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chapter 106
[■■■■ ■■■’s final trial has begun.]
[The clone of ■■■■ ■■■ you are facing is a copy equal in rank and skill to yourself, or perhaps it is a new possibility you could become.]
[Defeat the clone to prove your existence and worth.]
A mirror battle.
A form of combat where both sides fight under identical conditions.
The final trial of the Tower of the Five Elements was a duel against a clone of Sun Wukong.
Boom! Boom! Kwaang!!
Collisions rang out rapidly in midair.
Every time the clone’s Ruyi Jingu Bang struck against his axe, Lee Hyun felt sharp pain.
‘As expected… it’s strong.’
It was a clone of Sun Wukong—fully armed at that. Of course it was bound to be overwhelmingly powerful.
But this was far beyond what Hyun had imagined.
[Using ‘Sacred Relic: Fiery Golden Eyes’ to track the opponent’s movements!]
[Attempting Frenzied Strike (S)!]
Thud! Thud!
Like a lumberjack chopping down trees, Hyun’s axe blazed without pause—
But clang-clang-clang!
With a single hand, the clone twirled the Jingu Bang, effortlessly blocking the assault while at the same time—
[Using Monstrous Pressure (A) to pull the opponent in!]
When Hyun tried to bind it from behind with invisible giant hands—
Fwoosh!
The clone twisted gracefully in the air, slipping free as though it already knew where the grip would appear.
Golden clouds flashed—the Somersault Cloud seemed to be aiding its movements.
[Unleashing the Deep Breath of the Fiend (S+)!]
[The Fiend’s Phantom strikes out!]
Rumble!!
Even a violent thunderbolt was the same.
Most of his offense slipped past, and whatever heat reached the clone was absorbed by its armor.
Thoom-thoom!
It moved like a monkey bounding freely among trees.
For Hyun, who specialized in head-on aggressive assaults, this was the worst possible matchup.
It was nearly impossible to pin down.
‘The Fiery Golden Eyes alone make its perception different from mine. It reads my intent precisely and cuts through it.’
He noticed each time golden light flared in its eyes, the Jingu Bang spun with deadly precision.
‘Fiery Golden Eyes to read intent, Jingu Bang to sever it, Somersault Cloud to aid movement, armor to absorb the rest…’
It was as if the clone was deliberately demonstrating how sacred relics should be used.
‘…This is how a demon king moves.’
But the biggest problem was something else entirely—
The amount of intent energy.
Though they were supposed to be equals, the clone wielded far more intent than Hyun.
Twice as much? No—at least three times more.
That gave it greater freedom of movement and much more destructive power.
Maybe it was because it was a demon-born being, or maybe simply because it was more attuned to using intent. Whatever the reason, if this fight dragged on, Hyun would inevitably lose.
Intent drained stamina and mana heavily.
So Hyun halted his offense and steadied his breathing.
‘Fighting style—Martial King’s School of Combat.’
Hoo—
‘Can I really follow it?’
Bzzzt!!
His Ruyi Bang bracelet rattled violently around his wrist. Hyun chuckled wryly and stroked it with his left hand.
It was as if it were frustrated with him.
Tap!
At that moment, the clone lightly flipped in the air, planted the Jingu Bang into the ground, and perched atop it in a crouch—like a monkey.
It grinned widely.
As if asking, “Is that all?”
Then it crooked its finger, beckoning him forward.
Hyun frowned.
“Calling me in?”
The clone laughed even harder.
Hyun twisted his lips coldly.
“Fine. I’ll come.”
Though he pretended to fall for the provocation, his Fiery Golden Eyes remained calm.
‘The clone of the Great Sage and I pursue different goals. Forcing myself to mimic his martial way will only feel awkward, like wearing clothes that don’t fit.’
He hadn’t been fighting in vain. He had been deliberately drawing out more and more of the clone’s movements.
“I’ll ask you many things. If your answers disappoint, I’ll tear you apart.”
“So prepare yourself. My questions will be rough. Understood?”
That was what Sun Wukong had once declared—he would continue questioning himself.
The answers would be the ideals of martial pursuit each sought.
Naturally, Hyun’s would differ greatly from Wukong’s.
Even if their paths seemed parallel, once dissected, their inner journeys were distinct.
Everyone carries their own karma, their own story.
‘Independence.’
Hyun recalled much of what Wukong had shown.
‘The Great Sage doesn’t want me to follow him blindly just because I’m his disciple.’
He tightened his grip on the axe.
‘He wants me to chase him with answers of my own.’
A mere obedient puppet would never satisfy Sun Wukong.
After all, his life’s path had been anything but that.
“I laid down even the seat of Buddha after a lifetime of martial pursuit. But that answer still remains unfinished.”
“I’ll ask whether you have such an answer, or whether you can pursue it.”
Wukong had lived wildly, suffered under Tripitaka’s discipline, risen to the title of Battle-Buddha, and finally abandoned it after long struggle—realizing duty and responsibility in that role did not align with his essence.
Thus was born the Martial King’s School of Combat.
—Freedom.
—Self-Sovereignty.
Those two principles were its core.
