773 ———————————————-

Dark Heaven Village

I thought Zhuge Bu was right. I knew through my Demon Path knowledge about the vastness of constellations, so I was aware that the sizes of Jupiter and Saturn were beyond what humans could possibly handle.

The mass of my home star is orders of magnitude greater than any one person could bear.

‘But… Venus is no different.’

It’s an impossible task. How on earth could a human destroy a star? The strike I just unleashed was likely the maximum output I could muster since my rebirth, but it barely made a scratch on a star.

Even if Venus is comparably sized, it would take thousands of times the energy I just unleashed to penetrate its core and break it apart.

…It’s far too unrealistic. I opened the Eight Gates with Great Destruction and activated almost limitless internal power while borrowing the strength of the top-tier sorcerers, and even used the legendary Fire Dragon Sword empowered to the Seven Luminaries level, yet here we are. How am I supposed to amplify my strength thousands of times more?

At that moment, a possible solution crossed my mind, and I mentally communicated with Zhuge Bu. Since we were currently soaring through cosmic space, speaking out loud was out of the question, but we were bound by the Life Force Sharing technique, allowing for mental conversation.

[Zhuge Bu, if we could use Spirit Summoning Technique, it just might be possible…]

Yes! That’s the ultimate technique just now cast by Cheon Gong-pyo, the one that could arguably be the most powerful—Spirit Summoning Technique!

Of course, doing it alone might be tough, but if we could somehow boost the caster, it just might work. Zhuge Bu replied.

[That may be the case, but she’s already exhausted her technique usage. Techniques like Spirit Summoning have a limited number of uses, and it can’t be reused within a day.]

[What’s that? I was told that the power of Chaos allows for infinite uses of techniques….]

[Techniques depend on energy consumption rather than power. Considering the might of Spirit Summoning Technique, it exceeds Mortal strength and is bound by the Law of Cause and Effect. While theoretically possible to use, the moment you do, you’d face the backlash of the Law of Cause and Effect. If used once, a safety measure is in place to avoid triggering it.]

I understood the principle but couldn’t accept it.

[Ah, but… it’s really impossible this way. Even if I try like before, I can’t destroy a planet. Even after a thousand attacks….]

This isn’t about having tenacity or not. I’ve eaten enough martial arts dirt and have over a hundred years of training experience, so I know doom when I see it. This isn’t just an improbable feat; it’s flat-out impossible.

[…I see. You have a point.]

While I was lamenting my inability to attack Venus, Zhuge Bu didn’t scold me as before. He recognized that recklessly charging in wasn’t the right move. After some thoughtful contemplation, he spoke.

[There is only one way to recover the Spirit Summoning Technique.]

[What is it?]

[A completed Philosopher’s Stone. It’s the ultimate offering and can greatly offset the energy consumption of the Law of Cause and Effect. Even the gods envy it. If used, it could restore the Spirit Summoning Technique and bring infinite energy along with it.]

The Philosopher’s Stone!

I thought about its whereabouts and said.

[But the Philosopher’s Stone is gone now. It was already sacrificed by Chi You as the price for the Golden Box.]

That’s right.

Before Chi You revealed himself, he succeeded in creating the ultimate Portrait Immortal, Jin, and managed to summon the Golden Box. He even activated the Transference Gate that connects to the entire world—thanks to the Philosopher’s Stone, the culmination of alchemy and the greatest material. With it consumed, there’s no more way left.

But then Zhuge Bu said.

[Not necessarily! At least regarding the Philosopher’s Stone, we can’t say that’s the case. I was deeply involved in the Philosopher’s Stone project as the representative of the Imperial Palace. I’m confident.]

What a strong conviction!

I eagerly asked back.

[You mean you know where it is?!]

[To be precise, I can guess where a part of it remains. So from now, follow my instructions.]

Zhuge Bu continued speaking.

[Nahoo and Gye-do have vanished toward the horizon, and even now the Three Luminaries’ light has been lit, but we don’t see the Celestial Sage, the Time and Space Diagram, or Jin. Something must be wrong, so head over there first.]

[So we should head towards Gye-do? Since Cheon Gong-pyo went that way.]

I thought we should obviously aim for the direction where Gye-do had disappeared, thinking it would be good to help a side that lacked hands. But Zhuge Bu said something different from my expectation.

[No! Go towards Nahoo instead. That’s our priority.]

[Why?]

[There’s no time to explain everything. Brace yourself and go!]

[Got it!]

There was no more time to question things. I decided to trust Zhuge Bu and flew in the direction where Nahoo had vanished, as chaos surged over the Earth, creating a sea of chaos. I flew above the surface using my hover technique.

While flying, I asked Zhuge Bu.

[Is this sea of chaos poisonous? What happens if you touch it?]

