Chapter 171
Chapter 171
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 171
Chapter Title: Elders' Lament
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The elders from the Nine Great Sects let out sighs.
Their expressions slowly twisted.
“……Again, again?”
“Ugh!”
“…….”
Geon Byeok was being carried out on a stretcher, blood streaming from both nostrils.
Two sects among the Nine Great Sects had suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of the Nangong brothers.
No, it wasn't just consecutive defeats—they had been utterly crushed.
One had been toyed with, and the other collapsed the moment the match began.
The prized geniuses representing the Nine Great Sects had failed to show anything before losing.
It was something they had never even dreamed of, something unbelievable even with their own eyes.
“What kind of disgrace is this!”
“They couldn't even unleash a single half-move.”
“How could this happen!”
“They're different, alright. Too different—that's the problem!”
The elders' gazes turned to Cheon Gongja.
“Geon Byeok! Oh no, Geon Byeok…….”
Cheon Gongja, who had been frantically searching for his fallen comrade in panic, swallowed hard under the hot glares.
His pupils trembled violently.
The face that had brimmed with confidence just moments ago turned awkward in an instant.
He groaned softly and quietly sat back down.
“……Our sect pursues practical swordsmanship, so we're unfamiliar with these wooden sword spars…….”
“…….”
Embarrassed even after speaking, Cheon Gongja clamped his mouth shut and lowered his gaze.
Then he simply fell silent.
It was then, as everyone sank into heavy silence with groans.
“Pfft!”
The elders whipped their heads toward the source of the burst of laughter, their eyes widening.
Heo Won was shrugging his shoulders, his beard quivering.
“Heo, Immortal Heo Won?”
The elders stared at him in bewilderment.
“The Nangong Family shows no mercy in their strikes.”
His tone and raised cheeks showed no sign of worry or anger.
Cheon Gongja bit his lip hard.
But with no words to retort and no face to save, he could only tremble with shoulders shaking.
Baek Jong from the Jongnam Sect voiced his concern.
“What do you plan to do now? We've already lost twice.”
“Indeed. The momentum has already…….”
“This wasn't what we intended!”
Their original goal through this sparring tournament was to demonstrate the might of the Nine Great Sects and suppress the Five Great Families.
Yet they had already suffered two defeats.
And one of those was Wudang's Cheong-in, one of the absolute top later-generation talents not just of the Nine Great Sects, but of the entire martial world, broken without achieving anything.
It was a bone-deep loss.
The spectator stands were already abuzz with this news, and the shock they felt was no less than that of the Nine Great Sects.
Heo Won stroked his beard and wiped the smile from his face.
“We've only lost twice so far.”
“Aren't those two defeats too massive? I never thought Cheong-in would lose like that…….”
“Cheong-in's defeat surprised even me, unexpectedly. However!”
Heo Won swept his gaze over the Nine Great Sects elders and continued.
“All we need is for the Nine Great Sects to win the remaining matches, no? Our victories remain unchanged. It's just a small blemish. And these two losses aren't victories for the Five Great Families—they're the Nangong Family's victories.”
“Ugh!”
“Every situation has variables. But those variables won't overturn things. Those two wins won't shake the prestige of our Nine Sects.”
“…….”
“In the end, victory in the war is what matters, isn't it?”
These were words unlikely from a Daoist's mouth, but the elders nodded silently.
Baek Jong let out a low groan.
“But we need a plan. The Nangong Family, especially that Nangong Hyeok fellow—his skill is overwhelming. He crushed a divine talent…….”
“Don't worry. I have something in mind.”
A sharp glint flashed in Heo Won's eyes and vanished.
“Even a bird soaring high eventually tires, doesn't it?”
At his meaningful words, Baek Jong realized something and let out a faint smile.
* * *
The spectators stared at the sparring platform with shocked faces.
“The, the Nangong Family won again, again.”
“One clash, one clash.”
“What clash? It was just a one-sided beatdown…….”
“The Nangong Family defeated Wudang and Kongtong! What kind of upset is this?”
