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chapter 93
Lee Hyun already knew that Kim Min-jung was waiting for the right timing.
And he also knew she had sensed Xu Changyou’s arrival before he did.
It wasn’t something she had told him over the radio—
it was just a feeling.
A resonance that had built up over a long time of fighting together…
In contrast, Xu Changyou had not yet grasped Kim Min-jung’s presence.
That was likely due to the limits of perception he could achieve through possession.
So there was only one question in Hyun’s mind.
“How can I keep his eyes blinded?”
He knew.
Kim Min-jung’s bullets were no longer ordinary bullets.
Ox Demon’s Slaughter (牛魔煞).
It was the killing intent left behind by none other than the Ox Demon King.
Even if Xu Changyou carried the Heavenly Jade Emperor as his inheritance, there was no way he could simply shrug that off.
That single shot might very well bring this entire battle to an end.
That was why Hyun had brought out the Thunder Fiend Ghosts—to make Xu focus entirely on him.
And at the same time, to seize the moment when Xu would be struck by the Ox Demon’s Slaughter and left reeling.
Thankfully, Kim Min-jung understood his intent perfectly.
The very instant Hyun moved to clash, she pulled the trigger.
She was just a step away from being a true Ranker—
her skill already no less than one.
Nothing stood in the bullet’s way.
Hyun had already blasted away all surrounding moisture with lightning strikes under the guise of threatening Xu,
so there was nothing for him to use in defense.
Which was why—
Puhhhhk!!
Xu Changyou’s left eye burst open.
It would have been better if the round had gone clean through the other side of his head,
but the Jade Emperor’s protection intercepted partway.
Still, it didn’t matter.
“Graaahhhhhh!! Kim Min-jung!!”
The unimaginable agony shook him.
The Ox Demon’s Slaughter embedded in the bullet spread rapidly.
At the same time, the curse inscriptions Hyun had pre-etched with lightning flared to life.
[Curse Inscriptions Activated: Curse Amplification, Corruption Surge, Endless Proliferation]
All to assist the Ox Demon’s Slaughter.
The thread connecting Zhang Baiyan’s body to Xu Changyou’s mind overheated in an instant.
Flaaash—!
And in that moment, Hyun had already dashed forward.
A speed like a flicker of light.
Blink.
A sub-Authority Hyun had long ago named himself.
“How’s it taste? Pretty damn deadly, isn’t it?”
“……You!!”
Xu Changyou’s twisted face brimmed with fury.
“You’ll find it even deadlier once your head’s cut off. Just a taste of the pain my brother went through.”
Shhhhk!!
Do-cheol’s fangs carved a fast diagonal slash.
“Because that’s exactly the future waiting for you.”
The axe-blade was compressed lightning incarnate, pure blue-white thunder gathered to the limit.
The sparks leaping upward threatened to ignite the air itself.
Xu gritted his teeth, just half a beat late, and drew his frost-forged sword.
It too condensed rings of absolute cold, coated in the Heavenly Jade Emperor’s authority.
Axe and sword collided mid-swing.
Ssshhhk!!
Blue-white and pure white brushed against each other.
Flaaash—!
Hyun and Xu had switched places in an instant.
“Damn…… it.”
Xu ground his teeth.
Puhhhk!
A long wound split across his torso.
As though torn apart by a beast’s fangs, ragged marks covered him.
Burnt flesh bled not a drop, vessels burst by shock filled his body with lightning scars.
“You…… haha. Yes. You’re still the same. This is who you are. Jang Lee Hyun. Jet. I forgot—you never fight battles you can’t win.”
Then, with his one remaining eye, he turned toward Hyun.
Though his lips curled in a grimace, his gaze burned with killing intent.
“So the next time we meet, I’ll come prepared.”
“No. You don’t need to.”
Hyun turned his back with surprising composure.
Golden flames gleamed in his pupils.
“Because next time, I’ll be the one coming to you. So wash your neck and wait.”
“Hahaha. That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day—”
Shhk—!
Xu’s words cut off.
His body could no longer endure the wounds and split apart, toppling backward.
Thud!
Zhang Baiyan’s body collapsed like a felled log.
Only then could Hyun finally breathe.
“Haa… haa…”
As he exhaled ragged breaths and dropped to one knee—
Crackkk!!
A blue lump swelled over his heart, spreading frost over half his body.
The Ring of Absolute Cold.
But this one carried a slightly different property than the one Hyun had once mastered.
Frost poison surged through his mana circuits, freezing portions solid.
If that had gone any deeper… my core would’ve been destroyed.
If not for Xu possessing Zhang Baiyan, and the Ox Demon’s Slaughter disrupting the circuits earlier,
the outcome could have been far worse…
[The Epic of the Snow Queen expresses displeasure, saying someone has tampered with her legacy.]
[The Epic of the Snow Queen asks if you are alright.]
Chhhk.
『Senior, are you okay?!』
Kim Min-jung’s urgent voice.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Hyun gave a wry smile as he brushed off his clothes and stood.
[Curse Immunity (SS) has activated, dispelling the Ring of Absolute Cold.]
Frost fell away in powdered shards.
I can’t rely on Curse Immunity alone. If the Ring of Cold hits my core before it activates, I could be finished.
The Jade Emperor’s dominion over elements was more threatening than he’d thought.
