Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: A Duel of Warriors
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Mu-heun calmly explained what had happened.
“The Tang Clan said that if the Myriad Fragrance Grand Restoration Formation was completed, the other Nine Sects and Five Families would have used any means necessary to take it. The clan’s decline would have been a foregone conclusion.”
“…So the Divine Doctor escaped the Tang Clan’s grasp and went to the Demonic Cult?”
“No.”
“What? Then why is the Divine Doctor with the Demonic Cult!”
Gu Pae-seon’s patience was reaching its limit.
“Because the Divine Doctor is dead.”
“What!?”
“The Divine Doctor is dead.”
“…”
For a moment, Gu Pae-seon almost lost his sanity. But he held back.
The words delivered with such a placid expression by the young man before him made no sense to anyone. He figured there must be a reason.
In Pae-seon’s eyes, Mu-heun did not seem like the type of young man to simply spout nonsensical words and be done with it.
“None of this adds up. You just said the Divine Doctor is with the Demonic Cult, and that he sent you here. But now you say he was betrayed by the Sichuan Tang Clan and is already dead? Then isn’t the Divine Doctor gone? Or are you saying the dead Divine Doctor was resurrected by the Demonic Cult, told you all of this, and then sent you to me?”
Pae-seon decided that if Mu-heun answered yes, he would draw his sword and strike the young man’s neck. And Mu-heun was not unaware of this.
However…
Mu-heun took in the sight of Pae-seon’s rage and confusion. He then gazed intently at his old friend.
This was not his original plan. He had simply intended to introduce himself as a disciple of the Divine Doctor, Baek Jung-hyeok, and persuade him.
But upon facing his old friend, an inexplicable emotion welled up inside him… and he felt the urge to tell the truth.
‘Will this be alright…?’
Though he was an old friend, he doubted that the Cloud Dragon of Kunlun would readily believe his current situation, one that he himself could not fully comprehend.
‘But still, yes, even so… isn’t he a friend?’
As if he had made a decision, Mu-heun spoke.
“No. What I said at first was a lie, told only so I could meet the Light-Splitting Immortal.”
“What…!?”
“About half a year ago, the Divine Doctor was killed by the Golden Fang Poison Claw of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
“The Golden Fang Poison Claw!? But isn’t he the one who was kidnapped and killed by the Demonic Cult!”
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Pae-seon smashed the table with his fist. He slightly lifted his sword from its sheath, his face contorting menacingly as he spoke.
“I heard you Demonic Cult bastards kidnapped and killed the Golden Fang Poison Claw of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Afterwards, at the Tang Clan’s request, the various sects stepped in to block the Demonic Cult’s trade routes. Is that why? Is that why! You came here using the Divine Doctor’s name to drive a wedge between the sects and the Sichuan Tang Clan!”
A killing intent sharp enough to tear Mu-heun to pieces erupted. Gu Pae-seon’s furious killing intent was not something an ordinary person could withstand. But Mu-heun simply remained calm, his expression unchanged.
‘This question is likely the final test. At first, I planned to just hide my identity and persuade him… but that won’t work now.’
Mu-heun knew exactly what would happen next. If he took one more step, just one more step, he was certain. His friend’s lightning-fast sword would fly at his neck.
However.
He would not back down.
“The Divine Doctor died at the hands of the Golden Fang Poison Claw. But he came back to life. He says he quite likes having a young body this time.”
“Wha-wha-what…?”
“I am Baek Jung-hyeok, one of the three great Divine Doctors of the Central Plains. As it happens, I was reborn in this body. No… I suppose I’m Baek Mu-heun now, not Baek Jung-hyeok.”
“Heh, heh heh heh heh heh. What a waste of time.”
Gu Pae-seon let out a hollow laugh.
And finally, he drew his sword from its sheath.
Pae-seon’s Light-Splitting Sword flew toward Mu-heun’s neck.
Mu-heun had crossed his final line, and the sword, swift as light, showed no hesitation.
*Clang!*
“!”
Gu Pae-seon’s sword, arcing in a smooth curve from the upper right to the lower left, aimed precisely for Mu-heun’s neck, but it did not cut him.
