The Fortunate Sword God of the Zhuge Clan - Chapter 66

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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 66.
In the predawn hours, having succeeded in forming a Spiritual Manifestation, Mu Heun grew greedy for more.
—Then, how would I create a Realization in this state?
Yang Mujin answered with exhaustion written across his face.
—How should I know?
—Pardon?
—Once you form a Spiritual Manifestation, you normally step straight into the Ultimate Peak. But you’re still at the Peak stage, aren’t you? Your Inner Power and body don’t compare to the Ultimate Peak.
Yang Mujin stifled a yawn and continued.
—I’ve never even heard of something like that. So how could I answer?
Mu Heun had no words to counter with.
This was something only Mu Heun himself would know.
—Then, what was the situation when you first achieved Realization? Would you share that memory with me?
—That memory, you say….
Yang Mujin closed his eyes, lost in thought.
It wasn’t until Mu Heun began to suspect he’d fallen asleep that he opened them again.
—It was when I was subduing those ruffians at Geumsaru. There were martial artists at the Peak stage and quite a few of them, so I was in a rather troublesome situation….
Suddenly, his Spiritual Manifestation stirred and moved.
Recalling those words, Mu Heun rushed at Seo Ryong without hesitation.
Clang!
It was a somewhat reckless charge, but the footwork granted by Heaven Path No Emotion gave the assault a certain sharpness as it flowed forward.
Still, it was far from enough to deal serious damage to Seo Ryong.
‘…He surely knows he can’t win this way.’
Seo Ryong easily parried Mu Heun’s attack while remaining vigilant.
Mu Heun clearly understood his nature as well.
‘What are you plotting, exactly?’
Seo Ryong cut off Mu Heun’s momentum without prolonging the exchange.
It was a technique he’d learned anew from his sparring with Dokgo Hyeon.
Boom!
Mu Heun’s body flew back beyond a zhang’s distance once more.
“Cough!”
Mu Heun spat blood again.
It was the lingering effect of the internal injury he’d sustained moments before.
‘Good.’
Wiping away the blood trickling from his mouth with his sleeve, Mu Heun smiled.
It was a smile born from the realization, as a martial artist, that he was finally facing an opponent with his full strength.
Thump.
But it also came from feeling his Spiritual Manifestation stirring and writhing throughout his body.
‘The moment the Commander first manifested his Spiritual Manifestation was surely a life-or-death situation.’
When Dokgo Hyeon had displayed something similar at the final moment, he too had been about to be overwhelmed by Manlixiang’s blade.
If so, wasn’t a mortal threat the catalyst for Realization?
Mu Heun believed this to be so, and his Spiritual Manifestation was indeed responding to some degree.
‘Of course, the Commander’s body and Inner Power had already reached the Ultimate Peak….’
Yet somehow, Mu Heun felt certain he could do it.
It was not mere confidence, but something closer to absolute conviction.
It was the same sensation he’d felt when thinking of his talent for observing martial techniques, and when reflecting on his own aptitude.
‘A sense of dissonance….’
Something that should never happen to one with perfect memory.
Mu Heun couldn’t grasp its nature, but for now he set it aside.
‘What matters now is growing stronger, and….’
Defeating Seo Ryong before him.
Mu Heun charged recklessly once more.
His body was near its limit, but the stronger his conviction that this was right became.
Seo Ryong’s response was straightforward.
—Cangdian Wuya Sword Technique, Third Form. Ten-Thousand-League Sky.
A heavy downward slash bore down upon Mu Heun.
—Myriad Star Heaven Slashing Sword, Second Form. Flowing Cloud.
Mu Heun tried once again to let it slide away with Flowing Cloud.
But that was precisely Seo Ryong’s trap.
Seo Ryong reversed his Inner Power, halting Ten-Thousand-League Sky mid-strike.
The backlash caused sharp pain to flare through his arms, but Seo Ryong’s expression didn’t change.
