The Unyielding Wind
The place where countless buildings resembling massive black monoliths thrust endlessly toward the sky was Wind Star of the Absolute Realm, seat of the Wind Family’s main house. On this land inhabited solely by the bloodline of the Wind Family, atop an ancient hanok with a courtyard that stretched to the horizon, only the sound of wind being ruthlessly cleaved apart echoed across the grounds.
Shaaaaaaaak—!
Millions of figures clad in black training uniforms moved at speeds beyond the eye’s ability to track, piercing through space as they converged on the center. Each held a wooden sword known as the Sword of Ruin and Soul, an indestructible weapon carrying the authority of absolute life and death, and they advanced without pause toward the heart of the courtyard. These were the descendants of the Wind Family—Truth’s own bloodline.
Every single one possessed an immortal body and authority worthy of being called the next generation of Eternal Beings, yet they were also powerhouses who had reached the level of the 10 Mainstays through sheer martial might. Despite that, they charged forward in utter silence, bodies taut with extreme tension, pouring every ounce of their strength toward a single point.
At the center of their relentless advance stood Jinri, dressed in the same black training uniform and gripping an identical wooden sword. This was the customary sparring session between Jinri and the Wind Family.
Jinri flicked his right hand—the one holding the Sword of Ruin and Soul—with casual ease, sweeping aside the descendants who hurled themselves at him from every direction. In that instant, his merciless strikes fell upon the Wind Family’s bloodline, each member of which surpassed 1,000 trillion units of innate divine power, had perfectly mastered the Incomprehensible Eight Founders, and could even reach Origin level. They were praised as the pinnacle of the Absolute Realm and the Main Universe.
Kakakakakakakakang—!
It was not the sound of wood striking wood. It was the deafening roar of immortal bodies shattering as they received physical impacts beyond imagination, delivered through Jinri’s Sword of Ruin and Soul. Even the Origins of the Wind Family—beings said to be capable of defeating a member of the 10 Mainstays when attacking in pairs—spat blood as they were hurled back even faster than they had charged, flying helplessly through the air.
Not a single one of those blasted outside the courtyard managed to rise again. Countless figures were embedded in the distant walls beyond the horizon, while others lay collapsed among the black buildings. More than half of the five million members of the Wind Family had already fallen. This was the result of a single day’s group sparring session against Jinri.
Almost none who received one of his blows could stand again. Only the ten figures currently surrounding him had managed it.
“Kgh—!”
Thud—!Crunch—!
Anyone struck by Jinri’s Sword of Ruin and Soul was completely incapacitated without exception. Yet the extremely few who could block with their own sword and step into the zone where counterattacks became possible were breathing raggedly, desperately forcing their nearly shattered bodies to recover. All while screaming inside their minds.
‘Keuuugh—! How is he growing stronger faster than us from that realm?’
‘It’s too hard to endure.’
The Wind Family members tasked with maintaining the barrier had no choice but to fulfill their duty. They restored the shattered eternity faster than the fighting spirit exploding from Jinri’s attack zone could destroy it. Then, using their own divine power and authority, they activated the barrier to imprison him.
The ten overlapping barriers transformed into a single defensive wall, blocking the release of Jinri’s fighting spirit.
Papapapapapapa—!
Because they poured every ounce of strength into the barrier, they could not move an inch. Still, this allowed the remaining descendants to launch their attacks. It was an unavoidable choice; without suppressing the fighting spirit that erupted during combat, even approaching Jinri was impossible.
A one-on-one fight against Jinri was out of the question, and half-hearted coordinated attacks simply became perfect targets for his ultimate counter technique, the Incomprehensible Eight Founders, causing them to collapse in an instant. Clumsy group tactics that relied merely on numbers only invited mutual destruction, as each side’s attacks were turned against them by Jinri or his descendants.
‘In the beginning we tried one-on-one sparring, but the gap was so vast they were defeated instantly and the training lost its effectiveness.’
‘Besides, the family has grown so large that even individual sparring opportunities are nearly impossible to arrange.’
Thus, after the entire Wind Family pooled their minds, this was the tactic they had devised. The Origin of the Mage God—who had once thrown himself forward with vicious tenacity no matter how many times he fell—had reached this conclusion.
‘This isn’t working. The difference in divine power between Grandfather Jinri and us is simply too great.’
