Immortal Paladin

055 The Path to Another Self

I recalled how I had grinded my Divine Sense skill in the entire duration of the festival, elevating it from a simple mechanic to something that matched the flavor text attached to it.

Honing my skills to the point that they embodied their descriptions to the letter was one way to train and strengthen myself.

I opened my eyes.

The sensation of leaving my main body always left me feeling weightless, like I had been untethered from something solid. But this time, there was something else—the drastic drop in power. I had gotten used to this part, though.

At the back of my mind, I felt Lu Gao’s presence. He was anxious, troubled, and unsure of himself. His emotions bled into me, faint but present. I projected a sense of calm and confidence from my soul, and his distress eased somewhat.

Meanwhile, back in my main body, Dave took control. The aura around him shifted, adjusting to his presence. It wasn’t the same as mine—Dave had his own cadence, his own flavor—but it was stable.

I turned to Gu Jie and Ren Xun, the latter staying near the tent. “Stay here.”

They didn’t argue.

Then I looked at Dave. “Follow me.”

With that, I activated Zealot’s Stride. A golden streak flared beneath my borrowed feet, and in a blink, Dave and I had reappeared a few miles away from the oasis.

I turned my thoughts inward.

The night I discovered that a simple goldfish could cultivate using Divine Possession, a strange thought had taken root in my mind.

Was it possible for Lu Gao to learn my skills while I was possessing him?

In Lost Legends Online, players could acquire skills through three primary methods:

1. Using a Skill Book.
2. Learning from an NPC.
3. Completing a quest.

Technically, Divine Possession fell into the second category. I was an NPC in this context, teaching a technique firsthand.

But there was a problem.

Lu Gao had not unlocked his immortal soul. Without that, he couldn’t truly cultivate or walk the path of a champion of the realms. A Legacy Advancement Book was required to awaken his immortal soul, which in turn would allow him to choose a skill path.

By all logic, he shouldn’t be able to learn anything right now.

And yet, I wanted to test it anyway.

Because what I was trying to do wasn’t just one experiment—it was multiple layers of experimentation stacked together.

For me, this was training.

For Divine Possession, this was testing its limits.

And for the system of LLO, this was an attempt to abuse its mechanics.

If this worked… if I could somehow imprint my skills onto Lu Gao through Divine Possession…

Then I might just have found a way to create more of me.

I had a vision for myself in the future.

A guild? No. That was too small.

An order.

An order of paladins.

I could see it clearly—paladins clad in silver and gold, radiating divine power as they cut down the wicked. It wouldn’t be a mere gathering of warriors but something greater. Something structured. Disciplined. A force with a purpose.@@novelbin@@

But before that dream could be realized, I needed proof that it was possible.

I turned my focus inward and addressed Lu Gao. “Immerse yourself in my perspective. Feel everything as I do.”

I activated Hollow Breath Technique, centering myself around the rhythmic cycle of energy. Qi was something familiar to Lu Gao, so I used it despite how clumsy I was in it. Even within his body, it felt sluggish and unfamiliar—his meridians were shattered, and his dantian was a void where qi should have gathered. But he could learn.

“We’ll take it slow.”

Next, I summoned Silver Steel, my legendary longsword. The weight of it felt comfortable in my hands—except they weren’t my hands. Lu Gao’s body reacted differently, lacking the ingrained familiarity of handling a blade. But that was fine. I wasn’t expecting perfection.

Meanwhile, Dave conjured a normal steel sword, using his innate Holy Spirit abilities. His movements mirrored mine, and I could tell he already understood what I had in mind. We were almost of one mind in that way.

Divine Possession had a five-minute duration. At that time, I planned to teach Lu Gao the fundamentals of the White Path.

And the first skill in that arsenal?

Bless.

It had a low mana cost. It was versatile. And most importantly, it belonged to the White Path of the Paladin Legacy.

In fact, it was the very first skill a Paladin of the White Path learned.

If Lu Gao showed any real talent—if he proved himself better than Gu Jie or even the goldfish—then maybe, just maybe, I’d consider using the Legacy Advancement Book on him.

I activated Bless on myself—or rather, on Lu Gao’s body.

A soft white radiance enveloped me, momentarily wrapping me in warmth. Bless was a weaker version of Blessed Weapon, a spell that imbued a target with holy damage and a slight stat boost. Simple, efficient, effective.

A good start.

“Watch closely, Lu Gao,” I murmured, tightening my grip on Silver Steel.

I recalled the skill’s flavor text and recited it to Lu Gao, letting the words settle into his consciousness like an oath.

“The light does not judge. It does not waver. It does not demand. It merely lifts, shields, and strengthens, asking nothing in return. Receive its touch, and be emboldened.”

I rushed at Dave and swung my sword while in Lu Gao’s body. The clang of metal rang under the full moon, a sharp contrast to the stillness of the desert. Dave met my attack with ease, his stance firm, his sword steady. He knew what I was trying to do.

I stopped and adjusted my grip, giving Lu Gao time to absorb what was happening. His presence in the back of my mind was filled with a mix of awe and confusion.

"That was Bless," I explained. "The most basic of White skill path. Now, watch carefully."

I lifted the sword again, and this time, golden radiance surged along the blade, coating it in a shimmering aura of divine energy.

“A blade bathed in light carries the will of the heavens. It does not waver, nor does it yield. With each strike, righteousness is etched into the flesh of the wicked, and the path of the just is made clear.”

The glow intensified, and I swung down with a powerful golden arc. Sparks flew as Dave deflected the blow with ease. Lu Gao’s emotions flared within me—astonishment, reverence, a quiet yearning.

I continued, striking again and again, letting the golden radiance flow through each motion. Five minutes wasn’t much, but it was enough. Enough for Lu Gao to feel the weight of divine energy moving through his body. Enough for him to understand what it meant to wield a blade not just as a weapon, but as a symbol.

