1096——————==

Soul of the Evil God

Why is that guy using the Tree of Knowledge for a trade…?

I couldn’t read his intentions, but I knew that attempting to kill him right now would be a poor move. He already realized I was gunning for his [Name], and he knew that if I offed him, the name would be lost to me. So, he probably took the risk to propose a deal.

‘And I really have no clue what he’s thinking… for now, I need to extract some information. I must explore.’

Attacking without knowing anything is pointless. With the insight I’ve gained through experience, I steeled my resolve and asked,

“If you had no intention of coming to this world without the Tree of Knowledge, does that mean you came here to look for it from the beginning?”

[That’s correct.]

“So, you became a disciple of Chi You because of that?”

[Hehehe…. You seem eager to talk. But, until I get a definitive answer about the deal, I won’t share anything important.]

Crap, did he catch on to my intent to extract information?

He was clearly trying to take the upper hand in the conversation, and that advantage rested on the fact that he thought I couldn’t kill him easily. So, I needed to break down that assumption, and I started to slowly gather power.

Vwooom

As the Qi vibrated, the snake flinched in surprise. I stepped forward threateningly and said,

“Just so you know, I’m not particularly keen on making this deal. With the Dragon of the Apocalypse being awakened, I can just snatch the name from that guy.”

[Oh…? Really…?]

“I don’t know what the Tree of Knowledge is, but asking me to find it is hilarious. What guarantee do you have that I can even locate it?”

As I was teasing him, the snake replied,

[Baek Woong. Didn’t you just kill Chi You?]

“…….”

[Given that, you should definitely have the ability to search for the Tree of Knowledge.]

What, what did he just say?!

How does he know that…!!

His sudden comment pierced my psyche, and I couldn’t help but shudder. I frantically pulled out all my emotional concealing techniques that I’d honed over years to mask any signs on my face, but I couldn’t stay confident. How could he say something like that?

‘No! He’s just probing!’

Only after about a second did my mind start to coolly assess the situation, seeking reasons not to be swayed by his words, but it felt too late. I masked my pounding heart and replied calmly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why would Chi You come up?”

[Heh…. Isn’t it a bit late for that?]

The snake, wearing a mysterious smile, continued.

[I had known about your existence for quite some time. When Yacha lost to you in the Imperial Palace, I put in a lot of effort to investigate you and shared it with the other Eight Divine Guardians. And when Yacha became desperate, he also informed me about you and requested that I look into it.]

“……!!”

[While others didn’t pay much attention, I noticed it. I thought it was more likely that Chi You was dead than just missing.]

The snake’s eyes sparkled brightly.

[I realized that the timing of your appearance in the Imperial Palace and the disappearance of Chi You almost matched perfectly….]

“…….”

[You are definitely linked to the disappearance of Chi You…. Whether you actively killed him or played a role in it somehow….]

Chills ran down my spine. He was scarily close to the truth.

‘It’s not that I killed him; rather, the Heavenly Secret devoured Chi You…’

The reason the other Eight Divine Guardians couldn’t focus on that might be their loyalty and attachment to Chi You, wanting to believe he was merely missing. If they thought he was missing, it would be difficult to conclude that my appearance coincided with Chi You’s disappearance and lead to the conclusion of his death. Even if Gin Nara was a strategist, they would be operating under the assumption that Chi You was alive.

‘Wait. Isn’t it significant that this guy, out of all Chi You’s followers, seemed to have guessed this…?’

Ah, it’s complicated!

I felt an instinctive urge but couldn’t grasp what it meant just yet. There was so much on my mind that it was hard to think clearly.

For now, I recalled the sensations I had while training the Mask Technique and obscured my feelings as much as possible, responding indifferently,

“Well? If what you say is true, then you’re merely trying to test me. If you enjoy thinking whatever you like without any evidence, then by all means let it be.”

[Hehe….]

His laughter was irksome.

I instinctively realized I couldn’t get dragged into his game anymore. So, I firmly shouted and began to resonate with the Fire Spirit and Qi.

“Whether I killed Chi You or not, that’s irrelevant now. From my standpoint, I’d rather eliminate you instantly than let you walk away without securing a name from you. Refusal means you die now!”

Vwooooom!!

As the resonance grew stronger, the snake flinched and shrank back even further. It seemed I had caught him off guard, as his eyes grew narrow and a standoff of power unfolded between us.

[…….]

“Answer me quickly.”

He is thinking that I wouldn’t dare kill him. Honestly, I would focus about 90% on negotiating and only 10% on the thought of killing him.

