Chapter 160
**CHAPTER TITLE: The Master's Favor (4)**
It was strange.
Yet Oh Hyun-seok paid it no heed. Instead, he began pondering other matters.
*Crack-crack-crack!*
A brilliant flash erupted from his body and plunged straight into the core of Oh Hyun-seok’s form.
He had completed the initial stage of Core Formation and now stood at the middle level of Core Formation.
*Middle level of Core Formation.*
Oh Hyun-seok gazed at the heavens, then raised a fist.
*Crack-crack-crack-crack!*
The entire sky, dyed a deep blue, seemed to ripple as he thrust his fist toward it.
“Hoo…”
*Pa-aa-ah!*
Blue light from the Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law, starry light from the Starlight Lotus Body Art, and the five-color radiance of the Five Elements Eternal Scripture all blazed around him.
As he concentrated, every qi surrounding his body coalesced into a single torrent of power and transformed into the might of the Primordial Unity.
*Pat-chi-chu-chu!*
For a moment the chaotic Primordial Unity within him shifted to a violet hue.
But soon after, the violet light vanished. Only the sword-like rays of the Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law remained, enveloping his body once more.
*Was it called one-man body?*
Oh Hyun-seok recalled the ability he had just unleashed—drawing forth the Primordial Unity from his own core.
He had already heard everything from his master Changhoza about the one-man body technique.
Among the various functions of the one-man body, none existed that could manifest the Primordial Unity as he had just done.
*My strength isn’t merely the one-man body…*
Somehow Oh Hyun-seok sensed that the one-man body was only a secondary function.
The true power he possessed felt separate, beyond that.
*…Well, right now I can only guess that’s all there is.*
He briefly observed his own body, then rose to his feet.
*It would be wonderful if there were a way to maintain this Primordial Unity state indefinitely. If I could draw it out, I might be able to defeat Seo Eun-hyun…*
Oh Hyun-seok clicked his tongue in regret and looked toward a certain place.
Whether it was the function of the one-man body or that of the Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law, he had gained an enormous increase in power after reaching the middle level of Core Formation.
“I now possess power that surpasses even the peak of Core Formation.”
He didn’t know if he could reach the nascent soul stage or not, but at the very least he had stepped beyond the realm of ordinary Core Formation.
“Wait for me, Seo Eun-hyun.”
*Today, of all days.*
I will definitely defeat you.
Oh Hyun-seok thought that.
* * *
*Flash! Flash!*
The heavens and earth flashed.
Oh Hyun-seok rolled his feet on the training ground, and small mountains erupted around him.
Compared to the vast ranges Changhoza had created that filled a ten-li radius, these were modest in size.
Yet they were still mountains.
More than twenty enormous foundations spread in all directions.
And dodging those foundations, a man charged straight at Oh Hyun-seok.
“Haha, how is it? My power has long since surpassed Core Formation! Can you handle me now?!”
*Crack-crack-crack!*
Oh Hyun-seok rushed toward Seo Eun-hyun.
*Crack-crack-crack!*
The giant himself charged forward and delivered a body-blow.
Seo Eun-hyun dodged, and the mountain on which Oh Hyun-seok’s fist landed exploded into dust.
*Pa-ah!*
At the center of the explosion, a pillar of blue light shot upward, and two pairs of wings unfurled behind Oh Hyun-seok’s back.
The offensive technique of the Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law, the Azure Wings Heavenly Shatter, could be unfolded from one wing to nine pairs.
The tenth wing, supposedly the Ten Wings, existed only in legend.
One Wing granted the power of a late-stage Core Formation powerhouse.
Two Wings granted the power that surpassed the peak of Core Formation.
Yet Oh Hyun-seok, still at the middle level of Core Formation, had already unfolded two pairs of wings.
*Zze-eeng!*
Space around him rippled.
Even without deploying the Azure Wings Heavenly Shatter, his casual strike already surpassed the level of Core Formation.
The two pairs of wings he now spread were truly of nascent soul initial stage power!
