novelraw Chapter 18 : I Won
Chapter 18 : I Won
Chapter 18: I Won
A dry sky rumbled and spat out a bolt of lightning.
It was also then that sparkling star clusters brushed past the feet of the two martial artists.
The Punishment Lightning Steps, the unique martial art of Matchless in a Single Strike, and the Star Moon Sword Qi of the Sun-Drenched Moonlight.
A faint scent of blood seeped into my sensitized nose.
It was the scent rising from the snow-white legs of Matchless in a Single Strike, which had been cut by the Star Moon Sword Qi from the start.
The girl clad in lightning across her entire body was truly a madwoman obsessed with fighting.
Normally, the Star Moon Sword Qi should not have been able to pierce through Hungry Wolf’s body.
However, she had created a physical state equal to mine by allowing only a small amount of True Qi to flow through her body, which had become young due to the Rebirth of the Bone and Marrow.
It was correct to say she was dispersing her nerves, which should be focused only on the spar, in various directions.
She wanted to have an equal fight with me even if she had to endure such a laborious task.
If that was the case, then satisfying that expectation was what I had to do.
Both in the past and now, the seeds of the Dark Heaven Society were troublesome.
The small fist of Matchless in a Single Strike flew toward me, and I ducked my shoulder to let the fist strike flow past.
It must have clearly been nothing more than a slight graze, yet a thrilling jolt of lightning passed through my shoulder point and lingered throughout my entire arm.
The characteristics of Lightning Qi Arts lay in the fact that they were Extreme Yang martial arts, possessed a speed far superior to others, and had a unique path of sensory perception.
The important thing for now was to focus only on grasping the lightning flowing through her entire body and her rapid movements.
In an instant, the foot of Matchless in a Single Strike dug into my abdomen without any omen.
My waist leaning like a sickle was a bonus.
She was matching her physical state to mine, but the realization of martial arts she had refined over her lifetime was not disappearing.
'I was careless for a moment.'
In the first place, it was normally impossible to lower one's martial prowess to match the opponent's body.
It was a miracle possible only because it was her.
As I was sent flying by her kick, I held my sword in a reverse grip and dragged it along the ground, chhhhhk.
Once my speed decreased, I was able to catch my stance.
When I corrected my posture and opened my eyes, the knee of Matchless in a Single Strike shot up to the bottom of my chin.
I immediately lifted my chin and barely avoided it.
It was a given that I felt a slight chill from the cold blade-wind originating from her leg techniques.
I immediately snatched her leg and threw it.
Hungry Wolf crashed into the lapis lazuli, which broke with a kwang.
As soon as the sound of crackling lightning reached my sensitized ears.
I stretched out the iron sword I held in a reverse grip far behind me.
Upon hearing the sound of her stepping back, I realized she had avoided the sword and immediately turned around to swing it.
Her flexibly extended leg and the iron sword, missing teeth in places, intersected.
The legs of her, who was older than anyone else, were as white as a child's.
However, traces of time were embedded in the old iron sword.
I thought as I continued to exchange blows with her. That I would not be able to hold out for long.
As I breathed even more Sword Qi into the iron sword, only a white Sword Qi that flickered as if burning remained.
Sword Qi is an art of tempering the mind through intent.
The fact that the Sword Qi burned brightly meant that the intent composing it was vast.
Ultimately, since intent was a way of revealing "In what way are you mad?" through martial arts, I too was truly a madman.
In the first place, one had to assume there were no normal people among Jianghu residents.
What would remain in a forest of monkeys who fought every day while holding blades?
The same was true for Matchless in a Single Strike. I did not know her life. With whom she formed ties, or what kind of loss she suffered.
However, it was certain that Hungry Wolf also lived a bottom-of-the-barrel life.
Because there was no reason for a person who was not so to become a Jianghu resident.
Every time Matchless in a Single Strike took a step, a circular ripple arose beneath her feet.
It looked exactly like a drop of water falling into water.
'It will soon be revealed.'
The true value of the Punishment Lightning Steps.
