"What is this..."
I never thought we would be attacked on this mountain.
Gakhae was a man who had been with the Rakshasa Monk Corps for twenty years.
He spent half of that time in the vanguard.
The subjugation of bandits south of Hangzhou, the annihilation of an Evil Cult on the East Sea coast.
The battlefields he had set foot on were too numerous to count on ten fingers.
That was why he knew.
This sortie was supposed to be a simple annihilation.
The remaining remnants of Hocheon numbered two or three hundred at most.
And half of them were likely injured.
It was a task that should have been over in half a day.
Simply put, he wanted to give Beopjong a chance to widely bestow the way of the Buddha.
In the Rakshasa Monk Corps, Beopjong was the Junior Brother most cherished by Gakhae, no, by most of the 'Gak' generation monks.
He was different from the others of the 'Beop' generation.
Not because his Bones and Sinews were good, but because his heart was soft, he was a child who put his sincerity into chanting.
When he was first given the Crescent Moon Saber, he couldn't eat for two days.
He remembered the day that child first put the Buddhist Law into practice.
The hand that hesitated for a long time, even with the Crescent Moon Saber at a bandit's throat.
The hand that trembled ceaselessly at the tip, even as he clenched it so hard his knuckles turned white.
Only when Gakhae placed a hand on his shoulder did the blade finally move.
After that, Beopjong's chanting deepened by another level.
A depth that only one who has fully preached the way of the Buddha can attain.
That was why this annihilation had to be an easy task.
It was a perfectly fitting opportunity for Beopjong to spread the way of the Buddha with his own hands against the remnants of Hocheon, most of whom were injured.
That was the plan, and it had to be that way...
"Senior Brother Gakhae."
Beopjong, who was following closely behind, called out to him.
"The vanguard is quiet."
Gakhae's eyes narrowed.
Two hundred in the vanguard.
They went up the mountain half a quarter of an hour ago.
It was strange that no battle report had come down, but it wasn't unheard of for the mountain terrain to block Sound Transmission, so it wasn't that strange.
However.
The vanguard's chanting itself had stopped.
The vibration that shook the earth, born from hundreds of voices layered as one, had been abruptly cut off halfway up the mountain.
The chanting of the main force coming up from below was still present, but the echo of the vanguard that should have come down from above had vanished.
Chanting was a Rakshasa Monk's lifeline.
As long as they were breathing, their mouths were meant to chant the sutras.
This was especially true when spreading the way of the Buddha...
For it to be cut off all at once meant- "The Sound Transmission isn't connecting either."
A pale-faced Beopjong brought him back to reality once more.
"...Did you say all of them?"
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Gakhae did not answer.
He couldn't.
The chanting of two hundred could not stop simultaneously.
Even if there had been an ambush, individual skirmishes would have continued, and some residual sound would have remained.
All at once... It was something he could never understand, something that should never have happened.
At that moment.
Kugugugu-
The mountain shook.
It wasn't from beneath his feet.
It was a vibration coming down from the middle of the mountain, as if something gigantic was treading on the mountain itself.
And then.
The air changed.
The vibration of the chanting pouring out from hundreds of mouths distorted all at once.
Simultaneously, the tongues chanting the sutras stiffened, and their jaws locked.
Their breathing grew heavy.
It felt less like inhaling and more like the air was crushing their chests.
'An unseen energy is pressing down on the entire mountain...
Gakhae knew of nothing like this.
It wasn't the pressure emitted by someone possessing Qi.
The space itself had changed.
All movement became sluggish as if submerged in water, and the Internal Energy he tried to expel through his Meridians dissipating into the air. was melting and
He immediately tried to use Sound Transmission to all the men following behind him, but it didn't work.
The Qi... the Qi Wave was failing to produce sound.
In this space.
In urgency, he let out a shout.
If a Qi Wave wouldn't work, he had no choice but to use his natural voice as a temporary measure.
"Maintain the formation! Do not fall back!"
His voice, devoid of True Qi, was weaker than the mountain wind.
The front line was pushed back, the rear line tripped over the front, the hands of his junior brothers holding the Crescent Moon Sabers trembled, and the tips of the long spears shook erratically.
A Rakshasa Monk who has lost his chanting is nothing more than a monk with a blade...
And in that very instant.
A man was walking down from above.
Slowly.
He was in no hurry.
"Namu Amitabha!"
The Rakshasa Monk standing at the very front swung his Crescent Moon Saber, but.
Seogeok-.
A white line was drawn in the air, and the leading Rakshasa Monk fell.
And his next step followed.
In response, the Rakshasa Monks swarmed him again, but it was no use.
With each white line, a dozen Rakshasa Monks were beheaded, cut in half at the waist, their necks severed.
His expression didn't change.
No anger, no killing intent, no excitement could be read from him at all.
He just kept walking steadily towards them.
That was all, yet wherever his feet touched the ground, crimson-brown monastic robes fell like leaves.
Was that all?
Seogeogeogeogeok!
"Ah, these monk bastards! They keep coming endlessly."
From one side, Sword Qi flew in continuously.
The figure who suddenly appeared and rushed about was a woman.
Her elegant yet cruel sword persistently aimed only for the knees.
Three or four Rakshasa Monks were paralyzed from the waist down in succession and collapsed.
From the rear, Lightning erupted.
Peo-eong!
Muscles contracted and joints locked up as the rear ranks crumbled.
The lightly armed monks who had been maintaining the chanting fell first, and as they collapsed, even the lingering echoes of the chanting died out.
'Are we... surrounded?'
On three sides, no less.
Gakhae realized that it was not the remnants who were surrounded, but their own Dark Rakshasa Way, when the man was about ten steps away.
However.
There was an energy rising from the foot of the mountain.
Two streams.
One was a heavy Qi that shook the mountain.
The other was a deep sound that colored the atmosphere.
Both were different in density from the miscellaneous energies filling this battlefield.
Senior Brother Gakjin.
Senior Brother Beom-eum.
'The Eight Rakshasas are coming. I just need to hold on until then.!'
Heat stirred in Gakhae's chest.
He quickly grabbed Beopjong's shoulder, pulled him closer, and shouted.
"Hold on! Our Senior Brothers are coming!"
But even as the aura of the Eight Rakshasas climbed the mountain, the man's feet were steadily approaching, one step at a time.
It was clear that the man would arrive before the Eight Rakshasas reached the mountainside.
'One quarter of an hour.'
He had to hold out for a quarter of an hour for his Senior Brothers to arrive.
Gakhae gritted his teeth.
He pushed Beopjong behind him and raised his Crescent Moon Saber.
Wuuung-.
He poured all the Internal Energy he had cultivated over twenty years of living by the sword of the Dark Rakshasa Way onto the blade.
"Namu Amitabha!"
With a single verse of chanting, the Crescent Moon Saber shone.
The Dharma-Protecting Saber of the Rakshasa Monk Corps.
A martial art perfected only when the chanting and the blade become one.
The dozen or so Rakshasa Monks remaining behind barely managed to pull themselves together at Gakhae's shout.
Their chanting had ceased, but they were still Rakshasa Monks.
Strength returned to the hands gripping their Crescent Moon Sabers.
"Dharma-Protecting Formation!"
A team of three.
Three Crescent Moon Sabers drew a single trajectory, blocking the man's path.
The man's steps halted for the first time.
Or maybe not?
It seemed he hadn't stopped.
He was merely watching the trajectory of the three blades.
He didn't even raise his sword.
Then, just before the trajectories reached his body.
Seogeok-.
His sword moved just once, yet all three Crescent Moon Sabers were sent flying at the same time.
One of the blades split in half, and the wrists of the other two were bent back, forcing them to drop their sabers.
One exchange.
In a single exchange, the Dharma-Protecting Formation crumbled.
"Our Senior Brothers are coming!"
Gakhae roared and immediately filled the empty space.
He held his Crescent Moon Saber vertically to receive the man's sword strike.
Kaang-!
A shock as if his hands gripping the hilt were being torn apart reverberated up his arms to his shoulders.
His bones vibrated.
It was a kind of weight he had never experienced before.
It was not just Internal Energy, but the force of the space itself pressing down, creating a Heavy Sword so immense that he couldn't even dare to resist it.
Nevertheless, he somehow endured it.
The mere fact that his saber wasn't sent flying made him better than the three in the Dharma-Protecting Formation.
Gakhae's Crescent Moon Saber slid along the man's sword, deflecting it and drawing an arc for a counterattack.
Rakshasa Dharma-Protecting Saber First Form, Demon-Subduing Horizontal Slash.
It was the first form a Rakshasa Monk learns.
A move that could cut even without chanting, the very first technique Gakhae had learned twenty years ago.
Therefore, it was the technique most deeply ingrained in his body.
Gakhae's body spun.
He was converting the Internal Energy from the man's attack into an exact reversing force and returning it.
The gleaming Crescent Moon Saber generated a formidable force as it swung towards the man's upper body.
However.
Seupat-.
The man merely leaned his upper body back by half a handspan, and the blade cut through empty air.
The stray Saber Qi only futilely cut down dozens of trees in front of him.
