Chapter 13 – A Ray of Light

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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Chapter 13 – A Ray of Light

Gul Ma-hun, with his back against the wall, was in agony but stubbornly counterattacked with a sword technique.

'Bastard!'

Shwish-!

White Fang's blade extended fiercely toward his opponent.

It struck exquisitely at close range.

A sword momentum like a pure white snake flicking its tongue while eying its prey.

Clang-!

Cheol Ryu-heun held up his sword to defend against the serpentine sword technique surging toward his chest, then swung his left foot low and fast.

Thwack!

The moment Gul Ma-hun lost his balance and staggered sideways after being kicked in the right calf.

Squelch!

A chilling sound of flesh being deeply pierced rang out.

"Aaahh!"

He had been stabbed where he was already stabbed.

When Cheol Ryu-heun pivoted his body and flicked his right hand, Gul Ma-hun was pulled off the blade and slammed into the muddy water three jang away.

"Gugh…!"

Groaning, Gul Ma-hun had no time to tend to his wounds and was busy getting to his feet.

At that moment.

Flick.

Cheol Ryu-heun's figure again vanished like a snuffed candle.

And then.

Crash!

The White Peak Sword Sect disciples and Thousand Snake Gang members turned their heads toward the thunderous sound and were shocked once again.

It was because Gul Ma-hun, stabbed in the center of his stomach, had slammed his back into an old stone pagoda in one corner of the garden.

In front of it stood Cheol Ryu-heun, gripping the embedded sword hilt.

The same offensive method.

Nobody had seen anything.

They had only heard a sudden loud impact sound.

It had all happened in a split second.

"This one's going to hurt a bit."

With those quiet words, Cheol Ryu-heun withdrew the Gan Jiang and headed back to where he had originally stood.

Splish splash, splish splash.

Everyone's gazes moved along with him.

"Guh… Haaah…!"

Making agonized sounds, Gul Ma-hun stabbed White Fang into the ground like a cane with his right hand to support his body.

The arena suddenly became solemn.

In the deathly silence, the only sound reaching everyone's ears was the pouring rain.

Eul Sa-jeok, lying on the stretcher, raised his head stiffly as if forgetting the pain of his broken limbs.

'How can this be…!'

It was an incomprehensible sight.

He never imagined that the Thousand Snake Gang leader, whom he had trusted without doubt to rescue him from his predicament, would struggle so badly against Cheol Ryu-heun's handiwork.

On the other hand, Hyeop Mu-geuk was clenching both fists with an emotional face.

'Ah! Indeed, the waiting was not in vain! The Young Sect Master has returned as a ray of light that drives away the darkness, just as promised!'

Soon, Cheol Ryu-heun stopped at the point where the first exchange had taken place and made a gesture with his chin.

"Giving up?"

Those arrogantly thrown words became invisible daggers that deeply gouged Gul Ma-hun's heart.

'Damn! This dog-like…'

The infuriated Gul Ma-hun glared at Cheol Ryu-heun positioned ahead with venomous eyes.

In truth, the initial attack itself had been perfect.

Both the surprise advancing footwork and the technique execution had been smooth.

And what of the sword momentum.

He had channeled no less than fifty percent of his power into the blade.

Though it was a simple thrust, he had fully demonstrated the essence and subtlety of the White Snake Secret Stride Sword he had honed his entire life.

However, Cheol Ryu-heun's strength exceeded expectations.

The moment that face seemed to suddenly loom larger, he was repeatedly slammed hard by that ultra-fast, direct sword technique and charge.

This was the first such humiliation since earning the title White Snake Head Sword.

'Could there have been an opening that only he could see?'

This was the price of misjudgment.

He should have set the baseline of martial prowess higher from the start and faced him with full force.

From the moment he saw Geum Ja-jeom retreat, he had thought he had to step in because otherwise they couldn't handle Cheol Ryu-heun's swordsmanship.

But to think his martial force would be this formidable…

Though he was loath to admit it, Cheol Ryu-heun's current achievement was clearly a level above the late Sagong Woon.

Still, he had to fight.

He had to finish this with a do-or-die resolve.

Nearly two hundred elite gang members were watching him alone, like baby birds waiting for their mother.

As the gang leader, it would be troublesome if he couldn't maintain his dignity in such a situation.

How hard he had worked to build and maintain this reputation until now – he couldn't let it crumble here.

For now, Cheol Ryu-heun's offensive seemed to be some kind of secret technique that required massive internal energy.

No matter how much of a genius or prodigy he was, his internal power couldn't be infinite, so it was too early to give up.

