Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 365

The Way.

What is the Way?

It is building the Way within oneself, refining it, and standing against the truth of the heavens.

That is cultivation, the path to immortality, and eventually, taking a place above the laws of heaven.

“But…”

Such a concept of the Taoist path was not visible in the Chungseon [a type of celestial being] of Manman Chungro [a specific location in the Chung Realm].

What should I call this?

‘Should I call it raw?’

Perhaps it should be called a Chung-like way of thinking.

Cheonbeom was already losing energy before even starting.

That was because, instead of him, Tamhwa had suddenly stepped out.

As if it were natural, Tamhwa stepped forward and began fighting the Seonchung [another type of celestial being, lower in rank than Chungseon] named Jonglin, leaving him with nothing to do.

Koo-oong!!

A heavy sound spread throughout the area.

The Seonchung named Jonglin fell, and Tamhwa stood on top of him.

It was a bland victory.

“Why are you acting up when you’re nothing!”

I don’t know why she’s angry, but it’s good that Tamhwa won.

It’s a relief she didn’t try to eat him.

“Is it done now?”

When I asked, the Chungseon in charge nodded.

However, the Venerable One had a very interesting expression. When I asked why,

“The Seonchung of Manman Chungro are those who have begun to develop some intelligence. If they accumulate a little more experience, they can become Chungseon. But there are also those who don’t become Chungseon, so their power can be considered equivalent to Sangseon [a higher rank of Seonchung].”

But Tamhwa dealt with them with a single punch, so not only the Venerable One but also the surrounding Chungseon and Seonchung couldn’t hide their excitement.

“I thought she was strong in a subtle way, but this is really beyond expectations.”

As soon as the Venerable One finished speaking, another Seonchung appeared in front of Tamhwa this time.

The next one was a scorpion with three tails and pincers.

Then Tamhwa immediately looked at Cheonbeom.

“Are you okay with this?”

“It looks fun.”

“…Then do as you please.”

It’s good that she seems to be enjoying it.

Soon, a battle broke out, and Tamhwa showed off her true form of Oryong [likely a dragon form], throwing all the Seonchung gathered in Manman Chungro to the ground.

After that, even the Chungseon, burning with a desire to win, rushed at Tamhwa, but they fell like autumn leaves.

The fight continued for ten days, with Tamhwa fighting them relentlessly without sleeping, and even eating some of them.

Later, when I asked her, she said that the ones she ate were those with nasty hearts, so she couldn’t help it.

It seems there’s something between the Chung that I don’t know about. Anyway, after ten days, Cheonbeom was able to enter Manman Chungro.

Tamhwa proved her strength, but Cheonbeom didn’t, so the Seonchung blocked his path and acted up.

But whenever that happened, Tamhwa beat them up thoroughly, and after that, no one in Manman Chungro bothered Cheonbeom.

* * *

Ten days after Cheonbeom entered Manman Chungro.

Tamhwa, who had repeatedly fought with the Chungseon of Manman Chungro for ten days, had brought most of the Seonchung, as well as the Chungseon, to their knees.

After that, all the Chungseon of Manman Chungro revered Tamhwa as a neighbor and a strong person. So, when walking through one side of Manman Chungro, whether they were Chungseon or Seonchung, they would all stop for a moment and pay their respects.

Cheonbeom was quite impressed by the respect shown to the strong.

It was amazing that even the Seonchung, who had not yet reached the ranks of gods, showed respect to Tamhwa.

But other than that, there was nothing particularly special about Manman Chungro.

He could just feel an immeasurable number of presences, and the Seonchung were constantly fighting each other at every opportunity.

Sometimes it was for survival, and sometimes they were just playing around.

And other than that, there was nothing particularly special.

The Seonchung would fight for fun or to eat.

The Chungseon were not much different.

The Chungseon here had a somewhat limited vocabulary because there was little need to talk much in the Chung Realm.

“The Sangseon [a high-ranking celestial being] of the Chung Realm are mostly like that. Unlike other realms, we don’t go into caves to train in seclusion, but we recognize our strength only through life-and-death struggles, and we seek out strong opponents to become even stronger.”

