Chapter 50
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Deciding Factor
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Cho Gae-ak, who had been certain Mujin’s shoulder would burst and his sword arm would fall to the ground, scowled deeply as he watched the young man deflect his Vibrating Palm Arts.
He refused to believe that this brat, who had barely passed his coming-of-age and was only called the Hidden Dragon of Sichuan, had just brushed off his ultimate technique.
Meanwhile, Mujin also wore a deep scowl, his expression laced with annoyance.
A wave-based art.
It was a type of martial art he had personally dismantled during his time as the Divine Demon.
What irritated him was that he had been caught off guard by such a technique and failed to react properly.
The two, both seething with anger, attacked each other with sword and palm.
*Swoosh!*
!!!
Cho Gae-ak, who had intended to grab Mujin’s blade and instantly close the distance, retreated in alarm.
The front of his robe was slightly sliced, but he didn't even register it.
"You bastard! What kind of sorcery is this?!"
Mujin, having no intention of engaging in a verbal spar during a life-or-death battle, answered with his sword, pressing his attack on Cho Gae-ak.
Not even the sword of the Cold-Blooded Sword Maiden, a peak master acknowledged by everyone in the Central Plains, had managed to cut his hand.
To be precise, it couldn't cut through the energy of the Vibrating Palm Arts that enveloped his hand.
If even a peak master from the Emei Sect couldn't do it, how could this greenhorn, barely past his coming-of-age, slice through the protective energy around his hand as if it were paper?
First, he had cut through the killing intent, and now he was cutting through the energy cloaking his hand. Faced with this strange and unheard-of sword art, Cho Gae-ak began to move his feet rapidly, trying to create distance from Mujin.
‘I need to figure out the secret behind this brat’s sorcery.’
In Cho Gae-ak’s eyes, the young man called the Hidden Dragon of Sichuan had not yet reached the peak realm.
He could clearly see the path of the sword strikes, and they weren't particularly difficult to dodge or block.
He was simply shocked that his energy was being cut rather than pushed aside.
If he took his time and fought while dodging the sword, it wouldn't be impossible.
Nevertheless, Cho Gae-ak did not carelessly approach an opponent whose abilities were uncertain.
He was being as cautious as possible, knowing that trying to overpower him with brute force could lead to disaster.
This was how he had survived and climbed to his current position in the martial world, a world balanced on a knife’s edge.
*Pow! Pa-pow!*
As Cho Gae-ak began to create distance and buy time, the Great Monk Hyeon-u did not stand idle. He struck the empty air, attacking Cho Gae-ak.
Having built his current understanding by meticulously researching even the records of other schools that had faced the Hundred Pace Divine Fist without forms or stances, the Great Monk Hyeon-u had clearly grasped the weakness of his half-formed version during his brief clash with Cho Gae-ak.
It became incredibly difficult to execute properly if the opponent got too close.
He had always felt it was only half-complete, but facing a renowned peak master of the Central Plains made him feel that deficiency to his very bones.
But now, Cho Gae-ak was creating distance on his own.
The Great Monk Hyeon-u was not one to let such a golden opportunity pass.
*Boom! Ba-boom!*
As Cho Gae-ak continued to move, his attention focused on Mujin, the Great Monk Hyeon-u’s attacks from a stationary position grew more and more proficient.
While he had practiced and demonstrated the Hundred Pace Divine Fist many times during its restoration, he had never once used it on a person.
He feared that using an incomplete art against someone could result in one of them getting hurt.
But today, as he used it freely against a renowned master of the Central Plains, his half-formed Hundred Pace Divine Fist was gradually being refined.
As the Great Monk Hyeon-u’s strikes grew sharper, Cho Gae-ak’s gaze deepened.
‘If this continues, I’ll just be doing that damn monk a favor.’
For now, it was just a clumsy imitation of the Hundred Pace Divine Fist, but its clumsy aspects were rapidly being polished away.
If the Hundred Pace Divine Fist, a technique lost for thirty years, were to be perfected today, Cho Gae-ak had a feeling he might be the one left lying on the cold road. He steeled his resolve.
