Surviving on the Uninhabited Island (15): The Wolf's Last Stand
Kim Mugong didn't answer. Instead, he quietly took one step forward. The demonic energy saturating the air was actually feeding him strength. In contrast, Pung Jihae's complexion grew paler by the second. The Blood Sect's secret arts offered him some protection, but Pung Jihae was a martial artist who had spent his entire life refining only orthodox techniques. To him, demonic energy was pure poison. The Blood Sect's method couldn't hold back a concentration this dense for long. The limit was closing in. The protective technique was already cracking, allowing demonic energy to seep into his lungs with every breath.
A palm strike carrying power so overwhelming that Pung Jihae had mistaken it for the Transformation Realm.
Boom—
Without warning, Kim Mugong shifted. His body was covered in more wounds than before, yet his movements had grown even faster. Massive energy condensed around him, whipping up a storm that ravaged every direction.
“Just what the hell did you learn?!” Pung Jihae shouted, swinging his hand desperately. For a mere academy cadet, Kim Mugong’s condition was clearly abnormal. His meridians should have collapsed long ago, yet the boy only grew more energetic, more ferocious.
“None of your business.”
Kim Mugong’s voice was ice-cold.
Pung Jihae, a man who had survived countless brushes with death, was undoubtedly a great martial artist. He had walked a brutal, exhausting path that couldn’t compare to Mugong’s own rapid ascent through the status window and the Heavenly Demon’s legacy. Even if he was nothing more than a worthless hound for the Blood Sect, his martial foundation was pure. That was probably why the academy had hired him as an instructor without the slightest suspicion.
Bang—!
Their fists collided again. This time, Pung Jihae was the one forced back a step.
This is doable.
At first, keeping up with the experienced rhythm of Pung Jihae’s fists had been overwhelming. It was still difficult, but now Mugong could at least see the pattern.
“You monster…!” Pung Jihae roared. Brutal force swirled around his fist. A strike aimed at a single point shot toward Kim Mugong’s vital areas.
Tap—
Yet the attack was effortlessly blocked by Kim Mugong’s palm.
Amid the ferocious exchange, Kim Mugong slowly finished adjusting his internal state.
Kwaaaaaang—!
Suddenly, his other hand lashed out. The tremendous explosion shook the entire basin. Heat haze shimmered in the air.
…!!!
Pung Jihae had dodged, but the sight of the surrounding devastation made his eyes bulge. The roar slammed into his eardrums, leaving them ringing. The power was absurd. At that level, a direct hit on the orb might have shattered it. If he wanted to crush this real-time-evolving monster in one breath, he couldn’t hold back anymore.
I didn’t want to use this.
Pung Jihae retreated several steps, then raised his fingers and struck several of his own acupoints. Baihui, Qimen, Dangmen… every single one was a dangerous fatal point. The moment he finished, a colorless wave of energy erupted from his body. The momentum was terrifying. The demonic energy that had filled the area could no longer invade him.
Kugugugung—
His long robe whipped wildly as a shockwave tore through the atmosphere. It was one of the Blood Sect’s secret techniques for unleashing latent potential. He might be bedridden for weeks afterward, but eliminating Kim Mugong and destroying the evidence was far more important. If things continued this way, he would lose everything.
Bang—
Pung Jihae stamped the ground and charged like a raging tide. Unlike before, he no longer fell behind in raw power. The battle had reversed once again.
The ashen energy Pung Jihae unleashed and the dark crimson aura radiating from Kim Mugong collided without pause. Flashes like lightning striking the earth erupted between them.
“Cough…!”
Both men spat blood from their mouths with every exchange.
“Bastard!” Pung Jihae bellowed, unleashing a tyrannical strike. Even after releasing his latent power, Kim Mugong was keeping pace. No—he was gradually mimicking him. In real time, Kim Mugong was absorbing Pung Jihae’s experience. An extremely dangerous opponent.
Crack—
A surprise knee strike slammed into Kim Mugong’s abdomen. The sound of cracking ribs rang out. At the same moment, Kim Mugong’s palm drove into Pung Jihae’s side. A shockwave exploded between them, forcing both men apart.
“Ugh…!”
Pung Jihae grit his teeth against the searing pain. He had clearly felt the impact, yet Kim Mugong ignored the agony and charged straight in. Dark crimson waves of energy hammered Pung Jihae’s body repeatedly. Even as his waist bent nearly in half, Pung Jihae threw another punch. It was blocked, but the force still penetrated the defense and traveled through to the elbow.
Blood poured from the corner of Kim Mugong’s mouth. Crimson liquid burst from his shoulders, torso—his entire body. Drenched head to toe in blood, Kim Mugong looked like a blood-soaked demon.
Now!
Though he pretended to be calm, Kim Mugong’s body was clearly reaching its limit. His staggering was impossible to hide now. Joy flashed across Pung Jihae’s face. It was time to finish this.
Pung Jihae poured out his internal energy and prepared his final ultimate technique. The ground itself flipped over, sending grass and dirt flying in every direction.
“Die!”
