Pop!
Discovering the barrage of hidden weapons raining down, Bu Eunseol shot into the air without hesitation.
Clank, whoosh!
At that moment, another wave of hidden weapons surged toward the spot where Bu Eunseol had leaped. They had anticipated his evasion by leaping onto the rope and had set up a hidden weapon mechanism.
“Tch!” As Je Woon, watching the scene, let out a regretful exclamation,
Thud.
Bu Eunseol, falling downward, struck the top of his left foot with his right ankle, using the recoil to propel himself upward once more into the air.
“Ascending Clouds?” Je Woon, observing the maneuver, gaped in astonishment.
This movement technique, also known as the Step-to-Sky Ascend, involved striking one’s own foot to gain an additional leap. However, the Ascending Clouds technique was notoriously difficult to master. It required not only reaching a level of internal energy mastery where one could freely control their inner power but also precise physical control.
Swish.
Having soared into the air once more, Bu Eunseol executed a swallow-like twist and landed back on the ground. At that instant,
Whoosh!
A massive number of hidden weapons poured down, covering every possible space for evasion.
“ It’s too dangerous!” Je Woon, watching from the side, shouted loudly.
The sheer volume of hidden weapons made it impossible to dodge without leaping downward.
Shhh.
At that moment, faint afterimages began to emanate from Bu Eunseol’s body as he stood on the rope. Simultaneously, the barrage of hidden weapons began to pass through his form.
Boom!
Bu Eunseol, producing a continuous stream of afterimages, broke through the onslaught of hidden weapons and charged forward. He was employing the ultimate movement technique, Swift Beyond Shadow, combining footwork with high-speed movement.
“That… that’s…” The eyes of the Changsin Unit members, recognizing Bu Eunseol’s technique as Swift Beyond Shadow, widened in shock.
A boy not yet twenty years old was freely performing an advanced movement technique that could shatter one’s legs with a single mistake?
Whoosh!
Having pierced through all the hidden weapons and landed on the opposite cliff, Bu Eunseol immediately entered the guard post.
Clank.
Upon opening the door, he found two men inside the post, but they were already cold corpses, each with a leaf-shaped throwing knife embedded in their foreheads.
“Is that the mechanism?” Spotting a long iron rod installed inside the post, Bu Eunseol pulled it forward with force.
Thud.
With a low rumble, the hidden weapon mechanisms in front of the post retracted back into the walls.
“Done.” Emerging from the post, Bu Eunseol waved toward the Changsin Unit.
At his signal, the squad members on the opposite side began crossing the rope one by one.
Flutter, tap.
Arriving on the other side, Je Woon patted Bu Eunseol’s shoulder and said,
“Have you mastered Master Go’s Swift Beyond Shadow?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Impressive.” At that moment, So Jeon, the last to cross the rope, scoffed. “Hmph, don’t make a fuss over something trivial.” Je Woon, watching So Jeon pass by coldly, gave a playful smile.
“Don’t mind him. The Corps Leader is always stingy with praise.”
“It’s fine.” The Changsin Unit members who had climbed the cliff began walking slowly along the narrow path leading downward.
Soon, the entrance to a large cave leading into the Storm Valley appeared.
The unit’s cautious steps halted. The end of the cave was blocked, and beneath it lay a small pond.
“If you dive through this pond, you’ll find an exit that leads directly to the entrance of Storm Valley,” explained one of the squad members who had been leading the way, pausing his steps. “The problem is that this pond is filled with hundreds of ice crystals.”
“Ice crystals, huh,” So Jeon muttered, stroking his chin.
The squad member continued, “To pass through this frozen pond, you must continuously channel your internal energy while swimming.”
“No wonder Storm Valley has survived like a tenacious weed,” Je Woon remarked with a sigh, to which the squad member nodded.
“Exactly. Unless you’ve undergone Storm Valley’s body modification, it’s nearly impossible to enter.”
“How long is the pond?” So Jeon asked.
The squad member replied promptly, “Even swimming as fast as possible, it’ll take at least a quarter of an hour to reach the entrance.”
