Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 375

Nangseon Gi Hwan Dam – Part 2, Chapter 84

Sagi calmly gazed at the new scenery before him.

The Water Realm’s cultivators, who had been chanting for the Hwagiirin, suddenly turned their swords and spears against the Sa Clan.

It was quite a spectacle.

It felt like only yesterday he was being cheered for killing so many Seonsal in the Seonsal War, yet overnight, he was falsely accused.

The charge was absurd.

A shameful accusation of defiling a princess of the royal family.

He was furious upon hearing such a ridiculous charge.

But in the end, it was futile.

Those who feared his power threatened the Sa Clan’s bloodline, leaving him with no choice but to surrender himself to receive the Moegeop [a type of punishment or trial].

‘A sinner.’

From the Seonsal.

He protected the Water Realm from external forces and sacrificed himself to protect his family, yet he couldn’t protect himself and became a sinner.

“Showing me all sorts of things.”

What followed was a phantasmagoria mixing his memories with unpleasant recollections.

He was indifferent to the illusion that dredged up old memories and twisted them to its liking.

‘But the cruel thing about this illusion is that even if you know it’s an illusion, watching it for hundreds of years can make you believe it’s real.’

Memories become hazy with time, like a fog in the mind.

But repetition etches them in.

Even knowing it’s false, seeing it for hundreds of years can make you believe it’s true.

“Your illusions are as pathetic as ever.”

Sagi transformed back into his Talhyeong form and flipped his palm.

His painful memories vanished, and the desolate landscape welcomed him back.

[It may be pathetic to you, but will it be so for those others?]

Sagi’s gaze shifted to the Chungseon party.

[Everyone carries a heartbreaking wound, and simply digging into that wound can easily break even those who have cultivated for countless eons.]

“I truly dislike everything about you. It’s because of your vile methods that I became enemies with my acquaintances.”

[Foolish one. To survive in the Upper Realm, you must dig into your enemies’ wounds and plant poison within them!]

Kwaaaang!

Sagi, having blocked the Geumbakjiju’s [a powerful entity or demon] attack, frowned at her face, which was stretched into a wide grin.

[Look at those fragile ones. Though my power is insignificant, they are collapsing in an instant from even this insignificance!]

Tsk.

Unfortunately, her words were true.

Not all, but most of them.

Tamlang remained unmoved, but the others were in poor condition.

Cheongmin seemed to be holding on, but Nanchae was faltering, and even the Jonja [a title of respect, possibly a monk or elder] was kneeling precariously.

But the most dangerous one was…

‘….’

Cheonbeom was emitting a massive amount of murderous intent, breathing heavily.

Like an enraged wild bull.

Like a beast on the verge of howling, he was exuding all sorts of emotions.

[He’s quite peculiar. What he possesses is truly astonishing. He’s using your Gongbeop [a martial art or cultivation technique], the Taecheon Oeyang Singong. He must be a disciple you’re raising?]

Geumbakjiju chattered gleefully.

She seemed to have mistaken him for Sagi’s direct disciple because of the Taehwamandeung.

[Why don’t you tear your disciple apart with your own hands!]

Click.

The tiger’s gaze, which had been lowered, slowly rose to the sky as she snapped her finger.

And the moment his eyes met Sagi’s.

Swish.

He vanished, scattering a blue wind.

And then, he appeared in the air and struck down with his fist.

Kuuuung!!

Sagi, having blocked Beom’s fist, let out a dumbfounded laugh.

‘This is a Sangseon [a high-ranking celestial being or immortal]?’

The energy and power contained in the fist both transcended the Sangseon level.

His palm was tingling.

But it didn’t end there; Beom’s condition began to change.

Behind him, five Geuksan mountains with the energy of the Five Elements suddenly appeared and rotated, then transformed into the Eight Trigrams [Bagua].

The Eight Trigrams split and positioned themselves as if aligning with the cardinal directions, and then transformed into the Sixty-Four Trigrams, with a Mandala blooming at the center.

[Ohaeng Yuksipsagye Sin? A Sangseon has mastered that? Hahahahahaha!! You truly have an amazing disciple!! To think he mastered such an insane Gongbeop! How amusing, truly amusing!]

The Sixty-Four Trigrams behind him began to be dyed gold from the Mandala and then seeped into his body.

The Eight Trigrams, divided into eight, spread throughout his body and settled into place, and then he thrust his fist once more.

Thud.

