Chapter 223: Nation of Mechanical Marvels (2)

“You all just ran out on your own.”

Cho-yul, who appeared late, let out a sigh upon seeing the Three Master Artisans.

“Sorry. Things got complicated because of me.”

Cho-yul began to explain slowly why this situation had occurred.

He was someone with skills that rivaled the Three Master Artisans of the Nation of Mechanical Marvels. He had once recognized Cho-su when they met at the Beast King Sect.

—Is your name Cho-su? What’s your relation to Cho-yul?

—Cho-yul may not be well-known, but he’s a figure whose skills rival the Three Master Artisans of the Nation of Mechanical Marvels.

It was exactly Cho-yul’s outstanding skills that had caused this problem.

“In the Nation of Mechanical Marvels, the king is chosen by skill.”

Bloodline, connections, power, wealth—none of that mattered.

Only one’s craftsmanship skills mattered to become king.

It was the same for selecting the successor.

Those with outstanding skills would compete, and the victor could become the next king.

“The ones eligible to be the next king are these three right here.”

The Three Master Artisans of the Nation of Mechanical Marvels.

Originally, they were supposed to compete to determine the successor.

But the Three Master Artisans had refused to compete. They had always said it wouldn’t be right to proceed without including someone whose skills rivaled their own.

“Though it’s a bit embarrassing, the one they speak of is me.”

The issue was that Cho-yul had left the Nation of Mechanical Marvels and settled in the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

The Three Master Artisans insisted that a proper successor could only be selected if Cho-yul participated as well, and so they had waited for him.

However, Cho-yul considered himself inferior to them. That’s why he avoided any contest. In fact, he had left the Nation of Mechanical Marvels and settled in the Central Heavens Martial Realm precisely to avoid getting entangled with them.

Due to this disconnect, the position of successor remained vacant as time passed.

Then, some time ago, Cho-yul returned to the Nation of Mechanical Marvels—with Divine True Steel.

Of course, the Three Master Artisans were astounded.

It would’ve been shocking enough just to see the Divine True Steel, but the fact that Cho-yul had brought it was even more sensational.

“So, the four of us decided to create the Sword Alliance’s weapon together.”

With all Three Master Artisans and even Cho-yul, who was on par with them, collaborating on the weapon, Jang Woo-hyun wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or burdened. It seemed excessive.

“But can the four of you really work on it together?”

“What? Are you doubting our skills?!”

“Please, step back before I sew your mouth shut.”

As Jo Cheol-san shouted in outrage, Ju Yeong-rang quickly smoothed the situation.

“Don’t worry. We’re skilled enough.”

Originally, they would have crafted individually, but after seeing the Divine True Steel, that became impossible. There wasn’t enough to divide into four, and none of them were willing to give up working with it.

Ultimately, the four of them agreed to work together on Jang Woo-hyun’s weapon.

“By crafting the Sword Alliance’s weapon together, they’ll be able to clearly see each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s not one-on-one, but four together, so a clear result will emerge.”

Hearing that the most skilled figures in the Nation of Mechanical Marvels would decide the next king while making his weapon, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t know how to respond.

“Is the explanation done? Then let’s move. Standing around here is a waste of time.”

Jo Cheol-san hurried impatiently.

“Where are we going?”

“Where else? If we’re making a weapon, we’ve got to see your skills first.”

“We can’t evaluate your skills here. There’s no need for all of us to go—just you and us should mov—”

Cho-yul suddenly cut himself off mid-sentence.

“Why did you stop talking? Let’s get mo—Whoa!”

Following Cho-yul’s gaze, Jo Cheol-san screamed in shock upon seeing an unexpected presence.

“W-Wind-Passing Great Sage!”

Jo Cheol-san blurted out the name of the one who had startled him.

The White Monkey Monster was casually walking out from the Roaring Thunder Fortress.

“W-Why is he here…? He can’t fight in here…”

Jo Cheol-san’s trembling gaze turned to Cho-su.

“You brought him here? Even if you made a pact with the king, what were you thinking bringing that monster here?”

“He’s a companion of mine.”

