Chapter 452
Chapter 452
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 116
>Chapter Title: Arrangement (4)
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Watching the dagger spin around him like a living thing, Mok Kyung-un furrowed his brow.
At first glance, it looked like an utterly ordinary dagger.
It didn't appear to be forged from some rare thousand-year iron or special metal, so how had it altered the trajectory of a strike that concentrated all power into a single point?
Was it because of that white lightning-like flash on the dagger in that split second?
He was pondering this when—
"Impressive. To think you'd force even the Graceblade into action."
"!?"
What was that supposed to mean?
Not just making him use his sword, but the sword stepping forward?
It was as if he were treating the sword like a being with its own personality.
-Gwoooooh!
In that moment of bewilderment, natural energy from all directions surged toward the iron sword of the ogre-masked man.
Along with the rebound—
-Kiiiing!
Mok Kyung-un's form, which had been holding the ogre-masked man in place, was instantly flung backward.
The force was so immense that he was pushed back over twenty張 in a flash, soaring past the mountain peak and over the cliff beyond.
It was a sheer drop with no footing,
-Pat!
but Mok Kyung-un stomped the air with his qi, unleashing Void Step.
The moment he kicked off the empty air to launch himself back at the ogre mask—
-Boom!
He saw the ogre-masked man plant his foot on the ground and thrust his iron sword toward him.
From the sword tip, sword momentum spiraled into a vortex, sweeping toward Mok Kyung-un with storm-like ferocity.
'This is?'
Mok Kyung-un instantly recognized what the man was unleashing.
It was Chasing Vortex Sword, one of Jin Ye-rin's signature techniques from the Starlight Sword Art.
But this Chasing Vortex Sword was different from the one he knew.
While Jin Ye-rin's version rotated sword momentum in a spiral to overwhelm the foe,
-Shwaa shwaa shwaa shwak!
this one contained another reverse-spiraling sword momentum within.
This eliminated the sole weakness at the vortex's center, transforming it into a near-flawless sword strike.
Moreover,
-Shuk! Shuk!
the dagger, now spewing white lightning from behind, was tracing paths along the routes Mok Kyung-un tried to evade, blocking his escape.
'A dilemma with no advance or retreat. What will you do?'
The ogre-masked man observed Mok Kyung-un intently.
Right then—
-Sruk!
Mok Kyung-un raised sword seals with both left and right hands simultaneously.
He extended his left hand toward the white lightning's trajectory—
-Boom!
—and the demon sword Grimreaper erupted from the mountain peak's floor, drawing a black arc to clash with the dagger guarding his rear.
-King king king king king!
Black lines and white lines filled the air in a chaotic clash—a spectacular sight.
Yet the vortex of sword momentum still bore down on him.
Then, as Mok Kyung-un raised his right-hand sword seal—
-Woooong!
three massive formless swords materialized before him.
With a circular motion of his sword seal, the three formless swords spun like a windmill at even intervals.
The rotating formless swords created a shield of razor-sharp wind pressure.
Seeing this, the ogre-masked man smirked.
"Formless swords won't work—you already knew that."
He extended his left hand toward the shield of formless swords Mok Kyung-un had created.
Intending to scatter its energy.
But in that instant—
-Paaaang!
The space at the center of the ogre mask's vortex rippled like waves, sucking the sword momentum inward.
-Paaaang!
'Resonance Form?'
It was the Resonance Form, one of the Eight Forms of the Void.
With the reverse-spinning sword momentum at the vortex's heart vanishing, it reverted to the original Chasing Vortex Sword shape.
Mok Kyung-un's form blurred as a black line streaked toward the center.
-Shwick!
Concentrating power into a single point to pierce the core.
Then—
-Sruk!
the ogre mask extended his left index finger.
In that fleeting moment, the space right before him rippled outward, compressing the surrounding area.
"Pity. Good strategy, but writing characters before the young master..."
The ogre mask flinched!
In that instant, he sensed sharp auras descending from above and both sides.
The formless swords, which he'd meant to use as a shield, were now spinning toward him like a windmill from three directions.
He couldn't move while unleashing Chasing Vortex Sword.
So the ogre mask's choice was—
-Crunch!
to withdraw his qi and endure the strain on his body.
Halting the Chasing Vortex Sword, he leaped upward, gracefully drawing a circle with his sword.
In that moment—
-Pachichichichik!
Lightning struck from a clear sky, coiling around the iron sword.
It wasn't mere thunder qi.
'Thunderclap Sky Escape: Leech Form Sword of the Starlight Sword Art!'
From the lightning-wreathed sword, thunder-infused sword momentum extended like supple willow branches in all directions.
It surged like waves, clashing with the three formless swords spinning in from all sides.
-King king king! Pa cha cha chang!
The spinning formless swords' momentum collided with the thunder-wrapped sword momentum, sparks exploding everywhere as thunder qi and wind pressure mixed into a massive shockwave.
-Pachichichik! Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
It rent the mountain peak, laying it to waste.
