Chapter 500

Raon licked his lips as he observed Cloud, whose chin was raised arrogantly.

‘This will be great for training.’

Raon could clearly tell that Cloud was planning to point out the weaknesses of or copy his sword techniques to show off his ‘superior’ talent.

He figured that he could remedy the shortcomings of and further improve his martial arts by taking advantage of Cloud’s idea.

“I recommend you think carefully before you act from now on.”

Cloud smiled coldly while raising his sword, which was surrounded by a storming wind.

“Because all your techniques are going to become mine.”

He beckoned him with his index finger, implying that he was ready for whatever Raon was about to pull off.

“Cut your crap!”

Raon pretended to be angry, unleashing the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s fire to engulf Heavenly Drive and thrusting it at Cloud.

Heavenly Drive’s blade advanced like a crimson ray of madness, but Cloud’s sword briskly descended at the same time.

Claaang!

Cloud easily fended off the attack and even continued into a counterattack, the blade bending slightly from the impact.

His attack showed a similar flow to the second technique of Blizzard Sword Art, the White Saint’s Whirling Stab.

“I told you, your technique is mine now.”

Cloud raised the corner of his lips. His face was full of contempt, believing that he’d proven the superiority of his swordsmanship.

“Hmm…”

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at Cloud.

‘It wasn’t a simple copy. He even added another principle.’

The White Saint’s Whirling Stab originally consisted of cutting off the enemy’s flow by using the principles of severing and swift swords.

However, Cloud had added the principle of the sharp sword to sharply cut off the flaming astral energy. Needless to say, he had an exceptional talent.

‘And I can clearly see the weakness of my technique thanks to your talent.’

The Blizzard Sword Art’s ultimate purpose was to cut off the opponent’s flow.

Cloud’s White Saint’s Whirling Stab did look unstoppable at a glance, but adding sharpness to it decreased the speed, and it was unable to perfectly fend off the blade. Raon learned that it wasn’t a good idea to add sharpness to it.

‘Let’s see…’

Raon twisted his wrist and lifted Heavenly Drive back up, as it was about to hit the ground. He extended his left foot and stomped the ground. He gathered a prickling amount of energy into the femoral mana circuits and thrust Heavenly Drive with his right hand.

Whoosh!

The second technique of Blizzard Sword Art, the White Saint’s Whirling Stab, was executed once again. He tried adding the principle of precision in between the swift and severing swords.

“I told you it’s pointless!”

Cloud scratched the white land with his blade and slashed upwards. He was copying the Fangs of Insanity, and he was properly incorporating the ferocious flow of an intuition sword.

‘However… It won’t exactly go as you planned.’

Raon twisted his lips and executed the White Saint’s Whirling Stab until the end.

The blue wind descended like a stroke of a brush and accurately smacked the opening of Cloud’s slash.

Claaang!

Cloud was pushed back along with his sword, and he raised his head with a frown.

“Did you manage to improve it in that short amount of time?”

He bit his lip while looking at his trembling wrist.

“I can’t let you defeat me when talent is all you ever talk about. You can continue and find out who is better.”

Raon snorted and casually shook his hand.

“What arrogance!”

Cloud dashed forward, his eyes turned red. He looked agitated, but he wasn’t showing any openings. It was a performance befitting a Grandmaster.

Whoosh!

Cloud's sword seemed to float in the air, scattering powerful winds and astral energy as it bent. He seemed to be copying the Blizzard Sword Art special technique that Raon had used previously.

‘That one isn’t balanced enough.’

His version of Blizzard Sword Art’s special technique was definitely powerful, but he’d mixed too many principles inside and they weren’t harmonizing with each other.

Cring!

Raon smiled faintly while deflecting Cloud’s attack with a soft sword.

‘I have so much to extort from him.’

Since every single attack from Cloud incorporated various principles, he could learn a lot just from crossing blades with him.

‘I want to extort even more.’

It was going to be impossible to leisurely learn if Cloud started to use the astral sphere. Raon wanted to advance his martial arts as much as possible before that happened.

“Are you running away again?!”

Cloud followed with twisted lips. His footwork was fast. He seemed to be using the principle of a wind sword from Blizzard Sword Art.

