Episode 472

Blood and Tears Flow (4)

Seo Jong-myeong’s whole body was dyed red with blood.

At his feet lay over twenty corpses of the Red Flame Squad martial artists. In return, he too had suffered numerous wounds.

But mere injuries like these couldn’t stop or defeat him.

His soul had already died in the siege fortress.

The man now was nothing more than a ghost living for revenge.

Minor wounds and pain had no effect on him.

Shiiak!

“Gah!”

His sword struck down another Red Flame Squad martial artist.

He took a blow to the back as a price, but Seo Jong-myeong didn’t even groan. He simply turned his head.

“Urgh!”

The man who had struck him was now terrified by Seo Jong-myeong’s ghostly presence.

The ghost of the siege fortress was not dead yet.

The swordsman who had once struck fear into the hearts of countless Celestial Demon Troupe martial artists was now instilling that same fear in the Red Flame Squad.

“Come at me!”

Seo Jong-myeong dragged his sword along the ground as he advanced. Though he appeared unguarded, his opponent did not dare charge.

They were overwhelmed by the spirit of the warrior known as Seo Jong-myeong.

Even though the Red Flame Squad had become bloodthirsty and mad, they still had some fear left in them.

Seo Jong-myeong stirred that faint fear deep within their hearts.

“I said come at me!”

He roared and charged.

“Ugh!”

The warrior, receiving Seo Jong-myeong’s intense gaze head-on, let out a pained groan.

He was being overwhelmed by the sheer force of his presence.

Shiiik!

“Gah!”

Seo Jong-myeong cut him down in an instant.

He was not the kind of man to show mercy on the battlefield.

As he rampaged like a bloodthirsty demon, Ki Jin-hwi and Lee Soo-ah fought desperately as well.

“Haaa!”

Ki Jin-hwi pulled out a folding fan from his sleeve and flicked it open.

In the center of the wide-open fan, a deep red ruby glowed ominously, surrounded by strange symbols.

At a glance, the open fan looked like a peacock’s tail, and emanated a strange energy.

The Cloud Hammer Fan.

A mystical artifact Ki Jin-hwi had crafted through relentless effort.

The fan served as a medium, allowing him to cast spells with greater ease.

As Ki Jin-hwi swung the fan, a dense mist began to rise.

Illusory Fog.

Most spells took time to cast and were weaker in direct combat. Because of that, Ki Jin-hwi usually avoided head-on fights.

But he wasn’t without options.

Once Illusory Fog was cast, the area became shrouded as if enveloped in a dense fog formation. But it didn’t just obscure sight.

Those caught within the fog were tormented by hallucinations. These illusions, indistinguishable from reality, disrupted their minds and impaired judgment.

“What the—?”

A Red Flame Squad soldier, caught in the fog, shouted in panic.

He saw Seo Jong-myeong where his comrade stood and attacked without hesitation.

Puk

His sword pierced through “Seo Jong-myeong,” whose face twisted in pain before morphing into that of his ally.

“Why… why?”

The attacker could not answer. He was too stunned to even form a coherent thought.

Thump!

“Gahk!”

Then, someone stabbed him from behind.

A blade burst through his chest.

Gasping, the warrior turned to see another ally staring at him in horror.

His expression mirrored his own.

At last, the warrior understood.

Just as he had mistaken his ally for Seo Jong-myeong, another had mistaken him for an enemy.

All of this was the work of Ki Jin-hwi’s magic arts.

“Haaah!”

Another figure moved fiercely through the mist.

Lee Soo-ah.

Unlike the others, she was completely unaffected by the illusions; instead, she used them to her advantage. Hidden by the fog, she took down Red Flame Corps warriors one by one.

At the Steel-Hell Blood Training Hall on Sohua Mountain, she had learned assassination techniques from Han So-cheon.

She was trained in flanking maneuvers and blending into the environment. For her, the dense mist was the perfect cover.

Thud!

“Kuhk!”

Another warrior fell to her hands.

Blood splattered onto her face.

Her expression twisted as if she were about to burst into tears. For a child her age, taking a life was an unbearable pain. But she forced herself to endure, accepting her fate.

Whether she liked it or not, stepping into the Jianghu meant she would inevitably have to harm others. If she ran from this reality, she would have to abandon the Jianghu forever.

Such was the way of the Jianghu.

In times of peace, it was a place of romance and adventure. But in times of chaos, it became a brutal world where the weak were devoured by the strong.

To survive here, one had to be prepared to stain their hands with blood.

Age was no excuse.

Having wandered the world alone before meeting Lee Gwak, Lee Soo-ah understood this truth better than anyone.

As she hunted the Red Flame Squad warriors in the fog, her movements resembled those of a young leopard.

“Damn it!”

“Kugh! What the—?”

The remaining warriors wore expressions of disbelief.

Even if Seo Jong-myeong and Ki Jin-hwi were formidable, they had never imagined that a child like Lee Soo-ah would possess such skill.

They were being overwhelmed by the trio.

Swiik!

“Kuhk!”

Seo Jong-myeong cut down the last warrior and straightened his back.

A bloody mist rose from his body. His sweat and blood were evaporating in the heat he exuded.

