The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 350

[Horn of the Sacred Unicorn]

-Only applies to unicorns over 1,000 years old.

The first place Jeong-hoon headed to was the forest where the unicorn lived.

Unicorns were monsters that rarely appeared—encountering one even once in a thousand tries was uncertain.

Even then, most were under 500 years old, and those over 1,000 were extremely rare.

<It’s a material you’d never collect without modifying the code.>

Tenebris declared that the difficulty of collecting a unicorn's horn was like reaching for a star in the sky.

Though unicorns appear only in very small numbers, they don’t drop worthwhile items even when defeated.

Especially the horn—it vanishes the moment the unicorn is killed.

There is an extremely rare chance it doesn’t disappear, and one must time it perfectly to obtain the horn.

Of course, Jeong-hoon had modified the code so the unicorn would always appear, and the horn’s disappearance rate was set to zero.

Jeong-hoon swung Titan forcefully.

The slash from Titan’s sword lightly severed the unicorn’s neck.

“Kkyaeeeng!”

The unicorn died with its eyes open, letting out a scream.

“Did I get it?”

Jeong-hoon used Titan to cut off the horn protruding from the unicorn’s forehead.

[Unicorn's Horn]

-Type: Material

-Grade: Unique

-A horn from a unicorn imbued with sacred energy.

-1,023 years

Done.

A horn from a unicorn over 1,000 years old.

It was a material obtained in a single try thanks to the modified code.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next.”

There were still many materials to collect.

A unicorn’s horn over 1,000 years old.

A blue dragon’s scale over 3,000 years old, a vermilion bird’s feather, a white tiger’s fang—materials that would normally never be seen.

That’s why Jeong-hoon quickly subjugated monsters to gather them.

If the code were ever fully restored, these materials could never be obtained.

Of course, since his enemies lost their lives with a single wave of Jeong-hoon’s hand, there was no delay in the subjugation.

Even so, time was lacking.

Because simply gathering the materials wasn’t the end, even if luck was on his side.

Jeong-hoon referenced the notes his mother had written and memories from before his regression to determine the shortest route, and thanks to that, the subjugation proceeded very smoothly.

* * *

Time passed quickly, and before long, the third destruction approached.

<Wow, you really prepared thoroughly.>

A massive portal swayed before him.

Tenebris asked without taking his eyes off the portal.

“It’s already come to this, huh.”

A message was displayed next to Jeong-hoon.

[You have qualified to access a new power.]

Below it, a list unfolded, filled with countless phrases, each marked as "Complete" on the right.

It meant the conditions to begin the 6th phase had been fulfilled.

<What are you going to do?>

A massive portal shimmered before him.

This portal was wide open across the world, including Seoul.

Now he had to enter this portal within the time limit and stop the destruction.

“I’ll start with the 6th phase first.”

<Are you sure? No one knows how the 6th phase will unfold. If you finish it and come out too late, and the world ends because the time ran out, what’s the point?>

Tenebris was completely right.

The reason to rush through the 6th phase was to more securely prevent destruction.

“It won’t take as long as the 5th phase did.”

Fortunately, the time limit for the third destruction was 1,000 hours.

He didn’t know what the difficulty level would be, but 1,000 hours was worth attempting.

<Tsk, there’s a reason they say if you try to catch two rabbits, you’ll lose both.>

“How do you even know that saying?”

<Hmph, I’m Tenebris. I’ve spent a few days in Korea—of course I’d know something like that.>

“…Well, that’s not what matters now.”

Now was the time to focus on the 6th phase.

He had to hurry.

[Would you like to access the new power?]

Access.

[Assessing eligibility for access.]

[Please move through the temporary portal for assessment.]

With that message, a small portal barely large enough for one person appeared beside Jeong-hoon.

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon entered the portal.

Then, without any warning, his vision went black.

When his sight returned, a view of an unfamiliar temple spread out before him.

With a far higher ceiling and neatly stacked marble, it was on a completely different scale from the temples he’d visited before.

It was instantly clear that the temple had been built recently.

‘Was it hastily made just to test the 6th phase?’

It clearly looked newly built, but at the same time, felt crudely made.

Jeong-hoon stepped forward and moved ahead.

In front of him stood a statue in the shape of a martial artist, with a blinking question mark hovering above it.

<That must be the device to test you.>

“Seems like it.”

Jeong-hoon approached the statue and checked the question mark.

[Class Advancement Quest: Myth (1/2)]

-Restriction: Secret requirement fulfilled

-Reward: Access to ‘Class Advancement Quest: Myth (2/2)’

-Description: You have qualified. You may now challenge an unknown realm.

An unknown realm.

“Let’s begin.”

Jeong-hoon accepted the class advancement quest.

As he did, the terrain began to change rapidly. The floor was overlaid with various patterns of marble, and the marble walls crumbled, revealing the scenery outside the temple.

[Pass the ‘Trial of the Flesh.’]

The first stage was the body.

[Manifesting the ‘Tomb of Trials.’]

‘An arena?’

The manifested Tomb of Trials resembled a dueling arena.

And then, a shadow rose in front of Jeong-hoon and soon formed into a human shape.

[Lv.??? Martial God]

It seemed the first stage required him to face that Martial God and win.

[Item usage is restricted.]

Jeong-hoon let out a bitter smile.

No matter how strong the Martial God was, he wouldn’t stand a chance if Jeong-hoon had his Titans and divine artifacts.

But now, he couldn’t use any items.

That applied to all other items as well.

