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Chapter 88

Five Elements Style

Black Tortoise Ninth Form: Great Moon Anti-Yin Mirror

He considered deflecting it with the Black Tortoise First Form but realized that the sword’s blade would shatter if he relied solely on his augmented qi to absorb the impact. Instead, he planned to deflect it from the side.

With a circular motion, Leonard drew a perfect circle like a full moon, lightly meeting the anchor’ side. Just as an arrow’s path can be altered by a single leaf, his blade gently nudged the anchor off course.

The anchor, deflected by only a few degrees, crashed into the tiles of the temple floor, shattering them and embedding itself deep into the ground. The tremendous impact rippled through the earth, shaking it like an earthquake.

Even though Leonard had successfully executed the Great Moon Anti-Yin Mirror, his wrist throbbed with pain, meaning he hadn’t been able to completely absorb the shock. If any other External Force Tier warrior had attempted to block that attack, they would have likely suffered severe internal injuries.

That monster hadn’t just thrown its anchor—the attack was a combination of brute strength, internal energy, and precision.

...Above all, the anchor didn’t shatter even when it collided with my augmented sword qi.

Although the Black Tortoise Qi lacked the raw offensive power of the Azure Dragon Qi, White Tiger Qi, or Vermilion Bird Qi, it was still augmented sword qi—the perfect embodiment of destructive power. It could cut through the toughest forms of defense, be it Vajra Physique or energy shields.

And yet, the Sea Orc Champion’s anchor merely had some scratches on it. It was as though some unknown force had protected it.

“Ah, this is going to be troublesome,” Leonard remarked with a grin.

If the Rift Guardian could be defeated with just a single slash of augmented sword qi, coming all the way here wouldn’t have been worth it. A mysterious force capable of withstanding not just magic, but even his sword qi? This would be more challenging than the Gravity Ball.

Leonard was eager to cut it down.

Carried away by impulse, he turned to his team. “I’ll leave that one to you guys. Even if it’s in the Chaos Demon Tier, it’s already half-dead. Fight as I taught you.”

Leonard’s comrades would have risked their lives against that monster in its peak condition, but having been wounded by the Dragontail Sword, the sea orc was the ideal training target. As long as they stayed vigilant, they could defeat it without any casualties.

Leonard glanced at Galano, Ninian, and Esther before turning back to the Sea Orc Champion, who was glaring at him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Leonard said wryly.

In response, the Sea Orc Champion exhaled black steam from its gills.

Hisssss...!

The monster had seen Leonard effortlessly defeat the Sea Orc Warrior and deflect its anchor with ease. As such, although confident in its unparalleled strength, the Sea Orc Champion didn’t dare to let its guard down. Even as it pulled the anchor from the ground and repositioned itself, the monster never took its eyes off Leonard.

A human under two meters tall versus a nearly four-meter-tall monster. Despite the stark difference in size, the tension between them was perfectly balanced. Each recognized the other as a genuine threat.

Five Elements and Six Divinities Arts

Crimson Crow Sun

Burning Heat Stride

Crushing the tiles already broken by the Sea Orc Champion’s anchor, Leonard charged forward. An explosion of qi from his Yongcheon point propelled him forward, surpassing the speed of sound and leaving behind afterimages as he appeared before the Sea Orc Champion.

Simultaneously, Leonard leaped into the air, harnessing the centrifugal force to deliver a downward slash that carried his entire body weight, aiming to cleave the monster’s head. It was no different than splitting a mountain with a single strike.

Five Elements Style

White Tiger First Form: Mountain Crusher

At that moment, the color of his sword qi instantly went from black to white, infused with the ferocity of the White Tiger Qi to allow Leonard to deliver an utterly devastating strike right on the Champion’s crown.

The Sea Orc Champion roared fiercely, swinging its anchor to counter the deadly blow—a direct clash of destructive force against destructive force.

BOOM!!

A tremendous shockwave ensued, blowing away everything within a radius of several dozen meters before plunging the cave into an eerie silence. Astonishingly, the anchor remained intact even after being hit with Mountain Crusher, and Leonard went flying from the recoil, landing even further than where he had initially jumped from.

His augmented sword qi imbued with the White Tiger Qi had just been repelled in a head-on confrontation.

“Hmm.”

Relishing the taste of blood rising in his mouth, Leonard pondered the unsettling sensation from the clash. Just like before, something surrounding the anchor absorbed his augmented sword qi, dulling its sharpness. At this rate, a contest of raw strength would inevitably favor his monstrous opponent.

Leonard had concluded that an attack with the Black Tortoise Qi wouldn’t be enough, and now even the White Tiger Qi proved insufficient. He needed a different approach.

Should I just target the Champion directly and ignore the anchor?

Two possibilities came to mind—either the anchor itself was special, or the energy wielded by the Sea Orc Champion was simply extraordinary.

If it was the former, avoiding the chain and anchor would be enough. But if it was the latter, and the Sea Orc Champion could use that energy to shield its entire body, finding a weak spot would be nearly impossible.

Determined, Leonard charged once again.

