Chapter 87 : Same Side (2)

Chapter 87: Same Side (2)

While the two formed an alliance, Sa Do-woong arrived, running through the air.

Boom!

Though he landed lightly, the surrounding atmosphere sank as if something massive had crashed down.

His appearance was no different from the projection seen earlier.

Sa Do-woong was tall but thin, a look that did not match the name “Evil Tiger.” He resembled more a starving jackal roaming in search of prey.

‘Strong.’

Even without emanating killing intent or revealing his energy, it was clear—Sa Do-woong was stronger than any other martial artist encountered thus far.

The moment their eyes met, it felt as though hundreds of gazes were aiming at him from all directions.

A master of the Boundless Realm, able to expand his Willpower infinitely.

It was similar to the aura Gwak Yu-chan had once displayed. Sa Do-woong's Willpower spread out to fill the heavens and earth.

Under its pressure, Jang Woo-hyun's fingertips trembled. He held back the urge to rush forward and swing his sword.

Sa Do-woong was stronger than Gwak Yu-chan.

However—

‘It’s doable.’

Among all the martial artists Jang Woo-hyun had seen, Sa Do-woong was the strongest.

But Jang Woo-hyun had already witnessed the power of the Wind-Passing Great Sage.

A presence on another level. An energy that oppressed heaven and earth. A realm that seemed unreachable no matter how much effort one put forth.

Even if Sa Do-woong was strong, he did not reach the level shown by the Wind-Passing Great Sage.

“I don’t understand.”

Sa Do-woong furrowed his brow slightly.

Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage—both were outstanding.

No matter where in the Central Heavens Martial Realm one went, whoever met them would think the same. Though lacking compared to himself, the two possessed considerable power.

However, that alone should not have been enough to annihilate his subordinates.

Before arriving, he had clearly received reports from them. They had been pursuing the Suwang Sect with more than twenty ships.

Moreover, among them were over twenty Transcendence-level martial artists. Even if some of them had forcibly elevated their level, the two alone should not have been able to withstand them.

Not knowing that the Wind-Passing Great Sage had wounded himself to lower his own level, Sa Do-woong simply could not understand.

“But that’s not what matters right now, is it?”

The Wind-Passing Great Sage stepped forward, twirling his spear. The surrounding air stirred along the tip of the spinning weapon.

“Monkey, was it you?”

“Who else would it be?”

“I see... Whatever trick you pulled, what’s the use now?”

“Exactly. Let’s just have some fun.”

As the Wind-Passing Great Sage prepared to charge, Sa Do-woong lifted a finger and pointed behind them.

“Is that one of your companions flying in?”

Thinking it was a childish distraction, the Wind-Passing Great Sage scowled and opened his mouth.

“This bastard’s pulling some nonsense. As if I’d fall for someth—”

“Monkey, someone’s coming.”

Jang Woo-hyun interrupted with the same words, making the Wind-Passing Great Sage turn his head.

The direction Sa Do-woong pointed. Someone was indeed flying toward them from there.

The three waited in silence for the person approaching.

Moments later—

Riding a Flying Apparatus, the one who arrived before the three was Maeng Ye-ju.

“Hey! Jang Woo-hyun! What do you think you’re doing alone… huh? Huh?”

Maeng Ye-ju, who had been flying in expecting only Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage, saw another man. And she recognized him immediately.

“Sa Do-woong?!”

Still airborne and not yet off her Flying Apparatus, Maeng Ye-ju hovered in the sky. She couldn’t make sense of the situation.

The Wind-Passing Great Sage had appeared and swept through Bi Ik-ryeon, and now even Sa Do-woong had shown up. On top of that, the Wind-Passing Great Sage's power had decreased.

Back when he’d struck and sent her flying, even just witnessing it had made it hard to breathe, but now he seemed to be around her level.

“What… what in the world is going on here?”

Glancing around, Maeng Ye-ju became even more confused when she saw Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage standing side by side.

“Um… so… right now…”

“You, come down and join if you’re going to, otherwise leave.”

Maeng Ye-ju cautiously descended and stowed away her Flying Apparatus, then moved to stand beside Jang Woo-hyun.

“What’s going on here?”

