Chapter 107: Reunion (2)

"Ha-un!"

He shouted in delight.

"Keuaaa!"

But all that came back was a scream.

Jang Woo-hyun instinctively reached out his arm, but Jin Ha-un, who had run straight toward him without thinking of defense or evasion, was struck properly.

Thud!

Even after hitting the ground, Jin Ha-un rolled several more times.

"Hey, you punk! What the hell happened!"

Jang Woo-hyun kicked off the ground and rushed toward Jin Ha-un, who was still rolling.

It was an encounter he had not expected in the slightest. To meet his sworn younger brother here of all places.

Jang Woo-hyun laughed heartily, as though it had been ages since he last laughed like this.

Since falling into the Central Plains, Jang Woo-hyun hadn't had many people close to him.

Hwang An and Jin Ha-un.

Those two were his closest and most trustworthy companions.

"Ha-un!"

"Uuhhh, hyung-nim, you're so cruel."

Jin Ha-un, who had been rolling, now lay spread-eagle on the ground and called out to Jang Woo-hyun.

"I'm sorry. You suddenly came charging at me, and my hand moved before I realized it."

"I did it because I was happy to see you. It's been so long."

"Long time? Ah. Right."

They had experienced different flows of time. For Jang Woo-hyun, it had been about a year, but for Jin Ha-un, it was likely around thirty years, like for Cheol Geuk-jin.

"Ughhhh…"

Jin Ha-un lay on the ground for a while.

"It's really been a long time, hyung-nim."

"Yeah. What the hell happened?"

"What do you mean what happened? You left, and I also ascended. You could've at least said something."

"I didn't know either. It happened suddenly. I was writing about the Heaven-Dominating Divine Armor and didn’t even have time to write you a letter."

Jang Woo-hyun extended his hand and helped Jin Ha-un to his feet, then gave him a hug. From the way he patted Jin Ha-un’s back and his smiling face, Jin Ha-un could feel Jang Woo-hyun’s sincerity. His sworn brother was just as happy to see him. A deep smile spread across Jin Ha-un’s face.

"Anyway, it's good to see you again. What are the chances we meet like this?"

"I tried to find you, but your name wasn’t as well-known as I expected. I thought you’d have smashed up a place or two and already made a name for yourself."

"Well… it’s a long story. But are you with the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect now?"

"Not exactly. I owed them a debt. The people I met after ascending were from the Tai Chi Sect. Since I’m originally from the Blue Star Sect, we got along well."

"Ah…"

After hearing the explanation, he realized it wasn’t a coincidence that they met here.

The Samcheong Tai Chi Sect was classified as an orthodox sect, and many of its members came from Lower Realm Daoist or orthodox sect backgrounds. Given the sect’s tendencies and characteristics, it made perfect sense for Jin Ha-un to be with the Tai Chi Sect.

'It’s not a coincidence.'

Tang Myung and Cheol Geuk-jin. Both had visited the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect because of what Jang Woo-hyun had done, and they met due to the connection with Yongwangrin.

In a way, the people he met in the Central Plains were not by chance, but by fate.

"Are you affiliated with any sect now?"

"I’m not affiliated either. I met some people who helped me, and recently, I’ve been moving with the Beast King Sect."

At the mention of the Beast King Sect, Jin Ha-un was slightly surprised. Then he looked past Jang Woo-hyun to the people following behind him.

A massive wolf Beastkin and a woman with an equally formidable build. Unlike others, Jin Ha-un had studied the Central Heavens Martial Realm diligently, so he recognized the two immediately.

‘Fierce-Fisted Heroine Maeng Ye-ju and Saber-Toothed Wolf Kang Yong. Huh? Huhh? Wait a minute, then… hyung-nim too?’

Jin Ha-un knew why they had come to the Tai Chi Sect. Moreover, the place where Jang Woo-hyun had been standing was right in front of the building where other sects were gathered for this meeting.

"Hyung-nim."

"Hm?"

"Did you fight Twin-Winged Lotus by any chance?"

"Huh? How’d you know that?"

"Hahaha! I knew it! You haven’t changed!"

