Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Toppling (5)
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“Th-that can’t be……”
No matter how much he struggled, Moyong Gwi’s pupils shook violently at the declaration that his death was inevitable.
A normal person might have given up in despair right then and there, but Moyong Gwi—still the ambitious head of the Moyong Clan—was different.
‘If this is how it ends, I’ll drag that bastard Yang Hui-gun, my enemy, down to hell with me as my companion.’
Since death was certain either way, he harbored a vicious intent to take Yang Hui-gun’s life along with his own.
With that twisted motivation fueling him, Moyong Gwi braced himself, his eyes brimming with venom.
He had nothing left to lose now—like a rampaging four-horse chariot.
“I knew something was off when you wouldn’t talk until the end.”
Moyong Gwi no longer bothered hiding his wicked deeds, convinced he couldn’t anyway.
Thus, he fully embraced his descent into ruin, poised to strike at any moment as he waited for Yang Hui-gun to approach.
“You’ve had a sharp tongue to the very end.”
Yang Hui-gun ground his teeth as he glared at his longtime foe—the man who had suppressed him, tortured him mercilessly, and slowly killed him both physically and spiritually.
‘You, of all people—I’ll kill you no matter what!’
When it came to sheer motivation, no one could match Yang Hui-gun.
He had already eliminated all the other key culprits behind his kidnapping and disappearance—everyone except Moyong Gwi.
Capturing Moyong Gwi would complete his tale of vengeance.
“Moyong Gwi.”
Meanwhile, Myriad Sword Pursuer Moyong Jeon—who had barely preserved the Moyong Clan’s lineage by sacrificing just this one man—stared intently at Moyong Gwi.
Setting aside the man’s cruelty, Moyong Jeon knew full well how formidable his skills were, and worry gnawed at him.
The Yang Hui-gun in Moyong Jeon’s memory was a powerless youth writhing in agony under torture.
He couldn’t help but doubt whether such a kind and gentle soul could hold his own against someone as vicious as Moyong Gwi.
“Come at me with all you’ve got!”
As if to prove Moyong Jeon’s fears right, Moyong Gwi taunted Yang Hui-gun with a confident flick of his fingers.
‘I may not have reached the realm of Transcendence, but I’m more than confident in my skills!’
His pursuit of the Loyal Ghost Sword techniques had been mere flailing to achieve transcendence, but his core abilities brimmed with self-assurance.
Just look at how he yielded the first strike to Yang Hui-gun—it was a perfect display of his arrogance and flair.
And so, with everyone watching intently, the moment finally arrived!
Grinning widely.
Instead of exploding in rage as expected, Yang Hui-gun smiled broadly and unleashed his sword as if he’d been waiting for this exact instant.
Ghost Weep Shadow Pursuit Sword Technique
Cry Chase Shadowless!
Among its forms, he displayed Cry Chase Shadowless—one so swift that even the sword’s shadow was invisible.
And he unleashed it while his overconfident opponent had yielded the first strike.
What did you think would happen?
“Wh-what?!”
Moyong Gwi, who had flaunted his superiority and treated Yang Hui-gun like a novice by yielding the initiative.
But an astonishingly swift blade—far beyond his expectations—filled his vision, leaving him unable to react.
All he could do was thrust his sword forward with every ounce of strength and reflex he could muster.
That was it.
Ching! Clang-clang-clang!
At least by shoving his sword out to shield his face, he avoided instant defeat from the first assault.
Even so, the shock of blocking Cry Chase Shadowless’s blinding speed.
“Aaaagh!”
Moyong Gwi’s grip tore open in excruciating pain as blood flowed, sending him skidding backward.
It hadn’t even been a single cup of tea’s time since he’d boasted he could crush small fry like Yang Hui-gun with ease.
“Y-you… when did you hide such power?”
Only then did Moyong Gwi realize Yang Hui-gun’s skill matched or surpassed his own, his pupils quaking like an earthquake.
“I never hid it. I simply grew stronger after meeting Lord Gunryong.”
“What?”
Moyong Gwi couldn’t believe what was happening to him.
“No… Nooooo!!”
To be staggered by a single sword strike from the young heir of Ghost Sword Manor—a mere youth he’d dismissed and looked down upon—he denied reality.
With an ugly howl, Moyong Gwi unleashed the essence of his nickname: a technique that birthed myriad changes from one sword.
Heaven and Earth Multivariable Sword Art
Sword Transformation Myriad Forms!
This ultimate technique from the latter half of the Heaven and Earth Multivariable Sword Art—known only to the Moyong Clan head—epitomized the art of variable swordplay, transforming the blade into myriad shapes.
Swooooosh!
Even in rage-distorted fury, Moyong Gwi poured everything into that one sword of myriad variations.
His blade instantly shifted through countless forms, filling the arena with thick sword shadows.
That mystical, extraordinary transformation rivaled even the Plum Blossom Sword Art of Mount Hua, which shared its style.
“Worthy of Clan Head Moyong Gwi!”
“How could anyone beat someone who’s reached peak transcendence through variable swordplay alone?”
The onlookers, witnessing this, believed that despite his struggles, Moyong Gwi would ultimately prove his superiority and subdue the young, inexperienced warrior Yang Hui-gun.
‘Is it truly hopeless?’
Even Moyong Jeon, who had quietly rooted for Yang Hui-gun, began to fear all was lost—right at that moment.
Yang Hui-gun revealed his “true intent” for the first time since entering the Moyong Clan stronghold.
“No matter how flashy the changes, the core generating them is always fragile.”
