Chapter 163: Journey on the Lake (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: Journey on the Lake (5)
The Vice Unit Leader of the Fourth Battle Unit wiped the blood from his blade and folded his arms.
His eyes, burning with murderous intent, were fixed on the Clouds of the Azure Heaven Association.
‘The Heavenly Sword Hall. And the Azure Firmament Hall.’
The Heavenly Sword Hall was a martial group that had recently reclaimed its place among the Three Powerhouses, while the Azure Firmament Hall was a new power rapidly making a name for itself.
Regardless, one fact was undeniable: both were incredibly strong.
He could see it at a glance. How many of the esteemed Nine Cult-Protecting Guards could truly stand on equal footing with the martial artists before him?
In particular, news had recently reached them that the Chamyeong Guard and the Dragon Army Guard had been utterly crushed in Sichuan Province. There was no room to doubt the martial prowess of the Azure Firmament Hall.
‘And on top of that, the Azure Star Sword.’
The path this swordsman had walked was so unprecedented that not even the Jianghu’s most supreme experts could easily replicate it. The martial prowess he had displayed was so overwhelming that his young age of eighteen only amplified the fear he inspired.
Observing Namgung Jun’s neat and noble appearance, the Vice Unit Leader sank into a lower, more cautious stance than usual.
‘I must treat him as I would a leader of the Nine Cult-Protecting Guards—no, a Battle Unit Commander.’
Although the Heavenly Sword Hall was heavily exhausted, the arrival of the Azure Star Sword and the Azure Firmament Hall was an extremely dangerous variable.
Even so, the Vice Unit Leader had no intention of backing down.
He wasn't merely relying on numerical superiority. The Battle Units were composed of warriors who had honed their strength and tactics to face supreme experts even in their leader's absence.
For the Fourth Battle Unit to retreat so helplessly just because of the Azure Star Sword would be an unforgivable disgrace.
—The captains and I will tie down the Azure Star Sword. Crush the Azure Firmament Hall and the Heavenly Sword Hall with our numbers and joint attack formations.
Just as the Vice Unit Leader’s voice transmission was secretly delivered to the captains under his command—
Rumble!
A distinct circular ripple erupted, centering on the Eternal Righteous Sword that Namgung Jun held steady in a mid-level guard.
The surrounding air shook violently as an immense pressure descended upon the area.
Newly sprouted wildflowers and weeds were instantly flattened against the ground. Nearby tree branches snapped and crashed down. Even the large boulders in the vicinity trembled faintly before gradually sinking into the earth.
“Ugh?”
A bewildered groan escaped the Vice Unit Leader’s lips.
It felt as if an invisible, colossal hand was pressing down on his entire body. The moment he took his stance, his shoulders slumped and his waist, the core of his balance, buckled.
The Vice Unit Leader immediately circulated his internal energy to resist, but it was a futile effort.
“Kugh!”
Though he gritted his teeth, the Vice Unit Leader couldn't hold out for even a split second before being forced to his knees. Both knees slammed into the ground, and it was all he could do to keep his head from hitting the dirt in utter disgrace.
He was not alone.
All around him, the other demonic practitioners fell to their knees in unison. Resistance was not permitted.
‘What in the world is this?!’
The Vice Unit Leader’s eyes trembled.
Every demonic cultist within a five-jang radius of Namgung Jun was subjected to the humiliation of being forced to kneel.
‘What is this? It’s not just an intimidating Qi Wave, nor is it the sword wind generated by some heavy sword art. Is this a hidden technique of the Azure Star Sword?’
Despite the pressure that felt as if it would snap his neck at any moment, the Vice Unit Leader forced his head up slightly.
Through his barely secured field of vision, he saw Namgung Jun's sword moving, albeit incredibly slowly.
‘Moving the sword is quite difficult.’
Unlike before, he was expanding the domain of his pressure to suppress multiple targets while also extending its duration. Because the targets and conditions of his technique had changed, he was discovering limitations he hadn’t felt before.
“Hup!”
Thick veins bulged on Namgung Jun's forearm as he gripped the Eternal Righteous Sword.
The center of the sword pressure dominating the area was, of course, the Eternal Righteous Sword itself. As the focal point generating the domain, the sword did not move as freely as usual.
It felt as if it carried the weight of a thousand geun, and the air itself felt thick and resistant. It was as if the Eternal Righteous Sword had been fixed in place, a pillar driven into the very air.
‘This is another problem I need to solve. Then again, what martial art has only advantages and no flaws?’
Even so, swinging the sword was by no means impossible.
Thud!
As Namgung Jun executed an Earth-Trembling Stomp, a Qi Wave from his lightness art erupted from his body. The Qi Waves of the Infinite Steps, the Heaven-Pillar Resolute Advance Movement Art, and the Thousand-Li Lake Journey intertwined throughout his body. On top of that, his physical form, tempered by the Sword-Root Foundation Art and the Taiji Taoyuan Technique, began to move dynamically.
Gradually regaining its freedom, the Eternal Righteous Sword began to move slowly.
