Mu-yong's First Hunt
Mu-yong's growth progressed at an astonishing pace. And to his disbelief, she reached the Core Formation stage with ridiculous ease.
It was a little irritating, but mostly satisfying. He loved the fact that as long as he grew stronger, Mu-yong would naturally follow right behind him.
While she trained to adapt to her new Core Formation realm and familiarize herself with her newly awakened divine abilities, he focused on adjusting to the Nascent Soul Stage. At the same time, he polished the higher-level spells he had only been able to use imperfectly before.
The opening of his space-time perception was on an entirely different level from the limited observation he'd previously achieved through the Yin-Yang True Dragon Eye. If he had to make a comparison, it was like going from watching the world through a video screen to actually traveling through it, seeing and feeling everything firsthand.
The more familiar he became with the advanced spells, the more that thought kept surfacing.
As a side note, the Yin-Yang True Dragon Eye divine ability had fully bloomed upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage. Even if he were to lose his space-time perception again, he would now be able to observe it far more comfortably and accurately than before.
About half a month later.
Thanks to their relentless day-and-night training, their preparations were completed in no time.
"I'll lure it in. You take it on."
"Jjik-! Jjik!"
"I'll just watch from the side."
Han Yujin said with a smile. Mu-yong, brimming with confidence after gaining her new divine ability, nodded vigorously and wagged her tail.
In truth, saying he would "just watch" was the same as promising to provide overwhelming support.
A mere Core Formation beast—especially one that operated purely on instinct and followed the law of the jungle—would never be able to keep its wits about it with a Nascent Soul cultivator watching from the sidelines.
"Let's move to a suitable spot."
Fighting inside their dwelling would obviously make a mess, so it was better to change locations.
After moving to an appropriate area, he used Monghwan Yusim to recreate the aura of the Dragon Heart from before and let it spread outward. He directed it toward the bear while carefully ensuring there was no sense of threat.
"Jjik..."
Facing her first proper battle, Mu-yong looked both excited and slightly nervous, constantly glancing at Han Yujin.
Her earlier cocky attitude had completely vanished; she clearly wanted him to help.
Suppressing the laughter that threatened to escape, Han Yujin spoke.
"Jjik-!!"
Only then did Mu-yong regain her courage. She lifted her head proudly and waited for her opponent.
They waited with open smiles for a short while.
Han Yujin, who had been hiding his presence to lure the target, suddenly turned his head. A moment later, Mu-yong perked up her ears and looked in the same direction.
With the aura of a late-stage Core Formation beast, it pushed through the dense underbrush and revealed itself.
Its body was mostly dark brown, with silver metallic spikes sprouting all over, including along its back. Its tail especially had large, vicious spikes that resembled a mace. A constant stream of yellow energy swirled around its body, appearing and crumbling repeatedly.
"Grrrr..."
The bear paused for a moment upon seeing the small beast before it. Though small in size, the Core Formation aura it emitted made its wariness understandable.
But soon, greed overpowered caution.
If it devoured that small beast, it could become even stronger.
With that thought, it decided to eat first and think later. Ignoring the Dragon Heart's aura, it focused entirely on Mu-yong and bared its killing intent.
The moment it lowered its body slightly to charge—
A terrifying presence suddenly erupted from behind.
It was as gentle as a spring breeze yet impossibly heavy. At the same time, it carried a bone-chilling dread that made breathing difficult and cold sweat break out.
The bear couldn't even think of moving. Its body froze solid. An inexplicable certainty that moving would mean death bound it like invisible chains.
At that moment, Mu-yong noticed her opponent was terrified and let out a delighted "jjik jjik" laugh before immediately unleashing her divine ability.
A mysterious light burst out from her small body, then swirled back in like it was being sucked inward. Mu-yong's tiny frame began to grow at an explosive rate.
In the blink of an eye, she had grown to the size of a grand mansion. She looked down at her now-terrified "nemesis" and let out a thunderous roar.
"Jiiiik—!!!"
Then, with ferocious momentum, she slammed her front paw down.
Boom—!!
Her cry was more cute than threatening, but the shockwave from that paw strike was no joke.
The bear, unable to react at all because the "presence" behind it grew even thicker as the crisis approached, was slammed straight into the ground and suffered severe injuries.
It belatedly awakened in the face of death and barely managed to move, but at that moment, a sound like a massive temple bell rang inside its head, scattering all thought and will.
Immediately after, Mu-yong's front paws rained down relentlessly.
Boom!
Kwaaaang—!
