The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 40

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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 040
Wind tears through violently. Or perhaps I’m swept away by a torrent.
Every word that could describe ferocity fits perfectly.
That was exactly my current state.
‘Damn it….’
Trapped within a tempest of pure energy, my body convulses. A storm composed entirely of qi.
My consciousness flickers on and off, and my body refuses to move.
I barely manage to cling to a thread-thin awareness.
The slightest moment of carelessness and I’ll lose it. This must be what it feels like to be trapped in an actual storm.
‘Damn it….’
How did things come to this?
Without understanding what happened, I simply endure.
‘That cursed old man.’
What? The energy will explode? If I can’t withstand it, I’ll die?
Why would he tell me that after I already consumed it.
‘This is exactly why I–!’
I don’t associate with demons.
I couldn’t even finish those thoughts—I focused my consciousness instead.
Roooaarrr–!!!
The gale intensified.
Energy ravages through my entire body. An explosion—yes, that’s the perfect word.
The qi raging inside me doesn’t pause for a moment, and with each passing second, it spins faster.
Moreover.
‘It’s unbearably painful.’
My body feels like it’s being torn apart.
So this is what happens when energy moves with such volume and velocity.
A truth I never wanted to learn.
‘How am I supposed to endure this.’
Not only does the intensity keep increasing, but I don’t know how long I need to hold on, making it even more agonizing.
And if I lose focus?
‘I’ll die if I lose it.’
That wasn’t meant as a threat. Because I, who am experiencing this, know it best.
‘If I lose control, I’m dead.’
The moment I lose focus, the spinning energy will stop rotating.
Once the rotation ceases, the energy will have nowhere to go.
When that happens.
‘It will discharge.’
My body isn’t large enough to contain all that accumulated energy—it will simply burst outward.
This isn’t exaggeration. My body will literally explode.
I’ve never experienced or studied anything like this, yet I understand it perfectly.
Once such an aura settles into one’s body, understanding comes naturally.
It’s an aura impossible to ignore.
‘Of all things, an explosion.’
I’d wanted to live until I was covered in filth on a wall, yet I couldn’t die like this—caught by a Demon.
But.
‘What can I do to avoid dying?’
쿠구구구구—!!!
What could I possibly do against an aura growing ever stronger?
I was barely holding on now, but if it grew any more powerful, it would be over.
Truth be told, even now was precarious.
‘Damn it.’
How could I manage this? If the aura leaked or spread from here, it would be the end.
The moment a gap appeared, the aura would escape through it in an instant—but what could I do?
Then.
[You seem to be in quite the predicament.]
I heard Yoo Cheon-gil’s voice.
[Shall I help?]
So you were planning not to help, you bastard.
[I see you flinching—seems you’re cursing.]
His perception remained sharp as ever. Then he must understand what I need right now.
[Hmm.]
Yoo Cheon-gil let out a short groan.
[What should I do?]
He spoke as if deliberating.
Was he insane?
‘You’re deliberating over this?’
I looked like I’d die any moment, yet he was thinking it over.
If I die, you die too.
There was so much I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t voice it.
Kuuuuung-!
‘Ugh!’
I nearly screamed from the intensifying rotation. Nearly died, that is.
No, if this continued, I’d die anyway. I had to find some way out.
‘So if you’re going to tell me, tell me quickly.’
While I endured with gritted teeth, waiting for Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
[Very well.]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke brightly, as if he’d made a decision.
[There are some things I need to verify, so overcome this alone.]
‘This madman.’
His words were absolute nonsense.
How am I supposed to endure this alone? Why didn’t you just tell me to die?
‘That old man… does he actually have no regrets at all?’
He spoke of finding the one who killed him and such.
But perhaps he truly didn’t care about any of it.
If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have acted this way.
‘Maybe I should just give up on everything.’
Just as I was growing weary and ready to abandon it all.
[Instead, I shall offer you a small piece of advice.]
The Old Man spoke.
[The method to overcome this, I have already shown you. Child, if it is you, you will be able to discern it.]
‘….’
He’s already shown me the method, and he believes I can figure it out?
Again.
‘This is another problem.’
Why does he keep trying to make me awaken to it myself? I couldn’t understand.
‘Why not just tell me the answer? What’s the point of….’
What does this old man actually expect from me?
