I came back to life and we continue!
__________________________
HissâŠ
The cold energy poured down relentlessly, its pressure so immense that I could barely breathe.
âUrghâŠ!â
I clenched my mouth shut, letting out muffled gruntsâthe most defiance I could muster.
Ssss! The energy forced its way in, expanding my meridians painfully.
Trying to resist was futile.
If I try to block it, Iâll explode.
The energy was too overwhelming. If I tried to stem its flow, my body would give out entirely.
The relentless cold bypassed my meridians and began accumulating directly in my heart. No, "accumulating" wasnât the right wordâit was being crammed in forcefully, with no regard for limits.
The icy energy from the North Sea, combined with the cold within the Palace Lord, was being shoved into me all at once.
Damn it.
My mind raced for solutions, but the sheer volume of energy left me with no choice but to endure.
It felt like trying to bottle up an entire ocean wave.
Despite knowing it couldnât handle more, Ma-do Cheon-heup-gong refused to stop, greedily devouring the energy as if trying to consume it all.
The cold energy continued flooding my body, and while Nine Flames Firewheel tried to neutralize it with heat, the balance was far from equal.
âGrrkâŠ!â
Frost escaped from my lips as I exhaled, cold energy seeping out from within me. This had never happened before, even after mastering fiery techniques.
The expanded meridians twisted in pain, my vessel stretched to its limits.
I had already expanded my vessel through extreme means, but even that wasnât enough. The cold energy had filled me completely, leaving no room for release.
Even worse, the energy wasnât just any energyâit was pure, unrelenting frost.
If I couldnât dissolve it with heat, my body would freeze solid from the inside out.
A no-win situation.
Thatâs what I faced.
Shit.
Had I known this would happen, I wouldnât have even touched it. What I initially thought was a fortuitous opportunity had turned into a knife at my throat.
The cold of the North Sea is pouring into me.
Was this a chain reaction triggered by the destruction of the Ice Essence and the collapse of the Palace Lord?
Damn it all.
This wasnât just some random energyâit was the accumulation of centuries. The royal bloodline had sacrificed their life force to amass this energy over hundreds of years, and now it was all pouring into me.
Was this meant for Mang?
It was possible. Mang had been gathering energy for his resurrection but failed at the last moment. Perhaps this energy was originally meant for him.
Crunch!
âArgh!â
The energy swelled past my meridians, causing my muscles to bulge unnaturally. My body began to twist under the sheer pressure.
What do I do?
My vessel was at its limit. With no space left, the excess energy was spilling into my physical body.
I could barely hold it in, but once it overwhelmed my body, I wouldâŠ
Explode.
My body would rupture from the pressure, releasing the frost back into the North Sea, which would then plunge into a deadly eternal winter.
With the Ice Essence destroyed, there would be no way to contain it.
The North Sea will become a frozen wasteland.
HissâŠ!
The cold crept along my arms and back, spreading through my body. My skin began to freeze, unable to keep up with the overwhelming frost.
Crack.
My hand, still pressed against the Palace Lord, was freezing solid. If I died here, the North Sea would truly be finished.
I clicked my tongue bitterly at the thought.
Thatâs not acceptable.
I didnât care much about the North Sea. Honestly, whether it froze over or not had little to do with me.
ButâŠ
There are people here.
Woo Hyuk could rot for all I caredâheâd caused this mess, after all. Paejon would survive no matter where you threw him; that wasnât a concern.
Even that damned Sword Demon could turn into the Heavenly Killing Star and wreak havoc for all I cared.
But Namgung Bi-ah and Tang So-yeolâŠ
They canât die here.
So, what do I do?
I wasnât afraid of dying. But the thought of my death leading to theirsâthat was a fear I couldnât shake.
Was this regret?
No.
It wasnât regretâit was greed.
My Authority as a dragon was greed itself. I had too much ambition to let it end here.
SoâŠ
What should I do?
Yangcheon.
Donât ask the question.
You already know the answer.
Idiot.
I couldnât help but laugh to myself. Was I asking myself questions now? Had I gone completely insane?
Whoosh!
I began circulating my energy.
Ssss!
Sensing the movement, the cold energy rampaged even more violently.
Ma-do Cheon-heup-gong continued its ravenous consumption, ignoring my bodyâs limits.
Has it gone mad from hunger?
I hadnât fed it demonic stones in a while, so maybe it was acting out in frustration.
