925——————==

True Martial Home

This is it…

‘What nonsense!’

I had poured all my treasures into negotiating with Yan Emperor Shennong. Even though I, a reincarnated person, could gather all the precious artifacts of this world, finding treasures this lifetime was simply impossible. Besides, having already crossed into another universe, how could I offer more to Shennong? If the Giant God Suin gave up here, I’d have no way out.

But instead of losing my mind and shouting randomly, I regained my composure and calmly spoke to Suin.

“I don’t quite understand what’s happening. Please explain the situation clearly.”

[Alright.]

Hu Woong

As Suin pushed through the air with their hand, time suddenly froze. More accurately, only Suin and I could move within the stopped time; the shattered Imperial Palace and the scenery around us stayed unchanged. Watching Suin casually freeze time made me think they truly resembled a deity, on par with the Sovereigns.

After a brief moment, Suin spoke.

[What you just defeated was an incarnation. Its true form is stronger than me. As the incarnation of Shennong, I’m helping you, but battling that existence exceeds our agreements. Do you need a clearer explanation?]

“…That just doesn’t make sense. True form?”

I asked Suin, “Are you saying it could be an [Old Ruler]?”

[You understand well.]

“……!!”

Really?!

I had my doubts, but the shocking truth hit me like a freight train.

[Old Ruler]!

If that’s the case, it’s not something you’d normally see in the realm of mere humans or demon sorcerers. The opponent was already a cosmic being and had become transcendental. Only someone who has reached the level of a [Ruler] can engage such a being; my mortal strength could never match up.

I snapped back into focus and asked again.

“Suin, even if that’s true… we haven’t even seen its true form. How could the great Giant God declare superiority over an opponent they haven’t even seen?”

[Divine beings grasp each other’s level upon meeting. If the opponent is openly revealing themselves, it becomes even easier to discern. The power of the entity I had assessed was something I couldn’t withstand.]

“……”

[It’s undoubtedly a powerful being that would be hard to find anywhere in the universe.]

I pondered before saying, “…Are you implying that the power of the true form of Dharma exceeds that of the Three Sovereigns Shennong?”

[Not exactly. It means that I, as Shennong’s incarnation, cannot defeat a cosmic being. No matter how much I embody Shennong’s might, there are limits. I might be able to match them to some extent, but due to the gap in divine status and power, I’d ultimately lose.]

Even while admitting they would lose, Suin remained disturbingly calm. This signified that the Giant God Suin had extensive experience in divine combat and could judge the situation coolly.

“Would you say Dharma’s strength is at least on par with the Three Sovereigns?”

[A fitting analysis.]

“Uh… Hmm…”

I felt dizzy as I muttered.

‘Could it be… Dharma is an [Old Ruler] on par with the Three Sovereigns…?’

I had no way of knowing whether Dharma had originally been an [Old Ruler] or if they had become a ruler from a human background like Chi You.

But one thing was certain: even if Suin and I teamed up, we likely wouldn’t stand a chance against Dharma. And even if there was a possibility of defeating him, from Suin’s viewpoint, there would be no reason to risk such a life-and-death struggle. No matter how great the offering I made, fighting the divine being was a completely different matter.

What should I do?

I felt my eyes widen as I desperately brainstormed.

‘No way…!! Before I die this lifetime, I must at least obtain one of the Four Great Spirit Deities!’

If I died now, I’d have to go through this agony again. Leaving everything aside, breaking through to the king of Aokigahara Life Sea was nearly impossible with mortal strength, meaning I’d have to rely on divine assistance again, and for that, I’d need to amass a ridiculous amount of treasure. While wondering if that could happen, I realized I had been unreasonably lucky thus far, thanks to the order of the divine source, Pangu!

If I die now, there’s a very real chance I won’t be able to return to this external universe even after a hundred deaths. There’s no option of dying without obtaining the Four Great Spirit Deities. Even if I can’t obtain them, I must at least figure out their whereabouts!

With gritted teeth, I respectfully held out my Primordial Void and shouted.

