Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 281

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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 281
Silence descended.
With no further conversation, the hostages stopped coming over.
Ilgwi opened his mouth.
“Why hesitate? It’s merely martial arts techniques.”
“….”
“Besides, I’m only asking to examine your meridians briefly. If you have doubts, name whatever additional conditions you wish. I’ll accommodate them as much as possible.”
A soft sound escaped from Namgung Sohwa, who had remained silent until now—an exclamation or sigh, impossible to discern.
‘That’s right, it’s nothing.’
There was no need to worry about promises going unfulfilled. I could simply hand over the martial arts techniques one by one and force them to honor their word.
“…Myeong Sohyeop.”
Namgung Sohwa turned to look at Dokgo Myeong.
He stood with his back turned, his face invisible. He continued his silence.
‘I have to accept this. There’s nothing wrong with it.’
That’s right. There’s nothing wrong with it.
Merely martial arts techniques, merely exposing my wrist for a moment—that was all.
How much benefit could be gained from that?
‘I should answer.’
I didn’t want to burden Dokgo Myeong. This was my responsibility, and I could handle it alone.
But then….
“Are you finished speaking?”
A scornful laugh escaped from Dokgo Myeong’s lips.
“This….”
Ilgwi let out a heavy sigh and shook his head repeatedly.
“We still have many hostages.”
“Save them all, and we’re done.”
“Please think wisely. I’ve heard that Sohyeop acts according to profit, not emotion.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly, then asked abruptly.
“Have you ever learned martial arts alone?”
“…What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Not martial arts taught or instilled by someone else, but have you ever truly built up martial arts from scratch on your own?”
Ilgwi narrowed his eyes and answered.
“No.”
“Figured as much. That’s what creatures like you are. You’ll just live as others command and die as others command.”
Dokgo Myeong’s voice grew quiet.
There was no point in explaining. How could such creatures ever understand?
Merely martial arts techniques.
How could it possibly be merely that?
Within each fragment of those simple martial arts techniques lay the time of a young girl cast alone into a world of darkness.
A distant footprint, learned and written down character by character, without asking anyone or seeking help.
‘Abandon principle for profit? You want me to throw away my convictions and chase gain?’
That’s nothing but the ravings of a fool.
And besides….
“I can’t accept that proposal even if it means watching you all suffer.”
Whoooosh!
The air trembled around the suspended Hyeoncheoljunggum.
Ilgwi’s face hardened.
“Reconsider, I beg you. Even between enemies, there is room for dialogue, is there not?”
“Your own words answer you. We are enemies—what more is there to discuss?”
“I have come with utmost courtesy and presented a reasonable proposal.”
Dokgo Myeong nodded slowly.
“Evil men always approach wearing the mask of virtue, luring their prey with honeyed words.”
In that instant, Ilgwi’s eyes widened as if they would split.
His vision suddenly darkened.
The Hyeoncheoljunggum was already upon him.
* * *
Crash!
The moment Dokgo Myeong and Ilgwi were sent flying apart.
Namgung Sohwa drew upon her inner strength and assessed the situation.
‘The hostages and the Baekheolgwi holding them are scattered throughout. A precaution against unforeseen circumstances.’
In other words, Ilgwi’s commands could not be transmitted swiftly.
Moreover, now that combat had begun, the Baekheolgwi would prioritize their leader’s survival over the hostages.
‘So there is still time. I can save the hostages.’
And that was her role.
The moment Namgung Sohwa rushed forward, she heard the cries of the previously rescued hostages.
“Wait! Where are you going?”
“If anything goes wrong, shout! I’ll come rescue you immediately!”
Boom!
Namgung Sohwa kicked off the ground.
The Baekheolgwi would certainly conceal their presence perfectly.
But would the hostages do the same?
‘Found them.’
The heightened perception I had developed through Dokgo Myeong’s relentless training detected the hostages’ presence.
The grueling physical conditioning and lightness training alongside Geum Seok-du proved invaluable as well.
Whoosh!
Namgung Sohwa appeared, scattering leaves in her wake.
The Baekheolgwi were caught off guard by her sudden appearance and reacted too slowly.
Screech! Crack!
“Grrgh!”
I cut down the one closest to the hostages first.
Six remained.
In that instant, four of them surrounded Namgung Sohwa from all sides, thrusting their blades forward. Like manufactured beings, it was a coordinated assault aimed at the four cardinal directions with perfect precision.
But their opponent was formidable. Her swordsmanship had no blind spots.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Namgung Sohwa’s blade danced through the air.
A sword that commanded space itself. The supreme technique of the Namgung Family—the Spaceless Sword Dance.
In a single second, four blades shattered, and the blood of the Baekheolgwi erupted like a fountain.
“Is this what you wanted? Then witness it yourself and take it with you! This is the sword of the Namgung Family!”
Thud!
She landed lightly and stamped her foot, her voice ringing out.
An unwavering aura of power.
Her sword strike was resolute, as if cutting away even the hesitation and worry she had harbored moments before.
* * *
If one is human, one must inhale and exhale, close one’s eyes and open them.
In that very instant when Ilgwi closed and opened his eyes.
