Chapter 145

“Huff… huff…”

Am I alive?

Byeok-un quickly checked his senses.

Vision, okay.

Hearing, functioning.

Smell, half-numb.

Touch, pain is rising.

It was the vivid sensation of being alive.

After taking a breath and exhaling, Byeok-un, having finished observing his own condition, focused once again on the enemy before him.

A young man whose face would not be forgotten once seen. Moreover, the clothes he wore, though simple, were of considerable high quality. He must undoubtedly be a nobleman from a prestigious family.

However, Byeok-un’s memory held no record of this young man’s appearance.

Even as the leader of the Wind Chasing Unit, a group within the Martial Alliance renowned for tracking and searching, who had memorized the appearances of all the eccentric figures in the martial world.

‘That’s not important right now.’

If he could identify who the opponent was, it would be a significant advantage, but forcing guesses about the unknown would only waste mental strength and time.

‘The important thing is, he’s an enemy. And an absurdly strong one at that…’

The fact that he had dodged the previous attack was due to sheer luck.

Despite appearing human, he had maintained his guard, and the instant detection of the Wind Evasion Technique, which had reached the realm of unconditional reflex, had allowed him to evade.

‘Can I dodge the next attack?’

Blocking wasn’t even considered. It was obvious he couldn’t block it. Even if he somehow managed to block, if he couldn’t completely deflect the force, it would lead straight to internal injury.

Moreover, Byeok-un’s martial arts were more focused on evasion than blocking and countering.

“Hey, who are you! If you’re after the spoils of this Ghost Gate, take them alone! We won’t interfere!”

Though he knew it wouldn’t work, Byeok-un tried speaking to him.

Even if a refusal came back, it didn’t matter. If he could divert the opponent’s attention even slightly, that alone would be a significant gain.

But perhaps the young man saw through Byeok-un’s shallow intentions.

The young man took another stance. A kind of preparatory move. The energy emanating from the young man’s body was unusual.

The evil energy and demonic energy scattered by the transformed ghosts swirled around the young man. Perhaps he had mastered some evil or demonic arts.

Considering the thunder qi he had shown earlier, he might have learned the famous Purple Lightning Demon Art.

Byeok-un reset the range of his Wind Evasion Technique. The range was a space with a diameter of one zhang.

He set it so that the moment he felt a change in the wind, his body would react immediately without thought.

The air filling this one zhang area would become Byeok-un’s body itself.

Only then did Byeok-un realize something.

He should have noticed it from the start, but the gale brought by the initial strike was so overwhelming that he hadn’t realized it until now.

‘This guy… isn’t breathing?’

The foundation of martial arts is internal energy, and the source of internal energy is breathing.

Thus, it’s no exaggeration to say that martial arts are breathing, and breathing techniques hold immense importance in martial arts.

But a martial artist who doesn’t breathe?

Perhaps he had mastered some evil technique from the Left Path.

‘He’s not human.’

At the moment Byeok-un’s thoughts reached this conclusion, the mysterious young man began to move.

His outstretched arm. No matter how you looked at it, it was the refined movement of a martial artist who had reached the pinnacle of skill.

“Kuh!”

A crescent-shaped slash split the space where Byeok-un had been standing in half. If he hadn’t barely twisted his body using the Iron Plate Technique, he would have been cut in two.

‘Not yet! More is coming!’

A monster.

Byeok-un instinctively knew.

This guy was beyond resistance.

If Byeok-un had been in perfect condition, would it have been different? Without injuries, without depleted stamina, with full internal energy, could he have tried to win?

‘No, even then, escaping would have been difficult.’

The gap in strength that Byeok-un, as a master, could feel.

The more one knows, the more one realizes their own shortcomings.

As the ancients said, “After learning, one knows their insufficiency.”

Those who have just entered the peak realm and can manifest their internal energy externally may temporarily climb the peak of ignorance and think they are the best, but as time passes and they realize the vastness of the world, they fall into the valley of despair.

Only those who rise from that frustration and climb the slope of enlightenment are allowed to reach the realm beyond.

And Byeok-un was a seeker on that path.

He couldn’t help but know.

That this young man-shaped entity was the final destination of his 38-year-long journey.

But, wasn’t that enough for him alone?

“Haaaah—!!”

With a shout, he shook off fear and distress.

The Wind Chasing Unit was the Martial Alliance’s vanguard.

Those who find enemies before anyone else, and lead the flow of the world faster than anyone.

From the moment he joined this organization and vowed to inherit its traditions, Byeok-un had prepared for death.

“So it’s you.”

The master of this Ghost Gate.

The king of the Black Ghost Gate.

The monster that had reached the pinnacle of the transformed ghosts had finally imitated a human form.

At that moment, Byeok-un thought of one more thing.

If you don’t know, you can’t know.

Without learning, you can’t realize your own shortcomings and fill them.

