Chapter 58: Spirit Treasure (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58: Spirit Treasure (4)
-Excellent. Even if I opened the path for you, it would be meaningless if you could not master it yourself.
‘It was only possible because of your guidance, Sword Immortal.’
-It would have been better if we had more time, but internalizing the remaining Spirit Fragment through your Innate True Qi and Mental Focus will be more beneficial for you in the long run.
‘Please, teach me more. Didn’t you say yourself? That now is the time I need enlightenment most.’
-Your thirst for learning is strong. However, even if I wished to grant your request, you have no more time.
‘What do you mean by that?’
-No matter how much slower time flows within the mindscape compared to the world outside, it cannot be stopped entirely. Now, return.
With those words from the Sword Immortal, the mist began to gradually dissipate.
I called out urgently to the fading figure of the Sword Immortal.
‘Just one more thing—please, tell me one more thing. Was my return to the past also part of your arrangement?’
At that question, the dissolving Sword Immortal smiled without a word.
He was smiling, yet for some reason, it didn't feel like an affirmation.
-What on earth happened? How did you just do that?
The Lesser Conversation Sword asked me in surprise.
‘I unleashed Sharp Killing Intent.’
As those who handle weapons like swords or sabers reach higher realms, they become capable of honing their energy into something razor-sharp.
That is Sharp Killing Intent.
Masters who have surpassed the Wall can fully internalize the energy within their bodies, allowing them to manipulate this Sharp Killing Intent at will.
-Does that mean you’ve surpassed the Wall?
No.
Regrettably, I hadn't crossed the Wall yet.
It would be more accurate to say I was teetering on the edge of it.
-Teetering? So you haven't reached the Realm of Superhumans?
It’s complicated.
Even though I internalized the teachings given by the Sword Immortal, my own enlightenment was still lacking.
Even if time in the mindscape flowed slower than outside, it wasn't enough to completely surpass the Wall.
Right now, I could be considered at a level equivalent to a Superhuman.
I wasn't yet capable of freely manipulating Sharp Killing Intent through my hands and feet like the Eight Great Masters or the Four Great Villains, but I could now achieve it using a sword as a medium.
For now, this was my limit.
Even this was normally only possible after surpassing the Wall, but I had managed it because I had opened my Essence, Energy, and Spirit through the power of the Big Dipper recorded in the Secret Records of the Sword Immortal.
The Namcheon Iron Sword asked in wonder.
-Was your silence earlier, when you couldn't hear us, because you were meeting the Sword Immortal?
‘Yes. I received his teachings.’
-Then it really was the Sword Immortal’s Spirit Treasure!
I confirmed it to the excited Lesser Conversation Sword.
I had stumbled upon a legendary stroke of luck quite unexpectedly.
-Only that dead old man ended up being pitiful.
The "old man" the Lesser Conversation Sword referred to was Tian Wuxing.
Even I thought he was a truly unlucky man.
He had barely managed to escape prison, only to find himself in a body incapable of learning the Sword Immortal’s Spirit Treasure, and ultimately losing his life.
Looking at this, fate truly was an unpredictable thing.
Regardless, I had grown a step further through this fortuitous encounter, so I had to be satisfied for now.
-What a shame. The rank of the Eight Great Masters was right before your eyes.
‘He told me not to be impatient in seeking enlightenment. And besides...’
Now, I should be able to draw out even more of the Blood Demon’s power through Mental Focus.
I had also accepted the Sword Immortal’s Spirit Fragment that remained in the Spirit Treasure into my body; since I hadn't fully absorbed it yet, the potential for growth remained open.
“S-Stop him!”
The man gesturing toward me seemed to be the leader of these masked men.
He possessed the most superior strength among them.
If my sensation from our brief clash was correct, his martial prowess was at the very peak of the Supreme Peak Realm.
-That guy tried to force-feed you that thing.
The restoration pill in his hand.
That bothered me.
If I subdued him first, I’d be able to figure out his identity and his objective.
-Watch out!
At the Lesser Conversation Sword’s cry, I swung my sword upward at an angle.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
The masked man who had swung a saber at me was sent flying backward by my light parry.
