763——————==

Dark Heaven Village

Even the Three Sovereigns don’t understand this.

‘Three Sovereigns… Is that so…?’

As I arrived here, it somehow started to make sense.

To be precise, the other Three Sovereigns, excluding ‘Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen,’ don’t seem to know about this. That unknown territory is the trial to obtain the last of the Seven Luminaries, the Sun! The Three Sovereigns made a contract to create the Seven Luminaries, but it seems they know little about the Sun.

I looked up at the Queen Mother of the West.

“The air between heaven and earth is filled with auspicious energy. Why is that?”

In response to my question, the Queen Mother of the West replied.

[It means that the original owner of this star has awakened….]

“……?”

[You should prepare to face the trial.]

The Queen Mother seemed to know something. Looking around, I noticed that not only she but also other apostles and avatars of the Three Sovereigns were quietly hovering in the air, merely observing our group. Zhuge Sa, who was next to me, spoke.

“They’re not exuding any pressure. They won’t attack us.”

“Came just to watch, huh?”

“Undoubtedly. The Three Sovereigns probably want to know what the trial of the Sun is.”

Even if it is a trial, I have no idea what might come. What on earth should I do in this situation?

‘Do I just stand still and wait?’

As I thought this while recovering my stamina and qi, about half a moment passed without anything happening when Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Baek Woong. It seems we need to resonate all Six Luminaries at the same time.”

“Hmm… Is that so? You should’ve said that earlier.”

“It might take a bit of time to activate, so I wanted to keep an eye on it.”

That makes sense.

Until now, I had simply left everything in a liberated state and hadn’t resonated them. I tried to grab all six Luminaries at once and resonate them simultaneously, but at that moment, a splitting headache hit me.

“Ughh.”

My body feels heavy!

Suddenly, I felt a massive drain in my internal power, coupled with a scorching headache that slammed through my brain like waves. As I stumbled, Zhuge Sa sucked his teeth.

“Tsk, it seems you’re lacking in capacity.”

“Lacking in capacity?”

“You’ve never used more than two liberated Luminaries at the same time, right? It seems that once a certain number is exceeded, the minimum capacity required for resonance increases. With your current strength and mental power, you can’t resonate the Six Luminaries on your own.”

“…Ugh.”

“Don’t worry; we can divide the tasks. Before that, let’s test how far we can go. So far, I’ve been worried about attracting attention by resonating the Luminaries for no good reason.”

Saying this, Zhuge Sa had me resonate the Fire and Water Luminaries. I found that I could easily resonate the two Luminaries, and then he had me add the Wood Luminary. Just as I was trying to resonate three Luminaries, my body began to heat up, and I could feel veins bulging on my forehead.

“Grrr…!!”

I could feel it right away. This is my limit! I had a tiny bit of leeway, but resonating the Four Luminaries was out of the question.

Cheon Woo-jin sighed upon seeing me.

“Ugh, that’s too much…”

“Yeah! Sorry for being underwhelming.”

As I grumbled, Cheon Woo-jin shook his head.

“That’s not it. The conditions for becoming the owner of the Seven Luminaries are just too harsh.”

“Hmm?”

“You may be a bit of a fool, but after 24 reincarnations, you’ve gained excellent martial prowess, sorcery, and mental strength. You can even handle demon power. There are only a handful of individuals in the human realm who are certainly superior to you comprehensively.”

What’s up with him suddenly complimenting me?

“I’m not complimenting you. If even someone like you can only resonate three Luminaries and hit a wall, then the capacity needed to be the owner of the Seven Luminaries must surpass mere humans.”

“Oh, is that so…?”

“That’s definitely strange.”

Zhuge Sa chimed in.

“It seems everyone here could easily perform Dual Luminary Resonance, but when it comes to Triple Luminary Resonance, the requirements shoot up suddenly. If the same goes for Four Luminary Resonance, then only divine beings could achieve the Five or Six Luminary Resonance. Only those with powers exceeding a minimum threshold could use them.”

“……”

“If things go on like this, no human can perfectly wield the Seven Luminaries. It’s a contradiction.”

“It was never meant to belong to humans; that was forced upon them by a human priest, right? If the original concept belongs to the gods, it wouldn’t be weird…”

“Then why do we have this challenge to liberate the Six Luminaries where ‘the human king’ is at stake? There’s really no reason for that.”

“Oh!”

I hadn’t thought of that!

Two seemingly unrelated grand catastrophes were linked together in a way that I had failed to recognize until now. Zhuge Sa continued speaking.

