The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 230

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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 230
Crash.
Debris scatters in all directions. The ground cracks and shatters beneath the impact.
“Gasp!”
A suppressed sound escapes. The voice I couldn’t contain bursts outward.
‘What—!’
Baekcheon-in’s eyes contort with pain as I stare into the void.
What just happened?
I didn’t comprehend it. By the time I realized, I was already lying on the ground.
The situation became clear. My vision shifted along with the sensation in my feet.
My stance had been destroyed, my body sent flying through the air.
‘In that single instant?’
So fast that even I couldn’t perceive it? How is that possible?
Though the situation seemed impossible, reality proved otherwise.
Crack.
Beyond the pain, I grit my teeth.
A figure flashes across my vision.
A beautiful woman in a radiant white martial robe, her long black hair flowing.
Her expressionless face looks down at me, and my features twist in response.
‘Looking down on me?’
On me?
She dares look down upon me, who will become the sky of this sect?
Crack.
Something shatters within me.
This is not good. My emotions waver. The sensations I’ve barely suppressed threaten to burst forth uncontrollably.
‘Hold back.’
Not yet. I didn’t prepare this grand design to unleash it in a place like this.
‘Everything—’
Since I aspire to become the sky itself, I cannot be shaken by something so trivial.
Then.
Whoosh—!!
“…!”
A foot appears before my eyes. Seeing it, I quickly turn my head.
Boom—!
The ground splits open again as the foot pierces through the earth.
Had I not dodged, I cannot imagine what would have happened.
‘Hah.’
I exhale sharply and roll my body away.
-Ahahaha—!!
The audience laughs. Perhaps it’s because of the technique I displayed. Their reaction suggests they expected something like this.
‘Damn it.’
Baekcheon-in paid no mind to such a reaction, merely observing his opponent.
‘What is this?’
I barely managed to rise to my feet. Creating distance, I gazed upon the woman.
Scrape.
Geombong, wearing her characteristic expression, was extracting her feet from where they had dug into the ground.
Her demeanor was unhurried.
“….”
Observing this, Baekcheon-in felt a sense of incongruity.
Why.
‘I feel nothing at all.’
There is no anomaly, no atmosphere whatsoever.
She clearly exists before me, yet I can only question whether she truly exists.
‘How strange.’
Something is different—far too different.
Baekcheon-in despises those called the Seven Prodigies who know their place not.
Their meager talents thrust forward, heads held high as if touching the heavens themselves—it sickens him.
Wol Muhui? Naelyong? Or perhaps Woon-ryong? Or could it be Heuk Taedo?
Having witnessed those so-called great ones with his own eyes, he had come to understand.
‘They are insignificant.’
Maggots intoxicated by themselves, unable to see even an inch ahead.
That was his sole assessment of the Seven Prodigies.
The only one he deemed somewhat worthy was—
‘Perhaps Heuk Taedo alone.’
A man who appears ignorant yet conceals an awl within.
Among the Seven Prodigies, he was the only one Baekcheon-in truly watched.
One who, though not yet among the foremost disciples, would one day reach that pinnacle.
Such was his assessment of Heuk Taedo.
The sole member of the Seven Prodigies worthy of acknowledgment.
Beyond that, the Protagonist also exists.
‘But he is an exception.’
His very existence remains incompletely understood, so he is excluded from consideration.
Aside from Heuk Taedo, there is nothing worth seeing among the Seven Prodigies.
Or so he had believed.
‘What is this?’
Observing Geombong, Baekcheon-in could not maintain his composure.
Never before had he felt such complete absence of sensation.
When he beheld Heuk Taedo, he felt incongruity.
When he beheld the Protagonist, he felt discord.
Even observing other beings, something could be perceived—yet here, nothing.
‘Geombong.’
I feel nothing from her.
Tap tap.
Her casual patting of her body sends tension coursing through me.
The First Disciple.
Baekcheon-in had never believed in such titles. No matter how strong one claimed to be in the moment, I only trusted what I witnessed with my own eyes.
