Chapter 239
The news that someone was challenging the 59th floor spread like wildfire.
It reached even the ancient families—including Arisa, who was called the Monster of the Mid-Slopes.
A record that had remained unbroken for a long time.
Even Arahans who had reached beyond the 51st floor were rare.
‘That’s a Jiangshi that can never be defeated.’
Arisa descended from the mid-slopes and arrived at the mountain’s entrance.
At the tower’s entrance, numerous Arahan had already gathered.
Everyone watched the Mystic Tower with bated breath, wondering whether a new record would be set.
“Arisa?”
“…The Monster of the Mid-Slopes.”
“Seems she got curious whether her record would be broken.”
Some Arahans noticed Arisa and began whispering.
Arisa paid them no mind.
Arms crossed, she simply stared up at the tower in silence.
It wasn’t because she was curious about her record being broken.
The Jiangshi on the 59th floor.
It was a Jiangshi that should not exist in this world—one no living being could ever defeat.
Perhaps because of that, unlike the challengers before, the one who reached the 59th floor didn’t advance quickly.
For a long time, they remained there, locked in battle.
No—perhaps they were already dead.
“Guess setting a new record was too much after all.”
“If it were easy, someone would’ve done it long ago.”
“What a pity.”
The Arahans shook their heads.
Arisa sighed inwardly as well.
If they had given up quickly and fled, they might have at least saved their life.
Instead, they likely fought stubbornly and met their end.
And an Arahan who should have climbed to the mid-slopes and elevated their name had died pointlessly.
Arisa’s gaze sharpened as it fell on Anton.
Anton wore an expression laced with a strange sense of relief.
‘Anton. You have broken a taboo.’
You created a Jiangshi that should never have been created.
One that completely opposes the spirit of the Hall of All Gods and this mountain.
A Jiangshi that, if exposed, could lead directly to catastrophe.
The only reason Arisa couldn’t reveal it was because the Undead Sect stood behind it.
If Arisa, an exile from a Hidden Realm, confronted the Undead Sect, she would be erased without a trace.
‘…I heard he’s also from a Hidden Realm.’
Hidden Realm.
The final place of exile and imprisonment for those cast down from the mountain.
The way Arahans from there were treated was beyond words.
The mid-slopes were their limit.
Even Arisa couldn’t ascend to the upper levels.
That was why those from Hidden Realms knew one another to some extent, maintaining a fairly solid bond.
‘Who could it have been?’
That was what puzzled her.
She didn’t know every figure from every Hidden Realm.
But someone strong enough to reach the 59th floor—she couldn’t possibly not know them.
If she didn’t, then maybe it was someone who emerged after the gate of a Demon Realm that had not yet opened was forced open.
‘Except for one, all Demon Realms have opened.’
Demon Realm.
The deeper parts of the Hidden Realms.
They called the place where absolute masters were sealed and imprisoned the Demon Realm—the “true prison.”
As of now, all Demon Realms except one had opened.
The masters who emerged from those Demon Realms were crippled, but their martial knowledge was exceptionally profound—without limit.
Arisa herself was born from a master of a Demon Realm.
So—
‘The Absolute Demon Realm. Avici Hell… The masters inside must already be dead. So it has to be someone I know from among them.’
If they didn’t come from Avici Hell, then they had to be someone from a Hidden Realm Arisa knew.
But from the start, the idea of someone emerging from Avici Hell was absurd.
「The Twelve Heavenly Kings. The twelve most outstanding fiends were imprisoned in that Demon Realm five thousand years ago.」
「Since then, for five thousand years, it has never opened, so they must be dead by now.」
「What a pity. If their martial arts had been passed down, the New Martial Arts of the mountain and the martial arts of our Hidden Realms could have truly clashed!」
They were figures from five thousand years ago.
No living species survived for over five thousand years.
Even dragons, said to live the longest, typically died before then unless they were special existences.
Moreover, the Demon Realm was a barren hell with nothing.
The masters imprisoned there were all cripples with their tendons severed.
Surviving for five thousand years in that state, without food or water, was nearly impossible.
‘…What a shame.’
Arisa clenched her fist.
The three trials held at the mountain’s entrance.
It was the perfect opportunity for an Arahan from a Hidden Realm—someone who passed all three with top grades—to rise.
Of course, no matter what, those from Hidden Realms were still limited to the mid-slopes.
The scions and disciples of the Nine Families went straight to the mid-slopes or upper levels without taking the trials at all.
If those people had climbed the Mystic Tower, the one who reached the highest floor might not have been Arisa.
The true masters of the Hall of All Gods who learned the New Martial Arts.
There was an unbridgeable gap between them and the Arahan of the Hidden Realms.
Five thousand years ago, Godslayer Taebaek—who became the new master of the Hall of All Gods—changed everything about the mountain.
After conquering the Hall of All Gods alone, he reformed the entire system of martial arts, bestowing that knowledge only upon those who followed him.
For the next five thousand years, under Taebaek’s rule, the Hall of All Gods served him as the sole supreme being and developed without pause.
Naturally, that knowledge never reached the Hidden Realms.
