Chapter 162
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: This Isn't Proper Wuxia!!!
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Disappearing into a massive ripple, Karselin transported In-hyeok with her and arrived at a certain cave.
She released the time-freeze magic cast on In-hyeok and healed all the wounds inflicted by the Demon God.
"Huff... haah..."
Was it too much after all?
Karselin wasn't even a proper god. She'd forcibly traversed worlds with her insufficient power, then drawn out every last drop of strength to heal a human body damaged by divine might.
Me, of all people, exhausting myself like this for some pathetic human...
Crunch—
She felt a surge of murderous impulse toward In-hyeok, sleeping soundly after putting her through all this hell. But she forcibly cooled her head, which burned at the mere thought of a god.
Shooo—
"...!"
Side effects already...?
When someone who wasn't a proper god entered a world under another god's domain, they temporarily lost their near-divine powers and their body transformed to match that world.
As her power drained away, her draconic body gradually shifted into a human one.
She'd already been utterly spent, and now with her body changing and even more strength leaking out, Karselin couldn't hold on. She blacked out on the spot.
"Where the hell is this?"
He was sure the Demon God had pierced his throat and killed him, but when he came to, he was inside some cave.
It felt too vivid for a dream. His throat was fine, but the dark red blood staining his body screamed that it had all been real.
Didn't feel like the afterlife either, since he was still alive...
As he pondered where he could be, poking and prodding his intact body to confirm, a voice echoed from outside the cave.
"So you've finally come to."
"Karselin?"
"I never permitted you to speak my name."
A woman—no, a dragon—entered, her long golden hair swaying. She glared at him with utter surprise on her face before plopping down right there.
Just as he opened his mouth to ask about the situation, she cut him off and explained everything with ruthless precision, hammering it straight into his skull.
From what she said, Noah—while fighting the Demon God—had begged Karselin to save him. For reasons unknown, she'd whisked him to another world and healed his dying body...
"This is another world?"
"Correct. You must feel it's different from your original one."
As Karselin said, he'd sensed an indescribable wrongness ever since waking up.
But because it's another world...?
Suddenly coming to in a whole different world? It was hard to accept right away.
"Can't go back to the original one?"
"Not yet. We'll have to wait for a god to fetch us."
"......"
This sucks... This really sucks.
Noah and Karselin were divine beings, so their "waiting" might be worlds apart from his.
My wives... my kids...
He'd thought the Demon King and Demon God were done and dusted, only to end up even farther away in another world.
What if he got back and it was already the distant future, everyone dead...?
Could he even endure that...?
Grrrooowl—
Lost in such grim thoughts, the sudden rumble from Karselin's stomach deflated all the tension in an instant.
"Ahem..."
She turned her face away slightly, ears tinting red, and cleared her throat.
Yeah, Noah would come get me quick, if only for her own sake.
And if she was late, being a goddess, she could probably rewind time or something. Better to think positive—it'd be way easier on the mind.
"For a worm like you to force this humiliating body on me... the shame."
Karselin's body had transformed into that of an ordinary woman, untrained and powerless.
In her current state, he could do whatever he wanted to her, and she couldn't resist a damn thing, right?
...Too trashy?
Screwing over someone who'd saved your life and lost all their power? Even if she was a total bitch, that crossed every line of basic human decency.
"I'll scout the area and scrounge up some food. Rest up."
"You know your place well enough. Go on."
...Just fuck her already?
No... hold back. If she crosses the line and really pisses me off, then it's fair game.
Leaving Karselin behind as she began meditating to regain her strength, he slipped out of the cave.
"Hm... Stone Age?"
He leaped from tree to tree, scouting east, west, north, and south around the cave, but endless mountains stretched on forever.
No sign of civilization amid the thickly packed peaks.
About thirty minutes of circling later...
"Oh."
There, in the distance—a small village walled by massive tree trunks. Guess it wasn't the Stone Age after all.
Good, but... why build a village way out here? Bandit hideout?
Men wielding pig-sticking knives, faces brutish enough to fit the "muscle pig" label perfectly, blocked the entrance gate.
