Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Clash of Sword and Axe
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The situation had reversed, with Gong Cheon-ak and Heuk Do-san now surrounding Seop Dae-gang and Hong Gong-tak.
“How did you...”
Hong Gong-tak wiped the blood trickling from his mouth with his sleeve as he asked. Even with his internal injuries, he couldn’t help but inquire.
Just until early evening, the man had been lying on a stretcher. How had he suddenly sprung up?
Seop Dae-gang seemed to have anticipated it to some extent and remained composed. He merely furrowed his brow slightly at Gong Cheon-ak’s unexpected appearance, which puzzled even him.
“You tricked us.”
Heuk Do-san said.
“It was tactics.”
Gong Cheon-ak quibbled.
“Same difference.”
“It’s not.”
“The Soul-Chasing Ghosts were guarding the tent entrance. How did you slip out?”
“They weren’t there when I left.”
“So you’ve been gone for a while?”
“Something like that.”
“And yet you just watched?”
“You put up a good fight.”
“If Seop Dae-gang and I both took heavy wounds, you planned to show up then, take everyone down, and seize control.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“So what now?”
“What do you mean? Kill these two, grab Bing-seol, and cross Ice Valley. You didn’t think I’d stay a prisoner forever, did you?”
“How do you plan to cross Ice Valley?”
“I have a boat. What’s there to worry about?”
“How did you...”
Heuk Do-san was startled.
He had clearly overheard their conversation.
There was no chance he’d been hiding nearby and eavesdropping. If so, they would have noticed Gong Cheon-ak’s absence when Hyeon-gak or Dang Yak-ran returned to the tent.
How had he found out?
“Thousand Li Earth Listening Technique!”
A skill that lets one press an ear to the ground and hear distant sounds. It was said that once one’s internal energy reached the Green Flame Pure Blue realm, they could even hear a leaf falling a hundred paces away.
Lying on the stretcher must have made it natural to deploy the Thousand Li Earth Listening Technique. He hadn’t expected the bastard to have mastered that too.
“You went to all the trouble of paving the way, only for a beggar to come strolling through. Bing-seol can handle herself. But a warning: you’d better not touch that boat.”
“Let’s clear these guys out first, then talk.”
Gong Cheon-ak gestured toward Seop Dae-gang and Hong Gong-tak at the end of his words. In the meantime, the two had their backs pressed together, swords lowered.
The grips on their sword hilts were clenched tight, showing they were fully resolved.
“Take Seop Dae-gang.”
“Why me?”
“I already fought him once.”
“I’m unarmed.”
“Hong Gong-tak has a sword.”
“That runt’s sword won’t make a difference.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Gong Cheon-ak shot toward Hong Gong-tak. The six-foot muscled frame charging forward looked like a bear lumbering in.
“How dare you look down on me!”
Hong Gong-tak swung his sword like a gale.
“Look down? You’re just cannon fodder.”
Gong Cheon-ak didn’t halt his charge and lightly thrust out a palm.
Boom!
With a massive roar, the invisible palm force struck the sword, flinging it sharply outward.
Tremendous power.
Hong Gong-tak, greatly alarmed, hastily twisted his sword to slash at Gong Cheon-ak’s side.
But he was a step too slow. Gong Cheon-ak had already burrowed into his guard like lightning and extended a strike.
His sharply curved fingers looked as menacing as a dragon’s claws. The target was his left shoulder—he aimed to rip out the collarbone.
Hong Gong-tak retracted his sword while quickly bending his upper body back to retreat. How could such speed come from that massive bulk?
“As expected of the Seventh Star Lord!”
“Hmph, where do you think you’re going!”
In an instant, Gong Cheon-ak’s arm stretched out like molten sugar syrup. Dragon Claw Skill followed by Toad Tongue Hand.
Rip!
The blood wolf fur coat tore apart pitifully. A split second slower, and it wouldn’t have been the coat but his heart that was ripped out.
Terrified, Hong Gong-tak bent back further and retreated another five or six steps before finally stopping.
How could a human arm stretch like that?
There was no way he’d recognize the Heavenly Demon’s Toad Tongue Hand, where the arm hidden in the sleeve extended like a toad’s tongue.
‘This is beyond me.’
“You rat bastard. Where are you scurrying off to? Come get my head quick.”
Gong Cheon-ak spread his arms wide and charged.
