Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Stage to Crown a Divine Dragon
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The cheers of the cultists were like thunder, ceaseless, and the drumbeats echoing through the Heavenly Mountains were as steady as a heart, announcing the finals of the Divine Dragon Assembly to the entire world.
Two individuals received all the applause and anticipation: Seol Ha-ryeong of the Sacred Fire Palace, who had frozen the Heaven and Earth Lake, and Baek Mu-heun of the Heavenly Dance Family, who had utterly demolished the dueling stage.
Now, only these two remained in the waiting area for the Divine Dragon Assembly…
“You tore through the Sword Demon Family’s ultimate technique with a ferocious black dragon. It was quite a sight.”
“Ah. Yes? Haha.”
Seol Ha-ryeong spoke to Mu-heun, still smiling.
“I also enjoyed watching you mercilessly freeze that audacious tiger. Your mastery of the Ice Arts is quite impressive.”
“Hoho. The thought of that ferocious black dragon flying toward a delicate woman like myself… it’s a little frightening. Hoho.”
“You’re far too modest.”
“…I hope it will be a good match.”
“Haha, I won’t be holding back.”
When Mu-heun said he wouldn’t hold back, Seol Ha-ryeong retorted sharply.
“…Let’s see you try. I won’t go down so easily either.”
Just then, Gu Yeom shouted.
“The final match is between Seol Ha-ryeong of the Sacred Fire Palace and Baek Mu-heun of the Heavenly Dance Family!”
Seol Ha-ryeong and Mu-heun looked at each other, gave a short nod, and headed toward the dueling stage.
Waaaaaaaaaah!
The spectators roared. It was only natural, as this was finally the final match of the Divine Dragon Assembly. However, some of the distinguished guests in the Sun and Moon Hall could not hide their tension.
“Divine Maiden, what do you think the outcome of today’s match will be?”
The Killing Palace Lord, Cho Seon-neung, asked excitedly.
“Hmm… I’m not sure.”
But the Sun and Moon Divine Maiden merely frowned.
“Not sure? You say that even after watching the match between Baek Mu-heun and Ma Tae-pyeong yesterday? Hoho, it seems Seol Ha-ryeong is quite strong then?”
“I do not know how strong that child is myself.”
“You don’t know? Is Seol Ha-ryeong not your disciple?”
“She is and she isn’t. She was originally the disciple of the Ice Demon, Yeon A-ryeong. I took in the child after she was abandoned, but she is one who rarely reveals her true self…”
“So that’s why you said you weren’t sure.”
At that moment, Cheon Ji-gyeong of the Law Palace spoke up.
“Hahahahaha! What does any of that matter? We’re about to find out!”
*Thump!*
The drum sounded, and Gu Yeom asked the two combatants.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!”
The completely shattered dueling stage had been cleared away, and a new one now floated on the lake's surface.
“Then, let the match begin!”
Gu Yeom shouted loudly before immediately taking refuge outside the lake. From what he had seen so far, he knew better than anyone that the stage would not survive a clash between these two.
The first to move was Seol Ha-ryeong. She unfurled her fan and drew a straight line from above her head down to the ground.
“Realm of Myriad Ice, Snow, and Clouds.”
*Saaaaaah*
A mist of cold energy flowed out along the line she had drawn. Next, Seol Ha-ryeong opened her fan again and spun in a circle.
The water of the Heaven and Earth Lake rose with the wind, met the yin energy in the sky, and fell as snowflakes. Finally, she closed her fan and stabbed it into the ground.
*Crack-crack-crack-crack*
Ice spread out, following the cracks in the dueling stage.
The ice, radiating a powerful chill, reached the edge of the stage and touched the lake, which froze as solid as the eternal ice of a snowy mountain.
*Crack. Crack.*
As she pushed the cold energy to its absolute limit, cracking sounds came from the frozen lake.
At the same time, the spectators in the stands began to tremble.
*Shiver-shiver-shiver*
“What is this? It’s too cold.”
“I know, were the Ice Arts always this powerful?”
“This is on the level of changing the entire season!”
Seol Ha-ryeong’s yin arts had lowered the temperature of the Heaven and Earth Lake itself.
“Do you think you’ll win just by creating an advantageous environment again?”
“Of course!”
‘Snow Cloud Swords.’
The gently falling snowflakes sharpened within the chilly mist, forged into swords of ice.
Seol Ha-ryeong then used her fan arts to create a wind that carved away the ice of the lake.
“Carved Ice, Mountain of Snow.”
