Chương 596: Pen (2)

The first clash.

My entire body contorts and twists as I am flung away.

"Kuheok!"

In that brief moment, Kim Young-hoon splits in half.

However, it isn't just a one-sided attack.

Hyeon Mu chuckles.

Her shoulder.

A distinct sword mark remains there.

At the same time, her ankle is grazed by a faint golden saber scar.

"It's lacking."

Hyeon Mu gazes at us with hollow eyes and begins to dance with a smirk.

Kururung!

With every movement she makes, the surrounding flow gradually changes.

'This is...!'

The world of infinite chaos that seems to allow no rules begins to form a circle in accordance with Hyeon Mu's dance.

'This is dangerous!'

I feel it instinctively.

Hyeon Mu must not be allowed to continue that dance!

I rush towards Hyeon Mu with Kim Young-hoon.

Is it the connection of hearts, or perhaps mere coincidence?

Kim Young-hoon, despite having lost his sense of self, matches my movements to attack Hyeon Mu from both front and back.

Kieeeeeee!

The cry of a Peng is heard.

Surpassing Radiant Genesis Form.

First Style.

Golden Wing Defiles the Light!

Severing Heaven Sword Form.

Second Form.

Treading Heaven!

The Colorless Glass Sword leaves my hand, becoming a flying sword like a streak of light, and Kim Young-hoon's wing turns into a golden saber, cutting into the circle drawn by Hyeon Mu.

Kigik!

I twist the flow, and Kim Young-hoon's saber scar completely severs the twisted flow.

Tukwang!

Hyeon Mu's dance stops.

Shiver!

However, an indescribable foreboding causes me to distance myself from Hyeon Mu.

Kim Young-hoon seems to feel the same, retreating with me, or rather, before me.

Shiring, shiring— An eerie sound from somewhere tears through the fabric of chaos.

[If this had been a sparring match for juniors... I would have just reflected you as you are. But this time, the circumstances are different.] Hyeon Mu's whole body is wrapped in black bandages.

And at the end of those bandages hang what appear to be tens, hundreds, thousands of weapons.

[Try to withstand this. This is everything I have accumulated, Myriad Martial Weapons and Arts (萬武萬式).]

"...!"

Hyeon Mu's will seems to penetrate and resound throughout the entire world of chaos.

Just facing that will alone, a powerful wisdom flows in.

[I will show you.] True Martial Arts.

[Dance of Emptiness.] First Dance.

[Fierce Battle of Ten Thousand Devils (萬魔熱戰).] Shiririririk!

The countless weapons thought to be wrapped in black bandages suddenly turn into black snakes.

Shrakakakang!

Thousands of snakes sweep over us.

'This is crazy...!'

The countless weapons each vividly form their own shapes, completely reversing the flow of chaos.

As chaos tears apart, Heaven and Earth begin to divide.

Jjeeong!

The martial arts Hyeon Mu unfolds have so many forms that they appear formless.

'The world...'

I gaze at the world of chaos that has just been torn apart.

By Hyeon Mu's single move, the world where Qi, Soul, and Fate were intermixed becomes [established].

Though it may not be the normal environment that mortal beings think of, the surrounding area transforms into a space akin to just after the creation of a typical Heavenly Domain.

'Insane...'

It is as if she established a space using only the flow of her martial doctrine within chaos.

Shiriririk— Together with Kim Young-hoon, I look at something hissing in the center of this newly created space.

It is thousands of black snakes.

The snakes flick their tongues, glaring at us.

The moment I come to my senses, The snakes suddenly leave our perception domain and are instantly upon us.

I quickly reveal the form of Candle Shadow.

Transforming into the half-human, half-beast form, I overlap the Wheel and the Three Great Ultimates.

Twisting history through the Wheel to unleash infinite power, I begin to resist Hyeon Mu's martial doctrine.

But...

It is useless.

'Damn it...!'

I am crumbling.