Just by clinging to the edge of the Wall, my internal power had changed significantly.
Thud! Slash!
“Agh!”
I kicked the wrist of a masked man rushing from the side and slashed his thigh before swinging my sword toward the leader, who was fleeing toward the stairs.
The space distorted as a blade of Sharp Killing Intent flew toward his back.
“Kh!”
Sensing the Sharp Killing Intent, the man desperately rolled across the floor.
Being at the peak of the Supreme Peak Realm, his Qi Sense was exceptionally keen.
But could he dodge if I unleashed Sharp Killing Intent like this?
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
I unleashed Sharp Killing Intent in every direction, leaving him no room to escape.
“You brat!”
Realizing he couldn't dodge, the man turned around and performed a flamboyant palm technique against the incoming Sharp Killing Intent.
The afterimages of his palms multiplied into dozens, forming a shield in front of him.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!
The palm technique’s forms collided with the Sharp Killing Intent.
He tried to block the energy with an airtight defense, but his body was thrown backward.
Crash!
‘Hm?’
The man used the force of being repelled to smash through the wall of the building.
It was a faster way out than taking the stairs.
I might lose him at this rate.
“Hah!”
The masked men blocked my path, desperate to let their leader escape.
They unleashed sword and saber forms, but I dodged them with only slight movements of my upper body.
The masked men looked on in disbelief at the clear difference in skill.
“Opening.”
I thrust my sword into the space between the eyes of one of the masked men.
He collapsed without even a scream.
Another masked man tried to flee in panic, but I landed a punch into his ribs.
Thud! Crack!
“Aaargh!”
With the sound of breaking ribs, the man flew back, vomiting blood.
Seeing that even Peak-level masters were no match for me for even a single move, I could feel how much my martial prowess had truly grown.
With no one left to block me, the Lesser Conversation Sword shouted.
-Hurry, go after him!
‘Wait a moment.’
I fired the Silver Smoke Thread toward a corpse lying on the floor and pulled it toward me.
It was the body of the man who had killed Tian Wuxing.
That man had used the Silver Smoke Thread with both hands; I figured that since I had learned the Flash Shadow Throwing Dagger Technique, I could manage to handle two of them with enough practice.
Click!
I removed the Silver Smoke Thread gauntlets from the corpse’s arms, attaching one to my waist and the other to my right arm.
-You’re actually taking those in the middle of this? That’s so like you.
Why would I leave these behind? It would be a waste.
If they fell into someone else’s hands, my secrets would be exposed.
Having secured the Silver Smoke Threads, I threw myself through the hole the masked leader had made.
-Do you know where he is?
I pulled down my blindfold and opened my closed eyes.
As my Golden Eyes opened, the dark interior of Peerless Fortress came into view.
Since I had clearly grasped his energy during our brief confrontation, I could see even further now that my blindfold was off.
The energies of countless people were visualized before my eyes.
Among them, I saw a familiar shape of light fleeing in a hurry.
It was him.
-Can you catch up?
‘It might... be possible.’
-How? At that distance, he’ll have more than enough time to run and hide.
I spread my arms wide.
-What are you doing?
Zip! Zip!
I fired the Silver Smoke Threads from both wrists toward the walls on either side, anchoring them to the structures.
-What are you trying to do? You don't mean...?
I sprinted toward the wall on the opposite side of the hole.
The anchored Silver Smoke Threads stretched out long.
I wasn't letting out the coiled thread; I was stretching it using its elasticity.
As the fixed Silver Smoke Threads became taut enough to pull the structures themselves, I surrendered my body to that force.
Twang! Whoosh!
As if someone had launched me, my body shot out through the hole in the building and streaked through the sky in a straight line, propelled by the elasticity of the Silver Smoke Threads.
Using two instead of one made the elastic force incredible.
My body cut through the air above Peerless Fortress as if I were performing the Divine Bow Shadow Projection—a light skill where one launches themselves like an arrow.
Shuuuuuu!
I could see him through my Golden Eyes.
He was weaving through alleys as if trying to shake off a tail.
