At first, it was simple curiosity toward the life born from only the most precious parts of Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon—two beings she treasures deeply—coming together to form the most precious existence.
Then, when that life was conceived within Kim Yeon's womb, when it gained a body and a beating heart, the curiosity only grew stronger.
Because Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon are both people whom Kang Min-hee loves dearly.
Perhaps the child inherited only the most lovable traits of both.
That's what she thought.
And on the day that child was born—
Kang Min-hee, seeing the child's eyes for the first time, suddenly thought:
'I want to be with this child...truly without any barriers.'
To put it simply, it was the feeling of 'wanting to get close'.
And as she watched the child grow, approaching the child with things like Jeongyeong Five Flowers and binding herself to the child.
She came to realize that the feelings she has for this child aren't just about wanting to be close.
'I see. I...'
She has come to love this child.
There are elements of love that cannot be defined solely by the concept of sexual affection.
And the 'love' Kang Min-hee feels toward the child is clearly a kind of love that cannot be judged by such elements.
She wants to be together.
She wants to see what the future holds.
She wants this child to be happy...
Carrying all those countless hopes, Kang Min-hee came to love the child.
Yes, perhaps...
Kang Min-hee began to think of this child as her own.
And maybe that is why...
When she heard Kim Yeon was going to abandon her body and return, she became so angry.
Whatever the case may be, she loves the child.
The child of Seo Eun-hyun, bearing the name of his old friend, 'Seo Ran'...
Sometimes like a mother, sometimes like a friend, sometimes like an adorable junior...
She loved her that way.
And when she first learned that Seo Ran has resolved herself to death—
At first, she didn't know how to face it.
But that confusion didn't last long.
'Ah...'
The moment she saw Seo Ran's eyes, she understood.
She knew what she must do for her.
Both Kim Yeon and Seo Eun-hyun are people Kang Min-hee likes.
So when she learned that the two like each other, she chose to step aside.
They are both people dear to her, and she didn't want anyone to be hurt because of her.
But...
She was never able to offer them her wholehearted congratulations at their wedding.
She was never able to truly wish for their happiness.
And so...
To the being who resembles only the most lovable parts of the two people she loves, she wanted to offer all the happiness she wasn't able to give them.
Kang Min-hee wished for Seo Ran to be happy.
And...
Watching Seo Ran awaken her Immortal Art and close her eyes, she came to fully understand what sorrow is.
Sorrow is a prison bar. A wall.
Yet at the same time, a wall also becomes a support for those who have climbed it.
As she parts with Seo Ran, she accepts the sorrow completely, and comes to understand that a being with a heart can also grow through sorrow.
The moment she fully realizes this, she becomes aware of a waterfall of power overflowing within her chest.
'This is...'
It is the sorrow of the Underworld.
A deep and even deeper sorrow.
Even the Underworld herself has overcome sorrow...
But the despair and grief brought by the gap between her and the Future King are so immense that even that is not enough. The Underworld's heart is filled with sorrow vast enough to overturn the world.
And Kang Min-hee realizes that through her enlightenment, she has finally reached the minimum standard to properly receive and use this sorrow.
'Ahhhh...'
Kugugugugugu!
A sorrow of incomprehensible magnitude bursts forth through Kang Min-hee.
And all that sorrow transforms into authority through her power.
Seo Eun-hyun's cultivation system that bloomed from Seo Ran.
Using that system as a medium, information about the Western Heaven Flower Field, sent by Seo Eun-hyun's group from the 'outside,' flows into her.
And the moment she realizes that—
'Bridle Creation.'
Using the overflowing sorrow as a medium, Kang Min-hee begins to create thousands of laws, launching a counter-erosion on the Western Heaven Flower Field.
She senses the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable being flustered, but it is useless.
Kugugugugung!
With the system completely broken through, and the authority being of a similar structure, it is possible to erode it from this side.
Moreover, the tool used for the erosion is none other than the sorrow of the Underworld.
The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable tries to pull back the mantra of the Western Heaven Flower Field in panic, but perhaps the sorrow emitted by Kang Min-hee has driven the mantra insane as it no longer recognizes the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable or Kang Min-hee.
: : Now...the Western Heaven Flower Field is mine. : :
Kugugugugugu!
Having seized control of the Anti-Governing Immortal Technique, the Western Heaven Flower Field, she realizes she is ascending into a new being along with the power of her mantra.
At the final moment, the fireworks Seo Ran showed her flash before her eyes.
Kururung!
'I...'
As the absolute of sorrow becomes completely hers, she finally divine descents the power of her Origin Essence and rises to her feet.
Kugugugugugu!
Her mind, empowered by the absolute, transcends countless spacetime, and the memories of those countless versions of 'herself' from all those spacetime merge with her own...
She comes to know of Seo Eun-hyun's greatest secrets.
'I see, Seo Eun-hyun. You...'
Understanding Seo Eun-hyun's secrets, she at last engraves her name as a completely reborn being upon the world.
Lapis Lazuli Flower Heavenly King (琉璃花天王) Kang Min-hee.
Tsuaaaaaah—
Kang Min-hee watches Seo Ran's fate and soul fade away into some pale pink space in the far distance.
Perhaps because it realized it is the power of the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, it is heading into a space that only the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord can enter.
It seems neither Seo Eun-hyun nor Kim Yeon can enter that space. Even they can only look from afar.
Kang Min-hee slowly walks between the two and gently caresses Seo Ran's aura.
: : Someday...if there is a cause and connection, let's meet again. : :
At Kang Min-hee's words, Seo Ran's fate hums and resonates, deciding on a certain emotion.
And at that single expression of emotion, Kang Min-hee smiles brightly.
Because that emotion is anticipation.
: : Someday...we'll meet again, won't we, Ran-ah? : :
Kim Yeon gently strokes Seo Ran and asks with tender affection, and from Seo Ran's soul, the emotion of affirmation appears.
Kim Yeon's face brightens at that answer.
Lastly, Seo Eun-hyun places his hand upon Seo Ran's fate-soul.
: : I'm sorry...for naming you Seo Ran. If you carry the memories of Su In and Hong Yeon, that name must not be pleasant. : :
At his apology, filled with remorse, Seo Ran's fate-soul Transforms.
It is the form of Seo Ran, made of a faint, soft light.
Fully manifesting in the appearance she had when she lived as a human, she slowly strokes Seo Eun-hyun's cheek.
That gesture seems to say...'it's okay'.
Watching this, Seo Eun-hyun sheds a single tear.
: : Next time too...will you be our child? : :
Woo-woooong!
Seo Ran's fate-soul turns into a single strand of light and briefly touches Seo Eun-hyun's forehead.
It is as if Seo Ran is embracing Seo Eun-hyun.
: : Yeah... Thank you. : :
And as if that single embrace has given him the answer he wished for, Seo Eun-hyun smiles as he watches Seo Ran, In and Yeon, slowly get drawn into the alternate space of Vast Cold.
Seo Eun-hyun, Kim Yeon, and Kang Min-hee all stand still for a while, watching the lingering trace of that space.
And then, they begin moving again.
Because there is still work left to be done.
: : You've devoured Western Heaven, Kang Min-hee. : :
: : That's right : :
: : Then can you locate the coordinates of Sal Tree? : :
: : ...As much as needed. : :
Kugugugugu!