Better safe than sorry...
They might just be guards for that little village.
"Hey, excuse me. Mind if I enter the village?"
"Huh? Who the—? G-G-Gahhh...!!!!"
The two bruisers turned, took one look at him, and recoiled in horror, thrusting their blades his way.
"A-A naked pervert here to defile us, sworn brothers of the Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds?!"
Naked pervert...? Oh...
Come to think of it, he'd spent days naked, balls-deep in Kiria nonstop, so he'd gotten used to it and forgotten.
But... Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds? Weren't those the bandits from wuxia novels?
"You guys bandits?"
"Bandits?! We are the grand Green For—"
"Bandits confirmed."
Splat—
"Gahk...!"
"Guh...!"
Before the two could react, he dropped them flat. He stripped their clothes, cleaned them with a spell, and slipped them on.
Muscle pigs, huh? These rags are huge.
He roughly tied the extras to fit and shoved open the gate, entering the stronghold.
Green Forest Eighteen Strongholds—grand Green Forest, they called it. Definitely a wuxia world. Raiding this place should net him food and info.
First encounter bandits? Talk about lucky.
Showing up naked in a village might've had him dying of embarrassment from the stares.
"Why the sudden commotion...?"
Another stronghold thug emerged, drawn by the bruisers' screams.
"Wh-Who the hell are y—?! Mmph...!"
"Don't wanna die? Take me to your boss."
"Mmmph...!!!!"
He clamped the man's mouth and gripped his hand like he might snap it; tears welled as the guy nodded frantically.
Lucky bastard led him straight there—no need to flip the whole place.
Following the captive's guidance, he headed to the boss's lair.
"Haa..."
Namgung Yeon, Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance—the pinnacle revered by all orthodox martial artists, the highest seat in the righteous world.
These days, they called her the Alliance Leader, but in her youth, she'd been dubbed Sword Empress. Having achieved return to youth and bone-shedding rebirth, she sighed more than ever lately.
The unorthodox scum and Heavenly Demon Divine Cult stirred chaos, sure—but the Alliance itself was turning bizarre.
Tensions between the young guns and the old fogeys had skyrocketed.
"This isn't proper wuxia!!!!!!!!"
The geezers, senile or stubborn, clung to outdated paths, scorning anything new and bellowing that at every meeting. It made her head spin.
But the youngsters weren't right in the head either.
"Who uses 'qi' anymore? Mana's the meta now, duh~ Sword mana over sword qi. Disagree? Wutak."
"Th-That little punk...!!!!"
They mocked the elders with weird terms like "wutak," spouting slang even unorthodox wouldn't touch—gibberish they wielded like secret code.
Chaos inside and out. Stuck managing the orthodox world in the middle, Alliance Leader Namgung Yeon's sighs deepened by the day.
Plus, her return to youth and bone-shedding had rejuvenated mind and body alike. Loneliness hit her hard.
Unlike her younger days chasing martial peaks, she now had realm and leisure both.
By age, marrying some geezer made sense—but with her mind youthful too, the thought repulsed her.
Marrying a youngster? Every time she heard their weird talk, the urge vanished.
"Master, may I enter?"
"Come in."
Her disciple entered with perfect courtesy.
Come to think... a disciple might work?
Unlike the other youths, he was polite, valued martial virtue and righteousness, talented enough, and handsome too.
Might actually be perfect...
"What brings you here, disciple?"
Wondering the purpose at this hour, she asked. He smiled, slowly drew his sword, and channeled qi to form sword qi—wait, sword mana.
"Nothing much—just wanted to show you my sword mana..."
"Out. Now."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't make me drag you. Punishment awaits."
Killing intent flared; the disciple sheathed his sword and bolted from the Leader's quarters.
Watching him go, Namgung Yeon propped her chin and unleashed a world-shaking sigh.
"Haa..."
Even her trusted disciple... Her head reeled.
A man stronger than her, young, handsome, who didn't spout nonsense like that—did one even exist in this world?
No way.
It was a night when Namgung Yeon's sighs, buoyed briefly by happy fantasies, sank even deeper.