Black and White Martial Emperor

KURURUNG!

Cheon Gang retreated with an explosive roar, his face twisting like a murderous demon.

He had a fairly handsome face, but once it contorted, he looked terrifying enough to seem like a ghost. The expression alone could have made anyone with a weak heart faint.

“What the hell are you, you bastard?!”

Crackle! Crack-crackle-crackle!

Mo Yonggun, striding through the dust toward him, looked exactly like a thunder god descended into the mortal world.

ZIIIIING! Crunch!

Blue lightning unraveled like tangled threads.

When he stepped on a stone, sparks flew, and it crumbled like crushed tofu. The density of the lightning qi he was releasing was truly tremendous.

Cheon Gang’s lips twitched.

“You’ve gotten hard to approach, haven’t you?”

Once a person surpassed the Wall of Martial Arts, the body was restructured so it could contain a high concentration of True Qi. In other words, the mind, qi, and body, refined to their utmost limits, transcended into an entirely different realm.

But there was no end to the martial path. A realm beyond the Wall of Martial Arts certainly existed, and that realm could be reached when the mind, qi, and body that had transcended once took flight yet again.

It meant setting foot in what the world called the realm of the Martial God, the realm of Limitlessness.

Once someone stepped into that realm, everything changed. The transformation a Transcendent Peak master underwent upon reaching the Limitless Realm was greater than the transformation a Peak master underwent upon breaking through the Wall of Martial Arts.

The Second Warrior-General, Cheon Gang, was the master who boasted the greatest speed among the Warrior-Generals.

He was a master who had grasped the limit of speed attainable by breaking through the Wall of Martial Arts. That was why even masters of the same rank found it difficult to respond to him, because they fell behind in speed.

But the story changed if the opponent was a master with as deep an understanding of realms as Mo Yonggun.

He might be flustered for the first few exchanges, but after that, he could immediately find a way to respond. The reason was simple: the strength of martial arts was not measured by speed alone.

Martial arts were a combination of many elements: speed, power, variation, the timing of counters, the use of True Qi, and more.

And Mo Yonggun was a master skilled across all those areas. Though he leaned somewhat more heavily toward speed and power, he could still be said to pursue a relatively balanced martial path.

He was fundamentally different from Cheon Gang, a master who had maximized only a single strength.

“What’s wrong?”

Flash! Flash!

Mo Yonggun had fully opened the Thunderclap Art.

It looked as if lightning might pour from his eyes. As he walked forward with blue light blazing in his gaze, he truly did not look human.

“Is that precious footwork of yours finished here?”

HWARURURUK!

Golden Fire energy surged over Cheon Gang’s body.

“You lunatic! I went easy on you, and now you’re getting carried away!”

His voice rang out thunderously.

Somehow, even the way he spoke seemed different from before. The tone that had once felt young, even childish, now seemed to belong to a middle-aged man rich with experience of the world.

“I’ll play with you properly!”

BOOOOOM!

Cheon Gang charged with an explosive roar.

Astonishingly, his speed had grown even faster than before. He looked like a single golden line cutting across the air.

Mo Yonggun’s eyes flashed.

KWAAAAANG!

“Ghk!”

Cheon Gang staggered backward.

The shield of lightning qi released by Mo Yonggun, the defensive force of the Thunder Emperor Wall, was generating tremendous rebounding force. Since Cheon Gang had approached at high speed, the impact was equally tremendous.

“I can read you now.”

ZIIIIING! ZIIIIING!

Mo Yonggun’s left hand pointed forward at midsection height.

“I can see exactly how you’ll move.”

“Bullshit!”

PAAAAANG! PAAAAANG! PAAAAANG!

Cheon Gang vanished from sight.

He seemed to shoot forward, then suddenly rose into the air before shifting again to Mo Yonggun’s rear flank.

It was supreme speed, movement that made the air burst apart. It maximized the drain on Inner Qi and stamina, but the increased speed created greater destructive power and unpredictability.

Cheon Gang’s hand-blade moved in a half-moon arc.

Golden flames erased the air along the path of his hand-blade.

Flash! JJEOOOOOEONG!

“Eek!”

Veins bulged on Cheon Gang’s forehead.

