Chapter 32 : The Six Yang Divine Meridian (1)
As I was concentrating on watching the match, someone suddenly sat next to me. What was surprising was that there was originally someone next to me, but he just squeezed in and sat down.
I turned my head to the side to see who this shameless person was.
"Today is a lucky day."
"It's you."
"Let's fight!"
"Yeah. No."
I refused immediately. Then Soma spoke to me again.
"Then, let's fight a little later!"
As if they had read Soma's madness, people slowly moved away. Or perhaps they had recognized Soma, who had secured a spot in the round of 16.
Even though he looks so fierce, he belongs to the Blood Cult.
Or perhaps they moved away because they were afraid he would ask them to fight too.
It's always best to avoid a madman!
Soma was a guy who could definitely do that.
"Let's fight!"
He's actually doing it. Let's pretend we're not together. Because it's embarrassing.
Just then, someone else sat in the empty seat. This time, I was the one who acknowledged him first.
"Mad Demon. Congratulations on advancing to the round of 16."
"Hehe. It feels good to be congratulated by the Captain. You too, Captain."
"Yeah."
In the time I hadn't seen him, the Mad Demon's prayer had become slightly similar to someone I knew. It seemed that the Mad Demon was keeping a secret from me.
To think that our kid has grown up so much that he's keeping secrets.
I'm proud, yet bitter.
Is this what a parent's heart feels like?
I've never been a parent, so how would I know? I was just saying.
I also greeted Gwang Se-hyeon, who was sitting next to the Mad Demon.
"Congratulations on being eliminated in the round of 16."
"It was just one step back for two steps forward."
"Yeah."
The kid is so bright. That's all that matters.
"They're finally fighting! Go, Sword Demoness!"
With the Mad Demon's cheer, I cast my gaze to the tournament stage.
The Sword Demoness was the first to kick off the tournament stage and run.
* * *
The world is unfair.
That was the first thought Murong Seryeong had when she became aware of the world.
Murong Seryeong was from a branch family of the Murong family.
However, the difference between her and the other branch family members was that her father was from the direct line.
And one of the bloodlines of the family head at that.
So, although Murong Seryeong was from a branch family, she was educated like the direct line. If Murong Seryeong had just had an ordinary talent, the story would have ended there. But Murong Seryeong had inherited the blood of the direct line more strongly than anyone else.
As a child, she didn't even realize that she had to hide it.
As a result, she received a lot of discrimination and bullying, and on the day she thought she was freed from that pain, she fell into another hell.
The world was unfair to Murong Seryeong.
And that was still continuing.
-You are weak. I do not place value on the weak. So prove it. Because you need strong power to protect what is precious.
Murong Seryeong gripped her sword tightly. She kicked off the ground. Her opponent was the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong of the Sura Cult. According to the rumors, he was one of the candidates for the winner.
He was said to have been born with the legendary Six Yang Divine Meridian.
She didn't know what the Six Yang Divine Meridian was, but she knew that it was something amazing. Even so, Murong Seryeong didn't care who her opponent was.
Except for just one person.
So there was no reason for her sword to hesitate.
Slice.
Murong Seryeong slashed her sword.
Despite holding a great saber as large as his own body, the opponent showed an evasive movement as light as a feather.
"When a swordsman holds a sword, they must always maintain their composure. That's the basics, don't you know?"
Murong Seryeong ignored her opponent's words and immediately took her stance. Then she controlled her breathing and pulled her arm back.
What she had just done was just a first move to see the opponent's reaction.
With that one blow, Murong Seryeong had engraved information about the opponent's skill, breathing, range of action, habits, etc., in her mind. And based on that, she performed her sword art.
Swish.
She lifts her foot. A footprint is engraved on the supporting foot on the other side.
Thud!
When the extended foot comes down, the tournament stage rings. Dust rises up all at once.
Before the risen dust settles, Murong Seryeong extends her arm straight forward. The sword pierces through the dust and goes straight in a straight line.
A sword art that no student of the Little Demon Academy could not know.
The first technique of the Six Demon Sword Art, One Demon Extreme Flash.
Her flexible body made the original One Demon Extreme Flash faster and stronger.
"Now you're worth looking at."
Yang So-pyeong lifts the side of his great saber.
Clang!
Murong Seryeong's thrust is blocked by the simply lifted great saber.
Swish!
