Chapter 245 – Divine Might (3)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Although I had boosted our morale, my vomiting simply would not stop. I had spit up so much blood that my mind was hazy.

“You said it is a winner-stays-on match, correct?”

The Sect Leader of the Heaven’s Will Gate glared at me with a warped face. Losing the masters he had brought at great expense seemed to have directed all his fury toward me.

“Since it’s a winner-stays-on match anyway, it is only right that the strongest among us goes out.”

Just then, someone pushed past the Sect Leader of the Heaven’s Will Gate and stood up haughtily. He was a massive giant, looking to be about seven feet tall. Although the Wudang Sect members, excluding the children, were not short, most of them had to tilt their necks far back to look up at him.

He was the man whom the Sect Leader had referred to earlier as the Blood King Sword. Although the unorthodox masters who had come out before were fairly well-known, they paled in comparison to the Blood King Sword.

He was one of the Four Calamities of the Martial World, commonly abbreviated as the Four Calamities. The fact that his head was still firmly attached to his shoulders despite his notorious reputation made it difficult to fathom just how powerful a master he was.

“Young child. Shall we begin immediately?”

“We forfeit this bout.”

Those words did not come from my mouth. It was the voice of Cheong-hwa, who was now standing behind me.

“Aha. You run away with your tail between your legs without even fighting? What a highly dishonorable exit.”

“Having defeated two old monsters, it is honorable enough. Blood King Sword, do you have no conscience? To seek the life of a heavily injured child who is so much younger than you.”

“I am someone who doesn’t care about such things in the first place. I was simply curious about what your reactions would be if I killed this child.”

My head spun. I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the Blood King Sword’s insane remarks or Seven Poisons Yama’s poison eating away at my body.

As I barely managed to stand and stumbled, Cheong-hwa grabbed my shoulder to support me.

“You have done well enough—no, you have done more than enough.”

“It’s a relief if that’s the case.”

“Indeed.”

“I shall stop this vicious rebel.”

Cheong-hwa drew his Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword. A graceful, elegant aura flowed over the entire training field.

It was an aura completely opposite to the domineering, violent energy that the unorthodox old monsters and I had radiated earlier.

“Hehe, Boundless Divine Sword. You think you can stop me?”

“Why would I not?”

While Cheong-hwa and the Blood King Sword engaged in a war of nerves, I stared at the Blood King Sword.

“What are you looking at? Let’s hurry to the Medical Hall.”

The senior brothers scolded me. Indeed, I needed to head to the Medical Hall as quickly as possible to stabilize myself.

But why? Something felt off. I found the reason in the Blood King Sword’s eyes.

Was it the keen observation I had honed over decades as a merchant? Although Cheong-hwa might not have noticed, I spotted red spots on the sclera of the Blood King Sword. His eyes kept rolling, concealing and revealing them, but they could not escape my gaze.

“Wait a moment.”

“No, your body is not in a state to be saying ‘wait a moment.’ We know you are worried about Martial Uncle, but he will handle it well.”

“I know. But still, wait a moment.”

As I spoke, the senior brothers looked at me with anxious eyes. They seemed to worry more about me than Cheong-hwa.

“Wait.”

Just as my anxiety peaked and the match was about to begin, Cheong-ui, who had been sitting and watching, stood up.

“The Blood King Sword is correct. If it is a winner-stays-on match, it is only right that the strongest among us goes out, is it not?”

A blue glow radiated from Cheong-ui’s eyes.

“Cheong-hwa. Step back. I shall handle this.”

“……Senior Brother Sect Leader.”

“I said, step back.”

Cheong-ui was a generous Sect Leader who usually accommodated the opinions of his juniors and nephews. He rarely forced his own decisions like this.

“That fellow seems to have used some sinister method.”

Cheong-ui said. Fortunately, Cheong-ui had sensed the same unease as I had.

“Oho. Taiji Sword Emperor, indeed. Splendid.”

The Blood King Sword laughed. No matter how notorious the Four Calamities of the Martial World were, Cheong-ui was one of the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven, a peak master who discussed the absolute peak of the realm. The fact that the Blood King Sword was so confident raised further suspicion.

“I understand.”

Cheong-hwa bowed his head and stepped back. If I were to evaluate my master, he was not yet a fully matured martial artist.

In fact, in my past life, my master had been one of the Eight Exalts. Back then, he was called the Boundless Sword Exalt, not the Boundless Divine Sword.

