Cloud-Dragon Thirteen Swords
Damyeong Mountain’s group had not been gone long. After telling Zhuge Hyeonggeon and the disciples to head back first, I secretly began following Kunlun Sect from behind.
With Dragon Eye, tracking them shouldn’t be difficult.
Wooooong—
I focused the power of the Dragon Pearl into my right eye. The world was washed in red, and the traces left behind by the Kunlun martial artists became vividly clear. I could even feel the faint energy rising from their footprints, the lingering resonance of inner force still hanging in the air.
They’re heading northwest.
I kept my distance and trailed them. Through the world as seen by Dragon Eye, I could clearly make out their movements even from five hundred jang away.
About half a shichen later, the Kunlun group came to a halt. Ahead of them stood a massive rocky mountain.
“This is the habitat of the Heavenly Wind Bird described in the intel.”
One of the Kunlun disciples reported. Damyeong Mountain nodded.
“Good. Everyone, prepare for battle.”
Hiding in a nearby tree, I observed them through Dragon Eye. The Kunlun disciples spread out and formed the Five Elements Formation, taking combat positions.
Ah, that’s the Five Elements Formation.
Dragon Eye perfectly analyzed their formation and inner force circulation. Every position, every current of energy, even the way each element supported the others—it all burned itself into my mind.
Incredible.
I couldn’t hide my amazement at Dragon Eye’s power. To have the core principles of a formation engraved into my memory just by looking at it—truly, it was an absurd ability. Having obtained the essence of the Five Elements Formation, I held my breath. There was still much I had to take from them.
Soon enough.
Kiiiieeek—!
With a shrill cry, a massive shadow dropped from the sky. I stilled my breathing and erased even the smallest trace of my presence.
A Human Class beast. The Heavenly Wind Bird.
A giant bird with a wingspan of five jang. Its entire body was covered in blue-green feathers, and every beat of its wings stirred up fierce winds.
“Scatter!”
At Damyeong Mountain’s command, the Kunlun disciples scattered at once.
Whoooooosh—!
The wind blasted from the Heavenly Wind Bird’s wings uprooted trees and sent them flying.
“Cloud-Dragon Thirteen Swords, Seventh Style: Dragon Tail Summons the Wind.”
Damyeong Mountain raised his sword high. White sword qi poured from the blade like a waterfall.
That’s the Cloud-Dragon Thirteen Swords!
I shouted in my heart. The Kunlun Thirteen Swords I had learned were the basic sword art used by hunting squads who dealt with beasts. The true foundation of that technique was the Cloud-Dragon Thirteen Swords, the very essence of Kunlun’s martial arts.
Wooooong.
Using Dragon Eye, I watched every detail of Damyeong Mountain’s technique. The flow of inner force, the arc of the sword qi, even his breathing and footwork. It was on an entirely different level from the incomplete Kunlun Thirteen Swords I knew.
BOOM—!
Damyeong Mountain’s sword qi collided with the Heavenly Wind Bird’s gale. The explosion shook the area and turned the surroundings into chaos.
“Disciples, attack its flanks!”
The Kunlun disciples moved in perfect coordination. Their sword arts, too, were all Kunlun techniques.
Cloud Flow Sword, Kunlun Falling Snow, Glacier Shatter…
It seemed this era’s Kunlun had not yet systematized its beast-hunting squads. Everyone who came hunting with Damyeong Mountain was one of Kunlun’s inner disciples.
This was a chance I would never get again.
Wooooong. Wooooong.
Dragon Eye engraved their martial arts into me without pause. In particular, the level Damyeong Mountain displayed with the tenth stage of the Red Yang Art was astonishing.
So that’s how inner force can be directed.
I could see the process clearly—the way the inner force drawn up from his dantian circulated through the body, then transformed into sword qi.
Kiiiieeek—!
The Heavenly Wind Bird screeched in rage. Then, from somewhere high above, several more cries answered it.
“Damn it, it’s summoning its kin!”
Damyeong Mountain’s expression hardened.
In the blink of an eye, two, then three… until five Heavenly Wind Birds filled the sky.
“We’re retreating! Maintain the Five Elements Formation and pull back slowly!”
The situation became critical with the addition of the others. No matter how strong Damyeong Mountain was, fighting five Human Class beasts was too much. Or rather, it was more accurate to say that he simply did not yet know how to fight Human Class beasts. The martial arts Damyeong Mountain and the Kunlun disciples were using were all traditional techniques designed for one-on-one combat.
On top of that, they had none of the anti-beast equipment that my disciples and I used.
