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“That was quite the chaotic return!”

After defeating the Demon King, we made our way back to Jangryeong Valley. Cheon Woo-jin pulled out the Land and Earth Diagram and liberated Zhuge Sa.

Ugh.

Zhuge Sa was still in slumber mode. Mangnyang shook him awake, and Zhuge Sa groggily looked around.

“Hmm… Guess we took out the Demon King? How?”

His first words dripped with suspicion, indicating he thought our mission to annihilate the Demon King was nearly impossible. I showed him the obsidian I had prepared, and Zhuge Sa took it, reading its memory, utterly flabbergasted.

“Are you guys insane? If we failed, everything would end! And we charged in with uncertain odds?”

“That’s enough talk about that. Holding out wouldn’t guarantee a better situation either,” I said calmly.

“Anyway, the Demon King is dead. That must mean your binds are lifted too,” I added.

“Hmm.” Zhuge Sa contemplated this. Then he said, “Regardless, getting rid of him without major damage is a miraculous feat. We might need to capture and torture that Master of the Twelve Joules for some answers.”

“Huh?”

I was taken aback by his unexpected suggestion about torturing the Twelve Joules. Zhuge Sa continued explaining.

“He mentioned the [Old Continent]. That’s too suspicious.”

“True, but…”

“Is there anyone here, besides me, who knows about the [Old Continent]?”

Silence engulfed the room. The martial artists obviously didn’t know, and even Mangnyang and Cheon Woo-jin looked clueless. Zhuge Sa then smiled wryly.

“Well, it is a secret from the mystical realm, so it’s understandable.”

“Stop acting smart and just tell us,” I urged.

“The [Old Continent] existed before our current world was formed, long before a major tectonic shift. The civilization back then was far more advanced and powerful than what we have now,” Zhuge Sa said, folding his arms.

“But that civilization was lost overnight, around ten thousand years ago. Considering the history of this Ancient Middle Kingdom is only about five thousand years, it’s something humans can’t comprehend. It’s a secret passed down through the mystics as a vision of visions.”

“Hmm…”

“For someone to speak of such things and mention a passage leading to the [Old Continent]… It’s something I can’t overlook. I consider myself a pretty powerful sorcerer, but I’ve never heard of a passage leading to the [Old Continent]. I thought those were just stories in grimoires,” he added.

Everyone else in the room wore serious expressions upon hearing Zhuge Sa’s words. After all, there aren’t that many sorcerers stronger than Zhuge Sa, and if he was this serious, something strange was definitely going on.

Cheon Woo-jin pondered aloud, “What is this Twelve Joules? Is he perhaps a deity?”

“Well, I say we just capture him and torture him for the answers!”

Mangnyang asked with a suspicious expression, “Are you sure you can catch him, uncle?”

Zhuge Sa replied nonchalantly, “Not at the moment. Even if the Fire Dragon Incarnate got involved, I bet the Twelve Joules would still manage to escape.”

“…”

“Just a heads-up to Baek Woong. We may not have the strength now, but if we ever get a chance to capture the Twelve Joules, don’t hesitate to torture him for all the information. I believe we can solve the countless mysteries scattered throughout this world,” he said.

I nodded, “Got it. So how do we find this Twelve Joules?”

“No need for all of us to go clogging up the place. Just you, me, Miyamoto Musashi and Miho. That makes four. Mangnyang should stay back just in case, while Cheon Woo-jin can handle the defenses. The martial artists should save their energy for training. And hand over that Nameless Ritual Book to me.”

“Here you go.”

Zoom!

Once I returned the Nameless Ritual Book, he quickly absorbed its power and resumed being its owner. A strong force re-emerged.

Bang!

We rested for a full day to recover, then headed towards the Divine City where the Twelve Joules was located. This time, we noticed someone waiting at the Cloud Bridge.

“Hey, how’s it going?”

He looked like an ordinary young scholar. But for some reason, as soon as he spotted me, he waved his arms joyfully, drawing everyone’s attention.

‘Who the heck is this?’

I hadn’t seen him before. Was he a resident of the Divine City?

But wait, his attire wasn’t typical of Divine City; it looked more like something a scholar from the Central Plains would wear. Plus, when I tried sensing his spirit energy, it barely registered. This guy didn’t seem to be trained in martial arts at all. While I briefly considered if he was from Return to Simplicity or the Absolute Realm, I realized I couldn’t assess him without any discernible power. It didn’t look like he could be a powerful sorcerer either, given the lack of energy.

I stared at him with suspicion, “Who are you? Did you just call me?”

“Oh, right! Hahaha. Finally, we meet!”

