Two Heavens
"Yeah, I can't use this."
That was the conclusion I reached after testing the Fiery Blood Immortal Palm—the parting gift I'd received from Yeon Musang—on a wild boar.
Drip, drip. Sizzle.
"Well, at least I won't need to roast this part."
True to its name, the Fiery Blood Immortal Palm had literally boiled and cooked the flesh where my palm struck. If I used this on a human... I'd probably have to smell cooking human flesh.
Ugh.
The power was certainly impressive, but honestly, unless I was on the brink of death, I had absolutely no intention of using it.
Scratch, scratch.
"Let's see..."
I had only just learned the Myriads Heaven Asura Art, so it was only at the first stage. As for the Fiery Blood Immortal Palm, according to the manual, my mastery was around the third stage.
"Upon reaching the sixth stage, the practitioner may burn their own blood to manifest monstrous strength, though this is highly discouraged..."
"Seriously?"
As expected of the Blood Sect, even their martial arts were completely unhinged. No matter how desperate you were, who in their right mind would burn their own blood?
Shring.
"Well, thanks for the meal."
Leaving it here would make this a senseless slaughter just for an experiment. But if I ate the boar, it became the law of nature. In other words, this wasn't a meaningless killing! Surely the boar would understand and rest in peace, right? Except...
Grimace.
"Why does this taste so awful?"
This boar was seriously, terribly inedible. The meat was tough as leather, and the fat reeked of a foul, gamey stench. Even by the standards of medieval China, this was garbage only a beggar would eat. Was it because it was a wild boar, or because I hadn't drained the blood?
"...I'll just give it to someone else."
I couldn't bring myself to eat this. But throwing it away felt like a waste. In that case, giving it away was obviously the best course of action, right?
Thud.
I slung the massive boar over my shoulders and began to make my way down the mountain. My destination was the very village where I had run into those Blood Sect bastards. I could check if they were safe and get rid of this boar at the same time—killing two birds with one stone. I thought it was a pretty solid plan, but...
Scuffle, crash!
"Aaaah! The witch is back!"
"Run for your lives!!!"
Oh, right.
I forgot we didn't exactly part on good terms. Still, calling me a "witch" is a bit much... especially when I went through the trouble of bringing them a whole boar.
Step, step.
"Is that the woman?"
"Yes! Yes, Great Hero!"
A man pushed his way through the fleeing crowd. He was tall, handsome, and looked to be around my age. Seeing him reminded me of Haryun. For some reason, I got the feeling we'd get along great—
Shring.
"Draw your sword, witch of the Blood Sect. I, Namgung Hyeok of the Namgung Clan, shall face you!"
...Get along great, my ass. It seemed he was suffering from a massive misunderstanding.
"W-Wait! Let's talk this out!"
"No words are needed!"
Clang!
Namgung Hyeok immediately drew his sword and unleashed a lethal strike. Normally, this would have been more than enough to make Yeonhwa's blood boil, but...
Well, I guess it can't be helped.
Today, she wasn't that angry. She was fully aware of what she had done.
Scratch.
Sigh.
Even if they were Blood Sect cultists, she had skinned over a dozen of them alive. There was no way anyone would listen to her excuses. If the roles were reversed, Yeonhwa would have charged in blindly too.
Clang!
In this situation, there were only two options: convince him after getting beaten, or convince him after beating him. Naturally, Yeonhwa chose the latter.
"Don't regret this. I'm not very good at holding back."
Screeech.
With a light twist of her wrist, she effortlessly deflected Namgung Hyeok's blade.
"Are you mocking me?!"
To a martial artist, nothing was more humiliating than being told their opponent was holding back.
Whoosh!
"The Blue Sky Boundless Sword Style!"
Manifesting sword qi, Namgung Hyeok immediately unleashed the signature sword technique of the Namgung Clan.
And the sword style Yeonhwa chose to counter him with was, of course—
"The Samjae Sword Style!"
Clang! Clang! Screeech!
The Blue Sky Boundless Sword Style versus the Samjae Sword Style. In the martial world, their reputations were as different as heaven and earth, yet they clashed with surprising equality.
In fact, strictly speaking, the Samjae Sword Style had the upper hand. After all, Yeonhwa was merely defending while Namgung Hyeok was unleashing lethal strikes, yet the battle remained deadlocked.
