Chapter 345 : The Difference in Power
Chapter 345: The Difference in Power
Ever since his first Ascension to the Middle Heaven Realm, Jang Woo-hyun had become deeply entangled with the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable.
When he first witnessed a fragment of its power at the Storm Archipelago, he had even fallen into despair.
Had Kim Min-su not existed, had he not made those preparations, Jang Woo-hyun might have been unable to do anything and simply ended his life on the Dawn Continent.
It was an unbearably long-standing grudge.
He had been constantly entangled with and fought against the Ascension Cult that followed the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable.
And that was not all.
That bastard had known about Lee Tae-seong's power of regression and used him, while also massacring the Reincarnators.
Not only humans, but even the True Immortals and Martial Gods of the Upper Realm, along with those who had achieved Lesser Ascension or Ascension into the Middle Heaven Realm, had all been nothing more than chess pieces placed upon the board he had created.
For the sake of his true body, the Great Luo Emperor Who Destroys Heaven, he had trampled upon everyone's destiny and lives.
"Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable."
The moment he spoke that name, silver ripples spread outward in concentric circles.
"The vanguard of the Palace of Myriad Immortals, Silver Radiant Thousand Hands."
Because of the halo shining behind him, his face remained hidden in shadow.
Even so, Jang Woo-hyun could tell that he was smiling.
"The Great Luo Emperor Who Destroys Heaven, who escaped the destiny of a True Immortal and became Heaven itself."
Rumble!
With those final words, the entire visible space trembled.
Merely uttering that name caused the whole universe to quake.
For it was the name of a true god.
Another name for Heaven itself.
Although he could feel an overwhelming presence and power, Jang Woo-hyun did not fear it.
Holding Baekmu, he simply walked forward step by step.
【We meet again, foolish being.】
Still smiling, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable rose from the shattered throne.
A colossal storm erupted around him.
The distant stars were swept away by its force.
【I am one who has existed through eternal ages.】
【I am one who shall witness both creation and destruction.】
【I am your god. Why do you dare oppose your god?】
The True Immortal stepped down from the throne.
As the halo faded, his true appearance was revealed.
His eyes, nose, and mouth were all silver.
He looked as though his entire body had been coated in liquid mercury.
Behind the white robe embroidered with magnificent golden patterns, the place where the halo had vanished was now filled with silver hands spread open like a fan.
Every step he took sent silver ripples spreading beneath his feet.
Watching the True Immortal descend from the throne, Jang Woo-hyun frowned.
'What is this...?'
It was not a matter of strength.
A sticky, ominous aura completely unsuited to his divine appearance suddenly washed over him.
Even while standing in the middle of the universe, he felt as though he were sinking into a swamp.
Jang Woo-hyun swung Baekmu.
The invisible aura was severed and disappeared.
His body immediately felt much lighter.
"You bastard. Trying to pull tricks already?"
He spoke as though he were some absolute deity, yet he had already begun resorting to cheap tricks.
Just as Jang Woo-hyun had expected, there was no dignified vanguard of the Palace of Myriad Immortals.
There was only a petty and despicable True Immortal.
【Successor to the power of the one who came from another world.】
The True Immortal raised one hand.
Even the hand extending from his brilliant white robe was silver.
Boom!!
Dozens of gigantic golden towers appeared from every direction.
【Your destiny shall end here today. My destiny shall accompany yours.】
The towers radiated brilliant light.
An incomprehensible force bound Jang Woo-hyun.
He immediately swung Baekmu to sever the power of destiny.
But this time, he failed to cut causality.
His power had suddenly diminished.
Before he could fully grasp the situation, the universe around him changed.
At the same time, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable's power also weakened.
Unlike Ascension, it felt as though his body were descending.
The surrounding universe transformed into a blue sky filled with clouds.
Before he could react, even the blue sky disappeared.
Jang Woo-hyun found himself standing upon the ground.
"..."
Looking down at his hand, he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist.
The overwhelming power that had made him feel capable of anything had vanished.
Forced Descent.
He had descended from the universe, through Heaven, and onto the earth.
From the Primordial Unity Realm, through Immortality, Wish-Fulfillment, Immeasurability, and Transcendence—
Jang Woo-hyun had become nothing more than a martial artist at the Absolute Realm.