It was different from the previous fist, which had been purely violent.

‘It hurts.’

The Ohaeng Yuksipsagye Sin divides the power of the Five Elements and transforms the Eight Trigrams into the Sixty-Four Trigrams to generate greater power.

If Gyuncheon Bohwa combined offense and defense by turning his body into a sword, the Ohaeng Yuksipsagye Sin opens all the senses of the mind, energy, and body, allowing for optimal attack and optimal defense.

They might seem similar at first glance, but there was a vast difference between the two.

‘He did all sorts of things with one punch.’

Sagi, having blocked Beom’s punch, could feel a throbbing in his left palm.

The energy of the Trigrams had penetrated, attacking his bones, scattering the blood within, and trying to tear apart the contained energy.

Moreover, it targeted a precise point.

It aimed for the weakest part of his palm and struck with its fist.

Originally, this was not something a Sangseon could do.

But Beom had done it, and now he was about to unleash the Taecheon Oeyang Singong and take out the Geochang in one hand to attack.

‘Ssangmyeol [likely a powerful weapon or technique]? Why does he have that….’

Sagi couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

It hadn’t been many years since he ascended to the Upper Realm, just over a thousand.

That meant it hadn’t been long since Beom ascended, so what on earth had happened that he was wielding the Ssangmyeol!

Besides, how could a Sangseon be so strong… Sagi was wondering whether to be happy about this or worry.

“I thought he wasn’t ordinary, but….”

He didn’t expect it to be this extent.

He was glad to know the strength of someone who was like a disciple, but the situation was not flowing well.

“Damn it!”

As expected, the Geumbakjiju snatched one of them through this small gap.

“Kuaaaaak!!”

[Kyahahahaha! Sagi, you’ve raised a disciple very well!]

The Geumbakjiju swallowed the Jonja whole and shuddered.

And then, she began to open her eyes, which had been constantly closed.

[Haa… this is it. This is it….]

Lost in ecstasy, she opened six of her thirty-six eyes.

‘Damn it.’

Sagi’s heart grew anxious.

If he dragged this out any longer, nothing would be salvaged.

It was time to give it his all.

He had been trying to conserve his strength as much as possible, but this was not the time.

“It’s nice to have a reunion after so long, but there’s no other way!”

Sagi knocked away Cheonbeom’s Ssangmyeol with his sword and created a small sun in his hand.

The sun instantly grew massive.

Then, Cheonbeom also began to create a huge golden sun.

“It’s not the right time, but let me teach you a lesson!”

It was then.

Suddenly, Sagi’s sun began to shrink rapidly.

At the same time, Sagi’s entire body turned red-hot, emitting tremendous heat.

The surroundings were ablaze, mirages appeared, and the moisture completely dried up, making the skin parched.

Soon, Sagi’s entire body shone brightly and began to ignite.

“There is only one sun in the world, and I am also one, so I shall become the sun illuminating the sky and the creation of all things.”

The surroundings were brightly illuminated by Sagi’s sunlight, and as the tremendous heat melted everything, the sunlight emanating from his entire body began to draw everything in.

Cheonbeom was helpless against the law of attraction that was being drawn in again.

Even Cheonbeom, who had mastered both the same Taecheon Oeyang Singong and Hwasintong [a technique related to fire or transformation], had no way to deal with Sagi’s Hwama [a state of being or technique related to fire and possibly demonic power].

Not satisfied with just that, he clasped his hands together and drew up the energy of his entire body. It seemed as if he was trying to burn the Geumbakjiju’s body and everything here, like the sun above the sky that devours and burns everything.

[Do you think I’ll let you!]

The Geumbakjiju, unable to watch any longer, was greatly enraged and opened the Yukmun [likely a vital point or gate of energy], once again unfolding the illusion.

Once again, the heavens and earth were reversed, the sky became the ground, and the ground became the sky, and all sorts of seawater were created, causing tsunamis to surge.

From the sky that had become the ground, seawater fell as if through holes, and from the ground that had become the sky, clods of earth and lumps of land fell, trying to cover everything.

“No way!”

But Sagi’s Taecheon Oeyang Singong evaporated the tsunamis, embraced the sky, and melted the ground, causing it to fall.

“The sun is not under the sky!”

[Kyaaaaaaaak!!]

The image of the Hwagiirin emerged from her entire body, and the screams of the Geumbakjiju echoed along with the hundreds of Hwagiirin running in all directions.

And then.

Crack, crack crack crack!!

