Chapter 137: Jaseung, Finds a Way

They said that when the moment of death came, the past flowed by like a revolving lantern. If this topic ever came up again in his life, Lee Jaseung would answer without doubt that it was true.

Because that was exactly what Lee Jaseung experienced now.

The memories of his childhood passed through his mind.

He saw his past flicker by, like passing images. His father grieving after losing his mother. His grandfather who passed down martial arts. Those moments when he went searching for subordinates in pursuit of the dream of unifying the world.

He saw Baek Seolyoung too.

The beautiful figure of her in ceremonial robes.

The memory of her bare body also rose in his mind, more beautiful than the stars.

Then came the duel with that person again.

The day he recorded the only defeat of his life, the day he clenched his teeth and vowed never to lose again.

He saw himself training without pause, day and night. Training through heavy rain, through blizzards that froze the world. Training again and again in those days.

And all of that past could be summed up with a single word.

Effort.

Lee Jaseung clenched his teeth.

He asked himself.

Had his effort truly been less than the one who created that being? Whether it was the Demonic Cult’s supreme art or something else entirely, had he worked less than the one who created it?

No!

Yes, he could declare proudly that it was not so.

‘Because I am someone who has reached the very end of effort.’

Some people called him talented. They said what he achieved came not from effort, but from talent, because he often showed brilliance.

But they needed to know this truth. That talent itself was forged by effort. That sometimes effort could create talent.

‘Yes, I must believe in myself.’

No, he needed to believe in the effort he had made.

His mind might be duller than the one who made that thing. His talent might be lacking.

But he had put in more effort. He had not seen the other’s training, but he was certain. He had worked harder.

The moment he realized this, strength returned to his powerless body.

Lee Jaseung opened his eyes wide.

The golden statue’s foot was coming down to smash his face. It felt like an eternity had passed, but in reality it had been only a fleeting instant.

Lee Jaseung rolled to the side, dodging the attack.

Crash!

The place where his head had been was pulverized into dust. Rising after rolling aside to evade, Lee Jaseung spoke.

“It’s not over yet, you bastards.”

His Qi was depleted, but Lee Jaseung clenched his teeth and said,

“I can resurrect too.”

The will not to let it end like this seized him.

His mind grew calm.

Again, in a fleeting instant, it felt as if everything had stopped. As if the world around him had turned into a painting.

In that frozen moment, his eyes caught sight of something.

The sphere that had rolled far away on the ground.

At that instant he felt the darkness covering his vision vanish.

The beginning of all this had been that sphere.

He had come to investigate it, and the statues were its guardians.

He had forgotten that the solution had to be found in the sphere. He should never have tried to end things with that halfhearted hostage ploy.

Wooong.

As soon as he focused on the sphere, his Qi vibrated in his Dantian. All of his pure Yang Qi was already exhausted.

But he had forgotten something. While using body techniques, he had sealed away his pure Yin Qi.

Yin Qi now responded to the sphere and unsealed itself. It wasn’t because the Qi was alive, but because his subconscious acted.

Shiiing.

The statues charged at him again.

Lee Jaseung dodged them and hurled himself toward the sphere.

In his hand as he flew through the air was the Dream Phantom Dagger. All of the Yin Qi, worth one hundred and eighty years, focused into the blade.

Zhing zhing zhing!

The dagger trembled with the immense Qi. If it hadn’t been the Dream Phantom, which suited Yin Qi, it could never have endured such overwhelming power.

The sphere vibrated.

“Graaaaaaah!”

The golden statue roared and flung itself toward him. Until now it had treated him lightly, but the moment he used Yin Qi, it reacted desperately.

But it was too late.

Lee Jaseung barely slipped past the attack and reached the sphere.

Shaaak!

Thud.

The Dream Phantom Dagger plunged deep into the sphere. Even when struck endlessly with pure Yang Qi, the sphere had never budged.

But when the dagger filled with Yin Qi pierced it, the blade sank in as if opening a locked door.

As he pulled the dagger free, powerful energy began to pour out.

Swaaaaah!

A tremendous Yin Qi surged, and then light burst out of the sphere.

Lee Jaseung closed his eyes. The light was so strong he couldn’t open them.

Within that blinding glow, the sphere split in half and swallowed him whole.

When the light finally faded, Lee Jaseung was gone.

For a brief moment, the golden statue faltered. The one it had to destroy had gone into the very thing it was bound to protect.

But it recovered quickly. After gazing at the sphere for a moment, the golden statue calmly picked it up and returned it to its original place.

Its foremost duty was to guard the Myriad Yin Orb.

Once the statue sat back in its spot, the other four statues also returned to theirs.

The place looked exactly as it had before, as if nothing had happened.

* * *

A little later, two men arrived in haste.

They were Jang Wonso and the Elder Demon Lord. The Elder Demon Lord looked around the hall and smiled in satisfaction.

“See? The Myriad Yin Orb is unharmed.”

Though the hall was ruined and in disarray, the sphere sat in its original place, still filled with true life essence.

