The other constellations tried to do something at Choi Yeonseung’s plea, but Ma Xiaohui was already waking up. He looked for the goddess right away.
“Goddess of Pleasure and Lust…? Where is she?”
“How should I know? She’s somewhere in the Abyss.”
“Take me back now! Take me to where I was! I was happy in the dream of the Goddess of Pleasure and Lust! If you don’t put me back right now...”
Ma Xiaohui tried to grab Choi Yeonseung by the collar.
Just by struggling, an A-grade hunter could shatter the outer walls of a building and cause the entire frame to shake. Thus, Choi Yeonseung punched Ma Xiaohui hard in the solar plexus so as to protect the Chinese people outside.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I could’ve just used Pressure Point Attack.’
Indeed, there was no need to punch Ma Xiaohui, but Choi Yeonseung had done it involuntarily. In any case, he grabbed Ma Xiaohui, who was groaning in pain as his entire body was shaking, and finally used Pressure Point Attack.
Ma Xiaohui kept struggling for a bit, but he eventually calmed down when he realized he was paralyzed.
“Ugh...Ughhhh... Gasp…! Where... Where am I?”“In a hospital.”
“Agh-! Why am I in so much pain? My body is throbbing all over…”
Ma Xiaohui could only move his eyes to confirm his condition. His whole body ached as though he had taken the beating of his life. His physical condition had improved tremendously after reaching the A-grade, which was why he couldn’t believe he was in so much pain.
“It looks like you were injured by the evil god constellation.”
“Those idiots can’t even heal me properly!”
Ma Xiaohui blamed the medical personnel of the hospital, who were just outside his room. It was very unfair from their perspective. They had kept this lunatic alive, and yet…
“You... Wait…Choi Yeonseung! Where am I? Where am I?!”
Ma Xiaohui finally realized who was standing before him and started trembling. He mistakenly believed Choi Yeonseung had kidnapped and brought him to the United States.
“You filthy Americans! You think you’re safe just because you’re in America? This is a violation of international law! Send me back to China now!”
“This is China.”
“Ah... I see.”
Ma Xiaohui promptly shut up, his expression tinged with embarrassment. Perhaps he was ashamed about losing his mind.
“Wait, if we’re in China, then why are you here?”
“That’s a long story. In any case, Ma Xiaohui, I know you’ve grown fond of the Goddess of Pleasure, but I need info about her trial. Tell me what you know.”
Ma Xiaohui paused briefly before giving Choi Yeonseung a snort full of mockery. Raid-related information was a kind of asset, so there were many things that couldn't be leaked. The information was doubly valuable if it was about an Abyss raid. In other words, there was no way Ma Xiaohui would give that kind of information to a foreign hunter.
Choi Yeonseung had been making an astronomical amount of profit from succeeding in the Abyss raids. Given how jealous Ma Xiaohui was of him, he clearly wasn’t going to tell him anything.
“You actually thought I would tell you? Hah, Choi Yeonseung… You don’t really live up to your reputation.”
-This human’s head isn’t working…
The goddess of sloth was dumbfounded.
It seemed that this hunter called Ma Xiaohui was utterly misunderstanding the situation. However, Choi Yeonseung managed to break his illusion with his own hands. The moment he brought his hand close to Ma Xiaohui’s pressure point, he let out a loud scream.
Besides controlling the opponent’s body, martial artists could also use internal energy to inflict pain like this. Ma Xiaohui himself was well aware of that, as there were many martial artists in China.
He just hadn’t expected to experience it himself!
The moment Choi Yeonseung hit his pressure point and paralyzed him, Ma Xiaohui felt an intense pain surge throughout his body, and he could help screaming with tears streaming down his face.
“Ghaaah!! What are you doing?! Hey, Choi Yeonseung is trying to kill me! Come in and stop him now! Wh-what are you doing?!” Ma Xiaohui shouted toward the door, but the people waiting outside merely looked away.
‘We didn’t hear anything.’
Although he was an A-grade hunter, Ma Xiaohui was a lost cause. In this situation, no one would antagonize Choi Yeonseung to save him. Even his fellow A-grade hunter, Meng Qianhao, pretended not to hear his cry for help.
‘What are they doing?’
“Why aren’t they coming? Why aren’t they coming?! We… We’re obviously not in China!!”
Ma Xiaohui simply didn’t understand it. He was certain that there were people at the door, as he could feel their life force, but no one came to his aid despite screaming his lungs out. It was clear that this wasn’t China. Choi Yeonseung had kidnapped him and forcibly brought him to the United States!
“Fine, I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!”
“Good choice,” Choi Yeonseung replied before stopping the internal energy attack.
“The Goddess of Pleasure and Lust’s trial was really sweet…” Ma Xiaohui said in a tearful voice. “It was a perfect place to be, even thinking about it now. How beautiful it was...”
The moment Ma Xiaohui started rambling, Choi Yeonseung injected internal energy again. Ma Xiaohui screamed again and quickly got to the point.
***
Endless trials.
After accepting the goddess’ proposal, the mortals who entered the dream faced a winding and endless path, and at the end of it was a faint silhouette.
It was the Goddess of Pleasure and Lust.
The mortals had but one option—they had to come before the Goddess of Pleasure and Lust without deviating from the path. However, that was easier said than done.
Alongside the path were the nightmare demons serving the Goddess of Pleasure, alluring the mortals with their tremendous power.
Since they were constantly facing their deepest desires, the one-pronged path felt twisted and complicated to the mortals, much like a labyrinth.
