Chapter 96
Normally, the academy serves as a tourist attraction, exploiting their presence to some extent.
But this time, things were different. But this time, it was a bit different.
All kinds of forces came suddenly.
Among them, the most outstanding individuals had gathered.
Those who could be called the faces of each force.
And at the same time, those were evaluated as the real strength of those forces.
They came from all over.
Because of one man.
“I want to meet Han Seojin.”
“What do you mean we at least had to have a connection to meet him…?”
Because of the man named Han Seojin.
“The one who caused an uproar in the martial arts world, Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor. There’s a high probability he’s related to him.”
“Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor? What a grandiose name. It’s ridiculous that the Veda has to recruit someone from the martial arts world.”
“Only the martial arts world?”
“Hasn’t your brute strength already been proven? We have countless gods, but in your martial arts or magical worlds, you barely have ten transcendents?”
That was indeed the case.
The martial arts and magic worlds were widely spread, but they could not properly use their power.
They managed to exert some strength in China and Korea.
But generally, all they could show off were their traits and their Unique Traits.
—Veda.
It was a place where those who polished the Unique Traits bestowed by the gods and became apostles of the gods gathered.
It was a place that worships traits and Unique Traits.
The people of Veda were, in a sense, like combat machines.
They didn’t have any accumulated power.
They delved into Unique Traits and traits.
Thus, they differed from martial artists and mages, who built internal power.
They awakened myth and didn’t have any self-accumulated power.
While martial arts and magic laid a foundation like a tower within the mind and built upon it, they trained their bodies and studied to understand mythology further.
That was the source of their strength.
The immensely strong ones draw power from those who were akin to transcendent beings from birth.
This created an unimaginably vast difference.
If they were of equal standing, the one who has awakened their myth was unconditionally superior.
That was why they despised magic and martial arts.
As if only the myth was the answer, they focused on awakening the power of the myth.
Therefore, they don’t like the Vedas.
‘I acknowledge that they are outstanding.’
Martial arts and magic.
Different though they may be, their power was also impressive.
However, they were incomparably weaker than those who had awakened their myths.
Therefore.
They didn’t like the fact that their gods cared about such trivial matters.
‘Why do they care about these fools?’
Although it was an order from the gods, it was sometimes incomprehensible.
However, it was an order from the gods.
The man had to follow their commands and make contact with Han Seojin faithfully.
And he had to take him to the gods of Veda to show his true worth.
But in the process, wouldn’t it be fine to trample on those martial arts and magic realm bastards a little?
“The martial world folks are indeed simple-minded.”
“Didn’t those simple-minded folks recently defeat the Vedas? I heard the sword saint’s single strike took down Vedas people like bamboo shoots after rain.”
“You dareㅡ!!”
“Now, everyone calm down. I don’t care if you come here or not.”
“Be quiet! I can tolerate other things, but not being insulted by an ignorant bastard from the martial arts realm…!”
Ha.
The principal gave a hollow laugh at the man’s dismissive remark.
「Quiet.」
Thud.
Everything around them grew heavier.
Those who were chattering fell to their knees in an instant.
Overwhelmed.
The principal, the transcendent, the ascended one, made everyone around her kneel just like that.
Simply because she was in a bad mood.
It was unreasonable.
Those gathered here were all the faces of their respective factions.
Their factions were powerful, and they were confident in their abilities.
They had the strength to handle an entire city alone.
However.
The transcendent could do as she pleased.
Those who existed alone.
Those who defied the laws of the world.
And.
Because they still performed their ‘duties’ nonetheless.
「Do my words not sound like words to you? You who haven’t even reached transcendence, barely reaching the High Realm, dare to ignore my words.」
Crack.
The man with his head buried closest to the ground was plunged into the earth.
He had awakened a myth.
However, her power was capable of shattering myths.
「The beings known as Vedas are truly arrogant. Do you think your so-called gods will protect you even here?」
“…Ugh.”
The man, buried in the ground, could do nothing.
「Especially when you’ve been so rude in my territory?」
Rude behavior.
The man had behaved rudely, but that did not justify such persecution.
But she was a transcendent.
A transcendent.
Or an ascendant. They were truly those who have transcended the laws of the stars.
Beings who can wage war against a nation alone and annihilate it.
Thus, they were transcendents.
“Alright, everyone, be quiet. Or else you’ll get spanked like him, okay?”
“Yes!”
“But are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
Peng Bosung and Sa Gonghwa were having a conversation.
“After all, we were almost kidnapped and brought here.”
“That’s right.”
It was quite sudden.
He, Han Seojin, brought them close to being kidnapped.
But Sa Gonghwa and Peng Bosung wanted it, too.
For a moment.
They tasted hell for a very brief moment, but the fruit was quite sweet.
‘But I left a letter, so it should be okay.’
They left a letter.
Han Seojin saw it and made a rather strange face.
「Can you really send this kind of letter?」
「What do you mean?」
「No, that letter to your father… Never mind, it’s not my concern.」
What exactly did he not like about it?
Sa Gonghwa recalled the content of the letter.
「Dear Father,
Are you watching, Father?
Your daughter, Sa Gonghwa, was now leaving for Korea with Professor Han Seojin.
I have many things I want to learn from him.
