The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 231

—————
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 231
-A hollow breath escaped.
The audience, who should have been clamoring throughout the duel, fell into silence.
No one could react easily.
Their faces were etched with shock and bewilderment.
It was inevitable.
“Was the Miracle Blade truly this powerful…?”
A weak disciple who had risen through fortune.
A figure mocked by people as the Miracle Blade.
He was now dueling against Yeon, the monster called the foremost disciple, yet he seemed unaffected.
“He’s not being pushed back.”
“He’s even counterattacking.”
“…Was the Miracle Blade hiding his strength?”
Yeon had risen to the top by slaughtering all the geniuses from her first appearance.
Yet the Miracle Blade was displaying martial prowess that seemed nearly equal against such an opponent.
At first, it seemed he was being pushed back slightly.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Yeon struggle like this?”
“Even Heuk Taedo, the greatest under heaven, fell to a single strike from Yeon….”
How many exchanges had there been already?
Clang—! Clang clang!
At least several exchanges now. Yeon, who would end matches with a single strike, was crossing blades with Baekcheon-in multiple times.
Moreover.
“So fast.”
“Why is it moving so quickly?”
A maddening speed. It was a display of velocity unseen in the disciples’ matches until now.
Screech—!!!
Sparks burst in the void, yet the blade was already aimed elsewhere.
The distance was close, and there was no hesitation in the swings.
To put it somewhat excessively, the speed outpaced sound itself.
“…Haa… Uh-haha!”
-Waaaaah!
The suppressed cheers erupted. Mouths that had closed in disbelief now opened wide with joy.
-The Miracle Blade! The Miracle Blade!
The one thought weak revealed his hidden true form.
It was a sight that ignited the people’s fervor.
Yeon, who had never suffered defeat.
The newcomer thought weak, facing her.
As the crowd began to descend into frenzied cheers and rapt attention.
I found myself staring at the dueling arena with a grimly set expression.
‘…Damn, he’s really fast.’
How can a human move with such incredible speed? And yet, moving at such velocity, there’s not a single flaw in their technique.
The level of martial combat is simply different. Realizing this truth, I swallowed hard.
‘…If I had been in that position.’
Could I have truly matched them? Whether it was Yoo Yeon or Baekcheon-in.
‘Well, I suppose Yoo Yeon is one thing.’
But what about Baekcheon-in? That man fought far better than I anticipated.
I suspected he was hiding his strength, so I thought there was something more to him.
But never did I expect it to be this level.
“Ahahaha-!”
Heuk Taedo, who stood beside me watching the duel, burst into laughter.
“So that man was truly absurd.”
Heuk Taedo’s eyes watching Baekcheon-in were chilling.
He laughed continuously as if he’d discovered something fascinating. This madman showed a different reaction every time I saw him.
“I thought he was merely an ominous fellow…. Ahahaha!!! He was entertaining. What was his name? Baekcheon-yong, was it?”
“It would be Baekcheon-in, sir.”
“Ah, yes. That’s it.”
He hadn’t even bothered to remember the name from the start. Showing no interest whatsoever, but the moment the man displayed his true strength, he transformed completely.
It was an honest reaction, if anything could be called honest.
Of course.
‘Even I have to admit it was remarkable.’
Though I hate to acknowledge it, that fight was truly exceptional.
I’ve faced Naelyong and Woon-ryong directly myself.
‘But it wasn’t like this.’
The combat wasn’t of that nature. This was less a fight and more like a choreographed performance by mutual agreement.
A succession of flawlessly executed exchanges, as if they’d rehearsed every move together.
It was a display of movements so perfect they seemed almost rehearsed.
How could they fight like that? Fierce and unyielding, as if neither would show the slightest opening.
Yet within that intensity lay countless tactical exchanges—watching it alone was enough to make my head ache.
As I narrowed my eyes watching this.
[Those visible ones certainly do play well together.]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke. I had to show a confused reaction to his words.
‘The visible ones?’
Seeing my confusion, Yoo Cheon-gil added an explanation.
[Tell me, do you know what is most important for a martial artist?]
‘What’s most important?’
I pondered the question, thinking it over.
What is most important for a martial artist?
Perhaps inner energy? After all, these martial artists use inner energy to amplify their strength, so inner energy must be crucial. Yet at the same time.
‘To contain and utilize it, the body itself must be equally important.’
