Chapter 191
Wooooong—
A blue energy surged up from Namgung Cheon-rui's body.
That energy grew denser, making it seem as if he was engulfed in blue flames.
"Behold, brat. This is the sword of the one who stood at the peak of the jianghu for decades."
It was an incredible aura, as though lightning from the heavens had been infused into his sword.
The next moment, that power crashed down right in front of Jaseong.
"Azure Heaven Lightning Slash (蒼天雷光斬)!"
A massive lightning bolt poured down on Jaseong in the form of sword aura.
It was a power that seemed to tear the very sky apart.
Jaseong poured all his internal power into the Wicked Flame Sword and blocked it.
Kwakwa-kwa-kwang!
A shockwave rippled out in all directions.
Jaseong's feet were driven deep into the ground.
'Even after opening the Eleventh Gate, I'm being pushed back by Namgung Cheon-rui...!'
Jaseong grit his teeth and muttered inwardly.
In truth, it was inevitable.
Presently, Jaseong had reached the verge of the Transformation Realm by opening up to the Eleventh Gate.
But Namgung Cheon-rui had reached the Transformation Realm decades ago, and had continued ceaseless training ever since.
It was impossible to close such a gulf in experience and years in a single stroke.
Kakakakakakakakang!!! Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-chang!!
Namgung Cheon-rui swung his sword again.
With a barrage of consecutive sword aura, Jaseong began to be pushed back.
Had his internal power been at its fullest, he might've managed to withstand it, but in his current state, it was impossible.
But the next moment—
"Great hero!"
"Sect Leader!"
Lee Rin and Gu Janghu ran in from both sides.
Silver needles flew from Lee Rin's fingertips, and Gu Janghu's flying blades shot like lightning.
Two supreme peak experts who had defeated twenty up-and-coming orthodox experts struck without warning.
Yet to their shock, Namgung Cheon-rui merely scoffed.
"A swarm of ants dares to rush in."
His sword drew a circle.
Shu-aak!
Swirling sword aura ripped into Lee Rin and Gu Janghu.
"Kaagh!"
Gu Janghu was struck by the sword aura and sent flying through the air.
His armor was torn, and blood spouted from his chest.
He flew twenty yards and crashed to the ground.
He tried to get up, but his body refused to move.
Lee Rin also could not avoid the sword aura.
Her shoulder was cut, and fresh blood spurted out.
"Ugh...!"
Lee Rin staggered, dropping to her knees.
Her white martial robes were stained red.
They had barely lasted a single exchange.
Two experts at the supreme peak were taken down by a single attack.
Such was the overwhelming might of Namgung Cheon-rui.
"Lee Rin! Gu Janghu!"
Jaseong shouted.
But Namgung Cheon-rui did not stop.
His sword rushed for Jaseong once more.
"Do you have the leisure to look away now?"
Chang!
Jaseong hastily raised his sword to block, but was driven back by a tremendous impact.
Blood burst from his lips.
"Damn...!"
At that moment, shouts rang from all directions.
"Support the Evil Path Association Leader!"
"Protect the Sect Leader!"
Right Protector Gal Seo-ryeong and the Twelve Hall Lords rushed in at once.
They were the Hao Sect's core force.
"Namgung Cheon-rui! You despicable dog! Attacking the Sect Leader while he's exhausted!"
At the forefront, ironblood Hall Lord Maeng Cheolsan swung his giant mace.
Behind him, the Moonstar Hall Leader, the Heavenly King Hall Leader, the Lord of the Five Dragons HallLeader, and others pressed in with their chosen weapons.
Twelve weapons rained down toward Namgung Cheon-rui.
Supreme peak expert Gal Seo-ryeong also swung her twin swords, aiming for Namgung Cheon-rui's flank.
Her swords curled flexibly like snakes, piercing into Namgung Cheon-rui's openings.
Namgung Cheon-rui's eyes chilled.
"You vermin."
His sword flashed like a burst of light.
Ssak! Ssak! Ssak! Ssak! Ssak!
Five flashes tore through the air.
They were so fast, the eye could not follow.
"Gkk?!"
In an instant, ironblood Hall Lord Maeng Cheolsan's head flew off.
