Chapter 71 : Removal of the Brand (3)

Chapter 71: Removal of the Brand (3)

Getting marked in the Lower Realm meant he had met the summoned Great Sage of the Flowing Wind.

The power of the summoned Great Sage of the Flowing Wind would be close to a catastrophe by the standards of the Lower Realm, but by his original power, it was nothing more than a tiny fragment.

Naturally, Great Sage of the Flowing Wind himself wouldn't pay much attention to the fragment that had been summoned to the Lower Realm.

It would’ve been little more than a form of amusement.

And yet, in such circumstances, Jang Woo-hyun had somehow gained the favor of Great Sage of the Flowing Wind.

“What in the world...”

Just how much had he taken a liking to him for something like this to happen?

Unable to comprehend the situation, Cho-yul was momentarily speechless. He let out a sigh and forced himself to reassess the situation.

“Fine, let's move on for now. What do you want?”

“It’s tough because the power from the brand keeps getting noticed by the Beastfolk. I need something to hide it. We also need to buy some time for this guy to grow stronger. He has to improve enough to at least escape from or fight that monkey bastard, right?”

“You’re thinking differently than I expected. I’ve been considering making a piece of gear that covers his shoulder and seals it, or maybe trying to erase the mark entirely.”

As Gwak Yu-chan’s explanation was a bit lacking, Pung So-bong continued.

“Sealing it, huh...”

Cho-yul crossed his arms and continued to examine Jang Woo-hyun’s shoulder. He was deep in thought, trying to come up with a method.

“Father, why don’t we use that? We couldn’t handle it ourselves anyway.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“That weird sword. With Great Sage of the Flowing Wind’s power, he should be able to suppress the sword’s curse, right? Or maybe we could use the curse to suppress the brand’s power instead.”

“Oh! Right, that’s a good idea.”

Cho-su’s suggestion revealed a new possibility.

“A curse? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Wait a second. I’ll go get it now. Cho-su, you come help me too.”

The father and son, both renowned Qi Craftsman, headed inside and soon returned carrying a long wooden box.

The box, presumably for sealing something, was covered in talismans plastered all over it and wrapped in thin chains emitting a faint glow.

After setting down the box, Cho-yul removed his mechanical arm. Then he went to the side and attached a skeletal arm to his shoulder.

The black bones were inscribed with red letters of unknown origin.

Like Cho-su, it seemed Cho-yul had been missing one arm from the start and switched them out as needed.

Cho-yul slowly opened the box. Inside was a single sword.

A black sword that emitted a faint violet hue.

Every time it shifted slightly, purple letters engraved along the blade flickered, and black mist-like steam rose from it.

“It’s always damn unsettling to look at. Don’t move. Just stay still. I’m just testing it.”

Seeing the approaching sword, Jang Woo-hyun was unsure what was going on. No matter how many times he thought it over, the weapon looked dangerous—yet it was being brought toward him.

For a moment, he considered slicing Cho-yul to pieces and running away, but since there didn’t seem to be any hostile intent, he decided to wait and see.

Of course, he didn’t forget to place his hand on his own sword’s hilt just in case.

As he lightly gripped the handle, Cho-yul brought the cursed blade toward Jang Woo-hyun’s shoulder.

Whoooosh—!

Just like when Pung So-bong had applied a talisman before, a strong wind arose and blew away the mist emanating from the sword.

“Oh! It’s working!”

“Yes, it’s working!”

The father and son grinned. Representing the group who didn’t quite understand the situation, Pung So-bong asked the obvious question.

“What exactly are we doing right now?”

“Ah, this sword is extremely cursed. It’s hard to handle.”

“Yeah, that much is obvious just by looking at it.”

The sword, spewing black smoke and emitting a dark, ominous glow, looked dangerous even to someone who knew nothing about it.

“But this friend here can use it because the brand of Great Sage of the Flowing Wind pushes away the sword’s curse. And by using the curse of the sword, we can suppress the power of the brand. It’s like using poison to fight poison.”

Just like using venom to cure venom, what Cho-yul and Cho-su were attempting was to neutralize the power of the brand with another curse.

“Is... is this really okay?”

Worried, Jang Woo-hyun asked, but both nodded and patted him on the back.

“We’ll make preparations, so stay here for a while. Do you need anything?”

“Get this guy a JeomulDharma Tool at least. He still doesn’t have a proper one.”

“Really? I’ll give him a real sturdy one. Cho-su, go guide him.”

The conversation quickly progressed, and before he knew it, Jang Woo-hyun was half-pushed out of the building.

“This is bad.”

