novelraw Chapter 213 : Abnormality
Chapter 213 : Abnormality
Chapter 213: Abnormality
By the time Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol arrived at Jang Woo-hyun’s location, Ha Do-gwang had ultimately perished, his entire body shattered.
“Did he fall somewhere else?”
Seo Ryeom asked about Ha Do-gwang as soon as he arrived. Jang Woo-hyun pointed in one direction in response.
“That’s Ha Do-gwang?”
What lay in the direction Jang Woo-hyun pointed to was nothing more than a lump of black charcoal and a pile of gray ash.
A pitiful end for someone who had once claimed he would become a new god. Seo Ryeom and Mak Ya-wol were momentarily stunned before regaining their composure.
“He disappeared without even leaving behind a corpse. Let’s get out of here for now.”
Mak Ya-wol took the lead, and Seo Ryeom and Jang Woo-hyun followed behind.
Mak Ya-wol moved swiftly. Even within the Sea of Fog, he seemed to know exactly where to go.
“How did you find me?”
Inside the Fog Sea Barrier, space was twisted, visibility was nonexistent, and it was impossible to sense anything clearly.
Yet, the two had found Jang Woo-hyun without any signal from him.
“We found you by seeing that.”
Seo Ryeom pointed, and Jang Woo-hyun turned his head in that direction. There, a luminous object was floating.
“Dragon King's Scale.”
Just as Jang Woo-hyun had found Ha Do-gwang by following it, they too had followed the Dragon King's Scale to this location.
“I was thinking about how to proceed from outside the Fog Sea Barrier, and then I saw something sparkling. When I approached it, it turned out to be the Captain’s weapon. So we followed it.”
The three retraced the path they had taken to exit.
After some time had passed, Jang Woo-hyun recovered over a hundred blade scales.
“We can ascend now.”
As Seo Ryeom said, the Dragon King's Scale now guided the three upward into the air.
The two used Flying Apparatuses, while Jang Woo-hyun ascended using the Dragon King's Scale.
“That thing... wasn’t it a weapon? I’ve never seen a Dharma Treasure like that.”
Normally, it took the form of a sword, but at times it changed like a hidden weapon or transformed into armor. Now, it had turned into wings and was being used as a flying device.
It had even helped them locate Jang Woo-hyun inside the Fog Sea Barrier.
It was difficult to classify it as just a sword or a weapon. It was a Dharma Treasure almost akin to a universal tool.
“At first, I thought it was just a simple weapon… but now, I’m not so sure.”
Cho-su and Cho-yul had only said it was a Dharma Treasure that grew. But how much it would grow or what abilities it possessed, they had not been able to explain.
Even though he had ascended with it in the Lower Realm, Jang Woo-hyun still didn’t understand why the Dragon King's Scale had chosen him, or why it continued to accompany him.
‘What exactly are you?’
He asked internally, but the Dragon King's Scale offered no reply. It clearly had a will, yet they hadn’t fully established communication.
But one thing was certain.
The Dragon King's Scale was always helping Jang Woo-hyun. In a way, it was his most dependable companion.
The three soared for quite a while, retrieving blade scales of the Dragon King's Scale.
Inside the Fog Sea Barrier, space was disordered, so ascending straight up wasn’t enough to escape.
Following the guidance of the Dragon King's Scale—sometimes upward, sometimes downward, or left and right—they were finally able to escape the Sea of Fog.
“Let’s head toward Golden Frog Island.”
They had ascended as far as they had fallen.
And near Golden Frog Island, they spotted the Floating Stronghold, Roaring Thunder Fortress.
“I told you to retreat.”
Though he grumbled, Jang Woo-hyun’s lips curled up.
Cho-su had not retreated, but had come to help Jang Woo-hyun. The other comrades must have agreed with that decision too.
Despite knowing the danger, they couldn’t abandon their comrade. This was a stark contrast from Ha Do-gwang and his subordinates.
And that relationship had been the key to this victory.
Without his comrades, Jang Woo-hyun wouldn’t have been able to escape the Fog Sea Barrier, nor discover Ha Do-gwang’s weakness.
The advice from Kim Min-soo to make comrades once again resonated in his heart.
“Hyung-nim!”
“Woo-hyun-ah!”
From Roaring Thunder Fortress, the group spotted Jang Woo-hyun approaching and came out to greet him.
Three days later, after Roaring Thunder Fortress returned to the Main Division of the Five Elements Cult—
Time passed in a blur.
