Chapter 100
Chapter 100
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Arrow Storm Trial
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shk!
The sound of air being torn apart exploded.
“Kkadeuk! Damn it!”
Jeokgeom spat out his boiling curses from deep within as he twisted his waist.
Puk! Puk!
A bead of sweat trickled down Jeokgeom's forehead as he looked at the arrows embedded in the ground.
“I-Is this thing ever going to end?!”
As he shouted in no small panic,
Pshoooo!
Dozens of arrows poured down like a storm at a glance.
“I'll take the front!”
In that instant, Seollan stood shoulder to shoulder beside him.
Pababak!
Seollan gripped her sword and deflected the arrows shooting from all directions, her eyes hardening.
In truth, dodging arrows of this level was no strain at all for the two of them.
They had grown accustomed to ambushes while hunting wolves all this time.
But.
'My body doesn't feel like mine right now!'
Seollan bit her upper lip.
Unlike usual, her hand gripping the sword felt numb, and her feet were heavy as if soaked in water.
'I felt something off ever since Martial Uncle said he was creating a gateway!'
Jeokgeom, already sensing the same, glared at his surroundings with narrowed eyes.
At that moment.
“......!”
“What the hell is this?!”
The two flinched in surprise.
Suddenly, the night pearls brightly illuminating the gateway ceiling began to flicker.
Peeng! Peeng!
And at the same time, arrows were fired.
“Damn it!”
Jeokgeom hurriedly swung his sword at the arrows flying through space as if the intermediate process had been cut away.
Sgeek! Sgeek!
The arrows sliced by his sword fluttered in the air, further dizzying his vision.
“Kuhk!”
A groan came from beside him.
“Junior Sister!”
The moment he turned his head in alarm,
Puk!
He felt an impact in his shoulder.
“Euk!”
The arrow piercing his shoulder had its arrowhead jutting out jaggedly, blood flowing from it.
“Senior Brother! Are you okay?”
“No. Not at all. You?”
“Same here.”
The two looked at each other.
And without anyone going first, they let out bitter smiles.
Laughing together, they gripped their swords.
“This is a life-or-death gateway, huh.”
“But compared to the training Martial Uncle has put us through, this is easy, right?”
“True enough.”
Seollan nodded.
Pain continued from her abdomen and shoulder, but her eyes did not dim.
On the contrary, they blazed fiercely.
“Let's pass it together.”
“We have to. If we fail this, we'll get punished by Martial Uncle.”
Having already endured Cheonhwi's grueling training, the two remained composed even before this life-threatening gateway.
“Then we absolutely have to pass.”
Exchanging lighthearted jokes, the two raised their swords high and circulated their inner energy.
“Here we go!”
“I'll cover the back!”
Just then, arrows poured down again.
Pabababak!
Their swords flashed with sharp sword light at the arrows filling the cave densely.
Kakakang!
Cheonhwi, who had been following the presence of Jeokgeom and Seollan, snatched the incoming arrows mid-air.
“This is better than before?”
He was more satisfied than expected.
The arrows raining from all directions.
Along with the activated Transformation Illusion Shadow Formation, which created the illusion of arrowheads on shaftless arrows, heightening the tension.
“That's especially good.”
Cheonhwi tossed the arrow in his hand, his gaze turning to the night pearl on the wall.
The night pearl that should have obediently gone dark here was, for some reason, continuing to flicker.
“It makes them unable to trust their sight.”
In that instant, another arrow rain poured down.
It was like a downpour, but Cheonhwi didn't even glance at it.
Instead, he simply walked forward.
Defenseless steps as if inviting the arrows.
But the result was astonishing.
Pababak!
The arrows passed through his body.
As if piercing water.
“Over there?”
Cheonhwi continued stepping forward, subtly dodging the arrows.
“Cough. A-Are you okay?”
“Ah...... Nyoo.”
He finally arrived where the two were.
How far had they come to end up like that?
Jeokgeom and Seollan stood shakily, using their swords as crutches, in wretched states.
'How did they end up like that?'
Pabababak!
Just then, arrows fired densely.
“Hah, hah. Can you block more?”
“Ah...... No. I can't even twitch a finger now.”
As the two, barely managing to stand, awaited their gruesome fate,
Creeeak!
A dull sound struck their ears.
Seeing the massive back that appeared before them, the two's eyes widened round.
“Wha, what? Martial Uncle......?”
“Martial Uncle?”
Jeokgeom and Seollan struggled.
But accumulated pain prevented even a finger from moving.
“What are you doing?”
Cheonhwi, looking at the two, flicked away the arrows in his grasp and smacked his lips.
“Our strength...... won't come.”
“Haha.”
Seeing their awkward expressions, Cheonhwi clicked his tongue and said,
“Can't even pass this much? Guess I trained you too softly.”
The two paled.
“N-No.”
“It's our inadequacy......”
“Enough.”
With that, he grabbed their napes.
“Kek!”
“Guk!”
And kicked off the ground in one go.
Cheonhwi, who quickly exited the Plum Blossom Gate, tossed the two before Sinui.
Thud! Thud!
“What's this?”
“Patients.”
“Kuhng.”
“Euk.”
“Hoo...... Got it for now.”
Sinui looked down at the two groaning in pain and pulled out acupuncture needles from his bosom.
“Y-Young hero.”
Zhuge Seonghyeon approached cautiously, bowing with fidgety gestures.
“I'm sorry......”
“I like this method now.”
Zhuge Seonghyeon jumped in surprise at Cheonhwi's words cutting off his apology.
“Y-Yes?”
“Instead of changing the mechanism formations one by one, add them sequentially.”
