Chapter 273

Chapter 273
Chapter 273

—

Surpassing the Legacy

“A martial form that has been successfully countered by one challenger is no longer available for others. This dictates that a maximum of only 100 participants can advance to the 17th floor.”

Sansha spoke with a tone that seemed to goad them into action. Hearing his declaration, the crowd was seized by a collective panic. With roughly 500 warriors present, did this imply that 400 of them were destined for failure?

‘I only have to withstand a single blow.’
‘There shouldn’t be any difficulty in that, right?’

One hundred distinct techniques. A test where success required neutralizing just one. Furthermore, candidates were permitted to select a technique that complemented their own skills from those displayed beforehand. To make matters even more accessible, Sansha was scaling his power to match the specific level of each challenger.

Consequently, every person initially felt a surge of confidence about moving to the next stage, but…

“The presence is on another level, the presence……”
“I can track the movement, but I cannot stop it. He has total control over the surrounding space.”
“Sansha is exerting pressure over the entire area. He is a total nightmare.”

As the challenges continued, the number of willing participants plummeted. To overcome the Ancient Demon Sansha, the challengers formed groups and conducted strategic briefings. If the task was merely to identify the flaws in a martial art, every one of them was capable. The majority of those present were considered ‘prodigies.’ They possessed the perception to identify an enemy’s rhythm and the gaps in a style at a glance.

However, the way Sansha moved and the techniques he utilized were deceptively basic. They were so straightforward that the inability to block them felt surreal. And yet, they failed. Rather than stopping the strikes, they were losing their lives one after another. This was due to the sheer weight of his existence and his absolute authority over the battlefield.

Still, they could not simply give up.

“Sword of the Four Dragons. This is a lethal blade saturated with a spirit of intense toxins. Avoid this unless your body is highly resistant to poison.”
“Heavenly Dragon Kick and Annihilating Dragon Kick. Both are mid-range strikes. They focus a sudden burst of energy at the foot to shatter the target.”
“Sansha primarily utilizes close-quarters combat. Out of everything, there are only two techniques meant for long range. If we concentrate on deconstructing those two, we will win. Ranged attacks naturally lose their precision when the distance is closed.”

Everyone speculated and debated on the definitive path to success. No matter how formidable Sansha appeared, it was illogical for all 100 forms to be flawless. Every style has a counter, and there are moments when a specific move fails against a specific person. There had to be a ‘vulnerability.’ They intended to exploit that gap. If it didn’t exist, they would force one open.

Though framed as individual duels, the situation had evolved into a collective struggle. It was a trial that required them to pool their intellect to fully understand everything about Sansha.

‘The goal of this test is to identify the weakest link among the 100 options.’
‘Blindly rushing in is a mistake.’
‘What is it? What makes these techniques so different?’

Their minds raced, heightening the atmospheric tension. However, just as the solution seemed out of reach.

“…I’ve found it!”

A man at the heart of one faction cried out in triumph. He had discovered it—but what? Moments later, the man walked forward with total assurance to face Sansha.

“Which form do you choose?” Sansha inquired, his gaze sharpening. A challenger with such confidence surely believed they had decoded the puzzle.

The man smirked and gave his answer.

“Unity of Heart and Sword.”

“Very well.”

Sle-le-le-le.

Suddenly, a blade appeared in Sansha’s grip. The steel began to hum with a soft vibration. Sansha shut his eyes. Observing this, the man offered a taunt.

“I am William, the heir destined to command the Valkent estate. I am the one who will reach the peak of the tower and claim the tournament’s crown. Keep your eyes open and witness this!”

William. He believed he had deciphered the true nature of this ordeal.

‘This isn’t a test you pass by being the strongest. This trial is something else.’

Hyun of Adrium, the man who had terrified everyone on the 14th floor, remained motionless with his eyes closed, as if he had surrendered. He must have sensed it—that Sansha was an adversary that could not be bested through physical force alone. In fact, the more powerful a warrior was, the more difficult this test became.

