The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 64

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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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64
The Sovereign Blade
Woo Geom-san’s steps toward the Plank Road were incredibly light.
It was because he had finally shattered the massive wall that had stood firmly in his way for several months, catching a glimpse of the realm beyond.
This was exactly why martial arts were so captivating.
Once you scaled one wall, another stood blocking your path.
The newly appeared wall was always taller and more solid.
To overcome a single wall, it could take a few months at shortest, several years at longest, or perhaps even an entire lifetime.
Woo Geom-san had also lived his life breaking through or leaping over countless walls that barred his path.
Thanks to that, he was able to gain a deeper understanding of Choyeon Simgyeol and the Choyen Sword Technique.
He had mastered the Flowing Void Steps to near perfection, and he had even dabbled in all the martial arts within the Jeonjin Mugong Chongyo penned by Baek Ho-yang.
Although he had not mastered them as deeply as the Choyen Sword Technique, he had reached a level where he could roughly mimic their forms.
It was what they called “All Rivers Flow into the Sea.”
Everything started from one source and split into ten thousand different paths, but in the end, they were bound to merge back into one upon reaching the peak.
At some point, Woo Geom-san had realized this very truth.
Thanks to that, he was now able to perform a significant number of the martial arts in the Jeonjin Mugong Chongyo beyond a certain level.
Woo Geom-san’s steps toward the Plank Road were light.
There was no longer any farming work left for Woo Geom-san to help with.
This was because the villagers had already completed all the preparations. Therefore, Woo Geom-san had recently focused more of his energy on forging the Plank Road.
“Is that you, Geom-san?”
“Welcome.”
“It’s been a while. You look great.”
As soon as Woo Geom-san appeared, the people working on the Plank Road construction greeted him warmly.
Woo Geom-san greeted each of the villagers one by one before looking for Baek Do-gyeong.
“Has there been much progress?”
“Don’t even ask. A very nasty fellow is blocking the way.”
“Is that so?”
“Its hardness is completely beyond words. It’s so tough that it’s already ruined dozens of chisels.”
“Let me take a look.”
Woo Geom-san walked over to the edge of the Plank Road.
A protruding rock face was situated right at the section connecting to the Plank Road.
The rock face was massive, looking almost like a pillar holding up the heavens.
Although it was not visible, just beyond this rock face lay the mountainside where they ultimately intended to connect the Plank Road.
If they could only pierce through this rock face, they would be able to complete the Plank Road.
Once the Plank Road was connected, there would no longer be any need to spend ten grueling days making the arduous trek down the mountain as they had done until now.
The safe and fast route that the villagers had yearned for so desperately would finally be complete.
The problem was the gargantuan rock face stubbornly blocking the Plank Road.
Woo Geom-san lightly tapped the rock face with his fist.
Thump! Thump!
The sound was incredibly dense, carrying a hardness that felt on an entirely different level from anything before.
Looking back, he saw the villagers watching him with eyes full of anticipation.
The only reason they had worked together with one mind on this grueling labor for fifteen years was entirely for the sake of the village youth.
The young men who walked that treacherous ten-day path for the sake of the village were all their children.
They had worked until their joints were shattered just so their children could travel a little more comfortably.
If they could break this rock face, the fifteen-year epic undertaking would finally come to an end, and the youth would be able to travel between the village and Guangu County much more easily and safely.
However, with their strength alone, they could not possibly tear down this massive rock face.
The last remaining hope they had left was Woo Geom-san.
After examining the rock face for a moment, Woo Geom-san spoke to Baek Do-gyeong.
“Please give me my hammer and a chisel.”
“Here it is.”
Baek Do-gyeong immediately handed over the hammer and chisel that Woo Geom-san always used.
The hammer, used for fifteen years, had its handle replaced who knows how many times. The chisels had also been swapped out by the dozens.
With the hand gripping the hammer, Woo Geom-san gently stroked a section of the rock face.
It was the spot that looked the hardest to anyone’s eyes.
The density there was exceptionally high, making its color completely pitch-black.
A few people had tried hammering it just in case, but they only ended up breaking their chisels.
‘Things usually disguise themselves as strong to hide their weakest point.’
This law applied not only to human beings but to nature as well.
Though it looked harder than anything else, the weak point hidden within it was clearly visible to Woo Geom-san’s eyes.
