Chapter 1774 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect
Cheong Myeong slowly approached, and the Thousand Faced Manipulator
gripped his wounded wrist tightly. The sharp pain from the cut wrist throbbed.
‘The Plum Blossom Sword Demon...’ [Maehwa
Geomgwi]
A chilling killing intent radiated from him. It was hard to believe this
energy came from someone aligned with the righteous sect. No—regardless of
affiliation, had he ever in his life felt such a tangible killing aura on his
skin?
‘My heart...’
A long-buried ‘fear’ slowly surfaced from deep within him. This wasn’t
quite the same as the fear he felt when facing Paegun. [ruthless military
commander alias JIS]
Fear of Paegun stemmed from their unpredictability, the psychological
pressure of not knowing when they might become merciless. But this man made you
tense and shrink back just by standing in front of him.
‘I don’t know who’s responsible for spreading those rumors, but the name ‘Sword Demon’ suits him disturbingly
well.’ [Geomgwi]
The problem now was that he had to face this sword demon himself.
Whoosh!
Cheong Myeong’s body blurred.
Even Thousand Faced Manipulator, who prided himself on his speed, found
it hard to believe how fast he was. Reflexively, he threw dozens of palm strikes ahead of him.
Papapapapats!
The sound of his sleeves flapping echoed like a massive flag in the wind.
In an instant, the area in front of Thousand Faced Manipulator was completely
covered in a flurry of white palm strikes.
Thousand Faces Hand(千面手)
A supreme martial art of the evil sect, sometimes called Ten Thousand Flower Hand or Bare Handed Divine Palm. The legendary
technique, known by many names, displayed its full might on the moonlit field.
[tl note: Manhwasu (Ten Thousand Flower Hand), Sosushinjang (Bare Handed Divine Palm)]
The numerous palm shadows swirling in the air created a spectacle so
overwhelming it resembled a snowstorm.
Thousand Faced Manipulator was confident. He was sure he had blocked the
attack. There was no space in the defensive wall of palm strikes for even a thread to pass through.
But then…
Shhhhrrrr!
A tearing sound, like a massive silk sheet being slashed with a blade,
rang out. The center of the palm strikes
barrier split open vertically.
‘What?’
It was an unbelievable sight.
Instead of a straight line, an irregular line was created. As if it
couldn’t possibly have been that fast. Yet the attack had been swift beyond
comprehension—an attack so unreasonable it defied logic had literally ripped
through his defensive wall. The sword
demon slid through the opened gap, eyes cold and silent.
Clack!
There was no time to dodge. The descending sword was barely blocked by
his hands in a desperate, instinctive move to save his life.
Thousand Faced Manipulator’s face twisted in agony.
The sword that had already sliced through his flesh lodged itself into
his bones. His hands, hardened through immense martial Art, stronger than cold
steel, were splitting apart with terrifying ease. [tl note: gong(초공) = art]
He had to watch in clear view as crimson blood spurted from his pale
hands, and beyond the blade, the cold, emotionless eyes of the sword demon stared back at him.
Craackk!
The sword twisted, scraping his bones with a chilling sound. In response,
Thousand Faced Manipulator shot three rapid palm
strikes forward with all his might.
Swush! Swush! Swush!
The flashes of palm strikes shot
out at close range, but they were all blocked. However, as if expecting this, Thousand
Faced Manipulator launched another wave of
palm strikes, while blood still pouring from his hands.
Woooooom!
Layer upon layer of palm strikes
energy built up rapidly, forming a massive current that surged toward the
sword-wielding figure.
At the same time, Thousand Faced Manipulator pushed off the ground and
leaped backward.
‘I need to create distance...’
In a close-range fight between a swordsman
and a fist fighter, the fist fighter has the advantage. This was
a basic principle.
But now wasn’t the time to rely on principles—he had to trust his
instincts.
Bang!
The surge of palm strikes energy
shattered like an icicle struck by a rod, scattering in all directions.
Thousand Faced Manipulator realized his instincts had been correct.
But soon, he had to revise that understanding.
Flap! Flap! Flap!
At first, it was a faint sound, like small things rustling. Then it
became louder, like the beating wings of dozens of birds, and soon it filled
the air from all sides.
Thousand Faced Manipulator’s eyes widened.
Like red paint spreading across a canvas, crimson petals started to cover
the dark sky.
‘Plum blossoms!’
The symbol of Mount Hua, which had made the sect the most renowned in the
world. The plum blossoms multiplied rapidly, first by dozens, then hundreds,
threatening to engulf Thousand Faced Manipulator’s entire body.
He had heard of this countless times. He had even witnessed it with his
own eyes.
But facing the plum blossoms of Mount Hua head-on was a completely
different experience. The pressure was overwhelming, as if his entire body was
being crushed.
It was absurdly vivid.
Each petal drifted like a real flower. They filled the sky, whirling as
if caught in a spring breeze, despite the stillness of the field.
“Arrgh!”
Thousand Faced Manipulator swung his hands madly. White palm strikes surged like clouds.
But no matter how many barriers he created, it was impossible to block
all the petals.
Slash!
A petal grazed his thigh.
Slash!
Another lodged itself in his chest.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Slash!
Countless petals sliced into his flesh, dyeing his clothes red with
blood. As red as the blossoms that continued to whirl through the air.
‘Damn it.’
Every martial art has its weaknesses.
One cannot be both fast and slow, both strong and soft, at the same time.
