Leveling with the Gods

There were three factors that determined a Player's power.

Their level-based stats.

The Skills that utilized those stats.

And the items that strengthened both.

Many Players argued over which of the three was more important.

But those who had become Rankers knew.

Truly skilled Players didn't skimp on mastering Skills or neglect the stats that supported them.

And no matter how valuable an item was, in the end, preserving it was a skill in itself.

The power of an item varied, just like the Player's level.

Some items were little more than a sturdy weapon or armor, while others could turn an average Player into a force with the strength of a Ranker.

But...

The Bull Demon King, who had been imprisoned in the Celestial Prison for so long, lacked that element: an item.

That's why Ne Zha was able to gain an advantage over him.

But...

"The Mixed Iron Rod has returned to the hands of the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven."

The situation was different now.

Ne Zha's gaze turned upward.

The one who had thrown the rod from above.

"I wonder if he went to retrieve it."

He was perplexed by its sudden disappearance.

He thought it wouldn't matter much anyway if he won the battle here, but he didn't expect it to be such a crucial factor.

"I should have killed him first..."

"Where are you looking?"

The voice came right in front of him.

Ne Zha blinked and turned his head.

And at that moment...

Tak, tak, tak!

A heavy blow sent Ne Zha's consciousness flying into the distance and back again.

Kwaaaaang-!

Kwad, dddddddd-.

The flying body flipped to the ground and burrowed underground. Buried in the depths of the earth, Ne Zha looked up at the faint light above.

"What just happened..."

As he searched his memory, he remembered the Bull Demon King's Mixed Iron Rod at the last moment.

Just as expected.

"To use such weapons around me..."

Thud, thud-.

The jet-black rod rattling against his palm soared into the sky.

"How pathetic, Ne Zha."

Boo-woo-.

Tak, tak, tak!

The impact of the descending strike crushed Ne Zha's body against the ground.

Boom, boom, boom.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

It wasn't just a single blow.

The Bull Demon King brandished the Mixed Iron Rod fiercely as if he intended to end the fight once and for all.

"I have to... get out."

If he stayed like this, his body would explode, and he would die.

Gritting his teeth, Ne Zha forced his body to generate Arcane Power.

Kwowwww-!

Two massive blows soared into the sky.

Peep-!

A small scratch appeared on the Bull Demon King's cheek.

At the same time, Ne Zha, who had been buried underground by the power of the Mixed Iron Rod, rose again.

Above the black clouds.

OhGong was half-laying on his back, resting his head on his hand, watching the battle between the Bull Demon King and Ne Zha.

"My older brother will win."

He observed the fight with interest.

YuWon clicked his tongue at such behavior.

"Aren't you going to help?"

"He'll win without me anyway, so why bother?"

"Doesn't Ne Zha have a higher rank than your older brother?"

"Rankings aren't necessarily in order of strength. If they were, why fight? We'd kneel in rank order."

Boom!

The Mixed Iron Rod and the True Sword clashed.

OhGong smiled satisfactorily and looked at the Bull Demon King, who held the Mixed Iron Rod in his hand.

"I can't imagine my brother losing to anyone with that in his hand."

Clang-!

The sound of the two men's weapons clashing reached the sky above the Flying Nimbus. The battlefield had already formed a large circle around them, refusing to let anyone else get close.

"But if you want, you can help him."

"And what about you?"

Kak.

OhGong's shoulders trembled slightly at YuWon's question.

It was a habit he always had when something pricked him.

"Have you found it yet?"

"I'm searching..."

"Then stop wasting time staring there and start searching."

"Ah, yes."

Grumbling softly, OhGong forced his eyes to refocus.

Of course, he wasn't the only one concentrating.

YuWon, the man who had obtained the Mixed Iron Rod, also set out to search.

But even with the same eyes, there was a distinct difference between OhGong's eyes and YuWon's.

Then...

"I found it..."

The corners of OhGong's mouth turned up, and his eyes reflected an elderly man.

"Hold on tight."

Swish-.

The cloud they rode on trembled for a moment.

And then...

"If you fall, you'll get hurt."

Pak-!

The change in perspective was instant.

It felt like a high-speed journey.

As if he had left his heart where it was, his mind moved before his body.

A panorama of heavenly landscapes passed through his mind.

The scenery stretched in an instant, like paint spilled by mistake.

Just a moment later, the landscape returned to its original color.

"Long time no see."

The rear view of Son OhGong greeting someone.

YuWon shook his head, hastily regaining his senses, and looked beyond.

The vast and towering battlefield.

A long crimson platform extended into the distance, and at the end of it, a tall, golden, shining throne.

And sitting on it, a wrinkled old man.

"What brings you to the Great Celestial Hall?"

A soft voice with a hint of laughter.

Although he already knew, YuWon couldn't fully accept that the old man was the Jade Emperor he had heard about.

The old man's mask was just as thick.

"Is it because you don't know what's going on?"

Kak.

OhGong walked toward the Jade Emperor.

"Have you forgotten what you did to us?"

