Chapter 48

‘What is this?’

The expression of the Youlong Team member, who was engaged in the wheel battle, was filled with bewilderment. The aura of the intruder, which had been transmitted with each clash, had suddenly become much stronger.

In that moment of confusion, unable to understand what was happening,

Swoosh!

Whoosh!

A change began in the intruder's sword. The aura that had been wavering like mist on the blade began to merge into one, soon forming a tangible thread-like shape.

“...!”

The Youlong Team members were shocked at the sight.

They were well aware of the nature of this phenomenon.

It was a higher-level martial art that they, who had reached the peak of the highest level, could only barely imitate: the sword qi, the advanced form of sword energy.

Clang!

Clang!

The relentless charge of the Youlong Team members suddenly halted.

The reason for their hesitation was simple.

They knew exactly the destructive power contained in the thin threads rising from the sword.

Moreover, the clear and distinct form was worlds apart from the faint, inferior sword qi they could barely produce.

This was a properly formed sword qi by a supreme martial artist.

This meant that the intruder had cunningly hidden his true strength until now.

In that moment of shock,

Thud!

Bam!

Suddenly, a few Youlong Team members broke the silence and charged at Youshenyun again.

‘There’s no way he can suddenly produce sword qi! It must be an illusion created by some spell!’

They judged that the sword qi Youshenyun produced was fake.

They could not accept that a mere spellcaster could reach such a powerful realm that even they could not attain.

Squeal!

Whoosh!

Reaching Youshenyun in an instant, they swung their swords mercilessly.

Seven sword qi energies simultaneously rained down on Youshenyun from all directions like a downpour.

However,

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A powerful destructive sound echoed through the space.

And,

Boom. Boom.

The Youlong Team members who had charged at Youshenyun fell to the ground, their bodies torn to shreds. Naturally, none of them were alive.

The swords they held in their hands, except for the handles, had left no trace.

The force contained in the sword qi had exploded, overwhelming and enveloping their owners.

Seeing their comrades, who had instantly turned into cold corpses, they realized with certainty:

They, who had thought they had cornered the intruder, were the ones who had been cornered.

‘...There’s no solution to the wheel battle! We have to cut off his breath in one go!’

Thud!

Bam!

At that moment, the remaining Youlong Team members simultaneously charged at Youshenyun. They decided to pour all their strength into a combined attack to decide the outcome.

In that tense situation,

Click.

For some reason, Youshenyun sheathed his sword back into its scabbard.

Swoosh.

Then, with his right foot as the pivot, he crouched slightly and firmly grasped the sword energy.

Crackle! Crackle!

A blue current was rising from his body, which was curved like an egg.

“Die!”

“Die!”

As the Youlong Team members poured their life force into their attacks,

‘Now!’

Youshenyun unleashed a new technique of the Thundercloud Twelve Swords, which he could only use after reaching the sword qi level.

Thundercloud Twelve Swords.

First Technique.

Wind and Thunder Severing Horizontal (風雷斷橫).

Youshenyun released his accumulated inner energy in one burst and drew his sword from the scabbard at an incomprehensible speed.

The moment the sword, which had been confined, revealed its true form!

Squeal!

Swoosh!

The sound of the air being torn apart and the chilling slicing sound echoed in everyone's ears.

‘Huh?’

‘What is this?’

In the next moment, the Youlong Team members blinked their eyes, realizing that their swords had been split in half and were stuck in the ground, not in the intruder's body.

Chasing the intruder's aura, which had vanished in an instant, they felt it behind them.

In that brief moment,

How could he have slipped past their attacks like a ghost?

They quickly turned their bodies.

Or rather, they tried to.

‘...?’

But strangely, their feet wouldn't move.

Sizzle!

Suddenly, their abdomens felt as if they were burning with fire.

When the Youlong Team members lowered their heads,

“...!”

They saw a thin line drawn across their burning abdomens.

And then, along that line,

Squish!

Boom!

Their bodies, cut in half, slid to the ground.

With expressions of shock, they became corpses.

If the first technique, Thundercloud Vertical Strike, was a vertical technique that struck from top to bottom,

The second technique, Wind and Thunder Severing Horizontal, was a horizontal technique that connected two points on a horizontal line.

The sword qi and thunder energy, combined within the scabbard, allowed for a swift and fast sword technique that the enemy couldn't even notice.

‘This will be very effective when dealing with multiple opponents like this.’

Youshenyun was satisfied with the superior power of the Wind and Thunder Severing Horizontal, which exceeded his expectations.

However, in stark contrast, Gong Sun Chou, who had been left alone in an instant, could not hide his rising anxiety.

‘...What is happening?’

He could not understand the current situation.

The Youlong Team was a combat unit composed of martial artists who had all reached the peak of the highest level.

Except for the Guanglong and Red Dragon Teams, which competed for the top spot, his combat unit, which was considered the strongest in the Nine Dragon Sect, had been completely annihilated by a single person.

