Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 32
>Chapter Title: Last Gateway (4)
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At the moment when Mok Kyung-un was struck in the ribs and chest by Mujang-yak's trump card and sent flying back.
-Shwaaaa!
"Hah!"
In an instant, exclamations erupted from the spectator seats beside the platform watching the spar.
It wasn't just them.
Even the cadets waiting for their next turns couldn't hide their astonishment at the scene unfolding before their eyes.
'...So that's what it meant.'
Mok Yu-cheon stuck out his tongue as he watched Mok Kyung-un being pushed back.
There had been exactly one chance to gauge Mujang-yak's skills, and it came to mind now.
[Are you perhaps left-handed?]
[Who knows.]
He had been puzzled by the vague response at that moment but soon forgot about it.
Now, seeing the Right Fist Left Palm technique with entirely different forms for each hand, it all made sense.
It wasn't a technique just anyone could pull off recklessly.
'Amazing.'
Mok Yu-cheon was genuinely impressed.
If one could wield different martial arts with each hand, it was like fighting as two people in one body.
And since it wasn't two people performing it, it could even be more refined.
Of course, pulling it off required splitting one's focus, making it incredibly difficult.
In any case, witnessing Mujang-yak's secret art had sent shivers of excitement racing through his heart.
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
The world was vast indeed.
To think there was a monster like this among his peers.
'I was just a frog in a well, after all.'
Coming here had opened his eyes—no need for arrogance.
Mok Yu-cheon clicked his tongue as he looked at Mok Kyung-un.
It seemed he had finally met a worthy opponent.
'Impossible.'
Even with some bizarre sorcery learned, this spar was a stage to prove one's own skills.
He still didn't know the reason for the sudden surge in strength, but the opponent was just too unfavorable.
Mujang-yak was truly a genius worthy of the title.
-Pat!
Now, Mujang-yak appeared ready to finish it off.
Even he himself felt at a loss on how to counter the Right Fist Left Palm right away.
For now, all he could do was create distance...
'!?'
In that instant, Mok Yu-cheon's eyes widened in shock.
-Pak!
So startled was he that Mok Yu-cheon shot to his feet right there.
'What the hell...'
For a moment, he doubted his own eyes.
Mok Kyung-un was unleashing different martial arts forms with each hand, just like Mujang-yak.
Sword forms with the right hand and fist forms with the left,
'...Is this even possible?'
It wasn't a clumsy imitation—he was executing proper forms.
Mok Yu-cheon was utterly shocked by the sight.
He had been certain that even a peerless master couldn't easily replicate such an bizarre technique, yet what was this?
'Unbelievable.'
He couldn't believe his eyes even after seeing it.
How could anyone replicate it perfectly after just one glance?
He wasn't the only one stunned.
"......Hah!"
Cheo-eum Valley Lord Hang Yeo-ryang let out a gasp through narrowed eyes.
She had already judged the match decided after seeing Mujang-yak's Right Fist Left Palm.
But something utterly unexpected had happened.
'He's mimicking that?'
Wielding different martial arts forms with each hand.
It was a technique far more difficult to execute in practice than it sounded in theory.
If it were easy, countless martial artists would already be doing it.
'......The real genius was someone else.'
She had thought Mujang-yak was a rare genius upon seeing the Right Fist Left Palm.
But in that instant, her mind changed completely.
If Mok Kyung-un had truly mastered the Right Fist Left Palm after just one look, then she might be witnessing a once-in-centuries prodigy right before her eyes.
-Swish!
Hang Yeo-ryang glanced at the Dark Clan Leader.
The Dark Clan Leader was so shocked that his mouth hung slightly open, unable to tear his eyes away from Mok Kyung-un for even a second.
Who wouldn't be amazed by this?
Her eyes gleamed with a strange light.
She had already lost the inner bet, effectively.
But that no longer mattered.
'Mok Kyung-un...'
She had originally shown no interest in the boys and come only to take Mo Hwarang of the Flower Room.
But now, her thoughts had completely changed.
It was unthinkable to let such tremendous talent slip away.
'Maybe this works out better in the end?'
Having lost the bet, she could yield the Flower Room girl to the Dark Clan Leader on those grounds and take this monstrous boy instead—a far greater gain.
Meanwhile, the flow of the match visibly shifted.
-Papapak!
"Kuh!"
The sword forms from Mok Kyung-un's right hand struck the blood points on Mujang-yak's left chest—Yugyeon, Ilwol—and left arm—Sohae—causing his stance to waver as he was pushed sideways.
'The sword forms change too much.'
The fist technique from his left hand was straightforward and rigid, easy enough to block, but the sword forms from the right were varied and intricate, leading him to miss three in a row.
'What a monstrous bastard!'
Mujang-yak was truly dumbfounded.
He had thought Mok Kyung-un's Right Sword Left Fist might be a temporary ploy to throw him off.
After all, wielding different forms with each hand required not just split focus but special qi circulation methods, which Mok Kyung-un couldn't possibly know.
Yet,
-Papapapapak!
The forms Mok Kyung-un unleashed with both hands were no feints.
He was genuinely performing different techniques.
'At this rate, I'll lose.'
