Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: It's Over
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< It's Over >
Yu Seoyeon sat on the stone steps at the edge of the training grounds.
Truly exhausted and worn out, her shoulders slumped and her head hung low.
Cheon Gyeongwan approached her side.
"Today was tough, wasn't it?"
At Cheon Gyeongwan's question, Yu Seoyeon nodded weakly, her head still bowed.
It was physically draining, but the real hardship was the feeling of powerlessness.
Today, she could do nothing. No, she had finally realized that she *was* nothing.
Cheon Gyeongwan watched her with a bitter smile. He, too, had experienced the exact same thing.
"Splitting the spear shaft, you too?"
Yu Seoyeon snapped her head up and looked at Cheon Gyeongwan.
"Brother... how can you act so nonchalant?"
From a distance, those practicing the Limitless Steps glanced over, observing the conversation and atmosphere between the two.
Cheon Gyeongwan had been instructed to rest from the Limitless Steps training yesterday and today.
And Yu Seoyeon, today and tomorrow.
After a one-on-one training session with Byeok Taesan, you were allowed to rest until the end of the next day.
Of course, since it was the first time for most, it was a fact not yet widely known.
Cheon Gyeongwan looked directly into Yu Seoyeon's eyes.
The relationship between them had changed so drastically just yesterday.
Yesterday, it was Cheon Gyeongwan sitting in that very spot, in the same posture as Yu Seoyeon.
Seeing that, Yu Seoyeon had comforted him.
And now, it had come to this.
"Because in the end, we'll succeed anyway."
At Cheon Gyeongwan's words, Yu Seoyeon's eyes wavered. She couldn't accept what he said.
Sometimes, there are things in this world that are impossible, no matter the effort, time, or experience.
Today, Yu Seoyeon had experienced just that.
She now understood perfectly why Byeok Taesan had said those words to her before.
As she finished her training today, that exact thought crossed her mind.
That it would be better to die.
It wasn't because of the pain or the difficulty. It was a process that killed the spirit by making one thoroughly realize their own powerlessness.
"You don't believe me."
Yu Seoyeon gave a bitter smile at Cheon Gyeongwan's words.
But Cheon Gyeongwan was serious.
"To be honest... you'll probably finish this training before I do."
Yu Seoyeon stared blankly at Cheon Gyeongwan.
Cheon Gyeongwan genuinely believed it. If so, there must be a reason.
"Your senses are much sharper than mine."
Yu Seoyeon couldn't easily agree. Still, her heart felt much lighter.
She shot to her feet and grabbed Cheon Gyeongwan's hand.
Cheon Gyeongwan, flustered, glanced back and forth between Yu Seoyeon's face and their hands.
Without another word, Yu Seoyeon pulled Cheon Gyeongwan out of the training grounds.
Everyone who watched them leave had a meaningful glint in their eyes.
* * *
After Yu Seoyeon and Cheon Gyeongwan, it was Yeon Harin's turn.
Yeon Harin also underwent the same training.
But her reaction was a little different from Cheon Gyeongwan's or Yu Seoyeon's.
Byeok Taesan watched with interest as Yeon Harin was sent tumbling.
A venomous determination to succeed no matter what flowed from her eyes.
Of course, this training couldn't be overcome with sheer determination alone.
If it could, Yu Seoyeon would have already succeeded.
But as Yu Seoyeon's determination broke, so did her spirit.
Still, Byeok Taesan wasn't worried. She would eventually overcome it, and in doing so, become much stronger.
If she couldn't, it would become a huge problem, but he wasn't worried about that either.
Because he would make her overcome it, no matter what it took. The process might be agonizing, but surely that was better than letting her spirit break and her heart die.
'This is true mercy.'
Realizing he had gained an enlightenment about mercy, Byeok Taesan's mood improved slightly.
So, he landed a solid blow to the side of Yeon Harin, who was stealthily approaching with the spear shaft.
He had glanced away for a moment, and she had tried to exploit that opening.
But Byeok Taesan didn't need to look; he could sense everything happening within a training ground of this size.
Crash!
"Agh!"
Perhaps because it was such an unexpected blow, Yeon Harin took far more damage than usual.
"Aaaaargh!"
Yeon Harin let out a monstrous scream.
