Chapter 170: Spiritual Will

Description

The black mist created by the Outer God’s power suppresses a Hunter’s strength and turns them into ordinary people.

Those above a certain level of strength—those at the Peak Level or those with massive mana reserves—can resist and endure, but anyone below that can do nothing.

The Flame Emperor had given advice based on that insight.

‘He said to let the Outer God’s power suppress my strength. While in that state, if I observe my own body, I will find enlightenment.’

Lee Tae-sung breathed deeply, taking in the black mist while examining his physical condition.

Without resistance, the mist’s power was fully accepted into his body and began to erode his form.

His Hunter abilities—the power he had directly grown to the Peak Absolute Master level—all of it was sealed.

Strength drained from his entire body, leaving him weak.

Yet through it all, Tae-sung’s mind remained sharp.

-Your mana reserves and physical training already rival those of a Transcendent Expert. So why is there still a gap in skill between you and them?

The Flame Emperor had posed the question, telling him to ponder it himself.

Tae-sung had encountered numerous Transcendent Experts and had even faced a master of the Flame Realm beyond that level.

Ascendants existed on such an elevated plane that there was nothing to learn from observing them, but the masters he had seen in the Dream World were different.

There was something to see and feel there.

Why were they faster and stronger when they swung their blades and extended their fists in the same way?

‘Beyond simply channeling mana into an attack, there’s something else.’

Otherwise, there was no explanation for why they could strike harder with the same amount of mana.

So what was it?

As he pondered for a long while, Tae-sung found himself completely enveloped in the black mist.

His whole body felt like it was sinking, a sensation of not being in his own body.

Mind and body separated.

His physical abilities had become no different from an ordinary person’s, and all the mana in his body was tightly locked away.

And because of that, he could feel something.

Only when reduced to this state could he sense what lay sleeping at the very bottom.

‘This is…’

No matter what technique one used, it always had a clear purpose.

Striking a specific part of the opponent’s body, evading, escaping quickly, hiding.

That was a person’s will, and it was also the will imbued within the technique.

That will itself had soaked into every corner of Tae-sung’s body and remained there.

A will sharpened like a blade, combined with mana, became an invisible force that materialized.

It was so faint that he could barely sense it now that his body was restricted by the black mist, but once he started feeling it, using it wasn’t difficult.

It was simply a matter of freely wielding the will he had always handled in the realm of instinct.

---

-Slice.

Tae-sung raised the edge of his hand and cut through the mist.

The mist split apart with a clean sever.

His body was undeniably sealed—no different from an ordinary person—but his will to cut had materialized.

Tae-sung felt the solid wall blocking his path crumble as he ascended to a new realm.

An omnipotence that made him feel like he could do anything!

‘Of course, I just started wielding this power, so building proficiency will take a long time…!’

Tae-sung smiled in satisfaction as he opened his eyes.

“Um… Tae-sung, sir. What exactly are you doing right now?”

Jake approached cautiously and asked.

From a while ago, Tae-sung hadn’t been clearing the black mist, but instead…

“How long was I like this?”

“It wasn’t too long. About 30 minutes…”

Having witnessed Tae-sung’s skill multiple times on the way here, Jake didn’t dare speak up and just watched.

But he couldn’t stay like this forever, so the moment Tae-sung seemed to open his eyes, he quickly spoke up.

“My apologies. I had a small breakthrough and needed to focus for a moment. I’ve delayed us too long.”

“Ah!“

Jake suddenly wore an apologetic expression.

Knowing that such moments didn’t come often for a Hunter, he worried that he might have been a disturbance.

“If that’s the case, then I was too hasty… I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I was just about to get up anyway.”

Tae-sung smiled and waved his hand.

Then he rose from his spot and retrieved the stele that lay within the mist.

As the stele vanished into the Spatial Pouch, the mist spewing from it stopped immediately, and the surroundings began to clear.

---

One of the world’s strongest Hunters.

Diego ‘El Masacrador’ Herrera.

Commonly known as the Slaughterer, Herrera.

The reason for such a nickname was simple.

What?

Until he grew strong enough through Missions, Herrera stayed quiet, but from the moment he judged he had gained sufficient power, he moved boldly.

He attempted to overthrow a nation.

No matter how powerful a Hunter was, they couldn’t face various modern weapons head-on—but that only applied to Hunters below a certain level.

For one who aspired to be the world’s best, he was fine as long as he wasn’t taking a missile barrage directly to the face.

And he never would be hit anyway.

Herrera’s skill was ‘Wolf Transformation.’

He could transform into a powerful werewolf capable of tearing steel like paper.

He also possessed a stealth skill so exceptional that even Ranker-level Hunters wouldn’t notice him unless they were paying close attention.

An overwhelmingly powerful monster that was also hard to see.

Overthrowing a single nation was nothing.

In the process, he slaughtered everyone who resisted or opposed him.

