novelraw Chapter 40 : Friendly Exchange Match (3)
Chapter 40 : Friendly Exchange Match (3)
As I climbed onto the training ground, curious gazes poured in from all directions.
It was only natural, since the notorious scoundrel had drawn all the aggro before the friendly match even began.
Soon, Mo Yonghan, who had come up late, offered a greeting.
“I will face you with all my might.”
- I am well aware of your strange behavior. I will let you know that this place is not so easy.
The telepathic message that came late was cold. This was Peng Geun-u Ver.2.
“Isn’t that too harsh for a junior?”
“It’s my own way of showing respect, so don’t refuse too much.”
It was the answer I had expected. I, who had seized the opportunity, stealthily proposed.
“Since you speak of respect, may I request the unique guidance of the Moyong Sect, the breaking of the protective qi? I have long admired the firm martial arts of the Moyong Sect.”
It was said that in the past, before the Moyong family was nearly annihilated by the Demonic Cult, they had a guidance duel called breaking the protective qi among their blood relatives.
It was a simple and intuitive training method where the junior would win if they broke through the unique protective qi of the Moyong family, and lose if they were blocked.
This tradition had been passed down even after the Moyong family had nominally disappeared and a sect had been established.
“……”
As if he had been caught off guard for a moment. Mo Yonghan’s mouth hardened.
A junior had openly expressed his admiration and requested to break the protective qi. Since he had mentioned respect earlier, if he were to refuse rashly, it would only damage his own face.
Moreover, the Moyong Sect, as one of the former prestigious families, held a sense of inferiority towards the Five Great Families. Especially towards the Zhuge family.
Because it was the Zhuge family that had moved the most quickly to establish a new order of the Five Great Families after the annihilation of the Moyong family.
And a blood relative of such a Zhuge family requests to break the protective qi? He couldn’t help but be tempted.
It was a proposal that was difficult to refuse, both as an academy senior, as a sect tradition, and as a sect’s grudge.
In the end, Mo Yonghan’s answer came back.
“…I never thought the third son of the Zhuge family would admire breaking the protective qi. I accept.”
Mo Yonghan took his sword, scabbard and all, and placed it down below the training ground. He had shown his will to face me with only his protective qi.
“If you break through my protective qi, I will consider it your victory. You know what happens in the opposite case, right?”
The difficulty had dropped significantly compared to a direct confrontation.
‘The stage is set, at least.’
With this, the Shattering Heaven Sword, which the Moyong Sect prided itself on, was sealed.
What was left was only the unique protective qi of the Moyong Sect and the Heaven and Earth Invincible Palm.
‘Even this alone is threatening enough.’
The opponent is at least a peak-level master. A strong person who is comparable to or superior to Baek Cheong and Peng Geun-u.
It meant that he was not an enemy to be careless about just because he had put down his sword.
‘It’s not like this in the original work.’
Mo Yonghan is originally a cheerful man who shows the magnanimity of a great person, to the extent of helping his duel opponent’s growth.
In addition, since he was one to have a duel that brought out each other’s strengths, he was the easiest to face among the intermediate students.
‘It’s because I’m from the Zhuge family that it’s like this.’
The sight of him already subtly cladding his two palms with protective qi came as a pressure.
A tense moment. Wu Hwiryeong’s voice echoed through the venue.
“Then begin!”
At the same time, they moved without anyone saying anything. Mo Yonghan rushed in, and I stepped back.
It was a fight between a sword and a fist. The fist had to dig into the gap, and the sword had to keep a distance.
‘Fast.’
However, Mo Yonghan’s leg strength was several levels above mine. As the distance narrowed in an instant, I had no choice but to take out a talisman from my bosom and burn it.
At the same time, a flame the size of a head covered Mo Yonghan’s vision and was shot.
“Ooh! Is that that sorcery?”
“How strange. I heard it was a hidden secret manual of the Zhuge family.”
Although the talisman was just a trick, the effect was great. The audience each showed their interest.
But that was all. Soon, the flame was torn by Mo Yonghan’s palm strike, and a shockwave flew.
I avoided this with the Spirit God Steps and prepared the next magic.
‘It was a godsend that I learned the footwork.’
If it had been a normal lightness skill, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid it.
“It’s peculiar for a fire art. But you can’t break through my protective qi with just that.”
Mo Yonghan’s voice echoed. He was also commenting on his opponent during the duel. It was a look that completely saw me as a subordinate.
‘He’s not wrong.’
I can’t break through Mo Yonghan’s protective qi with just that much flame.
However, that was not complete either.
‘His legs are empty compared to his upper body.’
Even Mo Yonghan can’t implement a protective qi that covers his entire body.
