Chapter 626
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 626
Chapter Title: Well, It Doesn't Feel Like a Stranger
Gongya Jangcheon had pressed his palm to the vital meridian point on Gongya Harang's renowned acupoint, and two hours had now passed.
Only then did he finally withdraw his hand and rise to his feet.
The surrounding energies were still surging wildly, but now Gongya Harang had gained the ability to control them as well.
As he gazed at his younger sibling, Gongya Jangcheon's eyes brimmed with a whirlwind of complex emotions.
Gongya Harang, lost in the trance of circulating energy through her meridians.
She was in a state where she couldn't even perceive how her brother was looking at her.
An immense surge of power had abruptly flooded into her barely reclaimed body.
Without her brother's aid and the experience gained from years of battling the Demon Eradication efforts,
she might not have withstood the sudden influx and could have died again the moment she revived.
She had now entered a stable phase, but her mind was still fully occupied with taming the relentlessly turbulent energies.
Gongya Jangcheon tore his gaze from Gongya Harang and turned his head.
The direction he faced was where Ha Mu-baek stood.
Ha Mu-baek had quietly moved to a fallen log at some point and was sitting comfortably atop it, watching them.
His face still wore that infuriating expression.
To Ha Mu-baek, it was his usual impassive look, but Gongya Jangcheon always found it grating whenever he saw it.
Today marked the first time he had truly taken a good look at that face.
From Ha Mu-baek's arrival until now, it had been a nonstop whirlwind of chaos.
And so,
at this moment, he couldn't have been more grateful for that face.
He doubted he'd ever find it annoying again.
How could he?
This man had accomplished the impossible, something no one else in the world could have done.
He had brought back to life a precious sibling whom everyone had thought dead.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze met Gongya Jangcheon's.
The faint upward curl of Ha Mu-baek's lips.
Gongya Jangcheon saw the subtle smirk.
'Still, that smile is as annoying as ever.'
His earlier resolve rang hollow; he couldn't suppress the instinctive surge of irritation.
Ha Mu-baek dusted himself off and rose, approaching Gongya Jangcheon.
Two of the five Blood Thunder Corps members continued guarding Gongya Harang, while the other three positioned themselves protectively around Gongya Jangcheon.
"Thank you."
A short phrase, but laden with sincerity.
"Well, it doesn't feel like a stranger's business."
Ha Mu-baek replied with his ever-present smile.
Gongya Jangcheon instantly grasped the meaning behind his words.
Ha Mu-baek had mentioned having a younger sister himself.
One with a significant age gap, much like his own.
Though not quite as extreme.
'About ten years younger, if I recall?'
That was still a considerable difference.
"How did you know to come?"
With everything now resolved, one lingering question remained unsolved, and he posed it to Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek crossed his arms and glanced around before speaking.
"There's still some left. Don't you feel a bit regretful? This much alone is impressive enough."
Instead of answering directly, Ha Mu-baek said something else.
Gongya Jangcheon looked up at the sky.
Indeed, there was still more remaining.
"What about you?"
Gongya Jangcheon asked Ha Mu-baek.
If he himself could do it, then surely Ha Mu-baek could as well.
Yet here he was, smiling leisurely and asking in return, which piqued his curiosity.
"Me? Well, I took in as much as the old man could handle while he was looking after his sister."
That was right.
It had been a full two hours.
Ha Mu-baek hadn't simply stood by watching the two of them during that time.
He too had absorbed the swirling energies of Hyeong Mountain and the darkness.
However,
they were distinctly different from his primary inner arts, and especially in the case of Manhwang Gan, he had no seed or fragment to build upon, so there were clear limits to absorption.
He could take in more by continuing, but
'the efficiency would be poor.'
It differed from the energies of Bingjeong or Dragon Training as well.
Those two had taken root properly in his dantian despite lacking any foundation.
Manhwang Gan was different.
Even with the power of Manhwang Tae present, it refused to settle.
Thus, most of what Ha Mu-baek had absorbed was the Primordial Darkness.
He had taken in the bulk of the churning dark energies.
Thanks to that, it had become easier for Gongya Jangcheon and Gongya Harang to manage their energies.
Since their core energies stemmed from Manhwang Gan.
As the darkness thinned and Manhwang Gan intensified, calming Gongya Harang's internals had become smoother.
Gongya Jangcheon alternated his gaze between Ha Mu-baek and the sky.
"We'll sort out the questions later."
Gongya Jangcheon.
Patriarch of the Gongya Clan and leader of the Demon Slayer Alliance, but above all, he was a martial artist.
With the opportunity to grow even stronger right before his eyes, he couldn't ignore it.
Gongya Jangcheon immediately sat cross-legged.
Ha Mu-baek nodded and found a suitable spot.
Spotting a perfect rock nearby, he circulated his inner energy to brush off the dust and lay down upon it.
Night still had plenty of time left.
He decided to catch a quick nap.
It would be a while before they awoke anyway.
He granted himself this brief rest after running nonstop until now.
[Impossible...]
[This can't be...]
Primordial Darkness and Manhwang Gan.
The two entities muttered in helpless frustration at this unbelievable situation.
They had never imagined their powers could be rendered so powerless.
The reality of being devoured and sealed by radiance.
[Wasn't Radiance the smallest fragment?]
In response to Manhwang Gan's question,
[That power isn't pure Radiance. It's mixed with Ye-ui, Infinite, and other forces as well.]
Darkness replied with evident irritation.
"Looks like my choice to gather more power was the right one."
Gae Se-ak stated calmly.
[......]
Darkness had no retort.
When Gae Se-ak had anticipated Ha Mu-baek's rush to Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest and decided to flee,
Darkness had opposed it.
