Chapter 78 - The Black Flame Dragon Who Surpasses the Gate (6)

Geumpyo was the eldest son of the Lee family mill.

He had spent his whole life watching his parents work at the mill, and he knew he would end up doing that work someday.

It wasn't because working at the mill was cool, or because it excited him.

It was because he knew that if he was born as the son of a mill family and ran the mill, he would at least not starve to death.

There was no other particular reason for him entering the Taiyi Sect.

Entering the Taiyi Sect provided two meals a day.

When the mill wasn't doing well, his parents, who had to raise three sons with big appetites, sent him to the Taiyi Sect without much thought.

Even though it required about two years of mandatory service in the Murim Alliance later on, where else could one get two meals a day until then?

Furthermore, if he went to the Taiyi Sect, Senior Brother Sowoon and Senior Sister Saryeon were there. Thanks to those two, whom he had grown up with since childhood, Geumpyo was able to free himself from the pressure of being the eldest son and act as spoiled as he wanted, at least while he was in the Taiyi Sect.

He didn't think much of it when Gye Cheolyeong entered the sect either. No, rather, he was happy that his daily meals increased from two to three.

Sometimes there was meat as a side dish, and as long as they humored his filthy temper, he even gave them sweets, so to Geumpyo, he wasn't a particularly bad person.

Therefore, he couldn't understand why Senior Brother Jin Sowoon and Senior Sister Saryeon were at odds with Gye Cheolyeong.

They were born in the Taiyi Sect, but wouldn't their lives just end as warriors of the Taiyi Sect anyway?

Gye Cheolyeong came from a wealthy family, and because his father had a lot of money, he supposedly hired experts of the Murim to learn martial arts separately.

Could people who only learned the Taiyi Sect's martial arts really win against such a person?

Yet he had done just that.

Senior Brother Jin Sowoon.

The kind senior brother who had talent no different from his own, who took on all of Gye Cheolyeong's tyranny alone, and who yielded the snacks and food he was supposed to eat to his junior brothers.

That senior brother, who was so smart that people said he would later work as the External Hall Leader, began walking a different path.

'Senior Brother, just what are you thinking?'

He was resisting his predetermined fate, fighting back without retreating a single inch.

The story of how he risked his life for the unremarkable Taiyi Sect, expending his innate true qi to intimidate the Iron Sword Sect Leader, had something that resonated in his chest every time he heard it, even though he had heard it repeatedly from Saryeon.

He thought that perhaps his senior brother had changed.

He thought that perhaps his senior brother wanted to go to the Murim Academy in Gye Cheolyeong's place and completely change his own fate.

'But it wasn't that either.'

Watching him yield to Saryeon at the end of the talent scout's exam, he felt that his senior brother was still the exact same senior brother.

If, in their childhood, he had taken Gye Cheolyeong's tyranny for them and shared his sweets.

Now that he was grown, he was taking on the tyranny of the Murim for them and yielding an opportunity for them to soar.

And he was doing it for them, who were just going to work at the mill once their mandatory service in the Murim Alliance was over.

That was when Geumpyo, Eunho, and Dongryong realized for the first time that they too had a new dream.

'Are we truly allowed to dream? Senior Brother?'

Perhaps they had given up in advance because they couldn't have it.

Perhaps they hadn't even tried to reach it because it was out of reach from the start.

But Senior Brother Sowoon always risked his life and raised his sword for their sake.

Yet, because he never spoke of how much he was sacrificing or said things like it was all for them, they couldn't even tell him to stop.

So now, they decided to try and repay the debt they owed to their senior brother.

Since they were no longer clueless children just eating sweets given to them.

They thought that if they somehow managed to get their senior brother into the Murim Academy, they might be able to lessen the debt they owed him.

"That's what we have to do, so what are you doing! Dongryong!!"

Geumpyo, who should have been maintaining the sword array to deal with the Ssangmak Stronghold bandits, was currently blocking Dongryong alone.

As the villagers joined the fight wielding bamboo spears and sickles, the momentum completely shifted to their side.

They had gained some leeway in the fierce battle and even found a moment to catch their breath, but the problem was that the villagers were people who had not learned martial arts.

Even if the bandits were in a confused state from inhaling a lungful of smoke, it was an obvious fact that they were martial artists who had learned martial arts.

The moment the villagers spilled blood from the blind swords they swung wildly, Dongryong broke out of the sword array.

Heavenly Slaughter Star.

