The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan-Chapter 436: The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King (4)

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s eyes widened.

Zhang Sanfeng’s Supreme Ultimate Technique, Non-Act Daydream, was capable of stopping the Heavenly Divine Treasure.

The beam that could melt rock vanished in an instant.

It was no surprise that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King thought of the immortal known as Sanfeng Jin-in.

But the problem was….

“How did you get here….”

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had neither expected nor anticipated Zhang Sanfeng appearing here.

It was more than that.

“How dare you… stand before me….”

Anger, shock, bewilderment.

All of those emotions were written plainly on his face.

Zhang Sanfeng, who had borrowed Yi-gang’s body, did not miss the moment.

The beam fired at him once again obliterated everything between him and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

Zhang Sanfeng dashed down the now-clear path.

With each step he took, his leap distance doubled.

When that distance narrowed to thirty meters, he could bridge it in a single step.

Recovering his senses, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King gritted his teeth and hurled Son Hee-il far away.

From a distance, the basic use of the Radiant Pagoda is to fire beams.

He did so again this time.

Tsch—

But the beam’s output was far lower than before.

It dispersed insignificantly at a gesture Zhang Sanfeng made into the air.

This was Zhang Sanfeng, the foremost Fist Master and Grandmaster of the Wudang Sword.

With a sword in his hand, Zhang Sanfeng gently brought down Yi-gang’s Meteorite Sword.

Naturally, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King swung his stone pagoda to block it.

All force striking the Radiant Pagoda was reflected back.

As Yi-gang had, he expected that Zhang Sanfeng would suffer in the same way.

Zzeng, zzang—!

But Zhang Sanfeng continued to swing his sword with a look as if it were no trouble at all.

Had his Wudang sword reached a Dao-like realm and manifested exceptional hardness?

Was he dispersing even the returning recoil into the air because of that?

No, the Radiant Pagoda’s defense was not something that swordsmanship could simply redirect.

“Thi—!”

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King realized what Zhang Sanfeng was doing.

“Madman!”

It was a technique that could only be described that way.

It was not something an ordinary person could do. Only those obsessed with the sword could manage it.

Even Yi-gang, watching, was impressed.

「Amazing…..」

The moment the sword struck the stone pagoda, Zhang Sanfeng momentarily released his grip on the sword.

The way the Heavenly Divine Treasure returned force was not purely physical but closer to a sorcerous power.

The force that should have been returned scattered into the world when it couldn’t find its target amid the sword slashes.

Thus Zhang Sanfeng freed himself from the reflected force.

He snatched up the sword that had borne the impact alone and continued his forms as if nothing had happened.

The sequence was seamless, flowing like water.

Still, the shock the sword endured must have been tremendous.

When the sweat from Zhang Sanfeng and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King splattered onto the body of Shooting Star Fang, it sizzled and instantly evaporated.

If it hadn’t been a Meteorite Sword, it would already have snapped.

“Useless theatrics!”

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King roared.

There was merit to his words.

Even if Zhang Sanfeng was free from the Radiant Pagoda’s recoil, it was, literally, only endurance.

Just as the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King couldn’t harm Zhang Sanfeng, Zhang Sanfeng could not pierce the Radiant Pagoda’s defense.

“You think dragging time will do you any good!”

“The Heavenly Realm is tracking you!”

“You sure talk a lot!”

Zhang Sanfeng, who had been quiet, snapped angrily.

He shot a remark at the flustered Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

“Creatures like you who strut about were the most loathsome to me!”

“You, lowly thing!”

Their clash intensified.

Yi-gang, watching, couldn’t help but think to himself.

‘Were they always on bad terms?’ he thought.

Zhang Sanfeng, who had vanished without answering no matter how much they called, had suddenly appeared today.

Could it be that he couldn’t just stand by and watch the crisis Yi-gang was facing?

Moreover, he was showing a pointedly sharp attitude toward an envoy of the Heavenly Realm.

Zhang Sanfeng might be a genial, good-natured man, but in the Heavenly Realm he could be an oddity.

“You jabbering mouth!”

“I’ll use everything I have to demote you back to an animal!”

They snarled and fought even fiercer.

Yet only time passed.

No matter how sublime Zhang Sanfeng’s swordsmanship was, he could not break the Radiant Pagoda’s defense.

And if they prolonged it, the advantaged side would be the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

Knowing that, a slow smile rose at the corner of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s mouth.

“This one is somewhat better.”

That calm voice came from right beside him.

It was a fleeting moment, but the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was so startled he could only turn his head to look.

Standing there was Ha-jun.

No, more precisely….

“Not you. I simply meant this body.”

The Heavenly Demon.

A black ring was on his index finger.

It was the same one Son Hee-il had been wearing until a moment ago.

“It’s full of demonic energy, just like when I was alive.”

The Heavenly Demon’s hair stood on end.

His eyes were dyed black.

There are many called demons across the world, but…

This must be the true visage of a demon.

“You… Hea, Heaven-Slaying Star—!”

The foremost demon among men, watched even by the Heavenly Realm.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was stunned by the sudden appearance of the Heavenly Demon Zhao Guang.

He tried to pull back, but Zhang Sanfeng would not allow it.

The sword strikes grew ever faster.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King could not lift the stone pagoda quickly enough to respond.

Even so, the sword was blocked by the Radiant Pagoda’s second defensive mechanism and sparks flew in the air.

He continued to swing the sword with one hand and repeatedly release it from his grip.

The gaps thus created grew longer, and finally Zhang Sanfeng could intersperse punches between sword strikes.

Kwang, Kwakwang!

A single sword, two fists, and two feet.