The Annihilation Squad and Five Elements Cult martial artists who hadn’t retreated completely destroyed the remaining subordinates of Ha Do-gwang, and took the survivors as prisoners.
While interrogating those captured, they also held a memorial to honor the fallen Five Elements Envoy Yeon Cheon-seung and his disciples.
And once everything was settled—
Cult Leader Seo Gyeong-mu hosted a grand celebration.
Although Woo Hobup had sustained severe injuries, and one of the Five Elements Envoys, Yeon Cheon-seung, had died—at the very least, the traitor Ha Do-gwang had been eliminated.
Moreover, the Cult Leader was recovering from his injuries, and the previously unstable Five Wheel Guardian Spirit had returned to its original state.
Seo Gyeong-mu personally announced the death of traitor Ha Do-gwang and expressed his gratitude to the Annihilation Squad.
He declared the Annihilation Squad as a new ally of the Five Elements Cult, and their name became widely known.
Naturally, the stars of this celebration were the members of the Annihilation Squad.
Even the simple-minded brawlers, who knew nothing but fighting, smiled and laughed as they enjoyed the festivities.
However, the core members of the Annihilation Squad, their main force, had sustained serious injuries and focused solely on recovery. Among them, the Annihilation Squad Leader Jang Woo-hyun was in a particularly troubling state.
“What’s going on with my body?”
Crackling—lightning sparked around his body.
While it wasn’t as overwhelming as Ha Do-gwang’s power, bolts of lightning flickered across Jang Woo-hyun’s body.
And that wasn’t all.
Fwoosh!
His left hand suddenly burst into flame. Not as if something ignited it—it had transformed entirely into fire. Meanwhile, from his slowly recovering right arm, water flowed out on its own.
“Captain, did you eat something weird?”
Seo Ryeom asked playfully, though he knew food wouldn’t cause something like this.
“Maybe you’re still injured? From when Ha Do-gwang attacked you.”
Hearing Maeng Ye-ju’s words, it did seem plausible.
When struck by the Nayuta Sword Mandala, Ha Do-gwang had tried to obliterate Jang Woo-hyun by unleashing lightning.
At that time, Jang Woo-hyun’s body had shifted into the Five Elements state and expelled the lightning qi that had entered him.
“Hyung-nim, does it hurt?”
“No, there’s no pain. But it’s not like I’m doing this on purpose—it’s completely out of my control.”
“It’s a spirit! A spirit! You’re not human anymore! Come with me to the Demonic Spirit Realm!”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage, sitting nearby, laughed as he spoke, as if finding the situation amusing.
He was the most severely injured among the Annihilation Squad.
The Wind-Passing Great Sage returned alone to the Main Division of the Five Elements Cult two days after the group had arrived.
At the time, he looked like a wreck.
He was missing one arm and one leg, parts of his body were torn apart, and his entire form was stained black, purple, and green—possibly due to some kind of dye. Swollen all over, and with the stench of decay.
He was currently being treated with Seon Tae-gyeong’s help.
“Monkey, what the hell did you go through?”
“Me? I fought with Gyo Chung. It was brutal.”
In truth, Gyo Chung hadn’t wanted to fight, but the Wind-Passing Great Sage conveniently left that part out.
“If Gyo Chung had joined the battle, our side would’ve suffered major losses too.”
Seon Tae-gyeong, who didn’t know that Gyo Chung had been unwilling to fight, defended the Wind-Passing Great Sage.
Since he was unaware of the truth, it was only natural for him to make that judgment.
“You heard that, right? If I hadn’t stepped in, a few of us would’ve died. It’s thanks to my great fighting that we’re all fine now.”
Jang Woo-hyun found his proud, chest-puffed boasting unbearable to watch.
‘No matter how you look at it, he probably just charged in on his own.’
Even without having seen it firsthand, Jang Woo-hyun could easily imagine what had happened. The Wind-Passing Great Sage’s fight might have been of some help, but it surely hadn’t been a calculated or strategic one.
“You should be more careful, Great Sage.”
“Me? Why?”
“If you take any more damage, your projection will be extinguished.”
“Really? Then I’ll just summon myself again.”
At his thoughtless reply, Seon Tae-gyeong sighed quietly.
“If the Great Sage agrees to be summoned again, it wouldn’t be difficult. However, I won’t be able to summon you at your current strength.”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage’s current power level, by Central Heavens Murim standards, was that of someone in the Realm of Immeasurability. Summoning a being with such strength was no easy task.
