Chapter 135
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: The True Seventy-Two Martial Styles
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"If only I could have heard a little more... Guess even my Soul-Capturing Demonic Eye Style has its limits."
Bellos had no idea.
The Seven Dragon Society's Seventy-Two Martial Styles weren't just some quirky martial arts.
Among them was an ultimate technique that pierced the opponent's mind and even dominated their soul.
That was the Soul-Capturing Demonic Eye Style.
It was so difficult to master that even among those who succeeded, nine out of ten went mad or became vegetables, which was why even the Seven Dragon Society treated it as a demonic art.
But it was worth the risk. The Soul-Capturing Demonic Eye Style was that powerful.
Back when the Seven Dragon Society was called a cult.
One of the main reasons the Black Dragon Princess was so feared generation after generation was her ability to wield this Soul-Capturing Demonic Eye Style.
'Me? Falling for some primitive psychic mind trick?')
But the man who saw the Seven Dragon Society as nothing more than an outdated fanatic group had never bothered to learn such facts.
And so, Bellos, who had been briefly ensnared by the Soul-Capturing Demonic Eye Style, felt an overwhelming shame he couldn't contain.
High-stat players naturally gained strong resistance to mental attacks.
So anyone who fell to one was treated as a total noob or a complete idiot.
Yet a level 97 duke-class player like him had spilled the organization's secrets under some soul trick.
For a prideful man like him, it was shame enough to die for.
Wheel Form, Execution
And the simple way Bellos chose to overcome that shame?
Kill Li Chingwei, tied to the wheel, and pretend none of it ever happened!
Very Liberation Brigade of him.
Crack.
But right after.
Bellos's face twisted.
The moment Li Chingwei subtly twisted her body.
The chains binding her snapped with the sound of joints popping and fell away.
With fluid, serpentine grace, she slipped free of the restraints and popped her joints back into place.
Yuna Kyung, cradled in her arms, gaped wide-mouthed.
[...Princess Sis, no way... You let yourself get caught on purpose to bait him into spilling?]
"Pretty much."
[Why admit it so casually?!]
"No reason to deny it?"
[There are plenty! If you're gonna act, at least clue me in!]
"Gotta fool your allies first to fool the enemy."
[There's a limit! Give me back my heart attack worries!]
Bellos ground his teeth.
From their conversation, he realized he'd been thoroughly played.
And this wasn't the first time.
He'd already fallen for Li Chingwei's schemes once before and been used. Now toyed with again, he couldn't feign calm anymore.
Instead, he glared at her with naked killing intent.
"I never planned to let you live anyway... but now, forget dying easy."
Li Chingwei didn't flinch under his murderous gaze.
She just answered calmly.
"Don't worry. I won't torment you to death or anything."
"Ha, ridiculous. You think that cheap sorcery works twice?"
"No, that won't fly again."
"Then what the hell are you banking on? Even a moron like you should know by now you can't beat me."
"Up till now, sure."
Li Chingwei didn't deny it.
After Bellos used Constellation Descent, she'd been on the back foot the whole time. Fact.
But that didn't mean she fully agreed with him.
"Sadly for you, I don't need to be on the ropes anymore."
Shed learned all she needed.
The silly play was over.
Now came the real show.
Bellos glared icily at Li Chingwei as she smiled faintly.
Their gazes—his venomous, hers serene—clashed in the air, a brief silence settling before—
Iron Skewer Form, Sphere
Boom!
A massive iron skewer erupted from the floor, aiming to impale Li Chingwei vertically.
Crash!
She spun gracefully, dodged, and kicked it back at Bellos.
Of course, it couldn't pierce the circling pages of his law book. It bounced off into the air and dissolved.
But that was just the start.
Before the skewer even missed.
Bellos was already flipping through his law book, unleashing the next punishment.
Firing Squad Form, Sphere
Hammer Form, Sphere
Boiling Form, Sphere
Burial Form, Sphere
Bullets flew, a giant hammer swung, boiling oil poured, dirt piled up.
It was hell manifested.
A barrage of historical punishments on one person—execution seemed merciful by comparison.
But Bellos didn't care.
Deceiving and insulting him, mover of the great constellation's will, was as good as insulting the constellation itself.
Li Chingwei deserved to be torn apart a hundred times over.
Whoosh!
"...!"
But once he unleashed the skills.
Bellos's eyes widened.
Under Bipedal Movement Prohibition and High-Speed Action Prohibition, Li Chingwei should've been rooted and taken every hit.
Instead, she kicked off the black mist and leaped lightly, dodging them all.
'This bitch... no way...?'
Less shocked by her escaping the restraints than by something else, Bellos hardened his face and unleashed more punishments.
But the result was the same.
