Light Novel: Volume 9 Episode 13Manhwa: N/A
Pyo-wol’s martial art is based on the Thunder-Splitting Cultivation Technique. Trapped in the snake’s den, he then developed it into the Sub-Thunder Snake method, but nonetheless, its origin was still based on the Thunder-Splitting Cultivation Technique.
The Thunder-Splitting Cultivation Technique inevitably increases his brain power.
The key was to increase his reaction speed by stimulating his nerves with lightning. Depending on the use, his reaction speed could be raised several times.
Such was the state of Pyo-wol right now.
Ciiit!
His movements resembled that of a snake. His speed was so fast that it would be difficult for anyone to follow.
Ordinary people might not be able to catch up with his movements, but King Gujin did not miss a single moment and kept up with Pyo-wol.
Just as Pyo-wol was greatly inspired by a snake, King Gujin was greatly influenced by a wolf.
Whether it be a wolf’s intuition, speed, or tenacity, King Gujin has all attributes.
Shiaaak!
Using the sword in his hand, the power of the Heavenly Sword of the Bloody Wolf doubled.
Kwaaang!
Every ground that his sword brushed past exploded. It was as if a volcano had erupted.
“Hahaha! This is good.”
His attacks reverberated beneath the Wudang Mountain.
Beautiful trees fell, while large rocks crumbled into powder. The surroundings had long since been destroyed to such an extent that they could no longer be found.
A wolf was running rampant.
The problem is that the said wolf has unparalleled prowess and claws as compared to normal wolves.
When a person’s martial arts go beyond a certain level and reach its peak, even ordinary hand gestures could make it feel like it’s the end of the world.
Such was King Gujin’s state right now.
His attacks might look crude externally, but his sword techniques carry tremendous power.
The Heavenly Sword of the Bloody Wolf he created himself was not a martial art that was very particular about its form. Rather, there was a strong tendency to improvise according to instinct and intuition.
Pyo-wol carried phantom daggers in both of his hands.
Suagh!
The phantom dagger was released at a frightening speed.
“Hmpf! You’re greatly mistaken if you thought you could defeat me with just that much.”
King Gujin snorted.
He despised warriors who used hidden weapons.
He considered it not manly.
If a warrior is truly a man, then he has to fight with his body.
Most of the warriors he recognized fought in that way.
Above all, a short dagger could not inflict a great wound.
This is also the reason why King Gujin was not afraid of Pyo-wol’s phantom dagger.
Kaang! Kang!
Pyo-wol’s phantom daggers were blocked by King Gujin’s sword and ricocheted away.
After bouncing off the phantom dagger, King Gujin rushed straight to Pyo-wol. But at that moment, a chilling feeling came over his back.
Ciiit!
The phantom dagger he thought had bounced off turned in the air and aimed at the back of his head.
Only then did King Gujin realize that the phantom dagger was connected by an invisible thread.
“Qi thread?”
The thread of qi distracted him.
Cwarreuk!
The phantom dagger which was connected to the Soul-Reaping Thread protruded from Pyo-wol’s waist.
Four Soul-Reaping Threads.
Four phantom daggers danced according to Pyo-wol’s will.
“Ohh!”
King Gujin unknowingly burst into admiration.
It was the first time for him to see and experience this kind of martial art.
He had never even imagined a warrior would be capable of manipulating qi in the form of a thread. Most warriors usually use qi in conjunction with a sword or as sword energy.
Ciiiit!
All four phantom daggers pursued King Gujin, following different trajectories.
King Gujin swung his sword and deflected all the phantom daggers flying his way. However, no matter how much he deflected those weapons, the phantom dagger would always come back to life and aim for him.
Chills ran down his spine.
It had been a long time since he felt such an intense sense of crisis.
The precarious feeling, where he felt as if he was standing naked on the cliff of a hundred foot pole1, had awakened him.
All his nerves rose sharply.
With his opponent’s level of martial arts, King Gujin could not simply dismiss him as a mere assassin.
Although he acted like an assassin, he had to consider him as a superpower on the same level as those at the top of Jianghu.
King Gujin raised his qi even more.
Kwakwakwang!
His attacks intensified.
Kagagagang!
Gongbu and the phantom dagger hit each other and fell countless times.
Sparks broke out, and the sound of weapons clashing echoed through the woods.
Leaves fell like rain, and wild animals ran away in surprise.
At some point, King Gujin’s face became distorted.
While he might be attacking Pyo-wol with such intensity and fierceness, he didn’t do any damage to Pyo-wol.
