Chapter 399: Power.

If we think back to war.

There’s no need for further words; simply calling it hell would be enough.

No matter which street you walked, it was filled with the traces of the dead. The clear valley water, mixed with blood, lost its color.

The brilliant sky was dyed red, and the once-lofty castle walls were inevitably cracked and ruined everywhere.

Those lingering in the streets all wore terrified expressions, or were filled with a sense of emptiness, as if they had already given up on everything.

There is no hope.

Their expressions spoke just that.

War is like that in the first place.

Just as beautiful battles cannot exist, war is the most brutal among them.

Under the name of the Blood Calamity, the world was gradually rotting away.

My previous life was exactly like that.

It had only been a few years since the Demon King appeared. Short as it might be, it was enough time to turn the world into that state.

Now, how many years were left until such a world arrived?

I knew it wasn’t a point in time with much time left, at least.

Back then, there was the Divine Sword.

Furthermore, because there were countless forces that followed the Divine Sword, it was possible to overcome the Blood Calamity, but…

I knew well myself that such a thing was impossible for me.

Nevertheless, if I truly intend to take Wi Seol-ah’s place.

It means I need to stockpile at least as much power and influence as Wi Seol-ah had.

The Divine Sword’s martial prowess is one thing, but…

‘Influence,’ huh.

The countless people who helped her were also a problem.

I couldn’t gather people with the status Wi Seol-ah possessed back then, nor with the kind methods she employed.

This temperament of mine, of course, and the fact that I had absolutely no experience dealing with people that way.

It wasn’t a method that suited me, either. Trying to force myself to imitate it would be meaningless.

I had to find my own way.

‘My own way…’

It’s not that nothing comes to mind.

Because I knew the easiest path right away.

That would be.

‘Demonization.’

Just as I did to Namgung Cheon-jun, I knew I could corrupt others with my demonic energy.

Furthermore, I knew I could control them like slaves, using their demonic energy as a leash.

Therefore, if I want to create a force, this method would suit me best.

Since the reason I want to create a new force is because I can’t trust anyone.

If I were to form it with people corrupted by my demonic energy, I don’t think there could be a better way.

‘But is that really…’

…the right thing to do?

Such thoughts would occasionally flash through my mind.

There were more than one or two things I hesitated on because I didn’t want to live like that.

I’m struggling like this precisely because I want to live a different life from my previous one, but if I end up choosing this method…

‘What difference would I have from the Demon King?’

No matter how I look at it, if I take such actions under the guise of stopping the Demonic Cult…

…wouldn’t that be no different from me creating the Demonic Cult?

Such thoughts filled my mind.

Of course, even so…

‘…is there another way?’

Ultimately, such worries are only possible when there are other methods besides this one.

Just because it’s not right, and I don’t want to do it.

It doesn’t mean I can decide whether to do it or not.

So, I also felt this keenly, which is why I set a boundary from the moment I started making the list.

Those who wouldn’t be a problem even if corrupted by demonic energy.

I’ve also sorted out those who would be better off living and dying as demons.

This is the last excuse I can give myself.

‘Even if it’s not right. I have to bear that too.’

Just saying I’ll take the Divine Sword’s place won’t cut it.

I know.

That I don’t have the capacity for it.

That’s precisely why I must use every means and method available.

Guilt? Regret? Hesitation?

As I said again.

Those are things you can afford when there are other options.

What this means is.

That I don’t have the luxury to choose such things right now.

There’s no time to worry.

If I’ve made a plan I can execute, I must carry it out.

And now is the time to build up the strength to carry it out as quickly as possible.

Kwadadaduk-!

Wanting to pick up the pace, I put more power into my fist.

Koong-!

As soon as it hit the wall, the cave wall collapsed from the impact.

Even with this small movement, pain surged.

However, perhaps because I’ve experienced so much pain, even hurting this much now only makes me twitch my eyebrows a little. Should I be happy that I’ve become more accustomed to pain?

Thinking I should like this made me wonder if my brain was slowly becoming saturated with training.

Meanwhile, if I were to find a difference from before.

‘My movements have changed.’

It’s a very subtle difference, but there’s been a change in the motion of extending my fist.

How should I put it?

Should I say it’s become a bit cleaner? Or perhaps something uncomfortable has disappeared.

As I pondered for a moment, unable to find the right words, a suitable term came to mind.

‘Flexibility.’

Flexibility has entered my movements.

With flexibility, it feels like the way I exert strength has improved slightly.

‘No, it’s not just a feeling.’

It’s close to certainty.

It was clear that my body had changed while training the Two-Stage Heavenly Dance.

Is this what Pajeon was talking about, changing the framework of the body?

‘This is absurd.’

Something that wouldn’t improve no matter how hard I trained.

To think a path would open just by learning one more internal energy technique.

‘…No, maybe ‘just’ isn’t the right word.’

Breathing itself became painful, so enduring it was the problem, if there was one.

However, no one could argue that there’s no greater divine technique than this, as long as one can endure the pain.

Anyone who experienced it even a little would know.

I moved my body without rest.

My entire body was already drenched in sweat, and fatigue had accumulated considerably from moving while cutting back on sleep for days.

Despite that, I moved my body without the slightest hesitation.

As if I wouldn’t stop until I lost consciousness from reaching my limit.

Several days had already passed since I started acting like this.

Perhaps due to such intense focus, I had been sensing something strange for a while now.

My body is shaking.

It would be more accurate to say it’s shaking, rather than moving.

Before I knew it, my body was fluttering uncontrollably, as if beyond my will.

