The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 109

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Our Neighborhood’s Strongest (109)
‘Did I just undergo Transcendence?’
Jang Gain examined his completely transformed body, his expression one of disbelief.
From his hair to his skin and muscles, bones—not only physical changes, but his senses too, his vision, smell, touch, taste, and Qi Sense had all expanded to several times their previous range.
He drew a long, deep breath.
As he breathed in fully and sent his Dantian’s energy down through his hands, a shimmer bloomed around his palms.
He concentrated his will, gathering the energy to his fingertips, and the shimmer coalesced into a single mass that began to shine like a star.
‘Force Projection forms this easily?’
Before, to create a Strong Thread—a variant of Force Projection—he’d had to strain his Dantian and ignite his Internal Energy. He could barely produce a single strand that way. But now, simply gathering the energy flowing from his Dantian with his will had created an orb of Force Projection.
Jang Gain wedged the orb of Force Projection between his thumb and middle finger, then flicked it toward a boulder about fifty meters away.
A sharp whistle tore through the air. Then a deafening crack.
The boulder, large enough for three grown men to wrap their arms around, shattered completely under the impact.
“Just a flick—or rather, a Qi Projectile—yet the destructive power rivals a Death Technique.”
He drew his sword and concentrated his energy, easily wreathing it in a thick layer of Sword Qi.
“Hah! I absorbed so much Demonic Energy just to build a Strong Thread the thickness of my thumb. If I’d absorbed Divine Power instead, I would’ve reached this point far faster.”
It was like trudging up a mountainside one aching step at a time, only to suddenly become a giant and reach the summit in a single stride.
It was exhilarating and disorienting all at once.
“Gain, what are you doing over there? I heard a loud bang just now—did you cause that?”
That was when Noxscasarsis and the other dragons appeared.
“Ah! This time I underwent that Transcendence you all were talking about. So I’m testing out what this new body can do.”
“I’ve gone through Transcendence too, so I know how it feels—the world looks different, and you feel like you can beat anyone. You feel the same way, don’t you?”
“That’s right. Once I adapt to this body, I think I’ll be able to fight Duke-rank Demons.”
Noxscasarsis’s expression suddenly went blank.
“What? That’s way too much confidence. Duke-rank Demons require undergoing Transcendence twice, like Father.”
Jang Gain studied Mayarwanta, trying to gauge the extent of his power.
Before, the dragon’s strength had seemed like a distant mountain lost in clouds—impossible to scale. But now, he felt he could climb it with effort.
“Mayarwanta.”
“What is it?”
“Once I’ve adapted to this transcended body, would you be willing to spar with me?”
Before Mayarwanta could answer, Noxscasarsis flared up in indignation.
“Hey! Have you lost your mind? Even if you’ve undergone Transcendence, you should at least know your place. Father’s undergone it twice!”
“This could be interesting. In over six thousand years, I’ve never seen a human undergo Transcendence—I’m genuinely curious about your level. So, how long until you’re accustomed to that body?”
“I think about ten days should do it.”
“Ten days is too short. Why don’t we make it a month from now? Give yourself room to fully adapt.”
“That suits me even better.”
“Then I’ll give you a Magic Scroll so you can reach my lair from anywhere. Come find me in a month.”
Mayarwanta drew a Magic Scroll from his Subspace and handed it to Jang Gain, who tucked it away in his own.
“Very well. I’ll visit you in a month.”
“Father, are you really accepting a challenge from a young upstart like Gain?”
“It’s not Gain who looks like a young upstart to me—it’s you.”
“Me? Why?”
“Once Gain finishes adapting to his new body, he’ll be far stronger than you. In fact, I’d say he already is. Either way, I’m curious about his abilities after Transcendence, so stop your pouting.”
“Gain is strong, sure, but it’s only been a day since his Transcendence. Surely he can’t be stronger than me already.”
“If you don’t believe me, challenge him yourself.”
