After Mok In-gwang joined the fight, the battle only lasted for a short time.
Thanks to this, Ha Seung-hoon was able to gain more experience in a real-life battle against a strong opponent, but unfortunately, it didn't last long.
"Keeuugh! That darned old man..."
"Tsk, tsk. I always told you to maintain your breathing. Since you didn't listen to me and were swayed by madness again, you ended up in this state, didn't you? How will a weakling like you ever become useful if you're this foolish?"
"How can you compare a human like me to a yokai's body... No, even more than that, is that what you say to a disciple whose body is about to fall apart... Kuhuk!"
"Ahem! Your breathing is becoming unsteady again, isn't it? If you just properly listen to your master, you'll be able to shake off an injury like that without a problem. Although it has become quite faint over the generations, there is definitely yokai blood flowing through your veins."
"Ugh, you Old dog. One day, I will definitely..."
"Hahaha! See? You can do it, can't you? With this kind of regenerative power, you'll be able to get up in no time."
Mok In-gwang was sprawled on the ground, twitching like a rag, with his limbs twisted and his internal organs damaged, his nose and mouth bleeding. He was a mess.
Ha Seung-hoon watched the old man, who was standing in front of him with one hand behind his back and stroking his beard, his eyes shining.
'The Rakshasa King, one of the Golden Crow Island's leadership. He was a key figure in the faction made up of yokai other than the Dragon-kind, right? He's someone Horus has exchanged greetings with, but...'
However, since Horus's connections were so heavily concentrated on the dragons, they had never had a personal conversation. After all, as long as he was officially the Yellow Dragon, he had no choice but to be at the center of the faction led by dragons. Of course, since the factions had gone through a difficult time together, they weren't at odds with each other, but it was natural for there to be a distinction between close groups and distant groups, even within the same class.
Furthermore, didn't the Rakshasa King refuse to participate in the final war to protect Golden island sect, which had become a masterless territory?
"Grrr-lek— Gruhng! Damn it, why...!"
Just then, his gaze turned to the side at the sound of heavy breathing.
There, a giant creature, which had been wildly rampaging like a natural disaster, was twitching like Mok In-gwang, looking equally in a terrible state.
"Rakshasa King! Why are you, who should be in the Phantom Realm, here? How did you get here so fast?!"
"Hah! Just think of it as bad luck. Well, even if I hadn't come, it would have been difficult for you to escape from Golden island sect grasp."
"Don't make me laugh! If I had just a little more power, if I had just a little more time to devour the child of the dragon and increase my strength, I would have certainly...!"
"Whatever you want to believe is up to you. You'll have plenty of time to think for yourself, since you'll be sealed in the Penitence Cave for the next thousand years."
"Kuhk, no. I can't end it like this!"
Dool struggled fiercely to get away, twisting his body, which had slowly begun to regenerate. But his resistance was futile the moment the old man opened the lid of a gourd he took from his waist.
"Ugh, ughhhh—! Nooooo—!"
His body was stretched out and swallowed by the gourd as if by a black hole. A grotesque scream followed and only ended completely when the lid was closed again.
'...Incredible.'
Ha Seung-hoon watched the old man, the Rakshasa King, who calmly fastened the sealed gourd back onto his waist, and inwardly marveled. He had joined the fight at the moment Ha Seung-hoon thought he had reached his limit and instantly turned the situation around. The difference in their power was so starkly obvious, even though the opponent was also a great yokai.
'Well, as one of the leadership, he's not going to be weak. Was sending Mok In-gwang first, a part of his training?'
His gaze shifted to the man who was still twitching on the ground and cursing. He could tell just by looking at him. The madness that had been constantly circulating in his body, which was on the verge of life and death, was not only restoring his damaged body but also regenerating it to be even stronger.
'It's a similar method to Harley's. Of course, since there's a fundamental difference in their foundations, there's no comparison in terms of efficiency.'
Furthermore, the fact that he, who only had a small amount of yokai blood, survived a head-on fight against a clearly superior being like a great yokai must have helped him train a mind that was previously difficult to control due to his madness. And this would become a necessary foundation for him to eventually break through the wall of the Profound Realm.
