Chapter 187
Chapter 187
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 187
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
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The moment Xiang Yu's colossal power crashed down upon Dalgi, a volcanic heat surged through my entire body. The aura he had unleashed was so immense that my body couldn't withstand it and began burning up. From a corner of my consciousness, observing like a detached spectator, I instinctively sensed that Xiang Yu's power was something entirely different. After all, even with his life force and qi both depleted, he was swinging that power without a care.
Kurrrung!
Xiang Yu's aura cleaved the mountain range in two, crosswise. A massive gash scarred the earth, and Dalgi's body—which no one had been able to touch until then—turned into a bloody pulp, reduced to a wretched state. As it thrashed about, spewing blue blood, Dalgi cried out.
[ I have received the power of 'That One'! I will not lose to some Fated One!! ]
It sounded almost like an incantation. Each word seemed to transform into a spell, wrapping Dalgi's entire body in a blinding white light. It was probably planning to unleash once more the forbidden technique of the Jeolgyo that Sword Immortal Yeo Dongbin had mentioned.
"Die!"
But Xiang Yu paid no heed to Dalgi's struggles and brought down another full-force strike.
Rumble!
Thunder heavens swirled as the earth flipped upside down. The hundreds of layers of spell barriers that had appeared around Dalgi shattered from a single stomp of Xiang Yu's foot. As its bare body shot up inverted once more, suffering enormous damage, Dalgi screamed.
[ Aaaah... This is the blessing of Breaking Heaven... ]
Crackle...
With that final guttural cry, Dalgi moved no more.
And I, sharing the same body as Xiang Yu, could feel along with him the instincts of a War God. Dalgi could no longer maintain its manifested body and was pulling out its soul to flee—that much was clear.
[ The blessing of Destroyer of Illusions... This is absurd!! ]
Dalgi's sorcery seemed to possess tremendous power, yet for some reason, it couldn't lay a hand or foot on Xiang Yu. It was likely that the Breaking Heaven blessing upon me was imposing some restriction on Dalgi.
Xiang Yu then sneered coldly and extended his hand forward.
"You won't escape."
The instant Xiang Yu thrust his hand out and clenched it tightly, the empty space in the distance was seized. A powerful dark energy erupted, spewing black smoke. Xiang Yu had thwarted Dalgi's escape attempt with a mere grasp—his power was utterly incomprehensible.
Dalgi's soul spirit spoke.
[ How could such coincidences exist in this world? Could there ever have been a possession by one like you since the creation of heaven and earth? And even the blessing of Breaking Heaven draped over you? ]
It was almost like a lament. Even for Dalgi, the absolute great yokai called the Demon King, Xiang Yu's possession was incomprehensible. Hearing this, Xiang Yu replied in a deep, muffled voice.
"Die."
[ Kahaha... I won't forget... Xiang Yu... ]
Flash!
The moment Xiang Yu's merciless iron fist smashed down, Dalgi's wicked soul shattered into pieces and vanished. As the black smoke dispersed, Xiang Yu's cold face seemed to flicker briefly. He remained hovering in the sky for a while before descending to the ground.
Without a word, Xiang Yu pulled out the Return Amulet from my embrace.
Whoosh.
Using the Return Amulet effortlessly, Xiang Yu transported us straight to the imperial palace. Even setting aside the fact that he could use the Return Amulet, I was baffled as to why he had suddenly appeared there. As he strode forward with heavy steps, he muttered to himself.
"I've come to clean house."
Was he speaking to me?
I forcibly reached out from my inner consciousness, but Xiang Yu ignored me and continued walking silently ahead. His sudden appearance inside the imperial palace caused the nearby Imperial Guards to draw their swords and shout.
"Halt!"
"Suspicious bastard! Kill him!!"
At once, dozens of first-class peak-level Imperial Guards and Heavenly Tiger warriors charged in. From afar, experts from the Eastern Depot seemed to swarm like ants as well. But Xiang Yu didn't even draw his sword—he simply stomped his foot once.
Boom boom boom!!
Mass slaughter!
