Chapter 92

Chapter 92 Leonard couldn’t help laughing at the thought.

Although I said it’s four steps, the last one will be a hundred times more difficult than the previous three.

With enough effort, he could somehow reach the Tenth Degree External Force Tier. Even if he just kept sealing Rifts, gaining only slight enlightenment each time, he could eventually achieve that level.

However, the Transcendence Tier was different.

In his previous life, he had once scaled the wall of the Creation Realm, but the current Leonard was a completely different person from the Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk of that time. The gap between the Transcendence Tier and the Creation Realm was immense, and he needed to carve a new path to overcome it.

Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk had died as the second greatest in the world, never truly escaping the confines of the Creation Realm. If he were to follow that same path, Leonard would likely just reach the Profound Realm with no guarantee of ever surpassing it.

For that reason, he sought to walk a different path this time.

I received a second chance at life, a new body. My current environment is also far better than back then. I can’t stop at the Profound Realm and let my past life go to waste!

Leonard had already recreated the Five Elements Augmented Qi even without reaching the Transcendence Tier, although under special conditions.

What would happen if he broke through to the Transcendence Tier and then the Demigod Ter? He would unlock abilities that no one could even comprehend.

Perhaps he would even reach the legendary Deification Tier, which only the Ancestor Cardenas had ever achieved.

“...Well, first of all, I have an obstacle to overcome.”

Leonard turned his gaze from the distant mountains to the demon within his mind, modeled after the powerful Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin, a monstrous bastard closest to the Profound Realm.

Deep down, Leonard knew that in order for his body to break through to the Transcendence Tier, he needed to defeat this heart devil that had occupied his mind, the form of Dan Mok-Jin.

Should I finally try again?

Now at the Seventh Degree External Force Tier, the turbulent energy within him had almost settled. Thanks to his nearly indestructible body and his Five Elements True Dragon Ring, which resembled a dragon’s heart, there were no lingering effects or complications from his tier breakthrough.

After calming his energy with a few cycles of light circulation, Leonard sunk into his consciousness, breaking through its surface layer and descending deep.

For those who hadn’t reached the level of visualization, simply trying to infiltrate their own subconscious could lead to qi deviation, allowing the demon lurking there to manifest externally.

However, Leonard was different.

“Hmm...”

Reaching the inner parts of his subconscious, he found himself at the nameless peak in Shiwan Mountain, where he had been defeated by Dan Mok-Jin.

The demon that always lingered on that peak spoke to him, looking oddly weary, “How many times has it been?”

“I haven’t been keeping track” Leonard answered as he drew the sword materialized at his waist.

“Then I’ll tell you. This is the eighty-ninth time. That means I’ve torn, crushed, and beaten you to death eighty-eight times.”

“I see.”

“...You madman. Sometimes I can’t tell if I’m your heart devil or if it’s the other way around,” the demon muttered, seemingly exasperated.

“Endlessly training your body and mind through suffering... Instead of exorcizing me, you’ve chosen to keep me in your mind, continuously sparring with me and dying every time. There’s probably never been a lunatic like you in history,” the heart devil continued.

Indeed, upon realizing that there was a heart devil within himself, the proper response would have been to eradicate it with the Intent from the upper dantian. However, Leonard had kept the demon alive as his training partner.

“Even within my experience, it’s a rare opportunity to fight an opponent at a level close to the Profound Realm multiple times. Eradicating you would be a waste.”

“Though you don’t actually die, the pain should be etched into your very soul. Even a soul that’s reached the Creation Realm can’t endure that infinitely.”

“I know that,” Leonard said calmly. “One hundred and eight. If I can’t defeat you by then, you’ll probably devour me as you continue to grow stronger with each of my defeats.”

“...No way. You did all this knowing that?”

“There is no enemy scarier than ignorance.”

With that exchange, Leonard’s sword emitted a brilliant five-colored augmented sword energy. Seeing that, the demon was even more bemused.

Five Elements Augmented Qi—the state of containing an extremely small dimension within a single sword.

