rpbooks Chapter 275 : Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute (3)
Chapter 275 : Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute (3)
Chapter 275: Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute (3)
Jang Woo-hyun followed the child’s gaze.
An arm with nothing remaining below the elbow after being bitten off by a dragon.
Since it was an injury he could fully regenerate, he had neither attached a prosthetic arm nor hidden it beneath clothing.
He had merely torn the sleeve roughly and wrapped cloth around the severed area.
There was no pain, yet he could not say it did not hurt.
In some ways, it might have been the greatest wound he had ever suffered.
The arm he refused to regenerate symbolized his fear and his inability to move forward.
“Huu.”
The moment he looked at the wound, his breathing suddenly became uneven.
Without realizing it, Jang Woo-hyun’s body trembled.
The clean city scenery vanished, and darkness swallowed the surroundings.
The entire world became filled with dragons and serpents.
Yong Cheon-myeong’s Microcosm, the Ten Thousand Dragons, Thousand Serpent Cavern.
It felt as though he had returned there once more.
‘This isn’t reality.’
No matter how many times he shook his head or opened and closed his eyes, the world before him did not change.
Knowing perfectly well that it was an illusion, he tightly shut his eyes, trying to ignore the scene.
As he exhaled deeply, something touched his leg.
Pat pat. Press press.
Slowly opening his eyes and looking downward, he saw the small child patting his leg with tiny hands.
And beside the child, the two tiger cubs were pressing against the tops of his feet with their front paws.
“Are you scared? It’s okay. There are lots of people here. Nothing scary.”
The eyes that had once been filled with curiosity now held only concern.
The child shook his head repeatedly while continuing to say, “It’s not scary.”
The small hands never stopped patting Jang Woo-hyun.
“They said when I was little, I was super scared of awu too. I guess the red eyes were scary.”
“……Awu?”
Wondering if the child meant he had been afraid of his younger sibling, Jang Woo-hyun asked.
“Ah, foxes, foxes. When I was little, I called foxes awu.”
‘But you’re still little now?’
The words lingered inside Jang Woo-hyun’s mouth.
A smile spread across his face.
Thanks to the child’s help, he gradually calmed down.
The trembling subsided, and before he knew it, the surroundings had returned to the city once more.
“Are you still scared now? Then they say you just need to grow bigger. I used to be scared of foxes too, but after sleeping twenty nights, I became okay. Mister will stop being scared once you grow bigger too. So after sleeping twenty nights, you can bokbok.”
The child’s chatter was so adorable that Jang Woo-hyun crouched down.
“Bokbok?”
“Yes! If you bokbok, everything gets okay! Hard things can all be bokbok-ed!”
Hearing the unfamiliar word, Jang Woo-hyun repeated it several times.
After pondering it for a while, he finally guessed its meaning.
“You mean overcome? You can overcome scary things?”
“Ah, right. Overcome. Hehe.”
When the child laughed, Jang Woo-hyun found himself laughing as well.
As though by magic, the anxious emotions faded away.
“So you’re not scared anymore?”
“Not scared at all now. Thanks for helping me.”
“They said adults aren’t scared of anything, but I guess Mister isn’t an adult yet. Huh? Then are you a big brother?”
Jang Woo-hyun gently patted the child’s head as the child tilted his own in confusion.
“So the only way to overcome fear is sleeping twenty nights?”
“Mmm…….”
At the question, the child crossed his arms and fell into deep thought, imitating an adult.
“Mmm, mmm. Ah!”
The child, who had been frowning seriously for some reason, suddenly brightened.
“I’m not scared when I’m with Mom! Or when I’m with Dad too!”
It was such a childlike answer that Jang Woo-hyun could only laugh.
“And I’m not scared when I’m with my friends either! Because we’re the strongest!”
The small fist punched the air repeatedly.
“Mister has friends too, right? Then you can just stay with your friends!”
“Friends…….”
As Jang Woo-hyun murmured the word, the child squinted his eyes and asked.
“You don’t have friends?”
“I do. I’ve got one troublemaking friend.”
The moment he heard the word friend, one monster immediately came to mind.
After waking up from unconsciousness—
Seon Tae-gyeong had told him how they ended up arriving at the Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute.
He also told him what the Wind-Passing Great Sage thought of him.
Even though they belonged to different races and first met as enemies, Jang Woo-hyun and the Wind-Passing Great Sage had now become something like friends.
And Jang Woo-hyun had no intention of denying the attachment he formed toward the monkey monster.
‘If I had fought together with that monkey, would it have been possible?’
At their current level, even with the Wind-Passing Great Sage helping, opposing Yong Cheon-myeong would still have been difficult.
But if they fought together, he felt he would not have been this afraid.
Even if things became difficult, even if their bodies shattered apart, they probably would have laughed wildly while resisting together.
While speaking with the child, Jang Woo-hyun regained his composure.
