Chapter 100
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Moonlit Sky Sword Discussion (1)
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He was clearly a master from the Wudang Sect, and with that level of skill, Jeongpyo knew he was an opponent he absolutely had to be cautious of.
"Who in the world might you be...?"
"Hah. Who else? As you said, a mongrel dog, wasn't it?"
Even as Dogwang's sharp insults continued, Jeongpyo strained with all his might to pull the longsword gripped in his hand free.
But Dogwang's fingers held Jeongpyo's sword without the slightest gap.
"Heh heh... kid. Ease up on the strength. What's the point of pulling this out anyway?"
"Could you at least release my sword first before we talk?"
"Haha... Isn't this sword of yours truly shameful? It might be better to break it. Go on, snap it with your own hands. That way, you'll have something to say when you face your master."
Indeed, for a swordsman, there was a world of difference between breaking one's cherished blade with one's own hands and having it broken by someone else.
But Jeongpyo had no intention whatsoever of breaking his own longsword yet.
The gathered heroes in the hall simply watched in silence.
Dogwang gazed at Jeongpyo, who stood frozen with a flushed face, unable to move, then opened his mouth again.
"As I watched your Mount Hua Sect's insolent antics today, a certain person came to mind. Probably your master, I suspect."
"Leave it at that."
At that moment, a voice thick with deep inner energy resounded through the hall.
Simultaneously, a sharp burst of finger wind flew in, striking the longsword gripped in Dogwang's fingers.
Clang!
Jeongpyo broke free in that instant, retreating three steps as he inspected the sword in his hand.
The middle of Jeongpyo's longsword had been cleanly severed.
"You fool."
Following that, someone scolded Jeongpyo in a stern voice, and Jeongpyo hurriedly bowed toward the source.
"This disciple greets Master."
There stood Taecheong Geomseon Sacheongbo.
His expression showed no particular emotion, but his eyes clearly gleamed with killing intent.
And that killing intent was directed straight at Dogwang up front.
Sacheongbo paid no attention to Tanghwa lying collapsed or Jeongpyo holding his broken blade and strode toward Dogwang.
"Long time no see."
Sacheongbo tossed out the words, but Dogwang merely snorted with no real reaction.
The heroes in the hall were now curious about what would unfold between the two.
If the elderly man in the blue robe carrying a fine sword was the master of these Plum Blossom Swordsmen, no explanation was needed.
He was one of the Five Divinities, the absolute master representing the Mount Hua Sect: Taecheong Geomseon Sacheongbo.
The opponent Sacheongbo had recognized at a glance was undoubtedly a Wudang master, yet he hadn't even bothered to respond to the greeting.
Everyone was most curious about Dogwang's identity, but no one seemed inclined to reveal it.
"Let's go. Taejeong. Escort that one."
Dogwang showed no interest in Sacheongbo and instead ordered Yitaejeong to take charge of Bangchung.
But Sacheongbo had no intention of letting Dogwang leave just like that.
"Long time no see, and you're leaving already? How's your master doing, by the way? Heh heh..."
Dogwang, who had turned his back, now faced Sacheongbo squarely again.
"For my master's well-being to come from that mouth of yours—guess I can't just leave now either. Heh heh..."
Now standing before Sacheongbo, Dogwang's aura had completely changed.
His usual ragged, disheveled appearance vanished, replaced by the bearing of a finely honed blade enveloping his entire body.
Dogwang's true identity was none other than Son Ilgi, the named disciple of Jin Mujja—the Seven Finger Divine Sword—one of the Wudang Five Supremes.
"Word was you'd vanished somewhere for a while, and seeing you here today is quite unexpected. So, were you curious about that treasure in the mountains too?"
Sacheongbo asked, but Dogwang gave no particular reply.
Instead, he sneered at the assembled heroes listening to their conversation.
"Treasure? Manuals? Elixirs? Heh heh... Things like that are for the petty and greedy. I'd rather swing my sword one more time."
"Your mouth's gotten even filthier since we last met. Speaking so rudely to me, who's of the same generation as your master."
"What? You gotta look like a person to get treated like one, right?"
"It's surprising that a mutt like you came from Wudang. Since it's come to this, I suppose I should give you a lesson today."
With resolve, Sacheongbo drew the longsword from his waist with one hand.
"Fine. Since we've met after so long, I should collect the debt for the three fingers my master lost."
With that, Dogwang extended his hand toward Yitaejeong.
Surprisingly, the longsword in Yitaejeong's hand unsheathed itself and flew straight into Dogwang's grasp.
It was peak-level Air Grasp.
The momentum of Dogwang, now holding a longsword in one hand, was truly astonishing.
