Chapter 231
Everyone was born with a unique constitution.
Depending on the balance of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, or special dispositions, these constitutions went by different names.
Only by mastering martial arts suited to one’s constitution could one achieve greatness.
This was what people commonly called “talent.”
For example, an Extreme Yin Body was perfectly suited for learning ice techniques, as it harbored extreme Yin energy within the body.
A Yin Yang Body could balance Yin and Yang energies, allowing for the appropriate manipulation of both ice and fire energies.
A Tai Chi Body, embodying the Five Elements, could easily master all martial arts, showing how limitations differed based on constitution.
Occasionally, there were those who overcame and transcended their inherent constitution, but they were exceedingly rare.
Breaking free from one’s destiny was akin to impossibility.
‘Everything is perfect. There isn’t a single flaw!’
First Heavenly King Chiwoo exclaimed inwardly as he examined Park Chan-woo’s body.
It surpassed any body he had ever seen.
It went beyond the level of mere “strong bones.”
The density of bone and muscle, the flow of life force—everything was in perfect, flawless balance.
And that wasn’t all.
‘The flow of energy is calm, yet vast like a great canal. The harmony of Yin and Yang is beyond question, and everything—Heaven, Earth, and Man—fits perfectly.’
A body inherently sensitive to energy.
That was why he had been able to withstand the Mind-Killing Strike.
With such sensitivity, he must have sensed and deflected the thin, needle-like energy of that instant kill.
For an ordinary person, no matter how much they trained in manipulating energy, it would have been impossible.
It was only possible if the body itself embodied the trinity of Heaven, Earth, and Man.
Moreover, neither Yin nor Yang was biased, and neither righteousness nor evil prevailed.
A perfect body with no flaws to be found, even if one sought them out.
He had encountered countless Arahan, but he had never seen anything like it.
First Heavenly King Chiwoo.
The reason he stood first among the Twelve Heavenly Kings was not only his martial strength, but also because he was the “first gate” for all Arahan ascending to the Hall of All Gods.
The Hall of All Gods was divided into several areas, each offering different studies for cultivation.
Chiwoo meticulously examined the bodies of the Arahan climbing the mountain and guided them to the appropriate areas.
Naturally, Chiwoo was the one who could “see” bodies best.
There was no way he could be mistaken.
‘The Heavenly Martial Body, passed down in legends. Isn’t that the constitution the Ancestral Heavenly Demon possessed in the past!’
A constitution said to have been possessed by only one person throughout all of time—the Heavenly Demon!
The only constitution capable of learning all martial arts and reaching their ultimate depths!
But what was even more astonishing was…
‘Most of it was created postnatally.’
It didn’t seem to have been a Heavenly Martial Body from the start.
The constitution had been improved after birth.
However, fundamentally altering one’s constitution was not as easy as it sounded.
It couldn’t be done through one’s own efforts alone.
‘Unless the Heavenly Demon himself improved the constitution…!’
Unless a being like the heavens intervened.
…Only the person who had been the Heavenly Martial Body—the Heavenly Demon—could create a Heavenly Martial Body.
Tremble!
As that realization struck, Chiwoo’s entire body shook like an aspen leaf.
When he saw the guardian Charpham, he had honestly doubted it.
Charpham was completely different from the image he knew, and his attitude toward the Heavenly Demon was utterly disrespectful.
However, there was no way there could be another person in the world with a Heavenly Martial Body.
What were the chances that someone with a Heavenly Martial Body could be born through intercourse while dealing with Charpham in Avici Hell?
Of course, all of this was Chiwoo’s misunderstanding.
Park Chan-woo had overcome numerous adversities after his regression, perfecting himself.
By challenging the impossible and defeating beings far more powerful than himself, even his inherent foundation had begun to change, little by little.
And by meeting Transcender Lil, he was able to further perfect himself through understanding and enlightenment about Mana.
The most decisive factor was his mindset.
‘I will become an Archmage who surpasses Sephiro.’
The will to become an Archmage who surpassed the Transcendent Dragon!
That aspiration—to surpass even the monstrous being who had erased humanity with a single word—was gradually evolving him.
From the start, his goal had been high.
It was like trying to grasp a being on the clouds, unreachable even with outstretched hands.
“‘Divine Art Absolute Learning’…… We have conveyed all of our enlightenment.”
He had engraved twelve insights onto his body.
Chiwoo had written the insights like tattoos all over Park Chan-woo’s body with his own blood.
Then, as if it were a lie, the letters disappeared.
This was because he had dissolved not just simple blood, but his Origin Energy as well.
Each time he awakened an insight while facing an Arahan, the letters would appear and he would awaken.
By achieving that twelve times, he could complete the Divine Art.
“This old man has no regrets now.”
His face seemed even older.
All his energy had been drained, and it wouldn’t have been strange if he died immediately.
His pupils were close to gray.
His skin was dry and wrinkled.
Yet he looked refreshed.
It was the face of someone who had finally achieved a grand goal at the end of his life.
“……”
Park Chan-woo was speechless.
He had never imagined the profound secrets would be conveyed in this way.
