Way of the Knights

Chapter 813: Sealing Arts Breakthrough

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"So uh…" Raven muttered to himself as he freely float within the vacuum of space. "How should I continue this?"

Eyes glowing with a rainbow colored radiance, he stared at the Eternal Division Wall, pondering deeply about his next course of action. 

See, Raven's been feeling hesitant all of a sudden – which is not a good sign especially when he's in the middle of a huge project like this. 

It was mostly fine…the project he meant. Renovating the Eternal Division Wall was relatively easy. He's far from done but it was nothing difficult as he already has the image of the Grand Seal he wants to use for it. 

But see, that's the thing…the Grand Seal. Well, 'Sealing' in general. 

At this point, it's already established that Raven specializes on creating and using seals for everything he does. His whole cultivation is centered around it basically. 

Just as he thought that he had reached the peak of Sealing Arts – one that he personally created for himself and cultivated, something will happen which surprises him and gives him tons of inspirations for new batch of seals. 

It can't be helped. The Way of Seals are that extensive and fascinating for Raven – who held outmost curiosity about everything he does. 

Frankly, he should've known better. This always happens. Whenever he thought that his Sealing Arts reached its apex, he will discover another area that he didn't pay attention to. Said area will open up tons of possibilities that Raven wouldn't mind exploring with his free time. 

The work he's doing with the Eternal Division Wall was fine. In fact, nobody would be able to do this aside from him. Only him amongst the swarm of cultivators all over Divine Realm could start and do a mission this grand all by himself. And it's only him who could make it work too. 

He already has the structure of the Grand Seal in his mind, he has it memorized down to the tiniest rune. He already established the links, the nodes, the core, the functions…everything is already accounted for. All he needed to do, was to lay it down. 

But as he starts the project, Raven came across a dilemma which resulted in his current predicament. He discovered a gap that can be utilized by their enemies should they discover it. 

Well, it's not for certain that they will find it. After all, Raven's probably the only person or existence that has mastered the Sealing Arts this far. Be it other humans, Outsiders, Space Beasts or even the Abyssals themselves could be compared to him in this area. 

Still, that slight gap gave Raven an idea…

It started as a random thought at first. Raven did the mistake of entertaining it and now he can't focus since it literally won't stop bugging him unless he did something about it. 

The idea disturbed him so much that Raven has to take a rest in order to calm down. Unfortunately, idling by made him susceptible for distraction even more. 

The more he stared at the Eternal Division Wall, the more his instincts screamed at him to change the layout and do something different. 

It was horrible…

The flow of inspirations won't stop. Raven was powerless to stop it. Although he can forcefully shut it down, he can't. Nobody can just expect him to refuse this generous offer especially when it's being handed down to him for free. 

Raven grimaced and scratched his head. He felt jittery and uneasy. At the same time, he's also aware of what's happening to him. 

"Damn it." He murmured, "Why am I making this shit difficult for myself." 

Raven huffed and placed his hand on his hɨps, shaking his head softly. 

"You've been through this, me." He continued murmuring to himself as he summoned the Brush of Wisdom. "This happened before. You'll get plagued by all sorts of wonderful ideas and you'll suffer from it. It feels like an unbearable itch that won't go away until you eventually succumb and do it."

"It's nothing new. Nothing has change. See? I'm already doing it! Ugh." 

Raven shook his head as he waved the brush in front of him. Streaks of lights weaved right before his very eyes, all sorts of new mystical combinations were unraveling before his gaze. 

The first attempt was a failure. The second attempt was also a failure but the third time's the charm. 

In less that thirty minutes, he created a completely new Seal and Rune. Something that's a cut above what he was capable of thirty minutes ago. What's more is that this new Seal and Rune were just the foundation for the new path he's about to inevitably follow. 

Sighing in defeat, Raven found himself being lead on by his inspirations, which eventually ended up with him creating the second Foundation Seal and Rune. 

Then third…and the fourth…

Raven lost himself in his little bubble of enlightenment, content with being surrounded by a seemingly endless stream of inspiration. 

He lost all sense of urgency and forgotten about time itself. Immersed in this wonderful state of discovery. 

Unbeknownst to him, at the very center of his own heart, the Last Fragment of Chaos was jumping in joy. It released weak but ecstatic fluctuations that rippled across his entire body. 

The fluctuations even penetrated his Inner Cosmos. Not even the Divine Ancestral Galaxy was spared by that. Heck, it even affected Raven's Supreme Silhouette – the very substance of his Empyrean Knight cultivation. 

The effect was miniscule, Raven himself failed to notice it but it was there. He wasn't aware that these weak fluctuations were loosening up the threshold of the Empyrean Knight to Divine Knight boundary. 

His breakthrough in his Sealing Arts caused his accumulations to deepen and solidified his foundations even more even though it looked liked it can't go any further. Raven was making steady strides closer to the known peak.

There's even a possibility that he's able to achieve something greater. 

Tis a shame that Raven's completely unaware of it due to him being so immersed in his breakthrough. He's currently at the 13th Foundational Seal and Rune when he felt the inspiration stream ends. 

He managed to squeeze out the creation of two more runes before it completely ended. Within a span of an entire week, Raven created yet another branch to his Sealing Arts which took his prowess in a completely different level.

"15 Seals and 15 Runes." Raven muttered as he started a the glittering array of seals and runes displayed in front of him. 

The Seals were pale silver in color, the Runes were dark gold. Each one looked simple yet also extraordinary. These seals and runes are virtually indestructible, down right immortal even since so long as Raven was alive, these seals and runes will never fade nor malfunction. 

It doesn't need maintenance nor repairs, even if Raven's injured, their state will remain at their peak state and will always remain that way unless Raven dies. If he dies, these runes disappear as well. And since Raven is an Immortal, the seals and runes might as well be one as well. 

"Alright, since that's the case. All of you will be referred to as Immortal Runes." Raven declared, to which the seals and runes danced in joy, seemingly content and happy with the identification branded on them. 

The creation of the Immortal Rune finally settled down the itch he was feeling. It's gone and the clarity of Raven's mind returned. 

"Well, I did say that this mission is going to be beneficial to my cultivation. I didn't lie. I just wasn't expecting it to come in this form." 

Raven chuckled and sat down at the empty space. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and felt a slight headache. Yes, this is what always happens during moments like this. The endless stream of information wasn't free after all. It comes with a headache as its price. 

In addition to the headache, Raven felt dizzy and hungry. He had forced himself a bit too much after all since he chose to act when he was resting. 

"I should get some rest." Raven whispered to himself. 

He then turned into a streak of light and landed at a floating landmass nearby. He set up a formation around it with a swipe of his hand and proceeded to take out his tents and his cooking utensils. 

Using his mind to move things instead of his hands might intensify his headache but its fine, Raven was about to go to sleep right after setting all of these up anyways. 

It didn't take long before his set-up was finished. The tent was erected with a soft mattress, duvet and pillows. There's a cauldron over a bonfire filled with nutritious and filling ingredients which is going to take some time before its ready to be consumed. 

The Calming Incense Sticks were also lit up, smoke filling the inside of the tent as Raven entered it and laid down. A satisfied groan escaped his throat the moment his back hit the mattress. 

Raven took a couple of deep breaths before exhaustion crept up to him.. It didn't take long before he was lulled by the dreamland and fell asleep.