Captive God (1)
PAHAAAAAAT!
A realm of light. A space filled with blinding radiance. Seo Eun-hyun stood before the colossal figure in awe that bordered on terror. The weight of that presence was crushing, as if the very air demanded submission.
This is... Gyeonggeukcheongun?
In front of him stood a giant. Not a mere mortal giant, but a towering, silver-white monster clad in ancient immortal robes. A crown rested upon its head, and an expressionless silver mask covered its face. It was a god-king of sheer otherworldly power.
Seo Eun-hyun felt it—the sensation of wearing the skin of a human being facing an ancient blade. The figure before him gazed down with endless despair radiating from its core, an aura of overwhelming dominance and awe that made his knees want to buckle.
I can't... hold on...
His very soul seemed to melt like candle wax, his entire body trembling violently as fear clawed at him. He couldn't break. Not here. Not now.
Yet he refused to fall. Even in this eternal confrontation with a being beyond comprehension, he clung to his consciousness and simply performed a respectful bow from his place.
I... pay my respects to the one above.
At that moment, the colossal entity spoke. Its voice echoed with cold certainty: You. I want to claim you as mine right now. I want to devour you. I want to tear you apart with my teeth and gaze upon the sword intent you embody in ecstasy. I want to crush every bone in your body and drink the dust of your pulverized form while watching if you still chase that sword. I want to know how far your blade can reach. I want to strangle you until you wail in agony and drop the sword from your hands. I want to embed my sword deep into your flesh and pass on my will through you. I want to see the hope in your eyes when you realize your sword could surpass mine... and then shatter it. I want to break your blade in front of me and force you to swallow the pieces. I want to shatter it completely, bend it until it breaks, and instill such terror of the sword that you never dare look upon it again. And all at the same time...
The voice dripped with a twisted, obsessive obsession. Seo Eun-hyun could no longer endure it. He slowly lifted his head to meet those unseen eyes. Kwadduk!
Blades of light erupted from his entire body, rushing forward to devour him. Yet he did not flinch. He stared straight at the being, prepared to suffer before the ultimate power if necessary.
Forgive me, but...
He cut off the words with a low, authoritative shout. The sword is already mine. As long as you do not break me, you cannot break my sword. And... I am not just myself. I cannot be broken by you alone!
The silver-white giant leaned in closer, eyes filled with sadistic glee, its massive face pressing near enough to crush him. Then... what if I squeeze every precious thing you hold dear until it crumbles right in front of your eyes, and repeat that crushing a hundred million times?
Do you know what is precious to me...?!
Uddk, udddk!
He was being swallowed. Swords, spears, arrows, and countless other weapons sprouted from his body and consumed him. Even as his very existence was devoured and agony wracked his flesh, he did not retreat. He continued to roar.
What is it?
Everything.
Everything?
Yes. Every moment I have lived, every breath I have taken, every future breath I will draw—every single instant—is the most precious thing to me.
He briefly closed his eyes. The Heart Tribe's extreme light had overwhelmed him, and for a moment he fell unconscious. But he was not afraid. The reason was not that the being before him showed sadistic fondness. Through the trials with Tae-san, Young-seung, and Hyeol-eum, he had already endured terrifying, extreme suffering and despair. Therefore, he feared nothing when it came to pain itself. The real terror lay deeper. The core, the very foundation of his existence—Seo Eun-hyun himself—was the one being broken. 'My heart is being broken.' As long as his heart does not shatter, there is nothing to fear. Seo Eun-hyun spoke with resolve. I hold the greatest gratitude and value for my life. Thus, you cannot destroy what is precious to me. Because... even you are included in what is precious to me.
The silver-white giant hesitated, then spoke with arrogant disdain. Arrogant. Arrogantly arrogant. Have you inherited the traces of those arrogant mountains?
Seo Eun-hyun smiled silently. Arrogant. Arrogantly arrogant. It would be satisfying to pin you down and embed swords throughout your body while you writhe in agony... but still...
