The Void Sovereign
...Tsk.>
Baek-woon, who had been quietly gazing down at the Thunder Star Sea, extended her hand.>
The aura of the deceased Hyeon-gwi Venerable still lingering on her body stirred, enveloping the entire Thunder Star Sea.>
Swooaaaar!>
Just like the magic used by the deceased Lee-jung Venerable, the entire Thunder Star Sea was swallowed by water.>
Simultaneously, an immense pressure pressed down on the whole sea, yet the Thunder Star Sea showed no reaction at all.>
“I used the Heavenly Thunder Barrier Technique. Well blocked, aren’t I.”>
Baek-woon the Saintess clicked her tongue in irritation and spoke.>
“Venerables, listen well. The conquest of the Thunder Star Sea has lost all meaning. There is now only one way to endure the end.”>
Her words struck me like lightning. I shivered in surprise.>
“In the remaining ten thousand years, I, the five Saintesses of the Five Mid-Realms, and the Venerables will weave together the power of the five Mid-Realms to create a space capable of enduring the end. The twenty-seven Venerables of the Ilwol Cheonyeok—all of them. Of those, twenty-six will join us: including the newly ascended Seo Venerable. Five Saintesses, twenty-six Venerables. A total of thirty-one beings will be able to escape into this space. After enduring the end, when the Great Creation is revived afterward, you will emerge from the space, each one restoring your respective race to prosperity.”>
Several people nodded calmly, but some of us—myself included—were visibly shaken.>
“Wait, Saintess. What do you mean by that? Are we the only ones escaping?”>
“The space capable of enduring the end is woven from the power of the five Mid-Realms… it’s a kind of sub-heavenly realm. No life can survive there except conceptual existences. Because you Venerables have half a foot in the stars, you can escape. If I could escape with everyone, it wouldn’t be so bad, but ordinary living beings cannot survive in that space.”>
“Couldn’t we modify that escape space just a little to allow ordinary lifeforms to live in it?”>
“Don’t be ridiculous. This much is necessary to survive the end. Honestly, even this is an escape space with conditions relaxed so that the Venerables can endure it. We Saintesses will have to make a great sacrifice, but we can still have a chance to escape through the Mid-Realms. That I’m extending this consideration to you at all is already generous enough.”>
“...Is there no other way?”>
Baek-woon clicked her tongue and said.>
“What other way would there be? Yang Su-jin has blocked the entrance, so we cannot go to another heavenly realm either. Thanks to Yang Su-jin, it’s also difficult to borrow the power of True Immortals from other heavenly realms. Even the Gaeyeol True Immortals are too busy worrying about their own survival. What else could we possibly do in this situation?”>
“...”>
I let out a sigh.>
“Don’t worry too much. By combining the power of the five Mid-Realms, the five Saintesses, and all the Venerables, we’ll create an escape space. In the outer perimeter of that space, I’ll place those you cherish most. Of course, even so, the survival rate will not exceed one-tenth... no, not even five percent.”>
The dark probability made my shoulders feel heavier.>
“Then I’ll take my leave first. You all should return as soon as possible.”>
Baek-woon placed a hand on my shoulder and returned through the sword scar on my left shoulder to the Gwanghan Realm.>
I nervously shook my shoulder and looked back at the Thunder Star Sea.>
“...Jeon Myeong-hoon...”>
Yeon Wi’s plea flashed through my mind again. Her desperate request to protect Jeon Myeong-hoon refused to leave my thoughts.>
But...>
I had failed to protect Jeon Myeong-hoon.>
“Listen here, Seo Venerable. Even if that’s the case, shouldn’t you return to the Gwanghan Realm first? Even the Saintess has no way. Entering the Thunder Star Sea is impossible.”>
Gwewol-jin said with a bitter expression as he approached my side.>
I let out a deep sigh and answered.>
“...Is there really no way?”>
“None. The Saintess has already declared it.”>
“Can’t we draw upon the power of the Jinmu Daesang Hyeonmu?”>
“Not only the power of the True Immortal, but even the power of the great being that the Saintess brought along cannot be used. What more could we possibly do?”>
Wol-jin sighed and said.>
“If you wish to stay, I won’t stop you. But... without the path of the stars, it will take at least a thousand years just to return to the Mid-Realms. So you must return to the Mid-Realms as soon as possible.”>
