Chapter 634: Golden Speed Heavenly King (金迅天王) (3)
"What do you mean by that? That we have to defeat Hyeon Mu?"
When I ask in confusion, Kim Young-hoon speaks with goomy eyes.
"That is...hm!"
Just as he's about to explain something to us, Kim Young-hoon suddenly glares toward somewhere.
"Hyung-nim...?"
"..."
Glaring sharply into the distance, he spits out his words as if chewing them.
"...She is coming.""...! Y-You mean Hyeon Mu!?"
Reading a portion of Kim Young-hoon's intent, I recoil in shock and ask.
But Kim Young-hoon shakes his head and says,
"Yes, but she is not coming immediately, so there's no need to worry. Most likely...she's trying to descend her true body inside. Only after descending the true body of the Heavenly Venerable into Mount Sumeru, will she try to fight me, so the battle between us and Hyeon Mu isn't that imminent."
I nod, but then realize that Kim Young-hoon immediately grasped both Hyeon Mu's presence, who must be unimaginably far away, and her purpose, and a question arises.
"There's something I'm curious about, Hyung-nim. Right now, are you—"
"And Seo Eun-hyun."
Just as I'm about to ask whether he has gathered all of Triple Divinity and reached Wuji.
"Do not call me Hyung-nim."
"...Huh?"
"Back in our hometown, it was because of the difference in position that we used positions to address each other. And here, it was due to the age difference that you called me Hyung-nim."
"Well, yes...isn't that natural? You said you've endured for 1.8 billion years, haha. At that point you're more like a grandfather than just Hyung-nim..."
"It wasn't 1.8 billion."
"Pardon...?"
"It's probably even longer than that. If any of you are in the Earth Immortal system, try reading my history."
"Understood."
Oh Hyun-seok reaches his hand toward Kim Young-hoon.
At the same time, he begins reading Kim Young-hoon's history, and after a short while—
His eyes become dyed in shock.
"Uh, uhhh? One hundred...no, a billion...t-ten billion...!? T-T-Twenty billion!!?"
Oh Hyun-seok's face twists in shock as if his mouth might tear apart, and hearing his words, I also make a face of disbelief.
"T-Twenty billion years!? What in the world is going on!?"
Even Kim Young-hoon seems a little surprised by Oh Hyun-seok's words.
"Oh... T-Twenty billion? Was it that much...?"
"Pardon...?"
"If I were to tell you the process of how I arrived at Sumeru...I once said that fixing the coordinates of Sumeru, becoming accustomed to swimming through chaos, and systematizing it took 1.8 billion years. And...from that point on, I no longer had the confidence to endure that infinite chaos, so I sealed my consciousness using Triple Divinity. In that state, I had only my spirit body 'set' to move toward Mount Sumeru like a rigid machine. So, while dreaming a long dream and falling into sleep, I came close to Mount Sumeru. It was in that state that you all and the Naming Supreme Deity received me."
"I see..."
I now understand why Kim Young-hoon's mind had been sealed using Triple Divinity.
"Twenty billion years is a number even I find a bit surprising, but...anyway, it's in that way that I've returned here to see you all."
"Hmm, in that case..."
Even more confused, I ask,
"Isn't it even more fitting to call you Hyung-nim?"
"Well, it's fine if Oh Hyun-seok or the others call me that."
"What? Then..."
"But you don't need to call me that."
"...Pardon?"
"Because among us, the one who is the oldest...is you."
At those words, my gazes of my comrades shift toward me in confusion.
At the same time, I erase all expressions from my face and meet Kim Young-hoon's eyes.
"E-Eun-hyun? What does...that mean?"
"Ah, I think I get it...but don't try to understand. There must be a reason that guy's saying something like that."
Oh Hyun-seok blinks, and Jeon Myeong-hoon chuckles knowingly and stops Oh Hyun-seok.
I calmly look at Kim Young-hoon and speak.
"...Of course, I am somewhat older. But...I've never lived through something like twenty billion years like Young-hoon Hyung-nim."
"Twenty billion years...huhut. Seo Eun-hyun. I'm sorry to say this, but...isn't it possible that you've spent a great deal of time that you don't remember?"
"..."
"There definitely must be. Days that you [cannot remember]...isn't that right?"