"What is this...?"
He was so stunned that he failed to react immediately.
Slowly, he raised his head.
Before him lay a well-maintained training ground.
Beyond it stood a towering platform.
Upon it sat the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable, his entire body still shining silver, though he had now become a cultivator of the Lower Realm instead of a True Immortal.
It was a trap created by the True Immortal.
But Jang Woo-hyun was not the only one who had undergone Forced Descent.
'His power has fallen too.'
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had linked his own destiny with Jang Woo-hyun's and used all of his power to forcibly lower both of their realms.
Quickly grasping the situation, Jang Woo-hyun examined himself.
His current realm was the Absolute Realm.
His body itself was perfectly fine.
For a brief instant, he had nearly been consumed by the terror of suddenly losing everything after his realm had fallen.
But he immediately cast aside that fear.
Even in this state, he could fight.
Baekmu was still in his hand.
'I can't transform or summon it.'
Since it had become one with Jang Woo-hyun's soul, Baekmu had also lost its power when his realm declined.
Now it was no longer a divine treasure capable of transforming into anything.
It was merely a peerless sword of the Lower Realm.
He then surveyed his surroundings.
Nothing appeared particularly unusual.
Only a vast training ground, a towering platform...
And the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable, now a cultivator instead of a True Immortal.
'What's the purpose?'
If both of their realms had fallen equally, this should not benefit him much.
Why create such a trap?
Perhaps sensing Jang Woo-hyun's confusion, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable raised one hand without losing his smile.
Even after his realm had fallen, he still looked as though he had been cast from liquid mercury.
As light gathered within the hand of the former True Immortal turned cultivator—
A gigantic silver hand appeared from thin air.
Of its four enormous hands, two descended toward the training ground.
The remaining two moved to either side of the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable.
The silver fists slowly opened.
Inside each fist stood a single person.
Two martial artists descended onto the training ground.
One was a broad-shouldered middle-aged man wielding a massive saber.
The other was a short-haired young man carrying a spear.
The instant he saw them, Jang Woo-hyun recognized who they were.
"Martial Gods."
Like Lei Yunli, they were fragments of Martial Gods.
Just as the battle against Lee Tae-seong had left behind only remnants and fragments of the True Immortals, fragments of Martial Gods had also remained.
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had made use of those remnants.
Since they were merely fragments, they possessed only the power of the Absolute Realm.
But under the current circumstances, after everyone's realms had been lowered, they were undoubtedly his strongest trump cards.
'So this is why he lowered our realms.'
Four Absolute Realm masters.
Moreover, they were fragments of beings who had once reached the Martial God Realm.
Though only remnants, they were still a tremendous force in the Lower Realm.
"My name is—"
"Enough. It'll be over soon anyway."
"What? Such arrogance. Even if you're confident in your strength, you've gone too far."
The middle-aged saber wielder continued speaking, but Jang Woo-hyun ignored him.
The ones before him were not even Martial God Avatars.
They were merely leftovers.
He felt no desire to fight them seriously.
Lowering an opponent's realm by force.
Then attacking with the remnants of Martial Gods.
It was actually a fairly good strategy.
Had his opponent been anyone other than Jang Woo-hyun.
Against someone else—
Against another Martial God—
This trap would have worked perfectly.
But not against Jang Woo-hyun.
The moment he reached the Absolute Realm, he had defeated the Demonic Cult's second-in-command.
He had even defeated three martial artists from the True Demon Palace, all of whom were martial artists of the Same Realm, simultaneously.
His panic over the sudden drop in realm lasted only an instant.
Anyone who had wielded overwhelming power and godlike abilities would have struggled to remain calm after suddenly falling to the Absolute Realm.
After all, they had lost strength accumulated over what could only be described as eternity.
But Jang Woo-hyun's circumstances differed from those of ordinary Martial Gods and True Immortals.
Though he had been frightened for a moment, he quickly recovered.
His growth had always been incomparably faster than anyone else's.
It had not taken him countless ages to reach the Upper Realm.
Because he had spent so little time obtaining that power, the fear of losing it was also much smaller.
'-Even Tae-seong couldn't foresee you. In that case, the True Immortals won't understand you either.'
