Chapter 233

Chapter 233: Silence (4)

The sole of Goeum’s foot came into contact with the earth.

A single stride.

All noise perished.

The whistling of the wind was the first to vanish.

The singing of the birds came next.

The rustling of the grass, the friction of the tree limbs, and every other melody of the peak ceased in successive order.

The blade held by Yan Bilyeong began to quiver.

It was not his own grip that was trembling.

The Internal Energy coating the steel was vibrating.

The Qi infused within the weapon was draining downward, moving from the point toward the guard.

“What… what in the world is happening?”

The folding fan in Myo Jinheo’s grasp was likewise rattling unsteadily.

Genuine Qi was spilling from the folds of the shut fan as though escaping a bursting reservoir.

It was discharging entirely on its own.

A thick vein throbbed against Myo Jinheo’s temple.

“This… appears to be an variation of the Star-Absorbing Art. Though upon closer inspection, the nature of it seems different.”

The Spiritual Energy radiating from Goeum saturated the air, forcing all nearby Qi into a state of violent resonance.

As a consequence, even the Internal Energy contained within the bodies of others, losing its stable frequency, was being expelled outward in every direction.

Shk, shwaaaak-.

Yan Bilyeong’s feet shifted backward.

One stride.

Then three additional strides.

It was a retreat where it remained uncertain whether he was moving by his own volition or being driven backward by the pressure of his own Internal Energy.

His boots dragged through the dirt as he began to drift down the incline.

Myo Jinheo snapped his fan completely closed and turned his body toward the lower path.

“For the time being… let us withdraw downward.”

Yan Bilyeong clenched his jaw tightly.

“Sect Leader Kim—.”

“If we remain here as we are, we will merely become an obstacle for the Sect Leader to protect. We might be utterly helpless, but it appears he possesses a method to contend with that monster.”

He found himself unable to argue against the logic.

Indeed, even within this suffocating environment, Dong Bongsu remained perfectly upright, maintaining an entirely detached and empty countenance.

The pair retreated further down the slope, leaving only their anxious stares directed back up toward the mountainside.

At this point, only two figures remained on the heights: the entity enveloped in an uncanny radiance, and the warrior gripping a pitch-black blade.

Fwoooooooosh, goooooooooh-.

The atmosphere separating the two entities distorted like a heavy thermal haze.

And then, in an instant.

Goeum initiated another movement.

There was no sound whatsoever.

Only a sweeping tide of Spiritual Energy.

Wooooong—.

Dong Bongsu’s Super True Qi Field reacted instantaneously.

The very fabric of the air buckled as if an invisible ocean were churning violently.

The barrier, extended across a distance of a hundred paces, attempted to repel the invasion of the incoming wave of Spiritual Energy.

The defense was not absolute.

The incantations originating from the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds consisted of acoustic frequencies converted into Qi, allowing the Super True Qi Field to neutralize them entirely, but this wave of Spiritual Energy possessed a fundamentally different nature.

It was a pulse generated directly from a living Spiritual Root.

It behaved like oil sliding over water, slipping effortlessly through the grasp of the barrier when the field attempted to intercept it.

As the two opposing forces smashed into each other, the air at the boundary line warped so severely it became visible to the naked eye.

The scattered remnants of the battlefield were lifted into the air simultaneously before being violently flung outward.

The edges of Goeum’s lips curved upward.

A mocking grin materialized beneath his shut eyelids.

Without a moment’s delay, the nature of the assault shifted.

Ppyuilk——!

Goeum parted his lips.

It was not a vocalization.

He did not utilize his vocal cords to vibrate; instead, his entire physical form resonated.

A singular, piercing note generated by the Rhythm Spiritual Root rode the atmospheric currents and discharged in a perfectly straight trajectory.

An imperceptible Sound Spear.

Duuuung—!

The Sound Spear collided heavily with the Super True Qi Field.

The defensive power of the barrier concentrated instantly to envelop the Sound Spear, yet acoustic energy possesses a natural property to breach obstructions.

It forced its way through, causing the interlocking mesh of the field to vibrate, layer after layer.

Dong Bongsu tilted his head slightly to one side and elevated the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword into a horizontal guard.

Shhk—.

The sharp edge of the Sword Aura clove the Sound Spear neatly in two.

The severed acoustic wave discharged to the left and right, boring deep into the massive boulder situated behind his back.

The stone fractured internally before undergoing total collapse.

Goeum refused to relent.

Waek—.

Heulk—.

Bwilk—.

He discharged consecutive notes in rapid succession.

Three distinct torrents of acoustic waves, traveling at completely different frequencies, cascaded down upon Dong Bongsu.

