Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105 - Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132
Chapter 133
Chapter 134
Chapter 135
Chapter 136
Chapter 137
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140 - Chapter 140
Chapter 141
Chapter 142 - Chapter 142
Chapter 143
Chapter 144
Chapter 145
Chapter 146
Chapter 147
Chapter 148
Chapter 149
Chapter 150
Chapter 151
Chapter 152
Chapter 153
Chapter 154
Chapter 155
Chapter 156
Chapter 157
Chapter 158
Chapter 159
Chapter 160
Chapter 161
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164
Chapter 165
Chapter 166
Chapter 167
Chapter 168
Chapter 169
Chapter 170 - Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189
Chapter 190
Chapter 191
Chapter 192
Chapter 193
Chapter 194
Chapter 195
Chapter 196
Chapter 197
Chapter 198
Chapter 199
Chapter 200
Chapter 201
Chapter 202
Chapter 203 - Chapter 203
Chapter 204
Chapter 205
Chapter 206
Chapter 207
Chapter 208 - Chapter 208
Chapter 209
Chapter 210
Chapter 211
Chapter 212
Chapter 213
Chapter 214
Chapter 215
Chapter 216
Chapter 217
Chapter 218
Chapter 219
Chapter 220
Chapter 221
Chapter 222
Chapter 223
Chapter 224
Chapter 225
Chapter 226
Chapter 227
Chapter 228
Chapter 229
Chapter 230
Chapter 231
Chapter 232
Chapter 233
Chapter 234
Chapter 235
Chapter 236
Chapter 237
Chapter 238
Chapter 239 - Chapter 239
Chapter 240
Chapter 241
Chapter 242
Chapter 243
Chapter 244
Chapter 245
Chapter 246
Chapter 247
Chapter 248
Chapter 249
Chapter 250
Chapter 251
Chapter 252
Chapter 253
Chapter 254
Chapter 255
Chapter 256
Chapter 257
Chapter 258
Chapter 259
Chapter 260
Chapter 261
Chapter 262
Chapter 263 - Chapter 263
Chapter 264
Chapter 265
Chapter 266
Chapter 267
Chapter 268
Chapter 269
Chapter 270
Chapter 271
Chapter 272
Chapter 273
Chapter 274
Chapter 275
Chapter 276
Chapter 277
Chapter 278
Chapter 279
Chapter 280
Chapter 281
Chapter 282
Chapter 283
Chapter 284
Chapter 285
Chapter 286
Chapter 287
Chapter 288
Chapter 289
Chapter 290
Chapter 291
Chapter 292
Chapter 293
Chapter 294
Chapter 295
Chapter 296
Chapter 297 - Chapter 297
Chapter 298
Chapter 299
Chapter 300
Chapter 301
Chapter 302
Chapter 303
Chapter 304
Chapter 305
Chapter 306
Chapter 307
Chapter 308
Chapter 309
Chapter 310
Chapter 311
Chapter 312
Chapter 313
Chapter 314
Chapter 315
Chapter 316
Chapter 317
Chapter 318
Chapter 319
Chapter 320
Chapter 321
Chapter 322
Chapter 323
Chapter 324
Chapter 325
Chapter 326
Chapter 327
Chapter 328
Chapter 329
Chapter 330
Chapter 331
Chapter 332
Chapter 333
Chapter 334
Chapter 335
Chapter 336
Chapter 337
Chapter 338
Chapter 339
Chapter 340
Chapter 341
Chapter 342
Chapter 343
Chapter 344
Chapter 345
Chapter 346
Chapter 347
Chapter 348
Chapter 349
Chapter 350
Chapter 351
Chapter 352
Chapter 353
Chapter 354
Chapter 355
Chapter 356
Chapter 357
Chapter 358
Chapter 359
Chapter 360
Chapter 361
Chapter 362
Chapter 363
Chapter 364
Chapter 365
Chapter 366
Chapter 367
Chapter 368
Chapter 369
Chapter 370
Chapter 371
Chapter 372
Chapter 373
Chapter 374
Chapter 375
Chapter 376
Chapter 377
Chapter 378
Chapter 379
Chapter 380
Chapter 381
Chapter 382
Chapter 383
Chapter 384 - Chapter 384
Chapter 385
Chapter 386
Chapter 387
Chapter 388
