Sword God Reborn

Chapter 249 : The Newbie Has Arrived

Namgung Jincheon's pupils were filled with bewilderment.

Namgung Jincheon, with his usual calm personality, was said to not even bleed a single drop when pricked with a needle.

Was it any wonder that rumors circulated that he had learned the ice techniques of the North Sea, not the sword of the Namgung Clan?

That was how skilled Namgung Jincheon was at controlling his emotions. He didn't even bat an eye at most things and maintained his composure.

But that composure had wavered, even if for a moment.

"You insolent...!"

"Insolent, my ass. You came here to fight, didn't you? Why is your tongue so long? Do you hold your sword hilt with your mouth?"

"..."

To be honest, Namgung Jincheon's mouth wouldn't open easily. He didn't know what to say. Because it was so different from the image of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero he had imagined.

'Where on earth is the hero who stands tall alone and fights the Demonic Path...'

The first time he had heard about the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero was from none other than the Guardian Sword of Hwa Mountain, Cheonghyeon Jin-in.

Cheonghyeon Jin-in had endlessly praised and admired Cheon Mubaeck.

He had called him a true hero.

Was that why? In his mind, he had vaguely thought of him as the typical hero he had dreamed of.

But wasn't his current appearance that of a gangster openly acting like a ruffian?

Namgung Jincheon diligently suppressed his bewilderment and regained his composure.

'He is a man with a widespread fame throughout the world. Such a man cannot be a mere street ruffian.'

Namgung Jincheon's eyes flashed sharply, and he scanned Cheon Mubaeck's entire body.

At that moment, Namgung Jincheon received a violent shock.

'There are no openings.'

He couldn't see any empty spots. Although there seemed to be countless paths for a sword to take, when he looked closely, it felt as if a dull impact was striking the back of his head.

'A trap, this is also a trap. That is also a trap.'

Spaces where, if he extended his sword thinking it was a good opportunity, he would be counterattacked in an instant.

They were intentionally given openings. Paradoxically, there were no openings to be seen at all.

'A thoroughly calculated action, is that it?'

Only then did Namgung Jincheon understand.

'It's a stratagem of provoking the general!'

A stratagem of shaking the emotions to lead them as desired.

The corner of Namgung Jincheon's mouth curled up as he understood Cheon Mubaeck's words and actions.

"Indeed, they say you have fought countless times with the demonic path bastards. It seems you don't care about your own fame when it comes to fighting."

"...?"

"Well. You must have such a venomous spirit to be able to fight the Demonic Path. Perhaps that is the appearance of a hero who must fight the Demonic Path."

At the sight of him suddenly talking to himself, admiring and lamenting, Cheon Mubaeck's brow furrowed into the shape of the character for 'river' (川).

"He's a madman in a strange way."

"Hmph. It doesn't matter what kind of nasty words you use to try to shake me. My sword will not be shaken."

"Oh, really? So when are you going to attack?"

"The Great Young Master of the Namgung Clan, Jincheon, hereby requests a duel with the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero."

Namgung Jincheon politely performed a fist-and-palm salute. At the moment Cheon Mubaeck frowned as if he were frustrated, his bent waist straightened and a sword light flashed.

"Huh?"

A hollow laugh escaped Cheon Mubaeck's lips.

"A sudden surprise attack?"

His actions were like those of a typical, old-fashioned figure of the Orthodox Path, as if he were going to have a proper martial arts contest, but before his words had even finished, a relentless sword draw had dug in.

Jjaeng!

Although it was a surprise attack that was almost cowardly, Namgung Jincheon's face hardened as it was futilely blocked by Cheon Mubaeck's single palm.

'It's no ordinary palm technique.'

Although he had long since cast aside any thoughts of underestimating his opponent, he felt uneasy at the sight of him being even more powerful than he had thought.

"Aren't you going to draw your sword? I heard you were a master of the sword."

"No, I'm not."

"Hmph! Still using a paltry trick like a stratagem of provoking the general!"

"Bullshit."

As Cheon Mubaeck suddenly approached, Namgung Jincheon spun around like a thunderbolt.

With a strong gust of wind, a ruthless killing intent poured from the blade.

'Not bad!'

A strange light flashed in Cheon Mubaeck's eyes. Namgung Jincheon's reaction speed was faster than he had expected.

Rather, he had grasped the path in advance, and his sword flashed a beat faster in reverse.

A formidable fast sword, a bold strike that aimed for the opening in the path in reverse; it was an aspect that showed why he was called the dragon of the Namgung family.

However.

"......!"

Cheon Mubaeck's response was faster and bolder, making Namgung Jincheon's reaction seem colorless.

