Chapter 172: Movement in Stillness (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: Movement in Stillness (1)
“S-Sword Force?” one of the Qingcheng elders cried out, his voice trembling with shock.
“No,” Song Ji replied, shaking his head slowly.
“Then what is that? It doesn’t look like Sword Aura at all…” the elder pressed, his eyes wide.
Even for those who had reached their sixties and gained vast experience in the Jianghu, few had ever witnessed the manifestation of true Sword Force.
Song Ji carefully explained what he sensed. “To my eyes, it isn’t ordinary Sword Aura. However, he hasn’t quite reached the level of Sword Force yet. It would be more accurate to say he is in an incomplete, transitional state.”
Sword Aura is naturally formless, possessing neither a specific color nor physical substance. When it does take on a hue, it is because the nature of the practitioner’s martial arts and their inner character are manifesting through it.
However, the energy on Seok Myeong’s blade was a singular blend of both color and light. It seemed to give form to qi like Astral Energy, yet it held a vibrant hue like Sword Aura. It was a strange phenomenon that even the Qingcheng elders, with all their decades of cultivation, had never seen.
“It’s likely another variation of the Sword Extreme Bullet. Regardless, that isn’t the important part.” Song Ji smiled.
What was certain was that the energy gathered at the tip of Seok Myeong’s sword was brilliant and beautiful, reminiscent of a radiant rainbow.
In the past, his energy had been a murky, overbearing ink-black. Because of that unsettling quality, he had been accused of practicing the arts of the Demonic Path. Now, such accusations would be impossible.
“Besides… it looks like they’ve been intimidated,” Song Ha-myeong added with a chuckle, stroking his beard.
He was right. The three men from the Diancang Sect, who had been relentlessly attacking Seok Myeong until now, were moving with visible caution.
“Could it be… Sword Force?”
“That’s impossible.” Nok Gwi-bo shook his head firmly at Ji Jung’s alarm.
Even if a mere first-generation disciple of Qingcheng had been blessed with fortuitous encounters and spirit medicines, this made no sense. Furthermore, the Astral Energy he was familiar with did not possess these properties.
Even so, judging by its appearance, it was clearly an extraordinary and incredibly powerful form of Sword Aura.
Tap. Tap-tap.
The sound of Gwi Cheon-neung tapping the tip of his sword rang out.
‘We strike all at once.’
It was one of Diancang’s many Hand-Signal Methods. Nok Gwi-bo and Ji Jung nodded in response.
Initially, they had intended to suppress him by firing a barrage of Sword Aura. They believed that no matter how fast Seok Myeong moved, a human could not outrun the speed of qi.
But then…
‘I have no idea what that phenomenon is.’
Their plan changed the moment they saw the energy on Seok Myeong’s blade. All three had instinctively become wary of that brilliant light.
The only saving grace was that their opponent didn’t seem entirely accustomed to that realm yet. If so, the best course of action was to swarm him now and overwhelm him. They had to crush him before he could unleash whatever finishing blow he was preparing.
Ssssh.
The elders took a deep, synchronized breath. They exchanged glances and drew in another.
Whirrrrr!
Just as the wind in the courtyard swept fiercely across the ground—
Swish! Whoosh! Shhh!
They made a brief feint of charging before immediately unleashing their Sword Aura.
Boom! Crash! K-Boom!
The impact struck the ground with enough force to send sand flying and gouge deep craters into the floor. The three streaks of Sword Aura aimed at Seok Myeong exploded with a deafening roar.
“We got him!”
Just as Ji Jung was about to cheer, Nok Gwi-bo spat out a curse. “No! He’s in the air!”
“What?”
Indeed, Seok Myeong was hovering in the void. Seeing this, the three from Diancang leapt up reflexively.
Tap!
Simultaneously, the Diancang Sect’s movement art, Secret Cloud Shadow Chasing, was unleashed toward Seok Myeong in mid-air.
Whir. Whir. Zip! Zip!
When Seok Myeong used the Illusory Lost Track Step to create six phantoms—
Flutter. Swish. Swish!
