1101——————==

Soul of the Evil God

A disciple?!

I was taken aback by the unexpected words, but in the next moment, Nüwa shouted.

[Fuxi! Though you are my bloodline, I cannot allow reckless actions!]

Wooooo

[Oh moon! All beings belonging to the moon, come into my hand!]

As Nüwa’s command erupted, I was sucked into Nüwa’s palm along with the moon. It was utterly nonsensical in a physical sense, crossing the common sense of living beings, but perhaps Nüwa distorted reality with divine power. I had no way to resist, and my mind felt faint.

Yet in the next moment, Fuxi also cast a command.

[Oh Karma, oh cause and effect, I forbid you in the name of the Eight Trigrams!]

Crack!

The action created by Nüwa vanished in an instant. I tumbled back onto the surface of the moon and thought to myself.

‘Did he just rotate [Small Cycle]?! No, that’s a bit different.’

Having witnessed many battles of the [Old Rulers], the confrontation between Nüwa and Fuxi felt different from merely exchanging [Small Cycle]. Yet at my current level, I couldn’t understand why this sense of estrangement arose.

Then, the Thunder God, who had been watching, erupted in fury.

[You dare to ignore me and my mask? I’ll kill you!]

Thwack!

As soon as he finished speaking, the Thunder God hurled his lightning strike. Somehow, the lightning was much faster than light, and Fuxi was hit directly by it.

Kukuaqaqa!

The lightning spun and began to pierce through Fuxi’s enormous scales. The Thunder God laughed joyfully.

[Hahahaha… Let’s turn you into a snake skewer!]

[……]

Despite being attacked by the Thunder God, Fuxi showed no reaction and simply floated quietly in the universe. After a while, he spoke.

[Thunder God, I acknowledge that your power is strong. But can it be that a being of your caliber is so constantly engulfed by rage…? How can an immortal seem so shallow?]

[What? You dare….]

Fuxi turned slightly to the side and quietly said.

[Disciples, deal with this person for a moment.]

Swoosh!

Moments later, two figures appeared in the cosmos.

“Understood!”

“As the great Master’s will decrees.”

And the powers of those clad in white and black began to manifest. The Man in Black shouted.

“Absorb it, Primordial Void!”

Founder of the White Lotus Sect’s Treasure

Primordial Void

Wheeeeee!!

In the next moment, a massive Eight Trigrams disk floated up and appeared before the Man in Black, who then hurled it forward. The thrown trigrams disk suddenly displayed a bizarre pattern in the center and started to absorb the Thunder God’s lightning. In no time, the lightning was sucked into the disk, vanishing without a trace.

Following that, the Man in White formed hand seals and then thrust his index and middle fingers outwards.

“I shall revert your spirit energy to nothingness!”

Divine Arts

Tai Chi

Crack!!

As soon as the Man in White unleashed his technique, three Tai Chi seals were imprinted on the Thunder God’s forehead, heart, and Dantian, respectively. No matter how powerful a being from the Three Sovereigns he was, it seemed the Tai Chi disregarded sorcery defense.

The Man in White glared at the Thunder God and grinned.

“Hah!!”

A moment later, the Tai Chi exploded.

Boom!

The Thunder God’s body burst apart from the impact of the Tai Chi. It seemed the Tai Chi could be used for both sealing and striking techniques.

Upon witnessing this, I realized the identities of the black and white figures and widened my eyes.

“Whoa… Primordial Heaven Master! Taishang Laojun!”

The Twin Heads of the Three Pure Ones!

The highest divinity of Taoism!

The beings I had only heard about in legends were moving vividly before my eyes! If anyone could manipulate the most ancient treasure, Primordial Void, and the ultimate divine arts, Tai Chi, it could only be them.

‘Why are they here?!’

I was shocked to see legendary figures who had been dead in my time still alive and active in human form, but shortly, one fact sprang to mind.

‘The Primordial Heaven Master and Taishang Laojun are direct disciples of Fuxi…!!’

They were indeed the first beings in the world to become disciples of a god and inherited the divine arts!

It was completely normal for them to appear at Fuxi’s call.

Crrrackle

[……..]

The Thunder God, disheveled and damaged by the Tai Chi, floated in silence in the universe. Then, he instantly reverted to his original state and growled.

[To think that a mere semi-divine being does not cherish its life. I’ll capture your souls and torture you!]

Swish!!

As the Thunder God discharged his lightning shadow, the spot where Primordial Heaven Master and Taishang Laojun were standing was engulfed in lightning. It was an unavoidably lethal attack, but at that moment, the Founder of the White Lotus Sect’s Treasure, Primordial Void, emitted a brilliant light.

Primordial Void

Transcendent

Divine Power Reflection

Boom!

The lightning returned to the Thunder God, who didn’t dodge and took the blow.

