Chapter 344
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After about a fortnight, Lee Kwang finally got back on his feet from the mental shock. During that time, he had barely eaten, leaving him looking like a walking skeleton, with more wrinkles than before. But his eyes were alive, radiating willpower.
“I don’t act for personal gain for the Thunder God Lineage! So, I have no regrets!”
Lee Kwang shouted to himself.
“I’m sorry for worrying you all. I’ll do what needs to be done now.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“I will persuade Beom-kyun and Jeong Yun-bo once more.”
Everyone exchanged worried glances at his words.
‘They’re not the type to be convinced at all.’
They were clear about what they needed to protect and distant from the desire for revenge that consumed the Thunder God Lineage. No matter how much Lee Kwang might try to convince them, there seemed to be little hope. Yet, Lee Kwang spoke as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Don’t worry; I’ll persuade them.”
Regardless, it was good that Lee Kwang was motivated. We took him back and used the Golden Lamp technique to reach Beom-kyun’s manor again. When Beom-kyun saw Lee Kwang approaching once more, he shouted in exasperation.
“Get lost, you leech!”
“Beom-kyun, you are inferior.”
“……?!”
Throwing shade out of nowhere!
Even if he flattered or begged, he had the gall to spit such harsh words? Everyone stared at Lee Kwang in shock as he continued without any change in expression.
“From the moment you joined the Thunder God Lineage, you’ve always been beneath me. Isn’t that right?”
“I acknowledge that.”
“Only Jeong Yun-bo could match me. You’ve never won against me in sparring.”
Flames sparked in Beom-kyun’s eyes. But he couldn’t deny the truth of Lee Kwang’s words. After a moment of grinding his teeth, Beom-kyun responded.
“So what? I know you’re strong in martial arts, but what do you want me to do about it? Want to kill me with your fancy moves?”
“No.”
Lee Kwang chuckled softly, then said,
“Your life is worthless.”
“……!!”
“We all carry the shame of having our master murdered. But to be so afraid of even striking back against our enemy that you choose to live in mediocrity… It’s disgraceful for someone from the Thunder God Lineage. And to think someone like you is a peer!”
“What…?”
As Beom-kyun got flustered, Lee Kwang drew his spear. A chilling intent surrounded his weapon.
“I won’t kill you. I’ll make you remember your worthlessness.”
With that, Lee Kwang charged at Beom-kyun. Amazingly, it seemed like he had picked up the basics of Wudang’s Seven Great Techniques and the Soul Removal technique, evident in the essence of those techniques reflecting in his movements.
Beom-kyun wasn’t a pushover either. He swiftly raised his spear to shake off Lee Kwang’s thrusts. In an instant, he unfolded the Six Harmonies Assembly of spear techniques, engaging in a rapid exchange of blows.
‘To think he almost became North’s Best Spear; he’s incredible.’
Beom-kyun, too, reached a peerless level. Although he was being pushed back, he was fighting Lee Kwang head-on, a rare contender among martial artists considering Lee Kwang’s level. Moreover, the spear skills he displayed in his technique linked to Ranna Chul were of master-level quality.
However, just about fifty seconds in, Lee Kwang suddenly executed the Transformation Technique, swiftly breaching Beom-kyun’s defenses. As a flash of white light grazed Beom-kyun’s temple, his face turned pale, only to be met by a fierce kick to his solar plexus from Lee Kwang.
Crash!
Beom-kyun was sent flying, hastily attempting to regain his footing, but Lee Kwang’s furious thrusts quickly followed. In a desperate attempt to defend himself, Beom-kyun was too late; in less than ten seconds, Lee Kwang’s spear tip was near his throat. A slight push more, and Beom-kyun’s life would be over.
In less than a minute, the match was decided.
Lee Kwang said,
“You’ll never beat me. Live your life knowing that.”
Cleaning his spear, Lee Kwang turned away. Beom-kyun, staring at Lee Kwang’s back, collapsed to the ground, trembling.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Then he yelled,
“I won’t accept this!!”
