Episode 348

It’s Not Easy to Tell Friend from Foe (2)

Lee Gwak spread his qi and took in his surroundings.

It had already been a full day since he began tracking Chuk Il-yeop.

It was by no means a short time.

He had come a long way from Taegang and the Dragon Heaven Valley.

Since he’d been on high alert, focusing exclusively on tracking Chuk Il-yeop, he wasn’t even sure where he was now.

Suddenly, Lee Gwak twisted his waist.

Something narrowly missed him.

“Sssit!”

A whistling sound echoed through the air.

Once again, Chuk Il-yeop had fired an arrow from his Heaven Piercing Great Brow.

It has been like this continuously.

Chuk Il-yeop, even while fleeing, kept firing arrows at Lee Gwak’s vital spots. There was no moment to let his guard down.

In a way, by shooting arrows, Chuk Il-yeop was inadvertently revealing his location.

The problem was that Chuk Il-yeop’s qigong was so excellent that it was not easy for Lee Gwak to catch up. However, it wasn’t so overwhelming that Lee Gwak would consider giving up. And recently, Chu Il-yeop’s speed had slowed down considerably.

Lee Gwak looked in the direction the arrow had come from.

He couldn’t feel Chuk Il-yeop’s presence anymore.

He had already moved after shooting the arrow. His movements were truly elusive. But it wasn’t to the extent that he couldn’t be followed at all.

“Are we nearing the Tiger’s Den?”

There was only one reason why a tiger running at full speed would slow down.

The tiger’s den was near. And only the tiger would know what was inside.

Knowing this, Lee Gwak did not stop the pursuit.

In order to make sense of the tangled web of politics, he needed a clue, and the Chuk Il-yeop could be that clue.

Lee Gwak leaped in the direction where Chuk Il-yeop’s presence had disappeared.

With just a few steps, he covered over thirty zhang in an instant.

Lee Gwak ran through the wind, and soon he could see Chuk Il-yeop’s figure executing his qigong in the distance.

Lee Gwak pressed on even faster, and Chuk Il-yeop, as if deciding he could no longer shake Lee Gwak off, gradually came to a stop.

Chuk Il-yeop stood there, waiting for Lee Gwak to arrive.

Finally, when Lee Gwak was near, Chuk Il-yeop opened his mouth to speak.

“Heh! You are very persistent. What grudge do you have against this old man for following me so relentlessly?”

“Not something you should say after firing arrows at me first.”

“My apologies for that. I had no choice—I was acting on someone’s request. There’s no personal grudge.”

Chuk Il-yeop chuckled.

His face resembled that of a kind-hearted old farmer. But Lee Gwak did not make the mistake of judging by appearances.

While talking to Lee Gwak, Chu Il-yeop had switched his bow.

He had slung the Heaven Piercing Great Bow, which he used for long range shooting, over his back and now held the smaller God Killing Bow instead.

Instantly, Lee Gwak felt a sharp, piercing sensation, as if hundreds of needles were pricking his skin.

Once again, he deeply realized that Chuk Il-yeop was a master archer.

His skill was no less than that of the Eight Great Martial Artists. Yet, it was astonishing that he was still unknown in the Jianghu.

The saying that the Jianghu was filled with as many extraordinary talents as grains of sand on the beach was not an exaggeration.

Lee Gwak asked,

“Who asked you to do this?”

“Do you think I would tell you that?”

“Didn’t you bring up this conversation because you are confident you can kill me?”

“No, I am not confident on my own.”

Chuk Il-yeop shook his head.

Lee Gwak had detected and blocked his arrows from four hundred zhang away. Even while fleeing, Chuk Il-yeop had tried to ambush him, but all his attempts had failed.

Chuk Il-yeop lacked the confidence to confront such a master head-on.

Chuk Il-yeop had great pride from his long life, but he was realistic enough to assess himself accurately.

To him, Lee Gwak was an inconceivable being.

How could someone so young possess such overwhelming martial prowess?

From what was publicly known, he wasn’t a disciple of a famed clan, nor did he have a renowned master as his teacher.

It simply made no sense that a mere Outer Hall martial artist of the Jade Heaven Alliance could reach such incredible heights in such a short time.

Lee Gwak defied everything Chuk Il-yeop considered logical.

He had no desire to display reckless bravado against someone who defied logic.

It was better to acknowledge his existence and prepare thoroughly. And Chuk Il-yeop had already completed his preparations to deal with Lee Gwak.

