Leveling with the Gods

Jade Emperor.

He was not a being that could simply be described as the Head of the Celestial Realm.

One of the oldest and ancient High Ranks in this Tower, along with Odin from Asgard.

The Primacy of the Celestial Realm, and respected by all Rankers in the Tower.

Heaven itself.

He had become more of a God than a Ranker for the Celestial Realm.

"How ridiculous!"

But every time the Jade Emperor was mentioned, Son OhGong snorted and repeated the same thing.

"He's not even a true God yet, and he's playing at being God."

Son OhGong broke the Jade Emperor's neck and bathed in his blood.

At that moment, the reason Son OhGong's ranking skyrocketed like crazy was because he made the Celestial Realm a mess and defeated the Jade Emperor.

'At this moment, Son OhGong's ranking was 12th.'

YuWon looked at the back of Son OhGong, who proudly shouted, "Come out, Jade Emperor."

'I wonder if after this fight, he'll jump up again like before.'

Although Son OhGong didn't seem very interested in his own ranking, the ranking had a different meaning for the Rankers.

For them, it was a measure of power, a numerical representation of power and honor.

Moreover, the ranking was recognition for the Ranker.

'Maybe this time, since OhGong is working with the Bull Demon King, his rank won't rise as fast as back then. He'll probably have to share his ranking points with the Bull Demon King.'

Increasing OhGong's ranking was an additional reward for his future plans.

And there were still many other events that could elevate the ranking in the future.

'The Celestial War is just the first step.'

There will be countless battles like this in the future.

Especially if they are major events that surpass the Great Celestial War.

'Ragnarok is the real deal.'

So it didn't make sense to get too entangled in rankings at this time.

No.

On the contrary, if the Bull Demon King could join them and raise his ranking, which had been stagnant or even declining for a long time, they could go in a better direction in the long run.

Kak.

Son OhGong cut through the soldiers in front of him.

He had come here to fight, but he didn't enjoy fighting these pawns in front of him in the first place.

"Jade Emperor, you bastard!"

Zhiyiying-!

Son OhGong's shout echoed throughout the sky.

A piercing voice.

"Don't hide like a rat, come out now!"

He wondered if he was even listening.

The answer came immediately.

"You have come as I called."

The Bull Demon King looked at the crowd that had started to gather in front of him.

Many more troops than he had seen the day before.

Among them, he saw the Generals at the front of the line.

"It seems the God of War has already recovered."

Tak, tak-.

Son OhGong looked away, disinterested.

"Would you like to take command, older brother?"

"Are you referring to the God of War?"

"Yes."

"Don't you want to?"

"I need to find another."

The Bull Demon King squinted his eyes, recognizing the intention in OhGong's response.

"That guy also belongs to me."

"I know."

OhGong nodded.

"Anyway, I've already seen his end once, so it's not a big deal."

Despite his words, OhGong's eyes sparkled.

After absorbing the reaction for a moment, the Bull Demon King looked around.

"He must have already started moving."

"He left earlier."

"I know."

YuWon had left.

Son OhGong smiled and spoke in response to the worried expression on the Bull Demon King's face.

"Don't worry too much. I know him, and he's not the kind to die in a place like this."

"I know he's strong. But..."

"No."

The corner of Son OhGong's lips curled up towards his ear.

"The big brother doesn't know anything."

"......?"

"If it was just a matter of power, he would probably be the first to return, because he would have a better chance of winning if he fought against him."

OhGong's strength was recognized by everyone. Even Odin, the oldest and highest-ranked member of YuWon's team, acknowledged it.

But in the end, it was YuWon who was chosen.

And it was almost unanimous.

"There's no need to worry about him."

OhGong smiled as he walked towards the bustling crowd.

"Because I recognize him. He's a better man than me."

Hwareuk-.

He activated his Golden Cinder Eyes.

Kurrr-.

A furious roar came from the clouds above.

"Grow, Ru Yi."

Swoosh-.

The staff in OhGong's hand extended, reaching up to the sky.

"Then..."

The descent of the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, shrouded in clouds, holding a long staff several li long in his hand...

"Let's begin, once again."

It had begun.

Kwalung-!

A lightning bolt fell from the cloudy sky.

A bolt of a different nature than YuWon's.

Turning his head, YuWon saw the Ru Yi Bang in the distance.

"It has begun."

The battle between the Bull Demon King and Son OhGong.

As formidable as the forces of the Celestial Realm were, victory was only a matter of time, but how long it would take was the key to this battle.

"The Jade Emperor doesn't appear."

A High Ranker representing the Heavens.

But even so, the Jade Emperor had been offstage for too long.

Few Rankers had seen him fight.

But even so, the Jade Emperor's rank was higher than ever.

