Chapter 314: Half-Human, Half-Monster (1)

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll say anything, so please stop!”

Guyang Sa-oh, the patriarch of the Guyang Clan, begged in shock as his arm was on the verge of being ripped off.

Seeing him like this, the scarred middle-aged man, Lee Gwang, urged,

“Elder!”

Guyang Sa-oh’s current behavior was no different from yielding to the enemy.

Unlike Guyang Sa-oh, who was brought in by the organization’s invitation, Lee Gwang had been a member of the organization for a long time, so this was unacceptable to him.

“We mustn’t submit!”

At his shout, Guyang Sa-oh, holding his dislocated shoulder, cried out,

“Would you say the same if it were your arm, not mine?”

To a martial artist, not only the dantian but also the arms and legs are all precious.

Losing even one of them would disrupt the balance and significantly lower one’s martial prowess.

That’s why Guyang Sa-oh was trying to avoid his arm getting ripped off, even if it meant using his energy.

‘I haven’t settled my match with Tang In-hae yet, nor have I reached the realm of the Ten Thousand Poisons Body. I can’t afford to lose an arm.’

He had yet to fulfill his ambition of settling the match with Tang In-hae and reaching the end through poison.

With many aspirations, Guyang Sa-oh had a strong attachment to himself, so he had no choice but to cherish himself over the organization.

“I’ll tell you everything I know, so please stop.”

“If you had been this obedient from the start, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“I won’t be arrogant. So…”

Guyang Sa-oh trailed off and looked at Mok Gyeong-un’s hand.

He was pleading pathetically, as if begging him to let go.

‘That old man, Guyang Sa-oh!’

Lee Gwang thought it wouldn’t do.

Given his age and outstanding experience, he thought Guyang Sa-oh wouldn’t yield to the enemy.

But since he wasn’t originally a member of the organization and was invited, Lee Gwang didn’t expect his self-attachment to be this strong.

So Lee Gwang had to make an extreme choice.

‘Explosive Three Swords!’

Lee Gwang used his sword fingers to perform a triangular thrust.

Then, three strands of exploding sword energy extended from his sword fingers and rushed towards Mok Gyeong-un.

-Swoosh swoosh swish!

Two strands of the rushing exploding sword energy aimed at Mok Gyeong-un’s head and heart.

And the trajectory of the remaining strand was aimed at Guyang Sa-oh’s head.

‘What?’

Guyang Sa-oh’s expression contorted as he turned his head towards the rushing sword energy.

Was Lee Gwang really targeting his life to silence him?

Although it was the right choice for Lee Gwang, it was absurd that he aimed for his life without any hesitation.

-Swish!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un reached out his hand towards the approaching strands of sword energy.

Then, ripples formed in the void.

It was the profound principle of the Scripture of Transferring True Qi, deflecting the opponent’s power.

-Clang clang bang!

The exploding sword energy collided with the ripples and bent, deflecting in different directions.

-Crash crash boom!

As a result, only the innocent surrounding buildings were destroyed.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had too easily blocked the exploding sword technique, looked at Lee Gwang and said,

“As expected, it seems I need to put a hole in your belly before having a conversation with you.”

‘shit!’

Lee Gwang’s complexion darkened rapidly.

It was indeed impossible to face a supreme master who had reached the sixth heaven realm with pure individual strength.

what the .... was that bastard?

What did he do to become this absurdly strong in less than half a year?

Had such a thing ever happened in the history of the martial world?

It made all the years he had spent cultivating martial arts feel futile.

-Grip!

Lee Gwang bit his lip hard and glanced at his sword lying on the ground.

That black sword, looking as if it had been charred, was given to him by that person.

Suddenly, the memory of when he bowed to that person for the first and last time resurfaced.

***

A place shrouded in darkness.

Except for where he was prostrating, there wasn’t a single point of light, making it impossible to even see faces.

A voice reached his ears.

[The son of the deceased Lee Saek, you say?]

It was a sort of scratchy voice.

But without minding it, he replied,

[Yes, that’s correct.]

[Your father, who was merely in the second realm, never bowed to me until the moment of his death.]

[I am aware of that.]

[Then why do you think I called for you?]

[I don’t know.]

[Did you swear to inherit your father’s mission and devote your life to me?]

[Yes.]

[Loyalty passed down through generations. Even though humans can’t live for even a hundred years, I like this aspect of them.]

[Pardon?]

[Enough. It was just a monologue.]

-Stab!

As soon as those words ended, something fell and stuck into the ground in front of Lee Gwang.

It was a black sword that looked as if it had been charred.

It was a sword with a crude shape, lacking even luster, but Lee Gwang was captivated by the strange energy emanating from it.

[What… is this?]

[It’s a special gift for you.]

[A special gift?]

[Yes. Very special indeed. What do you think it’s made of?]

[…I don’t know.]

[You said you learned swordsmanship from your father, but your insight is lower than I thought.]

Slightly provoked by those words, he answered,

[Is it made of black iron?]

[It’s not made of black iron, perennial steel, or anything like that. If it were, it would have been easy to refine.]

[Then what is it?]

[Didn’t I tell you to guess?]

At those words, the young Lee Gwang hesitated before touching the blade with his hand.

His father greatly valued the resonance with the sword.

That’s why he wanted to feel the sword directly and sense what was contained within it.

