Chapter 246: A Power Realized Long Ago
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The spacious rear garden of the pavilion.
It was a place with an antique ambiance where remarkable rock formations and stone pagodas blended together, allowing one to feel the spiritual energy of Mount Zhongnan.
KKUDEUK, KKUDEUDEUK, KKUDEUK…
Cheol Ryu-heun stepped through the debris as he passed through the large hole and emerged into that space.
With the pavilion behind him, his gaze turned to the distance ahead.
There was Aryun-nan.
With a half-collapsed stone pagoda as his backdrop.
He must have crashed hard into it while being thrown back.
Soon Aryun-nan adjusted his posture.
USUSUS, USUSUS…
As he pulled away, large and small stone fragments fell off.
Having advanced a few steps, Aryun-nan twisted his lips up slightly.
“HU, that was a heavy force.”
Killing intent filled his voice.
In truth, it was his first such experience in a long while.
Being blown back and crashing…
It was the first time since achieving his second rejuvenation.
Cheol Ryu-heun exchanged glances and replied expressionlessly.
“You managed to block it.”
At that, Aryun-nan’s smile deepened.
“Yes… this should make for quite an interesting fight.”
THUMP THUMP.
His heart beat intensely.
His blood and energy throughout his body heated up.
The excitement of meeting a worthy opponent transformed into a thrilling tremor.
Yes, if he’s the Foremost Martial God of Hunan, he should be at least that good.
The words contained in his eyes.
KKWAAAAK-
The moment Aryun-nan put strength into the hand gripping his sword handle.
WOONG-
The blade vibrated briefly and cried out.
Following that.
GOOOOO, GOOOOOO-
The air in the rear garden suddenly became as heavy as stone.
UREUNG, UREURUNG, UREUNG… JJEOK, JJEOJJEOK, JJEOK…
The atmosphere and ground shook violently.
It was the effect of intangible force naturally released as Aryun-nan channeled his internal energy.
At that moment, the characteristic energy of the Sun Moon Demon Arrival Technique arose.
CHIT, CHICHIT, CHIT-
Countless hook-like shimmers spreading from his body made eerie sounds, warning of their power.
They layered upon each other, wrapping around and undulating about his body.
It was a murderous aura.
It was as if the sun and moon had transformed into deep darkness and appeared on the ground.
Though he simply wrapped himself and swayed, heaven and earth seemed to have turned dark.
Was this the true majesty of the Sun Moon Demon Arrival Technique?
It was demonic energy seemingly at a transcendent level.
Not to be outdone, Cheol Ryu-heun’s form was enveloped in white energy flow.
CHEUTSEUTSEUT, CHEUTSEUTSEUTSEUT-
Pure white shimmer danced in ripples.
A scene foretelling a fateful confrontation of black and white.
Here was the light opposing deep, dense darkness.
At that moment, Aryun-nan’s gaze rested on the Gan Jiang.
“Is that the Divine Martial Sword?”
“No.”
Cheol Ryu-heun said casually, then raised the Gan Jiang at an angle.
“Just a sharp blade.”
“What?”
“The Divine Martial Sword you seek is here.”
SEUUK.
Cheol Ryu-heun raised his left hand and pointed to his own forehead.
Seeing that, Aryun-nan let out a hollow laugh.
“Playing games at a time like this.”
Cheol Ryu-heun continued regardless, speaking in an indifferent voice.
“My body is essentially the same as the Divine Martial Sword.”
“Insolent.”
Aryun-nan’s figure became hazy along with those words.
BOOM!
A vertical attack.
His sword instantly compressed the distance and struck the ground hard.
It was the point where Cheol Ryu-heun had been standing.
The ground was destroyed over an enormous range.
But Cheol Ryu-heun had vanished.
Immediately after.
PAT!
Aryun-nan spun around and thrust out his sword tip.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s assault, moving like lightning.
JJEOJEOJEONG- KUAANG!
The black and white shimmer mixed together and exploded.
Aryun-nan was impressed by that swift body movement.
In that brief moment, three exchanges occurred, scattering bright red sparks wildly.
CHAENG, CHAECHAENG, CHAENG-!
Once again the black and white shimmer surged like waves.
Before he knew it, the Gan Jiang unleashed a horizontal slash.
JJEOEOEOEOEONG- KKWAAAAAAANG-!
With a roar that seemed to shake the very earth.
KKUGUOONG- KKWADEUDEUK!
Aryun-nan, pushed by the power of the swift sword technique, collided with the stone pagoda behind him.
