Chapter 253: No Longer Human (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 253: No Longer Human (1)
Seo-jun let go of Baek Yun’s neck. Thud. The body, now nothing more than a tattered rag, rolled across the floor.
It hadn't been difficult to make the man open his mouth.
After using the Beiming Divine Art to drain his Qi and reduce him to little more than an ordinary mortal, Seo-jun simply forced Demonic Qi into him and issued a command as the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.
It was remarkably simple.
Of course, the man was a martial artist who had reached a lofty realm. His mental fortitude allowed him to resist to some extent, but a broken spirit could not hold out forever.
Ultimately, reduced to a puppet tainted by Demonic Qi, Baek Yun confessed everything he knew.
However…
‘A Transcendent Realm martial artist, yet he’s covered in so many restrictions.’
Even when Baek Yun tried to reveal information about the God-Destroying Association of his own volition—or rather, by force—a restriction would trigger the moment he opened his mouth.
Though he was clearly speaking, only unintelligible gibberish came out.
Usually, these kinds of restrictions were tricky to handle. Attempting to forcefully break them often resulted in the subject's death.
Of course, for the "New Lee Seo-jun," this wasn't a particularly large problem.
A restriction, in the end, was just a method that utilized Qi.
Since it didn't involve Gu Poison, Seo-jun was able to personally unravel the restriction and extract a confession from Baek Yun.
In other words, Baek Yun had outlived his usefulness.
Crunch! Gnaw!
Countless maws began to devour Baek Yun’s body as it lay sprawled on the floor.
—Aaaaaagh…!!
Baek Yun’s soul let out a bloodcurdling scream from the depths of Seo-jun's mental imagery.
Seo-jun then brought his foot down, crushing Neung Wol’s head.
Crack!
With that, two Transcendent Realm experts of the God-Destroying Association vanished from the world forever.
‘Including Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven, that’s already three Transcendent Realm experts… and from the looks of it, there are still a few more left.’
Why did they refuse to show themselves to the world despite possessing such power?
Baek Yun had seemed content just hiding from the North Sea Ice Palace and hadn't given it much thought, but Seo-jun couldn't help but be concerned.
Were they that afraid of the existence of a Profound Realm master? Or were they simply lying low because they had inherited the legacy of the Blood Cult?
Seo-jun pondered for a moment before shaking his head. It wasn't a question he could answer right now, no matter how much he thought about it.
What mattered now was the truth behind the destruction of the Geum family.
‘Baek Yun was there, but Neung Wol wasn't.’
The one who had assisted Baek Yun in the massacre of the Geum family was someone else entirely.
Through Baek Yun’s confession, he had gained some idea of the culprit's location, but… he hadn't been able to pinpoint the exact spot.
‘What a bunch of troublesome pests.’
The God-Destroying Association operated as a strict cell organization. In most cases, even members of the association didn't know each other's locations.
It seemed Baek Yun and Neung Wol had also met at a neutral location, coordinating via a communication artifact—a crystal ball—before traveling to the North Sea together.
“Tsk.”
Seo-jun clicked his tongue and withdrew his domain. Whoosh! The domain that had colored the vast radius instantly vanished.
The original snowy plains were revealed, showing almost no traces of the battle.
At most, there were a few shallow pits in the ground.
Seo-jun continued his train of thought as he poured the cold Qi of the North Sea back into the Ice Crystal floating serenely in the air.
‘Anyway, a "Shin-in," huh…’
It was an absurd naming choice, but based on what he’d heard, it wasn't entirely inaccurate.
Seo-jun recalled what the Emperor had told him.
Six hundred years ago, some of the Transcendent Realm martial artists who had set out to destroy the Blood Cult witnessed a fragment of a god's power, and their spirits were broken.
Quite a few of them chose to go into seclusion, and in the process, they made off with the Blood Cult’s martial arts and sorcery.
As time passed and their research continued, one of those martial artists found a possibility of standing against a god.
He then sought out the others who had gone into seclusion with him.
That was the extent of the Emperor’s speculation.
