Chapter 157
Chapter 157
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Pinned by the Scissors
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I have no interest whatsoever in the likes of your master."
Han Ibi chuckled as he replied.
"I doubt that... He was someone you paid a lot of attention to once upon a time. Back when you were at the top of your game, he gave you quite the setback. Enough to leave you completely broken..."
Tak Bu-yong spun his sword around and glared at Han Ibi.
"Hah. Are you talking about... the Demonic Taoist right now?"
"Oh ho! As sharp as ever. That's right. The Demonic Taoist you chased after like a thorn in your finger. I've got good news for you. He's gone to a place he can never return from."
Tak Bu-yong's eyebrow twitched.
"So he's dead after all."
"There's bad news too."
"......"
"I promised to carry out his last will and smash you to pieces."
Suddenly, Tak Bu-yong's sword shot up into the air.
With a whoosh, Han Ibi dodged the incoming blade by stepping into the Eight Trigrams footwork, and in that instant, he activated the Ma Hyun Sword Art through his status window.
Ma Hyun Sword Art
Demonic ferocity unleashed
In that moment, Han Ibi's swordsmanship, which had always been rooted in softness, flipped completely upside down.
Han Ibi's eyes gleamed with tyrannical dominance.
The Ma Hyun Sword Art's original name was the Demonic Sword Law—a brutal combat art born on battlefields resembling living hells, where it sliced through enemy ranks like a demon.
It had been purified and refined into a less savage, more elegant formless style by its successor, the monk No Dan.
At the same time, accompanied by a thunderous shout, the Ma Hyun Sword Art's Yeom Ho Ja stance erupted forth.
Yeom Ho Ja was originally the fastest strike in the Ma Hyun Sword Art.
Combined with the Single Sword's swiftness attribute, it crashed down like a tidal wave.
Ma Hyun Sword Art: Yeom Ho Ja
Swiftest demonic slash / Unstoppable frenzy
However, Tak Bu-yong gathered his wits and embodied the essence of Taiji Swordsmanship, forming a continuous circular defense around his body.
Clang! Clang clang-clang! Clang clang!
Strikes unfolded at several per second, met with equally rapid blocks.
Yeom Ho Ja.
Once unleashed, it pins the opponent down, leaving them unable to move—like sleep paralysis. Hence the name.
And indeed, Tak Bu-yong looked precarious right now.
Han Ibi pushed his internal energy to the brink, accelerating even further.
At this rate, a victory through relentless swift assault.
Han Ibi poured the vast energy of the Mountain Stream Dragon Roar into his offense at breakneck speed, maintaining the pressure.
That was when it happened.
Tak Bu-yong suddenly staggered.
Seeing this, Han Ibi inwardly cheered and charged at him.
In that instant...
Tak Bu-yong's figure vanished into thin air.
'Damn it. I fell for it.'
The妙 of feint and reality.
Tak Bu-yong, slipping into Han Ibi's blind spot, kicked off and leaped high—straight over Han Ibi's head.
The rapid Yeom Ho Ja strikes couldn't stop in time, slicing futilely through empty space.
At the same moment, Tak Bu-yong's Taiji Palm rained down from directly above.
In that split second, Han Ibi raised his left hand and unleashed the Dark Blockade Palm.
Boom!
Palm forces collided and exploded with a deafening blast.
Han's Ibi retched.
Blood poured from his mouth.
He'd taken internal injuries.
An utterly unexpected ambush.
This surprise attack became the turning point of the duel.
Tak Bu-yong laughed as he retreated, saying,
"Impressive for your age, but everyone has weaknesses. I've known since the start that your energy is a messy mix—from the sound of your breathing."
That was right.
Tak Bu-yong had been waiting for the perfect moment to clash palm forces throughout the fight.
Whatever his morals, few in the martial world had mastered Wudang's orthodox heart method to its pinnacle like he had.
And when Han Ibi was fully committed to speed...
He'd deliberately shown weakness to lure him in, then struck with a surprise palm clash to force the internal energy confrontation.
Now holding the advantage, Tak Bu-yong.
His Taiji Sword poured down once more.
Han Ibi countered with the Ma Hyun Sword Art's Ma Pung No Rae stance.
But the internal injuries sapped its power dramatically.
"Hahaha!"
Tak Bu-yong cackled wickedly, pressing the assault.
'What an irony.'
Taiji Swordsmanship and a demon's grin...
An ill-matched pair, but the tide had turned irreversibly.
Tak Bu-yong wove in Taiji Palms sporadically, pressuring Han Ibi and forcing more energy clashes.
Han Ibi dodged collisions as best he could, but sometimes had to block left-handed with Fierce Tiger Palm.
Each time, he spat blood, his injuries worsening.
The fierce exchange continued.
Han Ibi's internal wounds grew steadily graver.
He'd barely avoided lethal blows, but the accumulated damage was like getting soaked in a drizzle.
At this point, Han Ibi faced a critical choice.
'If I take a fatal hit like this, it's all over. No matter what comes after... I have to use the Crimson Dream Great Law.'
Grinding his teeth, Han Ibi deflected a Taiji Sword strike and resolved himself.
'Do it. Activate Crimson Dream Great Law...'
That was when it happened.
A voice came from atop the boulder.
"You fool."
Han Ibi glanced over to see the white-haired childlike elder, Feng Jiao-gon.
Han Ibi said,
"I told you to stay hidden!"
"Enough, you dimwit. You've finally dragged me out."
Tak Bu-yong chuckled and said,
"Heh heh heh. So the fruitless efforts bear fruit at last. I was worried you'd gone far away. Stick around after this. Feng, you old freak. Just wait a bit."
But Feng Jiao-gon ignored him completely, speaking to Han Ibi.
