Chapter 93: Return (2)

“You’ve heard of the Divine Tree, haven’t you? That’s what that is.”

The name had come up several times before. To travel within the Central Heavens Realm, one had to use either a Teleportation Array or the Divine Tree.

Jang Woo-hyun didn’t recall it, but it was also mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas he had seen back in the Central Plains.

It was the divine tree the gods used when descending to the human world in ancient times. It was called the Divine Tree, the staircase and gateway of the gods.

“It’s existed in the Central Heavens Realm since ancient times. You could think of that tree the gods used as a naturally formed Teleportation Array.”

Maeng Ye-ju piloted the Flying Apparatus, steering it toward a part of the tree where the branches were intricately intertwined into a circle.

There were about five or six of those tangled branch formations, and the scenes visible within them shimmered like rippling water.

Each location showed a different scene. Maeng Ye-ju stopped the Flying Apparatus and pulled out a scroll with a painted image.

While en route, she had regenerated one of her arms. As she moved her hand over the scroll, the image and the characters beneath it changed with each gesture.

“Let’s see. Not this one. Not this either. Is it that one? That looks about right.”

She showed the scroll to Jang Woo-hyun beside her. The image on the scroll and the space visible through the branches closely resembled each other.

“Are we playing ‘Find the Matching Picture’?”

“Yeah. We can identify our destination based on the image we see over there. That’s the one. Let’s go.”

Maeng Ye-ju directed the Flying Apparatus in that direction. The tree was so massive that even the circularly entangled branches spanned over twenty jang.

As they passed into the tangled branches, the surroundings suddenly began to rush backward rapidly. A wave of dizziness hit them, and in the blink of an eye, the Flying Apparatus arrived at a different location.

Jang Woo-hyun looked back. He could see the gigantic Divine Tree, now positioned at a different place in his view.

They flew for a while longer, used the Divine Tree once more, and employed two Teleportation Arrays before finally arriving at their destination.

From the sky, it was a floating continent so vast that its end couldn’t be seen. At its center stood an enormous, towering mountain.

“That’s the Samcheong Continent, home to the Main Division of the Samcheong Supreme Sect and the heart of the Central Heavens Martial Realm—Okchu Mountain.”

Below the towering mountain lay a colossal city, far greater in scale than anything they had seen before.

Maeng Ye-ju guided the Flying Apparatus near the city and descended at a spot that resembled a landing area.

“Phew, we’ve arrived.”

“Thank you for your efforts.”

“It wasn’t much. I’ll be heading to the Samcheong Supreme Sect. What about you?”

“Do I need to go immediately as well?”

“No, you don’t have to. I’ll take care of the explanation. I’ve got things to handle too. Woo-hyun, you can just show your face later when the other sects arrive.”

“Then I’ll take a look around the city.”

“Want to? Here, take this.”

Maeng Ye-ju pulled out a small pouch from her Inner Robe and handed it to him.

“Explore, buy what you want, eat what you want.”

“I have money too.”

“Kwak-sunbae probably gave you some. But here, they use currency issued by the Samcheong Supreme Sect. Kwak-sunbae probably gave you Spirit Stones. They work as a universal currency, but they’re a bit inconvenient here. So use this. Think of it as a commission fee. Oh, and the things we took—I'll sort them out and divide them up later.”

Jang Woo-hyun was about to refuse but accepted it after seeing Maeng Ye-ju’s firm gaze.

“And this.”

She handed him a Telepathy Division talisman.

“This is a Telepathy Division item, so don’t put it in your Inner Robe. Keep it on you. I’ll contact you later, and you can come to the Samcheong Supreme Sect then. You know where it is, right?”

She pointed at the enormous mountain behind the city. There was no way to miss a mountain that massive.

"Understood."

"I'm off. See you later."

Maeng Ye-ju waved her hand and walked into the city. Jang Woo-hyun followed behind her.

"Huh? Why are you following me?"

"Because I need to go into the city too."

"Right. Then let’s go together for now. Hahaha."

Perhaps feeling awkward, Maeng Ye-ju patted Jang Woo-hyun's back with her remaining hand. Though she hadn’t used any internal energy, her sturdy build made each pat cause Jang Woo-hyun’s body to sway.

"Oh, and just in case, don’t badmouth the Samcheongtaegeukmun people while you’re in the city. To the folks here, Samcheongtaegeukmun is practically a religion."

