Chapter 112
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Picked the Wrong Side
As the white glow faded, Ha Mu-baek's figure gradually came into blurry view.
At some point, the thinning glow began to gather in one spot.
Above Ha Mu-baek's head.
A white orb radiating an auspicious aura took shape there.
The white glow had condensed into it.
The larger and brighter the orb grew, the fainter the white glow enveloping Ha Mu-baek became, and his form sharpened into clarity.
And when the white glow had completely vanished!
The white orb dissolved into energy and was sucked into Ha Mu-baek's nostrils.
Once all the energy had entered through his nose.
Crack, crackle.
Like shedding a shell, the skin over Ha Mu-baek's entire body peeled away.
"Sh-Shedding the mortal body..."
Han Seol-bing muttered in disbelief.
Flicker!
At that moment, Ha Mu-baek opened his eyes.
Crack. Crack, crackle.
He twisted his neck this way and that.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Then rolled his shoulders forward and back.
"Ngh."
He pushed himself upright.
"Not quite shedding the mortal body, but a full rebirth."
Ha Mu-baek looked at Han Seol-bing and flashed a bright smile.
His smile was fresh and clear.
And thanks to the fresh rebirth, his skin gleamed as smooth and pale as a baby's.
"Y-You're so damn lucky."
Han Seol-bing muttered with genuine envy.
Especially his skin—smoother and clearer than hers. That was infuriating.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled softly at her words and turned toward Wi Ji-gun.
"Thank you so much, Master. You saved my life. And I even broke through a wall I never expected to."
Wi Ji-gun shook his head.
"It's only what a master should do. Truth be told, Instructor Han deserves the most credit. If she hadn't set up the formation, we'd have been swarmed by crowds and in real trouble."
Han Seol-bing's shoulders puffed up proudly at Wi Ji-gun's words.
A smug expression crossed her face.
"Thanks, Instructor Han. You saved my life."
Ha Mu-baek cupped his fists toward her, speaking from the heart.
Han Seol-bing flinched slightly at his unexpectedly earnest demeanor.
"Ah, well. Between us, you gotta help out in tough times."
She averted her gaze as she spoke.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Instructor Ha."
Gong Son Mu-oe approached Ha Mu-baek with words of celebration.
"And we're truly grateful you protected us."
He cupped his fists and bowed deeply.
Ha Mu-baek quickly helped him straighten up.
"No need. I only did what had to be done."
Gong Son Mu-oe shook his head at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"Nonsense. You treated So-yu and Gong-ryeon, and now you've saved our lives from those Demonic Cult bastards."
Unable to match Ha Mu-baek's strength, he'd stood, but Gong Son Mu-oe kept his head bowed.
"I couldn't possibly deserve such praise, Pavilion Lord."
Only after Ha Mu-baek refused again did Gong Son Mu-oe finally straighten.
"Father's right, Instructor Ha. Those Demonic Cult thugs were probably after me and So-yu. For someone with no connection like you to risk death protecting us... I don't even know what to say."
Ha Mu-baek shook his head at Gong Mu-hyeok's words.
"They came that prepared because of me. One of them knew me well. It was all for me, not you two."
Ha Mu-baek's gaze shifted to Gong So-yu.
"Besides, you finished that bastard off."
The Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt Blast Gong So-yu had given him.
Without it, who knows what might have happened.
That guy might have died at the hands of his hastily arriving master, Wi Ji-gun.
But in the meantime, everyone here could have fallen to the Three Spirit Lords.
Ha Mu-baek stared straight ahead.
At the end of his gaze lay the leather shoe, still lying there intact.
"Tch."
Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue lightly.
"Let's head back for now. You all stayed because of me."
Ha Mu-baek looked at Han Seol-bing.
"This way."
Following her lead, the group exited the formation along the life path of the Ice Soul Gate Chain Formation.
A crowd had gathered, buzzing as they stared at the formation.
"Dispel."
At Han Seol-bing's quiet mutter, the mist began to dissipate bit by bit.
In the meantime, she retrieved all the iron rods via Air Grasp.
Once the rods vanished, the mist scattered even faster.
Soon, the ruins were fully exposed.
"Gasp!"
"Wh-What the hell...?"
"What is this!?!"
People gasped in shock or freaked out noisily.
And how could they not?
The annex of the inn, perfectly fine just yesterday, was gone—replaced by empty ruins.
And what were those corpses?
Bodies of Demonic Cultists, unscathed by the explosion and preserved intact, lay scattered about.
"Oh no! What happened? What kind of disaster is this? We're ruined. Ruined..."
A man who seemed to be the innkeeper collapsed before the ruins and burst into sobs.
Gong Son Mu-oe took a step forward at the sight, but Ha Mu-baek grabbed his arm and shook his head.
"Not the right time. Wait till things quiet down."
Gong Son Mu-oe nodded slightly.
They quietly moved elsewhere.
To an inn on the outskirts of Wuchang.
Being on the outskirts, it had a spacious annex.
"Should've rented a manor out here instead."
Gong Son Mu-oe spoke with regret.
Then, even if last night's events repeated, fewer people would have been hurt.
"No one could have predicted it. And that place was best for treating So-yu."
Ha Mu-baek said calmly.
"Yes, Father. We can compensate the innkeeper plenty. Luckily, no one was hurt or killed."
Exactly as she said.
The only damage was the annex and surroundings turned to ruins.
No one caught in the incident had been injured or killed.
Truly fortunate.
"What exactly happened?"
