Chapter 43

The Thirteen Lightning Flash Swords technique is divided into the first nine moves and the last four moves.

All moves can be used independently rather than being connected, allowing them to be integrated into other martial arts. Especially, the first nine moves contain several sword techniques, and even just replicating the form can yield significant effectiveness.

However, the last four moves are different.

They are often referred to as the secret techniques of martial arts.

The last four moves of the Thirteen Lightning Flash Swords require Aura Energy.

Before reaching the Transcendent Peak, it is difficult to even begin learning Aura Energy. That is the essence of the last four moves of the Thirteen Lightning Flash Swords.

And now, Namgung Woo unleashed the tenth move of the Thirteen Lightning Swords, the first secret technique, Single Flash of Extreme Light, which literally bleached the world with a blinding light.

A platinum-colored Sword Aura exploded with immense experience. Day returned to the peak of Manse Mountain, which had been shrouded in night. It was as if hundreds of lightning bolts had struck simultaneously.

The sheer brightness was enough to blind anyone who witnessed it directly without protecting their eyes.

It was a spectacle too dazzling to be created by a mere human.

The power radiating from Namgung Woo’s sword was as immense as the energy condensed within it.

It sliced through Yi Ja-ryong’s defensive techniques as if they were paper.

Like a red-hot blade melting and cutting through whatever lay before it.

Namgung Woo’s Single Flash of Extreme Light completely shattered Yi Ja-ryong’s techniques and ultimately drove the blade into his body.

*Crack!*

Yi Ja-ryong’s body, far from ordinary, emitted a sound as if metal were being split.

Namgung Woo’s sword cut through Yi Ja-ryong’s bizarrely hard and strong bones, cleaving his body as it passed.

It was a fatal wound.

With one shoulder nearly severed and his upper and lower body split, no human could survive.

But the one struck by the Single Flash of Extreme Light was no ordinary human.

“Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan. The four stars of the Big Dipper serve the Emperor’s will.”

Yi Ja-ryong’s incantation was uttered in less than a moment.

His split shoulder and the bisected upper and lower body regenerated instantly.

It was as if time had been rewound, not just for his body but even for his clothes.

But that wasn’t all. Yi Ja-ryong continued his incantation.

“Yuheng, Kaiyang, Yaoguang. The three stars of the Dipper’s handle serve the Emperor’s spirit.”

Three orbs appeared around Yi Ja-ryong.

Each was a mysterious entity containing spiritual energy comparable to a divine pill.

But Yi Ja-ryong’s moves ended there.

Confirming with Azure Tranquility Eyes that the first attack, Single Flash of Extreme Light, had not killed Yi Ja-ryong, Namgung Woo prepared his next move without hesitation.

The Heavenly Thunder Divine Energy he had been charging erupted once more with thunder.

The eleventh move of the Thirteen Lightning Swords, following the tenth, Single Flash of Extreme Light, covered the night sky.

The second secret technique, Surging Thunder Overturning Clouds. A wave of lightning surged like a tidal wave, flipping the clouds.

*Boom! Crash! Rumble!*

Thunder struck. The relentless sword strikes, once linear, began to draw elegant curves.

Yi Ja-ryong hastily moved the orbs to block Namgung Woo’s sword. One by one, the orbs were destroyed. Finally, a change appeared on Yi Ja-ryong’s face.

The Mystic Jade Balance Technique, which harnessed the power of the Big Dipper. Even if hastily performed without proper foundation, it was not a technique that could be broken by mere Aura Energy.

It was a supreme secret technique, unparalleled in the world of martial arts, yet it was being shattered by Sword Aura.

Even Gwak Dan, at the peak of his cultivation, would find it impossible. His legendary wind sword would exhaust his internal energy just to break one orb.

Even for a master who had harmonized the Three Dantians and wielded near-infinite energy, facing the Jade Balance orbs was a daunting task.

Yet, to Namgung Woo, it was like dew on a blade of grass.

Because he could see it.

The structure of the energy weaving the orbs.

The path to dismantle that energy without a trace.

The moment Yi Ja-ryong met Namgung Woo’s glowing blue eyes, he instinctively realized the cause.

“You… servant of the heavens!”

Yi Ja-ryong roared, his eyes blazing.

The composed demeanor he had shown while underestimating Gwak Dan and Namgung Woo was nowhere to be seen.

“Zuoshu, Shangzai, Shaozai, Shangfu, Shaofu, Shangwei, Shaowei, Shaocheng… The eight stars of the Eastern Enclosure, align! Youshu, Shaowei, Shangfu, Shaofu, Shangwei, Shaowei, Shangcheng, the seven stars of the Western Enclosure, scatter!”

Yi Ja-ryong poured out incantations with the desperation of a cornered man.

But no matter how fast he moved his tongue and lips, how could he be faster than lightning ascending from the earth?

Yi Ja-ryong once again offered his body to the Surging Thunder Overturning Clouds’ lightning sword rising from below.

*Whoosh!*

If Single Flash of Extreme Light was the pinnacle of sharpness, Surging Thunder Overturning Clouds was the fang of a thunder dragon.