‘Our physical abilities and authorities can’t compare, and above all, the fighting spirit born from fundamental combat experience is so different that we can barely even get close anymore!’
‘Forget the Wind Family’s pride. We use a unified barrier to seal and weaken him, then launch an all-out coordinated assault where everyone accepts the risk of sacrifice. There is no other way to create an equal spar.’
They would penetrate Jinri’s attack zone and overlap ten barriers, each exceeding 1,000 trillion in divine power, to neutralize his fighting spirit. It was the final method to endure even a little longer during training with Jinri.
And the descendants assigned to the barrier had succeeded. Even as they vomited black blood from the internal damage caused by Jinri’s fighting spirit, they held the barrier firm. They had created an opening for the rest of the Wind Family’s descendants to attack with full strength.
‘This is the longest we’ve ever lasted across the countless sparring sessions of the past 500 billion years.’
Even this method only worked because the core of the barrier was formed by Jinri’s own Sword of Ruin and Soul, infused with his immortal authority. Any other material or authority would have lasted mere moments.
Jinri gazed silently at the descendants who were barely holding on, using their own Swords of Ruin and Soul as supports.
“……”
He inwardly praised the tenacity that drove them to maintain the barrier even after surpassing their limits.
‘Well done. As expected of my bloodline—recklessly persistent.’
They had properly received his strike, penetrated the attack zone, and formed a perfect circle to create the barrier. Though this was training rather than true combat, it was an act that required even 10 Mainstays-level Eternal Beings to stake their very existence. The number of people who had succeeded in creating an opportunity for the other descendants to attack was exactly ten—the same number as the 10 Mainstays themselves.
They were the Origins of the Wind Family, recognized for both their ability and contribution, and granted permission for direct intervention in the Absolute Realm and the Main Universe.
‘How commendable. You’ve grown so much.’
The newly appointed Origin of Dimensions—who interpreted dimensional authority at its highest level as both supreme barrier and world creation—had been left behind in the Absolute Realm, yet these ten were somehow enduring. More than that, they burned with fighting spirit during their sessions with him, challenging him and striving to grow stronger even now.
‘Their power still falls short of my disciple and the greatest treasure of the Absolute Realm, the 10 Mainstays, but in tenacity and sheer stubborn will, they are unmatched.’
They might not be the strongest within the Wind Family or the Absolute Realm, but there was no doubt they possessed the highest potential.
Suddenly, an old memory surfaced in Jinri’s mind.
‘If even one Eternal Being like this had existed in my childhood, things would have been better for me as well.’
This was the eternal hypothetical Jinri had always longed for.
‘If there had been a proper Creator, I wouldn’t have needed to step forward like this. I could have lived comfortably as an ordinary member of the Wind Family.’
Had the Eternal Beings of the past been as strong, persistent, and attached to life as the current descendants of the Wind Family, the Creator would never have handed over his power and duties to the eight Absolute Beings.
‘It was a vicious deception that threw one’s own existence away.’
For an Eternal Being, the most important thing was not power but the eternity of body and mind. Only those who would never be altered or changed by any impact or the passage of time could maintain the world permanently. That was why it was inevitable that the eight Absolute Beings—who surpassed the Eternal Beings in power but not in spirit—would self-destruct after taking over their duties.
‘No matter how I look at it, it was a trap. The Eternal Beings’ power could never have suppressed the eight Absolute Beings at the time.’
The eight Absolute Beings, who had risen as the new ruling power by pushing aside the divine race with transcendental strength, had told the Creator to end the endless war and hand over authority legitimately. In truth, they had been beautifully deceived by the trick of being handed a burden the Creator’s opponent could not bear—one that would lead to self-destruction.
‘In the end, it was fortunate that I took over the Absolute Realm. Otherwise, everything really would have ended.’
After countless challenges, Jinri had completely defeated the first-generation 10 Mainstays, whose minds were crumbling under the Creator’s duties, and inherited everything. Having become a complete Eternal Being and grasped the situation, he had stormed in furiously to discipline the other Eternal Beings—only to witness an absurd sight.
It was the true nature of the most noble Eternal Beings, the clan of the Creator of the Absolute Realm.
