Pillar (1)
We both stepped forward at the same moment.
The moment we did, we entered the frozen world.
I had no intention of holding back. I opened my full power.
‘If I recall Jang Ik’s clone, I must not let my guard down.’
For an ordinary Heavenly Person or Earthly Person cultivator.
Even if they created a clone or a soul avatar, their realm would always be inferior to the original body. The power they could wield would likewise be far weaker.
But the Heart Tribe was different.
‘They had only the difference in power size. The techniques they could use and their realm were identical to the original body.’
What differed might be nothing more than the size of the power and the difference in stamina caused by having a physical body or not.
In short, the Kim Young-hoon in front of me was, for a short battle, no different from the original Kim Young-hoon.
‘A short battle is enough.’
I laughed bitterly and gripped my sword, accelerating my consciousness.
The radius of two hundred li of my consciousness was endlessly accelerated by the Invisible Sword.
At the same time, I approached the limit of Lightning Speed, gaining the basic attribute of Lightning Speed.
Then I further accelerated that vast consciousness.
Just the pure speed of Lightning Heaven that rivaled a thousand years was close enough to Lightning Speed to let me keep pace with Jeon Myeong-hoon.
When I added the acceleration of consciousness, I felt I was now so fast that I could ignore Jeon Myeong-hoon entirely.
We entered the frozen world almost at the same time and thrust our swords and blades toward each other.
And the next instant.
PA-BAT!
“…???”
I suddenly noticed eight Stabbing Cuts embedded across my entire body.
In an instant, eight vital points had been sliced open.
I accelerated my consciousness without limit.
My brain was overheating.
And only then did I realize that Kim Young-hoon, holding his blade above me and about to plunge it down, had appeared.
PA-BAT!
I moved my body at extreme speed and drove my sword into him.
PA-ANG!
But Kim Young-hoon evaded instantly again.
‘He’s gone mad.’
Even after accelerating my mind to the point where the world was almost frozen and gaining near-Lightning Speed with Lightning Heaven, I could only barely follow him by instinct.
I couldn’t even track him with my eyes!
My Invisible Sword changed endlessly as I tried to catch him, but the speed difference was so vast that the possibility of making any move at all was completely blocked.
‘He’s fast.’
If we fought properly, we could have shattered Deungsunhyang. We were currently fighting at the peak of Core Formation level power.
But even though we had restricted our strength to Core Formation level, neither of us could move at a speed Core Formation could follow.
Flicker!
Kim Young-hoon, who had suddenly launched a sword strike from in front of me, now appeared to my right, wrapping his Energy Light around his entire body and kicking me at a speed beyond Lightning Speed.
SHU-KWAK!
I felt my flank sliced open, but I was already flying far away at an imperceptible speed.
PA-AAT!
In the frozen world, flying at a speed so great that even my mind could barely keep up, I suddenly felt the ground below was empty.
‘He’s gone mad.’
One kick had sent me from the center of Deungsunhyang straight to the center of the Dabcheon Desert.
Flicker!
Before I could even think, Kim Young-hoon appeared directly above me again, swinging his Energy Light downward in a vertical strike.
I let out a bitter laugh.
Right. I really can’t follow even his toe with pure martial arts.
Then.
[I’m coming.]
I sent my intent and pulled up the power of the Fish Skill.
KU-GU-GU-GUK!
Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy reinforced my body.
Life force boiled up, and the potential of my flesh itself exploded beyond imagination.
At the same time, my upper, middle, and lower dantian began to strengthen as life force filled them to the brim.
The upper dantian, already at its limit and overheating, quickly stabilized through the reinforcement.
I had breathing room.
But I kept accelerating my head even further while using the power of the Fish Skill.
Limit! Limit! Burn it to the limit!
It felt as if time itself was being sliced apart.
Together with that, I began to chase the speed at which Kim Young-hoon, wrapped in golden light, moved inside the frozen world.
