Chapter 157: Chaos (1)

When Jang Woo-hyun opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a massive cliff. As he slowly rose, the large leaf that had covered his body slid off.

Yong Seo-hee, in her dragon form, was coiled with her back to the cliff, and Jang Woo-hyun was lying on a part of her torso.

【You’re awake?】

Sensing his movement, the massive dragon’s head turned and looked down at Jang Woo-hyun.

“Oh, but where are we?”

【We’re quite far from where we fought. I stayed here waiting until you woke up.】

“How long have I been lying down?”

【Two shichen? No, probably around three shichen.】

More time hadn’t passed than he’d expected.

【How does your body feel?】

“I’m fine. Let’s move again.”

【Already? I think it’d be better to rest a little more.】

“I’m really fine. I’ve taken care of everything. Let’s return to the Murim.”

【Alright. But before that, Orabeoni, I think you need to do something about that.】

“Hm? That? What do you mean?”

In response to Jang Woo-hyun’s question, Yong Seo-hee used Void Telekinesis to bring over Yongwangrin, which had been stuck into the ground.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Embedded in Yongwangrin, which had blocked the True Immortal’s attack, was a silver icicle-like object.

【I tried to pull it out, but it wouldn’t budge.】

“Really?”

Jang Woo-hyun grabbed the floating Yongwangrin and infused it with internal energy.

Even after pouring in a considerable amount of internal energy, the silver icicle did not move. Trying to tear it off with Qi didn’t work either.

‘What the hell is this?’

With no other choice, Jang Woo-hyun detached Yongwangrin.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem deeply embedded, as the silver icicle fell off attached to five or six blade scales.

Jang Woo-hyun grabbed the silver icicle with his hand, intending to pull it off directly.

The moment his hand touched it—

“Guh!”

With a short groan, parts of Jang Woo-hyun’s body burst open. Startled by the sudden occurrence, Yong Seo-hee let out a scream.

【Ack! Are you alright?】

In pain so intense it felt like his head would split, Jang Woo-hyun raised his hand to signal that he was okay.

The True Immortal’s attack had contained its residual will, and merely touching it caused excruciating pain.

‘It’s not easy.’

For residual will transmitted from afar to be this strong…

As expected, the True Immortals were no ordinary monsters.

In the midst of pain that felt like knives tearing through his mind, Jang Woo-hyun heard words, just as Kim Min-soo once had.

…҉Fra҉gm҉e҉n҉ts ҉of҉ ҉Th҉e ҉On҉e҉…҉ ҉V҉e҉r҉m҉i҉n҉.҉

‘Fragments of the One? Vermin?’

A voice filled with static.

Though he couldn’t hear it clearly, Jang Woo-hyun tried to recall the words left by the residual will of the True Immortal.

‘Fragments of the One? What does that mean? Is “the One” referring to a person? Fragments of someone from Earth? Then… Fragments of the One from Earth?’

What could the fragments be referring to? What kind of fragments? He couldn’t know for certain.

He had a general sense of what “vermin” implied. But the phrase “Fragments of the One”—its meaning was unclear.

Clutching his throbbing head, Jang Woo-hyun tried to keep thinking. But no matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t find the answer.

【…Are you really okay?】

Worried by how Jang Woo-hyun had suddenly exploded and gone silent, Yong Seo-hee cautiously asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about something.”

【Are you really sure you’re okay?】

“I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Huge dark-blue eyes gazed at Jang Woo-hyun.

“I feel a little dizzy, but I’m fine. Anyway, until we reach the Central Heavens Martial Realm, I’ll have to rely on you.”

【As much as you like. Are you really okay to move?】

“I said I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Jang Woo-hyun climbed back onto Yong Seo-hee’s head, and the two soared once again into the sky.

As they flew, Jang Woo-hyun tried several more times to remove the remnants of the True Immortal from Yongwangrin. The second time he touched it, the residual will was no longer felt.

‘No good.’

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remove the silver icicle stuck to Yongwangrin. Left with no choice, Jang Woo-hyun stored the blade scales bearing the True Immortal’s trace into the Inner Robe.

‘Since I need to meet Cho-su anyway because of Divine True Steel, I’ll ask him about this too.’

He figured it was best to leave what he couldn’t do to the experts.

One day after Jang Woo-hyun and Yong Seo-hee had left.

Soul Reaper Demon Yang Jeon-gun appeared where the Ascension Cult’s branch had once stood.

