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chapter 107
The unlocking of the Ruyi Staff had actually been occurring for a little while.
[“Trait: Yoma’s Sense” has been strengthened. From now on you can approach the front line based on the Yoma’s clock.]
[You have grasped the basics of the Duel-Flow (투전류).]
[The Ruyi Staff recognizes you as its chosen owner.]
[You have acquired the qualification to fully unseal the Ruyi Staff.]
[Would you like to unseal it?]
There were exactly two conditions Lee Hyun had not known previously for the Ruyi Staff to open.
Yoma’s Sense.
Duel-Flow.
Only if one could use will-meaning (의념) properly could the Ruyi Staff’s power be used to its fullest, and only with Duel-Flow could it be well-utilized.
Because the Ruyi Staff was the central key to the Sun Wukong revival project, its activation conditions had to be considerably stricter than other sacred relics.
But now that he had completely mastered will-meaning and awakened Duel-Flow,
Lee Hyun could finally use the Ruyi Staff.
Thud!
Thud!
He set down the two axes with both hands.
As the axes sank into the ground, a loud sound rang out, and the joints of the Ruyi Staff began to loosen and stretch long.
However, Lee Hyun had one worry.
‘It’s good to use the Ruyi Staff. It has many functions like super-recovery and super-senses, and it’s highly compatible with other relics. But if I handle it in the staff form, I won’t be able to use the axes as my main weapons anymore.’
[Gingaoa accelerates thought processing speed!]
Wiiiiing!!
A round ring appeared over Lee Hyun’s head and began to revolve.
It glowed white-hot overhead—like looking at a seraphim wearing a halo.
‘Saojeong reshaped the Hyeong-yong Nahan’s mask to fit me. Sacred relics are the essence of myth; they appear in the form that best suits the god.’
Time in the world slowed to an extreme.
It felt almost stopped.
Thanks to that, Lee Hyun could feel his bodily senses, the Yoma’s sense, and even his will-meaning more deeply.
There was another world beyond what he’d just seen with the Hwa-an Geumjeong.
The Ruyi Staff approached even more intimately.
‘That means I can change it into a form that suits me, the one who continues the myth.’
Lee Hyun aimed to invert his thinking.
Could he treat the teeth of Dochul like the Ruyi Staff?
He could—if he could connect them.
He had a way in mind.
‘The Chain of Lightning.’
He’d been inspired by magic he learned when performing the Gui-roe (귀뢰) ritual.
‘If I can unravel the Ruyi Staff into a Chain of Lightning… I can not only manipulate Dochul’s teeth, but also use the Gui-roe magic.’
The Chain of Lightning was a braided form of several cursed talismans—containing all the powers of the Hyeong-yong Nahan’s mask.
Also, because the Chain of Lightning was composed of lightning techniques, it could raise temperature via the Flame of Yul’s magic.
If he combined Saojeong’s and Bungmawang’s relics into the Ruyi Staff as well…
‘Let’s try it.’
Lee Hyun thought the Ruyi Staff’s transformation would be the first step toward finding his answer.
He was strongly influenced by Sun Wukong, but he intended to walk a completely different path.
Wiiiiing!!
[Gingaoa attempts to integrate three sacred relics!]
[All necessary operations and calculations are mobilized to forge will-meaning into the needed form.]
This kind of relic integration was all thanks to Gingaoa.
And then,
Shhhh—
The Ruyi Staff, saturated with will-meaning, began to change.
The elongated bracelet soon became a golden chain that coiled around Lee Hyun.
Crackle!
Like a freshly-forged object, it even contained reddish flames.
Just standing nearby made sweat form on the skin.
The black-gold chain tried violently to writhe.
[The Ruyi Staff has transformed into the “Ruyi Chain” (여의쇄)!]
[Ruyi Chain]
A transformed shape of the Ruyi Staff, adapted to the needs of its new owner. This relic, representing the Ruyi Staff, originally was a tool made by Yu (禹) who controlled the Yellow River’s floods, but was stolen by Sun Wukong from the East Sea Dragon King and used as a weapon. It is also said to have been used by the primordial giant Pangu.
—Type: Sacred Relic.
—Origin: Myth “Journey to the West.”
The Ruyi Chain suddenly dug into the ground.
Kwang!!
“…!?”
Sun Wukong’s clone showed a slightly startled expression and quickly retreated.
The instant the Ruyi Staff unsealed, the will-meaning surrounding Lee Hyun changed completely.
There was little difference in amount or quality.
But the momentum was different.
Sharp as lightning and burning like flames…
Where the clone had been moments ago, the Ruyi Chain burst up from the earth like it had flipped the ground inside out.
It moved with the sleekness of a snake stalking prey.
Pzzt!!
