You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 72

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

72

 

 

「How to Awaken Fire Eyes

Author: Great Sage Equal to Heaven」

 

‘So it really was Great Sage Equal to Heaven.’

 

I had somewhat expected it from the title.

 

I had a connection with Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

 

That was because he was a regular customer of Spicy Stir-fried Noodles, rivaling even Forge That Tempers Fire.

 

The Stone Monkey of Flower Fruit Mountain.

 

He was a quiet big spender.

 

Ah, let me correct that.

 

He wasn’t exactly quiet.

 

「The method to awaken Fire Eyes is very simple.

 

Just enter the Eight Trigrams Furnace while possessing fire energy and come back alive.

 

You don’t have fire attribute energy?

 

It’s fine. No need to worry.

 

Just enduring in the Eight Trigrams Furnace will generate fire energy.

 

Once fire energy is generated, concentrate that energy in your eyeballs.

 

Just staying in the Eight Trigrams Furnace in that state will allow you to obtain Fire Eyes.

 

How’s that, simple right?」

 

“…”

 

Is enduring inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace something generally possible?

 

「What if you burn to death in the process?」

 

It was a sentence that seemed to read my thoughts.

 

「Why worry about such things.」

 

Right, even if the author is Great Sage Equal to Heaven, this is a Training Manual brought by the blurred arrow.

Naturally, there should be methods described for dealing with that.

 

With such hope, I quickly read through the next sentences.

 

And that hope crashed to the Floor at the speed I was reading the book.

 

「It’s just unfortunate.」

 

Damn Stone Monkey.

 

Everything that followed was just rambling.

 

From stories about picking fights with the Jade Emperor to tales of becoming sworn brothers with Bull Demon King.

 

I’m an idiot for reading the book to the end with a glimmer of hope.

 

I closed the book just like that.

 

“Haah…”

 

With a deep sigh, I rubbed my face and reached for the next book.

 

「Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps

Author: Heavenly Demon」

 

I paused for a moment after seeing the book’s title and author.

 

That name Heavenly Demon sounds familiar.

 

The Ability Control Bracelet on my wrist.

 

It was a name mentioned in the diary of Demigod Senior who gave it to me.

 

Though it was less than five lines, the mention of Heavenly Demon was that striking.

 

A figure that Demigod Senior, who had lived for thousands of years, called a ‘madman.’

 

The only demigod who proclaimed his own karma and then actually achieved it.

 

That was the evaluation of Heavenly Demon.

 

“…”

 

It’s not like there’s only one person called Heavenly Demon.

 

With such complacent thinking, I opened the book.

 

「In Heaven and Earth, I alone am supreme .」

 

The moment I read that first sentence, I was certain this book’s author was the Heavenly Demon I knew.

 

Only someone like him would open a book with such an arrogant sentence.

 

“There is no one more noble than me in this world.

That is the karma I have achieved and the destiny I have proclaimed.”

 

And he was the only one who had achieved that destiny.

 

“Using Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps is not that difficult.

When you take a step, just release Heavenly Demon True Energy.”

 

He was no different from Stone Monkey.

 

It felt like watching Professor’s “It’s easy, right?” during my undergraduate days.

 

“It’s similar to the feeling of becoming a giant and trampling on the vermin that don’t bow down.”

 

At least the Heavenly Demon’s book didn’t contain nonsense like “Let me tell you about how I cut off the Martial Alliance Leader’s head.”

 

“But don’t try to actually become a giant.

The core of sovereignty is dignity.

Your own presence created with the energy you possess.

That is what creates your dignity.”

 

I read the Heavenly Demon’s book thoroughly to the end as well.

 

But that didn’t mean I understood what the Heavenly Demon was saying.

 

The Heavenly Demon’s enlightenment wasn’t at a level that could be understood by reading a book once.

 

For now, I decided to learn Fire Eyes first.

 

I planned to contemplate the Heavenly Demon’s enlightenment while undergoing ascetic training inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

 

I ignited Karmic Fire throughout my body, including my eyes, then walked into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

 

***

 

As I entered the Eight Trigrams Furnace, the door locked.

 

Though it was more like a cauldron lid than a door.

 

The interior of the Eight Trigrams Furnace was more comfortable than I expected.

 

There were air holes throughout, and it was about the height of a two-story building, so it didn’t feel stuffy.

 

In the center was a cushion that looked soft, with a message stuck on top of it.

 

[Think of it as a charcoal kiln and just sweat it out before leaving!]

 

Next to it was a drawing of a winking monkey.

 

Anyone could tell it was a legacy left behind by that Stone Monkey guy.

 

I sat on the cushion in the center and crossed my legs.

 

I didn’t necessarily need to cross my legs, but training is about approaching it with the right mindset.

 

I slowly closed my eyes.

 

‘Wait, I’m trying to obtain Fire Eyes, so is it right to close my eyes?’

 

At that thought, flames began to ignite on the walls.

 

In an instant, scorching heat filled the interior of the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

 

My breath was cut short.

 

It was heat that felt like my entire body was burning up.

 

If I hadn’t wrapped not just my eyes but my whole body in Karmic Fire, I would have gotten burned.

 

But the flames of the Eight Trigrams Furnace continued to grow endlessly without knowing their limit.

