NOVEL NEXT Chapter 233
Chapter 233: Scratch
The moment Hyulma heard my words, his eyebrows twitched slightly.
“A couch potato knight? How flattering or mocking, I cannot tell. What does this have to do with me and knighthood?”
Hyulma didn’t understand the newly coined term “couch potato knight.”
I looked at Hyulma and said, “You don’t need to get it, you idiot.”
I glanced down at his lower body.
I saw his “thing.” Instinctively, I compared sizes, and of course, it was smaller than mine.
I looked at him and said, “Hyulma, your realm may be the Boundary of Life and Death, but the size of your ‘thing’ is quite pathetic. I hope your main body isn’t that small? That would be quite the issue in bed.”
At that size, it might pose a problem at night.
After hearing my words, Hyulma’s eyebrow twitched again. He replied, “Ah, you little one. I have long surpassed the principles of the great universe and grasped the secrets of the heavens. I have lived numerous lives in countless bodies. As a man and as a woman, I have tasted all the pleasures of the human world. To me, the size of ‘things’ or even the gender of this physical body is of little consequence. Do you think I would fall for your lowly insults?”
Hyulma said in a detached tone.
I looked at Hyulma and replied, “So you’ve experienced both male and female bodies; there’s no greater pervert than you. With that level of perversion, it makes sense that a 110-year-old retired master wants to call you ‘Daddy’ and places a gold restriction on you.”
Though it was Lord of the Right, who forged Sosumahu into Cheonma Gangsi, ultimately, the owner of the fully realized Cheonma Gangsi was Hyulma.
The original target of the gold restriction calling him ‘Daddy’ was indeed Hyulma.
No wonder he was a pervert.
I saw the crimson light flash in Hyulma’s red eyes.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Thunder rumbled in the sky, filled with dark red clouds. The lifeless flora and fauna rose like zombies, and a sinister wind swirled around Hyulma.
Nature, the world, revolved around Hyulma.
The atmosphere turned hostile. In that state, Hyulma said, “You make me laugh, little one. It’s no surprise that with your short, fleeting life and limited understanding, you cannot grasp the grand ambitions I hold.”
He added flourish to his words, but I could see through it.
“This guy’s got a scratch.”
Hyulma was obviously bothered by my comment about size. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sticking out his tongue like that.
I looked at Hyulma and said. His brow furrowed. He responded, “I am not swayed by your insults.”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Thunder sounded again from the dark red clouds.
Wooosh!
A sinister wind fiercely enveloped me. Hyulma raised a finger.
“It’s one ‘moment.’”
He looked at us with an arrogant tone.
“The amount of time this insignificant Demon Body can withstand my power is just one moment. When that moment passes, this body will turn to a mere puddle of blood.”
Lines formed at the corners of Hyulma’s mouth. With a face like a gigolo, he lazily licked his elongated red lips.
“One ‘action’ now. This body can only manifest one-tenth, or one ‘action,’ of my power. If I were to place more strength into this body, it would instantly turn to a puddle of blood.”
Hyulma’s gaze turned to me and everyone else.
“Goeryong, Geumhu, Sosumahu, Yeomwang. I will grant you a chance to perform. I will personally enjoy your little antics and futile struggles, so consider it the glory of your lives as you perish.”
Hyulma declared in an arrogant voice. His long, black hair soared into the sky, dyed red. As if to echo his words, the flora and fauna trembled, and the sky shook.
It was not a metaphor.
It was literally heaven-shaking.
Every time Hyulma spoke, thunder crashed from the sky in sync with his voice, and earthquakes trembled the ground.
They said the Boundary of Life and Death changes the principles of the great universe? According to his words, even in a state where he could only exert one-tenth of his power, the surrounding world was responding to him.
If the realm of Hyeongyeong dominates space, then the Boundary of Life and Death is a level that can manipulate the universe at will. Hyulma stood with his hands behind his back, smiling arrogantly, still in the nude. He did nothing. Yet, I couldn’t read any openings from his posture.
North, south, east, west.
Despite having control all around and deploying our formations, we could not seize space.
The basics of a formation involve controlling space to amplify strength and overpower formidable opponents.
Yet, that very foundation was failing now.
All the Qi in this area was under Hyulma’s control.
I gritted my teeth.
[Let’s get this started.]
The moment I sent the message.
In the west, east, and south, apart from the north where I stood, radiant light erupted simultaneously.
