NOVEL NEXT Chapter 157
Chapter 157
The Completion of the Four Divine Beasts
The backyard and entrance area of the Pagun Pavilion were wide enough to be used as training or sparring grounds.
However, Yeon Wi led Yeon Hojeong towards the inner city square.
When Yeon Hojeong asked why, Yeon Wi answered simply:
“I want to see all of your abilities.”
With just that one sentence, Yeon Hojeong understood his father’s intentions.
Even without mentioning it, Yeon Hojeong knew that if he and his father went all out, the impact could be considerable. A single mistake could cause damage to their lodging.
Yeon Hojeong had never shown everything in his matches against his father.
This made him feel strangely excited.
“This should be good enough.”
Yeon Hojeong looked around.
It was a considerable distance from where he had sparred with Moyong Gun, at the outdoor training ground reserved for the Martial Alliance.
Naturally, there were many people passing by. If the clash escalated, a crowd would surely gather.
“Why? Are you embarrassed?”
Yeon Hojeong responded with a smile to Yeon Wi’s playful taunt.
“Of course not.”
“Alright then, shall we begin?”
“Sure.”
Boom!
The powerful stance drew everyone’s attention to the training ground.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.
“I’ll go all out, just like in a real battle.”
“No need to say that. Come at me.”
Yeon Wi’s words exuded boundless confidence. As his martial arts skills had advanced, he now possessed a newfound ease.
Hummmm.
The azure aura formed a stable foundation for Yeon Hojeong’s martial arts.
Byukra Jinryeol guided everything—body, internal energy, and focus—calmly. The Byukra Jinryeol that Yeon Hojeong had mastered firmly grounded his training methods.
Yeon Wi’s eyes sparkled.
“As expected.”
Byukra Jinryeol was just about to cross the threshold of mastery.
Amazingly, his son had developed Byukra Jinryeol purely as a foundation. Instead of using it to execute martial techniques, he focused on stabilizing his body, minimizing the strain it endured.
“So that’s your choice.”
It was an astounding feat of creativity. The idea of laying the Byukra Jinryeol, one of the world’s greatest martial arts, as a mere foundation was astonishing. And to actually implement it—truly something else.
Whoosh.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes changed as he raised his Guanglong Axe.
“He’s coming.”
Boom!
The first strike, as expected, was a straightforward but explosive rush. In an instant, Yeon Hojeong closed the distance and swung his Guanglong Axe down.
Though a simple attack, the speed and power were undeniable. This ferocity was not typical for a spar between father and son.
At that moment, Yeon Wi’s right hand brushed his waist and shot up.
Clang!
Yeon Hojeong’s body was flung back.
Despite the weight of over eighty geun and the support of Byukra Jinryeol, his Baekho Gong technique was easily shattered.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.
“He’s strong.”
His hand holding the Guanglong Axe trembled slightly. The impact of the strike coursed through his body.
“The resilience is different from before.”
This was the martial prowess of his father, who had grown stronger.
Yeon Hojeong admired it anew and took another step forward.
Bang bang bang!
It was lively.
Even while using the power of Baekho Gunlimbo, Yeon Hojeong maintained a new lightness. Despite drawing strength from the earth, he did not lose any momentum.
He combined the seemingly incompatible qualities of heaviness and lightness.
Yeon Hojeong’s Guanglong Axe moved like a storm.
Clang clang clang!
It was an incredible defense.
Wielding the Guanglong Axe with both hands at an astonishing speed, Yeon Wi deflected every attack with a simple sword in his right hand.
It was a supreme defensive posture. An impregnable defense with no gaps.
In a moment, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes lit up.
Rumble.
Dark clouds seemed to gather in the northern sky.
In an instant, the aggressive white aura transformed into a heavy and solid black aura.
Yeon Wi’s eyes gleamed.
“Heavy?”
Yeon Hojeong covered his upper body with the Guanglong Axe and charged forward.
Boom!
Yeon Wi’s body shook.
