---

“Let’s talk,” said Chang-hil, waving his hand, and suddenly the venue transformed.

It felt like everyone had been teleported from the royal court to a grand banquet hall in an instant. Chang-hil perched himself at the head of the massive feast, with the Eight Parts of the Divine sitting nearby, forcing me to take a seat directly opposite him.

Even if Chang-hil wanted to roast me immediately, I had no choice but to hear him out.

Chang-hil spoke, “It was most likely Master Mangnyang who sent you.”

“……”

Going straight for the jugular from the get-go, huh?

I was utterly baffled about how Chang-hil figured it out; for now, though, I decided to keep quiet. I took a deep breath, trying my best to rein in my emotions. My silence seemed to spur him on further.

“Don’t be tense. If Master Mangnyang sent you, I have no intention of harming you here.”

“What do you mean?”

Clack!

Chang-hil grabbed the chopsticks on the table and started stirring his dish around. With a flourish, he scooped some food into his bowl and replied, “I’ll make you a proposal while we’re here. This proposal isn’t about coercion or brute force; it’s something you should choose for your own sake.”

“I’m not following.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

I fixed my gaze on Chang-hil and continued, “You’ve already elevated yourself from a mere human to the status of the Old Ruler with the power to manipulate the world. There’s no reason to fear the apocalypse anymore; what on earth are you chasing after in this mortal realm?”

“Hmm…”

Chang-hil went deep in thought before suddenly turning to the Celestial Sage Tripitaka beside him.

“So it seems. What do you think?”

“There’s no value in responding to such a creature. We have no reason to reveal our true purpose to him,” the Celestial shot me a glare filled with killing intent.

“Besides, that guy cowardly killed our Asura. We can’t forget that grudge.”

“True.”

In utter disbelief, I exclaimed, “Wait, it was you guys who tried to assassinate me first in Dark Heaven Village!”

What kind of twisted logic is this?!

Me being turned into the target of vengeance for fighting back against the Eight Parts of the Divine that tried to eliminate me was outright absurd!

The Mahuraga next to the Celestial chimed in, “He was our comrade and friend. Whatever your reasons for killing him, we will take our revenge for his death.”

“This is ridiculous! Spare me the dramatics!”

Frustration bubbled within me as I shouted, “Don’t conveniently slap on some justification. If you really want to kill me, just shut up and come at me!”

“You little punk.”

True, I had taken down Asura with a 2-to-1 advantage and with the help of Cheon Gong-pyo, but he had accepted defeat and died like a true martial artist, despite having the opportunity to flee. He even left me a will, showing he carried himself with dignity up to the end.

I was taken aback by the nonsense spewing from the Eight Parts of the Divine, especially since they were the ones who initiated the attack.

‘I wish I could wipe them all out!’

From start to finish, those Eight Parts of the Divine were nothing but shackles on me. Chang-hil commented, “Interesting.”

“Do you want to press charges against me as the lord of the Eight Parts of the Divine?”

“Nope. Asura was just following my orders. At that time, I had no idea you’d turn out to be such a significant presence, nor that there would be an unexpected strong opponent like the Celestial Sage.”

Chang-hil responded casually, shoving food into his mouth like he was practicing for a human impersonation contest.

“Truth is, I’d love to wipe you out right now. But since Master Mangnyang’s backing you, I’ll let it slide for now.”

“I don’t get why you’re so sure Master Mangnyang’s backing me.”

Chang-hil nonchalantly explained, “This Luoyang is a sealed place by Master Mangnyang against the great darkness. No one with such power as the Old Ruler can sneak in unnoticed. Therefore, it can only be considered the will of Master Mangnyang.”

“……”

“About your earlier question, my goal is to eliminate the Three Sovereigns.”

What a load of hogwash.

‘He’s hiding his real objective.’

There’s no way his only ambition is to exterminate the Three Sovereigns. If he acted that simply, all those convoluted plots and schemes from the Eight Parts wouldn’t make sense. Plus, the fact he’s currently occupying Luoyang and advancing civilization is totally beyond comprehension.

“Why do you want to eliminate all the Three Sovereigns?”

“What a foolish question. Is there anyone among mortals who actually likes them? They’re nothing but tyrants who mock the rise and fall of the world, positioning themselves as overlords until the end. They need to disappear.”

“……”

That didn’t seem to be a blatant lie.

But something felt off.

Chang-hil clearly had ulterior motives beyond simply eliminating the Three Sovereigns.

“But the situation isn’t favorable right now, and I need to expedite my plans. I had intended to develop civilization slowly and gather strength, but it seems time is of the essence.”

Chang-hil turned to me and said, “I know you have allies. I want you to lend us your strength.”

“You want me to lend you strength?”

I was taken aback by Chang-hil’s request.

“Before the oppression of the Three Sovereigns becomes too overpowering, we will destroy the Celestial Realm. It would be a piece of cake if we join forces.”

“……!!”

Destroy the Celestial Realm!

I never thought Chang-hil would bring that up. While I knew they all despised each other, I never expected one to attack the Celestial Realm at this juncture. I felt a mix of disbelief and the sudden realization that it might actually be feasible.

If you consider each member of the Eight Parts of the Divine like a Demon King, then their sheer strength could easily handle half of the Celestial Realm’s power. And among my companions, I had the Heavenly Mysterious Woman of Nine Heavens and Celestial Sage, not to mention Xiang Yu would leap to join, and Cheon Woo-jin and Jin So-cheong were no slouches either. It really felt like we could pull it off if Chang-hil was telling the truth.

‘In this lifetime… we might actually destroy the Celestial Realm!’

But for now, I shot back, “It won’t be that easy. Plus, why take such risks now, with the Sea God rampaging and the Demon God coming down?”

