Chapter 96: Encounter (3)

“This is Neung Un-bi from the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect.”

The killing intent and energy that Jang Woo-hyun exuded at this moment were at the level of a Supreme Peak; just being exposed to it would twist one’s qi and blood. Yet, Neung Un-bi simply sat and smiled.

Just as Jang Woo-hyun was about to draw his sword—

Neung Un-bi’s smile deepened, and everything changed.

“……!”

This was not the strength of a Supreme Peak.

Neung Un-bi, who stood at a far loftier place, opened the door to reveal the true strength he had concealed. Jang Woo-hyun was pulled through that opening.

Then everything surrounding Jang Woo-hyun, who had been sitting on a wooden chair at a corner stall in the market, disappeared.

A vast plain appeared, and time began to flow rapidly.

It became day, then night, and the sun, moon, and stars passed by in a blur.

Day and night alternated dozens of times, and once again, the surrounding environment changed. Before he realized it, Jang Woo-hyun found himself alone in a space where countless stars shone like the universe.

‘What is this…… a spell? Or an illusion?’

In the midst of this incomprehensible situation, he tried to draw Yongwangrin and the black sword to counter it.

【Please stop.】

Someone directly spoke into his mind through telepathy.

【I have no intention of harming you.】

It was Neung Un-bi’s voice.

His figure could be seen floating in the opposite side of the cosmic space.

He looked no different from before. He wore the same outfit. The only difference was the endlessly rotating Taeguk pattern behind him.

‘That is…….’

A symbol of harmony. And an unfathomable power.

Jang Woo-hyun felt that the power Neung Un-bi was displaying now was similar to what he felt when the Windstorm Great Saint appeared.

It was entirely different from what Gwak Yu-chan or Sa Do-woong had shown.

The class was different.

The Windstorm Great Saint suppressed the world not with the level of martial arts, but with his overwhelming presence and energy. If that was the unique power of a monster, what Neung Un-bi was showing was a different realm that only a martial artist who had mastered martial arts could display.

Having witnessed the power of the Windstorm Great Saint, Jang Woo-hyun could now gauge the level of the power he was feeling.

‘Realm of Wish…….’

A stage where one twists providence and applies their own laws upon the world.

A realm beyond martial arts, a power called an extraordinary or absolute force.

Perhaps the space he was in now was Neung Un-bi’s microcosm, a space where his laws were applied.

【I merely wished to meet you once, Brother Jang.】

“You wanted to meet me?”

Jang Woo-hyun’s brow furrowed slightly. It was an utterly unexpected statement. He wasn’t a renowned figure, nor did he have any connection with the Tai Chi Sect.

Neung Un-bi, who was far away, nodded.

【You haven’t been ascended for long, yet you helped the Suwang Sect defeat Sa Do-woong. That alone shows that Brother Jang is no ordinary person.】

“Was that the only reason you wanted to meet me?”

【You might think lightly of it, Brother Jang, but it is not such a simple matter.】

“Then… if we’ve met, that should be enough. Why did you bring me to this strange space?”

【This… I brought you here simply to help you a little in reading the book. And…….】

“And?”

Neung Un-bi paused, and his brow furrowed slightly.

【The rest… I’ll speak of next time. It seems a rather troublesome person is coming.】

“All of a sudden?”

【Then, Brother Jang, I’ll see you next time.】

Neung Un-bi, having said only what he wanted, suddenly vanished. Even after he disappeared, Jang Woo-hyun remained in the space that resembled the universe.

‘He brought me here to help me?’

He didn’t seem to have malicious intent. If he had intended harm, he could have killed him immediately with that level of strength.

‘If it’s truly to help….’

Jang Woo-hyun decided to accept that help. It wasn’t something he could experience easily.

He immediately extended his qi in all directions, but nothing changed.

‘Is this something like a mindscape? Or another space altogether?’

He didn’t know what this place was, but internal energy didn’t respond here. Jang Woo-hyun accelerated his thoughts and observed his surroundings.

The space slowly began to fade.

Jang Woo-hyun engraved into his heart and mind the path he must walk, absorbing everything into his vision.

This was different from the power shown by monsters that crudely pressed down the world with mere presence.

