Chapter 355
Expelled by Kang Sang, Seong Jihan looked down at the ground.
The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams that had been drawn over the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods were no longer there.
Seong Jihan touched the symbol of the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods again, but this time, as the pattern of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams began to form, it stopped midway.
'The power of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams is gradually recharging....'
At this rate, it would take roughly two weeks for the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams to be redrawn.
Reflecting on the recent event, Seong Jihan thought,
'Is it because I am an entity that cannot be sealed that I survived?'
Though he didn't understand why he was unsealable, being expelled and benefiting from this entry into the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams was substantial.
Stat Eternity +3.
An ability that wouldn't increase no matter what had suddenly risen significantly.
However.
'How do I defeat that...?'
Seong Jihan felt disheartened.
'Not even Martial Soul could acquire Kang Sang's martial arts. After all, the perfected Crimson Divinity Technique I learned from Dongbang Sak was superior to Kang Sang's.'
The fact that Martial Soul didn't activate was because the Crimson Divinity Technique obtained from Dongbang Sak was at a higher level than Kang Sang's.
On the contrary,
During the recent battle, it seemed as though Kang Sang was learning from Seong Jihan, dazzlingly advancing his martial arts.
'So, I had the upper hand in terms of martial arts level... but was completely outmatched in the finesse of its application.'
Despite having the advantage in sheer power, Seong Jihan was thoroughly outperformed as a martial artist by Kang Sang.
Facing the Taiji Lost Soul, let alone defeating it, seemed impossible if he couldn't win with martial arts alone.
Amidst these thoughts, Pythia appeared behind him, instantly erecting a barrier.
"To think the final limit would be here... Fascinating. Dongbang Sak claimed it was lost."
"Were you also expelled?"
"Yes. Since you weren't sealed, they just let me go. They even said if I wanted the World Tree, I should come back in two weeks?"
"Two weeks, huh... I understand."
That would be enough time for the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams to recharge.
As Seong Jihan nodded,
Pythia's eyes widened in surprise.
"Eh, are you planning to go back?"
"I plan to. I can't just stay defeated like this."
"It's natural to be defeated by Dongbang Sak."
"The entity inside the formation seemed to be human Kang Sang, not the Constellation Dongbang Sak. Shouldn't I defeat him?"
"Hmm, that's true... But for that, you should have used all your power."
"All my power?"
"Yes, you didn't even use your half-mask."
Seong Jihan had means to significantly boost his power.
Turning on the Constellation's traits and using the half-mask.
However, during the battle with Kang Sang, Seong Jihan deliberately chose not to use them.
"Even without the mask, I had the upper hand in power. If I can't win in that state, how am I supposed to stand against Dongbang Sak or the Martial God?"
"Hmm... Instead of trying to win as a martial artist, why not crush him using all your power? If you subdue Kang Sang and take control of that sealing formation, you might be able to discover why Dongbang Sak remains loyal to the Martial God."
"And how would knowing that change things?"
"Knowing the reason, depending on the situation, might allow us to separate Dongbang Sak from the Martial God. Dongbang Sak doesn't like talking about his time as Kang Sang. He claimed the final limit was lost, but it was clearly within the sealing formation... There's definitely something significant about that place."
Pythia suggested forcefully taking over by leveraging all the power at his disposal,
Deeming the relationship between the Martial God and Dongbang Sak as the most crucial aspect to understand.
However.
"If, after discovering the reason, he still remains loyal to the Martial God?"
"Then, well..."
"Guess I should just stick my neck out and wait to be killed then."
"It won't be like that. There truly must be something. Consider it a prophet's intuition!"
"I thought you said you weren't a prophet."
"Ugh..."
"At the very least, I'll defeat Kang Sang with my power."
Seong Jihan's eyes settled calmly.
If he couldn't even defeat a mere fisherman, how could he stand against the Martial God or Dongbang Sak?
The opponent inside the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams was someone Seong Jihan had to overcome as a martial artist.
And.
'Stat Eternity also rises when near the World Tree.'
The opportunity to increase a stat that hardly ever rose, presented by the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.
He couldn't just destroy that place with brute force. He should try to raise Eternity as much as possible this time.
"Two weeks, huh... I need to prepare."
