Chapter v12c13

“Let’s use the fall of this coin as a signal!”

Bi Ryu-yeon took a coin from his pocket and handed it to Yeomdo. It was the simplest and fairest way to determine speed. Dongfang Xue was dumbfounded. Bi Ryu-yeon’s action was a direct challenge to his speed. It was too disrespectful to be forgiven simply for the sake of amusement.

“Are you that eager to die?”

“We won’t know who dies until the coin hits the ground. It hasn’t been tossed yet. Wouldn’t it be wise to avoid jumping to conclusions?”

Dongfang Xue was speechless. He even thought, ‘It seems my reputation has already been swept away by the river of time!’

“Wouldn’t it be better to just kill yourself and save time?”

Bi Ryu-yeon just smiled faintly.

“Then let’s toss it!”

Yeomdo nodded.

With a ‘clink!’, the coin soared into the air. The eyes of everyone present were fixed on that single coin.

…Thud!

The coin finally landed. The two men moved simultaneously. In that instant, light and life intersected at a single point.

A murmur of confusion arose from the crowd. No one had clearly seen their exchange. They were all busy checking their own eyesight.

“Did you see it?”

“No, I didn’t!”

Binggeom shook his head at Yeomdo’s question.

“Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Kuahahaha!”

Suddenly, Dongfang Xue burst into laughter. He laughed hysterically, his voice almost cracking. Then, just as abruptly, his laughter ceased.

“…How did the evaluation go?”

The old man asked with an impassive face. The two men were now standing in each other’s positions.

“That speed is passable.”

Rip!

Bi Ryu-yeon’s clothes were sliced open in a cross shape. He looked down at his chest and said,

“It would have been better if it was just one movement instead of two. What a shame.”

“Is that so? It seems I was mistaken.”

Dongfang Xue chuckled.

“So, I pass?”

Bi Ryu-yeon nodded.

“I acknowledge the ‘Thunder’ in your title.”

“Thank you. Now I can face the King of Hell and proudly declare my nickname.”

Drip!

A trickle of blood seeped from his forehead, tracing a red line down his nose, across his cheek, and finally staining his beard.

“What was the name of that technique?”

“Lightning Flash!”

“Huh, indeed! You shattered me with my own name? A perfect defeat. To die by the ultimate speed… It’s an honor…”

Dongfang Xue’s body slumped forward as he finished his words with difficulty. The renowned sword master from a century ago had met his end. Binggeom felt a mix of emotions as a fellow swordsman. And Bi Ryu-yeon’s words and movements kept replaying in his mind. Could he have blocked Bi Ryu-yeon’s attack if he had been in Dongfang Xue’s place? The chances were slim.

‘I can’t stay like this!’

He thought to himself. He had to become stronger. Otherwise, he would never be able to escape the shackles of being a disciple. That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

“Xue! Haaa! Y-You bastard!”

Gong Pai, his eyes bloodshot with rage at the death of his only friend, swung his Lingering Thunder Saber, its jagged blade aimed at Bi Ryu-yeon’s waist, with a ferocious momentum. He still couldn’t believe Dongfang Xue was dead.

But Dongfang Xue, his face buried in the cold ground, showed no sign of getting up. He was clearly dead. Gong Pai could tell. His heart had stopped beating, and the blood had stopped flowing. He would never open his eyes again.

However, Bi Ryu-yeon dodged the attack. The first strike aimed for his waist, the second for his head, and the third for his neck, but Bi Ryu-yeon remained unharmed, his limbs intact. It was the Phoenix Dance, a technique that created three afterimages to confuse the opponent.

“You don’t seem to understand the meaning of a fair fight, old man. You shouldn’t be acting so recklessly at your age. What will the youngsters think?”

“I don’t need to. Die!”

Gong Pai swung his saber again.

“Which face of ‘Thunder’ are you pursuing?”

Bi Ryu-yeon asked, unfazed by the ferocious saber energy. But there was no answer. Instead of replying, Gong Pai simply swung his saber with explosive force. The ground trembled with each swing, as if an earthquake had struck.

But even the strongest technique was useless if it didn’t connect. Bi Ryu-yeon continued to evade Gong Pai’s attacks with an infuriatingly nimble agility, always a hair’s breadth away.

“I’ll ask again. Which aspect of ‘Thunder’ are you pursuing?”

He seemed to have enough composure to talk even while dodging Gong Pai’s storm-like attacks.

Gong Pai shouted like a madman,

“The strength to crush you to dust with a single blow! Ultimate power!”

Bi Ryu-yeon nodded and said,

“Then let’s test your qualifications.”

With those words, he continued to evade Gong Pai’s saber attacks with monstrous agility. Saber energy aimed at his face, his shoulders, his waist, came at him from all directions. But Bi Ryu-yeon didn’t counterattack. His right hand remained hanging limply by his side.

“This requires some preparation time. Can’t you just wait patiently?”

