Chapter 272: Dream (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 272: Dream (1)
[And yet, a being like you has appeared. Why wouldn't I be interested?]
Seo-jun stared at the Alliance Leader’s face, which had been thrust uncomfortably close to his own.
The corners of the man's mouth were curled upward, but his eyes remained utterly indifferent. There was no way to tell if a single word he said was sincere.
Seo-jun tilted his head slightly. “So what?”
[Just saying.]
The Alliance Leader took a step back. [So, what are you? You are human, yet why is the presence of your soul so faint? And why are you not crushed by my stature?]
His expression was perfectly calm. He didn't seem the least bit offended that Seo-jun remained completely unfazed in his presence.
On the flip side, Seo-jun wasn't surprised that the man had seen through the nature of his puppet body. Honestly, he found it stranger that anyone wouldn't immediately realize it was a puppet.
“How should I know? You don't look like such a big deal to me.”
[That is surprising. Was it Ju Won-jang? Even that boy, who carries the blood of the Martial God, didn't dare raise his head before me.]
“He did?”
Seo-jun let out a short laugh. He pictured the arrogant Emperor bowing his head, drenched in a cold sweat. The image was so ridiculous it made him chuckle.
“Whatever. Let me ask you one thing.”
[Hoh… You do realize your life is in my hands?]
“Does that matter?”
[It matters quite a bit.]
The Alliance Leader continued to smile with that bizarre, empty expression, but Seo-jun showed no particular reaction. The body standing before the Alliance Leader was just a puppet anyway.
And even if it were his true body, so what?
Seo-jun didn't harbor any grand fear toward the phenomenon of death—something he had yet to even experience.
The Alliance Leader seemed to catch a glimpse of that mindset. He let out a sharp breath through his nose—what seemed to be his version of a hollow laugh.
[Fine. What are you so curious about?]
“I heard that martial artists in the Profound Realm face certain restrictions. What are they?”
[The Restrictions of the Heavens.]
The Alliance Leader pointed a finger toward the ceiling of the palace. Seo-jun followed the gesture, looking past the ceiling and toward the sky that lay beyond it.
[The Profound Realm refers to half-gods who have yet to achieve Ascension. The Heavens do not simply sit by and watch such beings roam free.]
“You mean you can't use your power properly?”
[In a way, yes. In another way, no.]
In an instant, the Alliance Leader’s form blurred. In a flicker faster than thought itself—as if frames of a film had been abruptly spliced together—the Alliance Leader suddenly appeared sitting in a massive chair, looking down at his feet.
[The Heavens are flexible. In unavoidable situations, they allow the use of power.]
“Meaning you can at least protect your own safety?”
[Perhaps. But then, what is the scope of that 'safety'?]
“Doesn't it just mean when a threat is directed at you?”
[An annoying bug crawling before one's eyes could also be considered a situation that compromises one's safety.]
“Stop playing word games.”
[Ask the Heavens yourself later. It is not a law I decreed.]
Before Seo-jun even realized it, the Alliance Leader had appeared right beside him again.
[But that isn't what you're truly curious about, is it? You want to know why those in the Profound Realm don't involve themselves in the affairs of the world. Isn't that it?]
“…….”
[There is no grand reason. Ascension is a far more arduous path than you might think. To achieve it, one must conserve their strength.]
The Alliance Leader’s form blurred once more. This time, he didn't reappear anywhere. Only his voice echoed through the empty air.
[The Profound Realm is further divided into two major stages. The Half-God Realm, where one struggles to qualify for Ascension, and the Mythical Realm, where one prepares for Ascension after having met those qualifications.]
Seo-jun’s eyes followed the faint trace of the Alliance Leader’s presence. It was about five paces ahead. As he stared intently at that exact spot, the Alliance Leader’s satisfied laughter rang out.
[From what I can see, it won't take you long to reach the Half-God Realm.]
“You’re being surprisingly forthcoming.”
[I have no reason not to be.]
“Then stop darting around so much and just stay still. It’s distracting.”
