Chapter 117: Crisis of the First Generation Disciples (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: Crisis of the First Generation Disciples (2)
Over a dozen First Generation Disciples lunged forward, yet they failed to inflict any significant damage on the monster.
Their thrusts lacked the power to pierce the creature's hide, and their strikes weren't threatening enough to even sap its stamina. Without the strength to cut through solid iron, harming the beast was an impossible feat.
"Everyone, get back!" Seok Jun shouted from the center of the fray, his voice strained as he fought through his own injuries.
At his command, the others scrambled to the sides.
"Haaat!"
A brilliant burst of Sword Aura erupted, a spray of light soaring toward the monster. Caught off guard by Seok Jun’s sudden charge, the creature took the Sword Aura head-on.
"Taat!"
As the beast staggered, Seok Jun followed up with a swift thrust. After slashing its shoulder, he manifested a dense Sword Aura once more near its chest and swung downward with crushing force.
The movement was truly as fast as a flash of lightning.
From the moment he unleashed his Sword Aura, his swordsmanship flowed as naturally as water. The surrounding disciples watched the display, their eyes filled with admiration.
"Pant, pant... How’s that?"
Halting his assault, Seok Jun stared into the monster's eyes. A faint smile touched his lips; he judged that this would be enough to slay the beast.
"Grrrr..."
"…!"
However, the monster was not seriously injured. It shook its head a few times as if the attack were a mere nuisance, then immediately lashed out with its claws.
Seok Jun’s face turned deathly pale. Having expended every drop of internal qi in his dantian, he lacked the strength to move, let alone speak.
Zzzzzzt. Boom!
Suddenly, a streak of Sword Aura flew in from behind the monster. But once again, it failed to inflict any real damage.
When the monster turned around, Yeon-hui was standing there, her gaze fixed.
"Come at me, you bastard."
The monster moved the instant it saw the defiance in Yeon-hui’s eyes. Seizing the opening, the First Generation Disciples charged once more.
"Kack!"
"Aaargh!"
Suddenly, the monster’s movements shifted. It began to erupt with internal energy, blasting the young men away toward the walls, the floor, and into the air.
"Roaaaaar!"
"We can't let Yeon-hui face it alone!"
Seok Hu, who had barely managed to withstand the monster's shockwave, shouted. Seok Jin and Seok Gyeong, who were supporting the flanks, nodded and moved to block the monster's path.
But even with the three of them attacking in unison, they could not withstand the monster's superhuman strength.
Yeon-hui trembled with fear as she watched the beast, even as her sword remained poised.
The monster remained unfazed despite being swarmed by so many First Generation Disciples. Seeing the creature move as if their Sword Aura meant nothing, she was paralyzed by a sudden surge of terror.
"Junior Sister Yeon-hui! Get out of the way!"
Seok Hu attacked the monster relentlessly, but when he realized he couldn't stop its charge toward Yeon-hui, he threw himself in front of the beast.
In that instant, he was sent flying helplessly by a palm strike fueled by the monster's rage.
"Don't ignore us!"
This time, Seok Gyeong blocked its path. But once again, unable to overcome the sheer force, he was tossed aside like a ragdoll.
"We must stop it. We have to!"
Three jang (approx. 10 meters) in front of Yeon-hui, Seok Jin now stood before the monster.
Clang, clang, clang!
Seok Jin dodged the monster's fist and thrust at its eyes.
Sensing the danger, the monster covered its eyes with one arm and targeted his legs with the other. Seok Jin dodged fluidly and thrust his sword again.
It was the path of the Nine Currents Sword.
Having primarily mastered Heterodox Sword Techniques, he was responding appropriately to the monster's erratic, unpredictable attacks.
I have to drain its strength.
Finding an opening, Seok Jin swung his sword while visualizing the sword path in his mind. In that moment, a streak of light frosted his blade and sank into the monster's face.
"I did it… Ah!"
However, the sword failed to pierce through the monster's skull. His internal strength was just a hair's breadth short of what was needed.
"Damn it!"
It was just as Seok Jin was hurriedly withdrawing his sword that Yeon-hui approached and thrust her own blade. It was blocked even more easily than before; she lacked the necessary sharpness to penetrate the hide.
"Roaaaaar!"
With a deafening cry, the monster raised its hand. A thick, sickly green energy began to spread from its palm.
They stood frozen, staring at the shadow of death that was about to descend upon them.
Swish—!
Just as they felt they might lose consciousness, Seok Jin and Yeon-hui felt something graze past their ears.
It was like a sudden gust of wind.
That wind accurately pierced the forehead of the monster just as it reached out its demonic hand.
Immediately after, the figure of a man arrived before them.
Thump!
In that instant, the monster vanished from their sight in a heartbeat, followed by the sound of something crashing into a distant wall. An explosion rang out immediately after.
Boom!
With a violent blast, the wall crumbled, and large stones flew in all directions.
That wall was a full thirty jang (approx. 100 meters) away. Someone had pushed the monster's corpse with a force so immense it defied imagination.
*
Pang!
As a second explosion occurred, the monsters' movements ground to a halt.
It wasn't because one of their comrades had died. It was a reaction to the sudden appearance of Seok Myeong.
More accurately, it was a reaction to the energy Seok Myeong was emitting. They reacted to it instinctively, like prey sensing a predator.
"You bastards..."
Seok Myeong’s eyes wavered as he scanned the surroundings. He saw the fallen First Generation Disciples.
By a rough count, there were at least twenty of them.
