Chapter 69: Eve (2)

Chapter 69: Eve (2)/translatingnovice Kugugugugu! Darkness reaches out to us. Thousands of black hands emerge from thin air, stretching towards us. Twisting my body in mid-air, I narrowly evade all the hands along the optimal path. Using Mountain Lords Soaring Flight at full display, I manage to escape the ghost hands without a single hair touched. However, for Seo Ran with his large size, escaping is a bit more challenging. Using the power of exorcism and destruction from his golden bell, Seo Ran burns off several hands clinging to him and ascends upwards. Once we break free from the ghost hands, the puppets we previously shattered on our way down started to rise in the air and swiftly charge at us. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! "Seo Hyung, don't stop, just look ahead." I release Sword Gang from both hands, swinging it in all directions. Boom! Bang! Following the intricacies of Dual Energy Sword Control, my Sword Gang wildly changes trajectory in mid-air, knocking away all parts of the puppets charging at us. Yet, ahead of us, a sea of destroyed parts, emitting intense ghostly energy, are surging towards us. "Prepare the strongest attack." "Understood." I emit Gang Sphere from my Inner Core, and Seo Hyung gathers spiritual power at the corner of his mouth. "Break through!" Boom! Three Gang Spheres fly from my hand, turning into a storm of light that stops the wave in its tracks. A blue torrent of light erupts from Seo Ran's mouth, striking the wave head-on. Seo Rans breath carves a huge hole in the wave. We rush towards the gap and manage to escape.. We quickly ascend to the next level. Sticky, black darkness surges towards us, trying to grasp us. Seo Ran keeps exhaling breaths and I continuously emit Gang Spheres, narrowly escaping the pursuit of the Core Formation-level ghost spirit. Finally. We see the entrance we came through in the distance. As were about to escape the Nether Crossing Ship, Numerous black hands emerge from the ship itself. I evade all the hands, but Seo Ran, due to his size, cant avoid them all. There is a reason for the sudden emergence of ghost hands from the ship's hull. Humming sounds emanate from the ship, and the ghost spirit's voice resonates. [Escaping well, aren't you? Daring to plunder the Azure Bone Valley's treasures like that bastard Mad Lord...! While I am here, it will never happen... Even if this ship is destroyed and discarded, it once shared its glory days with the Azure Bone Valleys prime! No one can covet the Valley's treasures...!!!] 'Azure Bone Valley?' Before I can ponder, another giant ghost hand surges towards me. I explode the ghost hand with a Gang Sphere from my Inner Core and approach Seo Ran. "Seo Hyung, I'll help..." "No need. I've gathered enough strength, I can handle this!" Seo Ran's body emits a sudden surge of demonic power. Simultaneously, golden energy begins to emanate from between his scales. He looks to be cloaked in a golden protective Gang Qi. 'Is this the power of that Dharma Treasure he mentioned earlier?' The ghost hands grasping him explode, freeing Seo Ran. He gnashes his teeth and ascends into the sky, as thousands more ghost hands emerge from the ship, trying to grasp him. The ghost spirit's voice echoes everywhere. [You! That's a treasure of the Azure Bone Valley, isn't it! If you leave it behind, Ill let you go!] "Nonsense! This is my treasure! My own treasure!" Seo Ran shouts back at the ghost spirit and signals me with his eyes. I activate Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation, slicing through the ghost hands with wind, and cling to Seo Ran, aiding his flight. "Hold tight. We'll break through the barrier in one go!" "Yes!" I blast two ghost hands approaching us from both sides with Gang Spheres and grab onto Seo Ran's mane. Blue light emits from between his scales. In an instant, Seo Ran's massive body exerts explosive power, leaping through space, and we find ourselves near the water barrier. Looking back, I see the Nether Crossing Ship teeming with hundreds of black hands. The next moment. We're soaked again, entering the foggy area. The fog, blackened, follows us. Seo Ran evades the pursuing fog and throws himself towards the end of the mist. There is significant resistance when entering from outside. But theres no resistance when leaving from inside to outside. Once we're outside the barrier, the light between Seo Ran's scales vanishes, and he falls powerlessly into the sea. 