Sovereign of the Infinite Clones [Novel] Chapter 444

My Alter Ego’S Path To Greatness Chapter 444

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The Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero (2)

At the sight of the familiar demon that had appeared right before his eyes, Ha Seunghoon’s expression hardened.

When Hally had visited Geumo Island, they had been the ones to pick a fight with him first. And now, they had the audacity to cause trouble so openly within the territory of the Mount Mao Sect!

Such an act could absolutely not be tolerated at a time when harmony was being emphasized for the sake of rebuilding the world.

‘If I had it my way, I’d call Hally here right now and beat the hell out of him, but…’

After enveloping Jegal Hyemi, who was in his arms, in his inner energy and tossing her toward the rear, he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword.

At the same time, scorching flames surged from his grasp.

Before long, the flames transformed into a fire dragon, winding around the blade and rapidly growing in size in an instant.

Fwoosh—!
KABOOOOOOM!

The fiery qi, imbued with tremendous power through the strength of the 「Empty Spirit Physique」.

It surged forward and swallowed the great demon charging toward him head-on.

[You insolent wretch! How dare a lowly bug like you—!]

Although there was a clear difference in their levels, an attack utilizing the 「Heavenly Dragon Divine Art」 was by no means something to be underestimated.

After all, this was a martial art he had mastered through the blessing of the Dragon God, one that could easily be counted among the very best martial arts in the entire Ganghwan Realm.

Hadn’t he even managed to cut off one of the arms of the Ghost Sword Demon Emperor, a Hyeongyeong expert, by taking advantage of an opening while he was fighting the Sword Saint?

[You’ve accomplished a little and received some praise from those around you, and now you think you’re invincible! At this level, you are nowhere near strong enough to face me!]

But, in other words, that was all it amounted to.

An attack like that might be enough to halt Taotie’s advance for a moment, but it could never inflict serious damage upon the great demon.

[GRRRAAAAAAUGH—!]

A thunderous roar reverberated through the surroundings as a violent torrent of qi erupted.

The fiery qi that had been devouring the massive body was mercilessly torn apart.

Then, as the embers scattered and vanished into nothingness, Ha Seunghoon’s lips twisted into a wry smile.

‘An absurd resistance to fiery qi. And on top of that, regenerative abilities that allow him to recover from injuries almost instantly… At this point, I could consider him a lesser version of Hally.’

Taotie was a martial-arts-type great demon who had fought during the final war.

Although he had once been utterly crushed by Hally, who surpassed him in every regard, and had been completely helpless against him, his raw combat power was still nothing to scoff at.

With overwhelming durability and sheer physical size, he was in some ways even more troublesome than a human Hyeongyeong expert of the same realm.

‘I’m still only at the Hwagyeong level. This isn’t an opponent I can handle. If I fought him head-on, I’d probably collapse before long. But…’

He tightened his grip on his sword and stared straight ahead.

Hadn’t he realized it not long ago?

That wishing to become truly strong while wanting everything to remain easy was nothing more than foolishness.

‘Especially if I want to break through the walls of martial arts.’

This was a challenge for him as well.

Not breaking through his limits by avoiding the side effects through the [Avatar] trait as he had done until now, but by honing himself through cultivation and reaching transcendence through his own strength.

Considering that most of the tremendous amount of mental power he had accumulated was being consumed to maintain the Avatars’ levels, this could no longer be considered a choice.

It was a necessity.

Swaaaaaahhh—

At that moment, as though encouraging his resolve, a familiar energy he had felt once before seeped into his body.

A power that only one person in this world could properly wield.

‘The Dragon God’s divine power?’

He glanced toward the rear and flashed a grin.

In this life-or-death situation, his body became intensely invigorated.

At the same time, his reason grew ice-cold, allowing him to perceive every detail of his surroundings with perfect clarity.

His condition was at its peak.

The words of the ‘Black Dragon Codex’ that had remained dormant deep within him, still not fully organized, began to pierce through his mind and assert their presence.

“Phew. Good. With this much…”

He didn’t even have time to catch his breath again.