"Ah... Just listen to me... Didn't you see? You can't win with martial arts alone. That person is a monster."
Despite Pythia's dissatisfaction with Seong Jihan's decision and her grumbling, Seong Jihan gazed at her calmly while she was in Sophia's body.
"Pythia, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Why are you ranked higher than Dongbang Sak?"
"...Ranking?"
"Dongbang Sak is second, and you're the fourth disciple, but the difference in power seems overwhelming."
"I'm not that weak, you know? It's just that old man is an exception."
Pythia pouted as she spoke. "Second or fourth, that's just the order, not rank."
"Is that so? What does the order signify then?"
"The order in which we became disciples. It's in reverse. Longinus was the latest, and Gilgamesh was the first."
"So, you were the second to follow the Martial God? That was a long time ago."
"Yes... That's right! I'm the oldest woman in humanity."
"I didn't really ask about that."
Zapp.
Pythia gave Seong Jihan a sharp look and then pointed upwards with her finger.
"I'll be heading back now. I can't stay descended for too long."
"Alright."
"And if you struggle against Kang Sang two weeks later, just use all your power. And let me know the outcome."
"Wait until I win."
"Sigh... He's the greatest warrior amongst humanity, an exception to the norm."
Pythia dampened Seong Jihan's resolve with her words, but he just chuckled and replied.
"It seems too foolish to take the words of a grandmother too seriously."
"Hey! Who are you calling a grandmother!"
"Oh. My apologies. Was calling you young at heart too much?"
"...Keep that up, and I won't give you this."
Swoosh.
Pythia pouted and took something out of her hand.
It was a round ice fragment with letters etched on it.
"What's that?"
"You said you're going back there in two weeks, right? I've marked the exact coordinates here. Insert this into your sword rain later, and it'll guide you to the location."
"Oh, I'll accept that graciously."
Seong Jihan took the fragment from her and emerged from the sea.
Once at the sea surface, Pythia deactivated the barrier.
"Well, since I sneaked out, I should head back now. If you face Kang Sang and feel like you're not going to win, just use all your power."
"I'll handle it, no worries."
"Sigh..."
Shaking her head disapprovingly, Pythia exited Sophia's body.
"Ah..."
Sophia, the rightful owner of the body, blinked her eyes before looking around and making an incredulous expression.
"...Why are we above the sea?"
"Don't you remember?"
"No. Not at all."
"Your Constellation found us a place in the middle of the sea that boosts stats."
Seong Jihan succinctly summarized the event at the ocean's seabed for Sophia, who then lit up.
"Then, did Jihan's stats increase?"
"Indeed."
"Since you also got a free stat boost, let's enjoy our holiday!"
"Here?"
"Let's head to the beach!"
"Well, usually I would..."
Smirking slightly, Seong Jihan already had Kang Sang's martial arts deeply embedded in his mind.
The movements of the old man wielding a staff, though less perfected than the Crimson Divinity Technique he mastered through Martial Soul, he had still managed not to take a fatal hit and even advanced his martial arts.
Dongbang Sak, as Pythia said, indeed lacked nothing to be considered the strongest amongst humanity.
"I don't have the luxury of time right now."
Having resolved to overcome him, there was no spare moment to cast his gaze elsewhere.
"Oh... That's a shame."
"Let's go next time. Once all this is over."
Taking the disheartened Sophia with him, Seong Jihan returned home.
* * *
August 10th.
This was the day when the World Champions League match was scheduled between Korea, the champion of last season's Champions League, and the United States, the runner-up.
-Keke, we're actually playing in the World Champions League LOL
-Winning the Champs itself was unbelievable...
-ㄴㄴ With Seong Jihan, us winning makes total sense LOL
-They didn't ban him, did they? LOL
-But was the World Champions League always between the champ and the runner-up?
-Technically, it's between the number 1 ranked country and the Champs winner. If the Champs winner is also ranked 1st, then it's against 2nd ranked.
-Ah, so that's why it's always been USA and China in the World Champions League.
Viewers, though treating the match as an event game, harbored anticipation for the big match.
In terms of power, it was undoubtedly the Korean national team that was disadvantaged.
Without Seong Jihan, a uniquely powerful player, the championship would have naturally belonged to the USA.
