Swish!
The blood in my body began to flow swiftly as mist-like steam rose from my body.
It wasn’t enough to just use the mid and top dantian, so I decided to also use the True Blood Diamond Body. It was the best I could do for now.
Despite being unable to maintain this state for long, I could at least endure a couple of hits.
Sima Chak’s frown began to ease, so I didn’t miss my chance as I moved toward him.
Pat!
Since he said he would give me the first attack, I might as well give it my best shot.
There were 12 people who were called the absolute in martial arts.
How far could my martial arts work against a swordsman of that caliber? I thrust out my fist at him.
‘Crushing Rock Exploding Fist.’
It was a technique of my father’s Order that blows up rocks through a series of five blows.
It was one of the most straightforward techniques I could unleash from the Eight Martial Forms of the Order and boasted quite a bit of qi in it.
Kwang! Wheeing!
I pushed my first forward while stepping forward, but the ground around me cracked with a rising wind. The bamboo around us also began to bend as if a storm had hit them.
Sima Chak stretched out his sword to block my fist.
Pang!
The moment my fist touched it, I could feel the heaviness. This man, as expected, had a monstrous amount of internal qi in him.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Papak.
The essence of the attack with its five strikes was blocked.
But I continued to hit, and the impact of my blows destroyed the ground he was standing on, pushing him back 3 steps.
Shhhh!
-He is pushed!
‘…!!’
“M-My father was pushed back!”
I could hear Sima Young’s voice. She was one who was worried for both sides.
However, as if it was the first time she had seen Sima Chak gets pushed back, she looked shocked. My heart pounded, too, as I found it hard to calm down.
What would his reaction be?
-Smiling?
Just as Short Sword said, the man had a smile on his lips. He didn’t look the least bit flustered. Instead, his face had a curious look.
“I knew that you must have had something.”
Sima Chak reached for the sword sheath he had around his waist. He had been arrogantly acting like he would fight with his bare hands, yet he was drawing his sword.
-Do not give him a chance! Wonhwi!
Iron Sword was right. The situation would change the moment he decided to take this seriously.
I would rather take my chances while he was still unsure about using his sword.
Pat!
I moved toward Sima Chak and changed my hands’ positions. My attack pattern switched to the Blood Heaven Asura Arts.
Two fingers created dozens of afterimages as I aimed toward Sima Chak’s blood points.
Sima Chak, who had been about to draw his sword, created distance between us and used his left hand to flick iron balls at me.
Swish!
Since the iron ball was aimed at my forehead, I turned my upper body to the side to avoid it. However, as if predicting I would do that, the second iron ball flew toward my upper body.
This couldn’t be avoided.
Then…
Pak!
I caught the spinning ball with my palm. This was only possible because I was focusing all of my qi into my palm. The moment I did so, my body was pushed back two steps.
Chhh!
The iron ball spun in my hand after I was pushed back by two steps. When I opened my palm, I could see the iron ball, which I proceeded to throw to the ground.
My palm was stained red, and the bones under it ached bitterly.
‘As expected… it wasn’t his all power.’
It wasn’t a direct clash, but it was quite different in terms of internal attacks when I was pushed back by just an iron ball. The fact that I managed to push him back earlier meant he wasn’t using all of his strength.
In the meantime, Sima Chak drew his sword halfway.
Sima Young shouted at Sima Chak.
“The iron ball is also a type of martial art, so the young lord managed to handle three attacks!”
-Right!
Short Sword was excited at those words and agreed to them. However, Sima Chak shook his head as if he considered this whole thing absurd.
The look on his face showed that he thought that he had raised a worthless daughter.
Sring!
Sima Chak, who drew his sword out, spoke.
“Fine. I will say it is three. Now draw your sword.”
It was as if he told me to put myself entirely into this. In response, I pulled Iron Sword out of its sheath.
Sima Chak appeared right before me as soon as I had unsheathed my sword. It was an amazing approach.
‘The center of all martial arts starts from the feet.’
I recall my father’s words. The moment Sima Chak moved his sword toward my chest, my father’s footwork lingered in my mind.
Tatatat!
At that moment, my body felt so light, and I felt as if I was the wind. The moment his sword was about to touch me, I was suddenly behind his back.
This was my father’s Wind Shadow Step.
I moved behind him, thinking that simple evasion would not be enough. I then slashed at him with my sword.
At the same moment, Sima Chak’s form moved forward. He then quickly spun his body while I slashed at his sword.
The moment my sword clashed with his, I moved.
‘New Xing Ming Sword technique, 3rd form of the Loach Shaped Sword.’
This sword technique was known to move in the softest manner when it came to dealing with attacks. However, the same technique in the New Xing Ming Sword was as if a group of loaches was charging for Sima Chak’s blood.
Sima Chak’s eyes shone.
“Pretty good.”
For the first time, Sima Chak unleashed his sword properly. The sword made a gentle semi-circle before blocking my sword.
