Chapter 341 |
Chapter 341
Water Drops Wearing Away the Stone
Protagonist Dao Yuetian of the Legend of the Evil Emperor.
In the novel Mu-jin read, he did not use Qi until the very end.
To be precise, he was unable to use it.
Literally, through bone-grinding effort, he obtained speed beyond talent.
However, his lacking intelligence never allowed him to comprehend Qi, and more importantly, his swift blade technique was not suited for mastering Qi.
As an extreme martial art that pursued speed, there was no room to condense Qi to produce Qi energy.
Using a black sword made of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Iron and extremely fast blade techniques, Dao Yuetian overcame that weakness but ultimately faced a limit.
[Water Drips Through Stone]
The idiom that Mu-jin told Dao Yuetian did not originally mean its literal sense.
Imagining the scene of water piercing through stone, it was a phrase that described the realization when he pierced Hyeok Jin-gang's Sword Breaking Qi.
Although Dao Yuetian did not know, the phrase from Mu-jin was the name of the realization that novel Dao Yuetian thought of.
And here.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The real Dao Yuetian was following the realization of the novel Dao Yuetian.
Like water piercing through stone, he was carving Qi with his blade.
With speed that sliced through light, he was achieving the unrealistic feat of striking the exact same point repeatedly.
When something is swung with all its might at maximum speed, hitting the same spot is extremely difficult.
Even more so if the target is moving.
But Dao Yuetian managed to achieve this unrealistic feat.
Swish!
The silk in Dao Yuetian's black sword was torn.
Swoosh!
To avoid the flying silk that shot in all directions, Dao Yuetian flung himself toward the spot he had pierced.
Boom!!
Immediately after, a terrifying explosion erupted from the place where Dao Yuetian had been standing, but he had already moved forward.
"What!?"
The Nasha Witch, who had unleashed her ultimate technique, hastily gathered her internal energy with a shocked expression.
Qi burst out from her rapidly swinging claws.
'Water Drips Through Stone.'
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Recalling his realization, Dao Yuetian calmly swung his black sword.
A realization does not end with one. A large realization penetrates and advances martial arts.
The essence of Water Drips Through Stone was not just the accuracy of striking the same point repeatedly.
Equally important was the speed of retrieving the blade.
The moment Dao Yuetian's black sword clashed with the Nasha Witch's claw,
Clang!
An unpleasant metallic sound echoed,
"!?"
Before anyone knew it, Dao Yuetian's black sword had been retrieved to his side.
He had used the repulsive force of the clash to speed up the retrieval of his sword.
Just as he had done when repeatedly slashing the silk wrapped in Qi earlier.
And as he pierced into the Nasha Witch's chest, who was still extending her claws,
Swoosh!
The second Swift Shadow Strike, seamlessly following the first, aimed at the Nasha Witch's heart.
Swish!!
With a clean slicing sound, blood spurted into the air, but Dao Yuetian's expression remained stoic.
'It was shallow.'
Just before piercing her heart, the Nasha Witch had pulled back, narrowly avoiding instant death.
"You scoundrel!!!!"
Of course, the Nasha Witch was not unharmed despite not dying.
She stopped the bleeding from her chest, a face of fierce malice contorted as she screamed.
"How dare you injure my body! I will never let you live!!"
Her face was twisted with rage, screaming in a shrill, ear-splitting tone.
Yet, Dao Yuetian merely furrowed his brow slightly and charged at her.
As expected, the silk she had sent flew to obstruct Dao Yuetian's vision.
Dodging some with light movements and cutting others with his black sword, he closed the distance step by step.
When the gap had narrowed sufficiently, the Nasha Witch once again swung her Qi-infused claws.
'As expected.'
Masters who had seen or experienced Dao Yuetian's martial arts always tried to face him in this manner.
They kept their distance as much as possible to hinder his overwhelming blade technique, and if he got close enough to be a threat, they used Qi to push him back.
This strategy worked for two main reasons.
Firstly, no matter how fast Dao Yuetian's blade technique was, it meant nothing if the sword couldn't reach.
Secondly, pursuing 'extreme speed,' Dao Yuetian's blade technique lacked the ability to change direction mid-swing.
