Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 243
Chapter Title: The Trainee's Mountain (17)
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Midway up the mountain.
This was where the true Trainee's Mountain began.
First off, the density of the energy felt entirely different.
The mountain's atmosphere has improved even more since before.
Chiwoo sat cross-legged midway up the mountain, circulating his body's energy.
The results were astounding.
Energy so pure and dense it couldn't compare to what he'd felt in the Uninterrupted Hell was now replacing his entire body, fresh as a breath of air.
The stagnant energy accumulated over long years was being purged, along with every last impurity swept away.
The mountain's energy felt even more majestic than he remembered from the past.
"......"
After circulating his energy once around, Chiwoo glanced to the side.
His successor, Park Chan-woo, was there with him, savoring the energy.
He's changed a lot since emerging from the tower.
It seemed he'd gained great enlightenment inside the tower.
The profound insight in his eyes was far sharper than before.
His ability to contain his energy had also improved; even Chiwoo, right beside him, couldn't precisely gauge Park Chan-woo's level.
Let alone...
Huh. It feels like the entire mountain's energy is responding to him.
He could sense the energies swirling around Park Chan-woo.
Vast quantities of natural qi brushed past him like a silent typhoon.
Natural qi—raw energy existing in nature before being refined into internal energy.
Normally, it couldn't be used.
Only for purposes like reverting one's body energy, as Chiwoo did.
Yet right now, Park Chan-woo was taking in enormous amounts of it, as if communing with the mountain itself.
As Chiwoo thought, Park Chan-woo was absorbing the mountain's essence.
The natural mana emanating from the Trainee's Mountain was that extraordinary.
Anyone else would have absorbed far more mana just from tasting it upon climbing, but...
Perfect.
Park Chan-woo was satisfied.
It was rising by 1 at a time, sure.
But not from residual stats of Elysion or divine ultimate arts—this was him truly taking in and achieving mana on his own.
This must be the 'power of my own self' the mysterious being spoke of.
Only by growing this power could he control everything else.
Until now, Park Chan-woo had forsaken normal growth, blocked by countless abnormal statuses.
He'd relied on equipment stats or luck to get by.
Of course, that wasn't bad.
It was necessary to survive the Abyss.
The problem was he'd relied on them excessively.
Finally, Park Chan-woo stood and looked at Chiwoo.
And said,
"Will you teach me the sword?"
"The... sword?"
"Yes. The sword."
Chiwoo blinked.
This successor had collapsed after achieving an unprecedented record of 150 floors.
He was clearly a master of basic sword use.
So why now ask him to teach swordsmanship? That's what piqued his curiosity.
But Park Chan-woo was serious.
He'd nearly been devoured by Baal's sword and belt.
Proof that he still lacked the skill to wield them properly.
To fully make Baal his own, he needed even purer technique.
"You don't mean a spar, do you?"
"You can use the form of a spar. If you can point out my shortcomings."
Ilcheon King Chiwoo.
Park Chan-woo had never properly seen his swordplay, but he was certain.
No swordsman he'd encountered could compare.
He hadn't asked Chiwoo to teach him until now out of fear his true identity might slip.
Fear that being exposed as not the true Heavenly Demon's successor would disappoint him.
Or make him feel betrayed, leaving him unable to even speak properly.
But not anymore.
He'd climb the mountain in Park Chan-woo's name, not the Heavenly Demon's.
"......Understood."
Chiwoo nodded.
He was curious anyway.
He himself had only reached floor 73 before descending.
Though he'd quit voluntarily, against enemies that grew stronger gradually, he had no confidence in reaching 100+ floors.
Yet 150 floors.
He must have seen something beyond an ordinary demon corpse golem.
Park Chan-woo had kept silent about what he'd witnessed inside.
So... sparring would reveal it.
Whether he was truly the orthodox successor.
Clang!
Sword met sword.
A pure strike without internal energy cloaking the blade.
Yet it naturally contained countless subtleties.
Chiwoo could gauge his opponent's skill just from the clash.
And after five more exchanges...
...He has never received proper instruction.
Chiwoo reached a conclusion.
Park Chan-woo was a swordsman who'd never been formally taught by anyone.
Not because he avoided standardized forms.
Nor because he used wild, erratic practical swordplay.
When someone learns the sword from another, mismatched habits inevitably stick.
Etched like tattoos from forcing unfamiliar techniques.
Once inscribed, those tattoos—those habits—don't fade.
Yet Park Chan-woo had none. No such habits.
He'd simply honed his own sword forms through countless battles.
To reach this level without a teacher.
Chiwoo was astonished in another way.
No habits made him hard to read.
Untaught, his sword was free.
Even experts of similar level wouldn't easily beat Park Chan-woo.
Not even seasoned arhats who'd mastered the sword.
However...
Clang!
Thud!
The sword fell.
Exactly twenty exchanges in, Park Chan-woo's blade flew into the air and stabbed into the ground.
