Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 33
>Chapter Title: Battle for Disciples (4)
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“This is how you plan to take me down? Why not try using that heart method instead?”
Mok Kyung-un’s mocking tone.
At those words, a furnace-like blaze of rage erupted in one corner of Mok Yu-cheon’s chest.
Just a month ago, Mok Kyung-un had been nothing more to him than a cowardly wretch, utterly devoid of any talent.
So how could this have happened?
How had everything flipped in a mere month, leaving him as the inferior one?
-Grit!
His teeth ground together.
Hadn’t he shed blood and sweat beyond mere talent just to overturn the stigma of his lowly birth?
And now, to be outdone by a demon like this?
He could no longer hold back his fury.
-Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded fiercely, the impulse of long-suppressed killing intent surging once more.
Watching him, Mok Kyung-un curled the corner of his mouth as if this was exactly what he’d hoped for.
“Good. That’s more like it.”
‘!?’
Hearing that, Mok Yu-cheon realized his mistake in an instant.
In a flash of humiliation, he’d nearly lost control of the impulse he’d barely contained.
Mok Yu-cheon bit his lip hard and forced down his anger.
He absolutely could not let this bastard have his way.
‘No. I have to endure.’
If he gave in to that impulse, he wouldn’t be able to control what he might do.
Seeing this, Mok Kyung-un let out a scoffing laugh.
This stubbornness of his was truly annoying.
Obstinately righteous, perhaps?
But having spent a short time at Timber Sword Manor and gathered information on Mok Yu-cheon, he knew his reverse scale all too well.
“For a bastard son of a lowly whore, your patience is pretty...”
The words hadn’t even finished leaving his mouth.
-Fwoosh!
In that instant, a powerful repulsive force surged from Mok Yu-cheon’s neck, sending Mok Kyung-un’s hand—and his entire body—flying backward along with it.
Mok Kyung-un, who had been launched nearly three zhang into the air, flipped in midair and landed on the ground.
-Scrrch!
Yet he was pushed back another five paces.
Regaining his stance after being repelled, Mok Kyung-un lifted his head.
‘So this is it.’
His internal energy had skyrocketed in an instant.
It felt nearly double, already surpassing the peak of the pinnacle realm.
Mok Kyung-un inwardly clicked his tongue at the sight.
‘This is how it turns out.’
Though born from a flawed incantation’s side effect, what were the odds of internal energy doubling like this?
It was like finding a needle in a sand dune—and yet it had happened.
-Sss...
Red steam poured from Mok Yu-cheon’s entire body, his appearance utterly ominous.
His skin had turned brown, and with eyes rolled back to show only the whites, the menace intensified.
Mok Kyung-un’s eyes gleamed as he observed him.
‘Ah, so that’s how it is.’
Mok Kyung-un’s vision differed from that of ordinary people.
Ever since opening his ghostly eyes infused with deathly qi, he could perceive the flow of energy.
Thus, he could witness firsthand how Mok Yu-cheon’s energy was exploding.
The mechanism was quite unique.
‘Mysterious.’
Just a few alterations to the existing heart method incantation, and this phenomenon occurred.
Well, more than a few, but still mysterious.
The depths of martial arts truly seemed boundless.
“I’ll kill you!”
It was right then.
-Pat!
With a fierce shout at Mok Kyung-un, Mok Yu-cheon launched his form forward.
With his internal energy nearly doubled, his speed was far greater than before.
In an instant, he closed in on Mok Kyung-un and swung a fist toward his head, aiming to shatter his skull.
-Tat tat tat tat!
Mok Kyung-un deployed his lightness skill, dodging the fist just as it neared his head and creating distance.
It was a razor-thin escape.
Having limited himself to the peak of the pinnacle realm, he hadn’t drawn more than twenty percent of his inner power, making evasion more efficient than blocking.
-Pak!
But as he thought he’d gained distance, Mok Yu-cheon was already right in front of him.
