Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 51

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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 51

“Third-Rate isn’t worth wasting on such sloppy Technique, but judging from the fundamentals… you’re Second-Rate!”
The proclamation thundered across the Martial Arts Arena, resonating sharply through the surrounding air.
The watching players began clicking their tongues and chiming in one after another.
“Look at that attitude.”
“The Demonic Sect is weird even with their NPCs. Seriously.”
“And another Second-Rate showed up.”
“Isn’t that Ranker’s nickname?”
“The person who got Third-Rate earlier is in the same boat…” *clears throat*
“Hey, hey. They can all hear you.”
Sam Jangro sat still, pretending to intently analyze the streamer’s footage.
Embarrassing.
But ignoring them didn’t stop the conversations drifting from behind him.
And what his ears heard meant his viewers could hear it too.

-They’re mostly low-tier lol
-Meanwhile this one guy got Third-Rate by himselfㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Just wait, I’m coming too!

A heavy sigh.
‘I need to retake the test soon.’
But if he received Third-Rate again like just now, it would be a real disaster, so he was being more careful with his preparation.
Drag, drag.
The user who’d just been rated Second-Rate descended from the Martial Arts Arena.
Tattered clothes, a Gourd-like item hanging from his waist, and a Club perched on his shoulder as the finishing touch.
Like.
“Wow. What a genuinely shabby look.”
“Hey, hey, they can hear you, you idiot.”
Voices drifted from behind again.
Sam Jangro wanted to nod vigorously.
Where did the sword go that he’d been holding during the sword demonstration, and when did he swap it for a Club?
And he couldn’t fathom why the nickname was so beggar-like.

[Han Punman]

“Ah, please don’t come near me.”
He didn’t smell bad, but his appearance made you not want to get close.
“Wow, that’s really hurtful.”
“Then you shouldn’t have committed to the concept.”
His face was handsome—how did he end up down this path?
“You’re one to talk, choosing the Demonic Sect. A middle schooler with an adult avatar? Come on? I was shocked when I first met you in real life.”
“Please don’t bring up real life…”
When Sam Jangro showed reluctance, Han Punman shrugged and sat down beside him.
They were sitting in the Audience Seating, overlooking the Martial Arts Arena.
An unfamiliar player climbed onto the Martial Arts Arena.
“Sigh, I got Second-Rate! This makes no sense!”
“It makes sense.”
“Why? Oh right, you got Third-Rate? Pfft.”
Han Punman laughed heartily at him.
If he just wore proper clothes, he’d be a nobleman.
Right now he was just a beggar.
A handsome beggar, at best.
And that made it all the more irritating.

-That’s the only one too
-Yo, aren’t you returning that Celestial title? ㅋㅋ
-I’m almost there!

Han Punman burst out laughing on his side while Sam Jangro narrowed his eyes.
“No, I meant it in the sense that if I did it right away, I could get a lower grade…”
Sigh.
Sam Jangro exhaled and refocused on the screen playing in front.
Already, analysis posts breaking down every movement had popped up.
“You’re right. If you rush it, you’ll definitely make mistakes.”
“Right? That’s what I was trying to say.”
“Still, Third-Rate though… ha ha ha.”
“Are you forgetting you just came back from Second-Rate? It’s only one tier difference!”
“That one tier is exactly what separates the expert from the amateur.”
“What are you saying, Mr. Second-Rate?”
“And you’re Third-Rate.”
“Ugh!”
“And I got Ultimate Celestial while you didn’t.”
“The Demonic Sect doesn’t have Techniques. You all just use what you’ve picked up naturally while gaming!”
Han Punman chose to giggle in response rather than answer.
Only Sam Jangro, who actually received one tier lower, felt his insides twist.
He wore a look of resignation and shook his head.
“Fine.”
Tap.
Someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
“What’s fine?”
“Ah. You’re here, sir.”
It was Namgung Jeomsoi, a hardcore player with another Ultimate Celestial title.
They simply called him Jeomsoi or Namgung for convenience.
The origin was supposedly from a bet with a friend over nicknames, where he lost and had his name changed to that of an NPC near the Namgung Family whom he resembled.
Once he rose to Ranker status with that nickname, he couldn’t change it anymore.
“The Beggar keeps mocking me about Third-Rate.”
“So? Third-Rate or Second-Rate.”
He looked at Han Punman with a pitying expression.
“Right?”
“Indeed.”
“Ha. You really do know something.”
“That too.”
Han Punman watched them reply to each other and called out in disbelief.
“Hey, Jeomsoi! You go test too. Let’s see what you get.”
“Don’t want to.”
“Why?”
Namgung Jeomsoi shot back with obvious reasoning.
“What reason is there to test now?”
“Well…”
“The better I prepare, the better chance I have of getting Ultimate Master or whatever. Why would Third-Rate or Second-Rate matter right now?”
“True enough.”
“Agreed.”
“Then let’s do some analysis.”

