Chapter 384: Good Work (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 384: Good Work (5)
Just one.
That was the condition Father had given me.
If I could land a single blow on him, he would tell me where my mother was.
…Can I really do this?
I had accepted the challenge, but honestly, my confidence was at an all-time low. I never backed down from a challenge, but even I had my limits.
How am I supposed to pull this off?
The air was still. A light breeze drifted across the field where Father and I stood facing each other. The earlier seriousness had evaporated, replaced by a chilling intensity.
Father stood motionless, his gaze fixed on me. The moonlight cast shadows across his face, making his crimson eyes seem to burn even brighter than usual.
“Come.”
I began to channel my qi.
Heat surged upward, instantly filling my upper dantian.
“Ha…”
Steam billowed from my mouth—a clear sign my body temperature was skyrocketing. Once I was ready, I posed a question.
“You’re not going to go easy on me at all?”
Father tilted his head slightly, then calmly placed his left hand behind his back.
“I will use only one hand.”
That was a massive advantage. Since Father, like me, was a close-combat martial artist, restricting one hand would disrupt his balance and create openings.
“…What about a leg instead?” I asked, deciding to push my luck. Restricting a leg would be an even bigger boon.
“…”
“Never mind. I understand.”
I immediately backed down after seeing the look on his face. Maybe I was being too greedy.
Swallowing my disappointment, I focused my gaze on Father, my expression turning serious.
So, he’s not using his left hand.
With his left arm tucked behind his back, it seemed he would rely solely on his right. That meant his left side was the ideal target.
Rumble-!
After settling on a plan, I concentrated qi into my feet. Flames erupted from the ground, coiling around my body. I lowered my stance, preparing to maximize my speed.
There was no point in testing the waters. I had to go all out from the very beginning. Even with my full power, success was far from guaranteed.
Just as I was about to propel myself forward using the heat…
Swish-!
“…!”
Father vanished from my sight.
I whipped my head around, but I couldn’t sense his presence anywhere—not that I could ever sense him clearly to begin with. In that moment, I had to rely entirely on instinct.
It was the right call. Something razor-sharp grazed past my cheek.
It was Father’s arm.
Slam-! Craaack-!
The attack was so fast I only registered the movement after I’d already dodged. I’d avoided it by a hair’s breadth, but judging by the explosive impact and the sound of shattering earth behind me…
That would have ended me right there.
He wasn’t holding back.
And that’s not all…!
I frowned, my eyes locked on Father. He’d clearly kept his left arm behind his back, yet he had attacked with his left hand. I’d assumed he would lead with his right.
He tricked me.
Had he done it on purpose? Annoyed, I clicked my tongue and began to move. If he’d used his left arm and was still limiting his right, then his right side was now the weaker flank.
I twisted my body, aiming for his right side…
Swoosh-!
But flames suddenly erupted from Father’s body, obscuring my vision. I immediately sharpened my senses, focusing on a tighter radius to pinpoint his location.
A presence materialized right in front of my chest. Too late to dodge. I poured all my energy into a defensive stance.
Craaack-!
A tremendous impact shattered my defense in an instant. Was that his knee? It was impossible to tell.
Clang-!
My barrier broke apart, and I was sent flying backward.
Chh-!
Knowing that falling would mean defeat, I dug my feet into the ground, creating friction to slow my momentum. My eyes remained fixed ahead, searching for Father’s follow-up, but he was gone.
“Damn it…!”
I’d lost him. Where did he—?
Thud-!
“…!”
As I slid backward, I abruptly jolted to a halt, as if I’d hit a solid wall. But we were in an open field. There were no walls.
Which could only mean…
A cold dread shot down my spine. I spun around—
Slam-!
But Father’s fist was already crashing into my chest.
“Ugh…!”
The blow sent me flying again, this time hitting the ground with even greater force. Strangely, it didn’t hurt as much as I’d expected, considering he’d struck me while my guard was down. It seemed Father had controlled his strength.
