Chapter 38
The error messages had gone wild only moments earlier.
Kang Ha-min stood frozen while looking at them.
He knew this feeling.
He had experienced it before.
Void.
The being that had caused the notification windows to go berserk before.
It seemed that being had interfered again.
More importantly,
Floor Lord announcements are broadcast to the entire world.
The text had become corrupted midway.
Because of that,
the announcement hadn't revealed Kang Ha-min's name.
But he had almost exposed himself to the entire world.
Everyone knew Baek Cheon-myeong had challenged the Floor Lord of the Eleventh Floor.
If Kang Ha-min's name had appeared,
countless questions and problems would have followed.
Just imagining it made him dizzy.
...Did it help me?
Void had done something terrifying before.
But this time,
it definitely seemed to have helped him.
Still,
he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.
Just what kind of god is it?
He felt uncomfortable.
But it had helped him.
Is it planning to keep hiding my identity even when I become Floor Lord?
Was it a good god?
A bad god?
For now,
he would have to wait and see.
[Master, I'll return now.]
Baek Cheon-myeong spoke as though his work was finished.
Baek Cheon-myeong wasn't technically a Hunter.
Apparently,
he had no idea what had just happened.
He didn't seem to know about the Floor Lord announcement either.
If even Baek Cheon-myeong, who knew so much about the Tower, hadn't expected this,
then he must never have encountered such a situation before.
After all,
this was also Baek Cheon-myeong's first time deceiving the Tower through Soul Synchronization.
Ah, wait a moment.
Kang Ha-min appreciated all the effort Baek Cheon-myeong had gone through.
But there was still something he needed to do.
Please talk to Tenzin first.
Tenzin lay on the ground after being defeated.
He couldn't move at all.
His rights as Floor Lord of the Eleventh Floor were probably gone now.
But just as Kang Ha-min had said earlier,
he had no intention of personally ruling the floor.
Managing a Tower floor sounded extremely annoying.
The strength gained from becoming Floor Lord was enough.
All right.
Baek Cheon-myeong always obediently followed Kang Ha-min's words.
Kang Ha-min was grateful for that.
[Solar, God of the Sun, says it was entertaining.]
[Frost, Lord of the Frozen Cold, waves goodbye.]
[Stella, the One Who Embraces the Stars, expresses relief.]
The gods began leaving with satisfied reactions.
[One Who Stepped on a God's Shadow quietly leaves.]
[Spear That Pierced the Sky looks forward to the future.]
[One Who Trampled a Million Enemies promises to watch the next battle.]
The Demigods were the same.
To them,
Baek Cheon-myeong seemed like a new source of entertainment.
From the perspective of those who had failed at the 161st Floor,
Baek Cheon-myeong might be a new breakthrough.
Or perhaps a new challenger threatening the power they already held.
Once the gods and Demigods disappeared,
Baek Cheon-myeong approached Tenzin to deliver Kang Ha-min's message.
"Tenzin Dorje."
When Baek Cheon-myeong called his name,
Tenzin slowly raised his head.
His face was filled with worry.
As a martial artist,
he had fought with everything he had.
But now China would punish him for failing the mission.
"China ordered you, didn't they?"
"...You already knew."
"There was no one else."
Tenzin was no longer Floor Lord of the Eleventh Floor.
He would no longer be able to support Tibet through the profits he gained from managing the floor.
It was almost the same as losing everything.
"Continue managing the Eleventh Floor."
"You may keep using the profits from managing it to support Tibet, just as you did when you were Floor Lord."
"...Excuse me?"
Tenzin raised his head.
He looked like he couldn't understand what he had heard.
"Exactly what I said."
"And from now on, refuse China's orders."
"If China threatens you or complains, tell them it is the will of the Floor Lord and that they should speak to me directly."
Tenzin's eyes shook.
It was clearly an offer entirely in his favor.
He couldn't understand why Baek Cheon-myeong would make it.
"Then the conversation is over."
"W, wait!"
He couldn't believe Baek Cheon-myeong intended to simply announce this and leave.
"Hunter Baek Cheon-myeong, China is dangerous."
"They commit every kind of evil without hesitation for the sake of their country."
"They will definitely bare their fangs at you."
"What are you talking about?"
Baek Cheon-myeong looked confused.
"They already bared their fangs."
Ah.
Tenzin let out a short breath.
He was right.
China had already bared its fangs at Baek Cheon-myeong.
"I don't forgive those who show me their fangs."
Baek Cheon-myeong's eyes filled with murderous intent.
"If they show their fangs..."
"I'll rip every last one out."
If anyone else had said it,
Tenzin would have considered it empty boasting.
China might be considered a worldwide nuisance,
but nobody could ignore the power created by its enormous territory, population, and capital.
But Tenzin had personally fought Baek Cheon-myeong.
This man might truly be capable of standing against China.
Tenzin swallowed quietly.
He didn't know when that day might come.
But if the day arrived when Baek Cheon-myeong brought China down...
"Then I will help as well!"
For Tibet's liberation,
Tenzin would gladly assist him.
"May this humble being lend his strength?"
"Do whatever you want."
"Thank you!"
Tenzin bowed deeply with intense emotion.
"I'm not the one you should thank."
Baek Cheon-myeong said something puzzling
and turned away.
"What do you mean..."
"Perhaps one day, if the opportunity comes, you'll understand."
Tenzin couldn't understand those words yet.
But someday,
he might learn who had truly helped him.
Tenzin's Vajra Martial Hall.
A man entered.
His face was twisted with anger.
He was the representative sent by the National People's Congress.
Guo Chong.
He kicked open the doors of the Vajra Martial Hall and shouted.
"Tenzin Dorje! Did you think the message I delivered was a joke?!"
Guo Chong's face was red with rage.
He had personally delivered the will of the National People's Congress.
Yet Tenzin had ignored it
and lost to Baek Cheon-myeong.
Someone like Tenzin could never lose normally.
He must have deliberately lost in order to defy China.
That was what Guo Chong believed.
Inside,
Tenzin sat calmly as usual.
He looked at Guo Chong
and smiled.
"You've come."
"Ha."
Guo Chong let out an incredulous breath.
"Tenzin, you're far more shameless than I thought."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"If you're referring to the previous matter, I fought with all my strength and lost."
"Nonsense!"
Even while Guo Chong shouted,
Tenzin remained calm.
"You would understand if you met him personally."
"From the beginning, he was not someone a humble being like myself could defeat."
"That bastard only just reached the Eleventh Floor!"
"Yes. That is correct."
"And you're telling me a Hunter who reached the 99th Floor lost to someone like that?"
"Do you honestly expect me to believe it?"
"If you wish, I can request the gods themselves to testify."
Guo Chong looked dumbfounded.
At the same time,
his expression froze.
Tenzin wasn't a man who lied.
If he was speaking this confidently,
then Baek Cheon-myeong truly must be something beyond imagination.
That was terrible news for China.
And it was also terrible news for Guo Chong,
who would have to report it.
"...Nonsense."
"Let me give you one piece of advice."
Tenzin offered one final kindness.
"Do not make him your enemy."
"Make him an ally if you can."
"If you make him your enemy, China will be the one that suffers."
