Chapter 251: A New Realm (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 251: A New Realm (2)
Baek Yun pushed off the ground with all his might, his gaze dropping to his left arm.
'Damn it.'
To protect himself and Neung Wol from that insanely powerful technique, he’d been forced to sacrifice an arm.
He had eventually managed to drive out the black flames, but the limb had already lost all function. Once pulsing with a vibrant crimson, his arm was now completely black with necrosis.
Even with the True Blood he had obtained by mastering the Blood Seal Scripture, it would take time to regenerate.
"Baek Yun."
"…What?"
"What is that guy?"
Baek Yun frowned at the vague question. "What do you mean?"
"I've never heard of the Ice Palace having someone like that."
Neung Wol’s mind was a chaotic mess. A secret weapon hidden by the Ice Palace? It made no sense. If such a person existed, there was no way Baek Yun wouldn't know. It was impossible for a monster like that to just pop up out of nowhere within a mere three hundred years.
Unless they possessed the heavens-defying talent of someone like Namgung Jin-cheon, it was hard to believe such a monster had simply appeared the moment Baek Yun left the Ice Palace.
"Besides, that was definitely Demonic Qi earlier."
The Ice Soul Divine Art, the Beiming Divine Art, and now even Demonic Qi? He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Do you know anything?"
"I don't. I've never even heard of a guy like him."
Baek Yun gritted his teeth. It wounded his pride, but he had to admit the truth. The boy’s dominance over Qi far surpassed his own. Especially that ridiculous feat he had just displayed.
Deconstructing the Blood Ice Jade and making it his own? He had never even imagined such a thing was possible…
"Hmm?"
Deconstructing the Blood Ice Jade?
Baek Yun’s expression hardened. He could understand the boy handling Ice Blood Divine Energy. But Blood Qi? Was it really possible to manipulate it so freely?
"Wait a moment."
Baek Yun stopped in his tracks. Lost in thought, his face twisted with confusion.
"Neung Wol, was there anyone else from the Ice Palace in the God-Destroying Association besides me?"
"Not as far as I know. There aren't many members who know each other to begin with."
"That’s true, but…"
But if he wasn't a part of the God-Destroying Association, it was impossible to explain.
The most exceptional trait of Blood Arts was their versatility. Inherently, any human born with blood could learn them, and they didn't cause significant conflict with the martial arts one already possessed. Unlike most disciplines, they were refined through the blood vessels rather than the meridians.
Hadn't Baek Yun himself reached the Blood Seal Scripture through Blood Arts because he judged it impossible to fully master the Ice Soul Divine Art with a male body?
Which meant, could it be…
"Baek Yun."
"What?"
"I don't think now is the time for this."
Neung Wol scanned their surroundings with a grimace. An endless snowy plain stretched out before them, yet pillars of ice were scattered about, frozen like towering trees. Neung Wol’s eyes swept over the icy columns.
"No matter how I look at it, we’ve already passed this place."
"That’s impossible…"
Were two martial artists of the Transcendent Realm actually lost? It sounded like a bad joke.
However, Baek Yun’s expression soon began to stiffen. His eyes darted around rapidly. Indeed, they had definitely passed this exact spot before.
"This is…"
An illusion, or a formation? Which was it?
As Baek Yun frowned, Neung Wol spoke.
"It seems we won't be able to leave unless we kill him."
"Is that possible?"
"We’ll have to accept some damage."
Baek Yun and Neung Wol exchanged looks. How should they handle him?
They were two Transcendent Realm masters. The opponent was only one. They clearly held the numerical advantage.
But the biggest problem was Baek Yun. His Qi techniques simply didn't work on the enemy. Normally, if one side’s profoundness was significantly superior, the Qi of the inferior party became meaningless.
However…
"…I’ll hold him off somehow."
Baek Yun’s eyes glowed blue. The opponent’s mastery was far superior to his own? He would admit what needed to be admitted, but rolling over and accepting it quietly was another matter entirely.
"Just watch out for those flames. If they catch onto you during the fight, they'll be hard to deal with."
"Right."