A vicious hand came crashing down, tearing through the air.

Speed, Illusion, Transformation.

His body shot upward along Taotie’s arm like a petal fluttering in the wind.

The wind dragon that had been swirling around his feet condensed at the tip of his sword.

Slaaash—

But the razor-sharp sword strike that followed merely left a long gash across the great demon’s neck.

Even that wound completely regenerated in the blink of an eye.

The only evidence that an attack had even landed was the small amount of blood that had seeped out when the thick hide was cut.

[You damn insect!]

Yet even that was enough to enrage Taotie.

That worthless human whom he had regarded as beneath notice had actually dared to wound his body!

How could he simply let that go?

[I will kill you without fail!]

With his pride wounded, the Dragon’s Child was no longer even on his mind.

He completely abandoned his original plan of accomplishing his objective and leaving this place as quickly as possible, instead allowing his rage to explode.

All so he could tear that insignificant human apart.

BOOM—!

“Guh!”

Ha Seunghoon’s body was struck by the fingers that moved like lightning and slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater.

Had he not surrounded himself with an earth dragon just before impact to disperse the force, things would not have ended with merely this much damage.

But there was no time to catch his breath.

RUMBLEEEE—

Taotie’s stomp came crashing down upon the spot he had hurriedly fled from, as though intending to crush everything beneath it.

The cracked ground collapsed, triggering a massive landslide that swept through the surrounding area.

Even amid the deafening roar of the collapsing mountain, savage explosions continued to ring out one after another.

“Master Ha…!”

As the shockwaves generated by the collision of enormous quantities of qi relentlessly swept through the area, Jegal Hyemi, who had used sorcery to escape, bit her lip and stared toward the source.

‘Maybe I should have just stayed put. If only I hadn’t asked for help, Master Ha wouldn’t have…’

The only reason Ha Seunghoon had managed to arrive in time and rescue her was entirely thanks to the dragon sorcery she had used.

Drawing upon her experience of being kidnapped and imprisoned by the Demonic Cult in the past, she had calmly completed the mind-speech technique and communicated with him while relaying her exact location in real time.

‘If only I were a little more capable. Then I wouldn’t have needed to ask for help. I could have escaped on my own!’

But no matter how much of a martial-combat specialist Taotie was, he was still a being known as a great demon.

Perhaps secretly maintaining communication was one thing, but there was no way such a high-level sorcery as spatial teleportation could work that easily against him.

If his attention hadn’t been disrupted by that perfectly timed surprise attack earlier, she would never have been able to escape his grasp.

Rumble—

Another violent aftershock swept in from the center of the landslide.

At its heart, dragons of various colors rose magnificently into the sky, filling the surroundings with dazzling displays.

Each one was a concentrated manifestation of destruction capable of blowing away an entire mountain peak, yet unfortunately, the fiery qi was shattered and scattered the moment it appeared, over and over again.

‘The only thing I can do right now is…’

Jegal Hyemi clasped both hands together and squeezed her eyes shut.

With no particular talents besides sorcery, joining that battle would only get in his way.

The best thing she could do now was pray and lend him strength through her blessing so that he could endure for as long as possible.

‘With a demon rampaging this loudly, Geumo Island won’t just sit around either. If he can only hold out until those dragons I saw back then arrive…!’

Just then, she felt a huge chunk of her strength being drained through her connection with Ha Seunghoon, and her eyes flew open.

At that very moment, his body, having taken a direct hit, was buried in a cliff as chunks of rock came crashing down around him.

‘No!’

The blessing had absorbed a considerable portion of the impact, so he had not yet reached the point where he was incapable of continuing the fight.

She knew that.

But watching him like this, she couldn’t help but lose heart.

“Maybe… if I simply went with that demon willingly…”

There was no way he could defeat that great demon in his current state.

At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

So rather than continuing to resist pointlessly and losing his life, perhaps it would be better for her to follow the demon and wait until Geumo Island came to rescue her…

“Heh, I’d advise against that.”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice drifted into her ears, cutting through her thoughts.

