Chapter 1074: Scorched World.

Hanam Prefecture.

The bustling center where the Martial Alliance’s headquarters, the Main Alliance, and the Shaolin Temple, one of the Nine Great Sects, are located.

Because it was composed of a huge crowd and many martial artists, it was also regarded as the safest region by the public.

Therefore, as the center and foundation of the Orthodox Factions, Hanam Prefecture was called a symbol of peace.

The number of people coming and going each day was enormous, but today, their numbers were exceptionally high.

Seeing the gathering crowd, a martial artist standing by the gate sighed and said, “…There are just too many.”

To his lamenting voice, a senior next to him tapped his shoulder. “What can you do? It just had to be this time, didn’t it?”

“Exactly, I just wonder why my shift had to be scheduled for this exact time.” Exhaustion was evident on his face. He hadn’t been able to rest for a moment since early dawn.

“What, it’s not like you’ve only experienced this once or twice. You go through it every year, do you hate it that much?”

“…This situation isn’t quite the same as what we experience every year.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.” The senior nodded, looking at the crowd before him.

It was true. The Main Alliance’s admission test, held every year. They always held the test to recruit additional members for the Martial Alliance, so countless people visited Hanam on this day, but compared to those times, the number was drastically higher.

How did it get this numerous? “…It’s all because of the Divine Dragon.”

The news that had recently heated up the entire Central Plains, including Hanam, was the issue. The Divine Dragon (神龍). The most outstanding and supreme existence among all the post-generation talents. Someone appointed directly by the Martial Alliance, who was expected to lead the Central Plains greatly in the future, had been born.

Of course, since there had been a Divine Dragon in every generation, the birth of this Divine Dragon wouldn’t normally have been such a significant event, but…

“…It was just too much.” This Divine Dragon was somehow different. Although the existence of a Divine Dragon was treated specially compared to other post-generation talents, this time, the scope was different.

“Who would have thought such a gem would appear out of nowhere, not from the post-generation talents of the Four Great Families or the Nine Great Sects, but from a small-to-medium sized family that had stayed quiet until now?”

“Even so, it’s still a prestigious family, so calling it small-to-medium might be a stretch.” It was undeniably a prestigious family, not something you could call a small family. However, even so, it was a place whose name wasn’t well-known.

“I’ve never heard of it. Shanxi Gu Family? I didn’t even know such a place existed.”

“Indeed…” Was it the Gu family in Shanxi? They said it was the family of this Divine Dragon, but most people had barely heard of the place.

Strictly speaking, it was a prestigious family and officially belonged to the Orthodox Factions, but it was because they had almost no record of participating in various orthodox faction festivals, including the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

“To suddenly produce a Divine Dragon from such a place.” A little-known family. A place that didn’t even participate properly suddenly produced a Divine Dragon.

The monsters active in the current Four Great Families and Nine Great Sects. He was the one who defeated all the genius post-generation talents called the Five Dragons and Four Peaks, and displayed overwhelming martial power at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

As always, people became interested in the sudden appearance of a genius. They talked endlessly about the fact that he was a powerhouse incomparable to other post-generation talents. This is the ripple effect.

“Please calm down! Please line up properly!”

“Don’t push! Pushing won’t speed up entry!” Alliance members shouted until their throats were raw. It was to hold back the surging crowd.

Most of these people had flocked to take the Alliance’s admission test. It wouldn’t be wrong to say it was mostly the Divine Dragon’s fault.

The Divine Dragon captured the public’s attention upon his appearance. Not only that, but he joined the Azure Dragon Unit and rose to the position of the youngest unit leader in just a few years. It was truly an overwhelming achievement.

As if inspired by his appearance, numerous martial artists suddenly sought to join the Alliance.

“Ah, damn it…!” Grinding his teeth fiercely, an Alliance member vented his frustration. It didn’t reduce the workload anyway.

“Next…!” They accepted person after person. At this rate, it would be better to go hunt monsters than do this trivial work.

As they were barely accepting people one by one.

“Next.” Someone approached the Alliance member. Then, they naturally took out a letter.

As he unfolded it, the Alliance member asked, “…Name.”

“Baek Yangcheon.” Hearing the name, he checked the letter detailing the identity. ‘Guangdong Baek Family.’ A family he knew. It wasn’t very famous, but it was affiliated with the Orthodox Factions. The letter depicting his identity was also fine.

However.

‘Did the Baek family have any post-generation talents?’ He couldn’t quite recall this part. Well, he could be a bastard son.

Nodding, the gatekeeper looked up.

“…!” Seeing the opponent’s face, he flinched involuntarily.

‘What the?’ He looked incredibly fierce. His skin was pale and his build was decent, so he looked somewhat presentable, but even considering that, he was an incredibly fierce-looking young man.

“Uh… um…” The Alliance member, momentarily speechless, took a breath and continued. “…What is the purpose of your visit?”

To the Alliance member’s words, the fierce-looking young man.

