Light Novel: Volume 16 Episode 24
Manhwa: N/A
“Lee Geumhan is unfolding the Heaven Slaying Sword?”
Namgung Seol couldn’t suppress her astonishment.
Lee Geumhan was a person with immense pride.
His pride in the way of the sword was so strong that he did not use it against an opponent who he deemed not worthy of it. Especially the secret sword technique of his sect, the Heaven Slaying Sword, possessed such an intense murderous aura that he restrained himself to the utmost extent from unleashing it.
But Lee Geumhan was using the Heaven Slaying Sword from the beginning.
At least, it was the first time Namgung Seol had seen this since meeting Lee Geumhan.
Swish!
A chilling sound of slicing filled the air.
For a moment, Namgung Seol felt an illusion as if she were being cut.
This sword technique, made to slay the heavens, was the embodiment of murderous intent.
A slight mistake could result in the master being consumed by the technique, which was why among the direct descendants of the Frenzied Warrior Sect, only one successor was taught this technique.
Lee Geumhan had mastered the Heaven Slaying Sword at the eighth level.
Although he has yet to reach such a level of great success, his current accomplishments were enough to make him unrivaled in his age group.
The mere fact that Lee Geumhan was unfolding the Heaven Slaying Sword itself was proof that he acknowledged Pyo-wol.
‘Is he much greater than I thought?’
Namgung Seol’s expression stiffened.
Zzaaaang!
At that moment, the two clashed.
Lee Geumhan unfolded the Heaven Slaying Sword with all his might, while Pyo-wol took out all nine phantom daggers.
Shooo!
Lee Geumhan’s Heaven Slaying Sword aimed at Pyo-wol’s throat, but his sword did not touch Pyo-wol’s body.
Kaang!
The phantom dagger deflected Lee Geumhan’s sword.
As a result, one phantom dagger shattered like a reed. However, Pyo-wol still had eight more phantom daggers.
Swish! Swish!
The phantom daggers circled, taking turns in attacking Lee Geumham’s vital points, but none of them were able to penetrate the sword barrier that Lee Geumhan had created.
Kakakakang!
Again and again, the sword and the phantom daggers clashed.
Each time the two weapons clashed, a tremendous shockwave would burst out, sweeping through the surroundings.
“Hoo!”
Namgung Seol’s complexion turned pale.
The shockwave had shaken her internal energy.
She, too, was also a martial arts master.
Having learned the martial arts of the Heavenly Guardian Association from a young age, it was hard for her to find an opponent who matches her in strength. Naturally, the depth of her cultivation and internal energy was also impressive.
No ordinary attack would be able to shock her in the slightest. Yet, now, a mere shockwave and not even a direct blow was shaking her internal energy.
It meant that Pyo-wol and Lee Geumhan’s martial prowess far exceeded hers.
In the case of Lee Geumhan, she could understand well enough.
He was a man who inherited the teachings of the Frenzied Warrior Sect, the strongest sect in the world.
But she couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible for Pyo-wol.
He was far beyond Namgung Seol’s comprehension.
“How could a mere assassin–”
She was at a loss for words as she witness Pyo-wol fighting on equal terms with Lee Geumhan.
She realized that she had to change her preconceived notions about him.
‘I should not think of him as a mere assassin. He’s a worthy competitor to Geumhan.’
Namgung Seol kept her eyes on Pyo-wol.
Although it was highly unlikely, if Lee Geumhan ever lost to Pyo-wol, she had to cover it up by all means.
At that moment, the voice of the Snowflake Sword Squad leader reached her ears.
―I apologize for arriving late.
―Surround the area quickly.
―Understood.
The leader responded promptly to Namgung Seol’s command.
Despite receiving some damage from Pyo-wol, the Snowflake Sword Squad was still standing,
They surrounded the area without a sound.
Namgung Seol narrowed her eyes as she watched the fight between Pyo-wol and Lee Geumhan.
Kwaaa!
The duel between the two reached its climax in an instant.
Lee Geumhan’s sword had tremendous destructive power.
He did not use any sword energy or sword force in his attacks.
He attacked Pyo-wol with just his swordsmanship which made it all the more terrifying and powerful.
Zzzing!
Another phantom dagger exploded upon colliding with the sword.
Now, only two intact phantom daggers were left. The rest have been shattered by Lee Geumhan’s sword. But even the two remaining ones were not in perfect condition either. Both had their teeth missing and cracks appearing.
Pyo-wol realized.
