Chapter 133 – The Decisive Battle (5)

“It can’t be…”

Rawang and the other disciples stared at Nima’s corpse, their faces etched with disbelief.

“How on earth…”

The Kang Yu-jin they knew had reached the Transformation Realm, but he was only at the very beginning. Nima, on the other hand, was a martial artist who had been a master of the Transformation Realm for a very long time.

While the difference wasn’t great enough to guarantee victory, they had never once considered that he would lose, so they couldn’t help but be shocked.

“I’ll take that bastard with my own hands…”

Rawang, who was about to say ‘and kill him,’ couldn’t finish his sentence. This was partly because the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven had already risen to his feet, but more so because of the phenomenon he was causing.

Before Rawang’s eyes, the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven was slowly ascending into the air. With each step he took, as if climbing invisible stairs, the world trembled.

*Kuuuuoooo!*

The sky darkened and the very energy of the world churned. All of creation began to shake, resonating with the Great Dharma Master’s fury.

At this incredible phenomenon, Rawang and the remaining disciples looked up at the Great Dharma Master with faces full of reverence.

They already knew, but it was clear their master was no longer human. How could a mere mortal command the heavens?

The Great Dharma Master floated majestically, his gaze sweeping over the martial artists of the Central Plains as he spoke.

“O, Central Plains! Cruel Central Plains! O, Central Plains, you who seek to destroy everything! In the end, you have killed my disciple! My brother! I declare it here and now! I will kill every last person from the Central Plains present today!”

He was the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven, a man who had devoted himself to Buddhism, yet he now vowed to commit slaughter. No one found this strange.

Coming from the Great Dharma Master, who could be said to have already achieved Buddhahood in a mortal body, his words felt almost natural.

“We have to… fight someone like that…?”

The faces of the Central Plains martial artists filled with terror at the realization they had to fight the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven, a being who transcended humanity and controlled the heavens. They trembled, gazing up at the Great Dharma Master, who exuded the majesty of a god.

*Kwakwakwang!*

As if in response to their fear, lightning struck from the sky, thunder boomed, and fierce winds howled.

Naturally, the morale of the Central Plains martial artists plummeted. The fear that a god’s wrath was about to fall upon them rendered them powerless.

“This is a bit frightening.”

Yu-jin thought as he watched the enraged Great Dharma Master. Despite his words, the Great Dharma Master maintained a stoic expression, but Yu-jin could feel his intense rage.

Yu-jin’s body reacted violently to the Great Dharma Master’s fury, warning him. It told him he had to kill that man, that if he didn’t, he himself would be in danger.

Yu-jin glanced at the goosebumps on his arm, then looked back up at the Great Dharma Master and thought.

‘He’s a master on par with the Heavenly Demon or my father.’

In Yu-jin’s assessment, the Great Dharma Master was that powerful. An absolute master of a level where even Yu-jin himself couldn’t guarantee victory in a direct confrontation.

An absolute among absolutes, who had reached a realm beyond the Profound Realm and could even command nature itself, the goal pursued by Taoists.

The Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven was a being who could no longer be measured by human martial arts.

Yu-jin felt a competitive spirit stir against such a foe, but he soon shook his head.

‘But it’s not my time to step up yet.’

Knowing full well that this was not his stage, Yu-jin slowly suppressed his presence. He had no choice, as there were others who would face the Great Dharma Master in his stead.

A moment later, the martial artists of the Central Plains erupted in cheers once more. From their ranks, the absolute masters had finally stepped forward.

The Taiji Sword Emperor, Hyeon Cheon-ja.

The Prajna Martial Emperor, Great Master Gak-won.

The Thunder Sword Emperor, Namgung Jin.

The Divine Sword Emperor, Kang Yu-hyeon.

The Sword Empress, Hwa Un-wol.

The five absolute masters, the pride of the Central Plains. Though two of their number were absent, the aura exuded by these five was so immense that no one would dare speak of the void.

The Taiji Sword Emperor, Hyeon Cheon-ja, stepped forward and shouted.

“Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven! It is not too late! Lead your forces and return to the West! Do you intend to cause further pointless bloodshed?”

All the absolute masters gathered here shared the same thought: the Great Dharma Master of Shaking Heaven was strong. If they fought him one by one, they would surely never win.