How surprised had he been when he first heard that story?

If the Eldest Senior Brother hadn't told him not to worry too much, he wouldn't have even been able to sleep properly last night.

'Senior Brother! I think you were wrong!'

The Heavenly Slaughter Star didn't just refer to having a vicious killing intent.

This was a demonic talent made by the heavens to kill humans.

Thinking about how countless Heavenly Slaughter Stars in the past had massacred experts of the Murim despite being ordinary people who hadn't learned a lick of martial arts, one could see just how terrifying this talent was.

And right now, Geumpyo was witnessing that terrifying talent with his own two eyes.

Dongryong was wildly exuding killing intent while swinging his sword at the bandits.

Even though it was unmistakably his cute youngest brother, the sight of him emitting a red light from his eyes made him feel an eerie sense of detachment.

Especially whenever he faced a martial artist who seemed several times stronger than himself, the way he steeply grew by feeding on the experience of those fleeting moments did not seem like something of this world.

With a single blink, the sword form of the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique would change, and with another blink, his accomplishment in the Great Heaven Sword Technique would shift.

There was no defense in Dongryong's swordsmanship. Watching him unleash attack after attack while dodging his opponent's strikes made Geumpyo wonder whether their parents had an enemy he and his brothers knew nothing about.

Now, even the bandits were terrified by Dongryong's crazy movements and were fleeing one by one.

And as if he intended to leave not a single one alive, Dongryong desperately executed the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps, tenaciously reaping their lives.

Completely drenched in blood, his demon-like appearance began to frighten even the villagers.

There was no more battle.

The bandits were already entirely preoccupied with fleeing or begging for their lives.

Even so, Dongryong thirsted for blood until the very end.

Eventually, Geumpyo launched a sword strike toward Dongryong.

"Snap out of it! Dongryong!"

"... I'll kill them! I'll protect... I'll kill to protect!! I will... kill! ... All of them!"

As if he had forgotten that he was his older brother, Dongryong's sword was incredibly sharp.

It was overwhelming for Geumpyo to face Dongryong, who was perfectly imitating the sword form of Jin Sowoon that he had seen sometime before.

"Please, snap out of it!"

He had sent Eunho to deliver the news to Jin Sowoon, but that fleeting moment felt like an eternity.

The thought that he couldn't let his younger brother turn into a demon like this, and the desperation that if things kept going like this, he might die by his younger brother's hands.

"Lee Dongryong!! Snap out of it! Don't you want to go to the Murim Alliance with Senior Brother Jin Sowoon?!"

"...!"

For a fleeting moment, Dongryong's movements flinched and stopped.

Geumpyo raised his voice even louder.

"If you become a demon like this, we won't be able to stay together in the Taiyi Sect anymore! Is that truly what you want?!"

"...!"

Twitch, twitch.

His stopped body began to move again.

The killing intent that had been directed at the bandits other than Geumpyo was now fired straight at Geumpyo.

An even fiercer attack came at him, as if facing an enemy who was trying to eliminate his murderous nature.

Geumpyo's hands and feet started to tangle up.

"Keuhk! Lee Dongryong, you..."

The moment when he was eventually left to blankly watch Dongryong's sword pierce toward his vitals.

"You did well."

CLANG!

A sword that was entirely black from hilt to blade blocked Dongryong's sword.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

Jin Sowoon skillfully blocked Dongryong's sword, but it lacked its usual sharpness. Looking at his appearance, he was already thoroughly exhausted. He had probably drained all his energy dealing with the Stronghold Masters of the Ssangmak Stronghold.

"How long has it been?"

"It's been almost thirty minutes."

"I'm not late."

"Is that true?"

"... Yeah."

Jin Sowoon considered it fortunate.

The reason he had taught moving cultivation to the three Geum-eun-dong brothers and pushed them to devote themselves to it even more was because he knew Dongryong possessed the Heavenly Slaughter Star.

The verses of the Taiyi True Scripture make one view themselves from a third-party perspective and look more closely at their inner self.

A Heavenly Slaughter Star would instinctively circulate moving cultivation to keep their body from exhausting, and as long as he was reciting the Taiyi True Scripture, the chances of him snapping out of it were much higher.

"What should we do?"

"There's nothing we can do. We just have to let Dongryong wake up on his own."

"What if he can't wake up?"

"... He will wake up."

Geumpyo's eyes trembled violently at Jin Sowoon's words.

Had he ever heard Jin Sowoon speak so unconfidently before?

