Chapter 50: VOLCANO
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: VOLCANO
Lee Seo-jun’s martial arts class was officially in session!
"I... I’m trusting you, Oppa...?"
"Of course! I’ve already finished all the testing!"
To be fair, he hadn't tested it on white mice. He had used a live human subject.
Namely, himself.
The effects were still a bit lacking and required further refinement, but there was absolutely no risk of it straining her body.
"Now, close your eyes. Trust me and follow my lead."
"Okay..."
Seo-jun stood behind Chun-bong and placed a hand against her back.
Perhaps because his energy had been drifting in and out of her body like it was his own home lately, Chun-bong’s meridians accepted Seo-jun’s internal energy naturally, without a hint of resistance.
Stealth Qi Art.
That was the name of this technique.
He’d come up with it on the fly, but the name wasn't the important part anyway. The core of this martial art was to conceal the unique internal energy of the Azure Cloud Divine Art that Chun-bong possessed.
He had considered two methods to achieve this.
The first was to completely alter the nature of her internal energy during her day-to-day life. He had discarded this idea almost immediately. To do that, she would need to learn the Primordial Unity Divine Art. But when he’d given Chun-bong a rough explanation of it before, she hadn't even come close to grasping the concept.
'Why can’t she do it?'
It wasn't even that difficult.
Anyway, the second method involved generating a sort of interference signal around the body to prevent an opponent from sensing her internal energy. The Stealth Qi Art adopted this approach.
He had used the Armored Ghost’s Protective Energy as a reference. However, since there was no need to actually physically protect the body, he lowered the output and drastically increased its efficiency.
If one were to master the Stealth Qi Art, they would likely be able to manipulate Astral Protective Qi at will.
"Mmm..."
A soft groan escaped Chun-bong’s lips.
Seo-jun focused further, guiding her internal energy. Through the energy flowing within her, he could vividly feel her internal condition.
Her acupoints were still frozen and blocked in various places, and deep inside, a massive, chilling energy sat deeply entrenched. It was an energy that Seo-jun had only managed to discover now that his own cultivation level had risen.
He didn't know who the bastard was that left it there, but they were annoyingly high-level.
A single Plum Blossom Pill wouldn't be enough to melt that. He needed more spirit herbs. Or, he needed to improve his own realm even further.
'Tsk.'
For now, he ignored it.
Following Seo-jun’s guidance, the internal energy completed a full circuit through Chun-bong’s acupoints before settling back into her Dantian.
Seo-jun pulled his hand away from her back and asked, "How is it? Do you get the hang of it?"
"Huh? Uh... I memorized the path, but... why does it work like this?"
"Haha, isn't that exactly why Teacher Seo-jun is here?"
In any case, simply teaching her the path of the internal energy wasn't the end of the transmission. He spent the rest of the day thoroughly lecturing her on the intricacies of the Stealth Qi Art.
*
The next day, Seo-jun woke up and headed to the martial arts arena as if he were clocking in for work, only to trudge back down from the stage a short while later with a dazed expression.
"This is honestly ridiculous..."
He really hadn't expected his opponent to simply not show up at all. This was the quarterfinals, wasn't it?
Seo-jun let out a hollow laugh and plopped down into the seat next to a waiting Chun-bong.
"No, seriously, why? Did I do something wrong?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I thought some Demon King had descended back then."
"What."
Well, nothing could be done about it now. Since things had turned out like this, should he just change his career goal to becoming the Heavenly Demon?
— Number thirty-three!
That was Namgung Su-ah’s number.
From the quarterfinals onward, only one of the eight arenas was being used, so finding her match wasn't difficult.
"Hmm."
"What now?"
"Nothing, it’s just annoying. Nobody forfeits against her, so why only me?"
"She’s a Namgung. They probably think they have a lot to gain from a single duel with her."
"Then what about me?"
"They probably thought they’d die if they fought you."
I’m going to die of unfairness, I swear.
Seo-jun slumped back in his chair and finished his preparations to watch Namgung Su-ah’s duel. Which is to say, he comfortably rested his hand on Chun-bong’s cheek.
"Gosh, stop it! You’re going to wear my face out!"
"What...!"
The moment a startled Seo-jun pulled his hand away, the duel began.
Rumble!
Lightning struck the arena. The opponent collapsed instantly. With a faint smile, Namgung Su-ah glanced toward Seo-jun in the stands.
It was as if she were saying, ‘Are you still confident even after seeing this?’
"I don't like that woman."
Seo-jun chuckled and stroked the head of the grumbling Chun-bong.
"I’ll still win, though."
A bold declaration of victory!
Chun-bong let out a dry laugh.
— Waaaaaaaah!
Regardless of their banter, the arena seemed ready to explode from the deafening cheers of the crowd.
"Is that the martial arts of the Namgung Clan?!"
"Incredible! To think a human body could actually manipulate lightning!"
The civilians, who tended to go wild for anything flashy, were in an absolute frenzy.
When Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong, silently asking for an explanation, she sighed and obliged.
"It’s the Firmament Boundless Sword Technique. It’s a high-level martial art that only direct descendants of the Namgung Clan can learn."
"Oho. But I don't think the lightning is the important part?"
A faint golden light flickered in Seo-jun’s eyes before vanishing.
The sword of Namgung Su-ah that he saw didn't just contain lightning. The lightning was merely a byproduct. What she had imbued into her sword was the weight of the heavens themselves.
"It is cool, though."
So that was the Heavy Sword.
It was distinctly different from Chun-bong’s light and nimble blade.
"But Miss Geum, do all Namgung people use those greatswords?"
"I don't think so? As far as I know, they usually use normal longswords."
"Hmm."
As Seo-jun scratched his head, Chun-bong leaned in and brought her lips close to his ear.
"When you face that woman..."
