Chapter 65: In Search of Yong Wang-rin (2)

“What’s this? You didn’t suddenly go crazy, did you?”

Gwak Yu-chan, who was flying beside Jang Woo-hyun, asked as he looked at his expression.

“Pardon? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“You looked pale a second ago, and now you’re grinning like an idiot. That’s scary.”

“Oh, I just laughed because I thought it’d be fun.”

“Fun? What is?”

“Well, the world is overwhelmingly bigger than I imagined. So, I figured there would be a lot to experience and learn.”

Gwak Yu-chan stared at Jang Woo-hyun, thinking, ‘What kind of guy is this now?’

Usually, when someone newly ascended to the Middle Heaven Realm hears about its size, there are only two reactions.

Either they are appalled by its absurd vastness, or they refuse to believe it.

But Jang Woo-hyun understood immediately and even welcomed it. His smile made him look like a child who’d just discovered a new toy.

‘Is that why the monkey chose him?’

There were countless martial artists in Middle Heaven. Yet, for some reason, the monkey had picked someone he met in the Lower Realm. Gwak Yu-chan figured there had to be a reason. And with that kind of attitude, it made sense.

‘That monkey’s supposed to be crazy about fighting. So a guy like him might be just his type…’

While lost in thought, Gwak Yu-chan turned his head and looked in one direction before speaking.

“Sobong, let’s descend.”

“Suddenly?”

“Something’s coming.”

Gwak Yu-chan moved first toward the forest below, and Pung So-bong and Jang Woo-hyun followed behind. To avoid the dense trees, the group slowed down.

“What’s coming that made you say that?”

“Wait, it’s still a bit far.”

There was nothing in sight yet. While slowly flying over the forest, Jang Woo-hyun also spread his senses to examine the surroundings.

Moments later—

Even Jang Woo-hyun’s senses picked up something approaching. From the sky, breaking through the clouds, a ship emerged.

The ship sailed through the air as if it were navigating the sea, flying in one direction past the forest where the group had taken cover.

“That way is…”

“The direction you pointed to. Seems like they’re heading there too.”

“It’s Twin-Winged Lotus.”

Gwak Yu-chan identified the ship’s origin.

“You think it has something to do with the guy who stole your weapon?”

“That I don’t know. But I do know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“The place those guys are heading… it might be a Twin-Winged Lotus rendezvous point.”

Pung So-bong nodded, seeming to agree with the idea.

“Then we better follow for now.”

The three cautiously followed the distant ship aboard their flying artifact.

—

The ship that had flown swiftly for a short while began to slow down near a massive mountain range.

As it briefly hovered in midair, one side of the mountain range began to shift.

A colossal canyon slowly revealed itself—it had been hidden by a formation technique.

“That’s where the weapon is too?”

“Yes, I can hear voices coming from inside.”

“One of those Twin-Winged Lotus bastards must have your weapon. And that looks like their base too. So what now?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? We barge in and beat them down.”

At Gwak Yu-chan’s simplistic answer, Pung So-bong let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“Beating them isn’t the issue.”

“Then?”

“If this is a Twin-Winged Lotus base, there’ll be more ships like that one.”

“Sure.”

“And inside those ships, there could be captured beastkin. It’s obvious what they’re using those ships for.”

“You’re just stating the obvious now.”

Gwak Yu-chan’s attitude of wanting to charge in without a plan made Pung So-bong’s forehead crease more and more.

“Yeah, it is obvious. So if you go charging in, what do you think will happen to the beastkin? You think those guys would keep the captives in a safe place if they expect a fight?”

“Uh… right. That’s true. So what should we do?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

At Pung So-bong’s scolding, Gwak Yu-chan shut his mouth.

“We need to come up with a plan. There won’t be any strong enemies inside, right?”

“In Twin-Winged Lotus, even counting the hidden ones, there are less than ten people who are as strong as me or stronger. They wouldn’t bother to get involved in something like this. So no, there won’t be any real threats inside.”

“Our strength is enough… but the hostages and their numbers are the problem.”