As expected, Jang Woo-hyun seemed deeply involved in the matter related to Twin-Winged Lotus.

Seeing his sworn brother just as he remembered, Jin Ha-un laughed heartily. For some reason, his name hadn’t yet become known, but surely there was a reason for that too.

"Who's this guy?"

"Ha-un, are you alright?"

The two disciples of the Beast King Sect and Jin Ha-un’s companion all landed nearby.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Jin Ha-un, Woo-hyun hyung-nim’s sworn younger brother. Hyung-nim, this is Senior Qi from the Tai Chi Sect, who helped me a lot."

"Nice to meet you. I’m Jang Woo-hyun."

All three of them were surprised at the introduction.

First, Jin Ha-un’s companion—Qi Hu-shin of the Tai Chi Sect—was stunned at the sight of Jang Woo-hyun.

‘His realm…’

He couldn’t determine it.

He didn’t seem overwhelmingly stronger than himself, but his presence was so faint that it was impossible to gauge his level.

As he studied Jang Woo-hyun, Qi Hu-shin met his gaze.

‘He’s reading me.’

It felt like being stripped bare. While he had been gauging his opponent, the opponent had also been peering into him. Unlike himself, Jang Woo-hyun seemed to have perfectly assessed everything.

‘Huh… So there was someone like this besides Ha-un.’

The sworn brother Jin Ha-un always called extraordinary, saying he was leagues above even himself, whom others called a genius.

‘He was telling the truth.’

Only after seeing it firsthand did Qi Hu-shin realize Jin Ha-un’s words were true.

“Your younger brother?”

Maeng Ye-ju and Kang Yong were shocked, though for a different reason.

“Uh… From what I know, you only ascended recently, so it’s not like you met in the Central Heavens. Then, could it be…?”

Though the words “a bond from the Lower Realm” were left unsaid, Jang Woo-hyun understood and nodded.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Maeng Ye-ju shut her eyes tight.

What kind of place had they come from, for people like this to keep appearing?

Being from the Central Heavens Realm, Maeng Ye-ju didn’t know much about the Lower Realm. But she did know one thing—ascension was not easy. The reason there were so many ascenders in the Central Heavens Realm was simply because many Lower Realms existed. It wasn’t that people ascended frequently.

More importantly than that—

‘This guy’s no ordinary person either.’

It was Jin Ha-un’s strength.

It was true that ascenders were generally strong. That was only natural. Only those chosen from among countless cultivators who trained their whole lives in the Lower Realm made it up here.

Yet those associated with Jang Woo-hyun stood out even among those elite ascenders.

Tang Myung, Cheol Geuk-jin, Jin Ha-un.

Each of them remarkable, even in the eyes of the successor of the Beast King Sect.

Moreover, unlike Tang Myung, Cheol Geuk-jin and Jin Ha-un seemed to have been active around the same time.

It was rare for cultivators of such caliber to ascend in the same era.

‘Seeing how he calls him hyung-nim, they must’ve been close. Just what are these people?’

Maeng Ye-ju’s head began to hurt. The more she learned, the stranger this man became.

“We’ll talk more later. That’s enough for today. Take care of the Telepathy Division. I’ll contact you once the goods are ready. Yong, let’s go.”

“To where? This guy… I mean, meeting Woo-hyun’s younger brother—it’s the perfect chance to spar—no, first we need to get things done.”

Seeing the rising fist, Kang Yong inserted his opinion and decided to follow Maeng Ye-ju.

“We’re off. Looks like it’s been a while—catch up, you two.”

Once Maeng Ye-ju had left,

Jin Ha-un asked Qi Hu-shin for understanding and decided to spend some time with Jang Woo-hyun.

With a jar full of liquor under his arm, Jin Ha-un ran ahead. Jang Woo-hyun followed behind with both hands full of food.

‘Roughly mid-Transcendence?’

Following him, Jang Woo-hyun gauged Jin Ha-un’s cultivation level.

He didn’t know how long it had been since Jin Ha-un ascended, but he seemed to have trained diligently.

