Chapter 172: The First Golden Age (1)

“…….”

I fell silent upon hearing those words.

“You’re not as surprised as I thought you’d be.”

There was only one reason I wasn’t shaken by the claim that the Cult Leader would die within ten years.

‘It was one of the possibilities I had considered.’

Granted, it was the worst possible scenario.

In my past life, the Cult Leader passed on his position to Cheon Yura and then disappeared without a trace.

He never showed herself again, and was officially presumed dead.

“Why are you so certain the Cult Leader will die?”

“Because he’s too powerful.”

Hwan Yul replied without hesitation.

“…Too powerful?”

“Child, you may not know this, but this world is an endlessly degraded one in terms of cultivation tiers.”

From the perspective of a sorcerer who walks the path of Immortal Cultivation, that was certainly true.

But—

“It’s a world that’s become easier for people to live in.”

“…What?”

Hwan Yul’s face twisted in disbelief at my words.

“How dare you, someone born with such chosen talent, say something like that.”

“I don’t think talent matters. So, what’s the connection between the level of this world and the Cult Leader’s death?”

Hwan Yul seemed to restrain his anger for a moment, perhaps because my response was unexpected.

“Hmph, child. How much do you know about the realm called Transcending the Demon?”

“To some extent. It’s the true beginning of transcendence, beyond even the Demonic Realm, right?”

“Yes, transcendence. Many insects in the Murim like to throw the term around casually… but true transcendence means literally stepping into the realm of the divine.”

…And I agreed with that to a certain degree.

The realm beyond even that of heroes—the divine realm.

Even at my peak, I would have to envelop myself entirely in divine energy just to be on equal footing with the current Cult Leader.

“If someone you could truly call divine exists in a degraded world like this, what do you think would happen?”

I wanted to say, “Not my problem,” but…

Unfortunately, I already knew the answer.

“Huhu, the concept of a god is so massive that it clouds judgment, but…”

“Either the world collapses, or it expels the cause of the collapse before that happens.”

“……”

For a moment, Hwan Yul’s expression went blank.

What I had just said wasn’t something an average person in this world could have come up with so easily.

Even a high-ranking sorcerer would find it nearly impossible to assert such laws of the world with such certainty rather than speculation.

With a trembling voice, Hwan Yul asked,

“Who… are you?”

“I’m Jin Yeomyung of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan.”

“Nonsense! How could a mere martial artist be so certain of the truth of the world?!”

“Well, whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter to me…”

I couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating chuckle as a bitter taste filled my mouth.

‘To think he’d become so powerful that he couldn’t even set foot on this land anymore.’

Compared to my previous life, the Cult Leader had roughly seven years left.

Once that time passed, the Heaven-Defying Society would probably begin revealing themselves in earnest.

“I… I can’t believe it.”

For some reason, Hwan Yul looked as if she had lost her mind.

“You know such a secret, and yet you have no resentment toward this decrepit world?!”

“Yeah. I don’t.”

This peace… was too precious.

People only realize that after they’ve been dragged to the very depths by creatures numbering in the billions.

These so-called geniuses who think the world is easy just because they’ve got some talent—that’s the real problem.

Slowly, I reached for my sword sheath and prepared for battle.

The conversation with Hwan Yul had lost its value, and striking while he was mentally shaken would yield the most advantage.

“If the Cult Leader falls, this cult won’t be able to stop the Grand Heavenly Lord. You… you know that, don’t you?!”

She was treating me like some prophet just because I said a few informed words…

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter?!”

“When the time comes, another towering figure will support the Cult.”

“…You’re utterly unreasonable!”

Hwan Yul suddenly raised one arm high into the air.

“Kill him!”

At his signal, the Demonic Soul Soldiers instantly surrounded me.

‘Fast.’

Ordinarily, sorcerers had a weakness—mobility.

They typically had to chant spells while forming hand seals, leaving them vulnerable.

But when nimble assassins served as the base and were combined with spell-less artifact enhancements, their effectiveness skyrocketed.

