Overwhelming Firepower

In his past life, Lucen had read many things, and a few of them were webtoons about the Murim, Jianghu, basically the martial arts world.

In those stories, he knew there were two types who were always categorized as the strongest and most overwhelming, no matter which version of the story he read.

It was either one who had the moniker Martial God, the one who pursues the path to the pinnacle of martial prowess. Or the one who was hailed as the Heavenly Demon, the one who dominates all with overwhelming martial strength.

In those stories, one would only see one or the other; sometimes both appear, but that was extremely rare.

Now standing before him in a western fantasy were the two strongest martial artists in those Korean webtoons he liked reading.

’Ever since I regained my memory of my past life, I’ve been seeing quite a bit of what I liked.’ Lucen couldn’t help himself as his lips unconsciously curled upward.

Lucen let out a quiet breath as he looked at the two figures before him, his smile not fading. Of all the things he had expected to find in this world, this was not one of them.

Yet, it made a strange kind of sense. A world like this, one that could produce someone like Alexander, someone like Cael, a world were a reincarnator from a different dimension like him existed. It would not be surprising if beings like these existed as well.

”Child, tell us how you know of us? The people of this world have long forgotten our deeds, and those who have worshipped us have faded in the annals of history. Our stories, our legacy have long disappeared, so how are you, a person of this world, able to know of us?”

When Lucen heard the Martial God’s question, he looked at the other party; the Martial God’s deep, dark eyes were staring right at him. There was no pressure in that gaze. Yet, Lucen felt as if nothing about him could be hidden.

’Yeah, these guys should have ascended to a sort of deity status in this world, but they aren’t omniscient or omnipotent. Still, they’ll be able to tell if I lie. Then let’s tell them the truth but not the whole truth.’

Lucen made the trench gun he was holding disappear, and then he did a Baoquan. His right hand was formed into a fist, and his left hand was open. The left palm covered his right fist in front of his chest as he did a bow.

”Greetings, Martial God, and Heavenly Demon.”

”Wait! Why did you say greet him first, before me!” The Heavenly Demon suddenly burst out.

Lucen looked at the Heavenly Demon. Unlike the Martial God, who was mostly always portrayed as a dignified person who focused mostly on the path to the pinnacle, the Heavenly Demon was different.

Depending on the version you read, the Heavenly Demon was the greatest antagonist who wished nothing more than to dominate.

Other versions make him look like a brat who only indulges in whatever he wants. There were also versions that he was a kind-hearted person who would help more than those of the orthodox path.

Then there were the versions of the Heavenly Demon who, like the Martial God, only focused on the path to the pinnacle of strength.

The only similarities they had were their overwhelming martial power, one that could be said to be above all others.

’This one in front of me might be a combination of all those types.’

”Hey, why aren’t you answering, you brat!” The Heavenly Demon released a bit of his killing intent to scare Lucen.

Unfortunately for the Heavenly Demon, Lucen was already used to killing intent like this. Still, it was quite the killing intent, even though it was suppressed; it was heavy and suffocating, like the air itself was pressing down on him.

The first thing Lucen thought upon feeling this pressure was, ’as expected of the Heavenly Demon.’

”I simply greeted the Martial God first, since he was the first one I saw.”

”Hoh, to be able to respond despite being bathed by my killing intent. You are a rather impressive brat.” The Heavenly Demon’s lips curled upward, his interest clearly piqued.

”Fine, I’ll forgive you just this once. Now then, how about you tell us how you came to know of us?”

’It’s do or die time.’ Lucen took a breath before answering. He understood that if he made a mistake here, then death would be a comfort.

”I’m a reincarnator.”

”Huh? A reincarnator? Are you talking about the cycle of reincarnation?” The Heavenly Demon asked while the Martial God simply looked at Lucen with interest.

”In a way. I have memories of my past life. I have read stories of the Martial God and Heavenly Demon, those who stood at the top of the martial world.”