“Brace yourselves! No matter who you are, you won’t survive this!”
He shouted proudly.
But Seo Eun-hyun remained expressionless.
“…I believe it would be wiser to conserve qi and settle this with close-quarters combat. There’s still a chance that way.”
“Hah! Shut up! Take this!”
And Oh Hyun-seok thrust his fist forward.
*Key-yee-ying!*
Blue light exploded, forming a whirlpool.
The churning light blades hurtled toward Seo Eun-hyun as if trying to swallow him whole.
But Seo Eun-hyun once again dodged without confronting the attack head-on, simply shifting his stance.
Yet the moment he moved, a new whirlpool of light rained down on the spot he had just vacated.
His eyes sparkled with a smile.
“So you’ve read my intent. You’re trying to enter my field of vision.”
And he dodged the next strike as well.
*Again… dodged.*
Oh Hyun-seok took a deep breath and stared at Seo Eun-hyun.
This time he wasn’t as gloomy as before.
*Before I simply stepped back and dodged comfortably.*
*But today it was different.*
When he finally evaded the last attack, there was no room to spare.
Combined with his usual footwork and the divine steps of the Earthly Body Art, he had barely managed to dodge.
The lofty mountain that had always been shrouded in clouds until now.
If that was Seo Eun-hyun, then—
Oh Hyun-seok felt as though the clouds had parted for a split second, revealing the peak.
“Brace yourselves, Seo Eun-hyun!”
Oh Hyun-seok shouted cheerfully.
“Because the day when we can truly spar is almost here!”
*Pa-at!*
Right in front of his eyes, Seo Eun-hyun suddenly appeared.
Seo Eun-hyun smiled faintly and extended his hand.
Slow… and gentle.
Yet Oh Hyun-seok felt it was impossible to dodge that hand.
And—
*Coo-woong!*
Seo Eun-hyun’s palm struck Oh Hyun-seok’s body.
He coughed up blood and collapsed instantly.
*The bastard… he’s smiling after a long time.*
“…That’s good. Please keep growing.”
Oh Hyun-seok watched Seo Eun-hyun return to his room and thought.
*Was that smile for the expectation of someday sparring properly, Seo Eun-hyun?*
People who show no emotion toward anything, who train with an endlessly weary look in their eyes while appearing perpetually busy, only smile occasionally when they truly fight.
*Or when they finally meet a worthy opponent.*
*Why did he break so much?*
Was he even truly human?
A person who had lost the ability to smile outside of battle after so much damage?
For the past ten years—
Oh Hyun-seok had trained and fought beside Seo Eun-hyun, and he had felt it clearly.
*Yes. Seo Eun-hyun had clearly broken.*
*I don’t know why he broke, but…*
Oh Hyun-seok clenched his fist tightly.
*I’ll train even harder and challenge him on equal ground. I’ll make him tell me everything!*
He made a firm resolve, recovered his body, and went to find Changhoza.
“Master, this disciple requests a spar! Please teach me!”
“Huhahaha! Your eyes have become truly bright, Hyun-seok! Very well, shall we continue?”
Oh Hyun-seok clenched his fist, ready to be battered by his master.
*Become steel.*
Beat after beating, the steel grows harder.
Thus becoming a shield that could protect the broken young man from further damage.
Thus becoming an adult.
And five years passed.
* * *
*Pa-aa-ah!*
The vital energy of heaven and earth merged.
Oh Hyun-seok completed the middle level of Core Formation and entered the late stage of Core Formation—Zami Origin.
The stage where one becomes both the priest who connects one’s body with the heavens and the king who rules one’s own flesh as a nation.
*Late stage of Core Formation.*
*Zami Origin!*
Oh Hyun-seok opened half his eyes and rose.
Over the past five years, many things had happened.
After reaching the middle level of Core Formation, Oh Hyun-seok had traveled the lands of Changhan-do, carrying out the duties of Changcheon Gaebyeokmun.
