Chapter 255

Chiwoo shuddered.

Though most of the Arahan had not noticed, Park Chan-woo’s final strike…

‘It transcended.’

It truly had been the highlight.

It looked like an ordinary swing, but the refinement contained within it was more than worthy of being called that of a Sword Master.

Because he had transcended the wall and, for an instant, touched Ultimate Mastery.

Park Chan-woo had never intended to cut down Gang Si-chan from the start.

His target had been the sword from the very beginning.

‘The life of equipment. An attack that destroys durability.’

All equipment in the Abyss inherently possessed ‘durability.’

There were occasionally indestructible items, but they were extremely rare. Unless it was such a special case, equipment would be destroyed once its durability was completely depleted.

But durability was not visible.

It decreased through use, but only the equipment’s owner could check it.

Even so, there existed a tiny minority of geniuses who could instinctively find it through pure sense alone.

Those born with the talent to sense durability were one in hundreds of millions, and most of them walked the path of a Grandmaster.

Park Chan-woo possessed a talent that not even Chiwoo, nor anyone among the Twelve Heavenly Kings, had.

‘…He awakened it.’

The problem was that Park Chan-woo had not possessed such a talent before.

If he had, he would have noticed long ago.

Because those who can sense the durability of equipment handle weapons differently from the very beginning.

…A talent that was supposed to be innate had appeared later in life.

By common sense, it was impossible.

Even the realm of the sixth sense had limits to how far it could be developed through ordinary training.

Sensing durability stood at the very summit of that realm.

It was not something that could be cultivated through effort.

It was a domain one could neither see nor feel unless born with it, and Park Chan-woo had stepped into it.

‘At the end of that strike, it was as if he became someone else.’

In the middle of the duel with Gang Si-chan, he had grasped the worn point of the Black Dragon Blade and shattered it with his final strike.

But his posture, breathing, and gaze were all distinctly different from Park Chan-woo’s usual self.

As if possessed, he had displayed the bearing of a great Sword Master.

As if he had borrowed another’s talent…

And in a single instant, made it his own.

‘An abnormal ability of acquisition. A talent that creates something from nothing.’

It was certainly extraordinary.

The Heavenly Martial Body, and a comprehension that surpassed even that.

The most terrifying part was that he grew stronger at a terrifying rate through ‘combat.’

Especially in fights against the strong, his growth was obvious.

Even in situations where focusing only on the battle should not have been enough, he supplemented his shortcomings in real time and grew stronger still by exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses.

That was an even more absurd talent than awakening the ability to sense durability later in life.

‘…His rate of growth is terrifying.’

It was the first time.

He had never trembled this much while watching someone grow.

Moreover, that final strike was at a level even Chiwoo could only admire in awe.

It was unquestionably a move that could only be unleashed by someone who had honed their sword to the extreme.

If he had to face someone who could wield such a sword so effortlessly… could he truly win?

Chiwoo shook his head.

That final strike of Park Chan-woo’s was beyond even Chiwoo’s comprehension.

And.

There was one more person feeling something similar.

“This is insane.”

It was Chun Ji-ho, the elder of the Hidden Realm.

He had come out simply to see for himself the two said to have emerged from Avici Hell.

His only intention had been to check just how strong they were to stir up such chaos on the mountain.

“Calling him strong isn’t enough. He was born with ultimate potential. A bastard with both the heart of a warrior and the ominous aura of a beast!”

“Is he really that remarkable?”

Arisa tilted her head as she asked.

The duel between Park Chan-woo and Gang Si-chan had certainly been incredible, but she couldn’t help doubting the words ‘ultimate potential.’

Chun Ji-ho, still visibly excited, replied.

“He cut through Gang Si-chan’s Black Dragon Blade. He pierced a gap in its durability. On top of his heaven-sent talent, he’s cold and decisive too. If that isn’t ultimate potential, then what is? Especially that last sword strike…”

Chun Ji-ho too had accurately seen that Park Chan-woo had pierced a gap in the blade’s durability.

And he too could not help but shudder at that final strike.

Any Arahan who had reached a certain level would have trembled instinctively, even if they did not know why.

“…What was that ominous beast?”

Arisa asked, her face stiffening.

It wasn’t only the swordsmanship that was incomprehensible.

The appearance of that ominous beast, which had paralyzed all the Arahan, would not leave her mind.

Chun Ji-ho answered in a grave voice.

“…It’s a beast completely unrelated to the Twelve Heavenly Kings. One bears the name of First Heavenly King Chiwoo, but Park Chan-woo isn’t that either.”

“Could he not be the successor who inherited all the lineages of the Twelve Heavenly Kings?”

“I thought so too… but now it seems that isn’t it either.”

Chun Ji-ho stroked his chin.

If he had inherited the lineages of the Twelve Heavenly Kings, then like Chiwoo, he should have used techniques such as the Asura Sword.

But the swordsmanship Park Chan-woo had displayed had no connection whatsoever to the Twelve Heavenly Kings.

And not only that.

