Chapter 67
Chapter 67: Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven
Under ordinary circumstances, bringing down a solitary first-rate master required a group of at least three or four warriors who had attained the second-rate realm.
Even with those numbers, such fighters could manage little more than delaying tactics to hold their ground. Actually finishing off the target demanded five martial artists at the very least.
Yet she had just directed the two of them, Yanghwi and Seolha, to confront that very scoundrel.
Frankly, by what means could they possibly secure a triumph?
The self-assured grin he had worn only moments prior, right when the Sound Empress questioned if he could pull it off, now brought a wash of sheer mortification.
“Pay attention, you two whelps. Give up without a struggle, and everyone walks away unharmed.”
Paying no mind to the Black Killing Sword, Yanghwi shifted his gaze toward the Sound Empress and spoke up. “Honored Teacher, what fate awaits us should we fail?”
“I never retract a promise once spoken. I would have no alternative but to grant him his freedom.”
The Sound Empress proceeded with a calm, untroubled cadence. “Which means I would be forced to merely tolerate the sight of this unorthodox pest continuing to plague my vision… and out of profound disappointment, I might find myself inclined to keep you close at hand and tutor you for a very, very extended duration, Young Hero.”
Those words completely wiped away any impulse to pull his punches, stoking a fierce determination to emerge victorious.
— Junior Sister. I shall spearhead the frontal assault. Maintain your distance and employ striking sound to pin him down. Your duty is to disrupt his rhythm and spacing so I can grasp the initiative. If the plan is clear, do not reply aloud. Merely nod.
Lacking the skill to project qi transmission, Zhuge Seolha offered a simple nod as bidden.
The advantage belongs to the one who strikes without hesitation. The instant Yanghwi unsheathed his steel, he shifted straight into the steps of Vessel Thousand Steps.
Imparting rapid acceleration, blistering pace, and elusive illusions into the earth beneath his feet, he concentrated his total focus and vital spirit into readying a sword technique.
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords [蓋天百八劍], Sixth Form.
Wind-Swift Hawk’s Return [風迅鷹回].
Much like a raptor riding a sudden thermal to vault skyward within a heartbeat, he drove his foot into the ground, generating raw momentum in place of the breeze.
Harmonious Heaven qi plummeted into his Yongcheon acupoint, swelling in its characteristic cadence as it traversed his meridians and surged upward like an erupting geyser.
Conclude this in a solitary blow if circumstances allow!
“Perish!”
He mobilized every drop of internal force his unrefined meridians could muster in a solitary breath — six stars of cultivation.
Saturated with ferocious true qi, the keen edge swept out toward each vital point across the body of the Black Killing Sword simultaneously.
Taken aback by the uncanny refinement of a sword art that defied the wielder’s youthful years, the Black Killing Sword hastily brought his own steel around to deflect the flurry.
Clang! Cl-cl-clang!
Four rapid collisions resounded in mere fragments of an instant.
A grim expression crossed Yanghwi’s features.
“Curse it all!”
He had braced for this outcome, yet not a single slash had broken past the defense.
Regardless of the exertion he poured forth, his standing remained anchored in the second-rate realm. It naturally proved insufficient when matched against a first-rate master.
Now that the opening barrage had been turned aside, the initiative fell to the Black Killing Sword.
“Impressive enough for a child!”
Claaang!
Deflecting the direct lunge from the Black Killing Sword, Yanghwi was propelled a significant distance backward.
Even after planting his boots, the skirts of his garments flapped wildly as if caught in a violent gale, shedding the lingering force he had been unable to dissipate.
This opponent did not acquire his trade on the common streets.
Even if he trod the unorthodox path, the Black Killing Sword had trained in legitimate martial disciplines and carried thoroughly honed fundamentals.
“Little brother, reaching the second-rate realm at your tender age suggests you possess a keen intellect. You stand no chance of overcoming this elder. Let us settle this without unnecessary bloodshed.”
