Chapter 166
Chapter 166
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My first move was the ultimate technique Thunder Shadow Guiding Path, while Tuma's opening strike was Blade Curtain. As my sword shot forth like a beam of light infused with inner energy, Tuma unfurled his Blade Curtain to block my attack. At the same time, flames and lightning flared up, signaling the start of the battle.
Kieeeing
My inner energy had reached a world-shaking level, so the Thunder Shadow Guiding Path effortlessly sliced through the center of the Blade Curtain, heading straight for Tuma's vital point. However, as if he knew the extent of my power, Tuma calmly evaded with footwork and transitioned from Blade Curtain to Blade Flame, launching a counterattack at me.
Kuu-kwang!
This was another exchange. I laid my sword horizontally to absorb the impact and was pushed back slightly, restoring the distance between Tuma and me to three zhang. As the probing skirmish ended, fighting spirit boiled in our eyes, and we began to gradually reveal our ultimate techniques.
The Swift Illusion Conclusion from the Ten Thousand Victory Sword Formula lashed out. During my time honing Jang Sam-bong's insights, my sword seemed to have broken through yet another wall in terms of speed, and it even worked against an absolute peak expert like Tuma. Sure enough, amid the shower of sword light pouring out like beams of light, Tuma looked slightly flustered as he defended only around his body and retreated another three steps.
Taat
Tuma's body soared a zhang into the air. In a clash between experts, unless one had exceptional lightness skill, leaping into the air first was akin to a fatal mistake—yet Tuma oddly turned his back to me.
'An ultimate technique?'
Naturally, the more unusual the stance, the higher the chance it was his trump card. Charging straight in just because his back was exposed would only trap me in his move. So, I halted the Swift Illusion Conclusion and used Annihilation Soul Step to escape his attack range.
Sasaat
In an instant, Tuma and I had switched positions. I employed profound sword arts to seal off Tuma's follow-up attack while pressing him, but Tuma countered by unleashing powerful strikes and pushing forward.
Kwarung!!
A thunderous roar echoed, and this time our blades properly clashed. Seeing Tuma try to deflect my attack with transformation realm, I instead pressed harder. Unable to withstand the difference in inner energy, Tuma staggered back two steps. As he flipped his body to retreat again, I pursued relentlessly with Annihilation Soul Step.
Tuma's blade swept through the air with immense weight. Even I couldn't easily block the colossal force contained within, so this time I used transformation realm to redirect it into the ground.
Kung!
A cloud of dust rose between Tuma and me. Even through the dust, we glared at each other. A brief stalemate ensued—this had all happened in just over twenty exchanges.
"Oooooh...!!"
"Incredible!!"
Exclamations rose from the spectator stands. The initial exchanges between true absolute peak experts embodied an art comparable to the pinnacle of dance. But I knew this splendor arose precisely because it couldn't erase the deficiencies within me, so I felt no elation. The closer one approached the extreme, the less flashy it became—turning instead toward simplicity.
"......"
Tuma, facing me, glanced at his blade. Two or three nicks had appeared on the edge, and it was chipped. So, he leaped down from the arena, thrust his old blade into the ground, grabbed a new one from a nearby rack, and returned.
He spoke with a sigh.
"What is this? How have I never heard of a guy like you until now?"
I gave a wry smile and replied.
"Who truly knows how vast the world is?"
"Your swordsmanship is quite different from the Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship or Ten Thousand Victory Sword Formula I've heard about. A new sword art?"
"Hmm..."
Tuma's question left me perplexed—not about how to answer, but about the ambiguous position my current swordsmanship had reached. As an absolute peak expert and mortal enemy of the Thunder God Style, he undoubtedly had the eye to distinguish its sword arts, yet he was declaring it a "different sword art."
'Had blending Jang Sam-bong's insights evolved the Ten Thousand Victory Sword Formula?'
I hadn't noticed it during spars with my Thunder God Style brothers. After a moment's thought, I answered Tuma.
"Not quite. Consider it an evolved form of the Ten Thousand Victory Sword Formula."
"Heh heh... Improving your martial arts in a mere half-century. The Thunder God Style must have been quite resentful at being chased out."
"If you're going to provoke me, do it properly—or don't bother with half-hearted jabs."
As a renowned elder of the unorthodox sects, Tuma seemed to avoid crude insults or provocations. When I grumbled, he smiled faintly and replied.
"Keh heh heh. Isn't this a friendly spar? Don't get too heated."
Before I could respond, Tuma advanced first, timing his breath in a cunning, precise manner that seemed designed to lure an opening. Caught off guard, I had to deflect his Blade Flame.
'Damn it.'
Even this gap had been pierced by Tuma reading my mind. He'd realized crude curses or clumsy taunts wouldn't work on me and struck at the flaw in my breathing instead.
