Chapter 6: Sword Thunder of the Lightning Flash (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: Sword Thunder of the Lightning Flash (2)
Namgung Jun reached for his sword hilt once more.
The Demonic Practitioner watched him with an intrigued expression.
Muk Sim-jung, who had been caught in the middle of the tense standoff, finally snapped back to his senses and spoke urgently.
"Senior Sword Demon! This boy is a Cloud Rank newcomer who just joined the association!"
"A newcomer?"
Interest flared in the eyes of the middle-aged man called the Sword Demon.
The same was true for Namgung Jun.
The Sword Demon? Why is someone like him in the Azure Heaven Association?
Embroidered on the Sword Demon's ash-gray sleeves were four black clouds. He was clearly affiliated with the Azure Heaven Association, but Namgung Jun couldn't begin to fathom the story behind it.
"You're in the way."
The Sword Demon shoved Muk Sim-jung aside, his gaze focused entirely on Namgung Jun.
Staring into those burning eyes was enough to make the fine hairs on Namgung Jun's skin stand on end. Even so, he did not look away. In response, the Sword Demon's gaze narrowed, growing even more intense.
"A newcomer? Interesting. What was that sword technique you just showed? It's not a martial art I've seen in the Self-Reflection Martial Repository."
"It is a sword technique I am currently creating," Namgung Jun answered calmly.
But Muk Sim-jung, who had watched the entire process from the beginning, let out an involuntary gasp of shock.
"You're creating a new sword technique?"
To Muk Sim-jung, it sounded as though Namgung Jun had cherry-picked insights and principles from the various swift sword manuals to weave together his own unique forms.
While Muk Sim-jung stood with his mouth agape, the Sword Demon's bloodshot eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
"It's no bluff."
Was this the caliber of a supreme expert? Just by looking at the scattered secret manuals, he seemed to have deduced what had transpired.
If anything, the fierce fire in his eyes burned even brighter. The Sword Demon’s eyes flickered with a chaotic mix of excitement and anticipation, as if he were looking not at a person but at some supernatural anomaly—a delicious prey he had just discovered.
The Sword Demon slowly uncrossed his arms. Naturally, his right hand came to rest on the hilt of his sword.
"Show me the forms you've created. If you satisfy me, I will reward you handsomely."
"Senior Sword Demon! You're going to cross swords with a boy who has only just learned a heart method?"
"Blind fool. If you don't understand, just shut up and watch."
While Muk Sim-jung's pupils trembled with anxiety, Namgung Jun simply nodded.
"What can you offer as a reward?"
"What do you want?"
"A spirit elixir would be nice."
"A spirit elixir?"
The Sword Demon jerked his chin toward the door, gesturing for Namgung Jun to follow him outside.
Staring straight into the Sword Demon's eyes, Namgung Jun nodded back.
"Let's cross swords."
"I like that. You're more straightforward than the youngsters these days."
Listening to their conversation, Muk Sim-jung's hands began to tremble violently. Something completely unexpected was unfolding.
A new Cloud Rank recruit who had just entered the Azure Heaven Association.
And the sole Demonic Practitioner of the Azure Heaven Association.
Who could have imagined that these two would engage in a martial duel?
Heavenly Sword Hall Master! Just when are you coming?! Muk Sim-jung could only cry out in his heart.
* * *
With one hand clasped behind his back, the Sword Demon held his sword low in his right. It was an incredibly defenseless posture.
"Attack me with everything you've got. I won't use any internal energy; I'll match my strength to yours."
"I will refrain from using internal energy as well."
Where did he get such nerve? At the confidence Namgung Jun displayed, even the Sword Demon let out a crooked smirk.
He wants to test himself against me with pure swordsmanship alone?
The Sword Demon twisted his left toe outward and replied, "You're a madman."
Namgung Jun slowly reached for his hilt, enduring the Sword Demon's violent Qi Wave with his entire body.
This is an opportunity.
He had woven the forms together in his own way, but they were still unrefined and full of wasted movements. Furthermore, he had yet to find the core intent that would define the sword technique.
The chance to duel a supreme expert like the Sword Demon, just when he needed to refine his forms, was nothing short of a fortuitous opportunity. The time required to shave away the flaws of his incomplete art and forge it into a single sword technique would be drastically shortened.
