Ultimate Martial Venerable - Chapter 43

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

Chapter 43. Spinning Dragon Sword
Yeok Baek’s feet sank half an inch into the earth.
The impact traveled up his wrist, and the Silver Long Sword trembled violently. The force was impossible to attribute to a newcomer at only Inner Gangjing Realm Stage 3.
Yuk Beom withdrew the Weaponless Heavy Sword

and brought it down again immediately.
There was no flourish to the strike.
A downward slash from the Basic Sword Technique

pure and simple.
This time Yeok Baek did not meet it head-on. He twisted his body and thrust his Long Sword forward, but before the blade extended halfway, the broad flat of Yuk Beom’s weapon swept in from the side and drove him back.
Clang!
The thrusting force scattered into empty air. In that moment of lost balance, the Weaponless Heavy Sword swung horizontally toward his chest.
Yeok Baek deployed his footwork in desperation.
His body dispersed light as a willow leaf, leaving only a shadow in its wake. Yet Yuk Beom’s blade did not pause. The downward slash shifted mid-arc into a horizontal cut, and the broad sword face swept past the shadow to strike the true body with perfect accuracy.
Thwack!
Yeok Baek’s body flew backward three paces.
He flipped in midair and drove his sword into the ground, but could not absorb the full impact. One knee touched the earth, and thin blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
The cheers from the Cheonin Academy disciples died away.

“What on earth……”
“Yeok Baek lost ground?”
“Didn’t they say he was only at Inner Gangjing Realm Stage 3?”

Han Pung burst out laughing before anyone else.

“Youngest! Forget the chest—go for the face! A scholar’s sword lives by the face!”

Cho Haeng frowned.

“Stop wasting breath in the middle of a match.”
“Encouragement is a skill too.”

Cho Cheon did not respond. His eyes remained fixed on the blade Yuk Beom wielded.

“Is that really the same movement we see every morning?”

Downward slash, horizontal block, thrust, upward sweep.
It was unmistakably the simplest motion written in the Basic Sword Technique

—yet in Yuk Beom’s hands, every action flowed without break. The path of his blade shifted before Yeok Baek could even move, and the moment force was applied, he was already driven back in the most difficult direction to counter.
Cho Haeng spoke in a low voice.

“He’s not reacting to what the opponent does next. He’s been preparing several variations from the start.”
“So no matter which way he moves, he’s blocked.”

Cho Cheon’s eyes sharpened.
Over five months, what Yuk Beom had been grasping was not a single thin secret manual. It was ten thousand variations of the sword.
Yeok Baek wiped the blood from his lips and rose to his feet.
The lightness in his movements was gone. As he drew a second blade from his back, blood-red Strong Energy flowed across the crimson sword.

“Don’t get cocky just because you’re a little stronger.”

Silver and crimson flashed simultaneously.

Flowing Star Instant Prison Slash

!”

Two blades erased the human form.
Two beams of light crossed, bearing down on Yuk Beom. The attack was so swift that the eye could barely track it.
The Weaponless Heavy Sword moved in the opposite direction—deliberately slow.
Block, slash to the side, spin and strike downward.
Raise the blade, sweep it upward, then rotate it in a wide arc.
Clang! Clang-clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Each time the sluggish heavy sword met the rapid flash of steel, sparks erupted.
To the disciples of Cheonin Academy, it looked as though Yuk Beom would be torn to shreds at any moment. Yet after dozens of collisions, not a single thread of his garment had been cut.
If anything, the light of Yeok Baek’s blades grew increasingly unsteady.
No matter which direction Yeok Baek attacked from, the Weaponless Heavy Sword blocked first. When he feinted to find an opening and thrust, the flat of the blade swept his trajectory away; when he increased his speed to seize the advantage from behind, a rotating blade edge was already waiting.
Han Pung’s eyes widened.

“That next move—surely not…….”

Cho Cheon and Cho Haeng recognized it at the same moment.
The blade sequence Yuk Beom had repeated countless times each dawn.

“The final form.”

Both voices spoke at once.
After dozens of collisions, Yeok Baek’s true position was finally revealed. The rate at which he could maintain his Gangjing could no longer keep pace with its consumption.
By contrast, Yuk Beom’s breathing remained perfectly steady.
The Ice Heart Meteorite

and the Family Head’s Sacred Object

drew down the Heavenly and Earthly Force

while the Fusion Inner Force within his body

replenished itself with each drop of exhaustion.
Yeok Baek felt the difference.
He halted his two blades and drew a third Long Sword, hurling it forward.
As Yuk Beom raised the Weaponless Heavy Sword to block, only a spark flew, and the blade fell to earth.
In that instant, Gangjing seeped into the ground.
Boom-boom-crash!
Three stone spikes erupted from beneath his feet. As he swept the heavy sword to shatter them, a chill descended from above.
Yeok Baek hung suspended in midair, the fourth blade clenched between his teeth.
The sword embedded in the earth blazed in unison.

