Chapter 32: Sword Emperor Yang Tae-san - 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Sword Emperor Yang Tae-san - 4
When Sun-woo finally revealed himself, he looked completely different than before.
From his head to his arms and legs, he was encased in pitch-black armor that left no opening, radiating a ferocious aura that was incomparable to his previous state.
"Can you even see what's in front of you, lad?"
Yang Tae-san let out a hollow laugh as he stared at Sun-woo, whose face was entirely concealed.
It seemed the boy had donned the suit to protect his head, but for a martial artist, such an extreme restriction of vision was a fatal disadvantage. Furthermore, armor that covered the entire body was bound to be incredibly heavy.
Perhaps it was useful for common soldiers on a battlefield, but for a martial artist who had reached a certain realm, armor was an utterly useless encumbrance. If one could manifest even a sliver of Sword Qi, such metal would be sliced through like paper. Why bother wearing something so heavy?
"Why not take that off? It doesn't seem like a wise choice."
Yang Tae-san offered the advice as a senior of the Murim. If the boy fought like that, the weight of the armor would only slow him down and leave him riddled with openings. Even if he was an opponent destined to die, Yang Tae-san had no desire for a dull fight.
"It won't be like before," Sun-woo replied, his voice thick with conviction despite Yang Tae-san’s dismissal.
"I certainly hope so."
With those words, Yang Tae-san raised his sword and charged.
Sun-woo raised his own blade to meet the strike. As their swords clashed in a flurry of exchanges, Sun-woo could feel it through the vibrations of the steel: Yang Tae-san was exhausted.
The sharpness that had once felt like a honed masterwork was slightly dulled, and the mountain-like pressure of his aura had significantly subsided.
I can win!
For the first time since the confrontation began, a glimmer of hope appeared. Sun-woo’s red energy began to flicker and surge even more violently.
Boom!
With a massive sonic boom, Yang Tae-san’s sword was momentarily knocked back. He had failed to withstand the sudden, explosive impact.
Sun-woo did not miss the opening.
Die!
He swung his blade toward Yang Tae-san’s chest before the older man could recover his guard.
Screech!
However, instead of the wet sound of flesh being torn, the strike produced a grating noise, like metal scraping against iron.
What?!
Sun-woo froze in confusion. He had clearly slashed the man’s body, so why did it sound like he had hit steel?
Before he could process the shock, Yang Tae-san’s Sword Astral lunged toward him. The Sword Emperor intended to cleave through the armor and the man inside it in a single stroke.
The Sword Astral slammed into the armor, and Yang Tae-san dragged his blade downward with all his might.
Clang!
But after a sharp metallic screech, a powerful repulsive force erupted, knocking his sword away.
Failing his attack, Yang Tae-san immediately leaped back to create distance. He realized then that the armor the boy was wearing was no ordinary equipment. How could mere armor block and even repel a Sword Astral?
"It’s a Mystical Artifact," Yang Tae-san muttered, his expression souring. In his fifty years of life, he had never heard of armor capable of deflecting a Sword Astral.
"And you’re a monster."
Sun-woo was equally horrified by the durability of Yang Tae-san’s body. How could a human being tank a blade with their bare flesh? He began to doubt if the man was even human.
He hadn't known because he hadn't landed a single effective hit until now, but it seemed Yang Tae-san had reached the realm of the Indestructible Body.
The two men circled each other, probing for an opening. Finally, they stood on equal footing.
Sun-woo was the first to lunged. Having realized that Yang Tae-san’s sword could no longer inflict fatal wounds, he became daring. When the Sword Astral struck him, he felt his internal organs twist slightly, but it was a level of pain he could endure.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Yang Tae-san’s Sword Astral hammered against Sun-woo’s body, but Sun-woo ignored it. Because the gap in their skill was so vast, Sun-woo had to take three or four hits just to land one of his own, but he didn't care. As long as he could bury his sword in the man before him, he didn't give a damn about internal injuries.
