Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Blossoming under Pressure
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'Fast...!'
Everyone shared the same thought. Woo Hayeon, who had advanced to the finals, opened the match with a sword entirely different from anything she'd shown before.
As the drum beat and Moo Yeonjun stepped forward, she unleashed a drawing slash timed perfectly for that moment. Unlike the soft, flashy swordplay she'd displayed until now, this was a killing blow meant for a swift and decisive victory.
But it didn't connect. Moo Yeonjun's reaction speed far surpassed the perception of most spectators.
Could I have dodged it? Many, including Wi Sungcheon, pondered the question.
'No dodging it.'
The best he could manage would be to barely deflect it. Even then, he wouldn't have emerged unscathed. Wi Sungcheon swallowed hard. A dull ache throbbed in his chest.
Just imagining it brought the chilling pain of a blade. A gash from his right waist to his left chest, deep enough to nick the ribs. If Wi Sungcheon had been standing there, Woo Hayeon's drawing slash would have left him with such a wound.
Moo Yeonjun's robes remained unmarred, not even a hem cut. With calm, sunken eyes, he plunged into the empty space her sword had sliced through.
He lowered his upper body and stepped forward with a heavy, forceful foot. Moo Yeonjun's advance wasn't particularly fast, but it left no openings. It was like a mountain moving forward.
Woo Hayeon's waist bent flexibly like a reed. Her upward-thrusting sword came plummeting down.
Scree!
The sword, which had dropped low enough to nearly touch the ground, sprang back up.
Moo Yeonjun's hands spread wide open.
Clang!
Woo Hayeon's eyes widened round. A strike from the side smacked the flat of her blade, altering its trajectory.
Her body moved as one with the sword. The impact lifted her into the air, where she regained her posture mid-flight.
'She's unshaken by the sword's momentum. Her entire body is connected to the blade.'
'To achieve perfect body-sword unity at such a young age...!'
The renowned elders exclaimed in admiration. Wi Sungcheon stared wide-eyed, focusing intently on the movements of Woo Hayeon and Moo Yeonjun.
An itch stirred within him. His body twitched in sync with theirs. Muscles and sensations throughout his frame writhed. Though his body sat in the spectator stands, his mind was down there, fighting.
'He deflected the sword barehanded.'
A precise strike aimed at the flat of the blade. Facing a weapon unarmed demands immense mental strain. Yet Moo Yeonjun showed no such burden in his movements.
'This is...'
Woo Hayeon's eyes narrowed. Still airborne, she moved without hesitation, as if her feet were planted firmly on the ground.
'Even void-stepping...!'
Their skill level was beyond what one would expect from a spar between young experts barely past thirty.
It wasn't just Woo Hayeon. Moo Yeonjun matched her sword swings while treading steps in midair, not yielding an inch.
The backs of his hands and forearms clashed against the blade. Neither retreated. Flesh met metal, sparks flying in place of blood.
"Impossible."
Wi Sungcheon muttered under his breath. The students around him, including Tae Huimyeong, echoed his shock. Moo Yeonjun wasn't even cloaked in protective aura.
Woo Hayeon hadn't drawn forth her sword aura either, but standing bare against such dazzling swordsmanship without a single cut was absurd.
'Has he mastered the illusory Diamond Indestructible at such a young age? Or has his body become that way...?'
The Black Demon King clicked his tongue. There was no need to guess who was responsible. Poison Witch Dang Sa-yeong. That venomous woman hadn't taught Moo Yeonjun her secret poison arts, but she'd tempered his body through various poisons and elixirs.
'When he was handed over to the Poison Witch, the Heavenly Person was only five. Turning a snot-nosed five-year-old's body into Diamond Indestructible and impervious to all poisons artificially...'
"Madness."
The Black Demon King shook his head and muttered. Setting aside humanitarian concerns, it was sheer insanity. Both the Poison Witch who did it and Moo Yeonjun who endured it.
'But that's not enough.'
He wasn't alone in that thought. Everyone felt the same. What is a Heavenly Person? One sent by the heavens to save the world and eradicate demons.
The Heavenly Person exists as the arch-nemesis of the Heavenly Demon and even the Demon King worshipped by the Demonic Cult. Approaching Diamond Indestructible and poison immunity at just over thirty was impressive, but it was incomplete.
