novelraw Chapter 130 : Beast King (2)
Chapter 130 : Beast King (2)
Chapter 130: Beast King (2)
Sewoon charged toward Umun Geol at lightning speed.
Chwaaah!
Just like before, Sewoon’s movement left behind a sharp afterimage. It was the same Shifting Form, Exchanging Position technique as his opponent’s.
The spectators gasped in awe—
Cheok!
Sewoon had already closed the distance until he could feel Umun Geol’s breath.
His eyes, completely devoid of reason, were filled only with murderous intent toward Sewoon.
“Graah!”
Swaeek!
The moment he recognized his foe, he swung his fist with overwhelming power.
A single hit from that strike, imbued with his Penetrating Qi, would shatter internal organs instantly.
Whoosh!
But Sewoon calmly stepped aside with precise footwork, dodging the attack.
Yet he never retreated. Instead, he advanced.
Saaa!
He extended his fist, brimming with the spirit of his soul, from striking distance.
‘First Strike (一打).’
His fist landed squarely on Umun Geol’s chest.
Kwaang!!
“……!”
When flesh met fist, it sounded as if a steel hammer had struck an iron bar.
For the first time, Umun Geol’s expression twisted in pain.
The dull sound reflected the intensity of the pain transmitted through his body.
His explosive latent power had made his body’s defense comparable to the level just below the Diamond Indestructible Body, but—
Wooong!
Sewoon had unleashed his own Penetrating Qi as well, causing energy to whirl violently inside his opponent’s body.
Swaeek!
Yet the Beast Palace Head was still the Beast Palace Head.
Unlike Meng Yung, Umun Geol did not fall. Enduring the pain, he charged at Sewoon again, tireless and relentless.
He twisted his waist halfway, then thrust his right fist upward toward Sewoon’s jaw.
It was a ferocious strike, like a dragon soaring into the heavens.
Whoosh!
Kwasusuk!
Dozens of shockwaves of fist qi coiled around the rising strike.
The very air seemed to tear apart under the destructive force.
But even now, Sewoon did not retreat.
He strengthened his left foot, using it as a pivot.
Kwaduk!
The floor of the Heavenly Martial Stage caved in beneath the shape of his foot.
Whiiik!
At the same time, Sewoon spun his body like a top.
One hand gripped his wrist while the other arm swung like a spear.
Kwaga!
‘Second Strike (二打).’
And his sharp elbow, like a spearhead, struck Umun Geol’s rising fist.
Kwaaaaang!!
Kwarurung!
A thunderous roar shook the entire arena.
It sounded as though a bolt of lightning had fallen from the heavens or an explosive had detonated.
Gugugugung!
The shockwave from their clash rippled out like a circular wave, shaking the surroundings before dissipating.
The spectators blinked in disbelief at the unexpected scene—
Kwaaang!
Kwaga!
Then, once again, their eyes were drawn to the renewed clash of superhumans.
The two men exchanged blows, matching each other strike for strike in a seemingly even contest of might.
No—only those unaware of the truth thought it was even.
‘……Impossible. What is that?’
The eyes of the Demon of Prayers watching the fight trembled violently.
He hadn’t given Umun Geol the Ten-Thousand Blood Qi to create an equal fight.
The intent had been to achieve an overwhelming victory—so absolute that the opponent’s corpse would remain undamaged.
Yet, look at the scene before him.
Without using a single external qi technique, relying purely on physical power, Sewoon was gradually overpowering Umun Geol, who had invoked the Ten-Thousand Blood Qi.
A deep glimmer of greed welled up in the Demon of Prayers’ eyes as he looked at Sewoon.
‘……I want it! No, I must have it!’
But so consumed by desire, he failed to notice one thing.
While the aura surrounding Umun Geol was steadily fading—
The murderous madness in his eyes was slowly clearing.
---
Thick dark clouds blanketed the sky.
Umun Geol stood alone on a land steeped in shadow.
Where was this place?
Why was he here?
He tried to find answers, but no thought lasted long.
It was as if his mind were shrouded in a dense fog.
Trapped in darkness, doing nothing, his eyes began to close. It was peaceful.
It was tranquility he hadn’t felt in ages.
Every day, the Blood Cult had forced him to live in hell.
For the sake of his younger brother’s safety, he had cast aside his pride.
The guilt of betraying his brothers had gnawed endlessly at his spirit, driving him into inner demons.
It hurt. It was agony.
Remembering it brought the pain back anew.
He wanted to forget everything and just fall asleep.
But then—
[Palace……!]
A faint voice reached him.
It was so weak he had to strain to hear it, but it grew louder and louder.
……What did it say?
Chwaaaah!
At that moment, a crack opened in the sky covered by black clouds.
A single, brilliant beam of light pierced through the darkness.
[Palace Head, can you hear me!?]
The resounding voice of a warrior awakened his consciousness.
The drowsiness that had been clouding his mind vanished as if it had never been there.
At last, he answered the voice he heard.
[I can… hear it.]
Hwaaaah!
In an instant, the world filled with light.
“Palace Head! Stay strong!!”
“You must not lose!!”
Suddenly, the scene of the Heavenly Martial Stage came into view—along with his countless brothers filling the arena.
Yes, he was still in battle.
‘……Huh?’
But something felt strange.
Strength was surging through every part of his body.
