Chapter 323
Chapter 323
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 323
Chapter Title: Stealing the Sword's Secret
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Meanwhile, the materialized black true qi was digging into Cheon-geom's vital points.
"Oh my, how terrifying!"
Cheon-geom laughed as he began to swing his greatsword from side to side.
*Shwaaaa!*
A strange energy extended from it, and the destructive true qi of Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol began to change, becoming like simple metal.
*Clang!*
Cheon-geom had once again used Man-sang-il-sik to subtly alter the properties of Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol.
"A formidable technique, but it won't work on me!"
*Chwararak!*
Having deflected all of the Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol, Cheon-geom closed in on Bu Eun-seol and unleashed his swordsmanship.
It was such a swift and unpredictable series of forms that Bu Eun-seol dared not face it head-on, continuously retreating.
Cheon-geom seized the opportunity, drawing close enough to brush against Bu Eun-seol's nose as he unleashed a chaotic flurry of strikes.
*Woong!*
Bu Eun-seol once again unleashed Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol.
This time, it was unleashed at such close range that Cheon-geom could not avoid it.
*Chwaaak!*
In an instant, dozens of wounds appeared on Cheon-geom's body.
But he simply swung his greatsword side to side again, changing the properties of the Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol before quickly escaping its range.
"Heh heh. So that's how it works."
The wounds on the retreating Cheon-geom were already beginning to heal.
His body was like that of a Heavenly General, capable of instantly recovering from minor wounds and internal injuries.
A monster.
Cheon-geom was like a monster from a nightmare that revived again and again, no matter how many times you killed it.
*Swish!*
Seizing the momentum, Bu Eun-seol unleashed Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol with his left hand and Mu-sang-cheon-ryu with his right.
‘A pity, but I can’t use Sip-sam-ya-gi.’
If he were to use Sip-sam-ya-gi, Bu Eun-seol could have made the fight a little easier.
Though it appeared to be a unique and esoteric art, Sip-sam-ya-gi was, at its core, the ultimate martial art of the Orthodox Faction.
The masters of the Demonic Path might not know, but there was no way the supreme masters of the Orthodox Faction wouldn't recognize its true nature.
*Chaang! Chaang!*
But something was strange.
Cheon-geom, who had been fighting on equal footing, suddenly maintained a defensive stance and began to focus solely on blocking.
—He must be finding it difficult to block.
The crowd murmured in awe.
Cheon-geom's swordsmanship had consistently overwhelmed Mu-sang-cheon-ryu.
But once Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol was unleashed, he must have decided there was no opening to counterattack, as he was now dedicated entirely to defense.
*Chaang!*
No matter what sword form was unleashed, he made no attempt to counter, focusing only on blocking the incoming storm of sword techniques. His defense was so meticulous that not a single drop of water could get through.
‘He took the bait.’
A sly smile touched Cheon-geom’s lips as he blocked the torrent of black true qi and sword techniques.
‘Just keep attacking like that.’
Mu-sang-cheon-ryu and Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol repeatedly struck at his openings, but Cheon-geom used all his strength to maintain a purely defensive form of Man-sang-il-sik.
*Chaeng! Chaeng!*
A succession of profound sword techniques and sharp true qi rained down, but Cheon-geom steadfastly maintained his defense.
The defensive form of Man-sang-il-sik, unleashed with two massive greatswords.
It had taken the form of an impenetrable, massive shield, perfectly blocking all of Bu Eun-seol's exquisite sword techniques.
*Shik!*
He occasionally launched a counterattack, but even those were merely movements intended to aid his defense.
*Chiik.*
After some forty exchanges, Bu Eun-seol's black true qi began to fade, and the power of his sword arts gradually diminished.
‘Heh heh heh.’
A triumphant smile crept into the eyes of the steadfastly defending Cheon-geom.
‘Just as I thought, it’s a technique with high internal energy consumption. Besides… you are destined to lose to me.’
Bu Eun-seol was burning with vengeance.
He had employed all sorts of schemes to take his head and had even accepted a public challenge he didn't have to.
But Cheon-geom didn't need to kill Bu Eun-seol.
Even forcing a draw would be an advantageous outcome, almost as good as a victory.
‘Now that I've dragged you down to the bottom, you probably think you've won!’
Cheon-geom's eyes, relentlessly swinging his greatswords in a defensive pattern, were filled with delight.
‘You have to kill me, but I have no such need!’
Bu Eun-seol had accumulated immense martial prowess and achievements.
He had also done many good deeds, and his reputation was now soaring like the sun in the sky.
