Chapter 157

Become Overpowered CEO of Hero Clan – 157

“Tell him to come tomorrow. I’m too tired to deal with it now.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll relay the message.”
I had already washed up and was ready for bed. It was too much of a hassle to go out, especially with the possibility of a full-scale war breaking out at any moment.
The noise outside eventually quieted down, and the spirited energy I sensed nearby faded. It seemed the Heavenly Martial King had heeded the dismissal and left quietly.
I fell into a deep sleep while simulating various war scenarios in my mind. These battle simulations had a meditative effect, easing my anxieties.
That night, I dreamt of my team members mercilessly slaughtering Tier 2 monsters. All I did was stand with my hands behind my back, collecting rare and valuable materials like magic stones from the fallen monsters. Watching my strengthened team was immensely satisfying.
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Before I could fully wake up from my sweet morning sleep, I received a sudden challenge for a one-on-one duel.
“Please understand. I can’t stand the itch any longer!”
On the stone-floored training ground, protected by a semicircular shield, the Heavenly Martial King exuded the aura of a beastly monarch.
It was a similar scenario to what happened in the U.S., but this time, he formally requested a duel.
‘It’s only natural.’
I had overwhelmed the Sword Emperor, an awakened being, and utterly defeated America’s notoriously ill-tempered second-ranked hero.
No matter how much the U.S. tried to keep the information under wraps, China’s Martial Arts Alliance, adept at gathering intelligence, would have known.
A duel with a strong opponent.
A yearning for greater heights.
For a martial arts fanatic who had reached the pinnacle of humanity’s strength as an awakened being decades ago, it was only natural to seek enlightenment through combat.
Especially since the Heavenly Martial King was a martial artist.
Each hero has their own ultimate goal.
Some heroes break through their limits when their righteous spirit peaks in moments of crisis, while others advance to the next level by swinging their swords aimlessly in the void.
For a martial artist like the Heavenly Martial King, a duel with a strong opponent significantly impacted his breakthrough gauge.
“Haaap!”
Boom!
Roooar—
The flow of energy, visualized as a red dragon, coiled around the Heavenly Martial King’s waist and surged above his head.
His talent was the Diamond Dragon Body. The king of heroes with a body as hard as diamond thrust his fist forward with unwavering strength.
‘Since it’s come to this, I might as well test the insights I’ve gained over the past month.’
Splash.
The invisible shockwave that flew towards me was neutralized by a black wave. The shadow wave, created using the principles of the Heart of the Abyss technique, was optimal for cushioning physical damage.
Swoosh!
In an instant, a black forest grew.
It was my own domain, deployed using the principles of the Heavenly Wood Lotus Technique. The dense tropical trees and plants bent and twisted according to my will, falling over the Heavenly Martial King, who was enveloped by the red dragon.
“Domain!”
Crack!
Boom!
The blackened tree trunks snapped and scattered through the air, and the petals shot like projectiles stuck to the Heavenly Martial King’s tough exterior without piercing it.
His physical durability seemed far beyond that of the Sword Emperor.
“Bite and burn.”
Flash!
Fwoosh—
Gunggi leaped from the right, while Ifrit shot blue flames from the left.
Instead of the faintly draining spiritual power, this time, some of my mental energy was consumed.
Boom!
Gunggi, who had charged in with great momentum, was struck down and crumpled. The Heavenly Martial King pierced through the wall of blue flames and launched a punch imbued with the red dragon’s energy.
His movements were slower than the Sword Emperor’s sword techniques.
Rippling—
Boom.
The shockwave that penetrated the shadow wave reverberated through my bones. As his fist struck my hardened abdomen, a lightning-fast kick came flying towards my face.
Smack!
His shin, which looked as hard as steel, sank into the black wave. Concentrating, I directed the rippling shadows towards him, and the red dragon breathed fire.
Boom!
Crash!
The heavy impact rattled my brain.
In the meantime, Gunggi’s claws raked across his back. Just as the Heavenly Martial King grabbed Gunggi’s forepaw to throw him at me, a dense mass of black forest tilted sharply towards him.
Buzz!
As a significant amount of my spiritual power drained, the Heavenly Martial King’s knee buckled. This strike consumed one-fifth of my available spiritual power.
The Heavenly Martial King trembled and gritted his teeth. It was as if the gravity in his immediate vicinity had changed.
‘What incredible synergy.’
Trees symbolize life and regeneration.
The lush vitality replenished the broken and uprooted forest and flower fields, harmonizing with the gentle waves below in a perfect balance of wood and water.
Swoosh—
Crash!
A sticky shadow that grew from the tropical swamp below lashed out, striking his torso.
The Heavenly Martial King, now a furious red dragon, clashed fiercely with my domain and summons.
‘Is this why we spar?’
As I fused the mystical principles of the Heart of the Abyss and Heavenly Wood Lotus Techniques with the combat skill ‘King of Shadows,’ I began to solidify my understanding of the principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.
Wood was the root and the lubricant, while water was the flow and the purity.
The principles of the two techniques blended seamlessly, as if they had always been one, making it seem possible to wield the infinite harmony of heaven and earth.
However, just as I grasped the mystical unity of wood and water, the principles of the two techniques, which once seemed easy to learn, became as difficult as if I were suddenly illiterate.
“I can’t believe it. Even at the pinnacle of 5-star, I’m being overpowered despite having achieved my ultimate form! Hahaha.”
“Sparring with you is quite intriguing for me as well. Show me your true strength.”
“Oh, hohoho! You said it yourself. Don’t take it back later.”
“Of course.”
One who achieves their ultimate form will awaken.
The approach of accumulating vast amounts of spiritual power and consuming elixirs to break through limits might have been a mistake of Lee Gun-ha, the human addicted to Claw of the Heavens.
