The Gaze of the Yellow Dragon
The Yellow Dragon Sword would not move. It had been nothing more than a voice, yet even that was enough. The words carried no trace of internal energy, no killing intent—only a spine-chilling remark. Still, Baekri Hyeong found his legs frozen in place. Without a moment’s hesitation, he executed the Falling Dragon Step.
Kwaaaaaang!
“Ghh…!”
“Your reaction time is decent enough. But the game ends here!”
Baekri Hyeong clenched his teeth as he watched the King of Fists charge forward with the ferocity of a yaksha. Even after rolling across the ground with the Falling Dragon Step, he had failed to fully evade the attack. The Fist King’s punch carried the most powerful and swiftest momentum he had encountered since his regression—an insurmountable wall that the current Baekri Hyeong could not even dream of challenging.
‘If I could break through the wall of the Transcendent Peak…!’
He had yet to obtain everything the Peak Realm had to offer. But if he could not reach the Transcendent Peak right now, he would die anyway. What use was strength if he did not survive first?
Hwarururuk!
“Kuhak!”
“You managed to block it! As expected of the Sword Sovereign’s son!”
“Haaaaaaaah!!”
Baekri Hyeong’s body, having ignited the Vermilion Bird energy to its limit, began to blaze with searing heat. It was a technique that became available once the Yellow Dragon Emperor Heaven Art reached a certain level of mastery—a reckless act of infusing the Five Elements’ energies into the Four Guardian Deities Sword, something only possible upon reaching the Fire Realm. It was power far beyond what the present Baekri Hyeong could wield. He was forcing it into use simply to survive, and his body screamed in protest. Especially because he had combined the Vermilion Bird energy with the fire element of the Five Elements, birthing the transcendent might of the Vermilion Bird Flame Qi.
Pouring out power recklessly was still preferable to dying before he could reach the Transcendent Peak. Quickly assessing his situation, he swung his sword, now wreathed in flame qi, with wild abandon.
Huooooong!
“Fast. Precise. And terrifyingly sharp.”
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Every time Baekri Hyeong swung his flame-laden blade, acrid smoke curled into the air. The King of Fists retreated with footwork, as if merely observing how far the boy could go. Convinced that yielding ground would mean the end, Baekri Hyeong pressed forward relentlessly. Yet he could not reach the Fist King. Even when he closed the distance at high speed, fist techniques that transcended his own appeared to crush his skull, and every powerful strike he unleashed failed to penetrate the opponent’s fist force, sending him flying backward instead.
The monotonous exchange lasted only a moment. Having lost all interest in Baekri Hyeong, the King of Fists’ figure vanished in an instant.
“Body Substitution?!”
“Correct.”
“Kuaaaaaagh!”
Peoeeeeok!
The King of Fists used the substitution to momentarily paralyze Baekri Hyeong’s senses. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind the boy and drove his fist into Baekri Hyeong’s back. Baekri Hyeong tried to defend himself by wrapping his body in protective qi, but the Fist King’s punch was faster and sharper, slamming into his spine.
Kwakwakwakwang!
The impact sent Baekri Hyeong flying like a rag doll, crashing into what appeared to be an inn.
“Kuhak! Keheuk! Hueok!”
Baekri Hyeong’s consciousness flickered and returned. Instinct told him that if he lost focus even once more, he would die.
‘Azure Dragon! Use the Azure Dragon Qi to breathe! To recover!’
“Huuuk! Hueoeok! Hueup! Heup!”
“How pitiful, struggling so desperately just to recover.”
“Hueup! Hueueueup! Hueup!!”
Even with his mind clouded, Baekri Hyeong tried to restore his body as much as possible using the Azure Dragon Qi. The King of Fists did not know the true nature of the Four Guardian Deities Sword. He had simply overwhelmed him with raw power. If the man drew close, Baekri Hyeong planned to land at least one strike.
That had been his intention—until a voice rang out.
“Get away from my brother…!”
“Oh my.”
Kwakwakwakwang!!
Baekri Hyang burst through the inn window and unleashed the Baekri Flame Emperor Sword at the King of Fists with everything she had. She even infused it with the azure flame power she had just grasped during her fight with Baekri Hyeong. Yet the King of Fists merely stepped back lightly, observing her with intrigued eyes.
“Hmm. Since you called him your brother, you must be the Sword Phoenix, Baekri Hyang! The greatest hope among the future leaders of the righteous Murim!”
“You filthy old relic… How dare you lay a hand on my brother!”
