Disciple of The Three Kings [EN]: Chapter 119

Geumgae floated in the air, looking down at Lee Rowan.

The golden dragon robe he wore was loose and fluttering.

With bloodshot eyes, Geumgae glared at Lee Rowan, remaining suspended in the air.

“Air Stepping…!”

Someone shouted.

The ultimate footwork that allows one to step on air.

It was not a skill that anyone could perform just by reaching the Mystic Realm; it was a profound principle achievable only through extreme understanding of martial arts and agility techniques.

“Air Stepping, my foot.”

Lee Rowan clicked his tongue, looking at Geumgae.

That wasn’t Air Stepping.

‘Mystic Artifact.’

An item that martial artists could use.

That was its power.

Lee Rowan didn’t miss the waves emanating from the shoes Geumgae was wearing.

Not just the shoes.

‘Golden Dragon Robe.’

And the rings and accessories that filled both hands.

All of that was….

“He really splurged.”

It was a Mystic Artifact.

One couldn’t be bought even for a thousand gold pieces, and it was unimaginable how much money one would have to pour in to possess a Mystic Artifact of that level.

Geumgae had practically covered himself with them.

“A golden beggar, is that it?”

It was a sight that showed Geumgae’s wealth.

Clang!

Amidst the clashing sounds of weapons, Geumgae reached out his hand, looking down at Lee Rowan.

Swoosh!

From his outstretched hand.

Clink.

The rings interlocked, making an unpleasant noise.

But the most unpleasant thing was the inner energy emanating from Geumgae’s open palm.

Whoooosh!

The tangible, viscous inner energy flowed through his entire body, pouring out towards his palm.

Taking advantage of his aerial position, he was unleashing all his energy through his palm.

Swish!

At that moment, a sword aura that had been deflected during the battle flew towards Geumgae.

The moment of manipulating immense energy was the most vulnerable for a martial artist; if done incorrectly, the inner energy could backfire, leading to inner demon possession.

Fwoosh!

But the flying sword aura disappeared without even getting close to Geumgae.

The inner energy emanating from Geumgae’s body was protecting him from all energy.

This was….

“Black King Lord. I’ll show you. The power of the Beggars’ Guild, no, the power of the name Geumgae.”

Geumgae’s winning strategy.

As a disciple of the Beggars’ Guild Leader, he first amplified the inner energy within his body, and then further amplified it with the Mystic Artifacts he wore.

Kukukuku!

A single Mystic Artifact could nearly double one’s power.

While having many didn’t necessarily mean that much more power, the Mystic Artifacts made for Geumgae, meticulously crafted and matched, could amplify Geumgae’s power nearly fivefold.

Geumgae had already reached the Mystic Realm in his own right.

That fivefold power.

Kwakwakwakwakwa!

It was nothing short of a storm of inner energy.

With him in the air, there was no way to attack him.

If one carelessly approached….

Fwoosh!

They would be engulfed in the storm of inner energy and turned to dust.

Meanwhile, inner energy gathered in Geumgae’s palm, beginning to form a large shape.

A yellowish, golden color.

And a dragon that appeared distorted from it.

“With the power you’ve shown, you won’t die.”

Yellow Dragon Eighteen Palms.

The Beggars’ Guild’s secret technique was unfolding in Geumgae’s hands.

The dragon patterns engraved on Geumgae’s body came to life, flowing through his arms and extending to his palm.

And so.

Krrrrrrrrraaaaaaa!

The eighteen yellow dragons were completed and were falling towards Lee Rowan.

The yellow dragons fell like lightning.

Lee Rowan didn’t move.

No, he couldn’t move.

Kooong!

All the inner energy emanating from Geumgae’s body was suppressing and binding Lee Rowan.

This was Geumgae’s winning strategy and ultimate technique.

Geumgae’s lips twisted into a smile, confident of victory.

In the slowed time, it was clearly visible.

‘What the….’