Kang Min-hee traces the history of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable remaining within the Western Heaven Flower Field and accurately pinpoints the coordinates of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable in the Outer Sea.
: : I'm connecting it. : :
Authority, Bridle Creation.
Clang!
As Kang Min-hee extends her hand, thousands of chains created from her stretch forth into the depths of the chaotic sea.
At the ends of those chains are the coordinates of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable that Kang Min-hee just fixed.
: : I've captured Sal Tree. : :
Kang Min-hee speaks, perceiving the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable being caught in her bridle.
Seo Eun-hyun nods at her words.
: : Song Jin, how long until the scheduled time? : :
: : It is around half a day. : :
It seems that while Kang Min-hee and Seo Ran were trapped, time had flowed a bit differently, as the Nether Treading Ship is already nearing the boundary of Cakravāda.
: : Kang Min-hee, can you hold on for long? : :
: : Of course. : :
Kang Min-hee smiles as she begins converting the immeasurable sorrow pouring out from the Underworld into authority.
: : I can hold him for a thousand years. Just say the word. : :
Kugugugugu!
And a short while later, the Nether Treading Ship arrives at a strange space.
If the previous Outer Sea was a sea of chaos, then the place they reach this time is a world of nothingness.
A faintly glowing white world with literally nothing in it.
And there—
: : Welcome, Seo Eun-hyun. And...Red Pearl Cycling Heavenly King. Lapis Lazuli Flower Heavenly King. : :
They finally meet the incarnation of the Heavenly Venerable of Time, who has been waiting for them.
: : I'd like to share a conversation, but it seems you are a bit busy. : :
: : That's right. : :
: : Then let us exchange greetings a little later. : :
They quickly exchange wills, then gaze beyond the chains where the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable is caught.
: : Oh Hye-seo! : :
Immediately after.
Oh Hye-seo's power and the Wheel simultaneously activate.
Authority.
Truth Manipulation.
Authority.
History Rewrite!
Clang!
At that very instant, the ends of the chains instantly shift positions, and the locations of Kang Min-hee and Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable switch.
The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable appears within the arena, and Jeon Myeong-hoon thrusts his lightning spear and activates his authority.
Authority.
Causality Induction!
Kwarurururung!
The authority that creates and gifts the desired reality in proportion to what they suffered activates,
And the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable screams.
: : Stab. Lightning-Tipped Spear. : :
Kwaarurung!
Jeon Myeong-hoon's Lightning-Tipped Spear, carrying the power of Causality Induction, impales the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable as if pinning him to the spot.
Tsuuaaah—
Immediately after, Kang Min-hee returns to her position by utilizing the power of Bridle Creation.
: : Finally...we meet face to face again. : :
Seo Eun-hyun lets out a sigh as if he's disturbed and extends his hand toward the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
When they were sailing from the Nether Crossing Ship, Sal Tree eroded them from a distance through the mantra of the Western Heaven Flower Field and fired off prophecies from a distance that were too tricky to respond to, making direct engagement nearly impossible.
But now,
With Kang Min-hee having reverse-eroded the Western Heaven Flower Field, and using it as the coordinate, they have dragged the Sal Tree here.
'If he is right in front of me, I can deal fatal blows as much as I want.'
Recalling this fact, Seo Eun-hyun surrounds the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
Thus, the incarnation of the Heavenly Venerable of Time.
The Red Pearl Cycling Heavenly King.
The Lapis Lazuli Flower Heavenly King.
The Four Enders below them, Seo Eun-hyun wielding a Supreme Deity-level Immortal Treasure, and White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus—
Face off against the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
The Heavenly Venerable Battle begins.
-x-X-x-
Seo Ran thinks of her mother's embrace.
Looking back, everything was full of boredom in her childhood. So why did she always stay at home until the end instead of leaving?
There are plenty of reasons, but if she had to choose just one...
It must have been her mother's embrace.
When she was nestled within the warmth of Kim Yeon's embrace...
Regardless of the boredom or anything else, it always felt cozy...
The embrace she recently experienced again...
.was no different.
It was cozy.
And she realizes..the warmth that was "delivered through Kim Yeon's "Entering Heavens Beyond the Path...
She wants to see that realm once more.
"Let's go.
She feels that heading toward that realm is, somehow, her very fate.
"To that realm of Mother's...let's go..."
She wil reach it no matter what.
Even if she is without parents, she cannot keep crying while doing drugs.
"With my own feet...let's enter that domain...
Clang—
itis when such thoughts arise.
Seo Ran suddenly becomes aware that [someone] has appeared before her.
Shiver!
And that being is someone who clearly knows who Seo Ran is.
"Mountain...Spirit...2"
itis the old man she always called 'Sir Mountain Spirit'.
That old man who always appears with black flowers, now holds a flower basket full of black flowers in one hand.
[Why do you insist on walking such a harsh path, Ran-ah? Have I not done everything for you... When you felt stifled by your parents, I made it so you could be apart from them. When you were weary of repeated fate, I scattered the ancient force of previous «+x (2&3 /Enders) into this world, spreading a more advanced fate across the world. [The guns you so enjoyed and saw as an escape from martial arts. The newspapers that entertained you and kept boredom away. The drugs you indulged in with great pleasure! [All of them are things that could only emerge from a more advanced fate and more advanced civilization... All of them were prepared by me for you.]
[So why...do you not enjoy these pleasures further... Why do you insist on chasing after something so empty...? Is there something more you need...?]
"...There is nothing more I need, Sir Mountain Spirit. No...Sir Flower Spirit."
Seo Ran speaks as she reconsiders the old man's identity through her sharpened sense of "flow'.
"Now I finally understand. Sir Divine Spirit...is not the Mountain Spirit, are you? Now that I think about it, the feeling I sensed from Sword Peak Mountain...and the flow' I sense from Sir Divine Spirit...are far too different. From the beginning...you were never the Divine Spirit of Sword Peak Mountain."
L...That is right. I am not something vile like a Mountain Spirit. In fact...the Mountain Spirit of Sword Peak Mountain was someone else.]
"Pardon..? Are you saying there was another Mountain Spirit?"
[Hawhaw, and what reason is there to tell you that? There's no need for you to know. Now, I advise you for the last time. Turn back... Return to the villa and enjoy the delightful drugs. Don't waste time chasing such vain things.]
For a time, Seo Ran and the old man face off.
Then, Seo Ran finally opens her mouth.
"The domain my mother reached...is not something meaningless."
L..It seems there's no point in speaking further.]
The old man who has confirmed the resolve that has settled in Seo Ran's heart.
The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable nods.
[Then...just like your parents and kin who died first...you too are my enemy. I am this Unruly Realm itself. Therefore, you have now made this entire world your enemy.]
"Is that 502"
[You have now...turned the flow of the era into your enemy.]
Seo Ran nods as she receives the words of Sal Tree.
Then she speaks.
"My mother...faced the flow of the era head-on with her own strength alone. If I can just enter that domain...then the flow of the era or whatever doesn't matter. So, please, do not block my path any longer, and never appear before me again!"
[..]
At Seo Ran's outcry, the lingering thought of Sal Tree fades away.
And as she steps over the spot where the fading remnant once was, she smiles.
"I will reach it, Mother."