Baekri Hyang looked at Baekri Hyeong, who lay broken and gasping for breath, and bit down on her lip until blood welled up. How dare this wrinkled old man, with so little life left, reduce her brother to such a state?
“King of Fists or not, you’re going to die by my hand today!”
“Try it, daughter of the Sword Sovereign.”
“Haaaaah!”
From the very start, Baekri Hyang formed sword qi with the Baekri Flame Emperor Sword—Azure Flame—and charged. The fact that she was already applying the technique she had just learned showed how furious she was. But Baekri Hyeong wished he could speak, if only to stop his sister. He wanted to tell her not to do it. That she would die.
Unlike Baekri Hyeong, who had been walking the line between life and death his entire life, Baekri Hyang had never experienced true combat. Moreover, she had no idea how to fight against a master who wielded fist force.
‘Move. Move, damn it!’
He desperately wanted to stand. Why did this wretched body always betray him when it mattered most? Was he fated to lose the people he cherished, both in his past life and this one?
‘No. I will protect them. I came back to protect them…!’
A fierce resolve began to frost over Baekri Hyeong’s eyes. Then, between the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise gathered in his middle dantian—or rather, from the very earth they stood upon—a faint tremor arose. A massive golden eye, reminiscent of pure gold, twitched.
Paaaaaaaang!!
Golden energy surged from Baekri Hyeong’s entire body. He realized his wounds had been perfectly healed. But the golden light vanished without warning, and the strange phenomenon in his middle dantian fell silent once more, as if it had never happened.
“Yellow Dragon. That just now… was definitely the Yellow Dragon’s eye.”
His master in his past life had once said that only when one could freely command the Four Guardians and earn their recognition would the Four Guardian Deities Sword be complete, allowing one to wield the supreme Yellow Dragon Sword. If that was the case, then the thrilling sight he had just witnessed meant—
“I can use it once I have fully mastered the Yellow Dragon Sword…”
He would need to study this further, but there was no time now. Baekri Hyeong slapped his own cheek hard, cleared his mind, and gripped his sword once more. Right now, he had to support his sister.
“Hueok… Hueoeok…”
“Impressive. A swordsman who has not yet reached the Fire Realm managed to wound this old body.”
Unlike the battered Baekri Hyang, the King of Fists bore only a light scratch on his right arm. He offered genuine praise, though Baekri Hyang ground her teeth in frustration at her own level.
“Kuhk…!”
“Your courage is commendable. But I no longer have time to play. Die now.”
He had already wasted too much time. If he delayed any longer, the Sword Sovereign would likely appear. The plan to annihilate the Baekri Clan had already failed. But if he killed the Sword Sovereign’s children—the future of the Baekri Clan—before leaving, that would be enough.
Paaaaang!
The King of Fists, acknowledging Baekri Hyang’s worth, thrust out a single fist to burst her head. From his perspective, it was mercy—ensuring she felt no pain. Baekri Hyang tried desperately to block the strike, but the moment his arm moved, she felt the strength drain from her own limbs and despaired. So this was the end.
“It’s not over yet!!”
“..!”
Chaeaeaeeng!
Just as Baekri Hyang squeezed her eyes shut in despair, Baekri Hyeong—his body fully restored—appeared and deflected the King of Fists’ fist force while clad in armor forged from black energy. It was the power of the Black Tortoise Earth Qi, an advanced form of the Black Tortoise energy.
“Ho. So you were still alive.”
“My lifeline isn’t that short.”
“But your savior is in tatters. Do you truly believe you can protect an injured person while facing me?”
“Of course not.”
The glimpse of the Yellow Dragon Sword’s fragment had been nothing more than a fleeting chance. The only fortunate development was that he had gained limited access to the method of infusing the Five Elements’ energies into the Four Guardian Deities Sword—a technique normally requiring the Fire Realm. Yet the situation remained utterly hopeless. Facing the Fist King alone was already overwhelming; doing so while protecting the wounded Baekri Hyang was impossible.
“But I’m not the one who will face you.”
“Is that so? The Sword Sovereign still has quite some distance to cover before arriving here.”
“My father couldn’t come. But…”
“..?”
“His sword has already arrived.”
“What!?”
Shweeeeeeeeeeak!!
Just as the King of Fists turned his head in shock at Baekri Hyeong’s words, a sword flying from somewhere tore through his abdomen.
“Kuaaaaaaaaagh!”
The Sword Sovereign, Baekri Hyeok, was rushing forward at tremendous speed using the Air Treading Step. From an unfathomable distance, he had locked onto the King of Fists with the Flying Sword Technique.