Chapter 149 Heavenly Buddha (4)

Heavenly Buddha. He wasn’t from the prestigious faction of Sorim but an outlier in Moorim who reached enlightenment while training alone. As such, he was an absolute master who didn’t belong to any faction. That man showed up here, speaking with a tone as if he were preaching to a middle school student passing by, saying he would teach Yoon-seok instead of someone else.

‘Is he looking down on me..?’

It would be a lie if he said it didn’t hurt his pride, but he was a person in the same class as Cheon-ma. It would be helpful to use him rather than let his arrogance take over.

“You seem to be prickled up like a hedgehog. Let’s see how good you are.”

He was already done with preparations.

「Seventeen swords are used. The Phantom Energy ingrained in the sword becomes stronger.」

The moment Yoon-seok drew his sword through the air, a black tsunami raged out.

Swaaaaaaaaaa-!

The first technique, Heavenly Reign. Thanks to Natural Energy, it has grown in power and speed. But even that was just a diversion.

Swish.

Yoon-seok, having blocked his view, immediately prepared his next move. The second technique, Traverse. Since it was a small stone chamber, he thought it would be difficult to avoid. However..

“It’s a good attack. But..!”

Boom-!

He hadn’t shouted any command, but the tsunami died down under his golden qi.

Ting!

He didn’t avoid it like the challenger who taught him the way to see. He also didn’t block the attack like the swordsman who used Natural Energy. Rather, the Heavenly Buddha did nothing. But..

“Maitreya is an existence that cannot be deceived or cut.”

A blow that cut down even space could not recognize the Heavenly Buddha’s body. Regardless, Yoon-seok continued. He didn’t expect that it wouldn’t work, but he didn’t think he could win in the first place. So nothing had changed.

‘Demonify.’

Horns sprouted, and wings jutted from his back as he grew taller. However, the real power of b Demonify} was not simply in growing in size.

‘The power of spatial control.’

The stone chamber couldn’t withstand the attack and collapsed thanks to the Rank B effect of {Divine Ultimatum}. However.

“Wow! Then I have to use my strength, too, since you can destroy things however you want!”

Heavenly Buddha was uninjured. No, he shouted as if he was having fun.

“Infinite Light.”

He’d never heard of such a skill name; perhaps it was a Unique Power. Then, what kind of effect did it have? Attack? Defense? Or evasion? All his expectations were wrong.

Swaaaaaaaaaa-!

A golden disk rose behind the shoulders of Heavenly Buddha and radiated a blinding light.

「By Infinite Light, everything within a radius of 100m is restored to normal.」

Return to normal? Yoon-seok didn’t exactly know what it meant.

‘Dammit.’

Yet b Demonify} was lifted. At the same time, the collapsed walls were restored as if time had rewound.

‘Demonify.’

He recited the command again just in case, but it was still on cooldown. It was an indescribable setback for Yoon-seok, planning to activate Judgment of the Ruined Monarch alongside b Demonify} and b Non-verbal magic}.

“If there’s someone who breaks it, there’s someone who piles it up. Amitabha. Your true self is not such a monster but a lost human.”

Even though he had a golden opportunity, he didn’t fight back. He continued to count his prayer beads and uttered words of discipline. Yoon-seok grew angrier at that. That voice, looking down from above as if he knew everything, was so annoying that he couldn’t stand it.

“You’re not a demon.”

“..What a joke.”

“Everyone says that at first. Why do you pursue darkness, not light?”

Yoon-seok didn’t answer. He recited his next command in his mind.

‘Judgment of the Ruined Monarch.’

Since the Heavenly Sword, Natural Energy, and spatial control didn’t work, this might not work as well. However, with this skill, it was a different story.

‘Vajra Step.’

The skill he had prepared as his trump card against Cheonma or another undefeatable foe.

Thump.

Yoon-seok’s feet touched the ground. And that moment, blue waves stretched out in all directions like ripples in a lake. It was the effect of the characteristic Universal Grand Shift.

「Basic stats of all beings within a radius of 100m is fixed at Rank F for 20 minutes.」

He lost strength. His body, as hard as steel, felt as fragile as when he was first dragged to the Tower and engaged in that fierce battle against an Orc. Although his considerable skills remained, with this ability, it would become meaningless.

The same must be true for his foe.

Booooom!

The Light of Destruction fell a second later. Yoon-seok could see the movement of the light descending with his naked eye, but perhaps due to his low agility, he could only see it flashing past. He was too slow to catch it or react.

“..”

Yoon-seok looked forward. Although he did not receive a boost due to his fixed stats, Yoon-seok remained intact in the Light of Destruction thanks to the Descent characteristic. Then, what about his opponent?

“Amitabha.. I thought you had emptied yourself, but do you still have arrogance?”

He was unbelievably fine. Smoke was rising from him with a sizzle, but no significant wounds were marking his body. Judging from how the golden glow faded, it appeared the decline in stats due to Universal Grand Shift had worked properly.

So how on earth did he survive?

“Common sense is, in other words, prejudice. Thanks to you, I learned something new. I didn’t expect you to have such a skill.”

