I Can’t See An Answer

This was the only chance.

He immediately took his stance.

Gyo-ha stepped in. At that sight, Cheol Du-sim clicked his tongue.

‘He’s even dumber than I thought.’

He had to take him as a disciple, but he hadn’t expected him to be this foolish.

But it didn’t feel bad.

‘It’ll be satisfying to discipline him.’

If he disciplined him halfheartedly, it would backfire.

Gyo-ha thrust his fist out.

Gyo-ha’s momentum was no joke, but Cheol Du-sim didn’t care much.

Cheol Du-sim’s sword split Gyo-ha’s fist.

A wound bigger than before.

It was so deep you could clearly see the bone.

With a wound like that, he wouldn’t be able to use that hand for a while.

‘You brought this on yourself.’

Cheol Du-sim looked at Gyo-ha. Then he realized something was strange.

The corners of Gyo-ha’s mouth, which should have twisted in pain, were rising.

He wasn’t even thinking of pulling his fist back.

If anything, his momentum grew more intense than before.

At this rate, even if the attack succeeded, his hand would be ruined.

‘What the.’

Cheol Du-sim was flustered, but he raised an elbow, ready to block.

At that moment, Gyo-ha’s fist exploded.

Radiant Burst Strike.

Kwagagagagagagang!

A shock that shook heaven and earth.

At the sudden explosion, even the fight between Namgung Hyeok and the men stopped.

When they turned their heads, they saw Gyo-ha shaking his ruined hand.

Not just blood, but a few chunks of flesh fell to the ground.

The impact had shredded the flesh.

A state where an ordinary human would struggle to recover at all.

Even Gyo-ha wouldn’t be able to use that hand for a while.

But it was worth that much.

“Y-you bastard….”

Behind the settling dust, an old man appeared, his hair a mess.

The men swallowed their breaths.

His clothes were in tatters, and the elbow he’d blocked with was bent at a bizarre angle.

But that wasn’t why the men were shocked.

Half his mask had been blown away, exposing half his face.

Cheol Du-sim touched the mask that had flown off rather than his twisted arm.

The wound he’d suffered from the Sword Saint in his youth was fully exposed.

Realizing it, Cheol Du-sim’s face twisted.

It was Cheol Du-sim’s reverse scale, his taboo..

“Master, what do you think of this disciple’s fist?”

Gyo-ha asked Cheol Du-sim.

But Cheol Du-sim only trembled, unable to answer.

“It’s pretty spicy, right?”

When Cheol Du-sim lifted his head, both his eyes were bloodshot red.

“I’ll chew you up, piece by piece!”

Cheol Du-sim swung his sword.

Unlike before, they were sword moves filled with killing intent.

But his momentum had dulled a notch compared to earlier.

Cheol Du-sim had made two mistakes.

First, he had tried to capture Gyo-ha intact.

Second, he had tried to block Gyo-ha’s attack instead of evading it.

If he had tried to dodge, he wouldn’t have taken this much damage.

Since he tried to block, he moved the hand he normally used.

The right hand holding the sword.

A man who used right-hand swordsmanship was forced into left-hand swordsmanship.

Of course, those who had reached Cheol Du-sim’s level could control their bodies freely.

Even so, it couldn’t be the same as the right hand.

And Cheol Du-sim’s injuries weren’t limited to his arm.

Even his gait looked awkward.

It was an attack even the yokai, Mok-geum, had dodged.

Setting strength aside, its physical ability couldn’t be compared to a human’s.

Because its nature was different.

Radiant Burst Strike was something even Mok-geum had tried to avoid.

You could easily guess its power.

But because of it, a deep weakness washed over Gyo-ha.

His dantian was hitting rock bottom.

Not only the left hand that had used Radiant Burst Strike, but even his right hand had been damaged by the sword and wasn’t fine.

He couldn’t use Radiant Burst Strike with his left hand anymore.

Gyo-ha licked his lips and avoided the incoming sword.

Then Gyo-ha’s foot aimed for Cheol Du-sim’s head.

But.

In an instant, Cheol Du-sim’s sword aimed for his ankle.

At the chilling sharpness, Gyo-ha stepped back.

Just because he couldn’t use one arm didn’t mean his realm dropped.