“I’m offering the Primordial Void!! With this, somehow…”

[No, it’s no use. No matter how ancient the treasure or the creation of Fuxi, the situation has surpassed limits.]

Saying this, Suin waved their hand dismissively.

[From the get-go, even if it’s a contract, what a [Ruler] grants to a mortal should always be a favor, not an obligation. If I, the Giant God Suin, meet my end, the impact on my true form Shennong would be catastrophic, and I can’t help you any further.]

“……”

So, because if Suin dies, Shennong would take a bigger hit, they can’t accept any offering, no matter how grand?

Then chasing after possible solutions through offerings has utterly failed. The only treasures left in my hands are the Wooden Armor, the Golden Lamp, and the Primordial Void, but since Suin outright rejected the Primordial Void, offering the other two would be meaningless. They may be excellent demon sorcery treasures, but combined they wouldn’t even equal half the value of the Primordial Void.

Ah, but if I can’t grasp Suin, then fighting Dharma would be like throwing an egg at a boulder… There’s no way I can even think about regaining the Four Great Spirit Deities.

Is there truly nothing I can do?

I desperately thought and thought. Suddenly a good idea came to me.

“…I will offer this book!! How about it?!”

This is do or die!

‘Maybe this will work?!’

I pulled out the Heavenly Secret and offered it to Suin. It was the only remaining card I had.

[Hmm. Is this a grimoire?]

Suin received the Heavenly Secret and gave it a quick flick through. Then, with a flick, threw it back at me saying,

[What a strange foreign language! Did some rural sorcerer in a galaxy create this? It’s useless to me, so just throw it away.]

Thwack!

I caught the corner of the Heavenly Secret that Suin had hurled back at me with my forehead, regaining my senses as I picked the book up.

“……”

Huh…

This was odd. Chi You and Yu Shun displayed bizarre reactions and got consumed by the book the moment they read it, yet Suin treated it like garbage, as if questioning what the fuss was about.

‘Could it be that the book has a role in trapping those guys inside?’

What gives?

While Chi You and Yu Shun got dragged in, why didn’t Suin?

‘Is there some kind of criteria for being sucked in?’

As I pondered this, Suin spoke.

[Is that all you have to say? Then I will take my leave.]

“Wait!!! You can’t just leave! We’re in an external universe!”

[The Observer told me I could leave whenever I wanted. If I return to the area I passed through earlier, I’ll be able to return.]

Whoosh!

Suin turned their back. Just as my eyes threatened to blink, making Suin truly leave, I unconsciously shouted with desperation.

“Law – Technique – !!!”

Stop

Suin stopped just as they were about to disappear into the cosmos with their spatial move. Pushing the dimensional door closed again with his hand, Suin turned to look at me.

[What law technique do you speak of?]

“The, the Law of Non-Birth Mother… Dharma will create it!!”

[Hmm… Is that the one I’ve only heard rumors about…?]

“Yes!!”

I frantically started rambling.

“When the Law of Non-Birth Mother gathers, um, what’s it called, the True Martial Home occurs!! The True Martial Home is bad news!! If it happens, it’ll be a huge problem and everyone will try to snatch the law technique, so, uh, shouldn’t we try to stop it?”

Rambling… I was in such a mess I couldn’t even think straight. With this being a mission I absolutely needed to accomplish in this lifetime, there was no room for pride. But whether my words made any sense, Suin paused, seemingly deep in thought.

After a moment he said.

[It felt strange at first, but this world appears to be a past version of our world. And Dharma, while a being of our history, exists in the present here? This temporal dislocation is utterly absurd… Then…]

Having thought for a while, Suin appeared to reach a conclusion and looked at me. Then he said.

[That’s entirely irrelevant to me. Then farewell.]

“… Huh?!”

I rushed forward, jumping around as I exclaimed.

“Hold on!! It’s about the law technique! Once completed, it causes a catastrophic disaster that all [Old Rulers] want to secure, so you understand the risk, right?!”

