Chapter 166 : Shaolin Sword Star. -01
Chapter 166: Shaolin Sword Star. -01
“From this point on, I will take charge, Sect Leader.”
“It is impossible alone. Together…….”
“Others are in danger.”
“Ah!”
At Ban Hojin’s words, the Beggar King suddenly came to his senses.
He had withdrawn to save Namgung Ho, but it was obvious that the subordinates pouring toward those who remained would only have intensified.
They had barely been maintaining balance as it was, so the Beggar King hurriedly glanced around.
He was trying to assess the state of the battle.
“Please take care of Great Hero Namgung as well.”
“……Will you be all right?”
“Shouldn’t I at least try as far as I can?”
The Beggar King’s eyes grew heavy.
Contrary to his words, there was no great sign of tension on Ban Hojin’s face.
Rather, a faint competitive spirit showed itself on his expression, and the Beggar King could not hide his puzzlement.
But he had no time to resolve his curiosity.
The situation was steadily worsening, and he had to move.
Even at this very moment, Sang Il-gi, Peng Mancheol, and Ilwoo were being pushed back helplessly. The Beggar King cast Ban Hojin one last wavering glance before retreating with Namgung Ho.
“So you finally step forward.”
“You sound like you’ve been waiting.”
“Is that so?”
At Ban Hojin’s casual, informal speech without the slightest hesitation, In Gyeongbo let out a hollow chuckle.
It was the first time he had encountered such a rising junior.
“There’s no need for courtesy between people who must kill each other, is there? Don’t you think?”
“That is true. But have you not considered this? That there are deaths filled with agony, and deaths without pain.”
“You think I wouldn’t know that?”
“You truly seem confident you can defeat me.”
“You sound like a man thinking about his own death before a duel of life and death.”
Ban Hojin did not yield a single word.
Conversation, too, was a form of contesting momentum.
Surprisingly, verbal sparring had a considerable psychological effect.
Even aside from that, bowing first simply did not suit Ban Hojin’s temperament.
“They said the Divine Dragon’s tongue was formidable. It seems that rumor was true.”
“Are you tired?”
“Ho ho ho!”
As if finding the exchange tiresome, Ban Hojin responded with a curt retort, and In Gyeongbo laughed dryly.
Yet unlike his smiling face, the aura pouring from his entire body was ferocious beyond measure.
It was so overwhelming that even the Great War Gods trembled mid-battle.
But Ban Hojin was different.
‘Hm?’
A terrifying qi pressure surged from In Gyeongbo’s entire being, yet Ban Hojin did not tense.
In his previous life, the man before him had occupied one of the seats among the Four Tyrants of the World.
In Gyeongbo was a martial artist ranked alongside the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Such a level was only natural.
No—if anything, it felt slightly lacking.
‘Is it because this is nine years ago?’
Without question, In Gyeongbo’s martial prowess was extraordinary.
Even the Law King and the Sword King—said to be the closest to being the Greatest Under Heaven—would concede a move to him.
But compared to the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, whom Ban Hojin had personally faced in his previous life, he seemed somewhat inferior.
Ban Hojin considered that perhaps the reason lay in time.
Just as some realms stagnated, it was possible that In Gyeongbo had not yet fully matured.
When that thought reached him, a sharp glint flashed in Ban Hojin’s eyes.
‘Then it is worth attempting.’
Unconsciously, Ban Hojin had set the standard of the Four Tyrants of the World based on their level in his previous life.
There was no other way for him to judge.
But that had been the worst assumption; the time was different, and so was In Gyeongbo’s level.
Thus, Ban Hojin smiled.
“I wonder how long that confidence of yours will last.”
Shhhaaaak!
While Ban Hojin was lost in thought, In Gyeongbo unleashed a slash.
He displayed the Iron Blood Demonic Blade Art that had made him the ruler of the Great Desert.
Soon, a massive Blade Force erupted from the blade, surging toward Ban Hojin with the momentum to split him in two.
It was the very same strike that had sent Namgung Ho flying with a single blow.
Boooom!