If they fought head-on, they could crush the enemy. But Twin-Winged Lotus wouldn’t confront them directly, and there were likely many beastkin held inside.

That made it difficult to act recklessly.

A single mistake could lead to the captives being used as hostages.

Though Pung So-bong and Gwak Yu-chan tried to think of a method, nothing came to mind.

“What if we rescued the captives first while moving in? Are there any among them who can fight?”

“Who? The beastkin?”

“Yes.”

“Well… if they were just captured from nearby villages, I doubt many of them can actually fight. Why?”

“I was thinking we could rescue them and ask for their help.”

“Help? Rescuing them in the first place is the problem. How would we even do that?”

“If Great Hero Gwak…”

“Just call me Gwak sunbae.”

Gwak Yu-chan cut him off, grimacing at the word “Great Hero,” and corrected the title.

“Yes, Gwak sunbae. You know that movement technique you showed before? The incredibly fast one. Couldn’t you use that to quickly reach the prison and free the captives while I draw attention by attacking head-on?”

“Move fast and do it like that…”

Pung So-bong looked skeptical at the overly simplistic plan.

“Let’s at least try. I’ll attack first, and if it doesn’t work out, I can just escape on my own. That might cause the guards watching over the beastkin to loosen up, which could give us another chance later.”

Pung So-bong and Gwak Yu-chan fell into thought at Jang Woo-hyun’s suggestion.

It wasn’t a good plan. But it also wasn’t entirely unworkable. Out of the ideas they had right now, it was the most plausible.

“Are you confident? We don’t know how many ships are in there. Or how many enemies.”

To that question, Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes gleamed as he nodded.

“If it’s about fighting, then I’m confident.”

“Alright. Then let’s proceed under the assumption that the captives might or might not be useful. For now, we go with the plan to subdue the Twin-Winged Lotus bastards swiftly.”

In the end, Pung So-bong and Gwak Yu-chan decided to go along with Jang Woo-hyun’s idea.

—

Jang Woo-hyun disembarked from the flying artifact and headed toward where the Twin-Winged Lotus ship had disappeared.

From a distance, it didn’t look any different from its surroundings, but up close, it stood out awkwardly. On top of that, it shimmered like a mirage, adding to the strangeness.

Still, it seemed to have the effect of concealing energy and presence, as no sound came from inside, and it was hard to tell how many people were within.

“Whew…”

Drawing a deep breath, Jang Woo-hyun pulled out one of the swords he had brought. Then he infused it with his internal energy.

The sword trembled from the powerful force.

He wrapped the blade in Qi Projection and forced his internal energy into it.

He was preparing Annihilation Slash.

Just as he was about to unleash the slash, he reconsidered, as he didn’t know the exact situation inside. Instead, he swung the sword and released his strength.

A tremendous wave of energy surged forth and struck one side of the formation.

KWAANG!

Annihilation Slash—an attack strong enough to blow away mountain peaks.

With a thunderous boom, one side of the mountain collapsed, and the formation that had been concealing the canyon shattered.

As the canyon came into view, ships floating within were revealed.

Five in total.

RUMBLE—

As a small landslide echoed around him, Jang Woo-hyun spread his senses far and wide—past the floating ships and into the canyon’s depths.

His perception captured the presence of beastkin captives and Twin-Winged Lotus members scattered throughout the ships.

‘Two.’

Out of the five, two ships contained captive beastkin.

It was an absurdly dangerous plan, but now that the targets had been narrowed to two ships, the chances of success had improved.

Jang Woo-hyun stepped onto thin air and unleashed slashes.

Dozens of massive sword slashes rained down, targeting two of the three ships that didn’t hold beastkin.

KWA-GWANG! KWAANG!

The two ships, unprepared for the sudden assault, were battered by the slashes and crashed to the ground.

From within the shattered hulls, Twin-Winged Lotus members launched into the air aboard flying artifacts, only to be ripped apart by the Black Wolf Fang slashes, falling back down in pieces.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“Where did this bastard come from?!”

While two ships were being destroyed, three martial artists emerged from another ship.

‘Master Level.’

