Novel Martial Artist Lee Gwak - chapter 457
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Episode 457
Seeing One Thing and Knowing Ten (1)
The bodyguards of the Gong family manor weren’t renowned martial artists, but they were strong enough to be recognized in the region.
At the very least, they were not to be underestimated in the area where the Gong family resided. However, not a single one of them could deflect the chopstick that Lee Gwak had flicked toward them.
Their hands were torn and their palms went numb; the pain spread throughout their arms until they were completely paralyzed.
They felt as though they had collided with a boulder rolling down a mountain. Their insides were so shaken that they could barely breathe. They had never experienced such an overwhelming impact before, and their eyes lost focus in shock.
Gong Yu-cheol was the most shocked of all, as the bodyguards were incapacitated in an instant.
“Hey, you bastards!”
He urgently called out to his bodyguards, but none of them could respond. Even if they had been able to speak, opening their mouths would have worsened their internal injuries.
Gong Yu-cheol’s eyes darted around wildly.
‘Damn it!’
He barely held back the curse that was about to burst out of his mouth. Only now did he realize that the man he had provoked was an extraordinary martial artist.
Gong Yu-cheol was arrogant, but even he knew that provoking a renowned martial artist was foolish.
Reason told him to bow deeply and apologize immediately. But his heart refused to listen to reason.
He couldn’t show weakness now.
“W-who are you?”
He asked about Lee Gwak’s identity, trying to hide his trembling voice.
Instead of answering, Lee Gwak stared straight at Gong Yu-cheol’s face. Gong Yu-cheol couldn’t meet his gaze and turned his head away.
“I-if you mess with us, my son’s master won’t let this slide!”
Desperate, Gong Yu-cheol brought up Gong Woo-yeol’s master.
Gong Woo-yeol also scrambled to his feet and shouted:
“Do you know who my master is? The Five Shadow Demon Hand, Jang Gwak the Great! You got that?”
“Jang Hwak?”
“That’s right! One of the Eight Great Martial Artists. He’s my master.”
Just moments ago, he had been humiliated, rolling around on the floor, but now Gong Woo-yeol was puffed up with pride.
And for good reason, he had genuinely been accepted as Jang Kwak’s disciple.
Admittedly, Gong Woo-yeol’s talent was impressive. His bone structure was well-suited for martial arts. But Jang Kwak would never take on a disciple based on talent alone.
Gong Woo-yeol had paid an enormous sum of money to have his son accepted as Jang Kwak’s disciple.
They were on their way to meet Jang Hwak now.
Which is why Gong Woo-yeol felt bold enough to use his future master’s name to threaten Lee Gwak.
Lee Gwak asked Gong Woo-yeol,
“Is it true that Jang Hwak is your master?”
“Yes! So you’d better apologize to me. Who knows? Maybe then I’ll let it slide.”
“I have no intention of apologizing to you.”
“What? You’re not afraid of my master?”
“That’s right.”
“You…!”
Gong Woo-yeol’s face turned bright red at Lee Gwak’s answer.
He should have realized by now that Lee Gwak was no ordinary man, but he was too young and hotheaded to see it.
The one who finally sensed the gravity of the situation was his father, Gong Yu-cheol.
‘He didn’t even flinch at the name of Jang Hwak?’
Gong Yu-cheol figured there could only be two explanations for that.
Either Lee Gwak didn’t know Jang Hwak’s name, or he wasn’t afraid of him.
Given that Lee Gwak had disabled his bodyguards with a bunch of chopsticks, it was absurd to think he didn’t know of Jang Hwak.
That left only one possibility.
‘I’ve picked the wrong fight.’
Only then did Gong Yu-cheol realize that Lee Gwak was powerful enough to not fear Jang Hwak.
“May I ask your esteemed name, sir?”
His tone suddenly changed.
Lee Gwak looked him straight in the eye and asked,
“What difference would my name make?”
“If I had known who you were, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You’re the one who picked a fight without even asking for my name.”
“Well…”
Gong Yu-cheol stammered.
He had no excuse.
He wanted to let his temper fly, but age had at least taught him some tact. So he forced his anger down. But his son had neither the years nor the sense.
“Father! What are you doing? Who the hell is that bastard? My master will deal with him. I’ll make that woman my servant and do whatever I please with her.”
