Chapter 1060: The Divine Tree and the Master.

“Noyya……?”

Noyya, his upper body pierced. Seeing that, I asked weakly. I tried to approach him urgently, but my vision swayed wildly.

My legs felt weak, and I kept falling. Grasping at strength, I pushed myself forward on my knees.

“Noyya……? Noyya.”

As I approached him, I asked. Noyya looked at me, baring his white teeth as he smiled.

“Well now. What a shame. It’s even more so because my body isn’t intact. If only we had a little more time…”

“Now… is that really the problem right now? Noyya’s body…”

“Yangcheon-ah.”

Noyya’s hand came up to my head. He slowly stroked me.

“Even if you try to grasp the setting sun, you cannot stop the night from coming. You already knew this, didn’t you?”

His fate to end up like this was predetermined. I couldn’t accept Noyya saying that.

“No… We could have. I searched frantically for the Sacred Tree just for this! Because of who I…!”

“Because of whom?”

“……Yes?”

“Was it truly because of me? Or was it for yourself?”

“……!”

Noyya’s firm words left me speechless for a moment.

“I know you get lonely easily, but if you cling too much, it just becomes creepy, charm or no charm. Tsk tsk…”

“Is this really the time for jokes…?!”

Fsssh.

Fragments fell from Noyya’s body. I tried to grab them with trembling hands, but…

“Hold on.”

Noyya shook his head, stopping me again.

“Did you see what this old man was trying to show you at the end?”

“……I don’t know. I didn’t see.”

I spoke with trembling eyes. However, a different thought surfaced in my mind.

‘Bloom.’

Just as he had created a tree, he told me to bring forth something as well.

Even though I understood it, I pretended not to. I didn’t want to acknowledge it. If I admitted I knew, it felt like it would be the end.

“Don’t know, huh, this guy.”

Noyya smiled thinly, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“Even though I teased you constantly, calling you an idiot, I know you’re a sharp one. You’re just pretending to be clueless.”

“Don’t praise me. Just curse me like you always do.”

Why are you praising me when it doesn’t suit you?

“I cannot make yours bloom in your stead. It is right that my tree does not grow any further here.”

“……What do you mean, ‘bring forth’? I don’t know how to do that. I still don’t know.”

There was so much I still needed to learn.

“Please.”

So don’t go.

Please don’t go.

I grabbed Noyya’s sleeve, but even that turned to dust.

“I trust you understand why I told you not to come here.”

“I told you I don’t know. I’m an idiot, I don’t know things like that.”

“Did you see enough? I’m not skilled at teaching, so this was the best I could do.”

“……Please, just listen to what I’m saying.”

What should I do? What am I supposed to do?

How can I solve this? My head won’t work.

Grind.

Trickle.

As I ground my teeth together fiercely, blood trickled from my lips.

‘Damn it.’

What good is regression?

What good is another chance? What good is it if I’m not extraordinary?

‘Damn bastard.’

Watching Noyya’s body crumble, the only thing I could do was…

“Hoho? Look at this guy? Are you crying?”

“I… I’m not crying.”

There was nothing else I could do but bawl. Through my blurred vision, my hands just trembled.

Even then, Noyya’s body was already crumbling.

“Ah. Damn it… Damn it, what do I do…? How can I…?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do I do’, you punk?”

Just as I was struggling desperately. Noyya tapped me on the head with his hand.

“Just accept it. How much affection could you have possibly developed?”

“Ha… Is that really…”

Something you should say to me?

The moment I was about to retort…

“Go on ahead.”

Noyya said with a smile.

Snap.

He crumbled into dust.

“Wh… Ah…”

I stopped, looking at the fragments piling up in my hand.

They were just dust. Dust from what was once a body. Or perhaps, dust from something pretending to be a body.

I stood there, watching this.

It felt like my body had malfunctioned.

I was staring blankly at this when…

Snap.

Another crumbling sound was heard.

Noyya’s body had already crumbled, so what else could be breaking?

In my blurred vision, I soon realized.

This sound came from my own body.

‘Ah.’

It’s the vessel.

The vessel that was created when I became a dragon.

The vessel, which had been unstable lately, cracked and broke.

And collapsed from within.

As I realized that…

Ssssh.

The energy contained within the vessel poured out, invading my mind.

---

“Hmm.”

Taecheon watched my back, standing there blankly, and spoke.

“What a pity.”

It was a shame. A chance I hadn’t seen in ages. No, not even ages.

“Such a prodigy, unlike anything I’ve seen before. Truly a pity.”

A being born insignificantly at the dawn of time, breaking through their tier through their own power.

I’ve never seen a being like that. How can such a thing exist?

Leaving aside the value of their soul, their very soul must be imbued with tenacious conviction and enlightenment.

An ordinary soul would have shattered long ago, unable to endure it.

“To think it was the body that broke, not the soul.”

The soul seemed ready to endure anything, but the body couldn’t contain it. The falsehood must have been the problem.

“Truly a shame.”

Regardless of purpose, such a sight should be witnessed. In a mortal life transcending time, seeing something like this is incredibly precious.

“Compared to that…”

Taecheon glanced at the person named Shincheol, then looked at what Shincheol had left behind.

The reason why he unnecessarily drew a sword against me and charged until the very end.

“For mere that?”

A body containing a dragon.

Or rather, a body that holds a dragon.

