Chapter 341
Chapter 341
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 341
Chapter Title: Clash with the Reaper Captain
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In an instant, countless gazes pierced toward him like arrows loosed from bows.
They were eyes filled with shock and astonishment.
The passersby had already stopped in their tracks, drawn by the appearance of the Plum Blossom Divine Hero Cheonhwi, their attention fully focused.
Then, out of nowhere, the leader of one of the Murim Alliance's martial squads—the Reaper Squad Leader—appeared on the rooftop and descended right in front of him.
She had executed her Guardian Step.
The crowd facing this scene had their eyes sparkle at the encounter between the Reaper Squad Leader and the recently famed Demon-Exterminating Captain, the Plum Blossom Divine Hero.
"Do those two know each other?"
"For the Reaper Squad Leader to come find the Plum Blossom Divine Hero herself... and it looks like she was waiting, not by prior appointment."
But before their surprise could settle, the crowd had to gasp even louder.
It was because the words the Reaper Squad Leader, who had landed lightly on the ground, immediately directed at the Plum Blossom Divine Hero were utterly unimaginable.
"Y-You just said you wanted to spar, right?"
"What? Those two are going to spar?"
The watching crowd buzzed with excitement.
Who could have ever imagined it?
That those two would spar.
"But... who would win between them...?"
Suddenly, someone's mutter made the crowd swallow hard, their mouths going dry.
It was intriguing.
Though the Plum Blossom Divine Hero's fame had recently soared to the heavens, since most of the tales were too unbelievable, people generally thought they were exaggerated to some degree. Moreover, the Reaper Squad Leader was the captain of a martial squad.
She was someone whose mighty reputation had echoed through the martial world long before Cheonhwi's rise.
It wasn't for nothing that she was called the Flickering Divine Fist and praised as a fist master.
As the surrounding attention reached its peak...
"Didn't I clearly tell you not to draw attention from others?"
A scolding voice rang out, and soon a figure appeared behind the Reaper Squad Leader.
A man in a fluttering deep blue robe.
It was the Alliance Vanguard Captain, Rampaging Sword Chugeukwang.
"Everyone's watching."
Thorns bristled in his voice.
Originally, the plan had been to meet Cheonhwi quietly and spar. Since it was just a friendly match, there was no need to announce it, and holding a spar during wartime wouldn't look good anyway.
But now, the Reaper Squad Leader in front of him had ignored that plan and shattered it entirely, enough to make his head throb with irritation.
Yet even at such scolding, the Reaper Squad Leader showed no hint of apology.
Instead, she spoke as if it were the most natural thing.
"But how could I, as a martial artist, hold back after sensing this aura?"
Chugeukwang let out a deep sigh as she fixed her gaze solely on Cheonhwi, then soon pressed a hand to his forehead.
It was the look of someone with a headache.
'How does she never change no matter how old she gets...'
Unlike her youthful appearance, her age was well past forty, and she was nearing seventy.
Yet despite all those years, she showed no maturity and remained as immature as ever.
Shaking his head with a sigh, he shifted his gaze.
"Sorry for the sudden visit."
Chugeukwang, a faint smile playing naturally on his lips, looked at Cheonhwi and spoke.
"I had planned to wait at the hall where Young Hero is staying, but someone couldn't wait even a moment, so it turned out like this."
He subtly glanced at the Reaper Squad Leader and gave her a mild rebuke, but as expected, it didn't faze her in the slightest.
"Even a bent horn must be pulled out while it's still soft."
It was right then, as she finished speaking.
"Sure."
Cheonhwi grinned and replied.
"Let's spar."
After all, it was none other than he himself who had originally requested the spar.
'Better to see it than just read about it.'
Cheonhwi's eyes curved into crescents.
One look is worth a thousand hearings, after all.
Reading martial manuals in the library had helped, but seeing it in person was far better.
Especially when it came to those three's techniques.
Sssss―
Killing intent flowed from Cheonhwi's body.
"Oh ho."
The Reaper Squad Leader's eyes flashed wide.
The surging killing intent was monstrous.
