WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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Episode 40: Western Wind Poison Leg (4)

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-Crack-crack-crack-crack!

Mumu's breath was freezing Gu Yang-gyeong's materialized poison ki.

'What in the world?'

Gu Yang-gyeong was dumbfounded.

Some martial artists gathered internal energy in their mouths and fired concealed weapons, but what Mumu was doing was on an entirely different level.

What came from his mouth was no mere breath. It was closer to a gale, and its pressure was so immense that it was freezing poison.

'This is impossible.'

He had roamed the martial world for decades, yet had never experienced anything like this.

No, this went completely beyond common sense.

-Clang-clang-clang!

The frozen poison ki shattered into purple shards of ice and scattered across the ground.

In the end, Gu Yang-gyeong had no choice but to stop firing poison ki. Mumu stopped blowing as well, and the capacity of his lungs was beyond imagination.

"Phew."

The muscles around Mumu's expanded chest settled back down.

After doing something so absurd, he looked completely unfazed.

'...This brat truly isn't human.'

Cold sweat gathered on Gu Yang-gyeong's forehead.

Was this the first time in seventeen years that he had felt such extreme tension?

When he had faced that person, the other members of the Four Immortal Masters had fought through life and death alongside him. At least then, his fighting spirit had been able to burn fiercely.

This was entirely different.

'I thought no more monsters would appear after that person.'

They had not truly exchanged blows yet.

Still, his instincts told him that the monster before him might be beyond his ability to measure.

Gu Yang-gyeong's thoughts grew complicated.

'I have too much to lose.'

He had already instinctively recognized that Mumu would not be an easy opponent.

If he continued fighting and lost, he would have far more to lose than the boy. His honor and dignity would hit rock bottom.

Should he stop here?

As one grew older, one learned exactly when to advance and when to withdraw. In his younger days, the thrill of finding a stronger opponent would have driven him forward recklessly, win or lose.

Not now.

"Grandpa..."

Then he heard his granddaughter Gu Yang Seo-rin's voice.

Gu Yang-gyeong had been too tense to hear her before. He glanced toward her, standing far away.

Worry filled his beloved granddaughter's eyes.

Until just moments ago, she had been defending that brat. Yet now, because they were family, she was looking at him with concern.

Gu Yang-gyeong rebuked himself inwardly.

'Gyeong, Gyeong. You old fool. You don't have many days left, so what glory and riches are you trying to enjoy? How can you show your granddaughter a martial artist retreating in fear?'

For a moment, he felt foolish.

Rational judgment was not always the answer.

No matter how powerful the enemy before him was, he was a grandfather his granddaughter could be proud of, and one of the Four Immortal Masters leading the present martial world.

'Good.'

Gu Yang-gyeong's expression changed.

No matter how monstrous the opponent, no one could know the outcome. In this world, victory and defeat could be overturned by a single move, or even half a move.

'Let's do this.'

It was laughable that he had said he would see whether this boy was suitable for his granddaughter, only to be intimidated by the boy's strength and consider retreating.

Having steadied himself, Gu Yang-gyeong gripped his Snake Staff and adjusted his form.

As his fighting spirit rose, he calculated.

'My Ki sense still detects no more than a second-rate martial artist's internal energy from him. That means his physical ability truly exceeds human limits.'

Then he needed a different approach.

Fighting while keeping him in check with poison ki would not work. If Mumu kept blocking poison ki in that bizarre way, Gu Yang-gyeong would only waste internal energy and poison ki.

Though somewhat dangerous, close combat was the answer.

'No matter how monstrous he is, once poison spreads through his body, the nature of the fight will change completely.'

To do that, he needed to close the distance with Mumu.

That was the key to this battle.

Gu Yang-gyeong drew out every bit of poison ki within his body.

-Whoooooosh!

At that moment, all of Gu Yang-gyeong's indigo hair and beard turned purple.

Purple energy spread from his entire body.

-Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Everything touched by that purple energy blackened, corroded, and melted away.

This was what happened when Gu Yang-gyeong raised his Poison Form realm to the tenth level.

'Body of Ten Thousand Poisons!'

Gu Yang Seo-rin gasped at the sight.

Her grandfather, Gu Yang-gyeong, possessed the Body of Ten Thousand Poisons, a physique said to be bestowed by Heaven upon those who cultivated poison.

The moment he unleashed it, his body became a Poison Form Physique surpassing the Poison Form itself.

Then Gu Yang-gyeong shouted.

"Let's do this properly!"

-Flash!

With those words, Gu Yang-gyeong shot forward.

