The Martial Art of Instant Death (6)
Namgung Mi once spoke of surrender and persuasion.
This time, the duel was special.
The disparity in skill was extreme.
Except for four people, all were seasoned masters.
They were all in positions to teach the late-stage disciples.
The bloody battle had a strange appearance.
It meant that the withdrawal of a late-stage disciple who had already faced life-and-death duels more than once was not a flaw.
The plot of Namgung Mi, the Flower Lord of Changnyeong, was there.
However, at this moment, the neck of the cunning younger sister falls.
The whole world approached like a slow-moving insect.
The light sword that brushed past Namgung Mi's body, the neck without even a drop of blood, the body losing balance in an instant and collapsing...
The horrific scene was slowly etched in.
The one who entered the fight was Seomye and the younger sister.
Namgung Sejin, the Young Lord of the Namgung family, thought that this could happen.
He did not stop it before the duel.
It was not possible.
Both sides, counted among the top martial sects in the martial world, agreed to a life-and-death duel.
If it were a duel without extreme disparity, honor would be prioritized over life.
The fight with Seomye or Baek Kirin.
For Namgung Mi, it was all or nothing.
She was the one who proposed the continuous life-and-death duel starting with the youngest.
If she could not defeat Seomye and Baek Kirin, Namgung Mi herself would die.
She must have known that.
Though she might not have assumed her own defeat.
"So it goes."
The cold blade of the martial world fell.
The Flower Lord of Changnyeong could not withstand Seomye's sword.
Thus, she died now.
It was the result of the life-and-death duel.
Those who surrounded the densely layered mountain range must have known it was a life-and-death duel.
However, Namgung Mi, the Flower Lord of Changnyeong, was a direct descendant of the Namgung family, known as the Nine Phoenixes of the Martial World.
No one expected her neck to fall with a single sword strike.
It was understandable that the countless heroes were silently quiet.
"......"
The Young Lord was also prepared.
It was the martial world.
The god of death visits suddenly.
It is not uncommon for a blind sword to approach as death.
However, was it because he was not a good brother? Or was it because it was too hard to see his sister's death?
The Young Lord suddenly turned his gaze to his father standing beside him.
The head of the Namgung family.
A stern and cold-blooded family head.
No one in the family could approach him.
When Namgung Hwaseon tried to leave the main family, he ordered the assassins of the Sword Night to kill the illegitimate child.
His face now was the same as then.
Only his expression was slightly hardened.
"Young Lord."
The head of the Namgung family spoke.
"Prepare."
"...... Yes."
His father's words were always concise.
He was a hero who observed Seomye's ability and the behavior of the Blood Flame Sect.
He used his conscience and even his children's lives as the cornerstone of the family.
The Young Lord's life was also handled that way.
He could not deviate from the path defined by his father's will.
Helping Namgung Hwaseon leave the family was considered the Young Lord's life's achievement.
"Unworthy son, I will go and return."
The Young Lord spoke.
The family head did not answer.
He only slightly nodded his thick head.
After the Flower Lord of Changnyeong, it was the Young Lord's turn.
He received the calm gaze of his inhuman father on his back.
The Young Lord slowly stepped forward.
Without even disturbing his breath, he moved toward the boy, Seomye.
Seomye Jeong Yeon-shin stood calmly with two swords at his waist.
The long robe, similar in color to the blue martial attire of the Namgung family, fluttered with a subtle scent of blood.
"Bold."
The Young Lord thought.
He envied the sight of Jeong Yeon-shin, who was slightly lowering his head.
He had told that boy.
That he wanted freedom like the Taeyeom Dragon of the Hwangbo family.
Seomye already had it.
The outstanding martial artist's presence, shining brightly at a young age, seemed more radiant than anything in the world.
The Young Lord stepped forward.
To compare martial arts with the boy.
Step.
Only then did words start to flow from the Namgung family's side.
Comments on the duel began to emerge on the spot.
Some kept silent with heavy expressions, but many were opportunists looking for a chance in the martial world called the family.
"The Flower Lord of Changnyeong......"
"How could that happen? She accurately stepped on the Unhindered Clear Flow Divine Step."
"It was a strange footwork. The sword technique was also quite destructive."
Some family members whispered with bewildered faces.
Mostly young people from collateral lines.
The number of collateral lines was overwhelming compared to the direct line limited to the current family head's descendants.
The Namgung family was very large.
There were even more people who were not swayed by Namgung Mi's death.
Was it because there were direct descendants present that they restrained their words and actions? It was not so.
The shock delivered by Seomye of the Imperial City was very intense.
To the family members of the Namgung family, Namgung Mi was like a noble royal.
"I didn't expect her to go so vainly."
