Chapter 334 : Arrival (2)
Chapter 334: Arrival (2)
The Roc Demon King, Lion Camel King, and Bull Demon King.
The three Great Demons renowned throughout the Demon Spirit Realm lowered their heads toward the demon standing behind them.
A bull-headed demon with ominous crimson eyes.
He stood eight feet tall. Black fur covered his entire body, and he wore crimson garments that concealed only parts of it. The four horns rising from his head resembled a crown.
The moment the demon's eyes fell upon him, Jang Woo-hyun summoned Baekmu.
'He's different.'
When he had first met the Macaque King in the ruined Demon-Slaying Chamber, Jang Woo-hyun had thought that if there truly was a king among demons, he would probably look like that. The same had been true of the Roc Demon King and the other members of the Seven Great Sages.
But the Bull Demon King was different from the others.
The king among kings.
Absolute power.
He doubted he would ever see strength of this level again.
Even with Jang Woo-hyun's sharpened senses, which could instantly assess an opponent, he could not grasp the Bull Demon King's limits.
It felt as though he had encountered an immense wall.
“Bull Demon King...”
The name of the bull-headed demon slipped from Jang Woo-hyun's lips.
The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the Great Strength Bull Demon King.
The eldest of the Seven Great Sages and leader of the seven Great Demons.
The demons of the Demon Spirit Realm revered his power and called him the Great Strength Emperor.
Beside him, a voice spoke.
Its tone was unlike usual.
Instead of the usual playful lightness, it was calm and subdued.
“Big Brother is strong.”
Since meeting the Macaque King, this was the first time Jang Woo-hyun had heard him say such a thing.
Even when they had met Yuqiang, the Divine Being of the Demon Spirit Realm, the Macaque King had only said fighting within his Domain would be difficult.
He had never called him strong.
The Macaque King had boldly stood alone against the Roc Demon King, Lion Camel King, and Bull Demon King before.
Yet this time, Jang Woo-hyun could clearly sense his tension.
“And the other brothers are here too.”
The situation was far from favorable.
Sun Wukong had suddenly fled.
There were only two on their side, while the other side had gained the Bull Demon King, making four in total.
Every one of them was one of the Seven Great Sages—the greatest demons of the Demon Spirit Realm.
Seeing the Macaque King's reaction, Jang Woo-hyun slowly inhaled before exhaling.
Then he casually said,
“We'll just take two each.”
There was neither tension, panic, nor fear in his voice.
He spoke as though it were nothing unusual.
“...What?”
The Macaque King's eyes widened.
“Do we have another option?”
Running away was impossible.
Neither Jang Woo-hyun nor the Macaque King could easily shake off four Great Demons.
As for surrendering?
That was even less acceptable.
Giving up without even fighting was something neither of them would ever do.
Whether they lived or died, they intended to fight somehow.
Hearing those calm words, the Macaque King's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
“Uwahahahaha! You're right. We've got no choice. There are only the two of us.”
The Macaque King had no intention of tucking his tail between his legs either.
Still laughing, he looked into Jang Woo-hyun's eyes, which sparkled brilliantly.
“Will you be alright?”
“With what?”
“Whatever you gained in there, shouldn't you digest it first?”
Jang Woo-hyun's mind was currently overflowing with everything he had inherited from Lee Tae-seong's memories.
The memories spanned far too much time, so he had divided them into separate portions of consciousness.
If he merged them all into one...
Something would undoubtedly change.
He might even advance into the next realm.
However, they were memories rather than recorded information.
There was no telling when everything he had gained would disappear.
Jang Woo-hyun possessed no ability to preserve them permanently.
He excelled only at learning martial arts and fighting.
Everything else was lacking.
“Should I buy you some time?”
Jang Woo-hyun chuckled.
The Macaque King had barely managed to survive against three Great Demons earlier.
How could he possibly hold off four?
“No. Let's focus on what's in front of us.”
He might lose everything he had gained.
Even so, he could not leave the Macaque King to fight alone.
The Macaque King had followed him because battles were enjoyable and because he wanted to fight.
But in truth...
He had only ever helped Jang Woo-hyun.
Even if it meant losing everything he had gained, Jang Woo-hyun chose to fight beside him.
“What about you? Didn't you say your brother's strong?”
“I said he's strong.”
“I never said I'd lose.”
Jang Woo-hyun raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
The Macaque King straightened his shoulders and puffed out his chest.
“If I fight properly, I beat all of them.”
Jang Woo-hyun couldn't help but smile.
