Chapter 47: The Golden Martial Association's Stance (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: The Golden Martial Association's Stance (1)
As the tri-colored energy began to flow, Cheol Gun—who looked ready to unleash a barrage of Sword Bullets at any moment—hesitated.
The spectators were equally thrown into confusion, their murmurs filling the air. The elders of the Three Bands and Five Halls, in particular, looked deeply perplexed.
Only Cheol So-yeon remained composed, and not just because she had witnessed this once before. She simply believed that no matter how peculiar the energy was, it could never stand against Cheol Gun’s Sword Bullets.
“What on earth is that…?”
Yeon-hui’s eyes were wide with shock. Seok Myeong’s Sword Aura possessed a mysterious quality that made it impossible to even guess its nature.
Hmph…
Song Hak was lost in deep contemplation. Even he couldn't fathom the identity of that energy.
Is it a power derived from the Azure Wind Origin Heart Method? Or is it a unique energy developed by the Taoists of the Azure Cloud Pavilion?
He couldn't be sure. The only certainty was that it was extraordinary, leaving a vivid impression that commanded everyone's attention.
“You were so full of yourself; I see you were hiding a trick of your own,” Cheol Gun called out to Seok Myeong, his voice laced with amusement. “That’s more like it. This makes it a real fight.”
To be honest, he was shivering with excitement. Since he had first begun his martial arts training, he had never encountered a situation this entertaining. Of course, beneath that excitement lay an unshakable confidence—a conviction that he would not lose to whatever that energy was.
“Let’s end this.”
Cheol Gun spoke bluntly and, without warning, swung his sword downward.
Simultaneously, Seok Myeong unleashed his tri-colored Sword Aura.
The Sword Bullet flashed across the distance in an instant, colliding with the tri-colored aura.
Wiiiiiiiiing!
An air-breaking roar pierced the ears of everyone present. Cheol Gun’s energy, which had turned pitch black, tore through the tri-colored aura and lunged toward Seok Myeong.
“Ugh!”
Seok Myeong barely managed to evade the strike. It wasn't that he had reacted after seeing it; rather, in the brief moment the two energies exploded, a small vortex had formed, and he had thrown his body within that split second.
It’s not entirely ineffective.
He had been pushed back by the Sword Bullet, but he hadn't been completely overwhelmed. The clash had temporarily repelled Cheol Gun’s energy, buying him enough time to dodge. He needed to make this tri-colored energy even stronger. But how?
If it’s impossible to condense the Sword Aura, perhaps I can increase its power by twisting the energy.
A flash of inspiration struck Seok Myeong’s mind.
Cheol Gun was currently condensing his energy to transform it into Sword Bullets. If that was the case, Seok Myeong wondered if he could forcibly twist his own energy to create "Sword Silk."
As he desperately searched for a way to strengthen his energy, Cheol Gun saw Seok Myeong’s posture falter and unleashed a second Sword Bullet.
Wiiiiing!
Seok Myeong instinctively tried to throw himself to the side, but he had spent too much time thinking of a solution and lacked the time to properly circulate his internal power.
In that moment, familiar faces caught his eye.
Cheol So-yeon and Hyeok-jin.
Without realizing it, he was standing right in front of them.
Cheol Gun, consumed by the duel, had failed to notice them and fired his Sword Aura anyway.
In that heartbeat of a second, Seok Myeong felt he had to make a choice—even though the situation seemed impossible to dodge or confront.
As the Sword Bullet loomed before his eyes, Seok Myeong swung his sword in desperation. He didn't even think about drawing up his internal strength. His only thought was to focus every ounce of his energy into a single point and thrust it forward.
Then, something strange happened.
Wooooooong—!
Even though he hadn't consciously circulated his internal energy, the Dark Heaven Bracelet began to vibrate with a resonant hum. Simultaneously, he felt the energy throughout his entire body being drained away.
And in that fleeting moment, Seok Myeong saw it.
