Moorim Pochang - Chapter 63

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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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Episode 63. The True Martial Prowess Revealed (2).

‘So this is… his true form after all.’
Baek Won-yeong watched the fierce battle with eyes full of admiration and envy.
He had already glimpsed his younger brother’s strength when he caught the arrow.
Even watching with his own eyes, he could not properly follow the movements of those two.
That meant they possessed far superior martial prowess than himself.
Crack-crack-bang…!
Each time blade met blade, the force that erupted felt like an awl being driven through flesh.
On top of that, the wild killing intent was potent enough to stop one’s breath.
Unable to withstand that aura, the skilled personnel retreated further and further back.
The killing intent was so thick that Kang Jo appeared more like a demon than the man whose face was covered entirely in tattoos.
Yet Baek Won-yeong, Yeon Ja-seol, and the Dok-go siblings did not move from where they stood.
“Concentrate. You will not witness such a spectacle anywhere else.”
At the Alliance Leader’s voice, those who had been retreating ceased their movement.
All the skilled personnel watched as if entranced, though there was one who could not.
‘Why… why… this man…’
Eon So-ryong’s eyes followed Kang Jo, but his heart was consumed with despair and terror.
It was a martial prowess beyond even attempting to imitate.
Even his own father would be unable to stand against him.
No, even if his entire clan fell upon him all at once, this man called Kang Jo seemed impossible to kill.
And that vicious killing intent was nearly unbearable to face.
Gripped by fear, his entire body trembled violently.

*

Crack-bang…!
The moment Kang Jo slashed his blade, his body split vertically.
Whirr…
At that spot, a tempest rose and the body, cleaved in two, scattered into fragments.
The Dual Blade Technique was no ordinary opponent.
Moreover, each strike—each blade—carried enough force to split the earth in half.
Yet as time passed, it seemed his body and blades were adapting.
Crack-crack-bang…!
Gwang-ak stumbled backward and caught the returning blade as it came at him.
Something was wrong.
Other men could not even block his single blow, yet this one continued to parry his strikes.
Fury burned hot enough to drive him mad.
He wanted nothing more than to kill this man quickly and feast on the warm blood and flesh of the horse he had torn apart.
“Bad mood… bad mood… who are you?”
Grrr…
“The Guest Inn’s owner.”
Kang Jo answered with a smile.
“Ah… that’s right. I decided… to kill the Guest Inn’s owner.”
Muttering words that made no sense, he gripped his Dual Blades tight.
In that instant, space tore asunder and the blade rushed straight at Kang Jo’s face.
Kang Jo lashed out with a force that could cleave his entire body.
Crack-crack-crack-bang…!
Whoosh.
In that moment, Kang Jo’s body split, and the man who had cleaved him also split.
The man who appeared elsewhere crouched low and swung his blade.
Grass cut to waist height scattered into fragments that flew into the air.
Along with it, Kang Jo’s leg was also severed.
Shriek…!
He caught the returning blade and sent it forth again while moving his Body Technique.
The moment he activated his Body Technique, his afterimage was severed and scattered.
Crash-crash-crash-bang………! Crash-bang……..!
Blades collided violently in mid-air, then sprang apart.
The sword that had pierced through Kang Jo’s waist flew back into the man’s hand.
In the same instant, he hurled the blade he’d been holding.
Screech……..
Cloth and flesh split open, blood spraying across the empty space.
Strong.
The opponent was dangerously, terrifyingly strong.
Yet not quite as strong as the one who’d demolished the Guest Inn and launched those arrows.
Against that one, his breath had caught in his throat completely. This one merely left his life hanging by a thread.
Only his life hanging by a thread.
So if he was willing to throw that thread away, he might actually manage to kill this one.
Heh-heh-heh……..
Crash-crash-bang………..!
Kang Jo laughed as he deflected the blade.
Then he drove his body forward into his opponent’s guard.
Crash-crash-bang………..!
His own sword was blocked by the enemy’s blade, and a second sword descended from above.
The falling blade cleaved vertically from Kang Jo’s head down to his groin, then twisted sharply away just before it struck earth.
In that same moment, Kang Jo’s sword raked across his opponent’s throat.
Crash-crash-bang……..!
Yet the blade was blocked once more by the enemy’s steel.

