The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 45

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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 045
In the suffocating silence that followed, everyone’s gaze fixed upon Bangseong-yeon.
“…Wh….”
“…Th… What….”
It took a moment before anyone could respond.
As they gradually regained their senses, trembling eyes began to react one by one.
“Senior Seom… lost?”
“That’s impossible…. The master lost? To this young….”
The one who had gasped in shock quickly closed their mouth. They couldn’t afford to speak carelessly.
Doubt clouded everyone’s eyes.
It was unavoidable. What they witnessed defied belief. The exchange lasted mere exchanges. Even then, Seom Seong-gyeong had clung desperately, while Bangseong-yeon had drawn his blade only twice—once at the beginning and once at the end.
This meant he had neutralized Seom Seong-gyeong with merely two strikes.
How was such a thing possible?
Even witnessing it, they couldn’t comprehend it, and this….
‘…How.’
Sochul Daeju, who had been observing, felt the same bewilderment.
‘He destroyed Wol Rang.’
Seom Seong-gyeong had executed Heo Cho, severing the connection of movements, then seized the opening to deploy Wol Rang.
Since Wol Rang required a powerful, swift horizontal slash that demanded considerable torso rotation, that moment of casting time was likely his intended opening.
‘It was a sound choice.’
From Sochul Daeju’s perspective, it was a reasonable approach.
Thanks to it, he could have executed a more refined sword technique, so it was certainly not a wasteful action.
‘What exactly did he do?’
Sochul Daeju could not comprehend how Bangseong-yeon had countered this.
More precisely, he couldn’t understand the method Bangseong-yeon had employed.
‘He destroyed Wol Rang.’
The moment Seom Seong-gyeong unfolded his sword technique, Bangseong-yeon swung his blade.
‘And then?’
Wol Rang shattered.
It wasn’t a matter of disrupting the technique or deflecting it.
‘He truly broke it.’
He had destroyed the technique itself.
The instant the sword technique flowed, he raised his blade upward, completely shattering Seom Seong-gyeong’s stance.
‘…How is that even possible?’
Not before the flow was established, but after it had already taken hold.
His torso was already halfway through the motion, his sword energy already bloomed. To shatter it with an upward strike? Such a thing would require an overwhelming gap in realm—if it were even possible at all.
Perhaps he himself could accomplish it without much difficulty.
‘But for this young man to achieve it….’
Did Bangseong-yeon possess overwhelming power compared to Seom Seong-gyeong?
Sochul Daeju didn’t believe that was the case.
No matter how carefully I examined it, Bangseong-yeon’s realm was lower than Seom Seong-gyeong’s.
So then, what on earth was happening here?
Understanding this wasn’t particularly difficult. It was simply hard to believe.
‘…Without expending any unnecessary force, he anticipated every movement.’
Whatever intention Seom Seong-gyeong harbored.
And whatever technique he unleashed, Bangseong-yeon predicted it all beforehand, moving a half-step faster, or at most a full step ahead.
Speed or power—if they cannot land, they are meaningless.
Force that cannot be received, he simply redirected.
Even blades that should have connected never reached their mark.
This is the fundamental awareness of flow that any martial artist should possess.
‘At such a young age?’
A young man not even of age.
For a martial artist without proper combat experience or exceptional realm to accomplish this was logically impossible.
Yet Bangseong-yeon had done it.
What could this possibly be called?
I already knew the answer.
‘Overwhelming talent.’
A brilliant, radiant light that rendered experience and realm meaningless.
‘…Surely not.’
Could this young man truly possess such a thing?
I couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t want to believe it. But.
“….”
Sochul Daeju couldn’t bring himself to deny it. Hadn’t I witnessed it with my own eyes?
Moreover, it wasn’t just me.
The members who had observed the recent sparring match were all rendered speechless.
They must understand it too.
Just how much value Bangseong-yeon had demonstrated.
Then.
“Must I continue this?”
Bangseong-yeon broke the silence, speaking toward Moonju.
At those words, Sochul Daeju’s gaze quickly shifted to Moonju.
Wol Seon-geom was regarding Bangseong-yeon with an enigmatic expression.
‘…This.’
Seeing that, Sochul Daeju inwardly sighed.
Though Wol Seon-geom appeared indifferent on the surface, I knew better.
This was the calm before the storm.
The final moment before a tempest breaks loose.
Wol Seon-geom’s state was precisely that.
