Chapter 76: Heaven and Earth Sword, Sixth Initial Form (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 76: Heaven and Earth Sword, Sixth Initial Form (2)
‘How is this possible?’
Beoncheonjang furrowed his brows as he faced Hyeok-jin.
He had expected to cut down this fledgling in an instant. He had many reasons for such confidence, but the simplest was the boy’s incomprehensible choice of weaponry.
He had heard of warriors who used a sword in their left hand and a saber in their right, but Right Sword Left Saber?
It was a combination so rare he had never even heard of it. Naturally, he had assumed the boy was an amateur—a brat putting on airs with two weapons he couldn't possibly hope to master.
Clang! Clang!
However, as the seconds ticked by, that assumption was proving dangerously wrong.
By all rights, the boy should have fallen by now, yet he was holding his ground, slipping away with exquisite footwork or countering with a peculiar, unpredictable style.
Before he knew it, a chill had begun to creep down Beoncheonjang’s spine.
Swish!
“Gah!”
Beoncheonjang hurriedly leaned back, narrowly avoiding Hyeok-jin’s sword as it lunged for his throat.
‘That was close!’
Pretending to defend only to switch to an attack in a heartbeat? He had expected that much. But the boy’s blade was several times faster than he had anticipated.
“Do you think you’re the Right Staff Divine Sword or something?!” Beoncheonjang’s anger flared alongside his shock.
The Right Staff Divine Sword was a man who had once shaken the martial world, fighting with a massive staff in one hand and a sword in the other. It was humiliating that this brat was mimicking such a legend—and even more insulting that he had actually felt threatened by such a cheap imitation.
Beoncheonjang widened the distance and poured internal strength into his blade. He immediately unleashed his qi.
Whir!
A brilliant light erupted from his sword, surging toward Hyeok-jin.
In that moment, Hyeok-jin’s face stiffened, seemingly unable to react in time. Beoncheonjang had cleverly hidden his qi before exploding it; caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed, the boy appeared to panic, unsure of how to respond.
“No!”
Just as the sword was about to descend upon Hyeok-jin’s head, one of the children inside the storehouse threw something.
“...!”
Thwack!
In that split second, Beoncheonjang’s concentration wavered.
The tip of his lunging sword trembled, veering slightly off-target. Hyeok-jin did not miss the opening; he raised his saber and disrupted the sword’s remaining trajectory.
Clang!
While Beoncheonjang’s attention was divided, Hyeok-jin’s sword moved like a flash of lightning.
Clang!
But Beoncheonjang was still the superior martial artist. Without even looking, he accurately read and blocked the path of Hyeok-jin’s sword. He didn't stop there. Shifting to his left, he pinned Hyeok-jin’s saber arm while simultaneously thrusting his sword toward the boy’s exposed right side.
Stagger!
Hyeok-jin retreated reflexively, but his movements were tangled, and the blade ultimately pierced his shoulder.
“Urgh!”
As Hyeok-jin clutched his bleeding shoulder, Beoncheonjang’s eyes bulged as he screamed.
“You little brats!”
Glancing around, he saw several gourd-shaped objects lying near the straw. It was a case of being startled by a pot lid after being scared by a turtle. His focus had been broken by something that wasn't even a hidden weapon, costing him the chance to take the boy’s head.
Having been hindered by such trivial things, Beoncheonjang’s eyes burned with murderous intent.
“I’ll kill every last one of you!”
Rumble.
Beoncheonjang’s aura grew even more oppressive, preying on the children’s terror. Watching this, Hyeok-jin’s eyes began to tremble.
It wasn't out of fear for his opponent. It was because the gaze of the children watching him was so desperate. They had nowhere to run and nothing to rely on. Their eyes, fixed solely on him, pierced through his nerves and into his mind like a blade cutting skin.
‘Even if I die, I’m taking this man with me!’
Hyeok-jin crossed his sword and saber, steeling his heart. The weight of the children’s lives felt heavy upon his shoulders.
“Huuu!”
The heavier the burden felt, the more he emptied his mind.
He cast aside the forms he had practiced for the sake of study. He erased the techniques meant for survival. He thought only of the strikes needed to stop this man—to kill him.
Suddenly, the saber in his hand felt heavy. Defense had become meaningless.
‘I will kill you! No matter what!’
Hyeok-jin took the initiative and lunged.
He began to swing the saber he had used only for blocking and the sword he had used for ambushes simultaneously. It was a reckless assault, as if he were daring the man to stab him.
‘An attack that completely ignores defense?’ Beoncheonjang snorted.
The storm-like onslaught looked intense, but to his expert eyes, it was riddled with openings. He was confident in a brawl like this. In fact, it was one of his specialties. Was the One Flat Swift Flash not his signature move?
Flash.
Beoncheonjang’s eyes gleamed. He caught the exact moment Hyeok-jin swung his saber and prepared to follow up with a sword thrust. A single move aimed at the gap. He lunged without hesitation into the space between the saber and the sword.
“...!”
A cold chill ran down the back of Hyeok-jin’s neck. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he realized his opening had been exploited.
“Cha!”
He might die. Yet, even in that fleeting moment, he felt no fear.
The enemy’s sword technique was piercing the gap between his two weapons. This was a scenario he had always visualized while training with dual armaments—an attack he had always prepared to counter.
Clash!
The sound of clashing metal stopped near Hyeok-jin’s chest. Twisting his body, he raised the hilt of his sword to parry the opponent’s blade. To be precise, he had blocked the attack with the geom-ol, the very top of the hilt.
And in that instant—
Slash!