The Air Grasp he had just demonstrated was impressive enough, but the flawless aura of a supreme swordsman without a single opening left onlookers in awe.
The moniker Man Sword Scholar seemed undeserved—he hadn't held a sword in ages.
In other words, Dogwang had never once wielded a blade, but now he had reclaimed his identity as Man Sword Scholar Son Ilgi.
"Kid. Taejeong."
Suddenly, Dogwang called to Yitaejeong.
"Yes, Martial Uncle."
"Do you know how Seven Finger Divine Sword Jin Mujja—your martial granduncle—lost three fingers to become 'Seven Finger' all those years ago?"
"This disciple has not heard."
"Figured as much. Listen well today. The man standing there did something similar back then. In what should have been a fair duel, he resorted to wheel fighting, lost three times in a row, then unleashed his Plum Blossom Swordsmen underlings. Haha."
"So, did Martial Granduncle Jin Mujja suffer defeat that time?"
"As if. If that guy's one of the Six Immortals, my master is still one of the Five Divinities. He's one of the rare few who broke the Plum Blossom Sword Formation single-handedly. But because of that incident, master lost three fingers and earned the title Seven Finger Divine Sword."
"I see. This disciple will remember."
"Now, watch closely today. See what Wudang swordsmanship truly is."
With that, Dogwang stepped forward.
The heroes, having overheard the exchange between the two martial brothers, glanced at Sacheongbo, but his complexion remained calm.
"You sure talk a lot. Since when did Wudang fight with their mouths?"
Dismissing the conversation between the martial brothers, Sacheongbo raised his sword, pointing its tip straight at Dogwang.
It was the starting stance of the Wuji Taiyi Sword Method.
In truth, the Wuji Taiyi Sword Method was one of Mount Hua's arts not widely known in the jianghu, nor commonly used.
As everyone knew, Wudang and Mount Hua had been the famed sword schools representing the murim for centuries.
Though Mount Hua was always compared to Wudang, its prestige had always lagged slightly behind.
To surpass Wudang's swordsmanship, Mount Hua had created the Wuji Taiyi Sword Method after exhaustive efforts.
Since Wudang's swords were all based on Taiji, they sought to shatter it with Wuji.
Finally, Dogwang slowly raised his longsword as well.
It felt as heavy as Mount Tai, as slow as a tree growing.
Among Wudang's sword arts, such slow and weighty styles naturally stemmed from the Taiji Sword personally devised by founder Zhang Sanfeng in the past.
The now-famous Taiji Sword Method across the jianghu; the Taiji Liangyi Sword Method, which once terrorized the world by amplifying the Yin-Yang Reversal Principle; and the Taiji Wisdom Sword, hailed as Wudang's supreme art.
All shared the same foundation, so no one could predict which Dogwang would unleash.
Even the laborers stacking tiles on the distant pavilion roof paused to watch.
A clash was about to unfold before their eyes: between Taecheong Geomseon, one of the Six Immortals, and the Wudang prodigy once called the epitome of Wudang swordsmanship, Man Sword Scholar.
In terms of renown, Man Sword Scholar couldn't match Taecheong Geomseon.
But reputations in the jianghu were often inflated, and such opportunities often birthed new orders.
This duel was Wudang versus Mount Hua, Taiji versus Wuji, utmost heaviness versus utmost speed.
Indeed, Taecheong Geomseon Sacheongbo's swordsmanship began with dazzling speed.
A sword's essence lay not in sweeping slashes but in thrusting strikes, whose core was sheer swiftness.
Thus, it was proper to extend straight rather than trace arcs, and the Wuji Taiyi Sword Method maximized straight-line thrusts.
Sacheongbo's sword tip shot toward Dogwang's heart at invisible speed.
But Dogwang moved his blade slowly and softly, enveloping that lightning-fast straight thrust within the gentle circle of Taiji.
It was the epitome of striking second to control first.
Such scenarios repeated thereafter.
Sacheongbo's sword tip relentlessly targeted Dogwang in straight lines, while Dogwang's sword endlessly drew circles to subdue them.
Dogwang's Taiji Sword appeared precarious due to its slowness, but in truth, it was utterly serene.
He seemed to anticipate Sacheongbo's incoming strikes, but that wasn't the case.
Just as all things in the world could not escape Taiji, Mount Hua's sword—though called Wuji—could not be true Wuji.
Moreover, straight-line focused swordplay had a fatal flaw: retrieving the extended blade.
The seamless circle had no beginning or end, but the straight line had both, unable to loop back.
Now, sword energies flickered from the longswords wielded by both masters, embroidering the air.
Dogwang's Taiji bore blue sword qi, filling the space as circular trajectories.
From Sacheongbo's sword, red sword qi extended sharply like spear tips.