Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 76

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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 76

By the time craters had begun appearing—he’d lost count of how many.
His vision flashed red and a warning alarm sounded.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Seo Jun stepped back.
Since they’d been exchanging blows affably, calling each other “brother” and “junior” in turn, This Is Not Wulin hadn’t pursued him.
“Perhaps you’ve exhausted your Internal Energy?”
“Seems that way.”
He hadn’t known—it was his first time experiencing it.
Looking at his Internal Energy Gauge, the warning was genuine: he’d burned through nearly all of it.
“Heh. I’ll gladly wait, if you ask.”

-Now that’s righteousness!
-Incredible!
-Straight fire

“Why, you ask?”
“Because you’ve shown us what true martial prowess and righteousness truly mean—in an age when martial arts have become nothing but a cheap joke!”
When exactly?
And what did he even mean by martial prowess and righteousness?
Seo Jun had questions, but let it slide.
“Right, understood. Shall we start again?”
“Ha! Accept my consideration. Your skill is undoubtedly superior, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Art without Internal Energy is worse than worthless—you’d be like a novice laden with sandbags. To fight in that state would be sheer arrogance. And I bear some blame for how we’ve fought, so I wouldn’t call this mere kindness….”
“Spare me. Not necessary.”
“Very well—don’t lose and regret it later!”
“Fine by me.”

-All bark, no bite
-Internal Energy is a luxury for the Heavenly Demon lmao
-Wait lol did he seriously burn through it all without realizing? No, he had a plan for sure
-Didn’t he just switch to a new technique and lose track of management?

For a moment, the comment stung—but Seo Jun kept his composure.
‘I’ve burned through nearly all my Internal Energy. Natural recovery really is painfully slow.’
Resource management during combat—Internal Energy and the like—comprised a significant portion of true skill.
His opponent no longer had reason to dodge his blade, but Seo Jun still couldn’t afford direct collisions.
“Incoming!”
Yet Seo Jun felt no real disadvantage.
The Greatsword rushed toward his flank, edge-first.
Parrying that blade would cost him double in resources.
So dodging remained his only choice—that hadn’t changed.
But there was another way.
‘Nokrim didn’t have its trait apply when it received attacks, they said.’
Nokrim’s trait only activated on direct offense.
So then.
Seo Jun reached his conclusion instantly.
Prevent the attack from landing.
He sidestepped with surgical precision, keeping just beyond the blade’s reach.
Yet his disadvantage remained.
His opponent’s attack speed was even sluggish.
In-game, Nokrim’s classic counter was the Flesh Block technique—a move that forced opponents into defensive scrambling while enabling swift evasion through sheer speed.
It was speed Seo Jun lacked, which made it impossible for him to pile on relentless pressure.
“My turn now.”
But preventing an opponent’s attack didn’t require overwhelming speed or frantic offense.
What if he could make his opponent move exactly as he wished?
Seo Jun drove his left foot inward, drawing his right blade in a diagonal slash from outside to in.
The blade moved slowly, almost lazily.

-This is so tedious
-Well, his opponent’s using a Greatsword, and we’re just watching
-If you had to do this yourself, it’d be even worse lmao
-No wonder the ‘Heavenly Demon’ isn’t popular with Korean players
-Other builds fall into critical condition from a single hit

Slow. The blade’s trajectory was obvious. The Heavenly Demon’s strikes had no power to speak of.
Clang!
As expected, his opponent casually blocked.
Recovering the heavy Greatsword with ease.
At this rate, it really did seem he could evade all day.
Yet Seo Jun’s expression remained composed.
‘Caught him.’
He shifted his weight to the opposite leg, preparing his next strike.
And.
Seo Jun decided this was the perfect moment to explain martial prowess and righteousness.
“Listen well. Martial prowess is strength in service of the Heavenly Demon. Righteousness is devotion to the Heavenly Demon.”
Fortunately, the viewers’ reaction wasn’t hostile.

-Lmao okay that’s a bit much
-Peak middle-school syndrome
-Please no, I’m dying of secondhand embarrassment
-If he wins, I’ll accept it

* * *

“Ah! Round 2 is also ending with This Is Not Wulin’s defeat! In round 1, the showdown of true men ended due to Seo Jun’s Internal Energy depletion, leaving him in a critical position without recovery time—yet….”
Bang Ju paused, then continued.
“Surprisingly, he disposed of his opponent cleanly. Watching This Is Not Wulin take it all without resistance made me wonder if Seo Jun had actually cast some sort of spell.”
His explanation of the previous round had a specific purpose.

-For real
-Suddenly it was just over
-Where’s the legendary spirit This Is Not Wulin was searching for!!!!
-His expression showed genuine shock…
-The problem is it’s still happening now

Precisely.
“Exactly! That’s the issue—even now! You were spot on. I predicted he’d struggle in round 2 before mounting a counterattack, but we got the opposite result instead. He’s been unable to mount any defense at all! Why is that?”
The battle itself was utterly one-sided.
Clang!
Clang!
The Greatsword and blade colliding.
Seo Jun swings—his opponent blocks.
He swings again—blocked once more.
Strike after slow strike, and his opponent continues to block, but as time passes, eventually his opponent slips. He allows an opening.
Whoosh!
Right now—Seo Jun’s blade carving across This Is Not Wulin’s chest.
“If that was going to happen, This Is Not Wulin should have changed his build! He needed to adapt, create variables, show us a different side! Right? Don’t you think, everyone?”

-Lmao why would he, he’s not getting paid
-It’s disappointing watching him lose like that though
-Feels helpless
-I feel like I could dodge that

So Bang Ju cheered for This Is Not Wulin.
“This can’t be how it ends! Stop getting pushed back—show us something!”

