Chapter 111
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Huh? Huh?!
Shuuuuk.
A sharp whistling sound ripped through the air as the iron orb of the Myriad Skies Golden Chain Thunderbolt hurtled toward the Third Spirit Lord.
The Third Spirit Lord threw everything he had into dodging it, but the orb was too fast.
In an instant, it closed in on him.
The Third Spirit Lord twisted his body desperately to evade, but the orb smashed straight into his sword.
And in that split second.
Kwaaaaaaang!!!
A massive explosion erupted with a deafening roar.
The Third Spirit Lord was instantly swallowed by the flames.
Up to this point, it was much like what had happened to Ha Mu-baek.
The only difference was that Ha Mu-baek had held out a little longer.
The moment the flames surged, the Third Spirit Lord pushed his demonic energy to its limits, enveloping his entire body in protective demonic qi.
Ha Mu-baek saw it all clearly.
"You think a punk like you can survive that? Hah."
With a sneer, Ha Mu-baek collapsed flat on his back.
Thud.
He dropped the Myriad Skies Golden Chain Thunderbolt beside him.
A furious red dragon of flames ascended into the sky.
The Third Spirit Lord, completely devoured by those flames.
Gong Son Mu-oe, Gong Son Hwa-gyeong, Gong Mu-hyeok, and Gong So-yu stared blankly at the sight.
Ha Mu-baek lay there with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing as if utterly exhausted.
But his expression wasn't relaxed.
His face was tightly furrowed.
No one noticed, though.
All eyes were fixed on the flaming red dragon.
"I see..."
Gong Mu-hyeok murmured softly.
He had completed it and tested it just once. A test fire.
Overwhelmed by its unimaginable power, he stopped after that single trial. He never made another.
He even stored the blueprints in a dispersed manner for security.
That was the hidden weapon.
The Myriad Skies Golden Chain Thunderbolt.
Today, he had witnessed its power twice.
Even he, its creator, was seeing it used in real combat for the first time.
Its might far surpassed the test firing.
An explosive force beyond all expectations.
The same device, yet against a real enemy in battle, it was worlds apart from firing it into empty air.
This was a weapon that should never see the light of day.
No, it wasn't just a hidden weapon. Its size might resemble one, but this was a devil's armament.
One he had unleashed upon the world with his own hands.
Gong Mu-hyeok's face hardened.
The dragon's ascension came to an end.
Roar.
The lingering flames flickered in the sky before dying out.
Nothing remained.
The annex where they had been staying had long since vanished without a trace.
The adjacent inn building stood intact, making the devastation of the surrounding land all the more astonishing.
It was the horrific aftermath of ten Myriad Skies Blood Thunders and two Myriad Skies Golden Chain Thunderbolts.
Thanks to securing an inn where the main building and annex were as far apart as possible for security.
That only this area around the annex had turned to rubble amid the massive blast was nothing short of a miracle.
"Hah... Haha. Haha..."
Gong Son Mu-oe let out a hollow laugh at the scene before him.
What had happened in just the past hour didn't feel real.
Thud.
Then, something fell from the sky.
A black leather shoe.
Probably what the Third Spirit Lord had been wearing.
Somehow, it had survived that enormous explosion without disintegrating and fallen here.
No— the flames that had erased a man without a trace, leaving only that behind, filled him with dread.
Fear began to creep into Gong Son Mu-oe's vacant expression.
Tap. Tap, tap.
Footsteps approached.
"What in the world happened here?"
Wi Ji-gun asked, his face pale as he stared at Ha Mu-baek lying on the ground.
He had been debating whether to leave the Dragon Training Pavilion, following Han Seol-bing's advice.
Then he saw a flaming dragon rising into the pitch-black night sky.
It looked dangerous, so Wi Ji-gun halted his steps out of the pavilion.
Even Han Seol-bing had never seen such flames.
She had said no amount of Myriad Skies Blood Thunders could produce that.
Despite sensing his disciple's aura rapidly weakening, Wi Ji-gun had to trust and wait.
Another disciple was with him, after all.
When the second dragon rose and he confirmed the enemies' presences had vanished completely, he rushed here.
Ha Seol-ran was still at Han Seol-bing's quarters with her.
"Demonic Cult bastards brought some insane weapon. Cough."
Ha Mu-baek struggled to sit up at the sight of his master and spat up blood in response.
All the damage he'd been suppressing erupted now.
Even in the previous war, he'd never suffered such severe internal injuries.
"Hoo. Damn embarrassing. I got done in proper. Urk."
Ha Mu-baek vomited blood again.
Startled, Wi Ji-gun pressed his palm to Ha Mu-baek's back and infused inner energy.
"You fool!"
Moments later, Wi Ji-gun's face filled with alarm as he shouted at Ha Mu-baek.
"No, never mind. Treatment first. Focus."
Ha Mu-baek wordlessly obeyed his master's command.
The master and disciple soon sat cross-legged facing each other.
No time to worry about guardians or anything else.
To Wi Ji-gun, Ha Mu-baek's condition was that dire.
Wi Ji-gun's inner energy carefully traced Ha Mu-baek's meridians.
At every damaged spot, he began treatment with the Infinite Free Heart Method's wondrous formula.
There wasn't a single undamaged place.
How had he fought on in this state until now?
'I should have come sooner.'
Regret settled in Wi Ji-gun's chest.
People began to emerge cautiously from here and there.
It had been a full hour, after all.
In the middle of Wuchang, people dying and explosions for an hour straight.
Now that it was over, those trembling in fear ventured out from curiosity.
It was a disastrous moment, but unavoidable.
Ha Mu-baek had no leeway to be moved now.
'You fool. What were you thinking, pushing yourself this far...'
