The World's Greatest is Dead

Hssssss—!!!

An abnormal phenomenon occurred. When I tried to enter Demon Dragon Cave, my body was blocked from the entrance onward. What the hell kind of nonsense was this?

“...Moon Hero?”

“What in the...?”

When everyone saw that I could not enter, they all flinched.

“What are you doing?”

Sword Emperor asked as he looked at me.

“I’m wondering that myself.”

The one most curious about the cause was me. Why was this happening?

I stepped back a little and checked the hand that had started smoking. It was not particularly burned or anything.

What is this?

I reached my hand out again.

Hssssss—!!!

It was certain. It seemed this phenomenon occurred whenever I crossed a certain line. As for the pain...

It’s hot.

It felt like sticking my hand into fire. It was not painful enough to kill me, but it definitely felt unpleasant.

“What is this?”

Why was this happening? As I stared at it in confusion...

[Ah.]

The former owner of this place inside me appeared.

[Right. I had forgotten.]

What? What did you forget this time?

This felt ominous. When this man forgot something, he tended to forget something very big. What was it this time? As I swallowed dryly and waited...

[If you possess the Azure Moon Sect’s heart art, you will not be able to pass. I set up a formation, so unless it is undone, it should be impossible.]

...You set something like that up?

[Originally, you should have burned the moment you touched it. Is it because you possess karmic fire? Your resistance against the formation is impressive. As expected, you are a fitting talent for the Heavenly Demon.]

That is extremely fucking appreciated.

I clutched my head.

Ah, damn it.

It seemed there was still something I had to resolve before going in.

*****

One who had learned the Azure Moon Heart Art could not enter Demon Dragon Cave.

As if to prove those words, my body could not pass through the entrance and burned when I tried.

Dumbfounded, I spoke to the Heavenly Demon.

“No, why did you set something like that up?”

Was this man insane? He could set up a formation like that? It was absurd.

[It was something I prepared in the distant past. It was the sort of attempt one would make during wartime.]

“Then why not block everyone who doesn’t have demonic qi? Why specifically the Azure Moon Sect?”

[Do you think such a thing is possible? Formations have limits. And there was no need to go that far.]

“Why?”

[Because the only one who posed a threat to me was Sword Saint Yoo Cheongil.]

“...”

Kyahahaha.

For a moment, a huge old man laughing like that appeared in my mind and vanished.

Ah, damn it.

“Then what do we do?”

I had separated from the party for a bit to speak with the Heavenly Demon. When I said I needed time to think, they thankfully stepped aside.

“I do need to go in. Is there no method?”

[There are several methods.]

Oh. This was welcome news. Right. If the Heavenly Demon had set up the formation, he would know how to undo it.

[First.]

“First.”

[Cut the barrier apart with a force stronger than the power I placed on it.]

“Rejected.”

[Why?]

“What do you mean why, you crazy man?”

Did he not realize he himself had been one of the strongest candidates for greatest man under heaven? The fact that he said it as if he thought it would work was baffling.

Ah, or maybe not? Now that I thought about it, there was one person.

“Maybe Sword Emperor could cut it for me?”

[That will not work.]

“Ah, why?”

[The Sword Emperor does not possess the Azure Moon Sect’s heart art, so it cannot apply to him in the first place. This is a formation that would only be a problem for your people.]

“Damn it. Then what’s the second?”

[Seal your dantian, erase the Azure Moon Heart Art, and pass through.]

“Rejected...”

[Hm. A shame.]

“What shame?”

There were things worth regretting, and this was not one of them. Why was he regretful about this? What was I supposed to do in the future if I threw away my dantian?

“The third... Let’s hear the third.”

The first two had no answer, so I wanted to hear what came after.

[Then this is the last.]

The final chance. I pricked up my ears.

[Undo the formation. Then you can enter.]

“...”

The most universal and simplest method was what I heard.

“...How is that different from telling me to cut it apart with force earlier?”

[It is different. Undoing a formation with brute force and understanding the technique to erase it are fundamentally different, are they not?]

He was right. Solving a problem and burning the problem book because you did not like the problem were slightly different matters.

“Fine. Let’s go with that. If I undo it, it won’t cause problems here or anything, right?”

[No. It was not a formation prepared in the form of a defensive wall in the first place.]

“...Then why did you do it?”

[To piss off Yoo Cheongil.]

“...”

[It did not work in the end, though. Heh heh heh.]

This man was absolutely not normal either. No, I already knew he was not normal, but he was more insane than I had thought.

*****

In any case, the method was decided. I would undo the formation and enter. There was no other answer.

“...Are you all right?”

Peng Dojun asked me, as if wondering whether there was some kind of problem. At those words, I shook my head.

“I’m fine.”

Probably. Most likely, I was.

“Tsk.”

Then how was I supposed to undo this from here...?

That was the part I had to check now.

What am I supposed to do?

I was an outsider when it came to formations. I knew nothing in that field.

[It cannot be undone from this side. The source was placed inside, but since you cannot enter, you will have to resolve it from the outside.]

