Chapter 86: Same Side

The weapon of the Wind-Passing Great Sage did not have a fixed form, just like the wind he commanded.

Sometimes a spear, sometimes a blade, sometimes a staff—it changed shape as he wished, shattering his enemies with each transformation. It was no different even now, as he faced Jang Woo-hyun in battle.

Initially, he had fought in the form of a spear, but before long, it had shifted into two swords.

The twin blades traced irregular sword paths, aiming for Jang Woo-hyun's neck. Both had already entered the realm of Transcendence. Every time their blades clashed, waves of energy surged in all directions.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-k!

Neither was exerting their full strength into their blades. The Wind-Passing Great Sage was savoring the fight against Jang Woo-hyun, gradually raising the intensity of his attacks, and Jang Woo-hyun was matching that pace.

In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged hundreds of blows.

The steadily rising intensity of the attacks—then, the Wind-Passing Great Sage suddenly felt a sense of confusion.

“……”

Jang Woo-hyun’s sword movements were not typical forms but began to shift similarly to his own. As if mimicking his attacks.

Kwaaang!

Rather than resisting the force targeting him, the Wind-Passing Great Sage used that force to leap far backward.

“You… Ha, is this even possible?”

The strike Jang Woo-hyun had just shown—it had mirrored the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s own sword path.

‘No, more precisely, he’s stealing it.’

It was a combat method so unorthodox it was hard to even call it martial arts, yet Jang Woo-hyun was stealing and mimicking that very style. And not just an imitation, but nearly to perfection. To an unknowing observer, it would appear as though the Wind-Passing Great Sage himself had taught it.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage was flustered, not having expected his movements could be imitated. What kind of martial artist could replicate the movements of a monster?

“Unbelievable. A human is copying me.”

“If there’s something worth learning, I should learn it.”

Whether it was due to being a monster or due to what he had learned, the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s attacks were not standard forms. They were wild and bizarre.

He twisted at impossible angles, heedless of the strain on his joints. Sword paths that should have been straight suddenly drew circles—his sword moved in utterly incomprehensible ways.

Sometimes he even looked ready to sacrifice an arm just to stab at the neck.

Because these were sword paths no ordinary martial artist could conceive, Jang Woo-hyun had initially been confused as well.

But once he realized the attacks were gradually intensifying, he began to mimic them as if in training. As if participating in a duel, or learning a new art.

Within the realm of Transcendence, where consciousness accelerated, he could swiftly steal the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s movements.

‘What is this guy?’

From the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s perspective, it made no sense.

A martial artist—especially one who had ascended to the Central Heavens—would normally hold immense pride in their life-long martial arts.

Naturally, they would never attempt to mimic the grotesque style used by a monster. But Jang Woo-hyun was imitating him without hesitation.

It was behavior beyond common sense. Even the Wind-Passing Great Sage, infamous as a battle maniac known as the Mad Monkey, found Jang Woo-hyun strange.

“Coming again.”

Jang Woo-hyun closed the distance between himself and the Wind-Passing Great Sage, who had retreated earlier.

In his first time facing such a situation, the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s twin blades stirred.

But Jang Woo-hyun had already stolen most of his movements.

Which meant he could predict the attacks.

He easily deflected a strike aimed at his neck and immediately swung his sword.

A blade that had moved in a straight line suddenly veered.

Since it was not a conventional sword path, it should have been impossible to mimic with human joints or body. But Jang Woo-hyun applied the profundities of the Three Origins Art, using Qi Projection to forge an invisible path for the sword and twisted its direction mid-strike.

Seu-gak.

That was the beginning. Jang Woo-hyun’s attacks flowed like water.

He deflected or parried the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s strikes and launched his own counterattacks.

Forced back ten steps, the Wind-Passing Great Sage had no choice but to shift his weapon into a shield and push Jang Woo-hyun away.

Kwaang!

After repelling Jang Woo-hyun, the Wind-Passing Great Sage let out a hollow laugh.

“This makes no sense.”

A brief lull in the fight.

“What doesn’t?”

“How can a human mimic my attacks? Shouldn’t you take pride in the martial arts you’ve trained your whole life…?”

“So what? Whether it’s a monster or a human, if there’s something to learn, I’ll learn it.”

“……”

The casually thrown words left the Wind-Passing Great Sage speechless. Jang Woo-hyun was undeniably different from anyone he had met before. His thinking wasn’t bound by any frame.

