Chapter 125: Fragment of the True Immortal (2)

Jang Woo-hyun ascended toward the sky, closing the distance with the Giant Hand Wrapped in Light. Stepping off the air, he gripped the two swords that had accompanied him tightly.

—Form trustworthy comrades.

That was what Kim Min-soo had said when he saved him from being dragged away by the Red Snake.

When he heard the words “trustworthy comrades,” the first that came to mind were Jin Ha-un and Hwang An.

Windstorm Great Saint also briefly flashed through his thoughts, as did Maeng Ye-ju and Kang Yong. Aside from them, there were Cho-su, who had just been with him, Pung So-bong and Gwak Yu-chan, with whom he first formed ties, and Dang Myung and Cheol Geuk-jin, who were from the same Lower Realm. All of them were suitable to be called comrades.

However, Jang Woo-hyun now thought of companions that weren’t human.

Must comrades only be human? The world of Central Heavens Realm he now inhabited was a place where legends became reality and stories that sounded like lies turned out to be truth.

Jang Woo-hyun had companions that were not human.

Dragon King's Scale and the Black Sword.

Though they didn’t perfectly send him their will, they still aided him with intent—two swords that stood by him.

Even when he had lost consciousness just moments ago, the two swords had helped him.

Though Cho-su and Jin Ha-un had gone, Jang Woo-hyun was not alone.

He borrowed the power of the two companions who always stood with him. Gripping the swords in both hands, Jang Woo-hyun plunged into an extreme state.

From head to toe, his body moved beyond its limits in response to his will. Every single cell poured out its full strength.

Huuuu—

He breathed amidst the pressure that seemed about to shatter the world.

With each inhale, the surrounding Qi stirred and was drawn in; with each exhale, the Qi Threads he released enveloped the area.

The Qi flowing from his Upper Dantian resonated with the Qi Threads. The threads of Qi began to stack layer by layer. Just as fabric is made from threads, the accumulated Qi Threads transformed from lines into planes.

In this narrow space, Jang Woo-hyun drew out all his power and completed his own domain against the shattering force of the world.

Chareureuk—

In response to his movement and will, Dragon King's Scale separated.

One, two, four, eight.

Then sixteen, thirty-two. A bit more, and forty-eight.

The hundreds of blade scales didn’t separate completely, but instead became forty-eight swords.

The increased swords surrounded the area, and Jang Woo-hyun danced the Sword Dance within them. At the same time, the swords floating around him also began to move.

Just like what Dang Myung had shown, each sword moved independently, executing sword techniques.

Next to the Illusory Sword tracing blossoms with graceful movement, the Swift Sword Style surged with speed, and not far away, the Heavy Sword technique pressed down on all directions. One sword demonstrated a stabbing Swift Sword Style, and beside it, another exhibited the gentle movements of the Soft Sword.

Starting with the Destructive Slash of Silent Night Sword, followed by the Silent Night Three Swords before they were unified, the Three Origins Art, and the disordered Six-Blade Asura Sword before it was organized, and even the first Tiger Form Sword he had learned—all of the sword techniques Jang Woo-hyun had acquired poured forth.

Beyond that, he unleashed sword techniques he had secretly learned from the Blue Star Sect and countless unnamed techniques. Dozens, hundreds of sword techniques poured out, filling the surroundings.

In resonance with the forty-eight swords, Jang Woo-hyun performed his martial art, then paused momentarily, as if to steady his breath. Then he slashed through the air.

A light slash drawn from left to right.

At that moment, all swords responded to Jang Woo-hyun’s single stroke.

Beyond dozens, hundreds of Black Wolf Fangs tore through the air.

As he traced the circle of the Three Origins Art, hundreds of circles appeared and dispersed the pressing weight around him. When he weaved a net with his swords, a net vast enough to cover the Floating Stronghold soared through the sky.

Though brief, the Giant Hand Wrapped in Light that gripped the world stopped.

In contrast, Jang Woo-hyun did not stop and continued to unleash sword techniques. Within a trance-like state, his domain continued to expand.

With the dozens of swords encircling him, he unfolded Dang Myung’s Thousand Sword Stream.

Within it, Jang Woo-hyun expanded his Will-Form Qi and sank into the sensation he had once felt.

The Transcendental Sword he had sensed when facing the Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult and its elites.

The Boundless Realm, where his Will-Form Qi could be endlessly expanded.