The eternal ice of the frozen lake soared high into the sky, shattering into fine particles to form a mountain of snow.
“Thousand-Mile Avalanche.”
A massive avalanche of snow erupted.
Seol Ha-ryeong’s ultimate techniques poured out without a moment’s rest.
This was the first time she had revealed her full power. It was only natural. Anyone who had watched the match between Baek Mu-heun and Ma Tae-pyeong from start to finish would know the extent of Mu-heun’s martial prowess.
‘To possess such martial arts at an age just past his coming-of-age ceremony, Young Master Sa will become an untouchable god of war in the future.’
Therefore, this was practically her last chance to defeat him.
Ma Tae-pyeong of the Sword Demon Family. Among the descendants of the Demonic Cult, he was one of the five strongest. But Baek Mu-heun, who had overwhelmed him, was surely… the strongest of them all. To defeat such a person, she had to create every necessary condition.
She shot frozen snow swords from within the mist and unleashed an avalanche created from the lake.
Even as she poured out such ultimate techniques, Seol Ha-ryeong did not let down her guard.
‘This can’t be the end.’
“Crystal Cold Light Art.”
She surrounded herself with a defensive art as hard as steel.
Dozens of ice pillars rose around Seol Ha-ryeong, their crystal-like sheen minimizing shadows to defend against any unforeseen attacks.
‘Crystal Ice Swords. Open.’
She refined the swords she had made from snow within the mist. The crystal ice swords, now several times harder, floated in the air.
‘Strike.’
The crystal swords, reflecting a rainbow of light, shot forward at high speed.
“Realm of the Yin Demon’s Frost.”
The ground, too, was frozen solid. All her preparations were complete.
Just then.
“Thunderclap Sword of the Heavenly Demon's Advent.”
In an instant, a purple flame soared into the sky.
***
Mu-heun watched the countless snow swords flying toward him and thought.
‘In a way, they are truly beautiful swords.’
He watched the approaching snow swords until the very last moment. Then, he danced, gliding across the frozen ground.
Perhaps the footwork of the Heavenly Dance Family was well-suited for a slippery sheet of ice. As he danced, Mu-heun dodged every single incoming snow sword by a hair’s breadth.
But soon, an unavoidable, wide-ranging avalanche came crashing down.
‘Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon, Sword of Obscurity.’
From the tip of Mu-heun’s sword, a dark, blackish-purple ink flowed out and spread through the air. The black, rock-like wall it created enveloped him.
*Kwakwakwakwang!*
He had blocked what was like an avalanche, but through it came crystal ice swords, several times sharper and harder than the snow swords.
Mu-heun emerged from the black sphere and, wrapping a purplish-black dragon around his sword tip, swung his blade as if in a dance.
He struck the sides of the crystal swords at high speed, deflecting their trajectories. Because he could distribute the precise amount of force at the perfect spots, the fiercely flying crystal swords couldn't even graze his body.
However.
‘The yin energy on the stage is growing thicker. I can’t just leave it be.’
Mu-heun spun his sword in a circle and pointed it toward the sky.
The tip of the sword vibrated, and the atmosphere distorted. A scorching demonic fire rose like a shimmering heat haze.
In truth, Mu-heun hadn't just been dodging since the start of the match. While Seol Ha-ryeong had been blanketing the entire stage with yin energy, Mu-heun had been preparing the Myriad Fragrance. He had completed the formation for a thunderstorm with the Myriad Fragrance that now covered the sky.
He judged that it was now time to strike, one step ahead of Seol Ha-ryeong, and unleashed his Heavenly Demon Ki to manifest the thunderstorm formation.
“Thunderclap Sword of the Heavenly Demon's Advent.”
In an instant, a purple flame soared into the sky.
The distorted atmosphere exploded, and a ferocious black dragon shot up into the heavens. The dragon tore through the sky, creating black storm clouds. Soon, the heavens roiled, and hundreds of black lightning bolts struck down.
Even the Cult Leader, standing atop the Sun and Moon Hall, couldn't help but be astonished. The black lightning Mu-heun had just manifested had nothing to do with the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon. No, perhaps it was better to call it an application.
*CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!*
The earth-shaking sound of thunder tore through the summit of Heaven and Earth Peak, creating a terrifying noise that would make anyone fall prostrate.
Thunder and lightning struck down violently, and the crystal ice swords and ice pillars Seol Ha-ryeong had created were instantly shattered like porcelain in a storm.
*KWAAAAANG!*
A massive explosion engulfed the entire dueling stage on Heaven and Earth Lake.