No matter what she must do.
Vowing those words, Seo Ran returns to Jeongyeong City, to the Royal Guards.
Seo Ran begins practicing martial arts again, which she has neglected until now.
She also continues refining the "Shooting Method that combines martial techniques with marksmanship.
In order to reach that realm without fail,
She hones every part of herself and trains in unifying all her thought (%) into one.
One year passes.
Kang Min-hee remains by her side.
Seo Ran refines herself, and to ensure her training time is firmly guaranteed, she properly pledges loyalty to the current emperor, upholding him as the core of Hyun Kingdom.
Two years pass.
Kang Min-hee begins to record Seo Ran's journey.
Seo Ran rises to become the center of Hyun Kingdom, and as she follows the orders of the emperor, who again seeks to centralize authority, she secures even more training time, and earns the right to consume all manner of elixirs.
Three years pass.
Kang Min-hee starts to follow her everywhere.
At last, Seo Ran somewhat succeeds in laying the foundations for the emperor's centralized rule.
And finally...
Over a decade later.
Kang Min-hee can only be astonished.
Seo Ran...
Surpasses peak master and reaches the realm of Five Energies Converging to the Origin ina single go.
Dududuk, duk!
As Seo Ran finishes her complete transformation, her Dharma protector Kang Min-hee asks.
"Do you feel anything different, Ran-ah?"
"...I'm not sure. The Quaking Heat Body has subsided a bit. But it's still not completely gone yet. Though if I take one step further from here...I think the Quaking Heat Body will completely vanish..."
"One more step..."
Listening to her words, Kang Min-hee understands what is needed.
Gang Sphere!
If she climbs to Ultimate Pinnacle, forms the Gang Sphere, creates the Inner Core, and brings perfect balance to the body...
Only then will her body truly find equilibrium again.
"Really...it is an absurd rate of growth."
Seo Ran, the direct descendant of two True Immortals...
..Is quite literally a genius who surpasses everything.
"At this rate, isn't it only a matter of time before she reaches Ultimate Pinnacle? And when that happens...truly...I
As long as she's properly guaranteed training time by the imperial family, she will truly overcome her Heavenly Penalty and come to know her fate.
"Truly...Seo Eun-hyun. The day your child reaches completion...is not far off.
The day she fully awakens to her fate.
On that day, her personality will be properly etched into her essence that is her fate,
And at that moment, she will finally gain the treatment of a proper innate Sacred Vessel. Kang Min-hee, watching Seo Ran who has grown so much before she knew it, can't help but feel proud.
Yes.
If the flow of the era had not tried to cast them out...
that feeling might have continued.
The emperor of Hyun Kingdom, whom Seo Ran supports and upholds in power, is foolish.
Though Hyun Kingdom is already divided and half-torn by warlords, he failed to grasp his position and tried to restructure the system into a centralized nation.
When the warlords refused to obey in this situation, he attempted to hand over various rights of Hyun Kingdom to Seo Kingdom, asking them to subdue the warlords on his behalf.
in doing so, the people of Hyun Kingdom, who have suffered at the hands of Seo Kingdom for over a decade, rose in rebellion.
Countless warlords, unable to ignore the will of the people, also raised armies and simultaneously declared rebellion against the Hyun Imperial Family.
The Royal Guards collapsed in an instant, and the enraged citizens attempted to tear the emperor to pieces.
In the midst of this chaos, Seo Ran, alongside Kang Min-hee, rescued the emperor to whom she has already sworn loyalty to regardless of what has happened, and displayed her power before countless citizens.
And...
That was the problem.
Not only has she reached the summit of Martial Arts by Unbinding Star standards, she also attained the pinnacle of marksmanship. Her very existence stirred greed and wariness among the warlords.
As a result, the emperor and Seo Ran, who originally planned to flee Jeongyeong City and hide the emperor in a remote region of Hyun Kingdom, ended up in a situation where they are now semi-forced to remain confined within Jeongyeong City once again. This all unfolded within half a year after Seo Ran rose to Five Energies Converging to the Origin.
"Ran-ah... Right now, the citizens outside the imperial palace are determined to tear the emperor apart. Wouldn't it be better to just hand the emperor over to some fitting warlord...and secure your training time?"
Kang Min-hee speaks as she looks at Seo Ran standing guard in front of the emperor's chambers.
"I've made a list of the warlords who at least seem likely to last a bit. Take a look and make a decision, Ran-ah. Your growth is too precious to be wasted here. Please...move on to the next realm and completely erase the side effects of your Quaking Heat Body. Wouldn't that be better?"
She speaks while looking at Seo Ran earnestly.
And Seo Ran smiles faintly.
"Hee Unnie. Thank you, truly. Even after all this, you're still by my side..."
"But...there's no helping it. Since I've decided to follow the emperor, I might as well go all the way."
"What... What has that foolish emperor ever done for you..2"
"Not much, really. Ah... He did accept my request and blocked the shutdown of your newspaper a few times."
"Of course, that's not really a huge grace. But you want to ask why I would show such loyalty over such a small grace, right?"
"..Yeah"
"The reason is...it's all the same anyway."
"The same...?"
"Yes."
Seo Ran nods as she recalls that moment from over a decade ago.
The old spirit holding a flower basket.
The moment she saw the true nature of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
Already then, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable said he is the ruler of this world and that the flow of the era would turn against her.
Which means...
No matter which faction she joins or how she shifts her position, the era will inevitably oppose her.
This too is part of the "flow'.
She understands clearly that the vast "flows' running through the world have been commanded by the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable to hate her.
Therefore, whether she abandons the emperor or not, the result is the same.
"If the result is the same anyway...then I'll choose the one with even the slightest good memory."
"Good memory?"
"The fireworks I saw for the first time in Jeongyeong City when I was little. I heard those fireworks first started on the emperor's orders. Since I have a happy memory of watching those fireworks...'m just moving for the emperor who gave me that memory." "Fireworks...
Kang Min-hee recalls Seo Ran's fifteenth birthday and suddenly feels an ominous sense of foreboding.
And Kang Min-hee's foreboding is not wrong.
The factions of the warlords have surrounded Jeongyeong City with countless firearms. "..Ran-ah. There really are no options left now. If the emperor doesn't come out..it seems the warlords plan on bombing the entire city. They're probably trying to strike first, worried that the Seo Kingdom might take the emperor's side. The citizens are rioting out there. Of course, if they care about the will of the people, they might not actually fire, but...even the threat alone feels enough to break open the palace gates. Ran-ah, it's not too late even now..."
"...Just a moment, Hee Unnie. The emperor is quietly calling."
Seo Ran leaves Kang Min-hee behind and enters the emperor's room, speaking with him for some time.
And when she returns, what she says leaves Kang Min-hee dumbfounded.
"He says he'll escape with Hee Unnie through the secret passage...and that I should draw the warlords" attention to buy time for him to flee."
"...Ran-ah, let's just Kill that bastard."
Kang Min-hee is truly dumbfounded that a mere mortal Emperor dares to use Seo Ran, the child of True Immortals, in such a way.
If 1 were in my main body, a human who wouldn't even deserve to lick the foot of a ghost soul that gnaws at the dead skin of my toe...dares tell Ran to be...what? Bait?" Crack...