Wi Ji-gun felt frustrated but couldn't voice it.
That would endanger not just Ha Mu-baek, but himself too.
The situation was that precarious.
"B-big brother!!"
A familiar voice rang out—Ha Seol-ran.
He had clearly told her to stay put at the Dragon Training Pavilion, yet here she was.
He wanted to scold her immediately, but he couldn't.
With his eyes closed, he couldn't see, but from her voice alone, he knew.
She was probably a mess of tears and snot.
"Stop! Don't go near him!"
Han Seol-bing's sharp voice urgently blocking Ha Seol-ran also reached him.
What on earth was happening?
Ha Seol-ran had been wailing and begging to go see, saying something bad had happened to her big brother, that the flames felt ominous.
It started right after Wi Ji-gun left the pavilion.
She refused to listen, insisting she'd go alone if needed.
Han Seol-bing could have subdued her, but seeing Ha Seol-ran's desperate face, she couldn't bring herself to.
So they came together.
And the scene before them.
Was that really Ha Mu-baek? The man sitting cross-legged, circulating his energy with Elder Wi Ji-gun's aid?
In Han Seol-bing's memory, that monstrous corps leader had rarely shown such vulnerability.
Only early in the war, before he grew monstrously strong midway through.
But what was this pitiful state now?
She barely stopped the clueless Ha Seol-ran from rushing to him.
Ha Mu-baek was on the brink right now.
One slip, and he could fall into qi deviation.
Murmurs rose from all directions.
Han Seol-bing quickly scanned the surroundings.
It was deep night past midnight toward the hour of the rat, yet people were creeping toward the ruins.
Only natural.
The commotion had been visible even from the Dragon Training Pavilion.
The curious would overcome their fear and come out.
The problem was, no one should gather here now.
Ha Mu-baek was at a life-or-death juncture.
"No helping it."
Han Seol-bing pulled iron rods from her bosom and scattered them around Ha Mu-baek and the group.
Pa pa pak.
The rods embedded in the ground at precise intervals.
Slowly, a cold frost mist began to rise around them.
Han Seol-bing had deployed a formation.
"Activate."
With her quiet command, the area was perfectly shrouded in frost mist.
The Ice Soul Gate Lock Formation was in place.
Now, those curious about the site would just circle the perimeter and leave.
Within the perfectly sealed formation space.
Wi Ji-gun sensed the quieting surroundings and focused even more on treating Ha Mu-baek's injuries.
The gathering crowd scattered in panic at the sudden frost mist.
Thus, another hour passed.
In that time, Ha Seol-ran had calmed somewhat but still shed tears.
Gong Son Mu-oe finished regulating his injuries, stood, and checked on Gong Son Hwa-gyeong and Gong Mu-hyeok.
Now everyone watched Ha Mu-baek and Wi Ji-gun.
The two showed no change.
All watched them with bated breath.
Soon, a white aura began to flow slowly from Ha Mu-baek's body, wrapping around him entirely.
Just as the white frost completely buried him and he vanished from sight.
"Hoo."
Wi Ji-gun rose with a deep sigh.
"M-Master!!"
Ha Seol-ran threw herself into Wi Ji-gun's arms and burst into sobs.
All the emotions she'd bottled up poured out.
"You rascal. I told you not to come. Still, you coming helped a lot."
Wi Ji-gun looked at Han Seol-bing as he spoke.
"Instructor Han, I owe you big. Thanks to you, we passed the crisis. Feels like we broke through a wall too."
Han Seol-bing's eyes widened at his words.
Broke through a wall?
Who?
That monster who was on the verge of qi deviation moments ago?
That monster had room to grow stronger?
Hah.
How unfair could the world be...
The thought flitted through Han Seol-bing's mind.
"I-Is big brother okay?"
Ha Seol-ran asked, her face full of worry, voice choked with tears.
"Rascal, you've cried enough now. You can stop. Mu-baek's fine. More than fine—he'll be even greater than before."
Wi Ji-gun said with a kind smile.
"Just... no telling when he'll come to."
This space was inside Han Seol-bing's Ice Soul Gate Lock Formation.
It was nearing the end of the hour of the tiger.
Dawn was delayed, darkness still blanketing everything, but the eastern sky would brighten soon.
The frost mist hid perfectly in the dark, but come daylight, crowds would swarm.
The annex had vanished into ruins overnight, replaced by this eerie mist.
How could they not be curious?
"No problem. Even if crowds gather, no one can break the formation. Once the corps leader wakes, we blend in and dispel it then."
Han Seol-bing shrugged casually.
"Then we just wait for him to open his eyes."
Wi Ji-gun found a spot and plopped down.
The ruins offered no seats, so he sat on the bare ground.
Time continued to flow.
Darkness receded from the eastern sky as day broke.
People gathered in twos and threes.
It didn't take long for a noisy crowd to form, buzzing with chatter.
The sun followed its path.
Soon, it hung high in the midday sky.
Until noon, Ha Mu-baek remained motionless.
More people kept arriving around the formation.
Some watched for a while then left; others lingered.
"What the hell happened here?"
"No idea. Last night, thunder like the sky was falling, then a fire dragon ascending. World's going mad. Tsk."
The crowd swapped stories of the night's chaos.
Conversations piled up, turning murmurs into loud noise.
Loud enough to reach inside the formation.
Those within watched Ha Mu-baek endlessly.
He remained shrouded in white frost.
"How long will it take, Master?"
Ha Seol-ran cautiously asked Wi Ji-gun.
"No one knows. Not even Mu-baek. He's probably lost track of time itself right now."
As Wi Ji-gun answered.
"Huh? Huh?!"
Han Seol-bing spotted the change and cried out.
The white frost around Ha Mu-baek was slowly fading.