Chapter 378: Insufficient (3)

Rumble—
The sky roared.

Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed in rapid succession.

“Hurry!”
“Don’t push! Stay calm!”

Panic spread like wildfire through the crowd as terrified voices rose from those fleeing the arena.

“Mobilize all capital guards immediately!”
“Surround the Justice Alliance! Don’t let them escape!”
“Notify every martial arts group—demand their cooperation!”

Officials and martial artists scrambled to keep order, their voices trying to mask the fear gnawing at the edges of their composure.

“Tell the officers to assist! We can’t back down now!”
“Send people to the Heavenly Sword right away—they need to know what’s happening!”
“The Justice Alliance... are they insane?! This’ll be a massacre, not a succession!”

Amid the frantic shouts, multiple martial arts groups moved with even greater urgency, their footsteps pounding through the chaos like war drums.

The combat arena was steeped in chaos, yet amidst the confusion, people began moving with a newfound clarity.
Some had understood. Not with words—but with instinct.

“…It must be because of that cloud.”

Hyun Seong of the Snow Death Flower was one of them.

That blood-red cloud—conjured by Kim Hae-il.
The crimson light pouring through it had stirred something deep within them.
Not fear.
But determination.

“…”

She shifted her gaze.
It wasn’t just the masters—like the Ghost Swordsman, Passote, and the rest.

“Your Majesty!”

“……”

Even Queen Tamahi didn’t move. She remained still, ignoring her subordinate’s plea.
Those who had dedicated their lives to Wu couldn’t look away from the arena.

Kim Hae-il.

Those who had felt the chill from that blood-red cloud—

“Truly…”

Hyun Seong’s eyes narrowed as she looked toward the arena.

“What is that sword…?”

Her gaze locked onto a sword that had suddenly appeared—and she couldn’t look away.

Thump. Thump. Thump.
Queen Tamahi’s heart pounded.

She had truly admired the blood-red cloud the moment it appeared.
Watching her people regain their strength beneath it, she had thought—whether that man was friend or foe—he might be the one fit to lead the Kingdom of Lan into the future.

That sword…

But the moment she laid eyes on that blade, something changed.
Her heart no longer beat as a ruler.

It beat as a martial artist.

It’s so clear.

Queen Tamahi.

The sword was now her life.

She had always pursued the pinnacle of Wu, wielding her sword with unwavering focus.

Boom!
Bang!

The sword clashed violently against the white line, each impact shaking the air with deafening roars.
Yet as she watched that blade… a thought struck her.

“…A sword is just… a sword.”

Wooooong… Wooooong…
A black aura rose wildly, accompanied by a low, eerie hum.

It flickered like a starry night—bright points shining within an overwhelming, terrible darkness.
And at the very edge of that blackness… something even darker swirled.
A different kind of shadow. Something not born of training, but instinct.

Swoosh!
The black sword cleaved through the white line once more.

“Yes…”

That was a sword.

The queen—once the strongest martial artist in the Kingdom of Lan—could feel it without doubt.

He hasn’t been training.

No…
Judging by the basics, he must’ve learned swordsmanship as a child.

But everything else—
Everything else was born from real combat.

He’s been wielding a sword…
To cut.
To block.
To survive.

“To survive…”

There was a deep, inexplicable despair embedded in that sword.

If I don’t wield it—
I’ll be devoured.
They’ll take everything that’s mine.

Yes…

That was the reason.
The true reason humans first picked up swords.

Not for power.
Not for honor.
But for something far more raw.

To survive.

Was there ever a clearer reason… for the sword?

“…I ignored it.”

Yes—
Queen Tamahi had ignored it.
No. She had never needed it.

As the daughter of the former king, she had taken up the sword not to survive—
But to learn Wu.
To follow tradition. To cultivate.

Was that why…?

No… It’s impossible…

Yet she couldn’t take her eyes off from that savage, unrefined sword—
Simple in form, brutal in essence.
And her heart was pounding.

Earlier, she had thought about the future of the kingdom as she looked at Kim Hae-il.
But now—
Seeing that man’s sword…

She wanted to fight.

But—

Her gaze was drawn elsewhere.
Strangely… inevitably… to a different presence.

Who is that man…?

The one wearing a black mask,
Standing silently between Kim Hae-il and the red-haired swordsman.

Who is he…?

Kim Hae-il had closed his eyes, calmly entering meditation—
As if he trusted that man.

Rumble—

He must be the one controlling the clouds blanketing the sky.
Even the red-haired swordsman, after seeing the black-masked man, was now wielding his sword with unshaken composure.

Who is he…?

For some reason, Tamahi felt it.

He might be the leader.