'Of course, I also grew from this fight.'
He took a deep breath and looked into his own mind.
-Name: Ha Seung-hoon
-Common Traits: Mind Hub, Persona, Great Mind, Keen Insight, Xenoglossy, Subspace Storage, Limit Break, Mimicry
-Individual Traits: Void-Spirit Body, Heavenly Dragon God Skill, Ten Thousand Streams Returning to One, Martial Zenith, Versatile, Introduction to General Medicine, Field Cooking, Introduction to Formations, Foraging
-Special Notes: Due to a long-term change in recognition, the name was changed from 'Hugo' to 'Ha Seung-hoon'. Because of Martial Zenith, various Martial Principles can be harmoniously integrated more naturally. All actions receive an additional growth bonus under the influence of the Elixir of Growth and the Dragon God's blessing.
[-Translator Notes: After 10-20 chapters, these skills are gonna be enclosed in brackets. Worry not]
Amidst the various traits he had acquired during his time in the martial world, a new skill, Martial Zenith, clearly made its presence known. He instinctively felt that the moment he could properly handle this, he would break through the wall of Transcendence.
'It's a shame I couldn't break through the wall right away, but I can't help it.'
He gained a lot from this battle. In the beginning of the fight, he could barely survive by using all his abilities, but in the latter half, he was able to a certain extent respond to the attacks imbued with the powerful yokai energy of the great yokai. To expect to reach the Profound Realm from just this one fight would be greedy. Rather, having all the preparations to reach Transcendence at any time was a better result than he had expected.
This meant that the role of the Black Dragon Secret Book was that much more significant.
"Young Master Ha!"
Just as he was organizing his thoughts, a fresh scent of flowers filled the air, and a soft, warm body was in his arms.
"You're safe! Oh, thank goodness! Because of me, you again..."
Without a moment to respond, the small woman who had hugged him tightly looked up at him, sobbing. She had been so anxious that even though the fight itself wasn't very long, she was still trembling.
'No, maybe the problem is that too much happened in such a short amount of time.'
Ha Seung-hoon smiled wryly and patted her on the shoulder.
"Didn't I tell you I would be okay? There's no way Golden island sect would stand by and do nothing if the child of the dragon was kidnapped right in their front yard. It was just a matter of holding out for a little while until help arrived."
"But... but you're hurt!"
Her face crumpled again as she gently stroked Ha Seung-hoon's battered body and poured her divine power into him. Due to the regenerative effects of his Void-Spirit Body, most of his injuries had already healed, but his torn clothes and the large bloodstains were enough to show how much pain he must have felt.
"...I'm indebted to you again."
She watched the traces of the fierce battle and whispered softly.
This time, same as before, she was kidnapped just for being the "child of the dragon" and rescued with his help, so her emotions were even more intense.
If not for him, she wouldn't even be alive today.
"Young Master Ha, I..."
She bit her lip for a moment, then looked up at him with eyes wet with emotion. His face was dirty with sweat and dust, but she didn't even notice.
Thump— Thump—
The sound of her heart beating so fiercely sounded like thunder. Suddenly conscious of it, her face flushed red. And as she took a deep breath and was about to speak again.
"Hey, Heavenly Dragon Swordsman. It's about time we headed back. Oh! And my master said he wants to have a quick chat."
Mok In-gwang, who had regained some control over his body, limped toward Ha Seung-hoon and tapped him on the shoulder. It was clear his attitude was much less reserved than before, as if he felt a sense of camaraderie from fighting a strong opponent together, or perhaps he had acknowledged his strength.
"And you, Jeongal Family's child, you too. Since there was this incident at the Moshan Sect, he wants to invite you and your companions to the main branch of Golden island sect in the Phantom Realm."
Since the Phantom Realm existed on the other side of this world, the entry and exit locations didn't matter much, but it was easier to travel through the Moshan Sect, which was designated as the front gate. He continued, explaining that this was not a privilege given to just anyone.
He chuckled.
"I'm jealous. I really am. I only just got permission to enter recently. It seems my master thinks highly of you."
