Chapter 114: Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Rampage (3)

I was exchanging blows with Chu Il-hwan at a terrifying speed. Though it was clearly my own body engaging in this fierce battle, I felt like a third-party observer watching the fight unfold.

It was an unfamiliar sensation.

'Could my body move this fast?'

Every muscle and meridian in my body screamed in protest.

But it wasn't just from the impact of clashing with Chu Il-hwan's black lightning.

The Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, this other self within me, had pushed my physical output to the absolute limit my body could dish out.

My muscles, strained to their breaking point, were tearing with every passing moment.

The internal energy I'd drawn up until my dantian was completely empty surged through my entire meridians with such force that it ripped through my blood vessels as it went.

—Swing it more precisely!

Though I was displaying swordsmanship stronger, faster, and more precise than ever before, the other self in my head continued its relentless clamoring.

But even with my body surrendered to the rampage of Demonic Art, the difference in skill was undeniable.

The moment my sword blocked Chu Il-hwan’s twin palms wreathed in black lightning—

I was sent flying back into the corridor of the Hall of the Demonic Way by the tremendous impact, smashing through a door as I flew.

Even so, my body moved with an uncanny grace and quickly regained its balance.

But Chu Il-hwan, whose reason was gone, showed no intention of slowing his assault. He charged again, alternating his twin palm strikes at incredible speed.

It was a strange feeling.

While the rampaging Chu Il-hwan had completely lost his mind and was thrashing about wildly—

My body, under the control of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, was eerily calm.

If someone else were watching, it would appear as though I was maintaining my reason rather than being consumed by the Demonic Art.

—Why are you swinging the sword so simply?

Before I knew it, my sword was weaving together the various principles contained within the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword.

To match the speed of Chu Il-hwan's twin palms, I swung my right hand holding the sword according to the principles of Soul-Cutting Flash (斷魂一閃), an art dedicated to extreme speed.

As the Demonic Art demanded movements far more extreme than usual, my muscles screamed in agony.

And absurdly, the Sword Qi formed on the blade as my body executed the Soul-Cutting Flash created a repelling force according to the principles of the Soul-Repelling Sword.

The fiercer Chu Il-hwan's assault became, the more complex and miraculous the swordsmanship of my other self displayed. It was impossible to tell whether this was a life-and-death battle or an educational training.

But my body was still far from being able to fully execute the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword's demands, and I was repeatedly pushed back by Chu Il-hwan's assault.

With a bizarre laugh, Chu Il-hwan unleashed another flurry of attacks, and my body was once again sent flying backward.

Piercing through the window of the Hall of the Demonic Way, my eyes caught sight of the full moon hanging in the black sky.

And Chu Il-hwan, following me through the shattered window, appeared blocking that full moon.

Floating in mid-air, Chu Il-hwan clapped his twin palms together and the black lightning arced between them rapidly growing in size.

He was preparing for a lethal technique seeing my body was suspended mid-air.

Naturally, the small sliver of reason that had lost most of its territory to the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

‘Crazy bastard. He’s really trying to kill me.’

Come to think of it, that madman had been screaming for me to die for a while now.

'Wasn't he trying to sexually assault me...?'

Only now did I realize Chu Il-hwan's purpose was different, but that wasn’t important right now.

Finally, Chu Il-hwan thrust his twin palms downward, shooting a massive Black Lightning bolt at me.

While my instincts rang alarm bells about this life-threatening crisis—

My body took a deep breath and simultaneously began circulating my remaining internal energy at tremendous speed.

'This is the Soul-Guiding Sword, and this is Soul Jade Core. Wow, he even mixed in a secret technique?

Inside my body, a complex and rapid flow of internal energy was taking place, but strangely, my body moved with perfect calmness.

As I fell toward the ground, I held my sword out in front of me, waiting for the black lightning to reach me.

The moment the sword tip made contact with the black lightning, a sword barrier had somehow formed to envelop the lightning.

The barrier, moving with the gentle swing of my sword, guided the black lightning, redirecting it to the right.

But that was only the surface.

My sword arm screamed as if it were about to snap at any moment.

Despite deploying the principle of redirection to its limit, the rebound force that couldn't be completely neutralized sent my body flying to the left.

Only after my body crashed into the ground and rolled several times like a bouncing ball could all the impact be dispersed and I came to a stop.

A torrent of black blood erupted from my mouth.

My body, declaring it could no longer move, began forcibly shutting down my consciousness.

In my fading consciousness, I could vaguely see instructors rushing toward me.

"Young Master Il-mok!!"

"Instructor Chu! Get a grip!!"

At their shouts, somehow a bitter smile appeared on my lips rather than a sigh of relief.

It wasn't because I didn't trust them.

'This time, I’m definitely fucked up.'

Even if I survived this, I had a feeling I’d be plagued by a serious case of enlightenment and its side effects for a long time to come.

Eun Ryeo, the first to arrive on the scene, could hardly hide her troubled expression.

She had been able to arrive first because she had just finished a talk with Il-mok at the Black Dragon Pavilion.

Stepping between Il-mok and Instructor Chu Il-hwan, she met his eyes and knew instantly.

'He's completely lost his reason.'

As if to prove her right, Chu Il-hwan charged at her while radiating killing intent.

“You want to die too, you bitch!!”

Eun-ryeo gracefully drew her thin sword and blocked Chu Il-hwan's Black Thunder Demonic Palm.

With each exchange, she was gradually pushed back.

Not only because Chu Il-hwan was acknowledged as the Head Instructor, the most skilled among them all, but he was also in a state of rampage.

He is not an opponent she could handle alone, especially while protecting Il-mok behind her.

But she wasn’t worried. She knew the other instructors were on their way.

With that shout, Instructor Cheok Il-so, in charge of external martial arts training, threw himself forward with his spear.