There wasn't even time for screams before the stench of blood filled the air amid a bloody mist. With just one stomp from Xiang Yu, every living being within a fifty-zhang radius had their bodies explode into pieces. A storm of blood raged, but not a drop stained Xiang Yu's body as he simply walked forward, step by step.
Soon, two of the imperial palace's Four Divine Beasts appeared before Xiang Yu: the White Tiger, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, and the Black Tortoise, the Eastern Depot Admiral Hwan Ya. They gazed at him with pale faces, filled with fear.
"M-Monster."
"I'll show you the power granted by the gods of Yizu."
Swoosh.
"Demonization!"
The bodies of the Imperial Guard Commander and Hwan Ya suddenly transformed. Unlike the mindless tentacle monsters I'd seen before, they now appeared half-human, half-beast, yet both seemed to retain their full reason. Then, the Commander and Hwan Ya charged at terrifying speeds.
Puk!
"Graaaah!!"
It was a truly fearsome power and speed. The demonized Commander and Hwan Ya attacked with velocity reminiscent of Jin So-cheong's Thunder Command— a limit no human martial art could reach.
'Could it be that if the Commander fully completes the Yizu ritual, he gains this demon's power?'
I recalled from my past life how the Commander had grown stronger over time. Likely, an incomplete ritual left him as an imperfect giant tentacle monster, but a full one granted him this half-human, half-demon monstrosity. Mangnyang's warning not to leave the palace alone was undoubtedly true.
But—it was futile.
Boom.
The moment the two palace experts lunged, Xiang Yu's fists pulverized their necks. Power and speed beyond human limits meant nothing before him; they were like children. As the headless bodies slammed into the wall, Xiang Yu shook the blood from his hands and walked forward again, step by step.
Step...
A bit further ahead stood three Superordinate奇人. They appeared newly created after we stole the originals, staring at us with expressionless, emotionless faces.
The beautiful boy with snow-white hair in the center swung his hand.
"Die!"
And in the next instant, Xiang Yu slaughtered all three Superordinates.
"Ugh..."
He ripped out two necks, burst one's heart, and drove a hand blade into the beautiful boy's solar plexus. As the Superordinate vomited blood, Xiang Yu said coldly.
"Such abilities don't work on me."
"S-Seems... that way... monster..."
As the Superordinate's neck snapped forward, Xiang Yu withdrew his hand blade and continued walking. For some reason I couldn't fathom, even though the Superordinate had used its [ability], Xiang Yu ignored it entirely and struck them down.
Step.
Step.
Reading Xiang Yu's actions and emotions from within him, I felt a chill. He had slain countless humans without a trace of guilt or remorse—just the mild annoyance of swatting bugs. Even if a good person blocked his path, he would kill without question. No battle-hardened martial master or demonic overlord could possess such a mindset. He treated killing any foe before him as neither more nor less than bug extermination—devoid of the simple fluidity of human emotions, it was grotesque.
At last, Xiang Yu arrived before the throne room where the Emperor sat. The Emperor, slumped weakly on his jade throne, gazed at Xiang Yu and said.
"I never imagined Dalgi would lose..."
Xiang Yu, recognizing him as the Emperor, twitched his brow and said.
"Take your own life."
Ping!
A dagger flew from Xiang Yu's hand and embedded near the Emperor's temple. The Emperor slowly drew it out and said.
"Thank you for the consideration. But before I die, may I know your name?"
Xiang Yu replied coldly.
"Xiang Ji."
Hearing this, the Emperor shuddered in shock, then laughed hollowly.
"Indeed... an honor."
Stab.
The Emperor thrust the dagger into his own throat and committed suicide. Blood fountained up, but he remained on the throne to the end. As his body slumped in a bloody mess, Xiang Yu extracted the dagger from his neck.
"......"
Having razed the imperial palace in an instant, Xiang Yu drew out the Return Amulet once more.
Flash!
This time, using the Return Amulet, Xiang Yu arrived at the seal of the Moon Luminary on Ganghwa Island's Mani Mountain in Goryeo. Without a word, he strode inside the seal and pulled out the Moon Luminary from its box.
Rumble...