He staggered, looking as though he might collapse.

His physical condition was beyond terrible.

The strength he had barely held onto was gone, and his body was covered in wounds. A normal person would’ve already died.

Only his hatred and venom toward the Celestial Demon Troupe kept him standing.

If he died here, he wouldn’t be able to face his fallen comrades in the afterlife.

“Ugh, I’m dying here.”

Meanwhile, Ki Jin-hwi groaned dramatically.

Even though he used the Cloud Hammer Fan artifact, his body was under tremendous strain.

Lee Soo-ah was in the best condition.

This was because Seo Jong-myeong and Ki Jin-hui had fought while protecting her as much as possible.

“What about Dad?”

Lee Soo-ah wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked for Lee Gwak.

Zzzzzz!

Suddenly, a sharp clash rang out nearby.

A fierce wind roared toward them.

“Urgh!”

Though they were already battered, they somehow endured the blast without falling.

Lee Soo-ah brushed her hair back and widened her eyes.

“D…Dad!”

Lee Gwak was moving fiercely.

Siiik!

His blade targeted Yang Gwang-baek’s throat. Yang Gwang-baek’s sword now had a sharp sword aura.

Swoosh!

A blade of qi, nearly ten feet long, thrust toward Lee Gwak’s chest.

Clang! Crash!

Sword and blade clashed repeatedly.

Yang Gwang-baek gritted his teeth.

He poured everything he had into his swordsmanship.

He used his most refined skills, including Qi Sword and Two-Sword Harmony. But nothing could break through Lee Gwak.

Lee Gwak was like a steel fortress.

Yang Gwang-baek tasted despair in this battle.

He had never felt such emotion before. The sensation was completely foreign.

He never imagined he would feel this way.

‘A low-ranking martial artist from the Jade Heaven Alliance… has this level of skill?’

He had devoted his entire life to martial arts.

A prodigy who had met a great master early on, he had honed his talent through relentless training, never allowing himself a moment of laziness.

Yang Gwang-baek was the culmination of such effort.

Though he never showed it, he prided himself on being second only to the Jade Heaven Alliance’s leader, Ja Hong-cheon.

He had believed that, aside from Go Geom-wol, no one in the world could rival him.

But facing Lee Gwak shattered that pride.

This was a man Go Geom-wol considered a lifelong rival.

Naturally, Yang Gwang-baek did not hold back.

He poured everything he had into this fight—yet instead of overwhelming Lee Gwak, he struggled just to keep up.

He couldn’t believe it.

For the first time, he felt the world was unfair.

How could a man so much younger surpass him, despite his lifetime of dedication?

Lee Gwak was strong.

Terrifyingly so.

Swiish!

Every swing of Lee Gwak’s blade felt like it was carving away at Yang Gwang-baek’s soul.

There was something beyond mere technique in Lee Gwak’s blade.

Yang Gwang-baek sensed that Lee Gwak’s bladesmanship contained his entire life’s journey.

‘What kind of hell have you walked through?’

Swiit!

Lee Gwak answered with his blade.

A deep gash opened on Yang Gwang-baek’s shoulder.

At that moment, Lee Gwak’s expression shifted.

His previously dry expression disappeared, replaced by a fierce glint in his eyes.

He had finally found the chance to end this long duel.

Siiik!

He unleashed the Heaven Killing Blade.

He had held back, waiting for this one perfect moment.

The battle with Jin Gwang-hon had taught him an important lesson.

It was about seeing the big picture.

Against a flawless master like Yang Gwang-baek, a single decisive strike was nearly impossible.

So Lee Gwak had played the long game.

Swiish! Swiit!

The sounds of death echoed repeatedly.

Yang Gwang-baek’s face turned pale.

Cornered, he unleashed his final technique.

“Haaah! This ends now!”

Falling Moon, Blood-Stained Sky.

Like a crimson moon staining the heavens, a red sword aura erupted from his blade, dyeing the world red.

“Kugh!”

“C-Close your eyes!”

Seo Jong-myeong and Ki Jin-hwi shut their eyes against the blinding light. Lee Su-ah also turned away, shielding herself—yet the light still burned through.

Then—

Screetch!

A bone-chilling sound pierced their eardrums.

For a moment, they were deaf and blind.

“……”

It was as if they had been trapped in a void.

The unfamiliar sensation left them unable to even scream.

Their senses returned moments later.

Their vision cleared, and their hearing came back.

Thud

They collapsed to their knees, unable to maintain balance.

Seo Jong-myeong, the strongest among them, was the first to recover.

He urgently searched for Yi Gwak and Yang Gwang-baek.

“Who won?”

His eyes landed on the two men standing opposite each other.

At a glance, it was impossible to tell who had emerged victorious.

Just as Seo Jong-myeong was about to speak, Yang Gwang-baek suddenly lifted his head and gazed at the sky.

“Huuu…”

A long sigh escaped Yang Gwang-baek’s lips.

Seo Jong-myeong expected him to say something, but instead, the old warrior’s body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

“Ah!”

Seo Jong-myeong gasped.

The giant who had once crushed him so mercilessly had finally fallen.