Jeok Wigang nodded.
“If it passes into the hands of someone who knows its worth, the spear itself will be happy too. Please use it well.”
Gu Yaheuk accepted the spear Jeok Wigang held out with trembling hands.
At that, Gu Daegeuk asked with a puzzled look,
“What is that?”
No matter how he looked at it, it was an unremarkable, shabby-looking spear. Yet his father was reacting like this.
There had to be a story behind it.
“In all my years of life, have you ever seen me covet a spear?”
“No. You always said a true master must not cling to such things.”
“I did. But this spear is different. It feels like the very arms and legs I lost long ago.”
Gu Daegeuk was stunned.
It was the first time he had ever seen his father cling to something like that.
“Y-You really mean to give this spear to me?”
“Yes. I don’t think anyone will ever suit that spear better than you do.”
“Th-Thank you! Still... can I really just accept something this expensive for nothing...?”
“I told you already. I’ve earned the full amount I was aiming for.”
“But with money, the more the better, isn’t it?”
“You only need as much as you need.”
“Good grief.”
Gu Yaheuk liked Jeok Wigang more and more.
“How much is that spear worth for you to react like this?”
At that, Gu Yaheuk handed the spear over and said,
“You’re a merchant, so appraise it.”
Curious beyond measure, Gu Daegeuk immediately took the spear and examined it.
As Gu Yaheuk’s son, he possessed qi of the same nature.
The instant he gripped the spear, he understood exactly what his father had meant.
It settled into his hand so perfectly it felt as if it had become one with his body.
Then Jeok Wigang’s explanation followed.
“If you pour lightning qi into the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear, its power doubles.”
“What?”
“Is... is that really true?”
“Yes.”
Gu Yaheuk looked at the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear with a trembling voice.
When he had only touched it before, he hadn’t poured inner qi into it, so he couldn’t tell.
He snatched up the spear and quickly poured inner qi into it.
CRACKLE—
In an instant, powerful lightning began to whirl around Gu Yaheuk.
KRA-KRAK—
“F-Father! The house is going to collapse!”
“Ah!”
He was indoors.
Startled, Gu Yaheuk hurriedly withdrew his qi.
RUMBLE—
But it was already too late.
The ceiling caved in, and the sky became visible overhead.
“M-My apologies.”
“It’s fine. Did you call it the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear? It really does scatter heavenly thunder, just like its name.”
Before, he had merely liked it.
Now he felt like he wouldn’t be able to live without it.
Gu Daegeuk said,
“If I were to sell the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear to someone else, I would ask two thousand gold taels. Even so, anyone who truly understood its value would say it was cheap and buy it.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been saying! The Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear isn’t just a weapon. It’s... a divine relic.”
Gu Daegeuk turned to Jeok Wigang with an expression of disbelief.
“Y-You’re really saying you’ll just give away something this incredible?”
Jeok Wigang smiled and nodded.
“You have a purpose, don’t you?”
“A purpose... Yes, I do.”
At the mention of purpose, Gu Yaheuk’s gaze sharpened.
“Please grow stronger and protect Heavenly Martial Castle well.”
At those utterly unexpected words, Gu Yaheuk stared blankly and asked,
“What?”
“That’s my purpose.”
“Didn’t you say you weren’t from Heavenly Martial Castle?”
“If I’m not from Heavenly Martial Castle, does that mean I’m not allowed to like it?”
“That’s not what I meant, but...”
Gu Daegeuk cut in.
“I’ll pay the price. This is not something I can accept for free.”
“You already paid it.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You paid five hundred gold taels for the dantian treatment and another five hundred gold taels for the divine spear. That makes one thousand in total. I received it just fine.”
Jeok Wigang laughed, lightly waving the two drafts in his hand.
“Th-That wasn’t just the fee for the treatment.”
“I heard five hundred gold taels.”
“No, I said one thousand again, and didn’t you accept it, Benefactor?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Wait here. Father, make sure he doesn’t get away.”
“Of course.”
Gu Daegeuk left again.
He was obviously going to fetch money.
“When he comes back, this is going to get troublesome. I think I’ll be on my way.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Gu Yaheuk blocked his path.
At that, Jeok Wigang grinned and leaped upward through the hole in the roof.