“Isn’t it for eternal life?”

“We don’t do that. I don’t know about other cultivators, but at least the Chung Realm only fights for its own strength.”

And that enlightenment is acquired only through combat.

It was a cultivation method unique to the Chung Realm, living a life of life-and-death struggles.

Cheonbeom was puzzled by the Venerable One’s explanation.

‘Why are such people obsessed with the Six Severances and Thirty-Six Doors?’

According to him, the Chung Realm values practical experience above all else, and those who repeatedly engage in combat to ascend to immortality.

He wondered why such combat enthusiasts wanted to obtain the Six Severances and Thirty-Six Doors left by an old Chungseon.

“Anyway, Manman Chungro is a place where Chung who are determined to become stronger and climb to higher places gather.”

He had many questions, but Cheonbeom just listened to him silently.

It is said that it started when one Chungseon who appeared here created a secret technique to attract strong people from all over the Chung Realm because he was annoyed.

But more people came than expected, and later, it was named Manman Chungro because it was a road built with the corpses of Chung.

“And that’s me. Hahaha!”

“…Really?”

“It’s an old story. Maybe now only the guys around me remember…”

The Venerable One closed his eyes and smiled as if recalling an old memory.

It seemed to be a pleasant memory.

“But didn’t you say that your acquaintance was the lord of Manman Chungro? Then…”

In the Chung Realm, the change of the lord, the lord of the land, mostly means the death of the lord.

“I got tired of it and handed it over. But this guy lived well for about four thousand years, and then he was killed by a new guy. The current lord of Manman Chungro is that guy.”

Cheonbeom felt a sense of déjà vu at the Venerable One’s nonchalant demeanor.

“Aren’t you sad or angry?”

His acquaintance had died.

Since his acquaintance, whom he had directly handed over the position of lord, had died, it would not be strange if he harbored murderous intent towards the current lord.

“The Chung Realm is such a place. That guy died because he was weak. Weakness is not a sin, but it is natural to be eliminated. Originally, it is right for the strong to rule the world.”

There was nothing wrong with his words, but it was also difficult to say that they were right.

It is natural for the strong to rule the world, but he didn’t think it was necessary to express the death of his acquaintance in that way.

“And he’ll be reborn anyway, right? I don’t know what he’ll be born as, but death is just another cycle. The Chungseon of the Chung Realm don’t dwell on such things.”

I don’t know if it’s to hide his sadness or if he really thinks so.

Cheonbeom’s eyes narrowed.

After all, he still doesn’t know the Chung Realm or the Chungseon well. So, he should take his time and get to know them little by little.

“Venerable One.”

“What is it?”

“Where is the true copy of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Art? Manman Chungro only seems to have forests and mountains, but do you know where the true copy is?”

When Cheonbeom spoke suspiciously, the Venerable One told him not to worry and replied,

“I remember it exactly. The Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Art that you desire will also be in the residence of the lord of Manman Chungro. The lord’s residence has always been there.”

Following the Venerable One’s words, as he walked through Manman Chungro for a while, he saw strange rocks, and upon closer inspection, it seemed that the shape was not a simple rock.

“Is this perhaps a tree?”

The size was so large that he had to look up, and the outer surface was rough, like a stone.

If it weren’t for its unique shape, he would never have thought it was a tree.

The size and thickness were so great that it was hard to believe it was a tree.

“I used to reside here before. It’s the oldest tree in this area. I call it Gigalseokmok (飢渴石木) [Starving Thirst Stone Wood].”

Gigalseokmok.

‘Is it a dried-up stone tree?’

While Cheonbeom was inferring the meaning, the Venerable One glanced around and suddenly expressed a terrifying killing intent.

Then Manman Chungro stirred once, and the Gigalseokmok, where the lord resided, suddenly began to wriggle.

“There’s one thing I didn’t tell you first.”

“What is it?”

“Perhaps the lord of Manman Chungro won’t easily let us into that place. So, we need to divide our roles.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll see. What you have to do is sneak in there.”

It was then.

