Chapter 144
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: An Evil Lotus Blooms in a Swamp of Blood (4)
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*Crack.*
The blade of light that had sliced through Seo Ryang carved a vertical gash down the outer wall of the inner courtyard.
It was an absolute strike, one that made onlookers doubt their own eyes. This slash was on a completely different level from ordinary sword energy.
It felt as though it could have cut through a wall of steel, not just stone—perhaps even one forged from ten-thousand-year cold iron. It seemed no substance, no being in the world could have blocked such an attack.
As everyone stood aghast at the terrifying sword strike.
*Clatter!*
The Seven Nights Saber fell to the ground.
Jong Risan’s eyes widened.
“Third Young Master!!”
*Ssssss.*
Seo Ryang’s body, split in two, slowly began to fade.
Everyone, who had been stunned by Mok Gang-in’s attack, was shocked once more. He had clearly been cleaved in half, yet his bisected body was now scattering like smoke.
Then, a calm voice was heard.
“I almost died without a sound.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the voice. Seo Ryang was standing atop a three-story building, looking down at them.
Mok Gang-in’s eyes gleamed.
“The Body Flicker Technique.”
One of the highest realms of footwork. The body moves like lightning, but the intense traces of true energy leave behind an afterimage.
Seo Ryang casually slung the Dragon Scale Saber over his shoulder and raised his left arm. It was drenched in blood, having failed to completely evade the slash of the light sword.
“Have you finally made up your mind?”
*Flash!*
A streak of light once again tore through the air. The edge of the roof where Seo Ryang stood was cleanly sliced off.
*Crash!*
The severed roof fragment flew toward Mok Gang-in with a powerful impact. Seo Ryang, having dodged the attack, had kicked it at him.
Mok Gang-in swung his left hand.
*Booooom!*
The incoming roof fragment instantly disintegrated into dust.
*Whoosh!*
Beyond the scattering dust, Seo Ryang appeared, silhouetted against the setting sun, holding the Dragon Scale Saber with both hands.
*Rumble!*
A flicker of astonishment appeared in the ghostly eyes.
‘This man is truly…’
It was surprising enough that he had dodged a strike from the Ghostly Eye Light Sword. To be precise, it was astounding that his footwork had reached the level of the Body Flicker Technique, a sign of profound enlightenment.
However, the Body Flicker Technique was a skill that not just anyone could perform, and it consumed a tremendous amount of internal energy. Could one’s energy possibly be inexhaustible when moving at a speed that left behind an afterimage, even if it was just a trace of true energy?
And yet, after dodging the second light sword, he unleashed a saber strike even more powerful than before.
‘Just how deep is this man’s internal energy?!’
Just when he thought there could be no more surprises, his opponent continued to display unbelievable abilities.
*Thwack!*
Mok Gang-in’s body staggered. Seo Ryang, not missing the slight opening, had landed a kick.
‘Again.’
A swordsman’s mind must remain as clear as a mirror and as still as water. Reprimanding himself for being shaken by surprise, he swung his sword once more.
*Flash! Flash!*
Seo Ryang’s body moved several times as the light sword cut through the air.
Despite being airborne, he moved as if he had footholds, making thumping sounds. The crowd could only gape at his divine movements, unable to even muster a gasp of admiration.
After several exchanges like this.
*Wooooong.*
The light emanating from the Ghostly Eye Light Sword dimmed slightly, just a little.
In that instant, Seo Ryang’s eyes flashed.
*Paaak!*
Seo Ryang flew in like a ray of light and threw a punch.
It wasn't a saber technique, but a fist art. The Heaven-Lifting Technique’s Linked Flying Waterfall Fist was unleashed with a single punch.
*Thud-thud-thud-thud!*
Mok Gang-in’s sleeve was torn to shreds.
The Linked Flying Waterfall Fist was an art that utilized both fists, pushing the body's elasticity to its limit to strike. Unleashing a linked attack with a single fist was physically impossible.
And yet, Seo Ryang had done it. How it was possible, no one knew.
*Vwoooom!*
With a chilling sound, a lock of Mok Gang-in’s hair was sliced off.
*Flash!*
The ghostly sword shot up from below.
*Ssk.*
Seo Ryang had already retreated.
He never confronted the light sword when it thrust forward, but when the sword was withdrawn, he would unleash an attack as fierce as a storm.
Mok Gang-in’s eyes glinted.
‘He’s aiming to drain my internal energy.’
The Ghostly Eye Light Sword was an art that consumed a great deal of internal energy. In the first place, concentrating true energy to such an extent was something ordinary warriors couldn't even dream of.