But William believed he had found the secret. The certain path to victory. Sansha’s flaw.

‘Sansha only shuts his eyes when executing Unity of Heart and Sword. And his patterns become predictable.’

The reasoning was basic. To become one with the blade meant becoming singular in focus. Evading a sightless strike was a simple matter. William trusted his own speed more than any other trait.

Cha-eng!

In a surprising move, William dropped his own sword.

Thud!

He even shed his protective armor. He wanted to be as light as possible. He abandoned the concept of a head-on clash entirely. William’s only goal was to slip past that single swing.

“Hah.”
“He’s shedding everything just to dodge?”
“A desperate gamble for survival, I see……”
“Mmm. It might actually work.”

The spectators watched William’s preparations with quiet awe. Ultimately, the requirement for this test was to survive the execution of one technique. It meant that even if one didn’t physically parry the blow, dodging it would count as a pass.

‘This strategy is a trump card that can only be played once.’

Evading the slowed strike of Unity of Heart and Sword. If someone succeeded this way, the ‘Unity of Heart and Sword’ would be locked away from all other challengers.

“Are you prepared?”

“…I am.”

William’s smirk vanished, replaced by deadly seriousness. Sansha stepped into the immediate kill zone. William inhaled deeply, focusing every ounce of his awareness on Sansha’s posture and the tip of the blade. Without warning, Sansha swung.

Shweeeek!

‘I slipped it……!’

Skeok!

……William’s head was lopped off, tumbling to the ground.

“Wh-What just happened?”
“Didn’t he clearly move out of the way?”
“Could it be…… an unavoidable strike?”

The crowd was thrown into a state of shock. To any observer, William had successfully evaded Sansha’s blade. Yet, the reality was William’s decapitated head rolling across the stone. Unless Sansha had cast a spell of illusion, there was only one explanation.

‘Unavoidable?!’
‘That can’t be!’

There were a rare few techniques in existence that were impossible to dodge. These were unique skills perfected to an ultimate degree. The strikes of a grandmaster who had distilled their entire life into a single ‘hit’! The ‘Unity of Heart and Sword’ Sansha had just displayed was exactly that.

But it didn’t make sense. An unavoidable attack usually required a lifetime of singular dedication to one strike to achieve such an absolute domain. Yet Sansha had supposedly mastered 100 such techniques.

‘Does that mean every one of the 100 forms…… has reached that absolute level?’

If so, if every technique occupied that same tier of perfection, the very premise of the trial was a trap.

‘Are you saying no one is meant to pass?’

Sansha never intended for 100 people to succeed. Sansha was here to execute everyone. He was a titan who had pushed 100 different styles to their absolute limit.

‘And two people actually countered all of them?’
‘That’s insane…….’

Randolph and Wilhelm. How did those two manage to nullify every single move from such a monster? Not just a few, but a hundred unique, absolute techniques. The survivors were drenched in cold sweat.

In that heavy silence.

Sreung.
Sreureung.

A figure began to walk forward, his blade scraping against the floor. Every eye turned toward him. It was inevitable.

“Hyun of Adrium……?”
“Is he actually going to step up?”

The powerhouse who had been sitting still with his eyes closed until now was finally approaching Sansha. The Demon King of the 14th floor. The predator who had wiped out 200 people with a mere wave of his hand! However, Hyun of Adrium’s movements were oddly lethargic. Was he drained after his display of power on the 14th floor?

“You do not look well. And yet, your physical vessel appears intact……”

Even Sansha was moved to speak. From his perspective, the challenger’s condition was fine. Despite the awkward movements, the body was healthy.

‘Is this a performance?’

He wondered if the man was feigning injury to trick the stat-adjustment system. Sansha felt a flash of disdain. It was a futile effort. This was the Tower of the War God. As the warden of the trial, Sansha possessed the power to see through any facade to the opponent’s true strength. Lies would not work.

“Which form do you choose?”

“Unity of Heart and Sword.”

“……Oho.”

