Chapter 301 : A New Heaven (3)
Chapter 301: A New Heaven (3)
“Good to see you…… no, it’s good to meet you.”
Yong Un greeted him awkwardly.
Even if Jang Woo-hyun was close with Yong Seo-hee, he was now one of the absolute masters of the Central Plains Murim who had defeated Yong Cheon-myeong. Since Yong Un was also a martial artist, it was difficult for him to treat such an expert casually.
“You’re Seo-hee’s grandfather, correct? You can speak comfortably.”
“Th-That would be alright?”
“Yes, there’s no need to feel burdened.”
To ease the atmosphere, Jang Woo-hyun smiled slightly.
“Th… then I’ll speak comfortably. But are you truly alright with that?”
“What do you mean alright, you old man? Are you underestimating our Captain? You still haven’t grasped the situation? Our Captain defeated Yong Cheon-myeong. Huh! One of the new Six Great Heavens! Captain of the Demon-Extinguishing Brigade, Unrivaled Divine Sword Jang Woo-hyun, Great Hero!”
Seo Ryeom swaggered toward Yong Un like a back-alley thug, but Jang Woo-hyun called out to him.
“Senior Seo.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Where did you hear that alias?”
“Huh? Which one?”
‘Unrivaled Divine Sword.’”
“Ha-un told me about it last time. Honestly, the alias Heavenly Scale Sword Hero didn’t really suit Captain anyway, so I figured this one was perfect and decided to start using it.”
“Using it where exact… sigh, never mind. Senior Mak, please take him away.”
Mak Ya-wol approached, grabbed Seo Ryeom by the arm, and dragged him backward. Frowning, he spoke.
“What the hell’s gotten into you since last time?”
“What do you mean last time? When are you talking about?”
“You threatened those giants too last time. Why are you acting like this?”
“Ah, that. Everyone keeps looking down on our Captain. That’s why.”
“Who’s looking down on him? Seo-hee’s grandfather can talk comfortably with the Captain.”
“Tsk tsk, and you call yourself the right wing of the Demon-Extinguishing Brigade. If Great Sage were here, he’d have kicked your ass.”
Mak Ya-wol’s face twisted even further at the sudden mention of the Great Sage.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Speak so people can understand you. I’m asking why you’ve been acting up lately, so why are you suddenly bringing up the Great Sage?”
“What acting up? Since Great Sage isn’t here, someone has to do something. If Great Sage were around, those people wouldn’t dare speak so casually.”
“Uh…… well, that’s true.”
Mak Ya-wol nodded because it was true.
The great monster of the Demon Beast Realm. The battle-crazed monkey, Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
They only treated him casually because they had seen Jang Woo-hyun scold him, but Great Sage Equaling Heaven was not an existence that could be ignored. For example, when he entered the Gigantic Kingdom and merely wandered around doing nothing, chaos had erupted anyway.
“Our Captain is too kindhearted. We should deal with most people ourselves now. How dare they casually speak to Unrivaled Divine Sword Jang Woo-hyun?”
Seo Ryeom snorted angrily as he muttered to himself. Watching him, Gongson Jung-rak approached Mak Ya-wol.
“When you say Great Sage, do you mean Great Sage Equaling Heaven who traveled with you all?”
“That’s right.”
“And the one who traveled with you was just a clone.”
“If it had been the real body, neither Ryeom nor I would’ve even dared speak properly to him. No, the Demon-Extinguishing Brigade would’ve smashed through everything already. Divine Dragon Family or whatever else.”
“Then since it was a clone, there’s no way it actually died. It was probably just forcibly recalled.”
“He’s a monster from the Demon Beast Realm, so that’s probably how it works. Why do you keep asking when you obviously know already?”
“Then why’s that idiot acting like that?”
When they turned toward where Gongson Jung-rak pointed, they saw Seo Ryeom standing far away and staring at the sky. He muttered to himself.
“Great Sage, watch over us from there. I’ll protect Captain.”
Seeing him act as if Great Sage Equaling Heaven had died and passed away, Mak Ya-wol let out a deep sigh.
“This isn’t the first or second time he’s acted like this. Let’s just say a madman’s being a madman. He might interrupt while they’re talking about Captain, so let’s shove him aside for now.”
Gongson Jung-rak agreed with Mak Ya-wol. The two approached Seo Ryeom, grabbed both his arms, and dragged him toward a corner.
“H-Hey? What’s this? Let go, both of you. I have to protect Captain in Great Sage’s stead.”
“Yeah, you can protect him later. Just come over here for now.”
“When is this idiot ever going to mature?”
Seo Ryeom shouted and twisted his body around, but the two holding his arms paid him no mind and dragged him into Thunder Fortress.
