Chapter 158
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: The Joy of Sharing (3)
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As a junior, Mujin vowed to give his all, but Hong Mugae inwardly sighed in lamentation. The position wasn't suitable for sending a transmission. At this distance, his master would notice.
Someone desperately needed to dissuade his master, yet the Sword Emperor merely curled the corners of his mouth upward.
Sending a transmission might only interfere.
The Sword Tyrant and Nangong Yeonhwa remained composed, as if they had expected as much. Nangong Yeonhwa especially remembered their first meeting vividly, when she had asked Mujin for a spar.
'That brute!'
She'd only suggested a light spar, and he knocked her out with a single blow. She could forgive that with a broad mind. But he left her sprawled on the ground and flew off. At the very least, anyone decent would wake her or carry her to a room.
'It still pisses me off thinking about it!'
The intensity of their first encounter. Mujin was the synonym for one-strike knockout.
After that day, Nangong Yeonhwa had fainted several more times at his hands. Despite the clear gap in skill, he showed no mercy whatsoever. Only later did their spars resemble proper bouts, but even those were utterly one-sided.
Mujin and Chwi-seon moved to the clearing.
"I'll yield the first move."
"Thank you."
......Nooooo~!
Hong Mugae's attempt to intervene came too late.
This damned fool had eagerly accepted the first move. There was no taking it back now. Doing so would make him a disciple who doubted his master's skill.
Hong Mugae gauged the distance between himself and his master.
'Master's a monster too.'
The Drunken Immortal, one of the lower ranks among the Twenty-One Stars of Divine Province.
Contrary to public opinion, those who knew his true nature dared not treat him lightly. Equating such a master to his own level was absurd.
'But that punk!'
He was a monstrous monster among monsters.
Treating him as the same tier would spell trouble. He always committed utterly unreasonable acts that exceeded expectations without hesitation. Unpredictable, he was hard to handle. Mishandle him, and it could backfire spectacularly.
"Here I come."
"Come on."
As Mujin and Chwi-seon's duel began, a deathly silence enveloped the clearing. It was a stark contrast to the languid air moments before—a ferocious, domineering pressure.
The clearing was crushed under its weight.
Whoosh, paaaang!
From this distance, he vanished with a pop!
Swish!
Mujin reappeared, immediately targeting Chwi-seon's head. It was a simple straight punch, but its speed was blinding. The moment the wind whistled, it pierced Chwi-seon's controlled space.
Foosh!
The scorching aura made the air evaporate into steam. Chwi-seon sensed the shift in that instant of exchange. Had he not deflected Mujin's fist with a palm strike, his head wouldn't have stayed attached.
Slash!
Chwi-seon switched from palm techniques to sword forms.
He unleashed the Beggar Clan's sole sword art, the Rule Sword Method, with his hands. Converting area destruction into the sharpness of a blade, he aimed for the opening in Mujin's preemptive strike.
Paaang!
Chwi-seon's sword finger, aimed at Mujin's chest, veered off its path and was blocked by his knee.
Papapapapop!
Offense and defense unfolded in rapid succession.
Mujin, who had used his knee, soared into the air like a typhoon, whipping up a vortex. His rotational kicks disrupted Chwi-seon's defenses. One would expect aerial maneuvers to be slower than grounded ones, yet Mujin effortlessly defied common sense.
Floating Body Technique.
The ability to move as freely in midair as on the ground formed the basis for skills like Air Treading, One Step to the River, and Floating Palm Strike.
Taat, tuat!
Mujin and Chwi-seon's exchanges continued without respite. Unbelievable offense and defense at invisible speeds, over negligible distances.
Fist, palm, finger, and foot intertwined with exquisite precision.
Woooong, hoooaaang!
Clashes were evident from the energy waves and ripples spreading outward. Had the Sword Emperor and Sword Tyrant not suppressed the area, the vast clearing would have become a barren wasteland.
'I knew he was strong, but this impressive?'
Hong Mugae couldn't hold back his admiration.
He'd never seen anyone withstand his master's fist techniques to this degree. The Beggar Clan's arts were known for their variety, but mastering even one was no easy feat.
His master embodied the clan's pinnacle. Among the Beggar Clan's history, he ranked among the top three prodigies.
Hmm.
Unlike Hong Mugae's awe, the Sword Emperor, Sword Tyrant, Nangong Yeonhwa, and the Six and Seven remained unfazed. Mujin's feats were too absurd to warrant surprise anymore. Even if imperfect, his record of unilaterally thrashing the Sword Emperor stood clear.
Ziiing!
