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chapter 99
Son Oh-gong’s face twisted in outrage.
“Do you think the Apostle Trial is some kind of joke? How can you hand out three at once?”
But Lee Hyun only smiled.
Son Oh-gong even stood up and jabbed his finger accusingly.
“And in all my life, this is the first time I’ve heard of someone trying to serve more than one god at the same time—”
“It’s not like it ever said it was impossible, right?”
“…What?”
“I went through all the system logs. Not once did I see a message saying it can’t be done.”
“…!?”
Lee Hyun shrugged.
“So I figured I’d be the first to try it. I like that sort of thing.”
“Hohoho! Such guts! A man should have that kind of spirit.”
“Kahahaha! Looks like Senior Brother has to give in! Our Apostle seems to have made up his mind completely!!”
The Bull Demon King and Sha Wujing laughed happily, but Son Oh-gong still couldn’t bring himself to smile.
“You little brat! And another thing! Didn’t I tell you? I already staked my claim on you! Still, I was willing to be generous and let Wujing have you as a temporary apostle, but as a formal apostle? Absolutely not! Not until I’m in the grave!!”
He looked ready to throw himself flat on the ground in protest.
The Bull Demon King and Sha Wujing stared at him in disappointment.
“I think I finally understand what Master Tripitaka meant when he said you were frustrating.”
“Kakaka, didn’t I tell you? When it comes to things like this, he’s as stubborn as a stone monkey!”
Lee Hyun, however, looked indifferent.
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped then.”
“That’s right! Finally, you’ve come to your senses!”
“Hmmm, what a pity though. It’s been a while since I met someone with real talent…”
“No! Apostle, you can’t just give up so easily!”
“Quiet, the lot of you! If my apostle has chosen, who are you to—”
“I’ll just exclude the Great Sage’s part.”
Son Oh-gong froze mid-sentence at the cold tone that cut him off.
He stared wide-eyed at Lee Hyun.
“W-what!?”
“It can’t be helped. If the Great Sage opposes so strongly, I’ll just have to leave your part out.”
“…”
“Hohoho! Now that sounds like a fine idea!”
“Kakaka! Indeed, the Apostle is right. If someone objects, we simply leave that someone out!”
Lee Hyun smirked.
“Besides, even without becoming an apostle, I can still use the sacred relics I’ve already obtained. I’m used to the Fiery Golden Eyes now, and I can wield the Ruyi Jingu Bang and the Golden Fillet bit by bit. If I just keep practicing, I’ll improve.”
“…”
“So, what do you think? Should I go ahead and exclude the Great Sage’s part right now?”
Son Oh-gong could only screech.
“Fine! Do it all together then!! All together!!”
A victor’s smile crept onto Lee Hyun’s lips.
“I took in some pitiful weakling, raised him up, and now he stabs me in the back… This is why they say never to raise someone with black hair…”
Muttering and grumbling, Son Oh-gong crossed his arms and sulked behind them.
But Lee Hyun paid him no mind, waiting for the message.
[You have selected ‘Event: Apostle Trial.’]
[Do you wish to begin the event?]
Lee Hyun drew a deep breath and nodded.
[You have chosen to begin.]
[You are given a key to the Event Dungeon.]
When he held out his hands, a bronze key fell into them.
Clink!
A large key, the kind one might see in medieval times.
But that wasn’t the end.
[Additional divine powers are being infused into the key alongside the Ruyi Jingu Bang’s.]
[‘Mask of the Golden Arhat’ has been added.]
[‘Flame Demon’s Inferno’ has been added.]
…
[Three divine powers are merging. Each of the three Logoi has granted you a separate Apostle Trial.]
[Warning! The three Apostle Trials are merging. Difficulty level rising sharply.]
[Warning! There is no record of more than two Apostle Trials ever being combined. It is strongly advised to take only one trial.]
[Warning! Excessive risk may result in fatal danger.]
…
The screen was plastered with red warning messages.
But once he dismissed them all, the one message he had been waiting for appeared.
[Three Apostle Trials are merging. Adjusting difficulty balance.]