Blue-white lightning and a black-gold chain.
The mixture of the two contrasting colors chilled the onlooker’s blood.
The clone wrapped a cloud of golden mist around its feet and performed a big somersault. It thrust the Ruyi Staff in its hand and grinned.
“Stretch out, Ruyi Staff!!”
As the staff extended, it collided with the Ruyi Chain.
Kwang!
The Ruyi Chain ricocheted upward.
But before long Lee Hyun appeared in that spot and drew the Ruyi Chain in.
His movement was noticeably lighter than before.
Right after the Ruyi Staff’s opening, the mixing of will-meaning and magic flowed smoothly as if a dam had burst.
[The Ruyi Staff’s opening attempts to link more divine power (神力) to Gingaoa and Hwa-an Geumjeong.]
[Gingaoa’s computation bandwidth increases dramatically.]
[Hwa-an Geumjeong’s cognitive ability expands significantly.]
[Linking three sacred relics strengthens all attributes!]
[You can now understand Duel-Flow more deeply.]
This too was a function of the Ruyi Staff.
Lee Hyun felt in his body the blessing Sun Wukong must once have felt, and raised his senses further.
Flash—
‘But this alone is not enough. That guy must be feeling the same sense too. No, he has far more relics than I do, so it’s still too early to close the gap.’
More divine power would be granted over time, and the connections between relics would tighten.
Even now, Lee Hyun’s will-meaning was getting sharper, but it still hungered.
‘If I could take his will-meaning as well—’
Clack!
Lee Hyun hooked the Ruyi Chain he’d snatched midair with his left hand onto the ring of his axe handle.
Screeeech!!
[Dochul’s Teeth resonate with the Ruyi Chain!]
Will-meaning flowed naturally into the inside of the axe.
Now Dochul’s teeth had become a sacred relic.
A relic meant only for him.
‘Not only can it fill my lacking will-meaning, but it might also bring me closer to the answer I seek.’
Pzzt!!
Lee Hyun decided to melt down the Unkillable bracelet he had been gifted by Ho Sangmu and add it to the Ruyi Chain and the axe.
Because it was originally a lump of metal, its absorption was surprisingly easy.
[The attribute “Appetite” of the Unkillable has been added to Dochul’s Teeth and the Ruyi Chain.]
[From now on, there is a 10% chance to steal the target’s magic and will-meaning upon a hit.]
The message appeared as soon as Lee Hyun thought of it.
Krarrrrung!!
He threw the axe in his hand with all his might at the clone.
[The specter of Dou-eok-shini (두억시니) erupts!]
The clone wrapped itself in layers of golden clouds and once more thrust the Ruyi Staff long.
Chae-aaeng!
The lightning-laden axe could not pierce the Ruyi Staff and was stopped midway, but
Shrrrr—
Like a living snake it traced the Ruyi Staff and slithered down in an instant.
“…!?”
The clone, at a loss for how to fight this unfamiliar method, tried to pull the staff back, but could not move it as if nailed in place.
The Ruyi Chain coiled tight around the staff and ravenously devoured will-meaning and magic.
“…!!”
[Successfully stolen a portion of the opponent’s will-meaning and magic.]
Dochul’s teeth—Si-chul—instantly reached the clone’s nape.
Just as the sharp blade was about to fall, the clone abruptly removed its hand from the Ruyi Staff and backed away.
Lee Hyun immediately pursued.
Shrrrrr!
Flash—
Using the momentum from tugging the Ruyi Staff sharply, he closed the gap in a single breath.
The bone-splitting axe in Lee Hyun’s left hand sprang up vertically.
The clone, jaws about to split, twisted its torso backward and extended a left hand.
It was an assault imbued with intense magic.
Before he knew it, Lee Hyun had produced a third axe from his inventory—Gyo-hyeol—and blocked it.
Kwang!!
Multiple exchanges of attack and defense occurred in an instant.
Duel-Flow against Duel-Flow.
Will-meaning against will-meaning clashed and turned the surroundings into pandemonium in moments.
Flash—
Meanwhile Lee Hyun succeeded in wholly absorbing the Ruyi Staff he’d seized from the clone and converting it into the Ruyi Chain.
The clone’s sacred relics were never true relics but fakes molded from will-meaning.
If he could take them from the clone, understanding their components wasn’t that difficult.
[Gingaoa’s understanding of Duel-Flow increases significantly based on the absorbed will-meaning.]
[The Yoma’s Sense-detectable seven-color spectrum now adds black and white, becoming nine in total.]
Lee Hyun mulled over the will-meaning Sun Wukong had embedded in his clone.
He then reflected it onto himself to gauge what direction he’d been pursuing.
Sun Wukong contained freedom and solitary independence.
But no matter how he thought about it, those two didn’t fit him.
