I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-316

Ch-316. **Great Enlightenment **

—

“Raiga?”

“Wasn’t he the immediate disciple of Lord Dantalion?”

“I heard the sanctuary rejected him.”

“Didn’t Lord Dantalion relinquish his position as head himself, on the condition that the sanctuary be sealed?”

“Then doesn’t that mean he has no real ties to Fang at all?”

The sanctuary grew noisy.

The moment the name *Raiga* came out of Grand Elder Albino’s mouth.

Most of those gathered here knew that name.

Dantalion, the previous head of Fang.

He had visited the sanctuary to take Raiga as his disciple.

But the sanctuary rejected Raiga.

Naturally so.

Raiga’s status was that of a slave.

Someone without honor—someone who didn’t even know what honor was.

Yet Dantalion sealed Raiga in order to accept Raiga as his disciple.

That was effectively the same as stepping down from the position of head.

Dantalion was no longer the head of Fang, which meant that his disciple, Raiga, in truth had no connection to Fang whatsoever.

And yet—

After several decades, he had the audacity to show up and covet the seat of head.

“Silence—.”

Woooooong!

Grand Elder Albino’s voice reverberated magnificently throughout the sanctuary.

The sheer volume shook eardrums and made heads throb, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

“I will proceed with the ‘Head’s Rite.’ Any of the Sixteen Pavilion Lords who wish to participate, step forward.”

In the end, the Head’s Rite had to be carried out.

Raiga himself wished for it, and it wasn’t something the Grand Elder could simply override with his authority.

Moreover—

The Grand Elder was inwardly astonished.

*‘The source of life is something that cannot be increased.’*

The source of life is fixed from birth.

By ordinary means, its total amount cannot be increased.

Except by *halting it* here in the sanctuary.

That was why the Grand Elder and the elders had been able to live in the sanctuary for such a long time.

And why so many disciples, including the Sixteen Pavilion Lords, had lived far beyond a normal human lifespan.

But it was merely halted—if they went outside or were forcibly drawn out, it would inevitably be consumed.

For example, opening the Five Gates and drawing out the entirety of one’s source.

*‘The total amount of the source has increased.’*

Before undergoing the World Tree’s trial, Raiga had been on the brink of death.

He had accepted death.

But not now.

In an instant—like a fleeting moment—he had crossed a wall.

And not just any wall.

What people commonly call *enlightenment*.

Such enlightenment is fleeting; afterward, one must meditate for a long time to even grasp what it was they had realized.

Yet Raiga awakened in a single instant.

*Great Enlightenment.*

True, genuine enlightenment requires no time to internalize.

Because all one must do is accept things as they are.

When one crosses countless walls and sails across the great sea, one inevitably becomes attached to what has been accumulated.

Especially powerhouses of Raiga’s caliber—such people all possess strong stubbornness.

Through long experience, they come to believe only their own path is correct.

To discard that stubbornness, empty everything, and accept things anew from the beginning—

It sounds easy, but it is never an easy choice.

It cannot be done merely by making up one’s mind.

Only through true remorse, and true realization, can awakening occur.

*‘…He has entered the stage of full maturity.’*

The Realm of Life and Death.

A realm said to be unreachable while alive.

Raiga had reached full maturity in that realm.

When first seen, he had merely been at the threshold, but by emptying everything and refilling it anew, he had finally become complete.

Full maturity of the Life-and-Death Realm.

A catastrophic stage of martial non-action capable of erasing an entire civilization alone.

Even in the world that once possessed the most brilliant civilization before the advent of Destruction, there had been only a handful who reached full maturity in the Life-and-Death Realm.

Those who truly understood the boundary between life and death.

At this moment, Raiga had become an immortal while still alive.

He had completed the Five Gates and moved away from his predetermined death.

“All Sixteen Pavilion Lords wish to participate in the ‘Head’s Rite.’”

…However.

The Sixteen Pavilion Lords—

Especially the upper eight—were masters who had trained in the sanctuary for over centuries.

They were monsters personally cultivated by the Grand Elder in preparation for the next advent of Destruction.

Because they could not afford to be defeated as futilely as they had been during the previous Destruction.

That world had possessed countless powerhouses and a civilization mighty enough to touch the heavens.

Yet *Destruction* had been overwhelmingly powerful.

Even if they had been unprepared, even if they had been intoxicated by their own prowess and picked off one by one—

When Albino recalled those memories…

His body trembled with rage.

*‘I have lived for thousands of years for the sole purpose of killing Destruction.’*

That was why he had joined hands with Fang.

Grand Elder Albino was one of the few who had directly experienced Destruction.

And so he knew.

*‘Fang’s power is suited to opposing Destruction.’*

Thus, he allied with Fang.

With that prophet—the first head of Fang.

Becoming the Grand Elder, ensuring Fang’s succession, and cultivating disciples—

All of it had been for one reason.

To kill Destruction!

That was why he extracted only the very essence and trained the Pavilion Lords.

The lower Pavilion Lords were occasionally replaced, but the upper Pavilion Lords had remained unchanged for countless years.

Even if Raiga had reached full maturity in the Life-and-Death Realm—

Could he truly face all the Pavilion Lords Albino had raised with such care?

“Wait.”

At that moment.

Just before the duel began.

Raiga spoke.

“There’s something I need to correct. I’m not the one who achieved ‘Complete Honor.’”

“Raiga—!”

The Grand Elder hurriedly tried to stop him.

They were making Raiga the head despite his previous failure.

There was no need to bring up the truth now of all times.

But Raiga’s resolve was firm.

He looked upward.

The second floor of the hall.

At Hyun, standing in a corner, and smiled gently.

“It’s my disciple. I couldn’t even fulfill the very first qualification.”