"You've misunderstood the Seamless Swordsmanship. It shares the same path as Taiji Sword... but you can delve even deeper to its source if you wish."
"What?"
Han Ibi reflexively asked amid his busy defense.
Feng Jiao-gon said,
"It's not about avoiding stitches. It's that there are no segments to begin with. That is the essence of Seamless Swordsmanship."
Ding.
A massive resonance echoed in Han Ibi's mind.
He forgot even the gash on his side, torn open by a sword strike...
'No segments from the start... No divisions...'
Suddenly, Han Ibi burst into laughter like a monk achieving great enlightenment.
Even amid the desperate battle, he said,
"It's merely borrowing a form."
Feng Jiao-gon replied,
"Don't you need clothes to feel the substance?"
"A cart for the foolish."
"Discard it once you've crossed."
"The clan leader is a true master instructor."
"What did you say?"
"Ah, nothing. Just something like that."
In that instant, Han Ibi unleashed a Mount Tai-like surge of power, pouring out the Ma Hyun Sword Art's Jeon Gwang Yeong Myeol.
Tak Bu-yong faltered at the bizarre, stuttering strikes.
Seizing the moment, Han Ibi dashed over ten zhang away in one breath.
Tak Bu-yong snorted and pursued, saying,
"Hmph. Think I'll let you escape? If you planned to run, you shouldn't have come. Heh heh heh. Right on the cusp of becoming the next Martial Alliance Leader."
"I'm thanking the heavens on behalf of the martial world."
With those words, Han Ibi reactivated Seamless Swordsmanship via his status window.
And he noticed it.
A new indicator had appeared, thanks to Feng Jiao-gon's guidance.
Hard to parse at first, but the gist: overlay another martial art onto Seamless Swordsmanship for enhancement.
Yeah, yeah. Was wondering when you'd show up.
'Yes.'
'Of course... Ma Hyun Sword Art. Time to finish with Master Song's style!'
'Complete!'
Han Ibi quickly closed the status window and turned back.
Tak Bu-yong chased like a hunter stalking prey, a cruel smile on his lips.
Han Ibi slid to a halt, raising his Single Sword, and said,
"Let's do this for real."
Tak Bu-yong lowered his stance and approached slowly.
He seemed to instinctively sense the change.
Despite his loathsome personality, he was one of the martial world's top masters.
Tak Bu-yong regulated his breathing and unleashed the Taiji Swordsmanship that had served him well before.
Han Ibi said,
"No other tricks? Not bored of that yet?"
Tak Bu-yong replied,
"I'll have plenty of fun after killing you."
With that, he unleashed a circular yet blindingly swift and sharp Taiji Swordsmanship barrage.
Han Ibi countered with the Ma Hyun Sword Art's Hon Yong Mu Do stance.
Dong dong dong dong.
A deep, resonant tone unlike any before echoed in his mind.
Hon Yong Mu Do was already the most brutal and ferocious stance in the tyrannical Ma Hyun Sword Art.
Now amplified by five whole levels, it exploded outward.
Han Ibi roared, mouth agape, and plunged straight into the heart of the Taiji Sword forms.
Tak Bu-yong was stunned.
How was this near-dead man surging with such power?
Han Ibi swung wildly—or so it seemed.
In truth, that was the illusion.
Born from massive melee battles, Hon Yong Mu Do was made for chaos.
Until now, all of Han Ibi's attacks had been halted by the mighty circle of Taiji Swordsmanship.
But this time was different.
Hon Yong Mu Do excelled in one-against-many fights.
Fused with swiftness, it became...
Clang clang clang clang.
...a frenzy clashing fiercely against the Taiji blade—as if facing dozens of foes.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Suddenly, Han Ibi laughed maniacally.
True狂笑.
He reveled in the colossal wave born from Mountain Stream Dragon Roar's grandeur and the Seamless-Ma Hyun link.
That vast power!
An overwhelming, boundless force surged through his entire body—too immense for one man to contain.
By contrast, Tak Bu-yong was in utter agony.
The Taiji Swordsmanship shone with near-infinite defense.
But even it had limits against such overwhelming force and speed.
And this was that moment!
Tak Bu-yong could barely breathe amid the air's vibrations.
Desperate to escape, he tried releasing Taiji Palm with his left hand as before.
But...
Shiiiing.
The Single Sword's shadow sliced unerringly.
Slash.
Sleeve and flesh parted together; Tak Bu-yong yanked back his hand as if scalded by boiling water.
'Damn it. Can one word from that old freak change a man this much?'
Tak Bu-yong glanced at Feng Jiao-gon.
But he watched impassively.
A twinge of regret hit Tak Bu-yong.
'Should've killed him without hesitation earlier...'
Then Han Ibi unleashed the Ma Hyun Sword Art's Byeok Ryeok Un.
"Saaah...!"
With eerie breathing, ashen thundercloud-like mist rose from Han Ibi's exhale.
This was the precursor to unleashing Byeok Ryeok Un at its peak.
"Die!"
His shout boomed like thunder, and the Single Sword hammered down relentlessly.
Tak Bu-yong was now the earth, awaiting the wrathful sky's judgment in silence.
Rumble. Roooar.
Lightning gods ravaged the ground mercilessly, tearing, biting, upheaving.
No longer able to endure, Tak Bu-yong gritted his teeth, planning to break off with Cloud Covering Bell.
That was when it happened.
Han Ibi cackled.
"Trying Cloud Covering Bell against Byeok Ryeok Un? Even a dog would laugh!"
Han Ibi swiftly activated Zhongli Swift Leopard Step and unleashed the Ma Hyun Sword Art's Il Gi Dang Cheon stance.
Ma Hyun Sword Art: Il Gi Dang Cheon
One against a thousand
(Continued in the next chapter)