He then unleashed the ninth form of Timber Sword Manor’s foundational art, Timber Nine Forms: Timber Towering Resistance.
Mok Kyung-un knew this form well and tried to predict its trajectory to evade,
-Puk!
“Hup.”
In that moment, the fist’s path of Timber Towering Resistance shifted, striking his left shoulder and collarbone in succession.
Mok Kyung-un’s form was pushed back once more from the impacts.
-Scrrch!
Seeing Mok Kyung-un repelled, Blood River Valley Leader Lee Ji-yeom’s expression hardened.
And well it should—having examined the corpse of the deceased Main Murder Valley’s Yeom Ga, he knew the cause of death.
The cause: all meridians ruptured around the struck points.
This was entirely unlike ordinary internal injuries.
He’d wanted to inform his lord, Mok Kyung-un, before the spar, but with so many eyes watching, he hadn’t been able to.
‘This is bad. Why did my lord provoke that child?’
Mok Yu-cheon had seemed to be restraining that impulse himself.
Yet Mok Kyung-un’s words had made him snap, unleashing the evil art once more.
The meridians in the struck areas might already be ruptured.
‘Ah...’
Was his guess correct?
Mok Kyung-un staggered, clutching his shoulder.
Had the meridians ruptured from that single blow?
Meanwhile, Mok Yu-cheon also paused upon seeing Mok Kyung-un gripping his shoulder.
‘No way?’
Mok Yu-cheon looked at his own palm.
The sensation from striking Mok Kyung-un’s shoulder and collarbone felt strikingly similar to when he’d killed Main Murder Valley’s Yeom Ga.
As if his qi was laced with that impulse of killing intent.
‘What the hell is this?’
If he grew more accustomed to this eerie sensation, he might wield it at will.
But now wasn’t the time.
Though provoked by Mok Kyung-un’s taunts and seized by killing intent, he didn’t truly want to kill him.
He just wanted to teach that demon a harsh lesson.
But then,
“Hoo.”
Mok Kyung-un, who had been clutching his shoulder, released his hand and straightened his waist.
Seeing this, Mok Yu-cheon furrowed his brow.
The Yeom Ga he’d faced before had vomited blood from this strike, writhed in agony, and died.
Yet Mok Kyung-un’s complexion showed no abnormality.
Unfazed?
“You...”
“That all you got?”
Mok Kyung-un’s sneering tone.
Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes sharpened at the words.
He’d felt a flicker of pity, wondering if the bastard might die—how foolish of him.
“Not as impressive as I expected. The limits of your pathetic birth, after all.”
-Grit!
Red steam surged even more fiercely from Mok Yu-cheon’s body.
Veins bulged prominently.
The more agitated his emotions, the more it seemed to affect his qi circulation.
‘You bastard.’
Mok Yu-cheon clenched his fist tightly.
Good, then.
Unlike Yeom Ga, strikes to the shoulder and such could avoid fatal wounds, so he’d cripple Mok Kyung-un’s limbs for a while.
That would knock some sense into him.
-Pat!
Seized by killing intent, Mok Yu-cheon launched toward Mok Kyung-un once more.
Mok Kyung-un responded in kind.
This time, instead of retreating, he charged head-on at the oncoming Mok Yu-cheon.
The two rushed straight at each other.
-Pat!
Mok Yu-cheon’s movements were faster.
In a flash, a fist flew toward Mok Kyung-un’s face with piercing momentum.
Mok Kyung-un tilted his head to dodge, then kicked toward Mok Yu-cheon’s abdomen.
-Puk!
Mok Yu-cheon snorted as his stomach took the hit.
Unfazed by the pain, he swung down to shatter Mok Kyung-un’s leg.
However,
-Papak!
Mok Kyung-un spun his body, lifting his opposite leg to strike Mok Yu-cheon’s face.
Mok Yu-cheon evaded half a step and successfully landed a blow on Mok Kyung-un’s thigh.