Crack!

Mo Yonggun’s foot sank into the ground up to the anklebone. He had blocked Cheon Gang’s hand-blade, but he had not fully diverted its force.

Even so, Mo Yonggun’s expression remained cold and stern.

“I told you, didn’t I? I can read you clearly now.”

“Y-you bastard!”

“You’re spilling unrefined Killing Intent in every direction. No matter how fast you are, it means nothing.”

That was right.

Cheon Gang’s Killing Intent, tinged even with madness, was overwhelming enough by itself to shave away an opponent’s will to fight. But because he was exuding such powerful Killing Intent, his movements were being read completely by the senses of an absolute master.

As long as one did not panic, as long as one did not get dragged into a contest of speed against speed, responding to him was entirely possible. Of course, it would have been impossible for anyone who had not reached Mo Yonggun’s level.

“It’s time to end this.”

WOOOOONG!

The light in Mo Yonggun’s eyes erupted.

KWAAAAANG!

The explosive force released from his sword blasted Cheon Gang backward.

Hup!

In that instant, Cheon Gang realized that Mo Yonggun’s Killing Intent had occupied every direction in which he could evade.

WOOOOOOONG!

A grand, mighty force pressed in.

A tremendous sword qi came burning through the air. Cheon Gang possessed no martial art of power that could stand against it.

Dodge!

He could not dodge left, right, up, or down.

Then the only option left was to retreat backward. Cheon Gang kicked off the ground.

BOOOOOM!

Cheon Gang withdrew at terrifying speed.

But that was a misjudgment.

Flash!

Cheon Gang’s mouth fell open. Before he knew it, the sword qi of lightning Mo Yonggun had unleashed was right in front of his nose.

No matter how fast a person’s movements were, they could not be faster than lightning. That applied to Cheon Gang as well.

Mo Yonggun had blocked every path of evasion, left only a single opening to breathe through, then read one move ahead and unleashed his sword strike. It was a move that showed his seasoned mastery.

Cheon Gang unleashed the Fire Dragon Demon Blade with both hands.

KWAKWANG!

“Keheuk!”

With a tremendous collision, Cheon Gang coughed blood.

KWAAAAANG!

The force was so powerful that Cheon Gang’s body punched straight through a building.

Hup!

Mo Yonggun soared high into the sky and concentrated Thunderclap energy into his sword once more.

He did not let his guard down just because one attack had succeeded. Mo Yonggun was also a veteran of a hundred battles. He knew how important it was to keep pressing an advantage once he had seized it.

Nine Thunder Demon Cleaves.

Flash! KWAKWAKWANG!

The lightning sword-light fired by a sword strike of divine speed completely destroyed the ruined building.

It was a martial art that any master under heaven would have found burdensome to meet head-on. For Cheon Gang, who had already suffered internal injury, complete evasion and perfect defense were both impossible.

“Cough!”

Rustle.

Cheon Gang rose from the collapsed rubble, his body covered in blood.

Softly.

Mo Yonggun landed lightly on the ground and aimed his sword at Cheon Gang.

“Let’s end this now.”

Deep sword wounds covered Cheon Gang’s entire body like a net. His internal injuries seemed severe as well, for the qi waves pouring from him were extremely unstable.

Cheon Gang ground his teeth.

“You dogshit...!”

In a single instant of engagement, the scales of victory had tilted completely.

ZIIIIING!

Ghk!

Blue lightning sparked and crackled all over Cheon Gang’s body.

His internal injuries were one problem, but the lightning qi that had penetrated his body had thrown all his blood channels into chaos. Even the True Qi of the Gold Emperor Pure Fire Art could not easily subdue the lightning qi.

It was unbelievable. The firepower of the Gold Emperor contained the most advanced form of energy among the Pure Fire Arts. Red Lotus and Blue Furnace could transition into Gold Emperor if taken to the extreme, but Cheon Gang had learned the Gold Emperor Pure Fire Art as his first martial art from the beginning.

To think that even such True Qi could not block penetrating force. He could hardly believe it.

I can’t use my speed in this state.

If he forced himself to move fast, the blood channels throughout his entire body would be completely destroyed. If that happened, even forming fire essence would not allow him to preserve his life.