‘Even being able to fight like this… in the end I achieved nothing alone.’
Hwa-an Geumjeong had been given by Moon Soo-chan, the deep breath of Dou-eok-shini had been given by Lee Gun-san, and Duel-Flow had been given by Sun Wukong. Saojeong and Bungmawang had each contributed parts of themselves.
He had simply woven all those things together.
He would receive help from more people in the future, and he would try to reach out to them as much as possible in return.
All that he had built up was something he had built together with good people around him.
‘…This is it.’
In an instant Lee Hyun realized what Duel-Flow he should pursue.
—Relationship.
Acquaintances and comrades always gave him much.
And—
—Salvation.
They always saved him from crisis and offered new opportunities.
To him, they were all saviors.
‘If possible, I too…’
If he could become that kind of person, could his Duel-Flow shine brightly?
Like Sun Wukong.
Shwaaaak!!
Lee Hyun poured the will-meaning born from that realization into his axe and slashed diagonally with force.
The clone had its arm outstretched but a deep bloodline mark was sliced across its torso.
The clone was smiling.
As if the fight had been very entertaining.
Pffss—
The clone turned to ash and vanished.
At that moment,
Ding!
Ding!
[You have passed the final test!]
[You have completed all achievement conditions. The ‘Event: Apostle Test’, famed for its extreme difficulty, has been successfully completed—additional rewards are granted.]
[“Trait: Yoma’s Sense” has been upgraded to “Duel-Flow”.]
……
[Your deeds are engraved on the <Heavenly Tablet>. Your ranking has shot up.]
[You selected privacy. This information will not be disclosed externally.]
[Unknown rumors regarding your great deeds and fame begin to spread little by little in the <Celestial Realm>.]
……
Messages kept popping up without pause.
“…Phew.”
“Finally done.”
While Lee Hyun eased the tense excitement in his body, Sun Wukong approached with a smile.
“I thought you could pass the test, though I didn’t expect you to find an answer. Is that the answer you found?”
Sun Wukong’s Hwa-an Geumjeong stared straight at Lee Hyun. Lee Hyun’s Hwa-an Geumjeong stared right back.
A fierce blue flame of will-meaning.
[■■■■ ■■■ has acknowledged you for the first time.]
That single message felt like it removed all the fatigue that had built up in his chest.
“Yes. That’s right.”
Sun Wukong nodded.
“It surprised me because it’s different from my path, but it suits you well. Good work.”
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. But Duel-Flow truly begins only when you set its direction. Its depth is deeper than the deepest sea; even I have yet to complete it.”
Sun Wukong crossed his arms and spoke in an intentionally strong voice.
“So you, too, must keep striving and continually advance.”
“You’re giving me a geezer’s lecture.”
“What did you say, kid?”
Sun Wukong frowned at the light joke Lee Hyun tossed.
Hyun smiled gently.
“I’m joking. I’ll remember it, remember it again, and try to complete Duel-Flow.”
Lee Hyun’s Hwa-an Geumjeong shimmered.
“Faster than a divine sage.”
“Hah. You still have a million years until then, rookie. When a small bird tries to chase a stork, it rips its thighs; know your place. In my day I wasn’t like this; I was always humble. Kids these days… tsk tsk.”
Though Sun Wukong grumbled as if displeased, a satisfied smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
“Anyway, since all the work is done, let’s return.”
Sun Wukong turned his body around.
In the distance, a new door appeared.
Clomp!
[As a reward, you have acquired three apostle qualifications.]
[Acquisition targets: ■■■■ ■■■, ■■■■ ■■■, ■■■■ ■■■■.]
[Would you like to confer the rewards?]
As Sun Wukong moved, a new message appeared on Lee Hyun’s retina.
The broken words each revealed: “Jecheondae-seong Sun Wukong”, “Geumshin Nahan Saojeong”, and “Hontae-seong Bungmawang.”
Sun Wukong didn’t even check whether Lee Hyun accepted the rewards.
He assumed Lee Hyun would accept, as if it were natural.
But Lee Hyun paused a moment before conferring them.
…Is this truly the answer I want?
His decision was,
[You refused to confer the rewards.]
It was ‘no.’
“…What are you doing?”
Sun Wukong halted with his hand on the door, looked back, and glared at Lee Hyun.
Lee Hyun dangled the Ruyi Chain long and held Dochul’s teeth in both hands.
“Why end it here?”
Lightning danced at the corners of Lee Hyun’s eyes.
“I have no intention of being satisfied with mere apostle status.”
Sun Wukong’s expression hardened.
“‘Mere’…? Do you even know what you’re spouting—”
“I want to become your successor, the Celestial Great Saint.”
Lightning flared violently.
“Give me your position.”
“……!!!”
