Chapter 34: Desperate Situation-2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: Desperate Situation-2
Sun-woo could not hide his bewilderment upon seeing Lee Ho-seon, the Yin-Yang Demon.
According to the original setting, wasn't he supposed to be a typical sacrificial lamb who exits the stage after murdering Seon-ong and triggering Lee Jae-won’s awakening?
Why on earth was he appearing here on White Flower Peak?
And right before Ok-ryeong was about to be violated, no less.
Because his appearance was so random and sudden, Sun-woo shot him a suspicious look.
"Want me to gouge your eyes out? Eyes down."
As if sensing Sun-woo’s gaze, Lee Ho-seon glared back and growled fiercely.
Sun-woo, who had been staring suspiciously, quickly lowered his eyes.
Though he looked like nothing more than a frail old man, every word he spoke carried an aura of such overwhelming pressure that it felt untouchable.
"You damn old geezer!" Lee Jae-won roared.
Fury surged within him toward Lee Ho-seon, who had just struck him across the face.
It had been twenty years since he was hailed as the undisputed World's Greatest Martial Artist after defeating the Heavenly Demon Emperor.
In all those years, no one had dared to even think of opposing him, but this old man was different.
The Yin-Yang Demon was said to have vanished twenty years ago, but in reality, he had been relentlessly attacking Lee Jae-won throughout that time.
Despite Lee Jae-won being the World's Greatest, the Yin-Yang Demon’ss martial arts seemed to advance further every time they met, making it impossible to settle the score.
Furthermore, the old man would retreat without hesitation whenever the tide turned against him, which only served to fuel Lee Jae-won’s frustration.
To Lee Jae-won, who took immense pride in being the World's Greatest, the mere existence of the Yin-Yang Demon was a constant blow to his ego.
And now, the very man who kept pricking that pride had slapped him across the face and sent him flying in a pathetic display. He couldn't help but be enraged.
An ominous aura began to billow around Lee Jae-won.
"Still an ill-mannered brat, I see. Tsk, tsk."
The Yin-Yang Demon clicked his tongue as he looked at Lee Jae-won.
"Did you come here to interfere?!"
"What kind of bullshit is that? I was just passing by."
"Don't make me laugh! What business would you have passing over the summit of White Flower Peak? It’s obvious! You tracked my movements and were waiting for me!"
"You're insane. Are you suffering from some kind of mental illness? You keep spouting nonsense."
"What?!"
"You were a chatterbox then, and you're a chatterbox now. Just draw your sword, you pathetic brat."
It was that attitude.
What angered him most right now was that dismissive, contemptuous attitude.
That damn old man had been consistently ignoring him since the first moment they met.
That attitude hadn't changed even after Lee Jae-won had fully absorbed Seon-ong’s martial arts to reach the Profound Realm.
It hadn't changed even after he was hailed as the great hero who saved the Murim.
It drove him mad with irritation—the way the old man acted as if the 'World's Greatest Martial Artist' wasn't even worth his notice.
The Lee Jae-won of Joong-young High School, who had been bullied and ostracized, was no more, but every time he saw that old man’s attitude, his past came rushing back.
A past where no one listened to him, and everyone treated him with nothing but contempt.
He wanted to kill him. He wanted to kill him so badly it hurt.
A thick, murderous intent naturally bloomed from Lee Jae-won, and his aura grew even more intense.
"This time, I will make sure to kill you!"
"Go ahead and try."
The Yin-Yang Demon countered Lee Jae-won’s words with total indifference.
With those words as the signal, the battle between the two Profound Realm masters—those referred to as Half-Immortals—began.
Lee Jae-won was the first to lunged.
His hands were empty, but he gripped the air as if holding a sword and swung it directly at the Yin-Yang Demon.
"Tsk."
Seeing this, the Yin-Yang Demon clicked his tongue and began to step back.
Now, as in the past, Lee Jae-won was a nuisance because of his mastery over the Formless Sword.
The Formless Sword is a type of Heart Sword. When the Heart Sword reaches its zenith, it is a realm where one can cut an opponent without relying on a physical medium like a blade.
Because it had no form and no restriction on direction, it was an incredibly tricky technique. Fortunately, the blockhead in front of him had zero creativity in how he used it, allowing the old man to dodge with relative ease.
