Shattering the Gates of Heaven
I watched the immortals murmur among themselves and rolled my neck, loosening the muscles. This had become troublesome. I should have expected it from the moment I decided to fight Geomseon. But the thrill of a proper battle after so long had blinded me, and I’d forgotten for a moment.
Hmm. What to do now?
My body was in terrible shape after unleashing that desperate final strike. The vessel had already cracked; it wouldn’t take long before it shattered completely. Since quietly entering the Spirit Realm was no longer an option, perhaps I should charge in and plant terror in their hearts until the very moment I collapsed.
As that thought crossed my mind, the one who appeared to be their leader stepped forward. The old man with a long white beard walked out, tapping his staff, and met my eyes with his wrinkled gaze.
“Answer me.”
I had seen this man once in the distant past. I remembered him leading the immortals against me back then. His name was… hm. What was it again? I think he had shouted something when he stepped to the front, but I couldn’t recall it clearly. Probably because he wasn’t worth remembering.
“Who are you?”
“Minka. More precisely, MintchocoPineapplePizza.”
[You have introduced yourself as MintchocoPineapplePizza.]
The immortal narrowed one eye. At the same time, I heard the others behind him making a fuss about how rude I was. They seemed to think I was joking or testing them. How truly unfair. I had simply given my own name, yet they doubted me.
“A complicated name. Are you an outsider?”
“That’s right.”
When I nodded, the immortal finally nodded back and looked me over, as if trying to determine what kind of human I was.
“What is your purpose in causing such a disturbance here?”
“To enter the Spirit Realm.”
“From what I see, it seems you are still too early to set foot in the Spirit Realm.”
There it was again. These immortal types really seemed to take enormous pride in having achieved ascension. How many times would I have to repeat the same story?
“There’s a gate, and you need qualifications to pass through it?”
“Correct. If you wish to pass this place, ascend through proper transcendence. Not by causing a ruckus like this.”
The immortal who told me to leave acted as if he were showing great mercy. How ridiculous. Did this man truly think he stood above me?
He didn’t know his place at all. In the world of martial arts, strength alone determines who stands above and who below. This weakling had no right to command me.
“I’ll ask the opposite. Who are you? You asked for my name, so answer with yours. That is basic courtesy, is it not?”
“Insolent! Do you even know who this person is?!”
One of the immortals standing behind him shouted at me, apparently displeased by my stiff posture.
“Then do you know who I am?”
“Hah? Why would I—”
I pressed down on him. With killing intent. With inner energy.
The man who had been shouting at me instantly turned pale and shut his mouth. His hands trembled. His teeth chattered. Cold sweat poured down his face. I could see the man suffocating in fear, but I didn’t stop. I hadn’t even used my full power yet. If he couldn’t endure even this, what was he supposed to do? How dare someone with such pathetic skill try to stand above me?
“Why can’t you answer? Are you a mere worm who cannot even think of replying to a question?”
In the end, the man crushed by the pressure fell to his knees. His eyes begged me for mercy, but I had no intention of easing the pressure. From the moment he had been rude to me, this was something he had to endure.
However, my will was not allowed to continue to the end. The immortal cut in and stopped me.
“That is enough.”
The eyes of the immortals staring at me grew even fiercer.
“I had thought you were a seeker who came here out of curiosity about the Spirit Realm, but it seems I was wrong.”
“A seeker? No. Definitely not.”
I had no interest whatsoever in killing desire, transcending humanity, and shedding my mortal shell. What was wrong with wanting something? For a martial artist, it was only natural to seek the pinnacle. How could that possibly be wrong? What I pursued was the complete opposite of what these seekers pursued, so I could never become one of them.
“Then there is no need to show you any courtesy.”
The moment the immortal slammed his staff into the ground, the others drew their weapons. If only they had done this from the beginning. Then I wouldn’t have had to struggle so hard just to keep my collapsing body together.
Alright. Shall we cause some real chaos?
It might be fun to bet on how many immortals I could drag down with me before I died. But I probably wouldn’t have the leisure for that. I was still clumsy at manipulating that power, so it would take too long.
“Wait.”
Just as I was about to take a step forward, a voice stopped us.
“Hold on.”
It was Geomseon. His condition was terrible. Even from the outside he looked wretched, and inside it was far worse. He hadn’t been able to dodge my fist this time and had taken it directly, so the fact that he was still standing was practically a miracle.
“Geomseon, are you alright?”
“Goseon. Step aside.”
“Huh?”
That old man Geomseon. Had getting hit by my fist rattled his brain? The gatekeeper himself was allowing someone to cross the line first?