She was so furious she felt like crying, but that felt like admitting defeat, so she forced the tears back with a battle cry.
Venomous determination poured from her entire body. And she charged again.
Of course, the result was the same.
Watching her, Byeok Taesan felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
'They're really alike.'
The way she just acted was a spitting image.
At first, he had just thought it was a coincidence. How many people in the world resemble each other?
Some people look alike, some have similar personalities, and some even have similar ways of speaking or acting.
So, it wasn't strange that Yeon Harin coincidentally resembled someone he knew.
But the more he watched, the more similarities he found.
Of course, their appearances were not similar.
That woman was also beautiful, beautiful enough to be counted among the most stunning in the world, but she didn't look like Yeon Harin.
And while the Yeon Harin from before might have been a different story, the current Yeon Harin was more beautiful than the woman Byeok Taesan knew.
That's why a suspicion had recently formed in his mind.
'Perhaps...'
The suspicion that perhaps when he took over Byeok Taesan's body, something had also changed within Yeon Harin.
Of course, it wasn't as if another soul had entered Yeon Harin.
'Wait.'
Byeok Taesan suddenly recalled the men who had died and come back to life not long ago.
At that time, as he extracted and burned the souls of the Three Blood Crazed Demons, the edge of his mind had tingled, as if an enlightenment was just out of reach.
The memory of that moment strangely overlapped with Yeon Harin's current appearance.
Another person's soul definitely hadn't entered Yeon Harin's body. If it had, there was no way Byeok Taesan would have failed to notice.
Back then, those men had a strange dissonance about them. But Yeon Harin had nothing of the sort.
And yet, he felt a strange sense of overlap.
'Could... another soul have mixed in somehow?'
The moment he had that thought, his train of thought led him to the conclusion that there was no reason it should be impossible.
Byeok Taesan once again recalled the dissonance between the bodies and souls of those men.
At that moment, he saw Yeon Harin in the distance, collapsing unconscious after exhausting all her energy.
Watching this, Byeok Taesan fell into a state of selfless absorption.
* * *
Go Jungwang had moved his base to a location quite far from Wuhan.
Because he had moved one step ahead of the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance, he had suffered almost no losses.
However, it was now much more difficult to scheme in Wuhan.
Not only was his base further away, but he had also used up most of his available power.
All that remained was a moderate amount of Blood Augmenting Pills, three hundred Half-Jiangshi, and subordinates who were useless for anything other than gathering rumors.
To plot against Wuhan with just this was impossible.
Moreover, considering the current situation in Wuhan, it would have been impossible even with his original forces.
'It's a relief that I still have one remaining connection, but...'
Go Jungwang shook his head.
Even so, it was useless in this situation. It was better to have them lie low and wait.
It would be far more effective to use them later, when a real opportunity presented itself.
Go Jungwang decisively cut off his lingering attachment to Wuhan.
But if he ended it there, a hellish future awaited him. Thus, he had to find an alternative.
The alternative Go Jungwang came up with was Yichang—that is, the Hubei Martial Alliance.
The person originally in charge of Yichang was Seo Dogun.
But he had failed and been assigned a different mission, coming to Wuhan.
And he had failed at that as well.
Therefore, Go Jungwang's only path to survival was to take on the tasks Seo Dogun had failed and succeed.
No, he had to use that success as collateral to extend his own life.
"Haaaah."
Go Jungwang let out a long sigh.
That was why he was on his way to meet *him* now. He had to go and explain how viable his plan was.
He had steeled himself for it, but he was afraid.
Go Jungwang walked down a long corridor and entered a vast room. He saw display cabinets lining the walls.
Go Jungwang respectfully bowed to the man standing in the center of the vast room.
"I apologize."
He had to start with an apology. If he wanted to survive.
The man looked down at Go Jungwang with indifferent eyes.
Go Jungwang trembled, his body still bent. He couldn't straighten up until the man told him to. For now, he had to make himself as small as possible.
The man slowly walked to a display cabinet. Then he took out several black gourds from inside.
"Take these."
Go Jungwang swallowed dryly. He slowly straightened his back and then respectfully received the gourds.
"This is your last chance."
Go Jungwang flinched in surprise at the man's words, but he soon bowed respectfully and backed out of the room.
A sinister sheen pulsed from the four black gourds in his hand.
