Chapter 64 – Rank 3 Magic Treasure

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“I am going to take a disciple.”

“W-Wait! The tournament is currently ongoing?”

“That is not important.”

The Golden Core Sages gaped with their mouths open at the unstoppable behavior that felt reckless. They even forgot their dignity.

“…No. Even if lightning techniques are amazing, you should at least wait until the tournament is over before talking to him!”

“Lightning techniques? I have no interest in such things. All I saw was the sword.”

Just before Gwang-myeong, the Golden Core sword cultivator, kicked open the door and left,

the Lord of Sky Island, who received looks asking him to stop Gwang-myeong, had no choice but to step forward.

“Please calm down. What are you going to teach a disciple by bringing one in, Fellow Daoist, when you only know how to fight demonic beasts?”

“…”

Following the steps that stopped for the first time, the gentle voice of the Lord of Sky Island echoed.

“If you like that child—no, that young sword cultivator—how about just gifting him a decent sword? Do you not have quite a few swords collected, Fellow Daoist?”

A Golden Core Sage agreed as if he had been waiting.

“Indeed. Furthermore, who says he does not have a master? Where would such a figure be born out of thin air? Perhaps he is the disciple of some deceased senior. Let us not complicate matters in vain and ask him after the tournament is over.”

“…Understood.”

***

The Semifinals.

The match between Jin So-myeong and the rogue cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage began.

Although his realm was much higher, the tense rogue cultivator displayed all kinds of splendid spells, but…

they were all sliced down by a single sword.

“Jang Sam… no, Jin So-myeong wins!”

It was a natural result, if one could call it that.

Even Baek Yu-geon, who was called a candidate for the championship, could not withstand Jin So-myeong’s sword, so there was no way a common late Foundation Establishment cultivator could win.

“He won! The Thunderclap Swordsman won again!”

“Kuh! Is that the Lightning Escape Art? It is truly an unbelievable speed. Did you see it?”

“Huh? O-Of course I saw it. It was quite fast.”

Everyone had expected it, but when they thought about it in detail, it was such an absurd sight that countless people were enthusiastic.

One of the spectators.

The younger sister of the Seo siblings, the girl named Seo Jin-ok, was the same.

Waving her fists around altogether, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Wow! Wow! Did you see, Brother? The Thunderclap Swordsman won again! It ended after he wielded his sword just a few times!”

“…Huh?”

The young man, who was zoning out like a dazed person, smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry. What did you just say?”

“Where have you left your mind? I asked if you saw the match just now.”

“Oh, oh. Of course I saw it.”

At the moment the girl pouted her lips as if dissatisfied,

the young man, who hesitated for a long time, muttered.

“Jin-ok. Around how much does a Rank 1 flying sword cost these days?”

“Huh? Why the flying sword all of a sudden? Brother, could it be that you want to become a sword cultivator?”

“Uh… is it impossible after all.”

At his discouraged attitude, the girl, who was moving her lips, suddenly slapped his back.

“Why would it be impossible! Of course it is possible! With the spirit stones we earned from selling the demonic beast last time, we should be able to buy at least a Rank 1 mid-grade flying sword.”

“…Really?”

“Of course! Let’s run and buy it as soon as the tournament is over. In my opinion, the market price of flying swords seems likely to rise for a while. …Should we rather buy as many as possible and resell them?”

***

Unlike the quarterfinals where he struggled meeting the candidate for the championship, the semifinals were easy.

After easily grasping the victory,

Jin So-myeong, who returned to the waiting room, immediately headed to the Jade Well Bath.

Splash!

As he immersed his body into the waist-deep Jade Well Bath, his entire body trembled.

The feeling of absorbing spiritual power so pure that it did not need to be refined was truly the best.

Although it was an ecstatic moment he would never tire of repeating…

right now, the status window visible before his eyes was more pleasing.

[Cultivation Methods]

…

River and Cloud Sword Art (Mastery 528 / 3,000,000)

Was it a reward for surpassing the wall himself? The sword art proficiency that had reached the mastery stage just a few hours ago had already exceeded 500.

River and Cloud Sword Art (Mastery 529 / 3,000,000)

River and Cloud Sword Art (Mastery 530 / 3,000,000)

It was constantly rising even at this moment.

It felt like he grew stronger just by wielding his sword, making his hands itch.

‘Phew. First, let’s absorb all the spiritual power of the Jade Well Bath.’

