Chapter 131 :

Chapter 131. The Black Flame Dragon Proves Himself (1)

"Oh..."

The man glanced at Jegal Somyeong with inward surprise, but Jegal Somyeong silently shook his head.

"Am I right? You're from the Alliance Leader's Hall?"

"Can you tell me why you think that?"

A swift sword art might seem like the most efficient form of movement, but in truth, it possessed the exact opposite characteristics.

To reach the shortest distance at the greatest possible speed, many muscles had to be used, and to unleash explosive force, the movements naturally became larger.

Efficiency was sacrificed for speed.

The man's movements, however, were the exact opposite.

They were small and completely devoid of unnecessary motion.

That was why he felt faster than expected despite not using a true swift sword art.

And it was not only his swordsmanship that possessed those characteristics.

Almost no sound came from his feet with each step, yet he closed distances in an instant.

There were two kinds of people in the murim world who possessed traits like these.

"Assassins, or shadow warriors."

There was no way Jegal Somyeong would have brought an assassin here, so that naturally left a shadow warrior.

Moreover, although it was difficult to notice, the unknown sword art the man used contained movements similar to those of White-Handed Divine Sword Hyeok Mugang.

The conclusion was obvious.

He was a shadow warrior belonging to the Alliance Leader's Hall.

"You still haven't answered my question. It wouldn't be fair if I'm the only one answering."

The man nodded at my response.

"That's true. Shall we continue, then?"

"No, wait..."

I had tried to stall for time before deciding how to respond, but the man seemed to have taken offense and resumed the spar.

Perhaps he no longer saw any reason to conceal his identity.

His movements became larger and bolder than before, making him even more threatening.

Swish-swish-swish-swish!

The man unleashed three techniques in an instant.

I retreated eight steps, and small cuts appeared across both of my arms.

That was despite desperately defending myself with the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

"You show no mercy to such an adorable junior."

"You're too tall to be called adorable. And your hands are rather vicious."

The man spoke while tugging at the front of his torn clothing.

"Are you still not going to fight properly?"

"Can't you see that I'm desperately trying?"

"I'm not talking about using your head. If you're a warrior, shouldn't you prove yourself with the strength you possess?"

At that point, I was beginning to get irritated too.

It was not because I felt wronged about having to spar without even knowing the reason.

It was the competitive spirit toward a stronger opponent that every warrior possessed.

Thinking back on how I had always suppressed my opponents using the breaking form, I realized that I had never truly measured my own ability.

'Should I consider this a good opportunity?'

Moreover, my opponent was someone who had reached a realm above mine and was a shadow warrior whose sword art I could not identify.

He might actually be the perfect opponent for measuring my current strength.

"Then I'll start fighting seriously."

"Hearing you say that somehow annoys me again. Doesn't that mean you were taking it easy until now?"

"Isn't disrupting an opponent's composure one of the fundamentals of combat tactics?"

I drew upon the Taeul True Scripture and scattered the Great Heaven Sword Technique in every direction.

The space of two jang between the man and me filled with sword shadows from the Blood Dragon Sword.

"Don't you know that illusion swords like these won't work against an expert of my level?"

"This is the legendary sword art of the Taeul Sword Emperor. Comparing it to ordinary sword arts is rather insulting."

I layered the Small Heaven Sword Art among the sword shadows of the Great Heaven Sword Technique.

Rather than combining them into the Twin Heaven Sword Art, I used both sword arts independently to confuse my opponent further.

For the first time, the man's expression changed.

He quickly scattered his sword like an opening fan.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

As every Small Heaven Sword Art strike hidden among the Great Heaven Sword Technique was blocked, I thrust out the Myriad Transformations Invincible Fist with my left hand.

Fist shadows formed around the Flying Dragon Claw in numbers rivaling the sword shadows of the Great Heaven Sword Technique and targeted the man's death points.

Whirl!

After neutralizing the Small Heaven Sword Art, the man spun twice and used the Bowing Body Bullet Shadow method to neutralize the Myriad Transformations Invincible Fist as well.

I had expected that much.

I immediately used the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps and caught up to him.

As though predicting that I would approach, he thrust out a fist.

Like his swordsmanship, it was a completely streamlined motion that exploited efficiency to the extreme.

Tap.

"Hm?"

I caught his extended hand and used the principle of Lotus Flower to slam him toward the ground.

But just before his back touched the floor, he escaped my grip using the Iron Bridge technique and immediately swung his sword again.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

I used the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps to evade the vicious sword strikes stabbing toward my death points, and the distance between us once again widened to two jang.

"..."

The man looked at his own wrist as though reviewing the technique that had just caught him.

"That's an interesting martial art. Is that another secret technique of the Taeul Sword Emperor?"

"They're things I learned here and there."

"Is that so? This is becoming more interesting."

The man casually waved his sword around.

I stared at his blade and was left speechless.

"What's wrong?"

"Isn't that sword energy wrapped around your blade right now?"

"Correct. Why?"

"What do you mean, why? This isn't a life-or-death battle. Why are you using sword energy?"