If Lee Jae-won had inherited even half of his master Seon-ong’s talent, this would have been quite troublesome.
Pang!
Pang!
The sheer force behind the swings was so immense that every time Lee Jae-won’s Formless Sword lashed out, the air exploded with thunderous booms.
The Yin-Yang Demon stiffened his palm into a blade and began to casually parry Lee Jae-won’s Formless Sword.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Though it was invisible, the Formless Sword was still a manifestation of concentrated Qi.
The Yin-Yang Demon was perceiving the flow of Qi and blocking the Formless Sword accordingly.
"Fuuuuuuuck!!!"
Lee Jae-won, frustrated that his attacks were being blocked time and again, began to swing his Formless Sword even more violently.
"Tsk, tsk."
The Yin-Yang Demon clicked his tongue again.
He felt a sense of pathetic disappointment that someone so mentally immature had reached the Profound Realm.
Every time he fought Lee Jae-won, the Yin-Yang Demon was struck by a question.
Lee Jae-won was a man who lacked in many ways to be called a supreme master of the Profound Realm.
To reach the Profound Realm—the stage of a Half-Immortal—through martial arts alone, one should possess the discipline of a high priest who has meditated for a lifetime and the enlightenment of a Grandmaster. Lee Jae-won had none of that.
He wasn't mentally disciplined, nor did he have a deep enough understanding of martial arts to use them versatilely.
Despite being full of flaws, he had reached the Profound Realm and become the World's Greatest.
That was the mystery.
Lee Jae-won was full of weaknesses, yet he was strangely difficult to defeat.
Even when the old man had killed Seon-ong, he had been exhausted, but losing to Lee Jae-won—who had only just entered the Profound Realm—was incomprehensible.
Even within the same Profound Realm, there should have been a stark difference between a newcomer and himself.
Yet, Lee Jae-won had overcome that gap and defeated him.
Unable to accept the defeat, the old man had challenged him several times afterward, but he could never win.
In the beginning of their fights, the Yin-Yang Demon would hold the technical advantage, but as the battle progressed, Lee Jae-won would suddenly rise to his level.
He was too stupid to have grown through enlightenment, and it wasn't a gradual improvement through combat experience; he just suddenly became stronger.
It was as if some unknown force was helping him win.
He couldn't help but wonder.
Just what kind of existence was this Lee Jae-won?
Meanwhile, Sun-woo was watching the battle between the two absolute masters of the Profound Realm.
Every moment sent shivers down his spine and filled him with dread.
He even began to doubt if they were both truly human.
With every wave of their hands, the ground split apart, and sonic booms erupted as if to pierce his eardrums.
Invisible, formless energies were swirling violently.
It was a spectacle that could only be described as transcendent.
‘Get a grip.’
Suddenly, a thought manifested in his mind.
‘Wisdom Light Heart-Speak?!’
In the Murim, there was a technique called Secret Voice Transmission, which involved embedding sound into Qi vibrations to deliver it secretly to another person.
Because it required extremely delicate control of Qi, it was considered a high-level technique that only those in the Peak Realm could barely manage.
However, Secret Voice Transmission had a flaw: someone in a higher realm than the caster could intercept the vibrations and eavesdrop.
So, was it impossible to speak so that no one could listen in?
The result of that line of thinking was Wisdom Light Heart-Speak.
Since Wisdom Light Heart-Speak was a method of engraving thoughts directly into the heart, even the most powerful martial artist could not eavesdrop.
Theoretically, it was perfect, but because engraving thoughts into the heart shared the same principles as the Heart Sword—cutting according to one's will—it was a legendary technique known only through rumors.
And now, that legendary Wisdom Light Heart-Speak was being engraved into Sun-woo’s heart.
Startled, Sun-woo looked toward the Yin-Yang Demon.
‘Don’t say a word, just listen. There is a secret hideout of the Baekgeom Sect nearby. I will give you the location, so take that girl and go there.’
Even while clashing with the World's Greatest, Lee Jae-won, the Yin-Yang Demon was effortlessly engraving the Heart-Speak.
‘Is the Yin-Yang Demon actually the strongest?’
Sun-woo made a fairly plausible guess to himself as he focused on the Heart-Speak being delivered.
‘When I released your acupoints earlier, I forcibly triggered your internal energy. If you don’t leave quickly, your strength will fail and you will collapse.’