Press.
"Urgh!"
Of course, this didn't mean the Samjae Sword Style was actually superior. It was entirely due to the difference in the practitioners' capabilities. Even though both were at the Peak Realm, Yeonhwa possessed an overwhelming advantage in both inner force and speed.
Furthermore, Namgung Hyeok lacked real combat experience; his attacks were too linear, preventing him from utilizing the true strengths of his clan's sword style. After a few minutes of this...
Slide.
"Are we going to keep doing this? I think the outcome is already decided."
Yeonhwa took a few steps back and shrugged. Both of them could feel that the battle was practically over. The moment Yeonhwa went on the offensive, Namgung Hyeok's sword would be knocked from his hand. But even if he knew it, even if he felt it, there was something his pride simply could not accept.
Grip.
"I cannot... I cannot fall in a place like this!!!"
He was a genius raised to restore his declining clan to its former glory. That was Namgung Hyeok. For someone like him to be defeated by the Blood Sect—and by a woman his own age, no less? It would be like a death sentence for his clan's honor.
Hummm.
"Laugh at me, expert of the Blood Sect... Laugh at a man so weighed down by his burdens that he cannot even accept defeat."
"Look, I told you, I'm not with the Blood Sect—"
"The Emperor's Sword Form."
"W-W-W-What?!!!"
The Emperor's Sword Form was the ultimate secret technique of the Namgung Clan. The reason a mere martial clan dared to use the word "Emperor" in their technique was because the Namgung family claimed to be distant descendants of the ancient Zhou Dynasty's royal family.
Of course, since that was a history from over fifteen hundred years ago, no one took it seriously anymore.
"Hey! Are you insane?!"
Yeonhwa yelled. The Emperor's Sword Form was a peerless martial art that required one to at least be capable of manifesting Sword Astral to even attempt. For a mere Peak Realm master to try and use it, it was no wonder Yeonhwa was utterly horrified.
"Even if I die, dying by my own technique is far more honorable."
Is this crazy bastard trying to commit suicide?
Rather than dying at the hands of the Blood Sect, he would rather die from the backlash of his own martial arts. That was Namgung Hyeok's desperate resolve.
Rumble.
Perhaps because he had accepted his death, the Emperor's Sword Form somehow began to take shape, crude and unstable as it was.
"Urgh!"
A heavy pressure descended, making everything in the vicinity feel incredibly weighed down, pressing heavily against Yeonhwa.
Grit.
I have to subdue him, no matter what...
Namgung Hyeok intended to push his sword style to the absolute limit, even if it killed him. To clear up the misunderstanding, she had to keep him alive first, which meant she had to overpower him.
I'll take him head-on.
Yeonhwa's plan was to shatter his sword form from the front and use that opening to subdue him.
Hummm. Crackle!
A purple sword qi began to crackle and rise from Yeonhwa's blade. It was, of course, the incomplete Purple Forbidden Sword Art she had been taught by Ju Haryun.
Screeech! Boom!
The sky-blue sword qi eroding the surroundings clashed with the noble, flashing purple sword qi. As if the collision of the two energies in midair was a signal, they shouted simultaneously:
"Emperor's Sword Form!!!"
"Haaah!"
Both swung their swords at the exact same moment.
CRASH! Crackle!
The Emperor's Sword Form of the Zhou royal descendants, and the Purple Forbidden Sword Art permitted only to the direct imperial line of the Ming Dynasty.
Though the duel had arisen from a simple misunderstanding, it had somehow become a clash between eras, a collision between emperors. And when two heavens collided...
Boom!
"Aaargh!"
The outcome was inevitably decided by the sheer scale of their talent.
Slide.
His Emperor's Sword Form shattered, Namgung Hyeok was blown far back, barely managing to steady his stance.
"Not yet..."
His meridians screamed in agony, and fresh blood dripped from his lips, but he had no intention of stopping. He was now on the verge of drawing upon his primordial qi—the very essence of his life force.
Dash!
"Stop!"
Yeonhwa charged toward Namgung Hyeok. To close the distance as quickly as possible, she threw away her sword and activated her Guihua Preservation technique.
What do I do?
If she didn't knock him out in a single blow, he would try to use the Emperor's Sword Form again and end up dead. But the Fiery Blood Immortal Palm was far too destructive.
Flash!
That's it!
