novelraw Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23 : Chapter 23
Chapter 23 - Murim Alliance (3)
Jaun, who crossed the puddle in an instant, landed on the ground and simultaneously raised his sword to assume a stance.
Across the puddle, three old men wearing dark gray martial arts uniforms were watching Jaun with their arms crossed.
“Ha. You mean he got here in less than an ilgak (approx. 15 minutes)?”
“If we were just a little late, we would have missed him completely.”
“Has there ever been anyone who came this fast?”
The old men, who were whispering amongst themselves, stared intently at Jaun.
“G-greetings to the Elders!”
The examiner who followed across the puddle bowed his waist with a surprised expression.
“Why have the Elders come all the way here…….”
As the examiner asked with a flustered face, the old man standing on the far right tapped his waist and answered.
“I happened to see the paper that Cheon-hyo fellow was holding while passing by here. Since it was written that there is a young child who has stepped into the First-Rate realm with the Three Talents Sword Art, I got curious and came in to take a look…….”
The old man’s eyes swept Jaun up and down.
“It seems a better fellow has come in than I thought. I’ll get to see something interesting for the first time in a while. Ui-hyeon. Is it okay if we deal with this fellow?”
At the old man’s words, the examiner opened his eyes wide and bowed his waist deeply.
“Of course. If you wish, it does not matter if you proceed that way.”
Stepping aside, the examiner looked at the elders with worried eyes.
Since he had spent a long time at this gate, he knew well what was an appropriate level, but the elders who visited the gate after a long time might not know that appropriate level.
‘……It’s needless worry. They will take care of it well.’
Confirming the calm demeanor of the elders, the examiner put the sword he was holding back into the sheath at his waist.
“Child. I am Tak Mu-bin, serving as an elder in the Alliance. Your level is surprising, so I would like to test you instead. Is that alright?”
The petite old man standing on the far left introduced himself as Tak Mu-bin and stepped forward.
Jaun glanced at the examiner standing on the right and asked the old man.
“Is this also part of the exam process?”
“Of course. Originally, that fellow Ui-hyeon should be the opponent……. Since I only stay in the Council of Elders, I feel a bit restless. Shouldn’t there be some entertainment like this to make life interesting?”
A blade-like aura emitted from the smiling Tak Mu-bin’s body.
‘Well…… it doesn’t matter who it is.’
Jaun, lifting his sword to disperse Tak Mu-bin’s spirit, bowed his head and greeted.
“Please take care of me. I am called Han Jaun.”
Jaun scanned the old man who had taken a step forward in front of him.
‘By the way, did he say Tak Mu-bin? If he is an elder of the Murim Alliance, his level must be considerable. I wonder if he might get excited and cause an accident.’
Jaun, bringing his worn sword to his middle guard, smiled and assumed the starting stance of the Three Talents Sword Art.
“Ha. It really is the Three Talents Sword Art.”
Tak Mu-bin, watching Jaun, took out a small dagger from his bosom.
Tak Mu-bin scanned Jaun, who stood facing him, up and down.
Then, as he slowly drew up his energy, a thread-like energy stretched out in all directions.
The internal energy that quickly wrapped around Tak Mu-bin’s body once stretched straight out and began to wrap around the area where Jaun was standing.
‘……As expected, a Peak Realm master.’
Tak Mu-bin, an elder of the Murim Alliance, was already someone who had reached the Peak Realm where he could naturally control the surrounding energy.
Jaun carefully examined the energy that began to tightly wrap around his body.
A hot and sharp energy, as if the heat of the sun had been gathered and condensed into a single point.
From that energy, Jaun could guess Tak Mu-bin’s martial arts.
‘It’s the Sun Shooting Sword of the Diancang Sect.’
Amidst the sharp energy that seemed ready to shoot in at any moment if a gap appeared, Jaun closed his eyes for a moment and recalled Wi Jeong-cheon’s words.
[Shaolin martial arts contain power like a roughly flowing great river. Mount Hua martial arts burst forth brilliantly like blooming flowers. Wudang martial arts continue endlessly, wrapping around and embracing everything. Most martial arts of these prestigious righteous sects have the characteristic that their power becomes stronger as the moves connect.]
[Therefore, blocking the flow of the moves so that the power connects is most important. However, there is one prestigious righteous sect that possesses a unique texture, and that is Diancang.]