Kang Min-hee, seething with sincere rage, spreads ghostly energy gathered through ordinary internal energy methods and starts to head into the Emperor's chambers.
But in the end, Seo Ran blocks Kang Min-hee.
"Hee Unnie. Please listen to the Emperor's words. If we just stay like this...the warlords will fire at least one or two shells into the city as a threat. It may be just for intimidation, but even that will kill or injure many people."
"..You want me to escape with that trash while you become the bait? Rather, let's switch. I'll be the bait, and you take that garbage out through the secret passage." "...Unnie."
And then, looking into Seo Ran's eyes, Kang Min-hee understands.
"Please grant me this request."
That she absolutely cannot refuse that look in Seo Ran's eyes.
"..Fine."
Kang Min-hee nods, and Seo Ran smiles faintly as she reads the 'flow".
Ever since the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable declared he would oppose her, many years ago...
She has been able to know her ending.
Iseeit..
The vision of countless shells and bullets tearing through her body as she dies.
That is her end.
"Now...'m going to die soon."
-x-X-x-
itis something that can never be changed, and to Seo Ran, the end of that flow feels like "this evening'.
Seo Ran acknowledges this bitterly as she watches Kang Min-hee beat the emperor and shove him into the secret passage.
"..Even so, at least Min-hee Unnie...really stayed by my side until the very end.'
She didn't follow the "flow as Seo Ran had predicted. Instead, she stayed by her side. "Of course, it's not that the flow isn't absolute...I think something between Min-hee Unnie and Mother influenced the flow."
She thinks maybe her mother had the ability to interfere with the "flow itself.
But still...
Even if Kim Yeon did something, in the end, it is Kang Min-hee's own will that led her to stay by Seo Ran's side and follow her through everything.
Watching Kang Min-hee, Seo Ran feels like she understands what Kim Yeon meant now. That for Seo Ran's sake, she would leave behind someone who would love her more than Kim Yeon herself.
She can feel it too.
Kang Min-hee's affection...
It truly runs deep and even deeper.
"That's why, I won't let Min-hee Unnie get caught up in this.
She grips in both hands the pistol Min-hee gave her long ago and the pistol Kim Yeon had crafted for her, and she sits down, waiting for the evening.
t's almost time...for everything to end."
The evening glow slowly begins to cast its light over the imperial palace, elongating Seo Ran's shadow.
At the edge of that stretched shadow, Seo Ran sees a grotesque worm covered in black flowers all over its body appear.
itis a being she knows well—the worm with an old man's face on its head.
ll shall give you one last chance, Ran-ah. So..please say that you will not enter your mother's domain. If you do so, I shall manifest everything you desire in this world. Whatever future you wish...the ancient force is limitless, and with it, I can twist the world to create whatever reality you want. Ran-ah...please, choose me.]
"Hm... You ask me to choose you, and yet you show up in such a repulsive form?" L...Repulsive form?]
"..Ah, see."
And while looking at the worm-like form of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, Seo Ran realizes something.
"That divine spirit didn't intentionally choose that form. It's just... am seeing his true essence.'
Realizing this, she smiles faintly.
"You said you would give me the future I desire, right?"
lIindeed.]
"Then give me a future where I overcome you."
[..]
"I am...someone with a pretty strong rebellious streak who wants to overcome everyone that stands above me and tries to dictate my life, you see."
Seo Ran extends her hand as she makes that request to Sal Tree.
But this time, Sal Tree does not take her hand.
"Looks like you don't like that. In that case, never mind. Even if I die today..."
Cheok—
Seo Ran stands up, pistols in both hands.
"... want to take even a single step closer...to Mother and Father."
Rustle rustie—
Glaring at her as she says this, the illusion of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable scatters. immediately after, with a strangely unburdened expression, Seo Ran uses lightness skills and ascends the palace wall.
Standing atop the wall, she lets out a lion's roar.
[The last vassal of the current emperor, the strongest power of the Hyun Kingdom, I— Seo Ran—am here!]
Kururung!
Those who hear Seo Ran's shout all turn to look at her.
Then, countless attacks begin to rain down on her.
Countless bullets fly toward her, and she briefly retreats from the palace wall, then starts running toward the outer wall of Jeongyeong City.
immediately after, she makes a running start to the outer wall before jumping and lightening her body.
Tadat!
I should've practiced air stepping a bit more. I focused too much on internal energy cultivation, trying to imitate Mother...
Standing atop the outer wall, she unleashes a lion's roar toward the warlords stationed outside.
ll, Seo Ran, the strongest martial artist of Hyun Kingdom you all so desperately seek, am here! Stop firing on the innocent civilians]
Seeing her like that, warlords from all directions begin sending out their subordinates. Numerous peak masters, and even several masters of Three Flowers Gather at the summit, all begin scaling the outer wall at once, rushing toward her.
Seeing them, Seo Ran prepares to face her end.
And it is at that moment.
Kwaaang!
A massive shell comes flying toward her.
At that moment, a silhouette shrouded in black ghostly energy blocks the space between her and the shell in an instant.
Tukwang!
immediately after, the black silhouette swings a ghost claw extending from their hand and twists the trajectory of the shell, sending it flying elsewhere.
Kugwagwang!
The shell crashes into the interior of the outer wall, right inside the palace from where she had just emerged, and explodes with a roar.
Seo Ran 10oks at the one who used the ghost claw.
it's Kang Min-hee.
"I decently educated the emperor and got him out. Then I rushed over, Ran-ah. No matter how I think about it, I just can't leave you alone."
"If someone saw you, they'd think Hee Unnie is my nanny, hoho..."
"Hmph, whatever... You, the reason you obediently followed all the emperor's orders was because of that, wasn't it? Your fate...has run out, hasn't it?"
At Kang Min-hee's question, Seo Ran slowly nods her head.
"Huuu... If that bastard Sal Tree hadn't eroded you, your natural lifespan would've been much longer... What even is this? Why do you have to die at such a young age... I just don't get it."
Grumbling, Kang Min-hee blows away the peak masters rushing at them with her ghost claw.
For a while, the two women are wholly absorbed in fending off the subordinates of the warlords.
Kang Min-hee with her ghost claw, and Seo Ran with her twin pistols.
"...Seo Ran."
"You're swinging the ghost claw all wrong. Let me show you how it's done."
"Your mother...Kim Yeon...at the end, told you to be happy. Ran-ah, were you...happy?" "..Who knows. But anyway..."
Seo Ran moves behind Kang Min-hee, grabs her arm, and swings it in her stead, teaching her how to systematically wield the ghost claw to kill the enemies.
That is a martial art in and of itself.
The evening glow fades.
And Seo Ran, embracing Kang Min-hee from behind, dances while fending off the many peak masters under the waning sunset.
"Seo Ran."
"Yes, Hee Unnie. Just use the ghost claw the way I showed you. I just came up with it, but...it should be pretty useful. Let's call it, hmm..the Ghost Hand Claw Method, maybe?"
"Seo Ran."
"..Yes?"
"Were you happy?"
Seo Ran looks up at the sky for a moment.
Now, the time of her death is near.
The warlords, realizing that not even peak masters can leave a single scratch on her, let alone capture her, are now preparing to fire all their cannons at once.
"What even is happiness, really?"