“I’ll start by cutting your leg off!”

Cloud rapidly turned his wrist while charging in from the right. His blade changed in a strange manner and targeted ten different vitals on Raon’s lower body at the same time.

‘As for this one…’

Raon slowed his footwork and turned the heat engulfing Heavenly Drive into a wall of fire. A thick Firewall burst out and fended off every single one of Cloud’s attacks.

“I’ve already seen that technique!”

Cloud clenched his sword and immediately proceeded into a thrust. His blade advanced like a ray of light and broke through the center of the Firewall.

Crack!

It pierced a hole at the center of the wall of fire, melting down like spring’s snow.

‘Firewall’s shortcoming is the fact that its center is too weak.’

Since it was a wall made from the attribute of fire, a concentrated attack could easily break through it even though it could fend off multiple strikes.

‘And in order to improve this… I should focus the aura towards the opponent’s attack at the moment of contact.’

Raon figured it would be better to alter the wall according to the opponent’s attack instead of leaving it alone after creating the wall of fire.

Whap!

Raon remembered the improvement for Firewall and swirled Heavenly Drive to create flower blossoms of fire.

He was curious as to how Cloud was going to fend off the Flame Spirit, a technique versatile enough for facing multiple opponents, a few opponents, or even in a one-on-one situation.

“Take this one too!”

Raon hurled the reddened shards of astral energy at Cloud while holding back his laughter.

“I’ll destroy it as many times as you want!”

Cloud covered his blade with the principle of the destructive sword and rushed while creating a gigantic storm.

‘This is pretty good.’

Cloud’s move consisted of condensing a huge amount of aura at the center of a dark storm by using the principles of destructive, heavy, and absorption swords.

Whaaam!

A tremendous explosion occurred from the clash between the Flame Spirit and a tornado of astral energy.

Raon kept spinning the Ring of Fire while watching the smoke rising into the stratosphere.

‘A tornado made by destructive, heavy, and absorption swords… This looks useful.’

Raon had the feeling he would be able to create a genuine firestorm by combining the Flame Spirit with those principles.

What’s going on…?

Cloud was emerging after cutting down the Flame Spirit, and Wrath frowned while looking at him.

Why are you doing some sword technique giveaway now?! Why is everyone becoming a doormat the moment they meet you, even though they were normal before?

He clutched his head in despair.

Just why?!

* * *

Claaang!

Cloud gritted his back teeth while fending off Raon’s strike.

‘How is this happening? Why is he still standing?!’

Not only had he destroyed Raon’s techniques, but he also showed him a better version of them.

Regardless of who it was, a mental breakdown was bound to happen if a person’s own sword techniques were immediately improved by someone else. That was just the natural course of action.

‘So… what’s wrong with this bastard?!’

Raon unleashed the techniques Cloud had improved by further improving them once again.

The fact that he couldn’t even find any weaknesses in the technique that Raon had improved was what made him the angriest.

Even though his technique was defeated, Raon had managed to remove the weaknesses in that short amount of time. Cloud couldn’t believe it was happening.

Moreover, it was difficult to copy the new technique that Raon had made, and Cloud’s hands and feet were going wrong as a result.

He was trying to destroy Raon’s mental fortitude, but his own mentality was ruined instead.

He was still unable to comprehend what had just happened.

‘Don’t tell me, did he…? No, there’s no way!’

He had the feeling that he’d been playing into Raon’s hands instead of the other way around, but he immediately shook the idea off. That was because acknowledging that fact would imply that his talent was inferior.

‘That’s one thing I won’t yield to, never!’

His alliance master didn’t have any affection, even towards his disciples. The master-disciple relationship was completely meaningless for the Dark Night Sword God.

The only reason he accepted disciples was because he wanted them to create a technique that would interest him.

If his talent couldn’t be recognized or someone with better talent appeared, he was going to be discarded as a completely useless existence. That was why he couldn’t allow himself to lose.

Cring!

Cloud thrust his sword in a straight line, similar to a sword draw. The dark airflow around his blade created a powerful storm. It was the special technique of the Dark Night Demonblade, Blade Flow Release, with the principles of powerful and heavy swords.

Whoosh!