“Oh… really?”
“Yes. It feels strange to say this myself, but I am quite skilled as a sorcerer. Yet even for me, summoning the Wind-Passing Great Sage with this level of power is extremely difficult.”
Seon Tae-gyeong was Nokgak Baekmyeon, one of the Ten Elders of Hwanhwanmun.
As one of the top-tier sorcerers of the Central Heavens, for him to say so meant it truly wasn’t an easy feat.
“Finding the Treasure Core that serves as the summoning nucleus is also difficult.”
The current core sustaining the Wind-Passing Great Sage was a high-grade Dharma Treasure Seon Tae-gyeong had once used. Such a treasure was already rare—and more importantly, it had to be compatible with the Great Sage’s essence.
Without compatibility, summoning him at his current strength would be impossible.
“But if it’s within the Central Heavens Realm, couldn’t he just come here on his own without being summoned?”
If it were the Lower Realm, perhaps not—but since this was the same Middle Realm, the Wind-Passing Great Sage should have been able to travel freely without such a cumbersome process.
“That… well, that’s not possible right now for certain reasons.”
When Jang Woo-hyun had summoned the Wind-Passing Great Sage while being pursued by Bi Ik-ryeon, it hadn’t been a proper summoning.
It was more like poking a small hole in a wall—but the Great Sage, getting overexcited, had smashed through the wall entirely and descended directly.
As a result, restrictions had been imposed upon him for violating the laws of the realm.
Moreover, he could no longer personally confront a True Immortal.
For now, he could only act because he was technically classified as a “summoned being.”
Hearing this, Jang Woo-hyun found his chance to interject.
“So, if the Monkey gets beaten up one more time, the summoning will be canceled, right?”
“Beaten up? Who’s beaten up? I won that fight.”
“You call that a win after coming back with your body in pieces?”
Though he had recovered significantly with Seon Tae-gyeong’s help, at the time the Great Sage had been in a near-death state.
“That’s because that bastard used poison! He fought dirty. But in the end, I cracked his skull open, so I won.”
Seeing his boastful grin, Jang Woo-hyun could only shake his head. How could someone be so childish?
While watching the two bicker like friends, Jin Ha-un spoke up.
“Shouldn’t we go see the Cult Leader?”
“That might be best.”
“Yes. Since the Cult Leader can handle all Five Elements, he might be able to figure out what’s going on with you, Hyung-nim.”
“It’ll be useless. You’re not human anymore—you’re basically the same as me now.”
“Hey, don’t lump me in with you. That’s insulting.”
“Oh? What’s wrong with me? That’s discrimination against yokai, you know.”
“Stop talking nonsense and sit still, you’re making my head spin.”
“Great Sage, Hyung-nim and I will go see the Cult Leader.”
Jin Ha-un cut in before their quarrel could drag on further.
“Hole-in-the-chest kid, you stay out of this.”
“Why are you telling my little brother to stay out? Who do you think you are?”
“What? Brother? Hey, you think you’re the only one with siblings? I’ve got two myself. Well… one ran away from home.”
“Good for you, having two. What am I even doing talking to you? You’re what—thousands of years old? Tens of thousands? You’ve wasted all that time, seriously.”
As the two argued like old friends, those around them couldn’t help but laugh.
It was a sight unimaginable in the past—
the once-feared mad monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm acting like this had now become normal. When he was with Jang Woo-hyun, even such antics from the Wind-Passing Great Sage no longer seemed strange.
And before long, the group that had once feared and rejected him had come to accept him as a comrade.
“You stay here. We’ll go.”
When Jang Woo-hyun frowned and stood up, the Wind-Passing Great Sage grumbled but still followed after him.
Though they were going to meet the leader of a great faction, the Annihilation Squad and Five Elements Cult were now practically family, so Seo Gyeong-mu readily allowed the meeting.
Jang Woo-hyun arrived at the Cult Leader’s office and opened the door.
Even then, his hand continued to blaze, and lightning sparked across his body.
As he stepped inside—
“Hm? What’s wrong with you, my boy?”
Seo Gyeong-mu widened his eyes as though beholding some wondrous creature.
“Ah…”
Jang Woo-hyun closed his eyes in resignation.
He had come here to ask why this was happening to him—yet the one asking questions was the Cult Leader himself.
“Heeheehee, see? What did I tell you?”
As if he had expected it all along, the Wind-Passing Great Sage chuckled endlessly beside him.