It was not an attack that could be blocked with a sword. It was a matter of distance, not strength.
“Body slam?”
And it wasn’t over with one hit.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ground of the training ground cracked under Yeon Hojeong’s powerful stance.
He pushed Yeon Wi back with three consecutive attacks. Even Yeon Wi, who was known throughout the world, was surprised by this assault.
“The defensive stance is clear. Yet, he’s using it offensively.”
It was a martial art that defied the common sense of offense and defense. The recoil was so intense that his stance naturally lowered.
Admiring his son’s brilliant ingenuity, Yeon Wi swung his left hand, which wasn’t holding the sword.
Boom boom boom!
“Huh!”
With an intense force, Yeon Hojeong’s body slid to the edge of the training ground.
It was a strike that pushed rather than hit. There was no lingering impact on the body, but it gave Yeon Wi the freedom to move.
“Banryong Palm!”
It was the ‘push’ technique of Banryong Palm. Yeon Wi had used this technique against the man named Pyeongsan, who had been brought by Eumsabangju.
“It’s completely different.”
The power and depth showed a different level of capability.
This wasn’t just a difference in proficiency; it was a difference in the martial arts they had mastered. Banryong Palm worked best with the Yeon family’s ultimate techniques, such as Geomgeuk Sage and Dragon Fury.
Flash!
Yeon Wi rushed forward.
Running with a straight back, he was suddenly right in front of him. Moving at a speed hard to follow with the naked eye, it was the true Heavenly Phoenix Flight.
“Here it comes!”
Yeon Wi’s sword moved like a flash of light.
Clang clang clang clang!
A fierce onslaught of sword strikes closed in like a net.
It was the ‘Heavenly Net’ sword form. A blend of the extremely fast quick sword and the sticky, cohesive illusion sword, it surrounded Yeon Hojeong like an inescapable prison.
“Damn!”
Yeon Hojeong deflected the central attacks with the blade of his Guanglong Axe and scattered the remaining strikes with the Beukcheon Twelve Wall’s palm technique.
Clink clink clink!
The slender sword strikes shattered and dissipated. Yeon Hojeong managed to fend off the Heavenly Net sword form.
A small smile appeared on Yeon Wi’s face.
“Impressive.”
It was an incredible response. The moment a rough and fierce attack came, his body reacted instinctively.
As before, it seemed his senses had become even sharper after breaking through the dark sects. It was a response that only a seasoned warrior with a hundred battles behind them could produce.
“But…”
Yeon Wi’s eyes blazed with intensity.
### Chapter 157. The Completion of the Four Divine Beasts (1)
Yeon Hojeong’s body burst into a spray of blood.
‘He’s gotten even faster.’
Slash! Whoosh! Splat!
The net of swords sliced through his shoulder, collarbone, and thigh.
They were too fast to block. Though the cuts weren’t deep, they caused significant bleeding. Yeon Hojeong had never imagined his father wielding such a rough and swift sword technique.
‘As expected.’
He truly was an extraordinary person.
A master of the Hundred Sword Technique and myriad martial arts, who had fully blossomed into a balanced martial artist, wielding the majesty of the Celestial Sword that could handle any method with ease.
‘Indeed, he is the incarnation of the sword!’
He was someone who could manifest not only the fast sword, strong sword, soft sword, heavy sword, light sword, and illusion sword, but also the living sword and the death sword.
He was worthy of the title of the greatest swordsman in the East, truly deserving of the love of all the world’s swords. This was the true martial prowess of Yeon Wi, the Sword Judge.
Splatter!
The amount of blood spraying into the air increased.
Although Yeon Hojeong controlled his energy to stop the bleeding as soon as he was cut, if this continued, he would collapse from blood loss.
He needed a breakthrough.
In a situation where both avoidance and counterattack were impossible, he needed a move that could reverse the tide.
Flash!
Yeon Hojeong’s pupils glowed red like flames.
Boom!
Yeon Wi was startled.
‘His foot?’
