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“What on earth should I do here?”

I thought I had to choose between standing with Chi You or Jeogok. After all, when you have two opposing forces, picking a side feels like the safer bet. But that was just the luckiest side of things; if luck went south, I’d be subdued in no time, treated like an object. Therefore, before choosing a side, I realized I needed to secure my own leverage and independence first.

‘Ugh… But what am I supposed to say?’

I was at a loss. How could I start talking when I didn’t even know what those guys were discussing or what the topic was? It hit me that I had too little information, so I opened my mouth.

“… You all just keep talking without worrying about me…”

[……]

[……]

Both sides stared at me with expressions of mild disbelief.

Ah, maybe that sounded a bit dumb after all.

Suddenly, the Eight Parts of the Divine’s Celestial being spread out its hands and unleashed a massive net of energy towards me. Given my prior experiences with Jin So-cheong, I knew that avoiding or blocking such a martial arts technique was virtually impossible. Unlike Jin So-cheong, I couldn’t instinctively utilize intent to neutralize it.

‘They’re trying to catch me first!’

If I had drawn my Fire Dragon Sword, I might have been able to block at least one attack, but I panicked and failed to prepare myself. I felt like it was already over for me.

Thump!

[Who dares to act before me?]

In that instant, Jeogok’s heavy energy surged out, nullifying the Celestial’s magic and sending the Celestial tumbling backwards.

[Cough. Not yet…]

As the Celestial Sage Tripitaka struggled to reveal its true form, trying to draw out a greater power, it remained unable to transform back from its human form.

Ahh, what a scene it was when the Demon within the Demon was about to manifest itself!

Jeogok, emanating previously unseen magical power, began to press upon the Eight Parts of the Divine.

One of Jeogok’s arms stretched forward as a fiery red eye blinked out of its alabaster socket, targeting the Celestial. The Celestial twisted and squirmed in agony, clearly hindered, unable to maintain its consciousness let alone defend itself.

Jeogok arrogantly declared,

[As long as I can ‘see’ you, you can do nothing, you pesky bugs.]

Snap!

[Ugh.]

One arm and one leg of the Tripitaka were suddenly torn off and flew away. It was a gruesome sight, but in the next moment, Chi You waved his hand from the throne, and the Sage was swiftly restored to its original state. It seemed Chi You had replenished the Eight Parts of the Divine with his own power.

[Thank you… my lord.]

Chi You didn’t reply. Instead, Jeogok spoke to Chi You as he withdrew his arm.

[Chi You. Did you summon that one?]

Only then did Chi You finally respond.

[No. Another superior being has intervened.]

[I see. Is it a gift for me?]

[I wouldn’t know.]

Surprisingly, Jeogok appeared to acknowledge Chi You’s words readily. It seemed he had deduced the complexities of the situation using his transcendental perception, and without caring about me, he continued to speak to Chi You.

[Let’s finish the conversation we were having. Will you abide by our plan or will you resist until the end?]

Our plan?

I was confused at first, but then it clicked.

‘The Three Sovereigns planned to summon the Ancient Gods of Venus to wipe out the world and unmask themselves!’

And since Chi You was thwarting the return of those Venusian monsters, Jeogok must have come as a representative of the Three Sovereigns to negotiate. In fact, since this was part of our plan, I shouldn’t have been so clueless. If it hadn’t been for Cheon Woo-jin infiltrating the Moon and Banwang Hall, I wouldn’t have been able to gather this much information.

Then Chi You replied to Jeogok.

[Isn’t this an overly clumsy plan? To be perfectly clear, even if you summon them to clean up the world and mess up the laws of cause and effect, the path to the Divine Temple will not be opened. You’ll merely find yourselves wasting your energy battling the Old Ruler once more like in ancient times.]

[I expected as much from you.] Jeogok continued in a darkly sadistic voice.

[But… even if the Three Sovereigns fade, there’s no singular being that can match our unified strength. No great being in this universe has bonds stronger than ours. Unless one is a celestial existence, no one can stop us.]

[……]

[The Seven Luminaries will soon regroup as well.]

Jeogok’s glance met mine, chilling me to the bone.

