Chapter 116: Master of the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm (2)

The middle-aged Demonic Master couldn’t understand how that young brat had blocked his peak-stage power.

No matter how skilled a post-qi-circulation cultivator he might be, no one at that level should have possessed such overwhelming internal energy.

Even if one had consumed spiritual medicine like daily meals from childhood, it was impossible to possess this much power at such a young age.

It was because the body couldn’t fully absorb the effects of those elixirs.

Only a small portion of the medicinal energy could be converted into true Qi.

If one could become a martial arts master just by taking a single elixir, then there would be no one in the martial world who wasn’t a master.

Two conditions were necessary to properly store the Qi from the elixir: one was a proper cultivation method, and the other was strong physical constitution.

Only with both of these could even a tenth of the medicinal energy be stored as Qi.

The Black Silk Celestial Silkworm didn’t reveal any of its power when internal energy under the peak-stage was infused into it—it simply absorbed it.

But when peak-stage Qi was injected, the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm straightened as if it were stiffened cloth soaked in starch.

Using the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm, Yong Hwarin blocked the middle-aged Demonic Master’s sword as if he were wielding a refined blade.

Amazingly, even when struck with sword techniques infused with sword qi, the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm showed no signs of damage or impact.

Because it absorbed any internal energy below peak-stage, Yong Hwarin didn’t have to worry about his opponent’s true Qi when engaging in swordplay.

Those who used sword qi were dangerous because the true Qi imbued in their sword would flow back along the blade, shaking the opponent’s own Qi and throwing it into disarray.

That’s why, if one’s internal energy was lower than the true Qi within the opponent’s sword, they would immediately suffer internal injuries.

As a result, many made mistakes in battle while trying to guard against sword qi.

But the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm completely sealed that risk. It was like erasing the gap between amateurs and masters.

If two people fought at the same martial level, the one wielding the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm would inevitably win.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

The sound of crisp metal rang out as Yong Hwarin exchanged sword strikes with the middle-aged Demonic Master. Then, he snapped out of his daze, realizing he had been momentarily entranced by his own martial art.

Even though it was brief, unleashing the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword through the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm had been immensely intriguing.

But the ones whose faces held even more curiosity than his were none other than the three sisters of the Jeong Clan—the Three Chivalrous Sisters.

They looked at each other with wide eyes and startled expressions.

Yong Hwarin was the first person they had seen who could wield the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm better than their own mother.

“No way…”

Jeong Daji murmured while looking at her two elder sisters.

Her voice trembled.

“Hmph! He’s just barely holding out with his internal energy,” Jeong Suji said, but her voice was trembling even more than Jeong Daji’s.

Jeong Minji turned her gaze back to Yong Hwarin and murmured.

There was an excited tremor in her voice, as if it concealed a deep thirst.

“Maybe… maybe he’s the one the main family has been searching for all this time.”

At those words, her two younger sisters engraved Yong Hwarin’s image into their minds.

Even during battle, Yong Hwarin never allowed himself to indulge in flashy sword techniques. He knew that such things were directly tied to survival and never did anything foolish.

Arrogant youth and reckless pride were emotions far removed from Yong Hwarin.

Naturally, as he grew more accustomed to using the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm, his swordplay became more flamboyant—more so than the Jade-Blood Sword of the middle-aged Demonic Master.

But it wasn’t just flashy. Each movement was laced with spirit and authority, giving off a sense of overwhelming pressure.

The middle-aged Demonic Master couldn’t help but admire Yong Hwarin’s swift mastery of the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm and his sword technique.

‘Remarkable! His adaptability and reaction with a weapon are almost like his!’

Originally, the Demonic Master had planned to either severely injure the Southern Heavenly King or cripple Princess Gyeongseon.

If not that, he intended to slaughter every martial artist present.

But after witnessing Yong Hwarin’s talent, his murderous intent gave way to a burning competitive spirit.

‘Give him a few years and he’ll become something great!’

The Demonic Master suddenly stepped back and abandoned the thought of fighting Yong Hwarin. Just seeing him made the Demonic Master consider retreating.

Suddenly, an image of the Third Young Master, that great figure with a fierce expression, crossed his mind.

But he quickly erased it from his thoughts.

The Demonic Master whistled sharply, prompting the masked members of the Assembly to glance his way.

However, instead of obeying, the masked warriors ignored him and charged toward the Southern Heavenly King.

‘Damn it! They’re not my subordinates, but to reject my command…! They must have received separate orders from that Third Young Master!’

As the masked warriors rushed the Southern Heavenly King, Yong Hwarin stomped the ground and dashed toward them.

Boom!

He unleashed the Ascending Dragon Movement Technique and stormed in their direction.

Standing firmly in front of the Southern Heavenly King, Yong Biyang raised his sword high, as if ready to face them all alone.

‘Father!’

These masked Assembly warriors were on a whole different level from the previous black-masked fighters.

If they attacked his father all at once, Yong Hwarin feared he’d be severely wounded.

Even Yong Hwarin himself couldn’t guarantee victory if he had to face over ten of them at once.

In the midst of all this, something caught Yong Hwarin’s eye.

It was a poetry book—Xue Tao’s anthology—the very one that had saved Princess Gyeongseon’s life. It had fallen from her chest as she moved recklessly.

Yong Hwarin snatched the poetry book. Then, using the principle of the Wind-Cutting Rain Blade, he threw it and simultaneously struck with the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm of melancholy.

The book split in a cross-shaped cut and flew straight at the charging masked warriors.

