The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2

‘…Dongbang Sak’s arm being severed.’

The Martial God could not believe the result of the battle.

He knew better than anyone the strength of Dongbang Sak.

Even against Seong Jihan, who had become the Blue Administrator, Dongbang Sak had maintained his superior position without fail.

And yet, here he was, his arm completely severed by Seong Jihan, who had newly restored himself using the Golden Wheel.

‘The Storm Sword… it was a remarkable technique.’

The Storm Sword, newly added to the Fundamental Divine Arts,

To the Martial God, it seemed like an exceptionally formidable skill.

Especially since it worked well in conjunction with his constellation relics, enough to believe Dongbang Sak had demonstrated his full potential this time.

He hadn’t expected that the dispersed power from that sword would cause the Light Sword to be completely severed by Seong Jihan’s Taiji Sword.

‘The Blue Administrator. He has indeed grown incomparably stronger than he was initially.’

Every time Dongbang Sak amplified his energy, Seong Jihan grew stronger in proportion.

To the point where he could eventually overwhelm with sheer force.

Thus, there were ultimately only two methods left.

Either lift the pre-established limitations on Dongbang Sak’s strength,

Or command him to draw the Taiji Sword.

‘But if I lift the strength limitations… It will just result in that fellow growing stronger as well.’

So far, Seong Jihan had grown stronger every time Dongbang Sak amplified his energy.

If the strength limitations were lifted,

It would only accelerate his rate of growth.

He did not know how many more times he could use the Golden Wheel,

Seeing him destroy his face without hesitation to cut down Dongbang Sak suggested the uses weren’t severely limited.

He wouldn’t resort to such self-destructive acts if he had just one or two uses left.

The Martial God continued pondering within his ‘common sense.’

‘Moreover, if Dongbang Sak undergoes further training… he might slip beyond my control.’

Honestly,

Even now, it felt somewhat unsettling.

Though Dongbang Sak hadn’t outright shown rebellion,

After grasping the concept of Blue, his actions felt peculiarly disconcerting.

Hence, once he obtained the World Tree, he intended to command him to commit suicide immediately.

‘…Yes. Lifting the strength limitations would only benefit the enemy. The preferable route here is to use the Taiji Sword.’

The Taiji Sword.

Even if his opponent possessed the Golden Wheel, that sword could end it all.

That sword possessed a power on a completely different dimension compared to the one Seong Jihan carried around.

But the reason he hadn’t allowed Dongbang Sak to draw the Taiji Sword thus far,

‘Whenever he wielded that sword, Dongbang Sak always looked at the stars.’

In the midst of infinite regression,

The Martial God had witnessed Dongbang Sak’s memories countless times.

And every time Dongbang Sak trained with the Taiji Sword,

He would always look at the sky and the stars before drawing the sword.

And in the skies and stars of Tuseong,

There stood the constellation relics.

‘…Even so, at this point, there is no other choice but to use the Taiji Sword.’

Indeed.

The act of looking at the sky whenever he trained the Taiji Sword was probably just a habit.

Lifting the strength limitations would only provide more power to the Blue Administrator.

Ending it here with the Taiji Sword seems the better choice.

Having reached this conclusion, the Martial God commanded Dongbang Sak.

[Use the Taiji Sword, Dongbang Sak.]

“…Understood.”

At his command,

Swish…

As if waiting for it, Taiji appeared behind Dongbang Sak immediately.

Taiji, reversing its course.

The world folded as if paper being crumpled.

All creation was drawn into its reverse flow.

– What is this now, seriously. Right when we thought he won, he pulled out that thing?

– So, Seong Jihan uses Taiji, and now this old guy too?

– Actually, it seems like he’s the original…

– The world folding like that defies supernatural logic, it looks stronger than Seong Jihan’s reverse Taiji…

– This might be more powerful…

When Seong Jihan severed Dongbang Sak’s arm, there were cheers of assumed victory in the chat.

But as Dongbang Sak invoked Taiji, the atmosphere shifted abruptly.

Despite Taiji merely reversing its flow,

Everything, except Seong Jihan, was being drawn into it.

Even the severed arm of Dongbang Sak, which had fallen into the sea,

Got sucked into the reversing Taiji.

“The clash between my sword and yours… interesting. This is perfect.”

Swish.

Dongbang Sak stroked his beard with his left hand.

He slowly directed his hand into the center of Taiji.

Observing this, Seong Jihan wondered,

‘…Why speak like that? Did he regain his memories?’

Although he had less than half a brow left, it furrowed deeply.

Didn’t Ashoka suggest drawing the Taiji Sword?

Could it be that he has to confront Dongbang Sak wielding the Taiji Sword in a head-on battle?

Feigning apparent ease to instill caution in the Martial God, Seong Jihan had little remaining resources.

‘Administrator Authority is at 5000. After destroying my face with the Golden Wheel, effectively only one use remains.’

One more misstep would indeed mean death.

Seong Jihan scrutinized Dongbang Sak’s face more attentively than ever.

Upon Dongbang Sak gripping the sword from within Taiji,

“…Ah.”

A slight smile formed on the old man’s lips.

“An unexpected outcome.”

“…What do you mean?”

“That I would draw the sword with my left hand.”

Dongbang Sak then drew a pure white sword from Taiji.

