Chapter 313 – Taesananjeong

Muryeongshingong is a martial art that allows one to reach a level that would otherwise be impossible to reach.

It’s the kind of martial art that gives you the extra strength you need when you can’t protect what you need to protect.

Of course, Muryeongshingong is not invincible.

If you can’t reach it with your feet, you can’t reach it with your hands.

It’s not a surprising thing to say.

That’s why fundamentally, you need to grow yourself.

But. But still.

What if your hands can’t reach it?

What if you must reach it?

What should you do in such a case?

“What should I do? I have to do something.”

Thump.

I muttered quietly and took a step forward to face Hong Yeon-hwa directly.

The dragon is still high enough that even a sword can’t reach it.

Even if I could reach it, it would be impossible to cut through its massive body as if it were lifting Mount Taesan.

Knowing this, I aimed at the dragon.

I spread my legs shoulder-width apart and slowly raised my arms, which were comfortably stretched out.

From the bottom to the middle. From the middle to the top.

The unshaken line seemed to accurately divide the dragon in half.

As if to announce the impending downward sword.

“Hoo….”

I took a deep breath and exhaled deeply.

Breathing is the basis of everything. Through breathing, you can feel life and become aware of your existence.

And a strong ego always accompanies a strong will.

The internal energy that rose from the bottom to the middle through the Muryeongshingong technique reached the top.

A giant pillar that penetrates my body.

According to the principles of Muryeongshingong, natural energy around me began to gather around this pillar.

Uwong.

The perennial iron sword that trembled and cried out, and the white starlight that surrounded it.

The combined energy naturally produced a strong internal energy.

Thanks to eating all the remaining medicine, my body had recovered temporarily. The process was surprisingly natural.

Thank goodness. Now it’s time to start.

I blew my internal energy towards the sword. My original internal energy, natural energy through Muryeongshingong, and the energy left by all sorts of miraculous medicines.

I gathered them all and struck the sword.

Uwong-

The sword’s name became even clearer.

The sword’s strength, which was only one inch long, suddenly increased in length, and in no time it was close to one foot.

But it didn’t stop there. I continued to pour my internal energy.

One foot, two feet, three feet…and beyond ten feet.

At this level, it’s beyond the size of an ordinary sword.

However, it’s not enough.

The sword technique that can cut through a whole room is undoubtedly impressive, but it’s still far from enough to narrow the gap between me and the sky.

So, I pour more of my internal energy into it.

I sharpened my will even more. The Muryeongshingong responded by attracting more natural energy.

I can’t even split the sea with a sword, or cut through a mountain peak.

All I can do is push with my massive internal energy.

…Even if it means surpassing the limit my body can handle.

I let go of my composure and let the emotions I had been suppressing run wild.

A boiling hot water that quickly boils over, a fierce and unstoppable force.

The intentionally induced internal energy caused my internal energy to go wild, and I began to emit a stronger force than usual.

The scorching heat melted the sword, burned my heart, and eventually surged to the top of my head.

Anger, helplessness, disappointment, fear, guilt, and anger again.

Endlessly amplifying, the heat that feeds on itself tries to engulf me.

But I don’t stop.

I take one more step forward.

Uwong-!!

The Muryeongshingong attracts natural energy around me with a ferocity that is incomparable to before.

Like water being sucked into a leaking container, the endless and fierce energy rushes in and creates a whirlpool around me.

Splash.

Not long after, an uneasy sound comes from inside my body.

No matter how strong my body and vast my blood flow, there are limits.

This is a signal that I have reached my limit.

My injuries are already severe. If I push myself any further, I might not be able to turn back.

Subconsciously, a line I had drawn blocks my way.

But I don’t stop.

I just remember.

The person I love is behind me, and my enemy is at the tip of my sword.

A very secular wish without any great reason or profound philosophy.

This is what I wanted to reach.

But I failed. Hong Yeon-hwa has already been taken away from me.

“…So I have to get her back.”

A mindset of wanting to cut down the blood demon is not enough.

Getting Hong Yeon-hwa back is much more important than killing the blood demon.

Determination is a combination of will and aspiration.

