Chapter 56: The Fist King Dreams of Becoming the Thunder Emperor
The Fist King Dreams of Becoming the Thunder Emperor
Chapter 56: The Fist King Dreams of Becoming the Thunder Emperor
Dan Woo-sung, Sa Ma-geuk, and Joo Ja-ryang sat around the campfire, occasionally exchanging quiet smiles. They were the kind of friends who didn't feel awkward even in silence. After finishing his tale about the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, Dan Woo-sung pulled out a signal flare from his pocket and handed it to Joo Ja-ryang.
"President of the Failure Club."
"Huh?"
"Find out where this was made."
Joo Ja-ryang tilted his head, glancing between Dan Woo-sung and Sa Ma-geuk.
"How am I supposed to do that?"
Dan Woo-sung replied casually.
"With your skills, brains, and cunning. If you can't find the exact one, make something similar."
As if it were payment for the request, Dan Woo-sung pulled out two merchant vouchers and handed them over. Joo Ja-ryang accepted them smoothly and asked,
"Where did you get this?"
"Looks like something from the Demonic Path."
"Ugh... That's ominous."
Sa Ma-geuk chimed in.
"I saw fireworks exploding in the sky earlier—was that it?"
Dan Woo-sung nodded. Joo Ja-ryang examined the vouchers, which he hadn't seen in a while, and muttered,
"I'll look into it. There are plenty of bustling markets near Mount Jiuhua. I'll scout around. Sa Ma-geuk and your brother are too busy training. Fighting like madmen every day... Though mostly, it's Ja-eon getting beaten up. Lately, though, he's been taking hits pretty well. You know what I mean? There's a certain flair to how he gets knocked around. Wham!—he goes flying, rolls, then snaps back into stance. Looks kinda cool sometimes. Back then, even getting hit looked pathetic."
Dan Woo-sung let out a low chuckle.
"So The Youngest's only improved in getting stylishly beaten up."
"If that counts as skill, then yeah, he's leveled up. Of course, Sa Ma-geuk's gotten even stronger."
Dan Woo-sung nodded approvingly.
"What about that martial manual? It's not a fake, is it?"
Of course, it was a manual Dan Woo-sung had created.
Sa Ma-geuk shook his head.
"It's not fake. Some parts are vague, but they make sense once you train with it. It reads like a martial treatise written by someone with deep experience. Occasionally, the meanings are cryptic, but Joo Ja-ryang helped interpret them. His understanding differs slightly from mine—maybe because he doesn't know martial arts, so his perspective is more objective... Still, the Failure Scholar didn't slack off in his studies."
Dan Woo-sung smirked.
Sa Ma-geuk, Joo Ja-ryang, and Lee Ja-eon made a surprisingly good team. Dan Woo-sung planned to send them more support once he returned to the Silver River Merchant Group.
"I'll send supplies your way."
"No need, really. Feels kinda nice living like a recluse at this age."
"I killed some Demonic Path operatives lurking nearby. Mount Jiuhua's vast, but you should still be careful. Supplies aren't a big deal—I'll send some elixirs for Sa Ma-geuk and Ja-eon."
Sa Ma-geuk's expression shifted.
"Huh, elixirs?"
Dan Woo-sung nodded.
Just then, another signal flare exploded in the night sky, painting the darkness with fleeting sparks before vanishing.
Joo Ja-ryang tilted his head.
"Someone's really into fireworks tonight. Wonder what's going on."
Dan Woo-sung stood up.
"It's late—get some rest. I should head back."
"At this hour?"
"You're leaving now?"
"If I get tired walking, I'll crash wherever."
Sa Ma-geuk and Joo Ja-ryang exchanged glances, shaking their heads in disbelief. People could change, but this was extreme.
Dan Woo-sung rose to his feet, flashing an easygoing smile.
"Take care."
"Go on."
"Stay safe."
"Work The Youngest harder."
"Don't worry about that."
Dan Woo-sung walked off and, once out of sight, activated his Lightfoot Technique.
Would Sa Ma-geuk, Joo Ja-ryang, and Lee Ja-eon be of immediate help against the Demonic Path?
That kind of thinking belonged to the old Fist King—the lone wolf who had failed. It didn't matter whether they were useful right now. He had decided to embrace the bonds formed through Lee Jin-eon and keep an eye on those around him.
Even if the gap in martial prowess meant he'd fight alone in critical battles, he refused to live as isolated as he had in his past life.
Back then, he had been the stubborn, solitary Fist King.
This time, he would live differently.
There was no reason to repeat a life that had already failed. And the loneliness of his past life? He no longer believed it was the right way. Even now, his relationship with Murim Alliance Leader Yoo Jung-hong had already changed.
Like his friends had noticed, Dan Woo-sung had transformed in many ways.
Hoping that change would be the key to surpassing the Fist King, he dashed toward the origin of the signal flare.
One person?
In a barren, conspicuously open area, a man in yellow robes sat cross-legged.
He looked like an ascetic or a practitioner deep in meditation.
The lack of any traces around him made it seem like he was either blatantly serving as bait—or had come here to die. The wasteland wasn't even suitable for an ambush.
Dan Woo-sung settled on a hill overlooking the man and waited until dawn, calmly organizing his thoughts.
With the White Lightning Ten Stages reaching the ninth tier, only the ultimate tenth tier—the realm of enlightenment—remained. At this point, unless it was a Supreme Elixir, consuming lesser elixirs would be meaningless. It was more efficient to pass them to The Youngest Lee Ja-eon or his friends—they wouldn't even register in his system anymore.
Since his visit to the Murim Alliance, his mastery had ascended another level.
