Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: The Death of the Evil God of the Celestial Vault
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*Ssshhht!*
The jet-black sword aura erupting from the Fire Dragon Sword curved like a great half-moon as it slashed toward the Evil God of the Celestial Vault.
The sword aura was as beautiful as a sleek black moon descending to the earth. It was tragic that such a beautiful line of a sword was meant to cut down a man.
Simultaneously, several distinct gray hand-blades shot out from the Evil God's knife-hand strike, rushing toward a spot two spans to the left of my face, one after another, as if rapidly flipping through the pages of a book.
*Swoooosh!*
They flowed with a mysterious grace, like meteors weaving through a black moon.
If this continued, the Fire Dragon Sword would slice the Evil God's shoulder in two, but at the same moment, my face would be shattered by his hand-blade.
No, it wasn't just a hand-blade; it was a hand-aura, a strike infused with his energy. A supreme master like the Evil God of the Celestial Vault could infuse his aura into any part of his body.
Without abandoning my attack, I continued to slash with the Fire Dragon Sword while tilting my head back to dodge. But this time, as if it had been waiting, a fist-aura shot toward my side.
*Shhhwiit!*
The Evil God's response was swift, as if he had nocked several arrows on his bowstring in advance and was firing them in succession.
He had attacked my face with a hand-aura, and now, he was already striking my side with a fist-aura.
His transition between attacks was dazzlingly fast. That alone proved he was a seasoned veteran who had weathered countless battles.
I withdrew my attack and twisted my waist to evade, but once again, the Evil God's hands danced with bewildering speed.
*Sssssst!*
In that instant, a dozen hand-auras, fist-auras, and palm-auras shot toward various parts of my body all at once, using techniques of stabbing, slashing, and hooking. This meant he had mastered bare-handed combat.
By the time I executed one stance, the Evil God had already unleashed four.
His hands were faster than my Fire Dragon Sword. That was only natural. Hands were bound to be faster than a sword.
I quickly activated the Five Elements Divine Art to protect myself with a defensive aura while simultaneously using the Heaven-Flying Divine Steps to rotate halfway in the air, landing on the opposite side of the Evil God and slashing with my sword.
*Kiiiit!*
When I unleashed the seventeenth stance of the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay, Light-Splitting Azure Shadow, with one hundred and fifty years of internal energy, ten jet-black lights—sword auras—erupted explosively.
In terms of speed, the Light-Splitting Swordplay was on par with the Heaven-Severing Divine Sword, but it differed in its countless variations.
However, the Light-Splitting Swordplay was slightly weaker in power; both sword arts had their pros and cons.
The Heaven-Severing Divine Sword, though simple, was a fast sword art. Its first stance, Sky Eruption, second stance, Sky Suppression, and third stance, Heaven-Severing, all shared the trait of being supremely powerful, capable of shattering anything.
Therefore, it was ideal for countering an opponent's saber or sword aura.
But right now, the Evil God was not using a weapon; he was unleashing various auras with his bare hands.
That was why I was countering with the Light-Splitting Swordplay, which was both fast and unpredictable.
A fight wasn't about breaking rocks or iron walls; it was about felling a person of flesh and bone. Thus, in a fight like this, speed was more effective than raw power.
The Evil God of the Celestial Vault was a formidable opponent because he could unleash bare-handed auras faster than any sword or saber.
Just then, I heard Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo's low cry.
“Attack!”
At her command, her squad members attacked the Soul-Devouring Wolves.
This battle against the Evil God of the Celestial Vault and his twenty Soul-Devouring Wolves would likely be the fiercest fight I—no, *we*—had ever fought.
I dodged the successive hand-auras, fist-auras, and palm-auras he unleashed from a distance of one and a half zhang.
*Sshhhhhhaaa!*
The shockwaves from the auras grazing past me, a mere handspan away, caused my protective aura to distort as if it would tear apart. And those shockwaves reached me through the aura.
‘One hundred and forty years of internal energy!’
The Evil God's auras were imbued with one hundred and forty years of power.
This meant that even without a direct hit or a graze, the shockwaves alone could shatter bone and tear flesh.
If I hadn't raised my protective aura in time, my body would have been shredded just by having them pass by.
The Evil God's relentless assault faltered for a moment.
It was because I was dodging his continuous attacks without retracting my own, constantly slashing with the Fire Dragon Sword, forcing him to evade.
Anyone else would not have noticed his hesitation. His attacks were that fluid and incessant.
The Evil God slid back about a zhang to one side to dodge, yet he still unleashed a hand-aura and a fist-aura.
*Hwoooong!*
But I immediately saw through it; the attack lacked his full power. He had only infused it with half his strength—seventy years of internal energy—to buy time to retreat.
I instantly closed the distance with the Divine Trace of Illusory Void and unleashed the final ultimate stance of the Light-Splitting Swordplay: Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture.
*Chwaaaaaat!*
I had many advantages over the Evil God of the Celestial Vault, but I was proudest of my peerless lightness skill and footwork.
The Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture, unleashed from the Fire Dragon Sword infused with one hundred and fifty years of internal energy, was a thunderbolt of sword aura—an ultimate fast sword technique that fired eighteen ink-black sword auras in succession.
The Evil God had to either dodge or block eighteen sword auras that moved like light itself.
But the retreating Evil God planted his feet firmly on the ground, brought his wrists together, and thrust them powerfully toward me.
He had retreated specifically to launch this attack.
*Kwwaaaaang!*
A black whirlwind shot forward, spinning violently, and surprisingly, the surroundings plunged into darkness.
‘Hm?’
It was like a raging typhoon compressed into a three-zhang radius. Its power was immense, enough to sweep away a small mountain peak entirely.