Ban Hojin met head-on the slash that had even blown away the Yama King.
As if he had no intention of evading, he swung his sword directly against it.
And astonishingly, the result was a draw.
With Ban Hojin’s Single Sword Strike, In Gyeongbo’s incoming Blade Force dispersed as though neutralized.
Sssssk!
But it was too early to be surprised.
The moment he scattered the Blade Force, Ban Hojin charged forward.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance and thrust his sword.
At first glance it seemed a simple thrust, yet In Gyeongbo’s eyes widened at the sight.
Though simple, the profound principle contained within the sword was not to be ignored.
Faced with a mysterious sword realm that no mere rising junior could possibly display, In Gyeongbo’s expression changed.
Kaaang!
Of course, being startled did not mean he would submit obediently.
He was merely slightly impressed.
As if to prove it, he deflected Ban Hojin’s thrust with the flat of his blade and immediately unleashed another slash.
Defense and attack were executed simultaneously.
Shhhaaaak!
With a spine-chilling air-tearing sound, In Gyeongbo’s Blade Force flashed.
Like a bolt of lightning, it shot toward Ban Hojin’s neck at terrifying speed.
But there was no point in dodging.
More precisely, even if he did, it would have meant nothing.
Kwang!
To a master who wielded Force Energy freely, distance was meaningless.
They could extend or contract its length at will.
For someone of In Gyeongbo’s level, it went without saying.
So Ban Hojin did not retreat and instead swung his sword once more.
“Oh?”
Feeling a faint rebound in his grip, In Gyeongbo showed a flicker of surprise.
He had expected Ban Hojin to be no ordinary opponent, but not to this extent.
Even Namgung Ho had failed to block a single strike, yet Ban Hojin received it without difficulty. A slight admiration appeared on In Gyeongbo’s face.
For someone of Ban Hojin’s age to have reached such a realm simply defied reason.
However, the admiration lasted only a moment.
Though the realm Ban Hojin had achieved was astonishing, the fact that he had to be killed did not change. In Gyeongbo shoved Ban Hojin back with the strength of his arm and thrust his blade once more.
Shhhaaaak!
As expected, it was the same slash he had shown until now.
The only difference was that it was not just one.
The moment the distance widened appropriately, In Gyeongbo unleashed consecutive slashes as if firing wildly.
Craaaack! Craaack!
As a result, the ground where Ban Hojin had been standing split deeply apart.
In Gyeongbo’s Blade Force tore the earth asunder.
‘This is manageable.’
Though he was evading the relentless barrage of slashes, Ban Hojin’s expression was not particularly dark.
As he had first felt, it did not seem overwhelming.
Rather, the longer it went on, the more he felt it was within reach.
At this level, there would be no need for Mutual Destruction as in his previous life. The thought made him smile unconsciously.
“This is hardly the time to be smiling.”
It seemed that struck a nerve with In Gyeongbo.
The already formidable slashes grew faster, fiercer, and more refined.
But Ban Hojin, too, had not yet used his full strength.
Wooooong!
The Iron Blood Demonic Blade Art that In Gyeongbo had mastered was undoubtedly an unparalleled martial art.
And In Gyeongbo’s talent was worthy of the title The Sole Tyrant of the Great Desert.
Yet the same was true of Ban Hojin.
At the mere age of thirty, he had ascended to the Transcendent Realm and faced the Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, one of the Four Tyrants of the World.
KWAaaang!
As if to prove it, Ban Hojin stopped lightly evading and struck head-on.
A monstrous aftershock swept out in all directions.
The very axis of the earth trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
“Wh-what?!”
“What is this?!”
Though it was merely sword and blade colliding, the ground itself shook, leaving even Elder-level masters flustered.
Unlike the Great War Gods or the Ten Great Masters Under Heaven, who could perform Air-Stepping, they were bound to the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even those called masters struggled to keep their footing amid the successive tremors, yet Ban Hojin continued swinging his sword.
He received every slash In Gyeongbo unleashed.
In Gyeongbo’s blade was massive, close in size to a Great Shield Saber, but Ban Hojin’s momentum did not falter in the slightest.
