Chapter 14 The Nine Dragons Battle (3)

Chapter 14 The Nine Dragons Battle (3)

”Hey, are you alright?”

At Xian Jianjin’s words, tinged with concern, Gu Yang-jeok finally snapped back to his senses and answered.

“I’m a bit dazed, probably from witnessing that fighting spirit just now.”

“Hmm, definitely.”

Xian Jianren nodded.

The sight Yang Zhixian had just displayed felt almost like the incarnation of battle itself.

It was overwhelming enough to be intimidating.

Especially since Gu Yangjie was a late-stage cultivator who had only just descended from Huashan.

No matter how exceptional his cultivation was for his age, lacking experience meant he was bound to be swayed by various pressures.

‘Still, he countered skillfully and won, showing surprising composure for someone like that.’

Xian Jianjin dismissed his lingering unease and continued the story about Mantongzi.

“…So, that young man Mantongzi entrusted the True Spirit to someone, saying he hoped it would be used by someone with whom he shared a connection.”

“Someone destined to use it?”

At Gu Yangjeok’s question, Hyeon Geomjin’s voice took on a sincere tone.

“Back then, I honestly didn’t understand.”

At those words, Gu Yangjeok nodded involuntarily.

The Chamhyun was a legendary sword whose value any swordsman would recognize.

Indeed, just touching it with a finger could make one feel its aura.

One would even praise the Sword Master of the Present for his magnanimity in offering the Sword of Truth as a prize in the Nine Dragons Tournament.

But the Sword Master of the Present now held different thoughts.

“Yet, seeing you, Gu Dou, I sensed the fate of who the Sword of Truth would fall into.”

Had he judged that even Ye Qing couldn’t defeat Gu Yangji?

Xian Jianjin’s words seemed to subtly praise Gu Yangjie, as if trying to gain his favor.

But Gu Yangjie’s thoughts were elsewhere.

“…Fate, you say.”

Gu Yangjie cast his gaze into the void for a moment.

‘Do you intend to aid me even beyond this life, into the next?’

Wan Tongzi.

His connection with him ended in a past life.

Having chosen to walk with Huashan, Gu Yangjie had to avoid him.

Meeting Mantongzi would inevitably plunge him into delusions he couldn’t even recognize, causing him to repeat needless mistakes and ruin matters with futile emotions.

That was something Gu Yangjie detested intensely.

‘I must avoid him.’

A bond already severed in a past life.

Gu Yangji himself wouldn’t bear responsibility to the end, so there was no need for him to meddle unnecessarily.

‘But I’ll make sure to accept this help properly.’

Having sorted his thoughts, Gu Yangji forced a smile.

After all, that bastard Mantongzi couldn’t possibly have seen the true form of the cultivator Gu Yangji.

“But… did the True Immortal summon me for another reason?”

When Gu Yangjeok probed directly, Xian Jianjin’s expression darkened.

“…Hmm. Actually, there is something. I saw something during the duel with the Blue Cloud Fist Hero just now and have a question.”

For reference, Qingyun Quanxie was one of Yang Zhixian’s aliases, and Xianjian Zhenren kindly added this explanation.

“Earlier in the duel, the way you countered Qingyun Quanxie’s moves with your fist techniques was impressive. And the technique you used mid-fight, the Iron Plate Bridge, was so masterful even this old Taoist was amazed.”

“……”

“By any chance, have you mastered any other techniques besides fist techniques, like the Jing Shen Method or other weapons?”

At those words, Gu Yangji cautiously replied.

“I’m not quite sure what your true intentions are in asking that, Master.”

Though it could have sounded somewhat presumptuous, the Sword Saint brushed it off nonchalantly.

If he had built such skill yet remained unnoticed, his caution must be truly exceptional.

But his face stiffened.

What he was about to say was something a righteous elder of the orthodox faction, who held justice supreme, should never utter.

Yet, precisely because he belonged to the prestigious Wudang School, it was also something he absolutely had to say.

After a moment of deep breathing, Xian Jianjin cautiously opened his mouth.

“Actually… I summoned you because I have a proposal to make.”

At those words, Gu Yangji chuckled softly.

He didn’t know what the proposal would be, but he knew well that a proposal from a figure like the True Immortal to someone like himself, merely a Late-Stage cultivator, would be significant.

Therefore, what he stood to gain would also be substantial.

His eyes, fixed on Hyun Geom Jin-in, shone with anticipation.

“First, please state your conditions.”

If possible, in a direction beneficial to himself and the Huashan Sect.

