Chapter 208: Chang Raegong

Gwi Ryeong, who had restored the Ghost Spirit Divine Armor enveloping his surroundings, extended his index and middle fingers of his right hand. As he formed the gesture known as the Sword Hand Seal, his fingers became wrapped in white light.

As if his fingers were a brush, Gwi Ryeong began writing characters into the air.

Yi Jeuk. Sanhwi. Daeak. Toru.

In an instant, more than ten names appeared in the air. They were all names of monsters.

Jang Woo-hyun, who had been quietly observing, swung Black Wilds Sword.

It was a transcendent sword imbued with the intent to sever.

Although the distance between them was considerable, Jang Woo-hyun’s sword sliced through the glowing characters.

A faint shattering sound rang out as the characters scattered into particles of light. Before the monsters could even be summoned, Jang Woo-hyun had severed the origin of the sorcery.

“Wha…”

Gwi Ryeong stared at Jang Woo-hyun, mouth agape in disbelief. He had performed countless Demon Beast Contract Techniques, but this was a first.

“Is that all?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked if he had anything else.

Panicking, Gwi Ryeong hastily wrote more monster names in the air with the Sword Hand Seal, even faster than before.

Crack—! This time, too, the sorcery was nullified on the spot.

A complete destruction of the technique’s foundation.

Even upon witnessing it again, it was hard to comprehend.

“Seriously, is this really the end?”

As Jang Woo-hyun asked again, Gwi Ryeong finally broke free from his confusion. The question felt like a demand from an absolute being of the Central Heavens Martial Realm, telling him to prove his power. Grinding his teeth, Gwi Ryeong responded.

“Fine. I’ll show you everything I have.”

Glaring fiercely, Gwi Ryeong began preparing his next spell.

Jang Woo-hyun nodded and waited once again.

“Gwi Ryeong’s fighting style is to defend with the Ghost Spirit Divine Armor and summon monsters.”

Seon Tae-gyeong approached and explained.

“Ghost Spirit Divine Armor? You mean that turtle-shell-looking thing surrounding him earlier?”

“Yes. It’s Gwi Ryeong’s unique spell and was known for its absolute defensive power—until just moments ago.”

With a light chuckle, he continued.

“Gwi Ryeong is preparing his next move. Aren’t you going to attack?”

“No, I’ll wait. It’s not proper to attack someone while they’re transforming.”

Gwi Ryeong’s form was gradually changing, as if receiving power from some entity.

“What? You’re saying it’s improper to attack during a transformation? What are you even talking about…?”

“It’s just a thing.”

Jang Woo-hyun brushed it off and observed the transforming Gwi Ryeong.

It wasn’t that he refrained from attacking out of some code of etiquette during transformations.

‘I need to properly gauge his strength.’

Gwi Ryeong was the leading spellcaster of the Radiant Light Sect. To measure the sect’s overall power, he had to assess Gwi Ryeong’s abilities.

“Grghh…”

With a low groan, wings sprouted from Gwi Ryeong’s back. His face began to morph into a fusion of human and bird.

‘Huh?’

Jang Woo-hyun tilted his head. The form looked familiar.

It felt like he was seeing it for the first time, yet it was oddly recognizable.

“Judging by his appearance, he seems to be drawing power from Hongcheon Daeseong, one of the Seven Great Saints.”

Next to him, Seon Tae-gyeong offered insight.

“Then he’s that monkey guy’s older brother.”

Although Jang Woo-hyun was nonchalant, Seon Tae-gyeong had explained it quite seriously, since the power was being drawn from a major monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm.

But the confusion only lasted a moment—because the reason was clear.

‘Right. Wind-Passing Great Saint is also called a monkey guy.’

On second thought, it wasn’t anything that strange.

“Now that you’ve blocked the summoning, he’s trying to borrow the power directly.”

“So it’s something like a Possession Technique?”

Jang Woo-hyun had seen similar things in the Lower Realm.

During his time as a martial artist of the Demon Extermination Sect, a member of the Thousand Demon Sect had transformed into a bug-man mid-battle.

“Yeah, it’s close enough. And since he’s drawing from Hongcheon Daeseong, it’s bound to be powerful.”

As Seon Tae-gyeong finished speaking—

Gwi Ryeong, now fully transformed, spread his wings.

Like a storm had erupted, a tremendous wind blew in all directions. The Roaring Thunder Fortress shook from the sudden gust.

“Kyahhhhh!”

In the eye of the storm, Gwi Ryeong howled, intoxicated by the power surging through him. He was confident in his victory, overwhelmed by the might coursing through his body.

Hongcheon Daeseong Bungmawang, the Seven Great Saint who ruled the skies.

