Chapter 132
Tap.
Lee Seong-jun landed in the abandoned construction site, devoid of people, and looked around.
This is where Park Seon-woo and Tae Sang-cheon had clashed.
After confirming the traces of intense fighting visible everywhere, Lee Seong-jun spread his energy widely.
His status, which had explosively increased upon reaching the Manifestation Realm, quickly swept not only the abandoned construction site where he stood but also the roads and residential areas spread out in the vicinity.
[I heard hunters fought at that abandoned construction site over there. It's so scary, how can we live like this?]
[Hey Kim, did you hear the news that the culprit who caused the explosion escaped?!]
[Son! Stop playing games and come out to eat!]
From worried words and trivial chatter to the exhaust sounds of cars running on the road, TV sounds from living rooms, and even the cries of pets - he captured everything in the area without missing a single detail.
However, he couldn't sense any information or presence of Tae Sang-cheon, which was what he really wanted.
'Has he... completely left the area?'
Since he couldn't know exactly what Tae Sang-cheon's intentions were, it was inevitably difficult to find his location.
However, Lee Seong-jun's eyes were full of composure.
'...Found it.'
The moment Lee Seong-jun reached out his hand into the air, Park Seon-woo's blood stains that had hardened on the construction site floor rose into the air.
'Blood Tracing Technique, Secret Art, Karmic Blood Web.'
Of course, it wasn't without reason that the Karmic Blood Web was classified as a secret art.
The Karmic Blood Web had the ability to track not only the owner of the blood but also all the targets that had blood on them, even with just a tiny bloodstain like this.
It was an outstanding martial art that deserved to be called the best in terms of tracking ability.
Despite having such excellent tracking ability, the reason he hadn't used it until now was because of the demanding prerequisite of needing to reach the Manifestation Realm, where one could freely manipulate energy in the air.
In other words, this was no problem at all for the current Lee Seong-jun.
'If they fought... Park Seon-woo's blood must have gotten on him.'
This meant that he couldn't escape the tracking of the Karmic Blood Web.
Woong-!
Indeed, as the blood energy swirled around the bloodstain floating in the air, it turned into a red line and shot into the sky, leaving a long tail like a comet.
* * *
"What a pity."
Tae Sang-cheon, sitting in meditation in an open space on a dark mountain, clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, it would have been so convenient if I could have settled everything today while I was at it..."
Due to the earlier clash with Park Seon-woo, he had caused quite a few explosions, and the Hunter Association's alert level must have risen considerably.
If another battle were to occur, unwanted intruders would quickly intervene.
In the worst case, countless witnesses could emerge, and he could be branded as a villain.
'It wouldn't be good to have any blemishes on me, who will soon ascend to the throne of emperor ruling over Korea.'
He shouldn't feel rushed.
'It's only a matter of a few days at most anyway.'
For Tae Sang-cheon, who had waited for decades to fulfill the long-cherished wish of 'liberating' the returnees, this wasn't such a long time.
'Just a little... just a little more patience is needed.'
As Tae Sang-cheon was imagining the near future, licking his lips with his tongue...
Whoosh-!
Along with a harsh wind sound that seemed to tear through the air, a red sphere flew quickly towards him.
'What's this?'
Tae Sang-cheon, his eyes narrowed, adjusted his posture and observed the approaching red sphere.
"...Blood?"
The energy contained in the sphere wasn't threatening at all.
But as a martial artist who had trained himself, he could sense it instinctively.
'Something is coming.'
A presence both massive and intense was approaching this place.
Feeling an instinctive sense of foreboding, Tae Sang-cheon hurriedly reached out his hand into the air.
Kaboom-!
He managed to vaporize the flying blood by causing an explosion, but it was already too late.
Beyond the thickly rising dust, Lee Seong-jun had landed, his eyes flashing.
"Tae Sang-cheon."
"Huh..."
A considerable amount of admiration flowed from Tae Sang-cheon's mouth as he met Lee Seong-jun's gaze in mid-air.
"What an impressive tracking technique."
Originally, using tracking techniques required considerable effort and special mediums.
Therefore, before leaving the abandoned construction site, Tae Sang-cheon had erased all traces of himself that could serve as mediums.
'Surely no trace of me should have remained...'
Nevertheless, Lee Seong-jun had followed him in an instant.
It was truly a remarkable and formidable ability.
But the admiration was only momentary.
Tae Sang-cheon, his eyes narrowed, quickly spread his energy throughout the area.
He was trying to prepare in advance in case any small fry might follow, which could become quite troublesome.
But there was not a single presence to be felt.
"Did you come alone?"
"..."
There was no reply, but the intense killing intent blossoming in Lee Seong-jun's eyes was answer enough.
"Hahaha! You too, Lee Seong-jun, came with the intention of a life-and-death battle!"
A smile bordering on madness bloomed on Tae Sang-cheon's lips.
This was because not only were there no unwanted intruders like the Hunter Association or government figures, but this place was also a mountain on the outskirts of Seoul.
Even if a disturbance occurred, support couldn't arrive quickly.
In other words, the conditions were perfect for eliminating Lee Seong-jun.
"You have considerable skill, but you were too arrogant."
Tae Sang-cheon, with a grim smile on his lips, was confident in his own victory.
