Martial Artist Lee Gwak Episode 126
Some Depart, Some Flee (1)
Novel- Martial Artist Lee Gwak
Lee Gwak stamped the ground beneath him.
Like a wolf chasing its prey, Lee Gwak’s upper body bent forward aggressively. And the blade that had been tucked away in his sheath was pulled out like a wolf’s fangs towards the enemy.
“Ugh!”
Shh!
A scream was followed by a chilling sound of slicing through the air.
A fountain of blood was gushing out from the left thigh of a Mystic Martial Squad martial artist who was charging from the front. Before he knew it, Lee Gwak’s sword had opened a deep wound.
A look of disbelief appeared on Jwa Ryoon’s face.
‘The movement is faster than sound?’
The scream was followed by the sound.
It meant that the attack had been executed faster than the sound could follow.
Jwa Ryoon felt a chill run down his spine.
Shh!
Lee Gwak had already rushed past the Mystic Martial Squad members and was running towards him, while the sound of slicing air seemed to lag behind as if it was an afterthought.
This was proof that Lee Gwak’s movements were faster than sound.
His eyes flashed, and he could see a dozen or so Blue Dragon Sword martial artists staggering behind him. All of them had been wounded by Yi Guo’s sword.
Behind the fiercely charging Lee Gwak, about a dozen Mystic Martial Squad martial artists could be seen staggering. All had been wounded by Lee Gwak’s blade.
It was the first form of the Eight Sects Sword Art, Mountain Splitting Slash.
Simple yet crude, its greatest strength was its speed, surpassing any other form.
The Mystic Martial Squad’s martial artists had underestimated Lee Gwak. They relied solely on their numerical superiority and did not give their best. But Lee Gwak was different.
He was desperate.
Any delay here could result in an eternal regret. Therefore, he gave it his all.
The difference between those who gave their all and those who did not was clear.
“Was Lee Gwak’s martial prowess always this powerful?”
Seo Jong Myeong’s pupils shook.
Having thought he knew Lee Gwak well, Seo Jong Myeong was all the more shocked by the extent of his martial prowess.
Lee Gwak was charging at Jwa Ryoon like a storm.
Jwa Ryoon fumbled to draw his sword.
‘It’s too late!’
Seo Jong Myeong’s gaze deepened.
Jwa Ryoon was recognized as a master even among his peers. On the battlefield, Jwa Ryoon boasted a martial prowess so formidable that he was called a demon. Unfortunately, this time his reaction was too slow.
By the time he had drawn his sword, Lee Gwak had already reached right under his chin.
Looking up from below was Lee Gwak; looking down at him was Jwa Ryoon.
Their gazes met in the air.
For a moment, Jwa Ryoon envisioned Lee Gwak plunging the blade into his chin.
“Ugh!”
Jwa Ryoon realized he was overwhelmed by the opponent’s aura.
To impose one’s spirit through their qi and dominate the opponent.
However, this only worked when one’s qi was strong, and the opponent’s weak.
Jwa Ryoon couldn’t accept the fact that he was suppressed by the opponent’s aura. He too was a man proud of his strong qi. But the reality was different from what he wished.
Shh!
Just like the illusion he had seen, Lee Gwak’s blade flew towards his neck.
It was a strike filled with the intent to kill.
Overwhelmed by Lee Gwak’s energy, Jwa Ryoon didn’t dare to confront it directly and instead chose to retreat.
He planned to evade the danger first and then counterattack.
Lee Gwak had put everything on the line to advance, while Jwa Ryoon chose to retreat to avoid danger. This small difference determined the outcome between the two.
Ssshhhk!
From Lee Gwak’s hand, a black snake leaped out and coiled around Jwa Ryoon’s neck.
“What the? Ack!”
A stifled scream escaped from Jwa Ryoon’s mouth as the black snake tightly constricted around his neck.
The object Jwa Ryoon thought was a black snake was actually the meteor awl.
Lee Gwak forcefully pulled the meteor awl, dragging Jwa Ryoon along with it.
Jwa Ryoon hastily tried to swing his sword to cut the meteor awl, but Lee Gwak’s knee struck his temple before he could do so.
Thud!