Just as Arisa clicked her tongue in regret and was about to turn away—
Whoooosh!
“……!!!”
“Li-light!”
“A new record!”
The Arahan erupted.
Arisa snapped her head around.
At the same time—
‘……They defeated that Jiangshi?’
Arisa’s eyes shook violently, as if she couldn’t believe it.
—
[59th Floor. ‘Demon Jiangshi’ appears.]
[The strength of the appearing ‘Jiangshi’ is adjusted to match the challenger’s strength.]
[‘Level 1’.]
[All stats of the appearing Jiangshi are fixed at 5.]
The moment he reached the 59th floor, Park Chan-woo’s eyes filled with fresh interest.
The Jiangshi before him was fundamentally different from everything that had appeared so far.
‘They made a demon into a Jiangshi?’
Whether it was even possible aside, an Arahan—who should have despised demons—had turned a demon into a Jiangshi.
Maybe it was fighting fire with fire, but it was clearly crossing a line.
‘Did they join hands with a real demon?’
The question wouldn’t go away.
This Mystic Tower was clearly a Creation Abyss.
And only a Demon Lord could create a Creation Abyss.
That alone was suspicious enough, but now a real demon had appeared.
Suspicion turned into certainty.
They had joined hands with a specific Demon Lord and manufactured various kinds of Jiangshi.
And since this Creation Abyss sat openly at the mountain’s entrance, the Hall of All Gods must have tacitly approved it.
‘They’ve accepted demonic power and techniques. The mountain has already been corrupted beyond recovery.’
Demons weren’t openly running rampant, but now he was starting to question whether the Arahans could truly be called the adversaries of demons at all.
Park Chan-woo observed the approaching demon Jiangshi.
He had finally overcome the negative range, but it was still weak.
Its movements were unbearably slow.
But it wasn’t an ordinary demon.
‘…An anomalous entity.’
Ordinary demons were categorized as lower-, mid-, or upper-rank.
But on rare occasions, anomalous entities that could not be classified within those ranks appeared.
Their abilities were so peculiar that they couldn’t be assigned a rank at all.
The demon before him was one of those.
A Rune Word was carved into its forehead.
‘The Self-Destructing Demon.’
A demon with a self-destruction ability akin to an Authority.
When driven into a corner, it died together with its opponent.
The fact that such a demon had been made into a Jiangshi meant one thing.
‘I should assume the Demon Lord who owns that demon intervened.’
It had likely been turned into a Jiangshi by force, under orders.
The question was whether its self-destruction power weakened with level.
Since it was an Authority possessed from birth, it likely had nothing to do with level.
If he provoked it carelessly, he could be caught up in it and truly die.
…Now he understood.
Why the 59th floor could not be cleared.
At that moment—
Grrrrrrr-.
A strange, beastlike sound came from Baal’s Sword.
Like a starving beast right before it sank its teeth into prey.
Ding!
[The Authority ‘Gluttony’ can be used.]
‘Gluttony?’
Baal’s Sword had once devoured all the treasures in Ahetta’s vault.
Because of that, its performance improved, completing it as [Transcendent Exclusive Equipment].
But it seemed Gluttony wasn’t merely an Authority for devouring treasures.
‘Baal reacts to anomalous entities.’
…Baal’s Belt was the same.
The equipment bearing Baal’s name was reacting to an anomalous entity—rare even in the Abyss.
He didn’t know whether there was some connection.
‘Gluttony.’
Park Chan-woo swung the sword.
In an instant, the Gluttony Authority within it manifested.
Crrrrrunch!
Chomp!
The sword transformed like a gigantic mouth and devoured the demon Jiangshi.
At the same time—
Ding!
[The limits of ‘Baal’s Sword’ have increased.]
[The sword’s level has increased by 1.]
“……”
Park Chan-woo couldn’t help but be surprised.
A piece of equipment’s level was fixed unless special conditions were met.
Raising it was only possible by injecting coins—like the Arahan’s Golden Mystique—or, at best, through something like an Immortal Emblem.
Yet Baal’s Sword had devoured an anomalous entity on its own and raised its level.
It seemed he needed to study the Gluttony Authority within the sword more closely.
Park Chan-woo shrugged and moved on to the next floor.
[60th Floor. ‘Demon Jiangshi’ appears.]
The 60th floor also held a demon Jiangshi.
And judging by the Rune Word carved into its body, it was clearly another anomalous entity.
The smile on his lips wouldn’t fade.
They had gathered hard-to-find demons in one place.
Thanks to that, Baal’s Sword could use Gluttony.
‘What a windfall.’
The tower continued.
From the 60th floor onward, as expected, only anomalous entities appeared.
Entities an ordinary Arahan could never oppose—entities that would bring certain death to their opponent.
But—
Ding!
[The limits of ‘Baal’s Sword’ have increased.]
[The sword’s level has increased by 1.]
Before Baal’s Sword, they were nothing more than a meal.
He kept climbing. How much time passed?
[80th Floor. ‘Demon Lord Jiangshi’ appears.]
…The real thing had appeared.