Of the three, two were at the Master Level, and one was even beyond that—at the Peak Master Level.

Such strength was unthinkable for mere bandits, but this wasn’t the Central Plains. This was the Middle Heaven Realm.

The level of martial artists here was completely different.

Though they had left their ship, the three didn’t approach—keeping their distance.

“Fire!”

Having figured out that Jang Woo-hyun was alone, the oldest-looking man among them shouted.

The ships floating behind responded immediately.

KUGUGUNG! BANG! BWANG!

Turning to one side, the three ships emitted radiant beams aimed at Jang Woo-hyun.

“…!”

Unfamiliar with this kind of attack, Jang Woo-hyun was momentarily taken aback.

He quickly summoned his internal energy and formed a wall of Qi Projection.

He didn’t activate Sacred River Flowing Armor.

For now, he intended to take the attack and gauge its strength.

Rather than cannonballs, the projectiles resembled compressed Qi blasts.

As they struck the Qi barrier Jang Woo-hyun had created, it trembled violently, on the verge of tearing apart.

‘So this is the level?’

It wasn’t a standard attack.

It seemed to be powered by an artifact or a weapon he didn’t recognize—but the power was formidable.

The bombardment was nearly on par with an attack from a Master Level warrior.

Jang Woo-hyun, having taken the brunt of the attack, was pushed back and fell to the ground. Sensing an opportunity, the ships fired again.

KWAANG! KWA-GWANG!

Dozens of massive craters were created, reshaping the terrain.

The once peaceful mountains had turned into a warzone.

Jang Woo-hyun had intentionally taken the hit to draw attention.

Now, having gauged the enemy’s strength, he kicked off the ground and shot back into the sky.

Just as he was about to reveal his full power for a counterattack—

The ships that had been attacking him suddenly exploded.

From one, a pillar of flame burst outward from within; another’s deck shattered, spitting out a single person.

It was Gwak Yu-chan—a chubby, scruffy-faced man.

【That ended faster than I thought.】

It wasn’t his voice but a projected thought.

The surroundings filled with his presence.

Just like when they had first met, it felt like hundreds, thousands of Gwak Yu-chans had appeared, all around, all staring at him.

Jang Woo-hyun tightened his grip on his sword.

‘So this is a powerhouse of Middle Heaven…’

It was a presence unlike anything he had ever felt in the Lower Realm.

Not even Master Levels or those called Transcendent beings had shown such overwhelming force.

It didn’t feel like he was facing a man—but as if the entire world was bearing down on him.

“R-Run!”

“He’s a master of the Boundless Realm!”

As the panicked Twin-Winged Lotus members screamed, Gwak Yu-chan grabbed his spear and swung it.

【Let’s finish this.】

His will spread endlessly through the air.

As his spear moved, it resonated with that will.

A single trajectory was drawn—and the world was split apart.

It passed through one of the floating ships, through the Master Level martial artist beyond it, and all the way to the mountain range in the distance.

Everything was split in two.

“……”

For a moment, it felt like the world had been cleaved.

And Jang Woo-hyun had seen something like this before.

“The Transcendent Slash…”

When facing the Cult Leader of the Demon Cult, he had instinctively unleashed a strike.

Back then, his intention to cut had spread infinitely, dividing the heavens and the earth. Now, he was witnessing that very image again—this time through Gwak Yu-chan.

‘This is the realm I must reach.’

Boundless Realm.

That’s what the Twin-Winged Lotus man had called him.

A warrior of the Boundless Realm.

As he watched Gwak Yu-chan effortlessly deal with the remaining Twin-Winged Lotus members, Jang Woo-hyun clenched his fists.

Master Level.

What an arrogant title.

In the small world of the Central Plains, it may have meant something.

But not here—not when there were countless Lower Realms, and above all, the vast and immeasurable Middle Heaven Realm.

Now that he had ascended, being a Master Level expert no longer held any significance.

This was like starting all over again.

Resolving his heart anew, Jang Woo-hyun approached Gwak Yu-chan, who had made short work of the Twin-Winged Lotus warriors.

Since they had decided to travel together, he would now begin learning from him.

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