The Footprint You Left Behind
Thanks to the Presence of the Seonju of the Crimson Jade, I finally grasped exactly how to wield the technique I had just learned, even though it was my first time handling it.
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The storm of colorless glass swords surged forward under my command.LT__/div__GT
Woong!__
The clash began. The countless colorless glass swords swung in perfect unison. Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!__
Each glass sword slammed into the ground like hammers, carving deep furrows into the earth. Though they were merely fragile law artifacts made of glass, their impact grew terrifying once the Invisible Sword was layered over them. Their power matched that of the Invisible Sword itself.__
[Kwaaak…!]__
Won Rip dodged the flying glass swords and glared at me, then shot a venomous look toward Manri Min-rab, who was gathering energy from afar to fire the ghost ship’s cannon. He also glanced at the Wall Sky. He had been gathering spiritual force through talismans for a long time, preparing to unleash a single devastating strike.__
“…?”__
I felt a sudden unease, but I focused my mind and controlled the glass swords.__
Chwararararac!__
Three thousand colorless glass swords moved according to my will. A storm of glass began to roar.__
Won Rip pulled seventeen Danak law artifacts from his body, the Jade Skull Staff, the Crimson Parachute Sword, and the Crimson Spear Law Treasure. A Demon King leaped out of the Crimson Spear and gripped the shaft, swinging it wildly. The seventeen Danak artifacts spun around him like living things, scattering fierce saber strikes. Every time he slashed with the Crimson Parachute Sword, the air around him trembled violently.__
But.__
Kwakwakwakwa!__
The storm of three thousand-plus glass swords swallowed everything and rushed toward Won Rip. It seemed to strike without pause, yet not a single sword collided with another. They moved with flawless order. The colorless glass swords were three thousand pieces forming a single law treasure. Since the three thousand were one, layering the Invisible Sword over the entire set allowed me to exercise absolute freedom over countless trajectories and paths.__
And it wasn’t over.__
“Colorless Glass Sword, First Form.”__
The colorless glass swords had three forms, and each changed the abilities they could display.__
“Color.”__
The first form, Color, synchronized the spiritual energy circuits carved into each of the three thousand glass swords.__
Chwarararac!__
Three thousand glass swords scattered. The spiritual energy circuits on each sword began to resonate with one another. Interestingly, although each circuit was independent, the positions were arranged according to Buk Hyang-hwa’s precise rules, so the subtle differences caused each sword to emit a different hue the moment they synchronized.__
Paaaah!__
The colorless glass swords hovering in all directions began to glow with their own unique colors. The entire sky looked as if it were painted in countless hues. It wasn’t just the color that changed—it was the very essence, the temperament of each sword. Three thousand swords each spewing a different temperament. The rate at which these temperaments shifted inside the three-thousand-piece storm was infinite, matching the freedom of the Invisible Sword.__
One temperament would completely change its purpose depending on its position. A single sword constantly shifted position and attacked under my control. With three thousand swords continuously changing, I had achieved perfect freedom.__
[Kwaaak, you bastard…!]__
Won Rip flicked his Crimson Parachute Sword. A blood wind howled forth and blocked the glass storm. But I manipulated the swords with even greater precision. The infinite change lay in my hands. The Invisible Sword had only granted freedom of trajectory; it had not yet granted freedom of temperament. But with the colorless glass swords, the Invisible Sword now stood on the threshold of absolute freedom.__
Chwararararac!__
Sharp temperament, gentle temperament, middle temperament, hard temperament, flowing temperament… All the countless attributes of spiritual energy moved according to my will, dyeing the surroundings in dazzling colors. And those changes devoured Won Rip’s blood wind, swallowing him whole.__
[Hmph. Don’t make me laugh!]__
Won Rip sneered and began pouring spiritual force into his Danak artifacts. The seventeen Danak artifacts spun madly around him, scattering crimson saber strikes. The crimson sabers looked as though they were trying to cover him completely. But I only smiled. It was laughable.__
Swoosh!__
Amid countless changes, my vision found the exact gap. No matter how tightly the sabers surrounded him, there was always room to slip through. The colorful glass swords surged toward him. Kwakwakwakwang!__
The sabers bounced off the glass swords. But. [Kwaaak…!]
