CHAPTER 377: SUPREME ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE, PALE BLOOD HAND (2)

Pale Blood Hand suddenly turned his head and looked around.

There were three groups of wandering martial artists traveling together.Pale Blood Hand’s group, Drunk Sword’s group, and Death Blade’s group.

The other groups were far apart.

No one was around to overhear this conversation.

“If possible, I want to take care of it before we arrive. I’m not joking.”

When the eldest brother’s expression grew serious, the younger brothers also hardened their faces.

“You guys don’t really know how vicious that bastard Death Blade is. He’s not the only problem. That bastard has backing.”

“The Rectification Gang?”

“Yeah, those bastards who swagger around under the High Spirit Palace. Death Blade pays tribute to the Rectification Gang there, and to cover that tribute, he extorts money.”

The wandering martial artists of the Demon Cult have their own ecosystem in their society.

Though divided into orthodox, evil, and demonic, the Demon Cult clearly belongs to the dark faction.

The order of the dark faction is built on tribute and tribute.

“That’s why that bastard is a loan shark. When he lends forty nyang, the interest was half of that. But when I tried to pay him back, he avoided me so I couldn’t repay. When I finally met him a month later, he said the interest had piled up and demanded eighty nyang. He’s a truly vicious thug.”

Pale Blood Hand grumbled while cursing Death Blade.

Since it was a common trick among money lenders, his brothers reacted indifferently.

However, the story that followed could not be easily dismissed.

“That bastard Death Blade also has a lot of debt. The debt from paying tribute exceeds five hundred nyang.”

“Then, don’t we have no need to interfere beforehand?”

“No, once we enter Sky Shattering Island, that bastard won’t leave us alone. The guys from the Rectification Gang will be waiting at the end of the Divine Demon Bridge. Those bastards didn’t even join the fight as they should have.”

The wandering martial artist agreed to receive commission for each youth they kidnap from the Central Plains.

The commission came from High Spirit Palace, providing poor wandering martial artist with a rare chance to get a generous amount of silver coins.

The martial artists from the Rectification Gang would be waiting in front of the Divine Demon Bridge in Sky Shattering Island.

They intended to intercept Death Blade’s arriving capture, and Death Blade would drag Pale Blood Hand and his group into it.

They would have all their hard-earned commissions taken away at once.

“It would be fortunate if it ended just at that…”

“We can’t let that happen!”

The younger brothers’ expressions also turned grim.

They could endure just having their commission stolen.

Being trampled on was an everyday occurrence.

But not now.

“All our effort…”

“Shh.”

Pale Blood Hand made a silent gesture to be quiet.

The wandering martial artist quickly shut their mouths.

“Yes, what we’ve caught is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can’t let that filthy bastard, Death Blade ruin it all.”

Saying this, Pale Blood Hand stroked the coffin laid beside the fire.

He had said that the coffin contained the body of a brother who died fighting alongside him.

Drunk Sword and the wandering martial artist were moved by this rare brotherly affection, but of course, it was a lie.

“Even if the four of us just split this, we can live comfortably for life.”

The coffin was filled with gold and other precious metals.

It was an unexpected fortune gained from this trip to the Central Plains.

Greed filled the faces of the wandering martial artist.

“So, make sure to take care of this thoroughly.”

Pale Blood Hand said firmly.

His younger brothers nodded.

The journey to Sky Shattering Island went smoothly.

In the Central Plains, every mountain had bandits, and passing through villages always meant interference from government troops.

But there were no bandits or troops in the Great Desert.

It was the same after crossing the hot sand fields.

Beyond the Qinghai Province, the Ming’s influence was almost nonexistent.

Nothing hindered the group except the harsh environment.

Silence and solitude were friends to the wandering martial artist, so except for the beginning, there was little conversation.

It was fortunate for Yi-gang.

He was given time to meditate every day.

Such time was what Yi-gang needed most right now.

“Please drink.”

Dam Hyun, with a Ghost Sword’s face, smiled slyly and handed over a cup.

Inside was a thick, muddy medicine.

The duration of the Mimicry Disguise Technique was limited to three days.

Every three days, the had to drink this thick and foul medicine.

But Yi-gang gulped it down without hesitation.

