The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 43

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

Episode 43
‘It’s being absorbed into the Holy Fire.’
White electricity crackling around the Giant Arrow.
Back then, when he’d hurled the arrow down past the Cliff, it seemed to trigger a massive explosion.
He hadn’t expected it to be absorbed straight into the Holy Fire like this.
‘If that’s the case, will that sword I saw before get absorbed into the Holy Fire too?’
The massive Light Sword that appeared at the Cliff when the Guardian descended upon opening the twenty-fifth chest.
That sword had split into countless Light Swords and pursued Lee Gang-han.
When he’d evaded the blades and grasped the hilt—
The sword vanished on its own, saying he couldn’t Subdue the Sword Spirit.
‘This time, I should test whether it gets absorbed into the Holy Fire.’
But first—
Opening those twenty-five chests comes before anything else.
Whoosh.
As Lee Gang-han gazed up at the chests floating suspended in the air—
-Man, been a while since this map
-This is the Iron 777 Map, right?
-Yeah, the difficulty’s insane lol
Chat began flowing in from the stream.
-But why isn’t the arrow exploding this time?
-Did the difficulty get easier?
-Looked like the electricity got sucked into Cheonma’s hands…
Even though it was happening right at the start—
Many viewers had witnessed the Absorption of the current.
“I’ll need to play a bit more to be sure.”
Lee Gang-han replied with those words.
Slash!
He immediately leaped toward a nearby Treasure Chest.
Then—
[Skill ‘Cheonma Lordly Stride’ activates.]
As the Cheonma Lordly Stride engaged naturally—
Lee Gang-han’s body shot forward like a shell.
-Wait, he can jump without using Cheonma Divine Art?
-Guess he can lol
-Since it’s the same map, you can really see how much stronger he’s gotten compared to last time
-Wait, didn’t he run this map like a week ago? lol how does he grow this much in a week
-Cheonma must be playing a different game…
Even without using the Cheonma Divine Art—
As viewers watched Lee Gang-han’s movements looking far lighter than before, the chat scrolled up rapidly.
‘All that hardship in the Sea last time paid off.’
Lee Gang-han himself felt that the Cheonma Lordly Stride had advanced.
Without using the Cheonma Divine Art—
His movements were comparable to or—
Even better than when he’d used it before.
It seemed like all that running around practicing the Water-Skimming Technique in the Sea had helped.
Screech!
As he opened the chest—
[Treasure Chest opened.]
[Obtained 1,500 Tower Points.]
‘1,500, then.’
The 100% reward bonus effect from before had disappeared—
But the Tower Points reward itself had risen from 1,000 to 1,500.
Why did it go up this time?
Lee Gang-han was wondering what was different from last time—
When something occurred to him.
“Do the rewards change based on the Tower Stage for the 777 Map too?”
Last time he’d visited the 777 Map, it was at Stage 2.
This time, he’d come at Stage 9.
To that question from Lee Gang-han—
-That’s right?
-You’d have to try the 777 Map to know haha
-But it’s true the higher the Tower Stage, the better the rewards
-Yeah even if it’s the same rank, rewards vary by stage, so wouldn’t the Treasure Chests follow that too?
The viewers weren’t entirely sure either.
They offered the theory that since rewards increased with each stage, there must be some connection.
‘Still, I’m losing 500 per chest compared to last time.’
If he wanted to earn more money than the last clear,
he’d have to open far more chests.
Having resolved as much, Lee Gang-han
—whoosh!
began opening chests at an even faster pace.
-Wow that’s insanely fast lol
-Are those chests not heavy? He’s cracking them open with one hand like they’re nothing
-He’s got Strength 10+
-He was opening them in an instant last time too lol
Creak! Creeeak!
When he opened the twenty-fifth chest,
[The Guardian grows deeply wary of you.]
[The Guardian directly descends into the Heavenly Treasure Vault.]
The Guardian descent message appeared.
Crackle—crackle…!
The massive sword lodged in the Cliff at the starting point
would soon split apart
and branch into dozens of blades that came pursuing after him.
So then,
‘I need to keep opening them before those things arrive.’
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lee Gang-han picked up his pace further,
and started opening chests.
Though he’d opened many so far,
as he hopped from chest to chest as if they were stepping stones,
more Treasure Chests continued to spring up from deeper within.
-Why do chests keep appearing?
-They just keep popping up the deeper he goes lol
-Since he experienced it before, he’s ignoring the swords and just opening chests
After opening about ten more chests,
[The Escape Portal opens.]
Once the Escape Portal opened,
several blue portals materialized nearby.
‘I’ve already come this far.’