A few seconds later.
The stage was shrouded in dust…
Seol Ha-ryeong and Mu-heun were still standing, unharmed.
Seol Ha-ryeong had pushed her internal energy to its limit to create a barrier of ice, barely managing to survive the black lightning storm.
Just then, Mu-heun raised his Sun and Moon Sword and focused his internal energy to a single point. Finely processed demonic ki swirled at the tip of his sword, collided, and created a chain of explosions.
“Purple Sun Art.”
*Fwoooosh!*
The Heavenly Demon Ki gathered at the sword's tip blazed to life. It was a flame that undeniably resembled the fire within the Sacred Fire Palace.
Before long, the purple-glowing flame grew larger, becoming a raging inferno that rose above the stage. The black dragon that had been coiling in the sky descended and clenched the flames into a sphere.
In an instant, the ball of fire held by the black dragon hovered above Mu-heun.
The extreme yin energy that had frozen not just the stage but the entire Heaven and Earth Lake rapidly subsided, and everyone shivering in the stands was greeted by the energy of a scorching sun.
“What the, all the chill is gone.”
“That purple ball of fire must have driven away all of Seol Ha-ryeong’s yin energy.”
The audience couldn't hide their excitement at the wondrous sight, while everyone in the VIP section was aghast.
Seol Ha-ryeong of the Sacred Fire Palace was far stronger than they had imagined. Her martial prowess was indistinguishable between a Transcendent Master and a Peak Master. It seemed she possessed a skill that even the previous Ma Tae-pyeong could not have easily defeated.
However, the Heavenly Dance Family’s Young Master Sa, who still overwhelmed her, was on a completely different level from all other descendants of the Demonic Cult.
“The Transcendent Realm!”
The Lord of Mong-o Pavilion shouted, and all the other distinguished guests agreed. That was undoubtedly the Transcendent Realm.
“To think he was hiding his true power until the finals!”
“Family Head of the Heavenly Dance, did you know about this?”
“Hoho, I had no idea myself.”
Even the Heavenly Dance Family Head, Baek Gun-hak, was on the verge of fainting from shock. The Azure Dragon Unit was speechless, and Geum-ryeong, the Lord of the Moon Spirit Unit, had her eyes wide open.
Everyone watching the current state of the dueling stage felt it.
The Heavenly Dance Family’s Young Master Sa, Baek Mu-heun, was…
[ Already at the level of an Elder! ]
The one most shocked of all was Seol Ha-ryeong.
‘First lightning arts, and now an energy of extreme yang? What in the world is he?’
Moreover, his lightning arts seemed to tear the very sky apart, boasting enough destructive power to shatter all her steel-hard crystal ice. And now, this energy of extreme yang created the illusion that he had summoned the sun itself.
It was powerful enough to instantly erase the extreme yin energy she had spent time accumulating.
“Is… is this even possible?”
“You see it, yet you can’t believe it?”
Mu-heun said with a sneer.
“You…”
Seol Ha-ryeong’s pride was wounded. The situation had clearly been in her favor. That was the advantage of the Ice Arts. She had been confident she could defeat any master at the peak level.
But… every attack she had so confidently prepared had been blocked, and the stage she had set was now in ruins.
All she could see before her was…
*Sizzle-sizzle*
…a blazing purple sun.
It was a desperate situation.
Mu-heun’s expression was blank.
Seol Ha-ryeong had lost her composure.
Just then, Mu-heun smiled once more and said.
“This is just the beginning, is it not?”
“O-of course!”
Seol Ha-ryeong, having lost all the composure she had shown until now, grew anxious. She had intended to bring the golden plaque of the Divine Dragon to the Sacred Fire Palace. As a master who had reached the pinnacle of the peak realm and could freely wield the Ice Arts, she thought it was entirely possible.
But what was this? A divine being who overwhelmed everyone had appeared. And he was a completely different person from the one she had seen during the Heavenly Dance Festival.
The Heavenly Dance Family’s Young Master Sa.
‘It’s all or nothing. If I can’t end this in one blow, I have no chance of winning.’
Seol Ha-ryeong prepared her final strike. She compressed the extreme yin energy in her dantian again and again before drawing it out.
A highly condensed yin energy gathered at the tip of her fan. It was an ultra-dense ice art, concentrating all the ultimate techniques she had used so far into a single point.
“Let’s end this with one strike.”
‘Twenty Snow Blossoms. One Point Hundred Flowers. Full Moon Art.’
Mu-heun gave a faint smile and replied.
“I will accept it.”