The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 222

—————
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 222
Blood drips steadily.
My body trembles in spasms. A sharp, piercing pain floods through me.
The agony bites deep into my flesh, overwhelming my senses.
“Cough…”
Cheon Euijin drops to one knee.
One knee plants firmly against the ground as I steady my wavering frame with my hands, clutching at my abdomen.
It burns.
Warm blood flows from my abdomen, soaking my hands with its heat.
Pain threatens to draw a cry from my lips.
“Ugh…”
I bite down hard, suppressing the sound.
“Haa…”
I force my bent knee upright. A dizzying sensation grips my head. My senses feel slightly misaligned.
This is bad.
I channel my energy to my abdomen.
I attempt to stanch the bleeding, but…
“…”
It’s not working. The issue isn’t the amount of energy—at my level, using pure energy to stop bleeding is beyond my capability.
“Haa…”
I exhale sharply, my bloodshot eyes fixed ahead.
“…This… I apologize…”
Before me stands Baekcheon-in, his face twisted with profound regret as he stares at me.
“My hand slipped. It happened quite by accident…”
Accident? That’s absurd.
‘That was deliberate.’
This wasn’t some coincidental exchange.
It was an intentional attack. I can’t deny it. Others might be fooled, but I—the one who received it—know better.
“…You…”
I start to speak but close my mouth. What is his true identity?
Didn’t I heed the warning to be cautious? No, I did.
‘I gave it everything.’
I did all I could, yet I still fell. This is simply a matter of strength.
He was simply strong enough to deceive everyone’s eyes and launch his assault.
Know your place.
‘…Damn it.’
What now? Is this the end? I clench my teeth hard.
The pain intensifies with each passing moment.
I’m not skilled enough to move while maintaining the bleeding control.
‘It’s over.’
If I move like this, I could die. Knowing that, just as Cheon Euijin was lowering his sword to concede defeat.
“…!”
Someone grabs my turning head.
Directly below the arena, blue eyes fixed upon me.
‘Bang Disciple?’
Bangseong-yeon. The figure who should have been carried to the medical pavilion had somehow made his way below the arena, watching me with a grimaced expression.
Could he be… worried?
‘….’
Seeing his eyes, the sword I was dropping came to a halt.
My abdomen still throbs with pain.
Yet as my blurred vision sharpens, my hand moves of its own accord.
Swish.
“Hmm?”
Baekcheon-in narrows his eyes, observing Cheon Euijin.
Cheon Euijin steadies his breathing and points his sword’s tip toward Baekcheon-in.
“…Hmm…. That seems like a poor choice. It could lead to serious trouble.”
“…I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because there are eyes watching. I cannot fall like this.”
“….”
At those words, Baekcheon-in glances below the arena. Bangseong-yeon is visible.
Tsk.
Cheon Euijin clearly heard it.
Baekcheon-in clicking his tongue while looking at Bangseong-yeon.
“So. You’re going to continue?”
His tone subtly shifted.
So did his gaze and the very atmosphere around him.
But.
“Yes, I must. It’s not over yet.”
Cheon Euijin decided to raise his sword.
He learned it from his fight with Naelyong. To keep fighting even if one’s spirit crumbles.
Bangseong-yeon always appeared weary and exhausted, yet he was someone who upheld that principle above all else.
If that were so.
‘Then so will I.’
He would do the same.
Because he would never have surrendered either.
Cheon Euijin thought this way, and.
Then.
Thump-!
An inexplicable ripple spread from my dantian.

* * *
“Why won’t that lunatic give up?”
I spoke while watching the arena. Was he insane?
“He has a blade lodged in his belly and he keeps going? He should forfeit!”
Cheon Euijin rose to his feet and drew his sword. I was taken aback seeing that.
“Wow. Look at that willpower.”
I marveled at it. Was Cheon Euijin’s mental fortitude really this strong? Aside from his talent, I had never thought he possessed such a strong spirit.
That’s why I had always assessed him as frail compared to his appearance.
But.
‘He’s going to keep fighting?’
I never expected him to continue like this.
‘Does he think he can win…?’
Perhaps he saw a possibility of victory against Baekcheon-in. If so, I hoped he would exercise caution.
‘I clearly told him.’
To be careful. That Baekcheon-in was dangerous. I had made that abundantly clear.
‘Is he not listening to me?’
I thought Cheon Euijin would heed my words at this point.
Surprisingly, he was attempting to continue.
‘…This doesn’t feel right.’
No matter how I looked at it, my instincts screamed danger. If I left this as it was, something terrible would happen.
What should I do?
‘Should I step in?’
I deliberated. Was it right for me to intervene and stop this? And moreover, for Cheon Euijin.
‘Is he worth that much effort?’
My increasingly cold rationality said otherwise.
‘Damn it.’
Even thinking like this was absurd. I was about to speak to the referee when—
[Stop.]
