Chapter 152
Chapter 152: Shedding (1)
Swoosh swoosh swoosh.
Jong Ji-hang's feet repeatedly drew the Big Dipper on the ground. The movement was so natural, as if gliding. Yet at the same time, his Heavenly Rigid Sword was drawing the same Big Dipper in the air. Unlike the Big Dipper drawn by his feet, this one was excessively sharp.
Big Dipper Heavenly Rigidity Step, Great Heavenly Rigidity Sword Technique.
The Zhongnan Sect's Sect Leader Footwork and sword technique, thought to have disappeared into the back alleys of history, were being recreated near Demon Subduing Hall on the eastern side within the Murim Alliance.
Each time Jong Ji-hang's left hand moved, Martial Jiangshi were helplessly cut down.
On one side over there, one woman and two men were struggling but managing to hold off the Jiangshi somehow.
The iron tower giant chewing something in his mouth while endlessly swinging his iron club—Eun Dae-rang.
The ice flower-like beauty valiantly struggling while thrusting her soft sword that bent freely like a belt—Cheon Tae-ryeong.
Seated behind them, the handsome artist unfolding Sound Arts with his seven-string zither—Song Hyeon.
They were all holding off the Jiangshi with considerable skill. What was unique was that they moved in perfect coordination as if they had cooperated many times before—that was the difference from others.
Not just them, but the finalists who had advanced to the finals of the Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament were desperately holding off the Jiangshi. The fact that they were all using their uniquely powerful martial arts was proving once again through skill just how vast the world was.
Under heaven.
The entire world beneath the sky.
Naturally vast.
Even so,
Those two over there were incomprehensible humans.
When he first saw them, he had thought they were ordinary, but Jong Ji-hang now knew that was because his own skill had been insufficient.
He had been confident that once he emerged into the Martial World, the Martial World would revolve around him. He had been arrogant. Yes. That had been arrogance.
"It wasn't wrong. Master's words."
'The sky is high and vast and majestic, and that alone makes it absolute. If the likes of you could easily cut it down in one stroke, it wouldn't be the sky.'
'I will cut it. I can cut it. Even so.'
'Heh heh. Save your boasting for after you've descended from Mount Zhongnan. My disciple.'
Certainly, his teacher's words had been correct.
Now he couldn't be confident. Whether he could erase the sky or not.
The sky he faced immediately upon leaving the well was too high.
Moreover, he faced two high skies simultaneously.
The black sky and the red sky. Those two skies were making a complete mess of the world, of the Martial World.
"……."
What those two's identities were didn't matter much to him. The fact that people were dying as those two fought also wasn't particularly important. The very notion that people wouldn't be harmed in those two's battle was nonsensical.
For him, in his head, there was only one thought right now.
'Can my sword, my skill, my martial arts possibly match up to them?'
It might be reckless. It might be like striking a rock with an egg.
Even so, he wanted to fight once, clash once, test it once.
What exactly lay beyond the sky?
If you erased the world, were you truly invincible, unrivaled, and number one?
He had to confirm it.
Flutter flutter flutter—
His feet drew the Big Dipper once more.
The difference from before was that this Big Dipper was being drawn in the air.
His form slid westward like a star floating in the sky, leaving faint afterimages.
***
Krrr krrr krrr krrr.
Kiii kiii kiii kiii.
Grotesque voices echoed throughout the entire Murim Alliance.
In other words, the Martial Jiangshi army had nearly taken control of the Murim Alliance.
At their vanguard was the Eight Desolations Heavenly Slaughter Formation acting as assault commanders. There were few masters who could stop the Eight Desolations Heavenly Slaughter Formation, Pinnacle Masters who had been turned into Jiangshi.
And at the pinnacle of that Eight Desolations Heavenly Slaughter Formation was, of course,
The Extreme Yin Star of Heavenly Calamity who broke through heaven.
Martial Jiangshi poured endlessly into the Murim Alliance, and most were flocking toward the entrance of Deungseon Pavilion where Yeon Yeong-ha was.
Kiii kiii kiii kiii.
Krrr krrr krrr krrr.
***
Yeon Yeong-ha had stopped at the entrance of Deungseon Pavilion and was no longer moving.
That didn't mean other people could approach her, however.
The Heavenly Calamity Energy enveloping her body was growing increasingly dense and even expanding beyond that.
Whatever was eroded by the mass of Heavenly Calamity Energy melted away and disappeared.
Whether earth or stone, or people.
All objects around her were gradually being buried within that dark cloud mass.
In that situation, Dong Bong-soo clashed with the surviving elders of the Nine Sects and One Society, renowned masters, and key figures of the Murim Alliance.
Thud thud thud!
Heaven collapsing and earth shattering.
The sky crumbled and the ground was crushed.
Those with great names in the Martial World fell in heaps.