[Of course, I know. I’ve heard news about that even while sealed. If given the opportunity, I too would sacrifice my own existence to secure that law technique.]

“Then we just need to fight Dharma!”

[Not going to happen.]

“Why not?!”

[Because we’re in an external universe. The [beyond] of the universe, a place where no common sense applies.]

Suin crossed their arms and said.

[So this isn’t the [past] of our world. It just looks similar; it’s a completely different world. The laws of the universe might be entirely different here than they are for us. What meaning is there in securing a law technique that isn’t of our world? The symbolism and power of that technique may be completely different.]

“……”

[Baek Woong, I have no idea why you came to this external universe. But our fates end here.]

“Wait…”

Suin sighed.

[I have no idea how many times ‘wait’ this is… Well then.]

Wham!

In that instant, Suin’s figure vanished, and simultaneously the space where time had stood still returned to normal. It was clear they no longer wished to converse with me, opting to leave the external universe.

“……”

Suin fled…

I dropped to my knees, engulfed in despair.

“Uaaaargh…”

This is it.

With Suin’s help, I might have pushed through with the order of causality to fight and defeat Dharma, but now I was left to face Dharma, the Three Sovereigns-level [Old Ruler] with nothing but my bare hands. It goes without saying that my chances were countless times lower than throwing an egg against a rock.

Dying would be a relief.

If I die, I can start over.

But the situation was far from allowing that. I knew all too well how difficult it would be to reach this point again. There was also a chance I could be caught by Dharma and tortured or forcibly altered into some other creature if I lingered around.

Caught between options, I could only sit there with hollow eyes, breathing.

Swish, swish, swish

And so, as I knelt, several cold spear tips aimed menacingly at my neck.

Emerging from behind the ruined building, Emperor So Yeon shouted.

“Seize that despicable phantom at once, Imperial Guard!!”

Bang!

After a flurry of kicks from the Imperial Guards, someone tied my arms behind my back with rope. Believing they had tied it tight enough, the guards began escorting me away.

Clank!

I sat dazed inside the iron bars of a prison cell. My wrists and ankles were bound in cold iron chains, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to care about that.

“……”

As expected.

These people can’t use martial arts…

Typically, in the Imperial Palace, strong armed groups like the Imperial Guard or Golden Eagle Guard were stationed as high-level protection, and naturally, most of them were martial arts experts. However, I hadn’t felt even an ounce of internal power from the guards’ kicks as they tried to subdue me. Moreover, the ropes binding me weren’t things like the Arylongsak meant to restrain martial arts experts.

Utterly absurd, yet it meant the Imperial Guards didn’t know martial arts. The chains enveloping my limbs were so weak I could break them with just a flick of internal power. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all.

“Ha…”

Why was I caught in the first place?

I wasn’t sure myself, but it made me want to confirm the truth of this world. I had directly witnessed the [truth] that these people couldn’t use martial arts.

‘What kind of world is this… And why does the era of Dharma also have the Four Great Spirit Deities? I need to find out.’

Even if I couldn’t regain the Four Great Spirit Deities and return, I at least had to gather some information.

I knew I couldn’t just dwell in despair, so I decided to do what I could right now.

I wouldn’t give up till the end. Throwing away this life, which my companions entrusted to me, would be an insult to them.

A little while later, I tried to connect to Jeon Wook through the communicator.

“……”

No connection.

It felt just like when the world was coming to an end… This lack of response likely meant Jeon Wook didn’t exist in this world at all.

‘Is this world completely different from ours, just as Suin said?’

But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was off.

I thought being trapped in this prison allowed me to have some time to think, and so I persevered to continue contemplating. After some time, I realized what I needed to do.

“Primordial Void!”

Swish!

I lit up my eyes and activated the Primordial Void, starting to manipulate the hexagrams. Softly, I commanded the Primordial Void.

“Locate the Divine Thief.”

The one who had already crossed into an external universe a thousand years ago.

Only the Divine Thief could provide a clue to my current situation.