Chapter 313 – Finding Life’s Meaning in Death (1)

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Dam-ho moved his steps toward Cheon Oh-gyeong.

One step, then another step.

Thump! Shuffle! Thump! Shuffle!

Dam-ho’s characteristic footsteps resonated through the air. That sound, which ominously stimulated people’s hearts, also stimulated Cheon Oh-gyeong’s heart.

Cheon Oh-gyeong felt his heart pounding for the first time in a very long while. Even within the Demon Cult, he had rarely felt this level of tension.

If there was one time, it was when he saw Cult Leader Cheok Gwan-hyeol.

At that time, Cheok Gwan-hyeol was still young and merely an incomplete vessel. But he was a genius beyond Cheon Oh-gyeong’s imagination and possessed tremendous malice.

Once he set a goal, he would never give up and would somehow cling to it and eventually achieve what he desired, possessing such tenacity.

Though he was young in age, his eyes contained a weight that overwhelmed the world. That’s what made Cheon Oh-gyeong tremble.

It might sound like an excuse, but that’s why Cheon Oh-gyeong could be indifferent to the Demon Cult’s affairs. It was because he trusted Cheok Gwan-hyeol that much.

And today, Cheon Oh-gyeong was experiencing that same sense of trembling again.

“Phew!”

He put strength into the hand holding the sickle.

The opponent was real.

Not simply someone’s disciple or some sect’s follower.

A complete martial artist in his own right. That was Dam-ho.

He must not be deceived by something like a limp. For a martial artist who had reached that level, limping slightly was no obstacle at all. Rather, having prejudices would be more dangerous.

Cheon Oh-gyeong felt his blood boiling.

Dam-ho had forcibly dragged out the competitive spirit he thought had disappeared long ago.

He shouted without realizing it:

“Good!”

Whoosh!

Wind blew from the mountain peak, making his clothes flutter. His appearance wrapped in the wind was a Sword Immortal itself.

Pop!

At that moment, Dam-ho kicked the ground.

His charging technique was deployed.

Like a massive battering ram charging forward, Dam-ho’s body instantly closed the distance. Everything around disappeared, and only one thing, Dam-ho’s figure, remained on his retina.

Cheon Oh-gyeong lightly drew his sickle.

From top to bottom, he simply waved his hand lightly.

Swish!

In an instant, Dam-ho saw an illusion of the world being split in half. No, it wasn’t an illusion.

Everything was being cut away.

The atmosphere, the space in front of him.

He had to avoid it.

If he continued charging like this, his body would also be split in half.

His instincts were telling him so.

But…

Whoosh!

Dam-ho increased his speed even more.

Speed was added to the weight of the battering ram.

CRASH!

In an instant, an explosive sound burst forth.

The invisible sword energy and Dam-ho’s body had collided.

The space behind Dam-ho was cut away. Dam-ho’s clothes were also cut and fluttered. Long wounds had formed on Dam-ho’s shoulders and waist as well. But they were only flesh wounds, not deep.

It was because he had deployed the Explosive Star Strike at the critical moment.

Though he couldn’t completely neutralize Cheon Oh-gyeong’s sword energy, he had reduced its power. For Dam-ho, that was enough.

His martial arts, the Solitary Path he had created, was martial arts solely for advancing forward.

In the Solitary Path, there was no evasion or retreat.

Martial arts that displayed maximum power when advancing forward. That’s why Dam-ho advanced.

Whoosh!

Air rushed wildly toward Cheon Oh-gyeong. Even the air moved with Dam-ho’s movement.

Riding the wind, the Explosive Star Strike was deployed.

CRASH!

A fierce explosive sound burst forth and Cheon Oh-gyeong’s body swayed. But Cheon Oh-gyeong suffered no damage. It was because he had raised his sickle to block Dam-ho’s fist.

Human flesh and sharp metal had collided. Yet Dam-ho’s fist had not a single wound, and the ordinary sickle was also intact.

It was a scene showing what level the two people’s achievements had reached.

“Magnificent.”

Cheon Oh-gyeong let out pure admiration.

Though it seemed like an ordinary sword technique, it contained Cheon Oh-gyeong’s lifetime of accumulated power. It was not an attack that could be easily neutralized or deflected, yet Dam-ho had rather advanced and neutralized it.

It was truly outstanding sense and courage. Enough to make one’s spine naturally feel chilled.

He had never seen anyone with this level of sense.

Whoosh!

Dam-ho’s second strike continued. At the same time, Cheon Oh-gyeong lightly moved his steps as if treading on clouds.

It was the Drifting Cloud Step, a footwork technique of moving while riding clouds. Added to that was the deep understanding of Sword Stream accumulated over a lifetime.

Moving while riding clouds and wielding a sword like wind.

Demon Sword Immortal.

A sword immortal walking the demonic path.

Cheon Oh-gyeong was revealing his true nature without reservation.

Every time he swung his sickle, air split and space was cut away. His swordsmanship that even dominated space was truly terrifying.

Swish!

Wounds increased on Dam-ho’s entire body.

Long cuts formed and blood shot up. The reason Dam-ho could endure it was because he was deploying his shield.

The subtle vibrations arising from his body were deflecting Cheon Oh-gyeong’s sword in minute trajectories.

Whoosh! Whir!

Chilling sounds of cutting through air continuously echoed.

If even one landed a direct hit, it wouldn’t just result in limbs falling off. The body would be split in half.

Cheon Oh-gyeong’s breathing, moving steps, swinging arms, gestures, footwork, even minute body movements were all one completed martial art.

The being called Cheon Oh-gyeong that Dam-ho faced was a swordsman who had approached the realm that everyone desperately desired and pursued through decades of cultivation. Fighting him brought Dam-ho’s concentration to its peak.