Seo Ryang was waiting for Mok Gang-in’s strength to wane.
‘So that’s your way.’
It was like watching a predator hunt a massive bison. It thoroughly avoided the dangerous horns while trying to tear out the throat to kill it. The hunting method of a predator.
He didn't consider his opponent's strategy cowardly. This wasn't a spar; it was a fight for life and death.
‘In that case.’
*Chiiiiik!*
The light emanating from the sword exploded in intensity.
‘I’ll end this quickly.’
*Paaak!*
Mok Gang-in executed a movement technique.
A distance of about thirty feet, which could have been closed with footwork, he closed with a movement technique. It was an approach sufficient to intimidate his opponent.
Seo Ryang’s eyes deepened.
*Boom!*
Mok Gang-in’s body faltered. He had taken Seo Ryang’s palm strike with his body instead of dodging it.
Gritting his teeth, he raised the light sword.
“Second Sword, Light Cloud.”
*Zzzzzzzing!*
For a brief moment, a turquoise mist spread around the light sword.
Seo Ryang, who was about to use the Earth-Shrinking Divine Step, was momentarily bewildered. The mist had spread in all directions, blocking all his escape routes.
A suppressed voice escaped Mok Gang-in’s lips.
“Soul Shatter.”
*Whoosh!*
A massive amount of air was sucked in by the descending light sword.
It looked like the secret technique of Ma Dongpil’s Dharma King Sword Art, but it was a giant sword of light that was utterly incomparable, raining down on Seo Ryang’s head.
*Kwwaaaaang!*
Soul Shatter, the second form of the Three Severing Ghost Shadow Sword unleashed with the Ghostly Eye Light Sword, was filled with the will and power to shatter even the opponent’s soul, just as its name implied.
Ma Dongpil’s eyes trembled in horror.
“Young Master!”
*Whoosh!*
Seo Ryang emerged through the thick cloud of dust and quickly moved behind Mok Gang-in.
“Hah, hah!”
His breaths came out ragged and harsh. His body, covered in blood, looked incredibly precarious.
Mok Gang-in’s eyes widened.
“You withstood that?”
*Fwoooosh!*
A heavy saber wind rose from the Dragon Scale Saber.
“That was close. I almost died… *Bleargh!*”
Seo Ryang coughed up blood. The Seven Steps Soul-Severing Powder had seeped into the net-like sword wounds covering his entire body.
Ma Dongpil’s face turned ashen. Jong Risan’s lips were frayed from being bitten so hard.
‘This is bad.’
*Chaang!*
Ma Dongpil drew his sword, about to rush to Seo Ryang’s side.
“Kuaaap!”
*Boom!*
With a powerful stomp, Nine Hells Demonic Energy surged throughout his body. The blood that had begun to coagulate burst forth once more.
“Seven Steps Soul-Severing Powder… this is good stuff.”
Seo Ryang grinned. As he smiled, the illusion of a demon flickered across his face.
For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on the stoic face of Mok Gang-in.
“What in the world are you…”
“Good things are meant to be shared!”
*Paak!*
The Dragon Scale Saber flew at a terrifying speed. Its target, of course, was Mok Gang-in.
*Taaang!*
The Dragon Scale Saber was sent flying high into the air. The light of the sword had diminished by more than half, but it still radiated sufficient power.
Just then, Seo Ryang moved.
*Ssk.*
Slowly, step by step, Seo Ryang walked forward.
His hands were empty, and the amount of demonic energy he exuded was minimal.
Mok Gang-in was inwardly puzzled.
‘What is this?’
His gait was too ordinary to suggest any hidden trick. The will to fight was clear in his eyes, but both his demonic energy and killing intent were weaker than before. His posture was full of openings, as if he could be cut down by a random swing of the sword.
‘Has he given up?’
This was a man who moved without restraint even while poisoned by the Seven Steps Soul-Severing Powder. He wouldn't just give up.
Then what?
‘No. This is not the time.’
There was no need for wonder. In a life-or-death battle, waiting for the opponent or getting needlessly tense was meaningless.
All that mattered was doing one’s best to kill the enemy.
Mok Gang-in took a powerful step forward.
It was then.
‘…?’
His foot, which should have pushed off the ground, remained suspended in mid-air. Mok Gang-in’s eyes widened.
‘Ugh!’
He slowly felt his eyelids rise and wrinkles form on his forehead.
Even simple actions like taking a step or widening his eyes felt endlessly slow. The speed of his thoughts was the same as before, but it felt as if time itself had slowed down.
‘What is this?’
What on earth has he done to my body?
