전생검신 94권08화

I couldn’t help but feel flustered at the thought that he suddenly realized my identity.

‘No way?!’

It’s true that my soul is different from the original owner of this body…!

But if I showed that, it would be even worse for me, so I kept my expression neutral and said, “What do you mean? What’s your basis for saying that?”

Then Abaddon continued to stare at me with his dark eyes and said,

[The master said that after practicing offensive and defensive techniques, the last third phase is to resonate the wheel (輪), gradually awakening and strengthening their own memories and soul. However, since nothing has happened, it means you are not the master of that wheel.]

“……!”

So that’s how it is!

‘Crossing the wheel means performing a ceremony to resurrect his old memories…!’

That ceremony probably doesn’t restore memories all at once but gradually releases power. So I practiced offensive and defensive techniques in the first and second phases for self-defense until my strength was sufficiently restored. I was completely caught off guard, thinking I’d be exposed.

I calmly said, “Isn’t that just your misunderstanding? This must be the mental world, so can someone who isn’t the owner of the soul actually be here?”

[Who said this is the mental world?]

“Huh?”

Abaddon slammed his staff on the ground.

Kuwaaa…!

In that moment, the entire space transformed into an endless dark abyss, and all the treasures here began to fall into the abyss. I almost got dragged down by the sudden change, but I quickly used my divine power to hold on.

Tsu tsu tsu

Two pairs of black bat-like wings sprouted from Abaddon’s back. He started to exude the unique Qi of a demon and quietly said,

[This is my dimensional realm, the Abyss. It was you, my master, who recklessly moved the tower into this infinite abyss… You are now in the Abyss!]

“……!”

Abyss?!

There exists such a dimensional realm?!

‘…Did my consciousness get dragged here along with my body without me realizing? No way, the concentration of reality here is so low it feels like the mental world… this is truly a world of evil spirits… a hell without end!’

I felt my mind snap into focus. If what he said is true, then in this dimension called the Abyss, the physical laws are extremely malleable and there’s a high chance only mental power can be exerted. It couldn’t possibly feel this much like the mental world otherwise. And in such a world, the more powerful the dimensional evil spirits or gods are, the stronger their abilities must be as well.

When I looked at Abaddon with a tense expression, he narrowed his eyes and said,

[Heh heh… If you’re not the master of the contract… then I no longer need to uphold the contract of the scroll… My life as a “term” ends here.]

“What?”

[However, dealing with that powerful divine power… it’s going to be a bit troublesome… I’ll cook it slowly for you.]

Zing!

A dark gleam passed through Abaddon’s eyes, and he suddenly let out a roar as he chanted a spell.

Divine Technique

Seven Emperor Shadows

As he spoke, words began to appear between Abaddon and me: Sealing God, Sealing Demon, Sealing Thought, Sealing Blood, Sealing Spirit, Sealing Exchange, Sealing Realm, spinning in a circle and quickly rotating. Then suddenly, they erupted with a blinding flash.

Bang!

“Kuhk!”

Shooosh…

[Kuh… He’s strong, as expected… ]

As soon as the spell ended, Abaddon let out what sounded like a pained groan.

In that instant, I saw black shackles appear on Abaddon’s arms, and I realized I had the same shackles on my arms as well. Staring in bewilderment at this situation where we both had shackles, Abaddon flapped his bat wings and said,

[The unique ability I brought down from my divine seat is… to seal the seven abilities of my opponent… You cannot use divine power in the Abyss anymore!]

“What?!”

I was startled and tried to summon my divine power. But just as he said, it hardly manifested, and only a feeble trickle of divine power came out, a mere fraction of what I used to have.

Abaddon grinned maliciously and said,

[I’m waiting at the highest level your master reached… If you want to get out of the Abyss, come find me!]

Pak!

As soon as he finished speaking, Abaddon vanished into thin air.

“Kuh!”

I stared at the spot where he had just been and examined the shackles on my arms.

‘Divine Technique… That guy also has his own unique divine technique, like the Creator God Brahma.’

The technique Seven Emperor Shadows.

If that ability indeed seals the seven abilities of the opponent, things just got complicated. The moment my divine power got sealed, it was akin to reducing my total power dramatically. And the medium for Seven Emperor Shadows was definitely the dark shackles now attached to my arms.

I coldly assessed the situation.

‘If divine power gets sealed, that’s a formidable ability. But I guess this divine technique comes with conditions…’

Logically, if he could directly seal divine power, he wouldn’t have any reason to leave himself in this position. Moreover, besides sealing my divine power, he also sealed the other six abilities, which meant I was now weaker than ever. But the fact that he didn’t immediately attack me and instead pulled back raises a question.

As I pondered, I sensed something.