Bi Ryu-yeon protested as he dodged a saber strike aimed horizontally at his neck. But his plea fell on deaf ears, as Gong Pai was blinded by rage.

Bi Ryu-yeon had to dodge seven more attacks. Gong Pai was running out of steam. His “Lingering Thunder Thirty-Six Overlords” technique, which focused too much on brute force, couldn’t keep up with Bi Ryu-yeon’s swift footwork and his flexible evasive maneuvers, which surpassed even those of a mollusk.

It was a powerful martial art that forced them to constantly expand their encirclement, but it was useless if it didn’t connect. Finally, Gong Pai assumed the stance for his ultimate technique, the Lingering Thunder Heaven and Earth Overturning. It was the most domineering and powerful technique in his arsenal.

At that moment, Bi Ryu-yeon’s right hand, which had been hanging limply, slowly moved.

Flying Thunder Saber Secret Technique Sword Energy

Chapter of the Heaven-Shaking Mad Thunder

Grand Thunder

Bi Ryu-yeon’s sleeve fluttered, and a tiny silver droplet emerged from its shadow. It looked as small as a dewdrop on a blade of grass at dawn. And it moved excruciatingly slowly. The result was absurdly small compared to its grand and powerful name, but it was beautiful in its smallness.

Gong Pai’s eyes widened. He almost lost his grip on his saber, his entire body going limp. A snort escaped his large, cavernous nostrils. He didn’t even think about dodging. He was simply annoyed by Bi Ryu-yeon’s playful antics at such a crucial moment.

Swish!

The tiny silver droplet, shining like a teardrop of starlight, approached Gong Pai at an agonizingly slow pace. It seemed too weak to challenge his strength and dominance. Gong Pai, already in his stance, raised his saber, ready to cleave both the silver droplet and Bi Ryu-yeon in two with a single strike.

It was a strike with the force of a collapsing mountain. The final technique of the Lingering Thunder Thirty-Six Overlords, the Lingering Thunder Heaven and Earth Overturning, had been unleashed.

Crash! Boom!

The silver droplet, like a tiny bead, collided with the monstrous saber, its blade as sharp as a shark’s teeth, and a deafening roar shook the heavens and earth. Who could have predicted such a thing?

Yeomdo and Binggeom watched with wide eyes. A vortex, threatening to swallow everything in its path, was forming around the silver droplet that had collided with the saber. Gong Pai’s contorted face, his eyes bloodshot as he struggled to hold back the force, was almost pitiful.

Even Gong Pai couldn’t believe the immense weight pressing down on his saber, repeatedly looking down at his hand and his weapon. Tiny cracks, like spiderwebs, began to appear on the blade that had never been damaged even after cutting down thousands.

But this was just the beginning.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of white thunderbolts, like ferocious beasts, erupted from the silver droplet, lashing out at Gong Pai’s body like whips. His internal organs were churned, his bones shattered by the impact, as if struck by sledgehammers. The massive Gong Pai stumbled back several steps.

Clang!

Unable to withstand the onslaught of the silver vortex and the barrage of thunderbolts, Gong Pai’s prized saber, already cracked, finally shattered. Fragments, glittering like scales in the sunlight, scattered like shards of a broken mirror.

“Kuaaaaaah!”

Gong Pai threw away the hilt of his broken saber, clutching his eyes and stumbling back. Blood streamed from his eyes. Some of the shattered fragments had flown at an odd angle, piercing his eyes.

“You won’t be needing those eyes anymore, will you? They’ve only seen filth.”

Bi Ryu-yeon’s eyes were as cold as winter frost as he watched.

Gong Pai’s appearance was gruesome, his body ravaged by hundreds of sharp fragments. His hair was disheveled like a prisoner on death row, and his face was covered in bloody wounds left by the saber shards. His clothes were torn and shredded, revealing bleeding flesh.

Several fragments seemed to have pierced his thighs, as he remained kneeling, unable to stand. And instead of tears, blood flowed from his eyes.

No one could believe that the Flying Thunder Twin Demons, who had spread terror and committed countless atrocities a hundred years ago, were now one dead by the hand of a boy, and the other kneeling on the ground, his body a mangled mess. Bi Ryu-yeon looked down at Gong Pai with the eyes of a judge from the underworld. His fate now rested solely in Bi Ryu-yeon’s hands.

“Kill him!”

Binggeom shouted.

“For the sake of the entire martial world, he must not be allowed to live. This secret must be kept at all costs!”

Binggeom’s voice was filled with urgency. Bi Ryu-yeon hesitated for a moment. This wasn’t part of his original plan. He had considered sparing Gong Pai, who had already lost his eyes, with just a severed arm. If he had known about Gong Pai’s intentions towards Na Yerin, he wouldn’t have hesitated. He wasn’t merciful enough to spare someone who didn’t deserve to live.

Moreover, the meaning of this ritual would be diminished if the subject died.

If he died, who would know that he had relinquished his title? His name would continue to live on, as it had until now, unless the martial world learned the truth.

“What should I do…”

It was a difficult decision.