The World’s Greatest Martial Arts Instructor - Chapter 436

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 436. Then What Is the Abyss?

 

 

The ten members of the Hocheon Corps stepped back.

So as not to interfere with So Hwi-ung’s battle.

A fierce storm whirled around them.

So Hwi-ung’s eyes were sunken low.

Plum Blossom Heaven Sword Geum Do-wi.

He was a comrade who had once fought back-to-back with him in the last war.

That same person, unable to overcome momentary desire, had become a jiangshi and now stood before him.

And this was years after the Blood Cult had been destroyed.

“Is this all there is?”

So Hwi-ung muttered low as if speaking to himself.

“Grrrrowl.”

Dark Blood Jiangshi Geum Do-wi let out a low growl as if responding to him.

“The Great Huashan Sect’s First Sword. Plum Blossom Heaven Sword Geum Do-wi. Is this measly power all you wanted to obtain, even if it meant touching the Destruction Art?”

Though his voice was quiet, anger resided within it.

The sword wreathed in dark energy continuously pressed So Hwi-ung.

But none of it could surpass So Hwi-ung’s blade.

Clang! Chang! Clang!

The sounds continued to ring out.

So Hwi-ung’s expression remained consistently the same.

His sunken gaze was growing colder and colder.

Like flames burning coldly.

Within him, anger was blazing and freezing over.

At this wretched reality.

“If you were going to touch the Destruction Art anyway, you should show me something stronger!”

His voice grew louder.

Dam Mu-heun watched the scene with a heavy expression.

In his eyes, Dark Blood Jiangshi Geum Do-wi was strong.

Strong enough to be called the strongest among all the Dark Blood Jiangshi he had encountered so far.

Since he had also seen his martial prowess in life.

He could say with certainty.

‘He’s become at least fifty percent stronger than back then… no, twice as strong.’

That was an undeniable fact.

Yet So Hwi-ung was angry, asking if this was all there was.

The reason he could do so was.

Because So Hwi-ung had become even stronger than before.

After the war with the Blood Cult and Demon Cult ended.

For a while, his martial arts seemed to have stagnated.

When exactly had something happened?

So Hwi-ung’s current appearance was different from what Dam Mu-heun had seen during the last war.

He was showing a form so different that one could believe he was an entirely different person.

‘Was the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade such a blade technique?’

Especially.

The movement of So Hwi-ung’s blade.

It seemed to exist in another world of a higher dimension.

“Grrrrrowl.”

Geum Do-wi’s growling became intense.

And the movement of the sword he wielded changed.

The final form of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

Twenty-fourth form.

Plum Blossom Fragrance for Ten Thousand Li.

The sword that claimed plum blossom fragrance travels ten thousand li was unleashed.

But there was no plum blossom fragrance.

Rather, a terrible stench.

Yes, the stench of corpses.

Only the smell of death vibrated through the air.

Geum Do-wi’s sword thickly covered all directions and perfectly dominated So Hwi-ung’s entire body.

So Hwi-ung raised his blade high.

And simply brought it down.

Crack.

Dam Mu-heun thought he heard such a sound.

It was truly a sound as if the heavens were splitting and collapsing.

Heaven-Collapsing Demon-Annihilation.

He had heard rumors that such a sound could be heard when unleashing the final form of the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Blade.

Though he had traversed countless battlefields with So Hwi-ung, he had never heard that sound before.

‘That, that’s Heaven-Collapsing Demon-Annihilation?’

Dam Mu-heun looked at the scene with disbelieving eyes.

It wasn’t the Heaven-Collapsing Demon-Annihilation he had seen before.

Just a simple.

An all too simple downward slash it appeared to be.

But the result was.

Crack.

Though he had clearly been struck by a downward slash.

Fine cracks began to appear in the sword curtain that Geum Do-wi had created.

They soon spread everywhere.

Not only to Geum Do-wi’s sword, but throughout his entire body.

“Begone.”

So Hwi-ung muttered low as he sheathed his blade.

And the moment he turned his body.

Crumble.

Geum Do-wi turned to powder and scattered.

‘That, that, that…’

Dam Mu-heun’s eyes widened in shock.

Such astonishment.

It was the first time since seeing the former Alliance Leader.

‘Alliance Leader… if you possessed such power, why did you accept the proposal to preserve Sanwol Demon Forest…’

Such a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Of course, Dam Mu-heun knew well too.

