Martial Artist Lee Gwak Episode 137
Cause and Connection Come Together in Bad Fate (2)
The two men’s gazes met in the air.
Lee Gwak recognized Go Geom Wol, and Go Geom Wol smiled bitterly when he saw Lee Gwak.
The first to speak was Go Geom Wol.
“It’s been a long time, Brother!”
“Huh! So it seems.”
“You don’t seem happy to see me.”
“It’s not a happy occasion.”
“Indeed!”
At Lee Gwak’s response, Go Geom wol nodded his head slightly.
Suddenly, Go Geom wol’s gaze shifted towards Han So Cheon, who was on the other side of the gorge.
“Ah!”
Under his gaze, Han So Cheon felt as if her soul was being torn apart and she gasped in shock.
Go Geom wol had shown no hostility, nor had he charged his gaze with internal energy, yet Han So Cheon felt fear and trembled despite the fifty zhang distance between them.
‘How can such a person exist…’
A martial artist beyond comparison.
That was what came to Han So Cheon’s mind when she saw Go Geom wol.
Go Geom wol spoke up.
“So it’s you. The assassin who killed Elder Yang…”
His soft voice effortlessly bridged the fifty-zhang distance and reached Han So Cheon’s ears
vividly.
At that moment, Han So Cheon trembled as if struck by lightning.
She had never felt fear towards any of her assassination targets before, but merely hearing Go Geom wol’s voice induced terror.
Go Geom wol’s gaze returned to Lee Gwak.
“What is your relationship with her?”
“…”
“Unnecessary question, I guess. There’s only one reason a man would risk his life for a woman.”
Go Geom wol seemed to know everything already.
After taking a deep breath, Lee Gwak spoke.
“What brings you here?”
“You called me, so I had to come.”
“I called you?”
“Gwan Il Hyeon!”
“…”
“My sworn brother. Even though he considered me a rival and was jealous, I thought of him as a brother. When a brother dies, his elder cannot just stand by.”
“Sigh!”
Lee Gwak let out a sigh.
He had thought it might be the case, but hearing the situation directly from Go Geom wol made his heart feel even heavier.
“It’s a pity! I had hoped you would grow more. It seems our fate ends here.”
“It seems to be an ill fate.”
Lee Gwak recalled something Go Geom wol had said once before.
-It may seem like a coincidence that we met today, but if you go back in time, there must be a point of contact where the web of cause and effect overlaps. We just don’t know it yet.
At that time, he didn’t understand what Go Geom meant by the intersecting point of cause and connection.
But now, it seems clearer.
Gwan Il Hyeon was the intersecting point between Lee Gwak and Go Geom wol.
Their ill fate had extended to Go Geom wol because of Gwan Il Hyeon. Gwan Il Hyeon had vented his frustrations on Lee Gwak, causing his paralysis, and in turn, Lee Gwak had killed Gwan Il Hyeon to protect Han So Cheon.
Effectively, it had become an act of revenge.
Such was their ill fate.
Lee Gwak’s gaze inadvertently drifted towards Han So Cheon, across the gorge.
She was staring back at him, hopelessly.
“Perhaps it’s a silver lining?”
No matter how extraordinary Go Geom wol’s martial arts were, he wouldn’t be able to leap over the fifty-zhang cliff in a single bound.
Even if he could, it didn’t matter. Lee Gwak would stand in his way.
—Go!
Lee Gwak’s mental message made Han So Cheon shake her head. She couldn’t flee and leave Lee Gwak behind.
-You must go so I can give it my all.
Worried about her safety and his inability to fully exert himself, Lee Gwak’s gaze steadied on Han So Cheon.
After a moment, she acknowledged Lee Gwak’s message.
A martial artist of extraordinary capability.
Lee Gwak reminisced about Go Geom wol’s words.
“An ill fate, indeed.”
Their eyes locked over the vast distance, sharing an unspoken understanding.
Finally noticing Lee Gwak’s bloodshot eyes, Han So Cheon realized he was also struggling.
Hiding his turbulent emotions, Lee Gwak turned to face Go Geom wol. Han So Cheon’s gaze followed him, filling her vision.
A man who had sought a peaceful life had been dragged into prominence because of her. She knew what that meant.
“You’re my last trust. The final belief that I exist as myself.”
The only person in the world she trusted.
The one who saw her as a person, not a weapon.
Because of him, she could still be human.
With her final wish, she said, “So you must come back alive.”
Her voice carried on the wind to Lee Gwak, who didn’t respond. His focus was entirely on Go Geom wol.
With a heavy heart, Han So Cheon turned and ran.
She was a burden. Her presence hindered Lee Gwak from utilizing his full potential. Thus, she ran, knowing it was for Lee Gwak’s sake.
Tears held back, she ran with all her might.
It might seem heartless, but neither Lee Gwak nor Han So Cheon felt that way.
They were flowers bloomed from the battlefield.
Lee Gwak risked his life for Han So Cheon’s survival, and she owed it to him to fulfill his wish.
So she fled, to prevent his efforts from being wasted.
A sense of relief washed over Lee Gwak’s face.
Now, with all reservations cast aside, he could focus solely on the man before him.
Lee Gwak drew his blade.
The blade howled in response.
