Chapter 55 – Lord of the White Dream Hall (2)

Am I going to die like this…?

Seol-Hwi examined the window in front of him. He could try and reposition, but it really wasn’t worth thinking about. His opponent was ranked 29th in the sect, Lord of the White Dream Hall.

6… 5…

Seol-Hwi didn’t stand a chance—he was going to die in one hit—but he had to make a choice.

Wait. If I was just going to die, he wouldn’t have found a weakness. The Lord didn’t find a weakness in the last time he killed Seol-Hwi either, now that he thought about it. Maybe that had something to do with the overwhelming power difference, but they were also too close together that time.

Things were different now. The system was giving him a chance to respond, and maybe—just maybe—it was a chance to survive.

2… 1…

Seol-Hwi’s gaze lingered on the first choice, and he wondered if he could possibly change the combat mode.

It changed!

Combat Mode: <AI>

Combat Mode: <Simulation>

When he chose simulation, time froze again, followed by the familiar flood of illusions. Some ran into the room, some went rolling across the ground. A few would run, dodge, or move back. All of them disappeared.

There was just one illusion left.

Step 1: Standing in place, Martial Scarring Kick.

Put your back on the floor and lift your leg, then use the Martial Ghost Walking method. Seol-Hwi didn’t think about it anymore, he just followed the instructions.

Lifting his foot just barely let him avoid the attack, but his opponent looked a bit confused.

Step 2: Stand on both hands and kick.

Seol-Hwi put his weight on his hands and kicked. It was a worthy attack, but the Lord blocked it with his hands and stepped back.

Step 3: Use the Foot-Sword technique, the 3rd form of the White Light Body Demonic Martial Arts, and Broken Blade Solution.

This time it was a technique. Seol-Hwi drew his sword, focusing his internal energy, and prepared to move.

The glowing white sword lashed out. Suddenly, it shattered, tearing up everything around them and blocking the Asura from escaping.

The ice shards filled the room with a hazy fog.

[Simulation complete.]

“Ahh…” Seol-Hwi gaped.

The Lord of the White Dream Hall didn’t even move—yet he was still alive. Those were no mere ice shards, that was a lethal swordsmanship technique that the Lord had taken directly to his body. And yet, there was no damage… except for a stream of blood running down the corner of his mouth.

“A demonic—In the middle of the day…” His opponent stood there blankly while Seol-Hwi prepared another attack. The Lord’s eyes trembled slightly in disbelief.

I don’t know what I did, either! Seol-Hwi smiled.

It’s not as if the Asura had taken much damage, even though the attack was supposed to be lethal.

I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Seol-Hwi watched intently. He had no answer for this; all he could do was trust himself.

Surely the other him could find the way out. So he swapped and felt his soul detach from his body.

Combat Mode: <AI>

I can trust “you.”

After switching, he watched from the ceiling.

The AI looked around first, then stared at the enemy.

“Ahhhhhh, you fucking idiot!” he screamed at the ceiling.

Shit! Seol-Hwi felt a chill run down his spin. He’d seen this before.

He glanced to the side, and the Asura seemed flustered as well—not afraid, just embarrassed by Seol-Hwi’s apparently crazy actions.

However, the AI seemed to immediately calm down. Rather than angry or resentful, he looked relaxed.

“You know, in that situation your subordinates’ deaths really couldn’t have been avoided. I could have killed them all, though.”

And yet, he immediately spat provocations.

“…What?”

“Let’s go outside. I should show you who I am.” He walked out the door. Perhaps surprised by the provocation, the Lord just watched the AI walk past him.

No, can I actually win…? Did the AI have some secret skill he wasn’t aware of? There had to be, if he was speaking with such confidence.

…Huh?

“Ahhhhhhh!!!” The moment the AI stepped outside of the room, he started running like a madman.

Away from the opponent, not towards them.

Seol-Hwi was speechless. The AI didn’t even make it a few steps before the Lord of the White Dream Hall knocked him over.