Swish!

Black shadows emerged from all around.

There were over thirty of them.

They silently stared at Lee Gwak, their killing intent suffocating him.

Chuk Il-yeop gestured towards them.

“These are the Soul Forgotten Demons I prepared just for you. They will be the ones to deal with you.”

“Soul Forgotten Demons?”

Lee Gwak glanced at the martial artists surrounding him.

Their faces were wrapped in white cloth, and through the gaps, their bloodshot eyes gleamed.

Lee Gwak’s eyes narrowed.

At a glance, it was clear that these martial artists were not in a normal state.

“As you can see, they’re not exactly normal humans. That’s why it’s not easy to move them around. They tend to attract attention. That’s why I had to go through the trouble of bringing you here. It was quite a hassle for me.”

“It seems that the Martial Sword Troupe has made extensive preparations.”

“Puhaha!”

Chuk Il-yeop burst out laughing at Lee Gwak’s words.

Tears even formed at the corners of his eyes, indicating that he found the current situation quite amusing.

After a moment, he wiped the moisture from his eyes and said,

“Do you think I belong to the Martial Sword Troupe?”

“Don’t you?”

“No, that’s correct!”

Chuk Il-yeop answered frankly.

There was no longer any reason to hide.

Lee Gwak’s gaze shifted to the Soul Forgotten Demons. Then, with an exaggerated expression, Chuk Il-yeop raised both his hands.

“Ah! Don’t misunderstand. They aren’t affiliated with the main hall. The main hall wouldn’t create such horrific monsters, nor do they know how.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know more than that. I just followed orders to bring you here.”

Chuk Il-yeop’s words were true.

Although he wasn’t well known in the Jianghu, his pride in his martial arts reached the heavens.

Archers were almost non-existent in the Jianghu.

Most martial artists dismissed archery as a skill for soldiers, and few actually practised it.

As a result, archery in the Jianghu had not developed as much as other martial arts.

From a young age, Chu Il-yeop was deeply engrossed in archery.

He had neither a master to teach him nor martial arts manuals to refer to.

He had to figure everything out on his own, from start to finish.

If he heard of anyone who was even slightly skilled with a bow, he would not hesitate to travel thousands of miles to seek their teaching.

His final destination was Haedong, the land where the continent begins.

Since ancient times, the people of Haedong were famous for their excellent archery skills and had invented a remarkable technique known as “Aegitsal.”

There, he refined his archery and eventually developed his own unique style.

If it were up to him, he would have preferred to continue living in seclusion to perfect his archery. However, he had no choice but to come out of seclusion at the request of Yu Mun-sang, the leader of the Martial Sword Troupe.

In his youth, when he had nothing, Yu Mun-sang had supported him solely based on his determination and talent. Without Yu Mun-sang’s help, the Chuk Il-yeop of today would never have existed.

The Heaven Piercing Great Bow and the God Killing Bow were also obtained with Yu Mun-sang’s assistance.

Chuk Il-yeop was not a man who forgot his debts.

If he could repay the debt he owed Yu Mun-sang, he would willingly step into even the muddiest of waters. He was mentally prepared to endure any filth that might cling to him. However, the Soul Forgotten Demons were equally troubling to him.

He had no idea where these inhuman beings had been gathered from. The fact that he was being associated with such creatures made him uncomfortable.=

If it weren’t for the request of Yu Mun-sang, whom he regarded as a nephew, he would never have set a trap with these beings to lure Lee Gwak.

Lee Gwak sensed that Chuk Il-yeop was not lying. He could read the profound pride in the man’s words. People with such strong self-respect usually found lies disgraceful. They were poor liars and easily gave themselves away. Therefore, Lee Gwak believed he was telling the truth.

‘So the Martial Sword Troupe has joined hands with someone else.’

If those people weren’t part of the Martial Sword Troupe itself, then clearly the Troupe had allied with another power to bring them along.

Lee Gwak exhaled a deep breath.

This confirmed that the Martial Sword Troupe had ulterior motives.

The fact that they had joined forces with another sect to eliminate Lee Gwak was evidence of this. The question was, which sect had the Martial Sword Troupe allied with?

Any sect capable of raising martial artists like the Soul Forgotten Demons could not be a normal one.

The Soul Forgotten Demons closed in on Lee Gwak.

