Should he appeal to compassion?
He didn't plan on it. Even though they had both stayed at the place called Mush's Mountain, there was no real relationship between Lee Sungmin and Dok Bejun. On the mountain, Lee Sungmin was only acquainted with Baek Sogo and Scarlett.
In Lee Sungmin's memories, Dok Bejun was always standing near the cliff's edge.
A swordsman, who was blind in both eyes.
Dok Bejun, who looked down with such bottomless eyes, looked more like a monk than anyone else practicing on the mountain. Therefore, Lee Sungmin had a deep impression of him.
He had to abandon that image.
Perhaps Lee Sungmin admired Dok Bejun – Ghost Blade with his unparalleled skills. He had to throw it away. It was only the contradictory sense of responsibility and self-satisfaction that caused Lee Sungmin to move.
The spear shot forward in Lee Sungmin's hands. He dexterously employed the Nine Heavenly Spears technique. Sword and spear collided swiftly, dizzying all nearby eyes. The spear divided into a dozen pieces, while the sword emanated an aura of death.
Ghost Blade was not deceived by the spear that swam about like a fish. He held the sword firmly in his right hand. It was a weapon with a big difference in length from the spear held by Lee Sungmin, and that length was not in his favor.
Kakakakang! The sound of steel colliding with steel continued. Lee Sungmin's hands, which moved unceasingly, created dozens of movements with the spear he was wielding. Ghost Blade did not step back in the face of this violent bombardment of attacks. Sword and Spear clashed. The distance between the two did not narrow.
What will Ghost Blade do?
He couldn't afford to look at his opponent. Lee Sungmin focused on the movement of the spear instead. He blended the Rana technique and Nine Heavenly Spears technique flawlessly. Ghost Blade ceaselessly attacked Lee Sungmin with his blade, destroying all of the nearby pillars. At some point, Lee Sungmin swallowed his breath once. His spear stopped only once for a moment. His spear shot forward. His movements were as swift as a steed in battle. But Ghost Blade's expression showed no hint of surprise. He held the sword in his right hand and propelled himself forward using momentum to bounce off of Lee Sungmin's spear.
Ghost Blade said nothing. The sun was setting. Lee Sungmin, ignoring his grip, took the spear and slashed it down. The spear fell over the head of the sword. Ghost Blade's feet slid sideways. At the same time, he aimed at Lee Sungmin's waist.
The moment the sword tried to tear at Lee Sungmin's side. His body, light like clouds, swiftly dodged. This was the result of the One Thunder technique.
Ghost Blade did not panic. He only shifted the direction of his sword slightly. A few steps away, Lee Sungmin's eyes widened when he saw Ghost Blade's sword making it's way over to pierce him. He twisted the spear while pulling it into his arms.
Jjeoeoeong!
Lee Sungmin's body was pushed back with a heavy sound. He stretched and flexed his back. He could taste blood through his clenched teeth.
And he looked toward the unceasingly moving blade.
Nine Heavenly Spears, seeking to subdue the serpent's soul.
(T/N: 伏蛇魄貪 fu she po tan, lit. 'seek to subdue serpent soul')
The spear scattered in front of Ghost Blade's eyes. It disappeared. He couldn't see where it was going. Lee Sungmin's tricks had managed to hoodwink him? Was he deceived? He had to abandon relying on his sight. He had to feel with his senses. Ghost Blade tilted his upper body back.
Shuwaak! Blood splashed from the tip of the spear. If it had been a little further back, it would have pierced past his defenses, and sliced through him.
"Huhaha!"
After taking a few steps back, Ghost Blade broke into a big smile. He never thought that the spear would slash down that way. No, it wasn't just that. If he only stabbed at him with the spear that fell down, Ghost Blade would not have been hurt. How many changes were made in just that simple movement? Ghost Blade nodded in contemplation.
"Indeed. Did the ignorant kid on the mountain grow up to be like this?"
Ghost Blade said, tapping the wound on the tip of his nose with his palm. It was strange. It was a shallow wound, but it was obviously bleeding incessantly. When Ghost Blade tapped the wound with the back of his hand, it vanished.
"I envy you."
Ghost Blade said in a low voice. He held the sword with both hands. His stance, upper body half-leaning forward, holding a sword lying perfectly horizontal, seemed like a beast preparing to attack.
"I envy your talent."
Those words were said with strong conviction.
[Ah.]
Kim Jonghyun's voice sounded in Lee Sungmin's mind.
