Chapter 280: A Genius ets a Genius
“……It burned up in my hand, and I thought it had disappeared, but it ended up remaining like this.”
“Then that bastard from the Divine Dragon Clan was the root of everything? That’s unexpected. He didn’t seem like the type at all.”
“Have you t him before?”
“A long ti ago. Though not directly while I was alive.”
At the ntion that he had not t him directly, Jang Woo-hyun cautiously spoke.
“Perhaps…… you’ve been living cut off from this world, or…….”
“That’s enough. You’re asking if I’m dead? Why make it so difficult? Just ask directly. The human nad Lü Dongbin is already dead. Then what do you think I am?”
“A Projection?”
“That’s right. The Heavenly Escape Sword Art you happened to obtain is both a secret manual and a Dharma. It’s also my Projection. Or maybe it’s just a lump of qi. I left it behind for the children of the Heavenly Sword Clan, but sohow it ended up in your hands. So then, do you know what beca of the children of that clan?”
“I heard the Clan Head died, and the people of the clan scattered in all directions.”
“Pathetic fools. To think they couldn’t even stop those bastards carrying diluted dragon blood.”
“It wasn’t only the Divine Dragon Clan that moved. The Sovereign Clan joined forces with them in the attack.”
“That’s all the sa. They dared call themselves my descendants, yet couldn’t even stop that? Their training was lacking. Training! Tch, pathetic fools.”
Though his tone sounded reproachful, what Jang Woo-hyun felt within it was pity.
And on his face lingered sothing like guilt.
Lü Dongbin spent a while criticizing the Heavenly Sword Clan, and Jang Woo-hyun quietly waited.
He thought perhaps this was Lü Dongbin’s own way of expressing sorrow for those who once followed him.
When the complaints ended—despite containing emotions completely opposite to the words themselves—Lü Dongbin’s atmosphere changed once again.
Regret, resentnt, anger, sorrow—
All of it vanished, replaced by a cheerful and lively feeling.
“Co here for a mont.”
Lü Dongbin beckoned Jang Woo-hyun closer, then stared intensely at his body.
He even shoved his face close enough to beco burdenso and sniffed him several tis.
“You, are you a martial artist from the Taiji Sect?”
“No. I do have ties with the Taiji Sect, but I’m not affiliated with them.”
“Then?”
“If I had to na an affiliation, I belong to the Demon-Slaying Corps.”
“The Demon-Slaying Corps? What’s that?”
“It’s an organization created by and my companions.”
“So many strange things have appeared while I’ve been gone. Then you must have personal ties with the Jang Clan.”
“I don’t know who you an by the Jang Clan.”
“I an Sam-bong of the Taiji Sect. His traces remain within your body.”
“Ah…….”
-You are not a sword.
Words that occasionally helped him.
That had been the power left behind by Jang Sam-bong, and Lü Dongbin recognized it imdiately.
“Our fates crossed, and I once received his teachings.”
“Hoh, he taught soone who doesn’t even belong to the Three Pure Ones Taiji Sect? That’s unexpected too. Perhaps your connection with the Jang fellow is why you obtained Heavenly Escape. So then, what exactly did he leave behind? The thing inside here.”
Lü Dongbin pointed at Jang Woo-hyun’s head.
“Mm…… It’s a bit difficult for to say this myself. He told there must be a reason I possess exceptional talent, and that I must rember his words no matter what.”
“What did he say?”
“He told I’m not a sword.”
At Jang Woo-hyun’s words, Lü Dongbin chuckled softly.
“Hah, that really does sound like sothing the Jang fellow would say. But your talent is truly that remarkable? Let’s take a look. Relax your body.”
“Pardon?”
Before Jang Woo-hyun could properly react, Lü Dongbin’s palm touched his chest.
Bwoong!
A wave spread outward from his chest.
At the sa ti, sothing was forcefully pulled out from Jang Woo-hyun’s body.
When he t Jang Sam-bong, he felt as though he had been stripped naked.
But Lü Dongbin’s power felt as though his entire body had been completely dismantled.
Unknown energies floated around Jang Woo-hyun.
Lü Dongbin examined the strange energies that looked like clouds and condensed water.
“Hoh hoh, what a ss. Such a ss. Would a patched-up rag stitched together from all over look like this? You really learned a ridiculous amount. And.”
Lü Dongbin’s gaze shifted once more toward Jang Woo-hyun’s chest.
“You even learned the Five Elents Energy? Just what exactly are you?”
“Uh…… well.”
After briefly pondering his own identity, Jang Woo-hyun simply answered honestly.
“I’m Jang Woo-hyun.”
At the idiotic response, Lü Dongbin frowned.
---
“It’s complete chaos.”
After examining Jang Woo-hyun’s abilities, Lü Dongbin was astonished by how complicated everything was.
