Chapter 85: Summoning (2)

【This thing……】

A sword entirely black. Its material was unknown. No, to be exact, the original material had been transformed beyond recognition due to hatred, rage, and an intense curse.

Even in the eyes of a great monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm, who had lived a long time, it appeared exceptional. Clearly, it was not a Dharma Treasure, yet the power it held rivaled that of a decent Dharma Treasure.

The gaze of the Wind-Passing Great Sage, who had been staring at the black sword, shifted to the other weapon in Jang Woo-hyun’s hand.

Before he realized it, the Dragon King’s Scales had returned to its sword form.

It hadn’t been properly assessed in the Lower Realm, but now it was clear—the Dragon King’s Scales was no ordinary weapon. At minimum, it was a mid-grade Treasure Armament, possibly even higher.

‘He’s already acquired something like this?’

Judging by the time, Jang Woo-hyun had only recently ascended to the Central Heavens Realm, and yet he already possessed two special weapons. There were plenty who could not acquire even one Dharma Treasure after nearly a hundred years. Compared to them, Jang Woo-hyun was far too exceptional.

‘What is he?’

The Wind-Passing Great Sage could not fully grasp the grand fate granted to someone, but he could at least sense the flow.

It was no coincidence that two weapons had come to Jang Woo-hyun. To obtain such weapons, a unique kind of resonance had to occur, and items known as Divine Armaments often chose their masters themselves.

As he became certain of Jang Woo-hyun’s uniqueness, the Wind-Passing Great Sage asked,

【Where did you get this thing……?】

“Found it on the way here.”

【What?】

“Are you from Nation of Mechanical Marvels? You're not an artisan—why does it matter?”

There was nothing to say in response to such confident words. He wasn’t wrong, either.

【…….】

“Why are you so talkative? What? Don’t tell me you can’t make it usable?”

Looking at him with a pitiful expression, as if teasing a close friend, the Wind-Passing Great Sage let out a bewildered chuckle.

There should have been several realms of difference between them—how could he act like this? It wasn’t that he expected the boy to freeze in fear, but this much boldness made him seem not just strange, but outright insane.

【Are you even human?】

“Then what, you think I’m a monster?”

Spreading his arms as if to say, ‘Look at me,’ the Wind-Passing Great Sage let out a chuckle, “Heh heh.”

【This isn’t an ordinary object. It carries deep grudges, rage, and……】

“Ugh, you talk too much. Did you come here to chat? Just say it—can you or can’t you?”

That shameless attitude, like someone retrieving a deposited item, made the Wind-Passing Great Sage wonder for a moment, ‘What am I doing?’ As Jang Woo-hyun had said, he hadn’t come here for small talk.

【I suppose even this meeting was fate.】

With a smile, the Wind-Passing Great Sage used his power.

Whoooosh!

A small whirlwind enveloped the black sword. The whirlwind, which had been wrapping around the entire sword, gradually shrank until it hovered only at the hilt. Then, it slithered into the ring attached to the hilt and vanished.

Having completed his work, the Wind-Passing Great Sage tossed the black sword.

【You should be able to use it—roughly.】

Jang Woo-hyun received the sword and adjusted its position on his waist. Originally, he had worn it on the right side of his waist—not to wield it, but to suppress the power of the brand left by the Wind-Passing Great Sage.

He rotated the scabbard of the Dragon King’s Scales to the right and wore the black sword on his left. Then, he slowly drew the sword.

Srrng.

A cold sensation ran along his palm. It wasn’t just chill—it carried a faint trace of a curse. Though the Wind-Passing Great Sage had helped, some residual malice still lingered and seeped through his grip.

Still, it was now usable as a sword. Until now, it had only functioned as a sealing tool.

“Even if we fight, let’s at least let them go.”

【Huh? Who are we sending? Ah!】

When the Wind-Passing Great Sage saw the Beastkin Jang Woo-hyun was pointing to, he nodded in agreement without hesitation. They were never of interest to him in the first place. His target had always been only Jang Woo-hyun.

Crunch. Crack.

Suddenly, the Wind-Passing Great Sage tore off his own left arm.

“……”

At the incomprehensible act, Jang Woo-hyun took a step back and raised his sword.

Regardless, the Wind-Passing Great Sage threw his arm to the side. With a puff, the arm turned into thousands of hairs and shot toward the Flying Apparatus.

The hairs split into three and wrapped around the boat-shaped Flying Apparatus.

The Flying Apparatus, engulfed in white light, revealed dozens of wings once the light vanished.

