Chapter 121: Samadhi True Fire
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 121: Samadhi True Fire
"Uncle. Did you stop the bleeding?"
Not "Commander." For the first time, Jeong Yeon-shin called Ma Jin his uncle. Behind him, Ma Jin’s eyes widened.
He had long known of his nephew’s talent, but he had never imagined seeing him display such power so soon.
Even as the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, a man who had traversed the length and breadth of the Jianghu, this was something he could never have anticipated.
"Your arm, I mean," Yeon-shin added.
He had his formidable enemy—the Pure Demon God Hand of the Pure Demon Alliance—locked in an unbreakable grip. Yet even while facing such a supreme expert head-on, he was worrying about the uncle behind him.
Ma Jin’s lips trembled. Emotions swelled within him like gathering storm clouds.
The sight of his nephew's achievement, the profound emotion of their bond finally deepening, the memory of his subordinates who had fallen all around them—everything stirred the heart of the Demonlight Wing's commander.
"…Why did you come?"
That was all he could manage. As a guilt-ridden uncle, he yearned to draw closer, but his words and actions were another matter entirely. The ingrained nature of a lifelong martial artist prevented him from speaking warmly. For a fleeting moment, Ma Jin cursed himself.
Yeon-shin’s voice rang out, calm and steady.
"I’ve formed a martial unit and am serving as its temporary commander. You sound well enough. Please take command for a moment."
He spoke like an ordinary nephew, though he was uncharacteristically talkative.
The meaning behind his words, however, was profound. He was telling a Black Rank powerhouse to step back—a statement that could not be made with mediocre martial prowess. His words carried the weight of an invisible mantle of authority.
Just what in the world…?
Even knowing Yeon-shin’s talent, Ma Jin was astonished. Anyone would find this hard to believe. Was he living ten years for every one that passed? Ma Jin couldn't tell if the emotion gripping him was pride or sheer shock.
But there was no time to delay. Ma Jin turned.
"I wish you martial fortune."
The Commander of the Demonlight Wing entrusted the battlefield’s supreme expert entirely to his nephew. As he finished speaking, he unleashed his lightness skill and leaped away.
With every step he took, the ground buckled and cracked.
Even with a severed arm and his meridians in disarray, his presence still surpassed that of a Blue Rank.
The Pure Demon God Hand stood motionless, the unprecedented power of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi feeling utterly alien to him.
No, it wasn't just unfamiliar. It was overwhelming.
"…"
The moment that truth dawned on him, the Pure Demon God Hand, Ha Yul-geuk, was lost for words.
His target, the Commander of the Demonlight Wing, was getting away, yet he didn’t dare give chase.
The boy’s unyielding grip on his hand-blade was one reason.
But the scene unfolding over the boy’s shoulder held his attention even more fiercely.
Through the gradually settling dust, he could see the corpse of Dokgo Gwang, only a lower body remaining. The hem of his dark blue battle robe fluttered over nothing. He was flanked by two young experts from the Desolate Fortress, their faces masks of shock.
He killed him in just two exchanges? No, that’s not the real issue.
The Pure Demon God Hand’s gaze grew heavy. Duels between experts took as many forms as there were martial arts in the world. From a single-blow showdown to a battle lasting seven days and nights, "diverse" was the only fitting word.
There were too many variables: terrain, weather, martial compatibility, physical condition, the flow of techniques on any given day. Even between experts of equal caliber, a fight could splinter into thousands of different outcomes.
This brat… is unmeasurable. His senses are monstrous.
He felt it with the perception of a supreme expert. Dokgo Gwang had been felled by a sequence of techniques unleashed with meticulous calculation.
The boy's two exchanges had been just that. The final palm technique possessed an unheard-of power, but it was also riddled with flaws that any supreme expert from a great sect would have noticed. And that was precisely what made it so shocking.
That fist-and-palm technique is a divine art, but its strengths and weaknesses are glaring.
He had deliberately used a flawed but powerful technique, setting up the perfect combination to ensure it landed.
