Chapter 417: Chapter 417

The martial artists guarding the Ancient Archives, one of the Blood Cult's forbidden areas, sneered at Number 27 when he first arrived.

"That guy! Didn't they say he couldn't use inner arts because he injured his qi center?"

"I heard he was once a master skilled enough to be in the Blood Dragons. Rumor has it that he became a cripple overnight."

"I don't know the details. Anyway, it seems the Cult Leader took pity on him and granted him permission to enter the Ancient Archives."

The martial artists murmured amongst themselves about Number 27 as he disappeared inside.

"How many days will he last anyway? There are only incomplete demonic art manuals and bizarre fantasy novels in there."

"He'll probably come running out screaming his lungs out, barely sane, within five days."

"Five days? I bet he'll run away in three."

The martial artists who had initially mocked him couldn't help but be astonished.

"You have to admit, his persistence is unparalleled."

"There's no one more tenacious than him."

Many masters had visited the Ancient Archives before Number 27, but not a single one had achieved anything noteworthy. Gradually, visitors became increasingly rare, and the place had been all but abandoned for the past decade.

The martial artists guarding the Ancient Archives began to look at Number 27 with pity.

"After searching this much, you'd think it's about time he gave up."

"He's probably doing it because there's nothing else he can do."

"Maybe he's already gone mad. The look in his eyes is so eerie."

"That guy might actually end up finding something..."

Until now, everyone who had visited the Ancient Archives was an exceptional master , as gaining entry without being a master worthy of the Cult Leader's recognition was virtually impossible. Compared to them, Number 27 was the weakest and most pathetic martial artist ever to enter the Archives.

The guards didn't know it, but it was precisely because of this that Number 27 was more desperate than anyone else. He spent all his time in the Archives, except for the time he spent going to and from the underground prison.

Baek Suryong watched his past self and shook his head inwardly. Even I think it's extreme.

Everyone at the Azure Dragon Academy dubbed him a workaholic even now, but back then, it was no exaggeration to say he was literally grinding away his life day by day.

Whenever he grew tired and drowsy, Number 27 would slap his own cheek to stay awake. Through bloodshot eyes, he devoured every book in the Ancient Archives.

It's a miracle I didn't die from overwork.

Watching the scene from a third-person perspective, Baek Suryong began to understand why the people around him tried so hard to stop him from working.

However, thanks to that... I gained an unexpected miraculous encounter.

Unlike Number 27, Baek Suryong wasn't interested in the Heaven Defying Divine Art, which he was bound to obtain soon anyway. Rather, he was more interested in the treasure he had discarded in his desperation to find a way to fix his damaged qi center—the numerous books in the Ancient Archives.

Hmm. I could apply some of this to the Unlimited Sword...

This would be helpful for Wonkang. If used well, it would help him control the killing intent of the Asura Blood Heaven Blade.

Ha! Ice arts could be used this way too? It's worth researching...

Although most of the martial arts manuals created by the peerless Blood Cult masters in their later years were deemed failures and discarded in the Ancient Archives, they undoubtedly contained valuable insights.

Back then, I didn't realize their true value...

What if he could reread and contemplate the contents he had quickly skimmed over in the past, but now from a higher state of enlightenment? Although he couldn't move his body at will, he had plenty of time to think and ponder endlessly.

It was a rare opportunity to slowly reflect on and examine his own martial arts... which led him to be absolutely certain of one fact.

The Blood Demon sent me here on purpose.

"If you're lucky, you might find what you're looking for there."

Baek Suryong recalled the Blood Demon's sly smile as he said those words. At the time, he had only thought of it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity granted by the whim of an absolute being, but that wasn't the truth at all.

Why did I only realize this now?

He didn't know whether it was an impulsive decision or part of a grand plan that looked far into the future, but the Blood Demon had intentionally given him this chance to learn the Heaven Defying Divine Art.

Fuck you, Blood Demon. I have no intention of being toyed with so helplessly. I'll make you regret giving me this miraculous encounter.

The longer Number 27 spent in the archives, the more Baek Suryong's understanding and knowledge of martial arts grew and matured.

Finally, on the third month of Number 27's visits to the Ancient Archives, he stumbled upon something strange while reading one of the books.

"Only this part has a different handwriting."

It was a clue he couldn't have noticed if he hadn't read most of the books in the Ancient Archives. About halfway through the book he was currently reading, his eyes fell upon a passage written in different handwriting.

At first, he hadn't thought much of it. Adding annotations to martial arts manuals was quite common. However...

"I definitely saw this same handwriting in some of the other books, too..."

Number 27 began to pull out and check the books one by one from the shelves he had organized over the past three months. After a while, he found a total of four such books.

I've finally found it!

He rearranged and combined the characters written in the same handwriting, and a single phrase soon emerged.

"Heaven.. Defying..." Number 27 quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. It would be a disaster if anyone overheard him. Nevertheless, his bloodshot, severely sleep-deprived eyes looked as if they would pop out from their sockets.

Why was the ultimate martial art, which only the Blood Cult Leaders were allowed to learn, stored in the Ancient Archives?

Number 27's face twitched as he tried to decide whether to laugh or cry. He had been trying to find a way to fix or replace his damaged qi center, not learn the ultimate divine art. Frankly, he had recently been learning the four ultimate martial arts, and he was quite satisfied.

"Did the founder leave this behind?"

Number 27 cross-referenced the four books and read through the manual for the Heaven Defying Divine Art. Some time later, his pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

To reach the first star of the Heaven Defying Divine Art, one must gather the contaminated qi in the body and create a new qi center!?

This fact hit him like a ton of bricks. The Heaven Defying Divine Art, created by the first Blood Demon with the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians, was a martial art that deviated completely from all others right from the beginning.

