The Journey Seeking Truth (6)
Kang Liang's charge was exceedingly fast.
Even while gripping the collar of a giant who stood a full head taller than him, his movement technique showed no sign of slowing. On the contrary, it seemed to catch the wind and accelerate further, evoking the image of a fierce gale.
Killing intent flared in Jeon Hong's eyes. This bastard. Not content with daring to seize his collar, the man had smashed through a wall and was now pressing the assault.
There were no internal or external injuries, yet his pride had suffered a devastating wound. The instant he was grabbed and shoved, the power behind it had been so overwhelming that he couldn't even resist.
It was only after crashing through the wall and clearing an entire building that Jeon Hong regained control of his hands.
Swish!
Jeon Hong's hands clamped down on the forearm that held his collar.
His hands were large and thick, fitting his massive frame. Most of Kang Liang's trained forearm disappeared beneath them.
Crack!
Jeon Hong's grip strength defied imagination. A terrifying force capable of snapping the captured forearm surged through.
At that moment, Kang Liang did something beyond expectation.
Crack!
"Ugh!"
Jeon Hong's head snapped backward.
His nasal bone shattered completely. The full-powered headbutt nearly sent his consciousness flying.
Seizing the opening, Kang Liang released the hand gripping Jeon Hong's collar and drove both feet powerfully into his chest.
Thud! Crash!
Jeon Hong flew backward at terrifying speed and slammed into the ground.
Swoosh!
Unlike Jeon Hong, Kang Liang landed lightly and looked down at his opponent.
"......
Damn it."
Lying on his back and staring at the sky, Jeon Hong's gaze was surprisingly deep.
Despite the pain of his broken nose, he showed no raw fury. Kang Liang's surprise attack had made it clear this was a real fight where lives could be lost.
That was why Kang Liang could not bring his sword down on the prone Jeon Hong. The openings have vanished. Even lying there casually, no gaps could be seen. There was a flexibility that suggested he could respond to any attack.
Swish!
He flipped his body with a handstand and rose to his feet.
The sequence of movements was incredibly smooth and swift. It was a nimble display that clashed with his bulky frame.
Hiss!
Energy surged from Jeon Hong's body as he expelled the alcohol from his system.
His eyes cleared, and the coldness in his sharp gaze resembled the ice and snow of the northern seas.
"You truly live up to being the successor of a traitorous sect. Your cowardice would make a hyena blush."
The word "traitorous" was truly unpleasant to hear.
But Kang Liang let it pass. This was not the time to compete over who was angrier, but to determine whose skill stood higher.
Kang Liang instead mocked Jeon Hong's words.
"A true warrior must be able to react even while drinking or sleeping. Doesn't the Black Dragon Department teach such things?"
"It seems your specialty is provoking with such nonsense before launching a surprise attack. Is that the secret to how you've survived this long?"
"Trading words with a greenhorn like you would only drain my strength. I had some expectations since you're called Yang Cheon's disciple, but it turns out you're nothing but a half-pint who relies on his master's fame."
"......!"
"Assume your stance. I'll finish this quickly."
Jeon Hong's cheeks trembled faintly.
He had tried not to fall for the provocation, but being called a half-pint with a mention of his master was something he could not endure.
Srrrk.
Jeon Hong lowered his stance and extended both hands.
It looked like a posture meant to push something away, yet also like one meant to tear something apart. His slightly curled hands appeared as dangerous as treasured blades.
Jeon Hong growled like a beast.
"I heard they died quite miserably. Your parents, I mean."
"......"
"Don't worry. I'll send you off gently."
"Mutual understanding, then. I'll send you to your parents' side as well. Huh? But surely they aren't still alive, are they?"
"......"
"Sorry. My mistake."
Jeon Hong's face twisted hideously.
At least in provocation, it seemed Kang Liang held the advantage.
"I'll kill you!"
Booom!
Kang Liang's pupils widened. Fast. Jeon Hong's charge, now fully committed, was terrifyingly swift.
