Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Mastering the Yin Essence
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“We came in the middle of our dinner.”
Hwa U-gun clasped his fist in salute, an apologetic look on his face.
“Unfortunate, but I don’t think you’ll be finishing that dinner.”
I clasped my hands behind my back.
“I need to get back before my food gets cold.”
“I must witness the Ice Art you used to kill Nu Jin-sang.”
“Are you saying you want to fight me?”
“I am.”
“Let’s.”
I wanted to fight sooner rather than listen to this useless chatter. I was curious to see what kind of martial arts a man like Hwa U-gun, the Palace Lord of the Snow Cloud, would use, and just how powerful he was.
“Don’t you want to know why I wish to fight?”
My patience had reached its limit.
“Are you curious what I was eating?”
I hoped this fellow would understand that I had absolutely no interest in such things.
“Hmph!”
“My food is getting cold. Attack.”
The four men who came with Hwa U-gun looked displeased with my attitude but didn’t step forward. Seeing that, it seemed the Snow Cloud Palace wasn't some ill-mannered sect.
Hwa U-gun spoke with a serious expression.
“The people of my palace practice the Icy Palm Art. Would you respond with your Five Elements Divine Art?”
“Let’s.”
After a tedious conversation, the duel finally began.
It wasn't a fight for revenge, nor was it a wager. It was a duel for a reason I didn't know.
But it didn't matter. My goal was to fight the strong. The more unfamiliar and unique my opponent's martial arts, the more on edge I would be, which was good. Hwa U-gun fit that description perfectly.
I stood tall while Hwa U-gun spread his arms, gathering his energy with a solemn expression.
*Fwoosh!*
Just then, Sang Gang-jo abruptly sent me a mental message.
[Ah! Did I mention that Palace Lord Hwa U-gun is one of the Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World?]
‘The Fifteen Venerables of the Martial World!’
Of course, Sang Gang-jo hadn't told me. He was probably trying to surprise me, but his attempt was clumsy.
I’m not easily surprised by much. The fact that Hwa U-gun was one of the Fifteen Venerables only made my fighting spirit surge.
[Hwa U-gun’s title is the Snow Cloud Ice Venerable.]
I quickly circulated the Five Elements Divine Art, infusing my right hand with the Azure-White Ice Flower at sixty percent of my power.
I had planned to face him with fifty percent, but since he was one of the Fifteen Venerables, I nearly made a grave mistake.
I considered raising my power further but decided against it. This, too, was a test.
A hazy, white mist began to flow from Hwa U-gun's body. His hands turned white, glowing faintly.
*Fwoooosh!*
This was my first time dueling an Ice Art master, but seeing Hwa U-gun like this, I knew he was no pushover.
I loved this kind of taut tension. It made my blood boil and my heart pound, making me feel alive.
I didn't think I would lose, but it wouldn't matter even if I did. Losing would feel like crap, but that was part of the fight, a step on the path to becoming the strongest.
When Hwa U-gun unleashed his Ice Art, I intended to meet it head-on without dodging.
It was common knowledge in the martial world that a clash between palm techniques was a direct confrontation of power, with no separate offense or defense.
I didn't know that, but I ended up fighting head-on anyway.
Hwa U-gun slowly brought his hands together in the center, then touched his inner wrists together, forming a posture as if receiving something.
*Kwoooong!*
A fist-sized mass of white light seemed to coalesce within his large hands before it shot out like a thunderbolt.
*Fwoooosh!*
The white mass of light shot forward in a straight line, cutting through the air and freezing the surrounding atmosphere until it turned white.
The white mass was an Ice Art, a form of Ultimate Yin Energy. It was like watching a white meteor streak horizontally across the sky.
Without letting my guard down, I infused the Azure-White Ice Flower into the Five Elements Divine Art I had gathered in my right hand and fired it toward the rushing mass of white light.
