Chapter 68: What Are You? (3)

Azure Dragon Martial Hall.

It was a name he had taken after his own nickname, Azure Dragon Martial God.

Gwak Yu-chan was the man who had surpassed the greatest spear in the lower world and reached the pinnacle of all.

And yet, the current situation was beyond comprehension.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

He had been in the Middle Heavens for over two hundred years and had trained people other than Jang Woo-hyun.

All of them had been outstanding. If they hadn’t been, they wouldn’t have even made it to ascension.

And not just those who had ascended—he had also taught those born in the Middle Heavens.

They had started in a better environment than those in the lower world and had a greater understanding of the martial world of the Middle Heavens.

Even so, none of them were like this.

With a hollow feeling, he gazed at Jang Woo-hyun who was bounding through the air.

It hadn’t even taken him two months to adapt to the speed of transcendence and master aerial footwork.

It had taken Gwak Yu-chan over ten years to learn those two things.

The difference was so vast that he couldn’t even feel jealous. It was like watching some incomprehensible monster.

Jang Woo-hyun, who had been practicing aerial footwork, was now swinging his sword while soaring through the air, training in martial arts. He diligently focused on the basics with his sword for quite some time.

“Don’t you get tired of that?”

Gwak Yu-chan wasn’t neglecting training himself, but to be honest, after hundreds of years of martial arts training, he had grown tired of it.

That’s why he occasionally took breaks, loafing around and drinking.

But Jang Woo-hyun didn’t seem to get tired, repeatedly practicing the fundamentals. It was fascinating.

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Training. You must have been doing that for decades. Aren’t you tired of it? It’s a meaningless act by now.”

With Jang Woo-hyun’s level of skill, this kind of basic training with a sword didn’t hold much significance.

And if he had ascended to the Middle Heavens, that meant he had trained for at least forty or fifty years. Maybe even longer. Yet, he was still training every day like a beginner—circulating Qi and doing foundational drills.

“I’m fine for now.”

When asked if he wasn’t tired of it, Jang Woo-hyun answered like that.

Naturally so—he had only been training in martial arts for about two years. For the average martial artist, that was the time when foundational training was still essential. So he wasn’t annoyed or bored yet. It wasn’t even particularly difficult.

“How long did it take you to get to this level? You look young on the outside, but by lower world standards, aren’t you a grandpa?”

If one had reached the Transcendent Realm, they would’ve already gone through bone transformation or rejuvenation.

In Gwak Yu-chan’s case, he had simply fixed his current appearance, but when he underwent his transformation, he could’ve chosen to look even younger if he wanted.

“The time it took me to reach this point? Including the time spent training martial arts… about… twenty years.”

Thinking it wouldn’t be wise to say ‘two years’, Jang Woo-hyun added a ‘ten’ to the front.

“What?!”

Gwak Yu-chan, who had been lying down watching him, sprang up.

“What did you just say? Twenty years? It only took you twenty years?!”

“Yes? Yes. That’s about how long I’ve been training in martial arts…”

“What the hell, then this is your original appearance? You haven’t gone through rejuvenation or anything? How old are you?”

“By lower world reckoning, I think I’m around thirty-two.”

“Wow…”

Gwak Yu-chan’s jaw dropped in awe.

“This guy’s insane…”

Jang Woo-hyun was even more remarkable than he had expected.

When a martial artist ascends to the Middle Heavens, it’s referred to as Ascension.

Ascension—a word that implies becoming an immortal.

Most people from the lower world imagined an old man with white hair when they thought of an immortal, and looking at the average age of those who ascended, it wasn’t far off.

The Transcendent Realm was a stage one could only reach through a lifetime of training.

Naturally, most martial artists entered transcendence only in old age—so had Gwak Yu-chan.

But Jang Woo-hyun had ascended in his thirties.

He was the first of his kind.

Calling him a genius wasn’t enough.

He was special, even among geniuses.

A genius among geniuses—that was Jang Woo-hyun.

‘Saying it took twenty years was the right call.’

Jang Woo-hyun was glad he had hidden how long he’d truly been training.

Even now, the reaction was like this. If he had said it had only been two years, what kind of response would he have seen? It might not have been just shock—it could’ve led to suspicion or hostility.

Fortunately, unlike when he had encountered Chul Geuk-jin, he managed to deceive Gwak Yu-chan.

Back then, he had still been at the pinnacle level, but now, he had stepped into transcendence.

The difference allowed him to hide his true training period.

Gwak Yu-chan, still looking stunned, opened his mouth as if he had to say something.

“Well… still, you have to stay humble. This is the Middle Heavens, after all. You’re not the only one—geniuses from all over the lower world come up here.”

