Chapter 455 Supreme (2)

“Are you afraid? Why are you keeping your distance?”

-Wudeuk!

For a moment, Mok Gan’s expression twisted fiercely.

Even though they were avatars, not all of them had the same tendencies.

Although they shared consciousness through the third eye, they were inevitably influenced by the personality and tendencies of their original bodies.

This avatar with the fierce expression was a body Mok Gan had obtained about forty years ago.

Comprehending the Sword of Crying Death, In-seop.

Though he was quickly forgotten by the martial arts world due to his short active period and southern barbarian origins, he was one of the top five peerless masters in the entire martial arts world at that time.

This peerless master, who had no equal in the southern barbarian lands and surrounding areas, was extremely proud and arrogant.

“You’re getting cocky because your power has increased.”

-Gooooo!

As Mok Gan revealed his aura, the broken bamboo trees shook with tremendous wind pressure.

‘…To think it was this much.’

Jin Ye-rin’s complexion darkened at his overwhelming aura.

She had guessed he was holding back, but to think he had controlled his power to this extent?

This was already beyond the wall of walls.

-Pat!

Though his severed arm hadn’t fully regenerated, Mok Gan stretched out his hand where the skin hadn’t even formed yet.

“I’ll show you how different it is from back then.”

-Woo woo woong!

As Mok Gan stretched out his hand, with a sound of air tearing, sharp sword energy and true energy gathered, forming an utterly transparent formless sword.

‘Invisible Sword!’

Jin Ye-rin’s pupils shook.

It was the realm of the Invisible Sword, the stage of forming a sword with true energy that could be called the Sword Extreme.

Mok Gan, who could maximize the potential abilities of a body when he dominated it, was capable of this.

However, when he had just taken over the body of Na Yul-ryang, the eldest disciple of the Heaven and Earth Society’s leader, he couldn’t exert his power properly because the body hadn’t yet blossomed compared to its talent.

But this current body was different.

He had used it for a full forty years, completely assimilating with it and blossoming all of its potential.

-Suk!

Mok Gan took a stabbing stance with the sword, pulling it towards Mok Gyeong-un.

Then, tremendous energy began to concentrate on the entire Invisible Sword.

It looked as if he was gathering power into a single point.

-Kururururu!

Even the ground was shaking and trembling.

This sharp energy spreading out was focusing on Mok Gyeong-un like aiming at a target.

‘No. This is…’

There’s no way Mok Gyeong-un couldn’t have read the omen of death emanating from the sword stance, so why was he standing still like that?

Surely he wasn’t planning to receive that sword technique head-on?

Even though his power had increased incomparably from before, this was too dangerous.

Feeling an extreme sense of foreboding, Jin Ye-rin hurriedly shouted.

“Young Master Mok, you mustn’t receive it head-o…”

Before her words could finish,

‘Heaven Vein Sword Technique. Invisible Sword Technique Second Form: Sword Fang Eruption^[1]!’

-Paaaaaaang!

With a sound that seemed to pierce the eardrums, sharp sword energy amplified with explosive power and enveloped the entire space.

It was like a giant the size of a great mountain thrusting a sword.

The sword technique of the Invisible Sword, imbued with immeasurable power, attempted to destroy everything in sight.

‘Foolish bastard.’

For a split second, the corner of Mok Gan’s mouth rose.

To think he’d try to receive this head-on just because his power had increased.

Unlike you, I’ve spent long years researching countless martial arts and even created sword techniques suitable for the Invisible Sword.

Unless it’s a sword technique with equal power, this can’t be faced head-o…

-Chwaaaaaaaaaaaak!

‘!!!!!!!!’

Suddenly, Mok Gan’s expression froze.

The sword technique of the Invisible Sword Technique Second Form: Sword Fang Eruption, which was extending with the force to destroy everything in sight, was split in half.

The sight was like a massive waterfall being cleaved.

And between the split halves, Mok Gyeong-un could be seen drawing his sword upwards.

‘He… cut it.’

He wasn’t the only one surprised by this sight.