"You could relax your shoulders a bit. It's not real combat, after all."
"Shouldn't spars be treated like real fights?"
"Would you kill me?"
"......"
"This is a fight where we both hold back from killing. No matter how much it mimics combat, it's not the real thing. Your body and mind hesitate naturally, and unnecessary tension prevents you from showing your true skill. Besides, some things only become visible when you relax."
It had been a spar from the start.
Not a kill-or-be-killed battle.
Spars naturally had their own forms.
The issue was how much tension he put into his shoulders, mimicking real combat too closely.
He might not realize it, but every swing carried the faintest hesitation.
"Again."
Park Chan-woo picked up his fallen sword.
Clang!
Thud!
But the result was the same.
The process identical.
Chiwoo asked cautiously.
"...By any chance, have you been in battlefields nonstop since picking up the sword?"
Specialized in practical swordplay, never properly taught, unfamiliar with sparring forms—the answer was clear.
Warriors forged in endless battlefields.
There were types like that sometimes.
Those who'd rampaged solely through war couldn't distinguish spars from real fights.
They didn't know how to relax.
"Battlefield... That description fits."
Park Chan-woo nodded.
The Abyss's emergence was war.
From the moment he decided to wield a sword, Park Chan-woo had endlessly roamed the Abyss.
He was famous for the most 'Abyss runs' achieved.
He hadn't sought others' help.
Nor been properly taught the sword by anyone.
"Then we should start with exercises to relax your power."
"......"
It was the first time.
For advice like this.
Usually, people urged him to hone stronger swordsmanship or magic.
Chiwoo continued.
"No matter how much I advise from the side, if you instinctively see everyone holding a sword as an enemy, you can't relax. So—"
Chiwoo pulled the embedded sword from the ground and handed it to him.
Then took his stance.
"Now, imagine I'm a child who's just picked up a sword. Think of yourself as teaching me, and let's spar."
"Me, teaching?"
"Yes. For this spar only, you'll be my master."
A reversal of roles.
Him, in the position of teaching someone the sword.
It wasn't as if such requests had never come before.
After all, up to level 90, he'd been a knight, so many assumed he was a sword master.
But Park Chan-woo had despaired after encountering countless with 'sword talent.'
He'd felt his limits and given up.
Convinced he wasn't fit to teach.
......Teach.
Chiwoo, no less.
The greatest swordsman he'd ever met?
In the past, he'd have dismissed it as absurd.
"Sounds fun."
Park Chan-woo smiled.
"......What are they doing?"
"Playing house?"
A woman and man watching the two's spar from afar tilted their heads.
The woman was Arisa, called the mid-mountain monster, and the man was also from the secret realms.
Arisa was interested in these two who'd far surpassed her record.
Thinking fellow secret realm survivors might understand each other, she'd observed them.
But...
Pathetic.
Seeing their swordplay up close filled her with doubt.
Well, Chiwoo aside, the other man's technique clearly had flaws.
This guy reached 150 floors?
Her own 59 was worlds apart.
Yet his actual sword skill was inferior to average arhats.
"Guess he really is a 'bug user' after all?"
The man said.
Truth be told, most arhats thought like him.
Chiwoo's skill seemed genuine enough, but this 'successor' Park Chan-woo... his abilities were overhyped.
Still, something needed confirming.
"Hey, where are you—!"
As the spar ended, she strode forward and planted herself before them.
"Who are you...?"
Chiwoo asked.
Arisa replied.
"I'm Arisa. I'll be direct. Are you two truly from the secret realms?"
"You too?"
"Yes. But none of us other secret realm folk have seen or heard of you. If you're lying, we can't just let it slide, so I need to verify a few things."
"And if we are?"
Chiwoo shrugged.
Arisa's expression darkened.
"We'll have to officially announce you're not. We'll back off, and you'll be summoned by the inquisitors."
The inquisitors' influence on the mountain was absolute.
If exposed as liars before them, tough times awaited.
They could end up dead without a trace, like Anton.
"And if we're telling the truth?"
"We'll do our utmost to help you."
"We don't need help."
"No matter how skilled you are, surviving mid-mountain with just two people won't be easy."
Arisa said with conviction.
Chiwoo glanced at Park Chan-woo.
Park Chan-woo nodded, and Chiwoo agreed.
"Fine, let's hear what this verification is."
"Do you know a man named Cheon Ji-ho?"
"No."
Not even knowing the name of the secret realms' representative deepened suspicions.
"......What is your master's name?"
"Mucheon."
Who was that?
An unfamiliar name.
"Was this Mucheon from one of the demon realms, by chance?"
"Demon realms? What's that?"
"......We call the prisons in the secret realms demon realms."
"My master was never imprisoned in a demon realm. He lived a full life and passed peacefully."
Now it was certain.
No matter how she thought about it, these two weren't secret realm arhats.
All lies.
"However."
That was when.
Chiwoo added,
"We came from the 'Uninterrupted Hell.'"
"......!!! "