전생검신 89권 06화

I had totally forgotten. No, why was I ignoring something so obvious?

‘The three powers change while being in balance… Honestly, as long as you possess this characteristic, it’s obvious that the three pillars of Sephiroth belong to the Three Talents!’

Why couldn’t I notice something so apparent until now?

I sat there for quite some time, deep in thought, until my gaze fell upon the silver triangle embedded in my wound. As I watched it slowly move with a chime, I muttered.

“I haven’t even considered using magic all this time…”

That’s right. In the grand scheme, Sephiroth is essentially magic!

Most magic derives from the powers of the [Old Ruler] or evil beings. Sure, there are exceptions, but the term “magic” itself implies that it harnesses the power of malice (魔), so it’s only natural for its essence to be wicked. Given that I’d been opposing demon kings and the demon clan to a tiring extent in my past life, it was obvious I wouldn’t be fond of the magic used by their underlings.

‘…Even Zhuge Sha said that everyone I met subtly hinted at my talent for magic.’

If I’d actually trained properly, maybe I could have become a master of magic? It wasn’t just my delusion; my talent in magic was actually highly praised by those around me.

But simply practicing martial arts drained all my energy, so I didn’t even consider training in magic. Besides, most times you had to conduct human sacrifices or evil rituals to practice magic. Why on earth would I engage in such monstrous acts?

Thus, even though the Cheon Woo-jin practically spoon-fed me to introduce me to the magic of Sephiroth and set up Sets in my body, I hardly touched it until now.

‘It’s probably also because my divine power grew stronger, and my martial arts reached the realm beyond the Absolute Realm, so I didn’t feel the need to practice.’

In any case, I realized that I could include the realm of magic, Sephiroth, in the Three Talents. The essence of the Three Talents is simply that three powers need to achieve balance and harmony.

In that moment, I pondered deeply.

‘…As I transition from the [next] stage of the Soul of the Evil God, it’s certain that Sephiroth will be instrumental. Until now, I’ve utilized the energies of the Three Talents in controlling the Soul of the Evil God with the principles of the Three Treasure Technique and Trimurti; adding Sephiroth makes it the third! If that happens…’

Three Treasure Technique, Trimurti, Sephiroth.

If I can weave these three principles together into the Three Talents, my control might significantly increase!

I could surpass the current final stage of the Soul of the Evil God in one fell swoop!

But with that immense benefit came a great worry.

‘The Three Treasure Technique is martial arts, Trimurti is divine power, and Sephiroth is magic… All three principles stem from completely different roots. Can they truly harmonize?’

It’s truly uncertain. The very act of controlling the Soul of the Evil God with the Three Talents was something that no one in the world had ever attempted. But strictly speaking, the probability of failure is extremely high.

Moreover, there was another real problem.

‘Since Sephiroth pertains to magic… I’m certain that practicing it will require evil rituals and sacrifices. If I encounter such obstacles in the training, should I forsake my ethics just to master Sephiroth?’

The only three masters of Sephiroth I knew were:

The God of Magic, Hermes, his disciple Simon Magus, and then Zhuge Sha, his disciple.

The commonality among the three? They were all formidable demon sorcerers with extremely wicked tendencies. Hermes and Simon Magus likely conducted human sacrifices like it was second nature, and Zhuge Sha wouldn’t hesitate to commit such acts either, had he not been my ally in a past life.

Given the reputations of such individuals, it was more than clear that the higher my achievement in Sephiroth, the more likely I’d be ensnared by demonic nature and have to engage in wicked deeds.

“…”

Honestly, if it weren’t for the achievement of the Soul of the Evil God, I wouldn’t even be contemplating this… My martial arts and divine power are already strong enough that I wouldn’t need to further my grasp of magic!

With a sigh, I muttered.

“Phew. I should trust Cheon Woo-jin.”

Cheon Woo-jin had been trying every possible means to ensure that I would master Sephiroth. Since he’s a sophisticated AI, he must know the dangers of magic, yet he granted me this power for a reason. I shook my head and returned to Lee Gang-ryong.

Pa-at!

I headed towards the Thunder Cliff where Lee Gang-ryong was located. As I got closer to the Thunder Cliff, I could sense a formidable Thunder Spirit coiling nearby.

