The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

The manufacturing and distribution of bombs was strictly prohibited by the Ming imperial court.

Only a handful of artisans authorized by the imperial court could handle gunpowder, and the production of cannons and bombs was only possible under the supervision of the imperial army.

It was the will of the Emperor.

The cannons brought from distant seas by the West Region foreigners often astonished even the great Emperor.

Naturally, the distribution of gunpowder among the civilians was the first to be halted.

The extinction of the Lei family, who created the Lei family’s Heaven-Shaking Thunder, was also because of this.

It was from then that bombs, which were not absent in the Central Plains, disappeared.

So, who was the happiest about such foreign objects like the Heaven-Shaking Thunder disappearing from the martial world?

It was none other than the martial artists themselves.

The same was true for the gangs of the unorthodox faction who often used it to stir up a bloodbath.

There should be no such thing as bombs.

What does it matter what means are used to take a life, but still, there should be a body left behind.

One must be able to demonstrate the martial skills they have honed throughout their life to the very end.

A disproportionate power like the Heaven-Shaking Thunder, capable of killing even Supreme Peak masters, was considered inappropriate for Jianghu.

Because of this, the incident at the Five Elements Tomb shocked everyone.

The ability of someone who detonated the explosives buried in the mountain.

No matter how precise the calculation, no matter how skilled the executioner, the destructive power was astonishing.

Such level of explosives could not be obtained by civilians.

The most likely possibility was the hypothesis that the Lei family had preserved their explosives.

That’s why the Demon Cult was suspected. It was the only place capable of such an act.

But what if there was another organization capable of such deeds?

What if the newly emerged Evil Cult had possession of the Lei family’s legacy?

At least, it was clear that the bombs possessed by the Hidden Ghosts were no ordinary items.

It was Mang-hon who handed it over to Il-gwi.

Even in the cult, the Lei family’s bombs were extremely precious; they were told to die explosively with as much glamour as the quantity allowed.

Gunpowder was made using charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur.

A skilled saltpeter craftsman who had mastered the Lei family’s secrets would bundle high-purity gunpowder with a fuse. It was natural to wrap it well in yellow oil-soaked paper.

The edge was densely studded with steel balls the size of beans, and then wrapped again in a special ceramic-like material.

The explosive power itself was tremendous, but those steel balls were lethal.

That was the Heaven-Shaking Thunder.

The Hidden Ghosts, who were closest to Yi-gang, had detonated one such Heaven-Shaking Thunder.

There was no sound to be heard, not even a ‘boom.’

The shockwave spread faster than sound.

Then, bright red flames flashed.

The steel balls were the first to tear apart the body of the Hidden Ghosts and soared into the air.

Each steel ball was vividly visible to the eye.

How Yi-gang could see them was thanks to the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor activated another supreme ultimate technique, like wringing water out of a dry towel.

His will dominated the space.

The steel balls flew towards him at a visible speed.

Considering that their scattering speed was originally faster than sound, it was astonishing.

The Sword Emperor was the first to push away Cheong Hye.

Then, he stepped forward in front of Yi-gang and drew his sword.

Yi-gang was watching all this with his eyes wide open.

He seemed to understand how the Sword Emperor’s supreme ultimate technique was applied.

Time slowed down only around the Sword Emperor.

The flow of time outside a certain range was moving at its normal speed.

In the direction where Neung Ji-pyeong and Peng Gu-in had run, another Heaven-Shaking Thunder had exploded, screaming and groaning were heard, and the smoke was acrid.

Yi-gang hoped they were safe.

Myung Won and the Supreme Peak masters by his side were still unharmed. This was because the Sword Emperor was between them and the exploded Heaven-Shaking Thunder.

“Sword Emperor!”

“Senior Uncle!”

Was it recklessness or courage to draw the sword and rush in without a moment to be startled?

But they soon had no choice but to be horrified.

As they got closer to the Sword Emperor, their bodies slowed down.

They set out to help, but they couldn’t even reach where Cheong Hye and Yi-gang were.

The Sword Emperor, without looking back, swung his sword.

He cut through the slowly approaching steel balls.

However, even though the steel balls seemed slow, the physical force within them was not light.

Kkagang—!

The Sword Aura wrapped around his sword was chipped away in chunks.

The Sword Emperor’s expression darkened momentarily.