The illusion of innumerable weapons in the shape of snakes overwhelms me with countless martial doctrines and martial arts.

My entire body is collapsing.

Kim Young-hoon is the same.

The golden Peng and the hazy Candle Dragon are melting in the swamp filled with black snakes.

'Is this... the end?'

It's just when I think so.

"More..."

A faint voice comes from the golden Peng, whom I thought had lost its will.

"More...!"

Shukwang!

With that, a golden saber light sweeps away the swarm of black snakes.

"More...!!!"

It is Kim Young-hoon.

'Ah...'

"Give me more!!"

It isn't the golden Peng.

He, despite being disintegrated by Hyeon Mu, is returning to the form of a human.

"It is still not enough!!"

He is a bird of golden light.

But at the same time, he is also a dignified martial artist.

He seems to be transforming from a golden bird into a human.

With each and every move he makes, golden feathers seem to scatter from his arms and legs.

'How... are you able to do that?'

I quietly watch Kim Young-hoon as he deflects Hyeon Mu's attacks at the forefront.

'How can you stand proudly against this absurd god's martial doctrine?'

I see something around Kim Young-hoon.

The golden feathers falling from him are disintegrating into golden dust and enveloping him.

'In front of this incomprehensible infinite flow, how... are you doing this?'

Then, as if reading my thoughts, Kim Young-hoon turns around.

Our eyes meet.

"... Is there not a path? Then just walk it."

After throwing that brief remark, Kim Young-hoon turns back around.

"At the end of the path... I only hope what I desire is there."

'There is... a path?'

I understand immediately.

The realm Hyeon Mu has reached, and where she stands.

Since someone has reached it, the path exists.

So he is simply walking it.

Kim Young-hoon, holding his golden saber, begins to fly.

The darkness tears apart.

Along with it, the bodies of the thousands of snakes that Hyeon Mu used to envelop us are torn apart.

At the source of the snakes.

I sense Hyeon Mu giving a slight smile.

[Have you taken the first step?] Flash!

I feel like I'm about to cry.

He has reached it.

A golden halo rises behind him.

As I look at that halo, I gain [wisdom].

Triple Divinity (三神性).

First Divinity (第一性), Brahma Nature (梵性).

[Editor: In Hinduism, Brahma is considered to be the Creator among the three Supreme Divinities (the Trimurti). In Buddhism, Brahma is considered to be a celestial being but not the creator, and was said to have been the one to convince the Buddha to teach the dharma after he attained enlightenment.] The first aspect of Triple Divinity.

The nature of Creation (創造).

Kim Young-hoon moves.

His saber mark begins to rise, reversing the world Hyeon Mu created within chaos.

'The intent...'

A perfect circle has appeared behind Kim Young-hoon.

The realm I call Severing Heaven, and Hyeon Mu calls Udumbara.

Within that circle, a single light blooms.

'Reversing the world... and creating something new...!'

Kim Young-hoon's saber scar begins to dye the universe.

Transcending light, his saber scar seems to swallow the world like mist, and in an instant, the primordial world created by Hyeon Mu changes its form.

Kwarurururu!

It becomes a world where the power of golden light flows like a waterfall.

Kim Young-hoon has dyed the world Hyeon Mu created with his saber scar, establishing his own world.

Tadat!

Kim Young-hoon raises the golden saber in front of me, casting a glance in my direction.

Smirk!

He gives a faint smile and raises the saber to point at Hyeon Mu.

In the world Kim Young-hoon has established, something black and curled begins to rotate.

The martial arts of Hyeon Mu, taking the form of countless snakes, start becoming a storm.

True Martial Arts.

[Dance of Emptiness. The second movement...] Second Dance.

Hyeon Mu's will resonates throughout Kim Young-hoon's entire world.

[Blood Trace of Subduing Devils (伏魔血蹟).] Chwararararak!

Hyeon Mu's will injects wisdom into us.

It is the wisdom of fear.

Around her, thousands of weapons rotate, forming a black sphere.

