Chapter 409: Higher, Beyond the Heavens
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Gun Mu-ak displayed a noticeable reaction for the first time.
Pupils that created ripples then quickly stopped.
It was rare.
Since he was always expressionless like Cheol Ryu-heun.
“Are you certain?”
The voice he thus uttered also felt different from usual.
Cheol Ryu-heun immediately nodded his head and answered.
“I’m absolutely certain. I confirmed it personally.”
“……”
Then Gun Mu-ak’s eye-light hardened further.
However, what emotion lay beyond his pupils was ambiguous.
Perhaps it was a mixture of vigilance and competitive spirit.
At that time, Mun-bin asked with a curious expression.
“Who exactly does ‘him’ refer to…?”
“I’m saying the mysterious warrior I mentioned is him.”
Simultaneously with those words, not only Mun-bin but even the entire group of guest retainers were startled.
“Ah…!”
“To think the Heaven Emperor Society Lord is that unidentified warrior…!”
A strange fear arrived in their chests.
It couldn’t be helped.
Because he was the sole existence that Cheol Ryu-heun had acknowledged as stronger than himself in this era.
“Explain in more detail.”
Gun Mu-ak’s eye-light, as he spoke thus, had at some point changed to indifference.
Having nodded, Cheol Ryu-heun summarized his movements after achievement in order and taught them.
Once the not-long story ended, everyone except Gun Mu-ak seemed even more surprised.
Particularly, Cheol Ryu-heun’s exploits in beheading Nine Springs Demon Dragon Sang-jan were shocking.
That washed away clean the strange fear that had been settling in each of their chests.
In that state, Gun Mu-ak threw a question.
“So, how is it now?”
Cheol Ryu-heun immediately asked back.
“What?”
“Your assessment of the Heaven Emperor Society Lord, that fellow. At that time, you said this: that even if we two combined our strength, it would be hard to bring him down.”
“Ah, I did.”
“So I’m asking again. Because your martial prowess has once again improved.”
“Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, Evil Emperor, Martial Immortal, Blood God… I think the power I’ve gained from coming here is comparable to the full prime of those five.”
“I think similarly. Though I haven’t directly seen the lifetime martial prowess of those five…”
“Well, that’s about pure martial level; in terms of the marvelous applications of flesh and energy techniques, I’m above them.”
Gun Mu-ak knew that wasn’t arrogance.
Yet.
The words Cheol Ryu-heun said next were somewhat disappointing.
“Despite that, it’s still difficult. To press down on that fellow and bring him to his knees.”
“……”
“But if we stake our lives and commit, the Heaven Emperor Society Lord won’t be unscathed either. We could at least cut off a part of his body somewhere.”
“Hmm… so you’re saying we’re still lacking.”
“We’re still lacking in predicting anything. Both in martial prowess and information. I’m just guessing in my head. If we spar with the Four Divine Generals under that fellow, we’d be able to gauge it to some degree. But it doesn’t seem we’ll meet them here.”
“Who knows, you never know with people. They might suddenly appear right before our eyes. Anyway, we fill that lacking with variables.”
“What kind of variable do you mean?”
“Me.”
“You…?”
“Yes, me.”
“Hasn’t that variable now reached its limit?”
“You don’t know anything.”
“……”
“Do you think today’s enlightenment is my limit?”
“That means…”
“Time is on my side. Because I’ll become stronger than now.”
“What?”
Even the usual Gun Mu-ak was shocked this time.
He couldn’t readily believe it.
Did he still have room to develop?
While possessing martial power estimated to be on par with the five most outstanding in martial history?
It couldn’t be idle talk.
That’s why it struck him as even more shocking words.
It was the same for Namgung Sang-rin, Hae Su-yeon, and the others.
Truly a succession of surprises.
The person called Cheol Ryu-heun was mysterious the more one knew about him.
No, perhaps expressing it as an incomprehensible existence would be correct.
Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, Evil Emperor, Martial Immortal, Blood God were the highest peak of martial history.
And it was surmised that Cheol Ryu-heun had achieved power comparable to theirs.
That was practically the limit point of martial arts.
Setting aside the Heaven Emperor Society Lord, whose personal martial prowess remained mysterious.
Yet he said he would surpass that.
The power of the five who were the highest in long history….
Was that really achievable?
Everyone felt like their heads were going blank after hearing such amazing words.
Having shrugged his shoulders, Cheol Ryu-heun obliquely spoke to Gun Mu-ak.
“Seeing that reaction of yours is amusing. The moment you set limits for yourself, you’ll face defeat. The goal I wish to achieve is beyond heaven.”
“A goal beyond the heavenly sky… It seems like a metaphorical expression for surpassing those five.”
The moment Gun Mu-ak murmured, Cheol Ryu-heun recalled his amazing experience of the day in his head.
The Great Universe.
The totality of the mysterious domain said to contain infinite space, eternal order, and unobstructed principle… all of it, without any end.
A space not only beyond human but even beyond heaven, completely in a different dimension.
He had glimpsed a mystical domain presumed to be that place.
And.
Five people of the constellation with their backs to the void like pitch-black darkness.
Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, Evil Emperor, Martial Immortal, Blood God.
He couldn’t know why those five people who had died long ago were together there.
Had they all become absolute gods governing the Great Universe and were residing there…
At that time, he heard a voice.
The voice of the Heavenly Demon, the progenitor of demonic path martial arts and first Cult Master of Heavenly Demon Cult.
-You’ve opened a small path of light. Regrettably, with your current ability, this is all. There will be another day we meet again.