"...Well, they say it's doing what you want to do, eating what you want to eat...seeing the people you want to see... Those small things gather together to become happiness." "...There are people I want to see."
"Who?"
"My mother and father."
At Seo Ran's words, Kang Min-hee pauses for a moment, seemingly in thought, then slowly raises her arm.
"She should be able to withstand this much. After all, she's reached Five Energies Converging to the Origin, and she is the child of Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon. At least this much..."
She will be able to endure.
Her fingertip points beyond the outer wall, toward the Sword Peak Mountain where Seo Ran once lived long ago.
"...Do you know who the Mountain Spirit of Sword Peak Mountain is?"
"Hmm, who is it?"
"Seo Eun-hyun."
"...Pardon?"
"Seo Eun-hyun was the Mountain Spirit of Sword Peak Mountain. And your mother, Kim Yeon...was a powerful divine spirit comparable to him. You are the child of divine spirits, Seo Ran."
Wo-woongt
Is it because her words alone hold a certain level of [wisdom]? Seo Ran stands frozen on the spot, her body trembling with difficulty for a moment.
However...
More than the hardship, Seo Ran seems to feel a sense of lightness.
With just that one sentence, countless questions unravel.
She always thought they were extraordinary beings, but...
To think they were divine spirits!
"..Why didn't you tell me that until now?"
"Until now, your personality was unstable. If I said it recklessly, there was a risk of it collapsing entirely."
"..I see. Well...i's all my fault, then."
Seo Ran lowers her head for a moment, then mutters while looking at Sword Peak Mountain from the outer wall of Jeongyeong City.
"...If Sword Peak Mountain truly was my father's mountain and that's why I always felt so at peace there, Hee Unnie, if I die, please bury my bones in my father's embrace. Hoho...air stepping...I should've at least learned it properly."
The sun is setting.
Darkness slowly blankets all of Jeongyeong City, and in that darkness, Seo Ran looks up at the peak of Sword Peak Mountain.
At that moment, Kang Min-hee snaps her fingers.
Ttak!
Then, one of Kang Min-hee's strands of hair lengthens and becomes a blue thread stretching from the outer wall all the way to the summit of Sword Peak Mountain.
"This is..."
"...t's something similar to what your mother did."
Kang Min-hee turns her gaze away from Seo Ran, who is preparing for her end.
She simply cannot bring herself to look directly at her.
Kugugugugu!
Simultaneously, she draws out her innate authority, even at the cost of her life and a fatal wound to her main body.
[Bridle Creation].
Through her authority that creates laws, a law is added to the strand of hair stretching to the summit of Sword Peak Mountain.
[As long as Seo Ran does not give up, the thread shall never break]."
Kiiiiiing!
She neither possesses Entering Heavens Beyond the Path like Kim Yeon, nor holds any inherited legacy of her predecessors, so she cannot wield as powerful an authority as Kim Yeon.
Even at the cost of consuming her incarnation, this limited power is all she can reach. But she is satisfied.
"I always said I would protect, but I never managed to protect anyone. Because I am weak, I couldn't even protect the person I liked, and I couldn't save those who liked me. So..."
Woo-woong!
Kang Min-hee plucks another strand of hair and mutters as she imbues it with another law.
"At least you, the most precious result of the people I love... will protect you no matter what. Go, Seo Ran!"
In her eyes, every moment with Seo Ran flashes by.
When Seo Ran was still in Kim Yeon's womb.
When she was just born.
When Seo Ran gradually grew up, became her friend, and spent time together.
When she witnessed Seo Ran's pain from up close.
Following her, all the way to this moment...
Short from the eyes of a transcendent being, but unbearably long from a mortal's perspective.
Kang Min-hee, determined to protect that time at all costs, grinds down her own being and cries out.
"As long as I am using my authority...you will never die, so go!"
"...Yes. Hee Unnie."
Seo Ran looks at Kang Min-hee for a moment, then with a bright smile, steps onto the strand of Kang Min-hee's blue hair, making her way to Sword Peak Mountain.
A black shadow-like world.
There, a worm made of black flowers clicks its tongue while gazing toward somewhere. [Right. I realized it from the moment she perceived my essence despite its concealment... So it was like that after all.]
In the worm's eyes, a certain space of the Unruly Realm appears.
There, Seo Ran is shown walking toward Sword Peak Mountain by stepping on a thin thread.
However, the worm sees something more.
itis the very "paper flowers' beginning to bloom inside Seo Ran's chest.
[Dangerous. She must be intercepted.]
At the words carrying the will of the worm, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable, countless warlords begin to simultaneously aim their guns and cannons at Seo Ran.
At last, the sky over Jeongyeong City has become night.
The time when she is originally supposed to die is now here, and the fireworks marking her final moment begins.
-x-X-x-
Countless bullets and shells, imbued with the force of explosion, pour down solely to kill Seo Ran.
The thin strand of hair.
Atop the blue thread, Seo Ran runs while holding pistols.
The "Hyun Style Fighting Method" she learned from Seo Eun-hyun has evolved through her modifications into the "Hyun Style Shooting Method".
Unlike the original method that unfolded through the body, this technique channels internal energy into firearms and shoots it out.
Her unique martial art that is not quite a martial art begins to unfold with full power.
Hyun Style Shooting Method.
Twin Fang.
Ghost Fang.
Heat Fang.
The pistols in both her hands fire simultaneously, colliding with the massive shells.
The bullets infused with ghostly energy strike the shells and detonate them on contact, while the bullets imbued with heat melt the warheads of the shells entirely.
The essence of Qi is explosion.
Therefore, the "gun', which fires by triggering explosions, might actually be the most optimized weapon for wielding Qi.
Hyun Style Shooting Method.
True Fang (E3).
Kwang, kwang kwaaang!
From Seo Ran's pistol erupts the roar of artillery fire, shooting down every shell that might have threatened the civilians below if they had fallen.
"How did you do that, Mother?"
Seo Ran recalls Kim Yeon's Full Blossom.
The endless affection contained within that Full Blossom.
She remembers that feeling vividly and begins to squeeze out every bit of power in her entire body to reach it.
And the more she does, the more shells fly toward her.
Hyun Style Shooting Method.
Dual Circle True Fang (CEE).
Woo-wooong!
From Seo Ran's hands, a faint explosion seems to occur.
At the same time, two circular ripples spread out from both her hands, and every bullet she fires carries those ripples.
Tat, tadat!
But in the end, a pistol is a pistol.
"Am I out of bullets...?"
Seo Ran realizes she's used up all her rounds and lets out a bitter smile.
"Well...it doesn't matter."
Woo-wooong!
She points the empty muzzle of her gun at the incoming shells and smiles.
'I can squeeze out more, so this is actually better.
Hyun Style Shooting Method.
Taiji True Fang (AMEE).
Dual Circle True Fang (CEE).
Linked Technique.
Polar Resonance True Fang (EEIBE).
Tududududu!
As if Taiji settles directly into the pistols in Seo Ran's hands, the very force of explosion itself begins to burst forth from her guns.
Moreover, those explosions resonate with each other, growing larger and larger. Watching Seo Ran like that, Kang Min-hee reveals a faint expression of worry.
"She's firing explosions because she's out of bullets... But doing that will burn through her internal energy like mad, and she'll even have to draw on her innate true energy..." She is worried about one thing.