“That bastard would rather eat you right away than risk having his sacrifice stolen from him again.”

“Huh?!”

Startled, she spun around and looked at the newcomer warily.

A middle-aged man stood a few paces away with his arms crossed.

Even as she stared at him, he casually gazed toward the source of the battle.

‘How did I not sense his presence? Who is he?’

Despite the situation, she didn’t let down her guard.

Against an opponent of a certain caliber—or even someone who had reached Transcendent—she should have been able to sense at least a trace of their presence.

“…Impressive. They call him the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, was it? I heard he’s still in his twenties, yet he’s already facing a wall.”

The man muttered quietly.

His voice was calm, but Jegal Hyemi could tell.

Beneath it lay an unmistakable amount of jealousy.

Her wariness deepened even further.

“Heh heh heh— This fool still hasn’t managed to cast off his worldly attachments.”

“Ghaak!”

At the same time as another voice rang out, the man who had appeared first grabbed his head.

“You damn old man…!”

“Now, now. Judging by the way you speak to your master, you still have a long way to go before you’ve been properly corrected.”

“Grrrgh—!”

Jegal Hyemi stared at the newly arrived figure in bewilderment.

An old man with an otherworldly, sage-like appearance, dressed in a worn-out Taoist robe with a long beard flowing down his chest.

He merely wore a benevolent smile as he gently stroked his beard, yet the middle-aged man continued writhing in pain, grinding his teeth furiously.

“You needn’t worry so much, child. That young man isn’t going to fall so easily.”

Noticing that her gaze had turned toward him, the old man smiled gently and slowly nodded.

“But more importantly, he’s truly remarkable. Just how is something like that possible? Isn’t he completely defying the laws of this world?”

He then turned his gaze back toward the battlefield and let out an admiring exclamation.

Wonder and curiosity shimmered intensely in his wrinkled eyes.

“Ugh, what do you mean? It certainly is impressive for someone that young to have reached that level, but…”

“Hohohoo! This foolish disciple of mine has eyes, yet he cannot see.”

The middle-aged man, clutching his head and grimacing, replied curtly.

But the old man merely continued watching the battle, repeatedly sighing in admiration.

Because he could see it clearly.

Through the body of that young man known as the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, countless principles of martial arts that did not belong to this world were intertwining and being forged into a single, coherent system.

If that weren’t the case, there was no way he could have endured against a great demon for this long.

The old man’s realm was unquestionably far higher, yet even though he could plainly see what was happening, he couldn’t comprehend the principles behind it.

An attack that should have been impossible to block was slipping harmlessly past him, while a counterattack that should never have worked had somehow pierced through the thick hide.

His movements, wreathed in dragons, were far beyond the common sense of this world, while even the paths of his sword strikes had entered a realm beyond the old man’s understanding.

‘And his growth is abnormally fast. This is beyond something that can simply be dismissed as talent. Is he using life-and-death battles as nourishment for his growth?’

He was being overwhelmed solely because the sheer amount of power he possessed was at an absolute disadvantage.

In truth, considering the difference in their overall capabilities, it was almost miraculous that he was able to hold out at all.

And the person who felt that most keenly was not the old man watching from outside.

It was Taotie himself, who was facing him directly.

“That’s why he’s become so desperate to kill that young man.”

The old man clicked his tongue as he gazed at Taotie, whose expression was ferocious.

At first glance, the demon’s eyes seemed to contain nothing but rage.

But the old man could tell. There was also a faint trace of fear lurking within them.

Something he could not understand, despite having clashed with the young man several times.

Something he still could not comprehend, even now as their battle continued.

And that incomprehensible thing was growing stronger with every passing moment.

Naturally, Taotie was driven mad with desperation to crush it before it could fully blossom.

Because if that incomprehensible thing were allowed to bloom completely, what would happen to him was obvious.

“I’d like to give that young man a little more time, but I’m afraid we’ve reached the limit.”

The old man looked at Ha Seunghoon, who was barely holding on.

No matter how strangely he was enduring and attempting to grow stronger, there were limits to how long he could continue.

