Ultimate Martial Venerable - Chapter 15

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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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Episode 15. Just as You Said
The moment Mak Cheon leaped onto the stone platform, a torrent of jeers erupted from the Yuk Clan’s side.
For the clan head to intervene before the match even ended was a flagrant violation of the rules. And when he threw his own body in front of Mak Un Bi to shield her from certain death, there was no room for excuses.
Yuk Ho Yeon rose from his seat and spoke coldly.

“Mak Cheon. The Seoshan Martial Match has upheld its Life-or-Death Rule for a thousand years. Yet you yourself climbed onto the stone platform and halted the bout?”

Mak Cheon’s face flushed crimson.

“I admitted my defeat, did I not.”
“Admitting defeat and breaking the rules are two different matters.”

Sharp stares bore down from every direction. Mak Cheon clenched his teeth and gathered the unconscious Mak Un Bi into his arms.

“Tomorrow I’ll send one root of Yeongryak to the Yuk Clan. Will that suffice?”

Only then did Yuk Ho Yeon’s expression soften.

“You should have shown such courtesy from the start.”

Mak Cheon said nothing more and descended from the stone platform with Mak Un Bi.
Yuk Beom withdrew the Blazing Gold Body. As the crimson light receded from his skin, all the young members of the Yuk Clan rose to their feet.

“Yuk Beom!”
“Yuk Beom has won!”

The roar shook the mountainside.
Just months earlier, these same people had pointed at him and called him a Dull Talent. Now they were shouting his name louder than anyone else.
Yuk Beom watched them and smiled quietly.
Yuk Pung turned to his son with a stern face.

“Yuk Myeong. You should rise as well.”

Yuk Myeong reluctantly pushed himself up but did not join in the cheers. After staring at Yuk Beom on the stone platform for a while, he abruptly turned and left the grounds.
Yuk Pung watched his departing son and exhaled deeply.
But the martial match was not yet finished.
Yuk Beom turned his gaze toward the Jang Family’s section.
His final opponent, Jang Wol Ham, rose slowly. She looked at Yuk Beom with trembling eyes, then climbed onto the stone platform.

“Yuk Beom.”

Jang Wol Ham spoke quietly.

“I truly did not want to fight you.”

Yuk Beom’s expression did not change.

“If you’ve said your piece, then let us begin. Miss Jang.”

At the distant form of address—”Miss Jang”—Jang Wol Ham’s lips hardened.

She flicked her sleeve and a slender Flowing Sword slid into her hand. At the same moment, a pale luminescence wrapped around her body, forming a thin veil.
Whoosh—
The crowd below the stone platform stirred.

“She has Strong Energy!”
“Jang Wol Ham has already reached the Inner Strength Realm?”

The light enveloping her was faint, but it was unmistakably Strong Energy.
Inner Strength Realm.
Inner Strength Realm
First Stage.
Yuk Ho Yeon’s face hardened. Mak Cheon stopped examining Mak Un Bi’s condition and turned his gaze toward Jang Wol Ham.
Yuk Ho gripped the hilt of his weapon with tense knuckles.
Jang Wol Ham’s eyes settled with arrogant certainty.

“If no one else can break you, I’ll end this myself.”

Before the words had fully left her mouth, she kicked off the ground.
The Flowing Sword curved like a living serpent, unleashing dozens of blade shadows. Yuk Beom immediately summoned the Blazing Gold Body and blocked his vital points with both arms.
Clang-clang-clang!
The sword tip struck against the flushed, heated skin with a metallic ring.
The blade, charged with Strong Energy, cut through his defense and left a wound across Yuk Beom’s back.
Yuk Beom spun and slammed the sword’s spine with his fist.
Jang Wol Ham twisted her wrist to disperse the impact, then rotated with the blade. The Flowing Sword changed course again, targeting his ribs and neck in succession.
Yuk Beom brought his fist down like a hammer.

“Collapsing Mountain Fist!”

Boom!
The ground caved in and stone fragments of all sizes exploded outward. But before they could touch Jang Wol Ham, a barrier of Strong Energy deflected them away.
In that moment, Jang Wol Ham’s Flowing Sword sang out.

Flowing Dragon Sword Method

!

The sword tip curved like a dragon, engulfing the space in all directions.
Blade shadows struck Yuk Beom’s body in rapid succession. The Blazing Gold Body held firm, but wounds multiplied across his frame.
Yuk Beom was forced back several steps.