As if she had expected this move to be blocked, Murong Seryeong immediately took her next step. Seeing that, a smile resembling a demon appeared on Yang So-pyeong's face.
Yang So-pyeong had realized what Murong Seryeong was trying to do.
"Are you trying to break through?"
Thud!
A heavier sound than before rings on the tournament stage. A force of a thousand geun is added to Murong Seryeong's slender body.
The Thousand Geun Pendant.
A skill that adds weight by directing the body's center of gravity endlessly downwards.
The sensation of the feet digging into the ground.
On the contrary, the upper body maximizes its flexibility like a reed swaying in the wind.
"Haha! This is fun!"
Seeing that sight, the smile resembling a demon on Yang So-pyeong's face deepens. And Yang So-pyeong stood still with his two legs firmly planted on the ground.
An intention to counter the opponent's attack as it is.
Murong Seryeong did not avoid this fight either. No! She had no intention of avoiding it in the first place.
Murong Seryeong extended her sword. The same One Demon Extreme Flash as before was performed. However, the result was different.
It was faster than before.
And when the arm was fully extended, Murong Seryeong twisted her waist and upper body all at once, shifting the center of gravity from her lower body to her upper body all at once.
As a result, all the weight was concentrated on the sword.
With that immense power.
Clatter!
A sight as if the sword made of steel was bending like a whip unfolded.
The principle of explosive power added to the thrust.
Drip.
Yang So-pyeong, who had defended with the side of his great saber, slid back. The footprints Yang So-pyeong had left remained on the tournament stage.
And crack.
"Even if it's a small amount, to scratch my great saber, which is partially mixed with black iron, is surprising."
Yang So-pyeong slung the Flame Saber over his shoulder and lowered his upper body.
And this time, Yang So-pyeong lowered his center of gravity. Seeing this, Murong Seryeong also directed her center of gravity downwards to counter him.
At that moment, Yang So-pyeong showed the same feather-like movement as before.
Pang!
Yang So-pyeong shot out. At that fast movement, Murong Seryeong's reaction was momentarily late.
The result was clear.
The Flame Saber draws a red trajectory and is swung wide. Murong Seryeong raises her sword to block it. But because it was a defense in a state where she was not fully in position, Murong Seryeong's posture momentarily faltered.
Thwack!
Murong Seryeong retreated to catch her breath. But Yang So-pyeong was not one to allow that. Rather, it could be said that it was intentional.
Yang So-pyeong spun his body around towards Murong Seryeong and kicked up his foot.
Murong Seryeong allowed Yang So-pyeong's attack on her shoulder. Instead, she was able to create distance with that impact.
Murong Seryeong, who had minimized the impact by spinning her body in the air, raised her head as soon as she landed on the tournament stage.
Because she had expected Yang So-pyeong to chase her and attack again this time. But Yang So-pyeong was standing still in his place.
The spectator seats.
I focused my gaze on the shoulder of the Sword Demoness, who had just been attacked.
Then, the part where Yang So-pyeong's foot had touched was scorched black.
The reason why the Six Yang Divine Meridian, like the Nine Yin Severed Meridian, was called one of the legendary constitutions was simple.
If you were to pick the most important acupoints among the 365 acupoints that make up the human body, anyone would undoubtedly pick the 9 great acupoints that are directly connected to the great meridians.
Of course, things like the Six Yang Divine Meridian and the Nine Yin Severed Meridian were all related to these great acupoints.
The Six Yang Divine Meridian referred to a person born with yang energy in 6 of the 9 great acupoints, and the Nine Yin Severed Meridian referred to a person born with yin energy in all 9 of the 9 great acupoints.
The Yongcheon acupoint located on the sole of the foot.
The Dantian acupoint located below the navel.
The Jungwan acupoint located exactly in the middle of the human body.
The Jeonjung acupoint where the middle dantian is located.
The Cheondol acupoint located in the middle of both clavicles.
The Baekhoe acupoint located in the very center of the head.
The 6 acupoints where the Six Yang Divine Meridian was known to have yang energy.
If you fill all of these with yang energy, you can naturally fill the remaining 3 great meridians with yang energy as well.
Usually, if even one of the 9 great meridians is filled with yang energy, the body will burn up or all the moisture will evaporate and you will die, but the Six Yang Divine Meridian prevents that.
I used to call this yang energy resistance in the old days.
'Rather, yang energy is like a spiritual medicine to the Six Yang Divine Meridian.'