-Swish!

Moving at full strength, Gu Yang-gyeong vanished, leaving only faint afterimages behind.

Of everyone present, only Mumu could clearly see him.

Gu Yang-gyeong's movements were perfectly visible to Mumu. He was darting left and right, trying to scatter Mumu's focus.

-Papapap!

'Fast.'

Western Wind Lone Angle Gu Yang-gyeong possessed two epithets.

One was the Poison Emperor.

The other was the Wind God.

His movement skill, worthy of the title Wind God, was so fast that even the Four Immortal Masters would struggle to keep up with him if they let their guard down.

Gu Yang-gyeong intended to make full use of his movement skill, which had reached its peak.

'Faster!'

-Swoooooosh!

As one's movements became faster, afterimages remained behind.

Those afterimages went beyond mere blurs, appearing almost real.

-Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!

"What?"

"G-Great Hero Gu Yang multiplied."

To Mo Il-hwa, it looked as if nearly twenty Gu Yang-gyeongs had appeared in the blink of an eye.

It was like the Monkey King[1] of legend had performed a cloning art.

Gu Yang Seo-rin trembled at the sight.

'Wind Manifestation Kick Art, Eighth Technique: Boundless Roaming!'

The Wind Manifestation Kick Art consisted of ten techniques.

Gu Yang Seo-han and she could only perform the first seven. From the eighth technique onward, it was a secret art that combined supreme movement skill and kicking techniques, one only Gu Yang-gyeong, the creator of the Wind Manifestation Kick Art, could perform.

-Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!

The twenty forms of Gu Yang-gyeong rushed toward Mumu from every direction at once.

Mumu's eyes wavered slightly at the sight of Gu Yang-gyeong closing in from all sides.

It was not from confusion.

To everyone else, it may have looked as if Gu Yang-gyeong had used a cloning art. Not to Mumu.

-Boom!

The ground surged upward as Mumu moved.

He aimed toward the west.

'This brat?'

Gu Yang-gyeong's eyes narrowed.

He had tried to scatter Mumu's focus, but the boy had pinpointed his exact position.

He was a monster.

Even the Four Immortal Masters would struggle to keep up with him when he raised his speed enough to perform Boundless Roaming, except for the instant he drew close.

-Swish!

Mumu charged Gu Yang-gyeong and stretched out his hand.

His middle finger and thumb were curled together.

'A forehead flick?'

Was he seriously going to flick Gu Yang-gyeong's forehead?

For a moment, Gu Yang-gyeong was speechless.

Still, if Mumu was that confident, then he needed to shatter that confidence.

Mumu was about to flick his finger.

-Flinch!

In that instant, Gu Yang-gyeong abandoned his attempt to collide with Mumu and urgently twisted his body aside.

A blast of wind rose so fierce that his facial skin rippled and his lips turned inside out.

-Phaaaaaang!

-Kwakwakwakwakwakwaang!

Gu Yang-gyeong looked back from the corner of his eye.

His eyes widened.

In a straight line from where Mumu had flicked, the air and earth had split apart. Holes had been punched through the trees, and they were beginning to topple.

'W-what kind of power is that?'

This was absurd.

How could a finger flick produce such power?

He had no time to be shocked.

This was his chance.

Mumu's speed was also extraordinary, but Gu Yang-gyeong's speed had reached a level where he could move in an entirely different flow of time from ordinary people.

-Swish!

Mumu was beginning to relax the posture from his finger flick.

-Bang!

Gu Yang-gyeong kicked off the ground.

He hurled himself at Mumu.

-Pak!

Mumu raised a foot toward Gu Yang-gyeong as he flew right before his eyes.

-Kwaaaaaang!

The pressure from Mumu's sweeping kick sent the ground erupting upward as if an explosion had gone off.

"Khk!"

-Papapap!

Yet in that split second, Gu Yang-gyeong twisted his body with all his might and fired all his poison ki toward Mumu's chest.

'Dread Poison Staff Art, Ninth Technique: Mighty Heaven Poison Contest!'

-Phaaaaaang!

His palm struck Mumu's left chest squarely.

With his Body of Ten Thousand Poisons unleashed and the Force of ki at the tenth level, its power was enough to pierce even a small mountain.

'Got him!'

Mumu's body flew backward as poison spread through his entire body...

-Phaaaaaang!

"Gasp!"

At that moment, Gu Yang-gyeong's body was blasted backward like a cannonball.

'What?'

He was the one who had landed the technique, so why was he the one being thrown back?

