Chapter 245
Chapter 245
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 245
Chapter Title: The Cleaved Sky
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“Hup!”
The bandits and Mount Hua disciples, staggering from the earth-shaking shockwave, all turned their heads toward Jinwonji.
And in that moment, they witnessed it.
The sight of the heavens splitting apart.
“W-What is that?”
“The sky... it’s splitting!”
“Is such a thing even possible?”
Perhaps because it was a scene too unbelievable even after seeing it with their own eyes.
For a brief instant, they forgot they were supposed to be attacking each other and stood dumbfounded.
“...Is this a dream?”
“How could such a thing...”
Swallowing sounds echoed here and there, followed by murmurs rippling through the air.
Beneath the rift in the sky.
Two hazy silhouettes flickered into view.
No one present could see them clearly. Or more precisely, no one could see them clearly.
Their movements were faster than lightning.
Yet thanks to that, they could roughly make out who the two figures were.
There were few with such prowess.
“The Fortress Lord’s might reaches the heavens, yet he’s not falling behind...”
“Was Cheonhwi’s skill at that level?”
Astonishment gripped both sides.
They had each thought they understood the Bandit Emperor’s and Cheonhwi’s abilities.
But in reality, it far surpassed their expectations.
“This isn’t a fight between humans.”
Someone muttered.
And everyone agreed.
It was no human clash.
It was a battle of those who had transcended humanity.
Beings beyond mortals.
“...”
As everyone held their breath, watching the duel.
Paat!
The gray silhouette and the black-crimson one left long trails before colliding in the center.
At that instant, two streaks of red and green lightning crashed down, twisting together.
Kuwaaaang! Jjeeeeng!
A thunderous roar echoed like the wrath of the gods.
As the onlookers’ eyes churned like a lake struck by stones, another fierce shockwave surged forth.
“...!”
“Ugh!”
Everyone crossed their arms simultaneously.
The incoming shockwave was tremendous.
The ground beneath their feet trembled violently, and the gale swept them up.
Suuu―
Moments later, the dust-laden gale faded away. Only then did they cautiously uncross their arms.
“Aaak!”
A sharp scream pierced the air.
All heads whipped around.
“Junior Sister!”
“Junior Sister!”
Mount Hua’s third-generation disciples widened their eyes in shock upon seeing Jeokso clutching her shoulder and dropping to one knee.
“Getting distracted in the middle of battle? You must be trying to die.”
A gaunt middle-aged man approached, gripping a chain mace dripping blood, his voice chilling.
It was he who had struck Jeokso; blood dripped from the mace.
Hyeonryeo’s face crumpled upon recognizing the sudden intruder.
“You’ve even brought the Gate-Slaying Ghost!”
At Hyeonryeo’s cry of his moniker, the briefly lax atmosphere tightened like a drawn bowstring.
The disciples’ expressions darkened.
They had forgotten reality amid watching the two transcendents duel.
Already being pushed back by the bandits, now one of the Four Bandit Kings, the Gate-Slaying Ghost, had arrived.
The situation was spiraling toward disaster.
As the disciples stared at the Gate-Slaying Ghost.
Swiiik―
He hurled his chain mace at a still-dazed bandit.
“Uwaaak!”
The bandit screamed, panicking as the mace embedded in his thigh.
“S-Senior! Why me all of a sudden...”
“You’re no different. Distracted on the battlefield?”
The Gate-Slaying Ghost yanked the chain impassively.
In that instant.
“Kuaaaak!”
A gruesome scream rang out.
The bandit, thigh sliced to the bone, trembled while clutching the wound.
“Don’t forget your duty.”
The Gate-Slaying Ghost glanced at the bandits and smirked coldly.
“You haven’t forgotten either, have you?”
The bandits frantically shook their heads.
“N-No, sir!”
“We haven’t!”
The roused bandits raised their weapons, glaring at the Mount Hua disciples.
“Then move.”
With a sneer, the Gate-Slaying Ghost whipped his chain mace in a wide arc, awakening the bandits’ vigilance.
Huiiing―
A sinister wind howled.
“Now’s the time to paint Mount Hua with their blood.”
With those words, he savagely flung the spinning chain mace toward Hyeonryeo.
Swaaaak!
Hyeonryeo desperately raised her sword to block the slicing wind.
Damn it!
But despair filled her face.
The mace was already upon her before she could draw her sword fully.
Too late...
As she bit her lip.
Kang!
Sparks flew, and the mace rebounded.
“Junior Brother?”
Hyeonryeo’s eyes widened at the one who had appeared before her.
“Are you alright, Junior Sister?”
Hyeonryeo exclaimed in surprise.
“Why are you here, Junior Brother? I thought you went to aid the Sect Leader...”
“He said I’d just get in the way, so he sent me here to help.”
Recalling Cheonhwi’s words upon nearing the Bandit Emperor and Sect Leader, Hyeonyang smiled broadly.
“Right, Senior Brother?”
As he looked up with those words.
“Hap!”
Hyeonheo burst in with a shout, swinging his sword at the bandits encircling the Mount Hua disciples.
“Kuhk!”
“Uak!”
Straightening after felling three or four with a single stroke, Hyeonheo bellowed at the disciples.
“Now it’s our turn to counterattack!”
Hope flickered in the disciples’ despairing eyes at his resounding voice.
It was just two arrivals.
Yet the momentum flipped in an instant.
For those two were the spiritual pillars upholding Mount Hua.
Vigor returned to the weary, wounded disciples’ gazes.
At that moment, Jeokgeom, Seollan, and Cheonhyang shouted at the bandits surrounding them.
“All Blade Unit members, draw your swords! The time to repel these vile fiends is now!”
