Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Jin Mu-wol (1)
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Before facing Jin Mu-wol, Ouyang Jue had already sorted through many of his thoughts.
His connection with Nameless.
The existence of the Eight Evils.
What lay within the Plum Blossom Cave.
‘And how Jin Mu-wol maintained the appearance of a middle-aged man…’
Ouyang Jue pondered endlessly.
There was no end to the questions he wanted to ask, but time was limited.
Above all, his greatest worry was whether Jin Mu-wol would even answer.
Only one thought came to mind then.
‘I must face this head-on, so I have no regrets.’
How much regret had that damned inferiority complex caused, leading him to leave Mount Hua?
It was a burden that hadn't vanished even in this new life.
Even now, he sometimes had nightmares when he lay down to sleep.
*Because of you, the lineage of the Mount Hua Sect was severed.*
The sensation of a blood-soaked Liu Zhangming, Jo Hun, and Bai Duanxian slowly crawling toward him was indescribably horrific.
Ouyang Jue shook his head, steadying his resolve.
He then closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.
Jin Mu-wol, who had approached at some point, was gazing at him with desolate eyes.
“Does your trouble come from without, or from within?”
To that, Ouyang Jue responded with a calm smile.
“My apologies, but I'm not fond of such Zen riddles.”
“Hoho, a bold junior, indeed.”
Though it was a short reply, Ouyang Jue could infer much from Jin Mu-wol's words.
Calling him ‘junior’ meant he was being treated not as a fellow disciple, but in some other capacity.
Calling him ‘bold’ implied that Jin Mu-wol himself would not necessarily treat Ouyang Jue favorably.
Ouyang Jue met Jin Mu-wol's gaze and began to speak.
“Grand Ancestor, I have come here with many questions for you.”
“My ties to the Mount Hua Sect were severed long ago. Now, I am merely a celestial being guarding the Plum Blossom Cave.”
“Then why did you send me to the Martial Alliance?”
“…”
Jin Mu-wol answered with silence.
Ouyang Jue licked his lips.
“Isn't that cowardly? You usually claim to be the Plum Blossom Cave Dweller, having nothing to do with the Mount Hua Sect, but when you need something, you summon the Sect Leader to do your bidding.”
“…”
Jin Mu-wol remained silent.
At a glance, he seemed to be listening intently, but the focus in his eyes was hazy.
A sign that he wasn't truly listening.
But Ouyang Jue knew better.
The moment their conversation ended, Jin Mu-wol would make his decision.
‘Either he'll draw his sword, or he'll decide I'm on his side.’
One of the two.
With those two possibilities at opposite ends of the spectrum, Ouyang Jue squared his shoulders and began his story.
“Until now, I have roamed the martial world, working alongside my sworn brothers, and I have seen and felt many things.”
Ouyang Jue paused for a moment.
It was partly to build the atmosphere, but also because he had accomplished so much since returning to the past.
Each day had been lived to the fullest, none wasted.
“I met the Omniscient One.”
“…”
“I met Nameless at the peak of Wulingyuan in Zhangjiajie.”
“…”
“I met the Black Dragon, one of the Eight Evils, fought him, and won.”
“…”
“I also met Jeok Sang, who is single-handedly maintaining the Mount Tai Sword Gate on Mount Tai.”
Despite Ouyang Jue's continuing story, Jin Mu-wol offered no response.
Like a withered old tree in summer, all he did was nod his head from time to time.
Nevertheless, Ouyang Jue continued his tale.
He rambled on about his experiences, paying no mind to chronological order.
Anyone watching would have felt a strong sense of dissonance.
A young man trying to elicit an answer to anything, and an old man letting every word wash over him.
Normally, one would laugh and ask if their roles weren't reversed.
Then, finally, Ouyang Jue decided to shatter the stalemate, shouting his question.
“Is the answer I seek in that Plum Blossom Cave you're constantly guarding, Grand Ancestor?”
“…”
“You seem to know what secret Senior Brother Liu possesses.”
Ouyang Jue's eyes widened, glaring at the still-silent Jin Mu-wol.
“Will you only be satisfied if I defeat you right now and confirm the secret for myself?”
