"You don't have to worry."
Wijihoyeon came to Lee Sungmin taking small steps. She then laid her head on Lee Sungmin's thigh without asking for permission.
"...because even if I wake up, I know that you'll be by my side."
Wijihoyeon closed her eyes. Not long after, she fell asleep and stabilized her breathing. Lee Sungmin felt complicated emotions as he looked at her resting softly. Although he has heard about Beyond the Heavens and the Six Divinities from Byuk Won-Pae, the Crazy Heavenly Demon, he never thought he would get involved with them in this way. Lee Sungmin helped her up after lowering his body to make sure she wouldn't wake up.
"I'll show you to your room."
Bo-hye said as she guided Lee Sungmin to follow her through the octagonal pavilion.
Lee Sungmin followed Bo-hye and they eventually reached a detached house behind the mansion.
"If you need anything, please call the servant."
Lee Sungmin laid down Wijihoyeon on the bed. He pulled the quilt and placed it on top of Wijihoyeon, as he got lost in his thoughts. It was impossible for Wijihoyeon to solve the curse by herself because she was not even in a state to defend herself. If this continued the way it was and Lee Sungmin couldn't find an alternative, he would have to try and kill the person who initially cast the curse on her.
The problem was that, just from the stories he had heard, Qian Zun of the six divinities sounded like a difficult challenge that he would have to put his all into fighting him. He remembered what The Crazy Heavenly Demon said, "The Six Divinities of Beyond the Heavens are the Great Masters that are on the peak of the Transcendence realm," and Lee Sungmin has yet to make it on that kind of level.
[That Qian Zun won't be having it easy either though.]
Heoju said.
[As I said earlier, to maintain this curse, even the caster has to sacrifice a lot. Maybe he won't even be able to talk like that bitch.]
'Even so, I don't know where he is. Besides that... touching him means to fight against the entire Beyond the Heavens Organization."
The so-called Six Divinities were all warriors of the Transcendence Realm. Transcendence was considered the best place to reach through Military Merit. The only known fighters of Transcendence were those of the political factions who were the leaders of the Wudang Sect among the Orthodox Factions, and the leaders of the Sama Order who were the leaders of the Heretical factions.
(T/N there was a time of warring between these two factions and or other forces in the past before Lee Sungmin was summoned to Eria.)
They were practitioners who didn't deviate from their humanity, but they acted anything but human. Jang Moon-in of the Wudang faction's pre-war generation seemed to be alive, but he was completely at the mercy of the world. Even if you were a long-time warrior of the previous generation, he was already a person of several generations ago, and he was so old that he treats his current masters as blood clots. On the other hand, the Lord of the Samaryunju, had not been heard of as of late and had no notable activity to be heard of. That's why Lee Sungmin was so surprised that the Lord of the Samaryunju said to protect Wijihoyeon.
Even in the huge world of Eria, the world where many people live, the two were heard to be at the edge of the Transcendent realm reaching towards the Unrestrained realm and the realm of the Great Demon respectively. The reason why Lee Sungmin was able to gain so much attention in the North was because he did not care about the Factions or the barren environment of the North, but it was also because the Bloody Heavenly Demon was not a common master. The two absolute masters of these factions were on the brink of transcendence, but because they were the leaders of such groups they could not move on their own accord.
'Too far...'
Lee Sungmin was currently at the peak stage literally on the brink of entering Transcendence. The Ironclad that Lee Sungmin had just overpowered the other day, if you compared the two of them, was only half as good as the Vampire Queen, Geniella. The First Rate, Peak Level, and The Transcendence. As they say, the overall fighting capability between realms wasn't easily distinguished. There are many gaps in the same realm, and there are also many differences.
But there was one thing that was clear, a talented one cannot beat a Great Master (T/N the equivalent of Unrestrained Realm/ Great Demon). The difference in between 'the gaps' was not something that could be overcome no matter how skilled one was. Unless he was in the Transcendent Realm, Lee Sungmin could not kill the man that had cursed Wijihoyeon.
Six masters of Transcendence, whose identities were kept well hidden in Eria, had gathered together. Lee Sungmin chewed his lower lip. When he was a C-class mercenary in his previous life, He didn't even know of these existences in the world. He thought he had come quite far, but when he looked ahead, he felt like he knew how high and difficult the mountain was to climb.
