The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2

10 minutes earlier.

As Seong Jihan waited with his arms crossed,

Flash!

He felt a light flash on his forehead.

‘This Divine Eye… it only activates here, huh.’

Last time it showed the World Tree’s head falling off here too.

What was it this time?

As he waited for the scene the Divine Eye would show,

Ziiing…

The surrounding scenery changed, and images of Seong Jihan and Dongbang Sak began appearing here and there.

Though dozens of images of the two fiercely battling were spread around at a glance,

‘…I die in quite diverse ways.’

The battle results were all Seong Jihan’s defeat.

His head flying off, multiple light swords piercing his chest, etc.

The battle between the two foreseen by the Divine Eye

Ended in 100% Seong Jihan’s death.

Beep…

After showing scenes of his death for a while, the Divine Eye turned off.

“…How unlucky to show this right before fighting.”

Seong Jihan muttered without realizing.

The Divine Eye given by Pythia.

It wouldn’t activate when he tried before, but now it only showed him dying at a time like this.

‘Of course, the future seen by the Divine Eye can always change, but…’

Even considering that, seeing only scenes of death en masse suggests the battle will be unfavorable.

He prepared countermeasures as much as possible, but was this still not enough?

‘Looks like… I’ll have to turn on the BattleTube too.’

After seeing himself die, Seong Jihan decided to turn on the BattleTube he wasn’t going to use.

Actually, with the supernova gone, the Star Buff’s performance had worsened.

And he wasn’t going to use this because he was worried Yoon Seah might become a Void Apostle trying to help after watching the broadcast.

‘But seeing myself die so miserably, I guess I need to mobilize everything.’

Thinking that, Seong Jihan turned on the BattleTube.

-Oh… a broadcast after so long

-I was disappointed you weren’t streaming games after becoming Administrator haha. A live stream after a long time.

-But if you don’t stream regular games, how will you level up?

-Does level even matter for an Administrator;

-For real, he’s already as big as he can get

Viewers flooded in seeing Seong Jihan’s live stream after a long time.

Meanwhile.

‘Now the Star Buff feels like it increases power by about 10%.’

Seong Jihan clearly felt the Star Buff’s performance had dropped compared to before.

Maybe it was because of the Administrator ability being involved.

The Star Buff’s effect was lower than the originally indicated buff efficiency.

But still, even 10% was precious against Dongbang Sak.

‘I’ll keep it on.’

Thinking that, Seong Jihan slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s been a while, everyone. Today I’ll be welcoming a guest here.”

-?

-Guest?

-Isn’t this above the sea right now…?

-What kind of guest would come to a place like that?

As viewers were puzzled by Seong Jihan’s words,

Crack…!

The sky split in half, and Dongbang Sak revealed himself from within.

-Whoa, that old man… Isn’t he the one who fought the Red Administrator?

-Yeah, the person we saw when spectating last time

-But what’s with the snake helmet on his head lol

-Isn’t he a monster who doesn’t need things like helmets…

-Is that person the guest? This seems ominous

-Didn’t the Martial God say he wouldn’t invade;

As viewers wondered why Dongbang Sak appeared there,

“You were already waiting… Did you know I was coming?”

Dongbang Sak stroked his beard as he looked at Seong Jihan.

“This is the Administrator’s domain, so I can know everything.”

Though in reality it was the result of spying using Administrator authority,

He answered calmly.

“More importantly, you’re wearing a helmet I haven’t seen before.”

As Seong Jihan said that pointing at the snake head,

[A helmet. He doesn’t need such things.]

Hiss…

Dark red smoke poured out from there, and an eerie voice was heard.

“You, are you the Martial God?”

[That’s right, Blue Administrator.]

“Why did you come here? I thought you had no intention of fighting me.”

[I still have no intention of being hostile to you. However.]

Flash…!

Red-black light flashed in the snake’s eyes.

[I’ve merely come to retrieve my item that I left here.]

* * *

-What item?