“So a difference in realm cannot be overcome.”
“Still, just defeating Mak Un Bi was remarkable.”

As Jang Wol Ham pressed her advantage with growing confidence, Yuk Beom’s crimson hand caught the Flowing Sword thrusting toward his chest.
Jang Wol Ham pulled, but the blade would not yield.
Yuk Beom’s fingers burned hot, and the sword’s spine began to glow red.

“Let go!”

She poured Strong Energy into the blade. A powerful rebound shock pushed against his palm, yet his arm stood firm as stone driven into bedrock.
Jang Wol Ham unleashed her palms and feet in succession without releasing the sword.
Thump! Crack!
Attacks charged with Strong Energy struck his chest and ribs in rapid sequence. Yet Yuk Beom did not retreat a single step.
He spoke quietly.

“Your Strong Energy is too weak.”
“What?”

Yuk Beom seized the black stone hanging around his neck and tore it free.
The Bongryeok Seok

fell upon the stone ground.
Boom!
A pebble smaller than a palm shattered the floor deeply. At that same instant, the thousand-pound pressure that had weighed upon Yuk Beom’s body vanished.
Whoosh!
The suppressed Original Qi and power were released all at once, and a fierce wind swept across the stone platform. Flames erupted across Yuk Beom’s entire frame, and Jang Wol Ham released the scorching Flowing Sword and retreated urgently.
Mak Un Bi, just awakening, went pale. The very strength that had defeated her had not been his full power.
Yuk Beom kicked the stone platform.
Bang!
The ground beneath his feet exploded. The figure that vanished before his eyes reappeared in front of Jang Wol Ham in an instant.
A burning fist struck the Qi Barrier.
Bang!
From a single blow, Jang Wol Ham’s face drained of color. Her shallow-rooted Gangjing couldn’t dissipate the impact properly.
Jang Wol Ham gathered her remaining Gangjing into her palm and counterattacked.
Yuk Beom’s body slid sideways like a feather. The wind that rose beneath his feet pushed him clear of the attack’s arc.

“What is that movement?”

Someone cried out in astonishment.
Yuk Beom spun his body in answer.
A foot wreathed in flames lashed at Jang Wol Ham’s waist.
Crack!
The Qi Barrier shattered like glass. Jang Wol Ham staggered, vomiting blood, and black smoke curled from her waist.
The roar from the Yuk Clan erupted anew.

“Yuk Beom!”
“Finish it!”

Yuk Beom hurled his bent Flowing Sword to the ground and raised his fist.
In that moment, Jang Wol Ham cried out urgently.

“Yuk Beom! Have you forgotten the promise between us?”

His fist stilled.
Below the platform fell silent. No one had imagined such a past existed between the two of them.
A cold gleam flashed in Jang Wol Ham’s eyes.
She gathered her last Gangjing at her toes and lashed at his vital point.
But Yuk Beom was already moving.
As her foot brushed the hem of his robe, his hand seized Jang Wol Ham’s throat.

“Of course I remember.”

Yuk Beom spoke coldly.

“That you were the first to break it.”

He threw Jang Wol Ham off the platform.
Members of the Jang Family rushed forward to catch her. With disheveled hair and blood-stained lips, Jang Wol Ham glared at Yuk Beom, but she did not rise again.
As the announcer declared the champion, the roar of the Yuk Clan shook all of Seoshan.
Before leaving, Mak Un Bi looked back at Yuk Beom on the platform.

“This time, you won.”

There was still frustration in his voice, but he did not deny the defeat.

“Next time, I will master the Strong Energy and fight you again.”

Mak Cheon did not hurry his grandson. He simply fixed Yuk Beom with a stern gaze once more, then departed with the members of the Mak Family.
As whispers rippled through the crowd, Jang Am supported Jang Wol Ham and hastily left the scene.
Yuk Beom raised his hand toward the Yuk Clan members from atop the platform.
From that day on, there was no one in Ganglim Castle who called him a Dull Talent.
* * *
That night, the Yuk Clan held a prolonged celebration.
Yuk Ho Yeon seated Yuk Beom and Yuk Ho on either side and launched into tales of his youth without pause. By the third telling of the same story, Yuk Ho could no longer suppress his laughter at his son’s trials.
The younger members of the Yuk Clan came to him in turn, raising their cups.
Most offered apologies before congratulations, acknowledging times they had looked down on or mocked Yuk Beom, and drained their cups.
Yuk Beom harbored no resentment toward them.
There was a time when he had longed to line up those who once scorned him and extract their apologies. But now that the day had truly come, the old anger was not as sweet as he had imagined.
It was not their contempt, but his own refusal to yield through mockery, that had forged the Yuk Beom he was now.
After a moment, Yuk Cheon Gang approached with a grave expression.
He bowed deeply before Yuk Beom.

