The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 158

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 158
Thump.
I stepped into the interior of Wolryeong Hall. The humidity inside was far greater than outside. I felt my skin grow uncomfortably sticky in an instant and surveyed my surroundings.
That moment.
Creak—! Boom—!!
The door behind me slammed shut on its own.
What the hell?
I spun around urgently to find the heavy door sealed firmly shut.
“…Damn.”
Cold sweat dripped down my face as I stared at it. There was information I’d heard before coming here.
The door couldn’t be opened from inside until the predetermined period elapsed. I’d been warned about this before entering.
Which meant.
‘…I have to spend an entire month in this pitch-black darkness?’
A door that wouldn’t open unless someone opened it from outside.
Since I’d announced I would be in seclusion for about a month, it absolutely wouldn’t open during that time.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled and steadied my breathing. There was no escape from this situation now.
“…So then.”
Whoooosh.
I channeled my energy and focused my eyes. Wol-an opened and the darkness receded.
Looking straight ahead into the void, I met a pair of blue eyes staring back at me.
“What should I do first?”
So, what should I start with in seclusion? When I asked this, Yoo Cheon-gil looked at me and grinned widely.
[What do you mean what? Put those on first.]
Yoo Cheon-gil pointed to something. When I looked in that direction, the wall was covered with stacked items.
Could those possibly be….
“…Are those all iron weights?”
Black iron pieces. Iron weights crafted to be worn on the limbs.
They were even sorted by weight, each one a different size.
He wants me to put those on?
I approached the wall and tried to put on the smallest one on the far right.
[What are you doing?]
“Pardon?”
Yoo Cheon-gil frowned at me.
[Put on that one instead.]
His hand moved. What Yoo Cheon-gil pointed to was a medium-sized iron weight.
I grabbed the weight to examine it.
“Ugh!?”
It was heavy. Far too heavy to lift with one hand.
‘He wants me to put this on…?’
I glanced back at Yoo Cheon-gil with doubt, but he merely gestured with his chin, urging me to put them on quickly.
Something felt off about this, but without further complaint, I equipped them anyway.
With one shackle on each limb, the weight became unmistakably apparent.
“…This is insane.”
My arms hung limp and useless, while my feet grew so heavy I could barely lift them.
I could feel that without channeling my inner energy, I wouldn’t be able to move much at all—I’d simply collapse.
So I tried to channel my inner energy—
[Stop—!]
“…!”
At Yoo Cheon-gil’s shout, my body froze instinctively.
“What…?”
Why did he suddenly yell like that? I looked at him with startled eyes, and he stared back at me with a stern expression.
[From now on, you are forbidden from channeling your inner energy for one month.]
“…What? How is that not insane?”
Don’t channel my inner energy?
This was absurd. So he wanted me to move around in these iron shackles without channeling my inner energy at all?
“How is that even possible…?”
[How? You just do it.]
“That’s really helpful advice. Thank you so much. Damn it….”
[Not channeling your inner energy applies to your eyes as well—release all focus from them too.]
“…Huh?”
[Now.]
“….”
I did as instructed and released all my inner energy channels. Darkness immediately descended upon me.
A complete, suffocating darkness enveloped everything.
My body felt heavy, and a sense of confinement tightened around me.
Train in these conditions? For a whole month?
What possible reason could there be for this? Unable to understand, I could only stare at Yoo Cheon-gil.
In the darkness, the only thing visible were his blue eyes.
[Listen well.]
“Yes.”
[Do you know what your greatest problem is?]
“…I’m not sure. There seem to be so many that it’s hard to pinpoint just one.”
[Correct. You’re an absolute mess. That’s the problem.]
“….”
What? Was he mocking me? If so, he succeeded. My mood had definitely soured.
[Your realm has grown at a rapid pace, yet your body is pathetically weak. Because your body is weak, your inner energy doesn’t permeate properly. Moreover, your understanding of martial arts is shattered, so you can’t even use them correctly.]
“….”
Each word was like a blade piercing my chest. His relentless barrage of criticism hurt deeply.
[And if I asked whether you possess exceptional talent, the answer is also no—which means you’re currently in a hopeless state.]
“…Ugh.”
Wasn’t it about time to stop? Just as I was about to raise my hand in surrender.
[Then if there’s no answer, I’ll have to create one.]
Yoo Cheon-gil added with a sly grin.
[You don’t even know how to use your body properly, and you’re not in a situation where you can. At this rate, it’s no different from wielding a legendary blade to hack at weeds.]
Yoo Cheon-gil descended lightly. Naturally, being a ghost, there was no sound of his landing.
[Listen, refine your body first. The time given to you is short, but if time is short, then use that time meaningfully.]
“You’re saying this iron reinforcement will allow me to do that…?”
[Why? Did you think there was some shortcut?]
“…I was just hoping.”
[Don’t be mistaken. Martial training is fundamentally about endurance.]
Yoo Cheon-gil simply sat down on the ground.
[How much can you endure? That’s the only difference. The fastest way to refine your body? It’s only by tearing muscle and regenerating it again. Do you know what improved most as you reached your peak?]
“What is it?”
[How fast your body heals.]
“….”
[Tear and heal, tear again and heal. There’s no answer besides that. Now, do it.]
Crude yet undeniably true words.
[Endure. That’s what you said you were most confident about.]
I bowed my body at Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
‘Is this right?’
I really wasn’t sure if this was correct.
But having come this far, there was no other way.
I do what I always do.
Yes, I had always told Yoo Cheon-gil I was confident in endurance.
‘Ah. I shouldn’t have said that.’
Regret came immediately.
I never knew I’d be training with such a crude method.
‘Should I just give up?’
Such a desire rose instinctively.
But contrary to my thoughts, my body was already moving.
[Tsk tsk.]
I heard an irritating laugh.
Before long, my muscles screamed in agony.
Yet unlike them, my lips remained silent.

