WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 74: When Water Is Too Clear, There Are No Fish (22)

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Noh Huideok's face was soaked in cold sweat.

Beads of sweat gathered at the tip of his chin, then dripped down one after another.

‘Where in the world did a demonic practitioner like that come from...?’

He knew.

At this moment, he was the only one here with even a basic understanding of demonic arts.

He could not simply call it dark arts and leave it at that.

Even if it truly was dark arts.

He, at least, had to say more. He had to find some clue as to how they could face it.

He racked his brain.

He was a disciple of the Dian Cang Sect, but only an outer disciple. He had never learned the deepest secrets of the martial world.

Still, he recalled the knowledge he had picked up from his master.

‘Huideok. The deeper one goes into the Demonic Path, the farther one grows from humanity and martial arts. In the end, it arrives as a terrible calamity that can only be called dark arts.’

‘But its beginning is still martial arts. Even if they are no longer human, they were once human. The path by which humans reach transcendence must take the form of martial arts.’

‘If you exploit that fact, you may find a chance to take a demonic practitioner's head.’

‘Of course, it would be best not to encounter one at all.’

He gathered all the bits and pieces he had heard and formed a plausible hypothesis.

“Protective qi art...”

“Pardon?”

“A protective qi art?”

Even sound was gradually growing muffled in this darkness, but everyone had been focused on Noh Huideok, so they heard him.

“Yes. It is a possible hypothesis. That person appears to be a demonic practitioner who has absorbed darkness-aligned qi. It is only natural that such a practitioner would wield darkness-related powers. Yet even if it is dark arts, its foundation must still lie in martial arts. This phenomenon can be seen as a strangely twisted form of protective qi art.”

Truthfully, he was not entirely certain.

What kind of protective qi art could possibly do something like this?

Still, he spoke with conviction.

Otherwise, even their faintest chance of victory would vanish.

Because...

“And even if it is dark arts, there is only one possibility if someone can cover such a wide area with a protective qi art.”

He swallowed hard.

As if he feared the words he was about to say.

“That person has reached the transcendent peak realm.”

“...”

“...”

No one answered.

No, they could not answer.

Transcendent peak realm.

That single phrase weighed heavily on their hearts.

That was what the transcendent peak realm was.

The realm of a master worthy of being called an absolute being.

They could never win in an ordinary fight. The only future awaiting them was a horrific slaughter.

So...

‘We need to find a way. If this is a protective qi art... If this really is a protective qi art... then the protective qi art actually guarding the practitioner's body might be thin!’

The protective qi arts used by ordinary masters created powerful effects with qi to deflect an opponent's attacks or repel them with rebounding force.

But this darkness was different. It completely enveloped the area, limiting sight and the senses.

If this truly was a protective qi art, then as long as they could pierce the darkness and strike the enemy, there was a chance their attacks would get through.

If that protective qi art had been spread wide, then the protective qi art guarding the body would either be thin or nonexistent!

Of course, even landing an attack on someone at the transcendent peak realm would not make it easy to inflict serious damage in one blow...

‘But with that ultimate technique!’

Noh Huideok looked at Yeon Sowol with desperate eyes. That move which had instantly left Yong Useok, a peak realm master, defenseless.

Noh had no idea whether it was truly a technique that struck death acupoints, but if Yeon Sowol could use it, if it worked again this time...

That was the only chance of victory Noh Huideok could think of.

Noh studied Yeon Sowol.

At that moment, Yeon Sowol was biting his lip, lost in thought.

‘Transcendent peak realm? Transcendent peak realm?’

So far, Yeon Sowol had encountered martial artists believed to be at the transcendent peak realm twice.

Once was General Chu Seongho, the Commander-in-Chief of Liangguang.

The other time was at a pavilion on the Jipseong River, where he had met an unidentified beggar, Daoist, and noble.

Both times, Yeon Sowol had been completely overwhelmed. He remembered the shiver that had run through him when he realized the qi of an entire area had been completely controlled by a single person.

‘If that's true...’

Yeon Sowol sharpened his qi sense as much as he could.

He swept it in every direction.

Slowly. Carefully.

‘Ah!’

At first, he could not make any sense of it, but now he thought he understood a little.