He wasn’t like the Darkshadow Mountain Ghost.

Gyo-ha changed direction. In an instant, he opened the distance.

Koong!

When he slammed down, the ground shuddered.

Gyo-ha kicked the heaved-up earth.

Sand and chunks of stone shot toward Cheol Du-sim.

A cheap trick street thugs would use.

Normally, it would have been ignored.

But the momentum behind the flying stones wasn’t normal.

The mirage-like shimmer on Cheol Du-sim’s sword grew stronger.

Qi that formed a distinct phenomenon.

It was Sword Energy. A peak-level technique.

The sand and stones crumbled the moment they touched the Sword Energy.

Pain flared in his ankle and shin.

Even wrapped in qi for protection, it pierced through.

But only at a faint level.

Cheol Du-sim clenched his teeth and swung.

As if he’d expected it, Gyo-ha jumped back.

Without using his hands, he flipped backward once, then bounced and settled into his stance.

Cheol Du-sim’s face twisted, thinking even that looked like mockery.

“You monkey-like bastard!”

Cheol Du-sim’s sword, driven by fury, flew at Gyo-ha.

---

A sigh burst from Namgung Hyeok as he crossed swords with the men.

‘As expected of Brother.’

Even Namgung Hyeok had expected it to become a one-sided fight.

The opponent was a peak martial artist.

No matter how extraordinary Gyo-ha was, it wasn’t someone he could face alone.

But the result was different from what he expected.

Of course, that didn’t mean he thought Gyo-ha could win.

The reason Gyo-ha had been able to fight this long was because the opponent had let his guard down.

Even wounded, the opponent was still an unparalleled master.

‘What am I doing?’

It wasn’t as if Namgung Hyeok was slacking off.

He was facing them with full seriousness. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to hold out.

But there was a difference from Gyo-ha.

Namgung Hyeok prepared for what came next.

He planned for the continuing fight. That was his clan’s teaching.

He didn’t know what might happen after the fight ended.

But Gyo-ha was different.

He was fighting with only this moment in view.

Now Namgung Hyeok also knew Gyo-ha’s monstrous recovery.

Was he doing it because he trusted that recovery?

He knew it wasn’t.

His body moved before he thought.

His clan’s teaching wasn’t wrong. Even if you won, it meant nothing if your body was ruined.

And little by little, he could see a path to victory.

If he held on a bit more, he would see the thread.

But was it fine to leave it at that?

Namgung Hyeok’s eyes changed.

“…I know you’re fighting against your will.”

At the abrupt words, the men frowned.

“Even if I die here, that old monster will die by the hands of the Namgung Clan.”

Namgung Hyeok continued in a dignified tone that didn’t match his age.

It was true.

“That means even if you run away from here, no problem will follow.”

At Namgung Hyeok’s words, the men’s eyes trembled.

In the end, the middle-aged man spoke.

“…It’s true. We didn’t become Master’s disciples of our own will.”

He brought in those who looked talented and cut off their Yang.

That was never easy.

Only those who survived could become disciples.

Even after becoming disciples, many died for offending Cheol Du-sim’s mood.

“Evildoer” suited him well.

“But not everyone follows unwillingly. Some were saved because of him.”

Saying that, the middle-aged man turned his head.

“Those who don’t want this, leave.”

“…Great Sahyung.”

Three men hesitated, then lowered their swords. The middle-aged man said nothing even as he watched.

“Thank you for everything.”

The three clasped their fists and left as if fleeing.

They didn’t even spare a glance for Cheol Du-sim, their master.

Those who remained looked at one another.

Even though three had left, their eyes were calm.

If anything, it felt like a fog had lifted.

Some had stayed because of Cheol Du-sim, but others had stayed because of the man called Great Sahyung.

Namgung Hyeok’s words had only hardened their resolve.

But Namgung Hyeok didn’t care.

“I will respect your choice.”

Instead, he leveled his sword at them with cold eyes.

“So I will kill you with all my strength.”

From Namgung Hyeok’s sword, yellow thunder qi rose with thick killing intent.

Boundless Firmament Sword Art.

The peerless sword art the Namgung Clan prided itself on bloomed from his hands.

Pajijik.

