Chapter 588
“Fifty years later?! No way!”
As I stood there in disbelief, Zhuge Sa suddenly winked at Jin So-cheong. In an instant, Jin So-cheong sprang at me like a lightning bolt to attack.
I met Jin So-cheong’s One Palm head-on, but right after that, she thrust her spear with two quick jabs targeting my weakness.
Thud!
I quickly adapted the Seven Great Techniques to deflect her strike and pushed her away with a counter blow. As Jin So-cheong landed on the ground, I yelled out.
“What on earth are you doing?!”
Jin So-cheong replied softly, “It’s clear that the last martial arts of Baek Woong are genuine. He doesn’t seem like a fake.”
“Wha…?”
“I thought so, didn’t you?” Zhuge Sa muttered in disbelief, while Mangnyang next to him sighed.
“Hah! How did it come to this…”
“Mangnyang.”
“I know in my mind you’re truly Baek Woong, but it’s hard to accept given the decades that have passed. I still can’t fully trust it, so please understand.”
“……”
Watching Mangnyang’s aged voice and appearance, as well as his somewhat cold demeanor, I felt slightly shocked. What on earth had happened during all this time? I briefly recounted the events I experienced while following Chi You’s Eight Divine Guardians. After finishing my story, I transferred my memories to them through the obsidian.
Zhuge Sa smiled broadly after reading my memories through the obsidian.
“Aside from the Zhuyong Tribe, you’re the only one in this world who can control the powers of the obsidian freely. I suppose doubts can be laid to rest now.”
Silently, I asked a question.
“So, I was trapped by Chi You for fifty years?”
“Seems so.”
“What on earth happened during that time?”
“……”
Zhuge Sa paused for a moment before speaking up.
“You suddenly vanished over fifty years ago, following the Eight Divine Guardians… and we were all thrown into chaos. It was particularly bewildering since you were our lord; we didn’t know what to do. However, before you disappeared, you had allied with the White Lotus Sect, so we managed to return to the Kingdom of Duke Du with their help.”
“Hmm.”
“For the record, Mangnyang and I never thought you were dead. Because…”
As Zhuge Sa was about to say something, he suddenly fell silent. Then he continued.
“From that point, our mission was to survive until you returned as best as we could. That was originally the goal. We only aimed to monitor the situation of the Central Plains steadily from the Kingdom of Duke Du…”
“Monitoring?”
“Hmmm, this is going to take longer to explain. So let me give you a brief update on the current situation before diving into the long story.”
“Alright.”
I nodded. Listening to everything in logical order would be nice, but I might zone out. Plus, I had to know the present situation. Zhuge Sa smiled with a cynical expression.
“Currently, the Central Plains are in a deadlock between the Nine Lotus Sect and the Celestial Realm. Among the few sane survivors, they’ve taken refuge in Guangdong Province, relying on support from our Bancheon Alliance and the White Lotus Sect, but… it’s all gone to hell. The Central Plains is on the verge of collapsing.”
“……?!”
I gaped in disbelief at what I was hearing. The Nine Lotus Sect and the Celestial Realm are fighting against each other?! What kind of nonsense is this?
As I was panicking, Mangnyang added to Zhuge Sa’s words.
“Fifty years ago, the Evil God acquired the Law of Cause and Effect but didn’t directly intervene. Instead, he strengthened his influence, inciting his followers to wreak havoc among humans. In just three years, the population of the Central Plains was cut down to less than a third due to the chaos, causing the Great Ming Empire to effectively collapse, creating an environment where heretical sects could thrive.”
He continued with a sigh, like the last bit of air escaping a balloon.
“The Nine Lotus Sect was the largest heretical sect that emerged. They were led by these mysterious beings called Bishops, who initiated human sacrifices and dark rituals, driving humans into fanaticism even further. As a result, a majority of the survivors started believing in the Nine Lotus Sect, and the world plunged into barbarism, while Celestial Realm immortals were attacked by the Nine Lotus Sect.”
“Are you telling me the Nine Lotus Sect launched a preemptive strike against the Celestial Realm?”
“That’s right.”
“……”
Initially, Zhuge Sa expected the human population to decline significantly, teetering on the brink of extinction. The calamity summoned by the Evil God was massive and powerful. However, the Celestial Realm’s decision to intervene with the Heavenly Altar resulted in more humans than expected surviving, as powerful Great Immortals and Divine Spirits from the Celestial Realm shielded humanity.
Yet here we are, humans turning themselves into the Nine Lotus Sect and fighting against the Celestial Realm! It was such a contradictory situation that I couldn’t find the words as Zhuge Sa chuckled.
“What’s funny is what happened afterwards. Those Nine Lotus Sect Bishops got so strong that even the Great Immortals were killed by them. Some Immortal fought back and took down a few Bishops, but afterward, the Nine Lotus Sect continued to wage war against the Celestial Realm using fanatics and demon beasts without their executives…”
“Does that even make sense?!”
I couldn’t help but retort. Seriously, what kind of being are those Great Immortals?! Even regular Earth Immortals wield martial techniques that humans can barely match, and a Great Immortal is practically a higher spiritual entity. The power of the Nine Lotus Sect Bishops must be beyond imagination if I’m this stunned, and Mangnyang chimed in.
“While we support the Celestial Realm, we’ve rescued survivors across the Central Plains, striving to keep humanity’s legacy alive. The White Lotus Sect has also relocated to the Kingdom of Duke Du. So, for over fifty years, we’ve been stuck in a stagnant war, and that’s where we’re at.”
