Chapter 151 Passing the Nine Dragon Fortress Trial is the Martial Arts Academy (2)

Chapter 151: Passing the Nine Dragon Fortress Trial is the Martial Arts Academy (2)

A cavern deep within the Tianshan Mountains.

A group of martial artists set foot in that place, untouched by anyone for the past five hundred years.

After walking for a long time and reaching a certain spot within the cavern, the martial artist at the front turned around and knelt down.

“Please, avenge the Demon Lord!”

Thud!

He plunged a blade into his own throat.

A movement without a moment’s hesitation.

And that scene did not end with just one.

Avenge!

Thud!

Every single one who had followed him committed suicide.

The vast cavern filled with the stench of blood, and pools of blood slowly swelled in size.

That blood flowed along a path carved into the floor, forming a single stream of blood.

Squeak. Squeak.

The lone man left walked slowly along the hot blood trail.

“……”

After a moment, a massive stone gate finally greeted him at the end of the blood trail.

The Heavenly Demon’s Pass.

Twitch.

He twisted one eyebrow, then quickly shifted his gaze to survey the entire stone gate.

Kwaaang!

As the man slammed his fist against the stone gate, a black current seeped out, accompanied by an explosion that seemed to turn heaven and earth upside down.

Kwoooh.

Yet the stone gate stood unblemished, standing tall and proud, showing no sign of change whatsoever.

“Kkheh… Huhuhuh.”

Seeing this, the man began laughing like a madman, then untied the bundle on his back.

Inside lay a small boy, dead with his throat half-severed.

“Kkheh-heuk…”

Blood seeped from the wound on the child’s neck, flowing down onto the blood-stained floor.

At that moment.

Kurung.

The stone gate opened.

The man entered, carrying the child.

The bundle left behind—or rather, the cloth used as a bundle—was embroidered with the ten Asura Gods symbolizing the Demon Lord.

* * *

Hey! …Careful!

Leave it there!

Thud thud thud.

When is the pillar coming?!

A chaotic scene reminiscent of a battlefield.

It was the construction site for the Jinmu Pavilion.

I stopped by to check on the progress, but the moment I stepped onto the site, a group of people rushed over like lightning.

“Huh! Oh, you’re here?”

“…Your face looks familiar? Who are you again?”

“That… the Black Dragon Gang who once squatted in the Great Hero’s house without permission…”

“Ah!”

Hearing that, I finally remembered. They were the ones who had illegally occupied Black Saro’s house.

After receiving harsh mental training from me, they gave up their Black Path ways and threw themselves into the construction industry. Last year, they even participated in building the Black Dragon Martial Arts Hall.

I tapped the shoulder of the guy acting as their leader and greeted him.

“Long time no see. Living the straight and narrow, I see?”

“Haha, of course. Thanks to the Great Hero’s teachings, I’m living an honest life.”

Glancing around, it seemed his crew had grown.

Business must be booming.

“By the way, is this place being built on the Great Hero’s orders?”

“Well, it turned out that way.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve paid more attention.”

“So you mean it’s been a complete mess until now?”

I asked with a laugh, and he waved his hands in denial.

“No! I did my best. I just mean, if I’d known it was for you, I would’ve carved in one more pattern.”

“You little rascal, doing business has made you quite the smooth talker, hasn’t it?”

“Hahaha.”

It was a pleasant meeting.

Not just a few words… but a few fists turned this neighborhood bully into a reformed character.

Indeed, my fists are undoubtedly a life-saving power, equal to Kenshin Himura’s life-saving sword, the Blade of the Wind.

“It’s not much… Grab a mug of rice wine after work.“

”It’s fine. We…“

”Shut up! Just take it. It’s a bribe to build it sturdy.“

”T-thank you, Great Hero!“

”Great Hero? Come off it. Well then, good work. I’ll be counting on you.“

”I’ll give my life for you!“

”That’s a bit much… Just do it decently. Decently.”

“No, sir. Thanks to you, I’ve found a new life. I’ll burn my soul for it. Wait for me. I’ll make you the greatest martial artist in Nine Dragons City!”

