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Chapter 226
The words casually thrown out, claiming to use himself as a hostage, and the added remark at the end.
Umawang widened his eyes, then covered his face with his hands and burst into loud laughter.
“Pahaha!”
The sound of his laughter echoed thunderously.
“Hahaha!!!”
When had he last laughed like this? It seemed like it had been a long time since he lost his family.
He had avoided feeling joy.
He felt that happiness might harm his family.
He had deliberately avoided those situations…
And yet, that damned fellow had finally made him burst into laughter.
Truly, a damned fellow.
“What’s so funny? I was serious when I said it,”
Lee Hyun grumbled, clearly displeased.
Umawang let out a snort, a mixture of laughter and mockery.
“Incredible! Pretending to sacrifice yourself while only picking the benefits for yourself—isn’t that a wicked mindset?”
“Benefits? That’s unfair. I am sacrificing myself entirely for everyone’s sake.”
Lee Hyun continued with a feigned innocence.
“Going before your master, bowing to an enemy who hates you, risking your life—don’t you think that’s exactly what you’re doing?”
Not entirely wrong.
The Zigi Contract was even closer than the Apostle Contract.
Spiritually, the connection was so close that if a being like Umawang wanted to cause harm, the person on the other side would be defenseless.
“Of course, in taking such a risk, I only reap very minor benefits.”
“You say ‘minor benefits,’ while planning to take the sacred relics and authority of the Celestial Grandmaster Umawang?”
“All I can take are what Umawang allows. I don’t ask for much. Maybe just a half of the Honyo-sa-an?”
Umawang scoffed incredulously.
“A petty thief, indeed.”
“Perhaps because I only get half, its function can’t fully align with the Hwa-an Geumjeong. Emergency A/S is required.”
“You mean to provoke me by comparing it to the youngest sibling’s relic?”
“Must you take it that way? I only thought to show that the vessel is larger than someone who was once the youngest… Oh! I misspoke. Stop reading my mind.”
Umawang clicked his tongue at Lee Hyun’s sly smile.
“You—were you always this cunning?”
“Not always this closed off, I suppose.”
Lee Hyun smirked.
Seeing that, Umawang’s expression suddenly turned blank again.
Someone else’s face kept overlapping Lee Hyun’s in his mind.
The youngest.
The Celestial Grandmaster Sun Wukong.
His immature, rock-monkey-like days looked so much alike…
“-Brother!”
“-Brother?”
“-Ah, wait! What do you think you’re doing cheating from there!?”
“-How have you managed all these disobedient ones until now?”
“-Huh? I’m the most disobedient among them? What nonsense is that…!”
“-No! Big brother! If you do that there!!”
Laughing, crying, shouting together.
In youth, he thought this sibling was the closest and most compatible among the brothers.
But after having a family, they naturally grew apart.
Umawang often sat in his secluded place, the Fire Mountain, staring at the starry night sky.
Unlike himself, who had fully settled on the surface, the youngest had risen far above, occupying the position of a Buddha in a demon’s body.
They had started from a similar point, or rather, he had been higher.
After hundreds of years, the difference in their positions was staggering.
He never regretted staying on this land for his family.
The laughter of his wife and his son’s antics were happiness beyond compare.
But sometimes…
He wondered.
What if he had wandered the world like the youngest, burning the ambition that remained in his heart?
Would he have turned out differently?
And what would that version of himself look like?
But now, all of that was nothing but futile daydreams.
Umawang crumpled those lingering thoughts and let them drift into the night sky, returning to reality.
Yet…
‘This human keeps making me recall my younger days.’
Umawang could not deny it.
This sly, vicious-tongued human had gradually bewitched him.
‘At this rate… who is the demon, and who is the human, I cannot tell.’
Originally, he had intended to lure Lee Hyun to Gehenna by coaxing him.
But now, he had ended up on the other side instead.
Yet he didn’t feel bad.
On the contrary, he felt good.
Perhaps that’s why…
A sudden tightening sensation hit his left chest.
Guilt.
‘I am a sinner.’
Thus, he had to fold away this fleeting feeling.
‘A sinner who doesn’t deserve happiness…’
His dead wife and son would still be shedding blood-tears in the blazing hell, waiting for him.
So,
For the day he would meet them again,
And to take the Jade Emperor’s head as a gift with his own hands, he must not lose focus.
Suddenly!!
The deep, sunken eyes of Umawang blazed with dark blue flames.