The moment Namgung Jincheon's sword flashed, Cheon Mubaeck's twin palms had already rushed in like a storm.

Namgung Jincheon's eyes widened.

'Ice Palm?'

Seeing the left hand dyed pure white, he hurriedly withdrew his sword.

It was a quick reaction to the ice technique that was so cold it made his whole body tingle.

But he was so surprised by the scene that followed that his eyeballs almost popped out.

'Mixed Energy Twin Palms?'

A transparent vital energy shimmered in his right hand.

His left and right hands, each containing a different, intense energy, rushed in.

The peerless technique he had only heard of in rumors, of containing different energies in each hand, flashed through his mind.

'Then did he inherit the true teachings of the Arhat Saint, who was the number one in the world in palm techniques?'

But there was no time to solve the question.

Because it was not enough to concentrate everything to block the extreme ice qi and the fierce vital energy that seemed to crush everything, pouring in from both sides.

Kwaang!

Although Namgung Jincheon's sword continuously poured out vital energy, it was absurd to think he could block it completely.

A powerful impact shook the pavilion, and Namgung Jincheon was thrown back, half-embedded in the wall.

"Keeuk."

A groan of pain flowed from Namgung Jincheon, who was trembling, embedded in the wall.

Cheon Mubaeck made a strange face and approached a little closer.

He had thought he had crushed him too much from the very beginning, but a secret flow of internal energy was caught in Cheon Mubaeck's qi sense.

Namgung Jincheon's sword suddenly shot up and grazed past his nose.

"...Huh?"

"You dodged?"

Similar reactions flowed from both sides at the same time.

In any case, they were surprised at each other.

Cheon Mubaeck's face contorted strangely.

"You pretended to be hurt, pretended to be neutralized, and then launched a surprise attack? Are you really an Orthodox Path bastard?"

"In a fight, would the demonic path bastards respect the ways of the Orthodox Path?"

"Well, that's true. But I'm not from the Demonic Path. This is a duel."

"If you've drawn your sword, you must do your best even in a duel. Isn't that the way to use a sword?"

"Wow."

To be honest, at that point, Cheon Mubaeck quite liked Namgung Jincheon.

'Wow, this guy is something else.'

Considering he was the dragon of the Namgung clan, and the importance and fame of the Namgung Clan in the Orthodox Path.

Although he was a typical, powerful rising star, he had thought his personality was that of a young old-fashioned person who had thoroughly embodied the old-fashioned ways of the Orthodox Path.

But wasn't his mind more open than he had thought?

On the other hand, Namgung Jincheon also found it difficult to hide his surprise.

"I definitely aimed properly."

It was a perfect killing move.

In the first place, knowing that Cheon Mubaeck's skill was such that he would not die no matter how vicious a killing move he unleashed, it was an attack he had unleashed with all his strength.

He wouldn't die.

The perfect control of the twin palms and the internal energy that followed, the flexible movements that flowed like water.

He would definitely not die. Still, he had thought he would get a proper hit in.

At the very least, he had thought he would see Cheon Mubaeck's flustered expression.

"How did you dodge it?"

He had thoroughly minimized the flow of internal energy.

No matter how sensitive one was to qi, they would not be able to feel it.

"Your judgment to minimize the internal energy and concentrate only on the part where you could amplify the power the most was excellent."

"......!"

"The killing move was not just unleashed with the power of internal energy, but the movement drawn out by the extremely trained muscles and bones was also sharp."

"..."

Namgung Jincheon's mouth fell open.

He even got goosebumps at the sight of Cheon Mubaeck reciting as if he were observing his own body.

Wasn't he seeing through his intentions and thoughts perfectly?

"Even a master of internal energy who is sensitive to internal energy would have been hit. Because you can't feel the internal energy moving."

"But how did you?"

Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

"Because I'm not an ordinarily sensitive master of internal energy."

"...Hah."

Although he was drained by Cheon Mubaeck's statement, which could be seen as arrogant, the life in Namgung Jincheon's eyes did not disappear.

Rather, it burned fiercely.

Pabababak!

Namgung Jincheon's fierce attacks continued. To the extent that Cheon Mubaeck was purely impressed, Namgung Jincheon was by no means an old-fashioned martial artist of the Orthodox Path.

Various attacks were mixed in between the sword paths he extended. Kicking techniques, finger techniques, palm techniques, finger-flicking techniques...

Usually, when dueling, if one held a sword, it was a common martial artist of the Orthodox Path to only aim with the sword.

But Namgung Jincheon, as if he were fighting a life-and-death battle, poured out the various techniques he could show off.

At that time, the warriors of the Demon Repelling Squad, who had heard the commotion, rushed over.

Because the wall had been broken and the pavilion had half-collapsed.