---
Seo Ryeom’s absurd behavior was ridiculous, but it had a positive effect. Watching him get dragged away while shouting lightened the mood, and only then could Yong Un finally speak more comfortably with Jang Woo-hyun.
“Thank you.”
Yong Un bowed his head as he spoke.
“I heard you saved Seo-hee. Only now am I finally able to thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Without lifting his head, Yong Un continued.
“I owe you an immense debt. You are the benefactor of the Divine Dragon Family, and my benefactor as well. Even if I have to stake this old life, I will repay this debt.”
“Anyone else would’ve saved Seo-hee too. And I received a lot of help myself, so you don’t need to be this grateful.”
Jang Woo-hyun waved his hand at the excessive gratitude.
Yong Un repeatedly thanked him without raising his head, and each time, Jang Woo-hyun told him it was alright.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll just leave.”
Only after Jang Woo-hyun’s stern warning did Yong Un finally raise his head.
Then he carefully examined Jang Woo-hyun.
An ordinary appearance without anything flashy. Even his aura itself was faint. If he hadn’t been looking directly at him, he wouldn’t have even noticed he was standing there.
But the moment their eyes met and he glimpsed a fragment of that power, everything changed.
‘He’s strong…….’
The overwhelming presence made it hard to breathe. Even though he wasn’t releasing his power, Yong Un could feel it.
A martial artist beyond approach. The person named Jang Woo-hyun was deeply engraved into his mind and heart.
Yong Un let out a small sigh and closed his eyes. Only then could he escape from Jang Woo-hyun’s presence.
‘And even with such power, he’s still upright.’
In that brief conversation, he had grasped what kind of person Jang Woo-hyun was.
Leaving aside his martial arts and power, he himself was plain and free of pretense. He even tried not to burden the person who owed him gratitude.
Seeing that side of him, Yong Un felt less burdened and directly asked the question that had been troubling him.
“How do you intend to deal with the Divine Dragon Family?”
At the question, Jang Woo-hyun glanced toward the leaders of the Beast King Sect and Five Elements Cult. They lightly nodded, signaling him to handle it as he wished.
“Uh…… I haven’t really thought about it.”
Jang Woo-hyun hadn’t paid much attention to what came next. His original goal had been Yong Cheon-myeong, not the Divine Dragon Family.
“However, it’s true that the Divine Dragon Family caused problems, and several sects suffered damages because of it. I think you’ll need to discuss matters with them.”
“I’ll mediate, so let’s discuss those complicated matters among ourselves.”
Seeing that Jang Woo-hyun had no particular thoughts on the matter, Seo Gyeong-mu, Maeng Ye-ju, and Dan Hong approached.
Jang Woo-hyun didn’t belong to a major sect, nor had he ever experienced dealing with such matters. Naturally, he didn’t know how to handle them.
The only thing he was truly good at was fighting, so he decided to leave these matters to people capable of dealing with them.
As Seo Gyeong-mu led Yong Un and the others into discussion, Jang Woo-hyun approached those he had yet to greet.
The martial artists of the Sun Palace, who weren’t companions nor allies and had kept some distance, had been waiting for Jang Woo-hyun off to one side.
“You’ve given me tremendous help.”
Unlike the other sects, the Sun Palace didn’t share deep ties with him. They had merely crossed paths once or twice by chance, yet they trusted him and came to help. They might have been the most surprising sect to appear here.
When Jang Woo-hyun deeply bowed his head in gratitude, the Sun Palace martial artists, who knew his strength, flinched in shock. Some even let out quiet groans.
“Haha, you surprise me every time I see you. No, I suppose I can’t even casually call you ‘you’ anymore.”
“You may treat me comfortably as before. We knew each other before I became this way, didn’t we?”
“……Then I won’t refuse and will speak comfortably.”
Jang Woo-hyun smiled and nodded.
“You surprise me every time I see you, but this time, ‘surprising’ isn’t enough to describe it. My eyes have been opened. To think there exists a martial artist who can become this strong this quickly, haha.”
Cheok Hwa-hong could only laugh hollowly at the shocking speed of growth. He had lived many years, yet had never seen a martial artist like Jang Woo-hyun.
‘He defeated one of the Six Great Heavens…….’
No matter how many times he thought about it, he still couldn’t believe it.
“With the strength you displayed, I wonder if we were even necessary.”
“No. I can’t do everything alone.”
“I’m grateful you say that. I’m glad we could be of help.”
Jang Woo-hyun expressed his thanks once more, and Cheok Hwa-hong continued.
“We also owed you a debt, so don’t concern yourself too much with this matter. Besides, isn’t it beneficial for us as well to know someone like you? We’ve formed ties with a new heaven, after all.”
