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I surveyed everyone from the subjugation squad here, including Asura.

“Bright Dragon, Seong Jin, Musashi, Master of Zen, Master of Shadowless Sword!”

All the big names from the Martial Arts World were participating in this subjugation squad. Plus, I could tell that each one of them was way stronger than they were twenty years ago. Although I couldn’t tell for sure if they reached the Absolute Realm without being able to use intent, if they received Jin So-cheong’s teachings, they must have at least reached that level.

I spoke to Asura.

[Is everyone from the subjugation squad all done retreating?]

“Not everyone. Jin So-cheong, Extreme Tiger, Yong Junil, and Master Hyuncheon are still around.”

[Hmm.]

“I heard Soeul was seriously injured and is in recovery. I’ve got the gist of what’s happened from Mangnyang, but I’d like to hear it from you directly.”

[Alright.]

I began sharing what had happened to me with the subjugation squad, including Asura. After about half a moment of exchanging stories, they seemed to have a decent understanding of my situation.

Asura pondered for a moment and then said,

“…This is quite complicated. So, your real self is still in the Takrok Era and you’re currently possessing a machine body named Ichong, and you plan to temporarily return to the Takrok Era with Master Mangnyang’s help, right?”

[Yeah. As Master Mangnyang said, it seems I need to accumulate some connection.]

“Got a rough idea. In that case…”

Asura crossed his arms.

“Baek Woong, can you practice the Soul of the Evil God in your current state?”

[……!!]

“Considering the development of martial arts, that seems to be the most critical process.”

Exactly.

Asura made a solid point. If I could manipulate Qi with this steel body that Even Sinha gave me, practicing the Soul of the Evil God would be the best option. Nodding in agreement, I replied,

[Let’s give it a shot.]

I immediately sat down cross-legged and began to channel my internal energy.

Oooooo

As a test, I tried to rotate the Thunder Dragon One Qi Technique, and it felt like success was within reach. I decided to take more risks and started to draw out the Thunder Spirit Technique to trigger the basic stages of the Soul of the Evil God.

Crackle!!

Though my internal power was still building up, I could feel it transforming into lightning as the Thunder Spirit began to form. With this part under control, I proceeded to step into the true realm.

Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique!

A martial art that is the strongest from the Thunder God Lineage, the foundation that I’ve cultivated with Shim Su-ryeok! It allows me to manipulate the Thunder Spirit at a level that is worlds apart from the Thunder Dragon One Qi Technique, and I felt the power of this peerless technique swirl in my mind while quickly absorbing the Qi from the environment.

Tsuuooo

The tremendous amount of Qi being sucked in only made the Thunder Spirit grow stronger, and I saw the potential to separate it into the Thunder Soul and the Thunder Corpse.

‘Alright, this is it.’

I focused to initiate the Water Soul Transformation of the Soul of the Evil God, aiming to spin and separate my soul. But just as I extended my intent to interact with the Thunder Soul and Thunder Corpse…

Crack!!

Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of lightning bombarded my entire body, electrifying me completely. That level of lightning would have killed a regular human instantly! Although I was unharmed thanks to being a machine, I felt every bit of the Thunder Spirit I absorbed shatter, and I lost my focus completely.

[……!!]

This can’t be happening… I just failed at the very start of the Soul of the Evil God?!

As I panicked, Asura, who had been watching the training process, spoke up.

“Baek Woong. Just before that Thunder Qi was about to separate, a dense wave of darkness surged from your interior and devoured your Thunder Power. Did you feel that?”

[……? I didn’t feel anything.]

“Hmm. It seems like the soul itself was acting.”

Asura, who had been mumbling mysterious words, continued.

“Baek Woong… So, that body of yours belonged to the Dragon King, right? That means the Dragon King isn’t dead yet.”

[Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden? He definitely died.]

“What I mean is, whether you realize it or not, that body still retains some of the residual consciousness of the Dragon King, or what could be considered his soul. It appears that this Dragon King’s soul is resisting the formation of a different aura that would erase its very existence.”

[……?!]

Is that even possible?

I was baffled and turned to Asura.

[Asura! How come you felt the darkness while I was controlling the Soul of the Evil God without sensing anything?]

