Chapter 275

Chapter 275

I started hearing Hyeong-nim’s voice around the middle of attempting Talgak, right before reaching it.

—Un-ah, listen carefully to what I’m about to say. You must not reach Talgak right now.

A voice that suddenly reached me and words I couldn’t understand.

However, the moment I recognized that voice as none other than Hyeong-nim’s, I stopped attempting to reach Talgak. That’s because the Hyeong-nim I know, the human called Baek Riseon, never told lies.

I must not reach Talgak. But if I don’t reach Talgak right now, I’ll inevitably meet death unable to cut Heukya.

My contemplation was brief, and I made the judgment to trust Hyeong-nim. And next.

When Heukya’s tail pierced my heart, I suddenly realized.

That Heukya’s tail was dyed golden instead of crimson.

And that I had met complete death.

“Keuhup. Un-i, you rascal. You look exactly like a wandering spirit floating around.”

“Since it came to this, should I prepare ancestral offerings? Eating ancestral offerings as a soul is an experience you can’t easily have anywhere.”

—What exactly are you trying to do, Hyeong-nim?

Looking at Hyeong-nim, who was grinning and teasing me after seeing me become a ghost, I let out a deep sigh. Despite it clearly not being a situation for jokes, Hyeong-nim was joking with exaggerated gestures.

—I didn’t attempt Talgak because you told me not to, but didn’t I end up dying?

“Well, that’s true. After all, in that situation, if you don’t attempt Talgak, you can only die.”

—What are you going to do about this? Could it be you learned some soul-returning sorcery in the time we haven’t seen each other?

“As if. How could anyone revive a dead person unless they’re a god? It would be impossible even if Zhang Sanfeng or Bodhidharma came back to life.”

—…Then are you planning to make me into a gangsi or something?

“My goodness, gangsi technique. Why would I do such an impure thing?”

—No, you crazy… What kind of nonsense is that? Hurry up and revive me.

“You rascal, so impatient.”

At my words, Baek Riseon, who let out a chuckle, watched the situation at the venue gradually becoming a mess then grinned. And the words that follow from Baek Riseon.

“Un-ah. Do you know what Talgak is?”

—Roughly. Isn’t it destroying yourself and reestablishing your limits?

“Right. I don’t know much about martial arts, but I know very well about Talgak. It’s breaking through your own limits.”

Any technique has limits according to its purpose.

For instance, butchering techniques learned for butchering inevitably fall short in practicality compared to swordsmanship for cutting people. Just as someone who reached a realm comparable to the mythical realm with butchering techniques can’t defeat a first-rate swordsman who properly learned swordsmanship, when the purposes themselves differ, the limits are clear.

“Talgak is the process of destroying, emptying out, and refilling yourself to break such limits. But there’s a problem with this Talgak.”

—What is it?

“By breaking limits, you establish new limits. Basically, those who achieve Talgak all decide on Talgak while looking at some goal.”

—…Ah.

I see.

Letting out a hum at the strangely understandable story, Hyeong-nim, who let out a chuckle, continued speaking.

“Talgakja all decide on Talgak to achieve some goal. That’s because abandoning everything you’ve learned until now and reconstructing anew can’t be accomplished without such resolve.”

“But this is the problem. Once you achieve Talgak and accomplish that goal, the Talgakja loses their way. In your case too. Un-ah. What goal did you desire?”

—That’s…

I wanted to cut Heukya. Because I absolutely couldn’t cut Heukya with my current martial arts.

One level higher. Perhaps I aimed for a realm that might be two levels higher. I thought it would be possible if I had Daehwandan’s power and Uicheonmun’s ability. I actually almost reached it too.

But what if that wasn’t all?

“I can guarantee it. Un-ah. Even if you had achieved Talgak there, you couldn’t have defeated Heukya.”

—Why not?

“Because the existence called Heukya itself was chosen as the messenger of the end.”

—The messenger of… the end?

“Right.”

Hyeong-nim shrugged his shoulders and continued speaking.

“Humans discuss something called Heavenly Mandate. They say Heaven determines each human’s fate one by one and suppresses them from escaping that fate. But this is wrong.”

—…Is that so? But doesn’t Heavenly Energy exist? If you can glimpse Heavenly Energy, can’t you glimpse human fate?

“Heavenly Energy is literally Heavenly Energy. It’s about how this world will flow. Not about individual humans.”

Heavenly Energy is like a river. Originally rivers flow from top to bottom.

How the river will flow is determined, but it’s not determined how each individual water droplet forming the river will splash. They might bounce off after meeting a stone midway, enter and exit a fish’s gills, or some droplets might go down the throat of a traveler passing by the river.

“Unless it’s something extraordinary, you can’t change the flow of Heavenly Energy, but you can change human fate. That’s why something like Heavenly Mandate is meaningless. But there are times when the phrase Heavenly Mandate is used. Do you know when?”

—When?

“When the world’s fate is determined. When a species is born, and also when it perishes.”

After finishing the roasted scorpion and burping lightly, Baek Riseon picked out the shell stuck in his teeth with a toothpick prepared from somewhere and continued speaking.

“Do you know when this world was born?”

—…How would I know that?

“You wouldn’t. Then do you know what species first became rulers of the earth after this world was born?”

—That’s… yokai.

……Is it really?

About to answer then suddenly hesitating, Hyeong-nim chuckled as if I was perceptive and nodded. And the answer that follows.

