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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 174: Asura’s Path (2)
“So this is Asura’s Path.”
Asura’s Path.
The name sounds terrifying, but the scenery is a lush, green mountain meadow.
I had only shared the view through my clone, but being here in person feels different.
“A newbie.”
“Kill him!”
Rustle.
The bushes shook, and enemies armed with weapons jumped out.
Their genders and appearances were all different.
Some looked human, while others looked monstrous enough to pass as beasts.
Soon, I was surrounded on all sides.
They began to approach, but then suddenly stopped.
“Wait…”
“There’s something different about this one.”
“Don’t charge in. Spread out!”
They looked at me and quickly made a judgment.
Seeing them reminded me of what Asura had told me before entering.
[Everyone in Asura’s Path exists for battle. There's no such thing as retreat.]
Asura, sir... That doesn’t seem to be the case.
“So even in Asura’s Path, the sun rises.”
I raise my finger toward the sky.
It’s time to use the Sun God's power in combat.
“Divine Power of the Sun God.”
Sunlight pours into the domain.
An overwhelming amount of information flooded my mind.
“First, organize it.”
I scanned for enemies with over 1000 SP.
Those under that wouldn’t even be in Asura’s Path.
Soon, I could detect all the enemies around me.
I see them, hear them, touch them.
Good.
They’re completely in the palm of my hand.
“O light, annihilate my enemies.”
Whooosh!
The power of the sun is unleashed.
Sunlight bathes the earth.
I can’t control all light, but manipulating the light around me is easy enough.
As I infuse energy into the light, the enemies ignite all at once without even a scream.
“Ugh… Aaaaaaagh!”
Well, one of them is hanging on a bit longer.
An enemy engulfed in flames.
He looks at me in disbelief before being consumed by the sun’s fire.
“If touched by light, it’s over. And then…”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire—unfamiliar to me—rings out from all directions.
So they sent bait first, then opened fire.
But the light has already revealed them all.
“Protect me.”
At a simple command, the flying bullets ignite and burn away.
Extending my senses further, I spot the hidden snipers.
“There you are. Be gone.”
A sniper camouflaged like a chameleon in the wild.
But they can’t escape the light.
Ssssss.
The sniper bursts into flames.
He opens his mouth wide in agony, but vanishes into ash without a scream.
After taking out five of them, a message popped up.
[You display overwhelming power in Asura’s Path.]
[Asura’s Path is evaluating your ranking based on current results…]
[Incredible power detected. Cannot be measured. Assigning highest rank in current tier.]
[You are now within the top 1000. Weaker ones will no longer interfere with you.]
Top 1000 even with the highest rank?
That’s lower than I thought.
“Well, fine.”
I just need to reach 44th place, right?
If I keep eliminating everyone who stands in my way, I’ll get there eventually.
I deactivated the divine power of the Sun God and began walking.
Losing 100,000 SP per second—I'd better conserve it.
Whoooosh.
With one step, my body shot forward like a bullet.
Even with the Sun God’s power deactivated, my soul body still gleamed with light.
Maybe that’s why.
My soul body feels lighter, faster than usual.
In an instant, I broke through the forest and entered mountainous terrain.
“Grrr…”
“It’s a big one.”
“He’s definitely strong. But that means if we take him down, we’ll become insanely powerful. Grrrr…”
The ground crumbled, and massive dogs leapt out.
Talking dogs.
Up close, they look more like wolves.
No, they’re even bigger—comparable in size to hippos, with hulking bodies.
They looked strong on the outside.
Red skin and tusks as big as my upper body made them terrifying.
In the past, they’d have been a challenge.
But now, they’re nothing to me.
“Vanish.”
One word.
One word is all it takes.
They disintegrated into dust.
Beasts that couldn't even resist a single utterance—not divine speech, not even dragon speech.
They vanished without a scream.
“Kill him!”
From a barren hill, more beasts burst out in waves.
What could they possibly be thinking, charging in like this?
Just one word is enough.
“Die.”
Sssssss.
With that word, all the monsters disappeared.
These things are no longer worthy of being my enemies.