Chachachang!
Sword clashed with sword as sparks flew in the air. Each time our swords collided, an intense wind would push out, and the ground around us continued to break apart.
‘Every time we clash, it feels like my palm will be torn apart.’
Each of his sword techniques was heavy, making it feel like my bones were breaking.
Sima Chak was showing off his skills in full, so even a little bit of carelessness would not be tolerated.
Wheik!
‘A change?’
Our swords collided, but Sima Chak’s sword turned strangely and aimed for my left side. Logically, as my left eye was covered by an eyepatch, then that side would be a blind spot for me. However, I was able to feel the sword’s path because of my golden eye. I tried to stop the blow, but his sword stopped midway.
“Take off the blindfold. Unless you are blind.”
I wore a mask and eye patch as I had been moving with my father.
“I am used to this, even if…”
“Do you not want to do your all against me?”
It was hard to say anything in response to that. I was doing it to avoid showing him my Golden Eye, but I could do nothing now.
“Before taking this blindfold off, I want to tell you one thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“My eye ended up like this because of my time down in that place where you threw me. I was trapped in a certain place, and it just happened.”
He frowned at hearing those words and asked.
“Did you get hurt in there?”
In response, I shook my head, took my blindfold off, and opened my eye.
Sima Chak’s expression became stiff when my golden eye became visible.
Sima Young was also shocked.
“Young lord. Your eye?”
I heard from her that they had seen a man escaping from the valley and that Sima Chak had chased after him.
I feared he would misunderstand me as being related to that man. That was why I chose to speak about it first. As expected, Sima Chak’s expression didn’t look too good.
Sima Chak then asked me.
“You were trapped in a place?”
“When I was in the lower levels of that place, I was being chased by some strange things. I found a room with a tomb in it while running away from there. I had to ask because my martial arts had been sealed.”
I told him what happened after that.
I told him about inhaling that smoke and the feeling of something changing. Hearing that, he stroked his chin as if thinking about something.
‘Why is he doing that?’
I was puzzled, but then he raised his sword and said,
“Let’s continue the test.”
‘Uh?’
I thought he would have wanted to discuss this, but he was back to administering the test. After hearing that he had chased after that golden-eyed man, I thought he knew something, but I must have made a mistake.
Perhaps he was curious to see if my arm would grow back after being cut.
-No, we only need to endure 5 more.
As Short Sword said, only half the attacks remained, and with my blindfold, off, the full power of the golden eye could be displayed. There were plenty of options for me.
At that moment, Sima Chak aimed his sword.
“I know how good you are. Then, show me the best that you can do.”
“Uh?”
“Show me the best sword technique that you can.”
‘Best sword…?’
I could think of two options.
One was the Bloody Heavenly Asura Sword technique, a technique of the Blood Heavenly Martial Sword.
And the other one was a technique from the new Xing Ming Sword, the Twelve Heavenly Swords.
The technique of the Blood Sect could only be performed with the Blood Demon Sword. Blood Demon Sword had made a fuss about not taking him with me, so I had left him with grandfather. However, I was now thinking that I should have brought him.
“I understand.”
Shhh!
I gripped my sword differently and took a stance.
The New Xing Ming Sword technique was made up of ideal techniques of the past version after eliminating all the gaps it held.
“Phew.”
I adjusted my breathing and focused all my senses on the sword.
Moments after, a sharp force erupted from Iron Sword. The air around it shuddered with anticipation. Even the sands on the ground shifted, leaving sharp traces of the sword.
‘It is the articulation of a strong will that makes it whole. Bring all of those things together. Hold that strong conviction that you and the sword in your hand are one and the same.’
That was the last thing the Immortal Sword had told me.
‘A sword which cuts everything.’
I focused all my thoughts on the sword.
Then, little by little, the flurry of anticipation became subdued. To be more precise, all of that force was being concentrated on my sword.
“That sword!”
Sima Young exclaimed.
Woong!
The more energy I gathered, the brighter Iron Sword was shining.
It wasn’t as intense as the Immortal Sword had shown me, but it still resulted in a sharp blade.
‘That is what it means to have a union with the sword.’
For the sword and body to be one.
This was a state where I was the sword. It wasn’t perfect yet, but my thoughts focused on the sword.
Sima Chak’s eyes narrowed.
When all my energy was concentrated on the sword in a state of union, my eyes no longer left my sword.
“This is my best sword.”
With that, I moved towards Sima Chak.
I unfolded the New Xing Ming Sword technique’s seventh form, the Twelve Heavenly Sword Movement.
A trace of soft white light was visible in the air, and in an instant, the twelve movements began to flow like water. This made Sima Chak smile.
Flinch!
I could sense that he was getting ready. His sword then moved.
Shhhhh!
The movement of his sword was as if he had made a circle. A circle that was filled with traces of countless swords and resembled the full moon.
Both of our techniques collided, creating a tremendous chain of explosions.
