Almighty God of War - Chapter 171

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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171

 

The virtual martial artist’s movements had the ‘process’ omitted.

 

There was no preparatory motion of bending the knees to kick off the ground, no air-splitting sound cutting through the wind.

 

In the blink of an eye, he who had been far away was already right in front of him.

 

As if on the vast canvas of this world, the dot over there had been erased and redrawn over here. This wasn’t movement but rather transposition.

 

Footsteps that twisted the principles of space, obliterating the boundary between ‘here’ and ‘there’.

 

On the flowing river of time, he seemed to walk alone on a different temporal axis.

 

A strange sensation where before and after were reversed dominated Guyang Cheongang.

 

His eyes deepened like the deep sea.

 

The Phantom Shadowless Divine Method was also a peerless light body technique difficult to match in all under heaven, but it couldn’t compare to the movement technique teachings on the stone stele.

 

This was faster, more varied, and unpredictable.

 

If the Phantom Shadowless Divine Method moved on a plane, that divine method seemed to transcend dimensions beyond three-dimensional space.

 

‘Amazing… This truly deserves to be called Heaven’s Edge Single Step…’

 

[I agree. This is the highest level divine method I have observed.]

 

Guyang Cheongang emerged from the virtual world and looked at the stone stele again.

 

Over a thousand characters of incantations.

 

The movement technique contained within, named Heaven’s Edge Single Step.

 

‘I must master this to pass the third trial.’

 

[That is correct. Without this movement technique, passing through Pungdo Gate would be impossible.]

 

Guyang Cheongang’s eyes became intense.

 

Having decided to move forward, there was no choice.

 

He had to master Heaven’s Edge Single Step to survive.

 

And with Akasha present, it wasn’t such a difficult task.

 

Guyang Cheongang closed his eyes and entered the virtual world.

 

Vast emptiness spread out, and there Guyang Cheongang began cultivating the divine method.

 

He physically learned each incantation that Akasha had analyzed, repeating thousands and tens of thousands of times to increase proficiency.

 

All Transformation Realm masters could create mental images similar to the virtual world Akasha made.

 

Constructing another world within consciousness and cultivating there was a privilege of those who had reached the Transformation Realm.

 

But there was an unbridgeable gap between the two.

 

Akasha’s virtual world wasn’t simply an imaginary space.

 

It could send signals directly to the nervous system and muscles through nanobots, imprinting effects identical to actual cultivation on Guyang Cheongang’s body.

 

If he swung a sword a thousand times in the virtual world, muscle memory equivalent to actually swinging it a thousand times remained, and if he practiced movement techniques ten thousand times, his body remembered it perfectly.

 

But other Transformation Realm masters’ mental images didn’t have such effects.

 

For them, mental images were places to gain enlightenment, not spaces where physical cultivation was possible.

 

They could study and understand martial arts in their minds, but to have their bodies directly learn it, they ultimately had to cultivate in reality.

 

This was the decisive difference between Guyang Cheongang and others.

 

Time flowed like a river.

 

There was no day or night here.

 

The sky visible above the cliffs surrounding the valley was always the same color, with neither sun nor moon rising.

 

Only gentle light evenly illuminated the entire valley.

 

In this space where time and space were distorted by the mysterious Gimun Daejin, it was impossible to know how much time had passed.

 

No hunger was felt, and no fatigue accumulated.

 

As if time had stopped, or was flowing infinitely slowly.

 

Not a single wind blew in the valley, not a single sound was heard.

 

Only the black stone stele in the center stood glowing with silver-white characters, with seven martial artists sitting or standing around it, gazing at the stele.

 

From the stone stele on the altar, mysterious energy still flowed out.

 

That energy pulsed as if alive, subtly coloring the surrounding air and leading the minds of those watching the stele into deep meditation.

 

The cliffs surrounding the valley glowed white.

 

Whether this was real or an illusion was unknown, but their overwhelming presence proved this was no ordinary space.

