Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Dantian Sealing
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"What?"
"Is he crazy?"
Shin Yu-hyun's words drew immediate reactions from the other two.
They were also low-grade 3-star swordsmen from Vermilion Bird Hall—Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon.
"See? I told you words wouldn't get through to him."
"He'll only listen after getting a taste of the heat."
Shring.
Sneers curled at the corners of their mouths as they drew the longswords from their waists.
"So, what are you gonna do to me? You think you punks can actually pull it off?"
Shin Yu-hyun glared at them and drew his own sword.
Jeong Tae-seong let out a mocking laugh and spoke up.
"Acting all high and mighty when you're barely 2-star at your age. No matter how strong you get, you're still just that."
They had no idea that Shin Yu-hyun had just become a low-grade 3-star and cleared the dungeon.
And even among 3-stars, there were clear differences in rank.
"Don't think for a second that a worm like you can stand up to us."
Jeong Tae-seong curled his lip smugly.
They believed Shin Yu-hyun was only mid-grade 2-star.
In contrast, Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon were low-grade 3-star swordsmen, while Jeong Tae-seong was a mid-grade 3-star powerhouse.
So they were under the delusion that there was a massive gap between them and Shin Yu-hyun.
But Shin Yu-hyun stared at Jeong Tae-seong's group with a relatively calm expression.
"You know touching a direct descendant like me will cause problems, right? You don't seriously think you'll get away with this scot-free?"
Vermilion Bird Hall members clad in barriers emblazoned with striking red flame patterns.
Even as late-generation disciples under Shin Cheol-jin's protection in Azure Dragon Sword Division—no, Vermilion Bird Hall—they'd still be in hot water for laying hands on a direct bloodline.
But Jeong Tae-seong's group just scoffed at Shin Yu-hyun's warning.
"Direct descendant? As if touching a powerless nobody like you would cause any issues."
"Forgot I have Black Tortoise Hall backing me?"
"Black Tortoise Hall? Don't make me laugh. Since when do they follow you around?"
Jeong Tae-seong sneered at Shin Yu-hyun's retort.
It was true—in his previous life, Black Tortoise Hall's swordsmen had turned a blind eye to him, and he'd done the same.
Back then, he couldn't even open his energy core, so he'd given up in despair.
But things were different now.
Unlike his listless previous life, he knew the means and methods to grow stronger.
And he'd just broken through to 3-star swordsman.
Still, he and Black Tortoise Hall's swordsmen had ignored each other for far too long.
It would take time, and he'd need achievements substantial enough to make them follow him.
But before that could happen, Shin Cheol-jin had made his move.
"Don't worry too much."
"We'll just seal your dantian, that's all."
Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon snickered as they said it.
Shin Yu-hyun's expression turned icy.
"Seal my dantian?"
Dantian sealing.
Swordsmen and warrior-type superhumans generally formed a dantian through heart method cultivation and unlocked their energy core.
They then accumulated mana in it to grow stronger.
In other words, the dantian was like a second life to superhumans.
Threatening to seal it was a punishment worse than death.
"So you've finally crossed the line."
Shin Yu-hyun glared at Jeong Tae-seong's group with cold eyes.
Jeong Tae-seong responded with a nasty grin.
"And? You know damn well what the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan is like. The one who gets beaten is the one at fault, right?"
Especially that last line from Jeong Tae-seong—it cut deep.
It perfectly symbolized the current state of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
The superhuman world was a brutal, might-makes-right jungle.
The weak got devoured.
The Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan was an iconic powerhouse in that world.
And regarding the successor struggle, they took a neutral stance as long as it didn't involve murder.
The successor battle was for the direct lines to sort out among themselves.
Even if Shin Yu-hyun fell to Jeong Tae-seong's group, the clan wouldn't impose any real sanctions.
At most, a short house arrest.
And as Clan Leader Shin Sung-il had said at the gathering a few days ago, they'd just blame the weak one.
'I'll change it with my own hands.'
Shin Yu-hyun gripped Demon Sword Ignis tightly.
A world that discriminated and stripped opportunities from those without talent or power.
Late-blooming potentials never even flowered before vanishing.
That's why he wanted to create it.
A world where superhumans with talent but no chance to shine didn't disappear—and where the powerless weren't discriminated against.
It would help in the fight against those Getia bastards, too.
Shin Yu-hyun coldly glared at Jeong Tae-seong's group and quietly spoke.
"Then you're prepared for it?"
"Prepared? For what?"
"For the same thing to happen to you!"
With those words, Shin Yu-hyun activated Body Strengthening Technique and kicked off the ground.
Boom!
Heaven-Splitting Divine Steps.
Second step: Lightning Flash.
Lightning Flash allowed ultra-high-speed movement over short distances, like a bolt of lightning.
In the blink of an eye, Shin Yu-hyun—Ignis wreathed in black flame—appeared before Jeong Tae-seong.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship.
First Form: Ignorance.
Ignis then arced with a red trail, scattering black flames as it flew toward Jeong Tae-seong.
But Jeong Tae-seong was no pushover.
True to his mid-grade 3-star prowess, he reacted swiftly to Shin Yu-hyun's attack.
Clang!
Activating Body Strengthening Technique and aura just in time, Jeong Tae-seong blocked Shin Yu-hyun's longsword.
"Ngh!"
But Jeong Tae-seong grimaced.
The impact made his wrist go numb.
'2-star mid-grade does this?'
Jeong Tae-seong frowned at Shin Yu-hyun's unexpectedly overwhelming power.
And well he might.
