Chapter 81: Battle of Wits

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When Ximen Yue lightly swung his left hand to emanate intangible wind energy, the dust obscuring his vision was cleanly swept away.

Following that, he let out a voice with meaningful tone.

“Face me seriously? So until now was just an appetizer?”

A question directed at Seop Pyo who stood about twenty paces ahead.

“Why, do you think I’m bluffing?”

The hands of Seop Pyo, who asked back, held no tree branch.

He had dropped it on the ground at some point.

It was because it had been ruthlessly broken from the impact of colliding with the terrifyingly powerful collapsing swordsmanship.

Ximen Yue immediately received his words.

“No way.”

There was no way it was bluffing.

Injecting vital energy into a mere tree branch to meet his continuous sword strikes was proof that his personal martial prowess was outstanding.

Moreover, he had even faced the powerful collapsing swordsmanship at the last moment head-on instead of dodging.

Honestly, it was admirable.

He had made his opponent accustomed to rapid swordsmanship, then applied an exquisite variation to execute collapsing swordsmanship, and even unleashed additional cultivation… Yet the opponent had received it completely and retreated looking fine like that, without even suffering internal injury.

It wasn’t something just anyone could do.

Setting aside identity and true character, that personal martial prowess seemed to be at a level that wouldn’t pale much even compared to the Five Supreme Martial Experts representing this region’s martial world.

However.

There was something curious.

Why hadn’t that masked old man brought a weapon?

Judging by his series of movements, he was certainly a martial artist who had handled the sword, so why was he trying to face him while throwing away his greatest advantage?

Seop Pyo opened his mouth as if to answer that curiosity.

“I will not be taking a sword in hand.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, just interpret it as you will.”

“I see… So you mean my skill is insufficient for you to display your true martial prowess, so you’ll just play along appropriately.”

Though Ximen Yue casually threw out the words, Seop Pyo showed no particular reaction and picked up a new tree branch.

Unlike the previous one, it was shaped quite thick like a staff.

Wasn’t Seop Pyo an ultra-pinnacle killer who had reached the apex of the assassin path in the previous generation’s martial world?

Whether a tree branch or anything else, whatever he gripped in his hands would transform into a threatening killing tool, a weapon.

Therefore, the type of tool was no problem at all.

Befitting the prestige of the alias Head-Severing Yama, his sword path study had long since transcended dependence on sharp weapons.

Immediately after.

FI-FI-FIT-

All the small branches protruding along the central large branch fell away as if being cleanly cut by a blade.

It was a phenomenon created by the massive injection of vital energy, the exquisite operation of internal energy technique.

Seeing that, Ximen Yue inwardly admired again and muttered.

‘To be able to control internal energy so delicately… What kind of relationship does he have with White Peak Sword Sect? By this point, I want to remove his mask and confirm his face.’

Meanwhile, Seop Pyo was thinking similarly.

‘A fellow who can skillfully execute both rapid swordsmanship and collapsing swordsmanship… Considering that ability, there’s a high possibility he’ll become an obstacle for Sect Master Cheol. Now I’ll personally dig into his identity.’

If he had taken up a sword, it would have been easier than now.

But.

He didn’t care.

No matter how much of a genius swordsman that unknown young masked person was, he was still at a level that fell short of Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon’s.

In other words, it meant he could somehow subdue him with his own power even without taking up a sword.

He hadn’t practiced martial arts as diligently as in his youth since going into seclusion, but that didn’t mean he had regressed either.

Compared to the old days, he had at least maintained the status quo.

‘I’ll make him kneel first!’

Simultaneously with eyes of determination.

WHOOSH-

Great haze rose outside Seop Pyo’s body, and heavy pressure covered the surrounding grass.

CRACK, CRACK… CRA-CRACK… THUD, THU-THUD… THUD…

Tremors in the ground and atmosphere.

An intangible aura no less than Ximen Yue’s earlier one that had evoked a dark mountain, one that gave an even heavier feeling.

Suddenly, Ximen Yue thought of one person.

The head of the Ximen Family, Whirlwind Sword Lord Ximen Jwa.

If this Hunan region had the Five Supreme Martial Experts, the Shaanxi region had the so-called Four Great Martial Fiercest.

Whirlwind Sword Lord Ximen Jwa was one of them, a pinnacle master who had mastered the family’s representative sword art, the Great Wind Sword Scripture, to the maximum.

‘He resembles Father.’

It felt like Ximen Jwa was standing before him holding a sword.

It was similar.