Regaining the sensation of the Transcendental Sword, Jang Woo-hyun took one step into the next realm. As always, he grew in the midst of crisis.

Uuuung—

The Absolute Realm gave him a new vision. The Realm of Transcendence allowed him to enter a different flow of time.

And the next realm—Jang Woo-hyun’s Will-Form Qi spread endlessly outward.

Immeasurable (無量). Meaning, countless beyond reckoning.

His will, knowing no limits, spread outward, filling everything around.

Within the ever-expanding Will-Form Qi, Jang Woo-hyun looked past the Giant Hand Wrapped in Light toward a distant place.

A place unknown, even its location uncertain.

There, a shadow sat on a broken Divine Throne.

“Ugh!”

The figure was indistinct. No—it was more accurate to say that even trying to see its form clearly was impossible.

Just by seeing the shadow, pain like a spike pierced his head, and his eyes felt as if they were burning. Blood tears streamed down, yet Jang Woo-hyun neither turned away nor closed his eyes.

It was a foolish act, but he felt that giving up here would mean the end of everything.

He etched the barely visible shadow clearly into his eyes.

‘It’s you.’

That shadow was the True Immortal targeting him.

Jang Woo-hyun didn’t back down and kicked off the air. As if trying to bridge an impossibly vast distance.

He cared not whether his eyes burned or his brain melted. Jang Woo-hyun squeezed out every ounce of strength.

Hwaaak—

The wall of the realm that had blocked him shattered. He could now step fully into the next stage—not just a step, but complete entry.

At that moment, the unmoving shadow stirred slightly. As if noticing Jang Woo-hyun’s ascent and intending to interfere.

The shadow reached out its hand.

─────────!!

An unidentifiable sound rang out, and the hand that had threatened to crush everything stretched wide and then dropped. Its speed was unlike anything before.

Kwaaaaang!!

Part of the Central Heavens Realm was torn away and vanished.

Under the immense pressure, the hundreds of sword techniques surrounding Jang Woo-hyun vanished in an instant.

“Guh!”

Before such overwhelming power, no martial art could exert strength. Before the power of a god, humans could only struggle.

Kwagwagwagwang!

As the dimensional wall of the Central Heavens Realm broke, darkness emerged, and Jang Woo-hyun was pushed into it by the pressure from the Giant Hand Wrapped in Light.

And then, he fell downward.

“Ugh!”

Barely holding onto his fading consciousness, Jang Woo-hyun surveyed his surroundings.

A space like the universe, where countless streaks of light passed.

It was the same place he had seen when he burst out from the pillar of light during his Ascension. But this time, unlike before, he was falling downward instead of rising.

He tried to move his shattered body by force. Responding to his will, Dragon King's Scale wrapped around him. It tried to protect Jang Woo-hyun and support his movement in any way it could.

Kwagwagwang!

With a roar, one part of the universe-like space shattered.

Through that break, a Giant Hand Wrapped in Light appeared. The pursuit was not over yet.

“Grrrk…”

He tried to move his body, but it wouldn’t budge. All he could manage was to not let go of the Black Sword in his hand. Though the Dragon Scale Armor supported his body, it wasn’t enough to allow him to fight.

The Giant Hand Wrapped in Light drew ever closer, dyeing the surroundings silver moment by moment.

The closer it got, the stronger the pressure that pressed down on Jang Woo-hyun.

Kkudeudeudeuk.

Dragon King's Scale, which had never been broken before, only deflected, was crumpling. It couldn’t withstand the tremendous pressure.

Because he was wearing the Dragon Scale Armor, Jang Woo-hyun could barely endure it. If Dragon King's Scale hadn’t been protecting his body, he would’ve been flattened to a pulp.

Under the pressure crushing down on him, Jang Woo-hyun vomited blood as he struggled to move. His body was shattered, and his Internal Energy was severed, but the light in his eyes had not died.

“Ugh…”

He tried to circulate his Internal Energy with all his might.

‘Even just one arm…’

Since he couldn’t restore his body entirely, he aimed to heal just one arm and swing his sword. Jang Woo-hyun did not give up.

‘He was definitely shaken.’

Just moments ago, when Jang Woo-hyun tried to step into the next realm. That reaction was unmistakably flustered. Even from afar, he had felt it. That was why it didn’t try to grasp the world again but instead struck directly at Jang Woo-hyun.

The attack hadn’t landed, nor had it been stopped.