A leopard lacks a wolf's stamina or bite force, yet its instantaneous explosive power and ferocity surpass a wolf's.
Jeon Hong's momentum was exactly like that. His footwork closed the short distance in an instant, resembling that of a wild beast—specifically a leopard.
Jeon Hong's hand swept toward Kang Liang's nape.
Siiiing!
The whipping hand gesture resembled a feline predator's paw strike. It's the Claw Technique.
Neither a clenched fist nor an open palm. The Claw Technique was a brutal method that could seize, scratch, and—if filled with internal energy—tear away flesh or bone.
Jeon Hong's eyes gleamed.
He had noticed Kang Liang dodging the first strike and circling to his right.
His leg swept toward Kang Liang's face.
Baaang!
The sound of the thick, long leg slicing through the air was utterly chilling.
Though the posture had been awkward for leg techniques, at the moment of impact it had transformed into perfection. His physical balance is remarkable. Exceptional power, high-level flexibility, and senses as keen as a wild beast's on top of that.
Swish!
Jeon Hong charged at Kang Liang, who had already retreated rearward.
This leg technique had particularly large motions. Yet he instantly changed stance to pursue, and the speed was blinding.
Kang Liang purely admired Jeon Hong's skill. He's a beast in human form. In terms of physical technique perfection, he wouldn't fall far short even compared to Brother Yeon. Kang Liang had witnessed Yeon Hojeong's body techniques countless times.
At least in his view, Yeon Hojeong's close-quarters combat art was not something one could master through instruction alone. That practical style, brimming with real-battle essence, required thorough experience, ruthless decisiveness, and complete bodily control before one could even begin.
In contrast, Jeon Hong's physical techniques were divine skills built upon profound martial theory. Anyone could begin if taught, but reaching Jeon Hong's level would be nearly impossible for most. It is an absolute technique. In hand-to-hand combat, it lacks nothing to claim supremacy in the dark path. Is this the power of Yang Cheon's martial arts?
Admiration was merely admiration.
Angered by Kang Liang's swift evasions, Jeon Hong's attacks grew even fiercer.
Riiip!
He thought he had dodged by a hair's breadth, yet Jeon Hong's hand had already torn a long strip from his sleeve.
It was a chilling moment. A fraction slower and his forearm would have been seized, and the instant it was seized, that arm would have been ruined.
Kang Liang's body moved like lightning.
For an instant, crimson light also burst from Jeon Hong's eyes. He thought Kang Liang was finally launching an attack.
Whoooosh!
Jeon Hong's prediction was wrong.
With ghostly movement, Kang Liang vaulted over Jeon Hong's shoulder and now gazed at his back, sword in hand.
Jeon Hong turned his head to look at Kang Liang.
Even with his back completely exposed, Kang Liang did not attack.
"What are you playing at?"
Kang Liang did not answer. With the scabbard in his left hand and the hilt in his right, his entire focus remained locked on Jeon Hong's movements.
The corner of Jeon Hong's mouth rose.
"Decent spirit, but perhaps you don't know how to fight?"
Once again, Kang Liang offered no reply.
More accurately, he hadn't heard the words. With only a few exchanges, he had grasped Jeon Hong's general movement patterns.
A strange light flashed in Jeon Hong's eyes. Has he read me? Kang Liang's eyes were constantly scanning his shoulders, breathing, foot positions, and more. He's concentrating. On me.
Jeon Hong turned his body.
Boom!
After stomping powerfully on the ground, Jeon Hong's stance sank even lower than before.
"I absolutely detest sneaky bastards like you."
"......"
"I'll be sure to gouge out those eyes."
Still, no response came from Kang Liang. He simply continued observing every movement.
Whoooosh.
A cold wind blew.
Despite the hot weather, the wind was icy. The two men's sharp, clashing auras had stolen every trace of warmth from the area.
'......'
After a silence that felt like half a shichen though only half a gak had passed, Kang Liang moved first.
Rustle.
His foot advanced half a half-step forward.