The result was Dokgo Gwang’s death. The great sword of the Tenth Sect was broken. Compared to the boy’s flawless preparation, the price paid was far too high.
This was an event that would shake the entire Sichuan martial world to its core.
If it had been a proper one-on-one duel… No.
It was a futile thought. Where in the Jianghu did such a thing as a 'proper' duel exist?
Unless it was a friendly spar, fights were never conducted under perfect conditions. The one who survived was the true expert.
The important thing lay elsewhere.
Before his very eyes stood a boy worthy of being called a supreme expert. His martial prowess was astonishing, making him feel as if he were facing an equal. It was hard to believe. This wasn't some old master who had undergone rejuvenation.
This was a massive problem.
"Is it Dharma power?" the Pure Demon God Hand asked, his hand still locked in Yeon-shin’s grip.
The boy spoke calmly.
"Light."
It was a taunt, dismissing the weight of his opponent's question. He hadn't given the desired answer, yet his demeanor was perfectly natural.
His conduct, his aura—it all proved his caliber. He possessed the bearing of a lofty powerhouse. Even when speaking to a high-ranking supreme expert as an equal, it felt completely fitting.
This is a martial art that can reach the pinnacle of the world, the Pure Demon God Hand thought. He parted his lips again.
"It is indeed Dharma power. Truly unbelievable. Are you of the direct lineage of Shaolin’s Green Jade?"
A sharp light flashed in the heterodox expert’s blue eyes as he analyzed his natural enemy’s art. "Green Jade" referred to the Green Jade Buddhist Staff of the Shaolin Abbot; he was asking if the boy was the sect leader’s direct disciple.
The Pure Demon God Hand didn't wait for an answer, muttering to himself.
"No. The lineage of Dharma power martial arts was severed. Just how on earth…"
"You spoke of my death, yet you babble so uselessly."
Yeon-shin tightened his grip on the hand-blade. The residual power of Bodhidharma, left over even after forging the divine art, was momentarily amplifying the function of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi.
This was not an internal energy that could normally be used right after creating a martial art. It was burning through the boy’s own life force. His time was limited.
Huuu—
A faint, pure white haze flowed from Yeon-shin’s breath, repeatedly blooming and dispersing like an auspicious omen.
To others, it was a mystical sight. But the boy knew what it meant: his new power was incomplete.
The halo is a newborn organ. It’s a newly-birthed heart for my internal energy.
It was maintaining its stability only through the residual spirituality of Bodhidharma, and only for a moment. He needed to stabilize it through proper Qi meditation.
The power of the manifestation will soon disperse.
Yeon-shin had already assessed his own body during their brief standoff. The power granted by Bodhidharma’s manifestation wouldn't last long. It was said an artisan had refined fragments of the Zen Master's true qi—remnants that should have long since returned to the heavens.
But it was fine. He had forged the halo. He was past the stage of worrying about the sheer quantity of his accumulated qi. He could simply train after escaping the City of Master Craftsmen.
For now, this was enough to slay the enemy’s supreme expert. He would do it with a spirituality that flickered like a flame on a wick.
"Child, what did you say?" the Pure Demon God Hand demanded. This was the man who had boasted the moment he severed Ma Jin’s arm. Favorable situation or not, he was never one to shy away from verbal sparring. But right now, he was on the losing side. With the emergence of an unexpected supreme expert, he was clearly talking to buy time.
"I said a corpse’s tongue is too long," the boy replied curtly. Those were his final words on the matter.
A gust of wind brushed past their cheeks, sweeping down from the high cavern ceiling. The draft swirled across the battlefield, fluttering their clothes with a dry touch.
Thud!
Suddenly, the Pure Demon God Hand’s knee shot forward in a lightning-fast kick. Though a split-second attack, the shockwave concentrated at his knee was immense, as if it had been prepared long in advance. A powerful circular wave erupted the moment his foot left the ground.
Yeon-shin didn't dodge. He reacted before the wave of energy could even spread. The true qi of the halo filling his body kept pace with his innate senses. Still gripping the man's hand, he lifted his foot.
