The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 58

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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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58
Woo Geom-san Competes for Hegemony
‘The bastard is getting more used to fighting.’
Pa Gung bit his lip until it bled.
Despite having mastered high-level martial arts, he had been at a loss like a novice, but as time passed, he was skillfully utilizing his techniques.
Every time he swung his sword, a life was extinguished.
Those who were dying were all his subordinates.
If left like this, they would be completely wiped out by Woo Geom-san.
‘Should I flee?’
For a moment, such a thought crossed his mind.
But he soon shook his head.
He had been chased by the Taiyin Sect all the way here, and if he fled again from this place, there would be no future left for him.
Whether he lived or died, he had to settle things with Woo Geom-san here.
‘I will kill him without fail and take over his village.’
“Argh!”
Even at that moment, one of his men was spraying blood and collapsing.
Gwak Ju-cheon and the others were still holding out, but if they let Woo Geom-san run wild like this any longer, annihilation would happen in the blink of an eye.
Pa Gung covertly approached Woo Geom-san from behind.
Like a leopard stalking its prey, his movements were stealthy.
“Argh!”
The moment another subordinate collapsed while spraying blood, Pa Gung moved.
With his scrawny hand, he thrust toward Woo Geom-san’s cervical spine.
His hands, utilizing the Baigu Wushang Gong, had turned harder than steel.
His hand, with fingers gathered sharply, was more piercing and powerful than a spear.
‘I’ll end his breath in a single blow.’
It was a strike traded for the life of his subordinate.
Pa Gung poured all his strength into this single blow.
Seeing his ambush, Gwak Ju-cheon desperately attacked Woo Geom-san to draw his attention.
It was a truly perfect joint attack.
Pa Gung’s hand-blade reached near Woo Geom-san’s cervical spine in an instant.
At the moment of crisis, Woo Geom-san’s form spun on the spot like a top as he swung his sword.
Clang!
With a metallic screech, Pa Gung’s hand was deflected far away.
Woo Geom-san thrust his sword toward Pa Gung’s wide-open chest.
Clang!
However, this time too, only sparks flew, and not even a small scratch appeared on Pa Gung’s chest.
The Baigu Wushang Gong had perfectly protected his body from Woo Geom-san’s attack.
His ambush exposed, Pa Gung roared loudly.
“That kind of attack won’t work on me. I’ll rip your head off!”
Sssss!
A terrifying momentum surged from Pa Gung’s entire body.
He rushed at Woo Geom-san while radiating a dark red energy. But his attack never managed to touch Woo Geom-san’s body.
This was because Woo Geom-san deployed the Flowing Void Steps.
Woo Geom-san suddenly appeared five zhang away from where he had originally stood.
Pa Gung’s pupils trembled.
“Could it be that you are from the Shaolin Temple?”
This was because Woo Geom-san’s movement, covering a distance of five zhang in an instant, reminiscent of Fudong Mingwangbo, the legendary footwork of the Shaolin Temple.
Woo Geom-san did not bother to correct his misunderstanding.
There was no reason to do so, but above all, he was completely immersed in the fight.
It was a life-and-death struggle where they staked their lives.
Because he did not have much experience in life-and-death struggles, and because it was his first time killing someone, Woo Geom-san’s heart was heavier than ever before.
The weight of the sword in his hand felt like millions of catties.
Pa Gung noticed Woo Geom-san’s state at a single glance.
‘I’ll kill the brat before he snaps out of it.’
He raised his entire martial cultivation force.
His body, already scrawny like an old tree, turned a dark red color.
Transforming like a dark red skeleton, Pa Gung charged toward Woo Geom-san. Woo Geom-san deployed the Flowing Void Steps to evade his attack.
“Don’t flee like a coward, brat!”
Pa Gung let out a furious roar and changed direction to pursue Woo Geom-san.
Using all four limbs like a beast, he leaped into the air. In midair, he thrust his fist toward Woo Geom-san.
“Die!”
Swish!
Instantly, a dark red energy was discharged from his fist.
It was Quan Qi.
Unleashing a nearly straight line of Quan Qi, his fist flew forward.
At that moment, Woo Geom-san gently waved his hand that wasn’t holding the sword.
Whish!
His hand wrapped around Pa Gung’s right wrist and snatched it forcefully.
Woo Geom-san had deployed Chaeuolsu.
An irresistible, mighty strength snatched Pa Gung and slammed him straight into the ground.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Slammed upside down onto the ground, Pa Gung let out a groan.
From the immense impact, his body was momentarily paralyzed and he couldn’t move.
“Chief!”
“You bastard!”
Seeing Pa Gung’s crisis, Gwak Ju-cheon and the subordinates rushed in.
If they had been ordinary bandits, they might have fled upon realizing they were no match for Woo Geom-san. However, having lost their reason to the demonic qi, they rushed forward regardless of their lives.
“Sigh.”
Woo Geom-san let out a deep sigh.
Because his body and mind felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton.
For him, who never grew weary even after training in martial arts all day, there was only one reason to be this exhausted.
It was precisely because of the guilt of committing murder.
He thought he had trained himself thoroughly, but it seemed his heart was not firm enough to bear the weight of taking lives.
Even so, he couldn’t hesitate or back down now.
Judging by the momentum of Pa Gung and his subordinates, they wouldn’t just retreat even if he spared them.
In the end, it would be the villagers who suffered.
He couldn’t leave bloodthirsty human wolves behind on Cheonbaeksan.
Steeling his heart, Woo Geom-san swung his sword.
Swish!
In that instant, those rushing toward Woo Geom-san saw an illusion as if his sword had multiplied into thousands.
It was impossible to distinguish which was the real sword and which was the phantom sword.
