Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Bloodied
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A massive surge of energy approached.
Hong Geolgae sprang back, putting distance between himself and the Twin Extremes Blood Elder, then planted his legs firmly on the ground and assumed a horse-riding stance.
His palms slowly traced circles before facing forward.
"Dragon Soaring with Regret!"
True to his nickname of Rulebreaker Dog, Hong Geolgae bellowed the name of the technique at the top of his lungs.
Of course, Jinhae hadn't just stood by idly watching. He happened to have something he could do.
The Qingcheng Sect was a school that primarily used swords as their main weapons.
But the martial art Jinhae was most confident in wielding wasn't swordsmanship—it was the palm technique, Ultimate Heart Palm. That was why he had used Ultimate Heart Palm to kill Dang Hang Ssanggwang.
Jinhae had learned most of the Qingcheng Sect's martial arts. However, the only one he had truly comprehended beyond mere mimicry of forms and succession of movements—the profound meaning embedded in the techniques—was Ultimate Heart Palm.
A viscous, murderous palm technique unfit for an ordinary Daoist.
The resolve to inevitably burst the opponent's heart.
The mindset to tear the foe to shreds.
Since all these implications pointed in similar directions, even the dull Jinhae had been able to grasp the essence of Ultimate Heart Palm.
And he had thought: The true essence of Qingcheng Sect martial arts must lie in this direction.
Jinhae, standing beside Hong Geolgae, thrust out his twin palms to lend support. He didn't forget to mimic Hong Geolgae by shouting the technique's name.
"Ultimate Heart Palm!"
Soon, the massive surge of energy swept over the two men.
Even though their palms hadn't actually clashed, the overwhelming pressure made Jinhae's wrists creak.
The unresolved energy slammed into his face, bursting his nose in a spray of blood. His nasal bridge ached—probably fractured.
It wasn't a perfect defense.
However, at the same time, it was the most successful defense Jinhae and Hong Geolgae could muster.
Hong Geolgae snatched up his striking rod and shouted.
"I'll somehow deal with the Twin Extremes Blood Elder! Take down the Demon King!"
Namgoong Myeong and Hyeon-gong didn't hesitate and launched themselves at the Demon King.
Jinhae leaped forward with them. Anyone could see that, in this situation, the most dangerous figure wasn't the Twin Extremes Blood Elder—it was the Demon King.
Yet when Jinhae stood before the Demon King, he felt despair.
He had always regarded the living Yeongheo as a towering mountain of a man, but the Demon King had reached an even more unshakeable and lofty realm than Yeongheo. His hands felt utterly powerless.
'Can I even reach the Demon King?'
But Hyeon-gong and Namgoong Myeong's reactions differed from Jinhae's.
Despite knowing the opponent's power more precisely than Jinhae, they swung their swords at the Demon King without a shred of hesitation.
Jinhae gazed into Namgoong Myeong's eyes. The ecstasy laced within that subtle madness.
Now Jinhae truly understood what Namgoong Myeong meant by "bloodied." It wasn't some complex metaphor after all. It was the attitude of always being prepared to embrace death, pouring everything into a single sword.
In a situation where the slightest deviation meant death, they entrusted their lives to the edge of the blade atop their fear. Jinhae felt it deep in his chest—what he had only guessed at until now.
Namgoong Myeong's advice had all been correct. The gazes of others meant nothing at all.
The countless lingering regrets he harbored in his heart held no significance either. Such things couldn't be placed upon the blade anyway.
Hyeon-gong was the same. Normally quite rational, but in this moment, the madness and fervor in his eyes rivaled Namgoong Myeong's.
Jinhae beheld the two men who had embraced the bloodied path.
At last, strength entered Jinhae's hands.
Gripping his sword hilt tightly, Jinhae recalled the insights Yeongheo had left behind.
The countless stories Yeongheo had shared. Among the vague and hazy tales, the one that occupied the greatest weight was swordsmanship.
The Qingcheng Sect's ultimate art, Azure Clouds Pouring Sword.
'I think I get it now.'
Jinhae felt his Azure Clouds Pouring Sword had grown sharper than before.
Yet it was still too crude for him to fully comprehend himself.
If before it had been a cart with both wheels broken, standing motionless, now his Azure Clouds Pouring Sword was like a cart with one wheel shattered, creaking and circling in place.
'...Damn it.'
Jinhae tossed aside his sword and unleashed the technique he trusted most: Ultimate Heart Palm.