In contrast, the counterattack was immediate.
Beontteuk-.
A white line was drawn in the air.
Kaang-!
He barely managed to withdraw his Saber Qi and raise his Crescent Moon Saber to intercept the opponent's Sword Qi mid-air.
But the blade was completely chipped.
Jjeojeojeok, a crack could be clearly seen spreading up the back of the blade.
At that moment.
Two Rakshasa Monks leaped in from the left and right.
The structure of the Dharma-Protecting Formation was already gone, but it was a combined attack aimed at the opening while the man's sword was tied up with Gakhae.
However.
The man's head tilted left, then right.
Seueut-.
Seueut-.
Two white lines crossed, splitting their bodies.
"...It can't be."
The man held a sword in his mouth.
A blade held in a reverse grip between his pearly white teeth.
While the sword in his hand remained as it was, a second sword, drawn from somewhere, was held in his mouth, cutting down the two with just a nod of his head.
Without even looking.
That sword moved again.
His head tilted once more, and a white line was drawn.
Kwaang-!
The Crescent Moon Saber shattered.
The blade fragments flew through the air and rained down on the remaining Rakshasa Monks.
Each fragment became a deadly weapon, embedding itself in the crimson-brown monastic robes.
The man swallowed the sword from his mouth.
No, I'm not sure.
I don't know if that's the right expression.
I felt that way because the sword I thought he was holding in his mouth just a moment ago had disappeared.
Now, only the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword in his hand remained where it was before.
All that was left in Gakhae's hand was the hilt and half a handspan of the blade.
His palms were already cracked open, blood streaming down.
Still, Gakhae did not discard the broken Crescent Moon Saber.
There was nothing he could do with only half a handspan of blade left, but he knew that if he let go, it would be the end.
If he let go, there would be nothing left in front of Beopjong.
From behind him, he could hear Beopjong's trembling breath.
A breath that tried to chant the sutras, but the tongue was too stiff to form the sounds.
"Beyond this point... You shall not take another step."
Gakhae raised the broken blade.
Dong Bongsu looked at Gakhae in silence, and their eyes naturally met.
Eves that still revealed nothing.
Not hatred, not mercy, not contempt.
Not even killing intent.
To Dong Bongsu, Gakhae was a stone on his path.
Nothing more than a small pebble that wouldn't even trip him.
"Namu..."
The last verse of his chanting was not even half-finished.
Seueut-.
One line.
Gakhae's vision tilted.
His knees buckled first, and the world turned sideways.
A line of heat pierced him from chest to back.
Dirt touched his cheek.
At the edge of his blurring vision, he saw Beopjong.
He was standing there, blocking the man's path, holding the Crescent Moon Saber aloft with both hands.
His whole body was trembling, just like that day he first practiced the Buddhist Law.
He was clenching it so hard his knuckles had turned white.
The only difference from that time was that Gakhae's hand was not on his shoulder.
Seueut-.
Another line was drawn.
Beopjong's Crescent Moon Saber was split in two in mid-air.
The child's small neck was severed, and the sight of his head and body flying separately was clearly captured in his eyes.
"Eu, geureureu..."
Gakhae's hands clawed at the dirt, but they couldn't reach.
No, it was impossible.
Because the limbs of a decapitated corpse can no longer function.
The freshly severed head of Beopjong fell right onto his corpse.
And then.
Dong Bongsu kicked them aside one after another and continued to advance.
But after just a few steps, Dong Bongsu's advance came to a halt.
The steps that had not stopped even once since he set foot on this mountain finally came to a standstill.
Wuuuuuuuuuung-!
Chanting covered the mountain.
It was on a different level from before.
The chanting that couldn't change the mountain's air even when recited by hundreds was now making the entire mountain resonate with the voice of just one person.
Leaves flipped over from the vibration, and the blood pooled on the corpses spread out in concentric circles.
Fine cracks spread like spiderwebs across the surfaces of the rocks, and at a certain point, they burst.
Dong Bongsu's Super True Qi Field and the vibration of the chanting collided head-on at the mountainside.
Jjeong-!
The air tore, and the atmosphere violently fluctuated.
Along the boundary line where the two invisible forces clashed, tree branches split and dirt shot up.
The crimson-brown monastic robes covering the field of corpses were blown upwards like leaves.
And parting those leaves, a single figure flew down.
Kwang-!
A trident plunged into a rock covered with corpses.
A trident longer than an average man's height.
It pierced through the rock on the mountainside and embedded itself.
The rock was torn to shreds, and the resulting shockwave swept through the field of corpses, sending fragments flying in all directions.
Kurururururururu...
Only after a long while did the dust settle, and the figure of a man like a mountain was slowly revealed.
A monk, eight feet tall with shoulders as wide as a door, the muscles of the arm pulling out the trident, bulging like rocks beneath his crimson-brown monastic robe.
And.
Behind him, a solemn chant was echoing.
A lean frame.
Closed eyes.
Slightly parted lips visible through the loose monastic robe were ceaselessly chanting the sutras.
The chanting of a single person was making the mountain ring and the field of corpses vibrate, clashing head-on with Dong Bongsu's Super True Qi Field.
The second of the Eight Rakshasas, Gakjin.
The fifth of the Eight Rakshasas, Beom-eum.
Gakjin's eyes swept over the remains of the corpses at his feet.
On the mountainside covered in crimson-brown monastic robes, there were, of course, no more Rakshasa Monks standing.
In the middle of it all lay two decapitated corpses.
Gakhae and Beopjong.
They were his most cherished comrade and junior brother.
In the hand gripping the trident, veins like earthworms bulged one after another.
"You bastard!"
One of the Seven Great Demonic Sects, the Dark Rakshasa Way.
Slaughter is Liberation.
Under the twisted Buddhist Law that both the killer and the killed are saved, the blood they have shed in this Central Plains for eight hundred years has formed rivers and seas.
Those who draw mandalas with blood and craft Dharma Artifacts from human bones.
And the Twelve Rakshasas were the purest crystallization of that madness.
If the Upper Four Rakshasas were the cult's shield, the Lower Eight Rakshasas were its sword.
Wherever the Dark Rakshasa Great Venerate pointed his finger, the sword of the Eight Rakshasas would strike.
Their most recent achievement was the annihilation of five hundred members of the Vast Heaven Infinite Sword Sect's Branch Sword Corps in a single night, so there was no need to speak further of the weight of that sword.
Now, two of them were charging towards Dong Bongsu.
Kwang-!
-x-X-x-
Kwoooong-.
Jin Hagyeong felt a vibration coming from under his feet.
A tremor that crawled up from the soles of his feet to his calves.
The ground was not shaking.
Something rising from below the mountain was pounding the entire ridge.
And the dreadful sound of chanting, like clashing metal.
Fog still shrouded the mountainside, so he couldn't see below, but the sound alone allowed him to gauge the battlefield.
The Demonic Soldiers of the Dark Rakshasa Way must have swarmed in by the hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand.
And that wasn't all.
'The Twelve Rakshasas must have come as well...
Jin Hagyeong's gaze turned toward the ridge below.
He did not turn his head, even as he felt his empty left sleeve flutter in the morning breeze.
The shoulder where his arm should have been felt cold.
It probably wasn't just because of the morning air.
Na-mu-a-mi-ta-bul-.
Na-mu-a-mi-ta-bul-.
The two-layered chanting relentlessly pounded his hearing and his Dantian.
When he first came up, it had definitely been a single layer.
That heavy resonance, where hundreds of voices overlapped as one, had been there for a while.
But now, another layer was laid on top of it.
If the first was hundreds of voices, the one added on top was a single voice.
Though it was just one, he could feel it overwhelming the hundreds, flowing clearly in one direction.
Kurururururu-.
For that reason, the entire mountain was trembling.
The wooden poles of the tent where the injured lay rattled, and the pebbles on the rocky ground shifted slightly.
"Great Hero."
Jeon Rahwa approached.
Her eyes were narrowed as if trying to pierce through the fog.
"We have to go down now."
Jin Hagyeong did not answer.
The one fighting below was the Sect Leader of the Hero's Sect, and beside him were two incredibly strong Formation Masters.
Nothing would change just because someone like him went down.
After all, there was nothing he, who had lost an arm, could do on that battlefield.
However, there was something he could do here.
Jin Hagyeong's gaze swept over the temporary camp in front of Colorful Lake.
Most of them were injured.
How many could even hold a sword?
Hoae stood blocking Seok Gyeong's path.
Seok Gyeong's hand trembled on his sword hilt, but he did not let go.
Kugugugu-.
The vibration grew even more intense.
One of the two layers of chanting suddenly stopped.
The sound of hundreds had vanished.
All that remained was a single one.
But still, that single chant was shaking the entire mountain.
A vibration that resonated not under his feet, but through his entire body.
A few of the injured raised their heads.
It was a tremor felt even by those who couldn't get up due to their injuries.
One of the defeated soldiers stood up, using a broken sword for support.
Another one next to him.
And one more.
Watching them silently, Jin Hagyeong clenched his jaw so hard it felt like his molars would break, and spat out his words.