【You all can go now. What are you doing? I said go.】

Though spoken lightly, the words carried an undeniable force. The Suwang Sect disciples, as if receiving an absolute command, quickly carried the fallen Beastkin into the Flying Apparatus.

Meanwhile, Kang Yong, having gauged the situation, approached Jang Woo-hyun.

“Go on, hurry.”

“What about you… what are you going to do?”

Seeing Kang Yong so withdrawn, Jang Woo-hyun smirked inwardly. The large wolf Beastkin looked like a puppy caught in the rain.

“Someone has to stop that thing. I was the one who summoned it.”

Jang Woo-hyun pointed with his chin at the Wind-Passing Great Sage, now with only one arm. Kang Yong couldn’t even bring himself to look. His trembling hands clenched tightly into fists to hide the shaking.

The great monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm. The Wind-Passing Great Sage, the Monkey King.

Even a rampaging Kang Yong, like a beast, couldn’t possibly handle such a creature. No matter how much he steeled himself or clenched his fists, the trembling didn’t stop.

It was natural for a Beastkin. Especially one with strong animal instincts like Kang Yong. He had encountered a top predator—and fear had taken over.

“Don’t worry. Take good care of the people and the kids. What are you doing, go already.”

“You…”

“There’s no time to waste here. We still have to find Senior Maeng, who flew off.”

Even with an overwhelming monster right beside him, Jang Woo-hyun remained calm and composed.

“See you later.”

Though he was much smaller than himself, Kang Yong thought Jang Woo-hyun seemed larger. It wasn’t physical size—it was the capacity of the man named Jang Woo-hyun that felt overwhelmingly greater.

For a moment, Kang Yong felt Jang Woo-hyun was similar to the Suwang Sect Leader.

“Now go.”

Jang Woo-hyun reached out, patted Kang Yong on the shoulder, and then turned toward the Wind-Passing Great Sage. Kang Yong, after watching his back for a moment, had no choice but to board the Flying Apparatus with the disciples.

As the Flying Apparatus ascended, Jang Woo-hyun placed his body between them and the Wind-Passing Great Sage, shielding them with his back.

【Satisfied now? Then let’s see you try and stop me.】

Watching the Flying Apparatus rise, the Wind-Passing Great Sage raised his hand slightly and extended his index and middle fingers.

A gesture known as Sword Hand Seal.

Using two fingers to form a small sword, he slashed toward Jang Woo-hyun.

Boom!

Though a simple movement, the force behind it was far from trivial.

“Kuh.”

A faint groan escaped through clenched teeth.

Jang Woo-hyun blocked with the black sword but felt as if a mountain was crushing him.

【Is that all you’ve got?】

The Wind-Passing Great Sage murmured and nodded to himself.

“Ugh…”

Just as Jang Woo-hyun was mustering his strength to stomp the ground and not collapse, the Wind-Passing Great Sage did something even more incomprehensible.

Thud!

He pierced his own chest with his hand and pulled out what looked like internal organs.

“What the hell are you doing now…”

Next, he cleanly severed his right leg with a chop.

Slice.

【Hmm, still not enough?】

Tilting his head once, he then cut off his left leg with the same motion.

【This should about match.】

Only after both legs were gone did Jang Woo-hyun realize what he was doing.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage, who had been high in the sky, was now descending to the ground. His power had diminished, and his level had lowered.

He was intentionally injuring himself to reduce his power to match Jang Woo-hyun’s ability.

“Ha, this bastard.”

At the ridiculous display, Jang Woo-hyun’s tension suddenly evaporated. It was one thing to look down on someone, but this was far beyond that.

“Kuhuhu, scared? Don’t worry, I won’t crush you in an instant. That’d be no fun.”

His voice, now no longer transmitted through spiritual will but spoken aloud, was filled with mischief.

From the severed arms and legs, and the gaping chest, wind surged—and the injuries healed. As if nothing had happened. As if time had reversed, the wounds vanished. It wasn’t healing—it was more like restoration or reconstruction.

White smoke billowed as the incomprehensible power of the Wind-Passing Great Sage descended to the level of a martial artist at the level of Transcendence.

A monster mad for battle.

When he found an opponent he liked, he left his brand so other monsters wouldn’t interfere, waited for them to grow, and eventually fought and killed them.

Such conduct was well-known even in the Central Heavens Martial Realm. Many had disappeared after becoming his prey.

And now, Jang Woo-hyun had become his prey.

"Just how lightly did you take me."