The powerful strike made Jwa Ryoon’s body sway, and his consciousness nearly flew away.
Without even looking back at the staggering Jwa Ryoon, Lee Gwak leaped forward. After Lee Gwak passed, Jwa Ryoon knelt on the ground.
“Lee Gwak!”
Yong Cheon Myeong roared and blocked Lee Gwak’s path.
His eyes were filled with rage.
He had not expected Lee Gwak to possess such formidable martial arts.
In an instant, the Mystic Martial Squad was disintegrated.
Although no one had died, the Mystic Martial Squad was neutralized in an instant. Lee Gwak demonstrated his martial prowess, exceeding Yong Cheon Myeong’s expectations.
But Yong Cheon Myeong was not afraid of Lee Gwak. He was just furious that the Mystic Martial Squad, which he trusted and commanded, was so easily defeated.
His entire body was enveloped in a swirling silver qi. It was the rebounding qi that had slaughtered the Dark Phantom Squad.
Yong Cheon Myeong, wrapped in this rebounding energy, lunged towards Lee Gwak.
Lee Gwak felt a tremendous sense of crisis from the aura of the rebounding qi swirling around Yong Cheon Myeong, like a silver dragon.
Yong Cheon Myeong’s martial arts were on a completely different level than any martial artist Lee Gwak had faced before.
Even without the qi touching him, the immense pressure caused his blood vessels to burst, and blood flowed from his nose. His eyes reddened as if they were about to burst.
Yet, Lee Gwak did not stop.
Instinctively, he knew that stopping meant death.
This was not the moment to halt but to risk everything.
“Chaah!”
With a shout, Lee Gwak executed the sixth form of the Eight Sects Sword Art, Shadow Assassinate.
Swoosh!
In an instant, Lee Gwak vanished from Yong Cheon Myeong’s sight.
A smirk appeared on Yong Cheon Myeong’s lips, thinking Lee Gwak was resorting to petty tricks.
His Silver Dragon Annihilation was among the top techniques that utilized qi, unparalleled in destructive power across the world.
It was impossible for Lee Gwak, no matter the technique he used, to escape the full range of the Silver Silver Dragon Annihilation.
Whoosh!
The Silver Dragon Annihilation swept through the area like a storm.
Around Yong Cheon Myeong, an area of ten yards was utterly devastated by the technique.
Yong Cheon Myeong believed that no matter where Lee Gwak hid, he couldn’t escape the range of the Silver Dragon Annihilation.
That’s when it happened.
Zzzap!
Suddenly, a silver blade emerged, slicing through the Silver Dragon Annihilation. It was Lee Gwak’s blade.
Lee Gwak’s blade cut through the qi of the Silver Dragon Annihilation as if slicing through paper, approaching with deadly accuracy. Lee Gwak saw the flow within the Silver Dragon Destruction with his heart eye and followed it with his blade, moving as seamlessly as a salmon swimming upstream.
‘What?’
Yong Cheon Myeong was so shocked he thought his heart would leap out of his mouth. He couldn’t imagine his qi being split by a mere blade.
He hurriedly gathered more qi to increase the destructive power of the Silver Dragon Annihilation.
Tsss!
“Ugh!”
A stifled groan escaped from Lee Gwak’s lips.
His clothes and flesh were torn by the Silver Dragon Annihilation. Yet, he did not retreat. Protecting his body with the Eight Sects Sword Art, he gripped his blade even tighter.
He staked everything on this one move.
Yong Cheon Myeong did the same.
If he let Lee Gwak escape now, his reputation would hit rock bottom.
While an ordinary person might not be greatly affected by a dent in their reputation, Yong Cheon Myeong was different. He was the heir of the Jade Heaven Alliance.
He had to be perfect.
He had to be virtuous, without a single blemish.
Only then could he perfectly lead and guide everyone.
Having brainwashed himself with these beliefs, Yong Cheon Myeong could not tolerate even a single flaw.
“Lee Gwak!”
Whoosh!
With his roar, the Silver Dragon Annihilation exploded.
Fragments of qi flew in all directions like bullets, devastating the area.
Around Yong Cheon Myeong, an area of thirty yards was completely obliterated.