In simpler terms, once he started swinging, he couldn't alter his path.
Thus, it became possible to predict the general trajectory and target point of his blade just before he executed Swift Shadow Strike.
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Of course, Dao Yuetian's overwhelming speed made it unstoppable for most martial artists.
But it didn't work against the Seven Kings, newly emerging masters, or those beyond.
They couldn't match Dao Yuetian's speed, but they could at least predict and respond to his moves by observing his stance.
But now, things had changed.
Dao Yuetian, having induced the Nasha Witch to swing her claws, thrust his black sword right after clashing with her claws.
Swoosh!
He was already swinging another slash, unlike the Nasha Witch, who had not yet retrieved her arm.
Swish!
And his lightning-fast Swift Shadow Strike once again wounded the Nasha Witch.
Continuing to press her, Dao Yuetian persistently inflicted more wounds.
Unlike her initial fierce demeanor, as her injuries accumulated, a look of bewilderment appeared on the Nasha Witch's face.
Of course, Dao Yuetian wasn't in an entirely comfortable situation either.
In addition to his lightning-fast blade technique, his arms ached with persistent pain from the intense efforts to retrieve and swing his sword whenever their techniques clashed.
But Dao Yuetian did not mind.
Compared to the bone-grinding training he had undergone, this level of muscle pain was nothing special.
* * *
Meanwhile.
Hearing someone calling him, Pae Jin-seong hurried back to the outskirts and easily spotted the Nasha Witch and Dao Yuetian.
According to the original plan, he was supposed to assist Dao Yuetian in attacking before the Nasha Witch could escape.
'It seems my brother has had a realization.'
Seeing Dao Yuetian pushing the Nasha Witch back, Pae Jin-seong decided to watch the fight instead of joining in the attack.
It was unnecessary to intervene and disrupt his sworn brother's enlightenment.
However, he had no intention of just standing by and watching.
Pae Jin-seong moved around, keeping an eye on potential escape routes for the Nasha Witch while focusing on their battle.
As he watched the Nasha Witch accumulate more wounds, he noticed something.
"!!!"
A massive wave of Qi emanated from the Nasha Witch, and she suddenly unleashed immense internal energy, devastating the surroundings.
It wasn't easy to avoid her crude method completely, but while Dao Yuetian broke through her defense using the Water Drips Through Stone technique.
'She's trying to escape!'
Understanding her intention, Pae Jin-seong moved to block her retreat path, but...
"???"
For some reason, after her final move, the Nasha Witch stood still.
To be precise, she stopped and began moving her hands, pressing her acupoints.
'Acupressure?'
As Pae Jin-seong looked at her in confusion, he heard Dao Yuetian's urgent voice.
n
"It's sorcery!!"
Mu-jin had told him about this technique.
"It's a method that explodes latent power at the cost of one's life!"
"How do you know!?"
The Nasha Witch, having executed a desperate technique to drag Dao Yuetian down with her, was shocked.
Meanwhile, Pae Jin-seong quickly closed in from behind and swung his spear.
"Die!!"
With no reason to hesitate after deploying sorcery, the Nasha Witch swung her arm, now infused with much stronger Qi than before, to block the spear.
As her claws, imbued with intense energy, clashed with the spear,
Pae Jin-seong skillfully rotated his spear to absorb the impact and stepped back.
'If it's a technique that explodes latent power at the cost of one's life, then all we need to do is stall for time.'
Thanks to Dao Yuetian's advice, Pae Jin-seong quickly thought of a way to deal with her.
And Dao Yuetian was no different.
Clang!
Dao Yuetian and Pae Jin-seong, demonstrating their brotherly cooperation, blocked or evaded the Nasha Witch's attacks, buying time.
Boom!!
It was as if she had infinite internal energy; her claws and clothes, wrapped in Qi, whipped around like a storm.
Despite the relentless storm of attacks, Dao Yuetian and Pae Jin-seong either blocked together or scattered to evade.
"Ha!"
When her attacks focused on Pae Jin-seong, Dao Yuetian would close in to divert her attention. Conversely, when she targeted Dao Yuetian, Pae Jin-seong would attack to draw her focus.