The technique Cheol Ryu-heun had just executed was White Peak Sword Art, the swordcraft that represented White Peak Sword Sect’s identity.
Moreover, it was an unprecedented ultimate move.
A sword form that combined new elements with the existing essence.
Aryun-nan’s pupils created transparent ripples.
‘This is…!’
It was clearly a horizontal slash.
Yet what burst forth was vertical sword energy.
That’s right.
It was a single sword stroke harmonized with the profound application of Evil Emperor Yul Cheon’s Reverse Heaven Sword Style.
TENG!
Aryun-nan kicked off the ground and shot forward like a black arrow.
A sword form with maximum power channeled.
The will to return exactly what he had received.
JJEOEOEOEOEONG- KKWAAAAAAANG-!
Cheol Ryu-heun’s form was pushed back by the fierce repelling force.
Just as he was about to collide with the wall behind him.
UTTUK.
Cheol Ryu-heun stopped in his tracks.
In that instant, the wall swept by the force was ruthlessly demolished.
CRASH, CRASH-
Meanwhile Aryun-nan had closed in head-on, working his sword.
The many hook-shaped currents wrapping his body stretched out strand by strand.
SSWESSWESSWESSWESSWESSWEENG- CHYUCHYUCHYUCHYUCHYUCHYU-!
Sword energy and force waves raged, and the forward space was covered in darkness.
No matter how one looked, there seemed no room to dodge.
CHAECHAECHAECHAECHAECHAENG- KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG- PEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPEOPONG-!
Before Aryun-nan’s continuous assault, a series of metallic sounds and explosive bursts echoed.
It was truly terrifying power.
Even the cliff beyond this place shook precariously as if about to collapse.
Cheol Ryu-heun continuously moved his sword, resisting.
KKAGAGAGAGAGAGANG… KKWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWANG…!
It seemed like a desperate struggle.
‘Useless!’
Having inwardly mocked him, Aryun-nan relentlessly pressed forward with maximum power.
It was a transcendent level of internal power.
An endless strength.
Despite continuously releasing maximum power, he showed no signs of exhaustion.
Rather, the attacks seemed to intensify as they went on.
Dust clouds and shimmer filled the field of vision.
Meanwhile, Cheol Ryu-heun was busy blocking the opponent’s omnidirectional assault using a circular sword barrier.
KKWAGWAGWANG… KKWAGWAGWANG…!
The spinning sword energy shield defended through the application of gathering, while the fiercely jutting sword wind waves counterattacked through the application of dispersion.
The sword barrier that only Evil Emperor Yul Cheon could execute in martial history.
But that was being torn apart before the jet-black hooks.
And then.
BOOM-!
At last, the sword barrier was shattered by the Sun Moon Demon Arrival Technique’s slashing sword form.
‘Now!’
Having shouted inwardly, Aryun-nan quickly extended his left hand.
TEOTEOK!
His palm pressed flat against Cheol Ryu-heun’s upper chest.
Suddenly.
SUCK.
A strange suction force arose through his palm.
“It’s over. You won’t be able to move anymore. HUHUT.”
Aryun-nan, having uttered the murmur, began absorbing Cheol Ryu-heun’s internal energy.
THUD.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s chest heaved once, violently.
It was because a legendary heretical martial art, lost since the White-Haired Witch Bong Wan-jeong of old, had been executed.
That’s right.
Star-Absorbing Great Art.
Aryun-nan smiled again as he leisurely drained Cheol Ryu-heun’s internal power.
“HUHUT. I heard you can instantly replenish expended energy? But this power doesn’t give you any such opportunity.”
Was it because his entire body was paralyzed?
Cheol Ryu-heun, caught by Star-Absorbing Great Art, showed no movement whatsoever.
He wasn’t even blinking.
He seemed to have completely frozen like stone.
Aryun-nan murmured with a smile on his face.
“Remarkable.”
As he said, the internal power contained within Cheol Ryu-heun’s body was remarkable.
A truly enormous quantity.
A power whose size and depth could not easily be guessed.
It felt as if a limitless sky and sea resided within his body.
That made it even better.
If he completely absorbed Cheol Ryu-heun’s energy, wouldn’t he pioneer new martial territory?
This was no different from heaven’s fortune.
It was a kind of fortuitous encounter.
One that the sacrifice called Cheol Ryu-heun would bestow upon him…
Soon a glint rose in Aryun-nan’s dark brown pupils.
It was a look of certain victory.
Of course.
Because at last Cheol Ryu-heun’s body was showing signs of destruction.
His once-vibrant skin was becoming wrinkled.
