The Thunder Sword's Inheritance
Kim Jun focused his hearing.
Soon, a dissonant screech like metal scraping metal burrowed into his ears. It was the sound of hundreds of iron bars being scraped at random—the very noise that had Haren Saurus trembling in fear.
Whatever it is, I should trust this guy's instincts.
Kim Jun turned in the direction of the sound.
He'd been riding smoothly for a while when the noise echoed from afar again. Haren Saurus even backed away.
After dismounting, Kim Jun looked up at Baek Seungtae.
"Stick a light on me."
"Again?"
Baek Seungtae's eyes narrowed. He didn't like how Kim Jun treated him like a timid buffer every time he went off alone to scout.
"Hurry up."
"Fine."
Baek Seungtae channeled his mana to create an orb of light that followed Kim Jun.
"Shoot up a flare in ten minutes."
With that, Kim Jun dashed into the darkness alone.
The sound grew louder. It felt like something chilling was swarming in from all sides.
Gripping his digger, Kim Jun prepared to retreat at any moment while glaring ahead.
"Hoo."
He liked this tense atmosphere.
But I can't get too cocky. Lives are on the line...
Then, something shot through the darkness toward him.
Kim Jun swung his digger.
Thwack.
A snake with its head half-smashed writhed at the edge of the light. It was like an anaconda, nearly five meters long.
Another snake lunged with fangs bared.
He smacked it away with the digger, but spotted three more slithering across the ground toward his ankles from the side. He immediately backpedaled.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
Even as he batted away the snakes, Kim Jun didn't forget why he'd come here. It was to uncover the source of that eerie sound—not to fight a horde of them.
After smashing one's head, he spun around and bolted.
Just then, a flare rocketed into the sky and burst.
Kim Jun confirmed the direction and picked up speed.
"It's coming from all directions."
Baek Seungtae tried to sound nonchalant, but his voice trembled with fear.
Kim Jun silently focused his hearing. Baek Seungtae's judgment was spot on. The snake horde was zeroing in on this exact spot.
For now, they had no choice but to flee blindly from the snakes.
No way could a single dealer and carrier handle that many. Haren Saurus would be useless against anacondas like those.
"Let's go."
Kim Jun tugged the mane, and Haren Saurus bolted in the direction away from the sound.
The grasslands had ended before they knew it.
A barren wasteland stretched out. The gravel-strewn ground wasn't ideal for walking. They detoured around patches of soft soil to avoid potential absorption trees.
"Hey, throat not dry?"
"It is. But no water around."
Kim Jun brushed it off lightly.
Watching Kim Jun's calm demeanor, Baek Seungtae suddenly felt compelled to ask something he'd been wondering.
"Why'd you start as a carrier? Doesn't seem like it's just for the money."
Kim Jun gave Baek Seungtae a steady look.
"You think we're close enough for that kinda talk? I don't."
"Tch."
Just then, the sound faintly echoed again.
The snake horde was still on their tail. Even if they put distance between them, a brief pause would bring the metallic scrape creeping back.
"Where to now?"
Baek Seungtae asked.
Kim Jun didn't answer.
There was no need to decide. Only one direction lacked the sound.
"...What the hell is that?"
Baek Seungtae pointed to a depression at the base of the hill. A bizarre structure stood there. Brown pillars curved naturally into a rounded form—it almost looked man-made at a glance.
Kim Jun scanned the surroundings.
The only direction without the sound... was right toward that strange building.
After dismounting Haren Saurus, Kim Jun slid down the hill. Dust billowed up.
Haren Saurus zigzagged after him.
Baek Seungtae took a cautious step, slipped, screamed as he tumbled down the slope, and ended up rolling to the bottom.
Kim Jun approached the pillars.
Brown dirt caked them, but brushing it off revealed white beneath. Feeling the texture, Kim Jun tilted his head.
Hard yet crumbly? What the heck is this made of?
He couldn't identify the material. More importantly, mana infused with fire energy was condensed inside the pillars. Not much, but definitely traces of magic.
Kim Jun walked toward the center of the ten-meter-tall structure and froze.
Something's below. Not alive... but something powerful...
