The Forbidden Martial Art (3)

Neung Je-gang went to Famen Temple first. It was crucial to eliminate the tower vermin and seize the secret ledgers the chief had hidden. With those books, he could see at a glance the identities of Assassin Pavilion killers living under false names.

‘Their guard is looser than last time. Has the chief still not returned? These punks are a disgrace for hired blades. One missing boss and they slack off like this.’

He infused true energy into the No-Mind Sword. He had named the blade—acquired in Xi’an—“No-Mind” to match its nature.

Sliiide

Riiip-drip

Blood ran down the wall. The sword tunneled into it without a sound.

‘A real treasure. Without killing intent, they don’t even sense the strike.’

Those struck by the No-Mind Sword only realized they’d been attacked—and were dying—after the blade had already lodged in their flesh.

By then it was too late. Neung Je-gang gave them no time to scream.

He revealed himself. The killers’ spilled blood would announce an intruder anyway; there was no need to trouble himself with illusion.

Beep, beeeep, beep!

“An intruder! Kill him!”

With a clamor of alarms, blades came flying.

Swish

Snatch

“Ghk!”

Shrrrrrip

Darts like a rain of slats filled the corridor as they flew in.

Tat-tat-tat-tang

The No-Mind Sword spun like a windmill, batting the darts aside.

Tung

Neung Je-gang flicked his left middle finger.

“Urgh! P—poison!”

Ssssss

The attackers’ presence withdrew for an instant.

“Are assassins afraid of poison? Are these even real assassins?”

It was needless worry. Their assault resumed. In that brief moment they must have swallowed antidotes; they showed no fear of toxin.

“So defense against poison is all you’ve got?”

Parrying again with the No-Mind Sword, he flicked his left middle finger.

Pop

“…!”

Thud

A killer collapsed forward with a dull sound, voiceless.

“Finger-Flick Divine Skill!”

One of them shouted.

“Heh. Is that the only finger-force you people know?”

They were falling apart. His defense with the No-Mind Sword in his right hand was flawless, and the simple finger force from his left middle finger was terrifying. Each flick bored through wall or pillar alike and, without fail, punched a hole in a skull.

“This isn’t the Finger-Flick Divine Skill. It’s called One-Finger Penetration.”

Strictly speaking, One-Finger Penetration wasn’t mere “air bullets” but condensed force. No matter where the target hid, once located, the force pierced everything in the way to steal a life. Because a single finger would pierce without fail, it was named One-Finger Penetration.

Thump-thump

Pop-pop-pop-pop

Now the killers didn’t even dare charge. They scrambled to hide.

But One-Finger Penetration let not a single one go by. Before long, the underground palace beneath the tower regained its quiet.

Neung Je-gang went to the chief’s room. The desk had been tidied.

“He clearly hasn’t returned yet.”

He searched for the chief’s secret vault.

Fffts

A cool aura rose from the No-Mind Sword.

Shaa

There had to be a mechanism somewhere, but he simply raised the blade and cut the door. The Assassin Pavilion ledgers he knew too well came into view.

He tore down a curtain and bundled the ledgers and the money. Left here, they might fund a new contract-killing outfit if any assassin survived.

“Let’s go one level down.”

He descended to see the vault ringed by that imposing array of mechanisms he’d seen before.

“Brilliant Yang Fiery Art—Brilliant Yang Slash!”

Fwoooooosh

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom

He had long ago decided how to handle the contraptions: the simplest way—melt every device the mechanism relied upon.

Comparable to the legendary Solar Divine Art among Yang-based methods, the Brilliant Yang Fiery Art carried heat hot enough to melt iron. A scorching gale tore through the underground, churned it once, and heavy mechanical groans followed in succession. The mechanism broke; pieces dropped away.

Neung Je-gang approached the vault.

Clang

It wasn’t only the mechanism that was fearsome. The vault itself was formidable. Even striking it with the No-Mind Sword left not a mark.

“How do I open this?”

Knowing much meant it took time to decide what to use.

“Not knowing what’s inside, cutting it open seems better than smashing it….”

He channeled true energy into the No-Mind Sword. A colorless, transparent power gathered along the blade.

It became another sword—one the eye could not see; only the feel of newly forged sword-force told of its presence.

“Single-Stroke Soul-Cleave!”

Craaaack

Sword-force ripped into the vault.

“You’ve got to be kidding me… It’s so tough the sword-force only made a hole?”

He had expected a clean cut. When he formed sword-force, he believed nothing could withstand it. He’d even begun to think he might already be peerless.

Yet two things had shaken that pride since entering the martial world: one was the being who slew thirty Special Assault troops in a single move, and the other was this vault.

In any case, there was no time to gape. He had to clear this place and race to Huaqing Pool where the Pavilion Lord was.

“What’s in there?”

He peered through the hole.

“A book? Just a book? A secret manual, perhaps?”

He struck the hole with sword-force a few more times to widen it, then drew the book out.

“Thunderbolt True Canon! No way… Is this one of the Orthodox Sect’s forbidden arts—the Thunderbolt line?”

The Orthodox Sect had seven forbidden arts; among them, the one boasting the greatest destructive power was Thunderclap Heaven-Sunderer. But sharing the word “Thunderbolt” did not make two arts identical.

He turned the pages of the Thunderbolt True Canon.

“Metal True Energy? That’s part of the Five Element Divine Art. Why is this here…?”

Unexpectedly, Metal True Energy was the first section recorded. It even recounted how the Thunderbolt method was created while researching that energy.

“So, because he already had inner strength, he didn’t intend to practice Metal True Energy, but he studied its mnemonic verses, merged the research into his own art, and completed the Thunderbolt style.”

He kept turning the pages.

“Well, looks like only Bibun the Golden-Furred Rat hit the jackpot—another of the Five Element True Energies. At this rate he might actually collect all five.”

If that happened, Bibun—the tunnels’ “mole”—could become the first peerless under heaven.

“I wonder how Master would react then. Thunderclap Heaven-Sunderer! Hah, so it is indeed a forbidden art. Am I supposed to be happy about this?”

He already bore the Death-Fiend current of the Demonic lineage. And now an Orthodox forbidden art besides….

“Fine. Whether I learn one or two, if I’m exposed I’m an enemy of all the world just the same. Let it be what it will.”

He sat down on the spot, opened the book, and began memorizing. He couldn’t carry something this dangerous around.

Once he had memorized the verses, he rose and summoned true energy to burn the Thunderbolt True Canon to ash.

“How long have I been here? I need to get to Huaqing Pool… Everything gets in the way. Wait—if it was kept here, the Pavilion Lord’s cultivation might be this very art. Then he trains at the hot springs because it needs blazing yang energy? I might face someone who knows a forbidden art the moment I appear in the jianghu. If he’s reached Five Stars, they call it invincible, don’t they?”

Murmuring the lines to keep them fresh, Neung Je-gang walked out of the tower—and leapt toward Mount Li, where Huaqing Pool lay.