WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
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◈ A Wandering Warrior's Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 39: I Became a Rising Star Obsessed Over by Prestigious Clans (7)
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Cheon Hwi realized too late that he had released an unfamiliar aura.
It was a mixture of demonic qi, wicked qi, and even killing intent. Yet this aura could accomplish nothing on its own.
To perform martial arts, one had to raise inner power into inner qi and wield it as internal force. This was merely raw, unrefined energy.
He could neither power swordsmanship nor execute footwork with it.
Only then did Gwak Do-mun delight in the mixed aura that made his skin prickle.
“Potential that keeps coming out no matter how much I peel away...”
Gwak Do-mun truly wanted to abduct Cheon Hwi.
He wanted to sling him over his shoulder, take him somewhere deep in the mountains, see how far his talent could go with no one else around, then kill him. Little by little, like savoring a delicious meal.
“What a pity.”
Gwak Do-mun lightly shook the Blood Serpent Sword.
The thin flexible sword glistened like damp scales beneath the red lantern light.
“What a terrible pity. If only there had been a little more time, I would have taken you with me.”
“Where do you think you’re taking me?”
‘The only place I’m going with you is the abyss.’
Swoooosh!
A killing move from the Blood Serpent Secret Sword tore through the air of the main hall, pouring down upon Cheon Hwi as though binding every vital point on his body.
The greatest difference between a first-rate martial artist and a second-rate one was that a first-rate expert’s momentum crushed a person before their blade even arrived.
The powerful fighting spirit of a first-rate expert pressed down upon the space itself.
In the past, Cheon Hwi’s dantian would have been suppressed by that momentum. His feet would have grown heavy, and he would have been helpless.
But this time was different.
Thanks to the demonic qi that had just rampaged out of him, Cheon Hwi’s hands and feet moved a little more freely.
It was a great difference.
Clang! Clang! Whoosh! Clang!
Cheon Hwi continuously deflected and blocked the successive forms of the Blood Serpent Secret Sword, which flew at him from difficult-to-read directions.
His iron sword, carrying only a faint trace of inner qi, collided head-on with the blue flexible sword.
Whenever their blades clashed, the pure true qi released by the first-rate expert surged over him like a tidal wave. An ordinary second-rate martial artist would have felt an ache follow such heavy impacts.
Yet black energy spread like mist and dispersed, diverting the pressure of Gwak Do-mun’s true qi aside.
Something black writhed within Cheon Hwi’s chest.
He could not spread or control the energy as he wished. When he tried to send it to his fingertips, it scattered. When he tried to draw it down to his feet, it vanished, leaving behind only the scent of blood.
But as if it refused to allow Gwak Do-mun’s inner power to crush Cheon Hwi, the force resisted and canceled it out.
Those brief moments it bought him became complete breaths, enough for Cheon Hwi to launch a counterattack.
More importantly, his tangled thoughts became clear.
‘The instability is gone.’
After he had released the mixed wave of demonic and wicked qi, the mind that had been muddied and torn apart through dozens of deaths became cold and sharp, as though plunged into ice water.
The tip of the flexible sword grazed Cheon Hwi’s thigh and tore flesh from his shoulder, but his feet executed Returning Cloud Step as he slipped into Gwak Do-mun’s range.
Whoosh!
The Blood Serpent Secret Sword was swordsmanship that twisted its flow strangely to target blind spots. Cheon Hwi had already memorized the trajectories that had torn through his own throat dozens of times.
Clang!
Using the approaching flexible sword’s elasticity, he applied movements he had seen in Flying Swallow Twin-Flow Sword to slip between its two paths in a smooth evasion.
When Gwak Do-mun broke his momentum and attempted a variation, Cheon Hwi twisted the principles of the Returning Star Sword that he had learned from the Returning Star Sword Primer. He drew in the enemy’s flow and struck it back at him.
At the end of every one of those sword paths lay the basic principles of the Three Powers Swift Sword Forms, which Cheon Hwi had repeated and honed countless times.
And so, Cheon Hwi created a sword art made to counter the Blood Serpent Sword.
‘Serpent-Sealing Sword.’
It was a sword art meant solely for facing Gwak Do-mun. Swordsmanship Cheon Hwi had built through death.
Slash!
At last, Cheon Hwi’s old iron sword pierced through Gwak Do-mun’s blue web of flexible sword strikes and tore a long gash through his sleeve.
The Murong Clan swordsman and guards watching from one corner of the room could not close their mouths in shock.
‘He’s... matching a first-rate expert?’
It was martial arts they had never seen before, and its level was terribly crude and haphazard.
There was no logic in its movement paths or sword trajectories. Its footwork was improvised, while the upper and lower body swayed loosely.
Yet every movement was perfectly optimized to deal with the Blood Serpent Secret Sword.
It was a bizarre patchwork of crude sword forms that might be found rolling around a street stall, sword principles reminiscent of the Murong Clan’s swordsmanship, and murderous swordplay closer to the Black Path’s petty tricks.
