Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: As You Know
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Han Ibi spun around on instinct, trying to swat away the throwing knife Ban Bang-geun had hurled at him.
But the knife, launched in a surprise attack, was far too fast.
And its target was none other than So Eun-ri's face.
Startled, Han Ibi quickly seized So Eun-ri's wrist.
However, he couldn't stop Ban Bang-geun's knife from striking her protective helmet.
Thanks to the helmet's material, she avoided any external injuries, but the impact seemed to have knocked her out cold for a moment.
Realizing this, Han Ibi caught her as she collapsed.
He wanted to ask if she was okay, but there wasn't even time for that.
The moment Han Ibi's team lost its archer, Gwak Won-hoe emerged from cover into the open area.
Han Ibi hurriedly laid So Eun-ri down on the ground.
Nam Cheong-bong's voice rang out.
"Qingcheng Sect's So Eun-ri is eliminated."
Ban Bang-geun chuckled gleefully.
Han Ibi said with a stiff expression,
"You bastard. You did that on purpose..."
Ban Bang-geun waved his hands dismissively.
"Oh come on! As if I'd do that. Sometimes your hand slips when you're throwing knives, right? Doesn't it happen to you too, Young Master Zhongli?"
No, sometimes it pops up on its own, and now it's even asking permission?
Does leveling up mean I've gained some control over it?
'You're asking even though you know. Are you crazy? No!'
Yes.
If he activated the Hongmong Great Law here and showed off those pitch-black marks...
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
Ban Bang-geun kept chasing him with a gleeful grin, flinging knives all the while.
If it were one-on-one, he could handle it somehow.
But the moment Han Ibi peeked out from cover, Gwak Won-hoe unleashed a barrage of arrows without mercy.
If this dragged on, he'd tire out and collapse first.
Damn it...
Ban Bang-geun doggedly pursued Han Ibi, tossing knives at every opportunity.
Just like a wolf herding sheep for the kill...
'Herding sheep...?'
A flash of realization hit Han Ibi.
Ban Bang-geun was driving him toward the open central space.
With the two of them coordinating, it would be over in an instant.
Murmurs rose from the disciples watching outside the test area.
"W-what is this? A ranged weapon duel...?"
"It doesn't match the spirit of the match at all."
Whoosh!
A dagger grazed Han Ibi's face by a hair's breadth.
Unable to hold out any longer, Han Ibi had no choice but to break into the open as Ban Bang-geun intended.
In the exposed area, he'd be Gwak Won-hoe's target once more.
And as if on cue, Gwak Won-hoe loosed his arrows.
Han Ibi pushed Zhongli Swift Leopard Step to its limits, barely dodging the onslaught.
Ban Bang-geun, meanwhile, brimmed with leisure.
He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, in no rush to end it.
Suddenly, Ban Bang-geun leaped into the air.
Crossing his arms, he hurled all four knives gripped in his hands at once.
Han Ibi had no options left.
He just rolled across the ground.
The knives embedded in the dirt, missing him by inches once more.
In that moment, Han Ibi realized the ground he was rolling on was somewhat damp.
Black mud smeared his clothes and hands.
He'd fallen into a squelching mud puddle.
Ping!
An arrow flew in.
Han Ibi leaped and rolled again.
With a splat, his face plunged deep into the mud.
Ban Bang-geun burst into loud laughter.
"Oh dear, oh dear. Young Master Zhongli, I don't want to humiliate you this much, so let's end it here. It's too pathetic to watch."
Han Ibi lifted his mud-caked face.
His eyes and white teeth stood out starkly against the black muck.
It would have been comical.
Under normal circumstances.
But Han Ibi's wretched state silenced any mockery.
Wang Cheong-rin's voice called out.
"Hey, Young Master Zhongli. Just give up already."
Only Ban Bang-geun grinned ear to ear, raising his arm.
"Brother Gwak! I'll finish him, so hold your fire."
"Fine, do what you want."
Gwak Won-hoe leaned his bow against his leg from afar, arms crossed in silence.
But inwardly, Han Ibi was smiling.
Smashing his face into the mud just now had been deliberate.
His armored arms were hidden, so as long as he camouflaged his face properly, they wouldn't notice easily.
Resolved, he opened his status window and selected the Hongmong Great Law.
'Alright, yes this time!'
But he had to end it quick, before anyone noticed.
[Stage 3 Hongmong Great Law temporarily awakened.]
[Lv. 30 duration: '8 minutes'.]
[Advice 1: Hongmong Great Law's duration depends on clear consciousness in the great law...]
'Shut up with the rest. No time. Stop repeating yourself.'
Han Ibi savored the Hongmong Great Law energy overflowing from his dantian.
The pain ripping through his veins felt almost pleasurable now.
Pain and pleasure—two sides of the same coin!
