Chapter 442: ...Have You Reached the Great Realm?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 442: ...Have You Reached the Great Realm?
"…Ah."
Kang Ha-yoon stared blankly at her outstretched fist.
Her hand was splattered with blood and brain fluid—remnants of Salhon’s head, which had exploded upon impact.
She felt a sense of bewilderment.
How did this happen?
That last exchange should have been her disadvantage. The thin sword had clearly been faster than her punch; she hadn't even been able to react to it.
She had been certain her head would be pierced.
And yet, an anomaly had occurred. It wasn't her head that had shattered, but Salhon’s. By her own fist, no less.
What on earth happened?
With a puzzled expression, Kang Ha-yoon slowly looked down. Below her lay a headless torso and a fallen thin sword.
"Huh?"
Her eyes widened in shock. Only the hilt of the thin sword remained.
Wait… this?
Her confusion deepened. How could a perfectly fine sword be reduced to just a hilt? She certainly hadn't broken it. She hadn't even been able to react, let alone destroy the weapon.
Then who could have shattered Salhon’s sword so cleanly? And only the blade, at that.
Step, step.
The sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere. Kang Ha-yoon tensed and spun around instantly, fearing that Salhon might have reappeared yet again.
However, her tension vanished the moment she saw the newcomer. She knew this person well.
"Young Master Jang!"
The owner of the footsteps was the Divine Dragon, Jang Sun-woo—the man recognized by the Murim as the greatest of the Rising Stars and the future World's Greatest Martial Artist.
Step, step.
Sun-woo walked slowly toward her. He stopped a short distance away and spoke.
"Hall Master, are you alright?"
Sun-woo looked at her with eyes full of concern.
"I… I’m fine…"
Kang Ha-yoon answered, her voice trembling slightly. Meeting his worried gaze made her heart flutter uncontrollably.
"Are you sure?" Sun-woo asked, looking skeptical.
"Haa… I really am… fine."
Kang Ha-yoon panted slightly, a flush creeping onto her face. His persistent concern made her feel strangely shy.
"Fine? Your face is bright red and you’re breathing hard!"
Sun-woo shook his head. To him, she didn't look fine at all. Her face was flushed, and her breathing was ragged. By any standard, she didn't look normal.
Snap.
Sun-woo quickly placed his hand on her forehead.
"Wha—what are you doing?"
Startled by his sudden action, Kang Ha-yoon cried out.
"Just a moment… I’m checking to see if you have a fever," Sun-woo replied calmly. "Fortunately, you don't. You're a bit warmer than usual, but it's nothing to worry about."
He pulled his hand away and gave her a bright smile.
"…Didn't I… tell you… I was fine?" she muttered reproachfully, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"I’m sorry. I was just worried… I suppose I overstepped."
Sun-woo apologized with a regretful expression. He wondered if he had treated her too much like a child.
"………Still… since you were worried… I’ll forgive you."
Her face reddened even further as she spoke.
"Thank you."
Sun-woo bowed his head slightly.
What a well-mannered boy.
Kang Ha-yoon watched him with a look of immense pride.
Vroom.
Suddenly, a massive surge of murderous aura erupted from somewhere.
Above!
She felt it instantly. Salhon was back.
"Young Master Jang, get back!"
She shouted urgently, realizing the murderous aura was directed straight at him.
Swish!
A sword plummeted from above, aimed precisely at the crown of Sun-woo’s head.
Five feet… four feet… three… two… one…
The blade was inches away from him.
Die!
Salhon thrust his sword with everything he had, imagining the blade piercing through Sun-woo’s skull. His sword was shrouded in a terrifying aura of slaughter.
Whoosh!
But unfortunately for him, his vision did not come to pass. Sun-woo shifted a single step to the side, completely evading the strike.
What?!
Salhon was stunned. At Jang Sun-woo’s level, that speed should have been impossible to dodge. He had added the acceleration of his internal energy to the speed of the fall.
How could he avoid such a strike so effortlessly?
I need to create distance first.
Salhon decided to land and immediately pull back.
Grab.
But his plan was cut short. Sun-woo’s hand reached out and clamped firmly onto his face.
Crunch!
And then, consciousness faded. His skull had been pulverized instantly.
Blood and brain fluid sprayed once more.
"Yes?"
Sun-woo asked, looking back at Kang Ha-yoon as if nothing had happened, despite her earlier warning to dodge.
"………………"
Kang Ha-yoon stood there with her jaw dropped. She was paralyzed by the sheer absurdity of the sight.
After a long silence, she finally found her voice.
"Young Master… Jang… how… did you do that?"
"This?"
Sun-woo asked, lifting Salhon’s corpse by the head.
"Yes… how did you catch him so easily?"
She stared at him, her eyes filled with questions. Logically, it made no sense. Salhon’s approach was so stealthy that even she, who had surpassed the Upper Stage of the Transcendent Realm, could only react at the very last second.
How could this young man sense the attack, dodge it, and counter-attack by crushing the man's head all in one breath?
"I just felt it," Sun-woo replied honestly in a calm tone.
"You just… felt it?"
"Yes."
"Then did you realize Salhon was waiting in the trees?"
"No."
Sun-woo shook his head at her question.
