Chapter 1814 – Return of The Mount Hua Sect
“Sahyung! I,
I…”
Suddenly, a
loud shout from Jo Geol broke the silence, drawing Yoon Jong’s furrowed gaze
toward him. Jo Geol was pointing at something in the distance.
“Since when
did that guy get all the way over there? That’s unusual.”
Upon closer
inspection, Jo Geol’s words seemed accurate—it truly was unusual. Im Sobyeong
had voluntarily stepped forward to the frontlines.
“Is that
okay? The opponent looks pretty strong. And there’s Thousand Faced Manipulator
as well.”
“Hmm…”
Yoon Jong
frowned in thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“Sahyung?”
“Leave him
be.”
“But it
still seems dangerous.”
“Cheong Myeong
once said this before.”
Yoon Jong’s
lips curled into a faint smile as a distant memory surfaced.
“…Genius and
talent are not the same.”
“What?”
Jo Geol
tilted his head, confusion evident on his face. Yoon Jong chuckled bitterly.
“There are
plenty of people you can call ‘talented’, like Monk Hye Yeon or Namgung Sogaju,
but true prodigies are extremely rare. And within our generation, there’s
really only one person who could be called a genius.”
“….”
“Someone
like that wouldn’t act recklessly without thinking things through.”
Yoon Jong’s
words carried an unwavering belief, solid as bedrock. Jo Geol shifted his gaze
toward Im Sobyeong in the distance, his perspective slightly altered.
Even so, Jo
Geol found himself scratching his head, unconvinced, as he stared at the
scrawny, frail-looking back that hardly resembled a warrior’s.
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“Tsk.”
Amid the
deadly aura closing in on him, Im Sobyeong pressed firmly on his chest. After
pushing himself to his limits, his half-clogged meridians began to stir.
‘Ugh, I
really hate martial arts.’
Of course,
the reason Im Sobyeong hated martial arts wasn’t purely due to his health.
While the strain on his body was undeniable, there were deeper reasons.
He simply
hated martial arts in and of themselves. To him, martial arts were like the
arms attached to his shoulders—an inherent part of him.
For those
who lose their arms, the significance and value of arms become painfully clear.
How precious it is to have two arms becomes evident to them.
But for
those who’ve never lost an arm, such realization never occurs. They don’t even
think deeply about their arms—such things are taken for granted.
Martial arts
were like that to Im Sobyeong. Something as natural as breathing, something so
easily within reach. He could master whatever he wished, push his boundaries to
whatever level he desired, and effortlessly tread paths others couldn’t even
dream of.
It was
simply natural. After all, He possesses the rare, unparalleled meridians.
A mind
capable of understanding tenfold from one instance, and a body blessed by the
heavens—these were his gifts. The price? A shortened lifespan, a punishment
imposed by heaven itself.
Some say
that talent breeds interest, interest brings joy, and joy inspires effort. Such
people certainly exist, and Im Sobyeong wouldn’t deny it.
However, at
least Im Sobyeong didn’t become that kind of person.
He was
someone who found no excitement in what came without effort. Whether it was the
status of being the son of the Nokrim King, the control over the vast
mountainous regions of the world, or the luxury he could enjoy at any time—all
of it left him cold.
Martial
arts, in particular, were the epitome of his disinterest. Perhaps because they
were the easiest thing handed to him, they were also the quickest to lose their
appeal.
That’s why he
coveted not martial arts, but what he couldn’t have—like an official government
position
If Jang Ilso
hadn’t touched Nokrim… If the lives of his family and his close friends who
were like family hadn’t been threatened, Im Sobyeong might still be working
hard to obtain a government position that he would never have had.
Also, if Im
Sobyeong hadn’t met someone who could see through these thoughts, he would
still be withering away day by day in the green grave called Nokrim.
‘No, maybe I’d
already be dead.’
Im Sobyeong
chuckled quietly and unfolded his fan with a single motion.