“...What does it mean that the path of the stars cannot be used?”>
I had come here using the path of the stars, so I asked out of curiosity.>
Wol-jin sighed heavily and said.>
“The path of the stars ultimately connects to the Goryeok Realm. And the entrance to that Goryeok Realm is the very end of the path of the stars. It’s the Bye-hae Realm that contains the continent called Pyeongun Continent. For convenience, I call it the Pyeongun Realm.”>
“Yes, I know where it is.”>
“Correct. Then have you seen the remains of the battle between the Hamcheon Venerable and the Goryeok Realm’s Yin-gwi Venerable in the Pyeongun Continent?”>
I nodded while recalling the mountain that had once been the corpse of the enormous turtle I had seen in the Pyeongun Realm.>
“Back when we set out on the Thunder Star Sea expedition. We originally planned to head to the Thunder Star Sea via the path of the stars. It was the fastest route. But... the issue was that something had been cast upon the Yin-gwi Venerable.”>
“What do you mean, something was cast upon him?”>
“Yes. The Yin-gwi Venerable, who inherited the true blood of the previous Yin-gwi Hyeon-mu, had considerable resistance to divine arts and possession... but for some reason, [that existence] possessed the Yin-gwi Venerable in the most natural way possible, completely cutting off the path of the stars. And it charged at us, who had set out to stop the end, intending to kill all of us.”>
“...!”>
By now, other Venerables had gathered around us as we spoke.>
Among them was Jang Ik.>
“I thought he was a completely different person. I figured he was just a Void Shattering stage cultivator who mainly cultivated defensive divine arts, so if he went mad and rushed at us, we could suppress him in an instant. But...”>
Jang Ik trembled with an expression that sent chills down his spine.>
“He became a monster. No, the correct way to put it is that the [something] cast upon him turned him into a monster. After all the Venerables sealed the Yin-gwi Venerable and the Pyeongun Continent, we manipulated the laws from outside the Pyeongun Continent to make the power accumulated by the Pyeongun Continent’s internal laws turn into garbage. I didn’t accumulate power by the sword method, so my power didn’t drop, but since he had reached the Void Shattering Realm through his own sword path training, the technique we used to suppress his training was to seal his path. After I suppressed him, the beings from the Myeong-gwi Realm stepped in, intending to exorcise the existence that had possessed the Yin-gwi Venerable. But...”>
Jang Ik, who was about to explain further, suddenly looked at me and said.>
“Wait a second. Speaking of which, earlier I saw you fighting. You ascended to the Void Shattering Realm with your Heaven-Earth Twin Water technique.”>
“Yes, that’s correct, but...”>
“Then why are you making me explain it so painfully? Just look for yourself!”>
“What?”>
Seeing me bewildered, Wol-jin cleared his throat and said.>
“Speaking of which, the Seo Venerable... since he hasn’t been Void Shattering for long, he might not know. Besides, most people who cultivate the Heaven-Earth Twin Water technique are especially familiar with the Heavenly Tribes’ perspective, so that might be the case as well.”>
“What do you mean by that?”>
“After reaching the Void Shattering Realm, have you ever activated the Heavenly Tribe’s perspective to the fullest?”>
“Um, I haven’t had the chance to...”>
“Then that’s good. I’ll teach you how to perceive the Heavenly Tribe’s perspective efficiently. Follow my lead.”>
Uwoong!>
The Tai Chi appeared in Wol-jin’s eyes.>
I followed him and raised my Heavenly Tribe perspective.>
“The Heavenly Tribe’s perspective is said to be the eye that sees the flow of Heavenly Earth Origin Qi. An eye that reads the exact flow of Heavenly Earth Origin Qi and absorbs information about the surrounding space... honestly speaking, this Heavenly Tribe eye is nothing more than an enhanced version of an animal’s senses. Up to the Integration Realm.”>
Uwooong!>
The entire universe was dyed in Tai Chi.>
I could see Tai Chi permeating everything.>
“Even Integration Realm cultivators could see this far.”>
While reading the information of the Tai Chi flowing throughout the universe, I strengthened my Heavenly Tribe senses even further.>
And on top of that, Wol-jin’s explanation reached my ears.>
“But... starting from the Void Shattering Realm, the Heavenly Tribe’s eye finally blooms like the Heavenly Tribes’ eye. The Heavenly Tribes read the Heavenly Qi through human connections starting from the seventh layer of Qi Condensation... the Heavenly Tribes can reverse the Tai Chi through explosions.”>
