I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101
Namgung Su’on’s energy swelled even more violently.
Until now, the energy scattered by his moving sword had merely formed a sensory net to read all of Shadowless’s movements in advance.
But now, its density transformed.
The accumulating layers of energy suddenly asserted their presence, pressing down on Shadowless’s entire body.
While suppressing the opponent’s movements to make escape impossible.
The heavy sword, impossible to block, swung down in an attack.
An absolute strike, impossible to evade or defend against.
For this was the strike of the emperor.
At that moment, Shadowless’s sword shifted.
[Shadowless]
The second form.
Beyond a simple thrust, a slashing motion was added.
It ripped through the energy barrier that suppressed him.
[One Flash]
And then, he thrust again.
Alternating between the first and second forms of the Shadowless Soul-Slaying Sword, he reclaimed his freedom.
With the mindset that if he couldn’t block it, he would thrust first, he launched a counterattack.
Before your heavy sword can reach me.
What will you do if my fast sword pierces you first?
Faced with Shadowless’s sword asking this very question, Namgung also handed down his imperial rescript.
Trivial.
Foolish.
How could the sword of a mere subject ever touch the emperor?
Slowly.
Bit by bit.
But with absolute certainty.
Namgung Su’on began to overpower Shadowless’s movements.
Shadowless could no longer unleash a continuous barrage of thrusts, and as he occasionally slashed away at Namgung’s energy that suppressed him, his rhythm began to fracture slightly.
Since Namgung Su’on was also maintaining such a massive domain of energy, he couldn’t rush in fiercely, but it was obvious to everyone that the tide of victory was gradually tilting toward him.
Shadowless was slowly forced backward, and Namgung cornered him bit by bit into a disadvantageous position.
“Ah.”
“As expected…”
“It really is the Imperial Sword Form…”
The Imperial Sword Form was not merely a sword technique about manipulating a blade.
Such methods were already fully mastered when learning the Boundless Firmament Sword Technique.
The Boundless Firmament Sword Technique itself was a sword that fully mastered all the subtleties of the blade and utilized them freely without hindrance, just as the name “Boundless” implied.
The Imperial Sword Form took those mastered subtleties and added the domain of energy to construct the emperor’s palace, looking down with heaven’s eyes and crushing with heaven’s will.
The complete subtlety lay in reading and suppressing the opponent before using the necessary sword to mete out proper punishment.
From the very beginning, it was a peerless divine art that sat far above ordinary martial arts.
And that was now shining in its full glory.
“It truly is a sword technique that one cannot even begin to learn without reaching the Transcendence Realm.”
On the other hand, the expressions of those who had wagered money on Shadowless darkened rapidly.
“Uh-oh… this shouldn’t be happening.”
“Ah… In the end, no matter how outstanding people like us are, we are no match for a great noble family like Namgung.”
“Is this the wall?”
Seonwu, despite those comments, did not lose his relaxed expression.
‘Shadowless seems to be doing exactly what we planned, though?’
As a swordsman, Namgung Su’on was undoubtedly superior to Shadowless.
But Shadowless was his bodyguard, and before that, he was a soldier, the son of a general’s family.
Shadowless’s movements became more and more restricted.
Finally, the time of judgment arrived.
[Mandate of the Emperor].
Strangely enough, the Imperial Sword Form also contained a form with the exact same name as the Fist of King Wu that Seonwu had mastered.
Gangqi coalesced on the descending sword.
A brightly shining, high-density sword Qi.
A supreme level of concentration refined to hold the starlight itself, transcending mere sword Qi.
There would be nothing it could not slice through.
The sword Gang swinging down at an inescapable moment was an unblockable strike.
Even within the cultivation realm of transcendence, whether one could manipulate Gangqi for even a single moment was the wall that divided the high from the low.
The sword sliced right into the armguards.
Faced with the sword Gang, the armguards lost all meaning and shattered into pieces.
‘Yes!’
Watching from the sidelines, Namgung Hyeok-in choked back a shout of triumph.
‘That’s it, that’s the one.’
He himself had failed to cut through those armguards and suffered defeat.
But the Sword Dragon was different.
The emperor’s sword would sever those measly armguards and take that arm as well!
‘We won!’
It was entirely different from when he had lost to the bastard’s counterattack.
The bastard’s hidden ultimate move unleashed from that position.
The ‘Soul-Slaying’ form, which achieved extreme speed beyond fast, was certainly a terrifying counterattack, but that only mattered if the initial attack was blocked.
Faced with a sword that sliced down first, the fellow wouldn’t even be able to launch a proper counterattack.
And unless the sword slipped and ruined his posture like last time, the Sword Dragon could easily handle that counter.
‘Sever that arrogant bastard’s arm, block the counterattack, and declare victory—then the glory of Namgung will be reclaimed!’
The mindscape of victory was already perfectly drawn in his heart.
That was not a mindscape exclusive to Namgung Hyeok-in.
It was the mindscape of everyone in the Namgung Clan.
