Chapter 133
He firmly believed that with Lee Seong-jun's talent and growth rate, which he had witnessed firsthand, Lee would undoubtedly be able to reach the Manifestation Realm.
'However... now is not the time.'
Fundamentally, to break through barriers and achieve growth, one must balance mind, technique, and body.
'Even if he can fill the technical aspects through talent and otherworldly experiences, there's no way he can easily make up for the lacking mind and body.'
Of course, it wasn't that there were no methods at all.
There were various ways, such as receiving help from special individuals, borrowing extraordinary powers, or consuming supreme elixirs, but none of these were opportunities easily obtained.
'I heard the news that a few days ago, Lord Jazan came to Korea and gave Hunter Lee Seong-jun a task, but...'
Even for Hunter Lee Seong-jun, I couldn't guarantee he would succeed.
From the start, the tasks given by Jazan had a pass rate of less than 10%, and even this figure included those who passed through retries.
It meant that it wasn't a task one could pass on the first try.
But above all, the most hopeless thing was something else.
'Even if he breaks through these slim odds... and reaches the Manifestation Realm, he can't easily claim victory against Tae Sang-cheon.'
It wasn't a matter of the realm of nothingness or technical issues.
It could be called a matter of compatibility.
"In the past, I heard from a member of the Returnee Alliance that Tae Sang-cheon has an SSS-rank job skill called True Flame Armor."
True Flame Armor was the most fitting job skill for Tae Sang-cheon, who had been praised as the Flame Emperor Fist.
To be precise, it would be correct to say that he was able to obtain True Flame Armor because he had the alias of Flame Emperor Fist.
"It's an ability that envelops the entire body in flame armor reaching thousands of degrees, giving overwhelming advantage against swordsmen or fist fighters engaging in close combat."
-...
I could hear Koh Tae-hyun swallowing dryly on the other end of the phone.
It was because he understood how tricky the ability of True Flame Armor was.
Fire experts and strong individuals who have reached a certain level could respond to some extent by surrounding themselves with protective energy.
However, maintaining this constantly would inevitably consume an enormous amount of energy.
In close combat, the internal energy would quickly be depleted.
"Tae Sang-cheon... that guy is literally the worst opponent for martial artists who engage in close combat like Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
Koh Tae-hyun's voice sinks heavily as he finally understands the situation.
-... I will declare an emergency situation so that support forces can arrive as quickly as possible.
* * *
"Stop whining and get up, this is just the beginning."
Lee Seong-jun, wearing a cold expression, arrived in front of Tae Sang-cheon who was lying on the ground.
Whoosh-!
An ominous surge of energy begins to stir around Tae Sang-cheon's body.
Lee Seong-jun quickly moved his feet, performing the Sun Flash Step.
Boom-!
Simultaneously, with a loud explosion, enormous flames engulf Tae Sang-cheon's entire body.
"So this is what befits the leader of an alliance..."
The flame armor enveloping his entire body was spewing fire at a level that could be called a disaster without exaggeration.
No, it was already burning all the grass and trees in the area, covering the entire mountain with a massive inferno.
"Hahaha...! I'll admit it. I've been underestimating you too much."
Tae Sang-cheon, having regained his posture, fills the area with killing intent in his eyes along with the blazing flames.
"Consider it an honor, you're only the third person to actually see my job skill, True Flame Armor."
Tae Sang-cheon, with a sinister smile, takes a stance.
Bang-!
With a loud explosion, Tae Sang-cheon closes the distance in an instant and throws a clenched fist.
As Lee Seong-jun avoids Tae Sang-cheon's attack by twisting his waist, Tae Sang-cheon immediately swings his hand to cause an explosion in the air.
While one hit might not be a problem right now, if he gets hit, he'll continue to be tied down.
Furrowing his brow, Lee Seong-jun repeatedly performs the Sun Flash Step to distance himself from Tae Sang-cheon.
'...What an annoying ability.'
The heat felt through the protective energy surrounding his entire body indicated that the flames were burning at temperatures reaching thousands of degrees.
Without the protective energy, his skin could melt away in an instant.
'The flames are too hot to block by lowering body temperature with blood energy.'
Of course, given his extreme mastery of energy manipulation, if he were to seriously handle blood energy, he could lower his body temperature colder than ice.
However, his current physical body and internal organs couldn't withstand that level of cold.
This meant he had to find another way to break through the True Flame Armor besides controlling body temperature with blood energy.
'...It reminds me of fighting Jeong-cheon.'
Jeong-cheon, the leader of the martial arts alliance and the martial artist praised as the world's strongest for over 30 years before Lee Seong-jun ascended to the position of Blood Demon.
And the main abilities of the martial arts that Jeong-cheon wielded utilized mysterious powers of flame, similar to Tae Sang-cheon.
'Jeong-cheon also rushed in with strong energy made of flames enveloping his entire body like this.'
As evident from the fact that he had secured the position of the world's strongest, Jeong-cheon's flames were truly a disaster-like existence at that time.
In fact, during the battle between the righteous and evil sects, Jeong-cheon's flames alone brought down the Eight Great Demon Clans, who were core members of the Blood Sect and had reached the realm of fire experts, before standing in front of the Blood Demon, Lee Seong-jun, demonstrating their tremendous power.