After enduring the fierce storm for some time,
Even the mighty winds, which seemed capable of uprooting the deepest-rooted trees, gradually lost their strength.
"Phew."
Feeling that it was no longer difficult to withstand her attacks, Pae Jin-seong let out a light sigh.
And soon, as the Qi storm centered around the Nasha Witch completely dissipated,
"Ha... there's no difference between this and hell."
The Nasha Witch, who had once been obsessed with even the slightest wrinkle or wound on her face, had now turned into a corpse covered in wrinkles.
* * *
Namgung Chang-hwi, the head of the Namgung family, was at the forefront, pointing forward with the Changcheon Sword and shouting,
"Attack!!"
At his command, the warriors of the Namgung family charged forward without hesitation.
Watching their bravery from behind, Mu-jin sighed inwardly and spoke.
"We'll monitor the situation and provide support where needed."
Mu-jin's brief explanation was met with nods from the New Star Unit's junior members.
Then, turning his head, Mu-jin sent a message to Jegal Jin-hee, a sort of deputy leader.
n
- I will assist the Namgung leader in attacking Hyeok Jin-gang as the situation demands. If I move to that side, please lead the troops, Miss Jegal.
Jegal Jin-hee nodded at Mu-jin's instruction.
Boom!!
The main battle between the Namgung family and Sa-doryeon began.
Amid the chaos of screams, shouts, clashing weapons, and explosions, flesh and bones were being cut or shattered, creating unsettling noises.
Kwaaaa!!
From one side of the battlefield, a massive wave of Qi drew everyone's attention.
"Sa-doryeon Master!!"
Recognizing Hyeok Jin-gang, someone shouted urgently, but by then, Hyeok Jin-gang had already prepared his ultimate technique.
As he pushed forward the Unyielding Will, which lived up to its name despite being chipped away in places, fragments of Qi from the Sword Breaking Qi scattered everywhere.
In an instant, the storm swept away the warriors of the Namgung family in the area.
However, even after annihilating over a dozen warriors with a single strike, Hyeok Jin-gang had to quickly swing the Unyielding Will again.
Boom!!!
Namgung Chang-hwi, who had already closed in, swung the Changcheon Sword, creating a rough metallic sound as it clashed with the Unyielding Will.
"Father and son, both don't know how to give up."
Recalling the Namgung Sword Emperor who had inflicted severe injuries on him, Hyeok Jin-gang frowned and murmured as he clashed swords with Namgung Chang-hwi.
At that moment, Namgung Jin-cheon appeared from behind Hyeok Jin-gang and swung his sword.
"You are not worthy to speak of them!!"
Although a highly threatening attack, Hyeok Jin-gang easily evaded Namgung Jin-cheon's ambush while deflecting Namgung Chang-hwi's heavy sword.
And as the father and son momentarily got entangled, Hyeok Jin-gang once again unleashed the Sword Breaking Qi, sending shards of Qi flying towards them.
Namgung Jin-cheon stepped back behind his father, while Namgung Chang-hwi wrapped Qi around the Changcheon Sword, smashing the shards of Qi one by one with sheer force.
Successfully withstanding Hyeok Jin-gang's onslaught, the father and son simultaneously raised their swords and began performing the Emperor's Sword Form.
A massive wave of Qi emanated from them, pressuring Hyeok Jin-gang from all sides.
"You're still far from matching the Namgung Sword Emperor."
Having experienced Namgung Muguk's Emperor's Sword Form, Hyeok Jin-gang found it not particularly threatening.
He could even leisurely observe the battle in the meantime.
'Hmm?'
Beyond the father and son performing the Emperor's Sword Form, a strange sight caught Hyeok Jin-gang's eye.
A monk, covered in golden light, was destroying the Sa-doryeon warriors blocking his path as he charged forward.
'Kwon Je!'
Recognizing the monk through his martial arts, Hyeok Jin-gang smirked.
It was a curious situation.
Even for Hyeok Jin-gang, facing both the Namgung father and son and Kwon Je at the same time was no easy task.
Yet, Hyeok Jin-gang laughed because he had no intention of confronting Kwon Je himself.
A few days ago, a beast had come seeking him with a singular, obsessive intent to capture Kwon Je.