“The Seven Luminaries were created by the consensus of the entire Three Sovereigns, but the conditions for completion are entirely influenced by Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. In other words, this contradiction arose because of him.”

“Hmm… What does that mean?”

“I still can’t say for sure. We need to focus and figure it out from here on.”

“Let’s do that.”

I had more things to ponder. I nodded and equipped myself with the Two Luminaries, handed the Moon Luminary to Cheon Gong-pyo, the Wood Luminary to Cheon Woo-jin, the Gold Luminary to Zhuge Sa, and the Earth Luminary to Jin So-cheong. Finally, we began resonating the Seven Luminaries together.

Whoooooooo

‘The Fire and Water Luminaries turned completely white…’

The other Luminaries also started shining white, but the Fire and Water Luminaries were particularly remarkable. There was a strong attractive force as if they were pulling towards each other, and a white light intertwined between them like chains. There was no doubt they were created as siblings.

Kaboom

Even amidst the flash covering everyone, we could see each other’s faces clearly. Those who possessed the Luminaries could identify each other as if we were looking right in each other’s eyes. It felt as if the Luminaries and our bodies were merging into one.

Bzzzzzz

As the white flash spread further and enveloped everything in sight, I suddenly found myself gently landing after falling through the air. The height was merely that of one palm, so it wasn’t too high.

“Where is this?”

It’s a place I’ve never seen before. Before my eyes, an incredibly massive pillar stood, its thickness seeming like dozens of palms wrapped together. Moreover, the pillar had roots that extended into the ground, reaching all the way to the horizon, spreading left and right. As I looked over the entangled roots, I sought out my companions.

“Baek Woong!!”

Finding them didn’t take long. As I walked a bit, I could see them gathered near the vast pillar. We checked each other in.

“Five total. Only those who resonated with the Seven Luminaries could come here.”

Indeed.

Me, Cheon Woo-jin, Zhuge Sa, Jin So-cheong, and Cheon Gong-pyo.

Only five of us had arrived, while my other human friends like Tang San and Seo Mun-hye were missing. Zhuge Sa spoke.

“As expected. Let’s explore this place a bit more.”

We began investigating the colossal pillar. There were indeed seven jewels embedded at equal intervals along it, shining with a splendid light. Each jewel had a different color.

I murmured while examining the jewels.

“Are these jewels representing the Seven Luminaries?”

“Without a doubt. The red jewel must be the Fire Luminary, the blue one is probably Water Luminary, and so on.”

“What exactly is this trial? I don’t understand what’s about to start here.”

Just then.

[Those who challenge the human king…. Those who have gathered the Seven Luminaries. I, the one who presides over the trial, have an announcement for you.]

A voice rang that felt as if the entire world echoed it. When we absentmindedly looked up at the sky, that enormous voice continued.

[Originally, only you can challenge this place…. However, there was a being that secured the right to challenge through the past Offering Ceremony, and that being has announced their participation in the royal selection.]

“What did you just say?!”

[Had he not appeared in this era, he would not have been able to intervene in this challenge…. But this was permitted by the Emperor, so there’s nothing to be done.]

Everyone’s expressions darkened.

Even without saying a word, we could tell who it was.

Zhuge Sa bit his lip.

“This is bad.”

Shuuushhhh

In the next moment, chaos swirled in the air and formed a shape. It was such a powerful force that we didn’t even dare to attack it—like facing a newly awakened Daji, an overwhelming power surged upward.

Eventually, a being shaped from the chaos spoke.

“It didn’t go as expected, but here I am, just as I planned.”

“Jin!!”

Indeed, the Ultimate Portrait Immortal, Jin, had appeared here!!

We immediately tried to prepare for a Time Stop, but Jin waved his hand.

“Don’t worry. The fight hasn’t started yet.”

“What?”

“Only after the trial begins can we start to fight each other. Right now, neither you nor I can use any abilities, nor can we express hostility toward each other.”

As Jin said this, he slowly walked forward and stood before me. He smiled and said.

“Go ahead, strike.”

Shhhhk!!

Without hesitation, I aimed to strike him, but my sword stopped right before his neck. I wanted to go deeper, yet something held me back—not by some force, but by my own body refusing to comply. Even attempting to use my intent would vanish the moment I harbored murderous thoughts. Additionally, it seemed I couldn’t use any sorcery or magic right now. From behind, Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Qin Shi Huang, did you perhaps wish for the right to participate in the ultimate trial of the Seven Luminaries during the very first Offering Ceremony in history?”

“Of course.”

Jin brushed aside the Water Luminary I wielded with his finger as he replied.

“What I desire is to become the king of humanity eternally. How could I not wish for that?”