Fragments of the shattered peak flew outward, and with their supports gone, the formless swords and thunder-charged strikes canceled each other out.
-Thud!
From the crumbling floor, the ogre-masked man lightly propelled his form and scanned for Mok Kyung-un.
It had looked like he'd been pulled into the Resonance Form midway, but Mok Kyung-un had escaped.
He was surely aiming for a high-speed strike.
-Sruk! Sruk!
'Found you.'
Through the ogre mask's slits, he spotted Mok Kyung-un using the shattering peak's debris as footholds, employing lightness skill to close in.
Darting to and fro on the fragments, his movements were utterly elusive.
'Innate senses and adaptability beyond compare.'
The ogre mask inwardly clicked his tongue in admiration.
Completely unaffected by the terrain, adapting flawlessly—it was impressive.
"It's been ages since someone stirred my fighting spirit like this."
He hadn't expected the fight to drag on this long.
There were constraints of this artificial space and mental projection, and his original goal had been to test and judge him.
Yet amid the clash, the boy's nonstop growth had ignited his competitive fire.
-Woooong!
A resonant hum emanated from the iron sword in the ogre mask's hand.
He grinned beneath the mask and murmured.
"You feel it too, huh? Southheaven."
With his spirits fully roused, the ogre mask gripped the sword he called Southheaven tightly, assuming a proper battle stance. The dagger flew to his side, emitting its own resonance.
-Woooong! Woooong!
It almost looked like the dagger was chattering away.
The ogre mask furrowed his brow, then waved it off as if to say he got it.
"Alright, alright. Enough."
Soon, his eyes caught Mok Kyung-un hurtling toward him ferociously—
-Clang!
The ogre mask sheathed his sword and extended both hands, gesturing as if sweeping to the sides.
In that instant—
-Kwarurururung!
The shattered peak's fragments were pushed aside by an invisible force.
The collapsed peak's ground surged up, forming a flat surface.
Despite the bizarre phenomenon, Mok Kyung-un didn't halt, pressing his sword strike toward the ogre mask with murderous intent and power focused to a point.
His senses sharpening, he molded the strike ever closer to perfection.
As the ogre mask reached toward him—
-Pshooooosh!
A waterfall-like jet of water erupted upward from the ground without warning.
Mok Kyung-un burst through the reverse torrent, soaking himself completely—
-Pak!
—and emerged to an even stranger sight.
"!?"
The surroundings had become a verdant meadow, with a round table and teacups at its center.
The ogre-masked man sat there, pouring hot tea into a cup.
Mok Kyung-un's wariness spiked at the scene.
This man wasn't just overwhelmingly strong—he seemed nigh omnipotent in this space.
Pausing, Mok Kyung-un addressed him.
"What is this now?"
"Can't you tell? Let's have some tea."
"Tea?"
"Indeed. I've confirmed you've reached a certain realm. No need to fight further."
"Confirmed?"
One of Mok Kyung-un's eyebrows arched.
Had this bastard been testing him?
A vague displeasure welled up, but—
"Feeling sore about being tested?"
As if reading his mind, the ogre-masked man shrugged.
Mok Kyung-un let out a faint sigh and spoke.
"Where the hell is this place?"
"I'll answer if you sit and have a cup. Unlike my mental projection, you're real flesh and blood—you must be exhausted."
'Mental projection?'
He'd just said "mental projection," hadn't he?
Mok Kyung-un's eyes scanned the surroundings.
It felt vividly alive, yet nothing truly registered. Was that the source?
'Mindscape? No. Something higher-dimensional.'
'This is constructed more vividly than a spirit domain. Mortal.'
Agreeing with the voice of the Azure Spirit, Mok Kyung-un nodded.
A mental projection should exist only as imagery in the mind, yet this mimicked reality.
It deceived all five senses.
Much like the Zhen Form's vast hypnosis.
Turning to the ogre-masked man filling a teacup, Mok Kyung-un said,
"Who are you?"
"Stubborn one. I'm offering tea so kindly."
-Step step!
As Mok Kyung-un approached, he continued.
"Starlight Sword Art surpassing Jin Ye-rin's... mastery of the Eight Void Forms beyond even mine... and that ogre mask identical to the lingering intent in Shaolin."
"Hoo."
"You... Jin Ye-rin's ancestor?"
That was the conclusion Mok Kyung-un drew from the clues.
Even if it didn't make sense, his mind settled on it.
The ogre-masked man rested his chin on his laced fingers and spoke.
"The secrets of heaven are like mist—simple, readable in their flow. I wondered if we'd ever meet like this, but here we are."
"......"
-Sruk!
The man grasped the ogre mask and continued.
"I don't know how I'm remembered now, but there was a time I was called the Blood Demon, reviled as a villain, and another when I was the Sword Immortal, paragon of the righteous."
-Tak!
The ogre mask came off.
Revealing his face.
A handsome man whose pupils oddly held both crimson and gold.
"But as you said, I'm just me. Jin Un-hwi. As you guessed, ancestor to that child Jin Ye-rin."
[Chapter 116: Arrangement (4)] End