"Would I even have a reason to badmouth them?"

"Just in case. Just in case. And don’t fight them either."

Listening to Maeng Ye-ju’s advice, the two headed into the city.

After parting ways with Maeng Ye-ju, Jang Woo-hyun moved to find an inn.

The city was enormous, and unique races roamed the streets, but it wasn’t much different from the place he had visited with Gwak Yu-chan before.

He walked slowly, observing his surroundings. Along the way, to assess the value of his currency, he bought and ate a few food items from a street stall, including grilled skewers of a fish called Bicheon-eo.

"The inns are just a little further down this road, Master."

After paying the street vendor, Jang Woo-hyun headed toward the street filled with inns.

"Sorry, sir, we have no rooms."

"Oh no, what a shame. There are no rooms right now."

"Apologies, all our rooms are full today."

Everywhere he went, there were no rooms—perhaps there was an event, or maybe there simply weren’t enough inns.

‘Did some kind of group tour come through?’

He checked several more places, but they were all the same. Eventually, he found himself standing before a flamboyant inn.

"Hmm."

Even though Jang Woo-hyun could be said to have reached the peak of the Central Plains, he had not spent much time living as a martial artist. His Ascension was quick, so he hadn’t truly enjoyed what he had achieved.

He had stayed at decent inns on occasion, but he was still essentially a commoner who felt awkward and out of place in places like this.

‘Can’t be helped.’

Though he wasn’t thrilled about it, he needed a room, so he stepped inside.

"Welcome!"

A squirrel-like beastkin waiter scurried over to stand in front of Jang Woo-hyun.

"You're just in time, sir. Finding an inn must’ve been hard, right? We still have some rooms left."

The smiling little beastkin instantly guessed Jang Woo-hyun’s situation and spoke to him warmly.

Looking at the beastkin meeting his eyes, Jang Woo-hyun felt relieved.

‘Looks like the Monkey hid it well.’

It seemed Windstorm Great Saint had suppressed the brand's power while Jang Woo-hyun was unconscious. Otherwise, the beastkin in front of him would have lit up with bright eyes and shouted, "True Immortal!"

"Sir?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. But what’s going on? Why are there no rooms everywhere?"

"Oh! Aren’t you here to see the summit?"

"Summit?"

"Yes. There’s a big summit happening now. The great warriors of the Ten Sects are gathering at Okchu Mountain. Tons of people have come either to watch or to catch the attention of one of the great sects."

The waiter glanced around and lowered his voice as he continued.

"And… there might be an exciting fight to watch too."

"An exciting fight?"

Jang Woo-hyun also leaned in and lowered his voice.

"Yes, whenever the Ice Palace and the Solar Palace meet, there’s always a fight, isn’t there?"

He had heard of the two sects, but didn’t know why they fought, so he could only make a confused expression.

"Got it for now. Just give me a room."

"Yes, sir! I’ll help you with the payment first. But sir, the only rooms we have left are separate cottages. They’re a bit pricey, but the facilities are top-notch. Especially suited for martial artists like you. Each cottage has a strong training room with formations installed. Not just a basement training room, but the cottage itself is—"

"Enough, I get it. Give me that one."

"Yes, sir!"

The waiter bowed and led Jang Woo-hyun to the side.

There, unlike the waiter, stood a woman who wasn’t human.

With blue skin and scales scattered across her body, she looked at Jang Woo-hyun with a face that said, ‘Do you even have money?’

Ignoring the expression, Jang Woo-hyun walked up and opened his pouch.

"The one with the strongest and largest training room."

The woman, who had been eyeing him like a beggar, quoted a price. Jang Woo-hyun paid with the money Maeng Ye-ju had generously given him. The woman, who had been stiff with pride, instantly shifted to a professional smile and bowed her head.

"Sir, what about your meals?"

"I’ll come out to eat. Don’t bother me."

"Understood. Hurry up and escort the guest, will you?"

Jang Woo-hyun followed the small beastkin to the back of the inn, where he was assigned a separate cottage with a small garden.

He tipped the kind waiter a small amount as thanks and immediately headed to the underground training room located within the cottage.

When he descended underground, a training chamber appeared with glowing stones embedded in the ceiling and unknown patterns and symbols engraved on the walls and floor.

