Chapter: 484
After asking permission from the Tang Gate, I stepped outside with Woo Hyuk.
If it were up to me, I would have liked to spend a bit more time with the kids. However, knowing full well that I didn’t have the luxury of time, I focused on wrapping up the tasks I had planned as quickly as possible.
There’s no time for a breather.
This life really couldn’t get any more miserable.
“Argh, it hurts…”
As we were running along, Woo Hyuk made a groaning sound beside me. He was rubbing his neck with his hand. I frowned at the sight.
“Who told you to mess around?”
“…I honestly didn’t know you could really bite. Do you think you’re some kind of personal dog?”
“If you treat me like a dog, then you need to act like one.”
He treated me like a dog first, so I don’t understand what he’s complaining about. It was utterly baffling.
[That doesn’t mean you’re the real Mu and not in your right mind.]
Shin Noya chimed in, sounding rather pitiful, but I ignored him. I turned away from Woo Hyuk and gazed straight ahead.
How far had we gone through this dense forest? It felt longer than the hour they said it would take.
My legs kept moving incessantly while my mind wouldn’t stop racing.
‘I have a bunch of things lined up… I wonder how they’ll turn out.’
Before departing from the Tang Dynasty, I had called Nahi to do something for me. I was quite curious about how that would play out.
Plus,
‘We also need to see the Poison King’s response.’
I had to know how the Poison King would react to what I said. Knowing that would help set the right course when I began to tackle these issues.
[Aesong-ah.]
‘Yes.’
[Do you really plan to kill them all?]
I rolled my eyes slightly at Shin Noya’s question. Showing a moment of hesitation, I gave a short answer.
‘Yes.’
Honestly, there wasn’t even any need to think about it.
Clearing out everyone related to this was the right thing to do. I considered this something I should report on based on the Tang Gate’s request.
‘Now that I know it could become a problem down the line, I can’t just let it be.’
[…]
At the very least, this is related to Tang So-yeol.
I’ve always had the lingering question of how Tang So-yeol became invincible.
The answer to that mystery was slowly starting to form.
Just thinking about it made me clench my teeth.
Mandokbulchim. A question about that supreme and brutal realm.
One so marred that one wonders if a human—or even a martial artist—could reach it.
It’s something I hadn’t really thought deeply about before.
But now, I couldn’t help but think it over.
To begin with, achieving perfect resistance to ten thousand poisons is necessary. Following that, to manage poison attacks, you need to reach sky-high heights—that’s what Mandokbulchim is all about.
Did Tang So-yeol properly reach it through legitimate means?
‘At least.’
It doesn’t seem like it was the normal route.
I feel bad for Tang So-yeol, but objectively, it’s clear that she was no genius.
Not just the sleeping dragon next to me but also the likes of Wi Seol-ah and Nam Gung-bia around here.
Not to mention Pengwujin of Yeongpung and Pengga, reputed as the best of Mount Hua.
And then there’s
‘…that monster appearing in a few years.’
Compared to the next generation Shenlong, known as the miracle of Shaolin, Tang So-yeol’s presence is almost nonexistent.
To put it nicely, she’s a blood relative of a prestigious family—that’s about it.
To put it negatively, it’s hard to even call her talented.
This was how I viewed Tang So-yeol.
No matter how you look at it, there’s no denying her talent isn’t enough to reach the pinnacle of invincibility.
Yet, she eventually ascended to Mandokbulchim and came to be called a Dokbi. I had my share of questions regarding this.
For one, there’s the suspicion that the previously stalled plan for Cheonmujiche is still in motion.
And the warning from the Tang Gate about Tang So-yeol’s potential involvement in this matter.
When I put that all together,
It seemed fairly likely that something had occurred during Tang So-yeol’s rise to Mandokbulchim.
Honestly, up until now, I didn’t care too much about it.
If I were someone who only pursued the right way to grow based on agreements, it might have been different.
I opted for a more aggressive approach to getting stronger, disregarding any notions of agreement or chivalry.
Even if Tang So-yeol ascended through dubious means, it’d be hard for me to condemn or judge her harshly.
There’s only one thing I consider paramount here.
That is, through such a process,
‘Did Tang So-yeol actually desire this?’
That’s what really matters right now.
Did she genuinely want it that way?
If this was all her idea, I could easily overlook it.
What’s truly important to me isn’t just the requests from the Tang Gate or the organization, but solely Tang So-yeol’s will.
‘But what if the opposite is true?’
In that case, I’d tear it all apart and burn it down, no questions asked.
If it came down to it, I wouldn’t hesitate to set the entire Tang Gate on fire just to eliminate it.
Would that really be that hard?
‘Before, I thought it might be a bit much.’
Now, it doesn’t sound that difficult.
Strangely enough.
Could it be because my strength has increased?
‘I’m still too weak to be arrogant.’
