Chapter 733: Falling Dragon (Falling Dragon)

Huangagangram, unfurled once more.

Clad head to toe in armor, Shinryong breathed raggedly.

“Kkeu… heuk heuk….”

The armor, once brilliant, had long since lost its form.

Perhaps from the aftermath of the explosion. Or the impact of the duel. It barely maintained its shape.

It was a form cast solely to block the explosion.

“Euk….”

Shinryong staggered, having suddenly expended a large amount of internal energy.

Even in such a state, he did not release Huangagangram.

Not yet.

The attack wasn’t over.

Hwa-reureuk–!!!

Flames poured down.

Shinryong raised both arms to block the flames.

Kwa-reureuk–!!

“Kkeu-aaaaaaaa!!!”

The impact came straight through.

He could barely block out the heat alone.

Blood flowed from the sword wounds, soaking his martial attire.

His right hand seemed broken, just as expected.

It hurts.

Had he ever been wounded like this since birth?

Probably not.

“Hwa-aaaaaaaa!!!”

Unable to block the flames any further, he knelt on one knee.

The encroaching flames showed no sign of stopping.

He had clearly seen them pouring down for tens of seconds just moments ago, so where was this energy still coming from?

‘…Was that… using half of it…?’

Thinking about it now, he felt like he could burst into useless breaths.

Does that mean the remaining half is this much, even after using half?

‘Just… who are you….’

What could your true identity be?

Aren’t you so different from how you looked at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering in the past?

Originally, human time should be the same for everyone.

‘Was your time different from mine?’

Did I walk while you ran?

Or perhaps, did I run while you flew?

I don’t know.

I don’t know anything anymore.

“Kkeu-ha-aaaa… eu-aaaaaa!!!”

He endured, letting out a war cry.

That was all he could do.

I cannot win.

He knew that the moment he saw it.

So Shinryong thought.

‘So what?’

Isn’t that a fact he knew before it even began?

No, that’s not right.

Back then, wasn’t there at least some hope?

Perhaps, with my efforts, I could reach him?

Maybe the goal I admired wasn’t so far away anymore?

Maybe I could win if I fought.

He must have thought that.

But having fought, he now knew.

He wasn’t in the same place as me.

If you could see him ahead, it meant he had already completed a full circuit of a distant path and was now ahead.

I can’t catch him, nor can I reach him.

If he doesn’t see me, I can’t see him.

That was the position of Gu Yangcheon and Shinryong.

Realizing this, Shinryong asked himself again.

‘So what?’

That.

Is that a reason for me to give up?

“Yia-aaaaaa—!!!”

No.

‘Not at all.’

Kwa-aaaaaa—!!

Huangagangram emitted light.

His weighty conviction seeped into the armor.

Not only did its form restore, but it even began to become sturdier and strengthen.

“Huh, what the fuck?”

Seeing that, Gu Yangcheon, who had been spewing fire, let out a startled gasp.

Huangagangram began to glow.

“Look at that crazy bastard.”

His mental state stabilized.

His incomplete martial arts transformed into their perfected form, and the strengthened armor wasn’t just blocking the offense-it was pushing it back.

‘Getting stronger as you fight? That’s absurd.’

After taking all that punishment, where did he gain enlightenment?

The amount of internal energy Shinryong possessed hadn’t changed.

If anything, it must have decreased. There’s no way he’d have any left after using it like that.

This was simply.

‘He started using it efficiently.’

He was eliminating his previous wastefulness and converting it into power.

It genuinely made him want to laugh emptily.

‘That bastard Seong-yul needs to see this and learn.’

A position where he should have long given up.

While anyone else would be floundering in despair, Shinryong’s momentum only grew firmer.

I will overcome.

The only aura he felt from him was that.

‘This is why those genius bastards…’

They learn one thing and immediately apply ten.

I don’t like it.

I’m barely managing to learn one thing and apply just that one.

I definitely don’t like it.

Yet, strangely, a smile emerged.

Kku-uk.

He put strength into his feet.

The flames didn’t stop. He leaped forward, closing the distance.

