The Hound of the Wraith
My gaze turned toward the depths of the cave. In the faint light, a gigantic rift was tearing open in the darkness. I couldn’t hide my shock. The phenomenon unfolding inside the cave could mean only one thing.
“The Illusion Gate... is opening?”
This place had originally held a small Illusion Gate, but because it hadn’t fully opened yet, I hadn’t considered it a serious threat.
But now—
The Dragon Pearl, .which had forcibly absorbed the essence of the Hwanseok, had provoked the tearing open of the gate.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground shook. The entire cave lurched as though it might collapse. Instinctively, I pressed a hand to my dantian.
It was hot.
The Dragon Pearl was reacting violently.
“Is this thing resonating with the Illusion Gate?”
I grit my teeth. This was completely unexpected. For me, someone who still couldn’t fully control the Dragon Pearl, a variable like this was far too dangerous.
“Young Master Hyeon! What is happening?!”
Zhuge Hyeonggeon shouted, his face pale. I let out a rough breath.
Why... is the gate opening now?
Even before I died, nobody had known what caused the Illusion Gates to open. Not in Murim, not in the Demonic Cult, and not even among the beings who stood at the summit of the world. Even that so-called Heavenly Demon had nearly lost his life after trying to enter an Illusion Gate. After that, no one had dared to study them further.
The strong of Murim had come to understand one thing.
The Illusion Gate was an incomprehensible existence.
To pry into it was nothing but foolishness. So the current of Murim changed. Hunt the beasts pouring out of the gates. Contain them. That was the only response Murim could make.
And yet now—
The gate was opening before my eyes.
“Young Master, from this moment on, don’t look back. Run. Now!”
“What? What do you mean—”
“Just go, damn it!!!!”
At my shout, Zhuge Hyeonggeon flinched and then turned on his heel, racing out of the cave. Left alone, I set my stance and stared into the darkness. I wanted to run too, but I knew it would be useless. That sticky, malevolent aura was already wrapping itself around my whole body. Even if I moved now, it would pursue me to the end.
I knew exactly what kind of existence gave off this aura.
With a thunderous roar, the Illusion Gate split open wide for an instant, and the form of a gigantic beast emerged.
Grrrrr...
My heart dropped. I’d hoped otherwise, but as expected, it was the very thing I’d feared.
Wraith Hound.
Every Illusion Gate had one strongest beast within it, an apex among the monsters that poured through. In this region, where the spectral beasts lurked, the strongest existence was the Wraith Hound.
A Earth Class beast... no, worse.
Unlike a Human Class beast, which a single Peak Realm expert could handle, an Earth Class beast required several Peak Realm masters working together to subdue it. And the Wraith Hound was one of the strongest among Earth Class beasts. For me to face one alone, right now...
In other words, I’m royally screwed.
Gulp.
Without realizing it, I swallowed hard from the tension. Cold sweat was already pouring down my body, leaving my mouth bone-dry.
“...Can I beat it?”
The Wraith Hound was nearly twice the size of an ordinary wolf. Its body stretched well over a jang in length, and its shoulder height nearly reached seven cheok. At first glance its face resembled a wolf’s, but only in the broadest sense; up close it was more like a skull. Crimson power churned in its empty eyes, and from the snout and jagged teeth filling its mouth rolled a seething flame. Its body was packed with muscle, and its three languid tails were soaked with deathly energy.
Clink.
I drew my sword with calm precision and slowly gathered my inner energy to its peak. Since Zhuge Hyeonggeon wasn’t here, I decided to throw off every restraint and reveal everything I had hidden. Only then would I stand a chance.
Crimson Sun Art.
Wooooong—
A red aura bloomed from the tip of my blade. The Wraith Hound reacted.
Grrrrrr...
It took a step forward.
The next instant—
Bang!
The Wraith Hound vanished into the shadow. I twisted around reflexively, but I was too late. A chill presence was already surging in from behind.
Shwick!
The Wraith Hound’s steel-hard claws slashed through the air.
Damn it!
I twisted aside, barely avoiding it—
Too late.
Thud!
A brutal impact slammed into my waist. My body was hurled through the air and crashed into the wall.
Crash!
Ugh.
Blood surged into my mouth. Agony flooded my whole body. But I didn’t have time to focus on pain. The Wraith Hound emerged again.