Anything experienced in reality could be recreated in the visualization realm. This was why the foundation of the Creation Realm’s power of returning all things to one, stemmed from visualization training.

“Hey, isn’t using the Five Elements Augmented Qi cheating? You can’t use it under normal conditions yet, right?”

“This visualization realm also qualifies as a special condition.”

The heart devil nodded in understanding. “Well, you’re not wrong.”

At the same time, a thirty-meter-tall Asura statue materialized, radiating an overwhelming pressure akin to a tidal wave. This was the ultimate martial art of the Heavenly Demon Cult, which could be wielded upon reaching the pinnacle of the Heavenly Demon Cultivation Method.

The Asura’s Royal Dance embodied the concept of the God of War, but it also portrayed a demonic figure that destroys the righteous path. It was essentially a manifestation of an unprecedented notion.

Any lesser beings would be crushed just by standing before it.

Screeeech—

And yet the shockwave from the giant Asura statue was parted by Leonard’s five-colored sword energy. This proved that the Five Elements Augmented Qi was not inferior to it.

“Ho... So we’re finally getting serious?”

Intrigued, the demon raised its hand. The Asura statue lifted its six arms in response, initiating the opening move of the battle.

According to ancient Buddhism, humans possess six senses, and all of them have to be used correctly in order to perceive the world as it truly is. Those are the five physical senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—and the cognitive sense, the consciousness.

The Six-Direction Total Rampage of the Asura’s Royal Dance was a technique based on this principle.

Heavenly Demon Cultivation Method

Asura’s Royal Dance

Six-Direction Total Rampage

The technique was meant to completely cut off the opponent’s escape routes, forcing them into a direct confrontation and crushing them with the Asura statue. This arrogant confidence indicated that no force in the heavens or earth could face the Asura’s Royal Dance head-on.

In response, Leonard swung his sword, which radiated in five colors.

Crash!!

A flurry of attacks, accompanied by a shockwave, surged forth with an indescribable sound. Six punches and one sword—the two techniques canceled each other out, shaving off each other’s power.

Unlike the previous time when two fists remained after summoning the divine beast and exhausting the Azure Dragon Form, this was a completely different flow. Both Leonard and the heart devil realized the significance of this outcome, and so their faces went blank.

The absolute balance of power had collapsed.

One Origin Five Elements Sword Art

Five Elements Style

Strike of the Azure Dragon

A five-colored lightning bolt shot out from Leonard’s thrust—a lightning strike based on the Five Elements. The sword, imbued with the world’s laws, could no longer be blocked with just a single finger.

Heavenly Demon Cultivation Method

Asura's Royal Dance

Emperor Destroyer Immortal Killer

The Asura statue standing in front of the heart devil threw a punch—a transparent punch filled with killing intent, one that could destroy emperors and slay immortals.

The punch struck like a lightning bolt, shattering even the sharpness of the Strike of the Azure Dragon. However, the statue’s arm split apart from the elbow as a result, the forearm crumbling to pieces.

Though the arm regenerated within seconds, Leonard had just confirmed that the Asura statue could be destroyed.

“I understand now.”

Previously relaxed with its arms down, the heart devil finally adopted a serious, menacing stance. Confronted by an opponent of equal strength, indifference was no longer an option.

Despite mimicking Dan Mok-Jin, the Profound Realm martial artist, the heart devil had acknowledged Leonard as an equal. Specifically, it recognized the potential of the Five Elements Augmented Qi as being at the level of the Profound Realm.

“From now on, I’ll try to kill you as quickly as possible. Can you surpass me before you die twenty more times?”

“Who knows,” Leonard said with a faint smile. “I am stronger than yesterday, and tomorrow I shall be stronger than today. Someday, I might defeat you.”

“...Hmph!” the heart devil sneered as it fully unleashed its power.

The presence of the Asura intensified several times over. Techniques like the Six-Direction Total Rampage or the Emperor Destroyer Immortal Killer were just basic techniques in the Asura’s Royal Dance.