‘Protective qi art! Transcendent peak realm!’

Using the clue Noh Huideok had given him, he probed with his qi sense and began to grasp the structure of this darkness.

“It really is a protective qi art.”

Everyone's eyes turned toward Yeon Sowol.

“It is a protective qi art that works a little differently. Instead of deflecting the direction of attacks, it prevents an attack from taking form in the first place. It obscures the five senses and even qi sense, making it impossible for the opponent to determine that person's location.”

Yeon Sowol furrowed his brow and heightened his qi sense further.

“Even if someone identifies that person's location with sharp qi sense, constant ripples of qi prevent them from properly sensing the practitioner's true form. Like waves on water. Even if they detect the position and thrust a sword there, the practitioner will not be there. But if we can... see through that...”

“Young Master Yeon...!”

Noh Huideok stared at Yeon Sowol with burning eyes.

Yeon Sowol did not realize it, but those were exactly the words Noh Huideok had been waiting for.

Now Noh could see it. A chance of victory, incredibly faint but undeniably there.

「Young Master Yeon...! Can you sense that person's location? If you can, tap my back once. If not, tap it twice!」

A voice transmission suddenly reached him.

Yeon Sowol tapped Noh Huideok's back once.

Noh Huideok took a deep breath.

「I cannot see the target. Here, no, in all the world, Young Master Yeon may be the only one who can sense the location of that demonic practitioner hiding in this darkness.」

It was only possible because of Yeon Sowol's abnormal qi sense.

「Therefore, Young Master Yeon must cut that one down.」

Yeon Sowol bit his lip at those words.

It was bleak and terrifying, but...

‘It can't be helped.’

He had to do it. If he did not, everyone would die.

Yeon Sowol clenched his teeth and drew his voice up from his dantian.

“Still, we have a chance.”

He extended his qi sense once more. This time, he swept the entire range controlled by the dense darkness.

‘As expected.’

It was narrow.

Compared to General Chu Seongho, who had seemed to control the whole world. Compared to the three elders at the Jipseong River.

Even if this was a variation of a protective qi art, the range of that demonic practitioner's qi was far smaller than theirs.

“Not everyone at the transcendent peak realm is the same. From what I can see, that demonic practitioner seems to have only just entered the transcendent peak realm. So in truth, that one is not that different from someone at peak realm.”

It was complete bullshit.

The difference between peak realm and the beginning of the transcendent peak realm was not that great?

Yeon Sowol, who said it, and the alliance members, who heard it, all knew it was bullshit.

If that were really true, they would not call it the transcendent peak realm, meaning a realm that surpassed peak realm.

Even the entry level of the transcendent peak realm was a completely different dimension from peak realm.

Yet Yeon Sowol said it anyway, despite knowing that well.

“Kh. Of course! Young Alliance Leader!”

“That is right! At most, that one is only a little stronger than Yong Useok! And Great Hero Noh Huideok and Young Master Yeon already took Yong Useok's head together!”

“We only need to take that one's head this time too!”

The members of the Guangdong Martial Alliance chimed in, though they knew it was not true.

Someone shouted.

“We are the Guangdong Martial Alliance!”

“An alliance of Guangdong's chivalrous warriors!”

“We do not run from demons!”

“If we were going to do that, we would not have come all this way to catch bandits!”

Faced with the words ‘transcendent peak realm,’ they shouted their defiance even louder.

Yeon Sowol felt something burn in his chest at their cries.

“Young Master Yeon.”

Noh Huideok held out his sword to Yeon Sowol.

“This is...?”

“Would you trade swords with me?”

Yeon Sowol looked into Noh Huideok's steady eyes.

Without hesitation, he turned the Demon-Severing Sword around and offered its hilt.

The two exchanged swords.

“Thank you. I will take the lead with this sword. Since I learned from a proper Daoist sect, I am likely more accustomed to wielding a sword like this.”

Wooooooong!

As Noh Huideok poured true qi into it, the Demon-Severing Sword shook fiercely and began to emit a hazy light.

It pushed back the darkness that had swallowed the surroundings.

「Tell me the enemy's rough direction. Then I will strike first.」

‘Strike first? Against that monster?’

Noh Huideok spoke to the startled Yeon Sowol.

