The Hunter Who Does Not Age Is So Strong - Chapter 47

Chen Hua-lin

Such fucking shit.

Baaang!

Kim Bongpal wanted to shout like that. However, he didn’t, or it would be a little more accurate to say he couldn’t. This situation wasn’t easy-going enough to be able to speak.

Pats-

Chen Hua-lin’s hand disappeared. At least that’s what it looked like in Kim Bongpal’s view, but as she swung, her hand vanished. But it wasn’t like he didn’t feel the energy; it was just invisible. The opponent’s Trail Force contained hideous energy aimed at Kim Bongpal’s blind spot. Kim Bongpal responded by twisting his sword to parry.

However.

‘Damn it.’

It wasn’t only a single blow. When their blades collided, Chen Hua-lin’s attack dispersed into a dozen branching paths.

Squish.

Kim Bongpal clenched his teeth and continued to twist his sword, but even he could tell his efficiency was poor. He had to hit away the dispersed attacks one by one. Fortunately, there was a useful talent that he recently learned: the Eight Directions Sword Technique from Tearing Wind Sword.

Kim Bongpal shot a slash containing the secrets of the Eight Directions Sword Technique. Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same. The essence of the Eight Directions Sword Technique was reborn as a new technique through Kim Bongpal. In fact, it couldn’t be seen as a sword technique any longer.

Crang-crang-crang-!

The sword trembled. It was really fortunate that he got this one from Wargen; if it had been the cheap knives he was using so far, it would’ve just shattered.

“Hoo.”

Kim Bongpal succeeded in neutralizing all of Chen Hua-lin’s attacks.

“You fight strangely.”

Chen Hua-lin expressed pure admiration for his struggle. It was clear from the moment their battle started that he was also a warrior who reached the limit of transcendence. However, there was a gap in his way of fighting. It wasn’t quite that his level was low, but the way he did things was a little different from a normal warrior.

How could she describe it? It didn’t match the way of using Qi from the geniuses of Moorim but seemed to rely on one’s senses. There were also a few people like that in Moorim, often vagabonds who became martial art masters.

However, one difference from those small fries was that her opponent’s movement was at the level of transcendence. It looked simple but what wasn’t so simple was that it could deflect the attack that Chen Hua-lin used. How could he block them with just a few parries and slashes?

“Years ago, I met an ignorant doggy who fought like you. He was a pretty good guy.”

Chen Hua-lin recalled someone she faced a few years ago. He was like a beast…no, he wasn’t like a beast but actually a beast. He relied on his wild instincts to fight, but he was also someone she had a lot of fun fighting.

However.

“You are several times better. What is your name?”

Compared to her current opponent, his sharpness was much lower. Describing this current foe’s movements as beast-like wouldn’t cut it.

“You’re talking shit.”

Kim Bongpal responded so to Chen Hua-lin’s compliment. She replied with a smile.

“Haha. Unfortunately, I don’t bother with such things.”

“…”

Chen Hua-lin’s answer was enough to make him feel exhausted.

“Fuck.”

But with another curse.

Tap-

Kim Bongpal rushed in. His sword cleaved through the air but didn’t reach Chen Hua-lin. Something between Chen Hua-lin and Kim Bongpal was blocking it.

‘Self-defense force.’

Wargen once used it, and Kim Bongpal copied it. Perhaps this was its perfect form.

Crang, crang-!

Kim Bongpal’s sword and Chen Hua-lin’s self-defense force collided with a roar, but the aura around her wasn’t shaken by the impact. Seeing that, Kim Bongpal swung his sword once more but a little different now.

The Sword Force shot through the space beyond the self-defense force.

Baang!

Chen Hua-lin’s hand collided with it, but this time.

“…!”

Chen Hua-lin frowned. She thought she had enough power to stop it, but the energy remained even as her muscles slackened. The aggressive Trail Force flowed around her hand.

Crang-crang!

Kim Bongpal opened his eyes wide as he watched. Her hand was white and slender, delicate. So, why did it sound like iron grinding?

Kim Bongpal continued to move as he pondered. Still, he couldn’t give his opponent a valid hit. However, he was very satisfied with himself for launching that attack just now.

His motionless foe was forced to move.

Tap-

Did she think it was useless? Suddenly, Chen Hua-lin let her self-defense force fade. But before he knew it, her hands were suddenly surrounded by dark energy.

Kim Bongpal instinctively recognized it as Demonic Energy. It didn’t look as grotesque as when he fought the vampires or the Monstrous Immortal, however. If anything, it seemed almost pure.

Bang-bang!