[You have eradicated the Gatekeepers of Asura’s Path, the Nang-a pack, in an instant.]
[Asura’s Path is evaluating your ranking based on current results…]
[Unrivaled power detected. Cannot be measured. Assigning highest rank in this region.]
[You are now within the top 300. You have broken through Asura’s Path’s outer perimeter.]
So this was just the outer region?
Well then.
The enemies were too weak—it was getting boring.
This is perfect.
My body becomes light and takes flight, ascending the mountain.
“They say he’s the God of Souls…”
“Die.”
Some strange guy jumped out to block my path, but I just erased him with words.
“S-So strong. Be fully prepared. Somehow, we must stop that guy…”
“Disappear.”
“Ugh… He's not someone we can handle. Even if he's a member of Asura’s Path, there are times we must retreat…”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have opened your mouth. Be gone.”
Enemies of all kinds appeared, and they formed teams, but none of them could stand against me.
Not even a single word from me — divine speech — can they withstand.
My rank keeps rising, but it doesn't excite me much.
Was it always this easy…?
The location changed.
A mountain peak.
As I stepped onto the summit, a red portal appeared in the center.
“Let’s check it out.”
The moment I stepped into the portal, the scenery shifted.
Until now, it was a journey from forest to mountain.
Now, in front of me is a temple.
A huge temple gate, big enough for hundreds to pass through at once, came into view.
Srrrrrr…
The gate opened on its own, and someone stepped out.
Boom.
Then the gate quickly closed again.
“Soul God! Die!”
“Die.”
Another enemy suddenly jumped out, and I spoke lightly.
“Kugh…!”
“Oh?”
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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But this enemy is different from the previous ones.
One who withstands my divine speech.
Finally, an enemy I can’t kill with just words?
“You didn't die from divine speech.”
“I’m a god too… Of course I wouldn’t!”
“Oh. Really? Nice to meet you.”
At least a low-ranking god, so that makes them S-class or higher?
Once I realize that, the enemy became visible to me.
A grotesque god with a bizarre body, similar to Asura.
Two heads, four arms, horns like an ogre on his head.
Bright red skin, huge tusks jutting out.
That form…
“You got the Three-Head Six-Arms skill too?”
“Kuh… This is my natural form!”
“Ah, I see. So you’re going to fight me?”
“Y-Yes!”
The low-ranking god shouted sharply, curled up like a hedgehog.
Good grief.
“If we fight, you’ll 100% die, you know?”
“Grr…”
“I left the others with at least their souls. But for gods, I’ll just sweep you away with Soul Emission.”
“S-Still…”
“Why not just surrender? Why do you have to fight?”
“Asura’s Path’s members grow through combat. Even if I perish, the great Asura shall resurrect me! I fight!”
The low-ranking god actually gets fired up at my question.
“You think Asura can revive your soul even if it's obliterated? This isn’t sealing — it’s annihilation.”
“M-Maybe… He can…!”
“Really? Then let’s fight for real.”
“Die!”
The low-ranking god charged at me.
Maybe it’s because he's seasoned in Asura’s Path, but his movements are clean and fast.
Two of his four hands throw daggers like bullets, and the other two — one with a spear, one with a longsword — tried to stab me.
But such techniques only work on low-tier gods.
To me, one who commands the power of sunlight, they’re far too slow.
Crunch!
Stab!
“Gah…!”
I crushed all four weapons with my hands, then pierced his throat with a tentacle.
The low-ranking god was subdued instantly.
Whip!
Another tentacle bound his body and draghed him toward me.
“I respect your fighting soul, but you should pick your opponent more carefully.”
“Grgh…”
“Hey, Mr. Asura. Do I need to kill this guy to climb the ranks? Should I just go ahead and erase him with Soul Emission?”
I press my soul sword against the god’s neck.
Well now.
Binding him with tentacles and pointing a sword at his neck — I really look like the villain here.
[You’re too strong, my friend. Please, restrain from using Soul Emission. A seal should be fine.]
“Alright.”
I’ve got a friendly relationship with Asura, after all.
I should at least grant this kind of request.
