Chapter 160

The King of Fists Hears of the Bloodshed at Baekjinweicheol

“This situation has a different atmosphere than the Five Tombs War.”

Dan Wuseong replied to Yisin’s words.

“How was it back then?”

“It was war. Army clashed against army. Our three generals didn’t step forward from the start. That Cheonma… how to put it? It felt like facing a general with exceptional mercenary tactics. A man who handled large armies with ease and skill.”

If Jeong Hong hadn’t handled it appropriately, only the masters would have survived, while the Wulin Alliance members and lesser martial artists would have been wiped out. We might have been pushed to the point where only the old ones survived and had to rebuild the White Path from scratch.

Dan Woo-sung pondered Yi Shin’s words.

‘Only the elders survive to rebuild the White Path.’

The words were peculiar.

Substituting the Demon Sect into this phrase somehow made sense of the schemes the Grandmasters of the Ten Thousand Demon Palace were perpetrating.

‘Only the elders survive to rebuild the Demon Sect.’

To do that, time would be needed. He surmised that the Grand Masters of the Ten Thousand Horse Palace were stepping forward to kill the Ten Great Masters of the martial world precisely to buy that time.

Danwooseong’s assessment was indeed an accurate reading of the situation.

Danwooseong asked.

“···About that sorcerer you mentioned.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you comparing him to me?”

“You?”

Euisin gazed at the sky, lost in thought, before responding.

“For one thing, he couldn’t keep up with my lightness skill for even a single moment. That said, he wasn’t far behind either. For seven days and nights. What do you think you’d be like?”

Danwooseong retorted.

“Running for seven days and nights straight to fight would be too much. How about we try running for just one hour?”

“At full speed.”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Eui-sin looked at Dan Woo-seong, smiled, then without a word, shot forward like a whirlwind.

Danwooseong had intended to yield the lead position at an appropriate moment, but Uisin’s speed was so fast that he had no time to think.

He stomped down as if to shatter the ground itself, then followed Uisin out.

Dan Woo-sung’s eyes widened.

He was confident his lightness skills could rival anyone’s, but the moment Uisin unleashed his, Danwooseong’s heart sank.

Somehow, this duel felt like the moment to determine the world’s fastest lightness skill.

Because it was inexplicably fast, Danwooseong also drew upon his entire body’s energy with the Five Elements Divine Skill. He synchronized his breathing with his lightness skill, focused his mind, and fiercely pursued Uisin, who was streaking forward like an immortal.

Yisin muttered ahead.

“Not bad.”

Danwooseong didn’t respond. He didn’t have the energy to respond. Instead, he closed the distance to Uisin considerably, then watched closely as Uisin ran. They had agreed to race for one shijin, so there was plenty of time to watch.

If Dan Woo-sung was running like a beast…

Uisin’s lightness technique made his very form of running different.

The unbelievable fact was that, except when changing direction, he mostly kept his hands behind his back.

Was this even possible?

While following behind, Danwooseong constantly marveled at Uisin’s mysterious footwork. With each step, he propelled himself a considerable distance forward while maintaining perfect balance.

This lightness technique was entirely different from the conventional notions of leg strength, arm movement, breathing, or running posture.

Instead, maintaining bodily balance seemed paramount.

After letting his body float with the wind, each time his feet touched the ground, he would efficiently push off the earth before extending his stride. It was a mode of movement that could truly be called gliding. When his speed increased further, the only change was a slight forward tilt of his upper body.

Danwooseong marveled.

‘Divine mastery.’

Dan Wooseong, who had been closely following Ushin, urgently called out to his senior.

“Senior!”

“Why?”

“We lost.”

“Already?”

“Yes.”

Uisin stopped his light-footed movement and turned to look at Danwooseong with a startled expression.

“I thought he had an ironclad ego, but I never expected him to admit defeat so quickly.”

Danwoo Seong also stopped and said.

“This lightness skill is utterly unbeatable. That Mad Dog must have been truly stubborn.”

“Hahaha.”