“Gain, what do you say? Want to go a few rounds with me?”
Jang Gain looked at the confident dragon and frowned slightly.
“You watched me fight Virus, and you still think you’re stronger than me?”
“Virus lost to you, but I beat you.”
“That was because I’d never fought a dragon before. Things are different now. Besides, I’ve undergone Transcendence.”
“While you were improving, was I just sitting idle? I’ve been through life-and-death battles too, and my strength has grown far beyond what it was.”
“Well, if you’re that confident, fine. Let’s settle who’s stronger.”
“Fighting here would put the human settlements at risk. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Understood.”
Shortly after, Jang Gain and the four dragons relocated to a place far removed from the Military Camp.
Even after Noxscasarsis had returned to his true form and finished his preparations, Jang Gain stood calmly without drawing a sword or spear.
Noxscasarsis asked with a puzzled expression.
“I’m ready to fight—why are you just standing there?”
“I’m ready too.”
“What? You’re not drawing a weapon? Not even putting on armor?”
“At your level, I think I won’t need either.”
“What? You’ve only just achieved Transcendence and you’re already this full of yourself. You could end up seriously hurt if you’re not careful.”
“I’m confident I won’t be. Don’t worry.”
“Maybe a real beating will knock some sense into you!”
Whoooosh…….
As Noxscasarsis finished speaking, geometric patterns of light spiraled around him, and four Magic Circles materialized.
Jang Gain, familiar with dragon magic, had already spread his Qi Sense wide to prepare himself.
“Here I come!”
The moment Noxscasarsis spoke, crackling erupted from one of the Magic Circles—and a torrent of lightning poured forth.
He pushed off the ground and soared upward to evade it, but flames erupted from another Circle; dodging those, a third unleashed a cascade of ice spears.
‘Did he study my fighting style beforehand? This is getting tricky.’
With the dragon predicting his escape routes and attacking them preemptively, Jang Gain had no choice but to force new openings through sheer power.
Using the Qi Projectile technique, he fired a dozen spheres of Strong Qi to shatter the magical attacks, then drove through the gap to slam his fist against one of the Magic Circles Noxscasarsis had laid out.
The Circle—its geometric patterns blazing with light as it rained ice spears—shattered instantly under his fist reinforced with Strong Qi. Seeing this, Noxscasarsis cried out in alarm and flapped his wings to retreat.
“Sillon!”
The winds summoned by Jang Gain’s Wind Character Technique alone weren’t fast enough to catch the dragon, so he called forth a high-tier wind elemental to boost his speed.
Whoooosh.
But in that moment, the shattered Magic Circle reconstructed itself and began spilling ice spears once more.
‘If the Circles keep regenerating like this, there’s no point smashing them. I need to use Sword Qi.’
As Jang Gain drew his sword from his Subspace, he noticed something odd—a faint, thread-like strand connecting the Magic Circles floating around Noxscasarsis to his chest where his heart lay.
‘What is that?’
He couldn’t identify it clearly, but he could sense the dragon’s Demonic Energy flowing from the heart through that strand into the Magic Circles, powering them.
If he severed that delicate thread, the Circles would surely fail.
Jang Gain dodged the cascading spells, drew close to Noxscasarsis, and swung his blade aflame with Strong Qi.
Slaaaash…….
The Sword Qi tore through the Shield surrounding Noxscasarsis’s body, severed the faint strand binding the Magic Circles to his chest, and continued through—splitting open the dragon’s scaled breast as well.
Crackle-pop.
Noxscasarsis’s chest split open along the path of the Sword Qi, and a scream tore from his throat.
Kyaaaaaaagh…….
Jang Gain froze in surprise, nearly bringing his blade down on another strand connected to a second Circle, but stopped himself.
“What—what?! Dragon scales are harder than steel, yet you split them so easily?”
“Stop!”
It was Mayarwanta’s urgent cry.
