Leveling with the Gods

Son OhGong saw multiple paths ahead of him.

"...Where?"

A complex maze that couldn't be easily navigated even with the Golden Cinder Eyes.

There were dozens and hundreds of those diverging paths in the vast caves of the Five Elements Mountain.

He wanted to crush them all and make a path, but he couldn't.

"Argh... My head hurts so much."

Huh.

Over Son OhGong's eyes, the intricate labyrinth of the Five Elements Mountain appeared as if he were looking at the palm of his hand.

The path was difficult, but not impossible to follow.

"You still have better vision than me."

The night before.

Gathering his alter egos and the Bull Demon King, YuWon pointed at the first alter ego and said.

"So, this is your role."

"And what about me, I don't fight?"

"If you can handle it, fine, but that probably won't happen."

Unimpressed, Son OhGong shook his head.

"I don't want to do it. You do it."

"Like I said, it's a race against time."

Find the path, and reach the location of the magic core as soon as possible.

YuWon had assigned himself that tedious role.

"You have to do it."

"No, seriously..."

He couldn't believe he had to do it just because he had the Golden Cinder Eyes.

It was a disappointing situation for him, who had inflated with expectations of a fun fight against the Celestial Realm after a long time.

"There are two ways to break the seal's spell."

Once the decision was made on who would break the seal, the Bull Demon King spoke about the method to break it.

"The first is to break the spell itself, which covers the entire Five Elements Mountain, and only I can do that."

"If there's a first, is there a second?"

When Son OhGong asked as if he were dejected, the Bull Demon King nodded and smiled.

"The second method is to find the core of the spell and apply an opposing enchantment to that spell. Although it requires a condition, as long as it's fulfilled, this is much easier."

"Why is that?"

"Spell cores are usually small and relatively weak, like charms or beads. That's why they shake off more easily than you think and weaken even with the slightest impact."

Swii-.

Son OhGong took out the yellow amulet he had placed in his pocket.

"Seriously, does this have that much power?"

Sniff~

He smelled it, and yes, it smelled of Mana. But it was doubtful that this thin and seemingly insignificant piece of paper could truly break the spell that had trapped the main body.

"Well..."

After a moment's pause, OhGong dismissed his complicated thoughts and resumed his search.

"You said I don't have to solve it all, right?".

Kwow!

YuWon's body was cut in half by Li Jing.

However...

YuWon's body turned into lightning and disappeared from the scene.

Fajijit-.

YuWon, who had appeared a few steps away, hurried to regain his broken balance.

Li Jing looked at him with a frown as the distance opened up again.

"You're as elusive as a fish."

Kwak-!

Even while speaking, Li Jing's spear did not rest.

YuWon dodged the spear again. Through the Golden Cinder Eyes, he could clearly see the trajectory of Li Jing's spear.

And not only that.

'I can see it.'

He could also clearly see where to wield his sword.

Shuak-.

The sword stabbed towards the only visible point.

Zeng-!

Li Jing, who had hastily blocked the sword, staggered back in surprise. For a moment, he felt that his head would be impaled if he made a mistake.

"This... makes no sense."

Thud, thud-.

Li Jing slapped his hunched waist with the back of his hand and looked YuWon in the eyes.

"Those eyes... are quite troublesome."

YuWon's movements were peculiar.

He wasn't necessarily fast, but it felt like he knew his movements in advance.

Li Jing recognized this as one of the abilities of the Golden Cinder Eyes.

At that moment, Li Jing was on high alert for YuWon's movements.

YuWon, too, never took his eyes off the tip of Li Jing's spear, and his senses were more alert than ever.

'I can keep up.'

A High Rank within the top 100.

He was clearly keeping up with the movements of someone who was close to being one of the top-ranked players in the Tower.

He was still far from where he had been in the past, but it was still quite an achievement.

'At this point, after obtaining the Golden Cinder Eyes, I thought it would be a success even if I reached the 500th rank...'

Kwak-.

It was quite satisfying to have someone in front of him to test his accomplishments.

Of course.

'Although I'm still not ready for a direct confrontation.'

The battle between Li Jing and YuWon consisted of borrowing the power of the Golden Cinder Eyes and the Sensory Field to dodge attacks, and using the power of Gigantification to compensate for his lack of strength.

Occasionally, he counterattacked, like now, but only occasionally.

"Are you going to keep dodging?"

And knowing that fact, Li Jing showed a bewildered expression.

At this rate, he was destined to win, and there was no way YuWon didn't know that.

"So it seems?"

Kurrrr-.

Thunder rumbled in the sky.

Li Jing looked up.

"Then you're mistaken."

Flash-!

A bright yellow light burst from the sky.

At the same time, Li Jing's spear pointed upward.

Whirr, whirr, whirr-.

Cak, Cak, Cak, Cak!

The Lightning Bolt that fell upon Li Jing's head was intercepted by the spinning spear.

Li Jing immediately grabbed the spear with both hands and swung it.

Clang-!

