Ultimate Martial Venerable - Chapter 37

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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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Chapter 37. One Step Is Enough
The tip of Jeon U’s sword trembled slightly.
He squeezed his grip as though to hide it, but sweat pooled in his palm ran down the hilt.
Until moments ago, he had been the one dodging Yuk Beom, moving to the opposite side. But now the opponent he’d been avoiding had chosen the Martial Stage himself and descended directly before him.
Yuk Beom held the Weaponless Heavy Sword

at an angle.

“You’ve seen this before, haven’t you? At the mountain entrance?”
“……Yes.”
“Your name is Jeon…….”

As his words trailed off, Jeon U’s face hardened.

“Jeon U.”
“Right. Jeon U.”

It was unclear whether he’d asked because he didn’t know the name, or spoken that way deliberately despite knowing it.
Below on the ground, Yuk Myeong’s mouth corners rose just slightly.
Jeon Pung’s face, by contrast, flushed crimson.

“Jeon U! That bastard is looking down on you! Cut straight for his neck the moment we start!”

Instructor Gyo Heon’s eyebrows shot up.

“This is a martial competition ground. If I hear talk of killing one more time, I’m hauling your brother out of here.”

Jeon Pung closed his mouth, but his eyes still urged his brother forward.
Jeon U drew his sword slowly.

“If you chose me because of my brother’s affair, I’ll make you regret it.”
“That’s not the only reason.”

Yuk Beom’s gaze flicked toward Jeon Pung before returning.

“You were laughing beside him too.”

At those few words, Jeon U’s sword tip went still.
Yuk Beom pressed the matter no further.

“Let us begin.”

An instructor from the other two martial stages took position. Gyo Heon called Kkamangi to sit at his feet, then lowered his hand.

“Begin.”

Yet Yuk Beom did not move.
He simply stood in place, holding the Weaponless Heavy Sword.
Jeon U, who had been about to rush forward, could not lift his feet from the ground.
The flow of wind had changed.
The clouds that had drifted around Yuk Beom were pushed back, and the Heaven-Earth Force surrounding them

swept across the martial stage like an invisible wave. His Fusion Strong Energy

did not burst outward violently from his body, yet the pressure only grew heavier.
The opponent’s breathing became shallow.
His sword hand tightened, but his shoulders gradually hunched inward.
Yuk Beom watched quietly.
A Flame Practitioner—

He could not reveal that fact. If he shaped the Heaven-Earth Force into a form and attacked directly, even Iron Face’s true identity might come under suspicion.
But drawing in a little of the surrounding energy with Strong Energy as the root—that would pass as the aura of a martial artist.

‘He’s frightened.’

There was no need to strike first against an opponent whose resolve had already wavered. It was Jeon U who grew restless merely by standing still.
The judgment from high above reached the same conclusion.
At Cheonin Academy, the Sageun Hyeon Gong shook his head.

“He’s reached the third level of the Inner Gangjing Realm, yet his spirit hasn’t kept pace with his training. A man whose blade trembles under such light pressure will never become a vessel of true strength.”

Sageun Hyeon Jin’s brow furrowed as well.

“I heard his sword path wasn’t poor. What a waste. He’ll need to temper his spirit first.”

Just moments before, he had been thinking of bringing Jeon U to Blue Sword Academy and guiding him personally for a few days. If he had mastered the Gi Sword at the third level of the Inner Gangjing Realm, there would certainly be value in refinement.

But the opponent’s momentum had swallowed him before he could even draw his blade. Technique could be taught, but a spirit that broke before the fight even began—no Sageun could rebuild that in another’s stead.
Hyeon Jin withdrew his interest without hesitation.
Jeon U did not even know what opportunity he had lost in the span between his opponent’s first movement and his own failure to draw.
Sageun Sin Do watched only Yuk Beom, not Jeon U.

“When will that boy make a move? If he takes a hit or two, we could better gauge how solid his body truly is.”

Sageun Mong Un glanced back with an expression of disbelief.

“Are you selecting a disciple, or choosing a stone to pummel?”
“If both are solid, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

Sageun Seong Yeon’s cool voice cut through.

“Watch quietly. Yuk Beom holds a sword, but he has no intention of fighting with it.”

