Chapter 86
Storm of Sorrow (2)
BOOOOM!
The owner of the sword wind that had initially targeted the crow, Geomsu, began exchanging blows with Lee Seha atop the tree branches.
"You insolent wench! A hall master of Changcheon Society, are you?"
"Old man, you should learn some shame."
Geomsu's sharp swordsmanship resembled the swiping claws of a tiger.
Within each broad sword arc were hidden five vicious strikes, like a tiger's claws.
Tiger Shadow Manifestation Sword Art.
A sword art created after twenty years of raising seven great tigers and studying their movements.
In particular, Geomsu had combined various methods by which great tigers hunted martial artists into a single technique. The countless hours of study and experimentation had naturally brought enlightenment as well.
Perhaps because of that, his achievements had advanced far faster than during his days in Namman Beast Palace, when he had practiced only orthodox martial arts and followed conventional training methods.
That was why Geomsu firmly believed his unconventional path would eventually carry him beyond the Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit and into the realm of Five Qi Returning to Origin.
I was supposed to become a peerless master and return to Namman Beast Palace!
Instead, everything had begun to unravel.
"Changcheon Society dogs! A few monks disappear from Mount Jiuhua, and nobody would even notice."
"That's only what you think."
BOOM!
Lee Seha struck from the side and deflected the sword strike that split into five trajectories and targeted her flank.
Both sides were using devastating sword arts.
Each clash unleashed tremendous shockwaves that shook the surrounding forest.
Every swing of their swords shattered the trees they used as footholds.
The aftermath of their exchange created a vast clearing.
Landing within it, the two great masters glared at one another before colliding again.
Geomsu briefly shifted his gaze toward the young swordsman surrounded by his four junior brothers.
"You've let arrogance get the better of you. Bringing only a single subordinate and thinking you could challenge us."
As he assessed Namgung Jun's aura, a sinister smile spread across Geomsu's face.
The pinnacle of Peak Realm. An astonishing achievement at his age, certainly.
Even so, handling all four of his brothers simultaneously would be impossible.
Each of the four had reached the mature stage of Peak Realm, and two were already on the verge of stepping into its ultimate stage.
If they attacked together, they could easily hunt down even a genius like that boy.
In Geomsu's estimation, the overall battle was clearly tilted in Namman Osu's favor.
"Perhaps this is for the best. I'll kill the two of you today, refine my martial arts, and enter secluded cultivation."
"We'll bury you in the ground and let you stay in seclusion forever."
Geomsu's eyes slid over Lee Seha's curving figure as he angled his sword.
"Don't expect a clean death. You'll be treated worse than an animal."
"Hmph."
BOOOOM!
Just as Geomsu never doubted his brothers' victory, Lee Seha never doubted Namgung Jun's.
Because of that, she focused entirely on the opponent before her.
As the night rain intensified into a raging storm, blue lightning flashed brilliantly through the darkness.
CRACKLE!
Thunder roared along the path carved by Lee Seha's sword.
In response, Geomsu released a beast-like roar.
***
Four Peak Realm experts circled Namgung Jun, weaving around him as though rotating around a central axis.
Each wielded a different weapon.
A saber strike tore through the air and lunged for his chest.
As Namgung Jun subtly twisted his ankle to redirect the attack, a whip shot up from below to hinder his movement.
Lightly stepping on the whip's tip, he sprang upward.
At the same moment, fist techniques and claw techniques accurately targeted the opening created by his leap.
Whoosh!
The gentle sword path of Cloud-Layering Wall Stance received the alternating assaults of all four weapons with effortless softness.
Saber. Fist. Whip. Claw.
Though the four experts used different weapons, their martial arts shared the same foundation.
Every technique and trajectory was modeled after the movements of beasts.
The savage brutality unique to animals was combined with human composure and psychological warfare.
The result was a bizarre combat style.
And a dangerous one.
It feels like fighting four beasts that have learned martial arts.
