Light Novel: Volume 23 Episode 12
Manhwa: N/A
Swoosh!
The deadly strikes of the Heavenly Sword of the Bloody Wolf unfolded one after another.
Like the deadly and fierce fangs of a wolf, the sword strikes targeted Pyo-wol’s entire body. However, Pyo-wol was able to deflect all the attacks with his two daggers or dodge them by shifting his body slightly.
Gu Jin-wang had been a formidable martial artist long enough to ascend to the ranks of the Eight Constellations.
Avoiding such an attack from a martial artist of that caliber at close range was not just a matter of having high martial arts skills.
It required both a super-sensory sense to anticipate the opponent’s attack and a steady mind that does not lose rationality under any circumstances.
It was already rare for a martial artist to possess even one of these qualities, let alone both.
One of those few was Pyo-wol.
Having survived numerous brushes with death, he possessed a resolute heart that could calmly accept even his own demise.
In addition, the extrasensory perception he had cultivated in the underground cave had pushed him beyond human limits.
The muscles in Gu Jin-wang’s right shoulder twitched slightly.
By observing the minute movement of his muscles, the direction of his elbow, and the change in the position of his fingers holding the sword hilt, Pyo-wol could predict Gu Jin-wang’s movement in advance.
Then based on the movements he predicted, he would think of a way to counter them.
All of this was made possible because of Black Lightning.
All human bodily reactions are based on electric impulses, and Black Lightning stimulates the inherent lightning in the brain to maximize reaction speed.
This was how Pyo-wol managed to employ the strategy of reacting and attacking after the opponent had moved, hereby dominating them with a later action.1
However, when his achievements were lower than now, he could not dare to attempt this strategy against an absolute master like Gu Jin-wang.
The movements of masters who have reached an absolute realm are unpredictably erratic and fast. But after surpassing several barriers, Pyo-wol’s nerves developed to the extreme, beyond human limits.
His body reacts first based on the information he unconsciously receives from his eyes and senses.
Clang!
Unavoidable attacks were deflected away with a swing of his daggers, while all other attacks were dodged.
The process of parrying, deflecting, and counterattacking flowed as naturally as water.
Gu Jin-wang doubted his own eyes.
The sight of Pyo-wol performing such unbelievable feats against him seemed like a mirage.
“What kind of sorcery are you using?”
Pyo-wol was stabbing and swinging his daggers at a distance close enough to feel his breath.
Though the length of his sword gave him an advantage, at such close range, it was difficult to fully exert its power.
Moreover, the paths of the two swords interfered with each other’s movements, making it worse than wielding a single sword in terms of executing sword techniques.
Gu Jin-wang sheathed the Golden Emperor back into its scabbard and opened his hands.
A powerful force burst forth from the palm of his outstretched hand.
Bang!
With the sound of air exploding, his body flew backwards.
He aimed to create distance and initiate a slicing attack. However, he couldn’t achieve his plan.
Thud!
That was because his body suddenly stopped in mid-air, and he was pulled straight back towards Pyo-wol.
Looking down at his ankle, he noticed it was wrapped with a faint silver thread.
Pyo-wol had somehow caught his ankle with the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Gu Jin-wang rotated his body in mid-air and used his sword to cut the silver thread binding his ankle.
Thanks to that, he regained his freedom but doing so also allowed Pyo-wol to close in on him again.
Pyo-wol slithered closer like a snake.
He was using Snake Steps.
After tucking a dagger into his leather belt, Pyo-wol threw a punch. It was Jade Destruction, a technique that concentrates power into a single point to cause an explosion.
Boom!
With a loud bang, Gu Jin-wang’s body was sent flying backwards.
He had unfolded his force again to block Jade Destruction.
The look of embarrassment on Gu Jin-wang’s face was obvious.
This was because Pyo-wol’s martial prowess exceeded his imagination.
He had already fought Pyo-wol once, so he had an idea of who he was up against. But at the same time, he could only assess Pyo-wol’s martial prowess based on his memories of the past.
Even though Pyo-wol had made a fiery reputation and name for himself in Jianghu as the “Reaper,” in his memories, Pyo-wol was still trapped in the past.
This discrepancy was what had pushed Gu Jin-wang into a defensive position.
Hiss!
