TSBIRBV Ch 14

Chapter 14 Baembaem-i(2)

Yegyeol was very busy. He had to run errands for his master, and at the same time, he had to uncover a terrifying scheme in which the master seemed intent on carrying out the eldest disciple’s request while deliberately cutting off contact.

“You! You’re no ordinary disciple of Kunlun!”

The Yin-Soul Demon drew his sword. Just like his nickname “Yinhun” (陰昏 – meaning “Shadowy Dusk”), a murky, dark-crimson aura was pouring out of him in streaks. Just from looking at it, one could tell it was malevolent and sickening.

Yegyeol nimbly dodged the Yin-Soul Demon’s blade. Since he couldn’t use movement techniques, he escaped its trajectory by the narrowest of margins.

‘Damn dantian.’ (Note: In internal martial arts, the “dantian” is the central energy center in the body.)

If this were the modern world, he would have pinned and subdued such an opponent in an instant. But here, in the martial world, it wasn’t easy to close the distance recklessly.

They exchanged several blows. Yet, the Yin-Soul Demon’s movements were so unpredictable that Yegyeol’s lightning strikes could only manage to hinder his footwork at best.

“Are you mocking me right now? Someone who can unleash tangible sword energy with bare hands — why do you remain rooted to the spot without moving an inch?!”

The destructive power of Yegyeol’s lightning was overwhelming. Regardless of how domineering the techniques of the demonic path were said to be, his thunderbolts were more tyrannical and powerful than any sorcery the Yin-Soul Demon had ever known. Born and raised in the Central Plains, the Yin-Soul Demon could only think of this young man as a mighty martial expert.

Anyone who could casually rain down lightning — whether it was sword energy or some other force — would undoubtedly possess profound inner strength. So, it was incomprehensible to him why Yegyeol would not take a single step from where he stood. Even when he desperately dove through the openings between bolts to attack, Yegyeol merely avoided them with slight movements.

It felt utterly like being toyed with.

Panting heavily, the Yin-Soul Demon lunged several more times.

Yegyeol concealed the troubled look on his face as he called down lightning along the paths his opponent approached. He had thought he could deal with him instantly, but real combat was proving more difficult than expected.

This was only the second time he had used his abilities since breaking his seal, and keeping up with the uncanny movements of martial artists wasn’t an easy task.

The very concern that had plagued him ever since learning that he could not cultivate an internal energy method was becoming reality. He could not learn lightness skill or footwork techniques, while his opponent could freely close or widen the distance.

Of course, if he gathered his power and deployed a proper field, the opponent would be struck dead on the spot by blind lightning. But then what?

As has been said, Yegyeol wanted to collapse like a sickly patient, not to go into an uncontrolled frenzy. The longer he used his powers without proper guidance, the more dangerous it became.

The Yin-Soul Demon lashed out wildly with his hand. Yegyeol decided that this time, he would end it, and struck him directly with lightning.

For the first time, currents of electricity wrapped around the Yin-Soul Demon’s body. Dropping to one knee, he drove his sword into the ground. Given the force of the strike — enough to kill someone instantly — it was strange that he was still alive.

Just as Yegyeol was about to deliver the finishing blow, something glinted through the air. He quickly leaned his body back, but with the distance so close, it was impossible to avoid completely.

“Urgh…!”

Yegyeol’s body collapsed onto the snow. There was a slicing sound, and the Yin-Soul Demon rose and began to approach.

His clothes were burned, his hair was frizzled and curled. No matter how many life-and-death battles he had faced before, the Yin-Soul Demon had never imagined he would meet such a monster in Kunlun.

Hadn’t he thought he was absolutely dead just a moment ago?

‘Heaven and Earth’s gods must be on my side.’

He swept a hand over his chest. He could guess, at least vaguely, how he had survived.

If the youth before him had been alive, he would have been able to rise and call down lightning strikes several more times over, but now — laying motionless — the sight left the Yin-Soul Demon murmuring blankly.

Perhaps because he had experienced such earth-shaking power firsthand, he found it hard to believe he had indeed brought his enemy down.

“…Have I really finished him off?”

At the sound of the enemy uttering something akin to a revival incantation, Yegyeol staggered to his feet.

From the outset, that flying dagger hadn’t been able to cut his skin. The real problem lay elsewhere — the fact that it had sliced open his outerwear.

Cold air seeped freely through the torn gap, stoking his anger.

This had been a white sable fur coat gifted to him by Je Haryang.

He had been conserving his powers during the fight, yet the gift Haryang had given him had been damaged. If this had happened when he was a few years younger, he might have bawled his eyes out, but sadly, between his previous life and current one, Yegyeol was a 37-year-old adult.

And adults have their own way of venting anger.

“I really… tried to hold back.”

Yegyeol muttered.

“I was really holding it in, you know?”

From his body, bolts of lightning shot out in violent streams. The Yin-Soul Demon, striding forward for the finishing blow, failed to evade them.

No — even if he had dodged, there would have been nowhere to escape. The ground within a one-kilometer radius around Yegyeol had transformed into a land of lightning.

“Kkk-Aaaargh!”

The man screamed, twisting and writhing in obvious agony.

Yet, contrary to Yegyeol’s intentions, he was not roasted crisp. Yegyeol had hoped for a “well-done” without blood, but this was more like a “rare” with juices still dripping.

The man possessed something that was absorbing the lightning Yegyeol unleashed.

‘What is this?’