In previous runs, he’d had to advance further to reach the Escape Portal,
but this time, having pushed for more speed,
the portal was close enough to reach with just a few jumps.
‘But there are still chests behind the portal?’
The Heavenly Treasure Vault stretched endlessly.
There were still Treasure Chests even beyond the exit portal.
And yet—
-The chests beyond the portal look a different color, don’t they?
-Yeah, they’re shimmering
-Better rewards maybe? lol
-Open them go go go
True to what the viewers said,
the chests beyond the portal were different from the ones he’d been cracking open.
Their surfaces gleamed with a golden sheen.
‘I have to open these.’
Whoosh!
The moment Lee Gang-han crossed the exit portal and went beyond it,
[The player has entered deeper into the Treasure Vault.]
[The Guardian makes an additional descent.]
Along with word of the Guardian’s additional descent,
Crack-crack-crack……!
One of the several Escape Portals that had appeared was bathed in pale white lightning.
Whoosh!
A massive sword materialized from within.
* * *
-Whoa the portal disappeared lol
-We’re not gonna make it out?
-Just come back again;
-Whatever death’s not a big deal anyway? Even if we die let’s open the chest gg
The Escape Portal vanished.
The chat split—some saying retreat, others saying go in.
In the Infinite Tower, death wasn’t actually a severe penalty.
Most viewers figured they could afford to die, so the consensus leaned toward opening the chest.
But.
‘On my end, the penalty is brutal.’
Death was only consequence-free in the first tower.
In the others, dying would drop the rank of his Cheonma Body.
For Lee Gang-han, even though he’d burned through all his Tower Points lately and needed the money,
he couldn’t afford to risk death.
Still.
‘One chest should be fine.’
About five portals still remained.
Opening a single Treasure Chest from beyond seemed safe enough.
Screeeeak!
Lee Gang-han opened the Treasure Chest.
[You have opened the Heavenly Treasure Chest.]
[You obtain 15,000 Tower Points.]
“Wow…… fifteen thousand TP?”
-15,000? That’s insane
-That’s 20 million won in one go lol
-Gold chests give like 10k TP per open but Iron gives 15k? Wild
-That’s just random ground loot but this difficulty is different lol
The Heavenly Treasure Chest awarded more Tower Points than the boxes on the Gold 777 Map.
Lee Gang-han considered opening another.
[The Heavenly Treasure Chest has opened.]
[A Guardian is being emergency summoned.]
[An additional Guardian is descending.]
Flash! Flash!
One chest opened.
Two portals burst apart, and more swords materialized from them.
Only three portals remained now.
‘And of those, only one portal can be reached with the Cheonma Lordly Stride…….’
If he carelessly opened one more chest,
and that portal shattered, he’d have no way home.
Lee Gang-han decided to stop opening chests here.
Whoosh……!
Instead, he turned to face the countless swords flying toward him.
The real reason he’d come to the 777 Map today wasn’t the Treasure Chest—it was the Light Sword.
-Man, there’s way more swords than last time though?
-Over a hundred?
-Three more giant swords just appeared lol
Unlike before,
three additional Guardians descended as he ventured deeper into the Heavenly Treasure Vault.
These Guardians, which had fractured from their massive sword forms into dozens of Light Swords each,
spread an encirclement around Lee Gang-han.
Up, down, left, right.
Every direction was filled with blades.
“Cheonma Divine Art.”
The moment Lee Gang-han activated the Cheonma Divine Art,
Whoooosh!
A Light Sword streaked through the air with fierce momentum.
One.
‘He’s definitely grown stronger, if that blade looks so weak now.’
There was no real need to dodge.
Lee Gang-han ignored the sword’s relentless assault.
Instead, he reached out and seized it in his grip.
Then—
[Subduing the Sword Spirit…….]
[You possess no sword-related skills.]
[Cannot subdue the Sword Spirit.]
No sword-related skills, it said.
Crack-crack-crack……
The blade fractured, lost its form, and the Light Sword dissolved into scattered light.
Before, the sword would simply vanish like this.
[Holy Fire absorbs power matching the wavelength.]
But this time, as the Light Sword lost its form and dispersed,
it was absorbed into Lee Gang-han’s body, adding strength to the Holy Fire.
‘Oh. So it absorbs this light too.’
Even without learning the Cheonma Divine Sword skill, this was already a gain.
Lee Gang-han, having confirmed the Holy Fire’s absorption,
moved his hands with purpose.
-Last time it was still close, dodging and barely grabbing the sword…
-Now he’s just playing with it lol
-But why is that sword so dull? It only leaves scratches even when it cuts ㅋㅋ
-His clothes tear pretty well though
-His skin must’ve gotten tougher too;
Regardless of the relentless onslaught from all directions,
Lee Gang-han seized the sword in both hands and shattered it again and again.
