I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 48

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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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Needlessly Entering the Murim League — Episode 48
“Well then, let’s choose an opponent now.”
Sa Urin naturally selected Du Jun-chul, the Group Leader of Group 47.
It was only natural.
He had defeated Sang-du, the strongest member of Group 47, with ease. To select any of the other weaker group members would make Sa Urin—who had proclaimed himself a martial artist—look ridiculous.
And Jegal Gunsa, who had backed Sa Urin, would cut an equally absurd figure.
Of course, Sang-du of Group 47 had been caught off-guard, which was why the match ended so quickly. Even if he had fought at full strength, the outcome would not have changed.
Du Jun-chul, the Group Leader of Group 47, understood this well. He stepped forward before Sa Urin.
Holding a real sword.
Sa Urin, too, drew the sword he had inherited from his father.
Twenty years in the Murim League, twenty years in Kangho—Du Jun-chul had never experienced a day of such violent upheaval.
The anticipation and exhilaration of the promotion he had long coveted, now within reach, had been replaced in a heartbeat by the sensation of standing at the edge of a cliff a thousand zhang high.
No—it was reality.
And all of this was happening because of one boy standing before him.
How could this be!
Barely!
He was barely nineteen!
Yes, he knew it.
In Kangho, age was nothing but a number, merely an excuse—he knew this simple, obvious truth.
Du Jun-chul, who had spent twenty years rolling through Kangho, could not possibly be ignorant of such a thing.
And yet the boy was so young. So infuriatingly young. He felt as if he would lose his mind.
One careless step, one wrong judgment, and everything he had built would crumble to dust.
No—he would die.
Death was the end.
If things went wrong and his work turned to dust, he could start over. But if he died…
‘Damn it!’
What hadn’t he done to get this far!
Not only did he bow his head—he groveled, his forehead nearly touching the ground. Whatever he was ordered to do, he did it.
No matter how filthy or contemptible.
No matter how shameful for a man.
He did not shrink from the cold gazes and pointing fingers of others.
Why?
Because the moment he became Vice-Captain, all of this would vanish like a lie.
And many would bow and grovel before him!
Yes, that was how it should have been.
The moment when he could repay everything at once and reverse his fortunes was right before his eyes!
Du Jun-chul took a deep breath. He swallowed his rage, pushed aside the creeping doubt and worry.
After so many years rolling through Kangho, he could not afford to squander everything for such an indulgent emotion.
‘Yes. Better to think of it this way.’
Yes, let’s think of it that way.
If he finished today magnificently, wouldn’t it become a jewel of a day, remembered for years to come?
Du Jun-chul steadied his resolve and opened his mouth.
“Is it because you’re so young?”
The boy lacked experience—he thought he could shake him with this. Surely it would work.
‘As expected.’
The boy gave no answer. His expression remained unchanged.
‘He’s hardened.’
Well, that’s fitting. Still, he had to admit it was impressive—at least the boy wasn’t showing obvious signs of panic or excitement, his face didn’t betray a struggle for composure.
This was no ordinary opponent.
Which made Du Jun-chul all the more determined to rattle him.
“You’re quite skilled at tattling, aren’t you.”
Again, no response. Du Jun-chul’s lips curled into a smile.
Half success, he thought. Push further, and the boy would surely lose his composure.
That was when it happened.
Shring.
Sa Urin slowly unsheathed the sword he had inherited from his father.
‘Just as I thought.’
“You’ve lost your temper. Shaken by mere words. How pathetic.”
Du Jun-chul’s wait was finally over—Sa Urin’s lips parted at last.
“Words from a mind full of rot carry such a stench, don’t they.”
“……What, what?”
‘……where the hell is this bastard…….’
Speaking down to him like that…….
“You think you’re skilled enough to ignore propriety…….”
“This is the place where a martial artist proves themselves with the sword honed through discipline. Not with a rotten mouth breathing rotten words.”
Sa Urin remembered words his father had spoken to him on a night when he was thoroughly drunk, complaining about the reek of alcohol.
