전생검신 81권 16화

I pondered on Gong Sun Da-rang’s martial art, the Gongsun Sword Technique.

She was the one who left behind the world-class secret technique known as Gongsun Sword Manual, and this manual was later inherited and studied by Zhuge Yulong, who restored the Gongsun Sword Technique from it. However, unlike its original form, the latter 12 movements had been altered by Gong Sun Da-rang to be more practical and powerful.

Knowing this, as I was bandaging my shoulder wound, I asked, “Gong Sun Da-rang! Why did you alter the last 12 movements of the Gongsun Sword Technique?”

“……”

Gong Sun Da-rang didn’t answer but merely gazed at me intently. Her eyes held a nonchalant air along with a faint mysterious energy that made it impossible to read her feelings. As she remained silent, I stood up holding my sword and said, “Was it simply to enhance practicality? Or…”

“Or what?”

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Was it to eliminate the Invincible Three Swords to seal the Heavenly Demon?”

As one of the few who practiced the Gongsun Sword Technique the most in this world, I was already coming to a conclusion. Back when I was merely grasping the Gongsun Sword Technique, I thought the 12 movements reinforced practicality. Yet, the more I practiced this altered version, the more it felt like it had completely eliminated the ritualistic aspects inherent in the original Gongsun Sword Technique. It didn’t seem like a mere enhancement for practicality; rather, it felt like a complete dismissal of the technique as a ceremony rather than a martial art.

Particularly, the deliberate removal of the Invincible Three Swords at the end felt intentional. Up until now, I had been uncertain, but I wanted to clarify that with her.

After a moment of silence, Gong Sun Da-rang spoke.

“Ah, do you wish to confirm that?”

“Isn’t that so?”

“Indeed. When I reached the pinnacle of my realm, I became aware of the emperor’s influence and wished to erase the concept of a god from the Gongsun Family’s swordsmanship.”

Gong Sun Da-rang freely admitted it, suddenly plucking a small blade of grass between her fingers and staring at it. Words flowed from her lips.

“But that was not the only reason.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“……How do you see this blade of grass?”

I stared at the blade of grass between her fingers at her unexpected question. I wondered if there was any sword qi or sword strength surrounding it, but it held no aura whatsoever. There wasn’t even an intent attached, so it appeared completely ordinary to any observer. Confused, I cautiously replied, “Um… it just looks like grass.”

“Just grass…”

Whoosh.

In the next moment, I suddenly felt a sharp sting in my shoulder, the one that had just been pierced. Then, in an instant, I realized my movement was paralyzed from a trigger point on that shoulder.

Clunk.

Suddenly my shoulder dislocated, and I couldn’t put strength into that arm, causing me to panic.

“……!!”

A blade of grass that Gong Sun Da-rang had been holding had somehow stuck into my arm like a needle!

‘When did that happen?!’

Despite having a conversation with Gong Sun Da-rang, I had been as alert as I would be against a life-or-death adversary. Even if a gun or laser were to suddenly fire, I could respond swiftly, able to ward it off with my Intent Heavenly Pillar. I was so finely tuned that whether faced with the Heavenly Demon using the Absolute Realm or executing high-speed secret techniques, I would definitely dodge or block them.

But just now, Gong Sun Da-rang’s move had caught me completely off guard without so much as a hint!

‘Time manipulation power?! Time stop? No, no… No matter how minimum godly energy is in effect, I would always catch a whiff of any time manipulation! What the hell is this?!’

Caught completely off guard by this unexpected maneuver, Gong Sun Da-rang spoke.

“To meet the divine being in the Palace of Martial Gods, the minimum requirement is to avoid or block my previous attack.”

“……”

“You have set foot in the Divine Realm, yet you do not truly realize what it means. It may only be a matter of a singular sheet of paper, but the gap between it and the Manjangan Cliff is vast, truly a difference as great as heaven and earth…”

Rustle.

Gong Sun Da-rang tucked that blade of grass back between her fingers. Even though that was merely a simple gesture, I couldn’t help but flinch significantly. The implication of the previous move was just too vast.

‘An attack from a blade of grass that I could neither evade nor block… if it penetrated my heart or a vital point…’

I felt dizzy.

‘Gong Sun Da-rang… if she wanted to… could absolutely take down an expert in the Absolute Realm with just one basic move!’

Considering the levels of combat prowess I had experienced in the Jianghu, that was simply insane. Even if I sustained minimal physical injuries, it was even more terrifying that Gong Sun Da-rang hadn’t used any divine powers.

As I looked at her with fear in my eyes, she spoke with a calm voice.

“Yeodong-bin taught you the Heart Sword. Do you remember that moment?”

“…I remember.”

“What did Yeodong-bin say the Heart Sword was?”

I pondered deeply over her question and replied, “To be precise, he spoke of the Heart Sword as a living sword; I thought the Heart Sword and Heart Sword of Life were the same. Yeodong-bin said my path was not a straight line, but nonetheless a path… and…”

What had he said?

