Chapter 292 : New Member (2)
Chapter 292: New Member (2)
Gongsun Jung-rak glanced once at the colorful bracelet fastened around his wrist before raising his head. His gaze landed on Jang Woo-hyun standing at one side of the training hall.
‘He’s too vast.’
He could not grasp the size of the vessel that the martial artist named Jang Woo-hyun possessed. He had tried to deny it, but now he had to admit it.
‘He has surpassed the Ten Seats.’
Whether he was comparable to the Six Heavens or still beneath them, Gongsun Jung-rak could not tell.
Unlike the Seventeen Emperors or the Ten Seats, the Six Heavens existed in an unknown realm.
If Yong Cheon-myeong had not stepped forward and thrown the Middle Heavens Murim into chaos in the first place, they would have been beings impossible to even encounter.
They were living legends of the Middle Heavens Murim, so little was known about their strength or power. Rumors merely claimed they had stepped into the domain of gods.
Since Jang Woo-hyun was not revealing his strength, it was even harder to tell. If one did not see him with their own eyes, it was difficult to even sense his presence.
Gongsun Jung-rak smiled while looking at Jang Woo-hyun.
‘What a wonderful opportunity.’
Being able to spar with a martial artist like Jang Woo-hyun was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. From Gongsun Jung-rak’s perspective, he could not even understand why someone like Jang Woo-hyun would casually exchange blows with an outsider like him.
Though it was hard to understand, he had still been granted an excellent opportunity, and Gongsun Jung-rak had no intention of wasting it.
He simply intended to enjoy the fight.
Lowering his stance, he drew up his Qi, and the bracelets on both wrists began to vibrate.
‘So this is the limit.’
Carefully measuring how much strength he could use, he found the proper boundary. Gongsun Jung-rak quickly grasped the extent of power available to him.
‘This should be enough.’
It was not enough to send his will in all directions and shatter the surroundings, but it seemed sufficient for projecting Qi.
Gongsun Jung-rak finished his preparations. Jang Woo-hyun merely waited for him as though he were ready at any time.
Gongsun Jung-rak lightly bowed in greeting before kicking off the ground. He instantly closed the distance and threw out a punch.
Kwarrrrrr!
Thunder exploded from his fist.
---
Jang Woo-hyun stepped backward and avoided Gongsun Jung-rak’s punch. Strangely enough, thunder erupted from the point of impact, followed by a wave of Qi rushing outward. Ripples of Qi spread through the air from the force.
‘Does he spread Qi waves from the point of impact?’
Jang Woo-hyun had seen a similar technique before.
The attacks used by the giants of the Nation of Giants, who detonated Qi at the point of impact.
The method differed, but Gongsun Jung-rak’s martial art resembled the power used by the giants.
Kwa-rung!
Every time Gongsun Jung-rak punched the empty air, thunder roared and another Qi wave surged forth.
‘It’s like a more refined martial art.’
The giants’ martial arts wrapped Qi around themselves like armor before exploding it crudely, but Gongsun Jung-rak controlled the flow of Qi with precision. The martial art caused no harm to its user.
Even if one deflected his incoming fist to the side, a rumbling explosion followed, and power burst from the empty space his punch had struck. Gongsun Jung-rak could direct the waves not only forward, but sideways as well.
Against an opponent of similar strength, it would be an extremely troublesome martial art to face.
After exchanging just a few blows, Jang Woo-hyun could already understand why he was considered one of the Hundred Martial Assembly’s experts.
Since Jang Woo-hyun moved somewhat passively to observe the unfamiliar martial art, Gongsun Jung-rak took it as an opportunity and pressed forward aggressively.
Kwa-rung! Along with the roar of thunder, a fierce punch struck the air. The incoming Qi rolled toward him like waves, and his reaction was slightly delayed.
Gongsun Jung-rak immediately exploited the opening. In front of Jang Woo-hyun’s extended fist, he attacked the empty air once more before circling left and throwing another punch.
This time it was an attack impossible to evade, so Jang Woo-hyun raised his arm to block it.
Kuuung!
He blocked it, but then a wave of Qi crashed into him like a tide, pushing Jang Woo-hyun backward.
‘His attack patterns aren’t simple.’
Despite wielding overwhelming force, Gongsun Jung-rak did not attack head-on recklessly. Sometimes he mixed in feints to obscure the opponent’s vision, while at other times he suppressed them with brute force.
Strength and softness. Crudeness and precision.
It was a martial art that possessed both at once. Merely watching it was entertaining.
But Jang Woo-hyun was not someone who would simply watch forever.
He stopped retreating and poured strength into both hands.
As Gongsun Jung-rak’s fist shot toward him, Jang Woo-hyun did not retreat. Instead, he threw out a punch of his own.
Kwaaaang!
Unlike Gongsun Jung-rak’s fist, which created waves and ripples, Jang Woo-hyun’s punch directly exploded the empty air itself.