A body with a broken qi center shared something in common with the Heavenly Yin Severed Meridians. Since his qi center was broken and his meridians damaged as a consequence, a great deal of contaminated qi had accumulated inside Number 27's body. In other words, he too could learn the Heaven Defying Divine Art.

As soon as Number 27 had memorized the entire manual, he shot up from his seat, eager to start learning the Heaven Defying Divine Art right away. However, he restrained his desire with superhuman self-control.

Not here. If someone discovers that I learned the Heaven Defying Divine Art, it won't end with a simple execution. I need a secluded space where no one will come and not even a sliver of energy can leak out.

As it happened, he knew of the perfect place.

"The underground prison..." he muttered, dashing out of the Ancient Archives.

"Hmm? Leaving already?"

"That's early. What's the occasion?"

When the martial artists guarding the front of the Ancient Archives asked why he was leaving so early today, Number 27 grinned. "Because I don't need to be here anymore."

Those three months were beneficial not only for Number 27 but also for Baek Suryong.

"Hey, brat! Did something good happen? You've been grinning like an idiot since you walked in," Master Maeng remarked the moment he saw Number 27. Despite his thickheadedness, he was surprisingly perceptive.

"Oho! Don't tell me... is it a woman?" Master Maeng cackled creepily and wiggled his pinky finger.

Master Crazy Demon clicked his tongue loudly from the next cell over. "As expected of a vulgar bandit."

Normally the quiet type, he found Master Maeng's words and actions extremely irritating.

However, this was precisely why Master Maeng enjoyed teasing the man more than anyone else.

"Fufu! Are you embarrassed? Then again, a virgin who's so crazy about martial arts he's never even held a woman's hand would probably turn red at the mere mention of women."

"Shut up! Who said I've never held a woman's hand?"

"So you're saying you have? When? With whom?"

"It's not a story I'd tell the likes of you."

As usual, the two masters snarled at each other whenever they had the chance.

Number 27 sighed. "Sorry, but could you please be quiet so I can concentrate? I'm about to do something very important."

"Something important?"

Meeting his masters' gazes, Number 27 grinned triumphantly. "I've found a way to regain my inner arts."

""...!"" All four masters approached the iron bars in surprise.

"Is such a thing possible?"

"We'll know once I try."

Number 27 chuckled and sat down on the floor, crossing his legs. Then he took out the miracle herbs he had picked up from the medicine hall on his way there. He would have to report it to the Demonic Strategist, but he could just say he used them on the people in the underground prison.

"If I succeed, our escape plan will become much easier."

Swallowing the miracle herbs, Number 27 closed his eyes and focused on the medicinal energy entering his body. He guided the energy according to the incantations of the Heaven Defying Divine Art.

The contaminated qi accumulated in his body began to cling to the medicinal energy, and he began to circulate it. Since it was painful for harmful qi to travel through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, Number 27 winced in agony, and veins bulged on his neck.

"You little punk! What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Stop this right now!"

"Those are signs of qi deviation."

Although the masters all tried to stop him, Number 27 ignored them. A groan escaped through his clenched teeth, and cold sweat poured down his body. However, for the first time in years, his qi was moving properly.

With other techniques, no matter how he circulated his qi, it would scatter without accumulating in his qi center. However, the Heaven Defying Divine Art was different.

This technique gathered the contaminated qi in the body and formed a whole new qi center. Initially, this process brought excruciating pain, but once the path was cleared, the new qi center would absorb contaminated qi and grow on its own.

The Heaven Defying Divine Art was truly the most unique martial art in the world.

"Hooooo..." Number 27 let out a long breath and opened his eyes. He could feel the presence of the small qi center that had formed inside his body.

A red light burst from his eyes and vanished in an instant, proving that he had reached the first level of the Heaven Defying Divine Art.

The four peerless masters stared at the sight, dumbfounded.

"Hey, Crazy Demon! What did I just see?"

"Don't ask me, I have no idea."

"Wasn't that the Blood Demon's martial arts?"

Getting to his feet, Number 27 looked around at the masters. Seeing the questions on their faces, he explained what had happened in the Ancient Archives.

"I found the Heaven Defying Divine Art there."

The five of them were in the same boat. He had no reason to hide the Heaven Defying Divine Art from them.

Master Maeng, who had been listening blankly, suddenly perked up. Eyes glittering, he asked, "So... you're saying that you can use inner arts now, right?"

While the fact that Number 27 had learned the Heaven Defying Divine Art was surprising, what was more important was that he could now use inner arts. That meant he could now properly perform other martial arts as well.

Understanding this, the other masters also became excited.

They had nine years, four of the world's greatest martial masters, and a talented disciple who possessed insight and talent equal, or even superior to his mentors.

The Crazy Demon Hyonwon Hu muttered absentmindedly, "If you can master not only the Heaven Defying Divine Art, but our martial arts as well..."

Escaping the Blood Cult in the future would certainly become much easier. Not only that, but the Blood Cult would also find itself confronted with its worst enemy.

"Good! Now I can pass down the real Eighteen Strikes of the Viridian Forest, not the half-assed version!"

"The Asura Blood Heaven Blade as well."

"The Unlimited Sword is a complicated sword technique, but you should be able to learn it."

"You won't be able to learn the White Ice Divine Art, but you might be able to apply parts of it."

Each of them had a reason they absolutely had to escape this hellhole. They also harbored a deep-seated grudge against the Blood Cult. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novelFɪre.net

The masters spoke in unison, ""We will make you the world's strongest martial artist.""

This was the moment Number 27 became the four masters' true successor.

"I'll do my best to learn," he said, nodding, "Let's make sure we escape this hellhole together!"

A few days later, he heard the news that the children who would inherit the martial arts of the four masters had been selected.