If the great tiger he had slain moments ago possessed human intelligence, perhaps it would fight like this.
Indeed, their techniques were unlike anything found in orthodox martial arts.
Even so, Namgung Jun's steps and movements remained utterly stable.
Like an ancient tree with roots sunk deep into the earth, unmoved even by a raging typhoon.
The ferocious attacks, reminiscent of fangs and claws, crashed down relentlessly.
Namgung Jun swung his sword without concern.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The saber-wielder, Dosu, was forced back five full steps by the overwhelming sword force and clicked his tongue in disbelief.
The fist-wielder, Gwonsu, broke into a cold sweat after nearly having his wrist severed while throwing a punch.
Meanwhile, Pyeonsu, who wielded the whip, and Josu, whose hands were fitted with tiger claws, constantly tried to shake Namgung Jun's composure with words.
"Where could you possibly have encountered martial arts like ours? Before long, your eyes and hands will lose track of everything."
"You've got plenty of strength now, but I wonder how long you'll last."
THUD!
Planting his foot firmly, Namgung Jun slashed downward, driving both Pyeonsu and Josu backward.
His eyelids lowered calmly.
"You're right. Your martial arts do differ greatly from the norm."
Even while facing the combined assault of four Peak Realm experts, Namgung Jun suddenly raised his head and looked toward the sky.
The dark night sky poured down endless rain.
The droplets were becoming heavier by the moment, turning into a raging storm.
The rain did not simply fall straight down.
The wind sent it twisting and changing direction endlessly.
Namgung Jun felt the storm against his entire body.
Then he removed his bamboo hat and cast it aside.
The falling rain soaked him completely.
"Even so..."
His voice was calm.
"...compared to the ever-changing phenomena of heaven and earth, your movements are no different from standing still."
Until now, Namgung Jun had merely defended himself with orthodox sword forms.
Suddenly, his sword changed.
The blade hanging low at his side shot upward.
The path it traced was utterly strange.
At times it writhed like a serpent.
At others it bent unpredictably, resembling rain driven wildly about by a violent storm.
"Hm?"
"This brat's swordsmanship suddenly changed?"
"Be careful! Something's wrong!"
The four Peak Realm experts were inwardly shaken.
Namgung Jun's swordsmanship had suddenly become filled with variations and feints.
It was as though he had become a completely different person.
The previously straight and orderly sword paths twisted strangely, curved unexpectedly, broke off abruptly, then resumed from directions no one could have anticipated.
Shrrrk!
Sword trajectories multiplied until they seemed to fill the entire field of vision.
There were too many to count, yet not a single one lacked danger.
And it wasn't only the sword paths.
Every time he thrust or withdrew his blade, the distance, timing, and grip changed endlessly.
The confusion only deepened.
"Urgh!"
A groan escaped Dosu, who was leading the assault.
Blood began spreading around his wrist.
When did that happen?
He had allowed a strike to land without even realizing it.
"Keep your wits about you!"
"His sword is coming from completely impossible angles! It's like his arms and legs are stretching at will!"
Pyeonsu and Gwonsu shouted from behind.
Yet they were no different.
Sword strikes stormed in from every direction.
Just like the raging tempest of rain currently sweeping across Mount Jiuhua.
His transformations have surpassed our martial arts by an unimaginable margin! How did he change so suddenly?
Josu's arms trembled.
There was no opening.
No matter where he moved, twisting and winding sword strikes curled toward him.
The four Peak Realm experts suddenly found themselves overwhelmed by despair.
It felt like trying to walk through a torrential downpour.
There was simply nowhere to dodge.
The only option was to face it head-on.
Yet no one could respond to every change.
Like clothing slowly soaking in the rain, sword wounds and blood gradually accumulated across their bodies.
Meanwhile, Namgung Jun's sword became faster.
More deceptive.
More dazzling.
Like a storm of rain.
