Chapter 250

A man stood there like a rock.

His muscles bulged unnaturally, as if ready to burst, despite the bushy white beard on his face.

Thud! Thump!

He was pounding a massive slab of black iron with his bare fists.

Every strike from his thickly calloused hands shook the ground with a thunderous roar.

An owner of an Adamantine Body, his external martial arts having reached their peak, making him impervious even to steel.

He was Chun Ji-ho, the Grand Elder who governed the Hidden Realm.

“Hm?”

After throwing punches for a while, he suddenly stopped and tilted his head, puzzled.

The moment he turned toward the presence behind him—

“Oh, Arisa! If it isn’t Arisa!”

He broke into a broad grin as he looked at Arisa, who had come to see him.

Whoosh-!

Then, moving with speed that didn’t match his massive frame, he lunged over in a single bound.

He spread his arms wide to pull her into a tight hug, but—

“……!”

Arisa had already stepped back.

Her brow was deeply furrowed.

Her eyes were filled with wariness.

“You dodged well. Have you finally grown up?”

“I’m not the child I used to be, Grand Elder.”

“Hoho. How formal. ‘Grand Elder’? Call me Father comfortably. Didn’t you always call me that when you were little?”

Chun Ji-ho was Arisa’s adoptive father.

He had taken her in as a child and raised her as his own.

Their relationship as father and daughter was no less than any ordinary family.

“Grand Elder.”

Of course, that was only true of her childhood.

Now that she was grown, Arisa was rougher than even the toughest men.

Chun Ji-ho puckered his lips.

“Formal, so formal.”

“I have something to ask.”

“Oh. Ask me anything. I’ll answer everything except my past love affairs. Of course, if you really want to know, I might not be able to hold back… I wonder if you, who has no experience with men, could handle it……”

“Hoo……”

Arisa shook her head side to side, trying to cool the throbbing in her skull.

Chun Ji-ho was always like this.

She had never once seen him act serious.

Even in life-and-death battles, his mouth never stopped.

“Wait. Don’t tell me you’ve found someone?”

“If you mean a man, I’m not interested.”

“Ah, in my opinion, your face… if you just dressed up, you’d be a beauty who could topple nations. But you go around dressed like a man, for heaven’s sake.”

He said it jokingly, but he meant it.

If someone were to choose the most beautiful woman in the Hidden Realm, Arisa would always be named among the few.

From Chun Ji-ho’s perspective, seeing that face wasted was a lament.

“…Grand Elder.”

At Arisa’s completely hardened expression, Chun Ji-ho changed his attitude.

“Right. You said you had something to ask?”

“Do you know the name Heavenly Demon?”

“……”

The playfulness vanished from Chun Ji-ho’s face.

In its place was a seriousness so absolute, it was as if he had never been anything else.

“How do you know that name…?”

Arisa had spoken a name she should not know.

No, not just Arisa—almost everyone on the mountain had forgotten it.

And yet it was being spoken again.

Chun Ji-ho hurriedly looked around.

‘No presence.’

No one was following either.

Chun Ji-ho exhaled inwardly, then spread a barrier of energy to prevent any sound from leaking.

If someone had heard that name just now, it would have caused an uproar.

“Arisa. Who did you hear it from?”

“I didn’t hear it. I saw it myself.”

“You saw it?”

“Yes. It was written beyond the gate of Avici Hell in the Demon Realm.”

“…Wait. The Demon Realm opened?”

This was the first he’d heard of it.

A gate that hadn’t opened once in five thousand years.

And while he wasn’t even paying attention, Avici Hell had opened?

“Two people came out from inside.”

“That can’t be.”

Five thousand years.

And only men had entered.

There was no way their lineage could have continued.

They should have long since crumbled to dust and vanished.

But… two people came out?

“They opened the gate themselves.”

“When?”

“Three days ago.”

“I heard you slipped into the Hidden Realm in secret, but you went all the way to Avici Hell?”