No matter how perfectly refined, every martial art has an inherent flaw.
That’s why the first step in facing an opponent is determining the
optimal distance to maintain. Whether or not you can maintain that distance
determines the outcome.
But against this man, distance had no meaning. Whether close enough to
block his sword or too far to reach, that cursed blade revealed no weaknesses.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Slash!
Overwhelmed (寡不敵衆). Thousand Faced Manipulator, Dam Yeohae, who had always toyed with his
enemies using transformation and illusion, is now being overwhelmed by the
same. No, he is being outright crushed. Though each wound was not fatal by itself,
at this rate, there wouldn’t be a single part of his body left unscathed.
‘How… how can I… wait, what?’
Suddenly, something caught Dam Yeohae’s eye.
‘Could it be?’
He brought both hands together at his center.
Slash!
In that moment, the petals he had barely been managing to block began
raining down on his body like a relentless storm. But Dam Yeohae gritted his
teeth and thrust both palms forward.
“Haaaaah!”
Boom!
A straightforward strike, abandoning any change or deception.
As if by magic, the countless flower petals that had been swirling with a
force to cover the world suddenly vanished.
Boom!
The distorted energy collided with something and slammed into the ground.
“Hah! Hah!”
Dam Yeohae let out heavy breaths. His entire body throbbed with
excruciating pain. It felt as though countless sharp blades were lodged all
over his body.
As the rising dust slowly settled, Cheong Myeong’s figure came into view.
Unlike the battered Dam Yeohae, not a single strand of his hair was out of
place.
The contrast was obvious.
Yet, despite this, both of their expressions were strange. Neither of
them looked confident in victory or resigned to defeat.
Swoosh.
Dam Yeohae lightly shook his bleeding hand.
‘What was that?’
A deep sense of discomfort swept over him.
The flaw Cheong Myeong had shown moments ago wasn’t anything too
significant. No one can be perfect all the time. Even if it wasn’t a mistake,
maintaining that level of skill for long periods is no easy feat.
However, Dam Yeohae didn’t ignore the unsettling feeling that was gnawing
at him.
What exactly was this sensation?
It felt like seeing a single flag out of place among thousands that were
perfectly aligned. Something, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what, was
scratching at his nerves.
What he knew and what he was seeing didn’t match. But what could that
something be?
And how was he supposed to figure it out? Even with all his experience,
how could he possibly face someone who stood so confidently?
‘Wait?’
In that moment, Dam Yeohae’s eyes shifted.
He found it. He figured it out. But accepting it was difficult. His
rational mind and his injured body were giving him different answers.
‘I’ll know if I check.’
Dam Yeohae once again scattered his palm
strikes into the air.
His target was only Cheong Myeong, the swordsman of Mount Hua, standing
as if overlooking the world.
Fwoosh!
A different type of energy than before swirled around Cheong Myeong. It
moved like a butterfly taking flight and dancing through the air.
Soon, the sword in Cheong Myeong’s hand transformed into numerous blades,
piercing through the energy that was rushing toward him.
At the same time, Cheong Myeong’s energy folded space, and he appeared
right in front of Dam Yeohae, aiming a kick directly at his chest.
Thud!
Dam Yeohae’s body was flung backward.
The sleeve of his robe instantly turned to dust, and a clear footprint
was left on his pale forearm. Though he managed to block the attack, he couldn’t
avoid it.
Thud!
Despite being injured, Dam Yeohae’s expression didn’t seem like that of
someone in distress.
A thin smile formed at the corner of his bloodied lips.
His body still didn’t fully accept it... but the conclusion was clear.
The countless stories he’d heard about the Plum Blossom Sword Demon, the information he’d meticulously
gathered through Hao Sect. His analysis of all those details had now shifted.
Dam Yeohae opened his mouth.
“...You’re not standing there so composed because you’re arrogant, right?”
“......”
“You’re unable to keep going, aren’t you? If it were anyone else, I don’t
know, but considering your nature, you’d have already killed me without giving
me a moment to rest.”
“......”
“And yet, you haven’t pressed your advantage. That means... it must be a
lack of internal energy. Or maybe it’s surging out of control? Either way, it’s
the same.”
Even as Dam Yeohae spoke, he was internally shocked. Despite being
overpowered and unable to land a single blow, he still found himself pitying
his opponent.
But no matter how much he thought about it, this was the only possible
answer.
If Cheong Myeong had continued attacking, Dam Yeohae would have suffered
far more damage. But suddenly, his attacks had lost their momentum. He had
attacked and cornered them, but he had given them a break.
At a glance, one might mistake it for the composure of a stronger
fighter. But Dam Yeohae knew that wasn’t the case. The Plum Blossom Sword Demon wasn’t the type to waste time or show
mercy, especially against an enemy from the evil sects.
That’s right. There could only be one conclusion.
“You…”
Dam Yeohae bared his bloodied teeth.
“You’ve gone wicked, haven’t you?”
“......”
Crack.
The sound of bones cracking came from Dam Yeohae’s fingers.
Having worked so hard to create distance from Cheong Myeong, Dam Yeohae
now took a step toward him. Cautiously, but without hesitation.
“Well… that’s unfortunate.”
Dam Yeohae smiled, like a wolf that had found its wounded prey. It was a
truly chilling, sinister joy.
[Tl note: Alternative of what Dam Yeohae said to Cheong Myeong,
“Have you
turned wicked/grown evil/become malevolent/turned to darkness/gone bad?”]
❀ ❀ ❀
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