Paang!__
The sabers suddenly vanished, revealing Won Rip inside. Ten or so glass swords had already pierced his body. The color of the glass swords initially displayed every hue, but after that, even if they were set to colorless, the temperament they had created remained. In other words, it was possible to blind an opponent’s vision with transparent glass swords and then drive them home. I channeled the Invisible Sword embedded in the glass swords into Won Rip’s body. Danak Sword Art, Layered Mountain, Spirit Mountain Heart Sky!__
Chwajojojok!__
The Invisible Sword that had entered his body extended like thorns and swelled into a giant. [Kwaaak…!]__
Won Rip screamed and tried to regenerate his body instantly. But the curse arrays I had embedded in the glass swords were now mixing inside him. His body refused to regenerate properly and began to rot from the inside. “Die.”__
Chwarruruk!__
Three thousand glass swords surged toward the defenseless man once more. [Kwaaaah!]__
And then. Kugugugu!__
The two Demon Kings of the Blood Cloud that had fled before the Heavenly Thunder and the seven soul monsters fused into one grotesque soul. Three powerful forces flew around Won Rip and protected him. Although their cultivation had dropped one stage due to the formation of Bongmyeong Castle, they were still at the Core Formation level. They each poured out their full power and blocked the glass storm. Chwarruruk!__
Won Rip regenerated his body in that very instant. [Hah. You’ve fought well.]__
He laughed viciously. [To those who have pressed me this far, I show respect. I shall fight you properly for once.]__
Then he reached into his sleeve, pulled out something, and tossed it into the air. It twitched. I felt my brow twitch in response. Crack…__
Veins bulged on my forehead. My teeth clenched. I knew that familiar aura. It was Kim Young-hoon’s inner dan. The inner dan that had been missing from his corpse after all was none other than the one Won Rip had taken. [The owner of that inner dan was truly a memorable fellow. I still don’t understand how the Heavenly Person seniors let a monster with such a massive growth potential stay out of the fight… During the battle, his strength grew in real time, and right before death… my heart almost stopped cold.]__
Kiiing!__
An eerie curse array was engraved on Kim Young-hoon’s inner dan. The curse array glowed crimson and began spewing strange spiritual force. [To examine the source of that talent, I sliced open every part of his body and checked, but I couldn’t figure it out. There was no unusual spiritual root… I tried to extract his soul and refine it, but the soul wouldn’t come out. Frustrated, I pulled out his inner dan and tried to refine it, but I discovered something extremely interesting.]__
Twitch… twitch…__
The grotesque soul of the monster, the Demon Kings of the Blood Cloud, three soul beasts, were drawn by the spiritual force of Kim Young-hoon’s inner dan and began merging around it. [Harmonization Force! This inner dan can mix completely different powers and make them circulate. It possesses overwhelming harmonious power. No matter what spiritual energy you add, it becomes harmonious. That’s why…]__
Around Kim Young-hoon’s inner dan, the grotesque soul and the Demon Kings merged, transforming into the form of a Demon God with three heads. When Won Rip formed his seal, his spear, Crimson Parachute Sword, and Jade Skull Staff flew out as six arms of the Demon God and grasped it. Kugugugugu!__
The two Demon Kings and the grotesque soul, whose cultivation had dropped from Nascent Soul to Core Formation, overlapped. Their power exploded. Their cultivation surged to the middle and late stages of Core Formation. And. Puk, puk, puk!__
The seventeen Danak artifacts. Won Rip embedded sixteen of them into each part of the Demon God’s body. And the last one remaining Danak artifact. He sliced off three of his own fingers with the artifact and placed one in each of the Demon God’s mouths. The fingers he had personally sliced could not regenerate, and the Demon God’s cultivation exploded even further after eating them. Kugugugugu!__
Core Formation peak! The power of the Demon God had reached the threshold of Nascent Soul. [Thanks to this inner dan, I can create such magnificent results. You, my friend, also learned a similar bizarre technique, so you must have an inner dan like this too, right? Then I shall extract yours as well and use it…!]__
