Chapter 75: Heaven and Earth Sword, Sixth Initial Form (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: Heaven and Earth Sword, Sixth Initial Form (1)
‘Incredible adaptability.’
Dan Ri-geon’s hands moved with furious speed.
He was unleashing a chaotic, unpredictable barrage with his iron whip, yet the young man before him was evading the strikes without much difficulty.
It didn't seem like he was dodging based on sight alone. At one point, when the youth leaped to avoid the whip, he seemed to miscalculate the height, yet he managed to step on empty air consecutively to adjust his position.
One thing was certain: he was successfully avoiding every blow.
Even without radiating massive internal energy or employing a renowned lightness skill, his movements were impressively fluid.
It felt as if he were reading the very rhythm of the attack.
That was the sensation Dan Ri-geon felt.
‘What should I do?’
Meanwhile, Seok Myeong was fighting a desperate battle of his own.
Whirrr!
The moment a blurred object entered his vision, he ducked. The iron whip grazed the space just above his head. Though it only passed by, the wind it generated howled and shrieked in his ears.
Following the movements of the iron whip was impossible at his current level. The attacks, linked along invisible trajectories, were far too difficult to predict.
Staring intently at Dan Ri-geon, Seok Myeong formulated a plan. He noticed a subtle change in the man's gaze and hand movements whenever he committed to a strike. He might not have noticed it the first time, but this was their second encounter.
If he used his kinetic vision to track those hand movements and combined it with the reaction speed to move the instant he sensed an attack...
If he could rely on those two things, he would be able to anticipate the whip's path and evade it.
Zzzzzzt.
As his attacks continued to fail, Dan Ri-geon opted for a different tactic. He snapped the iron whip, shortening it to about three feet, and then wound it around the gauntlet on his hand. Since the iron whip could be broken and reshaped at will, it clearly possessed a unique mechanism that allowed it to change form according to the wielder's intent.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His fist had grown several times its original size due to the gauntlet and the wrapped iron whip. Even at a glance, the atmosphere around him had turned heavy and oppressive.
Seok Myeong bit his lip. He could feel it—the real fight was starting now.
Swish.
Seok Myeong leaped into the air and vanished.
“The Illusory Lost Track Step, I see.”
Watching Seok Myeong disappear, Dan Ri-geon lowered his center of gravity and braced his legs firmly, refusing to be caught off guard. Maintaining a rigid posture, he glanced at the air for a moment before raising both hands in front of his face, falling into a silent stillness.
Flash.
It happened the instant Seok Myeong reappeared in mid-air.
Boom!
A burst of Fist Wind exploded in the air, then suddenly sank and vanished like a submerged shadow. Seok Myeong’s strike had been intercepted by Dan Ri-geon’s fist.
Whack!
In that moment, Dan Ri-geon opened the left hand he had used to block the sword. As he did, the very tip of the coiled iron whip shot out toward Seok Myeong.
‘Gah!’
Seok Myeong hurriedly pulled his sword back to defend himself, but this time, the iron whip was faster.
Thwack!
The whip struck Seok Myeong in the chest. With a dull thud, his body spun in the air before crashing to the ground.
“Urgh!”
Though his head hit the floor, Seok Myeong scrambled to his feet immediately.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
As expected, it wasn't over. Dan Ri-geon had already unleashed a countless number of Fist Qi blasts.
He was a master of fist techniques. Before becoming famous for the iron whip, he had been known as a master of boxing. Realizing that fist techniques alone were insufficient, he had taken up a weapon and trained relentlessly. The first weapon he picked up was a staff, but it didn't take long for him to realize his true talent lay with the whip.
Now, Dan Ri-geon was a master proficient in both fist techniques and the iron whip.
Gasp!
Seok Myeong stumbled as he tried to react to the Fist Qi. Whether from internal injuries or shock, his entire body felt paralyzed; he couldn't even stretch out his hand. He was left defenseless against the onslaught.
If this continued, he would be struck by the numerous blasts and be severely injured—or worse, lose his life.
Pshhhhh!
Just then, a brilliant radiance streaked through the air, wiping out the Fist Qi Dan Ri-geon had generated in a single stroke. It created the illusion that all the Fist Qi was being sucked into the dazzling light. Soon, with a massive roar, both the radiance and the Fist Qi vanished.
“Have you been well?”
“Hah!”
Seok Myeong couldn't believe his eyes. The man who should have been lying in bed was standing there, looking at him.
“U-Uncle! How...?”
“What, are you so glad to see me that you're at a loss for words?”
“It’s not that... How are you out of bed? D-Don't tell me...”
“Don't tell you what?”
“Something fatal like the Explosion Technique...?”
“Do you think I would do something so foolish?” Song Yeo-guk shouted back, but Seok Myeong’s expression remained grim. In his current state, that was the only way he could have stood up.
The Explosion Technique was an internal art that granted temporary, immense power by detonating the Innate Energy that forms the foundation of life.
“You’re wrong. But you’re close. I’ve drawn upon the External Pill Force.”
“The External Pill Force...?”
Seok Myeong realized it belatedly. Unlike the Explosion Technique, which burns Innate Energy, this was a force used by exploding the capacity of the Dantian.
Song Yeo-guk still had a small amount of internal strength left. He had maximized that power to maintain his external strength at an even level. With this method, he wouldn't die—but he would only not die. He had to pay a price comparable to death. Fatal side effects, such as the shattering of his Dantian, were inevitable.
“Who are you?”
Dan Ri-geon cast a wary gaze at Song Yeo-guk. His eyes were wide with disbelief at the martial art that had neutralized his Fist Qi so effortlessly. Furthermore, the unreadable smile playing on Song Yeo-guk’s lips irritated him.