Clang!
First, he hammered lightly.
As expected, that level of force didn’t leave so much as a scratch on the surface. Even so, Woo Geom-san was not disappointed.
Tting!
Once more, the hammer struck the head of the chisel with great force.
The chisel dug slightly into the surface of the rock face.
From that moment on, Woo Geom-san’s hammering truly began.
Clang!
A clear, metallic ring echoed through the canyon.
The chisel sank deep into the rock face that hadn’t even taken a single scratch despite dozens of villagers taking turns to strike it. Yet, Woo Geom-san did not stop his hammering.
‘Just a bit more.’
The most fragile point beneath the thick crust was not far now.
Clang! Clang!
The hammer struck the head of the chisel with absolute precision.
Digging deeper and deeper, the chisel finally vanished completely inside the rock face.
“Give me one more chisel, please.”
“Right here.”
Baek Do-gyeong hastily handed a spare chisel to Woo Geom-san.
Woo Geom-san placed the new chisel against the head of the one already buried in the rock and swung his hammer.
Clang! Clang!
The new chisel also dug deep into the rock face.
‘I’ve reached it.’
A certain subtle sensation was felt through the fingertips holding the chisel.
A powerful vibration, like the roar of a beast, surged up through the chisel.
“Phew!”
After catching his breath for a brief moment, Woo Geom-san raised his hammer high.
At that exact moment when everyone’s eyes were fixed on the hammer, Woo Geom-san brought it down with all his might.
Craaaack!
The moment the hammer slammed into the head of the chisel, a sound on an entirely different dimension from before exploded forth.
A boom like the detonation of a Thunderbolt Bomb reverberated throughout the entire canyon.
The noise was so deafening that most of the villagers ended up collapsing to the ground while covering their ears.
Despite such a massive sound, the rock face still appeared perfectly intact.
“Is it… not working?”
“If even Geom-san can’t do it, then what are we supposed to…”
Just as a look of despair began to shadow the faces of the villagers.
Crack!
An extremely faint tearing sound echoed.
Everyone stopped mid-sentence and stared intently at the rock face.
This was because the cracking sound was leaking out from deep inside the rock face where Woo Geom-san had driven the chisels.
Though it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, a fracture was rippling outward from within the rock face.
Crackle!
The fractures finally reached the surface of the rock.
As if by magic, dozens of cracks spider-webbed across the surface of the rock face all at once.
Woo Geom-san spoke to the villagers.
“Please step back.”
“Uh, right!”
“Hurry, step back.”
The villagers hurriedly scrambled away to a spot far removed from the rock face.
Woo Geom-san also watched the rock face alongside them.
Even at that very moment, the cracks were growing larger and larger.
Like a spider’s web, the fractures spread across the entire rock face.
Grind!
The sound of stone crushing and grinding against stone echoed out.
To the ears of the people, that sound felt almost as if the rock face were screaming in agony.
It felt like the rock face, which had endured for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, was letting out its final death rattle at the end of its life.
“……”
A moment later, a deathly silence descended upon the canyon like a lie.
At that exact second when a look of bewilderment crossed everyone’s faces, the rock face suddenly began to collapse.
Rumble!
The massive rock face crumbled away as if a landslide had occurred.
The people watched blankly as boulders the size of houses poured downward like loose soil.
Because it was such an unrealistic sight, they couldn’t bring themselves to believe it even while watching it happen.
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that all of this was triggered by a single strike of Woo Geom-san’s hammer.
However, because it was done by Woo Geom-san and no one else, they accepted it.
Over the past fifteen years, Woo Geom-san had accomplished unbelievable things multiple times.
Woo Geom-san tried his best not to show any signs of his martial arts training in front of people.
This was because he didn’t want to create a sense of estrangement with the villagers.
Even so, there were inevitable moments when he had to use his martial arts.
Although he restrained its power as much as possible, in the eyes of the villagers, he had looked just like an immortal.
Despite possessing such tremendous power, the villagers felt a deep affection for Woo Geom-san, who lived alongside them without any pretense, rubbing shoulders with them day in and day out.
Therefore, they did not feel any fear toward Woo Geom-san, even after he performed such an unbelievable feat right before their eyes.
Thump! Thump!
The massive boulders fell beneath the cliff with heavy, dull thuds.