Won Rip manipulated the Demon God from behind and shouted. [Come on!]__
“Colorless Glass Sword, Second Form. Nature.”__
I looked at him and opened the second form of the colorless glass swords. The second form, Nature, was simple. The glass swords connected even more strongly with one another and their spiritual energies merged perfectly. The three thousand swords began circulating spiritual energy among themselves while connected. The swords circulated their own energies, and the Invisible Sword naturally merged into that circulation. Connecting more tightly and circulating energies together. That was the second form, Nature. And its greatest advantage was that the Invisible Sword, following the circulation of the spiritual energies, could instantly be redirected to any desired location, concentrating or dispersing its power as needed. The colorless glass swords lined up in a straight line. The Invisible Swords embedded in them concentrated their power at the tips of the aligned swords through Nature’s circulation. Chjejeong!__
The glass swords, guided by the technique, drove straight into the Demon God. The Demon God showed no expression of pain and simply gripped the spear and swung it. But the glass swords immediately scattered again, and once more under my control they flew around the Demon God, wounding his body. Numerous changes occurred. The Demon God swung the Crimson Parachute Sword on one side, the Crimson Spear on another, and the Jade Skull Staff on a third, unleashing all sorts of law techniques. The air boomed and the surroundings twisted. But I pressed the Demon God under the control of the glass storm. “Colorless Glass Sword, First and Second Forms. Synthesis.” And the true value of the colorless glass swords was finally revealed. The first form, Color. The second form, Nature. When the two forms activated simultaneously, the colorless glass swords finally showed their true horror. The glass swords synchronized with one another, activated their spiritual energy circuits, and glowed with different colors. And in that state, the spiritual energies of the glass swords began to circulate. Paaaah! The different temperaments embedded in each colorless glass sword began to shift positions, exchanging places with one another in the circulation. The light that had been crimson turned white. The colorless glass swords, each carrying its own unique color, shared colors with one another and changed without pause, never stopping. A storm of ten thousand colors danced and wrapped itself around the Demon God. The infinite trajectories of the Invisible Sword and the infinite changes of temperament of the colorless glass swords merged. The boundless changes were literally indescribable. The crimson Demon God was nothing but a small moth trapped in the storm. Spot, spot! Gradually, wounds began to appear on the Demon God’s surface. The glass storm seemed to be attacking randomly, but each sword followed the group of swords like a predator. Pishishishik! The wounds on the Demon God’s body multiplied until his entire body was covered in wounds. Danak Sword Art. Twenty-Two Strikes. Five Ultimate Techniques. Three thousand colorless glass swords began to rotate and unfold a single sword technique. “Danak!” The five ultimate techniques of the Danak Sword Art, pouring out all twenty-two strikes, were unleashed through three thousand colorless glass swords toward a single target. The glass swords poured Danak, and the Invisible Sword embedded in them expanded the boundlessness of the changes within Danak once more, carving the Demon God apart from all directions. Paaaah! A light burst forth and the Demon God exploded completely. I rushed forward, snatched Kim Young-hoon’s inner dan at the center of the explosion, and readjusted the glass swords. “Scatter!” Chwarruruk! The glass swords scattered in all directions, opening a path, and at the end of the path stood Won Rip. “Fire!” And the Manri Min-rab, who had been gathering energy until now, fired the cannon of the ghost ship. Won Rip tried to dodge, but I had already formed my seal. Chwarararac! While the others’ attention was distracted, I stealthily placed the