Chapter 130: Fierce Battle Valley (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Fierce Battle Valley (3)
The Wandering Battle Venerable.
He was a warrior who held a seat among the Five Great Masters under Heaven.
From his youth, he had wandered the Jianghu, clashing with countless martial artists. He fought all kinds of masters, regardless of whether they belonged to the Orthodox, Unorthodox, or Demonic paths. In the process, he sustained numerous wounds and faced death more times than he could count. He was even hunted by great sects seeking to hide the shame of their defeats.
Yet, the diminutive fighter’s footsteps showed no signs of slowing. His search for masters naturally led him to the peerless experts of the era. A famous anecdote told of how he stayed on Mount Kunlun for five years just to secure a duel with one of the Two Ultimates.
It was this relentless pursuit that earned the small fighter his moniker, the Wandering Battle Venerable, and his place among the Five Great Masters under Heaven.
‘The man said to have fought more peerless experts than anyone else in the current Jianghu.’
Namgung Jun exhaled a long, steady breath. It was an exhalation that wove the internal energy of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula and the Spear King Azure Aura into a single strand, with the Taiji Taoyuan Technique at its core.
Of course, they had not completely fused. It was more of a state where the boundaries between the two arts were gradually blurring and overlapping. If he were to encounter the right martial epiphany someday, the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula and the Spear King Azure Aura might transform into a single, complete art. But that was a matter for another day.
“Whew.”
Though he had just finished a duel with the Tide-Piercing Sword, he had not expended much energy. He was in peak condition.
A cold sensation traveled up from the hand resting on his sword’s hilt, yet a distinct heat rose from within his body. It was only natural. Looking at the small yet giant of a man before him, he had to stoke his inner fire.
Namgung Jun examined Geuk Jeon’s physique. He was short, with powerful but compact limbs—a typically stocky build. His natural reach was short, and his body was ill-suited for complex movements. It was hardly a frame blessed for the martial arts.
However, the disadvantages of his build barely registered. His broad, sturdy frame was like a massive, uncut diamond. It was a truly solid and robust physique.
“I am ready,” Namgung Jun said quietly, holding the Eternal Righteous Sword low.
“Give it your all. I will adjust my strength to match yours,” Geuk Jeon added emphatically. “Just focus on properly executing your sword technique.”
Namgung Jun’s answer was to act.
Thud!
With an Earth-Trembling Stomp, he raised the Eternal Righteous Sword high into an upper stance. A single strike, imbued with immense Sword Force, plunged straight down.
Clang!
As the blade clashed against the palm, the very air buckled. Immediately after, a translucent shockwave erupted outward, shaking the clearing.
“Quite heavy.”
Contrary to his nonchalant words, a grin gradually widened on Geuk Jeon’s face. Having blocked the attack, he slightly curled his hand, attempting to grab the Eternal Righteous Sword.
Seeing the subtle twist of that hand, Namgung Jun knew instinctively that Geuk Jeon had already anticipated his response and altered his movement accordingly. It was a technique that saw several moves ahead.
‘If I just pull the sword back, it will be caught.’
Namgung Jun slightly relaxed his grip with his index and middle fingers as his wrist twisted in a half-circle. For a split second, the blade of the Eternal Righteous Sword wobbled as if it were a flexible sword.
Clash! Clash!
Heavy metallic rings erupted as the blade and fingers repeatedly crossed and grazed each other. Namgung Jun wasn't unleashing sword forms with the entire blade, but only with the edge that was in contact with Geuk Jeon's fingers. It was as if he were parrying each of Geuk Jeon's five fingers as they tried to grasp the Eternal Righteous Sword.
The finely vibrating blade slipped past the fingers, flowing as naturally as clouds parting around a mountain peak.
Seeing Namgung Jun barely manage to retrieve his sword, Geuk Jeon marveled.
“That is a response only you could pull off. I have seen all kinds of swordsmen in the Jianghu, but you are the first to counter like this.”
It was a free-flowing sword form, loosely yet firmly bound—an extremely delicate and profound display of swordplay. If either quality had been lacking, the counter would have been impossible.
‘Indeed. They don't call him a veteran of countless battles for nothing.’
Namgung Jun was equally astonished. The attempt to grab his sword had seemed like an ordinary counter at first glance, but the martial principles embedded in that simple movement were incredibly profound. Just responding to that single move had required him to expend far more mental energy than he had during his entire duel with the Tide-Piercing Sword.
