Chapter 113 : Chapter 113

Chapter 113. The End (4)

Right after blocking Hyeok Ilso's Heavenly Wind Sword Art, I burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahahaha.”

It wasn't because I had finally realized the true meaning of the Moonlight Coiling Sword.

Looking at Hyeok Ilso's momentarily crumpled expression, I just couldn't hold back my laughter.

“For having blocked it just once, your reaction is quite excessive.”

The expression of the man trying to act cool belatedly was also amusing.

“Hehehe. Is the spot where you got stabbed last time starting to throb now?”

“Wipe your nosebleed before you talk. You look like an idiot.”

He was right.

Right after I blocked his sword strike with the Moonlight Coiling Sword, my nose started bleeding.

Just like swinging a sword according to the subtlety of yielding, I was bringing out the subtlety of yielding with only sword qi.

It was easier said than done; a headache that felt like my brain would explode surged for a moment.

It wasn't a particularly important problem.

“What’s a little nosebleed if I can clean up the trash. Hehehe.”

This time, it was my turn to take a step towards him.

Soon after, he began to unleash the Heavenly Wind Sword Art again.

As if to block the trajectory of his incoming sword, I once again drew a full moon.

The moment his sword blade touched the full moon, I pulled a part of the sword qi that was maintaining the circular shape.

Like slowly pulling and stretching a viscous substance like malt syrup.

It was a very precarious process.

If you pull one spot too forcefully, it's bound to tear. The same went for sword qi.

As the sword qi stretches while being pushed by his power, I add more qi.

Not clashing, but embracing.

Like catching a thrown egg with a thick cloth.

His sword, enveloped in the soft sword qi, gradually lost its momentum, so the power did not continue to stack.

Finally, a way to block the Heavenly Wind Sword Art had been found.

My intuition was right. The Moonlight Coiling Sword was the secret technique to counter the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.

It was just that my insight had failed to understand it properly.

“Hahahaha. I'm sorry, Master! For having such an idiotic disciple!”

“Madman.”

The movement of the man who clicked his tongue changed slightly.

Between the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.

Swwwaaaaeeek.

The Shadowless Blood Flash Sword was mixed in.

It wasn't packed with ferocious power, but its speed was much faster.

After barely blocking or dodging the Shadowless Blood Flash Sword a few times.

This time, he suddenly unleashed the Heavenly Wind Sword Art.

There was no time to draw a full moon.

Slice.

As my forearm was lightly cut again, a thought occurred to me.

Does it have to be a full moon?

After all, the full moon is just a shape. The true meaning isn't that.

After that, I exchanged blows with him a few more times.

When he tried to use the Heavenly Wind Sword Art again, I swung the Restoring Name Sword to meet his sword.

Instead of drawing a circle, the sword qi stretched out long along the trajectory of the Restoring Name Sword that advanced in a straight line.

It looked like an extremely thin and delicate piece of silk.

Or perhaps it looked like the moonlight faintly draped over the night sky.

At the same time, it felt like my brain was going to be stretched out like taffy.

It went beyond a throbbing headache to a pain as if my head was on fire.

It felt like my brain was going to melt.

As if this level of mastery was not permitted to me.

I ignored it.

Like a ruffian trampling on a clean snowfield, I advanced, trampling that realm with my muddy feet.

Drip.

Whether the nosebleed flowing from my nose increased or not, my eyes only followed his movements.

When he used the Shadowless Blood Flash Sword, I dodged or blocked with my movement technique, and when he suddenly used the Heavenly Wind Sword Art, I enveloped and deflected it with a simplified Moonlight Coiling Sword.

Occasionally, I would counterattack using techniques like Azure Heaven's Hidden Smile or the Flying Swallow Sword Art.

That was right. While my brain felt like it was melting, I was only now managing to fight on equal terms.

And if I kept using the Moonlight Coiling Sword, something might really go wrong with my head.

Instead of being cut by his sword, it felt like the Moonlight Coiling Sword was lacerating my brain.

Regardless, I bit my tongue and focused on his movements.

Hyeok Ilso, who was throwing his body around and swinging his sword.

Hyeok Ilso, whose posture didn't break at all despite the obstacles all over the ground and despite swinging his sword while twisting his body strangely.

