Chapter 743: Dying World (Dying World)

Tuapacheonmu Fourth Form: Changcheon.

An arrogant name that claims to create the sky.

Considering that the Fifth Form is Patheon, I suspect this naming was intended by the Hegemon.

Creating the sky.

And shattering the sky.

I don’t know what meaning is contained within it, but while the First, Second, and Third Forms were all single-strike martial arts, Changcheon wasn’t a martial art for striking.

If I had to compare it, it’s similar to the process of activating the body using the heat of the Nine Flame Wheel Technique.

It could be seen as similar to that.

Tuapacheonmu was a martial art that made it easiest to reach transcendence through artificial metamorphosis;

and the Fourth Form, Changcheon, was an extension of that.

An artificial state of selflessness.

The momentary process that martial artists go through once for enlightenment.

It was created to artificially reach that place.

That is Changcheon.

With a single movement, useless thoughts are erased, hesitation disappears, and the energy naturally flows throughout the entire body.

As the energy can move more smoothly, the power of the martial art naturally increases.

This signified a kind of physical awakening.

Subjectively, it felt like the power doubled, but…

The problem was…

‘The backlash is also double.’

The insane efficiency of doubling the martial art’s power naturally came with intense drawbacks.

At first, I thought, ‘What a crazy martial art,’ but after using it, I understood.

If you use this wrong, you die.

It was also a warning the Hegemon gave me when I first succeeded.

‘Use it at the very, very end if possible.

‘If you use it midway, you’ll die.’ He warned me to be careful until I got used to it, and after using Changcheon, I could understand.

Tuapacheonmu was already a damn painful martial art, but the backlash from Changcheon was incomparable.

After using that, I used the First Form and was bedridden for three days.

And that was just from unleashing it once.

Anyway…

Even though the backlash was hellishly severe, it also meant that tremendous firepower accompanied its use.

It’s thanks to that.

“Cough.”

The reason I could feel considerable relief even while spitting blood was…

“Hoo… fuck.”

I wiped the blood smeared all over my mouth.

At the same time, I looked straight ahead.

The scene hadn’t changed much.

The floor was still filled with ink, and the surroundings were pitch black.

It looked largely unchanged from the beginning.

But.

[…Astonishing.]

Looking at the old man in front of me, I pushed myself up.

The center of my chest felt hollow.

There was a large hole in the old man’s upper body.

It was the result of Tuamugwon (Fist of the Fighting Fangless) enhanced with Changcheon.

[Since when was it?]

The old man asked. Hearing the question, I nodded.

“What are you talking about?”

[I know this entire process wasn’t due to instinct or chance. When did you start planning this?]

“…”

Since when?

Well, obviously.

“From the very beginning.”

[…]

From the moment I initiated the fight with the old man.

Up until this very moment when the fight ends was all calculation.

Ah, the story about Senior Tang Jemun wasn’t part of the plan, though.

Excluding that, everything else was spot on.

However…

‘It wasn’t that everything fit perfectly; I just prepared multiple calculations.’

I predicted the old man’s actions and created five or six scenarios,

and simply acted according to them.

I know the opponent possesses Gui Jeong.

The effect of Gui Jeong seems no different from reality.

First, assuming that,

‘Ten opportunities.’

The ten chances the old man gave me. I recalled them.

Attack with all my might for ten turns. Is that a being I can reach?

‘No.’

Not even close.

I always said it: be thoroughly objective about yourself.

Whether that old geezer is real or fake, I am not someone who can win.

So what should I do?

‘I have to make it so I can win.’

If I couldn’t win, I had to make it so I could.

So, I thought.

Let’s use those ten chances differently.

For that, I showed my full power for the first seven turns.

I couldn’t fake it at this time.

The opponent would notice. I really had to attack with all my might, and I did.

This was the extent of my attacks.

I made it so the opponent would ‘recognize’ this.

Honestly, it felt shitty.

‘It was my real power, yet I couldn’t even scorch his collar.’

After rolling through so many lives, past and present, I can’t even scorch that old geezer’s collar?

What a damn life. But what can I do? Even if it sucks balls, I have to find a way.

Seven.