‘…He also has shackles like the ones on my arm! Then… doesn’t it mean that while he can seal seven abilities of an opponent, he too suffers the same restrictions?’

Although I had my seven abilities sealed, Abaddon was also burdened with the same seven seals!

‘The Curse of Mutual Destruction?!’

If that’s the case, leaving would make sense. While he could weaken his enemy, if he himself was also weakened, discussing victory becomes tricky. From this realization, I caught a glimpse of Abaddon’s scheme.

“He plans to lay a trap while climbing the tower. If we’re both weakened equally, if I fall into a trap and get injured or die, he will definitely win.”

From the way he spoke, it was clear that escape was already impossible. That bastard seemed determined to eliminate me right here.

‘But why?’

Is it out of loyalty to the original master?

No… if that were the case, the look he had shown earlier definitely didn’t radiate loyalty at all!

Why is he going to such lengths to finish me off?

‘There must be some other reason…’

Uuuuu

“……”

Lost in thought, I glanced down at the abyss spread out beneath me. Then I muttered.

“I can use Qi… but….”

Pahng!

I decided to test it and launched a Qi blast at my surroundings. The Qi quickly formed a wave and shot out. Just at that moment, I felt a sharp pain in my head. I grimaced.

“I can’t use Intent.”

It felt like being thrown back to my rookie days, unable to use Intent at all, but I could gather Qi for a wave! I could not amplify its power or change its form with Intent, which was what it meant. Fortunately, thanks to my extraordinary inner power, it was possible to disperse Qi in the air, but using such a rough method wouldn’t be sustainable for long.

‘Could it be that one of the seven seals I just went through included Intent too?’

Without a doubt. I didn’t know how an Intent could be sealed, but I figured if it’s the divine technique used by a powerful god, such a feat would be possible. I then recognized that I was also unable to use magical power and supernatural abilities, as well as any blessings or powers. I chuckled ironically.

“…So I can only use pure Qi. To overcome Leviathan’s trap and bring down the ‘Old Ruler,’ huh?”

While I had confidence in being able to use the Divine Realm, not being able to rely on Intent left me feeling uneasy. In a way, it wasn’t wrong to say that I’d fallen into the weakest state ever since starting my rebirth. Frowning, I decided to take action.

‘I need to go to the second floor first.’

It seemed that Abaddon had plans to finish basic training for me before sending me to other floors, but now that option was gone. I had no choice but to go up the next level of this tower by my own strength.

Kugung

“Ugh! This…”

While looking up at the sky, I felt the pulling power of the abyss beneath me gradually intensifying. An unknown magical power was dragging my whole body, and I was slowly losing my resistance. I sensed that Abaddon’s trap had begun.

‘When I looked closely, those tentacles and teeth inside the abyss resemble living creatures… does the dimension itself act like a living organism?’

Now’s not the time to be complacent. If I’m not careful, I might get sucked into the abyss and absorbed for eternity. I needed to hurry to the next level while I still had strength remaining.

At that moment, a good idea struck me.

“What if…?”

Wiying

I created a chakram in my hand as I had learned earlier and floated it. This power, said to be usable only by masters, hadn’t been affected by the seven seals that Abaddon placed on me. As I glanced at the chakram, a confident smile appeared on my face.

‘Just as I thought!’

If Abaddon had included the Master’s power among those seven seals, he wouldn’t have lost after being beaten by me in the past. So, the written power of the master must remain unsealed, and I should be able to use it freely in this situation!

Wiying!

I immediately produced multiple chakrams and launched them into the air, leaping towards the flying disks as I rose quickly.

Tydat!

“Awesome!”

Flying like this means I won’t waste Qi unnecessarily!

And the farther I got from the ground, the weaker the pulling strength of the abyss became!

I ascended many paces away from the abyss, and after a while, I noticed an unknown rift opening in the air around me. As soon as I spotted the strange rift, I threw a chakram at it.

Boom!

With a thunderous explosion, a multicolored dimension passage was created. I leaped and entered the passage without hesitation, finding myself in a completely different place from the first floor.

Shoosh

“Hmm! This place… is it the Second Trial?”

Upon reaching the second floor, I saw the words “Second Trial” engraved on a huge cliff directly in front of me. As I suddenly stepped into the Second Trial, I felt relieved, but at the same time, irritation filled my thoughts.

“Damn. I didn’t ask how many trials are on the top level… How far do I have to climb?”

The Second Trial appeared as a lush, dense forest from the primitive age. I instinctively felt that if I were to explore this forest one by one, I would easily surpass the three-day limit of my mission, and quickly thought about how to move on to the next trial.

Just then.

Paaah!

Suddenly, a dazzling rainbow flash appeared in the air, and soon a stunning snake demon appeared before me. It was a classic half-human half-demon, characterized by snake features in its eyes, mouth, and tail, with a cute little horn on its head.