* * *
The Divine Doctor of the Ages prostrated himself before Byeok Taesan.
The One-Needle Eccentric was currently busy chopping herbs by himself. He was working diligently, afraid of getting scolded by Byeok Taesan later if he fell behind.
Byeok Taesan looked down at the Divine Doctor of the Ages with indifferent eyes.
"You're running around doing useless things."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages cautiously raised his head.
"Come now, Young Master. How is that useless? You have to put those types in their place early on, so they don't become a nuisance later. They'll probably be quiet for a while."
His words made sense. Byeok Taesan nodded.
"Well, do as you see fit."
"Thank you!"
The Divine Doctor of the Ages said this and cautiously rose to his feet. He had done enough; it was time to get to the main point.
"Um... Young Master. About that guy from the Black Alliance... Jeok Gyeolmyeong."
He brought it up and then watched Byeok Taesan's expression. Fortunately, there was no change.
"He says he wants to meet Chaewol once..."
Byeok Taesan's eyebrow twitched slightly. Seeing this, the Divine Doctor of the Ages was terrified and quickly continued.
"He has no ulterior motives, absolutely not! He wants to take her as a disciple, he just wants to ask her opinion!"
"What a troublesome bunch."
Byeok Taesan briefly considered going over and slapping each of them across the face.
And the Divine Doctor of the Ages, who had an uncanny knack for sensing Byeok Taesan's thoughts, hurriedly said.
"I will watch them closely to make sure no incidents occur. Please trust me. Just in case, my elder brother has agreed to go along, so there really will be no trouble. Yes, sir."
Byeok Taesan stared at the Divine Doctor of the Ages with cold eyes.
"You'd better."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages swallowed dryly and steeled his resolve.
'By the way, if my brother fights Jeok Gyeolmyeong, would he win?'
Jeok Gyeolmyeong is also a formidable master. Normally, the One-Needle Eccentric would be at a slight disadvantage. Their compatibility isn't good, after all.
But he recently had an enlightenment and his realm jumped significantly. So wouldn't the One-Needle Eccentric be able to hold his own?
The Divine Doctor of the Ages decided he should find one or two more people to take along besides the One-Needle Eccentric.
He felt uneasy, after all.
* * *
Byeok Taesan sat on his bed in a cross-legged position, his eyes gently closed.
Spiritual energy fluctuated around his body.
He quietly felt the spiritual energy enveloping his entire body. The quality was superb. The quantity was also quite substantial.
It was thanks to the spiritual energy he had extracted from the Half-Jiangshi that Seo Dogun had brought not long ago.
At that time, he had been lucky enough to absorb a large amount of spiritual energy compatible with his body.
Normally, out of about a hundred of them, he wouldn't even get enough compatible spiritual energy for one person.
But this time, he had extracted about four times the usual amount.
And he had meticulously applied all of it to his injured and severed energy meridians.
Over time, they had healed to some extent, and now there were no completely severed meridians.
There were only deep wounds.
He had densely packed those wounds with spiritual energy, and thanks to the enlightenment he gained while helping Yeon Harin with her training, the restorative effects of the energy had become much greater.
The true Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts he had realized upon his death were continuing to grow as he lived as Byeok Taesan.
Of course, that didn't mean he had surpassed the realm he reached in his time as the Heavenly Demon.
This was the correct path, but the amount of power he could unleash at once as the Heavenly Demon was overwhelming.
Back then, he had burned any soul he came across and absorbed them all.
And he had recklessly unleashed that massive, accumulated spiritual energy without any control.
Therefore, the sheer output was incomparably immense compared to now.
In any case, Byeok Taesan was much more satisfied with his current state.
He wasn't as strong as he was then, but one day, he would be able to surpass that time.
And there would be no side effects.
Byeok Taesan calmly settled the fluctuating spiritual energy.
He digested all the spiritual energy that had been clinging to his meridians and spread it evenly throughout his body.
Over a long period, this spiritual energy would gradually change Byeok Taesan's body. For the better.
Having finished everything, Byeok Taesan slowly opened his eyes.
A faint smile touched the corners of Byeok Taesan's lips.
"It's over."
He had finally, perfectly healed his broken body.
Byeok Taesan was no longer a man of severed meridians.
< It's Over > The End