The joins between each form were rough, but they precisely blocked the Blood Serpent Sword’s paths.
The one whose eyes widened in confusion was Gwak Do-mun.
‘Why... won’t he die?!’
By now, he had played enough. He had planned to inflict a few fatal injuries, laugh while Cheon Hwi crawled around the floor like an insect, then kill him.
That had been the plan.
Clang!
Fast sword strikes containing the mysteries of transforming swordplay filled every direction and descended upon Cheon Hwi.
There was only one sword, yet it seemed as though Gwak Do-mun wielded two. As though two snakes were moving.
One slithered along the floor toward Cheon Hwi’s ankle, as though it would tear it apart. The other aimed high.
Yet Cheon Hwi used Returning Cloud Step to place his feet precisely where they needed to be, avoiding the lower strike and knocking away the serpent’s fang thrusting toward his upper body.
Clang!
The blade that looked as though it were being swung carelessly knocked away Gwak Do-mun’s flexible sword with perfect accuracy.
Slash!
Cheon Hwi’s swift sword cut through the air once more and grazed Gwak Do-mun’s cheek.
Pfft!
Drip.
A thin red line of blood formed on Gwak Do-mun’s cheek and ran down.
“...!”
Heavy silence settled over the main hall beneath its wavering red lantern light.
He had landed a hit.
The smile vanished without a trace from Gwak Do-mun’s lips. He had treated Cheon Hwi like a toy. His narrow eyes flew open grotesquely, releasing the glare of a venomous snake.
Gwak Do-mun wiped his cheek with his fingertip.
Blood stained it.
He stared at the drop as though he found it strange.
As though he could not understand why he had been injured when he had not allowed it.
“The Murong sword and the Black Path’s killing sword.”
Gwak Do-mun’s gaze turned toward Cheon Hwi.
“Third-rate sword forms you picked up somewhere, and even my Blood Serpent Secret Sword. You stitched together all that trash and used it against my sword...?”
Gwak Do-mun was shocked for another reason.
He had held back enough to avoid letting Cheon Hwi die too easily, but it was still strange that he had failed to inflict even one wound.
Gwak Do-mun realized that this boy needed to die here.
The thought ruined his mood.
“You’ve spoiled my fun.”
The ultimate moves of Gwak Do-mun’s Blood Serpent Secret Sword began to pour forth. Killing intent surged, and his fighting spirit pressed down upon the room.
Rumble...
The three martial artists watching did not dare charge at Gwak Do-mun beneath such overwhelming momentum, powerful enough to shake the wooden floor.
But Cheon Hwi...
‘Is he... smiling?’
He was smiling.
Powerful wicked qi burst from him, and Gwak Do-mun’s figure blurred wildly.
As Gwak Do-mun approached with Serpent-Shadow Step, his body even seemed to divide into two or three figures. Yet illusion swordplay was the easiest for Cheon Hwi to face.
In an instant, Cheon Hwi found the real sword among Gwak Do-mun’s illusions and blocked it precisely.
Clang!
Gwak Do-mun’s eyes widened.
‘Again?!’
That was not all.
Using Returning Cloud Step, Cheon Hwi instantly took Gwak Do-mun’s back. The serpent-like blade that had followed Cheon Hwi’s movement spun in an instant and flew toward his neck as though to tear it open.
But Cheon Hwi’s blade rushed at Gwak Do-mun’s neck in exactly the same manner.
It looked as though he meant to perish together with him. Frightened instead, Gwak Do-mun hurriedly knocked the blade away.
Clang!
Sparks scattered as their blades collided.
Cheon Hwi smiled inwardly at the sight.
Gwak Do-mun feared death.
‘Then I cannot lose.’
Gwak Do-mun, who had retreated in alarm, rubbed his face in disbelief.
Cheon Hwi acted as though he had experienced Gwak Do-mun’s sword before.
There truly was no time left now.
Gwak Do-mun looked around. The fighting spirits of the experts belonging to the main force of the subjugation force were drawing closer by the moment.
The main force had dealt with the other Black Path experts who had fled outside. Now they were beginning to storm inside to clean up, precisely when Gwak Do-mun had intended to escape.
‘It will become dangerous if I let them get any closer.’
Once that thought reached him, Gwak Do-mun’s vision narrowed.
The amusing boy before him became as bothersome as a fly. A fly that flew far away whenever he reached out to kill it.
“You little brat, you blocked a few exchanges by luck and now you’re acting arrogant!”
If Cheon Hwi had blocked every move so far using his previous experience, then Gwak Do-mun only needed to finish him with an ultimate move he had never shown before.
An ultimate move of the Blood Serpent Secret Sword that Gwak Do-mun had never displayed in a real battle burst forth.
The ultimate move of the Blood Serpent Secret Sword, Ten Thousand Serpents Fill the Blood Sky.
Craaaash!
The blue flexible sword split into dozens of branches in midair, filling the entire main hall with the illusion of a swarm of blue serpents.
Sword forms poured down from above, below, left, and right, sealing every path of escape.
