Jeok Wigang shook the lightning qi still clinging to his fist loose and said,
“Want to keep going? Or do you surrender?”
At the word surrender, Gu Yaheuk’s face twisted.
“I held back because I didn’t want to injure you.”
Jeok Wigang smiled.
“Then I guess I’ll have to make you fight at full strength. Come on. Focus.”
“What?”
The instant Gu Yaheuk wondered what exactly he was supposed to focus on—
A chilling sensation ran through him, and he threw up his spear to guard his front.
RIIIP—
“Urgh!”
An impact on a completely different level from anything before crashed over Gu Yaheuk.
“I wasn’t fighting seriously either. If I’m going to make you surrender, I should do this properly too.”
Good Lord.
He had blocked Heavenly Thunder Burst with his fist, and that still hadn’t been his full strength?
Even more shocking was the fact that, judging by the force he had just felt, it was true.
Gu Yaheuk had thought he was the one going easy on him.
But it had been the other way around.
He hurriedly tried to gather inner qi into his spear and respond.
“You’re slow.”
“Wh- when did—?”
At the heavy shock, Gu Yaheuk looked down.
Jeok Wigang’s fist had already buried itself in his abdomen.
RIIIP—
“Guhk!”
Gu Yaheuk’s body shot high into the air.
Jeok Wigang spun and sent the airborne Gu Yaheuk flying with a turning kick.
WHOOSH—
BWAAK—
CRASH, THUD, RATTLE—
Gu Yaheuk hit the ground and rolled across it in a thoroughly undignified heap.
Even so, he never let go of the spear. He kept it clenched tight in his hand.
How long had it been since he had last been sent rolling across the dirt like this?
He could barely remember.
Grinding his teeth, Gu Yaheuk sprang back to his feet and began thrusting wildly at Jeok Wigang.
This was not an opponent who would conserve strength or afford him mercy.
Full strength.
He had to go all out.
The Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear, carrying all of Gu Yaheuk’s power, turned crimson and scattered blood-red bolts of lightning in every direction.
CRACKLE—
“Spear and Thunder as One!”
Gu Yaheuk became one with the spear and launched a storm of attacks at Jeok Wigang.
Every movement carried the full force of his body and soul.
But it meant nothing to Jeok Wigang.
THOOONG—
RIIIP—
“Urgh!”
A fist broke through an attack backed by every ounce of his strength.
Did that even make sense?
What in the world was that fist made of, that it could punch straight through a spear infused with both lightning qi and spear aura as if it were nothing?
Every place it struck throbbed and screamed as though the flesh had been torn apart.
His mind was reeling, but he could not fall here.
He had to try everything he could until the very end.
CRRRK—
CRACKLE—
He squeezed out every last scrap of strength he had and poured it into the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear.
“This is everything I have! Heavenly Thunder Annihilates the World!”
Blood-red lightning shot from the spearhead into the sky, then came pouring back down toward Jeok Wigang with a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth.
He would have to dodge.
There was no way something like that could be blocked with a fist.
The instant that thought crossed his mind, the scene before his eyes blurred out for a moment, then snapped back into focus.
WHOOOOOM—
Steadying his swaying body against the fierce wind, Gu Yaheuk looked up.
Heavenly Thunder Annihilates the World had vanished without a trace.
The clouds drifting across the sky had been punched open into an enormous circular hole.
Slowly, he lowered his gaze.
Jeok Wigang stood there with his fist extended toward empty air, as if he had just struck the heavens themselves.
Had a Fist God descended?
If that punch had landed on him just now—
A chill crawled down his spine.
There was no way he would still be standing here unharmed.
In a trembling voice, Gu Yaheuk said,
“I... lost.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried what I’d do if even that wasn’t enough to make you surrender.”
Looking at Jeok Wigang as he spoke with a grin, Gu Yaheuk found himself thinking of the Heavenly Martial Castle Jeok Wigang would one day rule.
It’s him. The next successor worthy of being entrusted with the future of Heavenly Martial Castle in full.
It did not seem possible that anyone in the world could defeat Jeok Wigang.
He, one of the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle and a master of the Profound Realm, had been beaten one-sidedly from start to finish.