Once again, I felt just how far ahead I had already moved. Then I turned my attention back to the battle unfolding before me. Damyeong Mountain and the Kunlun disciples were being driven steadily into a corner. Damyeong Mountain was sweating heavily now, clearly rattled by the situation.
At this rate, they’ll all die.
But being the law-enforcement elder of Kunlun wasn’t a position just anyone could hold. Strong energy burst from Damyeong Mountain’s body as he took on the Heavenly Wind Birds head-on.
Slash.
Thanks to Damyeong Mountain’s desperate resistance, several Heavenly Wind Birds were killed. But more and more of them kept joining the fight. Anyone who didn’t understand the flocking nature of Heavenly Wind Birds would end up facing exactly this kind of disaster.
In the end, Damyeong Mountain shouted, “This is beyond us. All of you, fall back!”
He quickly assessed the situation and gave the order. The Kunlun party turned and withdrew at once. Damyeong Mountain stayed behind until the very end, keeping the Heavenly Wind Birds from pursuing the fleeing disciples. But soon after, he turned and unleashed his movement technique as well.
Kiiieee—!
The flock shrieked and chased after him.
Now.
I waited until they were far enough away.
My turn.
I carefully made my way toward the Heavenly Wind Birds’ nest. It was a massive cave set into the middle of the rocky mountain.
Swish—
From the cave entrance, I peered inside. Fortunately, most of the birds had already flown out in pursuit of the Kunlun group.
Krrrk.
Several still-young Heavenly Wind Birds noticed me and tilted their heads. They seemed confused by the sudden appearance of a human in their nest.
I smiled faintly and took something from my robes.
“I’ll just check what I need and be out in a moment.”
What I had taken out was a smoke bomb made from a shadow pouch obtained after killing the spectral wyvern. I had made it for use in dangerous situations, and this was exactly the right time for it.
Without hesitation, I threw the smoke bomb into the cave.
Pop-pop-BANG—!
The smoke bomb exploded, and the cave was instantly filled with black smoke. As the smoke thickened, the remaining Heavenly Wind Birds screamed and fled outside. They were highly sensitive to smoke bombs made from the byproducts of their own kind.
Meanwhile, I swept the inside of the cave with Dragon Eye.
Then I sensed something unusual deep within.
Of course. It’s there.
I hurried into the cave. Passing through the nest scattered with feathers and bones, I reached the innermost chamber and drew in a sharp breath.
“This is…”
In the center of the nest sat a bead glowing with blue light. It was fist-sized, and within it, I could see wind swirling in a tight spiral.
“A Wind Spirit Pearl!”
The Wind Spirit Pearl.
It was a divine treasure I had only ever heard rumors of in my previous life. A treasure guarded through generations by beasts of the wind element. It was said to dramatically accelerate the circulation of inner force.
To think I’d actually get something like this.
I carefully picked up the Wind Spirit Pearl. At once, a cool breeze wrapped around my entire body.
Kiiiieeek—!
I heard Heavenly Wind Bird cries from far away. The ones that had chased after the Kunlun party were returning. I tucked the Wind Spirit Pearl into my robes, hurried out of the cave, and raced down the mountain at full speed.
When I reached the foot of the mountain, I found the Kunlun group there.
They looked miserable after struggling to shake off the flock’s pursuit. At that moment, Damyeong Mountain looked at me. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce straight through me.
“You’re the one who was with Zhuge Gongzi earlier, aren’t you?”
I gave him a respectful martial salute.
“Yes, that’s right. Elder... no, Dam Dae-hyeop.”
Damyeong Mountain glanced at the herbs behind me and said, “Were you coming down from above?”
“Yes. I was gathering medicinal herbs.”
I showed him the few herbs I had prepared in advance.
“It’s fortunate you made it back alive. The upper slopes are dangerous, with a flock of Heavenly Wind Birds around, so don’t go any deeper.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll excuse myself.”
After another polite salute, I took my leave. I could still feel Damyeong Mountain’s eyes on my back, but I kept walking without a hint of concern.
Once I returned to Jigeom Sect, I headed straight for a quiet clearing behind the estate. After confirming that no one was nearby, I took out the Wind Spirit Pearl and held it up.
“It’s truly beautiful.”
The blue glow shone even more clearly now.
Wooooong. Wuuwoong.
The Dragon Pearl in my dantian reacted. It was practically demanding that I offer the Wind Spirit Pearl as food. I sat down cross-legged and brought the pearl close to my dantian.
Wuuwoong—
The Dragon Pearl responded.
Can I absorb it?
Carefully, I drew in the Wind Spirit Pearl’s energy.
