The Sword Emperor's Way of Establishing the Namgung Clan

Chapter 30 - The Karma Exchange Religion (3)

“Kkeuaaak!”

The Dharma Master’s scream covered the pavilion. Despite this, Namgung Jun paid him no mind.

He had confirmed the location of the detained commoners and had even secured the document on which the secret verses of the Energy-Absorbing Great Art were written.

Now, it did not matter if he revealed his true colors.

“You’re noisy.”

“You bastard! How dare you take my arm!”

The Dharma Master’s aura, explosively increasing in an instant.

The violent aura that stormed out at close combat distance was no different from a fierce gale.

But it could not affect Namgung Jun’s body movements. Only the hem of his sleeves and his hair fluttered.

The Infinite Steps Footwork, whose accomplishment had risen due to the guidance duel with Man Hun, lightly shook off the Dharma Master’s aura.

The Dharma Master, who had raised his left arm, had an aura of a turbid-colored internal energy surging violently in his hand.

A considerable amount of internal energy had been given form, and it was like a flame. However, to call it Hand Qi, its shape was uneven and the density of the internal energy was low.

The pinnacle of the First-Class.

It seemed he was on the verge of the Peak Realm.

The Dharma Master’s left hand, which had formed a knife-hand strike, plunged toward Namgung Jun’s face.

Whirl!

Namgung Jun, who had performed the Infinite Steps Footwork and rotated his body in the opposite direction, deflected the knife-hand to the side and simultaneously drew up the sword he had lowered.

“Kuk!”

The Dharma Master barely managed to pull his head back. If he had not moved his body in time, his face would have been split in half, starting from his chin.

It was a strong and fierce, and fast, sword strike.

As the chillingly sharp aura of the blade grazed past his skin, the composure he had lost when he lost his right arm was refilled.

‘First, I have to let the outside know. That way, I’ll live!’

Namgung Jun’s martial prowess was not ordinary. It would have been difficult to be certain of victory even if they had fought when his body was whole, and in a situation like this, it was even more impossible.

But Namgung Jun immediately saw right through what the Dharma Master was thinking.

“Like a rat.”

Namgung Jun, who had confirmed that the Dharma Master’s eyes were directed at the entrance, immediately moved his steps in that direction.

Then, he stabbed his sword into the right thigh of the Dharma Master, who was stepping forward.

Thump!

Namgung Jun stabbed the sword deep, so that the tip of the blade was embedded in the floor.

“Keuk!”

As the Dharma Master was unable to move a muscle, as if a nail had been driven through his leg, a blue lightning energy flickered on Namgung Jun’s hand.

And so, his palm opened wide.

It was a move from the Heavenly Thunder Palm Style.

THWACK!

Namgung Jun, who had burst the Dharma Master’s head with a single palm strike, looked at the commoners inside.

At the sight of the Dharma Master, who had been swallowing their energy with the Energy-Absorbing Great Art, dying so helplessly, the people all gathered before the iron bars.

Though they wanted to say something, it was as if they all had no strength, and they could only move their lips.

Namgung Jun, who slowly met the eyes of the people, politely paid his respects.

“Do not overexert yourselves and preserve your bodies. I will rescue you soon.”

Namgung Jun, who had reassured the commoners, went outside the pavilion.

As Namgung Jun came out alone, the other members who had been standing guard nearby looked at him with strange eyes.

THUMP!

Namgung Jun closed the door of the pavilion himself.

He had prevented in advance any other members from entering the pavilion and doing anything strange.

“Young Master Hong?”

As suspicion began to spark in the members’ eyes, Namgung Jun took out a signal flare from inside his collar.

The signal flare, aimed straight for the sky.

BOOM!

The blue firework revealed a clear light in the sky that had been dyed black.

“That signal flare is?”

“The Azure Sky Society. It is definitely the Azure Sky Society.”

The expressions of the members, who had always shown good-natured smiles, changed in an instant. The men, rushing at him with faces hardened like evil spirits.

The four members who closed the distance in a single breath all revealed their auras at once.

A very miscellaneous and turbid aura.

It was obvious that they had built up their internal energy with the Energy-Absorbing Great Art. The members, rushing toward him. The eyes of Namgung Jun as he looked at them were cold.

Regardless of whether they had been initiated into the Demonic Art or not, all the members here had extorted the vital energy of the commoners.

Furthermore, now that it was certain that this was a secret branch of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult, there was no reason to place any mercy in his actions.

Crackle!

The sword strikes of the Thirteen Sword-Thunders of the Lightning Flash fiercely heated the atmosphere and cut down the limbs of the members.

The sword was so fast that there was hardly anyone who could properly react.

Above the darkness where blood spattered from all directions, only the cerulean gaze of Namgung Jun shone loftily.

While Namgung Jun was blocking the entrance of the pavilion alone, two human figures landed on both sides of him.

It was Heo Il and Gong Jun-am.

