Chapter 55, Bloody Battle on the Water
"What in the world..."
Hwancheonma was so shocked that he could barely speak.
He had witnessed countless strange events throughout his life.
However, he had never heard of a man standing on turtles and using them to remain above water.
He had never even imagined such a thing.
Because of that, Hwancheonma asked a truly ridiculous question.
"Don't tell me you can control turtles?"
Jaha enjoyed watching Hwancheonma's confusion.
At first, even Jaha had not known whether the Command of All Living Things could communicate with turtles.
Willow Flower Water Garden was connected to the Yangtze River.
Because of that, many freshwater turtles and softshell turtles lived there.
When the Crow Sword and Saber's blood spread through the water, Jaha saw schools of fish gathering because of the scent.
At that moment, he remembered the Command of All Living Things.
There was no reason the technique should work only on wolves or insects.
So Jaha tried using it.
When the fish began moving according to his will, he called together the turtles and softshell turtles living throughout Willow Flower Water Garden.
The name Command of All Living Things meant exactly that.
A method for controlling all living creatures.
Even Jaha had never imagined it might allow communication with creatures beneath the water.
The reason he could bring the technique to such a high level was entirely because of Byeok Ho's White Spirit.
When Jaha activated the Command of All Living Things, Byeok Ho's White Spirit transmitted his intention to living creatures using spiritual power.
Without Byeok Ho's White Spirit, sending his will to creatures beneath the water would have been impossible.
Seeing Jaha smiling, Hwancheonma forced himself to regain his composure.
"So you've been stepping on turtles this entire time?"
Jaha nodded.
"So you were waiting for this seat's true qi to run out."
"Exactly. To remain over the water this long, you must have used almost all your internal power."
Jaha spoke as though he had been waiting for the question.
"Even in this condition, this seat can still kill someone like you."
Hwancheonma decided he was willing to consume even his innate qi.
Even if he lost some innate qi, the spiritual medicine could restore his internal power afterward.
If he drew upon his innate qi, he could fight Jaha for at least another quarter of an hour.
A quarter of an hour was enough time to kill Jaha ten times over.
However, Jaha had already calculated that possibility too.
"What? Are you planning to fight using your innate qi?"
Hwancheonma Shin Jeok smiled.
"Even if you know, it changes nothing. Unfortunately, you're still going to die."
Jaha twisted the corner of his mouth into a sly smile.
"Are you sure?"
Hwancheonma asked,
"What are you relying on to act so confident?"
"From now on, I'm going to attack. And I guarantee you'll be too busy defending yourself to do anything else."
The instant Jaha finished speaking, he began using the Azure Cloud Sword.
Because of Jaha's confident statement, Hwancheonma initially focused on defense rather than counterattacking.
After being tricked by Jaha so many times, he had become cautious without realizing it.
However, after more than ten moves, he still could not see anything especially threatening.
The Azure Cloud Sword was far inferior to the Demon Cult's highest sword arts.
The only troublesome aspect was Jaha's strange attack angles created by his bending joints.
"Was this really all you had when you spoke so arrogantly?!"
Normally, Hwancheonma was not someone who talked during battle.
He spoke now only because he wanted to show Jaha how disappointed he was.
Jaha glanced at him and smiled.
"No. I'm only starting now."
Jaha slowly lowered his sword from above.
Then it happened.
Hwancheonma felt a sharp sting on the sole of his foot.
However, he could not afford to look away during battle, so he ignored it.
Then he felt another sting around his ankle.
Only then did Hwancheonma realize something was wrong.
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"What is this?!"
Hwancheonma immediately retreated in shock.
Unknown snakes were swarming through the water around his submerged feet.
Worse, numbness was slowly spreading from where he had been bitten.
"You even summoned snakes?"
"There are quite a lot of poisonous water snakes in Willow Flower Water Garden."
Hwancheonma realized Jaha's attacks had only been intended to keep his attention away from the water.
His anger exploded.
"You bastard! Die!"
"Can you? I wonder whether you can still move properly with your legs going numb from snake venom."
Just as Jaha said, Hwancheonma was losing sensation in his feet.