Yi Ja-ryong’s body was not cleanly cut but roughly torn apart, blood gushing from the wounds.

‘Got him!’

Yi Ja-ryong cheered inwardly as he forced out his final incantation.

“Gate of Heavenly Harmony, open and carry out the decree!”

Namgung Woo heard a sound.

A sound that should not be heard.

The creak of an old hinge, as if a door in his mind was opening, shook not his eardrums but his very brain.

It was as if his Upper Dantian was trembling.

‘With this, the Upper Dantian’s abilities should be neutralized! There won’t be another stroke of luck like before.’

If he could seal those mysterious eyes, Yi Ja-ryong’s victory was all but assured.

The Ghost Gate had opened.

The Netherworld Horn that had appeared earlier was just the beginning.

Now, more horns were emerging, and Gwak Dan, struggling to handle even one, was gradually being marked with bloodstains.

‘If I use the Mystic Jade Balance Technique to heal my body and summon the orbs again… What?’

The blue-white flames did not die down, still burning coldly.

Namgung Woo’s eyes showed no trace of disturbance, fixed directly on Yi Ja-ryong.

‘The Gate of Heavenly Harmony should have opened his celestial gate and shaken the gods, so how…?’

Yi Ja-ryong couldn’t understand.

He knew of Namgung Woo’s existence.

A being outside the fate he had foreseen.

That’s why he waited until Namgung Woo left Beijing.

To avoid even the slightest possibility of disruption.

But how could this be possible, even if he was outside fate?

The answer was simple.

‘This feeling, I know it.’

Because he had experienced it.

At this moment, Namgung Woo sensed a certain flow through karma.

If he hadn’t met Paeng Ye-ryong, could he have maintained Azure Tranquility Eyes at this moment? He would have been overwhelmed by the sudden expansion of perception.

The cycle of karma where good deeds return as fortune.

Namgung Woo was part of the vast operation of the universe.

The fourth strike of Surging Thunder Overturning Clouds.

This time, he wouldn’t miss.

His target was the Middle Dantian.

If the Middle Dantian, which governs the body’s balance, is destroyed, even a sorcerer would inevitably fall.

*Crack!*

Breaking through the ribs, Namgung Woo’s sword moved like a forked lightning, burning and carving through Yi Ja-ryong’s body.

“Gah!”

The moment his Middle Dantian, which he had tried to protect even at the cost of his shoulder, was shattered, Yi Ja-ryong vomited a mouthful of blood.

Despite his organs being torn apart, Yi Ja-ryong’s body did not cease its life functions. It was beyond comprehension.

There was no guilt for killing, no sense of sin for taking a life.

It was bizarre.

Yi Ja-ryong struck the side of Namgung Woo’s sword, which was condensed with Sword Aura. Yi Ja-ryong’s hand was also imbued with Aura Energy.

*Thud!*

Even if it meant destroying his own body, Yi Ja-ryong was determined to pull Namgung Woo’s sword out.

The wound grew larger, but Yi Ja-ryong finally succeeded in freeing himself from Namgung Woo’s sword.

“Fool! Did you think the Ghost Gate would remain idle while you did this? The Netherworld Horn is just the beginning! The endless horns will cover Manse Mountain and bring down the Forbidden City! For the punishment of the false claimant!”

Yi Ja-ryong pointed at Gwak Dan.

Barely standing, covered in blood.

Even if Namgung Woo defeated Yi Ja-ryong, the two, drained of internal energy, would be swept away by the onslaught of horns and meet their end.

“So?”

It didn’t matter.

That wasn’t Namgung Woo’s concern.

Namgung Woo said this not because he was indifferent to the situation.

Not because he considered his death a noble sacrifice, nor because he could escape alone regardless of Gwak Dan’s fate.

Simply because he knew it wasn’t his role.

*Boom!*

Another intervention that turned the tide shook the Ghost Realm spread over Manse Mountain.

A heavy energy wave, not inferior to Gwak Dan and Namgung Woo, descended before the Ghost Gate of Manse Mountain.

“Exactly. I’ll handle the Ghost Gate.”

“Do, Jon? How are you already…?”

Again.

It had twisted again.

At this point, another peerless master who should never have appeared.

With his appearance, Yi Ja-ryong realized it was all over.

Namgung Woo took a step forward. It was just an ordinary step, without the subtlety of Infinite Steps, but to Yi Ja-ryong, it felt like a terrifyingly dominant stride.

“Speak. What do you know?”

“…Fine. I’ll tell you, you are…”

Yi Ja-ryong opened his mouth as if resigned.

At the same time, Namgung Woo severed his hesitation.

A sound in an inaudible frequency range erupted in a silent scream.

The twelfth move of the Thirteen Lightning Swords, the third secret technique, Ultimate Thunder Shaking the Universe.

A sword filled with lightning that erased Yi Ja-ryong’s body from the world without a trace.

“…I see everything.”

Simultaneously, Yi Ja-ryong’s desperate use of Dual Voice Technique, a spell that produces two voices at once, was all too clear to Namgung Woo.

Painfully clear.

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