“That summoning circle stretched across Luoyang is just a farce created by the Three Sovereigns’ Jeogok. If I can prevent their arrival, the Demon Gods will only remain stuck on the moon. They won’t easily engage in a direct confrontation with me. As for the Sea God…”

Chang-hil added, “For some reason, he was significantly injured and crawled back to the ocean after being hit hard just moments ago.”

“…What?”

“Clearly, someone must’ve dealt a serious blow. That’s why I’m attempting to persuade you to change my tactics.”

The Sea God got knocked around?

Why on earth? I felt ridiculous for being so paranoid about a massive army led by the Sea God and the Death Sea King, staying up late worried about civilian casualties. If the Sea God was wounded, then that demon army must be feeling pretty lost.

But who could take out the Sea God in one shot? And why would they attack now?

I asked Chang-hil, “What if the Three Sovereigns are to blame?”

“They wouldn’t waste their strength dealing with such petty nuisances. Besides, the Sea God’s no different than an underling of the Evil God; they wouldn’t want to worsen their situation.”

“……”

“Regardless, I still want to hear your answer. Will you join us?”

I realized the moment of choice had arrived.

Whether I teamed up with Chang-hil or not would undoubtedly influence my fate in this life.

‘This is tough…’

What’s the right call? If I struck an alliance with Chang-hil and orchestrated the Celestial Realm’s demise, the powers and abilities sealed within would be freed, allowing for greater freedom of movement. But if the Celestial Realm vanishes, then the balance of power shifts significantly, letting the Old Ruler and the otherworldly races run rampant. Plus, it would mean I couldn’t stop Chang-hil from reigning supreme.

On the flip side, refusing Chang-hil’s offer wouldn’t be easy either. According to him, chances to hit the Celestial Realm like this would be slim in the future. Even though our strength is formidable, raiding the Celestial Realm solely on our own wouldn’t be feasible—they have hundreds of powerful immortals defending it, as well as the Queen Mother of the West. It felt like letting a golden opportunity slip away.

Then, I suddenly recalled Master Mangnyang’s words, [What would you do if you could save humanity, but the world crumbled?] [The reverse occurrence would take place. Humanity would perish, but the world would be saved.] [So you would choose the worst option if it wasn’t the best one? Interesting.] [Let it flow. For the sake of grill fish, I shall give you a chance to choose in this life.]

Was his talk about choices really relevant to the situation?

‘What does that cat want?’

One thing was clear: depending on how I received Chang-hil’s offer, humanity’s fate was hanging in the balance. I still remembered the answer I’d made at that moment.

“……”

I made my decision.

Standing up, I locked eyes with Chang-hil and declared, “I refuse.”

“Why’s that?”

Chang-hil stared back at me with a hint of curiosity.

“I might not know your goal, but without my cooperation, no matter what you chase, it’ll be a rough ride. Ever since I seized Luoyang, everything in this world has been flowing in my favor. Don’t you see that, you fool?”

“That’s a possibility.”

I continued, “But I can’t cooperate with you.”

“Is it due to the enmity you hold from all this time?”

“That’s part of it, but there’s more.”

“What’s different?”

I slowly expressed my gut feeling, “You seem different from the others. I just can’t resonate with you.”

“Oh really?”

“For sure.”

“So, are you planning to side with the Three Sovereigns?”

“I can’t say.”

But I also dreaded joining forces with them.

Chang-hil’s expression turned cold as he said, “Then this is where my indulgence ends. The moment you leave this palace, whether or not Master Mangnyang is backing you, I will surely annihilate you.”

“……”

Master of the White Lotus Sect.

Zhuge Yulong.

Master of the Twelve Joules.

There was a stark contrast between their madness and sincerity compared to Chang-hil. While I lacked the audacity to measure someone who had reached the Old Ruler’s realm, I still felt he possessed fundamentally different goals and values than the other three.

More calculating and cold.

And an obsession that has spanned the ages.

Although my information was incredibly limited, I had a nagging feeling that if I recklessly allied with Chang-hil, I would end up regretting it for the rest of my life.

‘I’m sorry, Mangnyang…’

Mangnyang said we’d achieve something in this life, but throwing away this golden chance to destroy the Celestial Realm felt like a betrayal. Yet, my conviction outweighed immediate gains, so it had to be this way.

I could dig deeper into Chang-hil’s secrets, but with him keeping a close eye on me, it was unlikely I’d get any crucial information. Plus, casually questioning someone notorious for their cunning, dating back to ancient times, could easily backfire on me.

As I turned to escape the palace, I caught Chang-hil’s voice from behind.

“And…”

Looking back, Chang-hil continued, “Tell Master Mangnyang that no matter what happens, the future of this world is set.”

“……”

I chose not to respond and walked away. Regardless of whether he considered me a mere errand boy for Master Mangnyang, my path diverged from Chang-hil’s, and there was no reason to exchange words anymore. And if even Master Mangnyang admitted the future is uncertain, on what grounds could Chang-hil be so certain?

‘Arrogant.’

That was the impression I got from our first encounter.

Tydaht!

I shook my head and leaped out of the palace, vaulting over the walls of the Inner City. Using my Void abilities, I floated for a moment, taking in the sight of Luoyang. The summoning circles remained shrouded in darkness due to the Demon God’s presence, while Luoyang itself lay engulfed in shadows.

Simultaneously, steam rose underneath dark clouds, belching from the steel mechanisms, and the sight of people hauling mysterious scientific devices seemed almost absurd. Why did I have this nagging feeling that this world would continue to evolve, even in darkness?

‘I need to find my comrades.’

With that thought, I started flying away from Luoyang, engulfed in anticipation for the tumultuous struggles to come.

 

---