He accepted the domineering blade strikes without a tremor.
Puh-puh-puh-BOOM!
Even amid the gale-like shockwaves swirling around them, he was hardly affected.
Astonishingly, he showed not the slightest sign of being pushed back against the absolute ruler of the Great Desert.
That fact inwardly surprised In Gyeongbo.
Even Great War Gods could not easily withstand his slashes, yet Ban Hojin continued to receive them.
“Hup!”
Thus, In Gyeongbo grew curious.
Just how far could Ban Hojin endure?
Wooooong!
If his previous attacks had been merely Blade Force brimming with True Energy, this time was different.
From In Gyeongbo’s hand emerged a strike that could no longer simply be called Blade Force.
“Hmph!”
CRAAAAANG!
Yet Ban Hojin received even that.
Though he knew what it contained, he did not retreat.
Against the strike infused with the ultimate principle of In Gyeongbo’s martial art, Ban Hojin responded in kind.
“Ha!”
In Gyeongbo felt it the instant their blows collided, and he was shocked.
He could not believe that twenty-one-year-old Ban Hojin had achieved a martial realm equal to his own.
But that thought did not last long.
Ban Hojin did not miss the brief hesitation in In Gyeongbo’s movements.
Shhhaaaak! Shhhaaaak!
Until moments ago, In Gyeongbo had dominated the offensive.
Now it was different.
As if declaring he would seize control from here on, Ban Hojin unleashed sword strikes with terrifying momentum.
He consecutively executed the first and second forms of the Three Dharma Swords.
KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
Explosions and thunderous roars erupted around In Gyeongbo.
Ground and sky alike were cleaved and detonated by Ban Hojin’s sword strikes.
“Hngh!”
The dreadful power that even shredded Protective Energy snapped In Gyeongbo’s focus sharp.
He knew well that a single misstep could cost him an arm or a leg.
Yet he still did not believe he would lose.
BOOOOM!
Ban Hojin’s skill was undeniably astonishing, but In Gyeongbo believed the difference born of experience could not be overcome.
Experience accumulated with the years.
With that in mind, In Gyeongbo violently unleashed slashes, splitting apart Ban Hojin’s sword momentum.
He intended first to reclaim the initiative he had lost.
KWAaaang!
But Ban Hojin used that very intention against him.
As if he had anticipated it all along, he demonstrated an absurd modulation of speed and force, thrusting his sword in at the very instant In Gyeongbo swung his blade.
He exploited the tiniest opening without fail.
“Ku!”
At Ban Hojin’s Single Sword Strike that pierced toward his solar plexus with exquisite precision, In Gyeongbo flinched.
Outwardly, it appeared to be nothing more than a straightforward thrust.
But In Gyeongbo could see it.
The Sword Thrust could shift at any moment, in any direction.
Depending on Ban Hojin’s will, it could turn toward his throat, his glabella, or even his Dantian.
Thus, In Gyeongbo accounted for every possibility and swung his blade.
CRAAAAANG!
If he could not predict the direction, then he would simply shove away the sword itself.
And he added one more measure.
He fully utilized the one advantage he held over Ban Hojin.
Wooooong!
Around In Gyeongbo, over a dozen Force Rings formed.
He made full use of his superior cultivation.
Moreover, the Force Rings he created were not merely filled with immense True Energy.
Whooooosh!
Each and every one could be precisely controlled by In Gyeongbo.
Like telekinetic sword control, he could perfectly command the Force Rings, and together with his blade, he pressed Ban Hojin relentlessly.
Puh-puh-puh-BOOM!
Following the headlong slashes, the Force Rings surged without pause, causing explosions to erupt continuously around Ban Hojin.
Fortunately, none had struck his body yet.
He evaded them while performing Air-Stepping.
Yet the situation was undeniably precarious.
Not only did In Gyeongbo’s Force Rings continue pursuing him, but they did not vanish upon exploding.
Thus, Ban Hojin was forced to keep moving without rest.
“Ho ho! How long can you keep dodging?”