"What is this... Are they having a duel?"

"A duel? What kind of duel is a life-and-death battle like that?"

"Shouldn't we stop them?"

"Stop them? Who? How can you stop that?"

Even the three idiots, who would hold their heads high wherever they went, had their mouths agape.

Looking at Namgung Jincheon's fierce attacks, they wondered how many moves they themselves could dodge and block.

But Cheon Mubaeck simply deflected or blocked all the attacks.

And that was without even drawing the sword from his waist.

"Was he at that level..."

Rather, it was a gap they hadn't felt before because it was too overwhelming.

But although Namgung Jincheon was clearly of a higher realm than them, it was not a realm that felt as immense as Cheon Mubaeck's.

Should I say it was a realm that could be relatively looked up to?

But at the fact that such a realm was returning to nothing without even touching a single hair on Cheon Mubaeck, they keenly felt Cheon Mubaeck's overwhelming power anew.

It was then.

Paaak!

"......!"

All the members of the Demon Repelling Squad who had rushed over flinched.

A very familiar sound of impact.

It was Cheon Mubaeck's slap, which, every time it was heard, would send one person to drink from the Sanzu River and return.

Cheon Mubaeck, who had narrowly dodged the tip of Namgung Jincheon's sword and had dug in, had fiercely slapped his opponent's cheek.

In an instant, a cry of admiration erupted from among the Demon Repelling Squad. Namgung Jincheon was standing on his two feet.

"Oh, he endured it."

"He didn't pass out."

"Wow, you have to be at that level to be the dragon of the Namgung clan."

Namgung Jincheon staggered and held his face. The admiration he heard felt like ridicule. No, in fact, he had no time to care. His head was ringing like crazy and his vision was spinning.

"Spit!"

Spitting out the broken tooth that was rolling around in his mouth, Namgung Jincheon raised his eyes.

Although it was a murderous spirit...

Paaak!

"Keoheuk..."

His body shook greatly once again at the dizzying pain transmitted from his left cheek.

He seemed to be falling this time too, but he supported his body with a miraculous sense of balance.

Cries of admiration flowed from here and there.

"Wow. He endured two hits."

"Putting aside dodging or blocking, it's something that he didn't pass out and endured."

"Indeed, Namgung Jincheon!"

"Udeuk... Shut up!"

Namgung Jincheon aimed his sword with a bloodshot face.

As he raised the internal energy of his whole body to its full power, his shaking body also regained its balance.

Beyond his wavering vision, the indifferent face of Cheon Mubaeck was caught.

"Eek, eek..."

Namgung Jincheon, who had been slapped for the first time in his life, and twice at that, gritted his teeth.

Hwiiing!

The atmosphere around the sword shimmered, and then it began to swirl violently.

The murmuring sound from the surroundings stopped in an instant.

In the suffocating silence, someone's voice flowed out.

"That... isn't that the Emperor's Destructive Sword?"

The Emperor's Destructive Sword.

The ultimate divine art that had made people not hesitate to call the current head of the Namgung Clan the number one in the world.

Although faint, it was clearly flowing from Namgung Jincheon's sword.

Cheon Mubaeck's face, which had been indifferent from beginning to end, twitched.

The flow of qi swirling around was unusual.

"This won't do."

"Are you giving up? The duel is not over yet."

"I have to end it."

"You bastard! Who do you think... keok!"

Paaaaak!

Namgung Jincheon's sword, which had been fiercely emitting energy, fell to the floor powerlessly.

At the third slap that had rushed in like a thunderbolt, Namgung Jincheon staggered, and in the end, he couldn't endure it and collapsed.

Cheon Mubaeck clicked his tongue as he dusted off his hands.

"You should join the Demon Repelling Squad too, and train. But since your level is a little higher."

Cheon Mubaeck crossed his arms.

"Yes. Let's make it a pass if you can dodge or block just three hits."

With those words, Namgung Jincheon lost consciousness as if it were a lie.

Whether it was because the shock that had been transmitted had accumulated, or whether Cheon Mubaeck's statement was that shocking, it was unknown...

"The newbie has arrived. Treat him well."

"..."

Watching Cheon Mubaeck dusting off his hands as if nothing had happened, the three idiots were certain.

"Hey."

"Huh?"

"If we succeed in dodging or blocking that one hit."

"Yeah."

"Then maybe the test will increase to two hits?"

"..."

In an instant, the faces of the three idiots hardened.

Gyo Mun-cheok said with a gloomy face.

"He said Namgung Jincheon gets three hits, right? Then if we reach Namgung Jincheon's level, won't it become three hits?"

"..."

A sense of despair fell like a shadow.

(End of Chapter)