He grinned widely as he introduced himself, “I’m Oh Seung-eun, a wannabe novelist from Shooting Sun Mountain. Just so you know, I’m currently residing in Nanjing.”

I wasn’t too curious, but I nodded along, “Hmm… Okay. But what brings you all the way to the Changbai Mountains?”

“Are you the Baek Woong I’ve heard of?”

His mention of my name made me tense up. ‘This guy’s not just an average person, is he?’

This had my team wary of him too, but since we weren’t ready to attack, I decided to keep it cool. “Not really.”

“Hmm, strange. I’m pretty sure I heard it was Baek Woong… Did you change your name recently due to some bad luck?”

“I don’t know, but please step aside. We have nothing to discuss with you.”

Then, Oh Seung-eun thought for a bit and flashed a grin. “I’ll be waiting. Just finish what you’re up to and come find me.”

Oh Seung-eun slyly stood at the entrance of the Cloud Bridge. I felt uneasy but also couldn’t help questioning why I didn’t want to attack him.

‘What is wrong with me?’

This was bizarre. Anyone so suspicious should have been a target for an attack. But for some reason, I just felt that it would be better to avoid conflict. The expressions on my comrades’ faces seemed the same, exchanging glances at me.

Thud!

We crossed the Cloud Bridge to the other side. Then Zhuge Sa sighed.

“Oh no, this is bad…”

“What’s so bad?”

“We won’t know until we meet the Twelve Joules. Let’s go.”

Even when we entered the building where the Twelve Joules was supposed to be waiting, we felt an eerie emptiness.

“Nobody’s here?”

“…”

How strange. We reached the chair where the Joules would usually sit, but neither Ha Eun-cheon nor the three masters were around. We searched the building further but found nothing and eventually headed towards where other residents of the Divine City lived.

And then we were dumbfounded.

“Are they all asleep?”

Indeed they were.

The Divine City, normally bustling with thousands of humans, now had all its residents sprawled out on the streets or in their houses, seemingly in a deep slumber. We checked to see if there were any issues or curses affecting them, but they were simply sleeping. No matter how much we shook them, slapped them, or tried to infuse energy into them, they wouldn’t wake up.

This was clearly odd. When someone’s energy is regenerated, their blood vessels would react automatically, waking them up. Mastering the control of energy extends to even handling methods of unconsciousness. So if even the slightest touch to their energy doesn’t rouse them, this sleep must be anything but ordinary.

Zhuge Sa observed our situation and commented, “Baek Woong, it seems we’ve arrived at another junction of choice.”

“Zhuge Sa, do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“It’s my mistake. I thought we’d have enough power right now and left Cheon Woo-jin behind.”

Zhuge Sa lamented, “We can’t use techniques here. With your power, carry all of us and let’s get out. That’s the only option we have now.”

“Hold on. You need to explain what happened,” I insisted.

Zhuge Sa turned sharply to me, “That Oh Seung-eun who blocked the entrance… It’s definitely his doing.”

“…?”

“And there are very few who could plunge the Divine City into silence alone. You’ve seen similar scenes before.”

His cryptic answer made Zhuge Sa push for urgency, “Quick! I hope my feeling’s wrong, but we need to get out of here.”

“Right. To Jangryeong Valley…”

Then Zhuge Sa yelled out, “No! We can’t go to Jangryeong Valley. We must head to Master Mangnyang’s village instead.”

“Huh? Why there?”

“Hurry, before he gets unpredictable…”

Thump!

In that instant, Zhuge Sa’s expression became dazed as he crouched down. Miho winced, holding her head, while Miyamoto Musashi looked alert, focusing intensely.

“Ugh…”

I felt an overwhelming sleepiness wash over me, making it hard to maintain my balance. Just then, the Fire Spirit’s energy surged within me; the Fire Dragon Incarnate fought to drive away the sleep spell, and I quickly regained my composure.

What in the world is happening?

And then, from a distant place, a booming sound of the Thousand Miles Communique technique reached my ears.

[So, have you checked the interior of the Divine City? Are you feeling relieved now? I had already placed a listening spell, so I’m aware of your spiritual signatures. It would be best not to make any rash attempts to escape; it’s much safer to just come out through the entrance.]

“…”

[If you try to flee, I won’t hold back.]

Without a doubt, this voice belonged to that Shooting Sun Mountain scholar, Oh Seung-eun.

[It’s fine if you stay there. After all, you must be dreadfully sleepy right now. If you think you can resist my spell for thousands of years, then go ahead.]

That’s just impossible.

Even with the Fire Dragon Incarnate’s strength assisting me, I was barely holding off the fatigue. The three of us in the room—Zhuge Sa, Miho, and Miyamoto Musashi—are all top-tier fighters, yet they still lost half of their combat ability in a single sweep. If we continued like this, we’d all surely collapse.

