Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Fortuitous Encounter
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Paht—!
Four men sliced through the air, scattering in all directions.
Killing intent poured in from every side.
Honestly, it was an angle impossible to dodge.
That was when it happened.
Quaaak—!
The first sword flew toward Cheongun's back.
Cheongun didn't budge an inch. The moment the blade touched his back.
Kiiik! The sword clashed against Cheongun's shoulder.
Only the hem of his robe tore slightly; his skin remained unscathed.
The sword that failed to slice into bare flesh simply bent upon impact.
Diamond Indestructible, activated thanks to encountering the fiend.
A Diamond True Body that even ordinary blades struggled to scratch.
“!!!”
The moment the man exclaimed in shock.
Paht! Cheongun's form darted straight to the man's right side.
Bbang! The sound of a nose bridge shattering.
A fist loaded with inner energy slammed into the man's face.
Blood sprayed as the man staggered backward.
Cheongun twisted his body in one fluid motion, smashing his elbow into the man's throat.
Kududuk. The neck bones crumbled.
The man let out a final gurgle and collapsed.
Soon after, another lunged down from midair like a plummeting strike.
Cheongun's right leg whipped out in response. Before the man's sword could reach him, Cheongun's heel arrived first.
Ududuk. The man's side ribs shattered and caved in.
The man's body soon crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt.
Kuheok! A scream laced with agony. Ah, so noisy.
Cheongun mercilessly stomped down on top of him.
His heel crushed the man's collarbone, pierced through the ribs, and burrowed into the spine.
The thick stench of blood spread everywhere.
They had swarmed like bees, only to end up as scattered corpses in an instant.
The lone survivor backed away in panic.
Seeing his comrades drop dead so quickly seemed to muddle his thoughts.
“...Who the hell are you?”
“Why do you even ask?”
“Spare me.”
“Why should I? Didn't you ever think a day like this would come? Did you really believe trash like you could live happily ever after? Wow, ugly and shameless.”
“Spare me, and I'll hole up in the mountains for life.”
“Nah, don't wanna. I'm gonna wipe you out root and stem.”
There was no need to go easy on scum like this.
Spare them, and they'd just wander around killing innocents.
Killing them here was the best for everyone.
That was when it happened.
Paht—!
Dust erupted from beneath the man's feet, and he shot forward like lightning.
The man's back receded into the distance as he desperately unleashed his movement technique to flee.
It was a terrifying speed.
But Cheongun's senses, honed to extreme sensitivity from encountering the fiend, missed none of the man's traces.
The flow of qi, the faint vibrations from his pounding footsteps, even a single falling drop of sweat.
He felt every detail crystal clear.
Cheongun pulled the three remaining Shadow Needle Darts from his pocket and slipped them onto his fingers. They were forcibly taken from Hong So-yeon and Baek Seol.
Whiiik—!
The first dart sliced through the air.
A precise trajectory calculated to intercept the man's path exactly.
“!!!”
The man whipped around and deflected the dart with the sword in his hand.
Ttang!
The Shadow Needle Dart bounced off and fell to the ground.
The moment the man's lips curled up, the second dart flew straight after.
But it wasn't thrown carelessly.
He infused it with the ultimate essence of Heaven-Earth Primordial Unity Qi Art.
Upper Yin and Lower Yang energies collided, gathering the power of heaven and earth at the dart's tip.
Yang envelops Yin, Yin cradles Yang.
Thus, the mystery of thunder partially awakened.
Sssit—!
The dart tore through the air with a piercing whistle, trailing a spiral of blue haze in its wake.
And then.
“Argh!”
The dart pierced the man's peach blossom bone precisely.
Blue lightning flashed from the entry wound.
Damn! The man's speed faltered as he staggered and shouted.
In that instant, the last remaining dart shot from Cheongun's fingertips, cleaving the air toward the man.
The man raised his sword to block.
But the incoming dart drilled a tiny hole through the blade and passed straight through.
“Insane!”
The man's eyes widened in horror.
He twisted his body and turned his head too late.
The sword-qi infused dart grazed the nape of his neck.
It sliced in smooth as cutting tofu, severing his carotid artery precisely.
Pushut—!
Blood erupted like a fountain.
The man's movement technique crumbled, and his body tumbled onto the dirt.
Even as it rolled, blood kept gushing from his neck without stop.
His body, light as if it could fly, suddenly grew heavy.
All the fiends were dead, so his unique trait had deactivated.
“Hoo.”
Cheongun let out a sigh.
He scanned the surroundings littered with corpses, picked up one of their swords, and headed toward the shrine, dragging it behind him.
Opening the dilapidated shrine door produced a creak from the rotting wood.
The moment he stepped inside, the stench of a decaying corpse hit him full force.
Cheongun pinched his nose and grimaced.
Passing through the narrow corridor to the main hall, he spotted two dark silhouettes.
