novelraw Chapter 201 : Internal Energy Clash
Chapter 201 : Internal Energy Clash
Chapter 201: Internal Energy Clash
The Divine Thief Yangyang was a righteous bandit who plundered the wealth of the rich and gave only half of it to the poor.
And once she robbed a wealthy household, it was only natural that someone would come chasing after her.
For that very reason, Yangyang had long trained her exceptional danger-sensing instincts and storm-like Body Movement Technique.
“Stop right there!”
Inside the Heavenly Treasure Vault filled with treasures of the Imperial Palace, a chase unfolded.
As Yangyang began moving her feet frantically, even I had once admired that wind-like movement technique—and now it unfolded once more.
“You rat-like bitch…!”
Her movements truly lived up to the phrase—just when it seemed she would be caught, she slipped right out of one’s grasp.
When she glanced back, a Royal Guards expert—one of the Imperial Family’s personal guard—was gnashing his teeth as he desperately chased after her.
‘Why are the Royal Guards in a place like this treasure vault…?!’
And not just anywhere—but hiding deep within the Heavenly Treasure Vault, lying in wait as if expecting her.
Biting her lip in confusion at the situation she couldn’t comprehend, Yangyang accelerated further.
“If I catch you, I’ll tear your limbs apart and kill you!”
At that moment, a chilling sensation crept up her spine. Reacting instantly to the warning from her senses, Yangyang twisted her body.
A poisoned-looking Bi Chim barely grazed past her.
“Hiiik!”
The Royal Guards showed no intention of capturing her alive for lawful execution—they clearly meant to kill her on the spot. Yangyang shuddered in terror once more.
“Die!”
A sword wrapped in Sword Qi slashed through the air again. Letting out a low “Aagh!”, Yangyang hurriedly ducked.
Kicking off the ground, she blurred her figure and escaped the danger.
Seeing her mysterious and elusive footwork—clearly not that of an ordinary thief—the Royal Guards shouted in frustration.
“What the hell are you?!”
In that brief moment, she broke free from the pursuer’s grasp and flung open the entrance to the Heavenly Treasure Vault she had secretly entered.
At last, it seemed she might escape this streak of bad luck—
But perhaps fate was playing a cruel joke.
Right in front of the main gate stood two Imperial Army experts.
“Uh… excuse me…?”
The two exchanged glances, dumbfounded at the suspicious figure who had practically rolled into them.
“The storekeepers are all unconscious.”
“And we heard sounds of fighting and came to check…”
It seemed they had been patrolling and arrived after hearing the commotion.
Thud!
They kicked her down without hesitation and immediately struck her acupoints, binding her.
“Uh—!”
Yangyang twisted her entire body, trying to escape, but it was already too late. As she struggled, pieces of gold clinked as they fell from her clothes.
They were the valuables she had pickpocketed from wealthy merchants during the Garden Banquet.
“Hah, so she’s a thief.”
“To infiltrate the Imperial Palace just to steal… her guts have grown quite large.”
The Imperial Army soldiers let out dry laughs and began dragging her away to be imprisoned.
As she struggled, they warned her that she would likely receive a severe punishment as an example.
“Wait! Stop!”
At that moment, the Royal Guards who had chased her out of the Heavenly Treasure Vault rushed forward and urgently stopped the two soldiers.
“Let her go! That woman is a criminal apprehended by the Royal Guards!”
The Royal Guards expert insisted the prisoner belonged to them.
His longsword still shimmered with blue Sword Qi, clearly showing his intent to behead her the moment she was handed over.
“Hmph, nonsense. Why should we hand over a criminal we caught to you?”
“Why would we give away such merit to someone else?”
The two Imperial Army soldiers sneered. In the Imperial Palace, the Royal Guards, Eastern Depot, and Imperial Army were like cats and dogs—none willing to yield even the slightest advantage.
“These ignorant Imperial Army dogs…”
Grinding his teeth, the Royal Guards expert assessed their strength.
One might have been manageable—but two? Difficult. And if he forced a fight here, it would only raise more suspicion.
Reaching that conclusion, he decided to step back for now.
“That thief… she was spouting all sorts of nonsense to save her life. Don’t get fooled—just deal with her.”
Looking down at Yangyang, whose mute acupoint had been sealed, he issued a warning not to loosen her restraints.
“Hmph, we were planning to.”
“Mind your own business and get lost.”
“…Tch.”
With an annoyed glare, the Royal Guards expert turned and disappeared.
The two Imperial Army soldiers hoisted the captured criminal over their shoulders again and began walking.
“Mmph!”
On their shoulders, Yangyang squirmed, trying to say something.
At this rate, she would be executed without even a chance to act. She tried to inform them about the Thunderburst Bomb hidden among the Son of Heaven’s gifts—hoping to seize even the faintest chance.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
But with her acupoint sealed, no proper sound came out.
The fact she could even make muffled noises was nothing short of a miracle.
“She’s noisy even with her mouth sealed.”
“Good thing we sealed her acupoint like the Royal Guards said.”
Unaware of her desperation, they simply dragged her away.
Thus, Yangyang was taken away like a criminal.
“Mmph! Mmpphh!”