"All who can hold a sword hilt, rise."
We must fight with these already broken bodies.
We must fight even if we turn to dust.
When heroes are fighting like that, shouldn't we at least add our dust to the cause?
Sreung-.
He drew his sword with his remaining hand.
...
Kwo-gwang!
The trident slammed down.
A boulder shattered, sending fragments flying in all directions.
Gakjin crushed the impact of his landing with both feet and lowered his gaze.
Crimson monk robes.
Amidst the crimson-robed corpses covering the mountainside, two decapitated bodies lay side by side.
Gakhae and Beopjong.
And.
Gakhae's Crescent Moon Saber, shattered into pieces not even half a handspan long, lay scattered beside him.
The broken hilt was still in his hand, not yet cold.
He hadn't let go even in death.
Beopjong's body bore an inexplicable wound.
A traceless slash, as if a sword had sprung from empty air.
A mark suggesting the blade's angle of entry was not from outside to inside, but seemed to have opened up from inside to outside.
'What kind of technique is this?'
The veins on the hand gripping the trident bulged.
They had walked together for twenty years.
He and Gakhae had entered the Rakshasa Monk Corps on the same day, and Beopjong was the youngest member whom Gakhae had cherished the most.
Moreover, wasn't he a child not yet fifteen?
The boiling rage soon subsided.
All that remained in its place was Killing Intent.
The chanting resounded from behind.
It was Beom-eum's.
That single person's chant was vibrating the entire mountain, clashing head-on with Dong Bongsu's invisible energy.
And along with the chant.
Tteng-.
A clear metallic sound echoed across the mountainside.
It was a bronze alms bowl.
The alms bowl that Beom-eum held on his left palm.
The fingertips of his right hand struck the rim of the bowl, and the lingering resonance from that single strike overlapped with the low tones of the chant, creating a harmony.
If the chant was the melody, the alms bowl was the beat.
When the melody and beat overlapped, a sea of sound spread around Beom-eum.
The Brahma's Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds.
As the bowl's resonance rode the melody of the chant and spread out, everything within the sound's reach became Beom-eum.
The Brahma's Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds.
As the bowl's resonance rode the melody of the chant and spread out, everything within the sound's reach became Beom-eum's.
The vibration of the rocks, the trembling of the leaves, even the ripples of blood pooled on the corpses.
Ten thousand sounds were submerged in a single sea.
The Brahma's Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds swallowed the mountainside.
Dong Bongsu's Super True Qi Field and Beom-eum's Brahma's Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds were clashing head-on for control of this mountain.
In any case, because of that, the enemy, Dong Bongsu, had stopped in his tracks.
Good.
Since Beom-eum had spread his Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds, he just had to fight within it.
The synergy they had built over twenty years.
Gakjin's trident was pulled from the ground.
"Benefactor. How can you commit such a cruel act without hesitation? How could you use such a vicious killing move on a child so young?"
Dong Bongsu's white teeth were revealed.
"He had to die for blocking my path."
A vein like a caterpillar popped out on Gakjin's temple.
"Is that so? Then you, Benefactor, must also go to meet the Buddha. For you have blocked the path of us two."
A charge.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
With every step the eight-foot-tall figure took, the ground cracked open.
A strength and Internal Energy that wouldn't budge even if three Peak Masters pushed against it, carved a giant's footprint into the ground with every step.
Tteng-.
As if in support, Beom-eum's alms bowl rang a second time.
In tune with its resonance, the pressure of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds thickened by another layer.
The surface of the invisible barrier surrounding Dong Bongsu, the one that made the air as heavy as water, trembled minutely.
The waves of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds were interfering with the density of the Super True Qi Field.
'Now.'
Rakshasa Dharma-Protecting Saber, Second Form.
Demon-Rending Slash.
Pwaat!
The trident thrust horizontally at waist level.
The moment Spear Aura was imbued into the three prongs, the air around the trident tore, and three streams of aura advanced, twisting around the three tips as if tying a knot.
With the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds laid out, the density of the Spear Aura was also doubled.
Beom-eum's chant was supporting it.
The three streams of Spear Aura from the trident fed on the melody of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds and grew thicker.
An aura that grew by feeding on sound as nourishment.
Chaeng!
Dong Bongsu's sword blocked it.
The Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.
The pitch-black blade met the three prongs of the trident head-on.
Sparks flew.
The shock traveled up the trident's shaft in a straight line, from his wrist to his forearm, and all the way to his shoulder joint.
One clash.
With this single exchange, Gakjin could tell.
The power in Dong Bongsu's sword was not at a level to receive the three streams of Spear Aura head-on.
He had merely deflected it.
He had shifted the trident's trajectory by less than half an inch, diverting the direction of the force itself.
The vibration that traveled up the shaft was proof.
The fact that the shock returned in full meant the opponent hadn't taken the force.
'...To think he can deflect Aura.'
However.
It didn't matter whether he deflected the Aura or did whatever else.
The trident would return with every clash.
And the trident's Aura, struck within the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds, would grow heavier and more intense with each clash.
Gakjin spun the shaft, bringing the opposite blade to bear.
Rakshasa Dharma-Protecting Saber, First Form.
Demon-Subduing Horizontal Slash.
Kaaang!
The centrifugal force from the trident's spin concentrated on the right prong, sweeping the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword upward.
The tip of the prong grazed Dong Bongsu's left shoulder.
Just from that graze, Dong Bongsu's body was pushed back half a handspan.
No. The expression 'pushed back' wasn't right.
The marks his two feet carved into the ground were not half a handspan, but two Zhang.
What the rock-like muscles bulging beneath the crimson robes had sent through the trident was not technique, but a pure mass of Aura.
Along the trajectory where Dong Bongsu was pushed back, grinding the ground with the soles of his feet, the rock split as if it had been plowed.
Tteng-.
Beom-eum's alms bowl rang once again.
The beat was quickening.
The tune of the chant leading the melody rose by a half-step, and the waves of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds grew sharper.
Chaeng!
This time, it wasn't a thrust, but a hook.
The two outer prongs of the trident caught the blade of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.
The moment the blade was caught between the prongs, he twisted the shaft, forcibly bending the sword's trajectory.
Ujijik!
Not the ground under Dong Bongsu's feet, but the entire ground between them split for a length of ten-odd Zhang along the slope.
The force from the Spear Aura and the sword's aura, twisting together, had been discharged into the ground.
From both sides of the fissure, rocks surged up and then crumbled.
The fragments scattered in all directions like exploding fire bombs, tearing the robes of the surrounding corpses.
Whether one should call it natural or expected.
The enemy retreated abruptly.
'It's working.'
Tteng.
Tteng.
Tteng-tteng-tteng.
Beom-eum's alms bowl rang in a rapid succession.
From a slow three-beat to a fast five-beat.
The moment the beat changed, the density of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds fluctuated.
The waves interfered with Dong Bongsu's Super True Qi Field, and moments where the barrier's density thinned came and went repeatedly.
The ebb and flow of the tide.
If he thrust the trident into that thinning instant, the weight of each clash increased by more than ten thousand jin.
Beom-eum created the tide of the Super True Qi Field with his beat, and Gakjin pierced the gaps in the tide with his trident.
An ensemble built over twenty years.
Kakang!
The trident slid across the sword's blade, clashing three consecutive times.
On the third contact, the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword vibrated and trembled on its blade for the first time.
'It went through.'
-x-X-x-
He pushed harder.
Third Form of the Rakshasa Dharma-Protecting Saber.
Bone-Shattering Heaven-Rushing Strike.
Kwwaaaaang-!
A move where the entire weight of the trident was brought down vertically in a single strike.
Ddaeng-!
Beom-eum's alms bowl rang out long and deep.
It was not a short chime, but a prolonged one.
The lingering resonance of the bowl traveled through the trident's metal, resonating with the Internal Energy and amplifying the shockwave.
Sound Art Resonance.
A strike combining the original power of Bone-Shattering Heaven-Rushing Strike with the resonance of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds.
Dong Bongsu's Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword rose horizontally to block it.
Fwoooosh-!
The shockwave spread outward, sweeping away everything within a twenty-zhang radius.
Five or six trees on the mountainside were uprooted and flung into the air.
The reddish-brown monk robes covering the field of corpses curled up like leaves, torn to shreds in mid-air, and the four nearest corpses disintegrated, torn to pieces and reduced to dust.
Rumble... The mountainside collapsed.
The very ground where the two stood could not bear the weight and began to slide down the slope.
Rocks, soil, corpses, and broken trees tangled together, cascading down like a landslide.
Dong Bongsu's feet sank half a foot into the ground, and he did not slip even on the crumbling earth.
The rock beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb, the fissures extending all the way down the slope.
The cracks ran across the field of corpses to the wooded area at the foot of the mountain.
And then.
A strand of Spear Aura finally tore the hem of Dong Bongsu's robes at his waist.
Not his flesh, but his clothes.
But it had touched him.
Dong Bongsu's gaze shifted slightly.
Toward the torn hem.
Gakjin did not miss that single shift of his eyes.
He pushed harder.
He raised the trident high.