This was not a normal thod.
It was no different from forcibly learning this and that, patching everything together as he carved out a path by force.
“What level are you at?”
“I’ve stepped into the Realm of Wish.”
At Jang Woo-hyun’s answer, Lü Dongbin once more examined the energies floating around him.
“No. This isn’t the Realm of Wish. This is quite rare. Since you can forcibly use Shrinking Earth, you must’ve mistaken it.”
“…….”
Not understanding what he ant, Jang Woo-hyun remained silent.
“You may feel like it’s the Realm of Wish. But you haven’t fully stepped into it.”
“Then what state am I in?”
“You forced your way into it.”
Lü Dongbin drew a line upon the ground.
Then he stepped over it with one foot.
“Normally, this is how one enters and crosses over.”
Next, his entire body crossed the line, and he took several more steps.
“And after that, the body completely passes through and enters the Realm of Wish. But you are different.”
Lü Dongbin returned to his original position, bent down, and pushed only his head past the line.
“This is your current state. You’ve only shoved your head inside and are peeking at sothing.”
“I don’t really understand. Is sothing like that even possible?”
“It’s impossible. Which is exactly why you’re strange. You’re peering into the next realm through a path you forcibly created. You—can you explain the Realm of Wish to soone else?”
At the question, Jang Woo-hyun shook his head.
“Do I need to be able to explain it? I simply advanced realms.”
“I’m not asking for a precise explanation. Just tell what you personally feel.”
“I began to see so kind of energy flowing through the world and could sense its will. I thought the Realm of Wish ant twisting that flow and will using my own will.”
“You’re only half right. You seem to understand the rough idea, but still, how is this happening? Fascinating.”
Even Lü Dongbin, who had seen countless martial artists, had never encountered a case like this before.
After pondering alone for a mont, he grinned at Jang Woo-hyun.
“Good. Since things turned out this way, let’s train together for a bit. First, tell what you’ve learned. Ah, it would be better to start with your sect. Who is your master, and which sect did you study under?”
The one first called Sword Immortal was Lü Dongbin himself.
Though Jang Woo-hyun’s martial arts were bizarre, he believed he could properly correct them.
“I don’t really have anyone I could call my master. And I don’t belong to any sect either.”
“……Huh?”
Things went wrong from the very first question.
Lü Dongbin had been completely confident.
But now, sothing strange was beginning to happen.
---
Jang Woo-hyun explained the process of how he had grown and first learned martial arts.
The longer the story continued, the more twisted Lü Dongbin’s expression beca.
“……This can happen. Sure, it can happen. Fine. You think you’re the only wandering martial artist who reached this level? Don’t worry. I understand everything. Then what was the very first cultivation thod you learned?”
“A cultivation thod? Uh…… I did learn one at first, but then eventually I started sensing the natural qi.”
“And then?”
“So I kept breathing, and internal energy just naturally accumulated in my dantian. I just kept breathing.”
“…….”
The Lü Dongbin before Jang Woo-hyun was not a real human being.
And this place was not reality either.
‘Then why does my head hurt?’
Lü Dongbin pressed his fingers firmly against one side of his head.
He had thought he could teach any student.
But the fellow he t this ti was so kind of lunatic.
The situation was so absurdly unexpected that Lü Dongbin groaned inwardly.
“Ah, I did create a breathing technique of my own.”
“A breathing technique you created? You an a cultivation thod? Cultivation thods are not that simple. No matter how talented soone is, they cannot be created so quickly. They require refinent across long ages and generations. They’re not rely for gathering and circulating qi. A cultivation thod is the core of the body and the seed that becos martial arts. It must be planted deeply and grow firmly before it can beco a proper tree called martial arts.”
That was why internal cultivation thods refined over countless years ford the core of every sect.
And why every sect treasured them above all else.
“You created a breathing thod alone? Fine. Since you ascended and reached this level of strength, you must possess the talent of a Grandmaster. You might even improve or create one or two martial arts. Show this thing you created.”
Lü Dongbin spoke without much expectation.
Even if it wasn’t properly made, he believed he could simply improve it afterward.
“Yes.”
Jang Woo-hyun exhaled deeply and moved the energy within his body.
Internal energy revolved around his dantian.
Soon it transford into a massive flow, and Jang Woo-hyun beca the center of a vortex of qi.
All surrounding energies were dragged toward him.
Nearby space itself distorted as it was sucked into Jang Woo-hyun.
After drawing in the surrounding power in one great sweep, he finally stopped.
Lü Dongbin stood there with his mouth slightly open in surprise.
“This…….”
“It’s Spiral Suction Art.”
“Haven’t I seen this sowhere before?”
“I created it after observing the breathing thod of the Giants.”
“Giants? You an the bastards from the Land of Giants? Huh, now that I think about it, I guess those bastards did breathe like this.”