Lee Kwang stopped dead in his tracks.
“What is it that you can’t accept?”
“What you just used was not pure Thunder God martial arts! You mixed in techniques from other sects; I’m sure of it!!”
“Right. I used Jang Sam-bong’s Seven Great Techniques.”
“Huh!”
Lee Kwang laughed at Beom-kyun’s surprise.
“I’m going to keep progressing. Meanwhile, you’ll die the life of a pathetic manor lord. Enjoy living, Beom-kyun.”
“I acknowledge! Acknowledge! UGGHH!!”
Beom-kyun, shrieking and trembling, bit his teeth.
“No! I won’t accept it!”
“Then what exactly can you not accept?”
“If I’d learned that Seven Great Techniques too, I’d be your equal, or even better! You coward!”
“Oh… really?”
“Yeah!!”
Lee Kwang smiled slyly.
“So what if I offered to teach you?”
“…?”
Beom-kyun’s eyes widened. Then he stammered,
“Are you… serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“That magnificent techniques… to me…”
“Don’t get the wrong idea.”
Interrupting coldly, Lee Kwang sneered.
“No matter what you learn, you’ll forever remain beneath me. I’d teach you just to prove that.”
“…”
Beom-kyun fell silent, his expression blank before lowering his head.
“If you teach me, I’ll return to the White Lotus Sect as your disciple.”
“Fine.”
No matter how much he sought a life of leisure, at his core, he was a Thunder God martial artist. Moreover, as a genius among peers, it appeared he had harbored decades of inferiority complex. Therefore, the desire to surpass Lee Kwang through the mastery of those techniques outweighed his momentary sense of shame.
Witnessing this scene, I felt pity for Beom-kyun.
‘What a messed up personality…’
Lee Kwang was truly something else. Instead of coaxing and comforting, he thoroughly mocked and belittled, spurring his competitive spirit! In the end, while he successfully provoked Beom-kyun, he completely crushed the man’s lifelong pride. Such mentality was beyond ordinary humanity—something only rare individuals could even contemplate being. It was a matter of character level.
Next, we went to find Jeong Yun-bo. When we knocked on Eom Sung’s mansion door, this time, instead of opening the door, he sent guards rushing out from inside, shouting from within.
“Damn it! Kill those bastards!!”
“WAAAH!”
The guards, mainly from the Imperial Guards with proper equipment and mixed with some martial artists, were all tough cookies. It seemed a lot of cash had been funneled into bolstering the guards, as there were several top-tier martial artists among them. When over a hundred of them rushed us at once, even we couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
Jin So-cheong glanced at Lee Kwang and said,
“Master, I’ll handle this.”
“Please.”
Crash!
Jin So-cheong merely stepped through with one push of his Ground-impact Technique.
“HYAAAH!”
“Huh!”
“What a monster…”
Yet, with the sound of destruction, everything within a twenty-yard radius was sent flying into the air due to the shockwave. The sight of dozens of people soaring into the sky was surreal. Just by applying the Mind Control Technique, Jin So-cheong made everyone around realize their martial prowess instantly.
An utterly insane top expert!
Jin So-cheong sternly warned,
[I won’t let anyone outside interfere with our event today!]
As we advanced boldly towards Eom Sung’s mansion, nobody dared to move. Those many people turned away in fear, knowing they might face death at Jin So-cheong’s hands in just a second.
No one stood in our way. It was as if time stopped.
When we reached the very top floor of Eom Sung’s mansion, he wasn’t present. Instead, a figure robed in black called Jeong Yun-bo stood with his arms crossed, waiting for us.
In a heavy voice, Jeong Yun-bo said,
“Lee Kwang. Your disciple Jin So-cheong’s achievements are beyond imagination. How did he reach that level?”
“He learned Jang Sam-bong’s Seven Great Techniques.”
Jeong Yun-bo shuddered in shock.
“Don’t you think he could even challenge the Dharma Guardian?”
“… I must admit, he might just beat the Dharma Guardian.”