Unknowingly, the corners of his mouth curled up.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Ban Bang-geun's face hardened as he drew another knife.
"Haha. I respect your tenacity, Young Master Zhongli, but it's time to send you off. I haven't even shown my full strength yet. This Thousand Hand Bee Stings throwing technique is the pinnacle of Kunlun Sect knife arts!"
His hands seemed to multiply into a thousand, moving with blinding speed.
The watching youths gasped in awe at his mystical knife work.
Between his rapid motions, five or six knives shot out.
Han Ibi raised his Hanjo Sword for defense.
Then he saw it.
The Hanjo Sword's hitherto dormant trait, 'Random Reversal Acceleration,' was glowing red.
Without hesitation, Han Ibi selected it.
A sudden hush fell.
[Random Reversal Acceleration activated.]
[Advice: Random Reversal Acceleration is the Hanjo Sword's top unique trait, capable of instantly swapping relative space-time attributes.]
Huh? W-what does that even mean...
Then Han Ibi realized something astonishing.
All six of Ban Bang-geun's thrown knives hung motionless in midair.
Or rather, they drifted slowly, like swimming in zero gravity.
But their speed was gradually picking up.
The skill's effect was fading over time.
Grasping the situation, Han Ibi raised his Hanjo Sword and launched himself forward.
He plunged into the space.
It felt vividly surreal, like watching a movie in slow motion.
As if floating alone in space or a fourth dimension.
Han Ibi swung the Hanjo Sword, batting away the first knife swimming like a fish.
Even the sparks from clashing metal bloomed in full splendor.
'Ah, now I get why those fleeting sparks are called sparks.'
He swung wide again, sending two knives flying overhead.
Sparks flared once more.
Like lost birds, the daggers veered off course.
Advancing another step, Han Ibi deflected two more from their paths...
Finally, he smacked the last one into the ground.
Like surfacing from water, his ears popped, and his sense of space-time snapped back.
Silence gripped the onlookers.
Voices from the disciples watching:
"Did you... see that? His form... it was a blur."
"Insane. It was like... he knocked away all the knives in one strike."
But in this moment, the most shocked was Ban Bang-geun himself.
"N-no way. How...?"
Gwak Won-hoe, who'd been watching with arms crossed, jolted in surprise, snatched up his bow, and nocked an arrow in a flash.
Yet Han Ibi dodged it with a mere twitch of his body.
Then, he bent down, yanked a knife from the ground, and feigned a throw at Ban Bang-geun.
Ban Bang-geun flinched into a defensive stance.
But it was a feint.
Using the profound steps of the Eight Trigrams from the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, Han Ibi closed the gap instantly.
Circling behind, he wrenched Ban Bang-geun's arm mercilessly with his right hand.
"Argh!"
Ban Bang-geun screamed involuntarily.
But Han Ibi went further, scooping his waist with his left arm and hoisting him into the air.
Murmurs of confusion erupted from all sides.
Ban Bang-geun writhed in agony.
"W-what are you... doing...?"
That was when it happened.
With Ban Bang-geun dangling in the air, Han Ibi suddenly bolted forward.
The crowd soon realized he was charging straight at Gwak Won-hoe.
Panicked, Gwak Won-hoe drew his bowstring repeatedly.
"Nooo—!"
With Ban Bang-geun's desperate cry, three arrows thudded into his upper body.
"Ow! That hurts!"
A human shield, plain and simple.
With the distance closed, Han Ibi planted his left foot and hurled Ban Bang-geun like a judo shoulder throw.
Gwak Won-hoe flailed to catch him in alarm.
In that instant, Han Ibi activated his 'Knife Throwing' skill.
A perfectly locked targeting line.
Zoom function expanding as desired.
Then came the thunk.
Gwak Won-hoe had caught Ban Bang-geun.
But the momentum was so fierce he toppled backward, landing flat on his butt.
Then sounds rang out.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Two knives slicing through the air simultaneously.
With a thud, Gwak Won-hoe stared in disbelief at Han Ibi's knife embedded in his chest.
And Ban Bang-geun...
Crack.
The sound against his helmet was off.
The supervisors squinted, puzzled.
Yes...
Han Ibi's knife hadn't pierced Ban Bang-geun's head.
Its hilt had merely clubbed him.
The impact knocked Ban Bang-geun out cold, sprawling him on the ground.
Foam mixed with vomit dribbled from his mouth.
Unable to watch any longer, Nam Cheong-bong urgently shouted to the on-site Murim Alliance physician, just in case.
"Physician Paeng! Check his condition quickly!"
The physician rushed toward the fallen Ban Bang-geun.
At the same time, Han Ibi deactivated the Hongmong Great Law.
He flopped to the ground, muttering,
"Oops! Sorry about that. Brother Ban, sometimes your hand slips when throwing knives, you know. As you know..."
(Continued in the next chapter)