Chapter 28: Training in the Ice White Divine Art (3)
Chapter 28: Training in the Ice White Divine Art (3)
The world was white as though covered in snow. The immense Yin Cold Qi of the Ice White Divine Art had grown so powerful that its frigid energy began affecting the surrounding environment, coating everything in frost.
From within that landscape bloomed a single white plum blossom.
As though signaling the beginning, it was soon followed by a profusion of blossoms until an entire flower field had formed in moments.
"Try to dodge them."
The Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the pride of the Mount Hua Sect, unfolded in Seol Yu-ran's hands. Though not quite a divine weapon like Chi-chi's Asura Demon Spear, her treasured sword "Snow Tears" was undoubtedly a famed blade worthy of the title. It resonated with the frigid energy she wielded.
The technique she unleashed was the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, yet the internal energy itself was that of the Ice White Divine Art—perhaps for this reason?
In this pristine white world, the vividly bloomed petals of white plum blossoms scattered and surged forth like a tempest.
It was a beautiful sight—so blindingly exquisite that one could scarcely perceive the tremendous cold energy and sharp martial intent infused into each of those petals.
"Master?! I'll die like this!"
"You must pay the price for provoking your master. Break through this trial solely with the Yin Cold Qi you currently possess."
"That's too harsh?!"
Beautiful though it was, if I got caught in this petal-filled blizzard, I'd be torn to shreds and die a miserable death.
Murderous intent aside, she had unleashed such a lethal sword technique purely to gauge my true strength as a Peak Realm master. It was merely a test—of course there was no intent to kill.
Naturally, when I said it was difficult, I didn't mean it was outright impossible.
I threw myself into the storm of petals.
Trusting in my Diamond Indestructible Body, I repelled the martial intent with my hands and wrapped my Yin Cold Qi around myself in the shape of the Great Ultimate to let the frigid energy flow past. Through Void Treading, I twisted and turned mid-air, employing all my limbs in acrobatic maneuvers.
For someone like me, who maintained constant cerebral expansion and acceleration through Lightning Qi, this level of ultra-precise calculation wasn't particularly hard.
If this had been difficult, I would've long given up on martial techniques like attractive force and repulsive force.
As I broke through the blizzard of plum-shaped petals using only a trace of Yin Cold Qi and my physical body, Seol Yu-ran's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"I didn't expect you to overcome that with pure technique alone."
"This disciple may not look it, but I specialize in technique."
"So it seems. Given your appearance, I assumed you'd rely on brute force like the Green Forest King, fighting with your fists alone."
"...That's prejudice."
True, I had blond hair and tanned skin, and while I didn't dislike such brawling fights, I wasn't some muscle-brained fool who mindlessly charged ahead. I simply chose the most efficient means for any given situation.
'Has the Green Forest King still not been replaced?'
In the original story, the Green Forest King was killed, and his disciple rose as the new Green Forest King, initiating a reformation.
"Truly, a Peak Realm master is different. Until now, I'd never crossed swords with a martial artist on equal footing like this."
"Huh? Then... your master wasn't a Peak Realm master?"
"Master suffered from illness. Unlike my husband, he couldn't withstand the backlash of having his dantian shattered."
"Ah."
For a martial artist, an injury to the dantian is a grave matter. A minor injury would cause internal damage, a severe one would result in uncontrolled energy leakage similar to incontinence, and a complete destruction would disrupt the body's balance maintained through internal energy—leading to death nine times out of ten.
Wi Ji-ja survived the destruction of his dantian only because he was relatively young. Under normal circumstances, one simply dies.
Given that Seol Yu-ran's master likely held the position of elder within the Mount Hua Sect, he must have been quite old.
The aging he had been staving off must have overwhelmed him all at once due to an enemy's ruthless attack that shattered his dantian without mercy.
In fact, it was nothing short of miraculous that despite suffering a shattered dantian and severe illness, he still managed to nurture a successor like Seol Yu-ran.
"What an incredible individual."
"Incredible indeed. Despite his shattered dantian, he even used his Innate True Qi to impart teachings to this unworthy disciple."
"...I see."
That meant he had truly staked his life to nurture a successor. It wasn't for nothing that she, who possessed the Ice White Divine Art, contented herself with the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
This was her way of honoring her master's legacy.
"Well then, enough idle talk. Let us resume our spar."
The frigid energy flowing from her pure white blade grew even sharper. The fact that I—someone who had achieved Immunity to Heat and Cold on the path to the Diamond Indestructible Body—could distinctly feel this chill meant Seol Yu-ran's mastery was no trivial matter to dismiss.