I approached Lee Gang-ryong, who was sitting by the pond meditating, and said, “The Thunder Spirit’s energy I haven’t seen before has grown tremendously. It seems at least five times larger than before.”

Lee Gang-ryong smiled broadly. “Hehe, it’s thanks to the Soul of the Evil God. Indeed, this martial art is an unparalleled world-class skill that no other art in the human realm can compare with…”

“I’ve been busy hunting demon beasts to perfect the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts, but a moment’s lapse in focus nearly cost me my life.”

Lee Gang-ryong glanced at my arm injury and said, “I see. You were caught by a parasitic type. Well, there’s nothing you can do about that.”

“Demon beasts truly are tricky foes for mortals to contend with.”

“Well, they have to be. They possess life force strong enough to survive in the notoriously harsh environments beyond the galaxy.”

After that exchange, Lee Gang-ryong said, “You seem to have something on your mind. If you want to talk, go ahead.”

“…”

Such keen intuition!

I marveled at his insight and began to speak. “The truth is…”

After I shared everything about Sephiroth, the Three Talents, and the Soul of the Evil God, Lee Gang-ryong remained seated in the lotus position, silent for a while. After deep contemplation, he finally spoke.

“I believe Cheon Woo-jin passed on that Sephiroth isn’t necessarily evil. You can practice it.”

I was taken aback by Lee Gang-ryong’s words.

“Huh? What… Hermes, the first practitioner of Sephiroth, was an evil god, and his apprentice Simon Magus was also a wicked sorcerer contracted with evil beings. How could their powers not be malevolent?”

Lee Gang-ryong calmly replied to my statement. “What makes magic evil?”

“…Because it involves human sacrifices and offerings.”

“As expected, you see through the essence. Yes, magic itself is merely one of many powerful abilities, and the reason magic bears an evil nature is because it summons wicked energies through evil rituals.”

“I know that! What I want to know is…”

“Now, think about it. The creator of the magic of Sephiroth is the God of Magic Hermes. But where does Hermes summon his ‘power’ from?”

“…!!”

“Once he became the God of Magic, he should have no need to summon power elsewhere—he ought to grant strength to his followers. So, can Hermes truly do that?”

Huh?

Now that I think about it…?

I was slightly shocked by the unexpected reality and responded with, “…So, the evil deeds of Sephiroth’s practitioners are merely personal tendencies, and that Sephiroth itself could be a non-evil power?”

“That’s something I think you understand better than I do. Try to feel the Sets flowing through your veins and body. Is it fundamentally an evil power or not?”

“…It seems not. This is the essence of pure energy.”

“You already know well. If the medium accepting this power is not corrupted, then the entities granting you the power of Sephiroth aren’t evil either. Isn’t that a natural cause-and-effect relationship?”

“…!!”

“I think this.”

Lee Gang-ryong calmly continued. “If Sephiroth manipulates the spiritual realms of infinite (infanat), sublimation (sublimatyon), and domination (kontrol) to reach a high level, it can be a form of magic that leads to becoming a Demon King. Hence, even Hermes, the God of Magic, is merely an adept who perfected Sephiroth to a high level—not the source of power himself. Becoming a Demon King is due to his high level, not because the power of Sephiroth is inherently that of a Demon King. That’s a fundamental difference, suggesting there’s likely a different power source.”

“Who is the power source?”

“It’s simple. Sephiroth is the Tree of Life; it’s derived from Kabbalah. Also, I’ve seen the hierarchy of Sephiroth, and its form was unmistakably that of a [tree].”

“A tree…”

“There is only one such tree in the entire universe, even Hermes, the God of Sorcerers, is merely a subordinate to it.”

At that moment, I realized something and shouted loudly. “Could it be… the World Tree?!”

At my words, Lee Gang-ryong nodded. “You’ve caught on. The power of Sephiroth likely allows one to summon the forces of the World Tree directly. That power itself isn’t clearly good or evil; it’s just that the sorcerers of the Hermes faction advanced it into a wicked path.”

“…!!”

“Reaching a high mastery of the Three Powers is the higher magical sphere of Sephira, which means it signifies accessing the power of the World Tree. Furthermore, the Sets flowing through your body act as if they’ve inserted the roots of the World Tree into you.”