Having resolved to become a true hero, I was only now taking my first step.
From now on, I should ponder what my ultimate form should be.
Roar!
The Heavenly Martial King laughed heartily as his skin was covered in golden scales. The warrior, a half-human, half-dragon with the blood of a golden dragon, unleashed a powerful punch.
Instinct screamed at me.
Just like the ultimate technique of the Sword Emperor’s Harmonious Heart Sword, known as Nine Heavens’ Perfection, this attack couldn’t be blocked with the power of a 5-star.
Swoosh—
Flash!
Fwoosh!
‘Even if it’s just one strike.’
But I tilted the dense forest of shadows and gathered the water from the black swamp to erect a barrier.
At the same time, Gunggi stood in front of me, and right behind him, the blue flames converged to form a large fireball.
Boom!
In the end, all of it was torn apart like paper before the overwhelming physical force.
The grass, trees, and flowers that had tilted along with the space, the water barrier made of shadows, were all pierced, and even Gunggi was forcibly unsummoned.
Sssss!
Boom.
Even Ifrit, who had transformed into a blue fireball, was forcibly unsummoned, causing the golden shockwave rushing towards me to dissipate in mid-air.
Roar!
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
‘What a pity.’
Dozens of golden shockwaves surged forward.
I had merely endured a single normal attack from the Heavenly Martial King, who had manifested the Diamond Dragon Body.
[Used Final Finish.]
[The next attack is enhanced with the power of a ‘Finishing Blow’.]
Swoosh—
Pure shadows, devoid of the mystical principles of the Heart of the Abyss or Heavenly Wood Lotus Techniques, absorbed all the golden shockwaves. Incorporating the mystical principles might have resulted in a failure to control the power.
The Heavenly Martial King, who had been laughing wildly, could no longer throw a punch. His eyes widened in shock, and he stepped back as if he had seen a ghost.
“Wh-what is this…! Who are you?”
“Just take one hit.”
Hearing the familiar question, I summoned a giant shadowy hand and struck the Heavenly Martial King.
With a sound like a cannonball exploding, he was sent flying, breaking through the protective barrier of the training ground and embedding deeply into the marble wall beyond.
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The duel with the Heavenly Martial King left a profound impression on me.
Until then, I had never used the mystical principles of the Heavenly Wood Lotus Technique, which I had recently mastered, nor the Heart of the Abyss technique.
I had merely controlled the two summons and shadows with basic water-attribute spiritual power.
However, using the combined power of the techniques, the strength of the shadows increased at least threefold, and the versatility was enjoyable.
‘Who am I, really?’
Setting aside the American heroes who were crushed due to their arrogance, the Sword Emperor and the Heavenly Martial King sought even the smallest insights through their duels with me. Their competitive spirit wasn’t the only driving force.
But what about me?
Hadn’t I approached them with a mindset of reluctantly engaging, subtly looking down on them? Without the system, I would be nothing.
“Welcome! I, Jincheon Noeje, will escort you inside! It is an honor to serve you, Sir Isaac! I will remember this moment until the day I die!”
“…Alright.”
Jincheon Noeje, an S-rank martial artist from China, led me to an underground facility within a government building.
The underground had only three floors, but after passing through a secret passage concealed by an illusionary barrier, we descended to the fifth floor, where a door at the end of the hallway led somewhere.
It was a highly secured room, and the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance, Woo Hwa-jin, sat with an apologetic expression. A mouth-watering tea set was prepared on the table.
‘The aroma is no joke.’
Following the leader’s invitation, I drank the tea first.
Surprisingly, it tasted even better than the Golden Orchid tea I had last time. It was warm yet had a flavor I had never experienced before, almost fantastical.
“This tea is called Moonlight Treasure. It means a treasure that sparkles in the moonlight. If consumed regularly for five years, it improves vision, allowing one to easily see through most illusionary techniques and see clearly over great distances.”
“The taste is good. And as you said, it has the effect of improving vision.”
Thud.
Just as I was about to ask if I could get a few leaves of the Moonlight Treasure tea, the leader knelt down.
“I’m sorry! I have wronged you, Sir Isaac. Please, kill me!”
‘This guy. He must have plotted something.’
The leader began to explain in detail the circumstances that led him to kneel and apologize.
Feeling that China was on the brink of a national crisis, Woo Hwa-jin, the leader, secretly met with Master Cheongun, who had become an Emperor-level figure and was leading the rebels. He pleaded with Master Cheongun to stop invading the mainland.
In return, the agreement he made with Master Cheongun was to offer the spiritual essence of awakened beings.
To summarize, they planned to send me into the heart of enemy territory under the guise of a rear disruption operation. The parasitic species had prepared a meticulous trap to subdue me and extract my spiritual essence.
‘This is insane.’
I came here to help, and they intended to sacrifice me? I was appalled by Woo Hwa-jin’s cunning scheme.
“Fine. If that’s your wish, I’ll kill you.”
“…However, here is all the Moonlight Treasure tea that the Martial Arts Alliance possesses. It’s enough to consume once a week for five years.”
The deceitful leader, Woo Hwa-jin, pushed a glass container filled with tea leaves towards me.
The surface of the tea leaves, tinged with a faint blue hue, seemed to hold the cold light of the moon.
Moonlight Treasure was a legendary-grade medicinal herb. The quantity here would easily be worth trillions, making me wonder where he had acquired it all.
I carefully stored the glass container in my inventory and looked down at the leader with a cold gaze.
“You must know more. Spill everything you know about the parasitic species. Right now.”
Despite the support of two awakened beings and three S-rank heroes, they predicted the rebels’ victory. There had to be some hidden information.
“The truth is…”
As Woo Hwa-jin’s trembling voice continued, I found myself increasingly astonished.