Elsewhere in the realm of Gods, in one of the many back alleys of a sprawling mega city, roughly two hours before Larsh regained his conscience...


    "I don''t know why we bother, Peshy, it''s just going to be the same thousand yard stare as always..." A guy with an eyepatch was speaking over his shoulder to another guy, named Peshy, hobbling about with one leg.


    "You never know, Micky. Old Vetty should still have some fight in him. It''s just a matter of getting him to realise that too. We can''t just leave him to rot amidst the dumpsters, guy''s a legend! What a terrible end that would be. Can''t let our commander go out like that. At the very least we should check in on him every now and then, make sure he hasn''t kicked the bucket."


    "Yeah yeah. I ain''t saying we should stop, I''m jus'' complaining because I want to see the guy show some signs of life again. Being ride or die with a vegetable is kinda killin'' my vibe." Micky and Peshy turned a corner and instinctively reached for their noses to block out the foul odour. Not even the homeless dared venture back here because one disgusting man had singlehandedly ruined it with his stench. This place needed fumigation and for the source of the violent, pungent smell to be removed. Veteran was literally down in the dumps, slumped against a wall where the high rise he was oh-so familiar with used to be. The guy was a legendary cultivator so not showering shouldn''t have been an issue and yet he''d gone past the expiration date of that particular ability a while back. He was just mindlessly staring at the floor and would shoo away anyone who bothered him with his hands. His cape was even dirtier and dustier than the one his clone in the pagoda had been wearing, if that even somehow possible.


    Peshy wobbled in front of Veteran and bent over to peer at his crusty face. "Oiiiiiiii. Vetty? You still in there? It''s your old pals, Peshy and Micky. We''re here to take the piss-shy and the micky outta ya!" Waving his hands in front of Veteran was fruitless so he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Ah, come one! When was the last time you drunk some mana dew, eh? I got some on me if you''re feeling thirsty. Hell we even brought you some sushi. Good stuff from this new place around the corner... I mean like it''s literally a ten second walk from here, you should check it out yourself some time. Bucky runs it. He felt like shit leaving you behind and couldn''t bring himself to do it so he set up shop nearby to keep an eye out for you... When you get your wits about you, make sure to thank him, you hear?" Peshy lightly rapped his knuckles against Veteran''s skull and called out one last time, "Hellooooo? Anybody home?" After not receiving a response for the however many millionth time, he stood up and moved aside.


    Micky took Peshy''s place and he wasn''t so polite... "Get up ya tosser! Listen here you shitstained, bollocking, numpty prat. Do you have any idea how annoying it is keeping tabs on you to make sure you don''t become a zombie? We ain''t even sure if you''re dead half the time! Quit being such a pansy and move your arse! What''s done is done, you can''t change the past so just let it go already!" Micky gave up quicker than Peshy because this song and dance was getting real old. He wouldn''t stop visiting or anything but he understood the chances of fixing this guy were low. He turned around and was prepared to leave when he heard Veteran mumble some words.


    "I lost?"


    Peshy and Micky looked down at Veteran and finally saw some life in his eyes as they darted left and right. Veteran''s random fit of laughter took them back and they huddled next to each other, whispering so as not to be overheard by Veteran. "Yo Micky, you think he''s finally gone mental?"


    "Isn''t he already mental, Peshy?"


    "Good point Micky. I mean more mental though."


    "You may be right, Peshy."


    "Do you think this is a good thing, Micky?"


    "Dunno Peshy, we''ll have to wait and see what the next few words that come out of his mouth are."


    "If he''s gone doolally, should we put him out of his misery Micky?"


    "Nah, but maybe we can tie him up Peshy?"


    "Good idea Micky."


    "What are you two idiots talking about behind my back?!" Veteran had stood up and was rolling his eyes at the dumbasses who were trying, and failing, to hide their conversation from Veteran''s highly capable ears. To be fair, his ears had become encrusted and were actually somewhat hampered by this but he was a legendary cultivator who''s senses were off the chart... Unfortunately that also included his nose and, now that he was up and at ''em again, he wanted to puke. The fact he''d been sitting here like this for however long was embarrassing.


    "Vetty? The hell''s gotten into you? You going back to normal so suddenly is strange!" Peshy was unsure if he should be overjoyed about his commander''s regained sanity or worried something was genuinely wrong with him.


    "You come here every day hoping I would go back to normal and then when I do you complain? I ought to smack you two upside the had... And Bucky at that for sticking around. Fools... Thank you."


