Dragon Form Versus the Elemental Spirit

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Summoning the elemental spirit was easy. He already knew how.

Han Yujin returned to the rock spider monster he had ambushed and eliminated once before. The instant it entered his sight, he charged forward exactly as he had with the winged horn serpent the previous day.

The moment a tiny point of light appeared in the sky, it was already plunging down faster and more violently than a meteor.

Right after—

A deafening roar shook the earth as though the entire landmass was collapsing, unleashing an overwhelming shockwave. The ground surged upward like a tsunami, spreading in every direction. The displaced air rushed back with violent force, colliding at the epicenter and spiraling skyward in a dragon-like vortex. The towering Honwon Stone pillars, along with the spider monster’s minions, were all shattered, torn apart, and hurled away.

The aftershock alone was powerful enough to kill an ordinary person outright.

At the heart of the explosion, Han Yujin stood atop the half-dead rock spider and raised his hand once more. The translucent, shimmering power of annihilation descended without mercy at a speed that warped space and time itself.

A sound like hundreds of thunderbolts striking simultaneously erupted.

The resulting shockwave’s radius was far smaller than before, yet the concentrated force was unmistakable. The rock spider’s defenses had crumbled, removing any rebound.

After two more similar explosions, the rock spider perished without landing a single counterattack. For a Nascent Soul-grade beast, it was an utterly hollow death.

“You sure you want to stick around?”

“Squeak…”

“Yeah. Stay close even when I fight the elemental spirit. Or would you rather wait inside the Mountain Sea Pearl?”

Mu-yong shook her head vigorously. Even knowing the lethal risk of facing a Soul Formation being, she refused to miss the spectacle.

“Be careful, then.”

He knew death here meant nothing more than waking in reality, yet watching Mu-yong die horribly before his eyes would still unsettle him. Still, he could not force her into the Mountain Sea Pearl against her will.

She really was useless, wasn’t she?

Even as the thought crossed his mind, he stroked her gently with both hands. Then he glanced at the shadow and spoke.

“No matter how dangerous it looks, stay back and don’t intervene. I need to test the Dao Bodies.”

There was no reply, but she would have understood.

While ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he waited, his senses caught something. His gaze shifted.

The profoundly heavy resonance he remembered all too clearly echoed from that direction, heavy enough to steal one’s breath. There was no mistaking it.

It seemed these Honwon Stone pillars truly shared a deep connection with the elemental spirit.

As the thought formed, a presence approached at terrifying speed. Before its form even appeared, an attack flew toward him.

It was a colossal tentacle-like strike flashing with brilliant five-colored light. He evaded using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art, but the attack swerved instantly as though it had anticipated the move and gave chase.

In that brief instant, he analyzed it with every available method, including the Yin-Yang True Dragon Eye. Judging evasion impossible, he swung his hand.

The annihilation great hand, shaped like an enormous palm and trailing more than a dozen afterimages, smashed into the incoming strike.

Anticipating this, Han Yujin swung again without the slightest delay. The annihilation great hand smashed the remnants to pieces. This time they could not maintain form and dissolved beneath the power of annihilation.

Meanwhile the elemental spirit smashed through obstructing giant trees as if they were straw and revealed itself.

It was the familiar form: a massive five-colored orb of light at the center with countless legs or tentacles extending outward. Its shape occasionally writhed and distorted on its own, and the countless black spiral “eyes” covering its body created an intensely unsettling sight.

The heavy resonance rolled out of it. The power it released split into three or four branches that lashed forward like whips. The speed was akin to light itself, rippling through space-time—an attack no being below Nascent Soul could possibly counter.

Han Yujin responded by unleashing nearly every means at his disposal at once and charged.

The Monghyeon-gyeong floating above his head bound the foe. The Six Paths of Reincarnation appeared like a halo and invaded its mind. The targeted Soul-Absorbing Five Lotus Wine Bottle bloomed lotuses of light. Flames roared within the Yin-Yang True Dragon Eye as the Fenchen Technique unfolded.

The Mountain Sea Pearl’s barrier wrapped around his body. The Cloud Dragon coiled at his wrist sprang forward to intercept part of the assault. From his other hand, the Five Elements Wilderness Slash swept out amid exploding radiance.

Preceding it all, the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art disrupted the opponent’s perception, while Monghwan Yusim twisted the surrounding reality halfway into a dream.

It was a multifaceted barrage so complex that even Elb’s fused computational intellect momentarily reached its limit.

