Chapter 408: Mount Bokryong (3)

‘…It’s different.’

The moment I saw Gunggi, a strong instinct hit me.

Baek Sang-ah and So Cheon had felt the same.

‘That thing’ was fundamentally different from all the other Awakened Bodies of the Heaven-Defying Society we had seen so far.

It felt like a being fundamentally different from humans.

‘But… it seems weak?’

To say it had overwhelmingly cornered Baek Sang-ah and So Cheon… its aura didn’t feel all that powerful.

In such cases, one could assume…

“It’s a clone.”

Hwan Jeong pointed to the invisible chains surrounding Gunggi.

“It’s likely transferring power from the main body using that. I’ve read in ancient family texts that beings from the Mythic Era cannot maintain a physical form in this world through ordinary means.”

“That makes sense.”

Even without Hwan Jeong’s explanation, I had somewhat realized it.

Causality was part of it, but it was essentially like a fish being unable to live outside of water.

‘That thing is basically wearing a breathing apparatus.’

Gunggi floated quietly in midair, eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

I asked Yorang.

“If it absorbs all the power of the dragon that’s said to be asleep here, will full manifestation be possible?”

-Impossible.

Yorang answered immediately.

-It would only extend the duration of its manifestation. Even that limit is clear. The laws corrected by the victory in the Great War cannot be overturned, not even by that thing.

“That so?”

-But it’s not like there’s no way at all.

“……?”

Yorang stared at Gunggi with a chilling gaze.

-If I drag it into a special land like the Heaven of Sacred Spirits where I was sealed, it would be possible. Also, among the Golden Techniques, there are some that can alter the environment.

“…….”

-Whatever the case, that thing is a blade prepared by those bastards to get rid of you.

Since there were almost no more adversaries for me in the mortal world, had they brought in a non-human being?

-You’re lucky. If it were in its complete form, not even you could be sure of victory.

Indeed.

Even if it was only a clone, the ominousness I felt from up close was among the top few I’d ever encountered.

‘If I had to face the real body, even I might struggle.’

Now that I could properly gauge the opponent’s strength, I finally understood how So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah had been taken down.

That was when—

“I can’t understand this.”

A young man who looked like a scholar spoke up.

He covered his jaw with a fan, but his eyes brimmed with killing intent as he looked at me.

“I suspected it when the brainwashing I placed on the Outer Hall Leader was undone… but how did you obtain the information? He wasn’t allowed to leave the Alliance, was he?”

I answered flatly.

“Obviously, I got the information from within the Alliance.”

“…What?”

“That’s not what matters right now, is it?”

He resembled that so-called teacher bastard I killed in the east, but he was a bit different.

Appearance had a huge influence on the formation of self.

Meaning, he wasn’t exactly the same existence as the one I knew.

“Southern Murim Alliance Leader, Jegal Cheon.”

“…….”

“Judging by your reaction, your main body must not have told you about me?”

“Well…”

Flash!

The moment he opened his mouth to speak, I slashed and beheaded Jegal Cheon.

It was an anticlimactic end for someone supposedly leading the colossal organization called the Southern Murim Alliance.

Hwan Jeong widened his eyes and asked.

“Weren’t you trying to get some answers?”

“Doesn’t matter. I only said it to catch him off guard.”

I crushed the rolling head of Jegal Cheon underfoot and said with a cold gaze.

“And in the first place, this can’t really be called ‘death’.”

“…True.”

Any other ordinary martial artist might have retorted with nonsense, but Hwan Jeong, an exceptional sorcerer, instantly understood what I meant.

To Hwan Jeong, that was no different from a meat puppet.

“At this rate, some other bastard will appear from somewhere claiming to be the Southern Murim Alliance Leader.”

Unless we eliminated the real body, that is.

“Isn’t that right, Auntie?”

I turned my gaze to the Mosan Celestial Maiden who had been silently watching us.

Crack!

Wrinkles formed around the eyes of the Mosan Celestial Maiden.

“Still spouting nonsense until the end, huh?”

“It’s working better than I thought, so why would I stop?”

“For someone from the Jin Clan, you’ve got a glib tongue like that bastard Cheon Taejong.”

The Mosan Celestial Maiden sighed lightly and shook her head.

Unlike earlier, she now showed no openings, and I clicked my tongue inwardly.

‘She won’t fall for provocation anymore.’

All over the Mosan Celestial Maiden’s body, what seemed to be defensive sorcery was plastered thickly.

“But it’s a bit surprising. I didn’t expect you to bring up his main body.”

“Do you know where his main body is?”

I asked without much expectation, but received an unexpected answer.

“Of course I do.”

“……!”

“We’re the ones who made him that way at the request of the Grand Heavenly Lord.”

“What?”

Even setting aside whether the Mosan Sect had that much capability, if what she said was true, then they had been cooperating with the Heaven-Defying Society for a very long time.

‘They almost let insects inside the Cult.’

If that woman had connected with Cheon Taejong, she would have used the Empress’s position to infiltrate the Cult from within.

More than anything, the Cheon Yura I knew wouldn’t have been born.

But then—

“I can see what you’re thinking.”

The Mosan Celestial Maiden frowned, seemingly having read my thoughts.

“Don’t delude yourself. If Cheon Taejong had accepted me, I would’ve staked everything to reveal the entire truth to him.”

The Mosan Celestial Maiden looked genuinely displeased.

And the sincerity behind that displeasure could be felt.

“It would’ve been better if you had told him that sincerity first.”

“I tried to. But he coldly rejected me before I could even bring it up.”

Ugh…!

I swallowed a groan, at a loss for words.

If what she said was true, then there was nothing more to say!

This was simply… Father-in-law’s mistake!

“That’s why I stood on the opposite side and vowed revenge on him. For the past several decades.”