It instantly pushed back and overwhelmed the intent she herself was emitting.
Her competitive spirit surged.
As her internal energy began circulating and her fist naturally clenched...
"Then how about we move to another location first?"
A voice came from the side.
A man in a purple robe.
Punishment Demon Captain Single Soul Strike Knight So Seongjeok scanned the surroundings with narrowed eyes and continued.
"There are too many eyes here."
With those words, he turned his gaze.
"To the training ground."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Cheonhwi stepped onto the training ground.
The training ground, which would normally be bustling with martial artists practicing, was empty.
It seemed they had prepared in advance.
'They're thorough.'
Crack.
As Cheonhwi calmly took in the sight, bone-cracking sounds echoed from the opposite side.
The Reaper Squad Leader, who had arrived first, was lightly loosening up in preparation for the spar.
Finally, after arching her back, she shook out her hands lightly and fixed her gaze on Cheonhwi. More precisely, on his waist.
"I've seen you carrying two swords before, but..."
Muttering to herself, she straightened her posture.
And in that moment, her demeanor changed.
Within it, she casually let her arms hang loose.
A seemingly defenseless stance.
But that was precisely her most perfect ready stance.
A chilling silence descended for a moment.
It was serene and calm.
The stance of a mind like a still mirror.
As the transcendent realm expert attained perfect composure, the atmosphere immediately responded.
Whoosh―
Amid her hair fluttering in the gentle breeze, her eyes were as dark as if they blocked out all the sunlight pouring down.
Soon, those eyes turned toward Cheonhwi, and the Reaper Squad Leader's closed lips slowly parted.
"What are you doing? Not drawing your sword?"
Her voice carried no trace of amusement.
"We'll see."
Cheonhwi shrugged and replied.
His tone remained nonchalant despite the sharp aura surging toward him from the Reaper Squad Leader.
Soon, the corners of his mouth lifted sharply.
"If it gets dangerous, I will."
"Oh ho. Your tone makes it sound like you see me as some novice..."
"That's right. You know it well."
"It's been ages since anyone treated me like this."
The moment the Reaper Squad Leader whispered lowly...
Flash!
Suddenly, her figure blurred, and in the next instant, she appeared right in front of Cheonhwi's face.
It was a speed approaching instantaneous with her Guardian Step.
Fist masters in the martial world always placed great importance on footwork above all else.
When facing armed opponents bare-handed, speed and technique of movement were crucial, and footwork supported that.
And the Reaper Squad Leader was a grandmaster among countless fist experts in the world.
Her footwork speed was on another level.
"Then, as the novice, I'll strike first."
As the Reaper Squad Leader spoke toward Cheonhwi, she stepped forward with her left foot.
Crack!
With that single step, the training ground floor split, her foot sinking about an inch deep.
Her training garb and hair shot upward.
And through that gap...
Screeech!
The sound of tearing wind rang out.
A fist brought a raging gale as it approached.
In an instant, the air churned, creating waves rippling through the empty space as if on water.
'A crude thrust.'
Cheonhwi observed her fist.
The fist was already at his nose.
In the blink of an eye, it would smash his nose and knock him unconscious.
'But skilled at striking vulnerabilities.'
Suddenly, Cheonhwi's right hand moved.
It seemed too late to act.
But right after starting to move, it vanished, reappearing in the air the next moment.
An unbelievable speed that skipped the entire motion in between.
Boom!
An explosion erupted between them.
Not just once or twice.
Multiple clashes continued in succession.
The ground shook violently, the space between them rippling like waves.
It was the emission of intense shockwaves.
"...!"
"Was it always this strong?!"
Below the training ground, the Alliance Vanguard Captain and Punishment Demon Captain watching the spar widened their eyes.
Their robes whipped in the fierce shockwaves.
The incoming energy stung their skin sharply.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind arose, sweeping away the dust hanging over the training ground.
In the now-clear view, the Reaper Squad Leader was right up against Cheonhwi.
She had once again deployed her extreme-speed Thunder Split Step from moments before.
Her training garb fluttering wildly, she reached point-blank range before snapping her left foot high into the air.
