The Lightning I Harbor Is Too Strong - Chapter 66
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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 66
Eon So-ran was remarkably tall, and as a woman with the short hair rarely seen in the Central Plains, she cut a striking figure.
A thin, long scar ran down her left cheek, and taken altogether, she presented herself as a martial artist of considerable coldness.
When she moved alongside Gong-son Young, that austere presence doubled in effect.
“So why not smile a little? When you keep your mouth shut like that, you’re far more frightening than you realize.”
“…I’m nervous.”
Seven days and nights—the span promised to Dan No-baek—had finally concluded, those hours that had felt like hell to Eon So-ran.
In that time, Jung I-sin had grown considerably closer to her.
For all seven days and nights, she had thrown herself at him, determined to land even one solid blow to his jaw—it was only natural, then, that some familiarity had formed.
Yet Eon So-ran had fallen short of her goal.
Jung I-sin had matched every stride of her growth by raising the intensity of the training.
Having taught her the exact methods he himself had learned from start to finish, he found the week quite satisfactory.
‘Perhaps I have a talent for teaching?’
And so he could speak with confidence.
“That should be enough. If they don’t recognize it, I’ll have a word with them.”
“…With the Master of Manmugak?”
“Yes.”
Eon So-ran’s face was troubled.
During training, struck senseless blow after blow, she’d had no room for thought; but now that it was over, the strangeness of the situation was catching up with her.
Yet she kept her doubts firmly to herself—it seemed she was being considerate of him to the end.
‘She could ask if she wanted to.’
It wasn’t as though he’d taught her the Taeheo Gangang Gong itself, so there was no real problem.
He’d even brought the Secret Manual safely in his robe.
Chirp! Chirp-chirp!
While O-seo, crowded for space by the Secret Manual, hopped up onto Jung I-sin’s shoulder, the two of them arrived at Manmugak.
An old man with white hair who’d been hovering near the entrance suddenly spun around.
“If you’re busy, I can come back later?”
“Hmph! The work’s finished—I was just heading out!”
At the answer that came so readily, Jung I-sin let out a laugh.
The sun still hung at its zenith, yet the Master of Manmugak seemed to keep remarkably flexible hours.
Soon Dan No-baek emerged, draped in a Dark Purple Long Robe.
Eon So-ran quickly stepped forward and clasped her hands in salute.
“I apologize for my lack of courtesy last time. I am Eon So-ran.”
“…Ah, so you’re one of Eon’s line.”
The exchange was awkward. Jung I-sin was the only connection between these two.
Unlike Eon So-ran, who seemed to have some vague inkling of the truth, Dan No-baek looked genuinely puzzled.
Studying the two of them with a peculiar gaze, he turned on his heel.
“Come. I held no great expectations—none whatsoever—but since you yourself spoke those seven days and nights aloud, you must have something to show for it.”
“Of course.”
They crossed the Great Plaza under the intense scrutiny of the disciples. The growing contempt and whispered rumors would soon require intervention.
Hyeonin Valley, where instructors and faculty resided, lay to the northeast of the Great Plaza, north of Cheongryon Hall by Jung I-sin’s reckoning.
Beyond dense bamboo groves, the sound of rushing water opened onto a panoramic ravine, a river flowing broad and swift.
The buildings scattered throughout the valley each bore considerable grandeur, and Dan No-baek’s residence was no exception.
“Wow… I thought Cheongryon Hall was impressive, but this is something else entirely.”
“For one of the Master of Manmugak’s station, such comfort is only fitting.”
Eon So-ran followed, offering the explanation in a low voice.
The estate bore no nameplate, yet it contained scenery one might call a paradise on earth.
Beneath flowering peach trees in full bloom, blossoms that seemed to have forgotten their seasons mingled together, and in a small pond, a pair of golden carp swam contentedly side by side.
Jung I-sin, who had been admiring the courtyard, suddenly posed a question.
“You once said that if a chance to grow stronger—a true opportunity—should come calling, you would do anything for it.”
“Provided it does not contradict principle.”
Dan No-baek, just bringing out tea, settled onto the veranda with a curious expression.
Jung I-sin spoke while facing Eon So-ran.
“I believe that moment is now.”
He smiled faintly and rolled his feet lightly along the ground.
Crackle—
The Manlae Yusa shot forth in unison with his intent.
Just before the lightning current touched Eon So-ran, she kicked off the earth.
A sharp breath escaped her.
The Manlae Yusa—a technique none save the Unnamed would have recognized.
For the first time, Eon So-ran broke free from the net of Ki Aura woven from lightning.
* * *
Whoosh—!
A pure punch came flying, one that didn’t even raise an Qi Aura.
Though it carried no True Energy, her body—honed without fail day after day—made that punch worthy of the name Gwon Gong.
Because of seven weeks of memory, Eon So-ran naturally took the offensive. Her gaze fixed on his chin with stubborn persistence.
She sensed Dan No-baek’s startled reaction as he set down his teacup.
‘Time to do this properly.’
He stepped to his left and raised his arm to strike.
Anticipating the first punch to miss, her second fist was driven upward.
