The Lightning I Harbor Is Too Strong - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 38
Screee—!!
A faint recoil rippled through his palm.
Though he had swept through empty air, that sensation told him his martial arts had unfolded properly.
Yet the result left him unsatisfied.
“Ugh……!”
Cham Wol-rang staggered backward, his head clutched in both hands.
There was plainly contact—but the situation was far from favorable for Jeong I-sin.
He had drawn every last shred of Qi from the Yijin Xisui Jing and unleashed the Buddha Palm with it.
Had it connected cleanly, the man’s skull would have shattered like pottery.
‘He blocked it. Guardian Qi Armor? Or merely a defensive technique?’
He had faced something similar before.
During his first encounter with Yeom Tak-gang, the elder of Gaebang.
The Buddha Palm had been stopped then too—and from an even closer range.
He remembered the Qi that had wrapped Yeom Tak-gang’s shoulders and his response to it.
That densely woven armor of Qi shielding the body—it had not arisen from Yeom Tak-gang’s will.
‘Cham Wol-rang reacted.’
He had definitely sensed Jeong I-sin’s move and wrapped himself in Qi. So he was not careless.
But watching him reel and stumble, it seemed he had not expected the sheer force of the blow.
“Hah……!”
The assessment took an instant.
First, and this was obvious: Cham Wol-rang was a martial master far inferior to Yeom Tak-gang.
Second, despite that, he was skilled enough to react to Jeong I-sin’s movements.
Third, and most crucially, that skill had just revealed an opening.
Whoosh—
Though the Qi from the Yijin Xisui Jing was beginning to run dry, there remained far more in Jeong I-sin’s Dantian.
And this was no time to debate hiding or revealing the Nine Extremes Heavenly Thunder Power.
The average level of wanderer he had briefly experienced was truly dizzying.
If he were to say now, “Pardon me, I made a mistake,” there would be no such fortunate response as, “Ha, these things happen, brother!”
‘I’d look like a green wanderer getting schooled by a master.’
And so he moved.
Thud!
The Celestial Thunder Qi erupted from his Dantian and drove through the Yongquan Point at the sole of his foot.
Feeling that flow, he tensed his thighs and calves. Simultaneously, he lowered his stance.
Then, as the Celestial Thunder Qi punched through the Yongquan Point and kissed the ground, it unleashed the secret formula it had carried.
Boom—!
Yilo Hengjin.
Ever since Yeom Hui had gone, that technique had always made his chest ache.
Yet on the other hand, it was the teaching that had always carried Jeong I-sin to where he needed to be.
Whoosh!
“You bastard……!”
At the end of that golden line’s trajectory, the wolf was still recovering from the strike.
Jeong I-sin drove a fist that had been coiled at his ribs straight forward.
“Huh!”
There was no need for lengthy words.
He had known from the moment of contact that Cham Wol-rang was far the superior master.
Jeong I-sin was not so foolish as to let slip the advantage he had barely seized.
Crash!
His fist collided with a blade honed to a livid blue.
In close-quarters combat, Jeong I-sin had never witnessed a footwork technique more effective than the Muae Step.
Shaolin’s Vajra Immovable Body Method—which he had only heard tell of, never restored from records—might perhaps rival it.
Should anyone hear him say so, they would laugh at his presumptuousness, yet Jeong I-sin believed that one day his Muae Step would reach that height.
‘……Not just yet, it seems. I thought he wouldn’t react in time.’
Cham Wol-rang’s shoulder flexed as he withdrew the blade.
Light flashed for an instant, and a chill kissed his cheek.
Slice!
He leaned back sharply, evading the blade.
His footwork had been read, and his fist had been parried.
Clang! Clang!
“You cunning young whelp, pulling such tricks!!”
Cham Wol-rang made no effort to conceal his fury as he swung his blade.
Jeong I-sin parried the attack deftly, deflecting it with his blade.
Fortunately, the strike lacked the sharpness he’d felt from Cham Wol-rang before.
‘His left eye is closed. The shock to his brain hasn’t fully worn off yet. Even his pupil’s tracking speed isn’t what it was.’
Crack!
He pushed off the ground and retreated half a zhang’s distance from Cham Wol-rang.
To Jeong I-sin’s perception, that distance was Cham Wol-rang’s optimal striking range.
The interval where he could launch an attack at any moment.
From beyond it, he thought rapidly, gathering his thoughts.
‘I have to finish this before he recovers. In the end, if I want to kill him, I need to close that gap.’
That’s what the Lightning Thousand Transformation Hand required. Typically, the range for a fist technique could never exceed that of a sword.
Yet even with that resolve, the question of possibility remained.
Could he close that distance and be certain of killing his opponent?
Right now, simply parrying attacks from someone not in peak condition was his best defense. He’d have to add a counterattack on top of that.
‘…….’