A faint, brilliant energy began to seep out from his sword. It was dark, yet not overly deep—an energy that created the illusion of three colors swirling together…
It was Black Ink Energy.
*
“Urgh!”
Seok Myeong thought this would be his end. He had managed to manifest the energy, but he assumed it would be annihilated the moment it collided with Cheol Gun’s Sword Bullet.
Kaaaaang—!
However, the Black Ink Energy overcame the Sword Bullet. It didn't vanish; instead, it pierced straight through and surged toward Cheol Gun.
Even Cheol Gun could only stare with wide, shocked eyes.
What incredible energy!
In this world, no matter the type of energy, if one gathered and condensed internal power, it was bound to show a mixture of colors. The tri-colored energy from before had been shocking, but it was still within the realm of understanding. The blue had been pale, mixed with white and gray, and the purple had looked dark upon closer inspection.
But this new energy was, surprisingly, a perfect, solid color.
That monochromatic energy had pierced through his ultimate technique, the Sword Bullet, and was now right in front of him.
“…!”
The situation was so jarring that Cheol Gun couldn't even mount a defense before the energy struck him head-on.
Boom!
Whether it was due to his Astral Energy or sheer divine luck, the Black Ink Energy that struck Cheol Gun ricocheted into the sky and vanished into the distance. In the meantime, Cheol Gun was sent flying over fifty feet before crashing into a wall.
Slumping to the ground, he immediately let out a pained groan.
“Blegh!”
Cheol Gun’s vision blurred, unable to focus. His internal injuries were severe.
Crash!
At the same time, another explosion erupted elsewhere. Because the Sword Bullet flying toward Seok Myeong had been pierced at such close range, the fragments of energy that hadn't been neutralized triggered a chain reaction of explosions.
Caught in the blast, Seok Myeong was blown backward.
Skreeeeech!
Even after stabbing his sword into the ground to anchor himself, he didn't stop until he reached the very edge of the training ground.
“Cough! Heugh!”
Seok Myeong vomited a massive amount of blood. It was darker and thicker than Cheol Gun’s. One could not spill such blood without suffering devastating internal damage.
“Eldest Disciple!”
Yeon-hui rushed toward him, her face pale with fright. Seok Myeong was swaying on his feet, looking as if he might collapse at any second.
“Don’t go near him!”
Suddenly, Cheol So-yeon shouted at Yeon-hui. Her eyes were fixed on the Iron Ridge Fire Bright Sword, which lay discarded on the ground.
Vroooooom!
The Iron Ridge Fire Bright Sword, which Cheol Gun had dropped, was moving. Even without its master’s grip, it behaved as if it possessed a life of its own.
“Senior Brother Seok Myeong!”
Yeon-hui ignored the warning and continued running toward him.
Swish!
It happened then. As Yeon-hui approached, the Iron Ridge Fire Bright Sword suddenly reacted. It shot up into the air and began spraying something toward her.
Unlike the Sword Bullets, these were tiny "Sword Scriptures"—so minute they were almost invisible. However, they were more than enough to startle the off-guard Yeon-hui.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden attack, Yeon-hui instinctively drew her sword and swung. In her panic, she unleashed the full extent of her internal power.
Her Sword Aura manifested, knocking the Iron Ridge Fire Bright Sword far away. That part was fine. The problem was what happened next.
The direction her Sword Aura flew was straight toward Cheol Gun and Cheol So-yeon.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
In that split second, Wol Pung, who had been watching, leaped into the fray. Seeing a woman unleash a threatening Sword Aura in the middle of a duel, he instinctively moved to shatter the energy.
“Hah!”
Simultaneously, he lunged toward Yeon-hui. Interfering in an official duel was a taboo in the martial world, regardless of whether one belonged to the Orthodox or Unorthodox factions. Whether she was from Qingcheng or not, he intended to punish the woman who had initiated the threat.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Ha Jeong-ui, who had also been observing, joined the fray.
