Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Clash of Unknowns
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"Hey," they exchanged words carrying entirely different meanings. Wi Sungcheon took a large step forward, and Baek Rihyang blocked his path with a face full of utter panic.
She had thought they would simply meet and exchange a few words. They weren't blood brothers, but they had grown up together as such.
Truth be told, brotherly affection holding her back wasn't what Baek Rihyang wanted. Still, this was far too sudden.
"Are you insane?"
Baek Rihyang hurriedly composed her expression as she asked. Wi Sungcheon's eyes met Baek Rihyang's. In that brief moment, she read the surface of the emotions swirling in his pupils.
She quickly realized she couldn't stop him. Even so, she hesitated for a moment before stepping aside.
[...Are you sure about this?]
"Guess I'll find out when I try."
Wi Sungcheon responded aloud to her transmitted voice message. His reply carried no tremor, as if brimming with strong conviction—but in truth, Wi Sungcheon harbored no such certainty. Just as he said, he'd only know once he tried.
Even so, vaguely.
He had given it some thought. The time spent bedridden until his broken bones properly mended wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. It was plenty of time to think.
'It's about how far I can draw it out.'
Hoping for victory was too greedy. He would lose, but it couldn't be a meaningless defeat.
The Black Heaven Prodigy slowly turned his eyes. Baek Rihyang, standing not far away, flinched under his gaze. She swallowed hard and opened her mouth.
"I have no intention of fighting."
"Then please step back further. If the young lady were to get hurt, Master would be displeased."
"...Ha! As if."
"You seem to know less about Master than I do, despite spending only a few years together."
The Black Heaven Prodigy smirked as he spoke. His words made Baek Rihyang's eyebrows twitch, but she said nothing more and leaped back to create distance.
"...This reminds me of the old days."
The Black Heaven Prodigy muttered.
"I don't have many memories of you hurling harsh words at me. But sometimes, you'd squeeze them out like you were wringing a rag."
"..."
"I didn't dislike it when you did. After all, people are people. Emotions can surge, and there are times you have to force yourself to be brave—even if it's just empty bravado."
"You're not my brother, yet you talk like one."
"You're human, and so am I. Memories... feelings don't bend to your will. That's why resolve is necessary."
The Black Heaven Prodigy and Wi Sungcheon stood facing each other. The distance between them was less than ten paces. Baek Rihyang had retreated far off, and Mu Yeonjun and Sang Ilin had also kept back enough not to interfere.
The Crimson Garment Light Tiger had perched on a nearby tree branch, crouched and peering down at them.
"Like your resolve, I have mine as well."
The Black Heaven Prodigy's gaze shifted. His pupils moved only slightly, but... Wi Sungcheon felt as though he was looking not here, but somewhere very far away.
He didn't question it.
Black Heaven Prodigy.
Wi Sungyeol.
There were more than one or two things he wanted to ask his brother. If possible, he wanted to ask and talk through some other way—not like this. Cheap liquor would do; they could sit with a jug between them all night, passing it back and forth.
But it was just wishful thinking. The Black Heaven Prodigy wouldn't answer Wi Sungcheon's many questions that way. As for the 'method'... he'd heard about it upon reunion.
The one before him wasn't his brother, Wi Sungyeol. It was the Black Death Alliance Lord's disciple, the Black Heaven Prodigy.
With that one extended step, he convinced himself once more. With the next step, he made several resolves. He folded his fingers one by one over his lingering questions about himself. By the time both fists were clenched tight, his doubts about his brother no longer weighed on his mind.
Gritting his teeth, he registered his opponent once again. Before him stood the Black Heaven Prodigy. Someone he knew much about... but now knew even less.
To know the unknown, he had to plunge into it. To understand, he had to experience it. No need to overthink odds or truths.
Fight, and he'd learn.
Win, and he'd hear the answers to his questions.
When Wi Sungcheon kicked off the ground, the Black Heaven Prodigy no longer gazed afar. Even as the fist flew right to his face, he stood motionless in place, eyes fixed ahead.