*Spaaat!*
The Azure-White Ice Flower shot out like a bolt of lightning to meet it. Just as its name suggested, countless blue and white ice flowers bloomed in the air. It was a phenomenon caused by the moisture in the air freezing solid.
The distance between us was forty feet. The Azure-White Ice Flower shot forward twice as fast as the white mass of light.
*Kaboom!*
“Hmph!”
“Hmph!”
Hwa U-gun and I grunted in unison and took two steps back. It meant our powers were comparable.
My right arm felt numb, my hand felt like it was about to tear apart, and my chest was tight, as if struck by a mace.
It was the first time I had felt such an impact in a fight since I had emerged into the martial world.
‘Is he this strong?’
He wasn't called one of the Fifteen Venerables for nothing. Besides, it was unlikely that all fifteen of them were at the same level.
After exchanging just one move, I knew that Hwa U-gun's internal energy was greater than the Blood Shadow Sword Venerable's.
As the white mass and the Azure-White Ice Flower collided, a wave of cold energy washed over the area, causing the onlookers to shiver.
While I was momentarily trying to collect myself, Hwa U-gun, who had retreated, shot forward, then stopped abruptly and unleashed a second white mass of light in the same posture as before.
*Fwoooong!*
I snapped back to my senses and unleashed the Azure-White Ice Flower with the Five Elements Divine Art, this time at eighty percent power—twenty percent stronger than the first.
*Chwaaat!*
*Thwack!*
With a dull thud, Hwa U-gun's white mass of light shattered, and my Azure-White Ice Flower continued straight toward him. The Azure-White Ice Flower had annihilated the white mass.
Hwa U-gun had attacked with the same power as the first time, while I had increased mine to eighty percent.
He must have thought my first attack was my full power.
For a moment, I didn't want to kill Hwa U-gun, so I immediately tried to retract my power and recall the Azure-White Ice Flower.
“Ah!”
Hwa U-gun stood there with a look of surprise as the greatly weakened Azure-White Ice Flower struck him in the chest.
*Thud!*
“Keuk!”
He staggered back five or six steps before collapsing to the ground.
“Palace Lord!”
“Master!”
The four men in white rushed to him, crying out.
Hwa U-gun coughed up a clump of blood, his face deathly pale.
He looked at me and spoke with difficulty.
“Wh… why did you retract your power at the last moment?”
“I didn’t want to kill you.”
“I was prepared to die.”
Hwa U-gun spoke, blood trickling from his lips, and then shook his head.
“No, in truth, I never expected to lose.”
His face was clouded with complex emotions.
I gave a faint smile.
“You don’t seem like a villain, so I thought I should spare you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I have eyes to see.”
“Hmph! May I circulate my energy for a moment?”
“Go ahead.”
I felt a pang of guilt for injuring Hwa U-gun. Although I had hastily withdrawn my power, I hadn't managed to fully recall the Azure-White Ice Flower.
I watched silently as Hwa U-gun circulated his energy.
A small amount of the Azure-White Ice Flower had struck his chest, and it seemed he was trying to expel it through cultivation.
I was curious if he could truly master the Azure-White Ice Flower.
The four men in white stood around Hwa U-gun, watching with complicated expressions.
After a quarter of an hour, Hwa U-gun finished his meditation and opened his eyes, his expression still dark.
As he tried to stand, he staggered badly, and the men in white cried out in alarm, rushing to support him.
Leaning on them, he struggled to maintain his composure and spoke.
“I apologize for the disturbance. I will submit to your judgment.”
In a situation like this, most martial artists would be trying to save their own skin or looking for a chance to escape, but Hwa U-gun was different.
“Did you treat your internal injuries by circulating your energy?”
Hwa U-gun smiled bitterly.
“It was to no avail.”
“Why is that?”
I was genuinely curious. I wanted to know why he couldn't control the Azure-White Ice Flower.
“Your Ultimate Yin Energy has entered my chest, and no matter how much I circulate my energy, I cannot expel it.”