The fear disappeared as he thought about companions who could stand beside him.
“Adu!”
“Ah! Father!”
Hearing someone call him, the child who stood before Jang Woo-hyun immediately ran away.
From the direction the child ran toward, a sturdy man accompanied by two tigers and an elderly man approached.
Since no tiger stood beside the old man, it appeared he was not from the Land of the Virtuous.
The sturdy man picked up the running child.
“Son, what were you doing?”
“I was talking with that Mister— no, that Big Brother over there.”
As the child pointed toward him, Jang Woo-hyun slightly lowered his head.
“Thank you for looking after my son.”
“No. Rather, I was the one helped.”
“You should greet him properly.”
Only then did Jang Woo-hyun realize he still did not know the child’s name.
“I’m Hong-du.”
While held in the arms of the man who appeared to be his father, Hong-du bowed his head deeply.
Afterward, Hong-pyo, the child’s father, introduced himself, and Jang Woo-hyun also greeted the two while revealing his own name.
“We should be going now. My wife told me to bring our son back.”
“Mister, I’ll bring you Courage Grass next time. They say if you boil and drink it, you become brave. And this too.”
Hong-du took out a dried fruit resembling a dried persimmon from a small pouch and handed it over.
“Mom said sick people need to eat well. It’s a present.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Let’s meet again sometime.”
After greeting Jang Woo-hyun and the old man beside him, Hong-pyo departed.
The smile on Jang Woo-hyun’s face did not disappear as he watched the father and son chatting warmly while walking away.
He continued watching until the backs of the father and son from the Land of the Virtuous and their four large and small tigers completely disappeared.
Then Jang Woo-hyun slowly turned his body to one side.
The smile covering his face had vanished, replaced by a blank expression.
His gaze landed upon the old man who had walked together with Hong-pyo.
Out of habit, Jang Woo-hyun examined him carefully.
‘No weapon. Strength at the very peak of the Absolute Realm, stepping into the entrance of the Transcendent Realm.’
Neatly arranged white hair and a short-trimmed beard.
Overall, he was an elderly man with a tidy appearance.
Though his energy was not particularly powerful, the moment Jang Woo-hyun met the old man’s eyes, he immediately realized this was no ordinary person.
Because he had met someone similar before.
‘Is he hiding his strength?’
The old man before him reminded him of Jang Sam-bong when they first met at the old bookstore.
“I never expected to meet the young hero here.”
Before Jang Woo-hyun could properly figure him out, the old man recognized him first.
“You know who I am?”
If the old man knew him, then this meeting might not be a coincidence.
Jang Woo-hyun focused on every movement of the other party, ready to fight at any moment.
“How could I fail to recognize the Cheonrin Sword Alliance? I’ve wanted to meet you once, so I’m glad this happened. I am Sama Jeong of the Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute.”
The moment the words Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute came out, Jang Woo-hyun relaxed slightly.
Sama Jeong was not an enemy.
“My name is Jang Woo-hyun. Today I have met an elder of the institute.”
Since he lacked one arm, he could not perform a proper martial salute, so he simply bowed his head.
“Haha, I’m not such an exalted person. There’s no need to be so respectful.”
“……Are you hiding your martial arts?”
To test the old man’s reaction, Jang Woo-hyun asked directly.
“No. My strength is exactly as Martial Artist Jang sees it.”
Using all his senses to determine whether the old man spoke truthfully, Jang Woo-hyun examined Sama Jeong carefully, but he found nothing unusual.
‘Does he possess some ability other than martial arts?’
Perhaps he had achieved something through another path entirely.
Though Jang Woo-hyun could not tell what exactly.
“No matter how I look at you, you don’t seem ordinary.”
“I hide nothing. I have simply lived for a long time and experienced things others have not. My perspective is merely a little broader. Martial Artist Jang is extraordinary enough to perceive the passage of that time. What level does my strength appear to be?”
Jang Woo-hyun could not answer immediately.
It was not easy to evaluate someone directly to their face.
Perhaps understanding his hesitation, Sama Jeong spoke first.
“Please speak comfortably. My realm isn’t something so important, haha.”
Even then, Jang Woo-hyun hesitated.
Sama Jeong repeatedly nodded lightly, indicating it was fine.
Eventually, Jang Woo-hyun shared his honest thoughts.
“You seem to stand between the Absolute Realm and the Transcendent Realm. Perhaps someone who just stepped into the Transcendent Realm. That’s how it appears to me.”
“As expected, your eyes are excellent. That is exactly correct.”
Still convinced the old man was hiding something, Jang Woo-hyun looked at him suspiciously.
But Sama Jeong simply accepted the gaze calmly while smiling faintly.
“Since fate brought us together like this, shall we walk and talk a little?”
Without even waiting for an answer, Sama Jeong began walking away.
