Chapter 176: Transformative Power
To me, the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand was a martial art that I could not help but be reluctant to use.
Part of the reason was that my ideology and foundation were centered on the orthodox faction, but it was also because what had happened when I was first taught the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand remained as a psychological wound.
The moment I used the martial art, my consciousness flew away.
And when I regained my senses, I was warned that it was a martial art that could only be handled when the Heavy Earth Divine Art reached about the seventh stage.
‘It meant, “If you don’t want to die, don’t use it.”‘
When a person suffers a painful experience, they naturally come to avoid it.
Since then, when situations where I had to utilize that power came up from time to time, I had risked my life to challenge it, but honestly, I was scared.
I had entered the domain of the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand with the mindset of performing a mask dance at the edge of a cliff.
However, the Scripture-Refining Mind Method changed many things.
Sang-hwa took her place in my body, and the functions I obtained while growing that power through the Scripture-Refining Mind Method were truly astonishing.
The result of my senses rising exponentially did not stop at simply speeding up my reaction time.
The operation of my qi became dense, and clumsy gaps disappeared.
The divine powers I had polished through the Sixteen Forms and the Great Qi-Refinement Art naturally came to protect my body.
Under this established foundation, if Master Heavenly Demon’s gauntlets, which were a treasure, filled in the rest…
‘…It works!’
The power, which was said to be usable only when the Heavy Earth Divine Art reached the seventh stage, circulated naturally.
Although it was impossible to reach the level of crushing a band of horse bandits near the Mount Hua Sect in the past, I became able to raise it to a level where I could utilize it consciously.
It was no longer a power I challenged by risking my life as if being chased, but something like a well-behaved beast that followed my will.
Only now did it feel like I had properly inherited the legacy of my three masters.
A pleasant feeling of omnipotence wrapped around my entire body.
‘This is… the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand!’
It felt as if the world would turn the heavens upside down for me if I stretched out my hand, and as if the earth would move on its own to help me if I took a step forward.
The feeling of being connected to the world!
This sensation, not of me being inside the world, but of the world moving for me, was special.
‘The Three Talents Unified Qi Art seems to be showing a strange movement… Was this also designed by the masters?’
If there was a strange part, it was that the Three Talents Unified Qi Art was moving with a different feeling than usual.
If it usually felt like a pathway communicating between the Heavy Earth Divine Art and the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand, now it felt like it was stretching outward like spreading paint to dye the surroundings.
Perhaps thanks to that, the presence of the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand seemed to dominate the surroundings even more strongly.
‘Well, I will check the details later…’
For now, sorting out the matter in front of my eyes was the priority!
“That guy.”
The moment my finger pointed,
*Crack!*
That guy’s head disappeared.
At my instruction, Old Man Jong reacted like lightning.
He was so fast that it was terrifying even to me, who gave the instruction.
Due to Sang-hwa and the Scripture-Refining Mind Method, my current senses alone surpassed most peak experts.
This meant that if one had not reached the peak realm, they would not have been able to see even Old Man Jong’s shadow.
“Ah…”
“What on earth is this…”
Astonishment was painted on the faces of the Green Forest bandits.
If the energy I raised subdued them mentally, Old Man Jong had cowed them with martial force.
Those who were completely suppressed lost the strength to resist and looked at us with fearful eyes.
“What do you think you are doing!”
Only one person, Yi Cheon-gyeong, was different.
Even though red stains were spreading across his abdomen as a reaction to forcing out his strength, he raised his body.
“I asked what you are doing!”
It seemed he still viewed me as someone to bring under his command.
‘I thought he had ambition and that I could use that ambition, so I tried not to break him blindly, but…’
The plan had already gone awry.
“I am cleaning up the mess.”
“Cleaning… up?”
“Yes, the work you failed to do.”
‘Since things have turned out like this, I must break him completely now.’
Now was the time to press down.
“More importantly, did I permit you to speak?”