-Puk!
Mok Kyung-un’s form was slightly pushed back from the strike.
-Scrrch!
Unlike before, he slid back three paces.
From Mok Kyung-un’s repelled soles, energy burst forth, and soon,
-Passsh!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the training ground floor.
Among the watching executives, Thunderbolt Fist King Won Byung-hak let out an admiring murmur.
“He deflected it.”
It was the phenomenon of channeling the opponent’s fist energy through the Surge Spring acupoint.
A form of Borrowing Strength technique.
Master it more fluidly, and one could redirect the opponent’s force amplified into something greater.
Even this alone marked exceptional qi manipulation.
‘Ahh, as expected of that child.’
Witnessing it only deepened his greed for Mok Kyung-un.
That boy wouldn’t just perfect the Thunderbolt Fist secret technique—he’d surely advance it further.
At that moment, Mok Kyung-un taunted Mok Yu-cheon again.
“Boring.”
“You!”
Enraged, Mok Yu-cheon launched at Mok Kyung-un once more.
-Pat!
‘Why? How?’
Seized by killing intent, Mok Yu-cheon grew more frantic as his anger mounted.
With his internal energy exploded, superior in every way—why couldn’t he bring the bastard down?
Did he need even stronger power?
Mok Yu-cheon circulated the flawed Timber Transforming Heart Method harder, drawing forth more energy.
It was right then.
-Tuk!
Something snapped in his rationality, and Mok Yu-cheon’s pupils turned fully brown.
He let out a beastly roar.
“Kraaaaaargh!”
The qi-infused shout evoked a lion’s roar, forcing the surrounding warriors to clamp their ears.
-Crack! Rip!
Mok Yu-cheon’s skin had gone from brown to black, veins bulging, muscles swelling until his upper garments tore.
-Goooong!
The executives rose from their seats in unison at the surging energy from Mok Yu-cheon.
His power hadn’t merely doubled—it neared triple.
Approaching the early transcendent realm.
‘What kind of evil art is that?’
‘How can his energy explode like this?’
Even Bright Sword King Son Yun and Thunderbolt Fist King Won Byung-hak couldn’t hide their shock.
This defied mere categorization as an evil art—it was an eerie phenomenon.
Heaven-Earth Society wasn’t orthodox, so evil arts weren’t forbidden, but this transcended that, embodying peril itself.
‘That child has exceeded what he can handle.’
Power beyond one’s limits leads only to destruction.
It was a temporary surge from rampage.
But beyond what Mok Kyung-un could handle.
“Valley Leader, stop the spar!”
Son Yun didn’t finish, but Lee Ji-yeom shared the thought.
The match had to end immediately.
“Understood...”
It was right then.
-Boom!
Shards of the training ground floor erupted upward as the rampaging Mok Yu-cheon charged at Mok Kyung-un.
His speed was on another level.
In the blink of an eye, he reached Mok Kyung-un and,
-Puk!
Unleashed a tyrannical fist.
Mok Kyung-un’s form didn’t just fly back—it skipped across the ground like a stone on water three times, tumbling.
-Boom! Crash! Crash! Clang clang clang!
The shattered stone floor alone hinted at the strike’s power.
At this level, his bones might be pulverized.
But the rampaging Mok Yu-cheon didn’t stop.
“Kraaaaaargh!”
Roaring again, he charged at the flung, fallen Mok Kyung-un.
It was right then,
-Pak! Boom!
Mok Yu-cheon, charging ahead, tumbled forward and collapsed.
A massive figure gripped the back of his neck—Ming Sword King Son Yun.
And holding him wasn’t just Son Yun.
Super Sound Valley Leader Hang Yeo-ryang stood before Mok Yu-cheon, fist cocked back, ready to unleash explosive might.
-Pak pak!
“Kraaaaaargh!”
Crushed in Son Yun’s grip, Mok Yu-cheon struggled.