“…!”

Shinryong flinched and raised both arms, but Gu Yangcheon was already right in front of him.

Woong! The flames subsided, and heat immediately imbued his feet.

Guyeomtaeryungak.

A fierce Flame Kick (炎脚) struck Shinryong’s arm directly.

Specifically, his right arm.

Kwa-jijik-! Kung-!

Crushing Huangagangram’s armor, the attack burrowed in.

“…Kkeu-eu-euk!”

The arm he used to block was, of all things, the broken one.

Shinryong let out a groan.

It was an attack aimed precisely at that. But.

Kwak-!

“Huh?”

Shinryong suddenly grabbed Gu Yangcheon’s ankle with his left arm.

Chiiiiiiiiiik–!!

“Hwa-aaaa!!!”

His hand burned within the flames.

Despite the excruciating pain, Shinryong didn’t let go.

Even while screaming, he tightly gripped the ankle.

Hu-woong-!!

“Whoa, this bastard… really.”

With his broken right arm, he cast the Hundred Paces Divine Fist towards Gu Yangcheon.

Seeing this, Gu Yangcheon laughed heartily.

“I like it.”

Kwa-ang-!!

Shinryong’s desperate attack struck Gu Yangcheon’s chest.

Ku-gu-gu-gung-!!!

Gu Yangcheon, hit directly, flew through the air.

“Huuk!”

Even watching that, Shinryong didn’t stop.

He threw punches with all his might.

Kung-! Kung-kung-! Ku-ku-gu-gung-!!!

The barrage of Hundred Paces Divine Fists, thrown from a distance, pounded the martial stage.

“Huuk! Hook-hook!”

Shinryong didn’t stop, shedding sweat and blood.

Kwang-! Kwang-! Kwang-kwang-kwang-kwang-!!

Each time he used it, his internal energy drained violently.

His legs trembled.

His dantian was at its limit, and his crushed joints warned that moving further would be disastrous.

That he might die if he went any further.

That there might be no next time.

It doesn’t matter.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Even if it meant dying here.

He would do what he had to do.

Thinking thus, Shinryong didn’t stop, but.

Ppi-kkeut-!

“…!”

Perhaps due to accumulated fatigue, his legs finally lost strength, forcing him to stop attacking.

“Keo-heok….”

He barely managed to regain his stance, but dizziness washed over him, making him stagger.

“Heok… heok….”

Even breathing was painful.

He could feel drool running down his lips. Shinryong didn’t wipe it, even knowing that.

His gaze was fixed straight ahead.

Beyond the dust and debris.

Shinryong stared only at that spot.

Wouldn’t it be over after beating him this much?

He had no such trivial thoughts.

He hadn’t lost.

He knew it.

As if to prove it.

“Ptooey.”

Gu Yangcheon’s voice came from within the dust.

Soon after, the dust cleared.

“Seriously painful, damn.”

Gu Yangcheon appeared, looking slightly tired.

He too seemed troubled by wounds, with blood flowing freely from his chest, but.

Shinryong frowned upon checking his condition.

‘…Nothing’s changed?’

He definitely felt the impact.

It seemed like most of the Hundred Paces Divine Fists he’d thrown had landed, yet Gu Yangcheon just looked a little tired, showing no other apparent issues.

‘Is he truly a monster…?’

Isn’t he perhaps not human?

What kind of body makes something like that possible?

Now, doubts even arose about his very existence.

“Hey.”

“…!”

He called out to Shinryong.

“Just so you know beforehand.”

At the same time, he slightly extended his hand downwards.

“Dodge this, okay?”

He didn’t ask what he meant.

“…Kkeu-deuk.”

Slowly, something began to clump together in Gu Yangcheon’s hand.

I must block it. Shinryong’s intuition told him so, but.

He couldn’t move.

Because his legs wouldn’t move.

Hwa-reureuk… hwa-reureuk–!!

Was he trying to use that blue orb from before? He wondered, but.

As its appearance gradually changed, Shinryong’s heart began to race wildly.