A moment ago, the Macaque King had clearly seemed tense.
Now he had completely returned to his usual self.
The human and the demon, alike yet different, laughed together before turning toward their enemies.
The four members of the Seven Great Sages entered their view.
The eldest, the Bull Demon King.
The third, the Roc Demon King.
The fourth, the Lion Camel King.
And finally, the sixth, the Bull Demon King.
None of them reacted.
They simply stood there.
It was as though they were saying:
Do whatever you wish.
We'll wait.
Show us everything you're capable of.
Their attitude was arrogant.
Yet neither Jang Woo-hyun nor the Macaque King reacted strongly.
Their behavior simply seemed natural.
As though it were the natural order of things.
Jang Woo-hyun and the Macaque King raised their weapons.
Just before attacking...
Jang Woo-hyun met the eyes of the distant Bull Demon King.
An overwhelming pressure weighed upon his shoulders.
An immeasurable power radiated from him.
Meeting the gaze of the true king of demons, Jang Woo-hyun smiled.
He was excited to fight a new opponent.
“Let's go.”
Just as he signaled the Macaque King and prepared to leap forward—
The Bull Demon King slowly shook his head.
As though saying,
Not yet.
His gaze passed over Jang Woo-hyun and the Macaque King before settling behind them.
As though someone else was still on the way.
“Good. It seems I wasn't too late.”
The voice was gentle, yet carried unwavering strength.
It was a voice Jang Woo-hyun knew well after spending so much time together.
Jang Woo-hyun and the Macaque King both turned around.
A circular gate of swirling Five Elements energy floated there.
Mist clouded its interior.
Then an old man stepped through.
“Senior?! How...?”
The one emerging from the Five Elements gate...
...was the Sword Heavenly Lord, Zhang Sanfeng.
“It seems our connection has not yet come to an end.”
Having crossed space itself, Zhang Sanfeng smiled.
Now that he had personally come to see Jang Woo-hyun, he finally understood why he had wanted to meet him again.
'He must travel much farther.'
Within Zhang Sanfeng's eyes lay the path Jang Woo-hyun was destined to walk.
He no longer belonged here.
He had to journey to an even more distant place.
And Zhang Sanfeng had come here...
To help him.
“Oh? Three of us now? This might actually be manageable.”
The Macaque King immediately recognized Zhang Sanfeng's strength.
“Not three.”
The moment those words were spoken—
A scream echoed through the air.
“Gyaaaaaah!”
Something plummeted from the sky.
BOOM!
A golden monkey fell even faster than it had been flying.
Just before crashing into the ground, he twisted his body and landed on his feet.
The impact sent dirt and dust flying.
But with a casual wave of the Macaque King's hand, everything settled.
“What are you doing?”
The Macaque King frowned.
Sun Wukong awkwardly looked away.
“Hahaha... well... I went up there to pick something up.”
“Pick up what? You ran away because Big Brother showed up.”
“Ahem. I wasn't scared.”
“My relationship with Big Brother is just... complicated.”
“And whenever Big Brother gets involved, fights become a lot bigger.”
The Bull Demon King was unlike the other brothers.
This would never end with a casual fight.
“So are you going to run again?”
“I told you I didn't run away!”
“It wasn't running, it was—”
“So who beat you up?”
The Macaque King cut him off, clearly unwilling to hear excuses.
“Well... the old men from our side attacked me.”
Sun Wukong had believed he had helped enough and attempted to return to the Buddha Realm.
Instead...
The Buddha Realm itself prevented him from crossing dimensions.
“The Buddhas stopped you? Why?”
“How should I know? They suddenly did.”
Sun Wukong scratched his head furiously.
Then he greeted Zhang Sanfeng.
“True Man Sanfeng, have you been well?”
“It has been a long time.”
“Was it the Buddha of the Buddha Realm who prevented the Monkey King from entering?”
“To be honest, I prepared myself so I could return whenever I wanted after coming to the Demon Spirit Realm.”
“But the instant I opened the gate... it shut.”
“They forcibly stopped me from returning to the Buddha Realm.”
“It was strange enough that they told me to help Brother.”
“And now they suddenly told me not to come back.”
Still scratching his head, Sun Wukong looked at Jang Woo-hyun.
“I don't understand why they want me to help Brother Jang.”
“They told you to help Jang Woo-hyun?”
When Sun Wukong nodded, the Macaque King turned toward Jang Woo-hyun.
“Do you know someone in the Buddha Realm?”
“No.”