Grrrr...
It looked at me with a sly, almost mocking smile. I spat blood and tightened my grip on the sword.
This bastard...
It wasn’t just strong. It fought intelligently. It used sudden movement from within the shadows to probe my strength with ambushes, then figured out that it was the predator here.
I clenched my teeth.
If I keep fighting like this...
I’ll lose.
I focused on my dantian.
Then—
I drew up the power of the Dragon Pearl. Heat surged upward from my dantian.
Woooong—
It felt like my blood was boiling. My entire body burned hot. The energy of the god-class Fire Dragon briefly took residence within me. It might have been power I couldn’t handle, but if I lost this fight, I died either way.
The Hound of the Specter stared at me.
Hrrrraaaang—!
Sensing my change by instinct, it slipped back into the shadows. The Wraith Hound’s movement was nothing short of instantaneous, as if it had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Shwick—!
Its claws came flying for my ribs. Like a blink of an eye, the strike was already upon me. But this time, things were different.
Fwoosh!
I swung my sword with everything I had. Crimson flames burst from the blade like rolling clouds. It was a phenomenon born when the Dragon Pearl’s power merged with the Kunlun sword art.
Kunlun Thirteen Swords, First Form: Cloud Flow Sword.
A sword technique as fluid and natural as drifting clouds unfolded.
Flaring—
The defensive nature of the form intercepted the Wraith Hound’s claws.
Kaaang—!
The impact rang out, and a heavy force shuddered through the hand gripping my sword. Having its attack blocked, the Hound of the Specter flinched.
Grrrr...!
For the first time, the Wraith Hound took a step back. I immediately unleashed my movement technique and closed the distance in a single burst. Then I followed with the second form of the Kunlun Thirteen Swords, Kunlun Falling Snow. Gentle as snow descending on Mount Kunlun yet deadly in its sequence, the sword light shot toward the Wraith Hound’s body.
Slash—!
My blade cut across the beast’s foreleg.
Blood sprayed.
But I could feel that I hadn’t cut deep enough. I quickly withdrew and prepared for the next strike.
Then—
The Wraith Hound’s red eyes flashed. I focused my inner energy into my eyes as quickly as I could, but I was already a step too late. My vision blurred as space distorted before me.
And then...
I saw it.
The Jigeom Sect engulfed in flames, my fellow disciples collapsed and bleeding.
Zhuge Hyeonggeon’s corpse pinned beneath my feet.
Wake up!
This... wasn’t real.
But it was far too vivid.
“...!”
My breath caught.
If I couldn’t break free from this—
I was finished.
At that moment, a vast inferno surged up from my dantian. The Dragon Pearl’s power rose to protect me. The force it had absorbed from the Hwanseok burst out in full.
WOOOOOOONG—!
In an instant, the hallucination shattered, and I returned to reality. And the moment I did, three tails carrying the energy of death were already sweeping toward me. I raised my sword and unleashed Cloud Flow Sword again.
BOOOOOM—!
A deafening explosion rang out, and my body slid backward across the ground. I was pushed back, but the Wraith Hound’s attack was nullified. The Dragon Pearl, angered by the blow it had taken, unleashed a monstrous wave of energy.
Fwoooosh—!
An immense blaze shimmered around my body.
Screeeech—!
Before me, the Wraith Hound looked startled. Its three tails, which had been held high and swaying, curled downward. It seemed to sense the power that had shattered the hallucination and instinctively feared it.
Unbelievable power.
At this rate, I could definitely handle an Earth Class beast like the Wraith Hound. Though I could also feel that this power wouldn’t last long. There was no way my body could endure this level of force for much longer.
Then it would have to be quick.
Fwoosh—!
As I concentrated my inner energy into the sword, flames surged upward. Right now, the Dragon Pearl’s power was flowing through me with almost frightening ease.
Grrr...
The Hound of the Specter widened its eyes. It seemed unable to believe that it could sense the energy of the Fire Dragon from me. Sensing danger, the Wraith Hound turned toward the Illusion Gate and bolted. It was unbelievable that an Earth Class beast would feel fear from me and try to run. Vanishing as if it were sinking back into shadow, its movements were too fast to track.
Rustle.
But I was already pointing my blade at it.
“It’s over.”
The final technique of the Kunlun Thirteen Swords. Sunfire Severing Slash.