"Then… how on earth…"
"I just sensed the murderous aura when he released it and reacted immediately."
"…………"
Kang Ha-yoon fell silent. She was too shocked to speak. Salhon only released his murderous aura when his sword was practically touching his target.
How could anyone react and respond that quickly? It was staggering.
"………Young Master Jang."
Kang Ha-yoon called his name, her voice deathly serious.
"Yes. Please, go ahead."
"……By any chance…… have you reached the Great Realm?"
Her voice trembled as she asked. Part of her thought it was impossible. What kind of level was the Great Realm? It was the Profound Realm—the stage of a Half-Immortal, a being who had transcended humanity.
The Profound Realm was a sublime state that even a once-in-a-century genius might never reach in a lifetime of cultivation.
And yet, here she was, asking a young man who hadn't even reached the age of thirty if he had attained it.
It shouldn't make sense. But she had to ask. Otherwise, there was no way to explain a reaction speed that far surpassed her own.
She was a talent who had gone beyond the Transcendent Realm. She was looking toward the Profound Realm herself. Yet he had reacted to a sword that she couldn't even track.
What else could that mean? It meant he had reached a higher realm than her.
That was why she had to ask if he had reached that Great Realm.
"I simply had an enlightenment," Sun-woo replied with a faint smile.
Kang Ha-yoon gasped. She realized he hadn't denied it.
"…………Ah."
An exclamation escaped her lips. Her eyes began to glaze over with a dreamy light. Sun-woo looked absolutely divine to her.
The Great Realm that most could never reach in a lifetime. The transcendental stage of a Half-Immortal. A realm that even she, a genius who had lived for decades immersed in martial arts, had yet to touch.
The man before her had achieved it. How could he not look divine?
He was still so young, not even thirty. To become a Half-Immortal at such an age…
He was holy, truly holy. A profound sense of respect began to well up from the depths of her heart.
"Young Master Jang… you are… truly…"
Kang Ha-yoon stared at Sun-woo with dazed, adoring eyes.
Scratch.
It’s not really that big of a deal…
Sun-woo scratched his head, feeling awkward under her intense gaze. Though he had reached the Profound Realm, he still felt he had much to learn.
While the Profound Realm was spoken of as a legend in Murim history, he knew plenty of masters at that level. Among them, he didn't consider himself particularly strong. In fact, he might even be on the weaker side, considering he hadn't even formed a Sword of the Mind yet.
Being looked at with such reverence by Kang Ha-yoon made him feel bashful.
Just as he was basking in that awkwardness—
"Don't make me laugh!"
Salhon suddenly lunged from behind, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"A brat like that reached the Great Realm?!"
He pointed a finger at Sun-woo, his voice cracking with rage. He couldn't accept it.
A Half-Immortal was a Great Realm. It was a state that transcended humanity. How could a green youth reach such heights? Even he, who had survived for centuries by jumping from body to body using the Great Soul Transfer Method, had never reached it.
It was preposterous. It was utter bullshit.
"Who are you?" Sun-woo asked, looking puzzled.
"I am Salhon!" the middle-aged man roared.
"Salhon?"
Sun-woo looked confused. The Salhon he knew was an old man, not this middle-aged fellow.
"Are there multiple Salhons?"
"No, Young Master… that man switches bodies the moment he dies," Kang Ha-yoon explained calmly.
"He switches bodies?" Sun-woo asked.
"Yes. He shares his memories and transfers into a different body." She nodded.
"Then all these corpses here are…" Sun-woo looked around at the bodies scattered about.
"Yes. They were all Salhon."
"Hah…"
Sun-woo let out a dry laugh. The truth was genuinely startling. Sharing memories and switching bodies? If he had an infinite supply of bodies, he was essentially immortal. He could just hop into a new one every time he died.
This guy is a real piece of work, Sun-woo thought.
Now he understood why Kang Ha-yoon had been struggling.
"To dare speak of the Great Realm when you're nothing but a child!"
Salhon raised his thin sword and charged at Sun-woo. His speed was incomparable to anything he had shown before.
Fwoosh!
His figure blurred, flying toward Sun-woo like a bolt of lightning, his long blade extended in a straight thrust.
Sun-woo watched him closely, then slowly reached out his hand. He curled his five fingers as if he were about to tear something apart.
Whoosh.
Then, he swung his hand through the air.
Creeeeeak!
Cr-cr-crunch!
In an instant, Salhon, who had been charging at Sun-woo, began to twist.
First, it was his thin sword. As if gripped by two invisible hands and wrung out, the blade snapped and spiraled.
Next were his hands. His wrists twisted to the right, his forearms to the left. His upper arms twisted back to the right.
Then his body followed. His lower half twisted left, his upper half right.
Finally, his neck and head. His neck snapped right, and his head spun left.
In a heartbeat, every part of Salhon had been wrung dry, and a massive fountain of blood erupted from his mangled form.
Splatter!
The blood sprayed so violently it soaked everything in the vicinity.
Kang Ha-yoon stared blankly at the carnage. The scene was so surreal she felt like she had lost her soul.
With a single gesture, he had killed a man. And not just anyone, but Salhon, who was at the Upper Stage of the Transcendent Realm.
How could anyone witness such a thing and not be left utterly speechless?