Even if spoken quietly, everyone here would be able to hear it. Yet Maeng Ye-ju still whispered as she asked Jang Woo-hyun.

The answer she got was completely unexpected.

Jang Woo-hyun pointed his finger, first at Maeng Ye-ju, then the Wind-Passing Great Sage, and finally at himself.

“We’re on the same side. And…”

This time, he pointed to Sa Do-woong, who stood across from them.

“That is our enemy.”

Maeng Ye-ju felt a headache coming on. She couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation at all.

‘We’re on the same side? With a great monster of the Demonic Spirit Realm?’

Unlike her dazed state, the Wind-Passing Great Sage and Jang Woo-hyun were already preparing for battle.

“Heh, with one more added, we’re finally at the stone axe level.”

Muttering something incomprehensible, the Wind-Passing Great Sage stepped to the side. Maeng Ye-ju unknowingly ended up standing in the center of the three.

“Um…”

“To be able to come all the way here after taking a hit from me, your body must be pretty sturdy. Since you’re the toughest, you take defense. The two of us will handle offense.”

“Eh? What? Huh? Huh?!”

Before she knew it, her position had been decided.

“Is everyone ready now?”

Sa Do-woong, who had been observing them with indifferent eyes, began to raise his aura.

“Hm.”

“My god…”

It wasn’t just her fingertips—her entire body was trembling.

Boundless Realm. The expanded energy and Willpower engulfed all of heaven and earth.

It felt like her neck had been thrust into the jaws of a massive beast.

If those jaws closed, it felt like her throat would be torn out and she would die.

“W-Was he always like this?”

The most shocked was Maeng Ye-ju.

No matter how well-known Bi Ik-ryeon was within the Central Heavens Martial Realm, their strength or power could not compare to the Ten Sects and Three Clans.

Their notoriety stemmed from their wicked deeds and the meticulous use of their Floating Stronghold, not their actual might. In terms of power, they were equivalent to a mid-tier sect in the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

Of course, there were powerful individuals within Bi Ik-ryeon. The Bi Ik-ju and the other leaders of the Twelve Strongholds. Especially the second-in-command, Bi Ik-gong, and the third-in-command, Bi Ik-jang, were known to be masters of the Boundless Realm.

But not to this extent.

The energy that Sa Do-woong now displayed seemed to rival that of the Bi Ik-ju or even approach the Seventeen Lords, the rulers of the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

A strength completely different from what had been known.

‘Has he been hiding away and cultivating all this time?’ Maeng Ye-ju thought as she recalled something.

“Don’t tell me… you too?”

She had seen Transcendence-level martial artists who had forcibly raised their realm. If that were possible, then perhaps even higher-level masters could find ways to increase their power. That’s what Maeng Ye-ju was suggesting now.

“Unlike those who ascend to the level of Transcendence, the effect wasn’t immense, but it was something.”

“T-That’s impossible!”

Many years had passed since the formation of the Central Heavens Martial Realm, and there had been sects that allied with the Cultivation Realm.

They tried to raise their realm through methods not tied to martial arts, like those used by cultivators, but none achieved proper results.

On the contrary, those sects that allied with the Cultivation Realm were seen as threats and were mostly exterminated by the major sects of the Central Heavens Martial Realm.

In Maeng Ye-ju’s common sense, joining hands with cultivators was a dangerous endeavor with no benefits. There was no chance of raising one’s realm.

And yet, here was irrefutable proof before her very eyes.

“That kind of thing… that kind of thing shouldn’t be possible!”

“Results don’t lie.”

“No matter how possible it is, this is madness. If it’s revealed that you joined hands with cultivators, Bi Ik-ryeon is finished! Unlike before, every sect will—”

“Do you think we acted without preparation? And who is worrying about whom right now?”

Sa Do-woong’s words were correct. The collapse of Bi Ik-ryeon was a problem for later. Maeng Ye-ju needed to worry about surviving this very moment.

With those words, Sa Do-woong smiled and raised his hand. Gigantic power gathered in his palm, and the surrounding energy moved with him.

As he clenched his fist, the space where the three stood crumpled in on itself.

The three immediately retreated at once.