He seemed completely unaffected by the medicine’s taste, which even made Go Yo-ja feel like vomiting.

The collapsing form of Death Blade stabilized again.

Yi-gang resumed his meditation.

Crackle, crack.

The sound of burning firewood echoed.

Though they had left the Great Desert, the night remained chilly.

In the cold, dry night, the orange flames were vivid.

Yi-gang stared intently at the flames.

He hadn’t spoken once, only staring at the flames, so his face was slightly flushed.

Was Yi-gang enjoying the silence?

In fact, he was not.

He was conversing in a voice others could not hear.

Among them was the Heavenly Demon, whom even those wandering martial artists revered as a god.

“To not have awakened even one Supreme Ultimate Technique, how laughable.”

“Don’t act so proud, Zhao Guang. Do you remember how you were at Yi-gang’s age?”

The voices of the Heavenly Demon and Zhang Sanfeng echoed softly.

The Heavenly Demon seemed to ponder for a moment.

“I was strong enough even then.”

“And you were defeated by me.”

Zhang Sanfeng pointed out, but the Heavenly Demon just sneered.

Meaning he wouldn’t be fooled by such a petty trick.

Zhang Sanfeng asked Yi-gang.

“What do you think the Supreme Ultimate Technique is?”

Yi-gang pondered about acquiring the Supreme Ultimate Technique.

‘Isn’t it a technique where a martial artist who has reached a certain realm uses the upper dantian to perform skills that transcend the laws of reality?’

That was the answer Yi-gang came up with after much thought.

The Supreme Ultimate Technique surpasses physical laws.

Some might say Sword Qi or Sword Aura is the same, but fundamentally, it’s different.

Among Essence-Qi-Spirit, internal power is essence.

Sword Qi and Aura are emitted through the power accumulated in the lower dantian.

But the Supreme Ultimate Technique is spirit, manifested through the upper dantian.

After reaching the Transcendent Realm, the celestial gate at the crown’s Baihui point opens, and upon reaching the Absolute Realm, it connects heaven and man through that gate.

Thus, a person can perform immortal-like feats on earth.

The Sword Emperor slowed time around him.

Zhang Sanfeng’s Non-Act Daydream dispersed any physical force with non-action.

These are not things anyone can do.

“That’s not wrong.”

The Heavenly Demon also affirmed Yi-gang’s interpretation.

But soon a cold evaluation followed.

“But it’s just ghostly talk.”

“Hmm…”

Zhang Sanfeng also did not side with Yi-gang.

“What use is talking about a realm you’ve never stepped into? It’s like a mountain scholar reading old books and discussing a king’s reign.”

Meaning it’s only intellectual understanding.

‘That’s why I’m pondering.’

“Now, now, priest. Let’s talk more concretely.”

Yi-gang listened quietly.

The Heavenly Demon and Zhang Sanfeng were the most famous former masters in the world.

Yi-gang was hearing about the Supreme Ultimate Technique from them.

This was a luxury no other martial artist in the world could enjoy.

“Then, do you think a martial artist at the Absolute Realm can choose their Supreme Ultimate Technique?”

‘I thought it might not be so.’

“You’re half right.”

Zhang Sanfeng spoke much more kindly and gently than the Heavenly Demon.

“Do you know Sword Emperor Jang Kyung? Do you remember with what heart he awakened his Supreme Ultimate Technique?”

He certainly knew.

‘He wanted to protect those around him.’

Jang Kyung, who experienced the great expulsion of the Demon Cult, had fought many battles since his youth.

Though he was a martial genius and survived, his comrades and juniors did not.

Many fell helplessly right before his eyes.

If only he had been a little faster.

If the enemy’s flying sword had been a bit slower.

If he could have moved in time, he could have protected them.

“That yearning blossomed into his Supreme Ultimate Technique, so the first element to manifest it is desire.”

Desire.

A fervent wish.

It was one of the components of the Supreme Ultimate Technique according to Zhang Sanfeng.

In other words, something deeply desired can manifest as a Supreme Ultimate Technique.

“Is there something you strongly desire?”

Yi-gang was about to answer immediately.

Healing his body. Before, that might have been his first answer.

Destroying the Evil Cult.

That was also a desire.

But more important than anything else were his people.