In contrast to the darkness concentrating and gathering around Yeon Yeong-ha, the intensity of light bursting from Dong Bong-soo's body grew increasingly stronger.
Everyone was overwhelmed by that sight.
If they were human, by that strength so unlike humans…….
They suffocated.
Exactly who should they be supporting? Which evil was truly evil?
Which one was the greatest evil and which one was the lesser evil?
They couldn't be certain, but everyone was unknowingly supporting the lesser evil they each felt and judged in their own way.
The lesser evil showed mercy to the weak...... no, no. Indifference—yes, indifference—and was hunting only the strong, while the greatest evil was massacring everyone indiscriminately.
"72, 73, 74...... 89......"
Time passed. The numbers recited increased. The Holy light grew more intense.
Krrr krrr krrr—
Blood flowed. The roar grew louder. The dark clouds also grew increasingly thick.
Both the lesser evil and the greatest evil were growing stronger.
Then at a certain moment.
"100."
From the body of the lesser evil, Dong Bong-soo, a golden radiance burst forth and covered the sky. Naturally, the seeds of masters around him had already dried up.
Simultaneously.
Shiiiiiii—
The greatest evil.
The dark clouds that had been enveloping Yeon Yeong-ha's body eroded the blood-soaked ground, contaminating it black. In an instant, the area around Deungseon Pavilion and the hill turned pitch black.
Ding ding.
At that moment, the system was noisily ringing bell sounds in Dong Bong-soo's ears.
[Quest Complete.]
[Player has completed the Second Class Change Quest.]
[Please select your desired second class. The classes you can choose are Reclusive Eccentric and Public Enemy of the Martial World.]
[Reclusive Eccentric is a strange person who left the mundane world to live in hiding. Having developed various unique martial arts and experimental Mental Cultivation Methods during seclusion, this is a class that would greatly surprise many people if they returned to the Martial World. Sometimes ridiculous but sometimes using very powerful skills......(omitted)...... party members will greatly enjoy this class's player and their eccentric behavior......(continued)......]
[Public Enemy of the Martial World is the common enemy of the entire Martial World......(omitted)...... This class, which belongs to neither Orthodox, Evil, nor Demonic attributes, is not welcomed anywhere. Radical martial arts that overturn common sense and karma points that can never be recovered are also characteristics of this class. This class with a solitary tendency that can only survive alone is specialized in PvP battles against people. Very advantageous for defeating Named Bosses, party members will seek out players of this class only during boss battles......(continued)......]
Dong Bong-soo quietly listened to the system's mechanical voice while closely observing the changes in Yeon Yeong-ha and the dark clouds around her.
Crackle, crack. Bzzt—
Would jet streams escaping from outside a black hole be like this?
Sparks flashed here and there in the dark clouds surrounding Yeon Yeong-ha.
The atmosphere emanating from Dong Bong-soo's body sank even deeper.
"Shedding, is it?"
In Dong Bong-soo's view, those dark clouds were a shell. The being that would consume all of that and emerge outside would be......
A being with mysterious power.
Dong Bong-soo pressed the 'Details' button below the [Reclusive Eccentric] and [Public Enemy of the Martial World] holograms and analyzed the pros and cons of the two second classes.
As the system's explanation stated, [Reclusive Eccentric] had many skills advantageous for party playing, while [Public Enemy of the Martial World] focused on martial arts specialized for soloing.
In his view, [Reclusive Eccentric] was quite attractive for long-term game management, such as leveling up or quest completion.
On the other hand, the skills of [Public Enemy of the Martial World] were very domineering and powerful, but all carried penalties somewhere and always had one tricky disadvantage each.
Bzzt bzzt bzzt—
The black energy that had been extending and expanding its territory like seismic waves had at some point reached right to Dong Bong-soo's feet. Then it glared at Dong Bong-soo and stopped its advance.
Now was the time to make a decision.
Normally, it would be right to choose the class advantageous from a long-term perspective, but what was important to him right now was dealing with people—specifically, one, just one person well.
Among the two, that class was clear.
'Advantageous for PK. No choice then.'
Click.
The sound of completing the selection.
Vroom—
[Player has changed class to Public Enemy of the Martial World.]
[According to the class change......]
.....
....
...
..
.
He had finally achieved his second class change.
Several hologram message windows overlapped and appeared before his eyes.
His lips formed a thin line.
At the same time, the dark clouds that had been wriggling right in front of Dong Bong-soo began to shrink and contract.
Click.
The sword Dong Bong-soo was holding changed.
Click.
The equipment Dong Bong-soo was wearing also all changed.
The previously bright red [Wanderer Set] had all turned black. At a glance, it was a clothing difficult to distinguish from the Jiangshi.
Enemy.
One elegant red character written in dragon-and-snake-soaring calligraphy on the back of his upper garment—that alone was the difference from the clothing the Jiangshi wore.