Chapter 100: I Won't Die (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: I Won't Die (2)
The moment Namgung Chang-hwi realized the truth, he shot up from his seat.
The Transcendent Realm. The impossible was unfolding right before his eyes.
And it wasn't just a lone Transcendent martial artist invading. According to the presences caught in his Qi sensing, the entire strength of the Black Lotus Union from Daedong Prefecture had descended upon them.
The enemy had three Super Peak experts. Fortunately, the clan's young master had already severely wounded Geom-yeong.
Their side had four Super Peak experts. No, make that five now.
He could feel the presence of two Super Peak experts currently clashing with the Transcendent master.
‘What is the best course of action?’
Retreat? That wasn't something they could do at will. One wrong move, and they would all be slaughtered before they could even form a proper line.
Then, should they fight back? Against a master of the Transcendent Realm? That was absolute madness.
From the Transcendent Realm onward, a martial artist truly began to transcend humanity, existing somewhere between mortal and god. Charging in was nothing short of suicide.
But was there any other way?
Namgung Chang-hwi shouted, his brow deeply furrowed as his mind raced through complex calculations.
"Everyone, form the sword formation!"
Each of their Super Peak experts would take on one of the enemy's Super Peak experts, and the remaining forces at the Peak Realm and below would...
"Dammit...! You lot, support the young master! Great Master Jibaek! Green Forest Leader! You two, handle Baek Yeon-ha and Cheok Mu-gang!"
There was no other choice. If they couldn't hold back the Transcendent master, the entire group would be annihilated without question.
In that case, he had to assign all the Peak Realm forces to the young master to buy time, no matter what it took.
Either their own Transcendent master would sense the situation and come to support them, or they would have to pressure the enemy enough to force the opposing Transcendent master to withdraw.
If neither of those things happened, everyone here was dead anyway.
In exchange for buying a little time, the rest of them would have to face Super Peak martial artists supported by Peak Realm warriors, but that was a far better alternative.
‘The key will be how much the young master’s surprise attack thinned the enemy’s numbers…’
From his vantage point, the first thing Namgung Chang-hwi saw was a battle that resembled a natural disaster.
"Crazy..."
He didn't know how it was possible, but a fight against the Transcendent Realm was actually being sustained.
‘As for this side…’
The martial artists of the Black Lotus Union were approaching rapidly. Even at a glance, their numbers weren't that overwhelming.
It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. With those numbers, they could buy some time.
Just then, the martial artists he had sent to the young master came rushing back.
"Leader! The young master says he doesn't need us! He says we should finish things here quickly and then go support him!"
"What kind of nonsense is...!"
Even just providing support from the rear by maintaining the sword formation would be a massive help.
But right now, even a moment of hesitation was a luxury.
"Engage them for now!"
Drawing his sword, Namgung Chang-hwi powerfully unleashed his internal energy.
Firmament Flying Swallow Sword.
His swiftly swung blade was blocked by Heuk-gwol’s sword. Heuk-gwol gave a wide smirk.
"We meet again!"
Another war had begun.
*
Cr-crack—!
Right before his eyes, space repeatedly shattered and repaired itself.
The Fist King was sent flying several times by the casual sweeps of the Giryeon Sect Leader’s hands, but surprisingly, he looked perfectly fine.
"I do not break!"
The gorilla-like man lunged with his fist. A single punch shattered the space, but with a mere flick of the Giryeon Sect Leader’s hand, the Fist King was sent flying all over again.
"What the hell is that?"
Seo-jun let out a hollow laugh and pressed his hand against the ground.
Five Elements, Earth, Surge.
Rumble—!
The ground vibrated and violently surged upward. Several small mountains rose around the Giryeon Sect Leader, who was hovering in the air.
Seo-jun could maneuver in mid-air himself, but for a Transcendent master, there was virtually no distinction between the ground and the sky. To bridge that gap, it was better to have a solid foothold.
"Ho, sorcery?"
The Giryeon Sect Leader chuckled as if amused and formed a complex hand seal with both hands.
The peaks of the surging mountains were cleanly sliced off. As they fell, they took the shape of swords. There were hundreds of them. With a flick of the Sect Leader’s finger, every single sword shot toward Seo-jun.
Seo-jun kicked off the mountain and leapt into the air, imbuing the sword in his hand with immense power.
Giant Spirit Divine Art. He would overturn the heavens with his overflowing strength.