The two climbed a peak on Mount Okchu, where the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect was located, and settled down. It was a fairly high peak, allowing a full view of the city, and in the far distance, the horizon of the Floating Continent could be seen.

Thud.

Setting down the jar of liquor, Jin Ha-un sat down.

“Hyung-nim, you’re just the same.”

Even after decades had passed, he looked exactly like he did when they parted. Jin Ha-un had undergone Body Reformation and returned to his youthful form, but Jang Woo-hyun was different.

‘It’s not that he went through Body Reformation… It’s like only a few years passed for him.’

“You haven’t changed either, so what are you saying?”

“I fixed my appearance like this. So it’d be easier for you to recognize me later.”

Jin Ha-un smiled as he spoke. But that smile differed from what Jang Woo-hyun remembered.

“You… How long were you hanging around with Hwang An?”

“Eh? Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”

That once innocent, pure smile now seemed a bit tainted.

It felt as if the boyish Jin Ha-un had been corrupted by Hwang An, prompting the question.

“You seem to have picked up a bit of his influence.”

“Whaaat? Me? How could you say such dreadful things!”

Seeing Jin Ha-un leap up in protest, Jang Woo-hyun was certain he had been influenced to some degree by Hwang An.

As he placed the food down, Jin Ha-un scooped liquor from the jar into a large bowl.

“How long did it take you?”

“About twenty years after you left, I ascended.”

“Twenty years? That’s fast.”

Even those hailed as geniuses, or as the greatest martial artist of their era, had spent their entire lives training and only ascended in old age. Compared to them, Jin Ha-un’s ascension was incredibly swift.

‘If it was twenty years, then Ha-un must’ve come up in his forties?’

“After ascending, I met some good people and was able to learn many things.”

“You mean the Samcheong Tai Chi Sect? Did you stay here the whole time?”

“Yes. After ascending, I stayed here to learn the basics. I also needed some basic information—it’s a strange place, after all.”

“How long have you been here?”

“After I ascended… about eight or nine years in Lower Realm time? I’m not sure, but around that.”

“Then all together, it’s roughly thirty years?”

“Right. It hasn’t been exactly twenty years in the Central Plains either.”

Since time in the Lower Realm didn’t perfectly align, estimating roughly, it was similar to what Cheol Geuk-jin had said.

Because Jang Woo-hyun’s time had been distorted after entering the rift due to the Red Snake, Jin Ha-un had ascended first, established himself, and spent time there.

“I have something I wanted to ask about that as well.”

“About what?”

“Just a bit ago… when you were talking with the Beast King Sect members. You said you hadn’t been here long. What did you mean by that? You ascended thirty years before me.”

“Well, that’s…”

Jang Woo-hyun hesitated, unsure how much to reveal.

He could easily talk about time being distorted or that something had been targeting him. But explaining why he was being targeted, or that he came from another world, was not so simple.

—It might be too hard alone, so find trustworthy comrades.

Suddenly, the words spoken by Kim Min-soo, who had saved him, came to mind. Even when his memories returned, the ones he considered comrades were Jin Ha-un and Hwang An.

With that resolve, Jang Woo-hyun decided to tell everything to his sworn younger brother.

Jin Ha-un was a bond carried from the Lower Realm. Along with Hwang An, he was the first comrade and friend Jang Woo-hyun had made in the Martial World.

“I ascended earlier, but the timing went wrong. What happened was…”

He explained how he had encountered the Silver Giant while ascending, was attacked, lost consciousness, and was dragged to an unknown place by a mysterious Red Snake, which caused his time stream to go off course. That’s why, in truth, it hadn’t been long since he arrived in the Central Heavens Realm.

“Oh… so that’s why you said that. Then you probably don’t know much about the Central Heavens Realm yet.”

“Right. And this is the first time I’m telling you this…”

Jang Woo-hyun paused, then wrapped a Qi barrier around them to block any sound, just in case someone might hear.

“Ha-un.”

The sudden shift in tone made Jin Ha-un gulp nervously.

“Yes, hyung-nim?”

“I’m not from the Central Plains.”

“…”

“I came from an entirely different world.”

For the first time since falling into another world, Jang Woo-hyun revealed where he had come from.

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