Chapter 229: Erased Records (3)

“Got nothing more to ask?”

“No, nothing at the moment.”

“Then stop wasting time and get going. We’ve learned all we can.”

When Jang Woo-hyun no longer asked about the flow of time or the world’s developments, the Record Keeper returned to his usual demeanor.

“I’ve learned something interesting, but I’m not sure if it’ll be of any use to you. If only more records had remained… Wait, what’s this?”

The Record Keeper trailed off as he focused on the stone tablet in his hands.

“Two hundred thousand years? A hundred and twenty thousand?”

Five hundred and twenty thousand, two million.

The section that had previously said ‘twenty thousand years ago’ kept shifting. Eventually, the contents of the stone tablet became unreadable.

“Is something wrong?”

“…It’s nothing major. It must be a malfunction due to its age. Makes sense, it’s never been maintained. Once Hongho takes my place, I’ll have him come down and do some upkeep. Hm?”

The stone tablet in the Record Keeper’s hands let out a faint crack—crunch—before shattering. The powdered remains flowed through his fingers.

“Damn…”

He carefully gathered the powdered remains and placed them into a small box nearby. The box was a high-grade dharma treasure meant for restoring ancient recording dharma tools, but oddly, nothing happened.

“Seems it’s completely destroyed.”

“It broke down suddenly—could some kind of force have intervened?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked with a hint of concern.

There were beings capable of distorting memories and erasing records left behind in the world. Perhaps they had wanted this particular record gone.

“I don’t think that’s it. This is all their fault.”

“Their fault? Who do you mean?”

“The Three Master Craftsmen and Yul. If they had chosen a successor earlier, someone could’ve checked on this place and kept it in shape. We just neglected it too long, and the tool couldn’t hold out.”

“Is that alright?”

“I remember the contents. I’ll just record it again.”

Though the Record Keeper spoke casually as if it were no big deal, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t shake the unease in his gut. It had malfunctioned suddenly and conveniently crumbled—anyone would find that suspicious.

“We’ll leave it for later. Let’s go back up now.”

Setting aside the discomfort, Jang Woo-hyun followed the Record Keeper out of the archive.

While Jang Woo-hyun was away at the archive, the martial artists of the Annihilation Squad were able to find the weapons they sought.

Some expressed dissatisfaction at not finding anything suitable, but with no more reason to stay in the Nation of Mechanical Marvels, the Annihilation Squad began to move again.

On the road back to the main temple of the Five Elements Cult.

Jang Woo-hyun came face to face with the Great Sage of Wind and Thunder alone.

“Why did you call me?”

The Great Sage of Wind and Thunder, who had not gotten what he wanted in the Nation of Mechanical Marvels, showed up with a sulky expression.

“I wanted to ask you something. Ever heard of the True Martial God?”

“True Martial God? Who the hell is that?”

He looked completely clueless, so Jang Woo-hyun explained what he had found out—hoping this ancient great demon beast might know something.

“Never existed.”

When Jang Woo-hyun finished explaining, the Great Sage of Wind and Thunder firmly replied.

“What do you mean, never existed?”

“I mean, no such martial artist ever existed.”

“Are you sure? The record is still intact.”

“You said he took down twenty-five Great Ascension Stage cultivators?”

The Great Sage of Wind and Thunder tapped his own chest with a finger.

“Then there’s no way I wouldn’t know about him.”

“Don’t joke around. Answer seriously—”

Jang Woo-hyun was about to scold him for messing around but fell silent when their eyes met. He realized the Great Sage was right. Someone like him should know of an existence like the True Martial God.

This battle-obsessed monkey demon in front of him would’ve gone charging in without hesitation against someone of that level, even if it meant being torn to pieces.

“……”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know. That guy never existed. But are you sure? Did he really exist?”

“There are records. From twenty thousand years ago, there was a man called the True Martial God. Someone erased all his records from the Central Heavens Realm.”

“Erased? By who?”

Jang Woo-hyun raised his hand and pointed upward.

“Those sitting at the very top. Though… it’s just a theory.”

