1249——————==

Soul of the Evil God

To my surprise, Zhuge Sa agreed more readily than expected.

“That’s right. It’s here. My prediction is that it’s probably at the top floor by now.”

I clenched my teeth at that statement and replied.

“Is that why you tried to kill me? To make me avoid it through death?”

“Something like that.”

“Damn it!! How long do you think I’ll let that guy kill me? I’m now in the Absolute Realm! Plus, I have the Four Great Spirit Deities and Heuk Woong with me. Whether it’s death or a meal, I have to fight and take him down first for things to go smoothly later!”

At my outburst, Zhuge Sa nodded slightly.

“That’s also a reasonable perspective. I had that thought once too.”

“But why are you forcing me to run away, Zhuge Sa!”

“Because that guy is highly likely to be the Terminator.”

“The Terminator?”

When I asked, Zhuge Sa spoke slowly.

“The fundamental premise of your reincarnation journey, which even Outer Gods aim to destroy, is that your past lives never actually end. No god can stop you from being reborn when you die. Even Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen practically certified that he couldn’t. If that were possible, he wouldn’t have needed to pull off the cumbersome plan of controlling Hang-a.”

“……”

“But that Dongyoung Martial Artist is most likely your singularity, Baek Woong. A singularity isn’t just the strongest archenemy; it’s called a singularity because it harbors the deadliest poison. So, what’s the most lethal situation for you?”

Understanding Zhuge Sa’s words, I muttered.

“If he kills me, my reincarnation could end?”

“Exactly. If you’re a strategist, would you put your lord in front of such a top-notch assassin? I’m just making the best decision in this chaotic situation. I can’t risk heading into a place filled with two worst-case threats: the Evil God and the Dongyoung Martial Artist, just to gather some flimsy information.”

“…Hmm. But….”

I said with an uncomfortable expression.

“If I stay in this state without knowing anything about the Dongyoung Martial Artist and he shows up at his own leisure, how long am I supposed to keep dodging him?”

“That’s true.”

“What are you suggesting? That I become much stronger and then go take him down?”

“No. It has nothing to do with being strong or weak. I need to tell you something I should have mentioned long ago, so listen carefully. It’s really important.”

Whew

“It’s about organizing everything that has happened until now and finding out what to do moving forward.”

Zhuge Sa continued while sticking the broken tip of his arrow back into his body.

“Baek Woong, do you remember what the prophet said was the way to delay your singularity?”

“Of course I remember. He said you can delay the singularity by offering a Fragment of Dharma Technique as an offering.”

“And then you went to Outer Space and brought back the Four Great Spirit Deities. Why did you bring them?”

Huh?! What was it again?!

Suddenly thrown a transformed question, I panicked.

“Uh… that is….”

“Seems the long time has confused you. The reason you brought them is that the Four Great Spirit Deities and the Law of Cause and Effect are connected. The prophet explained that to find the Dharma Technique, you need to find the Four Great Spirit Deities.”

“Oh right….”

“And in your 28th life, that fact was proven. How was it proven?”

“Um… what was it….”

“You inadvertently became the Continental Emperor, fought the Sea God, got caught up in the battles of the Three Sovereigns, and ended up in the future where your remaining companions found the existence of the Dharma Technique in Antarctica. Miraculously, you succeeded in obtaining a Dharma Technique that should have been impossible to obtain normally by having it absorbed into the body of the Heavenly Demon, Sagong Lin.”

Zhuge Sa spoke calmly.

“Just looking back on the memories, it seems like a mere sequence of events, but in reality, that was a nearly impossible achievement made with a very rare probability. The odds of me finding information on the Dharma Technique in Antarctica during your 28th life, the odds of the Demon King Carvadoch and Simon Magus clashing, the odds of the Heavenly Demon awakening, and the odds of Gong Sun Xuanwen, who controlled the Heavenly Demon from behind the scenes, not messing with anything until you returned—all those rare probabilities overlapped ultimately proving the prophet’s assertion that [only by obtaining the Four Great Spirit Deities can one obtain the Dharma Technique].”

