The Hero Returns

Plop—

The boulder before Su-hyeun's eyes split in half.

Right then, his body lost all tension. Although he hadn't moved around that much, his body was still soaked from head to toe in sweat after concentrating so much harder than ever before.

[The proficiency for "Sage's Eye: Gyeol" has risen substantially.]

A message floated up at the same time.

However, Su-hyeun didn't rejoice. He didn't need a message to know that the Gyeol's proficiency had risen. The sensations still lingering at the tips of his fingers were all he needed.

"I did it," Su-hyeun thought as he looked at the wooden stick he held in his hands. It was so thin that his little finger seemed thicker. He just couldn't bring himself to believe that he managed to split a boulder in half with the little stick.

Even without resorting to magical energy, he could've easily shattered the boulder. His bare hands alone would've been sufficient.

Honestly, if one struck a boulder with a thin wooden stick, it would be the latter that snaps in half. Without reinforcing it with magical energy, even the smallest impact force would break the stick.

"Maybe this time as well…" Su-hyeun thought as he left the Sage's Eye active and scanned his surroundings.

He could see the boulders and trees of the forest. He lightly swung the stick at the tree closest to him.

When he did that…

Crash—!

Even though the impact was light, the massive tree was still broken in half.

Boom—

Su-hyeun alternated his gaze between the thin wooden stick in his hand and the fallen trunk of the large tree.

"When you can cut apart a boulder with this thin stick at any time you want without using any aura whatsoever, then…Then that means you can more or less see Gyeol."

The Bull Demon King said those words earlier.

Su-hyeun was aware that he could use "Gyeol" now since he had acquired it in the form of a "skill."

However, his proficiency didn't seem to want to rise past the zero-percent mark no matter how hard he trained. He absolutely had no idea on how to raise that percentage.

Splitting a boulder with a stick was a training method that the Bull Demon King came up with.

[Sage's Eye: Gyeol]

* Grade: -

* Category: Active (activation type)

* Category: Sage Art, Sage's Eye

* It can only be used when the "Sage's Eye" is active. It can analyze the weaknesses and characteristics of the designated target caught in your view.

* Proficiency: 5.12%

His proficiency had significantly increased.

When he activated the Sage's Eye again, he could see faint "Gyeol" here and there all around him.

For now, they only appeared on things that were easy to break such as trees. According to the Bull Demon King, though, one could bring about a miracle of turning an impossibility into a possibility depending on how one utilized Gyeol.

"Once you become a Taoist god, cutting the ocean in half by slicing through Gyeol becomes a possibility. In other words, you will be able to cut through things that shouldn't be cut, such as water, fire, and even wind itself."

Su-hyeun recalled his fight against the Roc Demon King after listening to those words.

"I definitely saw Gyeol back then."

The winds the Roc Demon King had roused up back then were no ordinary winds at all. Not only were they as sharp as actual blades, but they were also like a powerful storm mixed with a large amount of Demonic Aura.

However, he definitely saw Gyeol, and he accurately cut it down as well.

He couldn't remember how he did that, though. Initially, he had completely forgotten about the sensation and so, never mind the Roc Demon King's winds, he even found splitting a boulder in half a tough ask.

"As long as I can maintain that sensation…" he thought.

Swish, phwoosh—

Chwa-rarararak—

Su-hyeun sliced apart the fallen tree and turned it into hundreds of sticks next.

"There's nothing in this world I won't be able to cut down."

He picked up a stick and headed to the next boulder.

He had already been training the whole day, but he didn't have a longer time to rest. He figured that since the sensation was still lingering in his hands, he might as well train some more.

* * *

The death of Prince Nezha delivered a massive shock to the gods of the Heavenly World. His funeral was scheduled to last three full years. And during the first month, everyone was mindful of even coughing a little too loudly.

But at the end of that month, a new god of war was appointed without warning.

"Isn't this too early, your majesty?"

Fine facial features that made deciphering his gender difficult, determined eyes, and a slender body made up of firm and powerful muscles—these were the very qualities that easily distinguished the Heavenly World's Martial General, Erlang Shen, who came to seek an audience with the Jade Emperor at the news of the nomination a new god of war.