Though he phrased it delicately, the Great Sage of Wind and Thunder immediately understood who he meant.

“Hmm, if it’s them, it’s definitely possible. Still, it’s bizarre. If there was such a powerful martial artist, even the Demon Realm would’ve heard of him, but I’ve never come across the name. Twenty-five Great Ascension Stage cultivators? That’s absurd.”

“Would that even be hard for you?”

“You kidding me? If I fought properly, I’d beat them all.”

Puffing up his chest with pride, the Great Sage struck a smug pose. Jang Woo-hyun let out a quiet sigh. He had asked seriously, but here came the boasting again.

“Isn’t it possible he fought them one-on-one in secret? Like assassinations?”

“That’s impossible. You’ve never gone up against someone like that, have you?”

“I’ve never faced a Great Ascension Stage cultivator. I have seen martial artists at the Immortal Realm, though.”

“If you’ve seen those who have reached the Immortal Realm, you’d have a rough idea. They create entirely new worlds. What was it again?”

“Microcosm.”

“Right, microcosm. Just like that, Great Ascension Stage cultivators twist the world around. Destroying a floating continent is nothing to them. To ordinary humans, they wouldn’t seem like natural disasters—they’d be gods. Even True Immortals don’t take Great Ascension Stage cultivators lightly. Catching those guys one by one in secret? Absolutely impossible. You’d be exposed before you got more than a few. Then the shady cultivators would swarm like wild dogs to take down the threat. Assassinating a Great Ascension Stage cultivator? Even more ridiculous.”

He had summoned the Wind-Passing Great Sage to clear his doubts, but his mind only grew more tangled.

“Then what about the record that was left behind?”

“No idea. Maybe there was some kind of interference. Or someone tampered with it. If the ones sitting atop the Upper Realm were the ones meddling, it would be hard for those in the Middle Realm to notice. Compared to them, beings in the Middle Realm are terribly insignificant.”

As he listened, Jang Woo-hyun clenched the hilt of the Black Wilds Sword. He was steadily growing stronger, yet there was still a long road ahead.

“Remember what I told you back in the Lower Realm? I said I saw someone’s memory.”

“Whose memory? Ah, the one where beings of the Upper Realm fought. Why bring that up now?”

“I’m starting to think the being the Martial Gods of the Upper Realm were fighting… was the True Martial God.”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage widened his eyes and fell into thought. A moment later, he nodded.

“That’s a fair point. If he had climbed upward by slaughtering Great Ascension cultivators, then he must have been terrifying, even in the Upper Realm. If that record about the so-called True Martial God is real, then it’s more than possible.”

“Stories about trouble in the Upper Realm keep surfacing. I wonder if it’s all connected to the True Martial God. What do you think? I know the timelines are far apart…”

It seemed strange that something from twenty thousand years ago would have an impact now, but he asked just in case.

“It’s entirely possible.”

The reply was unexpectedly positive. The Wind-Passing Great Sage pointed at himself with his finger.

“Don’t you see it? This isn’t my real body.”

“Ah.”

Jang Woo-hyun immediately understood what he meant.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage, too, was walking around in a projection, not his true self. If one was a True Immortal or a Martial God, they could easily create such projections.

“Even if he really was destroyed, his will or projection might remain. That alone could influence lower dimensions. Since there’s no way to learn about the worlds above from here, it might be that we’re only now realizing these things.”

A True Immortal or Martial God could indeed exert that level of influence.

That was what beings who had ascended to the Upper Realm—those with god-like powers—were capable of.

“Would he be having problems too? The one targeting me.”

When asked about the Heavenly Venerable of the Silver Radiance and Universal Transformation of the Three Pure Ones, the Wind-Passing Great Sage shook his head.

“No, that one should be perfectly fine. The scale of power he sends down is too great. You can’t do that from a destroyed state. Besides, you saw it yourself last time.”

The Heavenly Venerable of the Silver Radiance and Universal Transformation had descended directly into Yeo Gongbaek’s body during his battle with Twin-Winged Lotus.

“If he’s fine, that’s a relief.”