Lü Dongbin stared at Jang Woo-hyun with a stiff expression.
Seeing that face, Jang Woo-hyun unconsciously gave a bitter smile.
It was an expression he had seen often.
Surely Lü Dongbin was also thinking, ‘What the hell is wrong with this bastard?’
At least, that was what Jang Woo-hyun expected.
“Wow…….”
However—
His expectations were wrong today.
“Hey, you’re a genius! Why didn’t I think of this? Was it because I never t enough people? It’s been so long I barely rember anymore. Or maybe everyone I t was too weak, so I killed them too quickly. Ah, why were all the people I t so weak? If they weren’t, maybe I could’ve created sothing like this too.”
“Uh…….”
This reaction was so unexpected that Jang Woo-hyun beca the one left stunned.
“Mm, like this, then this. Does this work?”
While Jang Woo-hyun stood shocked, Lü Dongbin muttered to himself while moving the energy inside his body.
Not long afterward—
Whooooom—
A massive vortex of qi ford around him, and surrounding energies surged inward.
Lü Dongbin had already reproduced Spiral Suction Art almost perfectly after seeing it only once.
“Waaah!”
Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes widened as he stared at the grinning Lü Dongbin.
“Is it fascinating? Haven’t you ever t soone like this before? Don’t compare to ordinary mortals. I am Sword Immortal Lü Dongbin.”
Filled with admiration, Jang Woo-hyun could only nod blankly with his mouth hanging open.
“You thought there was no one exceptional besides yourself? Don’t worry. I’ll shatter all those misconceptions for you.”
Only after hearing Lü Dongbin’s words and witnessing his abilities did Jang Woo-hyun finally understand why Cheol Geuk-jin had treated him so warmly back in the Central Plains.
Neither disciples, nor close friends, nor subordinates could understand his martial arts.
Yet Jang Woo-hyun grasped them instantly.
How joyful must that have felt?
No matter how close soone stood beside you, this was a completely different matter.
It was the loneliness only a martial artist could feel.
Today, Jang Woo-hyun eased that loneliness.
For the first ti, he had t a genius equal to himself.
---
A remote corner of the Monster Realm.
Within a bizarre forest where every tree grew upside down, over a dozen humans floated upside down in the air.
Their appearances were extrely strange.
Legs grew where arms should have been.
Their heads were attached to their arms.
And both arms wriggled from their backsides like tails.
Before them stood a monkey monster with blue fur and absurdly colorful clothes that hurt the eyes just to look at.
“Why are you cultivator bastards snooping around the Monster Realm?”
At the monkey monster’s question, the cultivators with twisted bodies only trembled violently.
“You won’t answer? Want to try shitting from your mouth?”
The monkey monster ripped off one cultivator’s head outright.
Yet strangely, the cultivator did not die.
The monkey monster brushed aside the arm-like tail and shoved the head directly between the cultivator’s buttocks.
The remaining cultivators could only blink in terror.
They could not even scream.
Their mouths had already disappeared.
“Ah, right. You guys don’t have mouths. My bad. I forgot I erased them because you scread too much.”
The monkey monster casually rubbed its finger across the cultivator’s mouthless face.
A mouth instantly reappeared.
“Please spare ! I’ll tell you anyth—”
“I told you to be quiet.”
Crunch!
The screaming cultivator’s head was shoved back into his body through his anus.
“Why can’t you listen?”
The monkey monster shook flesh and blood from its hand before walking over to another cultivator.
“You. Speak quietly. Got it?”
The mont their eyes t, the cultivator nodded frantically as though possessed.
If their mouths had rely been sewn shut or torn apart, they would not have been this terrified.
Their mouths had literally disappeared.
It was as though the organ called a mouth had never existed there in the first place.
Only flesh remained where mouths once were.
The blue monkey monster’s power had erased them.
A demonic art said to be usable only by a select few among the monstrous beings.
It was a truly grotesque phenonon.
A bizarre and twisted power.
Regardless of raw strength, demonic arts were horrifying supernatural abilities.
The cultivators here had witnessed with their own eyes how the early-stage Fusion Realm cultivator leading them died.
‘His lower body…… devoured his upper body.’
Due to the demonic art, the Fusion Realm cultivator’s upper and lower halves separated.
Then the lower half moved on its own and swallowed the upper half through its anus.
Even cultivators who casually turned humans into pills had never seen such a sight before.
It was madness itself.
No matter how often cultivators were called lunatics by other races or the humans of the Murim Realm, they could never compare to true monstrosities.
Before monsters, they were rely weak creatures.
And the monkey before them stood at the very summit among those monsters.
The blue-furred monkey monster was one of the Seven Great Sages.
The Great Monster of the Monster Realm—
Great Sage Who Drives Gods, The Monkey King.
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