Chapter 74 : Heaven and Earth Twin Forces
The man whom the men in black called the team leader, the leader of the first team of the Strong Sword Squad and at the same time the leader of the Gamgeomdae, Gang Junpyo, felt as if everything that was happening now was a dream.
Power, speed, and even the level of internal energy and martial arts. Gang Junpyo was clearly overwhelming Jang Baekseo in every aspect.
But as if to mock that fact, Gang Junpyo was gradually being pushed into a defensive position.
The longer the fight went on…
Hwoooong!
"…!!"
The number of times Gang Junpyo's attacks cut through the air increased, and on the contrary…
Kang!!
"Ugh!?"
The number of times Jang Baekseo's attacks broke through Gang Junpyo's defense and struck his protective sword force increased.
What was more frightening was that as the number of successful attacks increased, the amount of shock that Jang Baekseo's sword qi gave through the protective sword force also increased.
'…He's forcibly unraveling the weave of my protective sword force!'
The protective sword force, which had been woven densely and elaborately, was becoming a mess, like a cheap cloth unraveling, every time it touched Jang Baekseo's sword qi.
Although he immediately restored it, the consumption of mental energy was not small.
Although Gang Junpyo had experience fighting with several transcendent masters before, this was the first time in his life he had seen such a technique.
For transcendent masters, it was natural to modify and change the weave in real time according to the opponent's sword force weave when sword force and sword force collided.
But this was only to gain a superior position in terms of compatibility with the opponent's sword force. It was by no means like what Jang Baekseo was doing now, unraveling the weave of the sword force like a skein of thread.
And as if he were applying that…
Paaaaat!
Gang Junpyo's sword force was swung towards Jang Baekseo's vital points. Since it was an attack that had broken through the gap in the offense, the best was to block it, and if he dodged it, it was an exquisite move that would inevitably lead to him losing the initiative.
But Jang Baekseo received the sword imbued with sword force with his sword qi without a moment's hesitation.
Then.
Sreureung!
Gang Junpyo's sword force slid as if it were sliding on ice, and the sword once again cut through the air.
And in that instant.
Papapak!
"Keuk!!"
Jang Baekseo's left-hand back fist struck Gang Junpyo's philtrum, Adam's apple, and solar plexus.
Although it was an unexpected attack, Gang Junpyo had changed the weave of his protective sword force according to the strike. But since it was an attack that had been carried out too unexpectedly, the first blow had gone in properly.
Drip.
A nosebleed flowed from Gang Junpyo's nose.
"Oh~ that must hurt?"
Jang Baekseo laughed at such a Gang Junpyo with a face mixed with a smile.
"…"
Gang Junpyo wiped his nosebleed with his sleeve without any rebuttal or anger and took his stance again.
Neither the protective sword force nor the sword force had been able to exert their proper power against the strange sword technique that Jang Baekseo was using.
A strange technique that forcibly disturbed the weave of the qi!
One of the twelve sword manuals derived from the Twelve Paths, Three Forms.
Jowon!
After his fight with Myeonggwang, Jang Baekseo had had many worries. It was fortunate that Myeonggwang was a half-baked person who had imitated the transcendent realm with the Gonggongdan. If he had used his sword force as a truly proper transcendent master, he would not have been able to guarantee his life or death.
Although Jang Baekseo had quickly reached the peak realm thanks to the help of the elixir, reaching the transcendent realm was not that simple.
It would take a good five years, and he could not guarantee that he would not have to fight with transcendent masters during that period.
That's why Jang Baekseo had needed a means to fight with masters of the transcendent realm even at the peak realm. And in that situation, what Jang Baekseo had focused on was the sword manual of Jowon.
Just now, in the fight with Myeonggwang, it was the sword manual of Jowon that had been used to break through the half-baked sword force and, on the contrary, to seize control of it.
Although it was a sword manual that he had not mastered before his regression, Jang Baekseo had taken this as an opportunity and had begun to train intensively in the sword manual of Jowon.
Since Jowon was a sword manual that focused on the 'other' rather than the 'self', it was not an easy thing to train.
But Jang Baekseo had neither given up nor been impatient.
He had devoted himself to it steadfastly, like the horn of a rhinoceros, without wavering. And the result was this now.
Unlike Myeonggwang's, he had become able to unravel and let flow the weave of a properly completed sword force.
If there was one thing that was disappointing, it was that since it was only to the extent of interfering and letting it flow, it could not be used as a decisive finishing move.
Then why hadn't he used this technique on Han Chuyeong?
'That guy was a brat who didn't even need that.'
Han Chuyeong, whom he had fought on Mount He, was nothing more than a brat who had only reached the transcendent realm and lacked practical experience against an equal opponent.
But the Gang Junpyo in front of him was different.
As Jang Baekseo changed the type of his attack and toyed with him, Gang Junpyo changed the weave of his energy accordingly and wove it again.
If Han Chuyeong had needed the time to take three breaths to change the weave of his protective sword force once, the Gang Junpyo in front of him only needed half the time to blink his eyes once.
'He's a useful guy…'
Whether Jang Baekseo had such thoughts or not, Gang Junpyo's head was currently in a state of chaos.
He was Gang Junpyo, a disciple of the Heaven and Earth Sect, which belonged to the New Twelve Powers, and a talented person who had taken the position of the leader of the Strong Sword Squad at a young age.
For him, who had shown his talent early on and had received the trust of the Hundred River Association and had only walked a smooth path, everything that was happening now was extremely unrealistic.