Five Elements and Six Divinities Arts

Heavenly Dragon King Art

Flash Lightning Stride

Leonard shot forward, blue lightning trailing behind him. While the Burning Heat Stride was superior in terms of acceleration, its boost was brief, making it unsuitable for longer distances. For sustained speed, Flash Lightning Stride was the clear choice.

Roaaaarrr...!!

The Sea Orc Champion launched its anchor once again, but having failed to react to Leonard’s speed, the anchor merely struck one of his afterimages. Simultaneously, the monster swung the chain of the anchor in a wide motion, threatening to obliterate everything in its path.

It was terrifying—the monster covered a wide area by swinging its anchor, and despite using the Flash Lightning Stride to dodge, Leonard’s clothes were quickly left in tatters. Even though he managed to dodge with a handbreadth to spare, the consecutive shockwaves kept tearing at his body.

And if he tried to dodge by two handbreadths, the efficiency of his movements would be drastically reduced.

Circling around the Sea Orc Champion in a diagonal arc, Leonard led the monster deeper into the cave.

Right now, this monster is focused on me, but if it throws that anchor at the others, it would be disastrous. Only Galano has a chance of deflecting it, and even then, he’d most likely sustain severe injuries.

While it seemed that Leonard had effortlessly deflected the anchor, its destructive power was close to that of a siege weapon. Galano would need to unleash the full might of his Maelstrom technique just to barely absorb the shock or slightly redirect the anchor.

At that moment....

Kwaaaang!

The anchor, chasing Leonard, smashed into a wall, sending debris flying in all directions. The impact was so powerful that the flying shards of rocks could pierce through flesh.

Leonard dodged the using the Water Current Step and shielded himself from the unavoidable shards with his protective qi. Despite his internal energy greatly increasing after breaking through to the Sixth Degree External Force Tier, using augmented protective qi against debris felt wasteful.

“Hmm?”

After several minutes of this relentless pursuit, Leonard finally reached the deepest part of the cave and raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was an extraordinary sight.

“Is that... the core of the Rift?”

There it was—a brilliantly glowing purple orb was floating in the air. Its demonic energy was so overwhelming that anyone who looked at it would be terrified.

If the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin were considered mutiny against the heavens, then this was something that simply wasn’t supposed to exist in this world.

Leonard was overcome with an intense feeling of hostility and revulsion.

Bang!

But as his augmented sword qi reached the orb, the culmination of destructive power capable of cutting even through supreme magic dissipated almost instantly. It was similar to when Esther’s search magic was nullified.

It seemed that a special law within this Rift rejected all powers from outside its boundaries. Though it seemed possible for him to continue to erode this law with his augmented sword qi and eventually destroy the core, the monster pursuing him wouldn’t sit back and allow that to happen.

Grooaaarrr—!

Startled by the fact that the enemy had reached the Rift’s core, the Sea Orc Champion’s rage flared up even more. The Guardian smashed right through the tunnel walls and charged at Leonard. There was no turning back now. The core had become the chief objective of both fighters, one seeking to destroy it, and the other to protect it.

The human and the monster clashed again.

Five Elements Style

White Tiger Thirty-Sixth Form: Mount Tai Crushing Strike

Just like before, the Sea Orc Champion hurled its iron chain at Leonard’s sword. But this time, the chain’s trajectory dropped slightly, just about a hairbreadth, due to the Champion’s ankle giving way as it threw the chain.

Even with the certainty that the mysterious energy would neutralize the augmented sword qi, the pressure was still there. After all, it was a battle of pure strength.

Leonard raised his sword high before bringing it down in a devastating strike. Although the monster had managed to hold its own against Mountain Crusher, this was the heaviest and strongest technique of the White Tiger Form, and it should be capable of overwhelming the Sea Orc Champion.

Against the immense pressure from Mount Tai Crushing Strike, the Seo Orc’s eyes bulged as if they were about to burst, and its heart pounded wildly, overwhelmed by the sheer crushing force.

If I can bring it down like this, it’ll be fine, but...

The Rift Guardian was connected to the core. If the monster faced critical danger, the Rift’s core would assist it.

Roaaaar!! Groaaar!!!

Sensing its impending doom, the Sea Orc Champion roared desperately, causing the core behind it to flicker rapidly. It was providing the monster with power, just as Leonard had anticipated.

...I can see it.

He could now perceive the otherworldly energy flowing from the core to the Sea Orc Champion, manifesting as a faint thread. This was the energy that had nullified his augmented sword qi, granting the monster its abnormal defenses. It was also responsible for the Seo Orc Champion’s heavily mutated form.

As Leonard realized this, the Five Elements True Dragon Ring began to beat violently. His heart, which had begun to closely resemble that of the ancient dragons, recognized the nature of the enemy.

It seemed that despite being depraved and subjugated for centuries because of their immense power and responsibility, the dragons’ function remained unchanged.

Wrooooooom—!

Before the Gods perished in the dimensional conflicts, the dragons, created to be the world’s guardians, had only one task: to repel external threats, not enemies from within but invaders from beyond the dimensional borders.