Kwajangchangchang!!

The illusion shattered, and the world was dyed with the sunlight of the Taecheon Oeyang Singong.

It was just pure white light.

But the scenery it transformed was truly astonishing.

Sagi, who had become the sun itself, devouring everything, burned everything with his mere existence, like the noble sun in the sky.

[Hwagiirin, you son of a biiiitch!!]

It was then.

The Geumbakjiju, whose entire body was burned beyond recognition, appeared with only six eyeballs.

[I won’t go down so easily!]

The six eyeballs were fused into one, grotesquely twisted, but seemed to be gathering their last energy to cast a curse.

It was clearly not ordinary at first glance.

It was a powerful force that Sagi, who had lost his strength, could not possibly block.

“You! Do you know that if you do that, you will truly not be able to reincarnate!!”

He shouted, but the Geumbakjiju did not answer, as if she had put her last resentment into it. Soon, the Geumbakjiju’s eyeballs began to flicker.

At the same time, unease surged through his entire body. A light flashed, and Sagi transformed back into the Hwagiirin, ready to collide with a desperate determination when.

Swooooooosh!

The Geochang [likely a powerful weapon or technique] cutting through the wind.

The Ssangmyeol flew and pierced through the Geumbakjiju’s Yukmun.

“Stop… kill… her.”

Soon, Cheonbeom lost consciousness and fell powerlessly, and Sagi caught him in an instant.

Sagi’s expression as he looked at the unconscious Beom was like that of a grandfather looking at his grandson.

And that day.

A fierce pillar of fire soared in one place in the Jiju Zone [a specific area or region], and thereafter, the dark and humid Jiju Zone was transformed into a desert where not a single blade of grass grew.

* * *

Ten years later.

Inside a cave in the northern part of the Chunggye [a specific location or region].

“Huk!”

Cheonbeom, who had opened his eyes, looked around, momentarily not knowing where he was.

“You’re awake?”

The one who spoke was Cheongmin.

She approached, moving her butterfly wings, which were a mix of black and blue.

She held a bowl filled with white powder and a brush in her hands.

“Just a moment. Let me take a look.”

She familiarly removed his clothes, revealing scorch marks here and there.

There were quite a few places where flesh had fallen off and new flesh had grown.

Cheonbeom had never seen such scars before.

Cheongmin skillfully dipped the brush with white powder into the soot-covered areas and applied it to the wounds.

“You were too close to his Taegwang [likely a powerful technique or energy]. Others would have died long ago, but he said it’s only this much because you’re practicing the same Gongbeop.”

She said with a bright smile.

“Where is Gi Senior? No, the Geumbakjiju….”

“She’s dead. That’s what we went there for in the first place. He’s currently swallowing the Geumbakjiju’s original spirit and controlling its power. He’s very busy, so it would be good for Cheon Suseon [a title of respect] to take care of his own body?”

She slapped his chest, which stung terribly.

“You haven’t woken up for quite a while.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

“Well, about ten years?”

Ten years!

Then that meant she had been taking care of his wounds all this time.

Cheonbeom began to check his belongings.

Thanks to most of them being Yeonhwa-ed [likely a special material or artifact], not only Gongjeonggang [likely a specific item or weapon] but also various Beopgis [magical artifacts or tools] were all stored inside his body.

‘The Ssangmyeol is… over there.’

It was standing in a corner of the cave.

“Sagi said he had many questions about you. He’s gone into seclusion for a while, but he’ll be out soon. Well, he didn’t say anything to me either? It’s the first time I’ve heard he had a disciple.”

As she grumbled, a calm voice replied.

“There was no need to say it. When I saw that guy in the Lower Realm, he was only an Yeonggeop [a stage of cultivation] who hadn’t even eaten a thousand Sals [likely a unit of measurement for spiritual energy or experience].”

“Huh? Is that true?”

It had only been a little over a thousand years since Sagi ascended to the Upper Realm.

That meant Cheonbeom was only a little over two thousand years old, so his ascension was too fast for a Youngsoo [a term for a young or inexperienced cultivator].

“If you had reached Yeongwon [a higher stage of cultivation], the lifespan limit would have widened, and it wouldn’t have been too late to come up after filling ten thousand years… You came up too quickly. Thanks to you, my words to find Cheon Oeyanggun [a title or name] have become nonsense.”

Sagi smiled pleasantly and looked at Beom with affectionate eyes.

“Welcome.”