Seo Eun-hyun had performed the same missions, traveling everywhere.
The missions they had jointly undertaken had never failed.
*Recently the kid has been wandering Changhan-do collecting something…*
For nearly five years, while carrying out the sect’s missions, Seo Eun-hyun had gathered materials.
All of them extremely valuable, so much so that rumors had spread throughout Changcheon Gaebyeokmun.
Changhoza seemed to know the reason behind it, but when asked, he simply said, “Ask him directly.”
When Oh Hyun-seok asked Seo Eun-hyun himself, the answer was, “I’m making something for my colleague.”
*What a secretive fellow…*
While training day and night, he somehow learned and created more.
*He was far more versatile than I thought.*
He thought briefly about Seo Eun-hyun, then stood up and headed to find Changhoza.
“Master, this disciple has reached the late stage of Core Formation—Zami Origin.”
“Huhahaha! My disciples are indeed special! Eun-hyun, you too—you not only meet my expectations but shatter them! In less than fifty years after entering Core Formation, you’ve already reached late stage! Truly…!”
“Yes, all thanks to Master’s grace.”
“What nonsense. You’ve achieved it through your own tireless effort day and night.”
“Haha, the one who truly trains night and day is Seo Eun-hyun.”
In truth.
The more Seo Eun-hyun avoided talking, the more frantically he trained.
Whether it was some compulsion or not, he trained with an anxious expression, training, training, and training again.
The result: he now stood at the peak of the late stage of Core Formation—Zami Origin.
Soon he would enter the peak of Core Formation and ascend to the Heavenly Chariot Field.
*Well, it’s no wonder Seo Eun-hyun is so eccentric.*
“That’s right. Nevertheless, my disciple has reached Zami Origin—please give me the honor of congratulations?”
As Oh Hyun-seok asked with a hint of mischief, Changhoza laughed heartily and stood up.
“Indeed! Let us celebrate with a joyful spar!”
The two disciples headed to the training ground and assumed their stances.
*Crack-crack-crack-crack!*
The first move was Changhoza’s divine art.
When he rolled his feet, the entire training ground transformed into a dense forest, flooding the air with thick earth-attribute vital energy.
At the same moment, Changhoza’s figure vanished from sight.
But Oh Hyun-seok did not panic. He activated the Five Elements Eternal Scripture and traced the flow of qi in reverse.
“There!”
*Kwah-ah!*
Oh Hyun-seok’s palm strike slammed into a corner of the forest.
The ground beneath the trees flew into the air, and Changhoza, who had been hiding, grinned.
“Even hiding your body no longer works.”
*Ta-at!*
Two muscle-covered disciples rushed at each other.
*Kwah-ang, thump, kwah-ah!*
From then on it was pure hand-to-hand combat—no holds barred!
Oh Hyun-seok and Changhoza aimed punches at each other.
“Huhaha, now you’re truly at the nascent soul stage!”
Space rippled where Oh Hyun-seok’s fist passed.
Of course, Changhoza’s fist had already torn the space apart.
*Kwah-ang, thump, kwah-ah!*
Their fists collided over and over.
Each time blood sprayed from Oh Hyun-seok’s arms, while Changhoza’s healing qi flowed to repair the damage.
Simultaneously, Oh Hyun-seok grew harder with every blow he took.
And at one moment—
*Uwoong!*
Oh Hyun-seok’s momentum changed.
*Here I go.*
*Kwah-ah, kwah-ah, kwah-ah!*
Thunderous booms echoed in all directions.
When Oh Hyun-seok’s fist struck, the ground behind Changhoza collapsed under the shockwave alone.
Without even landing a direct hit, the surrounding terrain shifted wildly.
*Chwa-chak, chwa-chak, chwa-ja-jak!*
Enduring repeated blows, the flesh torn from Oh Hyun-seok’s body was soon healed.
He looked at Changhoza and took a step forward.
A storm of even fiercer palm strikes assaulted him.
But he took another step forward.
One step. One step. One step.