‘The worst that can happen is losing an arm.’
Losing an arm to a brat who was barely past his coming-of-age would be a blow to his pride, but it was better than dying.
In exchange, he would surely be able to crush the head of the brat who had surprised him.
Like a true master of the Unorthodox Faction who had weathered all sorts of storms in the martial world for a long time, Cho Gae-ak’s decision was swift.
His eyes changed. He stopped retreating, stomped his foot, and kicked off the ground.
In Mujin’s vision, Cho Gae-ak, who had been creating distance, suddenly appeared right before him in a blur of afterimages.
He was a master, through and through.
Mujin could already feel the pressure from the palm strike he delivered in that single instant, accompanied by his phantom-like movement.
Mujin also clenched his jaw and thrust his sword forward to meet him.
If Mujin’s body wasn't a Heavenly Martial Body, he would never have been able to track Cho Gae-ak’s movement with his eyes and react in time.
Just as Mujin’s sword, once again cutting through Cho Gae-ak’s palm energy, was about to reach his coarse palm…
Cho Gae-ak’s palm underwent a subtle change.
The hand that seemed about to be split by Mujin’s sword shifted, deftly avoiding the blade and landing flat against its surface.
"Brat! Try to deflect this!"
Gathering his internal energy, Cho Gae-ak unleashed a wave of vibration through the blade’s surface with his eighth-level Vibrating Palm Arts.
*Boom!*
"Head Hwa!!!"
The Great Monk Hyeon-u shouted as he rapidly launched a fist strike.
Cho Gae-ak barely managed to block the now considerably sharper strike while pressing closer to Mujin along the surface of his sword.
His plan was to smash Mujin’s head directly, even if Mujin managed to deflect his Vibrating Palm Arts.
‘If I can just kill this one, I won’t lose to the monk and the nun.’
A vibration traveled up the sword's surface and into his hand.
If the wave he had deflected before was a small ripple, the one flowing into him now was like a tidal wave.
His meridians swelled as if they were about to burst. As the immense wave of energy traveled up to his shoulder, Mujin’s shoulder moved.
A much smaller movement than before.
‘Now!’
As the thought formed, Mujin flicked his shoulder.
Revolving Rebound.
The counter-technique that had driven a master of the Samu-cheon, who used an ultimate art containing the power of vibrations, to despair in his past life as the Divine Demon was resurrected in Mujin’s hands.
The vibration, spun from his shoulder, began to travel back the way it came.
!!!
Cho Gae-ak, who had been extending his next palm strike under the assumption that Mujin would channel the energy down from his waist to his legs, widened his eyes in shock.
He hastily pulled his hand away from Mujin's sword.
His palm strike was still flying toward Mujin’s head.
Mujin also frantically twisted the path of his sword and moved even closer to his enemy.
In the next moment, the two passed each other as if brushing by.
*Slice.*
*Thud.*
With a chilling sound, Cho Gae-ak, having passed Mujin, reached with his right hand to feel his left shoulder.
‘It’s gone.’
Instead of his shoulder, he felt a hot, wet sensation. Slowly, Cho Gae-ak turned his gaze to look down at his own shoulder.
The shoulder that had been with him his entire life was gone, cleanly severed along with his arm.
He turned his head to look behind him and saw his arm lying on the ground behind the Hidden Dragon of Sichuan.
His eyes then caught the sight of Mujin turning around.
"Ptui! So a master is a master, after all."
Mujin spat out the dark blood lingering at the corner of his mouth, his face pale.
He had intended to cut him in half, but Cho Gae-ak had somehow managed to survive with only the loss of an arm. Seeing this, Mujin’s eyes filled with even more fighting spirit.
Despite being internally injured and vomiting blood, Mujin’s fighting spirit seemed to boil over.
A sense of unease began to fill Cho Gae-ak’s mind as he watched him.
‘This one is dangerous.’
Even after losing an arm to a brat young enough to be his grandson, Cho Gae-ak felt a sense of crisis rather than anger.
*Pow! Pow!*
Dust burst from Cho Gae-ak’s chest as he was momentarily distracted.
