Chapter 315
Chapter 315
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 86
>Chapter Title: Half-Human Half-Monster (1)
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“P-Please! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything, so stop!”
Gu Yang-so, the head of the Gu Yang Clan, begged in terror as his arm teetered on the brink of being ripped off.
The scarred middle-aged man, Yi Gwang, scolded him at the sight.
“Elder!”
Gu Yang-so’s actions were no different from surrendering to the enemy.
Unlike Gu Yang-so, who had been recruited by the organization, Yi Gwang had been a member for a long time.
This was unacceptable to him.
“You mustn’t yield!”
At his shout, Gu Yang-so clutched his dislocated shoulder and yelled back.
“Are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem since it’s not your arm?”
For a martial artist, not only the dantian but arms and legs were all precious.
Losing even one would shatter their balance, drastically lowering their martial prowess.
That was why Gu Yang-so was desperately trying to avoid having his arm torn off.
‘I haven’t even settled the score with Dang In-hae yet, nor reached the realm of the Myriad Poison Body. I can’t lose an arm now.’
The same went for his duel with Dang In-hae and his long-cherished dream of meeting his end through poison.
With so many desires left unfulfilled, Gu Yang-so’s attachment to himself was strong, leaving him no choice but to value his own life over the organization.
“I’ll tell you everything I know, so please, stop.”
“If you’d been this compliant from the start, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“I won’t hold back anymore. So...”
Gu Yang-so trailed off, staring pleadingly at Mok Kyung-un’s hand.
As if begging him to let go.
‘That old fool Gu Yang-so!’
Yi Gwang realized it was no good.
Given his age and vast experience, Yi Gwang had thought he would never yield to the enemy.
But Gu Yang-so wasn’t even an original member—he’d been recruited. Yi Gwang hadn’t anticipated such strong self-preservation.
In the end, Yi Gwang had no choice but to make an extreme decision.
‘Exploding Form Three Swords!’
Yi Gwang thrust his sword fingers in a triangular formation.
Three strands of sword energy shot out from his sword fingers, surging toward Mok Kyung-un.
-Shwaaak!
Two of the surging sword energy strands targeted Mok Kyung-un’s head and heart.
The remaining strand aimed straight for Gu Yang-so’s head.
‘What?’
Gu Yang-so turned at the incoming sword energy’s momentum, his face twisting.
Was he really targeting his life just to silence him?
It might be the right choice for Yi Gwang, but going for the kill without a moment’s hesitation was absurd.
-Swish!
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un reached out toward the incoming beams of sword energy.
A wave-like ripple formed in the air.
It was the profound technique of the Qi Shifting True Scripture, designed to deflect the opponent’s force.
-Papapang!
The sword energy collided with the ripple, bending and scattering in all directions.
-Kwarung!
Thanks to that, only the innocent surrounding buildings were demolished.
Having blocked the sword technique so effortlessly, Mok Kyung-un looked at Yi Gwang and said.
“It seems I’ll have to put a hole in your gut before we talk.”
‘Damn it!’
Yi Gwang’s complexion darkened rapidly.
As expected, pure individual strength couldn’t match a grandmaster who had reached the Six Heavens realm.
Just what the hell was this guy?
How had he grown to such an absurd level in less than half a year?
Had there ever been such a case in the entire martial world?
The years he’d spent cultivating martial arts felt utterly futile.
-Grip!
Biting his lips tightly, Yi Gwang glanced at his sword lying on the ground.
The pitch-black sword, charred like coal, had been given to him by that one.
Suddenly, he recalled the first and last time he had met that person.
* * *
A place shrouded in darkness.
Aside from where he prostrated himself, there wasn’t a single speck of light—not even enough to see a face.
Then, a voice echoed in his ear.
[The son of the dead Yi Sak, right?]
It was a scraping, grating voice.
Ignoring it, he replied.
[Yes.]
[Your father, who was merely of the Second Realm, never once paid homage to me until his dying breath.]
[I know.]
[Then why do you think I summoned you?]
[I don’t know.]
[Did you swear to take up your father’s mission and dedicate your life to me?]
[Yes.]
[Loyalty passed down through generations. Humans please me with such traits, even if they can’t live a mere hundred years.]
[Pardon?]
[Never mind. Just muttering to myself.]
-Puk!
No sooner had the words ended than something dropped and stabbed into the ground before Yi Gwang.
It was a pitch-black sword, charred like coal.
Lacking any luster and crudely shaped, Yi Gwang was still captivated by the strange aura emanating from it.
[What... is this?]
[A special gift for you.]
[A special gift?]
[Indeed. Very special. Guess what it’s made of.]
[...I don’t know.]
[You said you learned the sword from your father, yet your insight is disappointingly low.]
Feeling a surge of irritation at the words, he replied.
[Made of black iron?]
[Not black iron or millennium cold iron or anything like that. If it were, it would’ve been easy to refine.]
[Then what is it?]