Nurtured under full support of the Chinese Committee…
he had become an opponent Hyun couldn’t underestimate.
But—
Actually, this is good.
Hyun smiled.
The higher you climb, the harder you’ll fall when I drag you back down, Changyou.
As though whispering to the friend not here,
From now on, you’re no longer the hunter. I am.
Surely Xu would feel that intent.
It’s me.
From now on, Hyun would be the one chasing him.
[Severe wounds have greatly increased Fatigue.]
[Fatigue: 81]
Hyun, still maintaining his authority, resumed walking.
The bitter taste of blood lingered at his lips.
But his task wasn’t finished.
Chhhk.
『In that condition, are you sure? Maybe I should—』
“No. This is my task. I’m the only one among us with Yang-attribute energy.”
『But still…』
“I said I’m fine. Just cover me.”
Chhhk.
『…Haa. You’re so stubborn. Fine. But if it gets too dangerous, you must get out.』
Kim Min-jung sighed heavily. Hyun only smiled quietly.
[Dungeon Collapse Imminent.]
[Warning! Volcano is destabilizing. Eruption imminent. Evacuate immediately.]
[Time until Volcanic Eruption]
[00:15:00]
[00:14:59]
……
Hyun’s pace quickened again—
Flaaash—!
Becoming lightning, he sped down into the crater.
[The Epic of Sahun watches you with anxious eyes.]
* * *
[00:06:47]
……
The Fire Spirit’s Core.
The inner dan left behind when the Three-Legged Crow (Samjok-o) died was not hard to find.
At the deepest point of the crater,
where the ley lines pulsed most violently with heat.
That was why Hyun had kept the Thunder Fiend Ghosts active—
the only way to withstand the lava’s heat.
He didn’t swim through the molten rock.
Instead, he constantly discharged lightning to carve out a path as he advanced.
And then—
Found it.
He discovered the corpse of the Samjok-o.
But calling it a mere crow was impossible.
Its body stretched over ten meters long.
Its wingspan, easily over twenty.
A true divine bird.
Hyun wondered what it must have looked like soaring across the skies in life.
[The Epic of Sahun gazes longingly at the Samjok-o.]
“Great Sage.”
At his call, Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and a pale-faced Pengma King appeared beside him.
Wukong no longer bore the form of a baby monkey,
but that of a man—
perhaps necessary to support the weakened Pengma King.
It was strange to see him caring for someone.
“…To think I’d make it all the way to Huozheng…”
The Pengma King stared at the corpse, trembling,
as if swallowing down a storm of emotions within.
「Kakaka! Sister-in-law, what did I say? Trust in our Lord Apostle and everything works out!」
Sha Wujing, still in his little turtle form, laughed heartily atop Wukong’s head,
puffing his chest as though he’d done it all himself.
「I told you! Blessed are those who believe!」
“…Indeed. Brother Sha was right.”
The Pengma King nodded and turned to Hyun.
“…So you are this man’s apostle.”
“Only temporarily, but yes. It’s an honor to meet you, Great Sage Equal to Heaven. I am Jang Lee Hyun.”
「No, sister-in-law! Joint apostle!」
“Shut it! Stop trying to stake a claim on what’s mine, you punk!”
Hyun’s polite greeting was drowned out by Wujing and Wukong bickering.
The Pengma King spoke.
“I don’t know how to repay this. Without you, I would already be…”
“I didn’t do this for repayment. Please don’t trouble yourself.”
“But—”
“If it really weighs on you, think of it later. For now, you must absorb Huozheng. Time is short.”
The Pengma King nodded heavily.
“Yes. That comes first.”
“And also…”
“…?”
She paused midway to the corpse.
Hyun smirked.
“If later you can’t think of any suitable repayment, there is always the convenient system of ‘temporary apostleship.’ I’d ask you to consider it.”
“…!?”
“You brat!!”
「Kakakaka!! Yes, that’s our Apostle! Can’t ever be satisfied unless he hoards everything for himself! Truth be told, just me and Senior weren’t enough to fill the vast bowl that is our Apostle’s greatness!」
The Pengma King looked bewildered,
Wukong looked like he’d seen the most absurd thing,
and Wujing laughed so hard he clutched his belly.
And then—
Flick.
The Pengma King suddenly nodded with a smile.
“Alright. I’ll consider it positively. The way you said it makes my heart feel lighter.”
With a relieved expression, she stepped toward the Samjok-o.
As her hand reached out—
Flaaash!
The corpse glowed red.
“The Samjok-o is the sun. To swallow its inner dan is to swallow the sun itself. Come. To the place of the new sun. I shall rekindle your extinguished flame.”
Light whirled into a vortex, collapsing into a single point.
A crimson jewel was born.
The Pengma King drew it into her hand with telekinesis and placed it in her mouth.
Crunch!!
The jewel shattered between her teeth.
Rumbleee—!
[The Pengma King has absorbed Huozheng. The ember of the sun once held by the Samjok-o is now hers.]
[Volcanic activity halts.]
[All heat sources are absorbed into the Pengma King!]
The quake resumed—
not from eruption,
but from the flow of magma itself being pulled into her.
Not only the lava of the crater,
but the entire dungeon’s ley-line heat surged back into her,
reversing time itself to return to a new origin.
