Leveling with the Gods

YuWon asked the Bull Demon King about the moment he saw and faced the Predator through Danpung.

"That thing had some fierce teeth."

Although he said it as if it were nothing, YuWon clearly saw the scars the Bull Demon King displayed.

Next to Hercules in the Tower, the Bull Demon King was known for his formidable physical body.

It was because of his strong body that he was called the "Demon King of Great Power."

However, his hands had deep scars.

It was a sign of the strength of the Predator's teeth.

"Can't you use it?"

In response to that question, YuWon shook his head.

The predator had only come out to satisfy its hunger, and so far it hadn't submitted to his will.

But...

"It's a power that I possess, so there's no way I can't handle it."

Dealing with the Predator was not impossible.

It's just that he hadn't figured out how to use it at will yet.

So YuWon found a way.

['Danpung' consumes Divine Power]

[The Predator rejoices]

Krrrr-.

A sound of a scream from within its teeth.

The Predator, sucking the Divine Power from Danpung, laughed happily.

Swoosh-.

The form of the Predator, which was just teeth, slowly changed into a blurry figure.

An indistinct shape.

YuWon turned to it and said.

"Bite it."

"......!"

Hua-ak-!

A black as jet mouth filled Li Jing's eyes.

Li Jing twisted his body.

Kwajik-!

In an instant, its teeth devoured the spot where Li Jing had been standing a moment ago.

The Predator, having chewed up the debris in its place, soon began moving again.

The tip of Li Jing's lance moved.

Once again, his lance stirred up a storm.

Kwow-woo-!

In an instant, Li Jing's lance shattered the Predator's teeth.

But only for a moment.

Thrrrr-.

The teeth that seemed to have been destroyed reconnected, relentlessly pursuing Li Jing.

"It's pointless to fight against those teeth."

Li Jing's gaze turned toward where YuWon was.

"I must capture him."

It would be futile to keep fighting an unknown enemy.

Judgment and action occurred almost simultaneously.

It was a move driven by instinct.

But...

"Do I look easy to you?"

Fajijijik-!

[Tartarus' is activated]

Arcane Power burst from YuWon's hand.

Along with the Arcane Power emanating from the Uranus Heart, YuWon's sword and Li Jing's lance clashed.

Tak, tak, tak!

Goo-.

As their Arcane Powers collided, the impact spread up into the sky.

Without leaning to either side, the rising Arcane Power formed a massive pillar.

A sword that couldn't be pushed back.

Li Jing's eyes trembled.

And that momentary hesitation immediately turned into a gap.

Boom!

Kwadeuk, Kwadeuk, Kwadeuk-.

A hard and sharp sensation emanated from his arms and legs.

At the same time, the spear in Li Jing's hand broke in half.

Puck, puck, puck-!

The detached spear struck the teeth clinging to his body.

Flesh came off along with the tough armor, and the Predator spat it out again as if it had eaten something inedible.

"......"

Thud-.

Li Jing looked at the blood dripping from his body.

There were quite large wounds.

But none of that mattered.

"To think you were hiding such a thing."

Even with a sword in front of his nose, YuWon no longer entered Li Jing's eyes.

There was something much more dangerous lurking now.

Tak, tak-.

Kadaduk-.

The background turned black.

A chilling aura of unknown origin.

An unknown, unique entity showed its countless teeth to Li Jing.

Kurrrr-.

Kwak, kwak-!

Li Jing's resistance was fierce.

He struck the countless teeth with his spear, and together they blocked YuWon's attack.

No.

It wasn't just a block.

Shhh-.

Pit, pit-.

The countless spears were so fast and wild that it was difficult to dodge them all.

Even if he could use his sight and sensory perception to anticipate the movements of the spears, they still blended in with attacks that couldn't be avoided with his skills.

One wound after another.

The Spear Technique of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was something even YuWon could admire.

"Then why is his rank so low?"

He wondered why his rank was only that.

Up close, Li Jing's spear skills were by no means lacking, even compared to the Grand General Lee Rangjin.

It was obvious that Li Jing was at some point the mentor of the God of War and the Grand General, and he seemed to surpass both of them in terms of his weapon skill.

"Still..."

Kwaddup-!

A tooth sank into the Pagoda King's calf.

"It's not enough to negate the power difference."

The pain in his calf made him pause for a moment.

YuWon didn't miss it.

Kurrrrr-.

Suddenly, a dark cloud formed in the sky.

[Lightning Bolt]

A jet-black lightning bolt struck Li Jing's head.

After being stunned for a moment by the impact, Li Jing clenched his teeth and started moving again.

"What a spirit."

Paat-.

The tip of the spear approached.

At that moment, YuWon's lips parted.

"Bite it."

Kwaduk-!

Kwazik-!

The Predator's teeth clamped down on YuWon's spear.

The solid spearhead shattered, and Li Jing's eyes trembled.

"What..."

And that was the end of the fight.

Piiit-.

A crimson line flickered before his eyes.

Instinctively, he shook his head, but another instinct warned him otherwise.

He must never let go of the spear.

It was another instinct, another habit, an ancient belief of his as the former God of War, Li Jing.

And it was this habit, which had brought him countless victories over the years, that had now brought him his first defeat.

[Kusanagi Sword!]

Chaaaaaah!

A clean cut through the armor.

"Kugh!"

The sword finally crushed Li Jing's body.

Holding Kusanagi in one hand and Edge of Nightfall in the other, YuWon let out a ragged sigh and looked at Li Jing.

