Chapter 479 - 479 (1/2)
”Third Brother, your eyes...”
”Oh, this?” Sun Wukong pointed to his own eyes. ”My eyes started getting itchier after coming here. Maybe I got an eye infection or something. Makes sense. Look how hot it is in here. It's not that surprising to get sick in a place like this.”
He spoke unconcernedly, but to Su-hyeun, that didn't look anything like a simple eye infection.
Sun Wukong was suffering from not some mysterious illness but a common eye infection? There couldn't have been a more wrong-sounding illness.
”Other than itching, have you observed any other changes, Third Brother?”
”Other changes, you say?” Sun Wukong pondered for a bit, then while looking around their vicinity, he replied, ”I guess my senses have gotten a little sharper?”
Stab—
Kkiiiieeehk—!
While replying, he slammed Ruyi Jingu Bang to the side, causing a shrill explosion. The head of a still-living centipede had been smashed to bits just then.
”No, wait—they definitely have gotten sharper.”
”I'm also...”
Rumble...
Su-hyeun lit up the divine Flame on the tip of his finger.
The flame burning in the purplish hue had gotten even deeper in coloration. Even the temperature raised through the divine Flame was far higher than ever before, making its destructive power that much stronger.
He couldn't tell the reason for this. For one thing, he had no memories of doing anything special to strengthen his divine Flame.
However, he could still make educated guesses.
”Does the heat of the Hell of Scorching Heat have something to do with this?”
Su-hyeun took another look at the lava that went up to his shoulders. The heat was still so intense that he hadn't gotten used to it yet.
It felt as if his skin would start burning away and his body, cooked from the outside at any second now. But what if this heat was gradually being accumulated inside, and it was slowly but surely transforming into some power? The story would drastically change.
”Maybe this...”
Su-hyeun contemplated for a little while, then pressed his palm on the surface of the lava. Shortly, he put to action the idea that had popped up in his head.
[Predation]
At the same time...
Shwa-aaaaah—
The heat emanating from the massive lava lake flowing within the Hell of Scorching Heat traveled through Su-hyeun's hand and began seeping into him.
* * *
”I knew it.”
Master Subhuti was faintly smiling at the scene currently being reflected on the surface of a calm lake.
The heat of the Hell of Scorching Heat was being concentrated in one spot. Having lost its heat, the lava rapidly hardened to become stone. Meanwhile, Su-hyeun's skin was getting super-heated, turning crimson after he sucked up all that heat into himself.
He was probably under intense pain akin to his whole body being burned. Sure enough, he was making a tormented, pained face right now.
Even then, he did not stop, which indicated that he was persistent and had enough determination and ability to withstand the pain.
It was the correct decision to send him to the Hell of Scorching Heat, indeed.
”I had no idea that he'd resort to such a barbaric method,” said Buddha, who was also looking into the lake. He then shifted his gaze over to Subhuti with a somewhat mystified expression, ”Did you predict this turn of events?”
Subhuti announced that he would train Su-hyeun and Sun Wukong before taking the pair to the Hell of Scorching Heat.
Buddha was initially puzzled by that decision. Why was hell chosen as the place to train their Sage Arts? But now, he had to change his opinion after witnessing not just Sun Wukong's Fiery Golden Eyes getting stronger but also Su-hyeun using Predation to suck up the heat of the Hell of Scorching Heat.
Currently seeing the far-off future that not even Buddha could see, Master Subhuti said, ”It's only an incomplete vision like a corner of a painting, master.”
”Even so, it is already an incredible feat to see a partial future of an existence as unfathomable as that individual.”
Buddha turned and headed to the long bridge going across the pristine lake.
Sun Wukong anxiously stood next to Su-hyeun at the moment. It was unsurprising to see him panic like that since the Su-hyeun suddenly frowned deeply in pain, and his skin turned all crimson without warning.
What kind of impact would this moment have on their future?
”I wonder, what would Yama think while witnessing this scene?”
”I'm sure he's not going to sit still and do nothing, master.”
Buddha furrowed one of his brows at what Subhuti said, ”Despite knowing that, you still sent them that side?”
”It's a trial they must overcome by themselves.”
King Yama, the Great King of countless hells, was simply called Yama by the Five Godly Sages.
In all of the dimensions, 9,000 hells existed, and Yama was the ruler of 8,000 of them. In a nutshell, Yama was the strongest ”unknown” god in the entire universe, and he was given life back when the Primordial Gods created the first universe.
”And this will be the last trial I'll be giving him.”
* * *
Su-hyeun felt like he had blacked out for a while there.
He thought his whole body was burning down. He blacked out from that and then regained his consciousness to arrive at this point.
”Looks like I didn't die.”
Initially, he didn't think he would lose his life here. Still, it seemed that his instincts had determined that things were getting way too dangerous toward the end. He made this conclusion based on how Predation automatically ended without his input, even though he was planning to devour all the heat within the Hell of Scorching Heat.
Wiggle—
Before he could crack his eyes open, he tried to lift a finger first.
Although still stiff, he was able to move that finger. Since he hadn't fully regained his wits just yet, he greatly welcomed the fact that he could move at least that little bit.
”I've already used up Immortality, so...”
He wanted to devour as much heat as possible, so despite needing to activate Immortality during the process, he still chose not to stop his Predation.
The thing was, though, Immortality was the kind of skill where your body would revert to the condition before its activation once its duration came to an end.
In other words, it was a skill designed to help you fight indiscriminately during the battle but not something to help you heal your injuries or recover your spent stamina.
”You're up?”