Chapter 388
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 388
Chapter Title: It's Entirely My Fault
Qi swirled violently, surging toward Ha Mu-baek with the momentum to swallow him whole.
Ha Mu-baek's sword was already sheathed.
Instead,
his palms brimmed with inner energy.
He didn't form any qi reinforcement.
His goal right now was simply to subdue Gwan Ha-kyeong.
Ha Mu-baek's hands moved fluidly according to the techniques of the Infinite Subduing Fist.
They slipped through the gaps in Gwan Ha-kyeong's blade strikes.
Pak!
Lightly, yet firmly.
His hand seized her right wrist and twisted.
Gwan Ha-kyeong spun her entire body in the direction of the force, aiming her knee at Ha Mu-baek's temple.
Ha Mu-baek pressed down on her twisted wrist while
simultaneously kicking the foot she had planted on the ground.
Gwan Ha-kyeong's body floated up into the air.
Ha Mu-baek's free hand struck her pressure point.
"Kuhk."
Gwan Ha-kyeong let out a groan and lost consciousness.
"Tsk."
Ha Mu-baek clicked his tongue lightly and
laid her down near where they were preparing to camp overnight.
"Wh-what just happened?"
Pyeong Deok-jo asked, awestruck by the illusory exchange between Ha Mu-baek and Gwan Ha-kyeong.
"I got too greedy."
Gwan Ha-kyeong's swordsmanship was exceptional.
After a few exchanges, it was clear how diligently she had trained.
That day,
at the Summer Combat Festival where she had lost,
she seemed to have faithfully followed the advice he had given her.
That was why.
Ha Mu-baek had unwittingly gotten carried away and
kept pushing her further,
beyond her current abilities.
And then,
Gwan Ha-kyeong had been consumed by the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade.
Pyeong Deok-jo wore a puzzled expression at Ha Mu-baek's curt reply.
"You're next."
Ha Mu-baek flew toward the puzzled Pyeong Deok-jo.
Pyeong Deok-jo immediately drew his sword and assumed the starting stance of the Superb High Sword.
Chaeng! Chae-chaeng!
Their spar began.
Thanks to his real combat experience, Pyeong Deok-jo's swordplay had improved yet again.
His control over his inner energy had grown even more adept; he even infused his blade with faint sword qi at times.
This level marked him firmly in the realm of first-class.
Peak wasn't far off.
Pyeong Deok-jo was followed by Pung Geon.
Pung Geon stood before Ha Mu-baek with a tense expression.
This was his first time sparring with him,
and he had seen the two prior matches.
"Come at me."
Ha Mu-baek crooked a finger.
Tahat.
Pung Geon drew his sword and kicked off the ground.
Exploding Flower Scatter Sword Technique.
It was the ultimate art of his sect, the Flower Scatter Clan.
Leaping lightly into the air, his sword qi exploded outward, with variations scattering like flower petals in all directions.
The sword form contained diverse energies and changes within a single technique.
It was a technique worthy of the jianghu's elite,
yet because the Flower Scatter Clan was a minor sect, it wasn't widely known.
Even Ha Mu-baek was seeing it for the first time.
Though he had witnessed the martial arts of countless sects during the great martial conference, he had never encountered a Flower Scatter Clan disciple.
Thus,
he adopted a defensive stance early on.
The Exploding Flower Scatter Sword Technique consisted of six forms in total.
Once Pung Geon had unleashed them at full power twice over,
Ha Mu-baek's sword path began to shift.
"Kuhk."
Pung Geon's sword path broke as Ha Mu-baek's blade suddenly intervened.
"You need to move a bit faster here to bring out its full power."
Advice on an unfamiliar sword technique.
An act that bordered on taboo,
but in Ha Mu-baek's eyes, he could see exactly how to improve Pung Geon's form.
He began pointing them out one by one.
Pung Geon's eyes widened impossibly as he swung his sword per Ha Mu-baek's guidance.
The reason was simple.
Back in his sect,
his master had pointed out the same flaws multiple times,
and following Ha Mu-baek's instructions made the technique feel far more complete to him.
