전생검신 84권 5화

Taboo!

I quickly caught on to the hidden meaning in those words.

‘No way…?!’

However, since it was a matter of such significance, I decided to play it cool for now.

“What do you mean…?”

“Someone like you can never exist.”

Yumang stated flatly without even looking at me, then fell into silence for a moment before continuing.

“It’s unlikely for a human to gain a fortuitous encounter and receive immense divine power, but it’s not impossible. I’ve seen demon sorcerers achieve the title of Demon King through long offering ceremonies and ascensions, becoming [Old Ruler]. But for someone like you to possess superior divine-grade abilities is an exceptionally rare probability.”

“Rare, maybe, but it could still happen, right?”

“However, you’ve also mastered martial arts to a level near the pinnacle.”

“…”

“The Mountain Sound… that entity you call the Martial God does not coexist with the chaotic demon path. While it doesn’t entirely reject chaos, I’ve never seen anyone who mastered both divine power and martial arts as naturally as you over my billions of years of life. Let alone a human like you, recently released from the plaything of the [Ancient Race]. That’s absolutely impossible.”

Muttering to himself, Yumang continued.

“You’ve certainly transcended the [Great Cycle]. You’ve broken the taboo that states you cannot return to the [Great Cycle].”

I see… have I been caught?

I felt dizzy at the thought of being discovered by Yumang, but since I still believed it wasn’t complete, I reluctantly tried to refute.

“That alone doesn’t prove I’ve surpassed the [Great Cycle], does it? You, too, must have reconciled divine power and martial arts.”

“That’s exactly why you cannot exist. You must know what my powers are.”

“It’s the ability to transform divine power into intent.”

“It took hundreds of thousands of years of training to use my powers effectively in battle. I had to thoroughly understand the subtle qualities of all divine powers and at times directly compare them by experiencing the powers of other gods.”

Swoosh

As he spoke, Yumang reached out to me, concentrating his aura to create a bright orb of light in his palm.

Tzzzt…

“See? It may not be identical, but doesn’t it resonate similarly to the divine power you possess?”

“…!!”

I couldn’t help but be shocked as I felt the intangible essence flowing in Yumang’s hand.

‘No way…!!’

Yumang could actually manifest a nearly identical wave of the divine power I wielded! Completely unexpected, it caught me off guard, and as I was startled, Yumang withdrew his aura and said.

“Your divine power seems like a single mass, but it’s actually a composite of powers possessed by at least three divine beings. Considering the law of cause and effect, it might even be five or more. Among them, I recognize some divine powers…”

With his eyes narrowed, Yumang looked down at me.

“You’re basically the direct descendant of Jeon Wook, and you possess the core powers of Shao Hao Jin Tian, not to mention that you can almost use the abilities of the King of Hell as if you were him. Furthermore, I can sense the power of the Wheel King as well. You also seem to have the abilities of the ancient gods, which is funny because I can also feel a strong divine body being directly absorbed by you. What in the world is going on?”

“…”

“It’s not impossible to acquire this diverse array of divine powers. You could pay an enormous price for each or become a subordinate and work for tens of thousands of years. But at least, as far as I know, those beings seem to have encountered you for the first time.”

“T-That’s…”

“For all of this absurdity to be explainable, you must be someone who has surpassed the [Great Cycle]. You even mentioned the history of martial arts and the many masters, and your techniques are indeed peerless skills that would take a lifetime to cultivate. Yet, right now in this universe, there are almost no masters left, and I have never even heard of one with a disciple like you.”

“…”

“Have you got anything to counter that?”

As I turned into a mute, next to me, Lee Hwan-woong spoke up.

“I don’t think he has anything to say.”

“Damn… I know.”

I scratched my head and sighed.

“Ha… things like this are secrets I wouldn’t want to be exposed. Don’t feel hurt if I hid it.”

“I get it. It’s only natural you’d want to conceal that you’re a major sinner in the universe.”

I flinched at the words ‘major sinner.’

“A major sinner, you say?”

Yumang replied with a calm voice.

“I’m not sure why you haven’t been erased for breaking the taboo, but the reality is that you disturb the natural order of the universe. If the ancient deity in question valued principles, they might want to wipe you off the face of existence. Your very being brings chaos, making this world tilt further into chaos.”

“…!!”

“Well, I belong to the Giant Race and am part of an ancient god’s lineage, but I have no intention of going that far.”

“Is that… normal?”

“Normal? Probably not? Most ancient gods would likely despise you the moment they learned of it.”

“…”

I felt a chill settle from those words.

‘Fuxi seemed unbothered, so I thought it was fine.’

I realized that Fuxi didn’t care about such principles because he was too high above them as the heir of the creator god Pangu. That meant if any ancient gods learned I had surpassed the [Great Cycle], they might easily harbor animosity toward me.

While I was frozen in thought, Yumang said.