‘Its hair and eyes are pure white.’

The half-human half-demon lady landed gracefully and said with a hint of surprise, “Master, what brings you to the Second Trial today? I am delighted by your visit after such a long time…”

“Who are you?”

The white-skinned half-demon chuckled.

“Heh heh. You’ve forgotten again, have you? Really, there’s no need to insist on a body that is so incomplete, is there?”

“What’s your identity then?”

She respectfully bowed her head as she spoke.

“I am Leviathan, the demon god you once took in. I oversee the Second Trial.”

“……!”

Leviathan?

I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere…

‘Oh!’

I suddenly remembered what Naresuen had said in this life.

[This being is the legendary demon god Leviathan. Its length can wrap around this world dozens of times, and it serves to connect the various cities of the world with its body.]

Here I had returned to this world, where Naresuen brought along an unimaginably massive and long serpent when he allied with the Southern Brahman! It was too massive to just be called a demon, and it could serve as a bridge that stretched across continents! Naresuen had referred to it as the legendary demon god Leviathan.

To think Leviathan exists in this world, taking the form of a half-human half-demon!

I couldn’t believe it, but I was still fascinated by discovering the common link with the present world. I blinked and stared at Leviathan, saying, “…Leviathan, there’s a problem, and I need to get to the highest level. How many trials have I reached?”

“You’ve reached the Eighth Trial, as far as I know.”

“Eighth Trial… It feels like I’m on the Second Trial, but is there any way to get to the Eighth Trial in a jiffy?”

“The only one capable of that would probably be your direct subordinate, Abaddon… I wouldn’t know.”

“Hmm.”

I’m here on the Second Trial, but I need to reach the Eighth Trial…?

‘Damn it. I’m running out of time… I need to figure out that guy’s identity within three days.’

It was clear that Abaddon wouldn’t let me leave this space until he killed me. So, in the end, I had to defeat Abaddon, who’s at the Eighth Trial, but that meant I had to go up six more floors!

I became anxious and earnestly said to Leviathan, “Hey, think hard. I’ve got to reach the highest level within a day at most, so isn’t there any way?”

“Hmm… Even if you say that…”

Leviathan tilted her head as if in thought before suddenly exclaiming, “Oh! I remember now; you used the wheel (輪) to abruptly shift from this floor to another! Aren’t you going to use the wheel to move?”

“The wheel…?”

I glanced at the two wheels in my hand.

‘So, it serves as an offensive measure, a defensive measure, and a means of transport?’

After all, my identity was detected by Abaddon largely because of this wheel.

So, I guess I must first figure out how to use this wheel…

I thought carefully before addressing Leviathan, “Is there someone like you on the next floor, the Third Trial?”

“Most likely, yes. In order to maintain the tower’s existence in the Abyss dimension, a demon god needs to be placed on each floor… But I don’t know who they are.”

“……”

So while the tower itself is established in the Abyss, it exists as a separate entity?

I wanted to head to the Third Trial, but I learned from Leviathan’s words that it was a bad idea.

‘Fortunately, Leviathan in this Second Trial isn’t aggressive, so we’re having this calm conversation… But if the demon god in the Third Trial turns out to be someone like Abaddon, who would betray me at the first chance, that would be dangerous.’

It’s not that I couldn’t fight, but every battle drains my strength and takes up time, so avoiding battles when possible would be wise.

With no choice, I took out the wheel and muttered.

“Damn. My specialty is swords (劍), and now I have to deal with this wheel… There’s no technique in the Thunder God Lineage that uses the wheel.”

That was only natural. Just mastering swords, spears, and throwing spears, which are specialties of the Thunder God lineage, could leave a mark on Jianghu. It’s hard to even learn techniques that can be considered extraordinary, and there’s no doubt about the power of using them effectively. So I had never needed to train in wheels’ martial arts. In a way, it was the most unexpected item I had grabbed since my martial arts career began.

“What do you plan to do?”

“Just wait a moment.”

Stuck in this dilemma, my only option was to learn the martial arts associated with using this wheel. It was a gamble, but at this point, it could be the most realistic approach.

“I guess the only way is to train in how to use this guy’s technique.”

Muttering that, I recalled what I remembered about wheel martial arts.

‘Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique and Ghost Soldier Eight Steps…’

That martial art performed by the Four Great Experts of the Imperial Palace and the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard!

Having fought against it multiple times, I roughly grasped the essentials of the technique. However, that was only from the position of fighting against it; I couldn’t actually use Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique or Ghost Soldier Eight Steps. I had no choice but to imagine a virtual scenario where the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard was there and focus my mind.

