Chapter 62: Where Is This Place? (2)
Kwa-jijik—Wajik!
Because the ship hadn’t been floating that high, only the bottom part was slightly damaged when it hit the ground.
Only after the ship fell did the beastmen come to their senses, rushing toward Jang Woo-hyun in a flurry.
Even though their expressions were different from humans, it was obvious even to someone who had never seen a beastman before—they looked completely shocked.
While the beastmen gathered, several shouts rang out from inside the ship.
Moments later, as the ship's interior grew quiet, a few people burst out and escaped through the sky using some strange device, without even glancing back.
Of course, Jang Woo-hyun had no intention of letting them go, so he swung his sword without hesitation.
Puh-geok!
Having put too much force into it, the sword shattered.
Each of the hundred or so fragments became a hidden weapon, flying toward the dozen or so fleeing martial artists.
“Graaagh!”
“Keugh!”
Those flying through the sky were struck by the fragmented sword blades and came crashing back to the ground.
Some of them died instantly, while those with decent skills managed to react as they fell and barely survived.
Three times in total.
The first was the Qi-infused strike.
The second was Destructive Light Slash. And the third was the hidden weapon technique using the shattered sword.
With just those three attacks, Jang Woo-hyun subdued the enemy.
“I’ll head inside, so please tie up the ones who survived.”
Walking toward the ship, Jang Woo-hyun easily broke through its side and stepped inside.
The reason he had destroyed only the engine rather than the whole ship was because he had sensed there were people already held inside.
After passing through a narrow corridor, a rather spacious area appeared.
Inside was a space that looked like a prison, and dozens of beastmen were locked within it. Standing in front of the cell was a man holding a sword to the throat of a beastman.
“Wh-Who the hell are you?! How dare you interfere with our work!”
The well-dressed middle-aged man trembled slightly, clearly afraid.
Jang Woo-hyun slowly walked forward and observed the man.
‘At the entry level of Master Level.’
The man’s skill was about on par with the Blood Sword King of the Asura Sword Sect.
If they were in the Central Plains, he would surely be holding an important position in a major sect. But considering he was busy kidnapping beastmen here, it seemed just as Jang Woo-hyun suspected—the general martial arts level of this place might be higher than the Central Plains.
“Who exactly are you people?”
“What?”
“I’m serious. I really don’t know. Who are you?”
“...Are you mocking me?”
Apparently thinking he was being belittled, the man hardened his expression and shoved the beastman he was using as a hostage aside.
As if he were preparing to fight himself.
“You must’ve at least heard of Twin-Winged Lotus! I am of Twin-Winged Lotus...”
The man stopped speaking when he saw Jang Woo-hyun shaking his head.
“I really don’t know. What’s Twin-Winged Lotus?”
“……”
The man was at a loss for words. No one with a working brain could not know Twin-Winged Lotus.
“Don’t tell me...”
“Don’t tell you what?”
“Did you just ascend?”
“Ascend?”
Hearing Jang Woo-hyun’s confused response, the man was now convinced.
“Seeing as you know nothing, I must be right. Let me tell you one thing. You’ve made a mistake. Attacking us right after coming up from the lower world? You won’t die peacefully.”
The man tried to intimidate him with murderous intent, but Jang Woo-hyun wasn’t fazed at all.
After all, how could he be afraid or even flustered when he didn’t even know who the man was?
“So again, who are you people?”
“We are Twin-Winged Lotus, the ones who rule the skies of the Central Heavens. We are—”
“They’re thieves!”
“They’re a bandit group!”
“They’re just robbers!”
“Shut up, you damn beasts!”
The beastmen locked up in the cell shouted over the man’s words, and he angrily kicked the prison bars.
‘Sky pirates?’
Riding a ship that flew through the sky was unusual, but aside from that, they didn’t seem particularly special.
Besides, there were sky pirates in the Central Plains too.
‘Are they just like the Yangtze River bandits?’
Jang Woo-hyun roughly grasped the nature of his opponent.
“All right, that’s enough then.”
No need to concern himself too much. Besides, he had already made enemies of them. He’d taken down a number of their people outside.
The number of dead was likely considerable. Some were probably still dying.
Having made up his mind, Jang Woo-hyun approached slowly, and the man drew his sword.
Gone was his earlier bravado—now he tried to open the cell door and step inside.
“Don’t think I’ll die easily! If you move again, I’ll kill everyone in here—!”
He was about to charge into the prison and kill the beastmen inside, but then he suddenly stopped.
“My body...”
It wouldn’t move.
Something invisible had completely bound his body.
“Ugh! Nngh!”
Jang Woo-hyun had already used Qi-infused techniques to bind the man.
With his current skill, he wouldn’t be able to break free.
“H-How... Don’t come! I said don’t come!”
Despite the man’s pleading, Jang Woo-hyun slowly approached and tapped his chest lightly.
Thud.
“Guh!”
With a short scream, the man coughed up blood as his insides were shaken.
Jang Woo-hyun had infiltrated his internal energy and shattered his Dantian.
Bleeding heavily, the man collapsed to the floor.
Leaving him behind, Jang Woo-hyun destroyed the prison and released the beastmen who had been trapped inside.
“Let’s go.”
When they came outside together, the beastmen there had already taken care of the remaining Twin-Winged Lotus martial artists.
Now powerless, the remaining members had been subdued by the beastmen and piled up in one corner.
More than half had stopped breathing, and those still alive had severely damaged bodies and were on the verge of death.
“You must be someone blessed by the Grace. Thank you so much for saving our village.”
A raccoon beastman approached and deeply bowed to Jang Woo-hyun.
The others behind him also bowed in thanks.
“Grace?”
Unfamiliar with the term, Jang Woo-hyun asked.
