The Kind Senior Was Definitely Dead
The possibility that it had all been an illusion was extremely low.
The Dream Dragon Dao Body’s mental defenses were not mere decoration. Their principles were so profound that, without a massive gap in power, it should have been impossible to trap him so artfully within an illusion.
Even if the opponent’s level had been overwhelmingly higher, once he broke free of every illusion he should have been able to recognize that he had been deceived.
Above all, if an illusion had been cast the moment I appeared in this world, I would have felt a sense of dissonance somewhere.
Illusions were sometimes constructed from the target’s own memories, but they also required the caster to fill in parts using their own power. Having used illusions frequently, he was certain of this.
Therefore, the current situation could not have been caused by an illusion.
Which means the only explanation is that time and space itself have been rewound…
There was a rather large problem with that conclusion.
The ghost race might be different, but for human cultivators, spatial and temporal perception awakened starting at the Nascent Soul stage. No matter how limited that sense might be, it should have allowed them to notice when something had gone wrong in a situation like this.
Moreover, there had been ghosts who reached the Soul Formation stage, and even one estimated to be at least at the Void Refinement stage—the very entity that had crushed him with a single finger.
A ghost at or above the Void Refinement stage would surely remember everything that had just happened.
They might even be searching for me right now, the version of me that disappeared.
With that thought, he abandoned any idea of returning to the crater in Beijing. Going there now would be the equivalent of waving a sign that read “please kill me.”
So what should he do next?
Since gathering more information seemed impossible, should he quietly escape? Or would it be better to test his strength by fighting the ghost in the suit or Won-hee?
He remained hidden, presence completely suppressed, pondering his options.
Plop…!
Plop… plop…!
Suddenly, it began to rain. And the moment he registered it, goosebumps erupted across his skin—it was not ordinary rain, but blood-red downpour.
The sky had already been dyed in an ominous, deep crimson light.
So my guess was correct.
It was now clear that this was not an illusion, but a reversal of time and space.
This blood rain was the work of the ghost estimated to be at least at the Void Refinement stage, using its power to search for him.
To avoid even a single drop of the suspicious liquid, he melted into the ground. From there, he quietly observed what would unfold.
- Ugh… heuk…
- Kuh… kuhuuuugh…!
- Aaaaah… aaaaaaaaah…
As the blood rain intensified, the ghosts that had been quietly lurking everywhere began to stir, as if tormented by something.
Some wept, some gasped and moaned, some screamed. They abandoned their hidden states and began spreading out in every direction.
Rumble…!
In a single instant, a blood-colored lightning bolt flashed across the darkened sky, and a massive silhouette flickered into view before vanishing. Even with his refined senses, Han Yujin felt a chill race down his spine at the sight.
Long, disheveled hair covered the entire sky, fluttering wildly, while a pair of eyes darker than darkness itself bled as they scanned the earth below.
So that’s the one.
With his current strength, barely at the Integration stage, he could not accurately gauge the opponent’s level. He could not tell whether it was the master of the Eternal Goddess Cult, said to have reached the Body Integration realm.
He sank deeper into the earth. The blood rain was now falling like a torrential storm and beginning to seep through.
Even if he were discovered, he wanted to know exactly how long he could remain hidden. All of this was valuable experience. It might help him when he faced similar crises in reality.
What I need to be careful of is…
Although the giant ghostly figure floating in the sky was clearly extremely dangerous, it had no idea where its target had come from. Therefore, it could not focus its search on this specific area.
If he wanted to stay hidden for long, he would have to be more wary of the insignificant ghosts wandering nearby.
- Aaaaaaaaah…!
At that moment, the ghost in the suit appeared nearby and brushed past.
The terror he had felt back when he was at the Qi Condensation stage resurfaced, causing every hair on his body to stand on end.
It should be at the Integration stage… but the feeling is strange.
Every time the ghost twisted its upper body in that bizarre way, the space around it distorted. Even now, he could not understand the phenomenon. An Integration-stage ghost should not have awakened spatial-temporal senses, let alone be able to wield them.
Perhaps a hunter with spatial abilities became a ghost.
He focused his attention until the ghost moved completely out of his detection range.
Although it had become a ghost, some of its living appearance remained. He planned to look for it in reality later. If it had reached the Integration stage after becoming a ghost, it must have possessed at least upper-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root talent.
It didn’t look very old, either. I might be able to pick it up early and raise it.
Even if it turned out unsuitable to raise, simply identifying its identity and observing it would be meaningful.
Just as he finished organizing those thoughts and redirected his attention to his surroundings—
Suddenly, he sensed something stealthily burrowing into the outer edge of his perception. Not one, but several. Their presence was so faint he might have missed them if he hadn’t been on high alert.
They were strands of hair.
Won-hee…!
The direction was toward Yeongwon High School, so the culprit was obvious.
If the ghost in the suit was at the Integration stage, then Won-hee—who had made even that ghost too afraid to invade her territory—had to be on an even higher level. In other words, she was most likely at the Nascent Soul stage.