Dokgo Myeong closed a distance of nearly three zhang with a single step.
“…!”
Ilgwi’s expression twisted.
From his perspective, it felt as though Dokgo Myeong had suddenly appeared before him without warning.
‘What is this!’
There was no time to draw the sword at his waist.
Ilgwi drew the short blades hidden at both wrists and swung them.
Fortunately, he was not too late.
He blocked it. Or so he thought.
Crack, crack, crack!
“…!”
The steel short blade shattered like an eggshell.
Even a strike from a Hyeonchel Heavy Sword could not withstand it. Soon, a terrifying impact engulfed Ilgwi.
Boom!
“Cough!”
Ilgwi flew through the air and crashed into a tree. Fragments of the broken blade scattered in all directions.
‘A divine weapon?!’
Ilgwi’s mouth fell open.
And not just any ordinary one at that.
Though he had dispersed the impact, the moment of contact brought an overwhelming sense of weight crashing down upon him.
Thud, thud.
Dokgo Myeong approached from the front.
Ilgwi gritted his teeth.
‘I need time to tend to my internal injuries.’
He roared out.
“Wait! Think carefully! You’re going to abandon the hostages?!”
In that instant, Dokgo Myeong’s movements ceased.
Then he let out a soft chuckle.
“Creatures like you cannot move without orders. Yet now you’re in my grasp—so who will the Baekheolgwi take their commands from?”
He had a point.
But how did this man understand such instincts so perfectly?
Ilgwi concealed his expression with composure and spoke.
“You would weigh innocent lives on the basis of such baseless conjecture?”
“….”
“Consider it carefully. Even if negotiations collapse, there’s no reason to fight. If you simply let me go, I will release the hostages as well.”
Dokgo Myeong, who had been silent, nodded heavily.
“That makes sense.”
“What?”
“Very well. I agree.”
Whoosh!
Dokgo Myeong’s vital energy was instantly withdrawn inward.
“Withdraw your forces at once. If you leave the hostages behind, I will not pursue.”
“You mean it?”
“You should leave before my mind changes.”
The answer came immediately.
“I will withdraw.”
Ilgwi nodded and slowly brought his hand to his chest without drawing attention.
His fingertips felt something hard.
It was a signal flare hidden in his robes for communication.
Once it detonated, the Baekheolgwi concealed throughout the mountains would kill the hostages and converge on this location.
That would be sufficient for coercion. There were countless means to escape this place.
Tap!
Ilgwi retreated cautiously, then suddenly stomped the ground. Simultaneously, his right hand drew the signal flare.
Chill!
In that moment, every nerve stood on edge.
From behind—something immense was coming.
Ilgwi’s eyes widened as he urgently spun around.
Whoooosh!
Though his realm was forcibly attained, he was still a master of the ascending stage.
In the domain where all things slowed, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
Uuuuung!
Pitch-black darkness surged forward.
Dokgo Myeong’s vital energy left a trail of shadow as it approached through empty space.
Air was displaced along its trajectory. At its end lay Ilgwi’s blade.
‘Vicious bastard! Could he have set a trap like this…?!’
To survive, I had to abandon the signal flare.
Ilgwi reached for the sword at his waist.
Shwip!
He drew the blade and thrust it toward the trajectory.
And they collided.
Boom!
Even the sound echoed and stretched out unnaturally.
The sword bent like taffy.
A renowned blade remained a renowned blade—it did not shatter. Yet the impact traveled through his hand and transmitted across his entire body.
Crash!
Time resumed its normal pace.
Ilgwi was sent flying backward as though struck by a carriage.
Boom!
“Cough! Hack! Ugh!”
Ilgwi, collapsed on his knees, supported himself on his sword while spewing blood.
Crunch!
Dokgo Myeong stepped on the fallen signal flare, crushing it, and let out a scoff.
“How sloppy. You trust your enemy because you have no one else to trust?”
“Cough! A surprise attack, targeting my back… and yet…”
“Look at this.”
Dokgo Myeong’s smile deepened.
“I weighed practicality just as you said, so why are you like this?”
Ilgwi’s face contorted.
“You… you choose punishment after all.”
“That punishment—I’ve drunk so much of it, I’m sick of the taste now.”
Ilgwi’s eyes became bloodshot.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
From Ilgwi’s left and right halves, different vital energies erupted and tangled in midair.
“Krraaaagh!”
Dual Qi Single Origin Technique.
A devastating martial art combining blood techniques created during the completion of the divine skill with the secret teachings of the Moyong Family.
“I shall show you the divine skill and secret arts of the Great Moyong!”
Ilgwi’s energy channels transformed.
Color returned to the old man’s pallid face, and his wrinkles began to smooth away.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled.
“What is this, some rejuvenation technique? The man’s suddenly grown young?”
“Silence!”
Crash!
Ilgwi charged forward with a thunderous roar.
His speed doubled from before. The Hyeonchul Heavy Sword intercepted that ferocious onslaught.
Clang—!
A resonant boom like a massive bell tolling erupted from the center, accompanied by a tremendous explosion.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
‘They’ve refined it to this extent?’
Could heterogeneous vital energies truly be merged to such a degree?