The words that came out of Gong Woo-yeol’s mouth were so vile it was hard to believe they came from a child.
“Enough!”
“Why? Why are you stopping me, father? What are you afraid of? We have Master!”
Gong Woo-yeol had been raised with endless indulgence, he was never disciplined and was always given whatever he wanted.
Gong Yu-cheol believed his son deserved such treatment. But seeing his son spewing such reckless words in front of a master like Lee Gwak made him wish he could sew the boy’s mouth shut.
“Hah.”
Lee Gwak let out a sigh.
It was clear the father’s excessive indulgence had ruined the child.
Forget manners, the boy had no shred of decency.
With such a twisted personality, if he learned martial arts from a grandmaster like Jang Hwak, he’d become a tyrant.
“I can’t let this go. Even if it means making an enemy of your master.”
“What the hell are you babbling about…?”
“You’ll find out when your master sees you.”
Lee Gwak reached toward Gong Woo-yeol.
Sensing something ominous, Gong Woo-yeol tried to back away. However, without any martial arts training, escaping Lee Gwak’s hold was impossible.
Lee Gwak grabbed Gong Woo-yeol’s wrist with his left hand. Gong Woo-yeol’s body immediately went stiff and he was unable to move.
‘Wh-what is this?’
No matter how hard he tried to move, his body wouldn’t respond. All he could do was shift his eyes toward his father in silent plea. But Gong Yu-cheol could do nothing either.
Papapapak!
In an instant, Lee Gwak struck thirty-two pressure points across Gong Woo-yeol’s body with his right hand.
For a moment, Gong Woo-yeol felt like he couldn’t breathe. But soon, he felt nothing unusual.
Lee Gwak released his grip.
Regaining movement, Gong Woo-yeol staggered backward.
“What did you do to me?!”
“Your master will know.”
“You bastard!”
Gong Woo-yeol glared, but his eyes were filled with fear.
Until now, he had always gotten his way. His loving father ensured that.
So he believed everything in the world would go his way. But for the first time, he had met someone he couldn’t control, and fear took root in his heart.
He couldn’t stand being in the same space as Lee Gwak. Just sharing the room made him feel like he was suffocating.
“Dad, let’s get out of here.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go, now!”
Gong Yu-cheol, too, wanted nothing more than to leave. He quickly grabbed his son’s hand and rushed out, followed by his guards.
As they left, Lee Gak called after them,
“Tell Jang Kwak you met Lee Gak here.”
Gong Yu-cheol’s face instantly turned pale.
‘Dear heavens! Lee Gwak?!’
Recently, while expanding the Gong Family’s influence, he had met many martial artists. From them, he had heard that in the current Jianghu, only Sura Blade Lee Gwak could rival the Jade Heaven Alliance Leader, Ja Hong-cheon.
Among the younger generation, Lee Gwak was the one closest to being the undisputed strongest.
Now, he had made an enemy of such a man because of his foolish son. But it was too late for regrets.
Gong Yu-cheol didn’t even dare think of reconciliation and fled the inn.
As their carriage departed, he prayed.
Please, let the Five Shadow Demon Hand, Jang Kwak, be strong enough to protect us from Lee Gwak.
With the father and son gone, peace returned to the inn.
“Lee Gak?”
“Good heavens! The Sura Blade was staying in the same inn as us?”
The guests whispered among themselves, not daring to approach Lee Gwak.
There were both martial artists and ordinary civilians present, but none were ignorant of Lee Gwak’s name.
Even if they didn’t know his face, his name was known throughout the land. So they couldn’t help but steal glances at him.
Lee Soo-ah glanced around and spoke.
“So much for a quiet drink.”
“Yeah.”
Lee Gwak nodded with a bitter smile.
Normally, he wouldn’t have gotten involved. But Gong Woo-yeol had gone too far.
Especially since the target was none other than his daughter.
Lee Gwak could not overlook that.
Lee Soo-ah asked him, “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“To that brat. What exactly did you do to him?”
“Hmm.”
Lee Gak trailed off vaguely.
Lee Soo-ah stared at him intently but didn’t press further.
***
“Do you think I’ll let this slide after what you did to me?”
Gong Woo-yeol gnashed his teeth.
His young face was twisted with a hatred unbefitting his age.
Gong Yu-cheol scolded him.