Several of the Sages’ eyes shifted at those words.
On the Martial Stage, Jeon U could endure no longer and moved first.
Strong Energy of the third level flowed up along his blade. As his feet struck the bluestone in rapid succession, his form scattered into afterimages.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
A white shadow circled swiftly around Yuk Beom.
The blade seemed ready to thrust forward, then vanished, reappearing with killing intent from the opposite side. It was an irregular sword form—drawing the opponent’s gaze behind him before striking at his front.
Several times the sword tip actually carved close to the sleeve. This style relied on the unrelenting feint, waiting for the moment when an ordinary person would finally break and turn their body or attack first. That was what the sword form was designed to provoke.
But Yuk Beom was watching the wind, not Jeon U.
Every time a foot struck the bluestone, the air was displaced, and between the direction where killing intent was hidden and the place where Strong Energy actually gathered, there was a tiny discrepancy. One could deceive the eye, but not the flow of heaven and earth.
Yet Yuk Beom did not turn around.
He simply planted the wide Weaponless Heavy Sword in front of his body.
One blade became a shield, covering his upper half.
Jeon U’s footwork tangled for just an instant.
Half of his aimed ambush was blocked by a single blade’s face.
Someone below burst into laughter.

“Jeon Pung! How much longer is your brother going to spin? At this rate, he’ll make himself dizzy!”
“Is that maybe not a sword form for knocking someone down—but for making them seasick?”

As laughter spread, Jeon Pung’s eyes glowered at those around him.

“Quiet. I’m looking for an opening.”

Yuk Myeong added coolly, his arms crossed.

“Ten rotations and you still haven’t found one? Maybe there isn’t one.”
“Do you know swordplay?”
“I couldn’t tell if that counts as swordplay. Since he’s spinning, should I call it the Rotation Technique?”

This time even spectators from other academies laughed.
Jeon Pung’s face drained to ash.
The mockery reached Jeon U above as well.
Laughter aimed at himself, the wager his brother had made, Yuk Beom standing without shifting a single foot.
The more his breathing ragged, the faster his feet spun. His Strong Energy was draining rapidly, yet he couldn’t stop.

‘At this rate, I’m the only one who looks foolish.’

At last Jeon U drew his sword back to his chest.
His rotating body froze mid-motion, and the surrounding wind spiraled inward toward the blade’s tip.
Whoooosh—!
The air currents wrapping the sword twisted into a helix. Chips of blue stone lifted into the air, and the compressed atmosphere shrieked.
Gyo Heon’s expression sharpened.

Pasal Sword.

A Kill Strike that suppressed the currents around an opponent to paralyze them, then channeled all force into a single beam to pierce through.
Jeon Pung clenched his fists.

“Yes! End it with that!”

A white flash shot straight forward.
The wind that had wrapped the Martial Stage pressed down on Yuk Beom’s limbs, growing heavy as stone itself clung to his feet.
It was an attack difficult to evade.
To block it head-on, he would have to withstand even the spiraling force woven into the blade.
That instant, Yuk Beom smiled.

‘Oppressed by momentum I can’t even suppress, yet you think you can bind me with the Heaven-Earth Force?’

Both hands left the sword hilt.
Thud!
The Weaponless Heavy Sword embedded itself in the ground, masterless.
Simultaneously, the fierce momentum vanished without trace.
In Jeon U’s sight, Yuk Beom’s presence simply dissolved.
He was plainly standing there. Yet neither the currents gathered in the sword nor the Heaven-Earth Force he had drawn could grasp anything.
It was as though a single man had naturally melted into the space between mountains and water, wind and cloud.
Spirit Fused with Heaven and Earth.

One step to the left—that was all. His feet moved as the white flash neared his chest.
That alone sufficed.
The blade’s tip grazed his collar and pierced empty air.
Jeon U’s body, emptied of all its force, could not stop. As he passed beside Yuk Beom, a low voice reached his ear.

“Hiding behind stronger men—that’s your choice.”

Jeon U’s eyes widened.

“But trampling others from behind that shelter—that’s something else entirely.”

Flames wrapped around both fists.
The quiet body moved like an angry wave.

Yeolam Boom-san Fist.

Crash!
Two fists struck the back and ribs simultaneously.
Red flames erupted across Jeon U’s body. In his white martial robe, he rocketed clear of the Martial Stage and fell like a meteor.
Blood spattered from Jeon U’s mouth as he lost consciousness before even touching the ground.
An instructor waiting in the wings stretched forth his strong energy and barely caught him.
Silence held for a long moment.
Yuk Beom pulled the Weaponless Heavy Sword free from the crater in the ground with one hand and slung it across his back.

“Just one step, then.”

Gyo Heon murmured it without quite meaning to.
One step had truly been all it took before the Pasal Sword shattered.
The moment the silence broke, laughter and gasps erupted from below.