"Here I come."
Namgung Jun took a slow step forward. The Sword Demon watched without making a move.
The moment the distance closed to five paces, Namgung Jun's sleeves fluttered violently.
His opening move was a draw.
An extremely swift sword path originating from the scabbard carved a straight line through the air, unleashing a brilliant blue sword light. As the air rippled faintly along the smoothly extending strike, it looked as if he were slicing through invisible silk.
First Form. Single Flash.
Ha!
Muk Sim-jung gasped. Despite having trained in superior eye techniques as a librarian of the Self-Reflection Martial Repository, the sword strike appeared as a mere blur to him. What was truly astonishing was that Namgung Jun could deliver such a blow without using any internal energy.
What a monster!
While Muk Sim-jung was reeling in shock, the Sword Demon parried the strike aimed at his abdomen and launched a counterattack. The tip of his sword lunged toward Namgung Jun's chest in an instant. A direct hit would mean death.
Screech!
Namgung Jun's leather shoes shrieked against the ground as he spun, his center of gravity shifting diagonally. Harnessing the momentum, he channeled his full physical strength into his sword. His blade rose in an arc from below, clashing with the Sword Demon's thrust.
Clang!
Having deflected the Sword Demon's blade, Namgung Jun's sword bounced back violently. Yet, his stance did not break. As if he had anticipated this, his rising sword swept down vertically once more, unleashing a second strike.
The succession of blows was so rapid that it created the illusion of two overlapping moons.
Second Form. Two Moons.
Taking the principles of the Four Mountains Twelve Swords and applying them where the sword path splits toward the upper stance…
Namgung Jun did not stop at merely demonstrating his forms. As he clashed blades with the Sword Demon, he recalled the martial insights from the secret manuals in real-time, modifying his technique on the fly.
Deflecting a horizontal slash aimed at his flank, he took a step back. Utilizing the recoil of his sword, he executed an even swifter thrust—responding with the very move the Sword Demon had just shown him.
The only difference was that his version consisted of three consecutive thrusts.
Third Form. Three Sharps.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Sword Demon neutralized the form with a casual sweep of his sword.
"You brat. You're interesting."
As Namgung Jun went beyond merely defending to launch a counterattack, the corners of the Sword Demon's mouth curled into a fierce grin. At the same time, he also took a step forward.
While his footsteps carried a heavy, imposing weight, his swinging sword instantly blurred, melting into the air.
Whoosh!
A chilling, air-splitting sound followed immediately.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
As the Sword Demon, still keeping one hand behind his back, unleashed his own swift sword, the two blades clashed relentlessly. Even so, Namgung Jun did not back down.
He pressed in even deeper, dredging up the martial insights from the manuals he had read in the Self-Reflection Martial Repository. The subtle truths of the swift sword, accumulated however meagerly in his past life, also began to surface and take shape.
Faster. More precise.
Though the Sword Demon had suppressed his strength, his strikes targeting Namgung Jun's vital points were undeniably lethal. A single misstep would end the duel. It was a duel in name only; in reality, it was no different from a battle to the death.
Yet, Namgung Jun welcomed it. It felt as though he was gradually reclaiming the sensations of his past life.
With every deep breath, his lungs screamed, and a sharp, tingling pain shot through the muscles of his entire body. His frail body, born with severed meridians, cried out in protest.
Despite this, Namgung Jun's sword grew even faster.
At this part, I should extend my stride by half an inch.
In the process, the newly woven forms shed their excess fat one by one and began to take proper shape.
The fifth form, the sixth form… the forms were refined in succession. The martial insights of the swift sword, which had been scattered like fragments, gathered one by one to form a cohesive whole.
Twelfth Form. Eternal Lightning Tempering.
Leaping into the air, Namgung Jun swung his sword down with great force, splitting his strike into twelve distinct paths. Like a wildfire erupting in an instant, the strikes rained down from all directions before suddenly converging on the Sword Demon.
Screeech!
Even when faced with this relentless storm, the Sword Demon's posture remained unshaken. The amusement in his eyes only deepened, and his sword grew even faster, as if challenging Namgung Jun to match his pace.