“No Flower Unit, form ranks!”
“We won’t be outdone! Let’s go! Plum Fragrance Unit, exterminate these villains!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Jjeeeeng!
Cheonhwi’s lips curled slightly at the force transmitted through his sword-gripping hand.
This one’s the real deal.
Admiration welled with each exchange.
Fist, palm, elbow...
His techniques were swift and agile, befitting a master of close-quarters combat.
The Bandit Emperor before him fully deserved the title.
And both his internal and external arts are exceptional.
Cheonhwi’s eyes shifted to the Bandit Emperor’s fist, clashing against his blade wrapped in sword aura.
His fist, laden with force enough to warp the air, was thick and sturdy.
As if it could shatter mountains.
A hand tempered to the extreme in external arts.
His scarred hand bespoke his relentless effort.
“Daydreaming, are we?”
A soft voice tickled his ear.
The Bandit Emperor, tearing through space in an instant, thrust his left fist.
Left fist fused with swift footwork.
Cheonhwi spun on his left foot, facing the rapidly enlarging fist.
Whiririk―
The most profound footwork of Mount Hua—the true manifestation of Jade Ring Wondrous Step.
Following the fist’s arc, Cheonhwi completed a full rotation and swung his sword wide, using the momentum.
Swaaaak!
The gale-like swift sword arced toward the unguarded Bandit Emperor’s armpit.
Pararak!
The Bandit Emperor, slicing air with his fist, spun half a turn in kind.
His gray robe billowed dramatically.
And from within, his elbow shot out, smashing the blade with ferocious speed.
Jjeeeng!
The sword vibrated wildly.
The tremor swelled into a wave, reaching his gripping hand.
A sharp pain stung.
Cheonhwi twisted his hand swiftly, channeling Plum Blossom Divine Art’s energy to swing the sword and deflect the shock.
Kwajik!
The residual force shot from the sword tip, carving a three-inch crater into Peach Grove Plain’s ground.
To counter even that.
As Cheonhwi recalled the Bandit Emperor’s swifter-than-expected response.
“Impressive internal energy control.”
The Bandit Emperor spoke in genuine admiration.
He had dispersed the infiltrating energy in a breath shorter than an exhale.
No ordinary realm.
Cheonhwi raised his sword, shaking off the last of its momentum, and replied.
“Yours was no slouch either.”
“Hahaha! Is that so?”
The Bandit Emperor laughed heartily at Cheonhwi’s words.
After laughing long and freely, he clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly.
Perhaps thrilled to meet a worthy foe after so long.
Boiling battle spirit excited him.
His hair stood on end, and his eyes gleamed blue with the power of Heavenly Form Green Fire Secret Art.
A technique I don’t know.
Curiosity lit Cheonhwi’s eyes.
Most of what the Bandit Emperor displayed was unfamiliar.
Heart method, footwork, fist arts.
Thus, his interest piqued.
Cheonhwi focused on the turquoise battle spirit—his qi—blooming over his body.
The energy within rivaled the heart methods of the Nine Great Sects, Eight Great Families, and even the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
To think the bandits possess such a profound heart method.
Cheonhwi raised his sword with intrigued eyes.
With that qi unleashed, ordinary attacks wouldn’t pierce.
The Bandit Emperor and Cheonhwi locked eyes.
“...”
No more words were needed.
As a chill wind brushed their cheeks in the silent hush.
Suddenly, the Bandit Emperor shot forward.
His prior swift footwork unfolded anew, closing the distance in a blink.
Bow Body Shadow Leap?
Shifting Form Exchange?
No, different trajectory.
He had skipped through space.
Like the legendary Shrink Ground.
His left foot slammed the earth upon reaching Cheonhwi.
Jjeojjeok!
The ground cracked.
His thigh swelled massively beneath the gray robe, threatening to burst it.
The robe fluttered skyward.
And his eerie green eyes blazed like flames.
A fleeting eye contact.
Yet to them, it felt eternal.
Their minds raced faster than time itself.
Then.
Hwaaaaak!
The Bandit Emperor unleashed his right fist.
Boiling battle spirit surged into the clenched fist, erupting qi.
A visible vortex of qi swirled around his hand.
His fist spun with destructive might to pulverize all it touched.
His shoulder rose, and the right fist split into multiples.
Mighty Overlord Fist.
The essence of centuries of bandit martial arts, forged to claim dominion, manifested in his hand.
A fist art I’ve never seen.
Cheonhwi’s eyes flashed.
Dozens of strikes poured in complex paths in an instant.
Feints and direct blows mixed?
Cheonhwi analyzed the unfolding fist art amid the onslaught.
What did it conceal?
Where did the trajectories lead?
Even as the fists closed in, he probed relentlessly.
But contemplation was brief.
Kwajijik!
Dozens of strikes scattered immense force like splintering branches, bearing down to crush the world.
The qi trembled with violent vibration.
And the fist bore it.
Peerless martial arts manifested from the Bandit Emperor’s hand, pressuring Cheonhwi.
Interesting.
Cheonhwi’s lips twisted slowly.
His skin tingled from the destructive aura.
But that made it exhilarating.
Martial prowess and strife.
They were his greatest reasons for living, his driving force.
And now, one of them.
Strife dominated his senses.
As if responding, Plum Blossom Divine Art’s energy flowed along the blade.
Transparent like dew.
But it gathered at the White Lotus Sword’s tip, transforming into a noble crimson.
The White Lotus Sword rose to chest height.
He swept it horizontally forward, sleeve billowing.
Suuuuk―
A long crimson trajectory etched the air.
And in that moment, the energy at the blade’s tip bloomed into a exquisite flower.