Chapter 254: No Longer Human (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 254: No Longer Human (2)
A little time remained before the Ice Crystal would be fully charged with cold qi.
Seo-jun stared blankly at it for a moment before settling into the lotus position.
While admiring it brought him a sense of pride, staring at an Ice Crystal for hours felt like a waste of time. He decided to use this downtime to contemplate the new realm he had just pioneered.
If Baek Seol-hyang, who was currently idling away back at the Ice Palace, had heard this, she would have been seriously concerned for his mental well-being. But since she wasn't here, the eccentric Lee Seo-jun plunged into deep meditation on his martial arts.
Do I need to come up with a new name again?
Without much thought, Seo-jun pondered what to call this bizarre realm that integrated the Transcendent Realm, Extreme Demon, the Qi Spirit Scripture, and the Fire Demon Realm.
The Primordial Unity Realm? The Unity Realm? The Namgung Realm... no, that was a bit much. Since four realms had merged, maybe the Four-Fold Unity Realm? That sounded strange, too.
Maybe I'll just figure it out later.
Seo-jun pouted for a moment, brushing the thought aside before it could even truly take root. It wasn't that he was giving up on his martial studies. There were simply other things he needed to contemplate more urgently than naming a realm.
In fact, it was a problem he should have addressed a long time ago.
His domain—his Ideal World.
Whenever he saw the domains of other Transcendent Realm masters, a sense of doubt regarding his own crept in.
And for good reason. His Ideal World was exactly that: an entire world. It had a sun, a moon, an ocean, and trees. Whenever he felt like it, he could simply grab something and toss it in.
As far as he knew, Mental Imagery wasn't something you could just landscape like a garden whenever you felt a piece was missing. This gave Seo-jun a profound sense of dissonance.
This was especially true for his localized manifestations.
The Eight Cold Hells? Calling it a "fragment" of his Mental Imagery was just a polite way of putting it; in reality, it was as if Seo-jun possessed multiple domains.
It’s a good thing, but...
He couldn't shake the question: Why only me?
To simply lump it all together as a "difference in talent" left an unsettling taste in his mouth.
The Ideal World—a single, complete world. What did that signify? Why was he the only one whose domain differed so drastically from the rest? As he pondered, Seo-jun turned his gaze inward.
His consciousness slowly sank into the depths, observing the microcosm within.
Who am I? And what exactly is the "Sprout of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons"?
The world within his Mental Imagery was vast. Day and night flickered by in an instant. Flowing rivers merged with the sea, and falling rain replenished those rivers.
The chirping of insects, the sound of Geum Chun-bong running, plum blossoms scattering in the wind—and when he looked up, a massive tree piercing the heavens stood tall.
Am I merely the Sprout of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons?
The sudden question stirred a storm within his mind.
The things he had achieved—could he truly say he had achieved them on his own? Was it not his talent, rather than "himself," that had accomplished those feats?
The contemplation that began with his domain now flowed backward. Why was his domain different? Was it truly just a difference in talent?
He had already concluded that chalking it up to talent felt unsettling, yet the destination of his thoughts inevitably returned to that metaphysical concept.
The foundation that existed before the domain. The milestones he had achieved. Was it truly him who had achieved them?
Not him, but his talent. If so, was talent a concept that could be separated from his existence?
If that were the case, had he not simply been leaning on his talent all this time? Then, what would he be without it?
His thoughts deepened. The things one is born with. The components that make up the entity known as "me."
Is talent something bestowed? If so, by whom? The heavens? Or one's parents?
In the act of being born, a human's will has no influence.
Both body and mind originate from one's parents.
Then, what is it that a human truly achieves on their own?
If talent is merely something received from someone else, and if one's body and mind likewise do not originate from oneself, then what, ultimately, is the entity known as "me"?
Hey, Seo-pippi.
The internal Giga Chun-bong gave him a thumbs up.
Stop thinking. Keep it simple.
Seo-jun looked at the internal Giga Chun-bong. He saw her delectably plump cheeks. Where did those cheeks originate from?
That cuteness, that appearance—those, too, were things one was born with.
Did they belong to Geum Chun-bong, or did they not?