Something Cho-su of the past would have never done. But now, having accepted both the Annihilation Squad and the Wind-Passing Great Sage as companions, he had brought them along.

“What? Companion?”

All three of the Master Artisans frowned. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing.

‘A companion with that lunatic monster?’

A creature that acted on a whim and destroyed everything in its path. How could anyone call that thing a companion?

“I have no intention of causing trouble. So step aside. I’m just here to watch. I’m free to go, right?”

“Take this.”

Cho-yul handed over a metallic token from his Inner Robe.

“It’s a guest token. Show this if anything happens. You should be fine. Even if people are shocked, try not to take it too personally. I’d heard stories, but seeing it in person is something else.”

Though he had exchanged messages with Cho-su and heard tales, seeing it face-to-face was indeed different. Holding a normal conversation with the Wind-Passing Great Sage was simply astounding.

“Well then, do as you like. I’ll just watch.”

Receiving the metal token, the Wind-Passing Great Sage strolled toward the city alongside Seon Tae-gyeong.

The Three Master Artisans watched his back, debating whether they should try to stop him or not.

“Give us some too!”

As the Wind-Passing Great Sage headed toward the city, the warriors of the Annihilation Squad came running.

The Nation of Mechanical Marvels, the land of mysterious inventions.

Inside that place, there would undoubtedly be countless Dharma Treasures and weapons. The martial artists couldn’t help but get excited.

Cho-yul pulled out more metal tokens and handed them out to everyone.

“Don’t cause any trouble!”

“Don’t worry!”

“Yes!”

Despite being grown adults, they ran toward the city with childlike excitement. Thanks to the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s arrival, the tense atmosphere finally relaxed.

“Hard to believe, even seeing it with my own eyes, but that monkey monster doesn’t look like he’ll cause any trouble. You really do see all sorts of things if you live long enough.”

At Ju Yeong-rang’s words, the other two nodded in agreement.

“Well then, let’s move now.”

And so, the remaining group boarded the Roaring Thunder Fortress and set off.

“We used the core of the Mokryeong Tribe.”

“Ah, the core of the Mokryeong Tribe. Even so, it must’ve been difficult, right? Even combining everything into one should’ve been hard, and even if you did connect it, it wouldn’t become this unified. This Floating Stronghold—can it move through space independently?”

“Yes, it can.”

“What? This massive thing crosses through space?”

“I told you it’s made of Geonmok. Are you senile?”

“I don’t feel the power of any spell formation or Dharma Treasure. And can Geonmok even be used like that?”

If it were truly possible, everyone would’ve cut down Geonmok to make something out of it. But technically, that was considered impossible.

“I happened to obtain a ship from the Giant Tribe. And I connected it to the Moon Spirit Tree. The connection was made using the Mokryeong Tribe’s core—they helped me.”

To the curious trio, Cho-su kindly explained how he built the Roaring Thunder Fortress.

Watching him for a moment, Cho-yul approached Jang Woo-hyun.

“Sorry about this. Things got bigger than I expected.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like you did it on purpose.”

It all happened because he didn’t know someone he had ties with like Cho-yul was such an extraordinary person. Even if he had known, Jang Woo-hyun would’ve had no other choice.

Among the people he knew, only Cho-su and Cho-yul could handle Divine True Steel.

At Jang Woo-hyun’s response, Cho-yul thanked him again and gave his shoulder a pat.

The Roaring Thunder Fortress moved to the edge of the Floating Continent. Just in case, they had gone as far from the city as possible.

“Let me see your weapon.”

The first to step up was one of the Three Master Artisans, who examined Jang Woo-hyun’s weapon.

“This is that thing called the Dragon King’s Scale?”

“This is the Black Sword. Vicious… utterly vicious.”

Jo Cheol-san recognized the true nature of the Black Wilds Sword. Though thanks to the Wind-Passing Great Sage, it could now be used with ease, it was originally a weapon difficult to even touch.

“The Wind-Passing Great Sage sealed this for you?”

“Yes.”

“What did you pay in return?”

“A price? No. I asked if I could use it, and he just did it for me.”

