Chapter 168: Southern Heaven (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 168: Southern Heaven (4)
Dan Jung-se’s piercing eyes locked onto Namgung Jun’s entire frame.
Ordinary martial artists would first assess an opponent's aura when sizing them up.
But the first thing Dan Jung-se looked at was his opponent’s external arts—specifically, the condition of their physical body.
'Excellent. Truly magnificent. It’s like I'm looking at a completely different person.'
Naturally, Namgung Jun was wearing his martial uniform rather than being bare-chested, but that posed no obstacle to Dan Jung-se's assessment. He had reached a realm where he could easily deduce the state of a body just from its overall posture and the glimpses of exposed skin.
'Did he call it the Sword-Root Foundation Art?'
It was an external cultivation method Namgung Jun had tailored specifically for himself as a swordsman. Since Dan Jung-se had offered plenty of advice at the time, his memory of it remained vivid.
'His determination to find an external cultivation method that suited him best, rather than settling for the Iron Tower Hall's methods, was highly commendable. And in the end, he succeeded spectacularly.'
Observing the completed Sword-Root Foundation Art had often given Dan Jung-se a great deal of inspiration and motivation.
Thud!
Dan Jung-se took a heavy step forward. He had merely channeled force into his toes, yet fine cracks spread across the Blue Steel Stone floor.
Namgung Jun's body, forged through the Sword-Root Foundation Art, was deeply impressive. The scrawny, pitiful boy from his memories was gone.
Standing before Dan Jung-se was a robust man with a masterfully sculpted physique of lean, elastic muscle. Just by standing with his back perfectly erect, he exuded a sharp, piercing energy.
He was like a living sword.
One look at his physical state was enough. There was no need to even gauge his aura.
Namgung Jun was already strong enough—strong enough to pose a threat to him.
His heart began to beat faster, and the muscles across his entire body twitched in anticipation. Just the thought of pitting their hard-earned physiques against each other set his blood pumping.
"Let's go!"
Lowering his stance as if dropping into a horse stance, Dan Jung-se bent his broad back forward, letting both fists lightly touch the ground. With all four limbs on the floor, his body coiled like a spring. Still, Dan Jung-se's massive frame could not be hidden; he looked like a living boulder.
Namgung Jun tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, his fingers leaving no gaps.
'That bizarre posture is the opening stance of the Heavenly Central Iron Fist.'
Originally, the signature martial art of the Iron Tower Hall was the Iron Tower Quake Fist. However, Dan Jung-se had moved beyond it, creating his own unique martial arts, including the Heavenly Central Iron Fist, and establishing a new martial lineage. While some teachings had been passed down to the members of the Iron Tower Hall, the only one who had mastered them in their entirety was Dan Jung-se's sole disciple, Jang Mun-hyeok.
Crack!
As the tendons in Dan Jung-se's thighs flexed violently, the ground of the training hall caved in. With a sudden boom, his figure shot forward.
It felt like facing a cannonball—or more accurately, a massive boulder plunging from a towering cliff. A heavy wind pressure trailed him, a warning that a single misstep would result in one’s entire body being crushed to pieces.
Dan Jung-se charged with his left shoulder thrust forward. It was a shoulder strike. He intended to close the distance to an ultra-close range where even throwing a punch would be difficult, thereby restricting Namgung Jun's sword.
Contrary to Dan Jung-se's expectations, Namgung Jun was not hindered by the distance.
Pulling the Eternal Righteous Sword close to his chest, Namgung Jun twisted his body to the right and switched to a reverse grip. He then slashed vertically upward, as if raising the sword into an upper guard. It was a technique that created a sliver of space through a split-second movement.
The instant a tiny gap appeared, the Eternal Righteous Sword surged upward as smoothly as flowing water.
Clang!
Blade and muscle collided, but the sound that erupted was the heavy, metallic ring of iron striking iron.
A gleam of surprise flashed in Namgung Jun's eyes as he watched the Eternal Righteous Sword get deflected. Despite the strike possessing enough power to easily slice through an ordinary iron plate, Dan Jung-se's shoulder merely showed a faint, straight red line.
The hardness of the muscles forged through the Silent Mountain Standing Art was astonishing, but the most remarkable aspect was the incredible rebound force. This was already far beyond the realm of common sense; what would happen if Protective Astral Qi were layered over such muscles?
'Senior Dan's defensive art, the Silent Mountain Standing Art… It certainly lives up to its reputation.'
While Namgung Jun recovered his deflected sword, Dan Jung-se widened his stride. The distance had opened slightly due to the clash, creating the perfect range to throw a punch.