What if Cheon-geom could gain the fame of having fought to a draw with the successor of the Demonic Legion, the Martial Soul Lord, a figure who shook the martial world?
With that alone, Cheon-geom could secure a foothold for his comeback.
‘Let's see each other for a long, long time, Bu Eun-seol!’
Even if he won this fight, Cheon-geom wouldn't kill Bu Eun-seol.
He would simply cut off his right arm to display his "generosity" to the martial artists of the world.
And in their next duel, he would take his left leg.
All so he could keep holding a sword to the very end.
So that he could duel with him for a long, long time.
‘Bu Eun-seol! Even with that brilliant mind of yours, you couldn't have calculated this, could you?’
Stark white madness once again glinted in Cheon-geom's crescent-shaped eyes.
*Shik.*
Had his internal energy run out?
The black true qi flowing from Bu Eun-seol's body began to thin.
Cheon-geom rejoiced inwardly and attempted a counterattack.
*Chiiik!*
But as he switched from defense to offense, black true qi shot out from Bu Eun-seol's body like a spider's web.
He was waiting for the exact moment Cheon-geom counterattacked to unleash Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol.
‘Heh heh heh. That trick won't work anymore.’
Cheon-geom no longer attempted to counterattack and focused solely on blocking the sword techniques.
*Ttaang! Chaang!*
Before long, over two hundred exchanges had passed.
No matter what sword techniques Bu Eun-seol threw at him, Cheon-geom defended against them all.
「Haha. Hahahaha!」
Cheon-geom, while blocking the sword strikes, burst into manic laughter through telepathy.
「You want to kill me, don't you? But what will you do when you can't? You must be dying for revenge!」
Stark white madness flickered in Cheon-geom's eyes.
「I may not be confident I can kill you, but I am confident I can block your attacks. Hahaha!」
He knew all too well that Bu Eun-seol wanted him dead.
But what if he couldn't achieve it?
Just watching him writhe in that agony would make this duel Cheon-geom's victory.
「Harder! Hit me harder!」
Bu Eun-seol layered Mu-sang-cheon-ryu three times and unleashed it, but Cheon-geom blocked it with ease.
When a master of his caliber dedicated himself entirely to a defensive swordsmanship, not even Bu Eun-seol could break through.
—What a strange duel.
As time passed, the observing martial artists also began to murmur.
One side was slashing as if to kill, while the other was doing everything in its power just to block.
It wasn't a difference in skill.
Even when Bu Eun-seol indiscriminately unleashed killing blows and deliberately revealed openings, Cheon-geom didn't even counterattack.
It was truly like a battle between a spear and a shield.
The spear only thrust, and the shield only blocked.
*Paat!*
Finally, Bu Eun-seol withdrew his sword and stepped back for a moment.
"Hoo. Hoo."
He took a few light breaths.
It was only natural that the attacker's stamina would deplete faster than the defender's.
If they continued this exchange, Bu Eun-seol would be the first to tire.
*Woong!*
Forcing his internal energy to rise, a black haze began to emanate from his entire body once more.
He was unleashing Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol again to break Cheon-geom's defense.
*Thud.*
Cheon-geom pointed his greatswords to the sky and the ground, a triumphant smile on his face.
This would be Bu Eun-seol's final, all-out strike.
And if he could block this one attack, Cheon-geom would win this duel.
"Hap!"
For the first time, Bu Eun-seol let out a kiai.
At that moment, Cheon-geom smiled.
It was proof that Bu Eun-seol was struggling, both mentally and physically, to the point where he needed to shout to muster his spirit.
He, too, unleashed Man-sang-il-sik with all his might.
*Woong!*
A sword hum flowed from his greatswords as a blue haze began to rise.
*Kwaaaaaa!*
Meanwhile, Bu Eun-seol deployed Mu-sang-cheon-ryu, unleashing a storm of sword techniques.
*Chararang!*
In that instant, a sphere-like barrier of blue light formed around Cheon-geom's body.
When Man-sang-il-sik, the art of the Sword Sovereign known as the greatest sword in the Orthodox Faction, was pushed to its absolute defensive limit, it created a spherical sword-barrier.
*Kwa-reung! Flash!*
The distance between Bu Eun-seol and Cheon-geom was barely six paces.
And between them, it looked as if two dragons, one black and one blue, were entangled, radiating light.
Shockwaves spread from the epicenter of the clash, and fierce winds blew in all directions, felling trees and plants.
*Chiiii.*
When the dust finally settled, the two figures were revealed.
Bu Eun-seol and Cheon-geom.