Jang Wonso let out a long sigh of relief. All kinds of thoughts had plagued him on the way here. The plan had taken seven long years.

He had even joined hands with the Vice Leader of the Demonic Cult to make it succeed. Not seven years ago, but only recently, handled with extreme caution so the hidden forces would never know.

Because the help of the Demonic Cult was essential to completing the grand ritual.

He had weighed carefully between the Elder Demon Lord and the Great Demon. His choice was Elder Demon Lord. Both had great ambition, but he judged Elder Demon Lord easier to handle.

By working together, he would succeed in the ritual, and the Elder Demon Lord would become the Cult Leader with the item Jang Wonso gave him. The consequences would be something to think about later. For both of them, it was a chance to realize their long-cherished wishes.

But on the way here he had feared that everything would fall apart at the final moment.

Fortunately, Heaven still favored him.

“Where did the intruder go?”

“The divine statues must’ve destroyed him. Either reduced to dust or bloodstains.”

The Elder Demon Lord answered with certainty. The statues standing guard meant nothing had gone wrong. And the traces of blood made the answer not entirely baseless.

Jang Wonso approached and examined the sphere again. It truly seemed unscathed.

“There was an intruder, so leaving it here feels unsafe. Shouldn’t we move it elsewhere?”

To that, Elder Demon Lord replied,

“In any case, in four hours it’ll all be over at midnight. It’s safer to leave it here.”

Jang Wonso thought that made sense. Since the Elder Demon Lord trusted the Eternal Life Buddha so much, it might not be bad to trust them until the end.

Even if someone had sent that intruder, they wouldn’t send another within four hours.

News of the failure had to spread first, and only then could another be sent. At the earliest, tomorrow.

Though uneasy, he decided it was better to leave it here for four hours than to risk moving it clumsily.

After all, once midnight passed, everything would be finished.

“Strengthen the guard. I’ll stand watch here myself.”

“Do as you please. Then let’s meet again at midnight. Hahaha.”

Laughing as if it were needless worry, Elder Demon Lord left the hall.

Jang Wonso gazed at the sphere a moment longer, then also departed.

Silence descended over the place.

* * *

It felt like he was sinking in a swamp.

It was sticky, and breathing was hard.

Lee Jaseung tried to rise, but he couldn’t move.

A strange energy filled his body and the space around him.

Because he had once wielded Yin Qi, he could recognize it. The force wrapping around him like water was the true life force of women.

The energy showed clear hostility toward him. His skin felt like it would split apart, it was heavy, it was sharp.

He could guess why it was so violent.

It was a true life force torn away by force from women whose lives had been taken. How could it be gentle when filled with such resentment?

As Lee Jaseung barely endured the pain, something astonishing happened. The energy spoke to him.

— You’re no different after all.

So many grudges and sorrows had gathered and formed a massive evil will.

— I can feel greed from you. You stink of it!

He couldn’t deny those words. He thought perhaps they were true.

— Filthy man, I’ll kill you.

The energy grew stronger and crushed him painfully.

It was more agonizing than any pain he’d ever felt. His skin felt like it would burst apart. He tried to rise and escape, but not even a finger would move.

If it had been dark arts, it wouldn’t have worked on him. But this evil will didn’t come from dark arts, so he couldn’t resist it.

Grinding his teeth, he bore the dreadful pain. He knew well how unjustly those women had died. He understood their wounds and sorrow.

But even so, he couldn’t simply let them kill him.

He had things to do.

He had someone to return to.

“Gghhh.”

A scream escaped his mouth. Even as his whole body felt torn to pieces, he endured and endured again.

— You sold your soul for power, didn’t you? You think I can’t smell the stench of your greed?

Yes, those words were true. His dream of unifying the world was his personal desire. To him it was a dream, but to others it was greed. He had dragged everyone into that path of greed.

Images of his subordinates surfaced. He felt sorry for them. He had wrapped it in fine words, but what he should’ve said plainly was this.

— Die for my greed.

And finally, the one person who came to mind was Baek Seolyoung.

He had met her when his greed was in full bloom.

To ask her to understand because he loved her?

Even though this was his dream, his greed, and his desire?

He felt truly sorry for her.

Sincerely.

But that was why!

That was why he had to survive and return.

If he died here, it would end exactly as the evil will said.

Were his feelings toward them only greed?

No. Just as he couldn’t deny the evil will’s words, his great love and trust for them existed as well. His willingness to die in their place, his genuine affection for them.

Lee Jaseung endured the pain to the end.

— You’re truly strong!

Even the evil will was astonished. An ordinary man would’ve died countless times from such pain, yet he endured to the very end.

— Fine, then what if?

The evil will changed its mind. It decided to dominate his mind and use him as a tool for vengeance.

The pain vanished.

The evil will invaded his brain. As it rushed boldly into his head, something pitch black appeared before it.

— What is this?

Startled, the evil will hesitated.

The next instant, it was sucked into that dark abyss like a bottomless pit.