Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: The Price of Arrogance
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Seok U-haeng bit his lip.
Bu Eun-seol, the rival he’d thought was his last, had suddenly appeared here.
“Who are you?”
Just then, Gwan Seok-cheon stepped in front of Bu Eun-seol.
“To unleash your sword energy so abruptly… you must be from the demonic path…”
“A Sip-ma-jeon-in of Nang-ya-gak.”
Bu Eun-seol cut Gwan Seok-cheon off, his voice low.
“I formally challenge you all.”
In that instant, the eyebrows of the Dae-ui-go-su, including Gwan Seok-cheon, shot up in unison.
They never expected someone to appear out of nowhere and issue a formal challenge right before their eyes.
“How amusing. Is that really what you should be saying in this situation?”
Cheong Cho-hyeon, arms crossed, stared intently at Bu Eun-seol.
“Your companions infiltrated this Longsword Manor, spread poison, and tried to assassinate the Young Master. And now you want to issue a challenge?”
“I am no companion of theirs.”
Bu Eun-seol glanced at Seok U-haeng and Myo Cheon-u with a cold gaze.
“Merely competitors.”
Those were the exact words Seok U-haeng had spoken to Myo Cheon-u.
Could Bu Eun-seol have overheard them back then?
“Interesting. I thought you’d be leading your wounded comrades in a desperate escape.”
Cheong Cho-hyeon scoffed, her expression frosty.
“But you can’t just talk your way out of this.”
Cheong Cho-hyeon gestured toward Gwan Seok-cheon, Han Seong, Du Ak, and Gang Jung-ryang.
“If we chose to, we could deal with all of you easily. So why should we accept your challenge?”
“Honor.”
“What was that?”
“I'm offering you the true honor of having overwhelmed a Sip-ma-jeon-in with martial arts.”
Bu Eun-seol's eyes, visible through his mask, narrowed.
“Suppressing someone with superior numbers isn't something to be proud of.”
“Interesting.”
At that, Gwan Seok-cheon, who had been listening in silence, stepped forward.
In truth, Gwan Seok-cheon had been inwardly displeased with the whole affair.
He disliked the idea of using superior numbers to subdue a Sip-ma-jeon-in, as it was not a fair and honorable duel.
But now that Bu Eun-seol had issued a direct, head-on challenge, his fighting spirit was stirred.
“Are you saying you're confident you can win in a one-on-one fight?”
“Of course.”
“Then you shall face me.”
He stepped forward confidently to face Bu Eun-seol.
Gwan Seok-cheon, a master of the Jeomchang Sect's two great arts: the Sun-Piercing Sword Art and the Whirlwind Flow Sword Art.
He possessed outstanding skill, even among the Dae-ui-go-su. So much so that the Murim Alliance's instructors had not even bothered to teach him the special techniques for countering demonic martial arts.
“Brother.”
Just then, Cheong Cho-hyeon blocked his path.
“There's no need to fight him.”
“Don't worry.”
Gwan Seok-cheon smiled and shook his head.
“If I were weak enough to lose to a Sip-ma-jeon-in, I never would have set foot in the Jianghu.”
“Brother.”
Despite knowing the extent of his martial prowess, Cheong Cho-hyeon felt a sense of unease.
“Let's just subdue him together. He seems dangerous.”
The masked Bu Eun-seol's eyes were cold and still, yet a fire seemed to burn in their depths.
He exuded the unmistakable aura of a supreme master.
“Don't worry. He just has an impressive aura. I'm sure his skills are nothing special.”
Gwan Seok-cheon smiled faintly.
Bu Eun-seol's presence felt utterly ordinary, and he couldn't sense the fluctuations of true energy that typically emanated from a master.
‘This is a bad omen.’
But Cheong Cho-hyeon shook her head.
No one with eyes like that could be ordinary. She sensed a monster coiled within Bu Eun-seol.
“Attack me together.”
Bu Eun-seol said impassively, gesturing to the guests who were finishing their energy circulation.
“If you're short on hands, feel free to ask those guests for help.”
“Hahahaha!”
Gwan Seok-cheon laughed heartily and shook his head.
“There's no need for such provocations. Since I have accepted this duel, no one else will interfere.”
He then turned to Han Seong and the Daoists from the Zhongnan and Kongtong Sects and spoke solemnly.
“I will face this man in a formal duel. Do not, under any circumstances, interfere or interrupt.”
The Daoists from Zhongnan and Kongtong looked displeased, but they nodded as if they had no choice.
“Gwan Seok-cheon of the Jeomchang Sect.”