It looked like an even exchange, but the pressure Chwi-seon felt was beyond imagination. Incredibly, it left him dumbfounded.
Each clash transmitted energy through his meridians, the infiltrating pure battle aura stirring his Chaos Heaven Dragon God Art.
'Unbelievable.'
The Chaos Heaven Dragon God Art was an extreme domineering mental technique that repelled any intrusion of internal energy. Attacks with internal energy were returned with terrifying counterforce. Yet the Ten Saints' Chaos Heaven Dragon God Art was wavering.
'It's being devoured?'
Domination devouring domination.
Chwi-seon was stunned by the unfamiliar sensation he'd never felt before. Even in his youth sparring with the Sword Emperor, it hadn't been like this. He was incomparable to that fledgling self. It was already perfected—and beyond.
Despite unleashing the Beggar Clan's full arsenal, Chwi-seon couldn't seize the advantage, merely maintaining parity.
"Truly remarkable."
"You've got room to spare."
"No helping it. I'll go all out."
"I'll end it here."
"If you withstand even this, I'll grant any request."
"Then I'll try to withstand it."
Chwi-seon prepared to reveal his trump card, while Mujin had other ideas.
Chwi-seon smiled at Mujin's audacity, mistaking it for overconfidence in youth. He would regret it soon enough.
Woooooong, hwarrrrr!
Chwi-seon's internal energy doubled in an instant. Terrifying power erupted like a volcano. Crimson energy spread like flames—it was the heat of the Crimson Mist Purple Flame God Art. Yet the destructive momentum was the Chaos Heaven Dragon God Art. The two energies unified, maximizing destructive force.
An extremely perilous technique.
The Chaos Heaven Dragon God Art and Crimson Mist Purple Flame God Art were the Beggar Clan's proudest arts. Mishandled, internal energy could run rampant, leading to qi deviation. Yet Chwi-seon maintained surprising stability despite the amplification.
"The Chaos Unification Art."
The Sword Emperor discerned how he stably assimilated the two energies—by leveraging the harmonizing nature of the Chaos Unification Art.
Kwaaaaang!
The Beggar Clan's ultimate technique: Dragon Palm Eighteen Forms.
In an instant, the surrounding air compressed before exploding in unimaginable shockwaves. Merely grazing it would tear one to shreds with irresistible force.
"He blocked it?"
Contrary to expectations of evasion, Mujin met it head-on with his fist. No one could have imagined anyone blocking the Dragon Palm Eighteen Forms directly.
Chwi-seon didn't just stand shocked. He'd experienced Mujin's extraordinariness through repeated exchanges. If one palm wouldn't end it, chain them—that was all. In a drawn-out even duel, experience trumped bravado.
Papang, tuwoong!
Mujin and Chwi-seon clashed once more.
Not a distance for palm force, yet Chwi-seon ignored it. He knew the optimal method even at close range.
Zzit!
In a flash, Chwi-seon felt a chilling shiver. An inexplicable unease crept in. Shaking it off, he switched to fist techniques, unleashing fist winds.
Peok!
Waver!
Struck in the shoulder, Chwi-seon dispersed the impact and countered. But the flow had utterly changed. Though his power had more than doubled, destruction required landing hits.
Peok, peok, puak!
Chwi-seon's arts, embodying the Beggar Clan's essence, were unilaterally dismantled by Mujin's fists. The seamless transitions to fist-palm-finger-foot never reached Mujin. Mujin's strikes battered Chwi-seon's body first.
Pepepepepepepepeok!
As time passed, it became a one-sided beating. Even the renowned Chwi-seon couldn't react. More astonishingly, the process of tipping the scales was utterly implausible.
'Just a hair's breadth difference.'
'Chwi-seon can't keep up.'
'That's not just parrying.'
Dodging and countering might make sense. Yet they attacked simultaneously, a mere fraction apart. Reaction speed perhaps, but blocking every swift assault defied reason—against Chwi-seon, former Beggar Clan Leader, no less.
'Astonishing.'
Perspectives varied. The Sword Emperor saw what others missed. It was impossible without completely dismantling Chwi-seon's art in that fleeting moment.
He'd expected prolonged parity when Chwi-seon played his hidden card. Mocking those expectations, Mujin ended it unilaterally.
Puat!
Thud!
Struck in the jaw, Chwi-seon spewed blood like a fountain and collapsed, drained of strength.
"......Master!"
It was shocking.
Dazed, Hong Mugae and the Six and Seven finally snapped to and tended their master. They supported the blood-vomiting fallen master.