After briefly speaking with Cheok Hwa-hong, Jang Woo-hyun turned toward Hwa Jin-myeong.
“Thank you for helping.”
“Think nothing of it. I believed our relationship was worth that much.”
As Jang Woo-hyun cupped his fist in greeting, Hwa Jin-myeong returned the gesture.
“This may sound somewhat presumptuous, but may I ask one favor?”
After a brief conversation, Hwa Jin-myeong carefully opened his mouth.
“Sometime later, fight me again…… no. That’s not right.”
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Hwa Jin-myeong looked at Jang Woo-hyun. The lightness from before had disappeared, replaced with seriousness.
“In the future, may I seek your guidance?”
“I don’t know about guidance……”
As Jang Woo-hyun trailed off, Hwa Jin-myeong tensed.
“……But if it’s a duel, we can do that anytime.”
At the words that followed along with a smile, Hwa Jin-myeong clenched his fist tightly.
Even after ascending to such heights, the essence of the person named Jang Woo-hyun had not changed. That was precisely why Hwa Jin-myeong had come to help despite knowing the danger.
“That’s enough for me. It was an honor to help. I am Hwa Jin-myeong of the Sun Palace.”
“I am Jang Woo-hyun of the Demon-Extinguishing Brigade.”
The two cleanly finished exchanging greetings.
Afterward, Hwa Jin-myeong moved immediately. He had no intention of staying here any longer.
“We’re returning.”
There was no time to savor victory. Hwa Jin-myeong’s heart had grown impatient.
He had declared to Cheok Hwa-hong that he would walk his own path, but now the situation had changed greatly from back then.
He had witnessed the power of the grown Jang Woo-hyun. If he continued walking slowly, he would never even glimpse Jang Woo-hyun’s heels.
Now, he would have to mobilize everything and run like a madman just to chase after him.
‘The Ice Palace is no longer the issue.’
There was no time to clash with them. Even if they suffered losses immediately, the Sun Palace needed to quickly form a non-aggression pact and move forward.
Because Hwa Jin-myeong’s goal now was the Six Great Heavens.
---
Even after the Sun Palace departed, the discussions among the leaders continued.
Only after an entire day had passed was Jang Woo-hyun finally able to meet Yong Un again.
Once the situation had been settled, Jang Woo-hyun decided to ask about what he was searching for.
“Do you know where the Shrine of Hundred Eyes is?”
Yong Seo-hee tilted her head since it was her first time hearing of it, while Yong Un’s expression stiffened.
“How do you know of that place?”
“Yong Cheon-myeong told me.”
“To think the Divine Dragon told you about it. That’s unexpected. The Shrine of Hundred Eyes isn’t a shrine in the ordinary sense.”
Usually, a shrine was a place that enshrined ancestral tablets, but the Shrine of Hundred Eyes was somewhat different. It was also someone’s grave and a place where vast records were stored.
“It’s quite a peculiar place.”
“Yong Cheon-myeong told me to go there.”
“…….”
From Yong Un’s perspective, it was difficult to understand why Yong Cheon-myeong would direct the man who defeated him toward the deepest secrets of the family.
“May I ask why you wish to go there?”
“I can’t tell you the details, but there’s something I need to confirm there.”
“Only those chosen from among the clan may enter the Shrine of Hundred Eyes. It may not accept a human like you.”
“I can solve that problem.”
“Surely…… you don’t mean to break your way in?”
Yong Un asked tensely. If Jang Woo-hyun truly decided to destroy the Shrine of Hundred Eyes, the current strength of the Divine Dragon Family would be unable to stop him.
“No, there’s a way to enter.”
Jang Woo-hyun explained about the golden orb Yong Cheon-myeong had given him just before dying.
“Then it may be possible.”
Yong Un had opposed Yong Cheon-myeong’s thoughts and actions, but he still highly regarded his abilities. He had also respected Yong Cheon-myeong, who cherished the clan deeply.
If it was the power Yong Cheon-myeong had left behind at the end, entering the Shrine of Hundred Eyes would certainly be possible.
“I’ll guide you there. In order to settle this matter anyway, I need to visit the main house and release those who are imprisoned.”
After resolving one issue, Jang Woo-hyun opened his mouth to ask another question. In some ways, what he was about to ask was far more important than the Shrine of Hundred Eyes.
“There’s one more thing I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know a place called the Serpent that Devours Dragons? I heard it’s where floating islands gather.”
Regardless of the battle with Yong Cheon-myeong, Jang Woo-hyun had needed to come to the territory of the Divine Dragon Family at least once.
Because one of the two places Kim Min-soo had told him about in the Lower Realm was located within the territory of the Divine Dragon Family.