Hong Gong-tak’s guts shriveled as he hopped around like a flea, wildly swinging his sword. He poured internal energy into it, making it whistle long and shrill.
Screee!
Heuk Do-san had no chance to launch himself. The moment Gong Cheon-ak rushed Hong Gong-tak, Seop Dae-gang flew at him like a gale.
Sword in hand, Seop Dae-gang was a world apart from his unarmed self. Flashes of light stabbed at vitals with every move—no room for thought.
Unpredictable sword tips from nowhere, ear-splitting whooshes, exquisite forms defying anticipation, sword gleams blooming like scattered petals before his eyes.
He swore he’d never seen swordsmanship so fast and flashy.
‘Plum Blossom Swordsmanship!’
One of the world’s three great sword arts, known only by name, had finally revealed itself.
Heuk Do-san’s dismissive thoughts vanished.
Seop Dae-gang’s overhead slash clashed with Heuk Do-san’s upward great force palm right before his eyes.
Boom!
A thunderous boom rang out, like striking an ancient temple bell with an iron hammer. The blizzard-swept snowy mountain echoed throughout.
Right on cue, five Soul-Chasing Ghosts arrived. They drew swords to strike at Heuk Do-san.
A roar erupted from Seop Dae-gang’s mouth.
“Anyone who interferes will be executed!”
The Soul-Chasing Ghosts hesitated briefly before swarming toward Gong Cheon-ak. They joined Hong Gong-tak, stabbing wildly at him.
“What the hell are these bastards!”
Gong Cheon-ak bellowed.
Even a tiger fears dogs when outnumbered.
Well-trained Soul-Chasing Ghosts plus Hong Gong-tak—six against one—even he was outnumbered.
‘Damn it. Should’ve taken Seop Dae-gang myself!’
Mo Yong-ak, Dang Yak-ran, Hyeon-gak, and Yeom Jin-sang, who had rushed over late after hearing the clash of metal, paled.
“What’s going on?”
“What happened?”
“Amitabha. Why is everyone doing this!”
In the meantime, Heuk Do-san blocked Seop Dae-gang’s ninth sword strike.
Boom!
Another explosion.
Unable to withstand the impact, Heuk Do-san slid a full pace through the snow like plowing a field.
Dark energy infused the sword strike. His wrist buzzed with pain, heavy ache spreading from shoulder to spine.
‘The bastard’s pissed off good.’
No fear at all.
If Seop Dae-gang had Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, he had War Sword. The pinnacle of practical swordsmanship born solely on the battlefield.
Not as fierce as Plum Blossom, perhaps, but deadlier—he was confident War Sword had the edge. It was specialized purely for killing.
“Really want to go all out?”
“Too late to turn back for either of us.”
“No choice, then.”
Heuk Do-san swapped the dagger in his right hand with the axe in his left. He twisted his left foot slightly and crouched low.
In that instant, the flustered man vanished, replaced by a ferocious beast.
Seop Dae-gang belatedly realized Heuk Do-san had held the axe in his left and dagger in his right all along.
The two-foot dagger was more tool than weapon. But an axe in a martial artist’s hand was a true killing tool.
‘He wasn’t going all out!’
“Ready?”
With the word, Heuk Do-san shot forward.
Seop Dae-gang swung as if waiting.
Fast, sharp, precise.
The blade trailed a long flash toward Heuk Do-san’s neck.
Then, Heuk Do-san’s neck twisted impossibly. His upper body sank back. His hair, lagging behind, shot upward.
Seop Dae-gang’s sword severed the hair. Meanwhile, Heuk Do-san spun, left dagger slicing at the wrist, right axe smashing toward the forehead.
He planned to end it all in one exchange now that it had come to this.
But Seop Dae-gang was no pushover.
‘I won’t fall for it this time!’
Incredibly, he released the sword before the dagger could cut his wrist. As the dagger sliced empty air, he twisted his neck aside, caught the sword with his left hand to block his face.
Lightning-fast movement!
Boom!
Sword and axe clashed again in a roar.
Heuk Do-san twisted the rebounding dagger to stab the side while aiming the axe at Seop Dae-gang’s philtrum once more.
‘This time for sure!’
In that moment, Seop Dae-gang’s form vanished like smoke before his eyes. A bizarre event in the blink of an eye.
One thought flashed in Heuk Do-san’s mind.
‘Dark Fragrance Dart!’