[Hmm.]
Kim Young-hoon smiled as if pleasantly surprised in the frozen world.
Was it my mood?
Or because I had entered the frozen world too deeply?
The surroundings felt darker and darker.
In this world, only Kim Young-hoon and I were colored.
[You’re following.]
PA-AAT!
We exchanged sword strikes.
They were like light rays colliding with light rays.
His arms seemed to split into thousands of pieces, and the colorless rays and golden rays collided madly inside the darkness of the freeze.
‘Got you!’
I smiled with excitement.
‘I’m catching up!’
Before long, we were exchanging tens of thousands of strikes.
KU-GU-GU-GU!
Each impact in the extreme-speed world sent shockwaves rippling in all directions, and storms raged across the entire Dabcheon Desert.
And in the center of the storm, we clashed at a speed that looked like light.
The movements of Kim Young-hoon and me turned the sand into flowing glass.
The area around our battlefield instantly became a sea of flowing, melting glass.
I walked across the sea of glass that had risen to a scorching red and was almost liquid like water, and our eyes met.
[If we keep going like this, I’ll win.]
If we drag this out for just a day or so, I can beat Kim Young-hoon.
Because I could exhaust every last bit of the aura in his clone.
Of course, using a slightly stronger technique would push him even further.
That was when.
[Good.]
Kim Young-hoon smiled, wrapped in golden light inside the darkness of the freeze.
KU-KWUNG!
He took my strike and was sent flying, crashing into the sea of glass somewhere.
He changed his posture mid-air, caught the intent, and the next instant.
He sent me his intent.
[Then, Seo Eun-hyun.]
KAK!
And I saw it.
The short foresight of the Heavenly Person with Heavenly Eyes, the short foresight of the Fish Skill, and the instinct that read the will of the Heart Tribe.
I saw the future I would be sliced up until the moment of my death.
[From now on, I will begin accelerating.]
‘What?’
So this was the Energy Light of pure acceleration without the Fish Skill?
The next instant.
PU-KWAK!
I felt a golden blade enter my open mouth without me meaning to.
The Energy Light kept coming straight into my mouth, severed my spine, and shot out behind my head.
It wasn’t over.
Golden Stabbing Cuts began to pierce every part of my body.
‘I have to… counterattack…’
I steeled myself to be sliced apart like the colorless one, took up the Colorless Glass Sword, and swung it at him.
But in that instant.
Flicker!
“…!???”
Before I could even notice what was happening, Kim Young-hoon’s iron grip caught my face and flew somewhere with me.
A straight line of golden light remained behind his grip.
The next instant.
KWAA-A-AANG!
With an enormous boom, I slammed into [somewhere].
WAL-KWAK!
I felt as if my whole body was going to explode and blood sprayed like fountains from every part of me.
‘This… this is… where…!’
The western edge!
Beyond Shattered Heaven Peak, the [end of the world] I had once seen with Buk Hyang-hwa.
‘Insane…’
I knew I had somehow reached the edge of the world from the center of the Dabcheon Desert without noticing. I laughed bitterly inside.
―――――!
The sound didn’t even chase Kim Young-hoon’s blade strike.
I felt countless golden lights slicing my entire body piled up at the edge of the world.
Clearly I had also entered the frozen world,
used the Fish Skill to increase the potential of my flesh,
and accelerated my Heavenly Person consciousness to the brink of my brain exploding.
An ordinary Heavenly Person cultivator’s consciousness field was one hundred li in diameter.
Mine was “radius” two hundred li.
With Five Qi Consorting with the Origin, the Strange Star-Mind Scroll, Heavenly Tribe, and Earthly Tribe consciousness all overlapping, my consciousness field was already incomprehensibly large even for a peer cultivator.
Yet even after accelerating it to the point of overheating, I couldn’t even chase Kim Young-hoon’s toe.
If this kept up, I couldn’t catch him.
