Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 46
>Chapter Title: Forced (1)
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The Sovereign's eldest disciple, Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang, withdrew his sword gang and soon furrowed his brow as he spoke.
"Little Junior Sister?"
'!?'
Little Junior Sister?
A glint appeared in Mok Kyung-un's eyes, who had been breathing heavily.
He had called Cheong-ryeong his little junior sister.
Among the Sovereign's disciples, the youngest would be the third disciple, Wi So-yeon.
'Ah...'
Now that he thought about it, Wi So-yeon bore an uncanny resemblance to Cheong-ryeong.
They looked so similar that one might easily mistake them for sisters.
The difference lay in the unique aura emanating from their appearances.
While Cheong-ryeong exuded arrogance, coldness, and overwhelming pressure, Wi So-yeon was vibrant and carried a brighter atmosphere.
Such subtle distinctions could only be discerned by someone who saw them often or paid close attention.
That was likely why Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang was reacting this way.
'Little Junior Sister?'
Cheong-ryeong realized from his words that Na Yul-ryang had mistaken her for that mortal girl, Wi So-yeon.
From there, her thoughts shifted in a different direction.
Originally, she had revealed her true form, taking on some risk, to save Mok Kyung-un from danger.
Even now, with daylight still abundant and yang life energy overflowing, her rank had risen to Blue Spirit, but she couldn't unleash her full power.
For instance, she had deployed a Ghost Intent Domain Blood Realm on a scale small enough to evade detection by the sorcerers in the inner fortress, yet the yang life energy had immediately dispelled it.
She could draw out more energy to expand the radius and forcibly maintain it, but that would be highly dangerous.
A high-ranking sorcerer might notice right away.
But now, a new opportunity had arisen.
'It might work.'
Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang was still confusing her with that mortal girl Wi So-yeon.
No matter how much he pushed his own agenda, it would be hard for him to act that way in front of his junior sister.
It wouldn't last long, but it was a chance.
-This seat will handle this one, so flee to the old poison user. Mortal.
She spoke so only Mok Kyung-un could hear.
This was the moment to escape while the fool hadn't noticed yet.
It was right then.
"The Master is ill, so it's been a while. Little Junior Sister."
As expected, Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang still believed Cheong-ryeong was his junior sister Wi So-yeon.
The fact that he said "it's been a while" made it even better.
At least he wouldn't catch on immediately.
'No need to mix in conversation.'
That would give her away in no time.
With that, Cheong-ryeong swung her long pipe like a sword toward Na Yul-ryang.
-Whoosh!
Na Yul-ryang tilted his head back, lightly dodging it, then retreated a few steps with footwork to create distance.
"What is this, Junior Sister?"
-......
What is this?
Cheong-ryeong smirked, lifting the corner of her mouth, and unleashed sword strikes with her pipe toward Na Yul-ryang.
It had been ages since she faced someone with swordsmanship after becoming a vengeful spirit.
No, nearly a hundred years?
-Swish swish swish swish swish!
Na Yul-ryang deployed footwork to evade the trajectory of Cheong-ryeong's sword strikes.
As befitting a transcendent realm master who had crossed the wall, his movements were extraordinary.
But then, Cheong-ryeong's sword strikes shifted into a feint.
-Swish!
Caught off guard by the unexpected change, Na Yul-ryang, who had one hand behind his back, summoned sharp energy to block the pipe.
-Clang clang clang clang clang!
As the sharp energy clashed with the pipe formed from spirit power, Na Yul-ryang furrowed his brow.
Then he spoke.
"Your swordsmanship has improved far beyond before."
-......
Cheong-ryeong silently unleashed another sword strike with her pipe.
Her pipe coiled around Na Yul-ryang's sharp energy like a snake, twisting upward.
'!?'
Na Yul-ryang immediately stepped back half a pace to evade it.
The moment he dodged, he thrust his sharp energy-infused hand toward Cheong-ryeong's chest.
But Cheong-ryeong easily sidestepped and deflected the sharp energy to the side.
-Bam!
'This?'
-Thud!
Na Yul-ryang's expression turned serious.
That made sense, for the little junior sister he knew had exceptional internal energy due to her unique constitution, but her technique application was still lacking.
Yet now, she wielded sword strikes like a seasoned expert with vast combat experience.
She hadn't received instruction from the Master since his illness, so there had been no reason to clash, but this improvement was too drastic.
-Swish!
While he puzzled over it, the pipe thrust toward his brow, carrying sharp energy.
-Whoosh!
Na Yul-ryang launched his body backward to dodge.
Then, widening the distance from her relentless attacks, he sneered.
"For your swordsmanship to have advanced this much, as your eldest senior brother, I am deeply moved."
-......
"That's enough now. I get that your sword has improved a lot."
-......
"You won't even talk with me?"
-......
It wasn't that she didn't want to talk; she couldn't.
Her voice or speech pattern might give her away.
But rather than growing irritated at Cheong-ryeong's attitude, Na Yul-ryang shook his head.
"Are you angry because your senior brother is trying to kill the guy you were after?"
-......
-Whoosh!
The moment Na Yul-ryang finished speaking, she launched herself forward again.
She was clashing with him in human form to buy Mok Kyung-un time to escape, but facing an opponent rivaling her prowess from her living human days after so long stirred her interest.
Though long turned into a vengeful spirit, her warrior's competitive spirit apparently still lingered.