“At first, it was plants.”

“After plants came things like insects. Shortly for tens of thousands of years. Lengthily for tens of millions of years—they ruled the earth.”

—Tens of millions of years…

An unimaginable unit. Did this world exist for such a long time?

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? Then let me pose a question.”

Baek Riseon, who nodded as if understanding my shock, drew a line on paper while asking me a question.

“Why have those things that ruled the earth for tens of thousands to tens of millions of years now fallen to insignificant creatures at the present? Why are there so many whose forms don’t even remain? Do you know the reason?”

—…Because superior existences were born?

“Of course that’s part of it. But that’s not the fundamental reason.”

“It’s because Heavenly Energy is something that ‘flows.’ Because it’s something that constantly changes from past to future.”

If there’s a beginning, there’s an end.

If a species rises to the position of ruler, the moment will surely come when they fall from the ruler’s position by another species. A fate that must inevitably come.

“That’s called Heavenly Energy. And this Heavenly Energy has roughly determined when it will end. Though the margin of error amounts to several thousand years.”

“When I read that Heavenly Energy, the yokai’s Heavenly Mandate will soon end. And Heukya is precisely the yokai designated to end that Heavenly Mandate.”

—You’re saying a yokai will end the yokai’s Heavenly Mandate?

“Right.”

What kind of nonsense is that?

After thinking for a moment, I frowned at words I couldn’t understand and looked at Hyeong-nim. A story that didn’t match front to back.

—Heukya is trying to destroy the Great Seal.

“That’s right.”

—Once the Great Seal is destroyed, the Central Plains will become a den of yokai. It’s clearly a movement to work for the yokai’s revival, so why would Heukya be the one to end the yokai’s Heavenly Mandate?

“Temporarily, that’s true. But what about long-term?”

—…Long-term?

“Right. How do yokai become strong?”

—Don’t they grow strong by feeding on fear?

“Correct. Yokai grow by feeding on quality fear. And what produces the highest quality fear in this world is none other than humans. Can you understand what I’m saying if I go this far?”

I see.

Finally understanding what he meant, I clenched my fists while looking at Hyeong-nim. So summarizing what Hyeong-nim is saying now, isn’t it like this?

—To destroy yokai, destroy humans…?

“Right. Heukya doesn’t desire humanity’s extinction. She desires that by destroying humans, the yokai species will weaken and be weeded out.”

Hyeong-nim, who lightly affirmed my words, shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know why Heukya wants to destroy yokai. But she’s been preparing to destroy yokai since long before we were born, and succeeded in bringing Heavenly Energy to her side. Then do you know what happens?”

“That fate becomes fixed. Because once Heavenly Energy is determined, it can’t be twisted. Just as flowing river water can’t be blocked even if someone reaches out.”

Once fate is fixed, the world activates coercive force to fulfill that fate at that moment. To ensure that event inevitably occurs.

“Whether you achieved Talgak there or not, you certainly wouldn’t have died. Because you were designated as Heukya’s destined opponent. However, you also wouldn’t have killed Heukya. Because you being designated as Heukya’s destined opponent wasn’t to kill Heukya but to nurture her as a messenger of the end.”

“If this were like some story and there was a protagonist in this world, it would be Heukya. You’re merely the destined opponent blocking Heukya’s path. Destined opponents don’t win. That’s how history was scheduled to flow.”

Of course, that would be if you hadn’t died.

Hyeong-nim, who muttered softly, chuckled and looked at the sky. The sky, dark and gloomy because the sun was blocked by Sanggwi revealing its form in the distance.

“You wouldn’t know, but preparations to twist Heavenly Energy are already proceeding steadily.”

“The first twist was at that slash-and-burn village in Anhwa County. That divine beast child you saved originally couldn’t return to being a divine beast. She was fated to disappear leaving only the history that a divine beast transformed into a yokai.”

But the divine beast that had become a yokai regained its original divine beast form. It left such ‘history.’

“The second twist was arranged by Seo Noya… Cheonbangja Seogwang. That old hero could read Heavenly Energy to some degree. He accepted my request and caused the Grand Battlefield. Thanks to that, the Central Plains Martial World’s attention was drawn here.”

—…That was something Hyeong-nim schemed?

“Right. I requested it and Seo Noya accepted. Seo Noya didn’t have much lifespan left.”

With the Central Plains Martial World’s attention drawn here, the ‘foundation’ to fight was established. Some preparation for the aftermath when the first Great Seal breaks became possible too.

“Now is the third twist. Because you, who were prepared as the destined opponent, died here, Heavenly Energy lost its direction. The limit Heaven had designated for you disappeared, and now all that remains is for Heukya to release the Great Seal and end the yokai’s Heavenly Mandate.”

—…Then isn’t this terrible?

“Don’t you know? My plans always include the solution.”

The fourth finger.

Hyeong-nim, who lightly spread his hand and waved it, slowly continued speaking.

“I’ve twisted three of the fates Heavenly Energy prepared. If I twist the remaining one, a single opportunity will open. The only opportunity to avoid humanity’s end in this situation where the yokai’s Heavenly Mandate ends.”

—…Then what should I do?

“You don’t need to do anything. Just, watch.”

You must watch everything without missing a thing. What will unfold from now on.

“It probably won’t be very pleasant. But well, the ending will be in the way you want.”

Hyeong-nim, who shrugged with a playful smile, turned his gaze.

“Because I’ll make it that way.”