Chapter 403: Sang-jan's Martial Prowess
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Peng Cheon-jin’s eye-light wavered faintly.
It was because of the sudden chill that encroached upon his body in an instant.
‘A demonic cultivator!’
The far too dark aura of demonic techniques brushing against his acute energy sense.
Peng Cheon-jin intuited.
No.
He was certain.
That the old demonic cultivator who had appeared last was the leader of the mysterious enemy….
In that state, his gaze quickly scanned the opponent’s appearance up and down.
Befitting the leader of the enemy camp, it was an impressive appearance.
Sharp, elongated eyes that stretched long, a hooked nose like a hawk’s beak, and thin, darkish lips.
Literally an appearance from which it seemed not a drop of blood would come even if pricked with a needle.
The longsword hung at his waist was likewise.
Though it hadn’t even emerged from its scabbard yet, it gave the feeling of some inexplicable chilling power being emitted.
He knew well that all of this was because of the opponent’s formidable presence.
It was an unapproachable dignity.
To the extent that it felt as if there was no equal under this heaven.
The only person Peng Cheon-jin himself had genuinely admired until now was Won-gong, the highest-ranking martial monk within Shaolin Temple.
However, that unidentified old demonic cultivator was no less than him.
Despite not having exchanged techniques with him yet, he could feel deep in his chest the power of an ultra-pinnacle warrior.
His instinctive alarm and sense of crisis issued a warning.
That the true fight was only now beginning.
That to win here, he would have to stake his life.
Anyway, it was difficult to escape.
Because Natural and mysterious formations lurked in all directions of this forest.
Moreover, among them were even formations manipulated by the Heretic Cult.
So moving carelessly was extremely tricky.
Even just this place had some kind of formation’s power flowing through it.
Had his martial study been lacking, his serial energy senses would have been scrambled.
Now there was only one method.
He had to overcome the current situation solely through his personal martial power.
KWAK!
Peng Cheon-jin gripped his Saber’s hilt with force and explosively released eye-light hot as flames.
In his gleaming pupils, there was no trace of fear whatsoever.
After all, who was he?
He was the Family Lord of Hebei Peng Family, the super-prestigious family boasting long history and tradition.
Also.
He was the ultra-pinnacle saber wielder Northern Heavens Saber Venerable, mentioned alongside Won-gong of Shaolin Monastery as the twin walls of the Northern Orthodox Jianghu.
How could such a person be easily cowed?
The distance between them was about one jang.
The trembling of the Calamity Heaven Saber, one of the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons, broke the silence that had continued for a moment.
JING… JING… JING… !
Tremendous power squirmed within the fierce resonance.
A silver heat haze arose following the blade.
It was a phenomenon of the Calamity Heaven Saber’s unique divine energy being re-manifested by Peng Cheon-jin’s extreme cultivation.
At an extreme level, no less.
The blade’s trembling shook even the ground and atmosphere.
JJEOJEO… JJEO… JJEOJEO… KUKUNG… KUNG… KUKUNG…
An intense wave as if thunder and lightning were exploding at close range.
The ground split and burst as rough wind blew.
Thus, formidable domineering spirit burst forth like a typhoon and tsunami centered on Peng Cheon-jin’s form.
In response, the dozen or so swordsmen of the Detached Three Army Corps assumed drawing stances while rapidly raising their internal power.
Each was exhibiting cultivation at the extreme level.
They had no choice.
If they were to resist the overwhelming momentum of Peng Cheon-jin, a giant of the contemporary Jianghu and owner of the glorious sobriquet Northern Heavens Saber Venerable.
In a flash, a heavy voice flowed into this space.
“Who are you? No, where did you all come from?”
It was Peng Cheon-jin.
Immediately after, one person’s voice leaked out in response.
“I’ll answer after I subdue you.”
It was precisely Nine Springs Demon Dragon Sang-jan’s reply.
Then Peng Cheon-jin was seized by a strange feeling.
‘Indeed…’
He confirmed again that the other was a demonic cultivator whose demonic techniques had reached a supreme level.
Because even the breath that leaked out with that voice seemed to transform into fighting intent and killing intent, wildly gouging and carving at his entire body.
A tingling sensation like phantom pain rapidly coursed through his body.
‘Amazing. To grant such an intense feeling with just his voice… Hmm, no matter how I look at it, he doesn’t seem to be from the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan or Heretic Cult…’
He already knew.
That the rumor of the Divine Martial Sword rapidly spreading throughout the world was some kind of trap.
Just before setting foot here, a messenger urgently dispatched by Shaolin Temple’s Won-gong through Beggar Sect Master Withered Bamboo Beggar King Ham Geo-ja had come and told him.
And even that Cheol Ryu-heun had headed to the Shiwan Mountains to deal with the enemy forces….
So he had instructed that if they encountered Cheol Ryu-heun’s party, they would cooperate.
But he hadn’t told his subordinates.
He had intended to decide after watching the situation for a while.
Honestly, he had been half-believing and half-doubting.
Thinking the Divine Martial Sword might really exist here.
For an Orthodox member to be without greed would be a lie.