Quaking Heat Body!
Though it has greatly subsided after reaching Five Energies Converging to the Origin and undergoing complete transformation, the Quaking Heat Body has not completely disappeared.
And is it that her worry proves right?
Freeze!
At last, Seo Ran, who had been running without pause atop the thin thread, comes to a halt.
Kang Min-hee's eyes glint with dread.
"Seo Ran...
Seo Ran feels cold sweat trickling down her body.
It hurts..."
itis painful.
Is it because she's been recklessly unleashing both her internal energy and innate true energy because it's her last day?
Her Heavenly Penalty begins to flare up.
The Quaking Heat Body contracts her muscles and causes her to lose her sense of balance.
'"N-No..
To keep her body from falling as she loses balance, she fires an explosion in the direction she is leaning.
Kwaaang!
The gun barrel overheats, and she staggers.
"Heheok...heok..."
Seo Ran, drenched in cold sweat as if in a rain, looks toward the still halfway-distant path to Sword Peak Mountain.
It's too far... Can I even make it...?"
To make matters worse, she's starting to lose her sense of balance, and it feels like she'll fall at any moment.
Moreover, this tightrope itself is made by crazily extending and hardening a single strand of Kang Min-hee's hair.
it's only natural that it's hard to maintain balance.
Hwioo0000—
On top of that, the wind begins to blow, violently shaking the rope, and Seo Ran clenches her teeth amidst the fear of falling.
A while later.
Shiver shiver shiver...
Despite trembling all over, Seo Ran begins to move forward.
Her body is in pain, her internal energy is depleted, and she is now even drawing from her innate true energy, but she doesn't care.
Shells and bullets occasionally fly toward her, but she doesn't care about those either.
At first, it is agonizing.
She is tormented by the question of why she has to endure this and the tension of standing atop this tightrope.
But at some point,
She suddenly has a thought.
"Either way...even if I scream from the pain, there's nothing I can do."
So then, what should she do?
"Accept...it!
She accepts her Heavenly Penalty, the Quaking Heat Body.
And as she accepts the pain of the Quaking Heat Body, something surfaces in her mind. itis...
A memory from her childhood.
"Ah...right. I definitely... wanted to become an acrobat.'
She hated Martial Arts.
To her, it felt like just another method of fate forcing her life in a single direction. Because of that, she wanted to do something unrelated to Martial Arts.
The acrobat of the acting troupe she had watched with her family as a child looked so beautiful in the eyes of her young self.
It wasn't the acrobat's sense of balance that was beautiful.
It was the act of bringing joy to someone else...
That looked beautiful.
"Mother's Full Blossom...yes. It made me warm... Then...what is what I am trying to reach giving to others?"
Step, step.
Seo Ran begins to walk forward, step by step.
Her footwork is no longer that of a martial artist.
Instead, it is the footwork of an acrobat—something she had occasionally practiced as a hobby, something she remembered from watching those performers.
Elegant in some ways.
Precarious in others.
Just like that, she becomes an acrobat walking the tightrope toward Sword Peak Mountain.
'I want...to bring joy."
Only then does she remember.
The memory of herself, amazed and delighted as she watched the acrobat.
The happiness she felt watching fireworks for the first time...
"I never knew the reason why I was living."
With every step she takes, she feels something awakening within her.
"Everyone always hoped I would overcome my fate. But...I thought of that very hope as fate itself, feeling burdened by it, and wanted to escape from it."
Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon thought that Seo Ran overcoming and escaping her Heavenly Penalty, the Quaking Heat Body, would help realize her fate and hence made her learn martial arts.
However, even that very attempt by Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon became a form of fate for her.
That is why she hated learning martial arts.
"Now that I think about it...maybe what I really wanted to learn was not how to kill. but how to laugh together with others..."
HWi0000000—
Suddenly, as she comes to her senses, she realizes that she has climbed to quite a height.
Despite standing on the tightrope that she seemed ready to fall from at any moment, she does not fall.
Even though she is in the midst of a Quaking Heat Body seizure and has lost her sense of balance, she remains utterly still, as if she has gained perfect equilibrium.
She feels it with each step she takes.
Her heart gradually empties.
Death is approaching.
"Was my fate the fate of overcoming fate...?'
Seo Ran half-opens her eyes and moves forward.
Strangely, it feels as though she is walking on level ground.
"Honestly, I don't know. Fate, martial arts...I never cared about any of it. I just...
Recalling the first ime she ever saw fireworks, she remembers once more—
That happiness...
The desire to enjoy that moment again with her parents surfaces in her mind.
And at that moment, when all thoughts other than that one become empty... Hwioooong—
From behind her, a cannon shell flies in, attempting to shoot her down.
Click—
Now even her bullets are all gone, and both her innate true energy and internal energy are nearly depleted.
And yet, for some reason, she points her gun toward the shell.
Then immediately after, she pulls the trigger.
At the same time—
Taaang—
A powerful gunshot rings out from the muzzle, and she suddenly feels as though the world around her brightens.
Kang Min-hee widens her eyes, realizing what Seo Ran has done.
Despite their anxiety, the countless civilians in Jeongyeong City gasp in awe at the beauty.
Countless people cry out in admiration at the sight.
itis...
A firework display, like an explosion of firecrackers.
Kwaang, kwaang, kwaang!
Explosions echo as countless shells are fired toward Seo Ran.
Each time, she simply pulls the trigger with a face full of nostalgia.
And...
Every time she pulls the trigger, all the shells flying toward her transform into firecrackers, filling the sky with the dazzling light of fireworks.
Peong, peobeobeong!
She faintly recalls something her parents once said.
—The era of gunpowder...that your mother and I wove together. "Entering...Heavens...Beyond the Path..."
As her innate true energy drains, Seo Ran continues to speak with a faint smile.
Without even realizing that what she is unleashing is something entirely different from Entering Heavens Beyond the Path, she creates countless fireworks as she endlessly ascends toward Sword Peak Mountain.
"The Era...of Fireworks."
The shadow world.
There, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable looks at Seo Ran as if it's ridiculous.
[I see... When Kim Yeon unfolded Manifestation, she resonated her own cultivation with his power. So that's when she first entered the door...]
Outer wall of Jeongyeong City.
There, Kang Min-hee watches Seo Ran transform bullets fired from a gun into fireworks, and lets out a laugh of disbelief.
"...So that's an innate Sacred Vessel, huh?"
A power that twists the will of the world through sheer will alone, without cultivating any immortal Cultivation system.
A power that some call the Primordial Origin Immortal Cultivation system.
That's right...
What Seo Ran is unfolding is an Immortal Art.
immortal Arts.
As the Era of Fireworks marks Seo Ran's final steps, at last, she reaches the summit of Sword Peak Mountain, walking the thin thread without losing her balance in the slightest. "I'm...back.."
The grand and majestic spiritual energy of Sword Peak Mountain, felt again after so long, embraces her.
Seo Ran feels as though she is falling asleep in the arms of her father, Seo Eun-hyun, and slowly closes her eyes.
Thanks to the traces of the Immortal Art she unleashed, countless flames of the fireworks fill the sky.
"...S0 many things...have happened."
And in all those many things, she has leaned much.
Seo Ran smiles as she reflects on the twisted, tangled path that her life had been.
