“In the end, are you still going to walk on the Demon path?”
He didn’t talk about the Devil at all, thankfully, and he stopped using honorifics to appear wiser. Heavenly Buddha mumbled quietly, looking at Yoon-seok.
“…”
Yoon-seok was silent. As always, the silence was the best answer.
“Amitabha.”
Heavenly Buddha lips formed a thin line. His gaze was empty, so he couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he angry? Probably. He said he would follow the Buddha but changed his attitude when the Heavenly Demon, Cheonma, arrived.
“Guess I have to open up the killing precepts today.”
After a moment of silence, Heavenly Buddha responded. He didn’t raise his threatening presence like the Heavenly Demon. His voice did not echo like when he first appeared either. Just those quietly muttered words.
“…”
It gave him goosebumps. Heavenly Buddha’s gaze regarded him as a thing that was no longer needed. Yoon-seok put his hand on the handle of his sword without realizing it.
“What killing precepts? You’re the only one who’s going to die today.”
Cheon-ma stepped out, protecting Yoon-seok behind her. He had no time to focus on it, but the question suddenly arose: how on earth did she get here? Of course, it wasn’t an issue to ask about, given the current situation.
“You came and smashed all of Cheonma-dong. Now, watch and learn.”
“…?”
“Black Cloud Perforation.”
Heavenly Demon thrust her sword forward. The reason why she moved after stating the technique’s name was clear.
‘Learn in the midst of this?’
Heavenly Buddha was an absolute master on the same level as her. But was this okay? Or, unlike what they were saying, was there a big difference between the two? Yoon-seok swallowed all his worries and doubts.
“…”
Now she was about to teach him, so what he had to do was also clear.
Swaaaaaaaaa-!
The third technique of the Heavenly Sword, Black Cloud Perforation; a sword that penetrated dark clouds. True to its name, black energy gathered around the sword and began to swirl.
“…”
Yoon-seok raised his concentration to the limit. Before, he had stopped here when he was taught by Cheon-ma in Union Square. Unlike Heavenly Reign, which pursued harmony between strongness and gentleness, or Traverse, a spatial sword made by mixing dominance and bluntness, the third technique was too fast. It pursued extreme illusion and swiftness.
Looking back now, Yoon-seok realized he was too small back then. But.
‘I’m different now.’
Not to mention the difference in stats, he became more proficient in reasoning. Above all, he even learned the way to see. Therefore, he could see it as an afterimage, this transient attack that pierced through the black cloud distorting space.
Whooooosh!
The level was completely different from Shifting. As he could barely follow after the afterimage, Yoon-seok saw the sword energy dig into the Heavenly Buddha’s left shoulder.
Drip.
Blood was flowing out of the unbreakable, living Buddha.
“…”
Yoon-seok suddenly stiffened in place. Aside from the fact that red blood leaked from the body of the Heavenly Buddha…
“He was injured with that?”
It put Yoon-seok to his limit to barely watch the afterimage. However, Heavenly Buddha saw it and moved his body to evade it. As a result, the attack aimed at his heart stopped at his shoulder.
“Three Thousand Worlds.”
He immediately launched a counterattack.
「All stats are reduced by two levels.」
「Body adapts to the new environment.」
「All environmental penalties are reduced by 50%.」
The dark stone chamber turned golden as their surroundings changed, replaced by a golden universe in which three green, blue, and gold wheels orbited nonstop like planets. Seeing how Environmental Adaptation was activated, it was a territorial-type ability.
‘Is this also power?’
He didn’t know, but he would find out soon that the reduction in stats wasn’t everything.
Whikkkkkkkkk.
Wind Wheel. Wind blew from the green wheel, tearing and cutting all flesh it touched.
Swaaaaaaaaaa-.
Water Wheel. A stream of water flowed off the blue wheel, melting all it touched.
Kyakkkkkkkkkkk-!
Metal Wheel. A scream from hell erupted from the golden wheel.
