novelraw Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Chapter 32 : Chapter 32
Chapter 32 - Because you could end up like me
Elder Mayeon of the True Dragon Sect was a man to whom the phrase ‘battle-hardened’ fit perfectly.
For decades, he had heard mocking remarks like ‘Was there ever such a sect?’ and ‘Do you have any martial arts worth showing off?’ until his ears were calloused.
Conversely, when he expanded his power and finally joined the Nine Sects One Union, he trembled with a joy that felt like he had the whole world.
Dishonor and glory.
Countless moments of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure.
He could proudly say that he had gone through all sorts of experiences on his way from the bottom to the top.
He believed there were no more strange or incomprehensible things left in the world.
However, Mayeon had come to realize how foolish his thoughts were.
At this very moment.
A mysterious event, the likes of which he thought he would never see again, was unfolding before his eyes.
‘What in the world is happening?’
For the first time in a long while, Mayeon had such a thought.
What was happening before his eyes was certainly not a dream.
But something more bizarre than a dream was taking place.
A boy who still looked too young to be called a young man.
For a moment, Mayeon had lost track of the boy’s movement.
‘From this distance… is that even possible?’
There was a world of difference between facing an opponent head-on and watching from a distance.
His view should have been much better than Daebyeong’s, who was in the middle of the duel.
Nevertheless, Mayeon had failed to see Biyoung's strike clearly.
He was at the point where he wanted to praise Daebyeong for blocking the last move rather than scolding him for closing his eyes.
‘If there had been even a little bit of internal energy in that attack…….’
Though he had blocked it in haste, it wasn't a defense but merely placing the sword in the way.
If Biyoung’s sword had been imbued with internal energy, the sword would have been sent flying or shattered.
‘What a shame.’
Watching a second-generation disciple struggle before his eyes was not a pleasant feeling.
But, sorry as he was for Daebyeong, Mayeon was more regretful of Biyoung’s lack of internal energy.
If only such a fast and powerful strike had been imbued with internal energy.
The boy could have become a candidate for the world’s number one junior.
However, internal energy was a field more difficult to develop than swordsmanship.
It was a domain that required slow and steady progress through the internal energy arts and spiritual pills of a prestigious orthodox sect.
And so.
Mayeon was starting to grow anxious.
If the True Dragon Sect’s internal energy arts and spiritual pills were added to that boy’s genius talent.
And if he was taught the Flying Dragon Sword Art, the ultimate technique of the True Dragon Sect…!
The True Dragon Sect might be able to produce a swordsman who could proudly aim to be the greatest sword under heaven.
‘I must bring that boy back with me.’
When he came here, he had been an interesting and desirable fruit, but now he felt like a precious gemstone he desperately wanted to obtain.
That child could be the future of the True Dragon Sect.
The moment Mayeon became convinced of this, Biyoung’s form wavered.
“Keuk!”
Both Mayeon and Daebyeong stared at Biyoung with wide eyes.
From the first strike, Daebyeong had been able to gauge Biyoung's skill.
‘This one is by no means beneath me.’
Ignoring the fact that it was a duel, Daebyeong brought out the Flying Dragon Sword Art.
A sword art that was originally not permitted for second-generation disciples.
But a sword art that was permitted, albeit limitedly, to the ‘One Heart, One Path’ who originated from Elder Mayeon.
The sword art that had made Daebyeong the best among the second-generation disciples formed a formation before his eyes.
“Returning Dragon Annihilation!"
A sound of admiration burst from Mayeon’s lips.
The defensive form of the Flying Dragon Sword Art, which even first-generation disciples found difficult to master, was executed flawlessly.
Slashing the sword in a 360-degree circle to nullify all attacks.
Thus the name, Returning Dragon Annihilation.
It was the best choice Daebyeong could make in a situation where he had yielded the first move to Biyoung.
Its momentum was so fierce that Biyoung, flying towards Daebyeong, looked like a moth heading into a blazing fire.
‘……?’