"Even so...I think I understand now..."
What some call their fate, and others call the reason they were born.
Seo Ran finally thinks she understands it.
A fate that overcomes fate.
What does it mean to overcome fate?
it's simple.
Fate cannot be overcome.
Just as Seo Ran ultimately failed to fully break free from her Heavenly Penalty...
Fate is not something to overcome, but perhaps something to be accepted.
Yes...
Accepting fate, but still dreaming of a better tomorrow.
A fate that overcomes fate may mean, in the end, the fate of accepting one's fate yet endlessly struggling toward the dream one wishes for within it.
Since life is but a fleeting spring dream (—$%3%5), perhaps it is enough to simply accept ts fleeting nature and pursue the beauty within.
Just as the being known as Seo Ran...
even though she resented all the fates forced upon, accepted them in the end, and now closes her eyes while walking the tightrope and watching the fireworks that she had always dreamed of.
Pasasasasa—
As Seo Ran closes her eyes, an overwhelming number of paper flowers begin to appear from within her.
Those paper flowers are mixed with Seo Ran's soul.
Only after death does her soul come to understand.
Who she is.
Why she has come to live such a fate.
All the causality seems to be laid bare before her eyes.
It was a difficult life...
But without a doubt, it was a fulfilling one.
Seo Ran's soul regains the memories of her past life before she was born as 'Seo Ran'...and scatters boundless blessings upon all who are watching this world.
Flash!
All who witness the light of that blessing flinch in surprise.
In particular, the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable reacts with visible shock, and outside the Unruly Realm, Seo Eun-hyun and White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus who have been watching simultaneously let out a sigh.
And...
Kang Min-hee, who loved the existence precious to Seo Eun-hyun, sheds a single stream of tears.
"Mother...Father...
Seo Ran's soul calls out a little shyly to Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon, and Seo Eun-hyun, upon hearing that voice, sheds a single tear.
: + Yes...our child. : :
Seo Ran's past life.
Her name in that past life was Su In and Hong Yeon.
She was the power of connections formed from the split soul of the Vast Cold Heavenly King...
And the very spirit that united into one during the Seo Hweol battle.
"Thank you...for coming to us as our child."
The power of connections that merged into one was summoned again through the intermingling of myself and Kim Yeon, taking the form of fate.
That is precisely...the true nature of my child, whom I named 'Seo Ran".
In the midst of gratitude and regret toward Su In and Hong Yeon, I watch the final moments of my child. At the same time, through the paper flowers blooming from Seo Ran's body, I transmit to Kang Min-hee the true form of the "Western Heaven Flower Field," as observed from beyond its boundary.
Kugugugu!
Outside the Nether Crossing Ship.
There, a voice resounds from the countless petals covering the surroundings of the Nether Treading Ship.
:: It is a meaningless act. That one has already been too deeply eroded by the Western Heaven Flower Field. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to use power from within...and likewise, dismantling it is impossible. : :
itis the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
I smile, recalling the long and weary battle I've fought against the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
:: True. If it was just Kang Min-hee, perhaps that would be so... :
I smile as I watch her reach out toward the paper flowers blooming within the Unruly Realm.
:: But...can you not feel it, Sal Tree? :
de:
And at last, after a long and longer time...
Kang Min-hee, who has brilliantly learned the meaning of parting, begins to grow. Kugugung!
Centered around Kang Min-hee, the principles of the Unruly Realm begin to twist.
In the sorrow of Seo Ran's completed life coming to an end, and the grief of that farewell, she yearns for enlightenment...
And at last, she begins to advance from a True Lord into a new existence.
-x-X-x-
At first, it was simple curiosity toward the life born from only the most precious parts of Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon—two beings she treasures deeply—coming together to form the most precious existence.
Then, when that life was conceived within Kim Yeon's womb, when it gained a body and a beating heart, the curiosity only grew stronger.
Because Seo Eun-hyun and Kim Yeon are both people whom Kang Min-hee loves dearly. Perhaps the child inherited only the most lovable traits of both.
That's what she thought.
And on the day that child was born—
Kang Min-hee, seeing the child's eyes for the first time, suddenly thought:
"I want to be with this child...truly without any barriers.
To put it simply, it was the feeling of "wanting to get close".
And as she watched the child grow, approaching the child with things like Jeongyeong Five Flowers and binding herself to the child.
She came to realize that the feelings she has for this child aren't just about wanting to be close.
I see...
She has come to love this child.
There are elements of love that cannot be defined solely by the concept of sexual affection.
And the "love Kang Min-hee feels toward the child is clearly a kind of love that cannot be judged by such elements.
She wants to be together.
She wants to see what the future holds.
She wants this child to be happy...
Carrying all those countless hopes, Kang Min-hee came to love the child.
Yes, perhaps...
Kang Min-hee began to think of this child as her own.
And maybe that is why...
When she heard Kim Yeon was going to abandon her body and return, she became so angry.
Whatever the case may be, she loves the child.
The child of Seo Eun-hyun, bearing the name of his old friend, "Seo Ran...
Sometimes like a mother, sometimes like a friend, sometimes like an adorable junior... She loved her that way.
And when she first learned that Seo Ran has resolved herself to death—
At first, she didn't know how to face it.
But that confusion didn't last long.
Ah...
The moment she saw Seo Ran's eyes, she understood.
She knew what she must do for her.
Both Kim Yeon and Seo Eun-hyun are people Kang Min-hee likes.
So when she learned that the two like each other, she chose to step aside.
They are both people dear to her, and she didn't want anyone to be hurt because of her. But...
She was never able to offer them her wholehearted congratulations at their wedding. She was never able to truly wish for their happiness.
And so...
To the being who resembles only the most lovable parts of the two people she loves, she wanted to offer all the happiness she wasn't able to give them.
Kang Min-hee wished for Seo Ran to be happy.
And...
Watching Seo Ran awaken her Immortal Art and close her eyes, she came to fully understand what sorrow is.
Sorrow is a prison bar. A wall.
Yet at the same time, a wall also becomes a support for those who have climbed it.
As she parts with Seo Ran, she accepts the sorrow completely, and comes to understand that a being with a heart can also grow through sorrow.
The moment she fully realizes this, she becomes aware of a waterfall of power overflowing within her chest.
"This is...
itis the sorrow of the Underworld.
A deep and even deeper sorrow.
Even the Underworld herself has overcome sorrow...
But the despair and grief brought by the gap between her and the Future King are so immense that even that is not enough. The Underworld's heart is filled with sorrow vast enough to overturn the world.
And Kang Min-hee realizes that through her enlightenment, she has finally reached the minimum standard to properly receive and use this sorrow.
"Ahhhh...!
Kugugugugugu!
A sorrow of incomprehensible magnitude bursts forth through Kang Min-hee.
And all that sorrow transforms into authority through her power.
Seo Eun-hyun's cultivation system that bloomed from Seo Ran.
Using that system as a medium, information about the Western Heaven Flower Field, sent by Seo Eun-hyun's group from the "outside,' flows into her.
And the moment she realizes that—
"Bridle Creation.
Using the overflowing sorrow as a medium, Kang Min-hee begins to create thousands of laws, launching a counter-erosion on the Western Heaven Flower Field.