It was time for him to abandon the phantom dagger.
Those weapons had served him well, but he had ascended to a world where such weapons no longer worked.
His ongoing fight with Lee Geumhan made it clear to him that phantom daggers would not work against the strong opponents he would face from now on
Puff!
The remaining two phantom daggers turned to dust.
Pyo-wol virtually had no weapons left right now. The hidden weapons he had stored in the Black Dragon Robe would not be of any use against someone like Lee Geumhan.
Nevertheless, Pyo-wol did not look dejected.
He had mainly used the phantom dagger because he was accustomed to it, but his main martial art was not the dagger technique.
Pyo-wol charged at Lee Geumhan with his bare body.
He sprinted along the shortest line connecting point to point, and then, threw a punch.
No frills, no fancy moves, no unnecessary trickery.
All he had was the intent to kill his opponent.
For a moment, Lee Geumhan felt a chill down his spine.
Boom!
With a metallic sound bursting forth, Pyo-wol’s fist collided with Lee Geumhan’s sword.
But, Pyo-wol did not strike the tip of the sword, he aimed for its body.
A faint crack had appeared on the body of the sword, crafted with great care by the best craftsman of the Frenzied Warrior Sect.
Lee Geumhan frowned at the unbelievable sight.
Pyo-wol’s attack was an application of the Starving Demon Secret Arts: Human Body Destruction Technique.1,2
Even humans who had been trained to the utmost extremes would have weaknesses, and he assumed that the same was true for weapons, even if they had been painstakingly tempered and infused with the user’s internal energy.
And, Pyo-wol’s idea paid off.
His Human Body Destruction Technique worked on weapons as well.
It was just a pity that he couldn’t destroy the weapon in one go because his opponent’s level was too high.
But now, Lee Geumhan knew his level, so he would surely be on full alert.
Pyo-wol wouldn’t have the same advantage as before.
Still, it didn’t matter.
It only takes a small key to open a tightly closed door.
What Pyo-wol needed now was nothing but a steadfast heart.
Illuminate the darkness, a single candle flame.3,4
My forefront darkness, a firm heart.5,6
A single candle is enough to light the deep darkness,
and a steadfast heart is enough to see through the darkness before me.
Unleash Black Lightning.
The dormant lightning in his body stimulated his nerves.
Zing!
His body tingled as if struck by lightning.
The nerves that were stimulated by lightning twitched sharply on the end.
The widely opened nerves expanded Pyo-wol’s senses several times over.
The view opened, and a new world was revealed.
A world that only Pyo-wol could see and feel.
Pyo-wol burst through that door and rushed toward Lee Geumhan.
Startled!
Lee Geumhan was taken aback by Pyo-wol’s face that suddenly appeared.
From his point of view, it looked like Pyo-wol had just ripped through space. However, he did not panic and unfolded his sword technique, Heaven Slaying Sword.
Screetch!
A sword cry, reminiscent of a ghost’s wail, resonated eerily.
If Pyo-wol had sped up his own time using Black Lightning, Lee Geumhan’s sword cut through space faster than lightning, tearing through Pyo-wol’s world.
Lee Geumhan’s sword grazed Pyo-wol’s nose by a hair’s breadth.
A little further, and Pyo-wol’s face would have been slashed off. In fact, Lee Geumhan had attempted to do so. However, his sword never reached Pyo-wol’s face.
Because Pyo-wol had retreated just as far as the sword had extended.
As the sword passed, Pyo-wol’s counterattack began.
His fist slammed into Lee Geumhan’s side.
Thud!
A force that could break even boulder.
Yet, Lee Geumhan was unharmed.
He had spread his palm that was not holding the sword to block Pyo-wol’s attack.
Boom, boom, boom!
Fierce clashing sounds and explosive noises intertwined countless times.
Pyo-wol unfolded Jade Destruction, while Lee Geumhan unleashed the Heaven Slaying Sword in succession.
Swish!
Pyo-wol’s shoulder split open, and blood sprayed out like threads.
But that didn’t mean that Lee Geumhan was in good shape either.
When he least expected it, a Soul-Reaping Thread pierced his shoulder.
Pyo-wol pulled the Soul-Reaping Thread back.
An ordinary opponent would have been dragged along at this point. However, Lee Geumhan was no ordinary martial artist.
With a great swing of his sword, he cut off the Soul-Reaping Thread that had penetrated his shoulder. The thread, made of qi, was cut too easily.
