novelraw Chapter 182 : Chapter 182
Chapter 182 : Chapter 182
Chapter 182 - What a Coincidence
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“The Sun-Shooting Sword Art! The rumors about the Diancang Sect were not false after all!”
“Isn’t the Sun-Shooting Sword Art like a clone of the World’s Fastest Sword? I heard it was lost now…!”
“It seems they’ve recovered their ultimate technique!”
“A new wind will soon blow in the Murim…!!”
It was a fact that even those uninterested in martial arts were well aware of.
How large a part martial arts played in the power of a sect.
No matter how much the Diancang Sect reclaimed its main mountain and succeeded in its revenge, it could not be called a true ‘revival’ if they could not completely restore their martial arts.
After all, what determined a high-level master was the sect’s martial arts.
That was precisely why people were so enthusiastic about the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
The reason why the Diancang Sect could never be taken lightly despite having fewer members than other sects.
It lay in the Sun-Shooting Sword Art and the Vacuum Sword of the supreme masters, led by the World's Fastest Sword.
“………….”
Unlike the bustling spectator stands, an awkward silence filled the high seats.
When those who had experienced the Sun-Shooting Sword Art witnessed the Nine-Shooting One Flash.
And when those who had not heard the name of the sword art from Eung Gajin’s lips.
They could not help but jump up from their seats in surprise.
Each of them revealed complex emotions on their faces.
‘The Sun-Shooting Sword Art. How in the world did that sword art reappear…’
‘Weren’t all the masters annihilated after the Heavenly Demon War?’
‘I couldn’t believe it, but…’
What broke the silence was a very, very unpleasant, mad laugh.
“Khahahahahahahaha!”
The only person sent from the Beggars' Union.
Guardian Gwangyo, who was sitting in the furthest corner of the high seats, burst out laughing as if he was about to die.
“Guardian Gwang, what is so funny?”
The Grand Master of Supreme Unity, Jongri Hu, the sect leader of the Kunlun Sect, who was already displeased with his top disciple’s defeat, shot a sharp glare at Gwangyo.
As it was a venue where the rising stars of each sect fought, if there was a winner, there was naturally a loser.
So, he had not been swayed by the victories and defeats so far, but Gwangyo’s laughter this time was certainly rude.
“Kilkil, my apologies, Sect Leader. But isn’t the current situation just too funny?”
The gazes of the crowd toward Gwangyo were not at all favorable.
The position of Guardian was not a low one, but from the other Nine Sects One Union, all the attendees were of the sect leader level.
However, Gwangyo was not even close to being the leader of the Beggars' Union.
An already lower-ranking person bursting into mad laughter every time a rising star of the Murim Alliance was defeated, it was natural that the gazes toward him were not good.
“Amitabha. Is it not said that sorrow shared is sorrow halved, and joy shared is joy doubled? Would you be so kind as to share the amusement with this humble monk?”
Great Master Nanbyeol Deokdam, noticing the uncomfortable atmosphere, asked politely.
“What is there to explain so grandly, Abbot? In the past, when the Diancang Sect’s power was waning, no one gave them a second glance. But now that the descendants of Diancang are defeating the rising stars of the Murim Alliance as if to show off, how could it not be amusing?”
“…………!!!”
The faces of the senior masters sitting there hardened.
Rage soared at Gwangyo’s blatant criticism.
However, no one could refute Gwangyo’s words.
It was an undeniable fact that they all already knew.
“The Diancang Sect was surely cut off. The Murim Alliance thought they would no longer play a role. They might have thought they would never see the Sun-Shooting Sword Art in the Murim again. But what about now?”
As he continued speaking, the whites of Gwangyo’s eyes twitched violently.
His characteristic madness was surging as his excitement over the Diancang Sect’s success and his anger about the past resurfaced.
“A top disciple of the Murim Alliance was shattered by the Sun-Shooting Sword Art, which we thought we would never see again. And that swordsman is not even the much-rumored Jade-Faced Quick Sword, but another rising star. Isn’t it a pity? If we had known this would happen, we could have helped them a little instead of cutting them off!”
“Enough.”
A voice as sharp as a sword stopped Gwangyo’s mouth.
It was Mu Gon, the king of Hubei, the sect leader of the Wudang Sect.
Thump.
‘Keuk…!’
Gwangyo momentarily felt a constricting pain in his heart and almost bent over.
Mu Gon had subtly sent his internal energy to pressure Gwangyo.
As expected of the Wudang Sect Leader.
Gwangyo, who had never bowed his head to anyone in terms of internal energy, almost let out a cry this time.
But not wanting to show his pain, he burst into even louder laughter.
“Khuhuhuhu. If you dislike the sight of me so much, then change my seat right now.”
Deokdam shook his head with a warm smile.
“Unfortunately, I cannot do that. The chair placed here is not just for one person.”
“Abbot, your problem is always giving too much meaning to everything.”
At Gwangyo’s words, a few people in the crowd were dumbfounded.
They said that even a mad dog becomes gentle in front of a stick, but this Mad and Aberrant Man would probably say what he wanted even in front of King Yama.
Even if the leader of the Beggars' Union had been here, he would not have been able to make such a remark.
Why on earth?
Did the leader of the Beggars' Union send such a lawless fellow to this event?
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
As if to change the awkward atmosphere, a tremendous roar was heard from one side.
Gwangyo’s eyes, which were just about to sit down, flashed open.
“Khuhuhu. Master Okjin. Things have become quite a coincidence.”
“………….”
She must have heard his voice, but Okjin did not bother to turn her head.
As if he had not expected her to, Gwangyo continued to speak.
“After Zhongnan, Mount Heng and Kunlun have fallen, and next is the Emei Sect. Doesn’t it seem like the heavens are testing them one by one?”