Thwack—!
A crude sound, and a dull sensation lingered across the back of her hand.
Indeed, unlike before the semester, her Gwon Gong had also climbed to the next tier. Each punch, each strike, carried considerable weight.
She’d had to evade Manlae Yusa and deflect Seom Rae Do, so her physical capabilities had risen across the board.
Snap! Crackle!
Jung I-sin deflected or dodged her attacks while speaking tersely.
“Use your True Energy too. Go all out.”
“Hgh…!”
A translucent aura began to ripple across Eon So-ran’s entire body.
The fruits of seven weeks of labor would prove themselves now.
He’d forcibly extracted her from Byeokcheon School instruction—he owed it to her to deliver results to match.
Tap—!
Eon So-ran lunged forward with a short hop. Her fist, rippling with True Energy, drove savagely toward his solar plexus.
For all her growth, Eon So-ran was still at a level Jung I-sin could suppress with ease.
But this was the moment to introduce her to Dan No-baek.
Crack—
Jung I-sin drew upon Cheon Rae Ki and extended his fist to meet hers.
Boom!
Fist met fist in perfect alignment. It was a sight that would demand immense concentration to witness, yet neither Jung I-sin nor Eon So-ran showed surprise. They’d endured it too many times.
Jung I-sin found himself contemplating something entirely different.
‘Without meaning to, I’ve ended up mirroring what the old master did.’
But now that he thought of it, there was no better way to display True Energy.
Dan No-baek hadn’t done it for nothing.
‘Adhesive force. I don’t remember the Secret Formula, but I remember how True Energy flows.’
He’d grasped it through the palm.
Jung I-sin gently twisted his wrist and opened his fist. With the natural movement it created, Eon So-ran’s fist automatically unclenched to follow his, and their palms pressed flat together.
“…!”
At her startled expression, he smiled faintly and twisted his wrist again—the moment their fists had met, they now opened with their palms flush against each other.
“What—!”
“Focus,” he said firmly.
He raised Cheon Rae Ki again.
He couldn’t unleash True Energy brutally like Dan No-baek did. She was no Unnamed Immortal.
Crack—!
“Ugh…!”
The golden lightning that had surged from over Jung I-sin’s shoulder streaked down his arm. The palms where they met convulsed sharply.
Yet Eon So-ran gritted her teeth and steadied her True Energy. With the adhesive force binding them, she couldn’t pull free anyway—this was the wisest choice.
Her hands were already stained gold with lightning.
What she’d done with a single strand of Manlae Yusa, she now performed through her palms. He hoped she would understand.
‘It must hurt considerably.’
Ssshhh—
Yet that concern was short-lived. The Cheon Rae Ki that had crept up to her wrist was slowly receding.
From wrist to back of hand, from back of hand to fingers, from fingers to fingertips.
This wasn’t a pushing back.
‘It’s being devoured.’
Bit by bit, very slowly.
It was indeed the same function as Dan No-baek’s Taeheo True Energy.
Having exchanged power with both of them, Jung I-sin could be certain.
“What—!”
And if Jung I-sin felt it, there was no way Dan No-baek missed it.
“Ugghhh…!”
Though Eon So-ran, groaning in pain, hadn’t noticed, Dan No-baek had already shot to his feet and was moving toward her.
“Aaaahhh!”
Eon So-ran let out a cry that was almost a scream.
Crack!
She deflected Jung I-sin’s palm strike away.
“Haah, haah……!”
Her hand, now completely drained of the Cheon Rae Ki, heaved with ragged breaths.
Thud—
Behind her, Dan No-baek collapsed to the ground.
* * *
“The Heart Cultivation of some old master, you say?”
“……Yes. It’s a martial art with lost Secret Formulas, and I fell into it while attempting to restore them on my own.”
“My, my…… How could such a thing occur.”
Fragments of conversation drifted to Jung I-sin’s ears as he tossed feed to the carp.
He hadn’t particularly wanted to eavesdrop, but as he listened, he found himself wondering whether he should even be hearing such things.
“It is heaven’s will, heaven’s will. There’s no other way to speak of it. Heaven has protected you so as to send you to me.”
“I…….”
“That you haven’t fallen into Demonic Obsession is remarkable. Stop cultivating that Heart Technique at once.”
“…….”
Eon So-ran’s answer did not come immediately.
Jung I-sin exhaled deeply.
‘So there’s that stubborn streak in him.’
He treated Eon So-ran like his own granddaughter, but how could her heart move at such treatment?
Since this, too, ultimately served Jung I-sin’s own purposes, he had resolved to help see the matter through to its end.
“Say, aren’t you supposed to stop hunting?”
Squeak!
“And you can’t shoot off Lightning Energy either. We’ll have a real disaster on our hands.”
Squeak squeak!
After warning O-seo again—who was perched on a small rock, locked in a staring contest with the golden carp—Jung I-sin rose to his feet.
Jung I-sin approached the veranda with broad strides and spoke.
“Who exactly are you, elder?”
“……What? Has this fool lost his mind? What kind of nonsense is he spouting all of a sudden?”