He already knew the answer. Geum Chun-bong's cuteness was unique to her. It was an absolute truth that touched upon the fundamental principles of all creation.
Appearance was also a talent. Though one was born with it, it could be polished to shine even brighter.
In essence, appearance was no different from manual dexterity or the ability to fold a mind-blowing paper airplane with one's toes. (Utility wasn't the point here.)
Just as the reborn Geum Chun-bong had protected her cheek fat through her Bone-cleansing and Body-changing, it meant her cuteness wasn't composed solely of what she was born with.
It was the result of a mixture of various elements: her effort, time, luck, and choices.
(He admitted that the "born with it" part was significant, but that was just how the world worked, so there was no helping it.)
Baek Seol-hyang was a counterexample.
She was born with the natural talent of a homebody, but the heavy responsibility of being the Palace Master prevented that talent from ever truly blooming.
(Again, whether that was beneficial or harmful was not the point.)
If she hadn't carried the responsibility of leading the Ice Palace, her talent would have blossomed even without a master.
She might have reached the supreme realm of a homebody—not just a first-rate homebody, but a Transcendent or even Profound Realm homebody.
Talent, huh...
Seo-jun quietly observed his scattered thoughts.
The meaningless cycle of contemplation took a step forward.
Seo-jun looked up at the stars shining brilliantly in the night sky of his Mental Imagery.
The people of the world admired the stars in the night sky, yet they also hated them. They wished for them to shine in that spot forever, yet they also wanted to drag them down.
Humans were beings born with everything they had.
The metaphysical concept of talent, which they both envied and despised, was nothing more than one element that made up a human being.
It was something already possessed regardless of one's choices, and one couldn't simply start a new life like creating a new game account.
It is an undeniable fact that I possess ridiculous talent.
He didn't bother being humble in his own head. A fact was a fact.
Then, a common saying often associated with those born with great talent came to mind.
'You're just lucky to be born with talent.'
Luck. Did luck truly exist in this world?
Before the profound truths of all creation, human insight was pitifully small.
What they called "luck" was "inevitability" to the transcendent beings existing in higher planes. To humans, who could not be whole from birth, talent was an inseparable heavenly punishment.
Talent is talent. I am me. If I were to lose my talent, I would still be me, just a version of me that has lost a part of myself.
It was no different from a disability where one loses a limb.
Just as Lee Seo-jun wouldn't stop being Lee Seo-jun just because an arm fell off, he was who he was, regardless of how the world defined him.
Hey, Seo-pippi. What's the point of all this?
Giga Chun-bong lay on the ground, scratching her head. Seo-jun looked at her.
I get it now, Giga Chun-bong.
The backward flow of thoughts returned to its natural order. Talent and himself. And back to the domain.
I don't think it really matters.
Whatever happens, happens. So what if he was amazing? Seo-jun took Giga Chun-bong's advice and kept it simple.
Is it so weird to have three or four domains?
So what if he was a little different from others? So what if some grand truth was hidden behind it all?
He would deal with that when the time came.
His mind was already complicated enough. Didn't the proverb say you could know the depth of ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person's heart? His heart was exactly the same.
If there was one clear fact amidst the tangled mess of his mind, it was this: Geum Chun-bong's plump cheeks, the baby fat of Namgung Su-ah that nourished the soul, and the fact that life somehow worked out if you just kept living.
Thus, for a human who could not be whole from birth, the only path to becoming whole was through martial arts.
If I keep smashing the things that prevent me from being whole, I'll eventually become whole.
Clinging to this aggressively summarized sophistry, Lee Seo-jun snapped his eyes open.
The internal Giga Chun-bong, who had yet to vanish, let out a hollow laugh.
What kind of bullshit is that, Seo-pippi? It feels like you skipped all the middle steps.
No, Giga Chun-bong. I've organized it perfectly.
So what if there was some incredible secret to his birth? Either way, it just meant he could do more than others, so wasn't that a good thing?
There was no need to doubt his own talent. Since he already had it, he might as well put it to good use and think, I'm totally lucky, right?
As long as he didn't doubt himself, the only thing that could bring him down was an external force.
Having brushed off the whole "talent" dilemma as simply being "because I'm great," Seo-jun realized the only thing left that could threaten him was someone stronger than himself.
