Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: A New Leap
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To the right of the gallery sat Blade Leaf Demon and Un-gak, the leader of the Maple Leaf Brigade. To the left sat Pa-sun.
On the training ground, Un-pyo held a greatsword, and Mu-heun, a sword.
*Gulp.*
Below the training ground, Pa-sun swallowed dryly.
‘My Lord is strong. Incredibly so. But Sir Un-pyo is also annoyingly strong. They both use domineering martial arts. The problem is…’
Pa-sun looked at Mu-heun.
He simply looked at ease.
‘The problem is that Sir Un-pyo has taken an elixir, causing his internal energy to explode and making him progressively stronger, while my Lord has not taken any elixirs and has only continued his training. In terms of sheer internal energy, Sir Un-pyo should have the advantage…’
‘Why on earth isn't he taking the elixir pills?’
Pa-sun was not the only one thinking this.
Blade Leaf Demon shared the same thought.
‘He must have his reasons, but I am truly curious…’
Blade Leaf Demon stood up and announced.
“Then, let the spar begin.”
He brought his raised hand down in a chopping motion, and with that, the spar commenced.
With a *crack*, the two shot forward, kicking off the ground. The floor of the training ground fractured slightly, but no one paid it any mind.
The two shattered the ground as they charged fiercely and collided.
*Clang!*
A tremendous metallic clang rang out as the Sun and Moon Sword met Un-pyo’s greatsword, and both were pushed back a full ten feet.
Un-pyo couldn't hide his bewilderment, and it wasn’t just because of Mu-heun’s ominous demonic energy.
‘I heard he didn’t take any elixirs, so what is this power?’
“How did you do that?”
“No questions, no answers.”
Mu-heun kicked off the ground and charged again.
*Boom!*
He thrust his sword toward Un-pyo’s side, and Un-pyo raised his greatsword to block. The moment his sword touched the greatsword, Mu-heun extended a thread of demonic energy along the blade of the Sun and Moon Sword and detonated it at the point of contact.
*Clang!*
An unexpected shockwave erupted where the sword and greatsword met. As Un-pyo was pushed back, Mu-heun moved swiftly, unleashing a fierce barrage.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Mu-heun’s sword strikes, flying in diagonally, were fast and powerful, yet they surged relentlessly like a single, continuous serpent.
Not to be outdone, Un-pyo gathered his energy and swung his greatsword, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was at a disadvantage.
‘He’s strong. This isn't good. I need to seize the momentum!’
Un-pyo focused energy into his legs and shattered the ground.
“Falling Flower Kick!”
*Crash!*
By shattering the ground, Un-pyo released a burst of energy that forced Mu-heun back slightly. At the same time, he swung his greatsword vertically.
*Swoosh!*
Mu-heun maintained his balance on the crumbling floor and deflected the greatsword, getting pushed back a little. Un-pyo did not miss that momentary opening and launched a blade wind.
“Leaf-Cutting Wind!”
Un-pyo’s blade energy flew toward Mu-heun.
Just then.
*Bang!*
Mu-heun detonated energy at his feet and leaped into the air. He moved fluidly over the blade energy, dodging it, then spun in mid-air and shot a sinister, demonic sword energy at Un-pyo.
*Swoosh!*
“Ugh!”
*Crash!*
Un-pyo hastily raised his greatsword to block the sword energy, but the impact jolted his body.
In that instant.
Mu-heun, who had closed the distance in a flash, swung his sword up diagonally from the lower right, knocking Un-pyo’s greatsword upward.
*Clang!*
Un-pyo barely held onto his weapon, but Mu-heun did not miss the opening and unleashed a fierce assault. And finally.
*Fling!*
Mu-heun’s Sun and Moon Sword sent Un-pyo’s greatsword flying into the sky.
*Whoosh—thud.*
Un-pyo’s greatsword flew through the air, spinning, before embedding itself in the ground.
“H-How can this be…”
Blade Leaf Demon watched with interest, while the others were utterly astonished.
Amidst the bewildered crowd, Blade Leaf Demon stood up and declared.
“The winner is the Fourth Young Master of the Heavenly Dance Family, Baek Mu-heun.”
As soon as Blade Leaf Demon announced the winner, Pa-sun ran over, shouting loudly.
“Hahahaha! As expected of my Lord!”
Mu-heun studied Blade Leaf Demon's face.
Surprise, interest.
Thankfully, there were no negative emotions.
Blade Leaf Demon shrugged and said.