The silver-white giant dissolved into pure white light and vanished. Seo Eun-hyun felt a soft, caressing warmth behind him, like sunlight filtering through clouds. Phasa sa sa sa—
The blades that had erupted across his body melted away in an instant. You wanted to see my sword surpass you...
A thunderous roar followed as the silver-white monster's will completely vanished from the space. At the same time, Seo Eun-hyun felt the entire luminous world woven from divine sword light seep deep into his body. When he regained his senses, he once again faced the Venerables. Do-cheon Venerable stared at him with a face twisted in disbelief. Seo Eun-hyun surveyed his surroundings. 'Is this the blessing of Gyeonggeukcheongun?' He suddenly understood: if he drew his sword, the power through the sword would manifest. As long as this blessing accompanied him, he could unleash every divine art through his blade. Even the sole weakness of Paryeo-dohae-seong held no meaning for him now. 'The limit of sword cultivation.' He knew that moving the sword would open the path to the ultimate as a sword master. He could summon rain and wind with the sword, earthquakes and tsunamis with the sword, and meteor showers that could extinguish civilizations with the sword. A single sword could annihilate or recreate the universe. Everything within the sword could be invoked. But then... was this the limit of the sword itself, or the limit of the art that took the form of a sword? Seo Eun-hyun extended his arm, and pure divine energy condensed into a silver sword in his palm. It was far more noble and sacred than the azure sword held by the Venerable. Why, why, why...! Do-cheon Venerable trembled violently, his face paling as if he might collapse. I... I was the first to receive that being... that blessing I have never even tasted... why are you...
The next instant, Seo Eun-hyun closed his eyes briefly, then opened them with firm resolve. He snapped the silver sword floating above his hand in half with a single motion. W, w, w... what have you done?!
Do-cheon Venerable's eyes rolled back. Seo Eun-hyun spoke with unshakable composure, dispersing all light completely. The power given by others is unnecessary. Everything I have built myself. Even though Kim Young-hoon created my martial arts, I honed them with my own sweat and blood using two hands. Even the water method had help, but I completed it myself. Even with predecessors' aid, I completed it myself. I understand the limit of sword cultivation. One day, I will reach it with my own power. Seo Eun-hyun shouted while staring at the broken sword fragments. Thank you for showing the way. The blessing is granted. I will go there with my own strength. It is settled! Uuung! The silver sword fragments shook once before scattering into the void. Seo Eun-hyun felt a powerful heartbeat of joy ringing in his ears, but he no longer listened. The important thing was right in front of him. Come at me. And Gyeonggeukcheongun drew his sword and charged. I will kill you! ! !
Tears streamed from his eyes. Before him was Do-cheon Venerable. Behind him, Mal-cheon Venerable Jin-wol-ryeong rushed in. Phaaaaa! A vast light radiated from behind Gyeonggeukcheongun's back. Seo Eun-hyun felt eight enormous giants within that light. 'Is the water method itself pulling power from the Gwangmyeong-palseon...?!' He sensed the rear. Mal-cheon Venerable Jin-wol-ryeong had completed his seal. Original Origin Transmutation Form! Kugugugu! Seo Eun-hyun's eyes widened. For a moment, Jin-wol-ryeong's original origin manifested as if revealing itself, then compressed and transformed into the exact likeness of Jin-wol-ryeong himself. But what startled Seo Eun-hyun was not that. 