“I don't even know what kind of place it is.”
“Then what in the world is going on?”
“What are those Buddha Realm fellows plotting now?”
“I don't know either.”
“But it isn't a scheme.”
“They simply told me to help.”
“That is a scheme.”
“No one knows what's happening.”
“They seem to be trying to help Woo-hyun.”
Zhang Sanfeng interrupted the two monkey brothers.
“They're helping Jang Woo-hyun?”
“Why?”
“Something abnormal has occurred in the Upper Realm.”
“Perhaps resolving that matter is Woo-hyun's destiny.”
“Destiny, my foot.”
“Forget it.”
“Let's stop talking and fight already.”
“The numbers match well enough now.”
“We'll settle the rest afterward.”
Jang Woo-hyun had been about to explain everything he had learned.
But the Macaque King wrapped up the conversation.
Talking could wait.
They could hardly keep the Bull Demon King waiting forever.
“So this is the one the old man mentioned?”
“How did he know he was coming?”
The Macaque King raised his weapon again while pointing at Sun Wukong.
“The one I spoke of was not the Monkey King.”
“Woo-hyun won't need to fight.”
“We have one more person than they do.”
“What do you mean?”
Present here were:
Jang Woo-hyun.
Zhang Sanfeng.
The Macaque King.
And Sun Wukong.
There were four on each side.
The numbers matched exactly.
Yet Zhang Sanfeng spoke as though someone else were coming.
“There is another who came here with me.”
Without him...
Zhang Sanfeng never would have found Jang Woo-hyun so quickly.
Moreover...
That man had already visited the Demon Spirit Realm many times.
After arriving in the Demon Spirit Realm, Zhang Sanfeng had hurried everywhere using Shrinking the Earth.
Yet the other man kept moving while destroying every demon that got in his way, preventing him from arriving sooner.
“The Bull Demon King is waiting for him as well.”
The Bull Demon King had known someone was coming.
That was why he had patiently waited.
He intended to eliminate all of his enemies at once.
“True Man Sanfeng, who exactly is coming?”
“Someone the Monkey King knows very well.”
“Someone I know?”
Sun Wukong tilted his head several times in thought before frowning.
His eyes moved toward the sky...
Then back to Zhang Sanfeng.
“Uh... did he come together with that fellow?”
When Zhang Sanfeng nodded, a quiet groan escaped Sun Wukong.
He knew exactly who was coming.
A short while later...
Beginning with the Macaque King, the remaining Great Demons also sensed someone approaching.
At the same time—
A black hole opened in midair.
Nothing could be seen within it.
Its rim glowed brilliantly, making it resemble a solar eclipse.
At times...
It looked like a Black Moon radiating light.
A man emerged with the black hole behind him.
His long hair fluttered in the wind.
With empty eyes...
He looked down upon everyone.
The Great Demons of the Demon Spirit Realm.
Sun Wukong.
Jang Woo-hyun.
Even Zhang Sanfeng.
It was as though every being in existence lay beneath his feet.
“Hah! Even the Lord of the Black Moon has come?”
-If the Black Moon appears, run without hesitation.
It was a rumor shared among the demons of the Demon Spirit Realm.
Whenever the Black Moon rose...
A human would suddenly appear and massacre demons.
Even the Demon Kings could not stop him.
Thus, whenever the Black Moon appeared...
One had to flee.
Now...
The Black Moon feared by all demons hung overhead.
And that human had appeared.
The master of the Black Moon.
A martial artist who invaded the Demon Spirit Realm alone.
The pinnacle of Demonic Martial Artists.
The being known as the strongest in the Middle Realm.
The Heavenly Demon Lord, Heavenly Demon Muk Geom-young.
He was the one who had come to the Demon Spirit Realm alongside Zhang Sanfeng.
Seeing him, the Macaque King bared his teeth in a grin.
He had only heard stories.
They had never met before.
At last...
They would clash face to face.
“Magnificent.”
He was even more incredible than the stories had described.
His blood boiled.
He wanted nothing more than to charge forward and throw a punch.
The urge to destroy.
The murderous impulse.
Both surged through him like madness.
Just as the Macaque King was about to rush forward without a second thought—
The Seven Great Sages moved first.
Their waiting was over.
【Die.】
The Lion Camel King shattered space itself.
The Roc Demon King's wings tore through the Black Moon.
At the same moment...
The entire world turned black.
Even while being attacked by the two Great Demons...
Muk Geom-young's gaze remained fixed on Jang Woo-hyun.