Dark and Light Martial Emperor

Chapter 101: A Shift in Perspective (1)

“Ah, I’m stuffed.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong had always been disciplined with his meals, slowly nourishing his body back to health. But today, his hunger was insatiable. For the first time, he devoured a meal meant for five.

His belly protruded, a testament to his indulgence. Yet, the feeling of fullness wasn’t unwelcome.

Stepping out of the eatery, Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s gaze drifted unexpectedly.

“Huh?”

He blinked in surprise.

“Who’s that?”

Without realizing, his steps had led him near his brother’s residence.

Beside his brother’s abode, within the confines of Yeon Ryewon, someone was splitting firewood.

At first glance, the figure seemed unfamiliar. Curiosity piqued, Yeon Ji-Pyeong stealthily approached Yeon Ryewon.

Thwack!

The axe swung smoothly, cleaving the hefty log in two.

Surprise painted Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face, which had been filled with curiosity.

“Gasp!”

Thwack!

Another log split apart.

It was an unremarkable chop. Not forceful, and surprisingly, done one-handed.

The axe, guided gently in an arc, split the wood cleanly. The blunt blade carried an energy that breathed life into the motion.

What was astonishing was the quality of energy on the axe and its movement.

Despite the minuscule amount, it burst forth with the intensity of a flood. The form of the swing was simple yet profoundly beautiful.

“A master!”

Incredible. At least for Yeon Ji-Pyeong at this moment, this was a level he dared not contend with.

Tick!

“Huh?”

The axe missed its mark. The log flew off, landing far away.

A complex expression crossed the face of the woman, Mokbi.

“Excuse me…”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong, realizing his gaffe, quickly stood up.

“I’m sorry. I was so engrossed that I didn’t realize. It was rude of me, wasn’t it?”

He apologized sincerely.

Mokbi didn’t understand why he was apologizing. She was curious why he found wood chopping so fascinating.

“It’s alright. But…”

Mokbi hesitated, about to ask who he was.

After all, she was a guest. Anyone she didn’t know here was likely to be a member of the Yeon family.

Mokbi bowed her head.

“My name is Mokbi.”

“Ah, yes! I’m Yeon Ji-Pyeong! Nice to meet you!”

A brief silence followed.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong blinked, and Mokbi averted her gaze, feeling awkward.

During the pause, Mokbi thought.

‘Yeon Ji-Pyeong? The brother of that person?’

She had heard much about Yeon Ji-Pyeong on her way here. Young but a prodigy, and known to have a gentle nature.

Mokbi looked at Yeon Ji-Pyeong again.

His face, looking at her with bright, innocent eyes, seemed as kind as the rumors suggested.

Mokbi cleared her throat.

“Well, I mean…”

“You’re a guest!”

“Yes?”

“Oh, aren’t you?”

Mokbi scratched her head.

She was indeed a guest. But Yeon Hojeong and Yeon Wi had told her to treat this place like home, everyone like family.

“A guest… in a manner of speaking?”

“What do you mean?”

Mokbi thought of a way to cut through the awkwardness and the impending stalled conversation.

She mentioned Yeon Hojeong.

“I came here with Yeon Hojeong, that person.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s eyes widened.

“My brother is here?”

“Yes? Oh… Yes, that’s right.”

“Gosh! I had no idea! I thought he would arrive later, not so soon!”

Joy flickered across Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face.

But then, a pause.

“Wait…”

That person?

The choice of words was peculiar. That person, that person…

“Cough!”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong rushed over and grabbed Mokbi’s hands.

It was so sudden she couldn’t pull away. Mokbi looked down at Yeon Ji-Pyeong, her expression bewildered.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong said earnestly.

“Sister-in-law!”

Mokbi thought it was a more shocking situation than when she vowed to annihilate the Gwanilgok herself.

* * *

With a thunderous roar, the battle commenced!

