Chapter 169
Chapter 169
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Evil Art Martial Skill Tiger Wind Palm Hot Wind Frenzy Dance
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The gentle breeze coiling around my body absorbed the fiery energy of the Crimson Dragon Flag and ballooned into a hemispherical blast in an instant.
The black lightning failed to pierce the hot wind and tore apart, scattering in all directions.
The powerless pillars in the stable were swept up in the lightning fragments and collapsed.
The roof sank downward, forming a massive grave for the horses.
Boom!
Kaboom! Kaboom!
The man and I burst through the roof simultaneously and landed in the nearby wasteland.
Whoooosh!
The wind howled.
The man swept back his disheveled bangs with his hand and twisted the corner of his lips.
"Impressive skills for a nobody. I've heard that the Little Life Half-Fiend is a prodigy rivaling the Pure Star Divine Sword, but I figured there was some exaggeration. Looks like the rumors were true after all."
He casually stretched his limbs. Each time, black lightning crackled and sparked across his skin.
"A realm at the peak of early Transcendent, with perfect harmony of essence, qi, and spirit... Once this is over, I need to upgrade your threat level from mid-mid to upper-mid—three full ranks."
The lightning connected and soon enveloped his entire body.
The darkly flickering black bolts felt ominously foreboding.
"Of course, you'll end up dying here and just be a record on paper."
"Blah blah blah, why do you talk so damn much? Isn't silence the spy's basic rule? My ears are bleeding."
"That mouth of yours can be ripped off while you still ha—"
Mid-sentence, the man had to urgently snap his head to the side.
It was because the North冥 Ice, emerging from his blind spot by tearing through space, targeted the nape of his neck.
A fairly deep gash was left on the left side of his neck.
Even half a beat slower, and his head would have come off.
His eyes widened.
"Exactly. You should've watched your back first."
I immediately twisted the tip of my right index finger.
In response, the invisible thread connected to the North冥 Ice shifted, bending its trajectory mid-flight.
The target was the space between the man's brows.
Slaaaash!
Space split rapidly as a blizzard descended.
"...Damn it!!"
The man fiercely kicked off the ground, retreating while unleashing the Black Thunder Void Strike.
It was a South Palace black thunder striking art that forcibly compressed the expansive lightning into a single point to amplify its explosive power.
Kabooooom!
The North冥 Ice hesitated briefly in midair.
The heat pushing it back clashed with the cold trying to pierce through.
Amid the intense standoff sending shockwaves rippling outward,
Whirrr!
I yanked the invisible thread connected to the North冥 Ice once more.
Delusional Thought Thread.
It was a new weapon and technique I'd created to wield the North冥 Ice more diversely and aggressively.
The Tang Clan excelled in thread techniques, just as they did in hidden weapons.
The Hundred Victories Linked Thread was a prime example.
Of course, using threads as weapons was extremely difficult, so few disciples mastered thread arts, but in terms of the technique's caliber alone, it was first-rate.
Thus, basing it on the Hundred Victories Linked Thread, I'd drawn out my Wandering Soul Poison into the thinnest, longest possible filaments to use as weapons.
The resulting Delusional Thought Thread operated from the upper dantian.
Not only did it possess spirituality, moving in the direction I desired to make controlling the North冥 Ice far easier, but it could also shift from support to offense, binding foes like an "invisible hand."
As a product of evil arts territory, the Delusional Thought Thread could never be severed.
Moreover, when needed, its edge was sharp enough to cleanly slice iron,
And being made of Wandering Soul Poison, it could swiftly intoxicate anyone it wounded.
An unseverable, invisible thread laced with poison.
Wasn't it invincible?
Evil Art Martial Skill.
Just as I'd always dreamed, I'd succeeded in crafting a new form of martial art that blurred the line between evil arts and orthodox techniques.
Fwoooosh!
Like a spider spreading threads to snare prey, the Delusional Thought Thread swept across the ground before surging upward, aiming to bind the foe in one go.
Its razor-sharp edge sliced through all the black lightning cloaking the man.
"This is...!?"
And just as it coiled around his limbs.
Flaaash!