Cham Wol-rang stood motionless, his blade tip trained on Jeong I-sin.
From the way his eyes blinked slowly, he was prioritizing recovery.
‘Smart bastard.’
If he’d rushed in recklessly, there would have been an opening.
Jeong I-sin exhaled quietly and placed his hand on the sword handle.
Three blades hung from him constantly since leaving the Bottomless Abyss.
‘With the wooden sword I know best.’
Tap.
But the sensation of the handle in his grip felt unnaturally cold.
Startled, he looked down—and the iron sword was already in his hand.
‘This insane, cursed blade…….’
He wiped his hand hastily on his martial robe and seized the wooden sword again.
“Phew.”
That sufficed to clear his head.
The tenseness of the situation had him flustered enough to waste a moment like that.
He and Namgoong Baek had worked out the Infinite Sword Form together, but Jeong I-sin still hadn’t mastered even a single technique.
He’d promised himself that once he could perform even one technique, then he would pick up that blade.
‘If I die, I can’t keep that promise!’
Though he tried to convince himself that way, a promise to himself was still a promise.
He forced down the faint disappointment at his own broken word.
Crack—
The moment his hand gripped the handle firmly and his feet left the ground.
* * *
“Ha! You fool. Do you really think I’d go easy now?”
It appeared in that place all at once.
How could one describe it?
……Yes. A descent.
It felt like something inhuman had manifested into this world.
To Jeong I-sin’s perception, consciousness itself was dominated by a golden light so radiant it threatened to blind him.
“I had half a mind to use you well, but a wolf that turns on its own pack cannot run with the fold. Ha! Quite a bold gambit. An attack on your backer!”
Cham Wol-rang’s rambling to himself alone seemed utterly bizarre.
How could he speak so freely, so at ease?
‘Can’t you feel this presence?’
The overwhelming presence that filled all space emanated solely from that thing.
Jeong I-sin didn’t even notice when strength drained from his hand gripping the sword handle.
And yet, remarkably, he had experienced something like this before.
‘Mu-sang?’
Crunch—
But this thing, which glided toward him as lightly as footsteps on snow, was utterly unlike Mu-sang.
It was nothing like Mu-sang, who felt like nature itself.
This presence was immense and absolute unto itself.
A thought surfaced again. If cruelty were added to this being, it would become——a Celestial Demon.
“Ah, the dizziness finally clears. Listen, little brother. No need to tremble like that. Your older brother has been thinking, and your fist technique was actually quite impressive.”
Crunch—
“To shake my Moon Shadow Armor with that fist strike? I’ve made up my mind. Why waste time? Tell your older brother about that fist technique, and in exchange, I’ll specially——”
A thin red line appeared across Cham Wol-rang’s neck as he demonstrated the Vagrant’s Average Strike.
It materialized without warning, as if it had always been there.
It happened the moment the Thunder Wheel began to convulse and spin.
Shrieeeeeee!
A harsh friction sound erupted from his heart.
Even when facing the Celestial Demon’s Qi wave on the day they left the Bottomless Abyss, it wasn’t this severe.
Shrieeeee! Screeeech!
Golden light flickered in Jeong I-sin’s eyes.
Thick metallic shrieking accompanied smoke rising frantically from his entire body.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Jeong I-sin realize the Red Thunder Heart was being driven to its absolute limit.
‘Indeed.’
So that’s why Cham Wol-rang’s head still hadn’t left his body.
Not a single drop of blood seeped from the severed edge.
Though the neck and head were already cleaved apart, they still clung to each other.
Swoosh—
The world moved with tedious slowness, yet this alone moved at full speed.
And so it came to stand before Jeong I-sin.
A beauty he had never witnessed before.
In a space untouched by wind, long golden hair shimmered and rippled.
It summoned those tired old phrases about melting sunlight into thread—and yet they seemed inevitable.
The golden robe draped about her suited it perfectly, or so the thought lasted before vanishing.
“…….”
Those blue eyes—which had never left Jeong I-sin’s gaze since the moment of her descent—now moved.
Toward the center of Jeong I-sin’s chest.
Looking beyond it, she bit her bright red lips and extended a pale hand to rest against his plexus.
“Steady yourself. I harbor no intention of harming your master.”
Screeeech—
A peculiar Qi wave emanated from where her hand touched his chest.
The Red Thunder Heart, which had spiraled beyond his control, finally dissipated.
By her presence alone, she seemed no longer human; by her form, she transcended humanity.
Yet only now did she draw near as a person.
What had enfolded his violently spinning Thunder Wheel was surely supreme Martial Principle.
Shriek—
With a brief cry, the Thunder Wheel settled into its familiar, steady rotation.
Then the woman withdrew her hand from his chest and met his eyes.
Thud—
After that, Cham Wol-rang’s head fell away.
* * *
Though she offered no introduction, he could guess her identity.