Sansha was genuinely stunned by the request. To challenge that specific technique right after seeing its ‘unavoidable’ nature required immense courage. He had to respect that level of audacity.

The observers watched Hyun of Adrium with a mix of dread and fascination.

“Does he really think he can stop the ‘Unity of Heart and Sword’ with that sluggish stance?”
“…He looks nothing like the person who dominated the 14th floor.”

He was unrecognizable. He lacked the overwhelming aura he had displayed previously. He didn’t even take a proper fighting stance; he just stood there, unguarded.

Sle-le-le-le.

Once again, Sansha’s blade began to vibrate. He closed his eyes. In response, Hyun of Adrium just stared blankly. He looked like he had no plan to block or evade. To think standing still would save someone from an unavoidable strike was pure madness.

“Mmm……?”
“What’s going on?”

Soon, the crowd realized something was wrong. Sansha had initiated the Unity of Heart and Sword, and Hyun of Adrium stood before him.

“Why aren’t they moving?”
“Why hasn’t Sansha struck yet?”

Neither moved. Sansha, who usually struck first without hesitation, was frozen. Gradually, his expression changed. His brow furrowed in frustration. Finally, Sansha opened his eyes. He was shaking, clearly agitated by the situation.

“You……”

He started to speak, but stopped, biting his lip. He finally forced the words out.

“……You pass.”

—

Eventually, I had to make a choice. Whether to remain here in this state of limbo or to keep moving forward, regardless of the consequences. Truthfully, the decision was made the moment I entered.

‘I’m going up.’

I resolved to ascend. To reach the very summit of this tower. That had always been the plan. An unexpected complication—one that wasn’t exactly an obstacle—had simply slowed me down.

Randolph’s physical form was located on the 30th floor. The tower had summoned Randolph against his will. The reason that was even possible was likely due to ‘me.’

‘Because I am present here.’

That man who had ascended to become a Dragon God. The reason the Light Dragon Einhasad couldn’t call upon Randolph was that ‘my soul’ was currently inhabiting that space. In the same way, I am currently controlling this body, Park Hyunmyeong.

I possess only one soul. However, I have two bodies I can inhabit. When I activate one, the other is left hollow, and a soulless body is completely vulnerable. This explains why an ability like the Guardian Wall could stop a physical attack but couldn’t prevent the tower’s system from summoning a Champion. No matter how much I analyzed it, no other explanation fit.

‘…This specific test is far too simple for me.’

The challenge Sansha presented was a trivial problem for my current state. It became even easier because I selected ‘Unity of Heart and Sword.’ An unavoidable strike. Essentially, a move that is guaranteed to land on the target.

‘If you strike me, you die with me.’

I possessed a perfect ability to return such a ‘hit.’

‘As long as I have the Primordial Armor equipped, Sansha cannot touch me with Unity of Heart and Sword.’

The gear provided 50% physical resistance and an option to reflect 210% of physical damage. The moment his blade connected with me using Unity of Heart and Sword, Sansha would be obliterated. Recognizing this the second he prepared the move, Sansha was paralyzed. A guardian tasked with maintaining the trials could not choose a path that led to his own destruction while other challengers still remained.

The moment I finished the trial of the 16th floor and moved toward the 17th.

《You have cleared the 16th floor of the Tower of the War God, ‘Sansha’s Trial (1).’》
《You have earned the title ‘First to Overcome the Trial of the Ancient Demon Sansha.’》
《The quality of your legacy has surpassed the threshold and evolved to the next stage.》
《‘Great Transmission’ is manifesting a completely unique legacy.》
《The Hidden Classes of ‘Destroyer,’ ‘Warlock,’ ‘Heavenly Demon,’ ‘One Who Erases Holy Radiance,’ and ‘Destroyer’ are merging and transcending, evolving into ‘King of Ruin.’》
《Do you accept the inheritance of the ‘King of Ruin’ Hidden Class?》

An evolution of a Hidden Class through Great Transmission! That was an earth-shattering event on its own, but…

‘……The Hidden Class actually transcended?’