Chapter 271: Profound Realm (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 271: Profound Realm (3)
Seo-jun was not a man easily shaken by fear.
He didn't fear the soul's journey to the Underworld—what ordinary people called death—nor did he fear the complete annihilation of his spirit.
Had he been alone, he wouldn't have given a damn about the Profound Realm. If his opponent acted like a prick, he would have swung his sword first and asked questions later.
But Seo-jun wasn't alone. He had attachments, people who would mourn him if he died. Above all, if he acted recklessly now, he couldn't guarantee the safety of those beside him.
For that reason, even as he aimed his killing intent at the Alliance Leader—a martial artist of the Profound Realm—Seo-jun was already formulating a plan for the worst-case scenario.
‘What should I do?’
One thing was certain: he couldn't defeat this man. He had known it the instant he laid eyes on him. The gap in their power was simply too vast.
In that case, he had to plan for the future. His best option might be to grab the "Divine Blood" the man had spoken of—Namgung Su-ah and Chun-bong—and flee as far away as possible. He might even need to uproot the entire Namgung Clan, just to be safe.
Whether it was actually possible didn't matter. Surrendering Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah was never an option.
Since he couldn't win today, he had to retreat and prepare. He would break through to the Profound Realm as fast as humanly possible. Only when he was absolutely certain of victory would he step foot back into the territory of the Righteous Faction.
Seeing Seo-jun freeze with a grim expression, Namgung Su-ah looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
Instead of answering, Seo-jun funneled every ounce of mental energy he possessed into calculating countless escape routes.
His puppet was deep inside the Alliance Leader’s Palace, while his true body was a considerable distance away from the Murim Alliance. He needed to gather his people and retreat to the Namgung Clan immediately. Though he didn't know the exact details, he knew there were certain restrictions placed upon those in the Profound Realm. Escaping shouldn't be impossible.
Simultaneously, the thread of his divided consciousness controlling the puppet noticed something. Or rather, he sensed it.
The Alliance Leader was nowhere to be seen, yet Seo-jun could feel the man standing right there. Fleeing was the priority, but it wouldn't hurt to gauge the martial prowess of the Profound Realm before he did.
He acted the moment the decision was made.
Rumble—!
A surging wave of Qi erupted. Simultaneously, the pure Mental Imagery of the heavens dwelling within the puppet dyed the surroundings.
"Empty Heaven Despise Below."
The name of the Domain carried immense power, staining the very fabric of space around him.
Flash—!
Time stretched thin. The puppet’s wide-open eyes perceived every single thread of reality within the room.
— Hooh.
A distinct sensation etched itself into his mind.
Brushing aside the Alliance Leader’s incomprehensible Mental Intent, Seo-jun unleashed the full, crushing pressure of his Mental Imagery—the Emperor Sword Form—saturating the entire palace.
BOOOOOOM──────────!!
He reached out, his hand clenching into a tight fist. Within his grip, he seized the very expanse of the heavens.
‘Primordial Unity is…’
He couldn't use it. He already knew that. This puppet body couldn't handle the strain of Primordial Unity.
‘I don't need it.’
He had fought well enough without that power until now.
All the Qi inside the Alliance Leader’s Palace sharpened, turning its blades toward the Leader. Seo-jun leveled his own sword, the blade thrumming with a brilliant blue light.
Thump—!
He kicked off the ground. Lunging forward, he unleashed every attack in his arsenal at once.
It all happened in a single, breathless instant.
He exerted the domineering pressure of the Emperor Sword Form, swung his blade, and fired thousands of Qi Swords.
— How peculiar.
The moment the Alliance Leader’s Mental Intent echoed in his mind, everything vanished.
Whoosh—!
A ripple that could neither be seen nor felt effortlessly swept away all the Qi saturating the space.
"Urgh...!"
Thud—!
The entire Domain was violently torn apart, causing the puppet’s body to flicker erratically.
‘What in the...’
It was a completely incomprehensible power.
Was this a god? Was this a true martial artist of the Profound Realm?
A human reached their ultimate limits at the peak of martial arts. When they broke that wall and reached the Super Peak Realm, they gained the potential to surpass humanity. Upon reaching the Transcendent Realm, they became a true superhuman.
And then came the Profound Realm.
That was no longer a mere superhuman. It couldn't even be classified as a mortal being anymore. It was a god.
Even if it was only a Half-God, the sheer scale of existence was entirely different. Transcendent Realm, superhuman, a martial artist above the heavens—such titles held absolutely no meaning in the face of a god.
Even so, the fact remained: this bastard was targeting Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah.
A god? Why should that mean he couldn't bleed?
An incomprehensible power that could push away Qi? How arrogant. Even if this man were a god, when it came to the absolute mastery of Qi, he was beneath Seo-jun.
Wrooooooooom────────!!
Everything in the vicinity resonated violently. The puppet’s eyes flared with a piercing blue light.
Even if he couldn't physically wield Primordial Unity, his enlightenment remained.
Primordial Unity was all things. It gave birth to Qi, yet it was also a form of Qi itself. Therefore, the very fabric composing all of creation was Qi.
The mysterious power this man wielded was no different. There was no reason for Seo-jun to be pushed back.
[I’ll take at least one of your arms.]
The puppet’s form blurred. Its physical shell flickered, dissolving and transforming into pure Qi. A vortex of deep blue Qi swirled around him like a raging storm.
At the center of that miniature blue galaxy, a condensed mass of Qi that barely maintained a human silhouette reached out.
[Empty Heaven Despise Below.]
He unfolded his Domain once more.