“My turn now.”
In an instant, Geuk Jeon’s body blurred, and Namgung Jun’s vision was filled with a deep bronze hue. Geuk Jeon’s shoulder had lunged to a stop right before his nose. Even with the temporal perception of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, which could stretch a split second into an eternity, the movement felt impossibly fast.
Namgung Jun barely managed to bring the Eternal Righteous Sword to his chest, holding it upright in a middle stance.
Boom!
The ground where Namgung Jun stood collapsed, and a massive pillar of dust shot high into the sky. At the center of it all, Namgung Jun stood tall, his sword thrust forward. He had deflected the impact with the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique and absorbed the remaining shockwaves with the Heaven-Pillar Resolute Advance Movement Art.
‘Even though I adjusted my strength, he didn't waver in the slightest? He uses a movement art that suits him perfectly.’
Just as Geuk Jeon, who had seen through the function of the Heaven-Pillar Resolute Advance Movement Art at a glance, lightly shook out his foot—
Swoosh!
A blue mist descended, filling the surroundings. Scattered raindrops danced fiercely, moving at the speed of lightning.
Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.
Thunder Squall.
Over thirty sword strikes battered Geuk Jeon's entire body almost simultaneously. His bronze-colored Protective Astral Qi flickered violently, but not a single scratch appeared on his body. As if to show off, he charged fiercely toward Namgung Jun.
Namgung Jun didn't mind. This was only the beginning.
Thud!
Stepping forward, Namgung Jun’s sword dissolved into the blue mist. The blade, which seemed poised to clash head-on with Geuk Jeon’s fist, suddenly curved into an arc and bent diagonally. The strike that had targeted Geuk Jeon’s chest rushed toward his left flank in an instant, but he reacted naturally.
Flicking the Eternal Righteous Sword away with the back of his hand, Geuk Jeon unleashed a destructive momentum and drove his knee upward. The sudden knee strike from below brought Namgung Jun’s sword form to an abrupt halt.
“Bwahaha!”
Geuk Jeon had narrowed the distance to its absolute limit, turning his physical disadvantages into strengths. In this ultra-close range, where it was difficult to even extend a fist, let alone a sword, only Geuk Jeon could occupy the optimal distance. He threw a punch.
Thud!
Piercing through the sword strikes that barred any approach, the straight punch slammed into Namgung Jun’s chest.
Namgung Jun’s back jolted, but the Eternal Righteous Sword immediately slashed horizontally, aiming for Geuk Jeon’s shoulder. Geuk Jeon naturally twisted his body to evade, then glanced at the Thunder Qi remaining on his fist.
Shaking his hand lightly to dispel it, his grin widened.
“Quite a thrilling and cheeky Protective Astral Qi.”
Before anyone knew it, a silken mantle woven of lightning and clouds had descended over Namgung Jun’s entire body.
‘He completely dispersed the power of my punch and returned a portion of it using the principles of the Internal Heavy Hand Technique. His Protective Astral Qi is no ordinary martial art, either.’
It appeared Namgung Jun had intentionally exposed his chest, relying on his Protective Astral Qi to launch a counterattack.
“This is getting exciting. You really know how to fight.”
Geuk Jeon suddenly stopped moving and reached his hand out into the air.
“Hu-seong!”
At the sudden shout, a startled Jeon Hu-seong threw what he was holding.
‘He’s using his cherished weapon, which he never wields against anyone but peerless experts, against that boy!’
What Jeon Hu-seong threw was a massive hammer—Geuk Jeon’s signature weapon, the Battle-Craft Hammer.
The hammer was slightly larger than Geuk Jeon’s own body. It was so colossal that it looked impossible to handle even for a naturally large martial artist. Even Namgung Jun, who had experience with all kinds of polearms and heavy weapons, had never seen such a thing.
Yet, Geuk Jeon wielded it freely with just one hand. Watching him spin the Battle-Craft Hammer around, Namgung Jun let out a dry laugh.
-Be careful. Most weapons or Protective Astral Qi will be shattered in a single blow.
Hearing Jang Mu-yeon’s Voice Transmission, Namgung Jun adjusted his grip on the Eternal Righteous Sword.
Boom!
The Eternal Righteous Sword vibrated precariously as it blocked the Battle-Craft Hammer. It was the first time the sword, which boasted a natural hardness, had trembled so violently. Namgung Jun skillfully changed his grip, smoothly dispersing the impact.