The anger of having Hong Yeon-hwa taken away swells up my aspiration, and the determination to get her back shows me the way.

The heat of the emotion that seemed to repeat itself endlessly slowly cools down as it mixes with the determination.

I heat it up and melt it down, then cool it down and beat it.

Like tempering metal, I refine my determination to make it sharper and stronger.

And so, subconsciously, I bend the line I had drawn.

“Kkeuryeok…”

Did my meridians snap under the fierce flow of natural energy? My nose started to bleed, and my fingertips and toes began to hurt like being pricked by needles.

But the Muryeongshingong, once accelerated, did not stop.

My body was a conduit.

A conduit to absorb more energy and make it into a more massive sword.

If I keep going like this, my body won’t be able to handle the energy, and it will collapse.

That’s why I asked Myeongwoljinin to help me withstand it, even if it’s forced.

“Just hold on for a moment, Sohyeop!”

Charms stuck all over my body. I don’t know the exact principle, but it temporarily makes my body even stronger.

In other words, it allows me to pour more internal energy.

Uwong-

The sword energy soared so high that it was difficult to gauge its height.

The blood demon must have realized what I was trying to do by now.

But it just stares at me in the air without attacking.

One swing of its tail would wipe me out.

As expected.

Even the blood demon can’t move freely after swallowing Hong Yeon-hwa.

It was said that the blood demon was once at a higher level than Hong Yeon-hwa, but now it hasn’t fallen to a similar level.

If I make a mistake, the newly created body will collapse, or I might have to spit out Hong Yeon-hwa.

I can’t give up on either, so it can’t move.

That’s why it’s the weakest right now…but does that mean it has no intention of doing anything and just watching?

Ssuaeaak!

A blood spear shot from afar.

It’s smaller and slower than before, but it’s still powerful enough to kill me in an unprotected state.

“I’ll stop it!”

Sama-mang shouted and swung his fist continuously.

Pajijik.

Every time he did that, the brainwave that was emitted according to the swordsmanship of the sword master hit the side of the blood spear.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The blood spear, which was supposed to have the hardness of a steel, weakened due to being squeezed by force.

Kuwong!

The trajectory that flew towards me was greatly distorted and stuck far away.

Even after that, the spell that aimed at me relentlessly, but every time, someone else came forward to block it.

But it won’t last long.

It’s because everyone has gone through a battle once.

Moreover, all the remaining elixirs were eaten by me, so there is no way to recover, and it’s natural to get tired one by one.

The first to fall was Sama-mang. Next were the leaders of the Shin-gyo, then Paengsoso, and then Sama-yeoryeong…

People were collapsing on the ground, gasping for breath, but the most advanced Myeongwoljinin couldn’t step forward.

Because my body was barely holding onto the aftermath of excessive energy.

If Myeongwoljinin lets go of me now, my body will collapse before I can control my internal energy.

The flow of energy, which is accelerating repeatedly like a snowball, is like a natural disaster.

Still, I can vaguely feel it. It’s almost done. I can reach it and ring it.

But that confidence is only temporary.

“Kuluk.”

Finally, somewhere, something broke, and I vomited blood without realizing it.

The blood vessels in my eyes burst, and my vision turned red. It wasn’t over yet.

Pot!

Blood spurted out from all over my body. It’s bursting out of the parts that couldn’t hold on.

But.

As the night gets darker, the stars shine brighter, and as my body breaks down, my mind becomes clearer.

As they say, the flame shines brightest just before it goes out.

As I approach death, my consciousness becomes more intense.

People falling one by one in front of me. The pain that feels like a storm of blades raging inside my body.

I endure all of this with the determination to get Hong Yeon-hwa back, and I keep enduring.

And then, at some point.

In the melting vision, I couldn’t see anything anymore.

The only things that exist are me and a giant dragon.

No, there’s one more thing.

A sword.

A sword that illuminates the surroundings with starlight.

The sword that finally touches the sky was in my hand.

Taesanabjeong.

The moment when a giant mountain is crushed at once, they say.

If it’s empty, this blow is truly worthy of being called Taesanabjeong.