Chapter 268: Cosmic Chun-bong, Embracing the Truth of All Creation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 268: Cosmic Chun-bong, Embracing the Truth of All Creation
Low-level martial artists often harbor misconceptions about the true nature of "realms."
The Transcendent Realm? I don’t know much, but aren’t they just the people who can shatter mountains, part seas, and are generally super strong?
While not entirely incorrect, such a view barely scratched the surface.
A master of the Transcendent Realm was not merely some strong, friendly neighbor. They were beings who had transcended humanity itself. Though not quite gods, they were far too alien to still be called human.
To give a simple example, a master at the mature Super Peak Realm was capable of a feat like this:
"Hmm."
Seo-jun, who had been quietly observing the terrain, casually tossed the porcelain cup in his hand.
Clink—!
Fragments of porcelain scattered in all directions. However, Chun-bong’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the large piece remaining in the center.
"Ooh...!"
She dashed forward and held the porcelain shard high in the air.
"It’s a porcelain dinosaur...!"
In her hand rested a remarkably lifelike porcelain shard shaped exactly like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. It wasn't some parlor trick performed with internal energy; it was a fresh, "wild-caught" porcelain dinosaur born entirely from the break.
To explain what this meant: once someone reached a certain realm, they could perceive the minute, intricate details of exactly how a glass would shatter.
"You try it too, Chun-bu-i."
"Hah!"
Clink—!
Chun-bong flailed wildly as porcelain fragments flew out in random directions.
"Gyaaaak...!"
Ordinary people usually dismissed the way a glass broke as "random." They categorized it as a matter of coincidence. However, once one reached a certain level, they would know exactly how a glass would shatter without much effort at all.
The grain of the glass, the contours of the ground, the speed of the fall, the direction and strength of the wind, the precise point of impact, and the force radiating from it...
They didn't necessarily calculate these variables one by one. Surprisingly, a single glance was enough to let them see the rough shape of the future. Therefore, to them, the way a glass shattered was not a coincidence, but an inevitability.
Naturally, tactical battles between martial artists of that caliber existed on a completely different dimension.
Regardless of raw intelligence, in their world, a single minute movement birthed tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of variations. Martial artists of the Transcendent Realm, who calculated such changes—whether instinctively or rationally—in a mere heartbeat, boasted a processing speed capable of slapping a supercomputer silly at 300,000 kilometers per second.
"What...?"
For someone like Lee Seo-jun, this meant he could freely control the color, shape, and movement of his Qi to create a doll that was a perfect replica of himself.
"There are... two Oppas!?"
Her jaw dropping, Chun-bong poked and prodded the doll’s forearm.
"No way, it’s exactly identical."
"Hey, Geum Chun-bong. It’s too early to be surprised."
"What...!"
Bolstered by the enthusiastic responses of his personal "reaction vending machine," Geum Chun-bong, Seo-jun plucked a piece of the sky from his own Mental Imagery and bestowed it upon the doll.
"How is it?"
This time, it was the doll that opened its mouth to speak.
The subtle expressions, the deeply ingrained habits, the minute muscle movements—every detail that Chun-bong instinctively used to identify Lee Seo-jun was perfectly replicated.
"This is..."
Chun-bong froze. She stared intently at the doll as if looking at something truly uncanny.
Seo-jun also carefully observed the doll he had created. The doll looked back at him. Their eyes met, exchanging a silent glance.
At first, I was the one maintaining its form, but after I bestowed a piece of my Mental Imagery, it maintains its form on its own.
As mentioned before, the consciousness of a Transcendent Realm master was beyond imagination. Parallel thinking was not a particularly difficult task. The doll before him was a being with a certain degree of self-awareness, yet it was also Seo-jun himself.
What would happen if he withdrew his consciousness in this state?
The result was obvious even without testing it.
It would probably dissipate.
In the first place, the Mental Imagery itself was a part of Seo-jun. Since Seo-jun’s heart dwelt within it, the creation could be called both a mere doll and a piece of Seo-jun. In other words, it was a living being originating from the Primordial Unity that was Lee Seo-jun.
Yet, it was by no means different from him. It was Lee Seo-jun. The self-awareness it believed it possessed was nothing more than Seo-jun’s own consciousness, originating from his Mental Imagery.
Just as all things originating from the Primordial Unity were ultimately no different from the Primordial Unity itself...
Stop.
Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong, who was still examining the doll with a mystified expression.
Her plump, soft, squishy cheeks.
When he reached out and poked them, Geum Chun-bong jumped.
"Ack...! You scared me...!"
Seeing her reaction, Seo-jun offered a loose smile. But he couldn't feel the same levity on the inside.
At this rate...
The Primordial Unity, the cradle of all things. The current Seo-jun could easily create a doll in the shape of Chun-bong. Of course, he couldn't replicate her heart yet. If he did, it would merely be Lee Seo-jun parading around in the form of Geum Chun-bong.
But what about after that?
As the martial artist Lee Seo-jun drew ever closer to the realm of a god, it was clear that the boundary would eventually blur.
All things in the world originated from the Primordial Unity. Ultimately, everything was a part of it. Chun-bong, Su-ah Noona, his father-in-law, the Namgung Clan—all of it was, in the end, nothing more than fragments of the Primordial Unity.