Both stood frozen in the same stance they held before unleashing their techniques.
*Tuk, tuk.*
The only difference was that blood was now flowing from Bu Eun-seol's shoulder and left forearm.
He had been injured while trying to force his way through Man-sang-il-sik.
‘I've won!’
One step closer to victory, Cheon-geom's eyes curved into crescents.
If there were no martial artists watching, he would have danced and roared with laughter.
*Chiik!*
Just then, Bu Eun-seol once again deployed Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol and Mu-sang-cheon-ryu with all his might.
But the black true qi grew fainter and fainter, and openings began to appear in his Mu-sang-cheon-ryu forms.
‘Time to wrap this up.’
Cheon-geom smiled with satisfaction.
Bu Eun-seol's swordsmanship no longer posed a threat to him.
Moreover, his internal energy was less than half of what it was.
‘He can fake many things, but he can't fake his internal energy level.’
Whatever his intentions were, his internal energy was truly at rock bottom.
「What are you going to do now that the one advantage you had, your internal energy, is gone? Now that your fearsome internal energy has hit bottom?」
Sending the telepathic message, Cheon-geom grinned and raised his greatsword.
"Shall we end this?"
*Chiik!*
As he unleashed Man-sang-il-sik, his greatsword blurred, and a torrent of swift, sharp sword techniques poured out.
But then, something strange happened.
Bu Eun-seol looked at the sword techniques with low, sunken eyes, then lowered his sword to the ground and actually moved his body toward the greatsword.
‘What is this bastard doing?’
A chill ran down Cheon-geom's spine.
He wouldn't be playing games in such a critical situation. He must be plotting something.
*Hwiririk!*
Cheon-geom's greatsword, which had been aimed at Bu Eun-seol's neck and leg, changed direction in mid-air.
"..."
Bu Eun-seol's lips curled up as if he had known Cheon-geom would do that.
‘This bastard.’
Cheon-geom's anger flared, but he didn't dare attack rashly.
Until now, Bu Eun-seol had tormented him with various schemes. There had to be a reason for his actions.
"It was a good opportunity. Why didn't you attack?"
At Bu Eun-seol's provocation, Cheon-geom just smiled, not attacking recklessly.
"Then I'll come to you."
Bu Eun-seol swung his Binghon Sword and attacked him.
But the swordsmanship he displayed was as if he were drunk; the path of his sword was crooked, and there was no power behind it.
‘Trying to deliberately show an opening, are you?’
Cheon-geom scoffed.
He guessed that Bu Eun-seol was intentionally revealing openings to lure him into a counterattack.
‘I will absolutely not counterattack.’
Cheon-geom's goal was not to kill Bu Eun-seol.
Simply surviving was a victory for him. He would not react to such provocations.
*Hwik!*
Bu Eun-seol's Binghon Sword once again drew an arc in the air and thrust toward Cheon-geom's neck.
It was a pathetic-looking sword technique by any measure, but Cheon-geom defended as cautiously as if he were blocking a decisive ultimate move.
*Chaang!*
As their swords clashed, Bu Eun-seol took another step forward and thrust toward Cheon-geom's lower abdomen.
*Chaang.*
Blocking the attack again, Cheon-geom wore a strange expression.
There was no internal energy in Bu Eun-seol's sword at all. He was literally just poking at him with a playfully shoddy sword technique.
Cheon-geom tilted his head, as he had never expected Bu Eun-seol to provoke him in such a manner.
‘Is he trying to play games with me?’
Once again, Bu Eun-seol lightly swung his sword and attacked Cheon-geom.
‘Should I just cut him down?’
Attacking so sloppily at such a close distance?
What if he decided to unleash his swordsmanship in earnest?
No matter how fast Bu Eun-seol's movement and reflexes were, he could behead him in a single stroke.
‘No. I won't fall for it.’
This was the man who had tormented him with all sorts of schemes.
He wasn't the type to make such a life-risking provocation without any preparation.
‘He must still have the strength to draw out that jet-black true qi.’
In the end, Cheon-geom defended against Bu Eun-seol's swordsmanship with a cautious expression.
—Hahaha!
As this repeated for about ten more exchanges, laughter erupted from all around.
Bu Eun-seol was wielding his sword shoddily like a drunkard, while Cheon-geom was retreating and defending with utmost effort as if facing a life-or-death enemy.
—So that's how it was.
Only then did the observing martial artists realize that Cheon-geom had been using a petty method of only defending all this time.
—Is that the Man-sang-il-sik the Sword Sovereign boasted about?