I was utterly dumbfounded.

Could it be that all along this ambiguous magic of Sephiroth was indeed a magic summoning the power of the World Tree?!

‘Then is it possible that the existence from the other world I absorbed, Adam Cadmon, was also a worshipper of the World Tree…?’

I pondered this and then asked Lee Gang-ryong, “Then where exactly is this World Tree? Until now, I thought it was merely a metaphor, but if you’re right, it should actually exist.”

“It’s certainly not in this world. I’ve heard that the World Tree is called [the Tree of Life], and the source of those who command its power is not from this world.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard several tales during my time as a mercenary of the Ancient Gods. The origins of those who follow Kabbalah are far away, borrowing the powers of divine beings born outside this world. At that time, I didn’t know what that meant, but the World Tree itself must exist in another universe, and the followers of Sephiroth likely crossed over into this world through it.”

“…”

“If that’s the case, there’s definitely value in mastering Sephiroth. Unlike magic that relies on the powers of other [Old Rulers], it draws upon the World Tree’s powers, so you don’t necessarily have to be fixated on wicked powers… Given it’s from the World Tree, its potential is likely far greater than ordinary magic. Besides, just by seeing how Hermes, a mere practitioner, became a Demon King shows that it’s a plausible power.”

“That’s how it is…”

Suddenly, I recalled how easily Zhuge Sha had defeated sorcerers in this world. His magic had an extraordinary penetrating power against all sorts of sorcerers. Could it really be because its essence is from another world?

Lee Gang-ryong murmured, with a profound gaze, “Moreover… If you manage to master Sephiroth to a high level, it might open up new opportunities for you. Perhaps Cheon Woo-jin wanted you to learn it for a reason.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s not so much a combat ability but rather the possibility of utilizing the [World Tree] itself in the future. If you can reach a level where you can dominate that power…”

“…”

“Well, that’s a matter for later. For now, I believe there shouldn’t be any problems practicing Sephiroth’s magic.”

I looked at Lee Gang-ryong with curious eyes. “How come you have such deep insight and experience regarding the hidden world? Even if you’re a mercenary of the Ancient Gods…”

“There’s no reason not to be deep. If I hadn’t died from an unfortunate accident, I might have held a position as a guardian of humanity. I’ve also dabbled a bit in magic, so I have a basic understanding of Sephiroth as well.”

“Y-you’ve learned magic too?”

“When hunting evil spirits, you can’t avoid using magic to borrow the powers of spirits. There are many situations where you can’t rely on Qi, so there were times when I had to do it this way…”

Lee Gang-ryong snapped his fingers, and suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot from his fingertip, blasting away several trees in front of us.

Boom!

“I use magic to offer my Thunder Spirit as a sacrifice to summon bolts of lightning. Wind Spirit practitioners would probably use their wind spirits to conjure shields against the wind, but since I’m not good with wind spirits, I can’t do that.”

“…!!”

“Those from the Four Great Families of the White Lotus Sect would likely find this kind of magic easy. Spirits prefer natural entities over human sacrifices.”

“Y-Yeah.”

What he had just demonstrated was undoubtedly magic, not an application of Qi. I realized that Lee Gang-ryong was indeed an expert in the hidden world who had done it all.

He chuckled softly and said, “From my adventures in the West, I realized that the Four Great Families have a remarkably well-rounded martial arts system. Those who practice the Four Great Families can easily adapt to mild spirit arts or magic in the West. They might have set that up since the time of the Dharma Investigation.”

“…”

“Anyway, enough about magic. Let’s check how well you’ve mastered the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts and have a sparring match.”

“Sounds good. We’ll fight using just the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts, right?”

“Of course.”

Ta-dat—

Boom!!

Lee Gang-ryong and I started battling using only the techniques of the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts. Initially, I worried that fighting solely with this would limit our attacks and defensive techniques, but as we engaged, I realized that was merely an overreaction.

Thud!

‘What a connection I’ve never even thought of!’

Each of Lee Gang-ryong’s techniques intertwined with all the aspects of the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts I had engraved into my bones over three years, yet the combinations and applications were things I had never seen before. Although I anticipated his moves to defend and dodge, I thought honestly that if I hadn’t reached the Heavenly Realm, I would have only ended up being hit by Lee Gang-ryong.