But it was different this time. The deep blue expanse that had previously spread outward now violently converged on the exact spot where the Alliance Leader stood. Qi of a density that defied all common sense dragged the god down from his pedestal, pulling him to a place where Seo-jun’s blade could reach.
Crack—!
Fissures splintered across the puppet’s body. Its glowing blue eyes finally locked onto the Alliance Leader’s true form.
Seo-jun's mind burned white-hot. His consciousness flickered under the immense strain, but through the puppet, he grit his teeth.
The final sword his father-in-law, Namgung Jin-cheon, had left behind. That vivid memory danced at his fingertips.
‘Life Sword.’
A sword meant to save the partner he had sworn to protect. Though Namgung Jin-cheon had realized it too late, he had eventually completed the technique while longing for his departed other half.
But Seo-jun was not too late. His other half had not left him. He only needed to kill the man standing before him to keep it that way.
Therefore, I...
Heaven-Killing Sword.
I shall slaughter even the heavens to protect what is mine.
CRAAAAAAACK─────────!!
* * *
A blue galaxy swirled inside the Alliance Leader’s Palace.
A single, devastating sword strike erupted from its center. That blade, carrying the profound enlightenment inherited from Namgung Jin-cheon, finally reached the god.
[Yes, that’s how it was.]
A human silhouette etched itself into the empty space. It looked like a man, yet simultaneously like a woman. At a glance, it seemed like a child, but in the next breath, it took the form of an ancient elder. It reached out with an entirely unreadable expression.
The biting sensation of a sword that should have been utterly unreachable pressed vividly against its palm.
[So this is the sword of the Namgung Clan.]
Shatter—!
The clenched hand effortlessly crushed the sword strike. The Alliance Leader slowly opened his fingers and stared down at his palm.
His physical form was hazy, but the lingering sting on his skin was undeniably real. He followed the distinct trail of killing intent and looked toward the swirling blue galaxy.
At its center, he saw blue Qi flickering wildly like a flame. And within that flame, a pair of eyes burned with an exceptionally fierce blue light.
[It seems there has been a misunderstanding.]
[A misunderstanding?]
It was fascinating. The very fact that such raw emotion could be displayed in his presence was a marvel. What exactly was this thing? A human? A puppet? What kind of will did it possess to keep from being instantly crushed under his divine pressure?
Relishing the deepening killing intent directed at him, the Alliance Leader felt a faint hint of regret—and marveled at the fact that he was still capable of feeling such an emotion at all.
[I have no intention of harming the Divine Blood,] the Alliance Leader said.
* * *
Seo-jun had a lot he wanted to say.
What kind of absolute bullshit was this prick spouting? Why was the guy who had just threatened to eliminate the Divine Blood suddenly acting like this? Had his sword even managed to scratch the man? If he had been able to use Primordial Unity, how far could his blade have reached?
And why the hell did this 'god' look so thoroughly amused?
So, Seo-jun just said it.
[Bullshit.]
At that blunt reply, the corners of the hazy figure’s mouth twitched upward into a smile.
[If the concentration of Divine Blood increases too much, the boundary between the Mortal Realm and the Celestial Realm becomes blurred. But frankly, that is none of my concern. As the Alliance Leader, it would be my duty to remove it, but I have never been particularly diligent in my duties.]
Burning blue eyes glared at the Alliance Leader. Even while conversing, Seo-jun constantly analyzed him. He calculated the reason he couldn't see the man before, why he could see him now, and why the Leader was suddenly speaking to him directly, unlike their previous exchange.
‘A god... so that’s how it works.’
When a human died, their spirit—their soul—headed to the Underworld. Then what was a martial artist of the Profound Realm, a being who had become a god? The logic was surprisingly simple.
The physical body of a Profound Realm expert was their soul.
The figure standing before him was merely the Alliance Leader actively choosing to reveal himself. Seo-jun had to admit it: there was absolutely no reason for the man to lie right now. The gap in their power was simply too vast for deception to be necessary.
However, earlier, there had been no room for misunderstanding when the man declared he would remove the Divine Blood. Those hadn't been empty words. The man’s sheer will had been conveyed directly into Seo-jun's mind. He had definitely harbored the intent to kill.
Yet now, these words carried that exact same weight. The Alliance Leader was vibrating the ambient Qi to transmit sound, but his true will was being transmitted right alongside it. His claim that he had no intention of harming the Divine Blood was completely sincere.
Whoosh—
The puppet’s form, which had been flickering wildly like a dying flame, stabilized and took on a human appearance once more. It glared at the Alliance Leader with razor-sharp eyes.
"You're fickle."
[Fickle? No. I never had any intention of interfering with the Mortal Realm in the first place.]
"Then what was all that talk earlier? You were dead serious about removing the Divine Blood."
[That is simply what you felt. It is merely what I led you to feel.]
"And is there any goddamn reason to pull a stunt like that?"
The Alliance Leader’s figure glided forward effortlessly until he was standing right in front of the puppet’s nose. The hazy form that was neither man, woman, child, nor elder gradually began to solidify into a distinct outline.
To be precise, it was only in that moment that the puppet’s overwhelmed senses were finally able to comprehend the Alliance Leader’s true appearance.
[A god is a terribly lonely thing. To me, every human is no different from a scarecrow. Even those in the Transcendent Realm are the same. In my presence, the absolute most they can do is barely maintain their own sense of self.]
The Alliance Leader, now fully resolved into the form of a devastatingly handsome young man, curled his lips into a smirk.
[But since an anomaly like you has suddenly appeared... why wouldn't I find it entertaining?]