Chapter 540

Azure Dragon Divine Art energy poured from Lu Han’s entire body.

The air inside the main hall changed.

It grew heavy.

As though pressing down on everything.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth swirled around Lu Han.

Unity of Heaven and Man.

A realm beyond the Celestial Realm.

A state in which one became completely one with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

For the Sect Leader of a subordinate sect of the Sichuan Alliance to have reached this realm was astonishing.

Unhwi was not surprised.

He had already grasped this man’s true nature.

A man who knew how to wait for the sake of securing his own benefit.

A man who, even knowing the organization he belonged to would be endangered, would move decisively if profit was involved.

Lu Han had hidden his true nature.

Within the Sichuan Alliance.

Before Kang Cheonwoo.

For a long time.

Why had he hidden it?

If he revealed himself, Kang Cheonwoo would have become wary of him.

If he did not, he would be underestimated.

Those who were underestimated were not watched closely.

Those who were not watched could move.

Gather subordinate sects.

Quietly build his standing within the organization.

Then surge forward when the time came.

Unhwi had heard that only a few sects intended to follow the Azure Dragon Sect.

But he had confirmed the truth on the way here.

It was not a few.

There were more than ten.

In a place like Sichuan, ten sects was by no means a small number.

This had been prepared in advance.

Kang Cheonwoo’s unexpected death had merely forced the plan forward sooner.

His claim that he acted for Sichuan was wrapping paper.

What lay inside was Lu Han’s own greed.

Knowing that, Unhwi still looked at him.

There was calm in Lu Han’s eyes.

One could call them the eyes of a man prepared for death.

But Unhwi read them differently.

That was not resolve.

They were the eyes of a man who knew he had no choices left in this situation.

There was nowhere to run.

Nowhere to retreat.

So he moved forward.

Grim resolve and desperation were not the same thing.

“Azure Dragon Nine-Form Sword.”

Lu Han raised his sword as he spoke.

“From the First Form to the Ninth. I will use them all.”

“I heard that anyone who uses the Ninth Form does not survive. Is that true?”

“It is.”

Unhwi drew the True Flame Heavenly Spirit Sword.

At that exact moment, Lu Han kicked off the ground.

The floor split.

Cracks spread as his body shot directly before Unhwi.

A move aimed at exploiting the opening.

His eyes flashed.

Azure Dragon Nine-Form Sword.

First Form, Azure Dragon Emerges from the Sea.

Like a dragon surging from the ocean, Lu Han’s sword erupted upward from below.

The energy of the Azure Dragon Divine Art exploded along the blade.

The floor of the main hall split apart and stone fragments scattered.

Sword wind surged upward and struck the ceiling.

Unhwi flowed aside.

The sword brushed his clothes.

The distance was close enough to seem as though it might touch him.

But only because Unhwi had allowed that distance.

It was not that he had failed to evade.

He had simply chosen to remain there.

Lu Han frowned.

But it was fine.

He could understand.

Who was the Unhwi standing before him?

A supreme expert who had already entered the Boundless Manifestation Realm.

A genius among geniuses who might appear only once in hundreds—

No.

Perhaps thousands of years.

Lu Han continued without stopping.

Second Form, Azure Dragon Shatters Heaven.

The sword descended from above.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered upon the blade, compressing the air before bursting outward.

A heavy sword strike.

It carried the weight of Unity of Heaven and Man.

Unhwi raised the True Flame Heavenly Spirit Sword to receive it.

CLAAANG—!

He blocked it.

But was pushed back.

One step.

Two.

The floor split beneath Unhwi’s feet.

Unhwi planted his feet.

Boundless Energy flowed along his sword, dispersing the pressure.

His sliding feet stopped.

Third Form, Azure Dragon Whirlwind.

Lu Han’s body spun like a top.

His sword traced a circle.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth spread along its path.

A sword formation that cut everything it touched.

The entire space entered the sword’s range.

Unhwi jumped upward.

He planted his feet on the ceiling and stood upside down.

Looking down, he saw Lu Han’s sword carving through the wall.

The cut surface was unnaturally smooth.

It is certainly a decent martial art.

Lu Han’s sword continued.

Fourth Form, Azure Dragon Descends.

Lu Han thrust his sword toward the ceiling.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged upward like a pillar.

A straight force rising directly toward Unhwi.

Unhwi kicked off the ceiling and descended.

Straight down.

He did not evade.

He came to receive it head-on.

The True Flame Heavenly Spirit Sword pierced through the rising energy.

Sword met sword.

BOOM.

A tremendous crash shook the main hall.

The shockwave spread in every direction.

Pillars trembled.

Dust poured from the roof.

Every window shattered at once.

The two men pushed against each other inside it.

Lu Han’s spiritual energy of heaven and earth and Unhwi’s Boundless Energy collided between the two swords.

A battle between invisible forces.

The air inside the main hall compressed and burst again and again.

Ju Soa took cover behind a pillar.

It was difficult even to remain standing.

Simply existing within this space made it hard to breathe.

Unhwi redirected the force.

He did not push it away.

He let it flow.

Lu Han’s strength suddenly lost its resistance and spilled forward.

Lu Han pitched ahead.

At that instant, Unhwi slipped to the side.

Lu Han planted a hand against the floor and stopped himself.

Then stood.

He did not kneel.

His eyes blazed.

Fifth Form, Azure Dragon’s Furious Roar.

“Ha—!”

A shout burst from Lu Han’s mouth.

It was not merely sound.

He drew up the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and turned it into resonance.

The sound itself became an attack.

The air vibrated.