He abandoned all defense. He simply charged like a madman, swinging his blade.
Meanwhile, Yang Tae-san was revolted by Sun-woo’s suicidal aggression. No matter how much the armor protected him, being struck by a Sword Astral should have caused devastating internal damage, yet the man before him continued his onslaught without hesitation. He fought as if he had no tomorrow.
Slash!
Under Sun-woo’s relentless pressure, his sword finally began to graze Yang Tae-san’s body. Even with an Indestructible Body, he was still human; internal damage was beginning to accumulate.
A brutal war of attrition began.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
After taking several of Sun-woo’s strikes in succession, Yang Tae-san found himself being pushed back. Having fought Ok-ryeong and Sun-woo back-to-back, his stamina and internal energy were severely depleted.
Yang Tae-san retreated and gasped for air.
"Huff... huff..."
His breathing was ragged, and the edge of his sword began to lose its keenness.
This is dangerous.
He had toyed with Sun-woo using pure skill earlier, but no matter how many times he struck him down, the boy kept coming back. It was becoming overwhelming.
I made a mistake. I should have finished him before he put on that artifact.
Regret for his carelessness gnawed at him. He had never imagined the boy would possess such a Mystical Artifact. Now, he barely had enough internal energy left to maintain his Sword Astral. His wrists were swollen from the repetitive recoil, and his mental fatigue was beyond imagination.
For the first time against this adversary, the thought crossed his mind: I might lose.
This was the price for failing to recognize a young tiger.
Yang Tae-san raised his sword. He had no intention of going down easily. He decided to use his final ultimate technique—one he hadn't even shown to Lee Jae-won. Though it was still unfinished, its power was absolute.
He began to draw out every last drop of his internal energy.
Whirrrrr!
A significant amount of energy gathered, but it wasn't enough. Yang Tae-san began to pull from his Primordial Qi—the very source of his life.
Primordial Qi is the essence a person is born with. It is purer and more powerful than the energy gathered through standard cultivation methods, but because it is the root of life, using it recklessly could be fatal. Once consumed, Primordial Qi can never be replenished.
It was no exaggeration to say Yang Tae-san was staking his life on this.
But he did not hesitate. To face a man who fought as if he had no tomorrow, he had to risk everything as well. His internal energy began to surge violently.
Sensing the ominous aura radiating from Yang Tae-san, Sun-woo tensed. The overwhelming pressure the man was emitting was even greater than when they had first met.
Sun-woo felt a burning sensation in his gut. Thanks to the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor, they appeared to be evenly matched, but in reality, Sun-woo’s internal injuries had grown uncontrollably severe. Just lifting his sword sent a twisting pain through his intestines, and every step made his insides churn.
The pain was so intense that it wouldn't have been strange if he collapsed right then and there. The Overlord Ghost-Face Armor kept him standing, but it could not take away the agony. Seeing Yang Tae-san’s transformation in such a state, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anxiety.
However, Sun-woo shook his head to clear his mind of distractions. He was a man who should have died long ago, yet through layer upon layer of heavenly luck, he had climbed to this position. He could not let this chance slip away.
Sun-woo channeled all his remaining internal energy, pushing the Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art to its absolute limit.
Vroooooom!
A colossal energy swirled around the two men, eventually manifesting into physical auras that enveloped them.
Sun-woo delivered his final strike, slashing at Yang Tae-san.
Simultaneously, Yang Tae-san’s sword swung, passing through Sun-woo’s body.
This time, there was no sound of metal striking metal.
"Cough!"
Sun-woo spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the spot. He had been cut.
"How...?"
Sun-woo asked in a trembling voice. The wound was on his chest, right beneath the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor. Yang Tae-san’s sword hadn't cut the armor; it had cut past it.
"I simply cut what I wished to cut."
"Cough, cough!"
As his internal and external wounds compounded, a tidal wave of agony crashed over him.
"You should consider it an honor. Though it is unfinished, you have experienced the Heart Sword."
