Jongchil 10: Beads of Blood and Frozen Time
“Hmm. Indeed, that's right.”
Jin Sawol was definitely no pushover—she could hold her own against even a decent bandit. She clenched her fist again. This spar ended only when one side surrendered or hit the ground back-first. With a bright smile as she gripped her fist, she opened her mouth.
“How about we call it here and surrender?”
“We haven't even properly started this spar yet, so no can do.”
As I said that, I activated Darkness Control.
“!?”
Starting from my feet, pitch-black darkness spread out in all directions. My shadow submerged into the darkness created by Darkness Control, losing its form. Just as I'd expected, the invisible pressure pinning me down vanished.
“Are you a Daoist too? That's some amazing Daoist magic.”
Jin Sawol asked with wide eyes.
“Whether it's martial arts or Daoist magic, it all looks amazing to ordinary eyes. So why bother distinguishing?”
Having gauged her techniques, I shifted into a full combat stance. I'd tasted enough of her moves—it was my turn now.
“Fair enough.”
The moment Jin Sawol finished replying, I launched myself forward. My arms were a bit longer than those of the woman Jin Sawol. In a fistfight, reach was crucial—proven hundreds of times over in boxing. Of course, it wasn't the absolute decider, but when strength and speed were similar, it made all the difference.
Shiiik!Shiiik!Thud!
Arm met arm. Our unyielding fists crossed toward each other, sending heavy impacts rippling through the air. In a straight fistfight, I naturally had the edge.
“Hngh! You're no joke!”
Realizing she was at a disadvantage as we exchanged blows, Jin Sawol stopped her attacks and focused on defense and evasion. Her flashy footwork deflected my punches, or she slipped them with her shoulder—skills beyond even a top boxer.
As she dodged, Jin Sawol stepped back a couple paces, then tapped her forehead, chest, and dantian once each. Not ordinary moves. Definitely part of some Daoist magic.
'What's this one?'
Jin Sawol's aura changed. She took a step toward me.
'Speed...?'
Jin Sawol's speed had more than doubled from before. Enough to overcome our reach difference and then some. Caught off guard by the sudden burst, I barely raised my arm to block her strike.
Boom!
'What kind of doping technique is this? Daoist magic's got everything.'
Her assault didn't end there. As Jin Sawol threw a punch, she exhaled sharply—whoosh!—and thick fog enveloped me. So dense even Jin Sawol right in front of me was a blur. I had to rely purely on my senses to counter her attacks.
In the unseen chaos, with punches flying at hard-to-react speeds, I couldn't block them all. I had to eat a few hits. Luckily, none landed on vitals. As expected, Jin Sawol wasn't someone I could beat while holding back. Especially her Daoist magic—it was a whole different system from martial arts. Similar to magic in feel, but not quite.
'Time Acceleration!'
Accelerate time. To keep up with Jin Sawol now over twice as fast, I had to push my limits too.
'Wind Control!'
Fierce blade-like winds blew away the fog obstructing my vision. If she countered with Daoist magic, I'd hit back with skills. Vision clear, I stepped back one pace and reset my stance. Preparing for the next attack.
'Orthodox Fist!'
I assumed the Orthodox Fist stance Master Kim Minyoung had taught me directly. The grueling training paid off—the form was perfect. Mana centered in my heart flowed through my mana roads to gather in my fist. Like a raging storm, immense power and speed infused the mana flow, granting my fist irresistible force.
I thrust my fist toward Jin Sawol. A full-power strike. I knew her skill level—she wouldn't die from this. That's why I threw it.
'She's got the Mukhyeol Yeomju.'
My fist slipped past her guard by one timing beat.
“Hngh~!”
Jin Sawol's defense was one beat too slow. In a clash between absolute masters, that was life or death. But my attack didn't connect. More precisely, an invisible force blocked it. Like a peak expert's protective aura, a powerful barrier enveloped her. One of the powers of the Mukhyeol Yeomju she wore.
Woooong!
“Tch!”
Jin Sawol clicked her tongue and glanced at her beads. One of the dark-red blood beads turned earthy yellow. She'd used one bead's power.
'The Mukhyeol Yeomju has 14 beads, each with two special effects.'
