Chapter 19: Displaying Divine Might-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Displaying Divine Might-3
"…Huff… huff…"
Sun-woo caught his breath after throwing the very last of the fragments.
"Cough!"
Slowly lifting his head, he saw Ju Gwang, his body riddled with countless weapon shards.
Ju Gwang was in a wretched state; not a single inch of him remained unscathed. Shards were embedded everywhere, from his torso to his limbs, and he was losing blood so rapidly it was a miracle he hadn't collapsed from hemorrhagic shock already.
Perhaps unable to withstand the pressure of the fragments, his Dragon-headed Saber had snapped, looking utterly useless.
"How… did you… perform the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers?"
Enduring agony so intense it was a struggle even to part his lips, Ju Gwang managed to force the words out.
"It was in the hideout."
"That’s impossible! The… secret technique of the Tang Clan… mastered in… a mere… half a year?"
Ju Gwang’s voice rose in sheer disbelief at Sun-woo’s answer.
Mastering the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers—the pinnacle of the Tang Clan’s hidden weapon arts—in just six months? It was the ultimate technique, passed down only to the direct bloodline of the Tang Clan. It was a perfect fusion of offense and defense, filling the entire field of vision with a 'flower' of hidden weapons to pressure the enemy while simultaneously shielding the user.
Because the internal energy required varied depending on the weight and shape of each projectile, it was a secret technique of the Sichuan Tang Clan that could only be performed by those who had reached the absolute heights of martial mastery.
And yet, Jang Sam—the man everyone called a half-wit—had mastered it in six months?
Based on everything Ju Gwang knew, it was an utter impossibility.
"I didn't perform it perfectly. I just did a clumsy imitation."
Sun-woo continued, his voice laced with exhaustion.
He had called it the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers when he fired the shards, but the attack fell far short of the true technique. Since he had only skimmed the manual and never actually practiced it, it was bound to be lacking.
The true Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers required precise control of internal energy to minimize waste while scattering hidden weapons in any desired direction.
However, Sun-woo’s version was simply taking the overflowing internal energy granted by the Stalactite Fluid and dumping it into the fragments as he fired them. There was no delicate control involved; he simply crammed energy into the shards until they were on the verge of shattering and then hurled them.
In fact, several fragments had actually broken apart, unable to withstand the sheer pressure of the energy.
Everything had been a gamble.
From entering the armory to chugging the Stalactite Fluid, and even attempting the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers without a single prior practice—it was all a series of high-stakes bets.
But Ju Gwang was so strong that Sun-woo couldn't have won without taking those risks. He truly was a master on the cusp of the Transcendent Realm.
If Sun-woo hadn't had the Stalactite Fluid, or if the battle hadn't taken place in the armory, he would have been the one lying defeated.
"Phew. Up we go."
Having caught his breath, Sun-woo stood up and slowly walked toward Ju Gwang.
Step. Step.
"Don't… don't come any closer!"
Ju Gwang was seized with terror as Sun-woo approached. He wanted to turn and run immediately, but he didn't have the strength left to even wiggle a finger.
Stop.
Sun-woo stopped right in front of Ju Gwang and smiled.
"We have quite a bit of history to settle, don't we?"
To anyone else, it would have looked like a bright, innocent smile, but to Ju Gwang, it was bone-chilling.
Without hesitation, Sun-woo raised his sword and severed Ju Gwang’s right arm.
Squelch.
Thud.
Ju Gwang’s right arm, cut from the shoulder, fell to the ground.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
Ju Gwang let out a harrowing scream at the sudden agony.
"We’re just getting started. It’s a bit early to be screaming, don't you think?"
Slash.
This time, Sun-woo sliced through Ju Gwang’s right eye.
Spurt!
Blood erupted from the ruined socket.
"AAAAAAAGH!"
Ju Gwang’s screams grew even louder. A profound, primal fear began to swell within him.
"Jang Sam, spare me! I was momentarily insane! To attack you, who is no different from my own disciple… please, forgive me!"
Ju Gwang pleaded for mercy, appealing to their past bond, but Sun-woo’s expression remained cold as ice.
"Where do you think you're going with that sob story, you crazy bastard?"
Thwack!
Sun-woo drove his fist into Ju Gwang’s defenseless abdomen.
"BLEAAARGH!"
Perhaps because the punch was infused with internal energy, Ju Gwang vomited everything in his stomach.
"Ugh… save me… please… I don't want to die! It was all on the orders of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader!!"
"Listen here, Ju Gwang. You’d better choose your words carefully. Your life depends on that three-inch tongue of yours."
"Anything! I’ll tell you anything!"
"Good. Then first, who killed Paeng Ji-yoon?"
"………I don't know!"
Slice.
Sun-woo promptly cut off Ju Gwang’s right ear.
"AAAAAGH!"
"I told you to answer carefully. That wasn't the answer I wanted."
Despite Sun-woo’s coercive attitude, Ju Gwang kept his mouth shut.