Neung Wol gave a short laugh and gripped his spear.
"While you hold him off, I’ll take his life."
It wasn't impossible. No matter how great the boy’s skills were, Baek Yun was no pushover. With Baek Yun’s talent, he would surely carve out a breakthrough.
A smirk tugged at Neung Wol’s lips as Baek Seo-jun came into view.
"He’s coming."
Baek Yun and Neung Wol assumed their combat stances. Baek Seo-jun walked casually toward them, eventually coming to a halt.
"Finished with your strategy meeting?"
Whoosh!!
As if waiting for that exact moment, pitch-black flames engulfed the area. The temperature plummeted instantly, and frost settled upon Baek Yun and Neung Wol’s hair.
'There’s no way he can maintain a Domain like this for long.'
Domains varied. A Domain that unleashed such massive output placed a heavy burden on the caster.
Watching Baek Seo-jun with a calm gaze, Baek Yun wrapped Ice Blood Divine Energy around both of his hands.
Crackle!
Red ice flowed like water between his fingers. Baek Yun focused all his nerves on tuning his Ice Blood Divine Energy.
If simply combining his powers wouldn't make him stronger, then he would weave the connection so solidly that even that monster couldn't break it.
"Hup…!"
Baek Yun’s ten fingers touched. In the space between his palms, a violently swirling mass of red ice exploded outward in several directions.
Squelch!
The ice masses extended like long tentacles. When Seo-jun gestured, black flames erupted in mid-air to intercept them.
Crack!
In an instant, the ice masses froze over. It was a complete defiance of logic. Ice freezing again? It was a true act of Heaven-Defying.
Whoosh!
Yet, the black flames were naturally freezing Baek Yun’s ice and shooting toward him at high speed.
"Tsk."
Quickly dispersing the ice, Baek Yun lunged forward. Flash! The distance between them closed in an instant.
'If I’m outmatched in Qi, I’ll make up for it with physical techniques.'
Of course, he couldn't stay in physical contact for long. The moment they touched, his internal energy would be drained bit by bit by the Beiming Divine Art.
Stepping through the air, Baek Yun rapidly thrust his right hand forward.
Bam-bam-bam!
Over a dozen afterimages trailed behind as a torrent of palm strikes poured toward Seo-jun. Seo-jun reached out his own hand to meet them.
Whoosh!
With a light wave of his hand, all of Baek Yun’s palm strikes were scattered. Qi dissipated into the air. Thump! When Seo-jun pushed against the void, the scattered Qi froze and shot forward like deadly awls.
"Hup…!"
Flutter! Baek Yun brushed aside the ice awls with his long sleeves and pressed his advance.
'In physical techniques, at least…'
He wouldn't lose. He had that much confidence. It was no mere coincidence that he had secured the position of Elder in the Ice Palace despite being a man.
Clack!
His extended palm struck Seo-jun’s wrist. The boy's chest was wide open. He dove in and thrust his other hand forward.
Thud!
The palm struck empty air. Seo-jun, having twisted his shoulder to dodge, reached out. His fingers curved. A grappling technique.
'If I’m caught, it’s over!'
Baek Yun parried the wrist and slid his foot forward. Even a Transcendent Realm martial artist who stepped on the empty air like solid ground still relied on their legs for support.
The moment the boy’s center of gravity shifted, thump, he kicked hard against his pivot foot. Seo-jun’s form tilted.
'I did it…!'
It seemed like a small thing, but its implications were huge. It was proof that Baek Yun could stand against Seo-jun, and a clear sign that the flow of battle had shifted in his favor.
No matter how great the boy was, he had to have a weakness. It was a victory for his own strategy—compensating for his Qi disadvantage and pushing his strength in physical combat.
'Ah…!'
Achievement became insight, and insight became a flash of inspiration. Baek Yun shuddered at the sudden euphoria that seared through his mind.
He felt like he understood now. Ice Arts and Blood Arts. He felt an absolute certainty that he could perfectly harmonize the two.
'I see it.'
A tiny crack had formed on the massive wall of his martial path. Baek Yun caught a glimpse of the world beyond.
