Chapter 298: A Fight Without a Bell (2)
In winter, the sun tended to set particularly early.
As the sun was setting far to the west, Muk Bi walked into the Army-Destroying Pavilion, huffing and puffing.
“Where is this man? I must see the end of this today…… Huh?”
Muk Bi, who had been full of anger, gave a bright smile.
“Pyeong-ah.”
“Oh? Sister, you have come?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong welcomed Muk Bi gladly.
It had not been long since he regained consciousness, so he had not been able to have a proper face-to-face meeting with Muk Bi. Although they had fought together, he was in such a state of confusion that he could not even share a comfortable conversation.
“Did you wake up? How is your body?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong blushed as if he were embarrassed.
“I am fine. It is shameful. It was not something to be lying down for so long.”
“What are you talking about? It was your first real battle. That level of shock is natural.”
Muk Bi raised her hand and tilted it above her head.
“By the way, even then, you were truly huge, weren’t you?”
“Did I grow that much……?”
“Of course. Now you are bigger than me.”
Although he was smaller than Yeon Wi or Yeon Ho-jeong, Yeon Ji-pyeong had grown enough to surpass Muk Bi. Considering that Muk Bi was also tall for a woman, his growth was dazzling.
Muk Bi gave a sly smile that did not suit her.
“You are tall and handsome, and even your abilities are outstanding. You will shake the vigilance of the female heroes of the Jianghu.”
She nudged Yeon Ji-pyeong with her elbow, and her appearance was full of playfulness.
Yeon Ji-pyeong, embarrassed, waved his hand.
“Female heroes? That is out of the question. It is not even time to think about such things yet…….”
“Such things? Like what?”
“Si, Sister!”
“Hahaha.”
Muk Bi burst into a loud laugh for the first time in a while. Perhaps she was happy to have met the first person to whom her jokes worked.
Yeon Ji-pyeong cleared his throat.
“Sister, you have also changed a lot.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I think you have become much brighter than before.”
“Is that so? Well, all sorts of things have happened. It was too bleak to live as a silent archer.”
In Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes, the change in Muk Bi was not just her personality.
‘How amazing!’
He felt a sense of leisure from Muk Bi that he had not felt before.
That leisure came from the dignity of a strong person. There was an atmosphere of a master who would never be flustered no matter what situation or battle she went through.
The sister who did not know the ways of the world had overcome the storms of the Jianghu and changed this much. Yeon Ji-pyeong thought that it was also a great growth.
‘As expected.’
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s smile deepened.
‘Before I knew it, Sister is also coming to resemble Brother. They are a truly well-matched pair.’
Muk Bi narrowed her eyes.
“What is it? What is that meaningful smile?”
“What? Oh, it is nothing.”
“I asked what it is. Do you happen to be hiding something from the sister you met after a long time?”
“It is not that…….”
Yeon Ji-pyeong said with a naive face.
“I was just looking forward to when you will spend a hundred years of harmony with Brother.”
Muk Bi’s face hardened instantly.
It was not just a surprised expression. Yeon Ji-pyeong was momentarily flustered, thinking he had done something wrong.
“H-Ho, did I perhaps make a slip of the tongue……?”
“This human!”
“……Yes?”
“Speaking of which, where is this human! You, do you know where Young Master Yeon is? He must have come to the lodging?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong pointed to the second floor with a dazed face.
“He went into his residence, saying there was something he needed to think about……”
“I’ll beat him to death!”
Muk Bi entered the building without even looking back. She was so excited that a roar like a cannon exploding sounded when she opened the door.
Yeon Ji-pyeong was flustered.
‘Did Brother make some kind of mistake?’
Looking at Sister’s momentum, it seemed that if he stayed still, something bad would happen. Yeon Ji-pyeong hurriedly followed behind Muk Bi.
Muk Bi, who reached the second floor in an instant, threw open the door to Yeon Ho-jeong’s room at once.
Bang!
“This damned human, I am dying of fatigue, and yet you leave the children’s training to me and are slacking off here……!!”
In an instant, Muk Bi shut her mouth.
Yeon Ji-pyeong, flustered, grabbed Muk Bi’s sleeve and shook it.
“Si, Sister. Calm down. First, ask Brother about the circumstances……”
“Shh.”