'If that's all you've got to show... disappointing.'
As if he'd heard those words,
Moo Yeonjun's movements changed. The rapid exchange of blows suddenly halted. His upper body tilted sharply,
And a 'heavy' punch sent Woo Hayeon's body flying backward. Her expression hardened. Her sword-grip hand throbbed, the blade quivering. Moo Yeonjun thrust his clenched right fist straight forward.
'Fist technique?'
'No, that's a thrust.'
"A spear."
Woo Hayeon murmured softly. Moo Yeonjun didn't respond. His extended right arm began to move slowly.
As if taking aim.
"Transcendent Limitless Spear."
The Black Demon King's lips curled up. The supreme art boasted by Ten Heroes Transcendent Spear, now unleashed not with a spear but an arm.
'Heavenly Chariot.'
Moo Yeonjun's foot propelled his body forward. No—it pushed against the ground. The arena floor, made of black rock and steel, sank inward with a squelch.
Boom!
Fast and heavy. The fist—no, spear—launched by hurling his entire body pierced through space.
Scraaape!
Woo Hayeon's feet dragged backward. Barely evading it was her limit. She bit her lip until it bled.
Crimson aura surged from her entire body, enveloping her form and sword.
'...A bit regrettable now.'
She regretted the needless promise. Without it, she wouldn't have to shoulder this burden.
'Doesn't add up.'
Her wrist ached. Deflecting the charging 'spear' hadn't been perfectly smooth.
'But I made a promise.'
She'd promised to win. She didn't want to become a liar who broke her word. Was that all? As Moo Yeonjun attacked, countless thoughts flooded her mind.
Living in a village near Mount Hua. The first time she gripped a 'stick.'
A long stick with twigs trimmed off. From a very young age, she'd inexplicably loved holding and swinging such long things.
Song Jin-il of Falling Petals Sword saw her by chance, immediately gained her parents' permission, took her as a disciple, and brought her to Mount Hua.
The first time she gripped a real sword. Woo Hayeon realized what she'd truly wanted to hold and swing wasn't some stick, but a sword.
'Not just because of the promise.'
The thrill of first holding a real sword. The joy of practicing swordsmanship. But at some point, swinging the sword stopped being fun.
The victories she'd claimed time and again brought no joy.
But now, it was fun.
'Because of my junior.'
Woo Hayeon's body twisted. Her sword's motion shifted. Beyond body-sword unity, her mind and body fused into one, her 'self' dwelling within the blade. This ecstatic oneness felt long absent.
Since she'd grown too strong and come to dread it, she'd abandoned the sword's joy. Now it bloomed as a smile on her face.
'Heavy...?'
No, light? Neither. The thrust spear was deflected. The aura cloaking her body shone red like plum blossoms at their peak.
Transcendent Spear's Transcendent Limitless Spear linked seamlessly into Rogue Hero's Demon Subduing Six Harmonies Palm. Martial arts of utterly different natures flowed smoothly through Moo Yeonjun's body.
But Woo Hayeon's sword was free. Fast yet gentle, slow then light. She orchestrated every change with perfect freedom.
'Not yet.'
Wi Sungcheon clenched his fists. His eyes felt like they might burst. Tracking with his eyes, projecting his consciousness onto the arena, imagining himself in the fray.
How many times had he died so far? He didn't know. Wi Sungcheon chewed his lower lip. He felt it bone-deep. Right now, he was leagues below Senior Woo Hayeon and Moo Yeonjun.
'Not yet.'
The match wasn't decided. Sword clashed against flesh. Differing auras tangled, exploded, scattering qi fragments. It looked like petals scattering from full bloom.
In the midst of it,
Moo Yeonjun's right hand moved differently than before. His long-extended arm swept sideways, not like swinging an 'arm' but like 'cutting.'
That sense of dissonance hit Woo Hayeon first, even before Wi Sungcheon in the stands.
'I know it.'
It wasn't unfamiliar. She'd seen and experienced it. Not long ago—just yesterday. Tae Huimyeong's display of Tai Chi Sword Lord's Infinite Great Ultimate Tai Chi.
Moo Yeonjun's Infinite Great Ultimate Tai Chi felt entirely different from Tae Huimyeong's, yet it clearly embodied the boundless principles of the art.
'You're strong.'
Kwaaaa!