Because of that, his famous Hollow Spirit Empty-Step Art had become no better than basic footwork.
Jaha immediately took advantage.
He attacked using the Azure Cloud Sword, combined with the Ghost Spirit Traceless Steps and Flowing Joint Art.
Wherever Jaha stepped, turtles gathered beneath him and acted as platforms.
Because of that, he could use all his internal power purely for attacking.
Before the Crow Sword and Saber's borrowed internal energy disappeared, Jaha poured all of it into his assault.
"Huh? What?"
Hwancheonma had already consumed most of his internal power.
Blocking Jaha's attacks had become difficult.
Naturally, he was forced to abandon counterattacking and focus entirely on defense.
"Is this really possible?"
Shinbi muttered in disbelief as he watched his father being pushed back by Jaha.
"This is strange."
"Right? No matter what, how can Father be losing to some countryside bastard?!"
Without realizing it, Shinbi raised his voice in anger.
"That bastard definitely used some dirty scheme!"
Shinbi shouted.
The Right Protector sighed while watching his lord struggle without any opportunity to counterattack.
He could understand himself or Shinbi being defeated by Jaha.
That was at least within the realm of possibility.
But seeing his own lord struggling this badly against Jaha was completely beyond anything he had imagined.
It was a sight he neither understood nor wanted to understand.
The Right Protector looked away for a moment.
Still, as Hwancheonma's protector, he had to prepare for the worst.
"Prepare to rescue our lord."
The Right Protector ordered the four surviving guards.
If necessary, they would save Hwancheonma and escape.
This was no longer a moment to care about dignity.
At least they had obtained the spiritual medicine.
That would have to be enough.
The four guards approached the water and waited for the Right Protector's order.
"When I give the order, three of you will block the enemy. One will rescue our lord."
The guards silently lowered their heads in acknowledgment.
Their expressions became solemn as they watched Hwancheonma fight Jaha over the water.
They were also deeply shaken.
While the stone island became silent, the martial artists around the lakeside stared blankly at the battle.
Watching two masters fight with agile movement arts on top of the water was enough to leave anyone amazed.
"Does Heavenly Demon Defying Sword have internal power equal to Hwancheonma? Is that even possible?"
One martial artist answered,
"He must have encountered some extraordinary fortunate opportunity. There's no other explanation."
That was the only explanation they could imagine.
Facing Hwancheonma, one of the Seven Heavenly Demons, in such a fierce battle over water was not something an ordinary martial artist could do.
From the shore, Jaha's movements looked like a crane flying gracefully over the lake while catching fish.
However, the people most shocked were Ha Seonbaek, Han Seol, and Jo Unryong.
"Is that really our Senior Brother?"
Han Seol asked Goeui with complete disbelief.
Since Byeok Ho had spent so much time around Goeui recently, she naturally asked him.
However, even Goeui did not completely understand what he was seeing.
Still, there was one thing he could answer.
"I don't know about anything else, but your senior brother is an incredible monster. Until now, he simply never had the opportunity to reveal his potential. Only now is that talent finally appearing. He's like a fish that finally found water."
Even Goeui was amazed while watching Jaha fight over the lake.
Ha Seonbaek felt countless emotions.
"Ho must have suffered so much learning under an inadequate master like me."
The first thing Ha Seonbaek felt was guilt.
He regretted failing to recognize the talent of such an extraordinary disciple.
"Senior Brother said he met an extraordinary person while working as an escort in Taiyuan for three years. He must have received an amazing fortunate encounter from that person."
Jo Unryong muttered while looking at Jaha with envy.
Goeui began rowing quickly toward the shore.
Ha Seonbaek said,
"Senior, I would like to remain here and watch my disciple fight."
Goeui shook his head.
"I apologize, but it's too dangerous here. We don't know what those people will do if the situation turns against them. They might try taking you hostage again. Leaving this place is the best way to help your disciple."
Ha Seonbaek nodded.
"You're right."
Once Goeui brought the boat to shore, Ha Seonbaek stepped onto land.
The martial artists gathered there immediately separated and opened a path.
"It is an honor to meet the honored master of Heavenly Demon Defying Sword."