Then Jeong Yun-bo sighed.
“But what shall we do about the Master of the White Lotus Sect? There’s no way to defeat that beast.”
“Jeong Yun-bo, speak plainly.”
“What do you mean?”
Lee Kwang’s eyes locked onto Jeong Yun-bo’s, a fierce intensity radiating between them.
“Right now, I can see greed wriggling in your eyes.”
“……!!”
“When you calm down, your emotions are much clearer.”
Coldly, Lee Kwang stepped forward.
“You want to learn the Seven Great Techniques, don’t you?”
“Don’t presume.”
“Of course you do. Because you see me as a lifelong rival.”
Lee Kwang continued with a mocking tone.
“Ha! To think you’d only come up with ‘a happy life’ as your plan to beat me—such a joke! Did you want to outdo me that much?”
“Don’t talk nonsense about my family.”
“Naturally, I have nothing to say about your family. Because the pathetic one is you.”
“What…?”
Jeong Yun-bo faltered as Lee Kwang pressed on:
“What have I left in my life? It’s Jin So-cheong. While you lay idle, claiming you couldn’t defeat the Dharma Guardian, my disciple searched for the Seven Great Techniques and grew stronger on his own. He even risked his life to join the White Lotus Sect to restore the Thunder God Lineage.”
“……”
“To become the Guardian Warrior for a powerful minister supporting the Thunder God Lineage? Ridiculous! That’s just your self-righteousness, akin to charity towards a beggar.”
“Grr, you scoundrel…”
“You sure love your great-grandchildren.”
Lee Kwang chuckled.
Jeong Yun-bo tightened his jaw, probably angry enough to grind his teeth.
I found that quite odd.
‘Even the Golden Eagle Guards feel fear when they see Lee Kwang, yet his peers feel nothing but anger.’
Is that what being a peer truly means?
Extending his spear, Lee Kwang stated,
“The first move won’t be mine. I’ll demonstrate the gap in our levels.”
“Don’t act arrogant, you bastard!”
Crash!
Suddenly, the two peak experts clashed, echoing like thunder. Both could execute Thunder Spirit techniques, leading to this result. Indeed, Jeong Yun-bo possessed outstanding talent, making his martial skill formidable. Unlike the way he easily overwhelmed Beom-kyun, Lee Kwang found it difficult to penetrate Jeong Yun-bo’s defenses and faced a cautionary exchange instead.
BOOM!
Jeong Yun-bo used fist techniques for his main weapon, but contrary to the stereotype that unarmed combat leaves one weak, his body appeared like a bomb wrapped in raw power. Everything he touched erupted from electric impacts, showcasing his spectacular might.
In just about twenty seconds of their clash, the top floor was on the brink of collapse. When it seemed as if it would crumble, the spectators rushed to shelter below. As a layer of the mansion collapsed, their duel intensified—the clash creating a storm of thunder above, as if a tempest raged in the heavens.
‘This is the battle of the supreme masters of the Thunder God Lineage!’
I couldn’t help but be in awe. Such hidden strength existed in martial artists like Jeong Yun-bo. Executing a Void Leap while launching fist techniques, Lee Kwang penetrated twice. As Jeong Yun-bo countered with Lee Hyeong-hwan’s maneuver, Lee Kwang jumped on falling debris to execute his spinning slash.
SWISH!
“Huh.”
This attack was fierce enough to cause Jeong Yun-bo to falter. In an instant, he pierced through Jeong Yun-bo’s Protective Energy, exploiting a gap in his defense, utilizing the Bowing Sky Slash to do so. I quickly realized Lee Kwang was applying his skills tactically. Seizing his advantage, like a beast, he pounced and unleashed unrelenting strikes upon Jeong Yun-bo.
BOOM!
Crash!
Another layer of the building crumbled. Amidst the swirling debris, the two figures entangled with Jeong Yun-bo’s face painted with shock. As Lee Kwang unleashed a Thunder Cloud Palm, Jeong Yun-bo’s defenses crumbled under the assault.