Wooooong—!
My sword scattered toward the Wraith Hound.
Crimson Flame - First Severing Strike.
A red sword light carved a straight line through the air and poured into the shadow where the Wraith Hound had vanished. It was a strike loaded with overwhelming force.
Kwaaaang!
Flame exploded from the sword as it collided with the shadow. For the first time, the Hound of the Specter screamed.
Khehahahahahaang—!
The Wraith Hound, which had been sinking into the shadows, was forcibly driven back into sight. Its massive body burned as black-red smoke billowed from it. Thrashing wildly, it let out wave after wave of agonized shrieks.
Before long, the Wraith Hound’s body slowly began to collapse.
Kuuuuung—!
I drew in a deep breath.
I had won.
And against an Earth Class beast at that. A beast that, in my previous life, would have been impossible to handle alone. Realizing that, a wave of relief washed over me, and my head swam with dizziness. As the Dragon Pearl’s power abruptly faded, searing pain flooded my entire body.
“Khh...”
This was the price of using power I still couldn’t fully bear. I clenched my teeth and forced myself to stay conscious. I might have slain the Wraith Hound, but this place was right next to the Illusion Gate. If I passed out here, I’d become a meal for the beasts. Dragging my increasingly ragged breath behind me, I moved my body toward the cave entrance.
I had no room to spare for the Wraith Hound’s corpse.
The light spilling into the cave entrance looked absurdly far away. By the time I reached it, the last of my strength slipped away, and my vision began to darken.
“Damn...”
With that, I lost consciousness completely.
Darkness.
My body was hot.
No, burning would be a more accurate word. A massive roar echoed from somewhere nearby.
Fwoooosh—!
“This is... the breath of the Fire Dragon?”
At that moment—
A thunderous voice shook my ears. An overwhelming pressure, as if it pierced straight through bone. The suffocating fear I had once faced before death rose up again. My vision returned, and before me stood the mythic beast, the Fire Dragon. A strange smile curved at the Dragon’s mouth as it looked at me.
As the Fire Dragon finished speaking, scorching flames wrapped around my entire body. Yet unlike the time I had met death, this heat strangely felt warm. One last time, the Fire Dragon’s voice reached me as I sank into a deep darkness.
Before long, consciousness rose again. But I still couldn’t open my eyes. This heat wrapped around my whole body. It wasn’t simple pain.
This was the flame of rebirth.
My body was changing.
The Fire Dragon’s energy flowed through my blood vessels, reconstructing my body into something entirely new.
Wooooong—
The Dragon Pearl began to react. My body radiated red energy as the flow of inner power changed.
And then—
Crack. Crack-crack.
My bones twisted and realigned as though screaming in protest. The joints in my arms and legs broke apart and reset in new positions, the balance of my entire body shifting into something else.
Crackling sounds.
Every muscle in my body turned inside out. The flesh tied to my original bones tore away in sequence, and in its place, stronger, more supple muscles were formed anew.
My body was transforming into the perfect fighting frame.
This is... a complete physical rebirth.
This was a state that only a small number of experts in Murim had ever experienced. A stage in which the body transcended its limits and was born anew. But I understood that this was not simply a martial artist’s rebirth. This was a new form created by the power of the Fire Dragon.
The power of the Fire Dragon, which had turned my body into a weapon of war, did not stop there.
Pop. Pop-pop.
My teeth fell out and grew back. Stronger than before, hard enough to crush iron. My fingernails and toenails sprouted anew, sharp enough to carve through metal.
Rustle.
My hair fell away. But soon black, lustrous strands grew back in its place. Along with the reconstruction of my body, everything about me was changing.
And finally—
My blood began to boil hotly. The energy coursing through my blood vessels changed completely. The power that had been running wild through my body suddenly surged upward. That power soon hammered against my upper dantian.
BOOM—!
An explosion rang inside my head. At the same time, a fierce burst of Fire Dragon energy erupted from my right eye. Agonizing pain ripped through that eye. The unbearable torment I had never felt before made every nerve in my body stand on end.
“Khh...”
I clutched my right eye and rolled across the floor. The pain was even worse than the complete reconstruction of my body; I couldn’t bear it. At the end of my consciousness, which was once again drifting away, the Fire Dragon’s voice reached me.
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