“Whoa, and they're the lowest of the Five Great Families…….”
It was a fact everyone who knew anything was aware of.
That the Nangong Family was the lowest rung among the Five Great Families, and even that position was precarious.
What did that mean?
It meant their sect's power was the weakest, so expectations had to be the lowest.
Even the other illustrious Five Great Families were seen as no match for the Nine Great Sects—how could the bottom-rung Nangong Family do anything?
But.
“Wudang's divine talent got crushed!”
“Totally smashed!”
“Kongtong's genius had such momentum too?”
“Smashed as well!”
“The Nangong Family is stirring up a storm. The Nangong Family, who no one paid attention to, pulling off something this huge!”
People nodded.
“Nangong Hyeok, Nangong Ryong…… Now I see why the Nangong Family is the Sword Sovereign Clan and a pillar of the Five Great Families. Even if a famed house declines, they keep producing geniuses like that!”
As the shock of the Nine Great Sects' defeats faded, everyone voiced admiration.
“But if the lowest of the Five Great Families, the Nangong Family, is this strong, what about the others? They must be on par at least!”
“Exactly! Then we can't predict this sparring tournament. A clash between the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families…….”
The crowd watched the sparring grounds with thrilled faces.
Just then, another match between the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families was beginning.
* * *
Huangbo Chung ascended to the sparring platform with a confident expression.
The gazes of thirty thousand spectators felt like arrows piercing him.
And rightly so.
With the core Five Great Families of the Orthodox Alliance and the Nine Great Sects' later-generation talents clashing, attention was inevitable.
Just the two factions' juniors exchanging words would fuel gossips' chatter, so this level of intense interest was natural.
But he clenched his large fist tight and puffed out his chest proudly.
Would the young master of the great Huangbo Family falter under mere gazes!
‘The Nangong brothers from the lowest Five Great Family beat the Nine Great Sects. No reason I can't.’
The Nangong brothers from the bottom-rung Five Great Family had defeated the Nine Great Sects.
It was shocking, but deep down, it made him think the Nine Great Sects might not be as formidable as thought.
‘My opponent isn't Wudang's divine talent either. I can win. I haven't been idle these three years.’
He had gained enlightenment in the Huangbo Family's secret ultimate art, the Heavenly King Divine Fist, and broken through to the Fifth Realm.
Now, he was confident he could stand against Shaolin's Hundred-Pace Divine Fist without losing.
He looked at his opponent.
Huashan Sect's third-generation disciple Jin-u stood there with a lofty demeanor.
Small and slender build, with a youthful face.
Around fifteen or sixteen?
Early entry made him seem like a fourth-generation disciple in age.
Though only a few years difference, the gap was clear.
At this stage, even one or two years could feel like an insurmountable wall.
Confirming his opponent's appearance brought a sense of ease.
Looking at the immature Jin-u, Huangbo Chung said.
“Please guide me well, little Daoist. No hard feelings.”
“I'm Huangbo Chung of the Huangbo Family. Please guide me well. I'll learn a move or two.”
Light greetings exchanged, Huangbo Chung assumed the stance for the Heavenly King Divine Fist.
He eyed Huashan's Jin-u drawing his wooden sword, inwardly confident of victory.
‘Huh?’
What was that?
A chill crept up his spine.
Not even emitting sword aura, yet across three zhang, the pressure made Huangbo Chung falter.
It felt like a sharp wind brushing his skin.
Unknowingly, strength entered the fist in the Heavenly King Divine Fist stance.
‘Tensing up? Over a mere wooden sword?’
Impossible!
The opponent was just a boy of fifteen or sixteen.
The gap in inner power and strength should be heaven and earth!
‘I'm just intimidated by the shadow of the Nine Great Sects!’
Huangbo Chung bit his lip hard.
But why did the chill keep intensifying?
His heart tightened, goosebumps rising.
Clearly a kid half his size—why did he look like a towering mountain?
Huangbo Chung glared, then at the announcer's signal to start, he lunged forward.
