Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: Clash with the Bandit King
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BOOOOM!
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and Giyeonno, who had passed out, finally came to.
"Ugh!"
As he tried to sit up, a sharp pain in his abdomen made him groan involuntarily.
'Why does my stomach... That bastard!'
Recalling the young Daoist who had kicked him in the gut, he clutched his belly and carefully stood up.
Then, as usual, he tried to circulate his internal energy naturally, only to furrow his brow.
The moment he attempted to draw it forth, a burning sensation rose in his core, threatening to make him vomit.
Internal injuries.
"You damn dog!"
Curses spilled from his lips.
At the same time, rage boiled up within him.
"Where is that bastard..."
The moment he whipped his head around, eyes blazing, searching for the one who had kicked him...
"...!"
A chill ran down his spine.
CRAAACK! BOOM!
The heavens and earth seemed to split apart.
A sword blooming red plum blossoms clashed with destructive fists, unleashing deafening explosions.
Not just once or twice, but dozens of collisions.
Each burst of energy whipped up gales that tore at the ground.
"The Bandit King... fighting evenly with that young punk who kicked me?"
Giyeonno's eyebrows twitched violently.
The Bandit King was locked in combat on equal footing with the young Daoist who had booted him aside.
He had watched the Bandit King from his days as a mere bandit leader to now.
Thus, he knew.
How powerful the Bandit King truly was.
He was the man who had stormed the stronghold alone, reduced it to rubble, and seized the leadership.
Yet even he couldn't overwhelm this opponent.
A youth who looked barely past twenty.
'To think I tried to fight that monster...'
Giyeonno gulped hard.
The foe he had underestimated turned out to be a freak from beyond the heavens.
'I'm lucky to still be breathing.'
His palms grew slick with cold sweat.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, confirming no one was watching him, then turned to flee.
'I have no intention of dying here...'
Just as he hurriedly tried to put distance between them...
"Cough, hack! H-Hey... trying to bail?"
A voice drenched in blood reached him.
Turning toward the sound, he saw the White-Clothed Ghost-Face staggering forward, his upper body bare and wrapped around his abdomen.
"Still alive?"
Giyeonno stared at him in astonishment.
The man's body was a wreck.
Even with his shirt wrapped around it, more than half was soaked in blood, and his pallid face was utterly bloodless.
"Trying to... run away... are you?"
"Run? I'm just thinking of getting far enough not to catch that monster's eye."
Giyeonno lied shamelessly in response to White-Clothed Ghost-Face's question.
'Whether I run or not depends on who wins.'
He was cold and calculating.
Now that he'd been spotted, fleeing wasn't an option.
If the Bandit King lost, his head would roll for sure.
He would simply bide his time.
"......"
White-Clothed Ghost-Face eyed him suspiciously before shaking his head.
This wasn't the time for arguments.
He had to get there quickly.
To witness the Stronghold Leader's victory with his own eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The essence and quintessence of the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
Following the horizontal sword trace that separated heaven and earth, he unleashed its momentum.
As brilliantly as a tiny flame spreading outward.
Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword, Fourth Form.
Tyrannical Sky Blood Flower Flash.
'A man worthy of contending for the world. As expected of the Nine Great Sects, to raise such a monster.'
The Bandit King's eyes deepened.
It was a sword strike that drew admiration unbidden.
Dozens of plum blossoms blooming along a single horizontal streak of crimson light.
And the momentum contained within them?
Each petal sharp as a blade, brimming with lethal intent.
'...No stray thoughts.'
The Bandit King ceased his musings.
They only cluttered his mind.
In battles where martial prowess touched the heavens, numbers meant nothing.
Only one truth.
The supremacy of the strong.
That alone decided the outcome.
The Bandit King twisted the force in his right fist and smashed it directly into the plum blossoms.
CRACK!
Intense sparks flew.
In an instant, the plum blossoms burst apart, and dozens of fist strikes faded into the ether.
CRAAACK!
A delayed shockwave erupted violently.
Cheonhwi's eyes twitched slightly.
A fierce vibration coursed through his sword-gripping hand, invasive force encroaching upon it.