It was common knowledge that unorthodox martial artists grew strong quickly and easily but lacked endurance, whereas orthodox martial artists grew strong slowly but shone brighter as time went on. In that sense, Cheong-hwa’s age was still a bit too early to be considered the peak of an orthodox master.

Rather, the peak age of an orthodox master fit Cheong-ui, who was about a dozen years older than Cheong-hwa.

“Blood King Sword. The days when you turned tail like a dog and fled from me seem like only yesterday. What wind has blown to make you stand there with your chest so puffed out?”

Cheong-ui spoke in a low voice. The Blood King Sword laughed loudly.

“Do not think of me as the same as in the past, Taiji Sword Emperor. Today, I shall slay you and take my place among the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven.”

“We shall have to wait and see.”

“Watch closely then. Hahaha.”

The Blood King Sword and the Heaven’s Will Gate seemed incredibly confident about something.

“Then, let us begin.”

The fight commenced with Su Je-heon’s words. The Blood King Sword immediately drew his sword and assumed a starting stance.

From the moment his sword was drawn, a crimson energy overflowed from the scabbard. The crimson energy condensed to look virtually like blood, and seeing how he brandished such a blood-soaked aura, he was indeed worthy of being called the Blood King.

“I no longer use the Blood King Sword.”

The Blood King Sword laughed, letting the crimson energy flow.

“From now on, the martial art I display is named the True Blood King Sword Art.”

“Drawing stripes on a pumpkin does not make it a watermelon.”

“One cannot call a watermelon a pumpkin, can they?!”

The Blood King Sword lightly stepped forward. It was a stamp so light that not a single grain of dust was kicked up. The powerful shock step commonly felt when top masters lunged forward was absent.

However, that silence was a form of compression. Having gathered even the rippling shock waves, the Blood King Sword began to display immense speed.

*Bang!*

Kicking off the training field floor, the Blood King Sword flew forward. His figure stretched out long like a piece of taffy. It was that fast. I knitted my brows and focused on his movements, but the Blood King Sword quickly vanished from my sight. I had lost his movement.

“What on earth……!”

Cheong-hwa gasped. Before anyone knew it, the Blood King Sword had gotten behind Cheong-ui. It appeared Cheong-hwa had also lost track of his movements.

With a massive explosion, the spot where Cheong-ui had been standing erupted.

“Sect Leader!”

“Senior Brother Sect Leader!”

Shocked by the speed and power, the Wudang members all shouted. Because of the rising dust and the tangled currents of energy, they could not confirm the Sect Leader’s safety.

However, Cheong-ui quickly emerged through the dust. A deep sigh of relief echoed from behind.

By now, even the senior brothers who were supposed to drag me to the Medical Hall were staring blankly at the match.

“Hahaha! The Taiji Sword Emperor is nothing special!”

The Blood King Sword lunged forward, laughing madly. Indeed, Cheong-ui was busy retreating and blocking. The Blood King Sword’s martial power was that overwhelming. His immense speed and power seemed to transcend the limits of a human body.

“How could the Blood King Sword be this strong……?”

Cheong-hwa murmured. It seemed my master also knew the Blood King Sword’s previous level of power. However, it had far exceeded the boundaries of what he knew.

If my master had fought the Blood King Sword instead, he might have been turned into minced meat. The thought alone was horrifying.

However, seeing the Sect Leader being pushed back was equally horrifying. The battle between the two was of an exceptionally high level. A spectacular exchange of sword forms. Cheong-ui displayed brilliant swordsmanship that fully justified his reputation as the Taiji Sword Emperor. It was amazing that he was parrying all of the Blood King Sword’s massive attacks.

If the Blood King Sword had grown this strong against all expectations, my worries had likely become reality.

The forbidden method that was originally used only on common ruffians had now been adapted to work on top masters as well.

Although we wouldn’t use it ourselves, we needed to know the details of the forbidden method the enemies were using. We had to know its effects and prerequisites to counter it. Since that was a matter for after the match, I brushed it to the back of my mind for now.

“For the Sect Leader to be pushed back that much……”

“Unbelievable.”

Wudang’s disciples were naturally denying the reality unfolding before their eyes.

It was understandable that they wanted to deny it. To Wudang’s disciples, the Sect Leader was a figure of absolute reverence. They could not easily accept their idol being pushed back like this.

While Wudang’s morale fell by the moment, the Blood King Sword’s momentum, feeding on that fallen morale, seemed ready to pierce the heavens.

To think he was dominating one of the five highest sword masters under heaven; it was only natural for him to be elated.

“Die, die!”