But what if five absolute masters fought together?

Hyeon Cheon-ja believed they could certainly win. However, that was Hyeon Cheon-ja’s thought, not the Great Dharma Master’s.

“I refuse. You are still no match for me. There is one man with a dark heart among you, but even he is not my opponent. And even if that were not the case, the Central Plains will one day stain the future of the West with blood. A bleak future awaits, so I have no choice but to kill you!”

At the Great Dharma Master’s arrogant declaration that he could take on all the absolute masters of the Central Plains, everyone except Kang Yu-hyeon scowled deeply.

“This battle will not end until one side is annihilated!”

As the Great Dharma Master roared, lightning fell from the sky, striking toward the absolute masters of the Central Plains.

*Kwaaaaaang!*

A tremendous explosion erupted, but no one was felled by such an attack. The five absolute masters of the Central Plains all unleashed their energy and charged toward the Great Dharma Master.

Attacking together might be considered a disgrace, but with the very existence of the Central Plains martial world at stake, this was no time for such considerations.

At last, a tremendous battle that would one day become legend had begun.

***

The first to charge was the Thunder Sword Emperor, Namgung Jin. He had set aside his sword after reaching the Profound Realm, but he could not afford to do so against the Great Dharma Master. His beloved sword, Azure Thunder, held in his hand for the first time in a long while, was wreathed in a colossal aura of lightning.

*Kwaaaang!*

A huge explosion roared, but the Great Dharma Master simply looked at Namgung Jin with an unconcerned face and thrust out a palm.

Namgung Jin, with a look of disbelief at how the Great Dharma Master was completely unharmed by his attack, swung his sword to parry the hand and then struck down again.

This time, Namgung Jin’s sword struck the Great Dharma Master squarely on the shoulder. Yet again, the Great Dharma Master thrust out a palm with an unbothered expression.

‘How can his protective aura be this strong! To think that the Imperial Heavenly Thunder Sword is useless!’

Namgung Jin quickly blocked the Great Dharma Master’s attack, but his face was a mask of astonishment. His Imperial Heavenly Thunder Sword was an incredibly powerful technique that unleashed lightning generated by crashing the forces of yin and yang.

Although Namgung Jin couldn’t wield the Heart Sword like the others, the sheer power of his technique was stronger than, and certainly not weaker than, the Heart Sword.

In fact, the sword strike Namgung Jin had just unleashed was powerful enough to annihilate everything within a thirty-foot radius.

Yet it couldn’t even cut a single thread of the Great Dharma Master’s robe, so it was only natural for Namgung Jin to be flustered.

“If this is all you have, you’re nothing special.”

The Great Dharma Master said, thrusting out his palm once more. The energy gathered in his hand was so powerful that space itself was distorting.

Namgung Jin quickly poured his internal energy into his sword, forming a powerful lightning aura and swinging, but the Great Dharma Master’s hand shattered the aura and surged toward him.

‘Such incredible palm force.’

I didn’t expect it to be this strong, even at close range. Namgung Jin sensed death from the Great Dharma Master’s hand, which seemed to grow larger and larger. But his end had not yet come.

“You think I’d let you!”

The Sword Empress, Hwa Un-wol, had rushed toward the Great Dharma Master and swung her Heart Sword, Moonlight. The Heart Sword was a legendary art said to be capable of cutting through anything. The Heart Sword swung by Hwa Un-wol descended vertically, aiming to slice through the Great Dharma Master.

“Hmph.”

At that moment, the golden light of the Heavenly Light Body Protection enveloping the Great Dharma Master shone even brighter, and his protective aura thickened.

Hwa Un-wol’s Heart Sword only managed to cut halfway through the thickened protective aura. Even the Heart Sword could not completely penetrate the Heavenly Light Body Protection.

“How!”

This was the same Heart Sword that had cut through Yu-jin’s Wings of Light, yet even it was ineffective!

Hwa Un-wol, like Namgung Jin, cried out in astonishment. The Great Dharma Master looked at her, a faint smile on his lips, and spoke.

“The Heart Sword is not the entirety of martial arts.”

With those words, the Great Dharma Master created a little distance and extended both hands toward Namgung Jin and Hwa Un-wol. Then, two massive torrents of light shot toward them.

