Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: One Yang
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In a single instant, the astonishing sight of severing the lifeline of Jinjo, one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
Watching from afar, Pavilion Master Meng could only gasp in shock.
“Damn it all, that monster actually took down even Jinjo...!!”
For a fleeting moment, the immense time and effort he'd poured into taming Jinjo flashed through his mind, but that was irrelevant now.
One had suddenly summoned an absurd monstrous being that massacred his elite demonic beasts.
The other had snapped the neck of Jinjo—one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts—like wringing a frenzied chicken.
Those bastards were monsters.
If he didn't finish them off here for certain, even if he claimed the Three-Legged Crow, they might one day come for his own neck.
“Huff... haa...!”
“Urk... ugh...”
Fortunately, the boy had exhausted himself killing Jinjo and even lost his weapon.
His nephew was guarded by that highly dangerous monstrous being, but handling such a creature seemed to come at a steep cost—he was groaning as if on the verge of death on his own.
Right now, he could finish them both with his own hands.
-Tatat!!
Having finished his calculations, Pavilion Master Meng mounted his swiftest venomous beast and rapidly closed in on Baek Hyun.
With Jinjo dead, the poisonous mists blanketing the area were slowly dissipating, so it didn't take long to approach him.
Only after the situation had somewhat settled did Baek Hyun, barely catching his breath, notice Pavilion Master Meng approaching—his expression twisted horribly.
“You... you cowardly bastard...!!”
“Don't feel wronged. The hypocrites of the righteous sects refuse to admit it, but cowardice is part of one's skill too. You're simply defeated in battle and dying.”
Pavilion Master Meng was convinced of victory upon seeing Baek Hyun—still glaring but no longer exuding that murderous aura from moments ago, subtly trying to back away.
Yes, no matter how monstrous the boy, without a sword, he posed no threat.
Even the most threatening arrow is useless without its tip.
To a swordsman, their blade held far greater meaning than an arrowhead.
Unless they were monsters at the pinnacle, to this young monster brat, a sharpened limb was no different from a blade.
'Come to think of it, worrying like this is ridiculous.'
Though he fell short compared to Takmu or the Palace Lord, his external martial arts could rival even peak experts.
With ironclad skin that even sword aura couldn't easily slice, and here he was, wary of a kid who seemed at best at the pinnacle realm...
It was an irrationality incomparable to his petty schemes.
“Die.”
Pavilion Master Meng swung his fist toward the panting Baek Hyun's head without further chatter.
No time for last words.
What mercy would he show granting extra seconds?
The reason he hadn't ordered his venomous beasts but stepped up himself was purely to crush this terrifying sprout with his own hands and ensure it was dealt with.
He wanted to smash that damned brat's skull as quickly as possible.
Just as Pavilion Master Meng's externally tempered fist was about to strike Baek Hyun's head...
-Swish
Baek Hyun's head dipped forward, and the fist grazed past his occiput.
And then.
-Craaaack-!!
Baek Hyun's finger, infused with intense yang energy, touched Pavilion Master Meng's shoulder.
'Fin...ger technique?'
Caught off guard by the utterly unexpected counter, Pavilion Master Meng panicked briefly but soon regained his composure and reached to seize Baek Hyun.
Like any Starpoint Sect warrior, the boy was astonishingly quick.
If he still had stamina left, he needed to grab him by the hair or collar to prevent evasion, then shatter his legs.
That's what he had to do... but...
“Gaa... aaaaah...!!”
A madly scorching energy spread from his just-struck shoulder, instantly restricting his entire body's movements.
Hot. Incredibly hot.
It was like shoving a red-hot iron ball into his body.
Not something external arts could endure.
This wasn't an attack on tempered skin, muscles, or bones—it targeted the meridians where internal energy flowed. A type of internal energy strike.
To the warriors of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, whose internal energy lagged behind their external prowess, it was a natural predator.
Pavilion Master Meng knew this technique's identity.
He hadn't seen or experienced it himself, but he'd heard about it endlessly through tribal records and tales.
The 'true imperial clan' that had dominated Yunnan for centuries.
The secret martial art of the proxy state's Dan imperial clan, or so it was said.
“You just said cowardice is part of one's skill too.”
The boy coldly gazed down at the writhing Pavilion Master Meng, his earlier frailty vanished entirely.
Their positions had flipped completely after a single exchange.
In that moment, Pavilion Master Meng felt an overwhelming pressure, as if he were a commoner before an emperor.
“I fully agree. So you didn't lose due to luck or carelessness...”
Simply lost to me.
-Wuuung
With those words, unimaginable yang energy began condensing in Baek Hyun's hands.
During his year and a half of secluded training, Baek Hyun hadn't practiced only the Shoot the Sun Sword Art.
Alongside it—the twin pillar of his main martial arts, the Six Meridians Divine Sword—he had diligently trained One Yang Finger as well.