Mu Heun couldn’t stop the Flowing Cloud and spun through another full rotation.
In that instant, Seo Ryong unveiled the form he’d sketched out moments before, this time executing it with perfect precision.
Above the clouds of Spear Heaven, thunder sleeps in silence.
The moment the sword rises, heaven’s momentum reverses with it.
A single blade descending cracks the earth before the lightning ever could.
Men have seen lightning fall, yet none have ever dodged the heavens.
The second movement of the Cangdian Wuya Sword Technique.
Cangdian Lightning Strike.
The form of Cangdian Lightning Strike consisted of three cuts in total.
An upward slash, a spinning slash, a downward slash.
Its essence lay in executing these with the speed of thunder itself.
Clang!
On the first upward slash, Mu Heun’s blade rose to meet it.
Boom!
Sensing he couldn’t deflect the second spinning slash, Mu Heun threw himself backward and barely escaped it.
Seo Ryong, having anticipated this, moved swiftly forward to close the distance to the fallen Mu Heun.
“This seems to be the end.”
Rumble!
With those quiet words, thunder roared once more as Seo Ryong’s blade rained down upon Mu Heun.
Mu Heun clenched his jaw.
‘Damn it. Is there no way?’
He could raise his blade to block, but doing so would make it impossible to rise again afterward.
In that moment of crisis.
‘…?’
Mu Heun felt time freeze in an instant.
No—it was more than that, the sensation went far beyond mere stillness.
The landscape before his eyes was no longer the Martial Arts Arena, but somewhere entirely different.
Seo Ryong’s descending blade vanished without a trace, and an enormous library filled his vision completely.
A strange place without a ceiling, where relentless rain continued to soak the books within.
Mu Heun recognized it at once.
‘My… Inner Mindscape.’
The landscape of his mind that now filled his entire being.
And yet, in the very center of a mindscape that should have contained only himself.
There stood another man, hands clasped behind his back, facing away.
‘…Who is that?’
A man with neatly arranged white hair flowing down his shoulders.
Without turning, he wandered through the library as the downpour poured, extracting books to read before replacing them.
His reading was so swift that it seemed he was merely skimming the pages, not truly reading them at all.
The man muttered softly after setting down a book.
So this is the life you lived.
Those mysterious words carried an inexplicable sorrow.
Mu Heun spoke to the man calmly.
“…Who are you, that you sit in sorrow within the library of my Inner Mindscape?”
The man still facing away let out a hearty laugh.
Sorrow, you say? Is that how it appears to you?
“…Yes?”
Very well. For now, we cannot speak further..
The man turned slowly to face Mu Heun.
You’ve reached this place faster than expected. Perhaps ‘this time’ will truly be different.
Mu Heun gasped at the sight of that face.
That face was as if….
“Huh!”
Mu Heun let out a strangled cry, gasping for breath.
‘W-what was that just now?’
He was certain he’d felt something upon seeing the man’s face, yet he couldn’t remember what it was.
‘What in the world was that man….’
But there was no time to dwell on it.
The landscape had already returned to the Martial Arts Arena, and Seo Ryong’s blade was crashing down upon him.
Yet unlike before, Mu Heun could now perfectly ‘comprehend’ Seo Ryong’s strike.
‘…Ah.’
Mu Heun instinctively thrust his hand forward to meet Namkoong Seo Ryong’s strike.
Crack!
In that instant, the sword energy enveloping Namkoong Seo Ryong’s blow simply vanished.
Moreover, the Emperor Sword Formation that had blanketed the entire Martial Arts Arena dissipated in a heartbeat.
“…?!”
Shock flashed across Namkoong Seo Ryong’s eyes.
“What just….”
Namkoong Seo Ryong was too bewildered to finish his sentence.
Mu Heun curled his lips into a smile.
“I don’t have time to explain in detail, but….”
Mu Heun rose to his feet and lunged at Namkoong Seo Ryong once more.