The Great Monk Hyeon-u’s three punches had crossed the distance and struck home.
Staggering, Cho Gae-ak spat a stream of black blood from his mouth.
He had managed to twist his body just before the fists landed, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, but he was not in a good situation.
"Gae-ak!!!"
*Clang!*
*Slaaash!*
*Thump!*
Seeing his friend’s wretched state, Chu Myeon-gun let out a roar, broke through Abbess Jinhwa’s sword strikes, and managed to land a palm strike on her chest.
Abbess Jinhwa, who had allowed the palm strike to land on her chest after being forced by Chu Myeon-gun's reckless advance despite taking a long gash on his side, retreated and pressed the acupoints on her chest.
She was stopping the hot, fiery energy from spreading throughout her body via her meridians.
"Abbess!!!"
As Abbess Jinhwa, having sealed her acupoints, finally dropped to one knee and began to vomit dark blood, the Great Monk Hyeon-u instantly moved to stand in front of her.
In that opening, Chu Myeon-gun also pressed the acupoints on his side to stop the bleeding and moved next to his friend, Cho Gae-ak.
"Getting all worked up over a single arm."
Mujin taunted them, still grinding Cho Gae-ak’s severed arm under his foot.
"You bastard!!!"
Chu Myeon-gun’s eyes turned red as he was about to charge at Mujin, but Cho Gae-ak grabbed his sleeve with his remaining hand.
"Don't! He’s no ordinary foe. If we're not careful, we'll be the ones to fall. We have to work together."
At Cho Gae-ak's words, Chu Myeon-gun looked at his friend with a shocked expression.
Their title, the Hwamyeong Duo, was not earned for nothing.
It was a name built by ending the lives of countless masters through the combined use of the Scorching Flame Palm and the Vibrating Palm Arts.
It had been over five years since the two of them had joined forces for a combined attack.
Until now, they had never faced an enemy strong enough to warrant it.
But now, a combined attack against a mere brat?
"You..."
"Don't be fooled by the aura he projects. That is no ordinary, sinister martial art."
He had thought it was strange from the moment the boy had cut through their killing intent, but this was the man who had even severed the arm of a friend he acknowledged.
Chu Myeon-gun suppressed his agitation and nodded.
"Are you alright?"
"I've suppressed the fiery energy, so there's no problem."
Abbess Jinhwa’s face did not look good as she rose to her feet.
Even seeing that she was clearly severely injured internally, the Great Monk Hyeon-u couldn't tell her to stand back.
Although Mujin had heavily wounded Cho Gae-ak, Mujin himself also seemed to have severe internal injuries.
To stop the Hwamyeong Duo in this situation, Abbess Jinhwa’s strength was absolutely necessary.
Abbess Jinhwa and the Great Monk Hyeon-u moved behind Mujin, their gazes fixed on the Hwamyeong Duo, concentrating so as not to miss a single breath.
"..."
The Hwamyeong Duo, having finished their discussion via telepathy, began to glare at Mujin and the two masters with hardened expressions.
The five people stared at each other, hoping their opponents would reveal even the smallest opening.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew past the five warriors, and as if by a signal, they all moved at once.
*Fwoosh!*
Mujin kicked the arm he was stepping on toward the charging Hwamyeong Duo, then took a step forward and swung his sword.
*Slice.*
Cho Gae-ak’s arm, severed once again in mid-air, flew toward the Hwamyeong Duo.
It was a clear provocation.
"Such petty tricks!"
Cho Gae-ak swatted his own arm aside and charged straight at Mujin.
"Head Hwa! Be careful!"
The Great Monk Hyeon-u shouted as he stuck close to his side.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Every time the Great Monk Hyeon-u punched the empty air, the sound of exploding air echoed around the Hwamyeong Duo.
The Great Monk Hyeon-u’s fist strikes missed by a hair's breadth.
The Hwamyeong Duo was focusing on the Great Monk Hyeon-u’s movements, dodging his still-imperfect fist strikes.
Noticing this, Mujin quickly shot forward.