‘This stench of drink is nothing. You simply haven’t smelled a truly foul odor because of me. A truly foul odor—it’s the stench that rises when men whose minds are stuffed with rotten thoughts speak those rotted words aloud. It was maddening, truly unbearable. I would have cut my own throat to rid myself of that smell.’
That was how he had spoken.
Now Sa Urin understood. And he found himself missing it.
His father’s smell of alcohol….
‘Father.’
Today, with Father’s Sword, I will cut away that very rot you so despised from within me. Then perhaps the Murim League’s stench will fade just a little.
I hope so.
“……nonsense. Picked that up somewhere, did you…….”
Sa Urin cut Du Jun-chul off again.
“Should I strike first?”
“……this bastard really…….”
“Or draw your sword already.”
“…….”
Words weren’t landing.
Du Jun-chul had no choice. He had to draw his blade. He couldn’t surrender the first move.
Shring.
Du Jun-chul was seasoned. He appeared unsettled yet remained steady.
Seizing the moment, he kicked off hard and hurtled toward Sa Urin with a swift draw and strike.
No signal was needed to mark the start of the duel. This wasn’t a training match—it was a Life-or-Death Duel.
Death or survival.
Death gives no warning.
Thack!
Du Jun-chul’s feet struck the arena floor hard enough to make it ring. He launched himself at Sa Urin with blinding speed.
And he swung.
His sword wrapped in desire and Internal Energy.
Sa Urin waited, watching how Du Jun-chul would conduct this battle.
Crash!
When Sa Urin blocked the rending blade, a sharp report echoed through the arena.
He was driven back. Sa Urin. A full three meters.
Everything was different from his clash with Sang-du moments before.
‘As expected.’
Just as Sa Urin anticipated, Du Jun-chul meant to use his strength to overwhelm him.
Yet it was stronger than he’d imagined.
Sa Urin’s Group Leader, Jang Hye-in, had believed herself slightly superior to Du Jun-chul. But now, facing Du Jun-chul’s blade directly, Sa Urin thought otherwise.
Jang Hye-in was either evenly matched with Du Jun-chul or weaker.
Had this been a duel between Group Leaders, it would have been dangerous.
His Internal Energy was purer and stronger than expected. And beyond that, Du Jun-chul’s raw physical strength was formidable.
It was now certain: Du Jun-chul surpassed Sa Urin in strength, Internal Energy, and experience.
If so, only one thing remained.
Speed.
But Du Jun-chul had no intention of giving Sa Urin an opening to attack.
Clang! Clang. Crack, crack, crack.
He hammered at Sa Urin relentlessly. Unable to withstand the force, Sa Urin was driven steadily backward.
It exceeded his expectations. Or rather, it exceeded his hopes. And that delighted him.
Du Jun-chul was stronger than he’d dared hope.
But.
‘This won’t do.’
Defending like this would eventually reach its limit. Already his grip was trembling, his arm growing numb.
A sign that Sa Urin’s body couldn’t withstand the force Du Jun-chul wielded—both physical and Internal.
Du Jun-chul’s strength was truly maddening. If a man like Sa Urin felt it this acutely, his Group Leader, the woman Jang Hye-in, would have struggled far more.
Of course, Jang Hye-in possessed more Internal Energy than Sa Urin. Yet a woman’s body could not be physically stronger than a man’s.
Rather, it was difficult for her to be.
Moreover, Du Jun-chul was likely among the elite of the Murim League when measured purely by raw physical gifts.
Sa Urin made his decision: he would push his speed to its limit, abandon meeting blade for blade, and instead evade while opening distance between them.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Du Jun-chul continued to swing his blade relentlessly, saturated with sword energy.
“You’re like a cornered rat!”
Sa Urin didn’t slow his pace and kept slipping past Du Jun-chul’s frenzied attacks.
And then.
‘Now!’
Sa Urin met Du Jun-chul’s blade head-on once more.
Clang!