'He's exhausted.' Seo Ran's condition doesn't look good. His eyes are rolled back and gasping for air. Seo Ran writhes as he floats on the sea. 'I need to move him, or else he might be attacked by other sea demons...' Using my internal energy, I grab Seo Ran's neck and activate Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation. Seo Ran and I are engulfed in a whirlwind and rise into the sky together. "If only I had mastered water attribute spells, I could have just let him float in the sea and swim along..." I once again realize the importance of mastering the Five Surpassing Paths to Cultivation, especially the Water Path. After carrying his heavy body and flying for a while, Whoosh! We finally make it out of the stormy sea. "Huff, huff..!" As soon as were in the sunlight, Seo Ran regains his consciousness. "Seo Hyung, may I put you down now?" "Ugh.. Yes, go ahead. My neck is sore." Splash! I drop Seo Ran into the sea, and he emerges from the water. Using Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation continuously while carrying Seo Ran quickly depleted my Inner Core's energy. 'If I had kept flying while carrying Seo Hyung, I might have been exhausted too.' "Anyway, thanks for helping me several times and getting me out of that sea area. There are many demon tribes there practicing dark arts... If I had floated in the sea unconscious, I would have surely become their prey." "Helping a comrade is only natural. No need for thanks." 'The Water Surpassing Path!' That's right. Not just the Earth Surpassing Path, but also the recently practiced Water Surpassing Path's water energy was complementing the earth energy, slightly speeding up the recovery of spiritual power. 'Ah, this was mentioned when I bought the manual.' The old man selling the cultivation manual previously explained it. 'Good. This means I can try the next challenge sooner.' Faster spiritual power recovery meant more attempts at advancing to Qi Building. With a lighter heart, I begin to recover my cultivation state. Four years passed. I successfully mastered the Water Surpassing Path up to 4th Star and could handle the four Gang Spheres quite stably. Around this time, Kim Young-Hoon finally visited. "Kim Hyung, have you finally come after I sent a letter years ago?" I greet him with a hearty laugh. However, Kim Young-Hoon's expression isn't bright. "...Sorry. I was so absorbed in something that I lost track of time. A few years ago, the cultivator clans in Shengzi started attacking the Makli Clan for breaking a treaty. Recently, the Makli Clan hasn't been active, so I've been focusing solely on martial arts. And..." Wooooong. Kim Young-Hoon releases his Gang Sphere. The sphere split into three, then each sphere split into three again, totaling nine spheres orbiting around him. "I've also reached the extreme of Ultimate Pinnacle... But. This is the end." His complexion turns ashen. "I've made several attempts and errors, yet I can't grasp what to do next. Even after studying the demon beast method to explore the next realm, it isn't enough. There are so many paths before me, yet none seem to lead anywhere! It's completely unclear what I should do next! I have increased my miscellaneous skills, but no matter how much I learn, it doesn't raise my realm. How do I transcend beyond this point? Really, how...?" After venting his emotions, Kim Young-Hoon takes a deep breath and calms down. "Sigh... I'm sorry. I'm just too frustrated. I don't know what to do. Up to Ultimate Pinnacle, it felt like I was following a path laid by others, but beyond this, it feels like I need to create a realm that doesn't exist. I've studied medicine, and even advanced to the 3rd Star of Qi Refining with the cultivation method I requested from the Jin Clan. I've researched and re-researched the demon beast method you gave me. But how to create the next realm... I just don't know." He sighs, clearly frustrated. 