There was no need to unleash a grand form.
He simply drew the sword across in a wide, sweeping horizontal arc.
When the slowly moving Eternal Righteous Sword finally reached the end of its path and came to a halt—
A bluish full moon, cast from the tip of his sword, gently draped itself over the necks of the demonic practitioners.
Splurt!
Blood erupted high into the air from all directions like waterfalls in reverse.
Dozens of heads fell helplessly, like autumn leaves.
The thirty-odd demonic practitioners who had been forced to their knees within the domain of the sword pressure perished at the exact same moment.
It happened so quickly that the other demonic cultists had no time to even attempt a countermeasure.
“Vice Unit Leader!”
“Damn it! The captains too! Are only the squad leaders left?”
“To be wiped out so helplessly!”
The elites, including the Vice Unit Leader and the captains, had positioned themselves at the very front to establish a joint attack formation against the Azure Star Sword. Yet, their heads had been severed in an instant by his bizarre martial art.
The void in their fighting strength would be felt far more keenly than a mere loss of numbers. The officers meant to command the troops, along with the most powerful martial artists of the Fourth Battle Unit, had vanished in a single breath.
“Today. At Mount Tangmun of Guizhou Province.”
Drenched in sweat, Namgung Jun straightened his back.
“The Sun-Moon Demonic Cult's Fourth Battle Unit will be erased.”
Namgung Jun's declaration, delivered in a low, calm voice, was also a command.
The Clouds, whose eyes had widened at Namgung Jun's incredible display, immediately sprang into action.
“Don’t overdo it.”
Gong Jun-am, glancing at the Heavenly Sword Hall, muttered quietly as he stepped forward.
The Clouds of the Heavenly Sword Hall, who were preparing to deploy the Great Derivation Sword Formation as they charged, smirked.
“Hmph. I guess we’ll have to show them we’re still going strong.”
“Let’s see how well the famous Azure Firmament Hall fights.”
“It seems Yu Geun-su and Man Ye-won have improved a lot too. That’s a relief.”
The Azure Firmament Hall and the Heavenly Sword Hall relentlessly pushed back the Fourth Battle Unit. Although Namgung Jun had cut down the officers and elites with a single strike, the demonic cultists still held a numerical advantage.
But it had clearly become a fight they could win.
While the Heavenly Sword Hall and the Azure Firmament Hall fanned out to the left and right, forcibly splitting the chaotic Fourth Battle Unit down the middle—
Namgung Jun, catching his breath, stepped toward the center.
The path he was heading toward was also teeming with demonic practitioners.
“Which of you will stop this Hall Master?”
No one could answer Namgung Jun’s question.
Normally, the officers—the Vice Unit Leader and the captains—would have launched a coordinated attack to buy time. But since those officers had been slain in a single strike, no proper force was left to face Namgung Jun.
They could have attempted to face him by deploying a joint attack formation even without their officers, but the Heavenly Sword Hall and the Azure Firmament Hall would not allow it.
The demonic practitioners clearly sensed their impending defeat.
Yet, what filled their faces and eyes was not fear or despair, but venom and fighting spirit.
“Arrogant brat. I’ll take at least one of your arms with me.”
“We are dead men anyway! I will burn myself for the Bright World!”
“Haaah!”
The Qi Waves emitted by the demonic practitioners suddenly surged, then began to fluctuate unstably. At the same time, their bodies, stained a dark crimson, began to swell.
This was the precursor to the activation of the Bright-Burning Demonic Art, which the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult had created by refining the Exploding Demonic Art.
But Namgung Jun did not retreat.
Boom!
A sword strike, flowing gently from his lowered Eternal Righteous Sword, smoothly deflected the gale of the Bright-Burning Demonic Art that was rushing toward him.
Namgung Jun began to perfectly replicate the technique that the Heaven-Reliant Sword Lord had shown him in the past.
Crash! Rumble!
The self-detonations of the demonic practitioners who had activated the Bright-Burning Demonic Art occurred in rapid succession all around.
Amidst the swirling dark crimson storm and the countless fragments of bone and flesh raining down like hidden weapons, Namgung Jun's figure danced freely as he executed the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.
Just as the Heaven-Reliant Sword Lord had toyed with the storm using his blade that day.
Boom!
Even as the entire forest was swept away by the self-detonations, Namgung Jun stood alone in noble solitude, extending his sword.
The storm of the Bright-Burning Demonic Art, unable to touch him, merely swayed and was toyed with along the path of the Eternal Righteous Sword.
Instead, the storm and shrapnel, pushed back along the reverse path of his sword, began to engulf the other demonic practitioners.
*
Evading the Fourth Unit Leader's sword aimed at her heart, Lee Se-ha's body spun fiercely in midair. Seeking a counterattack even as she evaded, her sword thrust out diagonally.
Whoosh!
Lee Se-ha's sword form surged forward in a winding, continuous spin. An indigo mist billowed along the brilliantly drawn path of her blade.
Clang!