And that was while wielding the Heavenly Thunder Divine Spear, a divine relic.
On top of that, Jeok Wigang still had not seemed to be using his full strength.
He had to know.
“How much power did you use against me?”
Jeok Wigang raised one finger.
The answer was so absurd it drew a laugh out of him.
“For that last attack, maybe twenty percent.”
That blow had changed the shape of the clouds overhead, and that had been only twenty percent?
Then what would happen if he fought with everything he had?
No matter how Gu Yaheuk thought about it, Jeok Wigang was the perfect choice for the next Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.
He cared about Heavenly Martial Castle and thought about it more deeply than anyone else.
His temperament was sound.
And above all, he was strong.
Where else would they ever find a more complete successor for Heavenly Martial Castle?
The Lord of the Castle had told him:
If you ever find someone suitable around you, recommend him without hesitation.
“Now that you’ve lost, the owner of that spear is you, sir.”
“R-right... Thank you.”
“Then I’ll be going. I’m busy.”
BAM—
In the blink of an eye, Jeok Wigang vanished, leaving only dust swirling through the empty clearing.
Gu Yaheuk stared at the place for a moment, then hurried off to find the Lord of the Castle.
*****
When Gu Yaheuk came to him in obvious haste, Jeok Mugun could already guess what had brought him.
“What now? Did you find the perfect successor too?”
“H-how did you know?”
Jeok Mugun answered with a grin.
“Before you got here, two others already came to recommend someone.”
“The person they recommended and the person I’m recommending are on completely different levels. He’s barely twenty, and he completely overwhelmed me. If he’s that strong at that age, I can’t even begin to imagine how strong he’ll be after he grows more. There’s a terrifying monster like that out there!”
At the rapid-fire outpouring of words, Jeok Mugun let out a short laugh and asked,
“That boy’s name wouldn’t happen to be Kang Wi, would it?”
“Huh? Ah... you know him?”
“The other two recommended him too. Looks like he’s been going around selling weapons to the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“What? Selling weapons? Then he has more than just the spear?”
“Plenty. I’d wager the spear you’re holding was made by him personally.”
“No. He said it was an heirloom from his family.”
“If he’d gone to you saying he wanted to sell you a spear he made himself, would you even have agreed to meet him? That’s why he said it that way on purpose.”
“Ha...”
He felt as though he had been completely reeled in.
“It sounds like you know the boy very well, Lord of the Castle.”
At Gu Yaheuk’s question, Jeok Mugun’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
“I know him well. Oh, I know him very well.”
“Could it be... he’s already the successor?”
“The successor? No. He’s simply the next Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle.”
“Hahaha! Then I worried for nothing. I came running here anxious out of my mind in case he might leave for somewhere else.”
“I’ll need your help too. The truth is, I’ve already marked him as the one fit to become the next Lord of the Castle, but he doesn’t seem all that interested.”
“What? This is Heavenly Martial Castle we’re talking about. Becoming its master isn’t exactly some small thing.”
“Does that boy you saw strike you as someone who’d desire Heavenly Martial Castle?”
Gu Yaheuk thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“No. He felt more like a free spirit.”
“Exactly, right? That’s why I’m saying I may need help later.”
“I’ll help no matter what.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“What is that boy’s true identity? Where in the world did he come from?”
“He’s my grandson.”
“What?”
“Why are you so shocked? He’s my flesh-and-blood grandson.”
“Then... the youngest young master’s son?”
“That’s right. So I need to set aside a day and go visit the True Martial Sect.”
“Visit? For what?”
“To persuade my son. That boy may be impossible on most things, but he seems to listen to his parents. So I’m thinking of going there, apologizing for everything that happened before, and asking for help.”
“That’s incredible. To think he was your actual grandson.”
“Isn’t it?”
“What is the next Lord of the Castle’s honored name?”
“Jeok Wigang.”
Gu Yaheuk nodded slowly.
“And he’s currently selling weapons to the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle?”
“That’s right. Looks like he needs money. Even when I offered to give it to him, he insisted on earning it himself.”
The wealth of the Lord of Heavenly Martial Castle was enough to support an entire nation.
