The Final Trial of the Wind God
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoooosh!
More arrows came flying in after that.
It was a scene that made one thing perfectly clear: intruders were not welcome here.
I didn't let my guard down for even a moment and activated the Vajrayaksha Divine Art from the very start.
With it came enhanced physical ability and heightened dynamic vision.
Using that as my foundation, I cut down the arrows in a single sweep.
The arrows I blocked melted into the shadows and vanished soundlessly.
This is all an illusion created by the formation.
But I could sense it instinctively.
Even if it was an illusion, I absolutely could not afford to be hit by it.
Would my granduncle have told me not to die for no reason before I entered?
There had to be a reason he said it.
I've heard that among the Zhuge Clan's formations, some don't just deceive the senses—they affect the mind itself and reduce the victim to a crippled shell.
If this was something similar, then it made sense.
So I slowly advanced through the darkness.
The farther I went, the deadlier the traps became.
At first, it was just arrows flying at me and nothing more...
Then suddenly spears would shoot up from the side, or spikes would burst out of the floor without warning.
If not for the senses heightened to their utmost by the Vajrayaksha Divine Art, it would have been dangerous.
Still, despite moving through complete darkness, I managed to pass through the entire trap zone in the end.
And then—
What is this?
Though I was still inside the cave, a place as bright as the outside appeared before me, and beyond it spread a field of molten lava that absolutely could not exist in this terrain.
A small door was visible far in the distance, which meant the distance to the exit was tremendous as well.
This too seemed to be an illusion created by the formation.
Otherwise, there was no way a lava field of this size could appear on the Northern Peak.
But if I fall in, or if the lava splashes up, my legs will burn away on the spot.
The only way to avoid the lava was to move across the footholds jutting out here and there above it.
But the distance between those footholds was considerable.
One wrong step, and flesh and bone would be scorched away.
And it's not just that the gaps are wide.
Far ahead, I could already see sections where the stride narrowed, or where the path broke unevenly like a series of stepping stones.
In other words, this wasn't a gate that could be forced through with raw power alone. It demanded precise movement technique—a trial meant to test the challenger's lightness skill.
Now I understand why Father and the others failed to pass these trials.
Even the trap zone before this would have been difficult for anyone below the Peak Realm to cross without injury.
And this trial was impossible to clear if one hadn't diligently trained a movement art.
Thinking there were probably several more like this ahead...
To be honest, it was a little frightening.
But still—
If I want to obtain the Wind God Dance, then this much must be overcome.
I steadied myself and placed my foot on the first platform.
The moment I did, it began to tremble, then sank into the lava.
Startled, I had no choice but to leap to the next foothold.
But the next platform fell into the lava in much the same way.
That left me no choice but to let out a dry laugh.
So I have to clear this entire twisted path in one go, without stopping.
I calmed my breathing and unfolded the Overlord's Footwork.
The clan's Gale Steps existed, of course, but here the Overlord's Footwork would be far more efficient.
My body glided forward like a passing ghost.
At the same time, the footholds behind me dropped away one by one, cutting off any retreat.
Grinding my teeth, I pressed onward.
How much time passed like that?
"Huff... huff... huuuff."
I barely escaped the lava field and arrived at the door leading to the next trial.
It already felt as though I had used up a considerable portion of my internal energy.
After catching my breath, I tried to open the door.
But it didn't budge easily.
Was it locked?
No, this is...
It was simply heavy.
The door was so massive that it couldn't be opened by an ordinary push.
I forced strength into my arms and shoved open the passage to the next trial.
Creeeak.
But beyond it, I saw yet another door.
I see what this is.
A door so heavy that an ordinary person couldn't even open it.
This itself was the third trial.
I let out a hollow laugh and opened the second door.
This one was even more tightly sealed than the first, and opening it was no easy task.
Then came the third door.
This time, brute strength alone wasn't enough. I had to use internal energy.
Woooong.
Geumgangyachagi wrapped around my body, strengthening every muscle in me.
With that, I forced my way through the third and fourth doors.
Even with the Vajrayaksha Divine Art, the fourth door barely moved, and I had to raise the output.
And finally, I came face to face with the fifth door.
"Grrrghhh!"
This one truly wasn't easy.
Even as I poured in enough Geumgangyachagi to make the blood vessels across my body feel as though they would burst, the door remained utterly unmoved.
Still, I somehow managed to force open even the fifth door with every ounce of strength I had.
"Haaah... haa... haaah..."
The moment I stepped into the next chamber, I collapsed flat onto the floor.
Sweat poured from me like rain, and every muscle in my body ached.
This is probably where most people were eliminated.
Combined with the effects of all the spiritual medicines I had consumed so far, plus the power of the Vajrayaksha Divine Art, my raw strength far surpassed that of others several times over.
And yet even I couldn't pass this trial easily...
For ordinary people, this was where it would all end.
Unless, of course, they had been eating spiritual medicine like daily meals.
What's next?
After taking a suitable rest and getting back to my feet, I noticed a white line painted across the center of the room.
What was so special about that line?
Without hesitating, I stepped over it.
And then dozens of martial artists appeared.
"...!"
They charged at me immediately.
I could tell at once that every one of them was at least First-Class.
Dozens of First-Class martial artists attacking in concert.
And not only that—they moved with terrifying coordination, as though they had trained together for years.