"..."
At those words, I gaze at Kim Young-hoon with deep eyes.
Then I speak.
"...You..."
Tap tap—
Kim Young-hoon pats me on the shoulder and gives a faint smile.
"I'll explain in detail once everything is over. And...when we return to Earth, I'll make it up to you for blowing up your house last time. So keep that in mind."
"Pardon...? Hyung-nim blew up Eun-hyun's house? Something like that happened? When did that...?"
Oh Hyun-seok scratches his head, and I stare blankly at Kim Young-hoon.
Kim Young-hoon waves his hand.
Pasasasasa—
With just a single gesture, the temporary Seoul and hospital room that Kim Yeon created are sliced at the molecular level and scattered.
At the same time, the Naming Supreme Deity's guest chamber is revealed.
A massive, cozy space within a nebula, where ordinary True Immortals or divine beings can come and rest.
That is the guest chamber of the Naming Supreme Deity.
Passing by everyone, Kim Young-hoon gathers a reasonable amount of dust clouds and sits on them, then speaks.
"First, let me say this to everyone. I...have risen to the realm of Heavenly King. This is...a certain point that only us Enders can reach, and the rank of Heavenly King can be said to correspond to the Heavenly Venerable rank among Governing Immortals."
A certain radiance flows from Kim Young-hoon's eyes.
Simultaneously, a certain taenghwa appears, depicting an image of a Buddha with two wings and two arms making an abhayamudra.
That golden Buddha supports a golden divinity shaped like the sun behind its head, and the moment I see it, I immediately realize that Kim Young-hoon has obtained all of Triple Divinity.
At the same time, I see 1004 shadows emanating from Kim Young-hoon.
As I look at those shadows, I can see familiar faces among them.
Yes, the one before my eyes...
Drip...
'Ahhh...'
Tears fall from my eyes.
"When we Enders reach a certain point in our cultivation and realize the principle that pierces through our lives, we all transform (化現) as beings known as the Seven Brilliances Kings."
Starting from the very first, a being formed by the fusion of each Kim Young-hoon from [every cycle].
Yes...
The one who understands my loneliness, my isolation, this vain regression.
It is my first comrade.
Drip...drip...
I cannot put into words the overwhelming emotion and gratitude. Tears stream down my face as I sob uncontrollably.
Yes.
That is what it is.
An Ender who reaches Heavenly King no longer becomes influenced by regression.
Overwhelmed by a flood of gratitude and emotions that shakes my entire being, and unable to come to my senses, I collapse on the spot, gasping.
This single moment of emotion shakes me far more intensely than any pain or torture the world has inflicted upon me.
Kim Yeon supports me and looks at me with worried eyes, but upon seeing my intent, she smiles in relief.
Kim Young-hoon looks at me briefly, then continues his explanation.
"There are a total of seven types of Seven Brilliances Kings.
"Golden Heavenly King, Red Pearl Heavenly King, Lapis Lazuli Heavenly King, Silver Heavenly King, Tridacna Heavenly King, Agate Heavenly King, and Obsidian Heavenly King. These seven Heavenly Kings have slightly different names depending on the fate each Ender has realized. A representative example is the Tridacna Vast Cold Heavenly King.
"Previously, it is said that the name used to be almost fixed as Tridacna Love Heavenly King. However, after the appearance of the Vast Cold Heavenly Lord, the Immortal Title [Vast Cold] became forcibly engraved throughout the entire universe, causing the name of Tridacna Heavenly King itself to become twisted."
Wo-woooong!
Kim Young-hoon draws his saber.
His saber is dyed in golden light.
Shiiik!
He swings his saber, and a wave of golden saber light brushes past us.
"What I want to say is this. Depending on the 'interpretation' each Ender pushes forward, the titles of the Heavenly Kings change each time. Of course, they are fixed to some extent, and the essence itself doesn't change since the essence of the seven Heavenly Kings is constant...but one thing is certain."
Within that golden wave, we can feel countless emotions.
Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hatred, desire...
"[Interpretation]. If the Heavenly Venerables govern things like the Underworld, Reincarnation, Time, and Nothingness...then the Seven Brilliances Kings are Heavenly Venerables that govern the very concept of [interpretation] itself."
"...!"