* * *
“Gasp—”
I collapsed onto the ground, stumbling.
I had no idea how long I’d been training my body.
Following Yoo Cheon-gil’s instructions, I moved my body while holding the heavy iron rod, and time simply passed.
My limbs no longer responded.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
I breathed roughly and surveyed my surroundings.
It seemed considerable time had passed, but with no window in sight, I couldn’t even tell how much time had elapsed.
Unlike my eyes adjusting to the darkness, there was nothing to see.
It meant the darkness was that thick.
“Sigh… ah…”
My throat was parched.
I turned my eyes to search for water. Far along the wall, a jar sat alone.
Water filled it.
I couldn’t tell where the water came from, but it seemed connected to the valley—the supply was plentiful.
Beside it, stacked stones rose dimly visible through the darkness.
“…Damn it…”
I was hungry and thirsty, but I had no strength to move.
I was exhausted to death. Not knowing how much time had passed only doubled my frustration.
“Ugh…”
Did I really need to move? I wondered.
As my weary body lay on the ground, drowsiness washed over me.
‘Whatever.’
Let me just sleep.
With that thought, I closed my eyes.
That instant.
“…Huh?”
My eyes snapped open and I jolted upright.
Suddenly the fatigue vanished and my vision cleared. I couldn’t fathom what was happening.
“What the—?”
A curse escaped my lips at the sight before me.
A pure white background stretched in all directions. I couldn’t comprehend what it was.
“This is insane—!!”
I spat out curses as I pushed myself up.
“Chuckle, chuckle.”
Laughter echoed, and I turned to look behind me.
Yoo Cheon-gil stood there.
“Old Man…?”
I stared at him with anxious eyes as he spoke to me.
“I believe you’ve memorized everything I taught you today. You have a sharp mind, after all.”
“…What exactly are you doing?”
“What do you mean? You already know.”
“No, you insane bastard…? Are you seriously telling me to do something even while I sleep?”
This place was an illusion created by Yoo Cheon-gil.
“Isn’t it wonderful? Training your body during the day and cultivating during the night. For a martial artist, it’s a dream come true.”
“…Wow.”
It was truly relentless.
I’d wondered why he made a proposal rather than a declaration, but was this his intention all along?
Training my body during the day.
And cultivating in the illusion Yoo Cheon-gil prepared during the night?
It was a schedule that would drive anyone mad.
The real problem was.
“So… you’re saying you’ll be gone for about a month? Is that what you mean?”
Yoo Cheon-gil cast the illusion and never appeared unless I achieved the goal he set.
I wasn’t sure if that was a prerequisite, but since it had always been that way, it would be the same this time.
“Who knows? It could be faster than that.”
“Pardon?”
“If you overcome it faster, wouldn’t that be the case?”
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke as if it were nothing.
“For physical training, repeat what you did today as your baseline. You can maintain the same weight. After all, even a month won’t allow you to progress much further.”
“…No, really? You’re really leaving?”
He’s just leaving like this?
What if I don’t do what he told me to do? I was widening my eyes at the thought that he’d just leave without any supervision when.
“You were bothered by what you couldn’t do last time, weren’t you?”
“What I couldn’t do last time?”
I wondered what he meant.
“A month should give you enough time. Go ahead and show me. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Crash—!!
An iron sword fell in front of me.
Just like last time. When I hurriedly looked at Yoo Cheon-gil.
Yoo Cheon-gil was no longer visible.
What I saw instead was a strangely familiar rock.
“…Sigh.”
And sitting atop it was a tall, gaunt young man.
Unlike Yoo Cheon-gil’s vivid blue eyes, Wol-an’s gaze seemed lifeless.
A young man with a withered, emaciated body.
He was Yoo Cheon-gil in his youth.
If I recall correctly, it was said to be around his early twenties?
He was the figure I had faced to awaken the Gwangwol Seomgyeong.
Back then, Yoo Cheon-gil had said I only needed to block a single strike.
‘…So what does that mean now?’
Did it mean I had to defeat this monster?
Cold sweat dripped down my face.
I couldn’t even count how many times I’d died back then.
I’d endured countless deaths just to block a single strike.
And now he wanted me to win against this thing?
“…You really say whatever comes to mind, don’t you?”
He speaks so casually about something that isn’t his problem.
“…Huff….”
I steadied my breathing and poured strength into my blade.
Then its gaze turned toward me.
At that moment.
Whoosh—!
Clang—!!!
A sound rang out from my raised sword.
The blade I’d lifted to defend my flank met Yoo Cheon-gil’s sword as it carved through.
“…!”
As I blocked the strike, Yoo Cheon-gil’s eyes widened.
My arm trembled.
How many times had I died to block this single strike?
From repeating it so many times, my body moved on instinct alone.
‘Damn it.’
I clenched my teeth hard.
This wasn’t the end with just one block.
I tried to move my body to respond somehow.
Scritch.
A flash of light seared my vision.
I saw empty sky.
My severed head was flying through the air.
Feeling this, I became certain.
This would surely be the most hellish month of my entire life.
And so.
A month of hell passed.

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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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