Namgung Jun did not miss the movement as Dan Jung-se’s center of gravity shifted as naturally as flowing water.
'He baited this exchange.'
Thud!
Stamping his foot, Dan Jung-se twisted his waist, and his shoulder snapped forward with elastic force. Simultaneously, the fist resting at his waist shot forward in a straight line. It was a seamless, flawless sequence.
It was a fist strike that traced a truly exhilarating form—a punch so clean and powerful it was almost refreshing to behold.
For a martial artist, it was only right to meet such an honest attack head-on.
Having raised his sword to an upper guard, Namgung Jun channeled his entire body weight and brought it down in a vertical slash.
Namgung Jun's heavy sword, executing the Namcheon Sword Art.
Dan Jung-se's powerful fist, unleashing the Heavenly Central Iron Fist.
The strikes of two supreme experts, neither of whom knew how to retreat, collided.
Klang-klang-klang!
As the two hall masters exchanged dozens of blows in an instant, heavy shockwaves erupted continuously around them. Brimming with confidence in their own power, they engaged in a head-on contest of strength, neither yielding an inch.
Deflecting a sword strike aimed at his flank with his palm while counterattacking with a left punch, Dan Jung-se's facial muscles twitched.
'What is this? How strange.'
Blocking Namgung Jun's thirty-fourth sword strike with his forearm, Dan Jung-se scanned his surroundings—or more precisely, he observed the empty air around him.
'There's no mistake. It's getting heavier.'
The more sword strikes Namgung Jun unleashed, the heavier the surrounding atmosphere became. It felt as though the Sword Force radiating from the blade was not dispersing but lingering in the air. As the Sword Force accumulated, it manifested as an invisible pressure. Even his body, forged to easily withstand immense force, was beginning to feel the strain.
Dan Jung-se's fists trembled slightly before unleashing dozens of fist shadows. The torrent of shadows rained down on Namgung Jun, but they were all sliced apart by the Eternal Righteous Sword.
'I've never seen anything like this. What kind of principle is he using?'
Boom!
Dan Jung-se stamped his foot, intentionally releasing a wave of qi. He spread the Qi Wave of his Heavenly Accordance Heart Method far and wide, shaping it like a rugged mountain range. Yet, the pressure gradually weighing down on his entire body did not easily disperse.
"Uryah!"
Dan Jung-se's twitching muscles swelled to their limit. Charging forward once more with a roaring shout, he shook off the descending sword pressure through sheer physical strength.
Namgung Jun deflected the massive fist with a diagonal slash. When Dan Jung-se followed up with a knee strike from below, Namgung Jun blocked it effortlessly by striking down with his sword's pommel.
Crash!
Dan Jung-se's relentless close-quarters combat continued. Every one of his powerful fist strikes carried lethal force. If Namgung Jun allowed even a single blow to land, the tightly contested flow of the battle could shift completely.
Of course, Dan Jung-se, who was parrying Namgung Jun's sword strikes, was in the exact same position, yet he showed no hesitation. Throwing his body forward with absolute trust in his trained fists and external arts, he was the epitome of a true pugilist.
As Namgung Jun weathered Dan Jung-se's increasingly fast and powerful onslaught, a faint look of admiration crossed his eyes.
'The amount of internal energy he's channeling hasn't changed. Yet, he's displaying such martial prowess through sheer physical strength…!'
It was a truly marvelous sight.
Namgung Jun's eyes widened slightly, and then a smile spread across his face. Dan Jung-se was relentlessly pressing forward, throwing heavy punches without pause to maintain his preferred distance.
He was an opponent worthy of facing the full extent of the Namcheon Sword Art.
Whoosh!
A heavy, air-splitting sound erupted around the Eternal Righteous Sword. The atmosphere distorted along the sword’s path, and the Sword Force emanating from the blade lingered, shimmering in the air.
Boom!
Dan Jung-se, who had thrust his fist against a technique of the Namcheon Sword Art layered with accumulated Sword Force, was blown backward.
For the first time since their clash began, the two hall masters, who had been locked in close-quarters combat for over seventy exchanges, separated.
A distance of twenty paces.
It was the same distance as when the duel had begun.
"Here I come."
Namgung Jun unleashed his refined technique of sword pressure.
Rumble!
A vivid wave of qi blanketed the private training ground. This was different from before, when he had merely filled a certain space with dense energy. Having integrated his martial insights and the principles of the Namcheon Sword Art, his control over the Qi Wave had evolved.
