Chapter 103: The Real One (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: The Real One (3)
A short while before arriving here...
Baek Hyang-muk, having just subdued a fleeing masked man, found someone appearing before him.
It was none other than his disciple, Lee Jeong-gyeom.
The murderous energy radiating from Lee Jeong-gyeom was entirely different from the pure, orthodox energy taught by himself and Taoist Master Zhongxian, the Taiji Sword Emperor of the Wudang Sect.
Rather, it was indistinguishable from the energy of the Unorthodox Faction.
"Master..."
Lee Jeong-gyeom quickly hid his energy, but it was already too late.
Baek Hyang-muk pointed his sword-finger at him and demanded, "How long have you been deceiving me?"
"Master, I don't know what you mean. I—"
"I am asking how long you have been deceiving me!"
"..."
At Baek Hyang-muk’s repeated demand, Lee Jeong-gyeom could not bring himself to speak. He glanced at the masked man and let out a heavy sigh. His face looked as though he had desperately hoped this day would never come.
"So, you knew after all."
Baek Hyang-muk let out a lamentation at those words. Just as the Sword Immortal's Successor had suspected, it seemed his disciple had been possessed by the demonic influence of the Calamity Slaughter Sword all along. It was chilling to think how long he had been deceived.
Overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal, Baek Hyang-muk scowled and said, "You must have laughed at this old man for failing to notice for so long."
Lee Jeong-gyeom tilted his head in confusion before answering urgently.
"How could I ever laugh at you, Master? I have always been grateful to you for believing in me and remaining silent, even though I was possessed by the demonic influence of the Demon Sword."
"What?"
Baek Hyang-muk could not hide his bewilderment. He had assumed the boy was fully possessed, but his answer now was no different from usual. This was the Lee Jeong-gyeom he knew.
Baek Hyang-muk asked him, "...Were you not possessed by the demonic influence?"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?"
"Did you not already know that I was fighting against the demonic influence?"
!?
Baek Hyang-muk was at a loss. Fighting against the sword's demonic influence? What did that mean? If that were true, then what of the numerous slaughters committed by Killing Fiend Jue Xin and the death of Taoist Master Zhongxian, the Taiji Sword Emperor?
"Fighting the demonic influence? Then... do you remember everything?"
"...Yes. If not for the help of the Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments, I would never have known that I was being possessed by the sword's influence."
"The help of the Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments?"
Only then was the mystery regarding the Divine Healer, mentioned by the Sword Immortal's Successor, finally solved.
"Have you been imitating my disciple all this time?!"
At Baek Hyang-muk’s shout, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom let out a mocking sneer. What was the meaning behind that smirk?
Filled with rage, Baek Hyang-muk unleashed a crimson killing intent as fast as a lightning bolt. It was a strike intended to cleave the opponent in two with a single blow, but the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom cut through it effortlessly with a simple flick of his sword-finger.
Slash!
Having neutralized the attack, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom spoke. "Imitating him? How amusing."
"What?"
"I wonder... who was imitating whom?"
With those words, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom swung his sword-finger. A sharp killing intent, shrouded in a black haze, flew in a straight line toward the master and disciple.
Lee Jeong-gyeom lunged forward and reached out toward the incoming energy. Before the energy could even touch his hand, it veered off course and bounced upward.
Slash!
It was the same redirection technique the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom had shown earlier. However, the surprising part was that while the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom needed direct contact to divert energy, the Lee Jeong-gyeom who appeared with Baek Hyang-muk could divert it before it even touched him.
His sensitivity to Qi was beyond imagination.
"A natural talent indeed," the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom remarked, as if acknowledging the feat.
However, there was one thing he clearly didn't understand, and he asked outright, "But how are you enduring the demonic influence of the Calamity Slaughter Sword?"
"I have no reason to tell you that."
Flash!
With those words, Lee Jeong-gyeom and Baek Hyang-muk lunged forward simultaneously. Realizing that this blackened version of Lee Jeong-gyeom was no ordinary foe, the master and disciple sought to subdue him with a combined attack.
But they were forced to stop mid-motion.
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom had suddenly drawn a long needle and was aiming it at me.
Baek Hyang-muk shouted at him, "Coward! Release him this instant!"
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom sneered at the rebuke. "You are gravely mistaken."
"What?"
"This fellow is far more dangerous than the two of you. Do you really think dealing with you would be difficult?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he hurled the long needle at me.