The Jade Emperor might be the top god of the Heavenly World, but even he wouldn't dare to treat Erlang Shen poorly.

The level of loyalty he had shown to the Heavenly World or his unwavering sense of righteousness, plus his incredible strength, meant that no one dared to treat him poorly at all.

The Jade Emperor sat on his throne inside the empty audience chamber and stared at Erlang Shen below him. Indeed, appointing another god of war so soon was too rash. It was certainly not respectful of Nezha who died only a month prior.

"You know very well the times we're living in, don't you?"

Even then, the Jade Emperor still went through with it. He had no choice in the matter.

"Prince Nezha has perished, and the Great Sage Heaven's Equal has escaped from the eight-way trigram Crucible. Although the Bull Demon King won't participate in the war, a human has unexpectedly disrupted the proceedings."

The appearance of Kim Su-hyeun and Nezha's death at his hands.

Those events ensured that the outcome of the war could not be predicted anymore. To achieve the Heavenly World's goal of slaughtering all humans and Yogoes, the death of Great Sage Heaven's Equal was an absolutely necessary step to overcome.

"Our Heavenly World finds itself in a need to quickly and urgently shore up our combat forces. For that purpose, the sooner I appoint the next god of war to lead the Heavenly army, the better."

"Even so, I am unable to erase this feeling that the choice has been made too hastily, your majesty. I also suspect that finding a worthy replacement of Prince Nezha cannot be that easy."

Even though the Jade Emperor had already stated his position, Erlang Shen wasn't willing to back down easily. After all, he was that kind of a man—someone who would never compromise his conviction nor show fear even to the absolute ruler of the Heavenly World.

That was why he could question those matters that everyone found odd but were too scared to raise their doubts about.

"More importantly, the identity of the new god of war hasn't been revealed publicly, your majesty."

"That's obvious. I haven't revealed it yet, after all."

"Indeed, you haven't. And I know that even the appointment ceremony was held between your majesty and the appointee in private. Just why would—?"

"Erlang Shen."

The Jade Emperor's narrow eyes opened wider as he stared straight at Erlang Shen. The latter didn't say anything and waited for the emperor's next words, thinking that the truth was about to be revealed.

"He is different from you. He's a disposable pawn."

"Are you referring to the new god of war?"

"Correct."

Erlang Shen came here to get some answers, but now, he had more unanswered questions instead.

"A disposable pawn, is it?" he inwardly contemplated.

Such a concept definitely wasn't foreign in these parts. The Jade Emperor saw most other gods in that light, to begin with—only a handful of gods could be qualified as exceptions.

"But the god of war…?" he thought.

That position was bestowed only to the greatest warrior among all the gods. Yet the Jade Emperor was planning to use a god occupying the glorious position tasked with fighting at the very forefront of the war for the survival of the Heavenly World itself as nothing more than a mere pawn.

"You don't have to be that worried, Erlang Shen." The Jade Emperor chuckled loudly at Erlang Shen's confused expression. "All of these are done for the sake of the Heavenly World's peace, and…"

His voice then became softer, sounding far more chilling compared to only a second ago.

"The extermination of the insect-like humans and Yogoes."

"…"

At that declaration, Erlang Shen wordlessly bowed his head.

He bade the Jade Emperor a formal goodbye and exited from the audience chamber. As he walked on the palace's corridors, a few other gods saw him and offered their greetings, but he didn't reply to any of them.

More correctly, he couldn't.

"Is this truly alright?" he thought.

Many complicated thoughts tumbled around in his mind.

The Jade Emperor hated humans and Yogoes alike.

Back when the new emperor was enthroned, Erlang Shen didn't think that aspect would pose too much of an issue in the future. He was stunned to hear the emperor advocated for the extermination of humans and Yogoes, but even then, he swore to sacrifice himself if need be, all for the sake of the Heavenly World's peace and prosperity.

But now…

"I'm not sure anymore."

The previous generation's Jade Emperor who loved humans and Yogoes was no more.