As he compared his sword with Seong Jihan’s, he said with a hint of regret,

“The curiosity remains unsolved. Though had they clashed, I would have won.”

[…Dongbang Sak? What did you just say?]

Swish…

As soon as the snake’s head reemerged,

“You’re being noisy.”

Crack!

Dongbang Sak, with the sword in his hand,

Tore off the snake’s form without hesitation.

* * *

– ??

– Why is he doing that suddenly…

– He treated that snake with such reverence moments ago;

– The Taiji Sword was drawn and his attitude flipped.

– Whatever the case, isn’t this good for us??

– We should wait and see for sure…

People were puzzled by Dongbang Sak’s abrupt action.

Naturally, such suspicion would arise considering his 180-degree attitude shift from before.

However,

‘Finally… it’s happening.’

Seeing Dongbang Sak softly gazing at him, Seong Jihan realized Ashoka’s words were true.

“Have you… come to your senses?”

“Indeed. It must have been quite a struggle.”

In response to Seong Jihan’s question, Dongbang Sak smiled.

“Yet, you also had much to gain from me, didn’t you?”

“Well, there were some, but I wouldn’t want to go through such a battle again.”

“Why is that? I found it entertaining.”

‘Of course, you enjoyed it.’

Though feeling dominated strength-wise, but constantly losing in terms of martial skill,

Ah.

Didn’t he keep realizing that compared to him, he truly lacked talent?

“…I don’t wish for such desperate struggles again.”

“My apologies. But let’s….”

As Dongbang Sak spoke midway,

Black blood began to trickle from his lips.

“…Sir?”

Swish…

Once again, the snake’s face reemerged.

It rose from Dongbang Sak’s head and glared at him.

[Dongbang Sak, you betray me?]

“Betrayal… I’ve merely regained my senses.”

[Though I intended to command your suicide before such a day came… perhaps it’s for the best. It would have been harder to deal with rebellion on Tuseong. Die quietly here.]

Upon finishing these words, the snake’s form started to faint and disappear.

Then,

“Cough…!”

Dongbang Sak spat a handful of blood from his mouth.

“The Martial God acts swiftly. He directly invoked the seal.”

“…I see. True to his nature.”

Just as with Ashoka, it’s the same with Dongbang Sak.

Despite possessing extraordinary martial prowess, he still couldn’t avoid it.

The Martial God certainly prepared meticulously in such matters.

“There’s no time to speak leisurely. Let’s go.”

His face having turned pale rapidly, Dongbang Sak jumped into the sea.

Whooosh!

Dongbang Sak swiftly descended into the underwater sealed zone.

Seong Jihan followed him, setting foot on the ground.

Although the sealed zone should have been filled with seawater,

As soon as Dongbang Sak stepped in,

The water in that area drained completely.

Only this place in the West Sea remained isolated from the ocean.

“After Siddhartha’s sacrifice, the Martial God strengthened the seal imposed on me at least tenfold.”

Drip. Drip.

With each step he took,

Black blood flowed from Dongbang Sak’s entire body.

Each drop that landed on the seabed immediately dissolved it, creating deep fissures.

“I wished to personally destroy Tuseong with this sword… but my allowed lifespan is nearing its end.”

Though physically weakening visibly, Dongbang Sak walked resolutely with the Taiji Sword.

Soon, he arrived at the sealing formation etched with the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.

“……”

Dongbang Sak, briefly looking at it,

Thunk!

He plunged the Taiji Sword into it.

Then.

Flash…!

A pure white light erupted,

Piercing from the seabed to the sky above.

“Take my sword and use it.”

“The Taiji Sword… you mean?”

“Yes. I’ve left it embedded here, so it should hold for a while.”

The Taiji Sword, thrust into the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.

Despite having left Dongbang Sak’s hand, the sword retained its brilliance.

As he watched, Dongbang Sak stroked his beard.

Now stained with spilled blood, his previously white beard had lost its luster.

Gently touching it, he turned to Seong Jihan.

“And, my technique… how much did you inherit?”

“Technique… you mean Martial Soul?”

“Indeed. It hasn’t exceeded 1000, has it?”

“It hasn’t.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Dongbang Sak smiled at this response.

“Snake, you have used my martial art all this time. It’s time to pay the price…”

As Dongbang Sak sat on the seabed,

Swish…

White mist began to rise from his body.

“Martial Soul will transform.”

As soon as he said this,

[The stat ‘Martial Soul’ is changing to ‘Devil’s Intrusion’.]

A message appeared before Seong Jihan, indicating the transformation of Martial Soul.

‘…Devil’s Intrusion, really.’

Wasn’t this what happened when internal energy training went wrong?

Seong Jihan checked his physical condition.

Though losing a great deal of strength as Martial Soul transformed,

‘Since much of it has merged with Blue… Blue is compensating for many parts.’

It wasn’t to the extent that he couldn’t manifest the former Martial Soul abilities.

‘Not significantly affecting me, but… it might be different for the Martial God.’

Unlike himself, whose Martial Soul stat didn’t exceed 1000,

The Martial God’s stat would have surpassed that criterion.

As Seong Jihan pondered,

[What… is this…?]

In Tuseong, the side effects of Devil’s Intrusion were becoming palpable.