Clack.
“Aren’t you
coming?”
His relaxed
voice provoked Jeok Ho, whose murderous aura only grew sharper. But this time, Jeok
Ho didn’t rush in blindly. He had realized the man before him was far stronger
than he appeared.
Still, no
standoff lasts forever.
Whoosh!
A powerful
axe strike shot toward Im Sobyeong, as fierce and sharp as ever—if not more so.
But Im
Sobyeong had already seen this attack several times.
To him, ‘seeing’
was hardly different from ‘understanding’. Especially when the technique, like Jeok
Ho’s axe strikes, was clean and straightforward.
Swish.
Im Sobyeong
lightly waved his fan, deflecting the incoming axe. There was no complex
technique or overwhelming internal energy involved—just a precise touch,
inserted into the flow of the axe’s energy.
With that
alone, he redirected the trajectory of an attack capable of splitting a
mountain, sending it away from his body.
“Haaaah!”
Jeok Ho
followed up with another strike, this time even faster and more ferocious. Im
Sobyeong frowned slightly.
‘How
predictable.’
Jeok Ho’s
technique was fearsome. He was a master who had honed a single form of attack
to its ultimate peak. Such focus made his axe strikes undeniably terrifying.
But that was
all.
Im Sobyeong’s
fan swirled gracefully in his hand.
Crafted with
a flexible metal core and lined with heavenly silk, it was a weapon unmatched
by ordinary iron fans.
Made by
attaching a fan surface [seonmyeon, 선면(扇面)] woven with heavenly silkworm thread
[cheonjamsa, 천잠사(天蠶絲)] to black iron [mogcheol, 목철(墨鐵)], which is said to be the best in the world in terms of
elasticity. It was a weapon that could not be compared to an ordinary iron fan
[cheolseon, 철선(鐵扇)] that was merely sturdy.
Swiiish.
As the fan
unfolded, it intercepted the descending axe, sending it off-course. At the same
moment, Jeok Ho’s knee shot toward Im Sobyeong’s chin in a surprise attack.
But the fan,
which had just deflected the axe, subtly shifted its angle and latched onto the
weapon once more. With a deft twist, Jeok Ho’s grip faltered, and the knee that
had been aimed at Im Sobyeong’s chin missed entirely, grazing past his head
instead.
“Oops!”
Seizing the
opportunity, Im Sobyeong pushed his fan forward, sending Jeok Ho spinning away
like a windmill.
Thud!
This time, Jeok
Ho managed to avoid crashing ungracefully, but he couldn’t conceal his
astonishment.
‘What… is
this?’
From the
beginning, Jeok Ho had felt an odd sense of incongruity.
It was as if
his opponent could read his every move in advance. Like fighting someone who
existed one breath ahead in the flow of time.
The blood
was still boiling, but at the same time, an unfamiliar sense of helplessness
washed over him. It wasn’t just because his movements were being read so
easily.
‘What should
I do?’
He didn’t
know. He had no idea how to face someone who could seamlessly shift between
softness and strength, speed and composure in the blink of an eye.
No, it wasn’t
just him. No one would know how to deal with such a person because they’d never
imagined such a being could exist.
“I told you,
didn’t I?”
Im Sobyeong
spoke with a smirk, fanning himself leisurely.
“It’s
expensive.”
“You
bastard…”
In an
instant, Im Sobyeong appeared right in front of Jeok Ho.
The movement
was nothing extraordinary at Jeok Ho’s level, but the timing with which it was
executed made it exceptionally dangerous.
Jeok Ho
hastily tried to retreat, but before he could, Im Sobyeong’s foot slammed down
on his knee. Without bending his knee, it was impossible to leap back—an
undeniable truth of the human body.
“Ugh!”
Thud!
Jeok Ho
instinctively tried to swing his blade, but this time, Im Sobyeong’s fan
touched his wrist. A slight twist would have been enough to break it.
