Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 240 – Primordial True Qi (3)

Whoosh!

Mok Gyeong-un slowly stood up as a hazy smoke billowed out.

Commander Seo Yerin’s pupils trembled as she looked at him.

‘He’s pushing out the primordial true qi that had penetrated his vital points.’

Primordial true qi was the source energy itself, so once it penetrated the body, it was difficult to expel it externally unless one possessed stronger internal power.

However, the ferocious energy currently rising from Mok Gyeong-un was surprisingly pushing out the primordial true qi.

‘What on earth is this energy?’

The smoke was gradually turning into black haze.

The energy was difficult to describe, feeling both turbid and even evil.

At this, wariness filled her eyes.

‘Even after having his eight vital points struck and adjusting his power, to utilize such energy… This person. He has crossed the wall.’

Seo Yerin was convinced at once that Mok Gyeong-un had crossed the wall.

From the moment he had crumbled the Gyeokse Stone in the first test, she had estimated that he had reached the pinnacle-stage of Transcendent Realm or possibly even higher, which was quite astonishing.

How could someone not even in his early twenties have reached such a realm?

‘…I heard he was a disciple of the Shadow Clan Master of the Heaven and Earth Society.’

If the information she had heard in advance was correct, that was the case.

However, even the Shadow Clan Master of the Heaven and Earth Society hadn’t reached this level of realm.

Explaining this as simply the student surpassing the teacher seemed insufficient; everything about this person, from his energy to all aspects, felt dangerous.

‘Let’s subdue him for now.’

Anyway, the bastard had tried to kill Joo Woonhyang.

Then, there was no need to show mercy.

-Paat!

Commander Seo Yerin kicked off the ground and leaped towards Mok Gyeong-un.

Her figure blurred and disappeared in an instant.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un’s right eye flashed.

Along with it, Mok Gyeong-un utilized Na Yul-rang, the Great Master of the Heaven and Earth Society’s Bright Water Crossing Step, and moved his body with ultra-high-speed movement.

-Smack!

The moment Mok Gyeong-un moved, a hand abruptly emerged where he had been standing.

It was none other than Seo Yerin’s hand.

‘He dodged it?’

Seo Yerin’s delicate eyebrows raised upwards.

Considering that the opponent was an expert who had crossed the wall, she had increased her speed to match that level.

Yet, he had avoided it.

Moreover, his movement was extraordinary.

‘Ultra-high-speed movement?’

Her eyes shifted to the right.

There, Mok Gyeong-un, who had dodged her attack, was thrusting his fingers infused with black energy towards her to launch a counterattack.

‘Strong Energy?’

Judging from the momentum, it was definitely Strong Energy.

But how could Strong Energy contain such a ferocious energy?

She felt the primordial true qi within her body strongly rejecting it.

‘It’s not something to block with ordinary Strong Energy.’

At this,

-Whoong!

She concentrated her primordial true qi and created Strong Energy with a white light in her hand.

With the Strong Energy formed, Seo Yerin thrust her fingers towards Mok Gyeong-un’s wrist as he was stabbing towards her head.

‘Quick response.’

At this, Mok Gyeong-un hurriedly stopped his thrust and changed direction using his footwork.

-Bam!

And he kicked upwards with his leg towards her chin.

-Smack!

However, Mok Gyeong-un’s kick brushed through the air.

She had twisted her body to the side in an instant.

Not stopping there, Seo Yerin dug closer to Mok Gyeong-un and swiftly placed her palm on his abdomen.

-Bang!

At that moment, a rippling shockwave occurred from the point of impact.

It was the Issuing of Strength.

The energy infused with primordial true qi would penetrate his body and dig into his five viscera and six bowels.

Or so she thought,

-Bam!

At that moment, her palm, which had been Issuing the Strength, was repelled.

Puzzled about what this was, she soon couldn’t hide her astonishment.

That was because she discovered that Mok Gyeong-un had placed his palm towards her back.

‘This fellow.’

He had blocked the Issuing of Strength with another Issuing of Strength.

It was an unbelievable level of judgment.

How could he use the Issuing of Strength towards her back in this fleeting moment?

This wasn’t something that came from long experience; it could be said that his combat sense itself was very innate.

However,

‘An opening.’

-Thud!

She had more experience than she appeared.

Therefore, she didn’t miss the opening that appeared in Mok Gyeong-un the moment he blocked the blow with a reverse Issuing of Strength, and she struck a palm strike at his chin.

Mok Gyeong-un’s body, hit by this, floated in the air with a whoosh and flew eight feet back before falling.

Having been hit on the chin, the impact to his brain prevented Mok Gyeong-un from immediately standing up due to dizziness.

‘Strong.’

Mok Gyeong-un clicked his tongue inwardly.

Among those he had encountered so far, excluding that mysterious old man and the Heaven and Earth Sect Leader, she was undoubtedly the highest level.

Moreover, he couldn’t even gauge the extent of her skills.

-Mortal. This wench is not using her full strength.

-I know.

Mok Gyeong-un agreed with Cheong-ryeong’s words.

Unlike himself, who was using his full power by releasing even the Demonic Qi he had been hiding, she wasn’t drawing upon all her energy.