At the same time, he unleashed the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique with all his might.
Whoosh!
Contrary to the expectation that the Battle-Craft Hammer would move sluggishly due to its size and weight, the opposite was true. It was incredibly swift and agile. On top of that, Geuk Jeon moved it frantically, utilizing a bizarre shift of his body's center of gravity. It almost looked as if the Battle-Craft Hammer possessed its own ego, running wild on its own.
Yet, Namgung Jun’s sword momentum remained as serene as it was at the beginning. Without a single tremor, he countered Geuk Jeon’s offensive once more.
‘I refined this with Master. I will not be pushed back.’
Though Geuk Jeon’s offensive with the Battle-Craft Hammer was truly powerful and bizarre, Namgung Jun did not find it threatening.
Crash! Clang! Clang!
He withstood all of it—the immense power charging head-on and the dizzying array of variations. Geuk Jeon’s offensive was certainly unorthodox, but the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique transcended it, having cast off the shackles of form.
There was no attack the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique could not deflect.
“Splendid!”
Facing the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique head-on, Geuk Jeon burst into wild laughter. Since becoming a peerless expert, he had never found joy in the martial arts of lesser fighters. In fact, he had woven his battle-specialized senses and the fighting methods accumulated over his long experience into a single martial art to teach the warriors of Fierce Battle Valley. That was the Battle-Wandering Formula, the representative martial art of Fierce Battle Valley.
He had hoped that the fighters who learned and gained enlightenment from the art he created would offer him some new form of amusement. But that never happened. Thanks to the Battle-Wandering Formula, the fighters of Fierce Battle Valley grew dazzlingly strong, but never to the point of piquing his interest.
However, the young swordsman before him was different.
Flashing wit and talent. A divine art and peerless technique that he seemed to have created himself. Even if his opponent had adjusted his strength, how many martial artists in the Jianghu could trade blows like this with a peerless expert? Perhaps only supreme experts standing at the precipice of the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and eyeing the Five Qis Converging at the Origin could manage it. Even his own head disciple, who had studied under him the longest, would find it impossible.
“Azure Star Sword! Try and block this!”
The immense Qi Wave residing in the Battle-Craft Hammer was unleashed all at once. A massive ripple violently stirred the air, as if the space itself were fleeing from the giant weapon.
Seeing Geuk Jeon slightly raise his strength in his excitement, the bracelet on Jang Mu-yeon's wrist let out a sharp metallic ring.
“Is he out of his mind?”
Jang Mu-yeon half-rose, about to spring forward, but he stopped himself.
For Namgung Jun was unleashing a new sword form with an expression of pure enjoyment.
A blue mist seeped endlessly from the Eternal Righteous Sword. The blade, which usually held a deep, ink-black hue, now shone so brightly it appeared blue.
Namgung Jun thrust forward with a straight, horizontal strike. It was a sword path that bound dozens of individual paths into one, a strike that maximized its power as paths carrying different forces repeatedly collided and harmonized.
Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.
Azure Torrent.
The techniques, unleashed with confidence by both Namgung Jun and Geuk Jeon, converged at a single point.
Kaboom!
The earth was completely gouged out by the shockwave that spread from that point. It was not merely crushed; it was utterly annihilated. The flat clearing was gone. Only a massive, hollowed-out crater remained, centered on the two martial artists.
Looking at his smoking Battle-Craft Hammer, Geuk Jeon shifted his gaze. Before him stood the young swordsman, stumbling but ultimately keeping his back straight. The silken mantle of thunderclouds draped over his body still radiated its noble colors, undiminished.
Namgung Jun finally lowered the Eternal Righteous Sword and assumed a proper stance once more.
Geuk Jeon nodded and spoke.
“You have earned the right to tell me the names of your martial arts. Tell me the names of your Protective Astral Qi and your sword technique.”
“Cloud Mantle Embracing Sorrowful Thunder, and Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.”
Savoring the names, Geuk Jeon nodded again.
“Both are peerless techniques rarely seen in the Jianghu. And…”
Geuk Jeon raised the Battle-Craft Hammer and pointed it at Namgung Jun.
“I guarantee that the name Namgung Jun will be vividly engraved in history.”
Having received Geuk Jeon’s recognition, Namgung Jun paid his respects. Since he had satisfied the Wandering Battle Venerable on behalf of the Heaven-Reliant Sword Lord, this mission was a success.
Namgung Jun suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky.
The four clouds rippling above looked exceptionally close.