Chapter 52
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Nine Splits Heaven and Earth
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The Blood Yin Death General's face twisted involuntarily.
“Urk!”
His form was pushed back forcefully. Struck by an attack he hadn’t anticipated at all, the Blood Yin Death General wore an expression of utter disbelief.
“Impossible! Aren’t you one of the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“There’s no rule saying the North Sea Ice Palace can only use yin cold arts.”
“What?”
It was incomprehensible to the Blood Yin Death General. Every master from the North Sea Ice Palace in history had without exception used yin cold arts.
‘A yang strong art in the North Sea Ice Palace?’
Seol Hwa-un wore a faint smile, but inwardly, he was worried.
‘The North Wind Brigade Leader is down, but the others are the concern.’
Of all people, he was the sub-lord of the North Sea Ice Palace. Using a martial art from another faction instead of the palace’s own was a graver issue than he’d thought.
Of course, he had previously shown a yang strong art to Hao Clan’s Jo Il-pyeong.
He had been startled, but that was achievable with a simple energy art, regardless of compatibility.
But deploying a martial art based on yang strong energy was another matter entirely.
‘That’s why I tried not to use it unless I had to…….’
He had no choice. The Blood Yin Death General was stronger than expected. Judging by the sheer volume of his internal energy alone, it seemed at least double Seol Hwa-un’s.
Moreover, being the same yin energy, it neutralized the Ice White Divine Art, preventing its full power from manifesting.
‘If it had even reached sixty percent, I could’ve handled him.’
More than anything, the gap in internal energy volume, combined with matching attributes, made victory nearly impossible.
It was only because the Ice White Divine Art’s yin energy was pure and dense that he could even hold his own against the Blood Yin Death General to this extent.
‘It’s not like I have no other options, but why take the long way when the easy path is open?’
In contrast, the Pure Yang Infinite Art’s yang strong energy was the perfect counter to the Blood Yin Death General’s impure yin energy.
‘If I could just reach Proclaiming Flame, it’d be even better.’
The Pure Yang Infinite Art was divided into three stages: Initial Heat, Proclaiming Flame, and Extreme Flame.
Each realm was distinguishable by the flame’s color: red for Initial Heat, yellow for Proclaiming Flame, and white for Extreme Flame.
Currently, Seol Hwa-un was emitting red energy.
‘Even Initial Heat is enough to face the Blood Yin Death General.’
Whoosh!!
Boom! Boom!
Seol Hwa-un’s Blazing Flower Fist assailed the Blood Yin Death General with ferocious momentum. Whether it was truly effective or not, the Blood Yin Death General was now retreating chaotically, unlike before.
‘Guh! What’s this disgrace? To some young punk…….’
Even he, the one under attack, was flustered. Each time Seol Hwa-un’s fist connected, his Blood Yin Energy scattered into pieces, leaving him no choice but to fall back.
Boom! Boom!
The watching North Wind Brigade Leader couldn’t hide his shock.
Seol Hwa-un’s prowess was astonishing, but what truly shocked him was the fist technique Seol Hwa-un was now unleashing.
‘It’s even more powerful than the fist art he showed at the Black Wind Hall! Far more…… closer to a yang strong art, perhaps?’
Even in the Central Plains, such a sight was rare.
‘Sub-Lord, what martial art have you learned?’
Eom Mu-hwi and Dong Ho-won were also staring at the duel in a daze.
“We knew the sub-lord was strong…… but this is too much. How is he pushing back one of the Death Generals like that?”
Eom Mu-hwi gravely nodded at Dong Ho-won’s words.
“No wonder he wasn’t worried during the ambush planning. He intended to handle it himself.”
When plotting the ambush on the Four Evils Heavenly Sect, the biggest dilemma had been who would face the Blood Yin Death General.
There were masters like Hwangbo Un-gyeong and Hwangbo Tae-seong, but no one disputed that the Hwangbo family’s top expert was the patriarch, Hwangbo Tae-ryeong.