'Ultimate Pinnacle, as well, was a realm of theory.' The realm of Three Flowers Gather at the Summit is rare. Five Energies Converging to the Origin is legendary. And Ultimate Pinnacle was just a 'conceptual' realm imagined by martial artists. What could be stronger than Five Energies Converging to the Origin? If such a realm exists, what would it be named? The name of a realm born from the frivolous theories of martial artists. That is Ultimate Pinnacle. And now, Kim Young-Hoon is struggling to reach a realm beyond imagination. A realm beyond imagination. Even the storytellers, who playfully speak of Ultimate Pinnacle, have not even dreamt of what lies beyond it. Ultimate Pinnacle, after all, was a realm of fantasy, thus it had a name. But the world beyond that, even among the storytellers, remains nameless. Kim Young-Hoon is struggling to reach a place without a name. "I'm sorry." But I can't join him in his struggle. I am slow. So slow, in fact, that I am still at the mid-stage of Ultimate Pinnacle with only four Gang Spheres. It is uncertain whether I could even handle nine Gang Spheres in this lifetime. How can I, then, discuss what lies beyond Ultimate Pinnacle? "I'm not yet qualified to discuss such a realm." "Yes, you're right." Kim Young-Hoon isn't a bad person. Normally, in such a situation, he would try to lighten the mood by praising my skills as decent. However, Kim Young-Hoon only affirmed my words with a dark expression, evidence of his extraordinary efforts to transcend to the next level. "What lies beyond is unexplored. A realm that's never been seriously discussed. The 'basic' requirement to enter it is reaching the extreme of Ultimate Pinnacle. Even my talent needs to be honed to the absolute brink for this realm..." Suddenly, during his speech, Kim Young-Hoon pauses, then begins to chuckle. "Ha, haha...! It's so infuriating. It might have been better if my talent was mediocre, focused only on reaching existing realms... If the realm already exists, I could have trained diligently. But since I don't even know what to do, it's unbearably tormenting. Being the only pioneer, the pressure that I cannot give up is immense..." I look at him with a bittersweet feeling. When I think about it, its true. Kim Young-Hoon ascended to Ultimate Pinnacle several lifetimes ago. In the past life. And the life before that. And even before that. He ascended to Ultimate Pinnacle multiple times, wielded nine Gang Spheres, and reached its extreme repeatedly. But not once had he mentioned discovering a realm beyond or shown any joy in such a discovery. Does a realm beyond Ultimate Pinnacle truly exist? I couldn't dare to console his despair. His despair is entirely different from mine. All I can do is silently listen to his despair. After venting for a while, Kim Young-Hoon spoke more calmly. "I'm sorry... I didn't come here to vent my emotions. I came to give you a warning." "What kind of warning?" "While studying the Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation method you gave me, I realized something. When humans practice it, during its activation, it forcibly transforms the consciousness into the form of a dragon. I thought while studying this technique that it shouldn't be practiced by humans." I listen carefully to his words. Indeed, Summoning Wind, Dragon Transformation is powerful, but every time I use it, it feels overwhelmingly uncomfortable, like wearing a tight suit of armor. "It puts too much strain on the human soul. No matter how powerful your consciousness is from practicing cultivation. Cultivating that method is, metaphorically, like diving deep into the ocean without a diving suit and wearing a dragon's skin. The burden on your soul is too great. There's a reason humans don't practice demon beast methods." "......" I sigh softly. "Perhaps, humans have their own suitable form of consciousness. But at least, it's definitely not in the form of a dragon... I clearly felt that." The form of consciousness fitting for humans. I repeat those words in my mind. Translator Notes: I made some changes to the terms: 3 Great Realms of Cultivation first mentioned in chapter 38 has been changed to 3 Great Boundaries of Cultivation to better differentiate The God of the Azure Emperor, etc for the 4 Constellations has been to changed to the Spirit of the Azure Dragon and etc. I initally thought the constellations mentioned referred to the 5 Emperors of Chinese Myth cuz of the Yellow Emperor part, but after doing some research it turns out the constellations refer to the 4 mythical beasts. *** Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried Link to donations in the discord!