Chapter 511: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (18)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 511: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (18)
The sun had risen.
In a way, that was to be expected. The sun rises during the day; it was the natural order of things.
But that wasn't the point.
It's the middle of the night...
The sun should have set long ago, replaced by the moon. That was the way of the world.
So what in the world was that thing?
The more I stared, the more absurd it seemed. I raised my head, gazing into the empty sky.
A sun, risen in the dead of night.
Right now, a sun hung there, brazen and unapologetic.
And that wasn't all.
It's even affecting the sky itself.
That sun was influencing the very heavens around it. The darkness that should have shrouded everything was gone, replaced by a brilliant, impossible blue in my immediate vicinity.
Is it a power similar to the Crimson Sky?
The Gu Clan's secret art, which boosted one's power by dyeing the sky red with the scorching heat radiating from the body.
To be precise, it's closer to a barrier.
One might think the Crimson Sky literally colored the heavens, but strictly speaking, it was akin to casting a domain. It expanded a personal territory by emitting a dense, oppressive heat—so vast and high that it created the illusion of the sky turning red.
So what about that thing?
...I have no idea.
I didn't know.
Damn it, I didn't know a single thing.
Is that even a martial art?
A sun, floating in the empty air. I called it a sun because of its appearance, but it couldn't possibly be the real thing. It was simply… there. Hovering in the sky, radiating an immense, palpable heat. That alone created the illusion that the sky had brightened.
What kind of martial art was this?
It's a martial art I don't know.
Since my father was using it, it had to be an art of the Gu Clan. But it was one I had never seen before. A power I hadn't witnessed even in the moment I fought him in my past life.
What's more…
...I've never even seen my father truly prepared for battle in the first place.
My father, with his hair dyed a blazing red. It was a sight completely foreign to me.
Which meant one thing.
Even when he fought me in my past life, my father wasn't using his full power.
It was a bitter truth to swallow. Even though, on some level, I had always known.
[Heh heh.]
As I stared at the miniature sun, Elder Shin let out a low, hearty chuckle.
[...How utterly astounding.]
What is?
[What does that look like to you?]
What does it look like?
The sun? It didn't look like anything else.
[...Yes, it's normal to see it that way.]
Then what is it?
A small, blazing sphere. What else was I supposed to call something so bright it devoured the surrounding darkness? No other word came to mind. I had no idea what answer Elder Shin was fishing for.
[That is not a sun.]
I know that much. I was using the term for lack of a better one, but I didn't actually believe it was a celestial body.
Then do you know what it is, Elder Shin?
A Gu Clan power even I was unaware of. Was he claiming to know the nature of my father's ability? When I asked, my voice thick with doubt, the elder spoke cautiously.
[That is the manifestation of one's will.]
What?
The will of the mind. It might have sounded like nonsense, but to a martial artist, it wasn't a completely alien concept.
The mind. To a martial artist, the mind's eye is like a mirror. We achieve growth by honing our bodies and filling our vessels with internal energy. The body, broken and reforged in a constant cycle, gradually strengthens. As it does, the mind's eye also deepens. A martial artist's growth isn't just physical; it's the growth of their mind's eye as well.
Eventually, the mind's eye of a martial artist who has continued to grow in this way will take form.
I looked at the sun my father had created and spoke.
Are you saying it's something similar to the Mind Sword?
The ultimate secret of a swordsman. The supreme state achieved only by those who have trained to the absolute limit. Not a realm of cultivation like the Peak or Fusion Realm, but a state of the mind's eye reached purely through the way of the sword.
It was called Singeomhapil—Body and Sword as One. A state where the practitioner and their blade become a single entity.
If I had to pinpoint the difference between them and an ordinary swordsman…
It's whether they can use the Mind Sword or not.
Whether they can give tangible form to their supremely trained mind's eye. That must be the dividing line.
Honestly, I didn't know much about it. The only person I knew for certain had achieved it was the Demonic Sword Queen. I wasn't sure about the Sword Demon, but I suspected he hadn't reached it. If that bastard had truly attained Body and Sword as One, he would have been boasting about it nonstop.
Anyway.
That's the power of the mind's eye?
That absurd power floating in the air is truly a manifestation of sheer will? No matter how I looked at it, it was on a level I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
The fundamental principle of martial arts is to fill the body with internal energy and utilize it. But this power seemed to have deviated far from that principle. A manifestation of the will…
...Hah.
A sudden thought made me let out a dry, humorless laugh. It was ridiculous, when I thought about it.
A guy who hasn't even mastered his own family's ultimate arts, pontificating about principles.
Far from mastering the Gu Clan's heritage, I had raised my realm using demonic arts. And here I was, looking for the principles of martial arts? The sight of myself suddenly felt pathetic.
I knew what this feeling was. It was just thirst.
...The power of the will.
A thirst born from witnessing such vast, incomprehensible power. And also, a shallow, desperate hope—since we used the same martial art, maybe, just maybe, I could emit such power too if I tried.
After all the shit I'd been through, all the years I'd lived, was I now pretending to be some earnest martial artist?
I bit my lip, the sharp pain snapping me back to reality.
This is no time for such romantic notions.
This was a completely different matter. The thought that I might reach it someday was a luxury I could only afford if I literally had the time to spare. Which I didn't.
I tore my gaze away from the false sun and looked forward again. This wasn't the time for admiration.
Where did he go?
My father, who had vanished after abruptly creating that bizarre phenomenon. I had been searching all over the Tang Clan grounds for him.
I had spread my senses as wide as possible, but I couldn't feel a thing. My senses, strengthened by the Fusion Realm, were more than capable of enveloping the entire estate. Their effectiveness was dampened by the other powerful martial artists present, but simply locating someone should have been easy.
The fact that I felt nothing could only mean one thing.
Don't tell me… is it because of that?
I finally looked back at the sun hanging in the air. Was its purpose not only to raise the ambient heat but also to block sensory perception? I didn't understand the mechanics, but if that was true…
What an absurd power.
However I looked at it, this was a superior version of the Crimson Sky. It wasn't just deploying a domain to amplify heat; it felt like it was dominating the very space itself.
What should I do?
If my senses were blocked, how was I supposed to find him?
...Dammit.
I racked my brain, but nothing came to mind. Besides, I reasoned I didn't necessarily need to find him. My father wasn't the type to act rashly, and he had said he'd be back soon(?). If I wanted to avoid a scolding, all I had to do was stay quietly in my room.
But for some reason, I felt compelled to find him.
Something…
How to put it? His eyes, right before he left… they were strange. That subtle difference bothered me so much I couldn't stay still.
...Ugh.
Of course, even though I'd followed him out, I had no plan. The fundamental problem was that I'd lost him. I couldn't follow him with my eyes. I couldn't track my father when he decided to move. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
We definitely use the same martial art… but for there to be this much of a difference…
Huh?
As that thought crossed my mind, a realization struck me. A way to find my father, right now.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
...The same martial art.
The Gu Clan's bloodline art, the Gu Flame Wheel Art. A technique that displays overwhelming explosive power by converting internal energy into flames.
The crucial point was this: my father and I used the exact same martial art.
The moment I realized that, I released the Qi Body Transformation Technique.
CRACK-!
My joints twisted violently, and a wave of searing pain washed over me, but I tried to ignore it. Or rather, I tried to endure it. ...It actually hurts too much to ignore. The sudden enlargement of my body came with considerable agony, but it was a price I had to pay.
As the transformation completed, the subtle discomfort vanished, replaced by a feeling of raw power and refreshment.
And then.
FWOOSH-!
I formed the rings of the Gu Flame Wheel Art around my body and set them spinning rapidly. Internal energy surged from my heart, flooding through my meridians. The energy discharging from my body instantly transformed into heat, and that heat soon became vivid blue flames that enveloped me completely. Flames that could no longer return to their original red.
A shitty feeling brushed past me—a reminder of the path I'd taken—but I shoved it aside and focused.
If there was a difference between the public arts of sects and the hereditary arts of clans, it was the numbers. The number of practitioners. By that logic, far fewer people knew a bloodline art. And if you counted only the direct bloodline, the number became vanishingly small.
And within that lay a method.
Users of the same martial art were bound to resonate with each other, even if only faintly. My father and I were likely the only members of the Gu Clan in all of Sichuan. And within the even more confined space of the Tang Clan estate, that was a certainty.
Therefore, I intended to find my father by stoking my own flames to their peak. I was trying to force a resonance. That would make it easier to pinpoint his location.
Ah, of course. This… is a method that won't work if my father isn't using his art.
But I had a hunch he would be. Just a feeling.
And so, the rings of blue flame spun faster and faster, growing larger. One ring stacked upon another.
FWOOSH-!
As the heat intensified, a third ring formed not long after. A total of three rings. It was around this point that simply maintaining them began to consume a massive amount of internal energy.
How much further did I need to go? Could it be that, contrary to my expectation, he wasn't using his power? If I was going to feel something, I should have felt it by now.
Is this not it?
Just as I was about to withdraw my energy, thinking this was a pointless effort…
Vmmm…
"...!"
I felt it. A distinct sensation of my internal energy interlocking, then colliding with something else.
I turned my head sharply. Dragging my flame-wreathed body, I launched myself forward.
The location wasn't far at all. So close, in fact, that it was strange I hadn't found it until now. My body, freed from the constraints of the Qi Body Transformation Technique, was incredibly fast. It took only a few seconds to reach the source of the resonance.
Thud.
The moment I arrived at the spot.
VWOOOM-!
"This is?"
Along with the resonance, another sensation washed over me. I recognized it instantly—the power of a formation. But…
...Something feels… torn?
There were clear traces in the space where a formation should have been active. Traces of it having been violently ripped apart.
...
I wanted to think otherwise, but I couldn't deny the evidence. These were traces left by my father. The heat still lingering there was scorching, unmistakably that of the Gu Clan.
What is he really doing?
Setting aside why such a formation was here, what reason did my father have to come this way?
Without hesitation, I stepped inside.
After taking a few steps…
"Huh?"
The scene that unfolded before me made my eyes widen in shock.
It was hot. An oppressive, fiery energy incomparable to the heat I had felt before. It saturated the space, and at its center…
"What the hell is this now…"
…was a deep pit, surrounded by earth and rock that had been melted away. It wasn't broken into. These are traces of it being melted through. A tunnel bored not by brute force, but by rapid, intense melting. The residual flames bore the clear signature of the Gu Clan. Which meant these flames belonged to my father.
"..."
A profoundly bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. There was no time for hesitation. I leaped lightly and threw myself into the pit.
Kuuuu-!
As I descended, my internal energy surged autonomously to protect my body. The residual energy used to create this passage was so violent that my own power reacted instinctively.
It was deep. But descending was not difficult.
Thud-!
After a few seconds of rapid descent, I passed through the tunnel and landed on solid ground.
Instantly.
"...Huuu…"
My entire body tensed. Goosebumps prickled along my spine, and a cold sweat broke out. I couldn't help it.
...What is this combat aura?
In this unknown, subterranean space, the air was thick with the faint traces of poison, the overwhelming heat, and a chaotic, suffocating combat aura scattered everywhere. It was so dense and intense it was hard to breathe.
I slowly shifted my gaze, trying to ascertain what kind of place this was.
"..."
The moment I looked around, I had to swallow a dry gulp. The evidence of devastation was everywhere—things torn and broken, deep sword gashes scoring the walls, and the lingering internal energy of martial artists, so potent it stimulates my every instinct. What kind of battle had taken place here to create such a scene?
It didn't take long to find an answer. As I turned my head, I saw him in the distance.
The First Elder of the Tang Clan, leaning against a wall, gasping for breath. One of his legs was completely gone, and the ankle on his remaining leg looked like it was barely attached, on the verge of tearing off. It was an irreparable injury. He hadn't lost consciousness; his face was a mask of pure terror, tears and snot streaming freely down his face.
I frowned at the wretched sight. I haven't even done anything yet. I was the one who was supposed to reduce him to this state. To think he'd ended up like this while I wasn't even looking.
Wondering what had happened, I shifted my gaze a little further.
And there I saw him.
My father, standing in the distance with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly observing something.
"Lord…?"
Just as I was about to call out to him, my vision expanded, and I realized someone was kneeling on the ground before him.
A figure, barely supporting himself upright with his sword, gasping for air as if on the verge of collapse.
"...Huh?"
Seeing him, I was utterly taken aback.
The figure, battered and exhausted, was, to my astonishment, the Heavenly Venerable.
What was that old man doing here?
[Well, well.]
Elder Shin suddenly spoke up, a chuckle in his voice.
[That kid gets beaten up everywhere he goes, doesn't he? Keh keh.]
"...?"
I couldn't understand what he meant.