The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 192

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 192
I’m confident in my memory.
Since childhood, and even in my past life, it was something I always kept in mind.
I rarely forget anything I’ve seen once, whether it’s actions or objects—there’s no distinction.
It’s not a bad talent.
It was one of the few talents I could rate myself highly on.
I’ve profited greatly from using it.
Having a good memory means there are more occasions to put it to use than one might think.
Though I’ll admit, the applications differ between my past and present lives.
‘Still.’
Ultimately, the advantage remained unchanged.
Shiiiiing—!!!
Clang—!!
This time was no different.
Seo-pyeong’s blade descended, flowing swiftly along its path like water cascading down.
The Shaman’s sword follows the principle of the Tai Chi, or so they say.
A blade that is soft yet heavy.
It feels like water settling gently as it flows.
I don’t fully understand the principles of Tai Chi or whatever, but watching it, I could grasp it to some extent.
‘That’s why they say the Shaman’s sword resembles a valley.’
Flowing currents.
Heaviness contained within tranquility.
A martial art focused on deflection rather than aggressive sword paths.
It made sense why it was called swordsmanship specialized in defense.
And indeed it was.
Scriiiiitch—!
When I attacked, Seo-pyeong deflected my blade.
The motion was remarkably natural.
And yet.
“Hup!”
With a shout, what poured forth transformed from a valley stream into a violent waterfall.
Though specialized in defense, that doesn’t mean the Shaman’s sword is weak.
Its heaviness was proof of its formidable power.
“Hngh!”
Seo-pyeong wielded his blade with all his might, pouring his strengths into the strike.
The Shaman.
One of the Nine Sects and, alongside Hwasan, positioned at the very pinnacle.
It had countless disciples and ranked among the most influential forces.
The blade of Seo-pyeong, who earned the title of greatest talent from such a place, was truly formidable.
‘Certainly.’
The sensation is completely different.
I dodged and parried the blade while analyzing the exchange.
His sword isn’t particularly fast.
Nor is it especially ornate or flashy.
Just fundamentals.
It demonstrated perfectly what a blade grounded in basic technique truly looked like.
[Both upper and lower body are well-developed. Despite what seems like a somewhat broken temperament, there are clear traces of diligent training.]
As if acknowledging nothing else, Yoo Cheon-gil singled out and praised Seo-pyeong’s dedication.
I didn’t disagree with that assessment.
‘It’s obvious just looking at him.’
Seo-pyeong’s body was solid.
It was different from Heuk Taedo’s frame, which looked brutishly powerful.
‘The form achieved through effort.’
An optimal physique forged through extreme training.
Seo-pyeong’s body radiated precisely that impression.
From that powerful frame came a clean, economical blade.
Even I, who knew little of martial arts, could recognize its worth.
‘If only his personality weren’t so rotten, I might have actually respected him.’
That vile temperament seemed to ruin everything else about him.
*Clang.*
Blade met blade.
The moment they connected, I understood—I was being pushed back. I recognized that Seo-pyeong’s blade could easily drive mine aside.
What about in terms of realm?
‘What’s the point in asking? It’s higher.’
Among those called the Seven Prodigies, none possessed a lower realm than mine.
All of them had surpassed the Peak.
In the Central Plains, teeming with countless martial artists, reaching the Peak was called the lifelong goal of many.
Countless were those who stumbled and fell before reaching that height.
Yet all of these youths, barely past their twenties, had already transcended the Peak.
‘It’s certainly extraordinary.’
It was a fact that made denying their genius impossible.
‘In that sense, what am I even…’
Since I was someone Yoo Cheon-gil had brought forth, comparing myself to them felt unfortunate.
Not that I had any intention of placing myself on the same level anyway.
*Crunch—!!*
‘Tsk.’
My blade was being pushed back. It seemed I couldn’t handle this through pure strength.
A pointless attempt.
Realizing this, I immediately shifted my footwork.
I twisted the blade to deflect the attack. Seo-pyeong seemed to anticipate this and attempted to follow through, but—
At that moment, Wol-an intervened.
‘Diagonal left.’
I could sense the man’s movements through his energy.
I reversed the direction I was about to flow, as if offering a false opening.
