Chapter 173: The First Golden Age (2)

Somewhere beyond the Ten Thousand Great Mountains to the north, near the Mongolian plains.

On a vast plain where the heavens could be observed clearly, a boy in ceremonial robes approached someone.

“Clan Leader.”

“……”

It was Hwan Ma Hwan Pyeong, the head of the Heavenly Reverence Hwan Clan.

He always wore a mask, and though he was the leader of the enormous Heavenly Reverence Hwan Clan, little was known about him to the outside world.

The boy respectfully bowed before the clan leader and reported something.

“Mirror of Karma has been activated in the south.”

“……Tsk!”

A displeased sound escaped immediately.

“That damned old hag. That’s a technique meant to be used only in dire emergencies, not something to be thrown around casually.”

The boy tilted his head and questioned.

“Doesn’t that mean the opponent is that dangerous? Judging by Jin Yeomyung of the Jin Clan’s track record so far, he’s as good as a seasoned war hero.”

The boy’s question was met with a scoff.

“Hmph, not a chance. She probably just couldn’t resist her own greed and came up with all sorts of excuses.”

Hwan Pyeong knew Hwan Yul all too well.

With her skills, even ten elite Demonic Soul Soldiers from the House of Slaughter would’ve been enough to eliminate Jin Yeomyung.

The fact that she still activated Mirror of Karma could only mean one thing—greed for ascension.

She had tenaciously prolonged her life, suppressing bodily aging through sorcery.

She had even poisoned the previous clan leader to rise to her current position—all for the sake of seeking ascension.

“There’s no way that old hag would pass up even the briefest glimpse into the end of the path she’s pursuing.”

“I see.”

The boy understood her sentiment. He, too, was a direct descendant of the Hwan Clan and a sorcerer walking the path of the Heavenly Dao.

“Then what will you do?”

“What else? Prepare for what’s next.”

A faint gleam of madness flickered in Hwan Pyeong’s eyes through the mask.

“Now that Mirror of Karma has been triggered, the brat from the Jin Clan will definitely die. Even the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden couldn’t withstand the power of Mirror of Karma and was forced to retreat.”

Granted, the fight with the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden hadn’t been a one-on-one duel like this… Still.

“Accelerate preparations for the Bancheon Plan. Once the Seven Thousand Army departs from Mount Wudang, we’ll begin in sync.”

With the clan leader’s command given, no more questions were permitted.

However—

“…What if,”

The boy dared to ask, breaking the clan’s unspoken rule.

“What if the Elder Council Head loses?”

Hwan Ma’s voice turned slightly coarse.

“You’re asking foolish questions. If you weren’t a candidate to inherit the Command Seal, I’d have executed you on the spot.”

“My apologies.”

“That won’t happen. Surviving in the world of Mirror of Karma against that old hag would be definitive proof of being a Heaven-Defier.”

“Heaven-Defier…”

“A being like that cannot exist outside the Great Heavenly Army and even if one did, they wouldn’t turn away from us.”

The more one defied the natural order of the world, the less likely they were to find satisfaction in such a mundane world.

At least, that was common sense to Hwan Ma.

“Don’t waste your thoughts on unnecessary things. Focus on strengthening your ties with the Four Commanders. Cheon Yujeong is someone who must be kept alive, no matter what—she’s a critical figure.”

“…Yes, Clan Leader.”

The boy bowed deeply.

As he did, he faintly heard the clan leader muttering under his breath.

“Maybe I should’ve just eliminated Murder Demon back then. Dammit, why is that drunkard unreachable again?”

‘…Drunkard?’

The boy was curious about the identity of the “drunkard” Hwan Pyeong mentioned, but asking about it would almost certainly cost him his head. So he quietly buried his curiosity.

***

Thoughtform Realm.

A dominion that manifests the caster’s delusions and fantasies.

Its origin lay in sorcerers striving to reach the end of ascension, projecting their delusions into a virtual space.

