Chapter 194 – The Last Wraith (3)

Kang Yu-hyeon spoke with a sneer, but Yu-jin was also smiling.

As Yu-jin smiled, despite being so battered he couldn’t even move an arm, Kang Yu-hyeon frowned. He disliked seeing a man on the verge of death smile like that.

“Whether you can kill me or not remains to be seen.”

“It seems you still haven’t come to your senses, even as you’re dying!”

Kang Yu-hyeon’s stomp carved a deep mark into the ground. The impact sent a massive cloud of dust soaring into the sky.

Then, Kang Yu-hyeon moved at an incredible speed. A fierce gale followed his sword, raging toward Yu-jin.

Yu-jin, unable to properly resist, took the full brunt of Kang Yu-hyeon’s attacks.

“Kuaargh!”

The Mind Sword cut not only Yu-jin’s flesh but also his internal organs. Already ravaged by the Divine Demonic Arts, his organs couldn’t maintain their shape as the energy of the Mind Sword exploded within them.

But Kang Yu-hyeon didn’t stop. He kicked the barely standing Yu-jin’s chin, launching him into the air, then slammed him back down into the ground with a strike to the abdomen.

“Not yet!”

Kang Yu-hyeon lifted the fallen Yu-jin and swung his sword again. The strikes of the Mind Sword butchered Yu-jin’s body. Flesh was torn, and bones were broken.

Yu-jin offered no resistance, allowing every strike to land. Battered by the relentless assault, he no longer retained a human form.

“The humiliation I suffered at your hands! You cannot die until I’ve repaid every last bit of it!”

Roaring loudly, Kang Yu-hyeon threw another punch. The very air was drawn into his fist, and the empowered strike slammed into Yu-jin’s vital points.

“Cough!”

Yu-jin was sent flying, vomiting blood.

“Yu-jin!”

The four women around Yu-jin cried out, their faces pale. They believed he couldn’t possibly survive after taking such a relentless beating.

In truth, each of Kang Yu-hyeon’s blows was powerful enough to end the life of any ordinary martial artist.

Broken bones tore through flesh, and shredded muscles crumpled like rags. Severed arteries sent blood gushing like a fountain.

Yet, Yu-jin stood up once more, dragging a body more tattered than rags and a face mangled beyond recognition.

“Ah…”

The women collapsed to the ground. They couldn’t bear to look at Yu-jin’s state.

Kang Yu-hyeon watched him and roared again.

“Yes! You can’t die so easily! You must stay alive until all this shame I feel is washed away! Hahahaha!”

Despite having already won, Kang Yu-hyeon’s humiliation was not assuaged. This was not enough to repay the terror and disgrace he’d felt when he faced death once before.

“So this is all you are. To desire life so desperately with only this much power, to return even as a specter.”

Despite having suffered wounds that should have been fatal, Yu-jin spoke calmly. Kang Yu-hyeon turned his head. In that instant, something incredible happened.

*Wooooong!*

The jet-black demonic energy that had ravaged Yu-jin’s body began to change. The energy shifted from black to gray. Soon, the dark demonic energy was completely transformed into the Divine Demonic Arts, the unique energy Yu-jin had created.

And the Divine Demonic Arts began to restore Yu-jin’s ruined body. Broken bones mended, and torn muscles seeped back into the flesh, returning to their original form.

The blood that had gushed like a fountain stopped and returned to his body. His mangled face reverted to its former state. And finally, Yu-jin stood up, his body completely healed.

Even the wounds inflicted by the Heavenly Demon were completely gone.

“What!”

Seeing Yu-jin, whom he thought was dead, return to his original state, Kang Yu-hyeon couldn’t hide his bewilderment. But Yu-jin, indifferent to Kang Yu-hyeon’s feelings, threw a punch.

*Kwaaaang!*

The protective aura shielding Kang Yu-hyeon was shattered, and he was sent rolling across the ground.

Kang Yu-hyeon struggled to lift his head and stared at Yu-jin in astonishment. He couldn’t believe the situation had reversed in the blink of an eye.

Yu-jin looked at Kang Yu-hyeon, smiled faintly, and began to speak.

“It’s quite amusing when you think about it. The Heavenly Demon’s demonic energy and my Divine Demonic Arts share the same root. Of course, the two energies clashed at first, but since their source is the same, it wasn’t impossible to make it my own.”