“Add them......?”
Cheonhwi immediately pulled out the blueprint.
And pointed to a few spots, modifying the direction of the formation that had been there this time.
“When they reach the end of this gateway, additionally activate the original mechanism formation......”
Zhuge Seonghyeon, initially flustered, became engrossed in the explanation and listened intently.
He even offered opinions midway.
“Then rather than using the Transformation Illusion Shadow Formation, installing another mechanism formation and array would be more natural.”
“Got a replacement formation?”
“Among our house's formations, there's one called Returning Benevolence Myriad Arrays. It can't create detailed illusions like the Transformation Illusion Shadow Formation, but it's sufficient to deceive the senses.”
“Hm, is that so?”
Cheonhwi stroked his chin.
Deceive senses without illusions.
'That could work too.'
There was no need for illusions specifically.
Deceiving senses would suffice for the Plum Blossom Gate's role.
“Do that if it's easier.”
At Cheonhwi's words, Zhuge Seonghyeon, excited, began voicing opinions he had secretly pondered.
“And what about doing this here? Instead of using that mechanism formation this way, in this direction......”
As if he had been holding back, Zhuge Seonghyeon poured out suggestions like a waterfall.
'Got a pretty good one.'
Zhuge Seonghyeon's proposals were surprisingly efficient and innovative.
'At this level, I can step back.'
Cheonhwi nodded, watching Zhuge Seonghyeon explain with shining eyes.
“Then do it that way.”
At those words, Zhuge Seonghyeon flinched.
He had gotten excited offering opinions, but upon reflection, the gateway's difficulty might become even more brutal.
“N-No. Better to stick to the original.”
“Why?”
Zhuge Seonghyeon swallowed as he spoke.
“Modifying it like this could make it more dangerous than now......”
“What? They'll die?”
“N-No!”
Zhuge Seonghyeon waved his hands in horror.
“Not that, but...... they could suffer worse injuries than that.”
Cheonhwi smirked, seeing Zhuge Seonghyeon sweating profusely while pointing at the groaning Jeokgeom and Seollan with severe wounds.
“As long as they don't die, it's fine. Try it that way for now.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Full spring had arrived at Mount Hua.
The sprouts that had budded on Mount Hua now bloomed into small plum blossom peaks, and the Mount Hua Sect disciples were growing as well.
Before long, the second-generation disciples had absorbed half of the Dark Fragrance Group, rapidly building their inner energy, and the first-generation disciples of the Martial Training Pavilion possessed martial prowess incomparable to before.
Sip sip.
Cheonhwi, who had created this current state of Mount Hua Sect, was in the Purple霞 Pavilion at the Sect Leader's summons.
The Sect Leader asked in a low voice upon seeing Cheonhwi sipping tea leisurely.
“I heard you've been resting lately.”
“That's right.”
Cheonhwi was in a relaxed state now.
The second-generation disciples were being handled by Hyeoncheong, and he had almost completely stepped away from the Plum Blossom Seven Gates.
“You must have some leisure.”
“To some extent.”
At Cheonhwi's response, the Sect Leader's eyes narrowed for a fleeting moment.
“Actually, the reason I called you today is because I have a request.”
“A request?”
What could it be?
The Sect Leader was not one to use the word 'request' lightly.
For him to say request.
“What is it?”
“As you know, we'll soon be opening the Mount Hua Sect's gates.”
Cheonhwi nodded deeply.
Opening the Mount Hua Sect's gates had been a steadily progressing plan for a very long time.
But it had been delayed due to chronic financial issues and various overlapping matters.
Recently, with the sect's halls repaired and finances secured, Hyeonryeo had informed him a few days ago that the opportunity to finally open the gates had arrived.
'She even sulked multiple times about not being able to meet lately because of that.'
As he recalled her clinging to him exasperatingly whenever they met by chance, the Sect Leader spoke.
“Can you discern the aptitudes and talents of the children coming up the mountain then?”
Cheonhwi's brows furrowed sharply.
No sect took disciple recruitment lightly when it came to aptitude.
And he was entrusting that crucial matter to Cheonhwi.
'Annoying.'
Seeing Cheonhwi's indifferent expression, the Sect Leader spoke with a 'just as I thought' look.
“Of course, it's not just a request.”
“What do I get?”
Cheonhwi was nonchalant.
He had nothing he particularly wanted.
It was hard to pique his interest with ordinary things.
But he couldn't help reacting to the Sect Leader's next words.
“Have you seen the Zaha Sword Conclusion?”
“Zaha Sword Conclusion?”
The fish bit the bait, and the Sect Leader smiled inwardly.
'Heh. Senior Brother Hyeoncheong was right.'
The Sect Leader had pondered how to entice Cheonhwi and gotten the answer from Hyeoncheong.
Cheonhwi's obsession with new martial arts.
That was the target.
“If you accept the proposal, I'll show you the Zaha Sword Conclusion.”
“Deal.”
Without a moment's hesitation, Cheonhwi answered immediately.
'I wanted to see the real Zaha Sword Conclusion, not the one Hyeonyu demonstrated.'
The Mount Hua Sect's Absolute Sword Art, Zaha Sword Conclusion.
He had only seen it twice in the past, so he was curious how those forms had evolved.
The Sect Leader stood.
“Then follow me.”
In his hand was the treasured sword Zaha Sword that had been with him all his life.
Soon, the two headed to the Upper Palace.
And what happened in the Upper Palace that day would be talked about for ages to come.
The day when purple and transparent plum blossoms blanketed the world in an unprecedented spectacle.
And twenty days later.
Rumors spread that the long-sealed gates of Mount Hua Sect would open.