[Indeed. Why did you want to fight here instead of running away... ]
Ghost Blade ran away. The speed of the running of Ghost Blade was unparalleled. Without a moment's notice, he disappeared out of Lee Sungmin's sight. But Lee Sungmin followed right behind him with his sixth sense instead of relying on his sight and hearing.
Paak! His left shoulder was slashed. Feeling lucky that the pain, he stopped quickly, Lee Sungmin twisted his back and escaped by sensing the afterimage of Ghost Blade.
"It's night."
Ghost Blade spat out. His eyes that were gliding in the dark were red, like blood. His firm and striking body movement looked almost languid as if swimming in the dark, and an absolute death-like blade of a black guillotine shot from all sides, and the blade was carrying its weight.
Kwadeudeuk! The spear Lee Sungmin was wielding broke. He tried to block Ghost Blade's sword with his first spear, but it couldn't hold on any longer.
[Be careful. Night is his time.]
He couldn't afford to reply to Kim Jonghyun's words. Lee Sungmin hurriedly pulled a new spear out of the interdimensional pocket hanging at his waist.
[He is a vampire.]
It's not that he did not know. Vampires were very famous. A monster that makes humans non-human. A monster that becomes stronger at night when the sun goes down and cannot live without drinking blood.
The eyes of Ghost Blade, colored a shocking red, were swaying in the dark. Lee Sungmin grabbed the new spear while breathing hard. Ghost Blade, who was laughing with his shoulders shaking, opened his mouth.
"Does this look ugly?"
A sharp tooth stuck out between his open lips. Vampires are famous, but this was the first time Lee Sungmin had seen them.
"... Since when?"
"After coming down the mountain. It was when I was desperate for success. I... I hated getting old. I wanted to do more. I wanted to wield the sword more, I wanted to go further. My body was already aging, and yet I held on to the desire of wanting to go further."
Ghost Blade said, looking up at the sky.
"I have wielded the sword for 50 years. I believed myself to have great talent, and I thought that one day I would be the best. Huhu ... Hu-hu. I fell short. I was an idiot who didn't know the breadth of the wide world. That was the wall I encountered 10 years ago and couldn't find a way to cross."
So he became a vampire.
"I had to overcome old age. But with a weak vessel like mine, I couldn't even dream of reaching halfway to Ascendance. more... I needed more time. So I went looking. How to overcome time... but... but I was still in this kind of condition. I was not satisfied yet."
Ghost Blade raised his red eyes and looked at Lee Sungmin.
"I gained time by not being human. But my body is still old. more... I need more blood."
[The vampire who turned Ghost Blade was not a very powerful person. Or maybe he was not interested in swordsmanship.]
[What do you mean?]
[If you drink the blood of a higher species and mutate, you can overcome even old age. The reward for giving up your humanity is that sweet. However, still Ghost Blade did have an old body. Either he didn't join a great vampire clan, or... He didn't get enough blood, so only minimal mutations occurred. Either one is possible.]
"It's a beautiful moon."
Said Ghost Blade.
"The moonlight was even more beautiful when I killed Master Sungha ... It was a wonderful night."
"... Volcanic Sect Warriors are going to reach here any moment to kill you."
"It's too late to go back anyway. The moment I crossed the entrance and tried to fight Master Sungha, I already couldn't go back. It's night ... I'm glad. I can't jump around anymore. I need to drink more blood. Where else will I find so many young men?"
Ghost Blade smiled at the moon. There was no hint of toughness left. Only madness prevailed on his face. Or was he blinded by power, while running toward success? I envy your talent. Ghost Blade's words lingered in Lee Sungmin's mind.
[Even if Ghost Blade is not very strong as a vampire, the combination of veteran swordsman and vampire is a very dangerous thing. Especially tonight, since there is a full moon. The 'heavenly retribution' was a failure. First, let's disengage and survive till daylight arrives.]
(T/N: it literally says 'heavenly dream' from the previous few chapters. Looks like that's what they name this mission. Retribution feels more fitting in context tho ;p)
"Are you afraid?"
Ghost Blade asked Lee Sungmin. His deathly aura infused into his blade. Soon it emanated a reddish glow.
[... It doesn't look like Ghost Blade will let you go. I guess it can't be helped then. Try a little longer. The Volcanic Sect warriors will arrive soon.]
It was a difficult situation – A vampire with the power of the full moon. Defeating him was a nigh-impossible feat for Lee Sungmin, who had barely reached the threshold of transcendence.