As I stumbled, desperately wracking my brain, Gong Sun Da-rang continued to watch me silently, and after some time I finally recalled and said, “He said that to gain the Heart Sword, one must cultivate the ability to see the essence of the Heart Sword!”

“That cannot be all there is.”

“Of course not. I realized that the heart holds the key to penetrating all ultimate techniques.”

“……”

“And to cultivate the ability to see the Heart Sword, I practiced extensively through sparring to read the flow of my heart…”

Gong Sun Da-rang closed her eyes for a moment, thinking, and then spoke, “That’s a path discovered by Yeodong-bin. Why do you wish to follow it?”

“Why?”

I was a bit taken aback by the unexpected question. Naturally, I thought I was on the right path, so why was she asking?

Yet, as there was an aura to this question, it felt like it held some significance. I deeply contemplated the question and replied, “If I gain the Moon-Style Defense Technique, I will naturally acquire the ability to see the Heart Sword and obtain it as well.”

“……”

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“I felt no emotion at all. Merely, your heart feels its own shame.”

With a blunt remark, Gong Sun Da-rang extended her hand with the blade of grass.

“You already know what the heart is; yet, you still cannot naturally utilize the Divine Skill. Now let us have a match.”

“…Sounds good.”

I quickly healed my body with my internal power and divine energy to recover from the injuries I had just sustained from Gong Sun Da-rang and prepared for a combat stance.

‘No matter what tricks she used, I focused all my attention this time. There’s no way she can catch me off guard with a surprise attack here!’

Even at light speed, as long as I could sense the premonition with my Intent Heavenly Pillar, I could surely evade it!

Having been surprised once was enough!

But just as I was igniting my fighting spirit, I found myself perplexed by an unexpected situation.

“Hmm?!”

I couldn’t recover!

To be precise, while I was able to staunch the bleeding with my internal power, the divine energy that I could usually use to heal even the most severe wounds instantly wasn’t working at all. On the contrary, it felt more like the divine power was hindering my internal recovery. My shoulder still throbbed painfully, and I needed to release the pressure on the meridian just to regain movement.

Seeing my confusion, Gong Sun Da-rang quipped, “In the Palace of Martial Gods, everyone regards the potential for divine killing as basic training. And here, there are no limitations to the law of cause and effect.”

“……”

“You won’t be able to utilize the supernatural abilities that the evil sects employed in reality. Unless those were separately trained as skills.”

“Got it.”

“Now, keep your eyes on this blade of grass.”

It swayed…

The tip of the blade of grass that Gong Sun Da-rang held began to sway slightly. I kept my gaze fixed on her aura without missing a beat, and in the next moment, I heard her voice.

“This blade of grass holds my heart.”

Whoosh!

Thud!

“Ahhh!”

The next moment, I screamed and fell to my knees. My chest grew hot as blood surged within me, and I realized my heart had taken a direct hit. Trembling on my knees, I gasped.

“My… heart…”

It’s burst…!!

In that moment, I felt like my consciousness was fading away. Did my expert senses, alertness, and Protection Energy Technique just effortlessly get pierced to burst my heart?! Is there such a martial art in this world?

Though I tried to endure all the pain with sheer willpower, could will alone save me from a burst heart? Especially when I can’t use divine energy—could I really survive this?

‘No! When did I ever depend that much on divine energy?! Just… think about the role of a heart!!’

In a fleeting moment, I recalled the medical knowledge that a heart circulates blood and provides oxygen to the entire body. While I couldn’t employ divine energy, I knew that I could maintain my life force using immense internal power momentarily. Thinking of this, my eyes widened.

‘Like last time when I made a virtual arm…!!’

Intent Heavenly Pillar

False Heart!

Thump…!!

At the moment I envisioned the heart-shaped mass in the area where my heart was using the Intent Heavenly Pillar, I felt blood restart circulation there as if a real heart resided within. I wasn’t sure if oxygen was being supplied to my body, but recalling the rhythm I maintained while breathing normally, I felt the strength waning in my limbs, yet bodily functions seemed to continue.

I couldn’t sustain this for long.

Clenching my teeth, I barely endured the rising blood pressure. Then, my gaze sharpened.

‘I can’t just sit here with a burst heart!’

Infinite Slash!

In that moment, reacting reflexively in the state of indifference, my ultimate strike—Infinite Slash—shot out. Not merely with a flick of the wrist but with a direct approach using the Soul Removal Technique; with this move, I was certain I could slay the Master of the White Lotus Sect in an instant. There would likely never be a swifter strike in my life.

Thud.

However, the ensuing situation completely contrasted with my expectations. As my horizontal slash flew towards her, Gong Sun Da-rang, seeming to anticipate it, merely placed her finger in the path of my blade. The moment her finger made contact, my sword stopped dead in its tracks. It felt as if all my physical force and intent had been absorbed.

“What the…”

What the hell is this…

While panicking, I quickly swung my sword again, attempting to strike Gong Sun Da-rang, but as if magnetically drawn, her finger remained steady against my blade, not budging an inch. It was clear she was toying with me, an expert of monumental stature. As I stared in disbelief, Gong Sun Da-rang spoke softly.

“Do you still not understand?”