Jin Ye-rin was so shocked that she staggered and ended up sitting down hard.

She had thought that he hadn’t even raised a Invisible Sword, and that even though it was an avatar, it couldn’t match Mok Gan whose power had reached its peak.

But in that instant, that moment,

-Ossak!

She got goosebumps from the transcendent power she felt from Mok Gyeong-un.

It was only for a moment, but Mok Gyeong-un’s power completely overwhelmed Mok Gan.

What is happened was that just now?

As she was wondering,

-Slash!

Mok Gyeong-un, who had cut Mok Gan’s Invisible Sword technique with a single strike, began walking towards him.

It was just one step, but the strange pressure that came with it was overwhelming.

At this, Mok Gan, who had been momentarily bewildered by his technique being broken, seemed to regain his senses and hurriedly tried to deploy another sword technique with his Invisible Sword.

‘Heaven Vein Sword Technique. Invisible Sword Technique Fourth Form: Sword Wave Annihilation!’

-Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa!

As Mok Gan swung his sword, numerous sword afterimages appeared, all raising a tyrannical force like waves trying to sweep away Mok Gyeong-un.

Then,

-Chwak!

This time, Mok Gyeong-un swung his sword down towards the wave of sword force.

Along with this, the wave made of black afterimages split, and once again the Invisible Sword technique was broken as if it were nothing.

At this sight, the focus of the eye on Mok Gan’s forehead shook.

That third eye could read the flow of energy, and the moment Mok Gyeong-un swung his sword, the surroundings were dyed completely black with power.

‘…How can this be possible?’

He had fought with Mok Gyeong-un before, albeit as a different avatar.

Until just recently, he hadn’t even matched the power of a new body.

But just now, his power surged to the point of covering everything around.

It was to the extent of surpassing even this body.

-Jeobeok jeobeok!

Looking at the approaching Mok Gyeong-un, Mok Gan opened his mouth.

“You… Don’t tell me you’ve consumed the essence of a spiritual beast?”

“Essence?”

“There’s no way your power could surge like this in such a short time otherwise. Yes, that must be it. You’ve been consuming the essence of spiritual beasts to regain your strength!”

There are three books called the Three Strange Books.

One of them, the True Scripture of the Immortal White, states that there are spiritual beasts born from the gathering of nature’s energy.

Even in the Book of Rites, one of the Five Classics of Confucianism, four of these Five Spirits are mentioned: the unicorn, phoenix, qilin, and dragon turtle.

Since ancient times, the existence of these Four Spirits has been considered an auspicious sign in the Central Plains.

However, the Five Spirits mentioned in the True Scripture of the Immortal White are somewhat different.

While the Four Spirits are beings of fantasy, these Five Spirits are said to actually exist.

They are the Great Peng[대붕(大鵬)]][, the Imoogi, the Flaming Qilin, the Wind White Tiger^[2], and the Dragon Turtle^[3], said to be beings born from the gathering of the five elements’ energy, like nature itself.

The True Scripture of the Immortal White describes important things here, stating that if one consumes the blood or essence of these Five Spirits born from the gathering of nature’s energy, they can obtain enough primordial energy for longevity or even immortality, more than enough to use for a lifetime.

‘Spiritual beast… essence…’

Though he hadn’t seen the True Scripture of the Immortal White, Mok Gyeong-un also knew something about the Five Spirits.

He had heard about the Dragon Turtle and Flaming Qilin from Blood Saint Dam Baek-ha and Jin Ye-rin, and even Jin Woon-hwi’s thought-form in the bamboo slips had briefly mentioned these Five Spirits.

Hadn’t he said it was an opportunity to directly accept the essence of the five elements?

But Mok Gyeong-un wasn’t interested in these spiritual beasts.

His interest was only one thing.

“You can have that stuff.”

“What?”

“That’s not what’s important.”

-Pat!

Mok Gyeong-un’s form instantly reached in front of Mok Gan.

Mok Gan, who hadn’t lowered his guard, hurriedly tried to behead Mok Gyeong-un who had appeared with his Invisible Sword, but,

-Chaeaaang!

