Light Novel: Volume 17 Episode 5
Manhwa: N/A
Sss!
Gwiya climbed up Pyo-wol’s chest and settled on his neck.
The man and snake pair stared at the gigantic Jiaolong that was charging toward them.
Its enormous jaws, which looked like they could swallow rocks, were filled with thorn-like teeth. Once caught in those teeth, even an immortal would find it impossible to escape.
Crack!
The boulder that Pyo-wol was standing on turned to dust as it got caught in Jiaolong’s teeth.
It was a spectacle that could even make the usually composed Pyo-wol lose his cool.
Swoosh!
Every time the giant Jiaolong freely changed its direction, its scales collided, emitting a peculiar whistling sound.
The sound was so irresistibly enticing that anyone with a weak mind could have their soul stolen in an instant.
Boom! Bang!
Jiaolong attacked Pyo-wol at an unbelievably high speed.
Its massive body moved like a whip.
Each time the Jiaolong moved, a loud sound erupted. It was the sound that occurred when the speed of a whip reached its peak.
Using Snake Steps, Pyo-wol dodged Jiaolong’s attack. However, he couldn’t keep evading forever.
Pyo-wol looked straight into Jiaolong’s eyes.
His own reflection was clearly visible in those massive eyes.
Those emotionless, lifeless pupils had the power to instill fear in anyone who looked into them.
This is why many people are repulsed by and keep their distance from snakes.
Nothing is as dangerous as an animal whose intentions you cannot fathom.
But Pyo-wol was different.
Having lived with snakes, he was better at reading their thoughts and emotions than anyone else.
Jiaolong was grieving.
Had it recuperated after failing to ascend and made another effort, perhaps a second chance might have come its way, albeit it would take much longer. However, being subdued by Kyung Musaeng meant that all chances had evaporated for Jiaolong.
The heavens do not accept creatures touched by human hands.
Even if Jiaolong had a second chance and made an effort, it would never have the opportunity to ascend.
All that remained for Jiaolong was to serve as Kyung Musaeng’s pet for the rest of its life, accumulating bad karma.
This was not a life Jiaolong wanted.
But it had no choice. It was completely subdued by Kyung Musaeng.
Even if it wanted to die, it couldn’t do so of its own free will. Until Kyung Musaeng chose to release it, Jiaolong would have to live this way forever.
Even now, its attacks on Pyo-wol were beyond its will, compelled by these circumstances.
Roar!
With its jaws wide open, it charged at Pyo-wol at full speed. But what Jiaolong bit into was nothing but empty air. There was no sensation of any kind in its mouth.
Pyo-wol deployed Black Lightning to maximize his reaction speed.
Thud!
His fist struck Jiaolong’s body.
Although Pyo-wol’s attack was powerful enough to crush a boulder, Jiaolong’s body only shook for a moment, but it didn’t take any damage.
Jiaolong’s scales were not only harder than steel but also had a high degree of elasticity, absorbing any kind of shock.
Boom!
Pyo-wol threw another punch.
Again, he felt a strong recoil in his fist but couldn’t inflict any damage on Jiaolong.
Pyo-wol’s favorite martial art was the Soul-Reaping Thread. However, he couldn’t bind or strike the massive beast with it.
Even if the Soul-Reaping Thread were strong enough to bind the creature, once it twisted its body, it would be broken in an instant.
The only thing left was the Snake Qi Thread.
Pyo-wol created a Snake Qi Thread to attack Jiaolong.
Swoosh!
Just as the Snake Qi Thread was about to strike, Jiaolong fiercely shook its scales. The subtle but violent vibrations sent the Snake Qi Thread flying.
Kyung Musaeng, who was fighting Ghost King, shouted,
“You think you can handle Jiaolong like that? It might not have ascended to a dragon, but it has abilities no less than one!”
“Jiaolong is not a dragon. It lost the chance to become one because of you.”
“Hmph! What are you talking about? I gave a dying creature a second life. It’s grateful to me.”
Madness flickered in Kyung Musaeng’s eyes.
He sincerely believed Jiaolong was grateful to him.
Kyung Musaeng shouted at Jiaolong,
“What are you doing? Finish him off! Digest him entirely without leaving a scrap!”
Roar!
At Kyung Musaeng’s command, Jiaolong’s eyes glowed with renewed savagery.