The power was also incomparable to the previous instances he encountered it. Kim Bongpal’s sword collided with her Demonic Energy, each blow sending a startling shock through his arms.

Bang-bang!

He could strike down the first move, but it didn’t end there. The Demonic Energy pushed him back with massive waves that buffeted him without rest.

‘She’s indeed strong. Fuck.’

He had to widen the distance. Kim Bongpal pulled himself together and pushed back the attack. He could stop it, but it spent too much power, consuming his mana in bulk. In terms of results alone, it was an equal fight.

Kim Bongpal attacked, and the opponent blocked it. Then the opponent also attacked, and Kim Bongpal blocked it. In other words, there were only a few simple clashes. However, Kim Bongpal had to admit that he was the one who suffered a loss. The mana consumption each time they collided was extreme.

Of course.

“Phew.”

Kim Bongpal’s losses weren’t unconditional.

“Hey.”

Kim Bongpal called Chen Hua-lin. And before she answered.

Dash-!

At the same time he stepped forward, Kim Bongpal swung. The Trail Force he created added to the sword’s Supernatural Force, and with that power, the space began to shake.

But it didn’t end there.

“Is this how you do it?”

Only a single cut. But the result was like the Celestial Demon’s attack earlier.

Bang! Bang!

The energy split into a dozen lines that careened toward Chen Hua-lin. Some in a straight line, others twisted from below or above. Their explosive energy occupied the space around Chen Hua-lin.

It wasn’t just a technique that resembled it; it was similar to the technique Chen Hua-lin exhibited.

“Hoo?”

Chen Hua-lin exclaimed.

Was he hiding his power? No, it couldn’t be. There was no way he would have willingly suffered that loss by doing such a useless thing. If so…?

“It’s surprising.”

Chen Hua-lin shouted and began to emit her black Demonic Energy through her hands. Kim Bongpal didn’t stop to watch but pressed the attack. Rather than waiting for his opponent to block, he had to pressure her…

However.

“…!”

Chen Hua-lin didn’t individually defend from the branching attacks like Kim Bongpal had earlier. She exhaled energy once, and the black torrent emanating from Chen Hua-lin’s hand was powerful enough to replace a hundred defenses.

Baaaang!

Chen Hua-lin’s response, barely reducing power even after sweeping away his offensive, struck Kim Bongpal. The impact made him feel as if his bones were being pulled out.

Cough.

The damage wasn’t fatal, but it wasn’t easily shaken off. A wheezing cough wracked Kim Bongpal.

There was a small mistake in quickly converting his attack into defense. He made it just in time to save himself, but it couldn’t block everything that was coming in. Kim Bongpal was still inexperienced in dealing with attacks that dealt with space. The matches against Wargen were somewhat helpful, but it was only a few matches. Kim Bongpal’s experience was still markedly lacking.

“…Damn it.”

Kim Bongpal gritted his teeth. He didn’t like the fact he was being pushed back. And-

“It’s fun.”

Chen Hua-lin’s happy attitude about it.

Ptooey-

“Are you having fun? I feel like shit.”

Kim Bongpal, spitting blood, replied.

It felt like shit that there was a gap between him and his opponent. Of course, the gap wasn’t large. Among the numerous Transcendents, the difference between the most advanced and the most inferior wasn’t great, a few steps.

But at the same time, those steps weren’t easy to fill. One step might take at least several years, or perhaps even decades. It was only possible for a few, and even for them, the time required to take that one step was by no means small.

But there were such things in the world as a destructive talent that surpassed even those who reached the limit of Transcendence.

The current Celestial Demon, Chen Hua-lin, was such an existence. She was thirteen when she first learned martial arts and didn’t even have a teacher. Even then, the White-Haired Sword Phantom, her escort, was a first-class Master who was far short of understanding the Celestial Demon God Technique. However, a little over 20 years after starting her training, Chen Hua-lin crossed the wall.

And a few years later, she ascended to the throne of Celestial Demon by beheading her father, who’d been beyond the wall for decades ahead of her.

“Hahaha.”

Yet now, Chen Hua-lin was feeling a new shock from Kim Bongpal. It was inevitable. Since she was the one who easily crossed a step that other people could not take, she could recognize it here.

“How could it not be fun?”

The opponent in front of her was an odd one. The strongest Transcendent she had ever met was the Leader of Evil Alliance, and her current opponent wasn’t even close to him. But how about after a few more years?

‘What will happen then?’

Chen Hua-lin smiled softly and stepped forward. Suddenly, Demonic Energy wrapped around her entire body.

It shook the space around her.

“I must hear your name. I’m genuinely curious about who you are and….”

Would the opponent in front of her now be able to imitate this?