Even in this moment, his eyes were languid.

And his right fist was moving leisurely.

He tried to laugh to overcome the feeling of unease.

‘It seems like he’s trying something, but it’s useless.’

His inner energy, amplified by his own power and the Mystic Artifacts.

There was no time to do anything that could stop the yellow dragons born from all of that.

Just manipulating that immense energy and giving it form would take a long time.

So, the Black King Lord should not be able to do anything.

Krrr.

But a small tremor resonated in his right fist.

And the black energy that bloomed from it.

Geumgae couldn’t help but be shocked by it.

He felt that something was wrong, but there was nothing he could do.

Geumgae himself had exhausted all his power in completing the Yellow Dragon Eighteen Palms.

And so, the eighteen yellow dragons that were falling towards Lee Rowan.

Kwaaaaaaaa!

They rushed to devour Lee Rowan.

“Ah… no….”

A suppressed groan-like cry escaped from Geumgae’s mouth.

“No way!”

At that moment, the bodies of the eighteen yellow dragons shattered into pieces.

Kwang!

What appeared after devouring the eighteen yellow dragons was….

Kuraaaaaaaa!

A horribly ominous black dragon.

He had to escape.

He had pulled out even a single ounce of inner energy, risking inner demon possession.

“……!”

The black dragon had already reached his eyes in an instant.

Kwadudududuk!

The black dragon devoured Geumgae.

***

“Cough… cough!”

Geumgae staggered, spitting out bright red blood.

The golden dragon robe, which had boasted its splendor, was torn to shreds and had become rags.

Fwoosh!

The rings on both hands were turning to dust and disappearing.

His hair was sparsely burnt, and his skin was scorched.

“Cough!”

Geumgae barely stood, leaning on a tree.

He had barely managed to escape the moment he was devoured by the black dragon, at the cost of releasing his innate energy, which was like his life force.

“……Hah…, haah….”

He had barely survived, but his appearance was utterly wretched.

‘I must survive.’

That was the thought that took root in Geumgae’s mind.

‘I must survive.’

Only the thought of surviving no matter what.

Looking back, his entire life had been like that.

Born in the Beggars’ Guild, he struggled to survive, eventually becoming a disciple of the Beggars’ Guild Leader, and even then, he became Geumgae with the desire to live.

‘I will survive.’

He had come to South Korea chasing an opportunity.

“Cough!”

And he had seized that opportunity.

Lee Rowan’s attack, which had unfolded before the eyes of many.

He didn’t know what it looked like to others, but he, who had directly experienced it, knew.

“Ch…un…ma….”

That was the forbidden power, the power of the Heavenly Demon [a powerful, often malevolent, entity in martial arts lore].

He didn’t know how the Black King Lord possessed that power.

But the fact that that power was hidden in South Korea was enough for him to seize the opportunity.

“I’ll… rise… again….”

If he could just survive, he could rise again and reclaim everything.

But what was rooted in Geumgae’s heart was not just hope and opportunity.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of his heart beating madly with anxiety was confusing Geumgae’s senses.

‘How.’

How could he be alive?

Geumgae had felt the power of that black dragon that had engulfed him.

He had thought that everything was over with that absolute and destructive power.

But the fact that he had survived was not just a coincidence.

“Cough.”

The experiences Geumgae had gone through so far were not light.

Swoosh.

Even so, Geumgae had no choice but to move forward.

Desire.

That desire was driving Geumgae’s body….

Tap.

A light touch was felt on Geumgae’s back.

Kwaaang!

But the immense force that followed pressed down on Geumgae, knocking him to the ground.

“Cough!”

The internal injuries he had barely managed to control burst open again, and his face was crushed into the dirt.

An experience he had never had since he received the name Geumgae.

“Now you look quite like a beggar.”

Geumgae was on the verge of bursting into tears at the voice coming from above him.

Thud!

Geumgae’s eyes widened as he changed his posture at the sensation of being kicked in the side.