Dozens of Diancang afterimages chased after them. Everything seemed similar to before. The secret techniques of each sect unfolded in the air, and as before, the afterimages of the Diancang elders began to erase Seok Myeong’s phantoms.
But as the phantoms dwindled one by one—
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
A sight unfolded that made the three from Diancang doubt their eyes. The Illusory Lost Track Step, which had been slowly decreasing in number—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whirrr!
Suddenly multiplied into nearly a hundred phantoms in an instant. And the moment they recognized those phantoms—
Thwack!
One of the elders was sent flying at an incredible speed.
Bam!
Due to the sheer force of the blow, he bounced off the ground the moment he hit it and was propelled further back.
“Uh… uh…”
“Get out of the way!”
Screeech!
He plowed through the ranks of the first-generation disciples, finally slamming into the outer wall of the courtyard and losing consciousness immediately. It was Ji Jung, a prominent man of Diancang and the right-hand man of the Martial Alliance Leader.
Flash! Flash!
With one pillar of the formation collapsed, the Three Talents Formation shattered. As Gwi Cheon-neung and Nok Gwi-bo hastily retreated to the ground—
Thud.
Seok Myeong landed a moment later, his descent tracing a graceful arc.
Ssssh.
‘How can this be…’ Nok Gwi-bo slowly turned his head. His face hardened grimly as he saw Ji Jung pinned against the wall, unconscious.
‘Was that truly the Illusory Lost Track Step?’
At least, it was nothing like the version he remembered. As long-standing rivals of Qingcheng, Diancang knew their opponent's martial arts well. They had specifically studied their representative sword styles and their movement art.
That was why he was certain. What Seok Myeong had just manifested was something alien.
‘Even if this brat had spent his entire life practicing nothing but movement arts, this should be impossible.’
No matter how perfectly it was executed, how could hundreds of phantoms appear in mid-air and then vanish in the blink of an eye? If such a thing existed in Qingcheng’s original martial arts, Diancang would never have dared to antagonize them. They would have been crushed long ago.
“Dammit!” Nok Gwi-bo cursed, his hands feeling numb.
He understood why Ji Jung had fallen. He, too, had tried to ignore the phantoms, thinking they were mere trickery. However, the numbness in his hands sent shivers down his spine. Judging by the sensation of the clash, what Seok Myeong had manifested were not mere illusions. They were afterimages left behind because he was moving and striking with such extreme speed that the eye couldn't keep up.
“What excuse will you make now?”
Hummmm—.
Seok Myeong spoke as light once again radiated from the tip of his sword. It was no longer the black ink energy, but the Five-Colored Radiance.
“Even at this moment, do I look like someone who has learned the martial arts of the Heretical Path?”
“…”
“…”
The two Diancang elders remained silent, exchanging glances with hardened expressions.
“One can never know. If you were hiding that energy, you could have hidden a wicked energy as well,” Gwi Cheon-neung finally retorted.
Smirk.
Seok Myeong chuckled and shook his head. “That’s a forced sophistry. If you keep talking like that, you’ll never be able to see the foundation of my martial arts for the rest of your lives.”
“…?”
“Isn’t that right? Because no matter what you do, you’ll never be a match for me.”
“Urgh!”
The faces of the two Diancang elders contorted. Finally, having made a grim resolution, Gwi Cheon-neung tightened his lips and pressed several acupoints on his own body.
Poke. Jab. Poke.
Nok Gwi-bo followed suit with a serious expression, pressing the same points.
Sssssss!
With that, the momentum of the two men grew explosively stronger. Seok Myeong furrowed his brows. He had never seen it before, but he could guess what it was. They were likely igniting their Innate Energy, pouring out massive amounts of internal strength at the cost of shortening their lifespans.
“It seems you intend to settle this once and for all.”
Ssssssh.
As if to confirm his words, the two elders channeled their immense internal strength into the tips of their swords. A cold, chilling energy resided at the tip of Gwi Cheon-neung’s sword, while a red energy emitting scorching heat gathered at Nok Gwi-bo’s blade.