Chapter 389
Chapter 390
Chapter 391
Chapter 392
Chapter 393
Chapter 394
Chapter 395
Chapter 396
Chapter 397
Chapter 398
Chapter 399
Chapter 400
Chapter 401
Chapter 402
Chapter 403
Chapter 404
Chapter 405
Chapter 406
Chapter 407
Chapter 408
Chapter 409
Chapter 410
Chapter 411
Chapter 412
Chapter 413
Chapter 414
Chapter 415
Chapter 416
Chapter 417
Chapter 418
Chapter 419
Chapter 420
Chapter 421
Chapter 422
Chapter 423
Chapter 424
Chapter 425
Chapter 426 - Chapter 426
Chapter 427
Chapter 428
Chapter 429
Chapter 430
Chapter 431
Chapter 432
Chapter 433
Chapter 434
Chapter 435
Chapter 436
Chapter 437
Chapter 438
Chapter 439
Chapter 440
Chapter 441
Chapter 442
Chapter 443
Chapter 444
Chapter 445
Chapter 446 - Chapter 446
Chapter 447
Chapter 448
Chapter 449
Chapter 450
Chapter 451 - Chapter 451
Chapter 452
Chapter 453
Chapter 454
Chapter 455
Chapter 456
Chapter 457
Chapter 458
Chapter 459
Chapter 460
Chapter 461
Chapter 462
Chapter 463
Chapter 464
Chapter 465
Chapter 466
Chapter 467
Chapter 468
Chapter 469
Chapter 470
Chapter 471
Chapter 472
Chapter 473
Chapter 474
Chapter 475
Chapter 476
Chapter 477
Chapter 478
Chapter 479
Chapter 480
Chapter 481
Chapter 482
Chapter 483 - Chapter 483
Chapter 484
Chapter 485
Chapter 486
Chapter 487
Chapter 488
Chapter 489
Chapter 490
Chapter 491
Chapter 492
Chapter 493
Chapter 494
Chapter 495
Chapter 496
Chapter 497
Chapter 498
Chapter 499
Chapter 500
Chapter 501
Chapter 502
Chapter 503
Chapter 504
Chapter 505
Chapter 506
Chapter 507
Chapter 508
Chapter 509
Chapter 510
Chapter 511
Chapter 512
Chapter 513
Chapter 514
Chapter 515
Chapter 516 - Chapter 516
Chapter 517
Chapter 518
Chapter 519
Chapter 520
Chapter 521
Chapter 522
Chapter 523
Chapter 524
Chapter 525
Chapter 526
Chapter 527
Chapter 528
Chapter 529
Chapter 530
Chapter 531
Chapter 532
Chapter 533
Chapter 534 - Chapter 534
Chapter 535
Chapter 536
Chapter 537
Chapter 538 - Chapter 538
Chapter 539
Chapter 540
Chapter 541
Chapter 542
Chapter 543
Chapter 544
Chapter 545
Chapter 546
Chapter 547
Chapter 548
Chapter 549
Chapter 550
Chapter 551
Chapter 552
Chapter 553
Chapter 554
Chapter 555
Categories Genre: Action, Adventure, All, Fantasy, Martial Arts, Ongoing, Supernatural Status: Ongoing Alternative names: HR, 영웅; 회귀하다, ______
Total Chapters in book: 555
Estimated words: 1462055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 7310(@200wpm)___ 5848(@250wpm)___ 4874(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 1462055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 7310(@200wpm)___ 5848(@250wpm)___ 4874(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 555 Page No. 554 Page No. 553 Page No. 552 Page No. 551 Page No. 550 Page No. 549 Page No. 548 Page No. 547 Page No. 546 Page No. 545 Chapter 381
Chapter 381: Chapter 381
Act 3
On one of the floors of the World Tree, where the parasite corpses could be found just about everywhere, around 10 participants had gathered. They were busy checking out each other’s movements, while their own bodies remained deeply tense.
Of course, some among them did display a relaxed demeanor. One of them was even leaning with his arms across his chest against a parasite’s corpse.
