Leveling with the Gods

[You have passed the third trial of the Eight Trigrams]

[The fourth trial of the Eight Trigrams begins]

[Endure the flames of the Eight Trigrams]

Fire-!

"I wonder if this is what they mean when they talk about being overwhelmed."

The flames of the Eight Trigrams grew stronger and stronger as time passed. It was as if they were trying to kill the sinner within.

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"...Don't talk to me."

Sweating profusely, YuWon was unnecessarily irritated with Son OhGong outside the cage.

He felt more exhausted than ever. Besides feeling like he was being set on fire, the sensation of all the water leaving his body was unbearable.

"Why don't you give up? It seems difficult."

"Your main body managed it."

"That's because my body was invincible."

"Not invincible, but immortal, that's why this trial was easy."

In Son OhGong's case, the Eight Trigrams didn't mean much.

Once he became immortal, he was able to survive for a hundred days and a thousand days in the Eight Trigrams.

YuWon lasted just over three days.

But that wasn't enough to complete the Golden Cinder Eyes.

"It's an impossible challenge."

Son OhGong's alter ego interrupted YuWon.

He also knew that he could only overcome this trial because he had an immortal body.

Therefore, this was a trial that only he could overcome.

"So give up now. Don't cling to things that can't be."

"Who says it can't be?"

"Just look..."

"Your main body didn't know."

Son OhGong stared at YuWon and was stunned.

Although he was sweating as if it were raining and his body was dry as a raisin, YuWon's gaze was no different from the first time.

No.

"That their alter egos... are different."

On the contrary, it had become even hotter than before.

Venomous.

That was the only way to describe it.

Son OhGong hesitated for a moment. He didn't dare tell YuWon to give up with those eyes.

"Fuuuu-."

Another long sigh.

The heat that had penetrated deep into his lungs was expelled again. But that was only for a moment, and when he breathed in again, the heat of the Eight Trigrams seeped back into his lungs.

The body was at its limit.

His lungs, just like his skin, were covered in burns.

Even the strongest of bodies wouldn't have lasted this long in the Eight Trigrams Cauldron. It was fortunate that he had a high resistance to fire, or he would have turned black and burned long ago.

But now he was also at his limit.

It was time to try something else.

"But isn't that a trial only you can do?"

Discussing the acquisition of the Golden Cinder Eyes.

It was Odin who got to the heart of the matter.

"In the Eight Trigrams, it would be impossible for anyone to survive a hundred days in it, even if they had obtained the Cinder Eyes."

"I see. It's not a place you can survive in just by knowing how..."

"Well, well. Then I should give up, right?"

Everyone was disappointed to hear that they wouldn't obtain the Golden Cinder Eyes.

They were the Golden Cinder Eyes and nothing more.

It was an ability that represented the highest level of the Celestial Realm, and if Son OhGong was correct, it was probably the path to the Eye of Foreknowledge.

If they couldn't obtain that ability, their plans would suffer a severe setback.

"The Eye of Foreknowledge must be obtained. Even if you know the future, if you change the past, the future will naturally change."

"If that's the case, can't you find out through Mimir?"

"The future that Mimir can see is limited. You can't see the future you want, and the number of times is limited."

The Eyes of Mimir were known for seeing the future.

It was the only one that could be compared to Son OhGong's Golden Cinder Eyes.

But even the Eyes of Mimir couldn't compare to the legendary Eye of Foreknowledge.

"That's why we have to obtain it. And if the Monkey is right, then the Golden Cinder Eyes are necessary for that."

As he said this, Odin's gaze naturally turned to Son OhGong, who was yawning on the side of the room.

"Why are you so uninterested?"

Odin was genuinely intrigued by Son OhGong's reaction.

Whenever Son OhGong reacted like this, always, always there was an answer.

"I'm sure the Cinder Eyes will be there by then, right?"

"I think so."

"That's right. Isn't it?"

YuWon remembered Son OhGong cleaning his ears as if he wasn't really interested in the topic.

"Then it's just a matter of controlling it, I suppose."

"...just controlling it isn't enough help, Monkey."

YuWon muttered, spitting out the word "Monkey," which he only used when he was annoyed with Son OhGong.

Still, Son OhGong's advice was quite helpful.

Until now, he had managed to withstand the fire and had been able to conserve enough mana to survive.

Hwareuk-.

His pupils turned bright red.

YuWon's eyes were burning.

Literally.

[The 'Cinder Eyes' control fire]

The blazing flames within the Eight Trigrams moved.

No.

It wasn't just the flames within the Eight Trigrams.

[The 'Cinder Eyes' control fire]

[State Anomaly: Burns decrease to Stage 3]

The Flames of the Eight Trigrams permeated YuWon's eyes.

The fire that burned his body slowly dissipated, but the refined mana remained intact.

The fire that had been tormenting his entire body, including his lungs, escaped.

This was the power of the Cinder Eyes.

"The Cinder Eyes have the power to control fire, and that includes the fire that enters within you."

[State Anomaly: Burns decrease to Stage 2]

[State Anomaly: Burns...]

The burns were disappearing.

Moreover...

YuWon no longer felt the fire of the Eight Trigrams as hot.

"The fire of the Eight Trigrams has no master. It is not a living being but an execution platform that extracts fire from the surroundings and uses it to execute criminals."