Sun-woo was taken aback by the old man’s words.
He had wondered why he felt so full of energy; it turned out the Yin-Yang Demon had done something.
To be honest, he had many doubts about the Yin-Yang Demon.
Fundamentally, the man was a Great Demon.
A monster who committed murder and rape as if they were daily chores.
What kind of change of heart had led such a villain to help him?
How did he, who surely had no prior connection to Ok-ryeong, end up on White Flower Peak?
And how did he know about the Baekgeom Sect’s secret hideout?
Everything about his existence lacked consistency and was shrouded in mystery.
Yet, it felt too uncomfortable to dismiss everything as mere coincidence.
What was his goal?
Who was he, really?
Questions followed questions, growing like a tangled vine.
But Sun-woo soon shook his head.
Now was not the time for contemplation.
He didn't have any other options anyway, did he?
Even if the old man was hiding some sinister motive, it was better than dying at Lee Jae-won’s hands right now.
Though they hadn't officially established a master-disciple relationship, Sun-woo was technically the successor of the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art.
Surely, the old man wouldn't kill him.
Sun-woo kicked off the ground and quickly approached Ok-ryeong.
She was still sleeping peacefully.
Seeing her soaked in sweat and blood pained him, and he gently stroked her hair once.
‘Ok-ryeong, I’ll protect you no matter what.’
Having made his resolve, Sun-woo hoisted her onto his back and began to move, utilizing the Wind-Dust Step.
"Do you think I'll let you go?!"
Seeing this, Lee Jae-won screamed and unleashed his Formless Sword.
Invisible energy filled with murderous intent surrounded Sun-woo, beginning to press in on him.
‘Shit... I’m screwed!’
It was then.
The Yin-Yang Demon lightly waved his hand, and the formless Qi surrounding Sun-woo was instantly dispelled.
"You're playing with me."
"Don't get in my way, Lee Ho-seon!!!"
Kwa-kwang!
Kwa-kwang!
Lee Jae-won unleashed his Formless Sword at the Yin-Yang Demon again, and the old man began to respond in kind.
The battle that made the heavens tremble and the earth split began anew.
Leaving the fight between the two absolute masters behind, Sun-woo ran like a madman to escape the area.
‘If I get caught in that, I’m dead! If I get caught, I’m dead!’
He had to reach the secret hideout as fast as possible.
*
"Get back here! Jang Sa-am!!!"
As Sun-woo’s figure vanished from his sight, Lee Jae-won screamed.
He had to catch him.
He had to catch that guy who knew about his past.
He had to catch him and demand to know his true identity.
He had to ask what the truth of this world was.
But the old man in front of him had ruined everything.
Lee Jae-won’s aura amplified even further.
His internal energy, which had reached 12 Gapja, began to manifest physically and erupt outward.
"What are you planning?"
Lee Jae-won barely managed to force the words out through his trembling, rage-filled lips.
"What, you brat?"
"I'm asking why you saved those bastards!"
"One can save people in distress. What kind of person are you to be so heartless?"
"Ha... stop bullshitting me."
Lee Jae-won couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at the Yin-Yang Demon’ss answer.
He never imagined he would hear the word 'heart' from the mouth of a Great Demon who was like a literal fiend.
Even if he looked like a frail old man now, in his youth, he was the Great Demon among Great Demons who had turned the entire Murim into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
If Seon-ong hadn't defeated him back then, more than half of the martial artists in the world would have perished.
For such a man to speak of 'heart' was utterly absurd.
"I don't know what you're plotting, but it won't go your way."
The 12 Gapja of internal energy Lee Jae-won possessed manifested as formless Qi, creating a massive sense of pressure.
The ground began to sink under the weight, as if a literal Great Mountain was pressing down.
"Haa, kid. You still have that habit of trying to crush people with raw energy whenever you feel pushed."
Yet, even amidst that crushing pressure, the Yin-Yang Demon remained perfectly composed.
And soon, the Yin-Yang Harmony Qi began to billow and reveal itself from the Yin-Yang Demon.
"Power isn't everything for a man. It's about technique."
With those final words, Lee Jae-won’s formless Qi and the Yin-Yang Demon’ss Yin-Yang Harmony Qi collided.
KU-KWA-AAAAANG!!!
Roars far more massive than anything before erupted, echoing across the entirety of White Flower Peak.