Even the power of Ultimate Heart Palm fell short and clumsy compared to Hyeon-gong or Namgoong Myeong's arts. But that didn't matter. At last, Jinhae had set one foot upon the bloodied path.
*
Jinhae believed he was fighting desperately, but the most precarious person in this place wasn't one of the three facing the Demon King—it was Hong Geolgae.
Hong Geolgae was left alone to confront the Twin Extremes Blood Elder.
'...This is maddening.'
Even having lost one arm, he was still a transcendent master. A single short spear should more than suffice to block Hong Geolgae's iron rod.
A faint smile curled at the Twin Extremes Blood Elder's lips.
"What courage makes you stay before me?"
"Why else? With this club, I figure I can still give a one-armed old coot a proper thrashing."
"Ridiculous nonsense."
As he spoke, the Twin Extremes Blood Elder whipped his short spear like lightning, knocking away the flying wheel disc hurtling toward him.
A subtle purple sheen emanated from the disc's edge. Dang Mujin must have coated it in poison before throwing.
If Hong Geolgae could fully draw the Twin Extremes Blood Elder's attention alone, the wheel disc would have wreaked havoc. But Hong Geolgae by himself couldn't force the Elder to go all-out—that was the problem.
Proof of that: the Twin Extremes Blood Elder handled Hong Geolgae while effortlessly blocking the wheel disc as well.
Yet there was no position from which to blame Dang Mujin.
Dang Mujin was busy dealing with all the remaining first-rate and peak unorthodox experts, occasionally extending aid to Hong Geolgae in between.
Hong Geolgae was in dire straits, but he couldn't call for help.
'Still, fighting like this gives us the best odds. Until those guys subdue the Demon King, I have to hold off the Twin Extremes Blood Elder alone.'
Of course, ganging up to take down the Twin Extremes Blood Elder would be faster than subduing the Demon King.
But doing so would mean taking the entirety of the Secret Clan's Great Hand Seal with their bodies—no way to survive that.
'...No, honestly, I don't even know if those guys can actually subdue the Demon King.'
On the contrary, the Demon King was leisurely pressing Hyeon-gong, Namgoong Myeong, and even Jinhae with ease.
'Those guys need to suppress the Demon King and come help me, or I suppress the Twin Extremes Blood Elder and go aid them.'
Both scenarios were slim possibilities. As if either could even happen.
At that moment, he spotted the Twin Extremes Blood Elder's short spear flying toward him. Hong Geolgae twisted his body desperately, but the spear grazed his shoulder. Another bloody gash opened on Hong Geolgae's body. Before he knew it, he too was drenched in blood.
The Twin Extremes Blood Elder chuckled mockingly.
"If you're going to daydream, make them pleasant and happy ones. They'll be the last thoughts of your life."
"You think a bit of distraction is enough for an old man like you to beat me? I could fight dead drunk and it'd be plenty."
With those words, Hong Geolgae leaped backward, pulling the gourd from his waist. The half-remaining liquor sloshed inside.
Hong Geolgae downed the potent alcohol in one gulp, then charged back at the Twin Extremes Blood Elder.
Normally, it would take some time for the intoxication to set in.
But today, thanks to his frantic movements leaving him breathless, the drunkenness hit faster.
His limbs grew numb, pain dulling gradually.
His mind fogged over, his steps feeling as if they floated above the ground.
Feet stamping the earth too soon or too late threw off his balance.
Staggering steps that couldn't advance straight pierced the opponent's expectations through gaps.
"Even seeing it again, what a laughable martial art!"
As he unleashed the Drunken Eight Immortals Steps, the Twin Extremes Blood Elder's short spear grazed him even more frequently.
Yet Hong Geolgae found stability instead. Confidence that the spear wouldn't pierce his heart just yet enveloped him.
A somewhat random memory surfaced: the time he first met Dang Mujin.
The day of the downpour, swept by Zhongqing's torrents, desperately hoping for someone to save him.
Dang Mujin's hand, arriving like a miracle to pull him out, appeared vividly before his eyes.
This time, it was his turn to extend that helping hand.
Drunken haze clouding his mind. Vision blurring from excessive blood loss. Life hanging by the spear's tip.
Hong Geolgae's body and mind stepped out of sync.
His flesh circled the Twin Extremes Blood Elder, seizing his legs, while his spirit advanced to somewhere hard to fathom.
At last, Hong Geolgae felt the world slow down.
'It's finally here.'
It was the gamble he had staked his life on.
Through his friends, and through Blood Oath Guest and Three-Eyed Buddha, Hong Geolgae had heard tales countless times about the moment one advanced to the next realm.