His center of gravity twisted, and Seo-pyeong’s blade wavered.
Simultaneously, his torso became exposed.
I swept a kick at that gap and drove him back.
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
His body was pushed back.
The absurd part was that despite me being the one who kicked, I was pushed back even further.
The distance between us widened.
But.
“You bastard—!”
Seo-pyeong regained his footing and charged at me again.
‘This man is relentless.’
Did he never tire? Seo-pyeong attacked without end.
Then.
Whiiiing—!
Something foreign emerged from Seo-pyeong’s blade.
It was a sword resonance.
He was attempting to manifest a sword resonance.
Wol-an caught it.
Clang—!
“…!!”
The moment she caught it, she drove through and blocked his resonance.
She simply struck upward.
That alone was enough to disrupt the resonance’s manifestation.
She had severed the flow of his energy.
A sword resonance is not instantaneous. At least not Seo-pyeong’s.
If you intercept it before it fully manifests, you can block it in such a manner.
“Tch!”
Blocked once more, Seo-pyeong let out a bitter sound.
It continued this way.
Whenever he attempted to unfold a resonance, I blocked it.
Whenever he charged, I created an opening and pushed him back.
That was how I faced him.
The problem was that I had to block him every time he manifested a resonance.
And I had to create openings and push him back whenever he charged.
If one were to ask how such a thing was possible against someone stronger than me.
‘It’s showing.’
One was Wol-an’s assistance.
The second was.
‘Easy.’
It stemmed from the habits and characteristics that man possessed.
Boom-!
I adopted a footwork stance. The instant my feet touched the ground.
My eyes were fixed on his right wrist.
‘From the left, then.’
The moment I understood, I drew my blade. His sword came at me from the left.
Screech-! Clang-!
I blocked it with the flat of my blade and deflected it with a slight parry.
This was about how one wielded the sword.
Everyone possessed habits.
Seo-pyeong had them too.
Peculiarities visible in his stance and the way he swung.
I had learned this when I received information about Seo-pyeong from Gaebang.
Of course, the information from Gaebang didn’t detail Seo-pyeong’s habits in such specificity.
Rather, it was thanks to the martial treatises about combat.
A few times to the left.
A few times to the right.
Martial treatises written in text about combat techniques.
I had continuously recalled them while reading.
‘What habits does that man have?’
In my past life, it was similar to discerning speech patterns or unique mannerisms.
In the Central Plains, it had transformed into observing an opponent’s habits during combat.
How much could I truly discern from mere text?
Not very much.
Yet one thing.
‘The difference between remembering and forgetting is significant.’
Facing an opponent with knowledge is different from entering without it.
What kind of blade the Shaman wielded.
What kind of being Seo-pyeong was.
Knowing that versus not knowing made all the difference.
Even now, wasn’t that evident?
‘Left side. Foot positioning. Ah, that’s a feint.’
I observed his wrist and feet. I discerned the trajectory while watching his eyes.
And predicted his action.
Within just a few exchanges, I had memorized it all.
‘His habits are pronounced.’
Fortunately, Seo-pyeong was a man of pronounced habits.
Especially when he unleashed his sword force.
‘That bastard’s right shoulder lifts slightly whenever he channels his sword force.’
Since he had to pour immense energy into it, an almost excessive amount of strength flowed through him.
Beyond that, with his shoulder rising, his movements became glaringly obvious.
I could even see the tip of his blade dip slightly.
That was the moment to strike.
Honestly, if I miscalculated by even a hair’s breadth, it would have been catastrophic.
“Damn it…!!!”
Watching him contort his face in frustration each time he was blocked, I had to admit it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
“Why…! Why!”
Seo-pyeong’s anger flared repeatedly, his sense of injustice and suffocation evident.
No matter what technique he attempted, it was shut down before he could even execute it—clearly maddening for him.
[…This is something.]
Yoo Cheon-gil, observing this, spoke as if bewildered.
[I’ve never seen anyone fight in such a manner before.]
His tone carried genuine intrigue.
[If you were subtly discerning and exploiting habits, that would be one thing. But deliberately memorizing them from the start—what kind of approach is that?]
Did my method confuse him?
It didn’t matter. I had no intention of explaining myself.
‘In the end, only the result matters.’
