Chapter 132 – The Decisive Battle (4)

Nima unleashed his Vajra palm once more. Kang Yong-hoon, prepared to be torn asunder, drew upon his last reserves of strength and threw a punch.

*CRACK-BOOOOM!*

The two colossal forces collided, setting off another explosion!

The warriors of the Heavenly Dragon Brigade stared in utter shock at the outcome.

“Argh!”

With a sharp cry, Kang Yong-hoon was sent flying, tumbling across the ground. He managed to struggle to his feet, thankfully still alive, but his body was in no condition to continue fighting.

“How can this be…”

The man who boasted strength on par with Yu-jin or Na Ye-jin was now collapsing to his knees. Kang Yong-hoon’s face was deathly pale as he knelt, coughing up blood, unable to withstand the aftershock of the collision.

His internal organs felt like they had been turned to pulp, making even the slightest movement an ordeal. Nima looked down on him haughtily, his hands still radiating immense power.

‘Am I still so far behind?’

Despair washed over Kang Yong-hoon as he felt the overwhelming power in Nima’s eyes. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been an unmanageable force, but with his body’s balance shattered, Nima’s attack had left him in a complete wreck, unable to endure.

To lose a fight he had been dominating like this… Kang Yong-hoon was ashamed of his own pathetic state. Nima looked at him, his face twisting into a frown as he spoke.

“I intended to finish you in one blow, but you’re surprisingly resilient. Still, this is the end.”

Nima reached out to crush Kang Yong-hoon’s head. However, he was forced to retract his hand before he could complete the motion.

A flash of silver energy had suddenly flown toward his hand, aiming to sever it. Had he not pulled back, his arm would have surely been cut off.

Nima scowled and glanced toward the direction the energy had come from. But there was no one there.

‘What?’

Shocked that someone had deceived his senses, Nima quickly turned his head. And there he saw him. Yu-jin, standing before Kang Yong-hoon.

“B-brother…”

Kang Yong-hoon called out to Yu-jin with great effort. Yu-jin looked down at him and spoke.

“You pathetic fool. This is what you get for acting tough without knowing the limits of your own skills. In any case, you did well. For now, get some rest.”

With those words, Yu-jin pressed on Kang Yong-hoon’s pressure points. Kang Yong-hoon immediately lost consciousness and collapsed.

Yu-jin handed the unconscious Kang Yong-hoon to the other warriors. Whatever his faults, a brother was still a brother. He couldn’t just let him die.

And when a younger brother gets beaten up, isn’t it the older brother’s job to step in?

“Alright, let’s ignore the weakling. Why don’t you play with me?”

Yu-jin stepped forward to face Nima with a cocky grin.

“So you’re the one they call Kang Yu-jin!”

Nima’s expression was that of a man meeting his mortal enemy. It was an understandable reaction, considering this wasn’t the first or second time Yu-jin had caused him trouble.

“You won’t be leaving this place alive either!”

Nima roared like a wild beast and unleashed a palm strike infused with the power of his Vajra technique. But Yu-jin simply smiled at the wave of energy rushing toward him and spoke.

“Is that so? You’re not the first person to say that…”

In truth, everyone who had said that to him had ended up dead. Believing Nima would soon be added to that list, Yu-jin swung his sword.

Twelve massive, starlit streams of energy struck the palm blast, sending Nima’s attack soaring into the sky.

After deflecting the attack, Yu-jin immediately lunged forward, closing the distance to Nima before swinging his sword. Not to be outdone, Nima formed an aura of energy around his hand and thrust it toward Yu-jin.

*KABOOM!*

The moment Yu-jin’s sword energy and Nima’s hand aura collided, a deafening explosion erupted, and Nima’s face contorted in pain.

Yu-jin’s sword had cut his hand. It wasn’t a deep wound, but Nima couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw blood dripping from his palm. To think this had happened even after he’d infused more internal energy into his hand, worried that his Heavenly Light Body might be pierced.

Nima quickly jabbed his other hand toward Yu-jin’s head, but Yu-jin twisted his body to the side, dodging the attack.

In that instant, Nima swiftly retreated, putting distance between himself and Yu-jin.

“It seems I can’t face you in close combat.”

Engaging in close quarters with someone who could slice through his Heavenly Light Body like paper was nothing short of suicide, so Nima backed away.

He thrust both hands forward, intending to crush Yu-jin with his palm energy. As if to meet his expectations, a colossal wave of energy flew toward Yu-jin. In response, Yu-jin once again unleashed a torrent of sword energy, destroying Nima’s attack.

“You think you can handle me more easily from a distance?”

With those words, Yu-jin tossed his sword into the air. The airborne sword immediately multiplied into ten.

He executed both Sword Control and Sword Splitting simultaneously, a testament to his incredible skill in instantly creating ten replicas of his sword.

The ten swords, hovering imposingly in the air, shot toward Nima like rays of light.

“Hah!”

Nima unleashed a rapid series of palm strikes, deflecting the incoming attacks. The sword phantoms were annihilated by his powerful palm technique, but one—the real sword—was not deflected and flew straight for the space between Nima’s eyes.

Sensing his life was in danger, Nima launched the most powerful palm strike he could muster.

*CRACK-BOOOOM!*

The sword and the palm energy clashed. Both Yu-jin and Nima focused their concentration, each trying to break through the other’s defense.

Perhaps because Yu-jin’s power to control the sword from a distance was lacking, this time Nima’s palm energy deflected the blade. Yu-jin’s sword flew far away from him and embedded itself in the ground.

Thinking he had won, Nima flashed a bright smile and looked at Yu-jin. But his face soon turned red, and he bellowed.

“You! How dare you disrespect me!”

His anger was due to Yu-jin’s actions. Yu-jin was smirking, beckoning him forward with a flick of his fingers.