He began a reign of blood.

That was how he earned the nickname Slaughterer.

Mexico, ruled by the Slaughterer Herrera, became one of the worst nations in the world, but Herrera’s life grew luxurious.

His life had become no different from paradise.

But even such a life grows tiresome after a while.

At some point, he began to dream bigger.

Mexico is too small to contain me. The American continent, including the United States. Beyond that, Europe and Asia—I’ll take it all!

However, even Herrera couldn’t safely venture outside Mexico alone.

The United States had many powerful Ranker-level Hunters, including Alex.

He was confident he could beat any of them one-on-one, but if they coordinated, even Herrera would die.

And though it stung his pride, when he once encountered Cheon Jun of China, he had thought he might not be able to win.

“But that’s all in the past now.”

As Missions underwent their cataclysmic shift, Hunters gained new paths to become even stronger.

And Herrera received the Outer God’s grace and became its apostle.

Worshipping an unknown god?

Having his soul pawned to the Outer God for eternity after death?

He didn’t care.

“Hahahaha! Who can stop me now!”

In his living present, he had become something akin to a god.

Corrupted Hunters received orders from the Outer God Vanguard to cause social chaos, and the greater the chaos they incited, the more power they were granted.

Herrera didn’t need to make much effort.

Having already ruined the entire nation of Mexico, he received tremendous recognition just by sitting still.

He grew stronger as time passed, and several Corrupted Hunters felt his greatness and pledged themselves to him.

Mexico’s dictator and an absolute being commanding Corrupted Hunters under his banner.

“The world’s strongest? What a joke.”

So when Herrera heard the news about Lee Tae-sung, he scoffed.

The unofficial strongest in the world was himself.

The Sword Saint Cheon Jun? Alex? That corpse-monger from Russia?

They might have once been his equals, but now they clearly couldn’t measure up.

That was how immense his power had become after accepting the Outer God’s strength.

“But that bastard Lee Tae-sung is coming to America. Good. Might as well make a move.”

Herrera decided to rouse his heavy frame.

Recently, for some reason, the power he had been receiving from the Outer God had been cut off.

The power he had already received was tremendous, but human greed knows no end.

Especially someone like Herrera—he could be called the very embodiment of desire.

After pondering, Herrera thought, as other Corrupted Hunters did, that if he caused greater social chaos, the Outer God would look upon him favorably again.

‘If I kill the Hunter being called the world’s strongest and cause chaos in America, there’s a good chance.’

With such thoughts, Herrera quietly slipped into the United States.

---

Originally, the United States had planned to hold a welcome party for Lee Tae-sung.

But since he had gone straight into the black mist, the party was canceled.

No—to be precise, it was almost canceled.

Before the cancellation notice could even be delivered to the invited guests and everyone disbanded, Tae-sung had already resolved the black mist.

“What, already!?”

The Secretary of Defense nearly flipped over in shock, initially suspecting some kind of trick.

But with the testimonies of the CIA team members who had gone in with him and seeing the black mist slowly dissipating, there was no choice but to believe it.

“I’m a bit late. My apologies.”

If Tae-sung hadn’t delayed to gain enlightenment, acquiring the black mist stele at the heart of the LA slums would have been instantaneous.

In truth, breaking through the wall of the Transcendental Realm in only 30 minutes was incredibly fast.

This was only possible because he had already been approaching the wall with some enlightenment and a massive amount of mana.

“L-late, you say? We expected it to take at least a week…”

Alex had been struggling against a single black mist for months now.

A sluggish pace.

He had already received intelligence about Tae-sung, but he had assumed it was exaggerated.

But seeing him in person, he was even more than what he had heard.

“The party hasn’t been canceled yet. Though we’ll have to change the name from a welcome party to a black mist clearance celebration party.”

The Secretary of Defense said that and then loaded Tae-sung into a car heading to the party venue.

He didn’t particularly refuse.

With all the work finished, it was fine to relax a bit now.

At the party, he exchanged pleasantries with celebrities and politicians and had business conversations with Hunters and Guild Leaders who wanted to purchase Elixirs.

“Phew!”

After a while, he stepped out to the rooftop alone to get some fresh air.

Tae-sung closed his eyes briefly and observed his own body.

The power of will he had felt while his physical abilities were completely sealed within the black mist.

The seal had been lifted and mana filled his body, but now he could clearly sense the power of will as well.

‘In the Dream World, they call this Spiritual Will.’

The power to materialize a vast and sharp will to influence the world.

Spiritual Will.

This was the standard that divided the Peak Realm from the Transcendental Realm.

Tae-sung opened his eyes.

Then he lightly swung his hand.

The mana and Spiritual Will combined at his fingertips were sharp enough to cut through anything in the world.

---

-Slice!

He cut through something in the air.

“Kyaaaah!”

A werewolf with one arm severed screamed as it appeared from thin air.