"Ranks don't rise in vain."

As the power of the Celestial Realm increased, so did the rank of its leader, the Jade Emperor, but even taking that into account, the speed at which the ranking rose was staggering.

"The Administrators and the Ranking Office know."

Kik-.

"How much the Jade Emperor has changed compared to before."

The center of the Celestial Realm.

Ascending the tall staircase that led to the Celestial Realm, YuWon looked up.

The Celestial Realm was supposed to be empty to stop Son OhGong and the Bull Demon King.

But there was a solitary figure sitting atop, waiting for him.

"I don't know how the Emperor God knows all these things."

Swish-.

Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

He stood up from his seat to greet him.

"It's difficult to comprehend the extent of his wisdom, isn't it?"

Li Jing wielded the great lance he kept by his side and raised it.

He seemed to be seeking to settle accounts with YuWon at this moment.

YuWon also didn't think that no matter how much he scattered his troops, he would be able to climb so easily.

Of course, he hadn't expected Li Jing to be sent as a guardian, but...

"If he were truly wise, he would have come himself instead of sending you."

Skaak-.

Drawing his sword, YuWon looked up the staircase.

"It's because of his foolishness that we will win this battle."

"...What?"

Li Jing's face hardened like never before at the idea of insulting his Lord God.

But only for a moment.

Following his own iron rule that anger is a powerful poison in combat, he quickly calmed his boiling anger.

And in its place.

'Something has changed.'

He looked at YuWon with eyes different from before.

It was the same face he had seen the day before.

But the way he looked at him now was different.

No.

Rather, the way he looked at YuWon had changed.

"Yesterday, it felt like I was watching a young wild beast."

YuWon was a beast.

A great beast, with qualities to become the king of a forest.

But he was still a child, not yet fully grown, and the tip of his lance was surely capable of piercing his neck.

But now he wondered why.

The beast in front of him seemed to have grown in that short day, and now it opened its mouth, furious.

"Do you want to know what has changed?"

Li Jing's eyebrows moved at YuWon's question.

There was no answer.

But that was enough for YuWon to perceive that he was suspicious of him.

"What has changed is the attitude."

"The attitude?"

"Because I didn't have to win yesterday."

Li Jing's pupils stirred.

The sound of his pride breaking was audible.

"But things are different now."

Shhhh-.

Tak, tak, tak!

As if he was no longer worth listening to, Li Jing flew and thrust his lance at YuWon's head.

"I have to pierce through you."

Kagak, kagak-.

YuWon's hands trembled as he blocked the lance with his sword.

The stairs they stood on swayed precariously, as if they could collapse at any moment. Li Jing's eyes lit up and he roared in fury.

"I must have rated you too high."

Boom-boom-.

The fallen lance's tip filled with power.

A Mana-filled lance, wielded without any special ability.

Kwagagak-!

The lance cut through the air and brought down the staircase where YuWon stood.

Boom, boom, boom, boom-.

The lance didn't stop moving.

The lance swung furiously like a storm, and in an instant, the sharp wind whipped around.

Jumping down the stairs, YuWon hurried to close the distance between them, as Li Jing's reaction was different from the day before.

"He must be very angry."

It was impossible to dodge all those lances.

It would be no different from dodging the wind.

Then...

[Sky Steps activated]

[Gain 100% movement speed for 5 seconds]

[Can walk on air for 5 seconds]

YuWon's body floated upward.

Treading on air was something he could do on his own once his Arcane Power surpassed 100, but with Sky Steps, it would be as easy as running on the ground.

Boom!

Kwang, Urrrr-.

Finally, the long staircase collapsed.

Li Jing turned around and stared at YuWon, who was out of reach of the tip of his lance.

He evaded them all.

It was only a moment, but it was a speed that was hard to follow with the eyes.

"At least you're good enough to talk."

But only for a moment.

YuWon could only use Sky Steps once a day.

Dodging Li Jing's lance, as he just did, was only a one-time opportunity.

Instead...

YuWon relied on something else.

"...Danpung."

Gab-.

A small child stirred in YuWon's arms.

"Abba...?"

He peeked his head out and looked up at YuWon's face.

YuWon looked at him and opened his mouth.

"Please-."

But before he could finish speaking.

"I don't know what you're going to do, but...!"

Paat-.

As if he wouldn't wait any longer, Li Jing leaped toward YuWon once again.

"If you're going to get distracted, you'll have to give me your neck first-..."

Woo~.

Li Jing came to a sudden stop.

He ceased wielding his lance and looked at the figure before him for a moment.

"...Now I understand what you meant by your words."

Tsk-tsk-.

The mysterious beast opened its mouth before him.

"You've been hiding something like this?"

[Predator]

With a black background around YuWon, the teeth of the Predator appeared.