Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Struck by the Supreme Ultimate Fast Sword
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The great saber was clearly cleaving down toward the crown of my head, while four more—two from the left and two from the right—surged in at an angle. Of course, there were no feints. The one aimed at my head and the ones from the sides were all true techniques.
In that case,
‘I have no choice but to win this with my techniques!’
First, I channeled the Five Elements Divine Art and infused it into the Fire Dragon Sword. The Five Elements Divine Art consisted of three types—palm techniques, finger techniques, and a protective aura—but infusing it into the Fire Dragon Sword made it even stronger.
Then, using the Elusive Phantom Steps of the Floating Light, Divine Shadow, I dodged the five great sabers unleashed by the Seventh Demonic Emperor.
I had used the Elusive Phantom Steps so often that it felt as natural as moving my own limbs.
If I executed the Elusive Phantom Steps, the Seventh Demonic Emperor would momentarily lose his target—me.
That was my assumption—purely my own perspective. Only if the Seventh Demonic Emperor momentarily lost sight of me could I execute my next move.
If the Seventh Demonic Emperor was stronger than I thought and didn't lose track of me, I would find myself in critical danger.
But I had to try. A fight is a gamble, after all. If you don't take risks, you lose.
*Swish!*
For a moment, the Seventh Demonic Emperor saw his opponent's form blur as he dodged all five great sabers and closed in.
The corners of the Seventh Demonic Emperor’s mouth curled up.
‘He’s walked right into his own grave!’
Without moving his feet from their spot, the Seventh Demonic Emperor quickly slid one step to the left and swung his great saber at his opponent's neck.
*Shhhk!*
His eyes were so fast and precise that he was certain he wouldn't lose his target; he was confident this strike would sever his opponent’s neck.
He swung the great saber precisely at my neck.
In that instant, a triumphant smile formed on my lips.
‘He took the bait!’
*Swish!*
A pale figure shot upward, right beside the descending great saber.
“...!”
As the Seventh Demonic Emperor hastily looked up, he saw his opponent bringing a jet-black sword down toward the crown of his head.
As if sitting in a chair, I aimed the Fire Dragon Sword at the Seventh Demonic Emperor's head and brought it down, a triumphant smile on my face.
*Kiiiiing!*
Imbued with the Five Elements Divine Art and one hundred and ten years of internal energy, the Fire Dragon Sword would soon crush the Seventh Demonic Emperor’s head like tofu.
But then, with truly unbelievable speed, the Seventh Demonic Emperor swung his great saber toward me.
In that moment, I realized something. Anyone with more internal energy than me was faster and stronger in every way.
*Kiiiiing!*
I quickly changed the Fire Dragon Sword's trajectory, bringing it down diagonally at the side of his head.
But before my motion was complete, his great saber met my Fire Dragon Sword.
‘I can’t beat him in speed!’
The only way to kill him in this situation was for the Fire Dragon Sword to shatter his great saber.
I had infused the Fire Dragon Sword with the Five Elements Divine Art and one hundred and ten years of internal energy, but the chances of shattering a great saber imbued with over a cycle of saber aura were slim.
Then, something flashed in my mind.
‘I have the Yang Essence!’
Not long ago, by the Qiantang River, I had accumulated the Yang Essence from the Fire Dragon Sword into my body over several sessions.
My calculation was that since it had passed through me and accumulated in my dantian, I should be able to use it as internal energy.
My Sea of Qi held pure internal energy, the Stone Gate acupoint held Yin Essence, and a small chamber in my Guanyuan acupoint held the Yang Essence.
One small chamber was equivalent to ten years of internal energy, so converting the Yang Essence would grant me ten years’ worth.
It takes a while to explain, but in an instant, I infused the Yang Essence from my Guanyuan acupoint into the Fire Dragon Sword and clashed with the great saber.
*Claaaang!*
The moment the Fire Dragon Sword struck the great saber, a brilliant flash of light erupted.
I felt the Fire Dragon Sword break the hard great saber and simultaneously crush the less durable skull.
But there was no scream.
*Thud!*
I landed on the deck first. A moment later, the Seventh Demonic Emperor, his head shattered, fell heavily before me.
*Thump!*
Blood and brain matter flowed from his head, releasing a nauseating, metallic stench.
I felt a thrill wash over my entire body.