curse arrays I had prepared behind him. The curse arrays wrapped around his body like tentacles, preventing him from escaping. I wasn’t the only one. Countless Core Formation cultivators who had dropped to Foundation Establishment followed the command of Cheongmun Jung-jin and wove dozens, hundreds of law techniques around Won Rip, binding him tightly. Not just curse arrays, but dozens and hundreds of law techniques wrapped his body like rope. Cheongmun Jung-jin shouted. “Wall Sky Master, now! You too, use it!” The Wall Sky flicked the talisman he had been charging toward Won Rip. The talisman shot out, glowing brightly. And Won Rip, still at the early stage of Core Formation, took the full force of the ghost ship’s cannon. Flash! A brilliant flash spread in all directions. We all looked toward the center of the flash. Manri Min-rab, this time, focused solely on the center without any shouting or cheering. And. Shiiiing… The flash subsided. We stared silently at the spot where Won Rip had stood. The dust settled. Between the light and the dust, Won Rip still stood. But the faces of every cultivator inside the formation carried an expression of despair. No more spiritual pressure came from Won Rip. Literally. Not a single speck of spiritual energy remained. “Finally…” When Cheongmun Jung-jin let out a sigh of relief, Kiiing. The door of Bongmyeong Castle opened. “Hm? Who’s there? I told you not to open the door of Bongmyeong Castle until the entire operation is finished!” Cheongmun Jung-jin frowned and looked toward the entrance of the castle. Five Eastern monarchs stood at the entrance, opening the door. And I noticed something strange. The color of my consciousness was off. And. [Excellent.] Won Rip raised both arms. [Excellent, excellent, too excellent. You fought wonderfully. Your determination moved me. I acknowledge you in this battle. This Won Rip, the Blood Wood Daoist, acknowledges you.] When the door of Bongmyeong Castle opened, the Core Formation cultivators unconsciously looked up at the sky outside the gate. The dark clouds had cleared, and the Heavenly Tribulation was at its worst. “Close it! Close the door of Bongmyeong Castle!” Cheongmun Jung-jin shouted urgently, but the five monarchs who had opened the door simply crossed their arms. And. Kururung! The formations of the Northern Great Desert alliance, assembled by the chieftains of the northern tribes, suddenly collapsed. The four chieftains who had been the main pillars of the formation suddenly broke their spiritual energy connections and crossed their arms. I quickly read their consciousness. I hadn’t had time to read detailed thoughts while fighting Won Rip. But the thoughts of those traitors had begun to change differently from the others. Golden thoughts. Thoughts of joy. “What kind of trick is this! Treachery!” Cheongmun Jung-jin’s face twisted with rage as he pulled blue light from his entire body. “Monarchs of the Great Desert and the East, suppress the traitors! The Western Three Kingdoms, together with the Governor, will hunt the monster….” And. Chwarrururuk! Black-light shamans blocked our path. Black-light iron chains emerged and wrapped around Cheongmun Jung-jin and the cultivators of the Seongje Empire, Yeon Kingdom, and Byeokra Kingdom. Jinru Yeon-cheon approached the bound Cheongmun Jung-jin and stroked his neck with a seductive voice. “Ah, older brother. In the end, the plan worked perfectly. The Blood Wood Daoist has won.” Makri Hwang-cheon controlled the shamans, approached the Jin Clan’s head, kicked him down, and stomped on him. The Wall Sky stood proudly beside Won Rip. “W-Wall Sky Master…!!?” Cheongmun Jung-jin’s eyes blazed when he saw the Wall Sky, one of the three most important people in the Won Rip hunt, standing beside Won Rip. The Wall Sky chuckled. “How is it, Blood Wood Daoist? The effect of the Sealing Heaven Attachment isn’t half bad, is it?” [Good. This is the defensive power of a Heavenly Person. Not a single thread of spiritual energy is leaking. Quite enjoyable.] That was right. What the Wall Sky had thrown at Won Rip at the last moment was not the Striking Heaven Attachment that launched a Heavenly Person-level strike, but the Sealing Heaven Attachment that granted Heavenly Person-level defense. And. Chwarrurrr! Outside Bongmyeong