-So…

-Just go away already, seriously

-Why are they so desperate to keep bothering us…

The viewers, realizing the opponent was the Martial God, showed signs of disgust.

After sucking Earth dry, what more are they trying to take?

Meanwhile.

“You mean the Red World Tree.”

[That’s right. You already knew.]

As Seong Jihan specified the item, the Martial God continued as if pleased.

[I’ll just uproot that and withdraw quietly.]

Quietly, he said.

Hearing those words, Seong Jihan smirked and pointed at the sea.

“If you uproot the World Tree, won’t this land be greatly shaken and evil spirits emerge?”

[Hmm… How did you know that?]

As Seong Jihan tapped his forehead, the Martial God quickly understood the gesture.

[The Divine Eye, is it? I thought Pythia’s signal had disappeared, but you absorbed it.]

“Well. Something like that.”

Though in fact it was given by the other side.

Seong Jihan saw no need to tell the truth, so he glossed over it.

Then, unlike before, the snake’s eyes flashed with pure white light.

‘He’s using the Divine Eye in that form.’

Ziiing…

After surveying the sea once with the Divine Eye,

Whatever he saw, the Martial God spoke to Seong Jihan in an even more imposing voice.

[If you have the Divine Eye, you should know. You cannot defeat Dongbang Sak.]

“I wonder. If the future always followed the Divine Eye, I wouldn’t have survived Tuseong, would I?”

[…Do you really intend to fight?]

“If you go back home now, I have no need to fight either.”

As Seong Jihan said that pointing at the sky, the pure white light disappeared from the snake’s eyes.

[Fine. It’s your loss. I’ll compensate you.]

“Compensate for my loss? How?”

[For the humans who will actually suffer damage… Let’s say 2 billion generously. I’ll compensate 10,000 GP per person.]

As the Martial God calculated the damage compensation at 10,000 GP per person,

-10,000 GP per person…?

-Our lives are worth 10 million won…?

-That’s 12 million won at current exchange rates…

-Sigh… Is he really crazy

-But why would 2 billion people suffer damage from uprooting the World Tree;

-Where exactly is this location anyway…

The chat reactions became intense, with more opinions wanting to know the exact sea location.

Saying 2 billion would suffer damage implies the range is very wide.

[200 trillion GP should be enough to compensate for your loss. What do you think?]

Meanwhile, the Martial God, seeming to think this price calculation was reasonable, proposed the compensation amount to Seong Jihan.

“I refuse.”

[…In addition to this, I’ll wait here for 7 days. That should be enough time to evacuate people.]

Giving a week to flee far from the great earthquake that will occur in the West Sea?

‘Talking about 2 billion implies the effects reach China, but where are Koreans supposed to run to?’

If China was in range, Japan probably was too.

To survive the aftermath of the World Tree being uprooted, Koreans would really have to cross the Pacific Ocean.

But how could everyone evacuate in just a week?

“I refuse.”

[…I’ve conceded plenty, yet you refuse even this. Blue Administrator, I truly cannot understand you.]

Hiss…

The snake form gradually faded.

[Negotiations have broken down. Dongbang Sak. Kill him and bring the World Tree.]

Just before disappearing, the order to kill Seong Jihan was given.

“Understood, my master.”

Dongbang Sak, after making a fist-palm salute,

“My master conceded plenty, yet you still choose to fight.”

Spoke regretfully as he looked at Seong Jihan.

“Because I’m confident I can deal with you.”

“Deal with, you say.”

Swoosh…

As Dongbang Sak raised his hand,

Flash! Flash!

Light swords began forming around him one by one.

“Since you chose to fight for your homeland, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”

“Advice… What is it?”

To Seong Jihan’s question,

“Don’t try to deal with me, try to defeat me.”

Dongbang Sak slowly lowered his hand.

Then,

“Otherwise, it will end quickly.”

The dozens of light swords that had formed began firing all at once.

* * *

He had run simulations many times.

