Chapter 1973

A cultivator’s combat ability was greatly influenced by the techniques and mystical arts they learned. That was why there was no direct relation between one’s realm and how strong they were.

In some cases, there were extreme discrepancies between a cultivator’s realm and their actual power level. For example, a boxing champion would not be able to win in a gunfight.

Those who had mastered extremely powerful techniques or mystical arts, and had reached the end of their training, were regarded by their peers as invincible.

The man standing on the fortress was like this. He was a late stage great ascension cultivator. He was about to reach the highest level of power despite being born with a disability. Because of his innate constitution that allowed him to master all types of techniques, he wasn’t bound by any particular set of rules and excelled in all types of techniques and mystical arts.

Goosebumps rose on Chiyou’s skin as he stared at the man standing on the moon-like city from a distance.

“A monster in human clothing,” he muttered. “You were born to bring down those above you.”

Nevertheless, a deep smile spread on his face.

“Will you bring me down too?”

“Yes,” the man said, like it was obvious. He nodded involuntarily, drew his sword, and gripped it.

A sword cultivator. The man was a rare cultivator who mastered the art of swordsmanship. Due to his innate physique, he encountered no restrictions when learning body refining techniques which were the basis for practicing swordsmanship.

In other words, he didn’t depend on treasures.

All cultivators developed a treasure in their spiritual root, which they used as their main weapon. This was their innate treasure. They would spit it out of their mouth when fighting and it was sometimes a cultivator’s weakness and limitation.

However, swordsmen were different. They used swords as weapons, just like mortals, so there was no need to rely on their innate treasure.

The man jumped down from the Full Moon Fortress and swung his sword. The movement was slow, as if he was done swinging it, so his movements were clearly visible.

However, what actually happened instead couldn’t be followed by the naked eye. There was no noise, not even a wave of power to reveal that the sword even moved other than the initial lazy movement from before, but the blue sword light was already heading its way toward Chiyou.

Jingle.

It was only after the clouds behind Chiyou split in half that the sound of bells rang. After leaving behind only an afterimage, Chiyou reappeared behind the man.

Chiyou’s sword, which was like an iron rod, collided in the air with the man’s sword. The collision resulted in a wave of shockwaves and explosions so powerful that they shook the heavens and the earth.

The man wasn’t intimidated even after receiving Chiyou’s blow. He recognized Chiyou because of the bells.

“Your only wish is to die,” he sneered.

Hundreds of swords appeared, hovering around the man. They weren’t just made out of energy. They were real swords.

The man couldn’t hide his disgust. “You poor guy, you aren’t worth wasting my efforts. Die, if that’s what you wish,” he said coldly.

Hundreds of swords surrounded Chiyou. They spread like rays of light, forming thousands of lines.

Chiyou was trapped in a tight net. He was impressed.

“Sword battle formation.”

True sword was a technique requiring a large number of swordsmen to work together. However, the man in front of him was able to use it by himself. This was a perfect sword battle formation.

Chiyou was brimming with anticipation after witnessing this technique for the first time. Soon after, blood gushed from Chiyou as thousands of sword energies slashed him. He lost so much blood, he would soon resemble a mummy.

The man was about to take back the sword battle formation when he stopped in his tracks, shocked. The voice coming from inside the formation, which was now covered in a bloody mist, made it seem like the man was fine, and not in extreme agony.

“…It seems that this technique of yours is still not good enough to use in a real fight.”

‘Is that his sword energy?’

When he noticed what was wrong, it was already too late.

Chiyou’s red sword energy, which spread like a bloody mist, was pushing away the man’s sword battle formation.

The man tried to exert greater pressure by controlling the formation, but it was useless. Chiyou’s sword energy had already intruded every corner of the formation. The tens of thousands of swords were no longer connected to each other and creaked like rusty hinges. Because of this, the quality of the formation dropped exponentially. Soon, it started to dissipate on its own.

The man made a quick decision. He gave up on the sword battle formation and changed his technique. Dozens of new swords flew at Chiyou, who had burst through the sword formation that scattered in all directions. Each sword had a different energy—fire, water, earth, metal, wind, lightning, demonic energy, and so on.

Before the man was able to react, Chiyou had already used Shunpo to leap through space. He plunged the iron bar emitting lightning-infused sword energy into the cultivator’s chest.

This was what it meant to be an Absolute. A true Absolute could evade and counterattack in one breath. To put it simply, attacking first despite moving later than the opponent was possible for an Absolute.

His opponent was the same. He purposefully allowed himself to be stabbed so he could use the blood seeping out of his wound to perform a blood technique.

Chiyou was caught off guard. He was wrapped in a cocoon of blood before he even had a chance to link his attacks.

Chiyou fiercely tried to escape his confines, but the cocoon only shook noisily.

The man cocked his head. He seemed puzzled. “Aren’t those bells a symbol of your desire to die? Why do you refuse death?”

He clasped his hands together to conclude this fight. The cocoon’s color changed from red to blue, then from purple to black. A foul stench was released. This meant that it was probably digesting what it had swallowed.

“Oh, you really didn’t think the day would come when you would die? In this small dimension, you would’ve reigned as a supreme ruler. It’s understandable.”

The man clapped his hands together with a relieved expression, like his question had been answered. He completed his hand seals.

