Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Pseudo Divine Martial Arts
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The axe blade, flying at full speed toward the nape of the defenseless stronghold master's neck, slammed home.
The bandits who had formed their formation to trap Hyeonseong, the beasts trembling from the sudden calamity that had struck at dawn— the entire area fell into dead silence, beasts included.
"Well, now."
The one who shattered the silence was none other than Mountain King Gong Tae-gun.
Crack, he twisted his neck, then casually yanked out the axe embedded in the back of his neck and gripped it.
Iron yielding to gang qi was only natural; the blade crumpled pathetically in his fist, shattering into chunks of scrap metal that clattered to the ground.
Mountain King let out a hollow laugh, his lips parting slowly.
"That was close—I nearly died. You... no, you, sir, are truly an extraordinary martial artist. Even among the lords of Demonic Heaven's Nine Dragon Castles, few have ever pushed me that close to death."
In a voice laced with genuine astonishment, Hyeonseong murmured low.
"Oh, spot on. That really was a close call. If the activation had been even a fraction slower, I'd have been bound for the afterlife without a doubt."
As Mountain King bantered on, the bear's form—its head split open—crumpled powerlessly behind him.
Its translucent outline tinged with a bluish hue resembled an illusion conjured from inner power.
"Oops, in my panic, I went and sent old Bear packing. What a shame—he was too precious to waste as a one-time shield."
Mountain King smacked his lips regretfully. In his deep, rumbling voice, he continued.
"I never planned to reveal this here. A martial art—especially Pseudo Divine Martial Arts—should be one's ultimate life-preserving ace, held back until the very last moment."
With those words, the protective gang qi enveloping his body swelled and surged.
"So feel free to think you've seen my bottom line."
The bulging protective gang qi gradually took on distinct shapes.
"Allow me to introduce."
Wolf, wild boar, hawk, tiger, deer... Mountain King's protective gang qi transformed into forms of all manner of mountain beasts.
"This is—"
—my life.
Mountain King no longer looked human.
He appeared only as the mountain's sovereign, at the head of an assembled beast army.
'Immense intent woven into his protective gang qi.'
A martial artist steps into the realm of transcendent mastery upon grasping the concept of intent.
And Pseudo Divine Martial Arts is infusing that intent into one's martial arts like inner power, thereby establishing one's unique style.
Thus, it manifests one's inner image as martial arts.
A state where the boundaries between sorcery, supernatural abilities, and martial arts blur.
Hence, even among transcendent masters, few perfect Pseudo Divine Martial Arts.
In other words, perfecting it alone places one at the pinnacle of the jianghu, bar the absolute overlords above the clouds.
Mountain King was such a titan who contended for supremacy over the world. His peerless protective gang qi, fused with physical techniques, truly bordered on the divine.
"Fewer than ten have ever witnessed my Pseudo Divine Martial Arts in my lifetime. Survivors can be counted on one hand."
Which side are you on?
As Mountain King muttered, half in acknowledgment of a worthy foe, Hyeonseong replied indifferently.
"Acting all high and mighty over such a pathetic technique."
He wiped the blood from his mouth with the frayed sleeve of his training robe and continued.
"Live or die—it's fifty-fifty, isn't it? Hardly worthy of being called a sure-kill move."
"Haha! Is that how it works?"
Mountain King roared with laughter, clutching his belly. The fierce beasts forged from intent and power growled, glaring at Hyeonseong.
"I'd love to chat more, but we wrap this up here. My Pseudo Divine Martial Arts has quite the appetite—it devours my inner energy without respite, even now."
As he spoke, Mountain King's eyes filled with a piercing blue glow. Hyeonseong silently tightened his grip on his sword, pressing on with an unprecedentedly fierce Grand Heavenly Circulation.
Rumble rumble... Groooar... KABOOOMMMM!!!!!!
With a protracted tremor, the horde of beasts charged like a mountainside avalanche.
In a single stride covering over ten zhang, Mountain King closed in on Hyeonseong and thrust out a fist the size of a cauldron lid.
The image of a rampaging boar formed of gang qi bared its tusks.
BOOM! Hyeonseong's body rocketed into the sky from the brutally straightforward, overwhelming charge.
Biting his lip to shake off his blurring consciousness, Hyeonseong looked up to see a massive shadow looming over him. Mountain King's colossal frame had blotted out the sun.
With one leap, Mountain King had soared into the air after him and twisted his waist. A leg thick as a log came crashing down like a meteor.
Crunch! Hyeonseong's arms, crossed in an X to block, emitted the sound of bones grinding to dust. No need to rely on the noise—both Mountain King and Hyeonseong could feel that the kick had snapped his arm bones.