The Absolute Kill Sword Formation

!

Four Long Swords formed a single formation.
The Heavenly and Earthly Force around them twisted, binding Yuk Beom’s body. From the sky, three massive curved blades of light descended, layered one upon another.
The center where the attack converged most powerfully.
That was the point an ordinary Martial Artist would instinctively try to avoid—but to Yuk Beom’s eyes, it appeared differently.
Where such tremendous force gathered in one place, balance was fragile; if it shattered, it would all collapse together.

‘There.’

The Weaponless Heavy Sword extended straight toward the sky.
The Fusion Inner Force wound around the blade rose like a dragon. The sword itself began to rotate slowly, but with each additional revolution, it drew the surrounding wind and Heavenly and Earthly Force into its path.

The Heavy Sword Formula

.

Yuk Beom’s hands gripped the hilt of the blade with absolute firmness.

“Spinning Dragon Sword

.”

The rotating heavy sword pierced the center of the sword formation.
Three streaks of blade light and four long swords collided at a single point.
Boom!
A shockwave of force swept across the mountain.
The surrounding trees toppled all at once, and disciples of lower realms tumbled across the ground. Dust and leaves blanketed the sky.
The wind cleared away the haze.
Both men still stood.
Yuk Beom sheathed the Weaponless Heavy Sword first.
Yeok Baek looked down at his swords, then opened his mouth with difficulty.

“The name of that technique…… is it the Spinning Dragon Sword?”

“Yes.”
“A fitting name.”

A thin line of blood bloomed across his chest.
Four long swords lost their light simultaneously and fell. Yeok Baek followed moments after, pitching forward onto his face.
Cheonin Academy fell silent.
Han Pung was the first to break that silence.

“Are you all just going to stand there gawking? If your academy’s sword master dies here, we’ll have to bury him ourselves!”

Only then did the disciples rush over to help Yeok Baek to his feet. Their eyes held fury as they glared at Yuk Beom, but none moved to block his path.
Yuk Beom was slinging the Weaponless Heavy Sword across his back when he stopped mid-motion.
The Fusion Strong Energy within his body pulsed violently.
The barrier rising toward the fourth stage of the Inner Gangjing Realm was crumbling under the impact of the battle.
The moment he crossed his legs where he stood, the Heavenly and Earthly Force surged in like a fierce current. A faint white mist bloomed from his skin, and his meridians expanded to meet the incoming power. The Fusion Strong Energy circulating through his body alternated between contraction and expansion. Each time the force swept through a meridian, his flesh and bone hardened, and sealed blood passages opened one by one. Unlike an ordinary breakthrough to the Inner Gangjing Realm, even the grass blades and dust around him rose slowly in orbit around Yuk Beom as the center.
A few disciples from Cheonin Academy watched from a distance, holding their gaze even as they helped Yeok Baek away. The momentum of his ascent to the fourth stage was far more violent than their own had been at the seventh or eighth stage.

“Is he really a new recruit?”

Someone murmured it softly, but no one answered.

“The youngest is breaking through!”

Cho Cheon looked around.

“Everyone fall back. We hold the line until this is finished.”

The three senior brothers took their positions around Yuk Beom.
Han Pung watched the Cheonin Academy disciples receding and clicked his tongue.

“He used just the Basic Sword Technique to defeat someone at the ninth stage of the Inner Gangjing Realm. Yet we learn the Assigned Martial Arts and can’t use them against our fellow disciples. Why did the Sageun set up such a rule in the first place?”

Cho Haeng also gazed quietly at Cho Cheon.
Cho Cheon laid his sword across his knees and spoke.

“The Assigned Martial Arts weren’t given to climb the rankings. They’re a last resort we keep in reserve so those of us still in the Inner Gangjing Realm don’t lose our lives out there in the world.”
“Shouldn’t you practice and gain proficiency if you’ve learned a powerful technique?”
“The moment you start relying on a technique’s raw power, your foundation becomes hollow. What meaning would a ranking hold if it came from swinging lethal techniques against academy disciples?”

Cho Cheon’s gaze turned toward Yuk Beom, seated in meditation.

