1094——————==

Soul of the Evil God

The Apostle of Chi You, [Snake].

That chaotic being from the outer universe had appeared during the past life cycle when the Portrait Immortal, Qin Shi Huang, also known as ‘Qin’, manifested. Back then, I had hijacked the body of Daji to join the assault on Luoyang, where I had run into the Snake. While recalling that past memory, I suddenly thought of something that had happened not long ago.

‘Right, after taking that request from Mangnyang, I went to find Yeodong-bin and saw something inside Mount Ye at that time.’

When I activated the Palace Examination Technique of the National Seal, I had clearly seen a gigantic dark dragon writhing deep inside the cliff.

And… there was another thing.

A massive snake was flowing in the vicinity like it was swimming through water.

At that moment, I was too surprised that the Dragon of the Apocalypse was still alive to pay much attention to the snake, but what Asura is talking about must surely be that creature!

“Wait… why is that snake sealed along with the soul of the Dragon of the Apocalypse? There’s no clear reason for it.”

When I asked in disbelief, Asura responded nonchalantly.

“I dunno. That snake was originally under Chi You’s command and had no connection with us, the Eight Parts of the Divine. After Chi You went missing, I have no clue what it has been up to, so I can’t understand why it behaved like that.”

“Hmm….”

“However, it might be closely related to why Yeodong-bin is still stubbornly staying at Mount Ye.”

“Yeodong-bin…? Are you saying Yeodong-bin is there to keep an eye on not only the Dragon but also the Chaos Snake?!”

“I can’t know unless he tells me himself. I can speculate a bit, though.”

Brushing off my words, Asura snapped his fingers and continued.

“How you manage to get [a name] from that snake is up to you. But I won’t be able to help you if you end up fighting it.”

“Why not?”

“Since it has been revealed that Yeodong-bin is at Mount Ye, the Celestial Sorcerer, Sagong Lin, must be surveilling Mount Ye with all the empire’s electronic devices, drones, and satellites. Yeodong-bin is a top priority until the end of times. Do you really think I could just show my face there?”

“…….”

“If you want to train more, I won’t stop you. I’ll hear your decision here after one meal.”

With that, Asura vanished. It seemed he was giving me some time to ponder.

I sat down cross-legged and began to think carefully.

‘Hm… If I were to half-kill Chi You’s snake and forcefully take [a name] from it… I must first be able to defeat that snake. How strong could it possibly be?’

I recalled the strength of the [Snake] I had encountered in the past.

When I had hijacked Daji’s body and was wreaking havoc against the Celestial Army, that [Snake] had shot a light beam at the back of my head. The beam was a warning but was strong enough to cause significant pain even to Daji’s powerful vessel.

Later, the Portrait Immortal Qin had ambushed the [Snake] and subdued it in an instant, so I didn’t have further chances to assess its might. Yet even Qin had seemed relieved to have had the opportunity for a surprise attack, indicating that the snake was no pushover. From that, I could infer that the snake’s power likely matched that of the Portrait Immortal himself.

‘And the true power of the Portrait Immortal… it must have been at least demon king-level. After all, that much strength was necessary to amplify when becoming a disciple of Chi You and to accommodate the Celestial Sage and the Eight Great Prodigies.’

Reflecting on my extensive combat experience from battling divine beings over dozens of past lives, I could gauge the snake’s strength fairly accurately. Few could estimate it better than I could.

‘An outer universe snake. That thing is a powerful apostle. It can be considered at a level similar to that of the upper echelon of martial arts in the Eight Parts of the Divine.’

If I compared it to the Three Strong of the Eight Parts of the Divine: Asura, Celestial, and Dragon, it would be appropriate.

“And speaking of powerful apostles, I might have to think about Halchi Olleifra too, but that guy is beyond the level of an apostle, almost a high-level existence akin to the Old Ruler. He’s the kind of being that Old Rulers would generally fear, so he must be unbelievably strong even in the far-off constellations.”

However, as I pondered this, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

‘…Ugh, if that’s the case, no matter how I think about it, challenging this alone feels too burdensome!! I might win, but the chances of dying are high.’

Thinking that I had the strength of the Master of the White Lotus Sect, I realized I was still very unstable in many aspects. Unlike the Master, I hadn’t mastered stable and powerful offense and defense using the Primordial Spirit and Chaos Integration, and without Heuk Woong, my sorcery defense was lacking. Moreover, whether the Infinite Slash technique alone could kill an outer universe snake was still an unknown territory.

Though I had Xuyou and Fire Spirit, it felt manageable, but the enemy was not a mere human; it was a being of chaos. Moreover, since it contained the chaos of the outer universe, I couldn’t know what strategies or special abilities it might use to strike me down. Even if I could estimate my winning odds, launching an attack against the Chaos Snake alone seemed far too risky.