I moved the Three Talents Unified Qi Art.
I gathered power in my Middle Dantian.
Although the Three Talents Unified Qi Art had shown a different nature after mingling with the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand, the moment my will reached it, it resonated with my Upper Dantian and began to release its power.
*Wrooooooooong!!*
It was not an illusion.
The surrounding air clearly fluctuated.
Like fluttering flags, the will I contained overflowed.
The power of Master Heavenly Demon that I had displayed back at the Seonhwa Sect!
The arrogance of a sole ruler who stands high alone and is noble alone!
The arrogant will that looks down upon all creation in the universe!
All of that was loaded into this single step!
*Thump!!*
The sound itself was not loud.
It did not shake the earth enough to cause an earthquake, nor did it show off grandly.
“Cough!”
“Ugh! Urgh!!”
“Hack!! Cough!”
However, it definitely shook the people.
Because I loaded it with the will to break their minds rather than their bodies, the aftermath was different even though I displayed the same technique.
People bending their waists and kneeling broke out one after another.
“…Regent Stride… Demonic… Regent Stride…”
Someone’s rambling words echoed around.
‘Heavenly Demon… Reign Stride… I heard it was lost long ago…’
I was a bit flustered by the reactions and gazes of those around me.
The Heavenly Demon’s Reign Stride.
It was because it was a martial art that virtually symbolized the Heavenly Demon, to the point of being mentioned like a legend even in the orthodox Martial World.
I had displayed that martial art.
The reactions around me flowed exactly as expected.
Those who followed me showed awe,
Those who did not submit to me showed shock.
And other reactions.
“It’s a fake! There’s no way!”
There were those who denied it.
Without exception, they were those who harbored Gu parasites in their heads.
“Die!!”
“I will slice you into pieces, you fake!”
They revealed their hostility and threw themselves at me.
‘This is strange.’
They were fortress-leader-level powerhouses. Although they did not seem to reach Ak Gun-pae, they were experts who could walk with their shoulders squared anywhere.
‘They look weak.’
Even though such experts were charging ferociously, my mind was peaceful.
No matter how I stretched my hands and feet, it felt like I would reach them.
It felt as if form and stance were no longer necessary.
I moved directly to see if it worked as I thought.
*Thud!*
“Cough!”
My fist slammed into the jaw of the guy charging headlong.
*Thump!*
That was the end of it.
Along with a single scream, the fallen man twitched as if having a fit and soon went completely limp.
The level of the response was different.
Not only that.
‘What are you guys doing?’
The Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand and the Three Talents Unified Qi Art joined hands and were doing something strange.
The bizarre power created by that.
When I clenched my fist,
The world clenched its fist as well.
Should I say it felt like holding and swinging a hammer called the world?
Conveniently, an opponent to swing this power against was charging.
I naturally brought my hand toward the fierce sword strike falling over my head.
*Clang!!*
Pieces of iron shattering like porcelain!
I flicked one of those pieces with my finger.
*Splat!*
“Argh!!”
The piece of iron went straight through his eye and came out the back of his head.
Two of the strongest powerhouses of the Green Forest were crushed in an instant.
The heads of the Green Forest bandits, whose bodies and minds had been brought to their knees, completely touched the ground.
They submitted perfectly.
A heavy silence dominated the surroundings.
However, I was worried about my head right now.
The moment I shattered the sword easily, it felt as though I was striking after grabbing something large and massive in my hands.
‘Aaaah… My head… My head is… Ugh…’
The problem was that the backlash was not simple.
It felt as if someone had dipped their hands into my brain fluid and was kneading it until it became crushed soft tofu.
It felt like a domain that was not yet permitted to me.
Although I had become able to utilize the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand, the path to go was still far.
I withdrew the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand and cut off the communication of the Three Talents Unified Qi Art.
‘…Ugh!’
As the demonic qi that had made the surrounding air fluctuate was withdrawn, strength drained from my legs.