-Hardcore players gathering
-Is anyone else coming?

The sparse viewers’ reactions were positive.
The three assembled were in the top 100 Rankers.
While hardcore players in the Community had better information and skills than regular users, they weren’t quite at the level of top 100 Rankers.
However.
They kept challenging but couldn’t surpass Celestial.
After roughly two hours, Han Punman returned from the Martial Arts Arena and sat on a stone platform, speaking.
“Yeah, it’s only been a day.”
“True. Newbies take about a month to nail the National Standard Technique precisely. We’ve only had a day.”

-Pathetic
-Jeomsoi you bum, what martial arts do you knowㅋ
-Wait, weren’t you guys the Avengers?

They began digging into another angle.
If they execute the movements precisely, they can reach Celestial—meaning there’s no issue with the Technique.
But that was all.
Han Punman spoke.
“Let me think this through. The National Standard Technique originally didn’t produce Ultimate Celestial like this, right?”
“Right. I’ve never heard of anyone getting Ultimate Celestial from just following it exactly. So isn’t that why the Heavenly Demon modified the Technique?”
“Calling them the Heavenly Demon is a bit…”
“You guys are talking; shut up, Third-Rate.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway. But what was the original reason the National Standard Technique spread in the first place?”
“Because among the ones spreading, it had the lowest difficulty to reach Celestial. Technique matters until Celestial, but Ultimate Celestial can’t be reached just by copying, right?”
“Right. Even if I performed the same thing I did to get Ultimate Celestial again, I wouldn’t be confident I’d get it again.”
“Me neither.”
Sam Jangro, who’d been quiet, asked.
“What do you mean by that, sirs?”
“What do I mean? Ultimate Celestial isn’t just in the Technique.”
“Then where is it?”
“Perfection.”
Han Punman explained in a single word, and Jeomsoi nodded in agreement beside him.
“When I deployed that Technique, I felt perfection through the sword. Not that I know much about Martial Arts, but at that moment, I’m confident I could never replicate that exact thing again—that level of perfection. And while deploying it, I just knew instinctively. That I’d get Ultimate Celestial.”
“Mine was similar. It’s just a game, but for some reason I felt it. Like, wow, I was amazing. I get the same feeling watching other Ultimate Celestial proof videos too.”
I see.
Honestly, Sam Jangro had never really attempted Ultimate Celestial with full commitment, using the Demonic Sect as an excuse, so he couldn’t fully grasp their explanation.
“So what did you two feel watching this footage?”
At Sam Jangro’s words, the two who’d been conversing while facing each other from either side turned their eyes forward.
Probably watching the footage.
As silence stretched on, Jeomsoi broke it first and spoke.
“I can’t feel anything.”
After a moment, Han Punman also spoke.
“Same. That’s the problem. I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

-ㄷ
-You guys are our hope! Hang in there!
-Han Punman really is the hope though.

Han Punman was famous in the Community for writing high-quality information posts.
The reason he chose the Open Faction was because it was an organization that dealt with information.
Though playing as a beggar seemed easier now, he supposed.
“What could it be, really.”
Han Punman muttered to himself.
“Or maybe there’s some special in-game trigger, Beggar.”
“A Demonic Sect exclusive Hidden Quest?”
“Yeah.”
“That would’ve been discovered ages ago. Streamer and all.”
And he didn’t seem like the type to hide something like that.
“That’s true.”
“So it really was pure skill?”
Jeomsoi’s eyes widened.
“It’s not something that happens by accident.”
Han Punman said flatly.