"That's an honor. But are you okay? Shouldn't you be resting..."
"Ugh, this is nothing. I'm fine, I'm fine."
Mok In-gwang grinned and shrugged at Ha Seung-hoon's concerned words.
"..."
In contrast, Jeongal Hyemi, her eyes narrowing at the sudden interruption that shattered the mood, glared at him silently. Being a wise and sharp woman, she could immediately understand the situation by looking at the old man far away, who was shaking his head with a wry smile, and Mok In-gwang, who was grinning. She twitched her lips for a moment, then approached him with a radiant smile.
"Great Hero Mok, you still look very uncomfortable. I'll take a look at you. My Dragon Spell has the power to heal injuries, you know."
"...Hmm? Oh, well, I'd appreciate that."
"I feel terrible seeing you so hurt after coming all this way to help. Come on, this way."
"Well, alright. Then go ahead and... Agh!"
The divine power that entered his body activated his regenerative abilities at a level dozens of times higher than normal. As a result, the cells throughout his body convulsed so violently that it was visible to the naked eye. Normally, a process to reduce the pain would be added, but...
"Oh, if you sacrifice stability for maximum efficiency, there's a slight side effect of it being a little painful... But, for a great man like you, it won't matter, right? I'll just go with the maximum output at once?"
"Keeeuugh— you, you darned..."
He, who was barely standing on his shattered body, eventually fell to the ground and twitched like a bird hit by a slingshot.
In hindsight, the effect was greater. His body, which could definitely be called human despite having a small amount of yokai blood from his ancestor, began to heal at an abnormal rate.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I told you to just be still. When will you fix that wicked habit of yours?"
The Rakshasa King, who was standing far away, clucked his tongue softly and stroked his luxurious beard, looking displeased at his pitiful disciple who had passed out after foaming at the mouth.
"Hmm, but if he recovers this quickly, he'll be able to resume his training right away. There's no need to reduce the intensity just because he was injured. Hahahaha!"
He then smiled in satisfaction and nodded his head greatly. It should be noted that the Rakshasa faction, a part of the yokai affiliated with Golden island sect, once had such a bad reputation that they were called "demons."
Just because Dool was captured and sealed didn't mean that this incident was completely over. It made Golden island sect realize that there was a lot of work to be done due to his impulsive actions.
'Come to think of it, it wasn't just a problem that humans had to worry about from the beginning.'
Harmony was a great undertaking that everyone had to achieve together. Now that they had just begun the world's reconstruction, it was necessary to take precautions to prevent another problem from recurring.
'Horus has a considerable say in Golden island sect. I can use that to control the yokai's actions to some extent.'
Currently, most of the surviving yokai are part of the largest yokai faction, Golden island sect, but this system would not last long. Among them, like Dool, there were many who were forced to join under one umbrella for survival. Now that they had secured safety by eliminating the demonic cult. , it was a foregone conclusion that those who no longer needed to be cautious would start acting as they pleased.
'Everyone is still on edge. If a major incident were to happen right now...'
They had taken various measures to minimize conflict, but nothing in the world was perfect. If even a small friction were to reignite the flames of war, the situation would quickly spiral out of control.
'I can't let that happen. I'm already busy with a lot of things to do in the future.'
The Ganghwan Realm was in the final stages, with the major events all wrapped up. As the Karma was being steadily harvested in a way that stabilized the world, there was no desire to complicate matters with new chaos. Therefore, Horus, with the help of the other Five Dragons, focused on reorganizing the system to prevent the world from becoming noisy and to stop the unbridled yokai from running wild.
Because he was so busy, he didn't even show his face when Ha Seung-hoon's party was invited to Golden island sect. After all, he was grasping the situation in real-time through the eyes of one of the people involved.
<>
That was why he was even more flustered by the sudden message that appeared before his eyes.
"Huh? Suddenly?"
The day, when Ha Seung-hoon, the Avatar, and his companions, including the child of the dragon, Jeongal Hyemi, visited Golden island sect...
the special perk, he had completely forgotten about,
since he didn't know how to use it after completing the 'Final Yellow Dragon' Achievement,
finally began to reveal its presence.