[You are a thorn in our side, but I am merely saying we’ll let this one slide, Chi You. Disband the protection over Luoyang and return to the darkness of the outer dimension.]

[I refuse.]

Chi You rebuffed flatly, and Jeogok’s blood-red gaze intensified even further, brimming with rage. The veins on his arms bulged as he exuded magical energy, the atmosphere in the hall growing tenser than ever.

[Chi You… you don’t actually believe in your pathetic Eight Parts of the Divine, do you? When you were under the protection of that Outer God, perhaps, but now that you stand here in the world, you’re fair game and we can end you anytime.]

Jeogok growled. It was more than just a threat; even the Eight Parts of the Divine seemed visibly tense. If the true form of the Three Sovereigns appeared here, even all of them combined wouldn’t stand a chance.

But then Chi You, seated on the throne, interlocked his fingers and retorted.

[Then go ahead and try. Worry about the law of cause and effect while you’re strutting around with bravado.]

[You really are asking for trouble, huh?]

[Let me make this clear. If you kill me, ‘that being’ will not stand idly by.]

[……]

[It’s true that my protective power has waned since I’m not on the Moon anymore, and that being prefers not to exert their abilities directly. Nevertheless, as long as I’m under that being’s protection, you cannot lay a finger on me. The moment that being moves, the nightmares of the universe will descend upon you.]

[You are, after all, a sealed being.]

Crackle…

With a mighty flap of Jeogok’s wings, an overwhelming amount of magical power burst forth. It seemed a whirlpool formed in the hall; the density of that power appeared several thousand times stronger than normal. Gin Nara screamed in pain.

“My lord!! We can’t let this happen! Jeogok is about to manifest its true form. Everyone will die!”

[Calm down. That fool won’t be able to do that.]

Chi You showed no sign of being swayed by Gin Nara’s panic and remained firmly seated on the throne. Even faced with the dire risk of Jeogok manifesting its true form, he appeared to trust his judgment.

Crackle…

For a moment, white lightning streaked across the area, and Jeogok’s immense, fearsome form appeared to shimmer in black and white. Was that a mere illusion? But just as Chi You said, it looked like Jeogok halted its transformation back to its true form.

Jeogok reverted to its avatar and spoke.

[… Acknowledged. You’re as cunning and sharp as ever.]

[I’m honored to receive praise from the Three Sovereigns. And know that my answer won’t change either.]

Chi You replied mockingly, provoking Jeogok further.

[We’ll see how long you can keep that up. And that one is mine.]

That “one” obviously referred to me. They were clearly aiming to subdue me and snatch the Seven Luminaries.

Jeogok extended its arm slowly towards me, revealing a blood-red, winged arm that shot forth its lethal energy. That eye connected to its arm could make the Eight Parts of the Divine go mad and lead them to their deaths in an instant.

‘Aaah…!!’

I screamed internally. I thought I had gathered a powerful team, and yet here I was facing utter chaos?! That damn cat had sent me here to meet a disastrous end! But I couldn’t afford to die here, so I quickly drew both the Fire Dragon Sword and Fire Spirit.

Sword Strength!

The power of the Fire Spirit combined with the Fire Dragon Sword’s strength surged into a double flame, descending with vibrant might.

Crack!

Sword Strength was the simplest form of Intent Technique, but the higher your understanding of martial arts, the more immense the power you could stockpile. In this scenario, there was no chance anything from the Thunder God Lineage would work, so I aimed to boost my strength as much as possible.

“… Damn it, let’s go!”

But despite pulling all my martial prowess, my heart was filled with despair. There was no way I could handle Jeogok from the Three Sovereigns like this.

[Go ahead, struggle.]

Jeogok laughed mockingly, spreading its palm. In tandem, its bloodshot eye snapped wide open, and suffocating power blanketed me. In that moment, I shouted inwardly to the Fire Dragon Incarnate,

Fire Dragon Incarnate, please help me!

I can’t die here hopelessly!

Was it my desperate plea that reached them? The Fire Dragon Incarnate’s voice echoed within my mind.

[Just now, my true form said it would lend you power. Worry not.]