Gwi Ryeong had now borrowed that great monster’s power.

And that wasn’t all. Alongside the power of Hongcheon Divine Might, a translucent shield shaped like a turtle shell appeared over his body.

“I don’t know why you waited… but that arrogance is the reason you’ll die today.”

Spreading his wings, Gwi Ryeong took flight. In a single motion, he soared hundreds of jang into the air.

After circling once above, he dove like a thunderbolt, stretching out hands that now resembled raptor talons.

The claws, sharper than most Dharma Treasures, slashed through the air, releasing a massive shockwave aimed at Jang Woo-hyun and Seon Tae-gyeong.

Facing the incoming attack, Jang Woo-hyun extended Black Wilds Sword and drew a small circle.

It was Three Wheels Sword Art, a technique to deflect or divert enemy strikes.

In the Realm of Immeasurability, his sword technique warped the very fabric of space.

The air itself rippled like waves, and the incoming attacks scattered.

From above, Gwi Ryeong flapped his wings again.

From his wings, hundreds of feathers rained down like Hidden Weapons. Strangely, the farther they traveled, the larger and tougher they grew.

“Ah!”

Watching the falling feathers, Jang Woo-hyun suddenly realized why Gwi Ryeong’s transformed appearance felt familiar.

‘It was him.’

The day the Demon Extermination Sect fell—

Before meeting Wind-Passing Great Saint, he had crushed a bird-man. That monster had been Hongcheon Daeseong.

‘So we meet again.’

With a faint smile, Dragon King’s Scale was drawn.

Immediately, it split into hundreds of parts. Against the descending feathers, hundreds of blade-like scales soared upward.

Boom! Bang!

Though the feathers were hundreds of times larger, the bladed scales shattered them and soared skyward.

Jang Woo-hyun prepared the next strike.

Black Wolf Fang: Cross Blade.

Once a simple slash, the technique now filled the sky before him.

A massive cross was etched into the heavens as Jang Woo-hyun approached Gwi Ryeong. He wanted to witness his full strength.

—

The Radiant Light Sect, which had allied with the Ascension Cult, was an enemy that had to be dealt with.

That was why Jang Woo-hyun wanted to properly evaluate the skills of one of its representatives, one of the Ten Elders.

He had encountered another Elder, Manun, and had Antlered White Mask as a companion, but he hadn’t had the chance to assess either’s true power.

Manun had been killed after helping to rescue Maeng Ye-ju and Jin Ha-un, while Seon Tae-gyeong, Antlered White Mask, was now an ally and constantly summoning Wind-Passing Great Saint, making it difficult for him to fight at full strength.

But just then, Gwi Ryeong had come to him of his own accord.

Jang Woo-hyun wanted to see everything the man could do.

Jang Woo-hyun had thought the battle with Gwi Ryeong would be helpful—but it had turned out otherwise.

‘Is this really the extent of a Ten Elder’s skill?’

That was the impression Jang Woo-hyun was left with after the brief fight.

‘Weak.’

If the other Ten Elders were of similar level, there was no need for complex strategies. He didn’t need anyone’s help.

He felt like he could just break through the Radiant Light Sect’s front gate on his own.

“Kuaaaah!”

Feeling belittled by Jang Woo-hyun’s gaze, Gwi Ryeong made one last desperate attempt. But Black Wilds Sword pierced through the Ghost Spirit Divine Armor, cutting his body apart.

Immediately after, Jang Woo-hyun clenched his left fist, and several dozen of the floating blade scales embedded themselves into Gwi Ryeong’s body.

“Ggurgh!”

Gwi Ryeong screamed in pain.

Jang Woo-hyun casually grabbed him and tossed him toward Seon Tae-gyeong back at Roaring Thunder Fortress.

“See if you can get anything out of him.”

“Y-Yes. Yeah.”

Seon Tae-gyeong caught Gwi Ryeong with a dazed expression. It was hard to believe Jang Woo-hyun had captured a Ten Elder so effortlessly.

“You bastard! How could this happen!”

Even without his lower body, Gwi Ryeong flailed and screamed. A spellcaster of his level wouldn’t die easily from such wounds.

“How?! How could this happen!”

Though captured, Gwi Ryeong was so filled with resentment he couldn’t help but shout.

“What?”

“How is that even possible?! How can you nullify sorcery so completely?!”

Even Seon Tae-gyeong, who was preparing a restraining spell, nodded slightly. He too was puzzled.

Jang Woo-hyun was too unnatural.

Cutting through sorcery—that, other martial artists could do too. Especially those capable of Space Severance, who could slice through the unseen and sever laws.

But not all spells could be cut.

When facing a spellcaster of similar level or against a powerful technique, even a Realm of Immeasurability master’s severance wouldn’t completely destroy the spell. That was the norm.

