Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Mara Incarnate
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Originally, the human brain was structured in a way that it absolutely could not perform two or more tasks simultaneously.
People who think they can multitask are simply born with exceptional talent for switching thoughts, but in reality, they just briefly pause focus on one thing to shift to another.
It could not be called simultaneous thinking.
No, rather, this so-called simultaneous thinking hindered deep contemplation, reduced work efficiency, placed enormous strain on the brain, and even raised the risk of side effects like early-onset dementia.
But there was one exception in the Wudang Sect: a training method that made it possible.
It was the Twofold Mind Technique.
The Twofold Mind Technique precisely divided the mind into exactly two parts.
This was akin to splitting the personality in two, so even performing various thoughts simultaneously did not overburden the brain.
The Wudang Sect's origins lay in the Mysterious Gate, which pursued ultimate enlightenment.
Thus, it was a training method born for veteran Taoists of profound cultivation to engage in equally deep and broad thinking.
By sheer luck, I had stumbled upon the Twofold Mind Technique in the Heavenly Demon Repository.
Right there, I devoured the entire manual, and several koans took root in my mind.
—If the two thoughts created by the Twofold Mind Technique each activate another Twofold Mind Technique, couldn't that allow a total of four simultaneous thoughts?
—If this could be chained continuously? Four becoming eight, eight becoming sixteen, exponentially increasing the number of thoughts?
—If it transcended simultaneous thinking to enable parallel processing, couldn't it drastically reduce the casting time for spells requiring vast mathematical calculations?
By finely dividing the Twofold Mind Technique to create dozens of parallel thoughts.
Just glimpsing that opportunity was a groundbreaking method for me, who had lagged behind in the Young Leader throne contest because I couldn't shorten those calculation times.
Of course, such koans were theoretically possible but could bring great strain in practice.
After all, the human brain had limits to the amount of thought it could handle.
What if the brain overheated from dividing consciousness too finely?
The brain was an organ that was hard to repair once damaged.
And the upper dantian connected to it.
With the upper dantian as my only reliable foundation, I had to approach this theory with utmost caution to avoid ruining it.
With Master's help, I soon gave birth to a new technique.
Mind Division Technique.
I named it that, meaning the ability to divide the mind.
And now.
As I swallowed the Millennium Ice Crystal and my internal energy surged richer, I could activate the Mind Division Technique once more.
I divided my mind into two.
One focused solely on dealing with Gu Min-chae.
Instead of counterattacking, it concentrated only on deflecting his assaults and defending.
The other focused on digesting the ever-increasing Millennium Ice Crystal.
The extreme yin essence of the Millennium Ice Crystal was certainly not easy to handle.
No wonder the North Sea Sect fools thought of turning it into a tool rather than swallowing it directly.
But I intended to turn it all into my own power.
This attempt was possible precisely because of the yin essence in my middle dantian.
The black dragon qi originating from the yin essence had succeeded in devouring the extreme yin essence whole.
But it couldn't control it properly.
This was the result of the extreme yin essence's volume overwhelming the black dragon qi's current level.
So, I needed to rework the black dragon qi technique.
How should I go about it?
Fortunately, I had a perfect reference right in front of me.
Gu Min-chae's demonic art.
That thing seemed tailor-made for fully mastering the Escaping Life Degree.
"That must be another technique bestowed upon him by the North Sea Sect during the assembly, right?"
"But without the incantations, can we even analyze it—"
'I'm not copying it wholesale, just using it as reference. Baek Mountain's intel has plenty of useful data too.'
"Ah!"
'I hope it proves helpful—'
After thorough interrogation, Baek Mountain had spilled even the info he desperately withheld before perishing.
Among it was information on the Ice Soul Demonic Art.
Gu Min-chae, who cherished his disciple like a split soul, had shared parts of the Ice Soul Demonic Art incantations with Baek Mountain, allowing me to analyze Gu Min-chae's version based on that.
At times like this, the current state of the beast reduced to pure instinct felt preferable.
It might be tough to handle, but without adaptation or concealment, it revealed the true form of the Ice Soul Demonic Art in full.
I divided my consciousness finely again.
Then split the split consciousness even finer, and finer still, repeating the division multiple times....
Whooooong!
The upper dantian overheated.
It grew so hot I feared the brain might burn away.
With the violet demon eyes flared wide to grasp the essence of the Ice Soul Demonic Art, a flood of information poured in, overwhelming even just processing it.
Organize? Analyze? Apply? Adapt? Evolve?
Handling all that simultaneously demanded even more consciousness.
"Young Leader, this is dangerous—"
"At this rate, the upper dantian risks ruin—"
The silver lining was that what I had swallowed was extreme yin essence.
Even drawing a portion cooled the brain gate's overheating bit by bit.
It served admirably as a cooling system.
Thus, I entered a samadhi state beyond words in an instant—
.
.
"Young Leader!!"
Suddenly, enlightenment struck like lightning.
Part of the Ice Soul Demonic Art's essence merged with the black dragon qi.
As the black dragon qi circulation expanded throughout the body, my realm leaped several stages in one breath.