-Slash slash slash slash slash!
Her pipe, laden with sharp energy, targeted Na Yul-ryang's vital points.
At that, Na Yul-ryang immediately said,
"You know no moderation. No choice then."
-Roarrrrr!
Surpassing sharp energy, he summoned sword gang to block Cheong-ryeong's sword strikes.
-Clang clang clang clang clang!
As the sharp energy and sword gang formed from spirit power reaching Blue Spirit rank collided, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Each clash produced white flashes and resounding whooshes.
Utterly different from when qi energies collided.
'What is this?'
Doubt flickered in Na Yul-ryang's eyes.
How could Wi So-yeon block his sword gang unleashed at seven-tenths power?
With mere sharp energy, no less.
And this bizarre sensation transmitted from the clashes, starting with the white flashes—what was it?
'It's different.'
Hard to pinpoint exactly.
-Clang clang clang clang clang!
Meanwhile, Cheong-ryeong, fiercely exchanging sword strikes with Na Yul-ryang, couldn't hide her own surprise.
'Not an ordinary one.'
Cheong-ryeong inwardly clicked her tongue.
She wasn't using her original sword forms but mimicking the Sovereign's Heavenly Sword Style, and though her spirit power was restricted in broad daylight, Na Yul-ryang's skill was truly formidable.
Once called one of the top sword experts alongside "that damn bastard" a century ago, she now found Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang keeping pace with her level.
'In another ten years, no one might beat this mortal in swordsmanship.'
He possessed innate martial genius she had to acknowledge.
It seemed the current Sovereign had taken on quite the remarkable disciple.
This worried her.
Could Mok Kyung-un catch up to this monster in the short term?
As a transcendent realm master, he posed great risk, but perhaps she should eliminate him herself right now.
With that, she prepared to unleash the Moon Sword Style in earnest, unlike before, to display her true power.
"I never thought you'd force this out of me."
'What?'
It was at that instant.
-Slither...
Na Yul-ryang's grayish right pupil turned silver.
'The pupil?'
What kind of phenomenon was this?
As she wondered, Great Young Master Na Yul-ryang suddenly retreated, widening the distance, and said,
"You... what exactly are you?"
-......
There was a reason for Na Yul-ryang's reaction.
He possessed a special ability.
It originated long ago when the blood of a bizarre, non-human entity dripped into his right eye.
By focusing qi into his right pupil, he could see others' weak points and qi flows.
Painful to use and unsustainable for long, but it allowed him to overwhelm even superiors effortlessly.
Na Yul-ryang called this opened eye of his Piercing Eye.
Yet,
'What?'
Staring at Cheong-ryeong, Na Yul-ryang couldn't comprehend.
While most martial artists possessed bright, warm qi, hers had none at all.
No, she had some, but it resembled the阴 cold,阴阴 aura that briefly arose after killing someone.
So bizarre it made him question if she was truly a living human.
Harboring doubt, Na Yul-ryang said,
"You... are you really Wi So-yeon...?"
-Flinch!
'!?'
At that moment, Na Yul-ryang stopped mid-sentence and turned his head.
The direction was where Mok Kyung-un was.
'No?'
Thanks to that, Cheong-ryeong naturally turned her head too, spotting Mok Kyung-un still lying on the ground there.
She had been too focused on the fight to notice, but why hadn't he fled?
Hadn't she created the opportunity for him?
-Mortal! This seat clearly told you... Huh?
Then Cheong-ryeong furrowed her brow.
Through her ghost eye, she saw Mok Kyung-un's death qi condensing and undergoing a change.
Cheong-ryeong's mouth fell slightly open.
'Ha!'
The transformation occurring in Mok Kyung-un's body.
Unlike normal qi flow, death qi circulated through reverse acupoints, condensing before spreading throughout his body.
It passed through the lower dantian's essence, gathered in his chest area for the second time before dispersing—that was qi in the middle dantian, with death qi flowing yin through reverse acupoints.
'Three Flowers Gather at the Crown...'
What Mok Kyung-un was undergoing was none other than the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown phenomenon.
But it differed from the norm.
Typically, Three Flowers Gather at the Crown was Three Yangs Gather at the Crown: yang within yin, yang within yang, yang within yin-yang—these three yangs converge inward toward the heavenly palace and return, termed the primordial completion.
Yet Mok Kyung-un's was the opposite due to reverse acupoints.
'Three Yins Gather at the Crown!'
Yin within yang, yin within yin, yin within yin-yang.
The three yins converged inward toward the heavenly palace in reverse, returning to primordial completion.
'...Mortal, you?'
Mok Kyung-un wasn't at the stage for enlightenment yet.
Not even at the peak of supreme extremity, he hadn't fully comprehended qi.
Yet here he was, forcibly attempting Three Flowers—no, Three Yins Gather at the Crown—to shatter the wall.
Not through enlightenment, but by force.
'How on earth?'
In her bewilderment,
-Whoosh!
Na Yul-ryang shot forward like lightning.
'Must kill him.'
Until now, Na Yul-ryang had been utterly at ease.
But seeing the bizarre change in Mok Kyung-un through his Piercing Eye, he felt vigilance for the first time.
Not normal qi, but a grotesque aura seen briefly in the dead, reverse-flowing through his entire body to form the three yin flowers.
Did this make any sense?
Instinctively, he knew he had to stop this bizarre phenomenon.