The Regressed Young Master’s Guide to Living on Easy Mode

Chapter 85 : Swift Thunder vs. True Thunder (1)

The rain falls, patter, patter.

The Divine Monk was facing the Sword King, Namgung Je. The pressure of the qi emanating from him was clearly that of someone who had surpassed the Transformation Realm.

"Amitabha."

Chanting the name of Buddha, he forcibly calmed his excited heart.

"Then, I'll be in your care."

The Sword King drew his sword. At that moment, the air changed. The rain suddenly felt heavy.

The rain hitting his skin was clearly just small, light droplets, but each one felt strangely stinging.

The Divine Monk quietly chanted the name of Buddha and raised his energy. Then, the Prajna Divine Art that the Divine Monk had learned his entire life covered his body.

The Divine Monk, surrounded by a golden barrier imbued with the energy of the Prajna Divine Art, looked like a reincarnation of Buddha.

They watched each other.

In the eyes of the Divine Monk, who had reached enlightenment, the mark symbolizing the lotus flower, 'Hwa (花)', appeared.

The Sword King also had marks in his eyes; on the left was 'Roe (雷)', and on the right was 'Cheon (天)'.

Not one, but two.

The Divine Monk, genuinely surprised by this, expressed his reverence for his opponent.

"To have realized both thunder and heaven. How remarkable."

It is said that it is difficult to truly realize even one thing in a lifetime.

Some have even described that one thing as the purpose or truth one must pursue throughout life.

Even if one properly realized the meaning of this one thing, they were called a sage. But the Sword King had fully realized two.

The proof was the two characters that appeared in his eyes.

This meant that the potential the Sword King possessed was much greater than the potential the Divine Monk possessed.

That being said, the value of truth itself cannot be compared by its number.

Because the depth of this word called truth was too deep to be compared. But it was an undeniable fact that two were better than one.

"You praise me too much. I was just lucky."

The Divine Monk smiled at the Sword King's unnecessary humility and took his stance.

Just from the revealed facts, the Sword King seemed to have no shortcomings in leading the Martial Alliance. But it seemed he himself was not yet confident.

'I wouldn't have known in the past, but the current Orthodox Faction is in a much weakened state.'

No matter how high a realm one has reached, if there is no one to compare with, one cannot feel how strong one is.

This was also the responsibility of a senior of the martial world for not fully protecting the Orthodox Faction.

The Divine Monk once again reminded himself that he would do his best in this duel.

The one who moved first was the Sword King. The Divine Monk immediately followed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Sword King's sword and the Divine Monk's fist clashed in the air.

"Good!"

The Sword King's sword was fast, heavy, and had no unnecessary movements.

How long had it been since he had seen such a perfect sword that was so faithful to the basics? It seemed to be the first time since he had received the sword of the previous Sword Emperor. For a moment, he thought of the sword that the Sword Emperor's child had swung a while ago, but he made an exception for that.

Because at that time, he had not properly warmed up his body, nor had he taken it seriously.

The Divine Monk quickly erased the idle thoughts from his mind and focused on the duel.

"As expected of the Divine Monk. It seems there is no need for a probing battle between us, so I will get straight to the point."

The Sword King raises his sword upwards. The Divine Monk knew what that stance was a preparation for. He put his palms together and raised his Prajna Divine Art to the extreme.

Rumble.

One of the absolute martial arts possessed by the Namgung family, the Emperor Sword Form, was unfolded.

The Sword King's energy seized control of the space all at once.

Then, with the illusion that the sky was falling towards the ground, the pressure crushing his whole body became several times stronger.

An ordinary person would have been crushed to the ground, and even a martial artist would not have been able to breathe easily.

The Divine Monk was standing on his two feet in such a space. His hands were neatly folded in front of him, and from his mouth, the verses of the Heart Sutra were continuously coming out.

Soon, the sword fell.

Although it was a thin sword, the Divine Monk, who was facing it, saw the sword as if it were so huge that it could cover the sky.

"Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha"

With the utterance of the last verse of the Heart Sutra, the Divine Monk, from his clasped hands, extended his left hand towards his dantian and his right hand forward. The Divine Monk's thumb was half-folded inwards.

His appearance resembled that of a half-clasp, an abbreviated form of a full clasp.

The Tathagata Divine Palm.

One of the absolute martial arts possessed by the Shaolin Temple.

The two absolute martial arts clashed in the air.