Han Seol-bing asked.
Wi Ji-gun and Ha Seol-ran looked equally curious.
Ha Mu-baek turned to Gong Mu-hyeok.
"What was that terrifying thing?"
"It's called the Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt Blast. An improved version of the Ten Thousand Blood Thunderbolts that I made..."
Gong Mu-hyeok explained it in detail.
The more they heard, the more shocked everyone's faces grew.
Only Ha Mu-baek, who had endured its full power firsthand, remained composed.
Han Seol-bing stared at him.
"So... you took that head-on with your bare body and survived? Perfectly fine? Even with seven Ten Thousand Blood Thunderbolts exploding on top?"
Her face screamed utter disbelief.
Sure, two Ten Thousand Blood Thunderbolts? She could buy that.
She'd seen it with her own eyes in the previous war.
But this? Way too excessive.
And on top of that.
"You got even stronger from it??"
Yes.
He'd broken through a wall upon awakening, hadn't he?
This wasn't just a monster.
It was something beyond comprehension.
Han Seol-bing couldn't even find the words to describe it.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
Han Seol-bing shot back at his rebuke.
"Like you're staring at something utterly dangerous you should stay far away from."
She turned her head slightly at his answer.
"I really thought I was dead... I poured out every ounce of my internal energy, even drawing on what was hidden in my meridians, and barely scraped by. If the flames had lasted a second longer, I'd be gone. It was that close."
Recalling the moment, Ha Mu-baek shuddered faintly.
"And in that state, you took out the rest?"
"I had a brief moment to recover some energy. But... really. With that last Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt Blast, I squeezed out every last drop."
"Just as he says—when I arrived, Mu-baek's dantian was on the verge of shattering. Already cracked to hell; one more moment and it'd have exploded into pieces."
Wi Ji-gun described the state he'd confirmed.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent.
More than "I nearly died," hearing the specifics made the peril hit home.
"Ha ha. Even seeing and hearing it, I can hardly believe it. A cracked dantian, and it healed..."
Gong Son Mu-oe let out a hearty laugh.
"Since a noble says so, it must all be true. But in my limited knowledge as a lifetime physician, a cracked dantian is the end. You two are truly extraordinary."
His words mixed awe and admiration.
"I learned something new too, Pavilion Lord. Even I thought a cracked dantian was game over. But this guy pulls through."
Wi Ji-gun wagged his head.
"Probably became possible after breaking through the wall. I never knew our sect's cultivation method had this effect. I really thought I was done for."
Ha Mu-baek scratched his head.
"So, how much stronger are you now?"
Han Seol-bing's question.
"Well... haven't really thought about it."
Ha Mu-baek closed his eyes, turning inward to assess himself. Moments later, he opened them.
"Hmm. Rough estimate... I could probably tank about three Ten Thousand Golden Chain Thunderbolt Blasts at once?"
An expression that hit home.
Gong Mu-hyeok and his daughter, along with Gong Son Mu-oe and his, gaped in shock.
Having witnessed its power with their own eyes.
"Th-Three of those at the same time?"
Han Seol-bing stammered.
She hadn't seen it up close.
But hadn't she seen the fire dragon ascending at the Dragon Training Pavilion?
Ha Mu-baek grinned and nodded.
No one said another word.
"What the hell was that?"
Early morning, Dang Jin-san stretched in the training ground and muttered.
"Who knows."
Baek Ri-pyeong shook his head.
Deep into the night.
A deafening explosion had rocked Wuchang out of nowhere.
It woke them, and everyone rushed to find the source.
Flames shooting skyward one after another, like a fire dragon's ascent.
So overwhelming no one dared approach.
"Maybe the instructors know..."
As Dan Mok Un-roe muttered, Ju Wu-myeong walked up.
"Huh? What's up so early?"
Dang Jin-san spotted him and asked.
"No one's at our squad's training ground."
Ju Wu-myeong answered curtly.
"What? Instructor Han and Seol-ran? No way."
Dang Jin-san asked incredulously.
Unlike their own unreliable instructor whose whereabouts were unknown, Squad Twenty's instructors and cadets were diligent.
They should already be at the training ground, prepping.
"First time for me too. Checked here just in case, but no sign. You guys don't know either?"
Everyone shrugged at Ju Wu-myeong's question.
"What about Instructor Ha?"
They shook their heads again.
"This is our daily life."
Yeon Ha-min's short reply.
"Maybe it's connected to last night's racket..."
Nak Woo-jin muttered to himself, drawing all eyes.
"Huh? What? Why?"
He startled at the sudden attention.
"Sounds plausible."
Dang Jin-san stroked his chin.
Then scanned the cadets.
"Guess we gotta check it out?"
"Check what?"
"The scene of the incident, duh!"
"What about training?"
"It's self-study anyway. Gotta have some fun skipping."
Dang Jin-san bolted toward the wall as he spoke.
"That's the wall!"
Dan Mok Un-roe shouted.
"No pass? Gotta sneak out smart!"
Dang Jin-san called back.
The rest exchanged glances, shrugged helplessly, and followed.
A man watched the frosty, misty scene with conflicted eyes.
He quietly pushed through the crowd and slipped out to Wuchang's outskirts.
Then sent off a messenger pigeon in silence.
"A blood storm's coming. Picked the wrong side. Damn it!"
Staring at the departing pigeon, he turned, kicked off the ground, and fled.
The direction was opposite Heavenly Center Mountain—away from Wuchang as far as possible.
His steps carried a resolute vow never to return.