Scanning around, he sat and brushed away the dirt.
Soon, a sword emerged.
A bastard sword, weathered by time and dust. Its thick blade looked heavy, yet the edge remained razor-sharp.
The moment Kim Jun gripped the hilt,
A stinging surge like an electric shock raced from his hand up his arm... to his shoulder.
He yanked back and dropped it, realizing the blade held impossibly compressed mana of the light attribute.
Someone's weapon from a previous raid? Did they die here? Or just lose the sword?
Kim Jun pondered briefly, then gripped it again.
Lately, he'd been ignored by the Association as a mere carrier and dismissed by most raiders—his pride was bruised.
And now rejected by a sword of all things!
I won't back down from some sword.
He clenched the hilt tight.
Lightning from the blade surged through his hand, spreading across his body. Still, Kim Jun held on.
The smell of burning hair filled the air.
His vision blurred.
His mind flickered.
Flashback memories like a near-death montage raced through his head.
Then, a flash erupted from the sword.
Suddenly, everything changed.
The bizarre structure vanished. The hill's silhouette, far off in the distance, was gone.
What? What just happened?
Even the ground had shifted.
"Baek Seungtae!"
No response.
"Who might you be?"
A voice from behind.
Startled, Kim Jun whirled with the sword thrust out. A man stood with hands behind his back—too old for "mister," too young for "grandpa."
"Where is this?"
"Hm, an illusion realm."
"What's that?"
"A space created by magic. More precisely, the world of the mind. Unrelated to the flesh. Understand?"
"Not really... but whatever."
Yeon Chung-jae chuckled at the innocent reply.
"What's your name?"
"Kim Jun."
Kim Jun stabbed the ground with the sword. No mark. He touched the blade—no cut. It felt like a dream.
"I am Yeon Chung-jae."
His voice brimmed with pride, as if the name alone would ring bells.
"First time hearing it."
"You don't know Yeon Chung-jae of Cheonhondan? Fascinating."
"I know Cheonhondan. My friend's dad is there—the famous strongest tanker in Korea."
"Oh? Who?"
"Choi Min-su."
"......"
Yeon Chung-jae closed his eyes and sighed deeply, shoulders slumping.
"Mister, you okay?"
"That reckless brat became the strongest tanker? Time flies."
His voice, laced with madness, boomed.
"Brat?"
"With Cheonhondan?"
"Uramata."
"Uramata? Never heard of it."
"Small guild."
"Tanker?"
The questions came like an interrogation.
"Nope."
"Dealer?"
"Nope."
"Then buffer?"
Yeon Chung-jae's face twisted slightly.
"Nope."
"Not tanker, dealer, or buffer. Then what?"
"Carrier."
Kim Jun omitted "the strongest in the universe."
"......"
Yeon Chung-jae closed his eyes and sighed again.
After sealing myself in the Cheonroegeom upon losing my body, I've waited eons for this. Prepared to shatter any wielder's mind and claim their flesh... only for a worthless carrier to dare grasp the Cheonroegeom!
Yeon Chung-jae glared at Kim Jun.
Decent build. But without raider talent or awakening, it's just bones and meat.
No choice. Take his body, get out, then plan next. Such chances don't come twice.
Yeon Chung-jae raised his hand.
As his fingers spread, overwhelming force dragged Kim Jun toward him.
Kim Jun couldn't even breathe.
"Surprisingly clean body. Not bad. Meridians wide open. Wait, this is...?"
Grabbing Kim Jun's throat to silence him, Yeon Chung-jae froze in shock.
The meridians weren't just wide—they were fully open! Governing vessel, conception vessel, major and minor channels—all unobstructed, allowing qi to flow like an ocean.
"Hahaha! The heavens aid me!"
As Yeon Chung-jae's grip loosened slightly, Kim Jun seized the moment, thrusting the sword into his chest. It pierced straight through to the back.
Yeon Chung-jae glanced down.
"Amusing child."
"...How?"
"This is the illusion realm."
Yeon Chung-jae slammed Kim Jun to the ground, still gripped.
Pain like his spine shattering—Kim Jun's mouth gaped, but no sound escaped.