Therefore, if he just became stronger than everyone else, a happy ending awaited.
After hearing Seo-jun's explanation, Giga Chun-bong nodded with a dubious expression.
Let's go with that, Seo-pippi.
Yeah. See you later, Giga Chun-bong.
After seeing Giga Chun-bong off, Seo-jun became conscious of a firm pillar established within him.
It was self-assurance.
That massive tree took root in his heart, connecting the different realms into one.
Seo-jun felt the realm he had achieved become a bit more stable.
And as a bonus, he sensed that the Ice Crystal floating before him had finished charging.
"Time to head back."
He had completed all three tasks requested by the Ice Palace Master.
The information about Baek Yun he was supposed to receive was now useless, but since he felt a bit sorry for the Ice Palace for various reasons, he didn't feel like his efforts were wasted.
Above all, his immediate gains were significant. A new realm. A new enlightenment.
Satisfied with his growth, Seo-jun headed back toward the North Sea Ice Palace.
*
"N-No...! Where do you think you're going?! We haven't even done the Ice Palace Cleaning Day together yet...!"
He hadn't expected this.
Seo-jun was flustered. What was going on?
He had already thought of a way to draw out the culprit who had conspired in the Geum family's destruction.
Setting aside the sudden mention of cleaning the palace, he hadn't expected Baek Seol-hyang to be this clingy and tearful. He was momentarily speechless.
"No, I mean..."
"I know! If you leave like this, you have no intention of ever coming back to the Ice Palace, do you?!"
That wasn't exactly true. He didn't have a specific reason to stop by again, but he hadn't planned on never returning, either.
As Seo-jun's eyes darted around, Baek Seol-hyang grabbed his sleeve tightly.
"F-Fine! I'll personally take on half of the chores!"
"The chores aren't the point, I have things to do..."
"Then, will you come back soon?"
Seo-jun avoided her gaze as she stared at him intently.
"Well, about that..."
"Hmph...!"
Tears welled up in Baek Seol-hyang's eyes. She was so upset she couldn't stand it. It was unfair that her grand plan had been shattered before she could even try it.
So, she shouted without thinking.
"I... I thought we were friends...!"
It wasn't particularly surprising, but Baek Seol-hyang had no friends. Her talent had been highly praised since she was a child, leading her to the position of Young Palace Master, and she had devoted almost her entire life to martial arts.
After she ascended to the position of Palace Master, everyone revered her.
And reverence was an emotion quite distant from friendship.
Thus, the martial artists of the Ice Palace could not be Baek Seol-hyang's friends. They only wished to be the Ice Palace Master's reliable subordinates.
She hated that.
Harboring fantasies about friendship, Baek Seol-hyang found her solitary life as the Palace Master incredibly lonely.
She wanted a friend, not a subordinate.
After all, didn't she deserve a relationship where they could eat together, chat all night, and comfortably say anything to each other?
It was a secret no one knew, but Baek Seol-hyang used to carefully write down the things she wanted to do with a friend in her diary.
Things like cleaning the Ice Palace, exploring the village, and so on...
That was why Baek Seol-hyang had secretly enjoyed the past few days so much.
Friend. Close friend. What heart-fluttering words!
In the midst of all this, Baek Seo-jun, who had dropped out of the sky, had become Baek Seol-hyang's first friend. Regardless of what others thought, that was what Baek Seol-hyang believed.
But today, Baek Seol-hyang was on the verge of losing her very first friend.
She had no intention of letting go of the bond she had finally gained.
In the end, the peerless master of the extreme cold—the master of the Ice Palace who occupied a pillar of the Seven Evil Black Sect, who had mastered the Ice Soul Divine Art and the Beiming Divine Art, and whose internal energy was second to none in the world—the woman known as the Snow-Blood Demon Queen, Baek Seol-hyang, finally made her declaration.
"D-Don't go...! I'll give you anything you want!"
Faced with the sight of the Snow-Blood Demon Queen acting like a nine-year-old child whose best friend was moving away, the Young Palace Master Baek Seo-jun, who claimed to still possess a human heart, replied:
"Hmm, that's a bit..."