Perhaps because he was the Emperor, he possessed great insight; surprisingly, his guess had been spot on.
What Seo-jun had heard from Baek Yun and Neung Wol was a slightly more detailed version of that story.
The "possibility" that someone had found. What exactly was that possibility?
The answer to that question didn't stray far from his expectations. It was a Great Method of the Blood Cult.
As Baek Yun—before he became the Giryeon Sect Leader’s roommate—had put it:
“…To be precise, that person modified a Great Method of the Blood Cult to suit the purposes of the God-Destroying Association.”
“And who is that person?”
“I do not know that either.”
That was the answer he had vomited out while tainted by Demonic Qi and under Seo-jun’s control. Since Seo-jun hadn't sensed anything suspicious, the man truly must not have known.
“That Great Method is called the Star God Seal Great Method. It is a type of ritual performed on the parents before a child is even born, intentionally manipulating the child’s constitution.”
The individual who founded the God-Destroying Association had spent a long time preparing the ritual, and it seemed they had finally achieved success about three hundred years ago.
‘Should I call this impressive, or just pathetic?’
Even thinking about it again, it was absurd. To create a god with one's own hands because one feared gods.
Setting aside the feasibility, the idea itself was preposterous.
“The God-Destroying Association prepared several pairs of men and women, performed the Great Method on them, and had them breed to produce children.”
Thus, the second generation was born. Finding potential in them, the Association continued their plan.
“Once the children of the second generation were grown, the Great Method was performed again, they were bred, and the process was repeated. As time passed, the effects of the Great Method began to manifest more clearly.”
In the final generation, where the power of the Great Method had been concentrated, a "God Among Men" was born—a being who, as a human, would surpass the gods.
“The Association bestowed the name 'Shin-in' upon that being. Nominally, he also holds the role of the Association Leader.”
In any case, that "Shin-in" fellow was born three hundred years ago. It seemed he had become a compliant God Among Men through brainwashing and restrictions since childhood, but…
To be honest, Seo-jun didn't fully believe it.
A guy bound by things like brainwashing and restrictions reaching the realm of a god as a human?
Not a chance.
If the guy had truly reached the realm of a god, the God-Destroying Association would have already unified the Central Plains or emerged as a fourth power alongside the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions.
‘He’s probably at the peak of the Transcendent Realm at best.’
At least for now. If he had already reached the Profound Realm, there would be no need for them to stay hidden.
‘Still, he probably isn't as strong as my father-in-law, right?’
Even with his current strength, Seo-jun didn't feel confident he could beat his father-in-law yet.
He wasn't even sure if it was correct to call his father-in-law a Transcendent Realm master.
He couldn't be certain since he’d never seen a Profound Realm master, but perhaps his father-in-law already had one foot in that realm?
Otherwise, that level of strength simply didn't make sense.
Seo-jun clicked his tongue and looked at the Ice Crystal, which was busily absorbing the cold Qi.
Perhaps because it was a sacred object of the Ice Palace, seeing it greedily gulp down the cold Qi made him feel a strange sense of pride.
‘Well, knowing this much is enough for now.’
Regardless, there were two key figures of the God-Destroying Association involved in the destruction of the Geum family.
One was Baek Yun, who had now become the Giryeon Sect Leader’s roommate, and now he just had to hunt down the remaining one.
And a way to lure that one out had just occurred to him.
‘It shouldn't be too hard.’
Crack! A translucent sheet of ice froze in mid-air. Seo-jun looked at his reflection in it.
The face of Baek Seo-jun, distinct from Lee Seo-jun, was clearly reflected.
“I’ll make you another friend soon.”
Seo-jun chuckled, patting his chest.
*
The North Sea Ice Palace Master, Baek Seol-hyang, lay sprawled in her large chair, re-reading the manual for the Ice and Snow Heaven Net Formation for the umpteenth time.
When she first received the manual, she had been too shocked by the speed at which the formation was completed to fully grasp its details. But the more she delved into it, the more she couldn't help but marvel at its profound subtleties.