This was the power of a true martial artist.

A realm that a martial artist could reach.

Though it was an incomprehensible power, Jang Woo-hyun sought his own path within it.

Though it still felt distant, Jang Woo-hyun had no intention of giving up. Even the Absolute Realm and Ascension had once felt distant. But in the end, he had achieved them, and he was continuing to grow.

If it was Jang Woo-hyun, he could reach this stage.

Before long, the surroundings returned to the scene of the market corner stall where he had been sitting just moments ago.

When he had reached the Absolute Realm in the Central Heavens Realm, he once felt an omnipotence as if he could do anything. But ever since he came to the Central Heavens Realm, that sensation had long since faded.

Compared to the Lower Realm, where the qi of heaven and earth was overwhelmingly sparse, he could not feel omnipotent because the power he held was too insignificant in this place.

But now, for the first time in a long while, he had tasted a similar sensation.

That feeling of being in a high, lofty place and able to do anything had vanished, and he was returning to earth, back to being human.

Just glimpsing another’s realm and seeing a fragment of his microcosm had been an extraordinary eye-opening experience. As Neung Un-bi said, this had been a help. No different from a miraculous encounter.

‘This is the Realm of Wish.’

Could there be anything more fitting than the phrase: “Where everything one wishes for comes true”?

Recalling the power of that fleeting realm, Jang Woo-hyun clenched and opened his fist. Though it was a realm he could not fully grasp, the lingering impression enveloped his body.

Step, step.

As he was concentrating solely on the energy he felt—

Someone approached Jang Woo-hyun and stood before him.

“Nice to meet you.”

It was a man he was seeing for the first time. Yet he spoke as though meeting an old friend, eyes gleaming with warmth.

Carrying a long wooden box on his back and dressed in green robes, he had a round, mild appearance and looked like a gentle young man.

“Who… are you?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked. Like Neung Un-bi, this man was someone he had never seen before.

“The former owner of the weapon you possess.”

At his words, Jang Woo-hyun instinctively reached for the black sword.

“Not that one. The other one.”

The man smiled as he pointed out Jang Woo-hyun’s action.

Not the black sword on his left hip—but the other weapon.

The sword on his right. Or rather, a unique weapon shaped like a sword. And Jang Woo-hyun knew who the previous owner of that weapon was.

“No way… the Dark Sky Divine Sword?”

The greatest prodigy and highest master in the history of the Tang Clan.

A man whose mastery of hidden weapons reached the heavens, and whose swordsmanship was so extraordinary that he was called the Divine Sword.

The former owner of Yongwangrin. The Dark Sky Divine Sword, Tang Myung.

A man claiming to be him stood before his eyes.

“May I sit?”

Still surprised, Jang Woo-hyun nodded.

Given Tang Myung’s skill, it was natural that he had ascended.

He had once said that Myriad Blossoms and Rain was just the beginning and had even said they would meet above.

“Tang Myung. From the Sichuan Tang Clan. Also from the Lower Realm, like you.”

“…I’m Jang Woo-hyun.”

“I sought you out on a chance, but I didn’t expect we’d actually meet. Back when we were together—”

“Brother Myung!”

Someone called out to Tang Myung.

It was a middle-aged man with cropped hair and bronze skin. Each step of his sturdy frame seemed to shake the ground as he strode over.

“How could you just go off alone? Should’ve waited and gone together—huh? Huh? You?”

The man, who appeared to be Tang Myung’s companion, widened his eyes upon seeing Jang Woo-hyun’s face. As he did, Jang Woo-hyun also found the man’s face somewhat familiar.

“Oh! Oh! Could it be? Sect Leader Cheol?”

“Wahahaha! It really is you, Woo-hyun!”

Once hailed as the number one unorthodox in the Central Plains. The martial artist who had once handed down the legendary martial art, Heaven-Dominating Divine Armor, to Jang Woo-hyun.

Jang Woo-hyun had unexpectedly run into him at a small stall, one who had ascended before him.

“Wahahaha! I knew it! Of course you’d make it! If not you, then who could possibly ascend!”

Cheol Geuk-jin, sitting next to him, gleefully slapped Jang Woo-hyun’s shoulder as he spoke.

