chapter 287

No One Knew It Would Be a Bitter Fate 3

Dan Li-yeon’s eyebrows twitched.

All Lee Gwak did was raise his blade to target her. He hadn’t taken any other action. Yet, even that simple act was enough to make Dan Li-yeon feel a suffocating pressure,

It was as if thousands, tens of thousands of needles were pricking her entire body.

“Whoo!”

Dan Li-yeon took a deep breath.

She didn’t know how things had come to this.

Everything was a mess.

At some point, she had become the “Blood Martial Empress,” and countless martial artists stood against her.

This was never the life she wanted.

Her only desire was to act chivalrously with the martial arts she possessed and earn the respect of many people. So she devoted herself obsessively to martial arts, and at some point, she even earned the nickname “Dark Martial Empress.” But now, all of that felt like a distant dream.

In reality, the Dark Martial Empress no longer existed; only the Blood Martial Empress remained.

A being hated by all the enemies of the Jade Heaven Alliance.

‘I don’t know how it came to this, but…’

Dan Li-yeon clenched her fists tightly.

To earn the title of Empress as a woman, she had to prove her strength in battle countless times. For someone like her, momentary emotions were a luxury.

She could easily control emotions of this level.

Before she knew it, a resolute light had risen in her eyes.

No matter how messed up reality was, whining without doing her best in a situation did not suit her nature.

A strong enemy was before her.

She didn’t know how someone who was merely an Outer Hall martial artist of the Jade Heaven Alliance had gained such strength, but the intense fighting spirit she felt from him was enough to make her whole body tremble.

It was not easy to find such an opponent.

She had faced countless martial artists so far, but Lee Gwak was the first to give her such a thrill.

Dan Li-yeon erased the Lee Gwak she knew from her memory.

The Lee Gwak standing before her at this moment was not just an Outer Hall martial artist of the Jade Heaven Alliance but a formidable enemy worthy of matching strength with her.

She needed a mindset befitting that.

“Whoo!”

Dan Li-yeon exhaled and half-closed her eyes.

Her aura changed.

The weight of her presence was immense, like a mountain.

Crack!

At her imposing aura, the ground cracked like parched earth.

Dan Li-yeon stretched her fists forward and took the initial stance of the Empty Sky Shadowless Fist, saying:

“Dan Li-yeon of the Jade Heaven Alliance humbly requests to learn from Master Lee Gwak, the Sura Blade.”

Her gaze held a fierce resolve—a commitment to fight to the death if necessary.

Her will became momentum, and the momentum became a tidal wave pressing toward Lee Gwak.

Pop-pop-pop!

Sparks flew as momentum clashed with momentum.

Dan Li-yeon cautiously stepped toward Lee Gwak.

The range governed by her senses and aura was five zhang in all directions.

Within five zhang, no movement could escape her senses.

Dan Li-yeon approached Lee Gwak with her own range.

She didn’t know how wide Lee Gwak’s range was at present. But she was confident that her range was wider and more delicate than his.

She didn’t know how Lee Gwak had rapidly achieved his current martial prowess, but the years she had spent properly learning martial arts were much longer. The martial prowess she had steadily built up since childhood was like a tower of steel erected on a rock, with a solid foundation.

Dan Li-yeon never thought of losing to Lee Gwak in the first place.

Right now, all she could think about was her determination to win.

When she felt that Lee Gwak had entered her range, she moved.

Bang!

As she kicked off the ground, the air exploded.

In just one step, Dan Li-yeon closed the gap with Lee Gwak in an instant.

“Hyah!”

A shout burst from her red lips.

At the same time, her fist shot toward Lee Gwak’s chest. Like a whip, her fist aimed precisely at Lee Gwak’s solar plexus.

If it hit, it was a killing move that would crush his sternum and internal organs in an instant.

Dan Li-yeon gave it her all from the start.

Swiish!

At that moment, a chilling sound of cutting air rang out.

Simultaneously, a stream of blood spurted from Dan Li-yeon’s fist. Lee Gwak had somehow swung his blade and inflicted a wound.

“Ugh!”

A crease formed on Dan Li-yeon’s nose.