But he was different from a brat like Han Chuyeong, and he soon regained his composure.
No matter how great a talent he had, as long as there was a difference in the absolute level of martial arts, just once!
If the attack went in properly just once, it would be his victory.
Gang Junpyo's sword aimed for Jang Baekseo's life more fiercely than before.
But.
Sreung~!
Hwoooong!
"…!"
The more they exchanged blows, the more easily Jang Baekseo's sword manual of Jowon let Gang Junpyo's sword force flow.
Although Gang Junpyo was continuously modifying the weave of his sword force in the middle of the blows, Jang Baekseo was one, no, several steps ahead in the fundamental technique of handling energy.
Although Jang Baekseo was continuously gaining the upper hand, his inner self was by no means at ease.
In the first place, Jang Baekseo had been stirring up the encirclement to divert their eyes from the cave where Madam Ma was giving birth.
No matter how much Jang Baekseo continued to fight against Gang Junpyo, if Madam Ma was captured by his subordinates, this fight would be meaningless.
Moreover, although he was gaining the upper hand against Gang Junpyo, he was in a state where he did not have a decisive finishing move to finish the opponent for sure.
In this case, the fight was bound to become a long-term battle, and that was by no means what Jang Baekseo wanted.
In this case, ordinary people would have thrown a decisive move even if it meant overdoing it out of impatience, but…
'Not yet… I have to make him throw the decisive move, not me!'
For that, Jang Baekseo continued his attacks in a way that would provoke his mind rather than giving a direct blow.
Hwaaaak!
The Pahon sword manual, which had been unfolded without a sound, planted fear in Gang Junpyo's mind, and he unknowingly threw his body to avoid Jang Baekseo's attack.
At his momentary mistake, Gang Junpyo hurriedly guarded against the pursuit that would follow…
"What, don't be so scared… I'll go easy on you."
Jang Baekseo said so and spun his sword in his hand with a sly smile.
Although Gang Junpyo had shown a calm appearance at any provocation from their first meeting until now, Jang Baekseo was seeing through the subtle changes in his mind that were changing within him.
'A little more…'
To the Gang Junpyo who had corrected his posture, this time, Jang Baekseo took the offensive first.
Although Gang Junpyo tried to block such a Jang Baekseo's attack with his sword force, Jang Baekseo's sword cleverly avoided the sword force like a snake and broke into Gang Junpyo's bosom.
Kwaang!
"Keuk!?"
A strong impact, different from before, struck Gang Junpyo.
Gang Junpyo, who had been pushed back several feet, clutched his chest and knelt on one knee.
"Hmm, it's my first time doing it, but it turned out better than I thought."
"…!"
Gang Junpyo soon noticed what Jang Baekseo had just done.
The strange technique that had been disturbing and letting his sword force flow until now. While using Jowon, he had shoved another powerful sword qi into Gang Junpyo's disturbed protective sword force and had forcibly exploded it.
It was absurd enough with just Jowon, which disturbed the sword force, but at the sight of him using the sword manual, Ganghon, which had the exact opposite attribute of Jowon, in one attack, Gang Junpyo let out a groan.
'Is it like the legendary heart art of Wudang, the Yangui Heart Art…'
Although Gang Junpyo had that thought, he soon shook his head.
The Yangui Heart Art was a martial art that divided the consciousness in half and unfolded completely different martial arts from the left and right sides of the body at the same time. It was far from what Jang Baekseo had just done, using two sword qis with completely different properties in one move.
"…"
Until now, Gang Junpyo had some leisure time.
Even in a situation where he was being pushed into a defensive position one-sidedly, the reason why he could have leisure was because he was confident that Jang Baekseo did not have a technique that could give him a valid blow.
But with the move just now, that leisure had disappeared like melting snow, and in the empty space that had been created, a sense of caution and crisis that he might die was filling up.
'That's it…!'
Jang Baekseo cheered inwardly, seeing him.
Unlike his calm appearance, Jang Baekseo, who had used a sword manual of a completely different attribute in one move, was in a state where his body was quite burdened.
'Tsk, I guess you shouldn't do things you haven't done before…'
Calming the overused blood vessels and meridians, Jang Baekseo waited for Gang Junpyo's decisive move.
Then, Gang Junpyo showed a starting stance that was clearly different from before.
Gang Junpyo, who had been using a typical one-handed right-handed sword technique until now, had taken a stance as if he were using a dual-wielding style.
And from his left hand, which was not holding a sword.
Hwoooong!
A blue water force shot up.
Although the completely changed starting stance was surprising, what surprised Jang Baekseo more was the dark blue water force that was completely opposite to the red sword force that Gang Junpyo had shown until now.
'A sect that uses sword forces of completely different properties at the same time… no matter how wide the Central Plains martial world is, there aren't many such places, and if it's a place that belongs to the Righteous Heaven Alliance, there's only one!'
"The Heaven and Earth Sect… are you a disciple of the Heaven and Earth Sect?"
At Jang Baekseo's question, the man in black, Gang Junpyo, just remained silent.
Gang Junpyo had accepted that his origin would be revealed at the point when he had used the Heaven and Earth Twin Forces, the signature technique of his sect.
Although Jang Baekseo was originally a person who had to be killed by Gang Junpyo, now it was no different from them becoming mortal enemies who could not live under the same sky.
'If that guy gets out alive, I don't know what kind of damage he will do to the sect and the Hundred River Association… so I must kill him here!'
(End of Chapter)