Chapter 199: Age of Wisdom
“…How can it be you?”
Cheoldu-ryong stared at the black lizard before him, utterly aghast.
"Supreme between Heaven and Earth" was originally an enlightenment of Buddha.
There was no way a spiritual being of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains could know that.
If it wasn’t something passed down, it meant the creature had realized it on its own.
And that would mean this black lizard before him was akin to Buddha itself.
“So, it is the return of all things to one.”
Cheoldu-ryong’s fighting spirit ignited.
Though he harbored grand ambitions of killing all humans, he couldn’t deny he had grown drunk on the overwhelming power gained from passing through the Dragon Gate.
He needed someone to test his strength against.
The black lizard before him seemed a worthy opponent to throw everything he had against.
“Very well! Death with a tail! Come at me—”
Cheoldu-ryong’s words didn’t finish.
Paang!
The black lizard darted forward at a speed his eyes couldn’t follow.
Kwaaang!
He hastily extended his arms to block the attack.
Dragon Claw met Dragon Claw.
It resembled the clash between the hermit and Cheoldu-ryong before, but the results were different.
Kagagak!
“What is this…!”
An outsider was using the Dragon Claw technique.
It wasn’t just an imitation; it was a skillful mastery of Shaolin martial arts.
But it didn’t end there.
Cheoldu-ryong saw a hawk and a viper within his opponent’s movements.
The dragon’s claws he had clashed with transformed into something new.
Kagak!
Kaaaang!
The Hawk’s Grip and the Viper’s Fang erupted like a storm.
“Grrgh…!”
The destructive dragon claws of his opponent tightened around Cheoldu-ryong’s throat.
He struggled to escape.
But this unfamiliar attack threw him into disarray.
There was only one way to break free from this predicament.
Kwaaang!
Cheoldu-ryong drove his hardened head straight into the ground.
Puhak!
Although he suffered a blow from the attack in the process, the injury wasn’t severe.
Kwaaaaang!
A shockwave that could shatter mountains reverberated through the world.
Even the mighty black lizard had no choice but to retreat.
“Grr… I can’t win with martial arts alone.”
Cheoldu-ryong gave a grim smile.
Though he had been consistently pushed back, that was only when using the Dragon Claw technique.
He hadn’t yet utilized the full power of the Dragon Gate.
“No matter how strong you are… this place is now my domain!”
Jjejejejejek!
Frost gathered madly around him.
Numerous icy weapons bloomed amidst the snowflakes.
“You’ve made me wait long enough.”
Woooong.
Cheoldu-ryong’s head froze solid.
His already steel-like head was now further reinforced by the glacial cold of the snowy mountains.
With the cold of the mountains and his own raw strength, Cheoldu-ryong was convinced of his victory.
Kwagagagak!
With overwhelming momentum, he charged toward the black lizard.
If he could land his headbutt, that massive black lizard would surely fall.
That was Cheoldu-ryong’s belief, and it wasn’t entirely unfounded.
Moreover, the hidden weapons within the snow were launched, aiming for the black lizard’s neck.
If the headbutt was dodged, the weapons would decapitate the lizard.
Even if the lizard avoided the hidden weapons, its massive body couldn’t fully evade the snow.
In such a scenario, it would leave an opening for his headbutt.
The black lizard watched the incoming weapons and Cheoldu-ryong’s head.
At the critical moment, the lizard’s response defied all common sense.
It stood upright on two legs instead of four.
Cheoldu-ryong felt puzzled but didn’t halt his advance.
The moment his head and the hidden weapons targeted the lizard’s neck—
Paaang!
The black lizard vanished.
Its movements were fluid and natural, like a dragon swimming through the heavens.
It was the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
Cheoldu-ryong was bewildered.
This movement defied logic.
Such speed was impossible for a body of that size and weight.
But he couldn’t remain stunned forever.
Cheoldu-ryong amplified the power of the Dragon Gate, creating new weapons from the swirling snowflakes.
The first attack had been dodged, but his opponent was now airborne.
“…How is it that you…?”
Cheoldu-ryong stared at the black lizard in front of him, utterly astonished.
The phrase "Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme" originated from the Buddha’s enlightenment.
There was no way a spiritual creature of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains could have known that.
Unless it had heard the enlightenment from another, it must have realized it on its own.
And that would mean the black lizard before him was akin to the Buddha itself.
“Indeed, could this be the true return to all things?”
Cheoldu-ryong’s fighting spirit flared up.
Though he harbored grand ambitions to kill all humans, he had grown somewhat intoxicated by the omnipotence granted by the overwhelming power he gained through the Dragon Gate.
He needed an opponent to test his strength against.
The black lizard before him was a foe worthy of all he could muster.
“Very well! Death with a tail! Face me….”
Cheoldu-ryong’s words were cut off.
Paaaang!
Paryong surged forward at a speed Cheoldu-ryong’s eyes could not follow.
Kwang!
Cheoldu-ryong hastily extended his arm to counter Paryong’s attack.
Dragon Claws met Dragon Claws.
The clash resembled the collision between Doin and Cheoldu-ryong, but the outcome was different.
Kagagagak!
“What in the world…!”
