Chapter 102: The Meaning Of Faith (5)


    Seolhwa Ryeon walked down the street, her expression pouty.


    Im all alone now.


    The reason was quite simple.


    She had wanted to go Mine hunting with the elder for the first time in a while, but he had already left.


    Or maybe, she thought, she was being a nuisance. Even the elder needed his own time, especially on weekends.


    She didnt quite understand why, but she had heard that adults, especially men, value their alone time.


    Seolhwa Ryeon nced at her outfit for a moment.


    She wore a sleeveless shirt with cut-off sleeves forfort and a high-waisted ck skirt, paired with ck stockings. The two swords hanging by her skirt caught the eyes of passersby.


    Hey, what are you looking at!


    Wow, crazy. Shes so pretty.


    Seolhwa Ryeon continued walking down the street.


    Hunting Mines without the elder felt lonely.


    It wasnt like this at first.


    At first, being alone was fine. Sometimes strong Mines appeared, and she faced death, but what did it matter? In this world, nothing was connected to her.


    She killed Mines alone. It was a destiny that Seolhwa Ryeon had to unravel.


    Hunting Mines in the city with the elder was an iparable joy for her.


    Some might say its just murder, but Mines were not people. They were pests that infest this world.


    She hunted Mines with the elder, trying to make the world a better ce.


    As she walked, she saw it.


    .


    The elder was fighting a Mine.


    Wrapped in golden mes, he battled the Mines.<hr>


    Faith was the power of belief that constituted this world.


    Faith was the struggling power before bing divinity. This power was essentially the same, but its performance was worlds apart.


    Its likeparing a bicycle to an airne, both facilitating peoples travel, but the difference is like heaven and earth. Its the difference between special stats and conceptual stats. No matter how high the special stats are, they cant beat the conceptual stats.


    Slowly.


    The divine and faith were akin to the magic of starlight.


    They were filled with the pure power of belief in oneself, fueled by the power of imagination.


    However, the power of the divine and faith must be imbued with ones own power.


    The God of Sky imbued it with the power of lightning.


    The God of Struggle, with the power of struggle.


    The God of Light, with the power of light.


    If the magic of starlight was a finished masterpiece,


    Then faith and divinity require me to be the main agent, painting on a nk canvas with my power.


    Defying Heaven is


    I mixed the Energy of Defying Heaven with golden power. Defying Heaven resisted, as if insisting on being the sole agent, it rejected the power of faith. The power of faith resisted less but couldnt merge. Indeed, the Energy of Defying Heaven cannot embrace the divine.


    Not yet.


    These two powers cannot be mixed.


    Then, I decided to rece it with another power I possess. Combining it with the talent of the Sword Demon seemed promising.


    I added the Spirit mes of Heaven to my faith.


    [Spirit mes (S-) proficiency has increased.]


    Whoosh!


    The golden mes remained in my hand.


    The Spirit mes. They infused the weak power of faith with the nature of mes.


    Divinity?


    The Mine, the viin, stared nkly at thebined mes in my hands. The golden mes, born from thews of this world, the power of belief, and the sacred me, nowbined with the burning nature of fire.


    Faith was the counterpoint to the power from outer space.


    This power was based on thews of Earth. To manipte thesews, divinity was required. Sometimes, beings called heroes reject it and impose their ownws on the world, distorting it.


    All thews of this world create the possibility of bing sacred and bing a God.


    Slowly.


    [Hero''s Advanced Spirit Energy Strengthening Technique (B) proficiency has increased.]


    [Dexterity (B+) proficiency has increased. Dexterity (B+) has reached mastery. Dexterity (B+) evolves into Midas''s Hand (A).]


    I merged faith with the Spirit mes.


    My control over Defying Heavens power stemmed from the power of conceptual stats. Its a stat that governs the concept itself, but faith is a bit different. The same goes for the Spirit mes. These two were powers unfamiliar to me.


    Though slow, it had to be certain.


    I needed to take one step at a time.


    Sensing my intent, the viin shouted.


    Kill that bastard!


    Kuooo!


    The Mine roared.


    As if agreeing with the viins words.


    Crack!


    The muscles in the Mines arm grotesquely swelled. The Mines arm, already as big as an adults thigh, grew to the size of a truck, wrapped in a monstrous Ki wave. It was truly an overpowering force.


    It doesnt matter.


    The fact that it was an enemy that must be killed hadnt changed.


    Screech!


