Chaos (5)
The taut Flood Dragon Chain dug into Yayul Jeok’s body, bit by bit.
Whiiiirrr!
Hssssss!
He tried to neutralize the chain’s power with his Dark Cold White Qi and Dark Flower Crimson Qi, but it was no easy task.
The Shadow God’s two supreme arts—the Dark Cold and Dark Crimson—were mystical techniques that manipulated the Yin-Yang Different Qi. Yet they had never been designed to release both energies at once and generate raw destructive force.
These were martial arts created to deliver the most silent and certain death in the world. They were the ultimate dark energy, destroying a person’s body from within through infiltration and internal explosion rather than head-on confrontation. That was the true nature of the Dark Cold and Dark Flower.
In a sense, they bore some resemblance to the Sasinmu. The problem was that the Sasinmu was a perfected art across offense, defense, evasion, and counterattack alike. In a direct clash, it displayed overwhelmingly superior might compared to the Shadow God’s techniques.
How strange.
Despite the desperate situation, Yayul Jeok’s eyes had already regained their icy calm.
He suddenly achieved a qualitative leap in his internal energy. What’s more, at the very brink of crisis, the density of his power amplified as if it had been waiting for the moment. This is impossible.
People often said that surviving a brush with death led to tremendous growth.
The same held true for martial artists. In moments of absolute peril, enlightenment could strike like lightning, granting a massive breakthrough in a single instant.
Yet the word “breakthrough” concealed the implication of “first time.” A momentary flash of insight could elevate one’s realm, but after stepping into an unfamiliar world, combat ability usually plummeted as the practitioner struggled with the new level.
During a life-or-death battle, the effect was even more pronounced. The sudden change in how one manifested their arts could cause confusion and lead to fatal consequences.
This bastard is different.
Yeon Hojeong was different.
This man had clearly ascended in realm. In this very instant!
And yet it was utterly natural. As if he had already experienced this level before, the supply of amplified internal energy flowed perfectly. He read the precise limits and minimum thresholds of power with exquisite precision.
This should not be possible. Aside from cases where someone fell into qi deviation, became crippled, and then miraculously returned to their original realm through heavenly fortune, no one could manipulate their internal energy with such familiarity.
Could this bastard have been hiding his true strength all along?!
The situation was so absurd that the thought actually crossed his mind.
…Whatever the case.
Yayul Jeok’s gaze shifted toward Sama Hyeon.
Sama Hyeon stared back with cold eyes. Within that gaze swirled anger, self-loathing, murderous intent, and sorrow all at once.
The power of the Shadow God alone isn’t enough. I should have aimed for a surprise attack from the very beginning.
This, too, had been arrogance—the belief that he could dominate a direct confrontation using the Shadow God’s arts.
It had been understandable confidence, but the opponent’s instantaneous growth had turned it into a fatal miscalculation.
Whoosh!
The aura Yayul Jeok had been radiating with Shadow God Energy vanished as if washed away.
Chzzzzzt.
A grayish-black haze began rising from his body.
Shock flickered across Sama Hyeon’s face, which had been twisted with hatred. He had never seen this energy before.
That wasn’t all.
“Ugh!”
Ok Cheong groaned and staggered back two steps. The aftershock of the energy Yayul Jeok had just released exceeded imagination.
Of course, if it had been mere pressure from internal energy emission, Ok Cheong would never have reacted this way. He was the expert among the military force closest to the pinnacle of the martial path.
Ok Cheong shouted urgently.
“Lord Daesu! Please be careful! This is no ordinary evil aura!”
He was right.
The true qi pouring from Yayul Jeok was a powerful evil qi so overwhelming it could even suppress Ok Cheong’s Primordial Chaos Qi—the very pinnacle of Daoist martial arts.
In terms of pure level, the condensed Primordial Chaos Qi that embodied all the Sword Immortal’s insights should not have been pushed back. But because Ok Cheong’s own realm was still relatively low, he was shaken by the overwhelming evil presence.