Boom—!!
After taking four or five undefended Core Formation-level strikes without any resistance, even a late-stage Core Formation beast couldn't endure.
In its final moment, the bear briefly showed a look of resentment before its breath was cut short.
Just as Han Yujin had said before.
Mu-yong, having literally "stomped" her revenge, stood atop the bear's corpse, raised her head high, and roared valiantly once more.
"Jiiiiiiik—!!!"
The roar that shook the mountains and forests echoed throughout the vast Primordial Forest.
At the same time.
Throughout the Primordial Forest, many rabbit-weasels living their lives as the weak suddenly stood up or lifted their heads, gazing toward the distant direction from which the roar had come.
Before heading out to deal with the transparent winged-horned serpent.
Sitting in their dwelling, Han Yujin briefly organized his current capabilities inside his head.
He possessed the Dream Dragon Dao Body and Dream Dragon Dharma Power.
He had the divine abilities Monghwan Yusim, Six Paths of Reincarnation, Yin-Yang Five Elements Extinction Great Hand, and Yin-Yang True Dragon Eye.
Having learned the Taiyi Five Elements Dao Scripture, he could manipulate special elements such as Scarlet Lotus True Flame, Purple Heaven Divine Lightning, Carefree Cloud Dragon, Supreme Clear Profound Water, and Hard Metal Thick Earth.
He had mastered high-level spells including Divine Heaven Time Technique, Heavenly Lightning Tribulation, Cloud Dragon Summoning, Indestructible Cold Ice, and Five Elements Vast Wilderness Slash.
He couldn't overlook techniques like the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art, Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art, Hyeongjo Hyeoneung-sul, and Dream Illusion Escape Art either.
It would also be good to review special cultivation methods such as the Three Realms Harmony Art, Five Elements Circulation Art, and Spirit Treasure Ghost Command Art.
As for treasures above the Spirit Treasure grade, he had his natal magic treasure Monghyeon-gyeong, the artifact Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle, the Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasures Five Elements True Spirit Great Stone, Ghost Soul Banner, and Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush, the Spirit Treasures Three Origin Ninefold Extreme Profound Fire Pill Furnace, and the grotto-heaven treasure Mountain Sea Pearl.
This was not a level of power that an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could possess.
After thinking a little longer, he shook his head.
His special physique and dharma power had come from the Dragon Heart. Even a Soul Formation cultivator wouldn't easily obtain such strength.
Divine abilities weren't something one could learn just because they wanted to, cultivation methods were similar, and Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasures didn't even need to be mentioned.
With that thought, he stood up.
As if in response, a short while later the corner of the dwelling became noisy, and Mu-yong appeared—now the size of a decent wild boar.
"Jjik-!"
Her larger body made her cry much more powerful. Even at this size, her unique cuteness hadn't faded at all; if anything, it seemed amplified.
It would probably diminish his dignity instead.
She was truly just cute and completely useless.
"Let's head out slowly."
The moment he spoke, Mu-yong shrank back to her original size, leaped into his arms, and rubbed her head against him as if in a good mood.
"Where did you go to play?"
Since she had reached Core Formation, there were no threats nearby, so he hadn't stopped her from going out to play. From her chattering, it seemed she had gone to the lake.
Listening further, after finishing her revenge on the bear, she remembered the lizard monsters at the lake and had gone to stomp on them too.
"...The octopus turtle there must have been terrified."
"Jjik! Jjijik-!"
She proudly boasted that they had naturally been scared and fled in panic.
It was her first time experiencing other animals fearing and running from her, so it was only natural she'd be excited.
While using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art, he chatted with her for a while.
Having reached the Nascent Soul stage, he was much faster than before. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the edge of the winged-horned serpent's territory.
'How should I deal with it?'
After a brief moment of thought, he decided it would be fun to face a snake with something of a similar shape. He activated the Cloud Dragon Summoning spell.
It was the complete version of the technique he had temporarily called Cloud Dragon Bird before.
As the spell activated, a majestic dharma power surged from the mysterious domain within his body—the one that existed yet could neither be seen nor touched. At the same time, an enormous power erupted from the smiling Nascent Soul within him.
When the computational power of the fusion-intelligence spirit Elb was added, the spell's completion was instantaneous.
"Grrrr..."
A pure white cloud dragon appeared, wrapping around Han Yujin's body. Though small, it carried a threatening aura. Thanks to the spell's spirituality and Elb's control, it felt like a truly living creature.