    Micky scoffed. "Bah, don''t get all sentimental. You know none of us were any good with that sort of stuff. Anyway, what got you up and about? Didn''t just have a sudden epiphany or some shit did ya? If ya tell me it was my tough love I might actually blush you know?"


    "Shut up moron, you wish! Don''t think I''ve forgotten all the crap you''ve said to me over the years! I''ll deal with you later! Verbal insubordination... Although I''ve definitely seen far more annoying people than you so maybe I''ll let it slide..." Veteran was definitely referring to Ares right now... "Anyway, I lost."


    ""Lost?"" Peshy tilted his head one way and Micky tilted his head the other.''


    "Yeah, my pagoda clone, it lost."


    ""... Lost?""


    "I get why you''re so shocked but yes, lost, multiple times. I''m not top dog anymore, at least not in the pressure world."


    ""Lost?""


    "What are you two? Broken records?! Stop repeating yourselves already!"


    "Vetty, you''re messin'' with us, right?" Micky couldn''t believe his ears.


    "No. I lost and it wasn''t even close. One of those fundamental champions did me in. As for why I feel like a million dollars right now, take a guess. Actually, don''t or we''ll be here all day. The kid can free me from my damn curse. He freed my clone in the pagoda so I know it''s possible! There''s some damn hope yet... But I got shit to sort out first. Ares taught me how to get 100% enhancement so that''s step one... No... A brothel is step one! And some mana dew and sushi... Yeah, that''s first!"


    "Hell no. A shower is first you rancid fuck! Also, slow the hell down and explain this fundamental kid stuff to us properly damn it! You can eat the sushi and drink the mana dew while explaining it to us."


    Micky, Peshy, and Vetty all sat down in the alley as Veteran recounted the last few days of his clone''s life in full. By the end, Peshy and Micky were happy for Veteran and determined to help him at the very least until he got his affiliations back. He was their commander and they had a great deal of loyalty to him after all. Plus there was basically no one else in their lives anyway. Everyone who served under Veteran had lost everything and everyone other than each other so it''s not like they had anything pressing to attend to... Other than Bucky who was working his dwarven butt off at the sushi store. Some of the other soldiers had moved on but no one had really ''moved on'' in that sense. Also Veteran said he would help these two get 100% enhancement as well so why on earth would they leave?! When all was said and done, the trio ran out from the alley to go and get the ball rolling on their various plans. Bucky also had to be given an explanation and, when he saw Veteran roaming around, he said the following, ''well pull me beard, spank me bum, and call me Suzie!'' For the record, it was pure coincidence that Bucky had an accent similar to that of Dabble''s. The dwarves spoke a variety of languages and had numerous different accents and these two were not to be taken a some sort of sign they were all ''wee fellas''; some of them were ''compact individuals'', or pieces of ''tiny dynamite'', and so on so forth.


    Veteran finished up his mana dew and sushi, bought some new clothes (but kept the cape as he planned on washing it), rented a room in a nearby hotel so he could use the shower, cleaned himself up with great difficulty as the muck and grime was clinging to him like a leech, paid a visit to the local brothel were he was practically pounced on by the ladies who knew of his status, and then left the city. How long had it been since he stepped foot out of this place?... Honestly he didn''t know. The high rise he once sat in had become a skyscraper and the rest of the city was equally as developed. Times had changed and it was time for him to do so as well. This city could be his base of operations going forward but he didn''t need to keep the lingering attachment and resentment he had towards it in his mind anymore. As Veteran, Peshy, and Micky flew through space, the sight of them was enough to make anyone passing by gawk as they were all living legends. The fact that Veteran was on the move after all this time was leading to a lot of speculation. Was he going to unleash his pent up anger once and for all? Did he find a cure? Was he just out for a Sunday stroll? No one had any clue and some people did try asking him but they were all just ignored. Veteran had a declaration to make but it wouldn''t be just yet. He would let the world know he was back, and he would let them now his magic was going to be too, but first he wanted to go meet up with Dingo for the fountain. Securing his route to 100% enhancement was his biggest priority. In fact Dingo, being ever the gossip-monger, would happily go around telling people about Veteran if he was permitted to so Veteran didn''t even have to move a muscle himself in that regard.


