Surururu
The mont I realized my opponent had achieved Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, I promptly reigned in my intent.
Simultaneously, interest sparked in Grand Elder Hong's eyes.
The displeasure that had been present just monts ago washed away, no longer visible.
"Hmm You."
Grand Elder Hong looks at with a montarily interested gaze, suddenly taking a step forward.
Simultaneously, her arm rushes towards . In my mind, I envision her hand piercing through my heart.
However, in that vision, I split her body in half and kill her.
Flinch!
Grand Elder Hong is taken aback, but a smile appears on her lips.
"So it is. Were you originally not just any ordinary person but a martial artist?"
"One could say that."
"Good. What was your primary weapon?"
"A sword."
"A sword! Hahaha!"
She does not hide her exhilarated intent.
"Perfect conditions to beco a sword cultivator!"
Whoo
She opens her mouth and several orbs of light shoot out from her Golden Core, encircling her.
A total of 16 golden swords!
"I, too, am a sword cultivator! Do you have any expertise in flying sword techniques?"
'So that's it.'
I imdiately understand what kind of entity she is.
Just like the previous encounter with Byeok Mun-seong, she is a sword cultivator who specializes in controlling flying swords.
"I'll lend you a magic artifact so we can have a match. Instead of Jin Hwi, I'll take on the role of your master."
However, I just smirk.
'My master?'
With a sword? In front of ? Her?
I glance towards a small table inside my quarters.
I quickly swing my hand, cutting off one of the table's legs and holding it in my hand.
"If we're just sparring with sword techniques, this should suffice."
"Hahaha, you madman. Well, don't bla when you get a thrashing."
Crackle, fizz!
Her flying sword dharma treasures draw upon lightning energy, emitting a golden glow.
Wham!
Her flying swords surge towards swiftly.
Holding the leg of the table, I spin around, smoothly deflecting the flying swords and then shoot towards her.
However, I sense presences from behind, in front, above and below.
At the sa ti, 'images' form in my mind.
A sword, silently concealing its presence, spring from the right diagonal below to stab at my throat.
Mid-stride, I twist my body, bending at the waist.
Just as I do so, a flying sword that ca from my blind spot whizzes past where my head had been.
Taking advantage of the mont I twist my body, flying swords from all directions lunge at .
Whirling
But I plant one foot on the ground, using it as a pivot as I swing the sword (the table leg) continuously without pause.
Whoom
Infusing Qi into the table leg, I repel all of the flying sword dharma treasures. Continuing the montum of that rotational force, I rapidly surge towards Hong Su-ryeong's blind spot.
Then, I swing the sword in an upward slicing motion, and Hong Su-ryeong, with a face full of exhilaration, grabs her golden sword and swings back at .
Zing!
Crack!
Shockwaves resonate in all directions, and the table leg creaks as if about to break.
"What are you, really? You're the best, not just any martial artist from Three Flowers Gather at the Summit! Are you the Five Energies Converging to the Origin that cos once every few hundred years? The excitent of fighting with you surpasses any cultivator I've killed!"
Kugugugu!
Under her Heavenly Being stage pressure, my body slowly sinks into the ground.
'The ground of my cave residence can't withstand it.'
Although my body completely disperses her power, making practically unscathed, it seems the surrounding terrain and objects can't say the sa.
'If I used even a little of the power of my physical body from demon beast thods, Ultimate Pinnacle, or the Formless Sword, I would guarantee victory...'
I observe her, gauging her level.
Though we were rely crossing swords, several 'images' ford in my mind.
Scenes where she pressed ti and again, only for her head to end up pierced by the leg of my table.
Even though I was being pushed back in the current situation, the future we saw as our intents mingled always ended with her defeated, miserably impaled on the table leg, without exception.
"Hah...!"
With a laugh that seems to tear her mouth, Hong Su-ryeong begins to infuse her dharma treasure with power, intending to split my body in half.
And as I exchange intents with her, I realize sothing and am startled.
Wait, she's not at Three Flowers Gather at the Summit!?'
This is...
After about ten thousand 'pictures' cycle through my mind, confirming her defeat,
Out of those ten thousand tis, just once!
A single picture erges where she and I end up destroying each other.
If we compare our martial knowledge, it's an impossible scenario.
My world, which has reached the Treading Heavens realm, can not possibly be challenged by the level of Three Flowers Gather at the Summit.
However, if it's a realm higher than the Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, it might be possible.
'Five Energies Converging to the Origin!'
Kwagwang!
With the speed of lightning, she kicks in the chest, sending flying into one of the residence walls.
I crash into the wall, and imdiately, spider-web-like cracks spread throughout it.
"To think you'd kick away using your cultivation at the end. You must not have been confident about winning properly?"
"So what? Cultivation is also my power. If you're jealous, reach the Heavenly Being stage yourself.""
"..."
Hong Su-ryeong, with a satisfied smile, begins to recall her dharma treasures.
