Chapter 224: Sword Sect (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 224: Sword Sect (3)
Seo-jun watched the man execute his martial arts.
A thousand blades moved independently, each performing its own distinct swordsmanship. Every movement flowed in perfect harmony, without a single hint of entanglement. It was a Sword Control Art that had truly reached the absolute pinnacle.
But that wasn't all.
Is every single one of those swords a domain?
It wasn't a typical domain. It was different from Namgung Hyeok, who had manifested tiny, incomplete domains atop his swords.
These were already fully realized.
This wasn't mere Sword Control; each blade delivered a lethal strike polished to the extreme. And there were a thousand of them.
With those blades executing offense and defense with near perfection, taking the man’s head would be no easy feat.
Wuuuung—
Seo-jun circulated his internal energy. How should he break through those blades? He decided to test them first.
If you strike hard enough, a path usually reveals itself.
Executing massive techniques typically drained a martial artist's mental energy, but for Seo-jun, manipulating internal energy was as natural as breathing.
This meant he could pour out maximum-output attacks on repeat.
Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
Falling Sea from the Firmament.
Tyrannical Power Ghost God Art.
He unleashed all three martial arts simultaneously.
Plum blossoms scattered, the sea rose like a roaring dragon, and the earth swung upward like a clenched fist.
The man who had once cut down the sun let out a hollow laugh.
"Are you, perhaps, the incarnation of a great being?"
Seo-jun had no hobby of conversing with corpses. Instead of answering, he poured out his assault.
"No, that cannot be. If the principles of the world were twisted to that extent, already..."
Chiriring—!
The thousand blades occupied the surrounding area. Each blade defended its assigned perimeter. They parried the plum blossoms, tore the dragon apart, and crushed the earthen fist.
Each attack is massive.
Geom-hyeon observed his opponent's martial arts with sunken eyes.
It’s practically a natural disaster. Numbers mean nothing before a man like that.
However, that was exactly why there was an opening to exploit.
Shhh—!
Geom-hyeon kicked off the air and lunged forward.
Tjiiiiing—!
The thousand blades resonated, gathering into a single point. A tiny, infinitesimal dot. He concentrated his power to pierce through the overwhelming offensive.
Puhwaak—!
The blades, gathered like a single awl, pierced straight through the fist of the earth.
Geom-hyeon’s eyes flashed. Five steps to go.
Urureung—!
A massive bolt of lightning fell from the sky. Veins bulged around Geom-hyeon’s eyes as the swirling blades sliced through the lightning.
Four steps.
A river rising from the void constricted him from all sides like the body of a serpent. He gripped his sword.
Sshuck!
Utilizing the extreme mystique of refinement, he cut through it.
Three steps.
A massive giant rose. A colossal fist descended. The thousand blades rotated, shredding it to pieces.
Two steps.
A Yellow Dragon descending from a distant height opened its maw wide. A shiver ran down his spine. With eyes wide open, he thrust his sword forward.
Kagagak—!
While he blocked the dragon’s teeth with a single sword, the remaining thousand blades sliced the beast apart.
Finally, one step.
Kwaaaaang────────!!
An unstable Taiji exploded. Space rippled. Geom-hyeon’s form swayed like a leaf upon a stormy sea.
"Hup...!"
Tjaeng—!
He endured by sacrificing over a hundred blades. Geom-hyeon’s eyes shone. He had finally reached him.
"Do not resent me."
Swaaaak—!
Geom-hyeon’s sword shot forward, piercing through space itself. It was too late to dodge. As if being sucked in, the sword plunged directly toward Seo-jun’s chest.
Geom-hyeon was certain of his victory.
"Foolish brat."
Seo-jun mocked him. Having watched the man's desperate struggle with his hands behind his back, he finally reached one hand forward.
Udeudeuk—!
Horns sprouted from his temples. His crimson eyes captured the man’s figure perfectly.
The domain was stained with Mara.
Domain Reversal.
Dureuk—
A world within the domain. Eyes sprouting from every surface locked onto the man.
"Anti-Utopia."
If the Ideal World depicted the utopia Seo-jun desired, the Anti-Utopia depicted a dystopia designed to tear his enemies apart.
Pook—!
Geom-hyeon’s sword pierced Seo-jun’s chest. Geom-hyeon’s eyes trembled slightly.
"This is..."
Fwaaa—!
Seo-jun’s figure, pierced by the sword, scattered into the wind. It was different from Shifting Form and Position. He had clearly pierced something real, and yet...
Wuuuuung────────!!
Behind the scattered afterimage, the five rings of the Five Energies Returning to the Origin rotated, aiming squarely at Geom-hyeon.
There was nowhere to run.
Every element making up the world stared at Geom-hyeon with wide-open eyes. The pupils of all those countless eyeballs were stained a murky, abyssal color.
As if watching a bird trapped in a cage, all the eyes grinned.
Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art.
Like weaving a net, countless strands of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art poured down toward Geom-hyeon. Simultaneously, Seo-jun, standing before the rings of the Five Energies Returning to the Origin, fired a sphere held between his palms.
Saaaaak────────
The sphere grew in momentum each time it passed through a ring. The murky-colored energy gradually turned black, and upon passing the fifth ring, it transformed into a pure darkness that refused to let even a single speck of light escape.