“……!”
Gongsun Jung-rak’s eyes widened.
He recognized that technique as well.
What Jang Woo-hyun was using resembled the technique employed by the giants.
Jang Woo-hyun stepped forward one pace at a time, continuously throwing punches. Every time his fist collided with Gongsun Jung-rak’s or struck the air, Qi exploded from the point of impact.
Though he sustained damage, Jang Woo-hyun kept advancing.
Now it was Gongsun Jung-rak who was being pushed backward.
Bang! Kwaang! Bang!
Explosions continued throughout the air, and after roughly thirty detonations, the sound began to change.
Kuuung! Kkung!
After another ten exchanges, the violently exploding Qi disappeared, and waves began forming from Jang Woo-hyun’s fists instead.
The waves of Qi created ripples in the air and targeted Gongsun Jung-rak.
“What is this…….”
Faced with an impossible situation, Gongsun Jung-rak could not finish his sentence. His eyes were filled with shock.
What Jang Woo-hyun was displaying now was Gongsun Jung-rak’s unique martial art—
Thunderclap Fist.
Kwa-rurung!
With a roar of thunder, Jang Woo-hyun’s punch drove Gongsun Jung-rak backward.
As overlapping waves of Qi crashed toward him, Gongsun Jung-rak panicked and drew out more power than the bracelet’s limit allowed.
At that moment—
Crack!
A sharp sound came from his wrist, and the bracelet shattered.
“Eliminated!”
“Failed!”
“Defeat!”
The Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division martial artists watching nearby each declared Gongsun Jung-rak’s loss in their own way.
At the same time, Jang Woo-hyun stopped attacking and stepped back.
“……What are all of you suddenly talking about?”
“If the bracelet breaks, you lose.”
“What?”
“You heard the explanation earlier, yet now you’re pretending not to know. Come on out now.”
At someone’s remark, Gongsun Jung-rak lowered his gaze toward his arms.
The colorful bracelets around both wrists had shattered and fallen to the ground.
“Looks like he doesn’t want to admit defeat.”
“Come on, no way. He’s old enough to know better.”
Seeing Gongsun Jung-rak staring blankly at his wrists and the broken bracelets on the floor, several martial artists began muttering among themselves.
Since it was a type of fight he had never experienced before, it might have been difficult for him to accept so easily.
“Old man, come on out now. The others need to train too. And I clearly explained it earlier. If that thing breaks, you lose. Not listening to the explan-”
“H-haha. Hahahaha.”
Seo Ryeom stopped walking forward when Gongsun Jung-rak suddenly began laughing to himself.
“Uahahahahahaha!”
He could not help but laugh.
They had not even fought properly, and the spar had ended far too quickly.
Yet he still felt wonderful.
‘A new sky!’
Jang Woo-hyun’s talent was astonishing.
After exchanging merely dozens of moves, he had copied the Thunderclap Fist without difficulty. Could another genius like this even exist?
And what was this training method of suppressing one’s strength during sparring? He had never experienced such a thing in his life.
It was fun. Fascinating.
If repeated enough times, it might even open a new path.
Gongsun Jung-rak looked once more at his wrists and the shattered bracelets on the floor before lifting his head.
The shock and confusion had long disappeared.
Now his eyes sparkled excessively brightly.
“You bastards kept something this fun to yourselves all this time?”
Seeing his face overflowing with exhilaration, Seo Ryeom frowned, while Mak Ya-wol merely smirked as though he had expected this all along.
One of the Nine Experts of the Hundred Martial Assembly.
Thunderbolt Cannon Gongsun Jung-rak.
He had completely fallen for the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division’s training methods.
---
Even before Gongsun Jung-rak arrived, some of the beastmen who had been following behind had already boarded the Great Thunder Fortress, but at some point they stopped returning to their own giant flying artifacts.
Naturally, the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division martial artists and the Beast King Sect beastmen mingled together, and duels broke out throughout the day.
“Ah, these bastards’ physical abilities are way too ridiculous.”
“Hah! Human, stop making excuses. If you lost, just admit you lost.”
“Hey, your bodies are fundamentally different from ours. This isn’t fair. Fight me again.”
“What’s the point of fighting again? And wait a bit.”
“Wait for what? Hurry up and come.”
“Let’s watch that first before we fight.”
The wolf beastman pointed ahead, and the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division martial artist arguing with him turned his head.
Not far away, Jang Woo-hyun, Maeng Ye-ju, and Gongsun Jung-rak were fighting.
The martial artist who had been speaking with the wolf beastman also fell silent and focused on the scene before him.
Watching experts fight was helpful in itself, so before long, other martial artists gathered as well.
Among them was the skinny fox beastman, Dan Moon.
While watching Jang Woo-hyun’s movements, Dan Moon turned toward Seo Ryeom beside him.
“You…… are not afraid of that man…… the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division Leader?”
“Our captain is scary? He’s a good person though. Senior Dan, are you scared of the captain?”