Throughout this declaration, the Black Killing Sword never fixed his gaze upon Yanghwi or Zhuge Seolha, instead staring past them at the Sound Empress stationed behind.
To his thinking, a pair of mere youngsters did not even warrant recognition as valid adversaries.
Ha, this marks an entirely novel experience.
In his prior existence, he had already reached the apex realm the moment he stepped foot into the martial world.
Put differently, no one had ever dared to treat his martial capabilities with condescension.
It grazed his sense of dignity just a fraction.
“Does it not bring you shame to proclaim yourself an elder while pleading for leniency from a youngster?”
“…What an exceptionally insolent little whelp.”
“When facing a senior figure who cannot carry himself with appropriate dignity, a measure of insolence is entirely deserved.”
Trading verbal barbs, Yanghwi simultaneously mapped out a route toward triumph.
The situation is far from entirely bleak. He is forbidden from using lethal force.
That restriction meant the opponent was strictly confined to capturing them alive.
On the attack, by contrast, Yanghwi retained absolute liberty to wield his martial forms and pursue an advantage.
— Junior Sister, utilize striking sound to restrict his footwork.
Alongside that mental projection of qi transmission, he hurled himself directly forward.
Whoooosh!
The steel gave voice to the Bee Wing Sound. Soaring upward into the air, he took a wide arc to secure dominance from above.
Surrendering contact with the earth before a martial master was utter foolishness, yet—!
Ch-ch-ring! Ch-ch-ring!
The striking sound released by Zhuge Seolha hemmed in the movements of the Black Killing Sword.
Within that fleeting window, Yanghwi concentrated nine variations rooted in the fourth technique of the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords into an indivisible assault.
White Feathers Press the Crown!
Cl-cl-cl-cl-clang!
An attack delivered from an elevated vantage point naturally packed the greatest kinetic devastation of any sword maneuver.
As the Black Killing Sword staggered in shock at the uncharacteristically brutal might behind the strike, Yanghwi rotated his frame mid-motion to unleash an immediate follow-up.
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords [蓋天百八劍], Fifth Form.
Hawk Feathers Scattering [鷹羽飛散].
Though created to serve as an all-encompassing perimeter strike, it equally functioned as an art capable of clustering the highest density of uninterrupted attacks into a single passage of play.
Weaving Zhuge Seolha’s reinforcement directly over the sequence—
— Junior Sister, striking sound!
Ch-ch-ring!
Ripples of acoustic force outrunning any solid weapon, saturated with qi, slammed directly against the lower extremities of the Black Killing Sword.
At that exact heartbeat, Yanghwi executed a rapid barrage targeting the man’s upper, central, and lower lines.
Slash!
“Ugh!”
Having successfully drawn a thin red line across the forearm of the Black Killing Sword, Yanghwi permitted a slight smirk to touch the corner of his mouth.
“How does that sit with you, elder? What does it feel like to bleed under a youngster’s hand?”
“…Brat. Even this elder possesses a threshold to his restraint.”
“And should I push past it? Will you strike me down? You dare not. You remain all posturing and no bite, just as expected.”
“…”
The Black Killing Sword lapsed into silence, the glint in his gaze growing visibly colder and sharper.
Clang!
Erasing the gap between them in a flash, the Black Killing Sword drove his weapon forward in a vicious thrust.
Thanks to the absolute awakening of his qi sense, Yanghwi deflected the incoming point, though an acute pang reverberated through the joints of his wrists.
His foe possessed superior physical might alongside greater reserves of internal energy. The lone factor keeping this an actual contest was…
The supportive interventions of Zhuge Seolha, alongside the supreme profundity of the martial system he possessed.
While the swordsmanship of the Black Killing Sword remained seasoned, it ultimately reached its peak within the first-rate realm.
It could never hope to stand equal against the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords, which carried the potential to touch the apex realm.
