Sleepless City’s Dawn
Until now, Myeong-yun had never once used the Cheonma-singong.
He had already become an existence unbound by the frameworks of martial arts, and he had never encountered an opponent worthy of deploying it against. Besides, this was not reality but virtual reality.
Could a person with supernatural power truly wield that same power inside a virtual world?
The answer was no.
Physical abilities could be amplified to the limit of what the New World device permitted, yet manifesting internal energy—a mysterious force that did not exist in the modern era—within virtual reality was impossible.
It had simply not been implemented.
That was why Myeong-yun had refrained from using the Cheonma-singong until this moment. One could not create something from nothing.
‘But.’
Now it was different.
Before his eyes existed a ‘something’ that had been born inside the game. If he borrowed that power, he would be able to reveal the true Cheonma-singong.
Compress the opponent’s emitted energy. Seize its control. Transmute it into a black vortex that devours all things.
“Behold, my young ones! Disciples of the Divine Cult who follow the Heavenly Demon! Witness with your own eyes who your god truly is!”
As Myeong-yun shouted and brought his palms together, every strand of sword energy Namgung Cheon had unleashed was sucked into his hands. It was as if a black hole resided within his palms. The concentrated sword energy spun with ferocious intensity, its golden light gradually darkening into pure black.
Not a single wisp of power leaked outward. Namgung Cheon’s energy was controlled down to its smallest unit inside Myeong-yun’s grasp and reborn as an entirely new force.
It was an impossible sight.
To the NPCs watching, it defied all common sense. To steal the control of another’s emitted energy and claim it as one’s own? Neither Hyeon-jeong, Mi-ryeo, nor Namgung Cheon had ever witnessed such a thing. The same was true for the viewers watching the broadcast—and even the developers themselves.
No one could move. Every person stood frozen in place, staring up at the sky as the mysterious phenomenon unfolded.
The instant the real-time viewer count reached eighty thousand, Myeong-yun, who had gathered the sword energy and made it his own, murmured in a low voice.
“…Heavenly Demon Black Wheel Technique.”
He released the tiny black sphere resting in his palm. It was no larger than an eyeball. The once-massive power of Namgung Cheon had been reduced to this insignificant form, yet the force contained inside it surpassed imagination.
The small sphere drifted slowly from Myeong-yun’s hand, falling toward the ground. While it descended, no one even considered dodging. Or rather, they could not. They were overwhelmed by the intense energy radiating from the sphere; their feet refused to leave the earth.
The moment the tiny black sphere touched the ground, it swelled instantly into a wheel-shaped circle and began devouring everything around it. The beast-transformed Namgung Cheon, Mi-ryeo, and Hyeon-jeong were all sucked inward as a horrific metallic screech rang out again and again.
“GRRRAAAAAAAAGH—!!”
“KYAAAAAAAAAAH—!!”
“HUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAH—!!”
The screams of the three followed. The black wheel Myeong-yun had created was a gateway to hell itself—a vortex with no escape once swallowed.
But the moment was brief. As Myeong-yun landed lightly from the sky, the black wheel that had been grinding the three sovereigns of Sleepless City vanished as well.
“Hehe.”
Myeong-yun chuckled softly and surveyed his surroundings. No one had died, yet not a single person stood properly. The bodies of Sleepless City’s three sovereigns were riddled with destruction, sparks flying from ruined machinery. Everyone else lay unconscious.
The chat window was flooded with hooks and worship. Countless messages poured in from viewers who could not believe what they had just witnessed.
Myeong-yun felt satisfied with the martial art he had unleashed after so long. Still, he could not help feeling it had been somewhat lacking. The sword energy Namgung Cheon fired had simply not been enough.
“That was the Heavenly Demon Black Wheel Technique. Did you see it clearly? Its power is not what it once was. Back in the martial world, this technique could casually erase an entire mountain.”
Myeong-yun strolled among the fallen sovereigns and continued speaking.
“Now you understand that you cannot defeat This Seat with mere body modifications and downloaded martial arts. Demonic Cult Leader. Namgung Family Head. Saro Heaven Lord.”
“Khh… ugh…”
“Huff… haa…”
“Just who… are you…”
Namgung Cheon, who had suffered the least damage, staggered to his feet. Myeong-yun stood with his hands clasped behind his back and met his gaze.
“This is true martial arts. Can you see how it differs from you lot, who merely output whatever was input?”