She senses the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable being flustered, butt is useless. Kugugugugung!
With the system completely broken through, and the authority being of a similar structure, it is possible to erode it from this side.
Moreover, the tool used for the erosion is none other than the sorrow of the Underworld. The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable tries to pull back the mantra of the Western Heaven Flower Field in panic, but perhaps the sorrow emitted by Kang Min-hee has driven the mantra insane as it no longer recognizes the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable or Kang Min- hee.
:: Now...the Western Heaven Flower Field is mine. : :
Kugugugugugu!
Having seized control of the Anti-Governing Immortal Technique, the Western Heaven Flower Field, she realizes she is ascending into a new being along with the power of her mantra.
At the final moment, the fireworks Seo Ran showed her flash before her eyes.
Kururung!
gs
As the absolute of sorrow becomes completely hers, she finally divine descents the power of her Origin Essence and rises to her feet.
Kugugugugugu!
Her mind, empowered by the absolute, transcends countless spacetime, and the memories of those countless versions of "herself' from all those spacetime merge with her own...
She comes to know of Seo Eun-hyun's greatest secrets.
I see, Seo Eun-hyun. You...
Understanding Seo Eun-hyun's secrets, she at last engraves her name as a completely reborn being upon the world.
Lapis Lazuli Flower Heavenly King (BEE) Kang Min-hee.
Tsuaaaaaah—
Kang Min-hee watches Seo Ran's fate and soul fade away into some pale pink space in the far distance.
Perhaps because it realized it is the power of the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, it is heading into a space that only the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord can enter.
It seems neither Seo Eun-hyun nor Kim Yeon can enter that space. Even they can only look from afar.
Kang Min-hee slowly walks between the two and gently caresses Seo Ran's aura.
:: Someday...if there is a cause and connection, let's meet again. : :
At Kang Min-hee's words, Seo Ran's fate hums and resonates, deciding on a certain emotion.
And at that single expression of emotion, Kang Min-hee smiles brightly.
Because that emotion is anticipation.
.: Someday...we'll meet again, won't we, Ran-ah? : :
Kim Yeon gently strokes Seo Ran and asks with tender affection, and from Seo Ran's soul, the emotion of affirmation appears.
Kim Yeon's face brightens at that answer.
Lastly, Seo Eun-hyun places his hand upon Seo Ran's fate-soul.
:+ I'm sorry...for naming you Seo Ran. If you carry the memories of Su In and Hong Yeon, that name must not be pleasant. : :
At his apology, filled with remorse, Seo Ran's fate-soul Transforms.
itis the form of Seo Ran, made of a faint, soft light.
Fully manifesting in the appearance she had when she lived as a human, she slowly strokes Seo Eun-hyun's cheek.
That gesture seems to say...'i's okay".
Watching this, Seo Eun-hyun sheds a single tear.
:: Next time too...will you be our child? : :
Woo-woooong!
Seo Ran's fate-soul turns into a single strand of light and briefly touches Seo Eun-hyun's forehead.
itis as if Seo Ran is embracing Seo Eun-hyun.
:: Yeah... Thank you. : :
And as if that single embrace has given him the answer he wished for, Seo Eun-hyun smiles as he watches Seo Ran, In and Yeon, slowly get drawn into the alternate space of Vast Cold.
Seo Eun-hyun, Kim Yeon, and Kang Min-hee all stand still for a while, watching the lingering trace of that space.
And then, they begin moving again.
Because there is still work left to be done.
:: You've devoured Western Heaven, Kang Min-hee. : :
:: That's right : :
:: Then can you locate the coordinates of Sal Tree? : :
::..As much as needed. : :
Kugugugugu!
Kang Min-hee traces the history of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable remaining within the Western Heaven Flower Field and accurately pinpoints the coordinates of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable in the Outer Sea.
+ I'm connecting it. : :
Authority, Bridle Creation.
Clang!
As Kang Min-hee extends her hand, thousands of chains created from her stretch forth into the depths of the chaotic sea.
At the ends of those chains are the coordinates of the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable that Kang Min-hee just fixed.
:: I've captured Sal Tree. : :
Kang Min-hee speaks, perceiving the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable being caught in her pride.
Seo Eun-hyun nods at her words.
:: Song Jin, how long until the scheduled time? : :
:: Itis around half a day. : :
it seems that while Kang Min-hee and Seo Ran were trapped, time had flowed a bit differently, as the Nether Treading Ship is already nearing the boundary of Cakravada.
:: Kang Min-hee, can you hold on for long? : :
+ Of course. : :
Kang Min-hee smiles as she begins converting the immeasurable sorrow pouring out from the Underworld into authority.
: +1 can hold him for a thousand years. Just say the word. : :
Kugugugugu!
And a short while later, the Nether Treading Ship arrives at a strange space.
If the previous Outer Sea was a sea of chaos, then the place they reach this time is a world of nothingness.
A faintly glowing white world with literally nothing in it.
And there—
: : Welcome, Seo Eun-hyun. And...Red Pearl Cycling Heavenly King. Lapis Lazuli Flower Heavenly King. : :
They finally meet the incarnation of the Heavenly Venerable of Time, who has been waiting for them.
:: I'd like to share a conversation, but it seems you are a bit busy. : :
:: That's right. : :
:: Then let us exchange greetings a little later. : :
They quickly exchange wills, then gaze beyond the chains where the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable is caught.
:: Oh Hye-seo! : :
immediately after.
Oh Hye-seo's power and the Wheel simultaneously activate.
Authority.
Truth Manipulation.
Authority.
History Rewrite!
Clang!
At that very instant, the ends of the chains instantly shift positions, and the locations of Kang Min-hee and Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable switch.
The Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable appears within the arena, and Jeon Myeong-hoon thrusts his lightning spear and activates his authority.
Authority.
Causality Induction!
Kwarurururung!
The authority that creates and gifts the desired reality in proportion to what they suffered activates,
And the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable screams.
:: Stab. Lightning-Tipped Spear. : :
Kwaarurung!
Jeon Myeong-hoon's Lightning-Tipped Spear, carrying the power of Causality Induction, impales the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable as if pinning him to the spot.
Tsuvaaah—
immediately after, Kang Min-hee returns to her position by utilizing the power of Bridle Creation.
:: Finally...we meet face to face again. : :
Seo Eun-hyun lets out a sigh as if he's disturbed and extends his hand toward the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
When they were sailing from the Nether Crossing Ship, Sal Tree eroded them from a distance through the mantra of the Western Heaven Flower Field and fired off prophecies from a distance that were too tricky to respond to, making direct engagement nearly impossible.
But now,
With Kang Min-hee having reverse-eroded the Western Heaven Flower Field, and using it as the coordinate, they have dragged the Sal Tree here.
If he is right in front of me, I can deal fatal blows as much as I want."
Recalling this fact, Seo Eun-hyun surrounds the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
Thus, the incarnation of the Heavenly Venerable of Time.
The Red Pearl Cycling Heavenly King.
The Lapis Lazuli Flower Heavenly King.
The Four Enders below them, Seo Eun-hyun wielding a Supreme Deity-level Immortal Treasure, and White-Winged Heavenly Pegasus—
Face off against the Sal Tree Heavenly Venerable.
The Heavenly Venerable Battle begins.
-x-X-x-