“Y-You… you’ve taken the Heavenly Demon’s power for yourself!”

“Rather than taking it, the Heavenly Demon’s demonic energy and my Divine Demonic Arts were of the same kind from the start. Just as he and I are of the same kind. Of course, my Divine Demonic Arts were created to destroy his energy, so it was extremely fatal to him, but his demonic energy wasn’t such a potent poison to me. And so, I was able to absorb the demonic energy rampaging inside my body and make it completely my own. It was a gamble, but it seems I’ve succeeded.”

Yu-jin spoke of it easily, but Kang Yu-hyeon knew just how absurd it was.

Combining similar yet disparate powers was far more difficult than merging two opposing forces.

But Yu-jin had accomplished that difficult feat and finally regained his original strength.

“Impossible! That can’t be possible! What are you! Just what in the world are you!”

“I am Kang Yu-jin. The Kang Yu-jin who inherited your cursed blood. You gave me my name, so what are you talking about?”

Yu-jin threw a punch with a smile, and Kang Yu-hyeon felt a powerful impact, as if his very soul was being destroyed. No, his soul had indeed taken a great blow and was wavering.

“Why did the heavens send me down, only to send you as well!”

“My, my. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak as if you were some second-in-command like Zhou Yu. Your power is less than that of the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven, who died by my hand. It’s almost laughable for you to speak like that.”

At Yu-jin’s scathing words, Kang Yu-hyeon’s face contorted violently.

“Y-You bastard! Kuaaaargh! No! Get out, I said, get out! Your body is mine!”

Kang Yu-hyeon, his face a mask of fury, suddenly began to spout nonsense.

The women all stared at Kang Yu-hyeon with bewildered expressions, but Yu-jin, who could see even into the soul, knew exactly what was happening.

Kang Yong-hoon’s soul, which had been suppressed by Kang Yu-hyeon, was fighting back. It had clearly awakened when Kang Yu-hyeon’s soul took a major blow.

“Get out! I said, get out!”

Black blood trickled from his seven orifices, but Kang Yu-hyeon screamed like a demon.

But because of the damage inflicted by Yu-jin, he was ultimately forced to relinquish some control of the body to Kang Yong-hoon.

“Hah… hah…”

“Are you awake?”

Yu-jin spoke with a stern face, and Kang Yong-hoon, his face drenched in a cold sweat, nodded.

“I’m sorry, brother. Cough! Cough!”

Dark red blood erupted from Yong-hoon’s mouth with his coughs. Yong-hoon knew the state of his own body well.

Just a few blows from Yu-jin had severed every meridian in his body. There was no surviving this.

“You fool. Your talent was greater than mine. If I am a master who was made, you were one born with heaven-sent talent. Why were you in such a hurry? You had the talent to become stronger than me.”

At Yu-jin’s words, Yong-hoon gave a bitter smile. Though Yu-jin said that, he didn’t think so. Yu-jin was now truly a transcendent being.

“Indeed. In the end, I couldn’t resist our father’s temptation. But I do not regret it, brother.”

“You fool.”

To Yong-hoon’s confession-like words, Yu-jin replied in a heartless tone.

But Yong-hoon could feel the affection hidden within it. Why hadn’t he realized it before?

In truth, the clan rule against killing kin only applied when there was no insubordination. If one resisted the clan head, they would lose their life, even if they were family.

Yong-hoon knew this, yet he had continuously challenged Yu-jin. Despite it all, Yu-jin had spared him until now. Why hadn’t he realized that was brotherly love?

‘I really was a fool.’

He could only let out a hollow laugh at his own patheticness. But that was only for a moment. Kang Yong-hoon looked at Yu-jin with a clear expression.

His body was dying, and from within his soul, Kang Yu-hyeon’s constant resistance sent massive shocks through him, but his consciousness remained clear.

“Brother. Before I die, this is your younger brother’s last wish. Please, allow me to have one final duel with you!”

“I permit it.”

Yu-jin nodded with a solemn expression. At that, Yong-hoon squeezed out every last bit of energy in his body to stand.

Normally, his body was so broken he couldn’t even move an arm. Trying to stand on his own in such a state was reckless, but Yong-hoon didn’t care.

“Kuaaaaaah!”

