Single-Instant Blade

Chapter 76 : Escape (1)

“I will die?”

The Third Lord, the Wildcat Shin Dopa, said with a smile.

Anyone could see that Ah Geol was in a disadvantageous situation.

Ah Geol was so exhausted that it was difficult for him to even hold his blade. Although it seemed that he had recovered some of his true strength by urgently practicing energy circulation and breath regulation, with that level, he could not face a swordsman known throughout the world.

“Hmph! If you want to fight, then let’s fight.”

Ah Geol smiled blandly and spun the half-iron blade.

Whir!

The sound of the half-iron blade cutting through the wind rang out.

‘…This guy!’

Shin Dopa’s eyes narrowed.

The sharp wind rising from the blade was very sharp.

Although it was sharp, it was not violent. It was so refined that it was sharp to the point of being flawless. It was a movement that was difficult to execute unless one’s internal energy was pure.

A master could recognize the opponent’s martial arts just by looking at how they breathed.

Ah Geol had recovered his true strength.

Although he had only been given time to catch his breath a few times, he had escaped from exhaustion in that short time.

‘I might lose…’

The corners of the Third Lord’s eyes trembled slightly.

If the opponent had been the Wind Path Valley ruffians, he would have retreated immediately without any hesitation. But the opponent was Ah Geol. He was still a novice. To be scared of such a kid was a matter of the Ten Lesser Swords’ prestige.

Swoosh!

Shin Dopa aimed his sword at Ah Geol.

“Let’s see if your blade will taste blood, or if my sword will taste blood… let’s do it.”

Shoot!

The sword light flashed and spewed out light.

In that instant, the world was dyed with darkness. The whole world was pitch black. The sword light was so bright that the world looked dark.

Swish! Shugak!

Ah Geol twisted his upper body to the side. At the same time, a blue sword blade passed by his neck.

It was the Direct Light Flow of the Illuminating Heaven Sword.

The Direct Light Flow was so fast that it was called the ‘flow of light’. But it was not the fastest sword form of the Illuminating Heaven Sword. There was a sword form that was twice as fast as the Direct Light Flow.

Shoot!

The sword form dropped down.

Ah Geol took half a step back.

Although he wanted to take a full step back, he was not given that much time.

Shugak! Jiiik!

The sword tore his clothes and flowed away.

It was the Flying Bird Abdomen Split, a fast sword among fast swords that was said to even split a flying bird in the sky.

Chwararak!

The Third Lord’s sword forms moved dazzlingly. It would shoot up from below, and then suddenly rush at his head. No, it was not his head. It was aiming for his chest and was cutting down diagonally.

The sword came from an unimaginable angle.

Teoteok! Teok!

Ah Geol retreated again.

Since Shin Dopa had executed his sword forms, he had only been retreating. He had not even been able to raise his blade and make a proper counterattack. The Third Lord did not even give him time to raise his blade.

Shoot!

A very powerful force rushed at his chest.

Ah Geol raised his blade and immediately counterattacked.

This time, it was not a fast sword, but a heavy sword. So he had fortunately found time to raise his blade.

Kaang!

The sword and the blade clashed in the air. In that instant,

Shriik!

The sword form slid down the blade.

It flowed like a shot, as if to break the guard and cut off his fingers.

Ah Geol immediately dropped his blade.

He blocked the sword from flowing down. He twisted it to the side so that the sword body would not hit the guard. In that instant,

Chyurit!

The sword bent at a right angle as if to split the blade in half, and then dug under the blade.

In the Illuminating Heaven Sword, there was a martial principle called the Illuminating Ten Explanations. Only those who realized the Illuminating Ten Explanations were the true masters of the Illuminating Heaven Sword. So those who had realized the Illuminating Ten Explanations no longer used the Illuminating Heaven Sword. Their sword was called the Illuminating Ten Explanations.

Hidden Killing in the Stream!

He hid a true sword in a light sword form. Although it was a sharp sword form that would startle the opponent, in reality, the hidden sword was sharper. The sword that had slid down the blade was a feint. The real move was the sword that cut the chest.

“Hook!”

Ah Geol let out a breath and retreated.

Jiiik!

Shin Dopa’s sword cut a long line across his chest. It tore Ah Geol’s upper garment, and even dug into his chest flesh.

“Huhuhu! My sword tasted blood first, didn’t it?”

Shin Dopa laughed.

Shin Dopa was called the Wildcat among the Ten Lesser Swords. His movement technique was as fast as a wildcat, and his nature was ferocious.

He had executed a whopping thirteen forms in an instant.

Tremendous speed, monstrous strength, and cruelty were all harmonized.

Ah Geol had retreated five steps. His clothes had turned into rags, and blood was flowing from his chest.

“…A surprising sword.”

Ah Geol nodded.

“Of course. The Illuminating Heaven Sword is one of the few martial arts that can defeat the Single-Instant Blade…”

“Unfortunately.”

Ah Geol cut off Shin Dopa’s words in the middle.

“You’re too slow. Too weak, and too stiff.”

“What? You’re saying that even after seeing your own state?”

“What I’m saying is not based on my standard. It’s based on the Single-Instant Blade standard. I don’t know if the Illuminating Heaven Sword can face the Single-Instant Blade, but you can’t. You’re just disgracing the Illuminating Heaven Sword.”

“Die by such a sword!”

Shwaaaek!

Before the sword form was even visible, a sword wind arose.

‘Seventeen Linked Swords!’

Ah Geol immediately executed the Body Protecting Blade.