Sword auras tangled. Amid scattering aura petals, Woo Hayeon steadied her mind.
More beautifully, more splendidly. Like riotously blooming plums—that was Mount Hua's sword.
Wudang's sword flowed endlessly. If Mount Hua's was flashy, Wudang's was vast, deep, swallowing all.
Such differing swords—which was stronger? Superiority in martial arts wasn't divided by rank. No matter the art, what mattered was 'how' it was used.
Even amid Moo Yeonjun's endlessly flowing Infinite Great Ultimate Tai Chi, Woo Hayeon's sword existed clearly. Amid the world of true slashes he created, her sword still bloomed beautifully.
The Tai Chi Sword Lord shot to his feet. His eyes bulged as he looked down. His divine eyes, awakened by the opening of his upper dantian, discerned that their martial prowess teetered on the brink of transcending human limits.
"Haha, hahaha!"
The Tai Chi Sword Lord couldn't hold back his laughter. Children just past thirty were knocking on the gates of the upper dantian.
Moo Yeonjun had claimed he'd glimpsed the Heavenly Gate from afar. It was certain. Moo Yeonjun surpassed the previous Heavenly Person, Divine Sword Jimum Hyeok.
No, not just Moo Yeonjun. Sword Peak Woo Hayeon too! These two clashing in the finals were unmistakably the future of the righteous martial world, geniuses who could vie for the world's top in generations to come.
"Unbelievable...!"
The Rogue Hero stuck out his tongue. Knocking on the upper dantian's gate at that age! Among history's famed masters, were there any geniuses not called such?
But henceforth, 'genius' would be a word used sparingly. These two shone with brilliance worthy of the greatest in righteous martial history.
'This much is clear.'
The Black Demon King's eyes narrowed.
'If it were just swords, Sword Peak's would surpass the Heavenly Person's.'
Tai Chi Sword Lord's Infinite Great Ultimate Tai Chi—arguably the world's finest sword art. In comparison, Woo Hayeon's was Mount Hua's basic Plum Blossom Sword and her advanced Heavenly Stream Plum Blossom Sword. As sword techniques, they paled against Infinite Great Ultimate Tai Chi.
Yet Woo Hayeon's sword overwhelmed Moo Yeonjun's. In skill as a swordsman... Woo Hayeon dominated utterly.
Moo Yeonjun staggered back. His skin was uncut, but his sleeve lay in tatters. His sword aura was devoured by hers.
He smelled vivid plum blossoms. As if standing at the heart of full-bloom plums.
Scattering aura petals dazzled the eyes. But Moo Yeonjun's mind remained unshaken.
Slowly, his arm cleaved through space.
Myriad Phenomena Primordial Tai Chi.
The petals swirling around him burst apart. The vivid plum scent faded, replaced by the sharp tang of metal tickling his nose. Sword aura cloaked Moo Yeonjun's body, flowing onward as Woo Hayeon's sword invaded.
Plum Blossom Gradual Opening.
Plum Blossoms in Full Riot.
Plum Petals Falling Thick.
Plum Fragrance Flowing as Stream.
Once, twice... Layered transformations fully invaded the Myriad Phenomena Primordial Tai Chi.
Plum Blossoms in Utter Abundance.
Countless flowers bloomed. Sword flowers bloomed by the sword. Woo Hayeon panted heavily. Her straight-thrust blade aimed at Moo Yeonjun's throat—but
Zing!
Her sword shattered into pieces. And blood flowed from Moo Yeonjun's arm. He stared at Woo Hayeon with impassive eyes, then nodded.
"If your sword hadn't broken."
"If my junior hadn't yielded."
Woo Hayeon smiled bitterly in response. At some point, Moo Yeonjun had stubbornly used only the 'sword.' If he'd unleashed not just the sword, but every technique at his disposal—the destructive aura of Moon Shadow Flash, Rogue Hero's erratic palm strikes, Transcendent Spear's domineering spearwork—
"My choice."
Moo Yeonjun shook his head and murmured.
"I wanted to defeat you with the sword, Senior."
With that, Moo Yeonjun turned away.
"But I couldn't win."
Moo Yeonjun walked slowly. Woo Hayeon, still holding her shattered sword thrust forward, watched his receding back. He leaped down from the arena.
"The victor is you, Senior."
No trace of regret lingered in Moo Yeonjun's voice.