“Okay, so…you want to form an alliance?” One of the participants spoke up with a slightly trembling voice.
He belatedly realized how nervous he sounded just then and promptly shut his mouth right after asking that question. It was already too late by then, but no one paid any mind.
“Ah, yes, an alliance. That’s right.”
“But is there a need for that? Only one person can walk away with the elixir, after all.”
“Indeed. And it’s also impossible to tell who will backstab you when.”
The opinions were unfavorable, but that wasn’t so surprising.
The participants that gathered in this place were people who were deeply confident of their own skill sets, after all. As these people didn’t win while relying on headcount due to their lack of confidence, they just couldn’t find a good-enough justification to enter an alliance or form teams.
More correctly, they abhorred the idea of a “team” because they believed that the scariest thing wasn’t a known enemy but a dubious ally.
“Well, in that case, we can fight it out right here,” said the man leaning against the parasite’s corpse at last.
His words immediately caused the temperature in the surroundings to drop. That man before their eyes was the reason why they had gathered here in the first place. He was also acting as the suppressor of the volatile atmosphere that was seemingly ready to erupt at any given moment. Therefore, as to be expected, each of the participants had a few thoughts about their encounter with the man.
“Just from where did a monster like this bastard even show up from…?”
“Is he an apostle? No, he comes across just too ominous for that.”
“Dammit! I sure stepped on sh*t today.”
These people were also powerful individuals who believed that they were someone impressive in their own right. Even then, they were ruthlessly suppressed by a single individual and became no better than some obedient little kids, so it was little wonder why they felt so incensed inwardly right now.
When the silence continued for a bit longer, the mystery man began scanning his surroundings. Quite a few seemed to be seriously mulling the offer right now.
The man addressed them, “The elixir will be mine, anyway. If you’re dissatisfied by that, die by my hands right here.”
He had no thoughts of yielding the elixir to anyone else. To him, all these other participants present were nothing more than pawns to help his cause. That’s all.
“However, by forming a team with me, you might walk away with pretty substantial scraps as your rewards.”
“Scraps?”
“Are you telling us to be satisfied by only that?!”
Some participants were triggered by that offer. However, the ones moved first by their emotions and not their rational reasoning numbered only two.
“That’s not a bad offer.”
“I know for a fact that I won’t secure the elixir, so to get my hands on the by-product at least, well…”
“It’s basically like I’m getting what I came here for.”
“Right, what I wanted from the beginning wasn’t the elixir, but the sap of the World Tree, after all. If I can acquire something better than that, there’s no reason why I won’t lend my help.”
The majority chose to submit; rather than challenge, they settled for safety.
That was indeed the normal choice in this sort of situation. Because…
“So, only two aren’t happy with the idea?” The man stopped leaning against the corpse and began making a move. “That’s perfect, actually. Not too many, but not too little, either.”
He moved toward the two people who opposed his suggestion just now.
Shu-rurururu—
Hiss, sizzle…
Countless black hands suddenly rose from the two people’s shadows and began wrapping around them. Their arms and legs were tied up, and their whole bodies were frozen up solid. They were shocked by this development and immediately tried to say reason with the man.
“W—wait a moment—!”
“I—I’m also fine with—!”
“Nope.”
Cruuuuunch…
Aaaaaahk!
“It’s too late now.”
The countless black hands began crushing the bodies of the two people. Their skin melted down, and they screamed at the excruciating pain of their bones shattering to pieces.
The man grinned at this sight and then closed his eyes to focus his attention on their screaming. “Ah…what a pleasing sound that is.”
“Heeeey, youngest bro—! Over heeeere, bro—!” Sun Wukong shouted incredibly loudly while opening his mouth wide.
There hadn’t been many times where he had to shout this loudly or for this long. Besides, there had never been a time where he needed to earnestly look for someone, either.
“Ke—eck. Ugh, seriously now. I might blow my vocal cord at this rate.” Sun Wukong rubbed his throat for a bit while frowning deeply. He then scratched his head while muttering in a rueful voice, “Huh. Maybe it really was someone with the same name?”
“Why are you all so depressed, unlike your usual self?”
“Wanna get beaten up or something? Imma just…!”