Even the Murong Clan swordsman watching held their breath under the pressure.
Cheon Hwi had already been torn apart by Ten Thousand Serpents Fill the Blood Sky dozens of times.
There was only one response carved into his bones by that experience.
He needed to charge in before Gwak Do-mun had time to fully deploy Ten Thousand Serpents Fill the Blood Sky around himself like a curtain of swords.
Boom!
Cheon Hwi stomped down with a stamping step, instantly closing the distance between himself and Gwak Do-mun.
Stab!
Before Ten Thousand Serpents Fill the Blood Sky could fully unfold, the blue flexible sword pierced deeply through Cheon Hwi’s left shoulder as he charged forward to be struck first.
‘What... the hell...?!’
Gwak Do-mun tried to pull out his sword in alarm, but Cheon Hwi gave up his shoulder and grabbed hold of him.
This was the best conclusion.
Once Ten Thousand Serpents Fill the Blood Sky fully unfolded, there was no way to block it. So he had to take the strike before the form could activate completely.
In the instant pain made him clench his teeth and blood spurted out like a fountain, Cheon Hwi raised Iron Chain Body.
He locked the muscles and qi channels in his pierced shoulder like an iron lock, then grabbed Gwak Do-mun’s sword with both hands.
“You crazy bastard!”
Gwak Do-mun’s pupils shook.
His flexible sword was firmly caught in Cheon Hwi’s shoulder bone and would not come free. It took several seconds to pull it out.
Throwing himself forward to buy a few seconds.
Buying time to endure against a first-rate expert for more than ten minutes.
Then it happened.
Heavy footsteps and immense presences surged in from outside the main hall.
It was the sign of the main force arriving, including Han So-gyeom, the deputy unit commander of the Guarding Martial Authority, and experts of the Murong Clan.
‘The main force!’
The word escape flashed through Gwak Do-mun’s mind.
Once he pulled out his sword, Gwak Do-mun shot toward one corner of the room.
The movement of a first-rate expert focused entirely on a movement technique was faster than an arrow.
But...
Clang!
Cheon Hwi’s iron sword blocked Gwak Do-mun’s path just as he kicked aside a folding screen and tried to leap outside.
Cheon Hwi had pursued him with Returning Cloud Step and now stood in his way.
As though he had known Gwak Do-mun would flee there.
“You bastard!”
“Stop him!”
Other martial artists rushed in to aid Cheon Hwi at the same time.
Gwak Do-mun looked into Cheon Hwi’s bloodshot eyes.
Cheon Hwi had become so irritating that Gwak Do-mun wanted to tear him apart and kill him.
Yet despite needing to flee, he did not thrust his sword at Cheon Hwi.
He could barely believe it himself, but experience had forced him to admit that attacking Cheon Hwi would cost him that much more time.
Instead, Gwak Do-mun used a palm strike to push him back.
Boom!
The palm strike, loaded with internal force, struck Cheon Hwi’s body.
The instant the palm landed, Cheon Hwi’s body staggered sharply.
His ribs broke, but even as he spat blood through clenched teeth, Cheon Hwi did not retreat.
The demonic and wicked qi that had burst out earlier protected his body.
Instead, he used the recoil to spin around and smash Gwak Do-mun’s jaw with the heavy hilt of his iron sword.
Crack!
Gwak Do-mun’s jaw twisted slightly to one side, and a red mark remained on it.
‘That’s for the hundreds of times you killed me, you bastard.’
Booom!
Crash!
The main force of the subjugation force stormed in from every direction.
Han So-gyeom, the deputy unit commander of the Guarding Martial Authority, was among them.
Han So-gyeom’s blade drew a silver line through the room as it rose toward Gwak Do-mun.
Boom! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Han So-gyeom instantly opened the distance between Gwak Do-mun and Cheon Hwi’s group, then wordlessly pressed Gwak Do-mun back.
It happened in an instant.
Han So-gyeom unleashed a chain of attacks Cheon Hwi had never seen before, too fast for his eyes to fully follow, widening the gap between Gwak Do-mun and the other martial artists.
He seemed to be protecting Cheon Hwi and the others.
Clang!
The martial artists who entered the room all dropped their jaws.
“What in the world...?”
The room reeked of blood.
The two fist fighters who appeared to be Gwak Do-mun’s guards had already gone cold. That meant there had been a battle.
More than that, Gwak Do-mun himself was wounded.
A first-rate expert had failed to kill four martial artists in a little over a gak, and had been wounded instead?
It was impossible by common sense.
Yet what lay before them was clear.
‘And judging by the circumstances and signs of battle, the two Guarding Martial Authority agents and the Murong swordsman barely fought at all.’
Thus, the eyes of everyone in the main force of the subjugation force turned toward one person.
Cheon Hwi stood there, blood running from the corner of his mouth and dripping from his severely wounded shoulder onto the floor, yet still holding his sword until the end.
This was the first great event that began to spread Cheon Hwi’s name from the Murong Clan in Shenyang throughout the Central Plains.
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