Chapter 77: The Fist King Draws the Lightning Spear
The Fist King Draws the Lightning Spear
Chapter 77: The Fist King Draws the Lightning Spear
Dan Woo-sung remained silent, sensing whether there were any other masters nearby. As he closed his mouth and the man simply stared at him, the entire mansion fell into silence.
It seemed there was no one else around. Dan Woo-sung spoke in a low voice.
"Why are you alone?"
The man replied politely.
"I usually work alone."
Dan Woo-sung approached the table and said,
"Move your feet."
"As you wish."
The man lowered both feet and watched as Dan Woo-sung sat across from him. When Dan Woo-sung placed one of the Judge's Brushes on the table, the man stared at it and asked,
"Why do you have that?"
"Did you kill him?"
"Yes. There's no body."
The man maintained his polite tone to the end, which made Dan Woo-sung feel strange. He wondered if the man had mistaken him for someone else.
His expression didn't match the respectful speech, and the martial power he exuded didn't seem weak either.
The man had a broad forehead and a wide mouth. His face wore a faint smile as he observed Dan Woo-sung with interest.
The man spoke.
"Ah, I can't figure out who you are. I know most of the notable masters by heart. You don't seem like a disciple of Silver Brush Master. Are you perhaps a disciple of Yoo Jung-hong, the Alliance Leader? No, that can't be. His disciples all died in the Five Peaks War. I'm curious, so let's play a guessing game. Ask me anything first."
Dan Woo-sung glared at the man before asking,
"Does your superior like wearing purple robes?"
The man jolted in surprise, nearly toppling backward in his chair before scrambling back up in exaggerated shock.
"Ah, shit! You scared me."
Genuinely startled, he scratched his head before sitting back down.
"How did you know? If that's your question, then yes. Now, may I ask mine?"
The man pondered for a moment before addressing Dan Woo-sung.
"You're a senior from Ten Thousand Demon Palace, aren't you?"
His persistent politeness had been due to this suspicion—that Dan Woo-sung might be a high-ranking expert sent by Ten Thousand Demon Palace.
Dan Woo-sung recalled the name Ten Thousand Demon Palace before replying.
"No."
"No? No?! Damn, I got nervous for nothing. You bastard. Ugh, why'd you have to set the mood like that? Tsk..."
His speech shifted from polite to profane in an instant.
The man raised his hand as if to strike.
"Should I just kill you now?"
"......"
Dan Woo-sung sighed as he observed the man. He seemed either mentally unstable or perhaps this was just the nature of those who walked the Demonic Path.
The man was gradually relaxing.
All of the Demonic Path's forces had gathered under Ten Thousand Demon Palace. Even he didn't know all the masters affiliated with it. Still, he was curious—if Dan Woo-sung wasn't from Ten Thousand Demon Palace, how did he know about his lord, the Heavenly Demon?
He had intended to enjoy their question-and-answer game but had instead stumbled into a maze. As far as he knew, no faction outside Ten Thousand Demon Palace was aware of the Heavenly Demon's existence. After all, even the Sword Demon's Heavenly Sword Alliance was publicly known as an offshoot of Ten Thousand Demon Palace.
The man asked,
"Fine, I'll accept that. Ask your next question."
To Dan Woo-sung, he seemed like a uniquely deranged individual—someone born and bred into the Demonic Path, his very nature steeped in madness.
Dan Woo-sung asked,
"Your rank."
Instead of asking for a name, he inquired about position. The man frowned.
"My rank... Hahaha. I don't have one yet. Ah, but that wouldn't be fair. My lord calls me Left Envoy (Left Envoy). That's my rank."
He made a sour face, muttering regretfully.
"Tch, shouldn't have told you. Doesn't matter—I'll just kill you anyway."
Dan Woo-sung pointed at Left Envoy.
"Left Envoy, we'll just kill each other anyway."
Left Envoy nodded, his tone mockingly polite.
"Yes, yes. Quite right. Ask away."
"Where is your lord?"
"How should I know? He wanders around. My turn. If you're not from Ten Thousand Demon Palace, where the hell did a master like you come from?"
Left Envoy pointed at Dan Woo-sung.
"Did your master die by my lord's hand? Look at your face—got you. Vicious bastard, coming all the way here. Answer quickly."
"Correct."
"See? I knew it. That makes sense. Your turn."
"Did your parents die in the Five Peaks War?"
"Yes. Now, my question. Are you a disciple of the Green Forest King? Did he even have disciples? I thought we killed them all."
Dan Woo-sung exhaled sharply. Since when had the Green Forest King been killed?
"No."
Left Envoy smacked his own forehead.
"Ah, fuck. You're the Fist King's disciple. When did he even train one? Weird. Hey, if you're his disciple, you should be going after Heavenly Sword Alliance. Why come after me? My lord just watched from the sidelines. Go find the Twelve Demon Blades. Want me to tell you how he died? The Sword Demon stabbed him in the gut first. Then the Twelve Demon Blades each drove their swords into his body. After that, they competed to suck out his energy. So honestly, no one knows who actually killed him. Thirteen people killed him at once. His soul must've been torn to shreds..."
He was a suspicious man. While elaborating on the Fist King's death, he studied Dan Woo-sung's expression. Reports of unusual movements within Ten Thousand Demon Palace had been circulating, and Left Envoy was piecing things together on his own.
Dan Woo-sung replied flatly.
"Where is Heavenly Sword Alliance?"
"Where? Wiped out by the Alliance Leader. You're slow on the news. They've scattered. They've got hideouts everywhere, so it's not a fatal blow. You probably want to hunt them all down, but..."
Left Envoy wagged his finger.
"The world's changed. No more grand battles like the Five Peaks War. That era's over."
Suddenly, the talkative Left Envoy fell silent—as if he'd said something he shouldn't have.