That vibration penetrated Unhwi’s body.

His skull rang.

Lu Han drove into that opening.

It was the attack of a veteran.

Disrupt with sound.

Then pierce with the sword.

The sword point grazed Unhwi’s flank.

A shallow cut opened.

Blood appeared.

A light entered Lu Han’s eyes.

Unhwi looked once at his own side.

Touched it.

Blood came away on his hand.

He shook it off.

That was all.

His expression did not change.

Lu Han charged again.

Sixth Form, Azure Dragon Submerges into the Abyss.

The energy sank from above to below.

The floor of the main hall began to rumble.

Lu Han drove his sword into the ground.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth spread through the earth.

The floor shattered beneath their feet.

Cracks raced toward Unhwi.

Unhwi leaped.

Into the air.

Lu Han had been waiting.

Seventh Form, Azure Dragon Ascends to Heaven.

Light gathered upon his sword.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth exploded along the blade, releasing a brilliance difficult to look at directly.

The sword surged upward toward Unhwi.

Unhwi twisted his body in midair.

The blade grazed his shoulder.

The second wound.

He landed and looked at Lu Han.

Lu Han’s condition entered his sight.

Blood had pooled at the corner of his mouth.

His hand was trembling faintly.

The Azure Dragon Divine Art was approaching its limit.

Even at the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, using this power continuously demanded a price from the body.

And Lu Han’s body had already crossed that limit.

Saying he would go all the way to the Ninth Form meant he no longer expected this body to survive.

Yet to Unhwi, Lu Han looked less resolute than desperate.

Like a man with no choices left pulling out his final card.

His words about acting for Sichuan.

His words about resolve.

Here and now, they amounted to nothing more than accepting with his own body the consequences of what he had set in motion.

He had never begun this fight expecting to win.

Which was precisely why—

“......If I stop here......”

Those words came from Lu Han’s mouth.

Unhwi had no reason to pretend not to understand.

He spoke calmly.

“Nothing changes.”

“......”

“At least you wish to die as a martial artist. I will receive all Nine Forms.”

“Then show me the end.”

Lu Han gritted his teeth and raised his sword.

Eighth Form, Azure Dragon Returns to Heaven.

Sword and body became one.

Lu Han himself became the sword.

The entire energy of the Azure Dragon Divine Art concentrated into this single technique.

It felt as though the air inside the main hall had been emptied.

All energy was being drawn toward Lu Han.

Ju Soa gripped a pillar.

It was difficult to remain standing.

Lu Han came forward.

He was not fast.

He simply came.

And yet it was difficult to evade.

The sword was not merely moving toward a point in space.

Space itself had become the sword.

No matter which direction one moved, one remained inside Lu Han’s blade.

Unhwi did not move.

He gripped the True Flame Heavenly Spirit Sword with both hands.

Boundless Energy and the cold of the Heavenly Snow Force blended together upon the blade.

Cold energy and Boundless Energy became one.

Flowed along the sword.

He thrust.

Straight forward.

They collided.

The sound came later.

The impact came first.

The entire main hall shook.

Two pillars snapped.

Part of the roof collapsed.

Dust and debris poured down.

The two men stood within it.

Lu Han’s sword had stopped before Unhwi’s.

Just before reaching his chest.

It could not advance another inch.

Lu Han’s hands trembled.

The power of Unity of Heaven and Man had already reached its limit after the Eighth Form.

He had no strength left to push further.

Still, he did not release the sword.

Lu Han spoke.

“The Ninth Form remains.”

Unhwi looked at him.

Blood ran from the corner of Lu Han’s mouth.

His hands trembled.

The legs holding him upright trembled as well.

His body was no longer enduring.

And in that state, he intended to release the Ninth Form.

Unhwi stepped back once.

He gave him space.

Lu Han drew his sword back.

He scraped together everything remaining inside his body.

Drew out everything that could still be extracted from flesh already pushed beyond its limit.

It felt as though his energy core were splitting apart.

Something burst inside him.

A sound only he could hear.

Pain came surging in.

Through his entire body at once.

Yet there was no pain on his face.

More precisely—

He had no room left to feel it.

Concentrating on this single moment was everything.

Ninth Form, Azure Dragon Returns to the Origin.

The final technique of the Azure Dragon Divine Art.

The shape of a dragon formed upon the sword.

Faintly.

Yet unmistakably.

Everything contained within the Azure Dragon Divine Art had been gathered into this one sword.

Light shone from Lu Han’s body.

It grew brighter.

Brighter still.

Then poured forward from the sword as though exploding.

Unhwi brought out the Heavenly Origin Boundless Sword.

Fourth Form, Return of All to the Origin.

Returning to the beginning, all methods become empty; the wheel of time turns backward, returning to the original beginning.

He thrust his sword.

The dragon’s shape touched the blade.

There was no sound.

It simply stopped.

Lu Han’s Ninth Form stopped before Unhwi’s sword.

The dragon stopped.

The final energy of the Azure Dragon Divine Art scattered away right there.

Like wind.

As though it had never existed.

Lu Han remained standing.

Still holding his sword.

Strength slowly left his hand.

The sword tilted.

Touched the floor.

The sound rang out.

Lu Han’s knees buckled.

Touched the ground.

For the first time in this fight—

His knees met the floor.

Unhwi walked forward and stood before him.

Looked down.

Lu Han looked up.

Blood covered the corners of his mouth.

The whites of his eyes showed.

Much within his body had already been destroyed.

The price of using the Ninth Form.

“......I lost.”

His voice was hoarse.

Unhwi did not answer.