Chapter 122 : Chapter 122
Chapter 122. Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable (5)
Dam Jeok-san held his breath as he watched the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle move.
It was not to discern his master’s intentions. He simply could not tear his eyes away.
A life-and-death duel between one who had stepped into the domain of the Eight Sovereigns of Murim and one who stood at their very apex. A battle unfolding in the realm of Super-Ascending.
‘I cannot miss even a single moment.’
He had to engrave everything into his mind. Every movement, every release of force held clues that could guide him to the next realm.
With his visual power heightened to its utmost, Dam Jeok-san fixed his gaze on the battle between the two transcendents.
Nor was he the only one doing so.
Kwon Gi-il and Bukgung Wan, too, watched the duel with eyes bloodshot wide, as though it were a lie that they had crossed the brink of death fighting the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable just moments ago.
Madmen. Madmen obsessed with martial arts. Yet no one present found them strange.
For the Ultra-Peak was a realm where one could stand alone against hundreds. There was no way anyone could reach such a realm without madness.
The duel itself was one-sided.
Each time the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle casually extended a fist or palm, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s body reeled violently.
Dam Jeok-san etched those movements into his mind like brands of fire, movements he would have believed belonged to a street ruffian’s brawl.
‘What you see is not everything.’
Having glimpsed an unfathomably vast martial firmament through the memories of Seo Woo-joo from his previous life, Dam Jeok-san instinctively understood that truth.
Thus, his eyes were ‘seeing’ a lofty realm that even Ultra-Peak experts could never dare to glimpse.
‘Perhaps only the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable and I have realized that here.’
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle had shaved away excess again and again, forging combat paths optimized for the Heaven-Shattering, Star-Destroying Form.
Those simple, almost careless punches were, astonishingly, the product of relentless refinement.
Dam Jeok-san could see it clearly.
‘Master is using only a handful of internal energy.’
So little that it was indistinguishable from the output of a third-rate martial artist striking in the street.
Even accounting for how extremely compressed and refined the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle’s internal energy was, it did not seem to surpass the level of a Peak expert.
Yet with just that much strength, he was driving the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable back.
CLANG!!
Each time his fist landed, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s Body Protection Qi—once like an iron fortress—crumbled to dust.
The combat path traced by the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle’s fists amplified the power of that mere handful of internal energy.
‘That is the power a combat path refined to near-perfection can display.’
It was almost akin to an Ability. How long would it take for him to create a Sword Path of that level?
‘Ten years? Twenty?’
No—this was not something that could be measured that way. It was not a realm one could reach by shutting oneself in a training room and practicing wall-facing cultivation.
He had to train without forgetting this moment. He could not stop at training alone. He had to struggle fiercely, fight those stronger than himself, cross the brink of death, and cut them down.
Only that path allowed a martial artist to reach the ultimate.
***
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle looked at the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable.
Even if one stripped away the methods of the Outer Path, the realm he had attained was more than respectable.
Though he did not reach the Eight Sovereigns of Murim, was he not close enough to nip at their heels?
Yet the gaze the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle directed at him was utterly indifferent.
‘He cannot reach the ultimate.’
Was it because he relied on the Outer Path and accepted the power of monsters into his body? No.
“You believe that you can never kill this Seat.”
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle spoke in a languid voice.
“……”
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable could not offer any reply.
Because it was true. The gap between him and the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle was absolute. Perhaps it was even greater than the gap between Dam Jeok-san and himself.
How could he possibly kill such a man?
“Your madness is insufficient to touch Limitless.”
Man Su-geuk said with the faintest of smiles.
Knowing one’s own limits was, indeed, a form of wisdom.
‘Most of those who die in the martial world are rabble who run wild without knowing their place.’
The wise. Those who knew their place. Those who knew their place yet did not give up on becoming stronger.
In the end, those were the ones who survived the martial world.
However, as one advanced beyond the Entering Transformation Realm and approached the absolute realm, common sense itself began to invert.
“Only the mad survive. Only those who believe they can accomplish what should be impossible step into the next realm. You know this as well.”
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle continued in his barren voice.
Though he was speaking to the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable, in truth, he was imparting instruction to the three standing behind him.
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable knew that as well.
Yet—
“I know of one such person.”
He needed a moment to catch his breath, even if it meant answering the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle’s words.
“Blood God.”
As if already knowing the answer, the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle spoke the Blood Palace Lord’s epithet.
The god the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable served, and the current Palace Lord of the Blood Palace.
And—
“A traitor of our sect.”
Bukgung Wan ground his teeth as he spoke.
It had been hundreds of years since the Blood World Heavenly Sect betrayed the Ming Cult and declared independence.
It could have meant merely that they were descendants of traitors, but Bukgung Wan’s words carried sharper, more direct hatred.
“Blood God stole the sect’s sacred treasures and Holy Flame from the Ming Cult Leader, who was then contending for the strongest under heaven.”
That, too, had been hundreds of years ago.
The Ming Cult Leader of that era had been a transcendent expert who single-handedly slew two Monster Kings. A level of martial might that would not pale even when compared to the present Eight Sovereigns of Murim.
‘The First Castle Lord said that even he did not fall behind such a man.’
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle recalled those words from his memoirs.
And Blood God had rebelled against such a Ming Cult Leader. An act only possible for one who had lost his mind.
“To reach the ultimate, such madness is necessary.”
