Leveling with the Gods

C456

Hundred Steps Divine Fist

This Martial Art from the Shaolin Temple was known throughout the Murim, and it had two meanings.

One was to strike the enemy no more than a hundred steps away with a single fist, and the other was to condense strength to walk firmly a hundred steps.

No one knew which of the two was correct, as until now, no Ranker had completely mastered the Hundred Steps Divine Fist.

But then, suddenly...

Wudeok...

The Hundred Steps Divine Fist unfolded with Son OhGong's fist.

Bang!

For YuWon, it seemed to barely extend a step's distance.

However, that force was more powerful than any fist YuWon had faced so far.

Crash!

YuWon was sent flying and crashed into the temple wall.

The solid wall collapsed, and debris fell to the ground.

YuWon writhed on the ground. Tathagata, who had unleashed such a move, clenched his fists several times and frowned.

"...This is strange."

He didn't feel the sensation he expected when hitting with his fist.

Clearly, something blocked the space between his fist and the body.

Indeed...

Swoosh...

YuWon, who had been thrown against the wall, slowly got up.

A blue glow emanated from YuWon's fingers as he touched the spot where he had been hit by the Hundred Steps Divine Fist.

["Blessing of the Sea" has been activated]

["Blessing of the Sea" has been broken]

Um, um, um...

The light emanating from the ring quickly disappeared. If he had taken the hit properly, his bones should have broken, and his organs should have torn apart, but YuWon stood up unscathed.

"Did you block it?"

Tathagata's gaze shifted to his palm.

The feeling of something blocking his fist.

Also...

"And... you cut me."

Red blood flowed from Tathagata's fingers.

He thought he had hit, but the punch didn't reach him, and he thought he had blocked, but YuWon's sword cut his hand.

The result was exactly the opposite of what he expected. Tathagata looked at YuWon with his golden eyes that hadn't changed from the beginning.

"I'm the one who got hurt, not you."

His golden eyes showed no change from the beginning. While looking at him, YuWon looked down at the part of his chest hit by the Hundred Steps Divine Fist.

"If it weren't for my eyes, I would have taken the hit."

He couldn't help it and had to block. Even that was difficult, so he had to resort to the Protection of the Sea, a one-time-use ability.

Tathagata turned out to be more complicated than expected.

"Son OhGong's physical strength, combined with Tathagata's Martial Arts..."

Although he thought he had blocked it, he felt a slight pain in his chest.

"No, has his physical strength also strengthened?"

The Protection of the Sea was a one-time-use ability. If used once, it would take at least half a day to use it again.

That was why the Protection of the Sea was not easy to break. However, he managed to break it with a single blow.

Tak~

Tathagata's fingers traced the circle again, just like at the beginning.

He called it Demon Killing Palm.

YuWon's two eyes examined Tathagata's fingers and feet.

"Look at the fingertips."

Of course, YuWon wouldn't stand still just because he focused on Tathagata's hands.

They say the best defense is a good offense.

YuWon wasn't happy to experience the same exchange of blows again.

"Although the mind and technique belong to Tathagata, his body is Son OhGong's."

Flames were not an option.

Even if the flames of the Heart of Fire and the Holy Fire were strong, Son OhGong had already endured the flames of the Eight Trigrams Cauldron.

Moreover, OhGong was now more physically complete than back then.

"So..."

Should he try following Hercules' path once?

Bang!

A Lightning Bolt shot out from YuWon's fingers with a thunderous roar. The body imbued with the property of Lightning became lighter, and on the other hand, it created the illusion that the world around him was slowing down.

Twap!

YuWon's figure disappeared from his position.

As Tathagata, who had lost sight of YuWon, turned his head in the opposite direction, something happened.

And right after...

[Demon Killing Palm (掌)]

Expanding the circle drawn on his hand, Tathagata unfolded the Demon Killing Palm once again.

Clang!

When YuWon's sword clashed against the Demon Killing Palm, sparks flew in all directions. Unlike YuWon, who moved quickly, Tathagata, who didn't have a stable center, staggered backward.

Kagagagak-!

Tathagata resisted by leaning on his heels.

In an instant, YuWon disappeared from his sight.

Schpat-!

Feeling a close presence, Tathagata extended his other hand.

Hwoong-! Tathagata's hand cut through the empty air. At the moment his pupils shook slightly, he felt a strange energy right above his head.

Kwarrung-!

A dazzling flash that made Tathagata's eyes momentarily avert.

It was as if a Lightning Bolt had struck directly on his head. YuWon, who had knocked down Tathagata's stance with the tip of his sword, appeared right above him, holding the Lightning Bolt in his hand.

How fast is this?

'Kekeke!'

It was at that moment...

In Tathagata's head, an unpleasant laughter was heard.

'Oh, you shouldn't do it like that.'

If I had been there, I would have used the "Golden Cinder Eyes" to not miss YuWon's movements.

That said, Son OhGong continued speaking loudly in his head.

"Are you tired? Would you like me to fight in your place? I think I'm better at fighting."

"Shut up!"

"Why? Does it bother you? I felt the same way when you talked to me in my head..."

Along with Son OhGong's mocking laughter, the Lightning Bolt that YuWon held in his hand fell onto Tathagata's head.

Kwaung-!