“So, we need to hold our breath and channel our internal energy at full strength for a quarter of an hour,” So Jeon summarized.
The Changsin Unit members’ faces grew tense. Internal energy is drawn through breathing. To sustain internal energy for a quarter of an hour with a single breath requires immense lung capacity and profound internal power.
“This will be tough. Let’s move,” So Jeon ordered.
At his command, the Changsin Unit members took deep breaths and began entering the pond. One by one, the members dove in. When it was Bu Eunseol’s turn, Je Woon spoke up.
“You stay here.” No matter how solid his internal energy was, Bu Eunseol was still a young man not yet twenty. Je Woon had no expectation that he could sustain his internal energy for a quarter of an hour with a single breath.
“I’ll be fine,” Bu Eunseol replied, stepping toward the pond without hesitation.
“You think you can hold your breath and channel your internal energy for a quarter of an hour?” Je Woon asked, his eyes gleaming. “This isn’t a place you can enter out of stubbornness.”
“It’s not stubbornness,” Bu Eunseol said with a calm expression. “I’ve been practicing breath-holding since I was a child.”
“Still, no,” Je Woon insisted, shaking his head. “Even if you can hold your breath, if you can’t properly channel your internal energy, the ice crystals will severely damage your body.”
At that moment, So Jeon grabbed Je Woon’s shoulder and said, “Let him go.”
“What?”
“From now on, don’t stop him if he says he’ll do something.”
“Corps Leader…”
“It’s part of his test.” With that brief remark, So Jeon dove into the pond with an impassive expression.
“I’m going in,” Bu Eunseol declared, stepping into the ice-crystal-filled pond without hesitation.
Hup.
Diving into the pond, Bu Eunseol channeled his internal energy with full force. A single ice crystal could freeze an entire well into a block of ice. With dozens of ice crystals at the bottom of the pond, failing to channel internal energy intensely would cause his blood vessels to freeze in an instant.
Hm? But as he channeled his internal energy, Bu Eunseol blinked in surprise. He had expected the piercing cold to envelop his blood vessels the moment he entered, but he felt no chill whatsoever.
Have the ice crystals lost their power? Sensing something odd, Bu Eunseol looked down at the pond’s bottom. There, white ice crystals were firmly embedded like pillars, continuously emitting a pale, cold aura.
Strange.
Reaching out toward the cold aura emanating from the ice crystals, he still felt no chill. Instead, he sensed a pleasant warmth, as if touching temperate water.
The ice crystals must have lost their potency. But this was Bu Eunseol’s misconception.
Due to the incident at Majeon, his dormant bloodlines had been awakened, and his Bangeuk had already reached the third stage. In other words, he had attained the state of Water and Fire Invulnerability, where neither extreme heat nor cold could affect his body.
However, since Master Blood Vajra had not anticipated Bu Eunseol’s rapid progress, he had not explained the stages of the Ban-geuk or the abilities gained at each level. As a result, Bu Eunseol remained unaware of the extent of his internal energy or the capabilities of each stage.
Pop!
Finally, Bu Eunseol emerged from the pond.
Huff.
He saw the Changsin Unit members gasping for breath. Holding one’s breath while channeling internal energy at full strength was more exhausting than sprinting dozens of miles back and forth.
Tssss.
Some squad members were channeling their internal energy to dry the ice clinging to their clothes.
Was the water cold? Bu Eunseol glanced at the faces of the squad members diligently channeling their energy. Each one was exerting their internal energy to the fullest, radiating intense heat from their bodies.
“Finish channeling your energy within a quarter of an hour. We’ll move in immediately after,” So Jeon shouted.
At his command, the remaining squad members closed their eyes and began channeling their energy. The only ones not channeling were So Jeon, Je Woon, and Bu Eunseol.
‘So the Senior Neung didn’t create this ordeal for nothing.’ So Jeon’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Bu Eunseol, who sat calmly. ‘I’ll find out soon enough.’ Whether Bu Eunseol was truly a prodigy capable of mastering peerless martial arts in real combat or merely overambitious would soon be revealed.