"Vain? It seems her internal cultivation was lacking. It was a lifelong technique connection. Seomye's accumulated life's effort was more intense than the lady's."
"Indeed strong. Worthy of being the representative of the Imperial City."
"But can he match the Young Lord's sword? How many have refined the Sovereign Sword Form to that extent at that age?"
Their conversation reached Jeong Yeon-shin's ears.
It was because he had raised his senses to the extreme with his internal cultivation.
His sharpened senses did not easily subside.
It was very good.
It should be like this.
"Strong."
It was because of the Young Lord.
He was walking toward him with a straight posture.
The aura that had been loosened like mist soon gathered and extended like a sword blade.
It was a tangible momentum.
For a moment, he felt as if his skin was splitting, and goosebumps rose.
It was hard to believe he was someone who had traveled the martial world briefly with him.
He was not the predetermined master of the family.
A swordsman who had honed his skills to the peak.
Now, he was an opponent who was more than a match.
The two stood facing each other ten steps apart.
"The story of my younger sister Ami."
The Young Lord opened his mouth.
"I won't bother to speak of it. The foolish child met a rather splendid end as a martial artist... That is enough."
"......"
"You and I... One of us, or both, may die. It is a place where the end of life is at stake. This fight. I do not consider it a conflict between Namgung and the Imperial City. It is a life-and-death duel. If I were to die, I do not wish to close my eyes as a mere pawn."
Soon.
A cheerful smile appeared on the face of the handsome man with a gentle impression.
"I have lived my whole life comfortably in the shadow of Namgung. It may be a full-bellied complaint, but it was a shackle."
"Indeed, it is."
His short reply deepened the Young Lord's smile.
"Even so, I wanted to break free once. They say there are times when one feels freedom in the gap between life and death, but I still find it curious if that is really the case. I particularly want to experience it now. Can the capabilities of Seomye of the Imperial City make it possible?"
It was a provocative question.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.
He had to draw his sword again.
This time, he grasped the hilt of the Imperial Sword.
It was always like this before a significant battle.
Although the Northern Sword was a famous sword, it was not as familiar in his hand as the Imperial Sword.
"......"
The clash between the Imperial City and Namgung.
Was it because the weight of the life-and-death duel of the Great Wave Sect felt greater due to Namgung Mi's death?
The crowd surrounding the Cheongya Valley still kept their mouths shut.
Occasionally, only the wind of the gorge blew fiercely.
Amidst it, the aura of the two people became dense.
The Young Lord withdrew the smile from his lips.
"Let's begin."
"Yes."
There was no referee.
It was the world of masters.
Srrng.
The two drew their swords simultaneously.
The dry wind teased their hair once and passed by.
Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly felt it.
"Gan-hap, he has expanded the domain of the sword widely."
It was a sensation as if the skin was being brushed by a gentle breeze.
It happened the moment the splendid treasure sword was drawn from the Young Lord's hand.
It was an extremely sharp momentum.
It was as if an invisible forest of swords had risen, giving him goosebumps.
The Sovereign Sword Form.
It was the highest technique from the start.
The upper dantian intuition seemed to ring an alarm in his head.
Jeong Yeon-shin immediately knew.
If the Young Lord attacked now, there was no way to avoid it.
His body became heavy in an instant.
It was hard even to stand.
The air surrounding his entire body felt like it had turned into a thousand-pound weight.
"Will it work again?"
He recalled the second Phantom Wing Step.
Phantom Wing Step.
A footwork that drives away the energy that has been released outside.
It had excellently sealed Namgung Mi's defensive techniques.
Could it also unravel the Sovereign Sword Form? It was a problem he had pondered before the duel.
He had not found any other method besides the Phantom Wing Step.
Even while he was contemplating, the Young Lord was approaching step by step.
It seemed he could not use the body movement technique while unfolding the Sovereign Sword Form.
"Let's collide."
Jeong Yeon-shin changed his mind.
A strategy? It did not suit the nature of a unique martial art.
Seomye was a martial artist who relied on intuition.
He survived every fight with quicker insight than expected.
He decided to confront it directly.
Swoosh.
He had to use all his muscles to take a small step.
If it were not for the body honed with internal cultivation, he would not have been able to move at all.
Thud!
With one step, dust rose.
At the same time, the burden that had been on his entire body eased considerably.
It meant a lot.
It meant that every movement in this fight had to be carried out with the footwork of the Phantom Wing Step.
Swoosh!
How sensitive was his sense?
The Young Lord was not surprised.
He seemed to have expected it, as he swung his sword with an indifferent face.
Could he freely adjust the Sovereign Sword Form like breathing? As much as Jeong Yeon-shin had sped up, the Young Lord's sword strike was also swift.
Clang!
Jeong Yeon-shin almost frowned.