Hong Mugae glared at Mujin, trembling with rage.
"Hey, you bastard! I asked you nicely."
"That's why I went easy."
"This is going easy?"
"The Sword Emperor vouches for it."
"Why drag the Sword Emperor into...... Haah!"
The Sword Emperor nodded.
Birds of a feather. The Nangong family head and Nangong Yeonhwa deeply agreed.
In truth, this much consideration preserved much face. In a real life-or-death duel, death in one exchange wouldn't surprise.
Nod, nod!
This bastard!
As even the Six and Seven nodded, Hong Mugae's head throbbed.
"You want me to restore this?"
He checked the point where the valley path led to the stream. The old man following the right-angled passage felt his head throb.
The passage before him was a total wreck. Utterly demolished. Restoring it would take longer than demolishing and rebuilding from scratch.
"You mean repair the annex?"
"Just a little fixing will do."
Where does this look like it needs just a little fixing?
After handling the One-Horned Ink Dragon and arriving at Mugeun Mountain as promised with Mujin, he'd taken it lightly.
He'd been duped.
The world's Poison King had been scammed.
Dang Sa-dog pressed his throbbing forehead. He shouldn't have taken the kid's words at face value. That bone-deep shamelessness was incurable.
"Yeon-woo, think again."
"As expected of my lord."
He'd kept Dang Yeon-woo around to build affection for the clan. He incessantly cited Mujin's misdeeds, but his grandson remained unmoved. He needed to foster clan loyalty somehow, yet that damned fool kept obstructing.
"Have you ever seen such a brute?"
The mechanisms' intricacy and delicacy were astonishing. Comparable to the present, not just the past. Fitting for Cheonmu-ja, master of heavenly mechanisms and profound in trap arts.
So what!
Mujin crudely smashed Cheonmu-ja's efforts. Proving that no matter how clever, against a brute, it was futile.
'Smashed with True Fist, blown away with fist wind, melted with Samadhi True Fire.'
The method of crossing the Extreme Poison Blood Water was obvious without seeing. Overflowing with energy, he wouldn't follow Cheonmu-ja's intent, using Air Treading instead of Wall-Climbing.
Each mechanism extraordinary, but repairing them seemed daunting. Once entangled with that guy, nothing went smoothly.
Swaaa!
Passing the mechanism-lined passage revealed a vast annex. As expected, Cheonmu-ja's Blood Puppet stood guard before it.
-State the password.
-You really have to do that?
-If you can subdue it, do so.
-Hmph, it's just an ancient relic anyway.
Though embarrassed by Mujin, Dang Sa-dog's curiosity compelled him to test the Blood Puppet.
"Come, relic."
Kkiyoyoyot!
Mujin had implanted a sound effect as a suggestion, deeming silent charges unnatural.
Automatically eliciting that grating high pitch on reflex.
"Always pulling stunts like this!"
Entering the designated area, the Blood Puppet charged.
Dang Sa-dog stumbled mid-charge. His grandson was indeed following Mujin's instructions.
Sitting and standing reverently ten times.
"Long live Lord Mujin!"
Shouting it ten times.
The Blood Puppet ignored Dang Yeon-woo as an intruder, targeting only Dang Sa-dog. Seeing that made him even less inclined.
"You brat!"
Have you no shame?
You're to be the next head of the Great Poison Heavenly Net Clan.
Even with suggestions, he always implanted his own style. The more that irritating punk came to mind, the more he needed to kneel the Blood Puppet.
Swaaaaaeng!
Cheonmu-ja of the Nine Ancient and Seven Heavenly Mechanisms—someone Dang Sa-dog yearned to face once. A warrior's instinct to test how much it matched his present self, transcending the past.
Pepepepepeng!
As Dang Sa-dog and the Blood Puppet fully engaged, the annex shook violently. The Blood Puppet exceeded Dang Sa-dog's expectations in strength. As the fight dragged, he furrowed his brow.
'To think!'
Subduing it without the clan's ultimate arts was difficult. But using poison with hidden weapons risked damaging it. The Blood Puppet was crucial bait for the plan. Ruining it would provoke that guy.
Damn it!
Dang Sa-dog, creating distance, repeated sitting and standing. What a spectacle in his later years. He should have left it to his son, but that damned curiosity tripped him up.
"Long live Mujin!"
Ten times.
Good now?
Kkiyoyoyot!
Hey, you son of a bitch!
It failed recognition for one wrong character. Forced to redo it, his grandson's blank stare evoked that punk, surging irritation.
Kkiyoyoyot!
Just do it right, you bastard!