Dangerous.

Such survival instincts struck Shinryong’s entire body, but.

He still didn’t move.

Finally, the orb changed form, and Gu Yangcheon held a flame shaped like a spear.

“…”

It looked dangerous just by looking.

He could feel the heat contained within the spear even from here.

Moreover, he could see the space around it distorting.

I have to run.

That’s really not doable.

Let’s get away right now.

The sliver of remaining reason screamed in his ear.

Seu-k.

Shinryong heard that, yet raised his fist.

Cheol-geok-!

He wrapped himself again in Huangagangram.

“…”

“…”

In that state, they exchanged glances without conversation.

No further warnings or conversation were needed.

“Heup!”

Gu Yangcheon thrust the spear at Shinryong with all his might.

Shwooooooo—!!!

The spear flew towards Shinryong, emitting a tearing sound.

The spearhead, given rotation along with speed, touched the armor.

Kwa-aaaaaaaaaa—!!!

“Kkeu-eu-eu-eu-eu—!!!”

Kwa-deu-deuk…!

Under the pressure, his feet touching the ground were pushed back.

“Heu-eu… eu-aaaaaa!!!”

Kwa-jijik.

The armor slowly crumbled.

If it continued like this, he would be pierced through.

This unknown martial art, just as Gu Yangcheon had warned, was beyond the level of simply blocking.

So what should he do?

‘I need to let it flow past.’

He changed the angle.

Blocking it immediately was impossible, so he had to maintain this power while changing its path.

“Kkeu-eu…!”

It wasn’t about whether he could do it or not.

He had to.

Instantly, Shinryong focused his energy into his injured right arm.

The armor’s power gathered at one point, raising its defense.

He created enough strength to withstand the spear, even just a little more.

After that.

“Heu-eup….”

He slightly raised his right arm, making a motion.

He channeled the remaining energy in his left arm and struck his own right arm.

Ppa-ak-!!

The arm’s angle twisted from the impact.

King-! Shwiaaaaaa—!!!

With the obliquely shifted angle, the spear’s trajectory changed, heading towards the sky.

The spear flew away quickly. Not long after.

Kwa-aaaaang—!!!

It exploded in mid-air, causing an explosion incomparable to the one just before.

“Heok… heok….”

Shinryong trembled as he looked up at the sight.

He did it.

“I blocked it…?”

I… I….

“I blocked it–!!!”

Shwik.

“Huh?”

What just went past my side-

Kwa-aaaaang-!!

“Keo-heok!?”

Caught in the explosion that erupted behind him, Shinryong was swept away and rolled across the floor.

Confused by the sudden impact, Shinryong looked back.

“…What the…”

He couldn’t utter a word at the sight that met his eyes.

Because the martial stage was in disarray from the previous explosion.

What kind of situation is this?

Shinryong wore a bewildered expression when.

“Why are you assuming things on your own?”

Gu Yangcheon’s voice came from the front.

Shinryong stiffly turned his head with a creak. And there.

“Don’t think you’ve saved the world just because you blocked one shot.”

Gu Yangcheon, holding the same spear as before, looked down at Shinryong.

“…”

Shinryong stared blankly at the spear.

Seeing that, Gu Yangcheon spoke.

“There’s still one shot left. Well, want to try again?”

“…Ho-ho….”

Shinryong muttered, gazing quietly at the spear.

“…Bullshit.”

It was the first curse he had ever uttered since birth.

Do it again?

That?

“…”

After thousands of considerations in mere seconds, Shinryong looked at Gu Yangcheon and said.

“I… lost.”

It’s impossible anymore.

Shinryong sighed deeply and admitted defeat.

As if waiting, the referee shouted.

“S-Sanseoguga…. Gu… Yangcheon w-wins…!”

Shortly after Gu Yangcheon’s victory was confirmed.

-Uwa-aaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!

Cheers surged throughout the entire Maeeng region.

Waa-aaaaaa—!!!

-So Yeomra! So Yeomra! So Yeomra!

This was undoubtedly the loudest roar since the martial arts festival began.