Can I even produce half my original speed... damn it! To think I’d get beaten this badly!

The corners of Mo Yonggun’s mouth lifted.

“I can hear the sound of your mind working from here.”

“......”

“It’s been a long time since I tasted such a refreshing feeling. I had fun, thanks to you. Now, let’s end—”

That was when it happened.

KWAAAAANG!

Surprise appeared on Mo Yonggun’s face.

The explosive roar from the rear garden was so loud it felt as if it might tear his eardrums apart. But he was not surprised because the sound was loud.

What is that?!

The shock wave released when Cheon Gang and Yeon Hojeong collided had been tremendous. And Mo Yonggun had driven Cheon Gang, the man who had created that tremendous shock wave, to the verge of defeat.

But the shock wave now was fundamentally different somehow.

It carried the explosive force of someone stronger than any master present here. The density of that power was so great that Yangcheon came to mind for an instant.

No. It’s hard to compare him to the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor. But he has surpassed our clan-lord level all the same.

Mo Yonggun’s face visibly hardened.

Just what kind of bastard is that...?!

At that moment, Cheon Gang spoke in a sneering voice.

“You lunatics. You’ve finally earned ‘that person’s’ wrath.”

“That person?”

“The one who taught me martial arts. The strongest Warrior-General, who led the Eighteen Warrior-Generals for more than twenty years.”

“......!”

He taught this bastard martial arts? A master that old and that powerful had been here?

“Now all of you are dead. Aside from this Cult’s elders, that person is one of the first names counted among our strongest. If your skill is only enough to struggle against someone like me, then no matter how many of you there are, you won’t be able to overcome that person.”

Mo Yonggun spoke calmly.

“That isn’t something for you to worry about. We’ll handle it ourselves, so go on to the underworld now.”

Flash!

Mo Yonggun’s sword swung toward Cheon Gang’s neck.

PAAAAK!

It seemed Cheon Gang had not been careless. He narrowly dodged the thunder sword.

But that was the end of it. As Cheon Gang’s posture collapsed, the sword strike of the furious thunder god poured down over his head.

......?!

Mo Yonggun, who had been looking down at Cheon Gang with cold eyes, could not hide his confusion for an instant.

Why...?

Cheon Gang was looking up at him and smiling. Even though his body was on the verge of being cut to pieces, he showed no sign of struggling or making a terrified expression.

What is he relying on?

That was when it happened.

Mo Yonggun was startled as he felt a terrifying explosive force pour out from the rear garden in the distance.

KWAAAAANG!

Mo Yonggun coughed blood and retreated to the side.

That impact!

He had twisted his sword path midway to block it, but he could not fully stop that unknown power.

He suffered internal injury from that single defense alone. It was True Qi of frightening power.

HWARURURURUK!

The golden flame that had crossed the air gradually thinned, then vanished with a Hup!

The size and thickness of that flame could not even be compared to Cheon Gang’s. Naturally, the density of its Fire energy was even higher.

“Cheon Gang.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes wavered.

Before he knew it, a solidly built middle-aged man was standing beside Cheon Gang.

Cheon Gang bowed his head.

“I greet the Divine General.”

“I said I would be asleep for the time being. I said I would leave everything to you.”

“......”

“And yet what is this state you’re in?”

“......I apologize.”

Fear seeped into Cheon Gang’s voice.

That arrogant, insolent Cheon Gang did not dare even raise his head. A powerful reverence toward the other man could be felt from him.

Mo Yonggun’s eyes trembled.

An incredible master!

The man was not even exuding golden Fire energy as Cheon Gang had been, yet his presence was overwhelming the entire area. He truly displayed the bearing of an absolute master.

And his appearance was also far from ordinary.

A man from the Western Regions?

Golden hair, snow-white skin, unusually long arms and legs.

That was right. The middle-aged man was from the Western Regions.

The man looked at Mo Yonggun.

In that instant, Mo Yonggun felt every hair on his body stand on end.

“What are you, bastard?”

KWAAAAANG!

At that moment, with a thunderous explosion, four-colored True Qi flooded out from the rear garden.

Flash!

A demon flew across the air and swung a huge axe at the middle-aged man.