Chapter 439
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 439
Chapter Title: Not Interested
Descending from the arena stage, Joo Woo-myung waited for the final match of the quarterfinals between Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran.
His gaze caught sight of Dan Mok Un-roe, his opponent from moments ago.
Instructor Han Seol-bing had said something to him.
Since then, the guy had been in a daze.
"Hmm."
Crossing his arms, Joo Woo-myung let out a deep breath.
He wanted to go to Dan Mok Un-roe right away.
But the match was about to begin.
With people packed tightly around, everyone was focused on the arena.
It was unavoidable.
Even with their face veils, two of the three most beautiful women in the Dragon Training Pavilion were facing off against each other.
In such a situation, pushing through the crowd to reach Dan Mok Un-roe would just be a nuisance.
So, he figured he'd watch this match first.
Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran.
The two stood staring at each other on the arena stage.
Beneath her veil, Yeon Ha-min's lips curved into a smile.
Ha Seol-ran, on the other hand, felt a bit dazed.
'Me, in the quarterfinals?'
She hadn't even made it to the round of sixteen in the last Summer Combat Festival.
She had lost to Namgung Ji-yu—no, Namgung Yu.
Since Namgung Yu hadn't entered this time, there was no chance for a rematch.
Instead, she had advanced triumphantly to the quarterfinals.
And her opponent was her closest friend, Yeon Ha-min.
Lost in their own thoughts, the two gazed at each other.
"Begin!"
The judge's call rang out.
The two women slowly drew their swords and assumed their stances.
Illusory Moonfall Sword Dance.
Infinite Yi's Eight Severing Sword Waves.
The stances of the two sword arts.
Neither moved first.
Ha Seol-ran and Yeon Ha-min kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Clang!
Sword met sword.
They unleashed their sword arts at full power.
A flurry of blades poured toward each other.
Yeon Ha-min's focus reached its peak.
'She told me not to use it recklessly...'
Ha Seol-ran used the same sword art as Instructor Ha.
There was a difference in their realms, sure.
But the art itself was not to be underestimated.
Yeon Ha-min activated her foresight.
She had trained it sporadically and was now somewhat accustomed to it.
In her eyes, she saw Ha Seol-ran's next sword path.
Taat.
Kicking off the ground, Yeon Ha-min moved two steps ahead.
Even as Yeon Ha-min vanished from her sight, Ha Seol-ran didn't panic.
Instead,
Her qi sense sharpened to its limit.
'Here.'
Ha Seol-ran altered her predetermined path and swung her sword hastily.
Clang!
Yeon Ha-min's sword was blocked.
Their eyes met.
Though veiled, both women wore the same smile.
Thus began their fierce exchange.
Foresight, a superhuman ability, versus qi sense transcending human limits.
"Whoa..."
"Huh..."
Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran hadn't realized it,
But their veils fluttered wildly with their intense movements,
Glimpses of their beauty flashing before the crowd's eyes.
And their movements were breathtakingly graceful.
Especially Yeon Ha-min's sword art—it could be called art itself.
And with Yeon Ha-min performing it, no wonder.
Ha Seol-ran's responses to the Illusory Moonfall Sword Dance traced naturally beautiful paths as well.
This wasn't a match.
It was a supreme work of art created by two beauties transcending human limits.
They had started training at similar times.
The only difference was their talent.
Ha Seol-ran was a genius with exceptional talent,
But Yeon Ha-min was just one step ahead.
A tiny gap.
Yet,
Victory and defeat hinged on such minutiae.
The fierce clash, lasting half a breath, gradually tilted in Yeon Ha-min's favor.
Even though it was a sword art she hadn't fully mastered,
Yeon Ha-min wielded it masterfully, pressuring Ha Seol-ran.
The match raced toward its end.
Ha Seol-ran chased with her extreme qi sense,
But that was the limit.
She could pursue, but not block the incoming sword.
Claaang!
A resounding clash echoed as Ha Seol-ran's sword flew from her hand.
In that instant's gap,
Yeon Ha-min's sword halted before Ha Seol-ran's dantian.
"......"
"......"
"......"
Silence descended.
Even signaling the match's end,
The crowd could only gape mutely, eyes wide.
Enraptured by the dreamlike beauty, they refused to believe it was over.
"I lost."
Ha Seol-ran's words shattered the denial.
Acknowledgment of defeat.
"Winner: Yeon Ha-min!"
The judge's declaration followed.
Sheathing their swords, the two clasped fists toward each other.
Clap.
Clap clap.
Clap clap clap clap. Clap clap clap clap.
No cheers.
Instead, applause began with one person and spread endlessly.
Clapping enveloped the arena.
It was a match anyone would accept,
A touching bout.
The spectators expressed their feelings through applause rather than shouts.
Vice Pavilion Lord Yeon Baek-jin's face beamed with pride as he watched.
She had only recently started training that sword art, yet reached such a level.
He knew Ha Mu-baek had given her personal guidance.
As expected of Ha Mu-baek.
Or was it Yeon Ha-min's brilliance?
With semifinals and finals ahead,
Darkness fell after just one more match.
The second day of the Summer Combat Festival ended.
The remaining three matches moved to tomorrow.
Dan Mok Un-roe clapped mechanically amid the applause.
He had seen the brilliant match between Ha Seol-ran and Yeon Ha-min,
But it didn't register.
