The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 42
“Now, you did pass on the message correctly, didn’t you? I asked to meet with you, and they said he refused?”
“Yes… We received word through his agent’s side. He says that for the time being, he won’t be taking on any external schedules beyond what’s already been committed.”
“Hmm. What’s his reason?”
“That would be… he says he’s in training.”
At the secretary’s reply,
Ju Yongwan’s expression became one of disbelief.
“What? Training? He turned down my proposal for that reason?”
Most Players, once they returned to reality,
threw themselves into rigorous training to raise their physical stats.
But Lee Ganghan’s physical abilities were all at 10+.
Which meant there was no need for him to train at all,
and the idea that he couldn’t even spare time to eat was simply absurd.
“Did you make it clear to him? That we’re looking to explore mutually beneficial directions regarding the Special Contract?”
Exploring mutually beneficial directions—
in other words, once Ju Yongwan staged a public show of support for Cheonma over a meal,
he would exert his influence to secure more favorable Special Contract terms.
It was Ju Yongwan’s version of a win-win deal.
Since he couldn’t spell it out too directly,
a subtle mention of “beneficial directions” was usually enough to get people to read between the lines.
“Yes. The agent seemed to understand perfectly what we meant.”
“I figured. Cheonma might be naive, but Shin Yuri would certainly have picked up on the implication. And yet he still refused?”
“Yes. He says it’s difficult to spare the time right now. Apparently, it would only be possible after the awards ceremony in Los Angeles is over.”
“Hah…”
Meet after going to America and coming back?
Ju Yongwan, a powerbroker among ruling-party lawmakers—
a man accustomed to deference wherever he went, with people always rushing forward to curry his favor—
found he simply couldn’t fathom how Lee Ganghan could reject his proposal so bluntly.
Then again.
“Ah… right. This Lee Ganghan fellow—how old did you say he was?”
“Twenty-four, sir.”
“Really? I see. Perhaps it’s his age? At twenty-four, he’s still wet behind the ears—it makes sense he doesn’t understand how the world works yet.”
Once Ju Yongwan heard Cheonma’s age,
he found himself starting to make sense of the situation.
Twenty-four—still a child who hadn’t tasted the bitter realities of society.
He concluded that Cheonma had simply refused out of pure ignorance.
In that case.
“Lee Ganghan’s Special Contract—the Management Bureau was trying to upgrade it, wasn’t it? I heard they’re aiming for something between SS-Tier and SSS-Tier.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Block it.”
“Block it… sir?”
“That’s right. Obstruct it quietly from behind, while we offer to smooth things over from the front.”
“Ah.”
Strike from behind while pretending to help,
then extend a helping hand from the front.
“The boy doesn’t know how the world works—he won’t even notice if we toy with him a little.”
And as Ju Yongwan’s lips curled into a smirk,
the secretaries exchanged silent thoughts.
‘There goes that sadistic streak again.’
‘All Cheonma had to do was share a meal, but he goes on about training instead…’
Ju Yongwan—a man who felt compelled to retaliate whenever someone ruffled his feathers.
“Sir… Congressman, if you delay the contract proposal like this, and Cheonma ends up emigrating abroad…”
One of the secretaries broached the subject hesitantly, a note of concern in his voice.
Ju Yongwan’s eyes widened.
“What? Delay the contract proposal? That won’t do at all.”
“…Yes?”
No—
just moments ago he’d said to obstruct it.
Seeing the secretary’s confusion, Ju Yongwan elaborated.
“If word leaks out from the Management Bureau that we’re blocking his contract proposal, we’ll face a storm of public backlash. Why would I take such a foolish risk?”
“Well…….”
“I need to refine the contract terms.”
He let out a soft laugh.
“Performance bonuses mainly—and make the conditions hard enough to achieve.”
“I see…….”
“How about this? Performance bonus only if you crack the top fifty on the monthly domestic Player Score Ranking.”
The monthly Score Ranking.
It was a ranking system calculated each month based on how many points a Player had earned that month.
