Chapter 124

[Will you try to combine the three elixir fields?]

A system message popped up as soon as he tried to combine his three elixir fields. Since his level had increased, he wasn't given a warning like last time.

"Yes," he said. Then, the boundaries between the fields began to merge.

'It'll work this time,' he thought. It wasn't a thought born of overconfidence. He'd done the preparatory work in advance, and his Force stat had already blurred the boundaries between the middle and upper fields.

[Attempting to combine the three elixir fields…]

He closed his eyes and began his attempt in earnest. It was easy enough to combine the upper and middle elixir fields since Force had basically done the work for him. After he completed that part, the two were indistinguishable, but…

'Now I have to deal with the lower elixir field.'

Though Force and Martial power shared the same value, the wall between them was quite thick.

'I need to stimulate them both internally and externally.'

Crack-

He surged Ki through his lower elixir field and contracted his Absolute Domain to stimulate the barrier with Force from the outside at the same time. He felt pain surging through his lower abdomen during his attempt.

'It's similar to when I was hit by the Behemoth's flames.'

He'd gone through all sorts of pain in his past life, so that wasn't enough to stop him.

Sweat began to drip from his head and back as if it were raining, and alternating moments of cold and heat surged over his body. During the attempt, his skin switched between reddening from the heat and turning pale from the cold.

It certainly wasn't easy, but…

Crack-!

It looked like his efforts were paying off as cracks began appearing in the lower elixir field's walls at a faster rate than he'd hoped for.

Still, he didn't rush it and calmly guided the merging process.

* * *

The long, long day passed, and…

"It's… done…"

He finally succeeded in combining the three elixir fields, and his entire body became a vessel for all of the mixed energies.

"Haa…" He took a deep breath and opened his eyes as he felt the energy coursing through his body.

'It was worth it.'

He was satisfied and getting ready to leave the training room when…

[Attempting to combine the three elixir fields…]

'What?'

He'd already combined the three elixir fields, but the system message remained unchanged. Why was everything still the same? He opened his status window to check.

Both Martial Power and Force were still at 100.

'Could there be more…?'

There was no way it was a system error, so he began to think. What did he need to do other than break the walls separating them and merge the different energies?

He stood there in thought for a few moments until an idea came to him.

'Do I need to activate Absolute Domain again to finish the process?'

He went ahead and tried activating it again, but he felt that only the energy in the upper half of his body was involved in controlling the Absolute Domain.

'I should be able to control it with energy from any part of my body now. Only then will I be done.'

Having found a clue, he focused on using different parts of the merged energy field to affect Absolute Domain.

It wasn't easy, of course.

'Understanding the problem is only the start.'

He would've thought the merging to be a success if he hadn't read the system message. He wasn't sure about the connection between the elixir fields and Absolute Domain, but he decided to integrate it with the elixir field by using the entirety of it to control Absolute Domain instead of just using Force.

'It's hard…'

It was much harder than merging the elixir fields. That had taken place in his body, at least, but working with Absolute Domain meant he had to integrate that with his external surroundings.

'I wouldn't even be able to attempt this if I didn't have experience with Absolute Domain from my previous life.'

It took the entirety of another day, but he finally felt that his elixir field had expanded a bit. It was more like he was wearing a suit of armor called the 'elixir field' at that point.

When he compared it with Force, the range of it had decreased to about 10cm. In return, it was far more powerful and could truly be said to control the space it encompassed.

Then…

[You've fully combined the three elixir fields.]

[Martial Power and Force have been integrated and replaced by a new stat…]

[You've obtained the star stat 'Martial Soul'.]

Was 'star' a ranking above unique? Just like Force and Martial Power had been, it was at 100, but the 10cm area of his new Absolute Domain instantly doubled in size.

'This is too overwhelming…'

True to its title as a star stat, it was an ability wielded by the stars. Not only did it double his Absolute Doman's range, but it also amplified any of the powers he'd previously used with Martial Power or Force.

It was so strong that even he, someone who'd crushed the League by an overwhelming margin so far, felt thrilled.