-ㅁㅊ
-A true master?
-So Ultimate Master is real?
-What’s the probability it’s fake?

“Well, unless more people get Ultimate Master, we won’t know. I give up. Even Ultimate Celestial is rough.”
Han Punman read the chat and shared his thoughts.
Then Jeomsoi also declared his surrender.
“I can’t do it either. Thinking about it, they beat Shin Hayeon in the Combat Training Grounds.”
“And you beat Jin Baekho too, sir.”
“Hey! Don’t bring that up!”
“Or maybe they really are the Heavenly Demon.”
“No matter what, they’re not the Heavenly Demon!”

-So what’s the conclusion
-These guys sure talk a lot
-Networking ㅇㅈmessedupgameㅋㅋ
-Game’s stagnant as hell
-Beat Shin Hayeon? ㄷㄷ Then Ultimate Master checks out

Han Punman stood from his seat after checking the broadcast chat.
“If Ultimate Master is really just a pure tier above Ultimate Celestial with no strings attached, then Seo Jun, who got it in one shot by modifying the National Standard Technique, might be the best at serving the Sect, wouldn’t they? Analysis done.”
Han Punman had heard things about Seo Jun before and wasn’t one to be prideful, so he made a statement acknowledging them.
But the Community’s hardcore players couldn’t accept it.

-Whoa.
-Can’t accept that statement
-Who says they’re the best

Han Punman scoffed at those viewers.
“Who says? Yeah, Baekwigang says.”
Then Jeomsoi also stood, speaking.
“That’s fair.”
“Let’s go sleep. We’re done!”
“Will do! Ending the stream now.”
“Yeah.”
They never did settle the truth, but it couldn’t be helped.
If people were bothered, they could ask the developer.
And everything they said was relayed in detail to the Community, causing a stir.

[Rankers Failed for 2 Hours]
[Is Ultimate Master Real?]
[Open Faction Expert Han Punman Declares: “The Heavenly Demon is the Supreme Master of Serving the Sect.”]
[“What Exactly Differ Between the Demonic Sect’s Nature and the Heavenly Demon’s Sword!” The Reason the Orthodox Faction Trembles in Fear and the Heterodox Faction Envies in Envy!]

The original post had been dismissed as a joke or rumor, and aside from a few exceptions, quickly fell out of sight.
But Han Punman was famous in the Community, and clips of his statement sparked far greater interest in Ultimate Master and Seo Jun.
That night, far more people attempted Ultimate Master, but not a single one succeeded.

[Getting suspicious this might be a scam]
[Why it’s totally possible to scam: Ultimate Master wasn’t obtained on the first Sect stream.]
[Knew it the moment the nickname was Heavenly Demon.]
[No evidence but dragging them anyway—sounds like the Orthodox Faction. So low.]
[The Demonic Sect covering for the Heavenly Demon is even more disgusting.]
[Turning this into a Demonic Sect vs. Orthodox Faction frame!]
[So what’s actually true?]

It was a confusing situation where nobody could give a definitive answer.
Though there were those who tried.

[There’s definitely some trick being used!]
==
I got the Ultimate Celestial title myself, and this isn’t something you can just do once after watching a video.
Martial Arts isn’t rice either.
How is a newbie doing what countless Rankers haven’t figured out?
==

-I think so tooㅋㅋㅋ
-The poster’s tone is off
-Turned off stream then got lucky and found a Hidden Quest? ㄷㄷ
-No lmaoㅋㅋㅋㅋ Does everyone not doing it make them a scammer?
└It’s not just me; everyone can’t do it. Isn’t that reasonable suspicion? (Poster)
-That’s how it was in Assassination Guild’s Dawn too.
└PVE games aren’t the Community’s jurisdiction. (Poster)
-But they beat Shin Hayeon in the Combat Training Grounds, so they’re probably better than you
└Fair on Combat Training Grounds. But Martial Arts is different. I’ll prove it in person. (Poster)
└Who do you think you are
└13th in the Battlefield last time (Poster)
└Ohhh! Please educate us!

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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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