Myst, Might, Mayhem (Novel) - Chapter 111 - Final Gate (1)

Chapter 111 – Final Gate (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A fingertip had reached her before she could even perceive it.

“You are slow.”

-Drip.

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, a cold bead of sweat slid down Mo Ha-rang’s fine cheek.

It felt as though the slightest movement would pierce her throat.

She was inwardly bewildered.

She acknowledged that Mok Gyeong-un possessed a strange power that ran on a different course from others, but she had not regarded that as superiority in martial skill.

But what was this?

‘……He changed.’

What in the world had happened in the span of a single day?

From the outset, qi perception alone could not judge Mok Gyeong-un’s martial level, so even leaving that aside, what in the world was this?

The sharp aura coming from the tip of that sword-finger sign felt close to what one would expect from experts who had reached a higher realm.

‘This feeling, Father, no……’

It resembled what she had felt from the house mistress of Mo Hwa House.

The house mistress of Mo Hwa House was the only supreme-absolute master she had ever been able to test herself against.

That feeling was now emanating from Mok Gyeong-un.

‘No. That cannot be.’

Mo Ha-rang rejected the thought in that instant.

No matter how outstanding a martial talent one had, the supreme-absolute realm was not something one could reach so simply at seventeen or eighteen.

Even if he had gained enlightenment, how could he change in a single day…?

‘Ah!’

Could it be because he had eaten that?

The Heaven and Earth Pill.

It was a medicinal pellet made by the secret art of the Heaven and Earth Society, said to grant ten to fifteen years of internal power with a single pill.

Ten to fifteen years was a gap one could never ignore as a martial artist.

‘…….But even with that, could the difference widen this much?’

Mo Ha-rang continued to reel in confusion.

Watching her, Mok Gyeong-un was inwardly satisfied.

He had entered the domain of the supreme-absolute realm because of the overlapping fortuitous encounters in the treasure vault, yet he still had not been able to judge with certainty exactly what level he had reached.

That was why he had used this spar with Mo Ha-rang, with whom he had crossed hands once before, to confirm how much he had grown.

‘Not bad.’

As Blue Spirit had said, the gap had become clear.

Now he could understand the words that a supreme-absolute master and an absolute master were realms that could not even be compared.

Every one of her movements looked far too clear now, unlike last time.

-You are still far off, mortal.

At that moment Blue Spirit’s voice rang in his ear.

-Even if you have shed the label of brat, from the supreme-absolute realm onward the difference between the entrance, maturity, and peak is stark. You still have far to go.

‘…….Of course.’

Naturally he had no intention of letting his guard down.

The target of his revenge might be a peerless expert at the very peak of the supreme-absolute realm, close to the realm of transformation, so he was still far from satisfied.

Yet separate from that, another feeling had arisen.

Until now, Mok Gyeong-un had regarded martial arts and swordsmanship as nothing more than tools for revenge.

But upon reaching a higher realm, he found himself becoming interested in martial arts itself.

Just how much stronger could he become through martial arts?

‘More….. I want to taste more.’

It was the first pure feeling he had held in a long time.

As that was happening, Mo Ha-rang said to Mok Gyeong-un,

“…….By any chance, did you take the Heaven and Earth Pill?”

“Ah. That thing.”

Mok Gyeong-un took out from his bosom something like a small drawstring pouch and showed it to her.

Inside it was the Heaven and Earth Pill.

Blue Spirit disliked calling it the Heaven and Earth Pill.

So in front of her he called it the Moonlight Pill.

“I have not taken it yet.”

“Pardon?”

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, Mo Ha-rang furrowed her brow in surprise and stared at the little pouch.

She had naturally assumed Mok Gyeong-un had taken it.

And yet he had not even eaten it, and had grown this much stronger in such a short time?

‘…….Is he a monster?’

She had believed that, in martial skill alone, she would never fall behind, yet for some reason her thoughts grew complicated.

Could she really escape the grasp of this demon?

* * *

Around noon the next day.

Several chairs had been placed around the platform in the square behind the lodgings of Corpse Blood Valley, and guests from the inner castle were arriving one by one.

A strange light entered the eyes of Yi Ji-yeom, the Master of Corpse Blood Valley, who stood upon the platform.

That was because an unexpected person had appeared.

‘The Shadow Sect Master?’

A middle-aged man of small build with a sharp face.