Yeon Hojeong, wielding the mighty White Tiger Banner, boasted an attack as formidable as steel. The Wall-Crushing Force harmonized the flow of energy within his body, and even now, his muscles, honed through relentless training, produced explosive power and unwavering endurance.

Yet, he was pushed back.

Clang!

Yeon Hojeong’s body was sent flying backward.

The sword in Yeon Wi’s grasp was a common longsword, but the energy it emitted was as overwhelming as a tidal wave. The blade, weighing less than a tenth of Yeon Hojeong’s axe, created the sensation of a thousand catties.

Boom!

Yeon Hojeong, having retreated, charged back into the fray.

From the moment he executed the White Tiger’s Dominance stance, he was in complete battle readiness. Advancing one step, he was prepared to deliver a fatal blow with two, unleashing his martial arts without hesitation.

Fwshhh!

Around the swinging axe, invisible flames seemed to ignite.

Despite handling the heavy weapon, his speed was astonishing, and the strike capitalized on the heavy weapon’s advantages. It was a destructive force that even the most accomplished masters would hesitate to face head-on.

Yeon Wi’s sword traced a straight line.

Shriiing!

The muscles in his upper arm and shoulder twitched.

Yeon Wi couldn’t help but admire his son’s monstrous strength.

‘Where does such power come from?’

Among the Seven Great Families, or rather, the Six Great Families’ heads, his martial arts were among the top. And now, he wasn’t holding back his skills as before. Though not at full strength, he was sincerely employing his martial arts.

Such a powerful blow that it could unconsciously tighten the muscles of a supreme master must be considered a formidable force anywhere in the Central Plains.

Ching!

The sword, clashing with the axe, suddenly moved with fluid grace.

‘…!’

Yeon Hojeong’s expression changed drastically.

Like a serpent, the sword slid down the axe blade and flowed towards the shaft, aiming for the wrist. The movement was so natural and smooth that it momentarily escaped his vision.

Crack!

Releasing both hands from the shaft, he struck the end of it fiercely.

Clash!

At close range, the axe was launched. Yeon Wi’s sword, in a split second, performed twelve consecutive strikes, reducing the axe’s power.

Boom!

Yeon Wi’s eyes widened.

Without looking up, he realized that his son had moved above him into the air.

‘So fast!’

The energy pouring down upon his crown was immense.

The white energy of the White Tiger Technique transformed into the red energy of the Vermilion Bird Technique in a flash.

And there was more.

“Haap!”

It was an unusual battle cry. With red wings on his legs and a white storm in his right fist, he struck down.

The Four Symbols Technique, embodying two attributes of martial arts simultaneously.

Kaboom!

His fist penetrated the training ground floor, creating fissures throughout the arena.

A powerful fist technique, its might beyond imagination. It was the embodiment of the White Tiger Technique’s Nine Thundering Strikes in the form of a fist.

Whoosh!

Yeon Wi, having dodged with the Heavenly Silk Step, approached with the Bow Body Shadow Technique.

‘…!’

The speed was incredible, as fast as the Vermilion Bird Technique’s Winged Flight.

It wasn’t that Yeon Wi had learned a technique as swift as Winged Flight. It was simply the realm of pure martial arts. His inner strength, physical body, and enlightenment combined allowed him to achieve such speed with mere steps.

Flash!

Yeon Hojeong dodged Yeon Wi, grabbing the axe that had fallen to his left and regaining his stance.

In an instant, Yeon Wi changed direction and reached a position one zhang in front of Yeon Hojeong.

Their weapons drew out the speed of divine techniques.

Clang! Ting! Ting!

The weapons clashed eighteen times in rapid succession.

Yeon Wi’s sword speed was incredible, but Yeon Hojeong’s axe speed was also beyond human limits. Among martial artists who wield heavy weapons, few could display such swift techniques.

‘So strong.’

Yeon Wi finally felt the extent of his son’s growth, which had leaped several levels since he left home.

