Chapter 215 – Sword Qi Star Power (2)

To be honest, I had thought that with my Lingering Spirit Skill, I would be able to make it through this battle somehow.

And indeed, the Lingering Spirit Skill had faithfully responded to my will.

My sword qi burned brighter than usual, and my body forgot the fatigue of continuous combat.

Thanks to that, I was able to face the Hwakyung Muin for a while at the peak of my abilities.

It wasn’t enough to reach the Bloodthirsty Black Horse, but still.

Damn it all.

“Tsk…you took too much time. Now, you might really get caught by that monster…no. There was a way.”

The Bloodthirsty Black Horse muttered to himself and quietly lowered his arm.

“Die slowly there and don’t come out. That way, the Thousand Demon Years who cherish you so much won’t be able to chase me because they’ll be taking care of you…well, anyway, you’re screwed if you try to survive.”

The Bloodthirsty Black Horse chuckled.

He wasn’t wrong.

My body was completely withered, overflowing with yang energy, but it would dry up someday.

Hong Yeon-hwa wouldn’t be able to track the Bloodthirsty Black Horse to save me.

…But this is the Bloodthirsty Black Horse’s mistake. He should have killed me.

Until then, I won’t stop.

The pillar of my unwavering will, despite my battered body, is proof of that.

Even if I ignite my innate qi, I can’t reach the peak of Hwakyung’s mastery?

This is a problem before such calculations.

I must never give up.

My innate qi hasn’t run out yet. Then, there must be some way.

I gathered the internal energy that I couldn’t consume in time and shot it towards my heart in one breath.

More precisely, towards the wall blocking the mid-point.

Thump!

“Cough!”

I vomited up the little blood I had left.

But I didn’t stop and continued knocking on the door.

Thump! Thump!

This is a kind of gamble. It’s a crazy thing that could make me a cripple if I make a mistake.

So even though I ignite my innate qi, I couldn’t try it, but now it’s a gamble that I can try enough.

My body is already in a state of being a cripple.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

My internal energy, which exceeds the level of the peak, continues to knock on the wall.

Originally, the mid-point was supposed to melt the wall with enlightenment, not to break it forcibly.

But with the originally impossible amount of internal energy, the story is different.

Thump!

It was an amount of internal energy that could explode my whole body if I made a mistake.

Either the wall would break or my body would explode.

Either one, but the gamble was a success.

Quaaaaaaa!

My internal energy surged and broke through the wall, rushing towards my heart from my lower abdomen.

The transformation was dramatic.

It was as if my body, which had been asleep until now, had suddenly awakened, exuding an incredible amount of energy despite being completely destroyed.

It was the same transformation that Pang Oh-jin had told me about before. But this wasn’t the end.

The internal energy that had surged from my lower abdomen passed through the mid-point and reached the upper point.

My upper point had already been opened during the trial of the movie.

The internal energy that had surged up to the top of the three points collided with the tip of my nose and then returned.

It felt like the three points were connected as one.

My Lingering Spirit Skill responded to this.

Originally, it was a pillar of determination that stood along my spine.

But now, the lump of internal energy that existed independently of the original blood flow slowly moved and overlapped with the three points that had become one.

The resonance grew stronger.

Now, the giant pillar of determination that penetrated the center of my body, not just my spine, began to indiscriminately draw in the surrounding natural energy.

The overflowing internal energy had increased several times and returned.

However, I didn’t feel as dangerous as before.

The pillar of determination naturally expelled the excess internal energy that I couldn’t handle and repeated the process of receiving the energy and natural energy together.

It was so powerful that it even pulled up the innate qi that was about to shatter and scatter in all directions.

It was like breathing with my whole body.

And then, at some point.

Crack.

My body, which had been constantly exposed to pure natural energy and pure innate qi, underwent a transformation without my will.

Thud.

A brutal sound echoed throughout my body.

Broken bones shriveled up completely before regenerating thicker than before, and tired muscles tore and thickened again.

“Kuk!”

Dead blood mixed with internal organs flowed out of my mouth, and black liquid flowed out of my pores.

The pain was overwhelming, and my mind went blank.

