I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 57

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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 57
Zhuge Jun, Cheolbonggae, the senior disciple of the Eunhak Sect, and even that fellow Seonwu.
The three of them throwing out such grating words made Namgung Hyeok-in’s anger explode even further.
Yet, completely separate from his fury, his mind actually became sharper and calmed down to a cold chill.
‘I underestimated him.’
He thought he had been doing his absolute best without letting his guard down.
But that thought itself was arrogance and carelessness.
If the opponent before his eyes had been one of the Three Elders, would he have fought like this?
If the opponent before him had been one of the notoriously infamous Demonic Practitioners, would he have thought that this level of effort would suffice for a win?
“Offering guidance,” indeed.
“Humiliating them,” indeed.
“Leaving a disability to teach a lesson if necessary,” indeed.
This was no time to be uttering such nonsense.
He must erase the brat’s age and reputation from his mind.
So what if he was unknown?
At this age and at this realm, his reputation would naturally establish itself in a few years anyway.
It was just his bad luck that he happened to be the start of it.
The brat was a formidable enemy.
He was an assassin who had come to kill the prestige of the great Namgung Clan and his own future.
He had to think of it that way.
He must also erase the concept of a sparring match from his mind.
This was a life-or-death duel.
Since his remaining life as a martial artist was on the line, how could it not be a life-or-death duel?
If the brat won, the name Namgung Hyeok-in would become a sacrificial offering for his journey through the Wulin.
He couldn’t let that happen.
‘I am a squad leader of the Namgung Clan!’
The Imperial Sword Form was the finest sword technique under heaven.
And the Boundless Firmament Sword Technique was the second-best sword technique under heaven, right beneath it.
Without that single shred of pride, how could one live as a member of the Namgung Clan?
Therefore, he could never lose to any other sword technique.
How could the Boundless Firmament Sword Technique crumble before a sword entirely dedicated to offense, consumed by such extreme speed!
He would find it.
He would find a path.
He could shatter it.
The Boundless Firmament Sword was boundless.
If he freely deployed and combined the countless principles of the sword, he could definitely shatter the enemy’s sword technique as well.
Find it.
Discover it.
Find it!
The numerous martial forms of the Boundless Firmament Sword Technique unraveled strand by strand.
Connecting the same martial forms differently, altering them differently, and utilizing them differently.
Truly, a vast variety of methods bloomed wildly from his sword.
Most of them, however, failed to be fully deployed until the end.
The sword of Absolute Shadow was nothing short of ferocious.
Before most of the myriad transformations could even be fully shown, they were cut down by the sharp and fast sword.
Even so, Namgung Hyeok-in endured and endured again.
Whether it looked good or not, he endured while continuously, repeatedly bringing out other methods.
One of these had to work.
“He looks like he’s about to collapse, but he just won’t break.”
Seonwu’s eyes shone with deep interest.
At a glance, Absolute Shadow held the initiative in the offensive.
Ultimately, though, one had to touch the opponent’s vital points with the sword to win.
Even if Namgung Hyeok-in seemed desperately busy defending while constantly changing his methods, he hadn’t actually collapsed in the end.
So to speak, even if you surround a castle and pound on it continuously, as long as it doesn’t fall, it is holding out anyway.
Even if it looked like a crisis, as long as he held out, it wasn’t a defeat.
Seonwu sent a sound transmission to Jun.
[To be honest, I thought that gentleman would fly off the handle because his pride was hurt, but he’s unexpectedly tenacious and steadfast.]
[Well, it’s true he’s arrogant, but you have to figure you can’t reach the rank of squad leader in the Namgung Clan without some competitive grit.]
[I suppose so. If it’s my Namgung Clan, they should at least show that much.]
[Hey, you punk. The one fighting that Namgung Clan right now is your subordinate.]
[Ahem, of… of course I’m cheering for Absolute Shadow.]
It was just that, having enjoyed reading several novels where characters from the Namgung Clan were the protagonists.
Even if they met as opponents, it was only natural to hope that Namgung’s martial arts possessed deep depth!
What kind of brilliance would Absolute Shadow’s victory even have if he beat a trivial opponent?
[What do you know about my heart.]
[Anyway, this ‘maniac’ bastard is utterly hopeless.]
And there was a reward for enduring and enduring.
Very gradually, Namgung Hyeok-in was getting a handle on how to deal with Absolute Shadow’s sword.
Absolute Shadow felt that as well.
[Is he adapting?]
As expected of the Boundless Firmament Sword Technique, and as expected of a squad leader of the Namgung Clan.
To actually untangle this speed.
If things kept going like this, he would lose.
Just when he seemed to hold the initiative of the offensive, he would be blocked at some moment.
If things kept going like this, that is.
The Shadowless Soul-Slaying Sword.
Third Formula.