It was because his sword was blocked by the Sun and Moon Sword that Mu-heun had drawn, unable to advance any further.
“You bastard… I expected as much.”
The inside of the hut began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
Between their two swords, a massive shockwave generated by two masters at the Transcendent Realm roared as if to devour each other.
“See, you don’t believe me when I’m honest. But it’s me, Pae-seon.”
“Ha! So this whelp was hiding his martial arts.”
Mu-heun tore off the Sealing Wraps around his wrists and ankles and unleashed the energy he had been suppressing—a baleful and immense Extreme Demonic energy.
“!”
The stage of Extreme Demonic energy, roaring like a ferocious black dragon, was on par with Pae-seon’s own.
‘H-how can this be… Is this truly the martial prowess of a young man who has not yet reached his prime?’
He had been suspicious, but since he couldn't sense any energy, he had assumed the young man was a practitioner of medicine who hadn't learned martial arts. But for that same person to suddenly emit an aura equal to, or even greater than, his own?
The disparity was unbelievable.
To think he was at a level where even he, the first Cloud Dragon of Kunlun, wasn't sure if he could win even at full strength?
And he still looked so young!
Pae-seon unleashed his internal energy into the hand gripping his sword.
‘If we fight here, neither of us will escape unscathed. But…! Allowing one who has insulted my friend to live is out of the question.’
A sword strike without a hint of hesitation.
As the battle began, the mist emanating from the artifact, the Seonmu-i, started to create a completely new space with the hut as its epicenter. Currently, Mu-heun and Pae-seon were completely cut off from the outside world.
To Pa-sun and Un-pyo, who were waiting outside, it just looked like a thick fog had settled on the cliff.
Mu-heun could feel that this space was completely isolated.
Just then, Pae-seon continued his explanation to Mu-heun.
“This hut is surrounded by a mystic formation connected to the Seonmu-i. No matter what happens in the space you and I are in now, no one outside can see, hear, or enter.”
“I know.”
“Hah!”
‘Just like a Kunlun Taoist, tsk tsk. To be so kind as to explain even in a situation like this.’
Mu-heun clicked his tongue inwardly, and Pae-seon was taken aback.
‘He knows all that and is still this composed?’
Gu Pae-seon was slowly growing emotional at Mu-heun’s attitude. His martial prowess, known as one of the three Cloud Dragons of Kunlun, had reached the Transcendent Realm, the highest state spoken of in the Central Plains martial world.
A level of martial arts respected everywhere. The Transcendent Realm!
And yet, a brat who had barely passed his coming-of-age was not only emitting a similar level of energy but was also acting so relaxed in front of him?
On top of that, the informal way he’d been speaking from the start.
His blood boiled.
“Hoo.”
Pae-seon exhaled, raised his energy, and swung his sword.
*KABOOM!*
The massive sword energy caused the hut to explode into pieces.
The energy emanating from the Cloud Dragon’s body was like ink on drawing paper. The colors of his gray, black, and white clothes began to bleed into the atmosphere. It was as if his body was turning into mist. It was elegant.
After that.
The two masters, who had reached the Transcendent Realm, began a battle with no quarter given.
They both released their energy, pushed to its absolute limit. The Cloud Dragon’s energy was like a mist, seeping in to smoothly subdue its opponent, while Mu-heun’s energy was a tyrannical force that caused destruction with its baleful aura upon contact.
Just then, Pae-seon threw a final question.
“Let me ask one thing.”
“Ask away.”
Pae-seon’s blood boiled once more. He hadn’t expected formalities while they had their swords pointed at each other.
But wasn’t there a limit? There was a sixty-year age difference between them, at least! For this little brat to speak so informally, it was absurd.
But that was why he was even more curious.
‘How can such an ill-mannered brat be this strong…?’
“I have fought countless members of the Demonic Cult, but you are the first I’ve seen to reach such a level at such a young age. Are there many young masters like you in the current Demonic Cult?”
Mu-heun knew well the intent behind Pae-seon’s question. Kunlun and the Demonic Cult were the closest of enemies. From Kunlun’s perspective, a sudden increase in the Demonic Cult’s power was a terrifying prospect.