    The musclespressed. Probably a special power of the Mine. The truck-like muscles shrank in an instant.


    A single punch ().


    !


    Apanied by a shockwave, the Mines arm lunged at me. A simple, forceful punch () without any finesse or depth. But with the Mines overwhelming physique, it became a dangerously powerful punch.


    The viin also moved. Drawing a sword from within, a wave of energy flowed along the de, shaping it. He swung it at me. The speed of the sword was unmatched. Quite a skillful technique. The sword split instantly, creating dozens of shadows. Each strike contained extraordinary power.


    Proof that the viin too was a formidable opponent.


    It was none of my concern.


    I ridiculed them inside and focused on the battle.


    I stimted the senses of the Sword Demon.


    Endlessly sharp sensations showed me the way.


    Focus.


    While creating the golden mes, I drew ck Heaven. Taking arge step forward, I infused Defying Heavens Energy into ck Heaven. My extreme control over Defying Heaven mimicked sword energy.


    It was a false sword energy (). Defying Heavens Energy fluctuated. Like triggering the muscles in my arm, I swung the sword.


    Zzzzzzzzzz!


    Dozens of afterimages shattered with a single strike.


    Cough!


    The viin spat blood, looking at his shattered sword and his severed left arm in disbelief.


    My body wasnt in good shape either. Blood backflowed in my body, and Defying Heavens Energy became disordered. Meanwhile, the Mines fist was approaching.


    Whoooosh!


    The golden mes moved.


    Faith was thew that formed this world. It exerted a particrly strong force against things not of this world, opposing them. The golden mes collided with the Mines fist.


    Chiiiiick!


    The golden mes broke the momentum of the punch. But that was it. The power was not yet perfectly merged.


    But it bought time.


    That was enough.


    I moved my muscles using ck God Martial Arts. My body reacted faster than my brain, swinging ck Heaven. Defying Heavens Energy fluctuated as it collided with the Mines arm.


    Boom!


    The sh of sword and fist sounded like an exploding bomb. I gritted my teeth. Through the broken part of the mask around my left eye, I could see the Mine charging at me. Its expression was desperate, different from before.


    The ck Sword of Winter.


    I wont use it.


    ck Heaven was unique, but the ck Sword of Winter, used by the deputy leader of the Brigade of Eternal Heaven, was notoriously famous. Its not yet time to fight the Brigade of Eternal Heaven properly.


    I perceive the opponent with Divine Sight.


    I tuned my body using ck God Martial Arts to match the opponent.


    I forcibly controlled the reverse flow of blood.


    I regted the blood flow. Clean blood circted smoothly, pushing the dead blood to one side, burning it with Defying Heavens Energy. Ipressed and moved my muscles, conserving as much stamina as possible. I made my muscles and bones even more formidable.


    ck God Martial Arts was a martial art of this nature from the beginning.


    A physique that broke limits. Divine Sight perceived everything. Even with these two powers, it was hard to find an equal in the game.


    Even if the opponent is strong.


    Kuoooooo!


    Boom!


    The Mine roared and leaped high. Raising its arms, it smashed them down uponnding. Fragments infused with evil energy, countless shards attacked my body.


    I dodged what I could with the finesse of ck sh Sword Technique, perceiving the danger with Divine Sight, parrying the lethal attacks with ck Heaven.


    Whoosh!


    And then I gathered the power of faith again. The power of belief concentrated in my right hand.


    Flicker.


    mes ignited. The properties of fire were infused in the golden sacredness. The power to annihte evil transformed into the power to incinerate it.


    The Mines arm targeted my neck. I twisted my body sideways, putting weight into it. I condensed the golden mes. My body, fortified by tuning with ck God Martial Arts, stored sticity and unleashed explosive power in an instant. The Mines expression turned desperate. It was wary of Defying Heavens Energy, but more so of the golden mes.


    The Mine lost its bnce and forcibly turned its body.


    Its body grotesquely tilted to the opposite side. I condensed Defying Heavens Energy in my foot and kicked with my right leg.


    Cough!


    The Mines leg stretched as much as it was kicked. I stimted Defying Heavens Energy, aiming to tear the extended leg.


    Crack.


    With a displeasing sound, the Mines right leg was torn off.


    No!


    As if sensing its impending death, the Mine screamed. I looked at it with an expressionless face, raising my right hand. The golden mes concentrated, burning.


    Then I struck down on the Mines head with my right hand.