“Ah.” Baek Yangcheon.

No.

“I’m here to take the Martial Alliance admission test.” Gu Yangcheon said.

He pushed through the crowd and entered. Passing through the bustling area, he slowly moved his steps.

‘I’ve made it inside.’ As he was observing his surroundings while walking, he released the power within him. Ssssuuu. Something moved and faded away. The illusion created by the power of the Mang had disappeared. He had used it to forge the letter when manipulating his identity. Using that, he had created the identity of Baek Yangcheon. With his power, hiding his identity was simple.

‘The problem is.’ Whether this was the right decision.

‘…Do I really have to do this?’ In this place he knew nothing about, was it the right thing to do to just come and take the Alliance admission test?

Such thoughts flashed through his mind, but ‘No.’ He immediately shook his head. There was no other way anyway.

‘It looks exactly like I’m supposed to do this.’ The conclusion aimed for by the timing and situation was clear. What is the task I must accomplish in this world? The answer was obvious.

‘The timing, why now, is a bit questionable though.’ But this wasn’t the situation to ponder that. The conclusion was the same anyway.

‘…I have to meet him.’

Why this era? Furthermore, what must I do? The end concerning this was singular. I had to meet him.

‘My father.’ The father who exists in this era. He had to meet Gu Cheol-un, who is called the current Divine Dragon.

‘Even when I saw that he specifically chose the day of the Alliance admission test.’ When I checked the timing one way or another, the path I had to take was inferable. It was easy to figure out where I needed to head. This is the conclusion of that deduction.

After walking for quite some time, he eventually reached a huge building. It hadn’t changed much from the future, so finding it wasn’t difficult.

“Are you here to take the admission test?”

“That’s correct.” To the Martial Alliance member’s words, he used his power just like before and handed over the letter.

“Enter.” As expected, he passed this time too.

Upon entering, the crowd inside was quite large.

‘They’re all martial artists.’ As they were people who came to enter the Main Alliance, he could tell they were all martial artists.

‘Well, the perception was good back then.’ The era called the symbol of peace and absolute honor. This was the time called the golden age of the Martial Alliance, so this much of a crowd wasn’t strange.

‘Hmm.’ He looked around. In his hand, he held a wooden token. It was a token with his number written on it. Anyway, the method of taking the test at the Alliance seemed similar then as it is now.

After observing the huge crowd for a while, time passed.

“The test will begin shortly.” News came that the test would start immediately.

“All participants, please prepare and wait!”

With a loud voice, the atmosphere changed drastically. It was because the martial artists’ spirits surged upon hearing the order to prepare for the test.

‘Oh my.’ He chuckled, feeling the martial artists’ competitive spirit after a long time. Yes, this was the fighting spirit. Having fought across myriad worlds, this sensation had become somewhat dulled.

‘…I wonder what the test will be?’ The Alliance admission test. In my time, there wasn’t really a test. Since I was a post-generation talent of the Nine Families, I was in a position to work for the Alliance according to the covenant.

‘They even had tests back then.’ It seemed they selected Alliance members through direct testing during this era.

‘What are they going to do?’ He wondered if he really had to take the test after coming this far, but he was somewhat interested, so he followed along curiously.

He moved as instructed. The place they arrived at was the front of the martial arts arena.

‘Ah, this place.’ It was a familiar place. It was the Main Alliance’s martial arts arena, which he had visited during martial arts festivals like the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

As he recalled the past and looked around with familiarity.

“…Wait. That person.”

“…Yeah!” Murmuring sounds were heard from the surroundings. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the martial arts arena stage in front. Naturally, he turned his eyes as well.

‘Huh?’ Someone was on the stage. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. Judging by the reactions, he seemed to be someone famous.

‘Who is it?’

It was unknown to him. He was an old man of truly immense build. If compared, a sturdy physique that wouldn’t lose even to Tang Deok. Although he had his hands clasped behind his back with an expression that suggested he didn’t want to be there.

‘…What is that?’ His aura was truly no joke. What is that? What kind of person is that?

‘I don’t know a martial artist like that?’

Although he was hiding his presence as much as possible to avoid revealing his own level, he could still sense it faintly. Just sensing it vaguely was enough.

“You’ve all worked hard to get here.” That person was a powerhouse. Moreover, one of the strongest martial artists among those he knew. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if there was another being like that.

Thump. His heart suddenly pounded. To be precise, the martial art within his heart reacted.

This is…

‘Resonance.’ It was resonance. His martial art was reacting on its own. Moreover, the martial art reacting was…

‘Why is this…?’ Tuapa Cheonmu. With the violently fluctuating resonance, he immediately widened his eyes.

‘Oh, could it be?’ He looked at the giant old man before him with a look of disbelief.

“Ah, I just stopped by while passing through. I received a request to boost morale while I was here,” he said in a nonchalant voice.

“They call me Vajra Lord Bijoo.” The old man’s identity was the Vajra Lord. Specifically, the Vajra Lord before his regression.