Swish! Thud!
"Urgh!"
The needle pierced accurately through the area of my heart. The burning pain was even more intense than when my Dantian had been pierced.
"Young Master So!"
"You bastard!"
Seeing the needle pierce my heart, Baek Hyang-muk and Lee Jeong-gyeom cried out in shock. As if enjoying their reaction, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom looked at me and jeered.
"Did you think I would leave your Middle Dantian alone?"
"Guh... aaah..."
"It will be painful. These Blood-Breaking Needles are designed so that even if the body regenerates, the sharp barbs will tangle with the flesh and never let go."
He had prepared meticulously. He must have set this trap assuming I possessed exceptional recovery abilities.
He turned his head away from me and said, "Taste the helplessness of being able to do nothing. I shall kill you last."
Then, he began walking toward the other two. Baek Hyang-muk let out a roar of fury and lunged.
"You monster!"
Stretching out like a hawk diving for its prey, Baek Hyang-muk unleashed a sword technique. It was Blood Net Sword Sky, a form of the Blood Heaven Great Achievement Sword. Though he hadn't reached the absolute pinnacle of the art, the Blood Net Sword Sky performed by a peerless master like Baek Hyang-muk was near perfection.
However...
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
To everyone's shock, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom stood his ground and deflected the attacks with ease. He even seemed to be redirecting the force behind the strikes, causing the killing intent contained in Baek Hyang-muk’s technique to scatter in all directions.
"How...?"
Baek Hyang-muk looked bewildered. He had believed that the principles of the Blood Heaven Great Achievement Art, which concentrated internal power, would be able to counter the redirection technique, but he was stunned when it failed.
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom jeered at him. "That might have worked three hundred years ago, but not now."
"Three hundred years?"
"What a pity that you risked your reputation to dabble in the Blood Demon’s martial arts, only for it to be so meaningless."
Having easily blocked the strike, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom lunged for an opening. His rapid sword-finger was on the verge of piercing Baek Hyang-muk’s brow. However, at the critical moment, Lee Jeong-gyeom aimed his own killing intent at the blackened man's neck, forcing him to abort the attack.
Whish!
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom avoided the strike with graceful footwork. The master and disciple then launched a simultaneous combined attack.
Judging that the Blood Heaven Great Achievement Sword was ineffective, Baek Hyang-muk switched to his own signature style, the Ink Immortal Sword Technique. Lee Jeong-gyeom supported him by unfolding the forms of the Taiji Sword. As if they had practiced together for years, Baek Hyang-muk’s strikes led the assault while Lee Jeong-gyeom’s Taiji Sword filled the gaps.
Slash-slash-slash-slash!
"Haha! Excellent!"
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom seemed to be enjoying himself as he parried their techniques. He displayed a terrifying prowess, blocking the relentless barrage of sword forms with only one hand without moving a single step.
Baek Hyang-muk and Lee Jeong-gyeom were struck with horror at such overwhelming skill. Then, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom traced a circle in the air.
Boom!
"Kh!"
"What?!"
Slide!
As if they had struck an invisible wall, the air rippled like water, and both men were sent flying back. As Lee Jeong-gyeom stared with wide eyes, the blackened man sneered.
"This is the perfected True Scripture of Shifting Qi."
"The True Scripture of Shifting Qi?"
"It cannot be compared to the incomplete version you learned through the Spirit Fragment."
At those words, Lee Jeong-gyeom’s eyes wavered. He spoke as if he couldn't understand.
"...Did you also master that through the demonic influence of the Calamity Slaughter Sword?"
At this question, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom suddenly burst into mad laughter, as if it were the funniest thing he had ever heard.
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
After laughing for a long time, he shook his head and spoke with an air of disappointment. "To think that's all you have to say after seeing the perfected True Scripture of Shifting Qi."
"Who... who are you, exactly?"
"I am a being who is practically a master to you."
"What does that—"
Whoosh!
Before Lee Jeong-gyeom could finish his sentence, the man appeared behind him. Having lost track of his movement, Lee Jeong-gyeom desperately threw himself forward. Though he couldn't match the man's speed, his sensitive Qi sense had allowed him to detect the movement.
"Your Qi sense is impressive. However..."
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom thrust his sword-finger, and a black killing intent shot out in a straight line, piercing through Lee Jeong-gyeom’s back.
Thud!
"Argh!"