He had obviously been excited before coming here, but now that he was face to face with the Jade Emperor, his demeanor changed.

"I haven't forgotten even after thousands of years."

WOOSH-!

It had been a long time.

Son OhGong hadn't felt the terrifying Arcane Power in his body.

Perhaps the presence of YuWon in the same space was the reason for his restraint, or else the building they were in would have been blown away in an instant.

"Two thousand years."

Raising two fingers, the Jade Emperor stood up from his seat.

"Isn't it time to let go of this grudge?"

Gup-.

OhGong's shoulders trembled slightly.

But only for a moment.

The corner of OhGong's lips curled up as he regained his composure.

"You're the same person as always."

The Jade Emperor's eyes lit up in a different color.

Something was wrong.

Had his demeanor changed during his imprisonment in the Five Elements Mountain?

Or perhaps he had matured over time.

What would normally have been a frantic uproar through the streets was instead a much calmer reaction.

'Of course...'

However, YuWon took Son OhGong's reaction for granted.

'It's because he has been through this before.'

He had heard it before.

When the Jade Emperor fought against Son OhGong, he always struck him where it hurt the most.

So from the beginning of the fight, he had no choice but to fight while being trapped in his flow.

"An old cunning fox."

That was OhGong's evaluation of the Jade Emperor.

And now that he saw it, YuWon could understand why he had said that.

"Look."

Swoosh.

OhGong turned his head and asked with a mocking smile.

"It's just as I said, isn't it?"

YuWon nodded.

There was nothing to argue about.

Satisfied with the response, OhGong turned back to the Jade Emperor.

Before he knew it, he straightened his hunched back and held the staff he had in his hand like a weapon.

Kak-.

Son OhGong walked toward the Jade Emperor.

"My five brothers...".

The Great Sage of the Sea (覆海大聖, 蛟魔王).

The Great Sage of the Sky (混天大聖, 鵬魔王).

The Great Sage of the Mountains (移山大聖, 獅駝王).

The Great Sage of the Wind (通風大聖, 獼猴王).

The Divine Great Sage (驅神大聖, ????狨王).

Each with a different title and name, they were killed with a single blow...

By the Jade Emperor right in front of him.

For the vague reason that they could pose a threat to the Heavens in the future.

Kaaaaaah-.

Arcane Power began to emanate from Son OhGong's body.

With this, Son OhGong had endured enough.

YuWon stepped away from OhGong and looked at the Jade Emperor.

"...I will send this bastard back to you."

The Jade Emperor.

His presence held special meaning in the Tower.

Rank 10.

Among all the High Rankers, they could be counted on both hands.

One of the few Rankers who could use his strength and power to dictate the course of events in the Tower.

Surpassing him meant becoming the owner of a top 10 ranking.

But still, among the countless Rankers, none had surpassed the Jade Emperor.

It was due to the Jade Emperor's power and the power of the Celestial Realm he possessed.

However...

Right now, the reign of the Jade Emperor was crumbling.

Kurrrrr-.

YuWon observed the scene from his position on the back of the Flying Nimbus.

A building with red roofs in ruins.

Amidst the thick smoke, OhGong and the Jade Emperor were fighting.

"The first is the Bull Demon King. The second, OhGong, and then what?"

Trying to figure out how to win the battle against the Celestial Realm.

YuWon's question was answered by OhGong.

"I don't need another one."

"You don't need one?"

"I have my brother and myself. What else do I need?"

The gathering froze for a moment at those words.

He didn't need anything else.

A single Ru Yi Bang is enough.

That's what Son OhGong said.

And at that moment, YuWon took his words as the same boastfulness and overconfidence as always.

"Once in a hundred times, you will win. Or in other words, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you will lose."

"I have fought the Jade Emperor twice."

Twice in the Great Celestial War.

Both times, OhGong made it to the Jade Emperor.

"Both times, I fought against him while still in one piece, but that didn't mean I didn't gain anything."

Upon hearing that, YuWon's eyes lit up.

Two fights.

OhGong is stronger against an opponent he has fought once. But YuWon couldn't imagine OhGong losing against an opponent he had fought twice.

Furthermore, no matter how strong Son OhGong was, he didn't think he would show excessive confidence even in a place like this.

"Trust me."

Bum.

OhGong patted his chest.

"All you have to do is help me find the Jade Emperor..."

Pow-.

With clenched teeth, OhGong chewed on his next words.

"And I will kill that bastard."

He believed it.

OhGong was one of the few Rankers YuWon trusted.

He may have let him down in other things, but he had never let him down when it came to fighting.

He always fought one step ahead of himself, and he always won.

And this time was no different.

'The one standing there now is not the same OhGong who fought the Jade Emperor twice.'

The belief was even stronger than before.

'He lost two fights, fought the Jade Emperor again, and won...'

Boom!

Ru Yi Bang soared into the sky.

The corners of YuWon's lips curved as he looked at the Jade Emperor at the tip of the Ru Yi Bang.

'He is the one who went through the war against the Outer Gods with me.'