Moreover, the greatest advantage and specialty of the Six Yang Divine Meridian was in something else.
'It's not just about being able to accept yang energy. On the contrary, you can also inject it.'
It's the yang energy of the Six Yang Divine Meridian. It was natural that it was stronger than ordinary yang energy. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to completely contain that energy. In terms of weapons, they had to be made entirely of black iron, or at least of ten-thousand-year-old cold iron.
It was a very natural principle that an ordinary body would not be able to handle such a thing.
As long as the first attack was allowed on the body.
By now, the Sword Demoness would be experiencing a terrible pain as if lava had entered her body.
Before my regression, those who had faced Yang So-pyeong without knowing this had all died with their bodies on fire or their moisture dried up due to the terror of the Six Yang Divine Meridian that Yang So-pyeong possessed.
I can see beads of sweat forming on the Sword Demoness's forehead.
The area that was just hit is one of the 9 great acupoints, the Geogol acupoint.
Usually, it was normal to collapse from the heat that filled the body after being hit just once.
The human body is designed to collapse even with a slight fever.
The Sword Demoness would be indirectly feeling the sensation of all the moisture in her body boiling.
She might be able to endure it somehow now, but if the attacks accumulate, her life could be in danger.
It was right for the Sword Demoness to withdraw from the match right now.
But the Sword Demoness was raising her sword again.
"Oh-ho!"
Seeing that, Yang So-pyeong sneered.
"You must be experiencing a trip between this life and the afterlife right now, but you have great mental strength."
* * *
Just one blow.
The number of attacks Murong Seryeong had allowed.
But after allowing that one blow, her body felt strange.
At first, she thought the area that was hit was swollen and hot, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
As if she had caught a terrible cold, a fever started to rise in her body, and now, her vision started to become blurry.
She could see her opponent saying something, but she couldn't hear the words well either. However, judging by his expression, she could tell that he was sneering at her.
Murong Seryeong shook her head and took a breath for a moment. It felt as if smoke was coming out of her exhaled breath due to the heat.
She could feel the moisture drying up.
Her skin was becoming dry, and it felt like it would crumble like dry sand.
The opponent was a stronger opponent than Soma from the past.
She couldn't see a way to win.
Is this the end?
Is this the extent of my value?
Will I be alone again like that?
Family.
Everyone in the Murong family had died.
The last of her bloodline who had survived after everyone had died.
The two young souls who were the only ones in the Murong family who had given her a breath of fresh air.
That was Murong Seryeong's only breathing hole, her reason for living.
Ah! Come to think of it, a new one had been added.
That heart was still small, and so fragile that it would crumble in an instant if she clenched it, but it definitely existed.
Suddenly, Murong Seryeong stared at a place outside the tournament stage for a moment.
Yoo Jae-ha was there.
'He came to see me.'
The being who had first extended a hand to her when she came to the Heavenly Demon Cult.
No! The being who had shown her warmth for the first time besides her family.
The heat that had only been hot until now somehow felt warm. It felt like her breathing, which had been difficult, was returning.
Her blurring mind is also gradually clearing up.
She had to win. She had to win and prove her worth. That was the reason she had participated in the Divine Demon Tournament.
But now, apart from all that, she didn't want to lose.
She didn't want to show a losing appearance.
The heat that was welling up in her body.
She didn't know the reason, but the cause was probably the opponent in front of her.
Even if she tried to push it away with her internal energy, the heat didn't budge. Rather, it was expanding its territory and increasing its power.
Murong Seryeong vaguely knew that if she allowed the opponent's attack one or two more times, this heat would spread throughout her body and she would die.
She also knew that the match was already decided the moment she was attacked.
Because if there was a condition for winning this fight, it would be not to be hit by the opponent's attack even once.
In other words, the moment she was hit, she had already lost.
Nevertheless, for the first time, Murong Seryeong did not want to lose for someone else, but for herself.
She didn't want to show a defeated appearance.
Yoo Jae-ha shot up.
The person behind him said something, but Yoo Jae-ha didn't hear it at all.
The Sword Demoness completely released the Geogol acupoint she had been blocking. As a result, the heat spread throughout her body in an instant.
Did she give up? No!
The Sword Demoness once again trapped the fiercely advancing heat. The location was the Jeonjung acupoint.
Yoo Jae-ha realized what crazy thing the Sword Demoness was trying to do now.
"She's breaking the wall."
This meant only one thing.
The Peak.