*

Why wouldn’t he die?
The innkeeper should have been dead ten times over. A hundred times.
Yet he was still breathing, still moving.
Gwang-ak felt madness creeping in.
He needed to kill the innkeeper quickly, to taste warm flesh and hot blood before it cooled—but still the cursed creature lived.
“It tastes rotten when it cools……”
Crash-bang……..!
He batted away the driving blade, shifted his Body Technique, and retreated.
In that instant, a sword drove into his chest once more.
Crash-bang…….!
Gwang-ak swatted it away and again shifted his Body Technique.
Screech…..
As the blade that had raked his throat came spinning back, he hurled the sword in his hand at his opponent.
Crash-crash-bang………….!
The moment his opponent battered the incoming blade away, he closed distance and slashed across the man’s waist in a blur of motion.
This should have been the killing stroke.
Crash-crash-bang….!
Yet his opponent shifted his Body Technique and came at his throat again.
Arrrrrgh………………!
Gwang-ak let out a howl of pure rage.
‘Why…….won’t he die? Why……….?’
The moment the scream tore from his throat, pain shot through his forearm.
Screech….
He caught the returning blade and hurled his sword out again.
Crash-crash-bang………..!
His opponent, having deflected his blade, was already launching an attack from the left.
Gwang-ak raised his sword and batted away the incoming steel.
Crash-bang…………!
The moment he blocked, blood gushed from his forearm.
It wasn’t just blood that flowed.
With his strength failing, his wrist bent and his entire frame shook.
His forearm throbbed again with pain.
Screech…….
“What?”
He hurled his blade and tried to catch the returning sword, but it sailed past his hand and drove deep into his shoulder.
Thwack…!
The blade withdrew from the shoulder with only the black hilt remaining embedded in the flesh.
Gwang-ak stared down at his own hand.
His forearm was nearly split open, hanging limp beneath the wound.
The Dual Blade Technique and he had always been one.
But the Dual Blade had betrayed him.
The moment he raised his head, the sword he’d sent flying was already returning.
He tried to move his hand to catch it.
Thwack…!
But his hand moved too slowly, and the blade drove deep into his chest.
In that same instant, a flash of sword-light blazed before his eyes.
A wet scraping sound…
A dull thud… then a heavy splash.
Gwang-ak’s head rolled from his shoulders, and his body collapsed.

*

A long, shuddering breath…
Kang Jo exhaled deeply and sprawled flat on the ground.
He sensed those who appeared to be the man’s subordinates watching from a distance, but he had no strength left to concern himself with them.
‘That was… truly a formidable opponent.’
His entire body was torn and bleeding in places, but all he wanted was rest.
“Are you… all right?”
Baek Won-yeong rushed over first, his face creased with worry.
“I just… need to rest for a moment.”
At Kang Jo’s words, Baek Won-yeong nodded and quickly helped him to his feet.
As he rose, he caught sight of the young skilled personnel watching from afar, the Alliance Leader, and Shin Pung-gae.
‘They were here all along.’
So absorbed in the fight, he hadn’t even noticed they’d been watching.
“Collect the bodies…!”
The Alliance Leader’s sharp command fell, and the young skilled personnel moved with practiced speed.
Baek Won-yeong supported Kang Jo’s body and entered the Guest Inn.
Yeon Ja-seol, Dok-go Il, Dok-go Eun, and Baek Ha-yeong followed close behind.
Baek Won-yeong opened the door and laid Kang Jo down on the bed inside.
Yeon Ja-seol, glancing about the room, went to the kitchen, lit a fire in the pot, and set water to boil.
As Baek Won-yeong removed Kang Jo’s clothes, Dok-go Eun knelt before him.
“I’ll apply the Wound Medicine, so find some clean cloth.”
She took out a container of Wound Medicine and set it aside.
“Understood.”
Only then did Baek Won-yeong look around the room.
The first thing that caught his eye was a stack of weapons piled in the corner.
But those weapons seemed unimportant now.
He found a clean-looking cloth in the corner, and Dok-go Eun took it, beginning to wipe away the blood.
“I can do it myself.”
Kang Jo tried to take the cloth from her hands.
It was cloth he’d been using as undergarments, after all.
But Dok-go Eun’s brow furrowed sternly.
“Just stay still.”
At that, Kang Jo relaxed his body and closed his eyes.

