APTnovel Chapter 280 : A Genius Meets a Genius
Chapter 280 : A Genius Meets a Genius
Chapter 280: A Genius Meets a Genius
“……It burned up in my hand, and I thought it had disappeared, but it ended up remaining like this.”
“Then that bastard from the Divine Dragon Clan was the root of everything? That’s unexpected. He didn’t seem like the type at all.”
“Have you met him before?”
“A long time ago. Though not directly while I was alive.”
At the mention that he had not met him directly, Jang Woo-hyun cautiously spoke.
“Perhaps…… you’ve been living cut off from this world, or…….”
“That’s enough. You’re asking if I’m dead? Why make it so difficult? Just ask directly. The human named Lü Dongbin is already dead. Then what do you think I am?”
“A Projection?”
“That’s right. The Heavenly Escape Sword Art you happened to obtain is both a secret manual and a Dharma. It’s also my Projection. Or maybe it’s just a lump of qi. I left it behind for the children of the Heavenly Sword Clan, but somehow it ended up in your hands. So then, do you know what became of the children of that clan?”
“I heard the Clan Head died, and the people of the clan scattered in all directions.”
“Pathetic fools. To think they couldn’t even stop those bastards carrying diluted dragon blood.”
“It wasn’t only the Divine Dragon Clan that moved. The Sovereign Clan joined forces with them in the attack.”
“That’s all the same. They dared call themselves my descendants, yet couldn’t even stop that? Their training was lacking. Training! Tch, pathetic fools.”
Though his tone sounded reproachful, what Jang Woo-hyun felt within it was pity.
And on his face lingered something like guilt.
Lü Dongbin spent a while criticizing the Heavenly Sword Clan, and Jang Woo-hyun quietly waited.
He thought perhaps this was Lü Dongbin’s own way of expressing sorrow for those who once followed him.
When the complaints ended—despite containing emotions completely opposite to the words themselves—Lü Dongbin’s atmosphere changed once again.
Regret, resentment, anger, sorrow—
All of it vanished, replaced by a cheerful and lively feeling.
“Come here for a moment.”
Lü Dongbin beckoned Jang Woo-hyun closer, then stared intensely at his body.
He even shoved his face close enough to become burdensome and sniffed him several times.
“You, are you a martial artist from the Taiji Sect?”
“No. I do have ties with the Taiji Sect, but I’m not affiliated with them.”
“Then?”
“If I had to name an affiliation, I belong to the Demon-Slaying Corps.”
“The Demon-Slaying Corps? What’s that?”
“It’s an organization created by me and my companions.”
“So many strange things have appeared while I’ve been gone. Then you must have personal ties with the Jang Clan.”
“I don’t know who you mean by the Jang Clan.”
“I mean Sam-bong of the Taiji Sect. His traces remain within your body.”
“Ah…….”
-You are not a sword.
Words that occasionally helped him.
That had been the power left behind by Jang Sam-bong, and Lü Dongbin recognized it immediately.
“Our fates crossed, and I once received his teachings.”
“Hoh, he taught someone who doesn’t even belong to the Three Pure Ones Taiji Sect? That’s unexpected too. Perhaps your connection with the Jang fellow is why you obtained Heavenly Escape. So then, what exactly did he leave behind? The thing inside here.”
Lü Dongbin pointed at Jang Woo-hyun’s head.
“Mm…… It’s a bit difficult for me to say this myself. He told me there must be a reason I possess exceptional talent, and that I must remember his words no matter what.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me I’m not a sword.”
At Jang Woo-hyun’s words, Lü Dongbin chuckled softly.
“Hah, that really does sound like something the Jang fellow would say. But your talent is truly that remarkable? Let’s take a look. Relax your body.”
“Pardon?”
Before Jang Woo-hyun could properly react, Lü Dongbin’s palm touched his chest.
Bwoong!
A wave spread outward from his chest.
At the same time, something was forcefully pulled out from Jang Woo-hyun’s body.
When he met Jang Sam-bong, he felt as though he had been stripped naked.
But Lü Dongbin’s power felt as though his entire body had been completely dismantled.
Unknown energies floated around Jang Woo-hyun.
Lü Dongbin examined the strange energies that looked like clouds and condensed water.
“Hoh hoh, what a mess. Such a mess. Would a patched-up rag stitched together from all over look like this? You really learned a ridiculous amount. And.”
Lü Dongbin’s gaze shifted once more toward Jang Woo-hyun’s chest.
“You even learned the Five Elements Energy? Just what exactly are you?”
“Uh…… well.”
After briefly pondering his own identity, Jang Woo-hyun simply answered honestly.
“I’m Jang Woo-hyun.”
At the idiotic response, Lü Dongbin frowned.
---
“It’s complete chaos.”