…In the end, he had caused trouble.

The Grand Elder sighed inwardly.

Now there was no choice but to prove it purely through strength.

Yet it would never be easy.

Especially since the upper Pavilion Lords had trained specifically to kill Destruction.

“But my disciple said this. That a disciple’s honor is the master’s honor.”

Raiga smiled.

A little awkwardly.

But with an expression that had finally regained composure.

“I can’t bring myself to be a master inferior to my disciple, so I’ll have to do my best, whether I like it or not.”

And he declared—

That he would show no mercy.

That he would clash with everything he had.

So—

Grin!

“Please… don’t die.”

*

*

Raiga’s sword.

His sword had always possessed restraint.

It had form, discipline, and a self-imposed framework.

But now, his sword was different.

*Sword Dance.*

As the battle with the Sixteen Pavilion Lords began, Raiga’s movements looked as though he were performing a sword dance.

Yet Fang’s sword arts contain no sword dance.

All techniques are specialized in severing flows.

*‘Beautiful.’*

Watching him, I murmured in admiration.

It was clearly different from before.

His breathing, his posture toward the sword—

There was composure.

Binding and severing had become far more natural.

He met sword with sword, not stiffly but softly, flowing past.

*‘He’s strong.’*

But the Sixteen Pavilion Lords were no pushovers.

Especially the upper eight standing in the front—they possessed truly earth-shaking skill.

They were evenly matched with the current Raiga.

Kuuuuung—!

The sanctuary shook.

Even the shockwaves from the swords alone felt like they were twisting my internal organs.

The Grand Elder and the elders were deploying mana to block it, but they couldn’t stop the vacuum effect.

As a result, most spectators had already retreated far away.

*‘So this is Fang’s true power…’*

The four great families that formed the Empire.

If Fang—one of them—was this powerful, what about the others?

The Imperial House Arhon, Dersian of Isabella, and Rahon.

One thing was certain: even if all the other families combined, they still wouldn’t match the mystery of Fang as it was now.

If I gained Fang, I would be backing an unprecedented force.

A massive martial faction I had never possessed before!

Including the Druids.

One Blade Dragon God, two children, and the Blood spawn were formidable forces in their own right—

But if they clashed head-on, Fang would likely be stronger.

And that wasn’t all.

Fang’s power was undeniably alluring.

*‘Eight of them opened the Five Gates.’*

The battlefield was drenched in radiant golden light.

Including Raiga, nine had opened the Five Gates.

The rest were in a state of opening the Four Gates.

Yet something puzzled me.

*‘Wasn’t opening the Five Gates supposed to guarantee death?’*

So were they risking death to face Raiga?

Or had Raiga previously been ‘incomplete,’ unable to properly wield the Five Gates?

*‘Flow, flow, flow…’*

But that question soon vanished.

A sudden realization struck.

Raiga’s sword—

And all the flows handled by the Sixteen Pavilion Lords were different.

I could see them.

With empty hands, I mimicked holding a sword.

Because it felt like I could grasp something.

That which could not be seen.

That which could not be cut.

Now, it felt like I could see it.

And cut it.

*‘Just a little more…’*

Whoosh!

Slowly—

I swung my sword through empty air.

Following Raiga.

Dancing the sword dance with Raiga.

At that moment, Raiga raised the intensity of the sword dance even further.

As if daring me to keep up.

The brilliantly shining golden waves surged even more violently.

“Ugh…!”

One fell.

Then another.

Those who met Raiga’s sword one after another failed to endure and were defeated.

In an instant, all the lower Pavilion Lords were knocked out of the arena.

When only the upper Pavilion Lords remained, the battle grew far more intense.

And yet—

*‘Just a little more…!’*

I was utterly captivated by his new realm.

Raiga continued to raise the intensity.

He unleashed all the power Fang had passed down.

I, too, followed his sword with everything I had.

“You’re saying you completed the Five Gates—reached the ultimate intent (極意)?”

Two remained.

When only two of the Sixteen Pavilion Lords were left.

They asked in astonishment.

Raiga’s skill had surpassed what they could even imagine.

The Grand Elder’s gaze wavered as well.

It was different from mere full maturity.

There was something more.

The martial non-action that completed Raiga—and that Raiga himself completed—contained an unfathomable profundity.

It wasn’t the flow Fang had inherited.

Yet—

“I have not yet reached the ultimate.”

Raiga shook his head.

The true ultimate.

The final sword Wilhelm had displayed in the Tower of the War God.

Though he had shown it only once, that had been the true ultimate.

Raiga was still far from reaching that.

More importantly, Raiga himself wasn’t unscathed.

Large and small wounds covered his body.

Had he truly reached the ultimate, such wounds wouldn’t exist.

And those two remaining—

They were monsters among monsters.

Most of Raiga’s wounds had been inflicted by them.

“Come on, let’s keep playing.”

Raiga smiled.

Battling the strong was enjoyable.

But teaching his disciple was even more so.

By sparring with them, he was educating his disciple.

And amid the continuing struggle—

*‘Ah…!’*

《You have internalized insight into “Flow.”》

《It is noble and sublime—existing, yet not existing.》

《The “Vessel of the Martial God” contains the “Mind Sword.”》

《You can use the “Martial God’s Mind Sword.”》

《The “Martial God’s Mind Sword” is affected by swordsmanship proficiency level.》

《Current Swordsmanship Proficiency Level: 35.》

《Using the “Martial God’s Mind Sword (Unarmed),” you can cut “Indestructible.”》

The moment of great enlightenment.

Slowly, I poured the realization I had internalized into my fingertips—

Slice—!

《You have cut the “Sanctuary (Indestructible).》