The Arrival of the Roaring Heaven Blade King
Even after roaming the world without rest for fifty years amid the chaos of the Beijing Rebellion, Gwak Dan still spoke of the vastness of the heavens and earth. Namgung Woo felt the same. Only now did he truly grasp just how immense a world the Central Plains truly was.
The East Sea Matchless, Han Gye-ran, was strong enough. They might have kept certain moves hidden from each other, but in a direct clash, it seemed likely that at least one of them would walk away with a crippled arm. Yet what about this man?
Namgung Woo had finally encountered an opponent for whom he could not envision victory. The Commander of the Jinyiwei, was it? He truly lived up to the reputation of the imperial court’s greatest expert. The seamless fusion of sword gang and protective gang qi he had displayed moments ago was something Namgung Woo himself could replicate, but the more he reflected on Gwak Dan’s instantaneous judgment, the more astonishing it became. For someone lacking real combat experience like himself, replicating it with confidence seemed nearly impossible.
In games of Go or chess, the spectator often spotted better moves than the player. This was the tunnel vision effect. When the mind focused to an extreme degree, vision narrowed to a single point, making it difficult to perceive the surroundings. In real combat, where life and death could pivot in an instant, reading the periphery became even harder.
Yet Gwak Dan had remained wary of Lee Ja-ryong until the very end. The moment the spear of spiritual energy flew toward him, he instantly reinforced his protective gang qi to an even greater degree.
So this is the clash of supreme experts….
There were other things worthy of admiration, but Namgung Woo set his thoughts aside here. Though only a few seconds had passed, the opponent had already used that time to reassume a solid defensive posture.
“So you’ve come after all.”
At Lee Ja-ryong’s words, the muscles in Namgung Woo’s face twitched. The man spoke as if he knew him.
“Do you know me?”
“Well. It’s a question that doesn’t require an answer.”
“...Then I’ll make you answer it.”
One more reason to fight had been added. That man knew something. That man clearly recognized who Namgung Woo was.
The moment the thought formed, Namgung Woo’s body moved. His figure blurred like a heat haze.
The sword wrapped in qi traced a strange curve and resonated with his protective energy. What he envisioned was flickering lightning—the afterimage left behind after thunder light bleached the world white.
Martial arts that had surpassed a certain threshold no longer simply moved the body; they manifested mental images into reality. The stronger the will, the more extremely the technique twisted the world itself.
Namgung Woo, now melted into the wave of qi, used the Infinite Step to seize the space behind Lee Ja-ryong. At that instant, a voice transmission pierced his mind.
That bastard is wrapped in a defensive spell!
I know.
He had sensed it from the beginning. From the moment he set foot on Mount Wanse, Namgung Woo had kept the Blue Serene All-Seeing Eyes active at all times. Eyes that revealed the mysteries of the world could not be fooled by spells.
I’ll break through it like this.
Simple sword gang might not suffice. But if he struck at the axis of qi that formed the spell…
Puhwak!
Just as he expected, the sword gang shattered the spell and reached the spellcaster’s flesh.
He dodged?
This man was no mere spell user. Namgung Woo’s eyes, with his three dantians resonating, observed the flow of energy surging through Lee Ja-ryong’s body. The internal energy racing along his meridians gathered at his fingertips.
Finger technique!
Strong qi condensed within the extending finger wind. Flesh for bone. Was he willing to sacrifice flesh to shatter the opponent’s bones?
Namgung Woo recalled the technique Gwak Dan had displayed earlier. The protective gang qi of the Heavenly Gang Protective Art instantly enveloped his entire body.
Kuuuung—!
“A loss for me.”
Within the roar born from the collision of gang qi against gang qi, Lee Ja-ryong’s self-mocking murmur flowed out.
Namgung Woo’s sword strike had split the man’s body from the right shoulder blade downward.
Judging by his karma, he has never killed before. I thought his hand would be dull….
On top of that, the man had subtly hinted that he knew Namgung Woo, placing a restraint on lethal moves. Yet this was the result. How long had it been since Lee Ja-ryong’s calculations had gone so wrong?
“As expected of the Child of Defying Heaven. But it is futile… How pitiful is the struggle of the False Heaven trying to obstruct this body that is the True Heaven’s Child.”
While Lee Ja-ryong was lost in his own thoughts, Namgung Woo quickly assessed his condition.
The wound is shallow. The martial art itself isn’t that threatening. Perhaps the early Transcendent Realm.
It was remarkable that he wielded both spells and martial arts at once, but taken individually, neither posed a threat that could overwhelm Namgung Woo. Gwak Dan, who had watched their exchange, had noticed the same thing.
He sent a swift voice transmission. Unlike when speaking with Paeng Ha-ryeong or Paeng Mu-ho, this one was so refined that his lips did not even move.
Take Lee Ja-ryong. You can break his spells, can’t you? In the meantime, I’ll handle that ginger-corpse bastard and the Ghost Gate.
Even as he transmitted the message, Gwak Dan continued confronting the Yellow Dragon Lion. The creature’s state was horrific. One wrist had been severed in the first exchange, the other forearm crushed below the elbow, and three massive claw wounds gouged across his torso spilled out his intestines. Any ordinary person—even a Transformation Realm expert—would have died from blood loss, yet the Yellow Dragon Lion’s movements remained unchanged from the start.
Was it even a living being? It was no empty insult when Gwak Dan called it a ginger-corpse-like thing.
