Chapter 67

Even in the warm sunlight, the extreme Yin Qi made my back damp.
Despite being a tiny seed, it germinates from time to time, causing some of the energy to spiral out of control.
Yin Qi like Bamtol, combined with poisonous energy, was so stubborn and tenacious that no amount of energy could push it away. Nangong Yue gazed at it, feeling the absurdity of it all, and yet she did not push it away, even though it had become so familiar.
Even as it gnawed at her life.
For once, he had a chance. One chance to push it away once and for all, to awaken myself.
But I squandered that chance. I gave it to someone other than myself. I gave it to someone else.
The energy in his body made me smile, made me laugh, made me smile.
So I don’t regret it.
It went to its true owner, not me.
“Farewell, and please don’t get sick.”
He smiled at me, his smile as generous as the sunlight.
It was none other than the Southern Palace.
* * *
“……What did you say, another intruder?”
“Again.”
At Han Il-sang’s words, Yeo Gon made a disbelieving face.
“We’ve been informed that someone has broken into the entrance of the Ice Palace, so we’ve sent the Bing Tian Swordsmen.”
So they’re in league with the Southern Palace.
Ye Gong blew out a breath and told his story.
“There have been intruders from outside, and my priest has been attacked. I suspect it was those who wish to slander the North Sea.”
Han Il-sang jumped to his feet, his face pale with the news. He was just about to complete his master plan when he was interrupted.
Han Il-sang took a few hesitant steps before finally saying.
“Master Yeo, Master Yeo, what do you want me to do about this?”
He turned to Yeogon, who patted him on the shoulder to reassure him.
“Don’t worry, Mao. First, order Wen Ilhong to find the escaped Bing Tian Swordsmen and kill them as soon as he can. Then you must go to Han Taiwen.”
Ye Gong shook his head at the mention of finding Han Taiwen.
“Why do you want to find him?”
“The remnants of the Bing Tian Swords will not be rallied by the Zhongyuan, and they need a reason to move, which is why we must get rid of Han Taemun as soon as possible.”
At the mention of killing Han Tae-moon, Han Il-sang stiffened for the first time.
“Is that really necessary?”
For the first time, Yeogon’s expression twisted. He hadn’t heard what he had said.
“……Ah, no, it’s not that, we don’t have to kill him, we can use him as a hostage for many other things…….”
Her eyes lit up at his hesitant response. Her grip tightened, but she blew out a sigh.
If they managed to escape, Qing Shui’s pursuers would enter the North Sea, and that would be the end of the matter.
That must not be allowed to happen, so he steeled himself.
“Think of one thing, my lord.”
“…….”
“Think only of the Ice Palace of the North Sea, and of being the lord of this palace.”
At Yeogon’s words, Han Il-sang was struck like a thunderbolt, and he stopped and stood tall.
It was true. For what had he walked this far?
He had walked a bloody path to this point just to gain the title of palace lord and become the owner of the Northern Ice Palace.
“I see.”
Han Il-sang’s eyes flashed with overflowing desire, and when she saw him take a step, she stood up, unable to delay any longer.
His steps led him to the place where the Simmany were resting.
* * *
Sgggggg!
Riding in the cart down the snowy path, Kangseok and Chunsik’s attention was drawn away from the dizzying descent to the bloodbath behind them. The black-haired man who had been dragging them, and the two young men who had barely gotten up from the ground, were struggling to fight back against the Binggung’s unmanned forces.
The Bingtian Sword Team was not about to stand idly by as they watched the two escape. Bing Tian Sword Master Yuan Yilong straightened his sword and shouted.
“Don’t let them get away! Kill all the rats!”
But.
Just as they were fighting to the death, two young men who had already lost all their strength and didn’t even have the strength to hold their swords stood in their way.
“……They’re a problem, but especially this one.
Yuan Yilong swallowed hard when he saw the panting black-clad man in front of him, his two daggers crossed in reverse.
He set himself on fire to save the two men, allowing them to escape in a cart hidden by the city wall. The martial artists of the Bing Palace, who had underestimated the man’s prowess, were stunned by his killing movements and dagger skills, which they had never seen before, and by his particularly grim aura.
Unlike the chill of the North Sea.
Another cold, icy aura.
Looking at the dagger, which was filled with an aura that was technically akin to demonic energy, Bing Tian Sword Master Wen Yilong couldn’t help but shudder.
”Even compared to the Buping Grandmaster……, it feels like it’s not below him at all.”
He was only an assistant master of the Bingtian Sword Academy, but he had become the Bingtian Sword Master because of his quick perception and because he had helped imprison Bu Ping. It was absurd for him to face the man in front of him, and he was worried that the people he led were not even the elite of the Bingtian Sword Academy.
“I can finally swing my sword in peace.”
“Arthur, you’ll hurt yourself again.”
Wen Yilong’s brow furrowed as Dong Hui and Kang Wumen’s words reached his ears. His pride was shattered as he realized that the dying were taking their time in front of him. As if reading his mind, the members of the Bing Tian Sword Squadron began to close in and surround the wounded beasts.
“There are only three of them. We’re already exhausted. The North Sea is ours, and those from the Middle Kingdom must have gotten a taste for our swords. Use your ice balls to catch them!”