* * *

“Is it truly the late-stage cultivation level?”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Even so, it shouldn’t have been that extreme…”

Dark clouds began to gather over the seemingly tense arena of the Nine Dragons Tournament.

It wasn’t simply rain falling or an unexpected accident occurring.

Only one overwhelming presence was proving its might.

“Next. Come forth.”

Amidst the countless duels, right at the center.

Where the final battle of the Nine Dragons Tournament should have unfolded, Gu Yangji was waiting for the remaining challengers.

Huff.

Gu Yangji’s hand wiped the sweat that had gathered on his forehead.

No matter how high his cultivation level, his physical body hadn’t yet reached that level.

The fatigue building in his body seemed to weigh down his shoulders little by little.

‘Is this the tenth one now?’

Three late-stage cultivators remained.

Shaolin Temple, Tianwufeng, Wudang Sect.

Shaolin was, after all, called the North Star of the martial world. Even as the second-in-command, he would undoubtedly serve as the spearhead for the other sects.

In contrast, Tianwufeng was a mysterious sect whose very location was unclear, a sect with a tradition of survival of the fittest.

But among them, Ye Qing of the Wudang Sect was truly the foremost.

‘Xianjian Zhenren recognized the value that Zhanxian possessed.’

Even if not him, any Wudang disciple who had seen the True Existence Sword would know.

It was a sword worthy of being called a treasure.

The True Existence Sword, destined to be called one of the Three Great Swords of the Martial World in the near future. There was no way the Sword Saint of the Present could fail to recognize such a legendary blade.

Well, what could be done about that?

Gu Yang-jeok wasn’t such a fool that he would give up on the True Sword right before his eyes.

‘Sorry, but that’s mine.’

Denying greed means stagnation.

Ambition, or a goal.

Only with such things can humans progress.

The martial arts and the era that have developed thus far were possible because there were people who sought to become more convenient and stronger.

What of the future?

No one could say for certain. Even the so-called seer, who claimed to see the future, could only vaguely sense it and make guesses.

And even those were half wrong.

But within Gu Yangjeok’s mind, the future was certain.

Having seen it, how could he just stand by?

Here, at the Nine Dragons Grand Tournament.

The most ambitious of them all was none other than Gu Yang-jeok.

“How long do you intend to stand there?”

“……Go!”

In response to Gu Yang-jeok’s provocation, Wei Zhen-tian, representing the Heavenly Martial Peak, bellowed.

At first glance, it seemed he’d been swayed by a trivial provocation, but Gu Yang-jeok saw it differently.

‘His gaze has settled. Quite a composed fellow.’

Was he feigning excitement to lure him into complacency?

Finding him rather amusing, a peculiar smile spread across Gu Yangjeok’s face.

Thud.

Wei Zhen Tian bounced off the ground and landed on the arena. He asked.

“I’ll correct that insolent speech myself.”

“Go ahead. Give it your best shot.”

At those words, Wei Zhen Tian’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“How arrogant!”

Thwack.

With that sound, Wei Jinchuan’s figure vanished in an instant.

Even the late-stage cultivators watching from outside the arena, as third parties, blinked in surprise.

It was faster than anything.

It was a footwork technique unseen in any of the many duels he had fought until now.

Yet, Gu Yangji maintained his composed demeanor.

‘Where’s the trick?’

Clang!

Something locked onto the sword Gu Yangji had drawn, sparks flying crimson.

Those sparks flew toward Wei Jinchen’s fingers, but he showed no reaction.

Instead, as if yielding meant defeat, he tightened his grip on the sword hilt.

……Clang, clang!

Two breaths passed while the blades remained locked together.

In that brief span, Wei Jinchen’s shoulder twitched five times.

Should he maintain this stalemate?

Or should he deflect his opponent’s force and unleash the techniques he had mastered?

Caught between these two choices, Wei Jinchen agonized.

‘The martial prowess that man has displayed so far…’

It cannot be easily broken.

The moment that feeble thought entered his mind, Wei Jinchen bit down hard on his lip.

He replayed the martial arts techniques Gu Yangji had displayed countless times in his mind, trying to break them with his own martial prowess, but no solution came.

It felt like facing a massive fortress wall.

Just as Wei Jinchen felt a twinge of gloom, Gu Yangji took a half-step back.

“Let’s stop the brute force here.”

Gu Yangji swung the sword clenched in his fist.

Soon, the sound of wind being violently sliced struck the air.

Whoosh-!

