Chapter 211

The eight most brilliantly shining constellations in the sky.

Beings who existed in the high heavens, revered by all, not by the backing of any faction, but by their pure individual martial prowess alone.

Even after reaching such lofty positions, they roamed All Under Heaven with their pure individual martial prowess rather than creating factions.

Throughout all ages, those who revealed their distinct presence in the Jianghu alone were revered by all.

The Eight Constellations were no different.

That was why the character for star, Seong (star), was attached to their aliases.

For a star shines alone, an object of yearning.

At the very bottom of the Eight Constellations existed the seat of the wolf.

The seat of the Wolf King.

A legendary Martial Artist who became a star in the heavens as a Wanderer.

That man was Gu Jin-wang.

Gu Jin-wang first appeared in the Jianghu during the final stages of the Great Blood War. The fledgling Martial Artist participated in the Great Blood War with only a single sword and won victory after victory.

He suffered fatal wounds that should have killed him several times, but he tenaciously survived and killed his enemies.

The fledgling Martial Artist grew stronger with each fierce battle, and as a Wanderer, he became a being revered by all.

As if to prove he had survived hundreds of fierce battles, countless scars were etched horizontally and vertically across Gu Jin-wang’s body, visible outside his clothes.

Gu Jin-wang’s eyes, as he looked at Soma, shone so menacingly that even a wolf would be frightened.

“Ugh!”

At his fierce gaze, Soma unknowingly gritted his teeth.

Though Soma usually thought of himself as having lost all fear, he couldn’t help but feel his mind and body shrink before Gu Jin-wang’s eyes.

The years they had lived were different, and the battlefields they had overcome were on another dimension.

No matter how recklessly Soma rampaged, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated by someone like Gu Jin-wang.

Soma hugged the Gongpo Sword even tighter.

Seeing this, Gu Jin-wang revealed his white teeth and smiled.

“Anyone would think I’m trying to take it by force. I just want to have a look. I’ve never seen a sword like that in my life.”

He extended his hand toward Soma.

He had merely extended his hand, but Soma felt immense psychological pressure.

It was as if a giant wolf was baring its fangs and glaring at him.

Under the unbearable pressure, Soma swung his sword without thinking.

“No!”

Kaang!

But the sword he swung with all his might struck Gu Jin-wang’s forearm and bounced off.

Gu Jin-wang had trained his body to the extreme, making it a weapon in itself.

His scar-covered body was as hard as steel, deflecting a sword strike that wasn’t imbued with Internal Power.

Not a single scratch appeared on his forearm.

Maintaining his arm-extended posture, Gu Jin-wang grinned.

“You attacked this old man first.”

“That’s…”

“Since you attacked to take this old man’s life, no one can blame me for retaliating, can they?”

His lips were smiling, but his eyes were terrifying.

Only then did Soma realize he had fallen for Gu Jin-wang’s provocation.

While traveling with Pyo Wol, he too had opened his eyes to the ways of the world. One of the things he learned was that the people of Jianghu valued justification.

The outcome of the same action could vary greatly depending on whether there was justification or not.

If a Martial Artist of Gu Jin-wang’s stature forcibly took a child’s sword out of greed, he would be heavily criticized, but if he took it after the child attacked first, it wouldn’t be a big problem.

Gu Jin-wang had pressured Soma into attacking first, thereby gaining justification.

“Eek!”

As soon as he realized this, Soma threw himself backward.

He intended to escape.

There was nothing more foolish than fighting an opponent one was no match for.

He didn’t know why Gu Jin-wang wanted the Gongpo Sword, but he had to escape from him first.

“Heh!”

At that moment, the corner of Gu Jin-wang’s mouth twisted upward.

It was a clear sneer.

With his arm still outstretched, he made a gesture of clenching his fingers. A powerful suction force was generated, pulling Soma’s body toward him.

It was the art of Psychokinesis.

“Huk!”

A suppressed groan escaped Soma’s lips.

A powerful, invisible force constricted him and dragged him toward Gu Jin-wang. If he was dragged away like this, it was clear he would lose not only the Gongpo Sword but also his life.

“You think I’ll go down easy?”