'Wing clothes! Heaven-Earth Twin Swords!' Jin-wol-ryeong also wore 'wing clothes' just like him. The rings of Void Shattering original origins, when compressed into transmutation form, became wing clothes. In other words, this mad Jin-wol-ryeong of the Gu-ju Tribe had exploded his completed original origin once more to perfect the Heaven-Earth Twin Swords! Transmutation Second Level. One of Jin-wol-ryeong's arms transformed into a tentacle-like appendage and mutated into a spiky, bone-like thicket that shot toward Seo Eun-hyun. In front was Gyeonggeukcheongun borrowing the power of the Gwangmyeong-palseon. Behind was Jin-wol-ryeong of mid-transmutation stage in the Heaven-Earth Twin Swords. Below was An-cheon Venerable Gwil, who was about to swallow him whole through the corrosive method unique to the Bu-hyul Tribe. Above was Pyung-cheon Venerable Ham-hak, endlessly devouring Heaven-Earth qi and amplifying his power. And far in the distance, Ga-cheon Venerable Wol-jin gathered strength as if preparing a devastating strike. 'Indeed, the Venerables of the Gwanghan Realm are powerful.' Slightly fewer in number than the Hyeol-eum Realm Venerables, but each one possessed power that could crush them individually. You all are the best. And Seo Eun-hyun began to exert his strength. Paryeo-dohae-seong Sword Sea Body The colorless glass swords merged with his body. Uddk, udddk! Countless colorless glass swords erupted from every part of his frame. Full-Body Sword Extraction! Three thousand colorless glass swords shot forward like arrows. Chong-cheon. His hand momentarily twisted. At the same time, his hand united with the colorless glass swords warped into a monstrous slash that swept through the surroundings. The evolution of glass danced in the void. The flames of glass transformed into the sword slash itself and sliced through everything. The world in an instant. Gyeonggeukcheongun was sliced into pieces by his own sword. An-cheon Venerable Gwil fired his corrosive method, but it was incinerated by the glass evolution and he retreated as a satellite-sized eagle of prey. But by then both of his wings had been severed by Chong-cheon. The only one to react to Seo Eun-hyun was the Heaven-Earth Twin Swords cultivator and Mal-cheon Venerable Jin-wol-ryeong of the Transmutation Second Level. And only Pyung-cheon Venerable Ham-hak of the Ga-wu Tribe. More... more... make me happy! More, more, more... Huuueeh! Seo Eun-hyun grabbed Jin-wol-ryeong's horns and unleashed a storm of sword slashes toward her entire body. Perhaps because the Transmutation Second Level nature of the Gu-ju Tribe went into heat during battle, she fought Seo Eun-hyun with a face filled with ecstasy. But it lasted only an instant. Soon she could only block one of Seo Eun-hyun's slashes before her body was torn apart and flung away. 'Crazy muscle-brained Gu-ju Tribe brats...' Seo Eun-hyun clicked his tongue, realizing that even the sword slash had failed to land properly in places due to her massive muscles. 'That woman will recover in a moment, and what's left are the other two.' Ga-cheon Venerable Gyu-wol-jin. Pyung-cheon Venerable Ham-hak. Both water masters of the Hwang-ryong Tribe and the Ga-wu Tribe respectively. And among them, Seo Eun-hyun fixed his gaze on Ham-hak of the Ga-wu Tribe. The warrior of Geop-cheon-gyeong. With the upper body of a cow and the lower body of a human, Ham-hak greeted Seo Eun-hyun respectfully while breathing out his nostrils. I am the Unbroken Three Worlds. I would like to learn one move from the senior who entered the Non-Existent Other World alongside Senior Jang Ik! The Moon-Saber Three Thousand Scriptures call the Unbroken Three Worlds, and the Three Flowers Non-Existent Three Worlds the Non-Existent Three Worlds. How interesting. If you fall and do not rise, and end by not rising again, isn't that interesting? If the senior has also mastered the Six Spirit Twin Swords along with the Heaven-Earth Twin Swords like me, you should know better than anyone that once you reach the Void Shattering Venerable realm, you lose realization. Seo Eun-hyun asked him with interest. Then how do you maintain realization? If Unbroken means never falling and Non-Existent means never rising, then... I chose not to fall, but not to rise either. Seo Eun-hyun looked at him with pity. Not rising, but not falling. In other words, he had chosen to maintain realization at the cost of never advancing to the next stage. It was not just realization. He had also ceased practicing the Ga-wu method. He had abandoned cultivation itself and chosen to remain forever in that place as the price for maintaining two realms. That was the path Ham-hak had chosen. ...Is that okay? Hoo, you look at me with the same eyes as Senior Jang Ik. But it is fine. There will be a path for me too. Now, there is no need for trivial talk anymore! Kugugugu! Seven stars were felt inside Ham-hak's body. Seo Eun-hyun grinned. 