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899——————==

True Martial Home

It seems like the worst crisis of this life has hit me.

“Damn it! Get a grip!”

When I realized that although the Three Sovereigns Nüwa had descended, there were no more allies left, I almost fell into despair. But I regained my composure and could think clearly again. Normally, in such a situation, one would surely go insane or despair, but having seen the end of the universe and experienced all sorts of things, I found this possible.

“… Guess I have to gamble again.”

As my eyes changed, Mangnyang seemed to read my thoughts and said.

“I’ll buy us some time, no matter what.”

“Thanks.”

I glanced at Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa, my companions. They seemed to have sensed my choice.

Whoooooosh!!

I drew up the Constellation’s power that Xiang Yu had gifted me and further strengthened my Spirit Power. Meanwhile, Nüwa began to act again.

Swoosh

[Ahhhh…!]

The Eight Parts of the Divine Yacha disappeared without so much as a whisper. Since the other Eight Parts had already vanished with a gesture from Nüwa, this could be considered the complete annihilation of the Eight Parts of the Divine. Nüwa murmured as she erased Yacha.

[It’s about time to summon…]

Raising both hands, Nüwa prepared to summon something. We guessed what she was about to do and knew we had to stop it. Mangnyang turned to me in a hurry, and I gritted my teeth and shouted.

“Haaah!!”

At that moment, a pain like my heart bursting from within struck me, and my mind felt connected to a distant world. I used [Apostle’s Power] to turn back time. But just as I was trying to rotate the world’s small cycle, Nüwa’s gaze turned icily towards me.

Keeeeng –

The world began to distort as if trying to turn back, only to suddenly twist back to normal. It was as if the waves of a surface were calming down. Nüwa looked at me and spoke.

[Apostle of God. Do you dare to try and rotate the [Small Cycle] in front of me? How arrogant!]

Since Nüwa is one of the Three Sovereigns, she seemed capable of preventing the reversal of the [Small Cycle].

“Damn…!!”

I still couldn’t give up.

Whether it worked or not, I had to try again!!

The Law of Cause and Effect limits an Apostle’s power to just three uses a year, but it wouldn’t matter if I used all three! Since I had used it once before, this would probably be my last attempt!!

“I need to go back to the time before Xiang Yu is destroyed! I have to turn back as far as possible!”

I bet everything on this single attempt! I erupted with Spirit Power again, and a more intense distortion of time and space began, causing reality to shake violently.

Boom boom boom!

Could it be that the immense Spirit Power and the two Constellations that Xiang Yu had given me amplified it? This time, even Nüwa, who usually could easily block me, momentarily halted her summoning actions. And with her dark eyes shining in anger, she roared.

[How foolish, mortal. You wish to turn back time so badly? Very well, I shall grant you that wish! I shall send you to the primordial time!]

“…What?”

[I shall accelerate the wheel…!!]

Nüwa pointed at me.

Whoosh!!

Before I could even contemplate the meaning of her words, I found myself in a place I had never seen before. No matter how I looked at it, it was not the place where I just fought Nüwa. Instead, I realized my body was floating in some kind of outer space, not land.

Floating

Floating

“…!!”

W-Why is there no earth or sky? This is completely an empty void of space, isn’t it? I was puzzled about how I got instantaneously moved here, but soon felt the thrill of survival as my breath became short.

I quickly surrounded myself with Spirit Power to protect my life, but no matter how much I scanned my surroundings, there was not a trace of allies or Nüwa.

‘What happened?’

I racked my brain.

What does it mean to have accelerated the wheel?

The primordial time?

But before I could think further, a huge scolding echoed in my head.

[You fool!! What the hell are you doing?]

The booming voice made my head ring, and I immediately recognized who it was scolding me. The shadow of the Dark Giant appeared in my mind.

“…Jeon Wook!”

That’s right.

The one who spoke to me directly in my head was Jeon Wook, one of the Three Sovereigns. He spoke in an angry tone.

[To try and rotate the [Small Cycle] before the Three Sovereigns, how foolish… You are currently in the Void of Time, how do you plan to take responsibility?]

“The Void of Time? What does that mean…?”

My eyes widened in horror at the next words.

“That’s the past before the sun was created!”

[…!!]

“Nüwa accelerated your time reversal and sent you flying.”

What?!

I was so flabbergasted that I opened my mouth, but Jeon Wook wouldn’t lie about that. Since I learned about outer space science from Zhuge Sa, I knew what that meant.

‘Several billion years ago!’

If it’s before Earth and the sun were created, it must be at least four billion years ago! A time frame so impossible to even guess at. Now I understood what Nüwa had done to me.

To rotate the [Small Cycle] and return time is like turning a watermill backward. Nüwa initially blocked my attempt by sheer force, but the second time, she grew annoyed and instead lent strength to my time-reversing power to accelerate the cycle! And because of that acceleration, it seemed I had come to an incredibly distant past — several billion years ago.

Jeon Wook continued.

