I Shouldn't Have Joined the Martial Arts Alliance - Chapter 73

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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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Entering the Murim Alliance for No Good Reason — Episode 73
Sa U-rin approached Chu Yeop and his subordinates. Then he turned to address Chu Yeop’s men.
“From this moment on, I’ll take the lead.”
Chu Yeop stepped forward urgently to block him.
“That won’t do, young master.”
Understanding what lay beneath those words, Sa U-rin shook his head firmly.
“If I can’t kill that man, we all die here anyway.”
“……Still, if only you could escape…….”
“Do you think I could survive alone like this?”
“If you withdrew now, it might be possible…….”
Yes, it was possible.
If everyone threw themselves at the middle-aged man and bought time, it wasn’t impossible.
But.
“And abandon my comrades out there?”
His comrades locked in bloodshed beneath this savage downpour.
And all of this had begun because of Sa U-rin himself.
“And this man here?”
He was the master’s subordinate, not his own, was he not?
“And those dead men lying over there—his subordinates?”
The resentment of those who fell by the middle-aged man’s hand—
“I cannot do such a thing.”
No matter how little emotion he possessed, this wasn’t how one conducted oneself as a human being.
To save himself alone by abandoning those who had given their lives for him—that was unthinkable.
And yet Chu Yeop still could not accept it.
“Our purpose today is precisely to save you, young master.”
So Sa U-rin changed his approach.
“Then what was your purpose before that?”
Chu Yeop scratched his head even as blood poured from his wounds.
“……Before that, sir?”
“Isn’t it to follow my command?”
“……That is true, but……?”
“Then I will give you an order now. From this moment forward, anyone who defies my command will have their neck severed by this blade of mine.”
“……No…….”
“So obey me. You understand?”
“……Yes.”
Sa U-rin turned his gaze to Chu Yeop’s subordinates, and they nodded in understanding.
“Then I will issue my command now. All of you are to aid my comrades out there.”
“But that one thing…….”
“That is my command.”
“……Understood.”
Then Sa U-rin’s gaze shifted toward Chu Yeop.
“You can still move, can’t you?”
“Sufficiently, young master.”
“But don’t die before I do. It’s not that I’m helping you—it’s that you’re helping me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“What do you…….”
“Remember it well. Anyone who dies before me will be killed by me once more.”
Sa U-rin swept his gaze across Chu Yeop and his men once more.
At Sa U-rin’s bearing and resolve, the pupils of Chu Yeop and his subordinates trembled.
‘……This is…….’
‘……Truly…….’
Unmistakable.
The resemblance was striking.
No wonder he was the son of Jang Hye-in, the Supreme Master of the Evil Sect.
That commanding presence, that force of will that made others follow of their own accord—even at barely twenty years old, it seemed in no way inferior to Jang Hye-in himself.
Especially.
‘……That absurd…….’
‘……That unreasonable…….’
It was uncanny how perfectly he mimicked it.
How could one kill a dead man twice over?
It was a preposterous thing to say.
Chu Yeop’s face broke into a smile that seemed wildly out of place with their present circumstances, and he thrust his thumb upward.
“You’re magnificent, sir.”
Really……
Whether such a gesture actually fit a moment like this was genuinely questionable.
His men’s heads began to shake of their own accord—until Sa U-rin’s next words made them bow down toward the ground.
“I know that already.”
Sigh……
Why is even the master behaving like this……
Standing here much longer seemed likely to catch whatever madness was spreading.
“……Let’s go.”
“……Yeah, all right.”
And so Chu Yeop’s men, worried the foolishness might prove contagious, left to aid their companions locked in brutal combat at the Training Ground on Sa U-rin’s orders.
The middle-aged man, who had been watching every word and deed of Sa U-rin and Chu Yeop until now, smiled without mirth and opened his mouth.
“I wonder if you’ll manage such behavior even at the moment of death.”
Sa U-rin and Chu Yeop faced the middle-aged man. Then he turned his words toward Sa U-rin once more.
“I saw it. What exactly is your identity?”
I saw that you’ve mastered the Honwon Art, which only the Heavenly Soul Sect can learn.
“If you saw it, you’d already know.”
“Ah. You learned it from your father?”
“That’s right.”
“Then, that sword is……?”
Even the middle-aged man felt the weight of its presence.
“A Sacred Sword.”
“Who doesn’t know that much?”
Its very appearance announces ‘I am a Sacred Sword’ without need for words.
“There’s nothing more I can tell you.”
