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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Martial God (9)
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Obtaining Life-Death Full Bind meant that others' life and death were now in your hands.
Beneath the scorching sun, a group raced forward. Six blood wolves led the way up front, with ten people charging behind them. They looked as if they were tied to a rope and being dragged along.
A cloud of sand dust billowed up behind the racing group.
These were Tareu and Black Wind's crew, who had been running nonstop for two hours already.
Black Wind's group was drenched in sweat from head to toe.
Among the ten, the one in the worst shape was Black Wind. The other nine, including Yo Pung, weren't masters by any means, but they had some martial training and managed to keep up despite the strain. Black Wind, however, had to give it everything he had. He pushed his Beast Blood Demon Art to its absolute limit and kept running without pause. Sweat poured down his face in streams, his hair and clothes utterly soaked, dripping like rainwater with every movement.
Even in that state, he maintained a steady distance and followed the group.
Tareu, who had been leading, slowed her pace.
She matched Black Wind's speed.
"Should I slow down?"
In truth, Tareu couldn't hide her astonishment.
They had run nonstop for two hours straight from the sand dunes where Black Wind's group had been hiding. The blood wolves, who roamed the desert like it was their backyard, were foaming at the mouth from the effort.
Most people would collapse after that kind of run. Yet they had all kept up. The nine were martial artists, so that wasn't surprising.
What shocked her was Black Wind. As far as she could tell, he had no internal energy. In other words, he wasn't a martial artist. He might have trained some basics, but nothing worth calling proper martial arts.
Unlike the nine who were using lightness skills, Black Wind was running on sheer body alone. He did show some unusual movement, though. He wasn't running on two legs like the others but on all fours like a beast. And he had done so for two full hours without stopping once, even from the very back.
It was superhuman.
"I'm fine."
Black Wind said.
But contrary to his words, his chest felt like it was about to burst.
"You don't look fine to me."
"Running full throttle like this is helping me."
"Helping you?"
"I'm in the middle of developing something huge right now."
"Developing?"
"Superpowers, in fancy terms."
"Pfft!"
Tareu let out a chuckle.
Developing superpowers while running like he was about to drop dead. She suddenly found him amusing.
"You think it's possible to sprint full speed for two hours straight without superpowers?"
"Well..."
Tareu had no comeback.
He was right. No ordinary human could do it. Even a martial artist would struggle. Yet this guy was pulling it off. And his breathing seemed to be steadying.
"But how did you, the weakest one, end up as Thousand Commander?"
The thought just occurred to her.
She hadn't even known Black Wind was the Thousand Commander until they started traveling together.
"Not Thousand Commander—Ten Thousand Commander."
"You made it to Ten Thousand Commander?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I was the tallest. And had the loudest voice."
"...Hahaha!"
Tareu burst out laughing.
"At this pace, when are we getting to the oasis? Pick it up."
"You sure I should go full speed?"
"New power only emerges when you push past your limits."
"New power?"
"Superpowers."
"..."
"Anyway, it's just half an hour more to the oasis. Hang in there."
"You been here before?"
Tareu's eyes widened. He was spot on. At this speed, it would take half an hour to the oasis; full throttle would cut it to fifteen minutes.
Yet Black Wind knew the distance exactly.
"Nope."
"Then?"
"My nose is a dog's nose."
"You can smell the water?"
"Probably."
"You're a total beast."
Tareu stared at Black Wind with a bewildered look. No beast could smell water half an hour away.
Yet...
"What I'm using right now is beast martial arts."
"..."
"Sis, run!"
"Hahaha! Hah!"
Tareu laughed brightly and whipped the blood wolf's neck. The wolf shot forward at terrifying speed. The eighteen-man squad chased after it like mad. Black Wind was no different. He poured everything into his sprint.
—You enter the Superforce Realm only when you surpass everyday limits and reach the extreme state. Entering the Superforce Realm awakens your Latent Great Power. The energy created by Latent Great Power is called Latent Great Power Energy, which surpasses internal energy.
—I've been in the Superforce Realm for an hour and a half now, old man.
—Imagine a basin of water here. Suppose you pour it into that big basin over there and a dried-up lake. You can drink from the basin or wash your face. But the lake water?
—It all soaks in, nothing left.
—Good. Now instead of one basin, pour water from a jar as tall as you. What then?
—The jar's water lets you bathe, but pour it into the dry lake, and it's useless.
—You're that lake.
—...
—Water is the internal energy martial artists call true qi.
—...
—Live as a commoner. You might even live a long, healthy life.
—Meeting you old folks means that's not in the cards for me.
—Fill it up, over and over. Eventually, what's a handful to others becomes a basin to you, a basin becomes a jar.
—What if it never fills?
—True. Failure's more likely. Still, you have to try until you drop dead.
—Why?
—Because you met us, like you said. Us, who lived our lives as losers.
—And to land one on my old man.
—Right. To smash your fist into your father's jaw, you need that dry lake overflowing. First, acquire Latent Great Power Energy.