I had to use seven out of ten, but thanks to that, the opponent would have known.

That my maximum strength was like this.

If I succeeded in this, I introduced anomalies starting from the eighth turn.

To suppress any potential suspicion, I had to create anomalies myself.

I don’t only have flames to use.

I have other energies too.

The reason I specifically used Tuapacheonmu was because of that.

Make them recognize it, give them anomalies to cause confusion,

and show that I’m doing my best to prevent them from quickly changing their thoughts.

I used them like that, ten times.

Honestly, I had multiple reasons, but…

The conclusion of these ten turns was one thing:

‘To make that old geezer unaware of my Gui Jeong.’

You might ask if I shouldn’t have shown the Gui Jeong in the first place, but…

‘The old geezer said it himself. That he was watching me.’

He had already noticed the Divine Old Man’s Taoist energy within my body;

and who knows.

He might even know about the existence of Gui Jeong.

In that case, acting like this was faster.

Plan, plan, and plan again to fight.

Even if it’s a cowardly and shitty way to fight, this is the right way.

There might be no honor in a brawl, but survival will exist.

That was more important to me.

[Haha… Truly impressive.]

Hearing my words, the old man burst into admiring laughter.

Srrrk.

“…!”

As he laughed, I saw the old man’s body gradually restoring itself.

Uh oh, is this bad?

I figured he wouldn’t really die since he’s a spirit, but isn’t that a bit cheap?

Just as I thought I needed to devise the next countermeasure,

[You won.]

The old man said to me, still smiling.

[I admit it. I lost, and you won.]

“…”

Finally, the old man admitted defeat.

Thump.

“Hooaaah…”

Only after hearing that did I slump down.

It felt like all my strength drained away.

“This was really damn hard…”

As I exhaled with a sigh, the old man soon nodded.

[Do you believe me right away? How do you know I wouldn’t speak nonsense?]

“Well, you said it yourself.”

[Hm?]

“You said you’d know once we crossed swords. I’m not much different.”

He isn’t the type to spout nonsense.

I could tell that much from our recent exchange.

[You seem like a sly bastard, yet you’re unique in this aspect. Quite the peculiar fellow.]

“I hear that often.”

[Then, brat.]

“Yes.”

[What was that you said just before?]

“What?”

[The part about Tang Jemun being a woman.]

“Ah.”

-Tang Jemun is a woman.

It was a statement I blurted out to buy time to overlay Changcheon.

If nothing else, this was a real gamble.

I was fortunate it paid off; otherwise, it would have been the end.

Recalling this, I chuckled and replied.

“Well now…”

[…Huh?]

It was a sign I had no intention of answering.

The old man wore an expression of disbelief.

Watching him, I moved my hand.

Whee-!

Then, the bound Gui Jeong unfurled, transforming into a bandage shape, and I threw it at the old man.

Thwack.

The bandage rolled and was caught by the old man’s hand.

“Thanks for the use.”

[…]

The old man’s eyes, looking at the returned Gui Jeong, held a strange look.

[…Brat.]

“I’m listening.”

[Did you say you were my reincarnation?]

“Yeah, well. That’s what they say.”

I pushed myself up again.

My whole body throbbed. The backlash was gradually kicking in.

Does the pain remain even in this mental space?

I briefly wondered what would happen when I returned to my original place.

[Looking at the Gui Jeong… perhaps it might truly be so.]

The old man, listening to my words.

Did he gain conviction from that?

[Then it’s strange. How come you aren’t a child of Mount Hua?]

“…”

A meaningful statement.

Hearing that, I stretched my neck slightly. It was a phrase I’d heard too often.

Around the time I heard that I was the reincarnation of the Divine Old Man,

there was also something Hwang Able-yeong mentioned while looking at the Old Man in the past.

He failed.

The Old Man, who should have been reborn in Mount Hua long ago, failed reincarnation and became a spirit.

Hwang Able-yeong fell into despair upon seeing that.

It meant it was a matter of great significance.

[Brat. Then…]

“Just a moment.”

I interrupted the old man and raised my hand.

“Excuse me, but isn’t this the situation where I should be asking questions? Why are you subtly asking me things?”