Just as Wi Sungcheon needed resolve, so did the Black Heaven Prodigy. Just as Wi Sungcheon hadn't wanted this reunion to end in combat, neither had he.
The wind parted, and their garments fluttered. No sound of collision or grazing. The straight thrust of a single fist pierced empty air. The Black Heaven Prodigy's upper body bent backward in a flexible arc, as if about to snap.
From that awkward posture, his foot slid. His palm thrust through the shortest path, shoving at Wi Sungcheon's chest.
It appeared so, yet still no sound. Just before the palm struck home, Wi Sungcheon unleashed Heavy-less Guard Divine Might. He didn't resist the pushing force but moved with it. His torso was forced back, while his legs stepped and planted with precise timing to regain balance.
Their first exchange ended like that. A fight as bizarre as could be. As if they'd rehearsed it beforehand, Wi Sungcheon and the Black Heaven Prodigy's clashes never truly connected as attacks.
Watching it, Mu Yeonjun thought of water and oil. They didn't mix, but contained together, they rippled the same. Their feet moved ceaselessly, yet no dust rose. Hands lashed out and crossed, grasping at each other—but always slipping just short of capture.
'Their body techniques are evenly matched?'
If both were giving their all, it seemed so. No... was it different? Even with his Heavenly Eye, Mu Yeonjun couldn't gauge the full power in their exchange.
It was because their qi and blood flows differed vastly from ordinary martial artists—and especially because Mu Yeonjun couldn't comprehend the dragon vein Wi Sungcheon had newly acquired.
'It doesn't connect.'
Wi Sungcheon's eyebrows twitched. He kept his eyes wide open, trying not to furrow his brow. The slightest blink narrowed his vision momentarily.
'It seems like it should connect, but it doesn't.'
Though he wasn't unleashing flashy qi, Wi Sungcheon was earnestly trying to seize the Black Heaven Prodigy. But he couldn't. It felt like just a bit more and he'd grab him—yet that gap refused to close.
'More.'
His speed increased. More feints layered in. In a single motion, he set multiple traps, casting out the line. He even dangled irresistible bait. He left his side wide open, but the Black Heaven Prodigy didn't strike there.
Because they both knew up to that point. They had trained the Heavenly Flower Sect's arts together for nearly a decade.
'Impressive. But...'
Not astonishing. The Black Heaven Prodigy's body techniques didn't exceed what Wi Sungcheon had imagined by much. He could think that because he'd grown tremendously through various fortuitous encounters and experiences.
'Half a year ago—no, two months ago, it would've ended in ten breaths.'
Had he not pierced the sea and its currents, that is.
Wi Sungcheon hadn't come to confirm something like that. He already knew 'Heavenly Flower Sect's Wi Sungyeol.' He could imagine how much stronger his brother had become in four years without needing to check.
What he wanted to know was the unknown called the Black Heaven Prodigy. To draw that out...
'I have to make him reveal it.'
Opening Stance.
Wi Sungcheon's qi and blood surged open. It coursed through his body. The counterflow altered his movements. His right arm shot out. Midway, it whipped like a lash. The Black Heaven Prodigy countered the sudden strike without panic.
But countering didn't mean blocking it.
Clang! The first impact rang out. The Black Heaven Prodigy stared in surprise at his recoiled arm.
Thud! Wi Sungcheon stomped hard, thrusting his upper body forward. The fist aimed at the solar plexus was blocked by the Black Heaven Prodigy's knee. As if waiting, his body twisted sharply. Wi Sungcheon's hand seized the Black Heaven Prodigy's side.
He tried to shove...
But before he could tense his arm, the Black Heaven Prodigy's body spun a full turn.
"Indeed."
The Black Heaven Prodigy spoke. He regarded Wi Sungcheon with calm eyes.
"With the Heavenly Flower Sect's arts, there's a gap between us now."
Was it what each had devoted themselves to that created such a difference? Or...
'Blood... perhaps.'
The Black Heaven Prodigy's eyes darkened. He didn't want to dwell on such thoughts.
From that moment on.
The Black Heaven Prodigy ceased using the Heavenly Flower Sect's arts and employed something else.