"Because I want to see how far you can go."

Before the man even finished speaking, he fired three blades of sword energy.

Compared to ordinary sword energy, each was only about the size of a palm, but the energy contained within them was anything but ordinary.

Moreover, they simultaneously targeted three death points, leaving me almost no room to respond properly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The hard marble floor of the training ground cratered as black debris scattered in every direction.

"Are you really allowed to destroy Martial Alliance property like this?"

"Oh? You still have room to spare?"

Rather than backing off, the man seemed stimulated and unleashed sword energy continuously.

I pushed the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps to its highest level and tried to confuse him with afterimages, but the man seemed to predict even that and scattered sword energy toward every place I could flee.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

The entire training ground was nearly filled with sword energy.

Realizing there was nowhere left to evade, I wrapped sword energy around the Blood Dragon Sword and unleashed the Small Heaven Sword Art.

Boom! Boom! KABOOM!

Every time I struck down one of the palm-sized blades of sword energy, the impact traveled through my entire body as though I had been struck directly.

That showed just how much force each individual blade contained.

Unless I intended to rely on the Azure Dragon Ring, dragging this out any longer was meaningless.

Tap.

I pushed the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps to its absolute limit.

If the afterimages were too far apart, he would immediately recognize them as false.

So I kept the gaps between them as narrow as possible and drew his sword energy toward them.

"Oh..."

Contrary to his impressed exclamation, the man scattered threatening sword energy in an attempt to identify my real body among the afterimages.

I rushed forward, narrowly avoiding the sword energy with gaps no wider than a finger joint.

The moment the two-jang distance shrank until a single swing could reach him—

I swung the Blood Dragon Sword wrapped in sword energy and unleashed the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

Whoooosh!

The man's expression visibly hardened as he looked at the illusion swords.

Now that they were imbued with sword energy, distinguishing the illusion swords from the true swords would become difficult.

I had closed the distance specifically to deny him time to think.

Boom! Boom! KABOOM! BOOM!

Just as expected, he fired sword energy at several illusion swords.

The instant he realized they were false, a true sword struck his body.

Slash!

The man desperately twisted aside and barely avoided a serious wound, but he could not prevent a sword wound from being carved across his chest.

And there were still nearly ten illusion swords remaining in his field of vision, with three true swords hidden among them.

Convinced of victory, I unleashed the remainder of the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

At that moment, accompanied by the flexible ringing of a thin metal plate, each strike of the Twin Heaven Sword Art began to be blocked one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

I groaned at the recoil transmitted through the Black Dragon Sword and retreated two steps.

Considering the sheer quantity of internal energy amounting to three sixty-year cycles, combined with the profound qualities of the Taeul True Scripture, the fact that I was being pushed back meant my opponent was a genuine monster.

After steadying the turmoil inside my body, I raised my head.

A sword I had never seen before was now held in his left hand.

It was a peculiar weapon with no guard or pommel, its hilt and blade flowing together as one.

I frowned deeply.

"Isn't using a flexible sword cheating?"

The belt around his waist had disappeared.

Apparently, he normally wore it around his waist like a belt and used it as a sword in emergencies.

I had heard that bodyguards sometimes carried weapons that way, but this was the first time I had ever seen a shadow warrior of this level use one.

"Listen, I'm neither your master nor your martial arts instructor. Strictly speaking, right now I'm your enemy."

"Fine. Then I'll treat you like an enemy."

I extended my left hand and launched the Flying Dragon Claw.

The man knocked the Flying Dragon Claw aside with the flexible sword held in a reverse grip, sending it flying harmlessly behind him.

"Is that all...?"

Before he could finish, the Flying Dragon Claw retracted while gripping the largest chunk of broken marble from the training ground, sending the stone hurtling straight at him.

Crash!

At the same time, I launched three flying swords and pushed the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps to its limit, occupying every direction around him.

Then I scattered the Great Heaven Sword Technique like an opening fan.

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

"What is this...?"

KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The man frantically swung his swords.

Even amid the chaos, he looked in every direction to find my true body and immediately stabbed toward me without hesitation.

Using the swift principle of the Small Heaven Sword Art, I blocked his sword.

Then I used the recoil transmitted through my blade as a stepping stone to retreat two steps before unleashing the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

KABOOM-KABOOM-KABOOM-KABOOM!

Every collision of sword energy struck the air like thunder and lightning, producing booming vibrations.

Dirt and sand blasted into the air from the impacts until the entire training ground looked covered in fog, making it impossible to see even a single chi ahead.

Without stopping the circulation of the Taeul True Scripture, I brought the Blood Dragon Sword down toward the man hidden within the dust.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom-boom-boom-boom!

Somehow, even within the dust, he managed to locate the true swords mixed among the illusion swords.

But that was all.

As he became completely occupied with defending himself, I unleashed the ultimate technique of the Twin Heaven Sword Art to finish things.

[Twin Heaven Sword Art]

[Ultimate Technique: Twin Heavens Suppress All Under Heaven]

Before the dust even settled, the entire training ground filled with illusion swords.