Sa U-rin himself knew nothing further of the Hwalyong Sword.
“Both learning the Honwon Art and acquiring that blade—mere fortune?”
“Perhaps fate.”
“Fate, you say……. Perhaps. Including the fact that today is the day of your memorial rites.”
“That’s something we’ll only know by seeing it through.”
“You seem to place great faith in that sword. It won’t work on me.”
There was a clear gap in martial strength between them.
Sa U-rin held the same thought, but was there not a situation where even the faintest hope had to be grasped?
“We’ll know by observation.”
“Very well. Then, who shall depart first?”
He was speaking of the Afterlife.
Sa U-rin cast his final words toward Chu Yeop.
“Remember what I’ve told you.”
“Understood, sir.”
Chu Yeop no longer objected to Sa U-rin’s words. He had certainly grasped that something lay beneath them from the exchange between the middle-aged man and Sa U-rin.
He didn’t know why, or what the reason was, or how the master came to practice the same martial techniques as these men.
But one thing was certain: that they shared the same martial technique meant he could not be killed easily, nor would he die in vain.
If Chu Yeop himself simply played his supporting role well according to the master’s intent……
Perhaps he could kill this middle-aged man and escape this danger.
And so.
Sa U-rin steeled his resolve and gripped the Hwalyong Sword tightly.
‘Please.’
At this moment, Sa U-rin wished for death to be avoided. Not from fear of dying.
Nor from wanting everyone to escape this mortal crisis together and know happy days ahead.
The hidden hand behind it all was finally revealing itself.
If only he could expose their identity and stop them……
As his father had so desperately wished.
In that hope lay his determination not to die.
Not for survival’s sake.
But because it was surely an unavoidable trial if he was to build a Murim Alliance worthy of the name.
Splash!
Sa U-rin struck the pooled rainwater below with tremendous force and launched himself toward the middle-aged man.
Breaking through the sheets of rain that poured down with violence, Sa U-rin soared skyward as if to pierce the blackened heavens.
The middle-aged man looked up at Sa U-rin climbing high into the air, his mouth curving upward in a smile.
“Pathetic.”
They’d learned the same martial technique, but the depth of mastery was worlds apart.
The middle-aged man met the boy’s descending blade with a crushing counterforce.
Crash!
The Honwon that Sa U-rin poured forth, the unknown power from the Hwalyong Sword, and the strength the middle-aged man unleashed collided, producing a deafening roar.
The shockwave seemed to freeze the rain mid-fall, if only for a moment.
And then…….
Whoom.
Sa U-rin flew backward and slammed hard into the ground.
Thud!
In that instant, Chu Yeop attacked the middle-aged man from behind.
Bang!
“Ugh.”
But Chu Yeop’s assault too was blocked, and he was driven back several paces. His internal injuries were worsening.
Yet.
“Master!”
Even in that moment, Chu Yeop’s concern was for Sa U-rin, sprawled on the ground.
Sa U-rin, waving him off, rose lightly and gripped the Hwalyong Sword once more.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
“This is worth doing.”
Though he’d been driven into the earth, he bore no serious wounds, no internal injuries. He’d simply been overwhelmed by brute force.
The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed.
“……Damn it.”
Now he understood why his two subordinates had been dispatched so easily. This boy had learned the same Honwon Art as himself, yet something was different.
The middle-aged man’s palm stung. He’d won in raw strength, yet the aftertaste was bitter, as if he’d lost ground.
Of course, he couldn’t fathom why.
So the middle-aged man reconsidered his strategy. He’d meant to capture the boy alive and drag him to the Heavenly Soul Sect.
But now he judged it too difficult. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he sensed something different in the boy’s Honwon—something other.
So the middle-aged man did not hesitate. The boy had to die.
Swoosh!
The middle-aged man charged straight at Sa U-rin, his blade singing through the air.
This time he channeled power of a different magnitude—the Thunder Lightning Divine Technique, brimming with overwhelming Honwon, unfurled from his sword.
Crackle!
Crackle-snap!
Violent lightning shot forth as if to consume Sa U-rin whole.
The Hwalyong Sword rose to meet the torrent of thunder.
Boom-crash!
The Hwalyong Sword neutralized the middle-aged man’s thunder, canceling it entirely.
And yet.
Thud!
Smash!
Crunch!
Unable to withstand the tremendous force riding the lightning, Sa U-rin flew a great distance and crashed through a wall.
“Master!”
Chu Yeop cried out, wringing out every last breath of his inner strength and hurling it all at the middle-aged man.