Pung Geon gritted his teeth and swung his sword even harder.
He realized, facing Ha Mu-baek,
that this moment was a fated opportunity.
Pung Geon's sword grew sharper, pressing toward Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek nodded ever so slightly.
This one had considerable talent.
And he hadn't slacked on his training.
'This is far enough.'
Ha Mu-baek knew he had given all he could for now.
If he got carried away and pushed further,
Pung Geon would overextend, forcing Ha Mu-baek to subdue him.
"That's enough."
Ha Mu-baek stepped back and sheathed his sword.
Pung Geon's blade halted.
Regret filled his face.
He wanted to swing his sword against Ha Mu-baek a little longer.
"Too much of a good thing becomes poison."
Ha Mu-baek read Pung Geon's mind and offered a word of advice.
His gaze turned to Gwan Ha-kyeong.
Following that gaze to her form, Pung Geon could only nod and withdraw.
Still,
with the afterglow of the spar lingering, he swung his sword repeatedly to absorb it fully.
Pyeong Deok-jo was already deep into his own practice, swinging away.
He hadn't even watched Pung Geon's match, lost in his training trance.
Pung Geon soon joined him in focused practice.
Ha Mu-baek's eyes shifted to Yu Gwi-gwang.
"Your turn."
Yu Gwi-gwang swallowed dryly and raised his sword and shield.
This was the extent of his martial knowledge.
The shield techniques he had learned over his senior's shoulder from Jegal Myeong,
and the key moves Ha Mu-baek had taught him here.
That was all.
Even so, Yu Gwi-gwang approached it with utmost seriousness.
He knew full well that such personal instruction from a master of that caliber was exceedingly rare in the jianghu.
Tatat.
He kicked off the ground and thrust his sword.
Exactly as Ha Mu-baek had taught.
"Too much force. It slows you down."
Ha Mu-baek critiqued while replicating Yu Gwi-gwang's thrust exactly, striking his shield.
"Kuhk."
Yu Gwi-gwang gritted his teeth and braced the shield.
A second thrust followed.
The same motion as before, but faster.
"Ugh."
The impact on the shield was stronger too.
"Watch closely!"
Ha Mu-baek shouted at Yu Gwi-gwang, who was ducking his head.
Yu Gwi-gwang reflexively looked up.
Another identical thrust.
Yu Gwi-gwang saw it clearly.
Mesmerized, he mimicked it with his own sword.
Chaeng.
His blade glanced off Ha Mu-baek's to the side.
"Still too much power."
This pattern continued.
Ha Mu-baek pointed out improvements to Yu Gwi-gwang's strikes, demonstrating them repeatedly.
Yu Gwi-gwang blocked with his shield, observing each time.
When Ha Mu-baek reached out,
a Fierce Dragon Corps member's nearby shield flew into his hand with a whirl.
He then repeated the shield movements.
"Hahk. Hahk. Hahk."
Yu Gwi-gwang panted heavily.
It wasn't luck that he had survived the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Like a sponge soaking water, he absorbed Ha Mu-baek's teachings in an instant.
Thus, Ha Mu-baek taught and showed even more.
Limited strictly to shield techniques and key moves.
No risk of overextension there.
It continued even as the sun set and night deepened.
The two clashed sword and shield under the moonlight.
"Hahk. Heuk."
Their arms and legs trembled; sweat poured like rain.
"That's enough for today. You're tomorrow."
Ha Mu-baek addressed the squad members and corpsmen he hadn't gotten to.
"And you lot need a wash."
Ha Mu-baek expanded his qi sense.
No signs of jiangshi or demonic beasts by the water.
"I'll come if needed, so be careful. Take your sword and shield."
Pyeong Deok-jo, Pung Geon, and Yu Gwi-gwang cautiously headed to the water, rinsed off quickly, and returned.
During that time, a fierce aura emanated from Ha Mu-baek's body.
But no one sensed it.
Naturally so.
It was an aura only jiangshi could detect.