“It was more like a faint residual consciousness than a proper soul. The reason I could sense it is that my awareness has reached that level. If you were also at the Divine Realm, you would know what I mean.”

[Umm.]

“Given your inherent power, no matter how significant the Dragon King and Demon King’s lingering essence is, it shouldn’t influence you… Unless barely coming to terms with having a different essence in that body makes things imperfect.”

As Asura was mumbling, he added,

“Baek Woong. If you want to reclaim your previous abilities through the Soul of the Evil God, you need to first suppress that Dragon Soul existence within you. You’ll need to either dominate or subdue it before you can use intent in that body.”

[Damn. Even if you say that, I can’t feel that Dragon Soul at all…]

“You won’t be able to feel it right now. Once you reach the state where you can transcend pure emotion from the unity of mind and body, you’ll intuitively know.”

[……]

“Still, it shouldn’t be hard to practice the Thunder Dragon One Qi Technique, a mere human-level martial art. For now, you should focus on building up your foundational strength to not be hindered by the Dragon King’s soul.”

I thought Asura’s advice was something I definitely needed to take to heart. After all, it came from someone who was a high-level expert in the Divine Realm.

Suddenly, I found myself sulking and pouting at Asura.

[Damn it. What on earth did Jin So-cheong teach you? You were already an exceptional expert, but did he really get you to surpass the Divine Realm in just 20 years…?]

“Well, I don’t actually know what level he reached either.”

[You don’t know?]

“Yeah. I know the techniques he uses, but I can’t interpret them. He evolves every fight after all.”

Asura chuckled self-deprecatingly as he continued.

“Let me put this clearly: While Jin So-cheong can use techniques from the Divine Realm, it’s hard to label him as being truly at that level.”

[……?! How does that even work?]

“Isn’t it similar for you? You can use Dark Night Slash, but your enlightenment isn’t complete, so you can’t fully execute techniques from the Divine Realm.”

[……]

Ugh… if he puts it that way, I can’t argue with him…

As I scratched my head, Asura remarked,

“Of course, Jin So-cheong’s case is different. He fully understands and can apply the techniques from the Divine Realm but deliberately doesn’t use them. Plus, he hasn’t become part of the Divine Realm’s White Seat.”

This revelation took me aback, and I responded in surprise.

[Why would he do that? Isn’t being part of the Divine Realm’s White Seat a good thing?]

Joining the Divine Realm’s White Seat isn’t just about being recognized as an expert; it means having access to exchange ideas with other masters and gaining combat experience as well. I couldn’t fathom why Jin So-cheong, a martial arts fanatic, would give that up.

“Jin So-cheong told me that he wants to uncover the truth that the Martial God is hiding from you. He can’t join the White Seat to do that, apparently… Honestly, I don’t understand what he means either.”

[…….]

The truth hidden by the Martial God?

Is that really a thing?

As I pondered over that, Miyamoto Musashi, who had been observing everything, bluntly interjected,

“Hmph! That guy’s just arrogant! Acting like he knows everything, but one day, I will beat him.”

Asura chuckled at Musashi’s comment.

“Musashi. How about you get past your three moves against Jin So-cheong first before you talk?”

“……!!”

Musashi looked visibly ashamed, shaking as his gaze hardened, but he couldn’t muster up a counter.

Seeing this, I was astonished once again.

[What? Musashi couldn’t get past Jin So-cheong’s three moves?]

“You fool! Shut up!”

Musashi yelled furiously, but Asura just laughed it off.

“Ha ha ha, yeah. Musashi always challenges Jin So-cheong for a fight, but he gets taken down in three moves every time, and after receiving teachings from him, he gets beaten again… It’s been like that on the frontline all along.”

[……!!]

Is that even possible?!

With so many powerful beings in this age, it’s easy to view Musashi as nothing special, but he’s undeniably the peak martial arts prodigy in Dongyoung history and an invincible genius. He wiped out top experts of the Central Plains with his terrifying sword techniques. Considering that after reaching the Absolute Realm, the only opponent capable of facing him was the Overlay Technique, the fact that Jin So-cheong could subdue Musashi in three moves is beyond comprehension.