Soma swung his arm wide as if to shake off his fear. The seven wheels hanging around his neck flew toward Gu Jin-wang.

Giiiiing!

The seven wheels spun furiously, aiming for Gu Jin-wang’s vital points.

At that moment, Gu Jin-wang burst into a hearty laugh.

“Hahaha! The little brat is showing off some paltry tricks.”

Just before the Seven Deadly Wheels struck his body, Gu Jin-wang raised his Internal Power to protect his entire body.

Kakakakang!

The Seven Deadly Wheels failed to leave a single scratch on Gu Jin-wang’s body and bounced off powerlessly.

Gu Jin-wang clearly showed the extent to which a human body could be trained.

Until now, he had killed numerous enemies using the Seven Deadly Wheels, but this was the first time they had been neutralized without even inflicting a wound.

A dark shadow fell over Soma’s face as he retrieved the deflected Seven Deadly Wheels.

This was the first time he had felt so hopeless since leaving the Small Thunder Sound Temple.

It was like looking at a giant wall.

He couldn’t see any gap to break through.

“Iyaaaah!”

Soma let out a scream and continuously threw the Seven Deadly Wheels. But with a light wave of Gu Jin-wang’s hand, the Seven Deadly Wheels lost their power and bounced off.

“Damn it!”

Soma gritted his teeth, repeatedly retrieving and throwing the Seven Deadly Wheels again. But the result was the same.

It was at that moment that a look of contempt appeared on Gu Jin-wang’s face.

“Why aren’t you using that sword? You have such a fine sword, so why are you throwing around those iron wheels?”

“Th-that’s…”

“That means you are not worthy of using that sword. How can one who cannot utilize the wonders of a weapon call himself its master? A famed sword is meant to shine in the hands of a proper master. You are not worthy of being that sword’s master.”

Soma couldn’t make any excuses.

Although he had trained steadily after obtaining the Gongpo Sword, it was true that he wasn’t used to it because he had never learned the sword systematically. So, in crucial moments or when he needed to draw out his full potential, he relied on the Seven Deadly Wheels.

It was the same now.

He had used the sword against Jo Yeong-sin and the White Tiger Sword Unit, but when faced with an unprecedentedly strong opponent like Gu Jin-wang, he continuously threw the Seven Deadly Wheels instead of the Gongpo Sword.

That sight angered Gu Jin-wang.

He didn’t know that the Gongpo Sword was a legendary sword. Instead, he noticed that it possessed incredible sharpness and strength.

A sword of that caliber was not common in the current Jianghu.

The biggest inconvenience he felt while acting as a Wanderer was that it was not easy to obtain a proper weapon.

His Martial Arts were extremely destructive.

In terms of sheer destructive power alone, there were not many in All Under Heaven who possessed Martial Arts comparable to his.

The problem was that it was too destructive.

Because the destructive power was excessive, even weapons would break after a few uses.

For that reason, he always carried six swords.

He could only feel at ease if he carried spare swords.

Even now, several swords were cumbersomely slung across his back.

“A pearl necklace on a pig’s neck. How lamentable is this?”

Gu Jin-wang was furious with Soma for not being able to use the Gongpo Sword properly.

Sreung!

He drew one of the swords from his back.

It was a sword specially commissioned from a renowned craftsman.

“I will show you how to truly use a sword.”

Gu Jin-wang raised the sword high.

It was an incredibly sloppy posture.

It seemed as if his entire body was exposed with weaknesses. Yet, Soma could not attack Gu Jin-wang.

He had a strong premonition that if he attacked Gu Jin-wang now, his entire body would be torn to shreds. But he couldn’t escape either.

It was clear that no matter how he tried to escape, he would be dragged back by the art of Psychokinesis.

A look of despair appeared on Soma’s face.

The gap was so immense that he couldn’t think of what to do.

All he could do was barely raise the Gongpo Sword to block his head.

Gu Jin-wang’s strike fell upon Soma’s head.

Kwaang!

Would it feel like this if Thunder and Lightning struck from the sky?

Soma felt the pain of a thunderbolt piercing his entire body as he was sent flying backward.

The Gongpo Sword was knocked away and stuck into the ground.

Despite blocking such a powerful strike, not a single scratch appeared on the Gongpo Sword.