A thunderous roar accompanied the fall of the Lightning Bolt.

The size of the Lightning Bolt was large enough to fill the main hall of the temple. Probably, if it affected beyond the temple, it would have blown away several peaks of the mountains.

YuWon, moving swiftly, landed on the ground and stumbled several times.

When was the last time he moved so fast?

"I'm out of my..."

Deciding to release his Arcane Power, his body filled with power. Ten stat points made a significant difference.

If it weren't for YuWon coming from the future.

If he hadn't reached a similar mastery level before, it would have been difficult to properly contain his strength-intoxicated body.

But...

[Sensory Field is activated]

Fortunately, YuWon had several skills that allowed him to control his speed-enhanced body.

If the speed was too fast to control the body, he simply increased his perception with the Sensory Field.

Hercules used the power of the Lightning Bolt not to throw spears like Zeus but to increase his destructive power and speed.

Zeus and Hercules.

YuWon properly combined the styles of both.

As he still couldn't match either of them in these styles, he thought he was doing quite well.

However...

Craack, crack-!

Due to the repercussion of the Lightning Bolt, the golden ripples gradually began to fade.

Chit, chit-!

Tathagata, standing with crossed arms, was shielding his head.

"I didn't expect it to end like this, but..."

Even though he thought so, there wasn't a single burn.

"It feels tingling."

What Tathagata showed at that moment didn't need to be explained by himself.

Although he wasn't as proficient in Martial Arts as the Rankers in the Murim World, YuWon knew enough about some famous stances.

And if his thoughts were correct.

[Indestructible Body (金剛不壞)]

A martial art stance from the Murim World that momentarily hardens the body like steel.

That was what unfolded in Tathagata's body.

Chit, chit-!

Amidst the golden waves of the discharge launched by YuWon...

Kkwang-!

At the moment YuWon naturally inhaled, he sensed a strange aroma at the tip of his nose.

And in the instant that aroma tickled his nose, the surrounding scenery changed.

"Lotos?"

Beautiful pink petals bloomed on the temple floor. They weren't lotus flowers in a pond but bloomed in the temple. They were more beautiful than any lotus YuWon had seen before.

But in YuWon's eyes, he saw hidden thorns in that beauty. After seeing the future through the Eyes of Foreknowledge, he kicked the ground.

Kwung-!

[Uranus Heart invokes 'Tartarus'.]

Total darkness enveloped YuWon's body.

And then, immediately, pink lotus petals bloomed in the main hall and flew towards YuWon.

Pik, pipipipik-.

Ssshaeaak-!

Tens of millions, even billions of lotus petals rushed toward YuWon's body. The petals that touched the darkness emanating from Tartarus lost their power and withered, falling to the ground.

Tathagata, who deployed another Martial Art along with the Indestructible Body, looked at the darkness hidden among the millions of lotus petals and Tartarus and murmured.

"Is this the power of Uranus?"

The force that blocked the Divine Fist, and the lightning thrown by YuWon. Everything seemed somehow familiar.

But seeing that he also invoked the power of Tartarus, he was almost sure.

It was interesting.

Discovering the traces of a High-Ranker who had been active in his era in a place he had come to after jumping through an indefinite time.

"That's strange."

Tathagata frowned perplexed.

"It's much stronger than what is in this Yokai's memory. It hasn't even been a year."

Initially, Tathagata hadn't paid attention to YuWon's existence, thanks to Son OhGong's memory giving him an idea of his abilities.

Surely, he had potential and skills worth cultivating, but that was simply an expectation for someday in the future.

But this, what the hell?

Suddenly, he remembered the words left by Son OhGong.

-Probably because that guy doesn't intend to win.

He didn't intend to win, so he didn't win.

It was a hard story to understand. Above all, he couldn't accept how quickly he was becoming stronger.

Kugung, kugugu-.

It was then...

Within the Tartarus covered in lotuses.

A line of darkness even blacker than the Tartarus darkness glimpsed.

"It can't be."

Was he trying to counterattack from there?

With a more intense sense of crisis than before, Tathagata deployed the Indestructible Body once again.

[Nir.]

Nir, an item comparable to Gungnir, and YuWon was activating it hidden among the lotuses and Tartarus.

Twhack-!

The spear was aimed at Tathagata's head. More precisely, it was heading for the Golden Headband that encircled his head.

Despite deploying the Indestructible Body, it was quite an overwhelming strike to block.

There was no other option.

In Tathagata's hands, along with the Indestructible Body, the Empty-Handed was deployed once again.

If he couldn't block it with his body, he would catch the incoming spear with his hands.

But then...

Flash-!

At the moment he caught Nir with his hand, a black light burst in the hall.

Kwwoooong-!

In an instant, everything in the hall disappeared. In the world that turned black like space, not a single sound remained.

It was as if the world had stopped. But that kind of world didn't last forever.

Gradually, the darkness dissipated, and the scenery of the main hall reappeared.

Lotus flowers that died in black.

In the midst of them, Tathagata staggering.

Thud-.

YuWon approached Tathagata.

Looking down at Tathagata kneeling with one knee, YuWon disappointedly looked at the Golden Headband encircling his head.

"What is this?"

He sighed as he looked at Tathagata as if he were disappointed.

"You should have brought Son OhGong instead."

KO-FI