He would have been ideal, but he was absent. Thus, Hwangbo Un-gyeong had stepped up with a resolute expression to take him on.
His skills were formidable, but whether he could surpass the Blood Yin Death General was questionable.
As everyone hesitated, Seol Hwa-un had supported Hwangbo Un-gyeong.
Looking back now, it seemed he had a backup plan to step in if Hwangbo Un-gyeong couldn’t handle it.
“But what’s that fist technique? Did our palace have something like that? Mu-hwi, do you know?”
Eom Mu-hwi shook his head at Dong Ho-won’s question.
“Not at all. It’s a fist art I’ve never seen before.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say more.
‘It’s a fist technique rivaling the Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist. How did the sub-lord learn something like that?’
As the Blood Yin Death General fell back, the Four Evils Heavenly Sect disciples couldn’t conceal their agitation.
“The sect leader is being pushed!”
“What do we do? Should we help?”
“It’s impossible. If we jump in there, we’ll get caught in their energy clashes and not even bones will remain.”
Even the sect’s top experts, Black Death Buddha and Ghost Shadow Blade, couldn’t muster the resolve to act.
“Raaah!”
The Blood Yin Death General, continuously driven back, unleashed his Blood Yin Hand energy wildly in all directions like a cornered beast.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
“…….”
In response, as if waiting, the flame color of Seol Hwa-un’s fists gradually shifted to yellow.
In an instant, his Pure Yang Infinite Art realm had advanced.
‘Blazing Flower Fist, Fourth Form: Blazing Flower Explosive Shatter!’
A massive clump of energy formed at his fist. Its radius exceeded two feet.
Boom!!
The yellow fireball shot toward the Blood Yin Death General.
Rumble!
Its path gouged a deep furrow in the ground. The Blood Yin Death General’s energy vanished soundlessly upon contact with the fireball.
The Blood Yin Death General’s eyes widened.
‘This is absurd…….’
KABOOM!
The explosion was so tremendous that weaker warriors clutched their ears and collapsed.
Splatter.
Dust billowed thickly, clouding the view.
“Such a technique!”
“Did the sect leader…… fall?”
“No way……!”
Seol Hwa-un slowly withdrew his extended fist.
‘Not quite the power it had before.’
Back when facing the Heavenly Collapse Fist Emperor, a single Blazing Flower Explosive Shatter had reduced three Heavenly Demon Divine Cult elders to ashes.
But now, he couldn’t muster that level of force. He hadn’t fully recovered his former realm, and the yang strong energy itself was still weak.
‘I thought that would take him down. He endured it?’
As the dust settled, the Blood Yin Death General came into view. His clothes were charred in places, some hair burned off, presenting a sorry sight.
But he didn’t seem to have taken critical damage.
However, his face was flushed red with rage.
“You little punk, daring to make me look like this?”
The Blood Yin Death General unleashed an immense aura. It was far more intense than before.
“…….”
Seol Hwa-un frowned.
‘A shame. I should’ve finished him before showing my full hand.’
As expected, a Death General was no pushover.
“Brat, consider it an honor. You’ve forced this seat to go all out.”
Boom!
The Blood Yin Death General kicked off the ground and charged. His momentum and speed were twice as fast as before.
“……!”
Seol Hwa-un swiftly stepped back, unleashing Blazing Flower Fist energy.
Fwoosh!
Boom!
The fist energy struck the Blood Yin Death General squarely, but it couldn’t halt his charge.
A look of dismay crossed Seol Hwa-un’s face.
‘My calculations were off. His internal energy isn’t just double mine. At least triple.’
At that level of disparity, even compatibility was irrelevant.
Seol Hwa-un took two more steps back.
‘How do I deal with this monster brimming with raw internal energy?’
His current level of Blazing Flower Fist was no longer effective.
Seol Hwa-un switched back to his original Ice White Divine Art. He immediately unleashed Fist Cannon One Split from the Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist.
Boom!
KABOOM!
This time, the Blood Yin Death General’s form momentarily faltered. It wasn’t a devastating blow, but the impact was clear.
