Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Growing Stronger
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When I opened my eyes, I was startled to find Elder Geum staring intently at me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I am in the middle of admiring you.”
“Admiring me?”
“Indeed.”
Elder Geum smiled faintly, then rose from his seat and slowly walked to the window.
I circulated my internal energy for a full cycle to confirm that I had properly absorbed the power of the Azure Spirit Fluid.
My internal energy now amounted to a staggering one hundred and twenty years.
Just one drop of the Azure Spirit Fluid had increased my internal energy by seventy years.
It was truly befitting its title as the king of spiritual medicines.
Having reached precisely two sixty-year cycles of power, I could now perform up to the fifth form of the Heavenly Will Sword Art.
Of course, its power would be less than what I wielded as the Alliance Leader, but this alone was enough to face a master of the Transcendent Realm.
I got up from my spot and approached Elder Geum, joining him in looking out the window.
“Are you pleased with it?”
“Thank you. I am now certain I can survive.”
“Hah, I thought you would be confident enough to say you could defeat them all.”
“The martial world is full of hidden masters and eccentric experts. Arrogance will get you killed.”
“You truly are a strange one. An old man in a young body. Hahaha.”
Elder Geum burst into laughter, then casually tossed a question my way.
“Who is the woman who came with you?”
As I expected, Elder Geum knew about Pure.
I thought for a moment before speaking.
“You know that I am an enforcer for the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion, correct?”
“So, she is your contact?”
“That’s right. Doesn't seem to fit, does it?”
“Unusual, indeed.”
Elder Geum frowned.
Pure’s appearance must have left quite an impression on him.
“Please trust me. I will not do anything foolish.”
As I swore with determination, Elder Geum looked into my eyes and slowly nodded.
“Do you know what your best quality is?”
“Please, tell me.”
“Your eyes. When I look into them, brimming with resolve and a magnanimous spirit, I can’t help but trust you. Usually, only a middle-aged man who has overcome countless hardships can possess such eyes.”
Elder Geum shook his head.
“I will trust you. Now then. Show me the fourth and fifth forms of the Heavenly Will Sword Art. I am curious.”
“Is this your first time seeing them?”
“It is. The former Alliance Leader’s internal energy and martial prowess were so outstanding that he could send his enemies to the next world with just the first three forms.”
“You can look forward to it.”
“Then, follow me.”
I followed Elder Geum up to the ninth floor, where his secret training chamber was revealed.
It was surrounded by thick steel walls on all sides.
I placed a hand on one and gently pushed my true energy into it, marveling at what I felt.
“This is incredible. It’s forged with Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.”
“Haha, is there anything this man doesn’t know?”
Elder Geum let out a hearty laugh.
I slowly walked to the center of the training chamber.
I was both nervous and excited.
I wondered just how powerful the Heavenly Will Sword Art would be when executed with one hundred and twenty years of internal energy.
*Swoooosh.*
When I unleashed the first form, Lightning Bolt Strike, the sound of the air being torn asunder was on a completely different level than when I had used it with only fifty years of internal energy.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
*Thud. Thud.*
As I performed the second form, Swift Explosive Kill, and the third form, Thunderous Lament, the training chamber trembled from the immense power.
A smile naturally formed on my face at the power that exceeded my expectations.
I circulated my internal energy, raising it to its peak, and then unleashed the fourth form, Stormslash Wheel.
Two wheel-shaped torrents of sword energy materialized from my blade and struck the steel wall before me.
During my time as the Alliance Leader, I could create five of these wheels.
*CRA-CRA-CRA-CRACK.*
*RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE.*
The power of the Stormslash Wheel was truly terrifying.
Elder Geum’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
I collapsed to a sitting position and began to circulate my energy and regulate my breath.
The form was so powerful that it consumed a tremendous amount of internal energy, which was why I had rarely used it even when I was the Alliance Leader.
“It consumes too much energy, so you didn’t use it often.”
Elder Geum immediately identified the drawback of the Stormslash Wheel.
After restoring my internal energy through meditation, I rose to my feet and nodded.
“That’s right. The final fifth form is Lightning Rain.”
“I am truly looking forward to this.”
“Step back.”
At my warning, Elder Geum quickly moved far away.
I recalled the incantation for Lightning Rain in my mind and, upon unleashing it, something incredible happened.
The inside of the training chamber was plunged into pitch-black darkness, and powerful bolts of lightning struck down toward the floor.
Witnessing the Lightning Rain form, Elder Geum trembled.
The training chamber brightened once more.
“What do you think?”
“Magnificent. I now understand why the former Alliance Leader became the greatest under the heavens. No one could survive being trapped within that Lightning Rain.”
“My internal energy is still insufficient, so I can’t be certain.”
“Regulate your breathing and come out. You must have used a great deal of energy this time.”
At Elder Geum’s consideration, I sat down on the spot and began to meditate.
After confirming the one hundred and twenty years—two full cycles—of internal energy in my dantian, I rose and slowly left the training chamber.
Elder Geum handed me a small silk pouch.
“Use this in an emergency.”
“Thank you. Is it a spiritual medicine?”
“It is a Nine Revolutions Pill, which temporarily causes your latent power to explode. It has side effects, so do not take it unless you are in a truly dire situation.”
“To give me something so precious… I will not forget your kindness.”
“Just don’t make my Yeon cry. That will be enough. You should get going.”
“Then I will be on my way.”
I bowed to Elder Geum with clasped hands and left the Full Moon Tower.
“Did you succeed?”
Pure scanned me with an anxious gaze.
A disappointed look crossed her face.
When I only had fifty years of internal energy, I had let it flow freely, but now that I had reached two cycles, I had gathered and concealed most of it within me. To her eyes, it must have looked like I had regressed.