[Soul-Slaying]
Absolute Shadow’s sword, which had been fast even until now, accelerated further in an instant.
With a speed truly like a flash of lightning, it shifted once more from a slash to a thrust.
And that speed had far surpassed the first formula, One Flash.
As his inner energy exploded, the sword shot forth as if running wild.
Soul-Slaying was a sword technique with no backup plan.
Unlike One Flash or Absolute Shadow, which were connecting swords, Soul-Slaying triggered the inner energy to the absolute maximum for a single moment, resulting in exhaustion immediately afterward.
That exhaustion wouldn’t last for a very long time, but for someone like Namgung Hyeok-in, it would be ample time to pull something off.
Faced with a speed that defied conventional logic, Namgung Hyeok-in, instead of flinching, actually let his eyes light up.
‘This is the deciding match!’
If this kind of explosive speed was a fast sword that could be unleashed at all times, there was no way a young brat like him would have held it back until now.
If this was his regular state, it meant the fellow was in the Transcendence Realm.
Then there would have been no reason to duel for this long in the first place.
Once he absolutely blocked this, an opening would surely appear.
‘I will pay a small price!’
This wasn’t an opponent he could fully block and defeat without taking a single wound.
Namgung Hyeok-in deployed the method of Firmament Cloud-Cleaving with all his might, parrying Soul-Slaying.
At the same time, he twisted his body.
It was a sword that could absolutely not be entirely parried in time.
Before Soul-Slaying could pierce his neck, Namgung Hyeok-in, who had twisted his body, mitigated the injury by taking the pierce in his left shoulder.
Pain surged through his nerves and blood splattered, but far from groaning, Hyeok-in suppressed even his reflexive flinch, making only the movements required to win.
Just like that, Absolute Shadow tried to alter the trajectory of his sword again to aim for the neck, but by then, Firmament Cloud-Cleaving had already been unleashed, fully parrying his sword.
Right after that, Absolute Shadow’s breathing scattered.
An actual opening had clearly formed.
Not the kind of flaw that could only be exploited by giving up one’s neck, but a genuine opening.
‘You brat! I will take your head!’
This time, his sword slashed in, aiming for Absolute Shadow’s neck.
His sword as well, though slightly slower compared to Absolute Shadow’s, came in as a fast sword of sufficiently magnificent completion.
[Firmament Thunderous Heaven]
Absolute Shadow, instead of using his sword which was already too late, raised his left arm to block that sword.
‘Very well. I shall take your arm instead of your neck.’
Hyeok-in didn’t get any greedier than that.
If he introduced another change here to aim for the neck and Absolute Shadow regained his breath, it would be a disaster.
This was an opportunity he had seized while taking an injury of his own by getting stabbed in the left shoulder.
He would have to sever the brat’s arm entirely and inflict a greater wound to call it a victory.
His sword made contact with Absolute Shadow’s left arm.
“Ohhh!”
An exclamation finally burst from the mouths of the Namgung martial artists, believing that their squad leader had turned the tables and won.
That is to say…
That was the story right until Absolute Shadow’s left arm merely produced a metallic clink, causing the sword to slide off.
“What?”
Absolute Shadow’s sleeve was shredded away.
Beneath it, the armguards he wore were revealed.
The steel armguards, imbued with the protective qi that Absolute Shadow had channeled into them, caused Namgung Hyeok-in’s sword to slide right off.
And Absolute Shadow, having regained his breath, thrust his sword forward once more just like that.
[One Flash].
That sword stopped dead right in front of Namgung Hyeok-in’s solar plexus vital point.
“You… you bastard…”
“Does the squad leader also happen to have a means to slide my sword off? If you do, then I suppose the match isn’t over yet.”
At Absolute Shadow’s cold question, Hyeok-in’s face turned intensely red, then went pale, and then turned red all over again.
Seonwu marveled as he watched.
‘Oh, what kind of Yin and Yang cycle is that?’
Turning red and blue like that is actually a real thing?
Cheolbonggae stepped up onto the sparring stage.
“Ahem, I understand your feelings, but…”
“Just do your job.”
Hyeok-in spat out, gritting his teeth.
“The sparring match is the victory of Young Hero Absolute Shadow of the Eunhak Sect.”
“…….”
Hyeok-in glared at Absolute Shadow as if he wanted to devour him alive, but in the end, he didn’t say a single word.
“Thank you for yielding.”
Absolute Shadow said so, but not a single penny of the emotion called gratitude could be felt in his icy voice.
“…I lost because I was lacking, not because the sword of Namgung lost.”
After barely managing to say just that, Namgung Hyeok-in descended from the sparring stage.
The Namgung martial artists cried out.
“This is a scam!”
“Armguards, of all things!”
“Isn’t that a trick!”
Zhuge Jun asked his uncle.