You wouldnât actually kill your master, right?
I wanted to believe that, but it felt like mere wishful thinking.
As soon as I tried to circulate my energy, the cold energy surged even faster into me.
Damn bastard.
I clenched my teeth and focused.
Fine. Letâs do this.
Whoosh!
Nine Flames Firewheel spun rapidly within me, releasing waves of heat.
The energy continued pouring into me through my palm. Normally, attempting to manipulate such chaotic energy risked severe inner deviation.
But what choice do I have?
There was no other way.
I wasnât a genius who could delicately manage energy flows.
The only thing I knew was how to smash through obstacles.
Letâs see who breaks first.
If the cold was endless, then I would burn it away endlessly.
The cold and heat clashed violently within me, creating turbulent waves. The opposing energies collided, triggering a series of internal explosions.
It was madness.
One misstep would mean death, either by inner deviation or simply bursting apart.
But I couldnât stop.
If I stop, I die anyway.
There was no retreat now.
Either I would suppress the cold and contain it within me, or I would freeze solid and shatter.
Victory or defeat.
That was all there was.
The only question left wasâŠ
If I manage to absorb it all, how much power will I gain?
If I succeeded in containing this vast energy, how strong would I become?
At least double.
This was a storm of pure energy.
A human couldnât handle it, but if I succeeded, it would elevate me beyond belief.
Crunch!
The cold and heat swirled violently within me, tearing at my insides.
The sensation was brutal and sharp, like my flesh was being shredded.
But this muchâŠ
Thanks to my training with Tua Pacheonmu, I had built up a high tolerance. Pain like this was something I could endure.
The problem wasâ
The vessel.
The vessel, now overflowing and at its limit.
Any more energy, and it would burst.
It was already leaking, saturating my body.
Under normal circumstances, this might have been a fortuitous opportunityâa chance for transformation.
But not for me.
This energy was beyond what even my enhanced body could handle.
Whoosh!
First, empty the vessel.
I channeled heat to burn away the excess energy. If there wasnât enough space, I would make some.
HissâŠ!
My body emitted steam as heat and cold clashed violently.
The more energy I used to create space, the more cold energy poured in to fill the void.
Two forces were locked in a deadly struggle.
In the empty space I managed to create, I forced the cold energy in, only to face another backlash.
Thud!
I coughed violently, blood spraying from my mouth and staining the Palace Lordâs chest.
âWhewâŠâ
As I exhaled, cold air escaped from my lips.
Expelling so much heat had accelerated the freezing process. My body grew sluggish, and my breathing slowed.
For some reason, my mind felt clear.
Despite the overwhelming pressure and the impossible situation, I didnât feel fear. There was no hesitation.
Clench!
I grasped the cold energy with my fiery energy. My vessel was full, and my body, swollen with energy, seemed to stretch itself as if trying to expand its limits.
No matter how much I emptied, it kept filling again, and the process was growing tiresome.
Then, letâs release some of it outside first.
Fwooshâ!
I seized the surging cold and hurled it outward. The energy twisted and dispersed, spreading widely around me.
ââŠHah.â
I vaguely heard Paejon let out a dry laugh behind me.
Did I mess up?
I donât know.
I wasnât sure if I was doing the right thing, nor did I fully understand why I was acting this way.
At this moment, I was simply following the pounding rhythm of my heart and the instincts driving me forward.
Even knowing that mishandling this energy could kill me, I didnât hesitate to twist the flow.
Whoooooshâ!
Unable to contain the sheer energy, I spread it out and rotated it rapidly.
By infusing a trace of heat into the cold, I was able to control it, as though the cold had become an extension of my own energy.
The energy kept building.
The layers of cold gathered until they appeared as a solid mass, dense and concentrated.
Fascinating.
To think I could manipulate such massive energyâenergy that wasnât even mineâusing heat as a medium to restrain and command it.
I didnât stop to question how or why it worked. If I had hesitated, I wouldâve exploded on the spot.
This works. Thatâs all that matters.
Why it worked didnât matter right now.
The real challenge begins now.
SssssâŠ
A strange emptiness settled over me.
The endless flow of cold energy finally ceased.
That meansâŠ
The heavy energy surrounding me was all that remained of the North Seaâs pervasive frost.
I didnât bother to look around.
For now, the priority was stabilizing the Palace Lordâs remaining cold energy.