The next moment, a black river begins to flow in various places of the golden world Kim Young-hoon has seized.

The river, originating from the black sphere, is composed of droplets that are each a Gang Sphere.

The river made of Gang Spheres engulfs the entire world and begins to batter us.

Kurururung!

A storm starts to rage.

Swaaaaaaa!

Rain made of Gang Spheres strikes against us.

Being at most lumps of Gang Qi, they should not affect me at all. However, as I see my Immortal Beast True Blood rumbling and bursting each time a droplet hits me, I frown.

Kim Young-hoon looks up at the golden sky.

Before long, the river of black water emanating from Hyeon Mu has transformed into dark clouds covering the sky, pouring down black streams from above.

It seems as if the entire world is weeping black blood.

The world becomes contaminated by Hyeon Mu's river.

It appears as if Hyeon Mu is writing sentences in black blood.

"Using the clue you gave me and in order to reach the realm called Severing Heaven, I learned cultivation methods and rose to the Heavenly Being stage through Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation. And... by becoming a Heavenly Being Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation practitioner through cultivation methods, I came to understand. That this thing called Martial Arts is futile. Realizing that everything is merely borrowed from Heaven and Earth... is how I reached Severing Heaven."

Shiring, shiring, shiriring— Saber scars begin to form around Kim Young-hoon.

He wields his saber at a speed even I can't perceive, merely looking as if saber scars are flickering around him.

"But... after reaching Severing Heaven, meeting that Hyeon Mu, and receiving training in Martial Arts, I came to realize. Look, Seo Eun-hyun!"

"...!"

A light like the morning sunlight bursts forth from Kim Young-hoon.

But it is not light.

Each and every ray is Kim Young-hoon's Gang Qi.

Though it's merely Gang Qi, I have no choice but to doubt my eyes.

I have no choice but to doubt.

Because my entire body is torn apart by mere Gang Qi, and each ray of light bursts Hyeon Mu's droplets of Gang Sphere!

"Heaven and Earth (天地) is the universe? I, too, am a small universe (小宇宙)!"

"...!"

"Being born from Heaven and Earth does not make us separate! We too, are Heaven and Earth itself! It is not borrowing. It is proudly using and uniting Heaven and Earth within myself. That is precisely..."

The rays emanating from Kim Young-hoon grow thicker.

The quantity of Gang Qi he exudes is increasing even more.

'Crazy...!'

A body merely at the Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation Heavenly Being stage.

Merely at the realm of the Lower Boundary with cultivation methods, Kim Young-hoon is emitting light akin to the Sun from that small body.

In a body no different from dust compared to my true body, he is producing enough Gang Qi to destroy the world, even if it is just Gang Qi!

Flash!

Light bursts forth.

At the same time, the black rivers created by Hyeon Mu all evaporate.

No, they didn't evaporate.

Kim Young-hoon, with an absurd level of Gang Qi, burst each and every Gang Sphere in the rivers.

Kim Young-hoon's Gang Qi engulfs the golden world.

The only one who can move in this world is Kim Young-hoon.

That's when it happens.

True Martial Arts.

Dance of Emptiness.

Hyeon Mu's will resonates in Kim Young-hoon's world.

[The third movement...] Chills!

Kim Young-hoon erases his smile and looks forward.

[I will show you. The teaching I imparted while dual cultivating with the Great Mountain Supreme Deity... If I only had the energy to dig a bit deeper at that time, it would have been a single strike that could have killed Them.] I feel my body trembling.

This is dangerous.

It doesn't seem like something Kim Young-hoon, who has only obtained the first nature of Triple Divinity, can withstand.

I, who hasn't even attained Kim Young-hoon's level of enlightenment, don't dare think I can stand before it.

I'm scared!

However, I confront that fear head-on and advance, dragging my trembling arms and legs forward.

Piercing through the Gang Qi of the world Kim Young-hoon has seized, I stand beside him.

Kikigik!

The Three Great Ultimates rise behind me.

