Episode 86
Lee Kang-hak.
He was the person who was always mentioned when discussing the world’s greatest masters.
His world, known to the world, is a world of flowers.
There were still many people praising his achievements while on active duty.
His nickname is Charmado (斬魔刀).
He was renowned as an expert who freely wielded a large sword that would have been difficult for ordinary people to lift.
‘Even though I am retired now.’
Nevertheless, it was clear that he was a person of great influence.
What more can I say, since the Demon Lord took note of it.
Even after his retirement, Lee Kang-hak continued to interact with his juniors.
When his juniors brought in new monks, he gave them advice and teachings.
As a result, the number of monks who had a direct or indirect relationship with him was quite large.
So, the Demon Lord caused his granddaughter to fall into a demonic state and, under the pretext of curing her, asked her to act as a spy.
It was an attempt to steal Maeng’s confidential information through him.
However, the cult leader’s plan failed.
Lee Kang-hak was a more upright person than was known to the public.
He showed a cooperative attitude at first, but as soon as he was sure that his granddaughter had completely recovered her health, he announced to those around him that he had conspired with the demonic cult and committed suicide.
His death caused great repercussions.
All the followers who had a relationship with him declared revenge, and the public opinion that spread like wildfire changed the minds of the elders who had shown a passive attitude towards the war against the Demon Cult.
‘Well, rather than reforming my mind, I felt like I followed the trend by crying and eating because an atmosphere that I couldn’t oppose was created.’
The religious leader, who had tried to control him like a hand and foot by continuously threatening him, appeared perplexed by the unexpected results.
I couldn’t even make a sound out of my breath because I was afraid of irritating the religious leader, who was clearly showing his discomfort at the time.
‘Although he is not an active martial artist, Lee Kang-hak’s personal connections cannot be ignored.’
If I could build a relationship with him, it would be easier to build a support group within the group.
There were four main things needed to become a Meng elder in the future.
Power, performance, reputation, and cause.
As the size of the forces supporting me grows, it becomes easier to achieve a cause.
So, if possible, I wanted to build a good relationship with Lee Kang-hak.
By curing his granddaughter’s illness, he wins his favor, builds friendships through continuous interactions, and leverages the power of his personal connections to achieve success.
It was a perfect plan.
As I walked around, thinking of various thoughts, I stopped in front of the huge manor and took a breath.
On the plaque hanging above the main gate, the words ‘Lee Ga-jang (彛家莊)’ were written in a handwriting worthy of a warrior.
I approached the warrior guarding the entrance and spoke.
“This is Yeon-woon, who decided to visit today.”
* * *
“Are you the young man who asked to see me?”
Spacious garden.
A large old man who was trimming a tree with scissors made a ‘grunt’ sound and got up from his seat.
I politely bowed to him.
“Greetings to Mr. Yeon-woon and Senior Noh, the martial arts scholar.”
“Sohyeongeom, that bastard wearing the disguise of a Taoist monk insisted that I meet him, so I took the time…”
The old man, Lee Kang-hak, looked back with a fearful expression and muttered.
It’s huge.
Although it must have been quite some time since he retired, there was no signs of aging on his body.
Her bronze skin glistened under the sunlight.
Even though the weather wasn’t that hot yet, he was only wearing sleeveless clothes that seemed to be work clothes, and the solid muscles on his forearms and calves caught my eye.
The flowing prayers weighed heavily on the area.
“Didn’t you hear the story from senior Sohyeongeom?”
“heard. “You know how to cure her granddaughter’s strange illness, right?”
“That’s right.”
“How many people do you think have come to me saying the same thing so far?”
“yes?”
“There are dozens of quacks who have approached me under the pretext of my granddaughter, who won’t hurt if you put it in her eye.”
“······.”
“Can you tell how it feels? “Can you imagine my devastated feelings after encountering so many human beings who torture people’s lives with hope?”
“I am not like them.”
“The lawmakers who have visited me so far have said the same thing. He said he would be different. But you know what? Among the doctors who came here to treat my granddaughter’s strange illness, there was even a contemporary doctor. I blindly went to the temple of the Murim Alliance’s god, knelt down and prayed to him. “Please spare her granddaughter’s life.”
“······.”
“No one could cure my granddaughter’s illness. No, no one could even find out the name of her disease, let alone her treatment.”
“Of course it is. “The strange illness her granddaughter is suffering from is not actually a disease.”
“That’s funny. “It’s amazing how confident you are when you don’t even know my granddaughter.”
Lee Kang-hak approached with great strides, thrust his head in and said.
I made eye contact with him for a while without the slightest change in expression.
Although I pretended to be calm on the outside, I felt a chill running down my back from the tension that felt like I was facing a ferocious beast.
Short-cut hair, thick eyebrows, wide eyes, angular facial lines, thick lips, and even a scar extending from the chin to the corner of the mouth.
Just looking at his appearance, he was powerful enough to be believed to be a black swordsman.
