Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: To Advance Without Regret (1)
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Namgung Su's face twisted in fury.
"What did you just say?"
"Let go of that hand."
"And?"
Namgung Su asked once more.
A tremendous aura surged from Namgung Su's body. The Namgung Clan's secret technique, the Boundless Heart Technique, had activated.
"Urk!"
Fang Jin-bo's face drained of all color. His eyes rolled back, on the verge of passing out.
Even peak masters of the martial world would struggle against this pressure—there was no way Fang Jin-bo, ignorant of martial arts, could withstand it. If time dragged on like this, Fang Jin-bo's heart meridians would take severe damage.
Namgung Su's rage exploded.
"Break your wrist, you say? Go ahead and try. You dare..."
"Young Master Namgung, calm down..."
Unable to watch any longer, Hae So-wol tried to restrain him.
Shwak!
In that instant, a fierce gale swept through.
Damho had unleashed his Charging Step.
The surrounding air was pushed back like a tidal wave by his lightning-fast movement.
"Huh?!"
Namgung Su, still gripping Fang Jin-bo, felt an immense pressure bearing down with the gale and hurriedly retreated. He kept his hold on Fang Jin-bo's collar, though.
He hadn't expected Damho to attack so abruptly, so in his haste, Namgung Su tried to use Fang Jin-bo as a shield.
Kwang!
"Cough!"
A thunderous boom erupted, followed by Namgung Su's stifled groan echoing out.
As he flew backward, Namgung Su's waist bent like a cooked shrimp. Damho's fist had cleverly grazed Fang Jin-bo's side and struck Namgung Su's waist.
The impact felt like being smashed by a massive hammer—Namgung Su could barely breathe. He never imagined Damho would disregard Fang Jin-bo's safety and strike anyway.
Fang Jin-bo, whom he'd meant to use as a shield, now stood behind Damho. Damho had effortlessly scooped him up like a pebble and relocated him.
If Damho hadn't held back to save Fang Jin-bo, that single blow would have killed Namgung Su. But Namgung Su remained oblivious to the fact.
"You...?"
Namgung Su's complexion turned ghastly.
Not only had his shield been snatched away, but he'd taken a devastating hit. The pain in his side paled compared to the wound to his pride.
Namgung Su drew the sword at his waist.
Sring!
"You bastard, I'll kill you."
Rage overtook his reason.
Namgung Chang's earnest warnings to leave Damho alone had long vanished from his mind.
The sword in Namgung Su's hand radiated a chilling light in all directions.
It was the Dragon Cloud Sword, granted only to direct bloodline members of the Namgung Clan. Forged by the clan's master smiths, the Dragon Cloud Sword was renowned for its durability.
Namgung Su aimed the Dragon Cloud Sword at Damho.
Whoosh!
The blade let out a resonant cry.
Azure Heavens Boundless Swordsmanship.
Among the countless techniques of the Namgung Clan, this was a pinnacle sword art ranking at the top.
Namgung Su had mastered the Azure Heavens Boundless Swordsmanship to near-perfection. Excluding the clan's supreme art, the Imperial Sword Forms, no other technique surpassed it.
That was his conviction, unshaken to this day.
In that moment, Damho launched himself at Namgung Su.
Chwaak!
Damho's body shot forward in a straight line.
Charging Step—his linear footwork technique—unfolded once more.
Having already experienced Damho's footwork once, Namgung Su tried to evade with the Namgung Clan's secret footwork, the Ten Directions Illusionary Position Step.
The Ten Directions Illusionary Position Step allowed one to tread ten directional positions in a single breath, bewildering the foe.
Sasasak!
As he executed it, Namgung Su's form multiplied into over a dozen images in an instant.
Only one was real; the rest were afterimages.
'What will you do? Can you distinguish among ten illusions?'
Kwaang!
A explosive blast rang out, sending Namgung Su's body tumbling backward. Disbelief clouded his face.
'H-How?'
Damho had pinpointed his true body and landed a clean hit.
If he hadn't blocked with the Dragon Cloud Sword, that strike would have inflicted a grievous wound.
Wooong!
The Dragon Cloud Sword hummed.
It was a different tone from its earlier cry—as if the blade itself wailed in agony.
"Damn it!"
Namgung Su ground his teeth and swung the Dragon Cloud Sword.
Shyaaaak!
Azure Heavens Severing Flash.
An exquisite initial strike from the Azure Heavens Boundless Swordsmanship.
A dense sword barrier formed before Namgung Su, tight enough to let not even a drop of water through.
Through his windswept hair, Damho's eyes gleamed.
In that instant, a chill ran through Namgung Su's entire body.
A thrilling jolt, like lightning piercing from head to toe, brought a surge of危機 to his mind.
Shyaaaak!
'It's coming.'
Immense pressure rushed in first. Then Damho's fist followed.
Namgung Su poured his energy into the Dragon Cloud Sword.
'I'll sever your damn wrist.'
No matter how tempered the flesh, it couldn't match the edge of tempered steel.
Namgung Su trusted his swordsmanship and the blade's sharpness.
Kwajik!
But the next moment, disbelief flooded Namgung Su's face.
The Dragon Cloud Sword, which had never once betrayed his expectations, was now gripped in Damho's hand.
Its razor edge trembled pitifully, unable to leave so much as a scratch on Damho's palm.
Silver Net Hand.
A technique wrapping the hand in a net of qi to protect against enemy blades.
Namgung Su's eyes bulged. His gaze met Damho's.
In that moment, he felt his heart drop with a thud, and terror seized him.