He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he moved so violently.
He was even more angry at Pyo-wol for making him move like this.
“I will definitely tear you to death!”
If he can’t kill your opponent even after clashing and fighting this far, he won’t be able to walk around with his face up in Jianghu.
Hoo-woong!
Gongbu unleashed an enormous amount of sword energy that was incomparable to before.
The sword seemed to tremble for a moment, but soon it emitted a clear glow. The light beak soon took the shape of a large sword.
It was a sword energy.
The power of sword energy could not be compared to ordinary sword weapons.
King Gujin usually refrained from using sword energy.
It was because he thought that its efficiency was not so high because of the large consumption of internal energy.
Whether he uses a normal sword or sword energy, it was the same thing. His opponents ended up dying anyway. If so, there was no reason to use sword energy, which consumed a lot of internal energy.
However, in order to deal with the Pyo-wol, who was in a class he had never seen before, he had to come up with a much more powerful technique.
That was sword energy.
Sword energy which was unleashed through Gongbu was far more powerful than releasing it with other swords.
At this rate, King Gujin felt that even he could deal with the sect leaders of the Two Factions.
“You bastard–!”
Shia!
The sword headed for Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol tried to stop the sword using a Soul-Reaping Thread. However, it was impossible to prevent the sword, which is concentrated with qi, with the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Dududuk!
Like a rotten thread, the Soul-Reaping Thread broke.
The phantom dagger that was hanging from the Soul-Reaping Thread also fell to the ground like a rotten apple.
Pyo-wol seemed to have no weapons left.
Even though there were half a dozen phantom daggers left on his waist, all of them couldn’t stop the formidable sword attack.
“Now let’s go!”
King Gujin swung his sword at the defenseless Pyo-wol.
At that moment, a thread of energy was created again in Pyo-wol’s hands.
King Gujin assumed that it was the Soul-Reaping Thread.
“It’s no use.”
The Soul-Reaping thread is no match for sword energy.
It was a fact that had already been proven once.
He channeled more energy on his sword.
He was trying to take Pyo-wol’s life at once with this move.
Tuong!
However, his sword energy was blocked by the thread created by Pyo-wol.
“What?”
King Gujin couldn’t believe that his sword energy was blocked by a thread as thin as a hair.
Only then did he realize that the thread of energy created by Pyo-wol was different from before.
It shines much brighter.
“Could it be sword qi? Sword qi made in the form of thread?”2
King Gujin’s eyes shook.
He had never even imagined a sword energy made in the form of thread.
The shape of the energy was like a snake.
Snake Qi Thread.3
Hoo-hung!
The sword energy and the Snake Qi Thread collided.
A shockwave swept through the area.
Pyo-wol considered the Soul-Reaping Thread and Snake Qi thread as excellent tools for ambush, so this was the first time he used them as weapons in earnest.
Hoo-huuung!
The Snake Qi Thread went through the gaps like a real snake.
King Gujin blocked the advance of the Snake Qi Thread by using the Heavenly Sword of the Bloody Wolf.
Pung! Puung! Pung!
Every time Snake Qi Thread and sword energy collided, qi burst out.
‘Unbelievable!’
King Gujin’s eyes widened.
The thin energy thread was overpowering his own sword energy.
Pyo-wol was using the Snake Qi Thread like a whip.
Hitting, pushing, pulling.
Its usage was endless.
King Gujin’s sword energy was always blocked by the Snake Qi Thread, stopping him from advancing any further. To be precise, it was because he was busy blocking Pyo-wol’s attack. He was constantly on the defensive.
While fighting King Gujin, Pyo-wol also had his eyes widened to the operation of the Snake Qi Thread.
His opponent, Wolf King, is a warrior reigning at the top of Jianghu. He is a veteran who has gone through all sorts of battles throughout his life. He is a person who knows how to make full use of his martial arts.
Instead of simply relying on the brute force of the sword energy, he skillfully attacked Pyo-wol using sword energy. So during his fight with King Gujin, Pyo-wol also experienced countless life-and-death crises. And those experiences became nourishment for Pyo-wol.
“Heuk!”
King Gujin’s face gradually became distorted.
His movements were getting slower and dull.
It was because of the dagger stuck in his back.
The more he moved, the more blood gushed out as the dagger tore through the wound.
The pain was tolerable.
He was used to this kind of pain.
The problem is that as the phantom dagger cuts through the wound, the muscles in his back and waist stiffen, affecting the other parts of the body as well.