To even imitate it, at least one cycle of internal energy was needed, and I had heard that to naturally operate a protective qi that covered the entire body, down to the tips of the hair, during battle, you had to reach the realm of the super-peak.
‘Even now, it’s not a complete protective qi.’
The talent of [Absolute Magic] was sensing the qi wave. Currently, his protective qi was concentrated on his two hands.
At most, the protective qi surrounding his upper body was faintly caught, and it seemed to be temporarily strengthened like armor when approaching.
I immediately slipped away with the Spirit God Steps and threw a few jade stones.
At that sight, Mo Yonghan, who was rushing in, stopped.
“A formation after a sorcery? The speed is surprising, but isn’t it difficult to use such a trivial heretical art during a duel?”
It was a definite point. Sorcery and formations were techniques that could only serve their purpose after melting time and money.
He stomped his foot.
Thump-!
Then, the jade stones that had been placed on the floor moved out of their positions, and in an instant, the formation broke.
It was the limit of a hastily made formation. Not only its power, but it was also extremely weak to external shocks.
“Did you intend to face me with just this?”
Mo Yonghan rushed at me right away. An incredible speed. Even if I stepped on the Spirit God Steps, it was already too late.
The Heaven and Earth Invincible Palm, which had approached right in front of me, was shot with a terrifying momentum.
Clang-!
Right next to my ear.
“What?!”
Mo Yonghan, who gasped. The moment he was about to attack, his posture was disturbed because something had blocked his last stepping foot.
‘A shield.’
Instead of a formation, I had layered several shields near Mo Yonghan’s knee, where his protective qi was weak, and had momentarily taken away his timing and balance.
“What you see is not all there is.”
With those words, I exploded the mana I had condensed in both hands. A flame that exploded at a close distance.
The flame that swallowed the mana and exploded sent Mo Yonghan’s entire body flying.
“Ooooooh!”
The reaction of the audience burst out at the spectacular offensive.
But I honestly couldn’t be happy.
‘It was shallow.’
Even though it was a blow that had burned up my mana and exploded, it couldn’t cause any damage.
I could tell from the sight of Mo Yonghan standing there perfectly fine after the smoke had disappeared.
‘To think there isn’t a single wound even though I aimed for his chin.’
The strength was beyond imagination. The protective qi of a peak-level master was beyond imagination.
“…I apologize. Your sorcery is not trivial.”
His aura became serious. It was a situation where I had only raised the opponent’s vigilance with an ambiguous attack.
‘Damn it.’
A fist qi was imbued in Mo Yonghan’s fist. If I get hit by something like that, my life will be in danger.
If I get hit by something like that with this body, this semester is over with that. I’ll have to be bedridden until the vacation.
A chill ran down my spine for a moment. I immediately stepped on the Spirit God Steps.
Clang!
A palm strike that was brought down on the spot where I had been just before. Before the qi wave had even subsided, the next blow flew.
Crash!
The shield broke, and a fist was stuck on the blade clad in sword qi.
‘Damn it!’
A sword and a fist had clashed, but this side was on the verge of suffering an internal injury.
I was sent flying back right away and activated the magic I had prepared.
Swoooosh!
Along with a strong wind, the talisman in my bosom flew.
A flame burned, and it soon covered Mo Yonghan’s entire body.
However, Mo Yonghan, who rushed at me without caring at all. It was as if a giant of fire were approaching.
‘A monster.’
I was sent flying along with my sword by the fist strike that flew in as a follow-up, and I swallowed a mouthful of blood inwardly.
I focused all my consciousness on the flames. The flames that were covering Mo Yonghan’s entire body rushed to Mo Yonghan’s face like a swirling donut.
“With just this!”
The flames wavered at his internal energy-filled shout.
As soon as I got out of the range of Mo Yonghan’s palm strike, whose vision was momentarily obscured, I burned my mana as much as possible.
But Mo Yonghan, who was approaching, roughly tearing through the ring of fire.
His protective qi still showed no signs of being broken. If we enter a long-term battle like this, my mana will run out first, and I will collapse.
However, my aim was somewhere else.
Mo Yonghan rushed at me in a straight line. At the same time, I quickly stepped on the Spirit God Steps.
Again, a palm strike that passed by my head. However, the difference from before was that there was no follow-up blow.
Mo Yonghan staggered.
‘Flames burn the surrounding oxygen.’
A giant like Mo Yonghan is bound to require that much lung capacity. But if the carbon monoxide filled with flames lingers near his respiratory system, the aftermath is bound to be great.
‘Carbon monoxide poisoning.’