In general, material desire was something that didn’t discriminate between Orthodox and Unorthodox.
Cheol Ryu-heun would be the same.
While his martial achievements of destroying the Sun Moon Demonic Cult deserved praise, if the Divine Martial Sword existed in the Shiwan Mountains, wouldn’t his greed for divine weapons and strange artifacts also be stirred?
Just like himself.
So he had intended to judge after meeting him.
However.
It was a mistake and a misjudgment.
How foolishly he had taken lightly the advice of Won-gong, the unprecedented eminent monk of this era.
He should have fully trusted his words and discarded any bit of doubt.
Shame welled up in his chest belatedly.
‘It’s entirely my fault! If only I had advised my subordinates in advance…’
What could be done now?
It was already a bucket of water spilled on the ground.
Escaping this situation by exerting his full power was the best plan.
‘Right now, those two are the biggest problem.’
Having thought inwardly, Peng Cheon-jin glanced at Nine Springs Demon Dragon Sang-jan and Eastern Heaven Division’s Sixth Great General.
That’s right.
Excluding those two, he could subdue the other enemies.
That wasn’t overconfidence in his martial prowess.
It was rapid situation assessment based on cool-headedness.
If he unleashed the Calamity Heaven Saber’s divine energy to the extreme, it was possible.
However.
His body had to endure somehow.
Because strain had been placed on his meridians and pressure points from the process of exterminating the earlier series of enemies by consuming a large amount of cultivation.
In other words, the duration of the divine energy was the key.
At that time, Sang-jan’s voice knocked against his ears.
“Your title is saber wielder, yet how is it you covet the Divine Martial Sword?”
“Just as you say, it is the Divine Martial Sword. The foremost of those famous Ten Great Heavenly Weapons… Naturally, wouldn’t anyone be enticed? But I am reflecting. On myself, who was captured by groundless suspicions because of greed.”
“Reflection? Hut, amusing words you babble. Time has been somewhat delayed. I will now take you away.”
Having so stated, Sang-jan raised his left hand.
At that hand signal, the Sixth Great General of Eastern Heaven Division and the swordsmen of the Detached Three Army Corps simultaneously retreated backward.
SEUREUREUNG.
Sang-jan’s sword drawing.
Along with that hand movement, his navy-colored hair lightly fluttered.
He had operated heavy internal power.
The intangible aura that Sang-jan, having drawn his sword, emitted was even more intense.
And so was the demonic current enveloping that form.
Looking at the dance of the thick, dark navy heat haze stretching out strand by strand in countless directions, it felt as though this place had transformed into a chaotic scene where ten thousand demons were rampaging.
It was as if mountains of corpses and seas of blood invisible to the eye were strewn here and there….
The eye-light of the two people became entangled.
KWANG!
Immediately after, a dull sound rang out.
Sang-jan’s form, which had been standing in that spot where the ground caved deeply, disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It was extremely fast movement.
SSWAAEAEAK!
Even before the KWANG! sound had subsided, a sharp and terrifying sound cutting through the air followed.
KKAAAAAAANG… KKWAAAAAAAANG!
When sword and saber collided, the space shook even more.
He endured.
Peng Cheon-jin did.
In the posture of having struck back the extremely fast sword force with a saber strike.
It was cultivation amplified in an instant.
That was the marvelous application of the divine energy possessed by the Calamity Heaven Saber.
In other words, it was different from permanent internal power increase.
That is, the Calamity Heaven Saber’s divine energy was a power that instantly doubled the owner’s cultivation.
It wasn’t something anyone could awaken.
Only martial artists with exceptional talent could achieve complete mastery.
The divine energy in question was a power that strengthened the owner’s meridians and pressure points to the extreme and then rapidly doubled the original cultivation to explosively release.
A power that instantly elevated original cultivation beyond its limits, a truly mystical and phenomenal divine energy.
People commonly said this:
That Won-gong’s overwhelming internal power depth like the deep sea was what made him remarkable, while Peng Cheon-jin’s overwhelming cultivation that explosively increased and burst forth was what made him remarkable.
Yet.
Sang-jan’s martial power was also mystical and phenomenal.
He had withstood it.
And even then, there wasn’t even a small tremor in his body.
It was a saber strike in which cultivation had been extraordinarily amplified by the amazing divine energy, yet.
Suddenly, Sang-jan’s form became hazy.
He was once again moving at tremendous speed.
HWIT.
Before anyone knew it, he had taken position behind Peng Cheon-jin and was unleashing his sword.
SSWAEAK!
A sword force that outpaced even that piercing sound.
Peng Cheon-jin’s counter saber stroke in response was also dazzling.
The movement of turning his body while drawing his saber horizontally seemed faster than lightning.
JJEOEOEOEOEOEONG… PEOEOEOEOEOEOEOENG!
Even louder sound and shockwave fiercely shook the forest.
He was pushed.
HWICHEONG.
Peng Cheon-jin’s form.
His pupils, whose upper body bent backward, surged like great waves.
‘This can’t be!’
Surely not to this extent.
Monster.
No other word came to mind.
Internal power that surpassed his own saber prowess amplified by divine energy.