The man swiftly drew his sword from his waist with his left hand.
Even without seeing it, he'd sensed the Delusional Thought Thread through his qi perception.
South Palace secret art: Lone Soul Single Sword.
Rumble!
Clang clang clang clang!
Five strands of sword qi erupting from his blade repelled the Delusional Thought Thread entirely.
At the same time, the shockwave shattered the tense balance between the North冥 Ice and Black Thunder Void Strike, sending the North冥 Ice bouncing into the air.
"...Does the Tang Clan have a technique like this? A thread art using cursed poison? More importantly, what the hell is that North冥 Dao—"
Swoosh!
While the man rambled incoherently, I stepped with Lightning Wind Speed, closing the distance in a breath.
"!!"
To him, it must have looked like I'd vanished and reappeared. Phantom Shadow Step.
I unleashed sword thunder and sword wind in succession with my hand blade sharpened in Rending Wind Strike.
Having reached the Sword-Qi Unity realm, I could now execute the perfect Mara Heaven Sword Form with my entire body, even without the Fear Wind Veil.
Boom boom boom!
Bang bang bang—
His sword strikes and lightning clashed endlessly.
Lightning flickered, illuminating the surroundings in flashes of brightness and darkness.
My sword thunder was also a form of lightning.
Though fundamentally different from inner power-derived black thunder—born from atmospheric friction heat—I could freely control its thunder force precisely because of that.
All I had to do was infuse it with Crimson Dragon Qi to draw out explosive heat.
Thus, my sword thunder was red, bubbling and boiling like a crimson dragon's breath, primed to erupt at any moment.
In contrast, the man's black thunder was dark. Despite being a heat-based art, it carried an insidious nature, making it cooler than sword thunder's lightning.
But it possessed a sharp, piercing quality instead.
It bared its fangs at any opening, ready to bite.
I resolved to shatter it all with overwhelming power.
Whish whish whish whish!
I circulated Crimson Dragon Qi at high speed. The Rending Wind Strike, once merely red, now blazed with blue and white flames.
In an instant, I had become a demon cloaked in red, blue, and pure white fire.
Sword Wind Mara.
Mara Incarnate.
Rumble!
The tri-colored net blanketing the sky tore the black thunder apart in one stroke.
His eyes bulged like saucers as it ripped away, exposing his chest.
"!!!"
I launched my left palm toward his chest.
Vast Wind Cannon.
The palm strike, loaded with cannonball-like destructive power, slammed into his left chest.
Kaboooooom!
He hastily raised a sword barrier, deflecting the Vast Wind Cannon slightly.
But it couldn't fully neutralize the force—the sword barrier shattered instantly.
The sword he prided himself on broke alongside it, shards flying into the air.
The man was hurled back a dozen paces before barely regaining his balance.
A deep furrow scarred the ground in his wake.
And then.
"Urk... bleeech!"
He dropped to one knee and vomited blood onto the dirt.
The shockwave had rattled his body, and the Wandering Soul Poison infiltrating his internal injuries.
With his meridians thoroughly disrupted, he must have been in agony.
"For someone so cocky, you're awfully weak, aren't you, old man?"
I grinned and slowly approached him.
"Or should I call you Black Thunder Lightning Body out of respect?"
After exchanging blows, I had a good idea of his identity.
Black Thunder Lightning Body, South Palace Oh.
He was one of the many heirs the Eastern South Palace boasted.
* * *
In the martial world, there was a famous moniker for the current South Palace Clan Head.
—Greedy Mad Old Monster.
He had originally burned with ambitions fiercer than even the Dark Lord, and he never hid his intentions.
Thus, he forged over thirty marriage alliances.
Thanks to that, he had over a hundred children, far more grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even great-great-grandchildren.
With direct descendants alone, he'd multiplied the clan's power several times over.
And he didn't hide his greed for an heir either.
One day, gathering hundreds of descendants, he decreed that he would pass the clan to just one exceptional talent, regardless of gender, age, or generation.
From that moment, the South Palace direct bloodline descended into chaos.
Nephews assassinated uncles, grandsons killed grandmothers.
The talented ones built their own factions and rampaged outside to rack up merits.