One lay motionless on the floor.
It seemed long dead.
The other stood over the corpse, gazing down at it.
Suddenly, it whipped its head around.
Cheongun's eyes met its gaze.
The moment their eyes locked, a chilling dread crawled up Cheongun's spine.
Cheongun quickly sized up the silhouette from the corner of his eye.
Luxuriant white hair.
Yet a back ramrod straight.
Sharp eyes gleaming over a wrinkled face.
A truly immortal aura, evoking the image of a divine being.
Then, the old man spoke.
“Who the hell are you?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
Goooong—!!
The ambient natural qi grew so heavy it choked his breath.
For a split second, Cheongun's shoulders felt crushed, his legs buckling.
It wasn't just Cheongun.
The floor trembled, the walls shook.
An immeasurable aura enveloped the entire area.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Cheongun's heart pounded fiercely.
The old man, looking intrigued, clasped his hands behind his back and approached Cheongun.
Obviously a supreme master.
Not just any master—an absolute freak of one.
But there was a problem.
‘Not a fiend?’
His unique trait wasn't reacting at all.
This old man wasn't a fiend.
‘...Dangerous.’
The worst-case scenario among those he'd anticipated had unfolded.
Baek Seol had said a group ambushing Namgung Hwi was lying in wait here, so Cheongun had come ahead to clear them out.
According to her intel: one fiend leader and a few small fry.
The small fry were dead, so only the leader remained.
Which meant.
‘No way that old man's...?’
Cheongun couldn't confirm the old man's identity.
He might be the fiend leader, or not.
Maybe the corpse on the floor was.
The one certainty: his unique trait wasn't responding to the old man.
‘Who is he?’
He couldn't figure it out at all.
Game illustrations and real faces were blatantly different.
No matter how good his memory, identifying someone by face alone was impossible.
“Hmm.”
The old master stroked his chin.
“A kid not even thirty, with sixty years of cultivation. Must've stumbled on some heavenly fortuitous encounter, eh?”
The old master approached with a kindly chuckle.
He had that look of someone who'd secluded himself in remote mountains to cultivate the Dao.
“Tsk tsk. What's your sect? Not unorthodox, at least.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Family arts.”
“Oh ho! That's impressive. Must be from a fine house.”
“No parents.”
“......”
The old master asked no more.
Not being unorthodox was enough.
Through eyes seasoned by long years, he saw straight into Cheongun's heart.
Rough and crude, but an untainted gem.
His initial hostility faded, replaced by strong curiosity about the boy.
“So, young one, what brings you here?”
Cheongun glanced at the old master's expression.
Tell the truth? Lie?
The deliberation was brief.
“Heard there were Demonic Cultists here.”
“What business is that of yours?”
“Came to kill 'em.”
“For what reason?”
“Killing in the martial world always comes down to grudges, right?”
The old master's eyebrow twitched at the crisp answer.
“Sounds like you've got one.”
“Yes.”
Cheongun was starting to feel uneasy about the situation.
Anxiety stemming from not knowing the old master's identity.
“That guy on the floor—is he the Flesh-Eating Fiend Lord?”
“He is.”
“You killed him?”
“With these hands.”
“How'd that happen?”
“Night breeze was calm, so I was just strolling along with it. Spotted this one, so I cut him down.”
I see.
Cheongun nodded obediently.
He was uncharacteristically polite.
Fiends brought out his thuggish side, but without the trait active, Cheongun was merely at the entry of Peak realm.
To survive in the martial world, you needed sharp instincts.
Cheongun sidelong-glanced at the old master and cautiously asked.
“If I may, elder—what's your esteemed name?”
Names first.
The old master let out a snort of laughter.
“Jin Mu-seong.”
“...Pardon?”
“Ask once is enough. This old man's name is Jin Mu-seong, known in the martial world as the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign.”
Cold sweat trickled down Cheongun's back.
Jin Mu-seong.
One of the Ten Heavenly Masters, the pinnacle of Central Plains martial arts—an absolute supreme expert occupying a seat among the martial world's heavens.
One of the Ten Great Masters.
A living legend, the sky of the martial world.
......In simple terms, one of the world's strongest in this setting.
Why the hell was a monster like that here?
Cheongun couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief.
The old master, looking intrigued, asked Cheongun.
“Now that you've heard this old man's name, share yours.”
“Cheongun.”
“Encounters are fated by heaven, bonds by earth. Meeting you here is karma from three lifetimes past, so I'll ask one thing.”
Cheongun knew the Crimson Night Sword Sovereign all too well.
The Crimson Night Sword Sovereign was a rare random encounter master you might bump into while playing Azure Wind Saga.
One peculiar trait: he wandered endlessly in search of a disciple.
Thus, the community called him this.
“Would you take me as your disciple?”
A fortuitous encounter.