Ha-jun, his father, and the family.

He hoped the Azure Forest, the prodigies would not die.

But how could that forge a Supreme Ultimate Technique?

When Yi-gang hesitated, Zhang Sanfeng chuckled.

“There is more than just desire. Do you remember the Supreme Ultimate Technique I taught you?”

‘Are you referring to Non-Act Daydream?’

“That was not a Supreme Ultimate Technique born from intense desire. It was the sharpest refinement of what I had based on rational necessity. Eventually, it could pierce reality itself.”

Non-Act Daydream is also a technique that transcends physical laws.

Its smooth movements stop any attack.

It leaves no recoil and even disperses the attacker’s fighting spirit.

“As you might have guessed, the origin of the Non-Act Daydream is Tai Chi.”

Zhang Sanfeng was famous as a grandmaster of Tai Chi before his Qi Control Sword Technique.

“Tai Chi is a martial art in which soft overcomes hard . I studied its ultimate principles and completed Non-Act Daydream.”

A martial artist of Zhang Sanfeng’s caliber possessed several Supreme Ultimate Techniques.

“Originally, it’s not easy to obtain a Supreme Ultimate Technique like this. But it’s even more unusual for someone to reach the Absolute Realm without one like you. I recommend this method to you.”

‘Then…’

To summarize Zhang Sanfeng’s words.

Yi-gang’s unique strength that others do not have.

He meant to sharpen that to the extreme and make it a Supreme Ultimate Technique.

That was the end of the advice.

Finding which strength and how to make it a Supreme Ultimate Technique was Yi-gang’s task.

Yi-gang sat silently for at least another hour.

‘The Qi Control Sword Technique…?’

That was the first thing that came to mind.

Among all martial artists, only Yi-gang could perform the Qi Control Sword Technique.

Especially, thanks to his psychokinetic power, he performed the Qi Control Sword Technique differently from Zhang Sanfeng.

It was effective even when facing the Cardinal of the Evil Cult.

It could be called Yi-gang’s unique ultimate technique.

But was it enough to be called a Supreme Ultimate Technique?

Yi-gang wanted to delve a bit deeper.

‘Psychokinetic power… should I use psychokinetic power?’

That thought came to him.

For the first time, Yi-gang changed his posture.

While sitting, he lightly extended his hand into the air.

The fireball still flickered.

Flames have no physical form; they are just chemical reactions from burning wood.

Yi-gang knew this. That modern knowledge might help.

He flicked his fingers.

The flames suddenly split.

It was the use of psychokinetic power.

Was it something to be satisfied with, splitting something without substance?

But Yi-gang did not smile.

What he moved with psychokinetic power was only the air rising from heat.

Whoosh—

He flicked his fingers again, and this time some sparks flew.

But Yi-gang was still not satisfied.

He was in a trance trying to split the flames.

He was a bit unlucky.

When Yi-gang increased his psychokinetic output and tried again.

Go Yo-ja, disguised as Wolf-fang Axe, came to hand him food.

The bowl of porridge Go Yo-ja was holding flew high into the air.

The porridge spilled miserably and rolled on the floor.

Just as Yi-gang was about to apologize quickly.

He turned his head and saw another wandering martial artist holding a pot full of porridge staring blankly.

Yi-gang immediately scrunched his face and shouted.

“You call this crap food!”

“Bring me something proper!”

It sounded as if he had hit it away because he disliked the porridge.

Go Yo-ja looked helplessly between the spilled porridge on the floor and Yi-gang.

When Yi-gang quickly turned to the wandering martial artist holding the pot, the wandering martial artist ducked his head and sneaked away.

He was a follower who served Pale Blood Hand as his eldest brother.

He was in charge of dinner tonight and had cooked porridge.

‘What a really nasty bastard.’

As he fled, the wandering martial artist cursed Death Blade’s temper for making him unable to eat and threw the innocent porridge bowl.

Only after the wandering martial artist disappeared did Yi-gang apologize to Go Yo-ja .

“I-I couldn’t help it.”

“Hmm… It’s okay. It can happen.”

Go Yo-ja sat down with a hurt voice.

Yi-gang sighed.

It seemed the clue to the Supreme Ultimate Technique would not come easily.