“…To seize control of emitted energy and claim it as your own.”
“Furthermore.”
“The martial art you used… is that truly martial arts?”
“It is the Cheonma-singong, specifically the Heavenly Demon Black Wheel Technique. Did you perceive the profound principles and mysteries within it? That is what intrigues This Seat the most.”
“……”
Namgung Cheon’s legs trembled. He had barely managed to stand, yet those legs soon gave out and he fell to his knees.
“…I could not see it. It would be more accurate to say I could not. These mechanical eyes merely recognize; they cannot perceive the true intent contained within.”
“How regrettable. Had you still been human, you might have understood.”
“…But… I did learn one thing. True martial arts are utterly beautiful. What lay inside that technique was beauty beyond compare.”
Namgung Cheon wore an almost ecstatic expression. Because his face was covered in machinery, it was difficult to tell, yet that was how it appeared to Myeong-yun.
“Ah… I wonder if I will ever see that sight again. That black wheel swallowing the world—it was no different from a black hole in the cosmos.”
“For someone who claims he could not see, you described it rather well. Indeed. This Seat’s martial arts are the enlightenment of the heavens. They were realized by gazing upon the world spread across the black night sky.”
Myeong-yun closed his eyes and recalled his previous life. The time he sat atop the highest peak of the Heavenly Mountain, staring into the universe. He had confronted the cosmos itself and attained a new world. Because he realized the world beneath his feet was not everything, he had found the path to the next realm.
“Do not stop. The moment you become satisfied, you can advance no further. The world is wide, and the universe is wider still.”
“Haha… It is truly a shame that I only learned this in the twilight of my life.”
“You can begin again even now. Discard the internal energy storage and learn real martial arts. Return to the beginning and train. Accumulate internal energy in your dantian, comprehend the mysteries step by step, and advance one foot at a time…”
That was martial arts.
That was training.
Martial arts was the act of building a tower. Stacking one small stone upon another until it reached the heavens.
“If time is short, nurturing juniors would also be good. Teach them the mental techniques and martial arts you possess. Since you downloaded them, the forms should be perfect.”
“…If time permits, I shall do so. I will devote myself to training the next generation with the Namgung sword.”
“Do so. The Namgung clan has changed greatly, yet your upright nature remains the same.”
Myeong-yun smiled gently and looked at the others. Hyeon-jeong and Mi-ryeo still lay sprawled on the ground, breathing heavily, faces full of disbelief.
“Listen well, Demonic Cult Leader Hyeon-jeong and Saro Heaven Lord Mi-ryeo. The same applies to you. Learn martial arts. Build the tower. The fastest path to the heavens is not to seize a completed tower, but to construct one with your own hands.”
Having said this, Myeong-yun looked up at the sky. The eternal night of Sleepless City was receding. A dawn no one had ever seen was arriving in Sleepless City.
“Haha.”
Myeong-yun laughed as he watched the brightening sky. Namgung Cheon, Hyeon-jeong, and Mi-ryeo all turned their heads toward it as well. The sun rising between the rows of skyscrapers was breathtakingly beautiful.
Myeong-yun turned halfway, putting the sun at his back, and continued.
“What a familiar sight. Was it like this in Narak as well? I wish to see many more landscapes like this with all of you.”
“Haha, I am curious whether such a day will come. In any case, let us first enjoy the present.”
Myeong-yun leaped lightly and landed atop a nearby skyscraper. It took him merely a few seconds to reach the highest point. As he gazed at the rising sun from that summit, a message appeared before him.
“Quite a lot of messages are popping up.”
But that was not the end.
“Natural Body and Supreme Under Heaven. I rather like them.”
“Do so.”
And so Myeong-yun proudly claimed the number one spot. After scanning the rankings lined up beneath his name, he smiled in satisfaction and threw himself off the side of the building.
Free-falling through a forest of spires with the morning sun as backdrop was filled with romance just to watch. Myeong-yun laughed brightly and shouted.
“Today has been a truly enjoyable day filled with more laughter than usual! The martial world truly is delightful, is it not!”
“Today’s broadcast ends here! I will read the Ultra Chats from today on the next stream! Everyone, have a wonderful night!”
Just before Myeong-yun’s broadcast ended, the real-time viewer count recorded a new peak of ninety-one thousand. It was the moment he took one step into the realm of major corporations.