor body affinity. Weak stats, low compatibility with Worldly Essence, and agonizingly slow progress were the price of their potential.

In the eyes of the Universe Will, it wasn’t just a flaw, it was the mark of a defective Law etched into the very core of their bodies.

A cruel trade. But one that, if overcome, could change everything.

Now that he was done with the Instance, Damon felt it was about time to check on the progress of the vanguard team, who were heading out to deal with the Primordial Lake’s acquisition and the purchase of Worldly Essence using Godin’s method.

Damon’s Avatar here on Earth had spent about nearly five days in the Hubie Tier 2 Instance, so in about a day or two, those fellows should be arriving at their destination and ready to explode higher in terms of power.