Chapter 76
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Reunion (4)
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Jinmyeong continued to observe Gang Muhwi, who was frantically swinging his sword at the controlled blade.
‘Is that the right way to do it?’
Watching Gang Muhwi's movements, he occasionally found things that puzzled him.
‘He probably hasn't mastered it properly yet.’
There was still time before Gang Muhwi was supposed to make his debut in the martial world.
Naturally, Gang Muhwi's Heavenly Qi Sword was bound to be lacking at this stage.
‘He wasn't able to use that sword art properly until the middle of the novel.’
It wasn't until after the midpoint that he could execute the ten forms without mistakes, let alone link them together.
He only became capable of seamlessly executing all ten forms in a single breath after the war with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And he created the final, eleventh form at the very end of the novel. So, it was understandable that Gang Muhwi's swordsmanship was clumsy right now.
"Hngh!"
Even though he was using his ultimate technique, the Heavenly Qi Sword, Jinmyeong's controlled blade continuously blocked his every move.
It wasn't deflected or pushed back; it stood firm, like a great mountain.
Moreover, Jinmyeong just stood there, watching him with his arms crossed.
Infuriated by the sight, he tried to charge at Jinmyeong, but the controlled blade would instantly block his path, thwarting him every time.
‘I know there are still a few years to go, but this is just too weak.’
Jinmyeong wore a puzzled expression as he parried Gang Muhwi's sword.
It was hard to believe that the man swinging a sword before him was truly the protagonist of the novel.
‘Is he about on par with Gye Buil?’
If he had to gauge Gang Muhwi's martial prowess, it was comparable to the Heavenly Demon's fourth disciple, Gye Buil.
He felt stronger than Gonghyo of Shaolin, whom he had fought just a moment ago.
Since the novel hadn't even begun yet, Gang Muhwi hadn't had his fateful encounters, so it was natural for him to be weak.
It was just that he was weaker than he had expected, which was disappointing.
‘Have I gotten stronger?’
Not long after he had first learned martial arts and returned, Jinmyeong couldn't even beat Gye Buil easily.
Wasn't that why he had sought out the Mad Demon to obtain the Asura Sword Forms?
But now, with a single sword, he was overwhelming Gang Muhwi, who was on par with Gye Buil.
‘I wish he'd move on to the next form already.’
Gang Muhwi was currently using only five of the ten forms of the Heavenly Qi Sword.
He was waiting to see when he would use the remaining five, but Gang Muhwi never executed the sixth form or any thereafter.
"How long are you going to keep repeating those forms? Don't you have any others?"
Having already committed all five forms to memory, Jinmyeong finally lost his patience and shouted. At his words, Gang Muhwi bit his lip hard.
But the only forms he could currently execute were the five he was using.
Of course, he knew the other forms, but he couldn't perform them perfectly yet.
"Are you really going to make me regret it with just this?"
"Hngh!"
Finally, Gang Muhwi changed his stance to execute the sixth form.
Seeing the completely different stance, Jinmyeong watched Gang Muhwi with an interested smile.
"Keuk!"
But the smile playing on Jinmyeong's lips vanished all too quickly.
It was because Gang Muhwi had failed to execute the form properly and had dropped his sword.
“……”
Jinmyeong was speechless at Gang Muhwi's clumsy display.
‘Was I really that intimidated by this guy? Does this even make sense?’
At this level, Jinmyeong would have beaten Gang Muhwi even when they met in Shaanxi.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason to be intimidated by Gang Muhwi.
It was enough to make him wonder if some supernatural force had intervened to make him feel intimidated, since the story wouldn't proceed if he killed Gang Muhwi.
"Keuk!"
Gang Muhwi hurriedly picked up his sword, but Jinmyeong had no intention of attacking him anymore.
When Jinmyeong's controlled blade, which had been aimed at him, disappeared, Gang Muhwi felt a sense of emptiness.
He could tell that Jinmyeong had lost interest in him.
‘Maeng Yo is holding his own pretty well.’
Having lost interest in Gang Muhwi, Jinmyeong turned his gaze toward Maeng Yo, who was fighting Great Master Gongeun.
He was pushing back Great Master Gongeun, laughing as if he was enjoying himself.
And Great Master Gongeun was also blocking Maeng Yo's attacks and counterattacking.
‘Now I get it. I've definitely gotten stronger.’
Maeng Yo was a master of a caliber that neither Gonghyo nor the current Gang Muhwi could handle.
Since he could fight on par with such a man, and even win sometimes, Jinmyeong could see just how much stronger he had become.
It wasn't for nothing that the Twin Elders of Kongtong and the Purple Mist Divine Sword had tried to kill him before going after the Heavenly Demon's first disciple, Mok Jagyeong.
"With this level of skill, how could you act so confident back in Shaanxi?"
"Shaanxi?"
At the mention of Shaanxi, Gang Muhwi looked bewildered.
"Have we met before?"
"We have. You were so smitten with the woman I was with that you completely ignored me. With the skills you have now."
Only after hearing Jinmyeong's words did Gang Muhwi recall a woman with a cold expression whose name he didn't know.
He remembered her clearly because she was incredibly beautiful and an immense master.
Only after remembering her could Gang Muhwi recall that there had been a young man next to her.
However, since he hadn't thought the man was a master worthy of his attention, he hadn't paid him much mind and couldn't even remember his face.
"You need to sharpen your judgment. How can you survive in this harsh martial world when you're so blind?"
"Keuk!"
