Myth of Martial Arts - Chapter 21

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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 21
Jeon Pung and Na Gun struggled desperately to hold back their laughter, careful not to let Jang Wook think they were mocking him.

‘If what he said is really this level of martial arts, our chances of survival have just grown!’

Hope bloomed across Jeon Pung’s and Na Gun’s faces, and their hearts grew noticeably lighter.

And yet… could the martial art Jang Wook held in such high regard really be as simple as it looked?

Kwarrung!

At the edge of the sparse woods, a thunderclap ear-splitting enough to tear the air suddenly rang out.

Before anyone could react, the sound rolled on again and again, unbroken.

Urrung, kwang-kwang!

In the blink of an eye, a gale with a physical body howled violently around Jang Wook, and the deafening roar was pouring out of this very wind.

The wind was so fierce that it swept up every stone and rock on the ground, and the surrounding trees swayed as though caught in a violent storm.

Moreover, the gale surged swiftly toward Jeon Pung and Na Gun, and in the span of a heartbeat, it swallowed them whole beneath the wide-eyed horror of their stares.

At the center of the gale, Jeon Pung and Na Gun were lifted into the air. Red blood streamed from their bodies like a waterfall, and from their mouths burst piercing, agonized screams.

“Hup!”

With their screams, dozens of trees nearby were torn up by the roots, split into dozens of pieces, and dragged into the sky.

Mu Muk, Mu Heon Heon, Im Myeong, and the others all stood frozen like stone statues, staring in disbelief at Jeon Pung and Na Gun caught in the gale.

After what felt like an eternity, the terrifying wind slowly subsided, and Jeon Pung and Na Gun plummeted to the ground along with heaps of stone and splintered wood, crashing down with brutal force.

Their bodies were riddled with holes, with hardly a single intact patch left. Buried beneath the shattered stones and broken timber, they no longer showed any sign of movement.

Within six zhang around them, the earth was pocked with enormous craters, as though the heavens and earth had been torn apart, and the ground lay wrecked and ruined, as if it had been turned over once.

Beneath the faint moonlight, Jang Wook stood at the center of the countless massive craters, calmly gazing at the two ruined corpses of Jeon Pung and Na Gun.

His face showed neither joy nor sorrow. He appeared as composed as if he had done nothing more than a trivial chore.

Silence.

A silence as deathly as the grave settled over the clearing.

Every student, Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon included, held their breath, their eyes full of shock.

Until now, they had never once seen Jang Wook truly put his hand to the fight.

Yet the devastation he unleashed the instant he made his first move, breaking stone and startling the heavens, the terrifying destructive power of it truly shook the earth and sky.

The destructive force of a Waseon Realm expert was perfectly embodied in Jang Wook’s body.

Though Jang Wook had not yet reached the Waseon Realm, the strength he displayed in this moment was no lesser than that of a true Waseon Realm expert.

After a long silence.

“Is this the Director’s true strength?”
“He’s too strong!”
“He’s truly invincible under heaven!”

A cold night breeze swept in, jolting the students out of their stunned silence.

Their gazes drifted from the corpses of Jeon Pung and Na Gun back to Jang Wook.

Without realizing it, they swallowed, their throats dry.

In that instant, every student’s eyes locked onto Jang Wook as if drawn by a magnet, and their stares brimmed with reverence, the kind one reserves for a god.

Jang Wook relished the awe and fear in their eyes. Yet he concealed it perfectly, not letting a trace of it show.

“Well? Did all of you see it clearly?”

Hands clasped behind his back, Jang Wook stood with a calm smile, and his presence radiated dignity.

At his words, Mu Muk, Mu Heon Heon, Im Myeong, and the others nodded in excitement, and Mu Muk asked in a tense voice.

“Sir, is such overwhelming martial art really just a Mortal-tier Middle-grade technique?”

Though its name was plain, the power of ‘Severance Strike’ was terrifying. Every student present had witnessed it firsthand, so naturally they burned with the desire to learn it.