Buuuung
At the same time, formless energy rose and condensed around Tuma's blade. I instantly recognized it as the prelude to him unleashing the Wind God Style's secret technique in earnest. Moments later, Tuma swept his blade horizontally and shouted.
"Blood Wind Slash!"
Tuma's Blade Flame flew forth, suddenly splitting into two afterimages. An impossible phenomenon, I flinched and observed the change. The afterimage blades then fragmented like gravel, faintly carrying a bloody stench as they turned red.
'Block it head-on?'
But something told me that wasn't right. Opting for caution, I twisted my body out of the Blood Wind Slash's path and evaded swiftly. The Blood Wind Slash scattered harmlessly to the side. Tuma wore a regretful expression and shouted irritably.
"You're too much! What, are you that fast?"
"What's fast about it? You're the slow one."
"Ridiculous."
I couldn't understand Tuma's complaint. I'd simply seen the Blood Wind Slash's trajectory and dodged with Annihilation Soul Step—yet he called it fast? But as we clashed swords and I freely advanced and retreated within his attack range, I realized what he meant.
"......!!"
This was the power of Annihilation Soul Step!
It wasn't just about enhancing lightness skill speed and changes—even in clashes of ordinary techniques, the momentary acceleration allowed me to choose attack or evasion at will. At ultimate proficiency, I could create Thunder Shadows to derive new ultimate techniques, but I hadn't reached that level yet.
'So that's why Jin So-cheong said I could win!'
Swordsmanship aside, having far superior lightness skill in a duel with Tuma was a massive advantage. In life-or-death exchanges, being able to dodge whenever I wanted reduced my pressure immensely compared to Tuma. And since I wouldn't lose in inner energy clashes either, I held a thorough upper hand.
My strategy was simple. Instead of holding back on ultimate techniques from Thunder Shadow Swordsmanship or Ten Thousand Victory Sword Formula, I induced Tuma's empty swings and dueled him in basic exchanges. Ultimate techniques were powerful but created large openings, making them poor choices here. Instead, I'd use ordinary, flaw-minimal attacks to deny him counterattack opportunities.
Kkagang!
Kkang!
Tuma, seasoned in real combat, quickly grasped my strategy. Frowning, he shifted to defensive techniques and positioned himself to counter me. It was his best response, so I focused my mind and slowly pressed him from all sides.
I heard Tuma mutter impatiently.
"Even using Intent, the best I can do is keep up..."
After about a hundred and fifty exchanges, Tuma's mental focus wavered, revealing a weakness at his Cungen acupoint. It seemed I could strike there. But the flaw was too obvious, sparking momentary hesitation.
'A trap?'
I'd been drilled endlessly by Lee Gwang that blatantly shown weaknesses weren't weaknesses. In such an intense absolute peak expert duel, a flaw couldn't appear so easily. Yet greed to end this drawn-out exchange surged within me.
"......!!"
I chose to retreat once more. As I ignored the flaw, it vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving me inwardly regretful. But I persisted, clashing blades with Tuma and waiting for the moment his stamina or will cracked.
'Amazing, truly. Even using White Bear Conclusion and Divided Mind Conclusion together, it's only this much...'
I'd been using White Bear Conclusion since earlier. Fighting with dramatically enhanced true energy flow speed, while operating Annihilation Soul Step via Divided Mind Conclusion. Excluding Thunder Roar, I was giving my all—yet it only matched Tuma evenly. He truly deserved the title of one of the Eight Great Demonic Lords.
Kkang!
It happened after another hundred exchanges. Amid the protracted deadlock, I spotted a flaw at Tuma's waist—far more abrupt and minute than before, harder to seize, but I sensed it was real this time.
'This is it!'
With a whoosh, my sword technique targeted Tuma's waist. He hastily executed a defensive technique in panic, but after two horizontal and vertical cuts, his momentum shattered. My sword tip slithered like a snake toward his throat.
Tuma made a last desperate attempt at a mutual slash, but I dodged with Annihilation Soul Step. As his blade light faded, my sword headed for his crown, leaving him no recourse.
Swipe
I gathered sword energy and said.
"Shall we continue?"
Tuma replied bitterly.
"No... I concede..."
Then, the Yellow Mountain Sect elder acting as judge roared from afar.
[Thunder God Style, victory!]
The stands fell silent as if doused in cold water. It had been a fierce battle, but this was the Wind God Style's home ground, and Tuma's defeat was their defeat. Some Yellow Mountain Sect disciples seemed itching to speak, but the atmosphere silenced them.
As I quietly sheathed my sword, Tuma let out a hollow laugh.
"Haha... I thought you'd kill me and blame it on a mistake, but you're not like the Thunder God Style."
I felt a pang inwardly. The Thunder God Style's domineering nature meant even in spars, they'd often execute future rivals under the pretext of errors—it was commonplace. Even Lee Gwang encouraged it.
