Chapter 65: Star-Absorbing Great Art (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 65: Star-Absorbing Great Art (3)
What was Qi?
There could be countless opinions on the matter, but Seo-jun didn’t overthink it. To him, it was simply a path toward omnipotence.
There was no need to be bound by complex theories—like how all things were composed of Qi, or how the form of all creation shifted according to its shape.
With his talent, he could do anything with Qi.
Even if there was something he couldn't do right now, given enough time, he would eventually achieve it.
And this concept of Qi wasn't limited to just pure internal energy.
Whether it was demonic energy, demonic qi, or death qi, they were all just branches stemming from the same root.
As long as it was Qi, there was no reason he couldn't handle it.
Or so I thought.
His perspective had shifted slightly.
The demonic qi racing through his acupoints was far easier to control than any other type of Qi he had handled so far. It was even more compliant than the Yellow Cloud Qi of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art or the Primordial Unity Qi of the Primordial Unity Divine Art.
It wasn't just that it followed his lead; it felt as if the energy was reading his mind, sprinting toward where it needed to be with perfect intuition.
Occasionally, it might misjudge the situation and act out, but so far, it had been nothing but a well-behaved little friend.
"So, give me a little more."
Seo-jun smiled brightly and tried to grab the Soul-Stealing Demon's hand, which was currently gripping his own fist.
"You little bastard...!"
Startled, the Soul-Stealing Demon shook off his hand and hurriedly retreated.
In that brief moment alone, half of the massive internal energy the old demon had accumulated over a lifetime vanished.
"You...! You're a pursuer from the Divine Cult!"
"What?"
"You dare challenge this old man with the Star-Absorbing Great Art? Fine...! Good! Take this as well!"
Seriously, what is wrong with this old man? Has he lost his mind?
As Seo-jun let out a hollow laugh, the Soul-Stealing Demon unleashed a massive palm strike.
A giant, palm-shaped blast of Astral Qi flew toward him.
Seo-jun coated his hands in demonic qi, channeled the mental imagery of the White River Returning to the Ocean, and drew a large circle with both hands.
Whoosh!
The palm strike fired by the Soul-Stealing Demon faltered, its momentum slowing before it began to be absorbed into Seo-jun's body.
"Hmm..."
Having absorbed the entire palm strike, Seo-jun felt a bit bloated.
The old man’s mental imagery was the problem. This wasn't the kind of energy he wanted to keep inside for long.
He slid his left foot forward and twisted his waist. Funneling the demonic qi absorbed from the Soul-Stealing Demon into his right fist, he infused it with the mental imagery of plum blossoms and punched straight out.
Demonic Plum...? No, that sounds a bit weird. Black Plum.
Pitch-black plum blossoms bloomed from his fist, shooting forward like daggers.
Fwoosh!
The Soul-Stealing Demon ground his teeth, dispersing a wave of energy to neutralize the attack as he scrambled backward.
"What are you...! I have never heard of such a martial art!"
"No, wait a second."
"What!"
"Who are you, really? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden...?"
The Soul-Stealing Demon glared at Seo-jun with bulging eyes. "You mean to say you do not know me, the Soul-Stealing Demon Hyeok Mu-gang?!"
"Who's that?"
"You... you little brat...! What do the youngsters these days even have in their heads?!"
"I mean..."
As Seo-jun scratched his head in disbelief, Namgung Su-ah approached and whispered softly.
"Soul-Stealing Demon Hyeok Mu-gang. He’s a demon who barely escaped with his life after being defeated in a power struggle within the Demonic Cult."
"Oh, you know him?"
"Only that much."
"Aha."
Seo-jun chuckled and gestured for Namgung Su-ah and Chun-bong to step back.
"Stay back for a moment. I didn't expect a spirit herb to come rolling in on its own two feet."
This technique he had copied from the old man—did he call it the Star-Absorbing Great Art? Regardless, it was quite useful.