At Yuan Yilong’s words, the tips of the Bing Tian Swordsmen’s swords glowed with energy. Each and every one of them was filled with cold energy.
“No matter how you look at it, these are the martial artists of the Ice Palace.”
“Scary.”
“Scary!”
Kagagagang!
A member of the Bing Tian Sword Squad stomped on the ground, sending out the chill in the air with the tip of his sword. At the same time, the tip of Dong Hui’s sword rose up fiercely and met the sword.
With a dull thud, the Bing Tian Swordsman’s slashing speed slowed, but it wasn’t enough, as the chill still threatened to overwhelm Dong Hui’s grip. At that moment, Kang Wumen’s new sword spun around and, using the sliding snow to his advantage, the tip of his sword swept across the side of the Bing Tian Swordsman facing Dong Hui.
As the stunned Bing Tian Sword Team member quickly retreated, Dong Hui followed closely behind and raised the tip of his sword as well.
The oddly angled blow finally caught the Bing Tian Swordsman off guard, and he was mortally wounded.
Even as they gasped for air, the Bing Tian Swordsmen couldn’t get close enough to them, and they tried to strike Donghui and Kang Wumen simultaneously.
Swoosh!
A crimson aura sliced through the eyes of the approaching Bing Tian Sword Team members.
“Aaaaaaah!”
The blinded man cried out as blood gushed out of his eyes, and Black Ho wouldn’t have any of it, slashing at his throat with his reverse sword.
“Kuck, kuck, kuck!”
It was an extremely concise and practical two sword strikes, and when Dong Hui and Kang Wumen saw it, they looked at each other and stuck out their tongues.
“……I always knew that Black Lake Dai Hao was hiding something, but was it really this bad?”
“There’s a saying in the martial arts that you shouldn’t hide your skills worth three pennies.”
“I think it’s not three pennies, but three quarters.”
The two young men paused for a moment, realizing that even after six years together, they still didn’t know the end of Black Lake. If it weren’t for the Black Tiger’s fierce defense, they would be dead in the water. They had to keep their wits about them from now on, so they wouldn’t be a burden to Black Lake.
“……Bastard.”
Yuan Yilong’s brow twisted into a frown.
* * *
This is what it feels like to fall into the abyss.
This is what it feels like to be sucked into the mire.
Or.
An obstacle.
I wonder what would happen if I left my body in a canyon with no end in sight.
Some will struggle to live.
Some will despair and conform.
And someone will try to mediate between the two.
Such was my condition recently.
My out-of-control auras were full of struggling, conforming, and torn between the two. It was a reaction to an energy that sought to harm my master. My body could not hold still.
The sound and shock of a drum bursting sent shockwaves through my body, and I could feel blood running from my eyes, nose, and mouth even as I felt unconscious.
The energy that had invaded was just as intense. It stretched out its power and began to pierce my heart, and then poked its head into the flesh of my five organs.
It was a terrible feeling, as if a vipers were crawling through his body, but nevertheless.
I forced down the groan that rose in my throat and began to gather the energy of the three veins in my body.
How could I have the strength.
It was natural. I didn’t want to be an ugly disciple.
I didn’t want to be a bad disciple.
It’s not that I wanted to be better than my master, but my master would have wanted that.
How had my master, Nangong Yue, been able to hold on to this energy for so long without dying, this energy that emanated such extreme yin that it could freeze his entire body in an instant, freeze his internal organs to the bone, and yet, like poisonous smoke dissolved in thin air, it was approaching a level that would render him incapable of using a single sword.
Yes, it is.
My Master has given up his own life to empower me to fight it.
Shouldn’t I, then, live up to his expectations?
Isn’t that the way of discipleship?
Myrtle.
The polarized Thunder Emperor Divine Art began to merge with the previously latent energy of the Thunderclan. The Thunderclan’s aura, which I thought had been absorbed, began to rise up. My arrogance. The Thunderclap was said to be the equal of the Shaolin’s Great Patriarchy. There was no way such an energy could be completely absorbed, and it belonged to my mentor, the Southern Palace Sword.
Digging in!
As the pit bull bared its fangs and opened its gaping maw at Qin Lie, the Thunderclap merged with the Thunder Emperor to form the Misty Power Qi.
It’s a leap above the Thunderbolt.
The Thunder Dragon’s aura envelops my entire body in a protective force field. The wall of unbreakable power gradually spreads out from the base of the breakthrough. The encroaching yin and poisonous energy began to be metallurgically consumed by the white brain qi. The thunder dragon’s jaws swallowed up the pit viper’s jaws.
As if it never happened.
Like a shadow of an illusion, the energy of my innermost heart was burned away by the white qi.
With that, I began to take another step forward. I could see a wan smile in his narrowed eyes.
“Goodbye, please don’t get sick. ”
They still cared more about me, their student, than their own well-being.
That’s the smile of a true master.
So now it’s the disciple’s turn.
Please be patient, Master.
The ugly disciple will be right there to help you.
Please trust me, trust this ugly disciple, and don’t let go.
I hope you can feel my desperation. No, I was sure he would feel it.
I vowed never to lose any of my people.