Jang Gain had already halted; he stepped back aboard Sillon while Noxscasarsis, clutching his chest, plummeted toward the ground.
Mayarwanta, reverting to his true form, caught his falling son in both hands and immediately examined the wound on his chest.
“Phew—fortunately, it’s not deep! The heart wasn’t damaged. Great Heal!”
As Mayarwanta cast the healing spell, the gash across Noxscasarsis’s chest sealed shut at remarkable speed.
“Jang Gain, were you trying to kill my son?”
“No. If I intended to kill him, I would have aimed for the heart. I only cut that faint vessel connecting the Magic Circles to his chest because I saw it.”
“Hmm. True—the angle of your strike wasn’t aimed at the heart. But even so, there was an unsettling Aura imbued in that attack.”
“I apologize for that. I’m still not skilled at controlling my strength, so I didn’t realize the wound would be this deep.”
“Even if you’re still clumsy with power control, you should have been more careful with an Aura that ominous.”
“My apologies.”
“Ughhhh! Father, don’t blame Jang Gain like that.”
Noxscasarsis spoke up at that moment.
“Are you feeling better now, Noxscasarsis?”
“Yes, I’m managing now. I really thought I was going to die just then.”
“If Jang Gain intended to kill you, you would have been dead in one stroke.”
“Y-you’re right. Jang Gain, what was that attack? I saw how you severed a Duke-rank Demon’s finger before, so I prepared a double Absolute Shield—yet you pierced through it and split my chest open?”
“I told you already. Once I’m fully adapted to this body, I’ll be able to fight Duke-rank Demons.”
“But you haven’t fully adapted yet. It’s only been one day—you’re already this strong?”
“Honestly, I could have beaten you before the Transcendence. Now that I’ve achieved it, it’s child’s play.”
“Damn, are you actually human? It’s ridiculous. Father, Jang Gain is incredibly strong.”
“Ha-ha, I saw it myself. I agreed to the match thinking it would be interesting to test a human who’d just achieved Transcendence—but now I realize I need to brace myself mentally for our rematch in a month’s time.”
As Mayarwanta exhaled in relief, watching his son rise to his feet, Virus and Tapaknaaru approached.
“Jang Gain, you’re no longer a Swordmaster—you’re a Grand Master now.”
“From what I can tell, you’re the strongest Grand Master in recorded history.”
Jang Gain nodded at their words.
Since the ability to wield Strong Qi in Zhongyuan marked entry into the Absolute Realm, by this world’s standards, he supposed he truly was a Grand Master.
“Would either of you care to spar with me?”
“No, I’ll pass.”
“I’ll pass too. I don’t have the confidence to beat you.”
When both dragons demurred, Jang Gain shrugged.
“Even if you both come at me together, that’s fine.”
* * *
Whoosh.
The Grand Duke Fura Noid, who had followed on the Chimera Gargoyle as Jang Gain and the dragons flew far from the Military Camp, stood motionless for a long while, his mouth hanging open and his eyes blinking rapidly.
‘He split the dragon Noxscasarsis’s chest open in a single stroke!’
Through this journey, having encountered both dragons and countless demons beyond measure, he understood keenly how formidable dragons truly were.
He had believed it would take ten Sword Masters joining forces to stand against a dragon, yet Jang Gain had felled one in a single blow, leaving it shrieking as it plummeted from the sky.
‘I knew Gain was strong, but not to this degree — not enough to contend with a dragon so easily!’
Had the Ancient-class dragon not intervened, the Wyrm-class dragon would have perished this day.
After that, he watched as the Ancient-class dragon healed the Wyrm-class dragon’s wounds with magic and spent a long while conversing in human form, but the distance was too great to hear what they were saying.
Glimmer, glimmer…….
Then the Communication Orb in his possession began to glow.
He drew it out, infused it with his aura, and the King of Granjunor appeared.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
―Grand Duke Fura Noid. Are you now able to communicate?
“Yes. Communication is now possible.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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