It was also the hope of the many people who had wagered their money on Namgung.
And it was the despair felt even by those who had bet on Shadowless.
Almost everyone envisioned the exact same next moment.
Even Muyyeonggae, who was refereeing, was about to intervene.
‘Oh no! At this rate, his arm will be severed!’
He needed to stop it the moment it was cut halfway, and quickly have an outstanding physician reattach it…
Rumble.
The sword that split the armor unexpectedly failed to pierce the arm and began to slide off.
[Iron Ox Invulnerability Art]
The iron ox represents stubbornness.
Unwavering steadiness.
Inviolability.
Even if an emperor strikes, it will not easily crumble.
The body protective astral Qi absorbed the sword Gang.
The Iron Ox Invulnerability Art keeps that equivalent high-density inner energy inside the body itself rather than manifesting it outwardly.
Thus, it does not shine, but its durability becomes a shield that can withstand even sword Gang.
Though the skin peeled, cracked, and bled from the pressure of the slipping imperial sword, it was a far cry from amputation.
This much was merely a minor injury, posing no hindrance whatsoever to continuing the fight.
The moment Namgung Su’on’s gaze wavered, a microscopic smile crept onto Shadowless’s lips.
“Brilliant!”
Simultaneously with Seonwu’s shout, Shadowless, having deflected Namgung Su’on’s sword, exploited the split-second opening and unleashed a thrust at the speed of sound.
[Soul-Slaying]
The final form of his sword technique, which consisted of a mere three forms.
A single flash of extreme speed that transcended fast.
Exploding his inner energy, snapping his muscles.
A strike that truly resembled a flash of lightning, mobilizing everything within the human body to thrust forward.
Namgung Su’on’s left hand rushed in to desperately block the strike aimed at his vital spot.
Indeed, the Sword Dragon was different from Namgung Hyeok-in; his left hand managed to intercept the strike that Hyeok-in had failed to react to and had been pierced by.
However, his left hand had not mastered the Iron Ox Invulnerability Art.
And Namgung’s hand technique, deployed in a frenzy, lacked the strength to endure the Soul-Slaying form.
While the side where their Gangqi collided hung in a tense balance, Shadowless’s single sword, packed purely with speed, tore through Namgung’s left hand—a makeshift defense.
A large hole was punched straight through the left hand, and though the trajectory of the sword was slightly warped from the desperate deflection, it ultimately stopped right beside the heart.
Had it been a life-or-death duel, he would have thrust right through.
Even if it was just beside the heart, it was a major wound fully capable of draining the opponent’s strength.
But since it was a martial sparring match, Shadowless withdrew his sword and stepped back.
“Thank you for yielding.”
Hearing those words, Seonwu fell into thought.
‘Honestly, we both know it wasn’t a yielding, so must he always conclude with that phrase?’
It’s pure hypocrisy.
Is that what real etiquette is supposed to be?
Still, if you don’t phrase it that way, the culture dictates that you’re just looking for a fight.
“Junior disciple! Well done!”
For now, let’s just praise Shadowless.
“Huh?”
“Wait, what just happened?”
The outcome reversed so rapidly that the spectators could not comprehend it for a moment.
Yet, cheers erupted shortly after.
“Whoaaa! Shadowless of the Eunhak Sect defeated the Sword Dragon of Namgung!”
“No, wait. Great Hero Shadowless is the new Sword Dragon now!”
“The Sword Dragon has changed!”
Almost all of the onlookers were those who did not belong to the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Noble Families.
Excluding Jun, a portion of the Beggars’ Sect, and the involved Namgung Clan, everyone else ranked below them.
Consequently, they rejoiced even more over the victory of the ‘underdog,’ the nameless Eunhak Sect.
A small-to-medium sect like them had successfully humbled the Namgung Clan, who used to act as if they owned the sky.
Didn’t they say the Eunhak Sect currently only had those two disciples left?
With a senior and junior disciple of that caliber, the sect would surely grow quite large in the future, but for now, they were considered a fellow small-to-medium sect.
Feeling a sense of camaraderie, they cheered in vicarious satisfaction.
Of course, those who had placed their money on the Namgung Clan were a different story.
“My… my money!”
“I’m ruined.”
“Argh, I wagered three months’ worth of my salary!”
Amidst the contrasting cheers and screams, Muyyeonggae stepped into the arena.
“Ahem, it seems a decision has been reached. Does the Namgung Clan have any objections?”
The former Sword Dragon, Namgung Su’on, could not answer immediately due to the sheer shock.
The one who answered instead was the elder, Namgung Unmong.
“None. Let us conclude this martial duel.”
How were they to salvage this defeat?
Far from reclaiming the dignity of Namgung, it had crumbled even further; how were they to handle it?
What if Namgung Su’on, the rising star of the family, lost his spirit over this incident?
If the smaller sects started resisting Namgung bit by bit with alternative motives, the elder and the patriarch couldn’t possibly step forward every single time to handle it, so what then?
The future looked pitch black.