JJIK, JJIJJIK… JJIK…
The flesh all over his body was gradually shrinking.
Like desiccated wood.
The small traces of blood here and there from the earlier attacks were also contracting.
At that moment.
White powder fell dancing from above.
White powder scattered in the breeze like rain.
It was the first snow.
Aryun-nan quietly tilted his head back to look at the sky, which had become overcast.
“Snow… fitting weather for your death.”
But suddenly.
BLINK.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s eyelids lightly moved.
“Done talking?”
A quiet, indifferent voice leaked through his lips.
Just as the startled Aryun-nan looked ahead.
KUKUKUKUKUKU…
Tremendous energy rushed into his palm.
A vast quantity.
No.
It exceeded such a level.
TUK, TUTUK, TUK-
Unable to handle the rapidly absorbed amount of energy, his left hand’s blood vessels expanded, causing pain.
‘What in the…!’
Aryun-nan was shocked.
The flame he thought was dying was blazing alive.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s internal power was accumulating at a fearsome rate.
Shock.
This was impossible.
A target afflicted by Star-Absorbing Great Art should have their entire body’s energy points paralyzed.
Thus they cannot resist until all their energy is absorbed.
In other words, no work associated with projecting internal energy was possible.
Danger!
With his heart sinking, Aryun-nan immediately tried to remove his palm.
But it wouldn’t budge.
‘WOOT…!’
At that moment, his face turned pale.
SEUSEUSEUSEU…
As Cheol Ryu-heun’s eyes emitted red light, all the small wounds healed completely.
And more.
Even his shriveled skin returned to normal, regaining vitality.
‘…!’
Seeing that, Aryun-nan felt as if his mind had stopped.
“I’ll take it off for you.”
No sooner had Cheol Ryu-heun’s murmur ended than his right leg shot out fiercely.
BOOM!
A heavy thud that vibrated the air.
A stomping kick.
The destructive leg force struck Aryun-nan’s upper body.
PIIIIIIIIING-
His body flew rapidly to the far rear like a leaf caught in the wind.
In an instant, Cheol Ryu-heun waved his left hand, and an intangible wall appeared behind Aryun-nan.
BOOM!
Having crashed his back against it, Aryun-nan suddenly bounced forward.
The repelling force of aerial manipulation.
BOOM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM-!
In continuous stomping kicks and repelling forces from aerial manipulation, Aryun-nan’s form rapidly shuttled back and forth, playing a symphony of thunderous sounds.
Then.
THUMP-!
Aryun-nan, who had again flown backward, tumbled onto the ground.
“KKEUKKEUK…”
His whole body ached.
His head spun and he couldn’t breathe from the shock of the relentless stomping kicks.
Before long, he had suffered internal injuries.
The bitter taste of blood seeping from his lips.
But he couldn’t just lie here.
‘BASTARD!’
Aryun-nan immediately raised his form and executed an ultimate technique of maximum power.
Massive sword energies rushing left and right through the distance.
Sun Moon Twin Demon Mirror Manifestation.
It was an attack combining his existing power with the absorbed power.
But.
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG…!
His masterful Sun Moon Twin Demon Mirror Manifestation was mercilessly shattered.
By an identical attack.
Aryun-nan’s eyes expanded until they could grow no larger.
“H-how…!”
Looking at the energy flow enveloping Cheol Ryu-heun’s body, his spine went cold.
The colors of energy on his left and right sides were different.
A contrast of black and white.
If the black side wasn’t demonic energy, what was it?
It was an incomprehensible phenomenon.
That was not a skill within the scope of the Yang Heart Divine Technique.
Releasing internal powers of different natures simultaneously was impossible…
It was wondrous.
Operating orthodox martial arts and demonic martial arts simultaneously – a new realm of martial arts that no one had ever experienced appeared before his eyes.
STOMP, STOMP.
Cheol Ryu-heun walked forward, speaking with an expressionless face.
“Star-Absorbing Great Art absorbs energy regardless of its nature. But my body also doesn’t discriminate the nature of internal power.”
“…!”
“You wouldn’t know, but I realized it when I achieved my second Body and Bone Transformation. That my internal energy work is unrestricted by martial art systems. Whether orthodox or demonic.”
Just then, the energy Cheol Ryu-heun was projecting from his body completely turned to black.
It was not the demonic energy of Sun Moon Demon Arrival Technique.
It was something eerie.
It seemed to contain some unprecedented demonic nature that would frighten even demon practitioners…
“Before you die, experience it. The true demon god’s martial arts.”