By the time the powerful wave engulfed Raon, his blade created a rotation in an opposite direction. His red blade unleashed a power similar to the Blade Flow Release.

Whaam!

The ground shattered into pieces and crumbled as easily as a piece of paper alongside an explosion. Raon was leaning forward amid the dark cloud of dust with a frown on his face.

He was breathing heavily, and Cloud bit his lip while watching him.

‘That posture…’

Raon had been repeatedly leaning forward, which made it look like he was internally injured, but he never collapsed nor looked like he was seriously trembling.

That implied that he wasn’t even lightly injured, let alone heavily injured.

‘Moreover…’

The technique he’d used a moment ago looked like a dragon’s breath, but the flow and explosive power were similar to the Blade Flow Release. There was no way it was a simple coincidence.

“Don’t tell me, did you…”

Cloud swallowed nervously and twitched his lips.

“Did you copy my technique…?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?

He could ascertain it upon hearing Raon’s trembling voice.

“Drop your act! Only your clothes are ruined and you aren’t injured anywhere! Moreover…”

He continued while raising the hand holding his sword.

“You used my principle in that previous move! You thief!”

“Ah…”

Raon casually straightened his back and licked his lips.

“Did you find out?”

He winked, implying that he’d simply been pretending to lose so far.

“What a shame. I had a feeling I would manage to grasp something if it continued a bit longer.”

Raon smiled cheerfully, saying that it was regrettable that he’d noticed because he was about to reach enlightenment.

“Ugh…”

Cloud bit his lip so hard that it could bleed. He’d done the exact same thing to others prior, but having it done to himself made him extremely angry.

Another emotion surfaced in his mind.

‘Fear.’

A chill ran down his spine upon imagining just how far the monster in front of him could go.

‘I have to kill him! No matter what!’

Cloud kicked the ground. He even forgot the alliance master’s order to bring him back alive as he endlessly poured his aura onto the blade.

Cring!

The astral energy raging above the blade concentrated to the point of distortion and started to emit a gleam of black. It was the Grandmaster’s power that was often called the astral sphere or astral ring.

He immediately slashed it down on Raon’s astral energy. 

* * * 

Whaaam!

Alongside an earth-shaking impact, the shockwave crushed the land in all directions, and Raon rolled on the ground as he bounced back.

“Cough…”

He was internally injured from a single strike. He thought it must’ve been impossible to face the astral sphere head-on since it was incorporating the opponent’s will.

‘Was I overconfident? No, rather than that… It was way too sudden.’

Cloud’s previous strikes were also intended to kill, but he wasn’t exactly serious about it. It was because the Holy Sword Alliance master had ordered him to bring him alive.

However, Cloud’s will to kill his opponent was included in the previous attack. Raon wasn’t sure why, but Cloud must’ve gotten extremely angry.

Do you think you wouldn’t get angry in his shoes? Just imagine your opponent taking away everything you have, all on your watch!

Wrath furrowed his brow.

‘I smiled when that happened earlier.’

To be honest, he was excited when Cloud had copied the Blizzard Sword Art. It brought a smile to his face because it was going to allow him to improve his techniques.

You are an exception since you are a pervert!

‘I’m not…’

Just as Raon was about to deny that statement, Cloud leaped out from the sandstorm.

A frightening light sparked from the attack, accompanied by lightning-fast footwork.

‘Astral sphere.’

Raon bit his lip and unleashed the Firewall. He decreased the size of the wall and focused the power at the center, following the lesson he’d learned thanks to Cloud.

Whaaam!

However, the wall of astral energy was shredded like a piece of paper upon facing the astral sphere. The improvement wasn’t enough to change the outcome.

“A pointless struggle.”

Cloud’s body broke through the shattered Firewall. Raon could hear the fluttering sound of his loose clothes after the action.

‘He’s fast.’

His movement had become drastically faster as he started to use the astral sphere, just like the way using astral energy enhanced physical abilities.

‘I’m going to die if I try to dodge.’

The astral sphere was going to suck his body in and disintegrate it if he tried to dodge in such a situation. He had to block the attack somehow.

Whir!

He stomped the ground powerfully and leaped forward. He drew the Crimson Slash of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation before Cloud’s attack gained momentum.