<Looks like this is going to be a tough fight.>

Tenebris furrowed his brow.

At that moment, Jeong-hoon staggered.

“Urgh!”

[Debuff applied.]

[Debuff applied.]

[Debuff applied.]

…

Twelve different debuffs were applied simultaneously.

[Debuffs cannot be removed.]

[HP recovery is disabled.]

‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

Now he understood why Tenebris predicted a difficult fight.

Defeating a Martial God whose level couldn’t even be read, all while being bound by so many restrictions, was close to impossible.

Worse, the debuffs narrowed his field of vision, his body felt heavy like a soaked rag, and dizziness and headaches tormented him.

‘So this is why it’s called the Trial of the Flesh?’

From the start, it was a trial that pushed his body to its limits.

As expected of the 6th phase—it was an absolutely insane level of difficulty.

<Are you alright?>

“Yeah.”

Jeong-hoon took his stance.

Whatever happened, he couldn’t back down now after coming this far.

<Hmm, then I’ll give you advice from the side!>

“…Just don’t get in the way.”

<Hey now, getting in the way? Having me guide you will help way more than doing it alone, you know?>

“And how exactly are you going to guide me?”

<Heh, those traitorous bastards. They never imagined I’d know exactly how that guy’s abilities work.>

“You know how they work?”

<Yeah. You’re not the only one who’s challenged the 6th phase.>

The 6th phase.

Even across all dimensions, only an extremely small number had ever stepped into that power.

All of them had endured the Trials of the Flesh and Mind to obtain that power, and among them was a martial artist.

That martial artist, just like Jeong-hoon now, fought against the Martial God—and ultimately won.

Tenebris had witnessed the entire process and knew exactly what kind of abilities that thing used.

“So, if you tell me, I’ll be able to take it down quickly?”

<Of course. That Martial God isn’t unreadable because it’s on a higher level.>

“Then why is it unreadable?”

<Because its level adjusts to match that of the challenger, it doesn’t show up.>

“Does its level change every time it uses an ability?”

<Oh? Sharp as always. That’s right.>

The Martial God.

Its level was set to be 500 levels higher than that of the challenger.

And the moment it used an ability, that level would spike to 1.2 times its base.

Normally, Jeong-hoon could easily take down something like a Martial God—but under these restrictions, there was no guarantee of victory.

“Explain its abilities quickly.”

<Got it.>

Tenebris began explaining the Martial God’s abilities.

As Jeong-hoon listened, his expression kept changing.

<You think you can handle it?>

Once he finished, Tenebris looked at Jeong-hoon and asked.

Jeong-hoon smirked and nodded.

“I have to, no matter what.”

Jeong-hoon launched forward, stepping with the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion.

It was only items that were restricted.

All skills were still usable.

In a flash, he reached the Martial God, and its hollow eyes gleamed faintly as it threw a punch.

‘That thing isn’t the real Martial God. It’s a puppet modeled after it.’

Tenebris had started by explaining that it was a puppet, and said it used a total of five abilities.

Among them, the one it used most often was Celestial Chain Strike.

A threatening skill that delivered dozens of hits with a single punch.

[Activating Barrier of Light.]

Preparing for the worst-case scenario, Jeong-hoon deployed a Barrier of Light and twisted his body to avoid the punch.

Crack-crack-crack.

The sound of the barrier getting damaged rang out in quick succession.

‘So even if I dodge the punch, I can’t completely avoid the follow-up hits?’

Jeong-hoon hardened his expression and closed the distance even more.

‘Heavenly Demon Fist Art.’

With a punch imbued with the will of the Heavenly Demon, he struck the Martial God in the face.

But the Martial God’s face didn’t even flinch—it remained perfectly intact.

‘So this is Martial God's Adamant Body.’

A physique on an entirely different level than Vajra Invincibility.

Unless that body is broken through, the enemy can’t be brought down.

‘However, Martial God's Adamant Body can’t be maintained 24/7.’

The original Martial God was born with that body, but this one is a puppet.

That’s why the Adamant Body had to be granted as an active skill, and with it came a major weakness—a time limit.

If that were its actual physical body rather than a skill, the battle would’ve been twice as long.

Jeong-hoon resumed his assault with the Heavenly Demon Fist Art.

Crack-crack-crack.

Of course, the Martial God didn’t just sit there and take it.

As if mocking him, it didn’t even bother dodging Jeong-hoon’s punches, taking them head-on and countering by destroying the Barrier of Light with Celestial Chain Strike.

Then the Martial God’s fist shot forward, distorting the air around it.

‘Is that Annihilation Fist?’

While Celestial Chain Strike unleashes dozens of hits in a single blow, Annihilation Fist concentrates all its energy into one strike.

Its area of effect was so wide that it couldn’t be fully dodged with evasion alone.

[Activating Barrier of Light.]

Jeong-hoon activated the Barrier of Light and simultaneously deployed everything—from Black Field to Ultimate Aura.

Crack-crack-crack.

The Barrier of Light was instantly shattered.

But Jeong-hoon didn’t dodge—he advanced with the Heavenly Demon Fist Art.

The Martial God’s fist landed directly on Jeong-hoon’s face, and Jeong-hoon took it head-on without avoiding it.

“……!”

But just like the Martial God, Jeong-hoon wasn’t pushed back—and his fist drove straight into the Martial God’s abdomen.

Heavenly Demon Fist Art, Second Form.

At that moment, the Martial God’s waist folded in half, and it was sent flying backward.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]