After examining Jang Woo-hyun’s abilities, Lü Dongbin was astonished by how complicated everything was.
This was not a normal method.
It was no different from forcibly learning this and that, patching everything together as he carved out a path by force.
“What level are you at?”
“I’ve stepped into the Realm of Wish.”
At Jang Woo-hyun’s answer, Lü Dongbin once more examined the energies floating around him.
“No. This isn’t the Realm of Wish. This is quite rare. Since you can forcibly use Shrinking Earth, you must’ve mistaken it.”
“…….”
Not understanding what he meant, Jang Woo-hyun remained silent.
“You may feel like it’s the Realm of Wish. But you haven’t fully stepped into it.”
“Then what state am I in?”
“You forced your way into it.”
Lü Dongbin drew a line upon the ground.
Then he stepped over it with one foot.
“Normally, this is how one enters and crosses over.”
Next, his entire body crossed the line, and he took several more steps.
“And after that, the body completely passes through and enters the Realm of Wish. But you are different.”
Lü Dongbin returned to his original position, bent down, and pushed only his head past the line.
“This is your current state. You’ve only shoved your head inside and are peeking at something.”
“I don’t really understand. Is something like that even possible?”
“It’s impossible. Which is exactly why you’re strange. You’re peering into the next realm through a path you forcibly created. You—can you explain the Realm of Wish to someone else?”
At the question, Jang Woo-hyun shook his head.
“Do I need to be able to explain it? I simply advanced realms.”
“I’m not asking for a precise explanation. Just tell me what you personally feel.”
“I began to see some kind of energy flowing through the world and could sense its will. I thought the Realm of Wish meant twisting that flow and will using my own will.”
“You’re only half right. You seem to understand the rough idea, but still, how is this happening? Fascinating.”
Even Lü Dongbin, who had seen countless martial artists, had never encountered a case like this before.
After pondering alone for a moment, he grinned at Jang Woo-hyun.
“Good. Since things turned out this way, let’s train together for a bit. First, tell me what you’ve learned. Ah, it would be better to start with your sect. Who is your master, and which sect did you study under?”
The one first called Sword Immortal was Lü Dongbin himself.
Though Jang Woo-hyun’s martial arts were bizarre, he believed he could properly correct them.
“I don’t really have anyone I could call my master. And I don’t belong to any sect either.”
“……Huh?”
Things went wrong from the very first question.
Lü Dongbin had been completely confident.
But now, something strange was beginning to happen.
---
Jang Woo-hyun explained the process of how he had grown and first learned martial arts.
The longer the story continued, the more twisted Lü Dongbin’s expression became.
“……This can happen. Sure, it can happen. Fine. You think you’re the only wandering martial artist who reached this level? Don’t worry. I understand everything. Then what was the very first cultivation method you learned?”
“A cultivation method? Uh…… I did learn one at first, but then eventually I started sensing the natural qi.”
“And then?”
“So I kept breathing, and internal energy just naturally accumulated in my dantian. I just kept breathing.”
“…….”
The Lü Dongbin before Jang Woo-hyun was not a real human being.
And this place was not reality either.
‘Then why does my head hurt?’
Lü Dongbin pressed his fingers firmly against one side of his head.
He had thought he could teach any student.
But the fellow he met this time was some kind of lunatic.
The situation was so absurdly unexpected that Lü Dongbin groaned inwardly.
“Ah, I did create a breathing technique of my own.”
“A breathing technique you created? You mean a cultivation method? Cultivation methods are not that simple. No matter how talented someone is, they cannot be created so quickly. They require refinement across long ages and generations. They’re not merely for gathering and circulating qi. A cultivation method is the core of the body and the seed that becomes martial arts. It must be planted deeply and grow firmly before it can become a proper tree called martial arts.”
That was why internal cultivation methods refined over countless years formed the core of every sect.
And why every sect treasured them above all else.
“You created a breathing method alone? Fine. Since you ascended and reached this level of strength, you must possess the talent of a Grandmaster. You might even improve or create one or two martial arts. Show me this thing you created.”
Lü Dongbin spoke without much expectation.
Even if it wasn’t properly made, he believed he could simply improve it afterward.
“Yes.”
Jang Woo-hyun exhaled deeply and moved the energy within his body.
Internal energy revolved around his dantian.
Soon it transformed into a massive flow, and Jang Woo-hyun became the center of a vortex of qi.
All surrounding energies were dragged toward him.
Nearby space itself distorted as it was sucked into Jang Woo-hyun.
After drawing in the surrounding power in one great sweep, he finally stopped.
Lü Dongbin stood there with his mouth slightly open in surprise.
“This…….”
“It’s Spiral Suction Art.”
“Haven’t I seen this somewhere before?”
“I created it after observing the breathing method of the Giants.”
“Giants? You mean the bastards from the Land of Giants? Huh, now that I think about it, I guess those bastards did breathe like this.”