At this moment, I wasn’t just an incomplete landscape; I had become a complete one.
With this level of strength, it should be challenging to annihilate even one sect.
Yet I was overflowing with confidence for some odd reason.
No matter how I viewed it, this was clearly a red flag.
‘Something feels off.’
Aside from the physical changes, like the center of my danjeon now being my heart,
It was unmistakable that my emotional state had also transformed.
Could this be another anomaly born from reconstructing my vessel?
‘I really need to catch a moment to figure this out. Tsk.’
It’s downright annoying that I don’t even have time for this.
Suppressing my anxiousness, I turned to Woo Hyuk.
“How much longer do we have to go? It’s been over an hour already.”
At my question, Woo Hyuk wore a sheepish expression and replied,
“Uh… um. I thought we just had to go this way?”
“…?”
His vague response made me frown.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know the way, right?”
“Haha. What absurd nonsense are you spouting?”
Woo Hyuk laughed like my question was a joke.
Right? You can’t just go in a random direction if you don’t know the way.
Taking a relieved breath, I was about to ramp up my pace when suddenly,
“I’ve never been to Sacheon before, so how would I know the way? Of course, I don’t.”
“What, you idiot?”
I almost twisted my ankle without realizing it due to Woo Hyuk’s confident proclamation.
“You don’t know the way?”
“What kind of crazy guy are you? Why are you leading us if you don’t know?”
“No, I just thought it’d be okay to go in this direction.”
“Where’s the map? Hand it over quickly!”
I snatched the map from Woo Hyuk’s fumbling hands and glanced over it.
Thud!
Rolling my eyes over the map, I smacked Woo Hyuk on the head.
Bam!
“Ugh!”
Woo Hyuk glared at me resentfully after getting knocked on the head, but I was seriously about to lose it.
“Hey, you idiot! We came the wrong way!”
“Oh… really? I didn’t know that.”
“‘Oh’ is such a dumb excuse… I’m the fool for trusting you.”
As soon as I spat those words, I turned on my heel and bolted backward.
Grabbing Woo Hyuk by the collar, I declared,
“Gah…! What’s this all about…!”
“Shut up! The longer we wait, the faster we’ve got to go!”
With that, I exerted force into my legs,
Whoosh! I drew my energy up with all my might.
“…!”
Woo Hyuk’s eyes widened at the spectacle.
Ignoring his reaction, I fixed my gaze firmly ahead.
Well, he at least gave me a kind warning before I took off.
“Just hang tight! You can manage, right?”
“Wait, wait!”
Of course, I disregarded his question.
Whoosh whoosh!
Blue flames engulfed my body.
Ka-Boom!
Then I shot forward in an explosive burst.
My vision flipped in dizzying rotations.
Compared to the speed I’d been running at, this was several folds faster.
“Gaaah!”
Woo Hyuk tried to make sense of the unexpected speed but I simply ignored him and continued sprinting.
Who would have thought?
I never imagined that Woo Hyuk would turn out to be as directionally challenged as Namgungbia.
“Why does this guy look so put together but is still this useless… damn…”
Woo Hyuk was a different creature once he had a sword in hand; without one, he was no different from a clown.
Actually, most so-called geniuses seemed to be like this.
If he were going to live like this, he might as well give me his face and height.
Kuk!
After a while, I continued to run.
It had been about half an hour later when I finally slowed down.
Compared to the path detailed in the map, this was roughly where we should be.
‘I should’ve come this way ages ago.’
I found it absurd as well.
To be honest, though I took off at full speed in my frustration, I hadn’t thought I could move this fast.
When it came to speed alone, I was doubling up compared to before shedding the shell.
‘I guess I should check in a bit more.’
When gauged casually, it felt like I’d worked my way up by at least half.
Trying it out for myself felt entirely different, however.
At this point, I figured I should look for the Emperor and ask for a favor.
‘I should ask him to lend me some training.’
The only reliable person nearby to ask for a favor from was Paejon.
I’d surely receive a not-so-great reception if I approached the Dark King and asked for one.
Once I slowed down a bit, I turned to Woo Hyuk and inquired,
“Hey. Where do we go from here?”
“Uh…?”
“Get your head together. This is all we’ve got written down.”
Since only the mountain range name and a simple location were sketched out, I couldn’t figure out the exact landing.
It seemed like I had reached the right area.
Still, looking around, it appeared that there were just trees and rocks for as far as the eye could see.
With a hazy look on his face, Woo Hyuk spoke again,
“Wait… let me down for a bit… I feel like I’m going to die.”
“No, we need to figure out where your teacher is…”
Surely meeting would be impossible in such a patch of thickets.
There ought to be a dwelling nearby.
Where could it possibly be? Am I also lost?
I shouldn’t be that clueless about directions.