Looking at Jang Woo-hyun, Cho-su shook his head.

“How is it this bad? Is that even possible?”

Cho-su handed him a Jeomuldo with high capacity and excellent condition. Since Pung So-bong and Gwak Yu-chan were covering the cost, Cho-su brought out the best one he had.

But Jang Woo-hyun’s ability to use Dharma Tool was extremely lacking.

The devices made by Qi Craftsman like Cho-su were of such quality that anyone could use them easily, yet Jang Woo-hyun was the exception.

When it came to martial arts, he was a genius among geniuses. But his skill in handling Dharma Tool was rock bottom—practically deep enough to tunnel underground.

“Alright, try this one then.”

Cho-su handed him a few more. In the end, Jang Woo-hyun could barely use the smallest, oldest, lowest-capacity JeomulDharma Tool.

“This is a problem. If things are like this, there’s no way you’ll be able to use a flying Dharma Tool. The JeomulDharma Tool’s capacity is just too low.”

“Uh… I’m not good with flying Dharma Tool either.”

“Ah…”

Why hadn’t he thought of that? Someone who couldn’t use a JeomulDharma Tool properly obviously couldn’t handle a flying one.

“The Central Heavens are vast. Without a flying Dharma Tool, it’s really hard to get around. I could make you a puppet to assist in mobility, but… with such a low-capacity JeomulDharma Tool, carrying it around would be a problem too. It’s complicated.”

Cho-su thought deeply for a moment, but came up with nothing and spoke again.

“For now, let’s find the best one you can use. I’ve met quite a few ascended ones, but never someone like this. You're really unique. Seriously.”

“If you forcefully pour in Qi, it usually works. There’s that ‘Void-Grasping Technique’ too, right? Moving objects with Qi. People who can do that usually handle Dharma Tool with no problem. Can you do that?”

“Void-Grasping Technique?”

“Yeah, moving objects at a distance using Qi. Most who can do that could use Dharma Tool. You can't?”

Hearing that, Jang Woo-hyun pulled out Dragon King's Scale.

“Why the sword all of a sudden…”

Chwararak—

Hundreds of blades suddenly unfolded, leaving Cho-su’s jaw hanging open.

“You mean something like this? I can do it…”

“Hey!!”

“Yes?”

“What the hell is this?!”

Cho-su was so shocked that his body started trembling.

“It’s a Dharma Treasure.”

Without any prior explanation of Dragon King's Scale, Cho-su shouted in shock and rushed in as if he were going to snatch it away.

Jang Woo-hyun was briefly startled but quickly asked what was going on. Cho-su, now excited, asked to take a closer look at Dragon King's Scale.

And shortly after—

Cho-su dragged Jang Woo-hyun to see Cho-yul.

After calming the overly excited Cho-su, Cho-yul examined Dragon King's Scale and explained its identity.

“You know what a Dharma Treasure is, right?”

“Yes, I’ve heard it’s like a treasured item used by the immortals. Senior Pung and Senior Gwak also said they suspected Dragon King's Scale might be a Dharma Treasure.”

“We call items that surpass Dharma Tool equipment Dharma Treasure. They’re commonly known as gear used by immortals, but it’s not only immortals who use them. Or rather, since even mortals who ascend from the Lower Realm use them, you could say it is used by immortals. Just consider it a high-performance piece of equipment or weapon.”

“This Dragon King's Scale here is at least a mid-tier Dharma Treasure. Possibly even higher.”

Cho-yul added on.

“You said you brought it up from the Lower Realm?”

“Yes, it came with me.”

“How could an item of this caliber exist in the Lower Realm? Don’t you have anything else to tell us about it?”

“Other than the fact that it has a will of its own, I don’t really know much. Ah, the original owner likely ascended too. For some reason, they left it in the Lower Realm.”

“No, I doubt it was simply left behind.”

At Cho-yul’s remark, Jang Woo-hyun asked what he meant.

“Didn’t you just say it has a will? This sword chose not to ascend.”

“Excuse me? Then why did it… choose me?”

“How would I know that? It didn’t choose to be with me, but with you. Ask it later.”

“Later?”

“This thing can grow.”

Jang Woo-hyun was surprised at the word “grow.”

He’d never heard of a weapon that could do that.

“There are rare items like that. Ones that not only have a will but can grow like people. Once it grows a little more, you might even be able to communicate with it. Then you can ask why it chose to follow you.”

At Cho-yul’s words, Jang Woo-hyun turned his gaze toward Dragon King's Scale.

‘Come to think of it, it did speak to me once.’

At first, it had whispered like a voice beside him, helping him find it in the Tang Clan.