“As you said, I have never met my granddaughter, nor have I examined her to find out her physical condition. “But I know the reason why her granddaughter suffered from a strange disease.”
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“cause?”
“It’s martial arts. To be exact, it’s because I learned the wrong way of thinking. “The identity of the strange illness my granddaughter is suffering from is actually a mental demon.”
“······.”
“You don’t look that surprised. Have you ever guessed?”
“······.”
Lee Kang-hak’s expression hardened.
He stared at me blankly with disbelief in his eyes.
I intuitively knew something was wrong.
‘no way.’
A thought crossed my mind for a moment.
I narrowed my eyes and took a step back to increase the distance between me and the other person.
“Has the demonic cult already contacted you? “You said you would treat her granddaughter?”
“······.”
“Judging by your expression, it seems like that. They probably said the same thing as me. “Isn’t that right?”
“······.”
Lee Kang-hak did not answer.
It just stands there like a stone and just looks at me.
I thought it was strange.
By nature, a drowning person would try to grasp at straws.
However, Lee Kang-hak took a hostile attitude toward me from the beginning.
No matter how disappointed the lawmakers who went before him were, it was a reaction that was difficult to understand.
‘I guess they were trying to kick him out with a good reason.’
I never would have thought that Lee Kang-hak would have already come into contact with the demonic cult.
It was a troubling situation.
In the worst case, Lee Kang-hak could have tried to destroy the situation to maintain secrecy.
“It’s not too late. Cut off ties with him. “I will treat her granddaughter instead.”
“How can I trust you when I first saw you today?”
“······?”
“What if you came to me while you were tracking down a demonic cultist, and you actually don’t have a way to cure your granddaughter? “What if you just made up something reasonably plausible to cut off communication with the Demonic Cult?”
“I swear it’s not like that.”
“Isn’t that why you are asking? “How are you going to prove it?”
“Please take me to my granddaughter first.”
“I can’t do that. “The possibility of a hostage situation cannot be ruled out.”
“Do you trust the demon cultist more than me, who came to me through the introduction of senior Sohyeongeom?”
“Rather, that is why I am wary of you. “I don’t know what the old raccoon had in mind for sending you.”
“······.”
“Sohyeongeom is a person who is not strange in doing anything for his own benefit. On the other hand, the magician who came to see me clearly proved his abilities.”
I scratched the back of my head and was lost in thought.
I had no idea how to overcome this situation.
One thing was certain: Lee Kang-hak considered saving his granddaughter’s life the most important thing.
There was no room for compromise in that regard.
No matter what I said here, he would choose the surest and safest method.
‘Would you rather just hit me?’
Lee Kang-hak was a strong man who ranked first among the hundred great masters.
He was a man of skill that could not be compared to the Red Ghost Twin Sword.
It was clear that this was a difficult opponent for me to deal with.
However, he was currently not in possession of his German weapon, a large sword.
It was far from perfect.
I decided it was worth a try.
At that moment, Lee Kang-hak’s new form dispersed like smoke from its place.
‘Lee Hyeong Hwan Wei (以形換位)!’
I quickly rolled on the ground and left the place.
A palm the size of a pot lid grazed the top of my head.
Lee Kang-hak looked surprised, as if he didn’t know that the surprise attack would end in vain.
‘This is what happens in the end. I’ll try to subdue it first, right?’
I clicked my tongue, corrected my posture, pulled out the sword from my waist, and opened the Wolyeonggeom.
The opponent is a master of fireworks.
Even if you didn’t have a weapon, you could never let down your guard.
We had to fight with all our might from the beginning.
Twenty-third herbivory, Suwol (水月).
The remnants that remained along the sword’s path crumbled into countless blades.
“Sigh!”
Lee Kang-hak was not embarrassed by the phantom blades flying from all directions.
He hit the ground hard, whipped the new model around like a windmill, and released a huge wave of energy.
The illusion dispersed like the ebb of the tide, and only the real weapon remained, targeting Lee Kang-hak’s vital point.
Boom!
Lee Kang-hak lightly struck them down with a short blow.
‘…Wasn’t he an expert in swordsmanship?’
I cursed inwardly and crawled into the gap between him.
Lee Kang-hak thrust both fists alternately as if he had been waiting.
The energy that had been quivering on the back of my hand rose and took on a clear form.
Kwon Kang (拳罡).
This is an art that cannot be performed unless you are a master of flower techniques.
In a split-second, I poured a lot of energy into the sword and added lightning energy to it.
Whoa!
As he took a deep breath and lowered his sword, a loud noise erupted.
A massive light wave swept across the area.
The beautifully manicured garden became a mess.
Fragments of the broken tree flew everywhere.
Quadddddd!
Unable to overcome the shock, I was pushed back for a while and frowned as I spat out the blood that had accumulated in my mouth.
I decided that there was no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.
Likewise, Lee Kang-hak, who was pushed away leaving long marks on the ground, looked at me with an expression of disbelief and muttered.
“What kind of monster…!”
martial arts,