[Hahaha!]
Rumble—!!
A massive pressure slammed down onto Seo-jun’s shoulders. It was fundamentally different from mere martial momentum. This was the sheer stature of a soul.
However, Seo-jun brushed it off as if it were nothing. He had already experienced the mysterious energy this man wielded.
Whether it was the stature of a soul or whatever else, in the end, it all originated from Primordial Unity.
As he seamlessly diverted the pressure using Natural Energy, only the hem of his clothes fluttered violently in the invisible gale.
[As you wish.]
Revealing himself once more, the Alliance Leader plopped down onto the floor.
[It has been a long time since I’ve had a guest, so I am in a rather good mood. You may ask whatever you wish.]
“Then I’ll ask this.”
Seo-jun also sat down across from the Alliance Leader. Resting his elbows on his knees and propping his chin in his hand, he stared straight into the man's eyes.
“Is it your will to reject the culture and goods of the Western Regions?”
[Ah. The West? Indeed.]
“Why? There’s nothing wrong with adopting advanced technology.”
[Do you think there are no beings in the West similar to those in the Profound Realm?]
“I’m sure there are.”
[That is why.]
The Alliance Leader stared intently at Seo-jun. Seo-jun clicked his tongue at the piercing gaze and casually waved his hand.
In an instant, Natural Energy took physical shape, forming a low wooden table between them.
While the Alliance Leader’s eyes widened at the casual display of such profound skill, Seo-jun nonchalantly manifested a bottle of liquor and two cups.
“What does technology have to do with martial artists in the Profound Realm…?”
[No, wait. How did you do that?]
“I just made it with Qi. It’s a parlor trick. So, about the Profound Realm….”
[What kind of madness is this? That is no mere parlor trick.]
“Forget that, just tell me what you meant.”
Ignoring Seo-jun’s words, the Alliance Leader grabbed the bottle and tilted it. A transparent liquid filled his cup. It was real alcohol.
After staring at it for a long moment, the Alliance Leader downed the drink in a single gulp.
[It really is liquor.]
“I made a liquor bottle, so of course it’s liquor.”
Still wearing a dazed expression, the Alliance Leader poured a drink into the cup in front of Seo-jun. Seo-jun then took the bottle from him and refilled the man's cup in return.
That dumbfounded look was the most human expression the Alliance Leader had shown so far.
[…Well, fine. You asked what the relationship is between the Profound Realm and technology?]
“Yeah.”
[It’s nothing complicated. Among those bastards in the West, the God of Machinery—he is the problem.]
“The God of Machinery?”
[Correct. The God of Machinery. Deus Ex Machina… I believe that was his name. Just as the title suggests, all mechanical devices are subject to his influence.]
All machinery is influenced? Seo-jun frowned at the cryptic statement.
“What nonsense. Does that mean the Sword God influences every single sword in existence?”
[The Sword God does not involve himself in the production of every sword.]
At those words, Seo-jun finally realized the implication.
“Then every machine in the West….”
[Yes. Whether directly or indirectly, they are all created through his hands.]
It was an absurd claim. If the lifestyle of the West was anything like the modern world Seo-jun had originally come from… that being was literally no different from an absolute monarch ruling over the entire West.
‘Hmm.’
Come to think of it, once someone reached the Profound Realm, they were essentially absolute monarchs anyway.
“Wait. About what we were talking about earlier.”
[The Profound Realm?]
“Yeah. Are you absolutely certain that martial artists in the Profound Realm… cannot exert a major influence on the Mortal Realm?”
At that, a mysterious smile crept onto the Alliance Leader's face.
[Well. One thing is for certain: that isn't strictly the case.]
*
After conversing a bit longer with the Alliance Leader, Seo-jun's puppet left the palace.
His mind was a tangled mess. As he walked through the grounds of the Murim Alliance with a furrowed brow, a familiar presence quickly approached him.
“Yo, did you see him too?”
It was the Emperor. He fell into step beside the puppet, a sly smile plastered on his face.