    About an hour later the trio arrived at the planet they were gunning for. Yes, Dingo owned an entire planet. This wasn''t all too uncommon when you became well enough renowned. If anything it was kinda low-key. Someone like Dingo could very easily have had multiple. He was somewhat paranoid about leaving his rare wares unguarded though. He could hire security but the thought of them betraying him was one he couldn''t get out of his head and, as such, he simply stuck to one planet. It was absolutely chock full of the most precious treasures and resources out there though so it''s not like there were no measures in place to defend it. Namely that all of his customers were forced to make a deal with him that they would come to his aid if ever he needed it. Pretty much everyone agreed as it was a small price to pay to access his goods. Dingo also had a variety of automatic weaponry and barriers in place, all of which were powerful in their own right, so he was rather safe actually. He also had a bunch of mighty robots at his disposal so anyone looking to steal from him needed to be very prepared and bring an army or two. Plus there were countless unknown backup plans that Dingo had crafted for just about any situation imaginable. His wealth of treasures was what kept him safe because no one could possibly know what they all did apart from him!


    Veteran rocked up the barrier and spoke his name aloud. He waited patiently for five minutes before a small entrance opened up and a portal appeared in it. Him, Peshy, and Micky all jumped in and were transported to the front door of a mansion on the planet they''d just been in orbit of. Portal travel was extremely convenient and most major places had at least some form of spatial travel available. Of course there were plenty of methods of transportation that were cheaper or more luxurious but if it was just a short jaunt then there was no reason to use anything other than a portal... Well almost no reason. It was possible for them to break, at which point ''Venators'' would jump out and cause a fuss but they weren''t too much of an issue provided it was dealt with quickly. One or two ''Venators'' sneaking out was manageable but an entire brigade? That was well and truly a hassle. As for what these ''Venators'' were... Ares would find out eventually.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The front door to the mansion opened and a mute butler took a bow in the doorway. He then stood aside and gestured for everyone to enter and wait to the side of the hallway. Veteran walked into the building and took a look around... It was the exact same as it always had been. For how crazy Dingo went over unusual goods his tastes in interior design didn''t seem to reflect that. He valued consistency over change in terms of house decorations and style which Veteran couldn''t wrap his head around. He truly thought Dingo would show off his newest finds by displaying them around the house but apparently not. Anyway, as for the mansion, it was Tudor style. Relatively plain and simple with some beams of dark coloured wood here and there to contrast the off white walls. Wooden flooring and burnt orange fabric armchairs were the norm in every room. A chandelier here and a self portrait there were the only other things of note. It was very much standard affair for anyone who was a noble. Granted Dingo wasn''t one but his tastes aligned with theirs and he was frequently considered a pseudo noble anyway. The butler led the trio to the living room and had them sit on a sofa in front of a crackling fireplace, above which was a large, flat screen tv. Give or take it was about 100 inches wide. Was it excessive? Compared to the size of the room, not really. Rich cultivators would all have luxury items like this and, once again, Dingo was on the more tame side if anything.


    Micky picked up the nearby remote and switched on the tv, searching for a football match to watch. Professional sports was split into two categories, one for mortals, and one for cultivators. The pitch for cultivators was distinctly larger as the players all had considerably more strength and speed at their disposal. The cultivator matches also used a simulated Training Field to even out their cultivations and make it fair. Some people still had advantages but that was because they were heavily specialised and not because they were more or less talented as a cultivator. Most people typically watched the cultivator matches because the mortal ones were slow and boring in comparison. The only time sports weren''t separated into these categories was when it made no difference, like with games like chess or Go. In fact, one of the current leading chess players was a mortal so good for them! As for Micky, he got really into his football. When he wasn''t being lugged around by Peshy to visit Veteran, he was at a pub cheering for his favourite team or even watching the matches in person. He''d gotten into his fair share of brawls as he could be a bit of a hooligan at times. Peshy preferred dramas but he wasn''t the one holding the remote so he just gave up on that. Veteran didn''t care much for entertainment as his life had basically been an action film anyway. He didn''t need to relive it through others.


    Dingo eventually arrived in a sorry state. He was half asleep, wearing a blue cotton robe, and nearly fell down the flight of stairs he was descending. He was unconventionally attractive with a pale face and tired eyes but he wasn''t the type to care about anyone''s looks, his own included. Rather, he already knew what he looked like so he didn''t care anymore. Maybe if he''d never looked in a mirror or seen his reflection would he be inclined to show interest but the easily knowable wasn''t his cup of tea. Speaking of tea, his preferred drink was iced tea and he had a considerable amount of the stuff tucked away in his kitchen. There was no greater pleasure in his life than discovering a new flavour of iced tea and he never drank the rarer ones, keeping them locked away in a runic formation that stopped time. It was one of the few things he actively sought out and collected, the rest sort of just let fall onto his lap. If he completed a collection then so be it, but iced tea? Now that was his jam!