KA-BOOM…
Jeong Yun-bo fell to the ground with a loud crash. He seemed stunned by the heavy impact, laying still for a moment. Lee Kwang landed beside him and coldly declared:
“I won, Jeong Yun-bo.”
“Y-You, Lee Kwang…!!”
“That puts me two wins ahead. How will you make up for this?”
“……”
Glaring fiercely, Jeong Yun-bo staggered before saying,
“Alright. I’ll play along with your song. I’ll give you all the information I have on the Thunder God Lineage if you teach me that Seven Great Techniques.”
Lee Kwang shook his head.
“Not quite.”
“What?”
“You need to beg. Grovel and plead for me to teach you. Otherwise, I’ll find your family and kill them all.”
“……!!”
Shock washed over Jeong Yun-bo’s face, while a cold smile played on Lee Kwang’s lips.
“Hurry up. Before I change my mind.”
“You bastard!!”
“One… two…”
In that moment, as Jeong Yun-bo hesitated, ready to kneel, Jin So-cheong interjected, gripping his shoulder. When Lee Kwang cast a look at Jin So-cheong, he remarked,
“Master, don’t overstep.”
“He started it. That guy denied my life!”
Lee Kwang shouted passionately, and Jin So-cheong sighed.
“Like it or not, he’s still your peer, isn’t he? If you keep pushing to return every last bit, it will earn you a serious grudge.”
“……”
After contemplating, Lee Kwang finally relented, addressing Jeong Yun-bo.
“You don’t need to kneel. Just apologize properly.”
Jeong Yun-bo shifted to a respectful stance and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry for what I said earlier, Lee Kwang.”
“Hmph.”
Lee Kwang scoffed and turned away.
Watching this unfold, Mangnyang chuckled.
“Haha! The return of the Thunder God Lineage is close at hand!”
And indeed, it was. With Lee Kwang’s two peers joining, and Jeong Yun-bo knowing the locations of the remaining Thunder God masters, it wouldn’t be long before the Thunder God Lineage would rise again in the Central Plains. Yet a complex feeling swirled inside me as I observed a series of events.
‘How can a person be so ruthless?’
Having watched Lee Kwang return their insults back multiple times to Beom-kyun and Jeong Yun-bo, I felt both satisfaction and absurdity. He was like a man filled with rage, seemingly fighting the very essence of the world. Having witnessed similar things across past lives, I still couldn’t get used to it.
But isn’t being that ruthless the only way to survive in the martial world?
I recalled Mangnyang stating that Lee Kwang needed to learn such aspects; thus, I couldn’t simply dismiss this.
About two months later, using Jeong Yun-bo’s intelligence, a total of fifteen successors of the Thunder God Lineage gathered. This included the Thunderbolt Three Saints, a result of Mangnyang’s subtle discovery. With a dozen Thunder God masters present, a palpable surge of aggression filled the room.
Dokgo Seong surveyed the group of Thunder God masters and declared:
“Now our Thunder God Lineage will return to the White Lotus Sect.”
No one replied. Dokgo Seong spoke with quivering fury.
“That Master of the Sect lured us in with the final technique of the past Dharma Guardian as bait. It’s a blatant underestimation of our potential. Bring it on if they can!”
Yet still, no one answered.
Dokgo Seong clenched his fists.
“We will surely avenge ourselves!”
In that instant, an overwhelming Thunder Spirit energy erupted from all the successors of the Thunder God Lineage. Each had their reasons, yet they all bore grievances towards the White Lotus Sect. Their combined might surged like the storms that swept across the world.
Moments later, the Thunder God successors returned to their quarters. They were almost ready to organize their things and head to Luoyang using the Golden Lamp and Wooden Armor techniques. With the mission of the Thunder God’s return nearly complete, Mangnyang sighed and said,
“It’s almost done now.”
“Mangnyang, so then…”
Mangnyang nodded.
“It’s time to slay the Vermilion Bird with the power of reversal.”
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