KABOOM! Crash! Thud! Hyeonseong gouged a crater over ten zhang wide in the ground, then bounced and tumbled several more times. At a glance, not a single part of his body looked unscathed.
Watching this, Mountain King thought.
'At the moment of impact, he dispersed shock through the acupoints on his back to soften the blow. That kid's martial talent borders on transcendent at his age... but that split-second judgment and execution? That's not just martial prowess—it's the realm of a born fighter. When it comes to combat genius, he might truly claim to be unrivaled through the ages.'
Gently gliding down via lightness skill mastery and touching ground, Mountain King murmured low.
"Heavenly Lord, just what do you intend to do with that young monster?"
A world filled only with pitch-black darkness.
I knew immediately where this was.
This was the foundation of my subconscious.
"Spot on."
A low, rumbling voice spoke in a curt tone.
I turned my head. There stood a man.
Over six chi tall. His spear-straight, gaunt build gave no impression of bulk.
Long, curly gray hair cascaded to his waist.
He wore a black training robe and a wide-sleeved robe, but the right sleeve hung empty where an arm should have been.
A black hemp bandage covered his left eye; with his one remaining eye, he gazed down at me.
A familiar face, yet one I'd never seen with my own eyes.
"You..."
"I'm you. As you know."
He was me from the days called Wudang Ghost Axe.
Me at my peak, when I'd touched the utmost limits of martial prowess.
An invincible existence who would never falter to mere transcendent foes, never face death's door.
"What now?"
I asked myself.
"By the time you open your eyes and think, it'll be too late. Unless you devise an escape right now, you're dead."
"I still have plenty of options."
"Let me say it again: I'm you. This is our inner realm—your thoughts reach me too. And the outcome of those 'options' you mention? Nothing but suicide."
"I won't die. Just modulate it like always."
"You won't die, but you'll end up a cripple. Like you. Like me."
At that, I glared at Wudang Ghost Axe, eyes bulging.
"You cripple bastard."
Spitting the words with venomous fury and contempt.
"With that weak-ass mentality."
Fearing a mere crippledom and shunning a path to victory? Is that truly me?
I've never lived like that my whole life.
The moment you fret over trivialities like life or bodily safety, only second-best choices remain.
I've always sought the absolute best path to victory.
"You can never beat the Heavenly Demon that way."
I reached toward the sky.
Even calling it sky, it was just as black as the ground—no matter.
Beyond my splayed fingers, the darkness in my vision split apart.
If this is my inner realm, then even things the outer 'me' can't do become possible.
For example, this.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art: Breaking Heaven Forms
First Form: Heaven Breaker
I clenched my fist.
Following that motion, the pitch-black abyss tore into five gashes. Pure white light poured in from the shattered sky.
Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's secret art, Heavenly Demon Divine Art: Breaking Heaven Forms.
True to its name, perfected, it could shatter the heavens.
I turned to look at myself.
The gray locks had turned jet-black like ebony.
[Haha.]
The smiling lips were cherry-red, the jaw—scarred and stubbled—now sleek and slender like a woman's.
[Come on, then. Try to keep up.]
The long robe emblazoned with a black dragon—absent moments ago—billowed as the Heavenly Demon laughed.
I made no retort, instead observing the outer world's me beyond the inner realm.
Hardly an organ left intact among the five viscera and six bowels.
Limbs sprouted extra joints where none had been.
Already half-crippled.
'Getting even more crippled from here.'
What could possibly be the problem?
A broken body? Rebuild it through marrow cleansing and rebirth.
Shaved lifespan? Extend it with rejuvenation.
Just survive here.
Just win somehow.
"...Pay it back later."
No need to think beyond that. Thinking ahead means defeat.
This is how I've always lived.
In my past life, this mindset halved my lifespan before I died, sure.
'So what if some lifespan gets chipped away.'
Not like I'm living forever.
Following the resolute intent of the upper dantian, true energy writhed in the middle and lower dantians.
The inner power rings etched in the heart and the meridians linked to the dantian spun in reverse.
Inner power flows clashed at the middle epigastrium acupoint, between heart and navel.
In that instant, vital energy twisted, inner power backflowed.
Body burned as if molten iron coursed through veins instead of blood.
Blood surged upside-down in earnest: eyeballs rolled back, crimson sprays erupted from mouth and nose.
The fabled qi deviation.
Blood boiled throughout the body. Flames raced along the vessels.
"Aaaaaaah!!!"
With a scream like a war cry, I hauled my body upright.
Crunch, grind. Blood unbound from vessels realigned shattered bones, supplanted severed tendons.
Blood Boiling Fire Path
(Demonic Art: Lifespan as toll)
The demonic art, drawn forth at the cost of lifespan, unfolded through the blood surging from every pore.