Crack! Crackle!

The bodies of the Demonic Soul Soldiers surrounding me suddenly began to swell grotesquely.

“Are they using artifacts to enhance their bodies?”

“That’s not all.”

—Wind-Drawing Steps

Several of the Demonic Soul Soldiers suddenly accelerated beyond logic, reaching right up to my position.

“……!”

Clang! Cla-clang!

Sparks flew as our blades clashed several times in the blink of an eye.

‘Fast!’

And heavy!

Just then, one Demonic Soul Soldier disregarded any distance and lunged at me, swinging his blade.

I dodged the strike and swiftly sliced through his neck.

“Shit.”

But that brief opening was all the other Soul Soldiers needed to thrust their swords into my body.

I desperately heightened my perception and responded instantly.

—Five Records, Hidden Soul White Demon

The rest of the Demonic Soul Soldiers failed to penetrate the sword barrier I had formed and were instead bounced back.

Having expended a large amount of True Qi in an instant, I steadied my breath and glared at Hwan Yul.

“You’re still far from being able to take down a Master Level.”

That strength and speed… not bad, but at best they were just at the entry point of Master Level.

Of course, for a bunch of kids barely in their mid-teens to show even a hint of divine presence was impressive, but it was nowhere near enough preparation to take me down.

As expected.

“Huhu, those are special-grade units that required a great deal of effort to produce.”

“You know full well what level I’m at. Why didn’t you bring them with you?”

If Hwan Yul had brought dozens of those Demonic Soul Soldiers who supposedly captured a Master Level, I might have had to give up my life here.

“Well, for someone like you, it’s true that you deserve to have those special units deployed against you.”

Hwan Yul let out a soft chuckle.

“But I need them for something much bigger. It’d be troublesome if I wasted them trying to capture just you and ended up with more damage than expected.”

“By ‘something bigger,’ are you talking about the Heaven-Defying Plan?”

Flinch!

The smile froze on Hwan Yul’s face.

“…Who told you that?”

“Who knows? Take a guess.”

I replied smoothly, feigning innocence.

The Heaven-Defying Plan had to be a highly classified operation, known to only a handful within the Heaven-Defying Society.

Crack!

Hwan Yul’s expression twisted into something vicious and grotesque.

“That’s one more reason I need to kill you here.”

Hwan Yul once again issued an extermination order to the Demonic Soul Soldiers.

Just as I was dealing with their brute-force charge—

“You asked why I didn’t bring the special units? Because I’ve brought a method that will kill you for certain.”

Shff! Shff-shff!

Before I realized it, three figures in black robes, their entire bodies cloaked in dark fabric, appeared behind the charging Demonic Soul Soldiers.

From the unique waves emanating from them, I instinctively sensed they weren’t martial artists.

‘Sorcerers from the Illusion Clan!’

“Bind him.”

As the three black-robed figures reached out toward me from three directions—

I quickly exploded Qi Projection toward the approaching Demonic Soul Soldiers.

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion followed, scattering flesh and severed limbs through the air.

It was a slightly overexerted strike, but it allowed me to annihilate all the closing Soul Soldiers.

However—

The black-robed sorcerers who had been behind the soldiers were already outside my range, and began casting binding spells toward me.

Clink-clink-clank!

In an instant, black iron chains materialized and bound my entire body.

‘…What’s the plan here?’

Were they going to restrain me like this and blast me from afar with spell bombardment?

However—

I soon realized just how naive that thought had been.

Zztzztz!

A massive, ancient-looking mirror rose up behind Hwan Yul.

As an overwhelming surge of sorcery burst from her body, she formed hand seals with both hands and began chanting a ritual incantation.

“Life and death, intermediate state, and hell. I offer this rite of the Five Sevens here.”

“……!!”

“Oh Great Lord of Taesan, as I perform the second tribute of the Sealing Ritual here, come forth, come forth, come forth…”

One of the three carved slots in the mirror’s frame began to glow ominously.