It was Heosilgyeol, the second form of the Choyen Sword Technique.
Spurt! Spurt! Spurt!
Blood erupted from the necks of the martial artists rushing toward Woo Geom-san.
“Ch…ief?”
“Cough!”
“Ugh!”
Gwak Ju-cheon and the subordinates all collapsed.
Seeing the death of his men, Pa Gung’s eyes rolled back.
“You bastard! Let’s die together!”
Springing to his feet, Pa Gung spread his arms and tried to embrace Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san quickly stepped back and thrust his sword.
Even as he saw the sword flying toward him, Pa Gung did not dodge.
He believed that with his body invulnerable to blades, he could withstand a single strike from Woo Geom-san.
His plan was to avoid a fatal injury and drive the Baigu Pahongeok, the strongest form of the Baigu Wushang Gong, into Woo Geom-san’s chest.
However, he soon realized that something had gone terribly wrong.
Puchuck!
Because Woo Geom-san’s strike pierced through his chest without any hesitation.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary thrust, but it was Cheongryugyeol, the first form of the Choyen Sword Technique.
Like a salmon swimming against the river current, Woo Geom-san’s sword tore relentlessly up through Pa Gung’s chest and gouged a hole in his heart.
“Cough!”
Pa Gung vomited blood and collapsed.
No matter how outstanding a divine art one had mastered, one could not survive with a hole torn through the heart.
Pa Gung was no exception.
Shatter!
The internal energy that Pa Gung had accumulated all this time scattered to pieces, and his already scrawny body shriveled up even further.
With a hollow expression, Pa Gung looked up at Woo Geom-san.
“You… what are you? And what is that martial art… How can an expert like you be in a mountain valley like this…”
Pa Gung’s voice grew fainter and fainter, then abruptly cut off.
His breath had stopped.
“Phew!”
Only then did Woo Geom-san exhale the breath he had been holding.
Looking at the corpses of Pa Gung and his subordinates, ten thousand emotions crossed Woo Geom-san’s face.
His hands trembled, and his legs shook.
In the end, Woo Geom-san sank down beside Pa Gung’s corpse.
Burying his head in both hands, Woo Geom-san sat like that for a long time.
It was around the time the sun was sinking into the western mountains when he finally stood up from his spot.
Barely managing to compose himself and rise, Woo Geom-san gathered the corpses of Pa Gung and his subordinates into one place.
After staring at the corpses for a moment, Woo Geom-san struck his palm toward the ground. Then, the external qi rushed into his body like a tidal wave and was discharged through his palm.
Boom!
Along with a explosive sound, a massive crater was formed in the ground.
Woo Geom-san placed the gathered corpses into the crater and covered them with dirt.
No matter how wicked they were, he couldn’t leave them abandoned to become food for wild beasts.
“May you find rebirth in the Pure Land…”
Woo Geom-san bowed his head slightly in front of their grave for a moment before moving his steps.
In the place he left behind, only a large mound remained, creating a bleak atmosphere.
***
“Geom-san!”
“Welcome back.”
Baek Wol-sang and the young men, who were resting halfway up the mountain, welcomed Woo Geom-san warmly.
Woo Geom-san forced a smile and approached them.
“Brothers!”
“You’re late.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
At Woo Geom-san’s apology, Baek Wol-sang shook his head.
He tapped the spot next to him with his palm and said.
“Sit here.”
“Yes!”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“I am starving.”
“Eat some of this.”
What Baek Wol-sang handed him was a bowl containing a porridge of unidentifiable nature.
It was food made while waiting for Woo Geom-san here.
Porridge boiled with dried meat and various grains was a dish they frequently made and ate when setting off on long journeys.
It didn’t look very pleasant, but it was reasonably edible.
Without declining, Woo Geom-san accepted the bowl of porridge.
He scooped up a full spoonful and brought it to his mouth, but Woo Geom-san ultimately couldn’t eat it.
Baek Wol-sang and the young men looked with pitying expressions at Woo Geom-san, who was sitting blankly in that exact posture with the spoon raised.
Although they did not know in detail what had happened, they could make a guess.
‘He must have run into the bandits.’
Baek Wol-sang and the young men couldn’t know how the result turned out. However, judging by Woo Geom-san’s demeanor, they could tell at least that things hadn’t gone smoothly.
Baek Wol-sang patted Woo Geom-san’s shoulder.
“Geom-san!”
“Brother?”
“You did well.”
“Yes!”
“Whatever happened, I hope you don’t feel guilty.”
“…”
Woo Geom-san couldn’t answer.
Though his mind thought that he had merely done what needed to be done, his heart felt heavy and stifled, as if a massive boulder had been placed upon it.
Baek Wol-sang comforted the quiet Woo Geom-san.
“Thanks to you, this path we travel has become safe, and the villagers will be able to pass the harsh winter in safety. You should only think about that fact.”
“I… will.”
Woo Geom-san nodded his head with difficulty.
Baek Wol-sang did not speak to Woo Geom-san any further.
Because he knew that when someone’s heart was struggling, trying to offer comfort by continuously talking was of no help at all.
He believed that it would instead be helpful to Woo Geom-san to keep a slight distance and watch over him.
Since the village youths shared the same thought as Baek Wol-sang, they watched over Woo Geom-san silently from a slight distance.
Thus, under everyone’s consideration, Woo Geom-san quietly ate the porridge.
With each spoonful he swallowed, his mouth felt rough as if he were swallowing sand, but he endured and pushed it down.
Chirp!
At that moment, Hongbaek, who had been circling the sky, landed on Woo Geom-san’s shoulder.
It was just a single small bird sitting there, but strangely, it brought him comfort.
Woo Geom-san thought to himself as he continued to eat the porridge.
‘From now on, I must train my heart as well.’

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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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