Chapter 295

In the past, whenever Jae-Hyeok came to visit the lion statue, he followed the safest route possible.

Now, things were different. Jae-Hyeok led the group in a straight line toward the lion statue, cutting through several danger zones along the way.

“Is that hill moving?”

“That’s an ogre! Everyone, prepare for battle!”

The group encountered one monster after another. The panicking students and Jaegyeong employees were especially aggrieved.

"Kyaaaaak!”

“C-calm down! Fight with your weapons!”

“How do we fight such monsters?”

“......”

Each time, Jae-Hyeok watched from behind as the faculty members that Seol Su-Ah had brought confronted the monsters. Even when the monsters escaped the siege and reached the students, Jae-Hyeok remained indifferent.

“Fine, then. Since it’s come to this—fight!”

“They’re already injured. We can handle them!”

“This is nothing compared to Eldest Miss Kang’s hellish training. Kill!”

The students had trained at the Kang mansion throughout their vacation.

Kang Hyeon-Ah was several times more ruthless than Jae-Hyeok. The children who had undergone special training under her were far more skilled than they realized.

Kuaaaaak!

Having trained under Kang Hyeon-Ah, the youths were several times more skilled in battle than they’d realized. The monsters were nearly twice their level but couldn’t withstand their coordinated assault and soon crumbled to gray ash.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

The youths leveled-up non-stop and were constantly enveloped in pillars of light.

The Thunder Emperor watched with increasing interest. As far as he knew, Lion’s Castle was the only gate where monsters could respawn within minutes of dying. In most other gates, monsters wouldn’t even respawn before the gate was cleared.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The monsters in Pearl Island respawn just like a game. This has to be the single best location for grinding levels. No wonder everyone covets it.

The Thunder Emperor finally understood why the Yaksha had been willing to offend the world for the sake of keeping Lion's Castle.

The Thunder Emperor closed his eyes and inhaled the forest air as the clang of steel and the wails of monsters chimed in his ears.

Well done, Yaksha...

White Night Seol, the Kang siblings, and Lion’s Castle—any one of these was a worthy legacy, yet the Yaksha had fathered them all, if not literally then metaphorically.

Kang Dae-Guk, even at rest, you continue to amaze me.

At rest...

Medical professionals counted the Yaksha as already dead, yet the Thunder Emperor had never thought that way. After all, he’d experienced the Yaksha’s transcendent power firsthand.

A shattered dantian?

What if he reassembled it through sheer willpower?

Brain-death?

Given that man’s profound connection to mana, who’s to say what miracles would arise once his dantian was restored?

The Thunder Emperor never gave up hope. He’d always believed his rival would return from the brink.

But now, he had more than just belief on his side.

The Thunder Emperor pressed a hand to his chest as he opened his eyes.

With the Firebird’s Essence in my possession, Yaksha, your return is only a matter of time.

Of this, the Thunder Emperor had no doubt—after all, before the power of the Firebird’s Essence, even the notorious Magic Stone Disease, responsible for claiming tens of thousands of lives over the past decades, had been cured with just a few wisps of vital energy converted from his mana.

Moreover, the Firebird’s Essence could even absorb mana from slain enemies in proportion to the possessor’s contribution to the kill.

At first glance, accumulating enough vital energy to revive the Yaksha seemed like a piece of cake.

However, even divine treasures followed the rules of energy conservation. Take Wilhelm’s death, for example: The System calculated his kill contribution as 3%, so the remaining 97% naturally fell to Jae-Hyeok. This suggested that the Firebird’s Essence had absorbed and converted 97% of Wilhelm’s mana into vital energy, a veritable ocean’s worth. Yet after healing him and, in particular, repairing his dantian, the Firebird’s Essence was already back on Empty.

It was apparent to the Thunder Emperor that healing transcendent-level players was costly.

Wait for me, Yaksha.

No matter how long it takes... You still owe me a damn rematch.

The Thunder Emperor’s first and only defeat had come at the hands of the Yaksha, so the Yaksha naturally couldn’t escape a rematch.

Over the years, the Thunder Emperor had searched high and low for ways to heal the Yaksha for this very purpose—even becoming obsessed with Reinhardt, convinced it held the secrets to higher-tier elixirs.

The Thunder Emperor smiled and shook his head.

In the end, I actually found the Yaksha’s cure on Earth... No, I was gifted it.

Having been granted a second life, the Thunder Emperor’s resolve to revive the Yaksha was stronger than ever.

I will revive you, Yaksha. If not for the sake of our rematch, then for the sake of my debt to your son.

......

The group arrived at the ruined castle grounds and soon stepped onto a cracked, mossridden stage.

Why this place?

The Thunder Emperor tilted his head. The stage was decrepit, and on the left wall, the stone arch that opened onto the stage was even worse—curtained in vines and half collapsed. Only the lion statue adorning the top of the gate was shiny, without any moss...

I don’t sense anything special.

The Thunder Emperor was full of doubts. Still, he remained silent. Jae-Hyeok wasn’t the sort to waste time, and he wasn’t the sort to ask pointless questions. Since they’d arrived, the purpose would reveal itself.

The Thunder Emperor watched with a calm heart as Jae-Hyeok approached the lion statue.

The Thunder Emperor had never trusted anyone as completely as he did Jae-Hyeok. In fact, it was a bit of a strange feeling, but it didn’t feel bad.

Meanwhile—

Hah.

Bellona and the others clicked their tongues.

Two National Treasures, the Thunder Emperor and White Night, oogled Jae-Hyeok and the ruined stone arch before him as if it were the most interesting thing.

It was one thing for the Thunder Emperor to follow Jae-Hyeok out here without questioning it. After all, Bellona and the other American players knew of his eccentric personality.