“……!!”

“Isn’t it right? In the end, you provided the Four Great Spirit Deities’ Vajra to Jeon Wook, and you also used the Four Great Spirit Deities, so that was the root cause. And if you hadn’t used that Vajra to fly to the future, there was a high chance you would have suddenly died before heading to Antarctica, or the Emperor would have perhaps guarded against you, recklessly awakening the Heavenly Demon…. Your absence from the Great Bear Empire could have been a benefit.”

“Hmm.”

“Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen probably picked up the flow of cause and effect regarding the search for the Dharma Technique triggered by the Four Great Spirit Deities. However, there was nothing against him, so he yielded without touching it.”

“Ah, I see….”

Hearing this explanation made the connection between events in my 28th past life and the singularity much clearer. I nodded and then asked Zhuge Sa.

“Anyway, so what?”

“The more you maintain the Four Great Spirit Deities and develop cooperation with them, the remaining Dharma Technique fragments will naturally come to you, making the information known. If you think about it, it’s just waiting dependent on cause and effect, so there was no need to worry so much. So far, you’ve obtained the whereabouts and acquiring methods of 2 out of 6 Dharma Technique fragments, which is a decent outcome considering the number of past lives.”

“What? After dying almost 30 times, you say that’s a good outcome….”

“If you had been wandering around the world alone without your companions, searching for nothing, retrieving 2 fragments wouldn’t have been possible even if you died 300 times. You’re doing exceptionally well now.”

“…….”

“If you continue reincarnating with the Four Great Spirit Deities just a few more times, you’ll be able to gather all 6 Dharma Technique fragments. Like a magnet, the Four Great Spirit Deities will pull the Dharma Technique fragments toward you. However….”

Zhuge Sa glanced outside the cave for a moment before continuing.

“There hasn’t been an opportunity to gauge when to push out the singularity using the Dharma Technique fragments.”

“What does that mean?”

“Baek Woong. The Dharma Technique fragment located at the Altar of Heavenly Darkness within the White Lotus Sect is actually one you could have held onto right after your reincarnation. So why didn’t you sacrifice that one piece to delay the singularity despite being worried about it?”

“Uh… because it’s just one piece…?”

“Exactly. The number has been an issue all this time.”

He had a devil’s face but displayed a clear expression of frustration.

“The problem was that the singularity had strengthened, making it impossible to use just one piece as an offering. Because to drive away the singularity, an immense amount of magical power was required, which is why you were searching for the Dharma Technique. No matter how great the Dharma Technique is, if you only have one of the 6, it’s meaningless. So, from the strategists’ perspective, they expected they would need at least 3 or even 4 pieces. It might have been a somewhat lazy attitude, but given the high possibility of not being able to perform the grand offering to sacrifice the Dharma Technique multiple times, it couldn’t be helped.”

“I see….”

“However, unexpectedly, the Dongyoung Martial Artist is highly aggressive. With him possibly approaching your starting point of reincarnation, it’s true that there’s no longer any leeway. That’s why I just mentioned the second strategy to you.”

I remembered what that second strategy was.

“To unleash the Four Great Spirit Deities recklessly and turn my magic power into nothing.”

“Exactly. At this point, what you need to do is quickly increase the affinity with the Four Great Spirit Deities, thereby strengthening the karmic connection with them. Naturally, the more you use and get friendly with them, the easier it will be to find the Dharma Technique.”

“I understand.”

I nodded and continued.

“Finding the Dharma Technique faster than directly confronting the Dongyoung Martial Artist is now my task.”

“You’re finally getting it. For that reason, avoiding the Dongyoung Martial Artist isn’t something to be ashamed of. Wasting time constantly clashing with him until you can gain an advantage is far too risky. Finding another Dharma Technique fragment before he closes in is the right approach.”

As Zhuge Sa said this, he wore a strange expression.

“…If I had known I’d confuse the current situation this much, I should have just explained everything early on.”

“…….”

Tch…. I was too mentally exhausted to listen to that!

As I was feeling wronged internally, suddenly—

Boom!

