The Eight Constellations shine most brilliantly in the sky.
They’re so high up that everyone has no choice but to look up to them. Each of them possesses incredible individual power and strength. They have lived by their own power alone and had no other person or organization supporting them behind their back.
Even after ascending to that high position, they ran across Jianghu with their pure individual force alone rather than creating their own clan or organization.
Whenever they showed their presence in Jianghu, regardless of the time and place, they would get the attention and admiration of everyone.
That is the Eight Constellations.
That is why Seong,1 which means star, is added to their names.
Stars shine by themselves, making them an object of longing. And at the bottom of the Eight Constellations, was Wolf King.
The king of wolves, the one who sits on the throne.
The legendary warrior who became a star in the sky as a mercenary.
King Gujin.
King Gujin’s first appearance in Jianghu was at the end of the War of the Bloody Heaven. The young warrior took part in the great war with only one sword and then won one after another.
He suffered several fatal wounds that people would not find it strange if he died, but he ended up persistently surviving and killing all of his enemies.
As the young warrior went through fierce battles and became stronger, he naturally became a person who is admired by everyone. And as if proving the fact that he survived hundreds of fierce battles, King Gujin’s body had countless scars.
Many wounds are engraved all over his body.
King Gujin’s eyes, which were looking straight at Soma, were so fierce that even Soma felt afraid.
“Hng!”
Meeting his ferocious eyes head on, Soma unconsciously gnashed his teeth.
Soma thought that he had lost his ability to feel fear, but he couldn’t help but shrink in front of King Gujin’s eyes.
The number of years they had lived was different, and the level of the battlefield they had fought through was different.
No matter how much Soma tries, he couldn’t help but be intimidated by someone like King Gujin.
Soma hugged his sword even tighter.
Seeing this, King Gujin smiled, showing his white teeth.
“If anyone sees us, they’ll think I’m trying to take your sword away by force. I’m just going to take a look. I’ve never seen such a sword in my entire life.”
He reached out his hand towards Soma.
Although he simply held out his hand, Soma felt tremendous pressure.
It was as if a giant wolf was glaring at him with his teeth bared.
Under the overwhelming pressure, Soma swung his sword without realizing it.
“No!”
Kaang!
However, the sword he swung vigorously only bounced off of King Gujin’s arm.
King Gujin trained his body to the limit.
His body was no different from a weapon in itself. His body, which was covered in scars, was as hard as steel. He could easily deflect sword attacks that carry no strength.
There was not a scratch on his forearm.
King Gujin grinned as he stretched out his arms.
“You attacked me first.”
“That’s—”
“You attacked me with murderous intent. Even if I fight back, no one will be able to say anything against me..”
The corners of his mouth might be smiling, but his eyes were terrifying.
It was only then that Soma realized that he had been provoked by King Gujin.
While traveling with Pyo-wol, he too had his eyes opened to the world. One of the things he learned is that strong people value justification.
Even if the same actions were performed, the results differed greatly depending on the presence or absence of a justification.
If a warrior like King Gujin coveted the sword of a kid and forcibly took it away, he would be greatly criticized by Jianghu. It would be a different story though if the kid attacked him first. Getting the sword from the kid would no longer be a big deal.
King Gujin forced Soma to attack first by pressuring him, thereby gaining a justification.
“Hiiik!”
As soon as he realized that, Soma threw himself backwards.
He wanted to escape immediately.
There was nothing more foolish than fighting against an opponent he couldn’t beat.
He doesn’t know why King Gujin wanted the sword Gongbu, but he had to run away from him first.
“Heh!”
At that moment, the corner of King Gujin’s mouth twisted upward.
He was obviously sneering at him.
He made a gesture of closing his fingers in the same way he stretched out his hand. Then, a powerful suction force was generated, pulling Soma’s body towards him.
It was the art of telekinesis.2
“Hyuk!”
A suppressed moan escaped Soma’s mouth.
An invisible powerful force squeezed and dragged him to King Gujin. It was clear that if he was dragged away like this, not only would his sword be taken away, but also his life.
“Do you think I’ll easily be beaten?”
Soma swung his arms wide as if he was shaking off his fear. Then, the seven rings on his neck flew toward King Gujin.
Gi-ying!
The seven wheels rotated fiercely, aiming for King Gujin.
In an instant, King Gujin burst out laughing.
“Hahaaha! The kid is good at doing tricks!”
Just before the wheels were about to pierce him, King Gujin raised his qi to protect his whole body.
Kakakakang!
The wheels bounced off the King Gujin’s body helplessly without leaving a scratch on him.
King Gujin clearly showed how far the human body can be trained.
Until now, Soma had killed numerous enemies using his wheels. This was the first time he had been incapacitated without being able to even inflict wounds against his opponent.
A dark shadow fell over Soma’s face as he retrieved the seven wheel rings that had bounced off.
It was the first time for him to feel so gloomy again after leaving the Xiaoleiyin Temple.
He felt like he was looking at a huge wall.
He couldn’t see any gaps which he could use to break through.
“YAAAAH!”
Soma let out a scream and launched his wheels in succession. However, with just King Gujin’s light gesture, the wheels lost its strength and bounced off.
“Damn it!”
Soma gritted his teeth and retrieved the wheels. He then threw it again.
But the result was the same.
It was at that moment that a light of contempt appeared on King Gujin’s face.
“Why don’t you use that sword? Why do you throw those iron wheels when you have such a good sword?”
“Uh, that’s–”
“This just means that you are not qualified to use that sword. How can a person who is unable to utilize the weapon’s skill claim to be its owner? A great sword such as that one originally shines at the hands of the rightful owner. You don’t deserve to be the master of that sword.”
Soma couldn’t make any excuses.
After obtaining Gongbu, he might have steadily practiced and trained with it, but it was also true that he was not familiar with the sword because he did not systematically learn how to properly wield it.
So, when a decisive moment or a situation comes when he has to draw out one hundred percent of his ability, he relies on the wheels.
It was the same even now.
He might have used his sword against Cho Yeong-sin or the White Tiger Sword Corps, but once he faced King Gujin, who was an unprecedentedly strong warrior, instead of using the sword, he ended up using the wheels.
His actions made King Gujin angry.
King Gujin actually didn’t know that Gongbu was a legendary sword. He just noticed that it had great strength and durability.
A sword of that caliber was not very common in the current Jianghu.
The biggest inconvenience he feels while working as a mercenary is that it is not easy to find a proper weapon.
His martial arts were very destructive.
In terms of destructive power, there were not many people in the world who possessed martial arts comparable to him.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login