I returned the soul sword to my inventory and began to tear the god apart with my tentacles.
“Ugh… Gah…!”
“Still, once the seal’s undone, you might be able to come back.”
“Mercy… Thank you…”
Even with his soul body wrecked, the god thanked me.
Probably grateful just to be spared.
His body faded and disappeared quietly.
As he vanished, the gate opened.
What is this, a dungeon or something…?
“Your next opponent is me…”
“Oh come on.”
Judging by the aura, the next one's about the same level as the last.
Why do I have to fight another one?
Is this some kind of endless gauntlet?
Do I need to beat 50 of them just to reach rank 44?
Suddenly, this is getting annoying.
“Authority of the Sun God.”
I commanded the light.
Now I can see the enemies.
There are at least ten more gates like this ahead of me, with twenty more low-ranking gods stationed behind them.
So many nuisances…
No need to open each gate.
I’ll wipe them all out in one go.
“O light, seal the gods.”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupt one after another.
All the temple halls in front of me burst into flames and exploded.
“T-This light… what…?”
“Gah…!”
“To be sealed by such an attack… it’s an honor…”
The low-ranking gods guarding the gate were all burned and vanished.
Even without emitting soul energy, they were crushed by an overwhelming force.
The sealing of each one of them was transmitted to me as information.
This is the authority of the Sun God.
A power capable of crushing low-ranking gods like ants.
Truly the ultimate skill for mass slaughter.
"The SP cost is insane though…"
After sealing twenty low-ranking gods, 50 million SP disappeared for each one.
If I had used soul energy emission, I could have subdued them more efficiently, but if I had messed that up, I might’ve killed them.
I'm on friendly terms with Asura, after all…
Better to just spend some SP and be done with it.
Whoosh.
A red light flashed before my eyes.
"Hah. What power is this?"
Asura appeared in front of me.
All three of his faces wore expressions of disbelief and astonishment.
"Even though you're the Soul God, you're someone who hasn't been a god for long."
"I was worried your challenge against Asura’s Path might fail."
"But it was entirely your power that annihilated Apollo. So strong."
Each of his three faces spoke in turn.
His expression more serious than ever.
In his six arms were long swords glowing with a blood-red light.
"Your rank is already 50."
"If other mid-level gods lose to you, then our goal is already achieved."
"But I am a God of War. I want to cross swords with a strong opponent like you."
Three faces, speaking one after another.
He’s completely serious about fighting.
"You could just take it easy..."
"Haha. If I lived compromising like that, I would never have reached this level."
The tips of his six swords pointed at me.
And in that moment, the world split into six.
Above, the sky was sliced.
In the middle, the air was cut.
Below, the earth was cleaved.
A strike delivered by six arms.
The world is split, and heaven and earth are overturned.
A powerful sword aura.
The pinnacle of martial might.
He tore apart the heavens and earth with a single strike.
But the rupture of heaven and earth wasn’t intentional.
He simply swung his swords—and the destruction was collateral damage.
All six strikes targeted me.
"Soul Barrier."
A golden barrier that protects the soul.
As soon as it was summoned, it started to crack.
At first, there were six lines.
But those lines infinitely amplified, creating endless fractures in the barrier.
Yet, as soon as the cracks appeared, the Soul Barrier began to repair itself.
The attack was terrifying, but it couldn't break through the defense.
"Hmm. Tough one."
Before I realized, Asura’s divine form was right in front of me.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each strike landed in the exact same spot.
A single point, targeted without a shred of deviation.
Hundreds, thousands of sword strikes.
Unable to withstand it, the barrier shattered in an instant.
[Soul Barrier is on the verge of breaking. Consuming SP to restore.]
I leapt back and drew my soul sword.
Time to fight seriously.
"Soul Energy Emission."
Pure white flames burst from the soul sword.
Maybe it’s the boost in soul power.
The condensed force is strong.
Good.
This fight might be worth it.
"Hoh…"
Seeing that, Asura stepped back.
Was he preparing to fight seriously?
Then suddenly, his arms drooped.
And just like that, the six swords in his hands vanished.
What the—?
"Let’s stop here."
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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