The ground was torn apart, and rocks shattered. White smoke rose from the exposed earth, as if a volcano had erupted.
It was a volcano that Yong Cheon Myeong had exploded. But Lee Gwak was nowhere to be seen.
Yong Cheon Myeong stood motionless in the middle of the devastated land, his head bowed.
“Krhhhh!”
A bizarre laugh seeped through Yong Cheon Myeong’s lips.
Hearing his laugh, Seo Jong Myeong, Jwa Ryoon, and others felt their bones chill.
It was a laugh with a completely different atmosphere from Yong Cheon Myeong’s usual demeanor, as if he had transformed into someone else.
“Lee Gwak!”
Yong Cheon Myeong muttered Lee Gwak’s name as he lifted his head.
A deep wound was carved on his cheek. The wound was so deep that red flesh and white bone were exposed.
Blood flowed from the wound, staining Yong Cheon Myeong’s cheek, neck, and shoulder red.
A little deeper, and it would have been a fatal wound. But what angered Yong Cheon Myeong at this moment was not the pain of the wound, but the fact that he had been injured by Lee Gwak, whom he had dismissed as insignificant.
Looking around, Lee Gwak was nowhere to be seen. He had inflicted a wound on Yong Cheon Myeong and disappeared in the explosion of the Silver Dragon Annihilation.
It was a disaster brought on by Yong Cheon Myeong’s complacency.
He had never imagined that he would be wounded by someone like Lee Gwak, especially on his face, in such a place.
Yong Cheon Myeong gently touched the wound with his finger. His fingertips felt the sticky blood and smoothly split flesh. He didn’t need to see it to know. He knew it would never heal perfectly.
His face twisted horribly.
“Lee… Gwak! Aaaah!”
Yong Cheon Myeong screamed towards the sky.
“Young…master.”
“Cheon Myeong”
Yong Cheon Myeong looked up at the sky and let out a beast-like howl.
Jwa Ryoon and Seo Jong Myeong couldn’t bring themselves to approach him.
At this moment, what Yong Cheon Myeong needed was not premature consolation but time to collect his emotions.
Seo Jong Myeong looked in the direction where Lee Gwak had disappeared.
‘Is he alright?’
It was nearly impossible to fend off an attack from a master like Yong Cheon Myeong without any damage.
Yong Cheon Myeong was caught off guard, and Lee Gwak chose a strategy of taking flesh to gain bone.
Though he left an indelible deep wound on Yong Cheon Myeong’s cheek, Lee Gwak too must have suffered serious injuries.
If he had been an ordinary person, moving would have been impossible with such injuries, yet Lee Gwak ran on.
Seo Jong Myeong couldn’t help but admire Lee Gwak’s determination and decisiveness. He himself was prepared to throw his life away for his goals, but even so, he wasn’t sure he could decisively play his hand in an instant like Lee Gwak did.
“Tch! To think my boy would be such a monster.”
Seo Jong Myeong shook his head as he looked back at Yong Cheon Myeong.
Yong Cheon Myeong was still howling like a beast.
Strictly speaking, he hadn’t lost. Yet, he was emitting anger like a defeated person.
Having never faced defeat, even a minor scratch was unbearable to his pride.
“Phew!”
Seo Jong Myeong sighed.
***
“Huff! Huff!”
Lee Gwak gasped for breath.
His entire body, executing his qigong, was drenched in sweat.
His breath was heavy, and his heart pounded as if it would burst.
Suddenly stopping, Lee Gwak removed his hand from his side. His hand was stained red with fresh blood.
It was a wound from Yong Cheon Myeong.
Had it been a bit deeper, a large hole could have been punctured through his side. But even this was severe enough to be considered a serious injury.
Breathing was difficult, and each movement caused intense pain that sent shivers through him. Yet, Lee Gwak endured the pain with superhuman patience.
This level of pain was nothing.
Lee Gwak recalled the time when his entire body was paralyzed, and he couldn’t do anything. Feeling pain was actually reassuring for him, a sign that he was still alive.
Creeak!
After pressing on his acupoints to stop the bleeding hastily, Lee Gwak tore a long piece of his sleeve to bind the wound. This made breathing easier.
He lifted his head to look ahead.
It was time to move again.