[Eight Great Hells]
The first to unleash Mind’s Martial Arts was the western Yeomwang Jeoksawol. She swung her iron piece, and the hellish landscape unfolded beneath her feet.
The Eight Cold Hells and the Eight Heat Hells—the extreme cold energy and extreme heat energy manifested in hell’s shape descended.
The visage of spirits trapped in hell appeared. The souls of the deceased were bound to Jeoksawol’s Mind’s Martial Arts.
Jeoksawol lifted her iron piece. A sensual smile formed on her face. Red energy symbolizing hell swirled around her entire body.
[Transcendental Purity in Mired Place]
Next, facing me in the south, Geumhu Eun Seol-ran recited the incantation of Mind’s Martial Arts.
A bottomless muddy swamp unfolded beneath her feet. Lotus leaves spread across the swamp’s surface. A silver-haired beauty elegantly stepped onto a massive lotus leaf. It was Eun Seol-ran.
A halo of lotus flowers and Udamvara floated behind her head. She took hold of her sword. A silver light surged from it, emanating the aura of Anti-Demon Magic Power.
The eyes of Eun Seol-ran, resembling the Goddess of Mercy with maternal compassion, opened. A dharma wheel unfolded beneath her feet.
[Ice-Like Beauty, Jade-Like Quality]
Lastly, the eastern Sosumahu recited the incantation of Mind’s Martial Arts. A white radiance surged from her body.
Whoooooooosh!
The scenery around quickly cooled. She stood amidst the extreme cold, now transformed into a frozen wasteland.
Sosumahu.
Her petite form was enveloped in a jade-like crystal. A transparent diadem made of crystal adorned her head like a frozen statue.
White energy flared from Sosumahu’s hands.
That was Sosu Demon Art.
Watching that, I finally pulled up the Yin-Yang energy and controlled it with the Primordial Unity Energy Technique, activating the Joining and Parting Divine Skill.
Whooooooooosh!
With the brilliant reversal of Yin and Yang, explosive energy surged from my body. The black and white energy sprawled outward.
I lifted my sword. Using the Joining and Parting Divine Skill, I twisted the flow of Qi slightly. Twitch. Hyulma’s eyebrow twitched.
He didn’t seem pleased to have lost control in a space governed by a master of the Boundary of Life and Death.
But he still didn’t move.
The blood-red energy swirling around him was the only thing that wriggled.
Yeah.
Keep being careless like that.
I’ll make you regret granting me the first strike.
As I thought that, I sent a signal through my inner voice.
[Attack.]
The moment my command was given, several Strong Circles emerged around Jeoksawol’s body. With horrifyingly overwhelming destructive power concentrated, the red Strong Circle fell like thunder over the Eight Great Hells.
The Strong Circle absorbed the spirits of the Eight Great Hells, transforming its shape into that of a dragon with countless heads, flying directly at Hyulma.
It wasn’t just Jeoksawol launching the attack.
Everyone attacked simultaneously.
Geumhu swung her sword. The image of the Goddess of Mercy faintly appeared behind her. The silver sword technique she wielded blossomed beautifully like Udamvara and a lotus. The entire south burst into a radiant expanse of silver Udamvara and lotus flowers. The aura of Anti-Demon Magic Power filled the air.
In the east, on the frozen land, Sosumahu, clad in a jade-like shell, swung the Strong Circle.
Her crystal shell sparkled brightly in the sunlight.
Whiiiiiiiirrrr!
A blizzard swirled around Sosumahu, centered on her. As she stretched out her hands, the tornado of the blizzard shot directly towards Hyulma.
Seeing all this, I swung my sword. The black and white Yin-Yang energies reversed, and explosive power surged through my vital energy in reverse flow. I poured the gathered black energy from my sword towards Hyulma.
Grrr!
I gritted my teeth, my brow instinctively furrowing. It was a strike with all my power. We poured out our entire strength.
I knew what Hyulma’s Mind’s Martial Arts was.
Black Thunder Infinite.
The energy transforms into the form of thunder, striking at heaven and earth. As Hyulma observed the storm of overwhelming aura raging around him, he laughed.
He raised his left hand.
[Black Thunder Infinite]
The incantation of Hyulma vibrated the world.
Pa-zz-zz-zzz!
The black lightning that erupted from his right hand grew instantly, overthrowing heaven and earth.
Krraaaak!
The ominous red clouds in the sky resonated with the incantation, shooting forth bolts of black lightning. Lightning charged with blood energy slammed down to the ground like a spear. The earth shook, and the heavens ominously roared.