With a flick of his finger, Pyo-wol sent an almost invisible silver thread aiming for Gu Jin-wang’s vital points. However, Gu Jin-wang was a supreme expert, capable of detecting even the slightest movement of the silver thread.
“No, you won’t! Brat!”
He roared angrily as he swung Gongbu.
With a single slash of Gongbu, the silver thread snapped and disappeared.
However, Pyo-wol did not even blink an eye as he drew out the Snake Qi Thread.
The Snake Qi Thread, a condensed form of qi, possessed a power different from the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Gu Jin-wang immediately sensed the danger of the Snake Qi Thread.
Kuuuu!
Qi surged along Gongbu.
“Heavenly Wolf Bites the Sky!”2
Gu Jin-wang unleashed his most powerful move yet using the sword qi.
This attack was on a completely different level compared to his previous attacks.
Just as its name, Heavenly Wolf Bites the Sky, suggests, it tore through the space where Pyo-wol had been standing just moments before, as if a heavenly wolf had bitten through the sky.
The space was left empty, as if it had been erased from the world.
As is the way of the world, what is emptied must be filled again, and the space that had been torn by Heavenly Wolf Bites the Sky healed back to its original state. Had there been anyone within it, they would have disappeared without a trace.
Fortunately, Pyo-wol was able to avoid the Heavenly Wolf Bites the Sky by using Snake Steps.
Gu Jin-wang relentlessly pursued Pyo-wol, who managed to evade him.
“Uahaha!”
He burst into mad laughter, continuously unleashing his most powerful attacks.
His appearance was like that of a madman.
A madman with such powerful martial arts was a disaster like no other.
Even when pushed into a corner, Pyo-wol’s expression did not change.
Gu Jin-wang was undoubtedly an absolute powerhouse.
He possessed a powerful martial art that could dominate the world.
In addition, he had a wild temper and a wolf-like nature and instincts, making him the worst kind of opponent.
Once caught up in Gu Jin-wang’s momentum, it was difficult to maintain composure and display one’s true skills.
But Pyo-wol was different.
His mind, honed from his time in the underground caverns, would not be swayed by such momentum.
Illuminate the darkness, a single candle flame.3
A single candle is enough to light the deep darkness,
My forefront darkness, a firm heart.5,6
A steadfast heart is enough to see through the darkness before me.
This was the mindset Pyo-wol brought from his time in the underground caverns.
Whoosh!
Pyo-wol charged straight at Gu Jin-wang.
The sight of Pyo-wol wielding a dagger in one hand and the Snake Qi Thread in the other was truly terrifying. But Gu Jin-wang rejoiced instead.
‘You’ve lost your mind. You dare to attack me head-on–!’
No matter how strong Pyo-wol’s martial arts were, he was still fundamentally an assassin.
An assassin’s martial arts might have the power to kill a person in one blow, but it was ineffective against a supreme master like himself.
“Chaaat!”
Gu Jin-wang let out a scream as he swung Gongbu.
Heavenly Wolf Clawing the Sky.4
The sword qi imbued with Gongbu stretched a whole zhang, sweeping across Pyo-wol.
Crackling!
The immense power of the sword qi clawed its way towards Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol, perhaps not expecting the sword qi to suddenly extend a whole zhang, found himself unable to dodge.
He gritted his teeth and concentrated his internal energy into the dagger to block Gu Jin-wang’s sword qi.
‘It’s done!’
A light of joy appeared in Gu Jin-wang’s eyes.
Qi also surged around Pyo-wol’s dagger.
Qi was able to block qi. However, depending on the weapon one used, the power varied by a thousandfold.
Naturally, there was a vast difference in the power of qi manifested from a small dagger compared to that of a long sword.
Kwah!
Gu Jin-wang’s sword qi shattered Pyo-wol’s dagger, sending it crashing to the side.
“Kahaha!”
Gu Jin-wang laughed out loud, unable to contain his joy.
His laughter closely resembled the howl of a wolf.
He could already see Pyo-wol falling in front of him, cut down in two.
The pleasure of defeating such a threatening enemy was indescribably exhilarating.
This was it.
It was this thrill that kept him from leaving Jianghu.
He was always the victor.
Those who have not experienced the feeling of roaring in victory as the winner would never be able to understand it.
“I am Gu Jin-wang. The king of wolves, Gu Jin-wang! I am the true warrior. Uahaha!”