The Venom Dragon Heart Formula naturally fused with the black dragon qi technique.
No, more precisely, the black dragon qi technique wholly absorbed the Venom Dragon Heart Formula.
The middle dantian's expansion incorporated the lower dantian into a single circulation path.
It was the evolution of the black dragon qi technique.
The birth of the Black Dragon Heart Formula.
Fwaaaah!
The Mind Division Technique ended.
The finely split consciousness recombined into one, and Gu Min-chae's form came into view.
"Graaaaaargh!"
His pale face covered in blotchy red spots, every vein swollen to the bursting point—the sight was so grotesque it was hard to see him as human anymore.
Behind his back, it was as if an invisible monster rippled.
But I could be certain.
I was in no lesser state myself.
"Y-Y-Young Leader!"
"The Ghostfiend Battle Cloak's form—"
"Your hair color...!"
The specters' astonished voices rang out.
It was inevitable.
The Ghostfiend Battle Cloak had dyed even more eerily in violet, and my hair was now half-decolorized.
Moreover, the ghostfiend emblem etched on my back had likely warped into an indistinguishable ghost-dragon mask.
A gaping maw, sharp fangs and teeth ferociously rendered, eyes bulging upward with surrounding brows as deformed bristles.
Especially the two horns sprouting from the forehead would be most striking.
Add to that the ghostly and poisonous auras cloaking my body, now even more baleful, and I must look indistinguishable from human or yokai.
Yes.
I too had become a kind of monstrosity.
Since Gu Min-chae had, I needed to match that level to handle him easily, right?
No, I held the advantage.
Beyond monstrosity, I had dragon power too.
Two of the superhuman strength and divine power had fallen into my hands.
"Monstrosity via sorcery, dragon power via martial arts—"
"A method unimaginable for us—"
"You truly appear half-human, half-demon now. With a dragon's temperament, you've become a Dragon-Human!"
Kukukuku...!
Tzzzzz—
The gale blanketing the Ghost Hell turned black, roughly sweeping the ground.
At my will, the firm earth suddenly softened into a quagmire.
A hellish land reeking of foul stench, sulfur fumes billowing.
The swamp even carried Soulsever Sanctum's poison qi, threatening to melt Gu Min-chae whole.
"Graaaaa!"
Paaat!
Sensing that sinking into the quagmire would corrode his body without leaving bones, Gu Min-chae leaped high into the air.
"Sorry, but wherever you go, it's the same."
I fully unfurled the Fear Wind Banner and shook it violently, sending the black gale sweeping the ground vertically surging toward Gu Min-chae in the sky.
Dozens, hundreds of sword qi mingled within.
Each possessed cutting power to slice even wrought iron.
Gu Min-chae fiercely swung the North Underworld Demonic Staff downward.
The qi gathered at his fingertips tore the air.
Boom boom boom—
The gale exploded, shrouding the sky in thick black smoke.
Fwoosh!
Gu Min-chae pierced the smoke cloud, diving toward me.
"Tch."
Still too much for qi, huh.
With a pang of regret, I lightly clicked my tongue and drew up the black dragon qi again.
The neatly folded Fear Wind Banner trembled violently, deflecting the oncoming staff aimed at my crown.
Kwaang!
Immense power.
But I no longer yielded ground as before.
The reborn black dragon qi had amplified the dragon power, infusing my body with unfathomable superhuman strength.
Having strength meant swinging the sword faster by that much, and abundant internal energy meant layering sword force even stronger.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Each swing of the Fear Wind Banner sparked lightning.
The speed was so great it looked like bolts raining down in succession.
The enormous atmospheric friction heat from the Fear Wind Banner made the air scorch.
Where lightning struck, thunder even boomed.
Black lightning infused with black dragon qi.
"Striking bolts from the heavens, thunder with every step—superhuman strength and divine power—"
"Plus swordsmanship so swift the eye can't follow—"
"Scattering yokai and ghostly qi, overwhelming all like a vicious dragon—"
"This is the true incarnation of Mara—what else could it be...!"
Mara, ruler of the Desire Realm where countless desires and cravings boil, was said to bring disasters engulfing the world upon entering battle.
To the specters, this sight of gale, poison earth, and black lightning appeared as Mara.
I loved hearing that.
It meant I had finally grasped the essence of Mara Heaven Sword Form completely in my hands.
The sword Mara wields must be exactly this—my usual imaginings had materialized.
Gu Min-chae's demonic staff was repelled time and again.
Even qi symbolizing peak mastery yielded to the overwhelmingly superior power riding the black lightning.
"Graaaaaaargh!"
Gu Min-chae roared in fury at being unable to move properly, only pushed back.
Yet the net of black lightning slowly constricted, finally trapping him in one spot.
"Fifteenth."
"Yes, sir! Young Leader!"
"Take in one more newbie."
"With utmost loyalty, I shall discipline him thoooroughly!"
In ancient India where the Mara concept first arose, Mara held another meaning.
Death!
I swung the Fear Wind Banner horizontally.
Slash!
Spurt—
Gu Min-chae's severed head soared into the sky.