Whooooosh—
A cool wind swept over my body. At the same time, the speed of the inner force flowing through my meridians began to increase.
What the hell?
Twice as fast. No, three times as fast as usual. My inner force circulated through my body as naturally as flowing water. And when the energies of the Dragon Pearl and the Wind Spirit Pearl met—
BOOM—!
An explosion rang out in my head. The powers of the two divine treasures resonated with each other and opened a new realm. I accepted that energy whole and sank into meditation.
When I opened my eyes after a long while, the world looked sharper than before.
“Hah... I didn’t expect a harvest like this.”
Wuuwoong—
As I became more adept at handling the Dragon Pearl, red energy naturally rose from my right eye. At the same time, the circulation method Damyeong Mountain had used began replaying in my mind.
“Hoo...”
I took a deep breath and focused on my dantian. Then I began circulating my inner force according to the complete form of the Red Yang Art I had just engraved with Dragon Eye.
Wuuuuung—!
It was astonishing.
The limits of the eighth stage of the Red Yang Art, as I had known them, collapsed in an instant. The method of operating the tenth stage that Damyeong Mountain had shown was reproduced exactly within my own body.
So this is what the ninth and tenth stage formulas are.
[Heavenly Flame Without Limit, Supreme Yang Gives Birth to Spirit]
[Red Yang Returns to the Origin, Ten Thousand Laws Share the Same Heaven]
The core formulas surfaced on their own. The engraving of Dragon Eye did not merely copy the outward form. It allowed me to understand and internalize the very essence and principles of the mental technique.
Fwoosh—!
Red flames surged from my body. This was heat on an entirely different level from before. Now that I had reached the tenth stage of the Red Yang Art, the Dragon Pearl in my dantian resonated and released an even fiercer current of energy.
“If that’s the case...”
I drew my sword. Then I began to unfold the complete form of the Kunlun Thirteen Swords engraved in my mind.
First style — Cloud Flow Sword.
Shiiing—
The blade flowed like a cloud. But it was completely different from the Cloud Flow Sword I had known before. The true Cloud Flow Sword I saw in Damyeong Mountain’s hands contained offense and transformation alongside defense.
Second style — Kunlun Falling Snow.
Whooooosh—!
Sword qi scattered like snowflakes. Gentle yet lethal successive strikes filled the air.
From the third style to the thirteenth.
I reproduced every single one without a miss. And when I reached the final thirteenth style, Solar Fire Slash—
BOOOOM—!
A massive blade of flame detonated, cutting down dozens of trees around me in one blow.
“Insane...”
The Kunlun Thirteen Swords I had known were only half-finished. The true Kunlun Thirteen Swords hid dozens of variations within each style, and those variations linked together to create endless combinations.
Not only that, but the principles behind the Five Elements Formation used by Damyeong Mountain and the Kunlun disciples were also etched into my mind.
The basic operating method of the Five Elements Formation...
It was the prototype of the special formation Kunlun Sect used in beast hunting. The formations later developed from this foundation would become the core of Kunlun’s beast-hunting tactics. Five people moved according to the principle of the five elements, surrounding and striking beasts in coordinated assault.
I was alone, but based on the knowledge I had engraved through Dragon Eye, I practiced the deployment positions of the Five Elements Formation.
East — the sword of wood, carrying vitality.
South — the sword of fire, explosive and fierce.
West — the sword of metal, sharp and penetrating.
North — the sword of water, flexible and flowing.
Center — the sword of earth, encompassing everything.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
I used my movement technique to move through the five directions as I swung my sword. Though the formation was incomplete when deployed by one person alone, I understood its principles and operating method perfectly.
That was when it happened.
Wooooooong—!
A tremendous vibration rippled from my dantian. Having reached the tenth stage of the Red Yang Art and unfolded the complete Kunlun Thirteen Swords, my cultivation level began to rise once more.
Wuuuuung—!
The meridians throughout my body expanded. The tenth-stage inner force of the Red Yang Art circulated through my whole body, carving out new pathways. At the same time, the Dragon Pearl’s energy surged explosively, accelerating the process.
I collapsed where I stood and entered regulated breathing meditation.
One shichen later.
“Hoo...”
When I opened my eyes, I had become an entirely different being.
Transcendence Realm.
The realm I had never reached even after devoting my entire previous life to it—I had climbed to it so easily.
Dragon Eye...! It really is a cheating ability.
But this was only the beginning.
If I continued meeting more experts and acquiring their martial arts through Dragon Eye...
Then becoming the strongest in the martial world won’t just be a dream.
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