He had perfectly analyzed the video of Dongbang Sak fighting the Red Administrator.

And searched for ways to counter him here.

But one thing.

Actually facing him directly.

It was clearly a different dimension.

‘Hah. My arm’s gone again.’

Slash…!

Seong Jihan frowned as he saw his right arm fly off.

Swoosh…

Of course, the severed arm quickly regenerated with the power of Eternity, but.

‘How many times have my limbs been cut off now?’

5 minutes into clashing with Dongbang Sak.

Seong Jihan was being overwhelmed, making his preparations seem meaningless.

His arms and legs had already been cut off and regenerated dozens of times.

[Stat Eternity decreases by 1.]

The Eternity stat that regenerated his body had already decreased by 1.

He was pushed back similarly when fighting the Martial God before, but.

Back then he was crushed by overwhelming power difference, this time he was losing in Martial Soul utilization.

“Your movements are quite good.”

Meanwhile, Dongbang Sak showed composure as he stroked his beard and praised Seong Jihan while facing him.

“But… if that’s all you have, you won’t last long.”

Flash! Flash!

More and more light swords formed.

The swords surrounding Seong Jihan now numbered 50.

These swords were only the size of ordinary longswords, but.

Each one demonstrated devastating power every time it flashed.

‘I’ve faced Twin Swords before from brother-in-law, but…’

The Sword King Yoon Sejin had also used Twin Swords before.

But the difference between those and Dongbang Sak’s swords was like heaven and earth.

No, even greater than that.

Flash!

With each flash of a light sword,

The sea split and the atmosphere shook.

-Wow look at the sea splitting, that’s insane…

-You can see the seabed; What is that

-Where exactly is this location?

-They say they found the location by satellite… It’s the center of the West Sea

-West Sea? Should we evacuate;

-They say flights to America are already sold out?

Meanwhile, people who had found out Seong Jihan and Dongbang Sak’s clash location through military satellites,

Were in great confusion.

The estimated 2 billion affected population was a number that could only be reached if China, Japan, and Korea were all within range and beyond,

So not just Korea, but all of Northeast Asia was in an uproar watching this broadcast, wondering if they needed to evacuate.

Though Seong Jihan was in a completely disadvantageous position even to third-party observers during that brief clash,

‘Now, the time is almost here.’

His eyes were not losing spirit, waiting for an opportunity.

And reading such signs, Dongbang Sak,

“If you have a hidden move, bring it out.”

Moved 52 light swords to surround Seong Jihan.

The sword encirclement seemed to have many gaps at first glance, but each one had the power to split heaven and earth.

It seemed impossible to escape by just sacrificing limbs like before.

And soon,

Ziiing…

As light spread from the swords, the surroundings began to be covered in the pattern of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.

Like when he subdued the Red Administrator.

Dongbang Sak’s sword formation trying to perfectly subdue the opponent without leaving any escape.

“Otherwise, this will be the end.”

As he stroked his beard, saying leisurely,

Swoosh…

A taiji symbol rose behind Seong Jihan’s back.

He drew out the Taiji Sword that had been stained with darkness.

“You clearly said to try to defeat you earlier, right?”

The Taiji Sword that he hadn’t drawn once during the 5 minutes of battle.

Seeing this, Dongbang Sak’s eyebrows twitched.

“I did. But you couldn’t even deal with me.”

“Now, I’ll defeat you with this.”

“Very well. Show me. I was curious about your Taiji Sword.”

As Dongbang Sak showed a curious reaction seeing the Taiji Sword completely different from his own,

Seong Jihan grinned.

“Before that.”

“…?”

“System, lower the Martial Soul’s distortion level to 40.”

As his order fell,

Whoosh…

The light swords instantly froze and disappeared.

The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation that had perfectly surrounded Seong Jihan also collapsed on its own.

“No. This is…”

As Dongbang Sak was momentarily flustered by the sudden change in situation,

Slash…!

The Taiji Sword split Dongbang Sak’s beard in half.