Of course, there was a clear difference.
'Tae Sang-cheon isn't manipulating energy with his own ability.'
While the ability and power shown by the True Flame Armor skill could be said to be similar to the martial arts that Jeong-cheon handled, the method of use itself was different.
'It seems he ignited the flames themselves with his own power, but...'
The energy manipulation maintaining the form of the armor was entirely dependent on the system.
It meant he was handling power beyond his own capacity.
Although Tae Sang-cheon, being a martial artist who trains himself, seemed to have researched to maximize the power of True Flame Armor, it was far too crude when compared to the martial arts that Jeong-cheon had displayed.
However, unaware of this fact, Tae Sang-cheon burst into laughter seeing Lee Seong-jun continuously performing the Sun Flash Step.
"Hahaha! You don't even dare to approach!"
Lee Seong-jun inwardly scoffed at Tae Sang-cheon's appearance, as if he had already grasped victory.
'It's quite a troublesome ability, but...'
If handled relying only on the system like Tae Sang-cheon, it could be broken through very easily.
With a relaxed smile, Lee Seong-jun spreads his hands wide, scattering cooled blood energy into the air.
'Blood Flower Heaven Opening, Full Bloom, Ice Wheel Flower.'
Woong-!
Lee Seong-jun quickly shapes red ice flowers by wrapping strong energy around the countless blood energy scattered in the air.
Immediately after, Lee Seong-jun extends his hand downward, causing all the petals to fall to the ground at once.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh-!
While the momentum of the shot was fierce, it was insufficient to withstand the flames of the True Flame Armor that Tae Sang-cheon was wearing.
They disappeared, losing their form even before reaching Tae Sang-cheon's vicinity.
However, Lee Seong-jun's attack didn't end with just one attempt.
Once again extending his hand into the air, he fires the petals in succession.
"Do you think you can penetrate the flames of True Flame Armor with such trivial attacks!"
Even at the sight of the red petals now covering the entire sky, Tae Sang-cheon ignites flames with a calm expression.
If the True Flame Armor skill was a power obtained through the system's authority, the Flame Emperor Sky-Soaring Technique was his own power that he had honed since the Mu-won continent.
Moreover, he had recently reached the 10-star level called great completion in the Flame Emperor Sky-Soaring Technique through secluded training.
Therefore, Tae Sang-cheon could be confident that no attack could break through the True Flame Armor ignited by the flames of the Flame Emperor Sky-Soaring Technique.
He was certainly confident of that.
Hisssss-!
With a sound of something melting, the flames of the True Flame Armor begin to scatter, or more precisely, they were dying down.
"...!?"
A flustered Tae Sang-cheon once again draws up the energy of the Flame Emperor Sky-Soaring Technique.
The energy stirring from below his dantian quickly spreads throughout his body, and the Flame Emperor Sky-Soaring Technique is deployed once again.
However, for some reason, there were no flames igniting.
This wasn't the only bewildering thing.
"Huff... Huff..."
His breathing, which had never been strained since reaching a certain level, began to quicken.
As Tae Sang-cheon's brow furrowed at the perplexing situation.
Lee Seong-jun, who had now approached to close range, flashed a smile.
"When moisture containing cold energy meets flames, it creates steam... And when these layers accumulate, they block the oxygen in the area, preventing the flames from burning anymore."
"Wh-What...?"
It wasn't that he didn't understand the principle, but the method was utterly incomprehensible.
If oxygen is blocked by steam like this, he, Lee Seong-jun, should also have difficulty breathing and be unable to handle his internal energy smoothly.
Yet, the red steam now filling the area was continuously lingering, meaning it was under Lee Seong-jun's control.
This could be called one of Lee Seong-jun's privileges in handling blood energy, but Tae Sang-cheon, lacking knowledge about blood energy, couldn't easily accept this fact.
"Th-That's impossible! Don't put on such airs!"
"Even seeing it with your own eyes, you can't accept it... The difference in level is too clear."
At Lee Seong-jun's expression that seemed to be mocking him, Tae Sang-cheon, his face contorted like a demon, throws a punch.
Whoosh-!
However, a fist thrown haphazardly without proper breathing had no chance of reaching Lee Seong-jun.
"Do you still think I'm putting on airs?"
"Shut up!"
Tae Sang-cheon, shouting, kept throwing his arms and legs, but none of them reached Lee Seong-jun.
Tae Sang-cheon was appalled at the gap with Lee Seong-jun that was gradually becoming apparent to his skin.
'He can handle energy (qi) this perfectly in such a way?!'
Surely, there must be a special method to handle internal energy smoothly even in this situation.
But no matter how special the method, the foundation of internal energy is breathing.
Therefore, in an environment with such scarce oxygen, the manipulation of energy would inevitably be disrupted, even if only slightly.
Yet Lee Seong-jun was handling energy no differently than at first.
No, he was handling energy even more precisely, surrounding the area with steam.
It was truly an amazing ability to manipulate energy.
'Just how far had he reached in the other world?'
Having felt a definite gap through the previous battle, he had to acknowledge Lee Seong-jun's talent.
At the same time, he could realize how foolish his own thoughts had been.
'He wasn't just some half-wit who learned petty tricks after hitting his limit...'
Lee Seong-jun was a monster with talent that could be called historic without exaggeration.