Even after fifty years of wandering the world without rest, Gwak Dan still speaks of the vastness of the world.
Namgung Woo also shares the same sentiment.
Only now does he truly feel how immense the Central Plains are.
Hae Dong Mubi Han Gyeran was also incredibly strong. Though both sides surely had hidden techniques, if they clashed head-on, it felt like one of them might lose an arm.
But what about this man?
Namgung Woo finally encountered an opponent whose future he couldn’t foresee.
‘He’s the Commander of the Imperial Guards, right?’
Truly, he lives up to the reputation of the Imperial Family’s strongest.
The combination of Sword Aura and Protective Aura Energy he just displayed.
Namgung Woo himself could probably do it, but Gwak Dan’s instantaneous judgment was astonishing. With his lack of real combat experience, Namgung Woo couldn’t be confident he could replicate it.
In games like Go or chess, spectators often spot better moves than the players themselves. It’s the tunnel vision effect. When you’re hyper-focused, your vision narrows, making it hard to perceive the surroundings.
Especially in life-and-death battles, it’s even harder to keep an eye on your surroundings.
Yet, Gwak Dan kept an eye on Yi Ja-ryong until the very end, and the moment the spirit spear flew in, he immediately reinforced his Protective Aura Energy.
‘This is the fight of a Peerless Master…’
There were many other things to marvel at, but Namgung Woo stopped his admiration there.
Though it was only a few seconds, that time was enough for the opponent to regain their defensive stance.
“So, you’ve finally come.”
At Yi Ja-ryong’s words, Namgung Woo’s facial muscles twitched.
He speaks as if he knows me.
“Do you know me?”
“Hmm. A question I have no reason to answer.”
“Then I’ll make you answer.”
Another reason to fight.
That man knows something.
That man clearly recognizes Namgung Woo.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Namgung Woo’s body moved, his form blurring like a heat haze.
‘Thirteen Lightning Flash Swords, Electric Play.’
The sword, wrapped in Sword Energy, drew a strange curve, resonating with the protective technique.
What he imagined was a flickering lightning flash.
The afterimage left after the lightning whitened the world.
Beyond a certain point, martial arts aren’t just about moving the body—they manifest the mind into reality. The stronger the will, the more the martial arts twist reality.
Namgung Woo, melting into the waves of energy, used Infinite Steps to position himself behind Yi Ja-ryong.
At that moment, a Whispering Transmission pierced Namgung Woo’s consciousness.
[He’s surrounded by a defensive spell!]
‘I know.’
He had figured that out from the start.
Since entering Manse Mountain, Namgung Woo had been constantly activating the Azure Tranquility Eyes. Eyes that reveal the mysteries of the world. Spells are no exception.
‘I’ll break through.’
A simple Sword Aura might not be enough. But if I pierce the axis of energy forming the spell…
*Whoosh!*
Just like that, the Sword Aura shattered the spell and reached the spellcaster’s body.
‘He dodged?’
He’s not just a spellcaster.
Namgung Woo’s eyes, resonating with the Three Dantians, observed the internal energy coursing through Yi Ja-ryong’s body.
The internal energy racing through his meridians gathered at Yi Ja-ryong’s fingertips.
‘Finger Technique!’
Aura Energy condensed at the tip of the extending finger wind.
Six Harmonies Bone Severing. Sacrificing flesh to break the opponent’s bones.
Namgung Woo recalled the technique Gwak Dan had just shown. The Protective Aura Energy of the Heavenly Aura Protective Technique he had mastered instantly enveloped Namgung Woo’s entire body.
*Boom!*
“A loss for me.”
In the roar of the collision of Aura Energies, Yi Ja-ryong’s self-deprecating mutter flowed.
Namgung Woo’s sword strike split Yi Ja-ryong’s body from the right shoulder.
‘Judging by his karma, he’s never killed anyone. I thought his techniques would be dull…’
And he subtly hinted that he knew Namgung Woo, adding constraints to prevent him from going all out, yet this was the result.
Yi Ja-ryong, when was the last time his calculations were so off?
“Truly, a rebel against heaven. But how pitiful… the efforts of a False Heaven trying to stop the True Son of Heaven.”
While Yi Ja-ryong was lost in his thoughts, Namgung Woo checked his condition.
‘The wound is shallow. His martial arts alone aren’t that threatening. Maybe Transcendent Peak level.’
Using both spells and martial arts is astonishing, but if you separate them, Namgung Woo himself wouldn’t lose.
Gwak Dan, who had been watching their exchange, also noticed. He quickly sent a Whispering Transmission. Unlike Paeng Ha-ryeong or Paeng Mu-ho, his lips didn’t even move—a very refined Whispering Transmission.
[You handle Yi Ja-ryong. You can break his spells, right? In the meantime, I’ll deal with that ginger-like guy and the Ghost Gate.]
Even while sending the Whispering Transmission, Gwak Dan was facing the Yellow Dragon Lion.
The Yellow Dragon Lion’s condition was dire.
One wrist had been severed in the first exchange, and the other arm was crushed below the elbow. Three deep claw marks ran across his torso, and his entrails were spilling out.