One martial artist greeted Ha Seonbaek with cupped fists.
The surrounding martial artists immediately did the same.
Most of the people gathered here were stronger martial artists than Ha Seonbaek.
Those weaker than him had not even dared involve themselves in this situation.
Yet these stronger people now greeted Ha Seonbaek with genuine respect.
Ha Seonbaek felt both confused and deeply moved.
He had held a sword for decades.
Never once had the heroes of the martial world treated him like this.
He had not even imagined it was possible.
"I'm not someone worthy of receiving such respect. Please stop."
Ha Seonbaek spoke awkwardly.
One martial artist answered,
"What are you saying? You're the man who raised Heavenly Demon Defying Sword. How could we possibly treat you carelessly?"
Ha Seonbaek remained embarrassed.
However, he could not deny that the feeling was pleasant.
When he first picked up a sword, he had dreamed of such a day.
Later, after realizing his own talent would probably never allow him to become a first-rate master, he had become grateful simply to maintain a martial school.
Now martial artists stronger than him were treating him like a respected hero.
The emotion was difficult to describe.
Han Seol and Jo Unryong also felt their faces heat under the admiring gazes of the surrounding experts.
Until recently, they had been the ones looking at powerful martial artists with such admiration.
Receiving those gazes themselves felt completely unfamiliar.
Meanwhile, as the paralysis spread through his lower body, Hwancheonma Shin Jeok began thinking about retreat.
The battle was becoming increasingly unfavorable.
Even the famous Hwancheonma could not deal with a second-rate martial artist if his feet were paralyzed from poison and his internal power was exhausted.
Yet Jaha's current attacks were already beyond the level of an ordinary first-rate master.
Unable to endure any longer, Hwancheonma decided to retreat toward the stone island.
He suddenly launched himself into the air.
The moment Jaha saw it, he showed his teeth in a bright smile.
He had been waiting for exactly this.
Jaha stepped on the backs of the turtles and leaped into the air after Hwancheonma.
Hwancheonma had not failed to consider that possibility.
In fact, rising into the air had also been bait.
Drawing out even his innate qi, Hwancheonma Shin Jeok placed his iron ruler against his body and unleashed the Seokseok Palm toward the pursuing Jaha.
He poured every remaining bit of strength into this single strike to decide the battle.
Its power was naturally terrifying.
Whoooom!
The humid air over the lake instantly became dry.
The force of the Seokseok Palm was so overwhelming that even someone protected by strong defensive qi looked as though they would be crushed into meat.
This was the instant that would decide the fate of both men.
Even the wind around the lake seemed to stop.
Among the hundreds of martial artists gathered there, not a single person spoke.
Then Jaha's body suddenly twisted through the air at an impossible angle.
While rising, his body sharply turned to the right, almost at a perfect angle.
"What?!"
Even the greatest movement master in the world should not have been able to do something like that.
Hwancheonma looked more carefully.
Then he saw fish leaping into the air together with Jaha.
So that's it. He's using the fish jumping from the surface as stepping stones to change direction.
Even while admiring Jaha's absurd idea, Hwancheonma became desperate.
His Seokseok Palm had missed.
He immediately pulled out his iron ruler and swung it.
Whirrrrr!
The three-section iron ruler extended and shot toward Jaha after he changed direction.
But Jaha avoided that attack too.
A chill ran through Hwancheonma.
It felt as if Jaha already knew exactly how he would attack.
Jaha kicked off another fish that had jumped into the air and charged toward Hwancheonma.
From far away, it looked as though Jaha could freely change direction in midair.
"Whoa!"
The martial artists around the lake erupted in amazement.
Their voices echoed across the water and created ripples.
Hwancheonma's eyes widened as Jaha rushed toward him.
He had already poured almost all his remaining true qi into the Seokseok Palm.
He no longer had enough power to change direction while airborne.
He had spent too long maintaining himself above the water.
I should have killed him quickly instead of wasting time.
Regret suddenly flooded his mind.
Jaha's sword flew directly toward Hwancheonma's chest.
Seeing it, Hwancheonma clenched his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
He seemed to have made some kind of decision.
