Chapter 198: Go-Hui
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198: Go-Hui
“…How could you?”
Iron Head Dragon was dumbfounded, staring at the black lizard before him.
I Alone Am The Honored One was originally the enlightenment of the Buddha.
There was no way a spirit beast from the 100,000 Great Mountains could know of it.
If it hadn't been taught, it must have achieved this enlightenment on its own.
And that would mean the black lizard before him was akin to the Buddha himself.
“Indeed. Is this what they call ‘All Streams Return to the Sea’?”
A competitive fire ignited within Iron Head Dragon.
While he harbored the grand ambition of killing all humans, it was also true that he had become somewhat intoxicated by the sense of omnipotence granted by the overwhelming power he’d gained from the Dragon Gate.
He needed an opponent to test his strength against.
The black lizard before him was a worthy adversary, one against whom he could unleash his all.
“Excellent! Tailed Death! To me—!”
Iron Head Dragon’s words were cut short.
Paaaaang!
The Crushing Dragon had charged in at a speed his eyes couldn't follow.
Kwaaaaaang!
He hastily threw out an arm to counter the Crushing Dragon’s attack.
Dragon’s Claws met Dragon’s Claws.
The clash looked similar to the one between him and the Daoist, but the outcome was different.
Kagagagak!
“What in the…!”
An outsider was using the Dragon’s Claws.
It wasn't a mere imitation; it was skillfully using a martial art of Shaolin.
And that wasn't all.
In Iron Head Dragon’s eyes, a hawk and a venomous snake appeared.
The clashing dragon claws transformed into a new shape.
Kagak!
Kaaaaang!
The Eagle-Snake Life-Death Struggle.
The principles of the hawk and the snake surged forth like a storm.
“Kkeu-euuup…!”
The Crushing Dragon’s destructive claws tightened their grip on Iron Head Dragon.
He struggled to break free.
But he couldn't help but be flustered by an attack he had never seen before.
There was only one way to escape this situation.
Kwaaaaaang!
Iron Head Dragon slammed his hard head straight into the ground.
Puhwak!
He took a hit from the Crushing Dragon in the process, but the injury wasn't severe.
Gwarurururu!
A shockwave powerful enough to shatter mountains reverberated through the world.
Even the Crushing Dragon was forced to retreat.
“Kkeu… It seems I can’t beat you with martial arts alone.”
Iron Head Dragon flashed a triumphant smile.
He had been pushed back consistently, but that was only when he had used the Dragon’s Claws.
He had yet to use the true power of the Dragon Gate.
“No matter who you are… this place is now my domain!”
Jjeojeojeojeok!
Cold energy gathered with insane speed.
Countless weapons forged from ice bloomed amidst the snowflakes.
“I’ve waited a long time for this.”
Wooooong.
Iron Head Dragon’s head froze over.
His already hard, steel-like head was now further reinforced by the cold of the snow mountain.
The cold of the snow mountain and his own innate martial might.
Iron Head Dragon had no doubt he would be victorious.
Kwagagagak!
He charged toward the Crushing Dragon with overwhelming force.
If I can just land a headbutt, I can take down that giant black lizard.
That was Iron Head Dragon’s thought, and to some extent, it was true.
Moreover, the weapons hidden among the snowflakes poured down, aiming for the Crushing Dragon’s neck.
If it dodged the headbutt, its neck would be sliced by the weapons.
And trying to dodge the weapons hidden in the snow would be impossible for a creature of that size.
In fact, it was more likely to reveal an opening and get struck by the headbutt.
The Crushing Dragon stared silently at the incoming weapons and Iron Head Dragon’s head.
In that desperate moment, the action it took was beyond all common sense.
It stood not on four legs, but on two.
Iron Head Dragon felt a flicker of confusion but didn't stop his charge.
It was the very moment Iron Head Dragon’s head and the weapons hidden in the snow aimed for its neck.
Paang!
The Crushing Dragon’s form vanished.
It was a fluid and natural movement, like a dragon swimming through the sky.
The Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Steps.