He held the blade about a hand’s breadth away from his body and swung it around. He built an iron fortress with the wall created by the blade.

Kka-kang! Kkangkangkang! Kka-gang!

Blue sparks flew around Ah Geol’s body.

Shin Dopa had put all his strength into his sword. The moment Ah Geol protected his body with his blade, he had thought of crushing him with his sword. The strength in his sword could be deflected by the blade. Or it could crush the blade and stab him.

Kaang! Kkang!

The sword hit the blade wall and was deflected. But the sword continued to strike. It did not just attack once, but it struck seventeen times in a row.

Kkang!

The moment the Seventeen Linked Swords reached its peak, the sword finally broke the blade wall.

Ah Geol’s hand slowed down significantly. He could not execute the Body Protecting Blade properly and was staggering.

His exhausted internal energy did not recover easily. He had been so severely exhausted that he would have to rest for at least a day to recover, but he could not be lively just by circulating his energy for a while.

Peok!

The sword dug into his flesh again.

Ah Geol staggered and retreated.

Blood was pouring from his chest. The last sword had pierced through the blade wall and had cut his chest flesh.

“Ah Geol!”

Mongseol shouted and was about to approach.

Ah Geol raised his hand and stopped her. With his wide eyes fixed on Shin Dopa.

Mongseol could not approach.

Although she wanted to join the fight right away, Ah Geol was telling her not to come.

She believed in Ah Geol. She believed in him absolutely.

“The sword you just executed was the Illuminating Heaven Sword. Now I’m going to execute the Seventeen Linked Swords with the Illuminating Ten Explanations. Do you know what kind of sword that becomes? A Heavenly Sword! The sword of a heavenly god. One that no one can block.”

Swoosh!

Shin Dopa raised his sword.

But… was it a hallucination? It seemed that a haze was rising from the sword body.

The internal qi and the air were rubbing against each other.

Shin Dopa intended to cut Ah Geol with this one blow. The sword form was a heavy sword. He used a heavy sword. Since Ah Geol was showing a limit in his internal energy, he would focus on that part.

“Hook!”

Ah Geol let out a breath.

Shwiiit! Swish! Shwiiit! Swish!

When you thought he was moving, he stopped. When you thought he was stopping, he moved again. He repeated the action of moving and stopping, but in reality, he was approaching very quickly. He was already right in front of him.

Shwaaaek!

A sword wind arose. The sword was not visible, and the sharp energy from the sword dug into his flesh.

It was the Three Points Same Strike following the Illusory Step, one of the twelve movement techniques of the Sacred Sword Sect.

Although it was a straight stabbing sword that stabbed with a sword, it stabbed three places, the upper, middle, and lower, at the same time.

It was difficult to block the Three Points Same Strike executed by the Ten Lesser Swords. Although the targets were completely separated into upper, middle, and lower, it showed too well how the word ‘same’ was used.

Ah Geol jumped back.

Shin Dopa continued to follow Ah Geol. He had already known that Ah Geol would retreat.

Chyurit! Chyuririt!

The Three Points Same Strike continued.

He stabbed once, stabbed twice, and stabbed a third time. The upper, middle, and lower three places were struck a third time.

The head, the chest, the dantian.

The head, the heart, the pancreas.

The head, the lungs, the lower abdomen.

“Now get lost!”

Shin Dopa let out a roar. At the same time, he changed his sword form abruptly. It was not the Three Points Same Strike, but a sword form that swung wide from above the head and cut down diagonally, the Flying Swallow Waterfall Drop.

Although he swung the sword wide from above his head, the movement was not large. Because he swung it using his wrist.

Then, when he cut down with the sword, the speed became more than three times faster.

A speed that could not be found in a sword that cut down without making an arc was created.

A swallow had dropped from the sky.

The sword… fell along the waterfall.

The fastest sword of the Illuminating Heaven Sword was the Flying Bird Abdomen Split. But the Flying Swallow Waterfall Drop seemed much faster.

In this instant, Ah Geol was silent.

He did not move at all. He was engulfed in a quiet silence, as if he were not even breathing.

In a way, he seemed like a person who had not seen the Flying Swallow Waterfall Drop.

It was already too late to dodge the sword. The sword had come too close. Ah Geol and Shin Dopa’s bodies looked like one lump. In that instant,

Pat!

The half-iron blade spewed out a terrifying cold light.

It did not block Shin Dopa’s sword. It immediately struck Shin Dopa’s body.

Peok!

A dull sound rang out… and Shin Dopa staggered and walked forward.

His body looked precarious, as if it would collapse forward at any moment.

The blood that had flowed from his abdomen was soaking his pants, and was beginning to dye the ground.

“T-This! Damn it!”

Shin Dopa muttered.

He had not seen the blade form that Ah Geol had executed. He had not even felt how the blade had moved. When he had felt ‘Ah!’, the blade had already passed, cutting his abdomen.

‘How did he get through the Flying Swallow Waterfall Drop?’

A late meeting came over him.

The Flying Swallow Waterfall Drop had flowed without any hindrance. Even after being struck in the abdomen, it had not lost its sword path and had chased.

Ah Geol should have been at the end of the sword path.

He had aimed for his left neck, and the sword strength that had torn his flesh should have continued to cut his chest bone and his right lung.

But nothing was caught. It had swept through the empty air.

How had Ah Geol dodged it? No, when had he used his blade? Was dodging first, or was using the blade first?

He grabbed his torn stomach with his hand and turned his body to look at Ah Geol.

Ah Geol raised his blade.

“I told you you would die if you fought me.”

(End of Chapter)