“Chaaaaap!”
To shake off the absurd anxiety, he roared like a lion with all his might.
And unleashed the Heavenly King Divine Fist vigorously.
Fist power that could crush Mount Tai poured toward Jin-u's body.
A strike that could shatter a thousand-jin boulder.
Moreover, the Heavenly King Divine Fist was a chain attack.
Not envisioning beyond three moves, Huangbo Chung's fierce punches pressed Jin-u relentlessly.
The unique momentum of the Heavenly King Divine Fist and its flashy, heavy fist techniques left spectators' mouths agape.
Nangong Hyeok smirked.
“He's done.”
Geon Cheon-hwi replied.
“Yeah. Huashan will lose too.”
“What nonsense?”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Where are your eyes? Anyone can see Huashan has the edge.”
“…….”
Anyone could see Huangbo Chung was stronger, right?
Sensing a rebuke if he said it, Geon Cheon-hwi quietly shut his mouth.
Nangong Hyeok clicked his tongue.
“No need to watch. Now I know the Five Great Families' level.”
“……Still, that onslaught…….”
“Does a cat scratch kill a man?”
“If it hits a vital spot?”
“Then go take a hit and see if you die.”
At Nangong Hyeok's sarcasm, Geon Cheon-hwi made an awkward face before turning back to the platform.
‘Huashan disciple really has the advantage?’
Watching the platform curiously, Geon Cheon-hwi's eyes widened.
‘What? Why? Why?’
Huangbo Chung ground his molars.
No matter how many punches he unleashed, the opponent stood unshaken like a massive mountain.
Like an ancient tree with deep roots, Jin-u's stance was flawless.
‘This won't do!’
He had to fell the opponent before the Heavenly King Divine Fist's momentum crumbled.
Huangbo Chung circulated the Heavenly King Divine Art to its limit.
Whoooosh!
Immense fist power erupted from his fist.
“Chaaaaap!”
Pouring all his strength, he dove into the opponent's gap and launched a strike.
A ferocious technique that would shatter ribs even on a graze.
Just as the Heavenly King Divine Fist's storm seemed about to sweep Jin-u away.
Flash!
A small motion.
Jin-u lightly stepped forward and slashed his sword.
At that instant, plum blossoms bloomed in all directions.
Pushing back the storm-like fist power, it birthed radiant plum blossoms.
Piercing the sharp wind, the fully bloomed plum flowers scattered fragrance as they swirled everywhere.
The Heavenly King Divine Fist's storm vanished in an instant, obscured by the blooming plums.
Huangbo Chung's eyes widened.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
Falling plum petals grazed his body.
“Gah, gaaack!”
A bone-rattling impact, followed by the sound of his skin bursting like a drum.
Excruciating pain like his muscles tearing apart!
Bam!
Struck on the head, Huangbo Chung spewed blood and crumpled to his knees.
“Gah, guh…….”
Huangbo Chung gaped blankly at Jin-u.
Jin-u stood loftily, unchanged from the start.
He loomed like Mount Tai, gazing down silently.
‘……W-what is this?’
He couldn't comprehend how the Heavenly King Divine Fist shattered so easily, nor how this young Daoist thrashed him.
A Huashan disciple whose name he'd barely heard, a mere boy in his teens—how could he……?
‘The gap with the Nine Sects was this vast?’
Impossible.
Impossible, yet undeniable.
This felt like staring at an uncrossable wall.
And to top it, this young Daoist was the youngest among Huashan Sect's third-generation disciples.
‘……Then those others……?’
Huangbo Chung couldn't close his gaping mouth.
The Nine Great Sects weren't laughable.
The Nangong Family had simply been ridiculously strong.
Huangbo Chung looked up at the sky with despairing eyes, then murmured lowly.
“……I lose, little Daoist.”
Jin-u sheathed his sword.
“It was a fine match.”
Watching Jin-u descend the platform without hesitation, Huangbo Chung's shoulders trembled faintly.