When dealing with an ordinary warrior, this kind of wound was not a problem. But to a warrior at the same level as Pyo-wol, even such a small injury could become a great hindrance.
Pyo-wol stabbed the phantom dagger to cause this kind of effect.
Ping! Ping!
Pyo-wol’s Snake Qi Thread became more and more sophisticated.
On the other hand, King Gujin’s movements were noticeably slower.
“No!”
King Gujin shouted out loud and swung his sword.
The power in his attack might have increased, but at the same time, it has exposed numerous openings.
A red light flashed in Pyo-wol’s eyes for an instant.
He thought that now was his moment to win.
So right before colliding with the sword energy, the Snake Qi Thread stopped operating. His qi, which was moving like a snake just a moment ago, disappeared like fog exposed to the morning sun.
Because of that, King Gujin’s sword hit the air in vain.
“Heup!”
King Gujin involuntarily inhaled a breath.
The balance of the body was disturbed. He initially channeled a lot of strength on his body, bracing for the impact.
Pyo-wol did not miss that gap.
He used Snake Steps and approached the staggering King Gujin.
A phantom dagger was in his hands.
Puk!
A phantom dagger pierced King Gujin’s side.
“Keuk!”
At that moment, King Gujin flexed his side muscles. Then, his muscles tightened like steel and prevented the phantom dagger from digging in.
It was a reaction and physical ability that transcended human beings.
Pyo-wol was not surprised when the phantom dagger did not pierce through. He already expected such a reaction.
Pyo-wol concentrated his qi on the handle of the phantom dagger.
Jjoong!
The concentrated qi was conveyed intact to the insides of King Gujin’s body through the phantom dagger.
“AHHH!”
In the end, King Gujin screamed and vomited blood.
The blood he threw up soaked Pyo-wol’s face and chest.
King Gujin’s face was terribly distorted. It was because Pyo-wol’s attack shook his insides.
Had it not been for his body that had been tempered to be harder than steel, his intestines on the front would have exploded and he would have died instantly.
King Gujin glared at Pyo-wol with eyes that resembled that of a beast.
Even though his intestines were shaken, his fighting spirit was not broken at all.
His way of fighting was to continue attacking until he died. He would attack and attack until he eventually won.
“Hehe!”
When King Gujin approached Pyo-wol with a mad laugh,
Hoo-woong!
The two suddenly felt an unusual wave of qi from the side of Wudang Mountain.
In an instant, King Gujin’s expression changed.
“Damn it! Here comes that fucking old man.”
“……..”
“What’s your name?”
“Pyo-wol.”
“I am King Gujin, the Wolf King. Make sure to remember my name. The next time we meet, I will definitely repay this debt.”
“Are you going to run away?”
“Keuhehe! As much as I want to deal with you, I can’t. It’s because of a troublesome old man.”
King Gujin pulled out the phantom daggers both stuck in his waist and side. He then threw it away, before suddenly flying backwards.
Pyo-wol tried to chase after him.
It was because he had seen Soma lying in the bushes in the distance.
Soma’s condition was so grave that even the ups and downs of his chest were barely visible. Although he miraculously survived King Gujin’s last attack, he was still seriously injured.
Pyo-wol stopped pursuing King Gujin and approached Soma.
Then, someone appeared out of nowhere, as if riding the wind.
It was an old man wearing a shabby uniform.
The old master wrinkled his nose and murmured,
“I’m sure I smelled a wolf from here.”
SoundlessWind21’s Notes
Thank you for reading~ If there are any errors let me know!
Hundred foot pole. Raws: 백척간두의 (百尺竿頭). Chinese Characters: 百 one hundred, numerous 尺 Chinese measure approx. ‘foot’ 竿 bamboo pole 頭 head, top, chief Meaning: Chinese Idiom. The highest level one can attain. The metaphor means that someone has reached a very high level. This is often used to encourage people to make progress even though they have reached the peak of their achievements. Sword qi. Raws: 강기(劍罡). Chinese characters: 劍 Jiàn – sword, dagger, saber 罡 gāng – the name of a certain stars; the god who is supposed to live in them I’m not exactly sure how this is different from the Soul-Reaping thread if the Soul-Reaping thread is made out of qi already. Oh well, let’s just think it’s an upgraded version. Snake Qi Thread. Raws: 사사강(絲蛇罡). 絲 sī – silk; fine thread; wire; strings 蛇 shé – snake 罡 gāng – the name of a certain stars; the god who is supposed to live in them
