Chapter 243

Mid-slope of the mountain.

This was where the ‘real’ Mountain of Practitioners began.

First of all, the concentration of aura here was different.

‘The mountain’s energy has become even better than before.’

First Heavenly King Chiwoo sat cross-legged on the mid-slope, circulating the energy within his body.

The result was nothing short of astonishing.

Pure, dense energy—beyond comparison to when he was in Avici Hell—began to replace his entire body, as if airing it out.

The stagnant energy that had accumulated in his body over long years was shed, and the remaining dregs were swept away.

It seemed the mountain’s energy had grown far more majestic than he remembered.

“……”

After completing one full cycle of energy circulation, Chiwoo glanced to the side.

The Successor, Park Chan-woo, had also come out and was savoring the energy.

‘He has changed greatly since leaving the tower.’

It seemed he had gained a great enlightenment inside the tower.

The Mystique he felt in Park Chan-woo’s eyes was much clearer than before.

His ability to refine energy had also risen to another level, to the point that even Chiwoo, right beside him, could not accurately grasp Park Chan-woo’s exact Realm.

Moreover—

‘Huh. It’s as if all the energy of the mountain is converging.’

He could feel the energies swirling around Park Chan-woo.

Like a silent typhoon, an enormous amount of Natural Aura was brushing past Park Chan-woo.

Natural Aura was energy in its natural state, before being refined into Internal Energy.

Normally, it couldn’t be used.

It could only be used for purposes like returning the body’s energy to its source, as Chiwoo did.

But now, Park Chan-woo was continuously receiving a massive amount of Natural Aura as if communicating with the mountain.

Ding!

[The mountain’s concentrated Mana reacts.]

[An astonishing amount of natural Mana permeates your body.]

[Due to the enlightenment of [Divine Art] and the influence of [Elysion], the status ailment [Weakest] is weakened.] [Pure Mana increases by 1.]

Just as Chiwoo thought, Park Chan-woo was receiving the mountain’s vital energy.

The natural Mana emitted by the Mountain of Practitioners was unimaginably potent.

If it were anyone else, merely tasting the Mana by climbing the mountain would have allowed them to absorb more Mana than this.

‘Very good.’

Park Chan-woo was satisfied.

Even if it’s only by 1, it’s still increasing.

Moreover, he wasn’t raising it through residual stats from [Elysion] or [Divine Art of Absolute Learning], but achieving it by receiving Mana himself.

This must be the ‘power of my own self’ that the Mystique being spoke of.

Only by nurturing this power could he gain control over other things as well.

Until now, Park Chan-woo had been blocked by numerous status ailments and had given up on normal growth.

He tried to resolve situations relying on equipment abilities, or on luck.

Of course, that’s not to say it was bad.

They were necessary for managing the Abyss.

The problem was that he relied on them more than necessary.

Soon after, Park Chan-woo rose from his spot and looked at Chiwoo.

And spoke.

“Will you teach me the sword?”

“The sword… you say?”

“Yes. The sword.”

Chiwoo blinked.

The Successor who achieved an unprecedented record of a full 150 floors and then collapsed.

It was clear he had reached mastery in ordinary sword use.

He was curious about the intent behind asking to be taught the sword now, of all times.

But Park Chan-woo was serious.

He had almost been consumed by Baal’s sword and the belt.

It was clear proof that he still lacked the skill to handle them both.

To make Baal completely his own, he needed pure skill beyond that.

“You can’t possibly mean sparring?”

“It’s fine to borrow the form of sparring. If you can tell me what I lack.”

First Heavenly King Chiwoo.

He had never properly seen the sword Chiwoo wielded, but Park Chan-woo was certain.

Among all the swordsmen he had experienced so far, there was no one who dared compare.

The reason he hadn’t asked Chiwoo to teach him the sword until now was because he was considering the one-in-a-million chance that his identity might be exposed.