What meaning is there in such a world? As if a demon in his heart was whispering this grand illusion, Seo-jun mercilessly struck the demon’s head.
Wham—!
The demon, which had been sitting quietly, writhed in indignation and bared its fangs.
Splat—!
"Ugh...!"
After habitually vomiting a mouthful of blood, Seo-jun scooped Chun-bong up into his arms.
"Hey, hey! You're bleeding!"
"It's fine. My new friend is just throwing a bit of a tantrum."
Seo-jun held Chun-bong tightly, grounding himself in her presence. In doing so, he easily shifted his spiraling thoughts.
This warm body heat, that worried gaze, those soft cheeks—even if all of it was ultimately a part of the Primordial Unity...
The time spent with her was not a lie, and the connection they shared was not in vain. He didn't bother with complicated philosophical thoughts. He simply desired it to be so. If he willed it, then that alone was the absolute truth of his world.
A Geum Chun-bong doll could never replace the real Geum Chun-bong.
He chose to believe that. He had to, so that the fragile existence known as "I" would not shatter.
He turned his eyes away from the cosmic truth he didn't yet want to face, focusing entirely on every little wiggle of the living, breathing Geum Chun-bong in his arms.
To that Seo-jun, Chun-bong suddenly spoke up.
"But that thing over there is a bit awkward."
"Huh? What is? The doll?"
"Yeah. It looks exactly the same, but it doesn't feel very 'Lee Seo-jun-ish'."
"That shouldn't be possible."
At the sight of Seo-jun’s twitching eyebrows, Chun-bong gave a haughty snort.
"I'm telling you, it's easy to tell!"
Even coming from Chun-bong, it wasn't easy to believe. That thing was exactly like him. It was inherently designed to be so. Though its body was forged of Qi, it was a flawless masterpiece created by the hands of Seo-jun, a master who had realized the Primordial Unity.
At Chun-bong’s level, she shouldn't have been able to tell the difference at all.
"This one is the doll."
However, after repeated experiments, she truly proved her words to be true.
Even when he transferred the vast majority of his Mental Imagery to the doll, even when he stood perfectly still without saying a word, even when they shared the exact same Mental Imagery half-and-half...
Geum Chun-bong always recognized the real Lee Seo-jun.
"...I see."
Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong blankly, feeling a profound shock, as if he’d been struck in the back of the head with a hammer.
The things he hadn't been sure of, the things he thought were merely desperate self-consolation—Geum Chun-bong had personally proven that they weren't just his delusions.
Everything about a human originated from their parents and the various conditions present before birth. A newborn human was merely a creature that had inherited every element of its body and soul, possessing nothing truly its own.
All things in the world originated from the Primordial Unity. The Primordial Unity already contained all things. It was at the root of everything, and no matter how things changed, they were ultimately just a part of that great whole.
However, humans were born into the world and grew, moving toward their own unique completeness. The things they built along the way were never inherited from someone else.
Through the time that being had lived, all the connections they had formed, and the traces they had carved into the world, they were reborn as a unique existence that could not be lumped together under the mere word "human."
And the Primordial Unity was...
"...Ah."
The strength left Seo-jun’s hands. However, Chun-bong, who was still in his arms, did not fall. The warm arms wrapped around his neck tightened slightly.
"What? What's with that face?"
"The performance is definitely reliable."
"What?"
An Inner Demon was like a lethal complication. A martial artist who fell prey to an Inner Demon would become buried under countless derivative demons, ultimately losing their mind. Even if it wasn't a sickness born of the heart, the result was no different.
It was a situation where a foreign substance entirely out of his control had crawled into his heart. That foreign substance disturbed the mind and eventually mutated into a true Inner Demon.
However, since Seo-jun had his very own "external-attachment Inner Demon controller" in the form of Geum Chun-bong...
The sprout of the Inner Demon that had just begun to bloom was ruthlessly ripped out by its roots.
"Even if we originated from the Primordial Unity, we are the ones who give meaning to the things that have already come to be."
"What...? Hey, you're really okay with that Inner Demon thing, right?"
"Yeah, I am. Cosmic Chun-bong, Embracing the Truth of All Creation."
"...Gasp. Are you screwed in the head?"
Even if he could recreate Geum Chun-bong’s cheeks through the Primordial Unity, Geum Chun-bong’s cheeks were not made of mere physical texture. They had meaning because they were Geum Chun-bong’s cheeks; simply having soft cheeks held no meaning beyond that.
Whatever the reality was, whatever the grand laws of the world dictated, it didn't matter.
He decided it to be so.
"Geum Chun-bong is complete..."
"U-Unnie...! Unnie! Come here quick! This guy is in big trouble!"
"Hahahaha!!"
Seo-jun ran around the Namgung Clan estate with Chun-bong hoisted on his shoulders.
He still hadn't fully crushed the demon in his heart, and he would still vomit blood every time he tapped into the Primordial Unity, but it didn't matter anymore.
Because Geum Chun-bong was by his side.
* * *
"Oh, right."
Lee Seo-jun, whose memory was currently rivaling that of a goldfish, suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
Come to think of it, there was a fundamental reason why he had caused all this fuss in the first place.
I'm at the Namgung Clan... can't I just send the doll to the Murim Alliance?
He needed to look into the doll's capabilities a bit more.
* * *
A few days later, four masters of the Transcendent Realm gathered at the Murim Alliance.