Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero (1)
In the center of a tranquil, Eastern-style room.
Hugo—Ha Seunghun—sat quietly in meditation, eyes gently closed as he breathed evenly.
Within his mind, all manner of martial concepts were whirling about, repeatedly dismantling and reestablishing the martial arts he had accumulated thus far.
‘This is incredible.’
After that process had reached a certain stopping point.
Slowly steadying his breath, he found himself letting out a murmur of admiration.
‘In a way, this may be exactly the prescription I need right now.’
Having roughly sorted through the dizzying swirl of knowledge, he slowly opened his eyes.
If he had had his way, he would have gathered it all up at once and made it his own, but the sheer volume of martial knowledge circling through his mind was so vast that it simply could not be helped.
Not only that, but while his insights into his own martial arts were limited to what he already knew as “Ha Seunghun,” this was so abstruse that no amount of impatience would let him grasp it in mere days.
“The Black Dragon Secret Record (黑龍秘書), huh…”
It was the proof of loyalty Heinz II had wrung… received as a gift from the Black Dragon Lord, the master of the Black Dragon Society.
And it was the name of a secret manual that could boldly claim to contain the essence of all martial studies across every murim-type dimension.
Of course, though it was called a secret manual, it did not take the form of a book.
No, before that, it was not even something that possessed a physical shape.
It was simply that the Black Dragon Lord, through a skill that allowed him to record and manage “all martial arts he knew,” had handed over that information in its entirety.
‘He really isn’t an ordinary man either. Well, if he accomplished an achievement on Earth and even earned a special privilege for it, that says everything.’
Even the name of that privilege was “Heaven-Defier,” was it not?
An existence that went against the will of Heaven—at a glance, it was not the sort of epithet one could approach with lukewarm ability.
‘The former branch head of the Beoncheon Society, an organization crawling with powerful figures hidden from the world. There’s no way that inscrutable leader would have placed some nobody in such an important position. Since the early Beoncheon Society made swallowing China its top priority, the position overseeing that place at the time must have been among the very highest.’
This “Black Dragon Secret Record” was no different from the Black Dragon Lord’s own realizations, which he had begun writing from the moment he returned to Earth and had continued revising and improving for over twenty years until recently.
It was proof that even after obtaining the special privilege “Heaven-Defier” through endless inquiry, and even after using it to escape the Beoncheon Society and thoroughly conceal his existence, he had never neglected his research into martial arts.
‘It’s not just a description of martial arts from a few dimensions. From what thoughts he held and what efforts he made to reach the Profound Realm, to what he believed was necessary to reach the Divine Transformation Realm afterward—it’s a kind of research journal. At this point, I’m more curious how he obtained so much material while avoiding the Beoncheon Society.’
He had heard a rough explanation.
How the man had interacted with masters who had returned from various murim-type dimensions and shared knowledge with them.
If the Black Dragon Lord sensed some new element, he did not care even if the one who possessed it was far beneath him in level.
And to obtain it, he stopped at nothing.
Even if the other party demanded immense wealth, dangerous commissions, or a portion of the martial studies he had gathered so far, he accepted most of it; and against those with whom words truly failed, he had not hesitated to use force as a hard-line measure.
‘In the process, he also steadily recruited talented people into the Black Dragon Society. Besides, for someone still thirsting for growth, it must have been inevitable that he would always covet new martial knowledge like that.’
No matter how extraordinary he was, it was impossible for him alone to surpass a long, venerable history passed down over hundreds and thousands of years.
In the murim world, martial arts were the pinnacle of mysticism, passed down across ages and continuously advanced by countless geniuses.
What he had done was merely coordinate and weave together those brilliant legacies, revising them so they would be useful to him; he had by no means created something entirely new from the ground up.
‘Of course, even that alone is more than enough to call him a grandmaster.’
Naturally, the results of his research were not knowledge that just anyone could fully accept.
Aside from the early portions, most of the research results were all designed on the premise of the existence of the “Heaven-Defier,” who twisted the principles of the world.
Since principles of subtly different natures were intricately tangled together, if an ordinary martial artist were to imitate them as they were, he would more than likely fall into qi deviation and end up crippled.
‘If it weren’t me, that is.’
Letting out a faint chuckle, he slowly rose from his seat.
A stiff ache throbbed through the acupoints all over his body, but he paid it no mind.
If the Black Dragon Lord had the “Heaven-Defier,” which twisted the principles of the world—
Then he had the “Savior,” which ignored all restrictions of other dimensions.
Wooooong—
The internal energy rampaging within his body gradually began to settle.
Along with it, some of the martial principles that did not conform to the laws of this world, the Ganghwan Realm, slowly began to take root inside him.
‘It’s still incomplete, so it’s lacking in many ways, but…’
Now that he had found the path forward and the method to proceed, the rest was only a matter of time.
Steadying his breath deeply, he opened the door and strode outside.