As if he had anticipated it, Chu Il-hwan met the spearhead with his left palm.

While Chu Il-hwan's black lightning and Cheok Il-so's spear clashed—

Instructor Eun Ryeo's thin sword whipped through the air flexibly, flying toward Chu Il-hwan at a strange angle. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novęlfire.net

Chu Il-hwan responded in a bizarre fashion.

He poured more internal energy into his left palm, which was clashing with Cheok Il-so's spear.

Instead, he deployed his footwork backward, using the rebound force from clashing with the spear to retreat and avoid Eun Ryeo's thin sword.

For a short while after, Eun Ryeo, Cheok Il-so, and Chu Il-hwan continued their clash.

Soon, the area around them was filled with students, instructors, and teaching assistants who had been drawn by the commotion.

The moment Vice Hall Master Yu Geuk clicked his tongue with cold eyes and drew his blade to step forward—

"Everyone, stand back."

The weighty words of the Hall Master Yeom Ga-hwi pressed down on the entire area.

Vice Hall Master Yu Geuk sheathed his blade and stepped back, and those around naturally gave them space.

And Eun Ryeo and Cheok Il-so, who had been confronting Chu Il-hwan—

Used the rebound force from clashing with Chu Il-hwan's black lightning to retreat.

Yeom Ga-hwi stepped forward and faced Chu Il-hwan while sighing inwardly.

'He's completely lost his reason.'

The way Chu Il-hwan was radiating such killing intent even toward the Hall Master left no room for doubt.

With a strange battle cry, Chu Il-hwan charged and unleashed torrents of black lightning.

Yeom Ga-hwi stood his ground, taking the stance of a straight punch and drawing a deep breath.

Crimson energy shimmered around Yeom Ga-hwi's body, taking on the form of a three-headed and six-armed phantom.

And in the next moment, Yeom Ga-hwi’s right fist was already launched. It was as if reality had glitched and the moveset of the punch was skipped.

Six crimson fist energies were carving different trajectories through the air.

A series of explosive sounds with subtle time differences exploded at the torrents of black lightning, completely annihilating it.

And in the next instant, Yeom Ga-hwi was right in front of Chu Il-hwan.

With a sound like the beating of a drum, Chu Il-hwan's body flew backward after being struck in the abdomen.

Chu Il-hwan tumbled across the ground several times and was about to get up when Yeom Ga-hwi, who had closed the distance in an instant, struck a series of Chu Il-hwan’s pressure points rapidly.

After subduing Chu Il-hwan, Yeom Ga-hwi turned his head to look at Eun Ryeo.

"What is Disciple Il-mok's condition?"

“His external injuries are not severe, but his internal injuries are serious. If he is left as he is, he will likely suffer from major aftereffects.”

"...Have him transported immediately to the medical wing at the main headquarters."

“I will obey your command!”

Instructor Eun Ryeo carried Il-mok and left the Hall of the Demonic Way using her lightness skill.

Having given his orders, Yeom Ga-hwi looked down at the unconscious Chu Il-hwan on the ground with a complicated expression.

There, I was swinging my sword relentlessly.

Sometimes, I swung it alone into the empty air.

Sometimes my Eldest Brother appeared and swung his sword like a madman. Other times, my Third Brother would show up and try to assassinate me.

After going through near-death crises and refining my swordsmanship again, Master would appear, and Jin Hayeon would appear too.

Everyone I had ever crossed swords with appeared in turn to attack me.

How could I draw a more perfect sword path? How could I complete the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword?

How long had I been swinging my sword, absorbed only in swinging my sword?

After fighting life-and-death battles and refining my sword techniques alone dozens of times—

A question belatedly occurred to me.

'How am I still able to swing my sword?'

I couldn't remember exactly, but I had been swinging my sword for quite some time.

By now, my internal energy should have been completely exhausted, and my muscles should have been so strained that I couldn't move a finger.

Of course, even at this moment, my muscles were screaming constantly, and my meridians were crying out in agony.

But despite that, my sword was still moving.

Yes. Just like when Instructor Chu Il-hwan attacked me.

One question led to another. Had I been attacked?

"Ehihihihi! I'll kill you!"

Just then, Chu Il-hwan charged from the front, scattering black lightning wildly.

Why was it? That scene looked to me like something that had already happened and was repeating itself.

And I, as if repeating what had happened before, began to counter his moves as if someone were controlling me with strings.

After exchanging a series of choreographed blows with Chu Il-hwan…

Soon, Chu Il-hwan's form scattered like a mirage.

Ice Qi (寒氣) covered the area, and Jin Hayeon's figure began to be drawn in the air.

After exchanging moves with Jin Hayeon, who appeared like a mirage—

Only then could I realize the current situation.

'It's a dream. Or am I suffering from Qi Deviation?’

I sighed and ignored Jin Hayeon's assault, letting my sword droop.

No, I tried to let it droop.

'This damn Demonic Art.'

As if telling me not to stop practicing swordsmanship, my body kept trying to move on its own.

But now that I knew this was a dream, I had no intention of being dragged around as it pleased.

The moment I forced my sword to a stop, Jin Hayeon’s twin palms flew toward my chest. As if to counter the attack, my sword arm tried to move.

But I moved my left hand, grabbing my sword-wielding right hand and holding it still.

Right after that, Jin Hayeon's twin palms finally struck my chest.

Cold energy enveloped my entire body, causing me to shiver.

Even then, my body tried to rebel on its own, adamantly trying to swing the sword again.

“Yeah, I know my realm is still lacking.”

I gritted my teeth and fought back the Demonic Art.

"But what are you going to do about it? What can you do, Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword? Other than screaming in my head, what can you do, you pathetic little piece of shit side effect!”