The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 216
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 216
콰아아아아아아아아—-!!!
Light erupts outward.
Blinding brilliance floods in from all directions, completely obscuring the view in every direction. Light so intense it swallows the entire field of vision.
It was incomparable to the radiance produced by channeling the energy once called moonlight.
At first glance, it seemed as though the sun itself had fallen upon the Dueling Arena.
Yet it was something entirely different.
Though the light was so fierce and dazzling.
“What is this?”
“What’s happening?”
Not a single person in the audience seats was squinting.
With light so intense, it should have forced their eyes shut and covered.
The fact that no one shielded their eyes was utterly bewildering.
“What on earth is going on?”
Everyone was perplexed.
As confusion took hold amidst this abnormal phenomenon.
[Ahahahahaha–!!]
Yoo Cheon-gil, gazing at the light, laughed heartily.
[I like it. Yes, this is how it should be!]
Perhaps because the light was what he desired. Yoo Cheon-gil broke into a beaming smile unlike anything seen in recent times.
[Rise up. And show this world how brilliantly the moon shines.]
A succession of incomprehensible utterances. A form of madness born from being utterly consumed by emotion.
Yoo Cheon-gil stared only at the center of the light with gleaming, blazing eyes.
“…This is….”
Namgung Cheon, who gazed upon that same light, contorted his face.
Crackle.
Lightning flashed from my left hand.
Thunder God’s Sword Forest.
A power achieved by developing lightning energy to its extreme and wrapping it around the entire body.
Because its form resembles wearing full-body armor, the technique earned its name—as if the Thunder God himself had descended.
Crackle-crackle-crackle.
Among its activation conditions is the requirement to manifest it simultaneously with the Sovereign Sword Form, granting it an astronomical level of difficulty.
Yet Namgung Cheon wielded it without concern.
‘You are a true genius.’
My father, the Sword King of this generation, had assessed me thus.
I am a genius. If the Peng Clan’s miracle is Peng Dojun, then the Namgung Clan’s true strength is me.
A figure possessing genuine talent, unlike my inadequate younger brother.
I loved wielding martial techniques.
I cherished swinging my blade.
I loved martial arts, and martial arts loved me in return.
That is precisely why.
The Thunder God’s Sword Forest—a technique that even the Heavenly Realm’s Lightning Sword King barely mastered after nearly forty years—I could wield it just past my twenties.
Because Namgung Cheon received abundant blessings from both martial arts and lightning essence.
‘What is this light?’
Namgung Cheon felt an inexplicable emotion at the sight of the light before him.
What was this feeling?
Expressing his confusion, he examined his own hand—his right hand, wounded and unable to exert proper strength.
Sweat beaded across his palm.
“….”
Seeing this, I understood.
Ah.
‘I’m afraid.’
I was terrified of that light. This emotion was fear itself.
Namgung Cheon smiled upon this realization.
“Aha.”
How wonderful. To feel such an emotion.
I had never experienced this, not even when watching the Heavenly Realm’s Sword Seal in combat, nor even when occasionally facing Heuk Taedo’s tyrannical path.
‘Protagonist. You are.’
That young man grants me countless things.
The way he conducts duels, and I have witnessed and felt things I never experienced in my entire life.
‘You are a monster.’
Regardless of what he thought of himself, in Namgung Cheon’s eyes, Bangseong-yeon was a monster.
Or perhaps.
‘A being destined to become a monster.’
Whatever the case, that man would ultimately become something.
I was certain of it.
Moreover.
“Exhale.”
파지지지지직—!!!
Namgung Cheon continuously drew upon his inner energy. Fear? I didn’t know why I felt it.
But now I had to savor even this emotion.
‘Shall I try?’
Yes, let me try. Steadying my resolve and pouring more energy in.
Crack-crackle-!!!!
The armor that covered only my upper body gradually extended downward.
I succeeded in penetrating down to the pelvic region.
Sting.
“…Ugh.”
I could not go further. Unable to cover my entire body, the armor covered only just over half.
This was my limit.
To advance to full-body cultivation here, I would need to awaken the Sword King’s ultimate technique.
‘How regrettable.’
Knowing this, Namgung Cheon couldn’t help but voice his regret.