Even for a normal person, let alone a martial arts master, such injuries would have been fatal, yet the Yellow Dragon Lion’s movements hadn’t changed.
Was he even alive? No wonder Gwak Dan called him a ginger-like creature.
“Gwak Dan, you’re getting impatient.”
The Whispering Transmission was intercepted. Even though he sensed it, Gwak Dan only twitched an eyebrow.
Spellcasters always pull out unexpected, bizarre techniques. Gwak Dan had seen too many freaks to be shaken by having his Whispering Transmission read.
But.
What happened next left both Gwak Dan and Namgung Woo utterly stunned.
“Unfortunately, I’ll have to settle this here.”
With Yi Ja-ryong’s words, the air began to twist.
*Creak… creak… creak…*
The sound of forcing open an old, rusted hinge.
A chilling noise that evoked an instinctive discomfort in humans.
A door was opening.
§
The opening of the Ghost Gate at the peak of Manse Mountain didn’t just shock Namgung Woo and Gwak Dan, who were nearby.
The barrier set up to conceal the Ghost Gate lost its meaning. The energy waves emitted by the open Ghost Gate far surpassed the barrier’s capacity to hide.
Han Gyeran, who was facing the Blue Dragon Lion, the last pillar of the barrier, felt a chilling, ominous energy that made her skin crawl.
“That kid was right.”
With that level of power, Gwak Dan would have surely struggled alone.
“I hope Xiang likes him.”
It was the moment her resolve to make Namgung Woo her son-in-law solidified.
“But first, let’s finish this.”
Han Gyeran’s body moved along the Eight Trigrams Travel Path, drawing a mysterious trajectory.
After slipping into the Blue Dragon Lion’s blind spot, her hand gently touched his side. But the result was anything but gentle.
*Boom!*
It seemed like just a light touch, but the force behind it was unbelievable.
The destructive power of Han Gyeran’s self-created Falling Pear Blossom Technique and the Internal Energy Strike Technique in perfect harmony.
“Ugh!”
Even as a fellow Transcendent Peak Master, all the Blue Dragon Lion could do was use his internal energy to push back Han Gyeran’s invading energy.
But that was just buying time.
*Thud.*
Han Gyeran stood before the staggering Blue Dragon Lion, who couldn’t even steady himself.
Her shadow, backlit by the moon, fell over him.
In his blurring vision, a sleeve fluttered.
The sleeve of the God of Death.
*Crunch.*
§
Was it only the strong who felt the energy waves from the Ghost Gate?
No.
Even those far below Han Gyeran’s level could sense the anomaly.
Even Yang Kwae and Yang Jeong, who hadn’t reached the peak, could tell something irreversible was happening.
In a way, the Yang Brothers were better off. Either they were self-contained enough to be unaffected by external energy waves, or they were too weak to clearly perceive the energy’s nature, feeling only a vague unease.
But for those who were in between—aware of the energy’s nature but not strong enough to fully protect themselves—it was poison.
That was Paeng Ha-ryeong’s story.
“Ah…”
Overwhelmed by the Ghost Gate’s evil energy, Paeng Ha-ryeong’s body froze.
As if instantly frozen by an immense cold.
Opening all her meridians to face the stronger Black Tortoise Lion had backfired.
Paeng Ha-ryeong, barely holding her own against the Black Tortoise Lion by fully utilizing her meridians. Paeng Ha-ryeong at the late peak stage, and the Black Tortoise Lion, who had just entered the Transcendent Peak.
The Black Tortoise Lion hadn’t yet opened all his meridians. The hidden strength Namgung Woo had mentioned. The Black Tortoise Lion’s internal energy being partially restricted as a barrier pillar.
Several factors had balanced the fight.
But the moment something weakened Paeng Ha-ryeong, the scales tipped sharply.
‘An opening!’
The Black Tortoise Lion was ruthless.
He didn’t hesitate when Paeng Ha-ryeong froze.
His spear shot out like a snake, aiming for Paeng Ha-ryeong’s heart.
“Got you!”
The Black Tortoise Lion’s voice was filled with glee, frustrated at being held back by someone clearly weaker.
And those became his last words.
“Your head, I mean.”
A massive hand covered the Black Tortoise Lion’s face.
“Huh?”
*Crunch!*
An absurd grip crushed the Black Tortoise Lion’s skull.
The spear, losing power, fell to the ground before reaching Paeng Ha-ryeong.
The hand’s owner shook off the blood and brain matter as if disgusted.
The palm, now clean, was calloused all over.
The hand gently patted Paeng Ha-ryeong’s head.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah…? How…?”
“You’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me.”
Paeng Ha-ryeong blinked in disbelief at the presence of someone who shouldn’t be here.
Was she really seeing this?
But the warmth of the hand on her head was undeniably real.
“Dad…?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll finish this and come back.”
The head of the Hapbuk Paeng Family.
Known in the world as the Blade Sovereign.
The Thunderous Blade King, Paeng Hu-sang, had arrived in Beijing.
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