Unlike his usual experiences, he hadn't just brought back a hollow shell; the entire martial art had practically fallen into his lap.
The essence of this Star-Absorbing Great Art was to absorb an opponent's internal energy, halving the power of their attack, and then use that absorbed energy to counterattack. Going a step further, one could even absorb the opponent's True Qi entirely.
In other words, he could steal mana from an opponent's attack and use it as his own. If he pushed it, he could even take their entire mana pool.
True Qi = Mana Pool.
It was a good formula to memorize. Or, he could call it his maximum mana capacity.
To be more precise, among the types of True Qi, it was the Post-natal True Qi that acted as the mana pool, but that wasn't particularly important right now.
"Phew..."
Seo-jun exhaled, purging all the impurities from the demonic qi he had stolen from the Soul-Stealing Demon.
Once filtered, it wasn't a huge amount.
Still, it was better than nothing. Moreover, the true utility of this martial art wasn't just in absorption.
If I apply this well, I could even help Chun-bong...
Well, that wasn't important right now.
At the moment, the old man’s eyes were darting around as if he were searching for an escape route.
Seo-jun couldn't let a walking spirit herb get away.
"Stop right there!"
Seo-jun dashed forward, wrapping his hands in demonic qi.
The bushes along his path twisted into bizarre shapes from the sheer pressure.
Twisting his waist, Seo-jun rapidly condensed demonic qi into his palm.
"That is...!" The Soul-Stealing Demon’s eyes widened.
At the same time, he took a similar stance and gathered demonic qi into his own palm.
"How do you know the Black Water Great Demonic Palm...?!"
Their palms collided.
BOOOOOOM!!
Pushed back by the blast, the Soul-Stealing Demon shouted with bloodshot eyes. "How...! How! How did you do it?! My martial art! How can you use the Black Water Great Demonic Palm...?!"
"Seriously, make some sense when you talk."
"Grrrgh...!"
Veins bulged on the Soul-Stealing Demon’s neck.
Unlike the Star-Absorbing Great Art, which quite a few people in the Divine Cult had learned, the Black Water Great Demonic Palm was his own personal secret technique.
Since he had slaughtered his own clan, leaving himself as the sole survivor, it was safe to say he was the only person alive who knew the technique.
To learn the Black Water Great Demonic Palm, one had to soak their hands in corpse poison. Otherwise, the sheer, violent power of the technique would crush the user's own hands.
Hands soaked in corpse poison turned black, and because the discoloration couldn't be hidden until one reached mastery, it was called the Black Water.
Yet, this fledgling boy was using the Black Water Great Demonic Palm. And he was doing it with perfectly clean hands, as if he had already reached mastery.
It was utterly incomprehensible. He didn't even want to understand it.
"I will kill you!"
Any thought of retreating vanished as the Soul-Stealing Demon ignited his internal energy to its absolute limit.
He had suffered internal injuries thanks to the boy’s Star-Absorbing Great Art, but he didn't care. The life the Soul-Stealing Demon had lived was not so smooth that he would worry about a few internal injuries.
Of course, that was none of Seo-jun's business.
"Man, is it his time to go? Why is he running so hot and cold?"
Respecting his elders? Not exactly his forte.
Beating up his elders, though? That, he was quite good at.
"I’ll send you off nicely!"
As Seo-jun lunged, the Soul-Stealing Demon unleashed a wave of energy. His clothes billowed as a terrifying amount of demonic qi gathered in both of his hands.
The massive demonic qi roared like a dark flame, reaching the very tops of the tall trees.
"Die...!"
As the Soul-Stealing Demon unleashed the Black Water Great Demonic Palm, a blast of Astral Qi in the shape of a massive hand—larger than most buildings—flew forward.
Seo-jun twisted his body in mid-air and drew the sword at his waist.
Since there were no witnesses around, he unleashed the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword for the first time in a while.
Yellow Dragon Breaking the Heavens.