“Young Hero Namgung.”

Heo Il was holding Namgung Jun’s bamboo hat and sword.

Namgung Jun, who was handed what was in Heo Il’s hands, transformed from the Young Master of the Hong Family Manor into a swordsman of the Azure Sky Society.

“Is this the place?”

“Yes. The commoners are being detained inside. I saw a small number of martial artists as well.”

“I see. You’ve done well.”

Gong Jun-am spoke as he cut down a cult member who was rushing him from the side.

“To be prudent with the mission, the rest of the Hall members are on standby at the foot of Mount Hanshan. We must buy time amongst ourselves until then.”

“Roughly how long will that take?”

“One gak (about 15 mins).”

As Gong Jun-am was estimating the time, an immense aura flowed out from over yonder.

“One gak? Do you think that’s possible?”

The one who had revealed himself before their eyes was the Karma Exchange Cult Leader.

Unlike that time when he had first been seen and no bearing could be felt from him, he was now emitting a mighty aura.

‘An aura of that level. It is surely.’

Gong Jun-am, as if he had had the same thought as Namgung Jun, opened his mouth.

“A supreme master of the Trinity Bloom. Is he a Radiant Master?”

Radiant Master.

A rank that existed one step higher than a Radiant Vindicator. One could only ascend to it by reaching the Trinity Bloom.

To compare it to the Azure Sky Society, he was a figure who belonged to the Four-Cloud, that is, the Hall Master-level.

“Among the descriptions of the Thirteen Radiant Master, there is no one who matches that person. It is possible he is a supreme master who has not yet obtained the rank of a Radiant Master.”

The Karma Exchange Cult Leader, who had heard Heo Il’s words, stepped forward with a hardened face.

“Get out of the way.”

The Karma Exchange Cult Leader made the cult members retreat.

He had chosen to step in himself and kill Namgung Jun’s party, rather than waste time by sending his subordinates in first.

“I wonder, can you truly endure for one gak, even if this old man steps in.”

Gong Jun-am and Heo Il did not answer.

Their opponent was one who had achieved the Trinity Bloom.

His sense of time and the speed of his control over his internal energy were completely different from that of ordinary masters.

There was a reason why martial artists who had achieved the Trinity Bloom were called supreme masters.

“It has long been said that the proper way is to kill the weakest one first.”

The Karma Exchange Cult Leader had decided on Namgung Jun, who had the faintest bearing, as his first prey.

By the time Namgung Jun had heard the Karma Exchange Cult Leader’s laughter-tinged voice, a crimson sword strike was already plunging down before his eyes.

The Karma Exchange Cult Leader was confident that he was moving at a speed that Namgung Jun could not yet perceive.

It was because of the unique sense of time of the Trinity Bloom. A speed that Namgung Jun, who had not even achieved the Peak Realm, could absolutely not react to.

But for some reason, Namgung Jun was extending his sword with perfect accuracy.

KAANG!

A heavy metallic sound erupted. At the same time, the Karma Exchange Cult Leader’s expression became peculiar.

“How?”

But Namgung Jun was not in a normal state either. Just by blocking that one move, his insides had been thoroughly shaken.

‘I blocked the first one instinctively, but I don’t know how long this will be possible.’

He had to reach the Peak Realm, at the very least.

Because if he rose to the Peak Realm, his senses for feeling all of creation would change.

‘Rising to it depends on me.’

If the realms from Third-Class to First-Class were for shaping one's vessel as a martial artist, then the Peak Realm was the realm of completing that martial vessel.

‘The enlightenment is already sufficient.’

What he lacked were his senses, his physical body, and his internal energy.

There was only one way to solve this in a short period of time.

A Forceful Breakthrough of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

Having made his decision, Namgung Jun spat out blood and brought his sword to a middle stance.

“I ask of you, my seniors. Please buy me ten breaths.”

At the sudden request, not only Heo Il and Gong Jun-am, but even the Karma Exchange Cult Leader looked at Namgung Jun with eyes of interest.

The two seniors’ deliberation was not long.

“Namgung Jun. Twelve breaths at the most. That is the limit.”

Thump!

Gong Jun-am, who had taken a step forward, answered bluntly as he planted his large greatsword on the ground.

“I will trust in Young Hero Namgung and try to buy some time.”

Heo Il, who was giving off the faint smell of alcohol as if he had already been drinking, also shielded Namgung Jun’s front. In his left hand, he held four throwing knives, which he had taken out at some unknown point.

“A bunch of madmen.”

As the Karma Exchange Cult Leader moved leisurely as if finding it laughable, Namgung Jun took out the inner core of the Sunfire Carp from within his robes.

Ordinarily, it would have been right to consume it only after finishing perfect preparations. But the affairs of the Martial World do not go as one wishes.

This time was the same.

To Namgung Jun, overcoming the present situation was more important. Because his comrades before his eyes were more precious than a few streams of an inner core’s energy.