Just a little more.
Rotating the cold energy and harmonizing it with my own energy was a difficult task. But difficult didnât mean impossible.
I focused.
Ssssssâ!
The remaining cold energy felt hesitant, as if unsure of itself. I couldnât help but smirk at the notion.
What, scared?
That didnât seem possible, yet the energy felt withdrawn, almost timid.
Thatâs what you get for trying to mess with me.
I showed no mercy. Wrapping the lingering cold with my intangible energy, I activated Ma-do Cheon-heup-gong and absorbed it all.
Shiiiiiingâ!!!
The last of the cold energy flowed into the empty spaces in my vessel.
Itâs done.
The Palace Lordâs energy was fully absorbed.
I stood up, feeling bloated from the sheer volume of energy.
"I feel sick from having too much energy⊠how ridiculous."
Was this a luxury problem? Either way, it wasnât pleasant.
And yetâ
Itâs not over.
The cold energy I had dispersed earlier still surrounded me, and my internal energy was far from stable.
If my vessel couldnât hold it all, what was I supposed to do with the rest of the energy still swirling around me?
Should I expand my vessel?
My vessel was already stretched to its limits.
Could I push it further?
If not thatâŠ
What if I compressed what was already inside?
By reducing its size, I could make room for more.
Clench!
I tightened my fist.
Thump!
My heart pounded heavily, and the lingering heat within me surged to the surface.
At the same time, I commanded the heat restraining the external cold energy.
Compress it.
Ssssaaaaaâ!
The rotation quickened.
The cold energy within my vessel began to spin, swept up by my own energy.
I forced the swirling energy to compress, applying more pressure with each rotation.
The cold surrounding me started to converge, as if aware of my intent.
It resisted, its defiance palpable.
âHah.â
Resist, will you?
Crack!
I exerted more strength, pressing the energy down.
The resistance intensified, sending shockwaves through my body.
Pop!
Blood vessels in my eyes burst from the strain.
I ignored it.
Faster.
Smaller.
The interplay of rotation and compression was something I never thought Iâd rely on, but here I was. The techniques I had learned in life werenât entirely useless.
Screeechâ!!!
When I felt the energy was sufficiently compressed, I opened my clenched fist and guided the flow.
The cold energy that had been swirling outside was drawn into my palm.
Whooshâ!
The concentrated energy stirred violently as it entered my grasp, creating shockwaves in the air.
Soonâ
Buzz.
The cold energy formed a sphere the size of a human head, radiating a powerful aura.
It was a success.
Now it was time to finish it off.
Clench!
I activated Ma-do Cheon-heup-gong, devouring the sphere rapidly.
The compressed energy flowed into my body without resistance, settling naturally into my heart and merging with the Palace Lordâs energy.
As I felt the union of the energies, I let out a slow breath.
Fwooshâ!!!
Flames erupted within me, consuming the cold.
This was the process of purification.
The cold energy was massive, while the flames were tiny by comparison. But even soâ
I can do this.
I was confident that my flames wouldnât lose.
Thump! Thump-thump-thump!
It was a violent clash.
My vessel teetered on the edge of breaking, and my frozen body struggled to keep pace.
Butâ
Youâre greedy, arenât you? This much is nothing.
If I couldnât devour this, how could I ever claim more?
Fwooshâ!!!
I stoked the flames further. If it wasnât enough, I would even draw on my innate energy to fuel them.
Hiss!
The greedy flames consumed the cold without pause, despite the latterâs frantic resistance.
Stay still and stop struggling.
Like throwing punches, my flames bit into the cold energy repeatedly.
By the time the chaotic struggle subsidedâ
ââŠWhewâŠâ
I let out a ragged breath and slowly opened my eyes.
ââŠAh.â
Feeling something wet trickle down, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. My body was drenched in sweat.
ââŠâ
I raised my hand slightly to test something.
Whooshâ!
A small flame flickered to life, quickly forming a tiny sphere of heat in my palm.
I tossed it toward the empty ground nearby.
BOOMâ!!!
Despite its size, the explosion it caused was immense.
âHmm.â
Watching the ground erupt into chaos, I finally confirmed it.
My internal energy has surpassed the peak of my previous life.
Andâ
ââŠIâve reached the realm of perfection.â
The ultimate form of Nine Flames Firewheel.
This meant only one thing.
Iâve finally surpassed my past self.