—The Style of a Coward Who Fears Death would be more fitting than Man-sang-il-sik.
As jeers came from all directions, a vicious light gleamed in Cheon-geom's eyes.
‘You bastard!’
Only then did he realize that all of Bu Eun-seol's actions had been aimed at humiliating him.
A madman.
Bu Eun-seol was a true madman who didn't even care about his own life.
"Good. Very good."
A white haze began to rise from Cheon-geom's body.
He had overthought things.
He should have just fought like a madman and won. Unlike his usual self, he had overthought everything.
"Now, let's see two real madmen fight..."
A draw? Cutting off one arm and fighting again later?
He cast aside such wishful thinking and decided to use his full power to cut down Bu Eun-seol from now on.
*Shiik!*
As Cheon-geom twisted and swung his greatsword, his sword technique changed.
Finally, without any defensive motion, it wrapped around the neck of the approaching Bu Eun-seol.
*Pat!*
The edge of the greatsword grazed him by a hair's breadth, and blood splattered.
‘It was all a bluff.’
Finally seizing the upper hand, Cheon-geom wore a triumphant smile.
To think he had made such a reckless gamble just to humiliate him, without even having the strength to counterattack.
‘Now, I'll finish you off.’
He immediately changed his sword form, instantly closing the distance and slashing at Bu Eun-seol's neck.
*Flap, flap!*
As Cheon-geom unleashed Man-sang-il-sik with killing intent, Bu Eun-seol's Binghon Sword began to leap like a live fish.
The absolute defensive form of the Cheon-geom-hoe.
Neung-hyeong-eo-geom had been unleashed.
*Charararang!*
As the greatsword delivered dozens of strikes in a single motion, Bu Eun-seol's Binghon Sword also spewed a hazy cold energy, following the greatsword's trajectory.
‘Alright! Let's do this!’
Cheon-geom unleashed Man-sang-il-sik with all his might to break Bu Eun-seol's defensive form.
He poured out a variety of sword techniques from his arsenal, but he couldn't break through that strange defensive sword form that stuck to him so tenaciously.
"My clan's sword forms can break all the sword arts of every school in the world!"
With a great roar, Cheon-geom unleashed the supreme sword principle of Man-sang-il-sik: the profundity of Ban-sang-ban-ha and I-cheon-yeok-ryeok.
It was the same profundity that had altered the properties of Bu Eun-seol's Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol, a principle that changed the nature of all incoming external forces, allowing them to be struck away by the sword.
*Charang. Thwack.*
Finally, upon touching the profundity of I-cheon-yeok-ryeok, the Neung-hyeong-eo-geom form lost its mysterious power, the Wind and Cloud Harmony Art that reacted to killing intent.
*Pat!*
At last finding an opening, Cheon-geom delivered a decisive blow to Bu Eun-seol's neck.
*Pat!*
Bu Eun-seol used Geuk-sok-mu-yeong to evade the attack, but blood spurted from his right shoulder.
‘Now's my chance!’
Cheon-geom didn't miss the opportunity and once again unleashed Man-sang-il-sik, aiming for his neck.
*Vrrr.*
When the Neung-hyeong-eo-geom form unfolded from Bu Eun-seol's hand again, Cheon-geom rejoiced.
‘You can't block it with a sword art like that!’
*Chaang!*
Once again, sword clashed with sword.
In that moment, Cheon-geom's expression turned bizarre.
‘How?’
The immense power he had infused into his greatsword had suddenly turned soft and was pushed away by Bu Eun-seol's Binghon Sword.
"So this is how it works."
A knowing smile appeared on Bu Eun-seol's lips as he looked at Cheon-geom.
"I was always curious. Just how did you change the properties of Yeo-ui-jin-gyeol?"
In truth, Bu Eun-seol could have ended the match with Cheon-geom in an instant.
Despite that, he had deliberately dragged out the fight, baiting him into attacking with killing intent.
Only then would Neung-hyeong-eo-geom be unleashed, allowing him to properly observe and steal Cheon-geom's Man-sang-il-sik.
Man-geom-gwi-jong.
The fourth form of Mu-sang-cheon-ryu, which allowed one to grasp the profundity of an enemy's sword art and immediately imitate it.
But instantly stealing Man-sang-il-sik, said to have reached the pinnacle of Orthodox swordsmanship, was impossible from the start.
Through the long exchange, Bu Eun-seol had stolen only the core sword principle of Man-sang-il-sik—the one that changed the properties of true qi.
In other words, the entire fight up to this point had been nothing but groundwork to steal the secret of Man-sang-il-sik from Cheon-geom.