His surged power made his body buck wildly.
But no matter how strong, he couldn’t surpass the peak transcendent Ming Sword King Son Yun’s power.
“Stay still.”
-Boom!
Son Yun pressed Mok Yu-cheon’s neck harder.
“Thunderbolt Fist King.”
With Mok Yu-cheon pinned, Son Yun called to Won Byung-hak.
Hurry and seal his acupoints.
Won Byung-hak nodded, relaxed his stance, approached Mok Yu-cheon, and attempted an acupoint strike.
-Tat tat tat tat tat!
However,
“This kid?”
“What’s wrong?”
“His acupoints have all shifted.”
“Acupoints, you say?”
“Yes. They’re all jumbled... like this, it’s...”
Knocking him out via acupoint strike would be difficult.
Then,
“I’ll handle that.”
Won Byung-hak turned at the voice.
Super Sound Valley Leader Hang Yeo-ryang stood there. She approached the pinned, thrashing Mok Yu-cheon and placed both hands near his ears.
Then,
-Pak! P’ang!
She clenched and unclenched her fists.
A powerful wave rippled out, and Mok Yu-cheon’s eyes rolled back as he tried to resist.
His movements soon stilled.
Won Byung-hak frowned and asked,
“What did you do?”
Super Sound Valley Leader Hang Yeo-ryang smiled faintly, tapping her head with a finger.
“Rang his skull a bit, shall we say?”
Using sonic arts, she generated waves that shook his brain via his eardrums.
Was this what they meant by “ringing the bones”?
No matter how strong, he couldn’t withstand the vibrations from both sides and lost consciousness.
-Rumble...
Mok Yu-cheon’s swollen muscles began to deflate.
Even his blackened skin returned to its original color.
Deeming it strange, Son Yun checked his acupoints.
‘The surged energy is subsiding. But...’
As expected.
Some meridians throughout his body were swollen from the power surge—some even ruptured—and his dantian was highly unstable.
‘Eerie. Truly eerie.’
In this state, total meridian rupture wouldn’t have been surprising.
That it stopped at partial damage was fortunate.
Otherwise, Mok Yu-cheon would’ve lost his martial arts, become crippled, or a total invalid.
Good thing they intervened quickly.
‘And that child?’
Son Yun released Mok Yu-cheon’s acupoints and looked where Mok Kyung-un had been flung.
Blood River Valley Leader Lee Ji-yeom was there.
Son Yun clicked his tongue.
‘To end up like this deciding the final chief disciple.’
What an ironic twist.
Mok Yu-cheon’s condition wasn’t good, but that strike would’ve wrecked Mok Kyung-un too.
It was then.
Mok Kyung-un staggered to his feet from where he lay.
‘!?’
Shock lit the executives’ eyes, Son Yun included.
He withstood that monstrous blow?
Nearby, Lee Ji-yeom whispered to Mok Kyung-un in astonishment.
“My lord, are you alright?”
He’d thought the near-transcendent surge would’ve gravely injured Mok Kyung-un.
Yet Mok Kyung-un smiled casually.
“I’m fine.”
“But that last one was...”
“Ahh. At this level, it’s a pattern I can’t dodge.”
“Pardon?”
What did that mean?
Unable to dodge at this level?
As confusion swirled, Mok Kyung-un lightly rolled his neck.
-Crack! Crack!
“Taking it on purpose, even faking pain—it’s all work.”
“Ha...”
Lee Ji-yeom was dumbfounded.
He’d deliberately taken that insane blow?
But what stunned more was Mok Kyung-un’s truly unscathed appearance.
And the amazement didn’t end there.
“Still, seeing it up close let me learn something good.”
“Pardon?”
What did that mean?
As they puzzled,
-Crack! Crack!
Veins bulged on Mok Kyung-un’s left hand, muscles swelling from wrist to fingers, skin turning black.
‘!!!!!!’