The terrifying truth was, if he hadn’t held back, I would have died on the spot.
I scrambled to my feet and quickly located Father. He was simply standing where he had struck me, watching me calmly.
Was he waiting for me?
Stunned, I finally managed to speak. “You didn’t say you would attack first.”
“I never said I would let you go first, either.”
“…Damn. You’re not wrong.”
I supposed it was my own fault for making assumptions. But that wasn’t the real issue.
The real problem was the sheer gap between us. What was this? I still had a ways to go before fully mastering the Fusion Realm, but wasn’t this disparity a little unfair? And he was only using one arm!
He was toying with me like I was a child’s plaything. No matter how I looked at it, the situation was utterly hopeless.
As I stared at him in despair, Father studied me with a peculiar expression.
“Not bad. You let instinct guide your body over calculated thought. That was the correct decision.”
Was he… evaluating my performance? It almost sounded like a lesson.
“However, your control over the heat is still lacking.”
He wasn’t wrong. My Gu Flame Wheel Art was approaching the Seventh Star, but my understanding of the art was still superficial. I only knew how to use heat to boost my speed and flames to enhance my destructive power. It might seem absurd for a Fusion Realm martial artist to have such poor grasp of their own art, but there was a reason for it.
“I never had anyone to teach me.”
“…”
Father’s expression shifted subtly at my words. While I bore some guilt for my lack of training, the truth was, Father had paid me little attention when I was young.
He averted his gaze.
Now.
The moment his eyes drifted away, I exploded into motion, flames roaring around me as I charged. Simultaneously, I focused qi into my palm. The flames wreathing my body surged toward my hand, coalescing into a Flaming Sphere.
I thrust my arm forward, ready to hurl it at Father…
Tap-!
“Huh?”
But Father simply swiped with his hand, slapping the sphere away as if it were a bothersome insect. The Flaming Sphere shot toward a nearby forest.
Slaaam-!
A moment later, a deafening explosion echoed across the field.
What… just happened?
As I stared in disbelief, Father spoke. “You formed that quite quickly. The power within wasn’t bad, either.”
“…Ah. Thank you.”
“However, it lacked density.”
As he spoke, something began to materialize above his palm.
Rumble-!
It was a Flaming Sphere.
But it was nothing like mine. His formed in an instant, rather than needing to gather flames. It was larger, and burned with a deep, crimson light. The sheer power radiating from it was overwhelming, causing my body to tremble involuntarily.
Is it… pulling me in?
His Flaming Sphere was exerting a gravitational pull. I hadn’t known that was even possible.
“Creation is only the first step. You must keep it spinning internally.”
I didn’t fully understand what he meant, but one thing was certain: if that thing hit me, not even my bones would remain.
As I frantically tried to devise a counter, Father casually tossed the sphere into the distance.
Then…
Slam-!
It landed somewhere far away.
A few seconds later…
-!!!!
A pillar of fire erupted, shooting high into the sky. The ground trembled violently.
It was on a completely different level from the sphere I had made.
What… was that?
As I stared up at the inferno, shocked, Father continued. “Remember to maintain the rotation. Never forget the meaning behind the ‘Ring’ of the Gu Flame Wheel Art. Strive to embody that will.”
The Gu Flame Wheel Art. As a practitioner advances, rings of fire form within their body, and their rotation speed increases with power. I’d always wondered why it took the form of rings, but I’d never pondered the deeper significance.
Yet, this kind of power was possible…
Could I use the ripples from these rings to enhance my other techniques?
…Why did I never realize this before?
It was such a fundamental concept, but I was only grasping the meaning of the art’s name now. I’d been so focused on compressing my qi that I’d overlooked the critical importance of rotation.
Wait…
A sudden thought struck me.
This didn’t feel like a fight anymore.
It felt like…
A lesson.
Was I mistaken? It didn’t seem like it.
As I stood there confused, Father addressed me. “How far can you go?”
“Huh?”
“Use everything you have against me.”
A possibility dawned on me.
Perhaps…
Is he bothered by what I said about never having a teacher?
Was he trying to instruct me now because of my earlier comment? I had been planning to ask him about my martial arts eventually, so this was actually convenient.
“But, Father…”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t we in the middle of a fight?”
“We are.”
I wanted to point out that this wasn’t the time for lessons, but I held my tongue. I needed this. It was a positive development.
I immediately channeled the qi swirling in my upper dantian and released it skyward. Moments later, the heavens began to change color.
Red Heaven.
I had activated another of the Gu Clan’s Secret Arts. Heat began to saturate the air beneath the crimson sky.
Kngg-!
The ring of flames inside my body spun relentlessly.
He told me to focus on its rotation.
I felt like I was starting to understand how to properly form a Flaming Sphere, but I was unsure how to apply the principle to Red Heaven.
I began to move again. Regardless of any lessons, we were still combatants.
Thanks to the Red Heaven, my speed increased significantly. I charged toward Father, aiming for his right side.
Throughout this, Father’s attention seemed to be on the Red Heaven I had created.
He didn’t even need to focus on me? It was embarrassing.
I poured everything I had into a relentless assault on his right flank. Despite his large frame, Father moved with nimble grace, effortlessly evading every strike. He didn’t use any fancy techniques; he was simply faster.
Slam-!
I stomped the ground with my left foot and activated the Fiery Fangs of the Beast technique. I poured more qi into it, enlarging the manifestation. It wasn’t the most practical application, but it was my best shot at landing a hit.
Just before I could detonate the flames, Father’s palm filled my vision.
“You gather flames quickly, but you are slow to release them.”
“…!”
Swoosh-!
Flames erupted from his hand. They surged around my body, sweeping past me without making contact. I clenched my eyes shut and braced for impact, but none came.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes. Flames had indeed shot from his hand, but they had deliberately avoided me.
“…”
How could I describe this? It was utterly demoralizing. He was overpowering me in every conceivable way.
At this point… it would be faster to just ask Father to kill the Heavenly Demon for me.
As my expression turned hopeless, Father asked calmly, “Are you finished already?”
“…”
Perhaps he was suggesting I surrender. And truthfully, that would be the logical choice…
“No.”
But unfortunately, I had no intention of giving up just yet.
“You told me to use everything I have.”
“…”
“I still have a few tricks left.”
Father nodded upon hearing my response. He was allowing me to continue.
I still had a few things I wanted to show him. I realized that relying solely on the Gu Flame Wheel Art was futile; I needed to try something different.
Using Demonic Qi or Blood Qi was out of the question. I doubted they would grant me victory against him, and I didn’t want to wield such power against my father.
That left only one option.
…Ugh, he told me not to use this.
My master had warned me not to use this technique in combat until I received his explicit approval…
But it’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
I had no other choice. Maybe he would understand, given the circumstances?
And what if he doesn’t?
Well, that wasn’t going to stop me. The Dishonored Venerable had said that besides me, there was no one else capable of learning his martial art.
With that thought…
Woong-
“…!”
I activated my Gu Flame Wheel Art, and then I called upon another energy, letting it flow through me.
“…This is.”
Father’s eyes widened further than I had ever seen in my life. He must have sensed it.
Was it really that shocking?
I focused on my qi while observing his reaction. The Dishonored Venerable’s Heaven Destruction Art began to merge with my own energy, weaving through my body.
“Phew…”
I exhaled deeply, and this time, the steam that left my mouth was thick with dense Combat Qi. Immediately, a familiar pain wracked my body, but I endured it as I always did.
Once my preparations were complete, I addressed Father.
“Thank you for waiting. I shall go aga—”
I was about to finish my sentence when, for some reason, Father’s fist was already hovering right before my eyes.
“Huh?”
Pow-!
A tremendous impact slammed into me, and my consciousness instantly fled.