「Heart of Liberty neutralizes the effect of mental suppression.」
Fortunately, nothing happened with that one, and the same appeared to be true for Cheon-ma. After making a shield of demonic energy, she casually spoke to Heavenly Buddha.
“This place pisses me off. Is this a place you chose?”
“Amitabha…”
Heavenly Buddha just put his hands together and did not respond. But, a huge flow of magic welled inside his body. Yoon-seok approached her after making a shield using energy in mimicry of Cheon-ma.
“That crazy monk is preparing something.”
“I know. Perhaps he did all this nonsense to buy time. Other than that, did you see?”
“What?”
Yoon-seok nodded, realizing she was talking about the technique that she had shown. Then, as if Cheon-ma was proud, she looked at Yoon-seok with a warm smile.
“No, more than that…”
“Don’t worry. There is nothing in this world I can’t cut.”
“…”
“This time, keep your eyes open and watch.”
She sheathed her sword. As he was wondering what was about to happen, the Heavenly Buddha’s command was complete.
“Adbhutadharma Palm.”
No, he just recited the technique’s name as Cheon-ma had.
Whoosh.
A palm descended from above. Was this what the Earth looked like when viewed from the moon? It was so huge and overwhelming it blotted out everything else. However, their side was also formidable.
“Sword In Heart .”
The fourth technique of the Heavenly Sword, combining heaviness and lightness. It was a type of invisible sword full of contradictions. It was not a technique that used Natural Energy like Lavan’s Heart Sword. However, the power was no less than that.
Whoooosh-!
Cheon-ma held no blade as she swung her palm. Yet, invisible sword energy was fired from her fingertips as it cut through the rain and wind, and the golden palm was cleaved in half.
“Did you see that?”
Immediately after that, Cheon-ma turned to him again.
“…Yes.”
He saw it differently than before. But he was shaken because of that.
‘Is this a fight between humans?’
Yoon-seok’s fighting method was seen as beyond humanity, but there was a sky beyond that. He could see clearly from the first exchanges of their battle they were far beyond that level.
He knew he was still lacking, but he didn’t expect the gap to be this wide. Suddenly, a sense of shame assailed him.
“…”
Soon, their duels would begin again. Of course, they were the only exceptions. There wouldn’t be hundreds of monsters like them in the Tower. But if he ever met such a person there, would he be able to survive at this level?
Whik, whik.
Yoon-seok shook his head to banish the thoughts.
‘Nothing has changed.’
The sky beyond the sky? What did that mean? It was strange to twist it now since it had been like this at first. He had to learn everything as someone who had never swung a sword before, and he had come all the way here after experiencing several life-or-death crises.
‘It’s the same this time, too.’
Watch, learn, and become strong so that he could win against an enemy he couldn’t have won against yesterday.
‘Appraisal.’
Yoon-seok recited the command inside while clenching the Magic Scarf gifted by Cheon-ma. The description for Magic Scarf read as follows: the 31st Heavenly Demon Jeong So-wol’s handmade scarf made for her student.
Yes, she wasn’t always the Heavenly Demon, Cheon-ma. Before that, she was a human being named Jeong So-wol. This was no different for Heavenly Buddha Pajin. He, too, was just a human with a normal name.
“…”
That was why he wasn’t frustrated. He didn’t kneel because the sights were so dazzling. They were humans, too. Just as there were no mountains in the world that couldn’t be climbed, one day, he would go beyond them.
“Devil Descent.”
“Ancient Heavenly Demon Karmic Sword.”
While Yoon-seok was overcoming his inner demons, the battle of the absolute masters grew more and more heated. Cheon-ma could no longer relax, saying she was teaching Yoon-seok.
Heavenly Demon Sword 5th technique, 6th, 7th…
The second half of the sword techniques he had only listened to in theory unfolded, and Heavenly Buddha also continued to reveal his new moves. Yoon-seok watched quietly, realizing humility and perseverance at the same time.