Judging by the fact that I could read her level, she probably hadn't mastered the Transcendent Heart Art. Still, she was at the Peak Realm.
It looked as though she'd pushed right up to the very threshold of Super Peak.
"Then this time, I'll make the first move....Be careful."
Was that quiet, worried advice she offered afterward a sign that she was beginning to accept me as her disciple? And the fact that she was letting her true feelings show must mean she also acknowledged me as a martial artist in my own right.
Well, if she didn't acknowledge a Super Peak master, what martial artist would be left for her to acknowledge?
As expected of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique, which took swiftness and illusion as its foundation.
Rather than the petals that had been fluttering a moment ago, the blossoming plum itself unfolded before me like an illusion, then surged toward me. It was a simple charge and thrust, but the minute changes within that thrust took shape as sword energy and split into seven sword points.
And yet, instead of the gentleness one might expect from a blossoming flower, a chill like a blizzard followed in its wake.
Part of me wanted to smash through it head-on with True Thunder, but I forced myself to hold back.
For now, I'd decided to expend my inner power only on Yin Cold Qi so I could train the Ice White Divine Art. And with that inner power, there was no way I could stop those plum blossoms in the snow.
So I let them slide past me.
I raised Protective Aura with Yin Cold Qi, refined it, and compressed it.
I refined the Protective Aura until it was shaped like real armor, then compressed it like a guard over my vitals, vastly increasing its durability over a limited area. Once again, I threw myself toward Seol Yu-ran's sword points and drove my shoulder into her with an Iron Mountain Charge.
The sword points hammered against the refined Protective Aura, compressed to its utmost limit, but they couldn't pierce it and bounced away.
Startled, Seol Yu-ran hurriedly raised Snow Tears, which she had been about to thrust forward as the final blossom, and used it to block my Iron Mountain Charge.
Clang!
The impact was enough to make my shoulder blade tingle. If even I, with my Diamond Indestructible Body, felt this much, how great must the shock have been when it traveled through Seol Yu-ran's hands?
Whether in a spar or anything else, it was always essential to calculate how to get the most out of the least. There were times when that didn't apply, of course, but most of the time, it did.
In other words, the plum-blossom stabs scattered across my body were shallow and had done little damage.
Meanwhile, Seol Yu-ran, who had taken the force of my Iron Mountain Charge—backed by my Diamond Indestructible Body—with her sword, was trembling in both hands, as though the shock still hadn't faded.
In the long run, I was the one losing out, but in the short run, during a spar where a split second could decide the winner, she was at a greater disadvantage.
But she seemed not to care about that, focusing instead on something else as she asked me,
"That's a combat style that takes the principle of Cut the Flesh to Save the Bone and makes it crude. Is it so fierce when it comes to becoming the head of the Post-Nut Clarity Sect?"
We'd only fought for a little while, but she was already trying to read my life. In that respect, she was better than Chi-chi. Was it the wisdom of experience?
In truth, I had possessed Namgung Gang-o's body and had his memories, but I didn't have his experiences. If I had to put it precisely, I knew of them from the record, but I hadn't experienced them myself.
Even so, the brief time I'd spent in the Namgung Clan before escaping had been enough to show me that, for all its reputation as one of the Five Great Clans, it was a fucked-up place.
The time had been short—less than a year—but I'd had more than my share of filthy experiences. I was so glad I hadn't learned the Namgung Clan's Hegemon Sword Form like the protagonist of the original novel that I desperately wanted to sever all ties with them.
It was so bad that even I, the Lust Demon, wanted nothing to do with its women.
"Other than the fact that the Post-Nut Clarity Sect is more debauched than the Red Pavilion, it's a peaceful sect with a peaceful code. It was just the place I lived before joining the Post-Nut Clarity Sect that was fierce."
"...I see. I understand your life."
Seol Yu-ran's expression turned wistful for a moment. She had clearly mistaken something, but—
I didn't feel any need to correct her, so I focused on the spar.
Seol Yu-ran also took up a stance to perform the next form of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique. A flash followed, and she and I danced with hand and sword. The exchange continued at a speed that was hard for the eye to follow.
In speed, strength, skill—in everything, she was below me. But the decisive difference in our inner power made it difficult for me to seize the advantage.
I had a feeling that at this rate, it would be hard to decide the match properly.
I'd win if we kept fighting like this, though.
