Chapter 75: Third Cloud Training Camp (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: Third Cloud Training Camp (4)
The violent Qi Wave radiating from Ha Mu-jung forced not only the Second Clouds but also the surrounding instructors to back away.
Fragments of stone rattled across the ground, and dust rose like a cloud, framing the terrifyingly majestic figure of Ha Mu-jung at its center.
"Heh. Was the Azure Star Sword always this fierce?"
"Is this really happening?"
"To think even the Martial Conquest Hall Master would agree to this."
Everyone at the training camp was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
A martial duel between a Fourth Cloud and a Second Cloud.
Ordinarily, such a match would never take place unless it was an instructional duel meant solely for teaching.
But looking at how things were unfolding, it didn't seem like the Hall Master intended to go easy on him.
‘They’re planning to have a real clash under the pretext of a martial exam.’
‘Namgung Jun aside, the Hall Master seems completely serious. This is going to get wild.’
Crackle!
As everyone else backed away to create space, Namgung Jun stepped forward alone.
He draped the Thunder Qi of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula around himself like a shroud, forcefully pushing back against the Qi Wave of the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula.
Rumble!
The Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula and the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula.
As the Scorching Yang Qi clashed with the intensely hegemonic energy, the air warped and groaned as if it were about to collapse.
With every clash, translucent shockwaves rippled outward.
Even those not participating in the duel had to circulate their internal energy just to withstand the pressure.
Watching Namgung Jun advance without a hint of hesitation, the Second Clouds realized something.
‘He has no intention of just trying to survive until the time runs out.’
‘Is he seriously planning to trade blows with the Hall Master?!’
‘To think he possesses a Qi Wave of this magnitude! I heard he’d reached the maturity of the Peak Realm, but the rumors clearly fell short.’
Namgung Jun felt the cool touch of his sword’s hilt.
In contrast, his body was already heating up, even though he had barely moved.
‘This is a great opportunity to clearly feel the changes in my body.’
A quarter of an hour.
This was not a time limit he had to endure.
It was the amount of time he had to clash with the Martial Conquest Hall Master with everything he possessed.
Feeling the fierce Qi Wave of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Formula, the corner of Ha Mu-jung's mouth twitched upward.
"You've grown even stronger than you were at the gathering."
His sharp, fierce eyes flashed brightly.
Along with his intensifying gaze, the Qi Wave of the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula surged even more violently.
The ruthlessly pouring energy swallowed the space like a raging torrent.
Overwhelmed by sheer force, the blue Thunder Qi crumpled and was pushed back.
Whoosh!
Namgung Jun's steps did not stop or even slow.
Even as the surrounding air churned violently, the Qi Wave of his Infinite Steps extended freely, carving out a path for him to advance.
It was as if he could forge a path anywhere.
"Here I come."
In response, Ha Mu-jung lit a newly placed incense stick.
As the bitter scent of incense swept across the training ground, carried by the opposing Qi Waves like a strong wind, a blue flash pierced through the center of the field.
Namgung Jun demonstrated a stubborn, uncompromising advance, a fusion of the Infinite Steps and the Heaven-Pillar Resolute Advance Movement Art.
‘It’s intense.’
It wasn't as if a specific attack had been thrown his way.
Just shaking off the hegemonic Qi Wave of the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula required a significant amount of strength.
Feeling as though he were breaking through one invisible wall after another just to move forward, Namgung Jun stared at the Martial Conquest Hall Master.
Ha Mu-jung merely stood with his arms crossed, seemingly waiting to see how close Namgung Jun could get.
Whoosh!
Namgung Jun's sword, which had been guarding his Middle Stance, slowly rose.
Before long, the blade stood tall at the peak of his Upper Stance like a banner.
His arms were held perfectly straight, supporting the sword.
"You broke through with sheer tenacity."
Namgung Jun had pushed back the Qi Wave of the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula and closed the distance using nothing but his footwork and movement art.
As Ha Mu-jung watched him, a sword had somehow appeared in his hand.
The sword he held pointed toward the ground, its inverted blade merely angled toward Namgung Jun.
