Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Unleashing Innate Qi
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Namgung Hyeok brushed aside the Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands and Ghost Soul Palms that Guiyeong unleashed, letting out a hollow chuckle.
“You restored this?”
These were the martial arts of the Blood Dragon Sect, a school that had been wiped out long before Namgung Hyeok had even made his debut.
It had once been so formidable that it ranked among the top ten demonic arts.
If he had to compare, it was something on the level of Mount Hua Sect’s Plum Blossom Swordsmanship?
‘Lucky bastard.’
It was the Blood Dragon Sect that he had once fought tooth and nail against.
Naturally, he knew the Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands and Ghost Soul Palms inside and out, and later he had even devised ways to counter them.
He had disassembled and reassembled the Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands and Ghost Soul Palms anew, so he prided himself that no one in the world knew these arts better than he did.
That was why, regardless of the gap in skill with Guiyeong, Namgung Hyeok could effortlessly dodge and dismantle his techniques.
It was no different from solving a problem when you already knew the answer.
And Namgung Hyeok possessed the Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art.
Pure, pristine inner energy without a speck of impurity.
This inner energy instantly purified the sinister qi of the Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands and Ghost Soul Palms, making it their perfect counter.
‘This is easier than I thought.’
His opponent was unlucky, and he was fortunate.
In a life-or-death situation, that gap was even more astronomical.
Namgung Hyeok laughed as he pushed back the Ghost Soul Palm.
“You picked the wrong opponent, didn’t you?”
Guiyeong’s pupils trembled for a moment before steadying.
“How dare you!”
The aura surging from his body grew even more ferocious.
A阴森 qi dyed his hands black.
“I’ll kill you!”
With a savage roar, Guiyeong charged at Namgung Hyeok.
His pride wouldn’t allow him to back down now.
‘No way. He might counter my arts, but he can’t overcome the difference in power!’
No matter how much one knew the counters, if they couldn’t execute them, it was just scraps of paper.
He knew the gap between himself and Namgung Hyeok firsthand from clashing directly.
It was true that Namgung Hyeok was abnormally strong for his age, but he still fell far short.
There were clear differences in physical movement, reaction speed, and the sheer volume of inner energy.
That difference caused the same situation to repeat like a hamster wheel.
Guiyeong attacked, Namgung Hyeok countered by dismantling the art and striking back, and Guiyeong swiftly dodged and attacked again.
Guiyeong pressed Namgung Hyeok even more fiercely.
Skakakakakak!
He clawed at everything around, narrowing the space.
If even one strike landed!
If it connected properly just once!
He was confident he could tear Namgung Hyeok to shreds.
Bloodshot veins filled Guiyeong’s eyes as Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands and Ghost Soul Palms rained down in succession.
Inner energy capable of splitting and shattering steel in an instant.
“How long do you plan to keep dodging! You planning to get cornered and die?!”
Amid the storm of powerful shockwaves, Namgung Hyeok shook precariously like a raft.
Guiyeong continued his assault, taunting him.
“I’ll kill you soon. Regretting it now won’t help!”
The Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands savagely raked straight ahead.
Sasasasasak!
The Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands barely grazed over Namgung Hyeok’s clothes.
Namgung Hyeok’s eyes gleamed as he drew his sword.
Triple Thunder Sword Technique!
Pajijijijik! Kwarururung!
Sword qi extending over five feet thickly scattered lightning bolts, pursuing Guiyeong as he retreated.
Kwaaaang!
With a massive boom, Guiyeong was pushed back with a look of dismay.
But he soon twisted his face ferociously and charged again to devour Namgung Hyeok.
Skaang! Kangkang! Kang!
Over ten exchanges clashed in the air with a single sword stroke, and Guiyeong was sent staggering back.
Yet as if utterly unfazed, he lunged right back in.
‘This could drag on forever.’
He was just one step short.
Even reading and predicting the opponent’s movements, stepping ahead first—the difference in their raw power was too stark.
The gap between Guiyeong and the Changgung Pavilion Leader was like heaven and earth.
The Changgung Pavilion Leader was someone he could overcome with past experience and insight.
But Guiyeong fell short of that.
His current body couldn’t keep up with his experience and realizations, and the difference in inner energy volume limited how much he could close the gap with Namgung Hyeok.
Namgung Hyeok’s eyes darted left and right.
‘……Should I just go all out?’
Even his signature ultimate technique would easily cover that one step.
The problem was getting caught using a Demonic Cult technique right in the middle of the Namgung family.
After all, he was supposed to be a successor of the Namgung family, not a Demon.
Using Demonic Cult arts as the Namgung family’s second young master…… damn it.
Annoying, but no choice.
All Namgung Hyeok could do now was dismantle Guiyeong’s techniques.