As long as you are human, you have to breathe. Of course, there were cases where the efficiency of that breath was extremely increased with internal energy, but it was a meaningless method for a physical type like Mo Yonghan, who used his protective qi and used his internal energy like water.
“Incredible. If we were on equal terms, I would have been done for.”
Mo Yonghan, who expressed his surprise while staggering, put true qi in both hands. And then he put his palms together with all his might right in front of his nose.
Craaaack!
In an instant, the ring of fire was torn apart, and Mo Yonghan’s scorched bangs soared, and a shining gaze appeared under his wide-open forehead.
“A junior is broadening my horizons.”
Mo Yonghan’s voice became extremely serious. It was a speech and behavior that contained the posture of a single martial artist.
‘Dangerous.’
An alarm rang in my head. There was no carelessness, no smile.
In the eyes where only seriousness remained, only the match was left now. My heart pounded instinctively.
I sensed it. I can’t block the next series of attacks.
The obsession with life of [Life Extension] ran wild.
The sight of the qi wave gathering at the tips of Mo Yonghan’s two hands looked like a slow motion.
The moment that fist is clenched.
I’ll die.
The talents of [Absolute Magic] and [Limitless Martial Body] were shouting without any order.
‘Either die, or change.’
I had to overcome the limit at this very moment.
In the extreme situation, the circle in my body squirmed.
‘I’ll rise to the second circle here.’
The mana I had accumulated through elixirs and training until now was sufficient. It was just that there was no trigger.
Rather than just increasing the circle, I have to grow together with the reaction of my body. It was an enlightenment I had gained through the training of the Reverse Heaven Cultivation Method until now.
The extremes meet, and the insight of the Heaven-Shattering Demon had influenced the growth of magic.
The body, which had been strengthened by the Reverse Heaven Cultivation Method, had also enlarged the vessel of the circle. Thanks to that, more mana was needed than for a normal circle differentiation.
It was the same principle as how those with a large skeleton need to fill in more muscles.
For this, I had been storing mana in my circle like a teacup on the verge of overflowing, which I had gathered through elixirs and training.
The circle does not shrink just because mana is consumed. On the contrary, it grows through consumption, like a muscle.
Consumption and recovery, at the end of that tempering, it finally meets a decisive moment and differentiates.
Just like now.
The empty circle from the baptism of flames vibrates. The circle, which had become larger than the original talent, pulsed in the face of a life-or-death crisis.
The ring of the heart differentiated, and it slowly began to rotate and resonate.
Woooong-
A resonance sound that echoed in the surroundings, as if the whole body had become a single sword.
Even Mo Yonghan, who was about to rush in, stopped for a moment at that mysterious change.
“…Mind-matter unity?”
A divine energy that he had never felt even from the elders of his sect.
Mo Yonghan muttered to himself, looking at the opponent who was surrounded by an undulating qi wave and had his two eyes closed.
It was the same for the others.
“Interesting. I see why the old man gave him the platinum plaque.”
Cheon Mujin, who was sitting in the middle of the most honorable seat overlooking the training ground, opened his mouth.
“I never thought he had that much potential.”
Mi Tae-eul sent a curious gaze. His wrinkled but shining eyes were drawing an arc.
As befitting the giants who ruled the Central Plains, they were composed even after seeing an incomprehensible miracle. Among them, only Gu Jabeom was swallowing dryly.
‘Is it a qi wave from the rise of a realm? I’ve never seen such a pure yet dominant gathering. It can’t be the Three Flowers Courting the Origin, and the Five Qi Courting the Origin also doesn’t make sense. What in the world is it?’
As he was observing the intentions of the two old masters in astonishment, it seemed they also didn’t know.
The ones gathered in this place were the guardians of the secret manual library left by the Heaven-Shattering Demon and the top masters of the Martial Alliance. The fact that such people couldn’t even guess was something to be terrified of.
‘What kind of secret manual did he learn?’
From the time he used sorcery, he had thought his unique internal energy operation was strange, but this was a different case.
Gu Jabeom’s gaze, watching the training ground, sank.
Even if not to the extent of Gu Jabeom, those who were watching the duel were also noticing the anomaly.
That the growth that the junior student was experiencing was a change that was on a different level from what they had experienced.
And so, in the silence, in front of everyone.
Zhuge Cheonwu opened his eyes.
“…Thank you for waiting.”
Zhuge Cheonwu, who was muttering in a somewhat dazed voice, as if he had known, paid his respects to Mo Yonghan and then slowly released his cupped fists.
“Then now…”
The qi wave that spewed out in that moment. The density was different from before.
“Let’s resume the duel.”
He had finally reached the second circle.
(End of Chapter)