A piercing high note struck from above, a mid-range frequency assailed him from the flank, and a low vibration rumbled from beneath his feet.

It was a tactical arrangement designed so that even if he managed to cleave one projectile with his steel, the remaining two would inevitably breach his defenses.

Swish—.

Swish—.

Two precise arcs of the blade sufficed to sever two of the incoming strikes.

The final remaining current slammed directly into his sternum.

Thwack—!

Dong Bongsu’s boots lost their purchase on the loose soil, and he was propelled backward across a distance of dozens of zhang.

Dong Bongsu canted his head slightly.

He cast a brief glance down at the pair of deep grooves carved into the earth by his backward slide.

Yet that was the extent of his reaction.

He casually brushed off his chest a few times and then renewed his silent gaze upon Goeum.

Seeing this, Goeum’s grin widened even further.

Ggilkjjwab———!

He elevated the immense pressure of the acoustic energy once more.

On this occasion, it was not merely a isolated note.

His entire physical vessel functioned as an instrument, causing his whole body to vibrate in unison.

His skeletal structure transformed into taut strings, releasing deep, resonant notes; his skin served as a drumhead, discharging high-pitched frequencies; and the moment his foot pressed against the earth, the very ground transformed into a soundboard, sending vibrations tearing through the environment like tens of thousands of writhing earthworms.

Jjwa-jwa-jwa-jwak—!

The soil behind Dong Bongsu’s heels was forcefully excavated, leaving behind far deeper tracks than the previous ones.

Jjeo-eong—!

Immediately following that, a sound wave with a modified frequency slammed into an entirely different layer of the Super True Qi Field.

Dong Bongsu’s feet—indeed, his entire frame—now skidded helplessly across the dirt.

Woooong—!

Even so, he did not falter.

Dong Bongsu severed the acoustic wave directed at his flank using his blade, but the lingering reverberation of the partitioned wave struck the perimeter of his defense, causing severe fractures to ripple across the newly mending Super True Qi Field.

Kuuuuung—!

Then came the assault through the earth.

The low-frequency vibration traveling through the soil detonated directly beneath Dong Bongsu’s feet.

Dirt erupted skyward, and an underground rock vibrated internally before fracturing into halves.

The fundamental stability of the Super True Qi Field began to falter, and the air at the perimeter twisted erratically.

Kwadadadadadadeuk-!

Dong Bongsu was relentlessly driven backward, forced to continuously manifest and defend with a rupturing barrier while simultaneously enveloping his own body in a protective shroud of Super Spinning Sword Aura.

Even faced with this, Goeum refused to cease his assault.

Huoooooooooong-!

He summoned forth every ounce of acoustic energy remaining within his vessel.

He dragged up the absolute dregs of the Rhythm he had kept securely sealed within the vessel of a Rakshasa Monk for a duration of twenty years.

He strained the vibrational cords he could generate at a cellular level to their absolute boundaries.

His flesh, acting as the drumhead, stretched so tightly it appeared on the verge of rupturing.

Goeum’s jaws parted wide.

Wooooooooooooooong—.

It was no longer mere sound, but pure Rhythm itself that cascaded outward.

Kuuuuuuung——!

The entire mountain erupted in a collective shriek.

The massive peak itself had been transformed into Goeum’s personal sounding board.

Boulders vibrated from their cores before disintegrating into fine powder, and the earth ruptured, sending jagged cracks spiderwebbing outward in a radial pattern.

Immense trees were torn from their roots and hurled through the air, driven not by gale-force winds, but by the sheer, crushing force of the acoustic pressure.

“With this, I shall bring about your end.”

Goeum extended both of his hands directly toward Dong Bongsu’s sternum.

At that exact microsecond, Dong Bongsu executed a movement.

Deliberately, as though he were merely taking a casual walk.

That solitary stride sliced cleanly through the core of the acoustic wave.

He breached the dense wall of sound Goeum had erected, appearing directly before the creature in the span of a single step.

Exquisite footwork.

“?!”

Goeum’s palms inevitably struck nothing but empty air.

Yet Dong Bongsu had already materialized at his flank.

Hwiryurururururu-.

The defensive field that had previously spanned a hundred paces was retracted in an instant, condensing at extreme speed.

He had completely abandoned widespread area defense to focus his power entirely upon a singular coordinate.

The Localized Concentration of the Super True Qi Field.

The concentrated might of the compressed barrier bore down heavily upon Goeum’s Spiritual Energy shield, focusing entirely on a single point directly ahead.

At that precise location, the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword was revolving at a catastrophic velocity, reinforced additionally by a dense coating of Sword Aura.