He had found the face unfamiliar and was puzzled, but upon hearing the man’s identity, he could not help but be surprised.

That was only natural, because the Shadow Sect Master was someone who had never once participated in the completion ceremony before.

Both his office and his person were extremely secretive, and the rumors surrounding him were strange enough that Yi Ji-yeom had long been curious.

Yet,

‘…….He exceeds my expectations.’

Yi Ji-yeom had tried to gauge his level through qi perception, but it was difficult to assess him properly.

That meant the Shadow Sect Master’s martial prowess might be nearly equal to his own, or perhaps even beyond it.

If that were true, it was rather unexpected.

Over the past few days, Yi Ji-yeom had gained enlightenment through the secret manual Mok Gyeong-un had given him, and his martial arts had advanced another step.

And yet if even he could not gauge the man’s level…

-Tiiing!

Then came the sound of a string vibrating against the eardrums.

At that sound, the gazes of those who had arrived first turned toward the road leading into the square.

There they saw a beautiful woman reclining in a languid pose atop a four-man palanquin.

By appearance, she seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties, but the aura she gave off was anything but ordinary.

-Tiiing!

When the sound of the string rang out once more, one of the executives seated in the chairs shook his head.

That executive was none other than Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, one of the Five Kings.

‘It starts again.’

She was truly an impossible woman to predict.

Had it not been for that utterly self-willed temperament of hers, she might have risen to the position of fourth sect master, but because she was so uncontrollable, she had not been granted a valley master’s office within the inner castle.

Judging by skill alone, she could have stood among the sect masters, perhaps even above them.

-Tiiing!

“Hup.”

At the sound of another plucked string, several of the red-belted martial warriors nearby frowned.

That was because each time she plucked a string, true qi rode upon the tone.

She, who could load internal power into sound itself, was Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master.

Yi Ji-yeom, the Master of Corpse Blood Valley, clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Even that woman came.’

Unlike the Shadow Sect Master, Yi Ji-yeom knew her quite well.

Across both the righteous and evil paths, there were martial lineages of unusual kind, and one of them was sound-based martial arts.

In the martial world of the Central Plains, those who could truly wield proper sound arts could be counted on one hand, and Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, was one of them.

-Tiiing!

Reclining in a seductive pose atop the four-man palanquin, Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, flicked the strings of her pipa with her fingers.

Then the vibration spreading out through the tone grew stronger than it had a moment earlier.

As a result,

“Ugh.”

Several of the red-belted martial warriors, those with somewhat weaker internal power, could not endure it and clutched their ears.

‘Just the same as ever.’

It was a truly nasty taste.

She often created trouble for those around her by suddenly loading sound arts into the strings of her pipa like this.

It had reached the point that even the kind-hearted Vice Society Leader had once sternly warned her.

Of course, as if she had heard that warning with one ear and let it pass out the other, she still continued this nasty habit.

‘Hoo.’

In any case, it seemed he could no longer simply leave her alone, so Yi Ji-yeom raised his voice with a clasped-fist salute and said,

“It has been a long time, Sound-Summoning Valley Master.”

-Valley Master~ Valley Master~ Valley Master~

A voice echoed across the entire square.

At the massive true qi contained in that voice, the eyes of Hang Yeo-ryang, reclining seductively, lit with interest.

Or rather, the same was true of the executives who had arrived first.

From this single greeting, they could infer that Yi Ji-yeom’s internal power had grown deeper than before.

Naturally, Hang Yeo-ryang sensed the same.

She opened her mouth as if impressed.

“Your internal power has deepened even further since I last saw you, Master of Corpse Blood Valley.”

“How could that be so?”

“Your modesty is excessive.”

“It is not modesty. More than that, upon hearing the beautiful sound of your pipa strings, I instead feel that the Sound-Summoning Valley Master’s skill deepens with every passing day. The power riding your tones is enough to make even my own insides boil.”

“Hehehe. Is that so?”

He had spoken indirectly, but the meaning was simple.

The surrounding people might suffer internal injuries, so stop putting power into the strings and tone it down.

That was what he meant.

She too understood it instantly, but

-Tiiing!

“Then I suppose, by way of apology, I ought to play you a proper piece.”

‘This woman truly……’

It could not have been more troublesome.

By convention, they had sent word asking her to attend, but naturally, given her personality, he had assumed she would not come.

And yet she had suddenly appeared and, true to her nature, was acting however she pleased, making things unbearable.

