The Cloud Dragon's Unstoppable Advance
Han Yujin moved at a deliberately ambiguous speed—fast enough to make progress, yet slow enough to remain fully trackable.
He had the same reason as during the Aheti subjugation. Earth's humanity possessed far too shallow an understanding of mysticism; even at the cost of some inefficiency, he needed to demonstrate raw power and prove his superiority.
In short, he was openly taunting them to attack him immediately.
Even as he did so, information obtained by Neo Dominion streamed in through the augmented reality interface Elb projected. Reports arrived one after another: the American Seventh Fleet—including aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines—had begun moving toward the Korean Peninsula; Japan was cooperating with the fleet’s movements; missile strike preparations were detected among units in China’s Eastern and Northern Theater Commands.
Should I call this a quick reaction?
For mobilizing armies, it was undeniably swift. All the more so since multiple nations were involved.
To halt their movements, he had to display his strength properly.
To succeed in a coup, one must first eliminate the existing power holders, seize control of the media to establish justification, and then use force to subdue or purge the old regime’s followers, thereby calming the chaos.
What he was doing now differed from a typical coup, yet the underlying principles remained similar.
He issued orders to Neo Dominion: begin the information war and seize as much of the coming power vacuum as possible. The recent interview—that was not quite an interview—had already provided the necessary material.
Thanks to that interview revealing his destination, several news helicopters now hovered at a distance around the area.
And then it happened.
The result of deliberately revealing himself, flying at a moderate altitude and speed, finally appeared.
Shwaaaaaak—!!
Multiple missiles tore through the air with a piercing shriek. Han Yujin manipulated the Cloud Dragon and blocked them just as he had before.
Rumble…!
Crash…!
Every missile became wrapped in pure white clouds. Inside, they produced only faint explosions and slight flashes before vanishing.
Yet this was merely the beginning.
From afar, dozens—no, nearly a hundred—missiles of every type came hurtling in at Mach speeds, each trailing a long plume of smoke.
By Earth’s common sense, no being could withstand such a barrage and remain unscathed.
That was precisely why Han Yujin did not dodge.
He once again controlled the Cloud Dragon, cloaked himself in the Hyeonsan Barrier, and met the pinnacle of modern firepower head-on.
─!!!
The Cloud Dragon unleashed its roar. At the same moment, the pure white clouds swelled outward like an explosion, engulfing every incoming missile. All those hundreds of projectiles became trapped within spherical clouds, producing only muted detonations and faint sparks before falling silent.
Whether air-to-air or surface-to-air, no matter how fast or powerful the missiles were—if they approached Han Yujin, they could not detonate properly. They were simply caught by the clouds and extinguished. The visual impact was anything but lacking. On the contrary, the completely unexpected result created an overwhelmingly transcendent and dominating impression.
It was a mythical scene: a single human advancing while blocking an entire concentrated missile barrage. News helicopters that had luckily captured the sight from afar now swarmed closer like moths to a flame.
Then, at a certain moment, the attack pattern changed as if prearranged.
Kwa-kwa-kwaang—!!
Kwa-rung—!!
The missiles began detonating on their own before even entering the Cloud Dragon’s revealed defensive range, as if aiming for a thermobaric effect.
In an instant, flashing flames and thick smoke erupted in every direction around Han Yujin. The deafening explosions and the resulting shockwaves slammed into the broadcast helicopters that had drawn too close, sending them plummeting.
Only two stations that had approached more cautiously and slowly managed to avoid crashing. They frantically widened the distance.
The scene appeared to ordinary eyes as long white tails streaking across the sky, followed instantly by massive explosions of fire and smoke accompanied by thunderous booms.
Even laypeople could easily imagine the destructive power behind those countless blasts. The suburban area below had not even been directly hit, yet the ground was torn apart and buildings and structures collapsed. The smoke rising from the center of the explosions even formed mushroom clouds reminiscent of nuclear weapons.
Moreover, these overwhelming detonations did not stop at one or two. They continued without pause. The missile barrage tearing through the atmosphere showed no sign of ending.
Never before had so many missiles been mobilized against a single person, and it would likely never happen again.
If even this failed to stop him, he would be an absolute existence that could only be opposed by nuclear weapons.
Through the cameras of those brave news helicopters that had not fled despite their good fortune, the entire spectacle was being broadcast live. Though filmed from afar, it was more than enough to grasp the situation.