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun swept back his wet hair and said,

"Inadequate conditions and environment don't explain everything about me. Shall I give you a chance? Snake head."

Words that pinched at the enemy's misjudgment of underestimating him.

In that instant, the surging Gul Ma-hun straightened his body and pressed several acupoints to suppress the bleeding.

"Shut up! Let's see this through to the end!"

As the roaring Gul Ma-hun raised his true energy to the fullest, his clothes, thoroughly soaked with rain and blood, puffed up slightly.

Flutter-

He intended to employ consecutive ultimate techniques mobilizing that massive power of his pinnacle internal energy.

It was pride-hurting to pour his heart and soul against Cheol Ryu-heun, who didn't even have a martial title, but this was not the time to worry about face.

Having realized the opponent's true nature, if he didn't give his best, everything he had enjoyed until now would turn to foam.

'Even if I have to sacrifice an arm, I will definitely kill him!'

Having readied his battle stance, Gul Ma-hun pushed a large amount of true energy into White Fang held in his right hand.

Hum-!

The blade vibrated powerfully.

The sharp edge emanating from the sword of a seasoned blade wielder who had experienced countless real battles was extraordinary.

The White Peak Sword Sect disciples reflexively hunched their necks.

Despite standing quite far away, they could feel Gul Ma-hun's murderous intent.

Likewise sensing it, Eul Sa-jeok screamed internally.

'Yes! Don't hold back your strength and kill him somehow!'

The current situation was crystal clear.

If Gul Ma-hun was defeated, his own life would also be in danger.

He had nowhere else to rely on.

That was why he desperately wished for Gul Ma-hun, known as White Snake Head Sword, to prove his reputation.

Hisss…

White haze slowly spread around Gul Ma-hun's White Fang.

"Hup."

Swallowing his breath, he kicked off the rain-soaked garden floor and deployed his lightness footwork.

Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swoosh!

Movement like a long snake slithering forward quickly and sinuously.

The Long Snake Maze Step, the authentic transmission of the previous gang leader who founded the Thousand Snake Gang, revealed its dazzling subtlety.

When Gul Ma-hun got within ten steps, White Fang drew a dizzying trajectory with a spine-chilling wind sound.

Shwish-shwish-shwish-shwoosh-!

White sword shadows surging toward multiple vital points.

It was the Ten Snakes Illusion Sword, one of the three ultimate techniques of the White Snake Secret Stride Sword.

A sword momentum like ten white snakes moving simultaneously to wildly coil around their prey's body.

Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-!

Right after the sound of swords clashing rang out continuously.

'Go!'

White Fang shot upward and then descended fiercely.

Shwoosh-!

A vertical sword momentum.

Like a large white snake with sharp fangs bared, pouncing on its prey's head.

It was the unique sword energy of Enraged Snake Assault, one of the three ultimate techniques of the White Snake Secret Stride Sword.

Clang- Boom!

Cheol Ryu-heun swiftly raised the Gan Jiang to defend, but his upper body bent backward as if pushed by the power.

'Got him!'

Without further thought, Gul Ma-hun rapidly executed the third ultimate technique.

Shwa-shwing!

Simultaneously with the piercing sound, White Fang released brilliant sword energy forward.

An explosive sword momentum like dozens of white snakes tangled together and pouring out.

It was Snake Forest Sword Light, the final ultimate technique of the White Snake Secret Stride Sword.

Ka-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang- Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-!

Amid the haze of sword energy remnants and transparent water droplets spreading in circles and adorning the space.

"Done showing everything?"

At Cheol Ryu-heun's clear voice, Gul Ma-hun's expression hardened.

'…!'

He had definitely attacked the opening.

Without even breathing, he had aimed for gaps and unleashed his best sword techniques.

Yet it had been blocked so easily.

It felt empty.

It was the final technique containing his pinnacle internal energy, that power in its entirety…

It was an overwhelming martial prowess that inspired not just simple fear but even reverence.

For an instant, Gul Ma-hun saw a hallucination of an enormous mountain range soaring behind Cheol Ryu-heun's back.

Run if you want to live!

His instincts warned him so.

But it was too late.

Thud!

The moment the Gan Jiang was thrust into his left shoulder, a feeling of his entire body floating seized him.

Right after.

Crash!

He was violently pushed toward the wall behind and slammed his back into it.

"Kuck!"

The wall cracked with a sound like a giant spider web forming, then collapsed noisily just like that.

Rumble…

When Cheol Ryu-heun withdrew the sword, Gul Ma-hun lost his balance and flopped face-down on the spot.

Suddenly, a secret Sound Transmission reached both his ears.