At this, Yi Ji-yeom looked toward Won Byeong-hak, the Thunderbolt Fist King, one of the Five Kings, seeking help.

He was asking the man of higher rank to intervene.

However,

‘!?’

Won Byeong-hak merely sat there, turned his head, and pretended not to notice.

No matter how self-willed she was, if a member of the Five Kings, one of the upper executives, stepped in and warned her, it would be difficult even for her to ignore it.

Yet Yi Ji-yeom could not understand why he was behaving like this.

‘Forgive me, Master of Corpse Blood Valley.’

In truth, Won Byeong-hak had already met her beforehand and received her clear word that she would not lay a hand on the child from Mirrored Scenery Gate.

Because there was something to be given and taken between them, he could not easily step in.

If, in a foul mood, she decided to target the child from Mirrored Scenery Gate whom he had already marked, matters would become troublesome.

-Ssk!

He did not know why, but since the Thunderbolt Fist King would not step in, Yi Ji-yeom turned instead to the Shadow Sect Master, one of the Three Sect Masters and therefore one level higher than himself.

But the Shadow Sect Master merely covered his mouth with one hand and laughed like a woman.

He showed no sign whatsoever of stepping in.

‘It cannot be helped.’

Yi Ji-yeom clicked his tongue inwardly.

At this point, it seemed he would have no choice but to become forceful, even if it made things awkward with her.

So, toward the woman plucking the strings of her pipa…

“Hang Valley Master. That is enough.”

At that moment, someone’s voice was heard.

At it, the woman who had been plucking the pipa strings frowned and turned her head.

And the one standing there was none other than,

‘The King of the Fate Blade?’

Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, one of the Five Kings, was staring at her with a grim face, a great saber resting on his shoulder.

His towering frame, greater than that of an ordinary man, and his body covered in scars gave him a pressure that stood out beyond anyone else present.

“So even the King of the Fate Blade… has come as well.”

Hang Yeo-ryang, the Sound-Summoning Valley Master, stopped the hand that had been plucking the pipa and saluted with clasped fists.

Yi Ji-yeom inwardly welcomed Son Yun’s appearance.

Among the Five Kings, Son Yun was famous for being especially firm and hard-edged.

He hated people crossing the line and had clear likes and dislikes, so he had clashed with the self-willed Hang Yeo-ryang on several occasions before.

There were even rumors that she had once nearly lost her head because of Son Yun’s attitude.

In a sense, he could be called her natural enemy.

“Have I come somewhere I ought not come?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then moderate yourself and sit down. Because of you, the Master of Corpse Blood Valley cannot proceed with the final gate.”

At his sharp tone, Hang Yeo-ryang’s eyes turned sharp.

It seemed the rumors that the two did not get along were indeed true.

The atmosphere grew extremely cold.

It had become close to a situation where a single spark would set everything off.

Then Yi Ji-yeom, the Master of Corpse Blood Valley, stepped between the two, saluted with clasped fists, and said,

“It is an honor that the King of the Fate Blade has also come to observe.”

The heavy atmosphere eased for a moment.

Son Yun, who had been staring fixedly at Hang Yeo-ryang, turned his head and relaxed his expression as he said,

“Master of Corpse Blood Valley. It has been a long time.”

“It has indeed been a long time. I did not expect the King of the Fate Blade to come to the completion ceremony as well.”

There was a simple reason Yi Ji-yeom said this.

Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, already had outstanding disciples.

In particular, his eldest disciple Wu Ho-rang was so gifted that he was counted among the five finest younger talents even within the Heaven and Earth Society.

So for a man like that to participate in the completion ceremony, it could only be puzzling.

“I have reason to do so.”

“And what reason would that be?”

At Yi Ji-yeom’s question, Son Yun, the King of the Fate Blade, turned his head and looked at someone among the six boys standing in the square.

That someone was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.

[What? He lost to whom?]

Until only the day before, he had had no intention of coming here.

But after hearing that his youngest disciple Yeop Wi-seon had not only caused a major disaster but had also been defeated by someone, he had changed his mind.

‘Ha…….’

Not long ago, Mok Gyeong-un had been no more than a third-rate brat.

And yet that very fellow had defeated Yeop Wi-seon, who had already reached the absolute realm and had even been taught martial arts by Son Yun himself?

There was no way he could refrain from coming here.