But instinctively, I knew that my body was transforming to accommodate the massive amount of energy.

The Bloodthirsty Black Horse, who had sensed something strange, turned to look at me.

“What the hell is this bastard…what is he trying to do now?”

The Bloodthirsty Black Horse walked towards me with a scowl on his face.

However, there was no sense of danger in his expression, not even a speck of it. Just annoyance at the fact that his plan had gone awry.

Whatever I did, he thought he could just knock me down again. Just like a little while ago.

This is dangerous.

The transformation wasn’t complete yet. If I were hit even once right now, all my efforts in the gamble would be for nothing as I would be dead in an instant.

For a moment, I was anxious.

A group of soldiers blocked the path of the Bloodthirsty Black Horse.

“Hoa-dae, all of you! Stop that damn black horse! Even the Duke is trying to get up, are you just going to stand there and watch?”

-Waaaaah!

The elite troops of Pang Oh-jin, the Hoa-dae.

They had been held back by the momentum of the Bloodthirsty Black Horse until now, but they finally intervened and started buying time for me.

“These damn gnats!”

The enraged Bloodthirsty Black Horse poured out his energy like a wave.

Hoa-dae was undoubtedly strong. They had received high-quality martial arts from Pang Oh-jin, rigorous training, and even passed the final test.

They had the strength befitting their name, the elite troops.

But Hoa-dae’s martial arts were at best at the peak of the first-class.

Against the Bloodthirsty Black Horse, they could only hold out for a moment.

…But that moment was more than enough for me.

Thud. Crack.

With the sound that came from deep within me, the storm of energy subsided.

It was not quite a Hwang-gol-tal-tae, but close enough.

My body was in such a serious condition that most of the changes were used for treatment.

Especially the Sun of the Tai-yang of the One-Month Cycle of the Four Spirits, which had melted into my whole body and even blocked the innate qi that was flowing out, was unavoidable.

Anyway, the important thing was that I could stand up again.

“Whew….”

Exhaling a bluish-white breath due to the dense energy, I gripped my sword again.

The Bloodthirsty Black Horse, which had killed more than half of the Hoa-dae in that short time, had a disgusted expression.

I felt the same way.

While I was lying down, or more precisely, when the three points had become one with the Lingering Spirit Skill.

During that time, I looked into my inner self…into the visions that were contained within.

Hong Yeon-hwa and Pang So-so. And even Sama Mang and Sama Ye-ryeong.

The images of the four women, who had grown to four, and a single sword.

Until now, I couldn’t understand the meaning of it all.

But now I do.

Surprisingly, the answer was simple.

To protect what I must protect, facing the enemies that I must cut down, even if it means putting what I treasure behind me.

The power to protect what is precious. That was the essence of the martial arts I pursued.

I aimed my raised sword at the Bloodthirsty Black Horse.

The Lingering Spirit Skill was a martial art that pulled the spirit and the body up with the determination that had gone ahead.

That’s why the training of the Lingering Spirit Skill was always a training of determination.

It was as if he was preparing for the day he would climb Hwagyeong.

“Hah! I’m genuinely surprised that you got up again, but what can you do? Are you planning to waste time getting hit again?”

The Bloodthirsty Black Horse still believed that he was in the upper hand and didn’t doubt it for a second.

That guy.

He’s the one who’s trying to harm me and my women.

My heart naturally rises to the occasion in a situation that fits my state of mind. That rising heart becomes my determination.

Woong-

The Lingering Spirit Skill responded to my determination and answered with my inner energy.

Three open gates.

Intense determination that has been trained until now.

The immense inner energy of the Lingering Spirit Skill.

All the conditions were met.

Woong woong woong-

The sword began to roar fiercely.

I am not Hwagyeong. I have not yet achieved that enlightenment. Of course, I cannot use Kanggi either.

But…I can imitate it to some extent.

I hope I can defeat the enemy and protect my women.

The wind becomes determination, and determination becomes absolute.

And the absolute becomes a sparkling light that rests on the sword.

Starlight forged by human hands.

Geumgisunggang Sword Qi Star Strong.

It’s still a crude imitation.

But it’s enough to achieve what I want.