Curious about his identity and what he intended to say, Jang Woo-hyun followed behind him almost as though entranced.
---
The two walked in silence until they eventually left the city.
Only after climbing a small hill overlooking the city did Sama Jeong finally speak.
This seemed to have been his destination all along.
“It’s a beautiful place, isn’t it?”
Sama Jeong’s gaze rested upon the city they had just left.
“Yes. It’s not flashy, but it’s charming. The people also seemed kind.”
“The people of the Land of the Virtuous walk the righteous path and are mostly good-hearted. They are compassionate as well. Even without laws or rules, they are people who would naturally live while caring for one another. Perhaps it was because of that nature that the Thousand-Year Seeking Dao Institute chose to settle here.”
Having little to add, Jang Woo-hyun merely nodded beside him.
“What I fear most is this peace being shattered. The chaos of the Central Heavens Martial Realm has not yet reached this place, but if war continues, even the Land of the Virtuous may someday be consumed by flames.”
Jang Woo-hyun fully understood Sama Jeong’s meaning.
After all, while traveling toward Cho-su’s home with Jin Ha-un, he had seen ruined cities and sacrificed civilians with his own eyes.
“If something like that happens, then I intend to lend my strength as well.”
Sama Jeong, who had been staring at the city, turned his head toward Jang Woo-hyun.
As though casually tossing out an ordinary question, he spoke.
“What is it that Martial Artist Jang fears?”
Sama Jeong’s eyes seemed capable of piercing through people completely.
Although deeply startled by the question and gaze, Jang Woo-hyun maintained an outward calm as he answered.
“……Can you see that much?”
Since he already considered Sama Jeong unusual, he assumed the man possessed some sort of special ability.
But the response completely exceeded his expectations.
“Not at all. I can’t see anything.”
“Pardon?”
“I simply heard what Hong-du said earlier and decided to test you.”
“Ah…….”
After hearing Hong-du’s words, it would have been easy to guess that Jang Woo-hyun was frightened of something.
“Looking at your expression and atmosphere now, it seems I guessed correctly. What is it that the man known as the Cheonrin Sword Alliance fears? Ah, if it burdens you, there’s no need to answer.”
Smiling faintly, Sama Jeong turned his head away again.
As though he truly did not care.
As though he did not wish to pressure him.
“Ah, and before you start overthinking alone again, wanting to meet you wasn’t some grand reason either.”
“Then why did you…….”
“Why? Right now, the hottest name in the entire Central Heavens Martial Realm is Jang Woo-hyun of the Cheonrin Sword Alliance. Who wouldn’t want to meet you?”
He had defeated the Heavenly Demon of the Gathering Demon Hall and ended the internal conflict within the Five Elements Cult.
On top of that, he led the troublesome lunatics known as the Battle Fiend Division of the White Martial Society.
It was only natural for him to become famous.
“Now that I’ve met you in person, you’re a little different from what I imagined. Though that’s only natural. Rumors can never perfectly capture a person.”
“…….”
“Fear is not something only Martial Artist Jang possesses. It is an emotion all humans naturally have. Even the happy people inside that city harbor fears within their hearts. There are things they’re afraid of too.”
But Jang Woo-hyun was different.
He treated fear itself as a sin.
As though he believed he should never feel such emotions.
“It is only natural for people to feel fear and terror. There is no need to forcefully suppress it. Nor is there any reason to.”
Hearing Sama Jeong’s words eased Jang Woo-hyun’s heart somewhat.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally began speaking of things he had never even told his companions.
“I’m afraid.”
Before the enemy known as the Dragon Emperor Heavenly Lord, he felt unbearably insignificant.
The endless power known as the Microcosm felt forever beyond his reach.
He had grown rapidly without ever stopping.
But now, for the first time, he encountered a massive wall blocking his path and found himself thinking it could never be overcome.
Holding his sword felt difficult.
Moving forward terrified him.
And there was something even more frightening than that.
“I don’t care if I’m injured or killed.”
The deaths of the comrades who fought beside him.
Since the moment he first learned martial arts, he understood danger would always exist.
But he had never truly considered the deaths of his companions.
The wounds and deaths of those who fought beside him were far harder to endure than his own injuries.
Especially because those outcomes stemmed from his own decisions.
“My decisions caused my comrades to die and suffer injuries.”
“This time only half of them died, but next time the entire group might be wiped out.”
“I can no longer trust myself.”
“I mistook myself for someone extraordinary.”
“I only possessed a little talent for martial arts, yet I acted as though I were some kind of genius, and because of that, this happened.”
For the first time, Jang Woo-hyun poured out all the thoughts buried within him.
And once he began speaking, he could no longer stop.
“…….”
After finishing, Jang Woo-hyun turned toward the gaze he felt upon him.
Sama Jeong stood there with wide-open eyes.
His expression practically asked—
Why on earth was that something to agonize over?