In fact, the Wind-Passing Great Sage, who had lived more freely than anyone, now felt as if he were the one trapped within a mold.

“…Right. That’s a good attitude.”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage altered the shape of his shield.

It reformed into a long silver spear.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage raised his weapon. His body was fully warmed up. Now he intended to go all out.

He grasped the center of the spear shaft and spun it as he advanced. Each rotation of the shaft made the wind around him howl. The surrounding air, like a beast chasing prey, gathered toward the spearhead.

Thud!

He lowered his stance and thrust the spear backward before driving it forward. A massive surge of energy burst from the tip.

To counter the attack, Jang Woo-hyun separated Yongwangrin from his left hand.

Though he held two swords, he had never properly used dual blades.

It had been the same in the Central Heavens. Even when carrying Mukya and Bi-yeon, he had used them alternately depending on the situation—rarely had he wielded both at once.

Now, Jang Woo-hyun used both weapons simultaneously. This fight against the Wind-Passing Great Sage was another training opportunity for him.

In his right hand was the nameless black sword.

In his left, the absolute cavalry weapon, Yongwangrin.

First, he unleashed the power of Yongwangrin, composed of hundreds of hidden blades.

Over a hundred blades detached, forming a wall before Jang Woo-hyun.

Kwaaaang!

The wall of blades blocked the attack and scattered. Toward that opening, Jang Woo-hyun launched himself.

As he closed the distance, he reinforced his sword with power.

Uuuung.

The nameless black sword.

The black blade that sealed a curse, given by the Wind-Passing Great Sage, was heavier than Mukya, which was forged entirely of black steel.

It wasn’t just a matter of weight. The sword itself felt heavy. And only by channeling more internal energy than usual could he manifest Sword Flux. It wasn’t a weapon that felt sharp—it felt heavy and blunt.

Jang Woo-hyun struck with far more internal energy than usual.

He unleashed the final technique of the Swift Sword style he had organized before—Lightning Net.

A net of Qi Projection spread, pressing down on the Wind-Passing Great Sage. In response, the Wind-Passing Great Sage laughed and moved.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gak!

As a storm burst from the silver spear’s tip, the net of Qi Projection tore apart. Through the scattering fragments of energy, the Wind-Passing Great Sage closed in this time.

Jang Woo-hyun had already prepared his next move.

The blades of Yongwangrin shifted into five separate swords. The five blades moved like living things, pressuring the Wind-Passing Great Sage. It looked like six opponents were surrounding one.

Kkuung!

As the Wind-Passing Great Sage advanced, he spun his spear. At the same time, a giant whirlwind surged from beneath his feet.

The five blades were forced back by the defense, and only the black sword in Jang Woo-hyun’s hand reached near the Wind-Passing Great Sage.

The clash continued.

Before long, the silver and black swords collided.

In the time it took to breathe once, they exchanged dozens of blows. Each clash of their weapons unleashed shockwaves that shattered the surroundings.

They moved without pause. Silver and black lights blurred.

Fragments of shattered Qi Projection scattered, and fierce winds tore through the area. The aftermath of their battle alone was altering the surrounding terrain.

As their swords clashed more than a hundred, then a thousand times—

With their swords locked, the two suddenly turned their heads at the same time, as if it were planned.

“……!”

“……!”

Their gaze turned toward one place. A man stood there.

He wore a yellow battle robe and was tall and lean. He held nothing in his hands. His fleshless face bore a large scar running from his left cheekbone down to his chin.

“This is unexpected.”

A hoarse voice rang out.

“I expected the Suwang Sect, but instead it’s the mad monkey of the Demonic Spirit Realm and some unknown fellow.”

At the man’s words, Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage simultaneously lowered their weapons and turned their bodies.

The man before them was not strong. Perhaps at the entrance of the realm of Transcendence? But that wasn’t all.

“Well, this is boring.”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage seemed to have sensed what Jang Woo-hyun felt and frowned. The man before them was not human. More accurately, he wasn’t a living being.

‘Projection.’

A being that could be described as a duplicate or a projection.

It was the same type of projection that Gwak Yu-chan had demonstrated when explaining the Boundless Realm before. In other words, the man was a master beyond the Boundless Realm.

