Chapter 134
Chapter 134. Two Years Later
The past two years had been a tumultuous time for Dam Jeok-san.
He had prided himself on living his entire life at Blade Mountain Sword Forest, but the life of Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander possessed a different density.
He dealt with the ceaselessly surging hordes of Monsters from the Demonic Realm, engaged in life-and-death struggles with the Four Fiends of the Outer Path who occasionally plotted schemes, and very occasionally clashed with the Unorthodox Alliance or Righteous Heaven Alliance.
Every day was war. And defeat was not permitted for the Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander.
His defeat would mean the collapse of the northern front.
Therefore Dam Jeok-san fought without losing. With the resolve to rather die.
"Since Martial Nephew took charge of Northern Wind Sword Corps, the north has become quite peaceful."
Un Wol-hyang spoke while lightly tilting her teacup.
"Peaceful, you say?"
Dam Jeok-san made no effort to hide his bewildered expression as he asked back.
"Yes, peaceful. The Black Dragon did not ascend to heaven, the barrier's defense line was not breached, and the Demonic Realm did not expand."
"……"
"That much can be called peaceful. Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander, your hard work has been considerable."
She continued her words regardless of Dam Jeok-san's reaction.
"However, that cannot be entirely credited to Corps Commander's achievement."
"Of course. Not only I, but all the martial artists of the north……"
"No, that is not what I mean. I mean it is not peace we obtained through our efforts."
Un Wol-hyang cut off Dam Jeok-san's words and spoke in a cynical tone.
Two years had already passed since signs of the Monster Emperor's Descent appeared.
"The Monster Emperor's Descent is not the kind of Calamity that we…… precisely, that humans can prevent."
"That would be so."
At Un Wol-hyang's words, Dam Jeok-san also readily expressed agreement.
If they could have prevented it, they would have. Not him, but the Martial Sovereign and Heavenly Demon. The Eight Sovereigns of Murim led by them.
"And yet the north was peaceful."
"Do you mean the brief calm before the storm strikes?"
Dam Jeok-san asked with a bitter smile.
The past two years spent in the north had been the most intense time throughout his life.
And yet that time was a calm period—
He could understand it intellectually, but accepting it emotionally was somewhat difficult.
"Correct."
Un Wol-hyang nodded with a smile.
"Exactly that. But the calm cannot continue forever. Chaos incomparable to before will come crashing down. Before that……"
"Before that?"
Dam Jeok-san asked back, sensing something ominous.
"You must break through the wall and advance forward. You are still stagnant, are you not?"
Un Wol-hyang spoke while poking Dam Jeok-san's chest with her long finger.
"That is so."
Her words were right.
Two years had already passed since he grasped the clue toward the Entering Transformation Realm through Space Sword. Yet Dam Jeok-san still had not leapt over the high wall of Entering Transformation Realm.
"But I have become sufficiently strong. Now, even against an opponent who has reached Entering Transformation Realm, I can calculate my chances of victory!"
He spoke in a voice without the slightest tremor.
He truly had confidence. Perhaps not against those whose realm had already matured like Northern Heaven Sword Venerable, but against Heaven-Dominating Saber from two years ago…….
"I know."
Un Wol-hyang readily agreed with his claim.
"But Martial Nephew, that is insufficient."
She approached Dam Jeok-san closely and spoke affectionately.
"A hell will unfold where no one can guarantee survival. Not just you and I, but the same goes for Eldest Senior Brother as well."
So become stronger. Even a little stronger. If you want to survive.
"……Breaking through the wall is what I desire most."
Dam Jeok-san spoke while swallowing a sigh.
Half a year after becoming Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander. He had reached the point where he could freely deploy Space Sword if he was prepared for Upper Dantian overload and exhaustion.
And when a year passed, he had taken a large step toward the realm of Entering Transformation Realm. It could be described as having half a foot in.
But for the year since then, Dam Jeok-san had continued marking time.
'Seeking answers from the past was also meaningless.'
