Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 103. Primordial Energy Transformation (3)

‘Still the same.’

Duel stage spectator seats.

Yeong Geom Jin In’s face, watching Moyong Bi with his arms crossed, had now become completely serious.

‘As expected, I can’t read him.’

Moyong Bi slowly approached while spinning the wooden staff with one hand.

There was no sign of caution. Each step was incredibly leisurely, as if he had come out for a stroll.

‘What kind of martial arts has that bastard learned?’

That’s when it happened.

“I have arrived.”

When he turned his head, there was a woman with her head covered by a wind cloak.

It was Ja Dam.

“You came.”

“Yes.”

Yeong Geom Jin In frowned.

“Where have you been until now?”

“I was competing in the preliminary matches.”

“The result?”

“I advanced to the main tournament.”

Yeong Geom Jin In nodded and turned his head back to the duel stage.

Despite being from the same Wudang Sect, he didn’t seem particularly interested. Or rather, in some ways, he seemed to dislike her.

As if accustomed to such an attitude, Ja Dam also turned her gaze to the duel stage.

Suddenly, her blue eyes flashed with interest.

“That person…?”

“Have you seen him before?”

“I’ve had a conversation with him.”

Yeong Geom Jin In looked at Ja Dam as if surprised.

“A conversation? You?”

“Yes. It was the day before the tournament.”

“Hmm.”

Yeong Geom Jin In, who had been nodding, suddenly became curious.

“What did you think of that fellow?”

“I don’t know what kind of person he is. We didn’t talk much.”

“I see.”

“However, it seemed like he had learned Taoist martial arts.”

“What?”

Though inwardly greatly surprised, he tried not to show it.

“Why do you think so?”

“I can’t be certain, but I sensed the flexible nature characteristic of Taoist divine arts.”

Yeong Geom Jin In’s eyes wavered.

His junior sister, who was much younger and from the Western Region, claimed to have read something he couldn’t. And she was a Taoist priest at that.

‘Nonsense.’

Yeong Geom Jin In dismissed Ja Dam’s words.

He had trained in Wudang martial arts for nearly forty years. His barbarian junior sister, who had only trained for about ten years after being lucky enough to become ‘that person’s’ disciple, couldn’t possibly have better insight than him.

‘If he had learned Taoist divine arts, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it.’

It was probably just an answer she gave to seem knowledgeable. Yeong Geom Jin In believed this without doubt.

“Stop talking nonsense and go train.”

“…Yes.”

That’s when it happened.

Boom!

A powerful explosion echoed from the duel stage.

Both of their eyes turned to the duel stage.

* * *

‘What?’

Woon Guk was confused.

‘Why are there so many openings?’

His gait was so leisurely it even looked sloppy.

It wasn’t that he was swaggering or clumsily keeping time as he approached.

It was just ordinary. Like the walking style of a common person who hadn’t learned martial arts.

Even that gait looked incredibly natural, as if he had lived his whole life that way.

‘Has he really learned martial arts?’

He also knew about Moyong Bi.

More precisely, he knew that the sect elders were concerned about the Moyong Family. His fellow disciple Woon Juk would know the details better than him.

He just needed to prove his repeated training here, and that would be enough.

‘I heard he’s settled all his matches with a single strike so far.’

If so, it certainly meant he had some level of skill.

‘…Let’s not try to read him.’

Anyway, he would find out once they clashed. He just needed to unleash what he had learned and trained as he always had.

Woon Guk slowly drew his sword.

“Wow!”

“It’s the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword!”

The Pine Pattern Ancient Sword, which was only bestowed to disciples whose skills had been proven even within the Wudang Sect.

True to a sword that contained the teaching not to kill carelessly, its blade was dull like an axe blade. In other words, it meant that only a master skilled enough to traverse the rough Jianghu with that dull blade could wield this sword.

Woon Guk was also a master who could cut down a large tree in one strike if he set his mind to it.

‘Come.’

His posture with the Pine Pattern Ancient Sword lowered looked very elegant.

Such a graceful figure that skilled Fire Artisans would compete to paint him if he were placed next to a pavilion.

When all the spectators couldn’t help but admire Woon Guk’s refined posture.