A short while later.
From the center of that storm of flames and smoke, the Cloud Dragon emerged with its form completely undisturbed.
─!!!
The roar once again overwhelmed every missile explosion, shaking heaven and earth. Escorted by the Cloud Dragon, the unharmed figure of Han Yujin appeared.
He advanced as if the missile barrage raining down on him and the continuous explosions were nothing more than child’s play. He did not waver in the slightest.
His speed seemed to have slowed slightly, but that only made his utter disregard for the unending assault all the more apparent.
Around that time.
Perhaps deciding missiles were insufficient, fighter jets appeared in the distance. Their exact purpose was unclear, but Han Yujin did not miss the opportunity.
He had taken enough hits. It was time to strike back.
The moment he raised his hand and pointed at the jets, a crimson light flashed. More than a dozen lines of ruby-red flame shot forward like lasers. By the time the light registered, they had already struck their targets.
Kwa-kwa-kwaang—!!
Kwa-kwaang—!!
They must have believed they had maintained a safe distance. Yet more than a dozen jets exploded simultaneously and fell helplessly from the sky.
Han Yujin’s hand moved again, firing dozens more lines of flame in rapid succession.
Astonishingly, the attacks stretched so far they surpassed the horizon. Ordinary eyes and cameras could not even witness the results.
What was clear was that he was not simply releasing power at random. Even if the attacks proved ineffective, the sight of those long, brilliant lines of flame streaking into the distance was both spectacular and terrifying.
When Han Yujin moved his hand once more, the Cloud Dragon—which had already been displaying its majesty amid countless explosions—began to swell to an even more enormous size.
─!!!
Once again, the Cloud Dragon’s roar drowned out all other noise. At the same time, an impossible volume of pure white clouds surged forth and swallowed the sky.
The missiles were now caught by the clouds at far greater distances and extinguished without resistance.
Wrapped in that colossal cloud storm, Han Yujin radiated a presence that could no longer be called human. Like a natural disaster given form, he continued advancing toward Washington D.C.
The news helicopters that had originally tried to approach now retreated. To fully capture the Cloud Dragon and its clouds on camera, they had no choice but to pull back even farther.
The reporter who had been desperately trying to explain the situation finally lost his words and muttered in disbelief.
It was a murmur that spoke for the shock felt by everyone watching.
By the time Han Yujin passed through the suburbs and entered the urban area, the missile barrage had already ceased.
Firing missiles over a city would cause unacceptable civilian casualties. It had also become clear that the attacks were completely ineffective. Many of the fighter jets, vehicles, and facilities that had launched air-to-air or surface-to-air missiles had been destroyed by Han Yujin’s long-range Crimson Lotus Flame Strike.
With the space-time perception of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he could easily strike targets beyond the horizon.
The American command must have been thrown into utter shock upon realizing this. It was a terrifying ability in a completely different sense from simply blocking missiles.
“Kyaaaaah…!”
“R-run!”
As he flew over Washington D.C. accompanied by the colossal Cloud Dragon and its storm of clouds, chaos erupted even though he had done nothing else. Anti-aircraft guns installed on building rooftops spat fire, but they only added to the noise and confusion. They posed no real threat.
Without encountering any meaningful resistance, he arrived at the White House, fully revealing his catastrophic majesty.
As expected, all key personnel had already evacuated the building. However, their refuge was the underground bunker beneath the White House—a choice that essentially trapped them like rats in a cage.
Well, there’s nowhere else to run.
If not this place, fortified with the strongest defensive network, where could they possibly flee? And how much farther could they run in the end?
For them, this was the best decision in multiple ways.
He left the Cloud Dragon hovering above the White House and used the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art to enter the underground bunker.
The place he appeared was the control room of the bunker where the core personnel were gathered.
As he materialized in a flash of light, the special forces bodyguards flinched violently but immediately raised their firearms or drew weapons.
“Don’t move!”
“Freeze!”
They shouted threats and assumed combat stances, yet every one of them was deathly pale and trembling. Ordinary soldiers were one thing, but even hunters on the verge of S-rank looked terrified as they leveled their swords.
Han Yujin paid them no attention and scanned the interior.
Screens covering one entire wall displayed real-time maps and various data. At the central table sat President Alton Merrick, along with the vice president, the national security advisor, and all the other senior White House staff.