"Ha..."
Geom-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
"There is no limit to you."
Countless strands of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art pierced through Geom-hyeon.
* * *
"Tsk."
Seo-jun furrowed his brows as he watched the man retreat through the air.
In that split second, the man had somehow managed to minimize the damage. Though his body was riddled with holes, the strike wasn't enough to kill him instantly.
Regardless, Seo-jun had secured a clear victory, but...
Seo-jun’s Qi Sensing picked up several presences approaching rapidly.
Two in the Transcendent Realm.
If he dragged this out any longer, he would be isolated deep within the Black Lotus Union’s territory. It meant he had no choice but to let the man he had nearly caught escape for now.
Seo-jun looked down at the man with his red eyes.
"I'll give you one piece of advice."
The man looked back at Seo-jun while staggering. Though his body was full of holes, his gaze remained eerily calm.
"Go back to the mountains and crawl into seclusion again. If we meet next time, you really will die."
Wuuuung—
Spitting out the words fiercely, Seo-jun reached out his hands. He grabbed the heavens and the earth.
Universe Reversal.
He flipped the heaven and earth he had grasped. Within the domain, the sky and the ground swapped places.
The sky became the earth. Under the gaze of countless eyes, Geom-hyeon laughed.
"...Oh dear."
Fwaaa—!
The domain scattered. However, a portion of the flipped earth remained suspended in the sky.
Even Seo-jun couldn't move the entire ground of that vast domain into the sky, but a portion was possible.
Kwaaaaaa─────────!!
The earth remaining in the sky came crashing down.
Tremble.
The corners of Geom-hyeon’s mouth twitched. The area was instantly shrouded in the shadow of the falling earth, bringing about an artificial night.
"How extravagant."
Kwaaaaaaaaang──────────!!!
The displaced earth violently reclaimed its place once more.
* * *
Seo-jun pondered as he swiftly departed the Sword Sect’s territory.
The Transcendent Realm masters of other sects can't protect the Sword Sect forever.
He could raid the Sword Sect at any time. That was the sheer terror of a high-level master.
A killing machine housing power greater than an army of hundreds of thousands in a single body. They could target gaps in strength more relentlessly than anyone else.
In the end, it’s a race against time...
Could he kill the former Sect Leader and destroy the Sword Sect before other Transcendent Realm masters arrived to support them?
If the bastard crawled back into the mountains as he suggested, it wouldn't be difficult, but...
That won't happen.
He had to kill the man in a short amount of time, no matter what. Seo-jun smirked.
It’s entirely possible.
He had already seen the man’s martial arts until he was sick of them. Seo-jun’s most prominent strength was his affinity for Qi. However, even in the creation of martial arts, his level far exceeded the ordinary.
I’ll create a Counter Form for his martial arts.
Countering the martial arts of an opponent he had fought only once? Naturally, it was something close to impossible. Any martial artist would dismiss such nonsense as a joke.
But Seo-jun had the ability to make it a reality.
In fact, he had already done it once. The second time would be even easier.
Crack—!
Seo-jun’s figure vanished, tearing through space.
* * *
Upon returning to the Namgung Clan, Seo-jun was greeted by a pouting Chun-bong.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Ddyu-ttya-tta."
Seo-jun raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"Ddyu-ttya-tta."
Chun-bong was firm. She spoke with such utmost determination, as if "Ddyu-ttya-tta" were the only words she knew.
Eventually, Seo-jun took the hint and replied.
"U-ttya-tta...?"
"Good. You pass."
Chun-bong grinned and patted Seo-jun’s butt. Then, she grabbed his hand tightly and started walking.
"The funeral preparations are almost finished. Now we just need the mourners to arrive."
"Already?"
"It’ll take quite a while for the mourners to get here."
"Aha."
Come to think of it, she was right. The Central Plains boasted a mind-bogglingly vast expanse of land.
He was the strange one for roaming all over the place in such a short time; normally, just traveling back and forth took a significant amount of time.
"Since Un-ni will be free now, and Namgung Myeong will have some spare time too, play with them often."
Is that so? Myeong-i seemed like he’d be quite busy for a while.
When Seo-jun tilted his head in confusion, Chun-bong swung her hand.
Slap!
Her small palm landed a satisfying smack on Seo-jun’s butt.
"Just do it when I tell you to."
"Yes, ma'am."
Seo-jun, nodding reflexively, looked down at Chun-bong. He saw her cheeks, which had puffed up roundly after her Bone-cleansing and Body-changing.
"Wh-what..."
"You little..."
Sensing danger instinctively, Chun-bong slowly backed away.
"Wh-what is it!"
"Just what gives you the right to be this cute...!"
Chun-bong’s cheeks were as soft and stretchy as glutinous rice cakes. Seo-jun leaned down, playfully caught her cheek between his lips, and jerked his head back!
Like magic, her chubby cheek stretched out long.
"Heeeeeek...!"
"Come here!"
A river-like peace found its way into Seo-jun’s heart.
* * *
A strange rumor began to circulate throughout the Central Plains.
The Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, who was currently rampaging as if to wipe out the very seeds of the Black Lotus Union—was supposedly using Demonic Qi.