Thrown away by the tremendous Reflective Force, Gu Yang-gyeong slammed into the ground and plowed through the earth.

-Kwakwakwakwakwakwaang!

"Ughhhhh!"

Only after being dragged across the ground for more than a hundred feet did Gu Yang-gyeong finally stop.

He was in a terrible state.

It was not only the ground that had been torn up. His back had been shredded, leaving him covered in blood.

Even with the Body of Ten Thousand Poisons protecting him, he could not endure power great enough to ignore it.

'...M-monster.'

Gu Yang-gyeong staggered to his feet, stunned.

Mumu had taken Mighty Heaven Poison Contest head-on, yet possessed enough Reflective Force to send Gu Yang-gyeong flying.

That brat's body was practically an indestructible golden body.

Still, taking that risk had paid off.

The corner of Gu Yang-gyeong's mouth rose.

'The true terror of Mighty Heaven Poison Contest begins after it hits.'

The deadly poison formed within his Body of Ten Thousand Poisons would burrow into Mumu's body.

Once struck anywhere, poison would spread through the entire body in an instant.

For example...

-Sssssss!

Purple veins spread like vines from around Mumu's heart.

It was a sign that poison was spreading rapidly.

Before one could count to ten, that poison would spread throughout Mumu's body.

A Grandmaster-level martial artist like one of the Four Immortal Masters could use life energy to fight off the poison ki and endure for at least several two-hour periods.

Mumu could not.

'Having no internal energy has become poison to him instead.'

In a way, this victory was a gift from Heaven.

There could be no true ultimate being in the world because every creature had a natural enemy and an opposing force.

Without internal energy, Mumu could not drive out poison ki.

'This victory was earned in extreme tension, the likes of which I have not felt in a long time.'

It was a valuable victory, even if he had been injured.

Gu Yang-gyeong staggered toward Mumu.

If the boy admitted defeat, he intended to detoxify him.

'Phew.'

Still, he had never seen anyone push him this far in such a short time.

At this point, Gu Yang Seo-rin's judgment had not been wrong at all.

Whether he approved or not, if this brat learned internal energy, he would soon surpass even the Four Immortal Masters.

'No wonder that child said she would keep trying ten times.'

It seemed he had to accept it.

If he let the chance to make such a monster his grandson-in-law slip away, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

He had preserved enough of his dignity, so he could detoxify Mumu and encourage him to get along with his granddaughter.

-Step, step!

Gu Yang-gyeong walked toward Mumu and said,

"Well? Do you understand how frightening poison can b..."

-Crunch! Crunch-crunch!

'!?'

Gu Yang-gyeong stopped.

Poison had been spreading from around Mumu's heart.

Then the muscles across Mumu's body suddenly convulsed. The sight was so grotesque that it was difficult to even look at him.

'What in the world is this brat... Huh?'

Then Gu Yang-gyeong's eyes shook.

A change came over Mumu's body, where muscles and veins had been twisting together.

The purple poison ki that had been spreading in tangled strands began to recede, gathering around Mumu's heart.

Soon, even the skin around his heart returned to its original color.

'No, how is the poison...?'

"Khaaaaaack!"

As Gu Yang-gyeong struggled to understand what was happening, Mumu suddenly made a wet, phlegmy sound.

The muscles in his throat bulged.

"Bleeegh!"

He spewed purple bloody fluid from his mouth.

The instant it touched the ground, it blackened and corroded it, melting the earth away at a rapid pace.

-Sizzle!

'!!!!!!!'

Gu Yang-gyeong stared blankly.

What had he just seen?

Had this brat gathered the poison and spat it out through his mouth?

'Ha...'

It was a terrifying poison that could leave even the Four Immortal Masters unable to move if they were properly poisoned.

Yet Mumu had spat it out and smacked his lips as if he had swallowed bitter medicine.

"It tastes bitter."

'It tastes bitter?'

Gu Yang-gyeong had no words for Mumu's behavior.

Was this brat really human?

As he stood there in disbelief, Mumu spoke.

"Is it my turn now?"

"What?"

"I'll go easy on you."

-Kwaaaang!

The earth where Mumu stood surged upward, and Mumu arrived before Gu Yang-gyeong in an instant.

Gu Yang-gyeong cried out urgently.

"W-wait..."

Before he could finish, Mumu's instep struck his shin.

-Thud! Crunch!

"Urk!"

Gu Yang-gyeong's body spun wildly on the spot like a raging windmill.

-Paaaaaang!

[1] Monkey King: The trickster hero of Chinese legend is famed for creating duplicates of himself from his hairs.

Footnotes:

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