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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The Thirteen Lightning Sword Techniques were divided into two parts: the first nine forms and the final four.
Each of the first nine forms could be used independently, integrated into other martial arts styles.
They were essentially fundamental sword techniques, effective even if only the form was replicated.
The final four forms, however, were different.
They were the secret arts.
These required Sword Qi, the focused energy of a Transcendent Realm expert.
And the technique Namgung-Woo had just unleashed, the tenth form and the first secret art, Flash of Extreme Light, truly painted the world with a blinding flash.
Platinum Sword Qi exploded, unleashing a torrent of light.
Day returned to the summit of Longevity Hill, banishing the night. It was like hundreds of lightning bolts striking simultaneously.
The sheer intensity of the light would have blinded anyone who looked directly at it without eye protection techniques.
It was a dazzling display of power, far beyond what a single human should be capable of.
The energy contained within Namgung-Woo’s sword was immense.
It sliced through Li Zi-long’s defensive spell as if it were paper.
Like a red-hot blade melting and cutting through whatever lay before it.
The Flash of Extreme Light completely shattered Li Zi-long’s defenses and pierced his flesh.
*Crack!*
Even his body wasn’t ordinary. The sound of metal being cleaved echoed through the air.
His bones, reinforced by some strange sorcery, possessed unnatural density and strength.
But Namgung-Woo’s sword cut through them, cleaving Li Zi-long’s body in two.
A fatal wound.
A man, already missing an arm, now bisected at the waist, couldn’t possibly survive.
But the one struck by the Flash of Extreme Light was no longer a mere man.
“Celestial Pivot, Celestial Rotating Jade, Celestial Pearl, Celestial Balance. The four stars of the Dipper’s bowl, heed the Emperor’s flesh!”
Li Zi-long chanted the incantation in a fraction of a second.
His mangled body, barely connected by his spine, regenerated instantly.
It wasn’t just healing. It was like rewinding time. Even his torn robes were restored.
And he wasn’t finished. He continued chanting.
“Celestial Jade, Celestial Opener, Celestial Twinkler. The three stars of the Dipper’s handle, heed the Emperor’s spirit!”
Three orbs of light appeared around him.
Each one pulsed with spiritual energy, like miniature dantians.
But that was as far as he got.
Namgung-Woo, seeing with his Ever-Clear Vision that the [Flash of Extreme Light] hadn’t killed Li Zi-long, prepared his next attack without hesitation.
He unleashed another surge of Heavenly Thunder True Qi.
The eleventh form, following the Flash of Extreme Light, filled the night sky.
The second secret art, [Billowing Thunder, Overturning Clouds.]
Waves of lightning crashed like the ocean and churned the clouds.
*Rumble! Crackle! BOOM!*
Thunder roared.
His relentless sword strikes, no longer straight lines, became flowing arcs of lightning.
Li Zi-long frantically moved the orbs, trying to block the attacks. Each strike extinguished an orb. Disbelief finally flickered across his face.
The Celestial Jade Twinkler Technique, drawing upon the power of the Big Dipper, even a hastily constructed version, shouldn’t have been so easily dispelled by mere Sword Qi.
It was a high-level secret art, equivalent to a supreme martial arts technique. It shouldn’t have crumbled against Sword Qi.
Even Guo Duan, at the pinnacle of the Dao Lord Realm, wouldn’t be able to do this. His signature Wind Sword technique would shatter one orb, but the energy drain would be immense.
Even for a Dao Lord, with near-limitless True Qi from the harmonious flow of their three dantians, the Jade Orbs were a formidable challenge.
But for Namgung-Woo, they were like dewdrops on a leaf.
He could see it.
The structure of the energy binding the orbs.
The path to unraveling them without repercussions.
The moment Li Zi-long met his glowing blue eyes, he knew.
“A mere tool of the Defier of Fate!”
He roared, his eyes wide with rage.
The calm, condescending demeanor he’d maintained throughout their encounter was gone.
“Left Pivot, Upper Minister, Lesser Minister, Upper Aide, Lesser Aide, Upper Guard, Lesser Guard, Lesser Assistant… The Eight Eastern Stars of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, align! Right Pivot, Lesser Officer, Upper Aide, Lesser Aide, Upper Guard, Lesser Guard, Upper Assistant… The Seven Western Stars of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, disperse!”
He chanted desperately, unleashing a torrent of incantations.
But no matter how fast his tongue moved, how quickly his lips formed the words, it couldn’t outpace the ascending lightning.
Li Zi-long’s body was once again ravaged by the upward surge of [Billowing Thunder, Overturning Clouds].