By the time the skill's duration reached its limit, my control over Lu Gao’s body faded. I exhaled, feeling the familiar pull back to my own form.

The moment I returned to my main body, Lu Gao collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His entire body trembled, his hands digging into the desert sand as if he needed something solid to anchor himself. I had expected as much. Even the goldfish had fallen asleep after I used Divine Possession on her. The load on a lower-level character had to be unbearable.

I knelt beside Lu Gao, watching as sweat dripped from his forehead. There was nothing I could do about his ruptured meridians and destroyed dantian. I tried already, back in Yellow Dragon City. The aftereffects of his demonic possession were so severe that even the best healing techniques from my power system had failed to restore him. It wasn’t just physical damage—it was something deeper, something that had settled into the very foundation of his being.

I exhaled and hefted him onto my back. He was lighter than I expected. That, more than anything, made me uneasy.

By the time we returned to camp, Ren Xun had already noticed us approaching. He put down his brush and journal, his gaze shifting to Lu Gao with a slight frown.

“Take care of him,” I ordered.

Ren Xun nodded and moved to support Lu Gao, guiding him toward a shaded area near the tent. I watched for a moment before turning to Gu Jie.

She was standing off to the side, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her usual quiet confidence was missing.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

She swallowed, her eyes flickering to Lu Gao’s exhausted form. It didn’t take a genius to see her hesitation.

I sighed. “If you’re not up for it, we can stop here.”

She clenched her fists. “No.” Her voice was steady, but I could hear the tension underneath. “I… I trust you, Master.”

That wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t about trust—it was about what Divine Possession actually meant. But if she was willing, then I wouldn’t stop her.

I raised a single finger.

“Ephemeral Touch.”

A soft, imperceptible shimmer ran across my body as the ability activated. It was the power of my gear—an effect that allowed me to use another Ultimate Skill regardless of cooldown, resource, or just about anything.

“Ultimate Skill: Divine Possession.”

Was it wasteful? Absolutely. Ephemeral Touch had a 120-hour cooldown, and I had just blown it on a gamble. But I was willing to risk it for Gu Jie. She was my first follower. She wanted to do right by me.

Sadly, I already had an idea of how this would turn out.

The moment my consciousness entered her body, I felt it—wrongness. A writhing, unstable force gnawed at the edges of my senses, like a ball of miasma rampaging through her meridians.

My vision blurred. My body staggered.

Dave caught me as I collapsed, his arms locking around me before I could hit the ground.

At the back of my mind, I felt Gu Jie’s panic. She wasn’t just alarmed—she was terrified.

I wiped my eyes, my fingers coming away slick with warmth. Blood. I was bleeding from my eyes.

My Divine Sense had warned me. The same way it had when I tried synchronizing my memories with David_69.

I struggled to raise myself up, summoning every ounce of willpower to stay in control. In that moment, I didn’t just fight for myself—I projected a sense of power in my soul, wrapping it around Gu Jie like a shield. I needed to reassure her. To let her know that it was fine.

I had a feeling this would happen.

And yet… I still went through with it.

Because it would’ve been unfair to Gu Jie otherwise.

I remembered the first day I met her. How out of shape she was. How miserable she looked. How she found salvation in me. How she begged me to take her as my disciple.

I couldn’t leave her doubts unanswered.

For the next five minutes, I endured and held it in.

The weight of her Delayed Destiny of the Demonic Path. The side effects of her Sixth Sense Misfortune. Everything she had accumulated, everything she had suffered—I bore it in her place.

And then I broke through the five-minute duration.

A sharp pain wracked my body. Something burned at my core.

Then, I felt it rise—black bile surging up my throat.

I staggered, hacking up dark, clotted blood onto the sand. My insides twisted as more forced its way out.

“Dave,” I rasped, my voice hoarse.

He understood immediately.

I couldn’t let Ren Xun and Lu Gao see me like this.

Dave carried me and spammed Flash Step.

Back in Lost Legends Online, spamming Flash Step a dozen times had been unimaginable. There was only so much space a monitor screen could cover. But here, in this world, it was different. Flash Step wasn’t limited by screen size or camera tracking—it was only limited by skill, mana, and technique.

The desert blurred around us as Dave moved. Sand, wind, and darkness twisted together in streaks of motion until, finally, he let go.

I staggered forward and dropped to my knees, retching more of that vile, black bile onto the ground.

Gu Jie’s bloodline ability—Sixth Sense Misfortune—wasn’t just some passive danger detection. It allowed her to sense where misfortune lurked and avoid it, but only at the cost of accumulating even greater misfortune in the future. Normally, she could dispense this built-up misfortune onto others through her technique, Delayed Destiny of the Demonic Path.

But with her cultivation, she could no longer use it properly.

She had tried to suppress it through sheer force of will, and it had been killing her.

The Isolation Path Sect had transposed her technique into a non-demonic version, adapting it to her weakened realm of cultivation so she could at least survive using it. It helped her body adjust and no longer suffer sickness as a side effect.

But even then… she had already accumulated too much.

It was impossible for her to cleanse it all.

That was why I was doing this.

Through Divine Possession, I intended to take on a portion of her misfortune.

I had read in the Buddhist methods of the Cloud Mist Sect that, under the right circumstances, it was possible to take in another person’s fate. That was what gave me the idea. If fate could be shared, if karma could be transferred, then maybe I could lighten Gu Jie’s burden.

Pain wracked my body. My soul trembled.

Dave cast Cure on Gu Jie’s body.

Each time he felt us reaching a breaking point, he cast it again.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I could feel her fear. Her uncertainty.

I reached out, not with my hands, but with my soul.

Stay with me, Gu Jie.