[Khak!]

Szzzzzz!

While the Thunder God was flustered, Primordial Heaven Master and Taishang Laojun suddenly appeared behind him. Both held the Primordial Void like a shield and attacked the Thunder God again.

“Don’t move a muscle!”

The Primordial Heaven Master whipped out another treasure, distorting the very space where the Thunder God stood. An overwhelming force affected the Thunder God, causing him to hesitate, and then Taishang Laojun launched an additional attack.

“Tai Chi!”

Boom!

[These fools… What in the world are those weapons!]

“It’s a gift from my Master!”

The Thunder God was baffled as Primordial Void displayed its incredible effect, while the two of the Three Pure Ones coordinated their actions to bind the Thunder God’s feet. Watching this unfold, Fuxi spoke to me.

[Baek Woong, shall we have a little chat?]

Swish…

Suddenly, the surrounding scenery flipped from the dark space of the universe to a pure white, empty space. Standing before me was a strikingly handsome young man with hair flowing down to his waist. His beauty was so exceptional that even I, who had encountered countless stunning figures, momentarily lost my composure.

“My disciples will not be able to hold off the Thunder God for long, so speak quickly. Although I appear flustered, that being is on par with me, and my disciples cannot contend with him.”

The peerless youth uttered these words to me.

“Baek Woong, can you remove the Emperor’s mask? How?”

“….Are you… Fuxi?”

“Fuxi?”

His expression turned momentarily perplexed by the title.

“The three emperors, you mean? But I’m not on the side of the emperors.”

“……”

Did he genuinely not understand simply being referred to as one of the Three Sovereigns?

But I soon realized that the term Three Sovereigns was just a collective term left in human history; a god wouldn’t know such a title. Moreover, at this early stage of civilization, the very term “Three Sovereigns” may not even exist. I spoke cautiously.

“Y-You, Nüwa, and Shennong are referred to together as the Three Sovereigns, while the emperors and their priests are called the Four Emperors.”

“Who calls them so?”

“…Humans.”

“Hmmm, humans are in a barbaric state after the fall of the ancient civilization. They have just come out of caves, polishing their stone tools, and haven’t even invented writing yet, yet you’re saying amusing things.”

“……”

Oh no… Did I just say something foolish?

As I fumbled over my words, the peerless young man smiled brightly.

“What an interesting human. If you say you came from the future, I could understand, but there’s no record of someone turning [Small Cycle]. That means either you arrived from the outer universe or turned [Great Cycle], either way is quite extraordinary.”

“Uh, uh… Fuxi, I just want to live. Please spare me.”

“Is that so? You seem more troubled over whether to live or die…. It’s quite different from human emotions.”

“……”

Can he even perceive my emotions?

As I stiffened, he spoke.

“Alright. I will not question your internal strength. Just answer honestly whether you can remove the Emperor’s mask.”

“Yes!!”

Thanks to Fuxi’s grace, I exhaled and decided to show my abilities to survive. Raising my hand, I explained.

“My ability is a thieving hand! It’s called Technique of All Things, and with this, I can reveal and steal any mask! Even a god’s mask!”

“How can you be so confident? I’ve never heard of anyone trying to steal from beings who play with [masks]. That clan’s background is not ordinary, so no one would dare to meddle with them.”

“W-Well, that is…”

“Wait, Baek Woong, have you stolen from a god’s mask before? If you haven’t, there’s no way you can be so confident.”

Ugh… How does he keep hitting the nail on the head without prompting?!

I thought it would be disastrous to be too flustered by Fuxi’s words, so I swiftly shook my head.

“No!! Whether it’s a god or whatnot, I can steal the mask! I mean, I’m really good at stealing!!”

“……”

“Honestly, when I face the emperor, who knows? Maybe I could steal the emperor’s mask too…”

Suddenly losing confidence made my voice shrink, and Fuxi burst into loud laughter.

“Hahaha…. You’re quite the amusing fellow. Let’s make a deal. If you use that ability for me, will you agree to become my disciple?”

“Pardon?”

“I enjoy teaching mortals. Those two are quite talented among mortals and were taken in by me. They’ve reached a considerable level. I feel an indescribable sense of achievement watching mortals grow over the endless ages.”

“You mean to teach me your divine arts?”

“Precisely.”

This was a no-brainer. I nodded enthusiastically without a second thought.

“Yes, I understand!!”

In a situation where I couldn’t survive without Fuxi’s help, learning the true creator’s divine arts would be a complete benefit! However, the moment I agreed, a white hand suddenly appeared in front of my neck, gripping tightly.

Grrr!

“Ueeeh…”

A gloomy and fierce voice echoed in the hall.

[Fuxi, don’t be deceived by this cunning brat.]

“Nüwa.”

