“What?”
“If the duty of the Archlord is that important, shouldn’t everyone be doing it?”
Let’s not just have me fulfill the duty; everyone should.
At my bold statement, the two Archlords froze in astonished expressions.
Jooam chuckled in disbelief, but Nok Woo-rim quickly knitted his brows, channeling his power.
KUGUGUGU…!!!
[Oh]
[W-W-W]
[He seems angry]
[Let’s kill them all]
[Looks pissed, lol]
[Why are they mad when they started it?]
[Seriously, lol]
Nok Woo-rim is a third-tier practitioner in the display case.
He has reached a level higher than Jeokho and Cheongjinryeong, making him one of the strongest among the actual ascetics in Jangmugye, aside from Jooam.
Of course, Gyeoryu and Mokmujin are not even a consideration.
In other words, there is no one in the same team as Jooam who can stop Nok Woo-rim at this point.
The aftermath caused by Nok Woo-rim turned the sky completely green.
A foul odor wafted from the sky as it created a tremendous pressure.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1WE83WnhqbmRkVmFBelZMWWxOUi9nRWZhMlZXQmRZc0xpREhWeXh5dUVWZQ
Nok Woo-rim, who had the intent to bring me, the audacious one, to my knees in an instant, was quite the character.
“Um.”
I remained perfectly fine.
Crack…!
Instead, a red lightning bolt burst forth from me, or more accurately, from the Dragon Heart, soaring toward the sky like it was on a blissful ascent.
Some of the green that had stained the sky began to fade away.
“…!”
“Duties apply to all Archlords, after all.”
“You…!”
Nok Woo-rim exerted even more power.
In response, I pulled on more of the Infinite Completion, and just as Nok Woo-rim was about to summon a massive ‘swamp’ from the air.
“That’s enough.”
Jooam’s darkness subdued both the aura of green and the lightning.
It wasn’t just any darkness; it felt like Holy Energy, indicating it wasn’t normal amplification.
“Nok Woo-rim. Are you trying to wreck the meeting room?”
“That brat started it…!”
“Brat? Since when have you been calling me that?”
Back when you called me ‘little one’ all friendly and now you suddenly downgrade my title.
As I looked at Nok Woo-rim, puzzled by the sudden change of address, his—or perhaps her—hands trembled menacingly.
“I’ll kill you!!”
[Lol]
[Lily’s tilted head is adorable]
[Lol, so many lols]
[Let’s kill him]
[Why are they mad when they provoked first?]
[Trembling?]
[Great Lily]
[Jooam or that guy looks kinda strong]
[W-W]
Jooam chuckled, finding this situation amusing.
“Calm down, Nok Woo-rim. Do you really think an ascetic who killed Jeokho and usurped his position would be easily defeated?”
“Still, he’s an Axis of Transition Device practitioner…!”
“That Axis practitioner killed the Display Case practitioner Jeokho. Levels aside, the talents and powers possessed by ascetics are entirely separate.”
Jooam turned to me, leaving the fuming Nok Woo-rim behind.
An old man.
Though he appeared to be quite an aged elder, physical age didn’t matter to those who transcended racial limits like ascetics.
Most of them maintained their prime bodies, but that’s not to say all of them did.
Among the 천 마족 who lived for tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, there were often those who maintained the appearance of young children.
“One of the Six Demon Kings was a young girl.”
Though it was a fragment, that Demon King retained the looks, behavior, and mental state of a young girl.
Despite that, her rank and power were monumental, and everywhere she passed, corpses would pile up like mountains.
In other words, even if he looked like an old man, it wasn’t necessarily that he was old; it was more about his disposition leaning toward that of an elder.
Of course, Jooam was indeed old for a Display Case practitioner.
“Did you say Lily? Quite the talent. That Holy Artifact containing Infinite Completion is something else.”
“Thank you.”
“Would you consider handing over that artifact? If so, I would be inclined to offer you maximum convenience.”
“That seems unlikely.”
The Dragon Heart of the dragons is extremely valuable, but it’s also a memento from my past acquaintances.
No matter how precious the offer, I had no intent to part with it.
Jooam expressed disappointment but didn’t reveal enmity like Nok Woo-rim.
“Obligations… obligations, indeed. Of course, I can accommodate you. After all, Archlords aren’t enemies.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. What reason would Archlords have to fight each other? This land is vast enough that managing our own territories is more than sufficient.”
“Then can you grant me a lifespan?”
“…A lifespan?”
“Yes.”
For ascending the Display Case, and also for the upcoming Marriage Device ascension, a lifespan is crucial.
But do the Archlords right in front of me really need lifespans? Not quite.
They would have sought lifespans made of blood and souls rather than pure lifespans, and they’d likely secured a considerable amount already.
Probably, they had stockpiled enough of the Axis of Life to reach the Marriage Device level.
At least for the relatively weaker and less experienced Cheongjinryeong, that was the case for sure, but it was definitely true for Nok Woo-rim and Jooam.