Regardless of the process, if the outcome was favorable, nothing else held significance.
That was simply how life worked.
Crack.
I drove Seo-pyeong back once more. This time, he lost his footing and tumbled across the ground.
Was he growing tired? No, he didn’t seem physically exhausted.
‘He’s become mentally impatient.’
I could sense his desperation mounting.
‘His spirit is remarkably fragile.’
What had I even done?
To grow so desperate over something this trivial was curious, though.
‘After all, he’s barely in his twenties.’
No matter how many times one is called a genius, those who’ve spent their entire lives gripping a sword can only develop so much mental fortitude.
“…Damn it…! I… I.
Observing the disheveled Seo-pyeong, I surveyed the surroundings.
The crowd’s reactions had grown noticeably muted as the match dragged on.
-This really isn’t ending.
-It seems to be going on too long.
Were they growing bored?
Well, it had certainly stretched out.
To be honest, I was starting to struggle as well.
‘Is this enough?’
I thought this while watching Seo-pyeong push himself back up.
Continuing further wouldn’t decide the match. I was only pushing him back, and I was consuming more stamina than he was.
So, I needed to end it here.
Then.
‘Should I try it?’
Maybe I should try it.
With that thought, I looked toward Yoo Cheon-gil.
Yoo Cheon-gil smiled slightly as he looked at me, then nodded his head.
It was permission.
The moment I saw that, I lowered my hand.
I changed my stance and steadied my breathing.
At this, Seo-pyeong narrowed his eyes.
“…What are you doing? Are you deceiving me?”
He seemed to have misunderstood and grew angry instead.
It appeared he thought I was going easy on him, but I was too busy concentrating.
“How dare you…!”
Seo-pyeong infused his blade with power as he raged.
Then, the sword aura that had failed to manifest until now finally fully awakened.
The form of the sword aura, containing the principles of the Supreme Ultimate.
Like the form of their blades, it was a sturdy and upright sword aura.
“I will make you regret this…!”
Seo-pyeong’s sword path flowed with momentum.
Yin-Yang Dual Swords.
The signature sword technique of the Shaman erupted from Seo-pyeong’s body.
As the sword aura coiled around the sword path, it manifested in an increasingly threatening form.
Whoooosh—!!!
The blade flew toward me.
A fully manifested and successfully executed attack.
It felt completely different from before.
Watching this, I was certain.
‘I might have actually lost if I’d left it alone.’
If I hadn’t disrupted his sword path technique, it would have been dangerous.
Seo-pyeong’s blade was certainly formidable.
However.
I wasn’t without options either.
화아아아아아—!!!
Light ignited across my blade.
Gwangwol Seomgyeong.
The Cheonwol Sect’s sword radiance manifests.
Seo-pyeong’s eyes widened upon witnessing it.
He seemed flustered by the brilliant luminescence of the sword radiance.
Yet he did not halt his blade’s advance.
The sword pressed forward incrementally.
I focused my gaze intently upon Seo-pyeong’s blade.
As my sword radiance unfurled, an intensified brilliance suffused Wol-an.
In that instant.
A piercing wail tore through the air–!!
A single luminous line materialized across my vision.
The line cradling that radiance was perfectly straight.
It served as a beacon, as though beckoning one to follow this path.
Yet.
This was no path meant for human footsteps.
I slowly raised my blade along that luminous trajectory.
The Gwangwol Seomgyeong flowed along the line.
My advancing blade moved toward Seo-pyeong’s sword.
And when our radiances finally collided.
A sharp metallic ring–!!
The sound of something shattering echoed forth.
“What?”
Seo-pyeong uttered a single exclamation.
The blade he had been wielding shattered, its fragments scattering through the air.
A clattering crash–!
The blade, cleaved in half, clattered to the ground.
“Phew.”
Accompanied by a soft exhalation.
My blade came to rest against his throat.
“It’s over, isn’t it?”
As I spoke with a faint smile, Seo-pyeong’s expression crumbled.
And.
“Match concluded. Victor: Bangseong-yeon of the Cheonwol Sect.”
The moment the Referee’s declaration fell.
A thunderous roar erupted from the spectators–!!!
The cheers pierced through the very air around us.

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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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