Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Departure (2)
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The next day.
Ouyang Jue, who had woken early, tidied up the banquet hall alongside the other disciples.
Normally, this was a task for disciples of a lower rank, but he felt more at ease doing it himself.
‘To be blunt, all I’ve really done in the martial world is cause a ruckus…’
He was grateful for the efforts of those who had thrown a banquet to celebrate it.
He was especially surprised to learn that many Daoists felt indebted to the clinic in Chang’an.
They had said the clinic was the reason they could live a simple, contented life without great wealth.
‘I never realized there were so many extraordinary individuals active without being affiliated with a particular sect or Daoist school.’
Ouyang Jue recalled the names of the remarkable Anbin Geosa and Sokyeol Geosa.
Anbin Geosa, in particular, not only possessed a mysterious aura but was also acquainted with Bai Duanxian, suggesting deep ties to the core of the Mount Hua Sect.
Though he could only guess at his age, he seemed significantly older than Bai Duanxian.
Perhaps he knew something about Jin Mu-wol.
Ouyang Jue jotted down the location of the hermitage in northern Shaanxi where Anbin Geosa supposedly resided on his map.
“I suppose it’s about time I returned the Map of the Central Plains I borrowed from General Jang Il-guk.”
Jang Il-guk himself greatly admired the Mount Hua Sect, so he wouldn't be a problem, but his superiors were another matter.
It was better to return it as soon as possible to prevent any future trouble.
With that in mind, Ouyang Jue headed for the Plum Blossom Courtyard where Bai Duanxian would be, but an unexpected sound reached him.
*Whoosh, shing!*
From the back garden of the Plum Blossom Courtyard came the sharp sound of a sword’s tip cutting through the air.
Since Bai Duanxian had refrained from training after becoming Sect Leader to focus on his duties, Ouyang Jue’s expression immediately hardened.
‘Don’t tell me another spy has infiltrated the sect.’
Ouyang Jue tapped Severing Manifestation, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice, and headed for the back garden.
But there was no spy there.
Only the martial artist Bai Duanxian, engrossed in his training with hot breath misting in the air, stood there with a cold expression.
“What is it?”
“…Ah, I thought someone had broken in.”
Spying on someone’s training was a great discourtesy.
Ouyang Jue cupped his hands and apologized.
“My apologies, Sect Leader.”
“It’s nothing. Since I don’t normally train… it’s an understandable mistake.”
Bai Duanxian exhaled a sharp puff of breath, hot from his training.
“What brings you here? No, don’t tell me you’ve come to ask to leave again?”
“Haha, you’re practically a psychic.”
“Sometimes I get confused whether you’re a registered disciple or a lay disciple.”
At those words, Ouyang Jue met Bai Duanxian’s gaze and chuckled good-naturedly.
Presently, Bai Duanxian raised his sword to a middle guard.
“You spied on my training. You must know that the transgression is not a small one, yes?”
Ouyang Jue wore a troubled expression.
“A duel this early in the morning, really?”
“I want to know.”
Bai Duanxian half-closed his eyes, looking at Ouyang Jue with a peculiar gaze.
“As your master, I wish to know just how much you’ve grown during your frequent trips outside.”
*Shing!*
The blade Bai Duanxian drew glinted sharply in the dawn light.
Bai Duanxian’s solemn voice seemed to flow along the blade.
“If the sword of Mount Hua has been sullied by the ways of the secular world, is it not my duty to correct it?”
“…It seems you aren’t joking.”
Ouyang Jue let out a small sigh.
He had hoped to avoid fighting during his days in the Mount Hua Sect. Especially against his master, Bai Duanxian.
But now that it had come to this, he had to raise his sword.
That was the proper etiquette for a Daoist of the Mount Hua Sect, a tribute of the sword offered to Bai Duanxian.
Bai Duanxian said coldly.
“I will yield the first move.”
“I won’t refuse.”
Ouyang Jue’s knees bent, and in an instant, he kicked off the ground and flew through the air.
It was a single move utilizing the Plum Blossom Steps, but it was imbued with Ouyang Jue’s own enlightenment.