[Through you, I tried to eliminate Queen Mother of the West and restrict Nüwa, but I failed. Then I shall have to revoke the powers and fragments bestowed upon you.]

Whoooooooom

In that moment, Jeon Wook manifested before me as a King and slowly reached out his hand. There was no way to escape that hand, and the moment it touched me, I realized I would lose all Spirit Power, abilities, and fragments.

Jeon Wook, being an [Old Ruler], could appear across space-time for tens of billions of years. After all, a god transcends time and space.

Feeling a crisis, I quickly shouted.

“Wait! I still have a way to win!”

[Going back to that time is pointless. Nüwa is a god, so no interference of all space and time will work. Whatever you tried to do using my power will be meaningless.]

“That’s not it. It’s not that…”

[Still making excuses? Fine.]

Jeon Wook’s demeanor grew cold.

[I still hold interest in you, so I will allow you one more word.]

“…”

[I suggest you think carefully about your last words.]

I had to turn Jeon Wook’s heart back with one single word?

At that moment, only one option appeared in my mind.

‘Reborn Person!’

I just need to reveal that I’m a reborn person! Once Jeon Wook knows of a reborn person’s existence, he wouldn’t dare treat me recklessly, and this would give me another chance. My mouth felt itchy to say it, but at the same time, the warnings from my advisors flashed through my mind.

Absolutely, I must not reveal that I am a reborn person.

At least not in this life.

“…”

I must keep the taboo…

But do I really need to hide that I am a reborn person after going this far? This isn’t even the same space-time as before — it’s billions of years ago, before the Earth and the sun were created. In this desolate space, who would even hear me? Who could eavesdrop on the Three Sovereigns? Who could possibly?

I had no option besides revealing that I am a reborn person!

I could also commit suicide and transition to my next life, but that felt too wasteful. Dying after cornering Queen Mother of the West like this would be such a pointless struggle! I wanted to do something before I died, so the urge to reveal that I’m a reborn person welled up in my throat.

“I… am…”

Once I say it.

That’s it.

What if Jeon Wook ends up trembling in fear instead?

But then, the images of my comrades, like Mangnyang and Miho, suddenly came to mind.

“I… know the true intentions of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. I’ll say it, please help me.”

Although this statement was more uncertain than saying I’m a reborn person, I figured this was the only route. Sure, it would be easier to talk about being a reborn person, but I deliberately chose the harder path.

Perhaps this could be the worst choice of my previous life, but I felt it was better than dying while breaking the taboo. I couldn’t abandon the trust of my comrades.

At that, Jeon Wook’s hand halted.

[Is that truly so?]

“Yeah.”

[Hmmm…]

Jeon Wook seemed to be struggling to make a judgment. Perhaps he felt there was a chance I might know. Eventually, he opened his mouth.

[If that is a lie, you will never die comfortably.]

“…”

A glimmer shone in Jeon Wook’s eyes.

[Out of consideration for you, I was going to let you die easily, but in that case, I will tear you apart from here to that time. You will become prey for the hungry every time.]

If I mess up, would I be torn apart in Jeon Wook’s Palace of Ten Thousand Ghosts for billions of years…? I’d already seen him keep Ling Nara alive while torturing him.

‘Tch. Well, I might as well do it!’

It was indeed a terrifying situation, but I felt not an ounce of tension. It might be because I had endured even worse situations several times before, allowing me to respond calmly. After all, my life had been an endless adventure, so panicking wouldn’t help at all.

“The true intent of Gong Sun Xuanwen lies in reaching the Throne of Chaos!”

[…?!]

For the first time, Jeon Wook seemed caught off guard. He crossed his arms and retorted.

[What do you mean? The Throne of Chaos?]

“I’ve discovered that as the end of this world approaches, Earth will perish, and a door leading to the Throne of Chaos will open. Did you know this, Jeon Wook?”

[I was aware.]

“But it seems that almost no one knows what happens once you enter there. The great Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen does.”

[……]

As Jeon Wook stared at me intently, I leisurely continued.

“Gong Sun Xuanwen is utilizing everything to reach that throne in the end. He’s probably using the other Three Sovereigns as mere pawns after calculating the Law of Cause and Effect excluding himself. Then, when the last moment comes, he’ll use those sacrifices as a stepping stone to the throne.”

[I don’t believe you. Where did you get that information?]

“You must have seen me using the Evil God’s command.”

I continued speaking.

“As you know, that command is incredibly powerful, and you need a very close relationship with the Evil God to acquire it. I obtained the Evil God’s command while simultaneously learning the secret of the slab.”

[……!!]

I boldly proclaimed.

“The slab contained prophecies of the future, including those about the throne. That’s how I figured out Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen’s intentions!”

To be honest, that was mostly a lie!

I just made that up in my head!

However, it was indeed true that Mangnyang and Zhuge Sa deduced that the being I encountered during my journey to the [End of the Universe] might have been Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. And based on that assumption, I just fabricated this story. Naturally, I had no close ties with the Evil God, nor did I have any idea what was written on that slab.

