Chapter 78: The Tao (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: The Tao (4)
After swiftly subduing the last remaining man, Seo-jun was in the middle of thoroughly trampling him when he felt something hidden in the man’s robes.
“This is…”
“Y-yes! Great Hero! I will offer that martial arts manual to you! So please, spare me…!”
“It’s already in my hands. How exactly are you ‘offering’ it?”
“But…!”
“Shut it.”
Seo-jun kicked the man in the head, sending him limp. He wasn’t dead, just unconscious.
While waiting for Hwan Bae-ho, Seo-jun examined the manual. Large characters were brushed across the cover: Spiritual Clarity Sword Technique. He had never heard of it.
Opening the book, he flipped to the preface. It was filled with the founder’s long-winded grumbling.
He skimmed about two lines and skipped the rest.
Past that, the manual got straight to the point, detailing the first sword form.
Crude illustrations accompanied the dense text, but it wasn't something one could grasp at a mere glance.
However, who was he? Was he not a Super Peak Realm master, Lee Seo-jun? Thanks to his high level of attainment, he was able to unravel its secrets without much trouble by mentally mapping it against the martial arts he already knew.
“Hmm.”
Flipping through the rest of the pages, he saw the technique consisted of thirteen forms in total.
Though it lacked instructions for a corresponding heart method, the sword forms themselves contained enough subtle principles to suggest it was a fairly high-grade martial art.
But then again, did he really need it?
He already had the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword, and he knew how to perform several other sword techniques passably well. There was no reason to go out of his way to learn this one.
Even Namgung Jin-cheon had acknowledged that the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword was the greatest sword technique in the Central Plains. Though, Seo-jun still wasn't sure if he could ever truly master it.
Thwack. He snapped the manual shut just as Hwan Bae-ho came running up.
Seo-jun grabbed the unconscious man by the scruff of the neck, leapt out of the pit, and went to meet him.
“Young Master!”
“How did it go?”
“I’ve delivered the news for now. The Sect Leader said he would quickly inform the other sects as well. But the thing is…”
Hwan Bae-ho hesitated before continuing.
“He seemed a bit skeptical about whether they could actually stop it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And honestly… I feel the same way.”
Seo-jun let out a short laugh and started walking.
“Why? Because there are too many of them?”
“Yes… Your skills are certainly incredible, Young Master, but the number of monsters is simply too vast. You will surely run out of internal energy.”
“I doubt it.”
“Ummm…”
Hwan Bae-ho looked deeply troubled. Since there was nothing to be done about it now, Seo-jun simply headed in the direction the monster wave was expected to strike.
The journey didn't take long.
At the city’s boundary stood a wooden fence. It looked reasonably sturdy, but that was the full extent of their defenses.
A fence like this would splinter if a second-rate martial artist so much as punched it.
It was more accurate to say there were no defenses at all.
“It would’ve been easier if there were city walls.”
“Walls aren't very effective, so you won't find them anywhere except for Beijing.”
“Oh, really?”
Come to think of it, that made sense.
Anyone at the Peak Realm could scale a city wall in a few leaps.
While it might make things slightly easier for the defenders, the return on investment was abysmal in a world crawling with martial arts masters.
“But with the recent increase in monsters… perhaps some places will start building walls.”
“Well, they can do whatever they want.”
Spotting a tall wooden watchtower, Seo-jun leapt to the top.
Balancing on his tiptoes at the very peak, he peered into the distance and caught the faint silhouette of the incoming monster horde.
There really are a lot of them.
There was a massive variety of species, too. For such diverse monsters to march together without tearing each other apart? It definitely wasn't a natural occurrence.
Around that time, groups of martial artists began gathering below.
Hwan Bae-ho recognized one of the leaders and whispered to Seo-jun.
“That is the Changroe Sect Leader. He has the largest influence in this vicinity.”
“Oh.”
Seo-jun leapt down from the watchtower, landing lightly in front of the Changroe Sect Leader.
“Are you… the young hero from the Namgung Clan?”
“I suppose so.”
“What would you like us to do, Young Hero?”
“I’m going to stop them here for now, so you all do as you please. You can just watch if you want.”
“I see…”
The Changroe Sect Leader nodded, his expression slightly uncomfortable, and began busily barking orders at his disciples.
The martial artists moved in an orderly fashion, establishing a formation.
Five men gathered to form a small unit, and five of those units combined to form a larger battle array.
Aside from the Changroe Sect, the other factions prepared to block the monster wave in their own ways.
However, it was glaringly obvious how they all made sure to keep their escape routes clear.
The morale of the martial artists wasn't particularly high, either.
While few seemed paralyzed by fear, every single one of them looked ready to pull out the moment things went south.
“Smart.”
If holding the line was impossible, it was better to flee and reclaim the land later.
The city would be left in ruins, but at least the people would survive.
As Seo-jun watched them, the Changroe Sect Leader, having finished his preparations, approached him.
“Young Hero.”
“Yes.”
“We plan to stall for time until the civilians have evacuated, and then we will retreat. You should withdraw with us when that time comes.”
“I’m fine. If things get really bad, I’ll just use my father-in-law card.”
“Your father-in-law…?”
“The Family Head.”
“Gasp…!”
The Changroe Sect Leader’s jaw dropped. He asked with visible excitement, “Are you saying… the Vast Heaven Sword Venerable is coming here?!”
Vast Heaven Sword Venerable? What a title. That sounds incredibly cool.
So why am I the ‘Gwang-a-rang’?