“Hmph.”

A snort without even a speck of dignity shattered the audience’s admiration.

Tap tap.

His leisurely walking pace gradually quickened.

He wasn’t running. He just increased his walking speed.

To the audience’s eyes, he looked like a child impatiently rushing toward a fire.

Woon Guk’s eyes grew deeper and deeper.

‘How will he come?’

Before long, Moyong Bi had entered within one jang’s distance.

At this distance, the match could be decided in an instant.

Still, Woon Guk’s mind was like a clear mirror. He seemed like he wouldn’t even glance if lightning struck before his eyes.

Moyong Bi raised his wooden staff high.

His upper body and lower body were full of openings without discrimination.

‘I’ll gladly receive any attack.’

That was the leisure of Wudang martial arts…

Boom!

“Gah!”

Woon Guk’s body was pushed back frantically by the merciless club strike.

‘What, what was that?!’

A strike that pressed down from above to below.

He slightly twisted his Song Mun Ancient Sword to block it, but an explosive sound rang out along with a tremendous shockwave that pushed his body back.

The moment a flustered Woon Guk regained his stance.

Pa-ba-bak!

Moyong Bi’s wooden staff multiplied into five or six, targeting Woon Guk’s entire body.

It wasn’t like before when he struck with the staff like a club.

Attacks that thrust forward like spear techniques. There was no spear blade and it was even a wooden long staff. Yet its sharpness seemed like watching actual spear techniques.

Woon Guk frantically swung his sword.

Ta-da-da-dang!

All the attacks were deflected.

Though he succeeded in defending, Woon Guk couldn’t feel relieved.

The tip of the wooden staff that had entered by splitting the rhythm in an instant was aiming for his chest.

Thud! Screech!

Woon Guk frantically twisted his body and moved toward the center of the duel stage.

‘Th-this!’

He thought he had completely avoided it, but the front of his upper garment was torn to shreds. It had been ripped away by the rotating energy release of the thrusting staff strike.

If he had been even slightly slower, his flesh would have been torn. Even if not enough to disable him from combat, it would have been an attack that caused considerable damage.

Moyong Bi smiled as he looked back at Woon Guk.

“Did you learn the Flowing Cloud Step?”

“…!”

“That’s not martial arts suitable for someone of your level to learn? These days the Wudang Sect seems to teach advanced martial arts ahead of time?”

Woon Guk was startled.

‘He recognizes the main mountain’s martial arts?!’

Though it was quite famous martial arts, it would be difficult for someone of that age to have the discernment to recognize Wudang martial arts.

Moyong Bi walked toward Woon Guk again.

It was exactly the same as before. Steps without even a speck of caution, as if he had really come to the duel stage to play around.

Woon Guk’s cheeks trembled.

‘He’s looking down on me!’

His clear mirror-like mind was shattered.

Thud.

He lightly stamped the ground with one foot.

Yeong Geom Jin In was startled.

‘Already the Tiger Leaping Step?!’

It was martial arts famous as an aggressive footwork technique in the Wudang Sect.

The Tiger Leaping Step, which wasn’t easily used unless it was time to break the opponent’s qi with a preemptive strike, had already emerged.

That wasn’t all.

Woon Guk’s Song Mun Ancient Sword began drawing large and small circles.

Gracefulness that didn’t match the aggressive footwork.

“Even Taiji Sword!”

The Wudang Taiji Sword was swordsmanship representing the Wudang Sect, rated as first-class even in Jianghu.

‘Was the pressure that intense?’

Woon Guk, famous for being as cautious as he was skilled, had brought out his ultimate technique after just two clashes.

Yeong Geom Jin In and Ja Dam stared blankly at the duel stage.

“What is this now.”

Ta-da-da-da-dang!

The graceful circular sword techniques that could enchant people were completely shattered from the sword forms by the crude movements drawn by the wooden staff.

Shock appeared on Woon Guk’s face.

“What kind of Taiji Sword is so limp and weak.”

The wooden staff that brushed past the Song Mun Ancient Sword struck Woon Guk’s chest hard.

Thud!

“Kugh!”

Woon Guk flew through the air and crashed into the floor of the duel stage.

‘Th-this!’