Sun-woo felt a crushing despair at Yang Tae-san’s words. He had lost. He thought he had finally reached him, but in the end, he had failed.
Tears began to fall. He didn't care about his own failure, but the thought of Ok-ryeong dying filled him with an unbearable sorrow.
"I hope that you, too, will reach this realm one day."
"?"
Sun-woo looked up in confusion at Yang Tae-san’s sudden remark.
Spurt!
Gush!
The wound on Yang Tae-san’s neck suddenly widened, and blood began to spray out in torrents. He had been holding it together with his internal energy, but it had finally given way.
With his final strike, Sun-woo had targeted the wound on the neck that Ok-ryeong had previously opened. Knowing he only had one chance, he had aimed for the one spot where he could surely destroy a body that had reached the Indestructible realm.
"It went in half an inch deeper than I thought..."
Thud.
With those final words, Yang Tae-san collapsed.
Twenty years ago, alongside the World's Greatest Martial Artist Lee Jae-won, he had thwarted the ambitions of the Heavenly Demon Emperor and saved the Murim. He was a great hero, the second strongest man in the world with no rival other than Lee Jae-won. And so, the Sword Emperor Yang Tae-san met his end at the hands of the man known as the Thousand-Face Lecher, Jang Sam.
"Cough, cough!"
Sun-woo stared at the fallen Yang Tae-san in shock. He had never truly imagined he could bring the man down.
As relief washed over him, all the strength left his body. He was severely injured, but he and Ok-ryeong had survived. They had survived the Sword Emperor.
As a former reader of the novel, Sun-woo knew exactly who Yang Tae-san was, and he fully realized how absurd this outcome was.
In High School Senior Goes to Murim, Yang Tae-san was a key ally, a genius among geniuses with talent second only to the protagonist. He was one of the strongest supporting characters, present even in the final battle against the Heavenly Demon Emperor. He had already reached the Transcendent Realm before the story's end, so twenty years later, he must have been even stronger.
And yet, Sun-woo, who was merely in the Super-Peak Realm, had defeated him.
Of course, it was a result of multiple strokes of luck. Yang Tae-san’s energy and stamina had been drained from his fight with Ok-ryeong; Sun-woo possessed the Mystical Artifact known as the Overlord Ghost-Face Armor; and finally, there was the neck wound Ok-ryeong had left as her final act. It was a miracle built upon miracles, but Sun-woo was satisfied.
In the end, he was the one left standing, and Ok-ryeong wouldn't have to die.
Sun-woo felt his tension melt away, thinking everything was over. Of course, now that their location was compromised, they would have to leave White Flower Peak, but as long as he was with Ok-ryeong, he could be happy anywhere.
For now, he just wanted to sleep until his body recovered. His eyes began to drift shut. He was sure he would feel refreshed when he woke up.
That was when it happened.
"You think you can sleep right now, Jang Sam?"
At the sound of that chilling, spine-tingling voice, Sun-woo’s eyes snapped open. Any trace of drowsiness vanished instantly.
Chatter, chatter, chatter.
His teeth began to clatter uncontrollably from the sheer terror flooding his system. He prayed and prayed in his mind.
Please, please let it not be him. Please let me have misheard.
As he slowly turned his head, he saw a man standing there with a casual smirk.
"Our little Jang Sam is fucking strong, isn't he? Tae-san was a bit of a pushover compared to me, but he wasn't exactly weak... and yet you went and took his head?"
The man was the great hero who had saved the Murim from the Demonic Cult's invasion twenty years ago. He was the current Cheonmu Alliance Leader, enjoying the peak of his power and fame as the World's Greatest Martial Artist.
It was Lee Jae-won.
Lee Jae-won looked down at Sun-woo with a playful grin, and seeing that smile, Sun-woo fell into utter despair.
"Why the long face? When you see your master, you should at least offer a greeting. Right, Jang Sam?"
The smile on Lee Jae-won’s face deepened.