“……”

After exchanging greetings like that, I left them behind and set my steps toward the Nine Dragons Mountains.

Staying cooped up inside the city all day was suffocating.

Since I’d already broken my confinement to come this far, I figured I might as well stretch my legs.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

With the Flying Wind technique deployed, objects blurred past me.

Even roughly gauging, it felt like I was moving at a speed comparable to a decent motorcycle.

And then.

Bang!

With each step of the Imperial Stride, the speed increased even more.

How to describe it? Like a kart driver who’d eaten a booster item?

Whoosh!

He advanced like that, his vision unfurled, for about an hour.

When the Nine Dragon Fortress looked as small as a matchbox, he stopped.

“Phew.”

A large cliff looked perfect for stretching his legs.

Waving his hands in the air would look a bit ridiculous, wouldn’t it?

First, he snapped off a long branch and gripped it in his hand.

He intended to test the Black Rain Spear Technique he’d received from North Palace White.

After all, as an instructor, he couldn’t just teach from books.

“Let’s see…”

Whoosh! Thwack! Thud!

True to its reputation as an Ascension martial art, even wielding the moves without any internal energy infused produced an extraordinary sound as they sliced through the air.

“It’s proper.”

Martial arts are divided into Ascension martial arts and others based on how profoundly they embody the principle of force.

From that perspective, the Black Shadow Spear technique Bukgung Baek had given him was truly excellent.

‘Concentration and breakthrough of force.’

A single force coursing through the Black Shadow Spear.

At first glance, it seemed like the principle of a heretical martial art focused solely on killing the opponent, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t quite that simple.

The force concentrating was exquisitely refined, and the Black Shadow Energy supporting it was pure.

‘Indeed.’

As North Palace White had said, the martial arts of the righteous path were indeed reliable.

Satisfied, I raised the Zhen Wangqi.

Following the Black Mist Spear Technique, I channeled my internal energy into the branch.

And then.

Thud.

I could see the blunt tip of the branch carving into the solid cliff face like tofu.

“…This is incredible?”

It was easy to unleash and possessed outstanding power.

Though, due to the limited potential inherent in the martial art itself, even if perfected, it couldn’t reach the heavens. Still, its efficiency alone was truly excellent.

If, during my time at the Ascension Pavilion, I had discovered both the Park Ryong-sip-sam-tu and the Black Rain Spear at the same time, I would have chosen the Black Rain Spear without hesitation.

“Is this okay?”

The thought of selling such an ascension martial art for mere pennies felt deeply unsettling.

Even though I’d decided to only reveal the first half, mastering just that portion would grant enough power to easily overwhelm most top-tier masters.

In the martial world, learning a proper martial art meant dedicating your entire life to laboring for a sect without pay, under the guise of ‘no profit, no loss’.

If handled carelessly, it could easily be labeled an invasive species like the bullfrog and get stoned.

“…….”

‘Maybe I should have just built a small martial arts academy?’

Lost in thought, I picked up a branch and threw it.

The scale had unexpectedly grown larger, but what could I do?

The money was already invested; there was no turning back now.

For reference, I poured every last coin I’d saved under my mattress into establishing this martial arts academy.

If anyone came to stop me from building it, I’d have to fight them with my life.

And.

‘Because I have my master.’

If it came down to it, I could always turn to North Palace Baek, so I wasn’t worried.

Snap. Crack.

Having dismissed those pointless worries, I stretched my body.

While checking my overall martial arts skills.

‘This time, for sure.’

Because I had a challenge to take on.

The first thing I unleashed was the Ten-Three Piercing Strike.

I slammed the thirteen most powerful techniques a human body could wield into the cliff face at blinding speed.

POW! CRASH.

Immediately after a single strike sounded, not just the struck area but the entire surrounding section collapsed.

The momentum of the Ten-King Thirteen Strikes had driven deep into the cliff, shattering its interior.

He unleashed the Exploding Sword Technique toward the collapsing cliff.

“Hmph!”

Kwaaang.

The drawn Ten-King Sword exploded, its momentum transforming into a force that embedded itself into the cliff.