'Well, well.'
Sensing it immediately, he circulated his internal energy.
The force dominating his hand surged past his elbow to his shoulder, and Cheonhwi detonated it in one go.
BOOM!
The shockwave tore his shoulder Daoist robe, sending the sleeve sliding down.
A masterful exchange of internal energies.
'Not bad.'
Cheonhwi lightly rolled his shoulder.
"Hm..."
Conversely, the Bandit King let out a faint groan and took a step back.
Then, slowly, he opened his palm.
His callused hand, scarred from old wounds, now bore a fresh gash across it.
Drip...
His expression turned icy as he stared at the blood trickling down his palm.
'Blood... How long has it been since I last saw my own?'
Since perfecting the Heavenly Punishment Green Flame Secret Art and mastering the Golden Bell Guard to its limit, no one had even scratched him, let alone drawn blood.
Yet here was vivid red blood.
'I thought the only rival in the current martial world was the Eight Divine Weapons... and now this guy appears.'
The Bandit King's lips twisted.
He had faced countless masters, but this one was on another level.
'Hahaha, the world won't let me claim it easily, sending me trials.'
Squeeze...
The Bandit King clenched his fist.
The blood in his hand burned hot.
And no less so did the fire in his chest, the warrior's spirit igniting fiercely.
Grrrrrind...
As he unleashed his full power, the earth and air around him began to churn.
Whoosh!
Cheonhwi simply tore off his fluttering sleeve, whipped by the Bandit King's gale, and tossed it away.
Then he locked eyes with the Bandit King.
A vortex swirled around him, rising like a dragon toward the heavens.
The realm of Heavenly Martial Arts.
His aura proclaimed to the world that his martial prowess touched the sky.
Cheonhwi's lips curled.
The Bandit King's massive aura, devouring the sunlight, exuded immense pressure.
'Yes, this is the kind of fight worth having.'
The energy slicing at his skin.
The tingling in his sword hand and the surging internal energy screamed that this foe was no pushover.
Strength flowed into his sword grip.
The muscles on his exposed right forearm bulged, veins popping vividly.
Cheonhwi channeled energy into his toes.
The rough ground began to crumble beneath him.
Whoosh!
Cheonhwi shot forward.
Strong winds battered his face as he unfolded Dark Shadow Step in an instant.
Reaching the Bandit King in a single leap, he swung his sword from mid-air, feet still off the ground.
BOOM!
An ear-ringing explosion erupted.
The Bandit King, palm extended to block the sword, flashed his green eyes and clenched his fist.
Crunch!
His right fist devoured the plum blossoms, lunging to seize the blade.
In that moment, Cheonhwi twisted his ankle, swiftly changing direction.
Moving fluidly like petals in the wind, he exploited the opening and swung again.
Red plum blossoms bloomed.
The Bandit King rolled his green eyes downward from the falling petals, then raised his knee toward the swinging Cheonhwi.
Leg technique...?
Seeing the knee slicing through the air, Cheonhwi hastily withdrew his blade.
CLANG!
Blade met knee.
The vicious energy wave made the sword hum and waver like ocean waves, wailing mournfully.
As Cheonhwi tried to neutralize the invading force by circulating his energy, he paused.
Thud!
The Bandit King stomped.
Crack—the ground split, dust rising from the fissures.
Crack!
Twisting his exquisitely trained muscles, the Bandit King whipped his left hand upward.
Cheonhwi jerked his chin back.
The left hand cleaved the air, shattering the atmosphere.
Force that could sunder the heavens.
Cheonhwi lowered his gaze.
Surprise flickered in the Bandit King's green eyes, as if he hadn't expected the strike to miss.
A fleeting instant.
Swish—
Cheonhwi pivoted on his left foot.
Thanks to Divine Shadow Step, his unbalanced body spun gracefully like scattering petals.
Then he lashed out with his right leg.
Small Leaf Leg Technique.
His reed-like right foot slammed into the Bandit King's unguarded face.
SMACK!
A sound like a drum bursting echoed.
A fierce shockwave erupted.
But...
