The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 300

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – Episode 299

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully Episode 299

The Holy Shrine (9)

The Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine, Jade Emperor Palace.

A gathering place for all the gods of the Korean Peninsula.

The nameless deity stepped behind Yoo Seong-woo, waiting for him to ascend to the Jade Emperor Palace first.

Yoo Seong-woo paused for a moment, looking up at the Jade Emperor Palace.

‘This place is definitely a battlefield.’

The ominous energy he felt from outside was clearly directed at him.

There would be friendly faces, but also many hostile ones.

“Let’s go.”

Yoo Seong-woo ascended the remaining steps.

As he approached, the massive doors of the Jade Emperor Palace opened.

The scene inside was otherworldly.

The sky and the moon hung simultaneously, and the four divine beasts were seated on high mountains in their respective directions.

The scene, reminiscent of Irworobongdo [a Korean folding screen with a stylized landscape of a sun, moon, and five peaks, traditionally placed behind the king during ceremonies], caused Yoo Seong-woo to pause before stepping inside again.

Once completely inside, he could see the faces of the people.

The faces of gods.

The deities of the Korean Peninsula who maintained the Jade Emperor Palace, the Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine.

Their gazes all turned to Yoo Seong-woo as he stepped into the Jade Emperor Palace.

An immense pressure.

Yet, despite their pressure, Yoo Seong-woo stood confidently in their midst and spoke.

“The Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine is nothing special. It seems to be all about appearances.”

A shocking remark.

However, no one rebuked him.

Most of those present had lower divine status than Yoo Seong-woo.

Yoo Seong-woo was clearly a being who had achieved great divinity on his own.

“I came to the Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine as you wished, but there isn’t even a word of congratulations. Or is this a hearing?”

The Jade Emperor Palace was enveloped in a strange atmosphere. They had summoned him, but instead of saying anything, they just stared at Yoo Seong-woo as if he were some kind of spectacle.

‘Look at these guys.’

Yoo Seong-woo frowned and chuckled.

They were testing the waters.

Yoo Seong-woo’s fate was too twisted to read, and his power was too great to gauge.

They hadn’t yet decided how to treat him and were still trying to figure him out.

In the past, he had to be mindful of the gods, but now they were watching him.

‘It must be because of my unique circumstances.’

Gods were restricted from directly wielding their power in the human realm, but Yoo Seong-woo had reached divinity while still alive.

He could wield that power in the human realm at any time, so he had the power to overturn the board they had set.

That was why other Holy Shrines were so eager to recruit him.

In other words, he held the initiative.

If things continued like this, there was no reason to stay here.

Yoo Seong-woo immediately turned and walked towards the exit.

Then, a girl blocked his path.

“Child, what is your hurry? I apologize for the rudeness of the others.”

Yoo Seong-woo looked at the girl blocking his way.

A powerful divinity that could be felt at first glance, clearly different from the gods around him who were just testing the waters.

The number of deities who could call even those gods ‘child’ was limited.

‘…Who is it?’

Yoo Seong-woo racked his brain, which he had been studying for a week.

Then he came to a conclusion.

If she was called the mother of all, the first myth…….

“So, Ungnyeo [the bear who became a woman and mother of Dangun, the founder of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom]…….”

“Samsin Halmi [the Goddess of childbirth and destiny], you don’t need to stand up for such a rude person!”

“Or rather, just Samsin Halmi.”

Because of the name Halmi, or Grandmother, she was often depicted as an old woman, but the reality was different.

The word ‘Halmi’ was a kind of title used for the highest-ranking woman.

Samsin Halmi was recognized as one of the highest gods in Korean mythology, along with Hwanin [the God of the Sky] and Mago Halmi [the primordial goddess], so she seemed to be one of the supreme gods in the Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine.

“Child, rude? Haven’t you watched what path this child has walked?”

“That power is too much for him! If such power is given to a human who hasn’t even realized its full potential, you know what will happen!”

Yoo Seong-woo turned his gaze to the one who had been objecting to Samsin Halmi’s words.

It was a face he had never seen before.

Walking towards him was a warrior in ancient attire.

It was a face he had never seen in history books, but seeing him in the Jade Emperor Palace meant he was a deity of some note.

But of course, not a great deity.

“Do you have business with me?”

As Yoo Seong-woo spoke, the warrior hardened his expression and opened his mouth.

“That power is not something you, a human, should possess! Someday, that power will bring destruction!”

“I’m curious why you think so. Is there a precedent?”

“Of course. How many times have humans obtained power beyond their capacity and led the world to destruction? If you had studied history diligently, you would know.”

“I don’t know because I didn’t study history. I don’t even know who you are. Judging by your appearance, you must be some guy who rolled around on the battlefield and gained divinity by achieving some military exploit.”

Especially since he had no manners.

Some of the deities chuckled at Yoo Seong-woo’s words.

It seemed to be true.

“Why, are you upset? You struggled to earn a low-level deity position, but some guy who came from nowhere is a great deity?”

As Yoo Seong-woo said that, he released the divinity he had been suppressing.

Yamata no Orochi [an eight-headed serpent], Susanoo [the storm god], Shuten-doji [a powerful oni], and many other Japanese deities that he had dealt with and kept hidden away.

He was still digesting them, but that was enough to show the level of a great deity.

His well-honed divinity, like a single sword, spread throughout the Jade Emperor Palace, including the deity in front of Yoo Seong-woo.