'Void Shattering Great Integration with Geop-cheon-gyeong... excellent.' Phasa sa sa sa sa! He sealed the glass evolution of Paryeo-dohae-seong. In its place, he faced Ham-hak while wielding only the colorless glass swords. The two warriors collided within the sea of stars. Realization Unbroken Non-Existent. The realization of the Unbroken Ham-hak and the Chong-cheon Sword of the ever-changing Seo Eun-hyun collided. Flash! The next moment, Ham-hak's body shattered. Seo Eun-hyun's chest caved in as if being punched, and his entire right waist and ribs were torn away. Since both existed beyond the limits of life, no blood flowed. Only starlight flickered faintly in the shattered remains. But the next instant, Ham-hak laughed. There... is the peak... Thank you. Thank you... Senior...! After speaking, he fainted on the spot. Gaaaaaaaah! Jin-wol-ryeong, who had recovered her body once more, charged at Seo Eun-hyun. And Ga-cheon Venerable Wol-jin finally rose while gathering his energy. Drdrdrdr! Behind Wol-jin's back, the form of a colossal dragon appeared. As soon as Seo Eun-hyun saw that dragon form, his mind wavered as if it might collapse, and he felt blood dripping from his seven orifices. 'That is...!' Huha, play with me more! He severed the sticky Jin-wol-ryeong once more and, through the Interdimensional Body, burned his sword with dragon flames. Eventually Jin-wol-ryeong lost consciousness from pain. Seo Eun-hyun hurled Jin-wol-ryeong into the universe and tensed toward Wol-jin's momentum. 'Meteor Dragon...!' The form of the Meteor Dragon rose behind Wol-jin. Wol-jin was pulling maximum power from his ancestor bloodline, summoning the strength of ancient forebears. The direct bloodline of the ancestor Meteor Dragon. That was Wol-jin. Goooooo! The universe trembled. The next instant, Seo Eun-hyun was slammed by the tail of the Meteor Dragon form and sent flying into another distant star far from the Thunder Star Sea. Gguk...! Wol-jin closed the distance in an instant with the technique of immobilization. Jjwoeoeok! The form of the Meteor Dragon behind Wol-jin opened its mouth. Kwaaaang! The phantom of the Meteor Dragon, the size of dozens of planets fused together, crushed Seo Eun-hyun into the very planet he had collided with. The planet he was sent flying into was pulverized, and Seo Eun-hyun hung suspended between the upper and lower fangs of the Meteor Dragon, enduring without being crushed. I tried to escape... but couldn't... this feeling. It's [Pil-jung]. He glowed with eyes. 'I'm starting to understand the principle of [Pil-jung] too. Does it give the opponent the fortune of always hitting...?' Grgrgrguk! He endured, trapped between the fangs of the Meteor Dragon without being crushed, and activated the Interdimensional Body. The glass evolution turned black as flames surged inside the Meteor Dragon's phantom. But Seo Eun-hyun clicked his tongue. No reaction. 'Because it's a phantom from the past... current pain doesn't affect it. This damn thing... I thought Paryeo-dohae-seong had two weaknesses, but there were three.' The three weaknesses of Paryeo-dohae-seong he had discovered so far: the third was the 'phantom from the past' just found. Because the glass evolution conveying his pain was completely ineffective, the advantage of glass evolution was useless. The second was 'attacks using the mind or pure sword techniques of the Heart Tribe.' If the attack was a pure sword technique using only the mind without leveraging physical force, then in the realm of the soul's order, its power would be halved, and it could shatter the pain of Paryeo-dohae-seong head-on and inflict fatal damage on Seo Eun-hyun instead. The first was 'salt.' In the upper orders, salt meant 'true avoidance,' through which the pain of glass evolution could be completely extinguished and Paseo achieved, and in the qi orders, salt dispersed the circulation of Paryeo-dohae-seong and weakened the flames of glass evolution. 