Gu Jin-wang shouted loudly in joy.
His voice, filled with formidable internal energy, caused the vast reed field to tremble greatly.
The reed leaves that had fallen during their battle soared into the air and whirled around.
As Gu Jin-wang basked in his victory, a strange sight suddenly caught his eye.
The body of the man he thought he had cut into two had vanished without a trace.
“What?”
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him, snapping him back to reality.
Only then did he realize that he hadn’t felt any sensation in the hand that had supposedly slashed Pyo-wol.
Overexcitement had numbed his senses.
At that moment, he felt a chill run down his spine.
He didn’t need to see to know.
That Pyo-wol had tricked his eyes with an illusion and was standing behind him.
Pyo-wol had used the Demon Shadow Exchange to deceive Gu Jin-wang’s eyes and get behind him.
Swoosh!
“Argh!”
Gu Jin-wang screamed in agony as he felt a burning pain in his left shoulder.
His left arm, which had been intact, was severed, falling to the ground. A tremendous amount of blood spurted from the shoulder.
Gu Jin-wang stared at his now empty left shoulder, eyes wide.
Pyo-wol had cut off his left arm with the Snake Qi Thread.
His eyes contained a mixture of horror and anger as realization sank in that he only had one arm left.
“You, You bastard!”
Gu Jin-wang swung Gongbu at Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol briefly retreated, then dove back into Gu Jin-wang’s embrace.
No matter how much of an absolute master Gu Jin-wang was, it would be impossible for him to adjust to losing an arm right away.
Losing an arm would throw his entire body off balance, and the pain would inevitably slow his reactions.
A reaction even a breath too late was insufficient to block Pyo-wol.
Thud!
Pyo-wol plunged his dagger deeply into Gu Jin-wang’s abdomen.
“Keugh!”
Gu Jin-wang groaned but still executed the Heavenly Wolf Blood Fang Sword. However, by then, Pyo-wol had already leapt back.
Gu Jin-wang bit his lip hard as he glared at Pyo-wol.
His eyes, bloodshot, looked as if they could spill blood at any moment.
Fortunately, at the moment the dagger was embedded, he had tightened the muscles in his abdomen to stop the bleeding. Otherwise, he would have been drained of strength immediately upon being stabbed.
“Damn it!”
Gu Jin-wang spun his body and soon executed his qinggong.
He had chosen to flee.
Pyo-wol had not expected that the Wolf King, of all people, would choose to flee in such a cowardly manner once again.
The Wolf King had already chosen to flee before, but at that time, he had no choice but to do so because of the intervention of Sage Il-gum.
But regardless of that, it was clear that Gu Jin-wang was a cowardly man who could flee at any time in the face of death.
Looking at him, Pyo-wol realized how hollow and fleeting a person’s reputation in Jianghu could be.
A person’s true nature is revealed when they are faced with the threat of death.
It was evident that Gu Jin-wang had never faced such a crisis before.
Thus, when death loomed over him, he cast aside all pretenses of dignity and chose to flee.
‘To think Noh Tae-tae died at the hands of such a worthless man.’
Noh Tae-tae was about to die soon anyway, but the fact that she was killed by someone as lowly as Gu Jin-wang infuriated him.
Noh Tae-tae was not someone who should have died at the hands of someone like Gu Jin-wang.
At the very least, she deserved a more dignified rest than that.
That’s why Pyo-wol could never forgive Gu Jin-wang.
A comfortable death was a luxury to him.
At the very least, he should experience the fear of death that the warriors of the Imperial Yuan Merchant Group had felt.
Whoosh!
Pyo-wol executed his qinggong to chase after Gu Jin-wang.
He performed the Grass-Treading Flight, ascending above the reeds.
From a distance, he saw the back of Gu Jin-wang making his way through the reed forest.
Having lost an arm and with a dagger embedded in his abdomen, Gu Jin-wang couldn’t move at his usual speed.
He had lost so much blood that his running speed was significantly slowed.
It was only a matter of time before he caught up to him.
It was then.
“Hehe!”
Suddenly, the laughter of a child burst forth in front of Gu Jin-wang.
Swoosh!
Just then, a chilling slicing sound followed, and Gu Jin-wang’s head was severed as he ran.
LUNACAVE
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