Taotie was a great demon notorious even on Geumo Island.

If this continued any longer, the young man’s talent would be crushed before it could fully blossom, exactly as Taotie intended.

“Disciple, go and lend him a hand. That young man is working so hard, after all. As his senior, you can’t just sit here and do nothing, can you? A life-and-death battle against a great demon isn’t an opportunity that comes around often.”

“…Are you insane, old man? I haven’t even broken through the wall yet, and you want me to challenge Taotie? Are you finally trying to get me killed?”

“Now, now! There you go again!”

“Uugh! Fine! I understand! I said I understand! Damn it! I must be crazy, going to that old man’s side of my own accord!”

In the end, the middle-aged man had no choice but to head toward the battlefield.

Jegal Hyemi, who had quietly been assessing the situation, watched him leave before her eyes began to shine.

Judging from what she had seen, it was clear that these people were also opposed to the great demon.

If so…

‘The Mount Mao Sect… No, they’re people who came from above them.’

After calmly catching her breath, she cautiously addressed the old man who remained beside her.

“Greetings, Elder. My name is Jegal Hyemi of the Jegal Family of Hubei. May I ask if you are someone who came from Geumo Island?”

“Oh?”

The Mount Mao Sect was practically the front gate of Geumo Island.

Since Taotie had caused such blatant trouble within their territory and then fled, it was hardly strange that pursuers had arrived so quickly.

“Heh heh, as expected, you are a perceptive child. It is true that I came from Geumo Island. I happened to be nearby because of my disciple and merely came across this situation by chance.”

However, now that he had encountered a problem, there was no intention of standing idly by.

His eyes gleamed as he slowly stroked his beard.

As an indescribable sense of pressure emanating from his body made her swallow nervously, he continued.

“I abandoned my name long ago, so I have no particular name to give you. Well, if I were to introduce myself by the title they use for me on Geumo Island…”

Jegal Hyemi’s eyes widened as she blinked repeatedly.

As the daughter of the Jegal Family, which—aside from the Mount Mao Sect—possessed the deepest knowledge of demons, she knew exactly what kind of existence the title that came from his lips referred to.

The Rakshasa King.

One of the leading figures of Geumo Island, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Five Dragons, gazed at the Dragon’s Child and smiled gently.

“Damn it! What the hell is going on all of a sudden?!”

Ha Seunghoon’s eyes flashed when he saw the man who had suddenly joined the battle.

He had been approaching his limit and was just about to consider stopping here and calling for reinforcements when the man entered the fray.

‘Mok In-gwang?’

It was a familiar face he had forgotten about ever since Hally left the Ganghwan Realm.

Of course, his arrival did not cause the situation to change dramatically.

Mok In-gwang, who had come to be known as the Mad Demon King, was still merely a martial artist standing at the pinnacle of Transcendent, having yet to break through the wall into Profound Realm.

But his assistance did give Ha Seunghoon a little more breathing room.

Enough, at least, to give him another opportunity to steady himself.

“AAARGH! You damn old man! Your disciple is going to die! I’m seriously going to die!”

Judging from the man’s words, it seemed that his master was nearby as well.

‘The demon who taught him the ‘Gwangje Simgyeol’?’

A demon who had taught Mok In-gwang a mental cultivation technique capable of controlling his madness, despite him being an orphan afflicted with uncontrollable insanity.

It seemed that as relations with Geumo Island had grown closer after the war, they had eventually found each other and formed a master-disciple bond.

‘I had completely forgotten about him, but it looks like he’s been doing pretty well on his own.’

He had been far too busy to pay much attention to him, but seeing someone who had once served under him doing well nevertheless filled him with a sense of warmth.

“Damn it! That rotten old man… One of these days, I’m going to kill him!”

It seemed that the madness that had subsided after the effects of Hally’s special physical therapy wore off had begun to resurface.

At the same time, in the Illusion Realm.

Having been moving hurriedly and preparing to cross space at any moment, the Yellow Dragon—Horus—crouched down once more.