Episode 612
Chapter 158: The Opening Ceremony (Part 1)
January 15, 1802.
Before he knew it, Jin had been in Lafrarosa for a year and a half.
Most of that time had been spent purging chaos, so in reality, Jin had only been able to focus solely on training for about two months—the period since Ban accepted Lingling until now.
Yet, in these past two months, Jin had experienced growth more astonishing than ever before.
“Hah, hah.”
Jin sheathed his sword and caught his breath.
Before him lay a massive scar from his blade—far deeper and more grotesque than any mark Temar had left in the training grounds before.
As always, a powerful wave of exhaustion washed over him, and the fusion with the spirit warrior dissolved.
For ten minutes, Jin and Ban could maintain their fusion at peak synchronization.
That meant Jin was effectively at his strongest for a full ten minutes.
“How do you feel, Brother Jin?”
“It’s frustrating. This state is only possible by borrowing the power of the spirit warrior.”
“You’re being greedy. If you say that out loud, you’ll earn some resentment.”
“I know. Without my brothers, where else could I complain about such blessings?”
Pouring everything into becoming stronger and feeling the thrill of clear progress every day—there was no greater happiness for a warrior.
Of course, the power wielded during the fusion couldn’t be claimed entirely as Jin’s own.
But the skills and sensations he’d gained through training, shared from Ban’s experience, were undeniably his.
‘I suspected as much… The ultimate spirit sword technique I used when I cut Lingling was far from complete.’
Ban’s experience.
The higher the synchronization in their fusion, the more vividly Jin absorbed everything from Ban.
Thanks to that, he caught glimpses of the enlightenment behind the Spirit Sword and the King’s Sword.
In other words, he had learned these swords without a separate training process.
Of course, there was a huge gap between understanding something intellectually and applying it in practice, so repeated training was essential—but training with a clear grasp of the core promised overwhelming efficiency.
‘Now, I can wield an even better Spirit Sword than before. The King’s Sword as well…’
Unlike the temporary power boost from the chaos’s demonic transformation, training through fusion had no side effects.
‘If I can keep growing like this, I might return sooner than expected.’
Lafrarosa had granted him three years. Half that time had passed, and Jin found himself wondering how much the outside world had changed.
“What are you thinking about, Brother Jin?”
Boras, who had just entered the training hall, sat beside Jin and asked.
“You’re here, Brother Boras. I was just thinking about the outside world.”
“You seem worried.”
Jin shook his head.
“My relationship with my mother, the acting head of our clan, isn’t great, but she’s strong. She’s the kind of person who takes full responsibility for her words. I doubt anything will happen to the clan within these three years.”
Jin trusted Lafrarosa’s obsession with the survival of the Runcandel clan.
He believed that as long as Lafrarosa was there, the clan would remain stable even in his absence.
‘If not for my mother, coming to Lafrarosa would have required much more consideration.’
Looking back, the majesty of Runcandel he’d known in his previous life had faded considerably.
Back then, Runcandel was an unshakable fortress—an absolute iron wall that wouldn’t crumble even if one member left.
But not anymore.
‘Father and Luna have been absent since the Sword Emperor War, and the clan lacks the unity it once had. I caused Joshua’s downfall, but to think that alone would bring us to this state…’
Kinzel had hidden the existence of the Beast King Orgal and their own power, Ziphl was developing demon stones and fleets to transcend ‘humans,’ and even the empire was negotiating with such forces, having developed advanced demonic transformations using Temar’s body.
Meanwhile, only Runcandel remained stagnant.
The Sword Emperor War had laid bare this truth for all to see. Until that horrific war finally ended, Runcandel had failed to live up to its name.
It was bitter to realize that the clan was being upheld by Lafrarosa—the very ‘enemy.’
When he returned, he would have to remove her and reorganize the entire clan.
To restore Runcandel’s former glory and reclaim the brilliance it once had.
“Brother Otu.”
“Yes, Brother Spirit Warrior.”
“Summon all the brothers to the Spirit Warrior Arena.”
Jin sensed immediately from Ban’s words.
‘Looks like it’s time to start sparring with the Spirit Kings.’
He had been curious for some time about how much difference remained between himself and the Spirit Kings.
Until a year and a half ago, every Spirit King of the King’s Race was stronger than Jin.
Even the Twelfth Spirit King, Tetozo, had toyed with Jin and nearly crushed him in their light sparring.
All the other Spirit Kings were even stronger than Tetozo.
“Shall we move now?”
“No, Brother. Ban and I will rest enough to regain the ability to fuse again.”
“Understood.”
