Chapter 460 : Azure Dragon Stance Art
Chapter 460: Azure Dragon Stance Art
I felt as if my hand and the Azure Dragon Three Marbles had become one, and it startled me out of my wits.
It felt like holding a warm egg in my hand, and at that moment, a blue energy flowed throughout my body.
Then, as I chanted the formula of the Azure Dragon Stance Art, that energy was sucked into the Azure Dragon Three Marbles through the Laogong Point.
Sword qi surged from the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, which had absorbed Yong Hwarin’s True Qi equivalent to Five Gaps and the energy of the dragon, and began to elongate.
As Yong Hwarin mentally visualized a sword, the rod-shaped sword qi extending from the Azure Dragon Three Marbles started to form into the shape of a sword.
Chchchchchchch!
With a strange sound, the Azure Dragon Three Marbles took the form of a sword enveloped in sword qi, and Yong Hwarin felt a thrill coursing through his entire body.
“This... this is truly the Azure Dragon Stance Art. And this is what they call the Mind Sword.”
Watching the scene, Yong Hwarin began muttering to himself, almost in a daze, unable to contain his excitement as he stared at the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, which had transformed into a sword in his hand.
He slowly unfolded Azure Dragon Grabs the Phoenix.
It was a technique where a dragon snatches a phoenix.
He merely extended the sword straight ahead, yet blue lightning-like strands of qi burst forth from the transformed Azure Dragon Three Marbles, forming a net as they spread forward.
Puhpuhpuhpuhpuk!
Each strand of lightning qi was True Steel Qi.
A tightly woven net was etched into the solid stone wall of the isolated training chamber, gouging it to a depth of a palm.
“My goodness!”
If one were to wrap a rock in this, the rock would be shredded like tofu.
Next, he stepped forward using Azure Dragon’s Noble Return.
Whoosh!
With just a single spin of Yong Hwarin’s body, the Azure Dragon Three Marbles emitted True Steel Qi.
Yong Hwarin immediately unfolded Azure Dragon Spiral.
Following the formula, as he channeled True Qi, the sword extended from a length of about a palm to the length of a spear, and mercilessly scraped along the wall.
Drrrrrrrrr!
Upon closer inspection, the stone wall had been etched as sharply as if cut by a blade, and the depth of the cut exceeded a palm’s length.
In short, this technique could slice through everything within a five-zhang radius of himself.
It was undeniably a chilling martial art.
Of course, such a result was only possible because all components—dragon energy, the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique, and the Azure Dragon Stance Art—were perfectly aligned.
If even one of these were missing, the technique would have been impossible to execute.
From Yong Hwarin’s perspective, it could only be called a stroke of fortune.
He withdrew the sword.
Even just the first three techniques were this overwhelming, so the remaining two—Azure Dragon Scorches the Heavens and Azure Dragon’s Thunderstorm—were daunting just by name.
He feared the entire isolated training chamber would collapse if he unleashed them carelessly.
Instead, he tried out a method that had come to mind while using the Azure Dragon Stance Art.
As he withdrew the formula of the Azure Dragon Stance Art, the sword-shaped Azure Dragon Three Marbles reverted to a marble form small enough to grasp in his palm.
Yong Hwarin observed it, channeled Five Gaps’ worth of internal energy into it through the Nine Dragons Heavenly Ascent Technique...
Then began to command it using the Dual-Willed Sword.
Since he had originally used the Azure Dragon Three Marbles embedded in the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword to perform the Dual-Willed Sword, this wasn’t particularly difficult.
As True Qi and dragon energy surged from the crown of Yong Hwarin’s head and resonated with the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, it floated in the air and emitted blue lightning qi.
Seeing that, Yong Hwarin flicked his right hand.
At once, the Azure Dragon Three Marbles shot toward the right stone wall like lightning.
Puhk!
It flew so fast that the sound followed after it had already embedded itself into the wall.
It was lodged so deep into the stone that it couldn’t even be seen.
But with a motion of Yong Hwarin’s hand, it withdrew from the wall, then, with a flick of his fingers to the left—
Fwhiiing!
—it shot left and burrowed into the left stone wall.