Then there was no choice.
‘The Fish Skill is physical strength, so it felt like martial arts, but unfortunately I have to use magic too.’
I began pulling up the power of the Heavenly Tribe as well.
* * *
―――――!
Kim Young-hoon shone golden light and unleashed thousands of Stabbing Cuts at Seo Eun-hyun in the darkness.
‘Even Cheongmun Ryeong didn’t die after being sliced a few times at Core Formation level. With a Heavenly Person named Seo Eun-hyun, I wonder how many times I’d have to cut him before he died.’
His regeneration slowed, so he tried to stop the Stabbing Cuts.
But the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy around him flowed into Seo Eun-hyun’s body on its own and replenished his life force.
As long as there was Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy here, the guy in front of me was an Undying Body.
Then how could I kill this Undying Body?
Kim Young-hoon’s conclusion was simple.
‘As long as I dump every last bit of Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy around here into the aftermath of my Stabbing Cuts. I’ll just keep pouring out Stabbing Cuts endlessly!’
――――!
Every time he swung his Energy Light, a belated shockwave exploded and a natural disaster occurred, and the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy burned.
If all the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy that Seo Eun-hyun could use for regeneration disappeared, that would clearly be Kim Young-hoon’s victory!
That was when.
PA-A-A-A-AT!
Entire body of Seo Eun-hyun was covered in pure white light.
‘Is this the Body Displacement Technique?’
Kim Young-hoon chuckled.
Body Displacement Techniques were used by Core Formation cultivators when traveling long distances.
Or when they had to move at high speed in battle.
The main thing was to draw up the spiritual power engraved on the golden pill, so in truth it was more like a technique of Core Formation cultivators than magic.
That was the Body Displacement Technique.
But Kim Young-hoon wasn’t worried.
‘Even if it is, it’s still clumsy. Core Formation cultivators’ Body Displacement Techniques can never catch me. Even if it’s a Heavenly Person cultivator’s Body Displacement Technique…’
Kim Young-hoon lifted his Energy Light in the pitch-black darkness and laughed.
And in an instant.
UU-WOONG!
Through the tip of the Energy Light, Seo Eun-hyun’s Lightning Heaven.
The will of the Invisible Sword arrived.
―Bends.
A voice that would have been ignored just moments ago.
But Kim Young-hoon suddenly felt chills run down his spine.
‘This is dangerous.’
He instinctively took a step back.
With one step back, Kim Young-hoon and his Energy Light were suddenly eight hundred li away in the frozen darkness.
However, Kim Young-hoon’s golden pupils instantly shrank to slits.
“What!?”
Seo Eun-hyun was chasing him.
Using Body Displacement, the Fish Skill, and Lightning Heaven.
Accelerated to the extreme while using everything, Seo Eun-hyun became a white light and swung his sword at the golden Kim Young-hoon.
Kim Young-hoon looked straight at the flying sword strike of Seo Eun-hyun with a bitter smile.
‘A direct hit would erase the clone!’
For a short battle, the clone had the same power as the original body.
In short, the current Seo Eun-hyun had reached a level where he could exchange blows equally with the original Kim Young-hoon.
‘But he’s still a little slower than me.’
Kim Young-hoon faced Seo Eun-hyun’s sword with his Energy Light, distributing and dispersing the power contained in the sword.
‘Damage would also be erased. I have to disperse the aura and turn it into nothing.’
Just looking at the power contained made me feel it.
Just taking a shockwave would make the whole body numb…
“Kuhk!!! Kuh-heh….”
The next instant, Kim Young-hoon spat a handful of golden light from his mouth while laughing bitterly.
Just as he had earlier rammed Seo Eun-hyun into the western edge in an instant,
Seo Eun-hyun’s strike rammed Kim Young-hoon into the northern great plains,
And then into the northern edge beyond that.
‘Just now, the clone was about to be erased.’