To be honest, even Woo Geom-san hadn’t anticipated that his hammering would produce such a staggering result.
All he had wanted was to cut away enough of the rock face to connect the Plank Road. Yet, contrary to his expectations, he had caused the entire rock face to collapse completely.
Woo Geom-san knew the reason why things had turned out this way.
‘Crossing that wall was the issue.’
Last night, he had felt the energies that used to wander separately finally become one, piercing through from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes.
It had felt as though he had become one with heaven and earth.
After that, everything had changed.
Both his perspective on the world and his physical condition had shifted.
The moment an intent arose, his body moved on its own accord.
Even without consciously focusing on Choyeon Simgyeol, the external Qi moved by itself.
Even a simple gesture contained the profound subtleties of the Choyen Sword Technique.
This incredible event that just occurred was the combined result of all those elements coming together.
Though he had restrained his power as much as possible up until now out of consciousness for people’s eyes, he could not undo what had already happened.
Baek Do-gyeong and the villagers approached Woo Geom-san.
“Wow! What a spectacular sight.”
“Our Geom-san finally tore down the last barrier. Truly magnificent.”
“Thanks to you, we can finally breathe easy. Hahaha!”
Despite witnessing such a tremendous spectacle, the people’s attitude toward Woo Geom-san didn’t change in the slightest from before.
“On the first day, the old man sliced away the rock face blocking the entrance to the Plank Road, and on the last day, Geom-san blows that whole thing away. Heheh!”
“Like grandfather, like grandson.”
“Shouldn’t we erect a monument to commemorate the achievements of these two?”
When the talk eventually escalated to building a monument, Woo Geom-san’s face flushed red.
While the people laughed and chatted, the collapse of the rock face finally came to a halt.
The spot where the rock face had collapsed was as smooth as the surface of glass.
Thanks to that, it seemed they wouldn’t have to worry about falling rocks occurring in the future either.
Baek Do-gyeong and the villagers hastily rushed toward the point where the rock face had crumbled.
The villager who arrived at the scene first shouted at the top of his lungs.
“It’s connected! Uhahaha! The mountainside and the Plank Road are connected!”
“It’s true! The Plank Road is linked!”
“Waaaah! Now we can use a safe mountain path too.”
The villagers who arrived at the scene cheered wildly.
Just beyond where the rock face had collapsed, the mountainside was visible right away.
Once they cleared away the fallen rocks resting on the Plank Road, it would immediately connect to the mountainside.
It was a grand undertaking that had taken a staggering fifteen years to accomplish.
Every single person in the village had pitched in to split and carry stones.
Even toddlers who had just learned to take their first steps, and elderly who found it difficult to move around, had contributed their strength.
In that manner, the entire village had clung to the task for fifteen years to forge the Plank Road.
Because they were witnessing the completion of a grand undertaking that they thought could never be achieved within their lifetimes, they cheered, and they also wept.
Baek Do-gyeong spoke to Woo Geom-san with bloodshot eyes.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, the path has been opened.”
“No, it’s not. It’s all thanks to the united efforts of everyone in the village.”
“Even so, your contribution is the greatest. I will never forget this grace.”
“I’m just glad. We were able to complete the Plank Road without a single casualty.”
“Heavenly luck was on our side. Since our sincerity was so profound, heaven surely protected us.”
“Yes!”
Completing the Plank Road didn’t mean it was the end.
They still had to widen the path leading from the mountainside to Guangu County. However, compared to the epic undertaking of forging the Plank Road, widening a small trail was as easy as children’s playtime.
Baek Do-gyeong shouted toward the weeping villagers.
“What do you mean you’re wasting time crying? We need to throw a feast!”
“That’s right! We must throw a massive feast and treat the old man and Geom-san to something delicious.”
“Uhahaha! I shall unseal the liquor I brewed ten years ago.”
“I’ll also bring out the liquor I brewed when my daughter was born.”
The people shouted in sheer excitement.
That day, a massive feast was thrown in Yunjung Village. And just in time, the young men who had gone to Guangu County returned.
The young men went wild like crazy people, cheering at the news that the Plank Road was completed.
The food vanished into bellies the instant it was prepared, and the liquor brewed last spring also ran dry as soon as it was brought out.
Even so, not a single person begrudged the loss.
From young children to the elderly, everyone stayed up all night together, sharing in the joy.

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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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