Chapter 384: Greater Self (1)

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When Su Je-heon committed such nonsensical slaughter of commoners and died magnificently before my eyes, I thought he was committing suicide. That was because I could think of no other reason why he would withdraw his astral qi in front of me.

Perhaps Su Je-heon had suffered a mental breakdown. Such a thought momentarily crossed my mind as well. That could well have been the case. His original intention was to become the leader of the new martial world, yet had that not grown distant, to the point of becoming utterly impossible?

However, listening to Gwan Seo-ye’s report belatedly, my thoughts changed.

As Su Je-heon’s atrocities and the fact that I executed Su Je-heon spread rapidly across the Central Plains, the perception of the Palace of Heavenly Worship and the imperial palace hit rock bottom.

“Civil uprisings are continuing to erupt like bamboo shoots after rain. And support for the Association Leader is solidifying as well. What a relief. That Su Je-heon succumbed to madness has returned to us as such a blessing in disguise.”

Gwan Seo-ye, who had watched the battle between Su Je-heon and me, also failed to see Su Je-heon withdraw his astral qi, so she could not help but interpret it that way.

“I can truly feel that a new era is beginning.”

Gwan Seo-ye said. Though she seemed thrilled by this new change, I, the sole person who knew Su Je-heon’s end, felt only conflicted.

I, too, knew the man named Su Je-heon. Su Je-heon was no fool. He was certainly someone who knew full well what kind of consequences his actions would bring about.

This, too, was undoubtedly an action he had intended. Su Je-heon had used his own life to guide me to the forefront of the new martial world. Though it was something never agreed upon with me, Su Je-heon was someone who didn’t care about such things in the first place. Knowing me as he did, he likely thought that no matter how recklessly he acted, I would come to understand his intentions.

‘A madman until the very end.’

Su Je-heon was truly a different person from me. Under the conviction of wanting to create a new martial world, he had thrown away even his own life. My mistake was assuming his conviction was being at the forefront of the new martial world. His conviction was the new martial world itself.

Still, to devote one’s life for the sake of a single conviction like that. Even going so far as to bear such infamy after death.

I had always been so, but after transcendence, I leaned even closer toward a rational disposition. To me, Su Je-heon’s actions were utterly incomprehensible.

However, thinking about it, human beings were originally imperfect existences. Just like art, the word ‘perfection’ did not suit humans either.

Only then did the words spoken by the Heavenly Demon of the Blood Cult truly make sense to me. The people wandering about claiming to be immortals, whether in the Immortal Realm or the martial world, were not gods in the true sense. They were merely living beings who had transcended humanity yet had not shed the human shell completely.

If one were a true god, one had to transcend the distinction between life and death, time, and space. Because they could not do so, they could not be called gods.

“Gwan Seo-ye.”

I looked at Gwan Seo-ye. Gwan Seo-ye dropped to one knee and replied.

“Please bestow your command.”

“You said from the very beginning that I am the Heavenly Demon, right? A god.”

“That is correct.”

“Then what happens when I die?”

“You would shed the mortal flesh. Instead, since human memories are trapped within the human body, you will come to forget those memories.”

“Is a god not omniscient and omnipotent? Is it possible to lose something?”

“Omniscience is knowledge of universal principles, not knowledge of useless things. For human memories are useless to a god.”

“What if I consider them useful?”

“I, too, am not a god, so I do not know well. In truth, from the part about omniscience onward, it is merely my conjecture…”

That was another valid point. Gwan Seo-ye was a priest of a god, not a god herself.

Gwan Seo-ye’s words held a point in a way. Even having transcended now, my level of empathy toward humans was gradually declining. If I became a complete god, it was obvious I would treat human memories like worn-out shoes.

If so, what meaning did the time I spent have? That the decades I spent fiercely struggling across my previous life and current life were merely a god’s arrangement.

Yet in the first place, if a god were omniscient and omnipotent, was there any need to lay out arrangements? If one were a god, should they not be able to guide the world however they wished without having to go through such cumbersome methods?

Questions that could not yet be answered with my current cognitive abilities continued to follow one after another.

“Heavenly Demon?”

As I stood still in a daze, Gwan Seo-ye asked.

“Ah, ah. I had something to think about for a moment.”

“It seems I have interrupted your thoughts.”

“No, it’s not that.”

It seemed to be a problem that would yield no answers no matter how much I pondered. Indeed, I had merely transcended humanity through talent; transcending humanity did not immediately make one a god. There was an immense gap between gods and humans. Only now was I truly feeling that.

Right then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. If all of the Central Plains was now swept up in the fires of war, the casualties on the imperial army’s side would surely be immense.

In the Martial Talent Shop, alongside Legitimacy, the souls of the imperial army I had collected were displayed. This allowed me to intuitively grasp the losses suffered by the imperial army.

The imperial army’s casualties had already surpassed one hundred and fifty thousand. Had that many died already? Su Je-heon inciting civil uprisings was likely connected to this as well. This was unmistakably my spoils of war.

“…”

Silently, I purchased the Grade 1 talent, Greater Self.

The moment I bought Greater Self, I felt as though I transcended time and space in an instant.

“Ah.”

I let out an exclamation. The sense of oneness fusing with the universe filled and satisfied my spirit to the brim.

And I realized. The rational possibilities of a human being. It was a vastness that could not be expressed in human language.

“…You have advanced in some way.”