“Good. If he willingly offers his neck, there’s no reason to refuse.”
Umawang brought his hand to his right eye.
Smash!
Followed by a horrific sound.
Crack-crackle-
“Here is the other half of the Honyo-sa-an you desired.”
“…I didn’t ask for it to this extent.”
In his right hand, Umawang held his own eyeball.
It squirmed like a living creature, looking around before fixing its gaze on Lee Hyun.
Truly grotesque, like a demon’s body.
Lee Hyun stared, horrified.
His face was contorted and bloodied.
“Do you intend to continue tormenting yourself like this?”
“Won’t you take it?”
“….”
“Why? Does it disgust you, or are you afraid to bind it despite what you said?”
Umawang twisted his lips coldly.
“If it’s the former, don’t worry. My eyes will regenerate. But if it’s the latter… I’ll be disappointed. I despise braggarts more than anyone.”
Lee Hyun stared solemnly, sighed deeply, and took the eye.
He could not ignore what Umawang was thinking, removing his own eye.
To truly understand his mind, many hurdles still needed to be overcome.
‘But this will help me surpass them all.’
With that thought, Lee Hyun brought the Honyo-sa-an to his right eye.
Flash!!
Sparks flew before his eyes.
Then, for a brief moment, memory failed him.
The Honyo-sa-an was being pushed into Lee Hyun’s eye, along with Hwa-an Geumjeong.
Crack-crackle!
“…!!!”
Lee Hyun gritted his teeth in indescribable pain.
The agony was far worse than when he had obtained the single half.
The eyes contain the most nerves in the body and are directly connected to the brain.
Naturally, replacing them was excruciating.
But…
‘Mix it completely with Hwa-an Geumjeong!!’
Lee Hyun resolved to make it his own.
Wheeeeee!
Above his head, Gingoa spun violently, generating intense heat.
[Processing speed increased.]
[Sensory reception heightened.]
Lee Hyun dismantled the two sacred relics of different origins and recombined them into one.
Repeatedly, he felt like his mind would shatter, his body wanting to be torn apart in pain.
But, with the pre-completed Neu-An Cheongjeong as a result, he could accelerate the process.
Flash! Flash!!
Lightning-blue sparks flickered around Lee Hyun’s right eye repeatedly.
[Honyo-sa-an fully dismantled and merged with Hwa-an Geumjeong.]
[Congratulations! Neu-An Cheongjeong has been completed.]
[Rank is being recalculated.]
[This is an original sacred relic, not a replica.]
[Massive mythology from Journey to the West obtained.]
[■■Dae■’s Karma obtained.]
[Understanding of the four great relics greatly increased.]
[Recognized by Celestial Grandmaster Umawang.]
[Zigi Contract successfully completed!]
[Reward: Uma Dae-Sal obtained. Magical coefficient greatly increased.]
[Density and purity of magic enhanced.]
[Complete understanding of magical concepts achieved.]
[Major achievement: total stats increased by 100,000.]
[Successfully discovered secret arts within Honyo-sa-an but failed to interpret due to insufficient understanding.]
[Analyzing in relation to the Curse Seal.]
Amid the flood of messages,
Lee Hyun felt a bolt of lightning pass through his head.
Kaboom!!
It was sudden enlightenment.
And instinctively, he realized that by completing Neu-An Cheongjeong, he had now set one foot into the realm of demons.
Inhuman.
Or supernatural.
And in Korean folklore, such people were often called…
‘…goblin.’
Lee Hyun’s eyes fully glowed deep blue, sparks flying violently.
[Legacy, ‘Day Goblin Dance,’ acquired a new form of calamity!]
[Legacy attempting transformation.]
[Beginning to acquire attributes of myth or legend.]
[No similar legacy found.]
[Editing past achievements and stories into a new narrative form.]
[Current narrative rank: <Folktale>]
[Your achievements recorded in the Celestial Codex are beginning to take proper narrative form.]
[The beginning (<Ki>) is being described!]
After dismissing multiple messages, the largest one appeared at the center:
[Narrative: Celestial Goblin.]
[Legacy, ‘A Good Day for Goblin Play,’ has been born!]
Rumble-
Blue-white lightning erupted like a thread around Lee Hyun.
Eventually, it became a lightning storm, illuminating Umawang’s dark sanctuary and filling it with thunderous sound.
It sounded as if the goblins in the sky were letting out a roaring shout.
Kaboom!!
