The Sword Empress's Astonishment
Geum Taeyang followed Marianne down to the underground training hall, letting his mind wander with pointless thoughts as he tried to hype himself up. What exactly was martial arts? Strength? Enlightenment? Honor and righteousness? All of those made sense, but the moment Marianne unleashed her third form, he found the real answer.
Damn, that’s insanely cool!
Coolness. That was it. Martial arts without style had no reason to exist. The art of turning slaughter into something beautiful existed only because of that inherent flair. No wonder people went crazy for murim tales.
Shara-la-la-la-la-la…! Shara-la-la-la-la-la…!
As Marianne’s third form bloomed, snowflakes made of mana scattered wildly. Between those flakes came the biting cold sword wind, and twenty-odd blades of the Snow Flower Flying Lotus Sword flew toward the startled Geum Taeyang.
“I’ll take it head-on! This great barbarian Geum Taeyang will never dodge the Sword Empress’s sincere strike!”
Thud! Thud!
He planted both feet firmly on the ground. No backsteps, no sidesteps. As the great barbarian, he would meet the Sword Empress’s magnificent chain of strikes straight on. Style had to answer style.
“Hah! Tyrant King’s Chain Sword!”
With a thunderous shout and a hastily made-up technique name, Geum Taeyang unleashed a barrage of slashes every bit as fierce as Marianne’s own.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang-clang! Clang! Clang-clang! Sparks flew as sword aura met sword aura in a dazzling exchange. For a moment it looked like they were evenly matched.
Shit, I’m already out of breath.
Because he had shouted the ridiculous name while holding his breath, the poor barbarian was rapidly running out of stamina. If only he could summon the Life Water Cloak to recover, but he couldn’t reveal it here. Damn it.
Even Selendis offered some stamina recovery, but it was nothing compared to the cloak’s battlefield restoration. Right now he desperately needed an instant stamina potion.
It’s been a long time since I pushed my inner energy this hard. This is on a completely different level from demonstrating in front of the emperor.
Marianne, on the other hand, showed no sign of fatigue. Her continuous attacks came from inner energy rather than physical stamina. Once she ignited the energy gathered in her dantian, the technique would keep going until it ran dry or was broken.
I want to see more.
She considered pressing the attack further, but another thought crossed her mind. Geum Taeyang still hadn’t used the power of his legendary artifacts. She wanted to draw that out and witness his true essence.
The current situation was a delicate tightrope between duel and spar. If she pushed just a little harder toward real combat, he would surely unleash the full might of his legendary weapons.
Raise my inner energy even higher…
Marianne poured even more power into her already elevated state.
“Snow Flower Flying Sword Fourth Form — Snow Flower Flying Lotus Wild Dance.”
A far more powerful chain attack than the third form bloomed like a lotus in midair, a dazzling storm of sword strikes dancing chaotically.
“Whoa!”
Geum Taeyang couldn’t help crying out in genuine admiration. A blizzard erupted before him as the Snow Flower Flying Lotus Wild Dance activated.
Clang-clang-clang-clang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Damn it! She even added the Snow Flower Flying Lotus Steps! Attacks are coming from every direction! I have no choice but to retreat from this storm of continuous strikes!
Geum Taeyang was swept into the whirlwind of Marianne’s sword. Her footwork, now purely offensive, locked him down from all sides. Yet even in the midst of shock and excitement, his body reacted with terrifying precision, parrying the storm of blades.
But his lungs were at their limit. He had been fighting without breathing for too long.
If that’s the case, I’ll just have to show her!
Flash!
Geum Taeyang understood exactly why Marianne had used the fourth form. She was an emotional person, and he had deliberately stirred those feelings. Now she wanted to see the power of a legendary sword that rarely appeared on the continent. This was the perfect moment to show it off in style.
His eyes gleamed with confidence.
“Heart Extinction!”
The first skill he activated from Luciena was Heart Extinction. The result was explosive.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
“!!!!!!”
Marianne’s snowflake storm was completely repelled. An enormous pressure filled the air. She had seen many energy pressures before, but never anything like this.
Her face filled with shock. Techniques that halted opponents with pressure were common among high-grade artifacts, but actually bouncing back an opponent’s attack—especially the Sword Empress’s own form—was something else entirely. She couldn’t even begin to gauge the power behind it.
“Blade Soul…!”
A strange energy rippled along Luciena. Blade Soul, a reinforced attack that surpassed sword aura, was the demonic counterpart to the holy flames of holy swords.