"I originally planned to capture you and slice you up with my flying sword technique, but what was that? It didn't feel like a cultivation technique."
Wo-woong!
Hovering in the air in the cave residence, Hong Su-ryeong looks at the still unretrieved flying swords and asks.
I retrieve my intent infused in her flying swords and return them to her as I speak.
"It's sword control."
"Hoh, that's interesting."
She says, receiving back the flying swords that had been completely under my control just monts ago.
Up until just a mont ago, her flying swords were entirely dominated by .
If I had wanted to, I could have used her own flying swords to attack her. Such is the extent of my control.
That's why, out of the ten thousand exchanges of intent, ten thousand tis she was defeated.
However, I recalled the one instance out of ten thousand where we ended up destroying each other.
'My sword control montarily faltered.'
At that mont, her flying sword technique targeted , and after splitting Hong Su-ryeong in half and trying to respond to the flying sword technique, I missed one sword, resulting in a scenario where I also died.
'Of course, that assus I didn't use the demon beast thods.'
But that's a aningless assumption since she also hadn't properly used her cultivation techniques.
"By the way, you must at least be at the Five Energies Converging to the Origin or higher. Then, have you undergone complete transformation?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Then... it ans you have both the Lightning Sacred Body and the Five Elents Spiritual Root."
She looks at with interest.
"As expected. It was a good decision to coerce Senior Brother Jin into making you my dual cultivation partner. I've never t soone as interesting as you!"
"..."
I flinch at the sight of her eyes shimring with madness.
"...I heard you've been... conducting human experints. Are you planning to experint on too?"
"It's intriguing, but it would be aningless."
"Excuse ?"
"Do you know why I started human experints?"
"...I don't know."
Hong Su-ryeong forms a seal towards one corner of the residence.
A tree branch grows, forming a chair.
She sits down on the chair and begins her story.
"The sword (). Since I embarked on the path of cultivation, I've been fascinated by flying sword techniques. I've been consistently researching flying sword techniques and Lightning Path thods. Then, one day, I had the chance to observe the martial world, which is treated like insects in the cultivation world."
Her eyes sparkle as she speaks.
"It was shocking! To see them wielding swords so fiercely, so ticulously, struggling so desperately as the weak against the strong. It was sothing I'd never seen before. And then I realized! In the cultivation world, those who fling flying sword techniques around, boasting 'Look at , I'm a sword cultivator', are all utter fools!"
"..."
"Those fools who've never held a sword in their life think they can call themselves sword cultivators just by flinging flying swords! There's nothing more stupid than that!"
Her words are harsh, but since they resonate with my own thoughts, I quietly listen to her.
"From that day, I began to learn martial arts as well. Though my focus was mainly on sword techniques, holding a sword in my hands and wielding it was thrilling in itself! Fighting over and over again, I eventually reached an understanding of intent, saw the colors of intent through the Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, and ultimately reached the Five Energies Converging to the Origin!"
"...By any chance, have you also undergone complete transformation?"
I ask her, curious.
She smirks and nods.
"Yes. But for , I reached the Five Energies Converging to the Origin and underwent the complete transformation during the Nascent Soul Grand Perfection stage. Hence, I didn't have any trouble with lacking the Five Elents Spiritual Roots."
'I thought as much...'
Sensing her physique, I nod.
Her body felt incredibly balanced.
Such a physique wouldn't make sense unless she had undergone a transformation or mastered demon beast thods.
"Anyway... after reaching the Five Energies Converging to the Origin, a thought occurred to ."
"What was it?"
"If human intent can change the physical body to undergo a transformation, adding the Five Elents Spiritual Roots to soone without spiritual roots through Five Energies Converging to the Origin. Then, depending on a person's will and effort, could a person's 'constitution' also change?"
Crack, crackling!
Lightning swirls around her as she clenches her fist.
"Then, although the legendary constitution of the Ancestor's Heavenly Golden Thunder Body might be too mythical, couldn't we 'reproduce' sothing like a Lightning Sacred Body depending on human effort? That's where my thoughts led . So I started experinting on the human bodies of those who were made to be my dual cultivation partners."
"..."
"Oh, don't worry. None of the subjects of my experints ended up with disabilities or t bad ends. They all beca stronger, if anything. Haha..."
'So that's why those mad experints weren't stopped by the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.'
The dual cultivation partners who escaped from her, regardless of the outco, beca stronger, thus increasing the sect's power. It seems that experinting on fellow sect mbers, even dual cultivation partners, was forgiven for this reason.
"Anyway... putting that aside, you were born with the Lightning Sacred Body and reached the peak of martial arts, achieving the realm of Five Energies Converging to the Origin, so there's no reason for to modify or experint on you. You are essentially the goal I've been trying so hard to reproduce."
"Is that so?"
I nod.
'The idea that human intent and effort can change one's constitution...'