In that near-instant, Han Yujin’s annihilation great hand reached the elemental spirit and fired forward like a cannonball in the shape of a massive fist.

The flash and explosion from the impact produced an indescribable roar.

The next instant, Han Yujin was hurled back at the same speed he had charged. Even while his consciousness reeled from the shock, he rolled desperately to evade.

A tearing sound drowned out every other noise as the enraged elemental spirit’s resonance thundered across the battlefield. Brilliant flame-like energy blazed across its body, crushing or deflecting every incoming attack.

At first glance the defense seemed crude, nothing but raw power. Yet having been struck and sent flying himself, Han Yujin knew it was far from simple.

The whip-like attacks that now poured forth like fire from a minigun were the same. They exploded through the air at terrifying velocity, their trajectories and target points shifting with subtle, off-beat timing. Yet they almost never missed Han Yujin.

Continuous explosions lit the sky. The earth screamed. Earthquakes triggered landslides everywhere. Giant trees and boulders caught in the shockwaves snapped and shattered, leaving horrific scars across the forest.

To replenish the Mountain Sea Pearl’s barrier and stall the enemy’s attacks as long as possible, Han Yujin moved at full power, never staying in one place.

Their battle therefore did not linger anywhere. Instead it swept across a vast area at blinding speed, turning everything it touched into ruin.

As expected of Soul Formation grade…!

Even with his combat ability elevated as though he had achieved perfect Dharma Body synchronization, the fight was overwhelmingly difficult.

Dozens of exchanges had already occurred, yet in reality barely ten seconds had passed.

Han Yujin withdrew the Fenchen Technique and stopped using the Five Elements Wilderness Slash. He recalled the Soul-Absorbing Five Lotus Wine Bottle, which burned away the instant its lotus bloomed, and allowed the Cloud Dragon—busy draining his power to heal itself—to dissipate.

Right after, just before the elemental spirit’s whip line could strike him, a terrifying aura erupted from his body and a striking transformation occurred.

A light that could not be described as any single color formed a pair of horns, wings, and a tail. The same ferocious draconic power condensed over his hands and feet.

It was the very divine ability gained upon awakening the dragon bloodline—the True Dragon Reinforcement Body.

The moment the light wings spread wide, Han Yujin’s annihilation great hand deflected every incoming strike, then slammed into the elemental spirit’s core and triggered a colossal explosion.

His speed was more than double what it had been before, wrapped in an extraordinary current of power. The Monghyeon-gyeong above his head continuously manifested battlefield conditions favorable to him, assisting his movements.

He moved like a storm in a manner quite different from his usual Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art—his human silhouette visible yet more than half blurred by the extreme velocity.

Another heavy resonance rolled out as an even greater wave of power erupted from the elemental spirit.

Though its core had taken a heavy blow, it did not appear severely injured. Its pride, however, had clearly been wounded.

In an instant, splitting light rays fired from every one of its eyes. The terrifying barrage did not stop at one volley but continued twice, three times in succession.

The Mountain Sea Pearl’s barrier was finally pierced. Large amounts of blood sprayed from the body empowered by the True Dragon Reinforcement Body. Yet astonishingly, even after taking the same attack that had once torn him to shreds, the damage ended there.

The wounds healed at a horrifying rate, leaving him seemingly unharmed.

Enormous shockwaves, roars, flashing light, and raging storms continued without pause. More than ten explosions occurred in the blink of an eye. One moment the battlefield was here; the next it had shifted several kilometers away.

Every exchange affected even the Honwon realm. Local spiritual energy inverted. Space-time distortions warped the scenery. Residual forces scattered in every direction tangled together, producing unquenchable flames and all manner of strange phenomena.

It was a battle that could only be described as mythical.

Suddenly feeling the signs of the Soul-Splitting Tribulation acting up, Han Yujin unconsciously roared.

The Soul-Splitting Tribulation was a catastrophe in which thoughts and emotions suddenly split into two or more. If it worsened, the soul would tear apart and a new self would be born.

His tribulation had clearly been triggered by the awakening of his dragon bloodline.

Therefore, right now—while using the True Dragon Reinforcement Body and fighting at full power without reservation—it was the perfect condition for the tribulation to flare.

Fortunately the current flare-up was not yet severe.

It was neither unpredictable nor unsolvable, nor something he could avoid forever. Thus this could be viewed as an intentional, experimental flare-up.

Still, having his thoughts split in two at the same moment inevitably slowed his judgment.