"The mindset to declare how to interpret all beings of this world, and how to live...that is our unique right and authority."
It sounds almost arrogant and prideful.
But none of us can dare rebuke him as arrogant.
Because the golden wave emitted by Kim Young-hoon is showing us [all possibilities] itself.
And at the same time, that golden wave filled with countless possibilities is displaying an [absolute] power that no one can resist.
We all tremble, because we recognize where we've felt this [absoluteness] before.
Fate and history.
It's from the power known as the three great absolute laws of Mount Sumeru.
"A Heavenly Venerable is one who reaches [the absolute]. And...as I rose to Heavenly King, I realized that what we Enders, Heavenly King designates, gained is...to be precise, what we gained as we became Enders...comes from this power known as the [third absolute]."
Kugugugugu!
The golden wave that sweeps over us soon takes on a form, and that form is Mount Sumeru shaped like an inverted cone.
At that moment, the true structure of Mount Sumeru appears before our eyes.
I can recognize it immediately, as it matches the structure I have sensed since reaching the realm of Great Net Immortal.
The Mount Sumeru Kim Young-hoon created takes the shape of an inverted cone.
And inside that inverted cone are countless worlds and living beings, nine universes, and [outside] Mount Sumeru, the power of eleven mighty presences can be felt.
The structure of Mount Sumeru created by Kim Young-hoon inverts and normalizes.
At that moment, we come to understand.
We realize the 'positions' of the eleven mighty presences [outside] Mount Sumeru.
"As you can see, the six Supreme Deities all succeeded in leaving Mount Sumeru, but they are only at the bottom. However...the four Heavenly Venerables are different."
Heavenly Punishment, Great Mountain, Liberation, Emptiness, Swallowing Heaven, Naming.
The six Supreme Deities reside at the base of Mount Sumeru, the beginning of the mountain, so to speak.
And Underworld, Time, Void, Sal Tree.
The four Heavenly Venerables...
They are at the midsection of Mount Sumeru!
There, they encircle Mount Sumeru like a belt, and devour more of the Radiance emitted from the summit than anyone else.
That radiance is golden.
Among the Heavenly Venerables, Underworld, Time, and Sal Tree are condensing the golden radiance flowing from the summit.
However, upon closer look, the radiance emitted from the summit actually consists of eight kinds.
Aside from the golden radiance,
There is a pure gold light, subtly different from the golden hue.
A red light like a red pearl.
A blue light like lapis lazuli.
A distant silver light like the galaxy.
A soft pink light, beautiful like tridacna.
A mottled dark-red light like agate.
A pitch-black light like obsidian.
These are the seven types of light.
"Among the four Heavenly Venerables, three—Underworld, Time, and Sal Tree—are devouring that golden light. But...one of them is different."
He points to someone.
"The Heavenly Venerable of Void, the True Martial Great Emperor Hyeon Mu."
Where he points, among the belts encircling Mount Sumeru, is a pitch-black band.
"Those seven types of lights, excluding the golden light...are precisely the identity of [our] authority. And..."
The pitch-black band.
It holds the exact same energy as the Interdimensional Void.
"Only Hyeon Mu, the one called the God of Martial Arts, unlike the other Heavenly Venerables, absorbs [our] authority."
It is so.
Unlike the other Heavenly Venerables, only Hyeon Mu devours the seven lights.
"As long as Hyeon Mu exists, we cannot return home through the summit of Mount Sumeru, through the Audience Chamber. Because Hyeon Mu exists as a Heavenly Venerable by feeding on our authority. Ultimately, we are practically caught within Hyeon Mu's attraction force. Therefore...in order to return home, we must first destroy the bridle that is Hyeon Mu!"
Kim Young-hoon declares as his eyes gleam with golden light.
"The interpretation of my power is speed. Only speed that transcends all things is my true authority. Thus, I interpreted myself as the Golden Speed Heavenly King."
Kugugugu!
The taenghwa that floats behind his back spreads its wings and begins to overlap with Kim Young-hoon.
"As the Golden Speed Heavenly King...I ask you all. I...must go home. So all of you...please help me subjugate Hyeon Mu."
That day, we come face to face with the will to hunt a Heavenly Venerable, one who holds the worst possible compatibility with our very authority.