“Eh?”
Only then did Yeon Ji-pyeong see Yeon Ho-jeong’s appearance.
Woooong. Woooong.
From Yeon Ho-jeong’s body, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a soft green true qi was flowing out.
‘Huh?’
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes widened.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, with his eyes closed and sitting cross-legged, looked very peaceful. However, the clear green true qi flowing from his body revealed a terrifying power, contrary to its refreshing light.
What was unique was the flow of the true qi.
‘It converges inward?!’
Usually, the operation of internal power to the extent that true qi was emitted outside the body was bound to create a violent aura wave that would be immediately captured by sensitive masters.
However, the current Yeon Ho-jeong was different. Only after seeing it with his own eyes did Yeon Ji-pyeong realize that his brother’s operation of energy was intense. When he was in the yard, he did not even know if his brother had entered meditation.
It was because the emitted external qi converged directly into the body, increasing the density of the internal power.
‘Exactly what kind of martial art is he cultivating?’
At that time, Muk Bi said in a small voice.
“It has started.”
“Yes?”
She knew that his concentration would not be easily broken. Muk Bi murmured softly.
“I told him before. That the time for a leap would soon come. However, he said he was weighing when to start, and it seems that today was that day.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Five Great Divine Arts.”
“……!”
“Keeping the mastered Jade Gauze True Formula fixed, he is cultivating one of the Yeon Clan’s Five Great Divine Arts.”
In an instant, Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes wavered.
‘If it is an infinitely strong dark green true qi……?’
True qi in which the scent of greenery could be felt. In a giant forest that even the sunlight could not penetrate, an unperishing legendary divine beast was writhing.
An unrevealed ferocity was there. It looked very peaceful and stable on the outside, but in that forest, a mythical being that would tear even the sky apart was crouching.
‘Dragon Robe Divine Art!’
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s mouth hung open.
‘He is learning the Dragon Robe Divine Art immediately after the Jade Gauze True Formula?’
The Yeon Clan’s Five Great Divine Arts were all stable orthodox arts.
However, they were also famous for having distinct characteristics. Among them, the Jade Gauze True Formula belonged to the least characteristic side, but it was suitable for overall skill improvement as it made the mind and body stable and harmonious.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Dragon Robe Divine Art was a martial art completely opposite to such Jade Gauze True Formula.
Although it was an orthodox art, it did not pursue the protection of the heart and qi like the Jade Gauze True Formula, but rather the increase of output and the maximization of the application of force.
It was a martial art full of competitive spirit that raised the overall power of the martial arts being used. Among the Yeon Clan’s martial arts, it was the most destructive and powerful, and since the consumption of internal energy due to the increase in output also increased, it was more suitable for short-term battles than long-term battles.
‘The reason Brother cultivated the Jade Gauze True Formula is clear. Because it is good for supplementing Brother’s nature, techniques, and skills.’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s martial arts could be expressed in just two words, without any need for description.
Fast and strong.
Yeon Ho-jeong was fast, and at the same time, strong. His movements and stances were like lightning, and the power of the martial arts he used was like a pouring landslide.
In other words, it meant that his hand might become too excessive. Even perfectly cultivated martial arts could ruin the master’s mind and body if they saw more blood than necessary.
In that respect, Yeon Ho-jeong’s insight in choosing the Jade Gauze True Formula was excellent. While rising to his current realm, he had never been swayed by a heart demon.
That was exactly the part that Yeon Ji-pyeong was worried about.
‘Is it okay to learn the Dragon Robe Divine Art now?’
Yeon Ji-pyeong recalled his brother’s martial arts.
The resolute hand that split the assassins aiming for Gi Wu-hui like splitting firewood.
Unlike the explosive power, the martial arts of a war god who led the situation with a cold insight that would make one’s spine feel chilled.
Even while using such exhilarating and blood-filled martial arts, he never got excited. It was a self-control that even the mid-level masters of the Jianghu found difficult to show.
If such a brother, by any chance, lost his composure while learning the Dragon Robe Divine Art?
‘…….’
Yeon Ji-pyeong felt strength being filled into his fists.
‘It is an unnecessary worry. Brother is a genius that someone like me cannot gauge. He learned it because it was time to learn it.’