Fire-.

YuWon unleashed the mana he had been storing and activated his Cinder Eyes.

"And a fire without a master isn't too difficult to control with the Cinder Eyes."

"From now on..."

YuWon, who hadn't moved a single step since entering the Eight Trigrams, stood up from his place.

"I am your master."

Kak-.

With each step, the flames within the Eight Trigrams flickered.

"And this is how you're going to save time."

As YuWon's mastery of the Cinder Eyes increased, Son OhGong recalled the situation at that moment.

How could he survive the Flames of the Eight Trigrams?

He found the answer in the Cinder Eyes.

"Conserve your mana for now. As much as you can. You'll probably even lose consciousness because of it, but you have to do it."

"If I can use the Cinder Eyes to control the Eight Trigrams, why bother?"

"Because enduring the Eight Trigrams trial makes sense only by enduring it for a long time. Shouldn't we also take the reward from the trial itself?"

"...Why do you say such clever things?"

"That's just who I am."

Son OhGong shrugged.

[Arcane Power has increased by 1]

Mana from the Eight Trigrams began to flow through the Cinder Eyes.

For the first time in his life, the ownerless weapon reacted to its master. From now on, all YuWon had to do was use the Cinder Eyes to control the fire energy within the Eight Trigrams.

"This is what Danpung feels like."

It seemed as if he hadn't had a proper meal in a long time, and although he was hungry, he felt full even without eating.

Enormous flames filled the air.

In YuWon's eyes, the flames seemed like the most appetizing feast he had ever had.

"I'll devour them."

Outside the Eight Trigrams Cauldron.

Son OhGong's alter ego was attentive to his surroundings.

He was riding on the back of a cloud, half reclining.

"This is quite boring."

At least in a certain sense, it was also a relief.

Perhaps because he thought YuWon wouldn't last long.

"Well, he lasted quite a while."

The fourth day.

That was more than he expected, considering the time he had been in that cage.

At first, he wasn't thrilled when YuWon told him he was going to take the Eight Trigrams trial.

It was because the trial itself wasn't so rewarding, and he thought it would be impossible to pass.

"I wouldn't be surprised if his body turned to ashes at any moment."

YuWon's body was almost devoid of moisture, and it wouldn't be strange for him to faint at any moment.

For the past three days, Son OhGong had been advising YuWon to give up.

A trial that couldn't succeed in the first place.

It made no sense to die for nothing.

"Perhaps he possesses strong control over the Cinder Eyes..."

Son OhGong shook his head as he thought about it.

"Not even close."

It wasn't until hundreds of years after acquiring the Cinder Eyes that he could control the Flames of the Eight Trigrams with the power of the Cinder Eyes.

YuWon, on the other hand, no matter how strong he was as a player on the 50th floor, was still a child who had only been cultivating for a few years.

Skill wasn't just a matter of being strong or weak. Mastery of a skill was something that couldn't be overcome simply by increasing or decreasing mana.

"As expected, it's still not enough."

That's when Son OhGong predicted YuWon's failure.

Hwareuk-!

The heat within the Eight Trigrams became even more intense.

An unusual flow of mana.

Son OhGong turned his head in surprise.

"What's happening?"

Hwarrrrr, hwarrrrr-.

Through the bars of the cage, his insides burned a bright red.

The heat was so intense that even Son OhGong's face burned as he looked through the bars.

"What the hell is going on?"

No matter how much he searched his mind, using the memories of his main body, he couldn't recall any moment when the Eight Trigrams burned in such a way.

"Damn it..."

The worry didn't last long.

YuWon was vital for Son OhGong's rescue and for the future of the tower.

He couldn't let him die here.

"I didn't realize it would take this much effort."

Chi-ii-.

Son OhGong grabbed the handle of the Eight Trigrams door and opened it.

He felt a burning sensation, but he didn't care; his mind was still filled with the experience of being trapped in the Eight Trigrams for over a hundred days.

The flames were blazing from within.

The flames burned so fiercely that they blinded him.

Through it all, Son OhGong searched for YuWon.

"Where are you?"

There was no response.

For whatever reason, there was no way YuWon could withstand this fire.

The area of the Eight Trigrams was vast.

It wasn't going to be easy to find YuWon in such blinding fire.

"I hope I'm not too late..."

Kwok.

After much deliberation.

Son OhGong finally held Ru Yi in his hand.

"Grow."

There was no time to waste, so first, he had to extinguish this blazing disaster.

"Ru Yi..."

"Your ignorant personality is no different from your main body or your alter ego."

The voice came just as the Ru Yi Bang was about to stir the Eight Trigrams.

Hwaruk, Hwarreu-.

Son OhGong's gaze turned towards the direction of the voice.

"Are you asking me to die? If you swing your staff in this narrow place, I'll be caught in the crossfire."

Kak-.

YuWon emerged from the flames.

For a moment, Son OhGong felt relieved that he was alive.

But he was surprised to see YuWon's eyes as he passed through the flames.

"You, those eyes..."

The red eye on the right.

And the golden, shining eye on the left.

[The 'Golden Cinder Eyes' resonate]

Hwareuk-.

At the moment their eyes met, Son OhGong smiled.

The second master of the Golden Cinder Eyes had been born.