Seo Ryeom looked at him with genuine confusion.
Instead of answering, Dan Moon turned his gaze back toward Jang Woo-hyun.
Unlike their first meeting, Jang Woo-hyun no longer appeared to him as a horrifying monster.
However, his beastman instincts still rejected Jang Woo-hyun. To him, Jang Woo-hyun felt like an unstoppable natural disaster or a god-like existence.
Although Dan Moon said nothing, Seo Ryeom could still glimpse the lingering fear on his face.
“This is really surprising.”
“Surprising?”
“Senior Dan, aren’t you one of the Three Ferocious Beasts?”
Thousand Cruelties Evil Beast Dan Hong, Evil Ghost Blade Dan Moon, and Red Curse Evil Tiger Dan Young.
Together, the three were known throughout the Middle Heavens Murim as the Three Ferocious Beasts.
Violent by nature and responsible for slaughtering countless enemies, the Three Ferocious Beasts were legendary figures among beastmen and living nightmares to the enemies of the Beast King Sect.
As a beastman himself, Seo Ryeom knew the name Evil Ghost Blade Dan Moon better than anyone. The number of martial artists who had died by his hand likely exceeded four digits.
That such a monster feared Jang Woo-hyun was simply fascinating.
“I’ve never really felt fear toward him. Not just me—everyone feels that way.”
Whenever danger arose, Jang Woo-hyun was always the first to charge in. He cared deeply for his comrades. He loved martial arts, and no one could match him when it came to learning and mastering them.
Seo Ryeom had been active in the Middle Heavens Murim far longer and was technically the senior, yet Jang Woo-hyun was still a junior from whom there was much to learn.
At first, the former Battle Demon Division martial artists—including Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol—followed Jang Woo-hyun simply because it looked fun.
But now, they genuinely regarded Jang Woo-hyun as their captain.
Even if the impossible happened and the Hundred Martial Assembly fought against the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division, most of them would side with the latter.
Seo Ryeom included.
‘But would that even count as a fight?’
No matter how roughly he estimated it, Jang Woo-hyun had already surpassed the Assembly Leader. Even now, he was someone talking about fighting one of the Six Heavens, so what could the Hundred Martial Assembly possibly amount to?
At this point, the only people capable of standing against Jang Woo-hyun were the other members of the Six Heavens or warriors comparable to them.
“Ah, now that I think about it, there are times when I get scared too. Sometimes he suddenly grows unbelievably stronger than I expected, and then it becomes terrifying. I wonder just how far our captain will go, and that frightens me.”
Watching from the side, Seo Ryeom was always shocked by Jang Woo-hyun’s growth speed.
Back when they had suffered defeat at Yong Cheon-myeong’s hands—
Mak Ya-wol estimated it would take a hundred years to take revenge, while Seo Ryeom had guessed twenty.
Yet less than a year later, Jang Woo-hyun was already talking about confronting Yong Cheon-myeong.
He was not someone who spoke carelessly, nor someone who would recklessly endanger the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division.
Which meant he truly believed he could defeat the Heavenly Dragon Sovereign.
‘He really is an absurd person.’
Sometimes Seo Ryeom wondered whether he was even human.
From what he heard, it had not even been long since Jang Woo-hyun ascended, yet his growth speed was already this monstrous.
No one in the Middle Heavens Murim had ever grown as quickly as Jang Woo-hyun.
“Well, those moments are definitely scary and shocking, but he’s still fun to be around. There’s a lot to learn from him. Where else would you find someone like that?”
Seo Ryeom gestured ahead with his eyes.
There, Jang Woo-hyun had already finished sparring and was explaining something to Maeng Ye-ju and Gongsun Jung-rak.
Seeing the sight before him, Dan Moon nodded in agreement.
How many people positioned so high above others would discuss martial arts so openly with ordinary martial artists?
It was a special sight unlike anything he had ever seen before.
“That’s not it. Ah…… how should I explain this?”
“Let’s just try it again. What do you think, Senior Gongsun?”
“I’m all for it.”
Unable to explain properly, Jang Woo-hyun looked frustrated.
Demonstrating with his body was easy, but explaining martial arts to someone else was difficult.
“Then let’s spar once more, and I’ll explain afterward. First, from here…… no, I should stop there.”
Jang Woo-hyun halted mid-motion and turned his body around.
A moment later, Cho-su approached from the direction he had turned toward.
“That’s enough for now.”
Though he spoke briefly, everyone present already knew what Cho-su was about to say.
Smiles spread across the faces of both humans and beastmen alike.
“The Five Elements Cult and the Sun Palace have nearly reached the borders of the Divine Dragon Family. It’s our turn now.”
The moment Cho-su finished speaking, the martial artists of the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division and the beastmen raised their Qi.
Their allies had finished preparing for war.
Now it was finally time for the Demon-Immortal Slaughter Division and the Beast King Sect to make their move.