Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Exposed Sword Aura
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With a harsh, whistling horizontal swing of the wooden sword, the air itself seemed to scream as Jinmu's waist bent backward at an impossible angle, his feet shooting up into the air to evade the strike. Mo Ik-sang, having deflected the momentum with a sharp jerk of his elbow, allowed the wooden blade to transition into a heavy vertical drop, aiming to cleave his opponent in two.
The instant the vertically dropping strike hurtled toward him with enough momentum to split a boulder, Jinmu jerked his body back and sprawled flat against the dusty ground. In a move that looked more like a street brawl than a refined duel, he rolled through the dirt.
'Rolling in the dirt like a common dog?' Mo Ik-sang wore a triumphant smirk as he watched the scene, believing he had finally humbled the arrogant priest. He had forced the bastard to roll on the ground just as he had been forced to do moments before.
But then, a dull impact rippled through his back with a sudden, jarring thud. As he rolled, Jinmu had used his surprising arm strength to right himself with a violent twist, and his foot slammed into Mo Ik-sang's spine with enough force to rattle his teeth. Like a coiled spring suddenly released, Jinmu bounced back to his feet.
Staggered by the shock, Mo Ik-sang hurriedly halted his momentum, spun around, and swung his wooden sword backward in a desperate arc. The sound of the wood slicing through empty air was the only response he received. Jinmu, whom he had expected to press the attack, had leaped back instead, slinging his scabbard over his shoulder once more while wearing a mocking sneer.
'This little brat is toying with me,' Mo Ik-sang thought, his face twisting into a mask of pure rage. As a martial artist of his standing, what should have been a moment of shame—rolling on the ground—had been turned into a tactical maneuver by his opponent.
"Ah, did you truly believe I was just going to roll around in the dirt for your amusement?" Jinmu asked, his voice dripping with exasperation.
Killing intent began to boil within Mo Ik-sang at the sight of that grin. "You bastard... you dare..."
"Dare? You punk, just you wait. Why do you people always react so predictably? You have no real skill to speak of, yet your egos are through the roof," Jinmu scoffed, stoking the fires of his opponent's rage until Mo Ik-sang's eyes grew sharp with a lethal light.
With the sudden snap of his reason breaking, a vibrant blue aura surged and flickered around Mo Ik-sang's wooden sword. The wood groaned and began to shatter, unable to withstand the raw energy being channeled through it.
"That! That is sword aura!" Myeongchung cried out, his face growing urgent, while Yang Sobang's expression twisted in fury.
"We explicitly forbade the use of killing intent in this spar!" Yang Sobang shouted as he rose with terrifying momentum, but before anyone could intervene, Jinmu was already charging.
The vividly blue sword aura whipped out like a lethal lash. One had every reason to dodge such a manifestation of qi, as it possessed the power to slice through diamond like tofu, yet Jinmu leaped directly into the danger.
A chilling, eerie sound of discord filled the hall. Yang Sobang stared blankly ahead, as if struck on the back of the head by the sheer impossibility of what he was seeing. Jinmu was cutting through the sword aura itself.
It was a gap in realms that defied logic. A master slicing through another master's aura was unheard of without reaching a significantly higher level of cultivation. Yet, every time Jinmu swung his scabbard, chunks of the blue aura shattered like flames detached from their source, scattering into the void and shrinking bit by bit.
'What is this? Did I misjudge the kid's realm entirely?' Yang Sobang blinked in astonishment. Mo Ik-sang was definitely a Peak Realm master, which could only mean that Jinmu had reached the Sword Intent Realm.
The idea of a Wudang Taoist priest awakening to the Sword Intent Realm in his twenties was impossible—not just within their sect, but across the entire history of the martial world.
"You little bastard priest!" Mo Ik-sang screamed, blinded by his own fury. He drew a forbidden killing move, summoning a terrifying amount of energy that caused his wooden sword to explode into dozens of sharp fragments. These fragments, each embedded with lethal sword aura, shot out in a fan-shaped trajectory toward the inexperienced disciples and the Zhuge warriors.
"Damn it!" Yang Sobang realized he was too far away to block the wide-spread attack. At that critical moment, two shadows leaped in front of the Wudang disciples.
Cheongsang and Cheongu moved in unison. A faint blue aura gleamed on Cheongsang's sword as it swung like drifting clouds, while Cheongu's Seven Stars Fist thrust out ferociously to meet the energy. They managed to deflect the brunt of the strike, but the impact forced them to their knees, coughing up blood from internal injuries.
Yang Sobang whipped his head toward Jinmu, expecting to see him overwhelmed by the concentrated energy, but he was met with a sight that drained the air from his lungs. Jinmu held his scabbard straight out, and a deep, shimmering blue sword aura permeated the air, dispersing Mo Ik-sang's attack entirely until the scattered strands simply fluttered away like silk threads.
"Sword aura... it really is the Sword Intent Realm," Yang Sobang muttered weakly. The shock and admiration were visible on every face in the room—Zhuge Murin looked hollow, Myeongchung was stunned, and Jingung was filled with an ecstatic, pulsing pride.
But Mo Ik-sang was too far gone to notice. He lunged forward with his fingers glowing with energy, stabbing toward Jinmu's face. Like a dog with its tail on fire that fails to see the thousand-foot cliff ahead, he ran straight into his doom. Jinmu's hand caught his wrist in a crushing grip.
"It is time to end this little game, is it not?" A cold smile curled on Jinmu's lips. He knew that nothing disciplined a punk who didn't know his place like a thorough beating.
With a short, concise punch, Mo Ik-sang's face snapped back. Because his hand was held firm, his head bounced back like a rubber ball on a string, and Jinmu's fists began to hammer relentlessly. The sound of facial bones cracking and the spray of blood filled the pin-drop silence of the hall. Jinmu didn't loosen his grip for a second, walking forward as he pummeled his opponent into the ground.
As Jinmu finally stopped his assault, Mo Ik-sang dropped to his knees, his head slamming into the floor while his hand remained trapped in Jinmu's grasp.
"Boring," Jinmu muttered indifferently.
Jingung looked at Myeongchung, his heart throbbing with pride. Jinmu had proven himself to be the true 'Sword of Wudang.' Even more impressive was that Cheongsang and Cheongu had risked their own lives to protect their fellow disciples, raising the sect's name higher than it had been in years.
Jinmu released his grip, letting Mo Ik-sang collapse limply to the floor. He then dragged the man by his collar toward Zhuge Murin and offered a deep, courteous bow with cupped fists. "Will you acknowledge the result of this match?"
Zhuge Murin shut his eyes in despair. He could not renege on a public promise, and the defeat was absolute. Not only had Mo Ik-sang lost, but his reckless use of lethal energy had nearly killed his own family's warriors.
"The Zhuge branch... acknowledges everything your faction claims," Zhuge Murin stated as he rose unsteadily. A roar of cheers erupted from the Wudang disciples and the Ilhae Merchant Group as the Zhuge warriors withdrew in dejection.
Myeongchung quickly ordered the injured Cheongsang and Cheongu to be carried inside for medical attention. Meanwhile, Jingung rushed over and caught Jinmu in a rough, celebratory bear hug.
Jinmu's face crumpled in annoyance—he never understood why these Taoists were so fond of physical affection—but even he felt a flicker of pride as the group celebrated.
Finally, the old beggar Yang Sobang approached, his scoffing tone hiding his genuine interest. "You there. Follow me," he commanded, turning his back and walking into the building. Jinmu, Jingung, and Myeongchung followed him into the shadows.