“That is not possible.”
*Fwoooosh—*
The moment Jin Mu-wol answered, Ouyang Jue was engulfed by a sensation as if the entire world had frozen over.
It was a truly overwhelming experience.
To think his entire body would shrink back just because his opponent had merely released his senses and discharged his true energy.
Ouyang Jue's canine teeth dug into his lower lip.
“I heard from Nameless. You once tried to kill the demon, didn't you?”
“So it wasn't a lie that you met him.”
Jin Mu-wol let out a sigh.
“Once, that was so. But not anymore. I have a duty to protect the Plum Blossom Cave.”
“That's not unrelated to your past attempt to kill the demon, is it?”
“Do not try to sound me out.”
*Flinch—*
Feeling the killing intent from Jin Mu-wol, Ouyang Jue instinctively gripped Severing Manifestation.
It was only for an instant, but he had nearly been cut down.
If he hadn't completed the Grand Heavenly Circulation, learned the Heavenly Escape from the Forgetting Sword, and fought Nameless, he would have lost all will to fight within that range.
As if that hadn't been his intention, Jin Mu-wol quickly reined in his killing intent, a look of surprise on his face.
“A talent of the ages has appeared on Mount Hua. Truly astonishing. Is such martial prowess even possible at your age?”
“Even so, compared to the Eight Evils, I'm little more than a firefly.”
Jin Mu-wol didn't respond to that.
But inwardly, he was thunderstruck.
‘The Black Dragon… isn't that the great evil lurking on Mount Mao! It's a miracle he's alive after facing such a monster!’
Until now, he had regarded Ouyang Jue as a suspicious and disagreeable disciple, wanting only to drive him away, but now his thoughts were on the verge of a complete reversal.
The fact that Ouyang Jue had defeated one of the Eight Evils—the true enemy of the Plum Blossom Cave and a force that would eventually consume the entire Central Plains—pleased Jin Mu-wol greatly.
Above all, he had confirmed for himself that Ouyang Jue's words about doing everything for the Mount Hua Sect were true.
Jin Mu-wol began to consider it seriously.
Should he tell Ouyang Jue everything and help him with all his might?
Was he truly trustworthy?
‘Meeting the Omniscient One and visiting Mount Tai means he has grown somewhat close to the Eight Evils. If I leave him be, the disciple will be in danger…’
Just as the scales were beginning to tip, Ouyang Jue spoke.
“Grand Ancestor, do you believe I am lacking?”
At that, Jin Mu-wol offered a strange smile.
“If I said yes, would you accept it?”
“No.”
Ouyang Jue slowly drew Severing Manifestation.
The blade glinted in the moonlight, revealing itself clearly even in the darkness.
Ouyang Jue's life was not so different.
In the past, he had wandered from place to place, striving to become stronger to fill his lack of self-esteem.
In this life, he strived to undo all the regrets of his previous one.
And that was still true now.
For the Mount Hua Sect, for himself, and for his sworn brothers, Ouyang Jue was prepared to face any enemy.
‘Even if that enemy is my Grand Ancestor.’
Ouyang Jue took a deep breath.
Time had passed into the dead of night, and the cold air seemed to sweep through his lungs.
His mind grew clearer, but his body grew hot, as if feverish.
Jin Mu-wol also sensed something unusual about Ouyang Jue, and his eyes gleamed.
A hair-trigger moment.
It was Ouyang Jue who moved first.
…KABOOM!
The instant his left foot stomped the ground, Ouyang Jue's figure shot forward.
The aftershock left a large crater where Ouyang Jue had been standing.
“…Hmph!”
Seeing this, Jin Mu-wol was momentarily impressed.
Stomp the ground, then use that force to step forward.
A technique that should have been executed in two separate actions, Ouyang Jue had combined into a single, seamless motion.
This was proof that he had achieved the Grand Heavenly Circulation, which allowed for instantaneous action following thought.
‘I expected him to have progressed in his martial arts, but to this extent…’
Jin Mu-wol, uncharacteristically, clicked his tongue in amazement and took a step back.
However, for him, an attack of this level was not particularly difficult to handle.