Centered on Namgung Jun, the sword paths of the Namcheon Sword Art were drawn within a circular sword domain. The Qi Waves channeled along those sword paths repeatedly connected and overlapped in a dense web.
The atmosphere violently shuddered under the sudden, immense pressure.
"Hup!"
Dan Jung-se, who was about to charge at Namgung Jun again, suddenly ground to a halt. He had felt the pressure gradually building during their exchanges, but what now blanketed the training ground was on an entirely different level.
'Is this the technique he said he was training in?!'
Though the surrounding dirt ground was slowly sinking, Dan Jung-se did not yield.
Rock-Trampling Heavy Steps.
It was a footwork technique he had created with the intent of crushing a towering cliff into flat ground with heavy steps. With each simple step, a heavy wave of qi erupted from the soles of Dan Jung-se's feet. The Qi Waves from the Rock-Trampling Heavy Steps managed to offset some of the crushing pressure from above.
Thud!
Even though he was merely walking, roaring booms echoed, and the air rippled violently.
The crushing pressure versus the force resisting it.
As both men gradually raised their power and the clash intensified, the entire private training ground began to shudder violently, as if struck by an earthquake. Namgung Jun, fully focused on maintaining his sword pressure technique, could not spare the leeway to strike with his sword, while Dan Jung-se could only manage to take three steps forward.
Rumble!
Just as the contest of strength reached its absolute peak—and the sword pressure technique and the Qi Waves of the Rock-Trampling Heavy Steps completely neutralized each other—as if by unspoken agreement, Namgung Jun and Dan Jung-se lunged at each other.
The atmosphere warped along the straight path of the Eternal Righteous Sword, which seemed to concentrate all the scattered Sword Force into a single strike.
Namcheon Sword Art.
Single Radiance of the Southern Star.
A spiral wave of qi manifested around Dan Jung-se's tightly clenched fist. As his punch shot forward, dozens of qi currents twisted together, enveloping it.
Heavenly Central Iron Fist.
Crashing Wave Shatter.
Kaboom!
The moment their ultimate techniques clashed, Namgung Jun and Dan Jung-se were blown back in opposite directions. Namgung Jun was pushed back about six paces, while Dan Jung-se was sent flying, crashing straight into the outer wall.
"Khehehe."
As Dan Jung-se pried himself out, the section of the wall that had barely been holding up crumbled to the ground.
"Incredibly heavy. I like it."
Dan Jung-se's bones popped and cracked as he stretched his body.
Namgung Jun, who had dispersed the residual force of the Crashing Wave Shatter with a sweep of his sword, clasped his hands in a martial salute.
"I've learned a great deal. This will be of immense help to my training."
"The feeling is mutual. It was a fantastic workout."
Despite the intensity of the duel, Namgung Jun appeared completely unscathed. The only difference from before was that his martial uniform was slightly disheveled.
Since this was a friendly duel, it had ended here. But what if it had been a battle to the death?
Neither had shown their full strength, and both held hidden trump cards, making it difficult to hastily calculate the odds of victory. Even so, Dan Jung-se instinctively felt that the odds were heavily stacked against him.
'Perhaps I would win twice out of ten fights.'
Dan Jung-se recalled the time when Namgung Jun had first visited the Iron Tower Hall to ask for guidance. He had known even then that the boy was exceptionally talented, but he had never expected him to catch up so quickly.
"You truly live up to your title as the Azure Firmament Hall Master. I must praise myself for choosing to believe in you."
"You flatter me."
Dan Jung-se clapped a firm, affectionate hand on Namgung Jun's shoulder.
"Your shoulders have grown much broader. What do you say? Why don't we head over to the Iron Tower Hall and train our external arts together for old times' sake?"
To think he would suggest training his external arts immediately after such an intense duel. Seeing Dan Jung-se flexing his muscles, Namgung Jun burst into laughter.
"I would love to."
As they walked toward the Iron Tower Hall together, Namgung Jun and Dan Jung-se began to review their duel.
*
At the summons of the Ink Fragrance Department, the hall masters currently present in the main castle gathered. Since most of them were away on missions, only three were present to fill the seats.
"Everyone is here."
Ink Lord Yun Gyeong-jong looked at the hall masters gathered in the grand conference room. Letting out a heavy sigh, he spoke with great difficulty.
"Tragic news has arrived from Shanxi Province."
Crushing Hall Master Kang Gok's jaw tightened, and the crimson glow in the eyes of Nether-Fathoming Hall Master Hyeokri Yu slowly deepened.
Azure Firmament Hall Master Namgung Jun maintained his composure and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
"The Flying Swiftness Hall Master has fallen in battle during a mission."