When those five weapons swept fiercely, there was no opening to be seen.

For the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, there was nothing left but desperate defense.

Meanwhile the Heavenly Demon prepared a strike.

It seemed as if he was drawing in all the demonic energy from the world.

His fist turned black, as if a hole to the underworld had opened in the air.

It might be likened to the Great Blood Demonic Art, but the darkness was incomparably thicker and its size matched a human fist.

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King could sense the danger of that strike.

“Let go, let go!”

So he tried to flee.

The problem was that Zhang Sanfeng would not let him go.

“As expected, you can’t budge.”

The Heavenly Demon sneered.

Zhang Sanfeng and Yi-gang had discovered the Radiant Pagoda’s weakness.

The stone pagoda blocks any attack.

It does the same even if several attack at once.

No matter the direction of the assault, the attack cannot reach the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s body. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

However, that auxiliary function had its limits.

When hundreds of rock fragments were shot at it.

Each fragment was blocked and fell with a slight time lag.

If Zhang Sanfeng’s indiscriminate assaults targeted the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s many defenses like now.

Kwaka kwakwa kwang—!

Gaps would inevitably appear.

And the Heavenly Demon was the man capable of piercing even the tiniest gap that barely existed.

“Die.”

His fist, dyed black.

Using demonic energy techniques, he recreated his realm from when he was alive.

The Demon Piercing Light Killing Fist unfolded.

Bwoom—

With the sound of cloth tearing, the Heavenly Demon’s fist ripped through the defense’s field.

The black fist struck the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s unguarded side.

An explosion.

And a phenomenon befitting that blast occurred.

Starting from the struck flank, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s upper body burst outward.

Like a leather pouch full of blood, pop.

It was closer to pulverization than a mere hit.

Considering that his body had been strengthened by divine reinforcement, it was unbelievable.

And something formless began to ascend to the sky.

Having let go of his sword entirely, Zhang Sanfeng gently swept his hand.

Twu-ong—

A gust brushed by accompanied by a striking sound in the void.

It was a blow against a soul fragment, or a spiritual body.

It was impossible to completely annihilate a heavenly god like the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King right away.

But it would take considerable time for the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s spiritual body to recombine and regain consciousness.

“Refreshing.”

Zhang Sanfeng sighed and the Heavenly Demon laughed.

Opposite reactions.

However, if you told either of them that, they’d surely detest or dislike it….

Yet one could not deny that their coordination was excellent and perfect.

Zhang Sanfeng and the Heavenly Demon’s eyes met.

At that instant, both of their faces twisted simultaneously.

The Heavenly Demon moved first.

He trudged over and then stood still without moving.

To be precise, he released the possession.

The Heavenly Demon, having exited, walked out in the form of a soul fragment, and Ha-jun suddenly dropped to his knees.

「The world really has changed.」

Originally, there had been no one besides Yi-gang capable of such possession.

Yet the Heavenly Demon attempted to possess Ha-jun’s body for two reasons.

One was that by reclaiming the last remaining soul fragment, he would no longer be bound to the Heavenly Demon Plaque.

Two, was that the burden of causality had lessened, so perhaps the world truly had changed.

Yi-gang had suffered severe aftereffects from possession because of causality.

When someone who was not the original owner took a body and exerted powers they should not have, interfering with the world.

That divergence returned as physical backlash.

Since the Heavenly Demon had attempted possession without offering sacrifices or payment, it would not have been surprising if Ha-jun had died.

But Ha-jun rose from his spot, though he groaned in pain.

“I-it hurts like I’m dying.”

However, the pain seemed immense; his face had gone ashen.

He looked up at his elder brother who had endured such possessions until now.

Of course, since Zhang Sanfeng still inhabited his body, it was only a bitter, mental smile.

Having experienced possession many times, Yi-gang already sensed it.

Certainly the burden on the body was less.

It would be painful, but Yi-gang felt he could endure it without showing it.

「Jin-in, you seem to have crossed the Heavenly Realm, are you sure this is alright?」

He asked Zhang Sanfeng that out of worry.

‘The Heavenly Realm is vast. Originally, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King and I were not on good terms.’

「Compared to you, he didn’t seem like much.」

‘Perhaps so in this lower world. Things may be different in the Heavenly Realm.’

Yi-gang inwardly agreed.

Zhang Sanfeng had helped Yi-gang once more.

The Heavenly Demon’s warning that Zhang Sanfeng might someday betray them by siding with the Heavenly Realm.

That warning seemed not to have come to pass.

Still, Zhang Sanfeng did not release the possession.

He must know that the longer the possession continued, the greater the burden would accumulate in Yi-gang’s body.

Or perhaps, since the world had changed, this delay was no big deal.

「Jin-in.」

Yi-gang suddenly said as if grabbing at Zhang Sanfeng.

Instead of releasing the possession, Zhang Sanfeng spoke very bitterly.

“I’m sorry.”

At the unexpected apology, everyone turned to look at Yi-gang.

Dam Hyun, Ha-jun, Yu Su-rin and the Azure Forest disciples, and Cheongho as well.

And the Heavenly Demon, who stood in the form of a soul fragment.

The Heavenly Demon’s reaction was the fastest.

「Zhang Jun-bao, you bastard—!」

But Zhang Sanfeng had already started to move.

He dropped Shooting Star Fang there with a thud and then climbed on top of it.

The sword moved as if it were alive.

Mounted on it, Zhang Sanfeng flew off at the speed of the projected sword.

It was unmistakably the Sword-Riding Flight Technique.

Yi-gang became the first person abducted by the Sword-Riding Flight Technique.