Crackle.
Craack—!!
The sound of something tearing echoed through the air.
A strange energy spread in all directions, beginning to affect everything around it.
It was as though the energy itself were screaming.
Kreeeek—!!
The denser the energy became with every step Goyangcheon took.
Was it killing intent, or fighting spirit? Whatever the nature of that energy, it was unbearably fierce.
It was suffocating.
Even the slightest brush of that energy felt as though it could tear the skin apart.
It was far too strange to be an aura emitted by a human being.
“Heh heh.”
Watching from the hall, the Plum Blossom Immortal, Dohwa, did not bother to hide the hollow laugh that escaped her.
“…That child.”
Craack.
While she was still staring in astonishment, a sound rang out through the hall.
It seemed that a crack had begun to form somewhere.
Fortunately, a qi barrier had been erected around them at once.
A familiar energy. Feeling it, the Plum Blossom Immortal looked toward a certain spot.
“You have my thanks for your effort.”
“…”
The master of the qi barrier that had just been raised.
It was the Sword Emperor.
He stood within the hall—
More precisely, beside the Alliance Lord, regulating the energy.
Rumble—!
Vibrations resounded beyond the barrier.
The qi barrier had been created by the Sword Emperor, a peak figure among the Ten Great Masters, just below the Three Venerables.
Yet even that barrier was trembling under the onslaught of the energy.
‘…How bizarre.’
The Plum Blossom Immortal gazed at the arena with subdued eyes.
What was this overwhelming fighting spirit?
‘I expected him to become the eye of the storm.’
She had confirmed the child’s worth long ago.
The spark she had discovered would grow larger and larger in an instant, and before long, become a sacred flame. The Plum Blossom Immortal had been certain of that.
‘But he became the storm itself, not its eye.’
This was beyond her expectations.
The Plum Blossom Immortal looked down at her own hand.
The fingertips of the hand she had clenched were trembling faintly, and a tiny bead of cold sweat had formed on her palm.
Her body was tense.
The fighting spirit emitted by that young child had caused her body to heat up of its own accord.
“Heh heh heh…”
Just how had that child come to possess such power?
Beyond the arena she had been looking down upon, the Plum Blossom Immortal caught sight of someone watching from a distance.
‘Is this what you made of him?’
A handsome young man with black hair and a gentle appearance.
He was the young man now called the Fighting Dragon. In the Plum Blossom Immortal’s memories, he had been called by another name.
‘Or… is this a flame the child forged himself?’
No one could answer that question.
From the very first moment she saw him, the child had possessed a peculiar air.
At an age when he should have been happiest, his eyes had already been dead.
He was a child who carried a bloodstained sword within his heart.
She had wondered how he could possess such a blade.
And yet, on that day, it had been rusted and dulled, as though it might break at any moment.
‘It has grown sharp.’
She could sense a sword far keener than it had been then.
Moreover—
‘It is a different sword from the one he had back then.’
Something had changed greatly.
Feeling the energy, the Plum Blossom Immortal steadied her breathing.
Whoosh.
She lightly wrapped herself in sword qi, and felt somewhat more at ease.
The overwhelming momentum remained, and the energy continued to seep out without diminishing or ceasing.
The scenery changed.
The view itself was being transformed by the energy pouring forth.
Feeling this, the Plum Blossom Immortal surveyed the surroundings.
Everyone was staring solely at the arena, their eyes filled with astonishment and cold sweat.
It was on an entirely different level from when he had been the Fighting Dragon.
Back then, they had felt the wall that existed between martial artists.
But this time—
‘There isn’t even time to feel a wall.’
It was something so bizarre that there was no other way to describe it.
Goyangcheon’s very form seemed to be like that.
In particular—
The Sword Immortal was watching the arena without even breathing, standing at its exact center.
Seeing him, the Plum Blossom Immortal furrowed her brow.
Amid that distant, overwhelming energy, the Sword Immortal’s expression was blank.
Was he truly maintaining his composure even after seeing this? That was how it might appear to others, but—
‘Sword Immortal.’
The Plum Blossom Immortal knew.
That expression was by no means one of tranquility.
What was he thinking to wear such an expression?
Just as the Plum Blossom Immortal began to wonder—
KABOOOOOM—!!!
“…!”
“Good heavens!”
Those nearby reacted to the explosive roar.
Something pierced through the energy enveloping the area and shot into the air.
What was that?
Though the situation was sudden, its identity was immediately clear.
Boom—! Boom—!
Impacts erupted one after another, as though attempting to drive back the energy.
The clear Buddhist aura contained within them—
“Uaaaah—!”
It was the Divine Dragon.
*****************
Kreeeek—!!!
Energy poured down.
‘Huff… huff.’
At the center of the pressure raining down from every direction—
The energy was filled with the fervent desire to crush him.
Facing the calamity descending upon him, the Divine Dragon moved his body by any means necessary.
‘What is this?’
Bang—!
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist he unleashed on instinct burst forth, scattering the energy.
‘What is this supposed to be?’
Bang—! Bang—!
He swung his fists without stopping.
Energy continued to drain from his dantian, but this was no time to worry about that.