The Moonstar Hall Leader's chest was pierced through.
The Heavenly King Hall Leader's waist was severed in two.
The Lord of the Five Dragons HallLeader's arm was hacked off.
The Shadow Hall Leader's leg was cut away.
It all happened in a flash.
Five of the Twelve Hall Lords were either killed or rendered incapable of fighting.
Their blood stained the battlefield.
"Th-the Hall Lords...!"
The remaining seven Hall Lords screamed.
But Namgung Cheon-rui's sword did not stop.
He swung his sword as if dancing.
Shuaaak!
Sword force swept forward like a storm.
Before it, the remaining Hall Lords and Right Protector Gal Seo-ryeong desperately launched a formation and counterattacked.
But in the face of Namgung Cheon-rui—hallowed the mightiest sword under heaven—they could not last even five hundred moments before being strewn across the ground.
"Kuuk...!"
Gal Seo-ryeong stood in Namgung Cheon-rui's way, swinging her sword.
She refused to give up to the last.
But her sword was flicked away by Namgung Cheon-rui's sword aura.
Kwahng!
Sword force struck Gal Seo-ryeong square in the chest.
"Puwek!"
She spewed blood and was flung backward.
Her chest was deeply caved in.
It was a critical internal injury.
She crashed to the ground and moved no more.
All of this happened in the brief moment Jaseong was knocked back.
Jaseong had to watch it all with his own eyes.
"......!"
Jaseong's eyes reddened.
A burning blaze surged within his chest.
All the Twelve Hall Lords who had followed and believed in him as Sect Leader had now died or fallen.
Namgung Cheon-rui leisurely flicked his sword.
The blood staining the hilt dripped to the ground.
"Did you see, Evil Path Association Leader? That's the gap. No matter how you struggle, I have stood at the peak of the jianghu for decades. Do you think the likes of you could stand in this one's way?"
Namgung Cheon-rui raised his sword again.
This time, he took a stance to deliver the final blow at Jaseong.
Jaseong clutched his chest with trembling hands.
His heart thundered as if it would burst.
Was this where his revenge and Heaven's Mandate would end?
Would he, like the executors of Heaven's Mandate who passed him the Heaven Evading Way, ultimately end in failure?
No.
It could not end here.
His vengeance was not yet complete.
He hadn't come this far, enduring poison and hardship, just to end like this...!
Goooo—
Jaseong closed his eyes.
In truth, his comrades and subordinates had not died in vain.
In the moment he was knocked back, Jaseong had been preparing his last resort.
He reached toward the most forbidden gate deep within his body—a door one must never open.
'Celestial Gate Opening Art... Twelfth Gate, death Gate, open!'
Kwaaaaaa!
An explosive energy erupted from Jaseong's body.
Golden ki soared to the heavens, as if piercing the sky.
The earth split apart, and the air was torn asunder.
This force was incomparable, far more immense and savage than that of the Eleventh Gate.
Opening the Twelfth Gate.
It was the final stage of the Celestial Gate Opening Art.
A forbidden realm where one steps into the domain of gods, surpassing all human limits.
But the price was Jaseong's lifespan.
Even transcendent immortals rarely opened the Twelfth Gate.
"Kuuuuu!"
Golden flames burst from Jaseong's entire body.
At the same time, blood trickled from his lips.
It was the backlash from opening the Twelfth Gate.
His energy veins began to rupture.
His skin split, and blood oozed out.
His internal power rampaged, gnawing at his body.
Suffering swept over him as his vitality burned away.
But...
Jaseong endured it all.
"Namgung Cheon-rui...."
Jaseong's voice rumbled low.
In that voice was an overwhelming pressure.
"Today, I will kill you... Even if this body shatters... I will!"
Jaseong stomped the ground.
Bang!
The earth burst explosively.
Jaseong's movement became a beam of light shooting at Namgung Cheon-rui.
He was now moving too fast for the naked eye.
Namgung Cheon-rui hurriedly raised his sword to block.
Chang—!
But this time, Namgung Cheon-rui shuddered!! and was pushed back.
Jaseong, who had opened the Twelfth Gate, now possessed power of a completely different order.