This was a new era.

The extermination of humans and Yogoes had been in discussion for a long time within the halls of the Heavenly World, and now, it was too late to withdraw the plan.

War was inevitable.

Even if it was for the prosperity of the Heavenly World.

And so, half a year went by after Prince Nezha's death.

* * *

Whoooosh—

A sudden breeze slapped Su-hyeun's face harshly. He lowered the wooden stick in his hands and turned his around. "You've come?"

"Why is that the first person I always run into is you whenever I come here?"

The Roc Demon King landed on the ground, flapping his wings, and then shot a glare at Su-hyeun.

Unlike the Bull Demon King or Sun Wukong who chose to stay put in one location for a long time, the Roc Demon King often traveled around the outside world. It was unknown just where he headed off to, but usually, he would be back after a few days.

"Both of my big brothers are taking a short nap at the moment."

"A nap? At this hour?"

"Well, I was told that taking a nap is also a part of one's cultivation regime, so…"

"Gimme a break. The big brother Pacifier of Heaven wasn't used to be like this way back when, you know. Is this what everyone refers to as godly relaxation?"

The Roc Demon King continued to grumble away in dissatisfaction as he folded his wings away.

Su-hyeun withdrew his attention from him. Unlike their first encounter, the latter no longer tried to provoke him for a fight.

"All these…Did you do all this?"

Normally, the Roc Demon King would've walked on by, but he actually stopped and asked Su-hyeun a question today. The latter wondered what had gotten into him and took a look only to discover an expression of incredulity etched on the Yogoe's face.

Su-hyeun alternated his gaze between the thin stick in his hands and the spectacle spread out before them and nodded his head. "Yes, that's correct."

"…With that thing?"

The Roc Demon King still had a disbelieving expression despite the reply.

Tumble, drop—

Stone fragments tumbled down from the tall cliff. It was actually split cleanly in half—so cleanly that the idea of a mere stick slicing it smoothly like this seemed like an unbelievable fantasy.

The split halves of the cliff were somehow maintaining a precarious balancing act, but it seemed that it would be only a matter of time before the whole thing came crashing down to earth.

The Roc Demon King clicked his tongue. In only half a year, Su-hyeun had managed to step into a realm where he could now cut apart a cliff with nothing more than a wooden stick.

"A genius, is it?" he thought.

He abruptly recalled what Sun Wukong said earlier.

Su-hyeun mastered the breathing technique, acquired the Sage's Eye, and learned Gyeol all in a short window of time.

Sun Wukong started calling him a genius after that.

"And Wukong is a boundlessly arrogant one, to begin with."

When the Roc Demon King heard that declaration, he had to wonder if Sun Wukong's personality had changed after being stuck in the eight-way trigram Crucible for too long.

He never learned the Sage Arts, so he had no clue how incredible an achievement it was to learn Gyeol.

Of course, Sun Wukong's personality hadn't changed one bit. That much was certain after seeing how his attitude in treating the Roc Demon King in the past half a year had not changed.

"What's so great about this, though? Even I can do this."

The Roc Demon King's expression reverted back to how it usually was as he nodded his head.

Splitting a cliff in half?

What a humorous little prank that was. If it was him, he would completely shatter this measly cliff until its original shape could not be found anymore.

When he thought like that, the Roc Demon King felt a little better inside.

Su-hyeun observed the frequent changes in the Roc Demon King's expression and asked, "Did you eat something you shouldn't have?"

"N—no, it's nothing to fret over. Keu-heum." The Roc Demon King loudly coughed to clear his throat and hurriedly changed the topic. "Where is the big brother?"

"I already told you that he's taking a nap."

"Ah, right. You did."

"Please head inside first. I'll stay here for a little while longer until dinner time."

"Nope. Looks like you'll have to come with me today."

Su-hyeun looked at the Roc Demon King with a puzzled expression. Someone who normally avoided even talking to him was continuously engaging him in a conversation today.

But what the Roc Demon King said next helped Su-hyeun understand the reasoning behind it.

"The Heavenly World has finally made their move, you see."