Scalp tingling, he looked up to see Seop Dae-gang high overhead, sword raised, plummeting down.
A mighty lion’s roar burst from his mouth.
“Die!”
One Breath Continuous Strike!
At the final blow’s moment, unleash a thunderous shout to max out internal energy.
Seop Dae-gang had bet everything on this one move.
“No!”
Dang Yak-ran screamed desperately.
KABOOM!
A colossal boom, and the heavy internal energy of Purple Harmony Divine Skill pierced Heuk Do-san’s body, exploding out his toes.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Snowballs sprayed in all directions.
Snowballs that had shot skyward rained down moments later. Mo Yong-ak, Dang Yak-ran, Hyeon-gak, and Yeom Jin-sang were drenched.
The result was shocking.
Heuk Do-san was half-buried in snow, right hand axe blocking Seop Dae-gang’s sword.
His left hand was buried, probably from bracing the ground unconsciously. Blood vessels bulged on his neck, arm muscles swollen to bursting.
He was barely holding, but it looked like only a matter of time before Seop Dae-gang split his skull.
Heuk Do-san whispered.
“True to your name. Impressive.”
“You weren’t bad yourself.”
“Why spare me then?”
“I could kill you anytime.”
“You tailed me to watch.”
“Had Hong Gong-tak on you for a month.”
“Thorough.”
“That’s the martial world. No room for a single mistake.”
“Regretting it?”
“Not a chance. I can still kill you anytime. Same now.”
“Your voice is shaking.”
“...!”
“When we left the ravine, I gave you a chance. Call it square for old debts. Shall we start fresh?”
In that instant, Seop Dae-gang felt something cold touch his lower dantian. Looking down, a razor-sharp dagger protruded through the snow.
Heuk Do-san’s buried left hand held it poised.
His hair stood on end. The lower dantian was a martial artist’s life. A lifetime of cultivated energy condensed there. Pierced, he’d become a mere mortal.
Meanwhile, Mo Yong-ak, Dang Yak-ran, Hyeon-gak, and Yeom Jin-sang were clueless.
Seop Dae-gang’s belt had snapped, fur coat draping to hide the dagger.
To onlookers, it just looked like Seop Dae-gang pinning Heuk Do-san down, giving him time for last words.
“A draw, then?”
Heuk Do-san said softly.
Seop Dae-gang’s face turned beet red.
Killing him would be as easy as lifting a finger. But that would end his life as a warrior.
He dies, I live—so technically my win.
But how to compare a mere scholar’s life to his ambitions for the world?
“Damn it...”
“Decide quick.”
“Coward...”
“Life-or-death? Cowardice doesn’t exist.”
That moment, Dang Yak-ran shot forward like an arrow. Using Capturing Hand, she snatched a sword from Mo Yong-ak’s scabbard nearby and pressed it to Seop Dae-gang’s neck.
Heuk Do-san was startled.
Seop Dae-gang flinched too.
Hyeon-gak’s eyes widened.
Mo Yong-ak shouted sharply.
“Yak-ran! What are you doing!”
“Let him go.”
“Why on earth...?”
“He’s my man.”
“...!”
Mo Yong-ak’s eyes bulged as she looked back and forth between Heuk Do-san and Dang Yak-ran. He’d thought it was the witch.
But it was Dang Yak-ran?
“Yak-ran, the Tang Clan of Sichuan has served the Righteous Alliance faithfully for generations. This shames your family. Release Sword Commander Seop now. I’ll pretend it never happened.”
“You make it all sound so simple, senior.”
“...!”
“If he did something wrong even if I love him, I’d cut him down myself. I swear it. But I can’t see what he did wrong.”
“Yak-ran!”
Dang Yak-ran turned back to Seop Dae-gang.
“You’ve always treated me well, senior. I don’t want you hurt. I’ll count to three. One, two...”
Heuk Do-san was dumbfounded. Seop Dae-gang was just as flustered.
Then it happened.
Rumble!
A massive roar shook the earth. So violent they couldn’t lift their feet.
Gong Cheon-ak and the Soul-Chasing Ghosts, in the heat of battle, froze.
Heuk Do-san, Seop Dae-gang, Dang Yak-ran—all forgot the standoff, scanning for the source.
Dark night, echoes off surrounding peaks—it was hard to pinpoint.
That instant, Hyeon-gak, staring piercingly somewhere, jumped in shock.
“W-what is that?”