A heavy silence fell over the Martial Arts Tournament.
What had begun as a duel to gain the Emperor’s attention had turned into a life-and-death fight—and now, a hostage situation.
Countless people stared at us with expressions that were hard to describe.
“Mujin… no, Mudong. I think we’ve become really bad people.”
Jo Harang, having somewhat recovered from her Internal Injury, cautiously spoke after observing the atmosphere.
“Cowardly? This is a legitimate tactic—even written in the Art of War.”
“…Which passage says something like this?”
She narrowed her eyes and questioned me.
“Probably the Thirty-Six Stratagems?”
Truth be told, I didn’t know. But it was a compendium of countless strategies—surely something like this was in there.
Just as she was about to sigh, a furious voice rang out.
“You despicable bastards! Put my sister down immediately!”
Zhang Shuo—who had been charging at Jo Harang earlier—had regained his senses only after his sister was captured.
But if we were talking about cowardice, I had plenty to say too.
“A Transcendence Realm expert who can fight four or five Peak Masters—and you even brought in additional Peak Masters just to split the victory benefits among your bloodline? You’re the truly shameless one!”
Zhang Shuo’s face hardened. His lips trembled, but no words came out.
“…Shut up! The world was never fair! If you’re dissatisfied, you should have raised your own level!”
I chuckled at his forced logic.
“I know the world isn’t fair. That’s why I took a hostage.”
“…Grrr!”
Though furious, Zhang Shuo couldn’t act recklessly with his sister’s life at stake.
Ignoring the cold gazes from all around, I calmly made my proposal.
“But there is still a fair way to settle this.”
His sharp gaze bore into me.
I handed the hostage—Zhang Shuo’s sister—to Jo Harang and stepped forward.
“Not by realm—but by pure internal energy. A contest of accumulated power.”
At my proposal, his eyes widened slightly.
An Internal Energy Clash—the most dangerous yet purest form of battle in Murim.
Victory determined not by technique or chance, but solely by depth of cultivation and amount of Internal Energy.
“Hah! An internal energy contest? Ridiculous!”
Sneering, Zhang Shuo stepped forward.
“Fine. I’ll make you regret this.”
He extended both hands confidently.
‘Seongnyeong Hoilche, Sucheon Gipase.’
Circulating the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method, I firmly grasped his hands.
Thousand-Household Captain Zhang Shuo sneered at the young martial artist who dared challenge him to an internal energy contest.
‘An ignorant brat.’
Since being recognized for his talent in the Imperial Army, he had been granted countless spiritual elixirs and accumulated immense internal energy.
To think a mere Transcendence Realm martial artist would challenge him…
Perhaps the boy didn’t want to be beaten miserably in front of everyone.
But that only made it worse.
‘I’ll crush him with internal energy!’
BOOM!
The moment their energies collided, an invisible shockwave shook the Arena.
Blue energy surged violently from Zhang Shuo’s body.
At first, the power of the Eighteen Loyal Nation Techniques poured forth like a waterfall, pushing my energy back.
‘This is over!’
Confident in victory, he pushed even harder.
But as time passed—
I did not budge.
Rather, the longer the clash continued, the more Zhang Shuo’s face filled with confusion.
‘What…?!’
A pure white energy surged from me, swirling as it countered his.
The blue torrent split apart, losing its momentum.
‘What… is this…?!’
His hands trembled violently.
My energy broke through his defenses one by one, advancing like an invading army.
“Ugh!”
This was undeniable proof—he was losing.
He screamed inwardly. How could someone not even thirty possess such overwhelming internal energy?
My power was like a boundless ocean.
“Impossible…!”
Blood trickled from his lips.
“I have accumulated… fifty years… of internal energy…!”
My eyes shone with pure white brilliance as I spoke.
“Zhang Shuo… the one before you has accumulated over one full cycle of sixty years of internal energy.”
Over sixty years.
His strength drained as despair filled him.
“This… can’t be…”
BOOM!
My energy exploded.
He was blasted far out of the Arena, rolling across the ground with his eyes rolled back.
A shocking result that overturned all expectations.
As everyone stared in stunned silence—
“What are you doing? The match seems decided.”
At the Son of Heaven’s words, the referee hurriedly announced:
“Th-The winner is! Zaha and Mudong…!”
Thus, we claimed victory in the Martial Arts Tournament prepared by the Emperor.
As Mudong of the Eastern Depot, I ascended to the platform to meet him privately.
The Son of Heaven, Hongnakje, stared at us silently.
“Your real name?”
He clearly hadn’t believed the identity of “Mudong.”
“I am Dan Mujin. And this is my subordinate, Jo Harang.”
“Dan Mujin… your internal energy is remarkable for your age. How did you cultivate it?”
“…By doing many good deeds.”
A vein bulged on Cheonsugong’s forehead nearby.
But I had spoken the truth.
“Heh.”
Hongnakje chuckled softly.
“There’s not a single predictable thing about you.”
Then he spoke:
“I promised the winner one wish. Speak.”
As I pondered—
“…Hmm? What is she doing over there?”
I spotted a familiar woman being dragged away by the Imperial Army, going “Mmph! Mmph!”
It was Yangyang.