In shock, I suddenly turned to Asura.

[What about you, Asura?]

“Me? I’m about two or three hundred moves deep. Of course, Jin So-cheong isn’t serious, but holding my ground against him is still no small feat.”

[……]

“Baek Woong. There’s no need to be so shocked. You already have a basic idea of just how significant the gap is between those who have reached the Divine Realm and those who haven’t, right?”

Asura replied nonchalantly, continuing,

“Don’t hold too many illusions about Jin So-cheong. He’s just another human who sometimes struggles with confusion and frustration like anyone else. No matter what, since Jin So-cheong is the last to retreat, you can meet him again in a few years.”

[Wasn’t he supposed to retreat soon? A few years?]

“Seems like you missed out on the details. The final retreat squad, including Jin So-cheong, is still engaged in battle against the demon-level beings appearing continuously at the [Old Ruler]’s palace.”

[……?!]

“There’s a bizarre phenomenon wherein kings and demons from another dimension keep being summoned, happening like reflections in a mirror. Because Jin So-cheong cuts them down and creates openings for us, he inevitably has to be the last to retreat.”

“Damn it…!! We have to save Jin So-cheong!!”

Even if Jin So-cheong might be stronger than me, I had a gut feeling that given my other skills like Sheng Qi or magical power, I’d need to help him to be able to save him. As cool as Asura seemed about it, he was in an extremely perilous situation.

“Stay calm. Trying to rescue Jin So-cheong alone is as difficult as the Three Sovereigns.”

“But if things go on like this, won’t Jin So-cheong die no matter what?!”

“Yeah. You’re right. Even Jin So-cheong has his limits. If we leave him alone here, the odds of him getting killed are pretty high. Even though we all knew that, we still had to abandon Jin So-cheong to survive…”

Asura looked me straight in the eye and said,

“So you need to get stronger quickly.”

[……!!]

“Gather your magical power, and achieve Master Mangnyang’s connection. If you tackle the parts that Jin So-cheong can’t handle with just martial arts and save him, it would be the best scenario possible!”

[…… got it!]

Finally, I felt like I had solid work cut out for me!

Separately from the jealousy towards Jin So-cheong, he was also my precious companion from my previous life. Saving him from his fight against adversity was the top priority. I began organizing what I had to do in my mind.

‘I need to gather power quickly… get through Master Mangnyang’s connection… and save Jin So-cheong. After that, I’ll settle things with Ananda and save this world from extinction!’

As I was resolving this in my heart,

Swish!!

Suddenly, Zhuge Yulong and Zhuge Bu appeared using a space movement technique, looking flustered. Zhuge Yulong spoke in an unusually panicked voice.

“Quick! Get out of here! Some monstrous guy just barged in…”

Grrrreeee

As soon as those words were out, immense dark clouds began to swirl rapidly in the entire sky above the castle, turning it pitch black in an instant. It became so dark that I could barely see in front of me, но I still sensed the presence of everyone here, including Asura and Zhuge Yulong, through my Qi Sense. Yet suddenly, even that Qi Sense faded away, and I realized that the presence of everyone who had been right in front of me, including Asura and Zhuge Yulong, had vanished.

With my long experience, I grasped what this phenomenon meant.

‘The dimensional barrier has been erected.’

The method of forming barriers between dimensions to isolate individuals and dispose of enemies was something I had seen often during my previous life. The beings capable of performing such extraordinary and powerful techniques were mostly high-ranked divine beings, so I knew that whoever had come was no ordinary presence.

Moments later, a misty light slowly appeared in front of me, revealing its form.

Shhhh

When the figure finally took shape, I realized there were two beings standing before me.

One man and one woman.

They exuded an overwhelming divine power that far surpassed the level of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper. I couldn’t tell much about the woman, but I recognized the man instantly as I had seen him several times before.

With my gaze fixed on the figure that had appeared before me, the man spoke.

“Baek Woong. I’ve come to tell you about Vishnu.”

I calmly replied to that statement.

[So it’s Shiva.]

The being revealed was none other than Shiva, one of the three great gods of Tianzhu!

Then, the one next to him must be Goddess Parvati.

 

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