Chapter 99: Clash of the Transcendents
White flashed. Black writhed. Red roared. Blue rent the sky, and yellow burst forth. Amid the riot of colors blending, clashing, and sparkling brilliantly...
Un Sa-nang could only lie prostrate on the ground, watching the battle of those three transcendent beings.
Though no one was tormenting or threatening her now, just witnessing the fight made her entire body tremble uncontrollably.
There was nothing she could do in this battle. Nothing but watch.
She couldn't even comprehend what techniques they were using or how the fight was unfolding. But she knew one thing: their clash had reached its climax.
Ajin—once her childhood friend, now called Ryeong-ju—seemed to have clearly transcended human limits. His hair stood on end as if struck by lightning, his eyes turned pitch black. Beneath his translucent skin, his muscles twitched and swelled visibly, his heart pounding with massive throbs.
If not for that beating heart and the red glow of his pulsing veins, it would have been hard to call him "alive."
Facing him were No Gae and Yi Jinpyeong. Their forms flickered everywhere. Though they vomited blood countless times, fell and were crushed repeatedly, they rose again in moments to charge back in.
They still bore human shapes, yet they pushed humanity to its absolute extremes.
But every battle has an end.
And this one came in an unexpected way.
In the midst of the tangled melee of colors, something pop! flew out.
The smallest and frailest of those transcendent beings—Yi Jinpyeong.
He'd rolled, been flung, and fallen countless times already, but this time, he couldn't right himself easily.
And with good reason. Unless he was immortal.
Yi Jinpyeong pushed off the ground with both arms, lifting his upper body. But his arms gave out, slamming his face into the dirt.
Blood trickled down, his face caked in mud and a total mess. Still, he tried to rise again.
And fell once more.
Tears streamed from Un Sa-nang's eyes. She screamed inwardly: Stop! Give up! You can't win!
But her raspy throat couldn't form the words. Even if it had, nothing would change.
Yi Jinpyeong was that kind of man.
He lifted his head once more. Propping himself up, he raised his torso. With trembling hands, he grabbed the pipe that had rolled beside him, leaning on it to slowly plant one knee.
His body had long surpassed its limits. What drove him now, what kept him from giving up, was his iron will—and No Gae's presence.
No Gae was still battling Ryeong-ju.
Could a one-armed old beggar fight this well? Beaten endlessly, pierced in a dozen places, yet he showed no sign of surrender.
The more he fought, the younger he seemed. As his opponent's momentum surged, he only laughed kekeke—bellowing encouragement to Yi Jinpyeong and pressing Ryeong-ju harder.
"Whelp! If you're up, quit slacking and get your ass over here!"
No Gae's voice cut through the chaotic flashes.
"That damn old coot..."
Yi Jinpyeong gave a bitter smile, trying to stand fully. But then—
Crack. The pipe propping him up snapped.
It wasn't made of sturdy stuff to begin with. Abused endlessly in battle without protective metal qi, of course it broke.
Yi Jinpyeong's face hit the dirt again. And this time, he couldn't rise.
No Gae and Ryeong-ju turned simultaneously. They realized the man who'd risen and charged again and again wasn't getting up so easily now.
But he wasn't dead yet. A little more time, and he'd rise to summon purgatory flames, swing golden blade-hands, summon green qi to snare Ryeong-ju's ankle.
Ryeong-ju knew this was the perfect moment to finish him.
His body flickered.
No Gae unleashed his Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms even fiercer to block the path to Yi Jinpyeong.
But this time—Ryeong-ju ignored the strikes on his body.
Krunch! For the first time, cracks spiderwebbed his translucent, iron-hard skin.
Yet Ryeong-ju barreled past No Gae like killing Yi Jinpyeong was his sole purpose.
No Gae lunged to cling to him. But his empty left sleeve couldn't hold.
"Whelp! Get outta there!" No Gae shouted urgently.
But Yi Jinpyeong still hadn't lifted his head.
Space-warping speed carried Ryeong-ju to him, his hand brimming with writhing black demonic qi.
Its name was death.