Instead of stepping back, Tamahi placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
Prepared to leap into battle at any moment.
Her instincts as a martial artist refused to stay still.

Watching those three—
Her hands moved on their own.

Boom!

Another roar split the air.

Swoosh—

The wind shifted. So did the balance.

Choi Han was forced back—
Pushed by the sheer force of the white line.

“!”

But Sohyi’s eyes trembled.

Swoosh.

Another white line was severed.
One untouched by the Heavenly Demon’s blood-red light.

“How…?”

She couldn’t believe it.

“Could it be… another seed?”

Before a Unique Power reaches its full form—before it fully Realizes—
There is the seed stage.

And now…
After Kim Hae-il, a second seed had appeared.

But this time—

“…This one is more dangerous.”

Even if it was only at the seed stage, it held enough power to slice through Sohyi’s white line with ease.
More dangerous—far more dangerous—than Kim Hae-il.

Was there ever a Wanderer like that?

But there was no time to think.

Tap!

Sohyi had no time.

Choi Han, who had gently tapped the ground with his foot, now lunged forward like a bolt of black lightning.

“Damn it!”

Sohyi’s hands moved in an instant.
White lines burst from her palms.

“Expand!”

At her command, the line split—dozens of threads of white light whipped forward, aiming straight for Choi Han.

And Choi Han—

He raised his sword.

Wanderer.

At that moment, he thought of nothing else.
No fear.
No hesitation.

Only the white lines closing in on him.

Swoosh.
He cut through one.

Swoosh.
Another fell.

And still, he advanced.

But Choi Han couldn’t slice through them all.

Bang!
Kwang!
Bang, bang!

Several white lines stabbed into the ground around him, forming a barrier along his path.
They pulsed with light—
Radiating a brilliant white aura.

A domain.

It was as if he’d charged straight into a spider’s web.
Prey, caught mid-lunge.

But Choi Han—
He didn’t care.

He didn’t think about that.

Wanderer—

Only Sohyi existed in his mind.
Because now…
He could finally fight.

The Heavenly Demon.
Alberu.
Cale.

Those three—
They were doing what he used to do.

Alberu was helping evacuate the civilians.
The Heavenly Demon had created the very battlefield he needed.
And Cale—
Cale was right behind him. Ready to step in the moment he was in danger.

Today…
He didn’t need to protect anyone.

Today, he just had to fight.

And Choi Han understood—
Exactly why those three had taken on those frustrating, unappreciated roles.

They were creating this moment.
For him.

Choi Jung Gun and the Wanderers.
Choi Han and Choi Jung Gun.

He understood the connection.
And he was certain—
This entire annoying situation had been set up because of them.

Because of that past.

Cale, who would normally complain,
Who’d usually insist it was more efficient and practical for him to handle things—
Was quiet today.

He had chosen the more troublesome path.
Because of the Heavenly Demon.
Because of Choi Han.

Swoosh.

That’s why—
Choi Han could move forward without hesitation.

Because there was nothing behind him to fear.

Forward.

That’s all he needed to see.
All he needed to think.

How grateful I am…

When he had first picked up a sword—
When he faced monsters in those dark, forgotten forests—
He had feared everything.
Even the ground beneath his feet.
Whether ahead or behind… nowhere had felt safe.

But now—

I just have to follow my path.

Choi Han was about to unleash himself.

Not for revenge.
But out of a quiet, overwhelming gratitude.

And he didn’t hold it back.

Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded like war drums.

Swoosh!
Swoosh! Swoosh—

The white lines fell faster and faster.

He wasn’t even looking at his sword.
He didn’t need to.

He could feel it.

It’s gotten bigger.

The black aura that had once quietly wrapped around Choi Han and his sword—
Was now unmistakably larger.
Brighter.
Sharper.

As my conviction in this path deepens… this power grows stronger.

Just like the Heavenly Demon.

His aura had grown explosively.
And Choi Han had watched it happen.

In the background of this chaos, the Heavenly Demon had found clarity.
Through his time in the New World, through strange encounters and shifting emotions—
He had realized what mattered most: the Demon Sect.
And with that realization came strength.
Conviction.

Thump. Thump.

Now… I can see it clearly.

Yes.
He could see it.

The white lines.

If my aura touches those lines—
A path opens.

I eliminate what's in front of me… and I can see what lies beyond.

It wasn’t the overwhelming power to cut through anything—
Not the kind Beacrox was learning from Lee Soo Hyuk.

Ah.

Choi Han stomped down.

Tap!

He shot upward.

Bang!

The white line stabbed into the ground below—
But he had already passed it.
Already moved beyond.

And he kept going.