The creator of the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword might have been terrible at naming things, but he certainly knew how to craft a martial art.
A dragon made of demonic qi coiled around Seo-jun’s sword. The pitch-black dragon surged up the blade, opening its maw wide at the tip.
Does this make it the Demonic Dragon Breaking the Heavens?
With a smirk, he twisted his waist sharply. Then, exploding with gathered power, he swung his sword upward with all his might.
SHRAAAAAAA—!!!
The Soul-Stealing Demon’s Astral Qi was torn apart effortlessly.
Following the blade's trajectory, the pitch-black dragon writhed its massive body and soared into the sky.
"How could it be so easy...! Why does my demonic qi obey your will...?!"
Seo-jun grinned as he absorbed the Soul-Stealing Demon’s scattering internal energy. At this rate, his internal energy wouldn't deplete even if he wanted it to.
"Hey, you brat...!"
Perhaps because he had just used demonic qi to perform the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword, an incensed Chun-bong screamed at him from behind, but he ignored her for now.
He leaped, blooming plum blossoms beneath his feet. Rapidly closing the distance, Seo-jun tossed his sword aside and grabbed the Soul-Stealing Demon’s wrist.
"My spirit herb!"
"Let go...!"
The Soul-Stealing Demon tried to pull away, but there was no way Seo-jun was letting go.
In the end, the old demon was forced into a direct clash of internal power.
"You... brat...!"
In terms of sheer quantity, the Soul-Stealing Demon had more internal energy. That had been true from the start.
However, in terms of quality, Seo-jun was overwhelmingly superior.
Furthermore, Seo-jun’s internal energy moved as if it were alive.
While the Soul-Stealing Demon’s demonic qi was stunned after taking a metaphorical one-two punch, Seo-jun’s internal energy grabbed it by the collar and practically kidnapped it.
The demonic qi, suddenly abducted into Seo-jun’s body, looked around blankly before realizing the situation. Then, it began wagging its tail at Seo-jun like a loyal puppy.
"Jackpot."
Once he had drained all of the Soul-Stealing Demon’s internal energy—specifically his Post-natal True Qi—the already elderly man aged three times over, looking as if he might drop dead at any second.
"Guh... hhh..."
Seo-jun sensed it. If he continued to drain the Soul-Stealing Demon’s life force—his Primordial True Qi—the man would turn into a shriveled mummy like the ones he had seen before.
The risk outweighs the reward.
Primordial True Qi was, in a sense, like the soul itself. Naturally, it was the energy most deeply imbued with a person's mental imagery.
Absorbing it would grant great power, but it also carried a massive risk. Seo-jun had no desire to do such a thing.
"Namu Amitabha."
Crunch!
With a casual swing of his hand, Seo-jun crushed the Soul-Stealing Demon’s head and turned back with a grin.
He was met with a fuming Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.
Ah, come to think of it, I never told Su-ah, did I?
About his talent, or his martial arts.
Well, he could just explain it later.
Standing tall, wrapped in pitch-black demonic qi, Seo-jun made a bold declaration.
"Ah, yes. I am the Heavenly Demon."
"Could you explain the meaning behind those words?"
Seo-jun flinched and spun around.
Because the stolen demonic qi was acting surprisingly cute, he had focused too much on his internal state, causing his external Qi Sensing to dull.
But even if that hadn't been the case, the presence that had approached him was maintaining a perfectly still state of internal energy, making it incredibly difficult to detect.
Tense, he scanned the direction of the voice and saw the figure clearly.
In the dark forest, eyes glowing with a faint golden light were watching him.
A bald head shone even in the darkness.
Shaolin.
"Huh? What words?" Naturally converting his demonic qi back into Primordial Unity Qi, Seo-jun widened his eyes and tilted his head innocently. "I don't know anything."
If I pick a fight with Shaolin here, can I see their martial arts too?
Seo-jun pondered the thought for a moment.