Of course, this wasn't a vague confidence held without any basis.
'Lee Seong-jun is not a complete martial artist.'
As seen earlier, Lee Seong-jun had learned tricks like tracking techniques.
'...Those who learn such tricks fall into one of two categories.'
Either martial artists who have hit their limit and changed their growth method, or monsters with genius-level talent who can easily learn and handle such tricks with overwhelming energy manipulation abilities.
Of course, the latter possibility existed as well.
But Tae Sang-cheon absolutely did not think Lee Seong-jun belonged to the latter category.
'...I've never heard of a monster who could handle energy so freely to this extent.'
The appearance of the red sphere flying through the air wasn't simply a matter of handling energy; it seemed as if he was modulating it according to his will.
Even the top-ranking Guardians in the current world couldn't use energy in this way.
'If Lee Seong-jun had such talent... he wouldn't be so hung up on trivial human relationships like this.'
Surely, undoubtedly, he would have ascended to an even higher position and tried to reign as an absolute ruler.
'In the end... Lee Seong-jun is also just a half-wit who learned tricks after hitting his limit.'
This meant that in a full-on battle between just the two of them, without outside intervention, there was absolutely no way he could lose.
Confident in his own thoughts, Tae Sang-cheon showed a relaxed demeanor even in the face of Lee Seong-jun's lowered gaze.
"Since we have plenty of time... let me ask just one thing. You're also a returnee, so why are you trying to go against the alliance? If we worked together, we could have easily achieved liberation and taken control of Korea. What exactly is your goal?"
In his view, Tae Sang-cheon's appearance, steeped in a sense of racial superiority, looked exactly like the members of the Returnee Alliance he had faced before.
It wasn't good to begin with, but now his mood became even worse.
Naturally, a cold voice flowed from Lee Seong-jun's mouth.
"Pathetic."
"What...?"
For a moment, Tae Sang-cheon's head tilted slightly, and then his face greatly distorted.
"How dare you...! I wonder how long you'll be able to spout such words!"
As Tae Sang-cheon, who had shouted, stretched both arms forward, flames from the Flame Heaven Earth Explosion technique covered the sky and ground.
He could assert with certainty that Lee Seong-jun would inevitably be caught in that explosion as well.
Tae Sang-cheon's thoughts were not wrong at all.
Woong-!
Indeed, the flames that bloomed in the air instantly covered the entire open space, leaving no gaps.
It was such a wide-ranging attack that even Lee Seong-jun couldn't have anticipated it.
However, there was no need to panic.
'It's become weaker due to being too widespread.'
While all the flames were created with strong energy and could be considered tremendously destructive by normal standards, they weren't much of a threat to him, Lee Seong-jun.
In other words, there was no need to even think about avoiding them.
'Star's Protection.'
Lee Seong-jun immediately used the skill, and at the same time, wrapped another layer of protective energy around the Star's Protection, created using blood energy.
Having reached the Manifestation Realm, Lee Seong-jun could now generate energy not just in his body, but also in the air where his gaze reached, making this defensive method possible.
Thanks to this, the continuous explosions accompanied by thunderous sounds couldn't give any shock to Lee Seong-jun.
This meant that Lee Seong-jun could break through the explosions caused by the Flame Heaven Earth Explosion without any restrictions.
Whoosh-!
Splitting the wind with rapid movement, Lee Seong-jun approached close to Tae Sang-cheon and immediately stretched out his tightly clenched fist forward.
Crack-!
Tae Sang-cheon's eyes widened at the dizzying pain felt from his abdomen.
"Cough!"
Tae Sang-cheon's body, after letting out a short scream, flew through the air and then crashed inelegantly into a nearby tree trunk.
* * *
-We've received urgent news that a massive explosion, presumed to be caused by Tae Sang-cheon, has occurred near Dobong Mountain!
A deep shadow fell over Yoon Min-su's face as he heard Ko Tae-hyeon's urgent voice delivering the emergency news that had come to the association.
"...This is the worst."
Because there were no clues, he had been investigating the entertainment establishments in Gangnam where Tae Sang-cheon frequently visited.
But of all places, the battle had broken out near Dobong Mountain, which could be considered the opposite direction.
It could be said to be literally the worst situation.
-But if it's Lee Seong-jun Hunter, wouldn't he be able to hold out until we arrive?
Given the prowess Lee Seong-jun had shown so far, Ko Tae-hyeon's voice could be considered somewhat light.
However, the voice flowing from Yoon Min-su's mouth, who had directly faced Tae Sang-cheon in the past, was extremely heavy.
"It won't be easy... Tae Sang-cheon of the Korean Returnee Alliance is a much more powerful being than what's known to the public."
In fact, the reason why he, Yoon Min-su, had been obsessed with the position of being the strongest and constantly craved growth was because of the clear goal of the world stage and Tae Sang-cheon, the leader of the Korean Returnee Alliance.
'The last time I faced Tae Sang-cheon, he was a master of the Fire Realm, just like I am now.'
And now that Tae Sang-cheon had emerged from his closed-door training.
It meant he had likely ascended to the Manifestation Realm, surpassing the wall of his limits.
'Even if Lee Seong-jun Hunter has shown an incredible rate of growth so far... the probability that he has already reached the Manifestation Realm is slim.'