The Blue Lightning That Annihilates the Ghost Gate
Even as they shouted that the others should fall back from the Ghost Gate, Yang Kvae and Yang Jeong were already bracing themselves to charge forward. Namgung Woo had shielded them from the specters. He had even demonstrated how to wield lightning qi himself. He might not be their master, but he was undeniably their benefactor. The Yang brothers lived by the principle that any favor received must be repaid in full.
As they watched Namgung Woo face off against the deformed ghostfiend, the brothers waited for the precise moment they could add their strength. It was obvious that retreating would be more dangerous than pressing forward. No matter how skilled Namgung Woo was, he might reveal an opening when trying to withdraw. Therefore, they reasoned, they needed to intervene and create a gap so he could retreat safely.
Yet the blades in their hands found no opening to exploit. The tips merely trembled, unable to advance. Was the fight too fierce? No. It was too overwhelming. The deformed ghostfiend, said to nullify even a Peak Realm expert’s sword qi, seemed like nothing more than a toy before him. The young man scattered sword qi with masterful ease and carved wounds into the creature’s body. He existed in an entirely different realm from the brothers, who still lingered at the threshold of the Peak Realm.
Then the deformed ghostfiend exploded forward with a ferocious surge, as if it could endure no more. The brothers were certain their chance to help had finally arrived. At least until Namgung Woo gripped his sword with both hands and assumed a middle stance.
The realm beyond Sword Qi Injuring Man. Sword Qi Forming Gang. The supreme martial pinnacle that symbolized a Transcendent Realm expert.
A brilliant light began at his hands and quickly became lines that wrapped around the blade. Like warp and weft weaving together to form cloth, the shining lines gathered and created a surface. The brothers watching this scene instantly understood what they were seeing.
“Sword… gang?”
“…It’s sword gang. That’s sword gang…!”
It was an unbelievable achievement. A prodigious talent. A youth who appeared to have only just passed his twentieth year was manifesting sword gang as naturally as breathing. In a world where the impossible had already become commonplace, the sight still felt profoundly alien.
Yet that sense of alienation vanished the instant he drew a vertical line with his blade. It was a beautiful sword. At the same time, it was an incomparably powerful sword. A line of light carrying platinum thunder slashed straight down on the deformed ghostfiend that had seemed untouchable. Along that trajectory, the massive creature’s spiritual body split apart.
The deformed ghostfiend could freely twist its form at will. But the grotesque contortions it suffered now were clearly not of its own choosing. The sword gang, swung with dazzling platinum radiance, had literally erased the creature’s incomprehensible spiritual body as if burning it from existence.
[Gruk, gruruk, ghaaaa…!]
From the fully twisted mouth of the deformed ghostfiend came not the mocking laughter it used to taunt its playthings, but a scream filled with agony. The bizarre cry that could hardly belong to any living thing echoed as its spiritual body began to collapse inward.
“Young Hero! Please retreat!”
“You’ll die if you stay there!”
Yang Jeong and Yang Kvae shouted in panic. There was a saying that a deformed ghostfiend never died alone. It was like a vengeful water spirit. An exceptionally vicious monster. Its notoriety came not only from its illusory form that rendered attacks without condensed sword qi completely ineffective, but more importantly from the way it would blanket the area in its demonic qi upon death, dragging others to the afterlife as companions.
A Transcendent Realm expert who had achieved Sword Qi Forming Gang might not perish from such a self-destructive explosion, but they would at least suffer internal injuries. In severe cases, the erosion could rob them of their original martial prowess or even plunge them into qi deviation. The fact that both Paeng Mu-ho and Paeng Ha-ryeong had been left in tatters after defeating a single deformed ghostfiend was precisely because they could not withstand this final backlash.
“Damn it, it’s already too late!”
Yang Kvae cried out in dismay as he watched the creature’s spiritual body swell like it would burst at any moment. At the same time, the twin brothers leaped forward. Though they would actually be in greater danger than the mysterious expert, they chose the path of repaying their debt.
No matter that he had reached the Transcendent Realm, his age suggested his internal energy reserves could not be that deep. Even if his control over true qi was exceptionally brilliant, allowing him to wield sword qi freely, the absolute quantity of internal energy could only be built over time. There had to be a limit.
The sword qi he had displayed so far proved his internal energy far surpassed others his age, but after expending so much and then manifesting sword gang on top of it, even he would soon reach his limit. The reason he remained motionless after bisecting the deformed ghostfiend with that miraculous strike had to be because his internal energy was exhausted and he was momentarily incapacitated.
The brothers exchanged a single glance and instantly divided their roles without a word.
I’ll grab the young hero and pull him out.
Then I’ll disrupt the demonic qi with everything I have.
But once again, Namgung Woo far exceeded the Yang brothers’ expectations.