—What's that for?
—It wets the dry lake.
—The foundation?
—Not foundation—basics.
—How?
—Endure extreme conditions for over ten years, and it'll be complete.
—Damn it.
—Like I said earlier, give up all this, live as a commoner, enjoy a full lifespan.
—Too bad, my build's too good to waste.
—Huge waste. Without that, you're born a martial bone.
—So you saying do it or not?
—Your call.
—Ten years, old man.
Black Wind's movements quickened. An immense energy surged from his entire body. It was utterly different from before. No killing intent, no special aura. Yet it dominated the surroundings like a force field.
Sand rose around him as he sprinted full tilt. At first, it seemed like grains kicked up by his hands and feet. But no. Every time his hands and feet touched the ground, sand leaped up like water droplets on a vibrating plate.
His speed hadn't increased. Black Wind kept the same pace as before.
His upper body, which had been running beast-like on arms and legs, straightened slightly. His head lifted first, then his hands left the ground.
Soon, he was running on two legs.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each step propelled him a zhang forward.
A faint smile tugged at Black Wind's lips. He turned his head to look back. His footprints were barely visible, like those of the Phantom Ghost Lightness Skill.
He swung his now-free arms.
Focused on running, his arm movements were slow.
'Match it to footwork and breathing.'
Arms forward with feet, retract when pulling back. Extend on inhale, pull on exhale. Unify breathing and footwork with both arms.
Like a dance.
Natural.
Awkwardness kills the power.
His arm speed gradually picked up. Then, at one point, his arms underwent a bizarre change. Extend, twist, bend, snatch, pull, swing, drag. Countless hand shadows filled the air. What he unleashed with both arms while running was Life-Death Bind. At first, just Life-Death Bind. Then it split into two.
Left hand Life Bind, right hand Death Bind. After hundreds of reps to familiarize, he switched. Life-Death Bind, Life Bind, Death Bind, Death Bind, Life-Death Bind, Life Bind. Life Bind, Death Bind, Life-Death Bind—various combinations flowed out.
Life Bind, Death Bind, Life-Death Bind perfectly covered front, left, and right. His legs still leaped a zhang per stride.
—Mastering Life Bind and Death Bind freely regardless of hand is Life-Death Full Bind. Obtaining Life-Death Full Bind means holding others' life and death in your hands.
No one saw it, as he performed from the rear. Black Wind kept unleashing Life Bind, Death Bind, Life-Death Bind without pause, following the group. As fifteen minutes neared, the oasis trees appeared in the distance.
'Guests.'
Amid the water scent mixed human and camel smells. Black Wind dropped back to all fours. Kicking up dust, he raced toward the oasis.
Moments later, the group arrived at the oasis.
Tareu, arriving first, glanced back at Black Wind.
"You're a monster."
She shook her head.
Black Wind looked even fresher than fifteen minutes ago.
"But..."
She scanned the oasis. Quite a few people had set up camp inside.
She recognized some.
"That a tavern?"
Black Wind, now close, eyed a building on one side of the oasis. A foul stench wafted from him—dried blood mixed with sweat.
"We call 'em rest shelters."
Rest shelters had been around in oases for ages. Not every oasis had one, just the busy spots. They sold booze, food, and beds.
"Expensive, right?"
"Obviously."
"Gotta make some serious coin anyway."
"Wanna go in and crash?"
"I forget what beds look like."
"Pfft!"
Tareu chuckled.
"I'll put you up?"
"Hate owing debts on principle."
Black Wind trudged toward the water. At the sudden appearance of Central Plains folk, the earlier arrivals all turned to stare.
"Isn't that Wind Brigade gear?"
A Border Wastelander pointed at Black Wind's group.
"Looks like it."
His neighbor nodded.
"Wind Brigade thinking they own the place..."
The man shot to his feet.
He strode toward Black Wind's group.
"Get out! Now!"
He bellowed upon reaching them.
Black Wind stared him down.
"Doesn't know Border Wasteland tongue, huh..."
"I do."
Black Wind said.
"...Get out now."
"Gonna break the desert's unwritten rule?"
"Unwritten rule?"
"Can't drive away man or beast coming to an oasis. No fighting allowed. Oasis is for living things to rest. That's the desert rule, right?"
"Desert rules apply to us Border Wastelanders. Not you Central Plains scum."
"Who're you?"
"I'm Yahu Mahado of Divine River Hell Heaven."
"Divine River Black Dragon."
Someone murmured.
In the Border Wastelands, the ten rising young experts were called Yellow Heaven Ten Dragons. Yahu Mahado, the Divine River Black Dragon, was one.
"Divine River guy lecturing on desert oases?"
"I'm evicting the Wind Brigade for murdering Border Wastelanders—not Central Plainers."
"War's over. Didn't hear?"
"I did. But Wind Brigade's unforgivable."
"You nosy bastard. Born that way?"
"You wanna die, huh."
"Don't get cocky, punk, or you'll get hurt."
Black Wind said coldly.