Closing his eyes, he operated the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art. Crackling lightning energy overflowed, but he focused without caring.

Buzz…!

He did not stop for even a moment. Until the Jade Well Bath, which boasted extremely pure spiritual power, became plain water.

Thanks to his filled dantian, he realized naturally. He had reached the verge of the 4th layer of Foundation Establishment.

A laugh emerged of its own accord at the skyrocketed cultivation realm.

‘Does this mean I saved ten years of time?’

Swish!

The lightly swung sword drew a line in the air. Observing the Sword Qi scattering along the trajectory, he nodded.

‘It is certain. The Sword Qi has become much clearer than before.’

The Sword Qi, which was originally blurry like a haze rising from asphalt on a summer day, had become distinct.

If it developed like this, it seemed it would transform like a physical blade someday.

When that time came… it would probably possess the sharpness applicable in Rank 3.

While he was enjoying the cool sensation unique to iron while holding the sword,

“Senior! It is soon time for you to go out for the finals. Are you ready?”

Ready?

Such a thing had already been finished long ago.

Shaking himself off and rising, Jin So-myeong snapped his fingers.

Evaporating all the moisture on his dharma robe, he headed toward the stage.

– Thunderclap Swordsman!

– Ha Yul-hee!

– Waaaaaa!

The moment he stepped onto the stage amidst enthusiastic cheers, all noise stopped abruptly.

And,

he made eye contact with a young-faced woman, Ha Yul-hee, who was said to be the daughter of the Lord of the Sky Island.

Certainly because she was a cultivator, it was difficult to guess her age.

‘I heard she is past sixty, but she looks extremely young.’

Her appearance was like she was on the boundary between a girl and a young lady, but the slightly raised corners of her mouth and her downward gaze looked very confident.

She certainly had the qualifications for that.

First, from her realm, it was the highest in the tournament at the 8th layer of Foundation Establishment, and her dharma treasures were good.

The clothes she wore were naturally a Rank 2 highest-grade dharma robe, and even the small ornament attached to her sleeve was a Rank 2 dharma treasure.

‘Surely those buttons are not dharma treasures too? Just how many defensive dharma treasures are there.’

Just when Jin So-myeong was observing her,

“Hmph.”

Emitting a nasal sound, she smiled brightly. She looked to be in a good mood for some reason.

“I expected that unlucky bastard Baek Yu-geon to rise up, but this is unexpected. Fools. How on earth can someone lose to an early Foundation Establishment stage cultivator?”

“You will find out soon as well.”

“…What?”

He had merely replied lightly with a single word, but Ha Yul-hee’s face distorted abruptly.

Biting her lips and glaring, she seemed truly angry. Her emotional threshold was very low.

‘She grew up sheltered.’

Honestly, she was pathetic, but he did not let down his guard. In any case, the opponent was at the 8th layer of Foundation Establishment.

“Hmph! A mere old-fashioned sword cultivator! Who wields a sword directly these days without even using a flying sword!”

Glancing at her who was even spitting saliva in her excitement, he ignored her.

With his hand placed on the cold handle of the sword, he calmed his mind. The only important thing was how sharp his own sword was.

– Start!

The moment the loud voice of the referee filled with spiritual power was heard,

Clang!

he launched a surprise attack simultaneously with drawing his sword, but it was blocked. It was due to as many as five shields that popped out.

‘Huh?’

Every time her hand grazed her storage pouch, dharma treasures were added constantly.

Exceeding five until they became ten.

Large and small shields floated in the air, assuming a sturdy defensive posture. Since they blocked 360 degrees in all directions, there was not a single gap.

Clang!

He swung his sword as a test, but it did not budge. It was blocked by the energy barrier generated by the resonance between the shields.

Furthermore,

a bizarre suction force arose at the collision point, sucking in his energy.

The Sword Qi that had been condensed on the blade just now returned and attacked him!

‘…Amazing.’

Every shield was Rank 2 highest-grade. It felt like a proper demonstration of what wealth was.

Of course, it was not only that which was amazing.

Most cultivators did not use only one or two dharma treasures for no reason. There was a reason.

Controlling that many dharma treasures at the same time consumed an extreme amount of spiritual power and mental strength. Naturally, it was not an easy task.

‘Did she cultivate some related secret art.’

At that time,

she, surrounded inside the shields, curled up the corners of her mouth.