In his right eye, which had unleashed the power of the Third Eye, he could see her striving to suppress her energy.

If all of that were to be released, he couldn’t even estimate the level it would reach.

“Cough cough… Commander…”

At that moment, Joo Woonhyang called out to Commander Seo Yerin.

Due to being hit in the Adam’s apple by Mok Gyeong-un and suffering internal injuries, his voice didn’t come out loudly, but there was no way an expert of her caliber wouldn’t hear it.

Seo Yerin turned her head and said,

“Joo Woonhyang. Your internal injuries are severe, so first focus on circulating your energy and breathing. Hurry.”

At her words, Joo Woonhyang shook his head.

This was to dissuade her for the moment.

Regardless of the process, Mok Gyeong-un had ultimately given up on harming him.

Therefore, he wanted to explain the situation, but,

“Commander… First, stop…”

Before he could even finish his words,

Seo Yerin extended her hand and turned her head.

That was because Mok Gyeong-un had already stood up again.

“You’re strong, Commander.”

As Mok Gyeong-un spoke, Seo Yerin clicked her tongue.

Even though she had adjusted her strength, she thought the palm strike she had sent to his chin would eventually make him lose consciousness due to the impact on his brain.

However, Mok Gyeong-un looked unscathed.

Judging from this, his recovery ability seemed to be much faster than ordinary people.

‘As expected, he’s a dangerous person.’

It was a dilemma.

She had intended to stop at a moderate level of subduing him.

However, it might be better to handle it properly after all.

At that moment, Joo Woonhyang hurriedly took steps towards her and tried to shout.

“Commander. First, listen to me… Cough!”

At that instant, blood burst from Joo Woonhyang’s mouth.

After suffering internal injuries, he should have circulated his energy and expelled the Death Qi that had entered his body, but by continuously neglecting it, it had ravaged his five viscera and six bowels.

-Thud!

“Ugh!”

Seeing him collapse and vomit blood, Commander Seo Yerin’s eyes became fierce.

Along with it, killing intent rose.

Sensing this, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes narrowed.

‘The energy has risen.’

In his right eye, which had unleashed the power of the Third Eye, he could see her primordial true qi, which had become much larger than a moment ago.

The energy was rippling in all directions.

This woman might have reached the pinnacle of the Transformation Realm or possibly even higher.

-Swish!

It was at that very moment.

Commander Seo Yerin suddenly disappeared, and with a lightning-like trajectory drawn in his right eye, she appeared beside him.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un hurriedly concentrated his energy and raised his left arm.

-Thud! Crack!

The impact felt on his left arm.

Along with it, Mok Gyeong-un’s body was pushed to the side by more than ten steps.

Mok Gyeong-un, who had been pushed back like that, gritted his teeth and barely managed to avoid falling over.

‘My left wrist is broken.’

This alone highlighted the stark difference in their power.

It seemed to be at least twice as much.

Barely enduring the trembling of his left wrist, he clenched his fist, and Seo Yerin warned Mok Gyeong-un,

“It would be best for you to give it your all. I’ll make you pay the price for putting Trainee Joo Woonhyang in that state before I arrest you.”

With those words, Seo Yerin’s figure disappeared again.

She intended to subdue Mok Gyeong-un not half-heartedly but decisively.

Even if it meant breaking all the bones in his body.

In that manner, she appeared on Mok Gyeong-un’s right side in an instant and unleashed a leg technique towards his right ribs.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un blocked it with his right arm.

-Thud!

Naturally, she thought he would be repelled again this time,

-Whoosh!

However, Mok Gyeong-un’s body was pushed back by only about three steps.

‘!?’

-Crackle! Crackle!

At that moment, Seo Yerin’s eyes saw Mok Gyeong-un’s right hand bulging with blood vessels and turning black.

As if his hand was transforming into that of a ferocious demon, she frowned and muttered,

“You… What on earth…”

“Phew. Aesthetically, it’s not pleasing to the eye, so I didn’t want to show this, but I have no choice.”

It was the Evil Acupoint Demonic Technique.

It was a method to temporarily amplify energy through the Great Technique of Reversing Acupoints.

Ordinary martial artists would rapidly consume their true original energy or go out of control when using this, but Mok Gyeong-un could perfectly control it by utilizing it partially.

‘He amplified the energy in only one hand?’

Commander Seo Yerin was inwardly amazed.

Just how much was he hiding?

Soon, Mok Gyeong-un, who had amplified the energy in his right hand using the Evil Acupoint Demonic Technique, took a sword finger stance.

This sword finger stance was none other than,

‘Demonic Sword Art, 1st Stance.’

It was the first stance of the sword art he had created.

[Demonic Sword Art? Why did you name it that instead of just calling it a sword art?]

[I want to combine the cultivation method and sword art into one instead of troublesomely separating them.]

[Combining the cultivation method and sword art into one?]

[Yes.]

Mok Gyeong-un, who had come up with this strange idea, had named this sword art the Demonic Sword Art.

The 1st Stance of the Demonic Sword Art could be considered the best technique Mok Gyeong-un could currently unleash.