“Anyway, if you brought a human like that, they clearly are not from this era; they must be a human from the future, beyond the [Great Cycle].”

“…That’s correct.”

“And while you could have come alone, bringing a human companion from the future here means there must be some reason. Explain the circumstances.”

I nodded at Yumang’s words and told him that we had come to establish a corporation and gather ten signatures. I briefly explained why we were forming a corporation, and Yumang paused in thought at my words.

After a moment, he spoke.

“Hey human, what did you say your name was?”

Lee Hwan-woong stepped forward and respectfully said.

“I am Lee Hwan-woong, warrior of the great Giant Race.”

“Oh, you plan to seek investment from the [Old Ruler] and the ancient gods, don’t you?”

“…”

“Your corporate plan didn’t explain the most crucial part. First, if you can’t gain their investment, nothing can proceed.”

At Yumang’s question, Lee Hwan-woong hesitated for a moment. Then, he forced a smile.

“You certainly hit the nail on the head. Naturally, I plan to dangle something they want as bait.”

“Even if Baek Woong is impressive, he’s still just human at the moment. The hundreds of [Old Rulers] on this planet were all once formidable beings in their own realms. They wouldn’t blink at anything less than a heavy price, so what will you use to entice them?”

“…”

“Don’t want to say it?”

At that, Lee Hwan-woong countered.

“Yeah. I don’t want to say it.”

Huh?!

I was the one stunned by Lee Hwan-woong’s audacious attitude.

‘This guy!! Yumang is…!!’

Among the divine beings I had met in this era, he was undoubtedly one of the most powerful! Though he may not reach the cosmic divine kings in rank, he had enough formidable divine power and martial prowess to possibly contend with them. Maybe, during the god wars, he could even kill a king, and so, the Three Sovereigns held Yumang in high regard.

In other words, Lee Hwan-woong was challenging a supreme divine being and the strongest warrior of the Mythological Age!

“Oh? Then you can’t sign.”

Lee Hwan-woong replied defiantly to Yumang’s statement.

“No, you must. We can’t leave without your signature.”

“Why should I? I haven’t even heard your investment purpose yet.”

“I can’t explain it before boarding the same boat. But if you join, you’ll definitely believe Baek Woong’s plan will succeed. I’ll explain the rest later.”

“Can you stake your life on that?”

“I can.”

“You can stake your life, but can’t tell me the investment purpose? Why is that?”

“For security reasons. Currently, Lord Yumang hasn’t joined us, so he could leak our plans at any moment. You need to get on board.”

“On board, huh….”

Then Yumang pointed at Lee Hwan-woong as if it were amusing.

“Then show me how you would stake your life.”

Kugugugung!!

“…!!”

In an instant, the ground where Lee Hwan-woong stood collapsed and buckled. Simultaneously, Lee Hwan-woong’s body seemed to be slammed into the ground as if crushed by an enormous gravity, as if an invisible giant hand had thrown him down.

As Yumang stared down at Lee Hwan-woong, who was writhing, he said.

“Considering you can endure my Fighting Spirit Palm, you’ve trained fairly well for a human. Keeping your form with intent like that.”

Crack! Crack!!

Blood was streaming from Lee Hwan-woong’s wounds, and I could hear the sound of his bones and muscles twisting in real-time. I realized what Yumang had done and gritted my teeth.

‘The ability to transform divine power into intent… he’s simply applying that to press down with pure intent as [power]!’

It was just a simple application of implementing divine power using intent.

From my perspective, Lee Hwan-woong’s current state was beyond Peak Expert. Yet, with just a flick of Yumang’s finger, he was reduced to a mere bug. Indeed, Yumang was a true god. Even without going all out, he had toyed with Lee Hwan-woong, bringing him to the brink of death.

I couldn’t just let Lee Hwan-woong die!

With that thought, I tried to release my intent to block Yumang’s Fighting Spirit Palm. But the strength bore such an overwhelming density that I had no choice but to relent immediately.

‘Guh!!’

The intention of a human can’t even compare to absolute realms. He had transformed the power of a higher god into intent, so there was no way I could match him with sheer force! To counter this directly, I needed to withstand it using the pure might of techniques, but that situation was untenable.

Now, to stop the assault on Lee Hwan-woong, I had no choice but to go after Yumang.

‘Damn it. It hasn’t been long since I died… but it can’t be helped.’

I thought that no matter how recently Lee Hwan-woong had just become a strategist, he was still my companion, and I could not allow my companion to die.

Then it happened.

“Cough… Cough!!”

A faint blue light started to emanate from Lee Hwan-woong’s body, and he began to rise slowly from the ground, resisting the pressure, getting back on his feet while crouched. His face was smeared with tears of blood, and he seemed to have no energy left, yet somehow, he resisted Yumang’s Fighting Spirit Palm!!

‘How?!’

With Lee Hwan-woong’s level, this couldn’t be possible!!

I wasn’t the only one astonished. Yumang widened his eyes slightly in admiration.