Puh-uhng!
The collision with the stone wall sounded like striking a leather drum.
Compared to the power of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, the stone wall might as well have been soft tofu.
From then on, with just small flicks of Yong Hwarin’s fingers, the Azure Dragon Three Marbles flew so fast they couldn’t be followed with the naked eye, piercing the stone walls above, below, left, and right.
Puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puh-puk!
Controlling the Azure Dragon Three Marbles like the Dual-Willed Sword possessed a power that was distinct from the Dual-Willed Sword itself.
Since it was a small marble, it was practically invisible, and it was even faster than when it had taken the form of a sword.
Simply put, it was faster than lightning.
Yong Hwarin couldn’t hide the feeling of emptiness that arose as he realized its overwhelming power.
Now that he had learned to wield the Azure Dragon Stance Art with the Azure Dragon Three Marbles, he started to feel doubt toward all the martial arts he had trained in up until now.
Swinging a sword here and there suddenly felt meaningless.
However, Yong Hwarin quickly pulled himself out of that void, knowing full well that it was through that very process he had reached his current level.
Besides, even this current power would have been impossible without one of the Four Great Divine Items—the Azure Dragon Three Marbles.
Yong Hwarin could only perform the Dual-Willed Sword because of the Azure Dragon Three Marbles and the White Tiger Demon-Subduing Sword.
Yet the Azure Dragon Stance Art, which overwhelmed conventional martial arts and rendered them meaningless, became a turning point for Yong Hwarin to re-evaluate martial arts.
‘Now I understand what they meant when they said that once one reaches the ultimate in martial arts, form becomes meaningless.’
He finally understood the words left behind by those who had mastered the Dual-Willed Sword and the Mind Sword.
Yong Hwarin lost track of time, fully immersed in his training.
He focused on mastering how to wield the Azure Dragon Three Marbles through the Azure Dragon Stance Art.
As much as possible, he wanted to master it perfectly before the Murim Reorganization Tournament was held, so unless it was something urgent, he did not leave the isolated training chamber.
Thanks to that, the five women ended up only being able to stare at the entrance of the training chamber.
Gg-g-g-g-geung!
As the stone door opened, musty air that had been trapped for ages spilled out into the surroundings.
“I didn’t expect a stone door to exist here.”
A head popped up from the ground and spoke.
“It must be something the ancestors paid special attention to.”
Wang Wook responded to Sohyeon’s words, feeling tense.
It was the moment the place he had long awaited was finally opening—it was impossible not to be tense.
“You’ve worked hard digging the tunnel to get here.”
Wang Wook paused mid-step and spoke to Sohyeon who was following behind him. Digging through the ground all the way to this place must have been extremely difficult.
Even so, Sohyeon had done it.
Wang Wook felt grateful that he had trusted Sohyeon more than anyone else.
“Right Minister, you must be careful. Even the warriors of the Valley of Hidden Darkness cannot detoxify the poison in this place.”
The inside of the cave was so full of miasma that even breathing was difficult, and just walking through it was a struggle.
Truthfully, they had charged in due to excitement, but the moment Wang Wook sensed the poisonous energy, he wrapped himself in Protective Energy.
“This poison, in some ways, is even more dangerous than a sealing formation. Even if one passes through the formation, without Protective Energy to block this poison, they would die instantly.”
At present, Sohyeon had scolded her son Soyonghwa for trying to follow and had left him behind.
Only she could block this miasma with Protective Energy—her son’s Protective Energy would never have been able to withstand it.
“So be it.”
At that moment, someone climbed out of the tunnel the two of them had emerged from.
Upon seeing who it was, they saw someone wearing a full suit made of green poison-resistant leather.
“I am Ha Deokgye, Valley Leader of the Valley of Hidden Darkness.”
Before Right Minister Wang Wook could react in surprise, Sohyeon quickly spoke.
“In order to summon ‘him’ here later, we need to test the poison-resistant leather the Valley Leader is currently wearing.”
Wang Wook didn’t want to let others into the Dragon Bone Cavern if he could help it.
Though Sohyeon followed his will, he didn’t like the idea of allowing some thug from the Valley of Hidden Darkness to come and go freely.