“This isn’t a matter of internal energy; it’s that your lightness skill itself is exceptional. Even if you’d run for eleven days and nights instead of seven, you wouldn’t have grown weary. That is, if you could still perform the Samra Mansang Chukgi technique amidst it all.”

Uisin laughed.

“Hmph, your observation isn’t bad.”

Danwooseong asked.

“Does this lightness skill have a name?”

“The World-Roaming Technique.”

“I see. Heh heh heh.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“No.”

Danwooseong glanced around at the inns lining the area and said.

“Let’s fill our bellies before we go.”

“Agreed. There’s no need to rush. This isn’t a race; it’s a battle between the righteous and the wicked. We won’t be fighting alone, so let’s wait for those who will join us. Others may be uncertain, but the fanatics must come here.”

“Hmm.”

As soon as Dan Wooseong entered the inn, he ordered various dishes, set down his chopsticks, and filled Uisin’s water cup. Throughout their journey to Guwhasan, he treated Uisin with the utmost respect, as if he were his own master.

A short while later, while eating, Danwooseong asked about Gwangshin. It was because the reason he absolutely had to participate sounded less like force and more like there was a story behind it.

Uisin replied while eating.

“Do you know Gwang-sin’s name?”

“No.”

“I don’t know it exactly either. But…”

Uisin suddenly took a sip of water.

“I heard that when Gwangshin’s family was massacred, it wasn’t just his household that suffered. It was an incident called the Baek Jin-wi Cheol Blood Affair, which happened when Gwangshin was young. Gwangshin himself was a victim. Do you have any idea what kind of incident it was?”

After a moment’s thought, Danwooseong replied.

“Could it be that Baek Jin-wi Cheol is actually a person’s surname?”

Uiseon said.

“Correct. The Baek family, the Jin family, the Wei family, and the Cheol family were all destroyed. None were particularly well-known families in the world.

They were just families known to have practiced martial arts to some extent. Some were even ordinary households that knew nothing of martial arts at all. The problem was that they weren’t all killed—the eldest son was spared, or the head of the household was left alive, or one child’s body was never found.

Do you see the common thread?”

“Yes.”

Dan Woo-seong lost his appetite, setting down his chopsticks for a moment before continuing.

“They were all clans that produced the world’s greatest martial artists. Senior Gwangshin was a survivor of that massacre.”

Uisin nodded.

Dan Woo-sung spoke with an expression of utter bewilderment.

“Baek and Jin would naturally be Baek Moo-jin and Jin So-an. As for the Wei clan…”

The man known as the Heavenly Martial Emperor was of the Wei clan, while the peerless champion of the Three Gods’ era was of the Cheol clan. The problem was that some fell victim to demonic arts, while entire clans perished by a single sword.

The true culprit remains unidentified. Fanaticism has persisted like a madman, reaching this day. Just look at how he slaughtered entire families—even those not renowned for martial prowess—as if testing them. That alone shows his cruelty was extraordinary. It’s like this.

Where is the greatest under heaven? Come forth before my eyes. Truly, this is the way of one who is not human.

”

“Do you suspect that the mastermind is on Gu Huashan?”

“If the affairs of this world are to be tied up, I will wait there.”

Dan Woo-sung replied, recalling something for a moment.

“The name of the celestial horse I killed was Weizhichuan—also of the Wei clan.”

Yisin sighed.

“Is that so? It makes me think he might have played with this world like pieces on a chessboard.”

Uisin suddenly gazed into the distance and said.

“Both the righteous path and the demonic path are meaningless before this man. Let’s just finish eating. Should we starve ourselves over past events? To correct a man’s wrongs, we must endure each day.”

“Yes.”

Danwoo Seongdo picked up his chopsticks again.

The battle to be fought at Gu Huashan was not just Kwon Wang’s fight. Perhaps it wasn’t even Baek Do’s fight alone.

It would be a battle between those who scorn the world and the world itself.

The scale of the entire affair was so ancient and vast that Dan Woo-seong even tasted a sense of futility.

.

.

.

After finishing his meal, Danwooseong said to Uisin.

“Senior, could you run a little slower than you did earlier?”