Even more, the heartache he had constantly felt ever since the Blood Cult implanted the Gu Poison had completely vanished.
Then, the same voice that had brought him back to the light echoed again.
[You’ve done well, Palace Head. The Gu Poison has been removed.]
“……!”
Following the voice, he looked ahead.
There stood a man in a combat stance, facing him.
Pa Taeyun—
No, as he himself had said, Tang Sewoon.
[Palace Head, do not relax yet. The enemy is still watching us.]
“……!”
A chill ran down Umun Geol’s spine at his opponent’s warning.
Indeed, the Demon of Prayers must still be watching from behind with eyes burning bright.
Their gazes met in midair.
And Umun Geol instantly understood what the other man intended.
Chwaat!
Pabat!
At the same moment, the two of them charged toward each other once again.
The battle that had stopped resumed once more.
To the Demon of Prayers’ eyes, it appeared to be a brutal life-or-death struggle, but in truth, Umun Geol was now following only Sewoon’s lead.
[Just follow my guidance. I’ll help you reclaim all the latent power that exploded within you.]
“!!”
Every word he spoke was true.
As if completing a single sword dance together, their fists and limbs interlocked again and again without rest.
And during that exchange, the Ten-Thousand Blood Qi that had corroded Umun Geol’s mind and body began to settle back into him like a spiritual medicine.
He had been born in the Beast Palace, had always stood at the forefront.
Umun Geol was its greatest genius, its mightiest warrior, its Palace Head.
All his people had praised and revered him.
Yet, upon sitting on the throne of the Palace Head, Umun Geol had realized—
That his own ability and worth were far from enough.
Perhaps that was why, deep down, he had hoped for a day like this to come.
For the true ruler worthy of the Beast Palace to appear—someone to lead where he could not.
And finally…
‘Forebears, I now understand your will.’
He had found that master.
---
‘Good. That’s one thing settled.’
Watching Umun Geol rapidly recover, Sewoon let out a satisfied breath.
Even at this very moment, he was still exchanging blows with him.
And with each passing second, he could feel the spirit of his soul evolving, breaking through its previous limits.
Because he had absorbed every bit of the latent power that had erupted from the Ten-Thousand Blood Qi.
Even through the Eye of Spectral Perception, there wasn’t a speck of demonic qi left in Umun Geol’s body.
Sewoon had purged it all during their exchange of blows.
And what made this seemingly impossible feat achievable was only one thing.
Woooong!
Inside Sewoon’s body, the power of Demon Subjugation left behind by the late monk was resonating violently.
‘The moment I saw Umun Geol, the Extinction Thread went berserk.’
Just as Buddha could never ignore a suffering being—
The power left behind in the monk’s relic had reached out to Sewoon the instant it saw Umun Geol, bound by demonic force.
From there, the rest had been as simple as twisting a child’s wrist.
Whenever the madness-consumed Umun Geol attacked, Sewoon would first strip away the corrupted soul force with the Color-Stripping Eye, then annihilate it with strikes imbued with Demon-Subduing Power.
Saaaa!
Kwaga!
In that instant, overwhelming might erupted from Umun Geol’s entire body like a great flood.
The fighting spirit that burst forth surpassed that of all the Beast Palace warriors combined, leaving them in stunned silence.
But Sewoon’s face remained unmoved.
That display meant only one thing to him—
That the act they were putting on was about to reach its end.
Fwaaat!
In a flash, Umun Geol’s figure vanished in a burst of flame.
No—it wasn’t that he had vanished.
He had simply moved so fast that it seemed like he had disappeared as he charged toward Sewoon.
Swaeek!
With a sound that split the air, Umun Geol’s full-powered strike came crashing down.
But then—
Something changed.
Saaaaa!
Graaah!
Umun Geol’s fist, surging toward Sewoon, began to slow down.
No—the entire world around him was slowing down.
‘Now is the time to claim the Beast Palace.’
Graaah!
Sewoon unleashed the full power of the Ink Blood.
Just like Umun Geol, he amplified his soul’s spirit using the force of the Ink Blood.
The essence of the external martial art left behind by the Beast Battle God, Chuk Yeoun, was being revived through him.
His heightened physical senses reached a level beyond the human realm, making time itself seem to crawl.
Fwoooosh!
Kwaga!
The fiery spirit amplified by the Ink Blood burned like a raging inferno.
Cheocheok.
Sewoon took a single step forward.
Instantly, unbearable pain coursed through his body.
It was a movement beyond the limits of what the human body could endure.
‘How laughable.’
Yet Sewoon endured it with ease.
He found Chuk Yeoun almost amusing—what was such pain compared to what he sought?
He could withstand it a hundred, a thousand times over.
If it meant erasing the Blood Demon from this world.
Paaat!
In the slowed world, Sewoon stretched out one arm.
Woooong!
The qi slumbering within him went berserk.
Chwarararang!
The Heavenly Thread he had kept hidden shot forth, snatching its prey like the talons of a descending eagle.
In that moment, time accelerated—
Kiiiiiiik!!
The black thread reeled back at tremendous speed, dragging its captured prey toward him.
The trapped prey—
The eyes of the astonished Demon of Prayers reflected Sewoon and Umun Geol together.
Kwaaaang!
Kwaga!
With a thunderous explosion, the combined strike of Sewoon and Umun Geol crushed the Demon of Prayers’ face into oblivion.