“Hmm? Speaking of which.”

Why was I bothering with this dilemma?

I could just go beat it up with Yeodong-bin! After all, Yeodong-bin wouldn’t refuse to help against evil! If that doesn’t work, I could also get the Celestial Sorcerer or Sagong Lin to join in; then taking down a Chaos Snake would hardly be a daunting task!

A little while later, after a meal had passed, Asura returned, and I said,

“I’m heading out to catch that snake! I’ll bring Sagong Lin and Cheon Woo-jin along to team up with Yeodong-bin!”

“…….”

“Once caught, we can resurrect Heuk Woong!”

Asura nodded with a refreshing expression.

“Well, do that. I expected you to say something like that. Trying to tackle it alone would be foolish.”

“Is that really okay?”

“No problem. Just one thing to be cautious about.”

“Caution?”

At my question, Asura nodded and spoke.

“Baek Woong. Right now, you’re leaving your spot at the training center. How do you think the Cheon Woo-jin can get you out from under suspicion when he’s facing the Celestial Sorcerer or the Illusory God?”

“……? You haven’t told me that.”

“It’s a bit complicated. Hmph… even after 30 years of studying diligently when I get the chance, I still don’t fully understand it…”

Asura grumbled, continuing.

“It’s a unique technique of the Cheon Woo-jin called Quantum Pruning. The robust AI can calculate global variables and ‘prune’ them. In simpler terms, it creates a being that looks just like you and overlays its actions toward a set future upon reality. This is a distortion of reality that only a robust AI can achieve.”

“……??”

That sounds too complicated.

“Hmm…. Actually, it’s a concept I don’t fully grasp either. A strong AI can’t measure the limits of life forms’ intellect.”

As I sat there with a blank expression, Asura smirked.

“In simpler terms, the AI is tricking everyone into seeing [Baek Woong, who’s training]. The Celestial Sorcerer and Illusory God think you returned to the training center quietly after receiving memories from the Cheon Woo-jin and are grinding away in practice. Even Lee Seol-pyo, Zhu Xian, and Cho Mu-rin are unaware of anything strange about your presence in the training center. What they see is a fabricated [Future Branch] created by the AI.”

Asura continued.

“A true powerful AI can edit reality like a virtual reality game using quantum processing abilities and quantum crafting. By utilizing the quantum observability, it can materialize a [Future Branch] overlaying its routine on reality. Since it can compute everything on the planet, this is possible, and one day the AI might even turn this planet into a virtual reality game.”

“What’s a virtual reality game…?”

“Oh, that’s something. Anyway, it’s certainly something achievable for the robust AI that’s approaching Mephistopheles’s level. That said, the Illusory God, Cheon Woo-jin, might detect the quantum pruning, so he’d quickly perform his abilities to ensure [Baek Woong] returns to the training center.”

I didn’t fully grasp what Asura was saying, but I understood the gist enough to be shocked.

“…You’re saying an ultimate AI can execute reality distortion abilities? That’s almost like being a god!”

“Exactly. So in the future you saw from the outer universe, the robust AI Mephistopheles was actually recognized as a new [Old Ruler]. The ultimate Deus Ex Machina, created by humanity, is properly embodied in the robust AI.”

“…….”

“For the Cheon Woo-jin to grow to that extent, he’d need to enhance his computational power until the end of times.”

…Indeed. During the apocalypse, the Old Ruler Relcrobus had clearly referred to Mephistopheles as a new type of [Old Ruler]. Moreover, he treated Mephistopheles as an equal [Old Ruler], mixed with no mockery. He had clearly gained the stature of an absolute being.

‘An artificially created intelligence could become a god…!!’

That’s impossible, right?

As I lost my words, Asura spoke.

“However, no matter how capable the AI is of quantum pruning, if the ‘main body’ intervenes with the causality of reality, it can’t do anything. The AI abilities have limits, so even a tiny change in causality would nullify them.”

“Hmm, so it’s not omnipotent.”

“However, because this Yusevik ruin is a sealed place imbued with the divine power of the high god Vishnu, while you’re here, nothing will change in the world.”

“So you calculated everything, huh?”

“Yes. The moment you leave this ruin and return to reality, the AI’s abilities will cease. The [Future Branch] will vanish. Of course, those in the training center won’t feel a sense of discomfort, but there’s one problem.”

Asura stated.

“If the Celestial Sorcerer and Illusory God encounter you now, they’ll feel a sense of discomfort at that exact moment. The Celestial Sorcerer is a being almost like a god, and the Illusory God is skilled at deceiving the world; they might sense the discomfort caused by the [Future Branch] affecting reality. If they feel discomfort, they’ll likely interrogate you, and you’re not very good at lying. They’re not particularly easy to deceive.”

“What…!! So that means I can’t go to the Imperial Palace now?”

