Possessing Nothing

TL: Yul, xLordFifthChapter 403Lee Sungmin left the barrier he created behind and slowly walked forward. Prescan, smashed into the ground, lay there quietly as if dead, while Gemini got up, cursing.“What the…”He didn’t listen. Lee Sungmin moved his foot and kicked Gemini’s body.BOOM!Instead of being sent flying, Gemini’s body burst like a balloon. Blood and flesh splattered in all directions.Truthfully, Lee Sungmin bore no particular malice toward Gemini, as he had benefited from Gemini’s assistance a few times.Even during the fight against Geniella, Gemini didn’t intervene; she stood far away, merely watching, not getting involved in the battle.However, in this place, Gemini was Lee Sungmin’s enemy. Ignoring Prescan, who was sprawled on the ground, Lee Sungmin turned and stepped toward Geniella.Electricity flowed silently.Geniella took a half-step back. She wanted to hear the story. Something had changed, and whatever had changed narrowed the vast gap between Geniella and Lee Sungmin.Geniella did what she needed to do. Her magic created a barrier between her and Lee Sungmin.Then, Geniella took another half-step back, raising her hands to prepare for both defense and attack.Lee Sungmin’s strike shattered the barrier. Geniella’s defense was meaningless. In an instant, Geniella sensed this and launched an attack.The shattered barrier’s magic converged into one point, attempting to repel Lee Sungmin.It was too slow.Lee Sungmin’s thrust was faster than the converging magic. His spear no longer followed the techniques of the Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques.He executed the fundamentals of the Nine Heavenly Spear Techniques – the Ran, Na, and Chal – which he had learned from Wijihoyeon when he was ignorant and practiced relentlessly even when he found it boring. (TL Note: check the discord for details on the Ran, Na, and Chal)Lee Sungmin’s spear, sliding through before the magic exploded, scattered the magic controlled by Geniella. Before she could defend herself, her chest was pierced.And it burst. Surprise etched on Geniella’s face. She stumbled backward, looking down at the hole in her chest.The wound healed instantly, but this injury was different; it was not something she had intended.She thought she could block that visible, slow attack easily but failed.

“What’s happening?”Through her gaze of direct perception, she could not penetrate Lee Sungmin. Heoju’s presence was gone. Only Lee Sungmin was before her… But, was that truly him?He rejected the nickname Ghost Spear. Ghost Spear was weak and could not defeat Geniella.His head was clear, but his chest ached. It was more a sense of loss than despair.There was no reason to despair. The spear in Lee Sungmin’s hand dispersed and vanished. Then, he clenched his fist. The dragon language acted as he willed.What should I do next? The current Lee Sungmin had many options at his disposal. So many that it was a dilemma what to use first.“Do you know what this is?”Lee Sungmin asked in a soft voice. The turbulent emotions settled quietly but did not disappear.Hatred and the intent to kill her rampaged under the calm surface. Lee Sungmin left them be. He neither restrained nor rushed himself. There was no need.He knew how to use his fist well.Though he had never used it before, it still felt familiar. His master did not use a weapon. Similarly, the Blood Demon also refrained from using one.As naturally as using dragon language, Lee Sungmin now effortlessly wielded all that they had mastered.Seven hundred years ago, Ju Heebaek was talked of as the unparalleled under the heavens, known as Blood Ghost Asura.His unique martial art was the Art of the Heaven-Slaughtering Asura. The essence of the Art of the Heaven-Slaughtering Asura lay in its overwhelming ‘power’—deceptively simple and unadorned, yet unbending.The unparalleled of all time, the strongest, the Demon Emperor Yang Il-Chun.His unique martial art was the Dark Storm Arts.The Dark Storm Arts pursued the ultimate speed.These two martial arts were unfolding in Lee Sungmin’s body. It wasn’t difficult. Despite the differing directions of the two martial arts, to Lee Sungmin, they were both familiar.He added the power of the Art of the Heaven-Slaughtering Asura to the Dark Storm Arts. To the Art of the Heaven-Slaughtering Asura, he added the speed of Dark Storm Arts.

Dark Storm Arts x Shadowless Steps, Fourth Step, Second Form: Lightning Gale – Decimation (疾風迅雷 – 滅殺).Lightning Gale moved Lee Sungmin’s body, and Geniella, whose wounds had healed, twisted her body and swung her nails.Lee Sungmin’s punch pierced through space. Geniella’s magic and arm vanished. Geniella’s eyes widened in shock.Starting with a single punch and half a step forward, Lee Sungmin fluidly continued the sequence of movements in his mind.The purple protective qi that enveloped him grew in size, taking on the form of an Asura.The Art of the Heaven-Slaughtering Asura‘s ultimate, the fifth technique, the Asura Clan’s Heavenly Martial Art, merged with the Dark Storm Arts.PZZZZZTTTT!!!The Asura was entwined with purple electricity.Geniella’s consciousness blinked back and forth, awake one second then cut off the next. Geniella, unable to properly defend, was continuously pushed back.Any attempt at defense was futile. Lee Sungmin’s attacks and qi completely transcended Geniella’s understanding of strikes.The trajectory of the extended fist was predictable, and there were no tricks, but the overwhelming power and speed left no room for Geniella to react.‘Asura Clan’s Heavenly Martial Art…!’It was impossible for her to not know.

Geniella knew all the martial arts of the Blood Demon. But, was this really that technique?Geniella clenched her teeth. The frustration that had been wriggling exploded. Geniella’s eyes emitted a bright red glare.“AHHHHHHHH!!!”The unrestrained magic exploded. It tore the space apart and vaporized every tree in the forest.A massive storm of magic scattered in all directions. Lee Sungmin stopped moving and extended his wide-open right hand forward.He recited in dragon language again. The protective qi safeguarded his body, and a defensive wall blocked the front of Lee Sungmin.BOOOMM!!