Chapter 248
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=Hu...Hu Wootaek... With a stomp of his foot, the bridge crumbles!
=No, not again; he's destroying the map for the second time in a row! Where exactly are this player's limits?
The 1-on-1 battle on the bridge.
The battlefield began to crumble quickly as Dongbang Sak started to exert his genuine strength.
Boom!
Dongbang Sak's foot smashed down and the bridge disintegrated almost instantly.
Swoooosh!
The bridge's rubble, charged with demonic energy, whirled fiercely towards Seong Jihan.
Although each piece was imbued with enormous force.
'The power of Martial Soul can control it.'
This, however, couldn't surpass Seong Jihan's martial soul domain.
The debris halted mid-air all at once.
But Seong Jihan did not stop there, thrusting his sword backwards.
Clang!
Just like that, the palm that Dongbang Sak had thrust from behind was intercepted.
"You've got some senses."
"Did you really think attacking so openly would be that easy, Heavenly Demon?"
"You're the only human who ever took the Heavenly Demon's Foot Dominance Step so lightly."
"Human, huh... not quite right."
Swoosh!
Hu Wootaek's original sword was drawn.
A bloody sword energy surged as if to rise, and in an instant, hundreds of exchanges ensued between them.
With each clash of sword against sword, spear against sword, intense, bloody demonic energy flared.
It gnawed at Seong Jihan's body, setting it ablaze.
'...This match, the difference in power isn't significant.'
Perhaps owing to considering the player he was bidden to, Dongbang Sak during game three hadn't been as overwhelming as when wielding the Taiji Sword during the last message.
In terms of power, Seong Jihan was slightly or nearly on par.
But,
'In every aspect, he is ahead.'
Flare after flare!
In just tens of seconds, Seong Jihan's entire body had turned bloody red.
Scarlet demonic energy blazed.
Arms and legs were severed by the sword myriad times, only to regenerate again and again.
The basics of martial arts: Watching, slashing, piercing, blocking.
In these fundamentals.
Dongbang Sak overwhelmed Seong Jihan in every way.
-?? Why are they so fast? Is there no slow motion mode available?
-It's real, LOL. How can a human move like that?
-Wow, Seong Jihan is clearly losing... His whole body is engulfed in black flames...
-Hu Wootaek is crazy; he's incredibly strong;;
Even the viewers could tell that Seong Jihan was being noticeably overpowered in the clash.
Swoosh!
Dongbang Sak gazed solemnly at Seong Jihan, ablaze with the black flames.
A crushing defeat in the fundamentals.
He'd sufficiently overpowered him, yet...
'His eyes are still alive.'
Indeed, Seong Jihan was a worthy successor.
He momentarily sheathed his sword.
"This time I matched the power to you. But what about the result."
"I am indeed being overpowered."
"Right. If you are like this against me, how can you fight against the Martial God? Give up on Martial Soul and come with me."
Amused by Dongbang Sak's offer, Seong Jihan chuckled.
"Well, for now, I may be falling behind, but if I have the Martial Soul.. I might catch up with you soon."
"Huh."
"I've learned the basics well thanks to you."
Dongbang Sak frowned.
Indeed, since their first encounter,
Seong Jihan's fundamentals had noticeably improved.
Where initially his limbs would have been slashed right off, Now he was only conceding an arm or leg occasionally.
"Had it not been for that curious regenerative power, this would have ended long ago."
"Thanks to being cut down hundreds of times, I've improved. Thank you once again."
"That martial soul... is an utterly nonsensical ability."
"It's quite an excellent ability."
The martial soul.
This 'Constellation-ability' had too easily hijacked the martial efforts accumulated by a warrior.
Dongbang Sak had sacrificed much through endless lifetimes, but his accumulated martial art that he had labored over his entire life was being unilaterally snatched away—an unpleasant experience, no matter how long one lived.
"If I keep suppressing you like this, I am just fostering your growth. I'll end this in one blow now."
"Ah, finally using a powerful martial technique? How delightful."
Seong Jihan gleamed at Dongbang Sak's words.
He watched the brazen young man with a hint of bittersweet laughter.
