WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 119: Dongha Sword Saint (4)
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A lofty mountain peak shrouded in mist.
At its summit stood a thatched cottage.
In its yard, a middle-aged man in a gray Taoist robe sat cross-legged in meditation.
That alone would have seemed ordinary enough, but the middle-aged man sitting on the rock with his eyes closed floated nearly half a jang above the ground.
Even more astonishing, the vital energy flowing from his body poured out as five-colored clouds of mist.
‘Good.’
White-Browed Taoist, his white brows and beard flowing as he stood with his hands behind his back, watched with satisfaction.
What master would not be pleased to see a disciple absorb their teachings so well?
He had been watching with just such satisfaction when...
-Crack!
White-Browed Taoist frowned at the sound reaching his ears.
Then he entered what looked like a storage shed beside the cottage.
The cottage appeared small from outside, yet its interior was strangely vast. Display cases filled with countless artifacts lined the room.
White-Browed Taoist approached one of them.
Inside sat an old wooden box covered in red silk and several talismans.
-Click!
White-Browed Taoist opened its lid.
His eyes shook as he looked inside.
“Haa...”
A sigh escaped his lips.
Four fixtures inside the wooden box were meant to hold something in place.
Yet one of the round jade pieces set into those fixtures had cracked.
White-Browed Taoist stared at it, then furrowed his brow and clicked his tongue.
“...Even something capable of sealing a Spirit Beast could not withstand it.”
* * *
-Flinch!
The eyes of Shin Ui-gyeom, the Eastern River Sword Sage, shook. He had thought the outcome was already decided.
‘What is this?’
Something had suddenly changed.
The pressure radiating from Mumu, which had stirred all five senses, had grown beyond comparison to before.
He was not the only one to feel it.
Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu stared at the changed Mumu, his face taut with tension.
‘W-wasn’t he injured?’
Mumu had dropped to one knee and clutched his wrist, so Dan Pil-hu had assumed he was hurt.
Yet Mumu seemed perfectly fine.
And what was this alien pressure?
-Tremble!
Dan Pil-hu’s whole body shook.
A pressure that went beyond the five senses, something that even felt ominous, bound him in place.
The outer shell was clearly the Mumu he knew, yet it felt as though something from an entirely different realm dwelled within.
“Vice-Master... is that child really Mumu?”
Academy Director Do Jeong-myeong appeared to feel the same way.
Do Jeong-myeong could not take their eyes off Mumu. The trembling gaze alone showed the fear Mumu’s change had inspired.
It was only natural.
Mumu felt less like a human and more like something from another realm.
The closest description was the feeling of prey standing before a predator.
The two wondered what Shin Ui-gyeom, the Eastern River Sword Sage, thought of Mumu’s sudden change.
Then they looked at him.
‘!?’
Shin Ui-gyeom’s expression had changed.
Until now, he had looked pleased to have found an opponent worthy of using his strength against after so long.
That meant he recognized Mumu as an opponent, but he had still believed himself superior, leaving room to spare.
Now, things were different.
-Clench!
Shin Ui-gyeom formed a sword-finger seal and sharply refined the energy he had been releasing.
‘...He changed.’
Shin Ui-gyeom stared intently at Mumu.
The being before him felt nothing like an opponent.
Every one of his senses warned him.
If he did not take this seriously, he might be in danger.
Then Mumu opened his mouth.
“Ah... These came undone. This is troublesome.”
‘Came undone?’
What did that mean?
As everyone looked on in confusion, Mumu glanced at the Ki-Restraining Bracelets lying on the ground, then raised his head.
Slowly, he looked at Shin Ui-gyeom.
-Shiver!
The instant their eyes met, the pressure grew even stronger.
-Swish!
Before Shin Ui-gyeom could think, he thrust out his sword-finger seal toward Mumu.
The remaining three swords floating around him spun rapidly, each forming a whirlwind of ki manifestation as they shot toward Mumu like lightning.
‘Sword Three. Slaughtering Spiral Chaos!’
-Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!
The whirlwinds of ki manifestation rushed in from three directions in an instant.
They seemed ready to tear Mumu apart.
Despite their terrifying force, Mumu did not move as he had before.
Instead, he raised a hand.
-Tap, tap, tap!
He flicked his middle finger in rapid succession toward the incoming whirlwinds.
-Bang, bang, bang!
Circular ripples spread through the air where Mumu had flicked, and something invisible tore through space with a fierce gust of wind.
Then something unbelievable happened.
-Fwoosh!
The rushing whirlwinds of ki manifestation struck something midway and crumbled into ash.
Academy Director Do Jeong-myeong and Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu’s eyes went wide as they watched the remnants scatter.