And finally—
In the midst of the palm-strike storm, Oh Hyun-seok saw something shimmering before his eyes.
*Now… I truly see it.*
A red line.
Follow the red line and the opponent’s attack will come.
*Pa-at!*
After dodging Changhoza’s fist, Oh Hyun-seok clenched his fist until it cracked.
A blue line.
Follow the blue line and strike with maximum power.
Until now those lines had been only faint flickers.
But right now—
Oh Hyun-seok finally saw them clearly at the exact moment he wanted.
*Uwooo-woong!*
*Third Wing.*
Behind Oh Hyun-seok, three pairs of wings unfolded.
Concentrating the qi of his entire body into his arms, he struck along the blue line straight at Changhoza.
Changhoza’s eyes gleamed with fighting spirit as he thrust his bare fist forward.
*Kwah-ah-ah-ah!*
Thunder boomed, the heavens and earth reversed.
Blue light swallowed the ground.
After a moment the light subsided.
*Shu-woo-woo…*
“Impressive. Setting aside whether you can even unfold the Third Wing, how did the power of the Third Wing reach late-stage nascent soul?”
“Just turned out that way.”
Oh Hyun-seok laughed heartily and answered.
Changhoza suddenly struck out at him.
*Pa-at!*
Oh Hyun-seok dodged the minimum motion needed.
Exactly like how he had always let Seo Eun-hyun’s attacks glance off him.
Changhoza laughed boisterously at the sight.
“You’ve entered it too! That field of vision!”
“I’m embarrassed, but only now have I reached it.”
“Huhahahaha! What does that even mean? It took me eighty years to properly see intent, and you reached the stage in less than fifty! You really were born with talent in martial arts. Now that you have the eyes of a grandmaster, you’ll obtain the Third Color within tens of years.”
Changhoza laughed and crossed his arms.
“This master took eighty years to enter the world of intent and only sixty years to see the Third Color. You really do have talent for it too. Having such outstanding disciples makes my mouth water!”
“Overpraised. By the way, Master.”
Oh Hyun-seok stared at Changhoza with solemn eyes.
“If this disciple’s attainment is as you see, do you believe Master can defeat Seo Eun-hyun?”
“Hmm…”
Changhoza seemed to ponder for a moment.
“It’s hopeless. But if you train even more diligently, it may be possible. Eun-hyun seems to be growing slower lately, while you continue to grow steadily.”
“Is that so?”
*Firmly hopeless. It means the gap between me and the kid is that vast.*
But Oh Hyun-seok smiled.
*Master said “hopeless.”*
Until now, when asked about the difference between him and Seo Eun-hyun, Changhoza had never given such an answer.
He had only urged him to train harder.
In short, until now the fight between the two of them didn’t even exist.
*But now… at least we can fight!*
*That means…*
*Now I can at least fight the kid a little.*
Oh Hyun-seok recalled Seo Eun-hyun with a heart full of fighting spirit.
*Soon…*
* * *
*Coong!*
Once again Seo Eun-hyun and Oh Hyun-seok faced each other.
*The kid’s surroundings…*
Completely red.
And there were no gaps.
Oh Hyun-seok read Seo Eun-hyun’s intent and finally understood why Changhoza had declared him hopeless.
Hundreds, thousands, hundreds of millions—
Countless red lines covered Oh Hyun-seok.
*Any one of those is a one-hit-kill technique.*
If even one landed, death was certain.
When his cultivation was still low, Oh Hyun-seok hadn’t realized how terrifying Seo Eun-hyun truly was.
But now that he understood, he finally did.
*So… wanting to defeat him from the very beginning was arrogance.*
Give up.
Accept it humbly.
And—
*Learn from the kid!*
*Ta-at!*
Oh Hyun-seok and Seo Eun-hyun collided once more.
Oh Hyun-seok rolled his feet and controlled the surrounding Five Elements.
The terrain shifted constantly, creating the perfect battlefield for him.