At that moment, with the help of the Fire Dragon Incarnate, I unleashed the Fire Spirit’s Flame while simultaneously releasing the Sword Form of the Fire Dragon Sword. In a trance, I felt all the martial arts I knew blend chaotically, with all my focus pouring into the tip of my sword. The head of the Fire Dragon flicked, unleashing the mighty power contained within both divine artifacts, and I felt all my internal strength being squeezed out of me.

Combined Techniques!

Celestial Dragon King Wave!

Crash!

The force discharged from the Fire Dragon collided head-on with Jeogok’s grip, resonating through the air, creating a huge shockwave. It erupted into an earthquake, and shortly after, the entire city of Luoyang resounded with a deafening roar.

“Huff, huff, huuff.”

I realized I had exhausted all my internal power for mere defensive techniques. Even though the depletion rate of my internal power was extreme while drawing on the abilities of the Great Immortal, using the Combined Techniques required an exponentially higher internal strength. But still, I managed to block Jeogok’s attempt to subdue me, and I inwardly sighed with relief.

[The power of Shenglong?]

Jeogok exclaimed, surprised.

[Indeed… There was a reason Jeon Wook was keeping an eye on you. A human who even the Divine Dragon would show such attention to.]

“Huff, huff!! Je, Jeogok, please step back.”

I felt like my mind was fading, but I gritted my teeth and pressed on.

“Why do you have to unmask yourselves so desperately? For you, Three Sovereigns, five hundred years is nothing more than a fleeting moment! Even if it’s trivial for us humans, please grant us a little more time to survive until our inevitable demise.”

[……]

At that instant, a palpable silence enveloped the hall. Jeogok seemed to grow even more intrigued.

[Oh? You know about our ‘mask’… and our objective as well. You’re not just an average human, are you?]

I crumpled to my knees.

“Please! If perishing on a predetermined timeline is humanity’s fate, I will accept it. But please, just let this era… this five hundred years pass peacefully.”

[… How audacious.]

“Huh?”

Jeogok scoffed arrogantly.

[You are not in a position to accept or decline. You are our creations, lower beings fashioned from chaos… Do you truly think you have the right to voice opinions on our affairs?]

“……”

[And you are merely part of the human race. Do you possess the qualifications to represent the will of all humanity? You, a mere bug, have no worth for the Three Sovereigns to even listen to you.]

“That’s…”

[You might qualify if you speak on behalf of the Dragon King. You’ve earned the acknowledgment of the Dragon King.]

I was being thoroughly disregarded. I realized Jeogok’s tone was even more severe than Jeon Wook’s, but ultimately, it was merely a difference in tone; their beliefs were almost identical. Jeon Wook also harbored a creepy notion of ‘qualification…’

Jeogok demanded a qualification.

Of course, it sounded absurd, but it seemed they were saying that to communicate with the God King, on par with the Old Ruler of the Universe, I needed some degree of standing. Having faced the Three Sovereigns several times, I grasped the underlying meaning of Jeogok’s words.

I couldn’t back down like this.

“Then what qualification is required?”

[A king.]

Jeogok replied slowly.

[Only a king can converse on equal terms with another king. Even if you are a lowly human, if you possess the qualifications of a king, we might listen to you.]

“……”

[I find you somewhat likable, but still, you feel more like a pet than anything else.]

It was then.

Chi You, who had just been watching quietly, spoke up.

[Jeogok.]

Chi You rose slowly from the throne. This was the first time he moved properly.

As Jeogok turned its gaze to Chi You, he looked up at the sky, murmuring with a chaos-stained face.

[You’ve been irritating from start to finish…]

[Hmph, you don’t mean to…]

Jeogok’s expression shifted as if it realized something was amiss.

[Vanish.]

Flash!

Suddenly, with Chi You’s command, lightning struck down, and Jeogok’s form vanished without a trace. It was undoubtedly the work of Chi You, and a chill ran down my spine.

‘Did he just wipe out Jeogok’s avatar in one stroke?’

Until moments ago, he’d shown a lack of strength, but now he seemed on par with the Three Sovereigns! I realized Chi You had been monitoring the situation in order to gather information, and only now had he decided to act. I clearly saw that he had reached the level of the Old Ruler!

[Baek Woong.]

Chi You spoke.

[We need to talk. I have a proposal for you.]

 

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