“It seems my plan has succeeded.”
Since it was the same attack as before, Namkoong Seo Ryong didn’t panic and attempted to unleash the horizontal slash of the Myriad Star Heaven Slashing Sword again.
Crack!
“?!”
Yet somehow, despite executing the move flawlessly, the technique didn’t complete properly.
The sword energy wouldn’t even gather.
It was a different sensation from the flow being cut off as it had been with Dokgo Hyeon’s Breaking Technique.
‘The technique… is being nullified?’
While Namkoong Seo Ryong reeled, Mu Heun’s blade pressed him hard.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
Though a difference in inner strength existed, the gap between a blade wrapped in sword energy and one without was staggering.
Namkoong Seo Ryong tried to trigger the Emperor Sword Formation, but—
‘The Emperor Sword Formation won’t complete.’
More precisely, it felt as though it would begin but never finish.
Namkoong Seo Ryong was pushed back one-sidedly against Mu Heun’s sword wreathed in energy.
Clang!
At last, unable to withstand Mu Heun’s final strike, Namkoong Seo Ryong’s blade flew from his grip and embedded itself in the floor of the Martial Arts Arena.
Then, Mu Heun’s sword drifted gently to Namkoong Seo Ryong’s throat.
Mu Heun asked, his lips curled into a blood-hungry grin.
“Do you wish to continue?”
Only then could Namkoong Seo Ryong grasp what had transpired.
“…Is it Realization?”
“Indeed it is.”
Mu Heun could understand it instinctively.
To understand, to respond, and to prevent it from manifesting.
The singular purpose Mu Heun had pursued his entire life, the purpose he must continue to achieve.
The Spiritual Manifestation born from that purpose prevented any technique of an opponent he had once understood from reaching completion.
“Myriad Forms Dissolution. That is what I shall call it.”
“To dissolve and comprehend all things….”
Namkoong Seo Ryong let out a hollow laugh.
“Splendid. I never imagined you’d achieve Realization in the midst of all this. And you’re not even at the Super-Expert stage.”
“And you achieved the Emperor Sword Formation without being at the Super-Expert stage either?”
“Ha. That’s true. Yet here we are.”
Namkoong Seo Ryong raised both hands and continued in a tone tinged with bittersweet resignation.
“I concede.”
At those words, the arbiter raised one hand and declared:
“Sparring concluded! The victor—Mu Heun of the Jegal Clan!”
Spectators erupted in thunderous acclaim at a result no one had foreseen.
***
The moment the tournament champion was decided, the ceremony proceeded swiftly.
A seat reserved for the victor had already been prepared in Jaso Hall.
Namkoong Cheon, observing the crowd filling Jaso Hall, nodded, and a waiting martial artist stood and called out to Mu Heun.
“Step forward—the new Dragon of this Dragon Phoenix Gathering! Mu Heun of the Jegal Clan, come receive the Shenlong Medal from the Martial Alliance Leader!”
Having tended to his injuries and changed into fresh robes, Mu Heun clasped his fist and bowed to Namkoong Cheon.
Namkoong Cheon rose from his seat and approached Mu Heun with a solemn expression.
“New Dragon Mu Heun—raise your head.”
Mu Heun lifted his head slightly.
Even though his son Namkoong Seo Ryong had been defeated, no regret flickered across Namkoong Cheon’s face.
When Mu Heun’s expression grew uncertain, Namkoong Cheon let out a soft chuckle and sent a telepathic message.
-Why? Do you think I’d scold you for defeating Seo Ryong?
Mu Heun offered an awkward smile.
-Not exactly, but… honestly, I thought you’d be disappointed.
-Disappointed, yes, but it’s not a result I can’t accept. You were magnificent.
Namkoong Cheon handed the Shenlong Medal—symbol of victory at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering—to Mu Heun, continuing through telepathy.
