Chapter 241: The Future of the Asura Race Is Over There (1)
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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***
The entrance toward Horyong Province where the Sacred War was held.
Sitting cross-legged in the plaza called the waiting room, Jin So-myeong half-opened his eyes.
He was naturally not just sitting still without any thoughts. His Divine Sense, along with his five senses, was busy scanning the surroundings.
‘As expected… there are many strong individuals once I come out to the wide world.’
About one thousand two hundred Soul Formation stage cultivators were gathered in the spacious plaza with a radius of one kilometer, and counting only those who had reached the Soul Formation stage Great Circle, there were easily thirty.
There was no need to even ask why they participated in the Sacred War.
To become a Unity stage Celestial Lord.
They had come to seriously occupy the sacred object.
But where on earth did so many Soul Formation stage cultivators swarm from?
That could be understood just by looking at the width of the Red Lotus Realm.
Only when combining the entirety of the human realm…including the Middle Province, Southern Province, Eastern Province, Northern Province, and Western Province…and then multiplying it dozens of times, would it finally be similar in size to a single Red Lotus Realm.
Furthermore, the territory occupied by the Asuras was not just a single Red Lotus Realm…
so the swarming of thousands of Soul Formation stage Asuras was not a particularly marvelous thing.
At that moment when he was observing the competitors seated throughout the waiting room.
Crack!
A rupturing sound echoed from the empty void. This was because a collision occurred between Divine Sense and Divine Sense.
An Asura with reddish skin raised his eyes and jerked his head, and his gaze met Jin So-myeong’s.
“Which bastard…”
Had a few seconds passed?
Whether he realized Jin So-myeong was at the early Soul Formation stage, his eyes turned fierce.
He glared as if telling him to withdraw his Divine Sense immediately, but only a snort came out.
‘What a funny guy.’
What was the point of keeping manners between those who would soon kill each other?
As Jin So-myeong openly ignored him and did not withdraw his Divine Sense, the other’s gaze became increasingly turbulent.
The moment killing intent dwelled in his eyes.
Screeech!
The void distorted, and a roaring sound as if a giant piece of iron was being twisted echoed.
He had intended to crush Jin So-myeong’s Divine Sense to teach him a lesson, but was there any way that would work?
“…Kugh.”
The complexion of the Asura who was applying pressure turned pale in an instant, and his entire body trembled. This was because, while trying to suppress Jin So-myeong with his Divine Sense, he was instead counterattacked.
It was a natural result since Jin So-myeong’s Divine Sense was already at the late Soul Formation stage level.
And,
Crack!
Similar incidents were repeated throughout the plaza.
This was because there were many besides Jin So-myeong who released their Divine Sense to scan their competitors, thanks to which the plaza literally became highly volatile.
The moment a turbulent atmosphere continued to the point where it would not be strange for anyone to explode at any moment.
“Heh. Perhaps because they are young fellows, they are all full of vigor.”
At the slow voice unique to an old man echoing from the sky, all the commotion abruptly stopped.
He had not done anything particularly grand either.
Merely by revealing his presence, more than a thousand Soul Formation stage cultivators fell silent.
‘…Is that the Unity stage.’
Everyone sharpened their senses at the suddenly appeared Unity stage Celestial Lord, and Jin So-myeong was also no exception.
He closely scrutinized the Asura old man harboring a gentle smile,
and a cold shiver ran down his spine.
The composure remaining in a corner of his heart completely vanished.
‘He is… far stronger than I thought.’
The Unity stage met directly with his two eyes was strong enough to distantly transcend what he had vaguely expected.
All his senses, including his instinct, screamed.
‘If I fight now, it is a certain defeat.’
The jade slip explaining the Unity stage had said that a Soul Formation cultivator could never defeat a Unity stage cultivator even if they died and woke up again, and only now did he understand why it said such a thing.
That was essentially a completely different living organism.
Unity stage cultivators were monsters who, born as mere creatures, became able to interfere with the laws of heaven and earth.
Between the 5th-rank and the 6th-rank, a distantly thick wall existed.
“…”
Just up to here was gloomy enough to make a groan escape naturally, but the bad news did not end.
The Unity stage cultivator who descended from the sky was not alone.
A whopping ten people.
As many as ten overwhelming powerhouses, any single one of whom was difficult to cope with, descended.
Even one of them was a white-haired Asura, Ra-heuk, who had formed a deep grudge with Jin So-myeong.
At that moment when he closely scrutinized the Asura with a robust build.
Feeling the gaze, Ra-heuk glanced and turned his head slightly, and his eyes met Jin So-myeong’s.
‘Ha.’
For an instant, his breath was choked.