The Heavenly Adamantine Seal, a palm art that could be called the greatest of all time, was unleashed from the Great Dharma Master’s hands.

The Heavenly Adamantine Seal instantly vaporized the clouds in its path as it closed the distance to the two masters. The two hurriedly tried to gather their energy to block it, but with relatively little time to prepare, they weren’t confident they could defend against it completely.

“Stand back!”

The voices of two people echoed in unison. The Prajna Martial Emperor, Great Master Gak-won, and the Taiji Sword Emperor, Hyeon Cheon-ja, moved to block the path and unleashed their techniques.

From Great Master Gak-won’s fist came the Hundred-Pace Divine Fist, known as the greatest fist art in the Central Plains, while Hyeon Cheon-ja’s sword formed a massive tornado, a feat possible only when the Taiji Wisdom Sword reached its peak.

The two immense energies clashed directly with the two streams of the Heavenly Adamantine Seal.

*Kwakwakwakwang!*

A massive roar, as if heaven and earth were collapsing, resounded. And on that spot, the colossal energies annihilated each other. No one fell, but Hyeon Cheon-ja and Great Master Gak-won felt a slight internal injury and grimaced.

From that single exchange, they realized that even if they both unleashed their ultimate techniques, they couldn’t handle the Great Dharma Master alone.

‘How can a mortal body reach such a realm?’

Hyeon Cheon-ja thought, gripping his sword tightly. Right now, he had to stop the Great Dharma Master, no matter what.

Just then, the Divine Sword Emperor, Kang Yu-hyeon, who had not moved until now, swung his sword. A light composed of various colors shot toward the Great Dharma Master.

The Great Dharma Master smoothly unleashed the Heavenly Adamantine Seal again, but surprisingly, Kang Yu-hyeon’s attack pushed through the palm art and exploded against the Great Dharma Master’s body.

“It’s not over.”

Kang Yu-hyeon spoke and swung his sword again, and another massive burst of energy exploded against the Great Dharma Master’s body.

However, Kang Yu-hyeon did not stop swinging his sword. He didn’t think two strikes would be enough to pierce the Great Dharma Master’s Heavenly Light Body Protection.

“Haaat!”

Kang Yu-hyeon thrust his sword for the final blow. A rainbow-colored torrent formed a vortex and exploded against the Great Dharma Master’s body.

*Kwaaaaaang!*

It was a truly tremendous attack, and the other absolute masters of the Central Plains couldn’t help but look at Kang Yu-hyeon in awe.

‘When did he reach such a level?’

They already knew he was the strongest among the absolute masters of the Central Plains, but the attack Kang Yu-hyeon had just demonstrated was truly incredible.

It was so remarkable that even Namgung Jin’s sword, which they had thought was the strongest in terms of sheer power, seemed weak in comparison.

But this was no time for admiration. Believing they had seized the upper hand, the absolute masters of the Central Plains unleashed their ultimate techniques.

Powerful forces capable of altering the very terrain repeatedly exploded against the Great Dharma Master’s body.

“Did we win?”

Namgung Jin asked with a smile. But the others’ reactions were not so optimistic. They hadn’t felt the sensation of cutting a person at all. All they felt was the sensation of striking a massive wall with their swords.

“As expected, he can’t be underestimated.”

Kang Yu-hyeon and the other three absolute masters frowned, and Namgung Jin felt a sense of bewilderment. To resolve his confusion, Namgung Jin looked toward where the Great Dharma Master had been standing.

And then he understood why the others were frowning. Despite taking their tremendous attacks, the Great Dharma Master was unharmed.

The only difference was that a massive golden Buddha image was now manifesting around his body. Having formed the golden Buddha, the Great Dharma Master looked directly at Kang Yu-hyeon and spoke.

“It seems I must kill you first, ghost of the past.”

At the words “ghost of the past,” Kang Yu-hyeon let out a short laugh. As expected, the transcendent Great Dharma Master had recognized that he was sustaining his life through a heaven-defying method.

“If you can, then by all means, try, Great Dharma Master.”

As Kang Yu-hyeon spoke with a smirk, the Great Dharma Master replied with a serious expression.

“Of course. And not just you; the others will all die as well. If I kill only you five, the martial world of the Central Plains will greatly decline, and eventually walk the path to ruin.”