'I should be able to use the third Divine Technique with this.'

Suddenly, he received a system message.

[Only a single being from each star may possess a star stat.]

[The constellation 'Wandering Martial God' already owns Martial Soul.]

It mentioned only a single being from each star being able to possess a star stat and then the Wandering Martial God, so did that mean the Wandering Martial God was from Earth?

Unlike other constellations, the Wandering Martial God wasn't bound to his star and instead hunted for other constellations and stayed in his self-created 'Fight Star'.

Judging from what the system was saying, it seemed that the Wandering Martian God was affiliated with Earth.

'What will happen now?'

Could he not have the star stat since the Wandering Martial God already had it?

Then…

[The 'Wandering Martial God' has summoned you.]

A pitch-black space opened in front of him and sucked him into i

Space swirled, and JiHan popped out into a desolate land, heavily shrouded in darkness.

He looked at himself and made sure he was okay. Considering an irresistible power had forcibly taken him away, his body was in good shape, and his new Martial Soul stat was also intact.

He looked around at his dark surroundings and saw colors intermingling and shedding weak light from above. Weapons floated above him, and though they seemed to have been strewn about in a careless manner, he recognized that each was amazing in its own right.

'So that's how strong an EX-ranked weapon should be.'

The Phoenix Flag he'd recently obtained couldn't be compared to them. The energy contained in the weapons was on a whole different level. To think that such great weapons were left unattended…

He unconsciously admired the constellation's weapons, then…

"Welcome, traveller."

Tap, tap-

A figure emerged from the darkness.

"You are…"

"My name is Dongfang Shuo," the elderly man with white hair and a long, blue robe said as he stroked his beard. Though he clearly wasn't speaking Korean, JiHan could instinctively understand what he was saying.

'If it's Dongfang Shuo…'

He remembered Dongfang Shuo as someone who was said to have lived for more than three thousand years.

The name had a special meaning for him.

"So you obtained power thanks to my brush."

It was thanks to his brush that JiHan was able to obtain Martial Power in the first place.

"Yes."

"That's why I've been chosen to speak to you as a representative of the Wandering Martial God."

"A representative…?"

"You should have originally met him in person, but…" Dongfang Shuo stroked his beard while scanning JiHan from head to toe. "Although you have the Martial Soul, your level is still too low. You'd probably die just from looking at the Wandering Martial God in the eyes as you are right now.

Death just by making eye contact? Was he some kind of evil spirit?

JiHan tilted his head and asked, "Why was I summoned here?"

"You're to be given a choice," Dongfang Shuo said as he folded his hands behind his back. "Will you claim Martial Soul and be prepared for death at any time, or will you give up and receive the Wandering Martial God's reward?"

He had to be prepared to die if he wanted to claim Martial Soul? Was it because only one being from a star could have it?

"Why must one of us die?" JiHan immediately asked.

"Martial Soul can only be owned by one being under a star. If you don't give up on it… you might coexist with the Wandering Martial God for a while…"

Dongfang Shuo unfolded his arms and stroked his beard again. "But that can only last for so long. It'll probably be when you rise to a certain level that the system makes you fight against the Wandering Martial God for ownership of the stat. When that day comes, you'll die."

Dongfang Shuo pointed toward the sky. "If you avoid certain death by giving up on Martial Soul… The Wandering Martial God will bestow one of these weapons as a reward."

"These are…"

"They're the essences of constellations. Each of these weapons in the sky used to belong to a high-ranking constellation that was at least level 1,000. Don't worry, I can pick a good one for you."

He seemed certain that JiHan would give up on Martial Soul and thoughtfully looked over the weapons as he tried to pick a good one.

"That one isn't good for human use… You won't be able to draw its full power… That one's too small…" The man was looking over the weapons as if he were trying to pick one for himself.

JiHan decided to solve his dilemma. "Mr. Shuo, you don't have to choose a weapon for me."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'll just make Martial Soul mine."

Dongfang Shuo stopped in place at those words.

"Are you out of your mind…?" he asked.