“Buddha bless me so that I won’t fall to that sword!”
“As if no one wouldn’t call you crazy. How can the Sky Energy of the Upper Qi be the power of Buddha?”
He learned that Upper Qi existed. He also realized that Heavenly Buddha could block the sword containing Natural Energy with his bare hands because he had Sky Energy. And.
“Hahaha! It’s just one time! You still need seven times to send me off to nirvana!”
He also confirmed that it was not absolute. Each second flowed endlessly, and the Heavenly Buddha’s life gradually disappeared. But when there were five times left-
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m old, but I get tired quickly.”
Cheon-ma could no longer hold her clear advantage. She received no significant injuries thus far, but it had become impossible to scatter her powerful techniques a dozen times a second as before.
“You’re clever.”
“Wisdom of the Maitreya.”
It was as Cheon-ma said. Unlike his appearance might suggest, Heavenly Buddha was quick on his feet. He was aware of the advantages of his Unique Skill and knew that the Heavenly Demon was a strong enemy he shouldn’t look down upon. Therefore, he unfolded his field-related power and drove them to a war of attrition.
Now, he finally grasped that opportunity.
“Then I’ll officially get started.”
Heavenly Buddha actively launched his offensive, refusing to give her time to rest. As a result, the tables began to turn. Of course, she continued to attack amidst that and took another one of Heavenly Buddha’s reserve lives, but…
“That’s it, old lady. I hope you have a good life next time and stay in paradise.”
Cheon-ma was pushed to the point of breaking. Offering no place to run away, palms fell from the sky in all directions.
“Adbhutadharma Palm.”
Cheon-ma’s face showed signs of despair. And with that, time began to slow around Yoon-seok. Suddenly, Elle’s prophecy crossed his mind.
—You will save Cheon-ma, who was on the verge of dying.
Thanks to b Divine Ultimatum}, Yoon-seok’s fate changed. Originally, he lost a valuable opportunity when he was in Moorim. But…
It only allowed him to choose a path.
‘Choice…’
Whether early or late, Yoon-seok chose to come to Cheonma-dong, and he met Heavenly Buddha there. He knew ‘ifs’ didn’t mean anything, but Yoon-seok was curious. Would it have been someone else who would face life-and-death with Heavenly Buddha if he hadn’t come?
Of course, he didn’t know. It wasn’t important either.
Tadak.
Yoon-seok kicked off the ground. Whether he was destined to save Cheon-ma or not, there was one thing for sure. If she died here, he would be in danger. There was no guarantee that this crazy monk would let him live.
Whoosh.
Yoon-seok’s body shot through the rain and wind. But it wasn’t enough. Just before he reached Cheon-ma-
Boom.
The palms touched each other, creating a wall. But that was all that was stopping him.
‘Enhanced Speed.’
Through his power, Yoon-seok entered the deadly battlefield. The whole area was blocked off, but inside was dazzlingly bright from the golden glow spreading from the palms. Thanks to this, Yoon-seok was able to quickly find Cheon-ma.
“You have guts. What are you doing…?”
Cheon-ma, who saw Yoon-seok, was flustered. But no matter how hard she tried to reprimand him, he didn’t have time to listen.
“Just stay still.”
He hugged Cheon-ma and used {Demonify}. His arms and shoulders swelled instantly. Yoon-seok curled up his huge wings and covered Cheon-ma.
“G-get out of my way!”
She was trying to shove him away, but it was useless. It might work if it was a skill to kill people with a sword, but simple muscle strength wouldn’t work. In addition, she was exhausted from the long battle. Yoon-seok hugged her tighter.
“Can you win if you endure this?”
“Stop with the nonsense. I can’t get out of the way…”
They didn’t have much time, and this was a very, very important question.
“Can you win?”
Cheon-ma nodded. Well, either she still had a few hidden attacks, or she was waiting to throw a big finishing move when Heavenly Buddha was exhausted. He didn’t know. Maybe she was surprised and did it reflexively. But…
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