“Vice-Master! D-did you see that?”
“...I saw it.”
A technique the Eastern River Sword Sage had unleashed through Sword Kinesis Ki Manifestation had vanished from three simple finger flicks.
How could such an advanced sword technique be broken so easily?
They were not the only ones stunned.
Shin Ui-gyeom, who had unleashed it himself, did not look well either.
‘...He became stronger.’
He had believed Mumu’s earlier strength was his peak.
Yet Mumu’s power now far surpassed his expectations.
Shin Ui-gyeom’s thoughts raced.
‘There is no point in spreading out my strength. I must gather everything into one and forge it into a single sharp sword.’
Having made his decision, Shin Ui-gyeom raised a hand.
One of the three swords floating around him flew into his grasp, while the other two plunged into the ground.
-Thud! Thud!
‘One sword?’
Academy Director Do Jeong-myeong and Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu both nodded at his decision.
They understood why the Eastern River Sword Sage had chosen that approach.
Sword Kinesis and Sword Kinesis Ki Manifestation, which controlled swords with life energy, consumed a great deal of strength because they did not directly manipulate ki.
That was likely why he had chosen to hold a sword himself.
‘He intends to focus all his strength into one point.’
They clicked their tongues at the sight.
The fact that the Eastern River Sword Sage had made that decision meant he believed he could not face Mumu without going that far.
-Rumble!
‘This is bad.’
At that moment, a great crowd was gathering around them.
Changcheon Martial Academy’s guard warriors from near the plaza, its masters, and its cadets had all gathered together.
With such chaos breaking out, it would have been stranger if no one came.
“What, what is this?”
“The whole plaza has been destroyed!”
“Could that have been what we saw just now...?”
Those who had gathered could not hide their shock at the ruined plaza.
Their eyes naturally turned to Mumu and Shin Ui-gyeom, standing in the center of it.
“Huh? I-it’s the Eastern River Sword Sage!”
“That’s Great Hero Shin Ui-gyeom!”
Some cadets recognized Shin Ui-gyeom and began murmuring in surprise.
The murmurs soon spread in every direction.
Naturally, people’s attention shifted not only to Shin Ui-gyeom, but to Mumu facing him as well.
“Isn’t that... Mumu?”
“You know, the one who passed the entrance examination through sheer physical strength without learning Martial Arts...”
“Wait, is that brat really fighting Great Hero Shin right now?”
The murmurs soon became an uproar.
Anyone could see the two in the ruins had been fighting.
The fact that a new cadet, only seventeen years old, was fighting one of the Four Immortal Masters was an event that would shock the martial world.
Yet among those making a commotion, some stared at Mumu with pale faces, cold sweat running down them.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“...Can’t you see that?”
“See what?”
“A monster... It’s a monster!”
“A monster?”
Some could not hide their confusion at such intense reactions.
Dan Pil-hu clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched.
‘Those with a certain level of skill have realized that child Mumu’s true nature.’
The unskilled could not tell.
Even from this distance, those who had reached at least the Expert realm would clearly feel the ominous sensation that stirred their five senses.
Even he felt pressured by Mumu. How could they be any different?
Academy Director Do Jeong-myeong spoke quietly to him.
“Vice-Master... this has become serious.”
“I agree.”
With so many spectators, the fight was even less likely to end midway.
For Shin Ui-gyeom, one of the Four Immortal Masters said to stand at the peak of the present martial world, there was now even more reason not to lose.
If he lost here, unlike Mumu, he had far too much to lose.
‘His reputation will be tarnished.’
That was why he would try to defeat Mumu with all his strength.
-Step!
Shin Ui-gyeom steadied his breathing and took his opening stance.
Everyone held their breath and watched.
‘Hoo.’
The spectators gathering nearby bothered him, but Shin Ui-gyeom focused every ounce of his attention on Mumu.
Mumu was no longer someone merely close to the Four Immortal Masters. He was a being against whom even Shin Ui-gyeom could not confidently predict victory or defeat.
This was no time to care about anything else.
Against a master of a similar level rather than one clearly beneath him, what mattered most was determination and fighting spirit.
‘I acknowledge you. You are a monster worthy of being called one of the Five Immortal Masters.’
That was why he had to defeat Mumu all the more.
The space around Shin Ui-gyeom’s sword rippled.
It was not ki taking form or gathering together.
‘Formless Sword!’
Having reached the realm of Sword and Body as One, he called this the Formless Sword.
Once perfected, it could be unleashed without a sword, but for now, he still needed a medium to focus his mental image.
‘I meant to save this until I fought Do-hyung or Hong-hyung, but...’
