Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: 화산천마 (36)화
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Plum Blossom Sword Rain
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Whiii―
A chilling wind swept through the wild mountains.
In the quiet forest thick with bushes and trees, a handsome young man stood gripping a sword.
Each gust of wind made the strange black-red Taoist robes he wore flutter, while the red plum blossom emblem blended with the blue moonlight, emitting a hazy hue.
Swipe―
Cheonhwi, the handsome young man, lightly gripped the White Lotus Sword, which he had drawn for the first time since entering the martial world.
In that instant, the surrounding air trembled.
No, it was the emotions of the Soul Slaughter Squad members, who had been hiding in the darkness surrounding him, that rippled through the air toward him.
Keen vigilance sharpened to an edge.
Thick killing intent brimming with confidence.
And anxiety over the uncertainty of what would unfold next.
Their complex emotions—both positive and negative—flowed through the air and reached him.
'Yes. This is it.'
The corners of Cheonhwi's eyes curved as he gripped the sword.
He savored the cool, icy sensation in his palm.
The thick killing intent directed at him now and the taut, tense atmosphere awakened him from the stagnation of peace.
But soon, he erased his smile.
Then, he quickly scanned his surroundings.
'Total of fifty-seven.'
After grasping the presence of every Soul Slaughter Squad member hiding in secret, he circulated his internal energy.
Immediately, the internal energy of the Plum Blossom Divine Art, coiled tightly in his lower dantian, manifested. A transparent energy flow formed, enveloping him.
The tangible energy soon shifted to his hand and touched the blade.
The beautiful sword blade, reflecting the moonlight, began to absorb internal energy that no one else but him could see.
Swoooosh―
His aura spread slowly like smoke.
"……!"
The bodies of the Soul Slaughter Squad members, who had been holding their breath waiting for Cheonhwi to show an opening, stiffened.
Eunsu Chamsal was no exception.
His face subtly hardened as he silently watched Cheonhwi's series of actions.
He didn't know the reason.
Just observing was enough to create a palpable pressure.
It weighed down on their bodies as if it were the natural order of things from the beginning.
While they couldn't even twitch a finger.
Swipe―
Cheonhwi shifted his gaze to the empty air.
Toward the one hidden in the pitch-black darkness.
'No way…… right now, me?'
Eunsu Chamsal's eyes shook for a moment.
The stealth technique he was using, Ghost Breath Manifestation Art, had elevated him from a mere assassin to a martial arts master and to his current position.
Yet now, the Ghost Breath Manifestation Art had been broken.
By a mere young Taoist, no less.
'Dangerous bastard!'
He hurriedly sent a transmission to the Soul Slaughter Squad.
『Kill that guy.』
As his command via transmission reached them, the atmosphere of the Soul Slaughter Squad changed completely.
Those scattered in all directions now exuded sharp auras, as if fully prepared to attack.
That was when it happened.
Swipe―
Cheonhwi raised his sword, pointing it upward.
He didn't swing it.
He simply silently pointed it at the sky swallowed by darkness, at the moon shining brilliantly.
Yet that alone changed the atmosphere.
Cheonhwi's eyes flashed.
His pitch-black pupils, sunken into an abyss like the underworld, seemed ready to devour even the darkness.
Swipe―
The sword swung down.
Fwaaaah!
A massive surge of energy shot toward the sky.
The moment the Soul Slaughter Squad grimaced at the fiercely raging energy storm.
"……?!"
They fell into shock.
Above them in the sky, countless sword images floated in the air.
Emitting a blood-like red glow.
The red radiance spreading from the swords created the illusion of plum blossoms blooming in mid-air.
Perhaps because of the alien sense that something which should never exist in this world was present, the red sword shadows blended with the moonlight—beautiful yet eerie.
"How about it? Quite beautiful, isn't it?"
Cheonhwi's voice flowed in at that moment.
While they stared blankly at the sword shadows above their heads, forgetting even to attack Cheonhwi.
'What the hell are you doing! Snap out of it!'
Eunsu Chamsal, the first to regain his senses, urgently sent a transmission to the Soul Slaughter Squad.
『These fools……!』
But his transmission didn't reach the dazed Soul Slaughter Squad at all.
Grit!
Eunsu Chamsal ground his teeth and finally couldn't hold back any longer, shouting aloud.
"It's an evil art! Snap out of it!"
Vitality returned to the Soul Slaughter Squad's eyes as they regained their senses from his energy-infused voice.
The moment Eunsu Chamsal grasped that brief change, he sent an even stronger transmission.
『Don't act rashly!』
The stiffened Soul Slaughter Squad nodded.
Eunsu Chamsal, watching them return to their original calm demeanor, completely erased his presence once more.
『Attack when you see an opening.』
He earnestly transmitted to each and every member of the Soul Slaughter Squad.
As he prepared to lead them in exploiting Cheonhwi's opening.
"Evil art? Well, think whatever you want."
Cheonhwi said dismissively.
He actually found it amusing.
White Ghost Castle was an unorthodox faction, yet they called it an evil art—the irony was entertaining.
"Then, what kind of evil art are those sword shadows? A dream? An illusion? Or what else was there."
The Soul Slaughter Squad reacted to his mocking tone.
"I'll make it easy for you to find them."
As he watched their reaction, he added to his words.
"Look carefully."
With those words, he swung the sword downward.
The fifth form of the Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword.
Falling Plum Heavenly Rain Flower.
Whoooosh!
The sword shadows floating in the sky fell.
It was an ecstatic sight, like flowers raining down from the night sky.