Bai Duanxian, inwardly impressed, raised his sword.
‘It’s sharp, but…’
It isn’t heavy.
The moment Bai Duanxian focused strength in his grip and swung his arm.
A single line was drawn in the air.
Even the cold early spring air seemed to be torn apart, unable to cross the line Bai Duanxian had drawn.
The very pinnacle of speed!
With a start, Ouyang Jue pulled back.
He was filled with regret, wondering if he had underestimated Bai Duanxian after his recent battles with powerful foes.
Bai Duanxian’s figure moved forward.
“I yielded the first move, so why do you retreat instead of facing me?”
“…Kgh!”
He wanted to protest that his master’s sword strike was too sharp, but he simply didn’t have the leeway.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Ouyang Jue raised Severing Manifestation to a high guard and unleashed the Plum Blossom Sword Arts.
“Plum Blossoms Fall and Scatter, Plum Blossoms Fall Before the Sun.”
As if countless falling plum blossoms finally obscured the sunlight.
The chain of attacks Ouyang Jue produced was like a downpour of blades.
Yet, he showed no openings, and the swift sword of Bai Duanxian gradually blurred.
The blade was gradually losing its edge.
Bai Duanxian anticipated that Ouyang Jue would aim for this momentary opening and immediately shot his right foot forward, sharp as a spear.
*Pow!*
A sound like a gust of wind bursting from the wide sleeves of his Daoist robe echoed out.
Ouyang Jue felt the immense internal energy contained in the kick.
‘Was this not a spar?’
Ouyang Jue frowned for a moment, but it wasn’t a blow he couldn’t block.
His high guard, which had been delivering a flurry of strikes, instantly shifted to a low guard.
“Plum Enduring the Snowy Cold!”
Severing Manifestation moved with explosive speed, blocking the tip of Bai Duanxian’s foot.
The force that passed through the blade was undeniably heavy.
Ouyang Jue gritted his teeth and took half a step back.
A hot flame flared in Ouyang Jue’s eyes.
‘The Sect Leader hasn’t even used a proper technique yet!’
That stimulated Ouyang Jue’s competitive spirit.
“…Hoo.”
The moment Ouyang Jue took a short but deep breath, Bai Duanxian tensed every muscle in his body.
A simple premonition and a sudden sense of unease made him wary of Ouyang Jue.
‘Here it comes.’
Just as Bai Duanxian blinked.
Ouyang Jue’s sword was already before his eyes.
The faint but distinct lightning energy gathered at the sword’s tip startled Bai Duanxian.
Moreover, while the sword art unfolding in Ouyang Jue’s hands was clearly the Plum Blossom Sword Arts, it was quite different.
“Plum Shadow Forges a River.”
The shadow forged by the plum blossoms created a river, and the weight imbued in Severing Manifestation seemed to drag at his ankles.
Bai Duanxian too had practiced and performed the Heavy Sword countless times, but Ouyang Jue’s version contained the subtlety of lightness within its weight.
‘You’ve grown this much!’
Bai Duanxian forcefully suppressed the laugh that threatened to burst out.
But this was a duel to test the sword of the Plum Blossoms.
He could not let personal feelings compromise the seriousness of the moment.
Bai Duanxian swung his left palm toward Ouyang Jue’s wrist pulse point.
Simultaneously, he used an esoteric footwork to shake off the heavy sword effect created by the Plum Shadow Forges a River.
“...!”
Ouyang Jue’s eyes flashed with intense surprise as he watched.
To execute two techniques simultaneously, not just without awkwardness but with complete mastery!
Indeed, he hadn’t become the Sect Leader simply because of his gentle nature.
His master was also a martial artist with the skill befitting his position.
‘But I can’t lose so easily.’
This duel might just determine the scope of his future freedom of movement.
Ouyang Jue exerted thirty percent of his internal energy and activated the Thunderflash Eyes.
A strange gleam of energy erupted from the corners of his eyes, and Bai Duanxian’s movements appeared slightly slower.
Even with the Thunderflash Eyes, this was the most he could slow him down.