 

People who had fallen into a trance studying the incantations while looking at the stone stele began awakening from deep meditation one by one.

 

Mok Jin was the first to open his eyes.

 

Deep frustration was etched on his face.

 

The white-haired old man let out a long sigh and withdrew his gaze from the stone stele.

 

“Getting old… my comprehension is declining.”

 

Namgung Gyeol awakened second.

 

He too had a gloomy expression.

 

He understood the surface of the incantations, but couldn’t penetrate the core, and actually implementing it was nearly impossible.

 

Ju Jaryeom opened his eyes third.

 

His face was pale, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

 

It seemed his mental strength was depleted from concentrating too deeply.

 

O Gwangnyeo was fourth.

 

He glared at the stone stele with an angry expression.

 

Incantations he could neither understand nor learn.

 

He wasn’t a foolish person, but his explosive temperament made it difficult to comprehend such profound incantations.

 

Yu Garyang awakened fifth.

 

He showed no change in expression, but his eyes had grown darker than usual.

 

He too had failed.

 

Deep frustration lingered on most faces.

 

But one person was different.

 

It was Jegal Ryong.

 

He still sat with eyes closed before the stone stele, with a faint smile floating on his face.

 

Gentle light seeped from his forehead, and quiet yet dynamic energy flowed from his entire body.

 

He seemed to have grasped a clue to the movement technique.

 

Though he hadn’t completely mastered it, he understood the core principles and seemed able to implement it given time.

 

Mok Jin looked at Jegal Ryong and muttered.

 

“Indeed… the reputation as the Murim Alliance’s greatest strategist isn’t empty.”

 

Namgung Gyeol also nodded.

 

“Hero Jegal’s wisdom is on a different dimension from ours.”

 

Guyang Cheongang also still had his eyes closed.

 

In the virtual world, he was continuously cultivating, and the divine method was gradually increasing in proficiency.

 

People’s gazes turned toward Guyang Cheongang.

 

He still sat with eyes closed before the stone stele, with mysterious energy flowing from his entire body.

 

A moment later.

 

Guyang Cheongang slowly opened his eyes.

 

His gaze was different from before entering meditation.

 

It had grown deeper, clearer, and within it dwelt the profundity of one who had gained enlightenment.

 

Everyone’s eyes changed.

 

They felt that Guyang Cheongang’s aura had transformed.

 

If before meditation he was like a quiet pond, now he was like wind containing infinite flow.

 

Outwardly peaceful, but with tremendous power condensed within.

 

Mok Jin carefully asked.

 

“Hero Guyang, have you achieved something?”

 

Guyang Cheongang answered calmly.

 

“Enough that I won’t give up on the next trial.”

 

“Huh…”

 

Mok Jin sighed and continued.

 

“Amazing. This old man could only figure out that those incantations were a movement technique, but you seem to have already mastered it.”

 

The five masters including Jegal Ryong looked at Guyang Cheongang with shocked eyes.

 

They couldn’t believe that someone they’d never heard of had accomplished what they themselves couldn’t do.

 

Mok Jin hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

 

“I heard that the Guyang Family has not yet regained the prosperity of its past days. If something were to happen to you here, it would be a great disaster for the family. How about stopping here and returning home?”

 

His voice contained sincere concern.

 

A single Transformation Realm master was the pillar of a family, and if he died, the family could collapse.

 

Guyang Cheongang smiled and replied.

 

“Thank you for your concern, but I have enough ability to take care of myself.”

 

At that moment, the eyes of O Gwangnyeo and Yu Garyang turned cold.

 

Subtle killing intent flowed from the two men.

 

Yu Garyang stared at Guyang Cheongang with sinister eyes and fell into thought.

 

‘Guyang Cheongang… the Guyang Family…’

 

He knew of the Guyang Family from the time of the Great War of Orthodox and Demonic.