Although the movements had lost control, I didn’t bother trying to regain it.

Because my remaining instincts were telling me not to hold onto it.

Pain shot through the foot I stepped forward with.

My knees and hips were not in good condition.

The Two-Stage Heavenly Void Technique continuously erupted from my dantian.

My internal energy was overflowing, so there was no interruption for days.

At best, it was just moving my body while using an internal energy technique, so there was no way my internal energy would deplete.

My vision is blurry.

Should I bother focusing my gaze?

There was no need.

The countless movements I’d made moved on their own, even without my will.

The pain gradually dulled.

Is this a trance clouded by fatigue?

I found it quite amusing, knowing that this wasn’t the place to reach with just this.

It doesn’t matter what it is.

Right now.

‘Just a little more.’

I wanted to entrust my body to this sensation just a little longer.

It’s an inexplicable discomfort.

Because I knew that if I regained even a little consciousness, this subtle sensation would break.

A contradictory sensation that I had to deliberately ignore.

Should I call this enlightenment too?

I was a little curious about what would happen if I were to break free from this sensation.

At that moment.

Tududuk.

‘Ah. Damn it.’

Was my recent thought the problem?

My consciousness gradually became clearer.

The sensation I had been vaguely holding onto started returning to normal.

Should I try to force myself to find it again?

Just as I thought that.

“Stop there.”

Someone appeared and grabbed my body.

My body, which had been moving on its own, was forcibly stopped.

“…Ha…”

Then, the strength holding my body suddenly gave way with a whoosh.

I collapsed onto the ground.

“Haa. Haa…”

I barely kept myself up by placing my palms on the floor.

Was I this exhausted?

Sweat dripped down my face, soaking the floor.

Only then did I feel my supporting hands trembling.

I hadn’t noticed. It seemed my body had reached its limit.

As I staggered and gasped for breath, someone spoke to me from behind.

It was Pajeon.

“I was wondering how long you’d go, and you’re doing it until sunrise.”

“…Yes…?”

I had to widen my eyes at Pajeon’s words.

Has that much time passed…?

Pajeon, seeing my expression, chuckled and continued.

“It seems you don’t even know how much time has passed.”

Just moments ago, Pajeon wasn’t here.

When did he even appear? And how long has he been here?

At least, he wasn’t in my memory.

Did that much time really pass while I was enveloped in that hazy sensation?

“…”

As I stared at Pajeon in that situation.

He grinned.

“Were you disappointed?”

“…No.”

“Don’t lie, your face is still full of lingering attachment.”

Was it?

I thought it wasn’t showing, but it seems my face gave it away.

“Don’t think I interfered, because if I hadn’t stopped you there, something terrible would have happened.”

“I didn’t think that.”

I could tell just by looking at my physical condition.

If I had continued, it would have been too much.

My body was at its absolute limit right now.

It was a trance, yes, but Pajeon must have saved me because he was worried about my body getting hurt. I knew the reason, so I didn’t mind it much, but…

Hearing my answer, Pajeon pouted as if displeased.

“…Saying that makes it less fun.”

“What do you want me to do…”

Just as I was about to open my mouth in bewilderment, Pajeon threw something.

Catching it with my weak arm, I saw it was a gourd.

It sloshed inside, indicating something was in it.

“At least wet your throat first. Tsk tsk… To think I’m fetching water for a young brat when I’m so old.”

“…Thank you.”

My throat was already dry, so after offering my thanks, I gulped it down immediately.

Drinking this, whatever it was, made me feel like I could live again.

As I drank my fill of the water, Pajeon asked me.

“How was it? The feeling of touching that place for a moment.”

After swallowing a few gulps, I asked Pajeon with a question in my voice.

“That place?”

“I mean the place you just touched.”

“…”

“It’s hazy, yet you don’t want to leave it. But there’s also an anxiety that you might fall out with even the slightest mistake, isn’t there?”

“…That…”

“It’s the right direction, so don’t think it’s strange.”

Pajeon’s words evoked a strange feeling in me.

I had simply thought it was something akin to enlightenment, but hearing Pajeon explain it…

It felt slightly different from the enlightenment a martial artist might experience.

“The reason I told you not to regret it is because it’s a place you must reach someday anyway.”

“Reach someday?”

“Have you heard of the term Trance (無我之境)?.”

“Yes.”

The sensation of forgetting oneself and becoming one with the movements.

This was a phenomenon that often occurred when a martial artist gained a certain realization.

They say it’s like a dream for those who crave enlightenment.

“What you experienced was indeed a type of trance.”

Does that mean the phenomenon I just experienced can be called enlightenment?

However, if that’s the case, Pajeon’s words don’t quite fit.

As such a question crossed my mind, Pajeon spoke to me.

“More precisely… it can be called the trance created by the Two-Stage Heavenly Dance.”

“…Yes?”

Hearing Pajeon’s explanation, my eyes widened.

A trance created by the Two-Stage Heavenly Dance?

“The Two-Stage Heavenly Dance creates trances?”

As I asked, wearing a strange expression, I saw Pajeon’s lips curve slightly.

“I didn’t expect to have to explain this so soon. You experienced it much faster than I anticipated.”

“…”

“You must have heard that my martial arts were born solely for my own ambition.”

“Yes.”

The martial art Pajeon created to become a superior martial artist, that was the Two-Stage Heavenly Dance.

“To be precise, I wanted to surpass the limits of humanity.”

“…Limits… you say.”

“Yes, it’s the martial art created for that purpose.”

The limits of humanity.

So, did he want to become a god or something?