I hooked the Silver Smoke Thread from my waist onto the hilt of the Lesser Conversation Sword.
-Again?
The Lesser Conversation Sword let out a resigned voice.
I fired the Silver Smoke Thread toward the wall of a building in the direction the man was heading.
Thwack!
As the Lesser Conversation Sword embedded itself into the wall, I injected internal power into the Silver Smoke Thread to make it retract.
My body, which had been flying forward, veered toward the direction of the Silver Smoke Thread.
As my trajectory shifted, I yanked the Lesser Conversation Sword out of the wall to retrieve the thread, then spun my body as I flew toward a specific spot.
That spot was...
Thud!
“Gah!”
Right in front of the masked man.
The man couldn't hide his shock as I suddenly dropped from the sky out of nowhere.
The eyes visible through his mask were trembling violently.
“H-How on earth...?”
In response, I smiled broadly and pointed upward.
It was true that I had come across the sky, after all.
The bewildered man didn't seem to have any intention of fighting and tried to turn the other way.
Zip!
I fired the Silver Smoke Thread and snagged his leg.
“What is this now?!”
What do you think? It’s a string.
I yanked the Silver Smoke Thread.
The man struggled to break free, but realizing it was futile, he lunged toward me.
The masked leader unleashed a palm technique.
His palms rapidly targeted the vital points on my face and chest.
‘I can see it.’
Though I had closed my left eye to hide the Golden Eye as I stood before him, his weaknesses were clearly visible between the transitions of his forms, even without relying on the flow of energy.
The Sword Immortal’s teachings were certainly not in vain.
Moving only my upper body, I dodged the palm strikes he unleashed.
Then, I lunged into his guard—
Thud!
“Guegh.”
I landed a punch loaded with six stars of internal power into his abdomen.
The man who took the punch made a sound like he was gagging and was pushed back.
He lifted his head and spoke to me as if he couldn't understand.
“Y-You... were you hiding your martial prowess?”
He seemed quite shocked by the sudden surge in my capability.
I said to him,
“Sect Leader Gu Yang. Was it you?”
“What?”
The man gasped and hurriedly felt his face.
The mask he had been wearing was gone.
In fact, it was in my hand.
The moment I landed the punch to his abdomen, I had briefly let go of my sword and snatched the mask away.
“Urgh. You brat.”
Gu Yang-gyeong looked on in disbelief.
I felt the same way.
I knew he had been trying to pressure me ever since the Sect Leader of the Muchen Sword Sect—who could be considered part of the same faction—was revealed to be a fake, but I didn't expect him to use such underhanded tactics.
One suspicion crossed my mind.
“...Were you also in league with them?”
Mu Ak, and the man who called himself the master of the Dagger-Killing King Han Ji-sang.
He seemed to be connected to them.
Looking at how Gu Yang-gyeong’s eyes were darting around, it seemed my words weren't even reaching his ears.
He appeared to be racking his brain for a way to escape this situation.
-......
Just then, along with a ringing in my ears, I felt presences that stimulated my Qi Sense.
A large number of people were flocking toward this location.
It seemed some people had spotted me when I was flying through the air.
Gu Yang-gyeong, whose Qi Sense was weaker than mine, realized it a moment later and became even more flustered.
“Damn it!”
He tried to untie the Silver Smoke Thread bound around his ankle.
As if I’d let him.
I yanked the Silver Smoke Thread.
The man, trying to resist the pull, suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and pulled something out from his robe.
‘A pill?’
It was the restoration pill he had tried to force-feed me.
“I cannot forgive you, at the very least!”
Sensing trouble, I unleashed Sharp Killing Intent to stop him.
Slash!
The man hurriedly lowered his body to dodge the energy and swallowed the pill.
Lunging toward him, I grabbed him by the throat.
“Ack!”
I intended to strike his abdomen to make him vomit it up, but—
‘What is this?’
Suddenly, black veins began to bulge and throb across Gu Yang-gyeong’s face.
It was a bizarre phenomenon; I could feel the blood vessels in his neck expanding excessively.
I hurriedly performed a pressure point technique on his chest to subdue him.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
However, a massive surge of energy rose through his expanding blood vessels, interfering with the pressure points.
Realizing it wouldn't work, I threw a punch into his chest.
Thud!
Blood sprayed from Gu Yang-gyeong’s mouth as he took the hit.
The color of the blood was stained black.
Gu Yang-gyeong gave a sinister smile and said,
“Ha... I feel good.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than he swung a palm strike toward my head.
I also hurriedly extended a fist toward his palm.
The moment the palm and fist collided, both our figures were pushed back.
Skreeeech!
Suddenly, the man’s internal power surged tremendously.
I thought he might be committing suicide by making his blood vessels go berserk, but that didn't seem to be the case.
His eyes were bloodshot and red, and his entire face was covered in bulging black veins, making him look hideous.
Rumble!
Just then, dozens of people swarmed through the alleys.
At their head was Wang Chuyi, the Sect Leader of the Sea King Fortress Sect.
My father, the Merciless Wind God Jin Seong-baek, was nowhere to be seen.
“Sect Leader Gu Yang? Young Master? What is going on here?”
At his shout, I spoke first, fearing the man might try to incite them.
“Sect Leader Gu Yang targeted me and the Sect Leader of the Mucheonjeong Sect while we were at the physician’s. That mask is the proof.”
I pointed to the mask lying on the ground.
At this, Wang Chuyi frowned and looked at Gu Yang-gyeong.
To anyone’s eyes, his attire matched the mask perfectly.
Furthermore, his current state was extremely bizarre.
“Sect Leader Gu Yang. What on earth have you done?”
At Wang Chuyi’s shout, Gu Yang-gyeong gave a sinister laugh and suddenly barked out,
“All of you, get lost! That brat dies by my hand!”
His tone was distinctly different from his usual self.
It was incredibly coarse.
“What are you saying! Sect Leader Gu Yang. If you do not stop at once, I will have to subdue you...”
Flash!
Gu Yang-gyeong suddenly lunged toward Wang Chuyi.
To stop him, I yanked hard on the Silver Smoke Thread.
However, something unexpected happened.
“Don’t interfere!”
Snap!
Gu Yang-gyeong snapped the Silver Smoke Thread tied to his ankle.
I had wondered how far its elasticity would hold, but I didn't expect to find out this way.
It was completely useless for holding him back now.
As I moved to step in, Wang Chuyi held out a hand and shouted.
“It’s dangerous, don’t step forward! I will subdue him myself.”
Wang Chuyi drew the saber from his waist and lunged at Gu Yang-gyeong.
As expected, his saber techniques were worthy of his reputation.
As one of the leaders of the Four Great Martial Sects and a saber guest who had lived through the same era as the Muchen Sword Emperor, he was employing domineering saber forms.
Slash-slash-slash-slash-slash!
In terms of saber skill, he was almost equal to the Raging Demon Lord.
The problem, however, was Gu Yang-gyeong.
Whether it was due to the effect of that pill, Gu Yang-gyeong—whose internal power had risen exponentially—pushed back the incoming saber forms with dozens of afterimages created by his palms.
Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!
Wang Chuyi swung his saber even more powerfully, but—
“Has this man gone mad?”
Gu Yang-gyeong didn't seem to fear being cut by the saber; he took the saber forms he couldn't block with his palms directly on his wrists or body.
Though his skin was cut, the counter-force created by his powerful internal energy actually caused Wang Chuyi’s saber forms to be repelled.
As the saber was repelled and an opening appeared, Gu Yang-gyeong didn't miss it.
His palm struck Wang Chuyi’s chest.
Boom!
“Gah!”
Wang Chuyi sprayed blood and was pushed back, eventually falling to one knee.
The match had been decided in just three moves by overwhelming internal power.
Many saber wounds had appeared on Gu Yang-gyeong’s body as well, but he didn't seem to feel the pain as he burst into a mad laugh.
“Hahahaha! Wang Chuyi, you’re nothing special either!”
“You...!”
The injured Wang Chuyi tried to push himself up from his knee.
That was when I shouted.
“Sect Leader Gu Yang. Wasn't the opponent you were after me?”