A soft rustling sound.
If this was the best I could do, then I had to accept it.
Namgung Cheon poured strength into the sword he held.
‘For now.’
For now, I should focus on the opponent before me rather than dwell on regrets.
‘Indeed. What else will you show me?’
What more did he wish to reveal with that radiant light?
Anticipating this greatly.
‘Here I come.’
Namgung Cheon drove force into his feet.
Thunder crashed—!!!
Lightning struck. Namgung Cheon’s body surged forward, wreathed in electric energy and blazing light.
His unfamiliar left hand.
He poured strength into it, tracing a semicircle.
The techniques of the Azure Dragon Treasure and the Namgung Clan’s swordsmanship intertwined.
Lightning energy covered it all.
The armored form whirled and struck like a dance.
Just as lightning was about to tear through the light itself.
A sudden flash.
In an instant, the radiant light vanished completely.
Within that light, Bangseong-yeon’s figure was revealed.
“What?”
Namgung Cheon, mid-swing, widened his eyes at the sight of Bangseong-yeon.
But the shock was brief. The sword continued its motion.
Lightning carved forward, intent on cutting through Bangseong-yeon.
“….”
Then, Bangseong-yeon’s Wol-an turned toward Namgung Cheon.
Clang—!!!
“Kugh—!?”
Namgung Cheon’s lightning-wrapped sword was sent flying.
It shot upward into empty air.
Namgung Cheon spun his body, desperately trying to maintain his sword path.
A sharp metallic screech—!!!
Namgung Cheon raised his guard against the blade rushing toward him.
Blade met blade. Sparks flew from the intense friction.
Namgung Cheon’s face twisted at the pressure he felt.
Just moments ago, I could push forward effortlessly with raw strength. Now, that was no longer the case.
That wasn’t all.
‘I’m actually being pushed back.’
Namgung Cheon’s strength was faltering.
How had things suddenly turned like this? Especially when he had already deployed his secret technique.
“Ugh.”
Namgung Cheon spat blood and twisted his blade.
Screech-!
He barely deflected the attack along the flat of his sword.
Crack-! He burst forth with lightning energy to create distance.
He needed to assess the situation by putting space between them first.
With that thought, he moved toward the edge of the Dueling Arena.
Whoosh-!!
“…!”
Bangseong-yeon’s blade pursued Namgung Cheon relentlessly. A flash of light—a continuous streak that soon bore down upon him.
‘He won’t give me time to think?’
He wouldn’t even grant a moment to comprehend what was happening. Bangseong-yeon pressed forward without hesitation.
Clang-! Clang-clang-!!
The blades began their rapid exchange. The tempo accelerated. Namgung Cheon gritted his teeth against the mounting pressure.
‘My speed isn’t there.’
His unfamiliar left hand. And the habits he’d barely managed to switch.
His immature proficiency and the pain meant he could only muster half the speed and strength he normally possessed.
He was barely holding his ground.
Because of this, Bangseong-yeon’s speed held a clear advantage.
‘Is this too something you calculated?’
Where did his calculations end?
Where did miracles begin?
Namgung Cheon could no longer trust anything.
Even this doubt itself might be part of Bangseong-yeon’s design.
‘Sigh.’
How had he come to harbor such absurd thoughts?
‘How indeed.’
It had to be because of the figure before him.
Whoosh-!
Namgung Cheon evaded the blade and studied Bangseong-yeon.
‘What exactly is that appearance?’
His handsome face struck him first. Indeed, he had marveled at it when they first met.
Namgung Cheon himself was constantly praised for his looks wherever he went.
Yet Bangseong-yeon possessed something entirely different.
Yes, his handsomeness was undeniable.
‘But how does he carry himself like that?’
Bangseong-yeon was different from when I first saw him.
First of all, it was his hair.
‘White hair.’
Pure white hair wrapped in a very faint azure hue.
He had originally possessed black hair with a brownish tint, yet somehow his hair color had completely reversed.
And it wasn’t just the color that had changed.
‘It radiates light.’
His hair was suffused with luminescence—the same radiant glow that had emanated around Bangseong-yeon earlier now clung to him in a subtle shimmer.
Screech-! Boom-!!
The blades locked and shot upward.