But, Lee Sungmin didn't want to run. He caught his breath and circulated his inner energy flow. The qi stored in his dantian circumvented the blood of Lee Sungmin, and a purple aura surrounded his spear.
The efficiency was not good. Namgoong Heewon and Jihak had also pointed it out to him. It was inevitable. Lee Sungmin, who had yet to balance his heart, mind, and body, was not very familiar with dealing with his internal force. However, being able to deal with this strength even though he had yet to reach the peak of transcendence was also evidence that Lee Sungmin's enlightenment in the fight against Aine was real.
(E/N: Aine is the chimera with the other Black Heart)
"... Amazing."
When he saw the purple aura surrounding Lee Sungmin's spear, Ghost Blade smiled while baring his fangs.
"I think it will be fun to fight you."
Ghost Blade moved fluidly. It was as if he had turned into a will-o-wisp, flickering in the dark. He slipped back and disappeared, spreading light that dazzled and confounded, yet possessing the vicious power of destroying and tearing down everything he touched.
The fatality of the attack changed dramatically when he used this strength technique. If the attack previously caused the skin to cut and bleed, then it would now be instantly fatal upon impact. Spear aura was such a technique. It made all attacks life-threatening.
However, an expert at the level of Ghost Blade had a contingency plan for such a technique.
'Self Protection Force... ! '
A thin red aura surrounded the Ghost Blade's body. He was employing the Self Protection Force. Lee Sungmin, who could only force himself to use spear aura ahead, couldn't use the Self Protection technique.
That alone made a huge difference between Lee Sungmin and Ghost Blade. If Lee Sungmin received Ghost Blade's attack once, he would be fatally wounded and die, but Ghost Blade would not.
Even so, Lee Sungmin's ingenuity was sufficiently powerful enough to hold up against Ghost Blade. The Nine Heavenly Spears technique, with the added strength, blocked the movements of Ghost Blade with unnatural power, and Ghost Blade responded to this method of Lee Sungmin's with minimal movement. Did Lee Sungmin's spear overwhelm Ghost Blade? No.
Ghost Blade was enjoying it.
Like a predator playing with prey. He carelessly moved against Lee Sungmin's ingenuity and pretended not to see the gaps. As it went on for longer, Lee Sungmin realized this. He realized Ghost Blade was enjoying it. And that he was not enjoying himself.
'Bloody hell.'
It was that sort of a feeling.
If he thought about it, he had no luck.
He practiced in the Shaolin Temple for 4 years. With daily teaching from the experts, his martial arts became quite stable. The wall of the transcendence was nearly broken, and he was headed for the peak. If you thought about his age, martial artists who had reached his level were rare. On top of that, out of the successors of a prestigious family like Namgoong or the direct disciples of the great sects such as the Orthodox Sects, only a few of them will be at least equal to or better than Lee Sungmin.
In other words, if viewed objectively, Lee Sungmin wasn't weak. He was among the top of his peers of the same age. Nevertheless, Lee Sungmin's feelings of inferiority and self-confidence were due to the memories of his previous life, which he refused to let go of. At the same time, it was because of the numerous genius experts Lee Sungmin faced.
So he had no luck. In a small world, if you lived only by looking at small things, you wouldn't have to feel such self-hatred and inferiority. He had no luck, that's why he met such great people.
He knew that people could not change easily.
When he met Plam on Mush's mountain, When he overcame Mush's trials and did not care about Plam, Lee Sungmin thought he had overcome his sense of inferiority.
That was not the case. Mush's mountain was small, and Lee Sungmin's sense of inferiority was also small. When he escaped from the small world and met the big world, Lee Sungmin realized that he was wrong to think that he had abandoned his sense of inferiority.
Shaolin practice taught to completely abandon the feeling of inferiority.
So, was 'he' stronger?
No.
'He' was still weak.
It was not inferiority and self-deprecation. It was simply the truth. He was weak. He was weaker than Ghost Blade. Therefore, Ghost Blade could not be held responsible for killing Master Sungha. It was because he was so weak.
He didn't want to be weak.
'Really?'
The hand holding the spear felt unfamiliar.
'I know I'm weak.'
His hand softly traced over the spear in his hand.
'That's why I did it.'
His right foot stepped forward, and he could feel the sensation of his toes supporting him.
'Why?'
The sword fell.
'Because I didn't want to remain weak.'
The spear shot out.
'Because I don't want to be ashamed.'
Ghost Blade Dok Bejun's chest was pierced through by the spear.
Chapter end