Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: I'm on the same level as the Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World?
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The next day, I barely touched my breakfast before putting down my chopsticks and getting up.
I was hungry, but I had no appetite. My mind drifted to the delicious food I'd eaten on the Ziyun Pavilion cruise ship.
When I went outside, everyone else quickly rose to their feet.
Sang Gang-jo followed me out.
"Are you alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"You drank a lot yesterday. Do you not have a hangover?"
"A hangover?"
"The throbbing headache and queasy stomach you get the day after drinking a lot is called a hangover."
"I see. I think I have a hangover."
"Circulate your energy to expel it. You'll feel refreshed."
"Can you do that?"
Having never drunk before, I didn't know such a method existed.
"All masters do it that way."
"Really?"
"Try it now."
"I'll do it later."
Even if there was a good way to expel a hangover by circulating energy, it was a pie in the sky since I couldn't draw upon my internal energy at will.
Sang Gang-jo spoke up abruptly.
"Team Leader Three, why did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You ordered the Dong-ro branches of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path to withdraw by the end of the day."
"What about it?"
"Why did you do it?"
"Yang-rim asked me to."
"He did?"
"I saw those bastards from the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path harassing the townspeople on the streets. They're bad news."
"Is that so?"
"I heard the men from the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path were extorting taxes from the townspeople, on top of their tribute."
I subtly showed my anger, emphasizing that I had no other motive and was acting purely out of a sense of justice.
"Those sons of bitches deserve to die."
I could feel Sang Gang-jo staring intently at me, but I paid him no mind and clenched my fists.
"Yang-rim begged me with tears in his eyes to protect Dong-ro County. I couldn't refuse."
Yang-rim hadn't actually shed any tears.
***
I went to a quiet riverside alone to try an experiment.
I wanted to test if my body would react when my mind was tense.
If I could make my mind tense even without an opponent to fight, I might finally be free from these damn shackles whose cause I didn't understand.
***
"This is driving me crazy."
For two hours, I tried everything to create a sense of tension, but I couldn't draw out my internal energy or use my martial arts.
I couldn't even tell if I had failed to become tense, or if my energy and skills simply wouldn't activate despite the tension.
I sat on the grass and stared blankly at the river. I didn't want to give up just like this.
'Alright! I'll clear my mind and try one last time!'
I settled into a cross-legged position, placed my hands on my knees, closed my eyes, and calmed my mind.
'I am tense! I will be tense! I must be tense! Get tense!'
I kept chanting it to myself like a spell.
'Hah! It's working!'
Truly, after arduous effort, my internal energy began to rise.
I wasn't sure if I had succeeded in becoming tense, but seeing my internal energy well up, I must have.
I drew my energy to its peak and infused it throughout my body until I felt light enough to fly.
'Heheheh! This feels great!'
Now that I could draw out my energy even without an enemy to face, the problem was solved.
'Now, let's summon the azure-white light with the Five Elements Divine Art!'
The azure-white light gathered in my hands until it turned transparent.
'Hahahaha! This is the best!'
Then, I slowly stood up and opened my eyes, looking for a place to unleash the light.
"......!"
'Hmm? What is that?'
High in the sky before me, a faint object was descending toward me at high speed.
I quickly focused my vision and saw that it was five strange men dressed in azure and white clothes.
The blue sky was dotted with white clouds, and the assailants' similar azure-white clothing made them hard to spot.
They were gripping swords, plummeting from a height of seventy or eighty feet with the terrifying speed of eagles.
And higher above them, I could see a very large, azure-white kite-like object floating leisurely.
So these five men in azure-white had flown here on that large kite and were now diving at me. In other words, they were trying to kill me.
But a more important realization soured my mood.
'Damn it!'
It wasn't that I had succeeded in becoming tense, allowing me to draw my energy and gather the azure-white light with the Five Elements Divine Art.
'Dammit! My body must have sensed their ambush and reacted on its own!'
The thought of how foolishly happy I'd been made me ridiculous, and a surge of killing intent welled up inside me.
Since I had already gathered the azure-white light in my hands, I decided I might as well use it on them.
*Fwoosh!*
First, I used a sky-soaring art to leap into the air, simultaneously blasting two streams of azure-white light from my palms.
*Spppaaaat!*
The faint, azure-white light, always a magnificent sight, erupted explosively.
*Crack!*
The moment two of them were struck by the light and turned into blocks of ice, I drew the Fire Dragon Sword and unleashed a sword form.
*Chwaaaat!*
It was the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay.
It was the first time I had ever used this swordplay, but the moment I did, my mind became perfectly clear on what it was.
*Swiiish!*
The three descending men swung their swords to counterattack. They should have been dodging or defending, but they chose to attack. They were out of their minds.
That made me even angrier.
*Crack!*
"Gak!"
The Fire Dragon Sword struck one man on the crown of his head.
*Clang! Paaak!*
"Keuk!"
I shattered another attacker's sword in half. The broken tip plunged into the man's chest, while the part still in his hand was forced to slit his own throat.
The third man was about fifteen feet away. When I swung the Fire Dragon Sword horizontally, a dark, whip-like energy shot out from its tip, curving like a crescent moon and slicing the man in half at the waist.
'Ah! Sword energy!'
But that wasn't the end.
Tapping the top of my left foot with the tip of my right, I shot even higher into the air.
*Shwook!*
I soared about ten feet higher than the large kite floating some two hundred feet above the ground and looked down.
On the kite sat another master in the same azure-white clothes, his face contorting in shock as he saw me.
"Ugh!"
I descended, swinging the Fire Dragon Sword mercilessly.
*Crack!*
"Hwaak!"