However, Song Yeo-guk continued to ignore him and spoke to Seok Myeong.
“Let me ask you one thing. How much have you learned?”
“Pardon?”
“The Heaven and Earth Sword.”
“...!”
Seok Myeong’s eyes widened. He was asking about his progress in the Heaven and Earth Sword, the supreme martial art of Qingcheng.
“I have learned up to the sixth form.”
“The Vertical and Horizontal Cutting Sword? How? Are you serious?”
Even in this grave atmosphere, Song Yeo-guk looked at Seok Myeong with surprised eyes. When Seok Myeong nodded, Song Yeo-guk turned his gaze back to Dan Ri-geon.
“Impressive for a first-generation disciple. To have reached that level already. Then again, for someone like you, it makes sense.”
Song Yeo-guk raised his sword and continued.
“Then I suppose I should show you the seventh form.”
“What? The seventh form? C-Can you really do it?”
“I mastered it over ten years ago.”
“But Uncle, what I know is different from the original Heaven and Earth Sword. Azure Cloud Taoist’s Heaven and Earth Sword is...”
“It only had three swords drawn in it, right?”
“...!”
Seok Myeong blinked. It seemed he knew the details well.
“As you might have guessed, I was also a student of Azure Cloud Taoist. I researched the Heaven and Earth Sword extensively. And what I researched was...” He lifted his sword. “Interestingly enough, external styles. Strictly speaking, it wasn't pure external martial arts, but a field of unifying the lost internal energy by accepting it back into the body.”
He took a Qi Gathering Stance and continued.
“But it shared common ground with external styles. External Qi, strictly speaking, is not the power of muscle strength, but a force where a portion of internal energy has clumped together. It is the unification of the internal energy that has circulated through the body and escaped.”
Seok Myeong felt like he finally understood why he couldn't find the way no matter how much he researched. The combination of external and internal arts—it was only possible through a hypothesis that completely shattered common sense.
“Watch these two things. The seventh form of the Heaven and Earth Sword, and the change that occurs when you infuse it with the power of both internal and external arts.”
Swish, swish, swish!
The moment he finished speaking, Song Yeo-guk dashed forward. Sensing the shift, Dan Ri-geon also charged. Intense power surged behind them, creating whirlwinds in their wake.
Screech!
The moment Song Yeo-guk kicked off the ground and leaped into the air, a clear, pure energy bloomed from his sword and poured down violently toward Dan Ri-geon. Several intense collisions followed. Dan Ri-geon fought back with his fists, drawing out every ounce of his strength.
Afterward, as if by agreement, the two backed away from each other. Then, Song Yeo-guk’s gaze flickered toward Seok Myeong.
“Watch closely!”
“Where do you think you're looking, brat!”
Dan Ri-geon wasn't about to miss that opening. He unleashed a barrage of blunt, heavy energy, thick as tree trunks, toward Song Yeo-guk.
In that instant.
‘It disappeared!’
Seok Myeong’s eyes flew wide. The Sword Aura Song Yeo-guk fired flew off in a completely random direction. And before it had gone far, it suddenly vanished.
Dan Ri-geon used superhuman strength to fire off a continuous stream of Fist Qi. But once again, the Sword Aura grazed past him and vanished, as if melting into the air.
“What is this!”
It was impossible to tell if he was doing this on purpose or if he had some other scheme. Dan Ri-geon bet on the latter and relentlessly fired Fist Qi at Song Yeo-guk.
And a moment later.
“Huh?”
Dan Ri-geon was struck with horror as the vanished Sword Aura reappeared. Suddenly, three streaks of Sword Aura—one from the front, one from the left, and one from the right—materialized and poured down upon him.
‘Sword Illusions?’
Seok Myeong watched with astonishment. He was witnessing the Sword Aura vanishing and then reappearing. Sword Illusions appearing shortly after the Sword Aura vanished—that was a realm beyond the peak.
That wasn't all. The clear light of the Sword Aura had faded, turning grey as it reappeared.
“Hyaah!”
Realizing he couldn't block it, Dan Ri-geon pushed his Protective Astral Energy to its limit and covered himself with his iron whip. At that same moment, the three Sword Illusions slammed into him.
K-Boom!
With a massive explosion, Dan Ri-geon was sent flying. The destructive power of the consecutive Sword Illusions was terrifying. He rolled several times before his head slammed into the dirt.
“Gah-urk!”
He tried to stand, but immediately vomited crimson blood and collapsed again.
“You brat, you dared to act so bold with such pathetic skill?” Song Yeo-guk spoke as he looked down at the man sprawled on the ground. Though he was a renowned master of the Black Snake Union, Song Yeo-guk had toyed with Dan Ri-geon as if he were a plaything.
Drip.
However, contrary to his words, cold sweat was pouring down his forehead. Because he had consumed so much internal energy by forcing his strength up, the energy he had left was less than expected. Furthermore, his internal energy was continuously leaking out of his body. At this rate, the External Pill Force wouldn't last much longer.
‘I must end this quickly.’
Just as Song Yeo-guk was about to move to finish Dan Ri-geon off...
“Y-You...”
Someone groaned from the side. Song Yeo-guk’s eyes wavered as he looked at the man who had suddenly appeared.
“Hong Geom-baek?”
The man he absolutely had to kill was standing before him.
“T-This... how...”
Hong Geom-baek was equally shocked. His face was pale with terror, as if he were looking at a demon that had crawled back from hell.
Song Yeo-guk and Hong Geom-baek stood facing each other, frozen like stone statues.