The subsequent stomp took only a fraction of a second.
THUD!
The ground shook. The Pure Demon God Hand’s rising knee stopped dead.
Yeon-shin’s sole was planted firmly on his ankle, blocking and suppressing the kicking technique itself.
A clash of experts. A perfect counter.
The Pure Demon God Hand’s eyes widened, fully revealing his blue pupils, a trait of Westerners.
"Mmh."
A heavy groan escaped him. Even when he channeled his internal energy, his leg felt frozen, refusing to rise. It was the Dharma power he had initially identified—a complete antithesis to his own. At this moment, Yeon-shin’s internal energy was simply overwhelming.
Even without Zen Master Bodhidharma’s spirituality, I would hold the upper hand, the boy thought. The Law-Transcending Halo Qi is the reason.
The very quality of his internal cultivation had changed. He would no longer be pushed back by raw power. And since the enemy before him refined the internal energy of the heterodox path, he even held an advantage in compatibility.
In that case…
Further probing was meaningless. He had unconsciously faced his opponent with the mindset of an underdog, the mentality of a Blue Rank. He had been trying to analyze energy waves and find counters.
It was a pointless endeavor.
FWOOSH!
A wave of internal power surged—the Law-Transcending Halo Qi, raised to its absolute limit. The response was immediate.
The foot that had been suppressing the kick suddenly dropped, dragging the man’s leg down and stomping hard on his instep.
CRACK!
A gruesome sound echoed. The sensation of the ankle bone shattering was vivid.
The abyssal demonic true qi surging up the Pure Demon God Hand’s foot crumbled away like night air shattering into a thousand pieces. It wasn't even a counter; Yeon-shin had pulverized the demonic true qi as if it were bone-melting powder.
"…!"
The eyes of the man who had taken his uncle’s arm widened as if they would tear. He didn't scream. He was, after all, a supreme expert of a demonic great sect.
Unconcerned, Yeon-shin tightened his grip. After the foot came the hand. The hand-blade that had severed Ma Jin’s arm was crushed, bones and all.
His internal power surpassed imagination. Even Yeon-shin was surprised by his own strength. It felt as though his true qi had shed its skin and been reborn.
"Haaah!"
Finally. He witnessed a supreme expert of the Black Rank cry out in exertion.
The Pure Demon God Hand thrust his other hand forward in a straight punch. The energy enveloping his fist distorted the air. He seemed intent on blowing Yeon-shin’s head off, and the shockwave was truly monstrous.
In that split second, Yeon-shin’s eyes narrowed. He had anticipated this response. With his footing gone and one hand lost, his next move had been glaringly obvious.
There was no need to counter. It was time to unleash his own martial art completely.
Whoosh!
They were at the range of close-quarters fist fighting. He let go of his Desolate Fortress Sword. The mnemonic of the Infinite Flower of Time Hand was already guiding the Law-Transcending Halo Qi within him. Using the technique of Advancing Thunder, he struck the side of the man’s fist.
THUD!
It connected cleanly. A straight shockwave pierced through the man’s fist and shot outward, forcing his own hand back to smash into his jaw. The sensation of breaking bones was transmitted through the Pure Demon God Hand’s own fist.
Yeon-shin’s assault didn't stop. As the man’s face was forced back, he extended his other hand. The internal power of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi bloomed in full, a force that blossomed like clusters of flowers opening all at once. Force struck force, generating yet another release of power.
Third Form: Fist Flower.
He rained a barrage of strikes on the man’s upper body. It was a fist technique he had created back when he was a White Rank, after witnessing the Mount Hua Sect’s Falling Petal Palm Technique. Now, it shattered the Pure Demon God Hand’s true qi shield and battered his internal organs. The inherent Dharma power unraveled the man’s demonic qi as the fists penetrated to the very bone.
Thud-thud-thud! CRACK!
Eighteen strikes landed in a single move. It was as if colorless petals were blooming from the man’s torso, shattering his internal energy, battering his skin, and smashing his ribs to pieces. Yeon-shin could clearly feel the changing sensation of each strike, a true testament to the elevated level of his martial prowess.