Lee Jeong-gyeom gritted his teeth and twisted his body, throwing a palm strike at the man. It looked like an ordinary palm, but it was the Ten-Stage Brocade, the most destructive palm technique of the Wudang Sect, capable of layering ten strikes into one.
"Your learning is shallow."
But even against the Ten-Stage Brocade, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom simply reached out his hand. Blocked by a shimmering layer of air, the impact of the Ten-Stage Brocade was reflected back, engulfing Lee Jeong-gyeom instead.
Boom! Crash!
Lee Jeong-gyeom was sent flying, snapping trees as he went. Baek Hyang-muk caught him using a redirection technique to bleed off the remaining force.
Cr-crack!
The ground cracked beneath Baek Hyang-muk’s feet. A haze of heat rose from his body due to the unimaginable internal power he had to absorb. It must have been overwhelming to handle both the Ten-Stage Brocade and the blackened man's own power.
Drip.
"Master?"
Lee Jeong-gyeom’s voice choked up as he saw blood trickling from Baek Hyang-muk’s mouth. It was likely the first time he, as a disciple, had ever seen the First Sword of Wuhan—the man hailed as the greatest swordsman of the Orthodox Faction—so wounded.
Baek Hyang-muk steadied his breathing and said, "Do not lose your focus. If we let our guard down for even a moment, our lives are forfeit."
"...I will keep that in mind, Master."
At his master's command, Lee Jeong-gyeom steeled his battle garb. Watching them, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom let out a mocking laugh.
"You are doing something utterly futile."
"Whether it is futile or not remains to be seen."
Baek Hyang-muk drew upon his full Ten Stars of Internal Power, causing the surrounding trees to shake violently from the wind pressure. He looked ready to stake his life on this moment.
Despite that momentum, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom didn't lose his composure for a second. Instead, he uttered words that were beyond arrogant—they were megalomaniacal.
"I shall take your lives within three moves."
"What?"
In the martial world, there is a saying about an opponent not lasting three moves. It was a phrase used only against those who were absolutely inferior, or as a deliberate provocation. Baek Hyang-muk’s face turned cold with a rage he had never experienced before.
However, the experienced veteran did not let his composure crumble. Baek Hyang-muk, who looked ready to lunge at any second, asked:
"...With martial prowess like yours, there should be no reason to go to such lengths as imitating my disciple. What is your true intention?"
"Hah!"
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom snorted at the question. The mention of "imitating" seemed to irritate him. But that was all. He was clearly not someone who would talk easily.
However, Baek Hyang-muk didn't stop there.
"Did you imitate my disciple on the orders of the Golden Emperor? Was it to frame him as the greatest murderer of all time, the Killing Fiend, if the need arose?"
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom’s eyes narrowed. He looked displeased. Then, as if having a change of heart, he spoke.
"Do not be mistaken. Who do you think arranged for the Calamity Slaughter Sword to fall into that boy's hands?"
"...Are you saying it was you?"
"The one imitating is not me, but your disciple. Though, since he was possessed by my Spirit Fragment, it is as if I did it myself."
"What do you mean? What is this Spirit Fragment...?"
Slash!
Before the question could be finished, a black killing intent surged and cleaved through the air. Baek Hyang-muk raised his own killing intent to block it, but the difference in internal power was clear; he was pushed back more than ten paces.
Slide!
"The small talk is over. The fact that you will die here remains unchanged."
He seemed to have no intention of speaking further. At that moment, the pushed-back Baek Hyang-muk glanced toward where I was.
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom jeered mockingly. "Looking at him won't change anything."
Ignoring him, Baek Hyang-muk spoke loudly so that I could hear.
"It seems this is as much as I can find out."
!?
At those words, the blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom turned a sharp gaze toward me.
Whoosh!
His figure blurred like mist and reappeared above me. Then, as if to deliver a finishing blow, he tried to crush my throat with his foot.
In that instant, I caught his sole with my hand.
Thud!
The blackened Lee Jeong-gyeom’s eyes narrowed. "You... how?"
He had pierced my vital points across my entire body, including my Lower and Middle Dantians. How could I move?
The Body Transformation Art was not a technique that merely changed one's appearance. Since it could transform the muscles of the entire body, shifting the positions of internal organs or pressure points was child's play.
I said to him, "You should have aimed for my neck from the start."
"You brat!"
He tried to apply more internal power. In that moment, the numerous long needles embedded in my body exploded outward in all directions, like the Tang Family's secret technique, Blood Rain Fills the Sky.