However, at least he could know the reason why he could not cross the wall.
Because none other than another self submerged in his interior, Seo Woo-joo, had given him the answer.
— You cannot even walk yet you try to fly through the sky? Your ideal is too grand compared to what you possess.
— …….
— Still, do not give up. In the world of transcendence, ultimately, even flying through the sky is merely the beginning. If you cannot even achieve that much, it would be better to just kill yourself early.
It was not particularly helpful advice. But one thing was clear.
The Space Sword that the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle showed and that he devised was an excessively difficult technique to complete.
'Then this too is Master's intention.'
It would probably be a story that resonated with what Seo Woo-joo had said.
If you cannot even complete that, you are not qualified to become Castle Lord…….
Then there was only one method.
Frontal breakthrough. He must shatter the wall blocking him and weave his lofty ideal into a single sword technique to ascend to Entering Transformation Realm.
"It is not as easy as you wish, is it?"
Un Wol-hyang spoke while meeting Dam Jeok-san's eyes.
"It is natural. Probably countless Ultra-Peak masters will despair before a wall like yours."
Entering Transformation Realm meant the Realm of Departing the Mortal and Entering the Divine. It meant half-stepping into the realm of immortals, beyond the human domain.
"But the martial power Martial Nephew possesses has already surpassed the early Entering Transformation Realm level."
Without tempering his life into a single technique, he had already reached the point of overwhelming them with pure strength alone.
"I do not know how that was possible, but……"
Un Wol-hyang muttered while narrowing her eyes.
In fact, the reason such a thing was possible was clear.
'Because of the Ability of Predator.'
Over the past two years, Dam Jeok-san had fought Monsters endlessly and fought again.
That also meant he had devoured Monsters endlessly and devoured them again.
'Of course there were no notably high-grade ones.'
The strongest Monster was an existence possessing power comparable to an early Entering Transformation Realm master, but he could hunt it without difficulty because he coordinated with the masters belonging to Northern Wind Sword Corps and it had almost no intelligence.
Therefore Dam Jeok-san came to possess truly terrifying levels of Accumulated qi through consecutive Predations.
He had even succeeded in compressing his Genuine qi once more.
'In terms of a single strike's power alone, I am not inferior to an Entering Transformation Realm master.'
Of course, since he had not fully awakened his Upper Dantian and could not create a domain of Will, he still fell far short of a true Entering Transformation Realm.
Even that was an area Dam Jeok-san could somehow compensate for with his excellent swordsmanship and combat sense. Under the premise that the gap with his opponent was not too great.
"But Martial Nephew, being certain and actually doing it are different, are they not?"
Then Un Wol-hyang grinned and caressed her sword hilt.
"……I do not have confidence to face the world's Northern Heaven Sword Venerable."
Dam Jeok-san stiffened his expression completely, straightened his posture, and answered.
Northern Heaven Sword Venerable was originally strong, but over the past two years her skills had advanced rapidly as if it were her prime. To the extent one might think she could truly belong to the lowest rank of the Eight Sovereigns of Murim soon.
How could he place such Un Wol-hyang on the same level as early Entering Transformation Realm or such?
"Ahaha, surely I would not say such an absurd thing?"
"……"
He knew she was someone who would do exactly that. Over the past two years, each time Dam Jeok-san grew a little stronger, Un Wol-hyang would notice that fact like a ghost and request a spar.
'It was called a spar, but in truth it was close to a beating.'
Of course, it was not that he learned nothing in the process.
No, he learned very much. From methods of controlling the vast power difficult to handle skillfully with an Ultra-Peak realm, to tricks for facing Entering Transformation Realm masters without reaching Entering Transformation Realm. He gained precious teachings that could not be bought even with a fortune.
It was just that, as befitting someone who shared brotherhood with Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle Man Su-geuk, her teaching method was very rough.
Once or twice, he felt he truly almost stopped breathing.
"Were you very scared?"
Un Wol-hyang spoke while stroking Dam Jeok-san's head as if soothing a child.
