The Pinnacle of Martial Arts (4)
The three masters felt humiliated by Myeong-yun's declaration, yet none of them rushed in together.
They each had their own pride, after all.
As warriors counted among the finest in Sleepless City, ganging up on a single opponent would only tarnish their own reputations.
"This lady shall go first."
"No. You will be last."
When Jeok-wol stepped forward, Myeong-yun stopped her.
He preferred to save the most delicious part for last.
"Since you have inherited the lineage of the Heavenly Demon Cult, this seat shall grant you the opportunity to witness my martial arts."
At Myeong-yun's words, Jeok-wol frowned and tried to step forward again, but—
"This old man shall go first. Show some respect for your elders."
The Black Death Squadron Leader of the Saro Heaven, Heo-myeong, stepped forward to face Myeong-yun.
Myeong-yun remained with his hands clasped behind his back, radiating absolute composure.
It was the relaxed confidence of an absolute expert who viewed them as unworthy opponents.
"I look forward to this. Though I suppose this will be the last thing you ever hear..."
"This seat shall yield you three moves. Come at me, child."
"I wonder how long that confidence of yours will last."
The very next instant, Heo-myeong vanished along with the wind.
He melted into the darkness of Sleepless City, completely disappearing from sight.
While the viewers frantically scanned the screen trying to find the suddenly vanished Heo-myeong, Myeong-yun didn't even bother looking around.
"Black Heaven Flying Blades, Black Death Squadron Leader... As expected of a heretic, your martial arts are utterly despicable."
He remained with his hands behind his back and tilted his head slightly.
Something whistled past right beside him.
"One."
This time he raised his hand and deflected a flying blade aimed at his chest.
The redirected blade embedded itself deep into the ground with a heavy thud.
"Two."
Countless black blades rained down from above Myeong-yun's head as Heo-myeong finally revealed himself.
Gone was his shabby appearance. Now clad entirely in tight black garments, both hands gripped vicious daggers.
At first glance, he might have seemed like nothing more than an ordinary assassin.
But then four additional arms sprouted from his back, making six arms in total, each spinning daggers in different directions.
"Behold! King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique, Black Heaven Flower Rain!"
"Are you merely imitating the Tang Clan's Full Sky Flower Rain?"
Myeong-yun laughed as if he found it ridiculous and spun while extending his hand.
A sudden whirlwind erupted around him, instantly blowing away all the incoming blades.
Within the shattered Black Heaven Flower Rain, Heo-myeong gritted his teeth and descended, spinning the daggers in his hands as he charged at Myeong-yun.
The blades were as sharp as a viper's fangs, carrying enough force to pierce through anything they touched.
Enveloped in dark energy, Heo-myeong aimed straight for Myeong-yun's throat.
"Three."
However, the moment Myeong-yun finished his spin and reached out, his hand deftly avoided the daggers and seized Heo-myeong by the throat.
"Guhk!"
Having granted three moves, Myeong-yun now held the man's life in his grasp.
Heo-myeong struggled desperately to break free, but the pressure on his carotid artery turned his face bright red.
Myeong-yun smiled coldly as he stared into the suffering man's face.
"King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel? Black Heaven Flower Rain? Do you even understand the meaning behind those names?"
"Kuhk... What meaning could there be in mere martial arts!"
"The technique that sends even the King of the Underworld into the cycle of reincarnation carries no such will. That is why you are reduced to nothing more than throwing blades and swinging daggers."
Myeong-yun hurled Heo-myeong to the ground and extended his hand.
Several of the blades stuck in the floor rose into the air, and one flew into his grasp.
Telekinesis through internal energy
To the viewers, it was an incomprehensible sight.
In the world of Cyberpunk Murim, using Void Grab required Hwa-gyeong level internal energy reserves and extreme control.
Even then, the most one could lift was usually a single sword.
Moving two or more objects simultaneously was nearly impossible unless one possessed exceptional multitasking ability.
Yet Myeong-yun completely shattered that common knowledge.
Not only was he using Void Grab without any Hwa-gyeong level internal energy storage, he was controlling more than five objects at once.
"You have shown me the forms. Though they contain considerable enlightenment, what you use is nothing more than a shallow, superficial imitation."
When Myeong-yun swung the dagger in his hand, the remaining blades rose into the air and began to spin.
The way the blades moved was identical to how Heo-myeong had spun his daggers while falling from the sky.
"T-that's...!"
"The majority of the blades falling from the sky in Black Heaven Flower Rain were nothing but a distraction. The real attack was those six daggers you were swinging, was it not?"
Myeong-yun tossed the dagger in his hand into the air, and the six blades began rotating in perfect harmony.
