Thunder Roar of the Heavenly (4)
Kim Young-hoon stared at the Ganghwan that had risen in my palm with dazed eyes.
Shiver, shiver.
The swirl of will condensed within the Ganghwan was truly remarkable.
The realization.
Watching that sight, Kim Young-hoon trembled from head to toe. His eyes bulged as if they might pop out, and he stared at me like he was about to devour me.
Then he began to laugh.
“Ha… ha ha ha… ha ha ha ha!”
He staggered.
And suddenly he collapsed to the floor with a thud, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed.
His will burned with a brilliance no one had ever seen before, a splendor that could never be repeated.
“Again… there was someone else… besides me… someone else has reached this boundary…!”
Whoosh.
The light of his will blazed even brighter.
It looked exactly like a single sun.
But I felt chills crawling over every inch of my skin.
The will that had risen before my eyes resembled not just a sun but the jaws of a predator ready to pounce at any moment.
He was exhilarated.
“…Until now, I thought the martial world was full of idiots. Almost everyone was stuck in the mindless act of striking and beating one another. Even those with exceptional talent could only see red and blue will, at best.
Further than that, just three or four colors at most. The most one could hope for was a dozen or so colors at the peak of the Peak realm, the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown. I never even dreamed of reaching the realm of Entering Heaven with a Saber. I hoped beyond hope that someone would reach Five Qi Consorting with the Origin. But…”
Crack, crack, crack!
The tiny pebbles and rocks on the ground began to tremble.
The subordinate from the Jin clan, sensing something unusual in the air, quickly fled far away.
“That realm of Five Qi Consorting with the Origin is the absolute peak of mortal martial arts. Even reaching it across the entire continent would only happen once every few hundred years… Yes, I understand. Reaching the peak requires overturning one’s innate limits. But… but…”
“It was always so hollow.”
I raised my tension.
Kim Young-hoon was exultant.
That meant—
“Even the Dao Immortals who matched me perfectly were only enough to spar with me. There was no one who could truly trade blows in martial arts with me. No one who could listen to my deepest longings…!”
Kim Young-hoon spread his right hand.
Light erupted from his palm as the Ganghwan shot out, just like mine.
“Now… now I can finally free this grudge…!!”
He lifted the Ganghwan with a smile so bright it hurt my eyes.
Whoosh.
The Ganghwan spun once, then split into three.
Those three split again into three.
Nine Ganghwan.
Nine Ganghwan lined up behind Kim Young-hoon.
“Let’s play!”
Flash!
Kim Young-hoon’s figure vanished from my sight in an instant.
There was no time even to read the will!
It was pure extreme speed!
But I bent my waist with instinctive speed.
Boom!
The shockwave shattered, slicing off a few strands of my hair.
‘This madman… was he really trying to kill me?’
He must have gone completely mad when a peer appeared in this realm after forty years of lonely cultivation.
‘If it hadn’t been for the reaction speed from my inner dan, I would have died right there.’
Kim Young-hoon’s will reached me directly.
[What? You’re joking, right? Come properly!]
Flash!
Kim Young-hoon’s palm had somehow come right in front of me.
And on his palm rose a blindingly bright Ganghwan, aimed straight at my head.
His every movement seemed chopped off like film.
It wasn’t the illusion that sliced perception like Wansuigungmurok, turning me into a mere puppet.
It was simply too fast.
Even with my reaction speed after reaching the realm of Entering Heaven with a Saber, it was still too fast. That was why his actions looked sliced.
‘What the hell…’
“Hmm. What have you been doing? Why aren’t you reacting properly?”
Kim Young-hoon looked at me with curiosity, then nodded as if he had understood something.
“Ah, I see. You’ve only just entered this realm!”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“So, that explains why you couldn’t fully use the power of this realm. With the power of this realm alone, you could have done much more. Now I see you can only handle one Ganghwan at a time.”
He took a deep breath, smiling with delight.
“But this is truly a trick. Once you learn it, you’ll apply it easily. I’ll teach you. Train while sparring!”
“No, wait…”
I was about to tell him I wasn’t a monster that grows mid-battle like him.
But Kim Young-hoon’s kick pierced toward me at extreme speed.
I barely managed to unfold my defensive qi and block.
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
The three-zhang boulder behind me shattered under the shockwave I had unleashed.
[Don’t worry. I’ll teach you well so you can grow.]
His will echoed.
I plunged into the world of will to focus to the maximum in order to survive.
At that moment.
‘Eh…?’
Why… ten of them?
I rapidly alternated between the world of will and my eyes.
With my eyes, Kim Young-hoon was clearly one person.
But in the world of will, there were ten of him.
‘This…!’
And in the world of will, where Kim Young-hune had been standing.
In the real world, the Ganghwan lined up.
One Kim Young-hoon and nine Ganghwan.
[First off, these Ganghwan aren’t just bombs you throw and detonate.]
Tadak!