“I said many things to you in the past that I shouldn’t have. I won’t make excuses. I was wrong.”

Yuk Cheon Gang drained his cup in one long drink, then poured the remaining liquor over his own face.

“From now on, if anyone speaks ill of you, I will be the first to stand against them.”

Yuk Beom regarded him for a moment, then nodded.

“The past is finished.”

Yuk Cheon Gang bowed once more and withdrew.
Then Yuk Pung approached alone. Yuk Myeong was not at his side.

“Where is Yuk Myeong?”

Yuk Ho Yeon’s question drew a weary reply from Yuk Pung.

“He returned to the Martial Arts Academy this very night.”

Yuk Ho Yeon’s face hardened.

“He fled without even facing a defeat of such modest proportions?”

Yuk Pung could not defend his son. Instead, he raised his cup toward Yuk Beom.

“I apologize on behalf of Yuk Myeong. We are brothers of the same clan—I ask that you do not harbor this in your heart for long.”

Without a word, Yuk Beom clinked cups with him and drank.
At that moment, a guard rushed forward.

“Master. Someone outside is looking for the young master Yuk Beom.”
“Did I not say we are receiving no visitors today?”
“It is Jang Wol Ham of the Jang Family.”

The noise of the gathering fell momentarily silent.
Yuk Beom rose from his seat.

“I will go and see to this matter.”

Yuk Ho spoke in a low voice.

“Beom. You are destined to move toward greater things. Do not cloud your judgment with the sentiments of the past.”
“I will not worry you, Father.”

Yuk Beom stepped beyond the gates.
Beneath the moonlight, Jang Wol Ham stood alone. Her light makeup brought back a memory of that night when he had given her all the medicinal herbs he possessed.

“What is this about?”

Jang Wol Ham smiled with careful hesitation.

“Could we not walk for a while and talk?”
“If you have something to say, say it here.”

She stepped forward and reached for Yuk Beom’s hand. He withdrew it smoothly.

“Miss Jang. Mind yourself.”

Jang Wol Ham’s eyes reddened.

“Yuk Beom, I’m sorry. Could we start over?”

Yuk Beom studied her for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.

“If that’s what you came to say, you should leave now.”
“What do I need to do for you to forgive me?”
“Forgiveness isn’t something that matters anymore. We’re already finished.”

As Yuk Beom turned to go, Jang Wol Ham called out urgently to stop him.

“Wait! There’s something else I came to ask for.”

Yuk Beom spoke without turning back.

“It’s about a hundred thousand gold coins.”

Jang Wol Ham caught her breath.

“You knew?”
“Your father made a wager with my grandfather, and the Jang Family lost. There’s no other reason you’d come looking for me tonight.”

She bit her lip.

“You only need to say one thing. Tell him to extend the deadline or reduce the amount. If that’s what you want, I can do anything——”
“Stop.”

Yuk Beom cut her off decisively.

“I’ll speak to my grandfather about it. But don’t talk about yourself like you’re merchandise being traded.”
“Are you looking down on me right now?”
“After what I just said, is that all you can think of?”

Jang Wol Ham’s face twisted.

“Is there truly no possibility left between us?”

Yuk Beom fell silent for a moment.
The old version of himself had clung to her, trying to change her mind. She had drawn a cold line then, telling him to face reality.
Yuk Beom hadn’t forgotten a single word she’d said.

“Jang Wol Ham.”

He spoke calmly.

“Our stations are now as different as heaven and earth.”

Jang Wol Ham’s pupils wavered.

“Think about it realistically. You know as well as I do that we can never reconnect.”

Those were the very words she had spoken in the past.
Yuk Beom no longer waited for an answer.

“Farewell.”

As he stepped through the gate, the heavy door closed slowly behind him.
Thud.
Jang Wol Ham stared at the firmly closed door for a long moment.
Once, it had been she who turned away, and Yuk Beom who remained in that place.
Today it was reversed.
Beneath the moonlight, alone, her eyes grew red. But the sorrow did not linger long. Soon a cold, bitter light took its place.
She turned away, her lips pressed together.
Yuk Beom never once looked back.

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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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