Claiming they could easily defeat him.
But look at the results now.
Even sensing it from afar through energy perception,
even if it was a battle using energy infused into a puppet,
he hadn't expected such a defeat.
And that, even with Manhwang Gan's intervention drawing upon the energies of Hyeong Mountain, the former battlefield.
That wasn't all.
The Demon Eradication of the Blood Cult, based on Darkness's power.
Even that curse had been broken.
Of course, another primordial power could dispel it.
The Blood Cult followers were ignorant of this, but Darkness knew.
Still, in that situation, seeing the curse shattered was a shock even to Darkness.
"I didn't even know there was a way to restore the Dark Blood Corps to normal. Il-no insisted it was impossible."
[A curse spell created with primordial energy can be undone by another primordial force. Utterly impossible for ordinary humans.]
But Ha Mu-baek was no ordinary human.
"Indeed. How did I end up tangled in fate with that damned bastard Ha Mu-baek..."
Gae Se-ak muttered in annoyance.
In his life, Ha Mu-baek was a calamity, a disaster.
He had lived in hiding ever since coming of age.
Because of that man.
In the underground of the Blood Cult's main headquarters.
Even after gaining Darkness's power there and reaching a realm where he could dominate the world,
he remained hidden in the earth's shadows.
Because of that man.
Gae Se-ak ground his teeth with a crunching sound.
[Now that we know our enemy, let's prepare more thoroughly.]
Manhwang Gan said.
[Agreed.]
Primordial Darkness concurred.
Gae Se-ak delved even deeper into the shadows.
"Hm? I didn't know there was such a method."
In a field bursting with vibrant blooms,
Radiance, inhaling the scent of purple cornflowers, murmured with a glint in her eyes.
She had sensed Ha Mu-baek using her power against Darkness and Manhwang Gan.
With a potency surpassing the Radiance he inherently possessed.
The foundation was, as expected, Infinite, Ye-ui, and the other powers Ha Mu-baek held.
Even the power of Manhwang Tae.
A method Radiance herself hadn't conceived.
She had thought of them as separate entities since they were torn apart.
But in truth, they were all parts of one perfect whole.
Be it primordial fragments or Manhwang shards.
Thus, they could ultimately convert into one another.
They could counter each other as well.
Meaning they weren't fixed as unchanging singularities.
Yet Primordial and Manhwang hadn't even considered it, let alone attempted it.
Not for any other reason.
They feared losing their essence by converting into another being, ceasing to exist as themselves.
It wasn't a matter of conscious will; instinctively, they sensed it and rejected the very notion.
But Ha Mu-baek was neither fragment nor shard.
Merely a human who had acquired those powers.
That's why he could think of and attempt such a feat.
"By a mere human..."
A hint of irritation laced Radiance's murmur.
She straightened from picking flowers.
And looked toward one spot.
"Even Manhwang Gan has awakened... What will you do, Infinite?"
There sat Infinite, cross-legged with eyes closed.
That was his daily routine here.
What thoughts occupied him was a complete mystery.
'Was my arrangement pointless after all?'
Recalling her agent diligently gathering power through her fragment, Radiance smiled faintly.
"Sigh. When is this guy planning to show up?"
Having finished her duties, Han Seol-bing let out a sigh and grumbled.
Fierce Dragon Corps Leader Ha Mu-baek.
His absences were lengthy this time as well.
Han Seol-bing furrowed her delicate brows.
She had tried to handle vacation-related issues, but with the corps leader gone so long,
she decided to proceed as she saw fit.
The authority had been delegated to her in his absence anyway.
"It's his own fault for being away. Let's see him complain later."
Muttering that, Han Seol-bing rose from her seat.
She needed to consult with Wi Ji-gun first.
He was currently at the Fierce Dragon Corps' garrison.
Han Seol-bing was managing the corps at the western branch's Fierce Dragon Grounds.
The western region was peaceful.
With scant chance of incidents, she could afford to step away briefly to meet Wi Ji-gun.
It required an in-person discussion.
Han Seol-bing unleashed her lightness skill and raced toward the garrison.
She arrived swiftly.
Wi Ji-gun had already sensed her presence and was waiting.
"What brings the vice corps leader all this way?"
"Greetings, Elder."
Wi Ji-gun smiled warmly at Han Seol-bing's bow.
"You've had it rough because of my worthless disciple."
Han Seol-bing gave a wry smile in response.
She should deny it, but somehow she couldn't.
Wi Ji-gun nodded understandingly and gazed westward.
Hyeong Mountain.
The main headquarters of the Demon Slayer Alliance.
"Well, that boy's handling some important business in his own way. Folks might not know it."
Cryptic words.
Han Seol-bing tilted her head quizzically.
"There was quite the commotion this time too. The world's been turbulent lately."
Wi Ji-gun had faintly sensed the chaos at the Jegal Clan and the sliver of Manhwang Gan's power now manifesting at Hyeong Mountain.
Not for any other reason.
He had cultivated a specific martial art for that purpose.
Heavenly Sense Narak Heart Method.
Another heart method passed down exclusively to the sect leaders of the Infinite Sword Sect.
Its sole purpose:
to sense the existences of Primordial and Manhwang.
Ha Mu-baek had perceived and acquired primordial power before learning this method,
so he had no need for it.
But Wi Ji-gun had reached its pinnacle.
Thus, he had felt the distant chaos, darkness, and even Manhwang Gan's power.
"I feel like I've burdened my disciple with too heavy a load."
At Wi Ji-gun's grave words, Han Seol-bing fell silent.
Forgetting the very reason she had come here.