Kim Young-hoon gathered his aura, repaired the almost-destroyed clone, and raised his Energy Light.
Since Seo Eun-hyun wasn’t as fast as Kim Young-hoon, even after being sent flying by him, he hadn’t been able to catch up completely.
‘But if he gets a proper hit, it’s over.’
Kim Young-hoon laughed while sweating coldly.
His laughter never stopped.
It was happy.
It felt as if he was going to go mad from happiness!
‘Since the dog era, has there ever been a time I felt this exhilarated? Around the time I reached the Nascent Soul realm with the madman Cheongmun Ryeong, or when I faced Buk Hyang-hwa alone.’
“Huhu…”
Do people know that people go mad when bored?
The current Kim Young-hoon was exactly that.
PA-A-A-A-AT!
The pure white light chased to the northern edge.
BU-WOONG!
Inside the pure white light cloud, a long Invisible Stabbing Cut stretched out and aimed at Kim Young-hoon.
Kim Young-hoon quickly evaded the sword strike.
KWAA-A-A-ANG!!!
The place where he had stood.
The world’s northern edge spiritual power sank in, and the dimensional curtain was torn as part of it.
‘The dimensional curtain that the original body had to tear apart by combining strength with Buk Hyang-hwa’s fleet….’
Kim Young-hoon, with the Triple Taiji wrapped around his head, looked at Seo Eun-hyun behind him after stepping back from the torn dimensional curtain.
“Ha, haha… the original body’s power…”
Kim Young-hoon was sweating coldly, and at the same time he felt a chill and overwhelming ecstatic joy making his mind go wild.
“For you… it’s just ‘one strike’?”
Seo Eun-hyun silently spread both hands.
Three thousand Colorless Glass Swords floated around him, connected by the Invisible Sword.
PA-AAT!
To prevent Seo Eun-hyun from reacting, he swung the Energy Light.
Seo Eun-hyun, who had the Invisible Sword wrapped around his entire body, swung his hand and the Stabbing Cut of the Energy Light bounced straight back.
And three thousand Colorless Glass Swords rained down on the place where Kim Young-hoon stood.
PIII-ING―
Seo Eun-hyun opened the Sword Array.
Inside the Sword Array, the sword energy amplified and began to release a chilling, dangerous intent without fail.
KU-KU-KU-KU-KU!
Leaving the dimensional curtain that was automatically restored by the world’s restoration power behind.
Seo Eun-hyun exchanged gazes with Kim Young-hoon with glittering eyes.
The two of them were madmen.
‘Still, I’m three moves ahead.’
Kim Young-hoon grinned.
Even now, Seo Eun-hyun couldn’t fully respond to Kim Young-hoon’s speed.
Even now, when facing Seo Eun-hyun, he could take the speed advantage with one attribute.
And.
‘That’s enough.’
Kim Young-hoon gripped the Energy Light and laughed.
His head spun furiously as he analyzed Seo Eun-hyun’s movements.
He read his intent.
While connecting one situation to the next, he began to combine the perfect martial arts for this exact moment.
* * *
‘Ah…’
Why?
I realized, facing Kim Young-hoon, that he was now “creating” martial arts.
‘How did I not notice this?’
No matter how I read intent or read the mind.
I could only guess at the other person’s “state” and “background.”
I couldn’t know everything about the other person.
I couldn’t know what they were thinking right now.
But I somehow knew that Kim Young-hoon was “creating” martial arts.
And I seemed to know “what” martial arts he was creating.
‘Aah…’
PA-ANG!
I compressed the Invisible Sword into a thread inside the Sword Array and swung the first stance of the Dao Grave at Kim Young-hoon.
Kim Young-hoon seemed taken aback by the stance, then stepped forward with his right foot and broke it with three Stabbing Cuts, catching the intent.
‘Aaaah…’
I read Kim Young-hoon’s “intention” and continued exchanging strikes with him.
I felt it.