At this level, wouldn't even an ordinary Transcendent Realm master struggle?
But that didn't apply to me.
After all, in my first life I had reached the brink of the Harmony Realm.
"Hoo."
I pushed the Vajrayaksha Divine Art even harder.
It was the kind of martial art that grew stronger the more it was cornered.
The Geumgangyachagi it produced forcibly pumped vigor back into my body.
With golden light gleaming from my eyes, I met them head-on.
A hemispheric storm of sword wind erupted around me, shredding the enemies closing in.
Shhhhk!
But they were no pushovers. They immediately retreated, then lunged in with their swords again.
I evaded along the most efficient path and struck back.
Slash!
The head of a nearby martial artist came off, and his body dissolved into shadow.
I didn't allow myself to be surprised and began reducing their numbers one by one.
Before long, I had dealt with every last one of them.
But—
"Ha..."
I let out a sound I couldn't tell was a sigh or a groan.
Filling the empty space left by the vanished First-Class martial artists were ten Peak Realm masters radiating suffocating killing intent.
Every one of them looked ready to sever my head on the spot.
"This is insane."
But even as I said that, my body was already moving.
I immediately used the form of Wild Dance and drove my sword into the chest of the nearest one.
The man vanished in the middle of trying to defend.
At that, the other nine enemies sprang into action.
They formed three-man battle groups and launched their attack on me.
Judging from the structure of the formation, this was one used by our Northern Heavenly Sword Clan.
It really did seem to have been created by the ancestor himself.
Stay calm.
My stamina was gradually running low, but not to the point that I would collapse.
I fought as defensively as possible while trying to break apart their formation.
Perhaps that effort finally paid off.
After a long and bitter battle, I managed to defeat them one by one.
And at last—
Slash!
I cut down the final Peak Realm master's head.
Like a ghost, he vanished without shedding a drop of blood.
And then one more enemy appeared.
A boyish face that had not yet fully lost its youth.
But the force radiating from him was unmistakably that of the Transcendent Realm.
At least it wasn't three of them appearing at once. Was that a blessing?
It was while I was thinking that—
"Oh? You've made it this far. Impressive."
"...!"
I couldn't help but be startled.
The Transcendent Realm master before me had suddenly spoken to me.
Were these not merely beings formed by the formation?
"No, your thought was right. The ones until now were only phantoms of the past. They didn't possess self-awareness."
"Did you read my thoughts?"
"I did. This is my domain, after all."
The youth smiled faintly as he said it.
And somehow, I felt as if I knew who he was.
"This descendant, Jin Muyeol, greets the Wind God."
"Oh? You recognized me right away?"
The Wind God looked at me with gleaming eyes, as though mildly impressed.
But in a way, that was only natural.
A consciousness appearing within a domain personally created by the Wind God.
Of course it could only be something related to the Wind God.
"To be precise, I'm a phantom reflecting his younger days. In terms of age, I'm younger than you are now. Fifteen, perhaps."
"...Don't tell me, Ancestor, that you reached the Transcendent Realm at fifteen?"
"In truth, I reached it at thirteen. It just took another two years to fully mature."
"Hah."
A Transcendent Realm master at thirteen.
He truly was an absurd monster.
Then again, that was precisely why he could become the founder of a clan like the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan.
According to the stories passed down, he had likely been the greatest martial artist under heaven in his era.
"Heh heh. Calling your heaven-like ancestor a monster. You're quite a rude descendant."
"My apologies. But I couldn't think of any other word for it."
"If you must, you could say peerless prodigy. Or genius. Those sound much nicer."
The Wind God chuckled as he said that.
With some of the tension easing from my body, I asked him,
"In any case, seeing you appear like this, I suppose this is the final trial?"
"That's right. In all the history of the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan, only two people have ever made it this far, including you. You may take pride in that. It means you're the kind of genius destined to dominate an era."
"That does make me rather happy. To have made it into that number."
"Heh heh. Good. Be as pleased as you like. Even if you did use that seal ring, this still couldn't have been easy."
"...!"
For an instant, I was so shocked I nearly stopped breathing.
That seal ring?
He meant the symbol of the clan head still worn on my finger.
And it was also the object I strongly suspected had sent me back into the past.
"D-do you know something about this?"
I asked at once, urgently.
But the Wind God's phantom merely grinned.
"Before you ask questions, don't you think there's something you ought to do first?"
"!"
"You're still a challenger. Don't forget you're in the middle of a trial. If there's something you want to know, ask after the test is over. Of course, that assumes you can pass first."
"I will."
I answered immediately.
At the same time, Geumgangyachagi surged through me.
A faint golden haze drifted from my entire body.
I had activated Yaksha Transformation in preparation for the final battle.
"I don't know what it is, but it's an excellent martial art. It's not from our clan, but it's impressive. Seems you must have stumbled upon a fortunate encounter somewhere."
After saying that, the Wind God drew his sword.
Shiiing.
At the same time, though no wind should have existed within the cave, a light breeze began to stir.
It gradually intensified until it became a raging gale strong enough to make standing difficult.
"Watch carefully."
The Wind God still wore a smile.
But there was something terrifying in his eyes as he swung his sword.
"This is the Wind God Dance."
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOOOM!
A violent tempest erupted from the tip of his sword and came hurtling toward me, intent on tearing me apart.