‘Now that I can see the wall, all that remains is to surpass it.’
Dazzling sunlight pierced his eyelids.
He had been absorbed in meditation since early dawn, but at some point the sun had already risen high into the sky, scattering bright light over the world.
Unlike before, when a gloomy atmosphere had hung over the land in every season, the blue sky was clear and high without a single cloud.
“Ah! Big brother! You’re out?”
At that moment, Nangong Soran, who had been squatting in the yard before the door, turned her head and smiled brightly.
In her hand, she held the long stem of a foxtail grass, waving it gently.
And in that brief moment when her attention wandered.
—Nyaaang!
—Nyaak!
“Ah! They caught it.”
The two small animals crouched before her, watching the swaying tip of the grass, launched themselves like lightning and snatched it.
Then, as if proud of having won the contest, they purred happily and diligently chewed the grass with their small mouths.
At a glance, they looked like ordinary kittens.
But they were most certainly not mere cats.
After all, there was no way an ordinary cat’s entire body would be made of flame or shadow.
“Did you rest comfortably as well, Lady Nangong?”
“Oh, there you go again. Please speak comfortably, big brother. I’m younger than you, you know.”
“Hahaha, I shall change that gradually. By the way, Lady Zhuge is…?”
“Big sister said she had something to ask the Daoists and rushed outside earlier. She looked very excited.”
“Ah, of course. This place, like the Zhuge Family, is called one of the two great pillars of the art of techniques.”
Nangong Soran tossed aside the foxtail grass, now completely reduced to ash, and took out a new blade of grass, waving it gently again.
At that, the two yaoguai cats rose once more and assumed hunting stances.
Of course, the yaoguai present here were not limited to those cats alone.
“Still, this place really is… The words ‘another world’ come to mind on their own. Even saying it feels like something out of a fairy tale isn’t enough.”
Nangong Soran clicked her tongue in wonder as she looked around.
Beyond the guest area where they were staying, all kinds of yaoguai could be seen roaming freely at a glance.
From beastmen with animal heads and human bodies to異形 beings with not even the slightest trace of humanity remaining, all sorts of existences wandered about, chattering noisily without restraint.
“Well, to them, this place is something like an entrance to the outside world or a buffer zone. Those who have yet to experience the outside would do well to learn about the world step by step from here.”
This place was the Maoshan Sect, located in Jiangsu Province in the eastern part of the continent.
It was the first destination he had set for this journey, and the stronghold of the yaoguai, who had begun revealing themselves to the world in earnest after the final war against the Demon Cult.
“Haa, yaoguai. I haven’t even imagined them since I was little, so it feels strange somehow.”
“As you know, you must be careful when you are with them. If friction were to arise at a time like this, the peace we barely regained could be shaken.”
“Of course! It just caught my attention a little, so don’t worry.”
Of course, ordinary mistakes likely would not matter much.
Since their party had been treated as guests thanks to the fame he had earned in the war as the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, it was certain that those beings were well disposed toward them.
‘Still, it’s best to minimize antagonism as much as possible. Considering my goal in coming all the way here.’
The journey through the jianghu of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, Ha Seunghun, had begun with two major objectives.
The first was to stabilize the world by eliminating malcontents who still failed to recognize that the world had changed and continued to cause conflict.
And the second was to improve his own abilities and find the clue he needed to surpass the wall of the Profound Realm…
His visit to the Maoshan Sect was related to that second objective.
‘The martial arts of the yaoguai, which I previously encountered through Mok In-gwang. They may help me surpass the wall of the Profound Realm.’
Of course, he had unexpectedly obtained the guidebook known as the Black Dragon Secret Record along the way, but when it came to possibilities, the more one had, the better.
Only then could he choose which of several methods was better, and perhaps even combine the strengths of both sides to achieve an even greater result.
‘Since I’m a hero whose name is known even to Jinwu Island, if I request a friendly spar under the pretext of exchange…’
However, the situation did not flow according to his wishes alone.
A figure rushed over from the other side at great speed and collapsed before him.
A woman with a pale face, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
She was one of the secret warriors assigned as Zhuge Hyemi’s escort.
“G-Great Hero! Something terrible has happened! The young lady…!”
To be more precise.
He had momentarily overlooked the fact that troublesome people who caused problems were not found only on one side.
***
A height easily exceeding five meters, a tiger-like body standing on two legs and a long tail, sharp teeth fully exposed because it had no lips, a pair of boar-like tusks jutting out among them, and eyes containing blazing ghost-fire.
“Lord Taowu! That person is a guest of the Maoshan Sect! If you do this… Keoheok!”
“Grrrr— Shut up! How dare you talk back to me so insolently!”
The being called Taowu, radiating a tremendous pressure befitting his vicious appearance, lightly swung his hand and sent the last remaining Daoist flying, then wore a satisfied smile on his lips.
