CLS-Chapter 678

Chapter 678:

“Grrrrrruuuuhhh.”

A groan escaped through his clenched teeth.

Wei Yeon-ho used all his strength to resist the massive pressure crushing his body.

A weight he had never experienced before.

It felt as if opening his mouth would cause all his organs to burst out.

‘Damn it.’

A curse naturally slipped out.

Since leaving the cave, he had faced countless enemies. Sometimes those weaker than him, and sometimes those stronger than him.

But among all those he had defeated so far, there wasn’t a single one to be taken lightly. Each and every one had been absolute masters who dominated the Central Plains.

But…

This power was on a different dimension.

It wasn’t a matter of being stronger or weaker. From the very beginning, its essence was different from their power.

Crack.

The sound of bones breaking came from his fingertips.

Not just bones.

All the flesh on his fingertips had burst open and was bleeding. The hand gripping the sword lost all sensation.

Blood also burst from his tightly bitten lips.

But Wei Yeon-ho did not retreat. With bloodshot eyes, he put strength into the hand holding the sword and frantically drew up his internal energy, pouring it into the blade.

Receiving his will, the White Sword emitted a brilliant radiance.

Could he endure it?

‘How the hell would I know!’

One thing he knew for certain.

The moment he retreated, there would be no way back.

Living in this world, sometimes you must not retreat even when you know you’ll be wounded. Wei Yeon-ho instinctively felt it. If he turned away from this place now, the Central Plains would collapse helplessly.

Had he stood here to protect the Central Plains?

No.

That wasn’t it.

The collapse of the Central Plains was also an important problem. But more important than that was his conviction that if he once turned his back on this man, he would never be able to oppose him again.

‘So!’

He gritted his teeth.

He put strength into his legs.

He resisted with all his might against the tremendous pressure crushing his entire body.

Wei Yeon-ho’s eyes became slightly hazy.

Despite the overwhelming difference in power, there was only one reason Wei Yeon-ho could endure.

Because he had already experienced this kind of power once before.

Baek Mu-han.

Baek Mu-han had not shown Wei Yeon-ho everything about himself. To be precise, Baek Mu-han had no intention of hiding his power, but Wei Yeon-ho’s level couldn’t support drawing out his limits.

Due to the limitation of having no physical body, and the limitation that only his insights and personality remained rather than everything Baek Mu-han was, he couldn’t even display half of his original power. Yet Wei Yeon-ho couldn’t even draw out that half.

Still, he had experienced this level of power before.

The despair of being unable to even resist.

The intense fear of his soul being torn to shreds even before the power directly invaded his body.

Just one experience had wasted over a week of precious time to escape its aftermath.

‘Master.’

Wei Yeon-ho gritted his teeth.

I’ve grown compared to then, right?

Now I’m confronting it so boldly. If it were before, I wouldn’t even have dared to resist such power, but now I’m opposing it like this, so I must have grown, right?

There could be no answer. Baek Mu-han was already dead.

But to Wei Yeon-ho’s ears, it seemed as if he could hear a response.

— If you’re going to lose to that bastard, don’t even mention being my disciple.

Master would have said that.

Even under the pressure that felt like every blood vessel in his body would burst, a smile formed on Wei Yeon-ho’s lips.

“Hmm?”

The Heavenly Demon frowned as if he couldn’t understand.

‘He’s blocking it?’

The light Wei Yeon-ho was emitting was receiving the demonic energy he had released. No, it didn’t stop there. Rather, it began to gradually push back his demonic energy while scattering radiance in all directions.

Doubt appeared in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.

This was impossible.

This wasn’t just a matter of pride. With Wei Yeon-ho’s skill level as he understood it, he shouldn’t be able to block his strike. He should have been helplessly pushed back, or his body should have burst while attempting to resist half-heartedly.

But now Wei Yeon-ho was clearly blocking his strike.

The Heavenly Demon’s expression hardened slightly.

‘The more I see, the more surprising he becomes.’

It wasn’t surprising that Wei Yeon-ho was stronger than he had thought. There are always a few geniuses in the world who transcend imagination.

The reason he was surprised now wasn’t because he was strong, but because he was accomplishing something that should be impossible for his current level.

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes sank coldly.

‘When something doesn’t make sense, there’s always an unexpected cause.’

Then what was the cause this boy was hiding?

His sunken eyes pierced through the demonic energy and radiance to capture Wei Yeon-ho precisely.

“Hmm.”

He could see it.

The enormous internal energy flowing through Wei Yeon-ho’s entire body.

It was such tremendous power that he couldn’t understand how someone of that age could have accumulated so much internal energy.

Even if he had eaten elixirs with every meal from the moment of birth and spent his entire life circulating qi, could he really have gathered that much energy?

It wasn’t just that he had abundant internal energy.

Purity.

Wei Yeon-ho’s internal energy was incomparably pure. It was refined as clearly as if made from only morning dew. That purity was dispersing the Heavenly Demon’s power.

After all, his internal energy was mixed.

Though he had refined it as much as possible, the internal energy extracted from numerous people needed more time to become completely his. In terms of internal energy purity, Wei Yeon-ho was definitely ahead of the Heavenly Demon.

‘But that’s not everything.’

When pure internal energy clashes with impure internal energy, the former overwhelms the latter. That was such an obvious statement it didn’t need repeating.