Frozen in
place, unable to move, Jeok Ho stared at Im Sobyeong, who spoke slowly and
deliberately.
“Jang Ilso?
That guy’s tricky. You never know what schemes or techniques he’ll pull out
next. Fighting someone like that takes at least two lives.”
Jeok Ho
twisted his wrist to shake off the fan, but before he could fully retreat, Im
Sobyeong’s backhand struck his chest.
Thud!
Jeok Ho
staggered backward, barely holding his footing, only for Im Sobyeong to follow
up in the blink of an eye.
“And…”
Jeok Ho
pushed his tension to the limit. Even if Im Sobyeong could predict his moves,
he decided he’d overwhelm him with raw speed and power.
“Euaaaaah!”
Jeok Ho
unleashed his full strength, swinging his blade fiercely, but it failed to
reach its target. Im Sobyeong casually deflected the trajectory with his fan.
The fan
moved like a fluttering butterfly, tracing strange, unpredictable lines.
Caught up in
its bewildering movements, Jeok Ho focused all his attention on it, only to
find Im Sobyeong’s foot slamming into his abdomen.
“Urgh!”
Jeok Ho slid
back once more, his footing unstable.
“And there’s
no need to even mention the mad dog of Mount Hua.”
Im Sobyeong
winced as if the thought alone annoyed him, shaking his head. Even imagining
himself surrounded by countless flower petals made his spine tingle.
“That guy
can do this as easily as breathing. I can only do it briefly if I concentrate
with all my might. Sure, I could predict his movements with enough effort, but
what’s the point? Even if I know, I can’t stop him.”
Im Sobyeong
sighed, complaining with an exaggerated shrug.
“There’s
nothing I can do against people like that. But…”
Clack.
Im Sobyeong
opened his fan and smiled faintly.
“You’re
different. Thankfully, you’re an honest fighter, aren’t you?”
Jeok Ho
clenched his lower lip tightly, frustration clear in his expression. Im
Sobyeong, still smirking, approached him slowly.
“Sorry, but
I’m a bit of a sickly man. Let’s wrap this up, shall we?”
Jongli Gok
stared at Im Sobyeong in disbelief, his expression one of complete bafflement.
‘What the
heck…?’
It was
shocking. No, it was bewildering.
Of course,
the one who ruled over the Nokrim couldn’t possibly be weak. Naturally, he’d
have hidden trump cards. But this went far beyond expectations.
Though his
attacks weren’t explosively powerful, the way he utilized his techniques was
enough to send chills down Jongli Gok’s spine.
“....Was the
Nokrim King really that strong?”
Jongli Gok
wasn’t the only one surprised. Even the ThousandFaced Manipulator, disguised as
Tang Pae, seemed flustered.
But both
soon realized they didn’t have the luxury to merely admire the situation. The
one they needed to focus on wasn’t Im Sobyeong but the opponents standing
before them.
However,
their circumstances had drastically changed compared to earlier.
“You seem
desperate.”
At Jongli
Gok’s comment, the Thousand Faced Manipulator’s expression twisted ever so slightly.
It was clear
that Jeok Ho wasn’t going down easily, but Im Sobyeong was undeniably in
control. This, in turn, meant the Thousand Faced Manipulator was in danger.
“To rely on
the influence of an evil sect people… It’s not exactly a joke, but I don’t see
the need to refuse an advantage handed to me.”
Jongli Gok
raised his sword.
“Let’s take
our time and enjoy this.”
The Thousand
Faced Manipulator ground his teeth.
If he wanted
to survive, he had to defeat Jongli Gok before Im Sobyeong finished off Jeok Ho.
And to do
that, he had to overcome the impenetrable wall of Jongli Gok’s swordsmanship.
“Damn it!”
The Thousand
Faced Manipulator roared as he lunged forward.
Facing the
endless variations of the Thousand Faces Technique, Jongli Gok calmly swung his
sword in response.
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