"I've long exceeded my limits."

How long had he been enduring the collapse?

Li Jing looked around as blood spewed from his mouth.

"These teeth..."

He looked at the Predators surrounding him, all waiting to bite him.

"They were originally one."

"They are."

YuWon lowered his head and looked at the struggling Danpung in his arms.

"No matter how many there are, they all come from one."

"Baat-?"

Danpung shook his head.

This was the first time he had truly used the Predators in battle.

They didn't show as much power as when devouring the Outer Gods, but those sharp teeth were still there.

And one more thing.

This fight had taught him something.

"The Predator doesn't eat people."

The creature that could devour an Outer God showed no signs of doing so against Li Jing.

Instead, it spat out the flesh that had entered its mouth, indicating that it had consumed something inedible.

"Has the danger decreased?"

It was a lingering anxiety.

He had always wondered if the Predator's teeth would someday try to eat him.

But as long as the Predator didn't eat people, he could forget about that concern.

Kak-.

YuWon began to ascend the debris of the collapsed staircase.

"Then... is that what you want?" ("역시… 원하는 건 그건가?)

Li Jing, lying bleeding on the ground, looked in YuWon's direction and asked.

YuWon returned the gaze and nodded.

As if there was nothing more to say, YuWon continued on his path.

"This fight..."

Li Jing murmured as he felt his consciousness fading.

"We lost."

Tak tak tak!

Ne Zha's sword pierced the Bull Demon King's chest.

Ne Zha narrowed his eyes at the sensation in his fingertips.

He thought it was a cut, but the feeling in his hand was more like a strike than a cut.

Boo-woo-.

A fist extended in front of him.

Ne Zha opened his eyes and shouted.

"Wind and Fire Wheel (风火轮)-!"

Hwa-ryuk-!

Purr-!

The flames surrounding Ne Zha clashed with the Bull Demon King's fist.

Zz-.

The ground cracked into dozens of fissures, causing the area where they stood to collapse under the impact.

Dozens of beads floated around Prince Ne Zha, who had protected himself with the Wind and Fire Wheel.

Puck, puff-puff-puck-!

The flying beads struck the Bull Demon King's body.

Small bruises appeared on the Bull Demon King's body.

Undeterred, the Bull Demon King continued closing the distance between him and Ne Zha.

Kwaat-!

The True Sword in Ne Zha's hand gleamed.

The sword, infused with immense Arcane Power, stretched towards the Bull Demon King's horns.

Clang!

The horn and the sword collided.

Ne Zha, who had planned to sever the horn in one strike, was surprised.

"Did you think it would break so easily?"

Boom-boom-.

Bam!

A deep punch to the abdomen.

Thud!

Kwagg~

The towering building collapsed due to the impact transmitted through Ne Zha's body and passed through the back.

Ne Zha was left with his mouth agape at the shock that ran through every part of his body.

"U-Ugh!"

For a moment, he felt nauseous.

But it wasn't that he wasn't prepared for the shock.

Boom~

The scorching heat bathed the Bull Demon King.

"Wind... Wheel"

Thud-.

Ne Zha's foot crashed into the ground.

At that moment...

Purrrrrr-!

A huge pillar of fire rose from below and engulfed the Bull Demon King's body.

Tadak, tadak, tadak-.

Ne Zha quickly regained his balance and emerged from the flames.

The flames were made of his own Mana, but their power was so great that even he would burn if he stayed in them for too long.

"You have become very weak."

Chuck-.

Ne Zha stroked his bruised abdomen and watched as the Bull Demon King emerged from the flames.

Burned all over, with the body covered in bruises.

It was a wonder that he could withstand such an attack with his bare body, but even flesh had its limits.

"Your hands are light."

Kwak-.

The Bull Demon King tightly clenched his empty hand.

"Yes, it is light..."

"Are you making excuses for the items?"

Ne Zha clicked his tongue and muttered.

"That is pathetic."

Kwag-.

Once again, the True Sword in Ne Zha's hand surged with tremendous Arcane Power and keen anticipation.

The battle with the Bull Demon King had entered its final stages.

For some reason, the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal had not intervened in this fight.

Now was his chance.

The only chance to capture the Great Sage, Who Pacifies Heaven.

Flash-!

Buzz!

The True Sword released a slash from Ne Zha's hand.

The Bull Demon King stood still and observed the slash.

As if, once again, he was going to block it with his own body.

But...

Flash...!

At the same time, another light flashed in the sky.

Zas!

A ray of light descended sharply.

In an instant, Ne Zha, who had mistaken it for OhGong's Flying Nimbus, recoiled in surprise.

But then...

"It's not the Flying Nimbus."

He had already been struck by the Flying Nimbus before.

However, what had just happened was a flow of energy very different from the electric shock of the Flying Nimbus.

"It's him."

The guy who had suddenly disappeared.

Ne Zha thought it wasn't his business, so he ignored it, but in reality, he was the one who had interrupted their fight.

"You insolent..."

"It's a little too late now."

Ne Zha's gaze returned to the Bull Demon King.

And then...

Bang.

"That is..."

In the hand of the Bull Demon King, a club as black as night came into view for Ne Zha.

It was the Mixed Iron Rod (混鐵棍).

A weapon that, along with Son OhGong's Ruyi Bang, represented the Bull Demon King.

"Well received."

It was now emanating an ominous aura from the Bull Demon King's hand.