The depth or size of internal power was at a level that put even Won-gong beneath his feet.
There was no time to catch his breath.
Sang-jan’s sword rushed toward his left side again.
It was frighteningly fast hand movement.
As expected, he was one who had reached a high level.
Peng Cheon-jin immediately stepped and changed direction while executing his saber technique.
In an instant, a current resembling a giant tiger spouted following the blade.
An impetus as if a violent tiger was bursting through thickets.
Mountain Lord Emerging from the Forest Saber, a formidable technique within the Tiger God Soul-Snatching Saber Technique, the supreme saber discipline of the Hebei Peng Family that symbolized Peng Cheon-jin’s martial fame.
When the Calamity Heaven Saber’s fearsome saber energy, explosively increased and released, thus clashed with Sang-jan’s navy sword energy.
KKWAGWAGWAGWAGWANG… URURURURUREUNG… !
A roaring sound echoed as the ground was overturned.
Dust obscured the enemies’ view.
In that state, a low but clear voice flowed out.
“You endured again? Not bad.”
The owner of the voice was Nine Springs Demon Dragon Sang-jan.
PAPAAK!
Peng Cheon-jin, withdrawing the saber they had crossed, retreated backward from within the dust cloud.
At that time, Sang-jan compressed the gap and rushed in from the front.
Yet again, crossing blades.
JJEOJEOJEONG… KKWAGWAGWANG!
Simultaneously with the roaring sound, Peng Cheon-jin retreated about three paces.
He finally realized.
That this was an enemy difficult to overcome.
Where had such a tremendous old demonic cultivator appeared from?
Even as he was being pushed back like that, his right hand didn’t rest.
It was because of Sang-jan’s fast techniques that gave him no opening.
The longsword flew toward his chest.
SYUISYUIK!
A concise piercing sound, but the cultivation loaded within was grand.
KUAAAAAAANG!
At the tremendous sword power, Peng Cheon-jin’s form was once again perilously pushed backward.
‘Kek!’
The power Sang-jan unleashed was truly overwhelming.
Not only Peng Cheon-jin himself was shaking, but the surrounding scenery was also wildly shaking along with him.
As if a sudden large earthquake had occurred.
KKAAAAAAANG… PEOEOEOEOEOENG!
Thus Peng Cheon-jin was pushed backward again.
HWICHEONG HWICHEONG.
However, he hadn’t fallen yet.
He was holding on by squeezing out divine energy to the limit.
But due to the accumulated shock in his body, his bones tingled.
Was the myth of Northern Heavens Saber Venerable about to crumble like this?
EUDEUDUK!
Peng Cheon-jin, having clenched his teeth, immediately kicked the ground and shot forward in desperation.
It was a movement showing the determination not to fall futilely.
A feast of finishing moves commenced.
The formidable saber techniques representing the Hebei Peng Family’s prestige were harmonized with cultivation amplified by divine energy and continuously released like a tsunami.
KWANG… KWAKWANG… JJEOJEONG… JJEONG… KKWAANG… KKWANG… !
Shockingly, Sang-jan crushed them all.
With pure cultivation alone.
He was truly an absurd warrior.
‘KEK! It’s difficult!’
Still, he mustn’t give up here.
Suddenly, one person’s name flashed through his mind.
Cheol Ryu-heun.
If he had met him, could he have overcome this crisis?
Regrettable and regrettable again.
But this was not the time to think of that.
SEUSEUT.
Before he knew it, Sang-jan had rushed in from the front.
It was still incomprehensible speed.
Peng Cheon-jin reflexively executed a finishing move with all his might.
Tiger God Roaring Saber, another finishing move within the Tiger God Soul-Snatching Saber Technique.
Thousands of tigers roared.
That’s how grand and heavy the saber energy that shot out was.
It was practically his last resort.
KKWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWAGWANG… !
Thus an explosive sound swallowed the space.
DWIEOEOEOE.
WOOLKEOK.
Peng Cheon-jin, having vomited blood, was flung backward.
‘EUUK… That bastard’s sword stroke…’
The offensive Sang-jan had unleashed was just basic sword strokes.
However.
The cultivation loaded onto them was too great and heavy.
The face of Peng Cheon-jin, who had crashed into the ground, contorted.
His internal injuries had worsened.
He could no longer move.
‘Is this… the end.’
Despair encroached upon his chest.
To be defeated by an opponent who used only basic sword forms rather than finishing moves.
It was a gap in power he had no choice but to acknowledge.
Sang-jan, having tilted his sword downward, spoke while taking a step.
“It was a predetermined result. That foolish fellow of the Sun Moon Demonic Cult was also far below this seat’s level.”
It was words referring to Aryun-nan, who had been killed by Cheol Ryu-heun.
Sang-jan leisurely advancing.
At that time.
An unexpected voice was heard right beside Peng Cheon-jin.
“Rest easy. I’ve come to put an end to this.”
Simultaneously, Peng Cheon-jin’s pupils widened fully.
UUTTEUK.
Sang-jan, whose steps had stopped, had a transparent tremor arise in his pupils.
It was Cheol Ryu-heun’s appearance.