*Wooooong!*
At that moment, with an intense hum, three blades flew high into the air.
*Chiririring!*
The soaring blades clashed madly against each other, then began to circle around Seo Ryang’s body.
‘Is that?!’
The Seven Nights Saber, and the Meteor Twin Sabers.
And even the Dragon Scale Saber, which had been knocked away, flew back to circle around Seo Ryang. The sight of four blades rotating as if to guard one person was the pinnacle of mystique.
But.
*Chiiik!*
When demonic energy was imbued into the four circling blades, the atmosphere changed. It was as if resentful souls, unable to pass on even in death, were escorting Seo Ryang.
In any case, he couldn't just stand there. Mok Gang-in gathered all his strength.
‘Nnngh!’
But his efforts were in vain. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take a single step.
‘Why can’t I move!’
The world hadn't slowed down, nor was he walking in a dream. So why couldn't he move as he willed!
“Nine Hells Calamity Saber Art, Fourth Chapter.”
*Wooooong!*
Seo Ryang’s voice became a great echo, piercing Mok Gang-in’s ears. A sharp pain shot through them, as if they were being stabbed by a cold dagger.
Mok Gang-in bit his lip and put strength into his feet.
‘…!’
*Psssss.*
His foot still hadn't touched the ground. The dirt beneath it had risen half a foot and was trembling violently.
*Saaaaak.*
A hazy smoke rose from the ground. It was smoke created by the clash of fiery energy as hot as lava and frigid energy colder than the icebergs of the North Sea.
‘A force field?’
This was the technique the man had shown at the main gate of the Red Snake House.
‘Hah!’
He finally realized. He understood why his movements were being controlled so differently from everyone else’s.
‘Void Grasp!!’
His opponent’s will, his killing intent, had completely bound his body. That was why he couldn't move.
From there, Mok Gang-in realized one more thing.
His opponent had dodged his light sword not because he wanted his strength to dwindle.
‘He was aiming for this from the start.’
The fire energy of the Ultimate Avici Saber, the cold energy of the Blood Acupoint Grand Crimson Lotus, and the hellish wind that bound the two yin-yang energies had drawn Mok Gang-in, a single person, into the force field.
To render him completely immobile. To prevent him from even daring to counter this strike.
To make him like a sinner bound in ropes before the judgment of the King of Hell.
“Saber Control.”
*Chiriring!*
The four blades circling his body all turned to aim at Mok Gang-in.
“…”
A moment of silence.
From Seo Ryang’s lips came the name of the legendary martial art that had once annihilated the Eight Kings of the Iron Blood Fortress.
“Wandering Soul’s Flight.”
*Kyaaaaaaaak!!*
A bloodcurdling scream enveloped the entire Red Snake House.
The four blades of different sizes shot toward Mok Gang-in all at once.
*Boom-boom-boom-boom!!*
The spot where Mok Gang-in stood was instantly devastated.
*Booom! Ssshaak!*
The bombardment of demonic weapons kicked up a huge cloud of dust.
The assault did not stop with one volley. The blades, ricocheting out of the dust cloud, re-aimed at their target and shot forward at terrifying speeds, repeating the process several times.
*Boom-boom! Kreeeeek!*
Behind the tearing explosions, the sound of clashing blades sounded like the wails of ghosts.
*Kreeeeek! Ruuumble!*
Everyone’s face was awash with a mixture of terror and ecstasy.
They were witnessing the realm of a Martial God, something different from a simple Void Grasp, an art that could only be performed by an absolute master who had reached the pinnacle of demonic arts.
“…Control with Ki?!”
*Ruuuuuumble!*
With one final, massive roar, the four blades were flung away haphazardly.
“Hah! Hah!”
Seo Ryang collapsed to his knees.
His face was pale. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth.
“Young Master!”
Ma Dongpil rushed to his side.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
*Thud.*
Seo Ryang picked up the two Meteor Twin Sabers that had fallen at his feet and staggered to his feet.
“*Cough!* Damn it!”
Lifting his head, Seo Ryang’s eyes contorted.
“It still wasn’t perfect, I see.”
Amidst the spreading, thinning cloud of dust.
*Whoosh!*
A blood-soaked Mok Gang-in charged forward with a demonic expression. He was holding a dagger that he had hidden somewhere.
*Paaak!*
Ma Dongpil had no time to stop him. Seo Ryang also charged toward Mok Gang-in.
The two, closing the distance at high speed, swung their blades at each other like madmen.
*Splaaat!*
The ground, stained dark red with the blood of the two men, looked like a ghastly swamp.