It resembled an overhead stance.
The moment energy infused the heel's Tai Stream acupoint, emanating sharpness like a honed blade...
Swoosh!
She slammed her foot down toward Cheonhwi's forehead like lightning.
Cheonhwi, who had just deflected her fist, shook his right hand at the descending kick technique.
His hand back fluttered like a butterfly's wing, striking her ankle.
Boom!
A deafening explosion and shockwave burst from the fierce clash.
Their garments billowed wildly.
In that fleeting instant, their gazes met.
An extremely brief moment.
Before they could even register the eye contact.
Suddenly, Cheonhwi's hand moved.
Slide―
The hand back that had struck her foot naturally twisted inward, seizing her ankle as it rebounded.
It was the Plum Blossom Grafting Technique.
'What...!'
The Reaper Squad Leader's eyes bulged.
The clear blue sky plummeted below, while the shattered training ground rose above.
Heaven and earth flipped in her vision.
'I'm being flipped!'
She grasped the situation too late.
Boom!
But the impact had already struck her back.
The shock from her shoulder blade spread through her entire body in an instant.
It happened in a flash.
The fall from above brought intense pain crashing down.
But...
Flick!
She immediately sprang to her feet.
It was instinct.
"Urk!"
She spat up blood next.
Blood mixed with bits of organ.
Wipe―
She wiped the vomited blood from her mouth with her sleeve and looked ahead.
Cheonhwi was gazing down at her impassively.
Even though he could have secured certain victory with an immediate attack, he waited.
It was clearly the attitude toward an inferior opponent.
"...I thought you were arrogant, but it turns out I was the arrogant one."
The light in the Reaper Squad Leader's eyes sank.
He possessed strength fully matching the rumors.
Swish.
The tips of her hair swayed.
It was the effect of the immense energy surging through her body.
'Her internal energy reserves are the highest among the three.'
Cheonhwi glanced at the Punishment Demon Captain and Alliance Vanguard Captain watching tensely from below the training ground, gauging the distance to her.
But then.
Whoosh!
The Reaper Squad Leader's figure suddenly grew larger.
Appearing three paces in front of Cheonhwi in an instant, she stomped her left foot down while thrusting her right fist forward with overwhelming presence.
The combative fist surged with rippling energy waves and shot forth.
The air distorted as if compressing.
The fist power carried a monstrous force capable of shattering mountains.
Heaven-Piercing Personal Fist.
It was her signature ultimate strike.
'Not just any learned fist. This is a reinforced strong fist honed by experience.'
Cheonhwi's eyes gleamed coldly.
He could tell at a glance.
That it was a fist technique she had created herself!
Flash!
His crown acupoint opened wide.
His consciousness accelerated rapidly, his sparkling eyes scrutinizing every detail of her unfolding fist.
The first-time sight of the technique piqued his curiosity and ignited his competitive spirit.
Thrust, internal energy operation, and more.
Briefly reading them, Cheonhwi soon stepped forward with his left foot and raised Hwamwol.
Scabbard and all.
Ssss―
In an instant, a red trajectory appeared in the air.
Beneath the long horizontal line, a red glow slowly welled up.
'Like a sunset...'
The Reaper Squad Leader, admiring the trajectory, had her thoughts cut off abruptly.
Thud!
Immediately after, the Reaper Squad Leader flew backward limply.
Knocked out in one blow.
Cheonhwi slung the scabbarded Hwamwol over his shoulder and stared at her.
"Didn't expect her to make me draw my sword."
It was unexpected skill.
Especially that final fist, which ranked at the top among all fist techniques he knew, including from his previous life.
"A little more polishing, and she could make history as a great fist master."
If those who knew Cheonhwi well heard it, they would be shocked by the praise.
Soon, murmuring his impressions while looking at the unconscious her, Cheonhwi lowered his eyes.
He turned his gaze to the Punishment Demon Captain and Alliance Vanguard Captain staring at the Reaper Squad Leader in shock, then moved the sword slung over his shoulder to point at them.
Wiggling it slightly, Cheonhwi taunted the two captains.
"Alright, next up."