“Un-pyo. Every time the Fourth Young Master swung his sword and clashed with yours, he detonated his internal energy at the most optimal place and position. It started from the very first moment his sword touched your greatsword.”
Mu-heun added to the explanation.
“If this had gone on longer, you, with your greater internal energy, might have had the advantage, Sir Un-pyo.”
“I-Is that really true? You seemed so at ease during the spar.”
“Haha, that’s why from the very beginning, I imbued each and every strike with a massive amount of internal energy and detonated it. To prevent you from having any other thoughts, Sir Un-pyo.”
“So that’s what it was.”
Blade Leaf Demon chimed in again.
“When you shattered the ground with Falling Flower Kick and then used a large-motion technique like Leaf-Cutting Wind, it was all induced by the Fourth Young Master. When you’re under a fierce assault, your mind becomes hasty, leading to such choices.”
Un-pyo was flustered, yet he had an epiphany.
The best method he could think of to counter Mu-heun’s fierce assault was to create distance by shattering the ground with the Falling Flower Kick and then attack with Leaf-Cutting Wind…
‘To think that was just me being manipulated.’
“And that’s how I proceeded to subdue you, Sir Un-pyo, after you lost your composure.”
“Do you understand now, Un-pyo? Internal energy isn’t everything.”
“Yes, Master.”
Un-pyo put down his greatsword and approached Mu-heun.
“I wanted to see for myself. I acknowledge your victory. And…”
Un-pyo paused for a moment.
“Allow me to pledge my loyalty. I wish to follow you as well.”
“……”
Mu-heun looked into Un-pyo’s eyes for a moment.
His speech was blunt and his thoughts weren't meticulous, but he was clearly a man with excellent intuition. His desire to follow was purely due to his own instincts.
‘Un-pyo’s decision was by no means influenced by Blade Leaf Demon’s recommendation. This man bets everything on his intuition. Having one person like this around should be fine.’
“Very well.”
“R-Really, sir!”
Mu-heun nodded.
*Thud!*
Un-pyo knelt and cupped his fist.
“I, Un-pyo, will henceforth serve Lord Mu-heun as my new master. Please accept my loyalty!”
“I’ll be counting on you.”
“Loyalty! From now on, I too shall call you Lord.”
“…Do as you wish.”
Blade Leaf Demon watched the scene with a pleased smile.
And so, Mu-heun gained two subordinates: Pa-sun and Un-pyo.
***
In the middle of the night, I sat on a deserted mountainside, circulating my energy.
“This is a heaven-defying martial art… A technique that amplifies energy explosively by clashing processed threads of demonic energy. But if I take an elixir pill, three threads will surely not be enough…”
I recalled my master’s teachings.
[Follow the circulation of the stars and create threads of demonic energy that envelop the innate true energy in the deepest part of your dantian.
From the fourth thread onward, double the number of clashing threads, but even finer control is required.
As they increase, maintain a uniform interval and speed so they do not collide with each other.
The explosion of threads meeting from eight directions can be called the Realm of the Fifth Star.]
‘Uniform speed and interval, and from eight directions. The Fifth Star…’
First, I must reach the fourth thread. Since I’ve done it before with my master’s help, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Furthermore, if I take the elixir, I should be able to reach eight threads in a single stroke.
‘I caught the Golden Fang Poison Claw, but he was nothing more than a pawn. The real target is the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, Dang Baek-ho. I must capture him.’
I need to become stronger. Stronger, to prove my strength at the Divine Dragon Assembly. I must show them that I am the right person to handle the conflict with the Sichuan Tang Clan.
I began to carefully control and divide the energy in my dantian. It wasn’t easy to split the flame-like energy, but I eventually succeeded.
Threads of demonic energy circulating the innate true energy. The three threads slowly separated to create another.
As if constellations were revolving, after delicate adjustments, the three threads rotating in my dantian became four.
As they maintained a constant interval without colliding, the energy resonated and amplified. Now, if I made them collide at a single point, the explosive power would be beyond imagination.
***
- A few days later, at the training ground.
I was conducting a guided sparring session with Pa-sun and Un-pyo.
“My Lord, what on earth happened?”
“My Lord, your internal energy has increased tremendously!”
“My Lord, have you surpassed the Peak realm?”
During the session, Pa-sun and Un-pyo were startled.
And they relentlessly poured out questions.
It was understandable. In just a few days, my internal energy had grown immensely.
I had only increased the threads of demonic energy swimming in my dantian from three to four, but the power was on a completely different level than before.