That is…
Marianne, knocked back roughly six meters by Heart Extinction, witnessed the bizarre sight of a soul rather than aura or flame.
It’s dangerous!
Her instincts screamed warning.
“Blade Phantom Blow.”
BOOOOOOM!
Geum Taeyang launched Luciena’s strike at her. Blade Phantom Blow—a devastating demonic strike that devoured even shadows. The force of his charge was so immense that the air itself seemed to explode as he rocketed toward Marianne.
This attack can’t be deflected. Even if I dodge, it will chase me.
In the brief moment it took for the distance to close to fifteen meters, Marianne analyzed the technique and made her decision.
“Snow Flower Ice Formation!”
She activated the ultimate defensive art of the Snow Flower Sword—the Snow Flower Ice Formation.
Whooooooosh!
A barrier formed in front of her. When defending against attacks from all directions it became a dome, but against a concentrated strike like this it manifested as a solid wall.
BOOOOOOM!
“Let’s see you block this ultimate secret of the Snow Flower Sword!”
The barrier, reinforced by Marianne’s tremendous inner energy, radiated overwhelming presence. Yet Geum Taeyang swung Luciena without hesitation, Blade Soul blazing, determined to smash through her defense.
CRAAAAASH!
Flash!
The two ultimate techniques collided. A thunderous roar shook the reinforced underground training hall beneath the Nahoja estate, and a blinding light like a miniature sun filled the space.
Crack! Crack-crack-crack!
Shhh! Shhh-shhh! Shhh-shhh-shhh!
When the light finally faded, the scene revealed a contest of raw power. Luciena and the Snow Flower Ice Formation pushed against each other with a narrow gap between them. Then—
CRACKKKKK!
Fractures began spreading across Marianne’s barrier.
Shatter!
The Snow Flower Ice Formation completely shattered. Yet it was not Marianne who cried out in amazement.
“That was incredible!”
Geum Taeyang shouted in genuine admiration.
“To split your inner energy in two at that critical moment!”
Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh!
Beyond the scattering fragments of the barrier, he saw the tip of the Snow Flower Flying Lotus Sword gleaming with platinum light. Marianne had maintained the barrier while simultaneously preparing a lethal follow-up strike with a separate flow of energy.
Snow Flower Diamond Flash!
The ultimate thrusting technique of the Snow Flower Sword—a single blinding strike like a diamond cleaving through snowflakes—shot forward and collided with the still-active Blade Phantom Blow.
BOOOOOOM!
Geum Taeyang was driven backward. Marianne pressed the advantage without pause. Then—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Geum Taeyang narrowly evaded her charge by sliding and spinning away, ending up three meters behind her.
“!!????”
Marianne’s eyes widened in shock at the movement she had just witnessed.
Snow Flower Flying Lotus Steps?
The footwork Geum Taeyang had used was not True Mana Step, but her own Snow Flower Flying Lotus Steps. He had perfectly copied the Snow Flower Flying Sword she had just demonstrated, thanks to his Heavenly Martial Body. Yet he had deliberately chosen to dodge with her own technique rather than True Mana Step. If he had used True Mana Step at such close range, Marianne’s keen mana perception would have read the flow and countered.
Thud. Thud.
Her sword stopped short of its target. Geum Taeyang also halted, still not fully accustomed to the new footwork.
“....”
Marianne stood frozen in her final stance for a long moment. Slowly, she straightened and turned to face him.
“Did you just learn the Snow Flower Flying Lotus Steps from our spar just now?”
She asked for confirmation.
“I’m surprised myself. The moment I felt I had to respond to your strike, my body moved on its own.”
Geum Taeyang delivered the smooth lie with perfect acting. In essence, he claimed that Marianne’s positive pressure had drawn out his latent talent and allowed the copy.
Is this what it feels like…?
His performance was flawless. Marianne believed him completely, and a deep resonance stirred in her heart.
Is this how my master felt when he first saw me imitate the Snow Flower Sword?
In truth, Seoryeon-ah had only intended to teach Marianne how to split Snow Flower Strong Qi to help control her Gu-eum Absolute Meridian. The full Snow Flower Sword required extraordinary talent. Yet after seeing her master’s technique a few times, Marianne had copied it anyway.
Witnessing true excellence is truly heart-stirring.
A master loved all disciples, but the catharsis of discovering a brilliant raw gem was an educator’s irreplaceable dream.
Just then—
“Sword Empress? Sword Empress??”
Geum Taeyang called out in alarm. Marianne swayed unsteadily, as if struck by dizziness, and collapsed.