For a moment.
Elder Mayeon felt a sense of unease.
‘Was his movement always that slow?’
At first, he thought he could see it well because his eyes had grown accustomed to it.
After all, anything in the world becomes more familiar and easier to see the second time around.
But even considering that, Biyoung’s movement was too clearly visible.
As if he were someone who had been waiting for Daebyeong to execute his technique.
After seeing the faint smirk on Biyoung's lips, Mayeon instinctively knew that something was wrong.
Kwang!!!!
“Ugh!”
At the tremendous roar, incomparable to the last one, Yi Gwon-su and Yi Hae-dong hurriedly covered their ears.
How could the clash of the same swords produce such a different sound?
The two, who had never trained in martial arts, could only think that.
However, the swords that had just clashed were not the ‘same swords’.
Biyoung's Phoenix Knife, infused with the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art, was by no means a mere decorative item.
It was a world-class deadly weapon filled with destructive energy.
Twirl, twirl.
A single sword, hovering in mid-air, spun as if dancing.
Judging by the shape of the blade, it was a longsword, much longer than a dagger.
Which meant.
Daebyeong had lost his grip on the sword in his hand.
“Eek……!!”
Daebyeong bit his lip until it bled and snatched the spinning sword from the air.
“Returning Dragon Annihilation……”
Once again, a mischievous voice was heard from behind him.
“At this rate, it would be better to call it Returning Dragon Empty Air.”
A clear mockery of the sword that had spun in the empty air.
A vein popped on Daebyeong’s temple.
“You brat!”
Paang!
A strong and straightforward swing of the sword headed for Biyoung, but it only cut through the empty air.
“Daebyeong!”
‘Oops……!’
After hearing Mayeon's roar, Daebyeong realized what he had done wrong.
Forgetting his promise to yield three moves, he had lost his temper and swung his sword first.
For a martial artist who lived and died by their reputation, it was an unbearable shame.
Daebyeong’s forehead turned bright red.
“It’s alright. It’s not like the outcome would have changed.”
Biyoung himself, the target, waved his hand at Mayeon.
Mayeon couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair.
“I don’t usually like to talk while crossing swords, but let me ask just one thing.”
“……?”
“What’s the point of joining the Nine Sects One Union?”
Daebyeong was momentarily at a loss for words.
What did he mean, what’s the point?
Even at this very moment, countless factions were expanding their power and shedding blood to join the Nine Sects One Union.
For martial artists, wasn't the Nine Sects One Union an absolute entity in itself?
Caught off guard by such an unexpected question, Daebyeong soon gave a textbook answer.
“Is it not an honorable group gathered to protect righteousness and chivalry in Jianghu?”
“Hehehehe.”
“!”
A voice so different from his usual one, resembling a cry from a dark forest.
At the chilling sound, Daebyeong swallowed hard without realizing it.
That wasn't Biyoung’s laugh; it was the laugh of the ‘World’s Fastest Sword’.
“Righteousness and chivalry? Unfortunately, there’s no such thing in the Nine Sects One Union.”
“!”
Such romantic notions did not exist in the Nine Sects One Union.
If they did, they wouldn't have just stood by and watched the Diancang Sect crumble.
It was merely a case of slightly stronger groups gathering and dispersing based on their own objectives.
“Honor is vain, and responsibility is absolute. That is the Nine Sects One Union.”
Daebyeong wanted to ask what nonsense he was spouting, but he couldn't.
An indescribable pressure was flowing from Biyoung’s entire body.
‘Again……!’
Once in the Guest Pavilion.
Again when he received the first blow.
And now.
Biyoung was emitting an intangible aura as if to reveal his position as a predator.
“Since you’ve already swung your sword, just come at me. This will be the last one anyway.”
Although he had said he would yield three moves first, Daebyeong couldn't hold back and had struck first.
There was no more face to lose.
Daebyeong obediently took an attack stance.
Watching his serious demeanor, Biyoung smirked and bent one knee.
