Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Breaking Free (1)
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Chahu's wound wasn't deep.
He hadn't seen the splinter flying toward him. But he'd sensed the danger on instinct.
Originally, that splinter had been aimed straight for Chahu's heart.
By twisting his upper body, Chahu had sacrificed his shoulder instead.
He hadn't seen the Shadowless Flight unfold, but he'd sensed it instinctively.
"No movement, no change in breathing. Heh! And yet the attack begins. Impressive technique. Shadowless Flight, is it?"
"I have no idea what Shadowless Flight is, so why does everyone call my attacks by that name?"
Swish!
Four Thousand Four rose to his feet.
Chahu wasn't someone he could handle with just Shadowless Flight. Even the slightest lapse in concentration could mean instant defeat.
The assassin who'd come to kill Vanguard hadn't even grasped Shadowless Flight. Yet this man had intuited it at once. And not only that—he'd twisted away to dodge.
Adding an attack on top of that made him untouchable.
Whoosh!
Four Thousand Four channeled Cold Yin Jade Hand into one palm. Then he relaxed his entire body. Open Senses Full Gong. He opened all his senses wide, attuned to detect even the faintest breeze.
Now he breathed steadily, waiting.
Waiting until the internal energy cultivation method—still unnamed—filled his body completely with true qi.
Rustle... Rustle...
Chahu approached with extraordinarily light footsteps.
Chahu didn't know Four Thousand Four's condition. If he'd realized Four Thousand Four couldn't attack right now, he wouldn't have approached so slowly.
Chahu was wary of Shadowless Flight, forcing him to advance cautiously.
Four Thousand Four waited until his breathing and true qi merged as one.
He could fight right now if he had to—no reason he couldn't, just like before. But there was no rush, so he waited. With Chahu creeping closer, he figured he might as well test his newly learned internal energy method.
Whoosh! Slash!
His breathing and true qi fused.
No one who'd never experienced this could understand. There were no omens or symptoms—just a profound sensation.
Even detailed explanations wouldn't convey it to those who hadn't felt it themselves.
Fwosh!
In an instant, Chahu vanished from in front of him.
Four Thousand Four felt the shift in air currents. No sound reached his ears. Nothing met his eyes. But he knew the flow had changed from above to below.
Whoosh! Boom!
He dodged sideways just as lightning struck where he'd stood—nearly simultaneous.
Shh! Shh-shh-shh!
Hand blossoms bloomed vividly before his eyes.
Beautiful shadows of hands multiplied into ten, then twenty, dancing in a dazzling flurry.
Four Thousand Four countered with Cold Yin Jade Hand.
Amid the phantasmagoric shadows, he thrust forth a burst of pale jade energy.
He read Chahu's hand technique. Though Chahu's movements were too swift for the naked eye to follow... each shift stirred the wind. The wind traced the changes. And Four Thousand Four sensed the air's flow.
He pierced through feint and truth with perfect clarity—which hands were bluffs, which were real.
Boom!
Cold Yin Jade Hand clashed head-on with Chahu's technique.
"Ugh!"
Chahu let out a sharp grunt of surprise.
Had Cold Yin Jade Hand overpowered him? No. Chahu's internal energy ran deep. Though Cold Yin Jade Hand was a famed technique, it couldn't repel Chahu's densely packed hand strikes.
The style Chahu wielded was Scattered Flowers Dividing Hands.
A hallmark of Kunlun Sect, Scattered Flowers Dividing Hands was one of the Five Great Hand Techniques, always mentioned among them. It was famed for being taught only to elite disciples.
"Urgh...! This chill... And your hands are pale... Cold Yin Jade Hand! It has to be Cold Yin Jade Hand!"
Four Thousand Four furrowed his brow slightly.
Chahu knew of Cold Yin Jade Hand—a technique recorded only in secret manuals—down to its exact name. Then it made sense that the shadowy whispers called his attacks Shadowless Flight.
"Impressive."
Chahu's eyes gleamed.
"The footwork you used approaching was Phantom Empty Step, the kick to turn was Coiling Dragon Kick, and Cold Yin Jade Hand... The skill that countered Scattered Flowers must be Open Senses Full Gong."
Thunder Prison was riddled with mechanisms.
One was the Peep Mirror, allowing outsiders to peer inside from above—essentially a hole drilled for oversight.
Right now, Four Thousand Four was unleashing his arts freely.
With only Chahu before him, there was no need to hide.
No—Four Thousand Four never hid his skills anyway.
Still, just in case, the Warden observed through the Peep Mirror. He scrutinized every move, every gesture, even Four Thousand Four's mindset in battle.
Four Thousand Four and Chahu had only exchanged one clash.
That first exchange was mere probing. Four Thousand Four had struck first; Chahu had only dodged.
Their true skirmish had been just that one clash.
Yet through it, the Warden had gleaned every detail of Four Thousand Four's arsenal.
"That's enough. Nothing more to see."
The Warden closed the Peep Mirror.
Thud... Thud... Thud...
Four Thousand Four heard more footsteps. Not one set, but two. Two men pushed open the stone door and strode in boldly.
'Experts!'
These newcomers rivaled Chahu.
As Four Thousand Four scowled, Chahu chuckled.
"Just one clash, and you've already figured it out?"
Four Thousand Four shot Chahu an impassive glance.
Chahu, still smirking, explained.
"The Warden himself sent me in here. You're the only one who can test your skills without killing you outright. In that sense, this errand's an honor—but a hassle too."
"What good does sizing up my arts do them?"
"How should I know? Anyway, looks like they've got their answer. Them coming means they plan to take you down."
Four Thousand Four had sensed as much.
Chahu continued.
"Don't worry. They won't interfere in our fight. I intend to claim you myself. Ah! Wasn't planning this from the start. But Cold Yin Jade Hand and Shadowless Flight..."
Chahu's eyes sparkled.
He felt his fighting spirit ignite. He wanted to crush Four Thousand Four technique for technique. Facing Scattered Flowers with another of the Five Great Hand Techniques had only heightened his interest.
"Let's begin. Before the interlopers arrive."
Chahu raised both hands.
That was the signal. He held them up briefly, then shot forward.
Shh! Shh-shh-shh-shh!
The changes came far faster than before. Far more hands pressed the air.
Four Thousand Four tracked the air currents. Each hand motion displaced the air, and following the flow revealed the true strikes.
But now it was different. He felt the currents clearly, yet the hands moved too fast to pursue. He only vaguely sensed their positions.
Swoosh! Swoooosh!
Currents surged from above and below simultaneously.
One was a feint. Only one would smash into flesh.
Thrust! Thrusssht!
Four Thousand Four calmly unleashed two counters.
He fired Shadowless Flight at the hand flowing downward. After the splinter flew, he cut off all focus on it. Pouring every nerve into the strike from above. In that moment—
'Ah! Focus!'
Four Thousand Four realized his mistake.
He was guiding his internal energy with this new breathing method. The power swirling his true qi stemmed from it. And that method began with detached, impartial observation.
Utter detachment from start to finish.
A profound art that fostered focus within indifference.
But concentration... clustering all senses in one spot, undispersed—that was peak focus.
The state every warrior craved.
Four Thousand Four had slipped into it. Shadowless Flight would block the low strike, so he'd commit fully to the high one.
But it shattered his breathing.
His true qi entered a state of pure, unyielding focus—bystander gone.
Swoosh!
He executed Cold Yin Jade Hand... but his hands weren't pale. No chill emanated.
Abandoning the new breathing had nullified even Cold Yin Jade Hand.
Thud! Thump!
Dull impacts rang out. Four Thousand Four's form skidded backward.
"Ngh!"
He groaned.
His face drained white as a sheet, blood trickling from his mouth.
A severe internal injury, without doubt.
Chahu tilted his head, puzzled.
"Heh! What's this? Suddenly fighting like a rank amateur?"
"Once more."
Four Thousand Four spoke calmly, steadying his mind.
He foresaw his fate.
Chahu's strikes carried killing intent—unleashed with full license to slay. And now two more were approaching to join in.
He didn't need to ask to know they'd resolved to end him.
Death! It loomed right before him.
His mind grew serene. His breathing normalized.
Now he could wait until it fused with his true qi as one.
Breathing and true qi were originally unified. Inseparable. Breathing birthed true qi; guiding true qi meant breathing joined in.
Waiting for them to merge... Even fellow warriors wouldn't grasp those words. Only the observer outside Thunder Prison could explain it.
His life wouldn't outlast the day anyway. Why not fight with a calm heart? Toppling even one like Chahu wasn't meaningless.
He'd relish testing the new method.
Whoosh!
Four Thousand Four raised his arms.
His hands paled to an eerie white.
"Back to top form. That's more like it. Heh!"
Shrieeek!
Chahu unleashed Scattered Flowers Dividing Hands again.
This was the third time facing it. Yet its ferocity differed each round. The second had dwarfed the first; this one felt two or three times stronger than the last.
Chahu's hands were untraceable. He couldn't follow the shifts. Air currents registered, but their sources eluded him.
Shrieeeek!
Hand strikes assailed from all sides.
Thwack!
Four Thousand Four tossed a twig. Or rather—it had launched itself. He had no memory of throwing. That effortless invocation was Shadowless Flight.
Silently piercing the air, vanishing, the splinter struck.
Thud! Thud-thud!
Dull sounds erupted.
Cold Yin Jade Hand hit its mark precisely—as intended. But unluckily, that mark was empty air. He'd fallen for Scattered Flowers' illusions.
The dull thuds came from Scattered Flowers.
Piercing Palm gouged his solar plexus. Hand Blades smashed both shoulders. Charging Fist hammered his jaw.
Four Thousand Four crumpled.
The first one-on-one defeat since entering the martial world.
"Ngh!"
Chahu groaned too.
Blood gushed from his lower abdomen.
The splinter Four Thousand Four had flung had pierced clean through, embedding deep inside.
He hadn't seen Shadowless Flight. Hadn't sensed a thing incoming.
Had Four Thousand Four been a touch more ruthless, Chahu would be the one sprawled on the ground.