Suddenly, the sky spat out a bolt of lightning, and her eyes began to shine with a blue radiance.
Dozens of kicks poured onto my body before I could even perceive them.
I utilized the Sun Moon Piercing Technique to barely strike down only those among her attack forms that targeted vital points.
The neck, eyes, solar plexus, top of the foot, and even the groin.
'Not there!'
Entrusting my body to a burning rage, I immediately infused my intent and swung the iron sword toward her neck.
Her leg, which had been flying toward my groin, was hurriedly retracted as she stepped back.
I exhaled a rough breath and pointed my sword at her.
"It’s already sorrowful enough to be born as a beggar, and yet you try to make me unable to function as a man? I, Wang Cho, the most important beggar, cannot tolerate your actions."
The head of Matchless in a Single Strike tilted to the side.
"Impotence? (Eunuch?)"
I said “important”, not “impotence”...
I rushed straight at her without feeling any particular value in answering.
Ultimately, for whom was the current spar?
The people I knew were already all dead.
It would be a matter for the future, and from the moment I, a beggar, became a regressor, they would not cause a bloodbath.
Because the goal of the Dark Heaven Society was the three masterminds.
Even if time was turned back to the past, the people I knew had not returned.
I still remembered the end of Baek Hae, who met a cold death as the Sect Leader.
Eungsam, who died clutching a single saber, and Elder Un, who collapsed after wildly swinging his giant fists.
War ravages the human heart.
It was precisely war that turned a lush pine forest into a desolate ruin.
The ones who lived for over ten years within the Asura Path, desperately swinging blades, were me and Matchless in a Single Strike.
However, the version of her from that time did not exist now.
That memory had long since vanished into starlight and become ash.
Clang!
It was the sound of Hungry Wolf’s small leg colliding with my sword.
Matchless in a Single Strike showed a thick smile between her teeth.
An arm harboring bluish lightning suddenly reached out toward my waist.
Her attack forms, given her short stature, were mostly based on leaping.
Normally, she would roam the air freely with the technique of Void Stepping, but that was an impossible situation now.
I lifted my knee and brushed off Hungry Wolf’s arm. Fighting a master who had undergone Rebirth of the Bone and Marrow was quite troublesome.
Since the body was small, I had to gauge the sword range anew. There were cases where even a distance that should normally be reached brushed through the air because it was the body of a child.
In an instant, Matchless in a Single Strike pulled her leg back all the way and kicked up toward my solar plexus with formidable wind pressure.
It was where the Lower Dantian was located. The place where inner Qi was stored.
I hurriedly and barely blocked her kick with the iron sword. The sword shattered into pieces with a thunderous roar.
I immediately controlled those blade fragments one by one and dropped them toward Matchless in a Single Strike like a rain of flower petals.
It was also then that a streak of admiration flowed out along with a murmuring sound from the spectator seats.
"Rain of a Thousand Flowers!"
Rain of a Thousand Flowers. Usually, many people knew it as the secret hidden weapon technique of Tang Clan of Sichuan, but in fact, the Beggar Sect was the orthodox source.
Pssh, pssh, pssh.
The skin of Matchless in a Single Strike was cut like the sound of rain. However, there were no fatal wounds. Because she, who caught one blade with her bare hand, had struck down most of the hidden weapons.
Hungry Wolf also had a considerable amount of combat experience.
After the rain of blades stopped, Matchless in a Single Strike spoke with a smile.
"The hidden weapon technique of the Beggar Sect. Did you find it in an old library? I know that the current generation of Beggar Sect disciples has not practiced the Rain of a Thousand Flowers."
I flinched at her words and could not hide a bit of surprise.
Because even within the Beggar Sect, there were not many who knew that the Rain of a Thousand Flowers was their own hidden weapon technique.
"How did you know?"
Hungry Wolf suddenly moved her short legs to draw a half-circle on the lapis lazuli floor and answered.
"I have a comrade who belonged to the Beggar Sect."
I instinctively realized those words did not refer to the Trackless Divine Beggar.