While I pondered that, I even considered heightening my spirit.
“…!”
Then I swiftly turned my body.
“Ugh!”
Upon doing so, Woo Hyuk swayed dangerously and yelped, but that took second priority to what happened next.
Shiiiiing!
As I pivoted, something whizzed by in the space I had just vacated.
It was a blade of energy.
Slash!
The severed air crackled and impaled the ground, cleaving a rock in twain.
Boom!
The rock split in half and came crashing down.
I rushed to the ground, dispersing my energy.
“Gah!”
Because I wasn’t paying attention to Woo Hyuk, he fell face-first onto the ground without getting to brace himself.
“…Oh no… I’m done for!”
“Draw your weapon.”
I told Woo Hyuk, who was now trying to get up while drooling.
To take out his sword, right now!
“…What weapon?”
But this guy still didn’t seem to grasp the situation and repeated his question.
What’s going on? Is Woo Hyuk really this dense?
Swish!
As I expressed my puzzled thoughts, someone stepped out from beyond the treeline.
Certainly the culprit who launched that energy blade in our direction.
I narrowed my eyes to scrutinize the figure.
‘A beggar…?’
The newcomer had the look of a true destitute.
His face was veiled by his messy white hair, and one could easily say his clothing was nothing more than rags.
Advancing our way with dusty bare feet, I felt a sense of wariness kick in.
Such a figure could throw me off guard.
‘But… the sword looks unbelievably well-kept.’
The solitary sword in his grip seemed meticulously maintained.
Moreover, the unease gnawing at my intuition grew stronger.
Who could this be?
I attempted to soothe my curiosity, analyzing the man’s true identity.
“Yawn.”
He yawned broadly, began scratching at his ears,
then sniffed as he caught sight of Woo Hyuk, who struggled to rise.
“Why this ruckus? What’s going on after so long?”
Woo Hyuk coughed awkwardly in reaction to the man’s inquiry, grinning sheepishly.
“Haha. I hope you’ve been well.”
“Does this look like a well-lived life to you?”
“I’m relieved to see you’re doing fine.”
“Haha, you rotten disciple. Your tongue is still sharp as ever.”
“…”
Widening my eyes, I listened in on their exchange, suddenly understanding the man’s true identity.
‘C-could it be the author?’
He called Woo Hyuk his disciple; there was no need for further explanation.
The beggar wielding the sword was unmistakably the Mudanggoeseon.
But why?
I struggled to comprehend this twist.
The conversation alone provided plenty of clues.
Yet here I stood, perplexed by strange circumstances:
I feel something…
The energy radiating from the man troubled me significantly.
Despite the odd nicknames and rumors, I knew him to be a strong master of the Mudang faction.
As Woo Hyuk’s teacher, it felt all the more solid.
What’s with all that ferocity?
The force I sensed from Mudanggoeseon was too sharp for a Taoist.
It felt excessively rough for anyone from that sect.
This uncertainty was precisely why I hesitated to label him as Mudanggoeseon.
“Hmm.”
At that moment, the Mudanggoeseon, who had been studying Woo Hyuk, turned to me instead.
His face shrouded by hair, I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could tell he was looking my way.
“I came here, wondering what all this ruckus was about… You don’t seem like an enemy.”
“That’s my friend.”
Woo Hyuk raised his hand cheerfully to proclaim, and the Mudanggoeseon tilted his head in confusion.
“He’s a disciple of mine.”
“Yes.”
“…You had a friend?”
“I made a friend once. He wasn’t bad.”
Despite Woo Hyuk’s casual comments, Mudanggoeseon’s gaze remained fixed on me.
Only then did I relax a little and try to ease my heightened defenses.
“You brought me along as your first friend… but you’re honestly a monster. What on earth is this guy?”
As he spoke, Mudanggoeseon lifted his discolored hand to his hair, revealing his face to me.
‘Hmm?’
Simultaneously, I swallowed my surprise.
The figure before me was a remarkably handsome middle-aged man, far more striking than I first imagined.
His eyes shone bright blue.
Plus, with white hair…?
There could be only one sect in the entire Central Plains possessing such traits…
While I squinted at Mudanggoeseon’s appearance, the uneasiness within me grew stronger.
[…huh?]
Shin Noya’s voice echoed, sounding shocked at the sight of the ghostly figure.
What was going on with this old man?
‘Noya, what’s the matter with you?’
[No, why…]
Noya’s reaction was oddly intense.
What could this be? Had something happened?
Holding my breath, I waited for a few seconds.
Noya, in a voice tinged with disbelief, addressed me.
[That guy… why does he look exactly like Myeong?]
‘…Excuse me?’
At those words, I glared at the Mudanggoeseon as if confronted by a ghost.
The “Myeong” Noya was talking about was undoubtedly Namgung Myeong, the Brain Heavenly Sword.
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