*Crack-crack-crack!*
Oh Hyun-seok charged at Seo Eun-hyun like a storm, raining down fists.
*Zze-eeng, zjeeng, zze-eeng!*
The ground tore apart and the landscape changed with every strike.
*He’s evading everything.*
But Oh Hyun-seok had never landed a hit.
Not even the blue line worked against Seo Eun-hyun.
Every red line blocked the blue line and nullified the attack.
*But…*
*Bang, bang, boong!*
Oh Hyun-seok increased his speed even further.
Combined with his body’s velocity and the divine steps of the Earthly Body Art, his movements turned into light itself as he chased Seo Eun-hyun and struck.
His speed had reached that of a nascent soul initial stage Earthly Body Art user!
*How about it! Do you think you can dodge this too?!*
No matter how much intent blocked the attack, if the body couldn’t keep up, it was useless.
As expected, the moment Oh Hyun-seok accelerated, Seo Eun-hyun, who had been dodging with ease, now began to dodge more tightly.
*Got it.*
Oh Hyun-seok smiled deeply.
Before, a battle with Seo Eun-hyun would end within ten seconds at most.
But now?
Even though he hadn’t landed a proper strike, Seo Eun-hyun hadn’t been able to fully exploit the gaps, and they had fought evenly!
The conditions for battle had finally been met!
And Seo Eun-hyun, still evading, smiled faintly.
“Wonderful growth. Then now…”
At the same moment, brilliant light rose from Seo Eun-hyun’s body.
“I’ll give you a proper response as well.”
*Pa-ah-ah!*
Over Seo Eun-hyun’s movements, the afterimage of the Earthly Body Art overlapped.
His speed exploded.
*What?!*
The next instant—
Seo Eun-hyun’s hand struck every vital point across Oh Hyun-seok’s entire body.
*Coong!*
Sharp qi pierced into the vital points, disrupting the flow of energy within Oh Hyun-seok’s body.
“Ugh!”
And it ended there.
Oh Hyun-seok let out a hollow laugh.
*Even without using the Earthly Body Art, just relying on body speed, the direction of intent, and footwork, he has been evading all my attacks until now.*
Truly overwhelming.
But Oh Hyun-seok smiled.
*So I forced the kid to unleash the Earthly Body Art.*
He smiled without frustration and thought.
*Next time… next time, what else can I force out of him?*
“Then I win…!”
*Udk, u-deuk!*
Even with his body forced to move, Oh Hyun-seok struggled.
The qi Seo Eun-hyun had injected into his vital points stimulated them and disrupted his movements, yet when he forced himself to move, blood sprayed—but he moved.
And the wounds where blood flew instantly healed.
“If you can take this too, then today you win!”
*Chwa-lak!*
Three pairs of wings burst forth behind Oh Hyun-seok’s back.
Before Seo Eun-hyun could react—
Oh Hyun-seok thrust his fist forward.
*Crack-crack-crack-crack!*
This strike was qualitatively different.
A storm of enormous palm strikes!
Different in both power and speed.
*Can you still dodge this time?!*
He couldn’t dodge!
Not this time!
The next instant—
Seo Eun-hyun covered his body with the Earthly Body Art, exploded his qi, and at the same time wrapped himself in an aura like a sharp sword.
*Pa-ah-ah-ah!*
For an instant Seo Eun-hyun became light and soared into the sky.
And Oh Hyun-seok watched and laughed.
*This time there was no leeway?*
He felt it.
The previous strike had required Seo Eun-hyun to pour out considerable power to dodge.
Perhaps he had used his full strength.
But the Azure Wings Heavenly Shatter could be used twice.
*Kwah-kwagh!*
Oh Hyun-seok’s next strike shot toward Seo Eun-hyun.
And for the first time—
For the first time Seo Eun-hyun extended his hand to meet the incoming attack in the air.
*Shu-kang!*
And Oh Hyun-seok’s strike was sliced apart.
It ended there.
Something sharp, soundlessly, cut through his strike.
He didn’t even realize it had happened.