This time, he aimed for the crown of Dong Bongsu's head.
Pssh-!
But Dong Bongsu moved first.
He twisted his body to the side and stepped on the shaft of the descending trident.
With one foot.
Kwajak!
The trident was pinned to the ground, following the exact trajectory of its downward strike.
Dong Bongsu's entire weight and the Powerful Force pressed down on the hands gripping the shaft, making Gakjin's shoulder joints creak.
Stepping on it, Dong Bongsu vaulted right over Gakjin's head.
And he first shot a Super Spinning Sword Aura toward Beom-eum.
A bundle of rapidly spinning Aura, revealing itself after a long time.
Kwarururururu-!
The Aura that tore and distorted space left the sword's tip, extending in a straight line and piercing through the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds.
The Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds.
The space dominated by the sea of soundwaves was instantly shattered, fragmented, and scattered in all directions.
As the sea of sound broke into pieces, the mountain fell silent all at once.
That was not all.
The Spinning Sword Aura flew past Beom-eum and reached the ridge of the mountainside.
Kuuuung-!
The ridge split apart.
The rocky ridge forming the mountain's spine cracked wide open down the middle.
A fissure dozens of zhang long pierced the center of the ridge, and the rocks on both sides of the crack tumbled down the slope.
At the same time, the balance was lost, triggering a landslide.
Kwarururururu... In the midst of it all, the trident slipped from Gakjin's hands.
The shock just inflicted upon his wrist and shoulder had completely destroyed his Bones and Sinews.
"Haa, haa..."
The Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds was gone.
The twenty-year duet they thought was invincible had been shattered in a single move.
Still.
Could he stop?
He abandoned the trident and threw his body forward with bare hands.
No. They were not bare hands.
He gathered all his remaining Internal Energy into both fists.
'All' was an understatement.
He pushed beyond the limits his Meridians could bear, feeling his blood vessels burst and blood stream down the back of his hands.
He scraped the very bottom of his Dantian, Heart Meridian, and Spiritual Root to unleash his innate qi.
It didn't matter.
If he could kill that monster with this one move, he would gladly leap into the Buddha's embrace.
G000000000oooh-.
He gathered all his Internal Energy in the center of his forehead.
His skin split, revealing bone, and blood gushed out, dyeing his vision red.
Both fists and his forehead.
Three points.
The three prongs of a trident.
Body-Shattering Three-Pronged Fork.
It was a move not found in the Rakshasa Dharma-Protecting Saber art.
It was not written in any of the cult's scriptures.
It was a martial art created by Gakjin, one he had hoped never to use in his life...
After living with a trident for twenty years, he realized he could thrust even without it, that his body remembered the trajectory of the three prongs even without a shaft, and that he could pour all his life force into it...
It was a technique of Mutual Destruction.
Wuuung-!
All his Internal Energy condensed with his blood into his fists and forehead.
His knuckles began to separate, unable to withstand the pressure of the Internal Energy.
The joints of his fingers swelled rapidly, and under the skin of his forehead, hundreds, thousands of veins bulged and squirmed like worms.
Beyond his red vision, he saw Dong Bongsu's back.
The momentary opening as he landed after sending the Spinning Sword Aura toward Beom-eum.
Thud-!
The force of his kick shattered the rock Gakjin had been standing on.
Using the recoil, his eight-foot-tall body shot forward like a cannonball.
Both fists forward.
His forehead between them.
The three points formed a triangle, plunging toward Dong Bongsu's back.
There was no Aura, no move.
It was the trident itself, forged from bone, flesh, and blood.
'Gakhae, Beopjong. Wait for me for a moment by the Buddha's side.!'
A jet-black Killing Intent formed at the three points.
He could feel his body breaking apart.
And yet, he grew faster.
At that moment.
Dong Bongsu turned around.
His right hand, holding the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword, did not move.
His left hand rose.
Click.
Light gathered at the tip of his left hand.
[Faith Arrow].
Pssh-!
The first arrow was fired toward Gakjin's forehead.
Light and Internal Energy collided head-on.
The Aura gathered on his forehead melted away like a candle flame.
The skin on his skull burned, and smoke rose.
But Gakjin's body did not stop.
Only one of the three points had been extinguished.
Both fists continued to plunge toward Dong Bongsu.
In a flash.
Pssh-!
The second arrow burned his left fist.
Another instant.
Pssh-!
The third arrow burned his right hand.
All three points were extinguished.
The smoke rising from his forehead and both fists enveloped Gakjin's body, streaming behind him.
Still, Gakjin's body flew forward on inertia.
His bare flesh, devoid of Aura, his scorched bones, reached right before Dong Bongsu's nose.
Wuuung.
The Super True Qi Field rippled.
Localized Concentration.
Thwump-!
The eight-foot-tall body stopped in mid-air.
An invisible sea had swallowed Gakjin's body.
His ribs were pushed inward, and the Internal Energy he tried to expel through his Meridians dissolved and scattered into the air.
Crunch.
He was being crushed to death in mid-air.
Still, Gakjin's eyes were on Dong Bongsu.
Dong Bongsu raised his sword.
There was no special starting stance.
Only, his left hand moved once more.
Click.
A fourth Faith Arrow bloomed and overlaid itself on the blade of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.
The Sacred Light rested upon the jet-black blade, becoming a single line of a sword.
On top of that, the density of the Super True Qi Field converged around the blade.
The entire hundred-pace field had been compressed onto that single line of a sword.
Three powers overlapped on a single sword.
Windless Sword Art.
Ssssh-.
There was no sound.
No wind blew.
The sword was only drawn horizontally once.
But that single move sliced the world.
Kuwaaaaaang-!
Gakjin's body was split horizontally at the waist.
Before blood could even burst forth, the sword's trajectory passed through Gakjin and extended behind him.
It didn't just extend.
The mountain ridge was severed.
From where Dong Bongsu stood, in the direction the sword was pointed, the mountainside slope was horizontally pierced.
The sword's trajectory cut through the ground, through rocks, through trees, and through the mountain's ridge, extending to the other side.
The upper part of the mountain was separating from the lower part.
Rrrrrrrumble-!
The severed upper part of the mountain slid.
Tens of thousands of catties of rock, soil, and trees were pushed aside at once, changing the shape of the mountain.
That was not all.
The sword's trajectory did not stop with one mountain.
Kwaang-!
The first ridge behind it was severed.
Kwaang-!
The second.
Kwaang-!
The third.
Kwaaaang-!
All the way to the ridge of the fourth mountain, it was sliced in a straight line.
The waists of a mountain range spanning several li had been severed in order.
Kuuuuuuung-!
The earth cried out.
The vibrations created by a single sword traveled through the mountain range, and flocks of birds in the distance soared into the sky at once.
The fog was instantly pushed away by the shockwave, and the morning sunlight illuminated the cross-sections of the severed ridges.
Four scars.
The four scars carved in a straight line on the mountain range stretched far into the distance.
The cross-sections were smooth.
As if tofu had been cut with a knife.
The dust slowly settled.
Gakjin's upper body hit the ground first.
No blood flowed from the severed surface.
The heat of the sword must have cauterized the blood vessels.
His lower body had collapsed separately, three steps behind.
Gakjin's eyes were still open.
At the edge of his blurring vision, he could see the severed mountain ridges.
One line.
Two lines.
Three lines.
Four lines.
The smooth cross-sections illuminated by the morning sun shone brown and gray.
'...Not human.'
The feeling in the hand he had stretched toward Beom-eum was fading.
His vision narrowed.
The light vanished.
Thud.
The sound of Dong Bongsu's footsteps passed by him.
His gaze did not linger there.
Click.
[Sudden Quest - Rakshasa of Slaughter]
[Progress: 1/2]
""
Just then, Yan Bilyeong and Myo Jinheo, who had finished off the Rakshasa Monks in the area, flew over.
Neither of them could close their mouths.
Four severed mountain ridges.
The smooth cross-sections revealed where the fog had cleared.
The inner flesh of the mountains illuminated by the morning sun.
That was.
"...Sect Leader."
The only thought was that it was not something a human could do.
Yan Bilyeong spoke first, her voice trembling slightly.
"Did you have some kind of grudge against those mountains?"
"Haha... It does look that way."
Myo Jinheo raised an eyebrow.
His gaze as he looked at the cross-sections of the ridges was strange.
A look that was half awe and half disbelief.
"If you were angry with the Unorthodox, you should have taken it out on them. Why vent your anger on the mountain range?"
But Dong Bongsu neither looked back at them nor answered.
He just kept his gaze fixed elsewhere.
The spot where Beom-eum had fallen.
"..."
Something was changing within Beom-eum's body.
The Super True Qi Field sensed it.
The very quality of the Qi inside him was changing.
It was not the Internal Energy of a Rakshasa Monk, nor the lingering resonance of the sound art, but something entirely different.
'I can't read it!
And then.
Beom-eum was slowly getting up.
Light seeped out from under his monk's robes.
A soft, even light.
A light different from the morning sun, neither cold nor hot, a light that should not exist on this mountain.
Yan Bilyeong's mouth fell open on its own.