Just one more step, merely one more step, and it would be over.
Sochul Daeju felt anxious. If Moonju were to explode here, there would truly be no turning back.
“Bangseong-yeon.”
He calls out to Bangseong-yeon. Bangseong-yeon nods and glances at Moonju.
“I have just one question.”
“We don’t have time. Make it quick.”
“Gasp—!”
“How dare—!”
At Bangseong-yeon’s response, those around us catch their breath.
How could he speak to Moonju in such a manner?
Everyone stares at Wol Seon-geom with trembling eyes, but Wol Seon-geom himself remains unmoved.
Seeing this, Sochul Daeju realizes something is amiss.
‘Have I already missed my chance…?’
From his reaction, it seems I may have already lost the opportunity, but Sochul Daeju desperately hopes otherwise.
“The technique you just used—was it Nightfall Moon?”
Upon hearing the question, Bangseong-yeon lets out a soft laugh.
“It doesn’t seem like it from what I can see… so?”
His trailing words seem somewhat odd, but before I can ponder the question, Wol Seon-geom continues.
“It differs greatly from the known Nightfall Moon. Is this a martial art left behind by the elder?”
“…!”
The response to the question is intense. A martial art left by the Sword Sage.
Everyone’s attention converges on that point.
One.
“Ha.”
Upon hearing the question, Bangseong-yeon suddenly bursts into laughter.
At this, Wol Seon-geom’s brow furrows.
“What’s so funny?”
“How could it not be funny…? Ah, if I wasn’t supposed to laugh, my apologies.”
Bangseong-yeon gestures with a sly grin. What is this? Was he always like this?
“It’s just rather amusing.”
“Amusing?”
As his remarks increasingly cross the line, Wol Seon-geom finally begins to infuse emotion into his voice.
“Endlessly pursue becoming the moon.”
At Bangseong-yeon’s words, Wol Seon-geom closes his mouth again.
“That is the creed of Cheonwol Gate, which I understood to be the words of the great and magnificent Sword Sage Yoo Cheon-gil, is it not?”
“It is.”
“Then why do you ask this, knowing that already?”
This time, Sochul Daeju furrows his brow at Bangseong-yeon’s words.
It was a statement he could not comprehend.
“Whether the movements are this way or that, whether the sword path is this or that—such things are not important. What matters is.”
With a whoosh, Bangseong-yeon spins the sword he was holding and sheathes it.
Clang.
“What matters is what kind of moon you can manifest with your own blade.”
“….”
Silence hung in the air following Bangseong-yeon’s words. The expressions that flickered across everyone’s faces were all different.
Most showed shock, though beneath it lay hints of displeasure and bewilderment.
Sensing this, Bangseong-yeon—or rather, Yoo Cheon-gil—smiled.
There were indeed things that never changed, no matter how time flowed.
“Does that answer your question?”
“…Yes.”
Among them all, Wol Seon-geom stared at Bangseong-yeon with particularly wide eyes.
Those blue eyes, calm at first, began to swirl with intensity.
Observing this, Sochul Daeju let out a low breath.
‘This is….’
It was too late. That much was certain.
“So, is there anything else you need?”
“No.”
Wol Seon-geom answered.
“It’s enough. I acknowledge my mistake. My judgment was flawed.”
Wol Seon-geom laughed. The scholars around him flinched at the sight.
Cheonhye-in’s expression was particularly vivid. She stared at her father with eyes wide in astonishment.
“You pass.”
“Mm.”
At Wol Seon-geom’s words, Bangseong-yeon nodded.
It was as if he had known this would happen all along.
“That should satisfy you, shouldn’t it?”
Along with some muttered words, Bangseong-yeon’s head suddenly drooped.
And a moment passed.
“Ah.”
Bangseong-yeon lifted his head again. Then he looked down at the collapsed Seom Seong-gyeong.
In that instant.
“…Is it torn?”
Bangseong-yeon uttered words no one could understand.
Under normal circumstances, everyone would have paid attention to what he meant.
But now, no one cared.
It was a situation where that was impossible.
Everyone was still reeling from the shock that had just erupted, and in the midst of this whirlwind.
Bangseong-yeon had defeated a member of Sowoldae and enlisted in Sowoldae.
At the age of eighteen.
The youngest age in the history of Cheonwol Gate.

* * *
After my martial contest with Seom Seong-gyeong ended and I reclaimed my body, the first emotion I felt was singular.