A spark of interest flickered in Go Geom wol’s eyes.
It was only a short while ago that he had told him to listen to the sound of the blade, and now Lee Gwak’s blade was actually crying out.
Understanding the sword deeply and becoming one with it, only then does the sword become one with its master. Sword cry was a natural phenomenon that occurred during this process.
Go Geom wol sighed, “Alas! If only you had a bit more time, you could have grown splendidly.”
“If you just let me go now, that might still be possible,” Lee Gwak replied.
“It’s regrettable, but I can’t just let you go. Enough talk, it seems I’ll be pressed for time if I’m to kill you and then go after her.”
Go Geom wol approached Lee Gwak, not even bothering to draw his sword, as if even drawing his sword for Lee Gwak was too generous a gesture.
Lee Gwak clenched his teeth, determined to make Go Geom wol draw his sword. He knew he was at an absolute disadvantage, but if he had to fight, he wanted it to be on equal terms.
His gaze became tranquil, facing life and death with calm.
Observing Lee Gwak’s demeanor, Go Geom wol sighed once more. Such opponents were truly rare. Many martial artists had strong martial arts, but few had a strong mind as well.
Lee Gwak was a true martial artist, not just in martial arts but also in spirit.
A person truly worthy of the title of martial artist.
Having to kill such a person was merely regrettable.
The first to attack was Lee Gwak.
He launched himself at Go Geom wol with the first technique, Thunder Shadow Strike..
Lightning danced along his sword.
At that moment, Go Geom wol lightly waved his hand.
With a burst of air, Lee Gwak was pushed back, the lightning on his sword disappearing without
a trace.
Disbelief appeared on Lee Gwak’s face.
The essence of the Thunder Blade Arts, integrated into the Thunder Shadow Strike technique, was so easily nullified, almost terrifyingly so.
Go Geom wol spoke, “My Thunder Control Technique stands at the pinnacle of all thunder techniques. Against it, no other thunder technique can prevail.”
Lee Gwak bit his lip.
The Thunder Blade Art’s culmination in the techniques of Thunder Shadow Strike, Seven Thunder Heaven, and Thunder Energy Crush represented the pinnacle of his sword art, each enhanced by the essence of thunder. He had thought these were enhanced to their limits, but now, faced with Go Geom wol, they seemed useless.
Effectively, three techniques were sealed off. Yet, Lee Gwak did not despair.
He still had five techniques of the Eight Sects Sword Art left.
With renewed determination, he attacked again.
Swishing through the air, Lee Gwak launched the technique of Shadowy Assassinate, aiming for Go Geom wol. His sword silently targeted Go Geom wol’s neck.
Clang!
However, Lee Gwak’s sword was easily deflected by a simple move from Go Geom wol.
Metal struck metal, sparking even though it was a blade against a mere hand.
Blood Light Hand.
A demonic hand technique that, once mastered, could wield the power of the world’s famous swords with bare hands alone.
Go Geom wol had mastered the Blood Light Hand to such a level.
His palms were as sharp and powerful as any divine sword.
Sparks flew continuously between the two as they clashed.
Lee Gwak exerted all his strength, deploying all five remaining techniques of the Eight Sects Sword Art.
He used the techniques Mountain Splitting Slash and Blood Dragon’s Roar consecutively, sometimes even reversing the order of techniques. But Go Geom wol countered every technique effortlessly.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
With each clash, the shock accumulated, pushing Lee Gwak back further and further.
Lee Gwak’s expression hardened.
He knew Go Geom wol was stronger, but he hadn’t expected to face such an insurmountable wall.
For the first time, Lee Gwak felt true despair.
The gap between him and Go Geom wol felt even greater than the vast chasm behind him.
Blood burst forth from Lee Gwak’s body.
The intense action reopened his barely healed wounds, alongside new ones inflicted by Go Geom wol’s Blood Light Hand.
Already battered from his battles with Yong Cheon Myeong, Gwan Il Hyeon, and the Phantom Armored Cavalry, his condition worsened with each new injury.
Facing the towering wave that was Go Geom wol, everything Lee Gwak had built up was being eroded away.
The Eight Sects Sword Art, the Thunder Blade Arts…
“No, not yet.”
Lee Gwak clenched his teeth.
Even as everything crumbled before Go Geom wol, he still had one last card to play.
The Eight Snakes Art.
His unique heart technique began with the Yoga Secret Manual.
Whoosh!
A giant serpent coiled around him, surging with power.
Then, the sixth serpent awoke.
Suddenly, Lee Gwak saw the world differently.
The world remained unchanged, yet Lee Gwak’s eyes perceived violent currents.
His Heart Sight had awakened.
Lee Gwak charged towards the fierce currents with his sword leading the way.
Boom!
Go Geom wol’s eyes flickered.
Lee Gwak’s momentum had shifted.
Slash!
It was the same martial art, the same technique, yet the force and intensity had transformed.
Above all, Lee Gwak’s gaze had changed.
It was chilling.
Lee Gwak’s eyes seemed to pierce right through him, a sensation Go Geom wol had never experienced before.
“Ah!”
Go Geom wol’s hands gleamed with a crimson light, summoning the utmost limits of the Blood Light Hand in response to the impending threat.
And then, Lee Gwak’s sword struck.
Sugaak!