Then, who did this transformed ghost, the master of this Ghost Gate, learn from to take this form?

‘The mastermind… or an ally.’

Someone from the Beonse Sect who opened this Ghost Gate. Or someone who came to help them.

Among them, Byeok-un leaned towards the former. Because he didn’t know him. If it were an ally, at least someone he had met before would come.

If it was someone completely unknown, it was right to consider him an enemy.

Thus, Byeok-un decided to burn his own body to buy a little more time, rather than giving his Wind Chasing Unit members false hope.

“Hup…!”

The Eight Elite Units, who walk with death.

As the leader of such a unit, one always keeps a final trump card.

The final move of the Unyielding Wind Blowing Art, Storm Clearing Moon.

After the final gale blows, the sky will clear, and the moon will rise.

This is the final dance of the Unyielding Wind Blowing Art.

Burning his Innate Life Force, Byeok-un charged at the master of the Ghost Gate.

Originally, Byeok-un was fast enough to leave afterimages, but now he surpassed even that.

The Wind Deity spoken of in Buddhism.

A body of red and black, holding a vajra in hand.

Why search far for it? The Wind Deity was here now.

Byeok-un’s body, converting even his Innate Life Force into internal energy and exploding with energy, was covered in a red-black hue, and the aura energy trailing from his limbs was no different from the fluttering of the vajra in Buddhism.

The flames of a sacrificial fire, burning his remaining life, filled this moment with unparalleled brilliance, hotter than ever before.

Clang! Thud! Screech!

The battle between a human body and a monster’s body.

It was a fierce battle where it was unclear which was the monster and which was the human.

The exchange of attacks repeated several times in a single breath. When Byeok-un threw a punch, the opponent twisted his body and aimed at Byeok-un’s exposed side with the hilt of his sword.

Byeok-un’s body flew through the air. Though he couldn’t actually fly, his movements were more akin to soaring than leaping.

In an instant, Byeok-un, having gained the upper position, aimed his heel at the back of the Ghost Gate Master’s head and struck down. The kick, enhanced with the Thousand Pounds Push technique, was enough to split a cliff, but a sword slash from below cut through Byeok-un’s aura-encased leg.

Thud!

“Kuh!”

Even though it was wrapped in aura energy, it was cut. Fortunately, the Protective Aura Energy prevented the wound from being too deep, but it still hindered his ability to use footwork or kicks.

And that meant Byeok-un, who had barely kept up in a speed battle, was now facing defeat.

‘No! Not yet!’

Just one leg.

That’s all.

And it wasn’t completely severed, just cut.

He didn’t know the Internal Energy Strike Technique. Even though the Ghost Gate Master’s internal energy had cut through his Protective Aura Energy, it didn’t erode his body or cause internal damage.

The sinister energy unique to evil energy crept up, but compared to the countless crises he had faced, it was a drop in the bucket.

Instantly, Byeok-un pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding and, using the internal energy circulating in his body, forcibly reconnected the severed muscle fibers and nerves with a binding technique.

This was possible because he was using the pure life force of Innate Life Force as internal energy.

Yet, the signs of defeat were thick.

Unlike Byeok-un, whose mental strength was rapidly draining like a leaking bucket in a battle where a single mistake meant death, the Ghost Gate Master’s face remained expressionless.

A being that didn’t even breathe, wielding endless energy.

In a prolonged battle, he would undoubtedly have the upper hand over anyone.

The members of the Wind Chasing Unit, who had noticed the battle between Byeok-un and the Ghost Gate Master, could no longer focus on their own fight.

They watched with pained expressions as their leader burned his life away.

“Leader…!”

Song Woojeol’s voice, filled with anguish, was drowned out by the ensuing roar.

Hope.

For that faint hope, Byeok-un willingly sacrificed his life.

And yet.

Why is the heavens so merciless?

Song Woojeol, seeing the figure approaching at an incredible speed from afar, let his arms hang limply.

A young man with the same appearance as the one Byeok-un was fighting.

‘How cruel. The Black Ghost Gate has two Ghost Gate Masters…’

Even in the Blue Ghost Gate, having more than one Ghost Gate Master would cause immense damage, but with the Black Ghost Gate, it felt like an understatement to call it a catastrophe.

Would the despair of facing the White Ghost Gate compare to this?

If only his skills were lacking, if only his vision had failed.

Like the other Wind Chasing Unit members who hadn’t noticed the rapidly approaching figure, he could have died in ignorance, holding onto hope.

But.

Song Woojeol’s thoughts were a complete misjudgment.

The second Ghost Gate Master, who he thought would sweep them away with a single sword stroke.

The moment he drew his evil energy-filled demonic sword, confirming his identity as the Ghost Gate Master.

The demonic sword, imbued with thunder qi, slashed through the Ghost Gate Master’s body.

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