Ouyang Jue twisted one corner of his lip and gripped Severing Manifestation with both hands.
“Plum Fragrance Seeps into the Bones!”
Severing Manifestation, which had been tracing the Plum Shadow Forges a River from a low guard, instantly transitioned through the middle and high guards, changing drastically.
As Severing Manifestation moved to the middle guard, it obstructed Bai Duanxian’s esoteric footwork; as it soared to the high guard, it took a form that would slash his left palm.
In a fraction of a second, split into two or three pieces, Bai Duanxian pursed his dry lips.
To think that a single technique unleashed in the middle of a fierce exchange could completely restrict his movements.
Bai Duanxian’s lips curved into a smile. He could no longer hold back.
At that moment, Ouyang Jue unleashed his final technique.
“Plum Blossom’s Fragrance Spreads Ten Thousand Li.”
The essence of the Plum Blossom Sword Arts, the final technique created by the founder of the Mount Hua Sect, Great Master Hak Daetong.
Bai Duanxian was deeply moved as he watched Ouyang Jue execute the Plum Blossom’s Fragrance Spreads Ten Thousand Li.
Ouyang Jue’s sword undoubtedly possessed the soul of Mount Hua.
‘You truly have grown so much.’
For an instant, Bai Duanxian’s gaze turned cold and calm.
“Profound and Limitless.”
*Shing!*
Bai Duanxian’s sword finally tore the sky asunder.
* * *
“Where are you going again?”
Liu Zhangming asked with a disappointed look, and Ouyang Jue replied in a voice thick with regret.
“There are still matters outside that I haven’t settled. They aren’t things I can entrust to others.”
“Then you’ll be back soon.”
Ouyang Jue shook his head lightly.
“I’m afraid that might be difficult.”
“...?”
“For the time being, I plan to travel the martial world and train in new martial arts.”
As he said this, Ouyang Jue recalled the ultimate technique Bai Duanxian had shown him at dawn.
Profound and Limitless, was it?
True to its name, it was the most inescapable, ultimate strike among all the swift sword techniques he had ever seen.
The Plum Blossom’s Fragrance Spreads Ten Thousand Li that he had performed could not reach it.
It might have been a different story if he had used the sword arts he was accustomed to from his past life.
Thinking that far, Ouyang Jue shook his head inwardly.
‘I can’t do that.’
The martial arts from his past life were mostly imbued with sinister energy or were crude tricks befitting a savage.
The moment he used them, the reputation of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero would plummet, and some would question if he was truly a registered disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.
His plan to live as a Daoist of the Mount Hua Sect would be ruined.
Furthermore, he didn’t want to tear down the steps he had climbed so far.
With just a little more training, he felt he could surpass the martial prowess he had achieved in his past life.
‘Especially to defeat the Eight Evils, I need systematic martial arts, not the haphazard ones I learned in my past life.’
He had realized this during his fight with the Black Dragon.
How badly had he been injured from using the poorly learned Heavenly Escape Sword Arts, Thunderflash Eyes, and Divine Demon Fist?
That could not happen again.
Ouyang Jue solidified his resolve and looked straight at Liu Zhangming.
“I will return stronger.”
“…I don’t know what’s chasing you that makes you so obsessed with strength, but.”
Liu Zhangming gave a gentle smile.
“Your troubles and worries are my own. You know that, right?”
“I am only grateful that you say so.”
Knowing those words came from the heart, Ouyang Jue was silently moved. Breaking the lingering moment, he turned his back to Liu Zhangming.
Just then.
“Jue!”
“...?”
Ouyang Jue turned his head at the voice calling from a distance and saw Gwak Un-pae waving with a bright expression.
“Next time, get me a good scabbard, too!”
“...”
It was a typical Gwak Un-pae thing to say, but a dry laugh escaped him, as it seemed he valued the scabbard more than Ouyang Jue himself.
Then Gwak Un-pae continued.
“Stay healthy and have a safe trip!”
At those words, Ouyang Jue cupped his hands.
“Yes! Martial Uncle!”
Ouyang Jue’s steps moved swiftly down the stairs.