Only the most eminent who had formed their Original Spirit could even attempt such a level.

In reality, it was a domain forbidden to sorcerers of the current era.

Thus, even if someone had manifested the domain using the power of an extra-worldly artifact, the chances of them fully understanding its functions approached zero.

“I expected this, to some extent.”

Hwan Yul ground her teeth in rage.

“This domain is manifested by the power of Mirror of Karma. I had already anticipated that since the artifact governs the domain, anyone who enters would be granted ‘equal authority.’”

The fundamental ability of this Boundless Karma Realm was the realization of imagination.

It was said that her ancestor summoned divine beasts and phantom creatures that existed only in legends to fight their most formidable foes within this domain.

“But what is that form? How could you change your appearance the moment you entered this realm?”

Truthfully, even as she asked, Hwan Yul was unsure.

Had his form really “changed” upon entering the domain?

Or had it not simply “been changed” the moment he entered?

“Who knows…”

I gazed at my hand, shimmering silver, and felt a hollow laugh rise.

“I don’t really know either.”

A weapon crafted from the bones of the Silver Dragon.

I clearly remembered it being utterly shattered in my final battle with *that being*…

‘The sword, the strength coursing through my body… Everything is exactly as it was back then.’

It shouldn’t be possible.

The laws of that world had ended there.

This shouldn’t be happening here.

And yet, the impossible had occurred.

“…I see.”

I realized where this place was.

“This is a boundary of the world, isn’t it?”

“…You’re spouting nonsense.”

Hwan Yul hissed venomously.

“This is the Thoughtform Realm. You think such absurd things could happen?”

Unfolding a domain and arriving at a world’s boundary.

Both were incredibly difficult feats—but the latter was impossible for a mortal.

I sneered at Hwan Yul, who was denying reality.

“Whether I’m right or you are doesn’t really matter.”

Only one thing mattered.

“Humans shouldn’t be setting foot in a place like this.”

This world was still far too immature for a place like this to exist.

Unless the being called Heavenly Evil, pursued by the Heaven-Defying Society, were to fully incarnate in this world—or the world were to return to the Mythic Era…

“A flawed space like this only provides an opening for malice from another dimension to seep into this world.”

Therefore.

“After today, this place will never appear in the world again.”

A divine power, fundamentally different from the demonic energy I had accumulated as Jin Yeomyung, began radiating from my entire body.

“For now… I will fight not for a single woman, but as a hero who saved a world.”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re spouting…”

Hwan Yul raised her hand high into the air and shouted.

“Your arrogance won’t be cured even in death!”

Ssssshhh!

SSSSHHHH!

A sinister, tickling voice echoed from all directions.

Simultaneously, the perspective before my eyes began warping wildly, accompanied by the eerie sound of scales sliding against each other.

Shrrrrk! Shrrrkkk!

Behind Hwan Yul, a colossal serpent with eight heads and eight tails emerged, slicing through space.

No, it wasn’t just huge and grotesque.

The poisonous aura that emanated from the entire body of the serpent—if it existed in the real world—would have been enough to taint not just the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, but perhaps even all of Gansu Province.

Rising up into the sky, Hwan Yul smirked down at me.

“It’s called Yamata-no-Orochi. A divine beast of legend said to have covered an entire eastern island nation in poison during the Mythic Era.”

I frowned and asked back.

“…Isn’t that a demonic beast rather than a divine one?”

“…Insolent brat!”

As if responding to Hwan Yul’s fury, the massive serpent named Yamata-no-Orochi began spewing venom from its entire body.

A miasma so noxious that even someone from the Sichuan Tang Clan, who specialized in poisons, would’ve melted the moment they touched it—was now filling the space.

Hwan Yul sneered at me as I remained unmoving.

“What do you think you can do with that toothpick of a sword? Sword qi? Qi projection? Go ahead and throw all your little fantasies at this serpent and try to leave a scratch. Ahahahahaha!”

Indeed.