To break into the top fifty, you needed to climb at least Diamond-Tier towers.
For Lee Ganghan, who was still only Iron-Tier, it was an impossible condition.
“Mmm. Yes. And if you climb to C-Tier this month, we’ll throw in a bonus! Doesn’t that sound good?”
“But the month’s already half over…….”
“Exactly why I’m proposing such conditions, yes? Heh heh. So when you say the Management Bureau offered you an incentive-focused contract, we’ll swoop in and say we’ll do better for you.”
In reality, it was poison wrapped as medicine.
But to Lee Ganghan, Ju Yongwan’s side would look like the good guys, offering only the cure.
“And once we solve the contract like that and get you in position, we won’t stop at just a photo shoot—we can take you along to local campaign events, can’t we?”
Undeterred even after being rejected by Lee Ganghan.
Ju Yongwan was only looking for new ways to use him.
“The rest you lot should handle properly. Where are we heading next?”
“Ah. This time…….”
With the contract details delegated to his secretary, Ju Yongwan returned to his own work.
At that moment, he had no doubt.
That a twenty-four-year-old kid would fall in line with his schemes without question.
* * *
[The Seonghwa’s flame is maintaining stability.]
[Seonghwa is being absorbed into your body…….]
“Huh. It keeps floating even without me running.”
From dawn through noon.
Lee Ganghan had sprinted at full speed over and over to keep the Seonghwa burning.
After running his usual route more than a hundred times,
the Seonghwa had finally stabilized.
Of course.
‘Full absorption takes time, it seems.’
An hour had passed since that message appeared.
All that kept showing was “being absorbed……”
Nothing else changed.
‘Even I’m getting tired from all this running.’
An all-out sprint to keep from wasting a million Tower Points.
After doing this from dawn until noon,
even Lee Ganghan with seventeen Stamina had to feel exhaustion creeping in.
Lying down on the bed in this state,
a wave of fatigue threatened to drag him straight to sleep.
But—
‘I still need to enter the tower.’
Day had come.
Lee Ganghan headed home, thinking it was time to enter the tower as usual.
Running the same park route he always did, over and over again.
“That’s Cheonma, isn’t it?”
“Seriously insanely fast…….”
“Aren’t Player abilities supposed to not affect the real world?”
“They say stat increases do make you stronger in reality though.”
People who recognized Lee Ganghan racing through the park at incredible speed began to murmur to each other.
“Cheonma! You’re Cheonma, right?”
“Sign something for us!”
Some of the people who’d come to stroll through the park during lunch break
rushed toward Lee Ganghan as he slowed to a walk,
asking if he was really Cheonma, requesting his autograph.
“I don’t have an autograph.”
“Huh? Then how about a photo at least!”

“I’m sweating so much.”
“You still look amazing!”
Before he knew it, people had switched to selfie mode.
‘I’ve been running through here too long. People are starting to recognize me.’
Click. Click!
Lee Ganghan managed to escape from the self-proclaimed “fans” only after taking a few photographs with them.
‘A congressman asks me to dinner, strangers recognize me on the street…… I guess I’ve become somewhat famous.’
To avoid being stopped again, Lee Ganghan resumed running.
He recalled the phone call he’d received from Shin Yuri earlier.
—There’s a congressman named Ju Yongwan who wants to have a meal with you, regarding the Special Contract. He wants to explore developments in a positive direction.
—He’s one of the most influential people overseeing the Management Bureau’s budget, and he does have the power to adjust Special Contract terms.
—But he tends to exploit Players for his own politics, so personally I’m not fond of him.
—If you’re planning to stay in Korea, it might be worth meeting him once. But if you’re leaving the country, there’s no need to see him at all.
Shin Yuri gave him the information and said that whether to meet or not was entirely up to Lee Ganghan’s judgment.
Of course, at that time, Lee Ganghan had thought—
‘I’m managing the Seonghwa right now. Why would I have time for dinner?’
This was during the period when the million Tower Point Seonghwa was barely holding on.