Sun Wukong raised his fist in the air, but the monkey next to him didn’t try to flee. It didn’t even get scared, either, but that’s because Sun Wukong’s current actions didn’t come across as all that threatening compared to how he usually was.
“Wow, you’re really depressed, aren’t you?”
“And you’ll really get a beating if you keep this up.”
“Hey, you only started shouting just now, you know? Besides, you don’t even know how big this place is. It’s possible that he didn’t hear you, right?” the monkey said while circling around Sun Wukong.
The latter, currently sitting on the ground, didn’t say anything, but his brows were quivering suspiciously. The monkey got scared of that reaction and hurriedly distanced itself.
However, weirdly enough, Sun Wukong didn’t react to that.
“Eh?” uttered the fearful evading monkey, thinking that a fist was coming its way. However, when nothing happened, it turned its head and stared at Sun Wukong.
The latter had stopped moving like a broken machine, only to dazedly stare into the distance. “Little bro?”
“Sorry?”
“It really is him—!”
Jump—!
Sun Wukong jumped up right away. He leaped by dozens of meters in an instant and then began flying into a far-off distance by kicking the air behind him.
A short while later, the voice he had been waiting for finally came to him.
“Third brother—!”
Su-hyeun immediately set off after hearing that voice.
He dashed toward the direction where that voice came from with everything he got. He was in such a hurry that he even got on the Somersault cloud to move, which he normally didn’t use often due to its large consumption of magical energy reserve.
“Without a doubt, that was the third brother’s voice.”
He had to be near was Su-hyeun’s initial thought.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
“Just how far away is he?”
He was so sure that Sun Wukong was not that far away from him after hearing that loud shout, but even after dashing forward on the Somersault cloud for a while, he still failed to pick up Sun Wukong’s presence.
Su-hyeun thought about using the Sage’s Eye to find him, but the terrain proved to be just too uneven and a chaotic mess to behold, which prevented him from getting a good view.
Furthermore…
Screech, screeeeeech—
“You’re all seriously getting on my nerves.”
The parasites distracting him proved to be the most annoying problem of them all.
Rumble—
Shu-wuwuwu—
The combination of fire and wind enveloped Su-hyeun’s blade once more. “Burn them all…”
Giiii-iiiiing—
Su-hyeun didn’t adjust his strength this time. He didn’t have the leeway for that. He unleashed his magical energy and drove his will to it, as this sense of urgency that was more contagious than ever before took over his reason. “Palm Leaf!”
Fwhoooooosh—!
Winds and flames gushing out from the sword swirled into a huge purple-hued typhoon. This typhoon emitting intense heat mercilessly swept away all the parasites that appeared before his eyes.
It carved out a path for him, and right at that exact moment…
“It really is him—!”
That voice had finally gotten closer.
A wide grin spread on Su-hyeun’s lips. “Third brother—!”
The distance wasn’t far off now. His Sage’s Eye, which allowed him to take in the sights from a far-off distance, finally caught a familiar face.
It was Sun Wukong.
“Euh-hat! Ahahaha!”
Despite no longer possessing the Somersault cloud, Sun Wukong still rode on a cloud to fly toward where Su-hyeun was. He must’ve been feeling genuinely pleased because his face was sporting a never-before-seen extremely happy smile.
Ta-dak, tap—
Su-hyeun and Sun Wukong leaped off their clouds almost at the same time and landed on the ground.
“Are you really my littlest bro?”
“Of course I am. You think I’m a fake?”
“Euh-hat! You’re the real deal, alright! That stiff manner of speech! Yup, you’re really my younger bro.” Sun Wukong quickly walked up closer and then took his time surveying Su-hyeun’s face. Like the latter, it wouldn’t have been a significantly long time for the Great Sage since their parting, but he was still genuinely happy to see his little sworn brother. “What have you been doing all this time? Sure, the First Brother told me the rough story about you, but still.”
“I was just doing the usual thing. Ah, right. When I say the usual, I meant—”
“I know, even though you didn’t tell me before. I’m also, you know, the same as you.”
Pow—
Sun Wukong slapped Su-hyeun’s back with his palm.