“Gwak Dan, are you in a hurry?”
The transmission had been intercepted. Even though he sensed it, Gwak Dan merely twitched one eyebrow. Spellcasters always produced bizarre, unpredictable techniques. Having a transmission read was hardly enough to shake him after all the anomalies he had witnessed.
But what came next left both Gwak Dan and Namgung Woo stunned beyond words.
“Unfortunately, I shall settle the match here.”
With Lee Ja-ryong’s declaration, the air began to twist.
Kiiik… Kigigigigik….
A sound like an old iron hinge being forcibly twisted open. A spine-chilling noise that triggered instinctive human revulsion echoed across the mountain.
The door was opening.
The opening of the Ghost Gate at the summit of Mount Wanse did not shock only Namgung Woo and Gwak Dan, who stood right beside it.
The barrier that had been erected to conceal the Ghost Gate lost all meaning. The energy waves pouring from the opened gate far surpassed the level of power the barrier could hide.
Han Gye-ran, who was facing the Azure Dragon Lion—the final axis of the barrier—felt goosebumps rise across her skin from the horribly ominous energy that seemed to slice at her flesh.
“That child’s words were correct.”
With power like this, even Gwak Dan alone would have suffered greatly.
“I hope Hyang-ah finds him pleasing.”
It was the moment her determination to accept Namgung Woo as her grandson-in-law grew even firmer.
“Before that, let us finish this first.”
Han Gye-ran’s body traced mysterious trajectories following the footwork of the Eight Trigrams Traversal. After slipping into the Azure Dragon Lion’s blind spot, her hand gently touched his flank.
The result, however, was anything but gentle.
Thuuuung—!
It seemed as if she had merely placed her hand there, yet the sound and force were unbelievable. It was the destructive power born from the exquisite harmony between the explosive force of her self-created unique martial art, Pear Blossom Fall palm technique, and the internal energy heavy hand method.
“Keuk!”
Even though both were Transcendent Realm experts, all the Azure Dragon Lion could do was belatedly use his own internal energy to push out the penetrating force Han Gye-ran had driven into him. Yet that only bought time.
Step.
Han Gye-ran stood before the staggering Azure Dragon Lion, who could not even stand properly. Her shadow, with the moon at her back, fell over his head. In his blurring vision, a sleeve fluttered.
It was the sleeve of a reaper.
Crunch!
Were only those with powerful martial arts able to sense the Ghost Gate’s energy waves? No. Even those whose martial prowess fell far short of Han Gye-ran’s level could perceive that something irreversible had occurred. Even Yang Kvae and Yang Jeong, who had not yet reached the Peak Realm, realized that an irreversible event was unfolding.
It would have been better to be like the Yang brothers. If one was complete enough to remain unaffected by external energy waves, or too weak to clearly identify the wave and thus only felt vague unease, the impact would have been limited to mere shock.
But for someone who could vaguely recognize the wave’s identity yet lacked the realm to fully protect their mind and body from it, the energy was poison.
That was precisely Paeng Ha-ryeong’s situation.
“Ah…”
Paeng Ha-ryeong’s body froze stiff as the malevolent energy of the Ghost Gate washed over her. It was as if she had been momentarily frozen by immense cold. Opening her Full Body Meridian Channels wide to face the stronger Black Tortoise Lion and catch even the faintest external waves had become a fatal mistake.
She had been barely keeping even with the Black Tortoise Lion by utilizing her Full Body Meridian Channels to their limit. Paeng Ha-ryeong at the late Peak Realm against a Black Tortoise Lion who had only just stepped into the Transcendent Realm. The presence or absence of the Black Tortoise Lion’s own unopened Full Body Meridian Channels. The hidden power she had heard about from Namgung Woo. The fact that the Black Tortoise Lion’s internal energy was partially restricted as a barrier axis. Victory had been achieved through the overlap of many such factors.
The moment something intervened to weaken Paeng Ha-ryeong, the scales of battle tilted sharply to one side.
An opening!
The Black Tortoise Lion was ruthless. He did not miss the instant Paeng Ha-ryeong froze. His spear shot forward like a snake, aiming for her heart.
“Got you!”
Having been blocked by Paeng Ha-ryeong, whose realm was clearly lower, must have been unbearably frustrating. A cry filled with ecstasy burst from the Black Tortoise Lion’s mouth.
And that became his last words.
“Your head, that is.”
A giant hand covered the Black Tortoise Lion’s face.
“Huh?”
Crack!
Absurd gripping strength crushed the Black Tortoise Lion’s skull. The spear that lost all power failed to reach Paeng Ha-ryeong and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The owner of the hand shook it lightly as if it were dirty, scattering blood and brain matter across the floor. With a casual flick, the palm returned to its clean original color. There was not a single spot on it without calluses.
That palm came to rest gently atop Paeng Ha-ryeong’s head and stroked her hair with care.
“Are you all right?”
“Ah…? How…”
“You’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to your father.”
Paeng Ha-ryeong blinked with wide rabbit eyes at the presence of someone who should not be here. Was what she was seeing truly real? Yet the warmth of the palm against her head was an undeniable reality.
“D-Dad…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll finish this quickly and return.”
The head of the Hebei Paeng Family. Revered throughout the world as the Blade Revered. The Roaring Heaven Blade King, Paeng Hu-sang, had arrived in Beijing.