Each of his strikes carried enough force to shatter mountains.
"You...!"
Namgung Cheon-rui's eyes widened; he had not expected Jaseong to possess yet another hidden skill.
But Jaseong's assault did not stop.
Ssak! Chang! Chang! Kwahng!
Jaseong's sword rained down like a torrential downpour.
Namgung Cheon-rui blocked desperately, but Jaseong's blade grew ever swifter and stronger.
His sword aura tore the very space apart, eating away at Namgung Cheon-rui's protective enhanced energy.
At the same time, Jaseong's condition was deteriorating rapidly.
His internal power melted away in an instant, and his life force burned up like a candle.
Moreover, the Wicked Flame Sword was devouring Jaseong's innate true ki.
The demonic sword drew on its master's vitality for even greater power.
Black flames intensified, twisting around Jaseong's arm.
'There's... no time...'
Jaseong's vision began to blur.
Blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and ears.
His body was falling apart.
Agony overwhelmed him as bone shattered and muscle tore.
Yet, Jaseong did not stop his sword.
He could not stop.
'If I stop here, everything ends. And... I will never allow that...!'
Mustering his last ounce of strength, Jaseong unleashed the Heaven Evading Clone Step.
Two clones materialized beside him.
With that, Jaseong and his clones swung their swords together.
"Heaven Evading Flash Sword, twelfth Form—Heaven Evading Annihilation!"
Jaseong and his clones left dozens of afterimages, bearing down on Namgung Cheon-rui.
Black flames and golden ki intertwined, as if the wrath of the heavens were crashing down.
Namgung Cheon-rui swung his sword with desperate fury.
"Azure Heaven Lightning Formation (蒼天雷光陣)!"
Blue lightning spread in a net, blocking Jaseong's sword strikes.
But against the sword attacks from one who had opened the Twelfth Gate, he could not fully block them.
Chang! Chang! Kwahng!
Namgung Cheon-rui's shoulder was cut.
Blood gushed from his flank.
For the first time, the "Mightiest Sword under Heaven" bled.
"Y-you...!"
Namgung Cheon-rui's face twisted.
He erupted all his cultivated power and launched a counterattack.
KWA-AAAAAANG!!!
The two clashed swords and pushed against each other with all their might.
"Kuuuuuu!"
"Uuuuugh!"
Blood poured from Jaseong's lips.
It was not Namgung Cheon-rui's cultivated power, but the aftereffects of opening the Twelfth Gate.
As a result, the two clones created with the Heaven Evading Clone Step dissipated.
Namgung Cheon-rui also spat blood.
It was internal injury caused by Jaseong's cultivated power.
Namgung Cheon-rui's face turned pale.
At that moment, Jaseong's eyes flared.
'Now!'
Suddenly, Jaseong thrust out his left hand.
Hundreds of silver needles shot from his sleeve.
"Heavenly Physician's Needle Technique—Secret Essence: All Streams Return to the Source (萬流歸元)!"
The silver needles formed the shape of a dragon and flew toward Namgung Cheon-rui's chest.
At that moment, Namgung Cheon-rui was committed to pressing his sword and could not evade.
Kwahng!
The martial art left behind by the Eternal Divine Physician struck Namgung Cheon-rui's chest.
The silver needles pierced through his protective enhanced energy and sealed his blood vessels.
"Keugh!"
Namgung Cheon-rui coughed up blood and was thrown backward.
His stance fell apart.
Jaseong did not miss that chance.
"It's over!"
Jaseong poured all his remaining power into the Wicked Flame Sword.
The black flames exploded.
This was the absolute final strike, embodying all his remaining strength.
If this attack was blocked, Jaseong would be the one to lose.
"Heaven Evading Flash Sword, secret Essence: Heaven Evading Shadow Annihilation Sword!"
Nine streaks of sword aura flashed toward Namgung Cheon-rui's chest.
Swiik—!
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
All noise vanished; only the harsh breathing of the two men could be heard.
Everyone in the area held their breath, watching the scene unfold.
The orthodox Sect Leaders, the heads of the unorthodox sects—all eyes were on Jaseong and Namgung Cheon-rui.
The outcome of this final exchange would determine the victor of this entire war.