We agreed the winner would ask questions, yet the old man kept asking me things.

Finding it absurd, I pointed it out.

[Oops, I’ve been found out.]

The old man moved his lips as if disappointed.

This guy…? Was he doing it even though he already knew?

How absurd. How can a Taoist be so shameless?

Frowning, I immediately asked him.

“What are you?”

My turn had finally come.

[As I said from the beginning, I am of Mount Hua…]

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

[Then what are you asking?]

“I have already met the Mount Hua Sword Saint before.”

[…What?]

“It wasn’t you, but another gentleman.”

When I mentioned the Divine Old Man, the old man’s reaction was significant.

Observing his reaction, I added my explanation.

Though not in detail, I summarized the events from when I met the Divine Old Man until now.

Then.

[…What is this…]

Bewilderment mixed with the old man’s reaction.

“This is why I cannot believe you are the real one.”

[…]

“…Based on the circumstances, you seem to be the real Mount Hua Sword Saint…”

The circumstances and my intuition both point that way.

Not to mention the Bhi-go of Shanxi? The plausibility fits perfectly. However.

“No matter how I think about it, I don’t believe you are the real one. Just what are you?”

For some reason, the old man before me didn’t feel real.

Just what are you?

What are you, to be here?

In response to my question, the old man’s reaction was…

[…]

First, silence.

Whether it was to organize his thoughts, or because he received a great shock, or perhaps both, I couldn’t be sure, but…

I waited for the old man’s answer.

For some reason, it felt like I had to.

As I waited for quite some time,

[I see.]

The old man spoke in a calm voice.

[So that’s how it was.]

His words, as if realizing something, were tinged with an inexplicable sadness.

[Brat.]

“Yes.”

[You said that the Shincheol you know doesn’t remember his final moments.]

“Yes.”

That was the Divine Old Man’s memory.

Right after the sealing of the Blood Demon concluded.

He lived his entire life maintaining the position of Sect Leader.

Then, while spending time like any other day, he opened his eyes to find himself sealed within a demonic artifact.

That wasn’t all.

The Old Man’s memory wasn’t intact. There were too many gaps.

Time passed, and though he seems to have realized a few things now, it meant his situation was different from the old man standing before me.

[Hearing that, I finally understand.]

“Understand what?”

[There was something that always puzzled me.]

Slosh.

The old man took a step towards me.

[Brat. Do you know where this place is?]

“…This place?”

The ink filling the floor and the dark energy filling the sky.

“I don’t know.”

It was a space I couldn’t possibly know.

I had simply thought it was a mental space.

The old man replied to this.

[This place is Mount Hua.]

“Huh?”

A rather shocking answer reached my ears.

“…What did you say?”

Mount Hua?

Hearing him, I looked around.

What kind of bullshit is this?

How could this place be Mount Hua?

I know because I’ve been to Mount Hua.

It’s a mountain filled with bright flowers and a verdant glow.

It’s a place where plum trees bloom abundantly, harmonizing with the martial artists’ duels, always filled with the fragrant scent of flowers.

Knowing that, I frowned.

[To be precise… it’s a place that was Mount Hua.]

The old man continued in a bitter voice.

[You said it yourself. That this world succeeded in sealing the Blood Demon.]

“…Yes.”

Honestly, the sealing wasn’t entirely successful,

and the Blood Demon is still roaming around, but it’s true that they tried, so I answered accordingly.

At my answer, the old man smiled bitterly.

[I see.]

“Why do you say that?”

[It’s nothing. I had held onto hope, but… I just realized it was merely a dream.]

Splash.

The old man sank weakly onto the floor.

The moment he sat down, ripples spread through the water.

It was a calm ripple.

[It was strange. There was no way I should have encountered a child of Mount Hua in the first place. It seems I got swept up in hope and dreamed. How embarrassing…]

“…Hey, what does that mean…”

[We couldn’t stop the Blood Demon.]

“What?”

Just as irritation began to rise from the incomprehensible words,

the old man’s words left me speechless.

I couldn’t help it.

[We… ultimately failed to stop the Blood Demon, and this place is Mount Hua, which collapsed under his hand.]

It was a shocking statement.