    Dingo stumbled down the stairs and fell at the last hurdle, planting his face into the floor and groaning in muted anger. When he realised he was being watched, he shook his head and stood up while wearing a forced smile in a effort to pretend none of the previous events had actually happened. It was customary for his guests to ignore his erratic behaviour and oddities otherwise he would feel upset and kick them out. Dingo whipped out some kind of object that looked like an inhaler and took a large puff of the stuff inside it, after which he was reinvigorated and full of energy. No doubt the essence of some rare plant was being stored in the inhaler. Dingo hopped and skipped to the chair opposite the trio and sat down, clasping his hands in front of him as he gave greetings. "Hello! Veteran, you are a very rare guest! Last I heard you were mentally checked out so I must admit I''m curious to know what changed. Ah but we can get onto that in a hot minute, what brings you here? Looking for a trade? You know I prefer to get business over and done with first, we can chat away after if you so desire."


    "Hello Dingo. If that''s what you want, then I''ll skip the pleasantries. I want to use the fountain."


    "Oh Veteran, please, I know why you''re here!"


    "... Then why did you ask?... And also how?!"


    "Some of my guests don''t like it when I pre-empt them so I try to let them have their fun for at least a little while. Also, I know the secret to getting 100% enhancement already anyway so I knew you would come for the fountain as soon as you figured it out. Before you ask, no, I will not tell you which of my clients gave me that information. All I can say is that there is someone out there who trumped you. They didn''t achieve 100% themselves but they are above you in that regard. It seems they want to keep it a secret, though, so there won''t be a wave of people running around with enhancements greater than 80% or anything. Of course if you''re resetting your pressure then you may very well get 100% and reclaim your title of pressure master. I will admit, I am interested to know how you found out. Sitting around in a back alley for however many tens of thousands of years isn''t a good source of information as far as I''m aware? If it is you must tell me so I can try it! Anyway, point being, I won''t accept that as information. You''ll have to do better if you want to use the fountain."


    Veteran kissed his teeth. This damn purveyor already knew what he wanted to tell him... Still, this wasn''t the only card up his sleeve. "The destruction pillar champion. I have a ton of information on him, information I want you to spread."


    Dingo raised an eyebrow. "Malicious or beneficial? Not that I mind of course. Be it tearing him a new one or raising his reputation I''m down either way! Also, what kind of information? And again, how did you get it anyway?"


    "I got it from the pagoda..." Veteran was about to continue but he was interrupted by Dingo.


    "The pagoda?! You were actually beaten?! Even the person who discovered 100% enhancement was possible probably wouldn''t be able to beat you in an actual, direct competition... So that means this destruction pillar kid was the one who did you in?"


    "Yes. The information I can give you is all of the following. Information about the kid: his name, his race, his age, some of his magic, his hometown, his cultivation, etc... I can also give you information about his pressure mastery which is more significant than it sounds. He has a unique bloodline that enables telekinesis of all things. Plus I have information on Dominus'' whereabouts. Also, related to the kid''s unique bloodline is something pretty incredible regarding his pressure control. To top it all off, I''ll be the first to let you know I can gain my pillar affiliations back in due time... If that''s still not enough, I know who''ll be allying with the destruction pillar in the coming hours. You can be the first to leak it all and gain a boost to your reputation... So? You in?"


    "... That''s a lot. I see your clone has been busy... There''s no way I can say no to all of that... If anything it sounds too good to be true. Tell you what, give me a freebie. If you do, I''ll believe you and throw in some extra goodies to sweeten the deal in your favour."


    "Alright. The Primordial Blade belongs to the fundamental champion of destruction. The requirement to wield it is access to the nothingness aspect, one of three aspects under the destruction pillar, which is essentially the inverse of spatial magic. Dominus was trapped inside the Blade back when it created that barrier around Sheryashka. The Blade transferred Dominus'' soul to the destruction champion in order to pass on his weapon mastery and pressure bloodline. Dominus is still stuck inside the kid and when he''ll be able to get out is anybody''s guess."


    "Oh? So that was the requirement for that stupid sword! That thing''s existence had plagued my mind for ages now... The inverse of spatial magic... Makes sense. No wonder it felt so similar and yet so dissimilar. Alright, I believe you. Give me a second." Dingo clicked his finger and the butler disappeared into a room nearby. The butler returned a few seconds later with a notepad. Not just any notepad though, one in which Dingo stored many, MANY valuable secrets and nuggets of information. If the contents of the notepad were viewed by the rest of the world, cultivation society could maybe advance by a couple million years on the spot. There was also enough information to sink countless organisations and clans... This guy was a ticking time bomb in some ways and a ticket to societal enrichment in others and yet his professionalism meant he kept it all to himself.