With a fierce shout, Yong-hoon finally rose to his feet. He was moving a body that was, for all intents and purposes, already dead. Then, Yong-hoon struggled to pick up his fallen sword and pointed it at Yu-jin.

Yu-jin simply watched Yong-hoon without taking any stance. Yong-hoon drew upon all the remaining power within his body. He gathered the faint remnants of his innate energy, and when that wasn’t enough, he began to burn his very soul.

[Kuaaaargh!]

Feeling its soul disappearing, Kang Yu-hyeon’s remnant will let out a desperate cry. But having already lost control of the body, it had no way to resist.

In the end, Kang Yu-hyeon’s remnant will vanished. The specter that had pursued power for hundreds of years by stealing the bodies of his descendants was gone, just like that.

For one who had clung so desperately to life, it was an incredibly empty death. But neither Yu-jin nor Yong-hoon paid any mind to such a trivial matter.

“Here I come!”

Yong-hoon charged toward Yu-jin, burning even his own soul.

Yu-jin threw a punch toward him.

Sword and fist crossed, and a massive explosion erupted.

*Kwaaaaang!*

A great cloud of dust rose, obscuring Yu-jin and Yong-hoon’s bodies. And when the dust finally settled, the result of their clash was revealed.

Yong-hoon’s sword was cutting through Yu-jin’s shoulder, and Yu-jin’s fist was piercing through Yong-hoon’s chest. Yong-hoon felt the slow, twisting sensation deep within his lungs. But he smiled, satisfied.

“You reached me for the first time.”

“For the first time… I’ve reached you…”

Yong-hoon struggled to reply to Yu-jin’s words. He had swung his sword at Yu-jin countless times, but this was the first time he had ever directly touched Yu-jin’s body with his blade.

Seeing Yong-hoon smiling with such satisfaction, Yu-jin shed tears for the first time as he pulled out his fist. Then he embraced Yong-hoon’s tattered body.

“This is you! Even if you hadn’t pursued strength in that way, you could have reached me. No, you were someone who could have become stronger than I am now.”

“As I said… I don’t… regret it…. To have… laid… my sword… on my brother’s… body… I am… satisfied.”

Squinting his eyes, now clouded with a spray of blood, Yong-hoon murmured in a satisfied voice. Yu-jin held him tighter and wept.

“Thank… you…. And… I’m sorry….”

With those last words, Kang Yong-hoon’s eyes finally closed peacefully. The genius once called the Flying Heaven Dragon, considered a star of the Righteous Path, ended his life today. But Yong-hoon was smiling brightly.

The End

Kang Yu-jin, the Ink Dragon Emperor.

The strongest master in the history of the Central Plains, who defeated the most powerful demon who once threatened the martial world, the Heavenly Demon; the strongest warrior of the Western Regions, the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven; and the formidable enemy from the north, Bukri Hwan.

His journey, having reached the divine Realm of Life and Death, did not stop even after vanquishing the Heavenly Demon.

For the first time in the history of the martial world, both in the Central Plains and beyond, he achieved complete unification by subjugating the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the Western Heaven Demonic Cult, and the Potala Palace. (In truth, the Northern Sea Ice Palace was gained through his marriage to Bukri Eun, the daughter of the Ice Palace.)

Yu-jin, who had led the Righteous Path to victory in the war against the Demonic Cult, attacked the cult with the warriors of the True Dragon Sword Clan. Having lost their spiritual pillar, the Heavenly Demon, all the warriors of the Western Heaven Demonic Cult surrendered.

However, martial world historians would later claim that Yu-jin’s true purpose in attacking the Western Heaven Demonic Cult was not its destruction, but its protection.

This was because after subjugating the cult, he forbade the warriors of the Central Plains from calling it the Demonic Cult and protected its members from mistreatment.

Unlike the Northern Sea Ice Palace or the Western Heaven Demonic Cult, which were acquired relatively peacefully, the Potala Palace resisted fiercely, centered around the surviving disciples of the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven and the royal family of the Western Regions.

But when the Central Plains’ imperial court raised an army of two hundred thousand, and Yu-jin and the other supreme masters made their move, they could not hold out and ultimately surrendered.

Thus, Yu-jin achieved the great feat of unifying the Central Plains and the outer martial world for the first time, becoming the unprecedented supreme ruler of the martial world.

Kang Yu-jin, the Ink Dragon Emperor, was truly the supreme ruler of the martial world.

The End