Martial Arts Ain't Anything Special-Chapter 65: Supreme Law of Essence Absorption (3)

What is qi?

There could be countless opinions, so Seojun didn’t think about it too complexly.

It was one path towards omnipotence.

There was no need to get tangled up in complicated theories about how all things are composed of qi, or how the form of qi changes the shape of all things.

With his talent in qi, anything was possible.

Even if he wasn’t able to do so right now, given time he would eventually achieve it.

It wasn’t limited to just pure inner qi.

Whether monster qi, demonic qi, death qi, or whatever else. They were all mere derivatives of qi.

If it was qi, there was no reason he couldn’t handle it.

Or so I thought.

He had changed his thinking a bit.

The demonic qi racing through his meridians was far easier to manipulate than any other type of qi in the past, even more so than the qi of the Yellow Cloud Divine Art or the Primordial Divine Art.

This wasn’t mere obedience. It instinctively moved in accordance with his intentions before he even formed them, sensing where it had to be and rushing at full speed.

Sometimes it may have misread things and acted strangely, but thus far had just been an adorable little friend without any issues.

“So give me a bit more.”

Seojun smiled brightly as he tried to grab the Soul-Stealing Demon’s hand gripping his fist.

“You parentless child...!”

Greatly shocked, the Soul-Stealing Demon shook off his hand and hastily retreated.

In that brief moment, half of the vast inner qi the Soul-Stealing Demon had accumulated vanished.

“You...! You must be from the Divine Cult’s pursuit squad!”

“What?”

“You dare challenge this old man with the Supreme Law of Essence Absorption? Very well...! Take this as well!”

What’s with this old man? He’s not in his right mind.

As Seojun chuckled bitterly, the Soul-Stealing Demon unleashed a massive palm force.

A huge palm-shaped reinforced qi flew towards him.

Seojun wrapped his hands in demonic qi, imbued them with the mental image of All Rivers Returning to the Ocean, then drew a large circle with both hands.

Whoosh!

The Soul-Stealing Demon’s palm force faltered, slowing down, and gradually became absorbed by Seojun.

“Hmm...”

He felt bloated after absorbing the palm force.

The old man’s mental state was the problem. Nothing good comes out of being pent up for so long.

He pushed his left foot forward and twisted his waist.

Focusing the demonic qi he absorbed into his right fist, he imbued it with the image of plum blossoms and swung.

Demonic Plum... sounds a bit odd.

Black Plum.

Pitch-black plum blossoms bloomed from his fist and shot out like daggers.

Swish!

The Soul-Stealing Demon dispersed the qi wave, and retreated backwards, then he gritted his teeth.

“What are you!? I’ve never seen or heard of such a martial art!”

“Hold on, pause. Time out.”

“What is it!?”

“Seriously, who are you? Why suddenly attacking us all alone...?”

The Soul-Stealing Demon glared at Seojun, his eyes widened.

“You don’t know of me?! Me? The Soul-Stealing Demon Hyeok Mukang...!”

“Who’s that?”

“You... you little bastard! The hell is wrong with kids these days?!”

“Well...”

Seojun scratched his head, at a loss for words. Namgung suddenly approached him and quietly whispered.

“The Soul-Stealing Demon Hyeok Mukang is a demonic adept who fled after losing a battle in the Demonic Cult, barely escaping with his life.”

“Oh, you know him?”

“Only this much.”

“I see.”

Seojun chuckled and moved Namgung Suah and Chunbong behind him.

“Step back for now. I didn’t expect a walking spirit pill to come to us.”

This martial art he copied from that old man, the Supreme Law of Essence Absorption was it? Whatever the name, it was quite useful.

Unlike usual, he didn’t just get the shell but the entire martial art rolled right in.

The essence of the Supreme Law of Essence Absorption was in absorbing the opponent’s inner qi to halve their attack power, and then counterattack using the absorbed inner qi. Going further, it could even absorb the opponent’s true qi.

In other words, he could steal mana from attacks and use it as his own. Push it further, and he could even take their mana pool.

True qi = Mana pool.

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It was a good idea to memorize it like a formula. Maximum mana capacity worked too.

To be precise, it’s specifically the acquired true qi that counts as the mana pool, not that it mattered much.

“Phew...”

Seojun exhaled, expelling all the impurities from the stolen demonic qi.

Not even much remained after filtering it.

But hey, it was something, and the true usefulness of this martial art wasn’t even in absorption.

If I apply it well, maybe even for Chunbong...

Well, that wasn’t important right now.

Right now, the old man’s eyes were darting all over the place searching for an opportunity to escape.

Can’t let the spirit pill get away.

“Stop right there!”

Seojun wrapped his hands in demonic qi and charged forward.

All the bushes along his path twisted into strange shapes.

Twisting his waist, Seojun rapidly condensed demonic qi in his hand.

“That’s...!”

The Soul-Stealing Demon’s eyes widened.

Seojun had already taken on a similar stance, demonic qi gathering into his palm.

“How do you know the Black Hand Great Demonic Palm...!?”

Their palms clashed.

BOOM────────!!!

Pushed back, the Soul-Stealing Demon shouted with his eyes bloodied.

“How dare...! How dare you! How did you do it?! You—my marital art! How could you use the Black Hand Great Demonic Palm...!?”

“Please, talk in a way people can understand.”

“Kuuuugh...!”