As I followed his movements, my gaze naturally turned to his feet.

Suddenly, a strange sight entered my eyes.

A part of the inner energy that rushed through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians gathered at the soles of his feet.

Up to this point, there was nothing unusual. Whether it was a movement technique or footwork, it was natural for inner energy to flow to the soles of the feet.

But the flow of qi gathered at the soles of his feet was somehow subtly different.

It wasn't just flowing through the various blood points on the soles of his feet.

How should I describe that?

It was as if he was gripping the ground with his hands.

The qi flowing on the soles of his feet was gripping the ground.

It also looked as if a skein of qi was stuck to the ground.

For some reason, the image of Nam Geon, whose foot had been caught by the Human-faced Spider's silk, came to mind.

While I was focusing on that strange sight, he once again took a step and swung his sword.

Even while twisting my upper body minimally to dodge that sword strike, my eyes were fixed on his feet.

To be precise, his left foot, which had just pushed off the ground.

He concentrates inner energy on the soles of his feet to create explosive speed in an instant.

It was a natural principle.

But his inner energy didn't just gather at the soles of his feet and stop there.

A minute part of the qi skein came out of his Surging Fountain Acupoint.

In addition to the soles of his feet, it looked as if that qi was pushing off the ground together. Just like shooting a palm wind with one's hands.

As he performed a sword dance right in front of me, a laugh escaped me unknowingly.

“Hehehehehe.”

I finally understood.

The secret contained in the wondrous movement technique called Life and Death Blood Steps.

Just as I had brought out the subtlety of yielding through sword qi, the Life and Death Blood Steps used the qi flowing on the soles of the feet to grip or push off the ground.

Why was it that what I couldn't see before, I could see now?

The answer was not hard to find.

It was thanks to the Moonlight Coiling Sword.

If I had expressed softness with qi, he was pulling or pushing the ground through qi.

“Hehehehe. Thanks to you, I've learned a very useful technique.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You don't need to know.”

Hyeok Ilso furrowed his brow.

“Madman.”

Seeing the ugly bastard's face crumple was truly a fine sight.

“Now, prepare to die. After I kill you, I have something new to train.”

Although I had figured out the secret of the Life and Death Blood Steps, it was impossible to imitate it right now.

Just keeping up with the enlightenment from the Moonlight Coiling Sword was turning my brain into mush.

To imitate his Life and Death Blood Steps in this state?

I could clearly see a future where my brain would explode before I could kill him.

It didn't really matter.

Even if I couldn't imitate his technique right away, I had found a way to kill him.

He snorted and took a step.

In time with that moment, I shot an Azure Heaven's Hidden Smile towards his left leg.

His expression momentarily contorted.

He hastily moved his left leg to dodge it, but.

Slice.

With a faint cutting sound, a light spray of blood flew out.

At the same time, his Shadowless Blood Flash Sword flew at me.

Was it because he had hastily moved his left leg? Unlike before, a slightly deviated trajectory.

After easily dodging it, I swung the Restoring Name Sword at him.

No. To be precise, towards the empty space slightly to his right.

Soon after, his body, which was about to move to the right, abruptly stopped.

The Restoring Name Sword grazed his forearm.

Slice.

He looked at me with a grotesque expression.

“What did you do?”

“Hehehe.”

Now I could tell how he was trying to move.

I had watched his Life and Death Blood Steps quite a lot, from our last fight to this one.

But no matter how much I watched, I couldn't predict his movements.

From the same stance, his movements were always protean.

I couldn't even tell the difference even when watching the flow of qi with my second eye.

Because even though the qi gathered in his legs and feet in the same way, the result would be different each time.

But not anymore.

I could see that even if the inner energy flowed in the same way, there were subtle differences.

I could predict what movement he was going to make next.

“A man who is about to die doesn't need to know!!”

I closed in on him again.

Thanks to my eyes, I could see both the trajectory of the sword he would swing and the qi flowing through his body.

I had even figured out the secret hidden in the Life and Death Blood Steps.

When I can clearly see the future where he will move, what reason is there not to be able to keep up?

Watching the trajectory embroidered in the air, I deflect or dodge his sword momentum.

Then, whenever he uses the Absorption Art to grip the ground with the soles of his feet, I aim for that and unleash Azure Heaven's Hidden Smile.