And the Divine Monk's Tathagata Divine Palm pushed back the Sword King's sword.

As it did, cracks formed in the space created by the Emperor Sword Form. Soon.

Crash.

The Emperor Sword Form was broken.

The pressure crushing his body disappeared in an instant, and the outside wind rushed in. The Divine Monk's clothes fluttered wildly.

The Divine Monk, who had been breathing shallowly all this time, took a long breath and filled his body with the oxygen it had been lacking.

For now, the momentum of the fight was leaning in his favor.

But the Divine Monk did not let his guard down.

Because he knew that the Sword King had not yet revealed all that he had.

If his prediction was correct, what had just happened was nothing more than a preliminary battle. And what was to come now would be the Sword King's true power.

As expected, rather than being discouraged by the failure of his attack, he was preparing his sword for the next move.

Swoosh! The sword that had been deflected quickly thrust forward again.

If the previous swing was close to the standard, the current thrust was no exaggeration to call it a flash of lightning.

It seemed a bit much to counter that with a palm with a wide surface.

Therefore, the Divine Monk gently clenched his fist.

The distance with the Sword King was too close to fully extend his fist. If he used the Hundred-Step Divine Fist here, he could inflict a fatal wound on his opponent if he was not careful.

The Divine Monk changed his option and unfolded the Arhat Fist. And the moment the sword and the fist met, he realized that something was wrong.

The power contained in the sword was stronger than he had thought.

"Sword King! If this continues, both of us may be in danger."

The Divine Monk sent a stern warning. And he saw the Sword King, who had heard his words, grin.

The Divine Monk realized that the Sword King, having just entered the Profound Realm, was intoxicated by his own power and was in a state where he could not listen to the words of those around him. The so-called state of self-absorption.

The Divine Monk thought for a very short time and chose to sacrifice himself. The Divine Monk first withdrew his energy. He would receive some injuries, but he judged that it was better than both of them receiving internal injuries.

Slice!

The Sword King's thrust cut deeply into the Divine Monk's arm. The Divine Monk, with one arm hanging limply, quickly performed acupressure to stop the bleeding. The Divine Monk tried to clench his fist, but he had no strength in his hand. It seemed he had been unlucky and had his tendon cut.

The fortunate thing was that if he returned to the Shaolin Temple, it seemed to be treatable by the Medicine Sage.

The Divine Monk, thinking that the duel was over by now, opened his mouth to the Sword King. The energy felt from the Sword King had also returned to normal, unlike when he had been excited earlier.

"I have confirmed your power. With your level, you would have no problem taking on the role of the alliance lord."

"You mean I can be the head of the Namgung family."

Although he was already the head of the family, he didn't know why he was saying this, but the Divine Monk nodded his head.

"That's right."

The moment he heard the answer, the Sword King began to laugh like a madman.

"Hehehe! Hehehehe! Hehehehehe! Hahahahahaha!"

"W-what's wrong with you?"

He wondered if he had not yet come out of his state of self-absorption, but the Sword King's energy, when he looked again, was very stable.

"I was stronger, and more outstanding, but what is that damn bloodline, it's so fucking annoying, isn't it?"

The Divine Monk was flustered by the suddenly shortened words.

"Are you, are you okay?"

"This is why the Orthodox Faction riffraff are stupid. They still don't grasp the situation."

"What are you talking about?"

A strong killing intent was felt from the Sword King.

The Sword King's sharp gaze, different from before, was directed at him.

The Divine Monk, realizing that something was wrong, hurriedly raised his energy.

Crackle!

The Sword King moved first, and immediately after, the Divine Monk, while making a half-clasp, extended his intact other hand.

Slice!

The Divine Monk was now letting his other intact arm hang limply.

Although he had reacted a beat late, the Sword King's speed was clearly faster than before.

The Divine Monk looked at the Sword King with surprised eyes.

"You, you were hiding your power."

"You still think of me as the Sword King. You old man, you're so clueless. This is why I hate getting old."

Only then did the Divine Monk realize that the being in front of him was not the Sword King.

"Amitabha."

The Divine Monk, who had quietly chanted the name of Buddha, looked at the Sword King fully.

"Who are you?"

The person he had seen through his mastery was clearly a person of the Namgung family.

And at the name he heard, the Divine Monk's eyes widened.

"I am Namgung Cheon."

The Sword King... no! Namgung Cheon, who had revealed his name, ripped off the human-skin mask he was wearing.

