Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Unification of All Energies
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All energies unified.
A colossal single force forged by merging vast energies into one.
At minimum, 2,000.
Mana alone had surpassed 3,000.
As everything fused together, the unified force ballooned to nearly 10,000.
And Shin-hyeok converted that unified force into spiritual power.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!
'...This might kill me.'
The immense spiritual power surged through his body like a torrent.
Even with his exceptional control, the rampaging spiritual power refused to obey, and a thin trickle of blood trailed from the corner of Shin-hyeok's mouth.
But precisely because of that, he smiled.
'This is it. This is the power.'
What he had lacked.
The final puzzle piece needed to prove his martial way.
The moment it clicked into place.
Pu-hwa-a-a-a-aak!
Shin-hyeok expelled the massive spiritual power coursing through his body.
Purple spiritual power erupted from his entire form, dyeing his surroundings in violet hues.
Neither the holy sword nor the demonic spear could escape the purple tint.
The holy sword, which had gleamed pure white with holy power, was now bathed in purple by the spiritual force, and the demonic spear blazing black with demonic energy fared no differently.
Holy power and demonic energy alike ultimately bowed beneath spiritual power.
Witnessing this, Shin-hyeok swung his sword and spear.
Kwa-a-a-a-a-a-a!
The sword and spear cleaved through empty space, shattering and splitting the very air they traversed.
For the first time, the Martial God grinned broadly at the spectacle.
Amid that radiant smile unlike any he'd shown before, Shin-hyeok felt a chill and immediately halted his attack on the Martial God, shifting to a defensive stance.
The switch from offense to defense happened in an instant.
His internals churned as the price, but Shin-hyeok's judgment had been spot-on.
"Heaven Shattering Destruction Style."
"...!"
The Martial God, beaming brighter than ever, had drawn the Heaven Shattering Destruction Style for the first time.
It was a demonstration that everything until now had merely been a casual exchange of blows. As the Martial God's aura exploded, Shin-hyeok frantically rebuilt his shattered defenses—but
"Heaven-Destroying Peng Fist."
"...Damn."
Kwa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ang!
Even that wasn't enough to block the single peng plummeting from the heavens.
The half-destroyed turtle ship was utterly demolished and reverse-summoned. Shin-hyeok's every defensive measure crumbled to dust and scattered.
Naturally, Shin-hyeok himself couldn't emerge unscathed.
"Keok!"
He vomited a basin's worth of blackened dead blood, fragments of his organs mixed within.
His control over the unified spiritual power was already faltering, causing constant internal damage in real-time, and this follow-up strike amplified the shock.
Hurtling downward from the ceiling cliff under the peng's impact.
If he kept falling like this, he'd crash into the invisible ground below, his body reduced to a formless pulp.
Yet even as he spat blood and teetered on the brink of his flesh tearing apart, Shin-hyeok simply laughed.
"Heaven Shattering Destruction Style."
"...Hoo."
He too had inherited the Martial God's true transmission.
There was no reason he couldn't wield the Martial God's techniques, which belonged to his own martial way.
The Martial God's lips curled upward.
Shin-hyeok wildly spun his spiritual power, forging a purple peng.
"Heaven-Destroying Peng Fist—Spirit Variant."
"...Mm!"
Kwa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ang!
Even the Martial God let out a brief exclamation at the sheer power of the single peng surging from the ground to invade the skies.
A stark contrast to the Martial God's downward plunge from above.
Yet the upward peng's momentum was equal to—no, greater than—the Martial God's.
"Heaven-Destroying Extreme Thunder Flying Knife."
"Heaven-Destroying Extreme Thunder Flying Knife."
To counter it, the Martial God conjured and launched azure formless throwing knives, while Shin-hyeok, prepared solely for that, formed purple ones to clash head-on.
The formless knives flew without a hair's breadth of error, colliding in midair.
Jjee-e-e-e-e-eong!
The moment purple and blue erupted, savagely devouring their surroundings in a frenzy.
-Kki-e-e-e-e-e!
"Tch."
Kwa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ang!
The peng pierced the resulting mist and struck the Martial God dead-on.
Blasted backward like a cannonball by the peng's force.
But even then, the Martial God's eyes locked precisely on Shin-hyeok.
He knew that if their positions were reversed, he wouldn't miss this opening—and he was right.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Shin-hyeok conjured translucent shields in the air, using them as footholds to kick off into the void.
Kicking off five shields in succession, he traversed the ceiling cliff in a flash. The Martial God's form filled his vision up close.
The Martial God took in Shin-hyeok as well.
Their paths differed, their destinations differed, and their convictions about the martial way differed.
Yet they were martial artists all the same.
The Martial God anticipated Shin-hyeok's next move, and Shin-hyeok foresaw the Martial God's.
"Behold. This is Heaven Shattering Destruction Style, Chapter 1, Measure 3—the finale of the first chapter."
"...!"
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu!
The Martial God's aura, floating in the air, surged explosively—then vanished in an instant.
No, it hadn't vanished.
It had merely compressed to the point where it felt gone.
Kiii-i-i-i-ing!
A razor-sharp blade forged from the Martial God's compressed aura.
The overwhelming sword intent emanated from it, promising to cleave anything in its path.
Sword qi? Sword ray? Sword gang?
Shin-hyeok instinctively knew this surpassed them all.
'It'd slice through the demonic spear or holy sword like mere chopsticks.'
Even legendary+ grade equipment would be less than worthless against that sword intent.
Thus, Shin-hyeok poured every ounce of his spiritual power into the demonic spear and holy sword, reinforcing both weapons.