Suddenly, Zhuge Sa pulled a dagger from his sleeve and pierced it into his arm.

Thud!

“Ugh… I’m starting to feel a bit more alert.”

Blood splattered everywhere from the significant wound he inflicted on himself. This injury was severe enough to be considered a serious one. Zhuge Sa was making an extreme choice to combat the sleepiness.

“Zhuge Sa,” I started, but he interrupted.

“Baek Woong… The reason we didn’t fight that person at the entrance isn’t what you think. You and Miyamoto sensed he was overwhelmingly powerful instinctively… Miho felt it too. And I didn’t say anything because I had a rough idea of his identity.”

“What do you mean?”

“Luckily, it seems he wishes to converse with you… If you use your powers well, this could turn into an opportunity…” Zhuge Sa said, but his voice grew fainter from sleepiness.

Despite the torrents of blood spilling from his wounds, the might of Oh Seung-eun’s spell was far too strong.

“… Listen closely… his identity is… And the reason we can’t go to Jangryeong is…”

As I heard Zhuge Sa’s explanation, my expression hardened with increasing tension. What are the odds the guy would provoke us right now!

But according to Zhuge Sa, we had no way to avoid this situation. He looked at me with dim eyes and said, “Choose wisely… This is both a crisis and an opportunity… Extract as much information from him as possible…”

Thud!

Ultimately, Zhuge Sa fell asleep. I glanced around to find streams of blood flowing down from Miyamoto Musashi’s eyes.

“Musashi, are you okay?”

“What a powerful technique. I’m barely holding on in a state of full-on focus. This isn’t a technique you can withstand with just mental strength.”

He shook his head in disbelief.

“… But if you’re going to fight that guy, I could lend you a sword or two.”

Then Miho squeezed her temple and chimed in, “Baek Woong, my head is killing me.”

“Miho, aren’t you feeling sleepy?”

“I’m not sleepy, but my head hurts so much! I think his spell is causing me pain.”

Miho, now significantly more powerful as a spirit, seemed to be resisting the effects of the spell due to her unique nature. With a worried expression, she pressed her temple, “Baek Woong, I really hope we can avoid fighting. If Zhuge Sa’s right about his identity, we can’t win in our current states.”

“I know. I’ll do my best to handle it.”

“If it comes to that, I’ll do my best to protect you.”

Her words made my heart flutter. ‘Even after seeing our past lives together…’

There were memories of us dying together, yet she still genuinely wanted to protect me? My gratitude and guilt piled up. I couldn’t bear to face her death in our upcoming lives, so I gritted my teeth.

“… I’ll protect you all too.”

Bang!

After storing Zhuge Sa in my wooden armor, my comrades and I headed to the Cloud Bridge entrance. There, I found Oh Seung-eun sitting on a nearby rock.

He waved at me cheerfully, “Hey Baek Woong! You made it out!”

“Release the sleep spell!”

“Can’t do that. The moment you’re free, you’d bolt.”

Oh Seung-eun shot back with a grin.

“By the way, it’s nice to see you again, fox. How was life in the mortal realm?”

Miho snapped back, “Haven’t you been enjoying the stellar air of the Celestial Realm?”

“No need to be grumpy. Regardless, we’re pals from the Celestial Realm, right?”

As Miho seethed, Oh Seung-eun laughed heartily, “Ha ha ha! Believe me, I was the king who commanded all the spirits of the Central Plains!”

I spoke to the entity before me, now revealing itself as Oh Seung-eun, “What did you do to the Twelve Joules?”

“Well, I came earlier to catch him and retrieve the Moon and Wood elements, but he sensed me first and scooted away with the Three Masters. Quick witted, that one.”

He spoke with clear disappointment in his eyes.

“But it’s fine. I can still recover the Fire and Water elements here.”

“……”

There was no doubt; his identity was undeniable.

But wanting to check just in case, I decided to ask, “Are you… King Mi-hu?”

He smiled softly, “Don’t like that name much. Been hearing it for thousands of years, kind of sick of it.”

“Then, how about the Buddha of Fighting Victory?”

“Also hate that, thrown around by that damn Tripitaka.”

As he spoke curtly, his eyes slowly turned a vivid red with slitted yellow pupils.

That’s what they called the Fire Eye Golden Spirit!

“Call me the Celestial Sage!”

Indeed. He was the strongest of the overpowered, the Demon King of the land, and currently regarded as the top force in the Celestial Realm—the Great Immortal—King Mi-hu, the Celestial Sage Sun Wukong, was standing right in front of me, disguised as a human!

 

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