[Diancang One Flash. This phrase fragmentarily shows the characteristics of Diancang martial arts. It was coined by people who saw Diancang masters ending duels with a single flash.]
[Diancang takes the form of pouring all power into a single move of each technique rather than connecting moves. Since Diancang martial arts, which shoot in as a single point, consist of a concentration of speed and power, they are not suitable for dealing with many, but in a one-on-one situation, they are the trickiest to deal with.]
[Not giving a chance to attack or making a quick counterattack after dodging is the only way to break it, but……. If there is a difference in skill, it will probably not be easy. If you encounter a Diancang master superior to you in the Jianghu, avoiding conflict if possible, or if you cannot, pressuring with numbers is the only choice.]
Jaun, recalling memories with Wi Jeong-cheon, opened his closed eyes.
Before he knew it, Tak Mu-bin’s energy was encroaching around Jaun’s body like a hawk eyeing its prey.
‘I have to face him at the First-Rate level.’
Tak Mu-bin’s energy, hovering around his body and looking for an opening, seemed to be beckoning Jaun to come at him quickly.
Having crossed the Realm of Earth Connection, the opponent’s energy was felt clearly.
At the sharp energy that made his whole body tingle, a desire to put everything down and have a proper fight suddenly surged up.
‘Diancang. I’ve finally met a Diancang master whom Father warned me about so much…….’
Jaun, who pondered for a while, shook his head.
‘No. It’s a pity, but…… there will be another opportunity next time.’
Jaun, controlling his mind, slowly blocked the energy rising to his Middle Dantian.
As the energy heading to the Middle Dantian was blocked, the surrounding energy could not be felt, as if a blindfold had been placed over his eyes.
Tak Mu-bin’s energy, which filled and swirled around the surroundings, now felt merely like a prickly spirit.
Jaun, already accustomed to the Realm of Earth Connection where the Middle Dantian was opened, let out a small groan at the surging frustration.
‘Phew.’
This was the huge difference between the Peak Realm and the First-Rate level.
Whether one can properly feel the opponent’s energy or not.
For a First-Rate martial artist who hasn’t crossed the wall to face a Peak Realm master was like facing an enemy with eyes closed.
Therefore, it was in a way natural that the victory or defeat of a battle was determined by the difference in the number of Peak Realm masters.
‘……Since I closed the Middle Dantian, I probably won’t have to worry too much about being noticed.’
Jaun lifted his sword obliquely in front of his body.
Since he couldn’t feel the surrounding energy, he absolutely must not lose sight of the opponent’s figure.
Jaun’s center of gravity, glaring at Tak Mu-bin with a thorough defensive posture, gradually shifted to the back of his body.
“Heh heh. Defensive posture. You’re a kid with quite good instincts.”
Tak Mu-bin, examining Jaun’s solid stance, smiled.
Whether he read his spirit or originally had a cautious nature was unknown, but the seriousness that was hard to possess at that age was worthy enough of praise.
‘A child of that age is bound to rush in unleashing their strongest ultimate moves to show off their sword somehow when such an opportunity comes…….’
It was a common occurrence for rising stars who encountered him in this way to pour everything out from the beginning to utilize the given opportunity.
But the boy in front of him was rather solidifying his defensive posture with his sword raised.
At first glance, it might look passive, but the boy’s eyes were too distinctly alive to judge it so.
Those were the eyes of someone waiting for an opportunity.
“Interesting. Are you perhaps thinking of…… winning against this old man?”
Tak Mu-bin, wearing a smile, walked heavily towards Jaun.
Jaun, watching Tak Mu-bin approach, also did not back down and took a step forward to face him.
The distance between the two people getting closer little by little.
When the distance between each other narrowed to about five steps, Jaun’s sword slightly pointed to the side.
Watching Jaun who intentionally opened a gap as if inviting him in here, Tak Mu-bin let out a chuckle.
“Heh heh. Good. Let’s see what you’re trying to do.”
Tak Mu-bin stared at the space Jaun had left empty, then thrust his dagger straight in.
─ Whoosh
Instantly, a strong wind blew in front of Jaun’s eyes.
It looked like a light extension, but the speed of the dagger was tremendous.
At the immense speed, Jaun almost missed Tak Mu-bin’s movement.