A few hours later, as the two slowly made their way to the Spirit Warrior Arena, they saw the brothers already lined up, waiting.
When Ban ascended the main hall’s throne, the other 76—the entire King’s Race who had survived and been erased from history—looked up to her.
Their light resonated with Ban’s energy and Jin’s radiant heart, shining brighter than usual.
Though the hall was filled with light, the scene felt somehow empty and lonely.
Once, the entire vast Spirit Warrior Arena had been bathed in their radiance.
Now, from a distance, it looked like barely a handful of light.
“I have gathered you all today to commemorate something.”
Lingling read the mood and straightened her posture.
“Since our time stopped, the first to awaken us was Temar. But after that, the one who truly helped us enjoy this time was Brother Jin here.”
The brothers nodded, and Jin felt a sudden flush of embarrassment.
He believed he had received far more from them than he had given.
“And Brother Jin has declared he will bring us back into the world.”
Though only clues existed now and no definite means, the King’s Race believed without doubt that Jin would make it happen. Jin believed in himself, too.
“Our history will soon begin again. Therefore, I wish to revive a tradition long forgotten—a tradition reserved only for the strongest of the strong.”
“Oh! Ohhh!”
“No way!”
The King’s Race grew visibly excited at Ban’s words.
“The revival of an unbroken history and tradition should, of course, be started by Brother Jin. Everyone agrees, right?”
“Yes!”
As the King’s Race answered enthusiastically, Ban smiled broadly and declared:
“We will begin the Spirit King Tournament!”
As cheers erupted, Jin couldn’t help but ask Ban quietly.
“Brother Spirit Warrior, what exactly is the Spirit King Tournament?”
“It’s the greatest festival of the King’s Race. As the name suggests, warriors fight against the Spirit Kings. Spirit Kings fight each other as well.”
“Fighting? You mean it’s not just sparring?”
“Yes. The Spirit King Tournament is the only fight where it’s allowed to harm brothers with weapons.”
The King’s Race never kept score of grudges.
They never fought with the intent to kill each other.
Any disputes among brothers were settled with bare-handed combat, and even when weapons were used, they never inflicted fatal harm.
But the Spirit King Tournament had no such restrictions.
Of course, ‘brother killing’ was absolutely forbidden, but fatal wounds that could be treated were allowed.
Jin tilted his head in confusion.
“Isn’t there a risk of accidents? If you fight without such limits, you could end up killing each other.”
“Accidents are unavoidable.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Unexpected accidents happen in all things in life.”
That was a fitting answer from someone who’d said, ‘Training can be deadly.’
“We haven’t always cared for each other as we do now, Brother Jin. The King’s Race’s history is full of betrayal, murder, intrigue, and schemes. Just less than other races.”
As always, Boras continued the explanation for Ban.
“The current era under Spirit Warrior Ban is truly a golden age for the King’s Race. So, in the Spirit King Tournaments held before our downfall, no murders occurred. But before that, it was different. Factions fought, and some killed others for political gain.”
The King’s Race’s enthusiasm for reviving the Spirit King Tournament had two reasons.
First, under Spirit Warrior Ban’s leadership, every tournament was a pure clash of strength.
Second, the revival of tradition symbolized hope.
Since their destruction by the gods, the King’s Race had lived like the dead in a dead world.
There was no reason to continue traditions or festivals.
Ban’s revival of the tournament symbolized faith in Jin and the history of Lafrarosa’s liberation.
“Ha ha, this time I’ll finally shed the title of the weakest Spirit King!”
“Dream on, Twelfth Spirit King.”
“When does it start? Brother Spirit Warrior! Today? Tomorrow!?”
“We begin the opening ceremony immediately.”
At Ban’s words, the Spirit Kings’ eyes changed instantly.
They burned with the intent to kill Ban, who stood before them.
‘This isn’t just a sparring match close to real combat—they truly want to kill Brother Ban.’
Kuuuuung…!
Ban stomped once, and suddenly the Spirit Warrior Arena separated from the other buildings and began to rise into the sky.
The main hall of the Arena of Champions was transforming into the stage for the King of Combat Tournament.
Naturally, Jin was hit with a wave of shock.
Then, as the hall took its place high in the sky, Ban pointed directly at Jin.
“You all know the rules—the opening match of the King of Combat Tournament is traditionally me fighting against all my brothers.”
“We’re all ready.”
“But this time, I’ll let Jin, who has achieved the Fusion of Combat, take my place.”
No sooner had he said this than the murderous intent that had been aimed at Ban by the King of Combat and the others suddenly shifted, focusing entirely on Jin.