“Don’t act in a manner that makes you look ugly. It’s time for you to disappear.”

The cocoon, which turned the color of ashes, scattered pathetically. There were no cracks left from Chiyou’s struggle. It just blew away in the wind.

It looked like it was snowing.

The white powder wasn’t just the fragments of the cocoon that had reached its full effect, but also Chiyou’s bone fragments.

At least, this was what the man thought.

That was, until he heard Chiyou’s voice.

“I can’t die like this.”

“……!”

The man’s eyes widened. He spat out a bell from his mouth. The rapidly growing bell was bigger and thicker than the gates of the city.

A series of shockwaves rang out from the bell.

The man smiled, despite feeling nervous for a moment. This was the man’s real innate treasure. It was a rare treasure cultivated by the late stage great ascension cultivator for hundreds of thousands of years, and it was an unrivaled defense treasure that could neutralize most attacks. It blocked attacks and emitted sound waves that tore the enemy’s eardrums every time it rang.

In other words, Chiyou wasn’t safe.

The man didn’t miss this opportunity and created a new sword battle formation. Hundreds of swords, each with a different attribute, formed a colorful line and sped up toward Chiyou.

Finally, he managed to cut him. He clearly felt the sensation of slashing Chiyou. Still, he was worried. He tilted the bell to the side so he could get a better view of what was going on.

Chiyou was isolated in the formation, the swords constantly poking and stabbing him. He was going to become minced meat soon enough.

However, the man didn’t let down his guard. He didn’t stop the formation. Instead, he infused even more spiritual energy into it.

Chiyou sighed. “This isn’t enough. I had high hopes for you, but I am disappointed.”

“……!”

The man only now noticed something. Now that he paid closer attention, Chiyou’s blood wasn’t red. Every time he was wounded, a mysterious stream of white-gold light seeped out of his wounds instead of blood. Those streaks of light repeatedly restored Chiyou’s injuries immediately.

The cultivator in the late stage great ascension realm was also a Transcendent with spiritual energy flowing in his veins, but he had never seen something like this in his life.

“What is that? It isn’t the heaven and earth origin energy, nor is it spiritual energy?”

What was it made of…?

The man didn’t understand divinity. In the cultivation world, a god referred to an Absolute who had ascended.

However, they were still very far from real gods.

“The wish for immortality…!

Chiyou’s face twisted as he thought about the faith he was receiving. Humanity’s desire to immortalize him was a terrible curse to him. He had a bitter look on his face as he turned his gaze to the city behind the man, who had stiffened like a stone statue.

Was it called the Full Moon Fortress? It glowed a jade color and looked like the moon, but he saw at first glance the malice it contained. It was going to act as a foothold between dimensions. The cultivators would come out of a rift and destroy humanity.

…From Chiyou’s perspective, it was a good development. The fewer people who worshiped him, the weaker his divinity would become. If a large number of people like the man in front of him appeared in this world, Chiyou might finally meet the death he was longing for.

But…

If he wanted innocent people to perish, Chiyou would’ve destroyed the world of his own volition a long time ago.

Chiyou raised his hand with a bitter smile on his face. “…At the end of the day, it’s only you, Grid, who can help me.”

He was a supreme being who couldn’t achieve his own goals.

He postured in a way that could mean only one thing—he was prepared to attack. There were many flaws exposed in his posture. However, the cultivator didn’t have the heart to attack back. He had a hunch that, even if he ripped this monster’s heart out right now, the cultivator would still be the one to end up dead.

Eventually, the man turned his back. He turned away from the Full Moon Fortress, guarded by the promising talents of the sect. He hurriedly tried to flee the scene.

Then a roar echoed from the direction of the Full Moon Fortress, as if the world was about to end. The man turned to look there reflexively and what he saw was a shock in itself.

The sword light fired by Chiyou split into four pieces and destroyed the Full Moon Fortress. A dense web of sword energies covered the entire city and destroyed it.

It resembled the man’s sword battle formation.

“Did he master my swordsmanship after only experiencing it twice…?!”

The man’s despair didn’t last long.

Before he knew it, the huge sword battle formation that destroyed the Full Moon Fortress also struck him. His nascent soul was completely annihilated.

Chiyou was left alone. The place was now completely silent. He sighed.

“I have become a bit stronger…”

No martial art could escape the insight of Martial God Chiyou.

The cultivator who just died was right. Chiyou even mastered the swordsmanship of a great ascension cultivator after only experiencing it twice. Chiyou hadn’t even intended to do that. It just occurred to him naturally.

Chiyou became even stronger and wandered even farther away from death. In the past, he would have despaired about this outcome. Yet this time, he felt a strange glimmer of hope.

This was naturally thanks to Grid.

“I believe in you…”

If Chiyou had even the slightest doubt in his strength, and if he considered that Grid was stronger than him, then his faith would likely degenerate.

However, Chiyou didn’t doubt himself. He was aware that he was the strongest being in the world. Therefore, even the belief that Grid was his hope increased his faith in himself.

Thanks to this, he succeeded in holding onto the hope of death that could have been incredibly far away.

“Hah…”

Still, he couldn’t hide his sadness. Chiyou shook his head while thinking that he had only suffered a loss. He returned to the Hwan Kingdom.

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