All news in the Hidden Realm reached Chun Ji-ho.

No matter how much someone tried to hide it, it couldn’t be hidden.

Arisa nodded.

“Yes.”

She did not mention hiding Anton or anything related to him.

She didn’t want Chun Ji-ho involved, just in case.

“…Two people came out of Avici Hell. Who are they?”

“One said he was Chiwoo, and the other said he was Park Chan-woo.”

“Don’t tell me you mean the ones who’ve been making a racket at the mountain’s entrance lately?”

“Yes. But they seemed to have a hierarchical relationship. He called Park Chan-woo ‘successor.’”

He had heard about them.

But learning they had come from Avici Hell was news.

More than that—

‘Chiwoo, and a successor.’

That part was even more unsettling.

Of all names, it was Chiwoo.

“And? Is that all?”

“He clearly used the Asura Sword.”

“…Asura Sword! Don’t tell me the one named Chiwoo? Are you sure it was really the Asura Sword?”

“Yes. Based on what I experienced firsthand, it clearly—”

“What? Firsthand? You damn brat…!”

“That’s not what matters.”

“…It’s too strange to be a coincidence. The chances of all of that overlapping are low.”

A Chiwoo who came out of Avici Hell, and who uses the Asura Sword.

There was only one case where all of that intersected.

‘First Heavenly King Chiwoo!’

Chun Ji-ho knew of the Twelve Heavenly Kings as well.

That was why it was incomprehensible.

A figure from five thousand years ago had appeared again.

And at a time like this, when Taebaek, the master of the Hall of All Gods, was absent.

Was it the same person?

Or merely a successor who inherited the name?

“Grand Elder. Please tell me. What is Heavenly Demon?”

“…Then promise me.”

“Promise… what?”

“That you will never utter that name again outside of here.”

“Yes. I promise.”

“Haaaah.”

Chun Ji-ho let out a deep sigh.

There was nothing to be done about what she already knew.

“I don’t know everything about him either. But one thing is certain.”

“What is it?”

“Above heaven, below heaven, I alone am worthy of honor.”

“……!”

Arisa’s eyes flickered.

The most noble being above and below heaven.

Was Heavenly Demon truly such an existence?

But Chun Ji-ho didn’t stop there.

“He is the first Arahan who founded the Hall of All Gods, and the name of an incomparably powerful Martial God.”

“…I heard Taebaek killed the Martial God. That’s how he became a Godslayer.”

“That’s a fabricated story. The first thing Taebaek did after becoming the master of the Hall of All Gods was erase the name ‘Heavenly Demon.’”

It was said that Taebaek appeared, killed the being called the Martial God who threatened the mountain, and became Godslayer.

But the truth was different.

Chun Ji-ho told Arisa what he knew.

“One day, Heavenly Demon vanished without a trace. For a long time, the seat of the Hall of All Gods remained vacant. No one even dared to think of challenging Heavenly Demon’s authority. But as time passed, the families grew greedy.”

Could I sit in that position?

Could I become the master of the mountain, the god of the Hall of All Gods?

Greed took root.

Just as now, when Taebaek left the mountain and the Nine Families stirred.

“That’s when Taebaek appeared. Taebaek killed the mountain’s guardian deity and seized the position of master of the Hall of All Gods in an instant. He subdued the other families and spared only those who knelt.”

“Then, back then, the Twelve Heavenly Kings also…”

“Yes. Though known to the world as the Absolute Devil, they are the true heroes who followed Heavenly Demon. If Heavenly Demon had been there… it would have ended very differently.”

“Are you saying he was stronger than Taebaek?”

“…I believe so.”

It was hard to accept, but Chun Ji-ho was certain.

He hadn’t seen Heavenly Demon and Taebaek fight, but Heavenly Demon was the strongest in history.

“That’s why it’s even more puzzling. That Chiwoo and the ‘successor.’”

“Why?”