With thunder qi pouring from all sides, the men clenched their teeth.

Then they thrust their swords toward Namgung Hyeok.

Namgung Hyeok didn’t dodge.

Puk.

A sword sank into Namgung Hyeok’s abdomen.

But.

Pajijijijik.

A head rose into the air.

He swung toward the enemy beside him next.

His wound split wider because of it, but he didn’t stop.

A sword split past his shoulder.

The blood that sprayed into the air burned away in the thunder qi.

Chiik. Smoke rose with a foul stench.

Namgung Hyeok didn’t even think to block.

With a scorched smell, another head rose.

The balance of the exchange collapsed.

Namgung Hyeok’s sword now moved only to kill.

If he fought like that, even if he won, his body wouldn’t be whole.

But those thoughts had already vanished from Namgung Hyeok’s mind.

At that sight, the men hesitated.

But it was already too late to turn back.

Either they all died, or Namgung Hyeok couldn’t hold out.

Only one of the two remained.

---

The fight grew more and more fierce.

Namgung Hyeok was drenched in blood. But it didn’t compare to Gyo-ha.

Gyo-ha panted roughly.

Even breathing was difficult. If he didn’t stay aware, it felt like his breath would stop.

It hadn’t been this bad even when he fought Mok-geum.

‘…I should’ve fought Grandpa Sword a few more times.’

Would that have changed the situation?

No.

This wasn’t a gap that could be changed with just a few sparring sessions.

Beyond his blurred vision was an old monster with the visage of a ghost.

His wounds had split further, and his clothes and hair were a mess.

A scarred, wrinkled face, but his eyes were blazing.

Would a yaksha climbing up from hell look like this?

“Eutcha.”

Gyo-ha took his stance again.

Both his dantian and his body were at the limit now.

Not just Radiant Burst Strike, even Red Blossom Palm was difficult.

Mara Twenty-Four Forms didn’t help either.

After being hit by it several times already, Cheol Du-sim had learned how to deal with it.

That didn’t mean he could give up.

He didn’t want to, either.

Gyo-ha hurled himself toward Cheol Du-sim.

Cheol Du-sim’s sword moved slowly.

Puk.

“Keuk.”

Gyo-ha’s body, mid-charge, stopped.

But Gyo-ha wasn’t someone who would give up like this.

With his foot, Gyo-ha aimed for Cheol Du-sim’s temple.

“……”

At that moment, Cheol Du-sim’s sword let out a strange melody.

Hwiririk.

With the sound of a grass flute, the top of Gyo-ha’s foot split open.

He seemed to have gotten accustomed to left-hand swordsmanship now.

Gyo-ha swung his elbow next.

But faster than that, Cheol Du-sim’s foot slammed into Gyo-ha’s abdomen.

“Keok!”

Gyo-ha’s form was knocked away.

Calling Gyo-ha and Namgung Hyeok geniuses was not enough.

But what did that matter?

Among martial artists who had reached the peak, there were none who weren’t geniuses.

Cheol Du-sim was the same.

A giant. Cheol Du-sim felt like an immense wall that couldn’t be crossed.

Gyo-ha, fallen to the ground, forced himself up.

“Ptoo.”

When he spat, blood and bits of flesh came out.

Not just the outside. The inside was wrecked too.

‘I can’t see an answer.’

Gyo-ha tried to scratch his head, then let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the arm that wouldn’t rise.

‘If I knew it’d be like this, I should’ve trained Qi-Borrowing Support Art harder too.’

If it weren’t for the Qi-Borrowing Support Art he had taken from the Qingcheng Sect, he would have died long ago.

A martial art that drew in and used the qi of nature.

It matched Gyo-ha’s constitution well.

Thanks to that, he could protect his body with qi.

But that was all.

It couldn’t compare to the internal energy that accumulates in the body.

He could still use something like Red Blossom Palm, but its power wasn’t even a tenth.

Cheol Du-sim aimed his sword again.

In an instant, his sword targeted Gyo-ha’s head.

Gyo-ha twisted to evade, but the blade changed direction.

It was aiming for Gyo-ha’s arm.

An attack that couldn’t be avoided.

At this rate, his arm would be cut off.

Then.

Pajijijik.

Thunder qi burst from the side.