Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Peerless Thunderclap
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“C-Captain.”
The two fleeing boys spoke with shocked expressions.
“Well… that guy, he suddenly got stronger.”
“R-Right. We should have used the Azure Scale Locking Formation from the start…”
*Pow!*
The two boys couldn’t finish their sentences.
The large boy had used his White Horse Whip like a swift sword, slicing off both their heads.
“Tsk, I knew I shouldn’t have brought along these dregs who couldn’t even make it to the advanced hall.”
The large boy clicked his tongue, his expression as if he had just squashed two flies.
“And to think how they kept calling me ‘Captain, Captain’ and pledging their loyalty.”
Shaking his head, the large boy looked at Bu Eun-seol and grinned.
“Since I can’t use the Azure Scale Locking Formation with just the two remaining guys… they’ve served their purpose.”
To kill his comrades because he couldn’t form the technique with only two people left.
His cruelty was beyond imagination.
*Thud, thud.*
In the meantime, Bu Eun-seol pushed himself up and strode toward the large boy.
“Are you their captain?”
The large boy gave an unrelated answer to Bu Eun-seol’s question.
“Impressive. To block the White Serpent's Divine Spirit technique in mid-air… Did you learn the Hwa-u Sword?”
A confident smile on his lips, he spoke again.
“My name is U Mun-cheong. And you are?”
When Bu Eun-seol just glared at him silently, the large boy, U Mun-cheong, laughed so hard his Adam’s apple showed.
“Hahaha! You’ll have to tell King Yama who killed you, won’t you!”
The moment he finished speaking, the White Horse Whip coiled around the iron sword in Bu Eun-seol’s hand.
It was a move as swift as lightning, no less than the fast swordplay Bu Eun-seol had displayed.
*Crack.*
After shattering the iron sword into two pieces, the large boy swung his whip and shouted.
“They say the sword art taught in the Hwa-u Sword Clan’s advanced hall is just a single, purely defensive technique, right?”
Surprisingly, U Mun-cheong seemed to know the details of the Profound and Mysterious technique taught by the Hwa-u Sword Clan.
‘He was part of another group.’
Bu Eun-seol recalled the mysterious shadows that had visited the cave.
They had formed groups and shared the insights gained from their respective martial halls.
It was clear that this boy, U Mun-cheong, not only led his own group but also belonged to another one.
“What are you thinking about!”
There was no time for leisurely thoughts.
U Mun-cheong swung his whip like a windmill, pressing down on Bu Eun-seol.
*Swoosh! Rumble!*
Each time the White Horse Whip cut through the air, the sound of wind and thunder echoed.
From the sound alone, Bu Eun-seol could gauge how fierce and savage the power contained in the whip was.
*Tzzt!*
Not only that, but every time Bu Eun-seol tried to counterattack, the White Horse Whip would leave a faint afterimage and change direction in mid-air.
‘So this is the White Horse Whip!’
Bu Eun-seol managed to predict and dodge U Mun-cheong’s unpredictable variations.
This was thanks to his detailed observation of the whip's techniques and paths within the Azure Scale Locking Formation.
“Not bad!”
Even after a quarter of an hour had passed with a continuous exchange of blows, a hint of impatience flickered in U Mun-cheong’s eyes.
“Then try blocking this!”
With a shout like thunder, the movement of the White Horse Whip, which had been slicing through the air, suddenly quickened.
*Fwoooosh!*
Countless whip shadows stretched out like waves and began to wrap around U Mun-cheong’s body.
*Papapapapa!*
As the whip shadows poured out relentlessly, U Mun-cheong’s figure eventually vanished, leaving only a massive whirlwind.
*Shing.*
Unfazed, Bu Eun-seol unfolded his sword techniques in succession.
*Clang! Ting!*
But each time, the black sword was deflected off U Mun-cheong’s spinning body, which was now enshrouded by the White Horse Whip.
‘Is it not working?’
Bu Eun-seol had been using the Hwa-u Thunderclap Sword and the Hwa-u Thirteen Forms, techniques he shouldn’t have been able to use in real combat.
This was only possible because he had transformed the techniques into sharp, killing moves using the power of the Ya-su-do and his overflowing killing intent.
