Chapter 148

Like humans, like other living beings, it breathed in and out, but its presence was distinctly different from that of a human.

A strange being cloaked in the form of a human.

Just like Yi Ja-ryong, who should have been dead but returned alive, the opponent before them was also something twisted and out of sync with the natural order.

“You know Yi Ja-ryong.”

In response to Namgung Woo’s words, the being seemed uninterested in replying and instead rambled on about something entirely unrelated.

“Saw something interesting. So, is this how it’s done?”

As he waved his hand, the space around them distorted. Not just the air, but even the natural energy infused within it responded to his touch.

A swirling force in his palm. It was as if he had condensed a typhoon into his hand. A wondrous phenomenon. A massive change brought about by a seemingly casual gesture.

“Not as easy as I thought. Not bad. Anyway, you fakes sure know how to create strange powers.”

When Namgung Woo remained silent, as if his interest had waned, the being shook off the force gathered in his hand and abruptly asked.

“Let me ask. Are you Namgung Jin’s grandson?”

“Who are you? And what do you know?”

The conversation between him and Namgung Woo ran parallel, never quite connecting.

Realizing that neither intended to answer properly, it was the opponent who raised his hand first, not Namgung Woo.

“Consider it an honor. My name is Pung Hyeon (風弦).”

“Namgung Woo.”

“At least we have the basics of conversation. Good. I asked if you know Yi Ja-ryong. Of course I do. We created him.”

As expected.

This person, Pung Hyeon, claimed that they had created Yi Ja-ryong.

That didn’t just mean they had taken him in and taught him martial arts and sorcery.

Others might interpret it that way, but to Namgung Woo, it sounded entirely different.

‘We recreated the dead Joo-gyeon-je into Yi Ja-ryong.’

Though it was an interpretation heavily influenced by intuition, Namgung Woo was certain this was the correct meaning. Perhaps they were beings who could manipulate human life as they pleased.

In Namgung Woo’s mind, the question of how one human could kill or revive another at will had long since disappeared. Having shattered the notion of impossibility, Namgung Woo’s thoughts now accepted even that as possible.

“…Is that ‘we’ the Beonse Sect?”

“Beonse Sect?”

Pung Hyeon tilted his head at Namgung Woo’s words, as if confused, then let out a sigh of realization.

“Ah~ you mean the Beonse-gyeong. How laughable. How absurd. How dare those insignificant beings give us a name.”

A cold, hard voice.

The anger within it was incomprehensibly fierce. It was an excessive level of anger for simply being given a name.

However, regardless of his anger, Pung Hyeon seemed to have no intention of revealing who or what this “we” was, or what name they bore. He asked again.

“I think I’ve said enough. Let me ask again. Are you Namgung Jin’s grandson? You share the same surname, so I assume you’re related by blood, but it’s truly strange.”

Pung Hyeon stroked his smooth, beardless chin and muttered.

“You resemble us.”

Was it mere coincidence that the word “reverse heaven” Yi Ja-ryong had used came to mind?

Namgung Woo cut off his increasingly confused thoughts.

The person before him, Pung Hyeon, was an enemy.

From the beginning, the energy he had sent was filled with killing intent and malice.

And the name he had truthfully given, along with his transparent anger.

The reason he had told Namgung Woo was that he believed it wouldn’t matter even if he did.

Because he intended to kill them all.

“Well. I don’t know either. Rather, I want to ask you. Who am I?”

“Hmm… really?”

Pung Hyeon observed Namgung Woo to see if he was lying and trying to test him. The conclusion he reached was that it was the truth.

Having concluded that there was nothing more to gain from Namgung Woo, Pung Hyeon spoke.

“Then die now.”

At those words, for some reason, the transformed demons that had stopped replenishing now poured out like a flood.

§

“Is that guy completely insane?!”

Thanks to the barrier Namgung Woo had set up, Yang Kwae, who had protected his eardrums, shouted.

“Are, are you okay? That person seemed to know about the Namgung Family… eek!”

“Miss, pull yourself together! Right now, it’s not the captain we should be worried about!”

Yang Jeong, who had cut down a transformed demon attacking the fallen Namgung Sol, quickly helped Namgung Sol up.

“No, these guys… what, there’s no end…!”

Myorin irritably scattered sword energy. The Cheongjeong Sect’s secret technique, the Divine Sky Sword Technique, seemed to reflect her uneasy mind as it viciously sliced through the transformed demons.

“Huuup─!”

Kwaaang!

Paeng Ha-ryeong, drawing Thunder Qi from her core, unleashed a single strike of the Heaven and Earth Thunderous Blade.

With the blade’s signature roar and the thick cloud of dust that rose, the transformed demons exposed to the strike vanished, leaving only a handful of blood. True to its reputation as the second strongest of the Hapbuk Paeng Family’s five blade techniques, the Thunderous Blade’s destructive power was evident.

Having momentarily cleared the transformed demons and gained a moment to look around, Paeng Ha-ryeong quickly surveyed the surroundings.

