Chapter 357
Chapter 357
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 94
>Chapter Title: Extreme Blade (3)
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The Blade Wanderer opened his mouth with an intensely exhilarated expression.
“Heavenly Demon!”
Mok Kyung-un parted his lips with an intrigued glint in his eyes at the man’s voice, unable to contain his excitement.
“I was going to kill you, but you blocked it, huh?”
In the instant he had tried to kill Ji Oe.
Mok Kyung-un had aimed to pierce the man’s throat, exploiting the opening revealed at that critical moment.
Yet the force he had swung came to a halt in a flash, reversing direction to block the sword strike with his blade.
Mok Kyung-un’s gaze naturally shifted to the man’s wrists and waist.
Incredibly developed muscles were visible even through the folds of his clothing.
‘...The grain is different.’
In Mok Kyung-un’s memories, the most developed muscles belonged to Yu Mu-jin.
If Yu Mu-jin’s muscles represented the ideal form of development, this man’s were quite different from those of ordinary people.
Then, Ji Oe, whose life had been saved thanks to Mok Kyung-un, spoke up.
“Who are you?”
“You don’t need to know that. Step back.”
“...”
He felt slightly insulted and annoyed, but he soon suppressed the emotion out of gratitude for having his life spared.
“I don’t know who you are, but that man isn’t someone you can face alone. So put aside your pride and let’s join forces...”
-Pang!
In that instant, Ji Oe was flung backward by the rebounding force that pushed him away.
“What is this...”
-Chaeng!
At that moment, the Blade Wanderer’s broadsword clashed with Mok Kyung-un’s demon sword, Akjeuk.
The air tore with a screech, and an immense pressure wave erupted centered on the two, cracking the cliff floor.
Seeing this, Ji Oe involuntarily swallowed dryly.
-Gulp!
If he had been even a little slower, he would have been caught in the aftermath.
‘...Who the hell is this guy?’
He had thought the only one capable of facing that monstrous Blade Wanderer was Gu Cheon-mu, one of the Six Heavens and the head of Spirit Sword Manor.
Yet from the clash of that one sword and one blade, they seemed almost evenly matched.
That meant this mysterious young man was another monster on par with him.
‘Where the hell are all these monsters suddenly coming from?’
It was utterly baffling.
Likewise, the surviving sword experts nearby and the elders of Hangsan Sect, including Jeong Myeong and the others, couldn’t hide their shock at the appearance of yet another peerless master.
He didn’t even look twenty yet, and he wasn’t pushed back at all against that Blade Wanderer.
-Parr!
The Blade Wanderer’s blade and Mok Kyung-un’s Akjeuk trembled fiercely as they collided.
In that state, the Blade Wanderer spoke.
“Heavenly Demon. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”
“...What an amusing day. To encounter another who calls me by that name.”
“Another?”
“How do you know me?”
At Mok Kyung-un’s question, the Blade Wanderer smiled and replied.
“Who in the world wouldn’t know you, the originator and legend?”
“Originator?”
One of Mok Kyung-un’s eyebrows arched up.
What was this now?
Originator?
-Gooo!
As he puzzled over it, the Blade Wanderer raised his energy and said.
“You first appeared in the martial world boldly at Shaolin, the holy ground of Buddhism—antithetical to demons—and the birthplace of Central Plains martial arts. Second at the Sichuan Tang Clan, and third at this place called the sanctuary of swords, Spirit Sword Manor... It was worth the wait. Indeed.”
-Kiririk!
As the Blade Wanderer’s energy continued to rise, blue sparks flew from Mok Kyung-un’s demon sword Akjeuk, which was pressed against it, and it began to be pushed back.
And it wasn’t just the sword being pushed.
-Charr!
Even the two feet bracing against the ground were sliding backward.
A gleam flashed in Mok Kyung-un’s eyes.
He hadn’t yet unleashed the power of the Three Eyes, but even with the Ghost Eye open, he couldn’t sense the limit of this man’s energy.
The true qi was so vast it felt like a massive energy mass, impossible to gauge.