“He spun around that many times, and he only takes one flight!”
“Jeon Pung! Your brother’s sword technique saves its best move for last!”
“Next time, teach him how to run straight first!”

Even those who had been frightened by Jeon U’s movements moments before now competed to shout their jabs.
Jeon Pung’s face flushed crimson all the way to his neck.
Without even glancing at the instructor cradling his fallen brother, he shoved through the crowd and headed for the exit.
Yuk Myeong watched his retreating figure and swallowed his smile.
A man choosing to escape his own shame before tending to his brother’s fall.
It reminded him of Yuk Beom long ago, when he had hidden his failure to reach the fifth stage of the Yeon Che Realm and slipped away from the plaza.

That day, Yuk Myeong had not gone after him either. Instead, he and Jang Wol Ham had laughed.
He could not claim to be better than Jeon Pung.
Perhaps he had been more cowardly still.

“Yuk Myeong, your brother truly is remarkable.”
“From now on, who would dare touch you? Connect us with him too, will you?”
“If you need anything, just say the word. In exchange, let me just mention my name once to Master Yuk Beom—”

The very people who had ignored him before suddenly swarmed near.
Once, such attention might have tasted sweet.
But this time, laughter did not come.
Yuk Myeong pushed the hands away and stepped back.

“Yuk Beom is strong. I am not.”

The voices around him quieted slightly.

“I have no intention of being treated on his name alone.”

Someone asked, almost like a jest.

“What about Jeon Pung, then? He’s been your servant for a year, hasn’t he?”

Yuk Myeong glanced once toward where Jeon Pung had vanished, then turned away.

“I’ll collect on the bet. It’s a wager I won, after all.”

A sharp smile crossed his lips once more.

“But next time, I’ll have to block it with my own fists.”

He quickened his pace, slipping past those who tried to hold him back.
If he faced Yuk Beom now, he had no idea what to say. Thanks felt shameful given their history, and an apology seemed far too late.
Then at the very least, he couldn’t afford to be protected next time.
If he leaned on Yuk Beom to crush Jeon Pung, today would be satisfying. But there was no guarantee Yuk Beom would be at his side tomorrow, or the day after. The words he’d spoken before leaving Ganglim Castle came back to him.
He had said he had no intention of always looking at Yuk Beom’s back.
To keep that promise, he needed to spend less time feeling ashamed.
His figure vanished among the crowd as he headed toward the Training Grounds.
On the Martial Stage, Gyo Heon declared the winner.

“Victor: Yuk Beom.”

His voice was the same as always, but the light in his eyes had changed.
He had not broken Jeon U’s Pasal Sword with raw force. At the moment his attack reached completion, Yuk Beom withdrew his own momentum and dissolved into heaven and earth, deflecting the Kill Strike with the smallest of movements.
For someone at the same Inner Gangjing Realm, third tier, even imitating such a judgment would have been nearly impossible.
Even from the highest heaven, Sin Do’s eyes widened slightly.

“Was that a Movement Technique?”

Mong Un shook his head slowly.

“No. He simply stepped back.”
“That’s exactly what I’m asking—how was such a step possible?”

Hyeon Jin’s eyes narrowed.

“In that instant, Yuk Beom’s energy became one with his surroundings. The attack lost its target to suppress.”

Il Cheong stroked his round belly, his eyes gleaming.

“Sinryongcheonji… Still so young, yet he’s mastered something interesting.”
“Don’t speak as though you taught him.”

At Seong Yeon’s remark, Il Cheong laughed.

“Who knows? I might be the one teaching him in the future.”
“Do you still believe he’ll choose Ilwon Academy?”
“The future is always uncertain.”

As the final match ended, only ten islands remained suspended in the void.
Thunder split the clouds.
The enormous face of Administrator Cheon Gye filled the sky once more.

“The Academy Branch Selection Tournament is concluded.”

Thousands of gazes converged on the ten remaining victors.

“The winners shall step forward and select the branch academy of their choice.”

The eyes of nine Sageun turned toward Yuk Beom in unison.
Yuk Beom adjusted the Weaponless Heavy Sword across his back and walked to the edge of the Martial Stage.
Blue Sword Academy, Hengsan Academy, Yin-Yang Academy.
Many gazes desired him. Expectations that he choose the strongest, temptations promising superior teachings—all of it was about to pour down upon him.
But his answer had been decided long before he left Ganglim Castle.
At last, it was time to go to the place O Jin had designated.

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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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