'As expected of a mortal enemy, he knows the Thunder God Style's traits well?'
Truth be told, I'd been debating killing Tuma moments ago. I'd held back only because of the eyes and ears watching.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Anyway, your victory. A fearsome new star has risen in the martial world..."
Tuma sighed and descended the arena, his back slumped.
I wiped sweat from my brow and stepped down, where Lee Gwang and Jin So-cheong awaited. Jin So-cheong grinned brightly and slapped my back.
"Well done, junior brother! You've accomplished something huge."
Lee Gwang beside him wasn't smiling but spoke in a satisfied tone.
"You did very well. Especially your prudent judgment."
"So the first flaw wasn't real?"
Lee Gwang referred to the two flaws I'd spotted during the exchange. Arms crossed, he replied.
"Correct. Had you struck the first weakness at Cungen, you'd have been caught in the Wind God Style's Reverse Blood Blade gale and suffered greatly. It was a trap Tuma deliberately created."
"And the second..."
"That was a fleeting gap after his stamina and mental energy wore down clashing with you. Ignoring it would have turned it into a thousand-day war. Of course, with your superior inner energy, you'd win long-term, but it wouldn't look good."
"I see..."
As I analyzed Lee Gwang's explanation in my head, he placed a hand on my shoulder.
"With this, you've defeated one of the current martial world's top figures. How do you feel?"
"Uh..."
I blinked. Come to think of it, Tuma was one of the Eight Great Demonic Lords dominating the unorthodox martial world, and I'd beaten him one-on-one. When I said nothing, Lee Gwang smiled faintly.
"You feel nothing special."
"Yes, honestly."
"That's because you know there's a heaven beyond heaven. And that humility will greatly aid your future growth."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Anyway, good work."
"Yes."
I walked to the waiting area and sat, giving a wry smile.
Heaven beyond heaven!
I'd proven myself a top martial world expert by defeating Tuma, but I knew the world held many unseen experts beyond that. The White Lotus Cult Leader, the Three Great Protector Lions, Lee Gwang, Jin So-cheong, or near-transcendent powerhouses in the White Lotus Cult or elsewhere! I'd realized early that the martial world hid more terrors unseen than revealed, so I couldn't rejoice over one victory like Tuma's.
When would I join their ranks?
'I can't settle for this. I must delve deeper into Jang Sam-bong's insights and refine the Thunder God Style's arts...'
As I inwardly resolved once more, the Yellow Mountain Sect elder's roar echoed.
[Next main combatants, enter!]
I assumed Jin So-cheong would go next. Their side would obviously send Earth Dragon Divine Sword Yong Jung-il, matching the hierarchy. I focused on analyzing Jin So-cheong's martial arts.
But—no.
From the Wind God Style side, their Protector Lion Yong Bi-cheon strode out. And as if anticipated, Lee Gwang gripped his spear and ascended the arena.
"......?!"
The factions' strongest experts entering in the second round!
Utterly unexpected, I turned to Jin So-cheong in bewilderment.
"Senior brother! What's going..."
"Don't panic, junior brother. This is the natural progression."
Jin So-cheong replied calmly, his gaze fixed on the arena. He continued.
"This duel has enormous stakes. Neither side can afford to lose. The Wind God Style has always scorned the Thunder God Style and attempted their purge—once the Thunder God Style rejoins the White Lotus Cult, they'll soon lose their place. And for us, whether we have five or ten years to search for the final secret is a vast difference."
"......"
"In this situation, letting seconds decide the outcome is absurd. The leaders must clash to settle it."
I glanced at Jin So-cheong. He chuckled.
"Junior brother, you just thought about using me as a discard, didn't you?"
"Huh? Ah... no, not really..."
"It could be, but Master's pride wouldn't allow it."
Jin So-cheong looked at Yong Bi-cheon on the arena.
"Since half a century ago, Master has trained day and night to defeat that man."
"......"
I understood.
In this scenario, pitting Jin So-cheong against Yong Bi-cheon would give Lee Gwang a high chance of crushing Yong Jung-il in the final round. Yet Lee Gwang responded to Yong Bi-cheon's gambit instead of the safer choice—out of pride. At the same time, he likely wanted to gauge the Protector Lion's capabilities in this spar.
I said worriedly.
"Can he win?"
My question was disrespectful toward my master, but unavoidable. Knowing better than anyone the semi-transcendent caliber of the Wind God Style's Protector Lion, I couldn't easily raise Lee Gwang's odds. Jin So-cheong replied.
"Normally, no. Even excluding Heavenly Spirit Pill, there'd be slight shortcomings."
"Normally..."
"Watch closely, junior brother."
Jin So-cheong smiled faintly.
"See how the Annihilation Soul Step and insights you passed to the Thunder God Style have sublimated."