The Fourth Unit Leader’s eyes narrowed as he forcefully struck his sword upward, abruptly cutting off the path of her attack.
‘So that is the rumored Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.’
For the first thirty exchanges, Lee Se-ha had deployed the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Sword Technique, just as she had in the past. The forms were vastly different from before, which had already put the Fourth Unit Leader on guard. He couldn’t hide his bewilderment when she suddenly switched to an entirely different sword style.
‘A superior peerless art, rare under the heavens.’
That was his first impression upon experiencing the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique. It was far more powerful and suited her better than the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Sword Technique, which had been her signature martial art.
He would have believed it without question if rumors claimed she had created it herself.
‘As if a swordsman of her extraordinary talent wasn't enough, she has now grasped an even sharper sword.’
Having only observed it from afar with his eye techniques, experiencing the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique firsthand made the failure of the Heaven-Piercing Vast-Cannon Formation feel all the more regrettable.
‘Since things have come to this, I must kill her.’
The Fourth Unit Leader's sword, radiating a chilling murderous intent, gradually grew faster, producing a desolate, air-splitting shriek.
Normally, he should have been bedridden for days due to the backlash of deploying the Heaven-Piercing Vast-Cannon Formation. Although his condition had temporarily improved after absorbing his subordinates using the Star-Absorbing Great Art, he had not completely overcome the backlash.
His sword forms drew beams of light like a swift sword, only to suddenly shift as if dozens of flowers were blooming at once. Annoyance flickered in the Fourth Unit Leader's eyes as the momentum of the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique shifted from one moment to the next.
‘My poor physical condition is partly to blame, but...’
What the Fourth Unit Leader feared most was the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique that Lee Se-ha was unleashing. The longer the exchange dragged on, the more overwhelming it would become to withstand that profound sword style.
He had to cut her down as quickly as possible.
Having made his decision, the Fourth Unit Leader drew upon every ounce of his remaining strength. He resolved to kill Lee Se-ha with the ultimate technique he had been saving.
Clang!
The two swords clashed violently and rebounded.
“I am suddenly reminded of the time when you, a newly appointed Hall Master, almost died by my sword.”
“It seems the situation will be quite different this time, won’t it?”
Replying with a cold smile, Lee Se-ha steadied her breathing and held her sword straight in a mid-level guard. The Fourth Unit Leader also extended his sword, pointing it forward while supporting the pommel with his left hand.
The two supreme experts assumed their respective stances, preparing their swords.
The moment Lee Se-ha and the Fourth Unit Leader's gazes locked in midair, both unleashed their ultimate techniques.
Both swordsmen had reached the pinnacle of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and were on the verge of Five Qis Converging at the Origin. They had also refined the ability of Heart Spirit Qi Transformation—making one's internal energy respond to their will—to its absolute limit. Thanks to this, unleashing a large-scale ultimate technique that required a massive expenditure of internal energy and mental focus did not take much time at all.
A mere fraction of a second—the time it takes to divide a single blink of an eye into five—was more than enough.
Swoosh!
Lee Se-ha faced a massive, harpoon-like Sword Qi fired by the Fourth Unit Leader.
‘As expected, the Fourth Unit Leader has also grown stronger without rest.’
The Torrential Point Flying Shatter of the Hundred-Point Yin Spirit Sword.
It was the Fourth Unit Leader's favorite ultimate technique, and the very one that had once pierced her upper body, leaving her hovering between life and death. Had the Martial Conquest Hall Master, Ha Mu-jung, not arrived to rescue her in the nick of time, she would have died on the spot.
Having experienced the ultimate technique firsthand, Lee Se-ha knew the moment she saw it. The attack before her had been refined to a level of precision and power incomparable to the past.
‘It throbs.’
Did the terror of nearly crossing the line of death still linger in her body?
For no reason, the old wound throbbed with a phantom pain, even though the injury inflicted by the Fourth Unit Leader's sword had healed long ago.
“Heh.”
Even as the fear lingering in the depths of her mind and memory crept up, Lee Se-ha's crimson lips curved gently. It was a smile filled with joy and warmth.
‘I am not afraid at all. Because right now, I am with the sword technique my disciple created for me.’
The indigo mist gracefully unfurling along the blade wrapped around Lee Se-ha warmly. That alone made her feel as if Namgung Jun was standing by her side, protecting her.
Crackle!
Lee Se-ha's sword, which had held its position steadfastly in a mid-level guard, moved.
The Qi Wave of the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique, which had been shimmering like indigo mist, split violently and transformed into the shape of a thunderbolt.
Based on the insights she had gained while practicing the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique, she had re-evaluated the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Sword Technique. In the process, she had woven a new form into the Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.
It was also a master's new teaching, to be passed down to her disciple in the near future.
Vast Sky Boundless Sword Technique.
Heavenly Yang.
A master's sword form that severed past fears through her disciple's sword technique.
Riiip!
A sword strike that fully embodied the vitality and domineering nature of Scorching Yang Qi cleanly pierced through the Fourth Unit Leader's upper body.