Just as the Sighing Heavenly Treasure Dragon had said, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable knew very little about Jang Woo-hyun.
'If he had, he never would have tried something like this.'
It was a trap that could never work.
If this was his trap, Jang Woo-hyun would simply destroy it completely.
【Foolish being, this place—】
Boom!
Before the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable could finish speaking confidently, Jang Woo-hyun kicked off the ground.
The two martial artists standing before him immediately raised their weapons.
But Jang Woo-hyun did not attack either of them directly.
Instead, he landed in the space between them.
Demonic King Three Steps of Dominion.
Boom!
The moment his foot stomped down as though performing a martial stance, the earth shook like a massive earthquake.
The ground split apart.
Qi waves erupted from the cracks.
Even Absolute Realm martial artists could not ignore such force.
The two martial artists endured the shockwave while retreating backward.
Jang Woo-hyun immediately pursued the middle-aged saber wielder.
Before charging, he had already condensed his power.
Baekmu let out a deep hum as its sword cry echoed.
Following the tip of his thrust, a beam of light burst forward.
Evil-Slaying Single Flash.
A strike powerful enough to erase even a mountain peak.
Boom!!
The middle-aged martial artist attempted to defend himself by forming a barrier of sword qi.
But both the defense and his upper body were blown apart.
As the broken saber split in half and fell away, Jang Woo-hyun reached out.
Using Remote Object Manipulation, he pulled the saber toward himself.
He immediately infused it with immense internal energy.
At the same time, power surged toward his Upper Dantian.
Beginning from the Baihui Acupoint, an enormous invisible tree took shape.
Countless branches spread in every direction.
Clang!
The saber in his hand shattered into countless fragments as it met the branches.
Hundreds of blade fragments shot outward.
Then they exploded.
Those fragments multiplied into thousands.
They descended like a torrential rain of sword qi.
Rain of Flowers Filling the Sky.
The ultimate hidden weapon technique poured down upon the remaining three martial artists and the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable.
Screams.
Explosions.
Shockwaves.
The towering platform collapsed.
Rumble! Rumble!
Dust and debris spread outward like a raging sandstorm, swallowing everything.
"Cough!"
At the place where the rain of sword qi had fallen most heavily—
The young spearman failed to block every attack.
Jang Woo-hyun approached him and swung his sword.
From above.
Straight downward.
There was no technique.
Only a simple slash.
Yet the power behind it was immense.
"Wai—"
Slash!
He cleaved through both the spear and the man before kicking off the ground once again.
The dust cloud cleared.
The horrified face of the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable came into view.
Though his face resembled polished metal, Jang Woo-hyun could clearly read the expression upon it.
After giving him a brief glance, he charged toward the remaining two martial artists.
One wielded his fists.
The other, a sword.
Together they blocked his path.
They did not last long.
With a Swift Sword, he pierced the fist master's throat and severed his arm.
Using the Three Revolutions Sword Art, he knocked aside the swordsman's blade before blasting him backward with the Black Wolf Fang Cross Slash.
The moment he split the fist master's body in half—
The scenery before Jang Woo-hyun changed.
The training ground disappeared.
Blue skies and clouds appeared overhead.
Then, in the next instant, he found himself standing once more within a universe.
The golden towers floating around them had lost all their light.
Realizing things were no longer going his way, the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable restored everything.
The cultivator once again became a True Immortal.
The Absolute Realm martial artists returned to being Martial Gods of the Upper Realm.
【You truly inherited the greatest power from the one who came from another world.】
That was why he had survived until now.
His talent and strength truly were extraordinary.
【Foolish being, I acknowledge your power.】
The True Immortal was once again surrounded by his halo.
Behind him, gigantic silver hands appeared.
Each hand was larger than an entire continent.
They stretched across the universe itself, radiating unimaginable pressure.
When those enormous hands came within ten li of Jang Woo-hyun—
Rumble!
Countless blades appeared from every direction, intercepting the silver hands.
The blades were every bit as enormous.
And that was only the beginning.
One side of the universe was transforming into a world made entirely of blades.
"Is this all you've got?"
Behind Jang Woo-hyun, looking down upon the True Immortal—
The giant with eight arms revealed itself.