A light of ecstasy appeared in Gu Jin-wang’s eyes.

It was the strike of the Heavenly Thunder Flash.

It was a Sword Stance that literally had the power of a thunderbolt falling from the sky.

Until now, there had been no opponent he had failed to kill when he unleashed the Heavenly Thunder Flash.

The only drawback was that the weapon couldn’t withstand its immense power. Just like now.

Hududuk!

The sword in his hand shattered into pieces and crumbled.

Gu Jin-wang looked at the sword with only its hilt remaining and threw it away without a second thought.

“I won’t have to use trash like this anymore. Now that I have a sturdy one.”

He picked up the Gongpo Sword stuck in the ground.

The hilt fit snugly in his hand.

Gu Jin-wang trembled slightly at the familiar feeling, as if it had been his from the beginning.

The moment he gripped the hilt, he knew, as if by fate.

This sword would be able to withstand the Special Technique he unleashed.

“Hahaha!”

Gu Jin-wang let out a wild laugh toward the heavens and threw away the five swords he had been carrying on his back.

Now that he had obtained a famed sword that fit his hand, he had no need for such trashy swords.

“That’s… my sword.”

Soma said as he staggered to his feet.

Gu Jin-wang was quite surprised to see Soma still breathing despite being hit by the Heavenly Thunder Flash.

No matter how much the Gongpo Sword had blocked the Heavenly Thunder Flash, it couldn’t have dispersed the Sword Art contained within it.

The fact that Soma endured despite the shock accumulating in his body was proof of his extraordinary physical strength and will.

“Right! A man should have that much grit. I acknowledge you as a man. So I will face you with all my might.”

Soma gritted his teeth.

It was a statement with no logic, only stubbornness. But the Jianghu was a place where the stubbornness of the powerful prevailed.

If one didn’t want to suffer injustice, one had to train diligently in Martial Arts and become strong.

Soma was strong, but Gu Jin-wang was even stronger. That was why he could be so unreasonably stubborn.

Gu Jin-wang took a starting stance.

Heavenly Wolf Blood Fang Sword.

It was his unique Sword Art, created over decades of acting as a Wanderer.

A Sword Art that he had never once unleashed at full power because its immense might meant there was no suitable weapon to use it with.

For the first time in his life, Gu Jin-wang intended to unleash the Heavenly Wolf Blood Fang Sword at full power.

The target was Soma.

The purpose was his complete annihilation.

Although he had the justification that Soma had attacked first, taking a young boy’s sword as a senior in the Jianghu was something that would draw immense criticism.

The best option was to erase Soma from the world so that no one would know.

Gu Jin-wang injected his Internal Power into the Gongpo Sword.

Burrr!

He could feel the blade of the Gongpo Sword trembling. But there was no sense of unease.

Other swords would show cracks in the blade with just this much concentration of Internal Power, but the Gongpo Sword accepted the Internal Power without any strain.

“Heh heh!”

Gu Jin-wang let out a sinister laugh and swung the Gongpo Sword at Soma.

Kwarreureung!

A roar on a different dimension from when Soma had swung it echoed out.

With a sound like thunder cracking, a formidable Qi Wave engulfed Soma.

“Eek!”

Soma raised two of the Seven Deadly Wheels to block his front, preparing for the impact.

A look of despair clouded his face.

He instinctively knew that he could not block that immense power with his own strength.

Kuwaaaang!

A roar incomparable to any before erupted.

As if a giant wolf had clawed at it, the surface of the ground was overturned, revealing its flesh, and rocks buried in the ground shot out and scattered in all directions.

It was a gruesome sight that was impossible to believe was created by human strength.

It was impossible to survive a direct hit from such an attack.

Even for Soma.

“Heh heh!”

A satisfied smile appeared on Gu Jin-wang’s face.

As expected, there wasn’t a single crack on the Gongpo Sword.

He had finally obtained a sword that could fully unleash his Sword Art.

Soma’s life or death was not important.

Even if he was lucky enough to survive, it was clear he would not be in a normal state.

“Kehaha!”

It was the moment Gu Jin-wang let out a wild laugh toward the heavens.

A faint thread flew silently, riding the wind.