WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME NOVELS
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ The Former Supreme ◈
Chapter 96: If You Cannot Prove It (1)
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Yeom Sawon's forms were fast and precise.
His sword repeatedly thrust at the vital acupoints across Baek Socheon's body.
After Yeom Hwasin warned him not to be deceived, he began unleashing his strongest forms.
He had originally intended to wait for an opening and use them at the decisive moment. But if Baek Socheon had set a trap to make him lower his guard, he could wait no longer. He intended to pour out every move he had held in reserve and settle the match.
They were attacks that could never be blocked with a broken sword.
Baek Socheon used his footwork to evade the attacks as he retreated.
The moment the distance between them widened, Baek Socheon realized Yeom Sawon was about to release sword energy. At the same time, he leaped to the right of where he had been standing.
Sword energy immediately burst from Yeom Sawon's sword.
Screeeech!
A streak of sword energy shot toward Baek Socheon.
Baek Socheon desperately threw himself aside to avoid it.
The missed sword energy flew toward the people behind him.
Yet Baek Socheon wasn't worried. The moment he realized Yeom Sawon intended to release sword energy, he had moved to the right. It had been a deliberate choice.
He had positioned himself directly in front of where Ak Sogun and the martial world luminaries were seated.
They were the most important people there, but they were also the strongest.
Sure enough, Ak Sogun struck out with a palm from his seat. The palm force from his hand collided with the incoming sword energy.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the sword energy dissipated in midair.
Yeom Sawon showed no concern for the safety of the people behind Baek Socheon as he released sword energy again and again.
Screech! Screeeech!
Filled with killing intent, he could think of nothing but killing Baek Socheon.
Baek Socheon flung himself about like an acrobat, evading every attack.
He wasn't worried about what was behind him because Ak Sogun was there. No, more precisely, he had no room to worry.
Avoiding incoming sword energy without internal energy was a feat none of those watching could believe.
Under ordinary circumstances, Baek Socheon would have secretly used internal energy in this situation. But Yeom Hwasin was watching, so he couldn't. Someone like Yeom Hwasin would notice even the slightest trace of internal energy.
That was why Baek Socheon only barely evaded the sword energy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Not only Ak Sogun but the people beside him stepped forward, swinging their swords or releasing palm force to disperse the sword energy. Every one of them was the head of a sect.
The spectators all rose to their feet. The attacks had become so dangerous that short cries escaped them as they wondered whether this was truly acceptable.
Just as everyone thought he could no longer endure and would soon die, powerful sword energy flew toward Baek Socheon as he rolled across the ground to evade.
Screeeech! Boom!
The floor of the duel platform shattered, sending broken fragments flying into the air.
At that very moment, Baek Socheon sprang up from the ground like a coiled spring and hurled himself at Yeom Sawon. He had been waiting for this instant, when the cloud of dust obscured Yeom Sawon's vision.
"You bastard!"
Yeom Sawon was so startled and alarmed that he cursed. Yet that was something he should never have done at such a critical moment. It alone showed how little real combat experience he had.
Baek Socheon closed the distance in an instant and slipped inside Yeom Sawon's guard.
Yeom Sawon swung his sword at Baek Socheon. But his qi and blood had clashed while he was releasing sword energy, and the dust cloud had obscured his sight.
At that moment, Baek Socheon used the Heaven-Turning Nine Fists. It was its first fist, Flowing Wind and Cloudy Mountains, a technique that subdued an opponent by using their own force against them.
Yeom Sawon felt the internal energy within his sword drain away in an instant, only to come surging back at him.
'Ugh! What is this bastard doing?'
Flustered, Yeom Sawon made the wrong choice. He should have withdrawn, reduced his internal energy, and assessed the situation. Instead, he resisted that force by drawing on even stronger internal energy.
That force returned to his body in full.
"Urgh!"
Just as his qi and blood clogged and his vision blurred, his body spun through the air.
Boom.
Baek Socheon drove him into the ground, his limbs spread wide.
Had Baek Socheon properly unleashed the full form, Yeom Sawon would have died from that single move.
But at the last moment, Baek Socheon controlled his strength and used only enough force to knock him unconscious.
When Yeom Sawon lay motionless on the ground, everyone cheered.
"Whoaaaaa!"
"Hero Baek won!"
"Long live Baek Socheon!"
Everyone was in awe of Baek Socheon. The masters gathered here all knew how difficult it was to evade Yeom Sawon's attacks without internal energy. No one could even count how many times he had avoided incoming sword energy. Without internal energy, it was a feat no one here could accomplish.
Ak Sogun rose to his feet and applauded. Zhuge Hyeon, standing beside him, also smiled brightly, finally able to relax. Zhuge Hyeon had been on edge throughout the entire fight.
'Well done. You really did well.'
Baek Socheon looked at Yeom Hwasin.
Yeom Hwasin stared back at him with a blank expression, while the other martial artists of the Black Heaven Alliance wore grim expressions.
That was when it happened.
The martial artist acting as referee, who had been trying to wake Yeom Sawon, suddenly cried out in shock.
"Gah!"
The referee spoke to Baek Socheon in a trembling voice.
"Martial Artist Yeom is dead!"
"What?"
Everyone there was stunned.
Of course, Baek Socheon was the most shocked of all. He rushed over and examined Yeom Sawon.
'Damn it!'
Yeom Sawon truly had become a cold corpse.
'That attack wasn't strong enough to kill him?'
At that moment, Baek Socheon recalled the strange smile Yeom Hwasin had shown when he warned his son. That inexplicable sense of unease still remained vivid in his mind.
'Could it be?'
Baek Socheon's startled gaze turned toward Yeom Hwasin.