However, since I was in the Absolute Realm, I intensified my intent to release a genuine killing aura. He would be restrained by that aura, making it difficult for him to push his agenda. If I decided to go for the kill, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

While the chilling atmosphere lingered in silence, the snake finally opened his mouth.

[Baek Woong. Please, I need the Tree of Knowledge to return to the world I originally came from.]

“What did you say?”

[The Tree of Knowledge is the fruit that arises from the [Tree]. Under the name of the most revered Almighty in the three thousand realms, only the Tree of Knowledge possesses the power to surpass multiple dimensions. Contrary to that, Chi You did not come here directly but instead sought the help of an intermediary.]

“Hmm!”

[At this rate, I will get caught up in the apocalypse of your world and perish alongside it. That’s just too unfair…. Please consider my plea. If you find the Tree of Knowledge, I could offer you greater compensation.]

That wasn’t a lie. I had learned in the past from Dr. Faust that utilizing the Tree of Knowledge and Primordial Void could help traverse multiple dimensions, and I knew that the Master of the Twelve Joules was a living proof of having used the Tree of Knowledge to come to our world. It was evident he genuinely needed it since he was being honest about the capabilities of the Tree.

However, I still kept my suspicious gaze on him and replied,

“Then why on earth were you secretly hiding in Mount Ye where the spirit of the dragon is sealed? If you don’t explain this, we have nothing more to discuss!”

[That is…. The Dragon has also been like me, possessing the power of other dimensions within its soul. I planned to cooperate with that dragon until the end and gather enough strength to escape at the final moment.]

“Is that even possible?”

[I do not know…. But this was my only remaining method.]

While I couldn’t fully trust him, it certainly sounded like a plausible explanation. After contemplating it for a moment, I said,

“Fine. I’ll help you find the Tree of Knowledge. But I have a few more conditions.”

[Speak….]

“Firstly, even if I find the Tree of Knowledge, I might not give it to you. If it benefits me, I won’t deliver it. Secondly, you must tell me everything about the background of your contract with Chi You and your true identity.”

[…….]

“This is my final proposal.”

The snake seemed to hesitate for a moment, but afterward, responded.

[Alright…. I will agree to that! Let’s make a contract.]

“Got it….”

And then it happened.

Kwoooom!!

[Seo Mun-hye! Save me!!]

Suddenly, a colossal dragon’s roar echoed from afar. A tremendous force pierced the sky, and in the center of that column, I witnessed a dragon ascending to the heavens!

“……!!”

What the?!

Could that pillar possibly be the Dragon of the Apocalypse?!

As I stood there puzzled, the snake chuckled gleefully.

[Hehehe….]

“What? Do you know what’s going on?”

[It’s obvious that Seo Mun-hye pushed the dragon to the brink before he almost died…. But the dragon used the power he accumulated to transcend dimensions and survive.]

Swish

Moments later, the multicolored aura dissipated, leaving behind an eerie silence. If the snake was right, the Eight Divine Guardian Dragon must have successfully escaped. My mind was reeling with the absurd turn of events, but I had to focus on finishing this conversation first.

“…Regardless, we have a contract.”

The escape of the Dragon of the Apocalypse didn’t change my current situation much. The snake was the main goal while the dragon was merely an accessory, so I felt a pressing need to close the loop quickly. The dragon running away wouldn’t trigger any significant changes.

[Very well.]

At that moment, I felt the causality of the contract being bound through his command. The snake then slowly began losing its form and melted into chaos, fading into the void, while its words echoed in the air.

[I grant Baek Woong my name…. According to the contract, I shall reveal myself to Baek Woong on the day he finds the Tree of Knowledge!]

Wooooooom

I suddenly felt a powerful force pouring into my entire being. This was an entirely different kind of power, unlike any kind of Kung Fu I knew! Yet, it didn’t feel purely evil like magical power; it had a peculiar sense of holiness intertwined within it. Finally, the snake spoke once more.

[My name is Saitan…. A servant bound to the divine…. A serpent residing in the Tree of the Almighty!]

Pwoooosh

The snake’s form completely vanished. Noticing that I could no longer see it even with the Palace Examination Technique or Fire Eye Golden Spirit, I decided to head towards where Seo Mun-hye was.

The cliff where Seo Mun-hye resided had seemingly been completely obliterated due to what looked like an intense battle, and even Mount Ye itself was more than half destroyed or swept away. I could also see several Tactical Forces Agents lying wounded nearby.

‘Luckily, it’s not a serious injury.’

It seemed they were just tossed away by the shockwave or beam attacks. I approached Seo Mun-hye, who was gazing blankly at the sky, and spoke.