Damho's eyes held no emotion whatsoever. That emptiness doubled Namgung Su's fear.
Only then did Namgung Su realize it.
The true nature of the unease that had plagued him.
It was fear.
Something about Damho had awakened the primal terror buried deep in his heart.
"Uwaaaah!"
With a roar, Namgung Su swung the Dragon Cloud Sword to shake off Damho's grip.
Pacak!
In that instant, the blade section in Damho's hand shattered like a cracker.
Kwang!
Damho's fist then whipped out like a lash, smashing into Namgung Su's temple.
Profile-Shattering Strike.
Struck at the temple, Namgung Su staggered.
Bloodshot veins burst in his eyes. Damho's blow had ruptured every capillary in them.
Everyone shuddered at the sight of Namgung Su, looking ready to weep blood tears.
Namgung Su couldn't regain his senses.
His ears rang, objects doubled and tripled in his vision. Snot dripped from his nose into his mouth.
Thud!
Damho seized Namgung Su's wrist.
The icy sensation snapped Namgung Su back to reality. He realized what Damho intended.
"N-No!"
Ududuk!
With a gruesome crack of bone, Namgung Su's wrist twisted backward.
"Uwaaak!"
A gut-wrenching scream tore from Namgung Su's throat.
Overwhelmed by agony he'd never known, he rolled on the ground. Damho gazed down impassively.
"Th-That...?"
Cho Yeon-un gaped at the unbelievable scene.
It wasn't surprising that Damho had beaten Namgung Su. Though Namgung Su might deny it, Damho's level was beyond his reach.
The issue was that Namgung Su was direct blood of the Namgung Clan.
The Namgung Clan repaid favors and grudges alike with utmost certainty, much like the Tang Clan of Sichuan. Forgetting enmity was impossible—they returned it tenfold. That was one of their family creeds.
The Namgung Clan's influence rivaled that of the Wudang or Huashan Sects. No one forged grudges with them lightly.
Yet Damho had broken the wrist of one of their direct bloodlines. His sword-wielding right hand, no less.
If he recovered fully, all would be well—but if not, he might have to abandon all the swordsmanship he'd honed.
"This is insane."
Faced with his friend's outrageous act, Cho Yeon-un could only slap his forehead.
It had happened so fast he hadn't even had a chance to intervene. And he truly never expected Damho to snap Namgung Su's wrist so boldly.
"What happened?"
Hearing Namgung Su's agonized scream, Namgung Chang and O Gun-ui rushed out from the annex.
Namgung Chang hurried to his writhing nephew, clutching his wrist.
"Su-ya!"
"Urgh! Un-uncle."
Namgung Chang saw that Namgung Su's wrist was completely shattered.
"What happened?"
"Th-that bastard..."
Namgung Su glared at Damho with bloodshot eyes. Namgung Chang's furious gaze followed.
"You dare! To harm the blood of the Namgung Clan."
Namgung Su was a prized prodigy of the clan, eyed for a key role in the future Martial Alliance.
Now his wrist was broken—a severe injury requiring months of recovery. By the time he healed, most preparations for founding the Martial Alliance would be complete. Even Namgung Chang couldn't guarantee his nephew's position then.
It was a fatal blow to Namgung Su personally, and a massive loss to the Namgung Clan's bid for control over the Alliance.
O Gun-ui, arriving late, approached Hae So-wol.
"What happened?"
"Well..."
Hae So-wol hesitated to explain.
The events had unfolded too swiftly for her to even grasp.
"You scum!"
Namgung Chang stepped forward, shielding Namgung Su. A colossal aura emanated from him.
Though he walked the path of a strategist, he too was a master of the Namgung Clan's pinnacle arts. His presence alone dominated the area. Yet it had no effect on Damho.
The sight only fueled Namgung Chang's anger.
He bellowed.
"Golden Sword Squad!"
Thirty warriors dashed in from outside the annex.
Each exuded an extraordinary aura—they were the Namgung Clan elites accompanying Namgung Chang as his guards.
"No need for explanations. He injured our clan's blood. Surround him."
"Yes, sir!"
The Golden Sword Squad encircled Damho.
Damho's head tilted sideways toward Namgung Chang. The cocky angle grated on his nerves.
"If you thought you'd get away unscathed after touching Namgung blood, you miscalculated."
The corner of Damho's mouth curled slightly upward.
In an instant, the faces of the encircling Golden Sword Squad and Namgung Chang paled. An unimaginable killing intent crashed over them.
And at last, Damho began to move.
Sruk! Thud! Sruk! Thud!
Damho dragged his foot as he approached.
His offbeat gait, unlike that of ordinary people, oddly stimulated Namgung Chang's nerves.
Namgung Chang had never seen a warrior limp like that. But he knew well how fatal such a leg injury was for a martial artist.
A limp meant ruined leg muscles.
Ruined legs twisted the spine and affected the neck muscles.
The spine and neck formed the body's central axis, running vertically.
True masters kept that axis perfectly aligned. But Damho's was not.
It tilted slightly to the left, out of balance.
Deep furrows creased Namgung Chang's brow.
'Someone with a broken central axis took down Su?'
It defied Namgung Chang's common sense. The Golden Sword Squad felt the same.
Overwhelmed by Damho's eerie presence, they hesitated to attack.
Then Damho's lips parted.
"You said he'd make a fine driving force for founding the Martial Alliance?"
"What?"
"You're the one who said it."
"H-How do you...?"
Namgung Su's pupils shook with shock.
That had been a transmission-only conversation.