As he spoke, the Heavenly Demon pointed to an area. I moved toward it.

It was a space a little away from the wall. I entered the forest near the mountain range and checked something.

[You cannot see it with ordinary eyes. Have you opened the mind’s eye?]

What is that?

[So you have not. Since you have not entered the mindscape, it cannot be helped.]

...Are you making fun of me?

[What is there to make fun of? The very fact that you entered body-and-sword unity in the first place crossed the proper sequence. Do you have nothing else?]

Eyes, huh...

If it was eyes, I had only one thing. I focused my gaze. I opened Moon Eye.

My vision cleared.

[Do you see anything?]

Yes.

I did see something. Very faintly, I could see cracks in the distorted air.

Is that it?

[I cannot share your vision, so I cannot know, but it is probably correct. How does it look?]

It’s distorted. It also looks like some kind of tangled whirlpool.

[...Ho.]

At my words, the Heavenly Demon reacted as if interested. Why?

[You can even see the distortion. You have more talent than I expected. Is it because you were born with Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s blood?]

...Why? Is seeing this much strange?

[The very fact that you can grasp the shape of a formation means you have talent. But to go beyond seeing it and grasp the distortion means you have considerable talent.]

That is nice to hear.

At least that meant the chance of undoing it had gone up, right?

Now, what should I do?

[Go closer to the crack.]

I stepped forward. I approached the crack. As I said earlier, I could see the whirling form. Now that I was closer, it was clearer.

As I looked at it, something appeared in front of me. What was this?

A line?

It was shaped like layers upon layers of lines. Should I call it energy? Since I had been active in the Alliance, I had studied formations to a certain degree as well. That said, it was only at the level of dipping my toes in.

But.

This feels different.

In the end, formations were close to illusions. They created an alien quality in space and used energy to release a framework. In that process, one could judge the formation expert’s skill by how well they could deceive the eye.

But.

The formation the Heavenly Demon made actually inflicts damage.

And it was a formation that inflicted damage only on those who possessed the Azure Moon Sect’s heart art? I had thought something felt strange.

This.

[The method of undoing it is—]

“You used spiritual energy.”

[...]

At my words, the Heavenly Demon paused for a moment. Ignoring his reaction, I assessed the state of the formation.

The material of the layered lines was soul energy and spiritual energy. In other words, it was not made of simple inner qi.

What is this?

It was a kind of formation I had never seen before.

[You grasp it quickly.]

“It’s familiar energy. This isn’t an ordinary formation, is it? What is this?”

[As you said. This is a formation technique passed down through the Demonic Cult generation after generation. It differs from what ordinary spellcasters use. It is a power that weaves spiritual energy together to induce an abnormal phenomenon.]

“...Can that even be called a formation?”

[Who knows? The first Heavenly Demon evaluated it as a formation.]

“So it wasn’t something you created?”

[I attempted to modify it. I did not create it.]

“...Hm.”

This was...

No matter how I look at it, the word magic fits better than formation.

I could say that because I had memories of my past life. From the moment human bodies started cutting open the sky and shattering mountains, none of this had made sense in the first place.

But the form of this formation was so strange that it would not be odd to call it magic.

Or I could think of it as some kind of supernatural power.

No, either way, the point was that it was power on that level.

Moreover.

If it’s soul energy.

When it came to looking at soul energy, I had a degree of expertise too. My hand began moving on instinct.

[...I have not yet explained the method for undoing it.]

The Heavenly Demon said something, but my hand had already moved.

If I looked closely at the lines, they were made of incomprehensible patterns. Seeing that, my eyes focused. They were slowly flowing according to a fixed rule.

Layer upon layer. Built and built without break. At the same time, strands woven and woven together. As I looked at them, I lightly touched one point.

Fwoosh.

Karmic fire flared. I had not simply touched it. I gathered soul energy at the tip of my finger and pushed it very faintly.

That was when it happened.

Tung—

A sound rang out. A small vibration spread. Wind blew lightly, and the surroundings resonated.

Wooooong.

I turned my head. As if a bell had rung, something spread out from Demon Dragon Cave. Seeing it...

Something is disappearing.

I could see something like a membrane vanishing. It was a nearly translucent membrane.

Was that it? The formation the Heavenly Demon had mentioned.

If it was disappearing, then...

“Oh, what?”

Did that mean I had undone it? That easily? I had not expected it to be this simple.

As I stared in wonder...

[Hah.]

The Heavenly Demon let out a hollow sound.

[...How absurd.]

“This worked, right?”

[Yes. It worked. Is Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s blood so strong...? No, or is this simply something you were born with? This cannot be explained even by the bloodline of the Zhuge Family.]

“Why? Is there a problem?”

[No. I merely felt a wall for the first time in a very long while. It is only a shame that this is not martial arts. Go. The formation has been undone.]

What was he saying? This man also had a talent for making [N O V E L I G H T] things difficult.

Anyway, the formation had been released, right?

I solved it, so let’s go in.

The path to the Demonic Cult had opened.

I headed in without hesitation.

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