Consequences of Misusing the Emperical Decree

The bigger spider could weave better and more durable textiles.

Of course, Bian was the first to request a better garment from the spider.

This time, with its increased intelligence and greater silk handling, Bian could explain explicitly for the spider to create a better piece of clothing for him.

It wasn't easy, but with a vision and a lot of patience, the spider was able to weave for him a three-piece clothing.

The Nagagi, Hakama, and Haori were a godly combo to behold, even when its only colour was a brilliant silver with no patterns.

He also had the spider make a small kimono for Bao'er.

The best part of it all, was that it only took two hours, and the spider, full of energy, went on to weave better fabrics for the spirits.

Since its rank had increased, its silk was also more valuable than ever before.

This time, Bian wore the Nagagi, Hakama, and Haori without fusing them with anything else.

The clothing could be considered as Primitive rank, and although it didn't provide much defense, it was still quite practical and fashionable.

Even Bao'er was twirling in her kimono, enjoying it very much.

While the spider was weaving clothes, Bian wasn't idle either.

He walked around the shelter, picking up pieces of stone to fuse together.

After packing a lot of stones, he went back to his room and shut the door.

What is the limit of the Emperical Decree?

Could he continue fusing until a material became indestructible?

The answer is clearly no!

Bian felt it as the Emperical Decree came to be. Its limit was set and defined by the laws of nature and reality.

The laws of the sanctuaries clearly recognized and categorized powers into distinct levels, namely:

Ordinary, Primitive, Mutant, Sacred, and Super.

Be it spirits, beasts, plants, or humans, they followed this specific pattern in the sanctuary.

It meant his powers also had to follow this pattern.

He had 28 ordinary rocks.

After a round of fusing, he was left with 14 Primitive rocks. They still looked orange but had a weird, stronger texture, akin to wood.

After another round of fusions, he had 7 Mutant rocks. These rocks were dark orange and glistened in the light.

Clang!

When he smacked them against each other, a metallic sound rang out.

Giving one of the rocks to Bao'er, who seemed strangely interested in it, Bian fused the remaining 6 into the next level.

Sacred rocks!

The rocks now had a glassy appearance like crystal or diamond. Their dark orange colour had turned back to light orange.

"It looks like Citrine." Bian, who could recollect every moment of his life, noticed how the stone now looked like a peculiar orange-hued quartz.

He felt a weird energy drain, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly.

"Phew!" He wiped off the sweat from his forehead as he appreciated the three gems.

"Sweat? When was the last time that happened?" he said in surprise. It truly had been a long time since he sweat.

He was feeling exhausted, like he had just run a marathon.

Bian had to wait for some minutes before he attempted to fuse two of the Sacred level stones.

After he regained some stamina, he was quite surprised by the result of his fusion.

The two Sacred level stones didn't fuse to become a Super stone. No, they fused and became a larger Sacred stone.

'Why didn't it become Super?'

The two Sacred level stones became a bigger stone as huge as his hand. They didn't reach a higher rank.

Other than humans, creatures could also rise in rank. It was very difficult and could take hundreds of years, but an ordinary creature could become a sacred-blood creature.

Then how about super creatures? Could a sacred-blood creature evolve to become super?

Bian had never seen such a thing. Every super creature he encountered either came from an egg or had a parent.

In other words, they were born super.

Maybe the rock he picked didn't have a super equivalent in the sanctuaries. Or maybe there was another condition to form a super rock.

Bian thought long and hard about it, but he couldn't figure out the answer.

Using Emperical Decree drained him more than anything else, but it wasn't unbearable as long as he didn't use it repeatedly.

In fact, he barely felt any change when he used it on his beast souls. It felt more natural, as compared to using it on mundane stones.

With much on his mind, Bian picked up the Blue-rimmed Tunic and fused it with the Sacred level stone.

As the two objects turned to motes of light, Bian felt an invisible energy leave his body and enter the two lights.

Then the lights fused into one, and an orange crystal tunic appeared in front of him.

The Crystal Tunic was not a single piece of equipment, but rather, several small crystals were attached together by thin, almost invisible white strings.

It made the Tunic flexible, allowing him movement while also granting a very strong degree of protection.

At least for the parts of his body the tunic covered.

"Daddy?"

Bao'er shook Bian, who had sweat dripping from his forehead.

Bian was knocked out of his stupor and finally turned to face the Crystal Tunic.

He was quite satisfied with the result, but Bian promised never to fuse material things from the ground up.

At least if it was within his power, he wouldn't fuse ordinary items and would only fuse beast souls or geno cores.

Before Bao'er shook him, Bian was looking at his profile screen.

Bian Manwei: Emperical Decree

Level: Demi-God

Lifespan: 500 --> 499.8

When he fused the two Mutant stones into a Sacred stone, he felt it for the first time. Fusing the Sacred stones together, he didn't feel it again, so he thought he might have imagined it.

Yet when he fused the tunic and the Sacred stone, he felt that indescribable energy leaving him again.

It was the same feeling we all felt as the time flew by. That subtle feeling of rotting, caused by aging.

When Bian tried to achieve great materials out of nothing, it cost him a bit of his Lifespan.

Fusing the stones to Primitive and Mutant just drained his energy and stamina, but to Sacred drained his life force.

Then fusing it with the tunic drained his life force again.

This definitely didn't happen when he was experimenting with beast souls. Bian had a feeling that it was a way of balancing the fusions.

From a broader perspective, the trade-off was definitely worth it. Sacred level items just for a fraction of his lifespan, not even equalling a year.

How many sacred-blood items would he need? How much would it cost him?

A year of his lifespan would allow him to form five sacred-blood items in mere seconds. It was definitely worth the trade-off.

After all, using the black crystal in the first sanctuary could birth a sacred-blood creature in three months.

That would be four sacred-blood creatures a year after waiting for the entire year. His power was definitely worth the trade-off.

Still!

Bian wasn't pleased with the decrease in lifespan. Others may find it ridiculous, but he refused to live a shorter life when he had other options.

'This Tunic will be the last item I make costing my lifespan.' Bian made a determined vow and put on the Tunic.

It was a bit tight over the other clothes, but it wouldn't interrupt his battles, which was the most important part.

With the cauldron in hand, Bian could refine an entire creature instead of some parts of its blood.

He still followed the rule of getting hit first before retaliating. When he first entered this shelter, weren't there several creatures that eyed him with malicious intent?

Others might forget, but Bian had mental point targeting. He went through his memories and found the creatures that harboured ill intent towards him.

"I'm looking forward to nighttime." Bian said with a smile.