The heart devil had not used a proper ultimate technique yet. Leonard knew this well, and with bated breath, he charged toward his impending death.

After eighty-nine rounds of battle within his mental landscape, the intensity of the fight was unprecedented.

In the end, the Asura statue swung its hand like a sword, cutting Leonard in half at the waist and shattering his sword imbued with the Five Elements Augmented Qi. It happened exactly at the 357-second mark.

* * *

During the three-day break, which didn’t feel like a break at all, the Aquamarine Expedition Team focused on individual maintenance activities.

The three who had been engaged in intense combat in the Sea Orc Den spent almost every day in the training room. Inspired by their achievements, Marianne and Vivian joined the training voluntarily.

Leonard, having nothing left to learn from physical and repetitive training, used his time teaching the other members and meditating to cultivate his own enlightenment.

As for Frances, she was very busy going over the sailing schedule and future plans, which had deviated significantly from her expectations.

Lastly, Russell, who should have been the most idle, made a shocking declaration that left everyone's mouths agape.

“Next time we venture into a Rift, I’ll be joining too. I’ll follow Leonard’s orders, so you don't need to worry about me disrupting the teams’ training.”

Frances showed little reaction, as though she had expected it, but Esther and the other members stared at Russell wide-eyed.

“What? What are you talking about, Master?”

“It’s exactly as I just said. I’ll be accompanying you on the next Rift expedition.”

He glanced at Leonard briefly before continuing, “It’s annoying that you were the only ones who saw the core of the Rift, and my original purpose for boarding this ship was to investigate the environment and phenomena inside the Rifts, which I couldn’t experience at the Magic Tower. I’m just starting a bit earlier than planned.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it because you were aiming for Leonard’s talent?”

“Esther, have you ever heard of killing two birds with one stone? I don’t like explaining myself twice.”

As Jack Russell silenced his nosy disciple, Frances stood up, gathering everyone's attention in the meeting room. She held up three fingers.

“As it happens, the next place we’ll explore is the Abyss of the Demon Octopus. I was planning to ask Russell for help anyway, so this works out perfectly!”

“The Abyss of the Demon Octopus... Isn’t that the bell tower in the deep sea?” Galano muttered, recalling the information.

—A mysterious bell tower located in the deep sea, home to an otherworldly species that can only remain active within it. They use an unknown form of otherworldly magic, have octopus-shaped heads, can fire powerful shockwaves, and are resistant to both sharp and blunt weapons. Being caught by their tentacles can break the bones of even those at the External Force Tier.

Ninian added, “The size and difficulty are Rank B, but the danger level is Rank A- due to environmental conditions, right?” S~eaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“No. I’ll explain that part,” Frances said, drawing everyone’s attention back to her as she looked at the document in her hand.

“The information from Bermuda states that the Demon Octopus can fire continuous shockwaves, but that’s not accurate. The waves it shoots are actually mental waves, not physical shockwaves.”

The distinction between shockwaves and mental waves was significant. Those familiar with it turned grim. Unlike shockwaves, which could be physically defended against, mental waves required artifacts or specific defensive measures to counter. The best options were enduring with sheer mental strength or eliminating the threat before the waves were fired.

Pure martial artists like Galano, Ninian, and Marianne were particularly vulnerable; even Esther, who had begun to handle mental energy through the Qingming Cultivation Method, was not yet capable of defending against mental attacks.

“Therefore, the only people who can explore the Abyss of the Demon Octopus are Jack Russell, Vivian, and Leonard. An Archmage and a high-ranking spiritualist should be impervious to the Demon Octopus’s mental waves.”

“Wait, does that mean Leonard will be going too?”

It was a natural question, but Galano flinched as everyone looked at him, as if to ask what he was thinking.

“Hah, you think mental waves would affect Leonard?” Frances replied.

Thinking about it again, Galano made no retort. After all, common sense couldn’t possibly apply to a boy who could nearly kill a Chaos Demon Tier monster in one strike and single-handedly crush a Rift Guardian.

Just like that, the Aquamarine’s lineup for their second Rift expedition was decided.