Jiaolong attacked Pyo-wol with terrifying momentum.
With each swing of its massive body, the forest was destroyed.
Pyo-wol’s gaze turned to the black earth.
It was only a short distance away.
If Jiaolong reached the black earth, Hong Ye-seol would be in grave danger.
‘There must be a weak point.’
Even though it hadn’t become a dragon, Jiaolong still had dragon-like characteristics.
Pyo-wol dodged Jiaolong’s attacks while carefully observing it.
It was so huge that it took him a long time to examine its entire body in detail.
In the meantime, there were several close calls.
Each time, Pyo-wol used a mix of Snake Steps and Black Lightning to escape.
‘There’s no weak point on its back or jaw. So, is it the belly?’
The only part Pyo-wol hadn’t checked was the belly.
There was no way to examine Jiaolong’s belly because it remained in contact with the ground.
Under no circumstances did Jiaolong lift its belly from the ground.
To see Jiaolong’s belly, Pyo-wol had to take a risk.
His thoughts were quick, and his actions were even quicker.
Pop!
Pyo-wol suddenly changed direction and rushed towards Jiaolong’s front.
Jiaolong opened its jaws wide and lunged at Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol could clearly see the beast’s teeth and the inside of its throat, then suddenly, Pyo-wol kicked off the ground and flew into the sky.
Swoosh!
Jiaolong’s body twisted at a right angle, following Pyo-wol in mid-air.
Pyo-wol took a quick glance below.
He could vividly see the beast with its jaws open, trying to devour him.
Even a man of iron resolve could not help but feel nauseous in front of such a sight.
In an instant, Pyo-wol shot a Soul-Reaping Thread towards a large tree below.
As the Soul-Reaping Thread wrapped around a branch, Pyo-wol’s body abruptly stopped in mid-air. He then began plummeting down at a terrifying speed, crossing paths with Jiaolong in the air.
In that brief moment, Pyo-wol’s eyes swept across Jiaolong’s belly.
‘I found it.’
A scale the size of an adult fist appeared on the underside of its belly.
Unlike the other dark red scales, this one was exceptionally bright red and even angled differently.
It was clearly its weak point.
Pyo-wol lunged toward it.
Jiaolong realized what Pyo-wol was targeting and tried to change its direction in mid-air, but by then, Pyo-wol was already at the weak point.
Pyo-wol unleashed a blazing attack on the area.
Boom!
Grrraaahh!
Immediately, Jiaolong let out an agonizing roar.
This was a vastly different response from before.
Jiaolong writhed and fell to the ground.
In the meantime, Pyo-wol had once again hit the same spot.
Boom!
Simultaneously, Jiaolong crashed onto the ground.
Jiaolong twisted its body in intense pain, something it had never felt before.
Pyo-wol stood on Jiaolong’s belly, gripping its scales. Jiaolong tried to wrap its massive body around Pyo-wol.
No matter how excellent Pyo-wol’s martial arts were, if he were to be wrapped by Jiaolong, he would be crushed like an insect.
Even under such great threat, without a single tremor, Pyo-wol aimed another punch at Jiaolong.
Crack!
The once-solid scales shattered, exposing the flesh.
Towards the unusually smooth flesh, Pyo-wol used his Black Lightning Snake Qi Thread.
Whoosh!
The Black Lightning Snake Qi Thread pierced the flesh and dug deep.
As if struck by lightning, Jiaolong’s massive body shook violently.
Pyo-wol dismounted from Jiaolong’s belly and approached its head.
Jiaolong’s face, which had been so fierce just a moment ago, looked peaceful now.
The technique connecting Jiaolong to Kyung Musaeng was fading.
“N-No!”
Kyung Musaeng shouted in horror.
He, too, felt his connection with Jiaolong slipping away.
Kyung Musaeng frantically tried to run towards Jiaolong.
He intended to revive it and bind it again with his technique. But this time, the Ghost King stood in his way.
“Move!”
Kyung Musaeng used all sorts of techniques, but the Ghost King silently blocked all of his attacks.
This allowed Pyo-wol to focus on Jiaolong without worrying about Kyung Musaeng.
Jiaolong was panting heavily as if it were about to die at any moment.