Yang Hui-gun had pierced Moyong Gwi’s weakness.
No—perhaps it was a flaw in the Moyong Clan’s swordsmanship as a whole.
As he said, their blades boasted myriad variations and flows but lacked a solid core—weight and a decisive, powerful strike.
Moyong Gwi knew this flaw better than anyone; hadn’t he desperately schemed to kidnap Yang Hui-gun of Ghost Sword Manor just to overcome it?
To crush such changes required a swift, powerful single strike.
That alone sufficed.
Yang Hui-gun unleashed the technique he had dreamed of solely for this day.
Flaaash!
Becoming a streak of blinding light, Shadow Chase One Flash Sword’s counterattack hurtled forward at terrifying lightspeed.
In truth, it was the very strike he had envisioned while imprisoned in the Moyong Clan’s underground dungeon, enduring brutal torture.
Once free, he vowed to split Moyong Gwi’s skull with this form and kill him—and he had reaffirmed that oath countless times.
And now, that vow became reality.
Craaaack!
Yang Hui-gun’s dazzling swift sword cleaved straight through Moyong Gwi’s face, sending him instantly to the path of death.
The blade was so fast that.
Booom!
Even after Moyong Gwi’s lifeless body crumpled to the floor—his soul long fled—the onlookers failed to grasp what had transpired.
“Fast, indeed. As expected of the Limitless Body.”
Only the Heavenly Demon Gunryong had precisely tracked Yang Hui-gun’s swift sword, sharing in that thrilling moment.
The Heavenly Demon had accurately assessed Yang Hui-gun’s talent.
‘The reincarnation of Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang, without a doubt!’
Perhaps even surpassing him.
Watching that swift sword, the Heavenly Demon brimmed with hope.
The revival of the Loyal Ghost Sword—the greatest ally in his dream of conquering the Central Plains.
He believed Yang Hui-gun could perfectly fill that role.
“C-Clan Head!”
“Clan Head Moyong Gwi!”
Meanwhile, Moyong Clan warriors panicked and wailed as their leader died in the most gruesome fashion in the blink of an eye.
The guests who had come to celebrate his sixtieth birthday were equally stunned.
“One Sword Myriad Changes, Yoneung’s Supreme Master and Supreme Sword… defeated by the heir of Ghost Sword Manor, thought long faded?”
“Ghost Sword Manor has revived!”
“Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang has returned!”
People’s eyes see the same truth.
Just as the Heavenly Demon had, the others—the warriors—saw Yang Hui-gun’s terrifyingly swift and precise technique and recalled the Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang, who had once plunged the righteous martial world into shock and chaos.
‘Finally… my vengeance is complete!’
After twists and turns, Yang Hui-gun had finally slain One Sword Myriad Changes Moyong Gwi, and joy overwhelmed him from head to toe.
And he believed it was not his own power, but the Heavenly Demon’s aid, that made it possible.
“Lord Gunryong, thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve gained the strength not to be a burden to you.”
Immediately after felling Moyong Gwi, Yang Hui-gun approached the Heavenly Demon and bowed deeply in respect.
Meanwhile, eyes turned to this figure—Ghost Shadow Sword Yang Hui-gun, who had subdued Moyong Gwi and risen as Yoneung’s new supreme master—showing such profound courtesy.
Even Yang Dae-un, lord of Ghost Sword Manor and a senior figure, seemed deferential to this young man. Who was he?
“A financial backer supporting Ghost Sword Manor’s revival?”
“What kind of backer wields such martial prowess?”
“No way… the First Heavenly Demon descended?”
“Hah, don’t be ridiculous.”
As curiosity peaked, the Moyong Clan reeled—having lost their head and steward, the pillars of their house uprooted in an instant.
Despair gripped them; they had no idea how to salvage this.
Right then.
“Our Moyong Clan must acknowledge the grave wrongs we’ve committed against Ghost Sword Manor! No—not just them, but we must also apologize to Whirlwind Twin Swords Left Public Cloud the Great Hero, Great Hero Jin, and Scholar Cho Gun-bi!”
Stepping forward as their new focal point—the man who should have vied for headship against Moyong Gwi per the original plan—was Myriad Sword Pursuer Moyong Jeon.
Aged and regressed in skill from long imprisonment, his innate character and temperament remained unyielding.
“Moyong Clan elders! Clan leaders—where are you hiding? If you joined us for the sixtieth birthday celebration, you must stand with us now in this hall of shame for our sins!”
Moyong Jeon spat bitter words, determined to guide the Moyong Clan back to the righteous path.
As he said, the elders and leaders had fled, unable to endure the humiliation.
Thus, salvaging the clan fell to Moyong Jeon—a branch family member returning after decades.
“The Moyong Clan admits all its faults. We will seal our gates and cease all rivers-and-lakes activities until Ghost Sword Manor is satisfied. Furthermore……”
With utter sincerity, representing the Moyong Clan, Moyong Jeon bowed desperately to Yang Dae-un, Yang Hui-gun, and all of Ghost Sword Manor.
“As a token of our admission and atonement, however meager, we open all our clan storehouses to aid Ghost Sword Manor’s revival.”
It was a historic moment: Yoneung’s hegemon shifting from Moyong Clan to Ghost Sword Manor, its supreme master from One Sword Myriad Changes Moyong Gwi to Ghost Shadow Sword Yang Hui-gun.
With sects and warriors from Yoneung, Henan, and Hebei witnessing it firsthand, Ghost Sword Manor’s second golden age had just begun.