The two swords, one in the Upper Stance and the other in the Lower Stance, slashed toward the Middle Stance simultaneously.
Clang!
A deafening roar, like metal being crushed, struck the ears of the onlookers.
The floor of the training ground shook violently from the aftermath, but Ha Mu-jung stood firm, unmoved.
Namgung Jun, on the other hand, was pushed back three steps.
The deep, clear footprints left in the shattered stone floor spoke volumes of the immense force he had just withstood.
The Second Clouds watching this were astonished.
"Only three steps? After taking the Hall Master's sword head-on?"
"That Sword Force is unbelievable!"
"Was the Heavy Sword we've only heard about in rumors really that powerful?"
When it came to the power of a single strike, no Hall Master could match Ha Mu-jung.
The hegemonic strikes delivered through his Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula possessed that much devastating power.
Even renowned supreme experts of the Jianghu often had their weapons shattered, unable to withstand Ha Mu-jung's sword.
Yet, a mere Second Cloud had just withstood the Martial Conquest Hall Master's Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula head-on.
Normally, one would expect his weapon to shatter before he was sent flying, coughing up blood.
‘It didn’t look like the Hall Master held back, either.’
‘And yet he’s standing there completely fine?’
‘He’s a literal monster.’
The Third Clouds, who could sense Ha Mu-jung's martial prowess even more intuitively, felt their hearts pounding wildly.
"An extraordinary Sword Force. To think you've achieved such growth in such a short time."
Recalling the Mount Song Gathering, the scars on Ha Mu-jung's face twitched, betraying a faint trace of surprise.
Ha Mu-jung lightly rotated his wrist.
Meanwhile, Namgung Jun brought his sword back to the Middle Stance.
Though his palms were numb and his blade trembled slightly, he paid it no mind.
He had expected this much.
The Heavy Sword and Hegemonic Martial Arts.
It was only natural that their clash would be a violent, head-on collision of raw strength against raw strength.
‘As expected of the strongest Hall Master among the Ten Halls.’
Even when facing superior masters in the past, he had never been pushed back in a contest of pure power. This was the first time he had been forced to yield ground.
‘Yes. If he is the strongest Hall Master, he should at least be this strong.’
The smirk on Namgung Jun's face deepened.
Unlike in his past life, he was currently learning various branches of the sword, but if he were to return to a single path in the future, his destination would undoubtedly be the Heavy Sword.
‘One day, I will create a new sword technique that surpasses the Heavenly Wind Sword Technique.’
A sword massive and heavy enough to suppress the Sun-Moon Demonic Cult with a single blade.
Thud!
Namgung Jun executed an Earth-Trembling Stomp and shot forward.
Every time he parried Ha Mu-jung's sword, it felt like deflecting a massive boulder falling from a cliff.
No matter how he deflected the blows, immense shock and pressure bore down on his entire body.
If his body had been as it was before the Great Art and the Meridian Opening, he would have surely reached his limit by now and suffered internal injuries.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
The swords of the two men tore fiercely through the air.
With every exchange, a loud explosion erupted alongside colorless shockwaves.
Had Namgung Jun already adapted after being at a disadvantage in their first exchange?
Though he couldn't gain the upper hand, he held his ground like an iron wall against Ha Mu-jung's hegemonic Sword Momentum.
Whoosh!
The sword winds of the Heavenly Wind Sword Technique, weaving together like thick ropes, gathered around his blade as if to protect it.
Boom!
Yet, as soon as they met a single strike from Ha Mu-jung, they would instantly scatter like loose threads.
Namgung Jun did not let even the dispersing Sword Force go to waste. He couldn't afford to if he wanted to survive this onslaught.
‘I must focus not only on releasing force but also on its flow.’
Even while unleashing his Heavy Sword, he blended the subtleties of the Thirteen Lightning Flash Sword Thunders and the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance to deflect the strikes and re-gather his scattered Sword Force.
In the process, both of his feet sank ankle-deep into the ground, but he paid it no mind.
Thud!
As he executed another Earth-Trembling Stomp to coordinate the strength of his entire body, Namgung Jun clearly felt how different he was from before.
If his past body had been like a thick tree branch, it now felt like a highly resilient iron bar.