While the sword I held would be considered a greatsword by human standards, it would barely leave a mark on an opponent larger than a mountain range.

Even a top-tier demonic master going all out might only manage to inflict superficial damage.

But—

I reached out my hand toward the toxic mist filling the heavens and earth.

Hwan Yul, I truly pity you.

You picked the wrong battlefield.

“…■■■ Summon.”

The moment those words left my mouth, a radiant halo rose behind my head.

The power flowing from the halo began to sweep away the poisonous fog that had seemed capable of corrupting all creation.

I smiled in satisfaction at the sight.

“I figured it might work, and look at that—it does.”

Hwan Yul’s talk about manifesting imagination wasn’t entirely wrong, it seemed.

Even if the nature of this boundary prevents proper pronunciation due to language incompatibility, the concept itself is being fully realized.

“Sorry, but the thing I was best at in my past life… was hunting down giant monsters like that.”

Mind, energy, and body aligned, and my will focused into a single point.

Miracles that were impossible in Jin Yeomyung’s body were now manifesting smoothly in this one.

No—this might actually be more natural for me.

“Yamata-no-Orochi! Kill him!”

At Hwan Yul’s command, all eight of the serpent’s heads opened their jaws wide.

It wasn’t a dragon, but the breath it emitted rivaled even that of hybrid dragons.

Feeling the immense pressure from eight directions, I instead grinned.

“It’s been a while… since I’ve felt this tension.”

A memory of the past resurfaced—of the Sword Demon’s slash that had once come for me.

Though the raw power back then may not have matched what I now wield, the precision of that attack had been far more refined.

‘If I remember right, it was like this…’

I recalled the Sword Demon’s will-forging process.

Focusing my own will, I condensed it into the form of a sword.

The only difference was that while the Sword Demon wielded qi and will, I now wielded divine power and will.

‘In my past life, they always nagged me not to use the power of light like some dumb blunt weapon…’

Fleeting memories of past comrades passed through my mind.

Those who fell while fighting both the enemies before us and the so-called government of humanity behind us.

I swung my sword, recalling the world we had all tried to protect.

FLASH—!

With the illusion that the world had split in two, a blade of light capable of cleaving continents struck down and, in a single blow, severed all eight heads.

“…Huh?”

Hwan Yul blinked in disbelief.

Something fast and dazzling had brushed past her, too swift to even recognize.

The moment she sensed Yamata-no-Orochi vanishing behind her, she realized—her lower body was already gone.

“Aaaaaaghhh!!”

Pain surged through Hwan Yul’s body—pain she hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever.

Had her spirit not been as sturdy as a tree that had weathered centuries, she would’ve gone mad and died then and there.

Ironically, what snapped her mind back into focus was the muttering of the brat she had dismissed, echoing up from below.

“Hmph, to disappear from a single strike… Guess it did have physical form, but it wasn’t truly real.”

“Jin… Yeomyung!”

“The things I used to fight had far more tenacity. They’d regenerate over and over and relentlessly cling to their goal of wiping out humanity. Compared to them, the things you summon are just toys.”

“Don’t you dare… look at me like that!”

Hwan Yul quickly regenerated her lower half.

An injury like this was nothing.

If she summoned a stronger creature, she could still annihilate him!

“Come forth! Taotie!”

One of the Four Great Evils from legend, Taotie tore through the dimensions and appeared just as the serpent had.

Though smaller than Yamata-no-Orochi, the power radiating from it was undeniably greater.

‘No matter how much infinite power you wield, the human mind has its limits…’

Hwan Yul’s condition now was similar to when someone is trapped within an energy flow spiral.

Her mind, body, and energy were out of sync—an abnormal imbalance.

She was only hanging on due to the capabilities she’d cultivated over a century of life as an old monster.

But in my eyes, it wouldn’t take long for that balance to collapse.

‘I’ll entertain you to the end. Until you destroy yourself.’

I rested my sword on my shoulder and smiled.

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