"Transcend—Comprehensive Weapon Mastery [A]."
Next, leveraging the Plus Ultra Ring's effect, he elevated Comprehensive Weapon Mastery by one rank to temporary S-grade.
Kiii-i-i-i-ing!
Sword and spear gang flared above the holy sword and demonic spear.
The moment the two gangs blazed purple.
"Heaven-Destroying Lightning Slash."
"Whirlwind Demon Extremity, Heaven-Destroying Extreme Thunder Flying Knife—Spirit."
Kwa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!
The Martial God and Shin-hyeok clashed.
The Martial God unleashed Heaven Shattering Destruction Style Chapter 1 Measure 3, while Shin-hyeok countered with his interpretation: Choi Shin-hyeok Style—Divine Heavenly Demon Art and Choi Shin-hyeok Style—Heaven Shattering Destruction Style, pitting Heavenly Demon Divine Art Chapter 1 against it.
The result—
Peo-seo-seo-seok!
"Not bad."
"...I'm one step from death here."
—was Shin-hyeok's defeat.
Even against the Heavenly Demon, and now regardless of how much he lowered his realm or restricted his body, he couldn't best a constellation.
Truthfully, Shin-hyeok's current state was far from "good," even as empty flattery.
The Armor of Absorption was half-destroyed, exposing his flesh beneath.
And that exposed flesh was far from intact.
Blood streamed down, his entire body covered in bruises.
The demonic spear's shaft, freshly repaired, was cracked once more, and the holy sword's blade bore the same fractures.
Equipment ruined, body ruined, internals ruined.
Everything in shambles.
"Your martial way was splendid."
"Is... that so."
Even speaking was a struggle, his words halting and choppy, but the Martial God paid it no mind.
Back atop the summit of bizarre jagged rocks.
There, the Martial God stood utterly unchanged, without a speck of dust, just as when they'd first met.
No—
"Your blade rent my robes and pierced them clean through. Ha! Fascinating. Truly fascinating. Now I see why that Heavenly Demon acknowledged you. Of course he'd have to, seeing this. How could any martial artist not?"
His robes, resembling an immortal's garb, were tattered in places—slashed and punctured into rags, separate from his pristine flesh.
Chuckling merrily at the sight, the Martial God extended a hand to Shin-hyeok.
"You've proven your martial way. Awakening and wielding spiritual power. Applying it on the spot to forge your own path. I have no choice but to acknowledge it. That my martial way is merely one slightly special method among many for you."
"I see."
"...Hm?"
But Shin-hyeok didn't take the offered hand.
As the Martial God twitched an eyebrow in puzzlement.
Gulp!
Shin-hyeok opened his inventory and downed one of Hyo-rin's special potions.
And that wasn't the end.
Kwa-deuk! Kwa-deuk! Kwa-deuk!
He dumped rare and unique-grade materials from his inventory into the Armor of Absorption.
They couldn't evolve the armor further, but they could restore it.
In moments, the Armor of Absorption and his body regained their original forms.
Of course, it was just a stopgap.
The potion barely patched his flesh, nothing more.
He couldn't fully restore the energies filling it.
But it was enough.
Regaining some vitality, Shin-hyeok staggered to his feet.
Standing purely on his own power, without the Martial God's aid, he gripped his cracked demonic spear and holy sword once more.
Even the Martial God withdrew his hand, gazing at Shin-hyeok with an expressionless face, sensing the resolute will in that figure.
"Arrogant. I've already acknowledged you, yet you're not satisfied?"
"I said I'd show you everything I have. I'm simply keeping that promise."
"You've already shown everything. What more could there be... I say there isn't. Trifles like a colosseum can't manifest in my domain."
The Colosseum.
Shin-hyeok's personal battlefield, where he could drag foes for debuffs while gaining buffs himself.
But it was merely a replica mimicking a domain.
A card he couldn't play within the Martial God's transcendent domain.
"I never intended to summon it anyway."
"Then what is your play? In this duel, I've seen your bottom line. Your weapon mastery, your summons, the power of your soul. What more can one who's shown it all reveal? If you can't prove it and this is mere stubborn refusal to accept defeat... I'll have to revise my assessment of you."
The Martial God's chilling voice stabbed at Shin-hyeok's vitals.
Having already hit 100%, now risking point deductions with threats—Shin-hyeok's response was simple.
"Only an equal domain can exist purely within a domain. Even if their levels differ, that absolute principle never changes."
"...?"
"So I'll counter with a domain of my own."
"Absurd. Domains aren't permitted to you yet—"
"Simplified Domain Deployment."
"...!!!"
A battlefield inevitably favoring the Martial God within his transcendent domain.
To twist it, he needed to carve out his own space inside.
And there was only one way.
To counter domain with domain.
A domain was fundamentally manifesting one's psyche externally after constructing it internally.
Thus, domains were an ultimate art: one grasped the sense at Challenger Tier, but only Integrated League Challenger Tier could wield them properly.
For Shin-hyeok, not even Diamond Tier let alone a native dimension Challenger, it was far too advanced.
But he'd refined it into a 'simplified' version and deployed it.
Domains were originally downgraded from a constellation's transcendent domain.
This was a further downgrade, tailored for his current level.
Impossible before, but now—with the Trait: Power of Unification granting him vast spiritual power.
With his soul's realm temporarily surging, it was feasible.
"Purple Spirit Single Moon."
Kiii-i-i-i-i-ing!
A massive full moon gleaming purple materialized above Shin-hyeok's head.