"...Wasn't it over?"
Dong Bongsu gripped his sword again.
"Looks like it's not over yet."
-x-X-x-
Jin Hagyeong stood with his sword drawn, staring up the mountain.
Something had flashed beyond the fog.
The distance from the Colorful Lake's main camp to the mountainside was over two hundred Zhang, and the early morning fog filled the space between them, making it impossible to see clearly, but he could feel it quite distinctly.
It was because the vibrations under his feet had clearly changed.
Until just a moment ago, it had been intense enough, but it was the level of a battle that could exist within the bounds of the Murim.
The collision of Internal Energy against Internal Energy, a tremor that was audible and understandable.
However.
It was different now.
An inexplicable light was piercing through the fog, and the very quality of the vibrations had changed.
"This... I'm not the only one feeling this, am I?"
Jeon Rahwa stood next to Jin Hagyeong, her hand resting on her sword.
"Can you feel it too, Young Lady?"
"Yes"
Jeon Rahwa's reply was short, but there was an edge to her voice.
But they had no time to fully register this immense threat.
Papat-!
"The flank!"
The moment Jin Hagyeong's shout fell, reddish-brown monk robes burst out from the foothills.
The remaining group of Rakshasa Monks.
Even at a glance, there appeared to be at least several dozen.
Due to the aftermath of the battle on the mountain, the scattered forces were flowing down the foothills toward them.
Their ranks were broken, and their chanting had stopped, but the hands gripping their Crescent Moon Sabers were still alive.
No matter how thoroughly they were crushed by Dong Bongsu's party, they were still the Rakshasa Monks of the Dark Rakshasa Way.
"Namu Amitabha-!"
The leading Rakshasa Monk rushed in, swinging his Crescent Moon Saber.
Sukeong-.
Jeon Rahwa's sword was faster.
Her sword, imbued with the Cold Qi of the Twin Snow Yin Cold Art, slashed upward diagonally, striking away the Rakshasa Monk's Crescent Moon Saber.
As the tip of her sword grazed the monk's robe, frost bloomed on the reddish-brown cloth.
At that, the Rakshasa Monk's shoulder froze over, and then.
Jjeong.
It shattered.
Paat-!
Jeon Rahwa immediately cut the Rakshasa Monk's throat.
Not stopping there, she lowered her body and charged.
Her sword drew a horizontal line, freezing the second Rakshasa Monk's knees, and sliced clean through the third's wrist.
Two Crescent Moon Sabers spun in the air and fell to the ground.
And before the two bewildered bald heads could even think 'what is this?', she cut their throats as well.
It was short.
But it was intense.
"Haa, haa-."
Due to the Cold Qi she had unleashed, her breath was turning into a thick white mist.
It was her first real battle, but surprisingly, she wasn't nervous.
As if she had always been waiting for this, she drew her sword and swept through the enemies.
"Move the children and the injured to the back first!"
As if to match Jeon Rahwa's movements, Jin Hagyeong shouted and swung his sword relentlessly with his left hand.
His empty right sleeve flapped violently along with him.
Hoae, too, did not panic at the sudden turn of events and pushed Seok Gyeong's back, moving the injured to the rear.
"To the front... We have to stand at the front, mister."
Hoae's voice was firm.
Seok Gyeong also gritted his teeth and stood on the defensive line.
The tip of his sword trembled, but its direction was aimed squarely at the enemy.
Four Rakshasa Monks rushed toward them, but.
Papat-!
Jin Hagyeong threw his body forward, and his sword moved.
It had not been long since he had lost an arm, so he was not used to it, but his aim was precise.
He sidestepped the downward arc of the leading Rakshasa Monk's Crescent Moon Saber by half a step, deflecting it with the back of his sword, and then aimed the tip of his blade at the monk's returning wrist, unleashing a full blast of Sword Qi.
Chachang-!
The Crescent Moon Saber was sent flying, and with the momentum, the Rakshasa Monk's wrist bent, forcing him to take a step back.
The other three pushed through the gap simultaneously.
Facing three with one arm, the angles were
insufficient.
The moment Jin Hagyeong blocked the one on his left, his right side was open.
Swaek-.
A Crescent Moon Saber cut into the space where his empty sleeve was flapping.
Just then.
Kang!
Jeon Rahwa, who had rushed over at some point, struck that Crescent Moon Saber away with her sword.
They had never practiced together.
Not even a glance was exchanged.
She had simply seen Jin Hagyeong's right side open up, and her body and sword had moved first.
Jin Hagyeong blocked the left, and Jeon Rahwa cut down the right.
Jin Hagyeong stepped forward to thrust, and Jeon Rahwa cut off the retreat of a Rakshasa Monk who had slipped behind.
Jin Hagyeong had used the sword of the Vast Heaven Infinite Sword Sect, and Jeon Rahwa imbued her sword with the Cold Qi of the Twin Snow Yin Cold Art.
The quality of their swords was different, and the rhythm of their footwork was different.
Of course, they had never practiced together, but surprisingly, their combination worked well.
When Jin Hagyeong's Sword Qi created an opening, the sword of Cold Qi would cover it, and when the sword of Cold Qi slowed the opponent, the one-armed sword would finish them.
But they were not the only ones on the battlefield.
"Kill them!"
"Slaughter those bastards!"
All the warriors of the Vast Heaven Infinite Sword Sect who could fight, along with Hoae, Seok Gyeong, and the other still-green members of the Hero's Sect, fought the Rakshasa Monks with all their might.
No matter how elite the Rakshasa Monks were, these remaining forces, devoid of any masters, had no way of stopping Jin Hagyeong or Jeon Rahwa, nor could they stand against the venomous remnants of the Vast Heaven sect.
Before long, all the Rakshasa Monks who had launched the surprise attack were lying on the ground.
"Haa, haa...."
The Cold Qi dispersed from Jeon Rahwa's sword, and frost formed on the surrounding blades of grass.
"Hwook, hwook....."
Jin Hagyeong also panted as he lowered the tip of his sword.
"Are you alright?"
".... Yes."
Jeon Rahwa's reply was short, but the hand gripping her sword was trembling slightly.
It was the first time she had cut a person, but she still did not sheathe her sword.
Because the threat was not yet gone.
Kuuuung-!
As if to remind them of that very fact, a shockwave descended from the mountain.
It was on a different level from before.
The dirt beneath their feet jumped up, and the fog was pushed back in a semicircle.
Through the cleared fog, a pillar of light rising from the mountainside shone indiscriminately, along with the sunlight. down
It was a beam of light so intense that it was difficult to fully open one's eyes.
"....!"
All eyes naturally turned in that direction.
But the light showed no signs of fading and was instead growing stronger.
"What in the world is happening.... No, what are they fighting?"
* * *
Wuuuuuuung-.
The sound vanished, and instead, only rays of light were pouring out from Beom-eum's body.
The world after the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds had been broken was no different from losing his eyes for Beom-eum.
He had lived for twenty years with his eyes closed.
He could see, but he did not.
He did not see because he could hear.
Because when the melody of the chanting colored the air, that became Beom-eum's vision.
The beat of the Alms Bowl set the outline, and the sound waves of the scriptures filled in the details.
The chorus chanted by hundreds of Rakshasa Monks turned the entire mountain into a musical score, and on that score, Beom-eum heard everything.
But now.
The score he had been conducting was torn to shreds.
The Alms Bowl was in two pieces.
Half of the Dharma Artifact he had been with for twenty years.
The sight of only that half remaining on his palm was terribly unfamiliar.
The other half was probably buried somewhere in the dirt.
The Alms Bowl was not the only thing buried.
Gakjin's presence had also disappeared.
To be precise, his heartbeat had stopped.
Over there.
Not too far away, the eight-Zhang-tall giant lay on the ground like a rag.
Of course, he had already heard it all.
The sound of the three-pronged fork falling, the sound of bones cracking, and the silence of a heart that would never beat again.
The seemingly endless ensemble had finally ended.
Twenty years.
From the day he joined the Rakshasa Monk Corps, Gakjin was always by Beom-eum's side.
When Beom-eum opened a path with his chanting, Gakjin's three-pronged fork walked upon that path.
Melody and strike.
Beat and shatter.
When their breaths synchronized as one, none among their enemies could break their ensemble.
It was fun.
This is sincere.
It was joyful every time hundreds and thousands of screams formed a melody, the sound of fleeing footsteps created a rhythm, and the sound of a breaking sword marked the finale.
The sound Beom-eum loved most in this world was the sound of a person breaking, and Gakjin was the musician who produced it best.
But now, it was a piece and a concerto that could no longer be performed.
His fingers gripping the half-Alms Bowl tightened.
What a shame.
It was not sadness.
Nor was it anger.
It was merely a great sense of disappointment that the 'amusement' had ended.
The corners of Beom-eum's mouth lifted.
A smile spread beneath his closed eyes.
It was a smile he hadn't worn in twenty years.
Because now, he could truly play.
That realization awakened something within Beom-eum's body.
It was not the chanting.
It was not the Internal Energy flowing through his Meridians.
It was something that had been inside his body since before he first put on the Rakshasa Monk's robes twenty years ago.