Jinmyeong once again lost interest in the resentful-looking Gang Muhwi.
Seeing one of the Fifteen Divine Dragons, Gonghyo, defeated, and the young master who had suddenly intervened rendered helpless by Jinmyeong, Great Master Gongeun grew anxious.
He knew that if Jinmyeong helped Maeng Yo, he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
He needed to defeat the King of the Green Forest quickly, but he was being pushed back instead, which made him feel suffocated.
‘It's about to end.’
Jinmyeong could see that Great Master Gongeun was getting desperate.
If even Jinmyeong, watching from a distance, could tell, then his opponent, Maeng Yo, must have noticed as well.
As Jinmyeong watched Maeng Yo's attacks grow sharper, he moved his hand.
*Clang!*
"Even so, a sneak attack is a bit much, don't you think?"
Gang Muhwi, who had approached Jinmyeong from behind, turned pale as he saw Jinmyeong block his surprise attack with just his index finger.
"You're really lucky."
"Keok!"
Kicked in the stomach by Jinmyeong, Gang Muhwi coughed up blood and stumbled backward.
If Gang Muhwi weren't the protagonist, his head would have been severed several times over by now.
"Keuheup!"
As he spat out blood, Gang Muhwi's body began to tremble.
Rage, or perhaps despair, and helplessness.
Gang Muhwi couldn't control such complex emotions.
"What are you doing now!"
A sudden, elderly shout.
At the sound of the old man's voice, everyone at the Unjeong Escort Agency froze.
Even Great Master Gongeun and Maeng Yo stopped fighting.
‘Who is that?’
The one who had suddenly appeared was an old man.
The old man, with a pure white beard that reached his chest, had the appearance of an immortal sage, but contrary to his looks, his eyes were filled with irritation.
"It's been a long time since I sent you on an errand. What are you doing here?"
"E-Elder?"
The one flustered by the sight of the old man was none other than Gang Muhwi.
The old man clicked his tongue and approached Jinmyeong and Gang Muhwi.
"You're doing something interesting."
"What do you mean, interesting?"
Hearing the old man's voice, Jinmyeong's body trembled involuntarily.
‘A master. An incredible master.’
Looking at the old man reminded him of the Heavenly Demon or the Mad Demon.
He seemed weaker than the Heavenly Demon, but it would be hard to determine who was superior between him and the Mad Demon.
‘I have no idea who he is.’
Jinmyeong tried to figure out the old man's identity, but nothing came to mind.
Gang Muhwi had called the old man 'Elder', not 'Master'.
This meant Jinmyeong's assumption that he was his master was completely wrong.
‘I've never seen him before.’
He recalled the faces of important figures from the Righteous Alliance and the Heretical Alliance, but none of them matched the old man's.
"What was your reason for continuously watching this boy's swordsmanship?"
“……”
It seemed the old man had noticed that Jinmyeong was studying Gang Muhwi's sword techniques.
"Were you perhaps thinking of copying this boy's sword art?"
The old man had accurately grasped Jinmyeong's intention.
"Not that I think you can perform that sword art just by watching it."
The Heavenly Qi Sword was an incredibly difficult art.
It wasn't an art so simple that one could replicate it just by watching the still-unskilled Gang Muhwi.
"You must be that boy who's been making a name for himself lately, the New Demonic Sword Controller or whatever."
It's rare to find someone who can use Sword Control Arts at such a young age.
Especially if they're of mixed blood with a foreigner.
"You certainly are exceptional. And here I thought this boy was talented."
Before seeing Jinmyeong, he had thought Gang Muhwi possessed an exceptional talent.
He was so talented that he would have already mastered any other martial art besides the Heavenly Qi Sword. Yet, Jinmyeong possessed a talent so immense it would make even Gang Muhwi feel inadequate.
"But you're carrying something strange in your body."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You don't even know your own condition?"
He knew.
Jinmyeong was shocked because he knew all too well.
He had never imagined the old man would mention his physical condition.
"To think you can perform martial arts so well with a body like that. Or is it? Perhaps it's because of that body that you came up with the absurd method of Sword Control Arts."
The old man had grasped Jinmyeong's condition in an instant.
"Can you fix my body?"
"I can fix it, of course. Though it might take a while."
The old man burst out laughing as he looked at Jinmyeong.
He found it amusing how Jinmyeong reacted to his every word.
"How about it? Instead of staying in a place like the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, come to me."
"By that, you mean..."
"Why pretend you don't understand? I'm telling you to become my disciple. If you do, I will fix that body of yours."
"Elder? Didn't you say you wouldn't take any more disciples?"
The one shocked by the old man's words was not Jinmyeong, but Gang Muhwi.
"I have no disciples in the martial arts, you see. Of course, I'm not sure if this boy needs my martial arts, but isn't it about time I found a successor?"
The old man looked at Gang Muhwi, who still wore a look of incomprehension, with cold eyes.
"Or would you like to become my disciple?"
"That is..."
"If not, then be quiet."
Having silenced Gang Muhwi in an instant, the old man looked back at Jinmyeong.
"I'll ask you one more time. Become my disciple. If you do, I will fix your body."
"...Can you really fix my body?"
Jinmyeong was seriously considering it.
He even wondered if there was any reason to remain in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
"Hoho. Even so, is it right to covet another's disciple like this?"
Jinmyeong, who had been about to agree without thinking, shut his mouth at the voice that suddenly rang out.
Turning his head to see who had spoken, Jinmyeong felt the hair on his entire body stand on end.