‘Why is there nothing here?’

He looked around with a puzzled expression.

Originally, a Floating Stronghold housing the Ascension Cult’s branch should have been here, but now nothing remained.

‘I don’t understand.’

Baffled by the situation, Yang Jeon-gun used spell arts to investigate.

Brilliant light emitted from his eyes as he observed the surroundings for a long while.

“Hmm.”

Reading the lingering traces of power, Yang Jeon-gun furrowed his brow.

‘This wasn’t just borrowed power. The force of a True Immortal descended directly here.’

A question mark rose in Yang Jeon-gun’s mind.

Even the foolish Ascension Cult wouldn’t have wanted a direct descent of a True Immortal. They only intended to receive a fraction of the power to use.

Yet this place had been swept through by a massive force.

‘What in the world?’

An incomprehensible situation.

Even more serious—the power of the True Immortal that had descended into the Central Heavens Realm had vanished here.

Yang Jeon-gun flew around searching for other traces. Eventually, he found it.

The power that clashed with the True Immortal. A familiar energy.

‘Slayer Sword Demon…’

Jang Woo-hyun had clashed with the True Immortal’s power and erased it.

‘Unbelievable.’

A completely unexpected outcome.

He knew Jang Woo-hyun was strong, but not to this extent. He was also moving faster than anticipated.

Yang Jeon-gun’s original plan had been to arrive here first and wait for Jang Woo-hyun. Since his main body wasn’t far, he’d expected to arrive before him.

‘Did he ride one of the captive Dragon Tribe? No, that doesn’t explain it. Maybe he’s mastered a special martial art or has a Dharma Treasure.’

A miscalculation born from underestimation.

The strength of the Slayer Sword Demon. The uselessness of the Ascension Cult.

Multiple factors led to Yang Jeon-gun missing Jang Woo-hyun.

“Should I follow him?”

Jang Woo-hyun would have headed for the Murim. To catch him, he’d have to go to the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

But even for Yang Jeon-gun, notorious among cultivators, heading into the Murim was a burden.

After a brief hesitation, Yang Jeon-gun pulled something from his Inner Robe and threw it.

Boom—

What he threw into the air instantly became a stone tower three jang high.

‘I need to observe for now.’

Yang Jeon-gun approached the tower, inserted his hand into a hole on the side, and focused his mind.

Far away, on the outskirts of the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

Yang Jeon-gun connected with a martial artist from a small sect there.

A man with no special powers and too far away to control or command.

Unaware that he was linked to Yang Jeon-gun, the man lived his ordinary life, but his memories were stolen.

‘……!’

Yang Jeon-gun, who hadn’t paid attention to the Central Heavens Martial Realm for some time, learned something new today.

‘The Sword Heaven Lord… is dead?’

A clash of the Six Heavens and the death of the Sword Heaven Lord, the protector of the Murim.

Shocked by the news, Yang Jeon-gun stood dazed for a while.

Then came the laughter.

“Wahahahahaha!”

A laugh that echoed in all directions.

“The heavens are aiding me!”

The guardian who had been watching over the entire Central Heavens Martial Realm to block powerful intruders was dead.

Until a new guardian appeared, the Murim would be thrown into chaos. Naturally, there would be few who could stop someone like Yang Jeon-gun.

It was truly a heaven-sent opportunity.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve had such a long hunt. Wait for me, Slayer Sword Demon.’

Yang Jeon-gun resolved to pursue Jang Woo-hyun.

“Hehehehe.”

As his sinister laughter spread in all directions, something below began to rise as if it had been waiting.

Rumble—

A massive fortress the size of a mountain.

Smiling, Yang Jeon-gun headed for the highest point of the fortress.

Soon, the fortress carrying him began moving toward the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

“You bastard! Don’t overextend—fall back!”

In the heart of the battlefield.

With a sharp shout from a woman, a pillar of flame surged upward.

“Captain! Be careful!”

Even as a subordinate shouted from behind, the woman referred to as the Captain rushed forward to rescue another subordinate surrounded by enemies.

Flame wings spread behind the woman in crimson martial arts uniform. Flying forward at tremendous speed, she smashed through all enemies in her path.

Boom! Bang!

With thunderous explosions, the enemies charging from all sides were blown apart.

“Fall back, you bastards! They’re coming again!”

Thanks to her breaking the encirclement, the subordinates caught their breath and quickly retreated. Just as she said, enemies were surging in from all directions.