His sleeve fluttered. Thud!
His foot stamped the ground. Infinite Step. One Step Shakes the Heavens. The fighting step that drew the full power of the stomp and unleashed a forward wave halted the oncoming tide of sinister energy.
The shockwave infused with lightning qi stood like a massive cliff, stopping the demonic wave cold. The two opposing forces collided violently, throwing off sparks like fireworks. He had taken only a single step, yet the depth of internal energy and the profound mystery of the footwork defied comprehension.
Paeng Mu-ho, following closely behind the Yang brothers, also gaped in awe. The clash between the platinum lightning wave and the ashen demonic energy felt like a scene straight out of myth.
The footwork of true experts truly was on another level. The sight made them understand the real meaning behind that famous Murim proverb for the first time.
“His footwork really is on another level…”
Yang Kvae’s absentminded mutter perfectly captured the feelings of everyone present.
Namgung Woo, who had created this spectacle, paid no attention to their reactions. He was completely absorbed in the result he himself had produced.
I perfectly controlled the emission of momentum.
He had generated exactly enough force to stop the demonic wave. It had gone precisely as intended. Observe with the Blue Serene All-Seeing Eyes, calculate with the mind, then stamp the foot to release the force. The three steps had flowed together without the slightest waste or delay. At this point, he could confidently claim that his control over internal energy had reached the level of treating it like his own limbs.
As the collision between the two waves that had drawn a line in the air subsided and the energies forged by man and monster dispersed back into nature, Namgung Woo turned and pointed at the Ghost Gate.
“Does that need to be closed right away?”
Unlike the Yang brothers, who were still recovering from shock, the battle-hardened Paeng Mu-ho quickly regained his composure.
“The sooner the better. The longer a Ghost Gate stays open, the wider it grows, and stronger monsters will emerge.”
“Do you know how to close it?”
“Just destroy it. Before opening, a Ghost Gate is merely a mass of energy, so martial artists are helpless against it. Once opened, it takes physical form. Sword qi alone is enough to shatter it.”
“Then I’ll handle it myself.”
“…I’d appreciate it.”
Namgung Woo had already analyzed the general method with his Blue Serene All-Seeing Eyes, but he still asked to confirm before acting. Since this was his first time seeing one and he had crossed over from another world, his caution was absolute.
The shape of the Ghost Gate was surprisingly ordinary, not much different from a traditional eastern gate. Only the energy flowing from within was unnaturally sinister. Simply approaching it made his skin feel unpleasantly sticky.
“What is this?”
Namgung Woo noticed something strange and muttered to himself. The peculiar energy covering the Ghost Gate felt distinctly different from the sinister qi pouring out of it.
Are Ghost Gates normally like this?
Had he seen one before, he would have noticed the anomaly immediately. But this was his first.
Fortunately, he possessed a power that bordered on cheating. He raised the Blue Serene All-Seeing Eyes, and his irises turned blue-white.
Just as I thought. Someone has tampered with it artificially.
The artificial traces on the Ghost Gate. What could they mean?
Namgung Woo channeled the Thunder Emperor Divine Art into his hand and generated a technique. The faint barrier covering the gate burst like foam and vanished at his touch.
“This is…”
Namgung Woo frowned at the true nature of the Ghost Gate revealed once the barrier was gone.
There’s no way the world beyond this is the one I came from.
The moment he parted the murky veil at the entrance and looked inside, he was certain. It was a bizarre realm. A collection of monstrosities that could not possibly belong to any earthly ecosystem. He closed his eyes to block the visual information, then covered them with one hand against the sudden wave of fatigue. Switching from the Thunder Emperor Divine Art to the Blue Sky Divine Art, he calmed his churning mind and stomach.
“Hoo…”
It had to be destroyed. This particular Ghost Gate might be unique, so he would need to observe others in the future. But there was no reason to leave this one open now.
Namgung Woo poured the full power of the Thunder Emperor Divine Art into the sword he held.
Booming Electric Annihilation
An extreme-yang strike carrying the principles of overwhelming force and destruction.
The Ghost Gate shattered. That was the end of it. Unlike the deformed ghostfiend’s death, there was no explosion. As if the world itself were erasing a foreign substance, the natural energy of heaven and earth crushed it, and the Ghost Gate vanished without a trace.
Because it had never belonged to this world. The moment Namgung Woo broke the deceptive framework, the world rejected it.
“And with that…”
The Ghost Gate was closed. The battle was over.
Yet one task remained. Namgung Woo walked toward Paeng Mu-ho, who was tending to the sole injured person behind him. More precisely, toward Paeng Ha-ryeong, who was breathing in ragged gasps.
He had taken five steps toward her when—
“That’s far enough.”
“Stop right there.”
“Keep your distance from the young lady.”
Three martial artists moved to surround him.