However, denying the outcome here and insisting on continuing the fight would only destroy the last remnants of their dignity.
It was proper to simply congratulate the victor, exchange polite words about how it was mutually beneficial, and withdraw with composure.
Grief and lamentation were matters to be dealt with among themselves back at their lodging.
“Uncle… I…”
Unmong comforted Su’on.
“It is fine. You are still young. How long is the road ahead of you? This single defeat is not what matters. I believe that in the future, you, like your father, will rise to become one of the top ten masters.”
When that day arrived, they would be able to look back at this defeat with a smile, calling it a lesson from their youth.
Though for today…
Today, they would have to swallow their tears of frustration while looking forward to that future.
“You said you are Shadowless of the Eunhak Sect, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The armguards were a mere distraction; your true strength lies in that protective art.”
“That is correct.”
Since the opponent was significantly older and a transcendental expert regardless of the circumstances, Shadowless replied with proper courtesy.
Naturally, if the opponent had been sacrilegious toward the Imperial Court, he wouldn’t have shown any such courtesy, but today they had merely engaged in a pure martial sparring match.
“The rumors that your sect possesses not only a crane but also a turtle did not spread for nothing.”
“Thank you.”
To possess a protective Qi technique capable of deflecting the Imperial Sword Form while sustaining only such a minor injury.
‘Even if it falls short of Shaolin’s Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, this alone is unrivaled in Wulin.’
The analysis that the opponent resembled a military martial artist carrying a sword and shield was correct.
They had simply miscalculated the durability of that shield entirely.
‘To think he could harbor a body protective astral Qi capable of receiving sword Gang.’
It was not a Gangqi manifested externally, but a Gangqi that integrated seamlessly with the body, dwelling within.
That was why he hadn’t noticed it until the exact moment of impact.
‘To achieve simultaneous internal and external mastery at that age…’
No, to begin with, it was something the vast majority of masters failed to achieve.
What was the point of analyzing this and that?
A loss was a loss.
“Continue to devote yourself. Won’t it be beneficial for both of us to grow together?”
“Yes.”
“From now on, you are the Sword Dragon.”
After delivering those words with composure, Namgung Unmong turned around.
Though his insides boiled to the point of exploding, what else could he do?
‘As long as our sect possesses the Imperial Sword Form, we can rise again.’
Today’s defeat was merely a mistake born from not knowing the enemy in advance.
* * *
The aftermath of the match was phenomenally massive.
First, the authority of Namgung was called into question.
“They lost?”
“Indeed.”
“The Sword Dragon was one of the three vying for the absolute top among the Seven Dragons, you know.”
Although seven outstanding rising stars were referred to as the Seven Dragons, the Fist Dragon of Shaolin, the Immortal Dragon of Wudang, and the Sword Dragon of Namgung were considered the finest among them.
Yet, Namgung had dropped out, and Shadowless of the Eunhak Sect had taken his place as the new Sword Dragon.
“Not anymore, at least.”
Namgung.
Aren’t they weaker than we thought?
Naturally, Changtian Jianzun, one of the top ten masters, remained alive and well.
Since he hadn’t claimed that position through a false reputation, people weren’t suggesting that Namgung was entirely ruined, but…
The Imperial Sword Form.
Is it truly all that?
Subtle doubts began to sprout.
“On the other hand, the Eunhak Sect is remarkable.”
“Agreed. I didn’t even know such a sect existed.”
“Now everyone knows.”
The Chivalrous Dragon and the Sword Dragon.
The two martial brothers.
“The Sword Dragon mentioned that his senior brother is even more outstanding than him; do you think that’s true?”
“It must be humility as a junior disciple.”
“Or perhaps he wasn’t referring to martial arts, but rather overall qualities. Like personal character, or the capacity to lead a sect.”
“Hmm, it could certainly mean that. Occasionally, someone who isn’t the absolute strongest becomes the sect leader.”
While rare, it wasn’t unprecedented.
Virtually no one seriously believed that the senior brother, Seonying, was stronger than Shadowless.
The atmosphere wasn’t one where those who did believe it would speak up either.
The general consensus had been that the Sword Dragon of the Namgung Clan was practically at the absolute limit of the transcendence realm.
And Shadowless had defeated him.
That being the case, how could his senior brother, Seonying, possibly be any stronger?
Nobody entertained the idea that he might be in the realm beyond.
Seonwu had no intention of going out of his way to correct such public misunderstandings.
Their current level of fame was already more than sufficient.
‘Let’s just enjoy this much for now.’
They had already dealt two massive blows to the demonic practitioners.
They would surely be glaring at them with burning fury, so there was no need to draw excessive attention.
‘The enemy needs to underestimate us so they come at us in manageable numbers.’
It would be troublesome if someone like the Eight Dark Devils showed up already, wouldn’t it?
“The future of the Eunhak Sect is exceedingly bright.”
At the Sect Leader of Wolyeop’s words, Seonwu smiled broadly.
“I suppose it is.”

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