At first glance, it seemed a light swing, but the power contained within was formidable.

The sword form Gu Yangji displayed was clearly a slash.

Yet to Wei Jinchen, facing him, it felt like a thrust.

Clang!

The piercing sound of the two swords clashing startled a pair of birds circling nearby.

Of course, it wasn’t particularly good for Wei Jinchen.

‘……Guh. So it was impossible to block without injury after all.’

He gave a small, hollow laugh, then drew all the energy pooled in his dantian, wrapping it around his sword.

It was a different dimension from the sword energy Gu Yangji had displayed just moments before—in a bad way.

To unleash such sword energy without even a certain level of cultivation or profound insight.

Wei Jinchen felt as if he’d been stripped bare. Showing such sword energy in front of Gu Yangji was itself an embarrassing affair.

‘Still.’

Grit.

Wei Jinchen’s teeth clenched, deepening the creases in his jaw.

As long as this was the Nine Dragons Tournament, he was a martial artist representing Tianwufeng.

He had no intention of showing a shameful side.

Even if he couldn’t match Yang Zhihuan, he wanted to show the fighting spirit and pride to win.

Wei Zhenchen straightened his slightly bent back.

“Hmph!”

He lifted his gaze, which had been lowered, and stared directly at Gu Yangjie.

Wei Jinchen’s sword tip was now enveloped in a dense layer of condensed energy, forming a solid blade.

Seeing this, Gu Yangji smiled faintly.

“…Huh.”

Gu Yangji’s sword danced, as if to say it was nothing more, nothing less.

Watching this, Xian Jianjin, who had pierced through the technique Gu Yangji had unleashed, cried out in surprise.

“Plum Blossom Butterfly Dance!”

Plum blossoms dance like butterflies.

A technique belonging to the flowing sword style within the Plum Blossom Sword.

That was precisely why Gu Yangji, who preferred hard swords and swift swords, rarely used it.

Unfolding such a technique here now was Gu Yangji’s own consideration.

The Nine Dragons Tournament was, strictly speaking, a gathering for harmony and competition between martial arts sects.

If Gu Yangji had deployed his hard sword, he could have finished any late-stage cultivator within three breaths. But he refused to get entangled in unnecessary disputes.

And…

‘They say the one who’s been beaten knows best, right?’

Just like Wei Jinchuan now, Gu Yangji had once relied on his immature hard sword as his specialty.

Recalling those days now, every single day was a humiliation.

Even those who looked like obvious greenhorns could instantly counter his fierce sword and brush him aside, while the so-called masters of the martial world practically toyed with him.

What kind of experience had Gu Yangji accumulated while facing such opponents?

It couldn’t have been entirely useless.

Gu Yangji hoped Wei Jinchuan wouldn’t have to go through the same experience he had.

“I’ll teach you a move.”

At those words, Wei Jinchuan, flushed with anger, thrust forward a single step.

But the force behind it was no trifling matter.

Crack!

A hairline crack was etched into the unarmed combat floor where Wei Jinchuan’s toes touched down.

It seemed to be shot forth at a speed approaching lightning.

Grit, Gu Yangji’s teeth clenched together.

‘…What an absurd thing to do.’

Just once.

With that single step, Wei Jinchen expended five years’ worth of cultivation.

Considering Gu Yangjie’s current cultivation was only five years, he was bound to lose in a simple battle of inner strength.

But Gu Yangjie responded with a spirited laugh.

“If that’s how you’re going to play it, then I’m all for it.”

Gu Yangjie’s voice, brimming with confidence, flowed over the battlefield.

Soon, the clash of two swords drowned out the sound.

Kaang!

Not the clash of blades, but a thunderous roar like gunpowder or cannons intertwining.

It reverberated across the battlefield.

Wei Jinchuan, having exhausted all his energy, frowned and took two steps back.

Only then did he belatedly inspect his sword.

‘It’s broken?!’

As Wei Jinchuan stood frozen in shock, unable to utter a word, Gu Yangjie spoke.

“Well now, it feels a bit embarrassing to say something I don’t usually say.”

Scratching the back of his head, he gathered the sword fragments to one side with his foot and offered advice.

“An unfinished, rigid sword will always be devoured by a more flexible, fluid sword.”

“…….”

Wei Jinchuan’s face flushed crimson. He bowed slightly to the young disciple, his gesture tinged with respect.

“I gratefully accept your teaching.”

Regardless of what Wei Jinchuan did, Gu Yangji remained focused on his own task.

“Next.”