But U Mun-cheong had properly mastered the essence of the White Horse Whip. He could never be defeated with such variations.
*Ting!*
Bu Eun-seol parried a whip strike that came from an unavoidable angle with his sword.
*Screeech.*
But his body was pushed all the way to the end of the passage.
He couldn't withstand the immense force embedded in the whip.
“You can't face the White Horse Nine Hells Style with such a pathetic sword art!”
‘A direct confrontation!’
Right now, he needed to engage in a direct confrontation that could only be decided by the difference in their skills.
However, the Hwa-u Sword's first technique, Profound and Mysterious, was purely defensive.
Even if he converted it into a killing sword, it was unusable, which meant Bu Eun-seol had no way to initiate a direct confrontation.
“Hoo.”
Gripping the black sword in a reverse hold, Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath and lowered his stance.
In that instant, his pupils dilated, and an intense light began to pour out.
“Die!”
U Mun-cheong’s thunderous roar echoed through the passage.
It seemed to be his final, all-out strike, as only the violently spinning whip filled the entire corridor.
*Kwa-kwa-kwa!*
Just as the wave-like White Horse Nine Hells Style was about to engulf Bu Eun-seol’s body,
*Crrrack.*
The sound of bones twisting came from the five fingers of Bu Eun-seol’s hand gripping the black sword.
*Swoosh.*
A black haze seemed to rise from the black sword, and an icy gleam exploded from Bu Eun-seol’s eyes.
*Flash!*
A ray of light, cutting through the wind, split the rotating White Horse Whip.
*Splaash!*
With a sound like parting water, the furiously spinning whip split apart,
“……!”
…revealing U Mun-cheong’s utterly astonished face.
*Swiiiiiish!*
With an ear-splitting shriek, the black sword unleashed a cluster of light, like the Milky Way etched across the night sky.
“……”
A deathly silence fell over the training hall passage.
Having retrieved his White Horse Whip, U Mun-cheong asked calmly.
“What sword art is this?”
Bu Eun-seol, having withdrawn his black sword, replied nonchalantly.
“Peerless Thunderclap.”
“Peerless Thunderclap…”
U Mun-cheong narrowed his eyes and nodded.
“It really felt like I was struck by thunder and lightning.”
*Thud.*
U Mun-cheong’s body collapsed.
The Peerless Thunderclap Style. The unique killing sword created by Cheon Un-gwang in his later years.
It possessed a power comparable to the Hwa-u Sword, but it was so complex it could break one’s fingers.
Worse, if the swordsman failed to properly execute the form, it would inflict internal injuries on the user.
“Peerless Thunderclap…”
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
At his current level, it was a supreme sword art, far too advanced for him to use at will.
*Swish.*
Wiping away the blood, Bu Eun-seol straightened his back once more.
No trial could bend his body.
*Thump, thump.*
Just as he was about to leave the training hall,
*Ziiiing! Hiiiii!*
A low vibration, followed by a bizarre, ear-splitting sound, reached him.
‘Ah.’
Only then did Bu Eun-seol realize he had stayed here for far too long.
*Tat.*
He quickly exited the training hall and stepped outside the martial hall, when…
*Freeze.*
He suddenly stopped moving, as if he had turned to stone.
Standing before the gate was a man dressed in an assassin’s uniform, marked with a strange pattern like reptile skin.
The one who cordoned off areas under the orders of Head Instructor Hyeok-ryeon Eung, mercilessly killing anyone who remained.
It was a Sal-gwi.
“……”
Their eyes met, and Bu Eun-seol couldn’t move a single finger.
He felt that if he moved recklessly, something like a bolt of lightning would instantly sever his neck.
“This is a restricted area.”
His voice was like that of a death god who had just risen from the netherworld.
“I know.”
Bu Eun-seol replied, slowly nodding his head.
“I will move immediately.”
Then, slowly and carefully, he took a single step.
But the Sal-gwi merely stared at Bu Eun-seol, not moving an inch.
“……”
Silence fell once more.
He felt a crushing pressure, as if a ten-thousand-pound boulder was pressing down on his head.
His opponent was an absolute powerhouse, someone he couldn’t even dare to call an enemy. The empty gaze visible beyond the mask was like that of a dead fish on display.