Iron Head Dragon was stunned.
The movement defied all logic.
It was a speed that should have been absolutely impossible for a creature of that size and weight.
But he couldn't remain stunned forever.
Iron Head Dragon amplified the power of the Dragon Gate, transforming the scattering snowflakes into yet more weapons.
The first attack had been dodged, but now his foe was airborne.
Even a Gomodo couldn't move freely in the air.
The weapons of cold energy flew toward the Crushing Dragon.
Swiiiiish!
There was no way it could dodge this, too.
It was common sense that even a divine footwork technique would be useless once one left the ground.
But…
Tadat!
Common sense did not apply to the Crushing Dragon.
It naturally stepped on the snowflakes and leaped once more.
“T-T-Treading Snow Without a Trace?”
It was a realm where one left no footprints, even on snow.
By mixing the principles of the Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Steps with that realm, it had become possible to leap in mid-air by stepping on snow.
“W-what in the world is this!”
Iron Head Dragon had survived all manner of hellish battles, but he had never witnessed such a terrifying sight.
A giant lizard, over three jang [approx. 9 meters or 30 feet] long, was moving through the air not on four legs, but on two, stepping on snowflakes.
Its blue eyes flashed, and its white fur fluttered in the wind, making it look like an evil spirit.
Yet, at the same time, the movement seemed strangely sacred.
“Krrrrr…”
The Crushing Dragon charged toward Iron Head Dragon, stepping on the snow.
Iron Head Dragon chose to face it head-on.
Divine footwork.
Unbelievable movements.
Overwhelming martial arts.
In most aspects, this being was a cut above him.
But it wasn't superior in every way.
Iron Head Dragon was better at wielding the power of the Dragon Gate.
This was a snow mountain, not the Crushing Dragon’s territory.
But that alone wasn't enough to defeat it.
Iron Head Dragon knew of one more area where he held the advantage.
The power of a single blow.
If he could land his headbutt, he could take the creature down.
Moreover, it was now charging in a perfect straight line.
He could use its own momentum to inflict devastating damage.
Pabat!
In an instant, its form vanished.
It was physically impossible.
The Crushing Dragon had bent its body like a bow and disappeared in a flash.
‘…A bow?’
In that brief moment, Iron Head Dragon realized what realm the Crushing Dragon had reached.
Bow Body Elastic Shadow.
A technique that used the body’s elasticity to move in an instant.
It was a skill that even other masters couldn't perform easily. Yet this lizard was using it as if it were the most natural thing in the world—a technique that should have been impossible for a body of that size.
Iron Head Dragon couldn't dwell on this phenomenon for long.
He knew the Crushing Dragon hadn't simply vanished but would reappear from another direction.
The Crushing Dragon’s massive foreleg swung.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
A tremendous impact struck Iron Head Dragon’s entire body.
He had reinforced his body with cold energy, but he felt an excruciating pain, as if every bone were breaking.
“Keo-heok!”
Just as he had his head, the Crushing Dragon had its forelegs.
“Kkeureuk… Kkeuhaaak!”
Iron Head Dragon coughed up blood and staggered back.
“Why… with such great power… do you side with the humans!”
Iron Head Dragon couldn't understand the Crushing Dragon.
Why would a spirit beast, born as such, side with humans?
“Gekgek.”
The black lizard made the cry of a small lizard.
Was it mocking him to the very end?
Just as he was about to become enraged at the thought…
“Gaegaek, Gaegaek, Gaegaek.”
It wasn't a simple cry.
“I was Gaegaek for being in the lowest of places.”
It wasn't the voice of a lizard, but that of a divine spirit beast.
“And I am also Gaegaek for embracing all from that place.”
The words were incomprehensible.
“That is Gaegaek, and Gaegaek, and Gaegaek.”
It sounded like a Zen koan, but Iron Head Dragon could vaguely understand what the Crushing Dragon was saying.
“You weren’t born a spirit beast?”
It was unbelievable.
A mighty spirit beast exuding the power of a dragon, and it wasn't born as one?