"Ah..."
It was a massacre.
Some had lost limbs; others were torn to shreds so badly their faces were unrecognizable.
Suppressing his surging rage with great effort, Seok Myeong spoke.
"Get far back."
Hearing Seok Myeong’s words, Seok Jin turned to Yeon-hui. She nodded and moved to a safe location.
Then, she suddenly looked at Seok Myeong again. He had grown very thin, looking as though he hadn't eaten a single meal while inside the cave.
Yet, his mere presence was profoundly reassuring.
It was hard to believe her eyes—he had eliminated a monster that everyone else combined couldn't handle with just two movements.
"Graaaah!"
"Kaaaaang!"
The three surviving monsters suddenly rushed toward Seok Myeong.
"Huh?"
"Heavens!"
The warriors of the Azure Sky Pavilion, as well as Song Yu-jin and Song Ha-myeong, were filled with confusion as they watched the three monsters suddenly shift their focus to Seok Myeong.
Weren't they like flies swarming toward honey-coated paper?
"You lot again."
Seok Myeong’s gaze became infinitely cold. As his anger reached its peak, his heart and head actually cooled, allowing him to perceive the situation with absolute clarity.
The monsters surrounded Seok Myeong, letting out bizarre shrieks. Sensing the danger, the Azure Sky Pavilion warriors moved toward him.
Snap.
Seok Myeong raised his hand toward them. He did the same toward Song Yu-jin and Song Ha-myeong.
It was a signal not to come closer.
He feared that if they approached, his maddened self might lose control of his power and harm them.
"Everyone..."
Seok Myeong pulled his sword from the ground. A smoldering light flowed from his eyes, soaring toward the sky.
He held his sword halfway up.
As if they had been waiting, the monsters lunged at Seok Myeong all at once.
"I will kill you all!"
With a thunderous shout, Seok Myeong’s sword soared toward the heavens.
*
"Ah...!"
Seok Jun’s eyes trembled as he watched.
Surrounded by three monsters, Seok Myeong looked infinitely precarious, as if he might collapse at any moment. The Azure Sky Pavilion warriors and the two elders all thought the same.
However, as time passed, that fear gradually faded. Instead, a vibrant hope began to sprout.
Seok Myeong’s sword, moving with sharp and rugged precision, ruthlessly stabbed the monsters' chests, waists, bellies, and shoulders. At the same time, he easily evaded the monsters' tangled claws without the slightest error.
Even though they were watching it directly, their eyes could hardly keep up.
It was fast, brilliant, accurate, and powerful.
It was... perfect.
"What on earth is that sword technique...?"
Song Yu-jin, who was quite knowledgeable in the martial arts of Qingcheng, asked Song Ha-myeong.
"I don't know either. What in the world is that...?"
The Qingcheng sword techniques were strong. Moving and thrusting even from narrow angles, then moving as if cutting through the air, it was relentless. It was like watching a single sword dance.
There was another peculiar point.
The monsters were in agony. Their bodies were being sliced into pieces without much resistance, and blood was erupting from the cuts.
The more they fought, the louder the monsters' shrieks became, and Seok Myeong’s sword grew even faster.
Even now!
Squelch!
Moving rapidly, Seok Myeong dodged the hands of two monsters, buried his sword into the body of the third, and sliced upward from its belly to its neck.
The monster collapsed, bleeding from the place where it had been split in half. After twitching for a brief moment, it caused a massive explosion.
Boom!
Seok Myeong, who had already moved far away, and the other monsters with their diamond-hard bodies, suffered no damage.
But the monsters trembled in even greater terror at Seok Myeong’s swordplay.
They weren't regenerating. Strangely, the wounds inflicted by Seok Myeong’s sword did not heal. Combined with the immense pain, they couldn't help but fear Seok Myeong’s existence.
Grrrr....
In the midst of another scramble, another monster lost its head and exploded.
The pupil-less eyes of the last remaining monster wavered.
"Graaaaaah!"
Instinctively, the monster began to bolt away.
Seok Myeong infused his sword with energy. Once enough power had gathered, he aimed the sword at the creature.
Rumble!
In that instant, the Azure Moon Storehouse began to collapse. Everyone’s gaze shifted in that direction.
Amidst the rising cloud of dust, a woman with a distorted expression was flying upward.
*
"It wasn't here."
A woman had suddenly appeared. She possessed a face so beautiful it was hard to believe, yet she spoke nonsensical words.
The crowd could only stare at her blankly.
It wasn't just her beauty that shocked them. It was because she was standing in mid-air, three jang high.
Heaven Above Step.
The ultimate peak of lightness skills, which only a few among the Ten Great Masters of the world could perform, was unfolding before their eyes.
"I thought it might be here, but it wasn't."
Her gaze swept across the surroundings. When she noticed everyone staring at her, she gave a shy, playful smile.
"Hello. I came looking for a martial art. But that martial art isn't here."
She continued talking to herself.
"Then I have to find the person who knows that martial art. Is there someone named Seok Myeong here?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she looked directly at Seok Myeong.
"Ah, you were here? I guess my luck isn't so bad today."
She took a few steps through the air and then descended to the ground.
"Grrr, grrrrk."
The surviving monster rushed toward the woman. She reached out and stroked the monster gently.
"You were still alive."
From that action, the people realized she was involved in this incident.
Still stroking the monster, she raised her hand.
"Well then, now..."
As she moved her hand, her expression twisted into something dark.
"You should die."