It felt like coming out to dry land after swimming in the water for half a day without resting.
If the Heavy Earth Divine Art had not moved frantically to stabilize my body, I would have rolled on the ground unsightly.
I stood before Yi Cheon-gyeong, pretending to be calm.
Old Man Jong, Yi Hwa, and the Heavenly Demon Protectors, who had eliminated all those who resisted, lined up behind me.
“I will give you time to think. But in the end, there is only one choice you can make, Yi Cheon-gyeong.”
“Are you telling me… to acknowledge you?”
“Accept it. This is reality.”
I declared that I was their master.
Most of them had already accepted it.
The gazes of the Green Forest bandits who had encountered the demonic qi I emitted were already resembling those of the demonic followers.
They knew.
That I was the real deal!
“I will give you one shijing. Make your decision within that time and join the escort agency’s faction.”
With those words, I turned my back.
*Thud!*
“Sigh…”
A long sigh was heard along with the sound of someone collapsing.
To me, it sounded like the sound of Yi Cheon-gyeong’s heart breaking.
“They will join our faction soon. That man Yi Cheon-gyeong doesn’t look like he can help much due to his injuries, but with experts of that caliber and their numbers, we can make it work somehow.”
I said toward Sister Seol-ah, pretending to be as casual as possible.
Having seen and heard what just happened, I asked Sister Seol-ah with a trace of fear:
“Can you… understand me?”
“It’s fine. I’ve seen even scarier things before.”
“…That means you understand me, right?”
I had said I wouldn’t explain but would show her.
And I showed her.
Sister Seol-ah’s reaction was somewhat distant from what I had feared.
‘Sometime… it was.’
Whether she would believe it or not, the day might come when I could tell Sister Seol-ah the real secret about the heavens.
‘No, more than that…’
In fact, is the one who should be scared right now me?
Is it an illusion?
***
Sitting leisurely and listening to the noisy sound outside, Byeok Ji-sim judged that the time was ripe.
It was as planned. He felt like raising a toast.
“It has been quite long.”
Whether voluntary, involuntary, or due to unavoidable circumstances, running away from ordinary society to become a mountain bandit is far from ordinary.
Bringing together those who have reached the limits of rebellious spirit and self-righteousness is absolutely not an easy task.
As soon as Byeok Ji-sim saw the faces of the Seventy-two Forts of the Green Forest gathered in one place, he predicted that a grand integration could never be achieved through ordinary methods.
So he deliberately dragged out the time.
He made those accustomed to independent lives clash with each other, planted things that did not exist before, and through this, targeted and attacked the weaknesses or gaps that were naturally exposed.
The fruits of that long effort(?) were beginning to show.
“Now I just need to harvest.”
The factions blinded by greed would try to forcibly merge other factions.
Even if a faction had no greed, they would have no choice but to fight back when attacked.
Naturally, their strength would drain.
Then Byeok Ji-sim, like a fisherman, could comfortably harvest them.
Even if they had strength left to resist, if those who held their swords backward in response to Byeok Ji-sim inside popped out, the situation would already be as good as over.
Although it was a loss to the overall strength of the Green Forest, even if some loss occurred, Byeok Ji-sim would obtain tens of times the strength he previously had.
With that strength, he would become the King of the Green Forest and rule as the new hegemonic power of Martial World!
“Hmm?”
Byeok Ji-sim, who was imagining a bright future, turned to look at his helper and froze.
It was because the man’s appearance had changed.
Originally, the man in black was lean and toned.
But now, his bulk had grown as large as Byeok Ji-sim himself.
“Uh…”
Around the time he realized that fact, Byeok Ji-sim felt all the strength draining from his body and slumped to the ground.
“You’re right. It was pointlessly long.”
The voice of the man who spoke resembled Byeok Ji-sim’s to a bizarre degree.
As Byeok Ji-sim felt that something was going wrong, the vitality drained from his face.