The man who had spoken so nonchalantly even when striking the Ssangmak Stronghold...

Why had he asked about the time? Was he unable to wake up if too much time had passed? Would Dongryong just turn into a demon like this then?

Geumpyo felt like his heart plummeted with a thud.

"Pant, pant, pant. Brother, what happened?"

Eunho came running up, steam rising thickly from his entire body. Geumpyo couldn't give any answer to Eunho, who asked while catching his breath.

'This isn't right. This... this isn't right.'

Only Geumpyo and Eunho had intended to step up to help Jin Sowoon.

But Dongryong, who liked Jin Sowoon so much, had gritted his teeth and stubbornly insisted.

So they had deliberately pushed their training far beyond their limits, telling him to at least try to keep up with the training if he wanted to come, and Dongryong had endured and kept up with the training until the moment he fainted.

They couldn't just leave Dongryong, who had tried so hard, here.

"Brother! What are you doing?!"

"We can't just leave Dongryong here!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Eunho! Let's go. We have to take Dongryong with us!"

"..."

Eunho had absolutely no idea what Geumpyo was talking about, but he felt that following his words at this very moment was the way to not regret things later.

"Step aside!"

Jin Sowoon, who was facing Dongryong, reached out a hand and told them not to come closer, but Geumpyo raised his sword and charged at Dongryong.

"I will take Dongryong with us!"

"Geumpyo."

"We are going to take Dongryong with us!"

CLASH-CLASH-CLASH-CLANG!

Because of Geumpyo, Jin Sowoon was unable to swing his sword, and Dongryong's brow smoothed out completely. The Heavenly Slaughter Star was distinguishing between those stronger and weaker than himself.

"Lee Dongryong! Snap out of it! Are you going to become a demon like this?!"

"..."

"You said you wanted to become a chivalrous warrior like Eldest Senior Brother! Then don't get drunk on something like a murderous nature!"

"...!"

Dongryong's sword, which had been aiming for Geumpyo's vitals, suddenly came to a dead halt for a moment, and Geumpyo dug into that gap.

Dongryong bent his arm bizarrely and tried to thrust his sword into Geumpyo's neck in an instant.

CLANG!

"Lee Dongryong! No matter how much you hate your eldest brother, this isn't right!"

Eunho deflected Dongryong's sword. The two began to barely fend off Dongryong's sword with joint attacks.

"Lee Dongryong! If you keep refusing to listen, we're leaving you behind!"

"...!"

Dongryong stopped dead once again.

"Lee Dongryong! We brought you because you said you wanted to come with us!"

"What will we do if we can't get Eldest Senior Brother into the Murim Academy because of you?!"

"...!!"

Every time Geumpyo and Eunho shouted fiercely, Dongryong's movements slowly began to grow sluggish.

"Snap out of it! Before we really leave you behind!"

Geumpyo and Eunho shouted so loudly that their voices went entirely hoarse.

In contrast to the desperate cries of the two, Dongryong's sword lunged at their crucial acupoints several times, but the two did not stop their shouting.

"If you keep refusing to listen, we'll send you home!"

HALT.

Dongryong's body stopped for the very first time.

Then, his entire body trembled as if he was having a seizure.

When Geumpyo and Eunho looked at Jin Sowoon in surprise, Jin Sowoon nodded silently.

"We're going to send you back home! Go home by yourself!"

"Go and help Father and Mother! Eldest Senior Brother is going to go all the way to the Murim Academy with us!"

His eyelids rolled back, and he even spewed foam from his mouth.

Then he suddenly vomited blood.

"Bleugh. Keuhk—"

Dongryong dropped the sword that had seemed glued to his hand to the floor, and after retching for a long time, he raised his head.

His glowing red eyes flashing, he spoke in a tearful voice.

"... No, take me too..."

At Dongryong's sight, Geumpyo and Eunho let out laughs mixed with sighs.

"Haa. This damn kid."

"Haha, haha. Hahaha."

Watching the three brothers, Jin Sowoon was finally able to sigh in relief.

'Thank goodness.'

The murderous nature of the Heavenly Slaughter Star was a desire that was hard to quell, but conversely, if they could snap out of it just once, they would never be consumed by the murderous nature from then on.

Even if they were consumed by their murderous nature, the experience of waking up would allow them to regain their reason once more.

By accomplishing something that only three people in the history of the Murim had ever done, Dongryong had obtained a peerless talent.