He was happy even with the prospect of defeat - typical of that martial soul.
"...This won't do."
Snap!
Differently from before, Dongbang Sak plucked several hairs from his beard.
With that, the hairs fluttered autonomously through the air,
Drawing a peculiar pattern behind him.
"I initially thought to use the Sword of the Paracelsus but..."
Suuuu...
"I realized that you have something more outstanding than me."
The demonic energy emanating from Dongbang sak's body vanished as if washed away.
Behind him emerged a colossal pattern, now brimming with life force, rather than the wild demonic force of the Heavenly Demon.
"In an era where humans and demons coexisted, a man was granted the mission to seal demons and gods, ushering in the age of man..."
Swoosh!
Dongbang Sak, with solemn eyes, fidgeted with the hair in his hands.
"However, he ultimately failed to achieve that. Only over time, remnants of obsession remained; he merely mimicked."
Hearing his words, Seong Jihan realized what had been mimicked.
The second annihilation technique, Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods.
This technique showed overwhelming power against spirits.
So, that was his imitation.
'Similar to the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods., yet different.'
Seong Jihan saw the formation that Dongbang Sak had conjured.
It looked strikingly similar to the pattern of Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods at a glance, yet fundamentally different.
If what Dongbang Sak claimed was true - that it was merely an imitation of the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods - it wouldn't be particularly helpful...
"Nine Halls."
Within the formation,
Light flashed in nine places.
Then,
The world near the nine beams twisted.
A force similar to the Taiji that devours everything, as Dongbang Sak had first revealed in game two.
But in Seong Jihan's eyes, it wasn't the pulling air that mattered but the...
[Target conditions have partially matched.]
The characters that appeared above suddenly caught his attention.
'This is...'
The same characters that were shown when Longinus used the Spear of Judgment.
Chanting the words 'Nine Halls' had brought them up.
And then,
"Eight Trigrams."
As the Eight Trigrams were drawn in each direction within the formation,
[Seal code.]
Above that, the floating letters changed.
While it was a destruction code during Longinus's time, this time it was a seal code.
"Seven Stars."
After chanting the word 'Seven Stars', The seal code disappeared, revealing...
[Manifestation...]
Just as the word 'manifestation' appeared,
[Stop.]
Zzzzt!
A giant black hand emerged from the ripped space behind Dongbang Sak.
[That's enough.]
"Master..."
Crunch!
The black hand clenched into a fist.
Dongbang Sak, along with the formation he had manifested, exploded into the void.
'Master...? Could it be the Martial God...?'
Even though the Martial God is an existence beyond the norm.
Could there be external intervention in the match like this possible?
Seong Jihan stared at the black hand.
It was big enough to engulf dozens of people.
The force it emitted was eerily grim, but...
'...Oddly enough, it seems it may be easier to counter than Dongbang Sak's moves.'
Dongbang Sak had shown the pinnacle of martial arts.
Yet that same hand that obliterated him in an instant.
To Seong Jihan, it seemed oddly more manageable.
[...]
Swoosh!
The clenched black hand that had torn through space vanished through the gash it had made.
The rift in space quickly sealed itself.
Leaving behind the ruined bridge and the Taiwanese players being sucked into Dongbang Sak's Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams.
More than half were caught and spiraled downwards to their deaths when the power dissipated,
"Euh...euh..."
"I survived..."
About half managed to endure, clinging to the land near the bridge.
It had been possible because Dongbang Sak's Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams hadn't been active for long.
"Such a waste..."
Seong Jihan clicked his tongue at the battlefield.
The learning he gained from battling Dongbang Sak, through the martial soul, was immense,
But the abrupt intervention from a Martial God cut short his session.
'It's unlikely he'll appear in the next game...'
Swoosh!
Seong Jihan stared at the Taiwanese players regrouping on what remained of the bridge.
'Let's end the game.'
Swoosh!
As the bridge lay in ruin,
Seong Jihan, standing in mid-air, used his light step technique.
"Ah..."
"Seong Jihan is coming!"
"Block him...!"
The Taiwanese players tried to resist,
But after witnessing the 1-on-1 monster duel, their voices already lacked any strength.
How could they possibly stop such a non-standard player?