The old man could manipulate Innate Mana.
He clearly understood the stages of Mana.
Furthermore, he had engraved his own Innate Mana as profound secrets onto Park Chan-woo’s body.
“It’s alright. I was destined to die soon anyway.”
“……Thank you.”
“However… what concerns me is this Avici Hell. There was no way to escape.”
The Twelve Heavenly Kings had scattered throughout the cave, searching for a way out.
For a long time. Countless days.
They wandered, but couldn’t find a way out, nor could they even encounter each other.
They had become eternal lost souls.
“I know the way out.”
“……What do you mean.”
“How do you think I got in here?”
“If you weren’t forcibly confined like us… perhaps, did you come in on your own?”
This was also a question that had lingered in his mind.
How Park Chan-woo had entered this Avici Hell.
Of course, the Will of Magic had guided him here, but he added a little embellishment.
“That’s right.”
“Why…….”
“To find survivors.”
“……Us?”
Nod!
Park Chan-woo nodded.
In truth, that wasn’t the case at all.
He didn’t even know where this was.
He wasn’t interested in whether anyone was alive.
However, First Heavenly King Chiwoo was dying.
He was accepting his death.
“……Could it be. ‘That person’…… But that can’t be…….”
Chiwoo’s eyes shook wildly.
Park Chan-woo drove the wedge in.
“You’ve endured well. Let’s go out together.”
In his current state, Chiwoo would die before even getting out of the cave.
He needed the driving force to live—hope—to endure.
“Ah……!”
Chiwoo covered his face with both hands.
Soon, he wept as though he had been saved.
After being overcome for a long time, he finally spoke.
“……Thank you. But if I go out with you, I’ll be discovered before I can ascend to the Hall of All Gods. My remaining life won’t last that long either. I’m satisfied enough that I was able to convey the last profound secrets.”
Chiwoo didn’t change his mind.
Rather—
“And it’s fortunate. It’s truly fortunate that you know the way out.”
He was even more relieved that Park Chan-woo could return safely.
He didn’t care at all about his own death.
It was as though he had transcended detachment and reached enlightenment.
…It seemed impossible to take him out like this.
But Park Chan-woo didn’t want to end this connection here.
He offered his back.
“Get on.”
“I’m alright…….”
“Don’t you want to meet your friends?”
“……Pardon?”
“I’m talking about the other Twelve Heavenly Kings who are trapped here with you.”
“…….”
Chiwoo was speechless.
The Twelve Heavenly Kings were all special to each other.
They had overcome countless brushes with death together.
They had relied on each other, saying they would be together on the day they died.
But everyone had said they were dead.
Chiwoo had not been with them in their deaths.
He hadn’t even been able to find out where they were.
But—
“……Do you really…… know where the other Heavenly Kings are?”
“Yes. I was on my way back from meeting them all.”
More than going outside, he wanted to meet the other Heavenly Kings.
Even if they were already dead, he wanted to at least bury them properly.
[It will take twice as long. And it’s not good to stay in this maze for long. Are you sure?]
Chronos warned.
The longer one stayed in this Avici Hell, the more one lost their senses.
Even if the Radiant Sage’s Stone (Eternal) showed the way, one couldn’t move properly once they lost their senses.
The longer they stayed, the greater the chance they would suffer the same fate as the Twelve Heavenly Kings.
But Park Chan-woo shrugged.
“Aren’t they friends closer than family?”
“…….”
Chiwoo nodded with difficulty.
Comrades who had stayed together until the end in the persecution of the Hall of All Gods.
Their weight could not be compared to blood ties.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t want to see them.
“Let’s go together. I’ll guide you.”
—
They turned back.
They retraced their steps, facing the other Twelve Heavenly Kings who had died and become skeletons.
Each time they found one, Chiwoo muttered a few words.
“Second Heavenly King Haewoo… He was a boisterous character, but what’s with him being so quiet?”
“Fourth Heavenly King Chuljin…… You said you’d die later than me, but judging by the traces, you were the first to go. You impatient bastard.”
“Tenth Heavenly King. You died well. I’ll be joining you soon.”
He dug into the ground and buried them.
Afterward, Chiwoo offered a short prayer for their souls, wearing a wistful look.
Sometimes he shed tears, sometimes he lamented, pouring out all his emotions.
Chiwoo struggled to send off friends he would never see again.
After they returned to the starting point, after he had sent off all the Heavenly Kings—
“……Thank you. Truly, how should I repay this favor…….”
“Shouldn’t you live?”
“But my permitted life is already…….”
“Look back at yourself once more. Whether you are destined to die, or not.”
Park Chan-woo said with a smile.
At that, Chiwoo tilted his head and looked down at his hands.
In that moment—
“……!!!”
Chiwoo convulsed again.
The wrinkles on his hands were gone.
He quickly reached out and touched his face.
“……H-how did this happen…….”
Likewise, he felt firm skin.
Each time he sent off his friends and relieved his resentment, Chiwoo’s appearance had been changing little by little, in moments he didn’t even realize.
And so, when he had sent everyone off—
Chiwoo was able to completely undergo Rebirth.