Ping-ping-ping-ping!
He hurriedly threw himself back, using the True Scripture of Shifting Qi to deflect the needles. He tried to launch a counterattack, but Baek Hyang-muk intercepted him with a surprise sword form. Not missing the opening, Lee Jeong-gyeom also suppressed all his energy and aimed for the man's back.
"Hmph!"
BOOM!
However, both men were sent flying back by a ripple-like wave of air.
Slide!
Baek Hyang-muk, having been pushed back, said to me, "I don't know how you did it, but I'm glad you're safe."
Baek Hyang-muk still believed I was the disciple of the Sword Immortal's Successor, not the Successor himself.
"It's thanks to you."
In truth, the moment my Middle Dantian was blocked by the Namcheon Iron Sword earlier, I had already used the Body Transformation Art to alter my internal structure. I had remained still without showing it only to make him think he had won, so he would reveal everything.
However, things had gotten a bit complicated when this master and disciple arrived at such a perfect moment.
Baek Hyang-muk spoke without taking his eyes off the man. "Your master is at the Martial Alliance. I will hold him back somehow, so take my disciple and go request help."
"Master! I cannot do that!"
Lee Jeong-gyeom, realizing his master intended to sacrifice himself, refused. Baek Hyang-muk began saying something via Secret Sound Transmission, likely trying to persuade him.
I stepped forward and said, "There's no need for that."
"That monster is so overwhelming that no one but your master can face him. Listen to me—"
Flash!
Before his warning could finish, the man lunged at me with a terrifyingly grim face and shouted, "It doesn't matter if you've freed yourself!"
I thrust my palm toward the ground.
"Namcheon."
In that instant, the ground heaved violently.
Rumble!
Then, the Namcheon Iron Sword burst through the earth and revealed itself.
—I've been waiting.
He had buried it quite deep.
Gripping the Namcheon Iron Sword, I thrust it toward the man. He traced a circle with his sword-finger, deploying the True Scripture of Shifting Qi. A ripple-like wave formed, stopping my thrust in mid-air, and an even stronger force rose to repel me.
"Don't mistake my playing along for weakness. This is my true martial prowess."
A black haze surged and swirled around his body, and the counter-force of the True Scripture of Shifting Qi doubled in intensity.
Creeeeeak!
The ground for nearly thirty zhang around us began to collapse under the immense pressure.
"...What unbelievable internal power!"
"Young Master So! Get back!"
Baek Hyang-muk and Lee Jeong-gyeom shouted in alarm. The man's lips curled up, emboldened by the massive aftermath of his power.
It was at that exact moment.
SHHHHHHH!
The blood throughout my body began to circulate ferociously, and steam rose from my skin. Not only that, but the Adaptation of Thunder Energy and the Blood Demon Transformation occurred simultaneously, and red lightning enveloped my entire body.
Crackle-crackle!
The man's eyes shook at this transformation.
"The same goes for me."
With those words, I applied a rotational force to the tip of the Namcheon Iron Sword and pushed harder. The True Scripture of Shifting Qi, which had been rippling with black haze, began to buckle inward.
Then, it started to tear.
Panicked, the man desperately twisted his body with all his might.
In that instant...
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
A sword strike laden with red lightning pierced through the void. It had been a long time since the incident with the Fuse that I had simultaneously unleashed internal power through Essence-Energy Unity, Adaptation of Thunder Energy, Blood Demon Transformation, and the True Blood Golden Body.
The internal power I possessed then and now could not be compared.
The man, who had barely dodged but lost a chunk of his shoulder, swallowed hard as he looked behind him.
"The... the mountain..."
I heard Lee Jeong-gyeom’s voice from behind. He sounded horrified.
And for good reason. A hole spanning nearly a hundred zhang had been gouged clean through the massive mountain in front of us.
"You... just what are you...?"
Baek Hyang-muk also let out a gasp of disbelief. I had displayed power far greater than when he mistook me for the Sword Immortal's Successor, so he might end up with some strange misunderstandings.
But first, the fake Lee Jeong-gyeom.
I gave the man a thin smile and said, "Since you're not the real Lee Jeong-gyeom... I don't have to hold back."
"Wait—"
Slash!
"Aaaargh!"
The man tried to say something, but I didn't listen and cleaved through his waist. He desperately tried to block with the True Scripture of Shifting Qi, but it was useless.
I had cut through the technique and the man along with it.