[When the height of the mountain changes, the view changes.]
Lee Sungmin pondered on Heoju's words, and closed his eyes.
Less than an hour later the door opened. Lee Sungmin, who was closing his eyes and organizing his thoughts, looked to the opening door. The Crazy Heavenly Demon and Rubia stood at the door.
"You arrived?"
Lee Sungmin asked, slowly raising himself up. Crazy Heavenly Demon gave a low groan his sight went over to where Wijihoyeon was lying on the bed.
"What the hell happened?"
"We had a fight with the Orthodox."
Starting with that, Lee Sungmin explained what he had been through. While listening to the story quietly, the Crazy Heavenly Demon's face contorted in confusion.
"Are the city's guards on the sidelines trying to kill a man while using the name of meritorious services?"
"There's a difference between writing meritorious deeds in the middle of the city and fighting outside the gates."
Rubia replied, pouting her lips.
"Rubes is a neutral city, but because of the close proximity of the Crohn, the Orthodox factions are stronger. Even if the Ironclad kills a man on the outskirts, saying the man was going to wipe out Sama Order... You'll only get a slap on the wrist."
"Then isn't this place dangerous, too?"
"This is the center of the Rubes. And this is the branch of the Samaryunju. I don't think it'll be a big risk if the Samaryunju says they'll protect you."
However, Rubia was unsure and vague in her response. Although they had yet to decide what to do in the future, they had decided to check up on the status of Wijihoyeon first. Lee Sungmin left the sleeping Wijihoyeon and came out of the room.
"Please deliver this to the Tower master of the Red Tower."
He sent a request to the servant along with the letter he just wrote. The servant nodded his head and left the room. Scarlett, the Tower master of the Red Tower, was also well versed in sorcery. Soon after, the servant returned with the letter he couldn't deliver under the pretext that the Tower Master was absent.
He asked Neville, too. He inquired about the Sorcerer's Guild, but he heard the same answer from them. He answered that he had no choice but to kill the caster of the curse in order to resolve such a strong curse.
Wijihoyeon was asleep with a stable breath, the sun was setting, and Lee Sungmin sat beside Wijihoyeon to look out the window. The red sunset was beautiful. He was still unnerved but he was happy he was able to keep the promise from 10 years ago with Wijihoyeon. He closed his eyes once more to relax.
"What can I do to meet Beyond the Heavens?"
Lee Sungmin murmured in a grave voice. The Crazy Heavenly Demon gave a low sigh.
"...I would have told you if I knew. The Six Divinities are monsters on the brink of transcendence and are able to hide themselves extremely well."
"You said you had been defeated by the Sword Zoan that's among the Six Divinites. What would you do if you met the Sword Zoan again?"
"I'm not sure I'll win. But, you'll be struggling just as much as you were 10 years ago if you fight."
"But forget the Sword Zoan, all of them are at the peak of transcendence . And you're still going to fight?"
"Well, it's not that scary."
"It's the same for me. I'm not afraid."
Lee Sungmin smiled and grabbed Wijihoyeon's wrist.
"Wait for me... I'll find you... and you better be prepared."
Lee Sungmin murmured in a grave voice as he looked back out to the view outside the window sill.
TN:
3rd rate
2nd rate
1st rate
— (Realms above 1st rate martial artists are called Major Realms and have 3 minor realms to cultivate in between ascending to the next Major Realm: Early, Middle, and Peak in each Major Realm)
Peak Realm – Lee Sungmin is at peak of Peak Level (lol ironic)
Transcendence Realm – Wijihoyeon is at the Early realm of transcendence, Crazy Heavenly Demon is at Peak level Transcendence and the 6 divinities are at peak level as well.
— These Realms are past Transcendence and are called the Transcendence realms (Now this is where it deviates based on the path one takes as the naming is different in the 2 opposing paths but, they are equivocal in strength)
Orthodox Transcendent Realms: Heretical/Unorthodox Transcendent Realms :
Unrestrained Realm Great Demon Realm Profound Realm Demon Shedding Realm
Life and Death Realm Heavenly Corruption Realm