It was a poetry book imbued with the essence of the Wind-Cutting Rain Blade. The shredded pages functioned as a form of hidden weapon.

He had instantly infused his left hand with internal energy using the Divided Mind Dual Qi Technique and executed it.

As the white pages flew toward the masked Assembly members, Yong Hwarin leaped in as well.

To the eyes of the others, his action seemed recklessly foolish.

“What a foolish man! How does he expect to handle them all by himself…”

Jeong Minji muttered as she launched her body after him. Jeong Suji and Jeong Daji followed their elder sister without hesitation.

Yong Biyang also threw himself forward.

He knew his son alone wouldn’t be able to handle all of them.

The Southern Heavenly King didn’t say a word, but strength surged in the hand holding his sword.

Watching warriors throw themselves into the enemy’s ranks with their lives on the line always made his blood boil.

Just as he was about to stomp forward and leap in, the commander of the royal guard grabbed his arm.

“Your Majesty, please calm yourself. Trust in them.”

At those words, the Southern Heavenly King restrained himself and watched the warriors charge toward the enemy.

The post-qi-circulation disciples of Mount Hua, moved by the resolve of Yong Hwarin and the Three Chivalrous Sisters, also prepared to leap into the fray—but Poong Imso shook his head.

“Protect His Majesty! We would only be a hindrance to them.”

Hearing the words of their senior brother, Poong Imso, the disciples of Mount Hua clenched their fists.

One of the masked Assembly members slashed at the flying paper.

Ching!

The moment sword and paper met, the masked man flinched in shock at the dense true Qi surging up his blade.

“To infuse this much true Qi into a mere sheet of paper…”

He had let his guard down. He’d assumed the paper was just a distraction.

But it wasn’t.

As that thought passed, something dark slashed past his chest.

“Gah!”

The masked Assembly member looked down at his chest, where the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm had grazed him, and collapsed on the spot.

At the same time, a warning cry rang out from behind.

“Beware the paper!”

Yong Hwarin executed a burst sword style targeting those who tried to cut down the papers. Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword wasn’t originally based on such rapid techniques.

However, using the weightless Black Silk Celestial Silkworm turned every form into a burst sword strike.

In particular, the move Dragon Scale Explosion truly felt like the detonation of a dragon’s scales, just as its name suggested.

Fshhhhhhh!

The sound of the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm slicing through the air closely resembled the rustling of falling paper.

Three masked Assembly members who had been charging forward tried to retreat in haste as four of their comrades fell in an instant.

All three executed Rapid Retreat, infusing it with tremendous internal energy. As a result, half of the flying papers were scattered by the shockwaves and lost momentum.

In the next moment, Yong Hwarin soared up, stepping on the fluttering papers midair.

His light footwork, moving through the air atop the pages, was the Ascending Dragon Movement Technique.

It truly looked like a dragon soaring through the clouds.

Swishhhh!

The brief opening left while they were executing Rapid Retreat was fatal. The three masked Assembly members couldn’t block Yong Hwarin’s Black Silk Celestial Silkworm.

Using Blade Crossing the Sea, all three fell on the spot.

At that, the other charging masked Assembly members hesitated.

Behind Yong Hwarin, Yong Biyang and the Three Chivalrous Sisters landed.

In the blink of an eye, seven masked Assembly members had lost their lives to Yong Hwarin.

The middle-aged Demonic Master couldn’t contain his admiration.

‘Remarkable. He uses the Black Silk Celestial Silkworm like someone who’s trained with it for years.’

The skill of distracting enemies with flying paper and then cutting them down was not a tactic one expected from the young—it was the work of a battle-hardened veteran.

‘Like a seasoned warrior of a hundred battles!’

The middle-aged Demonic Master whistled again.

This time, the masked Assembly members finally followed his command.

They slowly began to retreat.

They, too, realized they couldn’t win this battle alone.

They had understood clearly what Yong Hwarin’s swordplay meant.

“Retreat!”

At the command, the masked Assembly members hesitated briefly, then disappeared over the wall they had entered from.

Since the one who devised this operation was the middle-aged Demonic Master, even though the masked warriors served the Third Young Master, they had no choice but to obey his orders.

Yong Hwarin, on the other hand, felt strangely empty inside.

He hadn’t expected them to retreat so easily.

But he knew the reason—it was because of the middle-aged Demonic Master.

For some unknown reason, he had given up on this plan.

‘If I hadn’t done my utmost to face them, we might’ve suffered a disaster.’

And that was exactly the case. Since Yong Hwarin proved himself a formidable opponent, they chose not to fight recklessly.

Otherwise, both sides could have ended up in mutual destruction.

Princess Gyeongseon looked at the corpses scattered around and collapsed to the ground, vomiting.

Her dignity as a ruler was in tatters, but the situation itself was too much for any ordinary person to bear.

“Escort Princess Gyeongseon inside!”

The royal guards quickly helped her into the main hall.

Then they turned to the captain of the guards and said,

“We’ll head to the prefecture office now.”

They couldn’t remain in this blood-soaked place any longer, so they decided to move there as quickly as possible.

“Lord Yong.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Would you be able to escort me to the prefecture office?”

“Your Majesty has excellent guards by your side, but if this lowly martial artist can be of help, I shall obey your command without hesitation.”

Yong Biyang replied while also preserving the captain’s pride, and the Southern Heavenly King nodded with satisfaction.

He hadn’t seen such a considerate martial artist in quite some time.

Yong Hwarin smiled faintly, surprised at how smooth and eloquent his father could be.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep