Chapter 70
Chapter 70
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Collapse
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Black Shadow Division Leader immediately noticed the change in Nangong Yurin.
A blue aura surged out from her body, pressing down on the surrounding air.
His body instinctively flinched under the pressure.
‘This is… Emperor Sword Form!’
A chill ran down his spine.
He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
‘No way…’
To unleash that much blue aura with Emperor Sword Form required a Transformation Realm master.
It was an ultimate technique that only the Sword King could perform in this era—how could the Nangong Family’s little girl execute it?
‘Did the Nangong Family advance Emperor Sword Form further?’
The thought crossed his mind, but it was already too late to retreat.
The Black Shadow Division Leader brainwashed himself into believing that what Nangong Yurin was showing was some kind of illusion.
‘That bitch is definitely just a first-rate warrior. If I back off out of fear from some trick, I’ll just lose my men and gain nothing.’
Regaining his senses, he realized the intimidating pressure was overwhelming but bearable.
It was nothing compared to a real Transformation Realm master.
There wasn’t even sword qi from her blade, let alone the sword aura exclusive to the Transformation Realm.
He regained his confidence.
He poured internal energy into his sword.
A misty energy formed around the blade, sprouting strands that shaped into sword qi.
His thoughts had been lengthy, but the actual time passed was but an instant.
‘I’ve won!’
Just before he could slash at Nangong Yurin’s sword,
Her blade became enveloped in blue sword aura.
Crackle—
Lightning surged up at the same time.
‘Not just sword qi, but sword aura? This is insane!’
He spat curses inwardly as their swords collided.
Boom—!!
The Black Shadow Division Leader’s sword shattered into pieces against Nangong Yurin’s sword aura.
He was flung back with the momentum of his charge.
Rolling across the ground several times before crashing, he spewed up a mouthful of blood.
He had suffered severe internal injuries.
As he shook his head to clear his mind, a fist from Jeongu Taoist flew into his view.
“You despicable bastard! How dare you attempt a sneak attack!”
***
Nangong Yurin held her ground firmly even as the Black Shadow Division Leader was sent flying.
In truth, she couldn’t move a single step.
Her meridians and muscles were torn and twisted, screaming in excruciating pain.
It was the result of executing the latter half of Emperor Sword Form without having achieved bone refinement and shedding mortality.
Her body was collapsing as the price for momentarily wielding Transformation Realm might.
‘Grandfather warned me never to use it before bone refinement for a reason.’
Sometimes, those in pain say things like that.
—My body is something I know best.
Nangong Yurin knew hers best.
A body on the verge of collapse couldn’t be saved by anyone.
‘Even the Medical Pavilion Leader couldn’t fix this. I ended up using the latter half of Emperor Sword Form, which warned against overexertion, just like this.’
Nineteen.
It had been a short life, but she had overcome the illness of the heart that tormented her in her final moments, filling her with a sense of pride.
‘I protected the Medical Pavilion Leader with my own hands.’
She felt relieved.
Though guilt toward her older sister Juyeon lingered.
‘I’ll go to the heavens first and wait. I’ll apologize when sister comes.’
Just then, Yuseong approached.
“Are you alright?”
Nangong Yurin turned her head slightly to look at him.
There was no need to mention treating her brother or Juyeon sister.
She believed he would keep his promise.
She opened her mouth wanting to at least say a greeting,
“...”
But no words came out despite her efforts.
‘I can’t even manage a final farewell.’
Yuseong examined her face and said,
“I don’t know what happened, but it looks like you had some fateful encounter. I survived thanks to you, Lady Nangong. I was this close to dying for sure.”
He smiled and joked lightly without prying for details.
‘Grateful to the end…’
Despite the pain squeezing her body like a vise, a smile formed naturally.
‘This is the end.’
Nangong Yurin could no longer hold on.
As her senses began to fade, a single tear rolled from her eye.
At that moment, something touched her back.
Yuseong’s palm.
‘No, did it touch? My senses are too blurred to tell.’
Soon, a refreshing sensation spread from her back.
It hadn’t been an illusion that it was Yuseong’s palm.
‘Huh?’
Sensation returned starting from her back, and the pain began to subside.
Her torn and twisted muscles and meridians were restoring one by one.
“Am I… getting better…?”
She could even speak now.
Yuseong grinned.
“As you know, the heavens granted me special abilities.”
Contrary to his relaxed smile, Yuseong was pouring divine power with all his might.
When he checked Nangong Yurin’s body intending to use healing since she looked exhausted after the battle,
He discovered her internals were in a wretched state, as if they would melt away at any moment.
‘What the hell happened to her!’
The areas where he applied the healing skill recovered, but when he moved to heal other parts, the healed sections collapsed again.
