Book 14 Chapter 11

Second collision

The man who had been driving the stormy winds of Qi like the eye of a typhoon stopped at the entrance to the song. The man's gaze, the gaze of the Grand Duke Bi, turned toward Bi Ryuyeon. It was a distance of ten zhang, but she could feel his gaze.

"Ho-ho, did you notice that I'm watching?

There was an even more intense gleam in Bi Ryuyeon's eyes. After all, her opponent was an expert enough to be aware of her gaze. Moreover, that dense life force that rose as soon as she felt someone's gaze.

"Are you saying you don't want to be found out?

It was clear that he was not a normal person. Moreover, judging by the dense flesh that immediately sprang to life, my heart must be as cold as ice.

"Well, okay, that's what makes it fun!"

I could feel the intimidating air on the other side. Very arrogant. It was the aura of one who lorded it over others. Judging by the power of his aura, he probably had the skill to match. Such people don't like to see their territory invaded by others. And some will go out of their way to exterminate such arrogance. Like the man in front of you right now…….

"Are you going to try it?

A picture-perfect smile formed on her face.

The Grand Duke was in a very bad mood. Someone's gaze had invaded his own. He was used to having the gaze of a hunter on his prey, but never the other way around, and that was something his pride could not tolerate.

"Who is this?

The source of the uncomfortable stares was quickly revealed. There stood a young man with long bangs covering his eyes and strange jewelry on his wrists and cuffs. When the Grand Duke looked at Bi Ryuyeon, he was struck by three things.

The first was that my opponent's aura was not unfamiliar.

"Why?

It was impossible for him to have met such an insignificant person before. Just as she couldn't see his face in the dark night, he couldn't see hers, so it was impossible to determine his identity at a glance.

The second was the unknown presence of the other person in my arms.

Neither did he feel any outward signs of power. If he hadn't expanded his vision, he might have missed it. But he was certain that there was something that stirred his nerves. But it was impossible to put it into words, to describe it, without great skill.

And the third and final one was the fact that he blocked her way.

Beyond surprise and anger, he was dumbfounded; no one had ever done anything so rude, arrogant, and insolent in his presence. Of course, he had no intention of tolerating such behavior himself. Even death was too gracious a gift for those who stood in his way.

There was only one punishment for such fools.

Disappearance from this world.

They had no choice. But since there was still work to be done, I decided to spare them from death, though I thought they should be branded with an indelible mark to teach them a lesson about their misdeeds.

'O fool, live with the stigma and atone for your folly forever!'

In an instant, waves of flesh emanated from his body, enough to vibrate the atmosphere. Now, with one more step, that life force would become a tangible energy, charging out to tear apart his opponent. It would be an ordinary step for him, but for his opponent, it would be a giant step that he would never forget. It was certainly meant to be……..

But the Grand Duke did not take that step. No, he couldn't.

When you take that step, you are walking into your opponent's space. At first, the gap seems so small that you don't look down on it, but then it expands and presses in on his face.

Placing yourself within your opponent's spacing was the equivalent of offering your neck to them. Of course, a player of Bi's caliber could have ignored the gap and moved in to take his opponent's life. But he didn't. A second reason stood in his way. But if he didn't take this one step, he couldn't put his opponent in his gap.

"Is this a correct reading of interpolation?"

How far did she really read? She decided to give it a try.

The Grand Duchess was beyond outraged.

His opponent's provocation was too blatant. The momentum emanating from his opponent was clearly showing his gap. It was as if he was demonstrating, inviting them to come in if they were brave enough.

The taunt is simple, but that's why it's so effective, because it leaves the opponent with only two options.

Walk forward, or walk backward!

Of course, if he backs off, hesitates, or just stands there fumbling around, he's lost. It could be a psychological defeat, if not a physical one. Either way, it was a win for him, but not for her.

For the Grand Duke, defeat was unacceptable, an unforgivable sin. There was only one path left to him now, and that was to prove his victory. It was his duty.

"This challenge, I accept!"

Rain took a step forward, precisely on the border of his opponent's gap.

"What, what!"

Having been dragged out by Bi Ryuyeon in the morning in the name of inspecting the surroundings, Namgung Sang was instantly stunned, and the Protective Body Qi in his body rose to its peak.

