Chapter 385

Void Training Room.

"You've arrived."

The Master of the Arena, with a face like the universe and wearing a fedora, greeted Seong Jihan.

"The repairs were completed sooner than expected."

"Orders from above prioritized this task."

"When you say 'above,' you mean the Black Administrator?"

"Yes. And also..."

As the Arena Master spread his hands,

Swooosh!

A model of a circular arena emerged, glowing violet on the once dim floor.

"To effortlessly reach level 500, a special arena will be hosted as well."

"Hosting an arena to assist leveling up..."

"Yes. To expedite the upgrade of the Void Training Room as soon as possible."

"Was this also decreed by the Black Administrator?"

"Indeed."

"Then why not just upgrade it directly without the need to host an arena?"

"That's procedurally impossible. Reaching level 500 is a minimum requirement."

It seemed the administrator was quite accommodating, so Seong Jihan decided to push a bit further, though it was a pity.

With those thoughts, Seong Jihan asked the Arena Master,

"So, why are the Black and White Administrators helping me?"

Being helped wasn't bad, but blind goodwill didn't exist in this world, especially when the benefactors were administrators.

Accepting such favors left an uneasy feeling.

"That's..."

The Arena Master hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"...Since the higher-ups have granted permission, I can tell you. The administrators have long been tracking the missing Red Administrator."

"The Red Administrator?"

"Yes. He was supposed to retire at the end of his term, but he did not relinquish his position."

Sssssss.

The Arena Master extended his palm, and a model of Earth floated above it.

"And traces of him were found on planet Earth. Initially, the administrators intended to intervene directly, but due to some unknown circumstances, they had no choice but to resort to indirect methods."

"Indirect methods?"

"It involved granting power to Gilgamesh, who was serving as an experimental subject for the blood race."

Seeing Gilgamesh's face appear above the Earth model, Seong Jihan recalled the previous conversation with the Arena Master.

- He is a traitor who abandoned his calling to the Void. His original sin is something all humanity labeled NO.4212 must repay.

- Having completed his duty, he was supposed to enjoy his allotted lifespan and die. Yet he did not die.

- That is the betrayal.

Despite annihilating the blood race, Gilgamesh did not die and lived an eternal life.

To the Void, that was considered betrayal.

"The power granted to Gilgamesh was special authority given by the administrators to eliminate the Red Administrator. This authority should have been returned, but Gilgamesh, by living eternally, concealed it. Moreover..."

As the images of Earth and Gilgamesh vanished,

A gigantic figure of the Martial God emerged.

"We believe that a portion of this authority was bestowed upon the Wandering Martial God."

"To the Martial God?"

"Yes. Furthermore, although it's still under investigation, we suspect there is a connection with the Red Administrator."

"Hmm... but what does that have to do with helping me?"

"You are the only one among humanity whom the administrators can observe."

"...What does that mean?"

"Quite literally."

The Arena Master grasped his universe-like face and stretched it.

Then,

Fwaaash!

The cosmic visage expanded to fill the entire Void Training Room.

"In this infinitely vast universe, the number of BattleNet species managed by the administrators is overwhelmingly large. Saying it is infinite would be more accurate."

"..."

"Even for administrators, it's impossible to manage all these beings directly. Hence, they decided to categorize their observation targets. The lowest tier species, which comprise 95% of BattleNet species, aren't observed at all. For the 4% that are lower tier species, only very special individuals are subject to limited observation."

If not for humanity's recent species evolution, the administrators' gaze would never have reached them.

"But the Green Administrator seems to pop into the chat at will."

"He is a term-appointed administrator. The observation categorization I mentioned only applies to the Black and White Administrators."

There appeared to be a distinct hierarchy between term-appointed administrators and those without terms.

"So, the White and Black—"

"Ahem. It would be preferable if you mention Black first."

[PR/N: LMAO. 'You mentioned Shaolin then Wudang, after I beat you I will go fight your master Ja Shen.]

"...Alright. So, the Black and White Administrators are supporting me for the sake of observation?"

"Correct. Seong Jihan, you are the only conduit through which the administrators can directly observe this world. Based on their observations, both this world and the Martial God are significantly out of alignment."

"Out of alignment?"

"Yes. Very much so..."

The Arena Master trailed off and then shifted the topic.

"For these reasons, the administrators are supporting you, so make the most of it."

"...Understood."

"The Void Training Room have been upgraded to the maximum extent within limits. Now, the flow of time has changed to 100 days in here for every day on Earth. However, the time dilation ratio is fixed."

"I can't alter the ratio anymore?"

"Correct."

So, spending 100 days in the Void Training Room would equate to just one day on Earth.

While the time ratio couldn't be adjusted, it was already maximized at 100 days, which was beneficial.

'I must complete the Heaven's Chaotic Flow here.'

Given to him by Dongbang Sak before entering the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, Seong Jihan now had a clearer understanding of its usage after meeting Ashoka and comprehending the Taiji Swordsmanship more thoroughly.

He decided to remain in the training room until he could perfectly control it.

Meanwhile,

Sssss...

The cosmic background filling the Void Training Room retreated back under the fedora.