There were hundreds of flying steel balls. He might save himself, but to protect those behind him, he had to cut down all those steel balls.

Kkagak- Kang—!

However, he couldn’t afford to use his Aura Qi as freely as water. His physical condition had reached rock bottom. He was half sustaining himself on mental strength alone.

Kkagagak—

The length of the surged Sword Aura had reduced to less than half.

The steel balls were still numerous.

Kkang—!

A different sound was heard, and the sword broke entirely.

It would have been fine if it were a cold iron sword used for traveling the Jianghu, but the ordinary blue steel sword could not withstand the physical force of the Heaven-Shaking Thunder.

Through the break of the sword, a steel ball passed.

It burrowed into the left palm of the Sword Emperor.

It pierced the skin as softly as tofu, shattered the muscles and bones, and passed through.

His vision flashed with intense pain.

The steel ball, which had slowed down infinitely, accelerated for a moment and then slowed again.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down the Sword Emperor’s forehead.

“Kuk…”

At this moment, he resigned himself to death.

Precisely, it was the resolve to protect those behind him, even if it meant dying here.

He drew up the latent energy in his body to the last.

Generously, even the drying Innate True Qi.

And even the evil energy obtained from consuming the heart of the evil dragon.

All in both hands.

Brilliant light enveloped the broken pine-patterned sword.

It was neither sword energy nor sword aura.

The sword traced a large curve at a speed that was neither fast nor slow.

It resembled the Taiji symbol exactly.

“Hup!”

This was the essence of the Wudang Sword.

Taiji Wisdom Sword.

Selfless Azure Sky.

This time, there were no sparks nor sounds of thunder.

Dozens of steel balls lost all their power upon touching the sword and clattered to the ground.

The pinnacle of the gentle sword.

Any swordsman would shed tears at the sight of such a beautiful sword, but this place was a chaotic battlefield where Heaven-Shaking Thunders exploded.

‘Is this the limit…’

The Sword Emperor was certain that he could not repeat the same miracle again.

And if so, what was Yi-gang doing?

He was still trapped in the stopped time, but his pupils were trembling.

「Priest…!」

Only Zhang Sanfeng was truly free.

He gave desperate advice with a solemn voice.

「The Sword Emperor’s supreme ultimate technique can definitely be countered.」

It was to motivate Yi-gang to move.

At this moment, the best thing would be if Zhang Sanfeng could possess Yi-gang.

But that was not possible.

It was impossible to possess again immediately after a possession. It was simply not feasible from the start.

「So, if you don’t want to die, move now!」

‘How can you even say that!’

Yi-gang felt a gut-wrenching helplessness.

He couldn’t twitch a single finger. Not just that. He couldn’t even turn his gaze to the side.

「When I possessed your body, how do you think I countered that person’s supreme ultimate technique?」

‘…’

「I didn’t use internal energy, nor did I counter it by manifesting the same willpower.」

That was actually the case.

An Absolute master countering another Absolute master’s supreme ultimate technique was almost like breaking each other’s willpower by sheer force.

However, Zhang Sanfeng did not do so. Thanks to that, Yi-gang also did not fall.

「Consider how that person obtained the supreme ultimate technique that seems to stop time!」

A supreme ultimate technique was an expression of willpower only possible for an Absolute master.

‘How so…’

Was a question and answer session not too leisurely for such an urgent situation?

But it’s unlikely that Zhang Sanfeng asked the question without reason.

Yi-gang desperately pondered.

The period when the Sword Emperor reached the Absolute realm.

After the third great expulsion of the Demon Cult, a gloomy past.

The desperate face he saw at their first meeting.

‘…Out of regret.’

「What about?」

‘For not being able to protect the successors he was with. For letting them die…’

He said he had buried the successors with his own hands.

When he said that, the Sword Emperor’s voice trembled slightly.

Perhaps that emotion had triggered the manifestation of the supreme ultimate technique.

「He must have wished time would stop when the blades of the villains pierced the chests of the successors, when they slit their throats, when their blood splattered.」

‘Then.’

「Conform to the heart that wishes to protect.」

The Sword Emperor stopped time to protect someone.

He was still doing so. He was striking away the iron fragments flying from the explosion with all his might.

For Yi-gang to move, he must also feel the Sword Emperor’s heart.

The heart to save and protect someone.

Yi-gang certainly understood.

‘…Keuk.’

But despite this, his body did not move.

Was there someone he needed to protect?

For the masters of the Wudang Sect? For the Sword Emperor?

「Is the cultivation still insufficient to manifest the sincere will…」

Truly, the heart to protect someone cannot be forced.

Unless there was real family behind Yi-gang.

Yi-gang only managed to roll his eyes to the side.

‘…!’

And Yi-gang’s pupils dilated significantly.

Someone who shouldn’t be here was rushing towards him.

A young fox, flashing blue sparks as it ran.

In the chaos, Cheongho was running straight towards Yi-gang, looking directly at him.

「Ha!」

Zhang Sanfeng exclaimed in admiration.

Cheongho did not slow down.

Even though it entered the domain controlled by the Sword Emperor, its speed remained unchanged.

Yi-gang realized why Cheongho had run all the way here.

When the connection of the Heavenly Thunder Bell was severed, Cheongho sensed Yi-gang’s crisis.

Unaware of the explosive zone, it ran without hesitation and climbed onto Yi-gang’s body.

“Nyik!”

As Yi-gang froze like a statue, it even tried to forcefully bite his ear to pull him.

「Truly a spiritual creature! A single fox is better than a hundred warriors!」 Zhang Sanfeng exclaimed.

An intense, unidentifiable emotion surged up.

And then, the Sword Emperor finally reached his limit.

Thud- Thump—

Two steel balls pierced the Sword Emperor’s left shoulder and cheek.

That was the moment Yi-gang began to move from his fingertips.

He grabbed Cheongho with one hand and embraced it.

With his remaining right hand, he drew the Shooting Star Fang.

Though still slow, his body moved because now he had a definite something to protect.

Swoosh—

Step by step, he walked out and struck beside the Sword Emperor—beyond the very edge of time that the Sword Emperor was clinging to with extreme mental strength—he swung his sword towards the still slow-moving steel balls.

With his infinitely heavy body, he exerted the secret art of light footwork in reverse to produce an effect like a thousand-pound weight.

Planting his feet firmly on the ground, he used the best sword technique available.

Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique, 8th form.

The sword light split into hundreds of fragments and emitted a white light, hence called “Heaven’s Net White Light.”

Though he hadn’t fully enveloped his sword with sword energy, the durability of the meteorite sword did not betray Yi-gang.

Kagagagagang—

Like the first form, the sparks flashed brilliantly.

A crushing shock was transmitted through his arm.

And then, the stopped time began to move again.

At last, the delayed shock came back like a rebound.

Kwagwagwang—!

A deafening roar accompanied the shockwave, as if to tear one’s ears apart.

It felt as though the sky and the earth were flipping over, and a pain like bursting intestines surged.

The ground was in the sky, and it embraced Yi-gang fiercely.

Yi-gang repeatedly kissed the ground several times.

In the few blinks of an eye, his consciousness might have flickered as well.

When he came to his senses, Yi-gang was lying down, tightly embracing Cheongho.

“Keak!”

Given the excruciating pain all over his body, it seemed none of his limbs were missing.

Yi-gang sprang up.

“No, you shouldn’t get up!”

Peng Gu-in tried to restrain Yi-gang but held back.

Because Yi-gang’s eyes were fiercely determined.

“Wh-what happened?”

“What do you mean ‘what happened’!”

The pungent smell of the explosion still lingered.

Wudang martial artists were running around here and there. The groans of the injured pierced one’s ears.

Yi-gang quickly looked towards where the Sword Emperor was.

His expression turned as cold as ice, and he strode toward where the Sword Emperor was.

There, the Golden Needle Phantom, bleeding from the head, was tending to the Sword Emperor, who was in a much more serious condition.

The Sword Emperor was a wreck.

One hole in his hand.

Several similar holes in his shoulder and torso.

Fragments of something embedded in the left side of his face.

And what looked most dangerous… a vigorous stream of blood flowing from his head.

The Golden Needle Phantom glanced at Yi-gang.

Then, he made a face that seemed relieved to see him unharmed.

“Is he okay…?”

Yi-gang asked that.

“Does he look okay?”

“…”

“Still, we must save him.”

The Golden Needle Phantom looked around at Myung Won and the Wudang martial artists, then shouted angrily, “What are you doing! Prepare the stretcher! We need to stop the bleeding and move him to the medical hall!”

The frozen Wudang martial artists began to move busily.