Нуиииииииииuuung-.
Something bloomed from the center of his chest.
It did not ride the Meridians.
It did not pass through the Dantian.
It was a resonance that rose simultaneously from his bones, flesh, and skin-his entire body.
Spiritual Root.
The Spiritual Root Beom-eum possessed was Rhythm.
The root of sound and the seed of vibration.
Regardless of this world's Meridian system, his very existence was an instrument, the Rhythm Spiritual Root.
The Rakshasa Monk's chanting was a degraded martial art that forced this Spiritual Root into the framework of the Meridians.
The internal rotation of the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds-a Qi art that used bones as strings, flesh as membranes, and blood vessels as pipes-was closer to the essence of the Spiritual Root, but the moment it passed through the channels of the Meridians, it was inevitably far removed from Spiritual Energy.
It is different now.
He does not bypass the Meridians.
His entire body resonates.
Each and every bone vibrates, his blood vessels resonate, and his skin becomes a membrane, striking the atmosphere.
This is the Spiritual Root of Rhythm.
The original sound.
It was different in quality from Internal Energy.
This was Spiritual Energy.
The power that blossoms from a true Spiritual Root.
It had no need for the channels of the Meridians.
The body itself was the channel.
Light seeped out from beneath his monk's robes.
A faint yet even light.
A light different from the morning sun, neither cold nor hot, a light that should not have existed on this mountain.
That light began to tear through the threads of the reddish-brown monk's robes, one by one.
Beom-eum stood up.
Kuuung-!
With just that, all the energy of the mountain and the mountain itself were crushed.
Beom-eum had simply stood up with his feet on the ground, yet the earth within a radius of several dozen Zhang sank all at once.
The scattered debris around him was pushed outward in unison.
At the same time, Spiritual Energy poured out of Beom-eum's body, changing the very weight of the atmosphere.
"What in the world...?!"
Standing far off, Yan Bilyeong's sword cried from within its hilt.
It wasn't the sword that trembled, but the Internal Energy imbued within it.
"That person... he was some kind of incomprehensible being, not an ordinary member of the Dark Rakshasa Way."
The hand with which Myo Jinheo held his fan also began to flinch unknowingly.
Wuuuuuuuuu—.
The mountain began to resonate with Beom-eum.
His closed eyes remained as they were.
Because there was still no need to see.
The moment the Spiritual Energy spread through the air, a sense of hearing on a different dimension from the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds opened up.
The entire mountain could be heard.
The outline of the ruins.
The cross-section of the severed mountain ridge.
The shattered rocks and the uprooted trees.
And the man standing before him.
When Beom-eum's Spiritual Energy reached the man, Dong Bongsu, something strange happened.
He could not be read.
No, to be precise, he could be read but not grasped.
An intangible field spread around the man's body.
A strange Qi Field, perfectly assimilated with nature, was dominating the space itself.
It was so uniform and natural that it was actually abnormal.
"You... so you came from there as well."
The light completely tore through the monk's robes.
And then.
The intense rays of light, which seemed ready to rip the mountain apart, gently seeped into Beom-eum's entire body.
A lean frame with closed eyes.
The appearance of the Rakshasa Monk was nowhere to be seen.
He, the Cultivator who had revealed his true self for the first time in a very long while, Goeum, took a step toward Dong Bongsu.
-x-X-x-
The foot of Goeum touched the ground.
One step.
The sound died.
The sound of the wind disappeared first.
The chirping of birds followed.
The rustling of grass, the rubbing of branches, all the sounds of the mountain went out in order.
Yan Bilyeong's sword began to tremble.
It was not his hand that was shaking.
The Internal Energy on the blade was trembling.
The Qi imbued in the sword was flowing down from the tip to the hilt.
"Hey, this... what is this?"
Myo Jinheo's fan was also rattling in his hand.
True Qi was leaking from between the ribs of the folded fan as if from a spring.
It was flowing out on its own.
A vein popped on Myo Jinheo's forehead.
"This... seems to be a kind of Star-Absorbing Art. Though it's probably different if you look closely."
Goeum's Spiritual Energy permeated the atmosphere, causing all surrounding Qi to resonate.
Because of that, even the Internal Energy inside others' bodies that fell out of resonance was being pushed out in all directions.
Shk, shwaaaak-.
Yan Bilyeong's feet stepped back.
One step.
Then three more steps.
It was a retreat where it was hard to tell if he moved on his own or was pushed by his Internal Energy.
His feet scraped the dirt as he began to descend the slope.
Myo Jinheo quickly folded his fan and turned towards the bottom of the slope.
"For now... let's go down."
Yan Bilyeong gritted his teeth.
"Sect Leader Kim-."
"As it is now, if we stay, we'll just be another thing for the Sect Leader to worry about. We may not have a way, but it seems he has a plan to deal with that person."
He could not refute it.
Indeed, even in this hellish environment, Dong Bongsu just stood tall, maintaining a blank expression.
The two descended the slope, leaving only their gazes behind on the mountainside.
Now, only two remained there: the being shrouded in a mysterious light, and the man holding a jet-black sword.
Fwoooooooosh, goooooooooh-.
The air between the two shimmered like a heat haze.
And at some point.
Goeum moved again.
There was no sound.
A wave of Spiritual Energy.
Wooooong-.
Dong Bongsu's Super True Qi Field reacted immediately.
The fabric of the air fluctuated as if an unseen sea was churning.
The field, spread over a hundred paces, tried to push back the penetration of the Spiritual Energy wave.
It was not perfect.
The chanting from the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds was a sound wave translated into Qi, so the Super True Qi Field could completely offset it, but the Spiritual Energy wave was different.
It was a vibration that bloomed directly from a Spiritual Root.
It was like oil on water, slipping through the fingers when the field tried to grasp it.
When the two forces collided, the air at the boundary distorted to a visible degree.
The debris from the battlefield all floated up at once before being pushed outward.
The corners of Goeum's mouth lifted.
A smile beneath closed eyes.
Immediately, the form of the attack changed.
Ppyuilk--!
Goeum opened his mouth.
It was not a sound.
He did not vibrate his vocal cords, but his entire body.
A single note created by the Rhythm Spiritual Root rode the air and shot out in a straight line.
An invisible Sound Spear.
Duuuung-!
The Sound Spear clashed with the Super True Qi Field.
The field's power concentrated and surrounded the Sound Spear, but sound has a way of piercing through barriers.
It penetrated, causing the net of the field to resonate, layer by layer.
Dong Bongsu tilted his head slightly and raised the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword horizontally.
Shhk-.
The Sword Aura split the Sound Spear.
The divided sound wave shot to the left and right, piercing the rock behind him.
The rock cracked from the inside and collapsed.
Goeum did not stop.
Waek-.
Heulk-.
Bwilk-.
He spat out notes in succession.
Three streams of sound waves at different frequencies poured down on Dong Bongsu.
A high note from above, a mid-range note from the side, and a low note from below his feet.
A structure where the other two would break through, while he split one with his sword.
Swish-.
Swish-.
Two swings of the sword split two shots.
The remaining stream hit his chest.
Thwack-!
Dong Bongsu's feet slipped on the dirt, and he was pushed back dozens of zhang.
Dong Bongsu tilted his head slightly.
He glanced down at the two furrows created as he slid back.
But that was all.
He lightly patted his chest a couple of times and then stared back at Goeum.
At that, Goeum's smile deepened.
Ggilkjjwab---!
He raised the pressure of the sound again.
This time, it was not a single note.
His entire body was an instrument, so his entire body resonated.
His bones became strings, shooting out low notes, his skin became a drumhead, emitting high notes, and the moment his foot touched the ground, the ground itself became a sounding board, and the vibrations ran through space like tens of thousands of earthworms.
Jjwa-jwa-jwa-jwak-!
The dirt behind Dong Bongsu's feet was pushed away, leaving much deeper footprints than before.
Jjeo-eong-!
Next, a sound wave with a changed frequency struck a different layer of the Super True Qi Field.
Dong Bongsu's feet, no, his entire body, now slid back on the dirt.
Woooong-!
Still, he did not rest.
Dong Bongsu split the sound wave aimed at his side with his sword, but the lingering resonance of the split wave struck the side of his field, causing cracks to form throughout the barely healing Super True Qi Field.
Kuuuuung-!
And the ground.
The low note that traveled through the earth exploded beneath Dong Bongsu's feet.
Dirt shot up, and a rock resonated from within before splitting in two.
The very structure of the Super True Qi Field wavered, and the air at the boundary distorted.
Kwadadadadadadeuk-!
Dong Bongsu, who was continuously pushed back despite constantly forming and blocking with the torn field and wrapping himself in a membrane of Super Spinning Sword Aura.
Still, Goeum did not stop.
Huoooooooooong-!
He drew up all the sound remaining in his body.
He scraped up the very bottom of the Rhythm he had kept locked inside the shell of a Rakshasa Monk for twenty years.
He pulled the strings he could create at a cellular level to their absolute limit.
His skin, the drumhead, became taut to the point of bursting.
Goeum's mouth opened.