He consecutively deployed ultimate techniques like Single Yang Strike, Five Finger Rock Breaking Energy, and Charging Horn. In response, Cheon Oh-gyeong also ceaselessly swung his sickle.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Continuous roars echoed.

The atmosphere rippled, and aftershocks swept through an area of dozens of zhang in radius.

Rumble!

The terraced rice fields that had just begun to sprout and turn green collapsed with a crash.

Whoosh!

Dam-ho’s left shoulder jerked backward. He had allowed Cheon Oh-gyeong’s strike. A chunk of flesh flew away from Cheon Oh-gyeong’s sickle.

Blood flowed freely and bone was exposed. Momentarily, distant pain that could make one’s mind fly away came.

Dam-ho gritted his teeth.

This level of pain was nothing.

Come to think of it, he was always in crisis, and every day was an ordeal of walking a thorny path.

It was fine if an arm flew away, and it didn’t matter if he lost a leg.

He had long forgotten physical pain.

His mind was dominating his body.

“Hah!”

At such an appearance of Dam-ho, Cheon Oh-gyeong let out a sigh.

Despite attacking so relentlessly, he ultimately couldn’t push Dam-ho back even a single step. Like a nightmare, Dam-ho clung to Cheon Oh-gyeong persistently like that. And he finally landed a strike.

CRASH!

It was the Explosive Star Strike.

“Krehmm!”

A groan involuntarily flowed from Cheon Oh-gyeong’s mouth. He had instantly drawn up protective energy to protect his body, but his internal organs had been shaken.

Cheon Oh-gyeong realized that ordinary techniques couldn’t do anything to Dam-ho. He was an existence that could absolutely never be shaken off until he was completely killed in a single strike.

Cheon Oh-gyeong’s gaze changed.

In an instant, the temperature of the area dropped coldly.

It wasn’t a mistake. The surrounding temperature actually dropped rapidly. Just by harboring killing intent, external energy stole the temperature and flowed into him.

“Haaap!”

Cheon Oh-gyeong thrust his sickle.

In an instant, a hole was punched through the world.

One Point Blood.

The very technique that had killed Cho Yeon-woon’s master at Mount Zhongnan was deployed toward Dam-ho.

For a moment, Dam-ho saw his own death.

An illusion of a hole being punched through his forehead and rolling on the ground flashed through his mind.

His skin trembled.

His heart pounded madly as if it would explode.

Under tremendous pressure, blood first burst from his nose. Next was his ears. His eardrums had also burst.

Urp!

He immediately vomited blood. His internal organs had been not just shaken but torn apart.

His eyes, with burst capillaries, became red with blood as if blood would drip at any moment. Dam-ho’s two eyes were actually on the verge of bursting.

He had to retreat.

He had to avoid or retreat to relieve the pressure and then counterattack. But Dam-ho didn’t do that.

The moment he retreated, everything he had built up until now would break.

He had to advance even at the cost of his life.

Dam-ho believed in himself.

In the path he had walked.

In the Solitary Path he had created.

Whoosh!

Rough air currents swirled around Dam-ho’s body. The Violent Demon Energy was deployed.

Fierce explosive energy like tiger teeth clashed with One Point Blood.

CRASH!

With a roar that shook heaven and earth, the hill where the terraced fields had been collapsed, and blade-like wind swept through the area.

“Aaak!”

Dan Woon-hyang, swept up in the aftershock, screamed and flew backward.

Dan Woon-hyang, roughly thrown to the ground, barely raised her head and looked at the battlefield.

“This can’t… be!”

Dan Woon-hyang stared blankly ahead.

It wasn’t a human fight. The battle between the two far exceeded her imagination.

She had never witnessed such a fight even once. No, she had never even imagined such a fight could exist.

It was a battle beyond common sense, from another realm entirely.

Dust clouds had risen centered on where the hill had collapsed, covering the sky.

Crack!

Continuous roars echoed from within the dust clouds. Each time, terrifying energy waves arose, making the dust clouds sway back and forth.

Dan Woon-hyang opened her eyes wide, but the scene beyond was invisible, obscured by thick dust.

‘What’s happening?’

A light of conflict appeared on her face.

Though it was unlikely, if Cheon Oh-gyeong was even slightly disadvantaged, she planned to flee without hesitation. What was most precious was her own life, not Cheon Oh-gyeong’s safety.

Dan Woon-hyang swallowed dry saliva and watched the battlefield.

Flash!

At that moment, a ray of sword light flashed from within the dust.

“……”

Dan Woon-hyang stopped moving.

It wasn’t just her. Everything in the world had stopped.

The flowing clouds, the blowing wind, the rising dust all stopped moving.

The world had been severed.

That’s how the world appeared in her eyes.

It seemed like no movement of anything would be permitted within it.

Dan Woon-hyang instinctively realized that Cheon Oh-gyeong had deployed Sword Stream’s ultimate technique.

‘He won.’

That monster that seemed like it would never fall, that ferocious beast that no one seemed able to stop, had finally fallen.

Dan Woon-hyang clenched her fist tightly.

“Elder!”

She ran toward where she guessed Cheon Oh-gyeong would be.

It wasn’t to see Cheon Oh-gyeong. It was to see Dam-ho that Cheon Oh-gyeong had defeated. She felt like she would only feel relieved and refreshed after seeing his corpse.

That’s when it happened.

Whoosh!

The air in the area was sucked toward where they were.

“What?”

Dan Woon-hyang’s body, swept by the wind, staggered.

It was when she raised her head to look ahead with an ominous premonition.

CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH!

At that moment, the dust clouds that had been still began to sway. And they turned into a storm.

“Kreup!”

From within, someone’s low scream burst forth.