*RIP!*
If [Flash of Extreme Light] was the ultimate in sharpness, [Billowing Thunder, Overturning Clouds] was the bite of a lightning dragon.
It didn’t cut cleanly. It tore and shredded, spraying blood and gore.
‘I’ve got him!’
Li Zi-long rejoiced, forcing out his final incantation.
“Open the Gate of Changhe, and carry out the Imperial Decree!”
Namgung-Woo heard a phantom noise.
A sound that shouldn’t exist.
The screech of ancient hinges, as if a gate was opening within his mind, not his ears, shaking his very consciousness.
It was like his upper dantian was being assaulted.
‘That should have disabled his upper dantian abilities! He won’t be able to pull off that trick again.’
If he could seal those uncanny eyes, victory was assured.
The Ghost Gate was open.
The Sky-Gazing Howler was just the beginning.
More Hou were emerging, and Guo Duan, already struggling against the first one, was becoming increasingly bloodied.
‘Once I heal myself and summon the Jade Orbs again… What?’
The bluish-white flames in Namgung-Woo’s eyes still burned cold and unwavering. He stared directly at Li Zi-long, unfazed.
‘The Gate of Changhe should have disrupted his connection to the heavens, shaken his spirit… How…?’
Li Zi-long couldn’t understand.
He knew of Namgung-Woo.
A being outside of fate, an anomaly that hadn’t appeared in his visions of the future.
That’s why he’d waited for Namgung-Woo to leave Beijing.
To avoid any unforeseen complications.
But even without fate guiding him, how could he be this resilient?
The answer was simple.
‘I know this feeling.’
He’d experienced it before.
In that moment, Namgung-Woo felt a certain flow, a connection through fate.
If he hadn’t met Peng Ye-ryeong, would he have been able to maintain his Ever-Clear Vision? He would have been overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information.
Good deeds returned as good fortune. The cycle of karma.
He was part of that grand cosmic dance.
He unleashed [Billowing Thunder, Overturning Clouds] a fourth time.
This time, he wouldn’t miss.
He aimed for the middle dantian.
If the middle dantian, the center of balance and control, was destroyed, even a sorcerer would crumble.
*Crack!*
His sword, moving like forked lightning, shattered Li Zi-long’s ribs, searing and tearing through his insides.
“Gah!”
The moment his middle dantian, which he’d desperately tried to protect, was destroyed, Li Zi-long coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Even with his internal organs ruptured, his body refused to die.
It was beyond comprehension.
There was no remorse, no guilt, no human emotion in this monster.
Li Zi-long struck the side of Namgung-Woo’s Sword Qi-infused blade with his own Qi-reinforced hand.
*BOOM!*
He was willing to shatter his own hand to dislodge the blade.
His wounds deepened, but he succeeded in freeing himself.
“Fools! Did you think the Ghost Gate would remain dormant while you played your games?! The Sky-Gazing Howler is just the beginning! Countless Hou will swarm Longevity Hill and crush the Forbidden City! This is the punishment for defying the True Emperor!”
Li Zi-long pointed at Guo Duan.
He was covered in blood, barely standing.
Even if Namgung-Woo defeated him, a feat that seemed increasingly doubtful, they would both be exhausted, easy prey for the endless stream of Hou pouring from the Gate.
“So?”
It didn’t matter.
It wasn’t his fight.
He didn’t say this out of apathy.
He didn’t see himself as a noble sacrifice, nor did he care whether Guo Duan lived or died.
It was simply that this wasn’t his role to play.
*BOOM!*
Another powerful presence entered the fray, shaking the Ghost Domain.
An aura as formidable as Guo Duan’s or Namgung-Woo’s descended upon Longevity Hill.
“You’re right. I’ll handle the Ghost Gate.”
“S-Saber Sovereign? How…?”
Another one.
Another twist of fate.
Another exceptional martial artist, someone who shouldn’t be here.
Li Zi-long knew it was over.
Namgung-Woo took a step forward.
A simple step, without the flash of Infinite Steps, but it felt like the approach of an unstoppable force.
“Tell me. What do you know?”
“…Fine. I’ll tell you… you are…”
Li Zi-long began to speak, resignation in his voice.
And Namgung-Woo ended his hesitation.
A sound beyond human hearing, a silent scream, echoed through the air.
The twelfth form, the third secret art of the Thirteen Lightning Sword Techniques: [World-Shaking Thunder.]
A sword strike that filled the world with lightning, erasing Li Zi-long from existence.
“…I see everything.”
Li Zi-long’s desperate attempt to use Dual Voice Technique, to speak with two voices simultaneously, was clearly visible to Namgung-Woo.
So clearly, in fact, that it was almost painfully obvious.
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