Once they gave in to the temptation and abandoned the trial, they were immersed in eternal pleasure, unable to escape from its clutches. What would they go back for? Everything they had ever wanted came true in their fantasy.
It was the same with Ma Xiaohui.
At first, he did his best to ignore the fantasies induced by the nightmare demons, but as he kept advancing, he became more and more distracted and eventually went off the path.
In the end, Ma Xiaohui ended up like the others, but he regretted nothing. In fact, he still wanted to go back.
‘The Goddess of Pleasure and Lust is terrifying.’
Choi Yeonseung was impressed with the goddess’ ability. Her power didn’t stand out in combat, but it could be terrifying in other situations.
He hadn’t thought an A-grade hunter could end up like this.
“What vision did you see?”
“...”
“I guess you want to feel pain again.”
“No! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” Ma Xiaohui hurriedly exclaimed as Choi Yeonseung raised his hand. “I saw myself being the supreme leader of China and making the people happy…”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung cast Ma Xiaohui a contemptuous look. The first part seemed genuine, but the second part was clearly a lie. No Chinese hunter was that altruistic!
“Alright, thanks for answering my questions. Now, it’s your right to go back to the Goddess of Pleasure and Lust and die, but I don’t think the other Chinese hunters will let you do that.”
Having confirmed everything he wanted, Choi Yeonseung was ready to leave.
Ma Xiaohui asked in a panicked manner, “This is America, right?”
“Check that for yourself.”
Choi Yeonseung undid the Pressure Point Attack and left. After a while, Chinese hunters and medical personnel came in.
“Isn’t this America?” Ma Xiaohui asked in a puzzled manner. “What are you guys doing? Have you disguised yourselves to trick me?”
“Ma Xiaohui, what are you talking about…?”
Although Ma Xiaohui was seeing the medical staff for the first time, he knew who Meng Qianhao and the other hunters were. He didn’t understand. If he hadn't been kidnapped...
“If this isn’t America... Why did you allow him to come in on his own?”
“...”
There was a moment of heavy silence, and Meng Qianhao eventually replied with an awkward expression, “That’s a complicated story.”
“Wait. If you were out there, didn’t you hear me asking for help? What were you doing then?”
“That’s also a complicated story…”
“Complicated, my ass! You thought I wouldn’t realize that you abandoned me? How dare you give me to him?!”
“Hey, you were locked in your house and licking the feet of an evil god constellation while I was risking my life against the household member of the Master of Slowness and Silence! Now you’re throwing a tantrum after coming to your senses a bit? Go ahead! Throw a tantrum if you want to die! You’ve betrayed humanity by colluding with an evil god constellation!”
The two A-grade hunters got into a fierce argument. Even though they weren’t fighting in earnest, the windows still shattered, and the whole hospital shook.
Choi Yeonseung ignored the commotion behind him and headed outside.
***
After hearing about Ma Xiaohui’s experience, Choi Yeonseung understood why Lamart insisted he bring as many people with him as possible.
‘I need someone to stop me.’
A companion could knock some sense into him if he fell victim to the illusion and tried to leave the path. Indeed, having a partner in this raid seemed advantageous.
But Ma Xiaohui had gone by himself. He had wanted to get all the profit for himself, but more than that…
‘You need someone reliable to be your companion.’
A companion could help, but they could also be a nuisance. There would be nothing more dangerous than a companion who had unknowingly succumbed to the goddess’ temptation and interfered with him.
Choi Yeonseung thought the powerful household members of the other constellation would be a good fit. Their constellations protected them, so they would have a higher chance of resisting the illusions.
‘Uranta and Barbagi. There’s also Illaphael…’
[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says she will show up and help.]
-Is that okay?
Choi Yeonseung was surprised. It took a lot of determination for a constellation to create an incarnation like that and descend.
Moreover, it took a huge amount of power of existence to create an incarnation of oneself, and the incarnation was significantly weaker than the constellation. Besides, it couldn’t even be said how much power of existence the constellation would lose if their incarnation was destroyed.
[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ says it is something she has already done before.]
[She says she will do it together with the cat constellation.]
The Cat of Lava and Magma was stunned.
Why did it have to do it?
-Help from the Manipulator of Dreams and Desires is bound to be reliable.
Indeed, given that her servants were nightmare demons, she was bound to be useful in this trial.
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ says she will show up and help.]
[She will help you along with Adaquaniel.]
“Thank you.”
Now that even the constellations, not just the household members, were participating, Choi Yeonseung’s attitude toward this raid changed. Household members were supposed to be more resistant to their desires, but perhaps constellations would be even stronger in this situation?
‘Not bad.’
Choi Yeonseung thought that Illeya should also participate.
The goddess of sloth murmured to herself.
-I think there are more constellations at this point…
***
“Are you busy?”
“No? I’ve been resting... at home.”
Illeya immediately came to see Choi Yeonseung after receiving his call. She didn’t think much of it.
“I plan to attempt a raid, and I need your help,” Choi Yeonseung said like it was a good thing.
“Where is the dungeon?”
“It’s an Abyss raid. The Fifth Kingdom.”
Illeya frowned, already getting a bad feeling about this. Last time, Choi Yeonseung had used her as a walking ice machine. Surely he wouldn’t do the same this time?
“What about the people going with you?”
“Good thing you asked. Here.”
Choi Yeonseung introduced the people who were waiting at the mansion.
Illeya was stunned by the bunch of mortals she had never seen before, all of them exuding a formidable power of existence. These weren’t ordinary mortals!
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