It just ended.
“…Ha, hahahaha!”
He laughed happily.
*It’s fun.*
It was fun!
At first he had trained to fight Seo Eun-hyun on equal terms after the latter had broken.
But at some point—
He simply moved his body, grew stronger, and found joy in sparring with Seo Eun-hyun himself.
And all the things he had done while enjoying them—
Finally, for the first time, Seo Eun-hyun could not avoid his attack and instead threw one back.
“So… I lost.”
Oh Hyun-seok smiled lightly and said.
“But next time, I hope you can properly return the attack to me.”
Seo Eun-hyun stared at him for a moment, then smiled faintly.
“…I’ll wait for that.”
And Changhoza walked over to them, laughing.
“By the way, both of you have grown to the point where you’re useful. Let’s start thinking about new missions.”
Oh Hyun-seok and Seo Eun-hyun looked at Changhoza.
“There are two missions for you. You may choose whichever you prefer. Recently, the Puppet Monarch Jo Yeon has been slaughtering various races and turning them into living puppets. Because of that, the Heavenly Race Alliance has strengthened bounties on the Puppet Monarch.”
When Changhoza spoke, Seo Eun-hyun frowned.
“…Why can’t the Integration Grand Completion Heavenly Venerables just go catch him?”
“Well… I don’t know the reason either. But the Integration Grand Completion Heavenly Venerables are currently clustered near our human territory because they’ve found something they need to investigate. So there aren’t enough people to confront the Puppet Monarch.”
“…”
“Therefore, the Heavenly Alliance has issued the mission. First, patrol and observe the Puppet Monarch’s Wondrous Castle and gather information on him.”
Oh Hyun-seok asked Changhoza.
“You mentioned two missions. What is the other one?”
“The other is a mission related to the Demon Realm. There is one Demon Race that has crossed from the Demon Realm into the Gwanghan Realm. Capture it.”
“Then we’ll each take one mission?”
Changhoza shook his head at Oh Hyun-seok’s question.
“No. Both of these missions are extremely dangerous. You two will both have to go. Three disciples of the One Gate will accompany you, along with ten disciples of the Two Gate. What I asked was where you two want to go together.”
“Hmm…”
When Oh Hyun-seok fell into thought, Changhoza frowned.
“To be honest, as your master, I hope you won’t take the Puppet Monarch mission. Investigating that madman and collecting information makes no sense. Besides, it’s far too dangerous. Still, I respect your choice, but I personally want you to take the Demon Realm mission.”
At those words, Oh Hyun-seok looked at Seo Eun-hyun.
“Since Master says that, I’ll follow your advice, but what about you?”
At that, Seo Eun-hyun met Oh Hyun-seok’s eyes.
*Startle!*
Oh Hyun-seok flinched.
*Emotion.*
It had been a long time since he had seen emotion in Seo Eun-hyun’s eyes.
“I… would like to go to the Puppet Monarch.”
At that, Changhoza’s eyebrows twitched.
“Why?”
“Because my colleague is under him.”
“Hmm… I see.”
When Seo Eun-hyun answered, Oh Hyun-seok trembled.
*So there was Kim Yeon-ssi.*
He had heard of the Puppet Monarch.
The most dangerous madman in the world.
Even after hearing that Kim Yeon had been taken by that madman, what had he done?
*Yes… I was worried about my colleague Kim Yeon under that man.*
Oh Hyun-seok felt, after a long time, that he had seen Seo Eun-hyun’s human side.
At the same time, he looked at Changhoza with firm resolve.
“As you know, Seo Eun-hyun and I come from the same place. Since that woman taken by the Puppet Monarch is also my colleague, I will go as well!”
“…Hoo.”
Changhoza let out a soft sigh.
“Fine. I respect your choice.”
Thus, the fate twisted, and Oh Hyun-seok, who should have been assigned the mission of catching the Demon Race of the Demon Realm, instead joined the expedition team investigating the Puppet Monarch’s Wondrous Castle.