'Thank goodness I defeated that Haeryong using the salt and seawater method earlier...' Seo Eun-hyun exhaled in relief and gradually calmed the Paryeo-dohae-seong within the jaws of the Meteor Dragon trying to crush his body. As the Paryeo-dohae-seong vanished, Seo Eun-hyun's 'mind' began to move. Drdrdrdrdr! Sword Technique Se-jung activated. Se-jung summoned the power of U, Yang, Yuk, Han, Pung, Si and revolved 'light sound' around him. Human force distorted space-time, accelerating time around the Meteor Dragon. Seo Eun-hyun chuckled and looked at Wol-jin. You won't be able to maintain the ancestor statue of the sword technique forever, will you? Wol-jin widened his eyes. Human... the understanding of sword techniques is...! He stared at Seo Eun-hyun in disbelief and ground his teeth. Good. Then I will finish you in one blow! Come! The statue of the sword technique. A vast qi wave emanated from inside its jaws. Seo Eun-hyun's expression changed for the first time. ...This is a bit dangerous. Kwaaang! Seo Eun-hyun barely escaped the jaws of the Meteor Dragon, sweat pouring down as he grabbed the colorless glass swords. Kiiiiing! He drew a circle. At the same time, his spirit soared once more into the realm of pure good. I must block it. This is... dangerous. The Meteor Dragon True Person who had reached Great Da-ra-seon. Even if he descended to the Gaeyeol realm, even if he had only manifested as a phantom thanks to his descendant's bloodline, the single strike he unleashed with full sincerity far surpassed the casual, bug-smashing strike of a Hyeol-eum realm expert. The power of the One-Moon Thousand-Years, borrowed from the realm of the One-Moon Thousand-Years, erupted from Seo Eun-hyun's sword as the Sumisan Sword Dance. The dragon flames of the Meteor Dragon enveloped Seo Eun-hyun. The next instant, the universe briefly brightened. * * * Chiiii! I stared at my trembling body. 'Ah... this is not the 999th regression.' I thought I was going to die. At the same time, I reflected on myself for trying to face the Venerables with an arrogant heart. 'Cough... kuk...' I spat lava from my mouth. As one who had become a star, my body now vomited lava or Heaven-Earth qi instead of blood. 'Hoo... hek...' I really thought the world was ending. The Heaven-Earth qi that had filled my entire body, the glass evolution of Paryeo-dohae-seong, now remained nothing but dust. But at least it was recovering bit by bit from the original origin, though it would still take a long time to reach full strength. Yet I smiled faintly. Sssssssss— The statue of the Meteor Dragon True Person who had spat dragon flames scattered. What remained was... only Wol-jin, exhausted from summoning the statue of the Meteor Dragon. 'No... the other Venerables are recovering one by one.' These are Venerables. Even with fatal wounds, they recover in an instant through their own Heaven-Earth qi production. To stop such terrifying recovery, I had no choice but to kill them outright or attack through sword techniques. I asked Wol-jin. You still plan to try, don't you, Gyu Doo? Wol-jin's expression darkened as he returned to human form. No such thing. We have lost. Haha, why? My strength is exhausted, and your companions seem almost recovered, yet... I see that the power of your sword techniques is so high that it treats us as if we were nothing. If you charge me now that my energy is a bit depleted, you will only become a fool. Moreover, you are a warrior of the Fifth Realization Level. A sword technique that has reached the level of the sect master, and even the Fifth Realization Level... we have no confidence in defeating you... Indeed. The way I tormented the Successor was not through a shortcut but your own power... 'At the time, it was the shortcut...' I simply remained silent. At that time, I had only reached Void Shattering, and if the Heaven-Earth Tribe's cultivation was Integration, they would not have believed it. 