-Paat!

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un leaped forward.

Even though he could perfectly control the Evil Acupoint Demonic Technique, the time he could maintain it was short, so he did it to quickly decide the match.

-Whoosh!

The moment Mok Gyeong-un unleashed his sword technique, the amplified black Strong Energy created a massive trajectory, sweeping forward with a momentum like a raging wave, as if it would engulf everything in front of him.

Faced with the tremendous momentum of the sword technique, Seo Yerin’s expression became noticeably serious, unlike before.

‘Moderation… won’t work.’

The sword technique before her eyes was a matchless sword technique.

It seemed impossible to block it with an ordinary technique.

At this, Seo Yerin overlapped her index and middle fingers of her right hand to form sword fingers, and then she firmly stepped on the ground and pulled them back.

-Roar!

At that moment, her sword fingers condensed intense energy from the fingertips, as if they were the eye of a typhoon.

-Flinch!

Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes sharpened.

‘This is…’

It felt dangerous.

He had never seen energy being raised to this extent before.

However, he was already in the midst of unleashing his sword technique, so he had no choice but to clash.

-Crash!

Seo Yerin thrust out the hand she had pulled back, as if piercing through the approaching Mok Gyeong-un.

At that moment, a sharp murderous intent arose, and it created a whirlwind of sword energy.

-Clang clang clang clang clang!

Surprisingly, the power of the two matchless techniques that collided was in a stalemate.

Joo Woonhyang, who had been circulating his energy and barely managing his internal injuries after vomiting a mouthful of blood, couldn’t hide his shock at this sight.

He knew Mok Gyeong-un was strong from having faced him, but Commander Seo Yerin, who could be considered his teacher, was a hidden expert whose strength was unknown.

If she were to use her full power, he could confidently say that her martial prowess would be stronger than even the Eight Stars, who were called the top experts.

However,

‘A stalemate?’

The sight of these two techniques clashing was truly astonishing.

It was like a raging wave and a whirlwind colliding.

The sword energy unleashed by the two ceaselessly intertwined, neither side giving way even slightly.

-Clang clang clang clang clang!

Even the person involved, Seo Yerin, was surprised.

‘To have power on par with the True Condensed Spiral Sword?’

She, too, was greatly amazed by Mok Gyeong-un’s matchless sword technique.

She had thought it was extraordinary, but she never expected it to have power comparable to her best technique, which she was most confident in.

‘It feels like my whole body will be torn apart.’

On the other hand, Mok Gyeong-un was focusing all his senses on the sword technique.

If he made a single mistake, he would be caught in this whirlwind of sword energy and have his entire body torn to shreds.

He had already reached the 18th out of 24 stances.

Since Seo Yerin’s sword energy was also gradually losing its momentum, he just needed to endure a little longer.

Or so he thought, but at that moment,

“It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered such a matchless swordsman.”

With those words, she stepped on the ground with her other foot and firmly stepped down.

-Thud!

Along with it, she withdrew her right hand and pulled back her left hand’s sword fingers, then thrust them forward.

-Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un’s pupils trembled.

‘Continuously?’

He never anticipated that the technique would continue in this manner, intertwined with the end of the sword technique’s momentum.

Moreover, this time, the sword energy rotated in reverse, continuing with a momentum quite different from before.

Since the direction had changed, it became even more difficult to block it.

-Crackle! Crackle!

Even the Evil Acupoint Demonic Technique had reached its limit.

In the first place, it was a technique that rapidly amplified energy through the Great Technique of Reversing Acupoints, so maintaining it for a long time was unreasonable.

Would he be defeated like this?

In Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes, the center of the massive whirlwind was visible.

All the momentum was surging from there.

At that moment, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes flashed.

‘I need to aim at the point where the momentum originates.’

To do that, he needed a force that could overwhelm that momentum, even for a moment.

Even if it was just for a single instant.

The moment he realized this, Mok Gyeong-un’s thoughts began to converge into one.

And that converged thought reached a simple conclusion.

‘Gather into one.’

He would concentrate all the stances of his strongest sword technique, the Demonic Sword Art, into one.

It was no different from gathering all the sword energy and stances contained within the sword technique into one.

With Mok Gyeong-un’s current realm, this was an almost impossible task.

However, driven to the edge of a cliff, Mok Gyeong-un’s thoughts and will crossed the boundary that ordinary people could never surpass.

‘Has he given up?’

On the other hand, seeing Mok Gyeong-un’s sword energy weakening, Seo Yerin sensed that he couldn’t win and thought he had given up.

But it was at that very moment.

-Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The twenty-four trajectories of black light that had been extending while scattering particles of dark light dispersed simultaneously and converged into a single point.

And a black line was drawn through the center of the whirlwind of sword energy.

‘!!!!!!!!’

-Clang!

Along with it, an astonishing sight unfolded.

Before anyone knew it, Mok Gyeong-un had passed Seo Yerin and was standing behind her, grasping his sword fingers and exhaling roughly, while the whirlwind of sword energy she had created had vanished without a trace.

Moreover,

-Drip drip!

Blood droplets fell to the ground, flowing along her left hand’s sword fingers that had been lowered.