Chapter 2264 – 2264. The Plum Blossom Sword Master Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
A beast-like fighting style, running on all fours.
It was easy to grasp. My job was a hunter, and I’d faced countless monsters that ran on all fours.
Moreover, in the [Ascension of Light] world, there were an absurd number of martial arts techniques that mimicked animal movements.
Ompas lowered his stance and charged. The black objects he held in both hands, thrust forward, were claws or a beak.
‘Claws should be swung. There’s no shaking in his wrists or shoulders. It’s a beak. A thrust.’
His movements were clear. It was from experience. After countless battles, it was something I could see.
I lowered my blade, preparing to counter. I would dodge Ompas’s thrust and cut his neck.
It was a common mind game. If you couldn’t read your opponent’s move or misjudged it, you died.
Thud.
Ompas kicked off the ground and leaped into the air. He bent his back in that state. He was swinging his weapon by bending his upper body, not his arms and shoulders.
An unexpected variable.
‘So what?’
Just because I missed a move didn’t mean I had to take it. Mind games? I was the one who created variables in the first place.
[Using Momentary Flash. Remaining stacks: 10]
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).
Quickly.
Faster.
I cut Ompas before he could swing his weapon. Blood spurted, and Ompas’s body fell to the ground.
‘…I moved too forcefully. My arm muscles are a bit torn.’
Ignoring the pain, I raised my sword. I stabbed the fallen Ompas in the head. It pierced his brain.
“I couldn’t see you swing your sword. A speed that seemed to skip the intermediate process. Is it the power of an ancient artifact? Demonic power? Or a special technique?”
“…Why aren’t you dying? Wasn’t an aura blade your weakness?”
“Do you die if you get a scratch on your finger?”
“……”
Then let’s just grind him down. The moment I tried to swing my sword, his body disappeared.
I sensed him. He had moved through space and appeared above.
It was a woman holding daggers in both hands. A dancer wearing a see-through, flimsy dress. The dancer with red hair and contrasting blue eyes smiled sweetly. Unlike her actions, there was no killing intent.
‘She’s quite a beauty. But the contents are an unidentified spirit.’
Even if it’s a spirit, it’s possible if it’s a female form. But isn’t this bastard a hermaphrodite who can be a man or a woman?
[Using Momentary Flash. Remaining stacks: 9]
I analyzed my opponent. Putting aside her revealing outfit, her landing posture was flawless. She was clearly skilled in aerial assassinations.
‘There’s a transparent liquid on the daggers. She’s not some crazy woman who puts water on her blade… it must be poison.’
The reason assassins are troublesome and frightening is because you don’t know when or how they will try to kill you. A blatant ambush? That’s like giving up the advantage of assassination. Especially in the air where movement is limited?
‘I don’t really need to do anything. I’ll just swing my sword quickly and kill her.’
With the acceleration of Momentary Flash, I swung my sword. Before the blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Sword could reach her neck, Ompas bounced off and leaped in the air. In the gap where the Hwaryeon Flying Sword missed, Ompas pursed his lips and spewed red poisonous smoke.
[Using Momentary Flash. Remaining stacks: 8]
I spread the fingers of my left hand and bent them like claws.
Crack…
Blue lightning flashed at the tips of each fingernail. Without hesitation, I swung them towards Ompas.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash Claw (雷光閃爪).
Five streaks of lightning shot forward, scattering the poisonous smoke and injuring Ompas’s body.
‘A technique that mixes Thunder Flash and Thunder Claw… not bad as a check.’
It’s slower than Thunder Flash, has a narrower range than Thunder Claw, and doesn’t fly far. It’s the limit of the fingernails, I suppose. It would improve with training, but I don’t see the need to train claw techniques when I have a sword.
I stabbed the falling, injured Ompas in the heart. I put force into the hilt, bisecting Ompas’s body. Just before blood and guts spilled out, Ompas’s body disappeared and reappeared as a muscular old man next to me. The old man swung a spear.
[Using Momentary Flash. Remaining stacks: 7]
[Using Momentary Flash. Remaining stacks: 6]
[Using Momentary Flash. Remaining stacks: 5]
Dodge, approach, and cut.
His head flew off. His body disappeared, and a middle-aged man appeared behind me. A man with burn scars on his face. Judging by the staff in his hand, he was a mage. Probably an Arch Mage.
“Can you stop already? How long are you going to repeat this meaningless act? Just give up and die.”
“Aren’t you getting tired? That alone is meaningful.”
“Your tone is as shitty as your face. What’s the name of that piece of garbage face that no one would want?”
“…I am Mode Case, the tower lord of the Azure Flame Tower. Every single one who has insulted me has had their skin melted off and died. You will be the same.”