‘Success!’
I had succeeded in converting Yang Essence into internal energy.
The surrounding Life-Reaping and Soul-Suppressing Masters stared at the dead Seventh Demonic Emperor with expressions of disbelief.
To them, the Nine Demonic Emperors were like gods. They had never seen or even heard of one of the Nine Demonic Emperors losing a fight.
So, for the Seventh Demonic Emperor to have died so gruesomely at my hands, his head smashed in, was naturally unbelievable.
At that moment, the thirty or so Life-Reaping and Soul-Suppressing Masters who had formed a wide encirclement began to attack me all at once.
*Swoooosh!*
But I immediately shot toward Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo, who was about fifty feet away.
*Whoosh!*
Looking from mid-air, I saw that Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was in a situation similar to mine just moments ago.
She was fighting one-on-one with a Demonic Emperor dressed in their signature attire, while Life-Reaping and Soul-Suppressing Masters had formed a circle, surrounding them in multiple layers.
But inside the encirclement, I saw two more figures in the attire of Demonic Emperors, watching the fight.
Three Demonic Emperors were concentrated on Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo’s side. Come to think of it, there were over a hundred enemies forming the encirclement.
The conclusion was clear. They had discovered that Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was the Alliance Lord of the Martial Alliance.
Even if she killed one Demonic Emperor, she was still surrounded by two more and over a hundred elite masters. It wouldn't be wrong to say she was trapped.
If the three Demonic Emperors and their subordinates attacked her all at once, the outcome would be painfully obvious.
Now I understood. The Seventh Demonic Emperor’s attack on me was a ploy to attack Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo in the meantime.
‘These bastards!’
If I had just put Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo on Baek-un and left, this wouldn't have happened.
Of course, the core members of the Martial Alliance being pursued would have been in danger, but they had been prepared for that from the start.
At a glance, I could see that Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo had the upper hand in her one-on-one fight and was pressuring the Demonic Emperor.
That meant Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was clearly a cut above me. As the Alliance Lord of the Martial Alliance, said to be on par with Great Monk Yeonggak, one of the Four Wonders of the World, it was only natural.
Just as I nearly reached the encirclement surrounding her, I spotted another Demonic Emperor approaching Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo from behind.
A supreme master, a Demonic Emperor no less, was trying to ambush her from behind.
Even the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union had its own code of conduct, but this was a golden opportunity to take down the Alliance Lord of the Martial Alliance.
It was likely because she was such an important figure, but it was still a despicable and cowardly method.
I changed direction in mid-air and shot straight toward the Demonic Emperor approaching her back.
He was the ‘Eighth Demonic Emperor’.
Just as I had done when killing the Seventh Demonic Emperor, I infused the Five Elements Divine Art and one hundred and ten years of internal energy with ten years of Yang Essence, then executed the Flickering Shadow Pursuit to appear above the Eighth Demonic Emperor’s head in an instant.
Flickering Shadow Pursuit closed the distance without a single trace, so the Eighth Demonic Emperor was completely unaware of my presence.
I had never cowardly ambushed someone from behind, but I judged that in a situation like this, it was acceptable.
“Die!”
*Kiiiiing!*
With a roar, the Fire Dragon Sword viciously cleaved toward the back of the Eighth Demonic Emperor’s head, using Heaven-Severing, the final ultimate technique of the Heaven-Severing Divine Sword.
In that instant, the Eighth Demonic Emperor spotted me and moved sideways with fluid speed, turning to face me.
‘He’s fast!’
I was attacking from fifteen feet above his head, yet in that short time, he had moved two feet to the side and was looking at me.
But Heaven-Severing was a transcendent sword technique that could split the very sky.
*Tssssk!*
The Fire Dragon Sword followed like a shadow and struck.
*Paaat!*
“Heuk!”
The Eighth Demonic Emperor's left shoulder was cleanly severed, but in that same moment, he threw himself sideways, drawing the sword from his shoulder and unleashing a sword aura at me simultaneously.
*Swaaaang!*
It was an unbelievably fast response, a shockingly swift sword aura.
It was all the more astonishing as a counterattack from someone who had just been ambushed and had his left shoulder cut off.
Honestly, since I was the one ambushing him, I had expected to kill him in a single strike and had let my guard down slightly.