The Wind Chasing Unit members were already exhausted.

The Changcheon Pavilion and other martial artists were also reaching their limits.

The fact that casualties had already occurred proved it. Once casualties start, the next ones come even faster.

‘This is dangerous…’

At that moment, a woman ran out from among the Wind Chasing Unit members who were gathered and guarding one side.

“Hey! You two over there! Are you sorcerers?”

At the woman’s words, Myorin and Jegal Seon-a, who seemed to be the ones being addressed, exchanged glances. It was understandable, as the woman’s eyes were covered with a thick white cloth.

There was no way to tell where she was looking, and it was unclear if she could even see properly.

But as if she could see all their actions, the woman shouted again.

“Yes! You two!”

The cloth covering the woman’s eyes seemed too thick to be transparent.

Was she honing some other sense? Myorin and Jegal Seon-a, thinking the same thing, awkwardly replied.

“Ah, we are sorcerers, but…”

“I only know a bit about formations…”

One was a half-sorcerer who relied heavily on cursed tattoos, and the other was essentially a formation expert who only knew the basics of sorcery.

But as if that was enough, the woman nodded.

“You came from outside, right? How did you enter?”

Wondering if that was really important right now, Jegal Seon-a explained how they had entered.

At the end of the canyon, Namgung Woo had simply split the cliff and entered.

At those words, the woman, momentarily stunned, shook her head and regained her composure.

“As I thought. You came from a different place than us. We entered from above the cliff.”

“Ah… no wonder. We were herded.”

Whether to jump off the cliff or enter through what seemed to be inside the cliff.

The speculation that they hadn’t entered by choice was correct.

“There are at least two gates. It must be a cycle.”

“Sorcery and formations, a double-layered space. And it seems that guy fighting our Great Master is the one who closed it, so it’s probably sealed again.”

“Sorcery too…? Ah, so that’s why…”

“Hey, I don’t know what you figured out, but we don’t have time right now.”

Jegal Seon-a urged anxiously.

The woman quickly spoke.

“Until now, only formations have been visible inside. The reason the Great Master and I couldn’t find the path of life must be because of the double-layered barrier. But if we know the structure, we can break it from inside. You said you’re a formation expert, right? Can you reverse the formation?”

“Ah… I think it’s possible.”

“I’ll handle the sorcery outside the formation. I can definitely break it. In that state…”

“I’ll use sorcery.”

Myorin raised her fist and spoke.

Sorcery requires external energy. But with the external energy controlled by another sorcery, synchronization was difficult, which is why Myorin hadn’t been able to use proper sorcery until now.

However, if this woman and Jegal Seon-a dismantled the barrier enveloping this place and allowed the energy to flow again, the story would be different.

“A wide-range sorcery. One strong enough to affect the transformed demons.”

“Don’t worry. That’s my specialty.”

The woman, nodding as if to say she trusted them, immediately pulled Jegal Seon-a along.

“Let’s start right away.”

“Uh, but who are you…?”

“Wind Chasing Unit. Hwa-seo. From the Mosan Sect.”

Mosan Sect.

At that name, trust instantly rose.

In the current world, no place surpasses the Mosan Sect in sorcery.

If a sorcerer from the Mosan Sect was making such bold claims, there was no choice but to believe.

“Deputy Leader!”

“I hear you!”

“Just a moment! Just hold on for a moment!”

Song Woojeol, guarding Byeok-un’s remains, checked his dwindling internal energy.

A moment.

It was tight, but it seemed possible.

‘If worse comes to worst, I’ll do like the Leader…’

“Understood! I’ll hold on! Everyone, just hold on for a moment!!”

Song Woojeol’s shout reached all the martial artists gathered there.

Sweat dripped down Jegal Seon-a’s face from the pressure.

“Ah… I might not be able to do it in just a moment…”

“You have to.”

If it’s Resonance Power…

Jegal Seon-a tried her best to exclude Namgung Woo and Pung Hyeon from her consciousness.

‘They’re not human. The barrier enveloping this place. Use Resonance Power on it.’

An awareness extended to something not alive.

Jegal Seon-a was also growing.

Believing in the potential for growth Namgung Woo had shown in his fight with the Ghost Gate Master, Jegal Seon-a tightly closed her eyes.

And when that moment passed.

Myorin soared into the sky with a refreshing smile.

A remarkable movement technique for a Peak Master. Was it the technique of leaping into the void? But that thought was fleeting.

Myorin’s body didn’t come back down.

It wasn’t the kind of feat only Peerless Masters capable of Void Treading Steps could achieve. It was the power of sorcery.

The phoenix’s wings had returned.

And another tattoo on her neck began to glow.

A dragon with wings.

The tattoo of a dragon.

“Sssuuuuk…!”

Her lungs, trained by smoking cannabis, inhaled the air of the void.

“Kaaaaaa─!!!”

The simultaneous roar of the dragon shook the battlefield.

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