“No problem. Why?”

Dan Woosung smiled silently. Uisin also smiled, narrowing his eyes.

“It won’t be easy.”

“May I try?”

“How could I refuse? I’ll even take a look myself. Go ahead and try it.”

“Yes.”

Danwooseong exhaled sharply.

He intended to follow the path of the world-conquering strategy Yi Shin had laid out.

Even to Uisin, Kwonwang was truly a bold junior.

This wasn’t a martial art one could easily teach. Since he was attempting to replicate what he’d glimpsed while running, Uisin watched his junior with interest.

After Dan Woo-sung stood motionless for a moment, concentrating his mind…

Yisin asked.

“You brat.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any interest in learning the sword?”

“No.”

“Somehow, it seems you might inherit all three divine martial arts. If you just get through this crisis, the era of the Martial King will dawn.”

Dan Woo-seong replied.

“To do that, I must survive first.”

“Indeed, that is precisely what must be done.”

When Dan Woosung hesitated to set off, Uisin said.

“Lightness technique begins with the step. Let us walk first.”

“Yes.”

Both men simultaneously crossed their arms behind their backs.

The sight looked somewhat comical. An old man and a young man standing side by side, hands clasped behind their backs.

Wiseon gazed ahead with a bright expression and said.

“Let’s go.”

Then the two began walking with their hands behind their backs. Since this was the basic posture of the Master of the Realm, there was nothing to be done.

Yi Shin’s stride gradually quickened, then he lightly lifted into the air and shot forward. He was demonstrating it himself.

Now that he saw it, it seemed as if Zhu Yuchang had completely forgotten how to run, moving only through the initial forms of his martial arts.

Danwooseong also possessed sufficient martial power.

He injected internal energy into his ankles, taking a step forward with the sensation of lifting his entire body. Dan Wooseong’s body then leapt upward in a parabolic arc, stretching out in an ugly, frog-like posture.

Yi Shin burst out laughing, and Dan Wooseong replied with a smile.

“Let’s go, senior. For now, I’ll run with this ugly look. Laugh all you want.”

“Very well.”

Though seemingly simple on the surface, the Ascending Heavenly Art required mastery of body weight and balance, posture, ankle strength, and the infusion of internal energy. Dan Wooseong’s internal energy was now profoundly deep; once he grasped the technique, he could run for seven days and nights without significant fatigue.

Dan Wooseong, leaping comically over distances of three or four paces, would pause and advance repeatedly. Then, at some point, he bent his upper body and began to imitate the Zhu Yu Tian Xia Gong with some semblance of skill.

With his hands behind his back, Dan Wooseong glided across the ground as if using teleportation.

While managing the ankles was important, it was even more crucial to release the force entering the body moment by moment according to the injected power.

It was literally lightness skill (輕功, where ‘輕’ means light or swift). Of course, many masters and sects practice lightness skill in this manner. But Yi Shin’s approach differed: he moved with extreme speed using immense internal energy, in the simplest way possible.

Dan Woo-sung imitated that.

Imitation paved the way. Yi Xin, who had been following behind, spoke up.

“Let’s increase the speed a little more.”

“Yes.”

The moment he spoke, Danwooseong slid through the air, then staggered like a child falling, arms outstretched. In that instant, he braced himself with one hand, spun mid-air, and continued unchecked toward Guwhasan. Though he swayed several times, he soon managed to somewhat mimic the ‘Journey Across the Heavens’ technique.

The effect was nothing short of the Shrinking Earth Technique.

Seeing his junior disciple manage to imitate it so skillfully, Yixin was genuinely astonished. Yixin freely moved around Danwuseong’s vicinity, thoroughly refining the Roaming the World Technique.

About an hour later.

Danwooseong and Uisin pushed and shoved their way forward.

Both were running with the speed of a god.

Dan Wooseong, who had suffered a defeat, slid across the ground as he moved and said to Uisin.

“Senior, let’s start the second round. I challenge you.”

“Let’s race.”

Suddenly, their laughter stretched out long and thin like taffy, and before long, the figures of the runners were no longer visible.