After repeating this process, Yuseong realized healing one area at a time wouldn’t work.
He focused the healing skill on the most critical spots to buy some time, then spread divine power broadly across Nangong Yurin’s entire body.
In the process, he noticed the faint gray haze in her mind was gone.
‘She overcame it herself.’
He felt proud, but there was no time to talk in this urgent situation.
Yuseong maximized the density of the divine power spread throughout every corner of Nangong Yurin’s body, then converted it all at once into the healing skill.
[Healing]
Muscles and meridians returned to normal.
This happened simultaneously across all areas.
The collapse stopped.
He had saved Nangong Yurin’s life.
“Ha… It’s done…”
It had been ages since he concentrated the healing skill this intensely.
A moment later, as Yuseong lifted his palm from her back after thoroughly checking her condition, Cheongun Elder asked urgently,
“How is she? Is Lady Nangong alright?”
“Yes, she’s safe now.”
“Thank goodness. I’ve never seen your spiritual power deplete that quickly.”
Yuseong nodded.
Cheongun Elder had sensed his divine power, a type of spiritual energy, when they first met.
Having used most of it to treat Nangong Yurin, it was no wonder the elder was greatly alarmed.
“What happened to Lady Nangong…? If I didn’t see wrong, that was definitely sword aura. And… it resembled the Sword King’s.”
Cheongun Elder was astonished that Emperor Sword Form, which only the Sword King could perform, had emerged from Nangong Yurin’s hands,
And he was dying of curiosity how a first-rate warrior like her had used sword aura.
The formidable aura she had during the fight against the enemy had returned to a lower level.
It didn’t look like first-rate anymore, perhaps due to the illusion of her Transformation Realm display.
Having lingered at Peak Realm for so long, he couldn’t hold back his questions, wondering if he might find a clue to reach Transformation Realm.
“I, I… thank you. Thank you so much for saving me, Yuseong.”
But Nangong Yurin had no time to mind Cheongun Elder.
Tears flowed again from her eyes as she covered her mouth.
“Haha, I was too hasty. I’ll come back once Lady Nangong has calmed down.”
Cheongun Elder left those words to handle other matters.
He seemed to judge the timing wasn’t right and stepped aside.
“I survived thanks to you too, Lady Nangong. We’ve saved each other once each, so we’re even.”
“...Not even yet.”
“Hm?”
“You promised to protect me originally. I’ll protect you from now on too. Then we’ll be even.”
He hadn’t heard what kind of oath she made yet, but her words were reassuring, given she could wield Transformation Realm power even momentarily.
After thanking him, Yuseong asked what puzzled him.
“But your eyes and hair…”
Nangong Yurin startled and hurriedly pulled her hair forward to look.
Her once-black hair now faintly shimmered blue.
The same went for her eyes, as Yuseong saw them.
‘It definitely changed after I used the healing skill last time, but color change isn’t a disease…’
Yuseong pondered if the next healing skill upgrade could restore Nangong Yurin’s eye and hair color to normal.
Nangong Yurin instinctively knew her hair and eye color had changed because she forcibly drew out the latter half of Emperor Sword Form.
She might have to live with it forever.
“Um… Yuseong, does it look that strange?”
“Hm?”
Yuseong looked at Nangong Yurin again.
Her atmosphere had changed a bit, but surprisingly…
“It gives off a mystical vibe and suits you well?”
“Really?”
Nangong Yurin’s expression brightened.
***
“It’s a secret technique of the Nangong Family that Grandfather taught me. I staked my life on it, so I can’t guarantee I can use it again.”
“Haha, really? It seemed to take a huge toll on your body, but I didn’t expect that much. Anyway, impressive. Ah, we can talk more later.”
Cheongun Elder’s eyes had gleamed intensely, but with matters to handle, he withdrew readily.
She would be pestered the entire remaining journey to Qingcheng Sect, but Nangong Yurin was simply happy to be alive again in this moment.
Nangong Yurin’s gaze turned to Yuseong treating the patients.
He was focused on the warriors’ treatments with a kind smile.
‘I must never use it again. I really would have died without Yuseong.’
Nangong Yurin smiled faintly, closed her eyes, and examined her internals.
The changes after Emperor Sword Form weren’t just her hair and eye color.
There were changes inside too.
‘My body feels much lighter. My meridians seem wider, and true qi flows incomparably faster than before.’
She glanced down at the sword in her hand.
The sensation of manifesting sword aura lingered vividly in her mind.
‘Shall I try?’
She had consumed much internal energy with Emperor Sword Form, but some remained.
Recalling the sensation, she channeled qi into her sword.
‘Like this…?’
She operated her qi instinctively as guided.
Hum—
Her blade became covered in blue sword qi.
Nangong Yurin.
Reaching Peak Realm at nineteen.