This was not a situation where he could hold back.
If he lost to Mumu here, the dignity of the Four Immortal Masters would be disgraced.
Shin Ui-gyeom aimed the Formless Sword at Mumu.
Just as he was about to unleash his greatest Ultimate Technique...
“We should change locations.”
“What?”
The moment Mumu finished speaking...
-Boom!
Mumu rose into the air, then flew north.
The Eastern River Sword Sage, who had been about to unleash his Ultimate Technique, frowned at Mumu’s sudden action.
Then he let out a faint sigh and launched himself after him.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
The spectators were left dumbfounded when the two suddenly changed locations.
They had been focused on how the fight would unfold, so they could only feel disappointed.
Academy Director Do Jeong-myeong and Vice-Master Dan Pil-hu felt the same way.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
They had watched from the beginning, so no one was more curious about the outcome than they were.
* * *
A place surrounded by mountainsides, not far north of Changcheon Martial Academy.
Shin Ui-gyeom followed Mumu there and landed on the mountainside before asking, “Why did you suddenly change locations?”
It was only a formal question.
He would have preferred to fight somewhere empty rather than among a crowd as well.
Still, it would not have suited his dignity to suggest changing locations himself, so he had not said anything.
Mumu answered him.
“Seeing that in your hand, Mister, I thought the people gathered around us might get hurt.”
“...”
Mumu’s words brought an odd look to Shin Ui-gyeom’s eyes.
It seemed the boy had correctly guessed the power of the Formless Sword he had been about to unleash.
As Mumu said, if Shin Ui-gyeom had used the Formless Sword at full power, the spectators nearby could have been hurt by repercussions far greater than before.
“Not bad. To see through the Formless Sword.”
Mumu tilted his head.
Then he said, “That’s not it. I was worried people would get hurt when I knocked it away.”
“...What?”
“I moved us because I might not be able to control my strength, and everything around us could be shattered.”
Shin Ui-gyeom was dumbfounded by Mumu’s words.
Was this child provoking him on purpose?
He had not changed locations because he understood the true power of the Formless Sword, but because he was afraid he could not contain his own strength while stopping it?
‘He is more arrogant than he looks.’
Changed or not, Shin Ui-gyeom was one of the Four Immortal Masters.
He stood at the peak of the present martial world and took pride in having reached the highest realm of the sword.
Yet this child dared act so arrogant before him.
There was no need for further words.
-Wooooo!
Shin Ui-gyeom once more concentrated all his ki weapon into his sword, raising the Formless Sword.
“Fine. If you are so confident, then stop...”
-Boom!
‘!?’
Mumu suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Shin Ui-gyeom hurriedly shot backward to open the distance, then unleashed his Ultimate Technique toward Mumu like lightning.
‘Sword One. Spirit Wave Dance...’
It was the moment he intended to swing the Formless Sword.
Mumu thrust his bare fist, which he had pulled back, toward the Formless Sword.
‘What is he doing?’
-Clang!
‘!?’
At that instant, an unimaginable pressure prevented Shin Ui-gyeom from bringing down the Formless Sword he had intended to slash from above.
-Kwaaaaaang!
At the same time, an enormous crash loud enough to rupture eardrums rang out behind him.
A storm-like gale swept in from behind with the deafening roar.
-Baaaaang!
It was so strong that his head snapped forward.
-Trickle!
Fresh blood flowed from Shin Ui-gyeom’s mouth.
The collision between the Formless Sword and Mumu’s fist had inflicted an internal injury on him.
“Hoo... Hoo...”
Breathing heavily, Shin Ui-gyeom raised his head.
Right before him, Mumu casually drew back the fist he had thrust out.
Shin Ui-gyeom could only gape at the sight.
‘He struck the Formless Sword with his bare fist, yet he does not even have a wound?’
What kind of body was this?
There was not even a scratch on Mumu’s fist.
Shin Ui-gyeom slowly turned his head.
‘!?’
The sword that had unleashed the Formless Sword had vanished completely, save for the hilt in his hand.
He had guessed as much from the weight he held, but this was absurd.
More shocking than the sword shattering into nothing was one thing.
‘...He has surpassed the realm of humanity.’
The mountain that should have stood behind him was gone.
A strange, crescent-shaped hollow remained, the only trace that something which had once been a mountain stood there.
It left him speechless.
As he stood in shock, Mumu’s quiet voice reached his ears.
“Now that we have some time alone, can I ask you something?”
“...”
“Was my father really so frightening that it took four people like you to face him?”
‘!?’
Shin Ui-gyeom’s expression hardened.
Footnotes:
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