Sensing that he held the advantage in internal energy, the corner of the Blade Wanderer’s mouth lifted.
“This seat’s inner arts have surpassed human limits.”
“I see.”
“What a pity. I targeted this moment to confirm for sure, but if I’d known, I should have struck when you’d barely taken your first steps.”
“You’ve been spouting incomprehensible nonsense since earlier.”
“Hahaha. Just let it slide. It’s not something you can understand anyway.”
-Charr!
The Blade Wanderer’s energy surged further, continuously pushing Mok Kyung-un’s form backward.
Certain of his superiority in internal energy, the Blade Wanderer intended to overwhelm Mok Kyung-un with sheer power.
However,
-Kwaduk!
At some point, Mok Kyung-un’s feet dug into the ground like stakes, coming to a complete stop.
The Blade Wanderer’s eyes narrowed.
He was clearly superior in internal energy, so what was this sudden surge of power?
It was right then.
-Goooo!
-Hic!
A ferociously savage black energy poured from Mok Kyung-un’s entire body like heat haze, dyeing the blade of the pressed demon sword Akjeuk pitch black.
It wasn’t that the energy itself had grown; rather, the power had explosively intensified and concentrated.
From being pushed back moments ago to now evenly matched again, the Blade Wanderer didn’t show dismay but burst into狂 laughter.
“Hahaha! Yes! This is what makes you a legend!”
“Shut up.”
-Pat!
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un’s left hand targeted the Blade Wanderer’s eyes.
The Blade Wanderer jerked his head aside, releasing the force from his blade.
As a result, Mok Kyung-un’s form lurched in the direction he had been swinging his sword.
Seeing that,
-Pat!
The Blade Wanderer released his gripped blade and unleashed an extremely swift blade strike with his hand blade, aiming to sever Mok Kyung-un’s wrist.
-Chaeng!
However, the strike failed to cut Mok Kyung-un’s right arm.
It was because the demon sword Geopsal at his waist had drawn itself out, blocking the Blade Wanderer’s hand blade.
‘To block Extreme Swift Killing Blade like this—truly living up to the legend. Then how about this?’
In that moment, the Blade Wanderer unleashed another blade draw with his left hand.
Just like before, it was the Extreme Swift Killing Blade technique.
The left-handed blade draw aimed to split Mok Kyung-un’s head in half in one stroke.
However,
-Pat!
In that instant, Mok Kyung-un narrowly dodged it and created distance backward.
Since it was a downward cleaving strike, there was no way to block or evade except by dodging, but once even a little distance was made,
-Cha-cha-cha-chang!
He could counter the blade draw.
Mok Kyung-un’s Akjeuk and the Blade Wanderer’s hand blade infused with ferocity filled the space between them. The speed was so blinding that even experts who had surpassed Wall Realm like Ji Oe couldn’t easily follow with the naked eye.
Naturally, it was invisible to ordinary sword experts or Jeong Myeong and the others.
‘Too fast.’
‘M-monsters.’
The sword and blade exchanged by the two peerless masters embodied the essence of swiftness.
What was even more astonishing was that the distance between them was merely three paces.
Even a slight mistake in this range where a fatal blow could fly at any moment would be deadly, yet there was no disruption in their offense and defense.
Watching their duel, an exclamation escaped Ji Oe’s lips.
“Hah...”
Jeong Myeong asked in surprise.
“Amitabha. Senior, can you see that?”
“...Do you think I can see it clearly? I can only catch glimpses.”
“Then why the sigh of admiration?”
“Their exchanges are on another level.”
The trajectories of the Blade Wanderer’s blade draws, executed with extreme swiftness, came at impossible angles, fluidly and unpredictably pressuring the opponent. Meanwhile, the young swordsman countered with equally swift sword draws, astonishingly using both hands for different techniques.
Using different techniques with each hand was tantamount to facing two opponents at once, allowing him to counter the bizarre incoming blade trajectories.
‘To witness such an incredible duel right before my eyes.’
He couldn’t help but be awestruck.