"Do you truly believe such pathetic martial arts could take this seat's head? When you cannot even comprehend the true meaning contained within the technique?"
Myeong-yun looked down at Heo-myeong, who was clutching his painful throat.
Heo-myeong's martial art, the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique.
He had used it to display movements specialized for assassination, completely erasing his presence.
That alone would have been enough to rule the nights of Sleepless City.
However, what Myeong-yun saw as the true form of the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique was something else entirely.
"Behold. This is the true form of the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique."
When Myeong-yun flicked his finger, the daggers floating in the air spun at an even faster speed.
Faster than when Heo-myeong had used his mechanical body to rotate them.
A strange attractive force began to form between the daggers spinning in multiple directions.
The wind flowing between them was drawn into that attractive force, creating a single, steady current.
What that current began to depict was...
"Ah... Aaaaah..."
The face Myeong-yun drew with the six spinning daggers was visible not only to Heo-myeong but to every viewer as well.
The black energy flowing from the six rotating blades formed the face of the 'King of the Underworld.'
The fierce, terrifying visage of the merciless Yama who cast sinners into hell glared down at Heo-myeong.
"This is what the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique truly contains. A martial art that sends even the King of the Underworld into reincarnation... A pinnacle realm that can never be reached by the likes of you."
"This... this can't be. This is the true King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique? Does that mean everything I've been using until now wasn't even worth a fingernail?"
Heo-myeong wanted to deny it.
The King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique that he had spent a fortune to receive from the Saro Heaven Lord was a source of pride for him.
While internal energy was merely fuel and martial arts were tools, possessing a powerful technique earned him the envy of many.
It was both a means and a source of pride.
Yet Myeong-yun had not only copied his technique after seeing it once, but had taken it even further and drawn out its true form.
Heo-myeong, who had believed he knew everything about the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique, was left speechless upon realizing he had been nothing more than a lucky fool.
Though they were artificial intelligences, this place was their reality.
And then came Myeong-yun's cold, ruthless evaluation of his martial arts.
"However, it does not seem this technique could actually kill the King of the Underworld. If it were this seat..."
Myeong-yun instantly adjusted the rotation angle and speed of the daggers, creating an entirely new current.
The face of Yama drawn by the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique vanished, replaced by the slowly emerging face of a dragon.
The dragon gradually opened its jaws wide and let out a roar through the resonant sound of the spinning blades.
"Huuuuaaaaaaaaagh—!!"
Heo-myeong looked like he was about to faint.
Not only had Myeong-yun modified the technique on the spot, he had strengthened its power even further.
'The momentum... it's more than twice as strong!'
If something like that came crashing down on him...
He would undoubtedly die.
Myeong-yun raised his hand and slowly brought it down.
It was a death sentence falling upon Heo-myeong.
A massive dragon formed of spinning blades opened its maw wide, ready to devour him whole.
"S-spare me—!!"
Forgetting all dignity, Heo-myeong crawled across the floor, begging for his life.
In the face of death's terror, even the Black Heaven Flying Blade who once made the nights of Sleepless City tremble looked utterly pathetic.
The viewers had all predicted Heo-myeong's death, but the daggers Myeong-yun brought down flew past him and embedded themselves completely into the ground.
The impact alone left a massive dragon-shaped crater that devastated the floor, yet Heo-myeong remained alive.
"Huk... huuuk... huuuuuk..."
Heo-myeong curled into a ball, barely managing to breathe.
For someone of his advanced age to avoid both fainting and wetting himself was impressive in itself.
Myeong-yun walked over to him with steady steps and extended his hand.
Thinking Myeong-yun was offering him a hand, Heo-myeong reflexively reached out to take it, but—
Myeong-yun's hand passed his and headed straight for his chest, where a finger jabbed firmly into his solar plexus.
A cracking sound came from his chest as an enormous amount of black energy poured out of Heo-myeong.
"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH—!!"
Myeong-yun flicked his black robes and spoke with his hands clasped behind his back.
"I have destroyed your internal energy storage. From now on, build your internal energy in your dantian from the beginning like a proper human being. Only then will you be able to reach the King of the Underworld's Killing Wheel Technique that this seat has shown you."
Though Myeong-yun had done it with good intentions, hoping the man would cultivate proper martial arts, from a third party's perspective it was as if he had torn the martial artist's pride to shreds from beginning to end.
He had completely dismantled Heo-myeong's technique, copied it, improved upon it, and even scattered all of his internal energy.
It was no different from completely denying the entirety of Heo-myeong's life.
Myeong-yun turned to the two who were waiting and said,
"Next is you, Namgung."
To Namgung-seong, Myeong-yun's words somehow sounded like the King of Hell reading out a verdict.
One whose outcome had already been decided.