Chapter: 856
Thud—!! Gu Yangcheon frowned as he stepped on something’s head.
I tried hitting it once, but something felt off.
“What is this?”
What on earth could it be? It feels oddly strange. Is my stomach bloated? It’s just plain weird.
So, I applied more force.
Crack—!!!
I heard the sound of bones breaking.
[Guuuuuuuuuuh—!!]
A scream echoed in my ears. Watching it, Gu Yangcheon raised his eyebrows slightly.
“Durable, huh?”
I thought about smashing his head and applied pressure, but he held up well. So I poured on the strength.
Boom—!! The wind pressure burst forth.
Magic swirled around me like a storm. A far stronger force pressed down on this bastard’s head than before.
[Ughhhhhh—!!!]
The guy writhed in agony. That was interesting. I didn’t expect him to endure this much. But—
Swish—!
A flying arm lunged at Gu Yangcheon. Seeing that, I crouched down and leaped back.
Creating some distance, I squinted at it.
‘Did it really move its arm at that angle?’
I managed to dodge the attack, but the method of attack was peculiar.
It bent its arm at an angle that should have been impossible.
As evidence of that—
[Ugh… you…]
The guy got up, but his left arm was twisted in a strange way.
[As I thought… it was you, wasn’t it?]
“Hmm?”
Gu Yangcheon’s eyes widened slightly at the monster’s reaction. He didn’t realize it at first, but upon seeing the face, he began to recognize who it was.
“Gyecheonmunju?”
The true identity of this bastard was Gyecheonmunju.
Even though his hair had turned white and several parts of his body had changed, he was still recognizable.
But—
“What the hell are you?”
That changed appearance was particularly unsettling.
Regardless of what happened, Gu Yangcheon’s instincts screamed at him.
“You…”
The feeling he got from looking at Gyecheonmunju right now. As Gu Yangcheon sensed this, his eyes narrowed even further.
This was hostility. More vivid than anything else, it was a slow gathering of malice.
And. This feeling of animosity pointed to just one conclusion.
‘It’s a dragon.’
Right now, Gyecheonmunju was a dragon. It was similar to the sensation he felt when facing a hundred-level monster. This type of hostility could only be felt towards one’s own kind.
That means—
‘Is Gyecheonmunju a dragon?’
Could it be that he was a dragon, just like me? He pondered, but Gu Yangcheon immediately dismissed the thought.
‘No, he wasn’t a dragon.’
If he had truly been a dragon, I should have sensed it a long time ago.
However, Gu Yangcheon had never felt that way about Gyecheonmunju.
If that’s the case, did he have some separate ability to conceal that feeling? No. He didn’t think it was that either. It wasn’t that kind of feeling.
‘Moreover, if I just say he’s like a dragon, then that’s not it.’
It was subtle. To illustrate, it was completely different from a standard hundred-level monster. If anything, it was more like—
‘The North Sea Princess. Or the Dark King.’
The Apostle of the Mangs, whose name I can’t even remember anymore. It was similar to the sensation he felt when seeing her or the Dark King.
What this means is—
‘It means ‘half-dragon.’
He wasn’t quite a full dragon, and it was awkward to say he wasn’t, so it seemed more appropriate to label him a half-dragon, as the Dark King said.
[Huhhhh…]
The guy glared at Gu Yangcheon.
Scales protruded from his skin and his slightly murky golden eyes had vertically slit pupils. There was a unique aura emanating from him.
That was definitely a dragon-like form.
And—
[You… why are you?]
It appeared that Gyecheonmunju also sensed the difference between himself and others through Gu Yangcheon.
That reaction made Gu Yangcheon more confident.
‘I didn’t understand until now.’
He hadn’t realized it until now. He just figured it out now.
This too was something he felt only after becoming a dragon, meaning he had been human up until just before this.
The more they reached this point, the more questions arose.
‘How?’
How on earth did he become a dragon? I didn’t grasp that part. Hence, I looked at Gyecheonmunju with a puzzled expression.
‘No, it doesn’t matter.’
It’s pointless. That’s not a question we should be pondering now.
Gu Yangcheon turned away from Gyecheonmunju to look at the side. There were Namgung Bi-ah and Wi Seol-ah looking at him.