"The Divine Hero, Namgung Cheon..."

"It's a title I haven't heard in a long time."

"How dare you wear the face of the head of the family!"

The Divine Monk, in a rage, raised his energy. A golden energy, incomparable to before, erupted from the Divine Monk's body.

"Hehehe!"

Namgung Cheon, even seeing that, did not stop his grinning laughter.

"What's so funny... cough!"

The Divine Monk suddenly coughed up blood as his energy was cut off.

He soon found out the reason.

"Poison? When?"

"Didn't you drink tea? And foolishly, twice at that."

"I definitely spat out the tea."

"Oh! So you're an old ginger. No wonder you fought so well earlier. Hehehe. But did you not know that my sword was also coated with a poison of the same component as the one in the tea?"

"To think you would use poison with a martial prowess that has reached the Profound Realm!"

"I'm a very cautious person. I'm dealing with the Divine Monk, after all."

The more he raised his energy, the more his energy scattered. It seemed that the poison he had been hit with was a type of qi-scattering poison. Now, only a handful of energy was left.

The Divine Monk, in a last-ditch effort, extended a fist, but it did not reach Namgung Cheon.

"Hehehe! To think I would kill two masters who have reached the Profound Realm with my own hands!"

At those words, the Divine Monk could tell that the already dead head of the Namgung family had reached the Profound Realm.

At that regret, the Divine Monk chanted the name of Buddha.

"Amitabha."

Seeing that, Namgung Cheon sneered.

"Then, just die now. After you die, the remaining dregs of the Orthodox Faction will be well led by me and someone else who will live on."

"Amitabha."

The Divine Monk just chanted the name of Buddha.

-Be careful of the Namgung family.

He now understood the reason for the warning from the Sword Emperor's child.

It was already too late to regret. The Divine Monk, with the last handful of his internal energy, intended to disfigure his own face. So that he would not be used even after he died.

Slice!

But the opponent had noticed his intention first and had even cut the tendon of his remaining arm.

"The thoughts of the Orthodox Faction guys are all the same. Aren't they?"

With resentful eyes, the Divine Monk glared at Namgung Cheon.

He could see Namgung Cheon raising his sword.

Seeing that, the Divine Monk grinned.

A single stream of energy was felt rapidly approaching this place.

"Why are you laughing? Are you frustrated because you're dying so futilely?"

The Divine Monk had never uttered vulgar words. The highest elder of Buddhism was not just someone who had gotten old by eating through his asshole.

But the Divine Monk decided to break the iron rule he had kept for over a hundred years today.

"Hehehe. You're fucked."

It somehow rolled off the tongue.

* * *

Thud.

Namgung Mu-gwang just ran.

-Run with all your might! That is how you can help me!

There was nothing he could do.

Regret for the days he had spent in vain came flooding in.

Although he had decided to change, he was still a worm, trash, a ruffian, and a useless human being.

If it weren't for him, his older brother would not have allowed the opponent's attack so futilely.

Even though he had done such a foolish thing, he was running away in fear again.

Trash that cannot be saved.

He finally realized that that was him.

Just then, Namgung Mu-gwang felt his intuition strongly pointing forward.

He slowly raised his face, which was covered in tears, snot, and rainwater.

A man was staring down at him blankly. Although the man was clearly being rained on, the moment the rain fell on the man's body, it turned to steam, and the man's body was dry.

Namgung Mu-gwang's intuition was telling him.

'I must hold on to this man!'

Namgung Mu-gwang clung to the man's feet.

"Please help me! I'll do anything, so please help me!"

The man was still just staring down at Namgung Mu-gwang blankly. And the man, Yoo Jae-ha, thought.

Still young, his body plumper than he remembered, and looking pathetic, the man clinging to him now was clearly...

-My name is Namgung Mu-gwang. I am the Sword King.

He was one of the opponents whom he, as the Young Lord before his regression, had found awkward.

"Shall I help you?"

The future Heavenly Sword King, Namgung Mu-gwang, later wrote in his autobiography that he regretted this day with a heart that vomited blood.

-He is a son of a bitch.

-He is a fucking bastard.

-He is a crazy bastard.

-He is just a madman.

-Getting involved with that bastard was the biggest mistake of my life.

-If I could go back to that day, I would surely save myself from hell.

Namgung Mu-gwang answered.

"This is the request of my lifetime!”

(End of Chapter)