[Merging…]
…
[Merge complete.]
[The given key has been renewed.]
Zzzeeeeng!!
The bronze key now glowed with a bluish-white light, radiating a fierce, almost scorching aura.
[Turn the key at a ‘Door.’]
And with that, the message ended.
“So the merged trial really can be formed after all…”
“Kakaka, looks like no problem. Of course, our Apostle’s power is so great even the system had to make an exception!”
Sha Wujing grinned.
“But still, a dungeon infused with three different Logoi… I can hardly imagine what it will look like.”
Lee Hyun rubbed the still-warm bluish key.
“Looks like you three can’t come in with me, huh?”
“Kakaka, of course not. Apostle Trials are meant to test your worth. The examiners can’t step inside.”
Lee Hyun nodded at Sha Wujing’s answer.
“Then, I’ll begin.”
He rose slowly.
He was standing in a neighborhood park.
Through the Fiery Golden Eyes, he saw countless bluish-white ‘Doors’ scattered around. Unlike previous instance dungeons, he could step through any that appeared.
“Kakaka, do well. I’m sure you’ll succeed.”
“Don’t overdo it. Apostle Trials are usually cleared bit by bit with breaks in between.”
“Thank you.”
His gaze passed the Bull Demon King and Sha Wujing, landing on Son Oh-gong.
The look clearly said: Do you have nothing to say?
Son Oh-gong glared at him in disbelief, then furrowed his brow and grumbled.
“If you find yourself in trouble, recall the things I taught you. The answers will be there.”
“Like acing an exam by studying only the textbook, huh.”
“That just shows how important the basics are, you brat!”
“I was joking. I know well how much you’ve taught me.”
“…”
Lee Hyun recalled all that he had learned from Son Oh-gong.
Though he hadn’t been allowed to learn actual powers or skills yet, he had absorbed invaluable lessons—how to approach a fight, how to read an opponent, how to perceive the present moment.
On top of that, he had sacred relics like the Fiery Golden Eyes, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and the Golden Fillet to support him.
And…
“I also have Tujeonryu.”
He hadn’t grasped the meaning behind the forms yet, but he had at least learned the outward patterns. That alone was enough for him to call himself Son Oh-gong’s disciple.
Which meant—
“Failure is not an option.”
Bowing his head slightly in gratitude, he said, “I’ll do well.”
“Good.”
Son Oh-gong’s anger seemed to subside at last.
“Hoo…”
Lee Hyun steadied his breath and surged his mana.
[Activating Sacred Relic: Fiery Golden Eyes to scan the surroundings.]
[Readying Ruyi Jingu Bang for instant recovery. Drawing out Golden Fillet to accelerate thought.]
Fwoooosh!
His eyes turned gold, a golden ring spinning brightly at his forehead.
Activating all of Son Oh-gong’s relics, Lee Hyun inserted the bluish key into the door of a park storage room.
Click!
The lock engaged, gears turning.
Clack—
As he twisted it, a flood of bluish light engulfed him.
The world flipped upside down.
Whoooosh!
A blast of hot, dry wind smacked him in the face.
Dungeon.
Ding!
[You have entered the Event Dungeon.]
The world before him glowed entirely crimson.
The ground was cracked and dry like a tortoise shell, the horizon lost in roaring flames.
It looked similar to the volcanic terrain of <Nest of the Three-Legged Crow>, yet felt like something far more apocalyptic—as if the world had ended and burned to cinders.
And in the center of that hellscape stood a massive tower, leaning as though it might collapse at any moment.
[Dungeon: Tower of the Five Elements]
[You have entered a unique trial site imbued with three Logoi.]
[It is modeled after a sealed divine ground where a certain Logos had been imprisoned for over 500 years. The curses and hellfire of two others have been added to complete each floor’s trial.]
[The tower has 5 floors. Each floor has hidden missions and gatekeepers. You must pass them all and climb to the top.]
[Conditions for Success]
-
Master the Five Senses.
-
Complete each floor’s mission.
-
Earn the gatekeeper’s recognition.