Jang Woo-hyun nodded and replied that he understood. He fully grasped what the man was trying to say.

‘It’s like someone telling you not to brag about ranking first at Seoul National University.’

“And aside from those who came from the lower world, there are also native-borns of the Middle Heavens. So be more cautious. You’ve probably felt it already, but this place makes it much easier to accumulate internal energy, right?”

The Middle Heavens were filled with Heaven and Earth Energy, incomparable to the Central Plains.

With energy several times more abundant, cultivating internal energy and training martial arts were much easier.

‘It’s like working hard in a rural town to get into Seoul National University, only to find that kids from Gangnam got in easily thanks to expensive tutors.’

Jang Woo-hyun interpreted the advice in his own way.

“Yeah… you have to train diligently with a humble heart.”

He feigned composure on the outside, but inwardly, Gwak Yu-chan was repeating the words, “Monster of a kid.”

“Now that we’ve gotten a bit closer, let me ask you something. Answer honestly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell me again—what happened when you ascended?”

At that, Jang Woo-hyun recounted what he had experienced during his ascension. Just like before, he left out the part about the silver giant and simply said he was suddenly launched upward.

“……”

When the explanation ended, Gwak Yu-chan’s expression turned stone cold.

He stared at Jang Woo-hyun with a blank face, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Woo-hyun.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re not exactly master and disciple, but we’ve still formed a connection. You shouldn’t lie. I said be honest with me.”

As he saw Gwak Yu-chan realize the lie, Jang Woo-hyun’s face also stiffened.

“Surprised? That kind of half-assed explanation might’ve fooled So-bong last time. But So-bong’s not a martial artist—he’s a Taoist, so he wouldn’t know much about ascension.”

“……”

“Do you know the difference between Ascension and Transcendence?”

“Not in detail, but I understand that Transcendence is when Taoists move on to the next world.”

He explained what he knew, to the best of his understanding.

“Right. Transcendence is similar to ascension, but still different. Transcendence happens by one’s own will—ascending to the Middle World—but ascension happens by the will of another.”

“By the will of another? Whose will?”

Gwak Yu-chan pointed a finger toward the sky.

“The Heavens.”

“……”

“Ascension is the will of the heavens. That’s why it’s different from transcendence. Taoists tear through the fabric of dimensions with their own power to move into the Middle World, seeking greater power and higher realms. So their world, called either the Taoist Realm or Martial Realm, contains information about the Middle World. Did the world you were in have information about the Middle World?”

“No, there wasn’t. There were vague rumors about a world of immortals, and that there was a next stage, but no one really knew anything for sure.”

“That’s the martial world for you. Most people are dragged up here suddenly, so they have no proper information. There are rare exceptions, but that’s how it usually is. Only a few people have a vague sense that there’s a next stage, another world beyond.”

Gwak Yu-chan looked at Jang Woo-hyun with a serious expression.

“That’s why Transcendence is different from Ascension. It’s crossing dimensions without the heavens’ permission, so danger comes with it. On top of that, whenever the Taoists raise their realm, the heavens get angry and deliver punishment in the form of Heavenly Tribulation. But Ascension isn’t like that. There’s no danger at all.”

“……”

“To put it simply, Transcendence is like someone who lives on the first floor punching a hole through the ceiling to get to the second floor without asking the owner. So when the owner sees someone’s head popping up, he smacks it. That punishment the Taoists face—that’s the heavenly tribulation.”

Gwak Yu-chan swung his fists into the air a few times, as if smacking something invisible.

“Ascension is different. It’s like the owner of the second floor looks down and sees someone on the first floor and thinks, ‘That guy’s gotten way too big. He’s gonna destroy everything down there if he stays. I better bring him up here.’ So they throw a rope down and pull him up—to live in a much bigger place.”

“……”

Not knowing exactly what he meant, Jang Woo-hyun simply listened in silence.

“You don’t get what I’m saying?”

“I’m not sure I do.”

“So-bong didn’t know either, because he only experienced Transcendence. But Ascension is not the same—it’s not dangerous at all. You just move upward through a shining path. You don’t encounter anyone, and no one attacks you. It’s the heavens themselves bringing you up.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Jang Woo-hyun realize how Gwak Yu-chan had caught on to his lie.

Since Pung So-bong hadn’t experienced Ascension, he had been easily fooled by a vague explanation. He thought it was similar to what he had gone through.

But Gwak Yu-chan was different.

The story Jang Woo-hyun gave didn’t match what Gwak Yu-chan had experienced and knew about Ascension.

—What do you mean “launched the wrong way”?