Whiiiirrr!
The Flood Dragon Chain began vibrating wildly.
The intensity was completely different from when he had been emitting Shadow God Energy. The Vermilion Bird Fire Qi that had completely dominated the chain was gradually being pushed back by the gray evil qi radiating from Yayul Jeok.
“How long has it been since you last revealed this power?”
Kaaang!
The Flood Dragon Chain was flung away helplessly. The fact that it remained unbroken spoke volumes about the remarkable quality of its material.
“I tried so hard to forget the power of the past in order to reign as the god of the Central Plains underworld.”
Pssssss.
Color began returning to Yayul Jeok’s corpse-pale skin.
Crack! Craaaack!
The transformations continued without pause. Not only did his skeletal structure expand, but his muscles swelled visibly as well.
His facial features remained the same, yet the increased size and restored vitality completely altered his impression. What had once been eerily ordinary now radiated pure combativeness.
Yayul Jeok had cast aside the Shadow God Energy for a moment and drawn forth the Saeum Sect’s divine art instead.
Yet Yeon Hojeong’s eyes as he watched this transformation remained strangely calm.
Hwaaaaaah!
The evil qi pouring from Yayul Jeok was utterly ferocious. His eyes grew as savage as a wild beast’s, matching the violent change in his aura.
He growled like an animal.
“The game ends here. This time, I will make sure to—”
Booom!
“Keuk!”
Yayul Jeok vomited blood as he was sent flying. He smashed through a tree and collapsed to the ground.
His eyes snapped open. It was only because he had instinctively assumed a defensive posture that he avoided serious injury. Without it, that single strike would have broken something.
Shock filled Yayul Jeok’s face.
What… what was that?
After quickly regaining his stance, Yayul Jeok saw Yeon Hojeong wreathed in red-and-white haze.
Fwoooooosh!
It looked as if wind and fire had merged—or as if the wind itself was guiding the flames.
The aura of Yeon Hojeong, who had raised both White Tiger Gold Qi and Vermilion Bird Fire Qi simultaneously, was not as chaotic as Yayul Jeok’s. It felt calm yet lethal, simple yet capable of delivering an explosive strike at any moment.
“Beast King Evil Qi, is it?”
“…?!”
“Your aura suggests you’ve reached the peak of ten-star completion, yet it seems you’ve been neglecting your training. The flow of your true qi feels rather stagnant for a supposedly perfected art.”
Yayul Jeok’s eyes trembled.
“How do you know about the Beast King Evil Qi, you bastard?”
Come to think of it, this man had been strange from the very beginning.
He had seen through not only So Bang’s Blood Yin Demonic Qi but even the precise movements of the Blood Yin Palm. That should have been impossible without complete mastery of the art.
And now he even recognized the Beast King Evil Qi?
Whiiiirrr!
The Flood Dragon Chain moved freely through the air as if it were alive. All Yeon Hojeong did was flick his wrist.
“Come. I’ll teach you just how meaningless your power truly is.”
Killing intent flared in Yayul Jeok’s eyes.
“Insolent brat!”
Baaaang!
Yayul Jeok charged toward Yeon Hojeong in an extremely low stance. He moved like a four-legged beast, hands scraping the ground, radiating overwhelming pressure.
In an instant, he closed the distance and unleashed a violent punch.
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong’s body swayed.
“You dare disrespect our sect’s martial arts?!”
Boom! Boooooom!
“Our sect’s arts are peerless ultimate techniques forged over a thousand years! They stand on an entirely different level from the pathetic martial arts you people have created!”
Baaang! Babababang!
Yayul Jeok’s White Strike Art was magnificent.
It was completely different from the version he had used with Shadow God Energy. If the previous version had been fast, sharp, and specialized in lethal technique, this one was brutally rough and tenacious to the extreme.