The ferocity and madness that were once in its eyes had disappeared, leaving only transparent irises.
Jiaolong looked at Pyo-wol with submissive eyes.
Though its life was in great danger due to Pyo-wol, there was neither fear nor resentment. Instead, it even seemed thankful as it extended its giant tongue to lick Pyo-wol.
“Hoo!”
Pyo-wol sighed as he caressed Jiaolong’s face.
He could feel Jiaolong’s emotions through his hands.
Jiaolong was genuinely thankful to Pyo-wol.
Although it could not ascend and would end its life here, it was relieved that it did not have to commit any more sins.
It was then.
Gwiya, who had been perched on Pyo-wol’s shoulder, slid down and went up to the panting Jiaolong’s head.
Gwiya circled around Jiaolong’s eyes, as if comforting it.
Jiaolong rolled its giant eyes to look at Gwiya, who was comforting it.
Though incomparable in size, the two serpentine creatures shared a deep connection.
Rumble!
Jiaolong’s body shook greatly.
It was just moments from taking its last breath.
Choke!
At that moment, Jiaolong gathered its last strength to spit something out.
It was a small orb.
Smaller than a child’s fist, the color of the orb was incredibly radiant.
Pyo-wol recognized it as a type of inner core.
Having failed to ascend, most of its spiritual energy had flown away.
All that remained was this small inner core.
Normally, it would have used this small inner core to grow bigger. But after being enslaved by Kyung Musaeng, its growth had stopped, and the inner core had lost most of its energy.
Jiaolong looked back and forth between its inner core and Gwiya.
Pyo-wol realized what Jiaolong was trying to say.
“Do you want me to give this inner core to Gwiya?”
Jiaolong flicked its tongue as if to say yes.
Even though it had failed to ascend, it hoped that its little friend, the last person to comfort it, would not suffer the same fate.
Pyo-wol cupped his hand over Jiaolong’s face and replied,
“Then so be it.”
The next moment, Jiaolong closed its eyes.
It was no longer writhing in pain.
It was freed from everything that had been pressuring it.
It was a peaceful death.
Gwiya stood as still as a ghost over Jiaolong’s head.
It was as if it was mourning Jiaolong’s death.
Pyo-wol spoke to Gwiya,
“Take this. It’s a gift your friend left for you.”
Gwiya looked at its dead friend’s face for a moment before climbing onto Pyo-wol’s hand. Then, like a bird incubating an egg, it coiled around the inner core Jiaolong had left behind.
“Son of a—!”
At that moment, a furious shout erupted from Kyung Musaeng behind him.
Turning around, Pyo-wol saw Kyung Musaeng approaching with a menacing aura.
“How dare you kill Jiaolong? I will never forgive you!”
Kyung Musaeng looked like a demon.
His twisted face and emanating aura were truly horrifying.
Pyo-wol looked at the Ghost King.
The Ghost King was frozen in place, immobilized, as if he had been struck down by Kyuung Musaeng’s technique.
Even though the Ghost King possessed formidable skills that could dominate everyone with fear, he was ineffective against this one person, Kyung Musaeng.
His soul was entangled by the Soul-Binding Technique, rendering him unable to exert his full strength.
They had a kind of natural-enemy relationship.
It was a wonder how the Ghost King had been successful against Kyung Musaeng until now.
Having seen Jiaolong defeated, Kyung Musaeng sacrificed the talisman in his arms and unleashed a powerful technique.
The more powerful the technique, the stronger the backlash.
He had been cautious about crossing that line so far, but losing Jiaolong made him lose his rationality.
Kyung Musaeng unleashed a powerful technique, even at the cost of sacrificing his talisman and suffering significant internal injuries from the backlash. However, he did not care about the pain and walked towards Pyo-wol.
Kyung Musaeng’s gaze was fixed on Gwiya and the inner core in Pyo-wol’s hand.
“You’ve taken the most precious thing from me, so I’ll take yours.”
His gaze was filled with greed as he looked at Gwiya.
He might have lost Jiaolong, but the thought occurred to him that if he could obtain Gwiya, who had absorbed the inner core, it wouldn’t be such a loss.
Although small in size, Gwiya’s potential was endless.
If Gwiya were to ascend after the passage of a long time, it might become a dragon, and he would be the one controlling it.
You cannot copy content of this page