Chapter 149

When Myorin used the Dragon’s Roar to paralyze the demons, Pung Hyeon’s head turned.

“Dragon’s Roar? Such trivial power…”

Pung Hyeon, who had been treating the crawling bugs beneath his feet as if they were nothing, showed interest in someone other than Namgung Woo for the first time.

Namgung Woo quickly took out a small box from his pocket and threw it. The Heaven and Earth Pill. It was a secret elixir given to him by the Paeng Family.

The pill, which he had been saving since the Unmong Great War, finally served its purpose.

Crunch.

Even though he only chewed it once and swallowed, the Heaven and Earth Pill melted before it even reached his stomach, spreading a refreshing energy throughout Namgung Woo’s body.

As expected of a top-tier elixir crafted by the Paeng Family, his depleted dantians were instantly filled. His body, having achieved Five Origins Unity, greedily absorbed the pill’s energy, converting it into internal energy without even needing to circulate it.

The internal energy that had been significantly depleted in the fight against the Black Ghost Gate Master was rapidly recovering. Namgung Woo, who had realized his own limitations in internal energy after facing Yi Ja-ryong and the Five Demon Lords, knew better than to neglect his energy management just because he had opened his Three Dantians and achieved Three Flames Convergence.

When the opportunity came, Namgung Woo focused all his efforts on recovering his strength.

In the brief moment when Pung Hyeon’s attention was diverted by Myorin’s power, Namgung Woo, having consumed the Heaven and Earth Pill, launched a surprise attack on Pung Hyeon.

The one-strike sword technique, Soul-Severing Sword, dashed through the shortest distance between Namgung Woo and Pung Hyeon.

However, Pung Hyeon’s senses were unlike those of an ordinary human. Despite Namgung Woo’s precise timing, the Bonding Sword was blocked by Pung Hyeon’s palm.

Hand Aura? No. What Pung Hyeon held in his hand was not the starlight born from human determination, but a mere condensation of the energy flowing through the world.

The power he wielded and the way he wielded it were entirely different.

It was neither martial arts nor sorcery. It was a force that defied definition.

It wasn’t at the boundary of the two, nor was it a mix of both like Myorin’s.

It was more primal. It was as if martial arts and sorcery had not yet been systematized, making it a crude yet powerful method.

He amplified his power by drawing energy from the external universe using the power within his own body. While it resembled sorcery, it was akin to extreme martial arts in that he forcibly drew external energy using his own power.

‘How immense must his internal energy be to achieve that…’

Namgung Woo wasn’t sure if he could replicate it. Through Azure Tranquility Eyes, he saw that the energy within Pung Hyeon’s body far surpassed the Three Thousand Divine Techniques he possessed.

It was as if nature itself had taken human form.

“What are you looking at?”

Pung Hyeon’s voice carried emotion.

Displeasure. Pung Hyeon knew exactly what Namgung Woo was looking at.

Whoosh! Thud─!

The surging energy struck Namgung Woo from all directions.

Without the Heavenly Aura Protective Technique and Protective Aura Energy, his bones might have been twisted. Even with the protective aura, his muscles twitched.

This was a natural disaster.

A walking natural disaster.

Not just a metaphor for peerless masters, but someone who truly embodied the destructive power of a natural disaster.

Amidst the torrent of energy, a flash of light appeared.

The densely packed energy, thick enough to block vision, was split by a single sword strike, revealing the interior.

The torrent scattered like a broken thread. Within it, Namgung Woo stood firmly, holding the Bonding Sword.

Even in the face of nature’s calamity, humans rise again. And to overcome it, they have devised the next step.

Martial arts are the golden tower of human growth. A path to ascend to the heavens, built by countless individuals who sacrificed their blood, sweat, and lives.

Namgung Woo was one of the few at the forefront of that path.

Even the calamity of nature, he would cut through with his sword and body.

The distance closed. The gap that had been several feet was now just one foot.

Within the range where he could deliver an effective strike with Flying Sword Energy or Flying Sword Aura, Namgung Woo finally succeeded in trapping Pung Hyeon.

A strange light appeared in Pung Hyeon’s eyes.

‘Fakes…’

Severance of Heaven and Earth.

Because heaven and earth are connected, gods and humans are mixed.