But the power Wei Yeon-ho was displaying now couldn’t be explained by that alone. Even setting aside the purity of that internal energy, the amount of internal energy he was showing exceeded the Heavenly Demon’s expectations.

How was such a thing possible?

Even the Heavenly Demon, who prided himself on reaching the pinnacle of all martial arts, couldn’t understand it.

It was as if someone was clinging to Wei Yeon-ho’s back, helping him with energy transmission…

‘Wait.’

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes sank gloomily. His gaze examined Wei Yeon-ho as if dissecting him piece by piece.

‘That is?’

He could see it.

The strange thing lurking within Wei Yeon-ho’s body.

‘An inner core?’

Why hadn’t he noticed it before?

Within Wei Yeon-ho’s body sat an inner core containing tremendous energy. That was definitely not something Wei Yeon-ho had created. It was similar to Wei Yeon-ho’s energy but different.

It was much more pure and magnificent than the energy Wei Yeon-ho was emitting—energy that made even the Heavenly Demon hesitate for a moment.

A strange light appeared on the Heavenly Demon’s face.

At the same time, Wei Yeon-ho’s radiance began to emit brilliant light and press against the Heavenly Demon’s demonic energy.

Wei Yeon-ho’s eyes began to lose their vitality.

— What a fine thing you’re doing. Yes, when the opponent seems strong, grit your teeth and struggle. Counter power with power. Ah yes, that’s what stupid fools do. How excellent.

His master’s voice reached his ears.

Such a vivid voice. It was so clear that he wondered whether this was a voice created by Wei Yeon-ho’s imagination, or if his master’s soul was with him, speaking to him.

But what did it matter?

This place was a small boat floating on a vast ocean.

For one wandering without knowing where to go, having a clear signpost was like the will to continue living.

— What did I tell you to do when the opponent pushes with power? Countering power with power is what monkeys do. Oh wait, I momentarily forgot that your intelligence isn’t much different from a monkey’s. This is why old people should just die.

But that’s kind of irritating…

—능유제강 [Neung Yu Je Gang – Soft Overcomes Hard]. Those Wudang bastards keep saying it. It’s annoying, but that saying isn’t wrong. Rather, it’s close to the truth. Power should be deflected. Not struck back. Softly, more softly.

Softly, more softly.

Strength left his body.

His bloodshot eyes slowly returned to their original light.

His tightly clenched mouth opened slightly, and his teeth that had been gritted with breaking force relaxed.

Strength also left his shoulders and wrists.

— What is a sword? A sword is a weapon. But a sword isn’t just any weapon. If you’re going to strike down and beat with force to overwhelm, it’s better to wield an axe or saber. Or better yet, take up a spear and stab from a distance. The reason the sword is called the king of all weapons is because mastering the sword alone can narrow the gap in power. Not for you to fight stupidly and foolishly with internal energy like this!

Sword.

Right. What he was holding was a sword.

Wei Yeon-ho had grown strong rapidly.

Because of that, he had achieved victory simply by applying force and pressing down on opponents with full power.

But was that really his sword, or his master’s sword?

No.

His master’s sword was leisurely.

Even facing a million soldiers, his master’s sword would playfully mock the opponent and sing above people’s heads.

Wasn’t that the realm he wanted to reach?

When facing someone stronger than himself, he should instead unfold the sword he most revered. Not grinding his teeth desperately like now.

Swoosh.

Wei Yeon-ho’s sword gradually became more graceful.

Softly, more softly.

When the Heavenly Demon’s approaching demonic energy pushed, he was pushed along; when it pulled, he was drawn in.

Giant trees cannot withstand typhoons.

If the weak side meets force with force, it can only be broken. What overcomes typhoons isn’t the massive tree rooted for a thousand years, but the slender reed with feet in the swamp.

Strength left the sword.

And Wei Yeon-ho’s body also began to sway accordingly.

As if dancing, Wei Yeon-ho’s body began to move gracefully according to the waves emitted by the Heavenly Demon’s demonic energy.

— At least you understand when spoken to. Yes, that’s a sword. When you left the cave, you knew this, but now you’ve forgotten. Don’t forget, Yeon-ho. A sword is ultimately nothing more than showing yourself. What kind of person are you?

I am a lazy person.

Someone who finds everything in the world troublesome.

— If that’s truly you…

Master seemed to be smiling.

— That’s good enough.

Wei Yeon-ho swung his sword as if stretching.

The sword that shot forward bent flexibly against the approaching demonic energy, then bounced back.

Wooooooooong!

The radiance emitted from his sword also changed.

The brilliant radiance that had been dazzling enough to blind people began to lose its light. But it hadn’t weakened. The brilliant white light changed into gentle white light, but the power contained within never weakened.

A little more softly.

A little more gently.

And…

A little slower, a little lazier.

The white light resembling Wei Yeon-ho didn’t confront the approaching demonic energy but strangely penetrated it, pushing, pulling, and deflecting.

Wooooooooooong!

Finally, a small smile appeared on Wei Yeon-ho’s lips.

‘This is…’

Whoosh!

Then the white light that had instantly scattered the demonic energy in all directions flew toward the Heavenly Demon’s neck.

‘My sword.’

The leisurely sword energy pierced through the Heavenly Demon’s body.