‘Just like when I sparred with Miyamoto Musashi… if I assume I’m against the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard.’

Swaa!

A moment later, I felt the virtual situation where the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard used the Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique while launching the Ghost Soldier Eight Steps toward me. My past experiences made it feel very real, even though it was imaginary. I attempted to block the incoming assault, but at that moment, I winced.

‘Damn it. It’s a wheel, not a sword! The attack range is too short!’

Compared to the long-range weapon of a sword, the wheel, as a short-range weapon, had no choice but to fall behind in attack range. That was a flaw I hadn’t considered while wielding a sword.

‘But does the Ghost Soldier Eight Steps compensate for that weakness?’

A wheel’s characteristic might be to overcome its short attacking distance through specialized techniques and technique steps, along with charging forward up close. Moreover, it should have the capability to control the opponent from a mid-range by occasionally combining throwing. Therefore, it’s a very tricky special weapon. Because of the completely different usage than swords, I hesitated before initiating the Ghost Soldier Eight Steps to redirect the incoming attacks.

‘If I keep blocking, will I get a glimpse of how to operate the wheel?’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Even though I was fighting a virtual opponent, the sounds of metal clashing rang loudly in my ears. I was vividly picturing the fight inside my head. However, Leviathan, who was watching, said in disbelief,

“Are you dancing alone?”

“Shut it for a second!”

I yelled back while immersing myself back into the training again. After about three hundred seconds of facing the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard’s techniques in my memory, I began to get a grasp.

‘…The Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard’s movements in the Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique and the Ghost Soldier Eight Steps were a bit clumsy! Now I can see it better!’

Originally, the first time I faced the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard, he felt overwhelmingly powerful to me, who hadn’t reached the peak level yet. I had been utterly pressed due to the advancement in my inner power and martial arts, which made it impossible for me to discern real gaps in his martial arts. But now that I looked closely, I could tell for sure that the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard’s martial arts achievement wasn’t that high.

‘Look at this. This upper-body-focused move of the basic technique should have been a method to impose choices on the opponent by throwing some feints in the mid-range… But his understanding of the Ghost Soldier Eight Steps was lacking, so the follow-up attack never came… So, if I do it this way…?’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Getting absorbed in my work, I gradually began to perform the Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique similarly to the virtual i Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard. Though it wasn’t identical to what he had mastered, I was adapting it to my own knowledge.

As the basics started to flow, my level and the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard’s were nearly identical, and as a result, I began to dominate against his incomplete martial arts. The reasons were simple: instead of being a genius, I had already reached the Divine Realm, making it easier to grasp the flow of martial arts, and I could easily understand the pros and cons of combat styles.

After repeating my motions persistently for over a thousand seconds, I gradually started to comprehend what the Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique was.

‘This is a martial art derived from Daoism! Even though it’s tainted with killing intent, it requires a calm inner power and is woven with the mysteries of the Eight Trigrams. Did they intentionally modify the supreme techniques of Daoism…?’

And I gradually felt the inherent advantages of using the wheel. Although it had a short attacking range, if I could skillfully utilize mid-range control with Intent, it could mean having the potential to attack and assassinate at the right moment against a weapon with a broader attack range. Observing the strengths and weaknesses of both the Treasure of Light Invoking Heaven Divine Technique and Ghost Soldier Eight Steps, I began to remodel them.

‘If the Lord of the Golden Eagle Guard had focused solely on martial strength without being entangled in power struggles and evil arts, I would have had to reincarnate several times over to defeat him… His martial arts itself seems quite exceptional!’

This is fun…!

If just imagining a confrontation with a past rival can be this enjoyable, I should have done it more often!

While I was immersed in such thoughts, suddenly, I felt characters pierce through my mind like a wedge.

Blood Lotus Sect

Boundary

Ten Great Ultimate Techniques

Blood Heaven Demon King’s Wheel

Flare!

Suddenly, the wheels I summoned ignited in a crimson blaze. I then found myself in a trance, unconsciously unleashing bizarre martial arts techniques I had never known before while under a peculiar influence.

Without knowing it, I exclaimed, “Are you that easily impressed by a boundary’s martial arts, huh? Hahahaha!”

Brrrrrr!

One hundred and eight blood wheels filled the heavens and earth!

As the blood wheels began to rain down upon the enemy from every angle, an inescapable space of death unfolded.

Boom…!

“……!”

I was startled by what I had just unleashed.

“What just happened?!”

‘The flow of mysterious energy was completely different from any martial arts principles I knew!’

To just unleash pure Qi in that manner and create such martial arts?

At that moment, I muttered without thinking.

“…Blood Lotus Sect…?”

Could it be that what my master spoke about as being beyond comprehension… refers to that bizarre world I witnessed through the Outer God [Thunder]?!