Chapter 219
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: The First Trial of Transcendence
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Even though Jeong Hoon had surpassed level 301, he didn't immediately start his fourth job change.
The reason was the difficulty of the job change.
It wasn't just any Legendary grade anymoreit was Celestial-grade Martial Emperor.
The fourth job change was sure to boast extreme difficulty, so he needed to prepare thoroughly.
Job Change Quest: Transcendence (12)
-Restriction: Lv. 301 Third Job Changer Martial Artist
-Reward: Can undertake 'Job Change Quest: Transcendence (22)'.
-Description: You have met the qualifications. The time has come to awaken your dormant power.
Jeong Hoon took a moment to breathe deeply before accepting the quest.
His vision went dark, and soon a familiar space unfolded before him.
"Where is this?"
This was the Hall of the Heavens, which he had visited before to advance to Celestial grade.
And in that hall stood the same NPC he had seen previously.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Harpael
-Level: ??
-Job: Guide of the Heavens
The Guide of the Heavens, whose nickname hadn't been displayed before.
He bore the name Harpael.
"Long time no see."
Harpael grinned.
"Why are you overseeing the fourth job change?"
Jeong Hoon tilted his head.
Normally, the fourth job change should begin with the Azure Flame Fist Sage.
"Why? You've set foot in the heavens, yet you want to be tested by a mere creation?"
Since the Martial Emperor had advanced from Legendary to Celestial, he had to be tested by Harpael himself.
Jeong Hoon looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"Trying not to give it to me again this time?"
Harpael's shoulders twitched.
He let out an awkward cough and averted his gaze.
"You've met the qualifications. How could I do that?"
It was obvious he was trying every trick to withhold it.
Jeong Hoon's lips twitched.
"So, you're saying you'll give it to me for sure?"
"Heh, but we still need to run the test, right?"
"Then you'll make it easy, right?"
"......Ahem! Do you think Transcendence is that simple?!"
"What? So you are planning not to give it after all."
"Ahem, if you don't like it, leave."
In the end, Harpael revealed his true colors.
"I figured as much. Let's get started then."
"What...... I said it's not easy!"
Harpael wore a look of disbelief at Jeong Hoon's attitude of jumping in without hesitation.
"What's there to think about? I need that power."
"Fine. Let's begin right away then."
Harpael grinned and snapped his fingers.
A clone of Harpael appeared before them.
Defeat Lv. 400 Harpael's Clone.
That was the first task.
"Knock it down?"
"No, there's a condition."
"Condition?"
Defeat it with 30 or fewer hits taken.
It was an utterly absurd condition.
Defeat a guy whose level was unknown within 30 hits taken.
Even a slight graze would count as one hit.
"How about it? Fair enough, right?"
"......Unbelievable."
Jeong Hoon let out a hollow laugh.
"As I said before, if you don't like it, leave. Simple, isn't it?"
Harpael pointed at the portal with his finger.
It was the portal leading out of the Hall of the Heavens.
"If I leave, the quest becomes impossible to complete."
"Correct! The job change quest can no longer be undertaken. You can just stick with third job forever."
"Ah."
Jeong Hoon nodded casually and unfurled Sky Stride.
His form blurred, and he instantly appeared before Harpael's clone.
He thrust his fist, smashing the clone's jaw.
Pow!
The clone's head snapped back.
But it showed no damage, quickly resetting its head.
Formless Fist activates.
Formless Fist triggered, snapping the clone's jaw back again.
"Hmph, it won't be that easy."
Harpael had already retreated to a safe distance to observe the battle.
Fourth job change.
Transcendence.
Breaking through the limit from third job unlocked the cap, but this limit was stepwise.
Limits would inevitably return, requiring advancement to higher tiers to progress further.
But this human had already transcended humanity.
'If I unlock the limit here too...... he'll definitely become an obstacle.'
His growth was too fast.
Not even level 301he was stuck in the mid-to-late 300s.
Raising levels that quickly in such a short time meant...... he must have done something extraordinary.
Block him.
Harpael also knew he would come here.
After all, he had received orders from above to block his job change.
'So I need to make him fail here.'
Force him to fail the job change quest and remain stuck at third job forever.
No matter how skilled he was, limits would catch up, and he'd fall off naturally.
That's why he attached such an impossible condition from the start.
But why?
'Why isn't the hit count registering?'
The clone was clearly landing minor attacks on him.
Yet the hit count remained at 0.
Harpael examined him closely.
'He's got a barrier up.'
Only then did he notice the transparent barrier enveloping his body.
It was so clear that it was hard to detect without close inspection.
But it was pointless anyway.
'Heh heh, defeating that clone is impossible.'
With his power, he could never reduce the clone's health to zero.
After all, its health had been massively boosted.
But why?
Unlike at the start, the clone's status was gradually changing.
Harpael's eyes widened, trembling.
'T-this lunatic!'
The clone's health was plummeting rapidly.
Even a high-ranking apostle would struggle to take it down easily.
'He seems pretty shocked.'
Meanwhile, Jeong Hoon was relaxed.
The reason was simple.
Annihilation
-Power that erases all
-Attack power increases by 7.