The lower deities couldn’t withstand it and turned pale.

A vastness that didn’t pale in comparison to Samsin Halmi in front of him.

It was an incomplete universe, but that universe was incomparable to other divinities.

“Since I was born and raised in the same Korean Peninsula, I was going to quietly do my work and leave. There are a lot of love calls from everywhere. From the neighborhood next door, and from far away, from Northern Europe and Greece. I’m a busy man, that’s what I’m saying.”

Yoo Seong-woo raised his hand.

As the immense power pressed down on the general before him, he couldn’t resist and knelt.

Even though he was a general who had become a deity by achieving military exploits on the battlefield, he eventually knelt before the overwhelming power.

“A man should die rather than kneel. That’s how I’ve always lived.”

As he said that, he was about to draw his sword from his waist.

Samsin Halmi once again blocked the general and opened her mouth.

A great deity of the Jade Emperor Palace who was not intimidated by Yoo Seong-woo’s divinity.

“Let’s stop there, child. How can you try to kill a child who was born and raised in the same land?”

“I’ve already killed dozens of those born and raised in the same land. Killing one more who ignores me won’t change anything.”

“Everything comes back as karma. You must have heard these words many times…….”

“I’ve heard it to the point of being sick of it. I heard it six times when I killed enough deities to open a Holy Shrine in the neighborhood next door, and fourteen times when I killed about twenty.”

He had heard it so many times.

So, adding one or two more wouldn’t change anything.

“Samsin Halmi, I know who you are. You must have been a savior to many people in the Korean Peninsula for a long time. So don’t block me. I don’t want to cut you down.”

“…Are you determined to commit murder in the Jade Emperor Palace?”

“I’m willing not to wield it if you get that guy out of my sight.”

At Yoo Seong-woo’s words, Samsin Halmi sighed deeply and waved her hand.

Then, the general’s figure was swept away by the wind and disappeared, leaving only a breeze.

Seeing that, Yoo Seong-woo said.

“Oh, and there’s one face I want to see. Can you find that person too? There’s a guy who possessed a shaman and spewed harsh words at me…….”

“Let’s stop there.”

A general with a sword at his waist appeared next to Samsin Halmi.

A tall height and a handsome face.

The overflowing spirit and divinity told him that he was also a great deity.

“Samsin Halmi, we didn’t gather here for this today. Let’s teach the spirited junior later.”

Yoo Seong-woo carefully examined the man. The style of armor he wore was from the Goguryeo [ancient Korean kingdom] era.

Even the early period.

If there was anyone among those figures who could rise to the level of a great deity…….

‘Dongmyeongseongwang Go Jumong [the founder of the Goguryeo kingdom]. The founder who established Goguryeo.’

This time, he didn’t bother to say it out loud.

Not because he might be wrong, but because he was waiting for the other side to introduce himself first.

Go Jumong held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, junior. I’m Jumong. I heard that kids these days greet each other this way?”

Yoo Seong-woo shook Jumong’s hand and replied.

“Yoo Seong-woo. Jumong, senior.”

“Hahaha! Is this your first time in the Jade Emperor Palace? I’ll personally introduce you to various places. The main topic is after that. Not everyone has gathered yet.”

“It’s not bad now. There should have been only one or two guys looking at me with dog-like eyes.”

“It must be because they’re jealous of their junior. There hasn’t been anyone like you in nearly thousands of years.”

“Jealous my ass…….”

When Yoo Seong-woo was lukewarm, Jumong laughed loudly again and took Yoo Seong-woo to really guide him around the Jade Emperor Palace.

The Jade Emperor Palace was smaller than Takamagahara [the High Celestial Plain, the heavenly realm in Japanese mythology], but the density of divinity was high.

There were divine beasts in all directions, springs with clear water gushing out everywhere, and luscious fruits hanging on every tree.

There was even a system where servants would bring out alcohol and meat whenever you asked…….

“How is it? What are your impressions after looking around the Jade Emperor Palace?”

“It’s good. The neighborhood next door is ominous. If you walk around, two or three evil gods pop out and it’s tiring.”

“Hahaha!”

Yoo Seong-woo walked with Jumong and watched him all the time.

While looking around the Jade Emperor Palace, Jumong looked relaxed but never showed any gaps.

As if he would compete with his sword on the spot if he even drew his sword, he never let his guard down.

Yoo Seong-woo was the same.

Jumong turned his head and said.

“It seems like everyone has gathered now. Let’s go, junior.”

At Jumong’s words, Yoo Seong-woo nodded and moved with him.

The place they arrived at after walking a little was a separate room inside the Jade Emperor Palace.

‘I thought there was a building out of nowhere, but it was here.’

Perhaps, it was a place where the great deities who decided the direction of the Jade Emperor Palace gathered.

Even before entering the separate room, he could feel the tremendous divinities gathered.

He could feel several great divinities mixed together, to the point where he couldn’t tell whether they were friendly or hostile.

Yoo Seong-woo followed Jumong into the separate room.

Then, nine people sitting in front of a long rectangular table came into view.

Jumong found his empty seat and sat down, and Yoo Seong-woo plopped down at the end seat, opposite the head seat.

As he sat down, an old man with white hair sitting at the head seat opened his mouth.

“Then, from now on, let’s begin the grand conference of the Korean Peninsula Holy Shrine, the Jade Emperor Palace.”