"Let’s do this, Ju Gwang. If you tell me the truth, exactly as you know it, I’ll let you live."
Twitch.
Ju Gwang flinched at those words. Sun-woo didn't miss it; it was proof that the man was wavering.
"Not only that, I’ll give you a saber technique that can be mastered even with just a left arm. You lost your right arm, but your internal energy is still intact, isn't it?"
"What… what technique?"
"The Tae-eul Overlord Blade."
At the mention of the Tae-eul Overlord Blade, Ju Gwang’s eyes wavered violently.
What was the Tae-eul Overlord Blade?
It was the signature technique of the Saber Ghost, a man who had roamed the world a hundred years ago with a single blade, defeating countless masters and proudly earning a place among the Ten Greatest Masters of the World. The Saber Ghost was unique in that he practiced left-handed saber arts, a peculiarity that made him incredibly difficult for opponents to handle.
If Ju Gwang could master the Tae-eul Overlord Blade, the loss of his right arm wouldn't even matter.
When his arm was first severed, Ju Gwang felt a sense of loss as if he had lost everything. It was the arm he had trained for fifty years. For a swordsman to lose an arm was synonymous with losing everything they had built. It was only natural to feel such despair.
But now, with Sun-woo’s offer of a left-handed technique like the Tae-eul Overlord Blade, Ju Gwang fell into deep contemplation.
"Will you… truly spare me?"
"I said I would. Unlike you, I don't do betrayals."
"Is it true that you have the Tae-eul Overlord Blade?"
"Of course. Didn't you see me use the Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers earlier? The Tae-eul Overlord Blade was in the archive too."
Sun-woo and Ju Gwang stared at each other for a long time, locked in a silent battle of wills.
"Whether you save your life and master the left-handed saber after receiving the Tae-eul Overlord Blade, or die a dog’s death for the sake of some petty loyalty—the choice is yours, Ju Gwang."
After agonizing over it, Ju Gwang finally opened his mouth.
"The one who killed Paeng Ji-yoon… was the Law Enforcement Hall Master."
"!?"
Sun-woo’s eyes widened like saucers at the unexpected answer.
The Law Enforcement Hall Master was Paeng Ga-ryeon, the fourth wife of Alliance Leader Lee Jae-won and essentially Paeng Ji-yoon’s aunt.
"No, what are you talking about? Paeng Ga-ryeon killed her?! Paeng Ga-ryeon is Ji-yoon’s aunt!"
"To her, who wanted to pass the Cheonmu Alliance down to her own children, you—the eldest disciple—were a massive thorn in her side."
"What!?"
"Having decided to kill you, she ordered her niece, Paeng Ji-yoon, to share a bed with you. Then, she killed the girl herself and framed you for it!"
"……"
Sun-woo was speechless at Ju Gwang’s shocking revelation.
Paeng Ga-ryeon, the Law Enforcement Hall Master… she was the woman who had held his hand when he was dragged to the hall, telling him she believed in him and not to worry.
In place of the indifferent master, Lee Jae-won, it was the mistresses who had looked after Jang Sam the most. Having lost his mother at a young age, Jang Sam had always thought of them as mothers.
Thus, the betrayal of Paeng Ga-ryeon, whom he had regarded as a mother figure, was a massive shock to Sun-woo.
"Then why did you participate! Even if you were just a martial instructor, I thought of you more as my master than the Alliance Leader!"
"I was having an affair with her. I couldn't bring myself to refuse her request."
Ju Gwang’s revelations were a non-stop train wreck of shocks. The fact that the Paeng family tomboy, who supposedly only cared for Lee Jae-won, had plotted to kill Jang Sam—whom she treated like a son—and was having an affair with Ju Gwang was staggering.
"…………"
Stunned into silence, Sun-woo slowly organized his thoughts.
If Ju Gwang was telling the truth, then this entire plot had been set in motion from the moment Paeng Ji-yoon came to his room. The compassionate face she wore while 'worrying' for him in the Law Enforcement Hall was nothing but a mask of hypocrisy.
Grit.
"Paeng Ga-ryeon… that filthy sow of a woman…!!"
Rage surged through his body, and his teeth ground together of their own accord.
Thud! Thwack! Kick!
"You son of a bitch! You stabbed me in the back because of a sow like that?"
In his irritation, Sun-woo began taking his anger out on Ju Gwang, kicking him repeatedly.
"Just die! Just die already!!"
"Gah! Urgh! Ugh… forgive me… please forgive me."
Only after Ju Gwang began to weep did Sun-woo stop his assault. Venting his anger had made him feel slightly better.
Sun-woo lowered his foot and questioned Ju Gwang again.
"Tell me what happened after I disappeared. How was I declared a Public Enemy of the Murim?"
"After you vanished, a pursuit team was formed, but they couldn't find you while you were hidden in the sanctuary."
"Right. This place is known only to the Alliance Leader."