No, it wasn’t merely the fusion of vital energies.
The martial technique itself was flawless. The grotesque nature of blood cultivation and the orthodox lineage of the Moyong Family’s secret arts perfectly complemented each other’s shortcomings.
It was incomparable to before. Not a single opening appeared.
‘Just because the martial technique has no flaws doesn’t mean the person wielding it is flawless.’
Dokgo Myeong adjusted his grip on the Hyeonchul Heavy Sword.
‘I’ll crush them with overwhelming force.’
Whiiiing—!
The Cheonoe Youngdan spun powerfully, unleashing a tidal wave of force.
‘…!!’
Shock painted itself across Ilgwi’s face.
In a flash, Dokgo Myeong’s Hyeonchul Heavy Sword compressed space once more and came crashing down.
Clang! Crash—!
As blade met blade, a deafening roar erupted as if cannons had been fired.
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
Magnificent.
Even with such vital energy poured into it, the Hyeonchul Heavy Sword remained unblemished.
‘They crafted something like this and left it gathering dust in a corner!’
It released the fierce divine technique vital energy of the Cheonoe Realm so perfectly. It felt as though he’d finally found the vessel that truly belonged to it.
Crash—!
Dokgo Myeong’s offensive accelerated further.
He no longer deployed any elaborate techniques.
He simply poured all his vital energy into each strike, slashing and thrusting with raw power.
Boom!
Ten exchanges.
That was all the time it took for Ilgwi’s blade to shatter.
“Cough!”
Ilgwi, eyes bloodshot, was sent flying backward. He frantically drew a spare blade and shouted.
“Did you think I’d retreat so easily? Now! Strike!”
Rustle rustle rustle! Burst—!
Baekheolgwi erupted from the undergrowth, scattering leaves everywhere.
Ilgwi followed, descending upon Dokgo Myeong.
Crack crack crack!
Dokgo Myeong twisted the center of the Hyeonchul Heavy Sword and separated it.
From one blade into two. Like a pair of swords.
Boom boom boom—!
Ilgwi’s eyes widened in shock.
With each swing of the Hyeonchul Sword, Baekheolgwi crumbled to dust.
The inner force wrapped around the blade, the sword technique, the true qi instinctively amplified by triggering blood acupoints—none of it mattered. Block it and shatter, dodge it and suffer internal injuries from the technique.
In the space where the two blades crossed, only debris remained. The time it took for Ilgwi alone to be left standing was nothing more than an instant.
“Gaahhk!”
A single blow to the abdomen sent Ilgwi flying backward like a kite with its string cut.
‘Is this all there is to him?’
I knew he was beyond the ordinary, but escape itself was impossible?
I’ve even unleashed the Twin Qi Unified Origin technique, yet the fight itself cannot even be established!
‘I’m going to die. At this rate, truly…!’
Ilgwi’s face drained of all color.
Thud.
Footsteps could be heard.
Ilgwi’s body trembled as he lifted his head.
‘I cannot die like this!’
Ilgwi’s hand plunged into his robes once more and emerged.
In that instant.
Whoosh!
Something flew through the air.
Dokgo Myeong naturally extended the Hyeonchul heavy sword to cut it down.
‘A Lightning Orb?’
Crackle crackle crackle!
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted.
The earth overturned, and vegetation scattered violently.
‘The Lightning Orb detonated right before my eyes. No matter how much of a monster that bastard is…!’
Ilgwi, who had already pushed off the ground, glanced back.
Burst!
In that moment, the center of the billowing explosion tore apart and scattered.
There stood Dokgo Myeong, surrounded by a luminescence like the Milky Way, wrapped in dragon scale armor.
Swish!
He slowly lowered the sleeve that had shielded his face.
Beneath the fabric, a pair of eyes fixed their gaze precisely upon him.
‘That monster!’
Chills ran down my spine.
Internal injuries from the impact, it seemed, but no visible wounds appeared on the surface.
Ilgwi pushed off the ground again without hesitation.
Boom!
‘I must find it. Where, exactly where…!’
Running and running still.
Ilgwi ignored even the bone-chilling whistle of wind at his back and ran.
And then.
“Ugh, uuuaahhh!”
“Kyaaaaaahhh!”
Ilgwi’s smile deepened.
Found them.
The hostages he had released earlier came into view.
And they were huddled together at that!
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Behind him, Dokgo Myeong’s voice rang out, dripping with murderous intent.
Ilgwi did not look back.
‘I will survive!’
Ilgwi desperately stretched out his hand.
But in that instant, a thin line of light was drawn before his eyes.
Slash!
Ilgwi’s eyes widened in shock.
Below his elbow was empty.
His right hand flew into the air, then struck the ground with hollow finality.
‘What in the world just happened?’
As Ilgwi turned his gaze, an unbelievable sight entered his vision.
A sword.
A single blade wreathed in brilliant light hovered of its own accord, dripping blood.
“Sword Spirit Control Art…?”
Ilgwi muttered in a daze.
Then a voice followed.
“How pathetic.”
A middle-aged man whose robes billowed around him.
Baek Mu-heun. It was him.

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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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