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Translator: uly
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: It's the Parents Who Ruin Their Children
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Martial God (18)
The look in Ta-ryu's eyes turned icy cold.
In truth, he hadn't gone all out just moments ago.
He figured he'd just lend a hand so the Lion Corps members could finish the job, so he'd half-assed it. Besides, Black Wind was so utterly pathetic that it was baffling how he'd ever become a deputy hall leader of the Wind Division. He thought the fight would end in the Lion Corps' victory in no time.
But against all expectations, Black Wind had wiped out all five Lion Corps members. It was absurd, but he couldn't deny what had happened right before his eyes. Realizing this guy hadn't become deputy hall leader for nothing, he'd unleashed the White Camel Divine Fist infused with ten-tenths power.
He thought that would surely be enough. Yet Black Wind stood there unscathed.
His pride wounded, rage surged within him.
And then he'd been insulted to boot.
"The place that suits trash like you best is the cesspit."
Ta-ryu kicked off the ground.
Swoosh!
His movement was tremendous.
The instant one sensed he'd kicked the ground, he was already in front of Black Wind, thrusting out his fist.
Bloodshot veins burst in Black Wind's eyes.
As Ta-ryu raised his fist, Black Wind's upper body arched back, and he staggered several steps away.
Slash!
Rip!
The clothing over Black Wind's chest tore open in a long gash.
"...?"
Ta-ryu's eyes widened.
Just now, he'd channeled all his internal energy to unleash the Sand Sand Shadowless Secret followed by the White Camel Demon Claw in succession. The Sand Sand Shadowless Secret was the supreme lightness skill not just of the Sand Sand White Camel Heaven but of the White Camel Kingdom itself, and it paired perfectly with the White Camel Demon Claw. It was so powerful that ordinary martial artists couldn't even dream of dodging or blocking it.
Yet Black Wind had evaded it.
"Interesting."
Ta-ryu's lips stretched wide, and his eyes grew as cold as if chips of ice had been embedded in them.
The wound to his pride had deepened.
White Sand Dragon.
One of the Yellow Springs Ten Dragons.
The title of Yellow Springs Ten Dragons was, alongside the Desert Ten Heroes, the pride of the Border Wastelands. To suffer such humiliating mockery from a soldier who hadn't even properly mastered his martial arts—it filled him with rage so intense that his lips trembled.
'Even shit has its uses in medicine, they say...'
Black Wind grimaced.
If the Red Witch Talina or Ice Palace Lord Cold Summer had been around, he might have expected some help, but neither was in sight.
"I'll tear you apart!"
Whoosh!
Ta-ryu kicked off the ground again.
His form moved even faster than before.
In an instant, he closed in on Black Wind and swung his hooked hand.
A black hook the size of three feet materialized in the air, shooting toward Black Wind's head as if to rip it off.
Black Wind's response was the same as before.
As the hook's tip neared, he tilted his head back to dodge. The White Camel Demon Claw grazed past Black Wind's face by a paper-thin margin.
Whoosh!
It hadn't even hit directly, just brushed him, yet a wound like one from a blade appeared. Blood trickled down steadily.
'You're right, old man. Without internal energy, Life-Death Bind, Black Demon Diamond God, Beast Blood Demon Art, Flying Heaven Void Step, and Life-Death Bind are only good against weaklings. Bullshit—they're useless against experts.'
With his upper body arched back, Black Wind lowered his stance.
Crouching, he spun on his left foot as the pivot. The blade protruding from his toe shot toward Ta-ryu's groin.
Swoosh!
Ta-ryu leaped a zhang into the air.
As he soared, he unleashed the White Camel Divine Fist. Black Wind halted his attack and rolled aside right there.
Boom!
Another stepping-stone-shaped rock shattered.
Grind!
The ground shook slightly from the impact, but neither Black Wind nor Ta-ryu noticed. Ta-ryu plunged down, swinging his arms alternately.
Black Wind kept rolling.
Thud! Thud-thud! Thud!
Dust billowed up from the ground.
The spot where Black Wind stood cracked like the surface ice of a lake. The fissures extended about a zhang. This time, Black Wind saw it too. But even knowing didn't change a thing.
In a life-or-death struggle, he had no spare attention for the ground's condition.
Ta-ryu halted his assault.
Black Wind glanced at him and stood. He looked at the halberd and crescent blade in his hands.
'Death Bind? No way.'
—Once you perfect Death Bind, it'll work on weaklings. Master Death Bind and wield a divine sword that cuts iron like tofu, and it'll work on first-rate fighters too. Of course, only if you ambush them. But against experts? No good. That's... your limit. But...
—But what?
—I'll tell you later.
That's what the old man had said.
Bravado would get him killed.
'Provoke first. If a gap opens, live. If not, die. That's all I can do.'
Mutual destruction, one against all!
It was the only card he could play right now.
"Do you know what you're better at than me?"
Black Wind leaned forward as he spoke. It was the stance for unleashing the Beast Blood Demon Art.
"You think there's even one thing I'm worse at than you?"
Ta-ryu sneered.
"You're right. You're worse than me at everything. Except one thing—your background. If you hadn't been born a prince of the White Camel Kingdom, you'd be less than the subordinates lying over there. And we call scum like you—who try to kill strangers for fun—trash. Sure, if having great parents counts as skill, I got nothing to say. But you probably don't know what people say behind your back. About how a talentless punk rides his parents' coattails and brags like he's hot shit."
"You beggar bastard!"
Whoosh!
Enraged beyond measure, Ta-ryu kicked off the ground. His form hurtled forward at terrifying speed.
'Got him.'
Whoosh!
Black Wind charged straight at the oncoming Ta-ryu. His speed was no less.