And then,
Boom!
Seong Jihan set foot on the Taiwanese ground.
The earth split, and shards darted towards the players.
"Was that... how to use it?"
A scene resembling the Heavenly Demon's Foot Dominance Step that Dongbang Sak had used,
Only now, it embraced thunder instead of demonic energy.
"This... this is what Hu Wootaek used, isn't it?"
"Ah! Fucking hell... How do we stop this!"
Zzzzt!
Pierced by fragments, the Taiwanese players vanished in unison.
Not even the most defensively poised warriors were spared.
[The third match is concluded.]
Game three ended the moment Seong Jihan stepped foot on the Taiwanese ground.
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[Korea Wins 3-0 Against Taiwan.]
[Second match ended in the Shortest time in BattleNet History.]
[After match three, Hu Wootaek's collapse is revealed due to the intervention of a constellation.]
[Every match against Seong Jihan becomes an event of constellation descent? Following Vladimir, another constellation descends. Why is there a convergence of constellations' interests on him?]
Everyone anticipated that the match against Taiwan would result in Korea's victory.
The results did indeed conclude with a 3:0 scoreboard but the gameplay told a story contrary to all expectations.
-Anyway, it's still a 3:0 result, right?
-Wow, I really thought we were losing... LOL
-That elder Taiwanese player, did that constellation descend on him?
-Why are these constellations so impatient to defeat Seong Jihan?
-Come on, just help out in the Space League LOL
People speculated about the newly emerged constellation after Hu Wootaek's interview revealing a constellation's descent, leaving amused responses in the comments.
-Man, that new entity was truly strong... A different caliber indeed;
-Having seen match three, it seems he's referred to as the Heavenly Demon. Has the Heavenly Demon always been that strong?
-Strong for sure, but a Taiji-wielding Heavenly Demon is cheating LOL
-Exactly LOL. He shouldn't have the powers of a righteous god!
-That's probably why he's also a constellation...
-We gotta strip Wang Lin from his Heavenly Demon title LOL
-For real, that man must be the true Heavenly Demon.
Being self-branded as the Heavenly Demon, Dongbang Sak had become recognized as such,
His exploits effectively even stealing the title from Wang Lin, who had been known as the Heavenly Demon on Earth.
Meanwhile,
The Dongbang Sak who had become the talk of the town,
Was now kneeling before the Martial God.
"...My lord, I apologize."
[For what do you apologize?]
"That's..."
Dongbang Sak stumbled over the question the Martial God asked.
For he too had been yanked from his endeavor of wielding the Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams Formation without knowing why.
The Martial God peered down at Dongbang Sak in silence for a moment before speaking again.
[From now on, do not interfere with him.]
"Just for now... is that it?"
[For now, yes.]
"Understood."
Dongbang Sak bowed to accept the command.
Though still utterly clueless about the Martial God's reason for intervening,
He resolved to obey his master, given the body now turned into a disciple.
[Retreat and rest. Soon there will be an invasion.]
"An invasion, you mention..."
[I have precisely pinpointed Brahma's location. I will seize the divine constellation.]
"Brahma's... divine constellation?"
[Yes. It is time to replace the constellation.]
Among the gods, Brahma was known for his might.
But the Martial God spoke of the divine constellation as if it were already his possession.
"Understood. I will be prepared."
[Also, instruct the other disciples to get ready.]
"Yes."
Once Dongbang Sak retreated, having been kneeling,
The Martial God casually tapped where he was sitting.
Flash!
Light created eyes on the forehead that had been obscured by darkness.
It was akin to Pythia's divine eyes known for their prophetic ability.
[Defeat's possibility... I saw it for the first time.]
Until now, there had been no future in which Seong Jihan won.
But whether it was because he had observed Dongbang Sak's martial technique,
Or because he saw the Nine Halls and Eight Trigrams Formation,
The future glimpsed in his divine eyes showed,
Though faint, for the first time, Wandering Martial God might suffer defeat.
[Even the smallest variable... will be eliminated.]
The Martial God muttered and settled the divine eyes back into obscurity.
The light faded, and darkness cloaked the once illuminated Martial God.
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