chapter 60
The Demon King Hongse reached out and lifted the Captain of the Royal Guard.
“Quite a pitiful sight.”
“Your Majesty…! I have shown you a disgraceful sight.”
“No. You have done your duty fully.”
Hongse shook his head calmly, the great sword half-slung over his shoulder.
The demeanor of someone who truly seemed like the ruler of this small kingdom.
He turned his gaze back to Lee Hyun.
“The atmosphere around you has changed quite a bit. You’ve become more like a warrior’s eyes.”
He seemed to have already noticed Lee Hyun’s change.
An impressive insight.
No wonder he was able to inherit the techniques of one of the Seven Great Stars and create his own unique skill.
“Have you discovered the secrets of this world based on the karma of the Mihoo King? Clever. Indeed, the Mihoo King had good reason to choose you as his apostle.”
Swoosh.
Lee Hyun didn’t respond. He simply readied his stance again.
“Haha. That’s right. What more need we say between us?”
Hongse lowered his great sword and infused it with magical energy.
Flare!
A blazing fire erupted, like flames from the depths of hell.
“Let’s see how far this goes.”
Bang!
Hongse slammed the ground violently, causing the earth to crack.
Lee Hyun mirrored his stance.
No further words were needed between the two now.
[A hail of fire descends!]
As if teleporting in an instant, Hongse appeared before Lee Hyun and swung his great sword.
Fwoooosh!
The sword seemed forged from raging flames, like a molten furnace, channeling intense fire with every swing to trap Lee Hyun in a prison of fire.
Crash! Boom!
[Frenzied Strike (A) unleashes chaotic attacks!]
Each time, Lee Hyun countered with his axe, releasing his own energy in raw force, meeting strength with strength.
The Dance of Shiva.
Mahakali.
A combat style used to train the great warrior gods of the <Deva>.
Each movement Lee Hyun made was almost like a dance—fluid yet precise—while every axe strike probed relentlessly for weaknesses, aiming to crush his opponent.
Explosions erupted with each clash,
[Stack increased.]
[Lightning strikes!]
Even sudden, unpredictable strikes from the sky.
Kaboom! Crackle!
Yet Hongse was no pushover.
The techniques he had learned from another Great Star were equally formidable.
Bang!
A clash of crimson flames and azure lightning.
“Everyone, fall back! Just form a perimeter so he cannot escape!”
“Do not hinder His Majesty from focusing on the battle!”
The monkey soldiers realized there was no way to break through, and carefully maintained distance, silently praying for Hongse’s victory.
Then, some of them noticed something odd.
“…His Majesty,”
“Is… smiling?”
The monkey soldiers were stunned.
Their king had rarely shown emotion. Even in mistakes or in mourning for the people, he was always calm and detached.
But now, he was openly expressing joy.
Exhilaration.
Hongse was truly enjoying this battle.
His eyes, usually brimming with madness, curved slightly with delight.
“Haha!”
At that moment, Hongse suddenly laughed heartily.
Crack!
The axe slashed across his right cheek, drawing blood.
It was a situation that could have killed him, yet he seemed to relish the challenge.
“Hahahaha!”
Insane laughter echoed.
“Hahahahaha!!”
Bang!
Hongse slammed the ground again, pressuring Lee Hyun as fire and lightning clashed.
They rotated their torsos and attempted a shoulder ram, weapons at their sides as if by unspoken agreement.
[Frenzied Strike (A) attempts Bull Rush!]
[Boss Monster deploys ‘Flame Charge’!]
Bang! Boom!
Shoulder collided with shoulder, sending red flames and azure lightning into the sky again.
They spun their upper bodies, clashing axe and great sword once more.
Thud!
By a hair’s breadth, Hongse was pushed back.
The previously tense struggle now began tipping in Lee Hyun’s favor.
The divine power from the Ruyi Staff enhanced his movements and magical efficiency.
Though only a fraction, it was enough for Lee Hyun to ascend to a new level…
[Divine power of Ruyi Staff increases intelligence by 30.]
[Intelligence surpasses 100, reaching triple digits.]
[Additional feature unlocked for intelligence and stamina: ‘Trait: Cryogenic Human’.]
[Additional feature ‘Cheonglio Technique’ unlocked!]
[Cheonglio Technique (SS)]
The blue reason eliminates emotional noise. It not only perceives truth but induces errors in others, twists the design of plans, and weaponizes logic itself.
-Effect: Causes 3 seconds of confusion on patterned skill targets. Occasionally applies ‘Error Injection’ during battle.
If Hwaanggeumjeong allowed one to see truth, Cheonglio Technique hijacked the enemy’s mind.
Exploiting flaws, reading battlefield errors, and overturning plans—the function maximized Lee Hyun’s already extraordinary combat intuition.