“Hoh…”
Two types of energy—one burning hot and the other near freezing. A strange light flickered in Seok Myeong’s eyes.
‘One is the Hot Sun Art, the true qi of Pure Yang. And the other… is it the Mysterious Heaven True Qi, said to be the harmony of the heavens?’
The Diancang elders had brought out their most guarded secret arts.
“Show me everything you have.”
Normally, he would have been tense, but Seok Myeong was instead burning with fighting spirit. At this moment, he felt as though he could overwhelm any earth-shattering attack they threw at him.
“Only then will you realize how reckless you were.”
“You brat!”
With that shout, Nok Gwi-bo lunged forward first, wielding the Hot Sun Art.
*
“Mysterious Heaven True Qi.”
“And the Hot Sun Art…”
Low murmurs escaped the lips of the Qingcheng elders. The very essence of Diancang’s martial arts was being unleashed before them. And that wasn’t all.
“It’s the Eagle Soaring Seven Forms Light Skill!” a Qingcheng elder shouted upon seeing Gwi Cheon-neung’s movements. Known as Diancang’s supreme lightness skill, it was said to be the fastest among their movement arts, matching the speed of their swords.
‘This will be their final move.’
Song Jeong, who was watching, swallowed hard. The Diancang elders were staking everything on this fight. The way they intended to decide the battle was clear.
With the final energy drawn from the Mysterious Heaven True Qi, Gwi Cheon-neung would surely unleash his Sword Aura at a single point, while Nok Gwi-bo would attack Seok Myeong as he reacted. It was a desperate decision to take Seok Myeong’s life even if it meant sacrificing one of their own.
‘Myeong, what will you do?’ Song Jeong’s worried gaze turned toward Seok Myeong. Then, he unconsciously gasped. “Heh…!”
Slide.
Seok Myeong was stepping forward while facing Gwi Cheon-neung. He wasn’t dodging. Judging by his posture, he intended to face both of their attacks head-on.
“Haaat!”
First, Gwi Cheon-neung’s figure vanished.
“Haaat!”
Next, Nok Gwi-bo unleashed the scorching energy he had been holding in his sword.
Seok Myeong, facing them—
Thrust.
He thrust his five-colored brilliance toward Nok Gwi-bo’s Hot Sun Art.
Clang!
In an instant, the five-colored light collided with the Hot Sun Art. It was a collision of pure qi against qi.
“…!”
Only Song Jeong and the elders could barely see what happened. There was no shockwave, no air-breaking sound. The internal power clashing head-on simply vanished without any change.
Sizzle!
No, to be precise, the moment Nok Gwi-bo’s scorching Hot Sun energy hit the five-colored radiance, it was snuffed out.
“Gah!”
The five-colored radiance still had strength left, and it struck Nok Gwi-bo’s left arm.
Boom!
At the same time, a thunderous roar erupted from Seok Myeong’s position. Gwi Cheon-neung, who had charged in at incredible speed, had slammed the ground with his frost-laden Sword Aura.
“…Wait, what?”
However, Seok Myeong, who should have been cut down, was not in front of Gwi Cheon-neung. He was there, but—
Blur.
He was right behind him. As if using a Shape Shift Position Change, Seok Myeong’s figure flickered out and reappeared behind Gwi Cheon-neung’s back. He placed a hand lightly on the elder’s waist.
“Begone.” Seok Myeong’s voice drifted out softly.
Tap.
“Kugh!”
With that light sound, Gwi Cheon-neung collapsed right where he stood.
Spring!
In an instant, not just the Qingcheng Sect but everyone in the audience stood bolt upright.
“Parting the Mountain Strike?” The first to question was Abbot Hye Seon of Shaolin.
“Taiji Fist?” True Person Unyang shouted almost simultaneously, looking back at Abbot Hye Seon.
Movement in Stillness.
The ultimate mystery where rotation reaches its peak, making it appear as though there is almost no movement at all. A secret technique used by martial arts families that specialize in soft energy—whether it be Shaolin or Wudang—had just been performed by a disciple of Qingcheng.