As Lee Gwang touched the blade,

-Slice!

His hand was cut.

Apart from the charred-looking tip, the blade itself looked crude, but unexpectedly, it was sharp enough to cut without even slicing.

But the moment the blood touched the sword,

-Tremble tremble tremble!

The blade trembled violently as if it were alive.

Along with it, a strange energy was felt through the part in contact with his palm.

It was an immense ferocity.

-Roar!

At that moment, Lee Gwang was startled, removed his palm from the sword, and even fell on his bottom.

‘W-what the ....?’

What was that just now?

It was too vivid to be called an illusion.

He saw something roaring, but it wasn’t a ferocious beast like a tiger or a bear.

It was as if,

[A dragon?]

As soon as those words left his mouth, the sound of clapping was heard.

-Clap clap clap!

Along with it, that person’s voice was heard.

[Not bad. I didn’t have high expectations, but for a young brat like you to resonate with that remnant.]

[What… what is this?]

[Rejoice. You have obtained a black sword made from the scales of a Spiritual Beast close to a Divine Beast.]

[Spiritual beast?]

[Yes. It is the Dragon Demon King. Ah, saying it like this might not resonate with you. Alright. It is made from the scales of a millennium-old Imoogi.]

At those words, Lee Gwang’s expression became half-believing, half-doubting.

He had heard from his father that there were those who dealt with demons and spirits in the organization, but he didn’t know it would be that person.

But do Imoogis actually exist?

He had seen some demons and spirits, but weren’t dragons creatures that only existed in legends and imagination?

Seeing his puzzlement, that person said,

[Cherish it dearly. In your most desperate moment, it will become a great source of strength for you.]

***

‘The most desperate moment…’

Lee Gwang, who had been staring intently at the black sword, reached out his hand towards it.

Then, the sword floated and flew towards him due to his true energy.

-Grab!

Lee Gwang grabbed the hilt of the black sword and looked at Mok Gyeong-un with slightly tense eyes.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un removed his hand from Guyang Sa-oh’s twisted wrist and pushed him aside.

“Kuk.”

Then, walking towards him, he said,

“Fortunately.”

“…”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t just submit. No matter how much I offered you a chance to live, I wanted to pay back the debt appropriately.”

“Indeed, my judgment back then was correct.”

“What was?”

“You are a bastard who must be killed.”

In less than half a year, the young brat who hadn’t learned martial arts had appeared as a supreme master on par with the great sages.

This bastard was too dangerous.

More so than the sixth heaven, or even the prophecy that person was seeking.

Mok Gyeong-un chuckled and said,

“You should have killed me back then.”

-Swish!

As soon as those words ended, Mok Gyeong-un’s figure blurred and disappeared.

Although Lee Gwang realized that he was moving at an extremely high speed, he didn’t bother trying to locate Mok Gyeong-un.

Instead, he abruptly grasped the hilt of the black sword in reverse and then,

-Stab!

‘!?’

Suddenly, Mok Gyeong-un stopped in front of him.

Then, as if unable to understand, he tilted his head and said,

“What a dull conclusion. Are you trying to silence yourself through suicide?”

“Ugh…”

Lee Gwang let out a painful groan.

He had made an unexpected, impulsive move.

He had stabbed his own black sword into his heart in his chest.

Anyone could see that this was an act of suicide.

“Ah…”

Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t hide his disappointment at his extremity.

He had intended to make him talk after making him feel an appropriate amount of pain.

But who would have thought he would choose suicide instead of yielding to force and opening his mouth?

-Grab!

Mok Gyeong-un grabbed the head of Lee Gwang, who was staggering and about to fall backward.

Then he said,

“But I can’t let you die peacefully. I need to hear at least these two things from you, no matter what.”

“Ugh…”

“If you tell me just two things, I’ll send you off comfortably. The Demon Sword, who is…”

-Shudder!

Suddenly, Mok Gyeong-un furrowed his brows.

That was because Lee Gwang’s eyes had turned white, becoming demon eyes.

But the change didn’t end there.

-Bulge! Bulge!

Bumpy scales were already appearing on his neck and facial skin.

They resembled the scales of a snake.

‘!?’

What was this? This bizarre transformation?

As he was puzzled, Lee Gwang’s teeth became sharply pointed, and his energy also changed.

This energy wasn’t internal energy.

His true energy was transforming into demonic energy.

‘Could it be?’

Mok Gyeong-un glanced at the black sword stabbed into Lee Gwang’s chest.

With a hunch, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed the hilt of the sword.

At that moment, a violent evil aura explosively surged up, strongly rejecting Mok Gyeong-un and pushing him away.

-Bang!

Mok Gyeong-un’s body, slightly lifted into the air, landed eight steps away.

Pushed back, Mok Gyeong-un looked at Lee Gwang with narrowed eyes.

In the eyes of Mok Gyeong-un, who had opened his ghostly eyes, the demonic energy explosively increasing behind Lee Gwang was taking shape.

Just how high-level was this demonic energy that even its aura was taking form?

-Roar!

Black horns protruding like a deer’s, a fiery red dorsal fin.

A giant body with scales extending like a snake.

It was the legendary creature he had only seen in books, an Imoogi.

At that sight, the corners of Mok Gyeong-un’s mouth twitched and rose.

“Well, well… You had a hidden trump card.”