Shin Yu-hyun wasn't mid-grade 2-star anymore—he was low-grade 3-star, using chakra superior to energy.
His Body Strengthening Technique was far more efficient than theirs.
Purely in terms of physical ability, he wasn't inferior to mid-grade 3-star Jeong Tae-seong.
"Is he nuts?!"
"He needs a taste of the blade to come to his senses!"
Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon, oblivious to the truth, activated Body Strengthening Technique and thrust their glowing red-aura blades forward.
But.
Clang! Clang!
Shin Yu-hyun casually flicked his longsword left and right, deflecting their attacks with ease.
"Wha—?!"
"W-what the—?!"
Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon's faces filled with shock.
To think he'd block their surprise strikes!
But what stunned them more was the fluid, natural flow of Shin Yu-hyun's swordsmanship.
With minimal, efficient motions, he'd repelled their assaults—then seamlessly shifted to offense.
Clang! Claaang! Clang-clang-claaang!
"Urk!"
"What kind of power...?"
"He's really just mid-grade 2-star?"
Jeong Tae-seong's group could barely defend against the whirlwind of black-flame longsword strikes.
'Th-this swordsmanship...?!'
'Azure Dragon Swordsmanship?'
'And now White Tiger Swordsmanship too?'
Shockingly, a variety of sword styles flowed seamlessly from Shin Yu-hyun's blade.
Sometimes fluid like water.
Sometimes swift as the wind.
Jeong Tae-seong's group were desperate just to block the black-flame aura assaults.
And understandably so.
Shin Yu-hyun had learned and mastered every sword style of the clan.
Other direct descendants had only honed their assigned Four Guardian Sword styles or Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship, or cultivated heart methods.
Superhuman swordsmen's strength came from mana-fueled Body Strengthening Technique and aura.
They prioritized raw power and ignored other styles.
But now Shin Yu-hyun could use Body Strengthening Technique and aura after opening his energy core.
Layering the clan's diverse sword styles on top left Jeong Tae-seong's group reeling.
No—they were being overwhelmed.
"Let's see you block this!"
Enraged, Jeong Tae-seong roared as he surged with power.
Vermilion Bird Swordsmanship.
Third Form: Scorching Blaze.
Whoosh!
Red light erupted from his blade, flames roaring fiercely.
Jeong Tae-seong swung the glowing red-hot sword down.
Cloooang!
"Gah!"
Jeong Tae-seong's eyes widened in shock.
Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon stared in disbelief from the side.
"He blocked that?"
"For real? Even we couldn't...?"
Scorching Blaze was one of Jeong Tae-seong's signature moves.
It melted and severed even the toughest blades with superheated emissions from the sword.
Yet Shin Yu-hyun's black-flame-coated sword was holding firm against Jeong Tae-seong's red-hot blade.
Sizzle! Sssizzle!
Red and black flames sprayed wildly between Jeong Tae-seong and Shin Yu-hyun.
Amid it all, Shin Yu-hyun spoke in a low voice.
"That all you got?"
"Huh?"
As Jeong Tae-seong blankly replied—
Crack!
Shin Yu-hyun's fist slammed into Jeong Tae-seong's face.
"Gaaargh!"
Jeong Tae-seong screamed as his nose crumpled, blood spraying everywhere as he flew back.
Shin Yu-hyun then swiftly kicked Seo Min-jun and Kim Do-yoon's shins, toppling them.
Crack! Crack!
"Ack!"
"Aaaagh!"
The crisp sound of breaking bones rang out as they hit the dirt.
Seo Min-jun clutched his shattered shin, rolling on the ground and staring up at Shin Yu-hyun in disbelief.
"H-how...?"
They'd reinforced their bodies with Body Strengthening Technique too.
Yet he'd snapped their bones so easily!
"No need for you to know. More importantly, what was that you said earlier? Something about sealing my dantian?"
Shin Yu-hyun looked down at Seo Min-jun with cold eyes.
Realizing something was wrong, Seo Min-jun scrambled for a lame excuse to weasel out.
"N-no, that was just talk, I mean..."
Thud!
"Guhk!"
A kick to the gut cut Seo Min-jun off mid-sentence with a scream.
"No excuses."
Shin Yu-hyun said coldly.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
He had things to do.
Getia—humanity's enemy, the ones he had to avenge.
They'd tortured and slaughtered him and his loved ones.
Watching it unfold, Shin Yu-hyun had shed bloody tears and sworn revenge.
Not just any revenge—he'd make them pay in full, measure for measure.
Achieving that would save his loved ones and humanity too.
But these idiots...
"You dare threaten to seal my dantian?"
The dantian was the source of a superhuman's power.
Sealed, he couldn't avenge himself against Getia—or protect his loved ones.
He'd just relive those horrors from his previous life.
Crunch!
With that thought, Shin Yu-hyun mercilessly stomped Seo Min-jun's broken leg.
"Gaaaaah!"
Seo Min-jun writhed in agony, screaming.
"Don't be such a baby."
Shin Yu-hyun looked down with eyes like frozen steel.
Compared to what Getia had done, this was nothing.
'Wh-what's with those eyes...?'
Seo Min-jun shuddered.
The gaze boring into him was chilling to the bone.
What kind of hell forged eyes like that?
"Then let's start with you."
"S-start? Start what?"
Seo Min-jun flinched at the sudden words.
Shin Yu-hyun pronounced his sentence in a frigid voice.
"Dantian sealing."
"What?"
Seo Min-jun's face went blank for a moment.
Then realization hit, twisting his features in despair.
"N-no!"
"Yes."