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Chapter 511 – Just One More Time

The sun has risen.

It’s a statement that seems obvious at first glance.

During the day, the sun should indeed be up—just normal, right? However…

‘Right now, it’s nighttime!’

The sun had set long ago, and the moon was supposed to take its place.

That’s how the world works.

What on earth is happening?

I couldn’t help but feel baffled as I tilted my head and stared into the void.

A sun that’s risen at night.

The sun was clearly rising in the sky.

As if that wasn’t enough…

‘It’s even influencing the sky!’

That sun was having an effect on the surroundings.

The dark that should cover the night was nowhere to be seen, and everything was a vibrant blue instead.

‘Is it similar to the power of Red Sky?’

The secret martial arts of the Gu Clan, known for dyeing the skies red with the intense heat released from one’s physical body.

‘To be exact, it’s more like a barrier.’

Though it might seem like Red Sky colors the sky, it really establishes a domain of its own.

It emits thick, scorching heat that expands its territory around it.

It merely gives off the illusion that the sky looks red due to its vastness and height.

So then, what is this?

‘… I have no idea?’

I really don’t know!

Damn it, I have no clue at all!

‘Is that martial art for real?’

The sun hanging in the air.

It looks like the sun to me, but it definitely isn’t the real thing.

It’s just floating there.

It releases an immense heat, and that alone can give the feeling that daylight has arrived.

What the heck is that martial art?

‘I’ve never seen this martial art before in my life.’

Since my father used it, it must surely be a Gu Clan technique, yet this was my first encounter with it.

Not even during our battle in my previous life did I catch a glimpse of this power.

Let alone…

‘… I’ve never really seen my father in combat either.’

A father with hair dyed red.

That’s a sight I’ve never laid eyes on.

Which means…

‘When he fought me in a previous life, he wasn’t even using his full strength.’

That realization was bitter.

Even though I knew it, it still hit hard.

[Heh.]

While I was staring at the mini sun, Shin Noya laughed heartily.

[… I’m completely at a loss.]

‘What do you mean by that?’

[What do you see that as?]

What do I see it as?

‘The sun?’

Nothing else came to mind.

[… Yes, seeing it that way is normal.]

‘Then what else could it possibly be?’

That little sphere of flame.

It’s so bright that it even devours the surrounding darkness; how else should I describe it?

At least, no other term came to mind.

That’s why I had no idea what kind of answer Shin Noya was fishing for.

[That’s not the sun.]

‘I am aware of that much.’

Though I’m calling it the sun, I don’t truly believe it’s the real one.

It just has no other name to give it.

‘Do you know what it really is then, Noya?’

A power of the Gu Clan that I don’t even understand. Could it be that Noya knows what my father’s power is?

As I mixed my doubts into the question, Noya cautiously spoke.

[That’s the manifestation of the Heart’s Thought.]

‘What?’

Heart’s Thought.

What an unexpected topic, but it’s not too distant a term for a martial artist.

Heart.

To a martial artist, the realm of the heart acts like a mirror.

By polishing the physical body, one fills the vessel and achieves growth.

The body, repeatedly damaged and regenerated, gradually strengthens.

The more it does, the thicker the realm of the heart grows.

The growth of a martial artist is not just about physical development but also the growth of the heart’s realm.

In this way, the heart’s realm of the martial artist ultimately takes form.

Looking at the sun that my father created, I said.

‘Is that similar to the Heart Sword? Is that what you mean?’

The pinnacle of Sword Mastery.

The ultimate stage reached through extreme training of that skill.

Not the peak or transformation realm achieved as a martial artist, but the state of the heart’s realm achieved solely through Sword Mastery.

That’s what it was called—the Divine Sword Unity.

A state where body and sword become one.

If I were to try and differentiate this from usual Sword Mastery…

‘Whether one can use the Heart Sword or not.’

The difference lies in whether you can manifest the extremely refined realm of the heart or not.

Honestly, I didn’t know too well.

In my surroundings, there had been only one person I could think of who achieved the Divine Sword Unity, and that was the Demon Sword Queen.

As for the Sword Demon, I wasn’t sure, but I doubted he had reached it.

If he really had, he would’ve been flaunting it a lot more.

Anyway, then…

‘Is that truly the power of the heart?’

That nonsensical power floating in the air, is it actually the manifestation of Heart’s Thought?

No matter how I looked at it, it was beyond my comprehension.