Crash!
Thanks to this, Lee Hyun sharpened his Frenzied Strike, provoking Hongse’s openings and relentlessly pressing the attack.
Swish!
Hongse’s left side split open, sending a spray of blood into the air.
Meanwhile… Lee Hyun controlled his internal transformations, awakening all six stat features at SS rank:
[Successfully unlocked all additional features for all status attributes!]
[Strength: Soul Merging Force (SS)]
[Agility: Cold Wind Clone (SS)]
[Stamina: Extreme Body (SS)]
[Mana: Frozen Jade Heart (SS)]
[Intelligence: Cheonglio Technique (SS)]
[Skill: Auspicious Play (SS)]
[All features unified at SS rank. Excellent achievement!]
[Your achievements begin recording as <Epic>.]
[Reward: All stats increase by 10.]
[Logos seeking extreme power are watching you.]
[Logos seeking supreme agility are watching you.]
[Logos worshipping infinite stamina are watching you.]
[‘Queen of Eyes’ Epic strengthened.]
[All owned skills increase by one rank.]
[Your achievements are now recorded in the <Celestial Scroll>. All Logos can observe your transformation.]
[Logos are great beings who complete their own epics in heaven.]
[From now on, they may choose to support or offer apostle status to you.]
[You can manage these relationships, or set achievements to private.]
[You chose private. Only part of your achievements will be visible on the Celestial Scroll.]
[Your name is inscribed again on the previously missing Celestial Scroll.]
[Congratulations! You have returned as a Ranker.]
[You now possess superior abilities. All stats increase by 10 as reward.]
[Current Rank on the Celestial Scroll: (Private)]
Ranker.
Among Hunters, this title was reserved for the elite.
They were given the chance to appear on a heavenly ranking system overseen by the Celestial Logos.
Gods, demons, giants, dragons—all could select apostles on Earth based on this ranking.
But Lee Hyun thought, “It means nothing to me.”
He had already inherited the feats of Sun Wukong and the others from Journey to the West.
[All public items set to private.]
He wanted to conceal his actions as much as possible.
[Logos interested in you express displeasure.]
He paid it no mind. Managing his newly granted abilities alone was overwhelming enough.
A changed body, elevated rank, heightened senses.
And…
[Ruyi Staff begins acknowledging you.]
[Acceptable divine energy from Ruyi Staff increased.]
Even Sun Wukong’s divine power.
Lee Hyun poured all of it into Frenzied Strike.
[Do-eok-shini’s Rage erupts!]
He swung violently.
The S+ ranked Do-eok-shini energy exploded.
“Pahaha! Hahaha!”
Hongse, pushed back, could not stop laughing.
The battle had clearly tipped in Lee Hyun’s favor.
Even as a top-rank Ranker, it was impossible for Hongse to contend with Lee Hyun, who had been comparable even before attaining Ranker status.
Even bloodied and battered, he laughed—seemingly reveling in the thrill.
Lee Hyun recognized this feeling—the same exhilaration he had when entering the dungeon for the first time, wounded by yellow wolves, yet laughing.
Hongse was likely experiencing the same liberation.
The battlefield’s heat, ecstasy, and madness had awakened dormant senses.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The monkey soldiers were silent.
Even the late-arriving civilians watched quietly, observing their king, now filled with joy.
Then, tap! crack!
Lee Hyun and Hongse charged at each other once more.
It was time to end this.
[Activate Do-eok-shini’s Trust!]
Shweeeeek!
“Come! Descendant of the Mihoo King! Show me how you will kill me! How you will bring down the owner of Mt. Huaguo!”
Lee Hyun gripped his axe tightly.
His opponent was a warrior seeking meaning through combat.
A fellow of the same kind.
Respect had to be shown.
With overwhelming power,
And there was just one thing:
“Break him.”
He would show the master of Mt. Huaguo, the king of monkeys, the great warrior who had found himself…
[Holy Relic: Hwaanggeumjeong uses newly acquired function ‘Memory Exploration’ to scan stored images.]
[Scanning…]
Images flashed before his eyes in an instant, halting at one spot.
Click!
[Scan complete.]
[Recollect all traces seen in the Convergence Cavern, including walls, ceiling, and floor.]
Countless scenes overlapped—the rigorous training of Sun Wukong, the Mihoo King, the Great Heavenly Star, and the Fighting Master.
All connected into a single stream, imprinting vividly on Lee Hyun’s mind.
From crown to cervical spine, to magical circuits, to fingertips, to the axe—something was transmitted.
-This was the Fighting Stream (투전류) technique.
-I had discovered it in my later years by combining various arts and skills.
Then,
Crackrrr!
A blinding azure-white lightning streak split the world for the first time, tearing through the fire storm and cleaving Hongse’s body.
Swish!