It might seem like a straightforward martial art at a glance, but if someone with immature energy control were to learn the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon, their dantian would explode, killing them. If not that, they would surely fall into Qi deviation, which was why it was called both a demonic and a divine art.
Following my Heavenly Demon master’s teachings, I succeeded in uniformly controlling the fine threads of energy, and the amplification of my internal energy grew several times larger and more powerful.
Not only had the amplified energy grown, but the recovery speed of my internal strength had also quickened, and the destructive power of my energy techniques had become so strong that comparing it to before was embarrassing.
I swung my sword at the questioning Pa-sun and Un-pyo.
*Crash!*
“Gah!”
“Kuh!”
Pa-sun and Un-pyo were sent flying.
“You’re still far from ready. Come at me again.”
“Yes…!”
Un-pyo and Pa-sun looked at me as if they couldn’t believe we were in the same Peak realm.
“Un-pyo, focus on condensing energy at the edge of your greatsword’s blade. Pa-sun, focus on exploding your internal strength at the tip of your spear.”
“Yes!”
“Be sharper, more precise.”
“Yes!”
“Refine your energy control.”
“Yes!!”
The Peak realm.
‘I’ve grown somewhat accustomed to using the four processed threads by clashing them.’
It wasn’t as much as when I was with my Heavenly Demon master, and the control was difficult without his help, but I seemed to have adapted now.
“You two will also have to participate in the Divine Dragon Assembly. You must prove your skills, so do not neglect your training until we return.”
“Yes!”
While diligently training myself, I also meticulously oversaw the training of Pa-sun and Un-pyo.
And a few nights later.
I climbed the mountainside again.
This time, I brought the elixir pill I received from Blade Leaf Demon.
‘I think the time has come.’
This time is different from before.
It’s something that could genuinely kill me, but it must be done.
Because if I don’t get stronger quickly, it will be meaningless.
After finding a patch of earth, I drew a circle with eight torches. On the soil, I drew a diagram with the ashes from the torches.
I added dry firewood to the eight flames.
*Fwoosh—*
The flames blazed joyfully, as if steeped in ecstasy.
I named this formation the Eight Flames Healing Formation. Then, I sat in the lotus position on the formation’s diagram.
Without hesitation, I swallowed the elixir pill.
The energy that entered my body was clear and pure.
The energy of Blade Leaf Valley was…
A colossal rock, as if struck by a cutting wind.
A deep valley between them.
A tree that grew from the valley.
Falling leaves.
The energy of the wind passing through a narrow gap.
The energy of the sky and water brought by the rain.
The energy of the earth that climbed the hard rock.
The energy of fire bestowed by the scorching summer sun.
The energy of life, created by the fusion of all these forces, spread throughout my body.
‘Hold it, hold it…’
I seized the energy that was scattering to every corner of my body.
And gathered it back to my dantian.
The four processed threads rotated rapidly, absorbing the energy flowing into my dantian.
‘The threads are getting bigger.’
The life energy, flowing in like a waterfall, gradually turned into sinister demonic energy and churned within my dantian.
“Keuk!”
‘Now.’
The suddenly swollen energy mixed with the demonic energy, causing fissures to appear throughout my body. I felt the pain of blood vessels tearing and meridians snapping, and blood flowed from my nose and ears.
The healing formation immediately activated, emitting light, and the flames positioned in eight directions burned even more fiercely.
As my energy and muscle meridians expanded through repeated cycles of damage and restoration, the vessel of my body grew larger.
‘Divide.’
I focused on the powerful threads churning in my dantian. The four threads began to divide violently. Four became eight, and their speed and intervals were adjusted to be constant.
All the remaining energy in my dantian was absorbed along the threads and stabilized, and the chaotic dantian slowly settled down.
‘Now for the final step. Collide.’
The eight threads, harboring a sinister demonic nature.
All the threads that had been swimming uniformly in my dantian rotated at a constant speed, and then…
*KABOOM—!*
…they collided at a single point.
With the explosion, it felt as if my dantian was being torn apart, and demonic energy raged throughout my body. Light shone from all my orifices, including my eyes, mouth, and ears.
The eight flames maintaining the healing formation reacted with my demonic energy and began to turn purple.
Soon, the flames floated into the air and gathered together, and the collected flames eventually formed the shape of flowers.
Three flowers.
Then, the purple blossoms slowly lost their form.
The flowers melted and flowed into my nose.
The Three Flowers, absorbed through my nose, entered my dantian.
Those flowers, too, rode upon the eight threads and created a stable melody.
The demonic energy was completely stabilized, but…
I lost consciousness.