“Up until now… you say?”
“The situation had rapidly deteriorated recently. In a bad way.”
Mangnyang’s gloomy expression continued.
“No matter how powerful the Bishops of the Nine Lotus Sect are, they’re merely a heretical group. The Celestial Realm held overwhelming power, but suddenly a being known as the Pontiff emerged from the Nine Lotus Sect. Since the Pontiff entered the battlefield, the Great Immortals of the Celestial Realm have been defeated, leading to a now even matchup.”
“Pontiff of the Nine Lotus Sect…”
It’s a name I’ve never heard before. They say if the Portrait Immortal awakens as the Apostle of the Evil God, they become a Grand Bishop, but the Portrait Immortal refused to awaken and perished. So, the Nine Lotus Sect has been operating with only Bishops for a long time. But there’s suddenly a distinct role of ‘Pontiff’ now?
‘ It’s possible, but…’
Could it be that the Evil God created a new Apostle to serve him? As I was lost in thought, Jin So-cheong spoke up beside me.
“Baek Woong. I have something to discuss, so could you follow me for a moment?”
“What’s going on?”
Without responding, Jin So-cheong walked outside. Bewildered, I followed him, and soon we found ourselves in an empty square with a few small gravestones erected.
Oh no…
A bad feeling crept over me, so I averted my gaze from the gravestones. Then Jin So-cheong’s voice pierced my ears.
“Don’t look away. See the names engraved on the gravestones with your own eyes.”
“……”
Gritting my teeth, I studied the gravestones.
A moment later, I felt my strength drain out of my entire body due to the shock.
“Ah… Ahh…”
The names of people I knew were inscribed on these tombstones.
They’re all dead.
Truly, they are all dead.
Except for three, everyone else is gone…
“Elder Sword Demon died ten years ago after taking down a Bishop. His actions saved 50,000 innocent civilians from human sacrifice. And the Extreme Tiger died three years ago fighting thousands of demon beasts from the Nine Lotus Sect.”
“……”
“Before he died, the Extreme Tiger faced Cheon Woo-jin in a duel, so he had no regrets.”
Jin So-cheong’s matter-of-fact tone continued.
“The Thunder God Lineage’s Thunderbolt Three Saints fell just a few days ago during the battle against Lee Cheong-un.”
“A few days ago?”
“Four Bishops from the Nine Lotus Sect attacked us all at once. During that time, our strongest, the Master of the White Lotus Sect, Lee Cheong-un, and the Dharma Guardians all went in to fight them, but… they were all killed by the Pontiff.”
“…….!!”
“I participated too, but I stood no chance against the Pontiff of the Nine Lotus Sect.”
I stood up in shock, momentarily forgetting my sorrow.
Are you telling me the Master of the White Lotus Sect and the Dharma Guardians all fell? And that happened even with Lee Cheong-un and Jin So-cheong teaming up?
It seemed utterly unreasonable; the overwhelming power was too great to comprehend. When I turned back to Jin So-cheong, he met my gaze calmly.
In that moment, I realized for the first time how to observe Jin So-cheong’s expression properly.
It was blank.
But that calmness was—an emotion surfacing from deep within, weighed down by so much sorrow and self-reproach. The feelings Jin So-cheong carried for decades spread to me, and I realized I had nothing to say to him.
Jin So-cheong finally opened his mouth.
“The Pontiff has taken complete control over Guangdong Province, inflicting absolute damage on our side. And he just revealed intentions to challenge the Celestial Realm soon, vowing to eradicate all its powerful beings.”
“…That’s impossible.”
“We have no strength left to fight, and we were deliberating on what to do. Then you showed up, Baek Woong.”
“……”
Upon hearing Zhuge Sa and Mangnyang’s vague explanations earlier, the situation crystallized in my mind more clearly. That’s right. The alliance between the Bancheon Alliance and the White Lotus Sect collapsed shockingly against the sudden emergence of the Pontiff, and humanity reached the brink of annihilation. My companions likely couldn’t welcome me with open arms in this utterly hopeless situation.
I trembled in my helplessness.
‘Damn it…!!’
At the same time, a colossal rage toward Chi You surged within me.
Why was I trapped in the Otherworldly Realm for fifty years?!
If I had the strength and means I possess now, I could have created a better situation. Why on earth?!
Perhaps the massacre of my companions is on my conscience, swirling in guilt within me.
At that moment, Zhuge Sa stepped forward.
“If the Pontiff wishes, he can annihilate the Celestial Realm. The power we witnessed just a few days ago was on par with the Celestial Sage himself. If not greater.”
“How can a mere human possess such power?”
“Hehe…”
Zhuge Sa chuckled as he sat on a rock.
The Evil God had been playing with both humans and the Celestial Realm for fifty years. He grew tired of crafting his toy, the Nine Lotus Sect, and decided to create a new Apostle, the Pontiff, to end it all.
“……”
I looked up at the sky in silence.
Then Mangnyang spoke to me.
“Baek Woong. I’m grateful you’ve returned, even now.”
“…You don’t hate me?”
“You were merely caught up in Chi You’s schemes, so why hold any resentment?”
“Thank you…”
I gritted my teeth.
‘It’s not over yet.’
Even if everyone has died, I cannot collapse in despair here.
Because—there may still be a ‘next’ for me. If I sit back in despair when I’m given another chance, it would be a deception and insult to those who have no opportunities. I must persevere and continue onward.
Zhuge Sa smiled mischievously.
“Hehe… then shall we all struggle together?”