But White Night?

According to the American Association’s information network, she was as cold as ice and said to manage her schedule down to the second. Yet from beginning to end, rather than annoyed or doubtful, White Night seemed... happy?

The smile never left her face, and she’d spent most of the journey here following behind Jae-Hyeok, staring at the back of Jae-Hyeok’s head...

Indeed.

Bellona and the other Americans rolled their eyes from White Night to Jae-Hyeok, then sighed; had he been American, perhaps they would’ve felt the same.

Just as they were thinking this, Jae-Hyeok clapped his hands, and the players following White Night flipped over the large sacks they were carrying.

Precisely a thousand arcane swords clattered to the ground. No, not swords: hwandos, the Kang family’s weapon of choice.

Everyone exchanged confused glances.

***

Jae-Hyeok scanned the crowd and inwardly nodded.

The Thunder Emperor and Bellona’s group of American players; Seol Su-Ah and the teachers, professors, and captains of Lion’s Castle; Park Chang-Cheon and all the members of the Guardian Guild; Shinra Kyeong and the elites of his family; Jang Baek-San, President of the Korean Association; the employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals; the students of Lion’s Castle; and his sister, Kang Hyeon-Ah.

In total, there were eight hundred people gathered.

“Brother Seong-Hyeon.”

“Yes.”

Cho Seong-Hyeon stepped from the crowd and moved to stand by Jae-Hyeok’s side.

“Hoh?”

The Thunder Emperor watched with interest.

With the Thunder Emperor’s Insight, he could naturally tell Cho Seong-Hyeon’s energy was weak, reaching only C- or D-class at the most. Yet even still, there was an admirable economy to his movements. His movements were also perfectly synced to his breathing, further maximizing his energy efficiency.

With combat talent like that, he could quickly raise his level if he put his mind to it.

Jae-Hyeok gestured, and Cho Seong-Hyeon slipped into a stance, holding the blade in reverse-grip before his eyes. The watching Korean players recognized his stance: it was a signature of the Kang family’s sword arts.

“I hold the abilities of everyone here in the highest regard.” Jae-Hyeok scanned the crowd one by one as he spoke. Earlier today, when the commotion broke out at his mansion, they had all rushed over at the fastest speed. Not only that, they then followed him out here, to the middle of nowhere, simply because he’d asked them to.

They were grateful people.

Jae-Hyeok continued, “Today, I’m putting my trust in you. So please watch and follow Seong-Hyeon’s ceremonial drill. You will be able to do it with your skills.”

The moment Jae-Hyeok finished speaking, Cho Seong-Hyeon began executing the Kang family’s ceremonial drill.

His sword swished violently around him, yet not a single strand of hair swayed.

“W-what? How do we imitate this?”

“Why do we have to do it in the first place?”

The students openly grumbled.

Only Da-Hee and Hae-Rin silently followed Cho Seong-Hyeon. However, their movements lacked the smooth stability of Cho Seong-Hyeon’s, and their hair swayed wildly about them.

“Breathing is important.”

Seol Su-Ah judged that the progress would be slow at this rate and began lecturing the others. As a disciple of the Yaksha, she’d naturallymastered the Kang family’s ceremonial drill. Her explanations were clear and deep, easy for the students to follow along.

“This... It’s martial arts?” As aces among American S-class players, Bellona and her companions swiftly deciphered the martial principles behind the sword dance.

“Indeed!” the faculty and captains of Lion’s Castle excitedly replied.

Meanwhile, the elites of the Shinra family expressed concern.

“Isn’t this the Kang family’s ceremonial drill?”

“Jae-Hyeok, is it really okay to teach this to outsiders?” Shinra Kyeong asked. Cho Seong-Hyeon moved slowly and exaggerated the transitions between each of the drill’s forms. Most of the students may have struggled to keep up, but the active players wouldn’t. For them, it had to be like reading an open book.

“Kang Jae-Hyeok, what are you doing?” The Thunder Emperor’s thoughts were similar to Shinra Kyeong’s. “What benefit is there for you to leak the Kang family’s martial arts to us? If anyone has a bad heart, it could cause great harm to the Kang family.”

How to hold a sword, how to manage their breathing, how to take steps, how to direct mana... The ceremonial drill contained the essence of the Kang family’s martial arts, and that included its flaws. Were it spread to Jae-Hyeok’s enemies, it could spell disaster for the Kang family’s heritage.

The Thunder Emperor thought of the worst-case scenario, but Jae-Hyeok only smiled.

“It’s okay. Even if that happens, it’ll be an opportunity to learn and grow.”

To the Kang family, the study of martial arts was a dynamic practice, something to be stress-tested and evolved when broken. According to the Kang family’s precepts, only in this way could a technique reach the peak.

The Thunder Emperor blinked, then barked a laugh. “Jae-Hyeok, you're even more arrogant than me. Good! I’ll definitely come up with a counter and flatten that ego of yours!”

Shinra Kyeong’s eyes also gleamed competitively, and he turned back to Cho Seong-Hyeon with laser-like focus.

Following the Thunder Emperor’s laughter, the atmosphere lightened. The shouts and cries of others followed, as people studied the drill and discovered unique insights one after another.

“Haap!”

“Oh! You can channel mana in this way...!”

-Gruk!

Grururk!

Do-Jin flew out of the treeline with two hundred orcs in tow.

“Hahaha!

I am the king of the orcs!”

“The hell?” The Thunder Emperor lowered his sword and gawked. “Who is that? Why are orcs following him?”

Jae-Hyeok’s ears turned red. “

Uh

...who knows...”

In the company of one of Earth’s peak National Treasures, even he knew how to feel shame.

......

The lion statue watched the situation.