A captivating allure that seized the gaze.
But the result was gruesome.
In the blink of an eye, the first sword shadow struck one of the Thirteen Souls on the head.
Splat!
Blood and brains splattered.
"……!"
The nearby Soul Slaughter Squad members, drenched in sticky brains and blood, widened their eyes.
They looked up.
The sword shadows were plunging down toward their heads, where they had hidden their presences.
Only then did they realize the number of sword shadows matched their own exactly.
'O-our positions have been exposed!'
In that instant, they sensed death.
Terrified, they channeled strength into their feet without a word.
It was an instinct they had forgotten while serving in the Soul Slaughter Squad.
The instinct to survive.
But the sword shadows were already upon their crowns.
Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat!
Light, refreshing sounds like bursting watermelons echoed simultaneously.
Not a single scream.
They had all perished in one breath.
As Cheonhwi watched their corpses emerge one by one from the darkness, he spoke.
"Not bad at all."
He assessed the utility of Falling Plum Heavenly Rain Flower.
The pinnacle of phantom swords, Falling Plum Heavenly Rain Flower, had channeled energy to manifest phantom sword shadows and mercilessly severed the enemies' lives.
'As expected, martial arts reveal their true power only when used to kill.'
Cheonhwi smiled in satisfaction.
This was the first time he had unleashed Falling Plum Heavenly Rain Flower—no, the Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword itself—to kill.
And the result pleased him.
"You think so too, right?"
Cheonhwi's gaze shifted sideways.
In that moment, the pitch-black darkness rippled, then split in half.
"Guhk!"
From the darkness emerged Eunsu Chamsal, his entire body drenched in blood. Clutching his chest as if breathing was agony, he dropped to his knees.
As Cheonhwi spoke while looking at him.
Twitch―
Eunsu Chamsal's back heaved once.
"Urk—"
He vomited the blood pooled inside him and clutched his chest in a haggard state.
'W-what was that just now…….'
His mind reeled.
Perhaps because he had glimpsed a fragment of swordplay far beyond comprehension.
Even his breath caught.
'Is there such a wide-area technique? Pinpointing and killing the positions of the stealthy Soul Slaughter Squad…….'
He pondered deeply.
But it was futile.
The two aspects revealed in that swordplay were utterly incomprehensible.
In the end, there was only one way to find out.
He whipped his head up, glared at Cheonhwi, and moved his lips.
"Who…… who are you?"
Cheonhwi looked down at his pale face and chuckled.
"Who? Didn't you just call me a Mount Hua Sect Taoist?"
"No…… that can't be. You're no Mount Hua Sect Taoist."
Eunsu Chamsal shook his head immediately.
How could a Mount Hua Sect Taoist display such brutal swordplay and smile amid the corpses!
"No Mount Hua Sect Taoist would show such ruthless hands……."
"Don't believe me then."
Cheonhwi said indifferently.
He didn't care if the man denied it.
After a moment, he tilted his head and smiled while eyeing Eunsu Chamsal's sleeve.
"Why hesitate?"
"……!"
Eunsu Chamsal's eyes widened.
Cheonhwi's expression and tone suggested he knew exactly what he would do. Eunsu Chamsal bit his lip hard.
Fwhoosh!
His sleeve fluttered.
Pouring out all his remaining internal energy, he made the throwing daggers collide from both sides.
Crackle―
The moment lightning energy enveloped the throwing dagger.
Whoosh!
The dagger shot out like a bolt of lightning.
Eunsu Chamsal's eyes gleamed.
What he had just unleashed was Flying Thunder Dagger, the absolute technique that had made him, an assassin, the Western Division Leader of White Ghost Castle.
'No matter how absolute a master you are, you can't avoid at least a moderate injury!'
As Eunsu Chamsal declared confidently.
'Ho, an unusual internal energy operation.'
Cheonhwi stared at the throwing dagger approaching right before his eyes, taking interest in Eunsu Chamsal's internal energy usage.
'Splitting internal energy into two branches?'
It was quite intriguing.
A smile spread across his lips.
'Even this guy uses techniques I don't know, so how many unknown martial arts are there in the current world?'
His mood lifted just thinking about it. He casually snatched the incoming throwing dagger.
Grab―
Eunsu Chamsal fell on his butt.
"……H-how did you with the Flying Thunder Dagger!"
"The technique's name is Flying Thunder Dagger?"
Cheonhwi looked down at him gaping and drooling, then opened his palm wide to examine the captured throwing dagger.
The dagger glowed red-hot, as if tempered in fire multiple times.
"Ah, so you collided the internal energy and shot the dagger through the gap."
Having grasped the internal energy operation of Flying Thunder Dagger, Cheonhwi immediately infused his own energy.
Crackle―
Lightning sparked from the dagger.
"……!"
Eunsu Chamsal, watching, had his eyes bulge out.
It was the lightning he had barely managed to create after devoting ten years.
Yet someone who didn't even know Flying Thunder Dagger reproduced it perfectly after seeing it once.
"You…… you are……."
"Like this?"
With those words, Cheonhwi threw the dagger.
Thud!
The flash-like dagger pierced Eunsu Chamsal's head and embedded in the ground.
"This…… this is Flying…… Thunder Dagger……?"
Eunsu Chamsal muttered at the Flying Thunder Dagger's power, which was leagues beyond his own, before his vision darkened.
Soon, his soul departed his body.
Thud―
The empty shell of flesh collapsed.
Cheonhwi gazed at Eunsu Chamsal's corpse with intrigued eyes and smiled.
"As expected, I had to come out into the martial world."
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