As he spoke, a puff of white, cold air escaped his lips.
“I have cultivated the Ice Art for over fifty years and prided myself on being able to control any Ultimate Yin Energy in the world… but this situation is beyond my control.”
That was because the Azure-White Ice Flower was Yin Essence, created from the purification of Ultimate Yin Energy over tens of thousands of years.
“Also, I believed my palace’s Ice Art was the greatest under heaven, but I have realized that is not the case.”
Hwa U-gun’s face turned white, and a layer of frost formed on his hair and eyebrows. Thin ice began to form around his nostrils and mouth.
“Perhaps I will not be able to wait for your punishment. Hmph! Please… spare my attendants and disciples…”
He couldn't speak any further. Starting from his chest, his entire body was slowly beginning to freeze.
His attendants cried out.
“Aargh! Master!”
“Palace Lord!”
I walked toward Hwa U-gun and waved my hand.
“Step back.”
The men in white looked at me with wary expressions, not moving an inch.
“I will treat the Palace Lord. There’s no time, so step back. Do you intend to let him die like this?”
At my words, the men in white immediately moved aside.
I lifted Hwa U-gun in my arms and headed for the annex. His body was already frozen solid, like a cold block of wood.
“All of you, wait outside.”
I told the people following me and went inside.
Sang Gang-jo was in the annex, but I ignored him and carefully laid Hwa U-gun on the floor.
Hwa U-gun was as hard as a rock, and I had to lay him down in the same awkward, half-standing posture he was frozen in.
Sang Gang-jo approached and watched from a short distance away.
In that moment, the contents of the thick Medical Scripture of the Central Heaven came flooding back to me, but in truth, it was useless in a situation like this.
In my opinion, all I needed to do was expel the Yin Essence from Hwa U-gun’s body. The key was how to extract it. Right now, it didn't seem too difficult.
Hwa U-gun's entire body was frozen solid, and he could only blink his eyes, but even that was becoming difficult.
He looked at me with his frost-covered eyes. They were surprisingly kind eyes, which put my mind at ease about trying to save him.
I placed my palm on his chest and initiated the Absorption Art.
“!”
No, as I was about to initiate the Absorption Art, something was drawn into my palm on its own.
‘It’s the Yin Essence!’
Even without me using the Absorption Art, the Yin Essence in Hwa U-gun’s body was being absorbed into my hand. It was like a young bird returning to its nest.
I didn't know how much Yin Essence was in my body, but the amount I absorbed was as insignificant as a handful of sand on a vast beach.
‘The Yin Essence moves on its own.’
If that was the case, I might be able to do something with the Yin Essence alone, without borrowing the power of the Five Elements Divine Art.
With the Yin Essence removed, Hwa U-gun's frozen body began to thaw rapidly.
“Sit up and circulate your energy.”
Hwa U-gun looked at me as if to ask what I meant.
“Ah…!”
Suddenly, he felt something and flinched in surprise. He realized his body was thawing.
Hwa U-gun not only sat up as if nothing had happened but also began to circulate his energy.
Sang Gang-jo watched the scene without even blinking.
I sat and thought deeply about the Yin Essence, then opened my right palm and raised it to chest height.
I wanted to try wielding the Yin Essence purely on its own, without using any martial arts or internal energy.
The first time, on the last full moon when I discovered the Azure-White Ice Flower, I had used my internal energy.
If this attempt succeeded, it would mean I could use the Yin Essence even in situations where I couldn't use martial arts.
I was so engrossed that I didn't even notice Sang Gang-jo staring at me intently.
*Ssssss…*
When I gathered the Yin Essence in my palm, it worked. Without using any internal energy, the Yin Essence gathered, making my palm transparent. Three inches above my palm, a flat, disc-like shape the size of a plate formed.
It was a disc of the Azure-White Ice Flower, emitting a faint glow that mixed blue and white.