—Flying Heaven Void Step is a lightness skill optimized for escape. If you meet an expert, use Flying Heaven Void Step to run without fail.
'Not me, old man. Sometimes I use it the opposite way.'
Black Wind's right hand, gripping the halberd, moved swiftly. The halberd blurred through countless changes.
It was the Death Bind of Life-Death Bind.
"What a shame. If it'd been infused with energy, it would be an unstoppable supreme art no one could block."
A glint appeared in Ta-ryu's eyes.
The Death Bind Black Wind unleashed was that impressive.
He could feel it was a perfect noose with no way to escape once caught. But it lacked power. It was undoubtedly the most flawless snare, yet the ropes forming it were rotten. It was nothing more than a flashy empty trap.
"You'll never use that art again. Hell, you won't even eat anymore."
Ta-ryu clenched his fist.
A pale glow enveloped the surface of his gripped fist. The technique he prepared was Fighting Gang, the ultimate move of the White Camel Divine Fist. He thrust out his left foot forward and unleashed the fist wrapped in qi energy.
In that instant, over a dozen fists appeared before it. To be precise, they were fist-shaped qi blasts. The fist-shaped qi surged toward Black Wind, one after another.
Clang! Clang!
The qi fists shattered Black Wind's Death Bind as they advanced. Black Wind's halberd couldn't withstand Ta-ryu's qi.
"But I saw this coming!"
He released the halberd's handle and swung the crescent blade in his left hand. His swing was simple: from left to right, slicing upper and lower.
One Blade Two Cuts.
The most common technique among martial arts novices. Whether from top to bottom, left to right, or right to left—it was all One Blade Two Cuts.
The difference between Black Wind's One Blade Two Cuts and a novice's was speed. And that speed was Black Wind's trump card.
And...
'It's this sword.'
"Daring to use a kitchen knife..."
Ta-ryu dismissed the crescent blade Black Wind swung. It seemed even more worthless than the shattered halberd. Assuming it'd shatter like the halberd, he thrust his fist forward.
Clang!
But things don't always go as planned. No, 'sometimes' was an understatement—most things unfolded contrary to expectations.
The crescent blade's edge didn't snap. Instead, it shattered Ta-ryu's fist qi and pressed on.
Boom!
Finally, it dug into the pinky side of his clenched fist.
Plop! Plop! Plop!
Three small objects fell. They were Ta-ryu's fingers.
"Arrrgh!"
A gut-wrenching scream tore from Ta-ryu's mouth. Another thing Black Wind trusted was the crescent blade.
When fighting the Lion Corps earlier, he'd seen it slice through an enemy's sword, confirming it was no ordinary kitchen knife. If it could cut weapons, it could cut qi too—and his hunch proved right.
Those unaccustomed to pain can't endure the agony of severed bone.
The moment it's cut, they lose their grip on sanity.
Ta-ryu was no different. Having lived as a prince of the kingdom and one of the Yellow Springs Ten Dragons, he'd never known defeat, let alone pain. As the blade pierced his fist and severed his fingers, he nearly fainted.
His gathered internal energy scattered naturally.
"A guy who can't even handle that much pain..."
Black Wind kicked out.
He could kill him, but he had no desire to live the rest of his life hunted by the Sand Sand White Camel Heaven. So he didn't draw the blade at his shoe's tip.
Boom!
"Cough!"
Ta-ryu's body floated lightly into the air.
"Ryu!"
An elder in white robes soared into the air, thrusting a fist toward Black Wind.
"Damn!"
Black Wind's face twisted.
He'd overlooked one thing: the fact that Ta-ryu's father was the one who'd raised him into this arrogant prick. No, distracted by the treasure, he'd assumed this side wouldn't care. But he'd been watching.
'Thinks it's something to brag about when his kid murders? Anyway...'
The one flying at him, unleashing the same technique Ta-ryu had used but with world-shattering power, was White Sand Venerable Ta Rok-ha.
Same technique, but the might was worlds apart.
The fist qi Ta Rok-ha unleashed sucked in the surrounding air, creating a vacuum as it shot forth.
"Damn it, what a waste of the Heaven Lord title, you dogshit bastard!"
Black Wind bellowed as he swung the crescent blade downward. It was One Blade Two Cuts from above to below.
The crescent blade, laden with terrifying speed and power, split Ta Rok-ha's fist qi.
Boom!
But it fell short.
Though split, the fist qi didn't dissipate. If the crescent blade had been infused with energy, the fist qi might have been deflected aside. But Black Wind's crescent blade was merely a sharp knife. Like slicing water with a blade, it merely parted the fist qi.
Boom! Boom!
"Cough!"
Blood gushed from Black Wind's mouth.
Whoosh!
His two feet sank into the ground.
"That's why you lot can never escape the Border Wastelands. Who'd respect a so-called Heaven Lord who kills someone without even martial arts?"
"You must really want to die."
Viscous killing intent poured from Ta Rok-ha's entire body.
"You tried to kill me a minute ago, now playing innocent... You're good at raising kids, you bastard. Mark my words—that boy's headed the same way, and in a few years, you'll be holding his funeral."
"You filthy bastard!"
"The filthy bastard from the Border Wastelands is you, kid."
"Raaargh!"
Enraged, Ta Rok-ha swung both arms with full power. Palm force laden with horrifying energy shot toward Black Wind.
Black Wind instinctively knew he couldn't dodge or block it. Just when he'd grown attached, farewell already—the Black Demon Diamond God he'd completed today was useless.
The moment it hit, he'd scatter to dust.
"Damn it all! Father! Never meet me! If you see me, run the hell away!"
Black Wind threw his head back and roared.
Boom!