Since it wasn't an immediate combat situation, it had reduced its size and adjusted its power on its own, lowering its consumption to the level of a basic spell.
With the properties of the Dream Dragon Dao Body and Dream Dragon Dharma Power, this level of consumption was practically nothing.
At a slight thought from him, the cloud dragon shrank even further and wrapped around his neck like a necklace. When he changed his mind again, it grew smaller still and settled on his wrist like a bracelet.
"Wow."
He had known it in his head, but experiencing how easily he could control it directly left him genuinely impressed.
Now it was time to test its power.
The moment he thought it, the cloud dragon that had been on his wrist shot forward like lightning. At the same time, it rapidly expanded and regained the majestic appearance of a true dragon.
Entering the center of the winged-horned serpent's territory took only an instant. By the time the serpent raised its head and bared its fangs, the cloud dragon's roar had already erupted.
It was a roar like a typhoon tearing at the eardrums.
Pure white clouds exploded outward, engulfing all directions. From within them, massive dragon claws swung as if to split apart mountains.
In response, the air in front of the winged-horned serpent boiled like a heat haze and caught the incoming claws. Then, from its opened maw, a blinding flash of light shot forth.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!!
Everything it touched evaporated with a horrifying noise.
Boom—!!
The tail that struck the ground immediately after sent an intangible shockwave sweeping across the area. It had enough force to push away the thick pure white clouds that had risen.
"Grrrrr...!!"
However, the cloud dragon didn't fall back easily. Since it was a summoned entity created by a spell rather than a living being, it would never collapse easily as long as Han Yujin continued to pour dharma power into it.
Whether the winged-horned serpent knew this or not, it unleashed its ferocity toward the challenger that had appeared after so long.
It expanded its heat-haze-like power further, firing off beams in succession while swinging its tail. Even though the serpent didn't leave its pillar, the cloud dragon was gradually being pushed back.
Kwaaaang—!!
Kwarurung...!
Kwakwakwang—!!
The aftermath of the battle completely reshaped the terrain. Shockwaves created craters that were then filled back in repeatedly.
The spiritual energy waves that spread even farther triggered all kinds of strange phenomena—sudden gusts, torrential rain, and even small landslides in some areas.
"Kyaaaaaaa—!!"
In the end.
Even after fighting so fiercely, the opponent refused to die and kept regenerating. Finally, the winged-horned serpent uncoiled itself from the pillar, preparing to engage in a full-scale battle.
By then, Han Yujin was nodding.
Still, he had roughly grasped the cloud dragon's utility. While it couldn't face a Nascent Soul existence one-on-one, it was more than capable of holding it down and threatening it. The performance was very satisfying.
Having finished his test, he appeared in the middle of the battlefield as if teleporting using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art.
At the same time, the Extinction Great Hand he swung shattered the winged-horned serpent's defensive barrier in one strike and smashed into its head.
Clang—!!
The attack didn't stop at one blow. It continued in rapid succession. As the power of extinction transferred and began causing additional damage, the winged-horned serpent's ferocity finally exploded in full.
Immediately after, a beam breath appeared without any warning and swept over Han Yujin.
Yet the figure that had clearly been hit was already standing elsewhere, calmly watching the beam breath that had just grazed past him.
He hadn't used Monghwan Yusim to barely escape death. He had purely dodged with his body's movement.
He remembered dying instantly in the past with nothing but a flicker of his vision. Now he understood—he had been attacked by something that twisted time itself.
As he thought this, the Monghyeon-gyeong appeared above his head. A sword of light shot out from within it.
The Five Elements Vast Wilderness Slash unfolded in an instant, unleashing a terrifying slash that exploded with light. From the deep shadow it cast, a slash made of darkness rose up to join the assault.
The winged-horned serpent could not avoid the pincer attack from both sides.
The cloud dragon was charging in from the side with claws made of pure white clouds. The power of extinction had already transferred to its body, inflicting horrific wounds. The slashes of light and darkness carrying the Five Elements perfectly complemented each other, filling every blind spot.
The moment a large amount of blood sprayed from the serpent's body after taking the hits—
Black lines numbering nearly a hundred shot out at terrifying speed from the Blood Spirit Red Flower Wine Bottle, which had somehow appeared in Han Yujin's hand.
When the front of the Monghyeon-gyeong reflected the winged-horned serpent before flipping to its back and freezing it in place, there was truly no way left for it to survive.
While the black lines embedded in its body greedily sucked away its power, several more varied attacks landed. The brief but fierce battle ended in an overwhelmingly one-sided victory.