Un Sa-nang hurled herself forward, supporting Yi Jinpyeong's body. But her injured form was far too slow compared to Ryeong-ju's.
She gave up dodging, instead clutching Yi Jinpyeong tight and glaring defiantly.
To the friend she'd once loved, who she believed loved her—Stay back! Get away!
But Ryeong-ju's eyes held only black voids. No emotion, no lingering warmth, no memories—just pure, venomous killing intent.
He closed the gap without hesitation, thrusting his translucent hand forward.
A spherical mass of ominously condensed black demonic qi exploded from his fingertips.
The surest way to obliterate them both.
BOOM!!!!!
Yi Jinpyeong opened his eyes.
He remembered the pipe snapping. Slamming face-first into the dirt again.
Had he blacked out from just that? In this do-or-die moment?
Startled, he tried to rise in a hurry. But then he felt someone gripping him tightly.
Un Sa-nang. She clutched him close, eyes squeezed shut, face buried in his shoulder—like she'd accepted death.
But both were still alive.
He looked up. No Gae's back stood before them, shielding.
His steadfast comrade, who'd fought in perfect sync.
Planted firmly on both feet, he stood tall against Ryeong-ju's outstretched translucent hand.
But a massive hole gaped in his gut.
A hole so big a spread hand couldn't cover it.
"!!!!"
Yi Jinpyeong could even see Ryeong-ju through that hole in No Gae's stomach.
Red innards splattered down.
Yet No Gae, gut torn open, held his stance rigidly. Like a bird puffing its feathers to shield its young.
Stooped back straightened, wrinkled face showed no pain anywhere.
"Old man! Why...!"
No Gae replied, "Whelp. I was thinkin' only of savin' you and rushed in—got myself like this."
His voice was calm amid the chaos, even laced with a hint of mischief.
Yi Jinpyeong was speechless.
Ryeong-ju spoke in triumphant glee. "Foolish. Sacrificing yourself for the whelp."
He rarely showed emotion, but now his voice brimmed with victory's joy.
And rightly so. When he'd first faced Yi Jinpyeong, when No Gae first appeared, who could've foreseen such a brutal slog?
Especially nailing the tougher, more annoying No Gae in place of the collapsing Yi Jinpyeong—the battle was decided here.
"Foolish? It's only natural."
No Gae shot back, "I'm the past, he's the future. Paving the way for future sprouts to grow tall—that's the duty of a Murim Alliance elder, Open Faction's living legend, this old beggar body's job."
"How noble of you. But what's the point if the whelp doesn't survive?" Ryeong-ju mocked.
No Gae shrugged. "Eh, that's my role. The rest is his to handle."
With that, No Gae's form crumpled.
Yi Jinpyeong carefully caught his falling body.
In that brief instant, No Gae tried to pass his remaining qi to Yi Jinpyeong.
Yi Jinpyeong shook his head. Circulating wood qi to staunch the bleeding, he bent No Gae's one remaining wrinkled hand over the gut wound.
Then he handed No Gae to Un Sa-nang and stood.
Un Sa-nang, cradling the limp form, floundered in confusion. She wanted to do more, but everyone knew it was futile.
How to plug a hole that big? How to stop his death?
No Gae, eyes widening at the beauty holding him, gaped even as life faded. "Luck in my old age..."
Yi Jinpyeong straightened tall. Facing the half-human, half-demon Ryeong-ju squarely, Ryeong-ju eyed him curiously.
"Still got fight left? Persistent bastard."
"What choice? This damn old man's hogged all the cool points and collapsed—think I'm gonna tuck tail and run like a punk?"
Ryeong-ju smirked at the retort. "Even together with that old man, you couldn't beat me. Now alone, in that state, you think you can challenge me?"
Yi Jinpyeong didn't answer.
No need to reply to meaningless questions.
If an enemy stood before you, you fought. Worry wasn't his job.
Instead, he clenched his fists tight and raised them high.
Fists brimming with will and conviction.
Ryeong-ju sneered coldly.
But in that moment, a breeze stirred the woods.
The whirlwind split into two streams, each coalescing into a figure at Yi Jinpyeong's sides.