The Fire Dragon Sword crushed the master's head and sliced the kite in half at the same time.
Maintaining an upright posture, I slowly descended and landed on the ground.
*Swoosh.*
Four masters in azure-white clothes were scattered across the ground, a gruesome sight to behold with their heads smashed or bodies completely severed.
And scattered about were ice fragments, large and small—the remains of the two who had been turned into blocks of ice by the azure-white light before shattering upon hitting the ground.
I was frowning at the sight when I sensed a presence behind me, but I didn't turn around.
It was a familiar presence. Sang Gang-jo.
"Were you attacked?"
He was asking after seeing everything.
"Do you know who these men are?"
Sang Gang-jo examined the corpses, then shook his head.
"It seems they wore azure and white clothes to blend in with the sky, but I don't know who they are."
I looked at the bisected kite that had fallen about two hundred feet away.
"They came riding that."
"A kite."
Sang Gang-jo went to inspect the kite and returned.
"Assassins often use kites for transportation."
He asked with a worried expression.
"Have you become an assassin's target?"
"The Demonic Emperor's Grand Union said they would put me on their kill list."
"That's understandable, since you killed Nu Jinsang. But if the Red Flying Swallow Sword said that last night, she wouldn't have reached the Zhejiang Demonic Union of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union yet, so they couldn't have put you on the list."
"Then these men are assassins trying to kill me, unrelated to the kill list?"
"They might have come with the Sword Demon Union Lord."
"Doesn't it occur to you they might have come to kill you?"
"The Demonic Emperor's Grand Union wants to get information from me, so they wouldn't send assassins."
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense."
"The information they're trying to get from me is..."
"That's enough."
I cut Sang Gang-jo off.
During my two years and five months as a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance, I learned that knowing someone's secret meant sharing responsibility for it.
Back then, out of pity or camaraderie, I'd listened to the worries of a few colleagues, only to find myself in inescapable situations later on.
Besides that, I didn't want to get involved with the Martial Alliance. That's why I didn't want to hear Sang Gang-jo's secret.
I called the members of Team Three and ordered them to clean up the bodies.
Sang Gang-jo stayed by my side, looking as if he had something more to say.
"Is there something you want to say?"
Sang Gang-jo's expression was serious.
"By any chance, was the swordplay you used earlier the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay?"
"So you recognized it."
"Do you know which school I belong to?"
I smiled faintly.
"Am I a fortune teller?"
"The Diancang Sect."
Sang Gang-jo was serious.
"Are you perhaps unaware that the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay is the exclusive sword art of the Diancang Sect?"
"I know."
Sang Gang-jo looked slightly baffled before asking.
"From whom did you learn the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay?"
"I taught myself."
I had also told Sang Gang-jo that I had taught myself the demonic sword art, the Soul-Severing Star Sword Style.
Sang Gang-jo's title was the Light-Splitting Sword. I just realized he must have earned that title for mastering the Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay.
"Your Eighteen Stances of Light-Splitting Swordplay was at a higher level than mine."
"Is that so?"
I kept a nonchalant expression.
Sang Gang-jo looked curious as to how I could have taught myself the swordplay, but he didn't press the matter and asked something else.
"Was that blue and white radiance you unleashed an ultimate yin art?"
"Yes."
"What martial art is it?"
"The Five Elements Divine Art."
It would be long and bothersome to explain, so I gave a brief answer.
"Oh! Is that so?"
Sang Gang-jo looked surprised, as if he knew of the Five Elements Divine Art.
"You know of the Five Elements Divine Art?"
"How could I not know of the Five Elements Divine Art, one of the Five Great Divine Arts Under Heaven?"
The Five Great Divine Arts Under Heaven? It was the first time I'd heard of it. I had only picked the manual from the Martial Alliance's armory because its title was the Five Elements Divine Art.
"Is the Five Elements Divine Art an ultimate yin art?"
"No. I used the Five Elements Divine Art to manifest the Azure-White Ice Flower."
"Ah! So that blue and white radiance is the Azure-White Ice Flower?"
"That's right."
Azure-White Ice Flower! I had just made up the name on the spot, but it sounded pretty good.
Usually, Sang Gang-jo's expression rarely changed, but now he couldn't hide his astonishment.
"Team Leader Three, you are far more powerful than I ever imagined."
"How powerful do you think I am?"
I was curious about that myself.
"I believe you are on a similar level to my master."
"How strong is your master?"
"He is one of the Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World."
"The Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World?"
"The Fifteen Venerables are the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and One Union, as well as five other clans and schools. They are classified as supreme masters."
"Are you saying I'm a supreme master?"
"Yes."
I'd never heard the title 'Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World' before. As a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance, at the very bottom of the martial world—no, not even really a part of it—how could I have ever heard such a title?
"Are there people stronger than the Fifteen Venerables?"
Back in my days as a low-ranking warrior of the Martial Alliance, I had never even heard the name 'Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World'.
"There are the Eight Absolutes Under Heaven."
"Who are they?"
"They are the leaders of the Five Great Powers of the Martial World and three other exceptional individuals."
The Five Great Powers referred to the Martial Alliance, the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union, the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, the Four Seas Way, and the Mysterious Jade Palace.
"Is there anyone stronger than the Eight Absolutes?"
"There are the Four Wonders of the Universe."
"Who are they?"
"They are reclusive masters, so almost nothing is known about them."
"And yet you say the Four Wonders are stronger than the Eight Absolutes?"
"The Fifteen Venerables, the Eight Absolutes, and the Four Wonders have never fought each other. However, gossips and storytellers have ranked them by collecting and organizing the rumors circulating in the martial world."
"Who is above the Four Wonders?"
"No one."