He immediately unfolded the overlapping of true energy from the Extreme Realm.
It was his right arm.
The sword force that had been about to split him in half stopped.
The tremendous vibration seemed to shake even the blood vessels in his grip.
It was a sword force he had never experienced before.
"So it's this much."
Jeong Yeon-shin calculated in the realm of sensation.
If one sword was this heavy, how should he apply the overlapping of true energy, in which direction should he step with the Phantom Wing Step, and how should he counterattack?
From then on, it was a state of selflessness.
It began rapidly.
Two streams of sword paths intertwined like tangled threads.
Every movement extending the blade was heavy.
Heavy Sword.
It was a fight taking place in a heavy domain.
Boom! Clang! Clang!
The sword waves that soared in all directions were like fireworks.
Jeong Yeon-shin's Radiant Sword Style was splendid.
It was a sword technique that constantly scattered faint beams of light, even disturbing the view.
He used the Zhishi Acupoint, which supported his spine, as the foundation of the Extreme Realm.
He compensated for the relatively lacking internal energy with fluid overlapping of true energy.
Boom!
He filled the lacking weight by stepping with true force on the spot.
The moment the Young Lord's sword grazed his cheek, Jeong Yeon-shin stepped in once more.
He boldly entered, holding the Imperial Sword beside his face with both raised arms.
The swords collided and scraped against each other.
A fierce friction sound echoed as if sparks would fly from the cheek's proximity.
"Here."
It was the moment Jeong Yeon-shin released his left hand.
The Young Lord's treasure sword gained strength.
It pushed Jeong Yeon-shin away with the sword and spun half a turn himself.
The upward defensive technique was properly contained.
The martial art's principle embedded in the movement was noble.
"Again."
It was this kind of fight.
The Young Lord thoroughly maintained distance.
He did not approach more than necessary.
When it seemed the boy was gathering energy, he immediately stabbed with a restraining sword strike.
It seemed he was wary of the incomplete palm technique Jeong Yeon-shin had deliberately shown before.
The boy suddenly opened his mouth.
"Is that why you speak of freedom?"
"Hmm?"
"Your fighting style is like that. It is frustratingly bound to a certain method."
"Your provocation is quite something."
The Young Lord chuckled.
He did not seem to have realized anything anew.
However, his sword force changed.
Boom!
The wide domain of the Sovereign Sword Form compressed into a storm.
The aura compressed around the Young Lord's treasure sword was very heavy.
It felt like it had changed from a wide-area martial art to a method of killing a single opponent.
He commands the aura.
He orders the sword.
Even though he was not from the Zhu family of the Forbidden City, the sword force displayed majesty like an emperor.
The sword technique extended without hesitation.
Boom!
The impact was different from before.
The shock that gripped the right hand holding the sword wave was immense.
As the Imperial Sword's blade shook as if it would break, Jeong Yeon-shin was helplessly pushed back.
And he realized.
Finally, the time for a change of situation had come.
He prepared his left hand.
He simultaneously activated the Destruction of Demons Clear River Palm and the Mara Roaring Blood Palm.
Jeong Yeon-shin felt the indiscriminate aura extending from his body.
The Young Lord could not have failed to sense it.
Boom!
Indeed, he did.
With a heavy step, the Young Lord's body charged in a straight line.
It grew rapidly in front of his eyes.
The treasure sword of the Namgung family, always surrounded by a strong aura, was with him.
Jeong Yeon-shin stepped strongly with the Phantom Wing Step toward the approaching sword.
The Young Lord also knew the utility of this footwork.
He seemed to want to maintain the sword force.
The trajectory of the treasure sword twisted.
It was at that moment.
Jeong Yeon-shin penetrated the gap.
He passed outside.
It was the first Phantom Wing Step, the Phantom Wing First Step.
It was a step that opened the gap.
He raised his left hand.
The aura of the blood palm and the power of the martial art were surging.
Even if he gathered it into a magic circle, it was a problem.
It took time to draw it out as a complete palm technique.
"It doesn't matter."
He extended it as it was.
He made a small movement over the Young Lord's sword blade as he passed by.
It was a movement as if mocking the Sovereign Sword Form.
In reality, it was different.
The upper dantian in Jeong Yeon-shin's head was burning.
He constantly adjusted the angle of his left hand.
The aura of the blood palm and the power of the martial art were refined by the Sovereign's internal energy.
It was a moment.
He adjusted his palm technique with the Young Lord's overwhelming aura.
Swoosh!
It was right after he reversed the momentum of the Sovereign Sword Form.
The aura swirled from the palm center of Jeong Yeon-shin's hand.
It converged rapidly to the extreme.
He skipped one process of palm technique casting in an instant.
"Hup!"
The Young Lord immediately turned around.