It was a beast’s fighting style. A supreme killing art that combined fist and claw techniques to destroy and tear its opponent apart.
“I’ll rip your corpse into a hundred pieces and show you the greatness of our—”
At that moment, Yeon Hojeong’s hand slipped between Yayul Jeok’s twin fists.
Baaaaang!
“Cough!”
Yayul Jeok flew back once more, vomiting blood.
Pssssss.
Yeon Hojeong remained in the same extended-hand posture. Pale smoke rose from both his arms. He had blocked every single one of Yayul Jeok’s attacks completely.
“I cannot understand why you remain so obsessed with the Shadow God’s arts when the Saeum Sect’s martial techniques are this outstanding.”
Yeon Hojeong relaxed his stance.
A stern aura settled over his face as he looked down at his opponent.
“In the end, you too are nothing but a half-wit who fails to grasp the true principles of martial arts.”
Oooooooong!
The Yeon Family Divine Elixir began to rotate slowly.
Even without drawing on the powerful true qi generated by the elixir’s rotation, he had blocked all of Yayul Jeok’s attacks and delivered a effortless counter. It was truly astonishing. Instead of his usual method of annihilating the enemy with explosive force, he had used a soft, crushing technique.
This is it.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.
This is exactly what I’ve been missing all this time.
It had begun with the spar against Yang Cheon.
Though they had not exchanged hundreds of moves, fighting Yang Cheon had allowed Yeon Hojeong to immerse himself in yet another martial principle.
He had only been able to obtain that principle because he was weaker than Yang Cheon. His enlightenment was equal to or even surpassed Yang Cheon’s, but his actual power was inferior. To land even a single solid blow, he had been forced to use every combat technique he possessed.
In a single exchange, dozens of possible responses flashed through his mind. He had chosen the most effective one that would strike at the opponent’s opening.
Yet Yang Cheon had not fallen. Far from it—he had been pushed back one-sidedly without managing to inflict any meaningful damage.
It was only natural. Yang Cheon was also a master of combat techniques, and the sheer scale of his power was incomparable.
So what was the answer? Both of them pursued straight, destructive martial arts. The only difference was the method. How could he land a decisive strike?
It was then that he remembered the fist technique Seunghyeon Jinin had demonstrated before they went to face the warriors of the Shinwha Sect—a technique that had reached the level of divine skill.
Tai Chi Fist!
Seunghyeon Jinin’s Tai Chi had not been powerful at all.
It focused more on defense than attack, on receiving force and redirecting it rather than imposing techniques.
That was precisely what the current Yeon Hojeong—weakened compared to his days as the Black Dark Emperor—needed. The principle he had once seen no reason to train had now become the missing piece that could bring his martial arts close to completion.
And the moment he realized it, Yeon Hojeong’s true qi accepted the enlightenment and stepped into the ultimate realm.
It’s right in front of me now.
Oooooooong!
The Yeon Family Divine Elixir spun faster. The highly concentrated Four Gods Qi evolved and restored his body at tremendous speed.
He felt as if he could soar into the heavens at any moment. Confidence surged through him—the certainty that a single punch could reduce a ten-thousand-pound boulder to dust, that a mere breath could uproot an ancient tree.
This was the pinnacle.
Here stood the ultimate warrior who had reached the peak of the Transcendent realm, the domain that surpassed human limits.
Now there is only one step left to the Limitless realm!
He had never imagined gaining enlightenment in a place like this. Yet it did not surprise him. Yeon Hojeong calmly accepted both the change and the situation.
Kuuuung!
A fierce impact erupted from the rear. It was the sound of the Myeolsa Army, locked in formation, clashing violently with So Bang.
Yeon Hojeong did not look back. He trusted his subordinates.
Of course, he had no intention of prolonging the fight.
“Let’s end this.”
Yeon Hojeong swung the Flood Dragon Chain.
Swooooosh!
The chain writhed like a living serpent and shot toward Yayul Jeok’s neck with terrifying speed.