“Move.”
Han Yujin shoved a middle-aged Latin American staffer aside and took his seat. It was directly facing the president.
Alton Merrick was a man in his mid-fifties with a notably stubborn appearance. He had light yellowish hair, ordinary gray-blue eyes, and very distinct facial features.
After observing their appearances, he deployed the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art on all the senior officials at once.
Immediately afterward, they all clutched their heads or staggered as dizziness struck them simultaneously. The bodyguards suffered even stronger effects; their legs gave out and they collapsed.
“Yujin Han…”
The president, who had been squeezing his eyes shut while holding his head, opened his mouth and looked at Han Yujin.
“So you’ve finally come. Yes, you’ve won.”
Surprisingly, he maintained a calm attitude and readily admitted defeat.
“What will you do now? What do you plan to do with us? What do you intend to do with America—with this entire Earth?”
“What will I do? Make you pay the price for your crimes. The kidnapping attempts, the assassination attempts, and the countless other illegal and barbaric acts.”
Although he had already read all their memories through the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art, Han Yujin deliberately engaged in conversation. It was a form of verification.
“Tell me. What exactly gave you the nerve to do something like this?”
The president remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Because you were too dangerous. We noticed that Park Heewon’s characteristics overlapped significantly with your own growth. We believed it was deeply connected to the secret of your power.”
“Is that all? You wanted to become as strong as me?”
“Our desire to grow stronger was merely a way to prevent the emergence of an absolute being.”
“Why?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know? Why an absolute being is dangerous?”
Of course he knew.
An absolute being might start out fine, but the moment they became capricious, they could cause catastrophic harm.
History had proven it countless times. It was also why Earth’s humanity could no longer tolerate the rule of kings or emperors.
President Alton Merrick’s logic was not wrong.
However, what they did not know was that Han Yujin had already saved the world once, planned to save it again in the future, and would not indulge in needless whims—for the sake of his own Dao-heart and karma.
He was an existence fundamentally different from the ordinary absolute beings recorded in Earth’s history.
They also had no idea that the development of mysticism would inevitably bring about such changes.
The president continued.
“Of course, it was only a very small, unconfirmed possibility. We knew full well that greatly provoking someone like you—who had caused no problems thus far—would be dangerous. Nevertheless, we had to try.”
Because they believed it might be the path to preventing the birth of an absolute being and saving humanity’s future.
It was a statement carrying its own conviction.
Yet because Han Yujin had read all the man’s memories through the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art, he knew these actions were not born purely from noble conviction.
If the president had truly been such a righteous person, Han Yujin might have considered forgiving him once.
Unfortunately, President Alton Merrick was not that kind of man. Nor was anyone else present.
“Wonhui, kill them all. You may play with them however you like.”
Controlling them like puppets to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power was possible, but it could create future complications once humanity’s understanding of mysticism deepened.
It would be cleaner to simply kill them and expose the truths and corruptions obtained from their memories, thereby fueling the information war.
Wonhui rose silently from the shadows and opened her eyes.
As the chill and bloody aura of a late-Nascent-Soul-stage vengeful ghost—the most ferocious type of spirit—filled the room, Han Yujin left the control room and headed elsewhere. He needed to personally secure the important information.
All information obtained from the White House underground bunker PEOC was rapidly transmitted to Neo Dominion through the fused intelligence entity Elb.
Since he had already given the orders, they would now use the transmitted data to wage their information war and seize the power vacuum. This secret organization had been cultivated precisely to handle such tasks.
It did not take Wonhui long to finish her “hunt.”
After lightly surveying the hellish scene inside the underground bunker, he used the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art to return to the surface.
He had roughly dealt with America’s head. Now it was time to handle its limbs—the Seventh Fleet.
Next would be China, then Japan, and finally Russia could not be omitted.
Once he completed a tour of the world, Earth’s humanity would gain a rough understanding of just how immense Han Yujin’s power truly was.
Only when everyone realized he was an existence no means could stop would such incidents cease to occur.
“Hmm…”
After thinking for a moment, he summoned the augmented reality interface again and issued orders to Park Seryong and Neo Dominion.
Separate from the retaliation currently underway, they were to announce that he would accept “students” who volunteered from every nation in the world and raise them through direct instruction.
It was also the beginning of the grand plan he had prepared long ago.