It's a research started from a very interesting perspective.
"In that case, do you also think the sa about 'talent'?"
"Talent?"
"Yes. The overall talent for cultivation thods or for martial arts. Do you also believe those can change?"
"Ah, talent. I have indeed conducted research on that as well."
She nods and continues.
"And after my own research, I've co to the conclusion that the concept of 'talent' does not exist in this world."
'Talent doesn't exist?'
I find the notion intriguing, having never considered such a perspective.
"Why do you say that talent does not exist?"
As soone who has observed the Extraordinary Pattern Law Talent of Buk Hyang-hwa and the Mad Lord, and Kim Young-hoon's martial prowess, I find it hard to agree with her statent.
And then, I am inevitably startled by the na she ntions next.
"Do you, by any chance, know of Cheongmun Ryeong from Byeokra?"
"Excuse ?"
Why would that na suddenly co up here?
I nod in response.
"Yes, I've heard of him. I have a bit of a connection with the Cheongmun Clan."
"Then, you must also know Cheongmun Ryeong's nickna."
"...Excuse ?"
I am confused at the ntion of Cheongmun Ryeong's nickna.
'What, did Cheongmun Ryeong have a nickna?'
I cautiously say.
"I only know he's called one of the three great masters of the Qi Building stage."
"Uh? What's that now?"
"Excuse ?"
But to my surprise, Hong Su-ryeong seems bewildered, as if she's hearing such a thing for the first ti.
However, she soon nods in acknowledgnt.
"Ah, I see. I've heard that those below the Core Formation stage refer to him in that manner. A Qi Building cultivator displaying the power of a Core Formation cultivator. However, from the late stages of Core Formation to the Heavenly Being stage, among higher-level cultivators, Cheongmun Ryeong had a different nickna."
'Ah, it's a nickna circulated among higher-level cultivators. No wonder I didn't know about it.'
I t Cheongmun Ryeong after all the Nascent Soul stages were already captured.
"Among such cultivators, Cheongmun Ryeong was called 'the Yellow Snake', aning 'the Wise One without Talent'."
"Yellow Snake... you say?"
"Yes. Since ancient tis, 'snakes' have symbolized 'wisdom'. It's known that from the phrase 'the heavens are black and the earth is yellow' (). Among high-level cultivators, he was called 'the Yellow Snake' because it was said his talent fell to the earth."
'The Yellow Snake...'
I ponder her words.
'Then conversely, would a genius be called a black snake?'
I ask her about my question.
"Do you an to ask about the Black Snake?"
She explains with her arms crossed.
"I don't know much about the Black Snake. After all, the idea that snakes symbolize 'wisdom' cos from a legend secretly passed among the snake demons of the Head Realm... Ah, but from what I've heard, black snakes are considered more of an auspicious on () among snakes rather than signifying a genius."
'Black snakes signify an auspicious on...'
Like the last ti when buying the demon beast thods.
Among snakes, 'black snakes' seems to be considered a good on or an auspicious being.
'The heavens are black and the earth is yellow... If snakes symbolize wisdom, then black snakes symbolize wisdom of the heavens.'
The heavens represent Fate ().
Perhaps among the Serpent Race, those who reached the plane of fate and beca True Immortals might be the black snakes.
"Anyway, the reason I brought up Cheongmun Ryeong was..."
Crackle!
She brings out 16 golden flying sword dharma treasures again.
Eight swords form points in all directions, and another eight swords form points around the exterior.
"Inner Trigram (), Outer Trigram ()."
Suddenly, the Eight Trigrams seal is imprinted on the swords, and the inner and outer swords begin to rotate in opposite directions.
Wo-woong!
The flying swords exchange the power of the Eight Trigrams with each other, creating countless transformations.
The total number of transformations is 66.
As my eyes accurately follow the flow of changes, Hong Su-ryeong asks in surprise.
"Wow, you caught all the changes in one go? How many changes did you see?"
"I..."
"Don't think about hiding it. I've tested this on a few people. Just by looking at your eyes, I can tell how many transformations you saw."
I was about to lessen the number but decided to tell her exactly what I saw.
'Even if I hide my intent, she would know I can do so. Such a lie won't work on her anyway...'
"...66. The Inner Trigram and Outer Trigram combines to create 64 transformations, and adding the flow of Yin and Yang above and below makes 66."
"Indeed... No one except Cheongmun Ryeong has been able to discern all the transformations at once... you..."
Her gaze sharpens.
"Is it really true that you reached Qi Refining 6th Star in one go through an innate understanding?"
I sigh inwardly.
"This has nothing to do with talent or cultivation but more with how much effort one has put into the basic techniques under the approach of Understanding before Breakthrough."
On the first day I t Hong Su-ryeong.
"Are you really in your twenties? You're not an old monster who scattered his cultivation to infiltrate the sect, are you?"
She quickly approaches the secret of my 'talent.'
***
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