For Yu-jin, a renowned swordsman, to attempt to face him without his sword in hand was a great humiliation for Nima, sparking his fury.

“I was just trying to be considerate, and you get angry. How absurd.”

Yu-jin’s nonchalant words only fueled Nima’s rage. But his anger did not last long.

*FWOOOOSH!*

Yu-jin’s rapidly amplifying aura began to unsettle Nima.

The presence emanating from Yu-jin’s entire body was, unbelievably to Nima, nearly on par with Lawang, the first disciple of the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven and the strongest among the master’s disciples.

It was only natural for Nima’s face to harden at the sight of Yu-jin, so much younger than himself, possessing such an aura.

“I may be good with a sword, but it’s not what I’m best at.”

With that, Yu-jin shot forward.

He vanished from Nima’s sight in an instant, forcing Nima to hastily spread his senses in all directions.

But Yu-jin moved faster than his senses could spread. He reappeared right in front of Nima and threw a punch. His fist slammed into Nima’s face.

*KABOOOOM!*

Nima’s body was sent flying like a cannonball, tumbling across the ground for well over a hundred feet.

“Kugh!”

He struggled to his feet, but his mind was reeling.

His face was a wreck. Just that single blow had rattled his brain, and he couldn’t focus his eyes.

His nose was shattered, twisted into a grotesque shape. It was the first time he had been so battered since perfecting his Heavenly Light Body.

That one punch taught Nima that he couldn’t underestimate Yu-jin just because he wasn’t using a sword.

“I won’t go down so easily again!”

Nima charged toward the smirking Yu-jin and threw a palm strike. Yu-jin took a stance and threw a punch of his own. Palm and fist collided.

*CRACK-BOOOOM!*

The shockwave from the impact washed over the warriors from both the Western Regions and the Central Plains, who were standing more than two hundred feet away. The immense wind and dust forced them to retreat, unable to even keep their eyes open.

The battle between these two masters was far beyond what they could handle.

‘Ugh!’

Nima, who had received Yu-jin’s punch, had to force back a groan as a shockwave that felt like it would shatter his arm ran through him. Yu-jin’s punch was that powerful.

But Yu-jin’s assault wasn’t over. He threw another punch with his other hand, and Nima gritted his teeth and met it with his palm.

*BOOM!*

Yu-jin’s fist and Nima’s palm clashed once more, sending tremendous shockwaves radiating in all directions. Nima’s face was severely contorted after blocking Yu-jin’s second punch.

Nima was perplexed. There wasn’t a significant difference in their internal energy, yet with every clash, he was the one taking more damage. He couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

But his bewilderment couldn’t last. Yu-jin’s fists continuously targeted his vital points.

‘He’s certainly something else.’

As he pressed his advantage against Nima, a glint appeared in Yu-jin’s eyes. They had already exchanged dozens of blows, yet Nima’s internal energy showed no signs of faltering.

Yu-jin knew how remarkable that was, so he couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘Honestly, I’m in no position to blame Yong-hoon.’

When he had first reached the Transformation Realm, his internal energy had been a chaotic mix of various elixirs, making it incredibly impure. It was far more impure than Kang Yong-hoon’s, not pure by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course, now that he had perfected the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts, the purity of his internal energy was no longer a concern. The Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts was the purest form of energy there was, albeit a very alien one.

‘Shall I end this soon?’

Unlike Nima, who was desperately throwing his palms as if his life depended on it, Yu-jin was relaxed enough to have such stray thoughts. The gap between them was, from the start, insurmountable.

But Nima, unaware of this, gathered his internal energy at his fingertips to turn the tide. A golden aura swirled into a spiral, enveloping his hand.

“I’ll end you with this move!”

Nima shouted as he thrust his hand toward Yu-jin’s neck.

It was an attack that could easily tear through steel, but Yu-jin’s eyes remained utterly calm as he watched it approach.

Just as Nima’s hand was about to reach his neck, Yu-jin lightly circulated his Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts and seized Nima’s hand with a powerful grip.

*Crack!*

The fingers of the hand extended toward Yu-jin were instantly broken. Nima’s fingers, which had become like an indestructible diamond body capable of shattering steel and crushing rock like tofu, were now fractured.

“Kuaaaargh!”

Simultaneously with the breaking of his bones, the energy of the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts invaded his body, inflicting immense pain.

Nima, who had long been unacquainted with pain due to his powerful protective aura, was caught off guard by the sudden agony, creating an unexpected opening.

Yu-jin mercilessly threw a punch infused with the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts. Nima tried to block with his uninjured hand, but it was too late.

Yu-jin’s fist struck Nima squarely in the abdomen.

*KABOOOOOM!*

As Yu-jin’s fist connected, a massive beam of light erupted, piercing through Nima’s abdomen and out his back.

“You… you… bastard…”

*Thud!*

Nima stared at Yu-jin with a look of utter shock, trying to say something, but he couldn’t finish his words before collapsing to the ground. He would never get up again.

“Woooooaaaaah!”

The warriors of the Central Plains, who had been watching the fight with bated breath, erupted in a massive cheer as Nima fell. In contrast, the warriors of the Western Regions were filled with despair, staring blankly at Nima’s fallen body.

The seven disciples of the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven were masters comparable to the Twelve Kings of the Central Plains. For one of them to be defeated by a newly emerged rising star from the Central Plains was a massive shock to the warriors of the Western Regions.

“That was a piece of cake.”

Yu-jin muttered to himself and raised his hand high, and the cheers from the Central Plains warriors grew even louder. Buoyed by the newfound morale, they began to slaughter the warriors of the Western Regions, overcoming the gap in their martial skills.

However, that momentum did not last long.