Even so, in the realm of raw physical advantages, my footing remains thoroughly outmatched.
How could he reverse this flow of momentum?
What particular truth did the Sound Empress intend for him to discover within this predicament?
He altered his approach entirely.
Rather than maintaining relentless aggression, he repeatedly opened up distance, focusing exclusively on reading and deflecting incoming blade patterns.
— Junior Sister, striking sound!
Ch-ch-ring!
Aided by the timely intervention of Zhuge Seolha, he preserved his center of gravity and weathered dozens of consecutive exchanges.
“This approach is useless.“
The Black Killing Sword cast an exasperated glare in the direction of Zhuge Seolha.
Plainly, he sought to redirect his primary focus toward capturing the girl first.
Not while I draw breath.
No matter how modest his present cultivation stage was, so long as the strikes of the Black Killing Sword were not directed toward his own person, exploiting the openings laid bare was remarkably straightforward.
Clang!
Warding off Yanghwi’s blade as it struck toward the base of his skull, the Black Killing Sword ground his molars together.
“You two brats leave me with no alternatives.”
At that precise second, an intensely toxic pressure surged forth from his entire frame.
It was an emission of concentrated qi powerful enough to lock the limbs of anyone caught within its perimeter.
Tch. He has managed to grasp unity of intent and qi.
Unity of intent and qi: the discipline of projecting internal willpower through qi to inflict direct disruption.
It stood as one of the three core enlightenments indispensable to crossing into the apex realm.
When released with sufficient concentration, the unadulterated weight of that aura could rattle an opponent’s spiritual core.
“Senior, pray pardon my actions. I have exerted every effort to spare your disciples from enduring internal injuries.”
Having offered his apology, the Black Killing Sword took steady paces toward Yanghwi.
Yanghwi frantically circulated his true qi and brought his steel level.
“Do not attempt to resist. Hold your ground, or the trauma dealt to your spirit will only multiply.”
“Heh, shove it up your rear, you demonic dog.”
“You truly seem intent on begging for a severe thrashing.”
Undergoing an anomaly like time reversal certainly presented a wealth of trials he had never previously encountered.
To imagine that he would ever find himself backed into a desperate stance, scrambling frantically merely to ward off strikes from a standard first-rate combatant.
Even so, this very hardship yielded an undeniable advantage.
Clang!
Adversity serves only to temper my strength.
Human constitution was innately designed in such a fashion.
Ascending a gentle incline versus conquering a jagged precipice — which trial spurred more rapid advancement?
The latter path, beyond a shadow of doubt.
Clang!
Unity of intent and qi? Trauma inflicted upon the spirit?
He had long grown intimately acquainted with such concepts.
To cross into the apex realm originally, one’s concentrated will had to be profound enough to manifest physical consequences directly in the world.
Though his present frame remained youthful and had yet to completely accommodate that sublime enlightenment…
That circumstance hardly meant he was stripped of all recourse.
Clang!
“To endure the full weight of my presence and continue functioning… You prove to be an extraordinarily obstinate brat.”
“It simply amounts to your aura… cough… being entirely too laughable, you understand.”
Taking in the dumbfounded expression sweeping across the face of the Black Killing Sword, Yanghwi once more stoked the humming resonance of the Bee Wing Sound.
Indeed, struggle and tribulation truly transformed a man into something greater.
He had uncovered the path.
He had touched the requisite realization.
Whoooosh!
Clang!
Having parried the incoming steel away, the complexion of the Black Killing Sword altered dramatically.
The essential character flowing through the sword art was unalterably different from what came before.
Witnessing that startled reaction, a satisfied grin touched the edge of Yanghwi’s lips.
“My gratitude. You provided the spark I needed to understand.”
The Sound Empress had once noted that an unadorned sword could give rise to an infinite array of tones.
I remained confined within a narrow perspective because of the Bee Wing Sound.
The harsh impact of blade meeting blade against the Black Killing Sword had parted the veil.