“The Twelve Heavenly Kings follow only Heavenly Demon. But Heavenly Demon disappeared long ago. The one they would call ‘successor’…”

“…You’re saying there’s no one but Heavenly Demon’s successor?”

“But didn’t you say they came out of Avici Hell?”

“Yes.”

“Heavenly Demon’s successor couldn’t have come out of Avici Hell. Only the Twelve Heavenly Kings were imprisoned there.”

It didn’t add up.

Then who was Park Chan-woo?

What kind of successor was he?

Arisa murmured without thinking.

“Maybe… a successor who inherited all of the Twelve Heavenly Kings…”

“…That’s possible.”

That alone was tremendous.

If he had inherited the martial arts of the Twelve Heavenly Kings, he was worthy of entering the Hall of All Gods.

“Keep a close watch from the side. But never utter Heavenly Demon’s name outside of here. Taebaek won’t let it slide.”

“He’s been in closed-door training for fifty years anyway, hasn’t he?”

“Taebaek has his Shadows. That’s why the Nine Families can’t move easily.”

The Shadows’ power was immense.

Unless all nine families united, they couldn’t oppose them.

But could families steeped in desire truly unite?

Just then—

Tap! Taptaptap!

A presence approached from afar.

The two turned toward the person running up.

“You are…?”

“Ah, Lady Arisa, urgent news!”

“Urgent news?”

At Arisa’s question, the man shouted.

“They say those two have broken through all seven Sanctums!”

“……What?”

“R-right now, they’re coming to the Sanctum of the Sword. What should we do?”

Broken through all seven Sanctums?

They had cleared every trial of the Sanctums.

Leaving only the Sanctum of the Sword, the final place of trial?

‘What is this…’

Was this even possible?

It was too fast—far too fast.

And it was strange they had even been allowed to attempt every Sanctum’s trial.

Because there were Sanctums that absolutely refused those from the Hidden Realm.

Chun Ji-ho’s expression hardened.

“…Let’s go together.”

“Is that alright? If you leave the Hidden Realm, the Nine Families will—”

“I’m just going to watch. They won’t kill me for that, will they?”

===

Park Chan-woo, having cleared the trials of the seven Sanctums, headed toward the Sanctum of the Sword.

Now, if he passed the trial of the Sanctum of the Sword, the path to the upper echelons would open.

Tap!

But a man blocked his path.

“Gang Si-chan?”

“……You used me well, didn’t you?”

Gang Si-chan stood before Park Chan-woo and Chiwoo, his face pale with rage.

He never imagined they would spread rumors and use him like this.

To think it was all for the sake of clearing the Sanctums’ trials.

While Gang Si-chan was distracted by Anton, they had executed their plan at breakneck speed.

If Park Chan-woo reached the upper echelons, it would become harder to take action.

The mid-slope was ultimately just a place you passed through.

Because the Arahan of the upper echelons didn’t pay much attention.

But once he reached the upper echelons, that would change.

Late-stage ascendants like Gang Si-chan, and the other Nine Families, would take a strong interest.

Swoosh!

Gang Si-chan drew his sword.

He could not allow this bastard to ascend.

“Words end here. Since you used me, that alone is reason enough to punish you.”

He had handed over the pretext himself.

In a way, that was convenient.

“I will handle it.”

Chiwoo stepped forward.

Gang Si-chan sneered at him.

“So reaching the 150th floor was luck after all. Look at you hiding behind him like a girl.”

Park Chan-woo’s martial prowess had never been properly verified on the mountain.

Even if he earned Special Grade three times in a row in the entrance trials, Gang Si-chan could do the same.

Whether Park Chan-woo truly had the skill to reach the 150th floor—none of it had been proven.

At that moment—

Ding!

[Time has passed and the first seal of the Box of Endurance has been released!]

[Upon opening the Box of Endurance, you can summon one of the afterimages of the Five Emperors.]

Park Chan-woo nodded and spoke.

“Is it a martial contest, or a fight to the death?”

(T/N : Plot armor is on! And im fucking here for it! Lets goooo!)