His mind was consumed by the killing move he had unleashed.
Grab.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
Joo Woo-myung slipped through the crowd and gripped his shoulder.
Dan Mok Un-roe snapped to attention.
"Woo-myung..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"Is it because of this?"
Joo Woo-myung pointed to the scar on his cheek.
The bleeding had stopped.
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes shook violently at the sight.
Joo Woo-myung chuckled, knowing his guess was right.
"A martial artist without a scar or two? What's the big deal?"
"I... I..."
Lips quivering, Dan Mok Un-roe forced out words.
"...I used a killing move on you."
Joo Woo-myung's eyes widened at his words.
Not because of the scar, but the killing move.
He hadn't considered that.
'Then Instructor Han grabbing Un-roe by the collar...'
Joo Woo-myung replayed the match's final moment.
He had definitely sensed desperate killing intent.
So he had responded in kind.
He imagined briefly.
What if his reaction had been a beat slower?
A deeper wound, but not death.
That much he was sure of.
"I used one too. A killing move."
Joo Woo-myung's calm reply.
Dan Mok Un-roe jumped in shock.
"Un-roe. What do you think a sword is? What do you think a sword art is?"
Joo Woo-myung held up the sparring sword.
It had no edge.
A measure to avoid worst-case scenarios,
But meaningless to those using sword qi and aura.
"......"
Dan Mok Un-roe had no answer.
He had never pondered it.
To him, martial arts were a path to strength.
Sword arts pursued only power.
"The day I first gripped a sword, my master told me this: A sword is a tool for killing people. Every motion with a sword is a killing technique."
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes filled with utter confusion.
"Talk of a 'living sword' is empty nonsense. In the end, only death awaits at a sword's tip."
Joo Woo-myung calmly recounted the teachings from his ignorant youth,
From Master Mu Yeon-jin.
"Yet in this world, there are times we must kill to protect what's precious. That's why we must grow strong. We may not know what lies at the sword's path's end, but never forget it's a weapon made for killing."
"......"
Dan Mok Un-roe was speechless.
"Every sword art I unleashed at you was a killing technique. The scar on my cheek proves you gave your all. That I only took a minor wound proves I did too. And that I was stronger than you."
With that, Joo Woo-myung patted his shoulder again and turned away.
He had done all he could.
The rest was for Dan Mok Un-roe to overcome alone.
After the quarterfinals ended,
Han Seol-bing, having calmed her anger, approached Dan Mok Un-roe again.
"Hoo."
Seeing the two, she sighed deeply.
"Better than me. Who’s even the instructor here... Geez."
She muttered self-deprecatingly and turned away.
Joo Woo-myung had given far superior advice than she could.
'I'm still far from enough.'
Walking, Han Seol-bing berated herself.
At the match's climax,
The desperate struggle turning to a killing move.
Her rage stemmed from Hocheon Corps days, etched deep in her body.
A killing move against a comrade.
An absolute taboo, never allowed.
On brutal battlefields, comrades entrusted lives, backs to each other.
A killing move against that? The gravest taboo.
'It's been years since the war ended...'
Even after years, that taboo instinctively triggered her reaction.
How much time had passed?
Ha Mu-baek stared at the sword traces, endlessly recalling forms.
Thousands, tens of thousands.
No, he had stopped counting.
After endless repetition,
Ha Mu-baek drew his sword.
And swung it down lightly.
"Tch."
He grimaced and clicked his tongue.
It was entirely different.
Not even reaching the tip of the form Mu-geuk had shown.
'What's missing?'
Ha Mu-baek compared his attempted mimicry to Mu-geuk's strike, deep in thought.
An unattainable chasm.
The problem was,
He couldn't fathom why such a gap existed.
"Hoo..."
Ha Mu-baek sighed deeply.
"When thinking yields no answer, sometimes emptying the mind is the way."
Recalling a method from past breakthroughs,
Ha Mu-baek straightened his posture.
Gripped the hilt lightly with both hands.
Raised it overhead and swung down.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
.
.
.
.
Hundredth.
.
.
Thousandth.
Ha Mu-baek began repeating the downward strike from the Three Talents Sword Method he taught his disciples.
Continuously.
Without rest.
Time flowed swiftly here; even ages spent meant little in reality.
He decided to start from basics, step by step.
Checking if rapid growth skipped anything.
One by one.
Like an ox's pace.
Like a martial arts novice.
Thus,
He immersed deeply into the sword art.
"It won't be easy."
Mu-geuk muttered, watching from afar.
"You think it's possible?"
Gwang-hwi beside him asked skeptically.
"Don't you know better than me? You had that child within your power as the Abyss."
Implying Gwang-hwi had watched Ha Mu-baek.
"Not interested."
A dry response.
"Heh heh. When creating the Infinite Yi's Divine Art, you set clear human limits. Yet that child surpassed them. So, we watch with expectation."
Mu-geuk gazed warmly at Ha Mu-baek swinging his sword.
"Hmph. Humans are humans. That strike used supreme power—a transcendent force beyond humanity. A human wielding Abyss-level power? You know what that means."
Despite claiming disinterest, Gwang-hwi paid keen attention.
"What if the supreme power requires a human body? Power without substance, like a ghost."
"But a realm pure humans can't reach."
"We'll see. He has that innate physique too."