But with that level of power, he couldn’t possibly fend off our strike. No matter how much he was a master of the Boundary of Life and Death…
Just as I thought that.
Hyulma raised his empty right hand. The glimmering blood energy in his gaze turned toward me.
Grin.
The corners of Hyulma’s lips lifted. From his mouth came an unexpected declaration of a second Mind’s Martial Arts.
[White Rainbow Piercing the Sun]
The moment the incantation of Mind’s Martial Arts reached the dark clouds, they split apart, revealing a radiant sun. Along with it, a blessed white rainbow soared from Hyulma’s right hand, piercing the sun.
In that moment.
A light descended upon Hyulma’s right hand, riding the rainbow.
A bright sphere of overwhelming energy, radiating self-luminous light, coalesced above his palm.
It was the sun.
My face stiffened. The second Mind’s Martial Arts? No, thinking about it, it’s not entirely impossible. Hyulma is an infinite reincarnator. He’s undoubtedly lived multiple lives. So, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to master more than one Mind’s Martial Arts.
But that’s mere theory. Mind’s Martial Arts is the ultimate culmination of a martial artist’s skills. It embodies their ultimate potential.
In theory, the number of Mind’s Martial Arts that can arise from a single martial art is limitless. However, a single human can only possess one ultimate understanding, one single Mind’s Martial Arts.
That’s why to have more than one Mind’s Martial Arts, one would need to learn different martial arts and reach another ultimate.
Having lived twice, I knew that. Even if I had been a master in my previous life, if I were to cultivate a new martial art, it would only be helpful up to the realm of Hwakyung.
From Hyongyeong and beyond, new directions of enlightenment would be necessary. To reach the end of a new martial art path, you had to forsake all your existing knowledge.
It was why I, who had once reached Hyongyeong, remained stuck in the realm of Hwakyung.
Perhaps, contrary to what I confidently claimed to Geumhu, I might never break through the wall of Hyongyeong.
But Hyulma actually did that insane feat. The fact he drew out a second Mind’s Martial Arts meant that each time he reincarnated, he learned a different martial art, achieving the ultimate potential of that martial art each time.
What’s more, the Mind’s Martial Arts he manifested this time was presumed to have reached the realm of Orthodox Martial Arts, Beribok Joengpa. White Rainbow Piercing the Sun. It was martial arts that commanded the power of the sun.
It was complete madness. Yet, the madness was now manifesting before us.
Hyulma’s voice reverberated through the air.
“Do you understand now, Goeryong?”
A smirk appeared on Hyulma’s face. In his left hand, black lightning crackled, and in his right, the sun illuminated the atmosphere.
Flash!
With a flash, the strike we had poured our power into was erased like an eraser. Hyulma’s body levitated in the air. His hair, stained with crimson energy, fluttered.
His red eyes gazed upon us.
“I have lived for three thousand years, from the ancient times until now. Sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman, sometimes as an old man, sometimes as a child. Having lived hundreds of lives, I have cultivated hundreds of martial arts. Heat Yang Gong, Cold Ice Gong, Demon Sect Martial Arts, Unorthodox Martial Arts, Orthodox Martial Arts, and even Immortal Path! I know no martial arts unknown to me. I have cultivated all the divine skills from Guju Palhwang and reached the ultimate potential of each one.”
Hyulma laughed.
As he laughed, the surrounding flora and fauna laughed along. The sky seemed to mock us in a thunderous roar.
“The culmination of martial arts that I have reached is infinite, and the Mind’s Martial Arts I possess is also infinite. But with this trivial body, I can only manifest it to one-tenth of its true power. What a pity. However…”
Hyulma fused the lightning in his left hand and the sun in his right.
Gooooooonnnng!
The heavens seemed to split in half. Black thunder rained from the dark red clouds, and from the crimson sky, an auspicious white rainbow descended.
Lightning and the rainbow, the sun and black thunder, the essence of Anti-Demon Magic Power and blood energy—opposite forces completely harmonized and fused together.
A horrific mass of energy appeared before Hyulma. It resembled a star. An ominous celestial body like a supernova emerged above Hyulma’s head, soaring skyward.
“One ‘action’ is more than enough. It’s enough to show you, foolish mortals, my purest culmination of martial arts. I have received your initial strikes, and now I shall repay you.”
The moment Hyulma’s words fell.
[All Flows Return to One]
The incantation of the third Mind’s Martial Arts shook the entire world.