“I succeeded. Now I’m truly confident I won’t die. Even if I were to meet the leader of the Dark Cult.”
“It seems your boasting has grown, not your internal energy.”
“Hahaha. Let’s go.”
As I used my lightness skill to head northwest, Pure concealed her presence and followed behind me.
**
Hyeonong Mountain, southwest of Taiyuan Prefecture.
Seventh Blood scowled as he stared at the mountain.
When Cheol Mu-ui had hidden here, he had mobilized the warriors from the Shanxi branch to search every inch of the area, but they had failed to find him.
“Damn it all.”
Seventh Blood stomped his foot in frustration.
He had expected to gain a great deal of high-level intelligence on the Martial Arts Alliance by capturing Cheol Mu-ui, but now all of that was in danger of becoming nothing.
“Hah, you should have consulted this old man about such matters.”
The problem was the old man standing before him.
He was no ordinary elder.
He was the Blood Demon Saber, Seop Yu-heun, the one responsible for the Shanxi branch.
“Are you mocking me?”
“You’re coiled up tight with venom, like a snake. Listen here. Sometimes, you need to know when to bend.”
“I have no interest in hearing the excuses of the weak.”
For a fleeting moment, a chilling madness flared in Seop Yu-heun’s eyes before vanishing.
“You have no respect for your senior.”
“Only skill matters.”
“Arrogant fool.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. One can’t be arrogant without skill, after all.”
The two exchanged sharp glares, staring each other down before finally turning away.
The relationship between the Dark Nine Bloods, personally trained by the Cult Leader, and the old-guard demons like Seop Yu-heun was not a good one.
Though they had united under the grand cause of reviving the power of the Unorthodox Faction, which had been suppressed by the Orthodox Faction, they had not been able to resolve such internal conflicts.
However, they made an effort not to cross a certain line, even when they fought.
Perhaps that was why.
When they began to speak again, Seop Yu-heun’s tone had softened, and Seventh Blood’s manner of speaking had become a bit more respectful.
“Just wait a few more days. We should be able to catch him soon.”
“That’s too long.”
“It would be a different story if the main branch’s elite were here to search, but the branch warriors have their limits. Especially since Cheol Mu-ui is skilled at concealment. But he can’t stay hidden forever. He’ll show himself soon.”
The experienced Seop Yu-heun had identified Cheol Mu-ui’s weakness.
Seventh Blood quietly nodded and added.
“You must hurry. With Cheol Mu-ui’s fate unknown, the Martial Arts Alliance will surely send someone.”
“Hmph, it will likely be enforcers from the Demon-Slaying Pavilion or the Demon-Dispelling Pavilion. By the time the Alliance’s elite forces arrive, we’ll have captured Cheol Mu-ui and retreated to the branch. If they dare to invade us there, we’ll just have to fight it out.”
Seop Yu-heun radiated confidence.
He had made many preparations during his time living under the oppression of the Martial Arts Alliance.
The seemingly ordinary branch office was riddled with traps and ambush points, and he was confident he could win even if the Alliance’s elite came.
“My senior will be arriving soon.”
“First Blood?”
Seventh Blood gave a silent nod, and Seop Yu-heun tensed up.
Within the Dark Nine Bloods, to which Seventh Blood belonged, the martial prowess grew stronger with each ascending rank.
First Blood, the leader of the Dark Nine Bloods, was a supreme master rumored to have reached the Transcendent Realm.
As Seop Yu-heun’s expression hardened, Seventh Blood felt a sense of relief, as if a ten-year-old blockage had finally cleared.
“We will finish this and withdraw to the branch before First Blood arrives.”
“That’s how it should be.”
Seventh Blood nodded quietly in agreement.
It would be a disgrace if they couldn't wrap things up by the time First Blood arrived.
**
Cheol Mu-ui camouflaged himself with dry grass and wood, hiding his body in the undergrowth.
The continuous search had prevented him from eating properly, and he had been surviving by circulating the bare minimum of his internal energy, but he was reaching his limit.
*‘I’m almost out of water now, too.’*
Barely surviving on water alone, his strength had been completely drained.
Moreover, he had sustained minor injuries during his life-or-death battle with Seventh Blood.
*‘Is this how I, Cheol Mu-ui, will die? No. It can’t be. Absolutely not. I will survive and return to the Martial Arts Alliance. I must.’*
Cheol Mu-ui shook off the momentary weakness that had crept into his thoughts.
He closed his eyes and heightened his energy sense to its peak.
He could feel faint presences.
It meant they were still searching relentlessly, and Cheol Mu-ui frowned.
*‘I’ll stay here for one more day, then attempt to escape. There’s no other way.’*
With even his drinking water gone, it was the worst possible situation. Cheol Mu-ui resolved to escape.
The moment he did, the pursuit would begin.
Honestly, the chances of a successful escape were slim, but he had no choice.
If he collapsed from exhaustion, he would lose his life right then and there.
The next day.
Cheol Mu-ui remained perfectly still, in hiding.
This was his limit.
Judging that he could not hold out any longer, Cheol Mu-ui slowly began to raise his internal energy.
A stealthy escape was impossible.
It might have been a viable attempt if he had enough food and water, but he was injured and out of drinking water. Time was not on his side.
He decided to break through using his lightness skill at full power.
*Shuuuuuuuush.*
“There he is! Cheol Mu-ui is escaping!”
*Tweet! Tweet!*
*Tweet! Tweet!*
Loud whistles echoed from all directions.
Then, Seop Yu-heun and Seventh Blood, who had been waiting at the foot of the mountain, launched themselves into pursuit, their subordinates following close behind.