The way he showed off his might while drawing up the profound internal cultivation within his body to the fullest.

Yet… there was fighting spirit but no bloodlust.

Why was that?

However, Ximen Yue soon sensed something similar to bloodlust within the opponent’s force, like hundreds of fierce beasts roaring.

It was quite alien.

Setting aside the estimated martial prowess level, it was an unfamiliar intangible aura.

Was he someone who had undergone advanced training to even emit bloodlust covertly?

Soon, Seop Pyo tilted the staff-like tree branch diagonally and spoke quietly.

“Display your true forte.”

Ximen Yue immediately understood what that meant.

It meant he had already figured out that the series of rapid swordsmanship and collapsing swordsmanship were tricks to hide his identity.

In other words, it was a warning that if he didn’t bring out his true martial arts, he would get hurt.

Ximen Yue adjusted his grip on the sword hilt and showed an arrogant gesture with his chin.

“Ha. Fine, try pushing me hard enough to make me display my hidden forte.”

Immediately after, intangible energy shook the ground and atmosphere.

Just like Seop Pyo, he too had rapidly raised his personal internal cultivation a level higher.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE…

When the intangible energies of the two intertwined, the scenery of the grass appeared transparently crumpled.

Then.

SILENCE.

A sudden brief stillness.

The atmosphere before a storm.

Within the heightened tension, Seop Pyo broke the silence first.

FWAP-

He compressed the gap using footwork.

In barely the time it takes to blink an eye.

SWISH!

The tree branch laden with vital energy drew a sharp line as it rushed toward the opponent’s left shoulder.

Ximen Yue quickly twisted his upper body to evade that sword strike, then immediately executed an identical sword strike.

SHO-SWISH!

A single stroke aimed at the face.

It was an appropriate counter that craftily squeezed into a very small opening in the movement.

Ximen Yue had already calculated his next move.

He assumed that to avoid facial injury and secure distance for his attack, the opponent would immediately retreat.

At that moment, he planned to press close and thrust at the lower body.

But then.

FWAP.

Seop Pyo perfectly evaded the sword strike with the minimal movement of slightly ducking his upper body without stepping back, and using that brief gap, he unleashed a counter sword form aimed at the side of the face.

SWI-SWIT!

The tip of the tree branch that had burst with a sharp sound grazed past the temple area of Ximen Yue’s mask.

SWISH-

A barely visible, thin scratch.

‘Hmm!’

It was fortunate he had reflexively tilted his neck; if his reaction had been even slightly slower, it would have been a moment when he nearly got cut on the vital Sun Point.

It was surprising.

If it had been another master, they would have retreated nine times out of ten, but the opponent before him had instead exploited that and deployed a surprise form.

Indeed.

It had been an intentional opening.

In that instant of time, Seop Pyo had already deliberately shown a tiny gap to induce him to execute the single stroke aimed at the face.

Realizing that belatedly, Ximen Yue couldn’t help but inwardly admire once again.

It was a battle of wits only possible between highly skilled masters.

If a martial artist whose skill didn’t reach a certain level, they wouldn’t have even been able to discover that tiny opening in the first place.

Seop Pyo’s tree branch continued to move sharply targeting Ximen Yue, making fierce sounds.

SWIT, SWI-SWIT- SCHRIT, SCHRIT, SCHRIT-

Continuous thrusting and slashing forms wildly disrupted his field of vision.

Flashy?

No, far from it.

Rather, it could be called an offense with maximized simplicity of drawing lines.

Only, the form linkage speed was tremendously fast, making it quite dizzying to the eyes.

Was only the right hand busy?

The left hand was also moving without rest.

Shooting ground wind, pouring palm attacks, emitting fist energy – displaying various profound uses.

It was truly excellent auxiliary skill.

Though most of the cultivation was concentrated in the right hand so the left hand’s power was greatly reduced, considering it wasn’t the main offense, it was at a remarkably high level.

In the end, Ximen Yue was completely pushed onto the defensive.

‘Damn!’

The pressure from this offense was considerable.

It didn’t allow the leisure to catch his breath, let alone blink once.

Feeling that his flow would collapse if he just met it head-on, he focused all his nerves on evasion.

Seop Pyo’s tree branch persistently targeted only the vital pressure points across his entire body.

The Philtrum Point between the nose and upper lip, the Lesser Sea Point on the elbow, the Cleft Gate Point in the middle of the forearm, the Central Treasury Point below the end of the collarbone, the Central Cavity Point on the belly, the Kidney Governer Point on the waist, the Sea of Blood Point inside the knee, the Boundary Dissolution Point on the ankle – an offense so detailed and incredibly rapid it seemed to sweep from head to toe indiscriminately.