Is it the Dragon Emperor’s objective? Or just a flaw?

Taecheon gazed at Gu Yangcheon, lost in thought.

“What is this for?”

I understand that ‘that’ is an unexpected crack in the world. Whether the Dragon Emperor intended it or if it’s the will of another being, I don’t know, but this is certainly not something the world desires.

However.

“Even so.”

Shincheol is more precious than something like that.

A being who lived their entire life solely for their own tier is more valuable than one filled with the intentions of others.

Why would they volunteer to sacrifice themselves for something like that?

Furthermore.

“What were you trying to show?”

Shincheol, who was trying to awaken their tier, what exactly were they trying to show ‘that’ one?

Whatever it was, it was a meaningless sacrifice. That thought wouldn’t leave me.

Then, as if he had no further thoughts on the matter, Taecheon spoke and averted his gaze.

As he spoke, he relaxed his eyes, then surveyed his surroundings.

“So. Now.”

The interesting part is over.

There isn’t much time.

Recalling that, Taecheon spoke.

“I need to move quickly.”

I’ll clear the surroundings and achieve my objective. If I maintain this descent any longer, the Ten Thousand Realms will notice.

No, perhaps they’ve already noticed.

If they have noticed, all the better.

Because that means even though they noticed, they couldn’t come.

“It certainly seems like something is going on.”

That insolent thing hasn’t shown itself yet.

It seemed like it had truly fallen out of the world’s favor.

“Excellent.”

This is a good opportunity. If things go this way, I can even seize the Ten Thousand Realms. If only I can do that…

“I will obtain the world itself.”

A stepping stone to reach even greater heights. Taecheon expressed his grand ambition and moved his feet.

He headed towards Gu Yangcheon. First, I’ll get rid of that ominous thing.

If I can’t get rid of it, I’ll swallow it. As he thought this and approached…

Shink.

Someone appeared before Gu Yangcheon.

It was something with black hair. Taecheon knew it was also a dragon. Not only that, but he could sense what lay buried deep within it.

“You’re just dregs of the Dragon Emperor.”

“……”

A sneer formed.

“Traces of that pathetic thing’s final struggle. How delightful to see.”

“Hmm…”

At those words, the woman, Cheonma, scratched her cheek. Her usual vacant eyes seemed to hold a certain strength.

“Your words are disgusting. Dregs?”

“Hmm?”

Taecheon frowned upon hearing Cheonma’s words.

Something was strange.

“You. What are you?”

As I looked, something felt odd.

It was alien. Something was smeared all over what should have been merely a mass of energy.

Even with my own tier, I couldn’t possibly perceive it all. Impossible.

Even without descending in my true form, I can’t fully perceive this mortal?

“Just what…”

“You don’t need to know. And… I don’t intend to fight you. You. I don’t particularly like you.”

She gave a bewitching smile. Taecheon narrowed his eyes at it. Simultaneously, he prepared to move his hand.

“You know me.”

“I know you well. Thanks to you, I’ve gained quite a bit…”

Cheonma ran a hand through her hair. Her violet eyes flashed against her pale skin.

“Separate from that, I don’t think I can let our guy get involved with you.”

“What?”

“That’s enough now. I’ve stalled for plenty of time.”

“Hmm?”

The moment Taecheon reacted with confusion to the woman’s words…

Crack.

Gu Yangcheon’s body began to change.

His muscles expanded, and his form began to mutate. White fur grew profusely, and a tail sprouted.

A behemoth. His massively enlarged frame had completely lost its original characteristics.

“Krrrrrrrrrr.”

His monstrous form.

“Huh?”

Seeing that, Taecheon let out a hollow laugh. He wasn’t surprised by the transformation.

That is…

“……Godhood?”

A form that had broken through its tier.

That was the kind of presence it had.

“Ha. Well, I’ll be.”

Seeing that, I realized.

“The Ten Thousand Realms. I wondered what you were up to, but you were orchestrating this.”

Taecheon realized what the master of the Ten Thousand Realms was trying to do.

Just as he was about to get angry upon confirming it…

“Kuaaaaaaa–!!”

The monster charged at Taecheon.

---

I opened my eyes.

“What the…?”

Blinding light covered my eyes. I rubbed my eyelids, pushing the light away.

An unfamiliar space came into view.

A white space.

Something was floating in the white space.

It looked like ash, and as if to prove it, the smell of burning lingered in my nostrils.

“……What is this all of a sudden?”

What is this place? Why am I suddenly here?

Why am I here?

While I was bewildered by the incomprehensible situation…

“……Wait, this place?”

I think I knew where this was. I’d been here before.

Recalling the time, it was probably back in Sichuan. The place I came to after eating a strange spirit pill during a fight with that guy Daehyeon.

This seems to be that place.

“Why here again?”

Why did I come back to a place like that?

I definitely. Ah.

“Noyya…!”

Shin Noyya. I remembered Noyya disappearing as his body crumbled.

As the memory of Noyya’s death surfaced, I snapped my eyes open.

“Why do you call?”

“Huh…?”

I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head immediately.

Where I looked…

“Huh… Noyya?”

“I asked why you called?”

Shin Noyya was standing there perfectly fine, looking at me.

Seeing that, I unintentionally said,

“Why are you alive…?”

“……What did you say, you brat?”

Noyya scowled at my words.