The surprisingly swift movement brought the collision forward.
In the ensuing sword strike, Jeong Yeon-shin's Imperial Sword flew away.
The vibration that shook his grip was very strong.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not care and went in.
He reached out his hand to the Young Lord's side.
He cast the palm technique as it was.
Boom――!
It exploded at a two-step distance.
For a moment, it seemed the Cheongya Valley was shaking.
Unable to withstand the tremendous explosion, it even created a long echo.
His ears buzzed.
Jeong Yeon-shin retreated, feeling an intense recoil.
If a thunderbolt exploded from his left hand, it would be like this.
He had trained with top-grade elixirs and the Seven Killers Sword.
The power was vastly different from when he competed with Namgung Hwaseon.
At that moment.
Ahhh―!
A scream erupted from the Namgung family side, which Jeong Yeon-shin had turned his back on.
It was not just one or two.
They seemed to be masters of intermediate distribution with better internal cultivation than the boy.
Soon, Jeong Yeon-shin could see it too.
"......"
He closed his mouth.
He had to.
The side of the waist was gone.
Not even a drop of blood fell.
It was a fatal injury.
It was strange to be standing upright.
Was the divine aura of the Sovereign Divine Art protecting his body? For a moment, Jeong Yeon-shin's martial art was forgotten in his mind.
The dignity and will of the Young Lord were astonishing.
It was something that could not exist unless he had reached another realm at this moment.
It was then.
"Stop!"
The Young Lord shouted.
His eyes shone with an exceptionally clear light.
He was taking in the Namgung family masters who were rushing toward Jeong Yeon-shin at a glance.
His virtue was different from Namgung Mi.
There were many who disregarded the duel agreement and wanted to kill Jeong Yeon-shin.
Namgung Sejin, the Blue Kirin, spoke again.
"Even if I was limited by the title of Young Lord."
A long breath followed.
"The final moment of the martial artist Namgung Sejin... I decide."
"......"
Namgung Sejin exuded a truly divine spirit.
Amidst the silence of all present, he slowly continued to speak.
"Do not taint my death."
He then slowly turned his eyes.
The eyes emitting a brilliant light gazed at his last opponent.
"What is the name of the technique?"
Jeong Yeon-shin understood his question.
He immediately opened his lips.
"There is none."
"That's fortunate. There is a technique name that comes to mind."
"Please tell me."
"Would you call it Hwangang? It seems as if the river of the underworld is spread before my eyes, and it is very bright as if it will burn. Perhaps because my heart is joyful. The character Hwan, meaning to shine, seems fitting."
"......"
"It is a martial art that will be discussed as the best in the martial world. That's how it feels. Would you use the name I gave it?"
"Shihwa Mugeuksu, Hwangang. If anyone asks, I will say so."
Jeong Yeon-shin answered calmly.
"Good... very good."
"You seem to wish for it to be widely known, and I too must roam the entire martial world. It is my innate nature. I must do so."
The boy's words grew longer.
Did the clumsy comfort reach him? Namgung Sejin faintly smiled.
"Yes... do so. Very freely..."
Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
It was unknown what kind of hardships the inner self of the Blue Kirin, who lived as the Young Lord, had gone through.
At the end of his life.
At the end of his life, he did not look at the people of his family.
He died as one who walked the path of martial arts.
He fully took in the martial artist Seomye who defeated him with his eyes.
The faint breath gradually thinned and then scattered without a trace.
Slowly.
He stopped breathing with his eyes open.
Only his eyes remained bright with the still strong internal energy.
"......"
Namgung Sejin's death also gave Jeong Yeon-shin a deep resonance.
What should he pursue besides longevity? As a martial artist, is his only value his life?
The Blue Kirin, who had firmly planted his feet on the ground, slowly fell.
Thud!
"Dead...?"
"The Young Lord, the Young Lord is."
"Quickly... quickly!"
"Move! Urgent! It's urgent!"
It became noisy in an instant.
A thunderous sound echoed.
A tremendous number of people began to leave the Cheongya Valley.
Carrier pigeons flapped their wings and flew up from everywhere.
The weight of the Flower Lord of Changnyeong and the Namgung Young Lord was significantly different.
It was an event that would change the landscape of the martial world.
It was a place where the attention of the entire martial world was focused.
Jeong Yeon-shin, who regretted not being able to support Namgung Sejin, stood as the victor.
As the wind swept through the gorge, creating a spectacle of aura from all directions, the boy silently faced the strong wind with his sword lowered.
The golden letters of the character Hwang (荒) on his shoulder shimmered in the sunlight.
The moment when the nickname Seomye was engraved in the nine provinces of the world.
Fame.
The beginning was not far away.
Jeong Yeon-shin had to feel it the moment he suddenly turned his head.