I can do this.
Namgung Jun willingly accepted the tempering the Sword Demon offered.
By the time he was forging the thirteenth form, his fully heated Baihui Acupoint dyed his vision pure white.
Flash!
Before he knew it, the figure of the Sword Demon bringing down his blade shimmered and dispersed like a fragment of darkness. In its place, a brilliant blue flash of light erupted.
The flash, which had been tightly condensed into a single halo, bloomed to fill his entire field of vision. The beams of light shooting in all directions branched out like a cascading bundle of thunderbolts.
Namgung Jun instantly realized what he was looking at.
Sword paths.
Countless sword paths centered around his new martial insights. These were the forms of the sword technique he was about to create.
Sword forms resembling thunderbolts.
Namgung Jun swung his sword in rapid succession, following the sword paths as his speed grew ever faster. An exhilarating sensation, as if lightning were surging through the meridians of his entire body, welled up within him.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
As he executed every form envisioned in his mindscape, Namgung Jun naturally thought of the intent he would imbue into this sword technique. A martial art, no matter how profound its principles, could not be considered superior without a core intent to bind it all together.
Therefore, Namgung Jun decided to infuse the technique with the resolve he wished to live by in this new life.
A new intent blossomed within his mindscape.
`[What is held in my hand is a forged lightning flash,]`
So I shall live a life as dazzling and unstoppable as lightning.
And I shall unleash my will as straight and true as a thunderbolt.
Hummm!
As Namgung Jun made this vow, the intent began to crystallize perfectly.
`[Therefore, I must charge forward, becoming a righteous sword thunder myself.]`
As the intent was woven into the sword technique, the transitions between the thirteen forms he had displayed so far locked naturally into place.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The boundaries of his mindscape blurred, and the figure of the Sword Demon came back into view.
At that exact moment, the final form was unleashed.
Thirteenth Form. Single Lightning Thunderclap.
Becoming a single bolt of lightning, Namgung Jun's figure shot past the Sword Demon, his blade leading the charge.
Clannng!
With a metallic ring like the tolling of a massive gong, Namgung Jun's arm jerked violently.
Drip, drip!
Blood dripped from the hand gripping his sword. Though his palm had torn, he was satisfied that he had not let go of his weapon.
For a swordsman, losing one's sword was the ultimate disgrace.
That form just now… It seems he used the instantaneous acceleration from an Earth-Trembling Stomp to turn his entire body into a swift sword.
Analyzing the final form Namgung Jun had displayed, the Sword Demon looked down at his own blade. Perhaps because the impact had been so immense, it was still vibrating faintly.
To think my sword would ring like this from the strike of a mere First Cloud?
The Sword Demon suddenly realized his mistake.
I used internal energy.
It was a mere speck, but he had undoubtedly used it. Namgung Jun seemed to have noticed as well, staring intently at him.
How absurd.
Replaying the moment in his mind, he knew he could have easily blocked it without drawing upon his internal energy. However, the heavy intent imbued within the form had exerted a palpable pressure on him, and his body had reacted instinctively.
I felt threatened by that brat?
The Sword Demon's bloodshot eyes locked onto Namgung Jun. Even if he had let his guard down with the relaxed mindset of seeking amusement, this was still hard to believe.
He had to admit it.
The boy before him possessed a monstrous, supernatural talent.
"Those forms just now. From a certain point, they became orderly and structured. It is certainly worthy of being called a proper sword technique. Are there thirteen forms in total?"
Namgung Jun gave a quiet nod.
"What is the name of this new sword technique?"
Namgung Jun pondered the name for the sword technique he had created for the first time in this life. There was no need for a profound or convoluted name. The technique was just that intuitive. Moreover, having mastered the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula, it would be hard to find a sword technique that suited him better.
"The name…"
Having finished his contemplation, the boy's eyes flashed with the sharpness of a thunderbolt.
"Thirteen Lightning Flash Sword Thunders."
It was a sword technique that also contained his resolve for how he would live this life.
Thirteen Lightning Flash Sword Thunders.
As swift as a lightning flash.
As sharp as sword thunder.
The thirteen forms would show the path where the lightning would strike.
It was the birth of Namgung Jun's very first unique martial art.