Lü Dongbin stared at Jang Woo-hyun with a stiff expression.
Seeing that face, Jang Woo-hyun unconsciously gave a bitter smile.
It was an expression he had seen often.
Surely Lü Dongbin was also thinking, ‘What the hell is wrong with this bastard?’
At least, that was what Jang Woo-hyun expected.
“Wow…….”
However—
His expectations were wrong today.
“Hey, you’re a genius! Why didn’t I think of this? Was it because I never met enough people? It’s been so long I barely remember anymore. Or maybe everyone I met was too weak, so I killed them too quickly. Ah, why were all the people I met so weak? If they weren’t, maybe I could’ve created something like this too.”
“Uh…….”
This reaction was so unexpected that Jang Woo-hyun became the one left stunned.
“Mm, like this, then this. Does this work?”
While Jang Woo-hyun stood shocked, Lü Dongbin muttered to himself while moving the energy inside his body.
Not long afterward—
Whooooom—
A massive vortex of qi formed around him, and surrounding energies surged inward.
Lü Dongbin had already reproduced Spiral Suction Art almost perfectly after seeing it only once.
“Waaah!”
Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes widened as he stared at the grinning Lü Dongbin.
“Is it fascinating? Haven’t you ever met someone like this before? Don’t compare me to ordinary mortals. I am Sword Immortal Lü Dongbin.”
Filled with admiration, Jang Woo-hyun could only nod blankly with his mouth hanging open.
“You thought there was no one exceptional besides yourself? Don’t worry. I’ll shatter all those misconceptions for you.”
Only after hearing Lü Dongbin’s words and witnessing his abilities did Jang Woo-hyun finally understand why Cheol Geuk-jin had treated him so warmly back in the Central Plains.
Neither disciples, nor close friends, nor subordinates could understand his martial arts.
Yet Jang Woo-hyun grasped them instantly.
How joyful must that have felt?
No matter how close someone stood beside you, this was a completely different matter.
It was the loneliness only a martial artist could feel.
Today, Jang Woo-hyun eased that loneliness.
For the first time, he had met a genius equal to himself.
---
A remote corner of the Monster Realm.
Within a bizarre forest where every tree grew upside down, over a dozen humans floated upside down in the air.
Their appearances were extremely strange.
Legs grew where arms should have been.
Their heads were attached to their arms.
And both arms wriggled from their backsides like tails.
Before them stood a monkey monster with blue fur and absurdly colorful clothes that hurt the eyes just to look at.
“Why are you cultivator bastards snooping around the Monster Realm?”
At the monkey monster’s question, the cultivators with twisted bodies only trembled violently.
“You won’t answer? Want to try shitting from your mouth?”
The monkey monster ripped off one cultivator’s head outright.
Yet strangely, the cultivator did not die.
The monkey monster brushed aside the arm-like tail and shoved the head directly between the cultivator’s buttocks.
The remaining cultivators could only blink in terror.
They could not even scream.
Their mouths had already disappeared.
“Ah, right. You guys don’t have mouths. My bad. I forgot I erased them because you screamed too much.”
The monkey monster casually rubbed its finger across the cultivator’s mouthless face.
A mouth instantly reappeared.
“Please spare me! I’ll tell you anyth—”
“I told you to be quiet.”
Crunch!
The screaming cultivator’s head was shoved back into his body through his anus.
“Why can’t you listen?”
The monkey monster shook flesh and blood from its hand before walking over to another cultivator.
“You. Speak quietly. Got it?”
The moment their eyes met, the cultivator nodded frantically as though possessed.
If their mouths had merely been sewn shut or torn apart, they would not have been this terrified.
Their mouths had literally disappeared.
It was as though the organ called a mouth had never existed there in the first place.
Only flesh remained where mouths once were.
The blue monkey monster’s power had erased them.
A demonic art said to be usable only by a select few among the monstrous beings.
It was a truly grotesque phenomenon.
A bizarre and twisted power.
Regardless of raw strength, demonic arts were horrifying supernatural abilities.
The cultivators here had witnessed with their own eyes how the early-stage Fusion Realm cultivator leading them died.
‘His lower body…… devoured his upper body.’
Due to the demonic art, the Fusion Realm cultivator’s upper and lower halves separated.
Then the lower half moved on its own and swallowed the upper half through its anus.
Even cultivators who casually turned humans into pills had never seen such a sight before.
It was madness itself.
No matter how often cultivators were called lunatics by other races or the humans of the Murim Realm, they could never compare to true monstrosities.
Before monsters, they were merely weak creatures.
And the monkey before them stood at the very summit among those monsters.
The blue-furred monkey monster was one of the Seven Great Sages.
The Great Monster of the Monster Realm—
Great Sage Who Drives Gods, The Monkey King.