No matter how much Jeok Wigang wanted, he would have handed it over without hesitation.
And yet the boy had refused to reach out his hand and was earning it himself.
There truly was not a single thing about him to dislike.
He’s really fallen for Wigang. Completely fallen for him.
A laugh rose in Jeok Mugun’s chest.
The brat kept pretending he had no interest in Heavenly Martial Castle, all while turning every core figure in the place into one of his own people.
That was fine.
Keep doing exactly that from now on too.
“I should be going now.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“Yes. If he’s selling weapons to the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle, then instead of making him waste effort tracking them down one by one, I intend to gather them all in one place.”
“His identity stays secret. You know that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then let’s join forces and make our Wigang the next Lord of the Castle.”
“I’ll do everything I can.”
*****
For the next several days, Jeok Wigang sold weapons not to the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle, but to the upper leadership.
By the time that stretch was over, he was holding a thick bundle of drafts in his hand.
There were twenty-seven drafts in all.
At five hundred gold taels apiece, that came to a staggering thirteen thousand five hundred gold taels.
This should be enough to build up the True Martial Sect in a big way, right? And if it isn’t, I can always earn more later.
He planned to round it out to fifteen thousand and then leave.
The reason he had not reached out to Jeok Mugun for money was simple: his parents would probably hate it if he did.
The remaining fifteen hundred gold taels he needed to reach his goal, he intended to earn from the last three members of the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle, excluding his uncle.
The problem was that two of those remaining three were difficult even to meet.
For one of them, he had no information at all on where the man currently was.
He was on his way to see Im Muhyeon, the Emerald Bow Star—the only one he had any real chance of approaching—when he ran into Gu Yaheuk.
“Hahaha! So this is where you were. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“For me? Why? Is something wrong with the spear?”
“No. Do you happen to deal in other weapons too?”
What was this?
Had word gotten out?
“I hear you’ve been going around selling weapons to other people as well.”
So the rumors had spread after all.
“Well, looks like word got around.”
“It would be stranger if it hadn’t. You’ve been going around selling weapons like that.”
“Sorry for deceiving you.”
“No, no. I didn’t come to pick a fight over that. I came because I’d like to recommend your weapons to some acquaintances of mine.”
“Acquaintances?”
“Among the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle: the Emerald Bow Star, the Black Axe Star, and the Nameless Star.”
Oh?
He had been wondering how he was supposed to meet them in the first place.
Things were going Jeok Wigang’s way.
“I’d like to arrange a meeting. What do you think?”
“I’d appreciate it.”
“Hahaha! Good. Then let’s meet tonight at the place where we fought. How does that sound?”
“Works for me.”
“You already know what sort of weapons those ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) men use, don’t you?”
With a grin, Jeok Wigang nodded.
“Then I’ll see you tonight.”
“Should I bring alcohol too?”
“Hahaha. Not a bad idea!”
*****
Three people sat there with distinctly unenthused expressions.
They were the Black Axe Star, the Nameless Star, and the Emerald Bow Star, three of the Eight Stars of Heavenly Martial Castle.
“What is this? What was so urgent that you summoned all of us?”
“If this turns out to be something trivial, prepare yourself.”
Two of them grumbled, while the third sat silent with his arms folded.
“Take a look at this.”
When Gu Yaheuk showed them his divine spear, the eyes of the men who had looked so uninterested at first suddenly lit up.
“W-what is that?”
“Where did you get something that incredible?”
“I bought it for five hundred gold taels.”
“Really? That’s absurdly cheap. Where?”
“The reason I called you all here today is because of this. If you can buy weapons from that boy too, you should.”
“That boy?”
“The one selling the weapons is young?”
“Yes. Barely around twenty.”
“Good grief. A boy like that is carrying things like this around and selling them, without the slightest fear of the world?”
He could hardly fear the world.
If he was that strong, there was no need to fear it.
No—
the world was the one that ought to know fear of him and crawl on trembling knees.
“I liked it so much that I wanted to recommend him to you too. You lot almost never come outside, and I was afraid you’d miss the chance, so I got frustrated and called you here myself.”