Gwan Seok-cheon stepped forward briskly and smiled faintly.
“And your name?”
“Nang-ya-gak, Bu Eun-seol.”
“Bu Eun-seol... Bu Eun-seol.”
Gwan Seok-cheon's eyes glazed over.
The only Bu Eun-seol known to the Murim was the one who won the Dong-pyo-seo-rang Martial Arts Tournament and dealt with the Blood Demon Hall Lord of Hell Castle.
‘Could the winner of the martial arts tournament, who has always walked the path of the righteous, really be a Sip-ma-jeon-in of Nang-ya-gak?’
He shook his head.
‘The Ten Demonic Sects do not encroach upon one another. If he were a Sip-ma-jeon-in of Nang-ya-gak, he would have no reason to kill the Blood Demon Hall Lord.’
“I see. Let us begin.”
As Gwan Seok-cheon extended his hand in a gesture befitting a righteous master, Bu Eun-seol spoke nonchalantly.
“You may make the first move.”
“You want me to attack first?”
“That's right.”
Bu Eun-seol looked down at Gwan Seok-cheon with cold eyes.
“I do not strike the weak first.”
A flicker of anger.
Killing intent flared in the eyes of Gwan Seok-cheon, who had maintained a relaxed smile until now.
“I've been patient, but you've got some nerve.”
Shing.
Gwan Seok-cheon drew his treasured sword and immediately thrust it forward.
A whirlwind erupted, exposing Bu Eun-seol's vital points. Yet, no sword energy or attack followed.
It was the opening stance of the Whirlwind Flow Sword Art, the Dance of Flowing Battle.
‘How arrogant.’
A look of contempt filled Bu Eun-seol's eyes as he watched.
Displaying an opening stance to show courtesy to an opponent in a life-or-death battle?
Of course, from Gwan Seok-cheon's perspective, it might have been a display of a righteous warrior's dignified bearing.
But to Bu Eun-seol, who had mastered practical combat arts, it was nothing more than toying with one's own life.
Vmmmmm.
At that moment, a low vibration emanated from Bu Eun-seol's Muk-geom as sharp points of light began to scatter from it.
The first form of the Mu-sang-cheon-ryu, Meteor's Chase, had finally been unleashed.
Flash!
The tens of thousands of light points merged into a single streak of light, piercing toward Gwan Seok-cheon's throat.
“Hah!”
Gwan Seok-cheon gasped and quickly executed his Whirlwind Flow Sword Art, taking a defensive stance.
But before the sword energy of Meteor's Chase could reach him, the technique suddenly transformed in mid-air.
The points of light exploded like fireworks, transforming into dozens of cross-shaped sword flowers.
It was the third form of the Mu-sang-cheon-ryu, Waning Moon, Morning Star.
“Kuh.”
As swift as lightning, as unpredictable as a butterfly.
Unable to handle the continuous onslaught of the Mu-sang-cheon-ryu's forms, blood spurted from Gwan Seok-cheon's shoulder.
“Kuh.”
Gwan Seok-cheon let out a low groan and retreated.
The flesh wound was one thing, but Bu Eun-seol's sword energy contained a staggering thirteen streams of internal energy.
The moment the sword's edge cut his skin, that powerful internal energy invaded his meridians as if to melt them.
‘Such a ridiculous mistake...’
To be wounded in just two moves because of a moment of carelessness?
After mustering his true energy to barely push out the invading internal energy, Gwan Seok-cheon renewed his focus and unleashed his sword art.
Fwoosh! Flash!
But Bu Eun-seol's sword forms were relentless, flowing one after another without pause.
Gwan Seok-cheon tried desperately to counterattack, but Bu Eun-seol's Muk-geom seemed to anticipate his every action, sealing off his movements.
‘This man... he's a master who surpasses me!’
Only then did Gwan Seok-cheon realize his blunder.
He had been far too overconfident in his own abilities and had failed to grasp his opponent's true strength.
As a result, he had lost the upper hand in a ridiculously simple way and was now in an irreversible position.
‘At this rate, death is the only outcome.’
If he remained on the defensive like this, it was as clear as day that the sharp sword would pierce his throat within forty moves.
Realizing he had no other choice, Gwan Seok-cheon gritted his teeth and drew upon his internal power.
Fwaaang!
A turquoise radiance burst forth from his body.
Primal Essence True Energy.
He was drawing on the fundamental power that sustained his very life force, intending to overwhelm Bu Eun-seol.
“Brother, no!”