They were also the stance of a true king.
That was why the demon beasts of Huaguo Mountain, though following a fallen king, never dared show weakness.
So then—
‘What is the Martial King’s School that I should pursue?’
Crack! Zap!!
Azure lightning danced over Hyun’s hand.
‘I’ll find my answer here.’
He kicked off the ground again.
Boom!!
Shhhhhh—!
[Activating the Fiend’s Trust!]
The clone grinned as if waiting. Its golden eyes blazed.
It flipped again, gripping the Jingu Bang and swinging upward.
Rumble!!
The earth overturned, jagged spikes bursting skyward.
They looked sharp enough to skewer Hyun head-on.
But instead of slowing, Hyun accelerated.
Flash!
Electricity blazed around him, wrapping him in radiant light.
‘I have no answer yet. Until now, I’ve only struggled day by day to survive.’
[All skills manifest at maximum output! Energy floods the body! ‘Authority: Fiend-Thunder Ghost’ awakens!]
The Light-Bearer swung his axe horizontally.
Simple but overwhelming.
‘But never once was my will absent. I always pushed forward by my own stubbornness.’
An orphan abandoned by the world, he found his path in archaeology.
When he couldn’t afford tuition, he fought for scholarships.
When corruption reared its head in Cheongroe, he strove to expose it.
Even when forced into retirement by the Frost Ring, he endured until meeting Wukong gave him new opportunity.
His life was a series of trials—but each time, he overcame with will.
‘And… every time, there were benefactors who reached out their hand.’
At the orphanage, it was Moon Suchan.
At the academy, it was Lee Gunsan.
At Cheongroe, Kim Minjeong.
After retirement, Ko Jinwoo.
At White Burn, Lim Wonyoung.
And now—Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and the Demon Horse King.
Always, someone took his hand when the world tried to cage him.
‘Maybe… that is the answer I should find.’
[You have grasped the essence of intent.]
Hyun seized the faint enlightenment firmly in his heart, afraid it might vanish like a mirage.
At that moment—
Fwoooosh!!
His intent suddenly swelled—two, no, three times greater than before.
‘No—it didn’t suddenly increase. It was always mine, only now released.’
Now his amount of intent matched the clone’s.
The insight had solidified it.
As proof, some of the intent flowed into his swinging axe.
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—
The seven colors of the rainbow existed not just in others, but in himself.
Red seeped into the axe—symbolizing denial.
The axe, charged with rejection, became like the furious will of the Fiend itself.
Craaaash!!
Azure lightning surged like a tidal wave, shattering the spikes.
Debris flew upward.
Flash!
Orange intent filled his right foot, yellow intent filled his body, propelling him faster.
Orange boosted thrust, yellow lightened his body.
Exactly as the clone had once demonstrated.
Whshhh!
Hyun reached the clone head-on.
Surprised, it widened its eyes and lashed out with its left hand, an overwhelming force like a cannon blast.
Hyun crossed his axes, one glowing green, the other blue.
Blue—acceptance, solidity, defense.
Boom!!
Hot wind scorched his hair—
‘It worked!’
Hyun saw a shallow wound open on the clone’s left hand.
The first time its impregnable hide had been pierced.
The clone’s brow twitched in surprise.
That alone assured Hyun he was on the right path.
Shhhk! Slash!
But the moment passed. The clone twisted, carving slashes with its staff.
Hyun narrowed the distance instead, striking in relentless rhythm.
Even when the assault felt like a guillotine, his instinct screamed—dodging would be fatal.
Now, through his Fiery Golden Eyes, he could see the very flow of the clone’s intent.
Boom! Boom! Kwaaang!!
A deadlocked clash.
[Stacks accumulated!]
[A thunderbolt strikes down!]
Hyun unleashed lightning to tear open gaps.
Both read each other’s intent, countered it with opposite intent.
Even amidst the frenzied assault, Hyun’s indigo intent shielded his body.
Intent clashed with intent at a speed no ordinary Ranker could follow.
Slash!
Rip!
A wound tore across the clone’s left shoulder, blood spraying.
Hyun’s neck was cut in turn, blood gushing.
Both injuries were deep—but Hyun was still in greater danger.
Haaa—!
As if by mutual agreement, they pulled apart.
“Huff… huff…!”
“Haa… haa…”
Both drenched in sweat, both smiling.
The clone smirked, asking silently if he could keep going.
Hyun answered with a grin.
“I haven’t found the full answer yet. But I think I’ve almost caught up.”
They now had equal rank and equal intent—but still, a gap remained.
Hyun’s mastery of intent was lacking.
But he wasn’t worried.
The gap was closing fast—and now he saw how to surpass it.
Besides—he had yet to reveal other sacred relics besides the Fiery Golden Eyes.
“Round two will be different. Better watch yourself.”
The clone’s brow arched.
Hyun channeled violet intent into his bracelet.
‘If the gear gap is too wide—then I’ll close it too.’
Clack!
A sound rang out—the lock on the Jingu Bang bracelet disengaging.
Slowly, it began to unfurl.
[The Ruyi Jingu Bang is being released!]