Gu Yaheuk instantly gave chase, unwilling to let him escape.
“Didn’t I tell you that you’re not going anywhere?”
He reached out a hand to grab Jeok Wigang.
WHOOSH—
His hand only cut through empty air.
“Hm?”
Before he knew it, Jeok Wigang was already far ahead.
“Well now. Not bad.”
Interest flared in Gu Yaheuk’s face.
“Is this sorcery? Let’s see what your sorcery can do outside of healing.”
He launched himself toward Jeok Wigang at high speed.
In an instant, he closed the distance and reached out again.
WHOOSH—
“Hm?”
It was infuriating. He felt like he was about to catch him, yet he never quite could.
“You little—”
He increased his speed even more.
WHOOSH—
If he stretched just a little farther, he ought to have been able to grab him. But he still couldn’t.
“The hell is this?”
Even moving faster changed nothing.
In the end, Gu Yaheuk chased him all the way to an empty clearing where no one was around.
“How long do you plan to keep following me?”
“Until I catch you.”
“You’ll never catch me, even if you spend your whole life trying.”
“Hah. Are you provoking me right now?”
“Just think of the spear as a gift from me and use it well.”
“Fine. If you defeat me, I’ll do as you say.”
“What?”
“If you don’t like that, then hand it over.”
“Good grief.”
Gu Yaheuk grinned.
He figured Jeok Wigang wouldn’t dare face him, which meant only the money remained.
Even he thought it was a clever move.
“All right. I just have to win, right?”
“That’s right. Good choice— Mm? What did you say?”
“You said I just have to beat you.”
“Hah... Have you forgotten who I am?”
“No. You’re one of the eight pillars of Heavenly Martial Castle. One of the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“So you know that much. Then where’s this confidence coming from?”
“I don’t have time, so let’s just start.”
“Fine. Wait a moment.”
“Why?”
“I need to find something to use in place of a spear. This is all I brought.”
In Gu Yaheuk’s hand was the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear.
He was clutching it tightly, cherishing it in case it somehow vanished.
“Use the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear. This works out nicely. We can confirm its power too.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“You really do seem to be taking me too lightly.”
“No. I’m perfectly serious. If you’re going to face me, you’ll need that divine spear.”
“What?”
“Let’s begin.”
Just where was that confidence coming from?
“I realized it when you healed my son’s dantian, but it seems you’ve attained deep mastery in sorcery. Fine, then. Show me just how great your sorcery is.”
“I don’t use sorcery when I fight.”
“What?”
“I’ll use my martial arts.”
“Martial arts? Hm?”
Seeing Jeok Wigang take his stance, Gu Yaheuk frowned.
It was a very familiar stance.
Then one martial art came to mind.
He shook his head, thinking it absolutely couldn’t be that, and sank back into thought.
“Aren’t you going to start?”
“Hmm. That stance... I’ve seen it somewhere many times before. What was that martial art that took a stance like the Three Calamities Fist?”
“This is the Three Calamities Fist.”
“What?”
“I said it’s the Three Calamities Fist.”
“Y-You’re telling me you plan to face me, while I’m holding the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear, with the Three Calamities Fist?”
“Is that a problem?”
“Of course it is! Who in the world would just sit there after hearing that someone intends to fight him with a martial art you can buy in the marketplace for a few coins?”
“What’s wrong with the Three Calamities Fist? It’s still a martial art.”
“That is not a martial art!”
“Then what is martial art?”
“What?”
“Isn’t martial art the result one obtains through cultivating the martial? Just because it’s a martial art sold in the marketplace doesn’t mean you should belittle someone’s effort like that.”
“Fine. Then let me see it. This result you speak of.”
“All right. I’ll show you.”
“Come!”
At those words, Jeok Wigang sprang toward Gu Yaheuk, descended, and drove his fist down.
“Heaven-Fall Crash!”
It was Heaven-Fall Crash of the Three Calamities Fist.
Gu Yaheuk knew the form.
The name was grand, but in the end it was just a form where one leaped up and smashed downward with a fist.
So he was about to dismiss it as nothing—
A chill ran through him.
The hairs all over his body stood on end, and he immediately twisted out of the way.