If he wanted me to resolve my resentment, it would be better to move forward quickly, yet I don’t understand why he employs such methods.
It’s almost as if….
‘He’s trying to cultivate me as a disciple.’
Is he truly trying to make me his disciple?
‘This is ridiculous.’
A disciple of the Sword Saint? And the disciple of one who remains only as a soul after death?
It’s absurd. There would be countless who desire such a thing.
‘But not me.’
Such a life would clearly become the eye of a tempest.
I wished to live quietly like a spring grassland, not to desire such an existence.
Therefore.
‘I’ll finish this quickly and leave.’
I only thought of ending this life as rapidly as possible.
Crunch—!
I ground my teeth and recalled Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
‘I already know.’
That I know the method to suppress this energy.
I turned it over endlessly in my mind, and within that contemplation, several methods came to me.
‘…Should I force it into my dantian?’
The method of gathering all the energy and containing it within the dantian—I discarded this notion immediately upon conceiving it.
‘It’s impossible to control.’
If I could have done it, I would have long ago. With energy of this magnitude, such a thing is impossible.
Recklessly touching the energy would be too dangerous, as control would be lost.
‘So what other method is there?’
What about gradually slowing down the rotation?
‘….’
That’s also out of the question. The rotational force was too overwhelming to intervene.
‘Damn it, what am I supposed to do then?’
Regardless of anything else, I didn’t know how to manipulate qi.
My realm had only just barely reached the second tier. Moreover, it wasn’t even a technique I originally cultivated—it was a sudden internal art that embedded itself into my body.
It would be fair to say I hadn’t had time to become familiar with it.
And I was supposed to slow down that tempest with something like this?
‘Absurd. If anything, speeding it up would be….’
Wait?
‘Huh?’
Instead of slowing it down, speed it up?
Actually accelerate it?
It felt like a club had struck my head.
‘…The foundation of the Cheongwol Heart Art is certain.’
Simply letting it emerge naturally.
The moon rises of its own accord when night falls, without any intervention.
‘…This.’
I concentrated my mind.
I felt like I was grasping something.
[Huh?]
I pushed my qi into the tempest.
Not forcing it in, but letting it get swept up together.
And so.
쉬이이이이이이—!!!
I actually increased the speed instead.
I worried it might burst from losing control, but honestly, I was already all-in.
Once I did that, the qi rotated as if it had been waiting, spinning madly.
‘Ugh.’
At the much faster speed, I nearly lost my grip, but somehow I held on.
Then I could see it.
The qi, spinning at a maddening velocity, had instead taken on a clean form.
Because at such a speed, it couldn’t scatter or burst outward.
By raising the speed to that degree, a perfect sphere formed, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of stability.
A sphere suffused with blue light.
It felt like.
‘The moon.’
It felt like the moon hanging in the sky.
And in that moment.
화아아아아아—!!!
A tempest rages and darkness descends.
A night where only the moon rises.
‘What is this.’
Why is everything so serene? It feels like drifting through the night sky.
What is this sensation? So unfamiliar. Swimming through the heavens, they say. And yet.
‘That is….’
The sprawling night sky. Before it, a colossal moon.
A luminous blue moon shining brilliantly.
So beautiful and radiant. Even close enough to touch.
Without thinking, I reached out my hand.
Hoping perhaps I could grasp it.
Before my extended fingertips could touch the moon.
우우우우웅—!!!
The colossal moon began vibrating violently, and before long, it came hurtling toward me from the sky.
“Gwack-!”
I jolted awake in shock, my eyes snapping open.
My crossed-legged posture collapsed as I tumbled backward.
“Haah… gasp….”
I breathed heavily and surveyed my surroundings. It was that warehouse from before.
My body was drenched. Cold sweat soaked me from head to toe.
[Tsk tsk tsk.]
Laughter echoed.
[There now.]
Yoo Cheon-gil was staring at me.
[Did I not tell you that you could do it?]
“….”
I did it? Hearing those words, my eyes widened.
Did I really endure it?
As doubt filled me, I could only roll my eyes.
[Look at your hands.]
At Yoo Cheon-gil’s words, I lifted my hands to examine them.
“…what…?”
My eyes grew as wide as lanterns at the sight. It couldn’t be otherwise.
Blue light coiled around my hands, rippling and undulating.
“What in the world is this….”
[Congratulations.]
Still unable to comprehend the situation, the Old Man offered me his congratulations.
