Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Black Dragon Gang (4)
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“Insolent!”
As Bai Wun-hwan roared in disbelief, the very air seemed to warp. The internal energy he had amassed over a lifetime was crying out.
Only then did the other Taoists come to their senses and retreat.
They first needed to escort the injured man whose arm had been broken, then they could help Ouyang Jue.
But their minds quickly went blank.
‘How?’
‘How in the world are we supposed to fight that monster?’
Crack, craaack!
A single one of his punches shattered a tree that had stood for decades, sending it crashing to the ground.
Even the onlookers who reveled in the spectacles of the martial world turned pale with fright. Yet they couldn't look away.
Clang, klang!
When Bai Wun-hwan, dressed in black, swung his fists and unleashed his martial arts, Ouyang Jue, clad in white, skillfully countered with his swordsmanship and footwork.
Power and skill.
A battle between an Unorthodox warrior and an Orthodox Taoist.
After ten seconds of exchanging blows, Bai Wun-hwan sensed something and asked.
“Did you kill Bai Dong-il?”
“……”
Ouyang Jue didn't feel the need to answer.
It was already enough of a hassle to face him while concealing his true abilities.
Somehow understanding this, Bai Wun-hwan let out a low sigh.
“I see. No need for words, then.”
Ouyang Jue retorted bluntly.
“I don’t expect you to believe anything I say.”
“……What?”
Bai Wun-hwan let out a hollow laugh, as if finding it absurd.
It had been a long time since a martial artist had treated him with such composure.
Was the boy absurdly brave, or did he have skills to back it up?
It mattered little either way. But he did gain one certainty from it.
Bai Wun-hwan’s gaze flickered to the Taoist robe embroidered with a plum blossom.
“So you’re Ouyang Jue.”
As if to say, *You just figured that out?*, Ouyang Jue smiled with his eyes and nodded.
Watching him, Bai Wun-hwan lowered his chin and muttered to himself, “I see.”
He calmly suppressed the rage surging up from the soles of his feet.
He had inwardly realized that Ouyang Jue was too formidable an opponent to be faced on instinct alone.
However.
Bai Wun-hwan looked at Severing Manifestation.
A faint vision flashed through his mind: Bai Cheong-il cut down, Bai Dong-il's head severed by that very blade.
“So, you are Ouyang Jue.”
He swallowed the rage that threatened to erupt, forcing himself calm once more.
Finally, he asked Ouyang Jue.
“Why have you come here?”
“How amusing.”
“……?”
“Weren’t you the one who said it? That words are unnecessary.”
Ouyang Jue said nonchalantly.
“I thought a Gang Leader would be a bit smarter, but I suppose I was wrong.”
Grit.
Gritting his teeth, Bai Wun-hwan clenched his fists, as if there was nothing more to consider.
In the taut silence, only the autumn leaves dared to move.
A single, trivial movement.
The twitch of a muscle, the warmth of a held breath.
Ouyang Jue and Bai Wun-hwan locked gazes, each fiercely vying for the first move.
In the end, it was Bai Wun-hwan who moved first.
Screech, boom!
The ground tore away behind him, exposing tree roots. His leg strength was greater than that of most masters.
It meant that breaking the Five Elements Sword Formation in a single move was no fluke. Ouyang Jue offered a faint smile.
‘Finally, a worthy opponent has appeared.’
Fortunately, his recent battle had warmed him up.
With the eyes of the other sects upon him, he couldn't use the advanced techniques from his past life, but he could still buy time with the arts of the Mount Hua Sect.
About a quarter of an hour.
If he could just buy that much time, he could win without revealing a trump card like the Moon-Stepping Shadowless Art.
Even as a fist filled with overwhelming power approached, Ouyang Jue was composed.
It was confidence, plain and simple.
‘The sword arts of Mount Hua are already perfect enough.’
After all, wasn't Liu Zhangming among the swordsmen that Mount Hua had produced?
Ouyang Jue recalled the Plum Blossom Sword Art that Liu Zhangming had demonstrated in the training grounds—to be precise, the Twenty-Four Movements of the Plum Blossom Sword.
“Nine Transformations of the Plum Blossom.”
Severing Manifestation moved in a bewildering dance. Simultaneously, a shadow fell over Ouyang Jue’s face.
As if to crush Ouyang Jue that very instant, Bai Wun-hwan poured more strength into his fist. As if that wasn't enough, he took another step forward.
If Ouyang Jue managed to deflect the blow with a variation of his sword art, he intended to immediately follow up with an elbow to shatter his chin or torso.
Ouyang Jue also sensed this change and altered the form he was executing.
“Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom.”
The endlessly shifting path of Severing Manifestation's blade instantly transformed into a direct thrust.
The power behind it was immense; a typical defense for a fist artist would surely end in disaster.
At that moment, Bai Wun-hwan clenched his teeth hard. His face instantly turned red.
Boom!
A powerful stomp filled with internal energy tore up the ground.
Normally, the power generated from the stomp should be added to the attack, but Bai Wun-hwan used it differently.
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue muttered in spite of himself.
“……The Peak realm.”
To think he could materialize and raise the internal energy spread by his stomp.
He might have done it in a moment of crisis, but Ouyang Jue didn't make any hasty assumptions.
He only mulled over what he had seen.
He had materialized an intangible energy and made it move according to his will.
Ouyang Jue corrected his brief underestimation of the man.
He had heard that Bai Wun-hwan was inferior to Bai Cheong-il in his past life and assumed he was nothing special. He was wrong.