“I told you. If you cannot defeat this old man, you will not be allowed to touch the gate.”
“What are you saying?”
“In other words, since she has defeated this old man, she has earned the right to touch the gate.”
The one called Goseon looked visibly shaken by Geomseon’s words.
“That was merely a formality, was it not?”
“Not for me. So step back. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to act to keep my word.”
Geomseon’s warning seemed to strike them more directly than my threat had. After thinking for a long moment, Goseon reluctantly took one step back. At the same time, those blocking the path to the gate began to move aside one by one.
The path leading to the gate that connected to the Spirit Realm opened.
“There. I have kept my promise. Now show us. Show them that with a gate and a path, anyone can ascend.”
Geomseon staggered over to stand in front of me, spoke those words, and smiled. This was difficult. He seemed to be expecting something truly grand.
What I was about to do wasn’t all that impressive.
I walked past Geomseon, through the gazes of countless immortals, and reached the gate. Despite all the turmoil that had occurred beside it, the gate still stood there stubbornly in its place. I still couldn’t understand what was so special about this gate. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary wooden door.
When I placed my hand on it, a message appeared before me.
[Qualifications not met. The gate will not open.]
Now even the system was trying to stop me. How amusing. The more opposition there was, the more fun it became when I overturned it all.
“See? I told you that you are not yet permitted to cross this gate.”
“The qualifications of an immortal are not so light.”
“If you beg for forgiveness even now—”
“Shut up.”
These worthless things who couldn’t even endure five exchanges were talking too much. I respect the strong, but I absolutely despise arrogant weaklings like you.
When I shouted with pressure behind my voice, silence fell once more. I removed my hand from the wooden gate and examined the inside of my body. The condition was the worst. The vessel that held my inner energy was cracked, and everything inside was leaking out. My body, which had moved beyond its limits, was screaming that it had reached its end. It wouldn’t be strange if I collapsed at any moment.
But that was fine. As long as I could nock the arrow called “me” on the bowstring, that was enough.
“I once said this before. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art that I envision is Pacheon.”
Shattering the heavens and standing above them. That was the true Heavenly Demon Divine Art I pursued.
“If the heavens decreed that one must achieve transcendence before ascending, then all I need to do is shatter that decree, isn’t it?”
I didn’t know how lofty the heavens were that had set the rules for this gate, but it didn’t matter. The sky my heart reached was higher than any other. Nothing could suppress me. And if anything tried to suppress me, it would have to be prepared to break.
I stepped forward. And threw my fist.
The fist that shatters the heavens. The wooden gate that had stood for eons was split cleanly in two and sent flying.
When I looked back after confirming that one half of the gate had been blown away, eyes filled with shock were locked onto me. The one called Goseon had collapsed backward as if he had received a massive blow, and the others were stammering, unable to find words. Among them, only Geomseon barely regained his senses and shouted at me.
“What the hell are you doing?! Didn’t you say you would open the gate?!”
“Didn’t I open it?”
It seemed his eyes had gone bad with age. The path to the Spirit Realm had been opened by my hand. If this wasn’t opening the gate, then what was?
“The heaven that judges qualifications was lower than my own heaven, so I simply shattered it and created the qualification myself. Is there any problem with that?”
I truly didn’t understand. In a world where the strong reign supreme, failing to endure the opponent’s strength was the real sin, wasn’t it? If this gate wanted to judge my qualifications, it should have endured my tyranny. If it had, I would have nodded obediently.
“Th-this is tyranny…”
When I stepped forward with a confident attitude instead, Geomseon seemed at a loss for words.
“Hahaha! Those words are correct!”
The answer came from somewhere else. A man riding on a cloud in the air, looking down at us, burst into laughter. His potbelly jiggled every time he laughed. I remembered who he was. Despite having a body like a pig, he was surprisingly quick and had been entertaining. His name was…
“Jongseon! What are you saying?!”
So it was Jongseon.
“Why? Isn’t it the truth?”
“It will be troublesome if you defend that outsider here!”
“Geomseon. Think about it. If we truly did not wish to acknowledge his qualifications, the gate should not have been destroyed.”
“...”
“The moment the gate broke and the path opened, that person earned the qualification.”
Oho. When I had seen him before, he had been full of hostility, so I hadn’t noticed, but he was actually quite reasonable. Geomseon stared into Jongseon’s eyes for a long time before taking one step back. It was a sign that he would respect Jongseon’s opinion.
If things went like this, the situation might resolve more smoothly than I expected.
“You are called Minka?”
“That’s right.”
“Die once and come back. I will make arrangements so that you may visit the Spirit Realm.”