They didn’t dare hope to become as strong as Jang Wook. That was impossible from the start. They would be satisfied just to possess a tenth of its power.

A martial art this formidable—if they didn’t learn it, they would surely regret it for the rest of their lives.

“That’s right, Sir. In my view, this martial art is at least Spirit-tier Middle-grade, and perhaps even Upper Spirit-tier.”

Im Myeong chimed in.

“Besides, the name is far too ordinary and plain. Why didn’t you give it a more striking name? For instance, something like Wind Fury Slash, or Death Wind Storm…”

As he spoke, Im Myeong added a flourish with his hand.

“Names like those have far more flair, you know!”

Jang Wook smiled and shook his head.

“A name is merely a symbol; it hardly matters what it is. What matters is its power. As for that power, if you train diligently as you say, it will be no less than an Upper Spirit-tier martial art.”

Apart from Jang Wook himself, no one knew how ‘Severance Strike’ had come into being, or how terrifying its power truly was.

Like ‘Extreme Flawlessness’, ‘Severance Strike’ was a perfect martial art that Jang Wook had refined through his Insight.
Its original form was ‘Dragon Coil Rain Strike’, a Mortal-tier Middle-grade martial art of the Jang lineage, which had a total of 573 flaws.

Jang Wook had expended tremendous effort, leafing through more than a hundred of the Jang lineage’s martial manuals, fusing the correct portions of each technique until at last he created ‘Severance Strike’, a flawless Mortal-tier Middle-grade martial art.

【Martial Art: Severance Strike (Mortal-tier Middle-grade, average of 0 flaws per stage)】

The martial art’s power did not disappoint Jang Wook. In truth, its might far surpassed the Spirit-tier Dragon Phase Cultivation and the Falling Leaf Sword Technique that he had originally practiced.

Even by conservative estimates, its power was fully comparable to an Upper Spirit-tier martial art, and it even slightly exceeded one.

Over the past month, Jang Wook had taught the students a miniature version of ‘Extreme Flawlessness’. Aside from teaching Mu Muk Pill Crafting, he had spent most of his time organizing cultivation methods and martial arts.

Besides ‘Severance Strike’, he had refined several other flawless martial arts, and among them, ‘Severance Strike’ ranked highest in grade and possessed the greatest power, making it worthy of becoming another flagship of Changung Academy.
With ‘Extreme Flawlessness’ and now ‘Severance Strike’, once these students grew, each one would be able to stand against enemies on their own.

“No less than an Upper Spirit-tier martial art…”

Im Myeong and the others, without exception, opened their eyes wide, and their breaths grew ragged.

Even Mu Muk and Mu Heon Heon burned with eagerness, gazing at Jang Wook as if they could already see themselves learning the Severance Strike.

They didn’t even know whether the Imperial City had any Upper Spirit-tier martial arts. There might be, or there might not be. Either way, it had nothing to do with them.

They had never heard of, let alone seen, an advanced martial art, and they had never had the chance to learn one.

Now, though, they were about to be given the chance to learn a martial art on par with an Upper Spirit-tier technique. No wonder they were so excited.

“Don’t rush.”

Feeling the students’ fervent, hungry stares, Jang Wook spoke unhurriedly.

“I said I would teach you, and I’ll keep that promise. But right now, I have something else to deal with.”

As he spoke, his gaze left the students and finally settled on the bodies of Jeon Pung and Na Gun, buried beneath the scattered heap of rubble.

A memory he had kept sealed away for a long time came rushing into his mind like a tide.

This was not the first time Jang Wook had met Jeon Pung and Na Gun. In fact, they had crossed paths seven years ago.

Jang Wook would never forget that day, not for as long as he lived.

In the chaotic glare of torchlight, countless people had stormed into Changung Academy, striking, smashing, and plundering, committing every kind of atrocity.

They had emptied nearly the entire academy. He had been far too weak back then, and all he could do was watch helplessly as it all unfolded.

That sense of powerlessness and despair had been carved deep into Jang Wook’s mind, and even now he could not shake it loose.