Slice.

Cutting sounds and sprays of blood constantly fly from his body.

But there were no fatal wounds yet.

I wasn't trying to play with my opponent like that madman.

Every time my sword flew at him, he would react moment by moment, twisting the flow of his qi.

If I had done such a thing, it was a skill that would have twisted my qi and blood, causing me to vomit blood long ago.

After a few exchanges of fighting, inflicting only shallow cuts.

“Fine. Let’s go to the end and see who dies.”

The man, who had been focusing on evasion for a while, smiled coldly and swung his sword.

“I've already died once, so this time it’s your turn.”

I also willingly swung back at him.

Our swords clashed, and sparks flew.

Clang.

The blades that grazed past each other also skimmed across the other's body.

Slice.

Shallow cuts accumulated near vital points that would have been fatal if they were just an inch deeper.

If I moved by seeing the future, he was overcoming the crisis with his insight at every moment.

To think that I could only barely keep up by seeing the future. It was truly absurd.

If there was one fortunate thing, it was that.

Slice.

The number of times he was cut by the sword was more than me.

If there was a minor problem, it was that.

Drip.

The nosebleed flowing from my nose increased, and the headache was getting worse.

It had become a fight of whether I would kill him first, or my brain would turn to mush and I would die.

As expected, it was just a minor problem.

After all, if I stop, I die.

With that mindset, I threw my body and swung my sword a few more times.

Once again, the sight of the qi gathered at the soles of his feet gripping the ground entered my eyes.

The man, who had strongly gripped the ground, swung his sword ferociously.

The moment I aimed for his fixed leg and thrust the Restoring Name Sword at his heart.

I realized something was wrong.

The flow of qi flowing through his body twisted violently.

The qi on the soles of his feet that was gripping the ground suddenly pushed his body in reverse.

In accordance with this, the movement of his sword also changed.

The sword that was flying in ferociously suddenly flew stealthily and sharply like that of an assassin.

It seemed Hyeok Ilso had noticed.

The fact that I had realized the secret hidden in his movement technique.

And he used this to his advantage.

The future was reflected in my eyes.

His sharply twisted body.

The Restoring Name Sword that grazed his side instead of his heart.

And his sword piercing my neck.

Do I have to just accept the destined future?

I saw Hyeok Ilso’s face.

The arrogant smile of a genius. That smile that was mocking me.

With my brain already on fire, a rage that felt like it would melt my head surged.

Towards my damnably slow body. Towards this flesh that was mine, yet I couldn't handle it properly.

Towards the qi that flowed in my body, yet did not flow as I willed, I screamed like a madman.

Move.

Move.

Move, I said. You dog-like body!!

In the endlessly slow world.

The sword path that was advancing straight twisted, and my body also twisted to the side just a little.

As my movement twisted, Hyeok Ilso's sword path also began to twist slightly.

But no matter how much of a genius he was, was it difficult to twist a movement that had already been twisted once in a hurry?

The countless skeins of qi that flowed loftily through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

Some of them became entangled with each other, and sparks flew from various places in his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.

It seemed he had suffered internal injuries.

Regardless, I once again twisted my sword path to match his changed movement.

In that sliver of time, Hyeok Ilso and I continued to repeatedly twist our bodies and sword paths slightly.

After repeating that act a few times, now all the skeins of qi flowing in Hyeok Ilso's blood points were entangled with each other.

Was it because of the severe internal injuries? Hyeok Ilso's face, which had been mocking me, became completely distorted.

My face was reflected in his crumpled eyes.

A figure with blood flowing from all seven orifices, grinning like a madman.

I was no different from a ghost.

Soon after, a gruesome sound of flesh tearing echoed in succession.

Slice.

Squish.

At the same time, the flow of the world, which had been stretched to its limit, returned to its original speed.

Terrible pain raged throughout my body.

The most severe was my head. It was to the point where I wanted to split my head open and pull out my brain right away.

Funnily enough, the pain in other places was so great that I didn't even feel the pain from where his sword had grazed my neck.

What held my fading consciousness was Hyeok Ilso's voice.

“Damn....... it.......”

Looking at the state of the man with his heart pierced by the Restoring Name Sword, a laugh escaped me again.

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