Cheong Cho-hyeon cried out urgently, but her voice didn't reach Gwan Seok-cheon's ears.
Vmmmm.
As the turquoise radiance poured from his body into his sword, the blade extended by a full foot.
By using his Primal Essence, he had created tangible sword energy.
“World-Shaking Flow!”
The power of the Whirlwind Flow Sword Art, now amplified with Primal Essence, was as immense as Mount Tai.
Pushing back all of Bu Eun-seol's incoming sword forms in a single stroke, Gwan Seok-cheon switched from the Whirlwind Flow Sword Art to the Sun-Piercing Sword Art.
“Hou Yi Shoots the Sun!”
Gwan Seok-cheon's sword drew a circle in the air, from which immense sword energy shot out like an arrow.
It was like a colossal beam of light, impossible to evade.
Whoosh!
Watching the sword energy approach, Bu Eun-seol suddenly began to spin his Muk-geom like a windmill.
And he began to chip away at the immense sword energy bearing down on him.
His absolute defense, a life-saving technique. It was a form that combined the Neung-hyeong-eo-geom with the Mu-sang-cheon-ryu's Return to the Source.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Bu Eun-seol's spinning Muk-geom, flashing with brilliant light, finally annihilated the energy of Hou Yi Shoots the Sun.
Flash!
Simultaneously, a deadly killing strike cut through the air, aimed at Gwan Seok-cheon's neck.
“Not a chance!”
In that split second, Gwan Seok-cheon swung his treasured sword like lightning, creating dozens of sword flowers around his body.
Shwiiiiik!
But Bu Eun-seol's Muk-geom, like a salmon swimming upstream, pierced through the cluster of sword flowers and drove into Gwan Seok-cheon's side.
This was the profound technique of the Mu-sang-cheon-ryu's fourth form, Playing with Mist, which allowed him to wield his sword energy with complete freedom.
Pshk!
Wounded again, a vicious light gleamed in Gwan Seok-cheon's eyes.
‘I'm not going down alone.’
Despite the sword energy tearing into his side, Gwan Seok-cheon charged straight at Bu Eun-seol.
Was he attempting to take him down with him?
“...!”
A strange light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes as his sword cut into Gwan Seok-cheon's side.
Chiiing!
Even as the Muk-geom sliced into his side, it made the sound of cutting through hard metal.
‘A protective tunic?’
It turned out Gwan Seok-cheon was wearing a protective tunic woven from silver thread beneath his clothes.
“Take this!”
Seizing the opportunity, Gwan Seok-cheon feinted a slash at the tendons in Bu Eun-seol's shoulder, then dropped the tip of his sword toward his lower abdomen.
He intended to strike the lower Dantian and completely cripple Bu Eun-seol's martial arts.
But this time, it was Gwan Seok-cheon's eyes that flickered with a strange light.
Chaaang!
His sword, which had been stabbing toward the lower abdomen, was suddenly drawn to Bu Eun-seol's sword as if by a magnet.
It was as if an unseen hand had wrapped around Gwan Seok-cheon's treasured sword and lifted it toward Bu Eun-seol's Muk-geom.
Schlick.
At the same time, a strange slicing sound was heard.
The jet-black Muk-geom was now buried deep in Gwan Seok-cheon's lower abdomen.
Bu Eun-seol had executed the Sword Reversal and, in the same motion, used the Peerless Lightning Strike to turn his opponent's own attack back on him.
“Ughhh.”
With his Dantian pierced, thick blood trickled from Gwan Seok-cheon's mouth.
At the same time, his body began to tremble like an aspen leaf. The immense internal energy concentrated in his Dantian was rapidly draining away.
“Ughhh... Aaaargh!”
A desperate scream echoed throughout Longsword Manor.
The agony of one's internal power dissipating is beyond imagination.
It is the collapse of the formless power that flows through the body, holding it together.
Like the entire skeleton supporting a person's weight suddenly shattering into pieces.
“Huuuuhhh.”
Once all his power had scattered, Gwan Seok-cheon broke down, sobbing like a child.
His frame seemed to have shrunk slightly, and the healthy glow of his skin had faded to a dull, darkish color.
“Brother!”
Cheong Cho-hyeon rushed to Gwan Seok-cheon's side and supported him.
But Gwan Seok-cheon was in so much pain that he ended up foaming at the mouth and passing out.
“You... you villain! Why did you cripple my brother's internal energy?!”
“I did not cripple it.”
“What?”
Bu Eun-seol flicked the blood from his Muk-geom and stated impassively.
“I merely returned his own sword technique to him.”