Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Origin Flow
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"…First, shall we try applying a light impact?"
"Of course, as much as you like."
A single pure white sword rested atop the formation, where intricate patterns intertwined to form a circle.
Without any defensive measures—no spirit energy cloaking it, no intent infused within—it lay in a state of complete vulnerability.
"—Wait, are you really going to let it shatter!?"
The mild-mannered youth who had been watching silently—the general disguised via transformation arts—finally spoke up in disbelief.
Was it sane to let someone smash his dantian just because it seemed amusing…?
"…? If it seems amusing, of course we smash it."
"…What?"
The general's mind reeled at So-hyang's response, her head tilted as if wondering what the fuss was about.
"We're not talking total destruction here—just a light scratch on the surface for the experiment. No need to worry so seriously…"
"Even I, a martial artist, know that's not so simple…!?"
Breaking an indestructible object required an overwhelming impact.
Whether embedding it with Gang Qi or using an advanced spell to concentrate massive energy for a strike, claiming to just peel off a part was easier said than done.
Attempts to shatter indestructible items had only two outcomes.
Not a single scratch.
Or utterly pulverized into dust.
There was no in-between.
"I know that. But these are scholars from the Academy—renowned experts, aren't they?"
They must have their methods to step forward like that. So-hyang smiled nonchalantly.
"…No, that's for them to say, not you! It's your dantian!"
The vessel containing a lifetime of cultivated inner force. If shattered, all past efforts would be for naught, leaving one a cripple unable to cultivate again…!
"Hm, is it that serious?"
"What do you mean…?"
To martial artists in this world, the dantian was priceless—sometimes valued above life itself. But not to So-hyang.
If it crumbled, rebuild it.
If broken, reforge it.
Or simply make a new one.
She had substituted it with external artifacts before, so forging a new sword and turning it into a spirit sword was no issue.
It might not match the unexpected perfection of this one, but that was fine.
Merely a matter of speed—So-hyang was confident she'd reach the end regardless.
Whether the sword was sharp or blunt, white or pitch-black, what mattered was the swordsman wielding it.
"Or I could just make a dantian the orthodox way and cultivate martial arts."
Bright Mystery Sword Art, the foundational technique of the Sword Progenitor School, which she had innovated and mastered beyond initiation.
Now, So-hyang could advance her realm independently.
Even without a spirit sword.
She could shatter the Three Realms of the Earthly Stage in one go, reaching the pinnacle, and with time, even the Supreme Pinnacle wouldn't be hard.
Her foundational body was so perfected that Bone Transformation seemed trivial; a few leisurely months focusing on qi accumulation would propel her to Supreme Pinnacle.
What did it matter this way or that? As long as she gained the seed of growth, immediate decline was irrelevant.
"Besides, if they don't smash my sword, it's all a moot point anyway, right?"
The assistants bustled about, arranging catalysts and activating the formation. The professors debated, fine-tuning details.
So-hyang trusted they'd do well.
"…And if that trust is betrayed?"
"Well, it'd be a shame."
"Hah…"
Dalhala or bold? The general stared at the beaming So-hyang, utterly baffled.
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There were three main ways to breach indestructibility.
One.
Pour in overwhelmingly dense qi.
"Gang Qi from Supreme Pinnacle masters is the classic example. Spells can replicate similar effects."
Two.
Sever space itself to isolate it.
"That's more complex, but not impossible. Still, best to end with the first if possible."
And three.
Distort or transcend laws with intent reaching a certain threshold, ignoring indestructibility.
"…That's off the table from the start. We're talking exalted ones' heart images or star attunements of saintly sorcerers."
A Transcendent's heart image was a world unto itself.
Its master ruled that world; mere material properties couldn't defy their will.
Indestructible? If the exalted willed it broken, it shattered; to dust, it crumbled.
In truth, this wasn't some special method.
No metal resisted a supernova's heat, no matter how heatproof.
No insect with thick shell survived an elephant's stomp.
A difference in existential tiers—a plain truth of the world.
"So, we'll start with the first."
The Origin Flow School professor stepped up first.
Pure white hair, wrinkled skin—a typical elder who couldn't escape time's flow.
Yet his eyes gleamed with chilling clarity, utterly unclouded.
He slowly turned the prayer beads in his hand, counting silently, then chanted in a low voice.
Origin Flow revered the most primordial sorcery.
Deep focus and desperate longing manifested as phenomena.
A primitive shamanism preserved since antiquity.
Now, through modern research, its principles were clarified, making its origins clearer.
Origin Flow stemmed from souls and will.
Remnants of souls scattered across the world, lingering essences of people and life—an immense current of will.
Using one's intent as a lure to guide that flow yielded pure white soul power.
In other words, a spirit power akin to the spirit energy So-hyang wielded.
"Flow, come to me."
Similar in nature, but different in origin.
So-hyang's spirit energy was the aggregate of all worldly forces, sacred nature itself…
Origin Flow's spirit power was the pinnacle of artificiality.