"You're a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy. How you were born with such a body intrigues even me. But that's not the point. More important than returning to the world through you... is that nothing else matters."
Yeon Chung-jae's eyes blazed.
The sword in his chest faded away. Like everything here, it was an illusion.
Yeon Chung-jae struck Kim Jun's vital points with his fingers. Kim Jun couldn't move, only glare fiercely.
"It's good for you too. Born a man, you should stand at the top once. Through me, you'll achieve that dream. Better than dying worthless as a carrier, no?"
Yeon Chung-jae couldn't hide his excitement.
He'd cursed the heavens for a carrier, but this body was unprecedented. Talent beyond awakening.
Transfer my spirit, arts, knowledge, and experience into him. With such a perfect vessel, it's easy.
Yeon Chung-jae struck acupoints around Kim Jun's upper, middle, and lower dantian, preparing the Soul Separation Great Method in earnest.
The lower dantian below the navel tied to foundational inner energy. The upper at the temples governed the mind itself. Transferring lower and upper was tricky but possible.
The middle dantian was the issue.
Even the Soul Separation Great Method hadn't fully mastered it. Problems there caused severe aftereffects, but Yeon Chung-jae trusted his skill.
"Shall we begin? You're lucky, boy. Better to soar high like this than crawl like vermin your whole life."
Yeon Chung-jae sat beside Kim Jun, right palm on the lower dantian, left on the forehead—for upper and lower first.
Kim Jun struggled, but it was futile, like a dragonfly pinned by a needle.
Soon, Yeon Chung-jae's inner energy flooded the lower dantian.
Resistance was negligible. Like racing on an empty highway, Yeon Chung-jae thrilled. A lifetime's cultivation poured in without loss.
Like a sponge soaking water. This body is magnificent!!
Next, the upper dantian.
Yeon Chung-jae's memories burrowed into Kim Jun's brain. The bone-transformed mind retained its own while accommodating the new.
Normally, the host's memories shatter. Lucky for him. Though I'll erase them anyway.
Finally, the middle dantian—said to govern emotions, but not so simple.
"That body is mine now."
Yeon Chung-jae poured all his power into Kim Jun's chest.
Like a flood breaching a dam, lower dantian energy and upper mind force surged into the middle.
Something astonishing happened.
Wh-what is this?
The immense energy and fierce mind... vanished upon entering the middle dantian. Not dissipated— the vessel was too vast to fill with his power.
Only then did Yeon Chung-jae grasp the body's secret. And recall one man.
"Nam Eung-ryeol!"
Kim Jun's eyes widened. He never imagined that name from those lips.
Yeon Chung-jae recoiled.
"...What relation do you have to Nam Eung-ryeol?"
"How do you know the elder?"
Standing, Kim Jun marveled at his body—lighter than after bone transformation, brimming with power.
"Kuhaha, kuhahahaha!"
Yeon Chung-jae laughed like a madman.
Kim Jun scanned around. Endless void everywhere.
To escape, I have to kill him?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Yeon Chung-jae's laughter cut off.
He glared at Kim Jun.
His face had wrinkled into that of a dying old man.
"You passed bone transformation?"
"How do you...?"
"Hahaha."
This time, a hollow laugh.
Kim Jun stayed silent.
"Nam Eung-ryeol finally succeeded with Moomyeonggong."
"...Yes."
"The heavens can't be fooled. Karma, all is karma. My lifelong arts, experience... even the Cheonroegeom to Nam Eung-ryeol's disciple!"
Hearing that, sword techniques flooded Kim Jun's mind.
How to wield the Cheonroegeom unfolded like a vivid video.
"Don't get too happy. You gained my arts and experience without effort. Heh, you'll suffer. Cheonroe Heart Technique... Not bad. I can repay my debt to that bastard Nam Eung-ryeol."
Yeon Chung-jae's smile widened as his hair turned white and fell out, cheeks shriveling.
"Go to Nam Eung-ryeol. Tell him Yeon Chung-jae repaid his final debt. The Cheonroe Heart Technique..."
With those words, Yeon Chung-jae crumbled to dust and vanished.
The illusion realm dissolved.