He scrutinized them closely with narrowed eyes.
‘You’re injured.’
Namgung Bi-ah’s condition didn’t look good at all. His face was pale, as if he had lost too much blood.
In contrast, while Wi Seol-ah didn’t seem to be seriously injured, it looked like she took some damage as well.
After observing that, Gu Yangcheon spoke up.
“What on earth are you doing?”
…!
…!
The two flinched at his icy tone. This was the first time they heard such a cold voice.
“Why do you keep acting like you didn’t hear me? Do my words not seem like words to you?”
…That…
“Shut up.”
As Gu Yangcheon frowned and spoke, Namgung Bi-ah bit his lip and fell silent.
…
“Crouch in a corner.”
“But…!”
“Shut up and get in the corner. You deal with the bleeding. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Even the words Wi Seol-ah was about to say sank in one fell swoop.
Irritation bubbled up. Gu Yangcheon did his best to ignore it and took a step forward.
The backdrop shifted.
[Ugh…!]
Before he knew it, Gu Yangcheon found himself right in front of Gyecheonmunju.
Crack—!
I kicked the bastard’s knee with my foot. There was a loud noise as one of Gyecheonmunju’s legs crumbled.
[Cough!]
Gyecheonmunju’s eyes widened in pain. He hadn’t even reacted to the previous attack.
His body swayed. He attempted to maintain his stance, but—
“Hold your head high.”
With those words, the shock hit the other leg as well. His knee slammed into the ground.
“You worthless piece of trash.”
Crunch—! His jaw rattled.
“How dare you touch me?”
Thud—! His head snapped around. It felt as if my facial bones shattered. But that wasn’t the end.
A barrage of blows came raining down on areas already broken.
He was targeting the places he had already shocked again and again.
The pain intensified. It seemed like an intentional tactic to inflict more agony.
[Ugh… Ugh.]
As the continuous shocks left Gyecheonmunju dazed, he desperately attempted to retaliate but could barely move an inch.
At that point, the one-sided violence had begun.
Thud—! Something shattered. Crack—! Something uncertain tore apart.
My whole body was in pain, and I couldn’t comprehend what was even happening anymore.
All I could do was endure the suffering.
[Guuuuuuuuuh!!]
After struggling like that for quite a while, Gyecheonmunju finally—
[Inooooooh—!!!]
He released a roar of pain that seemed to fuel him.
Kiing—!! Swords rose from nowhere and rushed towards Gu Yangcheon.
Namgung Bi-ah, who was catching her breath, widened her eyes in shock.
The speed was completely different from when they fought before. Not to mention, the power infused in the swords had doubled.
A speed that made it hard to track even with one’s eyes. Those swords were bearing down on Gu Yangcheon.
Gu Yangcheon stole a glance at the swords, then pivoted his torso back and swung his fist using the strength of his waist.
Swoosh—!!! The air tore apart, and something invisible exploded.
It was a Heart Technique.
Crackk…
The swords were swept aside by the impact and veered off-course. Ting—! Ting—! They fell against the wall with a clear sound.
Gyecheonmunju witnessed this and grimaced. At that moment.
A sword could be seen horizontally high on the ceiling, untouched by the wind. It had been kicked up due to the impact but hadn’t fallen.
Did he not notice? As soon as he noticed that, Gyecheonmunju focused his energy on the sword.
Whoosh—!!!
The sword shot forward rapidly. Meanwhile, Gu Yangcheon was still distracted, looking elsewhere.
If this continued, the sword would have pierced right through his skull.
Anyway, the sword filled with power quickly approached Gu Yangcheon’s head.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
At that moment, Gu Yangcheon whispered.
“You all always do the same thing.”
He spat out those words and moved. He reached out a hand toward the air.
Whoosh—!
[Whaaat!?]
The sword that was falling towards Gu Yangcheon wavered for a moment, then did a full spin! The tip of the sword turned away.
It wasn’t the tip of the sword falling, but the handle.
[What kind of nonsense—!!]
Gyecheonmunju let out a cry of dismay. It was the sword that his Dokmun sword technique had been gripping tightly.