    Veteran started listing off everything he knew about Ares that wouldn''t be a problem for the wider world to know. Ares had given him permission to do it so things were fine in that regard. the more Veteran spoke the more interested Dingo was with every passing moment. This kid had incredible value! Even the annihilation enhancement alone was worth the cost of doing business but throw in everything else and this was a juicy trade to say the least! Leaking everything ahead of time, with so much information to boot, would do Dingo wonders. There were a lot of sceptics that were hesitant to do business with Dingo but something like this would maybe push them over the tipping point and send them his way! To think, he almost hadn''t gotten out of bed... Then again, his ''rare'' sensor was on full blast when he saw Veteran active after all these years. Deep down he knew something big was coming his way. By the end of the info dump, Dingo was very satisfied and more than happy to let Veteran use the fountain. Also, as promised, he imparted some knowledge to Veteran. Knowledge about a patch of fifty or so manamaxas growing in a secluded but dangerous place. The person who found it was nowhere near strong enough to obtain the plants so he got value out of it the one way he could, selling the info to Dingo. Dingo was well aware how much mana dew meant to Veteran so he figured this would make the trade even. If the massive grin on Veteran''s face was any indication then yes, he was very pleased with this information.


    Dingo led the trio to a courtyard with a relatively plain, stone fountain smack bang in the middle of it. All Veteran, Peshy, and Micky had to do was sit under the spouting water and wait for five minutes and they would be done. Simple! As the three took their places in the fountain, Dingo turned it on before leaving them to it. He didn''t need to be here, he needed to go about spreading information! He had his own network so doing as such would be easy as pie but he still needed to be quick. If his calculations were correct, the news would start spreading on its own, from other sources, in under an hour so he had to make sure he would be the first source cited otherwise his trade will have lost value. He had info the others wouldn''t but that wasn''t as important as jumping the gun and leaking things quickly.


    As for Veteran and his two lackeys, they eventually finished up with the fountain and started their enhancement calibration again. They were taken aback by how hard it was and couldn''t help but respect Ares a fair bit because it seemed they were going to take a couple of days on this step. Ares had supposedly only taken a few hours... The kid was truly a monster through and through. Anyway, when they were done with this, Veteran''s next step would be to make use of the manamaxa information. After that he would start searching for treasures that could share bloodlines. Hell Dingo himself might even have a lead so Veteran would be sure to return and ask him.


    Little did Veteran know how much chaos he''d just caused via the information he released. Some of it, like the Dominus stuff, would take longer to spread but the important information was already insane enough as is. News of Ares, his alliances, and his talents spread far, fast. From the realm of Gods to even the lower domains. Domains lower on the rung than even Sheryashka. Fundamental champions were effectively superstars so new news about one of the two that were currently incommunicado was BIG news, Not to mention there was a lot of it at once and it was all beyond nutty.


    A new pressure pagoda champion alone would have made headlines but everything else combined effectively tuned Ares into a supernova in a matter of hours. The full leak from Dingo hadn''t even finished spreading yet and people were beside themself reading more and more because it just kept getting more and more unbelievable. They had no choice but to believe it when the alliances were confirmed first hand though. Different pieces of information caused different kinds of stirs in different places. The dragons wanted to scream at the top of their lungs when they found out one of the fundamental champions was a damnable revenant of all things. Not a single champion had been a dragon! And now one was a revenant! They were livid. The pagoda information confused a lot of the people who''d challenged it as that meant Ares was unquestionably a powerhouse. The telekinesis being possible threw the science community for a complete loop and they were now trying to replicate the findings in any way possible. They even partnered up with the technical community to figure stuff out despite the two communities never really getting along. The Primordial Blade finally being understood after all this time put a lot of people''s minds at ease but only drove others to madness as they wanted the damn thing! His unique bloodline awoke something in the gold diggers and floozies of the world. And then there was Dominus... When news about him finally started to spread, no one was happy other than some of his wives... And not even all of them were pleased. The one good news was that he was trapped inside Ares. Larsh and Dago had been the first to reveal Dominus'' return but, despite their wishes, Dingo had outed Dominus'' location. In the end, Larsh and Dago''s scheming had been utterly pointless! They''d been one upped! They hadn''t expected Ares to be ok with everyone knowing about Dominus... Still, the information caused a massive stir regardless. All that aside, there was one more specific piece of information that a few people cared about. Candy was under Ares'' and his allies'' protection. Not many peeple cared about this but those that did REALLY cared. Especially the anti magic God who''d been specifically mentioned multiple times... The fit he threw nearly destroyed an entire domain as he''d been shafted twice today already. Once by Candy and once by Caribou, the latter of which had really left a serious dent in his forces.