Veins bulged on the Soul-Stealing Demon’s neck.

While the Supreme Law of Essence Absorption was known to several members of the Divine Cult, the Black Hand Great Demonic Palm was the Soul-Stealing Demon’s exclusive martial art.

Having massacred his entire clan, leaving no survivors, he was truly the only person alive who knew this technique.

Learning the Black Hand Great Demonic Palm required one to soak their hands in corpse poison, and without this preparation, the fierce power would crush their hands to pieces.

The process permanently stained their hands black, and until they achieved mastery, there was no way to conceal this mark, thus the name Black Hand.

Yet this mere brat was wielding the Black Hand Great Demonic Palm with pristine hands as if he had already mastered it.

It was utterly incomprehensible. He didn’t even want to understand.

“I’ll fucking tear you to shreds!”

Any thoughts of retreat vanished from his mind as the Soul-Stealing Demon drew upon his qi to the max.

Though he was suffering from internal injuries due to his opponent’s Supreme Law of Essence Absorption, none of that mattered to him.

The life he led hadn’t been so smooth for him to be concerned with such minor injuries.

Of course, that was none of Seojun’s business.

“Jeez, is it time to go already? Why can’t people make up their minds?”

Respect for the elderly? Don’t know much about that.

But I’d say I’m pretty good at attacking the elderly.

“I’ll send you off nicely!”

As Seojun charged forward, the Soul-Stealing Demon released a wave of qi. His clothes billowed as terrifying demonic qi gathered in both hands.

The vast demonic qi rose like raging flames, reaching the tops of the tall trees.

“Die...!”

The Soul-Stealing Demon unleashed the Black Hand Great Demonic Palm, sending forth a palm-shaped force larger than most buildings.

Seojun twisted in mid-air and drew the sword at his waist.

With no one around to see, he could finally unleash the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword after so long.

Yellow Dragon Splits The Heavens.

The founder of the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword may not have been good at naming, but they sure knew how to make great martial arts.

A dragon formed of demonic qi materialized around Seojun’s sword. The pitch-black dragon coiled around the blade, its maw opening wide at the tip.

Would this be called Demonic Dragon Splits The Heavens?

With a chuckle, Seojun turned his waist sharply. Then, releasing all his gathered power, he swung his sword upward with devastating force.

──────────────!!!

The Soul-Stealing Demon’s force was effortlessly torn apart.

The pitch-black dragon writhed its massive body and soared skyward, following the path of Seojun’s strike.

“How can this be...! Why does my demonic qi bend to your will...!?”

Seojun grinned as he absorbed the Soul-Stealing Demon’s dispersing qi. This was great, his qi wouldn’t decrease even when he used it.

“Hey, you bastard...!”

Behind him, Chunbong shouted angrily, probably because he’d used demonic qi with the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword, but he ignored her for now.

Seojun leaped forward, plum blossoms blooming at his feet. He quickly closed in on the Soul-Stealing Demon, threw away his sword, and grabbed the demon’s wrist.

“My spirit pill!”

“Let go...!”

The Soul-Stealing Demon struggled to break free, but Seojun wouldn’t let go.

Left with no choice, the Soul-Stealing Demon engaged Seojun in a battle of qi.

“You, damn you!”

The Soul-Stealing Demon had more qi, that much had been true from the beginning.

But the quality of Seojun’s inner qi was overwhelmingly superior.

Moreover, his qi moved as if it were alive.

While the Soul-Stealing Demon’s demonic qi was still reeling from the previous assault, Seojun’s inner qi seized it and dragged it away.

The kidnapped demonic qi, now in Seojun’s body, looked around in confusion before assessing its situation. Then, whimpering, it began fawning over Seojun.

“Woo, mine.”

After he stole all of the Soul-Stealing Demon’s acquired true qi, the already elderly demon aged dramatically, now looking moments from death.

“Kuuh...”

Seojun could sense it. If he took all of the Soul-Stealing Demon’s innate true qi—his life force—he would complete the mummification he’d witnessed before.

But the risks outweigh the benefits.

Innate true qi was akin to the soul, and naturally, it carried the deepest mental imprints.

Absorbing it would grant immense power, but at great risk.

Seojun had no desire for such a gamble.

“Namu Amitabha.”

Crunch!

With a swing of his hand, Seojun crushed the Soul-Stealing Demon’s skull, then turned back with a grin.

He found Chunbong looking furious and Namgung Suah staring in disbelief.

Oh right, guess I forgot I didn’t tell big sis about this?

About his talent, or his martial arts.

Well, he could explain later.

With his chest puffed out proudly and pitch-black demonic qi swirling around his entire body, Seojun declared.

“Alas. Indeed, I am the Heavenly Demon.”

“What you said, could you explain what that means?”

Seojun jumped and spun around.

The demonic qi had been unexpectedly cute, distracting him into focusing on his internal state and weakening his outer qi detection.

However, even without that distraction, the approaching presence’s perfectly still inner qi made it nearly impossible to detect.

Tensely, he looked toward the direction of the voice.

In the dark forest, a pair of faintly golden eyes stared back at him.

A bald head shining even in the darkness. Shaolin.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Seojun casually converted the demonic qi to primordial qi, widened his eyes, and tilted his head.

“I don’t know anything~”

If I fight Shaolin here, can I see their martial arts too?

Seojun pondered for a moment.