“Don’t worry, among the current young generation of the Demonic Cult, I am the strongest. And there will be no more all-out wars between the Demonic Cult and Kunlun, so rest assured.”
“What? You’re the strongest, yet there will be no all-out war between Kunlun and the Demonic Cult?”
“Ah, that’s not important. For now, I’m going to defeat the Cloud Dragon of Kunlun, so just come at me.”
“A foolish question, it seems.”
As soon as Mu-heun provoked him, Pae-seon abandoned any thought of further conversation and kicked off the ground, rushing forward.
*KABOOM!*
Pae-seon’s internal energy, refined through the Crimson Sun Arts, was the energy of the red sun, like a sun radiating heat. The sword of light, honed to an extreme as it gave off heat, was fast and scorching.
Mu-heun countered with a violet flame, and their exchange continued for hundreds of clashes in just a few seconds. A battle of fire against fire.
Furthermore, with each exchange, a misty cloud billowed from the tip of Pae-seon’s sword. The mist resonated with the Seonmu-i, creating something like a barrier, and the shattering sounds produced each time their swords collided began to resonate within the mist.
“Kugh.”
The ringing was deafening.
Just then.
Pae-seon mixed a feint into his final sword strike, then unleashed an explosion of extreme yang energy.
*KABOOM!*
In response, Mu-heun manifested the Sword of Utter Darkness with his ink-black sword to parry, and was pushed back slightly.
And yet…
Mu-heun, who had clearly been pushed back by Pae-seon’s attack, was at a distinct disadvantage. It should have been so, but he suddenly burst into a wild laugh.
“Hehehe, this is fun.”
“Fun…? You Demonic Cult bastards are all madmen. What in the world is so fun about this.”
“Hehe, you were a warrior, and I was a scholar, were we not? But now, you and I can cross swords. Hehehe. How can I not be delighted when things have taken such a curious turn!”
“You bastard, to the very end!”
Pae-seon prepared his Crimson Sun technique, and Mu-heun prepared his Violet Sun technique.
“Your martial skill is extraordinary for one so young. If I don’t eliminate you now, the entire Central Plains will be in danger in the future.”
“You old fool, focus on the fight.”
“This bastard dares to speak informally to the end…!”
As Pae-seon watched Mu-heun, who kept calling him a bastard, he was increasingly reminded of his friend, the Divine Doctor.
But…
Even so, there was no way he could believe him to be the Divine Doctor.
It was just a small suspicion.
‘Could it be…?’
Separately, the crimson sun and the violet sun met and began to dissipate. An explosion and shockwave powerful enough to blow away a cliff followed, but thanks to the Seonmu-i’s mystic formation, it barely held.
‘Shadow Flight Through the Sea of Clouds.’
While fire and fire met, repeating the cycle of impact and annihilation, Pae-seon moved through the air as if swimming smoothly. He launched his body forward at the same time as his attack, his movements as natural as a dragon floating through the clouds.
Pae-seon, moving without a trace, soon closed the distance to Mu-heun.
‘Heavenly Demon's Reigning Steps.’
*KWAAANG!*
But a powerful internal energy swirled around the foot Mu-heun stomped down, and a fierce shockwave spread out in all directions from the tip of his toe.
Pae-seon’s movement faltered for a moment due to the shockwave, and in that opening, Mu-heun drew his Sun and Moon Sword straight from the upper left to the lower right.
‘Heavenly Demon's Cleave.’
However, Pae-seon quickly regained his posture and countered.
“Sword of Supreme Purity: Mystic Whip Flourish.”
*KA-ANG!*
Just then, Pae-seon’s sword bent and wrapped around Mu-heun’s Heavenly Demon's Cleave.
*Swish!*
The coiling sword shaved away at Mu-heun’s strike, neutralizing it. Soon, the energy of the wrapping sword coiled like a whirlwind around Mu-heun’s right arm, even inflicting a wound.
An unpredictable slash that happened in an instant.
A spiral-shaped wound was left on Mu-heun’s right arm.
Red blood flowed.
However, Mu-heun did not panic and immediately applied the wound ointment from his robes.
Then, he smirked and spoke.
“So you haven’t been honing your skills for nothing all this time. You didn’t earn the title of Cloud Dragon for nothing.”