Creak!

The crimson radiance bursting from his blade clashed against Cloud’s astral sphere.

Whaaam!

The tremendous impact created a huge crater on the ground, and sparks of five different colors covered the sky.

“Kuh…”

Raon fixed the grip on Heavenly Drive while wiping the blood flowing around his lips away. He had no time to rest since Cloud was rushing at him once again.

‘As for this one…’

He rotated Heavenly Drive like a clock hand before welding it in the middle position. The circling blade blurred out and a crimson flame gushed from it.

Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Hundred Flames.

Thirty-Six Crimson Slash.

The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s special technique, capable of piercing from thirty-six different directions in a single move, advanced alongside Raon’s body.

Whaaap!

The crimson flame incinerated the atmosphere, but it faded away like a withering flower upon meeting Cloud’s astral sphere. The difference in power was overwhelming.

Zap!

Raon was pushed back, leaving a heavy trace of his feet.

‘He’s powerful.’

The astral sphere was certainly a problem, but he couldn’t see an opening either because Cloud was proficient with the versatile sword.

It wasn’t an overstatement to say that he was the strongest opponent he’d faced so far.

‘So, the real fight is getting started.’

Cloud’s impatience and sense of inferiority were covered up by the astral sphere. It was best to assume that he was facing a flawless opponent.

“Talent? Swordsmanship? None of that matters anymore.”

Cloud violently ground his teeth and raised his blade with the astral sphere storming around it. Their wills were evenly matched in power, but the astral sphere proved far superior to astral energy, leaving him without a clear path to victory.

“I’ll crush you with power, and power alone!”

Even his previous composure was gone. His will to completely destroy his opponent was the only thing that could be found.

“Hmm…”

Raon bit his lip while looking at the astral sphere on Cloud’s blade.

Their wills were evenly matched in power, but the astral sphere proved far superior to astral energy, leaving him unable to find a path to victory.

It was necessary to create an opportunity while avoiding a frontal clash as much as possible.

‘However… There are still things I can learn in this situation.’

Cloud’s swordsmanship revealed fundamental movements without any distortion after he’d started using the astral sphere.

It was a better situation to observe the flow of his versatile sword.

“Die.”

Cloud’s blade rushed at him like the dark trajectory of a shadow.

Screech!

The moment the dark astral sphere was about to reach the heart, Raon unsheathed the Blade of Requiem with his left hand. A wicked sword resonance burst from the friction between the scabbard and the blade.

“Kuh!”

The Blue Rain resounded from the Blade of Requiem and stimulated Cloud’s nerves to delay his movements very slightly.

It was enough.

Whoosh!

Raon avoided the trajectory of Cloud’s blade and thrust Heavenly Blade, which he had pulled behind him in advance.

The strength connected from his right shoulder to his wrist into a stab. The blade, piercing through the cold night air, was set ablaze with a radiant glow.

Whaaam!

The Flame Dragon Art breathed out its outrageous flame. It had become even more powerful thanks to Cloud.

Creak!

However, Cloud’s astral sphere couldn’t be breached once again. He melted down the fire by wrapping himself in a frightening light and proceeding to counterattack.

‘I don’t have time to defend…’

It was too late to come up with a different plan. Raon infused both Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem with coldness and slashed downwards diagonally. Frost Pond’s slicing attacks were executed one after the other and clashed against Cloud’s blade.

Whaaam!

Even though it was separated into four different clashes, the impact made it feel like his wrist was about to snap and his shoulder was about to burst. The boiling feeling inside him implied an internal injury, and Raon almost dropped his blades because of how severe it was.

‘I knew it. It’s too difficult to fight him head-on.’

Cloud’s power was on a whole different level. It was simply impossible to defeat the astral sphere with an astral blade. Moreover, Cloud’s collective aura was also superior to his, which made it practically impossible to win a head-on fight.

‘Actually, this should already be called a miracle.’

The only reason he had lasted so far was thanks to the stats from the system enhancing his body, the existence of the Ring of Fire, and the fact that he could control his will.

His body would’ve exploded a long time ago if it wasn’t for that.

“The fight is coming to an end.”