[Subduing the Sword Spirit…….]
[You acquire the skill ‘Cheonma Divine Sword’.]
The message announcing he’d obtained the Cheonma Divine Sword skill appeared,
and the Light Sword that had been exploding outward
remained in Lee Gang-han’s hand for the first time without bursting.
‘Now that I have the Cheonma Divine Sword skill, does that make subduing possible?’
The Sword Spirit had said you needed sword-related skills
in order to subdue it.
Without a skill, it burst apart every time.
But after obtaining the Cheonma Divine Sword,
the Light Sword continued to rest in Lee Gang-han’s hand.
Then,
[Use the skill ‘Cheonma Divine Sword’ to subdue the Sword Spirit.]
A message appeared telling him to use the Cheonma Divine Sword.
Cheonma Divine Sword.
‘The Cheonma Divine Fist activated when I used my fist.’
So surely the Cheonma Divine Sword activates when I swing a sword?
Lee Gang-han lifted the Light Sword he held and began to move.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
The Light Sword wavered and swayed at Lee Gang-han’s motions.
Perhaps because its center of gravity was so light,
the sword didn’t move as sharply and smoothly as he intended.
-What’s he doing? ㅋㅋㅋ
-Looks like he’s waving taffy around
-First time Cheonma doesn’t look strong…
-Just use your fist?
The chat window filled with criticism as viewers watched Lee Gang-han wield the sword for the first time.
To make matters worse, the ‘Cheonma Divine Sword’ skill didn’t activate at all.
‘The Light Sword…… I can’t control it like I want.’
Whoosh. Whoosh.
And so Lee Gang-han blocked another sword’s attack with his left hand
while swinging his own sword with his right.
[You cannot use sword-related skills.]
[You cannot subdue the Sword Spirit.]
The message came with a notification that the skill wouldn’t activate.
Crack……
The sword shattered and vanished just as before.
Cheonma Divine Sword activated.
Not as simple as it was with the fist technique.
Still.
‘It’s fine. There are plenty of swords.’
Light Swords still hung in the air all around Lee Gang-han, waiting to strike.
If he kept grabbing them and swinging them, the skill would eventually activate.
That was what Lee Gang-han told himself.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
He gripped a sword in each hand
and began to swing them.
Unlike when they came flying at him with such fury,
‘There’s no leverage to this either.’
The Light Swords in both his hands flailed about wildly,
then cracked.
They shattered once more.
“All right. Let’s see who wins.”
Swords were plentiful.
Eventually, if he kept at it, he’d succeed.
With that resolve, he began his assault of swinging swords.
-How long is he gonna keep swinging like that…?
-Dunno what he’s doing but his clothes are gonna shred before this is over lmao
-Why don’t we just go through the portal already? I can handle losing the top but not the bottom too
-Yeah bro next time let’s wear three layers
His clothes tore this way and that until they became rags.
It continued until more than half his swords had vanished.
Crack……
[Holy Fire absorbs power that matches its wavelength…….]
[Holy Fire has absorbed power up to its limit.]
After about fifty swords had shattered,
the Holy Fire could absorb no more power.
Then the Light power that had been draining into it reversed course, scattering outward.
‘Hm?’
Between the swords in both his hands,
the right-hand sword that hadn’t shattered grew solid.
‘Ah—so I have to channel my own power into it to wield it as a true sword.’
It wasn’t enough simply to grip the blade.
Only by pouring his energy into it did the sword gain true weight and substance.
Until now, he hadn’t grasped the method.
But when the Holy Fire, saturated at its limit, reversed its power back to him, understanding dawned.
‘Good.’
Swish!
He swung the sword in his right hand.
This time, it moved with sharp, precise grace—nothing like before.
[Skill ‘Cheonma Divine Sword’ activates.]
The moment that message appeared,
the blade flashed.
And then—
Whoooosh……
Every Light Sword hanging in the air lost its power at once
and plummeted from the sky.
“So this is the Cheonma Divine Sword.”
Now that the skill had activated,
the sensation of wielding a sword was unmistakably different.
Lee Gang-han looked at the blade with fresh eyes.
‘Hmm?’
Within the heart of the Light Sword.
A small child, huddled with knees drawn close to his chest.
The being presumed to be the Spirit of the Sword.
Breathed slowly….
Loosening his posture, he began to rise steadily.
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, Daelyung Post Tower 1)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
ⓒ Yeom Bi 2025
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. pursuant to a contract with the copyright holder. The content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this shall subject the offender to criminal and civil legal responsibility.

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