The overwhelming beast that had appeared in the middle of the fight did not exist anywhere in the Tradition of the Twelve Heavenly Kings either.

In other words—

“If he isn’t the successor who inherited the lineages of the Twelve Heavenly Kings… but another successor instead, then it’s possible.”

“You mean a successor who inherited a different lineage?”

“The Heavenly Demon.”

“…!!!”

At the unexpected name, Arisa’s pupils widened.

Chun Ji-ho continued.

“Moreover, in the distant past, there was someone who controlled a massive beast of unbelievable ominousness. He was called the true guardian deity of the Hall of all Gods, but he disappeared along with the Heavenly Demon. Perhaps that beast is the very same one.”

“You’re saying he’s the successor of the Heavenly Demon…?”

“Arisa.”

“Yes, Grand Elder.”

“Follow him.”

“…Yes?”

Arisa stared blankly at the sudden command.

Follow him?

“You mean ascend to the upper levels with him?”

“Yes.”

“But… the owners of several sacred sites won’t allow me to take their trials. They reject those from this place.”

One needed the permission of a sacred site’s owner to take its trial.

But because there were those who despised natives of the Hidden Realm, Arisa had not been able to challenge the trials until now.

That meant there was no way unless she forcibly seized a sacred site.

Chun Ji-ho pulled a sheet of paper from his robes.

“Take this.”

“This is…! An Indulgence?”

It was an Indulgence that absolved one of guilt even if they broke the mountain’s rules.

And stamped on it was none other than Taebaek’s seal.

It was an item with absolute authority on the Mountain of Practitioners.

“If you make a deal with the Undead Sect, every sacred site will permit you to challenge its trials.”

“B-but this is yours to use, Grand Elder…!”

“I never intended to use it anyway.”

Chun Ji-ho shook his head.

Godslayer Taebaek.

This was an Indulgence he had received directly from him, yet he had never once used it.

Nor did he intend to ever use it.

Chun Ji-ho had committed a grave sin and was under restrictions that limited the use of his power on the mountain.

Using the Indulgence would lift those restrictions, but his pride would not allow it.

“Take it. If you don’t, I’ll use it as toilet paper and throw it away.”

“…Understood.”

“In the current situation, if we hand them the Indulgence, the Undead Sect will bend over backward for us.”

Now that Gang Si-chan’s true identity as an Incarnation had been exposed, the Undead Sect could not avoid all responsibility.

But by using the Indulgence, they could avoid ‘official’ punishment.

Even if people pointed fingers behind their backs, even if their prestige fell, if they could avoid formal responsibility, the Undead Sect would spare no effort in helping Arisa challenge the sacred site trials.

“Stay by his side and watch over him. And.”

“……”

“You must ascend to the Hall of all Gods and complete the latter half of the White Dragon White Book. Only then will your martial arts be complete.”

“…Yes.”

Arisa nodded solemnly.

The martial arts Arisa had learned were incomplete.

The latter half had been lost, and so she had learned only the first half.

The reason she had learned an incomplete martial art in the first place was because of her constitution.

‘Nine Yin Severed Meridians… the ideal constitution for cultivating ice arts, but if the martial art isn’t completed, you cannot live long.’

Arisa had been born with extreme Yin energy.

She was barely suppressing it through the martial art called the White Dragon White Book, but if she did not ascend to the Hall of all Gods and learn the remaining latter half, she would die young.

He had judged that the time had come, and so he handed over the Indulgence.

It was not something he could use lightly, except for a moment like this.

Moreover—

‘The place you belong is not the Hidden Realm, but the Hall of all Gods.’

There was one thing he had not told her.

It was related to Arisa’s birth.

Arisa had not been born in the Hidden Realm.

She was from one of the Nine great families, the North Sea Ice Palace.

She had been born as the daughter of its head, but for some reason, she had been abandoned immediately after birth.

Chun Ji-ho had only taken her in at the desperate plea of her biological mother.

If he had not taken her in, Arisa would have died before she was even old enough to know herself.

‘Despicable bastards. What sin did a newborn baby commit?’

Even now, it was something he could not understand.

What sin had this pure and bright child committed to be cast away into the Hidden Realm?

He did not know the exact reason, but one thing was certain.

This was not where Arisa had originally belonged.

‘If he truly is the successor of the Heavenly Demon…’

Then, if Park Chan-woo really was the successor of the Heavenly Demon—

following him up the mountain would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

All eyes would be fixed on Park Chan-woo, and if Arisa could use that chance to ascend to the Hall of all Gods and complete the White Dragon White Book, even the North Sea Ice Palace would have no choice but to accept her.

But that alone was not enough.

If he truly was the successor of the Heavenly Demon, then she could not be satisfied with merely watching him from the sidelines.

He had to ascend to the Hall of all Gods and help set this corrupted mountain right.

And for that, the best method would be—

‘…I will definitely make him yours, Arisa.’

Wouldn’t it be to become his other half?

Chun Ji-ho pictured the two of them standing side by side and smiled to himself.