“No. It means you need to wait until the vibrations of the laws created by the quantum pruning settle down. At least for a week. After that, they’ll likely not feel any sense of discomfort due to the quantum pruning.”

“Hmm! So I won’t be able to meet Sagong Lin or Cheon Woo-jin for a week! Does that mean I have to stick around the training center?”

“That’s about it.”

After finishing a lengthy explanation, Asura sighed.

“Ah, and one more thing… please do not provoke Cheon Woo-jin. It might get bloody.”

“Eh? He seemed to be struggling lately; did I say something wrong?”

“Remember this. This is just my gut feeling…”

He fixed his gaze on me and gripped my shoulder tightly.

“Never push him to work or tease him. In my opinion, he’s already on the brink of exploding.”

“…….”

“Not joking.”

Is he really at that point?

Hmm, but wouldn’t Cheon Woo-jin perhaps help me out a bit? It seems overly sensitive… Could it truly be so hard for someone who’d been working continuously for 500 years without taking vacations? When I worked as an escort, there were originally no vacations, and I had stayed up all night every time.

Still, it felt right to be cautious with my words, as I didn’t lack genuine gratitude towards Cheon Woo-jin. I nodded.

“Got it.”

“Well then, I’ll see you next time. Next time, just use your Infinite Slash and come straight to Yusevik.”

With that, I exited the Yusevik ruins and immediately used my Infinite Slash to return to the training center. As I casually strolled through the nearby bushes and headed toward the waterfall by the training center, Zhu Xian, who was training while being hit by the cascading water, shouted at me.

“Ah! You’re here!”

“Is your training going well?”

“Yep! I’m smoothly mastering the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique.”

Zhu Xian, and also Lee Seol-pyo and Cho Mu-rin, showed no signs of discomfort at my sudden appearance. It felt as if I had never vanished at all. For them, it seemed I had always been training by their side.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the AI’s quantum pruning abilities.

‘It’s basically like editing reality…!!’

I resolved to train at the center for the week. However, since a week is a short time, I wouldn’t gain exceptional benefits from any training, so I thought it best to devise a solid strategy to face the [Chaos Snake].

“Alright. Maybe I should try Double Sun.”

As I experimented, the week flew by in a flash. After more than ten days, I approached Sagong Lin.

I said as soon as I met him.

“Sagong Lin! I think we need to defeat the snake at Mount Ye to resurrect Heuk Woong. I need your help!”

“…….”

Sagong Lin stared at me blankly before responding.

“I understand your thoughts. Are you referring to that snake sealed along with the Dragon of the Apocalypse?”

“Exactly. I’m planning to beat it up for a little intimidation. If we can get [a name] from it, we can revive Heuk Woong in no time.”

“Indeed. That’s a brilliant method. Since that snake is of an outer universe, its name likely holds no substantial meaning, so it should be an adequate bargaining target.”

As Sagong Lin praised my plan, he added,

“However, releasing that snake would be akin to unsealing the souls of the Eight Parts of the Divine and the Dragon of the Apocalypse. If both are released simultaneously…”

“…Uh, but still, they are sealed beings, right? They can’t fully recover their strength, so it should be manageable, right? Even the dragon seems weak right now.”

Naturally, I had anticipated such concerns. Beyond that, if the dragon or the snake were just recently unsealed, they’d likely be weak; with our combined forces, I should certainly prevail. Especially with Sagong Lin on our side, I couldn’t possibly lose.

“That does stand to reason. Even at their best, they might be operating at less than half strength.”

Upon saying that, Sagong Lin then continued.

“Then Baek Woong, let this become your trial.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ll alert Cheon Woo-jin to guide you, and you can also bring ten tactical force agents from the empire if necessary. If you manage to defeat the outer universe snake, it will be counted as passing the trial.”

“A… trial? Are you saying… you want to assess whether I’m suitable for the Celestial Fuxi Exploration Squad? Like you mentioned before?”

“Yes.”

Sagong Lin’s response made me feel a swell of emotion. I then said,

“I thought the trial would involve fighting you.”

“That was my intention. But it seemed more fitting as a trial to pursue your method of defeating the snake together. Fighting amongst allies doesn’t yield fruitful results; it’s unproductive.”

“…….”

“Is there something wrong?”

I felt a strange emotion boiling up inside me at that moment. I realized that it was preventing me from readily accepting Sagong Lin’s proposal. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what this unusual sensation that felt vaguely familiar was.

“No. I’ll defeat the snake. But…”

I glared at Sagong Lin.

“I want to go toe-to-toe with you!!”

That’s right. I finally realized it.

The essence of this feeling was a competitive spirit.

Against Sagong Lin, who now reigns as the strongest being in the human realm five centuries into the future, I wanted to challenge her as the former emperor and emerge victorious.

