Chapter 330
Chapter 330
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 330
Chapter Title: Ghost King's Last Stand
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Pung-ri's eyes captured the scene right before him.
The shoulder pierced clean through.
And beyond it, the enemy frozen stiff.
Everything had unfolded exactly as he predicted.
'No matter how great a master, shatter their composure and vulnerabilities will emerge.'
Pung-ri's eyes gleamed with crystalline clarity.
He was a seasoned veteran who had roamed the jianghu for decades.
To reach his current station, he had witnessed countless deaths—not just of ordinary martial artists, but of masters beyond number.
Thus, he knew all too well.
While most martial artists in the jianghu died due to inferior skill, other factors were far from rare.
Environment, momentum, mental agitation, carelessness...
Masters falling to lesser foes was not uncommon.
Pung-ri had exploited just that.
And seized his chance.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Eternal Lion Heart Secret Art Full internal energy surge | Life force ignition | Aura manifestation
A blaze of white energy surged from the tips of his fingers gripping the Four Silver Spear, rippling outward and stirring the air with waves of qi.
The power of the Eternal Lion Heart Secret Art had manifested.
His eyes burned fiercely.
The technique, fueled by his very life force, shrouded his gaze in dense profundity.
The moment his eyes grew hot...
The entire world slowed to a crawl.
Spraying blood droplets hung vividly in the air, and amid them, the enemy's furrowed brow sharpened into perfect clarity.
A realm swifter than an instant—initial velocity itself.
His secret art, the Eternal Eye Method, had fragmented time into slivers.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Eternal Eye Method Time dilation | Enhanced perception | Ultra-slow motion
'I must kill him with this strike.'
He gave no thought to what followed.
Pung-ri had already gauged his opponent's prowess.
It towered infinitely above his own, a realm brushing the heavens.
Conventional means offered no path to victory.
Thus, he knew intimately.
This instant was his one and only chance.
Whoosh!
Within this eternal moment, Pung-ri finely manipulated the Eternal Lion Heart Secret Art's energy.
White waves of power began at the Shoulder Well acupoint, flowed down the forearm's Yang Pool, and reached the wrist's Inner Pass.
Whirl!
He twisted his wrist along the flow. The spear shaft spun with it.
Krunch!
Ferocious energy waves tore into Ho Kwang-gae's pierced shoulder, shredding flesh as if to rip it away entirely.
And channeling all that power, the Four Silver Spear shot forward like lightning.
Before earning his new moniker Seven Essentials Spear...
The spear art of Yi Yeok-jeong—the Spear-Severing Ghost King who terrorized the southern jianghu—unleashed itself.
Flash!
The spear blade piercing Ho Kwang-gae's shoulder flickered like a streak of white lightning as it thrust ahead.
A terrifying speed.
Bursting through scattered crimson blood, it resembled a bolt of white thunder.
Wooong!
As Yi Yeok-jeong's spear waves rent the air with mournful cries...
Cheonhwi silently regarded the incoming spear blade.
His furrowed brow had relaxed to its usual calm, his expression impassive.
'Trying to rattle me, are you?'
Pung-ri's intent was plain as day.
And why not? In his previous life, had he not faced such ploys countless times?
'Child's play.'
Cheonhwi thought coolly.
This fool knew nothing of him.
'To think this could shatter my composure.'
Suddenly, Cheonhwi twisted his ankle.
In the next instant, his black robe billowed wide as Flame Moon, pinning the Black Ghost Squad Leader, carved a vast arc.
"...!"
The Black Ghost Squad Leader's eyes widened.
Cheonhwi's abruptly redirected Flame Moon had not only severed his hand but grazed his throat.
Slice—
A red line etched across his neck.
His eyes remained bulging wide.
As if bewildered, unaware of his fate.
But it didn't end there.
Cheonhwi used the rotation's momentum to step sideways in one fluid motion.
Whoosh—
A gale of qi swirled around him, his black robe surging upward.
Through the fluttering hem, Cheonhwi faced ahead.
Ho Kwang-gae and Pung-ri, once to his left, now stood directly before him.
The spear tip closed in rapidly.
So near it seemed poised to pierce his heart.
Cheonhwi, still spinning, aligned Flame Moon's blade vertically, infused it with energy, and whipped his body around.
Screeeam!
His black sleeve flapped, Flame Moon tracing a long crimson arc through the air.
In that instant.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Clanggg!
Blade strikes empowered spear | Dual targets repelled | Shockwave erupts
Flame Moon's blade smashed into the energy-charged spear and both foes simultaneously.
The clash's shockwave cracked the air like spiderwebs, qi waves raging outward.
A storm incarnate.
Pung-ri and Ho Kwang-gae, struck by the blade, flew faster than the waves, slamming into the wall.
Thud!
Both crashed to the floor.
Ho Kwang-gae lay unconscious, foaming blood at the mouth.
Pung-ri, slumped against the wall, twitched faintly.
For a moment.
"Kuhuk!"
He let out a wretched scream.
Not from his mouth, but as if vomiting something long pent up from his chest's depths.
His condition was a wreck.
His eyes bloodshot, massive blood pouring from his mouth.
Dazed from the impact.
Ribs likely cracked.
But that wasn't all.
Internal injuries churned his innards.
