Chapter 471

Fire King Jeok Cheongang had lived for well over a hundred years.

The boy who had wandered the streets begging for food met a master one day and became the eighteenth successor of the Fire Gate Clan. Years later, when his master returned to the earth, he became the clan’s sole Disciple and Sect Leader.

The boy became a young man, the young man reached middle age, and the middle-aged man finally grew old. It had been a long, long journey.

In that time, a great war erupted that would determine the fate of the world. A new nation arose, and even the surname of the Son of Heaven¹ changed.

Five floods and earthquakes struck. Plagues spread, and bands of Red Turbans² rose throughout the land, pillaging wherever they went.

Among everything Jeok Cheongang had witnessed, there had been disasters wrought by human hands and divine punishments sent down by the heavens.

But one event had left a deeper, greater mark on his life than any other.

The Great Faction War.

An age when corpses formed mountains and blood flowed in rivers.

Amid the maelstrom of that war, Jeok Cheongang had glimpsed a vast world of demonic, heterodox arts unlike anything he had ever known.

The Demonic Path martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult rivaled those of Shaolin Temple—the Mount Tai and Northern Dipper³ of the Murim’s orthodox faction—in depth and breadth. They were sinister and bizarre.

But now, Jeok Cheongang understood.

Even everything he had seen and experienced throughout his long life amounted to no more than a drop in the bucket compared to the scene unfolding before his eyes.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

What in the world…?

The moment that enormous being finally revealed itself, Jeok Cheongang felt the blood freeze in his veins.

What on earth is that thing?

He was a master from two generations past, well beyond his ninety-ninth year.

Given his age and standing, he had seen no small number of spiritual creatures and evil beasts that ordinary martial artists might never encounter even once in their lives.

But that being…

It was different. It surpassed every scrap of experience and knowledge Fire King Jeok Cheongang possessed.

The monster was not merely destroying the cliff.

The laws and order of the world he had always believed in were crumbling along with the jagged boulders, shattered and scattered beyond recognition.

And Jeok Cheongang was not alone in his shock.

“Ha.”

“Ah, ahhh!”

The greatest assassin of all time, known as the Slaughter Saint, could not suppress his astonished sigh. Crouching Dragon Guest Zhuge Feng, whose knowledge and genius were said to rival those of Zhuge Wuhou,⁴ was struck speechless.

But that was not the end of their shock.

—Kraaaaaaaaaah!

The enormous monster’s roar drove back the rain and blasted apart the wind.

At the same time, a chilling aura spread outward from the monster and swept over all three men standing more than a hundred jang⁵ away.

Whooooooosh!

“……”

“……”

“……”

The three figures stiffened as one. Their eyes widened involuntarily, all three pairs filled with unmistakable shock.

How can this be!

Their bodies felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, and their hands clenched on their own.

Zhuge Feng, who still remained at the Peak realm, let out a faint groan as a tremendous chill ran through him. Even Jeok Cheongang and Mungyeong, who stood in realms far beyond his, caught their breath in surprise.

Th-This is…!

Impossible.

The two extraordinary martial artists known as the Fire King and the Slaughter Saint immediately realized the identity of the unfamiliar sensation that had come over them.

It was an emotion they had forgotten long ago. A stale, ancient emotion they had been unable to feel since becoming beings so powerful that no one dared approach them.

Fear.

The overwhelming power of the Fear radiating from the Mutated Water God Dragon was partly responsible, but the greater cause was Jeok Cheongang and Mungyeong’s ignorance.

Their martial arts were unquestionably several levels above those of modern S-rank Hunters. Even so, the sudden appearance of a gigantic monster unlike anything they had ever encountered was more than enough to shake the iron minds of two men who had spent decades establishing their own understanding of the world.

—Kraaaaaaow!

The monster did not miss the opening. It rampaged without restraint.

Each time its black-scaled body slammed against the cliff, enormous jagged boulders filled the sky before crashing down.

Kwagwagwagwang!

A ceaseless rain of boulders hurtled toward somewhere hidden from view by the terrain.

Flames blazed in Jeok Cheongang’s eyes as he watched.

You bastard!

He already knew what the unknown monster was attacking so relentlessly.

The sole successor of the Fire Gate Clan and his Disciple.

No—his temporary Disciple, Jin Taekyung.

The moment he remembered that fact, lava-like energy erupted from the body Fear had briefly frozen.

Whoom!

Several jiazi’s⁶ worth of Scorching Yang Qi surged through his Twelve Regular Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians, driving back the aura pouring from the unknown being.

Scorching heat flooded his immobilized body, if only for an instant. Then he unleashed a battle cry like a thunderclap.

“Ha—!”

Bang!

The internal energy carried in his shout was so immense that the air and raindrops surrounding the three men burst apart.

Jeok Cheongang had not yet escaped Fear’s influence completely. Yet despite being exposed to Fear for the first time in his life, he had broken free on his own, without anyone’s help.

Any modern Hunter who witnessed it would have doubted their own eyes.

But Jeok Cheongang was not the only one to accomplish such an astonishing feat.

While Jeok Cheongang dispelled part of the Fear through rage, Mungyeong overcame its oppression with cold reason and enlightenment half a step higher than Jeok Cheongang’s.

An evil beast unheard of in all of history. It must be brought down here and now.

The young medical apprentice who always tended warmly to the sick was no longer there.

The greatest assassin of all time, feared by everyone beneath the heavens, stepped forward with calm eyes. His slender figure scattered like an illusion.

Tap. Whoooooosh!

The Slaughter Saint’s signature martial art, the Ghost Illusory Slaughter Step, shot forward, pressing down the current and treading upon the raindrops.