An outsider was using Dragon Claws.
Not merely imitating them, but skillfully employing Shaolin’s martial arts.
And that wasn’t all.
Cheoldu-ryong saw a hawk and a viper through his own eyes.
The claws of the dragon he had clashed against transformed into a new form.
Ka-gak!
Kaaang!
The secret essence of the hawk and viper surged like a storm.
“Grr…!”
The destructive claws of Paryong constricted Cheoldu-ryong’s throat.
Cheoldu-ryong struggled to escape.
But he could not help but falter in the face of an attack he had never encountered before.
There was only one way to escape this situation.
Kwang!
Cheoldu-ryong drove his hardened head straight into the ground.
Puhwak!
Although he allowed Paryong’s attack to land during the process, the injury was not severe.
Kwaaaaang!
The impact, strong enough to shatter a mountain, reverberated through the world.
Even Paryong had no choice but to retreat.
“Grr… mere martial arts won’t suffice.”
Cheoldu-ryong grinned confidently.
Though he had been overwhelmed so far, that was only when using Dragon Claws.
He had yet to utilize the true power of the Dragon Gate.
“No matter how strong you are… this place is now my domain!”
Jeojeojeojeok!
A frigid chill converged madly.
Countless ice-formed weapons blossomed like flowers amidst the snow.
“You’ve waited long enough.”
Woooong.
Cheoldu-ryong’s head froze over.
His already steel-hard head became even more fortified by the frost of the snowy mountain.
The cold of the snow mountain and Cheoldu-ryong’s inherent power.
Cheoldu-ryong had no doubt about his victory.
Kagagagak!
With overwhelming momentum, he charged at Paryong.
If his headbutt landed, he would surely bring down the enormous black lizard.
That was Cheoldu-ryong’s belief, and it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Moreover, the hidden weapons amidst the snow targeted Paryong’s neck.
If the headbutt was avoided, the weapons would slice his neck.
Even if Paryong tried to evade the hidden weapons, his massive body couldn’t avoid them in the snow.
Instead, he would expose an opening and fall victim to the headbutt.
Paryong calmly observed the incoming weapons and Cheoldu-ryong’s head.
In a critical moment, Paryong’s action defied all logic.
He stood not on four legs but on two.
Cheoldu-ryong felt a twinge of confusion but did not halt his charge.
At the moment Cheoldu-ryong’s head and the hidden weapons aimed for Paryong’s neck—
Paaang!
Paryong vanished.
The dragon’s movement was fluid and natural, as if swimming through the sky.
It was the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
Cheoldu-ryong was flustered.
The motion defied reason.
With such a massive body and weight, achieving that speed should have been impossible.
But he couldn’t remain stunned forever.
Cheoldu-ryong amplified the power of the Dragon Gate further, transforming the swirling snowflakes into additional weapons.
The first attack had been evaded, but his foe was now airborne.
No matter how powerful the Komodo was, it couldn’t move freely.
Weapons forged from frost shot toward Paryong.
Swaeeeeee!
It was impossible to avoid them this time.
Even with a miraculous footwork technique, being airborne meant it couldn’t exert its full power—this was common sense.
However.
Tat!
Paryong defied common sense.
Naturally stepping on the snowflakes, it leaped once more.
“Da, Da, Dapseolmuheun?”
It was a level where even stepping on the snow left no footprints.
By mixing that mastery with the mystery of the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step, Paryong was able to leap from the snow while in mid-air.
“W-What is this?!”
Cheoldu-ryong, who had survived countless hellish battles, had never seen such a terrifying sight.
A massive lizard over three jang in length was treading not on four legs but two, traversing the snowflakes and leaping through the air.
Its blue eyes gleamed, and its white fur fluttered in the wind, evoking the image of a malevolent spirit.
Yet at the same time, its movements felt strangely divine.
“Grrr….”
Paryong charged at Cheoldu-ryong, stepping on the snow as it moved.
Cheoldu-ryong chose to confront Paryong head-on.
A miraculous footwork technique.
Unbelievable movements.
Overwhelming martial prowess.
In most aspects, Paryong was a level above him.
But not in every aspect.
When it came to wielding the power of the Dragon Gate, Cheoldu-ryong had the upper hand.
This was the Snowy Mountain, not Paryong’s domain.
But even that wasn’t enough to bring Paryong down.
Cheoldu-ryong knew there was one more thing he excelled in.
The power of a single decisive blow.
If he landed his headbutt, he could defeat the creature.
And right now, it was charging in a perfect straight line.
By using its strength against it, he could deal catastrophic damage.
Pabat!
In an instant, Paryong’s figure disappeared.
It was physically incomprehensible.
Its body bent like a bow, and then Paryong vanished in an instant.
‘…A bow?’
In that brief moment, Cheoldu-ryong realized the level Paryong had reached.
Curved Body Shadow-Skip-Dash.
A technique that used the body’s elasticity to move in a single bound.
Even among masters, it was rarely executed easily. Yet that lizard was using it as if it were natural. A technique that should have been impossible for its size.
Cheoldu-ryong didn’t have time to dwell on it.
He knew that Paryong hadn’t simply disappeared but would reappear in another direction.