Jjijijik—!

A distinct fissure manifested within the protective barrier of Spiritual Energy.

“Th-this cannot be!”

Faced with Goeum, who was resisting with the entirety of his strength while gnashing his teeth, Dong Bongsu elevated his alternate hand—the one not currently occupied by the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.

His left hand.

Yet there was no physical weapon clasped within that left grip.

It was entirely empty.

Suddenly, a brilliant radiance coalesced at the tips of his left fingers.

The light compressed rapidly, taking on the unmistakable silhouette of a blade.

Rather than discharging it as a projectile, he retained it within his grasp, maintaining it as a condensed sword of pure light.

The Super Spinning Sword Aura dominated his right hand.

A golden sword of radiance occupied his left hand.

Kwajak-!

The twin weapons merged into a singular entity directly before Goeum’s tightly squeezed eyes.

Jjeo-eong—!

The Super Spinning Sword Aura of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword finally shattered Goeum’s Spiritual Energy barrier completely, and the blade of condensed light forced its way into the freshly exposed vulnerability.

A tactical combination where the weapon forged of Qi cleared the obstruction, and the blade that was not comprised of Qi penetrated through the opening.

A blinding flash of light detonated from Goeum’s shoulder.

“Kekekeke! This is perfection, this is it!”

The corners of Goeum’s lips twisted into a manic grin.

Spiritual Energy surged like smoke from his mangled shoulder.

It was not crimson blood that spilled forth, but pure illumination.

The Spiritual Energy erupting from the laceration surged in reverse, ascending the length of Dong Bongsu’s blade of light.

Dong Bongsu’s left hand began to quiver.

He instantly relinquished his grip on the blade of light.

The moment his fingers released it, the radiant weapon dissolved into nothingness.

The intense vibration of the Spiritual Energy had disrupted the crystalline structure of the light from within, shattering its form entirely.

In that identical moment, a massive detonation of Spiritual Energy erupted from Goeum’s entire physical frame.

Kuuuuung——!

The mountain underwent a literal cleavage.

This was no ordinary fissure running along the dirt.

The actual topography of the mountainside centering around Goeum’s position collapsed inward in a massive radial pattern.

Trees were ripped completely from the earth and sent hurtling through the sky, rocks were reduced to microscopic dust and blown away, and the precise location where the two combatants had been standing collapsed into an immense crater measuring dozens of zhang in radius.

From the sheer force of the concussion.

Dong Bongsu’s physical form was hurled violently backward.

Tracing a spiral trajectory through the air, Dong Bongsu’s body smashed sequentially through multiple layers of the mountain ridges.

Hundreds of ancient trees and massive boulders along his path of travel were reduced to floating dust.

Goeum was likewise propelled toward the opposing incline by the massive recoil of the blast.

His soles plowed through the dirt, carving jagged trenches into the earth.

From the point where Goeum managed to halt his momentum to the destination where Dong Bongsu had land.

A landscape of utter devastation spanning three or four complete mountain peaks had been instantaneously formed.

Goeum refused to squander the advantage.

He lunged forward toward the displaced Dong Bongsu.

Goeum, closing the distance to Dong Bongsu in a mere instant at a velocity that outstripped the speed of sound multiple times over, thrust his palm directly toward the chest of Dong Bongsu, who remained wedged deep into the fractured stone wall.

Woooong—.

A dense cluster of Spiritual Energy compressed into the form of an acoustic wave was concentrated in the center of his palm.

He was not merely generating and firing a Sound Spear; he was driving it home using the full force of his open hand.

A devastating close-range Palm Art, translating the core mechanics of the Sound Art he had refined over twenty years within the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds through the raw output of the Spiritual Energy he had temporarily forgotten.

The Ten Thousand Rhythms Return to One Palm.

“Kekekekekek! I have finally ensnared you, you worthless, insignificant insect!”

At that precise instant.

Dong Bongsu’s Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword, despite his head drooping forward as if he had lost consciousness, rose in a perfectly vertical arc.

The movement was deliberate, yet executed with such immaculate timing that before Goeum could even register the motion, the flat side of the steel blade effortlessly intercepted his advancing palm.

The microsecond the contact occurred.

Ggadeudeudeudeudeudeudeuk—!

“…What is this!”

Dong Bongsu’s hand vibrated at a frantic rate, and the surface of the steel emitted a sharp wail.

Ggwak-tteu-tteu-tteu-tteu-tteu-tteuk-!

Injecting violent vibrations directly into an adversary’s anatomy through the medium of their own weapon.

This was the fundamental principle of the Dog-Beating Staff Art, making its debut appearance within the annals of this Jianghu.