The Alliance Leader at that time didn’t possess such power.

Even so, seeing the Alliance Leader’s new form, he couldn’t help but feel regret.

“Forget everything you saw here today. I merely dealt with one Dark Blood Jiangshi wielding a sword.”

He seemed worried that today’s events might reach the Huashan Sect.

“Understood.”

“Loyalty.”

At So Hwi-ung’s command, the ten members of Hocheon Corps bowed and responded.

There was a small thrill mixed in their voices.

Because they had seen a new side of the Jeongcheon Alliance Leader they served.

They had unknowingly become captivated by that strength.

 

“Hmm… So Hwi-ung.”

Il-no swallowed a low groan at the continuous reports coming in.

“Time may have passed, but this exceeds expectations.”

He never thought So Hwi-ung would easily defeat even Geum Do-wi’s Dark Blood Jiangshi.

There was one reason he had left him alone to rampage through Sanwol Demon Forest.

The plan was to drain his strength as much as possible before sending Chu Geum-ryeong.

The next plan was also prepared.

But he had hoped to take the easy route.

So Hwi-ung was far stronger than expected.

“Should I consider it fortunate that thanks to Geum Do-wi, I learned how strong he is?”

Il-no decided to think of it that way.

And he took out a small horn from his chest.

It was a horn that could give commands to jiangshi.

There were several other types, but the one Il-no possessed was the highest grade.

It could issue the most absolute commands.

Originally it belonged to the Sect Leader, but currently Il-no was managing it.

He blew the horn forcefully.

However, no sound rang out.

Because it was a sound that could only be heard by jiangshi spirits.

Humans could not hear it.

No, no living creature could hear it.

Only jiangshi, who were dead, could feel the sound of the horn.

The command Il-no gave was simple.

Retreat, hide.

He could not let precious forces be sacrificed to So Hwi-ung like this.

“I don’t know how well the Sagang-si will follow.”

The Sagang-si, being the lowest existence with only instincts remaining, did not respond properly even to the horn’s commands.

So he gave the simplest command.

Even including spiritual energy that would stimulate the Sagang-si’s fear.

To hide as much as possible.

“Then I’ll have to move according to the second plan.”

Il-no moved again.

It was something he had been preparing.

But because So Hwi-ung was stronger than expected, it seemed he would have to move faster.

During that time, he had no choice but to hide the jiangshi to reduce their sacrifices.

The jiangshi were already a concern as their numbers were dwindling.

He had to conserve them.

For the future.

 

***

 

“Taecho and Manhwang. Those two are ultimately one? And the world is purely one?”

Ha Mu-baek’s question was full of doubt.

Wuji nodded his head.

“Then how was this world I’m living in now created?”

“Manhwang rebelled against Taecho and unleashed power, and as a result Taecho was divided into six fragments. From the backlash, Manhwang was torn into eight pieces.”

It was an unbelievable story.

He had heard all kinds of stories about gods in the world.

From the Supreme Emperor of Taoism to the gods spoken of in Buddhism.

But he had never heard such a story.

This seemed less like the origin of martial arts and more like a religious tale.

Wuji continued his story calmly, as if understanding Ha Mu-baek’s disbelief.

“The six fragments are Wuji, Yeoui, Radiance, Darkness, Chaos, and Void. Radiance created light, and Darkness created shadow. The eight pieces of Manhwang became the energy that is the source of Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Mountain, and Lake. Heaven created the sky, and Earth created the ground.”

“Then what is the Abyss?”

“Taecho’s desire and will to return to the original state.”

Ha Mu-baek frowned.

And fell into thought.

If Gae Pa Jo-sa Wuji’s words were true.

Rather than Manhwang, whom he had opposed and fought against, it was actually Taecho, the origin of his martial arts, who was evil to Ha Mu-baek.

It had to be so.

The story of returning to pure oneness meant this world would disappear and he would disappear too.

Ha Mu-baek was engulfed in confusion.

“Then what is Manhwang’s will?”

He recalled Manhwang’s will from what Go Hu-rak had said.

“The destruction of the world. A world that splits and splits and splits again to spread widely. That is Manhwang’s will and desire.”

“You mean not this current world?”

At Ha Mu-baek’s question, Wuji nodded.

Then Manhwang was also evil.