Paryong’s massive forepaw swung down.
Kwooooang!
An immense impact overwhelmed Cheoldu-ryong’s entire body.
Even though he had fortified himself with frost, it felt like his entire body was shattering.
“Gaaaargh!”
Just as Cheoldu-ryong had a head, Paryong had forepaws.
“Grrk… Khaaaah!”
Cheoldu-ryong coughed up blood and staggered back.
“Why… with power this great… do you side with humans?!”
Cheoldu-ryong couldn’t comprehend Paryong.
Born as a spiritual creature, why would it take the side of humans?
“Gegek.”
The black lizard let out a small cry.
Was it mocking him to the very end?
As that thought crossed his mind and rage began to boil, it happened.
“Gaegek, gaegek, gaegek.”
It wasn’t just a simple cry.
“I was the lowest of the low, a gecko.”
The voice wasn’t that of a lizard but the resonant voice of a divine beast.
“And from there, I embraced all, so that too became gecko.”
It was incomprehensible.
“This is gecko, gecko, and gecko.”
The cryptic words sounded like a Zen riddle, yet Cheoldu-ryong faintly grasped their meaning.
“You weren’t born as a spiritual creature?”
It was an unbelievable statement.
That a powerful spiritual being, emanating the energy of a dragon, was not born as a spiritual creature.
“Are you saying you were born a weak, insignificant creature?”
Born as a small lizard, it had risen to its current level.
It was hard to believe, but it wasn’t impossible.
Cheoldu-ryong focused his inner energy on his eyes.
He had a special ability.
Someone from the Namgoong family had given him a fox bead, and by taking it, he had gained that ability.
A power to see farther and perceive more than others.
Though unstable, Cheoldu-ryong trusted that ability.
It had revealed his own past to him, after all.
Through those eyes, Cheoldu-ryong began to see Paryong in a different form.
To be precise, it looked like it was split into two.
On the right was the current massive black lizard.
On the left was a man with long white hair, gazing at him with hollow blue eyes full of pity.
“Why… why do I see a human?”
Something hot surged deep in Cheoldu-ryong’s chest.
“Why does a spiritual creature like you… overlap with a human?”
This was different from spiritual creatures that could take on human forms.
His eyes, which pierced to the essence of things, clearly saw a human.
Why did this being appear human to him?
It wasn’t a spiritual creature capable of human transformation.
Crunch.
Cheoldu-ryong’s blue heart cried out.
“You’re mocking me to the very end! Answer me! Death with a tail! What are you?!”
Unable to suppress his rage, he glared at Paryong as if he were ready to kill.
The split figure did not answer.
It only looked at him with hollow eyes, as if pitying him.
The one who answered him was the unbroken, original Paryong.
“My surname is Go.”
Since his followers called him Komodo, he bore the surname Go.
“My name is Hui.”
Because his master called him Hui, he bore the name Hui.
“Go Hui.”
Komodo, Paryong.
And Go Hui.
That was his name, and that was his identity.
“…To use a filthy human name while being a spiritual creature.”
Cheoldu-ryong focused all the power in his eyes.
“A being born neither as a spiritual creature nor as a human!”
His focus rested on his head.
“Death with a tail, cast off your false identity and come to me!”
A beast born as an animal yet trying to live as a human.
That was how Cheoldu-ryong perceived the being before him.
A truly pitiable creature.
Spiritual creatures and humans could never harmonize.
They would end up exploited and discarded, just like him.
That was inevitable.
“To kill all humans… is the wish of all spiritual creatures!”
Having declared this, Cheoldu-ryong charged at Paryong.
“Ssssss…”
At that moment, he noticed Paryong taking a deep breath.
He immediately recognized the posture.
It was the Lion’s Roar demonstrated by Doin.
It was now clear that this being could emulate Shaolin martial arts.
It skillfully used Dragon Claws and even understood the mystery of "Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme."
It was imitating the Lion’s Roar to counter his headbutt.
Cheoldu-ryong grinned confidently.
“Let me show you the origin!”
Even though his inner energy was concentrated on his head, he could still perform the Lion’s Roar.
In fact, he could even apply it more effectively in his current state.
The opponent using the Lion’s Roar only gave him the time to do the same.
Cheoldu-ryong’s Lion’s Roar was at its peak.
He was so accustomed to it that even Doin’s Lion’s Roar couldn’t faze him.
Kwagagagagak!
Though Cheoldu-ryong cast it slower, his roar activated faster.
The lion’s bellow twisted the earth and shook the heavens.
A ferocious roar of a predator, as if intent on erasing everything within its range, engulfed Paryong.
Cheoldu-ryong was certain of his victory.
Until he saw the blue energy surging in Paryong’s mouth.
“Ssssss…”
Paryong wasn’t preparing the Lion’s Roar.
All of its inner energy converged into a single point.
Starting from the lower dantian, the energy traveled through the middle dantian.
All the rare elixirs and cores it had absorbed resonated with its power.
A single streak of blue light was unleashed.
Komodo meant "Death with a Tail."
It wasn’t strange for the beam it fired to be called Death Beam.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzap!
It was the Gecko Death Beam.