Holding a dagger and taking a stance for a thrust.
However, no one present could laugh at him.
The speed Biyoung had shown just before was truly like a ghost’s.
“Hyaap!”
Was it because he couldn’t bear the pressure?
Daebyeong kicked off the ground and leaped up first.
A dragon’s slash falling from the sky.
It was an attack that perfectly suited the technique called Heavenly Dragon's Descent.
Confirming Daebyeong’s technique, Biyoung launched himself forward without hesitation.
“Reckless!”
Seeing this, Mayeon’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
Responding to a downward slash with a thrust while holding a dagger?
The answer was obvious even if you asked a child, let alone a martial artist.
However,
Shwaaaek!
The surroundings slowed down.
No, it only seemed slow because the opponent was fast.
Biyoung’s movement made Daebyeong and everyone around them seem like they were in slow motion.
It felt as if he alone was borrowing time.
But.
Despite that, there was still an absolute difference in reach.
If things continued like this, Biyoung would only end up offering his body to Daebyeong’s longsword.
At that moment,
Sssst!
A foot filled with the internal energy of the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art kicked the air.
The ultimate technique of the Vast Sky Eagle Body Method, adding acceleration and changing the direction of a body that had already leaped.
Vast Sky Shift was executed!
Puk!
The two figures overlapped, blocking the sun hanging in the sky.
The group watching from below shielded their eyes with their hands.
“What happened? Who won?”
As Hae-dong muttered with a dazed face, the two landed on the ground simultaneously.
“Ah!”
There was nothing in Biyoung’s hands.
Had he lost his grip on the dagger this time, pushed back by Daebyeong’s internal energy?
“Ack……!”
A gasp of astonishment erupted from someone’s lips.
Drip.
Blood was flowing from Daebyeong’s collarbone, below his thick neck.
Biyoung hadn’t dropped the dagger.
Before Daebyeong’s sword could reach him, he had simply plunged the Phoenix Knife into his collarbone.
Before the longsword could touch Biyoung's body, Biyoung had altered his trajectory with the Vast Sky Shift technique and attacked.
Literally, a quick sword.
Thud.
He somehow managed to land, but with his collarbone shattered, Daebyeong was not in a normal state.
He knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his sword on the ground, and coughed up dark red blood.
It was a good thing he had the sword to lean on; otherwise, he might have fallen to both knees.
A pillar of the Nine Sects One Union.
The foremost among the second-generation disciples of the True Dragon Sect.
‘This… is a result that defies common sense.’
Yi Gwon-su was not very knowledgeable about martial arts.
But he could tell how disadvantageous the previous setup was for Biyoung without having to ask.
A longsword and a dagger thrusting at each other.
Dagger?
Even then, the blade was so short it was barely different from a fist.
The chopsticks used for eating would have seemed more useful.
Yet Biyoung’s dagger reached Daebyeong, while Daebyeong’s longsword did not.
It was a result that should only be possible if there was a difference of at least several levels of skill.
“Eum……”
One could tell that Yi Gwon-su’s judgment was correct just by looking at Mayeon’s crumpled face.
What if the people of Jianghu were to gossip about today's duel?
It might be better to bite one's tongue and die than to listen to it.
Biyoung approached Daebyeong, who was kneeling on one knee.
“Don’t be too drunk on the Nine Sects One Union. You could end up like me.”
“……?!”
Like you?
What’s wrong with ending up like you?
For a moment, Daebyeong thought Biyoung’s face looked strange.
A sudden loneliness tinged his mischievous face.
However, Daebyeong’s bewilderment soon vanished without a trace.
Because Biyoung pulled the dagger embedded in his collarbone out in one swift motion.
“Keuk!!!”
“It’s just that it’s a gift, so I can't really leave it behind.”
Biyoung flicked the dagger in the air a few times, wiped the bloodstains on his waist sash, and carefully placed it back in his robes.
Then, he shot a provocative smile at Elder Mayeon.
“Elder, do you want a go too?”