Tzzzzzz!>
My senses gradually touched the very essence of the Heavenly Earth Origin Qi.>
“This is...”>
While strengthening the Heavenly Tribe senses, I realized that the entire world, sometimes called the Qi Realm or the Material Realm, was undergoing a massive change.>
“This is... the essence of the Qi Realm.”>
Kugugugugu!>
Explosion!>
Endless explosions.>
All existences within this world were endlessly exploding and releasing waves of ripples outward.>
And the ripples, when perceived by the immature Heavenly Tribe senses, appeared as “the form of the Tai Chi.”>
Uwooowooong!>
Through the ripples, I understood how the entire universe functioned and how the laws were established.>
At the same time, I finally understood the true meaning of the Twelve Earthly Branches of the third layer of Qi Condensation, inscribing the twelve kinds of Heavenly Earth Origin Qi waves and training with them.>
“This... was the true meaning of the third layer of Qi Condensation...”>
It was during the moment I was savoring the world made of waves.>
A familiar wave came to me.>
“Is this Wol-jin’s wave?”>
I connected my mind to that wave, and at the same time, I could hear Wol-jin’s voice.>
“You’ve arrived. Then now... let’s find the wave of the Hamcheon Venerable.”>
“...Found it.”>
I felt Jang Ik’s wave.>
“Connect your mind to that wave. Since you know that you yourself are a kind of wave, it’s perfectly possible.”>
Uwooong!>
A wave moved within my soul.>
“This is the true appearance of the consciousness realm.”>
By moving the soul wave, the consciousness realm, I assimilated my mind with Jang Ik’s wave.>
“How do you feel?”>
“Like... inserting my arm into something with a foreign object.”>
“Think of it as a book.”>
“A book?”>
“Yes... a book. Think of it as inserting your finger into one part of the book.”>
“Done.”>
Wol-jin’s mind guided me.>
Following his lead, I moved my consciousness.>
“Qi is ultimately explosion. And explosion is itself the constant trace of life. Therefore... those who approach the essence of explosion will gain the authority to read the traces of life and history.”>
“Ah... I see.”>
In truth, even without Wol-jin’s help, as a Void Shattering Venerable, I would have naturally awakened this authority after a few years of living.>
The sense was so natural to me.>
Chwa ra ra rak!>
As if turning the pages of a book, I reversed the flow of the wave.>
Hundreds of scenes flashed before my eyes.>
I knew this sight well.>
It was the same scene I had seen every time I climbed the river of time during my regression.>
Ascending against Jang Ik’s history, I reached the scene he wanted to show me.>
“This is... the true Heavenly Tribe sense...!”>
If the Heavenly Tribes read fate, then the Heavenly Tribes were existences who read history!>
Chwa ra ra rak!>
I reached the exact moment when Jang Ik and the Yin-gwi Venerable were fighting.>
The Pyeongun Continent where the two beings from the past were fighting came into view.>
And I was stunned.>
“Jang Ik...”>
Jang Ik, covered in blood, was panting and struggling for breath, while the black existence in front of him sat casually atop a rock.>
“The Yin-gwi Venerable... I heard he inherited the true blood of the Yin-gwi Hyeon-mu, but how did he, despite being a Heavenly Tribe member, fight Jang Ik in his possessed state?”>
Jang Ik from the past opened his mouth.>
“Who are you. How... did you enter the technique that suppresses the power of the sword method while still in your possessed state and push me away? And why are you blocking us from going to the Thunder Star Sea?”>
And someone answered from the darkness.>
“When do you think existence dies?”>
“What?”>
“True Immortals die when they can no longer dream. Heavenly Beasts die when they are forgotten by everyone. But both are wrong. There is no such thing as death in this world.”>
“What does that even mean?!”>
“Even after death, we are born again by the Underworld and live as slaves to fate. In the end, we are trapped in a fate where we can never truly die even if we want to.”>
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. What does that have to do with you possessing the body of Yin-gwi Hyeon-mu and blocking us?!”>
“True liberation. If you wish to reach the End of Life, the first thing you must destroy is not the light, but the Underworld.”>
The existence in the darkness stood up.>
The pressure made Jang Ik stagger back.>
An ominous wave spread from him, dominating the surroundings.>