Yeon-hui panicked as two masters of the Unorthodox Faction suddenly bore down on her. Being young, she hadn't realized how her actions would be perceived or how she should respond.
Just as a sharp energy was about to strike her vital points—
“Back away.”
Song Hak, who had appeared behind her in an instant, spoke softly.
Rumble!
The ground shook as piles of stone shot into the air. A powerful wind surged from the ground upward.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
The sudden Wind Barrier pushed the two elders back.
“That was dangerous,” Song Hak said, taking a breath as he looked at Cheol Gun’s sword in the distance. “That sword… it is no ordinary object. It seems to have a nature that reacts to pure energy.”
Much like how the Demon-Slaying Divine Sword of Shaolin reacts to demonic energy, this sword possessed the ability to react autonomously to energy that opposed its own.
With his vast experience in the Jianghu, Song Hak had heard of such Divine Weapons belonging to the Heretical Path. He just hadn't realized that Cheol Gun’s Iron Ridge Fire Bright Sword was one of them.
“Move aside!”
Just as the six elders, sensing something was wrong, were about to charge in, a robust figure blurred through the air at incredible speed, stepping on the very atmosphere itself.
It was Cheol Jung.
Seeing that Cheol Gun had almost been put in further danger by Yeon-hui’s Sword Aura, he could no longer contain his rage and took action.
“Hmph! Are you the leader of these small fries?”
Shring.
Song Hak quickly drew the sword from his waist and leaped into the air without looking back.
Boom!
A heavy sound, like a massive boulder smashing into the earth, echoed as a wave of energy rippled out. Two masters who had reached the Realm of Entering the Divine clashed in mid-air.
Flash! Flash!
Even though they were fighting in the sky, the shockwaves were strong enough to make one's entire body tingle. A chilling energy, sharp enough to prick the skin, radiated from the clash.
With every collision, the sound of a storm mixed with the cracking of ice erupted, growing louder and more intense with every exchange.
Crash!
With the roar of exploding internal power, the two elders descended to the ground and continued their fierce struggle.
“Hahaha!”
After several exchanges, a small gap opened between them. Seizing the opportunity, Cheol Jung threw his sword.
Destruction Sorrow!
Song Hak hesitated for a moment as he saw the sword hurtling toward him with ferocious momentum. How could a martial artist simply throw away their sword? Despite his vast experience, he was still a product of the Qingcheng Sect’s philosophy: No Sword, No Person—if there is no sword, there is no person.
Slice.
“Ugh!”
Because Cheol Jung had moved half a breath faster, Song Hak was late in parrying the thrown weapon, and the blade grazed his wrist.
When he looked back at Cheol Jung—
Fwoosh!
Energy swirled around Cheol Jung’s body as white steam rose from him. A yellowish light began to explode from his fist. It was a mass of blurry Fist Qi, large enough to cover his entire face.
“I suppose the opponent warrants this much.”
Swish!
Song Hak channeled his internal strength into his sword and thrust forward.
Suddenly, the Fist Qi vanished, only to reappear from a different direction. It was as if it had moved through space instantaneously.
“A Fist Phantom?”
Just as swordsmanship had real and false strikes, qi-based arts that materialized internal power also had their own feints. Cheol Jung’s Fist Phantom was an attack method an entire level higher than the Sword Bullets Cheol Gun had used.
“Hmph!”
But his opponent was Song Hak.
The moment he realized his opponent was using Fist Phantoms, Song Hak’s apprehension vanished. Song Hak was one of the top five elders of the Qingcheng Sect and was renowned throughout the Jianghu as one of the Hundred Great Masters.
Though he had been briefly startled, knowing it was a Fist Phantom was enough to end the threat.
“Origin Wind Sky Sword!”
Song Hak raised his sword without even looking at the vanishing energy.
ROAR!
A massive wall of wind surged up, surrounding him. The wind pressure was so immense that the Fist Qi, which had been moving fast enough to create illusions, was instantly annihilated.
However, the excessive consumption of internal energy caused Song Hak’s complexion to turn pale.