Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Nine Deaths One Life (4)
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In the martial world, beware of the elderly and children.
Anyone who's read a lot of wuxia novels has probably heard that saying at least once. In a world where people draw their swords at the drop of a hat, surviving long enough to become an old man? No need to even explain.
So why be wary of children? In extremely rare cases, they could be masters who took on a youthful appearance through bone cleansing and marrow shedding. Or, if not that, an absurd genius.
Moyong Sua, who was glaring at me from across the courtyard, fell into the latter category. At the center stood Moyong Hyeon, tasked with judging the outcome of the spar. How the hell did things end up like this?
Oh, right. That rude bitch Moyong Sua insisted on testing my skills. And I had no choice but to accept if I wanted to keep ties with the Moyong Clan.
The reason I was racking my brain was that I had no clue how to handle winning or losing this spar. Before it started, Moyong Hyeon had pulled me aside urgently and said,
"Great Hero, Sua is a genius unlike any the Moyong Clan has ever seen. But her talent is so extraordinary that she's become arrogant, looking down on everyone."
"Seems that way."
"As expected of the Great Hero. You saw right through to the essence at a glance. So, if you could teach her a proper lesson..."
"I'll do my best."
"Ah, but please don't injure her too badly. I beg you."
Which tune am I supposed to dance to?
Her age was young, sure. But Moyong Hyeon, the Young Lord of the Moyong Clan, called her an unprecedented genius in the clan's history. A genius hyped up that much?
Even I, a mere first-rate, would surely trade blows with her. But don't injure her deeply? If I hold back too much, I might lose. Is that what they're aiming for?
No, if that were the case, they wouldn't have asked me to teach her a lesson. So it means make her acknowledge defeat without serious injury...
'No wonder they're one of the Five Great Clans. What a tricky order.'
But what can I do? I'm the one in need here. Sure, they call me a lifesaver and all that grand stuff, but I don't expect to coast on that forever.
Connections only last as long as both sides benefit each other. They were the Moyong Clan, a pillar of the orthodox Murim Alliance. Me?
If I'd reached the pinnacle realm, I could at least show my face. Sadly, I'm just a first-rate grunt like you see in modern wuxia novels. And without even a sect to call home.
What choice do I have? The needy one has to bend. I let out a sigh and sheathed my wooden sword. Watching me, Moyong Sua clicked her tongue.
"Surrendering before we even fight?"
"How can I use an ox-cleaver to slaughter a chicken?"
"...You're looking down on me."
The smirk on her lips twisted into fury. At least the taunt landed. Now the question was her actual level.
'Still, Moyong Hyeon called her a once-in-a-lifetime genius. At least first-rate, right?'
Considering her age, it's ridiculous. But in munchkin wuxia, people reach pinnacle before twenty, even transcendent realm. Some even hit the flower realm.
Best to assume at least first-rate. If she's pinnacle or higher, it means I never stood a chance anyway.
"Begin!"
With Moyong Hyeon's vigorous shout, the spar started. And right away, Moyong Sua kicked off the ground, charging straight at me in an instant. No probing attacks?
Did my taunt work that well? Or is she that confident in her talent? Either way, her speed inwardly shocked me.
As she closed in, I drew my sword and swung. Her fury-filled strike showed no mercy, slashing diagonally.
It was painfully slow.
I took two steps back. That was more than enough to evade her enraged slash. She clearly hadn't expected me to dodge.
Confusion bloomed on Moyong Sua's face like a flower. But unlike her, confidence surged in me. This level? I can handle it.
In the past, the famed general Sun Mu, recommended by Wu Zixu and employed by King Goujian, wrote in his Art of War that the best victory is one won without fighting.
Anyone who's studied strategy knows that famous line from The Art of War. But knowing and understanding are different. Moyong Hyeon hadn't grasped it at first.
Why win without fighting when the enemy is fully morale-boosted and armed? At least until this moment.
But as the spar between Sua and the Nameless Great Hero began, Moyong Hyeon finally understood perfectly. When the Great Hero first sheathed his wooden sword,
Even Moyong Hyeon, who trusted his lifesaver implicitly, couldn't help but panic. What was the Great Hero's intent?
But watching the flow of the fight, he realized belatedly. The Great Hero was showing he could win without even clashing swords.
Proof: None of Sua's strikes even grazed the Great Hero's robes. And he wasn't using flashy lightness skills to dazzle the eyes.
'A master of the Great Hero's caliber must have perfected lightness skills. Yet he's evading all of Sua's attacks with minimal movement. It's like watching a ghost, not a man.'
One step. At most two or three, perfectly dodging Sua's forms. Even a clueless commoner watching would know who's superior without being told.
'Impossible, this can't be!!'
But the one most shocked was none other than Moyong Sua facing Nameless. At first, she thought her brother had been fooled by this worthless old man.
Whatever tricks he used, she vowed to make him pay for deceiving the Moyong Clan's Young Lord. But now,
Not a single one of her strikes landed? Impossible. This can't be real. Do you know what kind of sword this is? The sword taught by the Patriarch since childhood.
From age seven, gripping the sword daily without waste. Honed through bone-grinding training, the proud sword of the Moyong Clan.
'It's not a sword to be toyed with by some backwater old fart!!'
Fully realizing she was being played, rage boiled over in Moyong Sua until she saw nothing else. Moyong Hyeon noticed first.
"Stop, Sua! Any more and it's no longer a spar—it's a killing blow!!"
Spars are meant to compete at full power without taking lives. Ideally, gain experience without disability.
Put another way, depending on intent, it can turn into a life-or-death duel. And Sua's strikes reeked of lethal killing intent, unfit for a spar.
Her feral eyes, lost like a demon's, fixed on Nameless. Another slash incoming. But astonishingly, her sword wasn't alone.
Just the flash of her swing parted clouds—that was the pursuit of supreme speed. The Moyong Clan's secret martial art and sword style: Lightning Cloud Parting Sword.
Lightning Cloud Parting Sword
Second Form: Lightning Seven Strikes
An afterimage technique so fast it leaves seven trails. Even Moyong Hyeon, toeing first-rate, maxes at five. Sua was already at four.
'Let's see you block this!!'
Speed deceives the eyes. Panic at the sudden increase, miss the real strike, and death follows. But in that instant, the impossible happened.
Moyong Sua stared blankly at the scene. Her most confident Lightning Cloud Parting Sword form, effortlessly dismantled.
Like an adult stopping children's play. Her wooden sword was caught in Nameless's hand. Correction: between his fingers.
Before stunned Moyong Sua, whose Moyong Clan secret sword art was foiled by index and middle finger, Nameless looked at the sword pinched between his fingers and thought,
'It actually worked.'
Her sword was so slow, I tried it on a whim. Who knew it'd really work? Once you hit first-rate, this trick is basic.
Of course, if she were first-rate like me, maybe not.