Rooted in will from the ground up—even a witless monkey could work minor miracles with desperate desire alone.
Then what could an accomplished sorcerer, steeped in principles and truth, achieve?
The answer lay here.
"Come on eight legs. Walk on sixteen. Crawl on thirty-two."
The world's wills stirred at the professor's words and gestures.
"Sixty-four legs woven into rope—no different from a single arrow."
Defying distance, barriers, even time—via metaphysical principles, it converged at his fingertip.
His pale-glowing finger hovered carefully over the spirit sword's edge—
"Release the string."
A slender beam shot forth, clashing white light against white sword in a blinding radiance that seared onlookers' eyes.
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"Tch, ridiculously tough."
-Kiiiiing
Though the beam touched for a mere instant, the spirit sword still vibrated fiercely, hinting at the impact's ferocity.
"…Didn't break it?"
The general's voice trembled; he'd nearly witnessed a warrior's dantian shatter before his eyes.
But So-hyang denied it.
"No, less 'couldn't break' and more 'didn't break'… Hoo…"
Rather than spiritual bonds, the spirit sword was her soul's essence.
Her senses, sharper than touch or pain, told her: a slightly longer beam would have shattered it, spirit sword or not.
Superior in single-impact force to ordinary Gang Qi or ultimate arts like those from the Serpent Dragon or Five Elements Sumeru Mountain.
Facing it sword-in-hand might differ, but passively testing the blade's durability alone fell short.
And to So-hyang's eye, the elder before her—the Origin Flow professor—had ample power left to sustain the spell…
"Ahahaha…!"
Cold sweat beaded on So-hyang's forehead.
She'd said it didn't matter if it broke, but this was another self—near her heart.
A chill ran down her spine, heart clenching—a thrill she hadn't felt in ages.
Ordinary folk felt it bungee-jumping or on rides, but So-hyang was inured even to mortal peril.
This tremor was a crisis sense absent for nearly a century.
"Ahuhuhu…"
Hand on her pounding chest, she calmed her ragged breaths, soothing flushed skin.
"…Hah, that's your reaction?"
The general sighed in exasperation.
She'd dodged dantian destruction.
Not pale with relief—no, she looked almost pleasured. What was that?
"Phew! Calmed down now."
Even that agitation settled with one breath—utterly absurd.
Blood flow to heated skin slowed, racing heart steadied to calm rhythm…
Her transcendent composure crushed the excitement.
"We could have shattered it."
The attempt's intent was simple.
Immense power in a narrow range, brief instant.
Force into a split-second to slice the edge without total collapse—but…
"This sword's tougher than imagined."
Even among indestructibles, thresholds varied wildly; a beam that halved demon weapons instantly was greatly diminished here.
"Without full output intent on destruction, even a scratch is unlikely."
"If this one fails, we can't either. First method's impossible."
Projecting energy to destroy was ruled out.
One path remained.
"We'll have to cut space."
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Interfering with space was never easy.
It required at least the Transcendent Realm, and even among Supreme Pinnacle masters, only those with specialized ultimate arts could manage.
So-hyang had intuitively grasped space's seams, enabling her to cleave heart images or use spatial cross-sections as footholds…
But such skill wasn't common.
Thus, even these professors struggled to slice space with solo spells.
"In short, we need artifacts to assist."
Tools for spatial functions: subspaces, dimensions, distortions, severances.
"Conveniently, there's something usable on campus."
The sealed old academy well.
Thirty years ago, a demonic beast emerged, sealing the area.
A dry well with an endless ladder.
A bottomless descent.
Impossible depth for any building or geology.
In essence, a passage to another realm.
Nicknamed the Bottomless Well.
"We sealed it after the beast, but… it's too useful, so we sneakily use it…"
"…You're saying you're hiding a demonic beast inside the capital?"
Southern General Gu Yang-gyeok, guardian of the imperial capital's Forbidden Army, asked incredulously.
"…Come on, 'hiding'? Let's say the Academy manages it."
If undetected, no issue— the professors chuckled lightly.
…The general eyed them oddly.
"I see."
Unfortunately, his disguised form went unrecognized; they sensed nothing amiss.
He couldn't act as general now, but he'd return in a few days.
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And separately.
"Ah, a demonic beast…?"
Interest gleamed in So-hyang's eyes.
She'd used demon weapons for spirit sword forging before, without issue—because she was the user.
Suppressing demonic nature with Evil-Breaking and Anti-Demon intent, ignoring temptations with overwhelming mentality.
To So-hyang, demonic beasts demanded utmost suppression and domination.
Not utilization.
Having sealed and observed various ones over three years at the Murim Alliance, she knew their dangers well…
"Hmm, not sure if that's wise."
"Nah, no issue. Mental interference is fully blocked, anomalies managed periodically."
"Well, if you say so…"
So-hyang's eyes narrowed subtly.