As he seized Zhuge Hyemi, who was frozen stiff and looking up at him, in his enormous hand.
‘What luck! To think I’d see a child of the dragon in a place like this! And the highest-ranked one among them, no less!’
Taowu.
He had once been a great yaoguai of the anti-Jinwu Island faction, but after losing the brothers once called the “Four Fiends” alongside him due to the Demon Cult’s rise, he had fled beneath the shadow of Jinwu Island as a defeated remnant.
Of course, even if he had ended up in such a position, there were not many who could treat him carelessly, as he was still a great yaoguai.
Since Jinwu Island had also suffered heavy damage in the war, the addition of fighting power on his level was actually something to welcome.
As expected, he had rendered no small number of meritorious deeds against the Demon Cult and built up a position of his own.
But that was only until peace arrived.
After the final war ended, Taowu had quite literally fallen into the status of a useless nuisance.
With a nature that stood at the very edge of evil, in an age of peace he was nothing more and nothing less than an existence that caused disturbances at every turn.
At least in an age of chaos, there had been clear uses for his martial might, enough to endure the side effects, and he had not had reason to suffer from pent-up dissatisfaction. But now, he was merely a troublemaker who caused problems in every matter without being of any help at all.
To the point that Jinwu Island’s leadership was seriously considering whether they ought not leave him alone like this, and whether they should seal him away.
And there was no way Taowu, who had survived until now even amid an age of calamity through his ghostlike intuition, would fail to notice such a current.
‘Do you think I’ll let myself be taken so easily?’
But no matter how he thought about it, escaping by his strength alone seemed difficult.
He possessed power capable of crushing most masters of the Profound Realm, but against numbers, no one could prevail.
In such a situation, encountering the Dragon God’s apostle—the Dragon Child, one of the pillars of the world’s salvation—was an enormous opportunity for him.
‘The Dragon Child is undoubtedly the key that saved this world. If I offer up a created being who has borne such a great deed as a burnt offering…!’
That being the case, it was not strange that his train of thought flowed in exactly the same direction as the Demonic Cultists’.
Taowu, his eyes now the same as those of the countless bastards he had slaughtered until now, seized Jegal Hyemi in his massive hand and launched himself forward.
If he followed his desires, he would have devoured her on the spot, but for a proper ritual, he needed to observe the procedures to some extent, even if only in abbreviated form.
“Krrk-krrk—! With this, I’m free! Let them chase after my tail for the rest of their lives!”
As befitted a great demon, he traversed the forest at a tremendous speed utterly unsuited to his bulk.
And yet, like an outstanding hunter, he left not the slightest trace behind along the way.
Like a silent leopard that approached without a sound and tore out its prey’s throat.
‘It would be nice if I could even hook a dragon while I’m at it. If I’m to wash away the humiliation I’ve suffered, I must repay those bastards in kind…’
Perhaps it was because he was so full of arrogance.
Swish—
He could not help but be a beat late in noticing the black shadow closing in on him.
‘Oh? Not bad!’
Of course, that did not become much of a problem.
Even starting a breath late, the gap between him and his assailant was so vast that he could still stay several moves ahead.
Paaaah—!
The problem was that fleeting instant.
As though it had been arranged in advance, a golden flash burst from the hand that was gripping the Dragon Child.
The moment he tore apart the dark dragon that had rushed at him like a snake, without the slightest presence, as though it had merged with the forest shadows, was the same moment he felt emptiness in the hand that had been tightly holding the woman.
“Huh?”
Taowu stared blankly down at his empty hand for a moment.
Then he slowly swept his gaze over his surroundings.
No matter how he searched, she was nowhere to be found.
As though she had evaporated on the spot.
“How dare you!”
But he was a great demon who had reached the realm of transcendence.
His senses, expanding in an instant as if to cover the entire forest, caught the sacrifice rapidly moving away.
Along with the presence of the one who had just ambushed him and diverted his attention elsewhere.
[Graaaaaaar——!]
A roar filled with rage stirred up a storm, and an earthquake shook the entire mountain.
Now that it had come to this, moving covertly was a failure.
All that remained was to finish the matter as quickly as possible and leave before the spirit beasts of Geumodo capable of dealing with him were dispatched.
The moment after he made that decision.
Kwaaaaang—!
With the movement of a five-meter giant traveling at supersonic speed, everything in a straight line between him and his target was destroyed in an instant.
***
‘Ah, of all times, the cooldown had to kick in now.’
Ha Seunghun, sprinting with Jegal Hyemi held in his arms, grimaced.
Who could have imagined that something like this would happen while they were in the Mosan Sect, a place he had thought was safe?
As he fled at high speed, he stopped in his tracks, turned, and drew his sword.
Running any farther was meaningless.
Kwaaang!
[I’ll kill you! You insect-like bastards!]
Because the monster that had carved a great avenue through the forest had already closed in right behind him and was reaching out its hand.