“Look at the youngest. He defeated Yeok Baek with nothing but the Basic Sword Technique, no Assigned Martial Arts at all. I think that’s the kind of strength the Sageun are hoping we develop.”

Han Pung did not answer for a long time.
His eyes moved between the spot where Yeok Baek had fallen and Yuk Beom sitting in lotus position. He traced the duel in his mind—the one where powerful lethal techniques had given way to simple overhead strikes, blocks, thrusts, and pivots, reducing Cheonin Academy’s strongest to defeat. The memory of how he’d mocked Yuk Beom for repeating the same motions for five months left a bitter taste in his mouth.
His gaze fell to the Jade Water Long Sky Sword

in his hand, and the playfulness drained from his expression.

“So you’re saying if I want to win at the Ranking Tournament, I need to rebuild my fundamentals from scratch.”
“Did you finally understand?”
“Understanding and putting it into practice are two different things.”

Cho Haeng let out a soft laugh.

“You really are tiresome, aren’t you?”

Night passed, and the sun rose again.
The three of them had not left their posts. Han Pung and Cho Haeng dozed briefly with their backs against each other, while Cho Cheon kept his eyes open throughout, watching their surroundings.
When the first rays of sunlight touched the mountain path, Yuk Beom opened his eyes.
His meridians, filled with Fusion Strong Energy, felt heavier and more solid than before.
Inner Gangjing Realm, Fourth Stage.
The moment he stood, Han Pung sprang to his feet and drew his sword.

“Who goes there!”
“No one, sir.”

Cho Cheon burst into laughter.

“The youngest has awakened. Let’s head back.”

As Cho Cheon moved to shoulder the Thousand Year Iron Tree,

Han Pung stepped forward first.

“Let me carry it. I’ve decided to rebuild my fundamentals from the ground up.”
“Is carrying wood part of sword technique basics?”
“Strength is a fundamental too.”

Cho Haeng placed his hand beneath the wood and gauged its weight.

“If you injure your back carrying it alone on the way down, that’s also a fundamental weakness.”
“You should learn to trust others first, third elder brother.”
“You have to earn trust before I can learn to give it.”

Han Pung left him with a plausible retort and hoisted the massive iron tree onto his shoulder. His face remained composed at first, but halfway down the mountain path, the veins in his neck bulged. Still, he did not set it down. He seemed to have taken the words he’d just heard deeply to heart.
A couple of hours later, the four of them returned to Ilwon Academy.
Two unfamiliar figures waited in the open courtyard.
One was a lean old man with a beard that hung past his chest; the other was a bald man with a frame far more massive than Il Cheong’s.
Han Pung and Cho Haeng cried out in unison.

“Sageun Do Gwang!”
“Elder brother!”

Il Cheong’s eyes narrowed as he looked between the four of them and the iron tree.

“I told you to stay quiet, yet you went and felled a Thousand Year Iron Tree from someone else’s mountain?”

Cho Cheon’s and Cho Haeng’s gazes drifted quietly toward Han Pung.

“Why are you looking at me? These two cut down the tree.”

Do Gwang tapped the iron wood and laughed.

“A fine thing. Do you have any iron wood flowers left? Give me just a few. They say it smells wonderful brewed as tea.”
“I’ve heard it’s excellent for cleaning, sir.”

All eyes turned toward the massive man who had spoken.
He pointed casually at his own back.

“When you sit and train for long hours, there are times when you need such things.”

Yuk Beom found himself at a loss for words.
The elder disciple Mu Wi smiled with narrowed eyes and extended his hand.

“We haven’t met before, have we? I’m Mu Wi. If any difficulties arise in the future, feel free to come find me. An elder disciple exists to be a shield for the younger disciples, after all.”

Yuk Beom felt his heart lighten at those words alone.

“I’m Yuk Beom. Thank you for your kindness, Elder Disciple.”

Mu Wi rummaged through his robes for a moment, then produced a shriveled radish.

“It’s nothing of value, but a gift for our first meeting.”

Yuk Beom accepted the radish and tilted his head in puzzlement.
Do Gwang explained from beside him.

Character Heart Pill.

A rare medicinal pellet that evenly fortifies the five organs, six viscera, meridians, and the body itself.”
“This is a medicinal pellet?”
“I’ve always had trouble swallowing pills—they stick in my throat.”

Mu Wi scratched his belly sheepishly.

“So I ground it into powder and dusted it onto this dried radish. It should still be fine. Though I may have sat on it a few times.”

Yuk Beom looked down at the radish in his hand again.
He couldn’t decide whether to eat it or return it.
But one thing was certain.
The elder disciple of Ilwon Academy was no ordinary person.

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