'If I had reached Void Shattering in that short time, they might have thought I was bluffing...' There is... something you are still hiding, right? I simply smiled meaningfully at his words. Indeed, among the three forms of the artificial star of Goe-gun and the shape of Paryeo-dohae-seong that had not yet been shown, three were still hidden. If I revealed those as well, I could stomp on these beings at will. 'I wanted to educate them properly with a firm lesson... but if they come out this low-key, there's no helping it.' ...Then what do you intend to do about your own students? I will compensate for the unpleasant incident earlier. Also, your water method does not seem greatly related to the Hyeol-eum Realm... and from Pyung-cheon Venerable's expression, who is also a Heart Tribe member, it does not seem you are an evil clan. For now, I will leave your personality for later investigation. Hoo... I stroked my chin and asked. It does not seem to be the end. Is there something more? ...That is why the Heart Tribe members are like this. Your intentions have not yet been fully humanized, so I can read them a little. Wol-jin laughed heartily. Once you reach the Void Shattering realm, the Great Nature begins to circulate within your body. But even if the Great Nature circulates as much as possible, to produce Heaven-Earth qi, the Great Nature must be vast and have many others with which to 'exchange.' In other words... In the early stage of Void Shattering, it is impossible to produce Heaven-Earth qi alone. Produce Heaven-Earth qi with just one star? That is nonsense. All Venerables are 'minimum' mid-Void Shattering level. On average, late Void Shattering. That is, from the point when they create five or six original origins, they can 'produce' Heaven-Earth qi. Therefore, this Venerable also thought you were initially late Void Shattering or Great Integration. ... But in the early stage of Void Shattering... producing the power of late Void Shattering Great Integration with just one star. With the Heaven-Earth Twin Swords no less! This Venerable has never seen a being like you. If that is the case... you will inevitably reach the True Immortal level one day. If I am not going to kill you here, I did not want to make an enemy of the future Great Immortal. I felt my face redden and waved my hand. Excessive praise. Anyway, thank you. Hehe, no need for modesty. Anyway... I will now go find my companions and return to the Thunder Star Sea. Hoo... I will have to start the conquest from the first floor of the Thunder Star Sea again. He sighed deeply, and I laughed loudly in response. Do not worry. You will probably be able to proceed from the floors you conquered. Since you killed the master of the 98th floor, 99th floor and onward. What? What do you mean? I met a being called Geum-jin-jo... I told him about the Geum-jin-jo. After a while, Wol-jin looked thoughtful. An existence that can force that level of authority in the Trial Tower...? Hmm... I should review some old books I found earlier. Do as you please. Then I... have an unfinished duel, so I will leave for a moment. Ah... Gye-hyang Venerable... do as you please. This Venerable must also investigate the Hyeol-eum Realm companions... I sent him on his way as he wished, and I re-entered the Thunder Star Sea. Inside the Thunder Star Sea. Inside the space curtain where Jang Ik was sleeping. I beat on the space curtain and shouted. Master, wake up. Kunkunkunkung! But there was no response from inside. Master! I sighed and drew my sword. I know you're pretending to sleep. Cough. Kkuekuek! The moment I raised the sword and struck the curtain, my neck was cut clean off. ----- Author's note: Today is Grandchild Day. Hyeol-eum received abuse in the previous chapter, so I received permission from Hong Beom to observe one more story on Sumi Mountain for Hyeol-eum's memory. ...It's not the same thing, and I don't think the interruption in the middle of the previous chapter was about the justice of the jianghu. Truly, only this week! I will continue weekly serialization for this week only! From next week, it will be real weekly serialization six days a week! Thank you!