Both were bloodshot-eyed, desperate to land a single decisive blow on the other.
Namgung Hyeok grimaced as he tore through the Ghost Soul Palm Guiyeong unleashed.
He could see everything, so why couldn’t he finish it!
“Damn! This is frustrating as hell!”
He tossed aside any calm mindset.
Relieving the frustration came first.
“Can’t take it anymore. I’ll burst if I hold back.”
Guiyeong furrowed his brow at Namgung Hyeok muttering to himself.
“What nonsense is that!”
Namgung Hyeok glanced at Guiyeong and took a breath.
‘Yeah, I was planning to try it anyway.’
No harm in doing it now.
It was just pulling forward something he’d have to attempt eventually.
‘Opening the middle dantian.’
The human body has three dantians.
The lower dantian that holds inner energy, the middle dantian where innate qi resides, and the upper dantian where the soul dwells.
To reach the pinnacle of ascension, one must open these dantians and learn to wield their power.
A process that was inevitable someday.
After briefly regulating his breathing, Namgung Hyeok opened his middle dantian without a hint of hesitation.
Wuuuuuung-!
The middle dantian was the vessel for innate qi.
Innate qi was the energy everyone possessed from birth.
It was life force, and at the same time, potential.
A place imbued with immeasurable, unfathomable power.
Utterly different in nature from the inner energy artificially accumulated in the lower dantian.
Whiiiuuuuuu!
The middle dantian opened, and surging innate qi could be felt.
‘Just a tiny bit.’
A single grain of millet…… no, a speck of dust.
Innate qi gushed from his heart and swirled according to the incantation of the Heaven-Cleav ing Bright King Art.
Sseuuuuu!
His muscles throbbed as volcanic heat coursed through his entire body.
A blue gleam burst from Namgung Hyeok’s eyes.
Guiyeong flinched and gasped.
An absurd wave of qi pressure emanated from Namgung Hyeok.
A shocking aura that crushed bones and muscles.
Under the immense pressure, Guiyeong shouted without thinking.
“You bastard! What the hell did you just do?!”
How could this tenacious bastard, clinging like a wet leaf, suddenly erupt with such power!
Had he been hiding his strength all this time?
‘No, that can’t be!’
If so?
A chill ran down his spine, goosebumps rising as cold sweat trickled.
In that instant, a blue flame close to white ignited from Namgung Hyeok’s sword.
Pajijijijik! Pajik!
Lightning near white light flashed and flickered.
Pure white flames rose, instantly transforming Namgung Hyeok’s aura.
Hwaaaak!
Kung!
As Namgung Hyeok took a step forward, an overwhelming pressure surged.
Guiyeong’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
“……!”
Kuung!
The ground seemed to sink as he advanced another step.
Was this really the same opponent he’d been pressing moments ago?
Kuung!
Namgung Hyeok stepped forward again.
Overwhelmed by the pressure radiating from him, Guiyeong instinctively retreated a step.
‘I…… me…… feeling fear?’
Shame overrode instinct, lifting his head.
Feeling such emotion from a mere brat cracked his pride, swiftly turning to rage.
“You bastard!”
Ghost Soul Palm qi gathered in his palms.
Kiyaaaaaaaak!
With a chilling wail of ghosts and spirits, Ghost Soul Palms erupted from Guiyeong’s palms.
Pitch-black palm strikes enveloped Namgung Hyeok.
Just as the terrifying palm force laden with ominous energy was about to smash into him.
Kuuung!
Namgung Hyeok’s Imperial Supremacy Stance stamped the ground.
At the same time, the Heaven-Cleaving Bright King Art infused with innate qi rotated furiously.
Kwarururung!
Pajijijik!
Thunderous energy converged on Namgung Hyeok’s sword.
He lightly thrust his sword toward the oncoming palm force of Ghost Soul Palm.
Azure lightning flashed along the casually extended blade.
A dragon imbued with lightning soared up the sword blade, and with a dazzling flash, the thunder dragon smashed into the Ghost Soul Palm.
Flaaash!
Pure white light enveloped the surroundings.
Kwaaaaaang!
A belated roar like dozens of thunderbolts exploding at once reverberated.
“Keoeoeok!”
Guiyeong vomited blood and was flung back five zhang, crashing into the wall with a thud.
“Kuhuk! Khek!”
Guiyeong’s pupils shook violently.
It had all happened in an instant.
Blood dripped from the cracks in his mask, soaking the floor.
But he didn’t even register it, his gaze fixed on Namgung Hyeok sheathing his sword.
‘T-This can’t be!’
Grinding his teeth as he watched the lightning scattering in the air, Guiyeong bit down hard.
He couldn’t believe it.
A single move.
Just one move had reduced him to this—it was utterly inconceivable.