'Is this the pinnacle of external arts?'
Cheonhwi's eyes darkened.
The Bandit King bore not a single injury.
"Daring to come at me with bare-handed brawling."
Glare sharp as a blade fixed on Cheonhwi, the Bandit King seized the embedded foot and flung it upward.
Whoosh—
Cheonhwi's body soared through the air.
Confirming no room to maneuver, the Bandit King thrust his palm forward.
Flash!
Green radiance bloomed from his palm, forming a massive pillar.
Pestle Strike Bomb.
A palm strike laden with oceanic power shot toward the defenseless Cheonhwi floating in the air.
It seemed poised to engulf him entirely.
But then.
Tat!
Cheonhwi kicked off the air.
Using Plum Blossom Divine Art's inner force to create an air platform, he charged straight at the incoming Pestle Strike Bomb.
The uplifted White Lotus Sword, gleaming in the sunlight, cleaved down on the black-green projectile.
Craaaack!
The bomb's momentum shattered under the swing, but residual force swept over Cheonhwi.
A biting gale grazed his cheek.
Drip—
Hotness followed on his cheek.
Blood.
Feeling the blood trail back from the speed, Cheonhwi smiled.
Then sword met palm.
BOOM!
The clash of divine might cracked the earth and roared the heavens.
Amid it, they glared at each other.
Black eyes sunk deep as a lake.
Green eyes blazing like flames.
Even their gazes collided fiercely.
The eye contact ended in a flash.
Thud.
As Cheonhwi's feet hit the ground from mid-air, his sword strike shot forth relentlessly.
The Bandit King unleashed his fist.
CLANG!
Tremendous energies collided.
Fist and sword clashed repeatedly.
Clang! BOOM! CRASH!
Dozens of exchanges in a single breath.
Around them, in a thirty-zhang radius, brilliant plum blossoms bloomed and faded, green radiance flashing endlessly.
The Plum Blossom Sword relentlessly unfolded.
Countered by the Bandit King's ultimate techniques.
The battle of absolute beings whose martial arts touched the heavens reshaped Mount Hua's landscape.
'This guy's barely past thirty?'
The longer the exchange dragged, the more astonished the Bandit King grew.
Feints and lethal strikes flew wildly.
Enough to overwhelm any young warrior.
Yet this one, with a face just past thirty, moved with the seasoned cunning of a battle-hardened veteran.
It felt like facing a survivor of countless tempests.
Like battling one reborn in youthful vigor.
Slash!
Briefly lost in admiration for the realm, he exposed a gap. In that instant, the White Lotus Sword sliced his gray robe.
Seeing the fluttering cloth, the Bandit King gritted his teeth and thrust his fist.
Whoosh!
The fist grazed Cheonhwi's abdomen.
The follow-up pressure shredded his Daoist robe, baring his stomach.
But Cheonhwi paid it no mind.
His robe was already in tatters; a torn side was nothing.
'I thought I'd never fight a life-or-death duel like this again.'
The smile on his lips deepened.
The pinnacle of his previous life.
How lonely and desolate it had been.
But not this life.
Right before him stood a foe who matched him blow for blow.
'Still not enough, though.'
His thirst remained unquenched.
'Entertain me more.'
Light blazed in Cheonhwi's eyes.
"...!"
The Bandit King flinched at the gaze.
In the flash of brilliance, he felt overwhelmed despite himself.
But soon, fury erupted.
Fury at himself.
"I am the one who will seize the world!"
With the shout, he unleashed his full power and unleashed his arts.
Thunderclap Palm Technique, Pestle Strike Bomb, Mighty Overlord Fist...
His sleeves shredded in the relentless barrage of techniques.
In that instant, Cheonhwi's mind accelerated.
Everything slowed.
The Bandit King's arts, the world itself.
Only one thing.
Cheonhwi's spirit spun at blinding speed.
And in that moment.
Whoosh!
Plum Blossom Divine Art's inner force poured forth.
He must have sensed it.
That the end was near.
In an instant, the endlessly blooming plum blossoms began to fade one by one.
Until only a single blossom remained.