Earlier, after taking a lightning strike, the Yin-Soul Demon had been moving around just fine — allowing him to land the dagger strike. Without something akin to a lightning rod, this would have been impossible.

“What on earth… is this sorcery…!”

While Yegyeol hesitated, the panting man attacked again. Fear and madness were mixed in his eyes.

Yegyeol thought he had evaded the sword, but it had merely been a feint. With a flick of the man’s wrist, poisonous sand poured out from the hilt of the sword.

It was an attack that disregarded his own life, leaving his neck and chest totally unguarded — an attack that showed he was utterly determined to kill Yegyeol this time.

“Ghhhk…!”

To the hypersensitive senses of an esper, such an acrid smell was unmistakably poison. As his vision blurred, Yegyeol began to draw up more power.

“…Damn.”

Stronger-than-desired electrical force burst uncontrollably from his fingertips. Uncontrolled power was a certain sign of an oncoming frenzy.

He clenched his fist, thinking that he could not risk blasting away the peaks of Mount Kunlun. His nails dug into his palms, sending stabs of pain, but he did not care.

When Yegyeol’s ferocious attack seemed to falter, the Yin-Soul Demon, thinking the poison had worked, charged at him.

“In the martial world, a fight can be decided in a single instant! I’ll be taking your life!”

Just then, something large, red, and beast-like emerged from the bushes. The Yin-Soul Demon turned to see what it was, but before he could react, the beast kicked him in the chest with its foreleg.

Toppled instantly, the Yin-Soul Demon screamed in pain as ribs cracked.

“Nn—not… Aaaaargh!”

Coughing blood, the light in the demon’s eyes began to fade. Yegyeol stared blankly at the creature that had stomped down the man — a huge, battle-ready horse.

Its red mane and prodigious build marked it as something far from ordinary.

‘A horse? In a steep mountain zone like this, not in the plains?!’

The horse strode toward Yegyeol. In his previous life, he had spent seventeen years on Mount Kunlun, yet had never seen a horse like this. Connecting the dots, an idea came to mind.

Before the horse could try kicking him too, Yegyeol hastily reached into his robes and pulled out a flute.

“Did you come here because you heard this flute?”

The horse lowered its body obediently, as if offering its back for him to mount. Yegyeol shook his head.

“Wait, wait… I need to check something first.”

Though his body was battered, the fact that the Yin-Soul Demon had survived his lightning twice weighed on his mind. It seemed something was consuming his power.

Easily flipping over the corpse — now heavier than when alive — Yegyeol’s unhesitating hands searched the man’s chest area. He found something:

It looked like a tiny, flat birdcage. Inside it was an ornament-like golden object — but when the tip moved slightly, Yegyeol realized it was alive.

A golden snake. And a very small one at that.

It slowly raised its head between the bars to meet his gaze. Its eyes swirled with golden light.

Rather than repulsive, it was charming; too beautiful to inspire revulsion.

“This is… could it be…?”

The Yin-Soul Demon’s earlier words overlapped with the words of Zhang Jasu in Yegyeol’s memory:

‘The Murim clan Namgung sent the Sky Azure Flying Unit. Ordinarily, the Millennium Thunder-Horned Python would have ended up with the Namgung Family, so it’s no surprise they’re furious.’

‘Are you a tracker from the Namgung Clan? You’ve finally caught up with me. But did you think I’d meekly hand over my life?’

Yegyeol let out a breath.

“Millennium Thunder-Horned Python (千年雷角蟒)…” (Note: A legendary serpent-like spirit beast said to live a thousand years and wield lightning.)

Drawn as if in a trance, he reached out, and the tiny snake flicked its tongue, rubbing its head against his hand.

This was the creature that had devoured the lightning he struck the Yin-Soul Demon with — and yet, strangely, he didn’t feel any dislike toward it.

Perhaps because, as the most sought-after spiritual beast in the martial world currently, it seemed to recognize who had fed it all that energy. Or maybe, sharing the same elemental attribute, it even mistook Yegyeol for a parent-like being.

“What on earth were those martial artists thinking, trying to extract something from such a tiny little thing?”

Yegyeol frowned, inwardly condemning those who had tried to take the Millennium Thunder-Horned Python’s inner core. (Note: In xianxia/murim lore, “inner core” or “neidan” is a condensed crystallization of a beast’s cultivation, greatly desired for power.)

The term “python” was laughable for something so small.

With a sharp snort, the horse stamped its hoof, startling the tiny serpent into recoiling and releasing a spark of static. For Yegyeol, it was just a faint tingle.

“Huh?”

In that moment, a sudden insight struck him.

The main reasons he had been holding back his power were twofold: first, the absence of his guide Je Haryang, and second, the extreme rarity of anyone in the martial world capable of handling the power of thunder.

Yes, the Namgung family’s cultivation method did contain traces of thunder energy, but wielding the Emperor’s Sword did not mean they could summon streams of lightning bolts.

In a world so alien to such power, it was dangerous to use it recklessly. Martial artists, despite their extraordinary feats — cutting stone barehanded, making fire, walking through the air — were still, at heart, conservative traditionalists who would brand anything strange as sorcery, turning its wielder into a public enemy.

For the sake of a peaceful old age with his senior brother, he needed to keep this power hidden as much as possible.

But — what if a unique existence like a spiritual beast became involved?

“Hey.”

Yegyeol looked into the round eyes of the Millennium Thunder-Horned Python.

“I’ll treat you well.”

Electricity flared from his hand, shattering the cage that confined the golden snake.

“Want to come with me?”