“Kraaaaaah!”
Guiyeong charged wildly at Namgung Hyeok.
Leaving dozens of afterimages in the air, he slid toward him.
He unleashed Ghost Soul Palm and Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands with all his might.
“Die!”
Dozens of palm strikes and shockwaves fell like a meteor shower, poised to pulverize Namgung Hyeok’s body at any moment.
Namgung Hyeok clenched his fist.
Huuuung!
Qi swirled around his fist like a vortex, warping space itself, then he thrust it forward.
The vortex drawn into his fist erupted all at once.
Puhwaaak!
The palm forces of Blood Yin Dragon Claw Hands and Ghost Soul Palms were swept into the vortex Namgung Hyeok created, vanishing without a trace like candles before the wind.
“This is…….”
Peueok!
At the dull, alien sound, Guiyeong’s eyes bulged.
A vortex formed on his upper body, then blood sprayed as his shoulder vanished.
“……!”
A fist technique with absurd destructive power.
Soul-Shattering Fist.
“Kraaaak!”
Guiyeong screamed, clutching his shoulder.
Time, which had seemed frozen, suddenly raced forward.
Hudaduduk!
Blood poured onto the floor, fragments bounced from where the Soul-Shattering Fist’s gale had passed, kicking up dust.
Namgung Hyeok was slightly flustered.
‘……Whoa, too flashy.’
The reflexive Soul-Shattering Fist’s trait had stood out too much.
“Kuhuhuhuk!”
Guiyeong gritted his teeth, his shoulder trembling.
His organs twisted, bringing excruciating pain.
“T-This can’t happen. I-I can’t end up like this…….”
The approaching Namgung Hyeok looked pitch-black.
Creeping dread began devouring his heart.
It felt like staring at a mountain whose peak was invisible.
He’d never imagined feeling this toward a brat.
But it was undeniable reality.
Guiyeong’s eyes darted left and right rapidly.
The battlefield’s momentum had already shifted to the Namgung family.
With even he reduced to this, the plan was as good as failed.
Dying here would be a dog’s death.
Guiyeong pressed pressure points to staunch his shoulder’s bleeding and turned to flee without hesitation.
Or tried to.
Seokeuk!
“Ku, kheok!”
His side was sliced open, throwing off his balance as he collapsed.
Trembling, he looked back.
Namgung Hyeok approached with the same impassive face as before.
Blue light flowed from his eyes.
Kung…… kuung…… kuung!
An immense pressure squeezed his heart.
Guiyeong desperately crawled away from Namgung Hyeok.
“N-No! I have to tell Him…… stay back, stay back! Stay back-!”
Guiyeong’s eyes rolled back halfway.
“Huaaaaaah!”
Screaming a ghost wail, Guiyeong lunged at Namgung Hyeok.
A mutual destruction technique.
If he couldn’t escape, he’d at least take him down with him.
But.
Peueok!
“Kheok!”
Triple Thunder Sword Technique slammed into Guiyeong’s abdomen, and Namgung Hyeok grabbed his throat, slamming him to the ground.
Infused with the essence of Soul-Shattering Fist, it carried a thousand jin of force.
Kwaaang!
“Kuhuk!”
Guiyeong vomited blood again.
Struggling to focus his blurring vision, he stared straight at Namgung Hyeok.
“Y-You…… to Him…… interfere…….”
Namgung Hyeok tilted his head.
“Him?”
“He will…… you…….”
“I’ve heard ‘Him’ at least ten times already, punk.”
“You…….”
“Screw Him. Think about what happened to all the guys who called someone ‘Him’ in front of me.”
Namgung Hyeok tightened his grip.
Kwak!
Guiyeong, flailing on the ground, was yanked up.
“Ku, kukeuk!”
Watching the struggling Guiyeong, Namgung Hyeok raised his sword.
Puwook!
“Every one of them ended up like this.”
Namgung Hyeok severed his breath in one go and tossed Guiyeong to the ground.
Kuung!
Guiyeong’s twitching body spilled hot blood onto the floor before going still.
‘Huuu!’
Namgung Hyeok exhaled deeply.
“Aah! Feels damn good!”
How long had it been since he last savored this sensation!
A vortex in Soul-Shattering Fist!
It was still nothing compared to his past power.
The reality that he needed innate qi against Guiyeong’s level was depressing.
“……Innate qi’s draining.”
Wow, so empty.
The fullness of innate qi ebbed away like a receding tide, leaving emptiness.
Namgung Hyeok turned his head.
“Let’s clean up before it all drains.”
Then Guiyeong’s last words came to mind, and he grumbled.
Him?
‘Who’s “Him” this time?’
Namgung Hyeok clicked his tongue and turned his gaze toward the battlefield’s end.