*

Dok-go Il, examining the weapons, flicked his eyes toward Baek Won-yeong.
Catching the signal, Baek Won-yeong moved closer and sat beside him.
‘Unmyeong.’
The blade of the short sword bore the characters ‘Unmyeong’ carved into its surface.
‘The sect leader of Heuk Cheon Mak died by Kang Jo’s hand.’
‘The sect leader of Heuk Cheon Mak was killed by his younger brother.’
Dok-go Il and Baek Won-yeong reached the same conclusion.
Dok-go Eun washed the cloth in the hot water Yeon Ja-seol had brought and carefully cleaned away the blood.
And she applied the Wound Medicine.
“There aren’t any other cloths?”
Kang Jo answered her question with his eyes still closed.
“If you open the chest, there should be cloth inside.”
Inside the wardrobe were Wound Medicine that Baek Won-yeong had brought long ago and clean cloth.
Yeon Ja-seol opened the chest and retrieved the cloth.
“Let me do it, Miss Dok-go.”
“You will?”
Dok-go Eun studied her with a meaningful gaze.
But Yeon Ja-seol, showing no particular sign of unease, wrapped Kang Jo’s body with the cloth.

*

All the skilled personnel who had been in the room came out.
“Yang Jung isn’t here.”
Baek Ha-yeong spoke with concern.
The moment he heard her words, Baek Won-yeong opened the door again.
He was suddenly anxious that Yang Jung might have been caught up in the bloodshed and come to harm.
But before he could ask, Kang Jo’s voice cut through.
“He’s gone home. He’ll return within a few days, so please keep it secret from the Guest Inn’s master.”
Baek Won-yeong nodded and closed the door again.
“Did you hear?”
“Yes, brother.”
Only then did Baek Ha-yeong’s face brighten a little.
The skilled personnel gathered around the table.
The first to speak was Baek Ha-yeong, whose nature was the most cheerful.
“I had no idea Kang Jo’s martial prowess was so formidable. Really… I still can’t believe it.”
Dok-go Il and Dok-go Eun both nodded in agreement.
They too had suspected Kang Jo was extraordinarily strong.
But what they witnessed with their own eyes far exceeded mere suspicion.
Hehehehe…
Dok-go Il laughed softly.
“Now I see… I was nothing but a frog in a well.”
His words spoke for the true sentiments of all the skilled personnel.
“You don’t seem very surprised, Miss Yeon?”
Dok-go Eun asked, looking at Yeon Ja-seol.
Sigh…
“Because I’ve already seen it before.”
Yeon Ja-seol answered with a long breath.
“So that’s how it was. You knew all along.”
Baek Won-yeong felt as though the mystery in his mind was finally being solved.
Yeon Ja-seol had not been surprised when Kang Jo defeated Eon So-ryong, nor even when he caught that tremendous arrow.
He had simply watched with an expression of inevitability.
Hoho…
“I thought you were just pretty and dependable, but you’re quite cunning, aren’t you? When did you see it?”
Dok-go Eun laughed coldly.
Yeon Ja-seol met her eyes without flinching and spoke.
“Long ago, men with faces covered in tattoos climbed over the wall of this Guest Inn in the middle of the night. Kang Jo killed them all. I hid and watched the whole thing.”
“If their faces were covered in tattoos, they must have been masters from Hyeol-gyo. But why would they climb over this particular Guest Inn’s wall?”
“Because this Guest Inn lies on the road to the Murim Alliance.”
Hohoho…
Dok-go Eun laughed loudly.
“Neither of them had any luck. Those men died before they could even attack the Murim Alliance, and Kang Jo just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time, so he ended up killing them.”
“Then all the weapons in the room belonged to those men.”
“Yes. That’s likely the case.”

*

The Alliance Leader sat quietly in the room, keeping silent.
‘Truly a remarkable fellow.’
He too was so startled that he couldn’t find his voice.
Shin Pung-gae, whose body had been trembling, finally managed to speak.
“I…..didn’t I tell you? That he’s no trivial…..opponent.”
In truth, no one was more astonished than he was.
He’d known that Kang Jo was strong, but never in his wildest dreams had he imagined the man could surpass him.
‘If things stand like this…….it will only become harder to accept him as my successor….’
He’d already sent Geol-gae and his men out in all directions to track down where Yang Jung’s family was located.
But if he learned their whereabouts and Kang Jo still blocked his path, it would all be for nothing.

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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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