The martial arts logic of using one’s energy—or internal power—encoded into the physical body.

That power seems to stray quite far from that logic. The manifestation of Heart’s Thought…

‘… Ha.’

Suddenly realizing all this left me chuckling.

Thinking about it just seemed absurd.

‘Here I am, unable to reach the extreme and preaching about the principles of martial arts.’

Barely managing to refine my clan’s martial arts, making my level with demonic power rise, and yet I’m looking for the principles of martial arts. I found it quite laughable.

I knew this was merely a sensation caused by thirst.

‘… The power of Heart’s Thought.’

Facing such vast power stirred a thirst within me.

Also, knowing that it’s the same martial art, I felt a shallow expectation that perhaps, if I tried hard enough, I could also unleash that kind of strength.

Having rolled around and aged, I now fancied myself as a martial artist.

Biting my lips, I snapped back to my senses.

‘This is not the time to chase such fantasies.’

It’s all skewed.

If I dedicate time and effort, I might reach it someday, but…

That’s only if I actually have the time to do so.

I shifted my gaze back towards the sun.

Now was not the time to admire it.

‘Where did you go?’

My father, who threw such an odd thing in the air and then disappeared.

I spent a long time searching around the Tang Clan.

Even with my enhanced qi perception, I couldn’t feel a thing.

Having reached the transformation realm, my qi perception could easily wrap around the Tang Clan.

Though the presence of other strong martial artists diluted that effectiveness.

Finding a person shouldn’t be too hard.

And yet, the complete absence of any sensation meant…

‘Could it be because of that thing?’

I then recalled the sun floating in the air.

Besides raising the surrounding heat, is it also blocking qi perception?

I have no clue how that works, but if that’s the case…

‘That’s just ridiculous power!’

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like an upgraded version of Red Sky. It was not so much about expanding territory and raising heat as it was ruling that territory instead.

‘What should I do?’

If I can’t spread my qi perception, then how do I search?

‘… Damn it.’

As I turned my head around, nothing feasible came to mind.

Besides, I honestly didn’t think I needed to find him urgently.

My father isn’t the type to just run off somewhere, and he did say he’d be back soon.

If I didn’t want to be scolded, I could just stay put in my room.

Yet, for some reason, it felt like I had to search for him.

‘Something…’

How should I put it?

Before leaving, my father’s gaze was oddly intense.

That subtle difference preyed on my mind.

‘… Hmm.’

Of course, even if I followed him, I had no means.

The fundamental issue was having lost sight of him in the first place.

‘I couldn’t keep up with the speed he picked up.’

He seemed to have practically vanished before my eyes.

‘It must be the same martial arts… but how could there be this much of a difference?’

Huh?

Lost in thought, something suddenly struck me. A way to find my father instantly!

I stood still for a moment.

‘… Same martial arts.’

The Gu Clan’s bloodline martial art, the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

Transforming internal energy into flame, showcasing overwhelming explosive power.

The key point here is…

My father and I use the same martial art.

As soon as I realized that, I released the Body Transformation Technique.

Crack! My bones twisted violently, and pain surged through me, but I ignored it.

Not quite.

‘… Ignoring it is definitely too much pain, isn’t it?’

Since I had suddenly grown larger, the pain was intense, but I had to hold on.

Once the Body Transformation Technique was released, the slight discomfort evaporated and refreshment washed over me.

Then…

Flame Burst—!

I twisted the ring of the Technique of the Flame Wheel around my body and began spinning rapidly.

The internal energy originating from my heart began to spread throughout my entire body.

The internal energy expelled through my body turned into heat in the blink of an eye. The heat then morphed into flames that wrapped around me.

It was vivid blue fire.

There was no turning back to red flames now.

Even though it felt a bit irritating, I pushed that feeling aside and concentrated elsewhere.

To differentiate those who are part of the clan from those in the Tang Clan’s martial arts—they could be counted by numbers.

The number of people learning that martial art.

By that logic, bloodline martial arts would be fewer naturally.

Especially among those who are direct descendants, the count would be even lower.

This is where the method comes into play.

With the same martial art, a resonance is bound to occur, even if faintly.

In Sichuan, there were likely just my father and me from the Gu Clan.

In the narrower Tang Clan, the numbers were even fewer.

So…

I aimed to ignite the flames to locate my father.

I was trying to provoke resonance.

That would make it easier to pinpoint his location.