Neither the Wheel nor anything else rises.

I don't need the power of Candle Shadow or the power of a Vestige Liberation Immortal.

No, having just taken the aftermath of Kim Young-hoon's strike, it doesn't seem like I can use the realms of Immortal Cultivation I have accumulated.

What remains now is merely the strength of a second-rate expert.

Even if I squeeze the Three Great Ultimates, it would only yield the strength of a peak expert.

But it doesn't matter.

Even that much is more than enough.

'Now I understand.'

Watching the exchange between Kim Young-hoon and Hyeon Mu, I realised.

At first, it seemed like a terrifying high level of combat, but I can tell.

What they are using... are all martial doctrines that I understand.

'I can do it too.'

I begin to reflect myself with intent.

The history I have accumulated, the futures I will walk towards, and the present moment where I stand are all reflected in my eyes.

"... I prophesize, and also revise..."

I squeeze out nonexistent energy and use prophecy and revision.

The prophecy and revision is applied to the [myself] I have accumulated.

"What I have accumulated... will not betray me."

Due to that prophecy and revision, even the peak master-level strength I had drops, leaving me with only ordinary human strength.

Nothingness that is devoid of existence!

Within that nothingness, I take a step forward with a faint smile.

'Now I understand.'

Intent.

Heart.

Heart Essence.

The power of the Heart Tribe...

It is not nothing.

All the powers that interpret the world can ultimately be called Martial Arts.

Of course, it can only interpret and do nothing else...

But perhaps, that alone is enough.

Flash!

All the enlightenment accumulated through the Heaven Tribe, Earth Tribe, and Heart Tribe interlock.

They present me with three possibilities held within my will (意) and thought (念) [TL Notes: 意 + 念 = 意念, which means intent.] All intents and hearts of all phenomena are interpreted in three ways.

Creation, Preservation, Destruction.

[Editor: The aforementioned Trimurti (three Supreme Divinities) in Hinduism is composed of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who are the gods of creation, preservation, and destruction respectively.] Three streams of light are infused into the Three Great Ultimates I raise.

Brahma Nature (梵性).

Narayana Nature (那羅延性).

Mahesvara Nature (大自在性).

Triple Divinity (三神性) is infused into the Three Great Ultimates.

Together with Kim Young-hoon, I gaze at the wave of countless weapons rushing toward us.

:: Annihilation (滅) Advancement (進).:: Dance of Emptiness, the third dance.

The ultimate move of Annihilation Advancement (滅進) becomes a wave of black snakes crashing down on us.

With her single move, the world becomes destroyed.

Kim Young-hoon and I each take a step forward.

One sword, one saber extends forward and shines.

The Three Great Ultimates behind me becomes pure white and glows, while the halo behind Kim Young-hoon becomes a golden sunlight supporting him.

The two rays of light merge into one, enduring within Hyeon Mu's wave.

Heaven and Earth collapse.

An enormous roar sweeps over us and passes by.

The golden world created by Hyeon Mu and overlaid by Kim Young-hoon's own establishment disappears without a trace.

We have returned to the Outer Sea of chaos.

"Hyung-nim!"

I reach out towards Kim Young-hoon with my battered body.

Kim Young-hoon meets my gaze, nods, and quickly flies through the chaos to grab my shoulder.

As we roughly hold onto each other, we leap towards the shape of Mount Sumeru visible in the distance.

Behind us, the light of the Triple Divinity each of us realized blooms.

How long do I focus my mind on that light of the Triple Divinity?

At last, within the rays of light, we cross vast spacetime and re-enter inside Mount Sumeru.

We succeeded in surviving Hyeon Mu's move.

We also fully confirmed each other's enlightenments.

Now is the time to flee.

"Heok...! Heok...!"

I sprang up from my spot as if waking from a dream.

It's the familiar underground of a planet.

In front of me, Hyeon Mu meditates with her eyes closed, and beside me, Kim Young-hoon has appeared without my noticing.