“Seo Mun-hye! Did you let the dragon escape?”

“…….”

“How could a powerful being like you….”

Seo Mun-hye spoke gravely.

“In the end, I could have killed him at the last moment. Even if he transcended dimensions, cutting across dimensions should’ve been possible.”

To say he could slice through dimensions was a huge claim, but I didn’t think Seo Mun-hye was merely boasting. Having trained for 500 years, he certainly had that level of capacity.

“Then why didn’t you cut him down?”

“Because he asked for mercy.”

It seemed as though Seo Mun-hye was beginning to reflect.

“I recalled my past actions.”

“…….”

If one didn’t know the full story, they might think Seo Mun-hye was just babbling for letting the dragon slip through his fingers. However, I sighed and said,

“There’s nothing we can do about it. Let’s forget the past.”

I had seen Seo Mun-hye’s past. I knew the time when he chose to kill the ascending dragon instead of saving it when he approached Master Mangnyang, and subsequently received scolding from him. The dragon that ascended even thanked Seo Mun-hye, so it wasn’t strange that he reacted to the request for mercy now.

‘The failure of a past choice has manifested before him once more. He would cease to be human if it happened to anyone other than Seo Mun-hye.’

Seo Mun-hye nodded in agreement.

“Did you capture the snake?”

“Yes. I caught it and obtained its name.”

“Congratulations.”

“Hmm. Speaking of which, what about Cheon Woo-jin…?”

I grimaced as I lifted Cheon Woo-jin, who was lying on the ground. After pouring Qi into him to check his internal condition, I found no abnormalities, but the fact that he hadn’t come to even now presented a big problem.

‘Let’s use the Palace Examination Technique.’

I activated the Palace Examination Technique and scrutinized Cheon Woo-jin’s body. Moments later, I identified that a dark snake-like thing was coiling around his heart. Knowing how to extract it from inside him, I instantly utilized the Soul Exchange Technique to grasp his heart with spirit hands.

Plop plop

As I removed one by one the snake-like creatures clinging to Cheon Woo-jin’s heart and threw them into the air, Seo Mun-hye swiftly cut them apart with the Sword Flying Technique. After peeling off about ten of them, the heart was clean, and Cheon Woo-jin’s facial color began to slowly return.

Using the Soul Exchange Technique consumed a lot of mental strength, and I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I spoke.

“What on earth is this?”

It was an exceedingly tricky and wicked curse. Each tiny snake housed the potent essence of a Great Demon, so I had to use spirit power while maintaining Qi from the Soul Exchange Technique to shield my own body.

“I can sense chaotic energy from these snakes. It’s highly likely that the curse casted on Cheon Woo-jin was a direct hit from that snake when it escaped just now.”

“Impossible. Cheon Woo-jin is an Illusory God. Even if he lost half his power now, how could he be taken down by just one curse…”

I spoke incredulously, only for Seo Mun-hye to shoot me a sideways glance.

“That snake might be more significant than you think. The truth is that the curse is powerful enough to exceed the capabilities of the Illusory God.”

“……”

So, his true power surpasses even that of a Demon King, and he was merely pretending to be on the back foot earlier?

I didn’t want to entertain the possibility of what Seo Mun-hye mentioned. Because if that was true, it meant that the one I should have been fast-tracking the elimination of was not the dragon, but rather the snake.

‘Damn it. Thinking about it now means nothing…’

I gritted my teeth and shook my head. Regardless, I had proposed additional conditions in the contract with the snake, so I wouldn’t be at a loss. Plus, the fact that the snake would show up before me was a settled matter, so I could take care of it then.

Moments later, as Cheon Woo-jin regained consciousness, I asked him.

“Feeling any better?”

“Ugh… What happened to the situation?”

I explained to Cheon Woo-jin everything that had transpired. He sighed deeply and said,

“Phew! I should have brought Sagong Lin.”

“Still, we dealt with them both.”

“No, we seriously underestimated those two monsters. One was a being that nearly destroyed the world in the Great War Era, and the other was a demon treated on par with Apostle Dalkyi.”

“……”

“Given that Sagong Lin herself wanted this to be your trial, she bears responsibility as well.”

Cheon Woo-jin continued,

“Baek Woong. We must hurry and report to Sagong Lin.”

“Understood.”

Pwaat

I led my group back to Sagong Lin. And upon handing over the obsidian containing the memories of this mission, Sagong Lin remarked,

“While it’s regrettable that you lost the dragon, you succeeded in obtaining the snake’s [name].”