So please don’t look for me for a while.
Sincerely, Sa Gonghwa.」
“What could have been the problem?”
“…If we’re not careful, it could turn into an NTR video… Oh, never mind. It seems Professor Han Seojin was a bit sensitive. Bringing along Lady Sa Gonghwa from a prestigious family.”
“Do you think so?”
Sa Gonghwa glanced briefly at Peng Bosung.
“But if they’re looking for Professor Han Seojin, does that mean the secret has been revealed?”
“I believe so.”
The descendant of the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor.
Unless that fact were revealed, those men wouldn’t have come here.
“Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor. I’ve heard the name countless times, but I don’t really know much about him.”
“Because the records were obliterated.”
“Really?”
“I just know a few things. The Bloodshed of Mount Hua caused by Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor … that was actually initiated by our sect first.”
“Yes, so it’s properly recorded as the Bloodshed of Mount Hua…”
“However, as a martial artist, I understand. What Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor did was horrifically cruel.”
“…What?”
“What Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor did is simple. Yet it was an outrageous act. He defeated a member of the Peng family, known for their Taoist arts, using Taoist techniques. He defeated the Shandong Yue Clan, famous for their spear techniques, with spear techniques. He subdued the Namgoong Clan, renowned for their swordsmanship, with swordsmanship.”
“…What.”
Sa Gonghwa swallowed.
And she understood what the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor had done and why it was described as horrifically cruel.
The martial families.
Families built on martial arts.
He had brought each of them to their knees.
With the same martial arts, they specialized in.
It was said that the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor used his fists.
‘That’s…’
There was no greater insult.
In martial families, martial arts were their pride. To confront and shatter their pride in such a manner?
It was akin to declaring a life-or-death struggle.
“That was one of the reasons why the Namgoong Clan fell. They couldn’t accept the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor who made them kneel with his sword, fought him, and as a result, the Namgoong Clan vanished from China.”
The Martial Emperor’s actions were like those of an emperor.
He trampled others without regard for his disrespect.
That was quite…
“And so, as a result, the martial world lost time.”
In Peng Bosung’s opinion, the martial and magical worlds would kneel to Veda.
However, the magic world lost the Purple Tower Master.
The martial world also lost so many things.
Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor.
And the Bloodshed of Mount Hua.
And an incident that occurred before that.
‘A colossal event that could even envelop someone like me, the young lord of the Peng family.’
All he knew was that the damage was on a scale similar to the Bloodshed of Mount Hua.
“Anyway, it seems best to lie low for a while. It looks dangerous for the time being.”
“That’s true.”
Sa Gonghwa nodded.
As soon as I returned to the academy, the first person I went to see was the principal.
“Hello, hello. Long time no see.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, well, it feels good to be greeted after so long.”
The principal spun her chair around once and looked at me.
“It’s nothing else, just one reason I called you. For some reason, because of the incident that happened in the U.S. this time, you know that the transcendents or forces related to them are moving, right?”
“I saw it.”
And now those guys were moving in real-time.
To target me, that was.
“So it’s become a bit troublesome. Although they are all cooperating in their way, for now, there’s this strong sense that they absolutely do not want to cooperate on this matter.”
The principal added, “Well, still, as long as I’m here, they won’t be able to run wild.”
In other words, if she wasn’t around, they might run wild.
“Of course, that won’t happen, but I can’t forcefully tell you that. They have their pride, so they’ll try to take you away somehow, but this place is my domain.”
The principal showed a somewhat chilling smile.
“They claim their transcendents are true transcendents and don’t consider me, who transcended through Unique Traits, as a transcendent.”
How much of an incident does she want me to cause? That could be a bit troublesome.
‘But I still have to do it.’
I owe the principal.
Although I threatened her, she allocated an enormous budget to me and quickly elevated my authority.
She concentrated power in my hands and granted many of my requests.
‘So, I have to do something in return.’
However, there’s a problem.
Just before coming to the principal’s office, I sensed their presence.
‘I could feel the familiar ones from the Demonic Cult. Also, those who had their heads smashed by me.’
A familiar presence.
That was why it was troublesome.
Although they wouldn’t go on a rampage, they were difficult to deal with.
“So, what does our Professor Han Seojin want? If you’ve fallen for me…”
“That’s not it.”
“…”
“I think I need to lay low for a while.”
“What, what’s going on?”
“It’s just… something.”
“Then, I’ll protect our Professor Han Seojin. Hide behind me.”
The principal spoke, puffing out her chest.
For some reason, that sight was not very reassuring.
After all, it was someone who looked like a high school student speaking.
“Well—unless a transcendent being comes, which won’t happen.”
But they would not come here.
Because they had their duties.
Principal Kwon Sora’s voice was full of conviction.
“Whew, finally here.”
The entrance of the academy. A figure appeared.
Unkempt black hair. And blue, glowing eyes.
Black martial arts uniform.
An extremely beautiful figure.
So beautiful, it was hard to tell if they were male or female.
That figure looked at the academy with a bothered expression.
The full moon hung in the sky, aglow with an expectant light.
“Shall we start moving? There are other bothersome things as well……”
Crack.
“Well, as a transcendent, I should start with a greeting.”
Boom!!
Immediately, a tremendous roar spread in all directions.