“You mean you were born as a weak, insignificant creature?”
To be born a small lizard and to have reached this realm.
It was hard to believe, but not impossible.
Iron Head Dragon focused his internal energy into his eyes.
He possessed a special ability.
Someone with the surname Namgung had given him a fox marble, and by taking it, he had gained this power.
The ability to see farther and more than others.
Though it was an unstable power, Iron Head Dragon didn't doubt it.
After all, it was with this ability that he had learned of his own past.
In Iron Head Dragon’s eyes, the Crushing Dragon began to take on a different form.
To be precise, it appeared split in two.
On the right was the giant black lizard as it was now.
On the left was a man with long white hair, looking at him pitifully with hollow blue eyes.
“Why… why do I see a human.”
Something hot welled up from deep within Iron Head Dragon’s chest.
“Why does a human overlap with you… a spirit beast.”
It was different from a spirit beast that could take human form.
His eyes, which could see through to the very origin, were clearly seeing a human.
Why was he seeing a human in this being?
It should be a spirit beast incapable of humanization.
Kadeudeudeuk.
Iron Head Dragon’s blue heart roared.
“You mock me to the very end! Answer me! Tailed Death! What in the world is your true identity!”
Unable to hide his furious momentum, he glared at the Crushing Dragon as if to kill it.
The split form did not answer.
It just stared with hollow eyes.
As if in pity.
The one who answered him was the original, undivided Crushing Dragon.
“My surname is Go.”
His followers called him Gomodo, so he took the surname Go.
“My name is Hui.”
His master called him Hui, so he took the name Hui.
“Go-Hui.”
Gomodo, Crushing Dragon.
And Go-Hui.
That was his name, and his identity.
“…A spirit beast, using a filthy human name.”
Iron Head Dragon gathered even the power focused in his eyes into one place.
“You who were born neither spirit beast nor human!”
That place was his head.
“Tailed Death. Discard that false identity and come to me!”
A being born a beast, yet trying to live as a human.
That was how Iron Head Dragon perceived the entity before him.
What a truly pitiful being.
Spirit beasts and humans could never achieve harmony.
It would only be used, just like him, and eventually discarded.
It was inevitable.
“Killing all humans… is the wish of all spirit beasts!”
With those words, Iron Head Dragon charged at the Crushing Dragon.
“Ssssuuuup.”
At that moment, he saw the Crushing Dragon take a deep breath.
He knew instantly what that posture was.
It was the Lion’s Roar the Daoist had demonstrated.
It was an undeniable fact that this being could copy Shaolin martial arts.
It skillfully used the Dragon’s Claws and even understood the principles of I Alone Am The Honored One.
It was mimicking the Lion’s Roar to block his headbutt.
Iron Head Dragon smiled triumphantly.
“I’ll show you what the origin is!”
Even while concentrating internal energy in his head, it wasn't as if he couldn't use the Lion’s Roar.
In fact, he could even apply it appropriately.
For his opponent to use the Lion’s Roar in this situation was the same as giving him time to use his own.
Iron Head Dragon’s Lion’s Roar had reached its pinnacle.
He was so accustomed to it that he hadn't even been damaged by the Daoist’s.
Kwagagagagagak!
Iron Head Dragon began his cast slower, but it activated faster.
The lion’s roar twisted the earth and shook the heavens.
The roar of a ferocious beast, as if to erase everything in its range, washed over the Crushing Dragon.
Iron Head Dragon was certain of his victory.
Until he saw the blue energy surging in the Crushing Dragon’s mouth.
“Ssssuuuup…”
The Crushing Dragon wasn't preparing a Lion’s Roar.
All of its internal energy gathered at a single point.
Starting from its lower dantian, it passed through the middle dantian.
All the elixirs and inner cores it had absorbed over time responded to its power.
It fired a single beam of blue light.
Gomodo meant Tailed Old Death.
So it wouldn't be strange to call the beam he fired a Death Beam.
Jjeoooooooong!
It was the Gaegaek Death Beam.