The wound wasn’t deep. It didn’t even hurt. But her chest felt cold. That’s how threatening Lee Gwak’s attack was.

However, Dan Li-yeon did not retreat.

As a martial artist whose fists were her weapons, she preferred to fight close up, especially against a bladesman like Lee Gwak. Allowing him too much distance would be dangerous.

Erasing the enemy’s strengths while maximizing her own was the ultimate principle of martial arts she pursued.

Swish-swish-swish!

The air was filled entirely with the afterimages of her fists.

Dan Li-yeon’s fists contained immense power that could crush even a huge rock in an instant.

Clang!

When blade and fist collided, a metallic sound erupted.

At this moment, her fists held a hardness like iron.

Clang-clang-clang!

Fist and blade clashed dozens of times.

“Truly impressive.”

Dan Li-yeon wrinkled her nose.

She hadn’t suffered any injuries herself, but the opponent also hadn’t sustained any damage.

Usually, battles between masters were decided within a few seconds or tens of seconds. Sometimes, there were rumors of duels lasting several days and nights, but those were very special cases.

The higher the martial arts level, the quicker the victory was usually decided.

She also preferred to overwhelm her opponent by exerting full strength from the beginning. That’s why she used the ultimate moves of the Empty Sky Shadowless Fist to press Lee Gwak from the start. But Lee Gwak effortlessly received all her attacks.

His expression remained calm, his breathing steady, his gaze unshaken, indicating that he had not yet exerted his full strength.

Dan Li-yeon gently bit her lip.

Her pride was hurt.

Though she hadn’t admitted it, deep down she still looked down on him. It was only her pride that was hurt, knowing that despite her best efforts, she couldn’t shake him.

She made a decision.

As things stood, she couldn’t break through his iron-clad defense.

“Cha-hat!”

Koo-oo!

A glowing aura gathered around her hands, making her fists appear several times larger than before. This was the Fist Qi.

The Empty Sky Shadowless Fist originally held the subtlety of emptiness and substance. But when Fist Qi was added, it embodied the weight of the sky.

The so-called Heaven-Crushing Earth Shaker.

Pressing down the world with the weight of the sky.

It was the ultimate realm pursued by the Empty Sky Shadowless Fist, and Dan Ri-yeon had already reached that realm.

Swiish!

An enormous strike, incomparable to before, headed toward Lee Gwak. Lee Gwak also did not avoid it and swung his blade to meet it.

Boom!

Like a thunderbolt exploding, the entire air burst apart.

Perhaps the shock was considerable, Lee Gwak’s body slid backward. Dan Li-yeon didn’t miss the opportunity and charged at Lee Gwak like lightning.

Each strike from her fists unleashed piercing waves of qi. However, before they could even reach Lee Gwak, they were sliced away by a flash of light.

A look of disbelief appeared on Dan Li-yeon’s face.

There was clearly no qi gathered on Lee Gwak’s blade. Not to mention blade qi, there wasn’t even a blade aura.

A look of disbelief crossed Dan Li-yeon’s face.

It wasn’t even a special weapon.

With an ordinary blade, Lee Gwak had shattered her Fist Qi.

In her experience, such a thing was impossible.

Shiver!

She felt a sudden chill run down her neck.

Lee Gwak’s prowess defied everything she understood.

Whoosh!

At that moment, Lee Gwak shifted from defense to offense.

He unleashed the Revolving Steps and approached her at terrifying speed.

Swiish!

A chilling sound of cutting air rang out.

Clearly an ordinary blade, a seemingly simple strike. Yet, to Dan Li-yeon’s eyes, there was nowhere to evade.

Dan Li-yeon gritted her teeth and unfolded her Fist Qi.

Puff!

But the Fist Qi she unleashed couldn’t withstand Lee Gwak’s strike and vanished futilely.

Dan Li-yeon’s eyes widened.

Bang!

At that moment, Lee Gwak’s knee exploded into her abdomen.

Dan Li-yeon had been so focused on the blade that she hadn’t paid any attention to Lee Gwak’s lower body. Additionally, she was in shock that her Fist Qi had been so easily nullified, so she couldn’t react properly.