The impact of crashing wasn’t great, but pain spreading from the strike area wrapped around his entire body.

‘Self-control!’

Woon Guk gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and sprang up to take his stance again.

At that moment, Woon Guk felt his vision go dark.

It wasn’t a metaphor but truly dark. Moyong Bi, with his back to the sun, was floating in empty air while swinging his wooden staff.

Kaaang!

Not even a groan came out.

He couldn’t utilize the characteristic late-strike-first-advantage of Wudang martial arts, nor the gracefulness of grafting flowers onto trees.

Woon Guk was pushed back again.

The pressure created by the staff strikes was too strong. Even when he tried to stop, he couldn’t stop.

It was the moment when internal power imbued with the elegant martial principles of softly deflecting strong force crumbled before simply stronger force.

“Kah!”

Blood even spurted out while he was shouting his battle cry.

Thanks to that, strength returned to his lower abdomen. Woon Guk stamped his foot hard.

Thud!

He barely managed to avoid the disaster of falling below the duel stage.

Urgency appeared again on the face of Woon Guk, who was breaking out in cold sweat.

Whooosh!

Moyong Bi was charging toward him.

It wasn’t the same leisurely walking as before.

He kicked off the ground but made no sound at all. Light body movements like a feather, like a bird that ruled the sky was flying toward him.

It was the Flying Heaven Bird Step.

‘No!’

He gripped the Song Mun Ancient Sword with both hands.

‘Cut!’

If he didn’t cut, he couldn’t kill the momentum.

Whoosh!

Woon Guk vigorously swung his sword diagonally, even utilizing the elasticity of his upper body.

He read his opponent’s breathing and rhythm. If he charged in, he would be cut, and if he retreated, he would lose his breathing, so he could seize a chance for counterattack.

‘Defense is absolutely impossible…!’

Clang!

“…?”

Woon Guk’s eyes wavered.

Following his upper body that had descended diagonally, his gaze also turned toward his sword.

But the sword was strange.

‘B-broken?’

The Song Mun Ancient Sword had snapped cleanly in half.

It was so absurd that he couldn’t take the next action.

‘The Song Mun Ancient Sword imbued with eight levels of Small Clear Qi power broke?!’

Woon Guk, who had been staring blankly at his sword, raised his head.

‘Huk!’

The figure of his opponent with his back to the sun looked particularly dark.

In Woon Guk’s eyes, only Moyong Bi’s two eyes were visible.

Clear pale blue light in his eyes. Even while being entranced by those too-beautiful eyes, he felt an inexplicable sense of intimidation.

Those were truly the eyes of a master.

“Your body isn’t bad, but your mental cultivation is less developed than our Su Hyang’s.”

“…What?”

Moyong Bi relaxed the strength in his hand.

Clang!

The broken sword blade fell to the ground. He had caught and shattered the sword blade with his bare hands, not even using a wooden staff.

All the spectators were shocked.

“No way….”

Ja Dam swallowed dryly.

“Hard Qi?!”

An energy manipulation art that the second disciples of the Wudang Sect could somehow manage to imitate.

But manifesting Hard Qi so naturally was beyond them. Perhaps only Woon Gyeong, who was called the successor to the sect leader, could do it?

Moreover, he had caught and shattered with his hand the single sword strike that Woon Guk had delivered with full determination and internal energy.

With just Hard Qi contained in his bare hands.

‘He’s an incredible master!’

Moyong Bi winked with one eye.

“Is this enough for a warm-up?”

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

Woon Guk answered in bewilderment.

Suddenly, Moyong Bi’s eyes turned coldly.

“Then let’s go back to being men of the same room.”

Crack!

With a single uppercut punch, Woon Guk’s head snapped back elastically.

The spectators flinched involuntarily.

The punch was so brutally powerful that for a moment, Woon Guk’s eyes seemed to sweep all the way to the sky and beyond.

Woon Guk’s face returned to face forward.

His eyes had already lost focus.

Thud.

Woon Guk, his face buried in Moyong Bi’s chest, slid down and collapsed.

“….”

A terrifying silence enveloped the duel stage.

The judge raised his trembling hand.

“Mo, Moyong… No, Group A Number Seven wins!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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