Dan Woo-sung memorized every word of their bizarre conversation. Regardless, his opponent was the Heavenly Demon's Left Envoy—his right-hand man. Though his madness had made dialogue possible, there was no denying he had to die.
Left Envoy spoke again.
"Hey, if you're the Fist King's disciple, you must be pretty weak..."
Dan Woo-sung steadied himself against the provocation before battle.
He taunted in return.
"Your babbling before death was helpful. If you're weak to torture, I'll ask again later."
Left Envoy smirked.
"Do what you want... You use Lightning Qi, right?"
When Dan Woo-sung nodded, Left Envoy chuckled.
"This'll be fun."
Left Envoy also wielded Extreme Yang internal energy.
Silence lingered for a moment—
The instant Dan Woo-sung grabbed the Judge's Brush from the table, he thrust it toward Left Envoy's eye.
Thwack!
Left Envoy caught it with his left hand and channeled his energy—
Lightning Qi clashed against Left Envoy's esoteric martial art.
With a crackle— the Judge's Brush turned crimson before melting away in an instant.
What could this be called?
A concentrated point of Extreme Yang's fiery energy.
The opposing forces of Extreme Yang erased the Judge's Brush without a trace before colliding directly.
BOOOOM!
Both men rose simultaneously, stepping sideways as they locked eyes. Mid-movement, Left Envoy shrugged off his loose robe and tossed it aside, revealing a plain black martial uniform.
Having witnessed Left Envoy's technique, Dan Woo-sung remarked,
"The martial art of the Fire Wheel Demon Emperor, I see. He challenged Mad God and was torn limb from limb before being thrown into the Five Peaks Abyss... Did they ever recover his body?"
Left Envoy grinned.
"Shut your mouth."
"If you're the Demon Emperor's descendant, you should be independent... Yet here you are, running a merchant group to hoard money. Is that the Left Envoy's duty? Think you can take revenge on Mad God? If you're confident, say so. I'll guide you to his hideout."
"Ah, as much as I'd love to, now's not the time. I'll pass. Mad God can wait..."
He seemed to confirm his lineage. To shut Dan Woo-sung up, Left Envoy lunged.
Bare-handed, he struck downward with a palm strike. His fighting style relied on pure physical techniques, but the problem was his erratic bursts of Extreme Yang energy—the same force that had melted the Judge's Brush. In a way, it was the polar opposite of Baek Yak's Hundred Blossoms Divine Art.
Left Envoy's hands turned crimson—True Scarlet Hands.
A martial art that only required contact. A graze was enough, or it could pierce like a weapon. Recognizing its nature mid-fight, Dan Woo-sung employed Forbidden Hand Combat to avoid direct clashes with Left Envoy's hands.
As Left Envoy deflected Dan Woo-sung's strikes, he suddenly pointed two fingers at his face.
Two streaks of scarlet energy shot forth with a shriek— obliterating the hall's doors. Dan Woo-sung barely dodged by tilting his head before countering with a right kick.
Thud!
Left Envoy was sent flying back.
He grimaced.
Dan Woo-sung's reflexes had suddenly sharpened.
'Wasn't that his top speed earlier?'
Dan Woo-sung adjusted to Left Envoy's movements. The Left Envoy kicked off the ground, soaring into the air as he unleashed a wave of energy before shifting into Single-Point True Scarlet Hand—slashing his finger through the space where Dan Woo-sung stood.
SCREEEECH—
The ground beneath Dan Woo-sung burned crimson before rupturing. Most martial arts of this caliber could erase a corpse without a trace—child's play for Left Envoy.
As Dan Woo-sung evaded with Instantaneous Lightfoot, Left Envoy relentlessly fired Single-Point True Scarlet Hands, draining his energy.
Silent but swift as light.
A technique more suited for assassins than warriors—treacherous and lethal. Then, a scarlet beam extended like a massive longsword, slashing toward Dan Woo-sung's waist.
Dan Woo-sung, having leaped to the ceiling, unleashed a colossal Lightning Fist—a white, crackling mass of energy. Left Envoy blocked with both palms but was sent crashing through furniture.
Scrambling up in panic, Left Envoy bolted toward the rear garden. He had never fled in his life—this was new. Yet even in his haste, he regulated his breathing, sharpening his senses to Dan Woo-sung's footsteps as he poured all remaining energy into his movement technique.
But Dan Woo-sung closed the gap faster—
Left Envoy suddenly twisted mid-sprint, launching himself diagonally before contorting his body and slashing a Single-Point True Scarlet Hand toward his pursuer.
A twisted blade of crimson light shot forth.
Dan Woo-sung soared upward, prompting Left Envoy to grin as he spread all ten fingers—each aiming in different directions to blanket Dan Woo-sung's entire body. This was his trump card, the move that had felled countless formidable foes.
SHWOOOOSH—
Like blood fired from water cannons, the attack erupted from his fingers.
Dan Woo-sung, suspended in midair, crossed his arms—forming a Lightning Barrier that melted the scarlet onslaught.
Left Envoy's jaw slackened briefly before he reactivated his movement technique.
Dan Woo-sung pursued, taunting,
"Left Envoy... What kind of disgrace is this?"
As he ran along the wall, he snatched up a stone, infused it with Lightning Qi, and hurled it.
SHREEEEEK—
Then, from the Ten Stages of White Lightning Ten Stages, he forged a Lightning Spear—drawing it forth like a blacksmith shaping a weapon. The stone was a feint to force a reaction—this was the real attack.
Dan Woo-sung kept his eyes on Left Envoy's shoulders—would he duck, leap, or turn to defend?
The moment Left Envoy twisted to evade the stone—
Dan Woo-sung hurled the first Lightning Spear he had ever manifested—aimed straight for Left Envoy's spine.