Whether merging into one to eliminate the current world, or splitting endlessly to eliminate the current world.

What both meant was clear.

The destruction of the present world.

Ha Mu-baek could not keep his wits about him with the enormous amount of information he had suddenly received.

“What do you mean when you say you are the Abyss?”

From Ha Mu-baek’s perspective, this was the most important question.

The Primordial Abyss.

Hadn’t he said its desire was to merge into one and return the world to its original pure oneness?

Yet one of those was his Gae Pa Jo-sa.

If Wuji was one with such desires.

Perhaps Ha Mu-baek might have to fight against the Gae Pa Jo-sa who was the source of his martial arts.

Whether this place was within a mental image or reality was still unknown.

But the sword at his waist that he could clearly feel.

Ha Mu-baek’s hand was ready to grasp the sword hilt at any moment.

 

***

 

Ju U-myeong and Dan Mok Un-rae.

The two people stepped onto the martial arts arena.

Two people who knew each other all too well.

Hadn’t they met in the semifinals at the last Eastern Tournament?

At that time, it was Ju U-myeong’s victory.

It had to be so because Dan Mok Un-rae was inexperienced then.

The martial arts he was learning was only the Three Talents Art.

But today was different.

‘This time, without fail.’

The two people stood facing each other.

“Begin!”

With the judge’s shout, the two rushed toward each other.

Ju U-myeong also knew well of Dan Mok Un-rae’s transformed skills.

So he moved with full power from the start.

The sword path of Taiji Wisdom Sword unfolding from his fingertips gracefully aimed at Dan Mok Un-rae’s entire body.

Dan Mok Un-rae also brought out the strongest martial arts he possessed.

Eighty-One Style Galaxy Illusion Sword.

A river of stars flowed toward the Taiji Wisdom Sword.

Clang! Clang clang clang!

Clang! Clang!

It was truly a fantastic martial duel.

It wouldn’t be strange no matter who won.

A famous match.

How could a martial duel between two Maengryong Corps cadets be at this level?

Ju U-myeong was one thing, but.

That guy called Dan Mok Un-rae, just what.

‘He’s strong.’

Ju U-myeong gritted his teeth.

Not only the sword techniques Dan Mok Un-rae displayed, but the power of internal energy contained within was also strong.

If he recalled Dan Mok Un-rae’s appearance when Ju U-myeong first came to Maengryong Corps.

His current appearance was unimaginable.

How could he become this strong in just a little over one year and three months?

It felt as if all the time Ju U-myeong had devoted to cultivation until now was becoming meaningless.

That couldn’t be.

His faithful time.

Because he couldn’t lose the meaning of that.

Ju U-myeong concentrated even more and wielded his sword with full power.

Ju U-myeong too.

Was not the same person he was when he first came to Maengryong Corps.

Thus, sword qi formed on the swords of the two who were displaying their full power.

Bang! Bang!

Explosive sounds burst forth.

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

Dan Mok Un-rae let out rough breaths.

‘I can do it.’

Certainly Ju U-myeong was strong.

Still, considering the process so far, they were evenly matched.

Dan Mok Un-rae had the thought that he might be able to win.

The moment he concentrated more and drew up internal energy from his dantian.

A change occurred in Ju U-myeong’s sword.

The blue-green sword qi that had been dwelling on the sword, between blue and green, began to gradually gather into one.

“Huh? N-no way…”

He had just seen such an appearance moments ago.

From Namgung Hu’s sword.

It was an appearance no one had shown in Maengryong Corps’ training.

Now Ju U-myeong was about to show an appearance he had never shown before.

The gradually gathering sword qi.

Just as Dan Mok Un-rae expected, transformed into a brilliant strand of blue-green materialized energy, spiraling around the sword as it came down.

Sword Thread.

Ju U-myeong had also entered that realm.

“Woooooooh!!!”

“It’s Sword Thread!!!!”

Once again, cheers erupted from the spectator stands.

The sound was smaller compared to Namgung Hu’s time.

It had to be, since it was only Maengryong Corps cheering.

Because the Jamryong Corps and Waryong Corps cadets were speechless from shock.

“Gulp.”

Dan Mok Un-rae swallowed dry saliva.

And he squeezed out internal energy from his dantian that was already pouring out internal energy at full power.

With the will to pour out everything without leaving even a handful of internal energy behind.

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