"Then, the Alliance Leader returned from his travels. I went straight to the Leader’s Hall and reported about you."
"And how did he judge the situation?"
"There was no 'judging' to be done. He fully trusted the Law Enforcement Hall’s conclusion that you were the culprit, and you were officially confirmed as the suspect."
Sun-woo’s face twisted in disgust. He knew the man was a bastard, but hearing it like this made it even more irritating.
"Of course, even then, you weren't declared a Public Enemy. There were even those who defended you, saying you couldn't have done such a thing."
"Then how did I become a Public Enemy?"
"On the day the Alliance Leader returned, a woman named Yoon Ji-hwa from the Phoenix Hall went missing. A few days later, her naked body was found with her crown crushed. The Alliance Leader named you as the suspect and declared you a Public Enemy of the Murim. Similar disappearances occurred afterward, and everyone expressed their fury, believing you were the one responsible."
"Wait, even if I ran away, they declared me a Public Enemy based on nothing but circumstantial evidence?!"
"The Alliance Leader didn't want the Cheonmu Alliance to be destabilized. It was much easier to pin it on you than to assume there was an unknown enemy."
"So, to summarize: you, that sow from the Law Enforcement Hall, and that bastard Alliance Leader all played along to make me the greatest villain under heaven?"
"……"
That was exactly it, but Ju Gwang kept his mouth shut, fearing he’d be beaten to death if he agreed.
Sun-woo grabbed Ju Gwang by the hair and dragged him out of the armory.
Flop.
He tossed him onto the floor of the cavern.
"What are you doing?! You said you’d spare me!"
"I am going to spare you. Don't worry. But wouldn't it be too unfair to let you go just like this?"
Slice.
Sun-woo raised his sword and severed Ju Gwang’s left arm.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"
Ju Gwang let out a scream filled with venomous resentment as he tried to staunch the bleeding from his left shoulder.
Leaving Ju Gwang behind, Sun-woo entered the fourth cave, where the secret manuals were kept.
Thud.
Reappearing shortly after, Sun-woo tossed a book at Ju Gwang.
"There. The Tae-eul Overlord Blade, as promised."
"You bastard!!!!!!!! You cut off my left arm too! How am I supposed to learn the Tae-eul Overlord Blade now?!"
"Ju Gwang, oh Ju Gwang… I only said I’d spare your life and give you the manual. I never said I wouldn't cut off your left arm."
Ju Gwang’s face twisted and turned a deep, angry red.
"You and your pathetic wordplay!!!!!!!!"
"Listen, you piece of shit. Why would I spare a guy like you and hand over a martial art in perfect condition? You’re out of your mind. Hehehe."
"I curse you!! I curse you to hell!!!!!!"
"Curse all you want, but you’d better start running."
"What!?"
"Don't you smell something burning?"
Ju Gwang sniffed the air. Just as Sun-woo said, the smell of smoke was beginning to drift toward them.
"You…!!??!?"
"I couldn't just leave, so I set a little fire to spice things up. The Alliance Leader is going to love this, don't you think?"
Ju Gwang’s face turned deathly pale. He had forgotten for a moment, but the hideout was filled with various treasures and manuals Lee Jae-won had collected in his youth. That was why Lee Jae-won had strictly ordered Ju Gwang not to leave a single scratch on the treasures while capturing Jang Sam.
And Sun-woo had just set them all on fire.
"Hahahahaha! Let it all burn!"
"Damn it! You bastard, put it out right now!!!!"
"And why would I do that?"
"Do you think you’ll survive this?! If everything here burns, you will face the full wrath of the Cheonmu Alliance Leader!"
"We’re already enemies, so what does it matter? Let him be angry."
"You’re insane. You’ve lost your mind! The Alliance Leader is the World's Greatest Martial Artist!"
"So what? I’m a subscriber, you piece of shit."
"!?!?"
"Listen, Ju Gwang. I intend to take everything from Lee Jae-won and crush it all. If you manage to cling to that pathetic life and reach him, tell him this: I will personally take his life with my own hands!!!"
The flames grew more intense, beginning to spread into the main cavern.
Seeing the raging fire, Ju Gwang ignored Sun-woo’s nonsensical words and began to scramble toward the passage.
"Damn it, damn it all!!!!!!"
Watching him go, Sun-woo sneered.
"Stupid bastard. You’re going to have a hell of a time climbing back up there."
Even as the fire intensified, Sun-woo took his time, sauntering along. He could afford to be relaxed because there was a separate exit that led directly out of the hideout.
Sun-woo entered the first cave and pushed aside a large jar filled with Fasting Pills. Beneath it was a small door.
Creeeeak.
As he opened the door, the sound of rusty hinges grated on his ears.
Before stepping through, Sun-woo turned back to look at the burning cavern.
"See you next time, Lee Jae-won."
With those final words, Sun-woo stepped inside.
The secret hideout of the Murim Alliance, where Sun-woo had spent the last half-year, was swallowed by the flames and vanished from the world.