Instantly, Jeon Hong's killing intent exploded.
Booom!
Jeon Hong, having kicked off the ground, had already penetrated Kang Liang's range.
It was truly terrifying speed—movement on an entirely different level from before.
Even the claw technique aimed at the carotid artery was far faster and sharper. It was a distance from which drawing and swinging a sword would be nearly impossible. I've won.
Jeon Hong was certain of victory. At this distance, he can't draw his sword.
At that moment, Kang Liang's eyes flashed.
Flash! Boom!
The force released from Jeon Hong's clawing hand left a long, deep scar on the ground.
Jeon Hong's eyes shook.
Slash!
Simultaneously, a diagonal sword wound was carved across his upper body.
It was Kang Liang's strike. From a distance so close that drawing the sword should have been impossible, he had drawn like a ghost, delivered the slash, and vanished from the spot.
"It didn't land cleanly."
Swish!
Immediately after slicing Jeon Hong's upper body, Kang Liang—who had shifted left—closed the distance again and swung his sword.
If Jeon Hong's movements were incomparably faster than before, Kang Liang's were half a beat quicker still.
Fast as lightning and eerie as a specter. It was the Ghost Shadow Divine Step, the supreme footwork of the destroyed Guicheol Sword Sect.
And that was not all.
The pinnacle of the Ghost Sword, blooming with countless sword shadows that painted illusions across the void.
As if finally revealing his true power, Kang Liang's sword art bloomed with countless sword shadows in the air, pressuring Jeon Hong with a beauty that bordered on artistic.
Soon that beauty deepened into something so sinister it sent chills racing down the spine.
The Ghost Sword's ultimate realm—the Ghost Shadow Sword at its zenith—was painting illusions in the empty air.
Clangclangclangclang! Slice!
Jeon Hong's two hands were as solid as steel. He deflected every sword strike that displayed possessed speed and sharpness. The flexibility of his shoulders and upper body was unbelievable even after witnessing it.
Nevertheless, a rather deep sword wound had been carved into Jeon Hong's shoulder.
Swish!
Kang Liang, who had created distance to avoid Jeon Hong's hand, clicked his tongue. His body is too tough. The close-range slash and the Ghost Shadow Sword strike that had landed were sharp enough to sever stone.
It was a sword force that should have split the upper body or severed an arm, yet it had only managed to leave deep gashes on Jeon Hong's torso and shoulder. What a shame.
Kang Liang expressed his disappointment, but Jeon Hong's reaction was different.
"You... you piece of trash!"
A vivid crimson energy erupts with savage ferocity, the divine art of Yang Cheon. Its brutality overwhelms even that of Bu Seon, who broke through the Martial Master wall.
A vivid red energy erupted from Jeon Hong's body.
It was Yang Cheon's divine art, the Blood Lion Qi. While not as profound as Bu Seon's, who had broken through the wall of the Martial Master realm, its ferocity surpassed even hers.
"A mere descendant of a destroyed trash sect dares to cut my body?!"
Even with similar skill, one could overwhelm the other. Jeon Hong did not even acknowledge Kang Liang as a worthy opponent.
Because he was Yang Cheon's disciple.
Because he knew his own talent and understood that the martial arts he had learned lacked nothing when discussing the world.
Yet he had been wounded by mere swordsmanship recognized only in the dark path murim. This tore at Jeon Hong's pride once more.
"I'll kill you in three moves!"
Baaang!
The oppressive aura from Jeon Hong charging while exploding his Blood Lion Qi was difficult even for Kang Liang to withstand easily.
Nevertheless, Kang Liang did not lose his smile. If all you have to boast about is the martial arts you've learned, you couldn't defeat me even if you were reborn.
Ziiiing!
Kang Liang's sword emitted a resonant cry.
That spine-tingling sword hum signified that the Ghost Shadow Sword had now embraced the power of the Ghost Killing Sword.
Kang Liang's sword collided with Jeon Hong's hand.
Kwaaaang!