Ompas slammed his staff on the ground. A firestorm erupted in front of him and rushed towards me. The speed wasn’t that fast. I could just dodge it.
‘The King of the Thorn Kingdom is behind me. I haven’t figured out how to get the Lery Tree, so I can’t let him die.’
Clicking my tongue, I summoned Stormbreaker. I changed it into a shield and held it in front of me. The flames hit the shield, but I braced against it, putting my shoulder to the shield. I focused on my senses. I could clearly feel his position.
‘Meteor Sword.’
Eight swords appeared in the air, centered around Ompas. Before he could react and use a barrier, I dropped the Meteor Swords.
The pouring flames disappeared. I moved the heated shield, and Ompas was lying there, pierced by eight swords. Soon his body disappeared, and a one-armed man appeared.
‘Breathing, posture, calluses on his fists. A martial artist.’
It’s an outright war of attrition. Just as I have limits, he must have them too.
‘Let’s see who reveals their hand first…’
• • •
“Haa, fuck.”
I had been fighting for an hour straight. I had killed 21 enemies, including aura masters and arch mages. I had used all my Momentary Flash stacks, and my body was covered in sweat and blood. It would have been nice if it wasn’t my blood… but unfortunately, all the blood on my body was mine.
‘My left arm is stiff, my ribs are broken and feel like they’re stabbing my insides… I feel like I’m going to die even if I just stand still.’
I hadn’t used Full Recovery, Heavenly Mind, or Genius Time. Ompas hadn’t revealed his hand yet.
Ompas appeared in a new body. A man’s body. The man wearing a jeweled crown drew a sword from its scabbard with an indifferent expression.
This time was different from before. His presence itself was on another level. Just his gaze was like pressure, crushing my body.
‘Is this his trump card?’
He slowly opened his mouth. His voice was as cold as his aloof expression.
“There were humans who were born and reached a great level that rivaled dragons. Strangely, one or two always appeared in each era. There were even times when there were five. I consider that era the golden age of humanity.”
“You don’t have to say that for me to know you’ve reached the level of a Grand Aura Master.”
“You are strong. A hero who will leave his name in history. There are few who have reached the level of Master at your age. But you have not reached the great level. It’s a pity that I have to end the story of a young hero with my own hands.”
“You’ve been losing all this time, yet you’re talking big.”
After mocking him, I started running. With each step, bloodstains were left on the floor.
Ompas raised his sword. Just that distorted the surrounding space. Was it an illusion? No way. The sharpness of the sword aura, pushed to its limit, was affecting the space.
The conclusion would come within 10 seconds.
10 seconds was enough.
[Activating Genius Time for 10 seconds.]
My senses were maximized. The spiritual energy that had been lying dormant was suddenly pulled upwards. It felt like being forcibly dragged to the heavens after being buried underground.
I could see his sword. A sword that affected space with its sharpness alone. It was impossible to completely dodge it.
Crack.
Thunder rumbled.
The faint rumble of thunder didn’t come from outside, but from my heart.
A single lightning bolt was embedded in my heart and took root. The lightning traveled through my meridians, spreading throughout my body and taking control of it. This would allow me to react several times faster than when my brain commanded my body.
Ompas swung his sword. I tilted the Hwaryeon Flying Sword to dodge it. It was a very sharp sword that left traces in space, but it didn’t even scratch the Hwaryeon Flying Sword.
He swung his sword in panic. I could feel his impatience.
I could predict all his movements. I laughed.
This is what they call a great level? A comedian’s joke would be funnier than this.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Ultimate Technique (極技) Scattered Thunder (散雷).
The red current flowing from the sword’s trajectory spread around, suppressing the mana. His sword lost its sharpness.
I took a breath. The lightning embedded in my heart squeezed everything out of my body. My heart had already stopped.
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Ultimate Technique (極技) Heavenly Light (天光).
Surpassing the speed of sound.
I became a beam of light and cut through him.
His head fell to the ground. His shocked eyes turned to me.
“You haven’t even reached the great level… how do you have such power…”
“No matter how much you imitate, a fake is still a fake. Even if you become the body of countless aura masters and arch mages, you can’t possibly know the enlightenment they experienced. The great level you speak of isn’t something you’ve reached yourself, is it?”
If he was real, he probably wouldn’t have lasted 10 battles before losing.
Ompas’s body collapsed and disappeared. Immediately after, a new body formed. A strange and mysterious body that was both a body and light. It was a whopping 3 meters tall.
I instinctively knew that this was his trump card. The composure that Ompas had shown had completely disappeared.
‘I’ve been waiting for this moment.’
[Using Full Recovery.]
My body, which was on the verge of death, was restored.
I gripped the hilt of the Hwaryeon Flying Sword tightly.
“Domain Expansion.”
Starlight burst from the Hwaryeon Flying Sword and took over the space.