There’s no such thing during Ascension.

That’s what Gwak Yu-chan had said when he first asked how Jang Woo-hyun had ascended.

‘So that’s why he looked at me with that blank face at first.’

Now he understood.

Gwak Yu-chan had known something was off—but had let it slide.

Gwak Yu-chan didn’t press him any further, just stared at him as if telling him to speak the truth.

Feeling the weight of that gaze, Jang Woo-hyun eventually decided to come clean.

“I did get attacked. That part’s true.”

He started explaining from the moment he met the silver giant in the passage of light.

He fought with the silver giant but lost, and when he came to, he was surrounded by beast-children.

He had followed them and ended up meeting Gwak Yu-chan and Pung So-bong.

When Jang Woo-hyun finished speaking, Gwak Yu-chan’s expression, which had been stiff, crumpled.

“Should’ve just let it go.”

He regretted asking.

Jang Woo-hyun, whose skill was suspiciously overwhelming, had been tangled with something unusual.

Gwak Yu-chan didn’t know exactly what it was, but he could tell that the silver giant wasn’t just some ordinary monster.

“What the hell are you?”

“Sorry?”

He asked again in the same deadpan tone he used when Jang Woo-hyun had quickly mastered aerial footwork.

“What are you, really?”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Sigh.”

Gwak Yu-chan let out a heavy sigh and pointed at Jang Woo-hyun’s shoulder.

“You’ve been marked by Great Sage of the Flowing Wind, haven’t you?”

Great Sage of the Flowing Wind, the Monkey King of Wind—one of the great monsters of the Demon World.

Jang Woo-hyun had been marked by that monkey demon back in the lower world.

“And now you get attacked during Ascension? What exactly are you?”

“Do you know what that was?”

“No. I don’t. I’ve never heard of such a thing in my life. But I can at least tell that silver giant was a monster.”

“A monster?”

“Hold on a second.”

Gwak Yu-chan paused and extended his consciousness. His intent spread outward from his body.

Feeling the energy, Jang Woo-hyun tensed.

It was the same presence he had felt when Gwak Yu-chan had confronted Bi Ik-ryeon.

Gwak Yu-chan’s presence filled the world—it felt like his gaze came from every direction.

“This is the power of the realm called Muryangjingyeong—the Realm of Infinity. Muryang means immeasurable. It represents the endless and sometimes even the infinite. If Transcendence is the speed of a new domain, then Infinity is the stage where your intent expands without end.”

When Gwak Yu-chan extended his hand, his spear flew into it.

Its shaft was a deep brown, and the white spearhead shimmered with a faint blue hue.

Gripping it tightly, he infused it with his intent.

Whoooosh—

The spear, accelerated by enhanced time, suddenly shot forward.

And then—

A hole appeared in the clouds above.

“If you expand your intent to the fullest, you can even attack things at a distance.”

As he explained, Gwak Yu-chan spun his body. Rather than stabbing, he swung the entire spear like a blade in a slicing motion.

As the spear was swept through the air, a massive line appeared across the sky.

For a moment, it looked like the sky itself had been cleaved.

“…?”

But it wasn’t an illusion.

Along the path of the slash, marks remained in the clouds.

As if sliced by a giant blade, they were cleanly cut.

The range was easily several dozen li. Briefly, Gwak Yu-chan had left a scar in the sky.

Seeing the trail across the heavens, Jang Woo-hyun instinctively clenched his fist.

‘As I thought.’

A sword that split the sky and earth.

A slash that divided heaven and earth.

It resembled the Transcendent Sword he had used in a state of egoless focus when he met the Demon Cult Leader.

‘So this is the power of the Realm of Infinity.’

He couldn’t say for sure whether it was the same.

He didn’t know if Gwak Yu-chan had simply extended his sword energy or if his intent had truly split the world. His memory of that moment was hazy, and the sensation was hard to recall.

But one thing was certain.

That Transcendent Sword he had experienced in egoless focus—it was a clue toward the next realm.

Though he couldn’t fully remember the feeling now, Jang Woo-hyun was satisfied that he had grasped a hint. If he continued his training, he would surely draw closer to that sensation again.

“That red beam the silver giant fired—this was probably the same kind of attack. If it had been a regular strike, it wouldn’t have been able to hit you properly from such a distance. And—”

Gwak Yu-chan paused, then focused his mind.

“Once you reach the Realm of Infinity, this becomes possible too.”

Even though Gwak Yu-chan was standing in front of him, Jang Woo-hyun heard his voice from the side.

Confused, he turned his head.

“…!”

There stood another Gwak Yu-chan.

In front and to the side—there were two of him now.

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