"Eek...!"
"Sigh..." Chun-bong pulled back slightly and continued. "Be careful when you face her. The Namgung name isn't just for show. Her sword is slow, but it’s impossible to dodge. So..."
"Ah-ah, no spoilers."
"What?"
"It’s no fun if I know beforehand."
It had been a while since he’d fought a proper martial artist; his excitement would cool if he heard about her weaknesses ahead of time.
"Hmph."
Chun-bong pouted.
Seo-jun stroked her hair to soothe her while reflecting on the sword Namgung Su-ah had just shown.
'The heavens.'
Coincidentally, a specific technique came to mind when thinking of the heavens.
The Mount Tai Pressure Peak of the Three Talents Sword Art.
After thinking it over, Seo-jun grinned.
"This should be delicious."
It seemed it was about time he brought a proper 'heaven' into his own mental imagery.
*
As soon as Namgung Su-ah’s duel ended, Seo-jun returned to the inn, scooped Chun-bong up over his shoulder, and sought out a secluded forest.
Hwaeum County had developed so much that finding an empty spot wasn't easy, but it didn't take long when he ran at full speed using his lightness skills.
"Miss Geum, watch closely and tell me if anything’s lacking."
"Why are you suddenly so fired up? Did seeing that woman get your blood pumping or something?"
"That sounds a bit wrong..."
"Just shut up."
Chun-bong sat down on the ground, her lips pouting.
Seo-jun chuckled and drew his sword.
Shring—
It was a broken half-blade. He could have just bought a new one, but he’d grown attached to it, and he figured using it like this wasn't so bad.
"Chun-bong, you see, a volcano is..."
Golden Sword Qi gathered on Seo-jun’s blade. A heat haze shimmered around the steel from the intense temperature.
Recalling the faint memory of his fight with Jong-in, Seo-jun completely twisted the nature of the internal energy imbued in the sword.
Whoosh!
The Sword Qi erupted into crimson flames.
It was an energy that could no longer be defined as mere Yang energy; it was something that could only be called Fire Qi.
"Only when lava flows and volcanic ash flies can it be called a true Volcano."
Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
The first form.
Volcano.
Fwooooosh!
Fragments of flame scattered like plum blossoms.
Standing in the center, Seo-jun concentrated his mind and condensed the Fire Qi within the sword. The compressed Fire Qi flowed as thick and viscous as lava.
Seo-jun swung the sword toward a tree in front of him.
Sssssss!
The tree was sliced through instantly, and just as it seemed it would simply burn and fall—
Crunch!
It was brutally shredded by the subsequent Flame Plum Blossoms.
Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction as he watched the charred wood chips scatter.
"Are these Mount Hua Sect bastards crazy?"
They used stuff like this on people? It felt like only mangled, charred human fragments would remain wherever the Mount Hua Sect passed. Forget being called an Evil Sect; they wouldn't even have the right to complain if they were treated like actual demons.
"From where I’m sitting, you’re the one who looks crazy." Chun-bong shook her head in disbelief. How insolent.
"You brat!" Seo-jun lunged and pinched Chun-bong’s cheek.
"Ow, that hurts...!"
"Ah, sorry."
"Hehe, I lied." Chun-bong giggled, covering her cheek as she scurried away.
"I was tricked...!" Seo-jun gasped in mock shock.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a large flame flared up behind him.
Seo-jun turned around blankly and clapped his hands together as he saw the fire spreading.
"Ah, I didn't put the fire out."
The flames from the Plum Blossom Sword Technique had spread to the surrounding forest.
"Are you insane?!"
"Hey, a person can forget things sometimes."
"No! Nooo...! What are you going to do about that?!"
"Well... I have to put it out, right?"
Seo-jun gripped his sword with both hands.
Crackle—
His surroundings began to freeze. The cold was compressed over and over until a thick, frosty mist formed around the sword.
'With this much...'
Could he withstand a clash with Astral Qi?
No, it was still far from enough.
Astral Qi wasn't just internal energy compressed into a sharp edge. It possessed such destructive power because the user's mental imagery was imbued into the internal energy itself.
To face that, Seo-jun also needed to imbue his internal energy with mental imagery.
Or, there was one other way.
'I just have to compress it a hell of a lot more.'
Essence, Qi, and Spirit? Screw that, he was going with the Essence-Qi-Qi-Qi-Qi-Spirit meta.
Creeeeeak!
Suddenly, a brilliant white light erupted from Seo-jun’s sword.
Sshhhhhhh—
Everything froze along the trajectory of his swing. The burning forest was instantly dyed pure white.
Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction.
'This... should do it.'
No matter how strong her Astral Qi was, he should be able to clash with it a few times.
Seo-jun smiled—
"Ow! You idiot! How many times did I tell you to be careful?!"
Slap-slap-slap-slap!
He was ruthlessly bombarded by Chun-bong’s palms.
Yet, his fatigue vanished.
*
Seo-jun sat side-by-side with Chun-bong, looking out at the frozen white forest.
"It’s pretty, isn't it?"
"I seriously worry about your mental state sometimes."
"Hey, I told you it’s fine."
At his nonchalant answer, Chun-bong sighed and looked at Seo-jun’s profile.
'Setting aside his aversion to women...'
She worried that the scars left on his heart might be eating away at his mind.
His aversion to women? That wasn't a problem. It was fine for him to be a bit wary. She was an exception anyway.
The real problem was him turning away from his past memories, only to be broken when he inevitably had to face them again.
A dead heart was no different from actual death. To prevent that, Chun-bong felt she needed to stay by Seo-jun’s side at all times.
For some reason, he seemed significantly more stable when she was with him.
"Hehe."
"Why are you laughing like that? It’s cute."
"What are you talking about?"
Chun-bong grinned from ear to ear.