He was afraid that if it was discovered he wasn’t the true Successor of the Heavenly Demon, Chiwoo would be disappointed.

Or, afraid he would feel betrayed, he couldn’t even speak properly.

But not anymore.

Because he decided to climb the mountain under his own name—Park Chan-woo, not the Heavenly Demon.

“……Understood.”

Chiwoo nodded.

He was curious anyway.

He had only descended from the 73rd floor.

Granted, he gave up on his own, but given the nature of the enemies gradually getting stronger, he had no confidence in climbing above the 100th floor.

But a full 150 floors.

He must have seen something beyond ordinary Demon Jiangshi.

Park Chan-woo remained tight-lipped until the end about what he saw inside.

So then… he would know by facing him.

Whether he truly was the orthodox Successor.

===

Clang!

Sword clashed against sword.

A pure sword strike without Internal Energy wrapped around it.

Yet even within that, countless subtleties were inevitably contained.

Chiwoo was someone who could discern an opponent’s skill just by clashing swords.

And after exchanging five more sword strikes—

‘…He has never received proper instruction.’

Chiwoo could conclude.

Park Chan-woo was a swordsman who had never received formal instruction from anyone.

It wasn’t because he didn’t use a standardized swordsmanship.

Nor was it because he used a chaotic, unpredictable form of practical swordsmanship.

If one learns the sword from someone, they naturally pick up at least one habit or another that doesn’t quite fit.

Trying to engrave something unfamiliar leaves a mark like a tattoo.

Once engraved like this, such tattoos do not fade.

But Park Chan-woo had no such tattoos, no ‘habits.’

He simply learned a sword form suited to himself through countless confrontations.

‘To reach this level without learning.’

In another sense, Chiwoo was amazed.

Having no habits made him difficult to deal with.

Not learning from anyone gave him freedom with the sword.

For a practitioner of the same level, defeating Park Chan-woo would not be easy.

Even most Arahan who had learned the sword would be the same.

However—

Clang! Thud!

The sword fell.

Exactly after twenty exchanges, Park Chan-woo’s sword flew through the air and embedded itself in the ground.

“You could probably relax your shoulders a bit. This isn’t a real fight.”

“Shouldn’t sparring be approached like a real fight?”

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“……”

“This is a fight premised on not killing each other. No matter how much you treat sparring like a real fight, it ultimately isn’t one. The body and mind inevitably hesitate, and you become unnecessarily tense, unable to properly display your skill. Also, there are things you can only see when you relax.”

It was sparring from the start.

Not a real fight of life and death.

Naturally, there existed a form suited to sparring.

The problem was that there was too much tension in his shoulders, enough to be reminiscent of a real fight.

He might not realize it himself, but with every swing of the sword, a very slight hesitation could be felt.

“Let’s go again.”

Park Chan-woo picked up the fallen sword.

Clang! Thud!

But the result was the same.

The process was no different either.

Chiwoo cautiously asked.

“…By any chance, have you been on the battlefield ever since you picked up a sword?”

Specialized in practical swordsmanship, never properly learned the sword from anyone, and unfamiliar with the ways of sparring—then the answer was one.

Those who had lived on the battlefield.

Occasionally, there were such types.

Those who had only roamed battlefields could not properly distinguish between sparring and real combat.

They didn’t know how to relax.

“The battlefield… that expression would be correct, I suppose.”

Park Chan-woo nodded.

The emergence of the Abyss was a war.

From the moment he resolved to wield a sword, Park Chan-woo wandered the Abyss incessantly.

After all, he was famous for achieving the most ‘Abyss Runs.’

He didn’t wish for help from others.

He never properly learned the sword from anyone either.

“Then I must practice relaxing first.”

“……”

It was the first time he had received this kind of advice.

Usually, people were busy advising him to hone stronger swordsmanship or magic.

Chiwoo continued.