The opponent did not do anything, yet merely by the fact that he was touched by his gaze, a pressure as if being crushed by Mount Tai arose.
Despite this, he did not avoid the gaze.
The emotionless eyes. Facing them head-on, he curled up the corners of his mouth.
‘Ten Unity stage experts… this will be interesting.’
It seemed surviving and leaving this place would not be easy.
Senses sharpened at the sense of crisis felt after a long time.
Should it be said that he felt the fighting spirit asleep deep within his heart awakening.
Perhaps because his survival instinct was stimulated, his five senses became vivid and his brain spun rapidly.
‘The formation sealing Horyong Province was indeed at the 6th-rank. Breaking it by force will not be easy.’
At that moment when he was formulating a plan by synthesizing what he directly saw and learned with the information researched in advance.
“All of you must know how dangerous the Sacred War is. Most of you bastards will die. If there is a coward who finds his life precious, get lost immediately.”
A man with a rough impression reminiscent of a rock warned in a booming voice, but no one left.
“Good! I shall send praises to your courage. There is no need to drag time. I shall begin right away.”
The moment the man who shouted heartily clasped his hands.
Rumble!
One side of the plaza’s wall split open, and a distant energy to the point where vision turned blurry swept in.
‘Ah.’
The formation sealing Horyong Province opened.
As the spiritual Qi that poured like a tsunami enveloped the surroundings, it was to the point of turning his mind hazy.
Is this the spiritual Qi accumulated over ten thousand years.
Truly…
It was dense to the point of ecstasy.
The concentration of spiritual Qi was so dense that his mind turned distant for a brief instant.
At that moment when he barely maintained his sanity by biting the tip of his tongue.
“I pray you survive and reach the Unity stage.”
From the floor of the plaza, an intense light enough to make it absolutely impossible to open eyes surged up.
Flash…!
As he did not resist the brilliance enveloping his whole body, a feeling of being isolated from the world arose for a split second, and soon the surrounding scenery was completely overturned.
Looking at the desolate wilderness mixed with sand and soil, he realized.
The fact that he was teleported to the land where the Sacred War was held, Horyong Province.
A split second.
He immediately released his Divine Sense and thoroughly swept a radius of a thousand li.
‘To think there are as many as three nearby?’
Perhaps due to bad luck, there were three competitors at a close enough distance for his Divine Sense to reach.
The Sacred War participants should have been scattered throughout Horyong Province by the teleportation array, yet to think there were three nearby as soon as it started.
If Jin So-myeong were an ordinary participant, it would be a considerably annoying situation. Since no one would be able to move rashly due to being conscious of each other’s existence.
Of course, to him who had already distantly surpassed ordinary strength, it was an irrelevant story.
Leaving alone the Asuras who showed clear signs of nervousness, he concentrated on scanning the surroundings.
‘To think the heaven and earth origin energy is this dense…’
Having sealed the super-large 5th-rank peak-grade spiritual vein for ten thousand years, the entire atmosphere was filled with spiritual Qi.
Quietly, he closed his two eyes. As he inhaled slowly as if savoring it, a thrilling shiver flowed.
How should this feeling be expressed.
‘It is truly amazing.’
There was no need to explain it in length. He merely breathed, yet magic power accumulated. Even though he did not circulate a cultivation method.
Horyong Province, which had been sealed for ten thousand years, was literally a supreme cultivation land.
Although it did not reach the 6th-rank due to lacking the spirituality contained within the spiritual Qi, it was at least the best land for a Soul Formation cultivator to cultivate.
‘At this rate… even if I just sit still and cultivate, I will reach the mid Soul Formation stage in fifteen days.’
Enjoying the spiritual Qi dense enough to be moving, he turned his gaze.
Just the dense spiritual Qi was good enough, but what lay in Horyong Province was not just that.
A single stalk of grass grew at a distance of about three meters, and the shimmering of the faint golden light was by no means ordinary no matter how one looked at it.
‘Ten-thousand-year spiritual herb.’
Examining it with his Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, it was seen as a lump of heaven and earth origin energy in the shape of grass.
Moreover, the spiritual herb was not just one.
When roughly scanning the places where vegetation grew thick, without fail, there were ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs.
‘That looks like a Clear Insight Herb.’
The Clear Insight Herb is a primary ingredient of Soul Formation stage cultivation elixirs, and normally, even if it grows for only a hundred years, its medicinal potency becomes sufficient to be used as an ingredient.
To think such a spiritual herb grew for ten thousand years, how outstanding must its medicinal potency be.
He anticipated how fast his realm would rise if he cultivated while consuming ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs in a land with such dense spiritual Qi.
‘I will know once I try it.’
Since there was no reason to hesitate, he immediately reached out his hand.