South Palace Oh was one of the latter.
Affiliated with the Dark Thunder Division, he'd worked in the shadows to subjugate eastern martial factions under the South Palace banner.
Thus, he was rumored to be one of the few close to the next Clan Head position.
Evidently, to solidify his claim, he'd volunteered for this mission.
South Palace Oh snapped his head up, his pupils trembling wildly.
"I'd heard you had the North冥 Dao... but no one said it was at this level...!!"
I chuckled.
"Already checked Bi Cheonho's letter, huh? You're quick. Well, a rat king is still a rat, so that's expected."
I twisted my lips and lightly stretched my hands.
"Truth be told, I was after the others, not you... but no choice. Guess I'll have to take your head. Wanna hand it over nicely?"
Frankly, I was quite disappointed that Gong Son-beom's backer wasn't the Phantom Sect but the South Palace Clan.
If it had been the Phantom Sect, that would mean their lord was somewhere in the Central Plains, giving me a lead to track.
Or perhaps check for more clues about my master.
But with the South Palace, it was different.
I planned to take South Palace Oh's head straight to the Dark Lord.
Bundle in that rat Gong Son-beom too, and he'd be thrilled.
With entry exams looming, evidence of South Palace meddling would be a huge merit for me.
Might even earn bonus points.
Just one sticking point.
'That sly bald geezer couldn't possibly miss South Palace rats crawling into his own backyard... Unless they infiltrated while he was away, meaning the Young Lord's competence is that lacking?'
I briefly recalled how the Dark Lord treated even his own son like he didn't exist.
I'd learn the details soon enough.
I sharpened the Rending Wind Strike once more. Sword qi gleamed like bared fangs along my hand blade.
"N-No, stay back...!!"
South Palace Oh staggered to his feet and retreated, fear flickering in his eyes.
Come on over. Big bro will cut you real pretty, so don't worry. Okay?
Grinning wickedly, I approached—then halted mid-step.
Just then, five presences with formidable auras descended from the sky.
The ones I'd wondered about.
South Palace Oh's personal guards, by the look of it.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!
The five warriors encircled South Palace Oh protectively.
"What a disgrace, Young Master? Not only exposing An-ga’s position, but losing the fight too? The Clan Head's disappointment in you will be immense at this rate."
The personal guards didn't seem like mere escorts.
Their demeanor and auras aside, their leader openly berated South Palace Oh's incompetence.
A face mottled with age spots. Sparse white beard. The hem of his robe dragging in the dirt exuded a sinister vibe.
A cantankerous old coot, eyes brimming with irascibility.
Even South Palace Oh seemed more afraid of them—especially their leader—than of me.
"I'll handle this somehow! Just don't report to Father—"
"Young Master, focus on circulating your qi first. Your foe is the Tang Clan's Western Branch prodigy. The longer you ignore those internal injuries, the worse the poison outbreak. Leave him to us from here."
"But!"
South Palace Oh vomited blood again mid-protest.
Tsk!
The guard leader eyed him disdainfully before turning to me.
I spoke.
"In the Central Plains' eastern region, to expand as true overlords, the South Palace recruits guests regardless of righteous or evil paths—over three hundred in number, they say? And some of them serve as the Clan Head's eyes and ears, shadowing direct blood kin to protect and evaluate."
Thunder Guard Court.
That's what they called it in the South Palace, I'd heard.
"But I didn't expect an old relic like you—former demonic powerhouse, the Lost Homeland Sword Desolate—to be among them?"
Not "yearning for homeland," but "homeland lost."
The Lost Homeland Sword Desolate had once been a Kunlun Sect elite but killed his sect brothers and defected to Tianshan's Demon-Slaying Phantom Sect.
Because of him, Kunlun Sect declined repeatedly, losing nearly all its former glory.
And now he'd returned to the Central Plains, residing in the South Palace?
This was no trivial matter.
A crucial turning point for the Tang Clan—and for me.
"To recognize me at a glance. Not bad eyes for a brat."
The Lost Homeland Sword Desolate barked a laugh.
The link between South Palace and the Phantom Sect had finally surfaced.
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