Wo00000000000000ng-.
It was not sound, but Rhythm itself that poured out.
Kuuuuuuung--!
The mountain cried out.
The entire mountain became Goeum's sounding board.
Rocks vibrated from within before crumbling to dust, and the ground split, radial cracks spreading outward.
The trees were uprooted and sent flying not because of the wind, but because of the sound pressure.
"Now, I'll finish you."
Goeum's hands reached out towards Dong Bongsu's chest.
At that moment, Dong Bongsu moved.
Slowly, as if taking a stroll.
That one step pierced through the middle of the sound wave.
He broke through the wall of sound Goeum had created and stood before him in a single step.
Footwork.
"?!"
Goeum's hands naturally struck empty air.
But Dong Bongsu had already reached his side.
Hwiryurururururu-.
The field that had been spread over a hundred paces was gathered in an instant, contracting rapidly.
He had abandoned area defense and concentrated it on a single point.
Localized Concentration of the Super True Qi Field.
The power of the converged field pressed down on Goeum's Spiritual Energy barrier, focused on a single point in front.
There, the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword spun at super-high speed, with Sword Aura added on top.
Jjijijik-!
A crack appeared in the field of Spiritual Energy.
"Th-this!"
Towards Goeum, who was enduring with all his might, gritting his teeth, Dong Bongsu raised his other hand, the one not holding the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.
His left hand.
But there was nothing in his left hand.
There was nothing.
A light formed at the tip of his left hand.
The light condensed, forming the shape of a sword.
Instead of firing it, he held it in his hand, condensed into a sword of light.
Super Spinning Sword Aura in his right hand.
A golden sword in his left hand.
Kwajak-!
The two swords became one right before Goeum's tightly shut eyes.
Jjeo-eong-!
The Super Spinning Sword Aura of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword finally split Goeum's Spiritual Energy barrier, and the sword of light pushed into the opened gap.
A structure where the sword of Qi made the path, and the sword that was not Qi entered through it.
Light exploded from Goeum's shoulder.
"Kekekeke! This is it, this is it!"
The corners of Goeum's mouth lifted.
Spiritual Energy billowed up from his pierced shoulder.
It was not blood, but light.
The Spiritual Energy pouring from the wound flowed in reverse, climbing up Dong Bongsu's sword of light.
Dong Bongsu's left hand trembled.
He let go of the sword of light.
The moment he let go, the sword vanished.
The vibration of the Spiritual Energy had shaken the crystal structure of the light from within and shattered it.
In that instant, Spiritual Energy exploded from Goeum's entire body.
Kuuuuung--!
The mountain split.
It was not a simple crack in the ground.
The very terrain of the mountainside centered on Goeum collapsed radially.
Trees were uprooted and sent flying, rocks turned to dust and scattered, and the spot where the two had stood sank into a crater dozens of zhang in radius.
From the impact.
Dong Bongsu's body was sent flying backward.
Drawing a vortex-like trajectory, Dong Bongsu's body pierced through the multi-layered mountain ridges.
Hundreds of trees and boulders in the places he passed were scattered like dust.
Goeum was also pushed toward the opposite slope by the recoil of the explosion.
His feet scraped the dirt, carving furrows into the ground.
From where Goeum stood to where Dong Bongsu stood.
Ruins equivalent to three or four mountain peaks were created.
Goeum did not miss the opportunity.
He charged towards the pushed-back Dong Bongsu.
Goeum, approaching Dong Bongsu in an instant at a speed several times faster than sound, thrust his hand towards the chest of Dong Bongsu, who was embedded in the rock wall.
Woooong-.
A bundle of Spiritual Energy in the form of a sound wave was condensed in his palm.
Not creating and shooting a Sound Spear, but thrusting it in with the entire palm.
A close-range Palm Art, reproducing the principles of the Sound Art he had accumulated for twenty years in the Sea of Ten Thousand Sounds with the output of the Spiritual Energy he had forgotten.
Ten Thousand Rhythms Return to One Palm.
"Kekekekekek! I finally caught you, you insignificant, lowly bastard!"
Just then.
Dong Bongsu's Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword, his head hanging as if he had fainted, rose vertically.
It was slow, but so perfectly timed that before Goeum could even realize it, the flat of the sword blade nonchalantly touched his palm.
The moment it did.
Ggadeudeudeudeudeudeudeuk-!
"..This!"
Dong Bongsu's hand vibrated, and the surface of the sword cried out.
Ggwak-tteu-tteu-tteu-tteu-tteu-tteuk-!
Transmitting vibrations directly into the user's body through their weapon.
It was the principle of the Dog-Beating Staff Art, making its first appearance in this Jianghu.
A technique that perfectly reproduced it, not with a staff, but with a sword.
"..."
His wrist, as impassive as his pupils, trembled.
However, its speed had nothing to do with impassiveness.
The vibration was so fast it was fearsome, to the point that light seemed to leak out.
The vibration that traveled up the sword blade struck Goeum's palm, almost an infinite number of times in a single moment.
At that, the sound wave imbued in the Ten Thousand Rhythms Return to One Palm traveled back up Goeum's own arm.
Kwattttttttttt.....
Goeum's left arm rippled as if riding a wave segmented into tens of thousands of pieces.
"Kuaaaaaaaak!"
He hurriedly exploded the Spiritual Energy in his shoulder to sever his own arm from his body.
If he had not, his entire body would have been swept up by that wave and blown to pieces.
Still, his right hand remained.
Goeum gathered the remaining Spiritual Energy in his right hand and shot a high-frequency wave toward Dong Bongsu's ear.
Dong Bongsu tilted his head.
The sound wave grazed past his ear.
Only his hair stirred.
Using that brief moment, Goeum's right hand, having raised his Rhythm Aura to its peak, shot out to shatter the blade of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.
However, in that instant, the sword vanished.
Into his Inventory.
Kwagwagwang-!
Goeum's hand naturally struck the rock wall where Dong Bongsu had been embedded.
In the same instant, the sword reappeared in Dong Bongsu's right hand.
Horizontally, at the height of Goeum's waist.
Shhk-.
He slashed its side.
The creature's protective Spiritual Energy was torn like paper.
"You, you bassstaaard!"
Even as blood and Spiritual Energy poured out from his side like a flood, Goeum did not retreat.
He gathered all of his remaining Spiritual Energy into his one remaining hand and thrust it at Dong Bongsu.
Close-range Resonance.
It was a final gamble.
However.
Moving two objects in and out.
Two swords appeared simultaneously from Dong Bongsu's empty hand and his mouth.
In addition to the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword, there was the Wandering Warrior's Sword and the Evil-Slaying Sword, fully clad in the light of Faith.
G000000000oooh-!
The black, super-high-speed spinning Sword Aura indiscriminately split the Spiritual Energy, the sword clad in Sacred Light burned the opened gap, and the purely physical sword tore through the already ruined side.
"Khehehehehe.."
Goeum let out a beast-like cry and fell to his knees on the rock.
On his knees, he sent out one last sound wave.
It burst from his entire body.
His bones cried out like strings, and his heart beat once like a drum.
A final performance, converting his very life force into a sound wave.
However.
The Shield of Faith futilely deflected Goeum's attack.
Hwiryurururururururu-.
The Super Spinning Sword Aura bloomed once again upon the jet-black blade of the Nine Demon Annihilation Wheel Sword.
The entire Super True Qi Field in the area converged into the single point of the sword's tip.
The corners of Goeum's mouth lifted one last time.
Suk-.
There was no sound.
The wind did not blow.
The sword simply pierced straight through the creature's face.
The light that had enveloped Goeum's entire body was ground up by a single vortex and scattered in all directions.
In that moment, the sound in the area died.
The vibrations in the atmosphere went out one by one, starting from the farthest point.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence--.
Excluding the head, which had turned to dust and disappeared, Goeum's withered body slowly collapsed forward.
Thud.
Silence.
The end of one who wielded sound was, of course, silence.
-x-X-x-
"The peak... the peaks..."
The thick mist and clouds of dust were slowly clearing.
However, what should have been revealed beyond it did not appear.
Jin Hagyeong narrowed his eyes, but not much came into view.
"It's gone..."
It was the mountain ridge that had enveloped Colorful Lake and its entire northeastern vicinity.
He was sure there had been at least three peaks... but now they were nowhere to be seen.
In their place, only an empty sky and a few wisps of clouds hung forlornly.
His right hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword.
'It wasn't sheared off... nor was it cut.'
If it had been cut by a sword, the slopes should have been covered in landslides of earth and sand.
If the peaks had slid down, the foot of the mountain would have been buried.
There was no trace of any such thing.
The mountain had not been cut, but rather scattered and dispersed like dust.
"..."
He blankly took a step, widening his field of vision.
It wasn't just the northeast.
Nearly half of the northern ridge had lost its original form, the continuous line of the ridge was broken midway, and the severed cross-section was revealed darkly through the mist.
His breathing had grown shallow without him realizing it.
"...Impossible."
Next to him was Jeon Rahwa.
Her hand, holding her sword, was also trembling.
Her lips moved, but no sound followed.