Their movements were eerie. With their arms hanging limply and the way they walked, they looked more like ghosts than human beings.

The bloodlust in their eyes grew thicker, and soon they charged at Lee Gwak like wild beasts.

Whoosh!

Lee Gwak also rushed toward them.

The first Soul Forgotten Demon was struck in the neck by Lee Gwak’s leaf hand blade.

It was a strike with the force of a real blade. Even a skilled martial artist would have had their neck snapped like a twig from such an attack. But the Soul Forgotten Demon remained unharmed.

It felt as if he had collided with a thick iron plate. A tremendous recoil emanated from the Soul Forgotten Demon’s body

Lee Gwak frowned slightly as the attack of the Soul Forgotten Demons began.

They swung their claws.

Their nails, nearly three inches long, were like the claws of a tiger.

“Chahahak!”

The air was torn apart by their attacks.

Lee Gwak ducked their offensive and kicked out.

“Bang!”

Though he hadn’t mastered proper kicking techniques, his kick contained enough force to shatter a thousand-pound rock.

“Kekeek!”

With a terrifying scream, the Soul Forgotten Demon hit by Lee Gwak’s kick fell to the ground, its chest caved in as if struck by a mace.

His chest bones were completely shattered.

It was a fatal injury that would have killed any ordinary person or even a skilled martial artist.

Crack!

But incredibly, the chest of the Soul Forgotten Demon returned to its original state.

The broken bones and crushed muscles miraculously repaired themselves.

Lee Gwak’s eyes narrowed.

This was the first time he had seen such a phenomenon.

Such a thing was impossible for an ordinary person.

Is it a dark art?

He had heard stories of a heretical sect in Jianghu long ago that created such monsters. However, after being targeted by the orthodox sects, they were destroyed and their lineage was severed.

Yet, it seemed someone had secretly continued their legacy.

“Kwadeuk!”

Lee Gwak’s blade exploded on the head of a Soul Forgotten Demon.

The force was enough to crush a skull instantly, but the Soul Forgotten Demon merely staggered for a moment before recovering.

“Huh!”

A deep sigh escaped Lee Gwak’s lips.

They were no longer human.

Before receiving the dark art, they might have been human, but now they were no longer beings that could be called human.

As their name, Soul Forgotten Demons, suggested, they had lost their souls and become mere tools for slaughter.

If there was any respect for humanity left, such methods would never be used.

Lee Gwak felt a deep anger towards the group that created the Soul Forgotten Demons.

Even as the onslaught of the Soul Forgotten Demons continued, Lee Gwak used his revolving steps to dodge their attacks and counterattacked with his blade and sword techniques.

From a distance, Chuk Il-yeop, who was observing the scene, spoke.

“That won’t be enough to bring them down.”

Chuk Il-yeop had also tried attacking the Soul Forgotten Demons as a test. But even his moderate attacks failed to scratch their skin.

Ultimately, to defeat them, Lee Gwak would have to reveal his ultimate martial arts techniques.

Chuk Il-yeop’s eyes sparkled.

His heart pounded with excitement.

Just imagining that he would soon witness the technique of the most renowned blade-wielder in the land gave him chills of anticipation.

“Come on!”

He urged.

As if hearing Chuk Il-yeop’s voice, Lee Gwak gripped the hilt of his blade.

Swoosh!

And finally, he drew his blade.

It was slightly shorter than most blades and had a straight design.

The blade, slightly shorter than ordinary but perfectly straight, revealed itself.

The moment Lee Gwak drew his blade, the atmosphere in the area changed.

It was as if they had entered the deep sea; the air grew heavy and oppressive, weighing down on everything.

Anyone without martial prowess would have had difficulty breathing under that crushing presence, and it restricted the movements of the Soul Forgotten Demons.

Even the Soul Forgotten Demons, who had lost their minds, seemed to sense the danger and became more cautious.

Simply drawing his blade had completely altered the atmosphere.

‘So this is the Sura Blade?’

It was as though a demon from hell had manifested, blade in hand.

Swoosh!

Chuk Il-yeop drew an arrow from his quiver.

It was half the size of the arrows used for the Heaven Piercing Great Bow.

It was a specialized arrow for the God Killing Bow.

As Chuk Il-yeop nocked the arrow onto the God Killing Bow, he muttered to himself.

‘Fight! The greatest bladesman in the world.’

The bow, created to kill gods, was now aimed at Lee Gwak.