The saber that had been stationary swept upward in a diagonal arc toward the sky. With the saber that should have been focused on defense, Hyeok-jin sliced through Beoncheonjang’s chest without a moment’s delay.
“Cough!”
Clatter.
Beoncheonjang stumbled back, clutching his chest. He stared at Hyeok-jin with eyes full of bewilderment.
“Who... who are you? How can you handle two weapons like that...?”
Beoncheonjang couldn't understand it. The boy’s swordsmanship followed a trajectory completely different from standard styles. It was as spontaneous as the practical combat techniques of a wandering mercenary. The paths of the saber and sword weren't linked like traditional forms. Yet, he had blocked a sword with a hilt and attacked with the left-hand saber while the main sword was neutralized.
It was a style that was brutally aggressive, yet built upon a foundation of rock-solid basics.
“Because my master fought the same way.”
“Who is your master...?”
“The Flash Divine Sword.”
“Ha... so that was it. Truly, the Right Staff Divine Sword...”
He couldn't finish his sentence. He died right there, his eyes still wide with shock.
Thud.
Having spent every ounce of his strength, Hyeok-jin fell to his knees. He trembled violently for a long time.
“Master...”
The word ‘Truly.’ And the title ‘Right Staff Divine Sword.’
Beoncheonjang had known his master. Before he began wielding an axe, his master had used a staff and a sword together. That was how he earned the name Right Staff Divine Sword, before eventually becoming the Flash Divine Sword and one of the Ten Great Masters of the world.
“You were right, Master. What you said was...”
Hyeok-jin had won. And it was a perfect victory. Just as his master always said, it wasn't about the forms, the heart method, or the complexity of the swordsmanship. It was simply a basic sword strike, bolstered by a flicker of enlightenment.
Hyeok-jin had overcome an opponent who was a level above him.
“Master...”
Overcome with emotion, Hyeok-jin sobbed for a long while. As if reassured by the sound, the watching children began to cry as well.
It was around the time Hyeok-jin finally stood up that he saw them. Dozens of men dressed in black were ascending the mountain, close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
‘Brother Seok Myeong!’
In that moment, a face flashed through Hyeok-jin’s mind. He quickly left the storehouse and began racing up the mountain.
*
“Haha...”
Song Yeo-guk let out a dry laugh as he looked around. Suddenly, a swarm of men in black, enough to cover his entire field of vision, had surrounded the area. By a rough estimate, there were over a hundred of them. Even he hadn't imagined there would be this many.
“Did you cut down this many people in the past as well?” Seok Myeong asked, his voice tight. He had expected a large number, so he wasn't exactly shocked, but it was hard to hide his heightened state of tension.
Song Yeo-guk nodded. “It was about this many back then, too.”
“Then how did you deal with them?”
“I just... charged in recklessly.”
“...!”
Seok Myeong was speechless. A hundred experts was a number that would make even someone of his caliber feel fear. And yet, this man had cut them all down alone? Just how strong had the Song Yeo-guk of the past been?
“Estate Owner Song!”
A group of men approached from the side not occupied by the men in black. There were about twenty of them, and at a glance, their attire showed they were not part of the black-clad mob. When Song Yeo-guk saw the old man leading them, he spoke to Seok Myeong.
“Greet him. He is from the Azure Lake Gate and has come to help me. His grandfather had ties to the Qingcheng Sect, so he is like family to us.”
The old man had deep wrinkles on his face and a goatee, yet he exuded a robust, powerful aura.
“I am Hwang Woo. I serve as the leader of the Azure Lake Gate.” Though he was older and of a higher generation, he showed respect to Seok Myeong out of deference to the Nine Great Sects.
Seok Myeong shook his head. “I am a mere junior of the Jianghu named Seok Myeong. Please, do not lower yourself.”
Just as Seok Myeong finished his brief greeting, someone appeared from the distance. It was Hyeok-jin.
“Brother, you’re here!”
“You’re safe.” Seok Myeong’s expression finally brightened. He had been worried, but at a glance, the boy didn't seem to have any major injuries.
While Seok Myeong welcomed Hyeok-jin, Song Yeo-guk couldn't take his eyes off the man on the opposite side.
Hong Geom-baek stood there, mute as a stone. Even when his subordinates asked him questions, he just blinked, struggling to process the scene before him. He had heard this man had left this place. How could someone who shouldn't be here be standing right in front of him?
He had summoned all his subordinates who were spreading the Heaven and Earth Dragnet just in case, but he still didn't feel at ease. It didn't matter if there were dozens or hundreds. Against the man of the past, this was a fight they could never win. Even if the Union Leader himself came, victory wasn't guaranteed; this man was no ordinary opponent.
“Tell me how you’re still alive,” Song Yeo-guk said, his eyes turning terrifying.
Seeing Song Yeo-guk’s transformation, Hong Geom-baek spoke warily. “Why should I tell you that?”
“I have a rough idea.” Song Yeo-guk narrowed his eyes and glared at Hong Geom-baek. “Back then, I was certain I had pierced your heart. But seeing you alive like this... you must either have two hearts, or your heart is on the opposite side.”
“...!”
In that moment, a flicker of panic crossed Hong Geom-baek’s eyes.
Smirk.
At that reaction, Song Yeo-guk nodded. “I was right. Yes, such people exist occasionally. It was a great mistake on my part not to account for that. This time, I’ll make sure you’re completely dead.”
“Hmph! Do you think I’ll fall like I did before? After being defeated by you, I ground my teeth and underwent life-or-death cultivation!”
“Is that so? We’ll see soon enough.”
As he prepared to move, Hong Geom-baek shouted.
“Eyebrow Life Team and Soul Killing Team! Stop that man!”