 

It was a prestigious martial family that could be called the hegemon of Nanchang without exaggeration.

 

However, during the Great War of Orthodox and Demonic, most of their core forces including the family head died in battle against the Demonic Cult, and he had heard rumors that they rapidly declined afterward.

 

The Guyang Family was already a forgotten name.

 

Yu Garyang’s eyes became even more desolate.

 

‘A Transformation Realm master emerged from such a place?’

 

Though he couldn’t see the face due to the bamboo hat, judging by Guyang Cheongang’s voice and build, it was clear he wasn’t very old.

 

He also remembered that the young people who were his companions had called him Young Master.

 

‘He’s not an old monster who has undergone rejuvenation.’

 

If that were the case, he should have taken to the battlefield during the Great War of Orthodox and Demonic, and if so, the Guyang Family wouldn’t have fallen so miserably.

 

In the end, it meant Guyang Cheongang was a genius who had reached the Transformation Realm after the Great War of Orthodox and Demonic, in less than forty years.

 

‘Even at maximum estimate, he doesn’t seem to be over forty, yet he’s at the Transformation Realm at that age…’

 

The meaning of this was by no means light.

 

Excluding super-massive forces like the Changcheon Martial Alliance with the Nine Sects and One Association and Six Great Families, and the Demonic Cult, it was rare for ordinary large sects or families to possess more than five Transformation Realm masters.

 

Most mid-level sects were fortunate to have even one or two peak masters, let alone Transformation Realm ones.

 

Naturally, sects below that level found it difficult to possess even one peak master.

 

Therefore, possessing one Transformation Realm master meant that sect had the potential to become a regional hegemon.

 

And the fact that such a master was young held even greater meaning.

 

It meant he could continue growing for decades more and could be responsible for that family’s future.

 

‘Could the Guyang Family… rise again?’

 

Sinister killing intent gathered in the depths of Yu Garyang’s eyes.

 

The Guyang Family belonged to the Orthodox faction.

 

Having such a powerful warrior in such a place was not very welcome news for the Heavenly Death Department.

 

O Gwangnyeo was thinking similar thoughts.

 

‘He must be eliminated.’

 

The killing intent of the two men toward Guyang Cheongang grew thicker.

 

The murderous aura emanating from them pressed down heavily on the air, and a sinister energy circulated throughout the entire valley.

 

There was no one in this place who couldn’t feel it.

 

Mok Jin let out a deep sigh.

 

‘Those fellows intend to kill Hero Guyang.’

 

He knew.

 

To people like O Gwangnyeo and Yu Garyang, a genius from the Orthodox faction was a threat that must be eliminated.

 

A troubled expression appeared in Mok Jin’s eyes.

 

‘Should I step forward…’

 

But he soon shook his head inwardly.

 

Those two were peerless masters of the early Transformation Realm like himself.

 

To block their killing intent, he would have to risk his life, and even if he won, he would be severely injured, and if he lost, he would die.

 

However, there was no friendship between him and Guyang Cheongang worth taking such a risk.

 

He couldn’t risk his life for a young martial artist he was meeting for the first time.

 

Though Guyang Cheongang’s genius was regrettable, risking his own life was a completely different matter.

 

And if he fought with them, he would become enemies with the entire Gunma Alliance and Heavenly Death Department.

 

That would mean endless troubles until death even if he left Pungnimgok alive, endangering not only himself but his disciples as well.

 

‘I’m sorry, Hero Guyang. But this is… not something this old man should interfere with.’

 

Mok Jin closed his eyes.

 

The tension escalated.

 

It was then.

 

Ju Jaryeom stepped forward and asked Guyang Cheongang.

 

“Hero Guyang.”

 

Guyang Cheongang looked at him.

 

Ju Jaryeom asked in a calm yet powerful voice.

 

“Would you not consider joining the Changcheon Martial Alliance?”

 

Instantly, the air in the valley froze.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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