“Oh? You changed your heart to something strange.”

Heart?

Chijijiji

As soon as he finished that sentence, blue lightning erupted from Lee Hwan-woong’s body. His eyes turned completely azure, and I felt like an incomprehensible formation had been engraved within them.

Quantum Formation

Spin Network

In that instant, Lee Hwan-woong seemed to be balling his fists tightly.

Schrödinger on the loop

Beep beep beep…!!

What happened next made me question my own eyes. Lee Hwan-woong maintained his crouched posture as if he had naturally created a clone, easily breaking free from the Fighting Spirit Palm! The astonishing thing was that both the crouched Lee Hwan-woong and the one who escaped the palm looked identical, making it impossible to distinguish between them. In a flash, I realized that this technique was entirely different from my Clone Technique.

‘That… that’s not a clone.’

If it’s not a clone, then what is it?

It was as if… they were both the same entity.

I sensed an unusual discomfort about Lee Hwan-woong’s technique, but as I was confused about its true identity, he wriggled out of the Fighting Spirit Palm surrounded by spiraling blue light. Then he summoned a weapon into his hands.

Swoosh!

Nine shimmering silver fragments appeared in the world. Lee Hwan-woong brandished those fragments and charged directly at the Fighting Spirit Palm, and the next moment, I saw all nine fragments accurately pierce through the palm.

Boom!

“Urrgh!!”

The next moment, with an explosive sound, Lee Hwan-woong screamed and was launched into the air. He flew away dozens of meters before crashing down, bloody and writhing, looking like he couldn’t possibly win against the Fighting Spirit Palm. Yumang, watching as Lee Hwan-woong fell, said with amusement.

“Looks like he combined the two abilities, the Portrait Ability and martial arts. There hasn’t been anyone like that.”

“…”

Lee Hwan-woong staggered but slowly got back up.

Standing tall, he twitched his lips and smiled brightly.

“O Great Being. I am now a strategist under Baek Woong. And a strategist would never leak their lord’s plans.”

Lee Hwan-woong spread his Cosmic Fragment (Artifact) wide and continued speaking.

“If you’re not up for signing, feel free to kill me here. That would be the reasonable choice.”

In that moment, I and Yumang both sensed it.

He was prepared for death!

Lee Hwan-woong seemed calm, but his feelings and heart were fervently rebellious, aiming toward one single purpose. That was the will of a warrior, to resist as much as possible before he died. Both Yumang and I had crossed countless battle lines, so we instinctively recognized what kind of thoughts a fellow warrior could have.

Then Yumang looked at me with a hint of envy.

“…You’ve got quite a decent subordinate.”

Huh

Just like that, the moment he finished speaking, Yumang’s murderous aura released, and Lee Hwan-woong fell free from the pressure, staggering as he collapsed.

“Hah.”

Thump

Yumang looked down at the unconscious Lee Hwan-woong, then turned to me.

“He’s still a greenhorn among greenhorns, but somehow, I sense he might grow into something big. Above all, he’s got a madness that makes him willing to sacrifice everything for his will.”

“Madness, you say?”

“I can’t explain it well, but this guy isn’t meant to be a mere strategist. He possesses overwhelming tenacity. He should be the one destined to become an emperor. How did you come to have such a subordinate?”

After saying that, Yumang let out a deep sigh.

“……I originally had no intention of signing, but seeing his spirit, I suppose I should.”

“……!!”

I was taken aback by his words.

“Why weren’t you going to sign?”

Naturally, I thought he would, so I was left confused by this turn of events. Then Yumang looked at me blankly, as if to ask what I was saying, and said,

“I am an elder and great warrior of the Giant Race, a soldier devoted to the ancient god Yan Emperor for eternity. When considering the concept of the corporation you described and the inherent risks that come with it, joining such a corporation in itself is something that shouldn’t occur.”

“Ugh….”

“However, that reckless guy seems to have intended from the start to convince me and come here. Realizing his own lack of power and still stepping forth means he threw himself into an adventure that could lead to his total destruction from the very beginning.”

Yumang crossed his arms.

“A guy like that is incredibly persistent. It’s entertaining, and seeing the warrior’s spirit, I’ll sign it for him.”

“……Thank you.”

A short while later, Yumang called for Cheongyang, who had been cultivating, and they both signed.

I revived Lee Hwan-woong with divine power while watching the signatures.

“Are you back to your senses?”

“……Lord Yumang signed, right?”

“Dude. You nearly just died….”

I expressed my amazement at Lee Hwan-woong’s tenacity.

“What was that ability just now? You still haven’t reached the Absolute Realm, so you shouldn’t be able to withstand the Absolute Fighting Spirit Palm.”

“Ah… I told you before. My powers only become strongest when combined with science.”

Rising to his feet, Lee Hwan-woong pointed to his chest with his finger.

“Inside here is a powerful AI, Mephisto. That’s the source of my new ability.”