[It's the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash! Dodge it!]
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo urgently shouted through a telepathic message. Knowing my skill, for her to tell me to unconditionally dodge meant the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash must be truly terrifying.
But I had no intention of dodging. I had already unleashed the Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture of the Light-Splitting Swordplay.
I wanted to see which was stronger: the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash or the Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture.
We would absolutely win this fight. There was no reason for us to lose.
With me, who aims to be the strongest in actual combat, alongside the Martial Alliance Lord Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, Song Ga-hyeon, Geum Cheong-san, and the Blood Crow Saber, defeat was unthinkable.
‘They're about to collide!’
I didn't know how powerful the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash was, but my Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture, backed by one hundred and fifty years of internal energy, was not to be underestimated. I didn't think it would be pushed back.
In that moment, the Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture and the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash clashed.
*Kwawooooot!*
The Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture split the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash exactly in half and continued surging toward the Evil God.
As it did, I felt the power of my technique diminish significantly through the Fire Dragon Sword.
But the black Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash, now split in two, continued rushing toward me. It had just become two instead of one, its power undiminished.
‘What?’
It was as if a sword was incapable of neutralizing a typhoon.
But even with its power reduced, the eighteen sword auras of the Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture were more than enough to turn the Evil God into a honeycomb.
As the two Heaven-Defying Hellish Slashes closed to within half a zhang, I executed the Heaven-Flying Divine Steps and soared upward.
*Swish!*
With the ultimate footwork of Heaven-Flying Divine Steps, there was nowhere I couldn't go and no attack I couldn't dodge.
Even as I moved, I maintained the Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture I had launched at the Evil God.
Doing this required a high level of skill.
The Evil God of the Celestial Vault flinched in surprise. I had dodged his Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash so effortlessly while sustaining my own attack.
He hurriedly threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding it.
*Papapapapak!*
The eighteen sword auras of the Light-Splitting Supreme Rupture struck the ground where he had been standing, sending clumps of dirt flying.
The moment the Evil God dodged, I seized a decisive advantage.
Anticipating that he would struggle to evade my attack, I had already prepared my next move.
The dozens of battles I'd fought since coming to the Dong-ro Branch from Mount Gwalchang had given me a wealth of experience.
Before I had opened my Conception and Governor Vessels, I would have struggled immensely against the Evil God, and in the worst-case scenario, I might have even lost.
I had confirmed from facing five of his stances that the Evil God of the Celestial Vault possessed one hundred and forty years of internal energy.
Therefore, armed with one hundred and fifty years of energy and superior martial arts, my victory was inevitable.
If I had used my full one hundred and eighty years of power from the start, I would have won easily, but I wanted to humor him for a bit.
Despite his narrow escape, the Evil God tried to launch another Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash at me before he could even regain his posture.
The technique was certainly terrifyingly powerful, but unfortunately for him, he couldn't unleash it a second time.
Just before he could, I used Flash Step, Shrinking Shadow to appear in the air a zhang away from him.
*Swish!*
“Huh?”
As he stared at me with wide eyes from his awkward stance, the Fire Dragon Sword split the crown of his head like a beam of light.
With one hundred and fifty years of internal energy, I executed the final ultimate stance of the Heaven-Severing Divine Sword: Heaven-Severing.
When unleashing Heaven-Severing, the sword that could slice the very sky, it let out a strange cry.
*Ssshhht!*
No master I had faced before had ever managed to dodge in a situation like this.
But the Evil God threw his body sideways to the ground to evade, simultaneously unleashing a fist-aura.
*Hwoong!*
He had no intention of going down quietly. It was a fist-aura; if it hit, it would punch a hole through my body or tear off whatever it struck. Moreover, a hand was faster than a sword.
The Evil God's intention was clear. He wanted me to retract my attack. But unfortunately for him, I didn't do as he wished.
*Pahk!*
*Thwack!*
The Fire Dragon Sword cleanly severed the Evil God's left arm at the shoulder. I took the fist-aura to my side, but with my protective aura extending a handspan around my body, I only felt a heavy impact.
*Hwoooosh!*
As I held my posture after swinging the Fire Dragon Sword, the Evil God shot toward me, unleashing a Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash with his right hand.
Most masters would have retreated in this situation, but the Evil God chose to attack instead.
Then he flinched, glanced at his left arm, and realized it was gone from the shoulder down.
He had tried to unleash the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash with both hands, but when his left hand failed to come together, he looked down in confusion and discovered the truth.
But as the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash was already being unleashed with just his right hand, he saw a jet-black light bearing down on his face.
“……”
The center of the beautiful black moon dug into the space between his eyebrows and the bridge of his nose.
*Chwaaaat!*
“Keeeuh……”
His face was split in half, and his upper body was cleaved diagonally from his neck to his left side.
If he hadn't twisted his body to unleash the Heaven-Defying Hellish Slash, he would have been split perfectly down the middle, from head to groin.
*Thud!*
The Evil God's body, split in two, fell to the ground and rolled. Another powerful warrior had become a sacrifice to the Fire Dragon Sword.
In my estimation, the Evil God of the Celestial Vault was on a similar level to the Nine Demonic Lords of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union—the Nine Demonic Emperors. He was a step above the Sixth Heaven of the Unorthodox Path, the Red Evil Divine Sword, whom I had killed on the plains beyond the Celestial Eye Realm.
‘I thought the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path were led by ten people, from the First Heaven to the Tenth Heaven. So where does this Evil God of the Celestial Vault fit in?’
I was curious about what position the Evil God of the Celestial Vault held within the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path.