Castle, from Won Rip’s black castle, a crimson river identical to the one before poured into the door of the castle. Chwarruruk! After Won Rip drank the crimson river, his law power surged once more. Won Rip looked displeased and moved his hand. [To think I would waste this much of my precious pure lifespan… The pure life force accumulated over hundreds of years… Well, it doesn’t matter. There aren’t many chances to drain the life force of Core Formation cultivators this much anyway.] “Haha, Blood Wood Daoist. Only a fraction remains until the formation of Bongmyeong Castle is undone.” The Wall Sky said with a fawning smile, looking around at us. “Show us the defensive power of the Heavenly Person level and your attack power.” [Of course.] Udd, uddudduk! I cut the black iron chain with the Invisible Sword and poured the Invisible Sword and the colorless glass swords into him. Kwakwakwakwang! But. Tiiing, tiiing! The glass swords and Invisible Swords, blocked by the strange aura that prevented even a single thread of spiritual energy from leaking from Won Rip, bounced back. Won Rip laughed coldly. [You won’t forget this. A fellow whose will never breaks. But it’s useless. Since you activated the Sealing Heaven Attachment, you can use Heavenly Person-level defense until your Nascent Soul cultivation returns. And…] He said to the Wall Sky. [Hand over the Striking Heaven Attachment. Today, here, I will demonstrate the power of the Heavenly Person.] “Yes, Blood Wood Daoist.” I gritted my teeth. Puddudduk! Clenching so hard it seemed my gums would bleed. ―The three great family clans of the western Dabcheon Desert had pledged loyalty to me, the four northern tribes had knelt before me, and the five Eastern monarchs had declared they would follow me. The words of Won Rip from my previous life. After the war, I had thought Won Rip had subjugated them all by planting the Five Elements Blood Curse Flag. But that was not the case. Won Rip had, before the war, two hundred years earlier, subjugated the three great family clans of the western Dabcheon Desert, the four northern tribes, and the five Eastern monarchs. Jinru Yeon-cheon stroked the body of Cheongmun Jung-jin, who was tightly bound in the secret law artifact of the Jin Clan due to his sudden betrayal. “Ah, older brother. At last the day has come. The day I take you, older brother. I have waited so long. I can finally get my hands on the blood of the Cheongmun Clan and the Changho Clan. At last, the two clans can truly become one. I will hand Byeokra Kingdom over to the Wall Clan and move the headquarters to the Seongje Empire. The remaining six clans will be taken by the Blood Wood Daoist, so I will give all their lands to older brother. You know how humiliating it was for the Jin Clan to compete and ally with those insignificant remnants until now, right? Older brother. The Seongje Empire is now ours. We will monopolize its resources together and double our spiritual energy to reach Nascent Soul.” Cheongmun Jung-jin spat at the face of Jinru Yeon-cheon with a face twisted like a ferocious beast. “You crawled under the feet of the enemy who killed my family. Jinru Yeon-cheon!” “Mm… mm…” Jinru Yeon-cheon wiped the spit from his face, licked it, and hugged Cheongmun Jung-jin. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you can’t think of anything but me. If you live in the underground of our clan for a few months, you won’t think of anything else.” “I…” Jinru Yeon-cheon hugged Cheongmun Jung-jin, and Makri Hwang-cheon stomped on Jin Ye-un’s head. “Finally… finally I have won in the long competition with the Jin Clan. I have finally won my generation.” Makri Hwang-cheon stomped on Jin Ye-un’s head with a joyful expression. “Ancestors, this Makri Hwang-cheon has brought down the Jin Clan in my generation. I will take back Yeon Kingdom and lead the Makri Clan to its golden age…!” “You, you bastard…! Ku, kuaak…” Jin Ye-un gnashed his teeth and looked up at Makri Hwang-cheon, but Makri Hwang-cheon only stuffed a shoe into Jin Ye-un’s mouth and mocked him. “You’ll have to get used to calling me master.” “Uuuueup…!” The Wall Sky, clinging to the Blood Wood Daoist, flattered him, saying he would help him rule the Wall Kingdom. The Eastern traitors and the Northern traitors were also trampling on the