Seeing the Wind-Passing Great Sage lower his level by injuring himself, Jang Woo-hyun briefly lost his momentum. But he quickly changed his mindset.

This was a chance. A chance to survive.

Jang Woo-hyun decided once again to crush the monkey monster before him and survive.

He raised two swords.

In his right hand was the black sword, in his left was the Dragon King’s Scales.

Though he had never trained in dual swordsmanship, it wasn’t difficult for Jang Woo-hyun—who had already mastered Myriad Blossoms and Rain and could release hundreds of sword energies—to wield two swords.

"This time too, I’ll crush you."

Jang Woo-hyun raised his momentum. At that sight, the Wind-Passing Great Sage, whose body had already recovered, laughed with a snicker.

"Good! But it won’t be so easy this time."

Above his shoulder, a silver orb the size of a head floated up. The quivering orb looked like silver liquid gathered into a ball.

"I told you before."

As the Wind-Passing Great Sage reached out, the silver orb changed shape.

"I said it would’ve been better if I had my weapon."

—If I had my weapon, the fight would've been more enjoyable. But I didn’t have one…

—Losers sure talk a lot.

A memory from the Central Plains.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage, his body shattered, had stood before Jang Woo-hyun and said that.

"This is my weapon."

The elongating silver mass turned into a silver spear, one whole piece from blade to shaft.

"This will be way more fun than before."

With a loud laugh, the Wind-Passing Great Sage stomped the ground.

"Guhhhhh…"

"Sister! Are you alright?"

"Ugh…"

Amid the illusion that her body had shattered to pieces, Maeng Ye-ju opened her eyes.

Lying down for a moment, blinking several times, she retraced what had happened to her.

‘A single strike.’

A single strike from the great monster, swung as if out of annoyance, had almost destroyed her body. Had she been neglecting her training, her body might really have shattered.

"Where… is this? No, what happened? Is everyone okay?"

She asked about her own condition and her companions’ safety all at once, rambling in confusion.

"Everyone’s alright. We found you earlier, buried in some mountain, and we’re moving together now."

"Moving? Going where? Where is this? Gah!"

Trying to sit up, Maeng Ye-ju screamed from the pain. She trembled briefly, swallowed the pain, and looked around.

The warriors of the Suwang Sect and the rescued Beastkin. All were watching her with worried eyes. Inside the Flying Apparatus.

"What is going on? Where is the Wind-Passing Great Sage? What the hell…"

"Jang Woo-hyun stayed behind."

"What? What do you mean?"

"He was the one who summoned the Wind-Passing Great Sage. From what the children said, it seems a Brand had been marked on him from the beginning."

"Why are you suddenly talking about a Brand? Explain it slowly so I understand."

At her prompting, Kang Yong recounted what he had heard while she was unconscious.

"Apparently, Jang Woo-hyun had met these children before."

The wind-scented immortal, that’s what the children called him. When they asked the surviving adults, they said that when Jang Woo-hyun had just Ascended, there was a Brand marked on his shoulder. He had saved their village and joined up with Pung So-bong and Gwak Yu-chan.

"Then… it was marked in the Lower Realm?"

"That’s what it sounds like. Based on their story, he met the children right after arriving in the Central Heavens Realm."

"That’s absurd… Wait, does that mean Woo-hyun stayed behind to face that monster alone?"

"He was the target, so they wouldn’t let him go."

Maeng Ye-ju covered her face with her hands.

Jang Woo-hyun was strong—strong enough that she had wanted to bring him into the Suwang Sect.

But that was all relative. Compared to the Wind-Passing Great Sage they had just seen, the power Jang Woo-hyun possessed was meager.

"We ran away, leaving Woo-hyun behind?"

"…"

"Answer me. Is that what we did?"

"There was no other way."

Kang Yong replied with drooping ears. He hadn’t wanted this either, but there really was no alternative.

"This is driving me crazy, ughhh."

Grunting from the pain coursing through her body, Maeng Ye-ju got up.

"Yong, take the kids and go back."

"Huh? What are you saying? Sister, you can’t be going back! That would be suicide. You saw his power! No matter—"

"Enough."

She reached out and stopped Kang Yong mid-sentence.

"You go back. That’s an order. Make sure everyone here gets back safely."

"What are you going to do?"

Maeng Ye-ju stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders as if to warm up.

"I took a hit out of nowhere, and I need to return the favor. Even if I die, I’m going to smack that monkey’s face at least once."

She clenched her fist and grinned. The smile was so refreshing that even the young Beastkin watching began to smile along.

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