“What am I supposed to understand?”

“Yeodong-bin was tolerant towards you, but I am not.”

“What… huh.”

In that moment, a revelation hit me, and my soul felt as if it were slipping away.

I mumbled reflexively, “The… Heart Sword.”

“Finally realized it, have you?”

“……”

Without a doubt.

In the past, Yeodong-bin had feigned confronting me with bare hands, yet hidden within his bare hands was the Heart Sword during our duel! Just like that bout, Gong Sun Da-rang’s fingers appeared as delicate as the fingertips of a peerless beauty, but in reality housed an essence greater than that of a legendary sword—the Heart Sword itself!

But unlike with Yeodong-bin, I was currently being utterly decimated, hence Gong Sun Da-rang spoke of the difference between tolerance and non-tolerance.

‘Then, that blade of grass that pierced through my heart… was also the Heart Sword.’

Was the power of the Heart Sword at this level?

I felt my mind go blank. Standing before me was a monumental challenge; no matter what martial art I invoked, it seemed as though I’d easily falter. And indeed, I realized that out of the hundreds of world-class martial arts I knew, none came to mind—nothing would suffice if it didn’t reach the level of the Heart Sword!

Crack.

‘What am I supposed to do now!! Am I supposed to just surrender here!!’

What was the point of the cultivation I endured for hundreds of years!

Even if a gap exists between me and a Divine Realm expert, I refuse to give up!!

With this thought, I resolved to use my last resort.

Boom!!

Shieeeng!

Suddenly, an overwhelming electric aura erupted from my entire being, and as a powerful energy flooded my body, Gong Sun Da-rang’s expression shifted slightly. There was a hint of surprise on her face, and glaring at her, I declared, “Soul of the Evil God.”

Divine power of the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique, arise!!!!

Flash.

In that fleeting moment, I rapidly manifested the Soul of the Evil God and instantaneously transformed into the Thunder Spirit. My blade transformed into a flashing sword of lightning, sparking wildly, while Gong Sun Da-rang as if unchanged, extended her finger as if to touch my blade. The next moment, I dashed around her at lightning speed.

Swish!

Pipipipip!

Boom!

In mere heartbeats, I struck countless times with the speed of thunder, yet Gong Sun Da-rang stood perfectly still, defending against each attack with pinpoint precision using just her index finger. I couldn’t even land a single effective blow, let alone scratch her finger.

‘As expected, the Thunder Spirit alone isn’t enough.’

I needed to amplify the Thunder Spirit this time!!

Rumble!

As I knew from past experiences where I barely made it through, I now had no other choice. The sense of an omnipotent expert was strongly warning me: if this attack failed, no further attempts would succeed! Even now, Gong Sun Da-rang was still showing me mercy, and once this momentum ended, a counter would surely follow.

As I began evolving my lightning body to another dimension, Gong Sun Da-rang, watching from a distance, suddenly said something unexpected.

“As someone who has learned the swordsmanship of the Gongsun Family to its deepest realm, I’ve also trained the Invincible Three Swords for quite some time. And by mastering the Invincible Three Swords, I grasped the true meanings hidden within each basic move, recognizing that those meanings are counter-martial arts.”

[……]

“Counter-martial arts are techniques created to annihilate martial arts—a blade that can pierce oneself, resulting in contradiction. That is why I needed to conduct ample research before erasing the traces of the divine, and only after grasping those insights, was I able to effectively eliminate them.”

Rumble!

Ignoring her words, I continued to amplify the thunderous sounds, pouring my efforts into strengthening the Thunder Spirit, while Gong Sun Da-rang picked up a stick lying on the ground.

“The only thing that can break the blade of contradiction is the correct method that transcends the cycle. I will show you that correct method.”

With just three swings of the stick, she demonstrated a series that I knew all too well.

As the first swing began, a succinct sound burst near my ear. Just like before, as the aura of thunder sought to transition into another dimension, it felt as though some unseen blade severed that connection. In an instant, the flow of energy I had been building with the Soul of the Evil God ceased completely.

Then, as the second swing followed, I unleashed a desperate attack with all my strength, but she seemed to anticipate it, effortlessly blocking my move.

Just as I thought I had been defeated, it felt akin to facing the divine’s true path as a colossal sword of the heart cascaded down upon me.

Boom!

Like the Heavenly Demon submitting, I lost all the power of the Soul of the Evil God and knelt in surrender. However, even after the Soul of the Evil God was dispelled, I looked down at the ground, realizing I bore no injuries whatsoever.

What did I just experience?

Yet, despite my dazed condition, my instincts as a martial artist instinctively made my mouth move.

“…Invincible Three Swords…”

That’s right.

Those last three swings that brought me to my knees were all foundational techniques of the Invincible Three Swords, albeit slightly different.

Clank.

As Gong Sun Da-rang raised the stick to my shoulder, she remarked with a disinterested tone, “If you think that’s the Invincible Three Swords, that is your shortcoming.”

“Then…”

“A sword imbued with heart can encompass the heart of the world.”

At her words, I felt a thrill run through me.

“It is called the Natural Sword.”