novelraw Chapter 38 : Chapter 38
Chapter 38 : Chapter 38
Chapter 38: You were the one who drew your sword first.
Three pieces of silk cloth were placed neatly on the blanket.
Before I even had time to debate whether to beat up the steward or to defy my father more, I had to climb Peak-and-Valley Mountain.
The skin all over my body was already turning dark red.
The powerful internal ki accumulated in the fine meridians of my entire body was on the verge of erupting, unable to withstand the formidable pressure.
If I held on any longer, I would go straight into qi deviation.
Swish—
I was looking for the hardest possible bedrock terrain.
Even if it wasn't the martial might of my prime, Madness Annihilation Soul Force was still Madness Annihilation Soul Force.
If soil were to wash down the mountain again this time, all the earthen walls that had been painstakingly built would collapse.
As I reached the midpoint of the mountain ridge, I finally found a rock.
It was so huge that it should be described as a terrain feature rather than a rock.
Having reached my limit, I opened all the fine meridians in my body at once and refreshingly poured out the Madness Annihilation Soul Force.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
The term ‘technique’ was a word that collectively referred to the entire process, from the starting stance, the method of ki circulation, the complex forms, the application of variations, to the finishing move that ends it.
That was why martial arts were not called a simple talent for hand movements, but a martial art, that is, a form of art.
However, in my Madness Annihilation Soul Force, nothing of the sort existed.
It was simply pouring it out, just spitting out the enormous ki accumulated in my fine meridians, and that was all.
Even now, I could not forget the bewildered look in the Sword Saint’s eyes when he first witnessed this in my past life.
A storm of Ki Art.
An enormous energy that simply exploded indiscriminately, without any form or method of operation.
Crack-crack-crack!
The Madness Annihilation Soul Force, having clawed at the rock, seemed to have missed its mark and shot up into the sky.
Anyone who saw it would have thought of the long, bluish energy cutting across the night sky as a blue dragon ascending to the heavens.
Hoo, it was indescribably refreshing.
It truly felt as if a long-standing indigestion had been washed away all at once.
To put it more directly, um…….
Hundreds of times better than the best bowel movement ever?
Ah, is that not right?
Even I thought the metaphor was shitty.
With that kind of metaphor, I would have to start describing this act as ‘taking a dump’ from now on, but such an expression would surely lead to even greater misunderstandings.
“Hooo……”
I took a slow, deep breath and examined the rock bathed in the moonlight.
Fortunately, no landslide had occurred.
Other than it being split in half and fragments blown off here and there, there was no major change.
Even if someone saw this rock, this one time, they would think it was struck by lightning or broke naturally.
However, what if traces like this started to accumulate one by one on this Peak-and-Valley Mountain?
Those who believe in superstitions would be afraid, saying the mountain god was angry, but a martial artist would surely think it was a trace of martial arts.
Now that it has come to this, I have no choice but to acquire a steel training chamber with my own power.
And as soon as possible.
But at that moment.
‘Shit, who is it?’
I definitely heard a rustling sound.
The characteristic breaking sound that comes when branches or bushes are stepped on.
It was not a mountain beast.
The footsteps of four-legged beasts and humans were on completely different tracks.
Moreover, the volume of the footsteps was just enough to slightly tickle my sensitive hearing.
This was strong evidence that the opponent was a martial artist who had learned footwork.
Swish—
I immediately unfolded the Galaxy Eternal Spirit Steps in the direction the sound came from.
But there was no need to survey the mountain with the Fine Stream Demonic Eye.
As if he had no intention of running away in the first place, the man in the black martial arts uniform was just staring blankly at the broken rock.
“……Dark Phantom?”
He was none other than my father’s personal guard, Dark Phantom.
No, why are you here?
Why was the personal guard who always protected the front of the clan head’s hall here?
“That martial art just now was……”
Dark Phantom's trembling eyes.
Those two eyes resembled the Sword Saint's when he first witnessed my Madness Annihilation Soul Force.
Damn it!
To think that I wanted to keep it a secret so badly, only to have the first use of Madness Annihilation Soul Force after leaving the Demon Subjugation Secret Cave be discovered right away.
Moreover, if it was Dark Phantom, he would surely try to report it to my father.
Or perhaps he had been observing my movements under my father’s orders from the very beginning.
“Ha…… Why on earth did you come here?”
Dark Phantom’s voice, which came immediately after, made me dumbfounded.
“I was tracking the traces of a tremendous movement art that brushed past the Phoenix Pavilion.”
Right, the Phoenix Pavilion. That was next to my quarters.
So he mistook me for a spy who had been secretly active in the Jaegal Clan.
Well, what's done is done anyway.
There was no need for fellow martial artists to wrack their brains over this.
“Let’s just be direct. What you saw today. Don’t tell anyone. Got it?”
Dark Phantom, standing silently with a stern expression.
“What you saw. It’s like my hidden trump card. The one you always keep as your last move. You know what that means if you’re a martial artist too.”
The reason I wasn’t making excuses or being cunning right now was because this man was a martial artist belonging to the Alliance.
His affiliation and rank were unknown, but he was originally the Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom’s guard, so he was surely a close associate of the Sword Saint.
If this man went back to the Sword Saint and started talking, it would become quite troublesome.
That was the very reason I was showing such sincerity.
“Could it be that this landslide was also……”
“Stop, let’s just stop.”
At my evasive attitude, Dark Phantom's pupils became even clearer.
A gaze of certainty.
Damn it, if he was this quick-witted, I had to think differently.
However, since I had had no contact with him before, I couldn't figure out how to persuade him.
But at that moment.
“How is it that you, Third Young Master, are cultivating the martial art of the Martial Emperor?”
Goosebumps spread rapidly down my spine; I almost launched a surprise attack.