“Tell me, elder—who are you, that you should presume to meddle in my dear friend’s martial arts as you please? As if you were her master.”
“Jung I-sin! Your words are too much……?”
Eon So-ran, who had been sitting with her head humbly bowed before Dan No-baek, suddenly jerked her head up and then realized Jung I-sin was smiling.
Meeting her gaze, he shrugged playfully.
“My knowledge is limited, so I cannot possibly fathom how extraordinary you are.”
“Hm! What a cheeky wretch!”
Dan No-baek sprang to his feet and descended into the courtyard.
But the words he spoke, swirling his Dark Purple Long Robe, were cold.
“Yes, it is fitting that a martial artist should introduce himself properly.”
“Indeed you are right, sir.”
“Of course I trust you to help me.”
“……Yes? Me?”
“The strongest single blow you can unleash…….”
“Then I must certainly step forward!”
Jung I-sin didn’t even let him finish speaking before he dashed forward to gauge the Cheon Rae Ki.
Since his sparring match with Eon So-ran had been conducted with restraint, his Internal Energy still had reserves.
Facing the bewildered expression of Dan No-baek, Jung I-sin recalled the words of Yeon Baek-ha.
‘A martial artist must know the full extent of their own power. ……The world is awash in heretical practitioners, so the opportunity will surely come again.’
Though his opponent was not a heretical practitioner, indeed the opportunity had arrived.
The Unnamed Immortal was among the finest masters of the previous generation.
Even the Yeok Tap’s Demon Leader had sensed his aura faintly, yet Dan No-baek emanated nothing at all.
It meant he was the perfect opponent to measure his own limits.
“You have done a great service. From this day forward, there shall be no limit to what you may ask of me, so you need harbor no hesitation in seeking aid.”
“It is an honor.”
“Come then.”
Sensing Eon So-ran’s gaze, Dan No-baek gestured with his hand.
Jung I-sin stepped forward toward Dan No-baek.
Crack—
The Qi Aura coiling around his lowered arms was vivid enough to catch the naked eye. Ordinarily, True Energy was wielded in concealment, but Jung I-sin had committed everything—every reserve of technique—to the single strike he was about to unleash.
Consequently, the momentum of the power condensing at his palm’s core had become positively desolate.
At the same moment, Dan No-baek raised his right hand straight.
One hand remained clasped behind his back; the other extended in a meditation gesture toward Jung I-sin, and though it resembled a mere mudra, an ineffable oppressiveness emanated from it.
Eon So-ran’s watching hands grew slick with sweat. She felt as though she might faint the moment Jung I-sin’s Qi Aura unfurled.
It was a flow she had not witnessed even once in the seven weeks past.
The current radiating outward from Jung I-sin as its center inspired no courage to approach it.
She understood with piercing clarity how much he had held back during all her training.
Thump. Thump.
The space between them seemed to suspend all movement. From some moment onward, not a single breeze stirred.
The landscape that had evoked the Peach Blossom Spring now felt far more barren than the Great Plaza. Only Jung I-sin’s figure, walking toward Dan No-baek, stood in crisp definition.
Tap— Tick-tick!
The movements narrowing the distance accelerated steadily. Tension mounted with every closed gap.
The instant Jung I-sin lowered his stance.
Crack―!
A thunderous roar tore through the air as a bolt of lightning descended.
A single golden line cleaved the courtyard, luminous and distinct.
Four successive layers of Byeok Pa alone—and such was the violence of that wave that concentric rings radiated outward from the golden line Jung I-sin had left behind.
Boom. Boom. Boom―!
And there at the end stood Dan No-baek.
“This… madness―”
His eyes were wide open, but Jung I-sin deliberately ignored them and unleashed another Byeok Pa.
Tu Ro is the path to topple an opponent. Jung I-sin’s Byeok Pa had transcended Tu Ro’s constraints. To meet him with meditation alone had become impossible.
“Ergh…!”
Dan No-baek roared and swiftly withdrew his meditation posture, launching a powerful palm strike in return. In that instant, a cluster of colorless stars enveloped his hand.
――!
A brilliant flash erupted, brief and intense.
Yet that was all.
No leaking Qi Aura; not even the sound of True Energy colliding.
Only silence remained as the result.
Dan No-baek’s Taeheo Gangang Gong had absorbed every ripple of force.
‘This… even seeing it again, I understand nothing.’
For the first time, Jung I-sin’s eyes shone with genuine admiration.
“Ahem, kh-khm!”
Dan No-baek’s expression did not shift as he brushed his hands clean.
Swallow―
“The Taeheo Gangang Gong. A divine art that dissolves any overwhelming True Energy into emptiness. The martial prowess that claimed the heads of hundreds of Demon Chiefs manifest across Sichuan’s lands.”
“Surely… not!”
The moment Eon So-ran sprang to her feet, Dan No-baek nodded.
“That’s right. I am the Unnamed Immortal, Dan No-baek.”
Jung I-sin deliberately ignored the scent of blood wafting from the man’s lips.
The lightning I carry runs too fierce
Author |
U San Yu
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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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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