Ah, of course…

‘This is… a method that wouldn’t work if father isn’t using martial arts.’

I guessed he was using them, though.

It just felt that way.

As I accelerated the rings of blue flames, they began to spin faster and grow larger.

One ring stacked upon the next.

Whoosh—!

As the heat intensified, soon another ring layered atop the first.

A total of three rings.

By now, maintaining them was starting to feel like it was draining my internal energy.

How much larger do I need to expand it?

Could it be that he isn’t using any martial arts contrary to my expectations? He should’ve felt something by now.

‘Is this really okay?’

Just as I had doubts and was about to retract my energy…

Whoosh…

“…!”

I felt it.

The sensation of something colliding with my energy clicked into place.

I turned my head.

Pulling my flame-wrapped body, I launched myself forward.

The distance wasn’t far at all.

In fact, it felt odd that I hadn’t found him until now.

The released body from the Body Transformation Technique was swift, and it only took seconds to reach the spot I was searching for.

Thump.

The moment I arrived at the location where the resonance was felt…

Whaooom—!

“What is this?”

Along with the resonance, another sensation brushed against me.

I knew immediately it was the power of formations.

But…

‘… Something feels torn apart here?’

There should’ve been a formation spread across this area, yet I saw signs of it being forcefully ripped apart.

‘…’

I didn’t want to believe it, but I couldn’t deny that this was the trace left by my father.

The heat lingering there was still hot.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Regardless of why such a formation existed here, why did my father come this way?

First, I jumped into the area.

A few steps inward…

“Huh?”

I had to widen my eyes at the sight that unfolded before me.

It was hot.

The heat that filled this area was incomparably greater than what I had just felt.

It was saturating the entire space, and at its center…

“What the heck is this…?”

There were traces of the ground and rocks melting away along with a deep pit carved into the earth.

‘Rather than breaking in, it looks like it melted its way through.’

It was a tunnel that was quickly melted out rather than dug down.

The remaining flames clearly belonged to the Gu Clan.

This meant that these flames were my father’s.

“…”

An ominous feeling crept over me.

I had no hesitation. I hopped up and lunged into the pit.

Kwoooosh—!

As I dove in, my internal energy lifted and protected me.

The ferocity of the energy used to carve through this was so wild that it shielded my body effortlessly.

It was deep.

Deep, yet descending wasn’t difficult.

Thump—!

After a few seconds of increasing speed while diving, I passed through the passage and landed on solid ground.

The moment I did…

“… Hah….”

A wave of tension washed over my body. Goosebumps crawled down my spine, and cold sweat dripped down.

How could it be any other way?

‘… What kind of qi is this?’

In the undefined space, there were traces of shallow poison qi mixed with heat enveloping the area.

Along with all around me was an intense and chaotic presence of internal energy.

So thick and powerful that it took my breath away.

Slowly, I shifted my gaze around.

This was to inspect the area and understand what was happening.

“…”

Swallowing hard, I took in what lay before me.

All around were traces of something being torn apart and destroyed, and the profound scars on the ground triggered my instincts to sense the energies of martial artists that felt overwhelmingly intense.

What on earth led to the creation of such a space?

I wouldn’t have to wait long for the answer.

Turning my head, I finally spotted it.

There, against the far wall, was Elder Lee, panting and leaning against it.

One of his legs had vanished, and the other ankle was on the verge of being torn away.

There would be no treating that.

He hadn’t lost consciousness, but his expression was distorted with fear; tears streamed from his eyes and nose.

I frowned at the sight.

What was with that horrific state?

‘I haven’t done anything yet!’

I was the one planning to create that state, yet somehow, it was like this while I wasn’t watching.

What kind of situation is this? My gaze moved slightly more.

And then I saw him.

Standing at a distance, my father.

He stood with his arms crossed, observing something.

“Clan Leader…?”

As I was about to call out to my father at that sight, I realized I had expanded my field of vision and noticed someone was before him.

Kneeling halfway, barely keeping himself up with sword, was a person barely holding on.

“… Huh?”

I was taken aback upon seeing who it was.

The one panting heavily, exhausted, was none other than Heavenly Lord.

Why is he suddenly here, I wondered, just as…

[Wow.]

Shin Noya chimed in unexpectedly.

[That kid is really getting beaten up everywhere, huh? Hehe.]

“…?”

That was a comment I just couldn’t comprehend.

 

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