Chapter 89

“Do you have a name?”

After Gwang-shin finished his demonstration, Cheol-myeong-ho asked.

Gwang-shin nodded and answered in a serious tone.

“This is the Fox Spear Technique.”

Creating a spear technique was no difficult task at Gwangshin’s level. Moreover, Gwangshin had enjoyed watching Cheol Myeong-ho train inside the carriage all this time. Therefore, he could easily create a custom spear technique tailored for Cheol Myeong-ho.

Cheolmyeongho stared at Gwangshin for a moment before responding in a slightly hoarse voice.

“I like the name.”

Even to Cheol Myeong-ho, the spear technique didn’t seem overly complex. It was a spear technique perfectly suited to him. It felt like he’d been taught the essence of spear handling, distilled down to a level barely beyond the next stage of the Samjae Sword Technique.

But Cheolmyeongho had wielded his spear thirty-two thousand times—thrusting, slashing, and striking down. The spear technique Gwangshin taught felt less simple than it did like an immense volume compressed into something compact.

As if mastering just this much would be sufficient.

Instead, Gwangshin elaborated on the rotational force generated by the spear’s length and weight.

“Understanding the spear means recognizing the variables created by its length and utilizing them. Your iron-tipped umbrella is gripped by the end. But when wielding a spear, its weight will feel distinctly different. That’s because your grip position changes during combat. Hold it short, hold it long, and unleash the Three-Stage Sword Technique. Fill the rest of your training with the long spear techniques I taught you.”

Kwang-shin spun the Fang Tian Hua Jue with just a few fingers, and miraculously, it spun round and round without falling from his hand. Forget spear techniques—even that method of spinning the spear seemed impossible to imitate easily.

But this was deliberately slowed down for Cheolmyeongho’s benefit.

When Gwangshin increased the speed, the Fang Tian Hua Ge whirled so fiercely it seemed capable of flinging away any ordinary dagger.

“Mastering the principle of how weight moves is all it takes to become proficient with this.”

With a thud, Gwangshin stopped the spin and tossed the Cheonhwa Spear to Cheolmyeongho.

Cheolmyeongho grasped the Fang Heaven Flower Spear with both hands, then stood up and bowed his head respectfully.

“Thank you, Brother.”

Kwang-shin asked Cheol-myeong-ho.

“Have you ever cut grass with a sickle?”

Cheol Myeong-ho replied.

“Yes.”

“What was the dumbest thing you did while handling the sickle?”

“I’ve swung it and hit a rock, causing it to bounce back, or I’ve accidentally cut my own knee.”

“If you wield your clumsy spear on horseback, you’ll end up slicing your horse’s head first with that very spear. The startled horse will throw you off. And then you’ll die at the enemy’s hands. That’s how things usually go in the martial world. You die because of the weapon you wield.”

It was more terrifying than words of encouragement.

Kwang-shin asked.

“What was the last number again?”

“Thirty-two thousand, two hundred and three.”

Kwang-shin nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go. That’s your way of training. It’s not wrong. Striving to find meaningful training is pointless. Painful repetition is always right, no matter the field. Hori, fill up a million.”

Cheolmyeongho engraved Gwangshin’s words deep within his heart.

“I will fill it.”

As Gwangshin vanished, Cheol Myeong-ho held the Fang Heaven Flower Sword in both hands and smiled like a child. He didn’t even know exactly why he was smiling. It just felt good. Perhaps he was smiling because he had finally found a purpose in life. The more he swung it, the clearer his life’s goal became.

Cheol Myeong-ho murmured as if reciting a verse.

“I am growing stronger.”

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The procession set off again. Before departure, it had been merely a transport mission to retrieve the magic scroll and deliver funds to the Martial Alliance. But now, because of the weakest member of the procession, Cheolmyeongho, everyone was focused on training.

Even Baekyak’s subordinates found Cheol Myeong-ho impressive.

At first, they thought he was a rude, arrogant, and weak man. Yet, his demeanor and focus during training were beyond reproach. Traveling such a long distance alone is exhausting enough. But Cheol Myeong-ho relentlessly swung his Fang Heaven Flower Spear on horseback.

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As soon as they left Geumsan, it was a vast wilderness.

The wilderness was ruled by bandits, for many travelers seeking sweet respite in Geumsan or caravans heading to Pyo-guk passed through. The bandits’ emergence was hardly surprising. Just as thieves never vanish no matter how peaceful the world, their appearance was only natural.

Even as the bandit horde appeared, Cheolmyeongho swung his Fang-Shattering Blade and declared:

“Bandits.”

Danwooseong also pushed aside his curtain, watching the bandits approach, kicking up dust.

“Stop.”

The coachmen slowed the horses, coaxing them to a halt. Danwooseong was the first to step down from the carriage and addressed Baekyak and Gwangshin.

“Rest.”

The sandstorm swirled thickly as bandits swarmed in such numbers that the horizon turned pitch black.

Cheolmyeongho paused as he spoke.

“There are roughly over two hundred of them.”

The bandits blocked Danwooseong’s procession and waited. Several men raised flags.

They bore the names ‘Yellow Dog’ and ‘Sand Death’.

It seemed they weren’t just a band of bandits, but a coalition.

Dan Wooseong looked around and saw a variety of outfits. It couldn’t be helped. They had been stolen through plunder. Consequently, their weapons were also incredibly diverse. How could so many bandit gangs operate in a martial world where the Martial Alliance and its leader, Yoo Jeonghong, were still standing strong?

In a way, it was only natural.

These bandits had appeared precisely because Dan Woo-seong’s group looked like an ordinary courier convoy. They were the sort who never touched the Martial Alliance or other major martial factions. These were the kind who ruthlessly preyed only on the weak.

Dan Woo-sung intended to send the bandits away with a few words laced with his inner energy, but the voice infused with that energy came first from within the bandit horde.

“Listen, bandits. Leave the loot where it is and lay down your weapons. Mount three men per horse, then return the way you came, and none of you will die.”

Had he stopped right there, the naive or the frightened might have laid down their loot and retreated. But the bandits themselves confirmed it wouldn’t end that simply, bursting into laughter.

Baekyak’s men and Cheolmyeongho were watching the bandits with expressions that said they were no better.

At that moment, Gwangshin stepped down from the carriage and said to Cheolmyeongho.

“Brother.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Go kill him. I’ll cover your back.”

Kwang-shin said to Dan-woo-seong as well.

“The target. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

From the procession, only three men advanced toward the bandit horde of two hundred. Cheolmyeongho asked the two men from atop his horse.

“Are you going to ride out?”

Cheol Myeong-ho rode alone, so when he asked this question, Dan Woo-seong only smiled.

Gwang-shin chuckled softly and said,

“Ride your heart out and fight your heart out. Who are you worried about?”

Cheolmyeongho galloped forward, gripping the Fang Heaven Flower Spear tightly while kicking the horse’s belly with both feet. Before long, Cheolmyeongho felt his blood boiling. The sheer number of enemies, like an army, was one reason, and the friend pursuing him from behind, using lightness skills, and the man he had sent on an errand were others.

Having swung it thirty-two thousand times, wielding the newly acquired Fang Tian Hua Jue posed no difficulty.

The bandits poured out like a torrent.

They thought the approaching Cheol Myeong-ho was a madman.

Though pursuers followed behind, it was a solo charge regardless.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-

Before one horse collided with dozens of others.

Cheolmyeongho, gripping his Fanged Heavenly Flower Spear, shouted like a general from the Three Kingdoms.

“I am Cheolmyeongho, the Demon Horse Slayer!”

As soon as Cheolmyeongho pulled the horse’s head with his left hand, it leapt into the air. He instantly severed the charging bandit’s neck with the Fang Tian Hua Jue, then plunged into the bandit horde.

Most bandits wielded weapons like broadswords, straight swords, daggers, or great swords. Merchants or travelers rarely used spears. Cheolmyeongho steered his horse with his left hand while continuously swinging the Fang Tian Hua Jue. He moved, thrusting, slashing, and parrying attacks aimed at his horse.

A bandit leaped up, aiming for Cheolmyeongho’s back, only to have his neck vanish mid-air.

Thud!

Cheolmyeongho whipped his head around to find Gwangshin standing behind him as if nothing had happened.

Even amidst this chaos, Gwangshin asked like a madman.

“How many times? Count the times during the fight too.”

Cheol Myeong-ho had no time to respond, advancing while swinging his Fang Heaven Flower Spear. In that moment, a deafening crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack-crack

“Kyaaaah!”

Cheolmyeongho looked around to find the bandits had already encircled the three men in a perfect defensive formation and were charging in.