By that measure, Geombong emanated far less presence than Heuk Taedo.
‘Yet.’
The very absence of any aura made her seem all the more unsettling.
Whoosh.
Geombong’s gaze turns toward me.
In that instant.
Shwing—!
“…!”
A blade comes flying. I shift my stance to meet it.
I barely evade and attempt to reposition, but—
Shwiiing—!
‘Damn.’
The sword effortlessly changes trajectory and rushes at me again.
This time, I cannot dodge.
Clang—! Ting—!
Unable to evade, I block instead. I force the blade’s path to shift through sheer impact.
Geombong’s sword rebounds, but she uses the recoil to spin her body halfway around.
Her movements are fluid, and the forms that follow are nothing short of beautiful.
Despite her expressionless face, her body moves with such delicate precision.
A wildflower, perhaps.
Her actions resemble petals swaying in the wind.
One might expect flower petals to scatter at any moment.
Without realizing it, I find my gaze captivated by her movements.
But.
Shwiiing—!
‘Tch.’
Losing focus is one thing—her assault never ceases.
Geombong presses forward relentlessly, her fluid motions matched by devastating speed.
Clang—!
Our blades clash repeatedly. Sparks ignite from the fierce friction, and the air itself ruptures as our martial auras collide.
With each exchange, my expression darkens further.
Despite blocking every strike, something feels wrong.
-What is this?
-…A miraculous blade….
That was precisely the problem.
-She’s blocking all of Geombong’s attacks.
-What is this…?
She’s defending against every single strike.
Geombong, known as the First Disciple, was a figure regarded as a monster among her peers.
Yet Baekcheon-in, mocked as the Miracle Sword, was blocking her blade.
-Was the Miracle Sword this powerful?
-Moreover, she doesn’t even seem to be losing ground?
The audience murmured in confusion.
Baekcheon-in bit his lip as he observed their reactions.
‘This has gone wrong.’
The situation was deteriorating.
I shouldn’t have reached this point so soon.
‘Was Geombong truly this formidable?’
Observing his opponent, Baekcheon-in became certain of his miscalculation.
Moreover.
‘She isn’t letting her guard down at all.’
If there was a difference between her and Wol Muhui, it was that Geombong maintained absolute vigilance.
As evidence of this.
‘Every strike is lethal.’
Attacks targeting vital points capable of inflicting fatal wounds.
Geombong scattered killing intent without restraint, her blade singing with murderous intent.
This was an absurd predicament.
This was also why I could only block and not evade.
Screech—!
My arm trembled. The impact was tremendous.
Judging from how she had shattered the ground earlier, her external force was considerable as well.
If that wasn’t it.
‘Internal energy controlled to an extreme degree.’
It was likely she had channeled her inner force by controlling the qi wrapped around her body to its absolute limit.
Unleashing such power from that slender frame must be the result of refined technique.
Whoosh—!!!
Baekcheon-in evaded the incoming blade and crouched his upper body slightly.
‘This.’
Somehow.
‘Won’t work.’
My judgment was swift. Continuing this way would be disastrous.
After pouring strength into the blade I held.
Whoosh—!! I drew upon my inner force. In an instant, energy coiled around the sword.
A murky-looking qi formed. With that, Baekcheon-in swung his blade.
Shhiiing—!
“…!”
Geombong’s eyes widen ever so slightly at the sight.
She twisted her charging body. The sword’s intent shifted from offense to defense.
Crash—!
The impact erupted and Geombong was pushed backward, though not to any great distance.
Her feet scraped against the arena floor, slowing her momentum.
Geombong came to a stop on the Dueling Arena and tilted her head as she gazed at Baekcheon-in.
“Haaah….”
Baekcheon-in exhaled a quiet sigh.
Since the audience’s atmosphere had grown hushed, his breath, though soft, rang out with crystalline clarity.
“This isn’t it.”
His words came with a smile, yet the air around him turned cold.