“Speaking of that, is there any way to track where the dragon escaped to?”

It wasn’t Sagong Lin who answered, but rather Cheon Woo-jin beside her.

“Actually, transcending dimensions isn’t that difficult. If one possesses some degree of skill as a high-level sorcerer, they can do so using appropriate rituals, techniques, and incantations. Likewise, there are techniques to track those who have also transcended dimensions.”

“Oooh!”

“But tracking the dragon and figuring out how to catch it is the real problem.”

“Hmm?”

“It has lost a significant portion of its power but still remains a formidable Eight Divine Guardian. Since it used to be one of the Triple Pillars of the Eight Divine Guardians, it’s not hype. If Seo Mun-hye doesn’t help, capturing it would be exceedingly difficult.”

You don’t think he wouldn’t help?

It seemed Cheon Woo-jin was off base, but I believed his prediction was a valid one. After all, Seo Mun-hye had naturally recalled the past and let the dragon go at the end, so there was no way he’d cooperate with tracking and eliminating it now.

“That means, Baek Woong stepping up to hunt the dragon is too late. You should have caught it right after it broke free when it was at its weakest. It’s way too challenging now.”

As Cheon Woo-jin said this, he cast a quick glance at Sagong Lin.

“Sagong Lin. Isn’t this something you should handle yourself? You’re the one who set things up for Baek Woong to be tested here. This is your misjudgment.”

“……”

“If you had gone from the start, the dragon wouldn’t have had the opportunity to escape. Although Seo Mun-hye is strong, he has merely honed his martial prowess without divine powers, making him weaker in this situation.”

I opened my eyes wide in shock at the unexpected turn of events.

‘Wasn’t Cheon Woo-jin weak against Sagong Lin?’

Having seen Cheon Woo-jin consistently losing to Sagong Lin, I thought it wouldn’t be strange if she used her authority to stomp him down. Yet, unexpectedly, Sagong Lin nodded in agreement with Cheon Woo-jin’s scolding.

“I suppose so. It is my fault.”

“You’re acknowledging that?”

“Yes. I will go directly to capture the dragon. Given the nature of the dragon, leaving it unattended could result in dire consequences.”

Sagong Lin then suddenly looked at me and said,

“Baek Woong. As I mentioned before, after I capture the dragon, I will deal with you. So….”

Pwaat

Sagong Lin suddenly vanished using teleportation as if even time for discussion was a waste.

I was left flabbergasted.

“Hey, wait! I wanted to hear how you would track patterns across dimensions…”

“Unnecessary.”

“What?”

Cheon Woo-jin responded curtly.

“For the Heavenly Demon, such trivialities are irrelevant. She will quickly go to Mount Ye and discern the traces of dimension travel, then immediately move to that dimension. She can perceive the flow of the world itself with divine senses.”

“……”

“The Heavenly Demon is a being unfettered by mortal constraints.”

“Hmm, but that’s a bit overpowered.”

“Gods are inherently that way.”

I felt a stir of dissatisfaction arise and exclaimed,

“Sagong Lin is human! You can’t treat her like a god even if you keep elevating her!”

“…You’re the impressive one for still considering her human despite hearing all the reports about the Heavenly Demon.”

Cheon Woo-jin shook his head in exasperation, then said,

“Anyway, let’s hurry. We need to resurrect Heuk Woong.”

Step

I followed Cheon Woo-jin into the interior of the laboratory. He came to the location where Seo Mun-hye was sealed and stared at the enormous ice encasing her.

“I had quite a lot of trouble because of that Gin Nara guy. I had to devise all sorts of new sealing facilities to make sure this seal didn’t break.”

“So that’s why you’ve been working late…”

“……”

It looked like he was hit with bad memories as his demeanor soured.

“I don’t need to hear about that.”

But eventually, recovering his composure, Cheon Woo-jin continued speaking.

“Look. The seal on Seo Mun-hye.”

I turned toward the giant millennium ice wall of several dozen layers in front of me. Seo Mun-hye was enclosed within, eyes closed, as if she were merely sleeping. I recognized that she looked just like she did five hundred years ago.

Cheon Woo-jin said,

“Seo Mun-hye sealed herself by stopping her own time after the battle against the Nazis, but even just the power of that seal has caused the ice wall to keep expanding every year. So I had to maintain the seal to prevent the power from leaking further. It was a first seal cast by her and a second seal imposed by me.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Having given that lengthy explanation, Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes gleamed.

“However, should you possess the command used for the binding of the snake’s [name], you could ultimately free her. It would serve two purposes.”