Chapter 270
Chapter 270
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: Lightness Skill Showdown
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Heavenly Mountain was vast in size, and access to its various regions was classified in diverse ways.
From places only the Heavenly Demon could enter, to areas restricted to high-ranking demonic practitioners and those directly affiliated with the cult.
And finally, up to zones open to all cult members—the mountain was segmented in stages like this.
As such, quite a few people climbed the lower, less lofty parts of Heavenly Mountain to gather firewood or forage for mushrooms and herbs.
And among them.
"Not sure if this one's edible."
A man gathering wild greens and mushrooms muttered to himself, lost in thought.
He was scrutinizing the mushroom in his hand, which he'd never seen before, wondering if it might be poisonous.
But then.
Rumble!
A roar echoed from afar, and soon the ground began to tremble.
The man looked up to gauge the situation, then scratched his scruffy beard.
Not long ago, black lightning had struck, and now the earth itself was shaking.
"...Has some calamity befallen this land?"
From bizarre thunder to earthquake-like rumbles.
Lately, natural disasters had been striking Heavenly Mountain one after another.
The man tilted his head and glanced away.
Natural disasters couldn't be stopped or avoided anyway.
The ground wasn't splitting open right in front of him at this moment.
So, he simply focused on his task.
Having already grown accustomed to the vibrations, the man resumed sorting his mushrooms.
"It's definitely different."
Hyeok Mulin glanced back briefly and smirked.
There were two reasons he'd left while provocatively taunting Cheon Su-myeong.
First, to goad the man who had merely been watching him into action.
And second.
'I was curious about the Sword Venerable's lightness skill.'
As a swordsman whose insight into swordsmanship had reached its peak, there was no need to question the profundity of his sword arts.
However.
'What about his lightness skill?'
Hyeok Mulin wanted to gauge the level of lightness skill employed by one who had attained the realm of Ancient Martial Venerable.
And the extent of his proficiency in martial arts beyond swordsmanship.
To that end, he'd lured him to a remote mountainous fringe near the edge of Heavenly Mountain, then instantly widened the gap.
Yet.
"Not sure if you could even call that a lightness skill."
Cheon Su-myeong was charging straight toward Hyeok Mulin.
Shattering every rock and tree in his path, smashing the ground to pieces.
He was pursuing Hyeok Mulin while laying the mountainside to waste.
What was the definition of lightness skill?
A martial art that lightened the body, allowing tireless travel over long distances, swift and agile movement.
Who, seeing Cheon Su-myeong now, would say he was employing lightness skill?
Due to this destructive rampage, Hyeok Mulin had to flee Heavenly Mountain even faster than anticipated.
Leaving him here any longer might collapse the mountain's ecosystem.
They shifted to a nearby range and continued their pursuit.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Crash!
"Kekeke! It's been ages since I ran this freely!"
Cheon Su-myeong freely alternated between Earth Heaven Flash Shadow Step and Destruction Escape Demon March Step as he advanced.
His lightning-fast form cleaved through the sky or emerged from cracked earth, chasing Hyeok Mulin.
However.
"...Peculiar."
He'd almost caught up.
Close enough to grasp with an outstretched hand.
Yet Cheon Su-myeong's fingers always missed Hyeok Mulin by a hair's breadth.
Whoosh!
Every time he thought he'd seized him, his grip closed on empty air.
In those vanishing moments, Hyeok Mulin seemed to melt into shadows or entrust his form to faint sunlight.
Thus, Cheon Su-myeong, who had initially followed out of mere curiosity, began to heat up.
As he accelerated, Hyeok Mulin matched his speed.
Turning it into a contest, the two raced over long distances.
Then, at one point.
Creak.
The Sword Venerable's movements halted abruptly.
Standing amid a forest where birds chirped, he stared ahead and smirked.
"Hoh..."
In that instant, Hyeok Mulin had concealed his presence, vanishing from his pursuit path.
"Playing little tricks."
Cheon Su-myeong gathered explosive demonic energy.
He knew the general direction.
So, turning the entire radius into a sea of flames would force him out.
Drawing his sword, he aimed it toward where Hyeok Mulin had disappeared.
The moment he prepared to unleash sword light.
"Enough."
Hyeok Mulin appeared directly in front of him.
"Let's stop here. That wasn't even in the realm of lightness skill."
"Keke, I never said I'd chase you with pure lightness skill."
Cheon Su-myeong sheathed his sword with a feigned regretful chuckle.
Hyeok Mulin shook his head and gazed at him.
"Was what you used even lightness skill to begin with? You were destroying the entire forest as you moved."
"I mixed lightness skill with divine steps. After you provoked me like that, shouldn't you feel some tension too?"
Just as I thought.
If he could charge like that indefinitely, he could raze the world with mere lightness skill.
Of course, traversing such distances with divine steps alone demonstrated unbelievable inner power.
"But what was yours? Not just the speed—it slipped away just as I thought I had it, and sometimes your form and presence vanished entirely."
"This is Extreme Swift Shadowless."