The Martial Sovereign said calmly.
He did not particularly like Blood God—if anything, he was closer to contempt. Yet it was undeniable that the man’s madness had elevated him to the pinnacle among the Four Fiends of the Outer Path.
“Still, you are not it.”
And once more, the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle mocked the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable.
“……”
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable could not refute those words.
“But that child is different.”
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle gestured toward Dam Jeok-san with his chin.
“You felt it as well. Unless those eyes of yours are mere decoration.”
“……”
Silence again.
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable could not deny it. Dam Jeok-san was, at best, an Ultra-Peak expert, and one who had only just entered maturity.
Considering his age of twenty-five, it was an astonishing achievement.
Yet when speaking of Limitless, even the Entering Transformation Realm was merely the beginning.
And yet Dam Jeok-san had cut him.
Who had aided him, and what coincidences had occurred in the process, did not matter.
Dam Jeok-san had arrogantly trusted his own sword.
He had believed he could cut down the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable across that unfathomable gap.
For the first time on this battlefield, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable felt a sense of crushing defeat.
Losing to absolute beings like the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle or the Unorthodox Alliance Lord was acceptable. They had reached realms he could never hope to touch, beings who could even exchange blows with Blood God, the Lord of the Blood Palace.
But Dam Jeok-san was merely a junior.
And yet he was better than him?
If he could have denied it, he would have. If he could have pretended not to know, he would have.
But the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable was too wise and too cunning for that. He was a man who could not turn his eyes away from a clear truth.
“That will become the cause of your defeat.”
As he said this, the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle casually extended a hand behind him.
An immense suction force erupted from his grasp.
Immediately, Dam Jeok-san’s two swords—Sky Thunder and Red Cloud Sword—were pulled into the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle’s hand.
A truly transcendent feat of Psychokinesis.
Just as Dam Jeok-san was about to show a startled expression—
“I will borrow them for a moment.”
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle spoke as if issuing a notice. Though he seemed the type to cling to barehanded combat alone throughout his life, his mastery of swordsmanship was also exceptionally high.
In truth, until Dam Jeok-san’s age, the Castle Lord had wielded a single sword as his life-defining weapon. He had only abandoned the sword upon reaching the Entering Transformation Realm.
Perhaps because of that—
The posture he assumed while holding the twin swords was exceedingly relaxed and natural.
Yet—
“You have tamed these swords very well.”
A faint crease formed between his brows.
The Sword Intent of the two blades was resisting someone other than their master, to the point that the Upper Dantian rang noisily.
They were merely swords. Fine blades, perhaps, but not quite divine weapons. If the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle wished it, he could suppress their Sword Intent in an instant.
Yet he chose to listen to the will the swords were emitting. And he answered it.
—It is to guide your master.
A pure wave of intent, unrefined by language, pierced into the two swords.
ZIIIIING!!
As if they understood, Sky Thunder and Red Cloud Sword released intense sword cries and coiled obediently into his hands.
‘Excellent swords. Perhaps once Jeok-san crosses the wall, these blades may be called divine swords as well.’
With that thought, the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle straightened his stance.
“Sword… Dragon?”
At that moment, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable felt as though he were facing Dam Jeok-san once more.
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle made no effort to correct that illusion. Instead, he adjusted the presence he was emitting to the level of an Ultra-Peak expert, reinforcing it.
“Ha…!”
Those watching from behind gasped at an ability bordering on the divine.
And Dam Jeok-san stood as though nailed in place, staring at his master.
“Remember this. A sword that has reached the ultimate can cut even providence.”
With those words, the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle naturally swung the twin swords downward.
A careless motion that could scarcely be called a technique. Yet Dam Jeok-san knew. This was the very apex he needed to pursue.
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle’s swords cleaved the world.
The strike, which seemed to have cut only empty air, honed space itself into a single slash.
KRRRRAAACK—!
The space where the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable stood warped and tore apart without warning.
A manifestation of the technique known as Space Severance, or the Space Sword.
The will that tore space apart did not arise from refinement of internal energy, but from the strength of the human himself.
“How…! How…!”
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable screamed in shock.
Before his eyes, space began to split and twist apart.
He had not yet felt the pain of his body being severed, but instinct told him—
This strike allowed no room for counterattack.
Was it truly possible to unleash a Space Sword—something even the Sword Emperor among the Eight Sovereigns of Murim could only use under extreme conditions—so easily, without preparation?
Perhaps because space was shattering like fragments, the Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle’s face became indistinguishable from Dam Jeok-san’s.
Yet the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable was still an ultra-expert who had reached a realm comparable to the Eight Sovereigns of Murim.
From his hands, dark crimson Blood Jade Astral Qi poured forth like a waterfall.
A single move that cast aside all thought of what came next, pouring out everything he had.
The surging Astral Qi distorted even the Space Sword. A strike that should have reduced his entire body to fragments was endured at the cost of only his left arm and right leg being severed.
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable realized then that he could not leave this place alive.
In that case, he would at least kill Dam Jeok-san.
The Lord of the Martial Sovereign Castle had wagered the future of the world upon him. If he killed that boy, would he not be killing the future of this world itself?
Kill him. He must kill him.
A chilling killing intent swept over Dam Jeok-san.
And seeing it, Dam Jeok-san’s lips curved into a bright, delighted arc.
Yes. Come.
Holding the twin swords loosely at his sides, he declared it so.