"I was, not."
Dam Jeok-san ground his teeth tightly and brushed away her hand.
His attitude was natural, as if such things happened often.
"So, what should I do?"
Dam Jeok-san spoke as if telling her to cut to the chase and state the main point.
"Kill Sword Ghost, Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander, you alone."
Un Wol-hyang also stopped joking and spoke in a serious voice.
"Sword Ghost……"
Dam Jeok-san muttered as if recalling old memories.
That one was a Cardinal of Yin God Cult who had held them back during the Black Dragon Ascension incident.
A swordsman of Entering Transformation Realm who had one arm severed by Un Wol-hyang but succeeded in preserving his lifeline and escaping.
"That rat bastard would indeed be quite a good experience."
Dam Jeok-san nodded while twisting his lips into a fierce smile.
"Will you be alright? That one will be in the Demonic Realm."
If he faced Sword Ghost in a place other than the Demonic Realm, Dam Jeok-san had sufficient chances of victory.
However, infiltrating deep into the Demonic Realm teeming with Monsters, killing a swordsman who had reached Entering Transformation Realm, and returning possessed difficulty of an entirely different dimension.
"Should it not be at least that much?"
Dam Jeok-san spoke with a relaxed attitude despite knowing that fact.
In truth, for him, killing a Half-Demon in the middle of the Demonic Realm was not such a difficult task.
Though the absence of allied support was somewhat fatal…….
'In the Demonic Realm, half-baked allies are better absent.'
Even if he suffered internal injuries, he could recover sufficiently by devouring Sword Ghost.
Dam Jeok-san had already finished calculating.
"I will do it. I was thinking it was about time to kill and dispose of him anyway."
He had been maintaining a state where he could track Sword Ghost since the day of Black Dragon's ascension.
He had planned to lead Northern Wind Sword Corps to kill him if he came outside the Demonic Realm.
'But he noticed like a ghost and holed up only inside there.'
He was probably wandering the Demonic Realm recovering his damaged Dantian and Blood vessels.
The wounds suffered in the battle with Un Wol-hyang were at a level difficult to recover overnight even for a Half-Demon possessing Regeneration.
'By now he must have gradually regained power rivaling his prime.'
Good. He would visit when hopes were swelling, and crush those hopes.
"Ah, I would like you to inform the main castle that I am going on a mission."
Dam Jeok-san spoke while drinking the completely cooled tea.
"The main castle?"
"Yes, there will be quite a few who are curious about my recent situation."
A crooked smile hung on Dam Jeok-san's lips as he said so.
Eldest Young Master Jeok Yeon-jun and his faction had faced unprecedented crisis after Dam Jeok-san took the position of Northern Wind Sword Corps Commander.
All martial artists of Martial Sovereign Castle possessed the temperament of revering the strong.
Therefore, except for executive-level martial artists bound by deep mutual interests, most low-ranking martial artists who simply moved by the logic of The Strong are Respected began supporting Dam Jeok-san.
Ultimately, all Jeok Yeon-jun's faction could do was slander Dam Jeok-san.
'There have been quite a few rough attempts in the meantime.'
Jeok Yeon-jun and his faction had instigated the Four Fiends of the Outer Path to try to eliminate him. Of course, they did not plan so sloppily as to leave physical evidence, but before Dam Jeok-san such things held no meaning.
'I read their memories through the Ability of Predator.'
They probably would not miss this opportunity. The probability of Dam Jeok-san diving alone into the Demonic Realm to engage in a life-and-death battle with an Entering Transformation Realm master occurring again was slim.
'It would not be strange at all if I died.'
And Dam Jeok-san was someone who knew how to turn crisis into opportunity.
'It is about time to deal with Eldest Senior Brother.'
As Un Wol-hyang said, the calm before the storm was ending and the time for the tempest to begin was not far off.
Before that, he must dispose of internal enemies first. To avoid being struck down from behind.
Dry and cold Killing Intent flickered in his eyes.