Ugh.
As he unleashed the flurry of fists, he swallowed a groan. It was from the internal injuries he’d suffered from Dokgo Gwang. The pain throbbing in his abdomen was severe. The Law-Transcending Halo did not grant regeneration; that was a technique only usable when absorbing essence through the Blood Art. His internal organs were still damaged, and the pain grew deeper with every moment.
One could not pack everything into a single martial art. But he didn't care.
The ring of the divine art radiated light. The spinning halo circulated true qi throughout his body, and his strength grew greater by the moment.
I'll end this, the boy thought.
Once more, Advancing Thunder. He thrust a final fist toward the solar plexus of the man, whose eyes had already rolled back. Broken ribs brushed against his knuckles. He thought it was just a light touch.
It was not.
BOOM!
A monstrous shockwave erupted, a strike that completely pulverized any rebounding force from the demonic true qi.
The Pure Demon God Hand’s body collapsed on the spot. It was a wretched sight.
"Huuu…"
It sounded like air escaping from a punctured lung. The Pure Demon God Hand, Ha Yul-geuk, gasped for breath as he lay sprawled at Yeon-shin’s feet. A deathly silence fell over the City of Master Craftsmen.
The supreme expert who had ruled the vast Jianghu from the Shu Road to Sichuan had been utterly defeated.
"…"
The fighting on the battlefield had already ceased, having ended almost simultaneously with their duel. With the Sword Scorpion Demon Dokgo Gwang dead and the Pure Demon God Hand Ha Yul-geuk pinned down by the Flash Art, the Tang Clan Leader and Ma Jin had been free to act. The support of the Radiant Wing Unit had also arrived.
The martial artists of the Thirteen Heavens, having lost their leaders, lay fallen. The other experts scattered across the area could only stare at the Flash Art and the broken form of the Pure Demon God Hand, their faces blank with disbelief.
Ha Yul-geuk’s lips trembled violently, a final flicker of life.
"Your martial art… What is… its foundation…?" he rasped, his dying words a question.
It was said that the Pure Demon Alliance had its roots in the Demon Cult from Xinjiang. They did not follow the laws of the Central Plains; they were ruthless in their worship of power.
Yeon-shin suddenly thought of the Azure Qilin, who had met his end not as a young master, but as a martial artist. Ha Yul-geuk was the same. Was the attitude one showed in the face of death a person’s true essence? For this moment alone, he did not look like a demon.
The boy looked down at the martial artist of the Pure Demon Alliance.
"It is the Law-Transcending Halo Qi."
It was a brief reply, but it seemed to be enough.
"Law-Transcending… How arrogant." The corners of Ha Yul-geuk’s mouth curled up faintly. "But it is a name worthy of your lips. Boy… If you had been raised in our embrace… perhaps you would have… rebuilt our cult…"
His breath stopped. He could not finish his sentence.
Watching him silently, Yeon-shin closed his eyes, taking in the state of the battlefield. Now that the fighting was over, he needed to fully settle his newborn halo.
At that moment.
Whoosh!
The Radiant Wing Unit and the Demonlight Wing—the experts of the Desolate Fortress—leaped in from all directions. The backdraft from their lightness skills swept over the surroundings as they stopped at a distance, instantly forming a large circle with the boy at its center.
Yeon-shin began to consolidate his divine art in the middle of the battlefield, the process of completely settling the halo he had forged today within his body.
VROOOM!
Standing with his eyes closed, the boy’s blue robes fluttered. A haze of light emitted by his new inner cultivation method seeped from his entire body, as if a faint galaxy were flowing across his form.
It was a mystical sight.
The Desolate Fortress experts stood in a circle, their backs to the boy and their weapons ready. It was a formation to protect the Flash Art’s enlightenment. There was not a single opening in their guard.
"…"
The martial artists standing outside stared blankly. A mixture of awe, fear, and wonder flickered across the faces of the experts from the Tang Clan and the Beggar Sect.