"Then, I'll be off. A special arena will be hosted in a week, so please accept the invitation when it arrives."

As the Arena Master was about to depart, Seong Jihan called out to him with a question.

"Wait a moment. Can I stream on BattleTube from here?"

"BattleTube... this place restricts broadcasting. Especially with the upgraded Void Training Room, located deep within the Void, BattleTube's access is entirely blocked."

"Even with the Eye of Light, it's not visible?"

"If it's the Eye of Light... Ah, you mean the one given by the White Administrator. In that case, it should be visible. The distorted time axis will be corrected, so it will be broadcast at 100 times the speed."

Broadcasting training sessions at 100 times speed, huh.

'Real-time viewers would drop off, breaking the Star buff.'

Besides, there was no need to show the training sessions publicly.

Seong Jihan decided to only conduct a test broadcast.

"Let's just do a test broadcast then."

"Feel free to do so. I'll see you in the arena in a week..."

Ssss...

As the Arena Master's form vanished,

'Let's verify if the Eye of Light works.'

Seong Jihan immediately activated BattleTube.

* * *

"Hello, everyone. Today is a test broadcast."

In the pitch-black darkness,

Seong Jihan activated BattleTube.

"This is the Void Training Room, where BattleTube is usually blocked. This is to see if the Eye of Light is functioning correctly."

Seong Jihan tried to speak slowly, considering the time dilation.

- What is this...?

- A broadcast glitch?

- I can't understand what he's saying;

- The fixed 100x speed option is hilarious lol

- Can't it be slowed down??

- Looks like not during live broadcasts lol

No matter how slowly he spoke, the video's speed was 100 times faster, making it incomprehensible to ordinary viewers.

However,

- What is this?

- It's fixed at 100 times speed?

- This must be the Void Training Room.

- It actually exists? I thought it was just a rumor...

- It's surprising it's broadcasting. Is this the power of the Eye of Light?

- So administrators were actually backing this guy? Unbelievable.

Unlike human viewers who couldn't understand, the extraterrestrial beings caught on quickly.

- He's strong because of this, even though he's just a lower-tier species.

- No way, the time he spent in training is nothing compared to the lifespan of long-lived species.

- If long training made one strong, dragons would rule the universe.

- ?? What are you saying, dragons already rule the universe?

- Here comes a lizard lol, always running from elves.

- What? What species are you, call out your coordinates right now.

- Getting beat by elves and taking it out on forums?

'These guys again...'

Seong Jihan, accustomed to this, silently watched the usual bickering in the chat.

With so many species, the extraterrestrial beings would pick fights over anything.

At that moment,

[The 'Star' buff is activated.]

A system message appeared.

'It seems the Eye of Light is indeed functional.'

That concludes the test.

Seeing the Star buff active, Seong Jihan nodded in satisfaction.

"The video seems to be broadcasting well. I'll end today's session here."

- What? It's over?

- Hey, show more of the Void Training Room! Isn't this an introduction?

- Don't worry, with 100x speed, it'll end quickly! Are you not monetizing this video??

"I don't mind not monetizing it. There's nothing to show here anyway."

Sssss...

Seong Jihan took a look around the Void Training Room.

Still dark since the map settings weren't configured, he knew he could change the scenery to any previous map he had used.

'But I'm past the stage of producing content for channel growth.'

With the assistance of administrators, Seong Jihan's channel had already garnered significant attention.

He felt no need to create another review video of the Void Training Room.

Also, the growth of the Star buff was capped.

'I need to complete the Heaven's Chaotic Flow.'

With tasks to complete, Seong Jihan turned off the broadcast.

"I'll see you next time."

Beep.

He ended the broadcast and immediately resumed training.

'First, let's work on the pressure points.'

Tap! Tap!

Applying the Heaven's Chaotic Flow to himself,

He felt the seal on his energy flow and carefully observed it.

'The Heaven's Chaotic Flow... it's definitely linked to the first stage of the Taiji Swordsmanship.'

Thanks to Ashoka's training and the Golden Wheel, Seong Jihan was now familiar with controlling the Taiji.

Using this experience, he began to unravel the Heaven's Chaotic Flow.

'Given 100 days for each day on Earth, I'll have plenty of time.'

Initially optimistic about finishing it quickly, he realized,

'There's a subtlety hidden within.'

'Am I stuck here?'

'...What did they embed within this Heaven's Chaotic Flow?'

As he trained more, he noticed shortcomings in his understanding.

'I wanted to finish quickly and visit the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation before the arena invitation arrives...'

With the special arena's invitation arriving in a week, meaning 700 days in the training ground, he planned to visit the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation off the west coast.

'There's no time for that.'

After 100 days, Seong Jihan sighed.

Unraveling the Heaven's Chaotic Flow seemed endless.

Recalling Ashoka's comment about his vague talent, he acknowledged the difficulty of matching someone like Dongbang Sak.

'When lacking talent, rely on time...'

Determined, Seong Jihan continued his training against the Heaven's Chaotic Flow.

And after countless days,

"...Finally, it's done."

Having completely mastered the Heaven's Chaotic Flow,

[The arena invitation has arrived.]

A message indicated the passage of a week in reality and 700 days in the Void Training Room.