A life-and-death battle was about to unfold. After scanning the squad members, So Jeon slowly stood up.
“Is everyone ready?” At his words, the eyes of the Changsin Unit members, now rested, glinted in the darkness. “Then let’s begin.”
Drawing his greatsword from behind, So Jeon bared his fangs in a grin.
The all-out battle between the Changsin Unit, the elite force of Nangyang, and Storm Valley had begun.
***
The Origin of Body Strengthening Arts
The origin of body strengthening arts lies in the Cloud Body Strengthening Method of the Bae Sect. Over time, numerous sects studied body strengthening arts to grant superhuman strength in a short period.
In Storm Valley, they combined the secrets of body strengthening arts with body modification and drugs, creating a unique technique called the Forbidden Liberation Art. Those who underwent this procedure were called Sealed Ghosts. These individuals not only possessed strength comparable to martial arts masters but were said to be completely devoid of emotions like fear.
In the heart of Storm Valley, the masters of the Changsin Unit were relentlessly cutting down the surging Sealed Ghosts. Not only the key figures of Storm Valley but even the stablehands and servants had undergone the Forbidden Liberation Art, making their numbers nearly impossible to count.
Slash! Swoosh!
Bu Eunseol, wielding his longsword to cut down Sealed Ghosts, had a glint in his eyes.
They’ve even removed their sense of pain.
Even when their limbs were severed by weapons, the Sealed Ghosts charged without hesitation. Through some secret method, they had eliminated not only fear but also the sensation of pain.
Swish!
Dodging a scythe flying from behind, Bu Eunseol swung his longsword again.
Spurt! Slash!
In an instant, he struck the vital points of three Sealed Ghosts’ necks and chests, sending blood spraying in all directions.
“Keh heh heh!” Yet the Sealed Ghosts laughed maniacally as they swung their weapons. If a human lacked the natural reactions and movements expected of them, even a master would inevitably be caught off guard.
Slash!
At that moment, five or six groups of Sealed Ghosts charged toward Bu Eunseol. The Sealed Ghosts, moving as a single mass, closed the distance while absorbing Bu Eunseol’s sword techniques with their bodies.
‘I need to increase my power.’ Ordinary sword techniques couldn’t subdue the Sealed Ghosts in a single strike. As Bu Eunseol lowered his stance to use a more powerful technique,
Boom!
With a loud explosion, a massive greatsword shot forward, turning the Sealed Ghosts into a bloody pulp in one blow. It was a single strike from the Changsin Unit Leader, So Jeon.
“Kid, stay back if you’re in the way!” So Jeon shouted, swinging his greatsword and charging forward before Bu Eunseol could respond.
Slash! Thud!
As So Jeon carved a path with his greatsword, the Changsin Unit masters unleashed their sword techniques to support him. Whether the Sealed Ghosts were steeped in drugs, unable to use martial arts, or impervious to pain, the Changsin Unit masters mechanically blocked their relentless attacks and countered.
If the Sealed Ghosts were fearless beasts, the Changsin Unit masters were like killing machines forged from steel.
Swish. Splatter.
Blood sprayed in all directions. Each time, waves of Sealed Ghosts fell.
‘That’s right. I came here to learn ultimate techniques.’ Bu Eunseol shook the blood off his sword, recalling his purpose for coming here. ‘From now on, I need to observe and learn their sword techniques!’
Using Swift Beyond Shadow to evade the Sealed Ghosts’ attacks, he began watching the Changsin Unit masters’ combat.
How much time had passed? Bu Eunseol’s gaze became fixed on three individuals.
The Corps Leader, So Jeon, swinging his massive greatsword like lightning.
The Vice Leader, Je Woon, wielding a heavy sword in one hand while continuously throwing leaf-shaped throwing knives with the other.
And a Changsin Unit member, Han Dan, using simple yet overwhelmingly powerful sword techniques.
Bu Eunseol realized that these three masters not only possessed the most exceptional martial arts among the Changsin Unit but also employed profoundly mysterious and unique techniques.
‘I must learn those three techniques!’
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