“Just like that…? That insane monster from the Demonic Spirit Realm just sealed it for you?”

“Yes.”

At Jang Woo-hyun’s nonchalant response, Jo Cheol-san was left speechless. The Wind-Passing Great Sage he knew wasn’t like that at all.

“……”

Unable to comprehend it, Jo Cheol-san blinked a few times and went back to examining the Black Wilds Sword.

“Hmm.”

Ju Yeong-rang, wearing some strange-looking helmet, examined the Dragon King’s Scale.

She had an exceptional ability to assess and discern the true nature of things.

After observing it for a while, she removed the helmet.

“Sword Alliance. I’ve heard you can barely use Dharma Treasures—is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You said it started the moment you Ascended, right?”

When Jang Woo-hyun nodded, she lifted the Dragon King’s Scale.

“I think it’s because of this.”

“Uh… I think I’m not quite getting it. Are you saying I can’t use Dharma Treasures because of the Dragon King’s Scale?”

“What do you mean?”

So unexpected was the revelation that even Cho-su and Cho-yul approached and asked.

“I’m not entirely certain yet, but it seems connected to the Dragon King’s Scale. To confirm it precisely, I’ll need other tools and more time to examine it in detail—but I believe my theory is correct.”

The idea that the Dragon King’s Scale could be preventing the use of Dharma Treasures hadn’t even crossed Cho-su or Cho-yul’s minds.

“We can’t investigate further here, so let’s leave that topic for now. Show us your skills first.”

At Ju Yeong-rang’s words, Jang Woo-hyun received the Dragon King’s Scale and the Black Wilds Sword, then distanced himself from the others.

He let out a breath and unfolded his martial arts.

In accordance with his will, the Dragon King’s Scale broke apart into hundreds of blade-scales.

Hundreds of hidden weapons flew through the air as though alive. Within that swarm, Jang Woo-hyun swung his sword.

The hundreds of hidden weapons merged into dozens of swords, each displaying different martial arts.

“There’s another person who used such martial arts.”

“You know someone?”

“I once met someone named Heavenly Sword Golden Art. His martial arts were unique, so I crafted a weapon for him.”

“Heavenly Sword Golden Art? Are you referring to Dang Myeong?”

Recognizing the name, Mak Ya-wol interjected.

“That’s right. Do you know him?”

“We belong to the same Baekmu Society.”

“Huh? Didn’t you just say you were from the Annihilation Squad?”

They had exchanged names earlier in the Roaring Thunder Fortress, and Mak Ya-wol had introduced himself as being from the Annihilation Squad.

“That’s true now, but I originally belonged to the Baekmu Society.”

“Then you must know. That box Heavenly Sword Golden Art carries around? I made it.”

Cradle of Ten Thousand Swords (滿劍搖籃).

It wasn’t just an Inner Robe but a Dharma Treasure capable of generating and unleashing thousands of swords.

It was something Seo Hong-ho had made after coincidentally meeting Dang Myeong and witnessing his unique martial arts.

“To have crafted something so amazing… as expected of one of the top artisans in the Nation of Mechanical Marvels.”

Hoping to have his own weapon crafted, Seo Ryeom subtly flattered him. Mak Ya-wol frowned at his blatant attitude.

“Oh!”

A gasp came from nearby.

Turning their heads, they saw a brilliant mandala pattern appear above Jang Woo-hyun’s head. Everyone was impressed by the power it held.

“Incredible.”

At Jo Cheol-san’s remark, Seo Hong-ho and Ju Yeong-rang nodded. Jang Woo-hyun’s skill exceeded their expectations.

Now they understood why Cho-su had praised him so highly.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Huh?”

Even Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol, who had already seen the Nayuta Sword Mandala, were left in shock.

Jang Woo-hyun’s energy transformed.

Behind him, a five-colored wheel emerged and began to spin. A tremendous force radiated outward.

The ground beneath his feet trembled like an earthquake, and a massive pressure crushed the surroundings. It was hard to breathe.

The entire world was trembling from Jang Woo-hyun’s power.

While everyone stood in astonishment—

Another brilliant mandala pattern emerged.

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