The pressure of the unknown swept through his body like a storm. A terrifying pressure crushed his shoulders, squeezing his heart and lungs. Stifling life……. The fear that he would be torn apart by this whirlwind of life if he let his guard down even a little bit was overwhelming.

"Who the hell?

What kind of ignorant humans would unleash such a fierce energy in a place like this? It was a clash of fierce energies rarely seen even in moments of life and death.

"Oh, yeah!"

It didn't take him long to figure out why: His godbrother was standing on one side of the axis, and a man he'd never seen before was standing on the other.

"Who is that guy?"

Aside from Bi Ryuyeon (who was already in a state of despair that she would, or would be, deep down inside), the stranger in front of her was different. How could he so foolishly confront his big brother, a man who is synonymous with ignorance and brutality……. This was no ordinary man.

His hair was like a sculpture of ice, and his dark eyes glowed indifferently. Moreover, those two heartless pupils seemed to be devouring light and emitting darkness. Her whole body exuded extraordinary strength, and her majesty was overwhelming. Nan Gongsheng couldn't help but be amazed, and felt ashamed of his own accomplishment. It seemed like there wasn't much difference in age between her and him, yet she was emanating an aura that surpassed even the greatest of the great masters. But what about yourself?

'You're only this good, and you're thinking you're a master of the heavenly martial arts……. Gongsang! Gongsang!

He felt so pathetic and foolish. However, it was the Namgung statue that gave him the opportunity to reflect on himself once again.

Sigh!

The air began to glide across the ground, a light dusting as if to confirm its trajectory. The air gliding across the ground was moving in a giant spiral toward the two points of contact, but that was just the beginning. More and more dust began to rise here and there. The air, moving very slowly at first, picked up more and more speed, until it became wind and raced across the land. Countless spiral trajectories began to dance and intertwine.

"Bar, the wind is blowing!"

The air was sucked into a spiral trajectory and then spiraled back out again, as if the two of them had some sort of attraction. The wind on the return spiral was sharp.

Pod!

Namgungsang looked down at his robe in surprise. The wind from his gallop had sliced through the front of his robe as sharply as if it had been cut by a blade.

"No way! You mean it's possible to carry sword qi on the wind and send it flying?

It was unbelievable.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Wind and wind spirals clashed in the air as if in a spectacular sword fight. It soon turned into a fierce battle.

"The air is……."

He wasn't the only one who was surprised. The spirit that followed him was just as surprised. What kind of harmony is this?

"The air is like a blade!"

Her words were short but precise.

The spiraling wind was slicing through the air like a blade. The enormous pressure created by the collision of two powerful forces at a single point of contact was compressing and distorting the air, affecting the surroundings.

Namgungsang quickly raised his guard, shielding himself and Qin Lie in front of him. A thin membrane formed in the air, shielding them from Feng Yin. The barrier grew tighter as Qin Ling also raised her guard to help the Southern Palace Master defend himself.

Bi Ryuyeon and the Grand Duke watched each other and made no further approach. They stood frozen in place, glaring at each other as if they had made a pact. This shuddering, terrifying pressure that the Southern Palace was feeling now was coming from that middle ground.

"Are there two monsters?

One is bad enough, two is worse……. I wanted to curse the sky.

"What's with the frightening flesh that covers this skin?

It was not a life worth living. Namgung Sang watched the confrontation with bated breath.

He had no idea that a contest far above his level was now being waged between them, and if he had, he would have despaired even more.

Boom!

The crashing sound vibrated through the song.

Pebbles and dust hit the ground around you, countless of them. It's like a hail of stones. If you get hit by one of those, your whole body will be turned into a rag. If you get caught in it, you're only hurting yourself. The wind whipped around in a frenzy, sweeping through the area.

A gust of wind whipped up.

"Boom!"

Namgung and Qinling had to devote all their energy to maintaining the defense.

The small stones that had been pushed into the air over the hoodoo bank fell as rain. It took some time for the colorful ochre dust cloud to settle.

When the dust finally settled, Namgung Sang could see that the two men were still standing there, unmoving.

They hadn't moved a single step. What's more, even though they were standing in the center of this violent gust of wind, they didn't seem to be affected in any way. Their hair and clothes were still as neat and tidy as when they first arrived.

In fact, if I hadn't witnessed it in the first place, I wouldn't have believed there was even a fight.