‘I’m scared.’
Fear rose to his throat.
The energy pouring from Goyangcheon was creating terror.
Whoosh—! Kuaaaah—!!
How was he supposed to defeat that?
Pressed down by the energy, he could think of nothing.
Should he run away, even now? In his heart, he wanted to do exactly that.
Thud.
“…Huh.”
He heard footsteps.
The Divine Dragon’s body stiffened.
Thud.
Where? Where were those footsteps coming from?
Where in the world…!
“What the hell have you done to already be so out of it, you little brat?”
“…!”
Right beside him.
The Divine Dragon reacted to the voice heard at his left ear, but—
Crack!
“Ghk….”
The impact came from the right.
Crunch! Boom—!!
As he felt his bones shatter, his body was sent flying.
His body shot through the air.
As pain clouded his mind, the Divine Dragon released his energy.
Krrrgrgrgrk—!!!
He forcibly planted his feet against the ground, creating friction.
Kreeek—!!!
His flying body barely came to a stop.
“Huff… huff…”
When he realized what had happened, he had stopped at the edge of the arena.
He had been sent flying that far from the center.
Throb.
“Grrrgh…!!”
The Divine Dragon hunched over and clutched his right side.
That was where he had been struck moments ago.
His bones were cracked, and the wound in his chest had split open.
Trickle.
He could feel blood flowing from the opened wound.
The pain was immense.
Just as he was finally managing to endure the pain by gritting his teeth—
“That wasn’t bad just now.”
Once again, a voice came from beside the Divine Dragon.
“You fell for a feint, but I still spread my astral qi to both sides in case something happened. That’s what saved you just now.”
The voice explained the exchange they had just shared.
Yet even as he listened, the Divine Dragon was already moving.
“Still, if you hadn’t been caught up in the feint to begin with, you would’ve concentrated your astral qi at a single point and reduced the damage. What’s the use of having a higher cultivation realm when you lack this kind of experience?”
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist.
Shaolin’s ultimate technique erupted once more.
At such close range, he would certainly be able to inflict damage.
The Divine Dragon thought so, but—
Boom!
Before he could even fully extend his arm, something drove into the flat of his fist.
It was Goyangcheon’s fist.
He was meeting the Divine Dragon’s fist with his own.
‘That’s impossible…!’
The Hundred-Step Divine Fist was the most offensive martial art in Shaolin.
Since it gathered energy and unleashed it violently, attempting to meet it head-on at such close range could result in one’s fist being broken.
Did he intend to die? The Divine Dragon thought so for an instant, but—
Crack! Baaang—!!
“Ghk…!”
It was the Divine Dragon’s fist that bounced away.
A tremendous shock surged through his wrist.
There was no doubt. From the damage he had just sustained, his right fist was no longer usable.
“The Hundred-Step Divine Fist… It’s a powerful martial art. But do you know what? It doesn’t strengthen the fist itself.”
Boom!
“Cough!”
A knee drove into his solar plexus.
As the Divine Dragon groaned, blood burst from his mouth.
“Its main power comes from detonating the energy rubbed together within the body at the very tip of the fist. That actually makes it easy to deal with in close combat. Do you know why?”
Smack!
A fist struck his face, twisting his cheek.
“Because all you have to do is break it before it can properly explode.”
It was absurd.
To stop the technique by striking before it detonated—how could anyone perceive that instant?
And if he failed and the Divine Fist exploded, the one who would suffer was the opponent.
It was not a method anyone could attempt while ignoring that risk.
The Divine Dragon wanted to point out that absurdity, but—
“If you’re turning to the left, you should expect to be thrown off by the recoil. But you tried to hold your ground. Are you an idiot?”
Thud!
A strike to his joint forced him down onto one knee.
“You didn’t want to bend the joint that got hit, so your distribution of strength was completely ruined. What now? Are you expecting Buddha to come and raise your collapsed stance?”
Before his knee could touch the ground, Goyangcheon’s palm struck the Divine Dragon’s jaw.
The tip of the Divine Dragon’s chin was sent high into the sky.
“Guuuugh…!”
With his vision tilted toward the sky—
Fwoooosh—!!
He heard the sound of flames reaching him.
“If you don’t shape up, you’ll die.”
It was a murderous warning.
The Divine Dragon lowered his head and looked at Goyangcheon.
A blue sphere had formed above his palm.
Ah, that was truly dangerous—
Hummm—!
“Namo Amitab—”
KABOOOOOM—!!!
Heat exploded, and flames burst in every direction.
“Aaaah—!!”
“Uaaagh!”
Screams erupted from the stands as well, for the blast had covered an enormous area.
Fortunately, there were no casualties.
Plum blossoms drifting faintly through the air had surrounded the area and formed a barrier.
Pat pat.
The thick smoke vanished.
Rather than dispersing, it was swept away by Goyangcheon’s hand and disappeared from the arena in an instant.
The heat still lingered, scorching the arena without fading.
And at its very center—
“Huff… huff…”
The Divine Dragon continued to breathe heavily.
Wooong—!!
He had activated Hwang-a Gangram over his body.