"Head Hwa!"
The startled Great Monk Hyeon-u shouted urgently, but Mujin did not stop.
Abbess Jinhwa quickly followed him.
"You must not rush in recklessly!"
Even at Abbess Jinhwa’s words, Mujin did not slow down.
His eyes were fixed solely on the two enemies, his entire being focused on them. The words of his two allies barely registered in his ears.
In a life-or-death struggle, there is a certain rhythm.
Mujin’s instincts, honed by surviving countless such battles, were telling him.
‘I see an opening.’
It was difficult to call it a precise opening.
The opening Mujin was sensing now was not a one-dimensional, physical one.
The opening Mujin sensed was an anticipation of the Hwamyeong Duo’s plan.
‘They plan to mix the strong, yang-natured fire energy of one palm with the wave-like power of the other, spreading a fiery wave through my entire meridian system.’
Of course, just because he could see their plan didn't mean he had a surefire way to counter it.
In a fight against masters who had reached the peak realm, was there ever such a thing as a guaranteed method of victory?
One could only do their best, staking their life on the line just like the opponent.
In any case, simply having read the opponent's strategy already gave him an advantage.
The rest was simple: the stronger one would remain standing, and the weaker one would fall.
*Fwoosh!*
Mujin’s sword cut through the duo's momentum as he launched a preemptive strike.
In that fleeting moment, the Hwamyeong Duo exchanged glances and nodded.
Instantly, the two split apart, circling to Mujin’s flanks and thrusting their palms forward.
*Thump!*
Mujin stopped in his tracks, his foot stomping the road, causing cracks to appear on the ground.
*Swoosh!*
*Swoosh!*
As Mujin stopped, Abbess Jinhwa also quickly thrust her sword.
But the Hwamyeong Duo’s palm strikes were faster.
Their two palms converged on Mujin’s chest.
Mujin held up his sword, even placing his free hand on the blade's surface, to block their palms.
The Hwamyeong Duo smiled as if this was exactly what they wanted and struck Mujin’s sword.
*CRACK!*
An ear-splitting sound echoed, and at the same time, Mujin vomited blood.
"Cough!!"
No sooner had Mujin spat out blood than the Hwamyeong Duo grunted in unison.
"Guh!"
"Keuk!"
The Hwamyeong Duo, their palms pressed against Mujin’s sword, stared with bewildered, trembling eyes as the Great Monk Hyeon-u's fist strike slammed into their chests.
*Pow! Pow! Pow!*
Belatedly, Abbess Jinhwa’s sword flew toward Cho Gae-ak’s chest, piercing straight through him as he continuously spat out black blood.
Seeing him allow such a fatal blow so easily, Abbess Jinhwa, the one who had attacked, widened her eyes in surprise.
*Stab!*
Ignoring the sword piercing his chest, Cho Gae-ak kept his eyes fixed on Mujin and opened his mouth.
"What… in the world are you…?"
Even in his final moments, Cho Gae-ak couldn't understand how Mujin had managed to turn the combined force of the Scorching Flame Palm and the Vibrating Palm Arts back on them.
This opponent had clearly not reached the peak realm.
But how could two peak masters be defeated like this?
"Go ask in the afterlife."
Spitting dark blood from his mouth, Mujin took a step forward, his face flushed crimson.
His face, once pale from internal injuries, was now burning red, a clear sign that he had sustained severe internal damage from their palm strikes.
"And you still have that look in your eyes?"
Chu Myeon-gun said, looking at Mujin, unable to stop the fiery energy spreading through his meridians from his palm.
In the eyes of Mujin, who was thrusting his sword toward him, fighting spirit overflowed.
*Slice. Thud.*
The head of Chu Myeon-gun of the Hwamyeong Duo fell.
*Slump.*
Watching the head of his friend, who had been closer than a brother, fall, Cho Gae-ak also collapsed onto the road.
The moment the Hwamyeong Duo’s lives were extinguished, Mujin fell to his knees and began to vomit up thick clots of black blood.
"Cough! Blegh!"
"Head Hwa!"
"Head Hwa!!"