What was this? This bastard?
He recognized Madness Annihilation Soul Force at a glance?
The only ones who could say they had witnessed my Madness Annihilation Soul Force were the Sword Saint and the Heavenly Demon.
No, perhaps it could be said that the only one who had truly experienced it was the Sword Saint.
What the Heavenly Demon saw was merely the traces I left after fiercely breaking through the Heaven and Earth Net.
Ah, since that damn Dark Spirit Revered One also saw it right before he died, does that make it three of them?
“Who are you.”
Since he was a martial artist dispatched from the Alliance, I naturally thought he would have some connection with the Sword Saint.
But it was not simply to that extent.
If he recognized Madness Annihilation Soul Force at a glance, he was surely someone who had even shared the Sword Saint’s experience.
This person was, nine times out of ten, a central figure in the Alliance.
“Wait a minute? Don’t tell me your mission isn’t to guard but to spy?”
Since he was a master dispatched by the Alliance, I hadn't paid much attention to him.
The Old Man of Heavenly Wisdom was an orthodox faction elder with the highest standing of his time, and a hero of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War, so I thought the Alliance had sent him as a form of courtesy.
“Are you from the Heavenly Martial Squad? Or the Guardian Secret Sword Sect? Hey, don’t tell me you’re the Sword Saint’s disciple?”
When I mentioned the Guardian Secret Sword Sect, Dark Phantom’s pupils contracted rapidly.
But it was ambiguous whether he was surprised that I knew about the Guardian Secret Sword Sect, or surprised because he was really a Secret Sword himself.
As expected, Dark Phantom was trying his best to erase his agitation and remained silent.
Well, let’s see how long he keeps that mouth shut.
“If you’re from the Guardian Secret Sword Sect, your purpose must be intelligence gathering…… Damn it, so the sight you saw today will be reported directly to the Alliance Leader. But what can I do, now that I know you’re a Secret Sword, I have no intention of letting you go back alive.”
Even though I revealed my killing intent, Dark Phantom did not show any agitation in his eyes.
He was confident he could return alive even after seeing my Madness Annihilation Soul Force.
My suspicion that he was a Secret Sword was gradually turning into conviction.
“But that’s a gamble for me too. It might be a different story if I fight with the resolve to lose an arm, but why go through such a fight? We don’t have that deep of a grudge between us yet, do we?”
Perhaps annoyed by my smirking laugh, Dark Phantom was slowly raising his internal art.
He was a guy who also knew about the Smiling Dagger, that the killing intent hidden behind a smile is the most frightening.
Hoo, I guess this guy really is a Secret Sword.
“Then how about this? I’ll reveal that you’re a Secret Sword. From the Jaegal Clan’s perspective, it’s a very unpleasant matter. We thought the Alliance Leader sent you with good intentions, but it turns out we’ve just been spied on, so how do you think my father would feel? He’d probably start suspecting all of the Alliance’s events from now on.”
Still, Dark Phantom remained silent.
If so, then I’ll throw something stronger.
“Moreover, if your identity as a Secret Sword is revealed, your lifespan ends there. Do you think the stubborn Han Sa-gwang would tolerate you failing your mission? You might have your Secret Sword Tablet taken away overnight.”
Just now, Dark Phantom’s sword twitched.
It was obvious why a highly trained individual had momentarily lost his composure.
Han Sa-gwang.
I had just mentioned the exact real name of the Guardian Secret Sword Sect’s leader.
In this vast Jianghu, even those who knew of the Murim Alliance’s Guardian Secret Sword Sect were extremely few.
Yet, I was accurately mentioning the sect leader's real name, personality, and even the sacred object of the Guardian Secret Sword Sect, so a chill instinctively ran through his senses.
Now, it was time to put the nail in the coffin.
Bang, bang!
“As for me cultivating the Martial Emperor’s martial arts, I can just make a suitable excuse or feign ignorance. After all, you’re the only one who saw it. In the end, it’ll just be a game of truth between you and me…… Isn’t that too exhausting?”
Bang, bang, bang!
“But if my mouth opens, a problem that you’ll have to bet your life on will occur. Think carefully. I can’t give you much time. A quarter of an hour.”
I plopped down on the ground and waited leisurely.
In fact, if you thought about it from the opposite perspective.
The mental anguish that Dark Phantom must be feeling right now was extremely unreasonable.
As long as he didn’t know that the soul of the Martial Emperor resided within the shell of Jaegal Hwi, there was no way for him to sort through that complex mystery.
Logic only works when cause and effect are based on some degree of reality.
However, an unrealistic element like this was the kind that could not even be hypothesized.
I once again realized what a great sword the weapon of reincarnation I possessed was.
However.
Before even a quarter of an hour had passed, what Dark Phantom chose was not an answer, but to raise his sword.
“You don’t trust me, is that it?”
The will blazing in Dark Phantom’s eyes was undoubtedly for killing a person to shut their mouth.
Did he consider my mouth a bomb that could go off at any moment?
Well, it made sense that secretive people like Secret Swords hated variables the most.
They would rather cut off the element of instability at once than be dragged around by a weakness.
But, was that really a good judgment?
Of course, this man’s level was estimated to be at the peak, similar to my current self.
But still.
There was one problem that Dark Phantom surely did not know, and probably would not realize until the moment he was dying.
That I was not just at the peak, but at the peak with the experience of the Seven Revered of Jianghu.
“You were the one who drew your sword first.”
In this sinister Jianghu, there was no romance in responding to killing intent with compassion.
The Secret Sword had resolved to die.
The Martial Emperor had decided to forget mercy for a moment.
The energy of the One Ki Divine Origin Art was once again accumulating in the cleanly emptied fine meridians of my entire body.