Consequently, Noh Youngjun, the coach of the Korean team, was hoping for Seong Jihan to participate again in this World Champions League.
"...Really, Jihan has no intention of participating?"
Yoon Sejin glanced towards Seong Jihan's room.
"Yeah, uncle came back home and said he needed to do some training. That Void Training Room... He went there and hasn't come out since."
"Jihan is amazing... He's so strong, yet never stops training."
"Right? I wish uncle would take it easy sometimes... Have we humans put too much on his shoulders?"
"...Probably. Without him, humanity would have struggled. He must feel a significant responsibility. I can't compare to brother-in-law, but I've felt the weight of our national team's performance before."
Yoon Sejin, the Sword King, who was the pillar of the Korean team until he fell for Shizuru, had received immense attention and expectations from Koreans and experienced considerable pressure.
But for Seong Jihan, it was not just about Korea but humanity as a whole.
"No doubt, the responsibility and stress must be enormous..."
"But dad knew how to unwind, going around drinking and having fun. I thought dad was really busy back then."
"Um, well... I wasn't in my right mind then."
"I wonder how uncle relieves his stress. Maybe he should learn from dad? It'll turn into an illness if it piles up."
"Cough. Now, Seah, let's stop this talk and head to the BattleNet center. We have to prepare for the World Champions League."
"Ah, okay."
Yoon Seah, after a quick glance at Seong Jihan's room, followed Yoon Sejin out of the house.
Meanwhile, inside the Void Training Room.
'That'll do.'
Thud!
After endlessly simulating scenarios, Seong Jihan finally managed to land a hit on Kang Sang.
'I've challenged him thousands... no, tens of thousands of times.'
The 10-minute battle against Kang Sang.
Over the past few days, Seong Jihan continually reviewed and replayed this battle in the Void Training Room.
He had the upper hand in terms of power and martial arts level.
However, what had placed Seong Jihan at a disadvantage against this Kang Sang was the combat sense and the ability to apply martial arts at the right moment.
After countless challenges, Seong Jihan barely managed to bridge this gap yet,
'It's still lacking...'
Kang Sang, visible in the simulation, showed remarkable growth during battle, yet lacked the overwhelming flash of talent.
'Maybe I should limit my power.'
If the simulation couldn't fully capture Kang Sang's talent, he would level the playing field from his side by limiting his abilities.
Battling with reduced power, Seong Jihan found himself pushed back.
Thud!
'As expected, not easy.'
Seong Jihan, with limited powers, continually faced defeat in the simulation, sensing the gap between him and Kang Sang grow.
Despite continuously facing beheading and impalement,
"Haha..."
Seong Jihan smiled in the face of overpowering martial prowess.
When he matched Kang Sang with limited abilities,
[Your Martial Soul stat increases by 1.]
Martial Soul was slowly, albeit slightly, improving.
'Despite the clear talent disparity...'
Dongbang Sak.
His talent, as per Pythia, was truly exceptional.
Matching him in power, Kang Sang was an invincible foe.
In contrast, though Seong Jihan was the current strongest of humanity, the talent gap between them was starkly evident.
However.
'The gap is gradually narrowing.'
Maybe it was thanks to Martial Soul.
The chasm of talent, once as vast as the difference between heaven and earth, started to close.
Surviving 10 seconds extended to 1 minute.
1 minute stretched to 5 minutes, then to 10.
And from merely surviving,
"Quite impressive."
As Seong Jihan's sword began to press Kang Sang, earning admiration from him, progress stalled.
'Is this where it plateaus?'
From an initially overwhelming disadvantage, the continuous challenge brought the exchange of offense and defense to an equilibrium.
However, no matter how much he persisted, Seong Jihan, with his restricted abilities, couldn't overpower Dongbang Sak.
'This seems to be the limit for now.'
Deciding it was time to conclude, Seong Jihan looked at the system message.
Martial Soul had risen by a total of 10 points.
For just battle simulations, it was a remarkable increase, though it took tens of thousands of trials.
'To surpass his martial arts, another stimulus is needed.'
If he only simulates a battle with Kang Sang, he won't be able to overwhelm him.
Seong Jihan, stepping out of the Void Training Room, checked his status window.
Specifically.
His class, the Heterogeneous Martial Resolve