As if her rooted act had been a lie all along.
Li Chingwei hopped around the wide corridor, effortlessly evading the onslaught.
Confirming his suspicions from that sight, Bellos glared at her ferociously.
"How far... no, when did you catch on?"
An out-of-left-field question.
But as if she'd expected it, she lightly hopped over a swinging rod and answered casually.
"Who knows. Probably from when I realized you're a romantic who loves animals?"
The moment he heard that.
Bellos clenched his fist.
And glared at Li Chingwei like he wanted to devour her, grinding his teeth.
"...Cunning bitch."
"Thanks for the compliment, but don't fall for me. I'm already engaged."
"Blab all you want. Psychic trash like you can never beat me."
Anger peaking into regained calm?
Exuding icy steel killing intent, Bellos flipped through his law book, unleashing five or six skills at once.
Crucifixion Form, Cage Form, Judgment Seat Form, etc.
Skills specialized in binding, clearly meant to trap and kill.
"As princess of the Seven Dragon Society, one word."
As if she'd foreseen this.
Li Chingwei dodged the barrage with unhurried movements, always one step ahead.
"Don't underestimate psychics."
Bam!
She flung a dark bead.
As it was blocked by his circling pages, she closed the distance and continued softly.
"The psychics and Seventy-Two Martial Styles our founder left us hold far greater potential than you think."
Bellos sneered coldly at her words, laced with deep pride as Seven Dragon Society princess.
"Ha, what can primitive crap like that do?"
Sure, she'd sniffed out the secret of Rule of Law. But that was it.
Without breaking the prohibitions themselves, she couldn't match him with the great constellation's power.
Bellos was certain.
"Dunno. Like this?"
"What the—"
Kaboom!
The instant something burst.
One circling page shredded apart, spitting out a dark bead that smacked him before he knew it.
"Gah?!"
Caught completely off-guard by the unexpected blow, his guts churning, Bellos screamed.
But pain took backseat to shock distorting his face.
"W-What trickery...!"
Why had a dark bead flown from his own shield page?
As he reeled in confusion, Li Chingwei casually flicked her fingers again.
Three more dark beads streaked in.
As three pages circled to block them.
This time, Bellos didn't let his guard down. He quickly backed away from the pages.
So he saw it.
The moment they blocked.
The once-white pages blackened like ink, shredded, and spat out more dark beads.
Kaboom boom boom!
"Ngh!"
Bellos slid back from the shock of blocking the barrage with his law book.
Chasing him, Li Chingwei spoke softly.
"I knew it, but you really know nothing about us."
Many misunderstood, but the Seventy-Two Martial Styles weren't complete arts on their own.
The five senses were a collective.
Bones and muscles formed the body.
True martial arts harmonized fist techniques, footwork, body training, qi cultivation.
In that sense, the singly specialized Seventy-Two were half-finished.
A hand without fingers was incomplete.
Even mastering one to grandmaster level yielded no full power without harmony.
That's why the seven dragons created 72 arts, and why each clan's princess was the society's strongest.
Only the seven princesses, born with psychic essence, could unleash the true power.
One such, Li Chingwei, smiled faintly.
Before the page wall around Bellos, she lightly swung one hand.
"Time to feel the essence of that 'primitive' power you scorn."
A light foot roll on the floor.
Simultaneously, the razor-sharp psychic of Chain Soul Severing Leg Style surged from toe to knee, spine, to fingertips.
Adding that edge to the steadfast psychic of Tenfold Dragon Claw Style lingering in her hand.
Fusion and amplification.
The two styles intertwined, multiplying each other, erupting dragon-claw sharp from her five fingertips.
Slash!
Like a dragon rending clouds.
Dozens of supposedly impregnable paper walls shredded in one go—pure awe.
But Li Chingwei didn't stop.
Just a warm-up.
She maintained the psychic, layering new styles.
Closing distance with Bellos via Black Heaven Dark Soul Style, letting psychic mist seep into her hands.
Folding and unfolding her palm eight times, condensing psychic layers with Mighty Eightfold Union Style palm technique.
Then flowing that condensed power lightly to her fingertips via Flying Lotus Butterfly Style circulation.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Doubled.
Quadrupled.
Eightfold.
Sixteenfold.
Each added style doubled the psychic, its aftermath shaking the air, numbing the body.
Bare-Handed Attack Nullification Law, Enactment
Felt threatened by the momentum?
Bellos hurriedly added a new law to his book.
Absolute law power guaranteeing his safety. Relief and arrogance in his eyes.
But Li Chingwei faced him without panic or hesitation.
She just slowly extended one hand.
Seventy-Two Martial Styles Ultimate Technique
Five Supreme Arts
⟨ Eight Lotuses in Bloom ⟩