The power of the Lightning Bolt was redirected towards YuWon. YuWon extended his Uranus Heart and swallowed the Lightning Bolt once again.

It was a conversion in itself, but for Li Jing to block his Lightning Bolt so easily made YuWon's heart sink.

"It's not enough."

Li Jing was fully armed.

There was a certain resemblance between him and Lee Rangjin, and there were stories circulating that he was Lee Rangjin's mentor.

A spear as the main weapon, similar skills with the spear, and a sturdy body.

He had reached this Rank without any special abilities, relying solely on his body and a spear.

"You have an unusual ability. Is it the power of Zeus?"

Like any ancient High Rank of the past, Li Jing sought the source of YuWon's abilities.

And as each ability was revealed, one by one, like peeling an onion, his curiosity about YuWon grew.

"Wouldn't you be willing to work with us in the Celestial Realm? If so, I will ask the Jade Emperor to forgive you for any sins you have committed."

A proposal like the one Lee Rangjin made.

Attempting to rescue the Great Sinner from the Celestial Realm was a sin equivalent to reigniting the Great Celestial War.

However, Li Jing was trying to lure YuWon, who was about to commit such a sin, into his arms.

That meant he desired it.

"I refuse."

"Why don't you reconsider?"

"It's an offer I've heard many times before. My answer won't be different this time."

"Really?"

Li Jing stroked his chin and looked at YuWon with puzzlement.

It was definitely odd behavior.

"To reject an offer from a massive guild like the Celestial Realm, and then try to rescue the main enemy of that massive guild."

There was no way he would have done that without a personal relationship.

"Are you trying to become the heir of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal? Or is it for another reason?"

"You can think whatever you want."

"I don't know what secrets you hold, but it's obvious that your talent is too valuable to die in a place like this."

Thump-.

Li Jing pierced the ground with the spear he held in his hand and looked at YuWon.

"You're not the heir of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal... No, even if you are, why don't we stop now? I'm only saying this because I really don't want you to die."

"There's no need to worry about that. We don't have a relationship, after all."

"Help from the Celestial Realm will arrive soon."

Li Jing's gaze shifted upward.

"It won't be easy with just the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven, and the alter egos."

The Bull Demon King didn't have his Mixed Iron Rod, and Son OhGong was an alter ego, not the main body.

No matter how great they were, they were still far from the power they had when they declared war on the Celestial Realm in the past.

"Time is on our side. So you better not be too stubborn..."

Li Jing narrowed his eyes and looked at YuWon menacingly.

"What do you think?"

"..."

Right now, here and now, Li Jing was restraining the alter egos, and Lee Rangjin was restraining the Bull Demon King.

If the Generals of the Celestial Realm were to arrive here, or a greater force like Ne Zha.

Then, indeed, this battle would easily come to an end.

"Time is on your side......."

The corner of YuWon's mouth subtly lifted.

"Well. How will it be?"

YuWon's gaze traveled behind Li Jing.

A tall mountain pierced through the clouds.

Presumably, by now, OhGong's alter ego was heading towards the inner part of the Five Elements Mountain.

And without further ado, when the two stopped fighting for a moment and were having a conversation...

Goo-goo-goo-.

Woo-.

At the peak of the Five Elements Mountain...

The blue sky trembled, and small cracks began to appear.

Naturally, their gazes turned upwards.

"It seems they have finally arrived."

Tsk-tsk-.

The cracks widened in an instant.

Amidst the opened cracks, soldiers riding celestial chariots began to appear.

Players of the Celestial Realm. And Rankers.

And among them...

Swoosh~

A chilling sensation of death could be felt, as if it pressed down on them just by being there.

"Faster than I thought."

He thought it would take at least thirty minutes, maybe an hour, before Lee Rangjin could request help from the Celestial Realm and they would arrive.

But apparently, the Celestial Realm had been prepared.

Only about thirty minutes.

The support from the Celestial Realm arrived in the minimum time that everyone, including YuWon, expected.

"It's not too late."

Li Jing still had persistent feelings for YuWon.

"As you can see, this battle has already ended. Against such a large force, do you think you can win?".

Crack, crack...

The cracks continued to grow at this moment.

Thousands of troops.

Although there were countless Players and Rankers in the Celestial Realm, it was rare to see such a large number of troops gathered.

"The Celestial Realm still doesn't know of your existence. Reflect and repent now."

Reflect and repent.

Reflect on what and repent for what?

Although the words were unintelligible, YuWon was quite familiar with this way of thinking in the Celestial Realm.

'The Heavens are justice, and everything contrary is evil.'

Their definition of evil and justice was that simple.

And it seemed that the Li Jing in front of him was no different.

"If you don't, you will probably die in a more horrible way than you can imagine."

Crack-.

At that moment...

YuWon and Li Jing looked at the tan-skinned man who began to emerge from the same crack.

"He's my son, but he's truly insane."

Li Jing's son.

The most outstanding weapon of the Celestial Realm, who destroys the enemies of the Celestial Realm.

The arrival of the God of War, Ne Zha.

His arrival marked the beginning of the Celestial War.