‘He has become incredibly strong!’

Yeon Hojeong was accompanied by inner strengths of unknown origins.

But that wasn’t what mattered. His son hadn’t grown through learning other martial arts; it was clear that he had learned them after growing, to complement his abilities.

In other words, his son’s enlightenment was already complete enough to encompass various martial arts without lacking anything. Perhaps, it was even beyond that.

The exquisite finesse felt through the weapons, the profound martial principles sensed in the spur-of-the-moment responses, their limits were beyond imagination.

‘How is this possible?!’

Even Yeon Ji-Pyeong, known as a once-in-a-generation genius, might not be capable of this. He had broken through what others took ten, twenty years to achieve in just a few months.

If Yeon Wi was astonished by his son’s tremendous growth, Yeon Hojeong was equally amazed by his father’s steel-like martial arts.

‘He’s stronger than MYeoncheon!’

Though now a public enemy of the martial world, the original Nine Provinces’ noble family had carried the reputation of being the number one family for a hundred years.

Stronger than the head of such a family. Even though he had learned the counterfeit Four Symbols Technique, which would have disrupted the balance of his martial arts, considering that, his father’s martial arts still surpassed MYeoncheon.

‘Incredible. There’s so much I don’t have…!’

The sword force of his father, genuinely deploying martial arts.

Although it was difficult to compare to his own time as the Black Rock Emperor, it contained the ideal enlightenment of a martial artist, which he had missed, built up without omission.

Perfect. Complete.

As he had felt before, his father’s martial arts were the epitome of the martial path, with nothing to add or subtract. For Yeon Hojeong, it was the synthesis of the White Path martial arts, something difficult to comprehend even after decades.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At one point, Yeon Hojeong pushed Yeon Wi back.

The White Tiger’s Dominance stance grew stronger with momentum. The powerful circular strikes of the Nine Thundering Strikes became larger, sharper, and more ferocious.

Yeon Wi, with the exquisite swordplay of the Iron Sword Great Chain, countered Yeon Hojeong’s martial arts.

‘Yes, at this level.’

The pressure of the energy pouring in was more tremendous than the martial arts being executed. The warrior’s killing intent, sweeping away the enemy with overwhelming momentum, and the general’s dignity were there.

‘At this level, I can surely receive this sword.’

In a flash, Yeon Wi’s eyes sparkled.

Shriiing!

The terrifyingly strong sword strike caused the axe to lose its way.

With a single sword strike, the White Tiger’s Dominance stance lost its momentum, and the Nine Thundering Strikes’ fangs were cut off. It was an incredible sword force.

But it didn’t end there. A powerful energy quickly gathered at the tip of Yeon Wi’s sword.

That was the moment.

Whoosh!

Yeon Wi saw a giant hand enveloping his vision in darkness.

The writhing change in technique was like witnessing a dragon. And yet, it was fast. An attack that could be blocked but not avoided.

Surprise appeared on Yeon Wi’s face.

‘Reverse Dragon Palm!!’

Without even half a breath’s pause, the palm strike extended with formidable strength. It was an ultra-fast attack utilizing powerful cardiorespiratory capabilities.

There was no time to display the newly acquired enlightenment of the sword. Yeon Wi quickly shifted his energy to block the palm technique.

Kaboom!

Yeon Hojeong was forced to retreat over ten steps.

Meanwhile, Yeon Wi stood firm.

“Hoo.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his hand and straightened his posture.

“It seems I’m still not there yet.”

Yeon Wi’s eyes wavered.

“Did you know it all along?”

“What?”

“That you were reading my next attack.”

Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.

“Not at all. I merely saw a slight gap uncharacteristic of father’s martial arts, so I thought it was a clear weakness and attacked.”

“…!”

“Why do you ask?”

“Never mind.”

Swoosh. Clack!

Yeon Wi sheathed his sword.

“Let’s end the sparring here.”