Weren’t they all vital spots that could immediately decide the match?

The moment Ximen Yue, who had been ceaselessly evading, perceived that characteristic, his eyes lit up with peculiar light.

‘This is somehow…!’

Two characters flashed through his mind.

Killing Sword.

An assassin’s sword form whose main purpose was to target others’ vital spots in a short time to take their lives.

The foremost purpose of a professional killer was to eliminate targets in a short time, so the sword operation method itself was considerably concise.

Yet.

The way the opponent was moving his hand holding the tree branch somehow seemed very similar to that.

However, that was the only aspect identical to Killing Sword.

Within the concise lines equipped with speed, there was a profound use of covert variation, making it confusing whether this was really an assassin’s attacks.

Just then.

SWISH!

The moment Seop Pyo’s tree branch grazed past over Ximen Yue’s left shoulder, a CRASH! explosive sound burst out.

He had performed a tremoring stomp at some point.

Who.

It was Ximen Yue.

This was what he had been waiting for.

Because he was confident he could dodge the offense without getting injured.

So, he had aimed and aimed, waiting for a gap that occurred naturally rather than an intentional gap, until he finally performed a tremoring stomp through aggressive internal energy operation.

Good.

Success.

Due to the heavy power that smashed the grass, the opponent’s figure noticeably swayed back and forth.

Suddenly.

KICK!

Seop Pyo immediately kicked off the ground and withdrew backward.

Not to be outdone, Ximen Yue injected a massive amount of vital energy into the blade.

HUMMMM-

It was time to drive the sword into the opponent.

Thus, he became a gust of wind.

PA-PA-PA-PA-

Having closed the gap in the blink of an eye, he fiercely thrust out the sword in his right hand.

SHWIIING-!

Within the advancing blade was contained a terrifying power reminiscent of an ultimate technique.

The moment Seop Pyo fixed both legs on the ground, he rapidly swung the tree branch and met it with a horizontal slash.

KRABOOOOOOM-!

Transparent currents swept across the grass in a circle as if compressed air burst out, creating a thunderous sound as thick dust clouds obscured his vision.

‘Urk!’

Due to that powerful repelling force, Ximen Yue was bounced about one jang backward.

SCREECH, SCREEECH-

Having stopped his body by scraping the ground with his soles, he immediately cast his gaze into the thick view ahead.

‘Where is he…?’

He had glimpsed the opponent also being pushed by the repelling force earlier.

But then.

The presence had suddenly vanished.

Having immediately heightened his whole body’s energy sense in an instant, a presence suddenly rushed from close behind.

SWI-SWIT!

Ximen Yue spun his body and raised his sword upright before his chest.

CLANG- KA-BOOM!

A metallic sound and cutting sound striking his ears.

Ximen Yue’s figure, having narrowly blocked the tree branch, slid a whole twenty paces backward, carving a long footprint.

Following that, his gaze greatly wavered.

‘…!’

Because an impact like a sledgehammer striking was transmitted to his wrist, forearm, and shoulder.

It was terrifying cultivation.

All the blood and energy inside his body jolted in surprise, thrashing about like an angry horse and generating tingling pain.

He had said earlier he would face him seriously, but to think he would casually display this much power.

Suddenly, the opponent’s presence vanished again.

‘Again!’

He couldn’t be seen.

It was truly movement appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

It felt like goosebumps rising all over his body as if standing alone at a quiet, dark gravesite.

Immediately after.

SWOOSH.

The space behind Ximen Yue’s back squirmed and Seop Pyo instantly revealed himself, swiftly thrusting the tree branch coated with sharp energy.

A covert, ambush-like rear attack linked with the transcendent skill Space Concealment Stealth Technique, unique to assassins.

A sound unpleasant to hear struck his ears.

SCHRIICK-!

Red blood droplets splattered.

* * *

SCHRIICK-!

The black outer robe with a large yaksha holding a sword in its mouth embroidered on it was torn.

KA-CRASH!

Jeo Gyeom’s figure, struck by sword power on his chest, was pushed back fiercely and THUDDED into the wall.

Immediately after.

Cheol Ryu-heun, standing about twenty paces away, swept back his hair with his left hand and spoke expressionlessly.

“Not a Yaksha holding the Sword of the Netherworld, but a feather-light yaksha.”