Namgung Cheon felt a tingling sensation shoot through his wrist.
‘Ugh.’
Extraordinary.
How could swordsmanship be this bizarre?
Not only his appearance but his combat style had transformed entirely from before.
Hesitation had vanished from his movements.
He moved as if he knew every action I would take, and beyond that—
‘His gaze doesn’t waver even amidst all this.’
His eyes fixed solely upon me.
Even his luminous eyes gleamed with inner light.
Boom-!
Crack-!
Another impact. My armor shattered.
Partly from the force of the collision, but also because my energy reserves were rapidly approaching their limit.
The Emperor’s Sword Form and Thunder Resonance were techniques that demanded an enormous expenditure of power.
Having maintained them all this while, my limits had inevitably arrived.
However.
‘Surely you’re in the same position?’
Bangseong-yeon must be no different.
I was certain of it.
Though fatigue didn’t show on Bangseong-yeon’s face, the bulging veins across his body revealed everything.
‘The limit.’
He had already reached his breaking point as well.
Realizing this, I suddenly poured all my strength into my entire body.
Clang-! Whoosh-!!
I pushed with all my might against our locked blades.
Rather than thinking of cutting, I channeled every ounce of strength into pushing him back, and Bangseong-yeon’s body was suddenly forced away.
Not missing that opening, I drove power into my legs.
Boom-!!
Bangseong-yeon was struck in the abdomen and sent flying.
There was no impact—it was purely an attempt to push him back.
Rather, the forced motion sent a sharp ache through Namgung Cheon’s muscles.
‘I must do this.’
I had to create an opportunity, even if by force.
Immediately after the distance between myself and Bangseong-yeon widened.
Snap—!
Namgung Cheon released all the armor covering his body. In turn, he poured his entire energy into his sword.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!! Screech—!!
The lightning energy coiling around the blade spilled forth, shaking the ground.
I compressed the lightning energy again and again, infusing it into the blade’s surface.
Gradually, the lightning energy swelled in size.
Heavenly Lightning Peak Sword.
Namgung Cheon had poured everything he possessed into his left hand.
“This is all I can offer.”
I trembled. My arm shook violently just from holding the energy in place.
Maintaining it, Namgung Cheon spoke with a smile.
“….”
Upon hearing this, Bangseong-yeon maintained an expression that revealed nothing of his thoughts.
Tap.
He suddenly lowered the sword he had been holding.
Then.
화아아아아악—!!!
“Huh?”
Just as Namgung Cheon had done, light began gathering along the blade’s edge.
Gathering it all did not take long.
The size was far smaller compared to Namgung Cheon’s.
The light wrapped around the blade in its entirety.
It took the form of a cross-shaped light gripped in his hand.
“Aha. How interesting.”
Despite its smaller size, I felt an enormous presence emanating from it.
“Indeed. I take back what I said about not liking you.”
Namgung Cheon steadied his stance.
It seemed.
“I believe I am growing fond of you.”
Namgung Cheon spoke with a smile.
But Bangseong-yeon did not respond.
Namgung Cheon did not expect a response either. The answer to this moment was not meant to be heard in words.
Crack.
Namgung Cheon grasped his sword and rushed forward.
Bangseong-yeon charged to meet him.
Lightning and brilliance tangled together in a chaotic dance.
Whoooooosh–!!!
Boom–!
A deafening explosion erupted with blinding light. The magnitude was no different from before. The intensity and scale matched what Bangseong-yeon had displayed.
“Ugh!”
“My eyes…!!”
This time, even the audience in the stands had to squeeze their eyes shut against the overwhelming brilliance.
The light that had been flashing so intensely gradually began to fade.
Only when people could finally open their eyes again did they see.
“Ah!”
“That…!!”
Bangseong-yeon and Namgung Cheon stood apart from each other, swords in hand.
Many in the crowd said nothing at all.
Neither of the two fighters showed even the slightest movement.
After a moment like that.
“Ah… this.”
This time, it was Namgung Cheon who spoke.
“I lost.”
He said it with a tone of regret.
In that instant.
Clang–!
The sword Namgung Cheon held shattered and fell to the ground.
와아아아아아아아—!!
The audience erupted in cheers.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————