It wasn’t just frost falling in midsummer—it was a full-blown cold wave.

“Couldn’t you just forget him and find another man to live happily with?”

Forgetting the current situation, I asked this out of sheer curiosity.

She must’ve been fairly attractive in her youth, and being heir to the Mosan Sect meant she had status and wealth, so marriage shouldn’t have been difficult.

The Mosan Celestial Maiden gave a dry chuckle.

“If the heart were that easy to sort out, how comfortable life would be?”

“That’s true.”

As they say, a moment’s wound can last a lifetime—perhaps the Mosan Celestial Maiden was no different.

Beside me, Hwan Jeong threw a dumbfounded look.

“…Grand Duke, is this really the time to be agreeing?”

I quickly came to my senses and let out a fake cough.

“Ahem! I sympathize with your situation, but I can’t just let you go now.”

“I never intended to leave alive in the first place, boy. Didn’t I say it earlier? I’ll give you the most miserable death.”

Rumble!

“……!”

The Mosan Celestial Maiden began unleashing her power in earnest.

The magnitude of her sorcery wasn’t inferior to that of Illusion Demon Hwan Pyeong, who was once called the greatest sorcerer of the Demonic Faction.

However—

“That level isn’t nearly enough.”

As I was now, even if Hwan Pyeong himself showed up, I was confident I could tear him apart within ten seconds.

Let alone someone merely in his league—not even a threat.

She sneered at my words.

“There’s nothing more foolish than charging head-on into a beast. And we sorcerers don’t brawl like you martial artists in the first place.”

Snap!

The Mosan Celestial Maiden flicked her fingers.

Then—

Clack! Clatter!

The sorcery-made chains that had been coiled around Gunggi began to unravel.

I immediately unleashed Heaven-Piercing Annihilation toward Gunggi.

Boom!

With a tremendous explosion, the dark energy wave of Heaven-Piercing Annihilation swept through the surroundings.

I hoped that one strike would be enough to end it.

Feeling the dull resistance along the hilt, I frowned slightly.

“Missed.”

Eventually, as the dark energy cleared, Gunggi, now with crimson eyes like rubies, looked this way and spoke.

“You’ve got some bad habits.”

“……!”

‘He speaks… more composed and dignified than I expected?’

He looked like some interstellar monstrosity, but surprisingly, his voice was quite refined.

Boom!

A faint vibration rippled around Gunggi as he landed, his true body seemingly carrying substantial weight.

“I greet the great bloodline.”

I was momentarily bewildered by Gunggi’s behavior.

‘Ah, he must be referring to Yorang.’

Though my lineage was somewhat notable in the Murim, it wasn’t to the extent that such a being would call me great.

He was likely addressing Yorang, who was practically the child of Heavenly Evil and Jiseong.

As I expected, Yorang snorted and replied.

-Long time no see, you bat bastard.

“Judging by your state, things must not be going as planned.”

-Shut it. Better off than you wretches who were miserably banished from the material realm.

Yorang growled at Gunggi, clearly enraged.

The only problem was that, in the form of a small wolf pup, he wasn’t very intimidating.

Gunggi ignored Yorang and slowly approached me.

“So you’re the adversary the Grand Heavenly Lord mentioned.”

His muscles, gleaming with a black sheen, were quite impressive, but I, being of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, had a body second to none.

I closed the distance to barely a jang and looked up at him.

Grin.

“Your spirit is admirable. I see. They say you’re currently the strongest among humans—those two back then were decent, but you…”

He stroked his chin, examining me as if appraising livestock.

A sharp fang glinted at the corner of his mouth.

“I’d prefer to fight your main body, but since that’s not possible now, it’s unfortunate.”

“If not now, then someday it will be?”

“Of course. It won’t be long.”

“You’re not just waiting for fate. What trick are you planning?”

Unexpectedly, he answered my question as straightforwardly as the Mosan Celestial Maiden.

“They said they’ll use blood from war to invoke a Golden Technique.”

“…I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but is it okay to just tell me that so openly?”

Blood from the battlefield.

That alone gave away far too much.

Gunggi asked me,

“So, will you run? A warrior like you?”

Naturally, if I could run, I would.

I was a warrior and a martial artist, but more than a martial artist’s pride, I now had something I valued far higher.

But I didn’t speak that truth aloud.

“Not likely.”

“Hehehe, I thought you’d say that.”

The moment those words left his mouth—

His fist struck straight into my abdomen in a surprise attack.

Struck by that blow, I felt as though I were flying, then crashed into the opposite peak.

Boom!

“G-Grand Duke?!”

Perhaps because it looked like such an anticlimactic ambush, Hwan Jeong’s eyes went wide.

But then—

“What are you so surprised about? That was just a light greeting.”

Gunggi flexed his fist slightly and shouted this way.

“You didn’t die from that, right?”

“…Of course not.”

As I stood up, shards of rock fell around me.

‘Even with Asura Spirit deployed, my gut still feels numb.’

I looked across at Gunggi, who was smirking.

‘He’s more refined than I thought?’

He hadn’t lied about it being a greeting.

If he truly intended to kill me, he would’ve aimed for my face or heart.

Of course, most humans would have had their guts explode from that one “greeting”….

‘One of the Four Atrocities, Gunggi.’

That monstrous physical strength surely wasn’t the extent of his capabilities.

I gripped the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword tightly.

‘I’ll kill him with everything I’ve got. If I can slay him in this state, it’ll surely inflict a major blow to his main body.’

I could not allow anyone else to face this thing.

It was my responsibility, and I would bury him here without fail.

Just as I made that resolve—

Bzzzzz!

‘Hmm?’

I turned my gaze to my right hand, where I felt a strange sensation.

The sword body of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, which had remained unresponsive no matter what I did until now, suddenly began to resonate madly.

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