Made by Heukam Dosa himself, the Mukhyeol Yeomju was a ridiculously overpowered cheat item packed with insane effects. Each bead could unleash one power, with seven types total. The one that just activated was Protective Blood Aura.
'When a dire attack threatens the body, it deploys protective blood aura. Its defense is leagues above even protective aura.'
In the original story, Gong Wooseon blocked the Murim Alliance Leader's attack with it. My strike was child's play by comparison. Sure, the defense was strong, but it had limits. The Mukhyeol Yeomju's protective beads numbered two, and each needed 14 days to recharge. Clear pros and cons. But a single-use block against even the Alliance Leader's blow made the pros outweigh the cons by far.
'One more time here!'
As long as protective beads remained, landing a solid hit on Jin Sawol was impossible. I needed to drain that power first. Luckily, I had the perfect skill.
'Time Pause!'
←Skill→
[Time Pause 1Lv] (SS-grade)
⇒Consumes 99% of your stamina and mana to irrationally freeze time for 1 minute. Cannot stop passive skills or item effects. Usable once per hour.
←Skill→
It consumed 99% of stamina and mana to freeze time for a minute. The insane effect came with an equally insane cost, but I had an item to offset it instantly. The moment I activated it, I chomped a jujube from my inventory and recovered my stamina. The ebbed stamina and mana surged back in a flash. My go-to combo.
'One more time here!'
Focusing my mind, I unleashed Orthodox Fist again. My straight-thrust fist aimed right at Jin Sawol's front.
Wung!
My fist hit the powerful barrier and got repelled. Even with time frozen by Time Pause, the Mukhyeol Yeomju's effect didn't stop. Time Pause couldn't halt passive skills or item effects. The bead's protective blood aura blocked my attack once more.
Of course, that was to my advantage. This strike was meant to bait out the protective aura in the first place. Now two beads of the Mukhyeol Yeomju had turned yellow.
'No more protective beads.'
But I couldn't let my guard down. The Mukhyeol Yeomju had plenty of other effects beyond the protective ones. Before Time Pause ended, I moved to land a decisive blow. That's when the Mukhyeol Yeomju glowed again.
'No way—a phantom beast bead?'
From the glowing bead emerged a blood tiger with ink-black blood fur. A Mukhyeol Phantom Beast. A summoned beast the Mukhyeol Yeomju's owner could command freely.
'Ah, right—like the protective aura, it auto-summons when the user is in danger! Damn, what a total cheat item!'
The blood tiger bared its sharp fangs and growled at me. Treated as an item effect, the Mukhyeol Yeomju's summon moved freely in the frozen world. Maybe its nature allowed it. In the original, Mukhyeol phantom beasts were described as highly immune to curses and spells. Fitting for Heukam Dosa's creation.
It charged at me, teeth flashing.
“Tch!”
I dodged backward. The blood tiger's power scaled with its owner's strength. This one from current Jin Sawol wasn't unbeatable for me, but if Time Pause ended and she joined in, it'd be trouble. The summon's duration depended on the owner's power. For now Jin Sawol, about one daekyeong at most.
'Early on, even Gong Wooseon couldn't last that long.'
I didn't engage the blood tiger—just evaded. As expected, when Time Pause wore off, the tiger vanished too, its time up. It had fulfilled its role protecting Jin Sawol, so no hard feelings on its end.
Jin Sawol regained freedom of movement.
“Huh!? The protective beads and phantom beast bead...”
With two beads suddenly losing color, Jin Sawol looked visibly flustered. From her view, they'd triggered out of nowhere. She might think I'd used some Daoist magic.
“That bead looks mighty tempting.”
“Urgh! Jong gongja, you're using some freaky power just like Master. Are you really not a Daoist?”
“I am, actually.”
I tallied the remaining beads.
'One phantom beast bead left, then seal bead, full-body bead, heart-piercing bead, sun-moon bead, and lotus bead...'
Among them, I had to watch for the phantom beast bead and full-body bead. The former summoned beasts, the latter allowed short-range teleportation. Understanding her disadvantage, Jin Sawol fiddled with the Mukhyeol Yeomju. I recalled Gong Wooseon making a similar gesture when using the full-body bead in the original.
'Blink!'
Shiiik!
As expected, Jin Sawol's body vanished. She reappeared right behind me.