“The ultimate of true heart can be obtained by everyone. Because death is the heart, if we all die, we can reach the extreme of the heart. That is why the Heavenly Tribe is an existence that is both useless and completely worthless. But at the same time, because of its wheel of reincarnation, it cannot truly die, so it is also a tragic existence.”>
Kuuwoong!>
He reached out his hand.>
It was just a simple hand-reaching motion, without any form or meaning.>
Yet Jang Ik barely managed to defend by swinging his four swords—Six Throwing Swords, Main Sword, Cutting Sword, and Integration Sword—against that single motion.>
Drrrrdddd!>
“What is that...”>
He had not used law power.>
He had not used Qi.>
It was not a divine art either.>
Yet the unidentified existence had used some unknown authority simply by reaching out with his hand to drive Jang Ik to his limit.>
“You wretched and tragic existence...”>
He looked at Jang Ik with somewhat pitying eyes and slowly began to grow in size.>
It was a turtle.>
The Yin-gwi Venerable, who had inherited the Heavenly Beast true blood of the legendary Yin-gwi Hyeon-mu, revealed his true body.>
“Will you be able to come before me?”>
Puuak!>
After cutting the ominous wave fired by the Yin-gwi Venerable, Jang Ik leaped into the air and merged the four swords into one.>
“Destruction of Heaven!”>
The slash infused with Jang Ik’s full power pierced the Yin-gwi Venerable.>
For some reason, the Yin-gwi Venerable did not dodge Jang Ik’s attack and was split open by it, dying on the spot.>
But as he died, he tore the green jade plate that seemed to be the key to the path of the stars from Jang Ik’s waist and swallowed it in one gulp.>
After that, he covered the area where the path of the stars transmission array was located and closed his eyes.>
Jang Ik, covered in blood, screamed like he was about to die in front of the Yin-gwi Venerable.>
“You... who the hell are you! Why are you stealing the body of our fellow Yin-gwi and blocking us, who just wanted to live a little?!”>
He slowly closed his eyes and answered.>
“I am only me. And I didn’t steal my fellow’s body. The ‘Yin-gwi Venerable’ was ultimately just my other persona from the beginning... you don’t need to know the details. And you need not fear death, slave... because all the existences of the Ilwol Cheonyeok are... slaves who live even if they live... what is the difference between living even if they live... and being dead...”>
For some reason...>
I felt that this unidentified existence was “annoyed.”>
“He says he’s annoyed about dying...? When he said he’s an alternate persona of the Yin-gwi Venerable...”>
And thus the Yin-gwi Venerable died, and what remained in that place was only Jang Ik, covered in blood, howling at the sky.>
Jang Ik flew away toward the outside of the Pyeongun Continent with a grim expression.>
That was all of Jang Ik’s memory.>
“...What kind of existence was cast upon the Yin-gwi Venerable...”>
And while I was trying to release the Heavenly Tribe sense, I realized the sense was not fading.>
“...Eh?”>
For some reason, my mind was glued in front of the corpse of the dead Yin-gwi Venerable.>
And then.>
Blink.>
The Yin-gwi Venerable, whom I thought was dead, opened his eyes and met mine.>
“...!”>
I swallowed hard at the shock that made my head go white.>
Blink->
The giant turtle form in front of my eyes had disappeared, and the possessed form of the Yin-gwi Venerable had appeared behind him, causing me to startle.>
Unlike when he was in front of Jang Ik, he was not covered in ominous energy, so his true form was clear.>
Yet I felt chills all over my body at his true form.>
His appearance was far too similar to that of the possessed Hyun-gwi of the mysterious moon gate.>
“You must be the Golden God of this generation. Ordinary people or Eun-ram would have mastered martial arts to their limit.”>
Thud, thud, thud...>
Even though I had no heart, I felt my heart pounding as I lowered my eyes to avoid meeting Hyun-gwi’s gaze.>
Ominous.>
Ominous, and even more ominous.>
I had never encountered an existence this ominous before.>
“I just asked you. Will you be able to come before me? How about it, Golden God. Will you be able to come before me? You wretched and tragic... trash.”>
I somehow felt an overwhelming sense of despair in front of Hyun-gwi and unconsciously shook my head.>
Instinctively, I knew.>
Hyun-gwi was an existence on par with our natural enemy.>
Hyun-gwi stood behind me without a word, watching me.>
I could not read any of his emotions.>
Absolute emptiness!>
A swamp that endlessly sucked in existences!>