-For a martial artist at the Peak Stage to achieve Manifestation… having witnessed such a thing, how could I not take pride in it? Rather, I’m proud that such a martial artist has emerged from the Orthodox Faction. Well….
Namkoong Cheon glanced sideways at Jegal Cheonseong’s expression.
-Though I confess the thought of hearing your father boast about this grows a bit tiresome.
At Namkoong Cheon’s words, Mu Heun’s lips curved upward as well, stealing a glance at Jegal Cheonseong’s face.
Jegal Cheonseong, who had been suppressing laughter, could no longer hold back the corners of his mouth the moment their eyes met.
-You did truly well, Mu Heun.
Mu Heun bowed to his father in gratitude and received the Shenlong Medal with both hands.
“I am grateful for this undeserved honor.”
His words of thanks were offered to both Namkoong Cheon and Jegal Cheonseong.
Namkoong Cheon smiled warmly, nodded his head, and turned to face the spectators.
“Joyously, I declare that here today, before all of us, a new Dragon has been born—one who shall lead the Orthodox Faction into the future.”
Namkoong Cheon’s voice, rich with weighty Qi, resonated through Jaso Hall.
“Jegal Mu Heun’s martial prowess transcends even the designation of Rising Martial Artist. Truly, as the waters of the Yangtze flow onward, I feel the time approaching when we of an older generation must step aside. Hahahaha!”
Namkoong Cheon praised Mu Heun’s martial mastery with expressions that bordered on exaggeration, yet no one in attendance disputed his words.
All had witnessed Seo Ryong’s martial prowess met head-on, and victory claimed in the end.
“How could we not raise a toast on such a magnificent day?”
Namkoong Cheon lifted a cup that had been prepared beforehand and continued.
“To mark the conclusion of this Dragon Phoenix Gathering, we shall hold the grandest celebration yet! This Namkoong has already settled the tab at every tavern in town, so please, all of you, enjoy yourselves to your heart’s content!”
Namkoong Cheon drained his cup in one hearty gulp.
At that magnificent gesture, the spectators gathered in Jaso Hall could not help but cry out in acclaim once more.
***
Though Namkoong Cheon had paid for all the drinks in every tavern, Mu Heun—now the New Dragon—and the other Rising Martial Artists gathered once more at the same tavern where they’d first assembled.
The difference from before was that this time, from the start, they paid no mind to which belonged to renowned or minor sects, simply sharing martial techniques and conversing freely and spiritedly.
Of course, even so, all eyes among the Rising Martial Artists remained most fixed upon Mu Heun.
“Lord Mu Heun, it’s been scarcely a month since you recovered from your illness—how did you accumulate such martial prowess in so short a time?”
“What was the secret method you employed in the final moment to break through Lord Namkoong’s Emperor Sword Formation?”
“You created your own martial art? Heavens, do you possess the qualifications to become a Great Grandmaster!”
Mu Heun answered every question from the Rising Martial Artists with a smile and utmost sincerity.
Having spent his life in what amounted to social engagement, Mu Heun’s handling was beyond reproach.
Dokgo Hyeon, observing this, let out an exclamation of admiration.
“Remarkable… how does he manage to slip past every question so smoothly? Is that also something the great sects teach?”
Seo Ryong laughed heartily in response.
“Haha! I couldn’t do it like that! That’s just how Mu Heun was born. Truly without fault.”
Dang Chobin replied with a sullen expression.
“I don’t like admitting it, but he is extraordinary.”
Woo Cheongsim nodded his head.
“Truly, an incomprehensible person. If only he’d open up a little, it would all make sense.”
At that ominous remark, Jin Yu and Sunyeon, seated nearby, flinched slightly.
A figure called Doun sat slack-jawed in the tavern, staring at a moth that had flown inside.
Yang Mujin, watching this, let out a dry cough.
“Hasn’t been long, but you all see it now, right? That’s the level you need to reach to become deputy commander.”