The raw acoustic clash of weapon striking weapon was, at its heart, sound itself.
Within that fleeting heartbeat—
— Bear this in mind, Young Hero. Sound is fundamentally vibration.
— Every pitch is nothing more than an oscillating wave. You hold the capacity to craft those waves with your blade, Young Hero.
A shiver raced through Yanghwi’s frame as though struck by lightning.
Though his physical vessel had yet to fully grasp and express such mastery, the lingering awareness of an apex realm master lodged within his consciousness seized upon this novel concept.
The impact born of steel meeting steel shifted depending upon the deployed strength and the precise coordinate of contact.
It was an undeniable truth he had absorbed firsthand while trading blows with the Black Killing Sword.
For that very reason, the Sound Empress had observed that a solitary blade could call forth an endless spectrum of sounds.
The Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords gives voice to an altered resonance depending on the user’s level of advancement.
A sword cry — the resonance that a blade wept — was nothing other than vibration.
If that held true… what if he gave shape to the impact of steel through qi… using it to command distinct sword cries at will?
The synthesis of blade and resonance.
The complete convergence of sword arts and sound methods.
Whoooosh!
True qi merged directly into the Bee Wing Sound, which had previously served as nothing beyond an introductory stage and external sign of the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords.
Fluctuating frequencies and shifting tempos.
Acoustic resonance and structural vibration rippled in tandem with his qi, unraveling the momentum of the Black Killing Sword.
Yanghwi commanded his weapon as though guided by an otherworldly force.
“What manner of trickery is this?!”
Driving his true qi into his own weapon to deflect Yanghwi’s relentless offensive, the Black Killing Sword was suddenly gripped by a terrifying comprehension.
Curse this! The circulation of my true qi is being—!
Whoooosh!
Yanghwi’s blade left him not a single breath to steady himself.
Cl-cl-clang!
Steel met steel. The Black Killing Sword felt the violent tremors traveling down his blade pass straight into the tissues of his inner organs.
In essence, he was absorbing an internal concussive shock that battered his very foundation.
It was an unnatural phenomenon he had never once confronted in his life.
Whoooosh!
The blade gave voice to its weep, sending vibrations radiating in all directions.
That weeping resonance had transcended a mere aesthetic phenomenon, transforming into an offensive instrument of destruction.
“How does this strike you? I am inclined to dub it Resonating Vibration.”
Resonating Vibration [鳴振] — a piercing tremor that shook everything in its vicinity.
Distinct blade angles and surging waves of qi.
The various sword cries produced by each sharp contact overlapped incessantly, weaving a tapestry of endlessly morphing sounds.
It stood as a profound enlightenment birthed from the instruction of the Sound Empress, elevated into a brand-new martial art in its own right.
“Very well. It is time to treat this seriously.”
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords [蓋天百八劍], New Secret Art.
Bee Wing Resonating Vibration [蜂翼鳴振].
Whoooooooooosh!
Infused with the intricate principles of Bee Wing Resonating Vibration, the incoming slashes converged against every angle of the Black Killing Sword’s form.
The Black Killing Sword hoisted his blade to ward off the torrential assault, yet with every metallic report, he found himself utterly unable to halt the tremors of the sword cry from burrowing straight into his flesh.
“Urgh!”
Cleaving a massive stone with a blade sent a painful shudder racing back into the swordsman’s wrists.
With every collision of their weapons, that precise concussive trauma gathered within his internal viscera.
“Kh… cough!”
Pushed past his breaking point, the Black Killing Sword spat out a mouthful of clotted blood.
Within that fleeting moment of vulnerability, the tip of Yanghwi’s blade came to rest precisely against his throat.
“So then, elder? What does it feel like to be brought low by a mere green child?”
Yanghwi parted his lips into an expansive smile.
It was the exact instant in which a combatant anchored in the second-rate realm had decisively brought a first-rate master to his knees.
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