-Why though lmao
-Weren’t you supporting Seo Jun?

But the game’s already decided. The outcome wouldn’t change.
Bang Ju called out loudly.
“And that’s it! GG! Seo Jun’s blade has carved across the throat, draining all remaining health!”
It wasn’t exactly a thrilling match, but the opening exchanges had carried something that stirred the heart.
“That’s already two defeated!”
This Is Not Wulin bowed respectfully before logging out.
He was gracefully accepting his loss.
But the spectators refused to be convinced.

-“Martial prowess is strength for the Heavenly Demon” lmao that was it
-Somehow the Greatsword fight made the speed not feel as slow
-The Greatsword is pretty big anyway lmao
-But that’s still slower than the Heavenly Demon Divine Art debuff
-We should watch the next game to be sure

Bang Ju surveyed the chat.
People refused to acknowledge Seo Jun’s skill.
This Is Not Wulin had the excuse of his weapon.
Beating Sect Elegance, who had speed, came with the excuse that his opponent had mental collapsed.
‘He’s beaten two top-ranked players already—that should count for something.’
The praise was harsh compared to his achievements.
‘Whatever the reason, excuses work just fine, but the real reason they won’t acknowledge him is probably….’
The fights look too easy on screen.
The top-tier players’ battles seemed absurdly simple to viewers.
After seeing and commentating on countless matches, even Bang Ju felt similarly.
This Is Not Wulin seemed to accept his defeat, but Bang Ju had doubts.
‘He could’ve just knocked the blade aside.’
Or thrown himself backward quickly.
There were clear opportunities for escape, for reversing the tide.
Even accounting for being a spectator, the gap between Bang Ju and a true Stagnant Expert was evident.
So it couldn’t have escaped a top player’s notice.
Yet Bang Ju could only think to himself that there was something the player must have seen that he hadn’t.
“Next match has loaded! This took a while—so will it be another top-ranked player, or will we see a general user?”
The next fight would clarify things.

* * *

Seo Jun’s fourth opponent ranked below 50 on the Contribution Ranking—upper tier, but not elite.
First round.
Wielding the Absorption Grand Technique, Seo Jun displayed his signature overwhelming physicality and relentless blade strikes (thanks to his trait), utterly dominating his foe.
Re-deploying the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Seo Jun began handling his opponent with ease.

“Both traits force extremes—one constantly mandates leisure, the other demands hasty victory. It really seems there’s no middle ground, and I’m wondering if that’s Seo Jun’s problem or the Demonic Cult’s flaw….”
Bang Ju spun in his chair as he spoke.

-Lmao
-The Demonic Cult’s at fault lol
-Most people don’t use it, only this guy does, so why’s it the Cult’s problem?
-These people lack righteousness

He brought up this tangent for a reason.
“Ha, this match too ends in Seo Jun’s victory!”
Again and again.
A blade wielded with the exhaustion of an office worker—and the top player could only receive it helplessly.
Unable to do anything, scrambling just to block.
Bang Ju found himself uncertain.
‘Will they blame the ranking this time?’
The response came exactly as predicted.

-Probably ’cause he’s rank 50, not as skilled lmao
-In round 1 he gets dominated, round 2 what’s even happening? Why no counterattacks like round 1
-Hmm, not sure about Absorption Grand but Heavenly Demon Divine Art seems manageable? Might take a shot at it

Watching people doubt the victor instead of the loser, Bang Ju felt a growing frustration.
This was when a commentator’s skill lay in using explanation to clear up misunderstandings.
But he had no answers either, so he was helpless.
Perhaps the next match would reveal something.
Despite Bang Ju’s hopes, several more matches proceeded, but nothing came clear.

[Heavenly Demon, you’ve taught me much.]

Rank 77.
They fell easily.

[You did well. You’re genuinely skilled.]

Currently ranked 11th on the Contribution Ranking: Namgoong Se-ga Jeom-So-I.
With a typical neighborhood-friend demeanor, viewers laughed and said they’d expected as much.
But by now, even the least observant should have grasped it.

[Heading to the next match.]

Behind Seo Jun’s six-win streak—precisely, five wins against top players—using an odd build—wasn’t player incompetence.
Bang Ju never quite figured this out, but he felt obligated to address it.
“You’re saying it’s strange that top players fall helpless to such a slow blade?”
He finally read a single comment.
“I agree.”

-If you don’t know, what do we do
-Turns out Heavenly Demon Divine Art is broken af lmao
-Speed is just a number

“Speed is just a number? Well, I can say with certainty that’s not quite right. Yes, I apologize for only being able to clarify that much. But here’s the thing—isn’t there something we simply don’t know?”
It was the best explanation he could manage.

-Top players were just trash then lmao
-Game’s gone full Stagnant Expert at this point
-Turns out these weak players stagnated ’cause they had no real skill—so when a slightly better outsider shows up, they just collapse! lmao
-Now we know why professionals never joined “Righteousness Seeking”—wasn’t worth fighting lmao

Oh no.
Bang Ju’s casual comment had shifted viewer focus, and public opinion began tilting strangely.
He felt cold sweat down his spine and started damage control.
“The top players aren’t incompetent, you all know that. Ha. Everyone. And, uh. Oh, we’ve got a donation.”
Fortunately, he found a lifeline in a message from one of the top players Seo Jun had beaten.

[‘This Is Not Wulin’ has donated 200,000 won!]
[Watch from the opponent’s perspective. Then you’ll understand.]

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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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