What “martial arts” he was trying to create.
‘What “intention” he had, and “how” he was creating “what” martial arts.’
I understood!
I finally realized how this was possible.
The fourth sense that I had recently begun to feel.
It was slightly different from the Heart Tribe’s vision, but extremely similar and complementary to the Heart Tribe’s vision.
That sense was telling me.
PUS-BUNG!
A spark exploded in my mind.
Inside my head, the martial arts Kim Young-hoon was trying to create “began to be predicted.”
I predicted the martial arts Kim Young-hoon was creating, and before he unfolded them I recalled the perfect counter for that martial art.
And then I stabbed at him with my intent as if to break it, and when he actually used that martial art I countered it with the counter.
Even with my own sense, I couldn’t keep up with him creating another counter and striking back at me.
But.
PUS-BUNG, PUS-BU-BUNG!
With sparks exploding in my head, I could understand something.
“Aah…”
And I knew what I had understood.
At the same time, I knew the nature of the fourth sense I had been feeling until now.
While making a horizontal cut toward Kim Young-hoon and changing my footwork to upper-left, then
facing his Energy Light and Colorless Glass Sword, we exchanged [dialogue].
Yes.
This was [dialogue].
At the same time, it was [chess].
My “intention” and Kim Young-hoon’s “intention” intertwined, and we were having a dialogue.
‘I see…’
So far, Kim Young-hoon had lived in this world.
At some point, I had completely matched strikes with him, and I understood the counter to the martial arts he created with pure martial arts mastery, the counter to the counter.
I realized I was creating a counter to the counter.
PA-A-ANG!
We prepared the final strike to pour on each other inside the frozen world.
But at the last instant.
Kim Young-hoon’s Energy Light accelerated, and my sword did not.
PA-ANG!
Finally, the frozen world melted.
Our spar had ended.
“…Aah…”
Kim Young-hoon’s Energy Light had touched my nape, and my Invisible Sword hung down.
But Kim Young-hoon was smiling silently.
Tsu-tsu-tsu…
The golden aura flowing in his old blade dispersed.
“…I lost.”
Kim Young-hoon admitted defeat with his own mouth.
“If you’d swung your sword at the end, your neck would have flown off, but my body would have exploded and I’d be minced. You’d be done after regenerating your head, but if my body explodes it’s over. So it’s my defeat.”
“…Huhu.”
I returned the Colorless Glass Sword to the golden pill and raised my hand.
And wiped my eyes.
Kim Young-hoon smiled at me.
“Wonderful. You, too, see the same thing and hear the same thing!”
“…I see. So you… lived in such a world.”
I sat down heavily in my spot.
Tears wouldn’t stop.
I hadn’t swung my sword at him out of consideration.
If I had stopped it thinking I was considering him, Kim Young-hoon would have been angry instead.
The reason I couldn’t swing my sword was that the surging emotions were beyond my control.
Today, I had understood the nature of the fourth sense.
The sense I had recently begun to awaken.
‘The same as Kim Young-hoon.’
It was a perception in the same category as Kim Young-hoon’s “talent”!
I had already died seventeen times.
Having lived two thousand five hundred years, since the first-rate level I had never once put a sword away from my body.
Martial arts had become my life.
And I had finally, through my own effort, opened the talent Kim Young-hoon had.
It was still far from reaching even his toes in comparison.
If Kim Young-hoon’s sense connected to the sky and directly received creativity from “somewhere,” it would feel like a water drop falling, falling, stacking up into a stone pillar.
But even that was a size no bigger than a fingernail, so to reach the sky like that would probably require not a thousand years but a trillion years.
But the important thing was that it had bloomed from ground with nothing.
Now it was just understanding intent, but if this sense reached the sky I would be able to create martial arts by combining and decomposing intent in real time, just like Kim Young-hoon.
Martial arts was my life.
And the martial arts I had striven for had never betrayed me.