Realizing he was in trouble, Mujang-yak tried to widen the distance.
His mind was too divided.
Normally, the Right Fist Left Palm would fluster the opponent into failing to counter both, but with Mok Kyung-un mirroring it with Right Sword Left Fist, the clash of forms grew chaotic.
'Dizzying.'
Even the originator, Mujang-yak, felt disoriented.
Thus,
-Tatatatatak!
Mujang-yak unleashed his lightness skill, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and Mok Kyung-un.
But Mok Kyung-un wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
"Where do you think you're going?"
-Pat!
Mok Kyung-un boldly shot toward Mujang-yak.
'Tch.'
Seeing it wouldn't work, Mujang-yak gathered qi into his soles and stomped the ground.
-Thud!
-Paaaa!
The plaza floor cracked, sending stone fragments flying upward.
The qi-infused shards became dozens of small projectiles hurtling toward Mok Kyung-un.
Naturally, he had no choice but to dodge.
But in that split second,
-Shwaaaa!
Mok Kyung-un bent his knees backward, arched his waist, and slid across the ground like a snake, evading the fragments.
'No way?'
How could he think to dodge backward in such a low stance?
The strength in his waist and legs was extraordinary.
But pulling off such a stunt to dodge was impressive—yet it inevitably left a fatal opening.
'Fool. You messed up!'
-Pat!
Seizing the chance, Mujang-yak twisted his body mid-air and launched a tyrannical palm strike down toward Mok Kyung-un's abdomen.
It was right then.
-Papapapapak!
"Urk!"
Mujang-yak had assumed this posture would create a blind spot, preventing any immediate counter.
Yet, as he brought his palm down, Mok Kyung-un—who had been nearly supine—spun his body sideways in a whirl, unleashing a barrage of kicks at Mujang-yak's jaw.
'How, from this position?'
-Thud!
Unable to contain his shock, Mujang-yak collapsed backward.
"Huu."
Mok Kyung-un rose to his feet and looked down at the fallen Mujang-yak.
His jaw and face had taken repeated blows, shaking his brain—he seemed to have passed out.
'Sequential Mysterious Leg Technique, Fifth Form: Revolving Wind Kick... Pretty useful.'
It wasn't meant for use in such an unbalanced stance, but employing it then perfectly exploited the opponent's carelessness.
Qing Ling's arts were truly supreme.
At that moment, Qing Ling's voice echoed in Mok Kyung-un's ear.
-You must have been eager to end it quickly.
'......'
-Do you think this seat wouldn't notice? You put extra power into that final form.
'Busted.'
Mok Kyung-un scratched his head.
His original plan was to win using only forms within peak-level power.
But midway through the Revolving Wind Kick, he had boosted his internal energy from 20% to 30% on the final strike.
'Well, this should be fine, right?'
He hadn't done anything to reveal his true power.
Most of the executives on the platform were beyond-peak masters, so to avoid exposing himself, he had limited himself to 20% internal energy.
Moreover, even when Mujang-yak showed openings midway, Mok Kyung-un had let them slide several times.
-Don't get complacent. If they learn you've already reached beyond-peak realm, it'll go beyond "talented" and put you on their guard.
'Yes, yes. I'll keep it in mind.'
That's why he was regulating his power.
Otherwise, Mujang-yak would have been flat on the ground long ago.
Still, fighting with power control seemed like the right call.
'Thanks to that, I learned something interesting.'
Having reached the beyond-peak realm, Mok Kyung-un could now perceive opponents' qi more clearly.
Thus, though not in full detail, he could roughly gauge the qi circulation paths in Mujang-yak.
Curiously, Mujang-yak had two lower dantians.
An unusual structure, which apparently allowed him to perform two different forms with one body.
Mok Kyung-un had mimicked this by drawing out some of the dead qi from his middle dantian to execute different forms.
'Useful.'
If applied well, it would be handy against enemies of similar level.
In any case, had he achieved his goal here?
His aim in this final gateway was to impress the observing executives with his superior talent using only peak-level prowess.
'This should be enough?'
Of course, Mok Kyung-un's intent had succeeded.
He had firmly imprinted his talent on the minds of the watching executives.
But beyond success, a small contention had arisen among the executives on the platform.
"Brother Son, it seems I must take that Mok Kyung-un boy as my disciple."
At Thunderclap Fist King Won Byeong-hak's words, Luminous Sword King Son Yun raised one eyebrow and replied.
"...What are you saying? Didn't you just say you'd take the Bi-gyeong Gate boy?"
"I said I was considering it. But... no. To be honest, if I let that boy slip away at today's cadet ceremony, I'll regret it for a while."
"Can one with the 'King' title speak with a forked tongue?"
"Heh. I said the Bi-gyeong Gate boy was in mind. When did I ever say for certain that I'd take him without fail? And Brother Son, you already have many fine disciples—why covet another now?"
"Covet? Did you just say I'm coveting from you?"
"Then what is this if not coveting?"
Before long, the atmosphere between them had grown quite hostile.
'This is...'
Though the first match had ended and it was time to announce it, Blood Chrono Valley Lord Lee Ji-yeom was at a loss over the sudden clash between these two kings.
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