Gazing at it, Cheonhwi raised his sword, infused with Plum Blossom Divine Art.
'Cut.'
His intent flowed into the blade.
The sword slowly descended.
Swish—
The lone plum blossom was severed, and the world plunged into thick darkness.
Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword, Sixth Form.
Dark Fragrance Unfreezing Flower.
The Bandit King's eyes widened.
The world went dark.
Abyssal blackness unfurled, senses utterly vanishing.
'Plum fragrance...?'
The moment he caught the faint plum scent teasing his nose, the Bandit King saw it.
A streak of sword light.
The blade that cleaved the light slashed diagonally from his shoulder across his body.
SPLATTER!
Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Gah!"
The Bandit King staggered back.
Thanks to his Golden Bell Guard, the wound was fortunately shallow.
"Shallow."
Cheonhwi lowered his sword and remarked.
Blood droplets trailed down the blade, dripping into the cracks in the split ground.
Cheonhwi advanced on the Bandit King once more.
Step... step...
The approaching footsteps.
The Bandit King's eyes wavered.
'Did I... lose?'
Unbelievable.
Since reaching this realm, he had known no defeat.
He had been certain only the Eight Divine Weapons could rival him in the current martial world.
Yet here he was.
"No... not yet. Not..."
Glare fixed on the approaching Cheonhwi, the Bandit King drew forth his remaining energy.
"...it's not over!"
His blood-smeared hand surged toward Cheonhwi's head with ferocious force.
A blindingly swift strike.
The Thunderclap Palm Technique unfolded in an instant, targeting Cheonhwi's face.
Yet Cheonhwi did not dodge.
Instead, he lunged forward.
And thrust his sword.
The moment the White Lotus Sword, charged with squeezed Plum Blossom Divine Art inner force, met his hand.
SPLASH!
A long gash opened on the Bandit King's right hand, blood gushing out.
Then Cheonhwi twisted the blade.
As he swung to behead the Bandit King, an odd sensation struck.
'This is?'
Right then.
Crack...
Cracks spiderwebbed across the White Lotus Sword.
Having reached its limit from the Bandit King's relentless assaults, it finally shattered.
Clang!
A clear ring echoed.
"Argh!"
The Bandit King squeezed his eyes shut.
Shards from the exploded sword pierced not just his body but lodged squarely in his right eye.
"Held up well enough."
Cheonhwi tossed aside the ruined hilt.
It had endured admirably against an absolute master like the Bandit King.
"Now, time to end it."
Cheonhwi raised his right fist high.
As the plum blossom divine art-infused fist descended to shatter the eye-squeezed Bandit King's crown point...
"Stronghold Leader!"
White-Clothed Ghost-Face shoved the Bandit King aside.
Crack—
"Guh!"
White-Clothed Ghost-Face, taking the plum blossom palm in the Bandit King's stead, trembled violently.
"Y-You must... live..."
With those barely uttered words, he breathed his last.
'I didn't sense him approaching.'
Cheonhwi's brow furrowed.
Having poured most of his energy into the duel with the Bandit King, he hadn't noticed White-Clothed Ghost-Face.
Then.
Tat!
Using the sacrifice-bought time, the Bandit King kicked off the ground fiercely and fled without hesitation.
"Where do you think you're..."
As Cheonhwi moved to pursue...
"Th-That's enough. Cough. Hack."
A coughing voice called out.
Seeing the pale-faced Sect Leader, Cheonhwi frowned.
"Leaving a loose end?"
"The living... come first... Ack."
Mid-sentence, the Sect Leader dropped to one knee.
His internal injuries were severe.
Having vomited blood several times, the Sect Leader looked up at Cheonhwi and mouthed.
"Help... my disciples..."
Unable to finish, he collapsed.
Cheonhwi's face soured.
He desperately wanted to disobey and chase the Bandit King.
But.
'If I go, someone dies.'
He glanced at his juniors.
Still battling the bandits, wounds accumulating on their bodies.
"Sigh, how long do I have to babysit."
Sighing, Cheonhwi hoisted the injured, collapsed Sect Leader onto his back and kicked off the ground.