"... Let's go quickly before she catches up."

"Alright."

Us exiting Mount Sumeru was merely borrowing Hyeon Mu's consciousness through dual cultivation to project incarnations outside.

However her power is so immense that just the clones created from her consciousness was enough to wield the strength of our main bodies. It can be seen how powerful Hyeon Mu's power is just from that.

Shwick!

Kim Young-hoon swiftly beheads Hyeon Mu, who has not yet retrieved her consciousness from the Outer Sea, and speaks.

"Do you have a way to escape? If not, hold onto my clothes. Right now, I think I might be able to make it through a Heavenly Domain just by running!"

"I appreciate the thought, but I have something better. Jeon Myeong-hoon! Golden Shaking Bird!"

It is when I call out to them.

Kwarururung!

Red lightning swept over us, and we are instantly transported into the Great Desolate Path.

It is only after obtaining Triple Divinity that I realize.

'The Good Sight Heavenly Domain is... essentially managed by Hyeon Mu.'

I can vividly feel Hyeon Mu's will pervading this Heavenly Domain.

If we stay here, we will inevitably be captured again.

"For now, quickly move to another Heavenly Domain! As long as it's not the Heavenly King or Sun and Moon, anywhere is fine! Anywhere!"

The Great Desolate Path activates, and we begin moving again via the domain of thunder and lightning.

Thus, Kim Young-hoon and I reunite after thousands of years, awaken to a new realm of Martial Arts, and head towards a new Heavenly Domain.

Outer Sea.

There, Hyeon Mu, having transformed into a human form, recalls the recent events.

"... I see. Time... You have already set things in motion through Yeong Seung. The split soul of Yeong Seung in Seo Eun-hyun's possession... is that your answer? Do not worry... for I will let you live."

Recalling the prophecy planted in Seo Eun-hyun by the Heavenly Venerable of Time without anyone knowing, she smiles faintly.

"So, it's just a matter of waiting, is it? Huhu... There was no need for dismantling, huh. It is fortunate I did not end up ruining promising juniors."

She laughs clearly, thinking of Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Young-hoon from just moments ago.

'Kim Young-hoon has completely grasped Brahma Nature. He has fully taken a step forward. But Seo Eun-hyun...'

She chuckles as if finding it a bit incredulous.

'Crazy. Brahma Nature, Narayana Nature, and Mahesvara Nature... he comprehended it all at once? That is quite something. However... it is shallow.'

She recalls the light behind Kim Young-hoon and the light imbued in Seo Eun-hyun's Three Great Ultimates.

The three lights within Seo Eun-hyun's Three Great Ultimates were very small and faint compared to the one light supporting Kim Young-hoon.

It was only because there were three divinities that Seo Eun-hyun's brightness seemed similar.

'He should train in the opposite way of Kim Young-hoon. Although he has stepped into all three of Triple Divinity, unlike Kim Young-hoon, he hasn't gained control of even one... Huhu, I look forward to it. Regardless of what happened, having stepped into Triple Divinity without order all at once, if he masters them all... will the first user of Triple Divinity not specialized in any nature appear for the first time?'

Recalling her True Martial Arts, specialized in destruction, and Kim Young-hoon's True Martial Arts, specialized in creation, Hyeon Mu thinks of Seo Eun-hyun's Three Great Ultimates and Triple Divinity.

'Obtaining the Three Great Ultimates without order... is this not the first in the universe? Whether his True Martial Arts will not be specialised in any creation, preservation, or destruction... or if it will be specialised in everything... I am curious.'

Hyeon Mu envisions the future Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Young-hoon.

"... Anyway, since both have stepped into Triple Divinity, neither should die easily. I shall wait. In the distant domain of the void... until you come to kill me..."

Holding hope for the two beings who might be capable of killing her, Hyeon Mu severs her own neck and commits suicide in the world of chaos.

Hyeon Mu's body soon transforms into deep darkness and is reabsorbed into Mount Sumeru.