The Emperor Sword Form originated from the Firmament Boundless Sword Technique. And his father-in-law, in his ocean-like grace, had bestowed the Firmament Boundless Sword Technique upon him as well.
Firmament Eternal.
The blue sky reflected upon the world, dyeing it in its azure hue.
Fwaaaaaaaaah—!!
Every single one of the incoming swords was erased from existence. Simultaneously, Seo-jun flicked his hand.
Five Elements, Earth, Eject.
Massive earthen pillars erupted from the high-rising mountains, lunging toward the Giryeon Sect Leader.
The Giryeon Sect Leader pressed his index and middle fingers together and slashed upward.
Boom—!
The pillars, blocked in mid-air, shattered into dust. At the same time, the Fist King came flying in from out of nowhere once again.
"You bastard!"
Shatter—!!
The Fist King’s punch shattered the Sect Leader’s force field as he burrowed deep into his defenses. The Giryeon Sect Leader furrowed his brow.
"You’ve grown even tougher in that short amount of time."
The Giryeon Sect Leader brought his hands together and then slowly pulled them apart. An elongated sword manifested between his palms.
Every Transcendent martial artist possessed a Domain. The range their will could reach became their territory, and the natural energy within that domain followed their absolute command.
In a battle between Transcendent masters, they fought for dominance over each other's domains. However, if an opponent lacked the ability to claim ownership of the domain, the Transcendent master could display power akin to a god within it.
"Bind."
Astral Qi manifested in the air and seized the Fist King.
"Hmph...!"
The Fist King immediately exerted his monstrous strength and broke free, but he was a moment too late.
"Now, die."
The Giryeon Sect Leader fired the sword. It was a blade weighing over ten thousand gwan. Considering the highly compressed Qi Pellet at its tip, there was almost nothing in the world it couldn't pierce.
The Fist King glared fiercely and threw a counter-punch.
"Wait, are you insane?"
Seo-jun flew in, grabbed the Fist King’s leg, and forcefully hurled him out of the way.
Swish—!
The sword grazed the Fist King and pierced straight through a mountain visible in the distance. A massive hole was gouged cleanly through its center. Seo-jun let out a dry laugh.
"This is just insane."
He had a strong feeling he was completely screwed, but even so, the corners of his mouth kept twitching upward.
It had been a while, hadn't it? A fight where he didn't have to think about anything else—only killing the person in front of him.
Of course, the probability of him dying was much higher. This wasn't a situation where he could afford to hold anything back.
He hadn't wanted to use this technique where people could see, but he had no choice.
Twitch—!
The Giryeon Sect Leader looked at Seo-jun with surprised eyes, feeling a sudden tingling sensation in his fingertips.
"You."
This pressure. He had a memory of experiencing it once in the distant past.
"Are you Namgung Myeong? No, that can't be right."
This was definitely the Emperor Sword Form. But the heir of the Namgung Clan shouldn't have reached such a level yet. Then what in the world was this guy in front of him?
"Hmm... I suppose I can just capture you and ask."
Bind. Natural energy turned into Astral Qi and seized Seo-jun.
Or rather, it tried to seize him.
A protective space about two knuckles wide existed just over Seo-jun’s skin. The Giryeon Sect Leader’s domain could not invade it, and thus could not bind him.
"Hah..."
"I don't care if you're a Transcendent master, you bastard. You shouldn't try to use Qi against me!"
White River Returning to the Ocean. Star-Absorbing Great Art. Both martial arts were unleashed simultaneously, greedily absorbing the Astral Qi surrounding his body.
Against a Transcendent master, his usual strategies wouldn't work.
So what if his internal energy was nearly infinite? The exact same applied to a Transcendent master.
In fact, a Transcendent master didn't just use their own internal energy. They used a tiny fraction of their own energy as an axis to manipulate natural energy, meaning they barely consumed their own reserves at all.
Furthermore, since it wasn't particularly difficult for them to seize natural energy and dye it with their own power, the speed at which they replenished their energy was completely abnormal.
‘But so what?’
If I separate his head from his shoulders, even a Transcendent master will die, right?
Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art.
Swoooooosh—
A twisted Reverse Taiji was fired. The Giryeon Sect Leader wore a strange expression as he struck upward with his hand.
Flash—!
The trajectory of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art was violently diverted, sending it soaring harmlessly into the sky.
The Giryeon Sect Leader looked at his stinging fingertips and let out a long breath.