In that brief loss of coordination, the elemental spirit’s bundle of whip attacks and flashes struck him. He was sent flying with tremendous force, coughing blood.

He smashed through hundreds of meters of giant trees before slamming into a rock wall and embedding deeply inside it.

While recovering his injuries and shattering the entire rock face to break free, Han Yujin suddenly realized something.

Mu-yong, who had been nestled in his arms, had been killed without a trace by the previous attack.

Even though he had known the likelihood was high, rage surged within ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him. At the same time, the thoughts and emotions split by the Soul-Splitting Tribulation also felt considerable irritation and fury.

Whether he cherished her or considered her trivial, whether she could wake safely in reality or not, his pet had just been killed by the enemy before his eyes.

How could he not repay this grudge? How could he overlook such insolence?

With an explosion of sound, he shot forward like a ray of light and clashed once more with the elemental spirit charging fearlessly toward him.

The instant he roared with fury, countless strands of hair shot out from every shadow naturally cast by the successive flashes, seeking to tear the elemental spirit apart.

Then, with an unmistakably unnatural ripple, darkness swelled. Within an abyss that seemed to devour space itself, the silhouette of a long-haired woman briefly flickered past.

Countless groans, laments, screams, shrieks, howls, and sobs echoed amid the roars in every conceivable form.

A half-human, half-dragon and a vengeful ghost burned ever more fiercely as they assaulted the elemental spirit that continued to emit enraged resonance.

In a dark, empty, yet profoundly comforting space.

Han Yujin sat in meditation with eyes closed, calmly reviewing the battle that had lasted three full days and nights.

It had indeed been Soul Formation grade.

Even after mobilizing every new and powerful means at his disposal—including the body that had achieved Monghyeon Harmony and the True Dragon Reinforcement Body—he had only barely reached parity.

In truth, even calling it parity feels generous…

Strictly speaking, he had been the one barely holding on.

He had not inflicted any decisive blows, but he had succeeded in landing occasional counterattacks. At the very least he had avoided the verdict of being one-sidedly beaten.

To preserve his dignity, he could add that the elemental spirit had not been at the early stage of Soul Formation but at least the middle stage. Its racial trait also granted it exceptionally strong vitality.

It was no coincidence that they were one of the Two Great Races dominating the Primordial Sanctuary. Beneath seemingly monotonous exchanges lay truly profound principles that made them extremely difficult to overcome.

Although he had been defeated, the experience was immensely valuable.

By resolving the Soul-Splitting Tribulation flare-up in the middle of combat, the burden of using the True Dragon Reinforcement Body had lessened slightly. He had also gained a measure of confidence in confronting the tribulation itself.

Moreover, having used the True Dragon Reinforcement Body properly for the first time, he had gained inspiration for refining several of his techniques.

Only after sitting in meditation for a long while did he open his eyes.

Wonhui sat directly before him with her own eyes closed. He was slightly startled, but soon smiled, praised her, then stood and examined the harvest.

This time he had no intention of taking anything with him.

Refining the pill was not difficult at all. Ingesting it and achieving Monghyeon Harmony with both Dao Bodies should go even more smoothly now that I have the feel for it.

If he did not spend karma at a time like this, when would he?

Safety was important, but it must not become wastefulness. Once he obtained the Taeeul Five Elements Dao Body in reality and achieved harmony, his next target would be the Seonwon Dojong Pill.

Since that would clearly be a difficult challenge, the more karma he possessed, the better.

With those thoughts, he left the waiting area without a single lingering glance.

Beneath an abandoned factory in Detroit, a decaying industrial city in the United States.

Five talented eccentrics who loved conspiracy theories had gathered. They appeared to be in their twenties or thirties—three men and two women. A single glance at their eyes revealed highly unusual ways of thinking.

They raised cheap canned beers scavenged nearby, clinked them together, and solemnly declared:

After exchanging words back and forth, they drained their cans with even graver, more determined expressions.

Long ago, a famous CEO of a globally influential corporation had said that what he feared most was not rival corporations, but the young people who might be inventing something brilliant inside a shabby garage at this very moment.

These five eccentrics half-believed they were precisely the objects of that fear. The delusion was not sudden; it was an incurable disease that had possessed them since puberty.

Similar people existed everywhere across the world, but what made this group special was that they genuinely possessed considerable ability—and they had a sponsor willing to supply them with materials and information.

The countless ordinary eccentrics scattered across the globe would serve as the forest that hid these particular trees.

Having renewed their declaration and resolve, the five scattered throughout the basement and began to move.