Having recalled that tremendous sight that made a thousand years of knowledge meaningless, Cheol Ryu-heun soon opened his mouth.
“You asked me at that time. If I had a strategy to contend with that fellow.”
-Do you have a strategy to contend with such a person?
-I just need to become stronger than now.
Having recalled that conversation, Gun Mu-ak answered with a nod.
“Yes. The answer that you just need to become stronger was quite interesting. However, I had assumed today’s martial prowess rise was the limit. Honestly, just the fact that your power rose higher than before is already a great achievement. Yet the process of that strategy hasn’t ended. If what you said is true… at the end of your enlightenment today, did you see a new path?”
“I did. It’s a path no one knows about. And whether I reach the end of that path depends entirely on my will. But I don’t know how far I’ll go. Just as you say, it’s a path no one knows, one never traveled before. I’m the first. At least among the people living on this land.”
“Precisely?”
“The level of combining all five of those said to be the highest tier in martial history. That’s the path I wish to go.”
“Combine them all? Huu… you keep surprising me.”
It was Gun Mu-ak, even showing a faint smile.
That’s how surprising what he said was.
Namgung Sang-rin and the rest also clicked their tongues.
A level combining the martial cultivation of Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, Evil Emperor, Martial Immortal, Blood God.
Shock that evoked tremors.
It was indeed a goal worthy of being called beyond heaven.
Befitting the unprecedented rising warrior Cheol Ryu-heun who had been destroying common sense until now….
If he achieved that, he would likely rise to the divine rank of absolute martial arts.
That’s right.
It was not within the category of human.
It would truly be no different from the sole god of martial history.
Having erased the smile from his mouth at some point, Gun Mu-ak asked.
“When did you meet that fellow?”
Then everyone’s gazes gathered.
After all, that was the most curious matter.
Because Cheol Ryu-heun had said he was stronger than himself before finding out about the Heaven Emperor Society.
Yet Cheol Ryu-heun stayed tight-lipped.
“Later.”
“You mean it’s not yet time to reveal it?”
“Wait. I’ll tell you at an appropriate time after wrapping things up. For now, concentrate only on the impending battle.”
Having so stated, Cheol Ryu-heun chuckled inwardly.
‘Hut. It would be troublesome if I told them the truth. Well, I’ll just make up something appropriate.’
And the one who should know that truth was someone else.
Heaven Emperor Society Lord.
The true identity of the wanderer who had mercilessly destroyed him, the Divine Martial Sword.
Yes, he would definitely tell that fellow first, speaking close to his ear.
After bringing him to his knees with power.
Cheol Ryu-heun soon looked at Namgung Sang-rin.
“What about the task I instructed?”
“Ah, yes. It was successfully completed about half a shichen ago.”
“Good.”
The mission Cheol Ryu-heun had ordered was the meditation training of the personnel he had originally brought along.
Thereby, the martial prowess of all the martial talents had risen once again.
“Now I just need to go and work on the others separately…”
Cheol Ryu-heun soon looked around the assembly with indifferent eyes.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
Mun-bin, Namgung Sang-rin, and others answered as if shouting, igniting their fighting spirit.
“Our goal is unchanged. Perfect annihilation of the enemy. There may be variables in the enemy camp, but whatever they are, I can resolve them with my power. So everyone just needs to trust and follow me.”
All nodded in unison at his words.
Eye-lights firmly imbued with faith.
Trust was evident that there could be no failure in what Cheol Ryu-heun did.
In that state, Cheol Ryu-heun’s voice continued.
“Neither the Detached Three Army Corps nor Eastern Heaven Division is the main force of the Heaven Emperor Society. In all likelihood, they’re clearly expendable pawns to be used and discarded. The real force is elsewhere. Along with the Four Divine Generals under them. On the other hand, all our personnel are the main force. So I will not tolerate sacrifice of lives.”
At those words, Namgung Sang-rin spoke as the representative.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Still, shouldn’t we fight with the resolve to die? For complete victory.”
“Wrong. It’s not resolve to die but resolve to kill.”
“Ah……”
“The targets for fighting with the resolve to die are at the Heaven Emperor Society headquarters, not here. While receiving Sang-jan’s sword, I thought: even if you had fought, Sang-rin, you would have won. Though the process might have been different.”
“…!”
At those words, Namgung Sang-rin felt his chest swell.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s two eyes scanned over the guest retainers one by one.
“The martial arts of all of you, including Sang-rin, have already reached a high level. Even the enemy camp would find it a difficult level to face, with very few exceptions. Through this battle, you will all realize that keenly.”
His words to the entire group of guest retainers continued.
“Do you know the true meaning of White Peak?”
Hae Su-yeon immediately nodded and replied in a soft voice.
“Of course. The ‘White’ of White Peak Sword Sect signifies the values of the righteous path that are fair and impartial; and ‘Peak’ signifies the unyielding spirit of protecting those values with sword discipline like a giant mountain.”
“You have also inherited the spirit of White Peak. It means the guest retainers are also precious members entrusting their bodies to our Sect. In other words, all of you are no different from formal disciples. While you are under me. So don’t get hurt either. Just demonstrate the spirit of White Peak and annihilate the enemy.”
Everyone felt a certain affection in his indifferent voice.
“Yes, we will prove our martial arts with the spirit of righteous heroes that White Peak Sword Sect carries on.”
At Namgung Sang-rin’s words, the eye-lights of the remaining guest retainers and Mun-bin blazed like flames.
Cheol Ryu-heun, having risen at some point, spoke while taking a step.
“The battle to take place tomorrow… I will end it within two shichen. We must show them. A perfectly swift conclusion.”