'Qu-quickly, the Eternal Lion Heart Secret...'
Even in his stupor, he sought to circulate his qi and meditate.
Typically, a technique's heart method built and wielded acquired qi.
But the Eternal Lion Heart Secret differed.
A profound art wielding innate qi.
Consuming life force for astonishing power.
Thus, even now, it proved potent.
As he desperately tried to heal with faith in the Eternal Lion Heart Secret...
Step, step.
Footsteps approached.
Startled, he looked up.
Cheonhwi drew near.
Flame Moon dangling loosely.
"D-don't come closer!"
Pung-ri shrieked in frenzy.
Terror gripped him.
Each approaching step seemed the reaper come to claim his soul.
'This bastard's a monster.'
Pung-ri's pupils quivered.
His Eternal Eye Method revealed all even in superhuman speed.
Yet even he couldn't track it fully.
The sword moved—and only a crimson afterimage lingered.
Overwhelming velocity swordsmanship.
And the horror wasn't just skill.
His gaze flicked sideways.
There lay his hostage, Ho Kwang-gae, mangled beyond words.
The shoulder hole was his doing, but the flank gash was this man's handiwork.
That wound bore qi scars incomparably deeper than his own.
It had left him at death's door.
Breaths so faint, death could claim him any second.
'I... I picked the wrong fight.'
Terror crept up his back, devouring him.
This foe spared not even loyal subordinates.
And more.
'He... he deliberately held back his power at the end.'
His mouth dried, tongue roughening.
This opponent was ruthless.
"I-I surrender! I'll yield! Just spare my life..."
He begged frantically.
Utterly pathetic, but dignity be damned.
Survival first.
But.
"What bullshit is that?"
Cheonhwi muttered in disbelief.
"I never planned to let you live."
"Th-then why hold back your power at the end..."
"Oh, that?"
Cheonhwi's lips curled faintly.
A sneer.
"I told you earlier. You won't die easy."
"...!"
Pung-ri's eyes bulged.
His body trembled violently.
The words rang true.
'Th-this means...'
His eyes scanned wildly.
Corpses littered everywhere.
The headless Black Ghost Squad Leader sprawled grotesquely; his swept-aside squad lay scattered like felled logs.
"Then let's start with you stabbing me with that spear, shall we?"
Cheonhwi lightly raised Flame Moon.
Its honed edge bore no aura or might.
Just razor keenness.
And in that state.
Stab!
Cheonhwi thrust Flame Moon into his shoulder.
"Gaaahhh!"
Pung-ri screamed.
Cheonhwi gazed down coldly, exuding chill killing intent.
"Don't scream over this. We haven't even started properly."
Pung-ri paled.
Death's aura seeped from Cheonhwi's merciless voice.
'I-I can't die like this!'
Sensing mortal peril, he gritted his teeth and unleashed the full Eternal Lion Heart Secret Art.
Innate qi boiled through his body.
A strange energy flowed from him, merging with the innate qi to birth a bizarre sight.
Shhh—
White radiance poured from his form, blanketing Cheonhwi's feet like mist.
Clouds made manifest.
"Hm?"
Cheonhwi's eyes narrowed.
The qi from the white glow at his feet felt profoundly alien.
Not yin-yang five elements.
Nor reverse heaven qi. As if artificially crafted by some otherworldly force or entity.
'Wait, this...'
The moment realization dawned in Cheonhwi's eyes...
Sching—
Flame Moon, buried deep in Pung-ri's shoulder, withdrew as if repelled.
Pung-ri's body flushed blood-red, his heartbeat thundering.
Thump! Thump!
Innate qi coursed his meridians and vessels, rousing his vitality.
The next instant, an explosively potent aura erupted from him.
Whoooosh—
Shattered debris floated.
Qi waves centered on him formed protective qi like a shield.
Mystical beyond words.
And suddenly, his mouth opened.
"I won't die like this."
A firm voice issued, white vapor billowing from his parted lips.
His body rose upright.
Lying down yet lifting—eerie, profoundly arcane.
As the qi waves compressed to absorb into him...
Crack!
The qi exploded outward.
"...!"
Pung-ri's eyes darted in panic.
Cheonhwi stood there, Flame Moon in hand, staring coldly.
Exuding suffocating qi.
"Never thought I'd see this here, from the likes of you."
With those words, Cheonhwi flicked Flame Moon clean. His eyes glinted ominously.
He'd seen this energy flow before.
Disrupting it mid-activation was simple enough.
Pung-ri knew nothing of it.
"Wh-what..."
Confusion clouded his gaze.
Impossible.
This was his final gambit, risking qi deviation.
Yet it crumbled so futilely.
Then Cheonhwi met the now-standing Pung-ri's eyes squarely.
"Blood Dragon Sect. Secret Brush Emissary."
Cheonhwi's sudden words triggered an earthquake in Pung-ri's pupils.
'Wh-what the...'
Blood Dragon Sect and Secret Brush Emissaries were spies groomed within the sect. Yet about a year ago, they'd vanished amid total annihilation...
'No way this guy...!'
As suspicion bloomed...
"And the Pseudo Heart Art."
The words turned doubt to certainty.
As Pung-ri stared in shock, Cheonhwi grinned.
"Knew it. You're one of theirs after all."