However, AI Seol-Hwi didn’t give up.

“Ahhhhhh!!!” Like a madman, he kept running. He ran and ran and ran, and was cut across his back.

[Two lives left.]

Fuck…

[Which Point do you want to return to?]

◼ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 2-1: Three Choices from the Earth Demon.

◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-1: [Became a Core Warrior] Three years of rapid growth (Bonus Story).

◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-8 [Became a Core Warrior] Year One of Bonus Story.

Seol-Hwi thought about it for a while. Now, with two lives left, he wasn’t satisfied with the results of his last life and ended up choosing the third slot. It was annoying to go too far back and do things all over again when he’d already lost two lives.

[Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-8 [Became a Core Warrior] Year One of Bonus Story.]

“Whew…” Seol-Hwi looked around.

He felt alive, although he didn’t feel good.

“I shouldn’t even have the Purple Dragon Grass.”

He didn’t expect the Lord to come here, and there was no way he could convince the man. There was only one option left in the end: giving it to the Earth Demon.

– What is this?

– Are you… are you saying Hong asked you to give this to me?

– This is a big help to me. I will never forget this.

– Don’t worry. Even if the Lord of the White Dream Hall comes here, he won’t act recklessly.

“Phew…” Seol-Hwi breathed a sigh of relief, and also felt guilty for not taking the easy way first.

Damn it! I wasted two of my lives!

He learned an important lesson: excessive greed can cost him lives. It wasn’t good to act out of character, just because it’s a mission. Danger was always lurking—he had to remain calm.

Seol-Hwi was immersed in the idea and realized he had an excellent option: the Wind God, which tore apart his opponents with wind pressure.

⯁ Four Peaks Demonic Martial Arts: Table ⯁

Wind God: → N(neutral) ↓↘, A <4.5 speed>

It was difficult—despite endless practice, he couldn’t use it perfectly. If he focused on his form, he couldn’t move; if he focused on his movement, his form fell apart. On top of that, the demands for movement were excessive. In order to use the Wind God, he had to precisely control the flow of his energy to pierce a tiny point.

He spent twenty days like that, and then, on the last day, something suspicious happened.

[The Lord of the White Dream Hall wants to meet Seol-Hwi.]

This rotten bastard shouldn’t be here again.

[Cannot refuse.]

“This is the first time we’ve met. Let’s greet each other: I am the Lord of the White Dream Hall, Myriad Tribulations Asura.”

This is insane. He gave the herb to the Earth Demon, but this man was here again. Same words, same look.

“What brings you here?”

He had to ask. The Earth Demon had said that nothing would happen to Seol-Hwi, and he didn’t expect it to be a lie, but…

“What does bring me here?”

This is bad! Blood rushed to his head—it was looking like the Earth Demon had done nothing.

“I don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, then guess. I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Wait. This conversation… Was the same as he’d had before.

“Are you going to guess?”

Seol-Hwi scrambled for words, desperate to get ahead of the choices.

“For now, let’s—”

▶ What do you mean? Stop speaking gibberish. So fucking annoying.

▷ I ate it. Got a problem with that?

Earth Demon, you bastard! Seol-Hwi boiled with rage. You didn’t keep your word!

Not a single one of those options could solve this predicament.

6… 5…

Seol-Hwi blamed himself. Because I took the damned herb…

This wasn’t about going back to the save point anymore—but to be stuck in a position where he couldn’t find a way to break through?

3… 2…

Seol-Hwi desperately examined his choices. Wouldn’t it be better to choose something different than before?

<”I ate it. Got a problem with that?” was selected.>

– Continuing.

The Asura went silent, and the atmosphere was stiff as it was in the past. As his eyes turned more and more bitter, Seol-Hwi decided to just give up. He considered switching to simulation mode.

“Cheeky bas—”

“You’re here.”

Seol-Hwi’s head jerked, and the anger in his heart melted away like snow.

It was the Earth Demon, standing right behind the White Dream Hall Lord.