Even if I used up all my Yin Cold Qi, my Diamond Indestructible Body and skill would remain. I'd have a hard time of it, but unless Seol Yu-ran mastered the Transcendent Heart Art or something, I was confident I could win.
But this was training in the Ice White Divine Art—winning through such means held little meaning.
My determination to conquer Seol Yu-ran hadn't changed, but since I'd gone to the trouble of learning the North Sea's divine art, I might as well master it properly.
Though I was already the Number One Under Heaven, it wasn't as if I had no desire to further elevate my martial prowess—not just through the Thunder Heaven Divine Art, but also through the Yin-Yang Sexual Art.
How should I handle the Ice White Divine Art?
Just as people have their own individuality, so too do the martial arts they practice—yet those arts also transform depending on the practitioner. Its profundity was in no way inferior to that of physics or mathematics.
I had to elevate the Ice White Divine Art into a true divine art in my own way.
Of course, there was no harm in taking hints from how others used it.
In the original smut novel, the only martial artist who wielded the Ice White Divine Art was Seol Yu-ran, who appeared as an avenger. With the North Sea Ice Palace destroyed, there were no other inheritors of this art.
That avenger version of her used it to freeze the atmosphere, slowing her surroundings while amplifying her own Yin Cold Qi.
She would create an environment advantageous to herself, then overwhelm her opponents in every aspect—output, skill—with her Plum Blossom Sword Technique, empowered by the strengthened Yin Cold Qi. That was the combat style of Seol Yu-ran, the Avenger.
However, my Yin Cold Qi wasn't abundant enough to shape the surroundings so favorably, so I could only take it as a reference.
Still, there was one thing I could learn from.
Users of Ice Art create something.
From the very beginning, it was a martial art that formed ice and frigid air through Yin Cold Qi—freezing opponents to slow them down and inflict frostbite on their muscles. With the Yin Cold Qi of the Ice White Divine Art, the pinnacle of such techniques, creating something should be as easy as eating rice cake while lying down.
Seol Yu-ran had shaped the very environment to her advantage with vast cold energy, but since I lacked that, I had to maximize efficiency in deploying the Ice White Divine Art.
My greatest strength was the precision with which I could control even the most violent True Thunder Qi, as if operating a supercomputer.
As a modern man, I had received a far superior education compared to the people of this era—though that still didn't make up for my lack of comprehension.
My precision was only possible because my Thunder God Body let me bypass comprehension entirely.
So, how should I handle Yin Cold Qi with precision?
Lower the standard of precision and fill the gaps with instinct.
I had experience controlling True Thunder Qi. My body knew. Though Yang Thunder Qi was fundamentally different in nature from Yin Cold Qi, the basic principle of manipulating energy was the same—so if I lowered the difficulty, my body's ingrained instincts could compensate.
I drew the Yin Cold Qi—pitiful compared to Lightning Qi, like a beggar's footwrap—from my dantian.
Compared to Lightning Qi, which filled my entire body in perfect harmony, this Yin Cold Qi was bitterly cold and sluggish in responding to my will, making my insides churn with frustration.
But—
Control is possible.
Though far more difficult than simply compressing Protective Aura to guard vital points, it was still leagues below the level required for the Thunder Heaven Divine Art.
Crrk—
But it was enough.
If the Thunder Heaven Divine Art was thunder and lightning, then the Ice White Divine Art manifested with the impression of a snowfield and a wolf.
"...What is that?"
Seol Yu-ran, who had been exchanging blows with me, shuddered and distanced herself.
In that brief moment, the Ice White Divine Art settled safely into my body. The Yin Cold Qi, guided by my will, transformed into a resilient wolf capable of enduring even a blizzard.
A beast's claw, formed from Yin Cold Qi, materialized over my left hand like a gauntlet, while fur rippled along my arm.
It was as if my Protective Aura had taken the shape of a beast.
"A wolf?"
"I don't have much Yin Cold Qi to spare. After agonizing over how to use it most efficiently, this ended up being the best solution."
But if someone asked whether this could be taken lightly, the answer was no.
"You'd do well not to underestimate it, though."
Fwip!
Though I hadn't moved from my spot, I lunged forward with speed rivaling the Bow-Body Springing Shadow. To be precise, I leaped, slightly freezing the ground with cold energy to eliminate friction.
It couldn't match the repulsion-powered Bow-Body Springing Shadow, but the speed was comparable!
In an instant, I closed the distance to Seol Yu-ran's nose and swung the Intent-Shaped Aura shaped into a wolf's claw.
—Shrrrk!
It tore through the world.