“Ho, I see.”
The original Ice and Snow Heaven Net Formation worked by having eight martial artists act as pivots, emitting Ice Soul Divine Energy to restrict the movements of the enemy trapped within.
However, the new version was different.
It retained the original principles of the formation but relegated them to a mere secondary function.
While maintaining the previous effects, it added massive pressure to the enemy inside, interfered with their internal energy, forcibly implanted cold Qi into their bodies, dulled their five senses, and used the flow of energy to protect the eight martial artists forming the array…
To put it simply, it was a formation that pressured the enemy within to a pitiable degree—a formation that perfectly reflected Baek Seo-jun’s wicked temperament.
‘From the looks of it, he seems to have quite the mastery over sorcery as well.’
It was hard to believe. To have reached the Transcendent Realm in martial arts and still have mastery over sorcery?
Even the Giryeon Sect Leader’s martial arts were merely "passable." He had received praise just for being able to use martial arts and sorcery simultaneously at that level.
‘Then how do I catch this guy…?’
It was only natural that Baek Seol-hyang’s worries were deepening.
Baek Seo-jun. If she could just secure him, she wouldn't have to worry about the Ice Palace for the next few hundred years.
If she could catch him, that is.
He wasn't interested in women, he hated banquets, the Ice Palace was too poor to tempt him with wealth, and in terms of martial arts, he was already in the Transcendent Realm…
“Hmm.”
If I were him, I wouldn't stay at the Ice Palace either.
Baek Seol-hyang, who had been absentmindedly agreeing with herself, suddenly snapped out of it.
“…This isn't right.”
Baek Seol-hyang bit her lip. For the sake of her own comfortable retirement, she had to catch him no matter what.
She didn't even expect him to take over the position of Palace Master right away. She would be satisfied if he just stayed by her side and did her work for her.
To do that…
‘It can’t be helped.’
Ultimately, Baek Seol-hyang decided to put her long-pondered plan into action.
Ordering him to replenish the Ice Crystal’s cold Qi had been part of that plan.
No matter how great a Transcendent Realm martial artist was, sitting in one spot and staring blankly at an Ice Crystal would eventually become unbearably boring.
In the world, there were many martial artists who would say things that lacked any shred of humanity, like, "Shouldn't he just use that time to practice his martial arts?" But Baek Seol-hyang couldn't empathize with such nonsense at all.
She had been practicing martial arts for hundreds of years. While it was said that the path of martial arts was endless and that one could feel a supreme sense of accomplishment with every step forward…
That was only something you could say when you actually took a step forward.
At Baek Seol-hyang’s level, taking even a single step was no easy feat.
In the Transcendent Realm, you were considered amazing if you managed to take one step after decades of training.
Do you know the feeling of staring at a wall and practicing martial arts every day without moving forward even a single inch?
It was incredibly boring.
Which meant that unless Baek Seo-jun was a complete psychopath, he wouldn't be practicing martial arts for a week; he would be forced to just stare blankly at the Ice Crystal!
“Hehe…”
Baek Seol-hyang let out a devious chuckle as she prepared a home-cooked lunch box.
Yes, a lunch box. This was the wicked scheme that revealed the true malice of the North Sea Ice Palace, a grand strategy that Baek Seol-hyang had agonized over for days.
A conversation partner appearing in the midst of boredom was truly a light in the dark, a hope in the midst of despair.
If she put herself in his shoes, she would have immediately sworn loyalty to the benevolent Palace Master and volunteered for all sorts of chores.
“Now, you’ll be the one cleaning the Ice Palace instead of me, Baek Seo-jun.”
I’ll follow you around and check every nook and cranny with my finger to see if any dust remains…!
—Or so she had thought just a moment ago.
“You’re… you’re going back…?”
“Yeah. The work is done, and I don't need any more information from Baek Yun, so I should head back.”
With those words, Baek Seol-hyang’s world came crashing down.
“N-no…! Where do you think you’re going! We haven't even cleaned the Ice Palace together yet…!”