Jin Hagyeong said nothing more.
What could he say?
Having witnessed a battlefield where mountains had vanished, it would be strange to talk much.
And all from the clash of just two people.
The atmosphere had been different for a while now.
It wasn't Killing Intent.
Nor was it a domineering aura.
It was just a presence that was there.
It was of a similar nature to what he felt when he first arrived at Colorful Lake, but incomparable in scale.
The very air he breathed felt heavy.
It seeped down from the mountaintop to its base.
The spot where the peak had disappeared.
Someone was standing there.
The distance was too great to make out a figure, but there was no doubt that it was the center of the aura.
"...Kim Rae-won."
The source, no, the originator of the aura pressing down from the mountain stood there, as steadfast as when he had first seen him.
Just then.
Fwhoosh!
A light erupted from the mountaintop.
It was not the glint of a sword.
Nor was it the light of rampaging Internal Energy.
It was not something emitted into the atmosphere, but a light that emanated from within.
A golden light spread along Kim Rae-won's outline, like the dawn, crossing over the peak and extending as if to embrace the rubble.
It was warm.
A warmth felt even at this distance.
It wasn't the wavelength of Qi, but a sensation of being warmed not on the skin, but somewhere deeper inside.
"Ah..."
It was brilliant, yet not blinding.
It was like a gentle sunlight, as if tempting him to look, to keep looking.
And.
Something was flowing within the texture of that light.
He did not know its name or origin, but he had seen it before.
Long, long ago, depicted on a mural in an old temple.
It was a light like the circular halo spread behind a Buddha statue.
At that moment, Jin Hagyeong heard someone fall to their knees behind him.
One of the defeated soldiers.
Then a second.
A third.
No one had ordered them to kneel.
Their knees simply knew to bend on their own.
The light soon subsided, but most of the survivors were bowing in that direction.
"...."
Kim Rae-won, on the peak, stood as if nothing had happened.
Jin Hagyeong's lips moved unconsciously.
"Was he truly... an Immortal?"
...
The flash that had momentarily covered the mountainside soon faded, revealing Dong Bongsu's figure in its entirety.
As expected of a strong opponent, he gave a massive amount of experience points.
A level up already.
However, the New Murim Online level-up was not a matter of great interest right now.
"How strange."
The headless corpse of Goeum lay prone on the bedrock.
Its shriveled back faced the sky, and only a red liquid called blood spurted out intermittently.
There was no value in it.
It was freshly butchered and quite fresh, but Dong Bongsu's interest was not in some inedible slab of meat.
Dong Bongsu looked away from the corpse and into the empty air.
Nothing was visible to the eye.
But it was different within the Field.
Something was floating in the atmosphere.
It was slowly repeating a cycle of contraction and expansion as it dispersed.
The remnants or lingering thoughts of what had filled that body until just a moment ago.
Fwoooosh-.
Sounds began to return.
First, the sound of the wind.
Then, the sound of stone debris rolling down the slopes.
The order in which the silence broke was interesting, but he had no interest in that right now.
He raised his hand.
Minutely adjusting the density of the Field, he drew the fragments of Qi, be they remnants or lingering thoughts, onto his palm.
It was like placing something invisible on his hand, but the sensation was distinct.
A lukewarm vibration.
It pulsed like a heartbeat, repeatedly weakening and strengthening.
'This is certainly not Internal Energy or Natural Qi.
If it were the Qi of a Martial Artist, there should be no difficulty in reading it.
Whether it was Evil Qi, Essence Qi, or Demonic Qi, the fundamental material had to be the same.
Something that flows through Meridians and gathers in the Dantian.
The expression might be different, but the raw material could only be one.
It had to be.
This was different in its very raw material.
The Field captured and rotated it.
From whatever angle he read it, it did not fit into any category.
There was no trace of Meridians.
It had never passed through the Meridians.
The root that made that slab of meat's Sound Art possible... It wasn't a martial art built upon Qi, but without a doubt, something that originated from outside of Qi.
Just in case, he chewed on a piece of the meat and tasted the blood, but as expected, it was nothing more than a slab of meat with human flesh and O-type blood.
"Interesting."
He had swallowed a Spirit Root Stone and had faced a fair number of this world's martial artists, but this was distinctly different.
This wasn't a martial art layered on top of Qi; it must have been this man's very foundation.
The pieces of Spirit floating in the air were diminishing.
The contraction quickened, as if trying to escape the Field.
The vibration on his palm also faded.
He strongly increased the density of the Super True Qi Field in the area.
The thickened Field caught a few more pieces, but it wouldn't last long.
He compared them one by one.
As if searching through the data in his memory.
The textures of Qi he had met.
The types of energy he had felt.
It matched none of them.
Just then, a faint sensation overlapped.
'So that was it.'
He realized it was similar to what he had encountered on that island.
That sky island where he first fell into this place.
The aura emitted by the fox with eight tails.
It wasn't exactly the same as the piece now contracting for the last time in his hand, but it overlapped closely with what he could not categorize in this world.
Fwiiirrrrr-.
He moved the Super True Qi with precision, meticulously tracing the spot where it had vanished.
As if chasing the outline of what was gone, not what remained, as if reading the form held by the empty space.
Before long, even that disappeared.
'Immortal Qi.'
So, is this what true Immortal Qi is?
Only after reaching a conclusion did Dong Bongsu finally lower his hand and turn his head.
A ruined mountain.
Shattered bedrock.
Dust and stone powder.
Whenever the wind blew, the rock powder still rose hazily before settling.
And with it.
Thud-.
The What is Hero window belatedly appeared in his vision.
[Sudden] Rakshasa of Slaughter:
There are those who wield swords in the name of Buddha.
Among them, two with particularly heavy steps are revealing their hostility towards you.
Be careful.
They don't seem to have ordinary fangs.
[Defeat the Rakshasa's high-ranking forces.
Target: 2
-Progress: 2/2
Reward: Hero History +5, Fame +5
[+5]
History from 51 to 56.]
Thud-.
[Guild] Threshold of Growth:
Your sect is growing. To embrace more people, a vessel of suitable size is needed.
Please achieve one of the following.
Solidify the Guild's Foundation: Raise the average combat level of the guild members above a certain standard.
[Progress: 100%
+100 Reward: Guild Member Cap +10, Guild EXP
First Resonance of Martial Fame: Resolve a crisis outside the River Capital in the name of the Hero's Sect.
Progress: 100%
Reward: Guild Member Cap +15, Fame +10, Guild EXP +200]
Following that, the Guild Quest was also completed.
It seemed the combat prowess of the Hero's Sect members had also risen a level amidst this chaos.
[You have sent a powerful enemy who brought harm to the world to the heavens. A reward is given.]
[The world has become much better because of you.]
Although new content was added, the wording was standardized as always.
But that part was not important at all.
"...."
Dong Bongsu silently moved only his eyes, scanning the various parts of the system.
Because there had been a definite change.
In the first place, the fact that the What is Hero system had settled its accounts later than the broken Murim Online system was a problem in itself.
He had a certain feeling.
A sense for the system.
As if to prove his strange premonition of an impending 'patch' was correct, Thud-.
A new notification appeared.
[Unregistered Energy Pattern Detected Logging] Auto
He hadn't requested it, and it was a pattern he had never seen before.
The system had voluntarily detected something and begun recording it.
And the numbers rose quickly.
1%, 2%, 3%... Thud.
100%
[Auto Logging Complete.]
[New Energy Type — Classification: Unregistered]
[Matching Item in Existing Database: None]
[Auto-generated Tag: Unknown_001 Sample Saving Complete] The energy sample collected from Goeum's remains.
The analysis result showed no match with any type in the existing database.
And a report that the system itself had created a new tag and completed the save.
Up to that point, it was understandable.
New data came in, so it was recorded.
For the sophisticated AI system shown so far, it was perhaps a natural thing to do.
The problem was what came next.
A void.
At the timing when Lumina's next guidance should have appeared, nothing came out, nothing was heard.
A gap had formed in the usually seamless routine.
And.
-...Ah.
It was not a standardized tone.
Not guidance or a report, but a single exclamation.
A faint golden light spread not inside the system window, but outside it.
It wasn't the light of the UI.
A single streak that spread in the atmosphere and vanished.
Dong Bongsu's gaze lingered on the spot where the golden light had disappeared.
Right after the energy pattern data was recorded in the system.
The interval was almost nonexistent.
He didn't know if it was causality or coincidence.
He didn't know yet, but a massive change was occurring in the Spiritual Root that was the system.
After a moment, Dong Bongsu closed the window and turned his body.
The system window scattered.
The particles of light that would normally disappear immediately lingered for a moment in the atmosphere.
The things from Goeum's remains that had not yet vanished trembled minutely upon touching that light.
It was a fleeting moment.
Too short to even be called a reaction.
But Dong Bongsu's eyes did not miss it, taking it in as he descended the mountain.
Fwhiiiii-.
On the mountain, where the sound of the wind had fully returned.
Stone debris rolled under his feet, and the faint sound of human voices rose from far below.
The silence had ended, but the great change was just beginning.
-x-X-x-