Among them, twenty true swords carrying sword energy rushed toward the man's life.

KABOOM! KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The thunderous explosions produced as sword energy collided were so enormous that my ears nearly went deaf.

And then something unexpected happened.

With an explosion incomparably greater than anything before, all the dust was blown away as the man walked forward.

"Haah, haah, haah, haah."

I caught my breath while staring at him with a deeply furrowed brow.

Extending from the tip of his sword was a blade of condensed sword aura as long as a man's forearm.

"Haha..."

Sword aura.

Actual sword aura...

Even Namgung San, when his younger brother's opportunity was stolen, had not been this shameless.

Had my father or some senior from my sect committed some terrible offense against this man?

Otherwise, how could anyone bring out sword aura during a friendly spar?

"Fuck..."

"Did you just curse at your senior in the murim world? What a badly behaved junior."

"Aren't you my enemy right now rather than my senior?"

The Taeul True Scripture's teachings did not contain anything resembling sword aura in the first place.

Moreover, not a single person in the Taeul Sect knew how to use sword aura.

Perhaps this was the moment I was directly witnessing my own limit.

I could forcibly gather sword energy into something resembling sword aura, but there was no possibility that such an imitation could contend with the genuine sword aura before me.

I bit down hard on the inside of my mouth, regained my focus, and kicked off the ground.

"You're still planning to continue?"

"The academy representative of the Martial Academy can't exactly run away with an enemy standing in front of him!"

"Still, attacking in exactly the same way doesn't seem particularly wise."

I poured internal energy into the Twin Heaven Sword Art and scattered it outward, but the dozens of sword shadows filling the air vanished like dust with a single swing of his sword.

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

I used the Taeul Eight Myriad Divine Steps to create eight afterimages, then moved around all eight directions while scattering flying swords.

Flying swords filled with sword energy covered the space above his head, but his blade instantly cut every one of them in half and sent them falling to the ground.

"Something like this won't..."

His relaxed expression suddenly vanished as his eyes widened like a rabbit's.

As expected, once someone reached that level, could they instinctively sense what the other side was preparing?

The man, who had been standing still and almost showing off his sword aura, bent his knees and charged forward like an arrow.

And I unleashed the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art directly toward his face.

"Damn..."

Five Blood Dragon Swords appeared in the air.

Those at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering had been unable to distinguish the difference between the Twin Heaven Sword Art and the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.

But this man seemed to understand immediately, his brow furrowing deeply.

The five Blood Dragon Swords each unleashed the Twin Heaven Sword Art in midair, producing dozens of illusion swords and more than twenty true swords.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

Explosions erupted continuously like fireworks during a New Year celebration.

The illusion swords filling the air and the true swords created by the myriad swords vanished in an instant.

But the five myriad swords themselves were still aiming at the man.

The sword aura extending from his blade lengthened until it was nearly as tall as a person.

If even this could not deal with him, I had nothing else left.

With desperation filling my heart, I unleashed the remainder of the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.

"Die!"

KABOOM-KABOOM-KABOOM-KABOOM!

The entire floor of the training ground shattered.

Mounds of earth rose like waves and scattered clouds of dust in every direction.

Birds in the nearby forest took flight all at once from the shock, and several roof tiles from the lodgings clattered down.

"Huuh, huuh, huuh, huuh."

I had gone all out, using up most of the internal energy amounting to three sixty-year cycles.

Even my dantian felt completely empty.

I stood there catching my breath and staring into the dust.

"...Haah, fuck."

A single gust of wind cleared the dust.

The man walked out from within it, still maintaining his sword aura.

"So you're the rising star of the heretical martial world. Your mouth really is filthy."

Normally I would have fired back at a joke like that, but I no longer had the strength to respond.

"I lost."

I said that and flopped flat onto the ground.

The man looked at me for a moment before speaking.

"...I had quite a bit of fun too."

With those words, he vanished without a trace as though sinking into the earth.

I had thought I had put up a decent fight, but perhaps that man had barely felt anything at all.

'The murim world really is vast, and there are countless experts.'

Ever since being given a second life, I thought I had lived while giving everything I had.

Yet once again, the feeling of helplessness drained even more strength from me.

'Still, I should probably consider this a lot of progress.'

I was consoling myself while staring at the ruined training ground when Jegal Somyeong walked over.

Normally, I should have jumped to my feet like a dog waiting for food and shown proper respect.

But I had absolutely no desire to do so.

Besides, the Chief Strategist did not seem particularly bothered that I was neglecting etiquette in a situation like this.

"Well..."

Jegal Somyeong briefly looked around the training ground, then stared blankly at me.

While I was still lamenting the fact that the Demon-Subduing Divine Wood had slipped away, Jegal Somyeong slowly spoke.

"You."

"...Yes."

"Have you ever considered joining the Alliance Leader's Hall?"

"..."

Another statement that made absolutely no sense to me.

Was cutting away all context and speaking only the conclusion some common trait among geniuses?

For some reason, I felt the favorable impression I had held toward him in my previous life rapidly collapsing.