First Form: Point.
Wi Sungcheon sensed it immediately. The moment a pitch-black 'point' formed between them. The Black Heaven Prodigy showed no special movement; the point simply appeared, and Wi Sungcheon's hand still gripped him, yet...
'No.'
Intense instinct made him release his grip. He hadn't forced doubt aside; it was the right call. The single point proliferated, filling the space between Wi Sungcheon and the Black Heaven Prodigy.
'What is this?'
Wi Sungcheon wasn't the only one wondering. The Crimson Garment Light Tiger, crouched on the branch, suddenly stood and leaned forward for a better look. Sang Ilin's eyes widened in shock.
'True Qi Art? ...God-Demon Annihilation Method. Was it this potent?'
Mu Yeonjun's pupils trembled. Though they'd stayed together in the ruins, this was his first time witnessing the God-Demon Annihilation Method directly.
Mu Yeonjun had learned the Ten Righteous Talents' arts. Among them, Moon Shadow Immortal Baek Cheong was a top master of true qi arts, arguably unrivaled in the world.
Moon Shadow Immortal's true qi art versus the Black Demon King's God-Demon Annihilation Method. Honestly... it was hard to judge superiority. Both were too advanced to compare levels, and their approaches differed. But one thing was clear.
The 'God-Demon Annihilation Method' Mu Yeonjun had seen and inferred in the ruins was different from what unfolded before him now.
"Be careful!"
Baek Rihyang shouted abruptly. Among those present, only the Black Heaven Prodigy and Baek Rihyang had seen the God-Demon Annihilation Method in action. She recognized this as its First Form.
"Caution won't help."
The Black Heaven Prodigy muttered. He didn't swing his hand or anything. He merely gazed at Wi Sungcheon's position with thinly opened eyes.
That was all it took.
Goosebumps erupted across his skin, hairs standing on end.
Wi Sungcheon held his breath and moved his body frantically. Twisting, leaping, bending, halting—his mind went white, leaving only survival instinct to drive him.
"Huh."
The Black Heaven Prodigy let out a surprised sound. In that intense instant, an 'eye' opened and closed atop Wi Sungcheon's ethereal form. Only the Black Heaven Prodigy and Mu Yeonjun saw it.
"Impressive."
The fleeting motion had been too violent. His whole body ached, breath catching in his throat. Wi Sungcheon staggered back several steps.
No blood flowed. No wounds. But in this brief moment, Wi Sungcheon had danced on the edge of death repeatedly.
What the hell was that? Without warning, dozens of points appeared and vanished in the space where Wi Sungcheon had stood. He'd barely avoided direct contact through desperate movement, but the parts of his clothes eroded by the points crumbled to dust.
"Does the Heavenly Flower Sect have a technique like that?"
"...Wh-what nonsense is that?"
Wi Sungcheon panted as he asked. The Black Heaven Prodigy shook his head and muttered.
"It's no surprise if there's something I don't know."
Following those rambling words.
Pitch-black lines connected point to point. Even just becoming lines made evasion difficult.
Second Form: Line. Only the Second Form now. No matter which way he moved, complete avoidance was impossible. Mutual destruction? Too extreme. Give flesh to take bone? Even conceding bone, could he claim a scrap of flesh? Thought halted before the incomprehensible violence, unconsciousness moving his body. Those movements followed pure survival instinct.
But he didn't just evade endlessly. The pinnacle of Seeking Survival was total escape from violence—or total negation of it.
Movements driven by instinct sought to eliminate the threat. In that instant—Wi Sungcheon recalled the Righteous Heaven Lord's Martial Assembly.
U Ha-yeon's Plum Blossom Uproar that brought defeat. The transcendent sword strike he couldn't see or reach. It wasn't much different from now.
Heavy-less Guard Divine Might.
Its pinnacle was flowing without resistance.
Achieving absolute self-protection as divine prestige.
'It's broken through—no, pierced...'
Blood sprayed in all directions. The Black Heaven Prodigy, eyes wide, immediately linked line to line.
Kwaaaang!