Every time someone remarked how she was the true strongest, that peculiar spirit of rivalry welled up inside me.

In response to my declaration, Sagong Lin briefly showed surprise but then slowly nodded.

“That could be interesting. If that’s what you truly want.”

This could be a foolish decision.

It might just result in me being humiliated and increasing the risk of losing my chance for the Celestial Fuxi mission.

However, something inside me intuitively told me that it would be the right choice to square off against Sagong Lin at least once. Not just out of rivalry, but to genuinely observe her strength, and I had a feeling it would yield positive outcomes for the future.

‘Now that I’ve made my choice, I won’t regret it.’

After some time, I requested to borrow ten tactical force agents from the empire, as having more allies would always be beneficial. Then I pulled out the sealed Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram and approached Cheon Woo-jin, who had stayed up the previous night in the lab.

“Here.”

Cheon Woo-jin, looking like he had barely slept, trudged through the conversation. He seemed to sense something ominous, his expression was not bright.

“…W-What’s this?”

“It’s the Earth Star Eight Trigrams Diagram.”

“Why are you giving this to me?”

I forced the diagram into his hands and said,

“You’re coming with me to help catch the Chaos Snake at Mount Ye. Are you in?”

“…….”

“Let’s go battle!”

Cheon Woo-jin shook, hesitating before finally saying,

“W-Wait a moment… I don’t think I can go. I suddenly remembered I’m busy.”

“Why?”

“I realized tomorrow is health check day… and I can’t skip the appointment.”

Hmm, did he have such circumstances?

I nodded and said, “Then let’s go the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow is a friend’s birthday.”

“Hmm… then let’s go three days from now.”

“That day is the anniversary of my friend’s grandfather passing.”

“Why do you need to go to a friend’s grandfather’s anniversary?”

“Well, I can’t just not perform the rituals and make the ghost unhappy… cough. Cough.”

For some reason, Cheon Woo-jin coughed a lot. He emphasized his words as if he were harshly affirming something.

“I’ve been staying up all night lately and caught a cold!! Cough! Cough!”

“…….”

“Ahh, I’m dying!!”

“Hey, how can an Illusory God catch a cold….”

“Aren’t you going to step away? You might catch it too! Cough! Cough!”

This guy…

Our gazes locked. Cheon Woo-jin subtly averted his eyes and continued.

“I’m not refusing; I’m simply unable to go. I assume you understand everything.”

“Understand what…?”

Isn’t he being too obvious about not wanting to go?

This guy!

I was about to lose my temper when suddenly Asura’s advice flashed in my mind. Following Asura’s reasoning, Cheon Woo-jin was in a mindset akin to being on the edge of a cliff.

‘Hmm… No, that approach might not work on him!’

Then maybe I should try coaxing him gently?

I leaned in toward Cheon Woo-jin and said,

“…If you come along, I’ll give you a month off. I’ll mention it to Sagong Lin.”

He stirred.

Cheon Woo-jin seemed greatly disturbed. After briefly contemplating, he blurted out,

“One year.”

“Hey. Without you, the empire won’t function; there’s no way you can take a year off.”

“One year!! I just want to rest for a bit!”

Cheon Woo-jin’s eyes flared with rage as he shouted. Then he grabbed my collar and, in a struggle, exclaimed,

“The empire will function just fine without me!! Just stop bothering me, you bastard!!”

“…….”

W-What’s happening with him?

“One year off!! And it has to be paid leave!!”

“A…uh? What’s paid leave?”

Zhu Xian, who had been watching, spoke cautiously.

“Paid leave refers to receiving payment while on leave….”

Cheon Woo-jin turned sharply and pointed a finger at Zhu Xian.

“Shut it, Zhu Xian! Curse of Silence!!”

“……!!”

In an instant, Zhu Xian found himself unable to speak, mouth moving but no words coming out. No one dared to challenge him as he demonstrated that fierce demeanor. I was dumbfounded at the sight.

‘Zhu Xian is wearing artificial treasures right now…’

Is the Curse of Silence powerful enough to pierce through the treasure’s defense like paper?

Even as I was startled, Cheon Woo-jin continued to shake my collar.

“There’s no compromise!! Just accept it! Hand over the leave you bastard!!”

Is this really Cheon Woo-jin?

After spending 500 years working, had he changed this much?!

Staring blankly at Cheon Woo-jin, I had no choice but to nod.

“Alright. One year off!”

“Great! Lead the way!!”

Cheon Woo-jin showed an unprecedented enthusiasm, rolling up his sleeves. His eyes glimmered with a strange light.

“I’d kill a demon king for my vacation!! The more it’s Zhuge Sa, the better!”

“…….”

“I’m raring to go!”

A wild frenzy was palpable.

I was seeing a whole new side of Cheon Woo-jin for the first time today.