Kwaaang! Waaaarrrr.

A cliff the size of a modest house vanished without a trace.

And then.

Gooooo.

A sphere of inexplicable gravitational force materialized, swallowing everything around it.

Though merely the first technique of the Zhenwang style, its power and the handling of the energy made it the very essence of the style, its beginning and end.

Next came the Extreme Sphere.

As he flicked his hand, a thin blade of energy shot forth.

Swoosh!

It sliced through the cliff face at a speed too fast to see.

“Indeed.”

He confirmed the part he had been mistaken about all this time.

“The strength of Extreme Slash lies not in its power, but in its speed.”

He hadn’t realized it before, but now that he had reached the pinnacle, it was clear.

This was an attack focused on sharpness and speed, not sheer force.

The founder of the North Palace Clan, who created the Zhenwang Style, likely devised Extreme Lightning to overcome the weakness of close combat.

The only regret was that there was only one technique for long-range attacks.

The Zhenwang Style was fundamentally a martial art strong in close combat. The hardest part against an enemy stronger than me was closing the distance.

If there had been a few more techniques as potent as Extreme Shadow, penetrating would have been easier.

Of course.

‘Though that doesn’t apply to me now that I possess the Zhenzhou Arrow.’

The Zhenzhou Arrow, infused with qi into my pinky finger, shot forth like lightning—no, like an actual bolt of lightning.

Whoosh! Bang!

The arrowhead of the Jeonju Sword, forged from ten-thousand-year-old iron, embedded itself in the cliff face with a massive explosion.

It didn’t even require that much ki, yet its power rivaled that of the Exploding Sword Technique.

But the Jeonju Sword’s strength wasn’t just its power.

Bang bang bang bang!

Up, down, up up, down.

The most crucial element is autonomy. The ability to move as freely as a sword is Jeonju City’s unique strength.

Unfurl the Jeonwangbo to swiftly close in on the opponent while simultaneously maneuvering Jeonju City to strike them from behind.

Damage will flow into close combat, and even if blocked, it will still flow into close combat—creating a beautiful battle dynamic.

Shaking off the satisfied nod that came to my mind, I looked forward once more.

“Huuu…”

I drew in a deep breath, summoning as much Zhenwang Qi as possible.

Crackle. Crack.

Static electricity surged over my body, crackling.

Kwaaaaah.

Soon, a black Zhenlong Qi burst forth.

It was the protective energy of the Zhenwang-style, which had saved my life countless times.

And then.

Kuuuung!

An explosion originating from my solar plexus spread energy throughout my entire body.

It was Yan Huan’s energy.

Kwa kwa kwa kwa.

Feeling Yan Huan’s energy tearing through my meridians, I began to analyze.

‘Converting energy into force to gain speed and power.’

How is this even possible?

If I could just figure this out, I could reach the Hell Qi.

“Hmph!”

If I couldn’t grasp it with my mind, I’d have to learn it with my body.

I resolved to unleash the Hell Qi.

The method was simple.

While the Yan Hwang Gyeong was open, unleash thirteen successive explosions.

‘First, once.’

BOOM!

‘Twice.’

BOOM!

‘Three times.’

BOOM!

“Guh!”

Of course, three times was my limit for now.

It wasn’t due to insufficient internal energy or depleted stamina.

It was because my body’s physical endurance had its limits.

“Ugh.”

I felt nauseous, as if I’d suffered internal injuries.

Gurgle.

After spilling a paper cup’s worth of blood, I brushed my hands toward the cliff.

To shake off the traces of my combat experience.

Gurgle.

“Ugh, I’m gonna die.”

Thud.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed without realizing it.

Still, I realized one thing.

‘There’s potential.’

If my body’s durability was lacking, I could just build it up.

‘The more you move, the stronger you become. The more you fight, the stronger you become.’

Just as Baek said, I confirmed that by trusting the Zhenwang style and walking steadily, I could eventually reach the Hell Realm.

“Kkukkk.”

And when that time came, the world would know.

That a new absolute master, Jinmu Zhen…

‘Wait! What is this?’

Why is martial arts training so fun?