In the sunlight filtering through the leaves, languid eyes could be seen.

“That look suits you much better than those ill-fitting clothes.”

“B…Black King… Lord….”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Geumgae bit his lip.

‘Where did it….’

Where did it go wrong?

No, could such a situation even happen?

Geumgae, a disciple of the Beggars’ Guild Leader.

He had thought that he would never be in such a state, even against the Mount Hua Sect.

“Cough!”

Geumgae’s eyes widened as Lee Rowan’s foot landed on his stomach.

“Did you think you could survive?”

“……As expected….”

“I let you live. Letting Cheong In-woo escape is enough.”

“……!”

Geumgae couldn’t speak.

The blood rising in his throat was blocking his airway.

“Do you wonder how you ended up like this?”

Lee Rowan squatted down, pressing Geumgae with one foot, and looked at him.

“It’s the price of focusing on useless things.”

Lee Rowan was uncharacteristically talkative.

“If you’re a martial artist, you should be devoted to martial arts. You tried to make even the laws of another world your own, and that’s why you ended up like this.”

The anger he had felt after a long time.

He was letting it out little by little.

“If you had taken the world by force, you should have also thought that that power would take something from you.”

If that was the case.

“You should have tried to gain more overwhelming power. Did you think the whole world was already yours?”

He knew.

“You idiots.”

That Geumgae was not the one who led all of this.

“Hah, hahaha.”

In the end, Geumgae burst into tears.

“I just… wanted to live….”

A groan-like voice escaped from Geumgae’s mouth.

“I just… didn’t want to be hurt….”

His pupils were becoming blurry.

Geumgae just wanted to live.

He was born as a true beggar in the Beggars’ Guild and was ignored.

He learned martial arts to live, and he tried to live.

Yet, martial arts did not suit him.

‘Wealth.’

When he realized that martial arts were not everything in the opened world, Geumgae turned his eyes to that.

That was all.

“You’re just a coward.”

“A coward….”

“If you were afraid of getting hurt.”

A chilling coldness was felt in his languid eyes.

“You shouldn’t have thought of hurting anyone else.”

Kooook!

When the pain of being pressed on his stomach intensified.

“Save… me.”

Geumgae said.

***

“I’ll… give… everything… Black King Lord.”

Reciprocal illumination [a phenomenon where a dying person’s vitality briefly surges before death].

Before death, that last bit of vitality was seen in Geumgae.

The remaining innate energy was rapidly circulating, injecting life force.

Geumgae used it to beg for his own life.

“I’ll… be your dog.”

He would become Lee Rowan’s dog.

“Everything of Geumgae… wealth…, the Beggars’ Guild…, I’ll give it all….”

His face, which had been sharp, was now tearful.

“So… save… me….”

He wanted to live.

All that desire was burning and injecting life force.

But.

“Everything you have is already mine.”

“……Then… ?”

“But.”

Whack!

“I won’t save you.”

Swoosh.

Someone approached, stepping on the leaves.

“You all know each other, right?”

Two men entered Geumgae’s blood-stained vision.

They were faces he couldn’t possibly not know.

“Black Lion King….”

Black Lion King.

“If Geumgae dies, can you absorb him?”

Lee Rowan asked the Black Lion King.

“It’s difficult. Even if I can absorb some, it’s only possible if Geumgae exists.”

At those words, hope flickered in Geumgae’s eyes.

“Then….”

Lee Rowan said, looking at another man.

Geumgae also knew him.

‘Black Dog.’

The branch leader of the Beggars’ Guild, Yoo Do-hyung.

A dirty traitor who had betrayed the Beggars’ Guild and sided with another.

“What if Geumgae exists, even as a puppet?”

It was at that moment.

Drrrrrrr!

Eerie noises came from Yoo Do-hyung’s face and body.

What was there was….

“It’s possible.”

Geumgae, his own appearance.