A masterclass technique that replicated the mechanism flawlessly, utilizing a sword rather than a traditional staff.

“…”

His wrist, remaining as utterly devoid of emotion as his blank pupils, quivered.

However, the velocity of the movement possessed no connection to his lack of expression.

The frequency of the vibration was so terrifyingly swift that faint glimmers of light seemed to emanate from the steel.

The vibration traveling up the length of the blade hammered into Goeum’s palm an astronomical number of times within a single instant.

Faced with this counter-force, the acoustic frequency invested within the Ten Thousand Rhythms Return to One Palm surged backward, traveling up Goeum’s own limb.

Kwattttttttttt…….

Goeum’s left arm buckled and rippled as though experiencing a wave partitioned into tens of thousands of individual segments.

“Kuaaaaaaaak!”

He frantically detonated the Spiritual Energy stored within his shoulder to violently sever his own left limb from his body.

Had he delayed for even a fraction of a second, his entire physical vessel would have been ensnared by that devastating wave and obliterated into minuscule fragments.

Nevertheless, his right limb remained intact.

Goeum concentrated the entirety of his surviving Spiritual Energy into his right hand and discharged a high-frequency acoustic wave directly aimed at Dong Bongsu’s ear.

Dong Bongsu tilted his head slightly.

The acoustic projectile whistled harmlessly past his ear.

Only his loose hair stirred from the passing force.

Exploiting that brief window of distraction, Goeum’s right hand, having elevated his Rhythm Aura to its absolute zenith, thrust forward with the intent to completely shatter the steel of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.

Yet in that exact microsecond, the blade vanished from existence.

Withdrawn instantly into his Inventory.

Kwagwagwang-!

Goeum’s open palm naturally slammed directly into the solid rock wall where Dong Bongsu had just been embedded.

In that identical fragment of time, the blade materialized once more within Dong Bongsu’s right grip.

Positioned horizontally, perfectly level with Goeum’s midsection.

Shhk—.

He executed a fluid lateral slash across the creature’s flank.

The entity’s defensive barrier of Spiritual Energy was sliced apart as effortlessly as fragile parchment.

“You… you wretched bastard!”

Even as an absolute torrent of dark blood and volatile Spiritual Energy erupted from his ruptured flank like a bursting levee, Goeum refused to yield an inch of ground.

He marshaled every remaining scrap of his Spiritual Energy into his solitary surviving hand and drove it straight toward Dong Bongsu.

A Close-range Resonance.

It represented his absolute final gamble.

However.

The act of transitioning two distinct items into and out of existence.

Two additional blades materialized simultaneously from Dong Bongsu’s unencumbered hand and his mouth.

In tandem with the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword, there was the Wandering Warrior’s Sword and the Evil-Slaying Sword, both heavily shrouded in the brilliant illumination of pure Faith.

Gooooooooooooh-!

The pitch-black, hyper-velocity revolving Sword Aura systematically butchered the surrounding Spiritual Energy, the blade saturated with Sacred Light incinerated the newly carved vulnerability, and the purely material sword tore through the already devastated flank of the creature.

“Khehehehehe…”

Goeum let loose a guttural, beast-like roar and sank heavily onto his knees upon the stone.

Resting upon his knees, he discharged one final, desperate wave of sound.

It erupted outward from the entirety of his physical vessel.

His skeletal frame shrieked like over-tightened strings, and his heart delivered a solitary, thunderous beat like a war drum.

A final, tragic performance, transmuting the very remnants of his life essence into a concentrated wave of acoustic energy.

However.

The Shield of Faith effortlessly and completely deflected Goeum’s desperate assault.

Hwiryurururururururu-.

The Super Spinning Sword Aura manifested once more along the pitch-black surface of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.

The entire concentration of the Super True Qi Field occupying the immediate area converged completely into the single coordinate of the sword’s point.

The corners of Goeum’s mouth twitched upward into one final grin.

Suk—.

There was no sound whatsoever.

The wind ceased to blow.

The steel simply slid in a perfectly straight line through the center of the creature’s visage.

The vibrant illumination that had previously shrouded Goeum’s entire frame was systematically ground to pieces by a solitary, churning vortex and scattered to the four winds.

In that definitive moment, all sound within the vicinity expired.

The lingering vibrations permeating the atmosphere ceased one by one, commencing from the furthest boundaries of the battlefield.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence——.

Deprived of his head, which had been reduced to floating powder and lost to the wind, Goeum’s emaciated, withered torso slowly pitched forward.

Thud.

Silence.

The final destination for one who lived by commanding sound was, fittingly, absolute silence.