The Changroe Sect Leader’s cheeks were flushed with excitement, which Seo-jun found a bit overwhelming. He turned his head away and addressed Hwan Bae-ho.
“Did you contact the Namgung Clan?”
“I sent a carrier pigeon, but I’m not sure if the Family Head will actually come…”
At Hwan Bae-ho’s answer, the Sect Leader’s excitement cooled instantly.
“Ah… Then he likely won't come. The Vast Heaven Sword Venerable rarely shows his face in public… In that case, you must retreat with us, Young Hero.”
“Hmm.”
“If anything were to happen to you, we would be as good as dead.”
“Well, that would be a problem.”
Giving a non-committal answer, Seo-jun picked up the unconscious man he had tossed into the corner earlier.
By now, the monster horde had drawn close enough to be seen even from the ground.
“Anyway, the point is we just need to stall for time, right? I’ll handle the blocking.”
Seo-jun gave a casual wave and stared at the wooden fence. It was useless anyway; it would only get in the way.
Boom—!
With a casual wave of his hand, he blasted a hole through the fence large enough for four or five people to pass through and stepped forward.
“Let’s see…”
The monster horde. There were certainly a lot of them. But if there was one thing he wasn't worried about, it was running out of internal energy.
He could replenish his qi even in the heat of combat, and on the off chance that wasn't enough, he could just use the Star-Absorbing Great Art.
So, first, a big opening move.
Seo-jun struck the unconscious man in the lower abdomen, shattering his dantian.
“Gah…!”
Blood sprayed from the man’s mouth. Jolted awake by the agonizing pain, the man began to scream as he felt his internal energy violently dissipating.
“N-no…! Nooooo…!!”
Thwack! He was being too loud, so Seo-jun knocked him out again.
Then, he quickly seized the man’s scattering internal energy, forcibly controlling it, and anchored it back where the dantian used to be. Dumping his own energy into the mix, he converted half into Yin energy and half into Yang energy, separating the two volatile forces with a mental partition.
Rumble, rumble, rumble──────!!!
The earth shook as thousands of monsters charged, kicking up massive clouds of dust. Watching the spectacle, Seo-jun twisted his waist, winding up his pitch.
“Time to make a contribution to society…!”
He snapped his waist forward and hurled the man like a javelin.
Internal energy housed within a physical medium like a human body does not dissipate easily. This meant that even if it exploded at a distance, there would be almost no loss in destructive power.
The living bomb, packed to the brim with the majority of Seo-jun’s internal energy, plummeted right into the center of the monster horde.
──────────────!!!!
A massive explosion erupted.
Gore and fragments of monsters scattered in every direction. With that single strike, nearly a hundred beasts were instantly wiped out.
“What in the…!”
“How can there be such power…!”
The surrounding martial artists gaped in shock.
The fact that none of them seemed to care a human being had just been used as a bomb truly spoke volumes about the average moral standards of the Murim.
“Young Master, are you alright? Your internal energy must be…”
“Hey, I told you I’m fine.”
Seo-jun grinned and started walking.
The bewildered martial artists murmured among themselves behind him, but Seo-jun casually strolled toward the monster horde as if taking a walk in the park.
His black martial robes fluttered in the wind. Enveloping his hands in the internal energy that was already rapidly replenishing, he kicked off the ground and shot forward like an arrow.
“Young Hero…!”
He ignored the Changroe Sect Leader’s horrified shout.
Before him were thousands of monsters. Thousands of murderous auras focused solely on Seo-jun.
“Haha…!”
His blood began to boil. The suffocating weight of their killing intent converted into a thrilling rush of pleasure that raced down his spine.
As if venting the sheer ecstasy gripping his soul, he slammed his palms together.
Clap—!
Primordial Unity Sun-Moon Art. A distorted Taiji symbol materialized between his palms.
As he met the monster horde head-on, the corners of Seo-jun’s mouth curled up so high they threatened to tear.
KABOOM──────────!!!
Another massive explosion rocked the battlefield. Standing in the center of a wide crater he had just blasted into the horde, Seo-jun raised both hands.
“Now this is the life.”
Plum blossoms began to bloom.
Amidst a profusion of fluttering petals, three distinct flowers bloomed behind Seo-jun’s head.
Yet, these flowers were far from beautiful. They were hideously distorted. On each of the countless layers of petals, eyeballs were densely packed together, frantically darting and staring in every direction.
Crunch—!
One in each hand. Seo-jun grabbed the heads of two leaping monsters and unleashed the Star-Absorbing Great Art at full power.
“Kieeeek…”
“Grrr…”
The monsters instantly shriveled up like mummies. Drained entirely of their Primordial True Qi, they died on the spot.
Instead of absorbing the stolen energy into his dantian, Seo-jun held it in his hands. Internalizing Primordial True Qi could cause complications, but weaponizing it immediately was perfectly fine.
The massive surge of energy flowed violently from his hands, blooming outward, petal by petal.
The number of plum blossoms swirling around him instantly doubled.
“Ah, yes. I truly am the god of slaughtering weaklings.”
CRUNCH────────!!!
The monsters were ground to bloody paste by the swirling maelstrom of plum blossoms.
The thousands of monsters abruptly halted their advance. Their eyes were fixed solely on Seo-jun. As if possessed, a faint glimmer of intelligence sparked in their bestial eyes as they looked upon him in sheer awe.
“Come at me.”
At that single command, the monsters charged with everything they had, throwing their lives away in total, fanatic submission.