Ten Kim Young-hoons charged at me at once.
He must have adjusted his speed. This time my reaction matched his.
But ten Kim Young-hoons attacked me so vividly in the world of will.
And if even one hit me, it was dangerous.
One was a top expert of the realm of Entering Heaven with a Saber, and the other nine were Ganghwan that would tear a body apart if they exploded!
“Ugh…”
The biggest problem was that those Ganghwan were using will too.
The Ganghwan fought alongside me in alliance.
Ten experts of the same realm encircled me from all sides, fighting in alliance.
Of course I lost the will-based alliance battle. I took Kim Young-hoon’s fist to the chest.
Boom!
“Ugh…”
[If you can create Ganghwan, you know this. It’s not just inner energy compressed into a bomb. It’s another self, a split mental body. It’s the stage of the Seven-Saber Technique where will is sliced and input into weapons, a realm that has surpassed several levels beyond the Seven-Saber and Seven-Tao stages.
It’s not inputting the next action for the weapon. It’s inputting oneself as one. That’s why once you can handle one Ganghwan, your combat power doubles with each additional one!]
We sparred.
When I attacked his lower body, ten Kim Young-hoons stabbed from every direction. In countering, I struck his knee.
When I stabbed at his middle, ten Kim Young-hoons used different stances and disrupted the flow of will. In that gap, the real Kim Young-hoon struck my shoulder with his sword back.
When I tried to slash from above, Kim Young-hoons from front, back, left, right, up, and down swarmed me. I had to retreat hurriedly.
“Grrrugh…”
When I activated will, countless branches and rocks rose from all directions.
I infused qi into them with my sword and created thousands of sword servants to counter the multiple Kim Young-hoons.
But—
Flash, flash, flash!
A gale of light swept through. Nine Kim Young-hoons exploded simultaneously.
With a massive whirlpool of light, countless sword scars sliced all my sword servants to pieces.
And from behind the real Kim Young-hoon, another nine Kim Young-hoons stepped forward.
With my eyes, it looked like Kim Young-hoon had pulled one of the Ganghwan from around him and placed it on his palm.
‘Eh?’
Danger.
The moment my instinct warned me, I leaped into the air without hesitation.
Whoosh!
A fan-shaped qi spread, slicing the trees beyond where I had been to pieces.
It was the same chopped-time phenomenon as before.
And the Kim Young-hoon who suddenly appeared there looked at me.
Boom!
“Guh!”
Kim Young-hoon’s palm clamped my face.
I unfolded defensive qi with my survival instinct. Kim Young-hoon’s kicks slammed my belly three times.
Thud, boom, boom!
Like bombs exploding, I was blasted straight into the sky.
[If I hadn’t unfolded defensive qi, my waist would have been gone…!]
Puff.
I had already pierced through the clouds.
A sea of white clouds spread beneath my feet.
But there was no time to admire the scenery. I unfolded defensive qi and focused my consciousness.
[Observe well.]
Boom!
Another shockwave. The Kim Young-hoon in front of me swung his blade.
Clouds trailed behind him.
[Considering your level, I only raised it by double.]
Whoosh!
He struck me with his sword sheath. I tore through the clouds and fell back to the ground.
I would have died if I hadn’t endured with the reaction speed from my inner dan’s inner energy control!
[He only raised it by double…]
I remembered the two Kim Young-hoons merging.
It was clearly Kim Young-hoon retrieving his own will he had input into the Ganghwan.
‘No, that wasn’t retrieval.’
Flash!
Kim Young-hoon appeared directly above me again. He spun once in the air, then struck downward with his sword sheath.
I barely lifted my sword to block.
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
The ground of the mountain valley I stood on collapsed, spiderweb cracks spreading around.
I endured his attack while observing and observing Kim Young-hoon’s figure in the world of will.
‘That wasn’t retrieval. It was…’
Kim Young-hoon wasn’t moving alone.
‘It was moving together.’
Two Kim Young-hoons overlapped.
‘Ah, so that’s it.’
They were linked.
The two Kim Young-hoons linked their thoughts and accelerated everything they possessed by double.
‘Ah…’
I wasn’t a martial genius.
That was why I couldn’t gain enormous realizations or explode in growth through fighting.
But I was a master of martial arts.
What Kim Young-hoon showed was the ‘trick’ applied within the realm of Entering Heaven with a Saber.
As a master, I could instantly understand any trick within the same realm through countless experiences.
‘Come.’
Whoosh!
The Ganghwan I had far away flew toward me as if it were another self.
It overlapped with me completely.
My thoughts and the thoughts of my mental body began to link.
The speed and efficiency of thought doubled.
The world suddenly slowed down.
At the same time, I felt my inner energy control and reaction speed using my inner dan amplified several times over.
Whoosh!
Kim Young-hoon swung his blade again. This time I grabbed his sword sheath up close.
This time a hint of realization flickered in Kim Young-hoon’s eyes.
[Finally understood. Excellent.]