“I need pure lifespans to rise on the Display Case with my technique. But entering the Display Case requires about 100,000 lifespans, right? That’s far too much to ask of the lower-level ascetics within Lord Jeokmu-hyang…”
“Is that so? But the lifespan that goes into the display case is about 100,000, right? That’s way too much for a lower-level cultivator to receive from Lord Jeokmu-hyang…”
“…so you’re asking us for it?”
“It’s not just going to be given, you know. You could say it’s a kind of exchange?”
In the end, what is the essence of the Archlord meeting?
Discussions about each other’s community and sharing thoughts about the future and realms all mean to ‘help each other,’ don’t they?
I need pure lifespan, and the Archlords need resources, so we can share it, right?
“Since we’re a society that helps each other. In a way, you could say it’s a duty. It’s important to plan for the future among Archlords as well.”
“……”
“Of course, I won’t ask for a lot. Just a reasonable amount. I’ll be providing some support as well…”
[Hahaha]
[Lily is speaking the truth]
[Lifespan “gimme”]
[Lily is so nice ㅠㅠ even doing exchanges]
[Hey Lily]
[Wow]
[Meanwhile, why is Cheongjinryeong just sitting there?]
[He seems super pissed]
BOOM!!!
A part of the meeting room gets totally wrecked.
The cause of the destruction is Nok Woo-rim, who is radiating a strong green energy like never before.
After all, Jooam frowned at Nok Woo-rim’s actions, which are already pulling out parts of the ‘swamp.’
“Nok Woo-rim.”
“Shut up! I need to knock some sense into that brat! You can’t expect me to just sit here and listen to this crap!”
“Isn’t it still too early to act? We need to ensure we get what we want first. Calm down and think for a moment.”
“I said shut up! Hey! Cheongjinryeong, why are you just sitting there?”
At Nok Woo-rim’s outburst, Cheongjinryeong, who was standing blankly next to him, blinked.
Then he looked at me, Jooam, and Nok Woo-rim in turn and chuckled.
“…Did you think I wouldn’t get involved? What do you hope to achieve by coming here now?”
“A guy who doesn’t match his size…”
“Manage your own anger. My stance is the same as before.”
Cheongjinryeong definitely stepped back, indicating he wouldn’t get involved.
Nok Woo-rim’s eyes sparkled fiercely.
[OMG]
[He’s really mad]
[He seems like he could be killed lol]
[The group leader, huh? haha]
[Lolololol]
[Ah, Cheongjinryeong really needs to control his anger; he got caught, lol]
“Are you sure you won’t regret it?”
“Regret? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Until the end… Fine.”
The swamp starts to stir.
A musty-smelling wind rushes in, and Nok Woo-rim’s momentum begins to rise even more.
Jooam wrapped himself in darkness full of holy energy, as if to avoid being swept away.
“Just spare my life. Don’t destroy the meeting room any more.”
“If the spirit remains, I guess that means you’re alive.”
Little one.
“Are you ready to die?”
“I don’t understand why you’re so angry. Is it really that difficult to propose a trade?”
“You’ve crossed the line. Let’s die.”
A musty wind spread out, completely engulfing the meeting room.
I witnessed the room transform into a murky swamp.
It wasn’t so much that the meeting room changed, but rather a swamp was laid over the ‘space’ of the meeting room.
It was similar to the ‘space overlapping’ technique that Cheongjinryeong used in Lord Jeokmu-hyang’s palace.
Squelch!
Someone was looking down at me from the very center of the squishy swamp.
“Are you prepared?”
No, I looked up.
“A practitioner of the Axis of Transition Device usually has quite a sturdy spirit. Besides, you have a Holy Artifact, so it won’t be over in one go.”
Nok Woo-rim’s voice echoed from all directions.
Above, below, sideways. Nok Woo-rim was everywhere, and they were all the real Nok Woo-rim.
I summoned the Dragon Heart and cast my gaze around aimlessly.
“So this entire place is the main body of Lord Nokmu-hyang?”
“Do you regret it?”
“Um… a little?”
This place was the main body of Nokmu-hyang.
Right now, I was practically in the palm of Nok Woo-rim’s hand, and the Display Case Practitioner’s body was no different from a small world.
In other words, as the master of the world, Nok Woo-rim could impose severe restrictions on me.
I reached out.
My level that had once reached the third stage of the Axis of Transition was weakened to that of a Transition Device level.
Moreover, most of my power was sealed away.
“Even if you regret it, it’s already too late. You little brat.”
With my current state, defeating Nok Woo-rim was nearly impossible.
“This is bad.”
I sensed defeat.
It can’t be helped. You can’t always win.
I acknowledged my defeat as I witnessed the musty wind attempting to tear my body into thousands of pieces.
I grasped at the air.
‘This isn’t what I should be using here.’
A spear made of enhanced Infinite Completion.
Grasping the spear that exuded dozens of brilliant lights, the entire swamp trembled as if glaring wide-eyed.
And then.
“The roar of the spear.”
The storm of Infinite Completion ripped apart the swamp.
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