“…”
At Yoo Cheon-gil’s command, Bangseong-yeon froze in place.
[Don’t interfere.]
Yoo Cheon-gil watched Cheon Euijin with both eyes as he spoke.
Don’t interfere?
“What do you mean?”
Could it be.
“Can he win against that?”
Could Cheon Euijin actually defeat Baekcheon-in? Perhaps Yoo Cheon-gil had seen a future invisible to me.
So I asked with a glimmer of hope—
[That’s impossible.]
Yoo Cheon-gil was resolute.
[Even if you fought a hundred times, there would be no hope. That is the extent of the gap.]
“….”
His judgment was utterly cold and sharp. Hearing his voice offer not even a glimmer of hope, I furrowed my brow.
“Then why….”
Why tell him not to stop fighting?
Was he saying it was fine if Cheon Euijin died like this? When I voiced my objection to such a thought.
[Not yet.]
Yoo Cheon-gil answered with those words: “not yet.”
‘Not yet?’
Then when? If not yet, exactly when was I supposed to intervene?
A blade pierced his abdomen, and blood was flowing.
Moreover.
‘Even the referee tried to intervene.’
The referee watching had attempted to step in, but stopped upon seeing Cheon Euijin’s actions.
At this point, when was I supposed to interfere?
Unable to comprehend, I looked toward Yoo Cheon-gil.
[Watch. The moment is perfectly suited for it. You cannot rob him of this precious opportunity with your concern, can you?]
“A precious opportunity…?”
There was an opportunity in that place?
I still could not understand his meaning. Then Yoo Cheon-gil added an explanation for me.
[The boundary between life and death. In that gap, a martial artist gains much. If that boy obtains something there, it will hold considerable value. Only.]
His blue eyes were particularly cold and sharp.
[If he fails to obtain it, that becomes the problem.]
“….”
In other words, he could die.
Should I remain still even hearing that?
I deliberated for a moment.
“….”
The conclusion I finally reached was not to move.
‘You cannot rob him of this precious opportunity with your concern, can you?’
Those words Yoo Cheon-gil had spoken lingered with me.
Thus, all I could do was watch the arena.
“….”
I gazed at Cheon Euijin as he bled, and I thought.
‘Heavenly Supreme.’
This pathetically weak man.
‘Do something, anything.’
I prayed he would struggle with all his might.
That was all I could hope for.

* * *
Clang! Whoosh!!
Sword energy tears through the empty air.
Flashes similar to before continue to cleave the atmosphere, etching brilliant lines across the space.
“Hah!”
With Cheon Euijin’s shout, the blade descends rapidly. A clean downward slash aims toward Baekcheon-in, but—
“Whoa!”
Baekcheon-in flinches in surprise and sidesteps the attack.
Clang! Once again, the blade fails to connect and merely bites into the ground.
—Aah.
A sigh rises from the audience. It was disappointment.
—Again?
—He dodged again.
—The Miracle Swordsman seems to be just as good at running away as he is lucky.
Miracle Swordsman—a mocking epithet born from his miraculous victory over Wol Muhui.
Hearing this, Baekcheon-in laughed inwardly.
‘Trash.’
The words of trash who believe only what they see.
Such things don’t even register in his ears.
‘Yes, keep laughing like that.’
He wondered how much longer they could mock him.
Though his actions were meant to invite this ridicule, hearing it still twisted something inside him.
‘I’ll kill every last one of you.’
So he waits for later. When the time comes, he can collect this debt as well.
The problem was.
—But if he keeps dodging like that, doesn’t that mean he has something up his sleeve?
—His attacks haven’t landed either. The opponent… yes, Cheon Euijin. That disciple seems quite strong too. The fact that he can’t press his advantage suggests…
‘Tsk.’
The longer this continued, the less favorable the situation became.
It was time to raise suspicions.
‘Damn bastard.’
This shouldn’t have reached this point yet.
At least not until he faced Geombong—that monster of a woman.
‘Making things complicated.’
Because of the fool in front of him, things were beginning to unravel.
Cheon Euijin, was it?
‘Wol Seon-geom’s son.’
His source of origin.
A master whom the Sect and Patcheon Gung were both watching carefully.
I thought he might be strong, given that he’s the child of a figure of concern.
‘He’s on an entirely different level from my sister.’
The gap is so vast that I wonder how he can function at all. While he possesses some talent, it’s nothing worth noting.
‘I thought I could finish Hani quickly.’
He proved more resilient than expected.
Baekcheon-in dodges Cheon Euijin’s blade once more, examining the man’s abdomen.
‘Was it too shallow?’
Perhaps the blade I thrust in didn’t go deep enough. Of course, I had deliberately controlled the depth.
The stab itself was an accident from the start.
My irritation got the better of me, and my hand moved without my conscious intent.
I should have ended it then by striking his jaw or something, but instead I stabbed his abdomen.