Each time he did, Jang Woo-hyun seriously considered whether he should activate the Sacred River Flowing Armor, fearing his shoulder might come off.

‘Compared to this, Senior Maeng slapping my back was child’s play.’

“This the guy you talked about?”

At Tang Myung’s question, Cheol Geuk-jin nodded vigorously.

“The one I told you about before. An extraordinary one. Exceptionally talented, too. When we first met, he was already a Supreme Peak, and now… well, it’s still hard to gauge your skill. Some things never change.”

Now that Jang Woo-hyun could perform the Dispersing Mist Skill as naturally as breathing, it was difficult to estimate his level.

“It’s good to see you again. When was the last time… let’s see. In Lower Realm time, maybe thirty years? Feels like about that long.”

Jang Woo-hyun, who had been in the Rift in Space-Time, had no idea how much time had truly passed. Yet now, by coincidence, Cheol Geuk-jin was calculating that time for him. Finding him had been one of his tasks—and now, one less to do.

‘About thirty years passed?’

It was fortunate that hundreds of years hadn’t passed meaninglessly.

“Roughly around that, I suppose.”

Not knowing the exact time, Jang Woo-hyun agreed with Cheol Geuk-jin’s words.

“So you don’t know either, eh? It’s been around that long since I ascended, so it must be right. How long has it been since you arrived in the Central Heavens Realm?”

“Not very long.”

“Really? You’re doing remarkably well for someone new. You surprise me every time. But why were you looking for him, Brother?”

Cheol Geuk-jin asked Tang Myung, who had become a brother-in-arms with him after ascending to the Central Heavens Realm. He had run out during a meal and ended up meeting Jang Woo-hyun.

“He has the weapon I used before.”

“You mean that something-rin weapon?”

“Yes.”

“Haha, well now. Fate connects us again like this.”

Cheol Geuk-jin, who had been traveling with Tang Myung for the past few years, also knew of the weapon he had used in the Lower Realm.

“How did the two of you end up traveling together?”

Watching the two, Jang Woo-hyun asked.

“Us? It just happened somehow. We’re both from the Lower Realm after all. Brother, are we doing that?”

“Of course. I have to see it once.”

“Then let’s do that. Are you busy right now?”

“No, not particularly.”

“Then come along with us somewhere.”

“Is there a place we need to go?”

“It’s been a while since we met—we have to test your skills.”

Laughing, Cheol Geuk-jin smacked Jang Woo-hyun’s shoulder with a loud sound. Though his body staggered, Jang Woo-hyun laughed along. It would be good if there was something to learn from them.

Jang Woo-hyun readily agreed, and the three left the stall and walked down the road.

They left the city, used a Teleportation Array, and arrived at a distant Floating Island where no people were present. It was a place originally used by martial artists for martial arts training.

“I’ll go first.”

Cheol Geuk-jin stepped forward and stood to one side. Then he pointed at Jang Woo-hyun.

“Come.”

His demeanor was relaxed. Even after ascending to the Central Heavens Realm, the Tyrant Cheol Geuk-jin had not lost that composure.

“Then I’ll be in your care.”

Jang Woo-hyun drew his sword and activated the Sacred River Flowing Armor. It was the Heaven-Dominating Divine Armor that he had developed into his own style using the secret manual he received from Cheol Geuk-jin.

“Oh-ho.”

Seeing the energy that suddenly surged from Jang Woo-hyun, Cheol Geuk-jin admired it. Although it was a secret manual he had passed on, the paths they had developed were different.

Satisfied with Jang Woo-hyun’s skill, Cheol Geuk-jin revealed his own strength.

Boom!

As the Heaven-Dominating Divine Armor activated, Cheol Geuk-jin’s energy was amplified.

Rumble—

“……”

The space trembled. His energy expanded endlessly.

And that wasn’t all. The armor of Qi Projection surrounding him also continued to grow without limit.

Initially, his size was about ten jang, then it surpassed twenty jang, then went beyond thirty jang.

“What?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, Jang Woo-hyun opened his mouth, unable to speak.

Before he realized it, a massive giant stood before his eyes.

‘What is this……’

In his flustered state, the giant’s shining, enormous fist crushed space as it came down.

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