“I’m referring to the emblem engraved on your shoulder. Humans probably can’t see it clearly. It’s a blessing granted by a great being. Judging from the power radiating from it, that being must have taken a great interest in you.”
Like the children earlier, the raccoon beastman pointed to his own left shoulder. It seemed these beings knew something Jang Woo-hyun didn’t.
“Do you know exactly what this is?”
“Not exactly. It’s simply a blessing from a higher being, bestowed upon you, honored one, with their power.”
“…I see.”
Though something still felt off, Jang Woo-hyun nodded for now, since the others kept calling it a "Grace."
It was a bit strange.
This had appeared when the Demon Extermination Sect fell—because of that monkey monster.
There was no reason for that being to grant him a blessing.
After all, he was the one who had defeated that summoned being.
The beastmen didn’t seem to know the details either, so Jang Woo-hyun decided to let it go for now.
“I have a few questions. May I ask?”
“As many as you like. You’re the benefactor who saved us. I’ll answer sincerely, as much as I can.”
“I’m not really sure where this place is, or what’s going on… hmm.”
As he spoke, Jang Woo-hyun turned his head.
In the direction he looked, two people could be seen flying toward them on some kind of device—just like the bandits who had tried to escape earlier.
‘Enemies?’
They didn’t show hostility, but just in case, Jang Woo-hyun stepped away from the beastmen and walked forward.
This time, when he reached out, a sword lying on the ground flew into his hand.
Among the two who were approaching rapidly, one immediately jumped down to the ground, and Jang Woo-hyun instinctively twisted his body.
He didn’t know why. He simply followed his instincts.
“No! He’s our savior!”
The raccoon beastman shouted, having finally grasped the situation—but it was already too late.
The attacker had moved faster than the words could reach.
A spear shot toward his neck.
Even though he followed his instincts and moved a beat faster, he couldn't avoid it completely.
Ssshhk—
Perhaps the man had just barely heard the beastman’s warning, because the spear stopped right before hitting him.
Still, it lightly grazed the edge of Jang Woo-hyun’s ear.
A drop of blood trickled down.
Jang Woo-hyun focused all of his senses on the man holding the spear.
“…”
If the spear had stopped a little later, he would have lost an ear.
And if he hadn’t reacted purely on instinct, it might not have been his ear—it could have been his neck.
The man who had suddenly appeared was that fast. So fast that even Jang Woo-hyun couldn’t react properly.
‘Can you even call that speed?’
It wasn’t just that the man was fast. It felt like he was moving in a different time stream altogether.
Jang Woo-hyun examined the man.
A middle-aged man with an unkempt appearance, clearly lacking self-care.
His hair was shaggy, and his beard was messy. His build was a bit chubby—hard to believe he was the one who had moved so swiftly earlier.
He looked like a drunkard who hadn’t exercised or trained a day in his life, with dull, unfocused eyes.
“Who are you?”
“That’s what I should be asking…”
Suddenly sensing something, Jang Woo-hyun cut himself off and stepped back nearly ten jang.
‘What the hell…’
It wasn’t killing intent or pressure—it was the man’s will and thoughts wrapping around him. It felt like hundreds, thousands of eyes were watching him from all directions.
“Hm. Your senses are sharp.”
“...!”
Hearing the voice from his side, Jang Woo-hyun moved again.
‘When did he—?’
He had clearly retreated about 30 meters.
He hadn’t seen the man move—hadn’t even sensed it—but the man was now standing right beside him.
Even though he had already spread his Qi senses widely, he hadn’t been able to detect the man’s movement.
Only after realizing it had happened did he find traces of the man’s presence in his Qi field.
Shocked, Jang Woo-hyun widened the distance again.
But—
“Your control is admirable. You still haven’t swung your sword. Or… is it that you simply can’t react?”
The man was already standing in front of him again.
This wasn’t just speed—it was as if he existed on an entirely different timeline.
Jang Woo-hyun locked eyes with him, hesitating whether to swing his sword or not.
The man’s cloudy eyes now gleamed with clarity.
Behind those shining eyes, Jang Woo-hyun could see the power the man was concealing.
Endless land.
The man’s power was like an expansive terrain with no visible end.
This wasn’t the kind of strength someone on the same level as Jang Woo-hyun could display.
The man had clearly surpassed another wall.
“You even saw through my level? Wow, this guy’s the real deal. So Bong-ah!”
The man turned his body and called out to an old man who had landed near the beastmen a bit later than he had.
“Looks like this guy’s the one who handled everything here. He’s not an enemy.”
Responding to the call, the old man replied to the man’s words.
Judging by their actions, it seemed the two of them were connected to the beastmen and had come to help them.
“We owe you one. I’m Pung So-bong. And this guy who threw the spear at you is Gwak Yu-chan.”
The late-arriving old man approached Jang Woo-hyun.
“I’m Jang Woo-hyun.”
“Thanks for stopping Twin-Winged Lotus. But… will you be okay? These guys aren’t easy to deal with if you’re not affiliated with someone.”
“Uh… I have one thing I want to ask.”
“What is it? Feel free to speak.”
“What exactly is Twin-Winged Lotus?”
“Huh? You don’t know Twin-Winged Lotus? Then why did you fight with them?”
“Well, I happened to run into some kids who asked for help, so I just helped the village people.”
“Kids?”
“Hold on a second. Where are you from? Are you affiliated with any sect?”
“I’m not part of any sect. I’m from the Central Plains. This isn’t the Central Plains, right?”
“The Central Plains? Wait, did you ascend?”
At that question, Jang Woo-hyun scratched his head and replied.
“Uh… What exactly is this ‘ascension’ thing?”
The two men furrowed their brows upon hearing his answer.