That was the reason the Gods had created dragons, binding them to that sole task despite granting them immense power and long lifespans.

After the Gods vanished, the dragons abandoned their duty and turned into tyrants. Consequently, they were almost wiped out of existence by the founding emperor of Arcadia and the progenitors of the Three Noble Houses. Following those events, they faded into the mists of history.

Each of the dragons were transcendent creatures, but they were ultimately defeated because they could unleash their full power only against invaders. The Gods had specifically made them that way as a precaution in case they rebelled.

The Five Elements True Dragon Ring, which replicated a dragon’s heart, had a similar safety mechanism.

Zzzziiiiing—!

As soon as the Rift’s core directly unleashed its power, Leonard’s Five Elements True Dragon Ring fully activated.

...I never thought I’d reach this state like this.

Leonard felt the Five Elements Qi coursing through him accelerate and purify to an absurd degree. He had just reached a level he hadn’t been able to attain in his past life as Yeon Mu-Hyuk.

With this, he managed to awaken the One Origin Five Elements Cultivation Method: Five Stars Convergence.

A more refined form of augmented qi enveloped Leonard’s sword, far surpassing what he had used in his battle with Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin. This was the Five Elements Augmented Qi.

Now, Leonard had reached the level of unifying the flow of the Five Elements into a single blade, encapsulating the grand laws of the universe within it. Swinging the sword was akin to wielding the world itself; to withstand it, one would need a power on the scale of an entire world.

Still, if it’s a world contained in a single sword, then perhaps a master at the Profound Realm could withstand it.

Of course, those below the Profound Realm stood no chance against such power. Those at the Profound Realm were absolute masters, possessing the power to manifest the laws of their own microcosmos.

Skreee!!

The chains entangled with Leonard’s sword began to crack. Despite the greater influx of power from the core, the real issue was the nature of his augmented sword qi. The Five Elements Augmented Qi was a blade executing the laws of this world.

The foreign power rooted in otherworldly laws was faced with fierce opposition. While it wouldn’t be eliminated due to any compatibility with the Five Elements—since it didn’t belong to any of the elements—the very circulation of the Five Elements worked against it.

Kraaghh?!

Sensing imminent death, the Sea Orc Champion struggled desperately, but even the core it worshiped had no means left to assist.

Ghraaah!!

Finally, the chain snapped, and Leonard\'s sword, wrapped in Five Elements Augmented Qi, descended upon the monster. The blade cleaved through the monster’s collarbone, broke several ribs, and sliced open its abdomen.

Nevertheless, the Sea Orc Champion retreated frantically, saving its lungs and heart from being carved up.

For a human, such injuries would be fatal. However, even disregarding its status as a Rift Guardian, this creature was at the Chaos Demon Tier. Even without the core’s power, it wouldn’t die from something like that.

“Your external source of power is now useless.”

Leonard stared intently at the bloodied creature, aiming his sword at it. In this state, with the Five Elements Augmented Qi, he was confident he could destroy the core even without having to kill the Rift Guardian.

However, he didn’t want things to end that way. Even though the creature had borrowed the core’s power, it had endured several of Leonard’s proper sword strikes and fought fiercely. Thus, he wanted to end this duel properly, fighting his adversary to the very end.

“I will accompany you to the end. Come at me!”

Responding to Leonard’s fighting spirit, the fear and confusion in the monster\'s eyes subsided. It was no longer the puppet of the Rift. The Champion, who had reigned as the strongest among the sea orcs, raised its fists.

It seemed that the anchor and the chain weren’t its true combat style. Leonard realized this as soon as he saw the Sea Orc Champion’s fighting stance and smiled fiercely.

No more words were needed.

Rumble...!

Deep reverberations echoed several times through the cave. Swords and fists clashed, kicks tore through the air, gouging the ground and shattering sound, creating a chaotic uproar.

Unlike the simple chain and anchor, the skillful use of fists and kicks was quite dazzling. Had the creature faced Leonard with its close combat techniques before the Five Elements Augmented Qi awakened, the battle would likely have been several times more intense.

Of course, the core’s power wasn’t infinite, and perhaps it wouldn’t have been able to envelop the monster’s entire body.

This feels great!

Dozens of strikes and parries were exchanged in mere seconds. Under the relentless assault of the Five Elements Augmented Qi, the creature’s once indestructible body began to crumble—its scales and skin marred by deep cuts, muscles torn apart, and bones shattered.

The Champion’s strength was waning—the punches and kicks that once tore through the air now grew desperate. And yet, the gap between them remained unchanged.

Phwak!

Eventually, Leonard’s sword strike pierced the creature\'s heart, bringing an end to the fierce and one-sided battle. The Five Elements Augmented Qi flowed through the monster’s heart, burning away the otherworldly power within and completely draining the life force that could have healed even fatal wounds.

It was a blow so devastating that even reanimating the creature as an undead would be impossible

Grrrr...

The Sea Orc Champion looked down at the sword embedded in its heart with bloodshot eyes, then closed them quietly.

That marked the end of the fight between the Sea Orc Champion and Leonard.