Yet, despite being on the defensive, Cheong-ui suffered no wounds. However, every single moment was breath-taking.

There were moments when the Sect Leader’s afterimage seemed to be severed, looking as though his neck had been cut.

As the Blood King Sword unleashed a diagonal slash, Cheong-ui held his sword horizontally to block it. However, the slash was so powerful that Cheong-ui’s feet slid back, gouging the training field floor.

The ground was deeply gouged like a plowed field, and the positions of the Blood King Sword and Cheong-ui separated for the first time since the start of the battle. The Blood King Sword stood at ease.

“How is it, Taiji Sword Emperor? At this level, am I not worthy of being counted among the Five Great Sword Masters?”

At the Blood King Sword’s laughter, the momentum of the Heaven’s Will Gate, which had been practically dead, surged back.

“Consecrated Elder, hurry up and slay that old man!”

“How thoroughly satisfying.”

In contrast, the Wudang Sect members were dead silent, as if their breathing had stopped. Just then, Cheong-ui spoke quietly.

“Disciples of Wudang. Do not be intimidated. You must never, under any circumstances, allow yourselves to be intimidated.”

At Cheong-ui’s words, Wudang’s disciples straightened their backs.

“Yes, Sect Leader!”

Morale surged back instantly. In that moment, Wudang’s disciples realized they had all made a mistake.

Before the battle had even ended, they had assumed the Sect Leader had lost and had allowed themselves to be disheartened. In a way, that was something that could sap the Sect Leader’s own strength.

Fortunately, Cheong-ui did not seem to mind.

“Children. Wudang’s sword bends, but it never breaks. If you master it properly, no one can harm you.”

“Haha, is this your final testament? It seems you will be broken by me.”

The Blood King Sword mocked, but Cheong-ui ignored him completely and continued to speak to his disciples and junior brothers.

“Since I too have not fully perfected Wudang’s sword, I do not doubt that you will surpass me in the future, though it may seem distant for now. Therefore, for now, it is enough to watch and feel.”

Cheong-ui slowly raised his chipped, worn Ancient Pine-Pattern Sword and drew a Taiji symbol in the air. Around the sword, which looked as though it would shatter at the slightest impact, threads of red and blue energy began to entangle.

I had seen it once before. The Taiji Wisdom Sword, known as Wudang’s greatest secret technique. However, Cheong-ui’s Taiji Wisdom Sword was vastly different from the one I remembered Cheong-hwa using.

Cheong-hwa’s Taiji Wisdom Sword was spectacular, but Cheong-ui’s Taiji Wisdom Sword was simple. Frankly speaking, it did not radiate any threatening aura.

“What is that? A ceremonial martial art?”

The Blood King Sword sneered. He dismissed it as a martial art used only for exhibitions, not for actual combat.

However, Cheong-ui walked forward slowly. The blue and red energy spread gently across the ground.

“……Eh?”

For the first time, a panicked sound escaped the Blood King Sword’s mouth.

“Before the grand Taiji, what can you possibly do?”

Cheong-ui continued to walk slowly. It was a bizarre sight. Cheong-ui was walking toward the Blood King Sword with his sword raised, yet the Blood King Sword was unable to move.

“You bastard, what on earth did you do!”

The Blood King Sword’s eyes turned blood-red as he shouted. Yet, Cheong-ui’s steps were as peaceful as if he were taking a casual stroll.

“Did you say you wished to discuss the position of the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven?”

Cheong-ui spoke. Already, Cheong-ui had closed the distance to the point where he could slash the Blood King Sword with a simple reach of his sword. The Blood King Sword had allowed him into his range. Yet, the Blood King Sword simply stood defenseless, rolling his eyes in panic.

“Although I hold no pride in the name of the Five Great Sword Masters, it is not so light as to be permitted to the likes of you.”

“You, you damn old bastard, what did you do?!”

The Blood King Sword shouted, but his voice was cut short. Cheong-ui had severed his neck. The Blood King Sword’s head tumbled off uselessly.

He hadn’t unleashed any violent force, nor had he used any powerful energy; he had simply walked over and sliced a defenseless, motionless opponent. He had overwhelmed by not overwhelming. It was a wondrous situation, as if everyone had been caught in a mass formation.

“Is there anyone else to come out?”

Cheong-ui spoke indifferently, looking toward the Heaven’s Will Gate’s camp.

Only after realizing the bout was over did Cheong-ui’s small figure from behind appear incredibly massive.

That was the true Divine Might of one of the Five Great Sword Masters Under Heaven.