Utilizing magic power, he pulled out the spiritual herb by its roots and then swallowed it in one bite, and guided the heaven and earth origin energy that swept in like an explosion to his dantian to accumulate it step by step.
Had about five minutes passed?
Magic power that could only be accumulated by suffering for easily half a year was added to his dantian.
“…Haha.”
What kind of absurd result was this.
His current feelings could not be expressed simply with the word good.
He merely consumed the spiritual herbs scattered everywhere like weeds, yet he saved half a year of time.
Just imagining how strong he would become once the Sacred War ended made a shiver flow.
‘At this rate… I must take more risks.’
Jin So-myeong, who thoroughly swept the surroundings with his Divine Sense reaching a thousand li, let his eyes shine.
He did not care about the competitors standing still while guarding the surroundings.
Boom!
He kicked off the ground toward the spiritual herb emitting dense heaven and earth origin energy.
***
At the same time, the gazes of the spectators watching the Sacred War through the super-large mirrors installed in various places of the Red Lotus Realm converged on one spot.
“What is that?”
“Heh, he is extremely bold.”
There was a young man moving rapidly as soon as the Sacred War began, and because it was an extraordinary behavior, it had no choice but to stand out.
That was because the early part of the Sacred War that had just begun was normally static.
The Sacred War was a survival competition to survive for a month in a narrow space called Horyong Province.
Since everyone was each other’s enemy, moving first was disadvantageous. Since drawing attention carelessly could make one a target, one had to move prudently in the beginning.
However…
One of the participants. The young man carrying on his back a red horse-slaying saber engraved with the characters Fire Cleaving Great Saber was different.
Boom!
As if mocking the competitors holding their breath, he swept through Horyong Province in all directions, harvested ten-thousand-year spiritual herbs, swallowed them raw, and repeated cultivating.
“To think he just consumes spiritual herbs that grew for ten thousand years? Since the medicinal potency is strong, the side effects must be no joke either.”
“He probably mastered related divine abilities. In any case, is it not refreshing and good to look at?”
“Well. To think an early Soul Formation stage cultivator who is not even a renowned strong individual acts so arrogantly. He will probably die soon.”
Did he indeed draw too much attention?
Boom!
A muscular giant who plummeted from the sky like a meteor blocked the front of the young man who had just digested the spiritual herb and was about to move his steps.
Since it was the first clash since the Sacred War began, everyone’s gaze was focused.
“I am Hyeon-gwang. Who are you?”
“…”
When the young man did not answer readily, the giant’s eyes turned even fiercer.
“Surely you are not a coward who cannot even reveal his own name.”
“A name… there is no reason not to reveal it either. I am Jin So-myeong.”
“Jin So-myeong? A nobody.”
The spectators also agreed with the evaluation close to a provocation.
This was because there was not a single cultivator with the name Jin So-myeong who shook their reputation.
Furthermore, the difference in realm between the two was also extreme.
Early Soul Formation stage and late Soul Formation stage. If asked who seemed likely to win, a hundred out of a hundred would answer exactly the same.
That it was now time for Jin So-myeong, who ran wild arrogantly, to pay the price.
Crack!
A creepy sound of bones echoed, and the giant’s size, which was already large, swelled by double.
The giant, who came to possess a body close to a beast with a height easily exceeding nine feet, poured out turbulent eyes.
“Just think of it as a predetermined result arriving. Or blame yourself for participating in the Sacred War with insufficient strength.”
Compared to the giant emitting powerful prestige, Jin So-myeong, who looked so powerless, harbored a faint smile that was barely visible.
“Thank you.”
“…What?”
What on earth was he thanking him for? The moment the muscular giant frowned.
“For saying what I was going to say instead.”
He gripped the handle of the Fire Cleaving Great Saber slung diagonally on his back,
Whoosh!
and a fierce flame surged from the red horse-slaying saber, emitting a creepy sharp aura.
“…!”
The giant with wide eyes hastily crossed his two hands above his head. He wrapped a darkish barrier between his wrist and elbow to block something.
Although it was a surprisingly agile response considering his house-sized bulk…
it was meaningless.
The moment even sound could not be transmitted. A streak of wind cleaved the battlefield.
The giant, who was moving his lips as if about to say something, fell silent for a few seconds and finally sighed.
“Absurd.”
With that short word as the end.
A bloody line starting from the crown of his head continued through his forehead, jaw, and pit of the stomach down to his groin.
That was the end.
Focus disappeared from his eyes, and the giant who had flaunted brave prestige split vertically in the exact posture of trying to block something.
At that shocking result.
“Ah.”
The Asuras watching from across the entire Red Lotus Realm lost their souls.
This was truly… a result no one had anticipated.
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