‘That thing’s seriously dangerous!’

Having wielded all sorts of divine relics in my original life, I could tell immediately.

That was undoubtedly a top-grade divine artifact—one that even in my previous life was considered exceptional.

Never mind how something like that could even exist in this world—if I didn’t stop it now, the outcome would be catastrophic.

‘Damn it. This is absurd!’

Using something like that just to deal with me?

There’s no way that wouldn’t come with an astronomical cost!

‘Regardless of authorization, activating something like that would’ve required an enormous price to be paid in advance.’

If it were to be used against the Cult Leader or the head of one of the Six Great Demonic Clans, that would at least make some sense… but to use it on me?

I hastily tore through the chains that bound me.

“N-No!”

“How could he break the Black Monster’s Chains so easily?!”

Seeing me stand there as if I had never been bound, the Illusion Clan sorcerers looked utterly panicked.

“Sorry, but sorcery-based power doesn’t really affect me that much.”

As I said, I had an abnormal innate resistance to sorcery from birth.

That was the source of my confidence when I sent Myeong-oh and So Cheon to fight—without fear.

Of course, against a divine relic of this magnitude, that meant little…

Shwip-shwip-shwip!

“Kgh!”

“Gaaah!”

I cut down the three Illusion Clan sorcerers in an instant and charged at Hwan Yul.

If I struck before she finished her incantation and sliced off her head, it would all be over!

But—

Smirk!

Hwan Yul looked at me with eyes full of ridicule, then uttered the spell’s name and activated the mirror’s power.

“Boundless Karma Domain.”

FWOOOOOM!

Just before I reached Hwan Yul, a massive beam of light burst from the mirror and swallowed my entire body.

Divine Art: Boundless Karma Domain.

The first authority of the divine mirror—called the Karma Mirror—regarded as the divine of divine artifacts. It allowed the manifestation of a Spiritual Domain of Projection, a sorcerer’s lifelong dream.

Inside a bizarre space reminiscent of the cosmos—

Hwan Yul grinned ominously.

“Heh, hehehe! Ehehehe!”

A power vast enough to be called infinite surged through her entire body.

Even in her life spanning over a hundred years, she had never wielded such power.

“So this is what it feels like… to become a god.”

A feeling of omnipotence—as if she could do anything.

A confidence sprouted within her that she could even defeat the Heavenly Demon.

“To manifest the power of this domain, my clan sacrificed over ten thousand humans and spent a fortune equivalent to more than a decade’s worth of our resources. Even if it wasn’t a full reenactment of the Divine-Demonic Ritual performed by the former Cult Leader, it required effort of a similar scale.”

Feeling the divine power surging through her, Hwan Yul closed her eyes and smirked.

“Do you understand now? You’re facing the full might of the Illusion Clan.”

“……”

No response came.

“I suppose I must offer you a path to survive. Swear upon your existence in this Boundless Space. If you hand over the key to the Sacred Spirit Heaven that the traitor, the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, stole… I’ll spare your life.”

Drunk on power, Hwan Yul rambled on as if speaking to herself.

That was why she failed to notice it.

That the one in front of her looked a little different from the person she knew.

“Why don’t you answer? Are you frightened by being trapped in this vast space?”

Only then did Hwan Yul shake off her intoxicated state and turn her gaze toward her opponent.

And only then did she realize it.

“Hm?”

Hwan Yul tilted her head slightly.

It was supposed to be Jin Yeomyung, the Eldest son of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, who had been swallowed into this domain with her.

But—

‘Who the hell is that?’

Standing before her wasn’t the topknot-wearing Jin Yeomyung in elaborate martial robes.

The black hair was right, but now it was a short bob.

A much taller frame—at least a head taller than before.

That armor—silver, like something out of a Western knight’s tale.

And the massive greatsword, something only those brainless brute warriors would carry.

Hwan Yul, dumbfounded, asked her opponent,

“You… are you really Jin Yeomyung of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan?”

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