‘I’m astounded….’
Utterly astounded.
Throughout the entire contest, exclamations escaped me unbidden. It was remarkable enough that my sluggish flesh managed to evade all of his chaotic sword strikes.
But what unfolded within that exchange was even more difficult to believe.
I returned to my residence in a daze and immediately had to question Yoo Cheon-gil.
“What on earth is this…?”
Not the victory in the contest, nor the new sword technique he displayed.
Not even the fact that I had defeated a warrior of Sowoldae—none of it occupied my thoughts now.
There was only one thing that consumed my attention.
“How is that even possible? How can you see it?”
[Hmph.]
Yoo Cheon-gil snorts at my reaction. I should have felt considerable annoyance at his demeanor, but I had to let it pass for now.
[Did I not tell you?]
Yoo Cheon-gil laughs.
[If you simply endured, a new world would surely unfold before you.]
“….”
I could say nothing.
I could not deny it. Yoo Cheon-gil’s words were true.
During the contest, a new world had indeed unfolded before me.
Which is precisely why I found it so unbelievable.
“…That is why I ask.”
How exactly.
“Why can I see all the sword paths?”
The countless strands of sword paths that had unfolded during the contest.
I could not forget that sight.
I—or rather, through Yoo Cheon-gil’s eyes using my body—could see exactly how Seom Seong-gyeong’s sword would move.
[Remarkable, was it not?]
“…Yes.”
How could it not be remarkable?
Watching those paths, Yoo Cheon-gil evaded Seom Seong-gyeong’s sword.
With the most minute of movements, he avoided every single strike.
Not even the hem of his garment was grazed by those numerous, vicious sword attacks.
How was this possible? It was the question I had wanted to ask throughout the entire contest.
To see all the opponent’s sword paths.
There was nothing more absurd than this.
To my bewilderment, Yoo Cheon-gil answers.
[The blooming of Wol-an.]
“…Blooming?”
[That’s right. I consumed the Cheongwol-dan, and it’s properly settled into my body now.]
The Cheongwol-dan I ate in that place I called the snack warehouse.
Just one pill caused all of this to happen?
“…Was the Cheongwol-dan really that remarkable?”
[Well, it’s the Cheongwol-dan, after all.]
“No….”
Unlike the Great Restoration Pill or the Purple Essence Pill, eating it doesn’t grant some extraordinary inner strength.
It makes the opponent’s attack trajectory visible to the eye?
“Where would such a cheat-like inner pill exist? Then, does everyone who consumes the Cheongwol-dan experience this?”
[Uh….]
Yoo Cheon-gil hesitates at my question. What’s this? Is that not it? Then why am I?
Just as the cascade of doubts was turning into suspicion.
[That… is, that’s right.]
Yoo Cheon-gil gives a somewhat reluctant answer.
What’s with that reaction?
“Old Man?”
[Of course it’s remarkable! That’s precisely why only the Moonju can consume this divine pill.]
“….”
I was glaring at Yoo Cheon-gil because his addition felt rushed, but I let it slide since his follow-up made sense.
That’s right, now that I think about it.
“…A divine pill only the Moonju can consume.”
The Cheongwol-dan is something only the Moonju who ascends in succession can eat.
‘Wait….’
As I recall that far, a question emerges.
Now that I think about it, something was strange.
“But Old Man.”
[Oh, what is it?]
Yoo Cheon-gil’s response falters, as if he sensed I’d caught onto something.
“If the Cheongwol-dan is something only the Moonju can consume… then what about Wol Seon-geom?”
[Huh?]
“He consumed it too, didn’t he?”
[Ah, that?]
Yoo Cheon-gil relaxes. It seems my question was different from what he’d anticipated. What was he so worried I’d ask about?
“The next Moonju will need to consume it too, so there must be more of these divine pills….”
[What you consumed was the last one.]
“…Pardon?”
[The Moonju was supposed to eat it originally, but I stole it away. So what you ate was the last one.]
“…Then, Wol Seon-geom couldn’t consume it?”
[That must be the case. Kehehehehe. He’s probably still searching frantically for where the Cheongwol-dan went. Hahahaha—! I do apologize for that!]
I exhaled a sigh while covering my face.
“Don’t you dare smile like you’ve won. You mad old fool….”
Another secret had been added to the list of things I must hide for the rest of my life.

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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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