other competitors who had been suppressed by the Jin Clan’s iron chains. “You, you bastard…!” Manri Min-rab, who had fought alongside me, had his ghost ship cannon stolen by one of the Eastern monarchs. The monarch who had his entire body wrapped in black bandages, opposite from Manri Min-rab, brought the ghost ship cannon to Won Rip. [We’ll do the post-war division later. Hurry and bring the Striking Heaven Attachment. I’ll wipe these guys out and collapse the first floor of Bongmyeong Castle to obtain the Bongmyeongin…] When Won Rip urged the Wall Sky, the Wall Sky nodded and shouted at the Core Formation cultivators of the other Wall Clans. “Bring the Striking Heaven Attachment!” The Striking Heaven Attachment was held by the Core Formation cultivators of the Wall Clan who had just broken through to Core Formation. Among them was Wall Moon-seong. I tried to send the Invisible Sword to prevent them from handing over the Striking Heaven Attachment, but I sensed something odd. And Wall Moon-seong, who opened the sealed box containing the Striking Heaven Attachment, pulled out the Striking Heaven Attachment inside. Woong! He activated the Striking Heaven Attachment. “Hm?” [What are you doing. No need to activate it. How many Foundation Establishment cultivators have you fallen to…] And. Wall Moon-seong shouted. “Enough! Lord! With this…” Together with his words, the young Core Formation cultivators of the Wall Clan formed a defensive formation around Wall Moon-seong. “A thousand years ago we were a minor clan of the Jo Clan, two hundred years ago a subordinate power of the Fourth Path Alliance, and now we want to enter as a subordinate power of a Nascent Soul monster? We’re not going to simply divide the lands among the Cheongmun Clan, the Gongmyo Clan, and the Wall Kingdom, but we must stand as the Wall Clan itself?” “W-what?” [Hmph…] He shouted. “Look, Lord! If the Lord hadn’t betrayed us, that Nascent Soul monster would have died long ago. We are a clan that led the war to victory, and we could have led our honor and victory proudly as one power under no one’s feet!” “You, you bastard, are you crazy?” “No, I am not crazy. It’s the same for the other young masters. We all think the same. Where is the guarantee that, after the monster is hunted, the hunter won’t eat the dog, Lord? How dare you raise your hand in support of the monster’s victory!” The Wall Sky’s face twisted. Wall Moon-seong shouted. “For the future of the clan, we have decided to make a different choice. The operation continued until right before the monster’s death. If it weren’t for that damned Sealing Heaven Attachment’s defense, we could hunt the monster again! Lord, come to your senses!” “You, you bastard! It’s impossible! Come to your senses! Now you can turn to rebellion! The power the Blood Wood Daoist is hiding is not the end!” The Wall Sky said. “R-right. Haven’t you been getting close to the Gongmyo Clan’s geniuses lately? The two clans are now defeated clans, so you can do as you like with them. Truly…” “The one I like is…” Wall Moon-seong said with a spitting voice and activated the Striking Heaven Attachment. “Them.” Paaaah! The Striking Heaven Attachment, a strike that unleashes a Heavenly Person-level blow, shot toward Won Rip, wrapped in the Sealing Heaven Attachment. Kwakwakwakwang! One side of Bongmyeong Castle was torn away. A gale roared and the light of heaven and earth rushed toward Won Rip. And I saw, in the light of heaven and earth, the Sealing Heaven Attachment around Won Rip being stripped away. Tadak! The colorless glass swords gathered together. I brushed past Wall Moon-seong and exchanged gazes with him. This strike would be poured out completely. “Colorless Glass Sword, Final Form.” The final form of the colorless glass swords. Beyond Nature and Color. The last one finally reached. Three thousand colorless glass swords merged into one. And the spiritual energy circuits carved on each sword overlapped within the single sword, and countless spiritual energy circuits were born inside the colorless glass sword. The more circuits there were, the greater the power even if low-quality materials were used. The colorless glass sword. Third Form. “Total Heaven.” The colorless glass sword glowed with the total natural color and pierced Won Rip’s abdomen.