 

‘Is this right?’

 

I increased my Karmic Fire to push back, but keeping up was becoming increasingly difficult.

 

Before I knew it, the temperature of the Eight Trigrams Furnace began rising to a level I could barely endure.

 

Yet it seemed to have no intention of stopping as it continued to increase its power.

 

‘How did Wukong survive in here?’

 

That question led to thoughts about Fire Eyes.

 

What are Fire Eyes?

 

They are the wisdom eyes that distinguish between falsehood and illusion.

 

And a furnace that burns all of that away.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

One question suddenly flashed through my mind.

 

Why isn’t the cushion I’m sitting on burning?

 

Because it’s a special cushion?

No. This is a very ordinary cushion.

Just an ordinary cushion sold at the market, with no Divine Power, no mana, no power of any kind.

 

And that thought led to suspicion about the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

 

What if this flame was an illusion?

 

What if Wukong didn’t gain Fire Eyes because he endured inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace,

but rather was able to endure inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace because he had gained Fire Eyes?

 

And the message from the training manual that appeared before me turned assumption into certainty.

 

[Burn away the illusion to reveal the truth.]

 

Burn away the false information reflected in my eyes.

 

With that thought, I withdrew all the Karmic Fire that had been wrapped around my body.

 

And I concentrated all the Karmic Fire I could produce into my eyes.

 

As the Karmic Fire that had been protecting my body disappeared, my skin began to turn red and burn.

 

‘Let’s see who wins.’

 

I continued to concentrate Karmic Fire into my eyes.

 

My eyes stung.

 

As if it wouldn’t lose to that, the Eight Trigrams Furnace stoked its flames even hotter.

 

Now my skin began to peel away.

 

My body screamed that it could no longer endure.

 

But this was the only way to survive in this place.

 

When distracting thoughts disappeared and the pain crossed the threshold into numbness, illusions appeared.

 

Past delusions, fake phantoms, false shadows.

 

And the Karmic Fire burned away the false forms reflected in my eyes one by one.

 

And when all of it had burned away, my vision became clear.

 

[‘Fire Eyes’ has awakened.]

 

With that message, the flames that had filled the Eight Trigrams Furnace became transparent.

 

“Haah…”

 

I exhaled hot breath from within my body.

 

Along with the curses I had been holding back.

 

“Great Sage Equal to Heaven, that damn thunderous bastard.”

 

I understood the Jade Emperor’s feelings.

 

[A recovery drink is provided.]

 

With that message, a familiar glass bottle appeared.

 

A drink similar to Bacchus but made of slightly different material.

 

The creator of this drink was probably that god who seemed to dislike breaking the atmosphere.

 

‘If it’s that god’s creation, I can trust it and drink it.’

 

When I downed the entire bottle, the skin and tissues that had peeled away from burns returned to their original state.

 

‘Is it over?’

 

But the moment I let my guard down, flames rushed at me again.

 

I quickly focused on my Fire Eyes.

 

[Entering proficiency training.]

 

“…”

 

The training didn’t end just because I had gained Fire Eyes.

 

What was written in the training manual went all the way to surviving and coming out of the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

 

The training manual was just as persistent as the Stone Monkey.

 

I lay my body down on the cushion.

 

My body had fully recovered, but I was mentally exhausted.

 

I had felt the burning pain in the flames with nothing but mental strength.

 

I had faith that somehow things would work out since I had Golden Incense, but this was something I could never do again.

 

It was about ten minutes after maintaining Fire Eyes like that.

 

[The proficiency of ‘Fire Eyes’ increases.]

[The proficiency of ‘Fire Eyes’ increases.]

…

 

“…”

 

As time passed, messages appeared indicating that proficiency was increasing,

A soft cushion in an interior with high ceilings.

When I opened my Fire Eyes, the Eight Trigrams Furnace also felt cozy.

 

Everything was proceeding well, and there were no problems.

 

No, that was exactly the problem.

 

‘I’m bored.’

 

It was more comfortable than any training from the Training Manual.

 

That’s why I was dissatisfied.

 

All the training from the Training Manual up to this point had raised my threshold.

 

Now I was starting to feel like I hadn’t trained properly unless my life was in danger.

 

In the end, a thirsty person digs a well.

 

‘Should I try learning the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps while maintaining Fire Eyes?’

 

I stood up from my seat.

 

And as I tried to recall the Heavenly Demon’s Training Manual, I let out a chuckle.

 

‘Is this right?’

 

It was absurd, but I was already getting into position.

 

And at that moment, the Eight Trigrams Furnace vibrated.

 

Then the interior of the Eight Trigrams Furnace began to expand little by little.

 

The vibration stopped only after it had grown to the size of the cavern I had first entered.

 

Then, from beneath where the cushion had been placed, a massive sparring platform revealed itself.

 

That sparring platform made of diamond that I had seen in the cavern.

 

After all that environment was set up, the Training Manual output a message.

 

[‘Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps’ training will proceed simultaneously.]

 

As if to say, isn’t this what the trainee wanted?

 

I watched this entire situation with a dumbfounded expression,

 

“…This is why I can’t help but have a love-hate relationship with the Training Manual.”

 

I stepped onto the sparring platform.

 

***

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