Transcendence—the realm that allowed one to move within a different flow of time.

Within that time, two humans and one monster moved to confront the enemy before them.

‘I don’t even know anymore!’

Maeng Ye-ju struck the ground. She still didn’t fully grasp the situation, but there was no time to question it now.

Sa Do-woong had begun his attack, and to survive, they had to take him down—even if he was stronger than her.

While the surrounding time flowed slowly, the three people and one monster shared the same stream of time.

As Maeng Ye-ju charged forward, Sa Do-woong thrust out his fist.

But before that, Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage had already moved.

A wall of blades formed in front of Maeng Ye-ju, and before that, a wall of wind stood guard.

Kwaaaang!

One strike. With just a single punch, the defenses created by Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage were shattered. Fortunately, Maeng Ye-ju herself suffered no serious damage.

Immediately closing the distance, she drove her fist forward.

Energy surged down her arm, trembling the air. Her step to shorten the gap shook the ground.

The punch of a martial artist who had reached the peak of Transcendence, standing just before the Boundless Realm, was not something even Sa Do-woong could take lightly—especially when the opponent was Maeng Ye-ju.

Kwoong!

Maeng Ye-ju's fist and Sa Do-woong’s palm collided.

A blinding light burst from where their hands met. Each beam of light that radiated from it carried fatal power. The surrounding space warped under the force.

“Khuek.”

It was Maeng Ye-ju who launched the punch, yet it looked as though she was the one struck—pushed backward. The difference in their strength was simply too great.

But fortunately, she wasn’t alone.

From the left, Jang Woo-hyun’s sword, and from the right, the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s spear targeted Sa Do-woong.

Jang Woo-hyun’s extending sword suddenly faltered, as if caught on something.

The same happened with the Wind-Passing Great Sage’s silver spear.

It wasn’t a complete stop—just a fleeting moment. Even in the domain of Transcendence, their weapons had slowed for a brief instant.

But in a battle between masters, such fleeting moments were like eternity. As Sa Do-woong’s Willpower surged to block their attack, a barrier of Qi Projection formed around him.

Kwaaaang!

The two attackers were instead repelled. The brief pause had weakened their attack, allowing Sa Do-woong to block it without difficulty.

Right after, Sa Do-woong added force to the hand that had caught Maeng Ye-ju’s punch, pushing her back.

Another attack followed immediately.

A massive force exploded from Sa Do-woong’s fist.

Maeng Ye-ju crossed both arms to block, but it wasn’t enough. Though it was a single punch, the impact landed multiple times. The energy around them shifted simultaneously, adding pressure onto her.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

“Khk!”

Unable to withstand the overwhelming force, Maeng Ye-ju was flung back.

Sa Do-woong then curled his fingers like beastly claws and swung his hand.

His will to kill transformed into invisible blades, targeting Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage.

Jang Woo-hyun raised his sword to block the strike aimed at him.

And then he realized—something was interfering with him.

It felt like an invisible force was hindering his movements. And even though he had blocked the attack, another unseen blade followed right after, aiming for his neck.

‘This is absurd.’

The surrounding space supported Sa Do-woong. It interfered when he attacked and reinforced him when he was on the offensive.

The entire surrounding space was his domain.

It was questionable whether this could even be called martial arts.

It surpassed martial arts—an absolute force, a power closer to supernatural ability.

To expand Willpower meant to fill the surroundings with one's will and strength.

Every direction was Sa Do-woong’s domain.

A domain of death, capable of killing his enemies.

“Krrgh.”

Maeng Ye-ju, who had been flung away, ran back to stand beside him. It seemed she had suffered considerable damage from being unable to fully block the earlier attack.

‘This won’t work as is.’

He had only attacked once, and yet was completely overpowered. Jang Woo-hyun decided to change his approach.

“Senior Maeng, Monkey.”

Without taking his eyes off Sa Do-woong, he spoke, and the other two listened.

“We’re switching roles.”

Jang Woo-hyun turned the handle in his left hand into a bracelet and stretched out his arm.

“I’ll defend. You two attack.”

Chwa-leureuk.

Dragon King's Scale wrapped around Jang Woo-hyun’s body.