“But can you only wish for one thing in the Offering Ceremony?”

“That depends on the costs. I paid more than enough to be able to wish for two.”

Step….

As Jin turned his back and leaned against the giant pillar.

“I was foolish in the past. I chased every method to become immortal, but at some point, I realized that it was too easy, and it left me feeling empty… and then I discovered my own desire that surpassed immortality.”

“What is that?”

“Immortality.”

Jin interlocked his fingers and continued.

“Mortals don’t call the gods immortal. For the gods, there exists a superior power called eternal existence. A being without the very concept of death…. I wanted to be such a being while acquiring dominion over the world. So I wished for immortality during the Offering Ceremony.”

I shouted out.

“Why didn’t you simply wish to become a god like Empress Wu Zetian? What’s the point of going through all this?”

“Well… Can a mere lesser deity really be called a true god? It’s a pointless endeavor because you’re still under someone else.”

“……”

“I wanted to be an [Old Ruler], but even an emperor wouldn’t grant such a wish. And another reason for the futility of wishing to become a god is this.”

Jin laughed smugly.

“If I become a god, I would not be able to attend the grand banquet, the meeting of the Seven Luminaries, where all the gods converge. Being a sage is allowed, but if I become a being that triggers the Law of Cause and Effect, I cannot come ‘here.’”

“……!!”

“So, I gave up on becoming a god.”

In that moment, I made eye contact with Zhuge Sa. The information Jin shared was incredibly valuable.

A complete transcendent cannot challenge the trial of the Seven Luminaries!

Only mortals can!

Listening calmly to Jin’s story, Zhuge Sa spoke.

“Even if it’s immortality, the typical kind wouldn’t present itself like this. How did you achieve immortality?”

“Well, I prefer not to share all that.”

“Should I take a guess?”

“Go on, Sorcerer.”

As Jin looked at him with interest, Zhuge Sa said.

“You became Divine Blood. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“You reverted your essence back to nature while leaving your will but ended up linked to the Divine Blood. If someone picked up that Divine Blood and manufactured an Avatar, that would mean you’re aiming for the perfect physical form in this world.”

“Oho.”

“The purpose is clear. You aimed to obtain the mightiest body to win, no matter who emerges victorious in this final battle, right?”

“Hehe, while I want to say you’re just spouting nonsense…”

Jin laughed joyfully.

“Correct! Hahaha.”

Indeed.

Thousands of years ago – the Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unified the ancient Middle Kingdom for the first time, gained the right to participate in the ultimate trial of the Seven Luminaries. And in order to win that battle, he pinpointed the Portrait Immortal that humanity would create in the future as his ultimate weapon, and he had transformed into Divine Blood, continuously merging with nature.

I was left speechless.

“You were the emperor who unified the continent thousands of years ago. You could have enjoyed all the wealth and glory. If you had just wished for immortality, you could have lived for hundreds of years, enjoying life. Why would you…”

“Hahaha!! Surely a question posed by one challenging me, gathering the Seven Luminaries.”

Jin said.

“This world is but a toy and a playground for the gods. There’s a limit to enjoying the pleasures of human existence while being tossed around like a toy. I was destined to be the Great Emperor ruling over the world, so I will become the perfect ruler in this despicable world.”

A fiery red light ignited in his eyes.

“Do you know why I’ve shared my story so painstakingly?”

Zhuge Sa replied mockingly.

“Because you want to show kindness to your enemies during the ultimate battle, achieving a perfect victory, only to pass on the hero’s tale to later generations? Oh, and this battle is being watched by all the Three Sovereigns.”

“That’s right.”

Qin Shi Huang coldly continued.

“Once the trial begins, there’s no chance for you. However, because I am merciful, if you take matters into your own hands, I won’t go out of my way to humiliate you painfully.”

“…What do you think, Baek Woong?”

Zhuge Sa, as well as my fellow companions, all looked at me.

I smiled slyly and said.

“It looks like the mighty Qin Shi Huang is getting a little scared there.”

“……”

At that moment, Qin Shi Huang stared at me with a stiffened expression. I sneered.

“The Celestial Sage couldn’t have just died uselessly. You might have knocked Chi You over and drained power from the Golden Box, but that strength combined is definitely gone now.”

“He died helplessly at my hands.”

“Absolutely not! You’ve clearly lost more than half of the power you originally had.”

Confidently biting my lip, I declared.

“You will die by my hand!!”

KABOOM

At that moment, the pillar trembled violently, and suddenly, a pure white light burst forth from the distant sky.

[Commencing the Trial.]