[You have embraced the moon within your body.]
“….”
It was incomprehensible.

* * *
I dragged my unsteady body upward with great difficulty.
Fortunately, my residence was quiet.
Had no one come? I could only hope that was the case.
“…Haa… Gasp….”
The moment I reached the top, I collapsed onto the floor, sprawling out flat.
Every muscle in my body screamed in agony—it was unbearable.
Breathing heavily, I could only stare at the ceiling.
[Tsk tsk. What did you do to be exhausted already?]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke to me with a tone of disdain.
I didn’t even have the strength to respond.
“Haa… Huff.”
I exhaled deeply and covered my mouth with my hand.
As I breathed out, blue smoke poured forth with my breath.
It had been like this since earlier. Smoke kept escaping on its own.
[Don’t worry. By tomorrow, it will settle down.]
Seeing this, Yoo Cheon-gil laughed and spoke.
I wanted nothing more than to punch that cheerful face of his.
But before that, no matter how exhausted my body was, there was something I needed to ask.
“What exactly did you make me consume…?”
What was it? What did I consume that left my body in this state?
[I told you. Cheongwol-dan.]
“That’s… not what I’m asking.”
Damn it, every time I spoke, smoke came out—it looked ridiculous.
“What exactly did you make me consume that causes smoke to pour from my mouth…?”
[Tsk tsk, it looks so strange that it suits you perfectly, doesn’t it?]
“…Are you joking?”
I was serious.
“You said it was a Yeon Sect pill, so I consumed it, nearly died in the process, and yet my cultivation barely increased at all.”
That was precisely what infuriated me.
I suffered through near-death, yet my cultivation showed barely any difference.
So where did all that energy that was raging wildly go?
If all I gained from this ordeal was the ability to spew smoke from my mouth, I couldn’t accept it no matter what.
“What are you trying to do to me…?”
[Cheongwol-dan is not like other Yeon Sect pills—it doesn’t increase your cultivation.]
Yoo Cheon-gil cut me off and pressed forward.
His eyes had grown serious somehow.
“Then what does it do?”
[If I were to explain its efficacy, it would be most accurate to call it a seed.]
“A seed?”
[Yes. A seed. A seed has been planted within the inner core dwelling in your body.]
“…What kind of nonsensical drivel is that?”
[Hmm.]
Seeing that I struggled to comprehend, Yoo Cheon-gil adjusted his explanation.
[To put it simply, think of it as strengthening and deepening your inner core.]
That was far easier to understand.
“…So all that energy went into strengthening my inner core?”
[Indeed.]
“All of it? An absolutely massive amount?”
[Y-yes, that’s right.]
“Ridiculous.”
[…Do you not realize how momentous this is….]
“Momentous or not. I can’t use it right now anyway.”
The situation remained as miserable as ever. What I needed now was usable energy, not inner core strengthening.
I had gone to consume the Yeon Sect pill precisely for that purpose.
“This makes everything completely pointless….”
How much could my inner core truly improve anyway?
I collapse after swinging a sword once, after all.
“I’m crawling around like a dog, spewing smoke from my mouth, and all I gained is inner core strengthening? This is a genuinely wretched existence.”
I could only sigh. Was I truly meant to live like this? Self-loathing continued to well up within me.
Then.
[Ah, it seems you don’t understand. This is no trivial matter to be dismissed as ‘merely’ anything. Did I not tell you? That a new world awaits you.]
“You mean the smoke coming from my mouth is this new world?”
[No, that’s not what I meant….]
Yoo Cheon-gil groaned in frustration as he spoke.
[Wait and see. You’ll soon understand just how great what you’ve obtained truly is.]
He spoke to me with the confidence of one making a bold proclamation.
“…Yes. It had better be.”
It absolutely had to be.
“Otherwise, I really will throw everything away.”
If there was nothing to show for this, I felt I wouldn’t be able to move past the injustice of it all.

* * *
Grinding my teeth with such thoughts, I continued to grit them harder and harder….
It took less than a day for me to verify whether the Old Man’s words were truth.
“Insane….”
I thought, watching the martial artist lying before me and the gazes pouring in from all around.
“…It’s ridiculous.”
The Old Man was right.
Just as Yoo Cheon-gil had said, a new world was unfolding before me.
And it was a world of the most vivid, brilliant blue.

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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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