Thud. Thud.

At that moment, the intruder was approaching step by step.

The pair of red eyes shining from within the bone mask made him look like a demon from hell.

Trying to deny the spreading sense of unease, he revised his original plan.

‘In this situation, capturing him for information is impossible. I have to turn him into a pile of blood!’

Swoosh! Whoosh!

His previously purple palms had now turned as black as ink, evidence that he had pushed the poison of the Odukyung Gong to its limit.

Just as he was about to charge at the intruder, having completed his battle preparations,

“Youlong Team Leader, Gong Sun Chou.”

Youshenyun called out to him in a low voice.

Ignoring the intruder's words, he was about to swing his poisonous palm.

“Or should I call you a dog following Tai Ling?”

“...!”

He froze in shock at the next words.

Tai Ling.

How could the secret name of his master come out of the intruder's mouth?

‘He is an enemy of the sect!’

Gong Sun Chou's demeanor changed completely in an instant.

If someone knew the sect's secrets, the situation was different.

He had to immediately eliminate him, using all his strength.

Whoosh!

Goo!

A completely different aura, not his usual inner energy, began to overflow from Gong Sun Chou's entire body.

‘It’s starting.’

The moment Youshenyun felt the ‘corrupted mana’ rapidly spreading in all directions, he realized that the intruder had also received the ‘blessing.’

This meant that the intruder would soon use the power of a monster.

Thud! Thud!

Gong Sun Chou's body, where the corrupted mana was exploding internally, began to rapidly expand.

His upper body grew into a grotesque shape, and his shirt could no longer hold it, tearing apart.

The skin that was revealed was covered in scales reminiscent of a reptile.

Sss! Sss!

A chilling sound began to spread, like a snake savoring its prey.

Zzzt!

Gong Sun Chou's eyes, now yellow, were fixed on Youshenyun.

He looked more like a monster than a human.

Feeling the suffocating corrupted mana of Gong Sun Chou, Youshenyun realized that, unlike the unstable Guo Zhushan, Gong Sun Chou had completely mastered the power of the monster.

Clang!

Youshenyun immediately drew his sword and prepared for battle.

Roar!

Kaboom!

Gong Sun Chou, who had planted his feet firmly into the ground with such force that it left a deep imprint, charged at Youshenyun.

He was running like a beast, using both his arms and legs, looking like a monster itself.

Thud!

Youshenyun also charged at the intruder, drawing all his Thundercloud Spirit Energy and moving like lightning.

As Youshenyun and Gong Sun Chou approached each other,

Gong Sun Chou's yellow pupils began to turn a blood-red color.

‘Is this it?’

The moment Youshenyun confirmed the change, he immediately averted his gaze and stopped his charge.

He then bent his body like a bow and leaped away, increasing the distance between himself and Gong Sun Chou.

In the next moment,

Crack! Crack!

Surprisingly, the half-cut bodies of the Youlong Team members, where Gong Sun Chou's gaze had landed, began to turn into solid stone.

‘...How?’

Gong Sun Chou was momentarily taken aback.

It seemed as if Youshenyun had known what would happen when his gaze landed and had avoided the attack.

‘...It must have been a lucky guess.’

But he quickly dismissed his doubts.

It made no sense.

He had never told anyone about the ability he had received from the blessing, not even his master.

Youshenyun, who had nullified Gong Sun Chou's attack, began his counterattack.

Whoosh!

He used the intruder's speed to his advantage, drawing a crescent moon of sword qi across the intruder's neck and plunging his sword into it.

However,

His sword failed to cut through the intruder's skin.

Clang!

This time, Youshenyun's sword broke into two pieces.

Even the sword qi could not penetrate the intruder's skin.

In that moment, Gong Sun Chou opened his mouth wide.

Grrr!

He began to spew out a black, poisonous liquid, which was several times more potent than the maximum power of the Odukyung Gong.

Even a mere touch would melt flesh and bone.

Whoosh!

Sizzle! Sizzle!

However, Youshenyun, as if he had anticipated it, successfully avoided the attacks with ease.

The poisonous liquid that missed its target fell to the ground, emitting a thick smoke.

Youshenyun, carefully examining the remnants of the poisonous liquid on the ground, muttered to himself.

“...Armored Scales, Petrifying Gaze, Acid Breath. Is this a Basilisk?”

Gong Sun Chou paid no attention to Youshenyun's incomprehensible words.

He merely sneered at the sight of Youshenyun's broken sword.

He spoke with a triumphant attitude.

“Tsk, what can a martial artist do without a sword? Give up and die gracefully!”

Gong Sun Chou thought the battle was over.

The reason was simple.

A martial artist without a weapon could not even use a third of their true strength.

But then,

“Why are you so excited alone?”

Youshenyun tilted his head and spoke.

Swoosh.

He extended his hand into the empty air.

Whirr!

Whoosh!

A dark-colored greatsword revealed its form from the swirling vortex.

“...We haven’t even started yet.”