KWA-KWA-KWAAANG—
A deafening explosion rang out, and a deep [N O V E L I G H T] crater appeared where he had been standing a moment earlier.
“Wh-What was that? You said it was the Three Calamities Fist.”
“That’s right. Heaven-Fall Crash of the Three Calamities Fist.”
“This?”
This was not Heaven-Fall Crash.
Heaven-Fall Crash could never produce that kind of power.
If that was truly Heaven-Fall Crash, the Three Calamities Fist wouldn’t be treated like something bought in the marketplace. It would be revered as a divine art.
“I’m continuing.”
“Hm?”
Without realizing it, Gu Yaheuk tightened his grip on the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear.
Jeok Wigang was coming at him with frightening force.
“Human Chain Break!”
Gu Yaheuk saw Jeok Wigang’s two fists move in rapid succession.
WHIRL—
He hurriedly spun the divine spear and blocked the blows.
THOOOOM—
“Urk!”
SKRRRRT—
Even though he had blocked the fists with the divine spear and dispersed some of the force, the impact was so great that his body was shoved backward.
He couldn’t believe it.
The lingering numbness in his arms told him just how powerful Jeok Wigang’s attack had been.
“Well? The Three Calamities Fist is useful too, isn’t it?”
“I see. So this isn’t the Three Calamities Fist I know.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying.”
It’s not that the Three Calamities Fist is special. That boy is the monster.
Gu Yaheuk revised his judgment of Jeok Wigang’s strength.
“From now on, I’ll stop treating you like an easy opponent and face you as my archenemy.”
“Now I’ll finally get to feel the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear properly.”
“Good. Here I come! Keep your wits about you. My spear is as fast as lightning.”
“Yes.”
The instant Jeok Wigang finished answering, the spear tip was already right in front of his face.
He tilted his head slightly to avoid it and threw a punch at Gu Yaheuk’s abdomen.
BANG—
With the sound of air bursting, the blow struck the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear head-on.
THOOONG—
“Guh!”
What kind of fist hurt this much even when blocked?
If it had been any spear other than the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear, it would already have snapped in two.
That punch Jeok Wigang had just thrown was part of the Three Calamities Fist too.
Heavenly Plain Shatter.
The most basic straight punch.
A simple punch, yet it carried such power.
Jeok Wigang’s Heavenly Plain Shatter came again and again.
Faced with the flying fists, Gu Yaheuk could barely dodge, let alone counterattack.
At this rate, it wouldn’t work.
He poured inner force into the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear.
CRACK— CRACKLE—
Silver-white lightning burst from the spear in Gu Yaheuk’s hand and concentrated at the tip.
“Heavenly Thunder Burst!”
The moment he thrust the spear straight toward Jeok Wigang, a flash wrapped in lightning blasted toward him.
Gu Yaheuk had no intention of ending it there.
Jeok Wigang would obviously dodge an attack like that with ease.
So he poured in even more inner force.
CRACKLE—
The follow-up linked to Heavenly Thunder Burst.
It was Heavenly Extreme Light Flash.
The moment Jeok Wigang dodged, the Heavenly Thunder Burst would explode, more force would pour into it, and the spreading flash would pierce everything in a straight line.
The long streak of lightning extended forward, tailed by Gu Yaheuk’s power like a silver-white trail.
This was an attack that could not possibly be dodged.
At the very last moment, while Gu Yaheuk focused on controlling the power so it wouldn’t kill him—
He saw it.
A fist thrusting straight toward Heavenly Thunder Burst.
No way.
RIIIP—
The fist and Heavenly Thunder Burst collided, creating a circular shockwave. Then the force of Heavenly Thunder Burst was torn to shreds and scattered in every direction.
CRACKLE!
Remnant lightning flashed over Jeok Wigang’s fist after the attack had been destroyed.
Gu Yaheuk stared at Jeok Wigang in shock.
He hadn’t even had the chance to reduce the power yet, and Jeok Wigang had already shattered it.
The Heavenly Thunder Burst’s power had already been doubled by the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear, and Gu Yaheuk had poured even more inner force into it to unfold Heavenly Extreme Light Flash.
And Jeok Wigang had crushed that with his bare fist.
“You... just what are you?”
“Let’s just say I’m someone with ties to Heavenly Martial Castle.”