Cloud approached like a sliding snake and slashed downwards.

Tap!

Raon pulled his left foot backward and incorporated the principles of the soft sword into his sword. The blade smoothly advanced along with the wind and deflected Cloud’s astral sphere.

Whaaam!

A huge explosion occurred as Cloud’s blade hit the ground. Raon’s legs were trembling despite being fixated on the ground to brace for the impact.

‘I knew it.’

The flow and harmony of his swordsmanship had weakened because he was too focused on the astral sphere. Taking advantage of that opening was the only path to victory.

“You will never escape!”

Cloud’s powerful strike was approaching his waist. Moreover, it was incorporating his will to crush Raon’s body.

Raon relaxed his lower body and allowed the wind to carry him. He unleashed the Silent Wind of the Silvery Ocean of the Blizzard Sword Art with the Blade of Requiem and executed the White Shadow Slash with Heavenly Drive, intending to deflect instead of block the attack.

The Silent Wind of the Silvery Ocean redirected the attack and the White Shadow Slash erased the astral sphere that followed.

Rumble!

However, Cloud continued to attack. He dashed from the front with a crimson light of madness flashing in his eyes.

Wielding his sword with two hands, his will was set upon making the deadliest blade.

‘It’s too late to deflect.’

Raon gritted his teeth violently and executed a downward Crimson Slash with Heavenly Drive while discharging the Heavenly Heavy Cannon with the Blade of Requiem.

Whaaam!

The space was fissured as if it were being distorted from the second round of frontal clash, and a dark storm of astral energy burst out.

Raon decided to take advantage of that dark storm. He thrust his sword amid the wave of astral energy instead of stepping back.

Claaang!

He unleashed every single special technique that he’d learned and created so far by utilizing the twin sword technique he’d learned from Sheryl.

However, it was still not enough to cut the flow of the astral sphere. The dark radiance of the ring pierced through his astral energy.

Whaaam!

Raon coughed out black blood as he got pushed back by the savage pressure of the astral sphere.

“Huff…”

He felt pain from his middle energy center all the way to his lower energy center. It was pretty much his entire stomach that was screaming in pain, implying the severity of his internal injury.

“It’s finally coming to an end.”

Cloud leisurely walked towards him. It felt like the entire land was crying from the heaviness of his steps.

“I should’ve crushed you like this from the beginning.”

He raised his sword, which the astral sphere was still storming around. His dangerous gaze wasn’t showing any sign of carelessness.

‘I’m still going to struggle until the end… Huh?’

Once he saw the majestic radiance of the astral sphere curving towards him, the rings of fire started to resonate with each other. It felt like the rings were about to explode because of how violent they were.

His body became heavier and his vision turned dark.

The trajectories of the techniques that he and Cloud had used during the fight swept throughout his brain, causing red and blue lightning strikes.

‘I finally got it.’

It wasn’t the astral sphere, but the principles of his swordsmanship were engraved in Raon’s mind like a picture.

The final missing piece was finally found, and two swords floated inside his mental world.

“Haa…”

Raon exhaled roughly and raised his head.

“Do you give up now?”

Cloud wasn’t frowning anymore as he nodded.

“Your last decision wasn’t a bad one. But it’s already too late, as I’m going to kill all of your subordinates on top of you!”

His eyes rolled in a frightening manner as he declared that he was going to get rid of all the potential danger.

“Thank you.”

Raon smiled faintly while clutching Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem in a reverse grip.

“What?”

“I managed to take another step forward thanks to you.”

He surrounded Heavenly Drive with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and engulfed the Blade of Requiem with Glacier as he slammed the two blades into the ground.

Crack!

Blue and red radiance filled the fissure of the ruptured land and created a pillar reaching the sky.

Raon stood up while holding the two swords floating in his mental world.

Incomplete Sword Field Creation.

Harmony of Heaven and Demon.

The starry night sky collapsed.

A distorted sun arose, and a twisted moon soared.

At the twilight where the sun and moon crossed each other, the blades he was holding weren’t Heavenly Drive nor the Blade of Requiem, but a divine sword and a demonic sword with blazing fire and ice.

“Come.”

The sublime voice of a swordsman echoed throughout the land and announced the new era.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]