<Did you think you could defeat me with some miscellaneous art derived from the Snake Forest Faction? To me, who knows the original sword techniques thoroughly, the White Snake Secret Stride Sword is useless.>

The Snake Forest Faction was a massive unorthodox power that existed fifty years ago and the origin of the current Thousand Snake Gang.

In other words, it meant that the founding gang leader and previous gang leader came from there.

Gul Ma-hun was quite confused.

What did those words just mean?

Some miscellaneous derived art? He knows the original sword techniques thoroughly? Then did that mean he had mastered the swordsmanship of the Snake Forest Faction, the ancestor and origin of his sect?

'No, how…?'

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun added via Secret Sound Transmission.

<I have a connection with the previous generation martial artist who brought the Snake Forest Faction to ruin.>

The expression of Gul Ma-hun, lying face-down on the ground, changed completely.

'What did you say?'

The downfall of the Snake Forest Faction – the title and name of the previous generation martial artist that came to mind in connection with it.

Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon.

The one who had reigned as supreme over the Central Plains in the past, then declared his retirement thirty years ago and suddenly vanished.

The great title Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon was born precisely around the time of the Snake Forest Faction's downfall.

'S-Surely not!'

Sure enough, that was exactly the 'surely not.'

<I've applied the essence of the sword forms that symbolize the Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon.>

Gul Ma-hun's heart sank, and he felt his limbs stiffen.

'The F-Four Dragon Sword Forms…! Who are you? Are you some other existence wearing Cheol Ryu-heun's mask?'

Setting aside his questions, the Four Dragon Sword Forms created by the Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon were the natural enemy, the nemesis of the Snake Forest Faction's sword techniques.

Moreover, Cheol Ryu-heun's internal energy level was higher than his own.

Realizing he was never an opponent he could handle from the start, belated regret flooded through his heart.

Having struggled to sit up on one knee, Gul Ma-hun spoke with a servile expression.

"Gugh… Spare… me."

"You should have bowed down when I offered to let you off earlier."

"If you spare me here… I'll give you everything you want. No… I'll swear eternal submission and loyalty."

"Are you sincere?"

"I stake my reputation and position… to declare it."

Cheol Ryu-heun looked down at him for a moment, then turned his body while murmuring as if reciting.

"Should I think about it?"

Suddenly, Gul Ma-hun's eyes emitted a fierce light.

'Now!'

This moment when the opponent showed his back was the last chance for a reversal.

Shwish-shwish-shwish-shwish-!

Sword energy acupoint strikes applying the essence of the ultimate technique Ten Snakes Illusion Sword.

Sword shadows reminiscent of white snakes simultaneously struck ten acupoints on the upper and lower body.

Thud, thud-thud, thud, thud-thud-thud-!

Right as the dull sounds burst out consecutively.

Slide.

Cheol Ryu-heun turned around as if nothing had happened.

"…!"

Making eye contact, Gul Ma-hun froze completely.

He had never seen it before.

Such an emotionless expression.

It felt like encountering an unprecedented being that transcended the mortal world.

"What to do about this? I don't have acupoints."

The moment Cheol Ryu-heun's words ended, Gul Ma-hun's right hand was cleanly severed.

Spurt!

Fresh blood spurting up through the rain.

"Gaaaaahhhk!"

Following that, with a thud, Gul Ma-hun fell through the air and dropped in front of where the Thousand Snake Gang members stood.

Whoosh.

Cheol Ryu-heun instantly went there and swiftly slashed down with the Gan Jiang in his right hand.

Shwaaat!

Split in half from head to crotch by the straight line of sword energy, Gul Ma-hun ended his life emptily, soaked in rain and blood.

Following that.

The expression of a gang member who had been standing in front of Gul Ma-hun's corpse suddenly contorted bizarrely.

"Kuh…"

A red line running vertically down the center of his groaning face.

Soon, an unpleasant sound struck everyone's ears.

Spurt, spurrrrt…

Just like Gul Ma-hun, the gang member split in half from head to crotch erupted like a blood fountain and collapsed onto the garden floor.

Right after, the gang members behind him, more than ten of them positioned in the same line of direction, also had their bodies split and met gruesome deaths.

Spurrt, spurrt… Splat, splat, splat…

Corpses sprawling in a row.

They had been caught in the aftermath of the sword energy Cheol Ryu-heun had just released.

Geum Ja-jeom and the rest of the Thousand Snake Gang stood motionless with blank faces, as if their minds had gone numb.

At that moment, Cheol Ryu-heun composed his stance and spoke with an indifferent gaze.

"Hmm, I thought I controlled my strength. You should have gotten out of the way sooner."