A glint appeared in Seol Hwa-un’s eyes.
‘It works?’
Normally, it should have been even less effective than Blazing Flower Fist.
Seol Hwa-un quickly realized why.
‘I see. Pure yin cold art—this is the key!’
By drawing up all his power, the Blood Yin Death General had increased the overall volume of circulating energy in his body, but that also amplified the impure qi mixed in his internal energy.
This created a massive opening for pure yin energy to infiltrate.
This was why evil arts struggled more against orthodox arts the higher their realms climbed.
‘Good.’
Seol Hwa-un met the Blood Yin Death General again with the Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist.
Fist energy clashed fiercely against Blood Yin Hand energy.
KABOOM! KABOOM! BOOM!
The evenly matched duel resumed.
“…….”
The Blood Yin Death General frowned.
‘This bastard and his tricks again!’
But he soon realized the reason.
‘Then I have a counter too!’
From then on, the Blood Yin Death General modulated his power output while deploying Blood Yin Hand.
‘Not a chance.’
Seol Hwa-un, quick on the uptake, alternated between yang strong and yin cold arts.
Instantly reading the opponent’s attack and freely switching energy attributes mid-clash was no simple feat.
The Blood Yin Death General was appalled.
‘What kind of monster is this? Wielding two opposing attributes is shocking enough, but handling them this freely?’
Even he, who merely needed to adjust power volume—a relatively easy task—was falling behind in speed.
‘Fine, you brat. No more tricks!’
The Blood Yin Death General abandoned power control and went all-out with every attack.
‘About time.’
Seol Hwa-un maxed out his Ice White Divine Art as well.
Thus, another intense clash ensued.
KABOOM!!
Another massive explosion rang out. At the same time, Seol Hwa-un’s form was hurled back significantly.
A triumphant smile spread across the Blood Yin Death General’s face.
‘That’s right. Did you think you could withstand my internal energy?’
He closed the distance rapidly, aiming to finish Seol Hwa-un in one go.
‘……Hm?’
But something was off about Seol Hwa-un’s state. He didn’t look disadvantaged from being outmatched in internal energy.
“…….”
One fist pressed to his waist, he was in deep concentration.
“Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist, Fifth Form.”
Whoooosh!
The air trembled violently, swirling around Seol Hwa-un like a vortex.
It felt as if all surrounding air was being sucked toward his fist.
“……!”
Sensing danger, the Blood Yin Death General’s face hardened.
‘I have to attack before he pulls it off!’
He accelerated further.
“Haaah!”
Immense Blood Yin Rigid Energy erupted from the Blood Yin Death General’s hands, engulfing Seol Hwa-un’s entire body.
ROOOAR!
Seeing this, a faint smile tugged at Seol Hwa-un’s lips.
‘Too late, Blood Yin Death General.’
Dazzling white light burst from his fist in all directions, blindingly bright.
“Nine Splits Heaven and Earth.”
The Ice Family’s long-cherished dream and the Ice River Nine Splits Divine Fist’s ultimate form, Nine Splits Heaven and Earth, finally revealed itself to the world.
Seol Hwa-un’s fist thrust forward indifferently.
Thud!
It appeared as a simple straight punch, but to the Blood Yin Death General, it was entirely different. Hundreds, thousands of fists were assaulting him from every direction.
The Blood Yin Death General’s eyes nearly bulged out.
‘Th-this is an illusion!’
Whoosh!!
The Blood Yin Rigid Energy scattered like dust, and Seol Hwa-un’s fist brushed past the Blood Yin Death General’s body like a phantom.
“…….”
By now, Seol Hwa-un stood behind the Blood Yin Death General in the same punching stance.
“S-such a fist technique…….”
Drip.
The Blood Yin Death General’s face cracked irregularly, revealing red flesh beneath. His pupils had already lost their light, growing dim.
“Guh…….”
Suddenly, his body swelled slightly.
SPLATTER!
With a gruesome explosion, it burst into pieces and scattered everywhere.