A massive sound erupted outside, resembling thunder but oddly like a scream or perhaps like the moan of an animal. It was so loud that Zhuge Sa and I looked outside the cave at almost the same time, just as Asura rushed in.

“Hey!! We have a big problem!”

“Asura, what happened?”

“Damn it… I’m not joking, so listen closely.”

Asura’s next words widened my eyes.

“Jeogok has started fighting that Dongyoung Martial Artist!”

“……!!”

“The battle is reflected in the Sky of the World Tree.”

What?!

As I froze in place, Zhuge Sa grinned.

“Looks like he’s gone beyond expectations. Is it possible that Jeogok suspected Baek Woong was hidden?”

“Uh, no way would Jeogok start a fight….”

“He even pointed a sword at Jeon Wook; why wouldn’t he do the same to Jeogok? Winning is a separate matter, though.”

Zhuge Sa said nonchalantly.

“This turned out well. When the Dongyoung Martial Artist is doing that, you can either kill yourself or escape!”

“…….”

Tydaht

“Baek Woong!!”

Sorry, Zhuge Sa.

I want to see that fight too.

With that thought, I dashed outside the cave, where all members of the Nine Bishops’ Subjugation Squad were already standing on the cliff, watching the battle unfold amidst the black clouds and lightning. It wasn’t just a blurred outline; it felt as though it was reflecting in the mirror right before my eyes.

Tsuwaaa!

The Dongyoung Martial Artist held his long saber up high as he prepared, facing Jeogok, who stood against him like a white giant. Jeogok had white wings on his back, and surprisingly, unlike when he manifested earlier, his size was merely that of a massive human.

That’s Jeogok from the Three Sovereigns.

‘Did he adjust his size?’

It seemed the Dongyoung Martial Artist had attempted to attack Jeogok multiple times, as numerous deep cuts were visible on the enormous World Tree. Jeogok remained with his arms crossed, calmly responding.

[Mortals, have you come here to stop me from unleashing the Water Underworld Demon Palace by defeating me? Are you attempting to prevent the Evil God from resurrecting and dominating the world?]

The voice echoed from afar.

Jeogok probably heard it just the same.

[…….]

[Just defeating me will not be enough. The demon generals are also enduring, and if you defeat me, you will certainly become a wreck and not withstand the hands of the generals…. Foolish one.]

Kiri ring!!

In the next moment, a sound like lightning howling rang out, followed by a blue slice that struck Jeogok’s neck! It was a swift cut comparable to the Thunder Spirit, and I recognized instantly that this was not the case.

‘No, that’s… the same strike that severed my Xuyou near the Reincarnation Cannon!!’

Only a martial artist who faced it directly can know such experiential knowledge!

Though I couldn’t catch the name, that martial art was etched clearly in my body’s memory.

At the same time, I realized that the essence of that martial art wasn’t the [speed] of the Thunder Spirit. But as I had such thoughts, I also understood how ridiculous that was.

If it wasn’t cut by speed, then how did it strike?

[Hehe….]

Normally, a fight would end once the head is cut off, but Jeogok was different. His head floated away, leaving only his body suspended. Moments later, Jeogok’s head melded into the dimensions and vanished, and the severed body rapidly restored itself as if nothing had happened.

[How fascinating…. I’ve just taken a hit, and you made me feel death for a moment, oh how strange for a deity like me.]

[…….]

The Dongyoung Martial Artist seemed taken aback, almost as if he didn’t expect his lethal strike to not be effective. Just then, Jeogok’s eyes flared with bloodlust as he murmured.

[Why do you hesitate…. With your powers, you could even slay demon kings, why not engage?]

The Dongyoung Martial Artist remained silent, merely grasping the Intermediate Stage.

He recognized that Jeogok hadn’t put forth his full strength and was merely mocking him.

A moment later, beyond the screen reflecting the sky, I witnessed the Dongyoung Martial Artist for the first time shifting his position.

The Dongyoung Martial Artist murmured.

[Initial Awakening.]

That was the posture of drawing his blade.