Cheolmyeongho cursed under his breath as he swung his Fang-Heaven Flower Spear, then felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. He had nearly burst out laughing on this battlefield of life and death. It was a place where instincts surfaced, so he couldn’t help it.

Cheolmyeong-ho suppressed his laughter, then forced the words out.

“Die.”

Cheol Myeong-ho acknowledged the emotion of this very moment. It was the most exhilarating day of his life. He understood why people strive to become strong, why martial artists risk their lives to survive in the martial world.

There was no addiction more intense than this.

As soon as Danwooseong confirmed that Gwangshin remained near Cheolmyeongho, he scanned the battlefield more broadly.

Dan Woo-sung appeared as if a thunder god descended upon him every time he unleashed his martial arts, just as Gwang-shin had witnessed before.

As Dan Wooseong’s figure soared into the air and swung his sword, a white lightning energy flowed from his fingertips, splitting into multiple whips that coiled around the heads of five or six men. The moment the lightning-infused whips wrapped around their heads, screams erupted simultaneously.

As Dan Wooseong pulled back his whip, those atop the horses fell to the ground, their limbs shattered or skulls crushed. With thirty or forty men killed instantly by Dan Wooseong, the bandit horde—devoid of discipline or military law—began scattering from the outer ranks.

At that moment…

Dan Wooseong, Gwangshin, and Cheol Myeongho simultaneously increased their speed and gave chase. They were not the type to let fleeing enemies off lightly. As Dan Wooseong leapt into the air and delivered a single strike, lightning poured down, tearing bodies to unrecognizable pieces that tumbled to the ground.

Kwangshin’s response was even more horrific.

To avoid harming Ui-je and Cheol-myeong-ho, he created a distant vortex and hurled it away. A strange sound spread across the wilderness.

It was a deafening roar, as if numerous living beings were being sucked into a vortex-filled hole all at once.

Faced with this power, even Cheolmyeongho had no choice but to rein in his horse and retreat.

The fifty or sixty bandits who had been fleeing vanished without a trace, leaving only a deep crater where the Pacheongu had fallen.

Cheolmyeongho’s hand trembled violently as he watched from his horse. It was a sight that inspired awe rather than fear.

Cheolmyeong-ho gripped the Fang Heaven Flower Spear with trembling hands, then pursued the man who was luckily escaping from quite a distance.

Danwooseong and the fanatics were scattered, killing the remaining bandits.

The man Cheol Myeong-ho was chasing, unlike the other bandits, wore yellow robes.

A large, dark-colored sword hung on his back. Even though he was being pursued on horseback, the man was running so fast it was difficult to catch up. It was a feeling that sent a chill down one’s spine.

Realizing this was a master he couldn’t handle alone, Cheol Myeong-ho bellowed.

“Master! It’s the leader!”

Dan Wooseong and Gwangshin’s heads snapped around. When Cheol Myeong-ho called out “Master,” Dan Wooseong and Gwangshin had both turned their heads at the same time.

Dan Wooseong and Gwangshin simultaneously kicked up a dust storm as they charged toward Cheol Myeong-ho.

Cheol Myeong-ho spurred his horse to chase after them, then swung his Fang Heaven Flower Spear to strike the man’s neck.

The man dodged with a jerk of his head, then spun and delivered a flying kick that struck Cheol Myeong-ho’s horse.

Thud!

Cheolmyeongho flew through the air with his horse, cursing as he shot upward. As Cheolmyeongho charged, swinging his Fang Heaven Flower Spear, the man drew his greatsword and parried the spear. Having precisely deflected the Three Calamities Sword Technique, the man pressed Cheolmyeongho back, swinging his greatsword.

Whenever the man tried to flee, Cheolmyeongho thrust his Fang Heaven Flower Spear, pinning his feet as if cutting off his escape route.

Then Dan Wooseong and Gwangshin arrived simultaneously, watching the two men.

Like rivals locked in combat, the Fang Tian Hua Jue and the great sword sparked and flashed.

Gwang-sin retorted.

“Hori, you kill him. I won’t help.”

After all, he could kill the enemy leader with a single flick of his finger, so he deliberately spat out those words to provoke Cheol Myeong-ho.

Cheolmyeongho, his shoulder lightly grazed by the greatsword, stepped back to regain his balance. Then, just as Gwangshin had done, he gripped the Fang of Heaven and charged forward again.

Cheol Myeong-ho could no longer hear Gwang-shin’s words.

Because he was fighting.

ⓒ Yoo Jin-seong