「We have no chance unless we strike first. I will lead the alliance members and somehow keep attacking for ten moves, creating an opening. When an opening finally appears, land that ultimate technique of yours.」

Ten moves.

Those words tugged at Yeon Sowol’s heart.

Then what would happen after ten moves?

The question naturally came to mind, but Yeon Sowol could not bring himself to ask.

Noh Huideok did not say.

Noh Huideok steadied his voice.

Noh dropped the formal tone and shouted firmly.

“If you want to live, attack! The darkness is deep and we cannot see the enemy, but with Young Master Yeon's Demon-Severing Sword, we should at least be able to guess the enemy's position! We attack with our lives on the line! Even if everyone dies and only one person survives, if that person lives, then we have won!”

“Waaaaah!”

“Let's take down that transcendent peak realm master!”

“We weren't born men just to piss ourselves because the enemy is strong!”

Yeon Sowol clenched his teeth and moved beside Noh Huideok, quietly indicating the demonic practitioner's direction according to his qi sense.

Noh Huideok nodded faintly and adjusted his grip on the Demon-Severing Sword.

Then a voice rang out from the darkness.

[[[ I waited because I thought I might hear something useful if I listened long enough. What a waste of time. ]]]

The voice came from no discernible direction.

Noh Huideok snorted and shouted.

“Thanks for giving us the time!”

Baaang!

The moment Noh finished speaking, he kicked off the ground and charged into the darkness in the direction Yeon Sowol had shown him.

The martial artists of the Guangdong Martial Alliance followed without a moment's hesitation.

Yeon Sowol hid among them, concealing his presence as much as possible.

‘Just once... Just like with Yong Useok. Just once...’

He reminded himself again and again that he had only one chance.

There would be no second chance.

From within the darkness,

[[[ Krrrrk! ]]]

came the sound of teeth grinding.

Wooooooong!

At the same time, the Demon-Severing Sword in Noh Huideok's hand released a majestic sword cry.

Perhaps it was because Noh Huideok had received the teachings of a proper Daoist sect that its sound was even grander than when it had been in Yeon Sowol's hand.

“Khk!”

“Urgh!”

Even so, those with weak cultivation staggered back, clutching their ears and clawing at their chests.

But Noh Huideok did not stop.

‘I stake... my entire life on this.’

Exactly ten moves.

Noh poured all the sword arts he had built over his lifetime into those ten moves.

‘Against that demonic practitioner at the transcendent peak realm, I only need the tiniest opening...!’

Tap!

Noh Huideok surged forward without hesitation.

The alliance members who had endured the sound arts followed behind Noh, gritting their teeth until they bled. Those who could not endure remained behind in the darkness.

The faint glow of the Demon-Severing Sword gradually drifted farther away.

Passing by them, Yeon Sowol steadied his breathing.

He settled his thoughts.

‘There is nothing to be afraid of.’

When he thought about it, this was not the first time he had risked his life.

When he had charged into the Golden Powder Gang alone to save Eun-yeong, he had thought he would die then too.

‘If I only have one life anyway, it makes no difference whether I face a transcendent peak realm master or some insignificant thug.’

It was just like that day.

The day he had fought with Eun-yeong behind him.

Once he thought of it that way, his heart grew calmer.

Qi sense. Footwork.

He held only those two things in his mind.

Just like before.

Tap!

Was it just his imagination?

It felt as if a small fist had touched the back of his head.

A smile formed at the corner of Yeon Sowol's lips.

“Phew...”

Yeon Sowol's presence vanished.

Avoiding everyone's qi sense, he moved in secret, using footwork infused with martial force.

Like a willow leaf.

Unpredictably.

As though he had no weight at all.

Chwaaaang!

Ahead of him, Noh Huideok unleashed a shower of sword strikes.

The world lit up for an instant beneath the burst of sword light, like lightning splitting the sky.

Within that light, the demonic practitioner's figure briefly appeared.

“There you are!”

Noh Huideok kicked off the ground.

“Uaaaaah!”

The martial artists of the Martial Alliance followed after Noh.

To protect Yeon Sowol, who had slipped among them and whose presence they could no longer sense. To hide him.

They drew up even more strength.

“Argh!”

A blade flashed through the darkness.

Footnotes:

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