Leveling with the Gods

At the late dawn.

Having finally cleared the mess from the last battle, the Celestial Realm hastily summoned the Rankers.

"Out of the soldiers we brought with us, 30% have died."

"The same goes for the Rankers. No, the losses are greater among the Rankers."

"More than half, if you count the wounded."

It was not easy to even get an idea of the damages.

There was very little time for that.

"The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal could be here tomorrow."

"We have lost a Grand General of War in this battle, a loss that will go down in the history of the Celestial Realm!"

"However, the War God and the Heavenly King are still..."

"Don't you know that the War God was defeated by the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal in this battle?!"

The conference room was noisy.

The countless people gathered there raised their voices.

There were no Grand Generals or Grand Warriors present. With no one leading the meeting, everyone spoke.

The War God was being urgently treated to recover from the battle of the day.

The meeting was no longer a meeting, everyone shouted at each other about who was to blame and what the crisis was.

It was then...

Tap, tap~

The sound of hard clogs echoed in the room.

"First of all..."

"Alright, silence..."

The tough generals who had been arguing with their voices lowered their voices.

The room fell silent.

Everyone stood up from their seats, breathless.

Tap, tap.

An old man with clogs entered, escorted by Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

Clad in a blue dragon robe and leaning on a single cane, the old man walked to his seat at a not-too-fast pace.

"Everyone seems to be in a good mood."

The old man let out a hearty laugh.

But no one took that smile as something truly pleasant.

The current situation in the Celestial Realm was so grave that it had no parallel in history.

"Come on, guys, speak up. I need to hear what you have to say that's so amusing."

In the face of the bony old man's words, the generals stood up from their seats and bowed their heads.

"We have committed a mortal sin!"

"We have committed a mortal sin!"

The old man's eyes narrowed as he chuckled under his breath.

"Really?"

Stroking his chin, the old man pondered and then leaned forward.

"Then you must die."

Goo-.

Thwack-.

The round table in the conference room creaked, and the building trembled as if it would collapse at any moment.

Then...

"Please bear with us for a while."

The General who was behind the old man, Li Jing, spoke up.

"If we kill them all now, the next fight will be difficult, so why not wait until then?"

"Until then?"

The old man lowered his outstretched hand and stroked his long beard with it.

A long pause.

The old man, the Jade Emperor, spoke after what seemed like an eternity.

"Show me what you're worth."

As if he had nothing more to say, the Jade Emperor stood up.

"Those who fail will die by my hand."

The words were met with a roaring response.

As if his business was done, the Jade Emperor left the room.

Turning to his advisor, Li Jing, the Jade Emperor spoke with a calm voice.

"What did you think of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal up close?"

"He was even better than I had heard."

"This is your first encounter with him, isn't it? This guy didn't exist when you were active."

Although he was the Jade Emperor, the highest being in the Celestial Realm, he was respectful towards Li Jing. It was his way of honoring Li Jing, who had co-founded the esteemed Celestial Realm Guild with him.

"He is the enemy of our Celestial Realm."

Tap, tap~

Walking down the long corridor, the Jade Emperor turned to Li Jing, who was behind him.

"I won't ask you to take care of him, as that is the role of the young ones of this era."

"Can the young ones handle it alone?"

"It will be difficult. We don't have the Grand General."

"Then..."

"But at least they can act as cannon fodder, right?"

Cannon fodder.

First and foremost, the Jade Emperor did not expect the Generals who had just gathered to be capable of capturing Son OhGong.

It is said that there is no profit in war, but the power of the Generals can overwhelm the majority.

But they didn't know that.

They had a vague expectation that if the Celestial Realm Rankers gathered, they could do something with just one Son OhGong, even if they were not the greatest.

Of course, the Rankers who had fought against Son OhGong in the past would have a different opinion...

"In the next battle, the Celestial Realm will suffer great damage, perhaps even to the point of collapsing."

"Shouldn't we be prepared?"

"We should prepare... We should."

Kwak.

The Jade Emperor stopped walking and looked up at the ceiling.

"For the sake of the Heavens."

No.

More precisely, beyond.

He looked at the Heavens beyond the high Heaven.

"Yes. For the sake of the Heavens."

"And that's why they must die."

"...?"

Li Jing's eyes blinked.

He didn't even turn around, but the expression was too clear in the Jade Emperor's eyes.

"People can be gathered again, and fallen cities can be rebuilt."

Tap, tap~

The Jade Emperor started walking again.

"I am the center of this Celestial Realm, I am the Celestial Realm."

It was an extremely egocentric thought.

But Li Jing couldn't deny it.

Who could deny it?

As the Jade Emperor had said, he was the living Heaven itself.

Or to put it another way...

'That means he distrusts the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.'

Li Jing followed the Emperor and looked out the window.

It was going to be a short battle, but it seemed like it would be a very long fight.

In the midst of it all, Li Jing remembered what he had to do.

"Kim YuWon."

The Jade Emperor seemed to be focused on the name of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, but from the beginning, he was only concerned about one person.

He couldn't understand why.

It might be because he was responsible for the release of the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven and the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, or it could be the persistence of an old man.

But it wasn't just that.

'A too big of a sprout.'

Even if the Celestial Realm were to win this battle again.

If Kim YuWon was alive, he was sure that in the distant future, the Celestial Realm would eventually perish.

That conviction made him resolve to capture Kim YuWon.

