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True Martial Home

As Tai Gong-mang’s shout echoed, Xiang Yu finally showed a combative expression for the first time. Apparently, the power embedded in Tai Gong-mang’s Lion’s Roar was enough to shake off his lethargy. Xiang Yu glanced at me and said,

“Get lost.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t guarantee your life in this fight.”

“Understood. I’m summoning my guardian.”

“Do what you want.”

Instead of feeling dismissed by Xiang Yu, I thought it reflected his acknowledgment of Tai Gong-mang as an impressive opponent. After all, the gap between Xiang Yu and me was so vast that I clearly wasn’t even a competitor; in a showdown between beings that transcended overlay techniques, it would be no surprise if I ended up dead.

‘It’s a shame I can’t watch the duel, but now’s not the time for that.’

I quickly retreated, channeling my guardian, and proclaimed,

“Guardian! I’m off to deal with the Blood Pillar!”

[What the hell are you guys???]

“Make haste!”

Riding my guardian, I began to glide through the void. When I had gotten about a mile away, a massive flash erupted behind me and shook the world.

Boom!

“……!!”

Is this what it means for the hell of blazing flames to unfold? In an instant, everything behind me burst into flames, and the destructive force scraped the ground and the air simultaneously. Anticipating a second wave, I hurriedly infused my guardian with Spirit Power and shouted,

“Fly faster!!”

Woosh!

Boom! Boom!

With the added might I provided, my guardian kicked its wings into overdrive, barely allowing us to escape the ensuing explosions. Gritting my teeth, I thought,

‘Last time, I headed to Blood Pillar Nan Gu Xianong. This time, I need to aim for another Blood Pillar!’

This time, Zhuge Yulong was set to go towards Princess Yonggil.

Bam!

I directed us toward the Blood Pillar where Zhuge Yulong had previously gone. Although I knew the Blood Pillar was a mysterious man, I couldn’t figure out his exact identity.

But it was a Blood Pillar, so he must be a powerful immortal, right?

Anyway, as soon as I stood in front of the Blood Pillar, I chanted my incantation.

“O guardian from distant Dragon Heaven! I take the wheel of radiant light to guide you. Grant me access to secrets hidden in the eternal!”

Grrruuu…

Moments later, six radiant patterns floated above Princess Yonggil’s head. I couldn’t help but smirk.

‘That Zhuge Yulong, that little rascal…’

Zhuge Yulong seemed to have located the Blood Pillar’s weaknesses through ancient texts and was manipulating some forbidden law to remove the outer wall. However, it wasn’t a complete key; it merely revealed the location of the protective incantation for a limited time.

Once I erased those six radiant patterns, the outer wall would temporarily open, but that would come with the downside of not staying open for long. If I messed up once, I wouldn’t get a second chance.

Zhuge Yulong didn’t teach me the incantation, claiming that if I failed, I wouldn’t get another chance to reopen the outer wall, which only heightened my distrust toward him.

‘Don’t overthink it.’

What mattered now was removing the eternal barrier inside the outer wall. I quickly unleashed my power on the radiant patterns, and as the six patterns disappeared, a heavy sound rang out as the outer wall, which had stretched high into the sky, began to open.

Whoosh!

A moment later, like Zhuge Yulong had done, I entered inside the outer wall, and in the midst of some strange structures, I spotted the eternal barrier. Now that all that was left was to break that eternal barrier, I turned to my guardian and said,

“Guardian! We need to smash that eternal barrier together!”

[Alright!]

Boom!

My guardian began gathering Chaos Power in its mouth and let out a roar. Meanwhile, I gathered my Thunder Sword aura and refined it using Mind Control Techniques to empower my internal energy for the attack. The two strikes crossed in the void and struck the eternal barrier, unleashing an immense destructive force that swept over it. Yet even though it was enough to obliterate a mountain from the ground, the eternal barrier seemed unscathed.

“Hmm.”

[That eternal barrier must have durability too, just like the outer wall…]

Well, that was only natural. If the eternal barrier were something that could be broken, it would naturally have invincible durability. Knowing from Zhuge Yulong that once the outer wall closed, it would take more than a meal’s time to reopen it, I grew anxious and started thinking.