Chaang!
But this was just the start.
As my twelve swords continued their attack, the deafening sound and sparks from the clashing of our swords made me narrow my eyes.
-Isn’t this a complete monster?
I was shocked too.
The best sword technique I could muster was now being reflected back, and I could not penetrate that full moon-like screen of swords. My technique was being blocked.
‘I need to get through it.’
I had to find a way.
I tried to read the flow of qi to find a potential loophole with my golden eye, but I was unable to see anything. It felt completely perfect.
If I cannot pierce through his sword technique, I should show my determination.
So I put everything into my next move.
“HAaaah!”
Something odd happened as soon as I concentrated my qi on the sword. The tip of the sword showed a slight vibration.
It was similar to what Immortal Sword showed me when he taught me. I stabbed my sword at the center of this sphere of swords.
At that moment, Sima Chak frowned and stepped forward strongly.
Kwang!
At the same time, the full moon opened like a blooming flower as our swords continued to collide.
Chacha!
I ended up being pushed back by his attack and was pushed back through the bamboo around us in the aftermath.
Thud!
After a couple of rough rolls on the ground, I managed to get up, but all I could taste was the blood in my mouth.
I must have taken internal injuries with what just happened.
If I am like this, then what about him?
I looked only to find the man there, seemingly unbothered. He looked at me as if he wasn’t injured and even smiled.
‘Shit.’
How was he able to block even this technique? That was the moment that disappointed me the most.
I knew how strong he was. The title in front of his name was proof enough, but this was ridiculous.
“Haa… Haa…”
My breathing was rough.
Even though it was already being used, the Blood Demon Will and my innate qi levels seemed to be dropping for me. However, the state that I was in now was something I couldn’t handle without them.
So would I manage to survive another 4 attacks from him?
“Phew…”
I took a deep breath and gripped my sword.
Do not have weak thoughts. Whether it’s rice or porridge, make sure to grab it.
“I will come again.”
The moment when I was about to move forward, he suddenly reached his hand towards me as if telling me to stop.
As I looked on in puzzlement, Sima Chak placed his sword into its sheath.
“Let us end it now.”
My stomach sank when I heard those words.
Did he decide that there was nothing worth seeing in what I had shown?
He looked at me and snorted.
“Huh, if this is your level, you will not be defeated anywhere.”
“Uh?”
What did he mean?
Sima Chak looked at his daughter, nodded, and then said.
“If my daughter suffers, you must be prepared to receive my sword anytime.”
“S-senior!”
The moment I heard him say that my heart began to swell.
The Wicked Moon Sword had finally acknowledged me.
“Young lord!”
Sima Young was happy as she ran to hug her father with tears in her eyes. He clicked his tongue but still stroked her head.
“Thank you, father.”
“If that guy makes you cry, tell me anytime.”
“What if he is the one who becomes your son-in-law?”
When Sima Young raised her eyebrows and asked this, Sima Chak casually said,
“He is the one I acknowledged and calls me senior already, so what is there to bother about?”
What?
Did he mean that he acknowledged me as his son-in-law instead of just someone courting his daughter?
I could say nothing, and then Sima Young looked at me.
-Yah. If you don’t want to suffer more, just call him your father-in-law.
Hearing those words, I bowed and shouted.
At the bamboo field that had been left behind by Jin Wonwhi and Sima Young.
Sima Chak had sent them off, saying he had things to do and sighed.
“Du Gong.”
Moments later, someone entered the bamboo field. It was a gray-haired man with the appearance of a scholar.
Even though he had been hiding around the corner, Wonwhi couldn’t feel his presence.
By this alone, it was clear that he was stronger than Wonwhi.
“Did you hear what that boy said?”
The man nodded at Sima Chak’s question.
“I heard it. If correct, it might have something to do with what Mount Mo sect has already predicted.”
“Did you find any traces?”
“We found it to the southeast of Shaanxi. Unlike that one-eyed man, he was somewhat immature and kept leaving traces around.”
“Following the trail might lead us to him.”
“Are you trying to catch him without helping your son-in-law?”
“We might miss our chance.”
Du Gong sighed and nodded at hearing those words and said,
“Well. If you want to do it, then fine. But, at this level, shouldn’t we feel like the young one would handle himself just fine? He makes one hungry for growth.”
“Do not say useless things.”
“You continued to grumble that you didn’t like the kid. Then you met, and now you have a son-in-law who might end up being the best in the world.”
“You speak of being the best so easily.”
Du Gong trembled after hearing Sima Chak’s words.
“I have seen many martial arts, but this is my first time seeing someone his age do something like that. He is an overly greedy child inside..”
“Nonsense.”
“Well, what do you know? You can at least stand up against your son-in-law in terms of strength.”
At those words, Sima Chak mumbled.
“Strength, huh…”
He looked down at his palm. The right palm that had held his sword was torn, with blood dripping from it.
But his lips curved up into a smile at this sight.