Jeon Pung and Na Gun had been two of the instigators on that day.

Besides Jeon Pung and Na Gun, there had been other ringleaders.

Im Hae Ae, director of Sinwang Academy; Na Ak San, director of Unsan Academy; Du Ak-un, former deputy director of Changung Academy; and Mak Cheon-gu, former instructor at Changung Academy.

And then there was Deung Buk So, patriarch of the Deung Family; Yeo Yang, patriarch of the Yeo Family; and Gwak Gon, patriarch of the Gwak Family.

In other words, these nine were the planners of the Changung Academy uprising, the very people who had orchestrated the chaos there.

Jang Wook’s memory was nothing special, so he had only ever remembered these nine masterminds.

“Dying like this? Those two got off easy.”

Jang Wook had intended to visit Sinwang Academy and Unsan Academy before long, but what had happened tonight changed his mind.

He raised his head and looked toward the direction of Sinwang Academy and Unsan Academy, just once.

“Looks like it’s time to settle accounts with them!”

Shaking his head, Jang Wook turned around and spoke to Mu Muk, Mu Heon Heon, Im Myeong, and the others.

“Alright, it’s late. You lot should head home.”

The students were dying of curiosity about what Jang Wook meant to do next, but since he hadn’t said, none of them dared to ask.

All they could do was leave the academy quietly.

Once every student had gone, Jang Wook drew a gray cloth pouch from his sleeve and slowly stepped out through the academy gate.

Beneath the faint moonlight, Jang Wook’s shadow stretched long, and a murderous intent stirred quietly in the darkness.

A young man stood before the main gate of Sinwang Academy.

His bearing was calm, and his energy was held deep within him.

He carried a gray pouch in one hand and was chewing on some kind of snack, faintly giving off a strange fragrance.

The young man gazed into the academy grounds, and his eyes were unfathomable.

Sinwang Academy at night was exceedingly quiet. Apart from the teachers and the handful of students who lived on campus, most of the students had already gone home.

Jang Wook swallowed all of the Gyeseodan Pills and set off, striding straight into the grounds of Sinwang Academy.

“Halt right there!”

Before Jang Wook had even passed through the main gate of Sinwang Academy, a middle-aged gatekeeper stepped out of his guardhouse and demanded loudly.

“Which class do you belong to? You must show your identity badge before entering the academy. Don’t you even know this much of the rules?”

The gatekeeper took Jang Wook to be a student of Sinwang Academy.

Sinwang was one of the two great academies in the Imperial City, with several thousand students, so there was no way he could know every one of them.

Jang Wook shot the gatekeeper a composed glance, then turned his gaze away and walked deeper into the academy.

Now that he had decided to settle accounts with them, there was no longer any need to keep up a humble front.

“I’ll have to station a few gatekeepers like that at Changung Academy later on. It’ll make the place look more trustworthy.”

The middle-aged gatekeeper’s anger flared as he felt his dignity being challenged.

But just as he opened his mouth to scold Jang Wook, Jang Wook’s body vanished from his sight like a ghost, without a sound.

The middle-aged gatekeeper’s pupils suddenly contracted, and his face went pale. Trembling all over, he cried out.

“A g-ghost! It’s a ghost!”

Standing some dozens of jang away, Jang Wook heard the gatekeeper’s shriek behind him and let out a short laugh.

“A ghost? Does this world even have the concept of a ‘ghost’?”

He shook his head and kept hiding in the darkness, watching his surroundings.

Before long, the teachers, startled by the gatekeeper’s voice, gathered in puzzlement and asked what had happened.

When the middle-aged gatekeeper launched into a long, trembling explanation, they all scoffed.

“Ghosts? What ghosts could there possibly be in this world!”
“Now, everyone, please calm down.”

From the crowd, a dignified middle-aged teacher stepped forward and spoke calmly.

“There are certainly no ghosts. But Yi Cheon-yong would not lie to us, so…”

Another teacher picked up the thread.

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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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