“No matter how much I advise from the side, you instinctively recognize everyone holding a sword as an enemy, so you won’t be able to relax. Therefore—”

Chiwoo pulled the sword embedded in the ground and handed it to him.

Then he took a stance.

“Now, think of me as a child who just picked up a sword. Conversely, think you are teaching me, and let’s start a spar.”

“I, teach?”

“Yes. For the duration of this spar, you become my teacher.”

It was reverse thinking.

To be in the position of teaching someone the sword.

It wasn’t that such requests never happened in the past.

After all, he was a knight up to Level 90, so many considered him proficient in handling the sword.

But Park Chan-woo was long past the point of despairing over the countless people with ‘sword talent.’

He was in a state of having felt his limits and given up.

He had despaired, thinking he wasn’t at a level to teach the sword.

…Teach.

And to Chiwoo, at that.

The most outstanding swordsman among all he had met?

In the past, he would have waved it off as nonsense.

“This could be interesting.”

Park Chan-woo smiled.

===

“…What are they doing?”

“Playing house?”

A woman and a man watching their spar from afar in secret tilted their heads.

The woman was Arisa, called the Monster of the Mid-slope, and the other was also from a Hidden Realm.

Arisa was interested in the two who had far surpassed her own record.

Thinking that if they were from the same Hidden Realm, they could communicate, she had been watching.

But—

‘Pathetic.’

Upon actually seeing their swords, bewilderment took precedence.

No, even if Chiwoo was one thing, there were clearly flaws in the other one’s swordsmanship.

‘That guy achieved 150 floors?’

A mere 59 floors was overwhelmingly incomparable.

But judging by his actual sword-swinging skill, he was worse than most Arahan.

“He really must be a ‘cheater’, right?”

The man spoke.

In fact, most Arahan were thinking the same as the man.

Chiwoo’s skill seemed somewhat genuine, but that guy called the ‘Successor’… Park Chan-woo’s skill was overestimated.

But there was something to confirm.

“Hey, hey there!”

Roughly after the spar ended, she strode forward and stood before the two.

“You are…?”

Chiwoo asked.

Arisa replied.

“I am called Arisa. I’ll be direct. I want to know if you two are truly from a ‘Hidden Realm’.”

“Are you also from a Hidden Realm?”

“Yes. However, I and other Hidden Realm natives have neither seen nor heard of you. If you have deceived us, we cannot simply let it pass, so I wish to confirm a few things.”

“And if not, what will you do?”

Chiwoo shrugged.

Arisa’s expression darkened.

“I would have to officially announce that you are not from a Hidden Realm. We would also wash our hands of you, and you would be summoned by the Inquisitors.”

The Inquisitors’ influence on the mountain was absolute.

If summoned by them and the falsehood was revealed, a difficult situation would unfold in many ways.

One could even die without a trace, like Anton.

“And if we are?”

“We will do our utmost to help you.”

“We don’t need help, though.”

“No matter how outstanding you are, surviving on the mid-slope with just the two of you will not be easy.”

Arisa spoke with conviction.

Chiwoo glanced at Park Chan-woo.

As Park Chan-woo nodded, Chiwoo agreed.

“Alright, let’s hear what this confirmation is about.”

“Do you know a man named Chun Ji-ho?”

“I don’t know.”

Not even knowing the name of a representative figure of the Hidden Realms.

Her suspicion deepened further.

“……What is your teacher’s esteemed name?”

“Mucheon.”

Now who was that?

It was a name she had never heard.

“By any chance, was that Mucheon from which Demon Realm?”

“Demon Realm? What’s that?”

“…We call the prisons within the Hidden Realms the Demon Realm.”

“My teacher was not imprisoned in a Demon Realm. He lived out his natural lifespan and passed away.”

Now it was certain.

No matter how many times she thought about it, these two were not Arahan from a Hidden Realm.

They had both lied.

“However.”

It was then.

Chiwoo added.

“We came from ‘Avici Hell’.”

“……!!!”