But Jeon Wook seemed to realize that I was serious and contemplated my words even as he remained skeptical.

[…I see. So that’s why he asked us to put on masks… That would explain a lot… The situation fits.]

Wait, really? Is it actually connecting?!

Am I a genius?!

After a moment, Jeon Wook spoke.

[Very well… Let’s assume that. Do you know what benefits there are in reaching the Throne of Chaos? I want to know the true intention of Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen.]

“Uh… uh…”

[Speak. If you tell me, I promise to do everything in my power to help you.]

Surprisingly, Jeon Wook seemed to be growing impatient. I felt relieved, but when it came time to explain, I found myself at a loss. What’s so great about reaching the Throne of Chaos that Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen is trying to do so? It was hard to think of such a reason.

If I just kept talking nonsense like last time, I would surely disappoint him again. Desperate not to repeat the same failure, I racked my brain until a sudden thought struck me.

“You gain the right to become a more powerful existence! The reason the Evil God and the Emperor compete to reach the throne is for that!”

[……]

“…Uh, uh, in other words, it’s like directly receiving power from [Father] or something like that…”

Jeon Wook went silent and then asked.

[Are you saying that the Emperor offers us to be his vassals for that?]

“I-I guess that might be what I meant.”

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. Even I felt how absurd that sounded.

‘Aww… Damn it… But what else can I think of?!’

Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen is one of the most powerful beings in the universe as the leader of the Three Sovereigns. He might be a deity-level entity! So, what exactly does that Emperor aim to become even more powerful after what is already the end of the world? The ironic thing is, if he becomes an even more powerful being in a world that has already perished, what does it even mean?

Just as I felt that I had failed, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Suddenly, Jeon Wook burst into wild laughter.

[Kehe… Hahaha!! So that’s what it was! I’ve always found it puzzling why he had us wear masks to forcefully change our essence, but now everything makes sense! O Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen, did you truly think that we, having been created as the Four Emperors, are your bound slaves?]

Jeon Wook clenched his fist.

[Then there will be no more respect or concessions! We shall also challenge to the final competition! We will break the Palace of Ten Thousand Ghosts, behead the Emperor, and seize that Throne!!]

For some reason, Jeon Wook became unusually agitated. I could sense he was feeling a surge of primal adversarial energy. I was puzzled about why he would quickly believe such a made-up story, but I soon realized that my words had struck a chord with the doubts he had long harbored.

Suddenly, Jeon Wook placed his hand above my head.

[I shall uphold my promise. Consider it a stroke of luck.]

“Huh?”

[I’m off.]

Swoosh!!

In the next moment, the fabric of space-time began to warp. Simultaneously, Jeon Wook’s spirit entered my body through the top of my head. I sensed that something other than myself was inside my body. At the same time, my consciousness became trapped far away, and I could feel my physical control slipping away.

Swoosh –

Time began to unwind at an astounding speed. With the power of the gods, the entirety of billions of years was being rewound. Moments later, my body started to step forward slowly in accordance with Jeon Wook’s will within the colorless space, and with each step, eons passed by. Truly a god’s single step.

When I finally took the last step, I found myself back in the original time frame. Just not in the time frame I wanted, but right after Nüwa had expelled me to the past instead of before Xiang Yu was destroyed.

Boom!

As soon as I appeared, Nüwa glared fiercely at me. Then she spoke unexpected words.

[Jeon Wook. What are you thinking?]

In response, the Three Sovereigns, current Lord Jeon Wook, who had descended upon me, answered while crossing his arms.

[Nüwa, you seem to have lived too long.]

[……]

[I think it’s time to rest.]

Nüwa’s expression twisted in displeasure.

[Are you saying a descendant of the Emperor dares to challenge me?]

[I’ve always told you this. I only recognize you as superior because the Emperor commanded it.]

Crush crush crush!

[I have never thought of you as inferior to my power of Chaos.]

[Just because of a mortal…?]

[Huh, that has nothing to do with it. I believe now is precisely the right time for me to strike at you.]

The Spirit Power within me began to swell, growing enormous. Simultaneously, my human form started to get all messy as divine power began to construct my body instead.

The true power of the Three Sovereigns began connecting through the heavenly fragment.

I felt an overwhelming power pouring in that was hundreds, if not thousands, of times greater than the Spirit Power I had previously possessed. As my body transformed into a Chaos Giant, my capacity for Chaos greatly surpassed that of a human.

Mangnyang, who stood by, murmured in a low voice.

“Forced Deification…”

Moments later, I had transformed into a colossal giant of pitch-black darkness.

The sky twisted, and amidst the darkness, countless ghosts began to emerge, including Zhu Rong and Ryeo. They started to surround Nüwa slowly, while she stood there silently.

The true form of Jeon Wook revealed in this world raised his hand above.

[Palace of Ten Thousand Ghosts, attack Nüwa collectively.]

[Yes, Lord!]

Thus began the first war between the Three Sovereigns since the dawn of time.