Chapter 21: Another Way to Become a Qingcheng Swordsman (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: Another Way to Become a Qingcheng Swordsman (1)
“Kieeeeee-heee-heee!”
A grotesque cackle tore from his throat, escalating into a piercing, high-pitched shriek. His voice was so raspy and strained that the veins in his neck bulged like cords, and his bloodshot eyes looked as if they might burst from their sockets.
“To harbor demonic qi in your body yet refuse to use it… Where on earth did you learn such a martial art!”
“……”
“Heh… Heh-heh…! After I kill you, I’ll tear out your soul and find out exactly what happened!”
He spat out a slurry of blood and a sound that was half-laugh, half-groan. As he spoke, his hands and wrists began to glow with a vivid, pulsating crimson light.
This is dangerous.
Seok Myeong gripped his sword until his knuckles turned white, his mind racing.
The man before him was covered in massive, festering wounds. Despite his battered state, the sheer pressure radiating from him was staggering. Seok Myeong realized with a chill that if the man had been in peak health, he would have lost his life in the very first exchange.
The world seemed to bleed into shadow before his eyes.
Though he had mastered countless forms, his mind went blank. Faced with such an overwhelming, murderous aura for the first time, his breath hitched in his throat.
“At this rate…”
Wooooong—!
The moment despair began to take root, the Dark Heaven Bracelet reacted.
Sensing the wicked energy tightening around Seok Myeong’s psyche, the bracelet automatically activated its neutralizing power.
“Ah…”
As the Dark Heaven Bracelet hummed against his skin, Seok Myeong felt the icy grip on his mind thaw. The opponent’s pressure and wicked energy could no longer invade his senses.
Wiiiiing—!
A second vibration followed.
It was the resonance of the Taiji Empty Heart. The energy stirred, bringing a profound tranquility to Seok Myeong’s soul and washing away the dregs of anxiety and fear.
Flutter.
Then came a refreshing breeze.
As the Azure Wind Origin Heart Method began to circulate, his depleted stamina was instantly replenished. The energy lifted his spirits, leaving him invigorated and battle-ready.
Three distinct energies had reacted simultaneously to the opponent’s crushing pressure.
I can win.
Seeing the forces within his body working in perfect harmony, Seok Myeong found his resolve. The opponent was a master, but if he fought with precision, victory was within reach.
With a calm mind, Seok Myeong mentally reviewed his sword techniques, one by one.
“Kaaaaakh!”
The demonic madman howled again and lunged.
Watching the blurred figure approach, Seok Myeong made his decision.
I’ll meet force with force!
The martial arts of Qingcheng knew no retreat.
Executing a form from the Heaven and Earth Sword, he swung his blade to meet the man’s charge.
Boom! Crash!
Shockwaves of energy shattered and scattered in all directions. A powerful gale erupted between the two combatants, pulverizing the stone floor and everything in the vicinity.
Both Seok Myeong and the demonic practitioner were fast—so fast they were nearly invisible to the naked eye. Seok Myeong moved beyond mere sight, mobilizing all his sharpened senses to guide his blade toward the enemy.
*
Three years ago, Jeok Ma-seong had entered the Jianghu accompanied by only two vassals.
It wasn't because of a secret order or a specific mission; if it had been, he wouldn't have brought so few followers. His goal was to recover a vital secret manual lost by his ancestors: the Demonic Energy Absorption Art.
Recently, the Demonic Cult had been plagued by internal strife regarding its reorganization. The Great Leader’s son was weaker than expected and possessed a frail constitution, making him unfit to inherit the throne.
Consequently, Jeok Ma-seong, who belonged to a faction loyal to the Great Leader, sought the Demonic Energy Absorption Art as a desperate measure to bolster the faction's strength. There was no faster way to reach the Absolute Realm than through that specific art.
Unfortunately, that heart method was missing from the Demonic Cult’s archives. During the last Great War between the Orthodox and Demon Factions, a subordinate tasked by the Great Leader to transport the manual had been ambushed by the Orthodox Faction and lost it.