[Stop. It’s pure chaos; it can decompose any material. Even a higher-level otherworldly being would suffer immense damage like they were burned. Only beings born from pure chaos can survive in the sea of chaos.]

Baba-bam!

As I used the Great Destruction while maintaining the hover technique, I was flying faster than the speed of sound. I didn’t use higher-level martial arts but was pushing forward with pure might.

After flying about twenty miles, I spotted Nahoo radiating black light beyond the horizon.

Kugugugu!!

‘It looks like the star itself is spinning.’

Nahoo was rotating, spewing out black sandstorms like a sandstorm.

That thing is way too small to be called a star. At about thirty zhang, it would be considered a grain of sand by celestial standards. Maybe Nahoo was originally larger, but it was summoned into this space and adjusted to a smaller, fitting size.

In front of it, Jin, the Portrait Immortal, floated, summoning chaos spears and axes to launch at the foe. The Celestial Sage was using a clone technique to try and assist Jin, but it didn’t seem to be effective.

Kwah-kwang!

Everyone appeared to be struggling to inflict damage on Nahoo. Jin’s Time Stop or time manipulation skills were undoubtedly powerful, but they weren’t very useful for destroying fixed inanimate objects or structures. Despite the Celestial Sage using every means possible, he still couldn’t land solid hits.

Did Jin notice I had arrived? He turned towards me and said.

“Baek Woong, looks like you triggered a special technique. With that level of power, you’ll definitely be helpful, so hurry and smash this Nahoo!”

“…….”

“Three Luminaries are already lit. If Nahoo becomes the Dragon’s Eye, it would be catastrophic, so we need to take it down fast.”

Really?

Is that the best course of action?

[Go!]

While I heard Jin’s words, my mind was clouded by Zhuge Bu’s command ringing in my head. Although my emotions were under control, so it didn’t show on the surface, it seemed Jin hadn’t caught on yet.

‘Damn! There’s no choice!’

If I hesitate here, I’ll end up in an even worse situation. With my resolve set, I acted immediately.

One Slash!

Boom!

In that instant, Jin’s shoulder tore apart, and one arm fell away from his body.

‘Too shallow! I should’ve gone for the head!’

I executed the supreme One Slash of the Thunder God Sword Dance at this close distance while in the state of Eight Gates, and in this moment, I felt I could match or even surpass the Master of the White Lotus Sect opening the mandala. No, even he would find it almost impossible to evade the One Slash at this level. Yet, as expected, the completed Portrait Immortal still sensed my attack and evaded!

An unbelievable level of perception—truly a being surpassing human capabilities, like a demon’s doll. I felt regret, but with my surprise attack having failed, I was left with no choice but to engage in a straight fight. Sure enough, at that instant, Jin froze time and counterattacked.

His expression was oddly strange for just a fleeting moment—not one of shock, but more like ‘Why are you trying to fight now?’

But it couldn’t be helped.

Zhuge Bu’s directive to me was simple: [Cut Jin down!]

I wanted to know the reason, but with fighting having begun, that question could wait. All that remained was to fight Jin until one of us was dead.

Bang!!

In the moments just before time stopped, I felt a wave rippling across my whole body. Then, I noticed Jin’s hand blade aimed at my forehead was rushing at me. I automatically sensed the attack and executed the Mystical Five Spirit Mirage to bind him with energy.

This was one of the transformation techniques Lee Cheong-un had taught me, meant to restrain close opponents. While the five-colored energy limited Jin’s movements, I then shot off another One Slash like a bolt of lightning, severing Jin’s neck.

Swoosh!

Jin’s form morphed like a ghost, appearing just outside of three zhang.

‘So he stopped time again.’

But it wasn’t impossible to handle. Though he was an enemy, the Time Stop had now become a fast surprise attack. Thanks to the Great Destruction technique!

Zhuge Bu’s words echoed in my head.

[The effect of the Great Destruction technique grants you a power greater than that of an opened Mandala, and the divine energy of the Fire Dragon Sword augments your technique. Initially, it seems like it provided the user with tremendous resistance to chaos. Even if Jin wields the Fire Spirit, his Time Stop ability won’t be greatly enhanced, so in the end, you have a significant resistance to face him!]

Zhuge Bu continued.

[This is your chance! Kill him and burn the corpse! That should yield the stone.]

[The corpse?]

[Would a crafty one like Ji You ever create again a Philosopher’s Stone that could be irrevocably consumed? And wasn’t Jin’s ability suspiciously strong?]

[…….]

[The Philosopher’s Stone Ji You made was likely not just one. He must have melted down the initial prototype to make a doll!]

Then… you mean the Philosopher’s Stone was used as the material for the Portrait Immortal?

It felt like everything flipped on its head, but I soon realized it wasn’t incorrect. The first created prototype, which was only a bit short of completion, was indeed melted down to enhance the Portrait Immortal. The ultimate Philosopher’s Stone, perfected later, was offered to the worst demon residing in the Imperial Palace.