Now, he intended to freely shape the form of his lightning energy.
In his past life, he had unleashed it as spears or drawn it from his palms as swords. He had stretched it like spiderwebs and condensed it into spheres. But that no longer felt sufficient.
The tenth tier was about wielding lightning energy with absolute freedom.
Because of that, the tenth tier held symbolic significance—there were no limits. As he sat cross-legged, Dan Woo-sung indulged in imagining that boundless freedom before rising to his feet.
When I unleash the White Lightning Ten Stages, I will become the Thunder Emperor.
He would now bring to life what he had envisioned in his mind.
His materials were the Demonic Path and lightning energy.
The stage—the sky itself.
"You've arrived."
Flying Demon Corps Leader spoke as Dan Woo-sung approached alone. Dan Woo-sung stopped at a reasonable distance and studied the Demonic Path operative.
Flying Demon Corps Leader asked,
"Orthodox faction?"
"No."
"Dark faction?"
"No."
Flying Demon Corps Leader frowned.
"Then what are you?"
Dan Woo-sung met his gaze and replied,
"The son of a merchant."
Flying Demon Corps Leader tilted his head.
"Strange. You don't carry weapons, so that might be true... But you're the one who killed my subordinates."
"That's also me."
Flying Demon Corps Leader, glaring at Dan Woo-sung, raised one finger—then two. Simultaneously, his figure split into two. With a flick of his fingers, he multiplied into dozens in an instant.
The process was utterly silent.
Each clone was indistinguishable from the original.
Dan Woo-sung crossed his arms, observing the duplicates. If his subordinates had used the Demonic Path's stealth techniques, it made sense their leader could employ such cloning.
Then, each clone adopted different expressions and movements.
Dan Woo-sung asked,
"One of us will die here today. State your affiliation."
Flying Demon Corps Leader answered,
"Oh Kyung, leader of the Bima Unit under Ten Thousand Demon Palace."
Dan Woo-sung's unease grew. While undoubtedly part of the Demonic Path, his demeanor didn't match—he seemed more like a martial artist. At least he now had a name for the organization.
"Ten Thousand Demon Palace... First time hearing it."
As Dan Woo-sung spoke, the wasteland filled with clones. Forming a circular formation, they charged at him. From the sky—the stage Dan Woo-sung envisioned—it would've looked like a swarm of black ants converging.
"Draw swords."
Whoosh—!
Countless clones unsheathed their blades simultaneously. Though his plan had failed, his confidence suggested he wouldn't die unless facing the Sword King himself.
Even Dan Woo-sung couldn't tell whether the clones were illusions or tangible. The moment he recalled the tenth tier's domain, he stretched both arms wide, wreathed in white lightning, and plunged into melee combat.
The instant his fist connected with the first clone's face, the lightning energy injected into its body radiated outward in all directions—using it like an internal force. As he fought, a barrier of lightning enveloped Dan Woo-sung's entire body.
Darting through gaps with his Instant Movement Technique, Dan Woo-sung's brows rose.
"Oh Kyung, clones won't work on me."
"We'll see—"
Dan Woo-sung unleashed a Lightning Fist toward the voice. As five or six clones dispersed, Flying Demon Corps Leader Oh Kyung's true body intercepted with a horizontal slash.
BOOM!
Oh Kyung was sent flying, reducing the number of clones again. Closing the distance with his Gale Step, Dan Woo-sung charged forward, shaping lightning into a sphere before hurling it.
Oh Kyung twisted into a zigzag motion. Mid-dodge, Dan Woo-sung rained down blade-like lightning vertically, then mixed fist winds and Lightning Fists toward Oh Kyung's landing point.
Just as clones swarmed from behind—
Dan Woo-sung stomped down with Lightning Foot without even looking back.
A man's way of fighting.
Then, Oh Kyung vanished—only for Dan Woo-sung to seize empty air beneath his chin with his right hand.
His grip closed around a sword.
Clink.
With the blade caught, both men unleashed palm strikes. As their energies collided, Oh Kyung twisted his arm, wrenching the sword free. Even as the edge twisted, the gauntlet remained unscathed.
Dan Woo-sung leapt upward as eight blades thrust from all directions—a hair's breadth too late.
'Clones... Annoying.'
Activating Lightning Foot, he crushed clone skulls underfoot as he moved.
CRACK—!
The clones shattered like brittle wood. Then, in an instant, they vanished, leaving only Oh Kyung standing alone.
Flying Demon Corps Leader Oh Kyung knew Dan Woo-sung was stronger—yet he didn't retreat.
He strode forward, lowering his sword before charging fearlessly.
Dan Woo-sung grabbed the blade with his left hand, yanked Oh Kyung in, and drove his right foot into his abdomen. Thud. Even as Oh Kyung rolled across the ground, he stood back up and advanced again.
A man who had come to die.
"The Demonic Path's reign under Ten Thousand Demon Palace—I will wander the Nine Heavens and watch over it."
Oh Kyung spread his palms and rushed in. Dan Woo-sung caught his strikes, crushed his hands, then kneed him in the gut. Though weaker, Oh Kyung's Demonic Path resilience was undeniable—a man who fought with dignity.
Dan Woo-sung seized Oh Kyung's head, channeled lightning energy to the ninth tier, and stared into his eyes. Despite the agony, not a scream escaped. Unlike previous victims of the White Lightning Ten Stages, Oh Kyung blackened from the crown of his head downward.
As the charred corpse collapsed, Dan Woo-sung muttered,
"I doubt my fate was twisted just so you could witness your 'Demonic Path reign.'"
He believed he was enduring this ordeal to resolve something far greater—something that would defy fate itself.