To prevent this, the king of the gods severed the path connecting the two, separating heaven and earth, so that gods lived in their world and humans in theirs.

But humanity’s desire to ascend has constantly sought a path to the heavens, and finally, they built a tower to reach the sky.

It is not incomplete. That path has already been completed. It’s just that they don’t know who has reached it.

But Pung Hyeon knows someone who stood at the end of that path.

For a brief moment, he saw a man who had ascended to the heavens.

“As I thought… I was right. You Namgung are truly…!”

A storm of energy began to surge within Pung Hyeon.

The energy of nature responded to Pung Hyeon’s will, gathering and solidifying. Just as internal energy is manifested externally to create sword energy and sword aura, Pung Hyeon gathered external energy and gave it form.

‘I was targeting the Martial Alliance, but this is even better.’

The Martial Alliance can be dealt with in other ways.

‘That Yi Ja-ryong, I thought he was useless after opening the White Ghost Gate to distract them, but if he managed to draw out the Namgung clan, it wasn’t a completely worthless investment.’

Thanks to that White Ghost Gate, I now know to be more cautious. No loss there.

Pung Hyeon unleashed all his power.

Namgung Woo was an enemy worth going all out against.

“Come.”

The Dragon’s Fist Storm enveloped the sword range.

Namgung Woo calmly stepped into the fury of nature.

What emotion rose on his calm face? No fear could be seen, only a cold, determined light in his eyes.

Whoosh─

A resonant sound echoed with each step.

Pung Hyeon, who wielded external energy as if it were his own limbs, and Namgung Woo, who made the entire world his own.

The two forces collided head-on.

But even that was just a precursor. Pung Hyeon wrapped his body in energy, preparing for the incoming attack.

‘The Emperor’s Sword Form is coming.’

Namgung Woo’s ultimate weapon.

It was the sword that had slain Pung Hyeon’s kin, wielded by Namgung Jin.

Namgung Jin’s Emperor’s Sword Form and Namgung Woo’s Emperor’s Sword Form.

The level of mastery was clearly different. Even if it was the same martial art, the difference in power was evident.

But Namgung Woo had the eyes to compensate for that lack of mastery.

‘Is that the eye of the dragon…?’

An unknown truth, not even known to Namgung Woo himself, was revealed in Pung Hyeon’s heart.

Unlike Pung Hyeon, whose mind was tangled with countless thoughts, Namgung Woo’s mind was as calm as a still lake.

‘Cut.’

Namgung Woo’s spirit was focused solely on one thing.

Only on cutting Pung Hyeon.

He had no room for distraction. His defeat would mean annihilation. The determination to win at all costs forged his soul into a single sword.

He must not lose. Namgung Woo was no longer fighting alone.

The Emperor’s Sword Form, which had failed to recreate even against the Black Ghost Gate Master, once again cleaved through space, splitting the world.

A soulful resonance, unheard by the ears, bound Pung Hyeon and Namgung Woo together.

In that moment, Namgung Woo was seized by a sense of déjà vu. Even in the familiar sensation, his body moved independently, following the next strike with the Bonding Sword.

Déjà vu. It resembled the sensation he felt on Manse Mountain. The final moment with Yi Ja-ryong, when he connected with him and glimpsed his memories.

And that sensation was not just déjà vu.

What Azure Tranquility Eyes reflected was Pung Hyeon’s memory.

The man standing before Pung Hyeon felt familiar.

The man’s arm rose.

His lips moved.

‘Behold. This is the sword of Namgung.’

To whom was he reciting?

Pung Hyeon facing the man? Or Namgung Woo himself, seeing through Pung Hyeon?

Leaping over fifty years, Namgung Woo witnessed the true Emperor’s Sword Form wielded by a genuine martial artist of the Namgung Family.

Consciousness rapidly surfaced.

The Emperor’s Sword Form, which had not even found a spark of growth in the battle against the Black Ghost Gate Master, subtly changed its form.

Pung Hyeon’s pupils dilated. For some reason, that fleeting change seemed slow and clear to Namgung Woo.

‘You too are not human, are you?’

You can’t control the change in your pupils either, can you?

With that thought, Namgung Woo’s Emperor’s Sword Form cleaved through Pung Hyeon’s body.