Sa Urin deliberately crashed his sword hard against Du Jun-chul’s, and in that instant of recoil, he opened considerable distance between them.
In this way, Sa Urin had bought himself a moment’s respite.
“Impressive.”
He’d assumed the boy lacked experience, but that assumption proved wrong.
‘Damn it…….’
Where in the world had this creature crawled out from?!
At that age, the boy possessed martial prowess and skill that defied explanation.
But all that mattered was killing him.
“Come at me first this time.”
The same method wouldn’t work again. Much as he hated to admit it, this was no ordinary opponent.
Following Du Jun-chul’s words, Sa Urin kicked hard against the Training Ground floor.
Thump!
‘……He’s fast!’
Sa Urin began with the Samjae Muggeuk, the foundational sword technique of the Honyuongong.
‘Hmph. The waist.’
But that was wrong.
‘What——’
Slash.
Blood sprayed from Du Jun-chul’s thigh—a shallow cut, not fatal.
And again.
‘There?’
Slash.
‘Damn it!’
Wrong again. This time blood erupted from Du Jun-chul’s ribs.
‘……How is this possible!’
How could a blade change direction so fluidly?
Du Jun-chul had spent long years in Kangho and seen much, but never a sword that shifted direction with such sudden grace.
But he wouldn’t be caught again.
‘Focus.’
Now that he understood the sudden changes, he could counter them.
Clang.
Blocked. And blocked again.
The corners of Du Jun-chul’s mouth twitched upward.
‘If that’s all you’ve got, you’re finished.’
True. Du Jun-chul was absolutely right—assuming that was everything.
‘That won’t work either, it seems.’
He’d expected as much, but hadn’t thought it would become useless this quickly.
Now it was certain: Du Jun-chul was stronger than Group Leader Jang Hye-in.
Sa Urin opened distance once more, then twisted his neck left and right.
Crack-crack-crack.
The sound of bone cracking brightened his mood.
‘Shall we?’
This would be the first time.
The first time he’d demonstrate the sword techniques of Honyuongong beyond the Samjae Muggeuk before anyone’s eyes.
Perhaps because of this, Sa Urin felt giddy as a child.
“I’m coming now.”
Whether Du Jun-chul heard him or not.
Now he would show the true power of his blade.
‘Which one should I use?’
Yes, he’d decided.
The Amyeong Shin-gyul seemed the right choice.
Thump!
Du Jun-chul pushed off from the floor with tremendous force, charging at Sa Urin with the speed of lightning.
The first form of the Amyeong Shin-gyul.
Amhon Waryoo.
Shadows woven from darkness crashed toward Du Jun-chul in a violent surge.
‘What—?!’
Du Jun-chul recoiled in shock.
And with reason: suddenly his vision seemed swallowed by darkness, as if the world before him had vanished.
The reality was different, but in Du Jun-chul’s perception, he stood in a world where he could not see even an inch ahead—a realm of total shadow.
So he had no choice but to stop.
How could one move freely in a world consumed by darkness? At this moment, Du Jun-chul was no different from a blind monk, sightless and helpless.
Sa Urin’s blade did not pause. Having unleashed the Amyeong Shin-gyul, he meant to pour forth all three forms without hesitation.
The second form of the Amyeong Shin-gyul followed.
Heukyeong Seungcheon.
Dark shadows steeped Du Jun-chul’s body in an all-consuming darkness.
Suddenly his limbs convulsed violently. Du Jun-chul’s pupils turned pitch black, the whites of his eyes vanishing entirely.
The dark shadows then clasped his very soul and ascended it heavenward.
And the third form.
Amyeong Shin-geom.
The Sword Aura of darkness consumed the sky and shattered the world.
Thud.
Du Jun-chul’s knees struck the Training Ground floor as if his soul had fled his body. Blood poured from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears without mercy.
His breath had already stopped.
And so.
Collapse.
Du Jun-chul crumpled to the cold Training Ground floor, unaware of what had struck him down.

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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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