Of course, a mere dinner with a congressman had been the furthest thing from his mind.
After rejecting the proposal and the Seonghwa regained some stability,
he found himself thinking about that offer again.
‘Well, if I want to land good contracts, I should probably stay in the congressman’s good graces.’
Congressman Ju Yongwan, who had extended the dinner invitation.
His name was known even to Lee Ganghan, who understood little of politics—he was a major political figure.
In a way,
building connections with someone like that in Korean society could be mutually beneficial.
But.
‘The Seonghwa is more important right now.’
The Seonghwa was the most urgent priority in his current list of tasks.
He needed to absorb it properly and raise his Cheonma Body to Grade C.
So he decided to refrain from public activities until he obtained the Seonghwa.
Lee Ganghan entered his apartment.
“Whew…….”
After showering off the sweat,
his condition recovered quickly.
Even after running around like that, with Stamina at 17,
his body normalized almost immediately.
‘I should head to 777 right away.’
The Iron Tower now had only Stage 10 remaining.
Before clearing Stage 10 and advancing to Bronze,
he needed to burn through his two Entry Tickets to Iron Tower No-777.
‘The Tower Points from there weren’t as much as I expected…….’
The 777 map had given 1,000 Tower Points twice when opening one chest.
That was because it was the first entry, so the reward acquisition bonus was doubled.
This time when he entered, he might get 1,000 Tower Points per chest.
Even so, the reason he had to use the tickets was—
‘I need to acquire the Cheonma Divine Sword skill.’
The Cheonma Divine Sword skill had appeared when he subdued the sword spirit that emerged from the 777 map.
Back then, his Cheonma Body was Grade E, so he couldn’t obtain it.
But now his grade had risen.
It was time to acquire the Cheonma Divine Sword skill.
‘Let me just go in now.’
As Lee Ganghan entered the tower,
[Will you use the Entry Ticket to Iron Tower No-777?]
A message asking if he’d enter 777 appeared first.
Since the last time he’d entered,
he had pressed “No” every time this message appeared.
‘Finally.’
Lee Ganghan pressed “Yes.”
[Infinite Tower Stage 9.]
[Entering Iron Tower No-777.]
Your entry tier is set based on the highest tower you’ve cleared so far.
And so he was able to enter Iron Tower No-777.
The moment he did.
Whoosh!
“It’s been a while.”
Just as when he’d first entered.
Lee Ganghan stood atop a steep cliff.
Clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky above.
‘First, I’ll turn on the Streaming…’
The moment Lee Ganghan activated the Streaming.
Ding.
[You are entering the Heavenly Treasury.]
[Evade the guardian’s attacks and claim the treasure!]
A message materialized before his eyes.
The guardian’s attack.
It was definitely a Giant Arrow, wasn’t it?
‘Now that I’ve tried it once, I’m prepared for everything.’
Lee Ganghan stepped back a few paces and gazed upward.
Wheee…!
From a distance came the sound of wind being split.
Thud!
A massive arrow embedded itself at the cliff’s peak.
Pure white light rippled across its surface.
An arrow crackling with fierce electricity.
‘Now that I’ve grown stronger, I should be able to extract it more smoothly than last time.’
Swoosh.
Lee Ganghan reached out his hand.
Crackle!
Sparks burst from the arrow.
The same phenomenon as before.
But then.
‘Hm?’
Unlike last time.
The violent current that had tried to hurl Lee Ganghan backward.
[Seonghwa absorbs the power matching its frequency.]
Whoosh…
Rapidly losing its force, it began to be drawn into his palm.
And as it did.
Flare…!
The power of the Seonghwa grew even stronger within his body.
[The absorption speed of Seonghwa increases.]
“What?”
He hadn’t anticipated this.
Lee Ganghan’s eyes brightened as he watched the message that followed appear.
The Cheonma Shatters the Tower (Serialized)
Author │ Yeom Bi
Publisher │ Kim Ju-hyeong
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyeok
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Yeom Bi 2025
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. The content may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
Violation of this will result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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