“I did. I also heard all about how you were groveling and whimpering before him.”
“What?” The Emperor’s eyes widened in shock. “No, he actually told you that? Why on earth would he bring that up?”
“You absolute loser.”
The Emperor sputtered at the blunt insult for a moment before quickly recovering his usual smirk.
“So what? I bet you weren't much different.”
“For someone you hyped up as a true god or whatever, he didn't seem like much.”
“Haha.”
The Emperor let out a short laugh as if he’d just heard a great joke, but Seo-jun wasn't joking in the slightest.
Aside from the fact that most of his emotions felt entirely artificial, how was the Alliance Leader any different from a powerful old man living next door?
Well, except for the fact that his personality was complete trash since he had no one around to keep his ego in check.
That rude bastard. If I get the chance someday, I should give him a good smack on the back of the head.
“The Alliance Leader, huh….” Unlike Seo-jun, a bitter, self-deprecating smile touched the Emperor’s lips. “I still can't forget it.”
Vivid memories of the past suddenly surged to the surface of his mind.
*
— What do you seek to gain by coming before me, young blood of the Martial God?
The Emperor had not dared to raise his head.
The Alliance Leader’s Mental Intent had been violently etched directly into his mind. The sentence itself was something the Emperor’s own brain had constructed to comprehend the transmission, but the crushing meaning belonged solely to the Alliance Leader.
An inexplicable, absolute pressure had crushed the Emperor’s soul. This was not a force a mortal could simply brush off.
Bowing his head to someone—that profoundly unfamiliar act—caused old, buried memories to surge back.
‘I am Ju Won-jang.’
His internal energy raced like a wildfire, desperately trying to support his trembling body. His frozen neck slowly, agonizingly, began to lift.
Blood poured from the Emperor’s seven orifices. His boundless pride, his fierce competitive spirit, and his innate, unyielding nature finally managed to overcome the absolute pressure.
While still prostrate on the ground, he forced his head up and cried out toward the massive, insurmountable wall looming in front of him.
“The Heavens…!”
But then, he realized the truth. The towering wall he saw before him—it wasn't a wall at all.
The head he thought he had so defiantly lifted was still facing the ground. His forehead, slammed hard against the earth, throbbed with pathetic pain.
“Heh….”
Ju Won-jang laughed softly, as if he had lost his mind.
“It seems I was far too early.”
And then, he truly raised his head. His neck snapped up easily, as if the soul-crushing pressure from moments ago had been nothing but a lie.
He found himself kneeling on the dirt ground in front of the Alliance Leader’s Palace, staring blankly at its massive wooden gates.
“Haha…. So this is the scale of it….”
The Transcendent Realm and the Profound Realm. Was the gap truly this impossibly vast?
In the presence of a true god, a superhuman who was ultimately still a mere mortal could not even properly lift his head.
Then what of the Heavens, which suppressed even those very gods?
“The Heavens. Yes, the Heavens….”
Ju Won-jang stood up abruptly and glared at the sky above.
“I shall receive the recognition of the Heavens and ascend to the throne of the ages.”
Thus, he would become the Son of Heaven.
When that time came, would he be able to at least hold his head high before them?
A faint, fearless smile formed on Ju Won-jang’s lips. Even after facing a literal god, his resolve had not broken.
He simply turned and walked away, wearing his usual, inscrutable smile.
‘Never again… will I suffer such humiliation.’
*
The Emperor’s eyes trembled slightly as the sudden memory faded.
The sheer shock of his very soul being crushed and nearly broken by that overwhelming stature still lingered.
And yet….
“You drank with the Alliance Leader? Is your head on straight?”
The Emperor thought to himself.
It seems my friend, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, is so bothered by the fact that he couldn't even lift his head before the Alliance Leader that he's resorting to bluffing.
It is one of the virtues of a true sovereign not to poke at another’s weaknesses.
He deliberately laughed lightly and comfortingly patted the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord on the shoulder.
“Hey, it’s alright. I was like that, and everyone else was too. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“What the hell are you even talking about?”