Why did I do that? Baekcheon-in furrowed his brow, considering the reason.
‘How dare he.’
He had mentioned a word that should never be used toward me.
And.
‘Bangseong-yeon.’
The Protagonist. Geomseong’s Predecessor—one I wouldn’t mind tearing to shreds.
I despised that accursed look of trust in that man.
The Rising Moon?
A superhuman to succeed the Sword Saint?
Ridiculous.
‘He will inevitably be consumed by darkness.’
As long as I exist, that will never happen—and this too was fortunate timing.
‘Because I have appeared.’
The sect speaks of its resurrection.
And in the midst of this, Geomseong’s Predecessor—the one who cast the sect into ruin—appeared alongside it?
‘Excellent.’
Baekcheon-in smiled. Could there be a better opportunity than this?
‘There isn’t. Now is the time.’
This situation demanded that I make full use of it.
‘This fool.’
The wretch before me was getting in the way needlessly. A nobody—if I so desired, snapping his neck would be effortless.
Yet I could not do so.
I could not afford to reveal my hand any further.
‘Tenacious.’
Then.
Cheon Euijin pressed forward against Baekcheon-in once more.
‘Is this the moment?’
Baekcheon-in’s lips curled into a sneer.
The time he had been waiting for had arrived.
Cheon Euijin presses forward.
Watching him, Baekcheon-in moves his hand.
He decides he must strike the wounded abdomen to neutralize him.
In that moment as he moves with that thought.
Whoosh—!
“…!”
Baekcheon-in twists his head.
Crack—!
The blade grazes his cheek. Blood trickles down.
‘What?’
Baekcheon-in’s eyes widen.
Why?
He had anticipated it. He should have definitely dodged.
‘It was faster.’
The blade moves faster than expected. That’s why his evasion came too late.
‘What is this?’
What is happening all of a sudden?
Eyes wide, he gazes at Cheon Euijin.
“Huu…. Huuk….”
Cheon Euijin breathes deeply.
He holds his blade with eyes wide open.
And moreover.
“…Look at this?”
Baekcheon-in’s lips curl upward at the aura blooming from his body.
Strange. The energy that normally appeared refined seemed to be churning violently.
And his eyes were fixed solely upon him, as if entranced.
Could it be.
“Are you gaining enlightenment by using me?”
Has he touched enlightenment? Suddenly? By using him at that?
“Ha….”
Audacious.
“How pathetic.”
How dare such a wretch? A mere trash of the orthodox sect?
Crunch.
Baekcheon-in quietly clenches his teeth.
Shhh.
A subtle aura pours out softly, wrapping around his blade.
It was an aura so minute and vicious that no one could perceive it.
And.
“Haaah.”
Cheon Euijin infused his blade with power as well.
Slowly, his eyes began to transform.
Into a blue hue that resembled the heavens themselves.
Boom—!
Cheon Euijin rushed at Baekcheon-in once more.
As he drew near, Cheon Euijin lowered his upper body slightly.
‘The waist.’
He deliberately released unnecessary tension from his waist.
It was something he had heard before.
‘You must release unnecessary tension from the waist.’
Advice he had received from his idol long ago.
Recalling that, he released the tension in his waist and gently channeled power into the blade he held.
쉬이이이이이—!!!
Light gathered within the sword that split the air.
His vision transformed. The clear landscape became brilliantly radiant.
Cheon Euijin’s eyes were completely suffused with azure light.
‘Ah.’
He understood.
Something within his body had changed.
Yet there was no time to dwell on it. Cheon Euijin’s blade continued to cleave through the air.
Its form resembled a crescent moon.
Wolrang.
The true sword technique of the Cheongwol Sect, usable only after opening the Wol-an.
It unfolded in Cheon Euijin’s hands.
A place he had so desperately sought to reach, yet never could.
He had arrived at the azure realm.
‘It works.’
The empowered blade mimicked the moon, yet—
“You certainly know how to irritate me.”
Clang—!!
“…!”
Cheon Euijin’s blade failed to reach its target and was deflected. The held sword shattered, fragments exploding outward.
“Ugh….”
Tremendous pressure. Cheon Euijin’s stance completely collapsed.
Cheon Euijin contorted his face and attempted to regain his footing, but—
Whoosh.
The blade’s edge covered his face.
The sword approached as if to sever his neck. It already touched his skin.
‘I’m going to die.’
In the instant Cheon Euijin felt death—
“That’s enough.”
Thud.
The blade stopped just before it could sever the neck.
Someone stood before him.
“Getting so heated over this… it’s unbecoming for a man.”
A modest frame. Brown hair.
A young man with a similarly slight build.
“Bang Disciple…?”
It was Bangseong-yeon.
He had positioned himself in front and stopped Baekcheon-in’s blade.
Moreover.
‘…With his bare hand?’
He was gripping the blade between his index and thumb fingers.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————