Byeok Cheon Gak-ju.
In the Gangho, her name existed only as rumor.
Byeok Cheon Gak was the most renowned organization at Cheonmu Academy.
Yet what was known of its master amounted to precisely two facts.
A peerless master, and a woman.
Her name, her age, even which generation of Byeok Cheon Gak-ju she was—all remained unknown.
Only this much was certain: she was the supreme blade that guarded Cheonmu Academy.
But for Jeong I-sin, it was different.
“……I have a message to deliver to you, Byeok Cheon Gak-ju.”
“Curious. We seem to be meeting for the first time.”
Despite the measured distance in her reply, Jeong I-sin pressed on without hesitation.
“Mu-sang asked me to convey something to you.”
“Mu-sang?”
“…….”
That unusual way of addressing him gave her pause for a moment.
Jeong I-sin shook his head and spoke again.
“He says now that the task is complete, you must return the Great Returning Pill that was entrusted to you.”
“That…….”
“He also said that if by chance you forgot the arrangement and used it, you would owe something in return.”
“…….”
“Just give it to me.”
She carried a presence so striking that the word death itself came to mind.
Yet the more he spoke, the lighter his tongue became.
Perhaps it was the habit of one who had lived in an age when law mattered more than fists.
Once he felt assured of safety, his words flowed freely.
“You told me never to hold back.”
“A clever little mouth on you. That’s hardly like Mu-sang’s style.”
Those glacial blue eyes swept over Jeong I-sin with deliberate slowness.
From crown to sole, her gaze traveled, and yet Jeong I-sin stood unflinching.
Red lips parted gradually.
“There will be a summons later.”
“Later? When exactly? Can you give me a specific time…… wait?”
His eager chatter cut short; his mouth sealed itself shut.
The moment Byeok Cheon Gak-ju narrowed her eyes, it happened of its own accord.
Even having felt it with his body, the manipulation of Qi remained beyond his comprehension.
Perhaps she was pleased by his sudden silence.
Byeok Cheon Gak-ju smiled faintly and withdrew a small yellow fragment from her palm.
“Hold onto this for now.”
She extended the fragment toward him.
Before Jeong I-sin could even tilt his head in confusion, Muk-rin at his wrist gaped her mouth wide.
“……!?”
Her crimson eyes gleamed—and in the next instant, she swallowed the fragment whole.
The angular piece slid down Muk-rin’s body and vanished without trace.
Jeong I-sin leapt to his feet in shock.
The creature who had done nothing but sleep through the entire trial—and now this……?
“You may speak now.”
“Wait—why did you feed that to Muk-rin?”
“Hmm? I thought the child carried so much within her, that must be her role.”
“I’m sorry—I don’t follow……?”
Her blue eyes blinked slowly, then curved into a subtle arc.
“Didn’t you know? How surprising. Ask your companion about it later.”
Byeok Cheon Gak-ju tapped Muk-rin’s head—smaller than her own pinky nail—and turned away.
Only then did Jeong I-sin feel the ground beneath him return to solid reality.
The third trial gate he hadn’t faced, the fourth gate, and……
“Oh—the Fengyun Bang……”
As he opened his mouth to warn of their assault, his eyes met something rolling across the floor.
“Never mind.”
“Heh heh. This was the final gate. Your martial knowledge caught my eye, so I watched you longer than most. You were taught what Mu-sang himself was never permitted to learn.”
She was speaking of the Yijin Xisui Jing, almost certainly.
Even at Shaolin, without Mu-sang, no one could recognize such knowledge at a glance—yet how did she know it?
Jeong I-sin’s curiosity about Byeok Cheon Gak-ju deepened.
“The Entrance Examination lacked the authority to judge your spirit.”
Byeok Cheon Gak-ju said the third trial gate had failed to function properly.
The fourth gate following it was no different.
“Then what should I do?”
“I have seen enough of the martial knowledge you have accumulated and displayed. You possess more than sufficient merit. Since your study itself blocks the final gate, your examination ends here.”
“Ah.”
The final trial gate.
He’d heard the rumors—that the First Academy Master would share his wisdom there.
The chance to meet Jegal Ki-cheon, already dead, had intrigued him then too.
‘I was hoping to land one solid blow.’
But if Byeok Cheon Gak-ju said it was impossible, there was no way around it.
His resignation came quickly.
“How do I get out, then?”
Byeok Cheon Gak-ju lifted her hand slowly.
With that simple gesture, the Training Ground floor split apart with a sharp crack.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
She pointed to the gap that had opened left and right.
“Go on through.”
“Is that all there is to it?”
“That’s right—congratulations on your entrance to Cheonmu Academy. You’ve placed first this year.”
A gust of wind swept across my back, pushing me forward.
The lightning I carried within was far too powerful.
Author |
Woo-san Yu
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Samyang C&C Corp.
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Editorial Department
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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