Su-hyeun could only make a complicated smile while feeling both happy to see him and apologetic about not being truthful. He did keep the story of the tower and the world he lived in as a secret from the Bull Demon King, the Roc Demon King, and Sun Wukong, after all.
“We have lots to talk about, don’t we? Sure, we’ve got plenty of stuff to do, but—”
“I’ll be fine.”
Judging from his speed of gathering points, Su-hyeun didn’t feel much sense of urgency. Even now, his summons were rapidly hunting the parasites down and acquiring the points bolstered by the additional 120% boost.
“Aha! I’ll be fine, too. My clones are doing all the work, after all.”
The same story also applied to Sun Wukong. Rather, maybe it was even more pronounced for him because he could create a lot more clones than Su-hyeun’s summons, and each one of them boasted a far greater combat prowess than a summon.
“In that case, lemme ask you.”
Plop—
Sun Wukong settled down on the spot and asked, “What have you been doing these days, bro?”
The contents of Su-hyeun’s chat with Sun Wukong—such as how Su-hyeun began climbing the tower, how he got to meet the trio, and what he did after that, including what the world he called home was like and what his life had been like up until now—didn’t differ too much from his chat with the Bull Demon King.
“Sounds like an interesting world, what with all those hunks of metal driving and flying around…”
“Really? I don’t really find them all that interesting, though, probably because I’ve been living my whole life in that world.”
One hour—that was how long the two of them chatted for. It certainly wasn’t a long time, but it was still enough for Su-hyeun to speak about his story to Sun Wukong.
“I heard from the First Brother that you’ve begun climbing the tower recently, like me…”
“If it wasn’t for that, you wouldn’t have told me all those stories just now, right?”
After the truth was accurately pointed out, Su-hyeun chuckled awkwardly to avoid making a verbal answer. Thankfully, Sun Wukong didn’t dig any further into that topic, either.
Su-hyeun, of course, felt bad about it but decided not to be too hung up on it in the end.
For one, he knew that Sun Wukong didn’t ask that question to criticize Su-hyeun in the first place. Right now, the Great Sage was beaming in happiness at the fact that he got to meet Su-hyeun like this in this place.
“How did your deciding fight with Erlang Shen go? Did you win?”
“Heck, if I lost to that guy, you think I’d be here alive and kicking?”
“But, brother, you can’t die, can you?”
“Ah, right. There’s that, too,” Sun Wukong sagely nodded as if he remembered that just now. “Well, I keep forgetting that since nothing threatens my life anyway.”
“But what about the eight-way trigram Crucible…?”
“I won’t die from some measly flames of that size. Don’t you know me by now?” Sun Wukong asked with a deep smirk.
It wasn’t all that surprising to hear that.
One couldn’t even dream of piercing through Sun Wukong’s hard skin with some lukewarm attacks. Unless it was Su-hyeun’s divine Flame that boasted the qualification of godhood, most other flames would’ve come across as mildly warm to Sun Wukong.
He ended up asking an unnecessary question, so Su-hyeun moved on to another topic, one he was curious about. “In any case, how do you find it? Climbing the tower, I mean.”
“It’s fun, actually. There are plenty of amusing people, for sure.”
“I’m guessing you are referring to fighting?”
“That’s right. After finishing that decisive battle with Erlang Shen, I was getting bored out of my skull, you know? But thanks to this system or whatever, I now get to fight really strong punks from many different worlds. That’s been nice for me so far,” Sun Wukong replied, sounding genuinely excited.
Again, that wasn’t so surprising, either.
To Sun Wukong, fighting was one of his life’s greatest pleasures, but now that the war against the Heavenly World had come to an end, he must’ve been feeling really bored.
“And this time, too, apparently, there’s a really amusing guy present in this place.”
“An amusing guy, you say?”
“Yeah. He’s called ‘predator’ or something. This other punk calling itself a god keeps telling me to be wary of that guy, saying that that dude is seriously dangerous.”
Total Chapters in book: 555
Estimated words: 1462055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 7310(@200wpm)___ 5848(@250wpm)___ 4874(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 1462055 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 7310(@200wpm)___ 5848(@250wpm)___ 4874(@300wpm)
______