But the middle-aged man had already anticipated this. Before Chu Yeop’s attack could reach him, he unleashed the Thunder Lightning Divine Technique, thunder blooming forth.
Crackling-snap!
Violent lightning tore through the darkness and struck Chu Yeop directly.
Crash!
Whoosh.
Thwack!
Chu Yeop too was driven into the ground.
“Cough.”
Blood spilled from Chu Yeop’s mouth. He had no strength left to lift his blade.
“……Master…….”
His voice was fading.
“……Please…….”
But Sa U-rin did not stop. He tore through the fractured wall and charged at the middle-aged man once more.
Blood staining the corner of his mouth.
Sa U-rin, like Chu Yeop before him, wrung out every last measure of Honwon he could muster.
And a smile touched his lips.
It felt like the end.
He’d harbored a sliver of hope, but some things simply weren’t meant to be.
Yet he didn’t break.
Not his strength, not his hope, not his resolve.
There was no need to break.
He wanted to pour everything into this one final move.
The Myeolsin Technique.
An absolute martial art that could only be performed once the Dark Shadow Divine Technique and Thunder Lightning Divine Technique reached the seventh stage.
But if not now, when would he ever attempt it?
Of course, whether it could even be performed was questionable.
Yet Sa U-rin pushed forward despite knowing it was impossible, unfurling the Myeolsin Technique in this very moment.
He had to try.
Because it was the end.
The Middle-aged Man’s eyes widened like lanterns as he watched the Myeolsin Technique bloom from Sa U-rin’s blade.
“……That is…….”
The Middle-aged Man recognized it, though he’d never mastered it himself. Not everyone could learn such an art.
Desire alone didn’t grant the ability. He’d heard that only those touched by heaven could master it.
Just as not all who sensed the root essence could learn the Honwon Art, so too was it with this.
How many had truly mastered the Myeolsin Technique, even within the Heavenly Soul Sect?
For this reason, the Middle-aged Man drew forth every ounce of Honwon he could muster.
“Die!”
This whelp could not be allowed to live.
Yet fear gripped the Middle-aged Man nonetheless. If that boy truly could unfurl the Myeolsin Technique…….
If he did manage it…….
No, it shouldn’t be possible, he told himself. He wanted to believe that. And yet…….
Wasn’t there always a chance?
So the Middle-aged Man found himself seized by the dread that perhaps he, too, would not survive this place.
At last, the Thunder Lightning Divine Technique that the Middle-aged Man unleashed with every drop of his Honwon collided with the Myeolsin Technique through their blades.
Boom-crack-crash-boom!
A deafening roar tore through the entire Blood Rain Faction.
Fragments of overwhelming force scattered across the Training Ground where Jang Hye-in and his men fought, reaching even Chu Yeop’s followers and the remaining disciples of the Blood Rain Faction.
In an instant, silence descended upon the compound.
Jang Hye-in and his men collapsed under the force of the shockwave.
And so they witnessed it.
Sa U-rin flying backward at tremendous speed across a tremendous distance.
And then.
Crash!
Splinter!
He flew a full sixty meters, punching clean through a hall before embedding himself in its far wall.
The Middle-aged Man was not unscathed either—blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Yet even so, he curled his lips upward and released a breath of relief.
“Phew. So it wasn’t.”
It wasn’t.
The Myeolsin Technique had landed, but as suspected, it was not a technique just anyone could master.
The Middle-aged Man wiped away the blood trickling from his mouth, then glanced with contempt at the helpless Chu Yeop sprawled on the ground, at Jang Hye-in and his men staring blankly at the shattered hall where Sa U-rin lay, and at Chu Yeop’s followers.
“Now I just need to sweep up the rest of you.”
It had seemed simple enough at first, but it hadn’t played out so simply. Still, having gained such valuable intelligence, his spirits were not entirely heavy.
“So there exists one who has mastered the Honwon Art…….”
It was obvious that the Heavenly Soul Sect would covet such knowledge.
And then it happened.
Jang Hye-in and his men pointed with startled eyes at the ruined hall.
“……There, there!”
“……He’s not dead!”
“That’s right!”
“Sa U-rin can’t possibly be dead!”
“……Wait……, but…….”
“……Something’s wrong…….”
Something was definitely wrong.
The figure emerging from the debris was not Sa U-rin.
No.
It was Sa U-rin, yet not.
The eyes.
Both eyes had darkened to an inky black.
Eyes no human should possess.
How to describe it?
That was it.
They resembled nothing so much as a demon’s own.

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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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