-Cha-cha-cha-chang!
They had exchanged around twenty techniques like this in a flash.
It seemed like it would continue indefinitely, but the Blade Wanderer first launched his form backward, creating distance.
It wasn’t because he couldn’t hold out in the exchange.
-Shuk!
If he had been a moment slower, the demon sword Iksal, cloaked in black steel qi, would have pierced him.
Watching the flying demon sword Iksal, the Blade Wanderer inwardly clicked his tongue.
He hadn’t expected him to deploy Flying Sword Steel Force technique amid using entirely different sword forms with both hands.
He was handling the work of three people single-handedly.
‘Already at this level.’
He had sparred with countless peerless masters to hone his experience.
Thus, he had been confident not only in his internal energy but also in experience and insight.
But that assumption had been wrong.
‘...I thought he was just a novice starting to make a name.’
He was anything but.
The corner of the Blade Wanderer’s mouth twisted subtly.
Not even twenty yet, already reaching this realm... As expected, this clan’s talent was dangerously enviable.
‘Indeed, best to uproot it from the source.’
-Shuk! Chaeng!
The Blade Wanderer lightly deflected the incoming black Flying Sword Steel Force with his left hand blade and extended his right hand.
His broadsword on the ground was sucked into his hand.
Gripping the blade, the Blade Wanderer soon raised his energy even further.
“Warm-up’s over. Now let’s get serious.”
-Goooo!
The energy emanating from him was so intense that the watching sword experts’ faces paled in terror.
As his energy grew stronger and sharper, Mok Kyung-un’s eyes turned serious.
It seemed until now had just been probing.
Seeing the man intend to go all out, he too would need to unleash his full power without holding back.
Thus,
-Goooo!
He raised his demonic qi to Ten Stars power.
A chilling, ferocious energy spread in all directions, making the already overwhelmed sword experts tremble and stagger back.
To them, these two peerless masters were already monsters beyond human bounds.
Staying too close seemed dangerous.
However,
-Sruk!
As Mok Kyung-un and the Blade Wanderer raised their energies to full power for the decisive clash, they simultaneously looked toward somewhere.
It was none other than,
-Woooong!
“W-what is this?”
The orb—no, the pearl—shining brilliantly in the hand of Gu Ung-seong, the second son of Spirit Sword Manor’s former head.
Gu Ung-hwang, the young manor head who had been silently demanding he hand over the pearl, and Gu Yeon-u and Ye Song-a, the granddaughter of Seonghwa Commandery’s leader right beside him, were equally astonished by the phenomenon.
-Woooong!
The light from the pearl surpassed that of a night pearl.
It was enough to illuminate the entire vicinity.
Even more astonishing was the tremendous energy flowing from the pearl.
‘...Could that be the True Origin?’
Feeling the immense energy from the pearl, the Blade Wanderer suspected it might be the True Origin.
No, with this level of energy, it had to be.
The Blade Wanderer extended his hand toward Gu Ung-seong, mimicking a pulling motion.
Then,
-Pak!
The pearl in Gu Ung-seong’s hand tried to fly toward the Blade Wanderer, drawn by his majestic energy.
“Huh?”
Panicked, Gu Ung-seong clutched it with both hands, trying not to let go.
But Gu Ung-seong’s power was no match for the Blade Wanderer’s.
Having raised his internal energy near its peak, even Gu Ung-seong’s body floated up with the pearl and began flying.
The shocked Gu Ung-hwang hurriedly shouted.
“Let it go!”
But Gu Ung-seong clung to the pearl without releasing it.
Captivated by its eerie allure, he didn’t even hear his eldest brother Gu Ung-hwang’s voice.
His only thought was not to let it be taken.
However,
-Kung!
His flying body soon dropped to the ground midway.
‘Interfering with my qi?’
The Blade Wanderer glared at Mok Kyung-un, furrowing his brow.
He hadn’t expected interference dispersing the energy he’d sent for Void Grasping.
Did that mean his understanding of qi surpassed his own?