A faint smile touched Jin Mu-wol's face.
“You've barely escaped being a one-move opponent.”
“…!”
Ouyang Jue's brow furrowed at those words.
What did he mean, a one-move opponent?
It meant an enemy who could be subdued with a single technique.
But he had achieved the Grand Heavenly Circulation! Even if his opponent was the Grand Ancestor, was he saying he had barely avoided being a one-move opponent?
‘Does this mean Grand Ancestor Jin's strength is on par with Nameless or the Forgetting Sword?’
Sensing the danger, Ouyang Jue channeled his Purple Mist Energy into Severing Manifestation, manifesting a Sword Aura.
The fire energy flowing through the Diamond Fist-Seal Armor made the Sword Aura even more solid.
In contrast, Jin Mu-wol's hands were empty.
Ouyang Jue hurriedly shouted.
“I have no desire to cut your hands, Grand Ancestor, so stand aside!”
“If you can.”
At that, Ouyang Jue hesitated no longer.
The technique he immediately unleashed was Single Origin Incense.
It was one of the techniques created by combining the Plum Blossom Sword Arts and the Heavenly Escape Sword Arts, renowned for its exhilarating speed.
As he executed Single Origin Incense, Ouyang Jue meticulously activated his Panoramic Eye.
This was to ensure he could thoroughly react and unleash a counter-technique no matter how Jin Mu-wol moved.
The result, however, was quite different.
CLANG!
Jin Mu-wol's arm, enveloped in immense internal energy, was more than enough to block Single Origin Incense.
Somehow sensing that Ouyang Jue was using his Panoramic Eye, Jin Mu-wol released a burst of energy that stole his vision.
Then, Jin Mu-wol's voice followed.
“You use a mysterious martial art.”
“…Kuh.”
“Above all, your swordsmanship is truly… similar to an ancient style, making it difficult to counter. Where on earth did you learn such a sword art?”
*Well done. So, stop here.*
That was what Ouyang Jue seemed to hear in those words. Because of that, he reignited his will to fight.
If he ended it here, it would be much harder to learn the truth from Jin Mu-wol in the future.
“It's… not over yet.”
“What?”
Thump, thump!
Ouyang Jue struck his own chest a couple of times with his fist.
It was a drastic, unavoidable measure to expel the wave of energy Jin Mu-wol had released.
Seeing this, Jin Mu-wol's mouth fell open.
“You… what are you doing, trying to give yourself internal injuries?!”
“It doesn't matter.”
Ouyang Jue replied, his eyes calming.
“A Taoist of the Mount Hua Sect never shows his back to any opponent.”
“…!”
“That is the teaching I received since I was a child.”
At those words, Jin Mu-wol laughed inwardly.
Such righteousness, known as the Plum Blossom Sword Hero and the Plum Blossom Divine Dragon, and that never-give-up attitude!
His intelligent side also reminded him of his younger self.
‘At first, I was wary because he was violent and his identity was unknown… but now, look at him!’
The vague favorability he'd felt gradually turned into genuine liking through their spar.
But it was only liking, nothing more.
He could not reveal the truth of the Plum Blossom Cave.
‘Not unless Ouyang Jue is entangled with the Plum Blossom Cave…’
In that regard, Liu Zhangming was a martial artist chosen by the Plum Blossom Cave, making him someone Jin Mu-wol absolutely had to protect.
His thoughts reaching that point, Jin Mu-wol stopped the spar and asked Ouyang Jue.
“I heard you're going to the Shaolin Temple with Zhangming. Is that true?”
“It is.”
“When you go… be wary of the old monks.”
Ouyang Jue tilted his head at Jin Mu-wol's words.
“The Shaolin Temple has no reason to attack us, does it?”
Jin Mu-wol glanced around, and after confirming no one was nearby, he answered.
“There's a high probability they are entangled with the Eight Evils.”
Ouyang Jue's face hardened.
He had hoped the Eight Evils would no longer emerge as an enemy of the Mount Hua Sect.
‘So in the end, I have to fight.’
Ouyang Jue clenched his fist.
“Could you elaborate on that?”