But Jang Woo-hyun was different.

When he swung his sword, the sorcery itself became null. Before him, ordinary spells wouldn’t even activate.

Even Seon Tae-gyeong and Gwi Ryeong, two of the Central Heavens Martial Realm’s top spellcasters, had never experienced anything like this.

To their eyes, Jang Woo-hyun was practically a natural enemy of spellcasters.

“No idea.”

“What?”

“I just swing my sword and it works. I don’t know how. I just did it. Satisfied?”

With that offhand answer, Jang Woo-hyun left the stunned Gwi Ryeong behind and surveyed the battlefield.

The fight was nearly over.

Tak Se-ak, the traitor, had already been decapitated by Im Gwan-hwa, and only three of the so-called Ten Golden ThunderS remained. The same was true on other fronts.

Even the cultivators from the Ascension Cult were struggling. They alone weren’t enough.

From the beginning, Ha Do-gwang’s forces were no match for the combined forces of the Annihilation Squad and the Five Elements Cult.

Jang Woo-hyun hadn’t stepped in initially because the situation was already favorable for his side.

‘Where is he?’

Despite the battle nearing its end, Ha Do-gwang had yet to appear. There wasn’t even a trace of him.

Jang Woo-hyun had been trying to find him before Gwi Ryeong showed up.

But it hadn’t been easy. The unknown energy emanating from Golden Frog Island was interfering with detection.

‘He’s doing it on purpose.’

There had to be a reason.

‘He’s either hiding something—or preparing something.’

Either way, it wouldn’t be good for them.

‘Do I have to search the island myself?’

He considered wrapping up the battlefield and investigating Golden Frog Island directly—

Thud!

A thunderous pulse shook the entire island.

Thud! Thud!

Everyone stopped fighting at the sound. The pulse dispersed the strange energy that had been spreading from Golden Frog Island’s Core Armor.

As the shroud-like aura lifted, a new energy could be sensed.

Everyone turned toward the same direction.

A mountain by a small lake. Something enormous within it was beginning to rise.

Jang Woo-hyun furrowed his brow slightly. He had experienced something similar before.

The power of a cultivator and a True Immortal he encountered while returning from their domain—this felt just like that.

‘So that’s it.’

Ha Do-gwang had been preparing something.

Thud!

Another massive tremor resounded. The mountain’s peak vanished like a volcanic eruption, and from within, lightning erupted.

Not falling toward the ground, but surging skyward—an enormous thunderbolt.

It looked like a tree of thunder was growing.

The branching lightning climbed higher into the sky, splitting apart and spreading out as if to blanket the world.

A massive thunder-tree extended its branches.

Then, the lightning soaring through the sky fell—aimed at the Five Elements Cult and the Annihilation Squad.

Jang Woo-hyun instantly activated Dragon King’s Scales, forming the Dragon Scale Wall to block the sky. From Roaring Thunder Fortress, mirrors emerged to create a giant barrier.

Mak Ya-wol threw chains like a net over the sky, and Im Gwan-hwa summoned a wall of wind.

BOOM!

Their combined energy clashed with the descending thunder, shaking the world.

The three who had directly blocked the strike wore grim expressions. The force was stronger than expected.

They turned their gaze toward the source.

Where the tree of lightning had risen—on the shattered peak—stood a man.

Crackle— Thunder crackled like a living thing around him.

Ha Do-gwang, former Left Protector of the Five Elements Cult, now branded a traitor—Chang Raegong.

He had appeared just before the battle’s conclusion.

Unlike when Jang Woo-hyun had seen him at the Ten Sects Gathering, Ha Do-gwang was now wrapped in golden lightning instead of blue.

His golden eyes scanned the battlefield. Those with weak martial skill flinched under his gaze. The strong gripped their weapons.

He had said nothing. Made no move.

And yet, Ha Do-gwang was dominating the battlefield. No one dared act rashly.

His very presence pressed down on all of Golden Frog Island.

In that heavy silence, the first to react was Yeon Cheon-seung, the Water Envoy of the Five Elements Envoys. Though he wielded water, he had a fiery personality and could not sit still upon seeing the traitor.

“Ha Do-gwaaaang!”

Overwhelmed by emotion, he charged through the air.

He was clearly aiming for Ha Do-gwang.

But the next moment revealed only Yeon Cheon-seung’s decapitated body—and Ha Do-gwang standing beside it.

CRACK—!

The thunderclap came a beat too late.

Yeon Cheon-seung’s body, headless, fell while wreathed in golden lightning, burned black.

Everyone watching felt a chill run down their spine.

None of them had seen Ha Do-gwang’s movement.

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