‘At least the Creator at that time, who schemed and interfered to prevent the rapid growth of the eight Absolute Beings for the sake of the Absolute Realm’s stability and peace, was better.’
The Creator, representative of the Eternal Beings, had acted even while prepared to be completely erased. Yet the other Eternal Beings who should have helped simply cut off all interest and maintained only their own domains. They secluded themselves in the central forbidden zone, caring nothing even if the Absolute Realm collapsed.
Moreover, they hadn’t even known that the Creator—the highest position among Eternal Beings—had transferred his duties and rights to the eight Absolute Beings and been erased.
‘They had severed all interest in the affairs of the Absolute Realm and endlessly indulged only in their personal hobbies.’
Even when Jinri invaded their domain, they believed the weak intruder could not possibly be an Eternal Being and offered no response whatsoever. Since the world would not change no matter what they did, dealing with it was simply too bothersome. Do as you please, they seemed to say. Whether the world perished or not held no meaning for them.
‘Worthless cynics and pessimists! That is why the Creator despaired of the Eternal Beings and made such a choice. Just thinking about it fills me with rage.’
The apathy of the Eternal Beings occupying the highest seats was the reason the previous Creator had given up on himself. Even Jinri had been stunned at first. Eternal Beings suffered no effects from pain, death, or annihilation unless they themselves wished it. Even if their bodies were destroyed by power surpassing eternity, activity would only stop momentarily before complete restoration. Ultimately, no real harm could be done.
Therefore, even if they lived solely for their own whims, there was no way to intervene. Not even Jinri, a higher-ranking Eternal Being, could permanently dispose of a lower one.
‘Of course, that is no longer the case. Now that the Main Universe exists, I will not tolerate those who do no work, merely play and eat while pushing their duties onto others. I’ve already dealt with about half of them.’
Looking at the Main Universes rising proudly across the Wind Family’s lands, Jinri nodded in satisfaction. The detestable Eternal Beings had been driven out of the center of the Absolute Realm the moment they created those universes and were forcibly assigned the role of Creators. Since then, he had continuously raised their level, turning them into perfect Eternal Beings and stabilizing them. The results had been tremendous.
Although the Otherworld had a completely different structure from the Absolute Realm, the barrier created by the Main Universes had shattered the restrictions within the Wind Family’s main house domain. Once the Main Universes containing dimensional authority were completed, that territory would expand exponentially. That was why the Wind Family was currently pouring all its resources into hastening their construction.
There was only one goal.
‘If everything proceeds according to plan, the Wind Family and the 10 Mainstays will be able to operate freely in the Otherworld while maintaining their full divine power and bodies. We can move on to the next stage for the sake of sustaining eternal happiness.’
Then everything would unfold exactly as Jinri desired. The strongest forces of the Absolute Realm would manifest fully in the Otherworld, where the majority of the ruling powers were merely at the level of Main Gods of the Main Universe. Naturally, the powerless Otherworld had tried every possible means to interfere.
However, as long as Jinri and the Wind Family’s descendants stood guard, even approaching was impossible. Thus, the Otherworld’s limit was to erect and maintain a barrier around the planet’s outer perimeter to prevent the Absolute Realm’s influence from spreading any further.
‘Pathetic creatures—weak as they are, yet so full of pride! If you continue interfering with me, once the maintenance of the Absolute Realm and all the Main Universes is complete, your turn will come next.’
Gazing at the gods of the Otherworld who had spread their barrier to encircle the entire planet, Jinri smiled inwardly and swung the Sword of Ruin and Soul. It was a light motion, yet each swing sent the Origins of the Wind Family flying like leaves caught in a storm.
Though he sparred against more than five million descendants of the Wind Family at once, there was no real problem. This was not a crisis that would inflict irreparable damage on the Absolute Realm or the Main Universes and lead to their destruction—it was merely a process of training.
For Jinri, who had overcome the fierce war against the first-generation 10 Mainstays—a conflict so brutal that even staking everything had barely been enough, resulting in countless defeats—it was an exceedingly peaceful time.
Though for other beings, it was a survival competition where one’s blood ran cold.
Just like the Magic God of Dimensions, who, after receiving the Origin of the Mage God’s chilling warning and scorching reward, now seethed with venom as he waited inside the Main God Temple.
‘Aah—! What a truly absurd world. In the end, was the problem me? I really am an idiot.’