Jeok Ma-seong had exerted every effort to find it. He didn't know the exact location, but he knew the ambush had occurred near the Baekcheon Sect.
For months, he had scoured the region. He wandered marketplaces and analyzed every minor rumor in the Jianghu to find the manual… but it was all in vain. It was like searching for a specific grain of sand in a vast desert.
The repetitive, fruitless search caused his guard to slip. Eventually, his identity was exposed, and word of his presence reached the Baekcheon Sect—one of the most prominent powers in the Jianghu.
Jeok Ma-seong fled desperately.
Normally, as a man who boasted of welcoming an honorable death, he would have chosen suicide over dying at the hands of the Orthodox Faction. But he couldn't. He had a purpose. He had to return to the Cult with the Demonic Energy Absorption Art at all costs.
The place he chose to hide was Mount Qingcheng. Since he was as good as dead if he kept running, he sought to vanish by hiding in the very heart of the sacred land of Taoism.
While clinging to life in hiding, he encountered an unexpected variable. To his shock, a youth using energy similar to demonic qi had appeared before him.
“Heh!”
Just when he thought fate was finally smiling upon him, he hit an unexpected wall.
The young man before him looked like he had only just shed his boyish features. Yet, he was strong. He was so incredibly strong that Jeok Ma-seong doubted if he was truly human.
No matter how much he had been focused on recovering from fatal wounds, and no matter how long he had lived like a cornered rat in this hole, he couldn't understand how he was unable to overwhelm a mere fledgling. Even within the Demonic Cult, one could not find a genius of this caliber at such an age.
There is something wrong with this brat.
Jeok Ma-seong felt it the moment their energies clashed. He couldn't quite identify the source, but the power boiling inside the youth was immense. In terms of raw internal energy alone, the young man seemed to have the advantage.
If this drags on, the Qingcheng dogs might notice. I have to kill him now.
Jeok Ma-seong steeled himself and drew up the demonic qi within his body once more. Now that the opportunity had come, he had no intention of letting it go.
Despite the pressure, Seok Myeong responded with chilling calm. He had momentarily escaped the man’s killing intent, but the savage, overbearing attacks could still prove fatal at any moment.
He’s truly terrifying.
Every single move was a killing strike forged through a lifetime of slaughter. Even while engaged in a direct clash, the man would suddenly shift his form, slipping out of Seok Myeong’s reach like a ghost.
If the fight continued like this, Seok Myeong would be worn down. He had to find a way to end it.
As a blast of internal energy laden with demonic qi surged toward him, Seok Myeong dodged to the left. He countered instantly, firing a burst of sword aura toward the man’s chest.
The sword aura pierced through Jeok Ma-seong’s chest—or so it seemed.
I’ve been tricked!
By the time Seok Myeong launched his attack, the opponent was already closing in from a different angle.
A lack of experience—that was the flaw that put Seok Myeong in a predicament once again.
“Kyah!”
With a gruesome smile, the man unleashed his internal energy. It was different from before. A mass of purple demonic qi expanded so violently it seemed to fill the entire cave.
“Agh!”
At such close range, Seok Myeong didn't even have time to dodge; he could only brace himself.
In that instant, the energies protecting Seok Myeong wrapped around his body in layers. The fastest was the Azure Wind energy, followed by the Taiji energy, and finally, the demonic qi of the Demonic Energy Absorption Art.
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the cavern. The ceiling crumbled, and Seok Myeong was sent flying backward.
Despite the heavy impact, Jeok Ma-seong did not stop. Charging out of the settling dust, he lunged straight for Seok Myeong’s throat.
Dammit, why now…
His mind was hazy from the impact. Suddenly, a single sword form flashed through Seok Myeong’s mind.
It was the Sixth Initial Form of the Heaven and Earth Sword: the Dividing Horizontal Sword—a technique he had never been able to execute properly until this very moment.