'I can win.'
With a bright smile, Baek Yun immediately took a step back.
"You finally did it."
Neung Wol stepped forward with a grin. Springing out as if swapping places with Baek Yun, he unleashed all his gathered power.
Radiant Moon Boundary.
Moonlight, which had dyed every inch of space within Neung Wol’s Domain, the Moonlight Salt World, shone brilliantly and surrounded Seo-jun.
Every single ray of that moonlight was like the swing of a spear.
A strike that could easily cleave dozens of mountains if it wished, or part the sea into dozens of sections.
Seo-jun, his posture broken, would not be able to react in time.
Or so they thought.
"This is a bit clumsy for a strategy."
Still tilted to the side, Seo-jun reached out his hand. A cluster of brilliant light gathered at his fingertips. Starlight. And the moonlight that embraced it.
The moment Neung Wol’s eyes widened, Seo-jun swung his hand horizontally.
Creeeeeak!!
The chilling moonlight froze, parrying Neung Wol’s spear strikes. With a single swing, Seo-jun had brushed away the thousands of spear strikes Neung Wol had unleashed.
'No, is that also a Qi technique?'
His hand had moved only once. Yet, the Astral Qi left behind like a trail had traced thousands of complex movements.
It was a Qi technique pushed to the absolute limit.
But an even greater sense of bewilderment caused Neung Wol’s expression to crumple miserably.
"You… how do you possess Moonlight Divine Energy…?"
It was unbelievable. He handled Ice Soul Divine Energy, Blood Qi, and Demonic Qi, and now even Moonlight Divine Energy?
At this point, even if he didn't want to believe it, he had to. The boy could steal an opponent’s martial arts after only a few clashes.
"I happened to need a moon."
Seo-jun stepped on the air as if it were solid ground. He stood sideways, as if braced against an invisible wall, yet gravity acted strangely around him; his hair and clothes fell toward his feet, completely ignoring the world's orientation.
He smiled faintly at Baek Yun and Neung Wol, who had retreated for the moment.
"Are you adjusted now?"
"…What?"
"Then let’s move on to the next part."
Fwaaaaah!!
In an instant, the world became as bright as if it were on fire. Baek Yun stared blankly up at the sky.
A sun and a moon hung together in the pure white sky.
The world rotated around Seo-jun. Standing in the void, Baek Yun watched the world slowly tilt.
Rumble!
Boom! When the rotation stopped, the earth lay squarely beneath the feet of the once-sideways Seo-jun.
It was an act of supreme arrogance. He hadn't adjusted himself to the world; he had adjusted the world to himself.
"What in the…"
Baek Yun’s lips trembled.
Seo-jun looked down indifferently at the world beneath his feet. The sun and moon orbited the Heaven-Defying One, who had tilted the world to align with his own axis.
The sun and moon rotated around a single point, elevating their master to a distant, unreachable realm.
"The Namgung Lineage Transforms into a Towering Tree."
The words were sudden.
'The trunk that connects the Namgung as one forms a giant tree that pierces the heavens?'
Baek Yun’s brow furrowed in confusion, and soon, a vast presence began to crush the space around them.
Rumble!!
"Urgh…"
Under the absurd pressure, Baek Yun and Neung Wol, who had been standing in the empty air, were violently forced down to the ground.
From high above, a pitch-black silhouette, backlit by the sun and moon, looked down upon the world.
"In the end, all of this is but branches extending from a single tree."
He looked down at Baek Yun and Neung Wol with his hands clasped behind his back. In the blinding backlight, only his two red eyes glowed eerily.
The pair of horns that had grown from his temples vanished in an instant, and in a flash, Seo-jun appeared right in front of Baek Yun.
"Hup…!?"
He couldn't react. His eyes went wide. Seo-jun grabbed Baek Yun’s head with a single hand.
"Don't hold back. Give it your all. Pour out everything you have."
Crunch!
Baek Yun’s head, ripped free along with his spine, met Seo-jun’s gaze.
"This is your last chance. You shouldn't waste it."