Thanks to his physique optimized for One Yang Finger, exceptional talent, and near-mad training intensity, his progress advanced daily.
As a result, in just a year and a half, he reached the 4th tier out of 6 in One Yang Finger—a remarkable feat.
Inferior in potential to Shoot the Sun Sword Art, but still a renowned supreme martial art.
Having mastered One Yang Finger to the 4th tier allowed Baek Hyun, unlike other swordsmen at his level, to exhibit near-equivalent prowess without a sword.
Though weakened in duels compared to using Shoot the Sun Sword Art.
-Kuuooo...!!
One Yang Finger's damage output—its DPS—vastly surpassed the hit-and-run specialized Shoot the Sun Sword Art.
Thus, One Yang Finger was one of Baek Hyun's most powerful hidden trump cards.
And paired with it, another card he'd kept in reserve.
-Wuuungwuuung...!!
Starting from the Sun core in Baek Hyun's heart, the surrounding nature resonated and blazed toward him.
This was the peerless divine art he'd mostly suppressed to avoid detection—the optimal internal heart method that maximized his Solar Body traits.
One Yang Divine Art.
Operating the usually minimally used One Yang Divine Art at full output caused Baek Hyun's power to explode upward.
All nature bowed to him, willingly offering their bodies as vessels.
His mere presence forced all things under heaven to submit, like beholding the sun god incarnate.
At the moment Baek Hyun's internal energy peaked...
“Y-you bastard, no way, the proxy state...!!”
Pavilion Master Meng, dazedly watching, finally snapped to and opened his mouth.
-Craaaaaaaaack!!!!!
The prepared Sun unleashed merciless judgment on the insolent rebel without pity.
A ruthless verdict like a nightmare to those tempered in external arts.
“Guh... er...”
No matter how extremely tempered the body, it couldn't block attacks burrowing inward.
Vital organs essential for life melted instantly under the immense firepower of the extreme yang finger energy invading internally.
-Kwaaagwang!!
Unsatisfied, Pavilion Master Meng's ironclad skin and muscles—unable to withstand the limitlessly compressed extreme yang energy within—shattered into fragments scattering like grenade shrapnel.
“Farewell. You just lost the fight, so don't feel too hard done by.”
A gruesome end befitting his accumulated evils.
Having swiftly felled both main targets, Baek Hyun headed back to where Meng Yeon fought, mentally reviewing the battle.
'The fight ended easily because he had no counter to internal energy strikes. Otherwise, it could've been dangerous.'
Though internal energy strikes were natural predators to external art practitioners, countermeasures existed.
The most representative: concentrate internal energy at the struck point—what experts called a 'guard'—to block internal strikes.
And other lethal attacks too.
Of course, perfectly guarding every attack in endless exchanges was no easy feat.
But if possible, theoretically all attacks save absolutes like Heart Sword could be blocked.
In fact, single-digit ranker 'Without a Single Shortcoming'—an acquaintance— was famed as an ironclad guard master.
'Maybe that guy reincarnated here too.'
As battle review spiraled into idle thoughts of other players...
Baek Hyun returned to where Meng Yeon fought Mujigi.
“Honey! Sorry I'm so late...! You okay? Not hurt anywhere!?”
“...Seeing you're joking around in such good spirits, looks like it went well.”
“Yeah, took out Jinjo and your uncle too, so you can drop the special service now. This fight's over too.”
Baek Hyun pointed to the strewn corpses of demonic beasts.
Many elites had already been wrecked by Mujigi, and the rest—freed from the Deputy Palace Lord's control—were fleeing the battle.
“Phew... no can do. Sun Mu still has work to do.”
“Oh... that Mujigi's name is Sun Mu?”
“Yup, since the Art of War guy had the surname Sun, slapped it on him.”
Baek Hyun couldn't help but be slightly flustered by the unexpected name.
A monkey pummeling with fists named after the GOAT Eastern strategist...
Well, both were great fighters, so it kinda fit somehow.
At that moment, Mujigi—no, Sun Mu—having cleared all surrounding demonic beasts, dragged over the tattered corpse of the giant serpent like a worn rag and approached.
As Baek Hyun hurriedly moved to apologize at the savage sight...
“Sun, he's the Sword God.”
[...Huh?]
Sun Mu's expression froze at Meng Yeon's words.
Only the supreme under heaven who dominated an era could bear the 'God' title.
Thus, in the pre-possession game—his past life—only one was called 'Sword God'.
[Sword God? You mean the Shoot the Sun Sword God?]
“Yeah, that's him.”
[Uh, um, so... this human is the Shoot the Sun Sword God?]
“That's what I said.”
Sun Mu repeatedly confirmed Baek Hyun's identity, then nodded slowly, muttering 'Sword God... Sword God...'.
And then.
[Kiyaaaaaaaaaah-!!!!]
He let out a terrified shriek like a frightened girl.