Laughing at him openly, she closed her eyes. Muttering as if reciting a spell, it was unusual.

It was clear at a glance that she was preparing a major technique!

Swish!

He circled around the opponent to look for a gap but stopped. Because there were too many shields, there was no gap at all.

‘Fine.’

If she gave him time, it was not bad for him either. There was a technique he wanted to test just in time.

With his body relaxed, he half-opened his eyes. Standing still just like the opponent, he concentrated his mind.

Forgetting everything that filled his vision, he placed only the object of his slash in his heart.

Humming!

The blade vibrated, spreading a clear sound called the sword hum.

The faint haze was compressed endlessly, and the moment the vibration ringing through the air reached its peak,

Whoosh!

a half-moon starting from the tip of the sword split the sky!

Like a meteor in the dark night sky, that which embroidered the empty air reached the shields in an instant.

Crack!

Along with a rupture sound, the smallest among the ten shields cracked.

The energy barrier that shook as if about to collapse barely stabilized, and it absorbed and reflected the Sword Qi.

However, Jin So-myeong was already not in that place.

Swish!

Avoiding the returned Sword Qi as if grazing past it, he drew a circle centered around the opponent.

Moving swiftly around the shields, he constantly unleashed Sword Qi.

Boom!

Until the shields, unable to endure, shattered completely.

“…!”

The ten shields decreased to nine.

Although it had decreased by only one, the energy barrier became rapidly unstable.

This was because the elaborate resonance that had been maintained among the shields broke down.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, blood trickled down the corner of the mouth of Ha Yul-hee, who was reciting the spell.

Seizing the opportunity, Jin So-myeong was enveloped in lightning.

Rumble!

He did not miss the gap revealed in a split second. Penetrating through the shields, he arrived right in front of her.

Before the panicked girl could even respond, he swung his sword toward her fully exposed neck.

Clang!

It was blocked by the energy barrier generated by the dharma robe, but it was just as he had expected.

He smoothly spun the deflected sword.

Drawing a gentle curve, he fully preserved all his power, including the recoil force. Without wasting even a handful of it, he poured it entirely into the offensive.

Thud!

Every time he swung the sword once, the ornaments attached to her clothes broke without a pause.

In a brief moment not even long enough to take a single breath, he swung his sword fifteen times.

12, 10, 7, 3…

At the rapidly decreasing number of defensive dharma treasures, Ha Yul-hee’s complexion turned pale.

Her hesitating retreat was like a frightened child.

He could see her shaking pupils clearly, but he did not go easy. The match was a cold affair.

“Ah!”

The last one. At the moment when only her necklace remained,

the flustered girl suddenly grit her teeth.

As if ashamed of being scared, she glared as if to kill him and pulled out a fan made of blue feathers.

‘…Danger!’

Instantly, Jin So-myeong, who had thought it was nothing special, flinched.

At the chilling sensation shooting up his spine, he immediately kicked off the ground and retreated.

It was an instinctive judgment, not logic…

and it was correct.

Whoosh…

A weak wind arose. The moment an unidentified energy was imbued in the breeze that was faint even in sound,

Crunch!

the extremely hard stage floor turned into powder.

The stone material, specially crafted to withstand battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators, could not endure.

It was because of the blue wind that spread in a spherical shape starting from the fan.

Jin So-myeong, who retreated to the edge of the arena, narrowed his eyes.

The energy pressing down on his shoulders was too familiar.

‘Rank 3! Could it be a Magic Treasure?’

However, no matter how he looked at it, the power was strange.

Even if she used a Magic Treasure, it did not seem a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could generate such pressure.

All kinds of doubts arose, but he forgot them all.

It was not content to ponder during a battle where victory or defeat was decided by a single judgment.

Swish!

Jin So-myeong, who aimed the Five Elements Sword forward, stared at the approaching blue storm.

He confronted it head-on, as it approached while displaying overwhelming power.

A split second.

He operated the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art with full power.

Circulating through the five viscera, he spread the amplified blood energy all over his body. Simultaneously preparing for the wounds that would soon form,

he cut through the wind with the sword enveloped in lightning…

Silence.

The sound vanished. After the collision that was too short to perceive,

the devastated arena was revealed.

On the smooth floor, thousands, tens of thousands of beast tooth marks were engraved before anyone knew.

If there was only one place that was intact…

it was only behind the back of Jin So-myeong, who aimed his sword with hands dripping with blood.