’Yeah, I truly read about them in webtoons and novels. I’m not lying, am I?’

Hearing Lucen’s reply, the eyes of the two of them turned golden as they stared at him. It was like they were looking beyond his flesh, right into his very being. After a few seconds, their eyes returned to their original color.

”I guess you speak some truth. Your soul is somehow different from those in this plane... Don’t tell me! Are you from the central plains?! Is that why you know of us?”

The Heavenly Demon was getting a bit excited as he spoke, and even the Martial God, who was silently listening at the side, had his eyes wide open.

”I come from a future era than the one you lived in. Still, I do know a bit about you two from what I read.” Once again, Lucen did not lie, making the other two listen to him more intently.

”There are some stories saying that the Martial God disappeared after achieving enlightenment. Others say that he was killed by the Heavenly Demon.”

The second those words were spoken, an immense pressure was emitted from the Martial God. It became rather hard to breathe for Lucen. Noticing this, the Martial God quickly held back, and it was also then that the Heavenly Demon started laughing.

”Hahaha! Did you hear that! They think I’m the stronger one between us; it was I who won.”

”Well... There are also some accounts that said it was the Martial God who won and killed the Heavenly Demon before disappearing in the mortal plane.”

”Huh?” This time, it was the Heavenly Demon who looked enraged, and the Martial God smirked. ”Who would dare say that?! To dare say such a humiliating thing like I, the strongest Heavenly Demon, would lose to this stiff-faced b*stard!”

Still, despite his apparent anger, the Heavenly Demon did not emit any killing intent. It would seem that the two martial deities have understood that Lucen would not be able to withstand the pressure they emit.

’Well, now this is interesting. I can control the narrative, since the webtoons and novels I read have all the versions of who could have said those words. I’ve got to think fast; if I think too long, they might get suspicious. Which one should I say that would get me the most amusing result?’

Lucen thought about it for a while and came up with an answer. ”It was written in the diary of an unnamed Martial Alliance Leader, who is said to be from the Namgung family.”

A brief silence followed, then, ”Hah!” The Heavenly Demon laughed loudly, slapping his knee. ”Of course it was the Namgung brats!”

His eyes gleamed with a mix of mockery and amusement.

”Those self-righteous sword maniacs would absolutely write something like that. They’ve always been obsessed with that so-called orthodox path. Of course, they’re going to write about me losing.”

The Martial God chimed in on the conversation. ”Such trivialities. There is no victory or defeat on the path.”

”Hmph, of course you would say something like that, since the fools decided that you won.”

The Martial God did not bother to reply to the Heavenly Demon and instead looked at Lucen. ”So you are from a different era, an era where only stories of the Heavenly Demon and me are what remained.”

”That’s correct.”

”I see...” That was all the Martial God said before he became quiet again.

”Tell me, brat, what happened to my Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”

”... There, Heavenly Demon Divine Cult no longer exists; actually, the old sects are no more, the only one that survived the passage of time is Shaolin.”

The Heavenly Demon’s expression froze. The amusement that had been dancing in his eyes disappeared. ”Gone... You said it’s gone?”

”Yes,” Lucen replied flatly.

The Heavenly Demon covered his face, making Lucen unable to see what kind of expression the other party was making. After a short pause, the Heavenly Demon spoke again.

”So my Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is no more, and all the other sects are gone, and now only those bald donkeys are left. Kuhahaha, what a hilarious twist of fate.”

The Heavenly Demon’s laughter echoed through the silent temple, but there was no joy in it. Only something hollow. He then took the bottle of wine that Lucen had placed as an offering and drank it.

Lucen said nothing. The Martial God closed his eyes, as if reflecting on something far beyond this moment.

”... Everything fades, nothing is eternal. To those who have a beginning, an end will always come.”

After several seconds of doing their own thing, the gazes of the two returned to Lucen, as the air grew still.

”Tell us, child. Why have you come here? What do you seek from those whose era has long passed?”