As a result, she allowed an unexpected strike from Lee Gwak.

Dan Li-yeon endured the pain and retreated.

Retreating in a life-or-death battle went against her martial principles. But this time, she had no choice.

The strike had thrown her entirely off balance.

Her body, her internal energy, and even her breath were disrupted.

She tried to step back to regain her stance. But Lee Gwak didn’t allow her the chance.

Whoosh!

Once again, his blade cried out like a demon.

A deep cut appeared on Dan Li-yeon’s forearm, which had been trained harder than steel.

“Ugh!”

Dan Li-yeon’s face twisted.

After the arm came the calf.

Her clothes were torn, and a fountain of blood spurted from her exposed flesh.

For a moment, Dan Li-yeon’s body swayed greatly.

No matter how accustomed to pain she was, in front of a blade strike that instantly cut through thick muscles, she could only feel powerless.

Lee Gwak was in no hurry.

He methodically attacked Dan Li-yeon.

After incapacitating one arm and one leg, he created a deep wound on her shoulder.

Dan Li-yeon became a bloodied figure in an instant.

She wasn’t even given time to stop the bleeding.

“Darn!”

Dan Li-yeon gritted her teeth.

Lee Gwak’s blade had left deep wounds not only on her body but also on her heart.

For the first time in her life, she felt fear toward another.

‘The Sura… Blade.’

Now she understood why he was called the Sura Blade.

Lee Gwak, wordlessly swinging his blade, truly resembled an asura—a demon from hell wielding his blade in the world of the living.

“Ugh!”

She could barely breathe.

It felt as if Lee Gwak’s blade had severed her ability to draw breath.

She finally understood the helplessness of a fish caught in a net, left at the mercy of the fisherman. That was precisely how she felt now.

Dan Li-yeon gritted her teeth.

Now she knew for certain. Lee Gwak’s martial skill was far above hers, solid and unbreakable.

There was absolutely no way to deal with Lee Gwak using normal methods.

‘But…’

She hadn’t given up yet.

No matter how wounded and cornered she was, Dan Li-yeon’s spirit was still unbroken.

She still had a trump card left.

The Art of Potential Amplification

A martial art that could unleash her latent potential, temporarily amplifying her destructive power.

Because it consumed even her internal energy, once she used it, she couldn’t guarantee her own survival. But Dan Li-yeon couldn’t afford to think about that now.

“Hiyaaah!”

Dan Li-yeon screamed and executed the Art of Potential Amplification.

In an instant, a brilliant aura burst forth from her entire body.

At the same time, an enormous force, incomparable to anything before, was emitted through her hands.

Blood trickled out from the corner of her lips.

Just by using the Art of Potential Amplification, she had suffered a deep internal injury. It was a martial art that harmed not only the enemy but also the practitioner—that was the nature of this technique.

Dan Li-yeon was confident that with the fist qi enhanced by the Art of Potential Amplification, she could overwhelm Lee Gwak.

Boom!

Lee Gwak was enveloped in light.

Seeing the brilliant light erasing Lee Gwak, Dan Li-yeon smiled. But her smile did not last long.

Ssshhh!

A chilling slicing sound echoed in her ears.

It sounded like sharp scissors slicing through paper, sending a shiver down her spine.

It was the sound of Lee Gwak’s blade cutting through the force Dan Ri-yeon had unleashed.

She saw Lee Gwak’s blade slowly advancing, slicing through the radiant aura toward her. It moved like a salmon swimming upstream, breaking through her powerful attack as it approached.

Crrrreak!

As Lee Gwak’s blade drew closer, the dreadful sound grew even louder.

Every hair on her body stood on end.

Her vision was filled entirely with Lee Gwak’s blade.

Even as she watched, she couldn’t evade it.

Dan Li-yeon saw her own death in Lee Gwak’s blade.

It was fear.

A profound terror she felt for the first time in her life.

It was like sinking into a deep swamp from which she could not escape.

“Ahhh!”

In the moment when despair filled her eyes, Lee Gwak’s blade pierced her chest.

Thud!

“……”

Dan Li-yeon’s world shook.