‘Zhuge Yulong is trying to summon the Old Ruler to borrow his power to break the eternal barrier… Meanwhile, I have no such backup plan. How can I break the eternal barrier?’

If Heuk Woong were here, he would have gathered all that immense Spirit Power in one spot and attempted something, but Heuk Woong was absent. Having Divine Power without the means to use it efficiently wouldn’t yield as much destructive power as martial arts. After pondering deeply, a thought suddenly struck me.

‘Yes!’

I concentrated my Divine Power at my fingertips and moved closer to the eternal barrier. Focusing, I slowly extended my hand and began to unleash the Ultimate Technique.

Ultimate Technique!

Technique of All Things!

‘Here we go…!!’

The Divine Thief had said that Technique of All Things allowed you to steal even things that do not exist. I had never used this ability because I had no clue where to apply it, but now felt like the perfect moment.

I’m stealing!

I’m stealing the [durability] of the eternal barrier!

It was a ridiculous notion, but the Technique of All Things was built on the premise of making the impossible possible. Moreover, since I infused it with my Spirit Power, its potency would surely be reinforced, potentially solving my lack of proficiency.

Whirr…

My hand turned white, and at that moment, I felt a vague sensation rush through both my mind and fingertips simultaneously. Without realizing it, I managed to contain an indescribable [something] at my fingertips and pulled it away.

Smack!

As I stepped back, it appeared that the glow the eternal barrier was emitting had decreased significantly. With that, I pulled out my sword again and unleashed the Thunder Sword aura.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

[Unbelievable! I did it.]

As the eternal barrier shattered and disintegrated, my guardian let out a cry of amazement. Seeing the eternal barrier weaken in an instant, I felt dazed. I couldn’t quite process what I had just achieved.

‘So, it really was possible.’

To be able to steal something that does not exist with Technique of All Things — that meant it was possible to steal intangible concepts such as [durability]! It seemed I had indeed used a significant amount of Spirit Power, and I thought that normally, even with high proficiency, the success rate for this would only be around fifty percent.

It was the moment the eternal barrier was destroyed.

In the distance, I could hear Tai Gong-mang’s sorrowful Lion’s Roar.

[Aah, this is unbelievable! The eternal barrier is shattered… How do you intend to account for this?]

Thunder rolled in.

At the same time, dark clouds gathered, and I felt dozens of lightning strikes fall nearby. I swiftly realized that Tai Gong-mang was planning to come directly here and yelled at my guardian.

“Let’s flee! Tai Gong-mang is coming.”

[Got it!]

As I mounted my guardian and kicked off into the void once more, I noticed some white things pouring out of the eternal barrier like clouds. These white things resembled souls and were so numerous that they appeared dense like clouds.

‘Is that the souls of the Ancient People?’

It was said the souls of the Ancients were trapped within the eternal barrier. If that was true, then by breaking just one eternal barrier, I had effectively liberated thirty percent of the sealed souls of the Ancients. As I rode my guardian to escape, I suddenly heard a crackling sound.

[AAAARGH!]

“UAAAARGH!”

An overwhelmingly large bolt of lightning struck down and hit me and my guardian directly, causing us to scream as we fell below. My head spun, but I realized I wasn’t as injured as I expected and bounced off the air to land safely. However, my companion turned to ash from just that single bolt.

“Hey, Guardian!!”

No reply. Moments later, my guardian turned into chaos powder and vanished.

‘Did my guardian get taken out in one hit? That’s some serious firepower…’

It must have been Tai Gong-mang’s sorcery, but even so, could he really roast the Four Fierce Beasts with a single lightning spell? In many ways, I was realizing that Tai Gong-mang was a transcendent powerhouse. And luckily, becoming familiar with the Thunder God lineage might have contributed to my resistance against lightning.

Zap!

“Ugh.”

But while I was letting those thoughts swirl, another bolt of lightning just as powerful as the previous one struck again. I quickly gathered all my Spirit Power to create a protective barrier, and this time I could withstand the lightning to a level that left my palm tingly.

Tai Gong-mang’s Lion’s Roar resounded.

[Are you enduring Twice the techniques of the Heavenly Thunder bestowed upon you by the Primordial Heaven Master? If this was a spell created to execute the Great Immortal, then what kind of existence are you?]