Yoon-seok didn’t like to ask his opponent questions. Usually, they didn’t answer as kindly as in a comic book but would use it to mentally attack. But he couldn’t help but ask this time.

“..What skill did you use?”

“Those who seek to preach should not hide anything. It’s my Unique Skill.”

Yoon-seok was angry at his attitude of wrapping up simple questions with preaching, but he listened to the rest of the explanation quietly. Nirvana.. no, his Unique Skill effect activated when in danger of death, similar to Yoon-seok’s b Immortality}. However, it didn’t apply the frozen status but Pre-defense, and it was permanently consumed in the total number of times used instead of having a cool time. For reference, the total number of times was 9..

“There are eight times left now. Do you want to try more?”

Far from being defeated, Yoon-seok burned with fighting spirit. So he didn’t see it.

Smile.

The corners of the Heavenly Buddha’s lips slowly went up.

The ability had been fixed at Rank F. Although the skill’s rank remained the same, this was why the stats couldn’t perform well. In other words, it could be said that the weight class was adjusted to match due to Universal Grand Shift. Therefore, Yoon-seok thought he might have a chance to win. He just needed to kill him eight more times before the time limit of 20 minutes passed.

Punch-!

However, one punch was enough until he realized that it was all a misjudgment.

“Gasp!”

Regardless of stats, Heavenly Buddha was strong. He casually grasped the sword with his bare hand. He dealt with neither the magic of Lower Qi nor the Natural Energy of Middle Qi.

‘Crap..’

What he misjudged was something else. A crazy monk: the expression Sword Demon used felt more accurate than ever. Heavenly Buddha was the real macho far above the King of Steel he encountered previously. He was out of his mind.

Punch-! Punch-!

As he punched, the corners of his mouth curved.

Punch-! Crack!

Whenever he heard the sound of flesh bursting and bone-breaking, he trembled as if he was in ecstasy.

“You’re a Devil. Your head is full of the Devil!”

He yelled Devil without a break every time he threw a punch. It would be clear to any that saw it that this crazy monk was enjoying himself.

Crackkk-!

“It’s a nice sound..”

Was he in a trance? Perhaps he was so excited that he forgot to make excuses, as the Heavenly Buddha murmured.

‘You’re telling me this is a living Buddha..?’

Yoon-seok felt it absurd as he shifted, evading another merciless punch. But somehow, he was barely holding out with sheer tenacity, though it seemed almost impossible to overcome his current situation in his condition.

Punch-!

Yoon-seok collapsed as the monk’s fist was driven into his stomach. But did he finally come to his senses? The Heavenly Buddha’s face grew solemn.

“Seven Emotions. Even though you have to throw everything away, you can’t throw away the natural joy of man. That’s my virtue.”

He understood what he was saying after a long time; he was just shocked. He was saying that it was the essence of humans to feel joy while hitting and hurting someone. To hear that from a monk..

“As expected, the road to guidance is long and rough.”historical

Then, Heavenly Buddha cast him a strange look. Somehow, he seemed to be blaming Yoon-seok for making ‘good’ sounds. Yoon-seok couldn’t say anything.

“..”

It was ever so miserable. How long had it been since he stood in such a one-sided position of the weak? Even though he tried so hard not to let this day come, he was eventually put back in place.

“Just get it over with and kill me...”

Did the challengers he met in the duels have such a bone-cutting mentality? However, Heavenly Buddha freaked out as if he had heard a scary sound.

“Die? What are you talking about? Now, go ahead and bow nine-time.”

“Bow, nine times..?”

Yoon-seok raised his head and looked at Heavenly Buddha. Although he was from Earth, he knew what this meant because he had been hanging out with those from Moorim. This was a ceremony held when establishing a relationship between master and pupil. That’s why..

“..?”

He couldn’t understand the current situation. An absolute master comparable to Cheon-ma arrived at Cheonma-dong. Perhaps it was to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. So, rather than finding a compromise, they fought with all their might.

But he was asking for an apprentice?

“When I heard that Cheonma-dong was opened, I decided to leave something in the world.”

Looking at Yoon-seok, wearing a suspicious expression, Heavenly Buddha explained his thoughts step by step. Still, he couldn’t understand any of it. It wasn’t a normal way of talking. As soon as Yoon-seok stared at him, Heavenly Buddha clicked his tongue as if he was frustrated.

“As a person who broke through Cheonma-dong, you can’t even understand such a simple reason.”

“..”

“It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

He still didn’t get it. It appeared he came here because he could find a student while he eliminated the roots.

“Hmm.”

He cleared his throat and spoke with a dignified voice like when he first appeared.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“..”

“Your head is full of the Devil, but it will be fine.”

“..”

“Buddhism is a truth that embraces the logic of everything in the world. As I did, you will defeat the Devil and become the light.”

Not anywhere else, but Cheonma-dong. Yoon-seok came here to learn the second half of the Heavenly Sword’s technique and get a little closer to the Heavenly Demon’s state, the birthplace of Demons. It was definitely like that.

But..

“Come on, bow nine times.”

“..What happens if I refuse?”

“..Are you saying that because your mind is full of the Devil?”

“..”

He was about to become a monk.