He didn't know why the realization hit him now, but he knew it was the only technique that could suppress this demon.
A strike that sweeps horizontally to bisect the opponent’s waist. He had always been unsure whether the essence of the move was to push or to pull, but now, the answer was clear.
Dividing Horizontal… Sword.
Collapsing on the ground, Seok Myeong thrust his sword toward the man charging at him.
The moment the blade moved, his mind went empty. He didn't worry about whether he should push or pull.
Shiiiiiik!
“…!”
Jeok Ma-seong’s eyes widened. Surprised by the sudden attack from a fallen foe, he hastily moved laterally, barely managing to dodge the initial thrust.
In that instant!
A feint?
He couldn't possibly dodge the next burst of sword aura. The aura that had been fired forward suddenly curved, returning from behind him with lethal speed.
There were two streaks of sword aura. One thrusting out, and one pulling back. He had never imagined that sword aura could be manipulated in such a way.
Boom!
That was the end.
Two streaks of three-foot-long sword aura erupted. Three energies—purple, white, and blue—instantly bisected Jeok Ma-seong’s body.
Splat!
“……”
Bones snapped, and half-rotten internal organs spilled out along with foul fluids.
“You…”
Thud. Roll.
Jeok Ma-seong tried to speak, but his head fell from his shoulders and rolled across the dirt. It was a hollow death for a man renowned as one of the Eight Great Bishops of the Demonic Cult.
“Huff, huff.”
Seok Myeong clutched his chest, drenched in cold sweat.
It wasn't just the shock of the fight. The moment he had unleashed energy equivalent to over Two Gapja, the demonic qi within him had begun to boil. Fortunately, the Dark Heaven Bracelet suppressed the surge, allowing Seok Myeong to regain his senses.
“That was truly dangerous.”
The demonic master lay before him, his body split in two, bleeding out on the cavern floor.
“So the meaning of the Dividing Horizontal Sword was…”
Seok Myeong finally understood. Both interpretations were correct. Pushing and pulling. The criterion for drawing out the true power of the form was the ability to perform both simultaneously.
“Huff, huff.”
Exhaling sharply, Seok Myeong stepped out of the cave and spent a long time steadying his breathing. The three energies were moving independently within his body. He had to pour all his focus into his Dantian to calm the storm.
Only after two hours had passed could he look around with a calm gaze.
“The time…”
It was already noon. The registration for the exam was over. Even if he ran now, he wouldn't be able to take it. The Qingcheng Swordsman exam—the goal he had poured his heart and soul into for two years—was out of reach.
“No. That’s not the problem.”
Seok Myeong shook his head. He had eliminated a demonic master who had infiltrated Qingcheng. It was a great achievement, but he couldn't use it as an excuse.
The opponent was a master of demonic arts whom he had barely defeated by catching him off guard. He would have to explain how he won.
First, there was the Metamorphosis that had completely changed his face and body. Then, there was his massively increased internal energy. He couldn't hide the explanation for those. In the process, the forbidden martial arts his master had taught him would be discovered.
And beyond his master, there was the Azure Cloud Taoist. He might end up tarnishing the honor of the ancestors who had staked their lives on making Qingcheng strong.
“…I can’t let that happen.”
A lump formed in his throat.
The Qingcheng Swordsman exam. Two years of effort. None of it compared to his master’s grace and the legacy of the grandmasters.
“…It’s for the best. This is better.”
His throat tightened again.
Seok Myeong rationalized it to himself. It was true. If this level of martial power had manifested during the exam…
Regardless of his appearance, it was better to miss the exam than to have everyone in Qingcheng witness the flow of wicked internal energy inadvertently spreading from his body.
“Dammit!”
Swish. Zip!
Uncharacteristically, Seok Myeong spat out a curse and quickly vanished into the brush. Amidst the excitement, agitation, sorrow, and sense of injustice, he needed a moment to clear his head.