The only reason he had avoided detection by Nascent Soul ghosts in the crater before was thanks to that radiant light suppressing their senses.
In the current situation, encountering Won-hee meant he would definitely be discovered.
The moment he made that judgment and tried to turn his body—
“······.”
He froze completely, unable to even scream.
In the space where his senses insisted there should only be earth, Won-hee’s face had appeared at some point. She stared at him from so close their noses nearly touched.
Her skin was stained black by ghostly energy. Her eyes were even more hollow and dark—so empty they could only be described as abyssal. The thick blood quietly dripping down her face burned itself into his vision.
Only after recognizing her presence did he finally notice the horrifying cold and the thick smell of blood that filled the surroundings. He had somehow failed to sense any of it until now.
It could only be described as having been completely enthralled by a ghost.
“······.”
In the frozen silence where Han Yujin had turned to stone, a terrifying quiet stretched on. It felt as though something catastrophic would happen at any moment, yet the terror might continue forever—a contradictory sensation.
Honestly, he had thought that meeting Won-hee again would allow him to recall the living Lee Won-hee’s face and feel less fear than before. He had also grown stronger since their last encounter.
But facing her directly made him realize all of that had been nothing but wishful thinking.
This Won-hee was not the same as the living Lee Won-hee.
She was a being who had been conquered by the Eternal Goddess Cult on a ruined Earth. She had likely received direct blessings from a high-ranking ghost within the cult—or perhaps from the goddess herself.
With her Heavenly Spiritual Root, recognized as genius-level even in the cultivation world, it made perfect sense. Her original ability was also exceptionally compatible with the ghost race.
In the brief moment his thoughts continued—
The darkness that should naturally exist underground began to writhe, and countless whispers poured in.
The breath caught in his throat.
Had it not been for the Dream Dragon Dao Body’s mental defenses, the enormous wave of negative emotion might have driven him mad with terror in that instant. It felt like countless needles tearing at his soul.
Roughly late-Nascent Soul stage…
Even while enduring that, Han Yujin barely managed to gauge her strength. Realizing that survival was no longer possible, a strange sense of relief washed over him.
Even if he somehow escaped her now, the resulting disturbance would surely draw the attention of the colossal figure looming in the sky.
In that case, it was better to protect his sanity with an escape technique and withdraw rather than attempt a clumsy getaway.
After all, even if he survived by some miracle, he was in no position to learn or gain anything more.
That was why he could speak the words with relative calm, despite the ceaseless tide of whispers crashing over him.
“If you’re suffering that much… I will definitely save you from this place someday.”
At that moment, the countless whispers that had been growing stronger like surging murderous intent suddenly cut off as if they had never existed.
After a brief silence, Won-hee’s bloodstained black hand moved slowly and smoothly—as if the earth offered no resistance at all—and held out a single paper card. It was a familiar type of notecard.
Han Yujin accepted it with a hand that trembled only slightly and examined it.
And the moment he confirmed the incomprehensible sentence written on it—
- I definitely saw it.
A woman’s clear voice, completely different from before, whispered directly into his ear.
Before he could react, a wave of hair surged in from every direction at terrifying speed.
The Dream Illusion Only Mind activated on reflex, attempting to turn it all into dreams, but the power gap was too vast. The Purple-Gold Radiance and Lightning Wall Technique that followed only bought him a fraction of a second. They could not create an opening for the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art.
So it really is late-Nascent Soul stage.
With that brief thought, he felt his body and soul being torn apart indiscriminately as he fell into familiar darkness.
A moment later.
The connection has been severed.
Please select your harvest.
As expected, the paper card appeared among the harvest options in the waiting space.
Drops of blood fell from the letters on the card before vanishing into thin air. Once again, there was no Karma cost required to choose it.
She recognized me.
Even as fresh goosebumps rose, Han Yujin could not look away from the card.
Back when I met her at Yeongwon High during my Qi Condensation days, the card definitely called me “senior.”
Not just senior, but kind senior. At the time he had dismissed it as ghostly mischief, but seeing it again now, it seemed to carry deeper meaning.
Had there been an event in that ruined timeline where he met Won-hee and became known as her senior? Just like when he first began teaching someone in the martial world.
But it was only speculation.
He had already confirmed long ago that he could not open a gate to the time before the apocalypse. And in reality, he had already formed a relationship with the elementary-school-aged Lee Won-hee where she would never call him something as simple as “senior.”
I suppose I can ask her once I turn her into a shikigami later.
He spent a little more time in the waiting space organizing his thoughts.
In any case, this visit to the post-apocalyptic Earth had taught him more about his awakening ability. He had also discovered that a very important secret—one difficult to confirm at present—existed in that place.
The next thing he needed to do was observe what the future of Earth would look like under the changed conditions of reality.
After that, he would visit the Ohaeng Sect ruins and finally obtain the long-dreamed-of Tongcheon Ryeongbo.