At those words, Gu Yang-gyeong, who had been approaching Wang Chuyi, whipped his head around.
Wang Chuyi shouted in a panic.
“Young Master! He is not an opponent you can handle. Do not provoke Sect Leader Gu Yang!”
But the situation was beyond his interference.
Gu Yang-gyeong had already closed the distance to right in front of me.
He unleashed a palm technique toward my head.
In response, I swung the Namcheon Iron Sword upward, intending to sever his arm.
Clash-clash-clash!
Gu Yang-gyeong performed a changing tide to parry the sword blade, then shifted his palm strike toward my solar plexus.
I retreated with footwork and kicked his wrist upward.
After that, I thrust my sword toward his chest.
“Hmph!”
Gu Yang-gyeong snorted and struck the tip of the sword with his palm.
Boom!
In an instant, a powerful wind pressure erupted around us.
His internal power was so strong that the sword couldn't pierce his palm, and both our figures were pushed back once again.
Seeing that sight, Wang Chuyi and the others were left speechless.
They seemed greatly shocked that I wasn't being pushed back even while fighting him in his empowered state.
-Has his body become harder?
‘No, that’s not it.’
He had temporarily concentrated his internal power into his palm to oppose the sharp sword tip.
However, since my internal power was also formidable, he was wounded.
The blood trickling from Gu Yang-gyeong’s palm was proof.
Yet, whether he had gone mad or simply couldn't feel pain, he charged at me again without a care.
“Die!”
In an instant, Gu Yang-gyeong and I exchanged about two more moves.
His surged internal power gave him a slight edge, but since it wasn't his actual martial prowess that had risen but rather a reliance on the medicinal effect of the pill, we were nearly equal.
Thud!
“Kh!”
His palm strike hit the right side of my chest.
I also kicked him in the abdomen, but he completely ignored the pain.
His figure didn't even falter as he came for me.
Drip!
Seeing the blood trickling from the corner of my mouth, Wang Chuyi shouted, sensing a crisis.
“Sect Leader Gu Yang has fallen into a demonic state. We must subdue him!”
“Yes, sir!”
At his command, the experts of the Sea King Fortress Sect moved to join the fray for a combined attack.
With their level of martial prowess, joining in would only increase the casualties.
I shouted urgently.
“Stop!”
“What are you saying! You cannot handle him alone.”
At Wang Chuyi’s shout, I spoke as if I had no choice.
“...I suppose there’s no helping it. Subduing him while keeping him intact, that is.”
“What?”
Thud-thud-thud!
I pushed Gu Yang-gyeong back with a series of kicks, then used footwork to create a distance of about five paces.
Then, I changed my grip on the sword hilt and pulled the blade back behind my opposite hip.
From the stance alone, it looked as if I were about to perform a quick-draw technique rather than a standard sword form.
“I’ll kill you!”
Gu Yang-gyeong lunged toward me.
‘New Path Life-Drawing Sword Technique, 4th Form: Rising Dragon Return Sword.’
Boom!
I took a powerful step forward, drawing my Sharp Killing Intent to its absolute limit within the Namcheon Iron Sword.
Then, I spun my body, drawing a circle with the sword.
“It’s usele—”
Clang!
“What?”
In that moment, both of Gu Yang-gyeong’s hands, which had been performing a palm strike, were knocked away, and his body was lifted by the sword force.
Slash-slash-slash-slash-slash!
Following the sword force, a whirlwind of Sharp Killing Intent enveloped Gu Yang-gyeong.
His entire body was shredded by the Sharp Killing Intent as he continued to be propelled upward.
-This is the Rising Dragon Return Sword?
even the Namcheon Iron Sword couldn't believe the transformed sword form.
Thud!
Soon, Gu Yang-gyeong, who had been caught in the whirlwind of Sharp Killing Intent, fell to the ground.
Though he couldn't feel pain, he tried to push himself up, but his muscle meridians had been severed throughout his body; he could only writhe on the ground, unable to stand.
I flicked the blood droplets off my sword and turned my head.
Wang Chuyi and the experts of the Sea King Fortress Sect stood there, their mouths agape.
“You... just what...”