An idea flashed through her mind as she scrambled for a solution.
What if I use the Guihua Preservation's inner force to execute the Fiery Blood Immortal Palm instead of Blood Qi?
It was a ridiculous idea, akin to putting gasoline into a diesel engine, but she was a genius among geniuses, possessing the Heavenly Martial Physique.
Whoosh!
As if to prove her genius, the inner force of the Guihua Preservation condensed perfectly in her hand.
"Calm down, you lunatic!"
Her pale, snow-white palm slammed directly into Namgung Hyeok's chest.
Thud!
"Urgh?!"
The Guihua Preservation was a neutral inner force, possessing no distinction between yin and yang, pure and turbid.
"M-My strength..."
The moment that energy flooded into Namgung Hyeok's body, the heavy, domineering inner force of the Namgung Clan was instantly dispersed like mist.
Thump.
Deprived of all strength to fight, he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.
"So, you were out performing heroic deeds? And you just happened to stop by this village?"
"I-I have no excuses!"
Yeonhwa sat on a chair, her arms crossed. The man currently prostrating himself at her feet in a full bow, trembling with anxiety, was none other than Namgung Hyeok.
Shiver.
"Our clan has been going through difficult times lately... I made such a foolish mistake in my desperation to build a reputation and help the family..."
"Either way, I saved your life. You know that, right?"
"How could I ever deny such a life-saving grace?!"
Calling it a "life-saving grace" was by no means an exaggeration. She had essentially stopped a man from committing suicide.
Slide.
"Look at this. My sword is completely chipped. This was my favorite, you know."
In truth, it wasn't a precious sword at all. It was just a random blade Yeonhwa had grabbed from Yeop Huhu's house. But there was no way Namgung Hyeok could know that.
Bow.
"Though our circumstances are tight... I will absolutely compensate you once we return to my clan. Until then, please use me as you wish!"
He had essentially promised to pay her back with labor now, and with money later.
She is a great hero—no, a true noble soul. Surely there won't be any issues.
Looking back, even he had to admit his actions had been utterly absurd. He had mistaken an innocent person for a Blood Sect cultist and even launched a suicidal attack.
Even if she had killed him in a fit of rage, his clan would have had no right to complain. Yet, she had saved his life. If she wasn't a saintly sage, who was? Or so Namgung Hyeok thought, but...
"..."
"Make me food."
"Find us lodging."
"Heat up my bathwater."
"Make me laugh."
"Is this the best meat you could find?!"
This crazy woman...
It didn't take long for him to deeply regret his promise. He even began to wonder if it would have been better to sell one of his clan's treasured swords to pay her off immediately.
What am I going to do?
But there was something else that tormented him far more than Yeonhwa's constant nagging.
"..."
It was a few days after they had set off toward the Namgung Clan together. To be precise, it happened while they were walking along a mountain path, and he caught a glimpse of Yeonhwa's chest bouncing slightly with her steps.
Huh?
Naturally, men had certain involuntary physiological reactions. Especially when traveling with a peerless beauty.
Come to think of it...
But right now, Namgung Hyeok was experiencing absolutely no such reaction. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn't experienced his usual morning reaction either.
Shudder.
S-Something is wrong!
Only then did Namgung Hyeok realize the bizarre anomaly that had occurred within his own body.
"M-My lady! Excuse me for a moment, I must... relieve myself..."
Using the excuse of answering nature's call, he hurriedly slipped away.
Rustle.
He quickly pulled out an erotic art book he kept hidden and flipped it open.
"Mmm..."
The illustrations were incredibly lewd, drawn with the utmost care by a master artist. Yet...
"..."
There was absolutely no response from Namgung Hyeok's lower abdomen. This was directly related to the Fiery Blood Immortal Palm Yeonhwa had used on him.
The Fiery Blood Immortal Palm was originally a technique that injected Blood Qi into an opponent to boil their blood. However, because Yeonhwa had executed it using her Guihua Preservation inner force, that very energy had flowed into his body.
And what kind of cultivation technique was the Guihua Preservation? It was a technique whose very prerequisite for learning was castration—an art that required converting one's masculine yang energy into a state of absolute neutrality.
Shiver.
"It... It won't stand...!"
Once that energy entered a male body, it began to actively suppress his masculine yang energy.
"What on earth am I supposed to do?!"