Even though he couldn’t block its strike, one thing had become clear after seeing its flustered reaction.

That True Immortal in the distant beyond was not an absolute god. If it had truly been omnipotent, it wouldn’t have been shaken just from looking at a human.

Even while on the verge of death, Jang Woo-hyun burned with resolve.

He forcefully reconnected his severed Qi Veins and healed his Acupoints. Though he tried to breathe, with his body in ruins, his Internal Energy didn’t accumulate. Still, he didn’t stop and kept inhaling.

After dozens of repetitions, a faint amount of Internal Energy began to build, and based on that, Jang Woo-hyun managed to temporarily restore the Qi Veins leading to his hand.

He forcibly drew up energy from his Dantian and pushed it upward.

It traveled through his upper body, across his shoulders, down his arm, and toward his hand.

It was when the Internal Energy passed through his wrist.

Saaaa…

“…!”

The silver bracelet on his arm began to glow and sucked in his Internal Energy.

【This way.】

A voice echoed. A white beam shot from the bracelet and pointed in one direction. Even as he moved his arm, the direction the beam indicated didn’t change.

‘Kim Min-soo!’

Cho-su had said this bracelet Kim Min-soo left behind was meant for signaling. He’d said it had no special function, but now, something was clearly activating.

In that moment of crisis, Jang Woo-hyun chose to trust in Kim Min-soo’s arrangement and sent his Will-Form Qi to control Dragon King's Scale. As the Dragon Scale Armor that cloaked his body released, the pressure crushing him intensified. Gritting his teeth, he endured and transformed Dragon King's Scale into wings, flying toward the direction the white beam indicated.

Soon after, a small sphere approached from the direction he flew. The rapidly approaching sphere enveloped Jang Woo-hyun.

“…!”

Before he could react, the sphere moved in a single direction and soon broke through part of the universe-like space and vanished.

Crossing space, Jang Woo-hyun fell into a world he had never seen before.

Kurrururung—

The Giant Hand Wrapped in Light had followed him to the end but could not enter the world where Jang Woo-hyun fell.

Just when it seemed it was over, the Giant Hand emitted light and expanded in size. Then it wrapped around the entire world. This time, rather than crushing what entered its palm, it was as if it intended to trap it. Or seal it.

Feeling as if his mind were wrapped in a gray fog, Jang Woo-hyun slowly regained consciousness.

‘Am I… alive?’

The Giant Hand Wrapped in Light. True Immortal’s power had completely shattered him. Its power was beyond the bounds of human comprehension.

‘If not for the bracelet…’

It was only thanks to the bracelet Kim Min-soo had left behind that he barely managed to survive. If the bracelet hadn’t indicated a direction, Jang Woo-hyun would’ve been crushed to death by the giant hand.

In a dreamy haze, Jang Woo-hyun tried to breathe and move his Internal Energy. But his Dantian was empty, and his body broken, so it didn’t respond. Still, as he tried to move, his consciousness became a little clearer.

“…sir…”

As his hearing returned, he heard a small voice.

“…sir.”

Gradually, sensation returned to his fingertips and toes. He could move his body, if only slightly.

“…Immortal.”

The voice was clearer now. It was a child’s voice.

“Immortal sir, please…”

‘Immortal?’

A child’s voice calling him an Immortal.

Jang Woo-hyun instantly sobered. It was a situation he had experienced before.

‘No way…’

It was hard to believe, but one thought surfaced.

‘Don’t tell me this is regression?’

He remembered the beastkin children who had called him Immortal. Anxious, he mustered all his strength and suddenly sat up. Then he opened his eyes.

“Wah!”

Leaving the surprised voice of the child behind, Jang Woo-hyun looked around through his blurred vision, dim from injury.

An unfamiliar ceiling. A child he had never seen before.

Fortunately, it wasn’t something like regression.

‘Right. That sort of thing wouldn’t just happen suddenly.’

He had faced the True Immortal and seen the heavens collapsing. In the face of that overwhelming power, anything could happen and it wouldn’t be surprising. But fortunately, this wasn’t some ridiculous scenario like regression. It was merely a similar situation to before.

After confirming it, Jang Woo-hyun let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

“Father! The Immortal has awakened!”

‘But why is it always an Immortal…?’

The child ran outside in surprise, and Jang Woo-hyun lost consciousness once more, with a faint question lingering in his mind.

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