"I will kill him with my own hands in this battle."

***

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***

The three tightly pulled down their hat brims.

Standing in front of the entrance checkpoint to the Celestial Realm, OhGong, the most irritable of the three, opened his mouth.

"Shall we begin?"

His shoulders tensed at the prospect of a fight. It was a bad habit.

"They must have prepared a lot. Don't let your guard down."

"You've been too grumpy for a while now."

In response to Son OhGong's pouting lips, the Bull Demon King nodded.

"He's right. Listen carefully."

"I could say the same about you..."

"True."

Kak-.

The Bull Demon King walked forward.

"You and I have the same bad temper."

The Bull Demon King walked toward the checkpoint.

YuWon watched the Bull Demon King's back as he started to move away, ignoring the line.

"That's just how he is."

Son OhGong shrugged.

"He doesn't like to suffocate himself too much. The difference between him and me is that I can be patient when I need to be..."

His bright eyes were amused.

"But he is relentless with things that aren't necessary."

Relentless.

The Bull Demon King reached the checkpoint and stopped.

Tall and thick walls.

Inside was the Celestial Realm, and at its center were numerous Celestial Realm Rankers, including the Jade Emperor.

It was like a giant fortress.

"Who are you?"

The Celestial Soldiers, who were already nervous due to the unusual atmosphere, distrusted the Bull Demon King as he advanced, ignoring the line.

For a moment, he contemplated the walls of the Celestial Realm and then looked at the soldiers who had started to surround him.

"If you're not a person with great loyalty to the Celestial Realm, I want you to leave this place immediately."

Kuk-.

The Bull Demon King clenched his fist.

"I plan to turn your Heavens upside down from now on."

Goo-.

Kujik, kudd-.

The ground beneath the Bull Demon King's feet crumbled.

The soldiers panicked at the sudden surge of energy.

"It, it..."

"Sh*t, he's here!"

The soldiers didn't trust their numbers and didn't dare to foolishly attack the Bull Demon King.

Apparently, news of Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King's attack had already reached the soldiers on the edge of the Celestial Realm.

One by one, the soldiers began to retreat from the Bull Demon King to save their own lives.

And at that moment...

Boom-boom-.

Toward the high walls of the Realm, the Bull Demon King's fist extended.

Kwaang-!

Kujik-!

The tall and solid wall bent.

It had been protecting the Celestial Realm for a long time.

Naturally, it wouldn't collapse so easily.

However...

Kwang, Kwang-!

The Bull Demon King's fist stretched towards the wall and didn't stop with just one strike.

Kwa-ang-!

Kik, kik, kik-.

Cracks began to appear on the city walls.

In an instant, the cracks spread throughout the long wall.

And at that moment...

"Grow-."

From behind, OhGong's Ru Yi Bang aimed at the wall.

"Ru Yi."

BOOM!

The enormous staff struck the precariously trembling wall. Hitting the wall simultaneously with the Bull Demon King's fist, it finally managed to bring down the wall surrounding the Celestial Realm.

Kur, Kurrrr-.

Like a long row of dominoes, the wall started crumbling.

"I could have finished it myself."

"It was hard to wait."

As if displeased with Son OhGong's response while gripping the shrunken Ru Yi Bang in his hand, one of the Bull Demon King's eyebrows twitched.

"You'll be scolded later."

Son OhGong only smiled at the Bull Demon King's empty threat.

Right now, he could only think about having a good fight for the first time in a long while.

But then...

"Remember."

A voice spoke, sending a shiver through Son OhGong's fiery thoughts.

"The first thing we must do."

"...Ah, yes."

OhGong pouted with a smoky face.

"It's fun fighting against you, but it's not fun fighting with you."

Kurrrr-.

The dust that had risen from the broken wall slowly cleared.

OhGong's Golden Cinder Eyes looked beyond, his hand gripping the Ru Yi Bang.

"Although it certainly increases our chances, that's all."

The Celestial Soldiers swarmed around them.

They must have known they were coming because they were quite prepared.

And among them...

"Surrender, Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, right now!"

Shouting bombastic words, a Celestial General who seemed to be their representative stepped forward.

"If you surrender right now, the Jade Emperor has promised to forgive most of your sins! If you ignore this mercy..."

"Ah, shut up."

Hearing the shrill voice, Son OhGong perked up his ears.

Even though he must have seen the hostile reaction, the General kept on speaking.

"There's no way you can win against the Heavens, so I recommend you surrender immediately!"

"...What?"

Son OhGong's stony expression changed.

He turned his head and looked at YuWon.

"Do you know?"

"Know what?"

"Do you know who won the fight between the Celestial Realm and me?"

"Of course, I know. You boasted about it several times."

"That's right. I won."

Whirligig-.

"And even then, I was alone."

Son OhGong spun his Ru Yi Bang and headed towards the Celestial Realm's main camp.

"And now, we are three."

Huh-ruh-.

The figures of the Celestial Soldiers appeared in his Golden Cinder Eyes.

"Ugh!"

"Kuk!"

"Kuk..."

As the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal gradually approached, the soldiers blocking the way fell one by one.

There was no point in wasting time wielding the Ru Yi Bang.

Most players wouldn't dare to stand in front of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

"I don't need help."

Kak-.

Son OhGong walked slowly towards the center of the army and looked at the foaming-mouthed General.

"Jade Emperor, come out."