I can see the path.
It’s a breakthrough.

“That bastard!”

More than dozens—

“Expand!”

Hundreds of white lines split and surged forward.

Kiiing–––!

The white light pouring from Sohyi intensified.
Around Choi Han, a vast spiderweb of light unfolded—
Pure white, covering everything.

Wooooong… Wooooong…

His sword’s aura, though savage in shape, was growing quieter—
Deeper.
More refined.

Hundreds of white lines rained down like a torrential storm.
Like heaven itself had turned against him.

Can anyone walk through the rain without an umbrella?

And yet—

Swoosh.

Choi Han’s sword aura sliced forward, calmly parting the white lines.

He didn’t force it.
Didn’t overextend.
Just enough—
Only what was needed to move ahead.

Wooooong…

Like the sound of rain fading into silence…
The Yong’s form vanished.
The radiant black aura—
Even that savage, untamed force—
Began to shrink.

Wooooong—

Now, only a thin line of black aura remained,
Lightly wrapping around Choi Han and the sword in his grasp.

Alberu, watching from a distance, unconsciously stopped walking.
He stared—unable to look away.

Through the downpour of white light—
Through the storm of hundreds of crashing lines—

Choi Han walked.

One step at a time.
Calm.
Deliberate.

That figure—

“…Beast…”

Yes.

He was like a beast.

A beast that finds its prey on a rainy day, and moves to hunt it.

The steps of that beast don’t have to be excessive.

It doesn’t have to stand out.

Simply—

“It just has to catch its prey.”

Ah.

Alberu let out a gasp of astonishment.

Yes, that’s it.

Choi Han has always fought like that.

Though Choi Han had once been wrapped in a savage, brutal Black Yong—
In truth, he had no desire for flashy fights.

He already understood something Alberu had only remembered too late.

His beginning…
Was the dark forest.
A place where survival mattered more than pride.

There, standing out meant death.
When he was weak, he had to hide.

But now—

There’s no need for that.

Because the monsters of that forest—
They recognized true strength.
And fled.

Choi Han raised his sword.

Swoosh.

He cut another white line.

Choi Han heard Cale’s voice behind him.

“Yes, a scared prey behaves like that.”

A smile appeared at the corner of Choi Han’s lips.

Forward.

Sohyi’s figure was reflected in Choi Han’s gaze, who had only been looking at his target.

“That idiot! How dare you!”

Sohyi, who was launching hundreds of white lines.

Astonishment and terror were reflected in her eyes.

To avoid the beast.

The prey flees. Or tries to show its power in an exaggerated way, hoping that the beast will flee.

And the beast simply aims for that prey’s neck.

A calm voice came from Choi Han’s mouth.

“I’ve arrived.”

And Sohyi, who was looking at Choi Han, who had been a dot in her white eyes, had suddenly become as large as a mountain.

He had truly grown.

“…!”

Beasts know when they should use their strength. It’s foolish to save strength when the prey is in front of you.

Screeeeech—!

A chilling sound, mixed with despair.

That sound disappeared.

To be exact, the sound didn’t disappear.

“Ah.”

“Huh—”

But they were so absorbed in what they could see, that they couldn’t hear the sound.

A gigantic black Yong rose from Choi Han’s body.

– Still—

Cale heard Super Rock’s voice.

– It’s not an ancient power yet.

Super Rock’s voice trembled.

He looked at the Heavenly Demon, and realized that the nature of that aura was the seed of an ancient power.

– But it’s so strong, Choi Han, that kid is truly…

Super Rock said, in admiration, with a sigh.

– Truly, scary.

The black aura—once faint—surged upward in an explosive wave, merging with Choi Han’s rising aura.

The shining Black Yong, now clearer than before, took form.

But it hadn’t dulled its nature.

It didn’t try to look noble.
It didn’t try to look graceful.

With savage intent, it bared its jaws—
And charged forward,
Following the path of Choi Han’s extended sword.

“Damn it!”

The white line Sohyi had hastily extended in front of her—like a final shield.

Shiiing–––!
The Black Yong, with its gleaming fangs, tore through everything—Sohyi’s white lines, Choi Han’s sword, even Choi Han’s body. It surged forward, ripping through the spiderweb of light without slowing.

Finally, it reached its target.

Swoosh.
And it cut.

“Ugh!”

Sohyi’s terrible scream echoed.

Sohyi, who had covered her eyes with both hands.

Blood was running down her fingers.

The Wanderer, whose eyes had turned white, and had been shining.

The center of that force was clear. 

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P/R Thought:

Choi Han just went from survivor to beast—this chapter gave me chills. 🖤⚔️

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If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]