It was quite an enlightening experience. I almost wished to memorize every single technique he employed.

After roughly five hundred exchanges without a single word spoken, Lee Gang-ryong stepped back and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. Though the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts is still a long way from being mastered, your pure martial arts realm is high enough to cope with everything… Is that what the Heavenly Realm is?”

“How embarrassing. I’m quite reliant on reading the flow of energy.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with that? It’s itself the peak of martial arts, so it would be strange not to use it—though, it seems you can’t apply that feeling of taking the lead into offense, huh?”

“…”

I felt a bit flustered. In fact, all the masters I had met at the Heavenly Realm level had pointed out the very weakness Lee Gang-ryong had just discerned. I let out a sigh.

“That’s the problem. There are beings ahead of me; I just don’t know how to catch up.”

“Hmmm… Why do you only think of them as being ahead?”

“I can only defend while they can attack, so that’s obviously the case.”

“Why not just convert that intention into an attack?”

“This [flow] is completely different from intention, so I only recognize it after analyzing it. It’s almost always faster than intention.”

“Surely that’s why you could block a technique you’d never seen before. Hmm…”

As Lee Gang-ryong calmed himself and thought, he said, “Isn’t the [flow] linked to the mind (心)? If you can read the mind of martial arts, can’t you manipulate that very intent?”

“Manipulate? What nonsense are you talking about? I’ve never even considered that.”

Lee Gang-ryong chuckled awkwardly at my remark.

“Is that so…? Maybe I’m being unreasonable. Hehe.”

“…”

Feeling like we weren’t making progress, I lowered my sword and sighed.

“…To truly master the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts, it seems I need at least another ten years.”

“You’ve only spent three years mastering that much technique; that’s commendable, yet I sense you’re overly ambitious. Considering your current mastery, you could already stand out in the Jianghu.”

“I don’t need encouragement. After competing with you just now, I realized how crude my techniques are.”

“Hmmm…”

“What I want is not merely a comparison among martial artists. I need to be able to use it even against divine beings from now on.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Gang-ryong looked a bit troubled, but I was only stating facts. I could finally use the foundational techniques of the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts, but when it came to serious applications and connections, I was still at a toddler stage. I hadn’t reached an adequate level to claim I had properly learned martial arts.

“I’m so tired just thinking about grappling with demon beasts again.”

“Hmmm… It is mentally exhausting to fight monsters as opposed to people. What about this?”

“Do you have any ideas?”

Lee Gang-ryong smiled and said, “You know, while fighting, I sensed that you’re quite accustomed to splitting your mind into two, right?”

“Are you referring to the Split Heart Technique? Yes.”

“Do you use it when training?”

“I used to a lot back then, but honestly, it requires a lot of mental energy, so I don’t use it much these days.”

Originating from the Wudang Sect’s Dual Mind Cultivation and having been further developed by the Thunder God Lineage, the Split Heart Technique possessed the original power of the Dual Mind Cultivation, serving to lower the threshold for both martial arts and techniques.

While I had struggled to utilize the Split Heart Technique diligently when at a lower level, nowadays, as comprehending heart studies became more mainstream, I would refrain from using it. The Split Heart Technique could be counterproductive in areas of understanding rather than mere memorization.

Lee Gang-ryong said, “Let’s do this. Starting now, you should fight demons using both the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts and Sephiroth simultaneously.”

I was taken aback by the unexpected proposal.

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“Literally that. If you use the Split Heart Technique, you can think of two different things at once, right? Utilize that to employ different techniques with each hand while fighting. I thought you might have done something similar before.”

“N-No… I don’t believe I’ve done anything close to that.”

Sure, I’d wielded my sword, but I’d never fought like that. I’d occasionally used techniques together, but only as a supplement to martial arts.

“There’s no need to overthink it. After all, the creator of the Heavenly Flower Thunder Dragon Divine Arts, myself, had done so routinely.”

Hearing Lee Gang-ryong’s continued words, I sensed a new training path was about to commence.

“From now on, when you battle demons, try using both martial arts and magic. Both aspects will improve simultaneously, making it a win-win situation, right?”