"You... what kind of monster are you? You’re not in the Transcendent Realm, but... no, are you? It’s ambiguous."
"Uryaaaaah...!!!"
Boom—!
The Giryeon Sect Leader, having effortlessly swatted away the charging Fist King, formed another hand seal.
The natural energy in the air coalesced, creating thousands of swords.
Seeing the Qi Swords filling his entire vision, the corners of Seo-jun’s mouth twitched upward.
Screeeeeech—!
It was like an iron wall was pushing toward him. Seo-jun moved his body like a madman, mixing the mental imagery of White River Returning to the Ocean with the Star-Absorbing Great Art directly into his blade.
He parried and absorbed one blade, then threw himself into the narrowest of gaps. Swords aimed for his ribs, his feet, his temples. He dodged by curling inward, then violently expanded his body to spread the Astral Qi of White River Returning to the Ocean.
While pushing back the barrage of Qi Swords, he bloomed plum blossoms at his feet and leapt. The swords relentlessly pursued him. Seo-jun jumped high into the sky and infused his sword with the Form of the Emperor.
Emperor Sword Form.
At the Emperor’s gesture, the falling sky crushed the thousands of swords.
Fwaaaaaaaaah—!!!
The thousands of Qi Swords were completely annihilated. However, in that brief moment, shallow wounds were carved all over his body. The stinging pain morphed into pure exhilaration, dyeing his brain with battle-crazed pleasure.
Covered in blood, Seo-jun laughed and put immense pressure on his own inner core.
"I don't even care anymore!"
Crack—! His inner core shattered. Two more pairs of arms violently sprouted from his torso, and demonic horns grew from both his temples.
The Emperor Sword Form, combined with the principles of the Giant Spirit Divine Art, formed a massive, terrifying shape in the sky.
Three heads. Six arms. Horns crowning each skull.
An Asura with three heads and six arms looked down at the Giryeon Sect Leader from the heavens.
"Yeah, I really don't know anymore either."
Is he a spy from the Demonic Cult? The Giryeon Sect Leader formed a complex hand seal.
K-boom—!
A massive pillar of fire erupted from the ground. The flames took the shape of roaring fire dragons and lunged straight at Seo-jun.
Seo-jun scanned his surroundings with eyes dyed blood-red. He happened to spot the Fist King rushing toward them.
"Got you."
"Huh?"
He grabbed the massive Fist King by the scruff of the neck and hurled him directly at the fire dragon.
K-boom—!
The fire dragon exploded, dyeing the sky a brilliant red. Immediately, Seo-jun clasped his hands together with the two extra pairs of arms that had sprouted from his sides.
Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art. Two spheres converged as they wrapped around his hands.
He then severed those two pairs of arms and fired them.
The severed arms formed into high-speed projectiles, launching like twin missiles toward the Giryeon Sect Leader.
"Absolute madman."
The Giryeon Sect Leader extended both arms and seized the surrounding space. Simultaneously, he swung his hands to warp reality, causing the projectile arms to narrowly pass him and embed themselves into the mountain behind him.
K-baaaaaaaaang—!!!
The small mountain was shattered into pieces and completely vanished from the map.
In that split-second opening, the Fist King burst out from the raging flames and lunged at the Giryeon Sect Leader. His body was only slightly singed; otherwise, he was perfectly fine.
"Hahaha! You insolent bastard!"
He threw a devastating punch at the Giryeon Sect Leader while screaming curses at Seo-jun. The Giryeon Sect Leader merely whistled.
Fwip—!
"Gah!"
A fierce wind blew, sending the Fist King flying backward. And then, the Sect Leader's eyes met Seo-jun’s, who had been hiding right behind the gorilla-like man.
Rumble—!
Yin and Yang energy swirled and unified atop the sword. As they converged, they formed a Reverse Taiji. The elongated Reverse Taiji rapidly took on a dragon-like shape.
Appearance of the Yellow Dragon.
The shape of a murky dragon, using the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art as its physical body, opened its massive maw and lunged at the Giryeon Sect Leader.
"It’s been six hundred years since I’ve seen a lunatic quite like you."
The Giryeon Sect Leader burst into a hollow laugh. He wondered what was so damn amusing that the boy was grinning like that while looking like something entirely inhuman. The Giryeon Sect Leader drew out his own mental imagery.
His mental imagery dyed the surrounding space, immediately leading to the materialization of his Domain.
"Twisting Heaven and Overturning Earth."
The world twisted.