“……”

[I’ll admit, you are far from ordinary. I too will have to deploy my last resort.]

Tai Gong-mang’s words were cut off.

‘Last resort?’

What does that even mean?

Feeling perplexed, I knew there was only one destination I needed to head to now. I quickly set my sights on the Blood Pillar Zhuge Yulong was responsible for.

Bang!

Zhuge Yulong was summoning the Old Ruler using the White Tiger as an offering and was seemingly halfway through when he unleashed his vast magical power to crush the eternal barrier. It seemed the eternal barrier was holding up against the power Zhuge Yulong was unleashing but was slowly melting away.

Rolling thunder!

A short while later, it seemed Zhuge Yulong succeeded in shattering the eternal barrier. At that moment, the souls of the Ancients began to be liberated, and he stared blankly at the sight, kneeling and mumbling.

“This is it… This is what I’ve wanted to see…”

“Zhuge Yulong, sorry to interrupt.”

The gazes of Zhuge Yulong and Zhuge Bu turned toward me. I informed Zhuge Yulong,

“I also succeeded in breaking the eternal barrier, but my guardian perished. And Tai Gong-mang has mentioned he will now use his last resort and told me to cease my attack.”

“……”

“Do you have any guesses?”

“Baek Woong, since we’ve destroyed two Blood Pillars, we should now head for the third. Tai Gong-mang has likely predicted that we would head to the position of the last Blood Pillar, Nan Gu Xianong, and is waiting for us there.”

“Why is that his last resort?”

Zhuge Yulong didn’t respond to my question and instructed Zhuge Bu.

“Check the condition of Blood Pillar Princess Yonggil.”

“Yes.”

Following his orders, Zhuge Bu descended to the ground for confirmation and returned, stating,

“She’s gone.”

“I thought so.”

“What do you mean, ‘thought so’?”

Zhuge Yulong sighed and answered my query.

“Tai Gong-mang will awaken the Blood Pillars placed at the other two seals to use them as his full force, to guard the last Blood Pillar and the eternal barrier.”

“……!!”

“The Blood Pillars were all once great immortals surpassing the Twelve Greats. If they team up with Tai Gong-mang, it won’t be an easy fight.”

“Ugh…”

There was no need for anyone to say it; I already knew that due to my firsthand experience with Nan Gu Xianong, who once wore the mask. If the remaining Blood Pillars held power equal to Nan Gu Xianong, then even with Xiang Yu on our side, I had no confidence in our victory.

I cautiously suggested,

“…Should I summon the Celestial Sage or another ally?”

“It’s already too late. It wouldn’t have been possible before we entered, but now that we’ve entered, everything is under Tai Gong-mang’s control. There’s no escaping.”

“……”

“However, that doesn’t mean there is no chance of victory.”

Zhuge Yulong’s gaze was still fixed on the massive darkness being summoned in the air. It was undoubtedly the Old Ruler of the Imperial Palace, which made my expression turn grim. Gritting my teeth, I said,

“…Is relying on the power of the Ruler the only option left?”

“Do you plan to open up the Eight Gates just to fight? Your goal isn’t just to end this battle in the Celestial Realm, so you shouldn’t go that route. It’s time to borrow the powers of the Demon Path.”

“But summoning the Old Ruler is like inviting a tiger to chase away a wolf. They aren’t creatures that can be easily used.”

“It’s already too late. If the summoning has progressed this far, there’s no way to stop it, no matter how much I’m a priest.”

Is that really so?

Is there no choice but to employ a strategy of mutual destruction?

While I was contemplating, I heard a voice.

“This is troublesome.”

“Lord Xiang Yu!”

Xiang Yu flew nearby, cracking his neck as he coldly spoke.

“What have you all been up to?”

“Huh?”

With those words, I became at a loss for expression.

“My constellation’s power has grown immensely.”

“……”

What the?!

It’s grown stronger?!

“Is this sealing linked to my power?”

“Uh… well…”

I stammered, unable to respond but began to understand the situation.

The moment the souls of the Ancients were unsealed, Xiang Yu’s constellation had become even stronger.

After a while, regaining my composure, I said to Xiang Yu,

“That’s right! Please use that power to take down Tai Gong-mang!”

With things like this, I had no other options.

I’m putting all my faith in Xiang Yu!