Pung Jihae stamped forward and threw his fist. Wolf Fang Fist Secret Art: Starving Wolf Ascends to Heaven. A technique that struck upward without warning from the opponent’s dantian. Ash-colored light surged toward Kim Mugong. It was an attack that a man at his limit could never block.
Or it should have been.
Just before the condensed power—nearly reaching the level of fist force—could land, Kim Mugong gently waved his hand.
Craaaaack—!
The Starving Wolf Ascends to Heaven never reached him. Instead, it shot straight into the sky, drawing a long line across the ashen heavens.
Like a promised duel, Kim Mugong took one step forward after neutralizing the attack. Everything froze. Every single thing inside the basin was crushed beneath his aura.
Until now, he had taken every one of Pung Jihae’s attacks with his body while refining his will to the extreme. Now, he stamped it down with that concentrated intent.
Thud—
Before anyone realized, Kim Mugong had closed the distance. He lightly placed his palm against Pung Jihae’s solar plexus.
A black lotus bloomed brilliantly. Fierce heat erupted from within, incinerating Pung Jihae’s entire body from the inside out.
Only then did Pung Jihae truly meet Kim Mugong’s eyes. Through the blood-soaked hair, past those transparent pupils shining with vivid intensity, Pung Jihae sensed it—madness. The same madness he had once longed for. The obsession with reaching the Martial Extremity.
So that’s how it is.
The Jianghu never stops. The waves behind the Yangtze push out those in front, and the weak are devoured by the strong. Today was simply that kind of day.
The way he had deflected the final Starving Wolf Ascends to Heaven was clearly the principle of Deflecting Flower Connecting Wood—the very technique Pung Jihae had mixed into his own attacks while fighting the boy. A mere monster with overwhelming power had mastered even that thanks to him.
Engulfed in flames, Pung Jihae smiled bitterly. He had tried to nip a hero in the bud, only to give him wings instead. What could he do? This, too, was the way of the martial world.
As the time came to leave this life, even while his entire body burned with unbearable pain, Pung Jihae felt a freedom unlike anything he had ever known. To him, the world had always been hell anyway.
Before his insides completely melted away, Pung Jihae squeezed out the last of his internal energy and forced his voice to transmit.
"Beware... I don't know if you'll survive either... Destroying that isn't the end. Rather, not destroying it..."
The transmission from Pung Jihae, who had reached his limit, cut off abruptly. Soon after, his body was burned pitch-black by the heat of the Somber Six Yang Palm, leaving no recognizable shape. Black ash began to flutter in every direction.
Staggering through the falling ashes, Kim Mugong walked forward.
My consciousness was hazy. The internal injuries from blocking Pung Jihae’s attacks with my body were severe. The damage inside was far worse than it appeared. As my vision gradually blurred, I made my way toward the orb.
At the very end, Pung Jihae seemed to have transmitted something, but I couldn’t make out the words. In truth, I only needed to buy time. Once Cheon Hayeon arrived, it would all be over anyway.
Even so, the longer the fight continued, the harder it became to suppress the desire boiling up from within. I wanted to exchange a few more moves. I wanted to risk my life in a true martial contest. Opportunities like this didn’t come often.
I had been somewhat confident, yet this was the result. And that orb. An instinctive certainty told me I had to destroy the ominous thing. It felt like destiny.
Dragging my heavy body, I moved one step at a time. The distance that had felt like it was right in front of me earlier now seemed like a thousand-li journey. A trail of blood followed every footstep.
I observed my internal condition, constricting my blood vessels to forcibly stop the bleeding while absorbing as much external demonic energy as possible. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art’s ability was incredible—it naturally purified the demonic energy even in such critical condition.
Forcing my body to move with internal energy, I finally reached the orb. I pressed both palms against it.
“Huu…”
My head throbbed after pushing my will to the limit with the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step earlier. Precise attacks were impossible. I simply drew up the Heavenly Demon Divine Art’s energy and released it through my palms.
Kugugugung—
The entire basin shook as if it would collapse. The red characters that had filled the surroundings were sucked toward the center and vanished.
Craaaaaack—
After continuously gathering every trace of demonic energy in the atmosphere, converting it into internal energy, and pouring it out, cracks finally spread across the entire orb.
Baaaaang—!
Fragments exploded outward in every direction as the orb burst apart. At the same time, the ashen sky shattered like glass, and the spatial isolation was lifted.
I felt something black that had been floating at the center of the destroyed orb get absorbed into my body. Then my consciousness flickered out.
How much time had passed?
Warm droplets fell onto my face, one after another. When I lifted my heavy eyelids, a familiar face came into view.
I tried to open my mouth and speak, but no sound came out. It felt like my vocal cords no longer belonged to me.
Don’t cry.
That’s what I wanted to say. Anyone looks ugly when they cry. So I hate seeing Han Yeoreum cry. It ruins her. Being pretty is her only real advantage—what would be left if she lost that?
While those dazed thoughts drifted through my mind, I felt something soft and tender press against my lips. Then something flowed into my mouth, sliding down my throat.
Enjoying the warmth that spread through my entire body, I closed my eyes once more.