All the members of the Cheon응 Group nodded in agreement.
Now that all positions in the Cheon응 Group had been decided, they sat at a table somewhat apart from Mu Heun.
Though Yang Mujin was not a Rising Martial Artist, this was the first gathering where all members of the Cheon응 Group assembled, so he necessarily sat at this table as commander.
Sunyeon, still unused to these companions after being brought into the group through a wager, timidly raised her hand and spoke.
“Um… s-so, that is, the Cheon응 Group—what exactly… wh-what kind of organization is it?”
Yang Mujin turned to face Sunyeon and answered.
“Cooperative action. Ostensibly… well, actually just cooperative action.”
“Ost-ostensibly, that m-means…?”
“Ah, you haven’t heard yet, Sunyeon?”
“It’s not that only Sunyeon has failed to hear of it.”
Woo Cheongsim spoke up with apparent curiosity.
“I myself have heard nothing beyond that we will face some great evil.”
At this, all save Jin Yu, Dokgo Hyeon, and Seo Ryong—who already knew of the Black Guard—nodded their heads in acknowledgment.
“Ah, I see. So that’s all the explanation you gave before bringing them here.”
Yang Mujin paused in thought before speaking.
“Well, I suppose you all ought to know.”
Yang Mujin’s expression remained composed as he transmitted a message simultaneously to all seven members gathered around the table.
The transmission alone revealed cultivation at the Ultimate Peak, but what truly startled the Cheon응 Group members was the content of his words.
-Our enemy is the Imperial Palace.
Shock rippled across the faces of the Cheon응 Group members.
Among them, Sunyeon’s complexion drained entirely, her features twisted as though she might weep as she stared at Yang Mujin.
***
Mu Heun glanced sidelong at the table where the Cheon응 Group had gathered.
‘The leader will explain it well.’
Mu Heun had chosen not to sit at that table partly because he’d anticipated the flood of martial artists seeking him out as he was doing now, but also out of consideration for Yang Mujin.
After all, Yang Mujin was the true leader of the Cheon응 Group.
For their future endeavors, it was essential that the members witness Yang Mujin making the largest decisions himself.
‘I’ll leave that to him.’
Mu Heun turned his attention back to answering the questions of the other rising martial artists with renewed diligence.
As an hour passed in this manner, nearly all of them had exhausted their inquiries, and at last Mu Heun found himself with a moment’s respite.
‘Heh, there’s something always refreshing about watching young people display such passion.’
Mu Heun smiled faintly, rose from his seat, and began moving toward the table where the Cheon응 Group had congregated.
In that instant, a woman’s voice arrested him.
“Jeok Sohyeop. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, might I also ask a question?”
Mu Heun’s body stiffened momentarily.
Answering a question was ordinarily no difficulty, but that voice—it was far too familiar.
Mu Heun turned his head slowly to face the source of the voice.
Hair black as a moonless night, rippling like water.
Large eyes that held both sharpness and gentleness in equal measure.
A beauty whose refined nose and well-proportioned lips drew the eye—and she was regarding Mu Heun.
Her appearance was striking enough to command attention anywhere, yet curiously, no rising martial artists among the gathered crowd had made advances toward her.
It was because she herself was deliberately concealing her presence.
‘…Yes, we were bound to cross paths again.’
Mu Heun suppressed his discomposure and replied in a measured voice.
“Of course. Please, ask whatever you wish.”
“Thank you. Well then… ah, I suppose I should introduce myself first as a matter of courtesy.”
Mu Heun watched her hesitate for a moment.
She was a woman who had been his destined one in his past life, a passionate martial artist who had wandered the realm seeking to revive the dying Faith Sect.
“I am Sama Yeo Rin, daughter of the Sama Family, come to pay respects to the New Dragon of the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.”
As Mu Heun looked upon Sama Yeo Rin—her true name, Cheon Yeo Rin—an awkward smile crossed his face.

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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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