[How can you trust someone wielding Jeon Wook’s divine power? This brat could very well be a scheme from the emperor.]

Nüwa, who had been fighting the Thunder God moments ago, suddenly interfered in this space.

At her words, Fuxi glanced at me and said.

“You seem greedy but foolish.”

“……”

“However, I do not believe you are an underling of the emperor. If that were the case, he would use more elegant means. There’s no way he would send a foolish brat like you.”

[That could have been reverse psychology.]

“Ha ha, my bloodline, Nüwa, since we were born as a pair of serpents and escaped the throne of the world, I have always thought this, but you are truly suspicious. Yet merely suspecting will accomplish nothing.”

Wooooo!

As Fuxi waved his hand, Nüwa’s hand that was choking my neck disappeared. Then Nüwa’s voice lingered in the space.

[Fuxi… Don’t waste time. Hurry and kill that bug. Let’s catch the Thunder God together.]

Nüwa’s voice faded away fully, and silence followed.

Fuxi turned to me and said.

“Then, my disciple Baek Woong, from now on, you will learn from me. Let’s check your aptitude for divine arts, shall we?”

Fuxi placed his fingertip on my forehead.

Vroom vroom vroom!

A light vibration resonated through my head. As I felt a bit dizzy, Fuxi withdrew his finger after a moment.

“Hm… Baek Woong.”

“Yes?”

Fuxi smiled.

“Your talent is abysmally low. Among all the humans I’ve seen, you’re the worst.”

“……”

“Your deficiency is so profound it’s rather entertaining. Hahahaha!”

No, it’s not amusing at all!

Hearing that I had bottom-tier talent from the very creator of divine arts made my mind go blank. Everyone had said I was talentless compared to martial arts, but as I managed to learn a few arts somehow, I hadn’t thought about it too deeply. But finding out my divine arts talent was really at this low level was crushing!

“However, it’s strange. Why is there a record of divine arts in your mind? The Thunder God was supposed to share the Light of the Azure Dragon only with Nüwa.”

Eek!

I realized Fuxi had rummaged through my mind, and chills ran down my spine.

‘Oh wait!!’

Previously, when I had stolen the Thunder God’s mask, his persona had briefly overtaken me, and perhaps due to an intense memory, the Thunder God’s divine arts had remained in my memory! And since that divine arts were also created by Fuxi and passed down to the Thunder God, it was a natural surprise for Fuxi!

As sweat trickled down my back, Fuxi fixed a sharp gaze upon me.

“Hmmm, I cannot overlook this…”

“I-I’m not suspicious at all.”

“You are far too suspicious; it’s simply amusing, hahaha.”

It felt like I was going to lose my mind as I watched Fuxi laughing uncontrollably.

‘What’s going on?! I can’t read his emotions at all…’

He seemed somewhat human, but there was an unnerving feeling that he was forcing himself to mimic one. Though Fuxi appeared to have human emotions, I sensed, from my experience with mask arts, that he was not revealing any feelings at all.

Is this what it means to be a god?

After a moment, Fuxi said.

“First, we should deal with the Thunder God. You stay in the Celestial Realm.”

“Pardon?”

Boosh!

At that moment, Fuxi’s figure vanished, and I found myself in an unfamiliar location. After a short while, as my eyes adjusted to the place, I realized I had been here before.

“This is… the Primordial Palace!”

Then it was certainly the Celestial Realm!

Suddenly brought to the ancient Celestial Realm, I was bewildered by the swift turn of events, but I steeled my determination.

‘Right, given this situation, I should give up on escaping. I don’t know how Fuxi will emerge, but I should at least uncover one secret from him.’

Depending on the situation, I may have to risk death.

Because any secret Fuxi reveals would be worth more than my life!

Just as I was gathering my resolve, a voice came from behind me.

“Hmm? What is an human doing here?”

Turning around, I saw a celestial being from the Wind Spirit sect standing there.

The celestial being leaned on a staff and began speaking, his white eyebrows twitching.

“State your identity.”

“Um, are you a celestial being?”

“State your identity, I said.”

It must be that Great Immortal! What’s there to fear against the Great Immortal!

I took a deep breath and replied casually.

“I am Baek Woong, introduced by Fuxi, haha.”

“……?”

The celestial from the Wind Spirit sect tilted his head and said.

“What? Fuxi introduced a fool like you?”

“……”

Seriously, what the heck!

Why does everyone keep calling me a fool?!

“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”

I was getting annoyed by the celestial in front of me, so I answered gruffly.

“Who are you? Are you the Great Immortal?”

“Hmmm. You don’t know me, but find me quite foolish? Alright then.”

“Oh, stop…”

I was about to blow up but froze when the celestial continued.

“I am Spirit Treasure Heaven Master, disciple of Fuxi.”