‘It’s better than I thought.’

Judging by the energy emanating from the Spell Formation, the training chamber did indeed seem sturdy, just as the waiter had said.

Step, step.

Jang Woo-hyun walked toward the center.

He hadn’t had time to himself until now, having been with Maeng Ye-ju. He hadn’t even had time to reflect on the battle.

Now that he had secured a place with a training chamber, he intended to review the previous fight.

Srrng.

Jang Woo-hyun drew the black sword.

An entirely black blade. Thanks to Windstorm Great Saint’s help, it no longer emitted the cursed black smoke as it had before. At a glance, it even appeared ordinary.

But when held in hand, its eerie and cold energy still seeped into his palm. And if one looked closely at the blade, it felt like they’d be sucked into it.

‘Did you help me?’

During the fight with Sa Do-woong, the black sword had absorbed the rampaging energy in an instant. Almost as if it was trying to help.

Then came the follow-up strike.

In that fleeting moment, together with the black sword, Jang Woo-hyun had been able to exert the power of the next stage.

The Black Full Moon.

That attack had stunned Sa Do-woong. Even to Jang Woo-hyun, it had not been an ordinary strike.

‘It was called Space Severance, right?’

In that moment, it had cleaved through everything—Sa Do-woong, his will, his energy, and even something invisible beyond. From what he felt then, it had seemed like space itself was cut.

‘I can cut what’s invisible, whatever it is.’

Even without being taught, Jang Woo-hyun had realized it instinctively.

He closed his eyes and recalled the previous fight. His sword slowly cut through the air.

The sword path, which began as a simple slash, grew more complex and faster.

Swoosh—

Suddenly, the sword moved in an unusual, irregular path. It was mimicking the movements he had seen from Windstorm Great Saint.

‘This won’t help.’

The inhuman, grotesque movements—he had copied them, but they wouldn’t be of much use for moving forward. Jang Woo-hyun cast off the beastly instinctive motions.

Thud!

His movements changed again. He gathered energy into his hands and feet and poured all his strength into a single strike.

It was Maeng Ye-ju’s martial art. He mimicked the movement again and refined his technique.

‘This isn’t it either.’

It wasn’t what he needed. While it was an excellent method for enhancing destructive power, it wasn’t helpful in this case. He cast off Maeng Ye-ju’s martial art as well.

What he needed now wasn’t the movements of Windstorm Great Saint or Maeng Ye-ju.

Jang Woo-hyun stopped his powerful strikes and calmed his internal energy.

He recalled how Sa Do-woong had unleashed his energy and thought of how he had wielded his own sword.

The black sword cut swiftly through the air. Then again, more slowly. To recall the sensation.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. He couldn’t replicate it.

Still, he continued swinging. Like someone training for the first time.

Tens of times became hundreds, then thousands became tens of thousands.

Jang Woo-hyun entered a state of complete immersion.

Unconsciously, countless sword energies burst out and filled the training chamber.

Thud!

As he took a True Step, the training chamber shook violently. Energy burst up like petals, enveloping Jang Woo-hyun.

During the fight with Sa Do-woong—

The Sovereign Ruling, the third step of the Horse King’s Three Steps, which he had used to dominate the space.

The energy surrounding Jang Woo-hyun rose like petals and spread outward, merging with the sword energies around. Then at some point, all the sword energies coalesced into one.

It was no longer about drawing out energy like threads.

Just as countless threads become a single cloth, Jang Woo-hyun’s energy completely dominated the surroundings. Like controlling the area with willpower, he filled the surrounding space with his own energy.

Then came the follow-up slash.

The energy that dominated the area supported Jang Woo-hyun.

A small clue emerged from the repeated slashes, and Jang Woo-hyun continued to train, trying to grasp it.

Endless movements.

Jang Woo-hyun’s training did not stop until four days had passed.

“Whew.”

Thousands of fine cracks were etched into the walls of the underground training chamber. Though he hadn’t fully seized the clue nor surpassed a major boundary, he had still gained something.

Jang Woo-hyun had now reached the end of the Transcendence.

He could confidently say that any other cultivator of the same level in the Transcendence would no longer be his match.

Whoosh!

As Jang Woo-hyun withdrew the energy he had exhaled, the energy that had filled the training chamber completely returned into his body.

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