But who was I? If I were the type to back down, I wouldn't have ambushed him in the first place, nor would I have ever set foot on this ship.
*Kkeong!*
The Fire Dragon Sword shattered the sword aura and his sword, but its power was diminished in the process, and its speed was halved.
Before the Eighth Demonic Emperor could launch another counterattack, I quickly extended my left hand.
‘Zhurong’s Seal!’
*Fwoosh!*
This was the first time I had used Zhurong’s Seal since leaving Mount Gwalchang.
Zhurong’s Seal was a palm technique—an Ultimate Yang Palm, an Ultimate Hard Palm, and an Ultimate Fast Palm. It was faster than anything, and it burned and destroyed all it touched.
The internal energy in my dantian was half yin and half yang, and the yang energy was what fueled Zhurong’s Seal.
I never thought of it normally, but in a situation like this, Zhurong’s Seal was the most suitable technique to use.
But in that moment, I clearly felt a scorching energy transfer from the Fire Dragon Sword in my right hand to my left, then blast outward.
‘Yang Essence!’
The Yang Essence of the Fire Dragon Sword had reacted to Zhurong’s Seal, the Ultimate Yang Palm.
*Paak!*
“Keuk!”
The Eighth Demonic Emperor, a deep palm print seared into his chest, was sent flying backward.
The moment Zhurong’s Seal hit him, all his internal organs, bones, and flesh were burned completely black.
As he flew through the air, he burst into a ball of fire.
*Fwoooosh!*
While everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo cut off the head of the Sixth Demonic Emperor she had been fighting.
*Slice!*
“Kkeuk!”
My killing of the Eighth Demonic Emperor and Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo’s killing of the Sixth happened in the span of a single breath.
“Attack!”
As the last remaining Demonic Emperor shouted, enemies swarmed in from all directions, from the ground and the air.
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo was happy to see me approaching quickly.
[I was worried! Are you hurt?]
[I’m fine! Now that three Demonic Emperors are dead, there’s only one left.]
[Really? You did well!]
Even with enemies closing in to within twenty feet, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo just looked at me and smiled. She was entrusting all the decisions here to me.
I hesitated for a moment. It was because I hadn't had a truly exhilarating fight yet, but I soon made my decision.
[Cover me! As soon as I kill the last Demonic Emperor, we’re leaving!]
[Yes!]
I took Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo’s hand and shot toward the last Demonic Emperor, then let her go.
The Fifth Demonic Emperor was the supreme commander of this ship. He was leading the charge and met me head-on.
I planned to face the Fifth Demonic Emperor with a different method than the ones I used to kill the Seventh and Sixth.
The Yang and Yin Essences were also martial arts and part of my abilities. I wasn't some saint; was I supposed to not use them in a life-or-death battle?
The Fifth Demonic Emperor shot toward me from thirty feet away and swung his sword three times.
*Swish!*
To anyone, it looked like a very simple and ordinary technique commonly seen in the martial world. Only the sound the sword made as it cut through the air was unusual.
Moreover, no sword energy or sword aura was released.
But for a moment.
‘What?’
A minuscule part of the air right in front of my nose shimmered faintly, and I saw something like a pale rainbow.
That was all. I didn't think it was the Fifth Demonic Emperor's attack.
“Dodge!”
From behind me, Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo urgently shouted aloud.
So, I tried to execute the Elusive Phantom Steps of the Floating Light, Divine Shadow. It was a footwork technique that could evade any attack in close combat.
*Swaaat!*
The moment the tip of my foot lightly kicked off the floor, I found myself already soaring into the air.
‘Heaven-Flying Divine Steps!’
It wasn't me; my body reacted on its own. Judging that the Elusive Phantom Steps wouldn't be enough to escape this situation, my body executed the Heaven-Flying Divine Steps.
Heaven-Flying Divine Steps. A footwork technique so fast it was almost unimaginable. And I had definitely learned this technique on Mount Gwalchang.
*Slice!*
‘Ugh!’
Something cut the outside of my right calf.
Despite executing the incredibly fast Heaven-Flying Divine Steps, my leg had been cut.
[It’s the Supreme Ultimate Fast Sword!]
Hyukryeon Byeok-gyo shouted sharply.
Not just a fast sword, not just an ultimate fast sword, but a *supreme* ultimate fast sword. A sword technique truly worthy of its name.