“You brat! Why did you have to provoke him and cause all this?”
“How was I supposed to know he was such a powerful martial artist? You agreed to my request because he didn’t seem like much either!”
“Well…”
“We just need to meet Master. No matter how strong that guy is, Master will get revenge for me!”
Gong Woo-yeol held a fantasy about the master he had never even met.
Fortunately, the place where they were supposed to meet Jang Kwak wasn’t far.
Their carriage traveled through the night and arrived at the meeting point.
After waiting for a while, a middle-aged man with an imposing aura and a young man appeared.
They were none other than the Five Shadown Demon Hand, Jang Kwak, and his son, the Iron Ghost Dragon, Jang Mu-san.
Jang Mu-san’s face was filled with displeasure.
After losing to Oh Jung-gyeong at Mount Wudang and being called useless every day, his pride had taken a severe beating.
Every day felt like hell.
And now, just as he was barely enduring, Jang Kwak had announced he was taking in a new disciple.
He had accepted Gong Woo-yeol as an unofficial disciple in exchange for an enormous sum from Gong Yu-cheol.
Even if it was just an unofficial disciple, the idea of a competitor irritated Jang Mu-san. But since it was his father’s decision, he had no choice but to comply.
Gong Yu-cheol and Gong Woo-yeol bowed to Jang Kwak.
“Great Hero Jang! You’ve arrived!”
“Disciple Gong Woo-yeol greets Master!”
Jang Kwak ignored their greetings and stared intently at Gong Woo-yeol.
His brows furrowed deeply.
“What happened?”
“Huh?”
“Why is the vitality in your eyes so diminished?”
Jang Kwak’s voice carried a sharp edge.
Gong Woo-yeol quickly recounted the events at the inn, exaggerating the story to make Lee Gwak seem like the aggressor.
After listening, Jang Kwak asked,
“He did something to your body?”
“Y-Yes. He said you would know…”
“Yi Gak said that?”
Jang Kwak’s voice rose.
“Yes!”
Gong Woo-yeol’s voice shrank. He sensed something was wrong.
Jang Hwak grabbed his wrist and sent his qi flowing into Gong Woo-yeol’s body.
“Guh—!”
The violent surge of qi made Gong Woo-yeol groan in pain, but Jang Kwak ignored it, probing his body.
After circulating his qi once, Jang Kwak’s face twisted in disgust.
“He crippled you.”
“What?”
Gong Woo-yeol blinked in confusion.
He had felt something strange when Lee Gwak struck him, but since his body seemed fine afterward, he had forgotten about it.
“He did something to my body?”
“Yes. He placed a restriction on you.”
Jang Kwak gritted his teeth.
The loss of vitality in Gong Woo-yeol’s eyes was no coincidence. Lee Gak had sealed his meridians.
‘Whatever technique he used, he narrowed the meridians abnormally. No matter how good the cultivation method, his internal energy will accumulate at a snail’s pace now.’
Jang Kwak hadn’t accepted Gong Woo-yeol as a disciple just for the money. His talent was genuinely exceptional, good enough to master his martial arts. Otherwise, no amount of wealth would have convinced Jang Kwak to take him in.
Gong Woo-yeol asked urgently,
“Then can’t you undo it, Master? With your abilities…”
“I can’t.”
“What?”
“I don’t have the skill to remove it.”
Jang Kwak’s voice roared with frustration.
His skills were insufficient to break the restriction Lee Gwak had placed on Gong Woo-yeol. If he carelessly tampered with it, Gong Woo-yeol wouldn’t just lose his martial arts, his very body could be crippled beyond recovery, making even daily life difficult.
The pride of Jang Kwak, the “Five Shadow Demon Hand” who had once shaken the martial world, was crumbling.
He didn’t want to admit it, but Lee Gwak’s martial arts were a step above his own.
Perhaps even further beyond.
Jang Kwak gnashed his teeth.
“Damn it! Lee Gwak!”
For Jang Kwak, it was merely a blow to his pride. But for Gong Woo-yeol, who could no longer properly cultivate martial arts, it felt like the sky itself had collapsed.
His dream of mastering Jang Kwak’s techniques and dominating the martial world was vanishing before his eyes.
“How… could this be…?”
His legs gave out, and Gong Woo-yeol slumped to the ground in despair.