"Extreme Swift Shadowless?"
Cheon Su-myeong furrowed his brow in puzzlement after a moment's thought.
"Never heard of it."
"That figures. It's a relic of a forgotten past."
A martial art possessed by one who had reached the pinnacle of supreme swordsmanship on one foot.
Even if his existence was renowned, knowing his specific techniques would be rare.
In any case, this confirmed one thing.
Extreme Swift Shadowless was in no way inferior to the lightness techniques of an Ancient Martial Venerable.
And Cheon Su-myeong seemed to share that assessment.
'I thought he only trained swordsmanship, but his lightness skill is on par too.'
It was unbelievable even considering their ages.
Attaining swordsmanship rivaling his own at such a young age was impressive enough.
Yet he'd also mastered lightness skill of comparable caliber.
'Does he have forty-eight hours in a day or something?'
Spending time with him made the flow of time feel warped.
Regardless of age, how many in the world could reach such heights simultaneously in swordsmanship and lightness skill?
The more he learned, the more astonishing it became.
Having stretched his legs for the first time in a while, Cheon Su-myeong turned back toward Heavenly Mountain.
He'd left it, so it was time to return.
But Hyeok Mulin faced the opposite direction.
As Hyeok Mulin resumed moving at a moderate pace, Cheon Su-myeong tilted his head and followed.
Growing ever farther from Heavenly Mountain alongside him, Cheon Su-myeong asked curiously.
"Where exactly are you headed?"
Hyeok Mulin gave a curt reply.
"Central Plains."
"What...?"
Cheon Su-myeong's pupils dilated.
In truth, even before their lightness skill clash, Hyeok Mulin had already decided his path.
Before leaving Heavenly Demon Palace, he'd left a letter with Sima Jin.
And so, as they raced toward the Central Plains along the Divine River, Cheon Su-myeong posed another question.
He had many things he wanted to ask.
Was it alright for the Heavenly Demon to leave so suddenly? Without bringing subordinates?
But the strongest doubt nagging him was.
"Why head to the Central Plains all of a sudden?"
"There's someone I want to introduce you to."
"Me?"
The moment Hyeok Mulin first laid eyes on him, one person had come to mind.
Two men with similar yet utterly different auras.
Mount Hwasan Sword Immortal and Demonic Sword Venerable.
Swordsmen who had reached the pinnacle of enlightenment through the sword, one from righteousness, one from demonic path.
What result would arise if those two clashed?
Hyeok Mulin intended to arrange their spar.
Of course, not out of mere curiosity.
The Ancient Martial Venerable of his cult versus that of the Murim Alliance.
Their confrontation would serve as a gauge of both factions' strengths.
'Of course, the Sword Immortal won't agree easily.'
The Sword Venerable was a former supreme clan patriarch, free of burdens.
But the Sword Immortal still bore immense responsibility as Mount Hwasan's sect leader, unlikely to engage the demonic cult's Ancient Martial Venerable lightly.
Yet Hyeok Mulin was confident his proposal wouldn't be refused.
He had a countermeasure the Sword Immortal couldn't reject.
"...?"
Seeing the peculiar smile on Hyeok Mulin's face, Cheon Su-myeong tilted his head but soon looked away.
"Well... do as you please. I'll just follow wherever you go."
"You won't regret it."
They traversed the Divine River at high speed.
Having tested each other with lightness skill and gauged their realms, rivalry had faded from their pursuit.
Taking occasional breaks, they pressed on together until they reached the river's end.
"The Central Plains are near now."
Grasping their position, they prepared to continue along the mountain path.
At that moment.
Step.
Someone blocked the path.
Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong halted at the sight of a middle-aged man wielding a rusty sword.
With slightly trembling hands, he raised the blade and shouted at them.
"H-Hand over everything you have! Then I'll spare your lives!"
A classic bandit's threat.
But his quivering voice and clumsy demeanor revealed his inexperience at brigandage.
No notable inner power emanated from him either—he seemed like a farmer clumsily imitating bandits.
Did he even realize?
That he was the first in the history of the martial world to threaten both the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Venerable simultaneously.
Hyeok Mulin and Cheon Su-myeong exchanged glances.
How to handle this?
Should they trample the ant in their path? Or simply leap over?
After a brief eye contact, Cheon Su-myeong smiled at Hyeok Mulin, struck by a good idea.
He sent a transmission.
『I'll follow your lead.』
How would the Heavenly Demon handle this situation?
Just observing promised amusement, reaffirming that tailing him was the right choice.
However.
'Right. Let's do it that way.'
A strange smile crossed Hyeok Mulin's face as he faced forward again.
Slowly parting his lips toward the inept man.
"I have nothing of value. So."
Hyeok Mulin approached him.
The bandit flinched and backed away, to which Hyeok Mulin added.
"Capture me."
Whether Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Murim Alliance, or Four Black Alliances.
"Take me anywhere, and you'll get a hefty ransom."
At those words, Cheon Su-myeong froze in place.
Speechless, he was swept away by waves of shock.