“Hic... hah... hah...”>
I sat down on the spot, clutching my nonexistent heart.>
“The... the regression authority... is shaking...”>
Instinctively, I knew.>
This being was death.>
And at the same time...>
Perhaps the very origin of our Terminus Ones.>
“...”>
“I see. You are an existence related to our origin. Is that not so?”>
I looked up at Hyun-gwi with a face that split into a smile, laughing endlessly.>
“Hm?”>
Hyun-gwi’s eyes twitched.>
“I’ll correct my words. I will reach you. I will reach you! I can reach you!”>
Filled with joy and relief and extreme happiness, I faced him directly and roared with laughter.>
“You... you can kill me, right!? Isn’t that true!? Well then, kill me! Kill me right now!”>
Hyun-gwi looked at me with empty eyes.>
And he said with a tone that seemed slightly bewildered.>
“...Impressive. No Golden God has ever been able to even breathe properly in front of me... yet we have a perfect superior-subordinate relationship. You are a little special.”>
He stroked his face.>
At the same time, Hyun-gwi’s form changed.>
He wore black clothes and transformed into the figure of a girl with a ponytail.>
“I was going to steal your power to properly surpass the light today, but my thoughts changed. I’ll give you a little more time to mature.”>
Thick!>
The girl assumed a stance.>
“I will show you the ultimate of martial arts. Watch closely and reach.”>
With an endlessly empty gaze, she danced.>
“That is...”>
It felt as if everything in the world was disappearing.>
What remained was only her and what she was drawing.>
Every movement of hers formed a circle, and simultaneously, as she danced, she melted into the circle.>
In the end, only one circle remained in all existence.>
Inside that circle, I felt both divine and ominous at the same time.>
And the next instant.>
Paaak!>
At the very end... the circle shattered.>
What remained was nothing...>
Endless emptiness!>
The ultimate of meaninglessness where nothing exists!>
“This is...”>
The ultimate of non-being.>
A part of the Martial Extreme.>
Pa sa sa sa sa!>
At the same time as that, the Pyeongun Continent in Jang Ik’s past, which I had peeked at through the Heavenly Tribe sense, shattered and disappeared into emptiness.>
While looking at that sight, I finally returned to reality from the Heavenly Tribe sense.>
Crack, crack, smack!>
Someone was slapping my cheek hard.>
It was Jang Ik.>
“Seo Eun-hyun, are you conscious! Stop pretending and get up right now!”>
“...I’m awake.”>
Crack, crack, crack!>
“I’m conscious now. Stop hitting me.”>
I shook my head violently and looked at the empty space with a hollow expression.>
“I see...”>
Hyeol-eum had said that I had awakened my five elements.>
The Myeong-gak that perceives the Underworld.>
The Seong-maek-an that perceives the Origin River.>
The Tae-dong that perceives the Birth World.>
The basic sense of recognizing the Star Realm.>
And the senses derived from it, such as Qi Realm identification...>
I had only four senses.>
The Qi Realm identification was actually one, derived from the recognition sense, but I still didn’t understand why I had obtained the sense to perceive the five worlds.>
But today, I finally understood.>
The sense that passed on talent to Kim Young-hoon.>
The extreme as a Heavenly Tribe member that I had obtained while pursuing the martial arts.>
The one I had called intuition, but in reality, it was the sense that came down from the Void Space.>
It should be called the Virtual Sense, not the Intuition.>
Suuuuur...>
Suddenly, I felt like crying.>
Jang Ik was startled and said.>
“What? Why are you crying, you bastard? Did you hurt your cheek from being slapped? How could I have known that a guy like you would cry!”>
“Please stop, Hamcheon Venerable. Your expression says you were happy until a moment ago, but now you show no interest or meaning toward me. I understand that heart of yours.”>
The Docheon Venerable Geuk-gwang gave an expression that seemed to understand, and I wiped my tears and said.>
“...Just now, I met the spirit of the martial arts.”>
“What! Then why are you crying? Isn’t meeting such an existence something to be happy about?”>
Jang Ik looked bewildered, but I could not hide my empty heart.>
Because...>
“The martial extreme is so empty and horrifying that I have already seen it.”>
The martial arts I had pursued for so long.>
I realized that the martial extreme was nothing more than absolute nothingness.>
The martial god of this world governs the void.>
And I had received a direct confirmation from that martial god that the martial arts held no meaning at all.