‘Is he telling me to go?’
No matter how he observed, it didn't seem like the Sal-gwi was holding that posture to prepare for an ambush.
After a long moment of deliberation, Bu Eun-seol carefully took another step.
One step, two steps…
Even as he slowly approached, the Sal-gwi remained as still as a rock.
‘He doesn’t intend to attack?’
Finally, just as Bu Eun-seol’s body was carefully about to pass by the Sal-gwi’s side,
*Ssshk.*
He felt an ominous energy flash through his head like lightning.
Without a moment to think, Bu Eun-seol instinctively threw his body, spinning like a top.
*Flash!*
In that instant, an unidentifiable object grazed the back of his head.
*Rustle.*
Despite having dodged it with the lightning-fast reaction of the Ya-su-do, a clump of his hair fell to the ground.
Bu Eun-seol had been in many life-or-death battles, but never before had he come so close to death.
*Chaeng.*
Upon landing, Bu Eun-seol quickly drew his black sword.
An attack unleashed without any warning had nearly taken his life… The follow-up attack would surely be earth-shattering.
“……”
But the Sal-gwi only glared at Bu Eun-seol, making no other move.
‘I can’t be fooled by that stance.’
Judging from what had just happened, the Sal-gwi seemed capable of launching lightning-fast strikes without adopting an aggressive attack posture.
Moreover, like a fish moving stealthily underwater, he couldn’t feel any presence from its movements at all.
‘No, that’s impossible.’
A human can move because, to put it simply, the muscles connected to the bones contract.
In other words, humans can assume various postures because they have bones and muscles.
‘It makes no sense that I can’t feel the Sal-gwi’s movements at all from this close.’
By expanding the senses of the Ya-su-do, he could perceive movements from dozens of feet away.
No matter how skilled a master was, it was nonsensical not to be able to detect sound and presence at this distance.
—Have you ever seen a carnivore hunt an herbivore?
Suddenly, Sa-u’s words echoed in Bu Eun-seol’s mind.
—The carnivore is faster, but the fleeing herbivore is not easily caught. Do you know why?
After a moment of thought at Sa-u's question, Bu Eun-seol had answered.
—The faster you run, the harder it is to change direction. But fleeing herbivores mostly run in a zigzag pattern.
At his unhesitating answer, Sa-u had nodded.
—Correct. And yet, the carnivore still succeeds in its hunt. Why is that?
At the time, Bu Eun-seol couldn't answer Sa-u's question.
But now, he understood the secret to a carnivore's successful hunt.
‘It attacks by matching the movements of its fleeing enemy!’
Only now could Bu Eun-seol understand how the Sal-gwi before him had ambushed him like lightning without any presence.
‘He matched my sound and movements, hiding his own presence as he launched his attack.’
Bu Eun-seol took a deep breath.
He was about to execute a method that could allow him to escape the Sal-gwi’s lightning-fast reaction and attack.
‘Hoo.’
Taking a deep breath, Bu Eun-seol suddenly looked at the distant sky and let out a loud shout.
*Flinch.*
The Sal-gwi’s body reacted minutely to the loud shout.
Sensing this, Bu Eun-seol broke into a full sprint without looking back.
*Dadadadak.*
Unable to react instantly to Bu Eun-seol’s action, the Sal-gwi failed to execute its lightning-fast ambush.
‘It’s not over!’
With his back to the Sal-gwi, Bu Eun-seol ran out of the martial hall, his body swaying wildly from side to side.
*Tak. Tak.*
He ran left and right like a madman, sometimes leaning as if he would run to the left, only to dash to the right.
‘I must not let him predict my movements!’
The Sal-gwi’s pursuit speed would allow it to catch up to Bu Eun-seol before he could even catch his breath.
If he ran in a predictable pattern, he would be ambushed at close range and lose his life in a single blow, just like before.
*Thud. Thud.*
At that moment, the Sal-gwi, who had been watching Bu Eun-seol run, began to take a step, then another.
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
The Sal-gwi’s steps gradually quickened, until…
*Dadadadadadak.*
Finally, he began to chase at such an incredible speed that his legs became a blur.