His intention reached me through will.
I sent my intention to him through will too.
[…Now it’s only at this level. You can accelerate your thoughts by more than ten times, right…?]
Eight Ganghwan swarmed around him.
[That’s right. Then let’s play properly…]
Boom!
My sword pierced his alliance and slammed into his belly.
Boom!
In that instant, I struck with the Seven Peaks, Seven Cliffs, Seven Veins, Seven Layers of Mountains, Mountain Lord of the Sea, Mountain Name Valley Response, and Eternal Tomb.
Seven strikes landed on Kim Young-hoon.
[Peak Vein.]
Boom!
I struck Kim Young-hoon’s chin with the flat of my sword, sending him flying into the air.
Kim Young-hoon unfolded defensive qi at the last moment, so he survived, but he looked at me with a panicked expression.
[What? It wasn’t that you could only handle one Ganghwan…? The speed suddenly…]
[This feeling…]
It was the same at the pinnacle of the Peak realm.
The same when reaching the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown from the Peak.
The same when reaching Five Qi Consorting with the Origin from the Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown.
Always, the transition into a completely different ‘realm’ from the previous realm.
However, from Five Qi Consorting with the Origin to the realm of Entering Heaven with a Saber, it was only a slight increase in reaction speed after forming the inner dan.
There was nothing else besides the difference between the peak and enlightenment.
It felt a bit insufficient to completely overwhelm the previous realm.
But now I felt it.
The world slowed down.
I had finally truly entered the ‘next realm.’
I felt it in my body and poured qi from my entire frame.
I couldn’t flood all meridians like a Qi Condensation Dao Immortal, but for a moment I surrounded my entire body with sword qi.
For an instant, I became a sword!
Peak Vein!
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
I rushed at Kim Young-hoon using the Peak Vein technique as myself. Kim Young-hoon couldn’t react instantly to my speed and took my attack.
Shatter!
He was sent flying to the peak of the distant mountain valley. Spiderweb cracks appeared on the peak, leaving our traces.
“…Haha, so that’s it…!”
Kim Young-hoon burst into laughter and brushed himself off.
It was an instantaneous attack, but he had unfolded defensive qi, so the damage was neutralized.
He looked unharmed.
“Immortal Dao techniques…! And that at the late stage of Qi Condensation. Is your consciousness larger than mine?”
He shone with eyes as if he had figured out the secret of my reaction speed.
Yes.
Until now I couldn’t react to his speed, but once I learned the trick of accelerating thought, even though I used the same number of Ganghwan as him, I moved much faster.
That was because I was at the ninth stage of Qi Condensation. My consciousness was disproportionately large compared to a normal Qi Condensation cultivator, in fact possessing a consciousness on the level of Qi Condensation 12 or 13.
Even with the same mental body, the amplification efficiency and capacity differed!
The size of thought itself differed, so the amplification rate when once amplified was different!
“Martial arts and Dao techniques complement each other. Is the physical build different…? Even if you learn the same technique, if the size of the mind differs, you fall behind in physique…”
Kim Young-hoon smiled slyly and raised his energy.
“Well, good. It’s a very different experience. To a Dao Immortal, a large consciousness is no different from a physical trait. Come at me. It’ll be fun!”
Whoosh.
One of the Ganghwan circling him was absorbed back into his body.
Kim Young-hoon’s acceleration rate tripled.
“Let’s clash everything! Use any technique, Dao or otherwise! Heh heh heh!”
And again, Kim Young-hoon and I clashed.
I drew the six lines of the array, changed the surrounding earth, and clashed with him.
Our fight continued from morning until evening.
The mountain valley around us was completely destroyed.
In the end, I lost to Kim Young-hoon.
But now, unlike before, Kim Young-hoon was no longer an absolute wall.
It was high, but a wall with a visible end.
That was the difference in our levels now.
* * *
“Hah… hah…”
Kim Young-hoon stood up using his blade with his teeth clenched as a cane, laughing.
“…It’s been a while since I had such a fun experience.”
“I feel the same.”
I looked at my completely shattered sword and smiled faintly.
I couldn’t move.
All the power in my body had drained away.
“By the way, you contacted me through the subordinate from the Jin clan. Are you trying to enter the real world too? With your level of power, if I recommend you, you could become an outer hall elder right away.”
“…That would be good, but there are things I need to confirm before I came.”
I stood up with my body still aching and said.
“I know some of the ordinary people working at the Jin clan.”
“Hmm, is that so? Ordinary people are within my authority to arrange a meeting. Then will you not enter the Jin clan?”
I nodded slightly.
My lifespan was now only about ten years left.
Within that time, I would raise my Qi Condensation realm as high as possible.
This time, I was heading toward the Seongje Empire.
The Geumsincheonmun Sect, located in the western great mountain range of the Seongje Empire.
I needed to find out what relation it had with Deungsunhyang.
Perhaps it was even related to why we had fallen here.