Or had he learned some special technique?
-Pat!
The Blade Wanderer immediately launched his form.
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
If that was the True Origin, he had to obtain it somehow.
-Sruk!
Reaching Gu Ung-seong in an instant, the Blade Wanderer tried to sever the arm clutching the pearl.
However,
-Chaeng!
At the perfect moment, Mok Kyung-un blocked his blade.
Having blocked it, Mok Kyung-un tried to deploy Void Grasping with his qi to push him away.
However,
-Parr!
Gu Ung-seong’s body merely trembled in place, unmoving.
It was because the Blade Wanderer had similarly bound him with qi to prevent escape.
The Blade Wanderer used a variation to once more slice at Gu Ung-seong’s arm.
-Chaeng!
Of course, Mok Kyung-un wouldn’t just watch and countered with his own variation, blocking the blade.
-Cha-cha-cha-chang!
This repeated five times in a flash, leaving Gu Ung-seong’s face and body covered in wounds.
Though Mok Kyung-un had blocked exquisitely, enduring the aftermath of the two peerless masters’ sword and blade ferocity unscathed would have been the strange thing.
-Juruk!
Bloodied from sword and blade cuts, in agony one would expect, Gu Ung-seong still gripped the pearl, showing no intent to release it.
At this, the Blade Wanderer smirked sinisterly.
Then,
-Chok!
He swung his blade as if to sever Gu Ung-seong’s arm, only to,
-Puk!
Thrust it into the ground.
In that instant, eight blade auras erupted centered on the blade, cleaving the ground.
‘That’s?’
Ji Oe recognized it.
It was one of the Blade Wanderer’s ultimate techniques: Eight Immortals Blade Contest.
A technique possessing explosive power.
‘!?’
Its might was incomparable to before.
The blade auras bursting from the ground shook the earth like an earthquake.
-Kururung! Jjeojeok! Jjeok!
Someone shouted then.
“E-everyone, fall back!”
“The cliff is collapsing!”
Unable to withstand the steel qi blade auras, the cliff floor not only cracked but began crumbling.
As the ground shook and tilted toward the precipice, Mok Kyung-un urgently grabbed Gu Ung-seong by the scruff and leaped upward.
-Pat!
Soaring nearly four jang high, he tried to toss Gu Ung-seong.
In that moment,
“I’ve been waiting.”
The Blade Wanderer, who had already soared higher, extended his left hand toward Mok Kyung-un.
Then,
-Pachichichichik!
Blue streaks of lightning spread like roots, blanketing the air.
The range was so vast there was no room to dodge.
-Chichichichik!
Mok Kyung-un and Gu Ung-seong, directly struck by the spreading lightning, flashed with blue electricity.
Gazing at them electrocuted, the Blade Wanderer moved his form.
Kicking off the air, he seized the opening to behead Mok Kyung-un in one stroke.
-Pat
‘Struck by lightning qi, not only the muscles but even internal energy stiffens. Heavenly Demon, this must be your first time experiencing...’
It was then.
-Chaeng!
‘!?’
He had assumed he couldn’t move after being hit by the lightning qi.
Yet Mok Kyung-un’s body, still sparking with lightning flames, moved unaffected and blocked his blade strike.
‘How?’
It was incomprehensible.
This wasn’t energy obtainable through mere inner arts.
It was power gained through the Dragon Ghost’s True Origin—even any supreme master struck by lightning qi would have their internal energy stiffen, temporarily losing power.
So how could he move?
As he puzzled over it,
-Pat!
Mok Kyung-un, who had blocked his blade, twisted in midair, kicking the sky with Void Treading Step and diving downward.
It was for Gu Ung-seong falling into the precipice.
Thanks to his experience with Guhyeolgyo’s Blood Star Priest Dan Baek-ha, he had endured the lightning qi in a flash to block the blade strike, but some muscles stiffened involuntarily, causing him to drop Gu Ung-seong.
-Shuuu!
He didn’t care if Gu Ung-seong fell to his death into the ravine, but the pearl had to be recovered.