Even hearing that the True Immortal targeting him was perfectly fine, Jang Woo-hyun didn’t waver. The Wind-Passing Great Sage couldn’t help but smirk. Truly, this human was amusing.

Jang Woo-hyun organized his thoughts while continuing a few more conversations with the Wind-Passing Great Sage.

“The difference between Ascension and Flight to the Heavens? Why are you asking that?”

“No development in the world? What’s that about?”

“Don’t ask me about stuff like that.”

Perhaps some force was at play, but the monkey demon had little interest in anything outside battle or enemies to fight.

The only reason the topic of the True Martial God had gotten through to him was because that being was unbelievably strong.

‘Shouldn’t have asked in the first place.’

The difference between Ascension and Flight to the Heavens.

A world where time seemed to stop, with no development.

These two truths suggested that a power even greater than the ones sitting atop the Upper Realm was at play, leaving nothing for him to do. Not even talking to others was an option.

‘I’ll have to talk to Senior Kim when I meet him.’

Even Zhang Sanfeng, who had reached the Six Great Heavens, never questioned the difference between Flight to the Heavens and Ascension. Others likely wouldn’t react either.

Only Kim Min-soo, who also came from Earth, might understand that this world was strange.

‘Things have gotten more complicated than I thought.’

He had set out for the Nation of Mechanical Marvels to acquire a weapon made from Divine True Steel, yet now he had far more to think about on the way back.

He once again realized how strange this world was, and he had learned of a new being—the True Martial God.

On top of that, the True Martial God seemed to be connected to the Dragon King’s Scale and the Devouring Dragon of a Thousand Treasures, and appeared to be involved in events that transpired in the Upper Realm. Jang Woo-hyun had even witnessed the memory of a Martial God who had fought him.

He had simply practiced martial arts and ascended—yet without realizing it, he was caught in the middle of something vast and overwhelming.

“Lord Jang went to meet the Solar Palace.”

At the report from her subordinate, Im Gwan-hwa’s brow furrowed slightly. Having recovered from her injuries, she was now moving for the sake of the Five Elements Cult.

“Woo-hyun did?”

“Yes, he left the main division yesterday for negotiations.”

“Negotiations, huh…”

The word “negotiations” deepened her frown. Jang Woo-hyun and the Annihilation Squad were far more suited to the word “threat” than “negotiation.”

‘Why would the Cult Leader make such a choice?’

It wasn’t like the Annihilation Squad would act on their own.

Surely the Cult Leader knew their tendencies, so sending them for negotiations made no sense.

“Lady Uhobop, by ‘Woo-hyun’ do you mean the one from the Cheonrin Sword Alliance?”

At the voice calling her, Im Gwan-hwa paused and turned her head. In front of her sat a woman who looked as if she embodied the very word “beauty.”

“So the Young Palace Master knows him as well?”

“Yes. I met him once at a gathering held by the Tai Chi Sect.”

The woman before her was Seol Ha-rin, the Young Palace Master of the Northern Heavens Ice Palace, who had previously met Jang Woo-hyun at the Tai Chi Sect’s meeting.

“You seem worried.”

“Isn’t the Solar Palace a bit hot-tempered? And the ones following Woo-hyun aren’t pushovers either. I’m worried there might be a clash.”

Understanding her concern, Seol Ha-rin nodded.

“If it’s the Solar Palace, that’s understandable. Still, the Sword Alliance didn’t have a bad relationship with Elder Cheok Hwa-hong. Perhaps it was that connection that led them there.”

“Cheok Hwa-hong? He’s connected to him?”

“Yes.”

Seol Ha-rin shared what Jang Woo-hyun had done at the gathering. Listening to the story, Im Gwan-hwa sincerely hoped the Annihilation Squad wouldn’t cause a mess.

* * *

“Captain, should I cut him?”

Seo Ryeom’s new sword, acquired from the Nation of Mechanical Marvels, was pressed against someone’s neck—and at the same time, the martial artists of the Annihilation Squad unleashed their presence.

A hair-trigger situation.

A fight could break out at any moment, and no one would be surprised.

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