Yeom Hwasin was slowly rising from his seat, his face stiff.
Everyone held their breath and watched him.
'Unit Commander Baek couldn't have made such a mistake.'
Zhuge Hyeon couldn't understand the situation.
Ak Sogun shared Zhuge Hyeon's faith, and he had seen Baek Socheon ease his strength at the last moment before gently driving Yeom Sawon into the ground.
'He couldn't have died from that impact.'
Still, he couldn't be certain. If Yeom Sawon had been unlucky enough to strike his head badly, he could have died.
Myeol Jiryun, on the other hand, was secretly delighted.
'Good riddance. Hahaha!'
Even if it wasn't now, someone might have tried to force her into marriage with him someday. She hated that thought more than death itself.
She barely held back the laughter threatening to escape.
Yeom Hwasin slowly walked onto the duel platform. Anger could be felt in every step he took.
Baek Socheon stood beside Yeom Sawon's corpse and silently watched him approach. He didn't retreat. He was certain Yeom Hwasin wouldn't attack him. Yeom Hwasin's victory lay not in killing him, but in creating this situation.
Yeom Hwasin walked up to Yeom Sawon's corpse.
He slowly examined his son's body. His touch was careful and grief-stricken.
Standing closest to him, Baek Socheon could see his expression.
'This was all this man's plan.'
What a disgusting touch.
Then something even more astonishing happened.
Tears began to flow from Yeom Hwasin's eyes.
Baek Socheon had been surprised many times since meeting him, but this surpassed them all. Without question, he was more shocked now than at any other moment that day.
'He's crying?'
Yeom Hwasin glanced at Baek Socheon.
In that instant, Baek Socheon saw it. Tears flowed from Yeom Hwasin's eyes, but he felt no grief.
Only Baek Socheon, standing right in front of him, could recognize that emotion.
The others couldn't read that subtle expression. They focused only on the fact that the Black Heaven Alliance Leader was shedding tears.
Everyone became solemn, thinking that even the Black Heaven Alliance Leader was still a father in the end.
Without leaving even a word of hatred for Baek Socheon, Yeom Hwasin picked up his son. Faced with his sorrowful appearance, no one could say anything.
As he turned to leave, Zhuge Hyeon stopped him.
"You cannot take the body away like this."
Yeom Hwasin glanced back at Zhuge Hyeon and asked with an icy gaze.
"What do you mean?"
Anger filled his low voice.
"Young Master Yeom's death is regrettable, but we must determine exactly why he died."
"Didn't everyone see how he died?"
Baek Socheon stood there without saying a word. Even so, Zhuge Hyeon trusted him. The Baek Socheon Zhuge Hyeon knew would never have killed Yeom Sawon, even by accident. That meant there had to be some scheme by Yeom Hwasin behind this.
"We must determine the exact cause of death."
Yeom Hwasin suddenly shouted.
"Are you saying you wish to conduct a post-mortem examination?"
His voice rang through the venue.
"My son died in a duel. Yet you're speaking of a post-mortem examination to the father who witnessed that scene."
His voice was thick with tears.
Zhuge Hyeon couldn't refute him. The gathered martial notables pitied Yeom Hwasin. No one stepped forward to say Zhuge Hyeon was right.
Baek Socheon understood.
He didn't know how Yeom Sawon had died, but Yeom Hwasin had known his son would die.
That was why he had come.
Yeom Hwasin must have known that no matter what happened, Baek Socheon wouldn't kill Yeom Sawon. He would win without killing him.
So Yeom Hwasin had killed his own son and come here to place the blame on Baek Socheon. He had arranged things so the exact cause of death couldn't be determined, allowing everyone to conclude that Yeom Sawon had died because of the duel.
Everyone looked at Ak Sogun.
Ak Sogun thought he couldn't let Yeom Hwasin leave like this.
He would use his son's death to raise the morale of the black path and unite its factions. Today's duel had become the prelude to war.
Yet stopping him in this situation would be unreasonable.
Yeom Hwasin asked the martial notables around him in a loud voice.
"Who will stop a father who has lost his child?"
No one could even open their mouths.
Only now did Baek Socheon understand why Yeom Hwasin had proposed holding such a public event. He had expected this atmosphere. No one knew that a hundred foxes hid within that bear-sized body.
War Ghost, Jan Baek, and Go Goeng followed behind Yeom Hwasin.
"Stop!"
Yeom Hwasin halted.
The one who shouted was Baek Socheon. Everyone turned to look at him.
"Stop?"
"Yes. You cannot leave like this."
"Are you saying the man who killed my child is blocking my path?"
"I did not kill your son."
Yeom Hwasin looked around at the crowd as he spoke.
"So many people watched, yet you dare make such an absurd claim?"
"Yes. I did not kill him."
"Then who killed him? Are you going to say that heaven itself passed judgment?"
At Yeom Hwasin's mockery, Baek Socheon spoke loudly.
"The one who passed judgment was you."
The martial notables immediately began murmuring. It was something no one had expected him to say. Soon, the venue fell silent as a graveyard. Everyone listened only to the conversation between the two men.
Yeom Hwasin's expression twisted.
"Are you saying that I killed my own son?"
"Yes."
"Can you take responsibility for those words?"
Killing intent poured from Yeom Hwasin and swept through the surroundings. Heavy tension filled the air. Everyone could tell that if things went wrong, Baek Socheon would lose his life.
Baek Socheon answered.
"I can."
The watching martial notables began murmuring again. What in the world was Baek Socheon relying on to act this way?
Staring directly at Yeom Hwasin, Baek Socheon said,
"I will prove here that I did not kill him."
Footnotes:
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