“I didn’t anticipate this. This truly isn’t what I expected.”
Whoosh.
He lowered his sword.
In that moment, Baekcheon-in erased the smile from his face.
“I shouldn’t have shown this yet….”
He muttered incomprehensible words several times.
Before he could even finish speaking, his form wavered.
Geombong saw it and stepped back half a pace.
Baekcheon-in’s sword grazed the tip of Geombong’s nose.
She evaded it by mere paper-thin margins.
Just as before, Geombong’s flow of energy rippled outward.
Delicate sword trajectories rode upon the air.
Baekcheon-in angled his sword diagonally upon witnessing this.
He was attempting to exploit the opening as he had before.
Clang—!
“…Heh.”
His sword couldn’t move and deviated from its trajectory.
Geombong had disrupted Baekcheon-in’s sword.
This happened more than once.
Clang—! Clang clang—!
Clang—!
No matter how many times he swung.
No—before he could even swing, Geombong’s sword intercepted his sword path.
Even with a late start, her blade always arrived first.
‘…This is.’
Helplessness surged within me.
Only then did Baekcheon-in truly grasp the depth of Geombong’s reputation.
The foremost of the Disciples.
A monster.
A genius slayer.
I now understand firsthand why so many titles had been attached to her.
‘So it wasn’t arrogance beyond her station.’
Those wretches who called themselves geniuses—how could they crumble so utterly before Geombong?
Baekcheon-in finally understood.
“You.”
He spoke to the woman.
“You see it, don’t you?”
“….”
Geombong naturally gave no answer, but Baekcheon-in felt it.
This woman.
‘She perceives every sword path of her opponent.’
Not merely the sword paths.
The movements, the flow of energy, the shifts in air itself.
She controlled all of it. That was what Geombong was doing.
‘Hah.’
Baekcheon-in suppressed a hollow breath. Truly a monster.
“I acknowledge it.”
His tone had changed. Baekcheon-in had slipped into his natural manner of speech without realizing it.
“You are worthy of such a title.”
“….”
“The future Heavenly Supreme? A name one dare not speak carelessly, yet you… you could bear it.”
The apex of all the Central Plains.
The highest among countless martial artists.
The Heavenly Supreme.
Geombong possessed sufficient talent to ascend to that position.
It was certain. Baekcheon-in had confirmed it through these few exchanges.
However.
‘That is.’
Only a matter for when I am gone.
Crack—!
Geombong drives her blade through the opening she herself had created. This time too, it was swift and precise, but.
Clang—!
“…!”
This time Geombong’s sword was deflected.
And Baekcheon-in’s blade swept past, cutting through her upper body.
Splash—!
Blood sprays. Droplets wet the floor.
Geombong creates distance between us. Her white martial robes are now stained crimson with blood.
“A shallow cut.”
Baekcheon-in observes Geombong and speaks briefly, wiping his blade clean.
“You managed to evade even in that moment?”
“….”
Geombong furrows her brow slightly and touches her chest.
His words ring true. The wound is shallow, and the damage is minimal.
“….”
Geombong simply tilts her head, as if she cannot comprehend something.
“Bewildered?”
Baekcheon-in laughs upon seeing this.
Her confusion pleases him.
“Do not worry. It is only natural that you are bewildered. When I first saw you, I felt precisely the same.”
“….”
His words are cryptic. Yet somehow, Geombong senses she understands.
“It is fortunate that we both came to know this early.”
Shring.
Baekcheon-in raises his blade as he speaks.
“That I am not the only one who can perceive such things.”
As he utters these words, Baekcheon-in moves forward.
“That is what I mean.”
A turbid sword aura wraps around the blade’s edge.
“….”
Seeing this, Geombong touches her wound once more.
Between the sharp pangs of pain, a faint gleam awakens in her otherwise vacant eyes.
She carefully waves her sword’s tip in response.
In that instant.
Whisper.
From somewhere, the scent of flowers seems to drift forth.

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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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