Sure enough, a massive vibration echoed from outside, and the stirring of the Moon Luminary's guardian resounded. Soon, the fearsome guardian of the Moon Luminary would reveal itself. Anxious about what Xiang Yu was thinking, he suddenly spoke to me.
"Feel better now?"
What do you mean?
"Whether you offer blood to the altar or not, taking the Moon Luminary awakens its guardian."
You came all this way just to tell me that?
"Yes."
With that, Xiang Yu moved to a nearby mountain and field. Soon, with a colossal flash, the Moon Luminary's guardian was summoned to Mani Mountain on Ganghwa Island, and Izanagi no Mikoto—towering to the heavens—roared.
Roooar—
Xiang Yu stared at the guardian impassively, then charged.
Kurrrung!!
It was merely a body slam. Yet the Moon Luminary's guardian staggered, a hole blasted through its trunk as if a tree limb had been torn off. As it struggled to steady itself, it suddenly summoned and fired hundreds of light beams.
Boom boom boom.
Even amid destruction like the apocalypse, Xiang Yu didn't dodge the light blasts—he simply swung his fist and batted them back. The beams reversed course, embedding into the guardian, which then self-detonated.
The thousands of explosions that had nearly killed the Wind God-style guardian beast faded away. Xiang Yu emerged unscathed from the devastation, flying leisurely through the sky before heading somewhere. He had spotted something fallen to the ground where Izanagi no Mikoto had vanished.
Xiang Yu picked up the object. Confirming it was a black obsidian-like gem, he looked around and muttered.
"Interesting."
What's so interesting?
But Xiang Yu offered no explanation and used the Return Amulet to move again. This time, he arrived at a place filled with bizarre jagged rocks. It resembled a remote part of some uninhabited mountain range, permeated with阴 dampness and chill.
Xiang Yu walked toward the mountain peak and said.
"This is the last."
The last of what?
"My blessing adjusts fate to let you walk the path of hegemony easily, and if you die, it fulfills one of the things you desired."
......!!
Could it be that the Thunder God style's triumphant path of hegemony was aided by Xiang Yu's blessing? And I hadn't known he only possessed me after death. As I tried to sort my thoughts, Xiang Yu continued.
"I didn't expect to fight Dalgi, but it was amusing enough. So as a gift, I'll teach you one more thing before I go."
No... what do you mean teach... I'm already dead, aren't I? What meaning does it have?
"You can't see the Seal of Oblivion. You'll likely reincarnate."
Seal of Oblivion? What's that?
"Every Fated One is imprinted on their soul with a seal that causes oblivion in the wheel of reincarnation. But very rarely, the seal vanishes or is absent from the start. Those ones reincarnate with their memories intact."
With that explanation, Xiang Yu continued.
"We're almost there."
The peak Xiang Yu reached was profoundly serene, with thin air. The silent mountain and fields were shrouded in thick darkness, yet streams of light flowed through. A stable spiritual nature felt like a divine temple.
Standing there, Xiang Yu said.
"This place is the Heaven-Earth Interval. Where the passage between heaven and earth is sealed."
Is this where Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors Fuxi closed the heavens?
"Yes."
Step.
Step.
"I don't know much, but this seems treated as top secret even among immortals. Ordinary humans wander lost and can never enter, and even sorcerers get caught by immortals and torn limb from limb."
Why would immortals act so extreme?
"Immortals are just spiritual entities. In my eyes, no different from those Yizu bastards."
Having harshly criticized the heavenly realm, Xiang Yu sat casually on a nearby rock. He then lay back languidly and said.
"Well then, farewell."
At that moment, Xiang Yu's soul departed my body and ascended into the clouds of the Heaven-Earth Interval. He had likely come here to return to the heavenly realm easily. Meanwhile, revived by Xiang Yu's power, I felt my whole body go limp in an instant, overcome by drowsiness.
I just want to sleep like this. Xiang Yu had probably spared me by letting me die in slumber.
So I chuckled.
' Should I... thank him for this...'
Ah, so sleepy.
My consciousness faded as I drifted into peaceful sleep.
That was my fourteenth death.