-On attack, 1 chance to erase 1 health. (Unrecoverable for 90 seconds) (Activates only within level 60)
The Annihilation rune he had acquired last time.
Boosted to 4 activation chance with Guardian of Merhen's effect.
Plus a 3x set bonus, bringing it to 12.
Annihilation activates.
Remaining Health: 86.96
Every time Jeong Hoon attacked, 1 of the clone's health was deleted.
"Urk!"
As its health rapidly depleted, the clone grimaced.
"What's wrong? Does it hurt?"
Jeong Hoon grinned and lightly deflected its attack.
The barrier prevented hit counts, but he wasn't fully invincible.
Boom!
Annihilation activates.
Remaining Health: 85.96
He had no choice but to take unavoidable hits, so he needed to end it quickly.
Pow!
He punched the clone's abdomen.
The clone's waist bent in half.
Formless Fist triggered immediately, adding extra damage.
"You damn bastard!"
The clone glared at Jeong Hoon with bloodshot eyes.
"What are you gonna do, glare at me?"
Jeong Hoon grinned and kept hammering away.
"Guh!"
Its health began dropping rapidly.
After about 30 minutes of combat.
Annihilation activates.
Remaining Health: 0.35
The clone's health was down to a mere 0.35.
"It's over."
Jeong Hoon smashed its face with a fist infused with the aura of Myeongwang Fist Technique's 9th Star.
"Guh!"
The clone flew backward from the punch.
Jeong Hoon drove his fist into its solar plexus.
Pow!
"Kuhak!"
It flopped like a fish before crumbling into dust and vanishing.
Its health had hit zero, making maintenance impossible.
"Heh, success."
Jeong Hoon checked the message in front of him.
Hits Taken: 1730
Even after that long battle, only 17 hits.
He had successfully completed the absurd task.
'Without Annihilation, I would've been in trouble.'
Since his return, Jeong Hoon had poured everything into growth.
In the process, he collected only cheat-level items.
This result was only natural.
"You...... How did you do it?!"
Harpael approached with a shocked expression.
Jeong Hoon smiled brightly and replied.
"Just kept punching, and it worked."
"Nonsense! It's impossible for someone at your level to defeat the clone!"
Harpael was right.
He had never intended to allow the fourth job change from the start.
That's why he gave such an insane difficulty from stage one.
"So what? I succeeded anyway, so let's move to the next stage."
An exclamation mark flashed above Harpael's head.
You have completed the quest.
You can now undertake Job Change Quest: Transcendence (22).
Next stage.
Completing this would finally finish the long-awaited fourth job change.
'Of course, he won't make it easy.'
Even after deliberately setting extreme difficulty, he succeeded with flying colors.
So the next one would ramp up the difficulty to force failure.
Job Change Quest: Transcendence (22)
-Restriction: Lv. 301 Third Job Changer Martial Artist
-Reward: Fourth Job Change
-Description: You have met the qualifications. The time has come to awaken your dormant power.
Jeong Hoon accepted the quest.
Harpael pointed to a portal with his hand.
It was a portal emitting an intense light unlike any seen before in the Hall of the Heavens.
"This is the final trial. Go through, pass it, and come back."
"Got it."
"......Can I ask one thing before you go?"
"Sure."
"You're not human, are you?"
"Pardon?"
"Something wearing human skin?"
Jeong Hoon chuckled at the ridiculous question.
"I'm just an ordinary human."
"Yeah, right. If you're an ordinary human, what are those other creations over there?"
"They're ordinary humans too."
"......Let's not talk."
"Just prepare to hand over that power nicely."
"You're talking like success is guaranteed."
Harpael's lips twitched.
"Yes. I'll definitely do it."
"Heh heh, fine. Let's see how long that confidence lasts."
Jeong Hoon didn't reply and entered the portal.
Left alone, Harpael muttered while staring at the portal he vanished into.
"I don't know how he handled the clone, but this time, he absolutely won't succeed."
The place he arrived at via the portal was some kind of training ground.
'Another battle?'
Simple enough.
But the figure before him was a man.
NPC Info
-Nickname: ???
-Level: ???
-Job: Transcendent's Clone
He was a Transcendent on a whole different level from Harpael's clone.
Even as a clone, the overwhelming pressure from his presence was beyond imagination.
'They're dead set on blocking the fourth job change.'
One side of Jeong Hoon's mouth curled up slyly.
Orders from above, no doubt.
He had anticipated interference starting from the realization point, but he hadn't expected to face a Transcendent's clone here.
'This'll be tough.'
Before his return, he encountered a Transcendent's clone at over level 500.
Naturally, after completing fourth job and reaching a certain realm as All Master.
Long after realization had occurred, of course.
Facing such a foe in the fourth job change quest meant this battle wouldn't be easy, given his prior experience.
"You?"
A mechanical voice emanated from the man's mouth.
Ordinary Transcendent clones didn't resemble their originals.
So he couldn't guess which Transcendent this clone belonged to.
"What are you?"
Jeong Hoon pretended not to know.
"Me? Simply put, the examiner."
"I see."
"Then let's begin."
The clone's lips curled into a grin.
Defeat Lv. ??? Transcendent's Clone.
The final quest of the fourth job change had begun.