Okjin reluctantly bowed her head toward Gwangyo and chanted the Buddha's name.
She hated to admit it, but she had actually been thinking the same thing.
‘What a coincidence.’
The anguish that had visited her the night before had not yet subsided, but now it had reappeared before her eyes, and her disciple was facing an enemy.
The man who appeared as the opponent of one of the few rising stars of the Emei Sect was,
none other than Biyoung.
***
‘So this is Biyoung…!’
Jinhwa, a young nun of the Emei Sect, looked at the handsome man before her.
Despite having already devoted herself to Buddhism, the first thing that caught her eye was his handsome face, as if it had been drawn.
However, Jinhwa soon shook her head and dispelled the idle thoughts.
‘What are you thinking? Concentrate.’
Perhaps because she had no hair, her sharp eyes seemed to shine even more keenly.
Jinhwa steadied her wavering heart and circulated her internal energy.
She recalled what Master Okjin had said before the match.
-Go all out from the start. Only then can you hope for even a slight chance of victory.
Jinhwa could not understand those words.
Although Diancang’s momentum in the tournament was formidable, she too was a rising star who had grown up receiving praise three meals a day in the Emei Sect.
Even the taciturn Master Okjin would give her a pleased smile and words of encouragement whenever she saw her.
But now that her match with Biyoung was decided, the first thing she heard was about a slim chance of victory.
Though born a woman, Jinhwa’s talent and disposition were unmistakably those of a martial artist.
Master Okjin’s words ignited a fighting spirit like a wildfire in her.
“Jinhwa of the Emei Sect requests a match.”
“Biyoung of Diancang.”
Jinhwa planned to knock Biyoung down with the Tiger-Subduing Fist as soon as he finished his opening stance.
But then, something happened that neither Jinhwa nor anyone else had expected.
Click.
Biyoung placed the sword at his waist on the ground.
He had not just discarded the scabbard.
The blade inside it also left Biyoung’s hand.
“?”
Jinhwa blinked her sharp eyes a couple of times, wondering what was happening, and the crowd began to murmur.
“Why is he putting his sword down? Is he trying to forfeit?”
“Surely not?”
“Then…”
Among the more than ten fighting stages, the one that attracted the most attention was, without a doubt, Biyoung’s.
The person who had already caused a stir in the world had appeared, and he had discarded his sword before the match, so it would be strange if it did not draw attention.
With a strange smile on his lips, Biyoung said to the referee.
“I’ll do it like this.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
A large exclamation mark appeared above the heads of not only the spectators but also the senior masters on the high seats.
So, he was saying he would fight bare-handed, having discarded his sword?
After the Diancang swordsmen had all displayed their splendid swordsmanship, the anticipation for Biyoung had grown quite strong.
But contrary to everyone’s expectations, the Jade-Faced Quick Sword’s first match was with ‘bare hands,’ not the Eagle Talon Twelve Swords or the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.
‘Arrogant…!’
Jinhwa’s dark skin instantly flushed red.
She had learned to maintain her composure in any situation, but for the still-young Jinhwa, a provocation like this was hard to bear.
No matter how much he had learned fist and foot techniques, a swordsman could only display his true skill by holding a sword.
He was deliberately choosing a disadvantageous fight against her, who had spent all day training in fist, palm, and finger techniques.
“Do not regret it.”
Biyoung nodded at Jinhwa’s rage-filled words.
At the same time, Jinhwa leaped toward Biyoung like a flying squirrel.
Pababat!
“Ooh!”
It was an agile movement that naturally elicited admiration.
‘Whether he has a sword or not, the way to fight him is the same.’
To utilize her specialty, she had to fight at extremely close range.
Jinhwa, a rising star known for her intelligence in the Emei Sect, made the most rational judgment.
Swordsmen were often unable to exert their strength at a close enough distance for their faces to touch.
Before she knew it, Jinhwa’s body had advanced to Biyoung’s chest, and she immediately swung her fists repeatedly with the technique of the Tiger-Subduing Fist.
“Kyah!”
It was a clean and refined attack that was a joy to watch.
Just then, Biyoung, who had been standing still enough to make onlookers worry, stretched out his hands to meet her.
POW! POW!
Despite the absence of weapons, the sound of firecrackers exploding echoed through the fighting stage.
And Master Okjin shot up from her seat.
‘What!’
Jinhwa and Biyoung.
The two martial artists’ hands were touching each other.
Their postures were so similar that it looked as if one person was performing the move in front of a mirror.
If there was one difference, it was in their fingertips.
Unlike Jinhwa, who had both fists clenched, Biyoung was blocking with both palms open.
Master Okjin shot up from her seat because she knew the meaning of that posture and those fingertips better than anyone.
‘The Tiger-Subduing Palm?!’
It was one of the basic fist and foot techniques of the Emei Sect.
If the Tiger-Subduing Fist was an attack using the fist, the Tiger-Subduing Palm was a martial art using the palm and palm force.
As if playing a game of rock-paper-scissors, finger techniques were countered by fist techniques, and fist techniques were in turn countered by palm techniques.
It was a concept of fist and foot techniques that every martial artist in the Emei Sect learned first.
The problem was that Biyoung was not a martial artist from the Emei Sect.
It would be understandable if he had used a Diancang Sect fist and foot technique, but look at the perfectly symmetrical postures of the two martial artists.
Anyone could see that it was the perfect Tiger-Subduing Palm of the Emei Sect.
How on earth could Biyoung of the Diancang Sect use the Emei Sect’s Tiger-Subduing Palm?
The gazes of the senior masters sitting on the high seats turned to Master Okjin.
But how could even Master Okjin interpret this situation?
“What… what in the world are you doing…?”
Master Okjin could only mutter to herself.
Once again, with a face full of anguish.