‘That’s great.’

After all, it was time to settle on this guy.

[If you recover the Philosopher’s Stone and the Seven Luminaries, you’ll have enough power to destroy Nahoo. Kill this nuisance!]

[Understood.]

In the trial of the sun, surrounded by time constraints, I couldn’t afford to waste time, with a moment’s time being of the utmost value.

Bam!

“Is that so? Let’s die together!”

As the unlikely scenario registered in his mind, the Celestial Sage briefly dazed, but then seemed to comprehend the situation and immediately utilized the clone technique to attack Jin. His intuition was razor-sharp, effortlessly skipping the moment of hesitation.

Jin dodged the hundreds of clone attacks with his Time Stop and pulled back.

“Gak!”

In that moment, Jin stumbled. Blood trickled from his seven holes.

He seemed genuinely startled, sweating.

Drip, drip.

“What have you done?”

He was clearly taken aback. I couldn’t answer him, but Zhuge Bu relayed information directly into my mind.

[You and I are now connected by the Soul Exchange Technique and Life Force Sharing through three combined techniques: Great Destruction. Using your sword, I pushed the strongest heretical curse into his body. Since Zhuge Sha transferred the worst curse from the Western Regions to Banji Mountain, even Jin would incur severe damage from it.]

[Can even a Portrait Immortal be killed?]

[If only one surprise hit lands, then yes. You’ve succeeded in assassinating Qin Shi Huang.]

So that’s how it is.

I finally understood Zhuge Bu’s strategy of swiftly choosing a surprise attack. The catalyzed Great Destruction was amplifying its effects beyond what I expected.

Zhuge Sha had taught countless heretical techniques and curses to turn Zhuge Bu into the strongest combat doll, which had clearly become beneficial at this moment.

I glared at Jin.

“It seems I’m fulfilling the grudge of Jing Ke. You’re finished.”

Swish!

As I raised my sword, Jin once again activated Time Stop to strike me, but just as before, its power had dramatically decreased. I sensed his attack up close and retaliated with Bowing Sky Slash.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Jin possessed tremendous physical capabilities, but with no mastery over martial arts, he quickly fell back, suffering a critical blow to his left wrist. Undoubtedly, he hadn’t felt the need to master martial arts due to his immense power of Chaos.

Swoosh!

As Jin’s wrist flopped and bled, he appeared incredulous, panting. I could see that the curse Zhuge Bu had pushed through my sword was steadily killing him.

Moreover, the Celestial Sage used his clone technique to narrow down Jin’s escape routes, finally landing a solid fist into his solar plexus.

Bang!

The Celestial Sage’s iron fist shattered diamonds upon impact, but it seemed Jin’s body bore immense strength, leaving him largely uninjured. The Celestial Sage expressed disappointment, not having been able to land a significant blow despite giving it his all.

“Tsk! It’s not the same as when I had five of the Seven Luminaries…”

Once again evading danger with his Time Stop ability, Jin gasped heavily.

“I am… the Emperor. I, the Overlord who first unified the Middle Kingdom… How could I be defeated…”

“Qin Shi Huang, you’ve already died in history. Right now, you’re just a lost ghost in the hidden world.”

“Hehe… I don’t understand… I thought your schemers were all dead and could no longer act decisively, yet this ambush is so swift….”

He paused for a moment before continuing.

“…This won’t end here.”

“What?”

“There exists a final principle of this trial that you haven’t been informed of….”

In that instant.

Wooooo!

A strange aura began to brew around Jin, and soon countless soldiers were summoned onto the sea of chaos. I gasped in shock.

“You insane fool!”

This sea of chaos erases and dissolves everything! Summoning mere soldiers will only see them dissolve into oblivion within moments! I was stunned, never having imagined he would summon soldiers in this situation.

But then something even more surprising occurred.

Whooo!

“……!!”

The soldiers didn’t dissolve into the chaotic sea. They stood firmly on the surface, lining up in an orderly fashion, quickly filling up the area around them. With a single wave, Jin Shi Huang summoned tens of thousands of troops.

“Baek Woong. I asked you what king you wished to be. While you answered you’d become the King of Kings, my answer differs.”

“What?!”

“Fu-hu….”

Even while bleeding from his seven holes, Jin laughed. His mental strength was impressive, laughing despite his agony.

[Behold my power. This is the military discipline that first unified the Chinese world.]

Before long, hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrounded the Celestial Sage.

The bizarre aura emanating from each soldier, each horse, and each chariot flared with energy. Unlike mere qi, there was an overwhelming will resonating within the vast military forces. Unlike before, the legions now exerted a fierce, living intent.

What kind of power is this?

The Emperor began to slowly rise to the heavens, unleashing a grand voice.

[I am the very essence of China. Everything that exists in China belongs to me, and that is the Emperor!]