“Well, we obviously agreed not to use hidden weapons or poison, but did we ever say he couldn’t wear armguards?”
“You rascal, ask that kind of question separately later.”
“Haha, it is a matter for Elder Cheolbonggae to judge on his own anyway.”
But before Cheolbonggae could say anything, Seonwu opened his mouth first.
“Was this a sparring match to compete in martial arts, or was it a sparring match to compete only in swords? Who cares whether someone else wears armguards or not.”
At Seonwu’s sarcasm, the Namgung martial artists glared at him all at once, but Seonwu remained dignified.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“What is a swordsman doing hiding armor other than his sword and acting so shameless!”
“What about the Heavenly Thunder Finger?”
At Seonwu’s counter-question, the Namgung martial artists froze for an instant.
“Was that a sword art instead of a finger technique, and did he happen to publicly disclose that he mastered it before we started?”
“Urgh…”
Namgung Hyeok-in shouted.
“Enough! Everyone, fall back! The more you wag your tongues here, the more embarrassing it becomes!”
“Squad Leader…”
“This is an order!”
“…Acknowledged.”
In the end, the Namgung martial artists fled the spot as if escaping.
Namgung Hyeok-in looked like he wanted to say something while glaring at Seonwu’s group, but ultimately left the area without a word.
Absolute Shadow came before Seonwu and bowed his head.
“I have returned after winning. Senior Disciple.”
“Great job! Thanks to you, I got to see a fine spectacle, and the noses of those who looked down on us were thoroughly broken.”
“Since you are pleased, it was worthwhile for me as well.”
Meanwhile, Cheolbonggae walked over to Zhuge Hui-yun’s side and whispered.
Since it wasn’t a sound transmission, it wasn’t to the extent of being inaudible.
“Did they say Eunhak Sect? Ha, a magnificent young master has emerged.”
“Indeed.”
“At that level, I wouldn’t even know the outcome if he clashed with the Sword Dragon that Namgung boasts of.”
“Hmm, since he showed all his methods today… if it were their first encounter, one really wouldn’t know.”
“Even if one knows it, when it’s that fast, breaking it isn’t simple. On top of that…”
If it were only that, the underlying strength of Namgung might still have broken it.
Cheolbonggae looked at Absolute Shadow’s armguards.
‘Exquisite.’
In truth, armor doesn’t provide defense just by wearing it.
Of course, against the attacks of a third-class warrior, armor itself serves as defense, but…
Before a sword containing the sword qi of a Jeoljeong Gosu, armor is meaningless.
It just gets cleanly sliced through.
However, armor into which a fellow Jeoljeong Gosu has channeled protective qi is meaningful.
Especially if, at the moment of impact, one can move subtly to make the sword slide off and conversely disrupt the opponent’s posture, that too can be considered a form of martial arts.
Though one could choose to replace it with a body that has mastered pure protective qi and external martial arts instead of armor…
‘It’s difficult to master even external martial arts, so adding armor to protective qi is actually a fully viable method.’
They say a master is strong even holding a wooden sword, yet they seek out famous swords.
Protective qi alone blocks attacks, but combining it with armor makes it even better.
‘I thought it was skewed toward speed and too entirely focused on offense.’
That was why he had intended to send such an evaluation to the main headquarters.
He almost learned a bitter lesson.
If that kind of armor technique is additionally attached to that sword technique which seemed excessively inclined toward offense, it becomes a completely different martial art.
If you look at it as defending with the armguards on the left arm instead of the sword, a significant portion of the offensive that appeared perilous at a glance was actually not perilous at all.
If one didn’t know that, it would be no different from an army marching into an attack without knowing the enemy had hidden an ambush.
“If it wouldn’t be rude, may I hear the names of your martial arts?”
By this point, even for the sake of boasting about one’s sect, it was time to reveal the names of the martial arts.
“Ah, it is called the Eunhak Flying Heaven Sword.”
Seonwu gave the fake name he had prepared in advance.
“Eunhak Flying Heaven… Rather than that, it felt like a sword technique where names like Absolute Shadow or Soul-Slaying should be included…”
Seonwu almost flinched, but he endured it.
“No, why are you changing the name of another sect’s martial art as you please?”
Of course, I changed it as I pleased.
I can do it, but you can’t.
At Seonwu’s confident shout, Cheolbonggae laughed.
“Haha, my apologies. By the way, then what is that armor technique?”
If it was enough to block the sword of a Jeoljeong Gosu, that too was surely a martial art containing a profound truth.
At Cheolbonggae’s natural question, Seonwu was at a loss for words again.
‘Uh, wait. I didn’t come up with a name for that one?’
Since it was originally the Iron Ox Invulnerability Qigong, and the armor technique was just an improvisation to hide it.
[Hey, help me out. Try making up a name!]
Seonwu hurriedly sent a sound transmission to Jun.

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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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