[Success: Apostle Qualification obtained.]
[Failure: Apostle Qualification revoked.]
Lee Hyun swept his hair back and walked toward the tower.
“Tower of the Five Elements… must be based on the Mountain of Five Elements where Son Oh-gong was sealed.”
In Journey to the West, Son Oh-gong had rampaged against Heaven and was subdued by the Buddha, imprisoned for 500 years. Only when the monk Xuanzang came was he released, beginning their westward journey.
The Mountain of Five Elements was the very mountain where he had been bound.
So passing through this tower would mean receiving true apostle qualification.
But with Sha Wujing and the Bull Demon King’s myths added in, the trial had clearly transformed.
The collapsing tower and hellish surroundings were proof enough.
“Why is it that none of them seem to have normal pasts…”
Myths always reflected a god’s history and inner world. Even from this much, he could guess parts of theirs.
Lee Hyun smirked bitterly and pushed open the tower’s rusted gates.
Creeeak.
Despite the corrosion, they opened to swallow him in darkness.
“Why is it so dark?”
He prepared to unleash the Deep Breath of the Fiend, but—
[You have entered the Tower.]
[This is the 1st Floor.]
The messages popped up at once.
And then—
….
…
..
.
[Golden Fillet spins rapidly, forcibly awakening your sealed consciousness in the dark.]
“What…?”
His awareness suddenly plummeted, then snapped back sharply.
“Where am I?”
No sight. No sound. No touch. No smell. No taste.
Not even a sense of whether he was dreaming or awake.
As if he had been thrown into a void of nothingness.
He realized instantly—this was the trial.
Even laughing felt impossible.
“What kind of trial is this…?”
The Mountain of Five Elements had sealed Son Oh-gong for 500 years. This tower, too, was starting with a seal.
All five senses had been shut.
“So that’s what the first condition—‘Master the Five Senses’—means. They’ve sealed them, and I have to reclaim them one by one.”
Lee Hyun calmed himself.
“First, I need to understand the situation exactly.”
The problem was that he had no way to perceive the outside world. Humans process external information through the five senses; with all of them blocked, he had no channels of perception.
But he had one option.
“The Fiend’s Deep Breath.”
The nervous system transmits all information via electrical signals. If he could translate external input into electrical signals, he could still perceive it.
Back in his days with Jett, he often used this technique whenever curses dulled his senses.
“But with everything shut off like this, it’s harder than ever. If I let this drag on, I might lose my sense of self entirely.”
He recalled the feeling of using the Fiend’s Deep Breath.
“I need to minimize the flow of brain energy, draw it out like a thin thread…”
He focused hardest on output control.
Though he couldn’t feel anything physically, he trusted his accumulated instincts, unraveling the threads of energy one by one.
[Golden Fillet ignites in brilliance, expanding conscious thought.]
At the same time, he made full use of the relic.
Son Oh-gong had told him to recall his teachings. That meant leaning on the relics during the trial.
As his bundled brain energy unraveled, he sensed something seeping outward.
“The Golden Fillet governs the brain gates—the realm of consciousness. Everything here is electrical signals. If I extend those signals beyond the boundary of ‘me’ and outward into the world…”
It was a shift in perspective powered by a relic.
Expanding the domain of ‘self.’
That way, even without relying on the five senses, he could drag in external information directly into his mind.
[Fiend’s Deep Breath (S+) has linked with the Golden Fillet.]
[You have discovered a new application. Golden Fillet proficiency rises sharply.]
Like weaving a web, he spread the threads of brain energy outward.
[You have discovered a new usage of brain energy.]
And then—
A cold sensation suddenly rushed into his mind.
Ding!
Ding!
[You have broken one seal. The first of the five senses—Touch—has been restored.]
[The Golden Fillet recognizes you!]
[Condition achieved: 1/5 senses mastered.]
Lee Hyun’s awareness snapped into sharp clarity.
He had earned recognition from a relic, one of the most vital steps in the Apostle Trial. He should have been overjoyed.
But instead—
“…Cold?”
For some reason, the place where he now stood felt oddly familiar.