‘In that case, I should show a little of what I can do, too.’
A faint, incomplete Sword Aura materialized over Severing Manifestation.
Second-rate: A warrior who knows the eighteen classical weapons and understands which one they wield best.
First-rate: A warrior who is not controlled by their weapon, but can move their body freely as they desire.
They can also faintly imbue their weapon with internal energy; this is called Sword Ki.
This much was a standard agreed upon by all onlookers and martial artists.
But when it came to the Peak realm, everyone's assessment was different.
Some martial artists said reaching the Peak was circulating one's inner energy to open their major meridians.
The wealthy claimed it was reaching a level where one could use countless elixirs to transform their body to the point of blocking blades.
Of course, to a martial artist who had reached the Peak, these were the same thing.
It was merely the difference between internal and external arts; it was still the Peak realm.
However, the most fundamental difference of the Peak realm was, after all, Sword Aura.
The domain of Sword Aura: to materialize an intangible energy that should not exist, to bend the laws of nature, and to make that power one's own.
From this point on could one be called a true Peak master.
In a way, it was like standing on the same starting line.
And those who challenge a realm that cannot be expressed in any words.
Or, seekers of the path of martial arts.
Ouyang Jue called them this:
“Challengers of the Sky’s-End Path.”
Bai Wun-hwan’s expression crumbled in an instant.
“How could you, at such an age…”
His gaping lips were muttering such things.
Even the Taoists who were watching and waiting for a chance to enter the battle were so surprised they rubbed their eyes.
It was incomplete, but it was Sword Aura.
It was as if he had taken one step into the infinite world of the Peak realm.
And he was not even twenty, but a mere eighteen years of age.
A self-deprecating tone crept into Bai Wun-hwan’s voice.
“They say the world is vast… but where did a monster like this come from…”
Even as the martial artists looked up at him in awe and astonishment, Ouyang Jue was unfazed.
Rather, he felt he was lacking.
When he thought of the hidden mystical sects and the heirs of one-person lineages, he knew his level was nothing to be so revered for.
Just off the top of his head, there was the Sun Gate and the Peerless Hegemony. Those two had suppressed demons with their different martial arts.
Knowing this, he couldn't help but be calm.
But Bai Wun-hwan thought differently of it.
‘Judging by his reaction, he can’t have been at this level for long. Could it be…!’
Could it be that Bai Cheong-il was actually killed by Ouyang Jue in a one-on-one fight?
Bai Wun-hwan’s expression darkened. He had already exchanged over twenty blows with the boy.
Having traded that many moves, Bai Wun-hwan also realized that Ouyang Jue was by no means an easy opponent.
Then what about Bai Cheong-il?
And Bai Dong-il?
Crrk.
The rage he had desperately suppressed began to stir. The muscles across his back and shoulders tensed with fury.
His body slowly awakened for battle, as if his entire back moved with even the slightest motion.
‘If an incomplete Sword Aura is all he has, he still can’t beat me.’
In experience, in life-and-death battles, Ouyang Jue was still beneath him.
Having made his judgment, Bai Wun-hwan decided not to give his enemy any more leeway.
Kaaang!
His gauntlets clashed against Severing Manifestation with a sharp ring. Then Ouyang Jue twisted his wrist and immediately aimed for Bai Wun-hwan’s vital points.
“……Hmph!”
Bai Wun-hwan let out a short breath, as if caught off guard.
But he had no intention of letting his vital points be struck so easily.
……Puk.
Instead of his vital points, he gave up his forearm and slowly pushed Severing Manifestation away.
Such was the blade's sharpness that blood gushed out and began to pool.
If this continued, he might lose from excessive blood loss.
BOOM!
An ultimate technique unfolded from Bai Wun-hwan’s fingertips.
Heavenly Wall Palm.
Compared to other palm techniques, its speed was slow, but its greatest advantage was its solidity.
If he could land even a single blow, the situation would change drastically.
The Taoists, sensing something was amiss, immediately drew their swords.
They could no longer just stand by and watch.
In many senses.
“Let’s help Fellow Taoist Ouyang!”
“Yes!”
Seeing the Taoists charge in, Ouyang Jue inwardly clicked his tongue.
He could win without their hasty help, but since it had come to this, he decided to conserve his strength.
The scene Ouyang Jue had originally designed was not one of Taoists from three sects attacking together.
He had come this far solely to elevate the prestige of Mount Hua. That was why he had intentionally tried to face Bai Wun-hwan alone.
But the Taoists who had been holding back were now belatedly joining the fight?
‘A bit opportunistic of them.’
Seeing the Taoists surround Bai Wun-hwan, Ouyang Jue held back half his strength.
No matter how tired Bai Wun-hwan was, it was highly unlikely they could defeat him at their current level.
Then, if he felt another Taoist was in danger, he would intentionally intervene and block.
‘Normally, I wouldn’t care if a Taoist from another sect got hurt or not, but…’
Finding it amusing that his body moved to protect them before he'd even thought to, Ouyang Jue let out a dry chuckle.
It seemed he had been influenced by living with the Taoists.
After several minutes had passed.
Finally, the person Ouyang Jue had been waiting for arrived.
“……What is all this?”
Looking at the somewhat bewildered Liu Zhangming, Ouyang Jue wore a faint smile.
*Aren’t good things meant to be shared?*
Watching Bai Wun-hwan fight on desperately, Ouyang Jue decided it was time for the grand finale.