Because a master of her caliber was failing to restrain her intent and was letting it leak out wildly.
Longing and regret. However, those emotions vanished soon. What remained was only the girl who met my eyes with her black, clear pupils.
In an instant, with a kwang sound, the lapis lazuli floor shattered and rose into the air.
It was what happened when she and I simultaneously dashed toward each other.
The power loaded into our soles was so immense that the solid lapis lazuli sparring stage groaned.
However, neither of us loaded more True Qi than necessary. A peerless master was someone who unleashed forms containing the power of a great mountain even with a small amount of force.
Even if I was a swordsman, I was obviously able to perform fist and palm techniques. In the first place, the Beggar Sect had no useful sword techniques except for the Shouting Branch Sword Technique.
I was a martial artist born for all kinds of dogfights, including fist, palm, and leg techniques.
The explosive power of the Punishment Lightning Steps continued to flow in and torment the acupoints across my entire body.
I slapped her cheek and judged coldly.
'I cannot win.'
It was a fact I had known from the beginning. No matter how much she controlled her own body, there was no way Matchless in a Single Strike would lose consciousness.
Because the body of a master who had surpassed the realms was harder than anything else.
It was only because Hungry Wolf had lost the muscles she had refined her entire life due to the Rebirth of the Bone and Marrow that she alone was capable of such a fight.
About twenty percent of inner Qi remained in my Lower Dantian.
I immediately wrapped a golden current around both my arms.
The momentum of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms soared like a wildfire and flickered like a flame.
Matchless in a Single Strike, whose entire body was surrounded by the radiance of bluish lightning.
For a moment, the lightning of the night sky overlapped on her body. Her mental image was so intense that it ended up being revealed outwardly.
This too was the aftermath of the Spirit of the Upper Dantian.
This was the last exchange. Matchless in a Single Strike and I felt it instinctively. It was together that we showed a smirk toward each other.
I revealed the one remaining streak of hatred, and she revealed considerable enjoyment. With this, I intended to clear my heart toward the Dark Heaven Society.
In an instant, the figures of her and me vanished. Matchless in a Single Strike did not defeat me in a single strike. However, the same was true for me. That was why the current fight had reached this point.
The constellation of the Hungry Wolf Star is the first of the Big Dipper.
Since ancient times, the Lords of the Big Dipper have been known as immortals who decide the deaths of mere humans.
Every time she and I collided, a vast amount of lightning and a long golden dragon vomited a roar.
The sparring stage had already been completely destroyed long ago. Hungry Wolf, swinging her legs like a whip with an indifferent face, was quite fierce.
Suddenly, her leg vomited a terrifying roar. She had decided to pour the remaining True Qi into this one strike.
I too took a Sword Seal position by extending only my index and middle fingers.
A fleeting moment. The unique "lazy time" of a martial arts master unfolded. Matchless in a Single Strike, trying to strike down toward the ground again with the leg she had raised toward the sky.
I had to stop it.
I immediately extended my Sword Seal in a straight line and rushed toward her. A white flash galloped toward the lightning that was Matchless in a Single Strike.
Sun-Drenched Moonlight Swift Sword Form, Moonlight Flash.
My figure passed right through the constellation called Hungry Wolf.
I felt it instinctively.
'I missed.'
In an instant, a single bolt of lightning struck in the dry sky. She had eventually struck her leg down onto the ground. She must have clearly struck a piece of the broken sparring stage, yet pain as if someone were trampling on my back erupted.
That was the end. I could not recover.
When I closed and opened my eyes, I saw a beautiful girl looking down at me with her hands behind her back. It was with a spinning sky, as if the Taiji Wisdom Sword, the ultimate art of the Wudang Sect, had been unleashed.
When I slapped my cheek once with a trembling hand, my blurred vision returned. It was Matchless in a Single Strike, wearing a faint smile. Because that smile looked somewhat obnoxious for some reason, I muttered.
"If only my sword had been intact, I would have won."
The Hungry God had a petty side.