Gwan Seo-ye also seemed to sense the change that occurred in my body.

“I congratulate you.”

“It is not something to be congratulated on.”

I shook my head.

“I have come to know too much.”

One should clearly feel proud upon reaping the spoils of war, yet for some reason, I felt a heavy lump in my chest.

At the end of transcendence, the universe was waiting. The universe was me. And not just me, but every human being harbored the potential to become a universe. That was why I could feel such a fulfilling sense of bliss.

However, by my choice, one hundred and fifty thousand universes had vanished. Only now did the guilt I had forgotten begin to burn.

I had thought complete emotionlessness would await at the end of transcendence. But the end of transcendence was not emotionlessness. The universe was me, and I could fully and vividly feel the world of humans contained within that universe.

And I felt it. That to reach the realm of complete numbness just as I had imagined, one had to step outside the universe itself. And that was what a god truly was. Becoming an existence that preceded the universe.

Right now, it was not numbness. On the contrary, I could feel the emotions of countless people just as if they were my own.

“The current immortals are all monsters.”

I said. At my sudden words, Gwan Seo-ye blinked, not knowing how to reply.

“Monsters, you say?”

“Those who could become neither humans nor gods. They are nothing more than bizarre forces and chaotic spirits. Becoming a god is not something accomplished so simply. Starting from the belief that transcending humanity makes one a god, what an anthropocentric, arrogant notion that is.”

“…That is certainly true.”

A curious light appeared in Gwan Seo-ye’s eyes.

“Then what is the Heavenly Demon right now?”

I conveyed my current state to Gwan Seo-ye. It was the Wisdom Light Heart Language that Hyeon-wol had once shown me. Because my current state could not be shown through mere words.

“…! I see.”

Gwan Seo-ye bowed her head as if understanding immediately. It was impossible not to understand. Because I had embedded it directly into her mind. However, it would likely vanish from her head soon. My existence was far too vast for a human’s small cognitive capacity to contain.

And one doubt was resolved as well. Gwan Seo-ye had called me a god from the start, and in truth, that was indeed the case. To be precise, not a god. An existence between god and human, a demigod. But since the god humans could currently perceive was a demigod, Gwan Seo-ye’s words had not been wrong.

Now, even my previous lives began to resurface. Countless past lives. And the one who had prepared this arrangement for me was myself, the First Heavenly Demon. That was why, no matter how much I cried out to the god who gave me the Martial Talent Shop, there had been no answer. Because it was equivalent to seeking answers from myself.

“Let us meet in Beijing.”

I said to Gwan Seo-ye. Gwan Seo-ye tilted her head.

“Is the Heavenly Demon not going together with us?”

“I will go. But you all will not be able to keep up with me.”

“Understood.”

Gwan Seo-ye bowed her head and disappeared once more into the unseen shadows.

I walked slowly. Inside me, extremely ambivalent emotions were colliding.

The bliss of becoming one with the universe, and the sorrow of having destroyed countless universes with my own hands.

In my view, this was the final choice. The choice between god and human. Whether to follow happiness or look after misery. Because I was greater than anyone, I could also become smaller than anyone.

For now, the choice was withheld. At the very least, I had to bring closure to the matters I had set in motion. That was the final duty I bore.

Whether I chose god or human, I could not leave while such karmic shackles remained. That would not be flawless.

And my steps tread upon the air as if ascending a staircase. I kept rising. Rising high, I soared into the sky. Below, I could see Gwan Seo-ye and the people of the Bright Cult looking up at me in utter bewilderment.

Having become one with the universe now, defying the force that pulled me down and flying was no trouble at all.

Flying through the air, I looked down upon the earth. Smoke was billowing as militia and government forces clashed. All of those were karmic consequences brought about by me.

The suffering of the people was felt in its entirety. But that did not mean it was entirely my responsibility. They were fighting their own battles against themselves in their own right. Life was fundamentally a struggle. If they survived through that, they too would attain enlightenment.

Thus, I landed in Beijing. Beijing was likewise a living hell. It was likely because the army prepared by Prince Xian had invaded Hebei.

Now, among ordinary people, there was no one who could perceive me. In Beijing, there were no commoners, only soldiers. But I simply walked slowly toward the Forbidden City. There was no one who could stop me.

The Forbidden City was naturally under heavy guard, but I passed right through them and stepped inside. From their perspective, it would merely feel as if a single gust of wind had brushed past.

However, there was someone capable of feeling my presence. It was the Palace Lord of the Palace of Heavenly Worship, who had entered the realm of demigods just like me.

“…You have attained immense enlightenment.”

The Palace Lord of the Palace of Heavenly Worship looked at me as if in fear.

“Just what are you? What on earth are you that you attain enlightenment so swiftly?”

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”

At my words, the Palace Lord’s face flushed red. Yet I had truly only told him the truth.

Even among demigods, there was a clear distinction between the Palace Lord and me. That was because the Palace Lord surely had not experienced the sense of oneness of the Greater Self. Had he experienced that oneness, there was no way his face would flush red over words of this degree.

The Palace Lord drew his sword. Without using my hands, I drew my sword into the air. At that divine technique, the Palace Lord’s complexion changed.

“You have merely gained cheap parlor tricks!”

The Palace Lord swept his sword. A wave of astral qi poured forth, engulfing me.

I raised my head and looked at the wave of astral qi. It was so crude that it was almost laughable.

Hovering before me, my sword glowed and vibrated.