He believed in his brother. He believed in his brother’s ability and talent, and a destiny he did not know.
Still, he could not help but feel anxious. It was close to a vague anxiety that one inevitably felt for a blood relative.
How much time had passed like that?
Huuuuuu.
In the breath he exhaled deeply, green smoke came out mixed.
It was a color reminiscent of the toxicity of Poison Art. However, the true qi buried in that breath was full of the smell of a forest that became thicker after rain.
Zzzzzzzzzing.
It was a strange sound.
From somewhere in Yeon Ho-jeong’s body, a sound like a gear turning was heard.
Yeon Ji-pyeong, who was fairly well-versed in the Yeon Clan’s martial arts, also could not know what was happening inside Yeon Ho-jeong’s body.
If by any chance Yeon Wi had been here now.
Beyond being well-versed in the Yeon Clan’s martial arts, if there had existed the Sword Master of Green Mountain who could use even martial arts he had not cultivated as easily as if he had reached the realm of a master just by reciting the oral formulas.
If so, he would have accurately seen through what was happening in Yeon Ho-jeong’s body.
A smile appeared around Yeon Ho-jeong’s mouth.
Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead, flowed past his temples, and down his cheeks.
‘It is done!’
Finally, it was a success.
‘This is the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir, which is said to be the beginning of the unification of the Five Great Divine Arts.’
Yeon Clan Divine Elixir. It refers to a sphere of true qi made by increasing density with condensed internal power.
It was the sum total of true qi made by wrapping and wrapping invisible thin threads hundreds or thousands of times. In other words, he had formed a gaseous body like the inner elixir of a spiritual beast.
The Yeon Clan Divine Elixir is the source that allows one who has mastered all five of the Yeon Clan’s Five Great Divine Arts to use the Yeon Clan’s greatest secret techniques made by reassembling them.
The location is the center of the human body, the middle dantian. The fact that the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir is located in the middle, which regulates emotions and controls the movement of the internal organs, means that Yeon Ho-jeong’s nature is that intense.
‘The position where the divine elixir is located differs for each person who cultivates it. For someone, it could be the lower dantian, and for another, it could be the upper dantian.’
It was a fact he did not know in the past, during his time as the Dark Emperor.
In the first place, since he was cultivating the Great Heaven Qi at that time, he could not know the infinite nature of the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir just by knowing the oral formulas. This is because the divine elixir itself can only be created by mastering multiple divine arts.
‘Yes, this is better.’
Father would also know about the existence of the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir. Nevertheless, the reason he did not cultivate multiple divine arts was because Father had his own martial way.
If Yeon Ho-jeong also did not have the realization from his time as the Dark Emperor, he would have seen the end with the Jade Gauze True Formula.
‘For the current me, I need realistic power itself rather than a serious inquiry into the martial way.’
Even so, he did not know he would even be able to create the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir. What he intended was to fill the Dragon Robe Divine Art in the place where the Jade Gauze True Formula was located, so he did not even think of forming an inner elixir.
‘Four Gods Martial Arts!’
If the Four Directions Divine Qi of the Four Gods Martial Arts had not been in balance, it would have been impossible to form an inner elixir.
And that would be one of the many reasons why the Yeon Clan Divine Elixir was located in the middle.
Because the Four Divine Qi are precisely the energies that control the organs of the human body.
“Heup!”
Yeon Ho-jeong, who took a deep breath, opened his eyes wide.
Woooong.
In his clear and deep eyes, he felt a pulsing, powerful force as if it would jump out at any moment.
It was the new power to replace the Jade Gauze True Formula, the power of the Dragon Robe Divine Art.
“……It is done.”
Suddenly, fatigue rushed in like a tide.
Yeon Ho-jeong looked at the two people with a fatigue-stricken face.
“Why did you come in without even a word…… Uhhh?”
Thud!
Yeon Ho-jeong collapsed onto the bed just like that.
The two surprised people hurriedly approached him.
“Young Master Yeon!”
“Brother!”
At that time, Yeon Ho-jeong snored lightly. He had been forced to fall asleep due to extreme fatigue.
Muk Bi glared at Yeon Ho-jeong as if it were absurd.
“……Is he not acting on purpose?”
She found Yeon Ho-jeong so detestable.