Shriek!
Lee Geumhan’s body spun, his sword slashing horizontally.
It was an attack combined with the Wheel Turning Step.
His acceleration and destructive power instantly increased by several times.
Keeeeng! Screeeeech!
The sound of mechanical gears turning fiercely resounded as his body spun.
It was a movement that defied common sense.
Lee Geumhan was fighting Pyo-wol with all his might.
He had long since abandoned his thoughts of underestimating Pyo-wol.
‘This fellow is also a man sent by the heavens.’
There are occasionally such individuals.
Those who are born from the bottom with absolutely nothing, but soon rise to great power with their own strength.
Such was the case with the Fist Demon of Mount Hua in the olden days, and more recently with Lee Gwak, the founder of the Frenzied Warrior Sect.
They all shared one thing in common, and that was that they all had changed the course of history.
Lee Geumhan had inherited the legacy of his grandfather Lee Gwak.
He was confident in his own accomplishments and martial arts, but all of it was not achieved through his strength alone.
If he did not have his background and the support of Lee Gwak and the Frenzied Warrior Sect, none of his current achievements would have been possible.
Lee Geumhan wondered.
The true extent of Pyo-wol’s martial prowess, as someone who had crawled up from the bottom on his own power to stand at an equal height with him.
Kiing!
So, Lee Geumhan unleashed his Heaven Slaying Sword with all his might.
Although he had only mastered the said technique to the eighth level, the Heaven Slaying Sword was a transcendent technique.
Its power surpasses that of even the strongest martial arts technique in Jianghu.
With the swing of the Heaven Slaying Sword, the surrounding air vibrated.
Kwaaaa!
It was as if the heavens were enraged.
At this sight, not only Namgung Seol but also the entire Snowflake Sword Squad dared not approach.
“My goodness!”
The Snowflake Sword Squad watched the duel between the two with dazed expressions.
It was a battle beyond anything they could have imagined.
The sight before them was truly unbelievable.
Lee Geumhan was the strongest martial artist they knew.
Lee Geumhan was the only martial artist who could have a fair duel with the Eight Constellations, the top martial artists of the Jianghu.
And Pyo-wol was having an equal duel with such a man. Even when they had heard the rumor that Pyo-wol had defeated one of the Eight Constellations, they were skeptical, but now, they had no choice but to believe it.
It was an unrealistic sight that they would never have believed if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.
Chuwaaak!
A thread of qi shot out from Pyo-wol’s fingertips.
It was not an ordinary Soul-Reaping Thread.
It was the Snake Qi Thread, a bundle of qi threads.
Tatatatatang!
The Heaven Slaying Sword and the Snake Qi Thread clashed countless times.
In terms of destructive power, the Heaven Slaying Sword was superior, but in terms of length and maneuverability, the Snake Qi Thread was far ahead.
Moreover, the one wielding the Snake Qi Thread was Pyo-wol.
He knew how to unleash the power of the Snake Qi Thread to its fullest potential.
He furiously swung the Snake Qi Thread, attacking Lee Geumhan.
Like a carp swimming against the current, Lee Geumhan steadily advanced forward.
It wasn’t difficult to take the first step, but advancing to the following step was twice as difficult.
As he approached, the length of the Snake Qi Thread shortened, and as its length shortened, its power increased.
A tremendous impact pounded his entire body.
His sword had offset most of the impact, but his insides still rumbled.
A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. Still, he didn’t stop advancing.
Finally, he reached Pyo-wol’s vicinity.
It was the distance where the Heaven Slaying Sword could exert its greatest power.
“Chaah!”
Lee Geumhan thrust his sword towards Pyo-wol’s neck.
Pyo-wol naturally blocked his sword with the Snake Qi Thread.
Papapap!
As the sword advanced, it shattered the Snake Qi Thread.
From the part that collided with the sword, the Snake Qi Thread crumbled like sand.
Lee Geumhan’s sword continued to advance without interruption.
It seemed as if his sword would soon pierce Pyo-wol’s chest.
It was then.
The Snake Qi Thread, which had been crumbling helplessly, changed.
Suddenly, a flash of light burst forth, and black lightning shot up along the Snake Qi Thread.
Pyo-wol had imbued the Snake Qi Thread with Black Lightning.
The Snake Qi Thread, combined with the Black Lightning, raised its head again, and like a venomous snake, it bit Lee Geumhan’s Heaven Slaying Sword.
Ssaeaeak!
LUNACAVE
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