‘!?’

His Invisible Sword was deflected.

‘The Invisible Sword?’

He deflected it with just a sword, not even another Invisible Sword or even a special sword?

-Pat!

Mok Gan launched his body backwards to avoid the demonic sword Evil Commandment Sword aiming for his neck, and drew his left hand’s sword hilt downwards.

-Woo woo woong!

Then, a large Invisible Sword appeared in the air, trying to crush Mok Gyeong-un like a mace.

However,

-Chaeaaaaang!

Mok Gyeong-un struck it down as he moved forward.

No, it wasn’t just struck down.

The giant Invisible Sword that clashed with Mok Gyeong-un’s sword was scattering and breaking apart.

The pupil of Mok Gan’s third eye shook and blood vessels bulged.

Only then could Mok Gan understand.

‘The moment he swings his sword, his power surges to the extreme. This… This isn’t his energy.’

Mok Gan’s eyes became incredulous.

If he had consumed the essence of all Five Spirits, the energy of the five elements would be in balance, allowing him to connect with nature and draw in that energy.

But if that were the case, he would have noticed it already.

But this bastard hadn’t consumed the essence of spiritual beasts or anything like that.

‘How… How can this be…’

“Still not enough.”

-Gooooooooo!

-Heumchit!

The moment Mok Gyeong-un took a stance to swing his sword towards him, the sharpness flowing from the sword was being honed to the extreme.

‘Kuk!’

Mok Gan hurriedly blocked the sword flying towards him.

-Chaeaang!

It didn’t end there.

-Chaeaang! Chaeang! Chaeang!

Mok Gan blocked Mok Gyeong-un’s successive sword strikes with all his might.

But with each block, his internal organs boiled from the overwhelming power.

Even if he wanted to counterattack, just blocking was overwhelming.

-Chaeaaang!

“Keheok!”

The moment he clashed with Mok Gyeong-un’s next sword strike, his palm was torn open and blood spurted from his mouth as his form was pushed back relentlessly.

-Chwareureureureureureu!

He tried to deflect the incoming sword force with the Pear Blossom Grafting technique, but he couldn’t.

It was stirring up his insides so wildly that there was no way to expel it without circulating his energy.

The gaze of Mok Gan’s third eye sharpened as he looked at Mok Gyeong-un.

‘The main body… Only the main body can deal with this bastard.’

The forbidden technique was in place, and he had sent three avatars to make sure, but due to unexpected variables, he had lost two avatars ridiculously.

So he was weighing whether to fight him or withdraw since he had achieved his primary objective, but remembering their fight at the Heaven and Earth Society, he thought he could subdue him if he went all out with a fully assimilated avatar.

But that was a miscalculation.

The current bastard couldn’t be beaten without the main body.

“Kuleuk kuleuk…”

Mok Gan, wiping away the flowing blood, looked around.

He saw Jin Ye-rin looking at him with surprised eyes and Ghost Blade barely clinging to life.

Now that it had come to this, there was only one thing for him to do.

It was to kill everyone here with a mutual destruction technique and at least inflict some injury on the bastard.

-Gooooooo!

Blood vessels bulged in the eye on Mok Gan’s forehead as energy surged.

He intended to amplify his demonic power and true energy to cause an explosion all at once.

Mok Gan glared at Mok Gyeong-un and said,

“This is the en…”

-Seureureureuk!

At that moment, Mok Gan felt the world tilting sideways.

‘!?’

What is happened is happening?

Then he realized.

At some point, his neck had been cut and his head was falling off.

-Kung!

His head hit the ground and rolled, and as it did, he saw a sharp sword energy cutting through the air in an endless trajectory.

-Chwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

It was neither sword energy, nor sword force, nor an Invisible Sword.

It was as if immeasurable power was imbued in the sword force, almost like…

-Kkwak!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un grabbed his rolling head by the hair and lifted it.

Then, raising the corner of his mouth, he said,

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve been able to approach the Supreme Sword.”