It wasn’t just a simple matter of moving a sword with empty energy; Gu Yangcheon had effortlessly stolen Gyecheonmunju’s sword.
This meant he had completely taken control.
Thud!
The sword of Gyecheonmunju landed in Gu Yangcheon’s grasp.
Slash—!!!
Gu Yangcheon seized it and struck down upon Gyecheonmunju.
[Crack…]
A deep scar appeared on Gyecheonmunju’s body as he was pushed backward.
It seemed he was on the verge of collapsing. He would have toppled even if I did nothing, but Gu Yangcheon stretched his leg toward Gyecheonmunju.
Bam—!! The powerful kick propelled Gyecheonmunju’s body against the wall, and he slumped down.
[Hu… Ugh…]
He braced himself against the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes were filled with both pain and disbelief.
[How on earth…]
He still wore an expression of confusion. How had Gu Yangcheon managed to take the sword?
That was more intriguing to him than his own suffering.
“Hmm?”
Was it perhaps because of that question? Gu Yangcheon addressed Gyecheonmunju with unusually half-lidded eyes.
“Just do it—why look at me like that?”
[You can just… do it?]
The Gyecheonmunju trembled as if struck.
The incredulity in his eyes was still intact.
And as if he didn’t care about that look, Gu Yangcheon merely observed Gyecheonmunju.
“It seems your regeneration is speedy.”
His half-crushed body was steadily recovering.
In terms of sheer speed, it appeared to be healing faster than his own body. Comparatively, it fell short of being on par with the net.
“Was your original strength like this? Hmm, I wouldn’t really know since I never fought with you. What do you think?”
[…What are you saying now?]
“Don’t know? That’s fine then.”
You can always find out yourself.
With those words said, Gu Yangcheon moved once more.
*
Gu Yangcheon approached, glaring with fiery eyes.
Gyecheonmunju quickly regained his footing at the sight.
He reached out and yanked a sword towards himself. It sped through the air and landed neatly in his hands.
His body moved like a whirlwind.
The heightened strength allowed him to channel a different power through the sword compared to before.
[Ugh!]
The Gyejinryeongbisunggeom technique from Gyecheonmun’s poison sword methods carved the way.
It was indeed far more powerful than when he fought unarmed.
Crunch—! The sword skimmed across the ground, scattering sparks. The ground itself remained unscathed by Gyecheonmunju’s sword.
As Gu Yangcheon stomped the ground to charge, the impact caused cracks to form beneath him.
Upon witnessing this, Gyecheonmunju’s expression soured.
He couldn’t make sense of that either.
This guy was effortlessly breaking through a space that should never be fractured.
Moreover—
Bang—!
Gyecheonmunju’s sword rebounded off Gu Yangcheon’s fist.
It hit the mark perfectly.
The follow-through was more powerful than he could have imagined.
[How is this kid…]
He was only just past his teenage years. Though he could tell that Gu Yangcheon was strong after having faced him a few times, actually engaging in combat exceeded his expectations.
[Even though I’ve accepted the will of the Venerable One, you mean to say I’m getting pushed back…?]
He had assumed he was embodying the will of the Venerable One. As such, he should be well beyond mere mortals.
[Inoooom…!!]
He was realizing that he was being outmastered by that kid.
He couldn’t believe it.
No.
Gyecheonmunju, who had contemplated the feeling of despair, shifted his thoughts in an instant.
[That kid too…]
Not just him, but that kid was similar. This altered body had revealed many truths to him, and he realized that kid was comparable to him.
He was not an ordinary human. He was a significant being, noble and elevated.
But—
[Why…]
Even if they were similar, they were not the same. Gyecheonmunju’s instincts warned him of one more thing.
Bow down.
That was a being he had no right to look upon.
Unknown fear and awe nestled within him.
Among the women at his side, there was the successor of the Sword Lord. He had had a thought about her, but now, looking at Gu Yangcheon, it was altogether incomparable.
[…What are you?!]
Bang!
A knee smashed into his face. His head snapped back, with blood bursting into the air.
He’d heard that question countless times, but now it was a bother to respond.
Gu Yangcheon said with a hint of irritation.
“Why bother even asking?”
Before long, that bastard was going to meet his end.
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