Namgung Jun poured all the insights he had accumulated throughout his travels into a single sword.
The principles of the Illusory Sword and the Transforming Sword.
Until now, those insights had existed only as scattered fragments.
But a sudden realization flashed through his mind and rooted itself deeply within his mental landscape.
Night rain. Rainstorm. Dampness.
Following that realization, countless insights rushed to fill his sword.
Like flower buds opening after receiving nourishing rain.
The night rain soaking Mount Jiuhua.
The storm mocking the martial artists dancing with blades in the darkness.
The damp droplets running down hands gripping weapons.
Blood droplets falling from the blade give rise to a storm of rain.
The Eternal Tranquility Sword gradually became blurred.
Not because it had become faster.
Rather, within a single breath it underwent dozens of transformations.
The constant changes made the sword itself seem indistinct.
As though it were dissolving into the storm.
Sword strikes surged wildly like a torrential downpour, toying with the four Peak Realm experts.
They desperately tried to defend themselves.
It was useless.
Like clothing becoming damp little by little, their bodies accumulated more and more wounds.
"AAAAAGH!"
"You little bastard!"
The four experts unleashed their martial arts in desperation.
Yet it accomplished nothing.
The savage martial arts modeled after beasts could not touch Namgung Jun at all.
No matter how violently a beast struggled—
Could it escape a storm of rain?
THUD!
Meanwhile, the sword paths dripping from the Eternal Tranquility Sword grew increasingly intricate and chaotic.
The sharpness of the blade shall remain damp within one's grasp.
Azure sword light spread through the forest as though melting into raindrops tossed about by violent winds.
At that moment, the storm pouring from the heavens and the storm unleashed by the sword became one.
"Haaah!"
"Cough!"
The four Peak Realm experts, forced to endure both storms simultaneously, gasped for breath.
There was no single strike deadly enough to kill instantly.
Yet the ever-changing sword strikes soaked them like rainwater.
Their entire bodies became drenched in blood.
THUD!
Dosu and Pyeonsu, who had lost the most blood, collapsed to their knees.
Gwonsu and Josu barely remained standing.
All four were covered in blood from head to toe.
Naturally, their combined assault came to an end.
Every one of them stood soaked in crimson.
Meanwhile, Namgung Jun, the man who had shattered their formation, remained completely unharmed.
Only his robes had become darker from the rain.
"Your hunt ends here."
His sword seemed to slash horizontally.
Then suddenly changed direction midway.
Four sword strikes split apart instantly and pierced the vital points of all four opponents simultaneously.
Excessive blood loss from the endlessly changing sword techniques.
A final strike through their vital points.
The breaths of the four Peak Realm experts ceased at once.
Shhhhhh...
The four-man assault had ended.
Yet the night rain continued to fall.
Namgung Jun's robes were already thoroughly soaked.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Even with his eyes shut, he could clearly feel raindrops striking him from every direction.
As he sensed his body becoming drenched, he gathered the sword strike he had just performed into a single concept.
"Night rain. Rainstorm. Dampness."
Murmuring the core principle that ran through the sword art, Namgung Jun realized something.
At last, he had woven together the insights and theories of the Illusory Sword and the Transforming Sword into a single formula.
Using the guiding principle that penetrated his mental landscape as its foundation, he had created an entirely new sword art.
"A sword art like wind and rain."
He gave the new sword art a name.
Drizzling Rain Sword Art .
Having established a new sword art, Namgung Jun turned his gaze elsewhere.
The endless thunderous explosions echoing from the clearing beyond had ceased.
The waves of energy that had rolled through the forest like shockwaves were gone as well.
The life-and-death duel between Lee Seha and Geomsu had likely ended.
Master.
Namgung Jun felt no concern.
He had complete faith in his master's victory.
Shaking the rainwater from his blade, he began walking toward the clearing.
The young swordsman's steps remained as steadfast as ever as he strode through the raging storm.