Even when he lost it, it sent out a signal that allowed him to find it again.

It hadn’t spoken since, but Dragon King's Scale clearly had a will. It had even spoken briefly in the past.

“Can you really talk properly later?”

He tried talking to it again, just in case, but got no response.

“But if you can’t handle regular Dharma Tool properly, how can you use this?”

“I just… somehow it works when I try. I don’t really understand it myself.”

Cho-su looked at Jang Woo-hyun with wonder. To someone who had lived his entire life in the mysterious Central Heavens, Jang Woo-hyun was a curious individual.

“Mind if I… work on this a bit?”

“What do you mean by ‘work on it’?”

“Just as it sounds. I want to modify it a little. Of course, if it doesn’t want it, I’ll return it. But if I can add some new functions to it, it’ll help you a lot.”

“Right. If we can add flight capabilities, you won’t need a separate flying Dharma Tool. We could also get rid of the broken sword inside. Is that broken sword important?”

He was referring to Black Wilds Sword, which only had a shattered blade and hilt left.

“It’s not so much important as it’s the first sword I had commissioned. It’s familiar in my hand.”

“Well, considering its current state, isn’t it time to let it go? The blade is completely broken.”

“That’s true.”

“Then let’s at least start by replacing the hilt.”

“You okay with that?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked Dragon King's Scale again while holding it, but once again, it showed no reaction.

“Don’t worry, we’re professionals at this.”

With their eyes gleaming, Cho-yul and Cho-su eagerly stared at him. Jang Woo-hyun had no choice but to hand Dragon King's Scale over.

‘They’re just like the Tang Clan.’

It reminded him of the day he first acquired Dragon King's Scale.

The Tang Clan craftsmen had shown the same expression—eyes gleaming as they desired Dragon King's Scale.

‘I wonder how everyone’s doing.’

Jang Woo-hyun suddenly found himself wondering how the people he had met in the Central Plains were faring.

The inner sanctum of the Tianshan Demon Cult.

“Guuurgh…”

Vice-leader of the Demon Cult, Woo Jeong-hak, vomited blood as he screamed.

Inside a massive spell formation, he twisted in agony. Outside the formation, countless corpses were piled up.

‘Foolish…’

Blinded by vengeance, he had made a terrible decision. It was a mistake from the moment he believed in the forbidden spell he had stumbled upon.

He had used a forbidden technique that claimed one could ascend in level by sacrificing a thousand lives.

The very fact that he had discovered a book he had never seen before in the Martial Arts Repository—despite having visited it hundreds of times—was suspicious in itself. Yet at the time, he hadn’t realized it.

Woo Jeong-hak felt no resistance as he took the book.

The moment he opened it, he was entranced by the spell and ended up sacrificing a thousand cult members from the sect.

If he had thought even a little, he would’ve realized it was impossible to elevate one’s level using human life.

If it were truly possible, there would’ve been no need for the True Demon Palace to exist.

Anyone could simply sacrifice thousands to break through their limits.

The Invincible Divine Sword, Jang Woo-hyun.

Woo Jeong-hak had lost his reason, consumed by his desire for revenge.

As a battle puppet user who had once stood alongside the Demon Cult Leader, Woo Jeong-hak had witnessed Jang Woo-hyun’s power, even if only briefly.

He had never seen a title more fitting than Invincible Divine Sword.

The man had annihilated the Demon Cult Leader and three hundred elite warriors in a flash.

Woo Jeong-hak, convinced that Jang Woo-hyun could not be defeated by conventional means, had turned to the forbidden arts.

And this was the result.

He had activated the spell formation, but the power didn’t flow into him. Instead, it was siphoning his life and energy away.

Ruuuumble—

The ground trembled as if struck by an earthquake, and blue mist began to rise from the formation. The mist coalesced into a single circular ring—like a gate.

Inside the ring, space distorted, and then silver light exploded outward.

When the light disappeared, what appeared was a massive silver hand. It slowly unfurled its fingers, revealing a person standing within.

A beautiful young man with long hair tied back, smiling softly as he looked at Woo Jeong-hak.

“Nice to meet you.”

The moment they locked eyes, Woo Jeong-hak realized it.

A monster beyond comprehension.

Compared to him, the True Demon Palace, the Cult Leader, even Jang Woo-hyun who had destroyed the Divine Sect with a single sword strike—all of them were nothing.

This was something beyond human.

‘He might be a god…’

Without even realizing it, Woo Jeong-hak dropped to his knees.

It felt like he had to.

Lowering his head in a deep bow, he opened his mouth to speak—afraid to meet the newcomer’s gaze.