Because he thought of this place—created by his ancestor, the Ghost Hermit—as sacred, almost like a shrine.
But upon hearing Sohyeon’s explanation, he saw that there was a need to test the poison-resistant leather and restrained his anger.
When the poisonous miasma of the area had no effect on Ha Deokgye, the Valley Leader of the Valley of Hidden Darkness, he smirked.
“As expected, the poison-resistant leather of our valley is second to none.”
Praising himself while chuckling, the Valley Leader looked at Sohyeon.
“Bring them here.”
At Sohyeon’s words, the Valley Leader nodded.
“Understood. I’ll put the poison-resistant leather on them and return.”
After Ha Deokgye left, Sohyeon asked Wang Wook,
“Do you truly believe he is the vessel, as you said?”
Wang Wook looked at Sohyeon with slight irritation, as if displeased she still doubted his words—but eventually smiled.
‘Can’t go around frowning on such a fine day.’
For that reason, he tried a little harder today to maintain a generous and patient demeanor.
“I’ll say it again. That man is special—because he received Qi from Yong Hwarin. Even if Yong Hwarin’s dragon energy is sealed, that energy will unknowingly interact with the True Qi accumulated in his dantian. If even the slightest interaction occurs, he becomes a potential vessel for Dragon’s Evil. And more than that, he is even more special.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying his severed limbs make him special?”
“That’s right. Precisely because his limbs were severed, he can receive Dragon’s Evil.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Because the energy won’t leak into other meridians and will remain entirely within his body—it’s the ideal condition. Originally, I considered severing someone's limbs just to receive Dragon’s Evil. But how fortunate we already have someone prepared that way.”
“Then if he receives Dragon’s Evil and you extract it... can Cheong Geonmin be revived?”
For the first time, Right Minister Wang Wook looked at Sohyeon as if she were pathetic.
It was the kind of look that said, ‘You know martial arts, yet you’re asking that?’
“I’ll only absorb Dragon’s Evil, but do you think it’ll just sit quietly? Once Dragon’s Evil enters Cheong Geonmin’s body, it will merge with his True Qi. There’s no way he’ll come out of it unscathed. Especially considering that his cultivation was enhanced thanks to the Qi Yong Hwarin infused into him—there’s no way it can be separated from Dragon’s Evil.”
“Hmm, so you’re saying he’ll die. I only asked because if he’s going to die, I need to be prepared.”
Wang Wook nodded, understanding what she meant.
“Once Dragon’s Evil is extracted, he’s of no further use. What happens after that is for you to decide, Valley Leader.”
Sohyeon suddenly became deep in thought.
More than anything, seeing Wang Wook now, she realized there were too many variables to consider.
‘Originally, Wang Wook promised that once this plan succeeded and the Murim Reorganization Tournament was over, he would eliminate the heads of the Orthodox Murim and hand control of the martial world over to the masters of our Three Demonic Heavens. Now that Sandok and Moon Gyeom are dead, perhaps I could truly become the master of the Demonic Path. But who could possibly stop Wang Wook, who wields such untouchable power?’
As she contemplated, Sohyeon soon shook her head.
‘Even if I ambush him right now, the chances of killing him aren’t even ten percent. There’s no point in thinking about it. Whether it’s now or after he gains even more power, I still won’t be able to stop him. If he turns on me and kills me, there’s nothing I can do.’
Having accepted that, she found herself unbothered by Wang Wook’s sharp words.
At the very least, Wang Wook seemed to want to elevate her in the Demonic Path, while establishing himself as a savior in the Orthodox Murim.
Perhaps it was the fate of the descendants of the Ghost Hermit.
After all, it was said that the heads of Orthodox Murim annihilated the Ghost Hermit’s descendants centuries ago out of fear of his abilities.
So it was plausible that a deep-rooted hatred for the Orthodox Murim had been passed down through the generations.
Sohyeon believed that despite all this, Wang Wook did not wish for the downfall of the Demonic Murim.
‘In the future, I will rise as the master of the Demonic Path.’
For that future, swallowing her pride meant nothing to Sohyeon.