The outer surface, like a stone, contracted, and suddenly the roots of the Gigalseokmok sprouted from the ground and attacked the Venerable One.

‘Fast.’

The speed is invisible to the eye.

Momentarily, clods of dirt scattered, and sharp roots like spears aimed at the Venerable One.

Unlike Cheonbeom, who swallowed empty air, the Venerable One knocked down the roots as if he had been waiting for them and struck the Gigalseokmok’s body.

Kwaaaang!!

The tremendous impact spread a loud noise throughout the area, and a strong wind raged.

The Venerable One’s appearance of striking the Gigalseokmok in an instant made even Cheonbeom swallow hard.

‘Strong.’

He knew he was strong as a Hyangseon [a high-level celestial being], but he was stronger than that.

That blow just now.

Despite being a light blow, it had tremendous destructive power.

“Gigalseokmok has quite unique properties. When you express killing intent, it somehow knows and attacks first. Taking advantage of that, if you put a blow into the center of the stone tree, the stone tree will absorb the impact to…”

Crackle. Soon, the center of the Gigalseokmok, which had received the Venerable One’s blow, cracked and a small gap was created.

“This is how the door opens.”

The lord of Manchungro is inside here. One who can open the door of Gigalseokmok. And one who can block the attack of Gigalseokmok is qualified to sit in the position of the lord of Manman Chungro.

“You, a Suseon [a celestial being associated with water] of the Water Realm, may not understand it well, but for the Chung of our Chung Realm, trees are homes and beings to be overthrown. If the tree gets too big, new trees can’t come up, and then the forest is likely to get sick.”

If the forest gets sick, the foundation disappears, and the beings living in the foundation die.

“So I wanted to overthrow this Gigalseokmok, but I couldn’t. The wall for me was not the sky, but this tree.”

The Venerable One’s tone, as he smiled bitterly, contained regret.

“Then let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

At that time, when he answered briefly.

Suddenly, a cool wind blew from the door of Gigalseokmok.

Cheonbeom, whose whole body froze in an instant, had cold sweat running down his spine.

‘A huge killing intent.’

Cheonbeom had never been inferior to anyone in terms of killing intent, but he had never felt such a huge killing intent before.

He didn’t know how many people he had killed.

A killing intent like Mount Tai [a metaphor for immense pressure].

It was so eerie that it could be called the killing intent itself.

[Who is it?]

A low, heavy voice echoed from inside Gigalseokmok.

The energy contained in the echoing voice is not that of a Sangseon.

It was definitely that of a Hyangseon Shinseon [a high-level celestial being].

“It’s a neighbor of Manman Chungro. I need a Suseo [a copy or manuscript] in Gigalseokmok.”

But the answer that came back was like a knife.

[I have no neighbors.]

“No neighbors, then what are all those who are in Manman Chungro?”

[They are all just my food.]

“Heh, arrogant. But it’s arrogance worthy of the lord of Manman Chungro! What is your name!”

[…Tamlang Lord.]

Soon, a heavy rake came out of the open entrance of Gigalseokmok.

What is revealed is a Hyangseon with a similar appearance to a human, surrounded by armor.

The forelimbs were like praying mantises with sharp rakes, and they were arms that could instantly slaughter the opponent.

“Tamlang Lord! We need the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Divine Art Suseo in Gigalseokmok. May we take it for a moment?”

He asked politely, but Tamlang Lord revealed a cold gaze.

[There is no one who can enter my, Tamlang Lord’s, residence. Take it if you can. But then, your head will be torn off.]

“Does the lord of Manman Chungro talk in circles like that? If you just want to fight, just say you want to fight!”

Then Tamlang Lord grinned.

[If you want to enter Gigalseokmok, kill me. It’s a simple task.]

The Venerable One and Tamlang’s desire to win was in full bloom.

Soon the two disappeared, and a huge sonic boom spread across one side of the sky.

Kwaaaang!!

A earth-shattering roar cut through the forest, and all the trees in the forest were uprooted and cut down in the two’s battle.

While most of the Chungseon and Seonchung were watching the two’s battle.

Cheonbeom quietly stared at the door of Gigalseokmok and slipped inside.