For that reason, Namgung Jun did not hesitate.

To protect the commoners behind him, and the comrades before him.

Namgung Jun did not even assume the lotus position and chewed and swallowed the inner core as he was.

‘There is no time to melt it down with Qi circulation.’

With a single rush of the raw, unrefined energy, he had to break through the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

Vwoom!

As the inner core of the Sunfire Carp dissolved down his throat, starting from his Corner Spring Point, his meridians were heated up so intensely it was as if they were on fire.

‘Kuk.’

An immense amount of Hot Yang Energy tried to fill and charge through his entire meridian system as it pleased. What blocked it was the internal energy of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art that Namgung Jun had drawn up in advance.

KWAAAANG!

A great roar erupted from within Namgung Jun.

It was the after-effect of the clash between the energy of the Sunfire Carp and his Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art.

He almost lost consciousness for a moment from the shock, which felt as if his entire body, especially his brain, had been violently shaken, but Namgung Jun gritted his teeth and endured.

‘The Empty Basin Point, the Heavenly Prominence Point, the Magnificent Canopy Point, the Qi Abode Point, the Central Altar Point.’

He firmly blocked the vital points he had mapped out beforehand, using the internal energy of his Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art as a wall.

Because of this, the energy of the Sunfire Carp had no choice but to extend toward the unblocked parts.

And so, Namgung Jun moved the energy of the inner core toward the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

To circulate this immense energy without even sitting in the lotus position was a truly great gamble.

Though for now it was proceeding according to plan, he did not know when a variable might occur. For that reason, Namgung Jun’s Upper Cinnabar Field was extremely overheated as he focused all his senses on the circulation of his internal energy.

Several times, it seemed as if the energy of the inner core was being detained in the wrong direction, but Namgung Jun barely managed to suppress it.

And so, the energy of the inner core poured into the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians like a surging wave.

THUMP!

An immense vibration that rang through his entire body. It felt as if his very bones were shaking. Despite this, Namgung Jun overcame it with terrifying single-mindedness.

Because he had arbitrarily adjusted the circulation path, the energy of the inner core had no choice but to crash into the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians.

Furthermore, even the internal energy of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art that had been blocking each vital point joined in and boosted the force.

Had it struck like that for several dozen times?

It was the moment Namgung Jun’s consciousness had begun to grow a little faint.

BOOM!

A sound like something bursting echoed inside him, and then the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians underwent a Forceful Breakthrough, and the clumped-up Cold Yin Energy was released.

As the Cold Yin Energy and the energy of the Sunfire Carp met, they were forged into pure internal energy, and the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art swallowed this and swelled in size.

VROOOOM!

Was that all? Though it was merely the breakthrough of a single vital point, thanks to it, the efficiency of his internal energy control became twice as fast.

This was because the Cold Yin Energy, now endlessly pouring out from a single vital point, was also affecting the surrounding vital points.

With the Forceful Breakthrough, not only the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians, but also several surrounding vital points returned to a normal state.

Dozens of vital points that had been gradually stiffening from the Cold Yin Energy flowing from the first point of his Nine Yin Severed Meridians melted all at once.

It was no exaggeration to say that an entire meridian channel had been restored to normal.

The quickened control of his internal energy presented him with a new sense. And so, as his vessel as a martial artist was being properly forged.

The senses of Namgung Jun, which perceived all of creation, changed distinctly.

FLARE!

Blue lightning flashed in the two eyes of Namgung Jun as he opened them. Simultaneously with that, a clear, blue aura—his Sword Qi—shot up from the sword that was held in a middle stance.

The aura that had shot up cleanly covered the body of the sword and maintained a distinct form.

Sword Qi.

It was the proof that he had risen to the Peak Realm.

Without even a moment to wipe away the blood pouring from his nose and mouth, Namgung Jun immediately shot forward.

KREANG!

Namgung Jun, who had thrown his body forward while performing the Infinite Steps Footwork, blocked the Karma Exchange Cult Leader’s sword, which was about to send Gong Jun-am’s arm flying.

He was immediately thrown backward by the immense rebound force, but Gong Jun-am, who was behind him, caught him with his forearm.

Namgung Jun asked without taking his eyes off the Karma Exchange Cult Leader.

“How many breaths have passed?”

“Eight breaths.”

Gong Jun-am answered in an unconcerned voice, even as he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“My seniors.”

Though it was for a mere instant, Namgung Jun met the eyes of his two seniors.

Gong Jun-am showed a faint smile. It was the same for Heo Il, who had already thrown a dozen or so throwing knives and was now fiddling with a new hidden weapon.

They had understood Namgung Jun’s intentions through that exchange of glances. The two seniors retreated behind their junior.

Namgung Jun, who had come to see all of creation with his new senses, looked at the Karma Exchange Cult Leader.

“Come. Time is still flowing.”