The moment it became clear that the man wasn’t human—

Hwaaak—

A wave of qi, invisible and from a distant point, surged past Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage. And then, they felt the opponent’s will.

The expansion of intent only a master of the Boundless Realm could exhibit. The surroundings were filled with his power. Jang Woo-hyun instinctively knew—it was impossible to escape from here.

“Hmm.”

He could feel the man’s true body approaching from afar. As Jang Woo-hyun looked at him, the name of the strongest person who first came to mind slipped out.

“Sa Do-woong?”

“You know me?”

Jang Woo-hyun’s guess was correct. The tall, lean man was none other than Sa Do-woong, the master of the Floating Stronghold where the Beastkin were imprisoned and one of the Three Leaders of Bi Ik-ryeon.

“Let’s have a proper conversation face to face.”

With those words, Sa Do-woong’s projection vanished from the spot.

And then—

Kkuung—

Someone was seen stepping across the air and approaching.

“Hmm.”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage let out a small sigh. The situation had gotten troublesome.

Before he had cut off his limbs to suppress his power, someone like Sa Do-woong would’ve been easily manageable. Overwhelmingly so.

When he descended to this place a short while ago, the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s strength—by martial world standards—was at the level of the Will Manifestation Realm.

He wasn’t supposed to project that much power, but he had forced it out just in case an annoying enemy appeared, intending to deal with them immediately and focus on fighting Jang Woo-hyun.

With no further interference, he had cut off his own limbs to suppress his level and strength. But then, a troublesome opponent appeared. Having forcibly lowered his realm, he couldn’t project his power again right now.

‘This is going in a boring direction.’

Even though the Wind-Passing Great Sage loved to fight, he didn’t enjoy situations like this.

Right now, it was like someone holding a lump of grass going against a person wielding a real sword. It was bound to be a meaningless battle.

‘At the very least, it should be a wooden sword.’

Then it would be worth fighting. Or even a stone axe. He was wondering what to do in this frustrating situation.

In contrast, Jang Woo-hyun was grinning beside him.

A master of the Boundless Realm. He was about to witness that power.

He might die here. He might lose. The gap in level was clear.

But Jang Woo-hyun had always fought those stronger than himself. When he was at Master Level, he fought the Supreme Peaks of the Demonic Cult. When he reached Supreme Peak, he faced Absolute Realm experts like the Demonic Cult’s Usawa, and after becoming an Absolute Realm himself, he fought the elite of the Demonic Cult and even its Cult Leader.

He had no fear of fighting strong opponents. If anything, he looked forward to it.

Boundless Realm.

A stage where one’s intent expands close to infinity.

Gwak Yu-chan had shown it to him, but he had only caught a glimpse. They hadn’t even properly sparred.

Now he was about to truly fight for his life against a master of the Boundless Realm. So of course, Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t help but be excited.

It was certain this would be no easy fight. But he had a way.

Jang Woo-hyun enjoyed fighting and wanted to become stronger, but he wasn’t a fool who couldn’t tell up from down.

“Monkey.”

He called out the one method to increase his odds.

He raised his clenched fist and extended it toward the Wind-Passing Great Sage. He wasn’t alone this time.

“What’s this? You want to fight again?”

“No. An alliance.”

“……”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage’s blue eyes turned toward Jang Woo-hyun at the sudden declaration. What was this nonsense?

“Scared? Don’t worry. I won’t let you die in one blow. That would be no fun. Just back me up from behind.”

“What?”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage recognized those words.

Just moments ago, when he had suppressed his realm and drained his strength, he had said the exact same thing.

—Scared? Don’t worry. I won’t crush you in one blow. That would be no fun.

“Haha… Puahahahahaha!”

At Jang Woo-hyun’s gesture, the Wind-Passing Great Sage burst into laughter. This lunatic seemed willing to do anything to win.

Whether it was teaming up with an enemy or mimicking a monster’s moves—it didn’t matter. In some ways, he might be more obsessed with battle than the Wind-Passing Great Sage himself.

‘No… maybe he’s obsessed with victory.’

Chuckling, the Wind-Passing Great Sage clenched his fist and bumped it against Jang Woo-hyun’s.

“Yeah, now it feels like I’ve got a proper wooden sword.”

“What are you even saying?”

Thuk.

The monster’s white-furred fist met the smaller human’s fist.

Just moments ago, the two had been enemies.

Now they stood on the same side against a new threat.

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