Secrets so bizarre and precious that ordinary masters would never divulge them.
All martial artists before him had surely pondered alone, stumbled, and wandered before finally stepping into the next realm.
But Hong Geolgae was different.
Hong Geolgae had forged straight ahead through pitch-black darkness like a moonless night, using countless stories as his signposts.
Aimless steps. Yet at the same time, the fastest path.
Who in the world had advanced to the next realm so smoothly?
But like his friends, Hong Geolgae didn't know where that path began.
Enlightenment is like the sun.
One who attains perfect enlightenment can clearly see their path beneath the blazing sun and step upon it.
But Hong Geolgae's sun had yet to rise.
It wasn't a path walked by the light of a rising sun, but one vaguely sought through others' descriptions.
Hong Geolgae's night vision was dim, the visible path exceedingly blurry.
Yet in the end, he found it. It was too long and vast a path to miss.
Hong Geolgae knew exactly what to do here.
Having grasped just the thread, he should halt, turn back, and await the perfect enlightenment approaching him.
'Stand at the perfect beginning of the path and slowly take steps from its start.'
The tale his three friends and Blood Oath Guest had all shared.
But the path Hong Geolgae now beheld was darker and blurrier than what his friends had seen. His field of vision narrower too. He knew only that the path existed—no way to find its starting point.
A path's beginning couldn't be told by others. It had to be discovered through one's own enlightenment.
Hong Geolgae's steps naturally halted. But soon, his master's words came to mind.
'Jusan, what do you mean taking a disciple so soon? Why volunteer to be a second-generation?'
'The coming winter will surely be harsh.'
Yes, a harsh winter it would be.
Hong Geolgae, facing the cold winds of the righteous-unorthodox great war, knew that better than anyone.
The impending righteous-demonic great war would be no less severe—likely worse.
Yet Hong Geolgae steeled his resolve.
'If I turn back here, can I attain enlightenment and stand at the starting point?'
Unlike his friends, who had leaped toward transcendent right after breaching peak, Hong Geolgae considered even peak master a realm beyond his talents.
He had simply followed his friends and, by sheer luck, crossed the wall to peak.
Yes, his friends.
Hong Geolgae lifted his head.
Before the harshest winter arrives, some barleys must sprout earlier than others to shield from the wind. Hong Geolgae believed that was his role.
Hong Geolgae did not stand at the path's beginning. He drew a deep breath.
And took a step beside the path.
In an instant, thick thorny brambles sprouted from the path's edge, binding his legs.
Now he could neither return nor escape.
But Hong Geolgae didn't panic. He had stepped forward knowing full well.
Hong Geolgae turned his head to confirm the direction the path extended. At last, he could fully behold where it led from and to.
If he had seized the perfect chance, might he have advanced there? Such a thought crossed his mind.
'But for now, this is enough.'
No regrets lingered. It had been an undeserved realm anyway.
Moreover, he hadn't come here intending to reach the limits of martial arts.
Hong Geolgae closed his eyes, then slowly opened them.
The Twin Extremes Blood Elder's face came into view again.
*
The Twin Extremes Blood Elder, swinging his short spear, sensed a subtle change.
Any ordinary person wouldn't have known what happened, but he had no choice but to recognize it.
The young man who wasn't hasty by nature.
Yet the young man advancing to the next realm more hastily than anyone gazed at the Twin Extremes Blood Elder.
Hong Geolgae took a step forward, extending his right hand toward the Elder's knee.
"Shaking the Hundred Li."
One of the Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms techniques he had seen many times. But its power was different now. As the palm thrust out, the surrounding air and ground seemed to vibrate heavily. The Twin Extremes Blood Elder raised his short spear vertically, barely blocking Hong Geolgae's palm strike.
Of course, Hong Geolgae's technique didn't end there.
"Step on Frost, Ice Arrives."
Immediately after, Hong Geolgae's form slid backward like gliding on ice.
Finally, Hong Geolgae's legs planted firmly on the ground as he lowered his stance. His arms, which had extended up and down, each traced semicircles in rotation.
Having seen that stance once or twice, the Twin Extremes Blood Elder knew all too well what came next.
A thought suddenly brushed his mind.
'I shouldn't have lost my right arm at Gongjeong Mountain. Then suppressing a kid like him would have been easy.'
Finally, Hong Geolgae bellowed with force.
"And once more, Dragon Soaring with Regret."
At the end of his life, the Twin Extremes Blood Elder beheld Hong Geolgae's twin palms.