[Didn’t I tell you to guess?]
At those words, the young Yi Gwang hesitated before placing his hand on the blade.
His father had emphasized bonding with the sword.
Thus, he sought to touch it and sense whatever was contained within.
As Yi Gwang touched the blade,
-Shk!
His hand was sliced.
Except for the charred tip, the blade looked blunt and unsharpened, yet it cut him effortlessly.
But the moment his blood touched the sword,
-Prrrrrr!
The blade trembled violently, as if alive.
Along with it, a bizarre energy flowed through the part touching his palm.
It was immense ferocity.
-Krwaaaaa!
Startled, Yi Gwang yanked his hand away and fell on his rear.
‘W-What the hell?’
What was that just now?
It was too vivid to call a hallucination.
He had seen something roaring—a beast, but not a tiger or bear.
It resembled,
[A dragon?]
No sooner had he spoken than applause rang out.
-Clap clap clap!
With it came that person’s voice.
[Not bad. I had low expectations, but for a brat, you resonated with its remnant aura.]
[W-What is this thing?]
[Rejoice. You’ve obtained a black sword forged from the scales of a spirit beast near divine beast status.]
[Spirit beast?]
[Yes. The Jiao Demon King—no, that might not ring a bell. Let’s say it’s made from the scales of a millennia-old jiao dragon.]
At those words, Yi Gwang’s expression turned skeptical.
He’d heard from his father about organization members handling otherworldly oddities, but he hadn’t known that person was one.
Did jiao dragons really exist?
He’d seen some otherworldly creatures before, but dragons were mythical beings from legends and imagination, weren’t they?
That person, sensing his doubt, said.
[Cherish it dearly. In your most desperate moment, it will become your greatest power.]
* * *
‘My most desperate moment...’
Staring intently at the black sword, Yi Gwang reached out for it.
Infused with true qi, the sword hummed and flew to him.
-Tak!
Grasping the hilt of the black sword, Yi Gwang eyed Mok Kyung-un with tense anticipation.
Mok Kyung-un released Gu Yang-so’s twisted wrist and shoved him aside.
“Urk.”
He then walked toward Yi Gwang and said.
“Good thing.”
“......”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t just surrender. Even if I offered you a chance to live, I wanted to settle the score properly.”
“My judgment back then was right.”
“What judgment?”
“You must die.”
A novice who hadn’t even trained in martial arts half a year ago had returned as a grandmaster-level expert.
This guy was too dangerous.
More than the Six Heavens—more than even the prophecy that one sought.
Mok Kyung-un smirked and said.
“You should’ve killed me then.”
-Sruk!
No sooner had he spoken than Mok Kyung-un’s form blurred and vanished.
Yi Gwang recognized the ultra-high-speed movement but deliberately didn’t search for him.
Instead, he reversed his grip on the black sword’s hilt and,
-Puk!
‘!?’
Suddenly, Mok Kyung-un halted right in front of him.
Tilting his head in confusion, he said.
“What an anticlimactic end. Or are you sealing your lips even in suicide?”
“Guhhhh.”
Yi Gwang groaned in agony.
He had acted unexpectedly.
He had plunged his own black sword into his heart.
To anyone, it looked like suicide.
“Agh.”
Mok Kyung-un couldn’t hide his regret at Yi Gwang’s resolve.
He’d planned to inflict just enough pain to force his mouth open.
Who could’ve known he’d choose suicide over yielding?
-Pak!
Mok Kyung-un grabbed Yi Gwang’s head as he staggered backward.
Then he said.
“But I can’t let you die so easily. There are two things I must hear from you, at least.”
“Guhhhh.”
“Tell me these two, and I’ll let you go painlessly. Who gave you that sword...”
-Flinch!
Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow.
Yi Gwang’s pupils had turned pure white—ghost eyes.
But the changes didn’t end there.
-Bulge! Bulge!
Scales like snake skin bubbled up on his neck and face.
‘What?’
What was this grotesque transformation?
As Mok Kyung-un wondered, Yi Gwang’s teeth sharpened rapidly, and his energy shifted.
This wasn’t internal energy.
His true qi was turning into demonic power.
‘No way?’
Mok Kyung-un glanced at the black sword embedded in his chest.
Suspicious, he grabbed the hilt.
In that instant, ferocious demonic power erupted, violently repelling Mok Kyung-un.
-Pang!
Mok Kyung-un’s form, slightly airborne, landed eight paces away.
Narrowing his eyes, the now-repelled Mok Kyung-un stared at Yi Gwang.
Through his opened ghost eyes, he saw demonic power exploding behind Yi Gwang, taking form.
How exalted must this demonic power be to manifest a physical shape?
-Gooooh!
Black horns rising like a deer’s, crimson dorsal fins blazing like fire.
A massive body covered in serpentine scales.
It was the legendary jiao dragon from ancient texts.
Mok Kyung-un’s lips twitched upward.
“Well now... you had an ace up your sleeve.”