The body is ultimately the vessel through which inner energy is channeled and used.
Perhaps the cultivation of the physical body wasn’t the most crucial aspect after all. It was around this thought that—
[For a martial artist, the most important thing is the eyes.]
Yoo Cheon-gil offered a somewhat unexpected answer.
‘The eyes?’
The eyes? The ability to see?
[Martial understanding. Direct personal experience is the finest method. This is an immutable principle.]
That made sense. After all, martial arts were executed by the body, not the mouth.
[However, for those who don’t shut themselves away in some remote mountain practicing day and night, but instead actively move throughout the Central Plains, the eyes become paramount.]
The eyes supersede the body. I had to make an effort to comprehend Yoo Cheon-gil’s words.
[Do you understand now why I became so obsessed with Wol-an’s opening and refinement?]
I didn’t know. I had never given it much thought.
[Because being able to see allows one to accomplish more.]
“….”
[You must see what others cannot see first, and you must understand what others see but fail to comprehend.]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke while pointing toward the Dueling Arena with his hand.
[It means you must not stop at merely drawing your blade and swinging it. The movements of fingertips. The trembling of pupils. The results of attacks born from small motions and their connections, and even the feints meant to conceal them.]
His grave voice naturally commanded my attention. The atmosphere was entirely different from that bumbling old man of his usual self.
[What you see is the beginning, and it is also the end. The intention behind opening Wol-an and further activating it follows the same principle.]
Opening Wol-an.
And layering the Wol-ryung Sword Path atop it.
Making what I see deeper and broader—Wol-an revealed and showed me things I could not perceive.
Yoo Cheon-gil was speaking of Wol-an’s importance.
The power to make one see more—that was the value Wol-an possessed.
However.
[From such a perspective, there are occasionally those born with absurd eyes.]
Yoo Cheon-gil’s finger still pointed toward the Dueling Arena.
[Those who can see what others cannot, and who can feel according to what they see.]
A subtle heat resonated within Yoo Cheon-gil’s voice.
[Bizarre eyes born perhaps once every few centuries. We call such individuals as having been born with the Martial Eye.]
The eye of a martial artist.
It was certainly a convenient name.
[Those two appear to have been born with it.]
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Laughter mixed in.
Through the gaps, the sound of clashing blades spread repeatedly.
Clang, clang—! Clang!
An ear-tingling noise. Heuk Taedo remained silent, seemingly rigid with concentration on the duel.
Watching him, I whispered the question I had wanted to ask very quietly.
“Old Man, you don’t possess such eyes, do you?”
[Hm?]
If Geombong and Baekcheon-in were born with this Wol-an talent,
then wouldn’t Yoo Cheon-gil, called the greatest martial artist of all time, possess those eyes as well? I asked with curiosity.
[Ha.]
Yoo Cheon-gil let out a hollow laugh and spoke.
[Unfortunately, while my eyes are reasonably keen, I do not possess that level.]
I was astounded. The man who had reached the pinnacle as the Heavenly Supreme lacked such a talent?
Just as I was finding this quite perplexing,
[But do not be discouraged.]
Yoo Cheon-gil tapped my shoulder—which he could not quite touch—and continued.
[While Wol-an is indeed the greatest talent a martial artist can possess, its absence matters not.]
It matters not even without the greatest talent.
Was it because he had reached the pinnacle as the Heavenly Supreme despite lacking those eyes?
If so, his words held sufficient meaning.
Yet I sensed his intention lay elsewhere.
And the moment I thought so, Yoo Cheon-gil opened his mouth.
[Wol-an is a talent, yes, but it can also be acquired through later cultivation.]
‘What?’
Acquired through later cultivation? How could something called a talent be learned?
The instant I widened my eyes and looked at Yoo Cheon-gil,
he twisted the finger that had been pointing at the Dueling Arena and directed it toward my eyes.
[That is precisely why you are learning it now.]
“…!”
[This Wol-an, you see. No, that is not quite right. The Wol-an that I dream of, to be precise,]
Yoo Cheon-gil spoke with a grin splitting his face wide.
[is the power to create an artificial Wol-an. And beyond that, to grant sight to what cannot be seen.]
The acquired cultivation of Wol-an through later means.
Yoo Cheon-gil was saying that such was the purpose of Wol-an.

* * *
Shwiiiiik—!!
Clang!!