His figure streaked ahead like a beam of light, leaving only a pale afterimage behind. Beneath him, a single trail of flame raced forward, evaporating every trace of moisture around it.

Whoom!

A furious roar erupted from Jeok Cheongang’s lips.

“You heaven-cursed eel bastard! Get away from that boy this instant!”

Rumble, crash!

A sharp, ringing shout pierced the ceaseless thunder as two figures charged toward the gigantic Water God Dragon like bolts of lightning.

Only now did I finally understand why the Quest’s Grade was Supreme Peak.

It might have been tough on my own, but this changes everything.

There was Cheongpung, a genuine Supreme Peak master and a genius whose ability to learn and apply martial arts surpassed even mine, despite the System.

And then there were two beings who needed no embellishment whatsoever.

The Fire King and the Slaughter Saint. The Slaughter Saint and the Fire King.

Even by the standards of the modern world, where average life expectancy had risen dramatically, those two were old enough to be playing gateball⁷ in a retirement community.

Yet they were monsters capable of knocking a Peak master’s head clean off with a single finger.

Their movements do look a little heavier than before…

Had those two been affected by Fear as well, even if only slightly?

Whatever the case, two more human-shaped monsters had joined the fight against the supermassive monster.

I had taken some damage in the initial clash, but aside from the minor Internal Injury I’d suffered while fighting the Dongting Fisherman and the cut on my shoulder, I was perfectly fine.

If not for my insane Muscles and Bones and the Fire Dragon Armor, I might’ve broken every limb.

The monster moved far faster than its massive body suggested, and it attacked with its whiskers.

I was thinking that it resembled the Sea Serpent I had read about in the Monster Encyclopedia, yet differed from it in several ways, when—

—Grrrrrrr…!

In that split second, the Water God Dragon’s eyes flashed as it finally realized the situation was taking an unusual turn.

I did not miss that brief opening.

“Cheongpung!”

“Yes, Benefactor!”

Sometimes, a single word or exchanged glance was enough for two people to understand each other.

That was exactly what happened as Cheongpung and I charged toward the Water God Dragon the instant I shouted.

Whoooooosh!

Shh-shh-shh-shing!

We moved twice as fast as I had when the dragon’s tail sent me flying.

Blue and red Force surged along spearhead and sword blade as we bore down on it, and the Water God Dragon’s whiskers thrashed violently.

Shri-ri-ri-rik!

Those whiskers were the absolute worst.

The power carried in each one did not quite equal the Force of a Supreme Peak master, but their destructive power and sharpness surpassed ordinary Sword Energy. They could not be ignored.

On top of that, each strand was roughly three jang⁵ long, and their trajectories were bizarre and impossible to predict, much like the Dongting Fisherman’s martial arts when he wielded his black-wood fishing rod.

The only reason the first attack had landed was that I hadn’t known the bastard could control hundreds of whiskers like that.

But…

Come at me again, you son of a bitch.

Streaks of light filled with the Water God Dragon’s power poured toward me from every direction. I slashed the spearhead diagonally downward before me.

Whoooooom! Schk!

The streaks of light caught in the path of the blue-white flames lost their power and were sliced apart.

But the Water God Dragon was no pushover. Just as many streaks as I had cut down were already coming for my back.

Whoosh!

I had sensed it from the beginning, but the bastard was definitely intelligent. Perhaps it had instinctively recognized the strength of the Fire Dragon Armor, because its attacks drove toward the bare flesh the armor did not cover.

My back went cold as I felt the killing intent hurtling toward me.

But an instant ahead of it, a powerful force came rushing in.

Shik. Schk!

Brilliant violet Force drove away the darkness and lit up the world.

The Zaha Divine Technique, a secret ultimate art taught only to Huashan’s direct Disciples.

Cheongpung.

I felt the killing intent aimed at my back disappear.

There was no need to turn and check. Cheongpung had done his part perfectly.

Now it was my turn to unleash my full strength.

No. Correction.

It was our turn.

—Grrrrrrrrk!

The Mutated Water God Dragon jerked its head up, but it was already too late.

Its greatest mistake had been failing to stop Cheongpung and me quickly enough. Two human-shaped monsters were already closing in behind its enormous body.

Shik!

Silent and stealthy, yet faster than anything else, a single bolt of lightning plunged from the air.

A moment later, the sound of something being severed rang out.

Schk!

One of the Water God Dragon’s black horns was cut in half the instant it met the silver Force. A roar that might have been pain or rage burst from the monster’s maw.

—Graaaargh!

“Gasp!”

Mungyeong’s figure shook as he tried to thrust a small sword between the Water God Dragon’s scales.

My guess was right.

Unlike me, who was accustomed to a monster’s Fear, or Cheongpung, who had been insane from the beginning, the others had not yet escaped Fear’s influence completely, though it affected each of them differently.

But that did not stop the fist Jeok Cheongang had already launched.

“You godforsaken son of a bitch—!”

Jeok Cheongang spewed the curse like a magic incantation, and his fist slammed into the Water God Dragon’s midsection.

Fwoosh! Boom!

—Kra-ra-ra-ra-ra!

A tremendous burst of flame and steam exploded outward, and the Water God Dragon’s gigantic body tilted toward the ground.

Its maw was falling directly toward me as I charged forward with all my strength.

Whoooooosh!

—Krrk!

My reflection appeared in its enormous blood-red pupil, split vertically down the middle—White Flame thrust forward, wreathed in blue fire.

“I told you not to open those eyes like that, you sibu-leol⁸ bastard.”

Shnk!