From his days as Hocheon Corps Leader,
a technique honed while traversing the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
He had gauged the range of dark blood jiangshi and found that even ironclad jiangshi avoided areas nearby.
Thus, he meticulously mimicked the dark blood jiangshi's aura.
Of course, as a living man, Ha Mu-baek couldn't replicate it perfectly,
but imitating it closely kept the jiangshi at bay.
Mimicking a jiangshi's aura wasn't easy for Ha Mu-baek either.
Naturally.
A living being imitating the aura of dead demonic creatures.
He rarely used it,
but now he had no choice.
To guard these youngsters alone.
The night passed that way.
Early dawn,
while darkness still blanketed the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Gwan Ha-kyeong's eyes snapped open.
Her pressure point still sealed, she had spent the night that way.
Her head throbbed.
Her body reeked of sweat.
Of course.
After such intense movement yesterday.
"Euu."
A groan escaped her lips involuntarily.
Unable to recall how she had fallen asleep, she began retracing her memories.
She had definitely been sparring with Instructor Ha, unleashing the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade repeatedly.
"Ah!"
She realized she had lost herself to the swordsmanship at some point.
"Awake?"
Ha Mu-baek's voice came then.
Gwan Ha-kyeong rose from her spot.
On one side, the remnants of a bonfire reduced to ashes.
"Sorry."
The first words from Ha Mu-baek as she stood.
Gwan Ha-kyeong blinked.
The sudden apology baffled her.
Ha Mu-baek explained yesterday's events to her.
"During our spar yesterday, you got consumed by the technique."
Gwan Ha-kyeong tilted her head, mulling over his words.
"Ah."
She let out a soft exclamation.
Her memories only went midway through the spar—that was why.
Likely right before being consumed.
"It was entirely my fault you ended up that way."
Ha Mu-baek rarely admitted fault like this.
He simply didn't make mistakes to begin with.
But yesterday was, as he said, entirely his own error.
So he apologized first thing to Gwan Ha-kyeong upon waking and explained.
In the dark, quiet forest, only Ha Mu-baek's steady voice echoed softly.
"The Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade. Your training level and attainment aren't low at all, and you followed my lead perfectly. I got carried away without realizing it and pushed you far beyond your current realm. Normally, one couldn't keep up and would collapse... but you did. Instead, you couldn't protect yourself and got consumed by the blade."
An unusually long explanation from Ha Mu-baek,
laced with self-reproach.
"I should have monitored your state more closely as I led you, but I didn't. I was too caught up in the thrill."
Gwan Ha-kyeong listened intently, then voiced a question.
"I've heard the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade is one of the most righteous and brilliant orthodox techniques. How could it consume its wielder?"
"Demonic arts don't consume because they're demonic, nor do orthodox ones spare because they're pure. Martial arts simply demand higher completion toward greater realms. If a gap forms between the practitioner's talent and their current level in that process, they get consumed."
Gwan Ha-kyeong still looked confused, tilting her head.
"Your talent was exceptional enough to follow where I led yesterday, but your body wasn't ready to handle that realm."
"Ah!"
At Ha Mu-baek's follow-up, Gwan Ha-kyeong exclaimed, her face flushing.
Praise for her outstanding talent, right before her eyes.
Her cheeks reddened unwittingly.
"N-no, that can't be. I'm just average..."
Ha Mu-baek shook his head at her words.
"You definitely have talent with the blade. Among those I've seen wield the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade, you're third best. Considering your training time, that's remarkable."
He didn't specify first or second.
"And the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade is a limitless sword art. Once you master one extreme, the next emerges. Review yesterday carefully and train diligently."
"Th-thank you."
Gwan Ha-kyeong bowed deeply at his words.
Then she frowned.
Having caught a whiff of her own sweat up close.
"Um..."
"I'll keep watch, so go wash up."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, Gwan Ha-kyeong hurried toward the water.
Ha Mu-baek's body still emanated the mimicked aura of a dark blood jiangshi.
Thanks to that, no jiangshi approached their campsite.