Jaun, clenching his teeth and concentrating his mind, struck his sword upward diagonally with difficulty.
─ Clang!
Jaun’s sword narrowly deflected Tak Mu-bin’s dagger.
Cold sweat trickled down Jaun’s back.
‘……This is the level of a Murim Alliance elder.’
Jaun straightened his complacent mindset.
This old man was an opponent whose outcome was uncertain even if he faced him with full power.
On top of that, the situation now was that his Middle Dantian was blocked.
Even if he did his best, it could end without him being able to do anything.
To obtain a position of at least squad leader level, he had to show something here.
Jaun tightly gripped the sword he was holding.
“Ho-oh. You deflected that?”
Tak Mu-bin was equally surprised.
In fact, he intended to subdue him at once with the first attack and hand over the proper test to the examiner.
He intended to plant a strong impression once on an outstanding rising star who entered the Murim Alliance, but he never thought it would flow like this.
Jaun’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Tak Mu-bin’s flustered expression.
‘Opportunity.’
Towards Tak Mu-bin looking at him with a surprised expression, Jaun extended his sword without hesitation.
Unless it was an opportunity like this, aiming for Tak Mu-bin’s opening was impossible.
He had to properly exploit this moment of carelessness, however brief.
Jaun clenched his teeth and concentrated his energy on the sword.
A sound of cutting the wind came from the tip of Jaun’s sword as it thrust in quickly.
─ Kwa-a-ang
Once again, Jaun’s foot stepped on the ground with force, and Jaun’s instantly accelerated sword shot towards Tak Mu-bin at tremendous speed.
─ Slash
Jaun’s thrust, extending like lightning, slightly grazed the vicinity of Tak Mu-bin’s shoulder.
Tak Mu-bin, who came to his senses belatedly and dodged Jaun’s sword, pulled his body back far.
Glancing back at his shoulder, Tak Mu-bin asked with an absurd face.
“……Child. How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
“Fifteen……. Then how long have you practiced that thrust?”
“Since I swung the sword every single day without missing a day from the time I started living with my father until about a month ago…… I guess it would be about ten years.”
Hearing Jaun’s answer, Tak Mu-bin let out a small lament as if it were futile.
“Haha. I don’t know what kind of time those ten years you spent were, but your sword is better than the swords of my disciples who have trained for decades.”
Tak Mu-bin, looking back at his slightly torn clothes once again, had a serious expression.
“……I came to this place with a light heart, but the realm of your sword is beyond my estimation. Since I have confirmed that you are a complete swordsman, it would be courtesy towards the next generation to exchange swords properly.”
Tak Mu-bin, tapping his waist, abandoned his stooped posture and stood up straight.
A dazzling spirit radiated from Tak Mu-bin who took a proper stance.
“I will introduce myself properly. I am Tak Mu-bin, the Supreme Elder of the Diancang Sect, an Elder of the Murim Alliance, and once called the Divine Wind Sword in the Jianghu.
My ultimate technique is the Sun Shooting Sword Art.
Are you prepared to receive the sword that shoots down the sun yourself?”
At Tak Mu-bin’s words, the elders watching nearby began to look back at each other and whisper.
“He’s going to use the Sun Shooting Sword?”
“How long has it been since we saw that Tak fellow’s Sun Shooting Sword?”
“Is he saying he will show a proper move since the kid responded with a thrust to a Diancang swordsman? Tsk tsk.”
In front of the buzzing elders, Tak Mu-bin gripped his sword tightly with a serious expression.
‘A Diancang swordsman is bringing out the Sun Shooting Sword?’
A grin spread across Jaun’s lips.
The sword he had to receive now was a sword that a Murim Alliance Elder and the Supreme Elder of the Diancang Sect unleashed with proper intent.
A time to seriously observe the opponent’s sword technique without worrying about his life, as an ally not an enemy.
‘Good opportunity.’
The beating of his heart, which began to pound, started to add vitality to Jaun’s body.
“I am ready.”
“If you think of the attack just now, you will get hurt badly.”
Tak Mu-bin, looking at Jaun with sharp eyes, slowly raised his dagger.
A posture with the left palm extended forward and the dagger held in the right hand pulled back fully behind the face.
Tak Mu-bin, assuming a unique posture as if shooting a bow, inhaled deeply.