It was much easier to draw out greater power, and he felt no strain on his body whatsoever.
‘My body has changed.’
If he hadn't achieved such a dramatic physical transformation through the Great Art and the Meridian Opening, he would never have been able to draw out this level of Sword Force.
And he certainly wouldn't have been able to withstand the Martial Conquest Hall Master's violent onslaught like this.
But things were different now.
His body, transformed to a degree almost akin to shedding his mortal shell, firmly supported his techniques.
The sheer improvement in his physical vessel had caused not only his Sword Force but his overall martial prowess to skyrocket.
Clang! Clang!
Due to the continuous clashing of swords, Namgung Jun's feet were pushed back once more.
The training ground was now covered with deep tracks left by his sliding feet.
In contrast, Ha Mu-jung remained standing exactly where he had started.
Of course, Namgung Jun didn't care.
At this point, he considered it a miracle just to keep his stance from collapsing.
The immense shock traveling down his sword was so great that it wouldn't have been surprising if the blade had shattered.
If not for his godlike sword technique and the subtleties of the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance, it would have snapped long ago.
‘Even so, my wrists are growing numb.’
For someone who was only on the verge of harmonizing his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, simply withstanding the Martial Conquest Hall Master's Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula was a massive achievement.
But Namgung Jun was not satisfied.
He sought to absorb whatever he could, even from the hegemonic Sword Momentum of the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula.
He used the subtleties of the Thirteen Lightning Flash Sword Thunders to increase his sword speed and elevate his Sword Force, while utilizing his insights into the Distant-Cloud Layered-Wall Stance to condense the dispersing power.
Clang!
For the first time, Namgung Jun's sword, which had only faltered and retreated, now advanced resolutely.
Though it was only for a fleeting instant, his strike held its ground without being pushed back.
"Did your Sword Force increase again in that brief moment?!"
"That's thanks to you, Hall Master."
Normally, he wouldn't even have the breath to speak.
Yet, Namgung Jun's breathing remained calm and steady.
Sensing this, the veins on the back of Ha Mu-jung's hand twitched.
"Then I shall draw out more of my strength."
Ha Mu-jung spun, his sword rotating fiercely.
The monstrous sword wind radiating from him threatened to blow Namgung Jun away.
Boom!
Heavenly Wind Sword Technique.
Layer-Filling Great Wind.
The sword wind, stacked in several thick layers, pushed Ha Mu-jung's sword upward in a parry.
Thanks to that, Namgung Jun only retreated a few steps before stopping.
"An impressive execution. It's no easy feat to deflect a strike from the Martial Conquest Grand Selection Formula, let alone with mere sword wind."
Ha Mu-jung, who had remained rooted to the spot, took his first step forward.
That single movement sent the surrounding stone fragments scattering in all directions as if fleeing.
"Hmm."
Ha Mu-jung, who looked ready to charge and thrust his sword at any moment, let out a short groan and came to a sudden halt.
At that, the Clouds watching the duel instinctively turned their heads.
The incense stick planted on the platform had completely burned down.
A quarter of an hour had passed.
Having already sheathed his sword, Ha Mu-jung crossed his arms.
"Excellent growth."
"Thank you."
Ha Mu-jung took in the sight of Namgung Jun as he put away his weapon.
"Once this training camp is over, I head straight to my next assignment. The next time we meet, we will likely be of the same rank."
Namgung Jun replied with a bow.
"Amazing."
"To think the Martial Conquest Hall Master acknowledged him."
"Well, after trading blows like that, it's only natural."
The Second Clouds and the instructors were deeply astonished by the Martial Conquest Hall Master's rare praise, yet they nodded in agreement.
The martial prowess Namgung Jun had displayed was far beyond that of a Second Cloud.
Even the rank of Third Cloud seemed insufficient to describe his strength.
If given the right opportunity, he could easily challenge the Fourth Cloud promotion right away.
A brilliant talent.
The eyes of the other Clouds sparkled as they watched Namgung Jun.
Heo Il, who had been quietly watching, raised his gourd and spoke.
"The top spot of this training camp has been decided."
His voice was loud, but no one dared to dispute him.