His son, who had been blocking the Heavenly Net Sword Form, suddenly aimed a strike at his foot.
Had he not instinctively withdrawn his foot, it would have been broken. This would have immobilized one leg and drastically reduced his swordsmanship’s effectiveness.
‘How clever.’
It was an attack that imposed both physical and psychological pressure. It was not the martial arts of the righteous path but rather the techniques of a real battle.
Bang! Bang!
Even while blocking the Heavenly Net Sword Form, he aimed for the foot.
It was unclear how he managed to deliver such a powerful strike while in that defensive posture. His body’s flexibility was beyond imagination.
But it didn’t end there.
Whoosh!
Amidst the dense sword form, red flames surged.
Slash!
This time, it wasn’t Yeon Hojeong who was cut.
‘My sleeve?’
The sharp axe blade of the Guanglong Axe had slashed his sleeve in half.
Had he not protected his arm with his supreme sword skill, his muscles might have been severed. It was a terrifying slash filled with killing intent.
‘A strike overflowing with murderous intent! Is this also a technique of the Four Divine Beasts?’
It was then.
Boom!
Yeon Wi’s eyes widened.
‘What?!’
The sword energy net of the Heavenly Net Sword Form scattered at an alarming speed.
There was only one reason. Yeon Hojeong’s strike had disrupted Yeon Wi’s stance.
‘This is?!’
Yeon Wi quickly retrieved his Heavenly Net Sword and stepped back three paces, looking at the ground where he had been standing in awe.
“Did you aim for my foot or to break the ground?”
Flash!
Yeon Hojeong, approaching with the fastest footwork of the Four Divine Beasts, Hyeol Ik Hwichun, raised his Guanglong Axe.
“Both.”
Crash!
The slash filled with murderous intent pierced through the Iron Sword Defense, delivering a powerful shock to Yeon Wi’s upper body.
‘Killing Technique.’
It was the absolute killing technique of the Vermilion Bird, the Hongyeom Yuk Sal Gong.
Despite his disrupted stance, the impact was so strong that Yeon Wi’s sleeve was shredded into dozens of pieces.
Yeon Wi looked at Yeon Hojeong.
“Huff.”
Whoosh!
Kneeling on one knee with the Guanglong Axe resting on it, Yeon Hojeong panted heavily.
A bright red aura blazed from his body like flames. Unlike before, when he used the Byukra Jinryeol, White Tiger’s Qi, and Black Tortoise’s Qi together for stability, he now spread only the Vermilion Bird’s Qi throughout his body.
Rumble!
The tremendous pressure cracked the ground of the training ground again.
It was the descent of the Southern Sky’s king, the Sun God. Yeon Hojeong’s body, blazing with murderous intent and explosive spirit, seemed like a powder keg about to explode.
It was a declaration of his intent to kill. The quality of the energy radiating from him was entirely different from before.
‘Excellent.’
A magnificent smile spread across Yeon Wi’s face as he watched his son.
‘So, you finally recognize this old man.’
Coming at him as if it were a real battle?
In all their previous bouts, his son had never once unleashed a ‘real’ killing blow. He had always held back, afraid of hurting his father.
But now, he didn’t hold back.
Yeon Hojeong was convinced that Yeon Wi’s martial prowess could truly withstand his all-out assault. Not putting his full effort would be an insult to his father.
That conviction, that fighting spirit, and that gaze were the highest praise for Yeon Wi.
‘Come without worry.’
He wasn’t ready to be outdone by the younger generation yet.
The son, who had grown significantly after leaving his father’s side, had returned to acknowledge his father’s strength.
It was a mutual trust.
As martial artists and as people of the martial world, their relationship was complete at this moment. There could be no other father and son who displayed such mutual trust while living with martial arts in their hearts.
Yeon Hojeong, with red eyes and a sturdy smile, spoke.
“I’m coming for real.”
Yeon Wi, with his green eyes and a generous smile, responded.
“I’ve waited twenty years for this.”
Boom!
The clash of their weapons overturned the ground of the training ground.