‘There’s really too many of them.’

She had already slain hundreds of enemies. Including those her subordinates took down, the count had long passed into the thousands. Yet the enemies were replenished endlessly.

Crunch.

Gritting her teeth, the Captain’s gaze turned toward the root of it all.

Far in the distance.

A massive cube floated in the sky.

Rumble! Roar! Rrrrr—

That cube, emitting thunderous noise, continued to generate automatic puppets.

Because of the layers of defensive troops, the Captain and her subordinates couldn’t approach it.

She had only taken a brief rest, yet the number of puppets guarding the cube had already increased. And the cube still showed no signs of stopping, ceaselessly spewing out automatic puppets.

‘This isn’t why I ascended.’

One day.

The sky of her world had turned silver, and a sound as if the heavens and earth were shattering erupted.

Some called it the end of the world. Some said the gods were angry. Others claimed a new world had opened.

She fell into the third category. After that day, she had stepped into a new realm.

And a month later.

Having fully entered that new realm, she ascended and joined the Five Wheel Five Elements Cult, which used martial arts similar to hers.

But the joy of ascension was short-lived.

Even the Five Wheel Five Elements Cult she joined encountered problems.

‘Left Guardian, that crazy bastard.’

The Left Guardian of the Five Elements Cult, who wielded the power of lightning, had used a Dharma Treasure to attack the Cult Leader, then took his followers and defected.

The sudden betrayal from within inflicted serious damage on the cult. Because of that, even she, who had only recently ascended, was given the title of Captain and thrown into battle.

Without having learned the Transcendent Sensory Domain or Void Movement Technique—both essential for those in the Realm of Transcendence—she had been forced into combat.

Thankfully, the Transcendent Sensory Domain wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to her.

The monster she had been with in the Lower Realm had shown it to her multiple times. Thanks to that experience and repeated battles, she was able to grasp it quickly.

However, she hadn’t mastered the Void Movement Technique, which allowed walking through the sky, so she had to use her own method.

Fwoosh—

Huge wings of flame formed behind the Captain.

She moved through the air using her martial arts.

Boom!

Each punch she threw obliterated the enemies around her.

But it was endless. No matter how many she destroyed, more puppets immediately replaced them.

Her allies were dwindling due to injuries, while the enemy’s numbers showed no sign of decreasing.

A truly endless battle.

“Fall back! Pull the line back! We need to catch our breath…”

As she ordered her subordinates to retreat, the Captain noticed something odd in their behavior.

“Hey, you bastards, what are you doing! Fall back! Why are you standing there like—”

Her head turned toward where her subordinates were staring.

Far off in the sky, something was flying through the air.

‘A dragon?’

A massive dragon with sky-colored scales writhed through the air at high speed.

As it closed the distance, someone leapt off the dragon’s head. In an instant, the man dashed through the sky and landed above the cube spewing out puppets.

A man standing proudly in the air.

Though she couldn’t clearly see his face, the Captain felt a sense of familiarity.

“Huh?”

Before she could identify him, Qi of Heaven and Earth swirled violently and gathered around the man floating in the sky.

“Huh?!”

The Captain had seen a similar sight before she ascended. Back then it was lightning gathering, while now it was all the surrounding qi.

And she knew what would come next.

“Fall back! Everyone, retreat! Now! Hurry!”

The Captain kicked at her subordinates, forcing them to retreat.

If this scene matched what she remembered, the next move was obvious.

‘It’s falling!’

As expected.

The man in the air, having gathered qi, became a beam of light and fell toward the cube.

Boom!!

The light pierced through the cube and struck the ground, triggering a massive dome-shaped explosion that devoured the surrounding puppets.

The Captain immediately raised her qi to block the incoming shockwave. As she expected, the attack was one she had seen before.

‘Falling Thunder.’

Though it didn’t draw in lightning, it was the same martial art used by Thunder Sect Leader Ma Moon-gi, whom she had met in the Lower Realm.

And from what she had just witnessed, the Captain now knew who had fallen from the sky.

“Master Jang!”

As the explosion’s aftermath cleared, the Captain stomped the ground and shouted.

“I am Ga-hang! Lee Ga-hang of Vermilion Bird Palace on the Dawn Continent!”

Spreading her wings of flame, Lee Ga-hang soared swiftly. A bright smile spread across her face—one that had until moments ago been soaked in exhaustion.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep