Chapter 741: From the beginning. (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 741: From the beginning. (2)
KWWAAAAACK—!!
The ink covering the floor churned violently, swirling into a massive vortex. As the jagged, intense formation took shape—
FWOOOOSH—!!
Flames erupted over the churning ink. Tsssss! The heat was so blistering that the ink hissed and evaporated instantly in its wake.
The fire, fueled by an immense amount of Qi, surged with brilliant intensity. It manifested into the form of a dragon, its massive maw threatening to engulf everything in its path.
The old man stood atop the ink, watching the spectacle in silence.
A moment later.
KRAAAAAAA—!!!
The flames roared and lunged. Three massive streams of fire converged on a single point, pouring down upon the old man with enough heat to incinerate anything that dared draw near. Had it struck an ordinary person, not even their bones would have remained.
Shing.
A faint, sharp sound echoed. Then—
FWASH—!!
Fshhhhh—!
In an instant, the dragon of flames was carved into dozens of fragments before vanishing into nothingness.
‘Damn it.’
Watching from a distance, I let out a hollow laugh. What the hell was that?
‘I didn't even see the slash.’
I’d only heard that faint ring of steel; I couldn't track his movement at all. It looked like a single sword strike, yet the result was dozens of clean cuts. How fast did he have to swing for a single motion to produce that many slashes?
I scowled as the last of the flames flickered out.
[Seven.]
The old man's voice rang out through the void.
[Three more to go.]
“Yes, yes. I know,” I replied, gathering Qi in my hands.
Tsk.
Just as the old man said, I had already attacked seven times without landing a single blow.
‘This is fucking ridiculous.’
All the old man had done so far was swing his sword to block or dodge. To think I couldn't land a single hit while he defended so effortlessly... It was absurd. My mind raced, searching for an explanation.
My first thought was: ‘Is it a problem with this space?’
Since this wasn't reality, I wondered if the old man was manipulating the environment to make my attacks fail. But…
‘That doesn't seem right.’
The sensation of my Qi and the clarity of my movements felt unusually sharp. For a mere mental space, it felt strangely real—and so did the old man.
Which meant…
‘Is this old geezer just that ridiculously strong?’
It was an incredibly simple conclusion. Even if he was just a soul, I suspected this was the power he possessed in life, but…
‘That’s just too much.’
I didn't want to believe it. No matter how I looked at it, it didn't make sense.
‘Does it make any sense that someone this strong couldn't defeat the Blood Demon?’
If that were true, it meant I still had a ridiculously long way to go. I desperately hoped that wasn't the case.
Fwoosh.
I wrapped my hands in flames and focused power in my heart. Thump! My heart pounded heavily as Qi surged through my blood vessels, up through my shoulders, and shot into the sky.
FWHOOOOOSH—!!
A blue light suffused the dark space.
Red Heaven. No, should I call it the Azure Sky now? Whatever.
As I activated my Territory, power surged through my body. I felt light on my feet, my senses sharpening to a razor's edge.
[Hm.]
The old man watched the shift in the atmosphere with interest. He didn't seem the least bit tense. Dammit, that smug face of his was starting to get on my nerves.
Irritated, I channeled more Qi than I had intended.
Kuuuuu.
A Flaming Sphere twice the size of the one I used against Yung Pung formed in my hand. In terms of raw Qi, it far surpassed the power I put into the Holy Spear.
I hurled it with everything I had.
WHOOOOOSH—!!
The massive sphere tore through the air toward the old man. Again, he moved to intercept it with his sword, but before he could complete the motion—
Snap—!!
I snapped my fingers.
KABOOOOOOOM—!!
The Flaming Sphere detonated instantly, engulfing the entire area in a roar of fire. Because of the sheer volume of Qi I’d packed into it, the explosion was massive—large enough to completely obscure his vision.
The moment the flames erupted, I put distance between us and clenched my fist.
‘Getting close won't work.’
So, what if I attacked from a range he didn't expect?
‘He'll sense the Qi from the Holy Spear since I've used it already. The same goes for most of my Gu Flame Wheel Art.’
The first seven attacks weren't just mindless strikes.
‘The more you face an opponent's Qi, the more you get used to it. The same goes for their rhythm.’
It was a calculated move to get the old man accustomed to my flames. By now, his eyes and instincts should be tuned to that specific heat.
Now was the time. An anomaly is most effective when the opponent has grown comfortable with your pattern.
Heaven Destruction Art.
If he was used to the flames, it was time to hit him with a completely different kind of energy.
‘Third Form.’
The Qi of the Fighting Fang gathered at the tip of my fist. I tempered it, making it sharper and more violent. While the First and Second Forms were designed for close combat, the Third Form was a power meant to strike from afar.
‘Fighting Fang Strike.’
After erasing my presence, I sensed his position within the wall of flames. Aiming true, I threw a short, lightning-fast punch.
Thrum—!
A vibrating hum echoed through the empty air.
KWOOSH—!!
A circular hole was punched clean through the engulfing flames. The Fighting Fang Strike has no visible shape as it travels; it is an attack made of pure fighting spirit. The target shouldn't have time to even sense it coming.
The surprise attack should have struck the old man directly. No, it definitely… should have.
[Eight.]
I bit my lip hard as the voice came from right beside me.
[The attempt was good. The application was decent, and the level of completion is high. It's so remarkable I find myself wondering who the hell taught you.]
The old man recited his analysis as he looked at me, sounding genuinely intrigued.
“…You're a bit fast, aren't you?”
Not just fast—too fast. He had moved so quickly I hadn't even noticed him until he spoke.
[Of course. In my lifetime, there were few faster than me. Only two, perhaps?]
Heh heh, the old man chuckled.
[That Myung fellow and Tang Jaemoon. Besides them, there was no one in the Central Plains faster than me.]
The Thunderous Sword and the Heavenly Poison, huh. Well, he was the greatest master of Lightning Qi in the Central Plains, so his speed would naturally be top-tier. And Senior Tang Jaemoon was an assassin, so her speed was a given.
But there was one thing I was curious about.
“Then, what about Yeon Il-Cheon?”
Since he hadn't mentioned Yeon Il-Cheon, the strongest man of that era, did that mean the old man was faster?
[That one was strong, not fast. He just used that power to….]
The old man cut himself off and moved. I had thrown a punch before he could even finish his sentence.
Heaven Destruction Art, Second Form: Fist of Celestial Defiance.
A vortex of fighting spirit ambushed him. The bombardment centered on me exploded in all directions, but—
[My, my. How can a young whelp be so cowardly?]
Once again, the old man caught the energy as if he were putting on a performance.
Catching it. What an absurd thought.
Heaven Destruction Art is an explosion of energy—a force so violent that merely circulating the Qi causes pain. Since the technique uses the body as a medium for detonation, the ferocity of the energy is on another level. When it explodes, it should leave nothing but destruction in its wake.
Yet the old man stood unharmed at point-blank range. The reason was obvious.
‘He deflected every bit of it.’
With the Solar Light, his unbreakable treasure, he had parried every ounce of energy directed at him.
“That thing is a real monster.”
[Calling your elder a monster? Your manners are truly atrocious.]
Everyone who saw me called me a monster every day. I really wanted to show those people what a real monster looked like.
[Now, one more left.]
The sight of him casually shifting his sword was infuriating. I desperately wanted to land just one hit.
‘One more time.’
The last chance he'd agreed to give me. I pulled my foot back and crouched low.
Fwoosh. My Territory began to expand. How much Qi did I have left?
‘I don't know.’
Maybe a little more than half? Thankfully, since this wasn't reality, I wasn't suffering the aftereffects of internal or external injuries.
‘…Not that it makes any difference.’
Whether I was injured or overflowing with Qi didn't really matter. After all…
‘Nothing will work on that old geezer anyway.’
Against the self-proclaimed Divine Sword of Mount Hua, whatever I did felt futile. I had known this for a while, but facing him in person changed my perspective slightly.
‘He's even worse than I thought.’
My assessment had shifted from “He must be strong” to “Is this guy even human?”
That crazy bastard.
‘Is this what it would feel like to fight one of the Three Venerables?’
Even now, just standing before him, the scent of death hung heavy in the air. One step—if I took it, my neck would be sliced and my heart pierced. Such delusions filled my mind, born of pure instinct.
I knew the old man could do it, but was choosing not to. He was also letting me know, quite clearly, that he was more than capable of ending me at any second.
I recalled my past life.
‘The Heavenly Venerable wasn't on this level.’
The true master of the Namgung Clan. I had faced the Heavenly Venerable of the Three Venerables often, but I never felt this much pressure from him. It was to the point where I’d thought, ‘Maybe I have a chance?’
The Dishonored Venerable…
‘…was terrifying.’
The way he summoned natural disasters with a few punches was absurd, but even he didn't feel like this. I didn't know about the Sword Venerable; I had never faced him properly and usually avoided him.
The important thing was this: ‘The Heavenly Venerable was afflicted by Inner Demons, and the Dishonored Venerable was in a state of eternal youth.’
They hadn't been at their full strength. This Divine Sword of Mount Hua, however, was on the same level as the Three Venerables—or perhaps even higher.
Which meant I had no chance of winning. No matter what I did, victory was impossible.
I knew that full well. And yet, I moved my arm.
Fwoosh—! I poured every drop of power into the flames wrapped around my limb. Fire blazed on my hand, and I clapped my palms together with a thunderous CLAP!
The impact sent embers flying in all directions. Normally, they would have flickered and faded, but these embers remained, suspended in mid-air.
‘Starfall of the Scarlet Flame Orbs.’
The scattered embers swelled instantly, becoming massive Flaming Spheres. Countless orbs of fire filled the space around me. This, too, was an advanced application of the Gu Flame Wheel Art.
Seeing this, the old man's eyes narrowed.
‘Rain down.’
SHWAAAAAAA—!!
The blue marks filling the sky poured down like a meteor shower.
KABOOOOOOOM—!!!
An onslaught of firepower enough to wipe a small village off the map concentrated entirely on him. But even amidst the blinding chaos, I could see it.
FWISH—! Fwish-sh-sh-sh-sh—!!
The old man swung his sword from where he stood. His speed was unbelievable. It wasn't that I could suddenly see the strikes that were previously invisible; it was that his movements were so continuous they left a trail of afterimages.
It was the same sword art Yung Pung used—an ultimate style, complex yet free, fluid yet never losing its fundamental core. The perfected version of that art was unfolding before my eyes.
Fwish-sh-sh-sh—!! Fwish-sh-sh—!!
The orbs were torn apart by the blade and vanished. No flame, no matter how intense, held any meaning before that sword.
Swish—! I waved my hand.
While continuously generating Flaming Spheres, I directed their flow. The countless flames changed trajectory, splitting into multiple streams. If he blocked the sky, they came from the sides; he couldn't avoid the front and back simultaneously.
I rained down fire from every conceivable angle, but—
[Hm.]
The old man's response remained simple.
Fshhhhhh—!!
He simply swung faster. If one area was difficult to cover, he increased his speed until his blade was everywhere at once. His moving sword didn't miss a single Flaming Sphere, cutting down every last one.
Watching it, I let out a hollow laugh.
It was truly, utterly hopeless.