The blades rebounded in succession as our bodies spun. Unable to withstand the impact, we both created distance between us.
Baekcheon-in and Yoo Yeon simultaneously scraped across the Dueling Arena as they separated.
Baekcheon-in quickly regained his stance and rotated his blade.
Whirrrk.
The sword completed a half rotation, stabilizing my form. The sword energy held in my hand did the same.
‘Exhilarating.’
I recalled the thought, touching the corner of my mouth. Feeling it slightly raised, I forcibly suppressed it.
‘This won’t do.’
This is undesirable. My body growing pleased of its own accord is not fitting.
I shouldn’t enjoy fighting. Yet I kept finding myself savoring it.
‘Ah.’
I thought there would be nothing but mediocre opponents.
Yet such an existence appeared.
My white martial robes were slightly stained with blood, showing a faint crimson tint.
The wound had already been staunched from within, showing no further reaction, and she bore no injuries whatsoever, her composure utterly serene.
Despite such fierce combat, not a single bead of sweat graced her brow.
“Remarkable.”
I regarded Geombong with genuine sincerity.
“….”
At that praise, Geombong gazed back at me.
Seeing that, I accelerated once more.
Rustle.
‘Hmm?’
In the moment I pressed forward, something brushed past my vision.
Flower petals.
Seeing them, I narrowed my eyes.
Shwaaaaaak—!!!
“…!”
This time my chest was cut. Seeing blood spray, I spun my body.
The rapid rotation prevented the wound from deepening.
Resuming my stance, I turned my gaze toward Yoo Yeon.
‘Ha.’
My eyes widened as large as lanterns.
‘Breathtaking.’
The fallen petals bloomed radiantly around Yoo Yeon in brilliant splendor.
I understood well what that was.
“…So you’re finally going to fight properly now?”
That beautiful, fluttering aura existed only one in the Central Plains.
‘Plum blossoms.’
The Hwasan Sect’s plum blossom sword masters.
Those who had properly bloomed with the deep martial arts of Hwasan taking root in their bodies.
It was said that the form of aura they wielded resembled plum blossoms.
‘Indeed, that was exactly it.’
The beautiful form was truly as described.
And that wasn’t all.
Swiiiiish—
Yoo Yeon moved her body slowly.
It seemed like movements no different from before.
Flutter.
Petals drifted and swayed with the wind.
Shwiiik—!!
“…!!!”
Yoo Yeon’s blade passed leisurely through the petals and flew toward Baekcheon-in.
Like a dance.
The Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
It was said to be a divine blade that only the plum blossom sword masters of Hwasan could use.
Crack—!
“Ugh!”
Following the petals, his shoulder was sliced open once more.
Baekcheon-in squinted in pain, gripping his blade tightly.
‘How irritating.’
This wounded body displeased me.
The situation was even worse.
Moreover.
‘More.’
I wanted to see more.
Yoo Yeon approached repeatedly, as if becoming one with the scattered petals.
The atmosphere was completely different from before.
Had she decided to acknowledge me as a worthy opponent?
‘Good.’
I didn’t particularly want to react to such trivial things one by one.
Yet subtle reactions rippled through Baekcheon-in’s inner thoughts.
‘…Just a little.’
Just a very little bit.
‘As that woman has shown.’
Wouldn’t it be fine if I showed just a little as well?
With that thought, Baekcheon-in gathered strength in his dantian.
Writhe—!
My energy surges forth.
Whoosh—!
“….”
Yoo Yeon unleashes her sword force. Crimson-violet energy spreads across her blade.
Throughout the entire duel, she had never once employed her sword force.
Baekcheon-in was no different.
Beyond sword qi, they would now unfold sword force itself.
Just as I was about to channel strength into my blade with that thought—
—Young Master.
“…!”
Baekcheon-in’s body went rigid.
A voice transmission had reached his ears.
—An unwise choice.
“….”
A voice low and parched. At those words, Baekcheon-in bit his lip.
—Are you prepared to abandon the great enterprise? That would be most disappointing.
Upon hearing this, Baekcheon-in suddenly lowered his sword.
“…?”
Seeing this, Yoo Yeon tilted her head in confusion.
At the same moment, Baekcheon-in smiled and raised both hands.
“I concede.”
“….”
Upon hearing those words, Yoo Yeon’s face contorted in a rare display of emotion.
It was a sudden declaration of defeat.

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