Chapter 94. The Owner of the Great Heavenly Steel Sword
The moment an unexpected cry escaped from Eulji Tae's mouth.
"This bastard!"
Woo Sim-gi cursed roughly and rushed at the man in blue martial robes.
His fist flew fiercely toward the blue-robed man's face. It was Chasing Snow Fist, one of Kunlun's prized fist techniques. Though it was nothing more than a simple straight punch, Kunlun Sect's uniquely elegant movement was concisely contained within it.
However!
Ting, thud!
"Kgh!"
Srrng, swish.
The blue-robed man flicked the thumb of his left hand and lifted the sword hilt. That alone was all he did to block Woo Sim-gi's attack.
When his thumb struck the sword hilt, the back end of the longsword shot out, like a shark or an orca leaping out of the water to swallow its prey, and struck Woo Sim-gi's fist.
As a result, Woo Sim-gi's fist completely veered off its original trajectory. The punch passed over the blue-robed man's head, and Woo Sim-gi's body instead leaned forward and tilted toward the blue-robed man.
Seizing that opening, the blue-robed man brought the tip of the sword hilt to Woo Sim-gi's neck. If it had been the blade rather than the hilt that cut his neck, Woo Sim-gi would have lost his life with that single move.
It looked simple, but it was by no means an easy feat.
"... Impressive."
Eulji Tae put back down the piece of Five-Spice Braised Pork he had picked up. Following the appearance of the Great Heavenly Steel Sword, its owner's astonishing move had made him do so. Now his interest had completely shifted from food to the fight.
Dong Gwangcheon's head was also turned in that direction. He was clearly watching that fight. However, since his face was mostly covered by his hair, it was hard to tell exactly where he was looking.
"Y-you wretch! Do you think a lowly bastard like you can do something like this to this Kunlun White Dragon and get away with it?"
Woo Sim-gi, who had been outmatched in skill, instead glared at the blue-robed man and threatened him.
Srrng.
Was it because he felt intimidated by the prestige of the Kunlun Sect or Woo Sim-gi's reputation? The blue-robed man lowered the sword he had half-drawn and sheathed it again.
Then he brushed past Woo Sim-gi and walked forward.
Woo Sim-gi flinched, in case the blue-robed man might suddenly attack. That was how overwhelming the single move the man had shown was.
However, from the beginning, the man had no intention of attacking Woo Sim-gi at all. He was simply continuing to walk forward. Judging by that direction, the place he was heading to was the ferry.
At that moment.
"Stop right there!"
A group of people poured out of the inn and blocked the blue-robed man's path.
All of them were holding swords with plum-blossom tassels and wearing red martial robes, so it was clear they were disciples of the Mount Hua Sect.
Soon after, another group of people rushed out as well. They were wearing white robes and had cloud-shaped tassels hanging from their shoulders, so they were disciples of the Kunlun Sect. Most likely, the blue-robed youth had gotten into trouble with both the Mount Hua Sect and the Kunlun Sect. Or else, he had clashed with one of them, and the other side had come to help.
Eulji Tae was curious.
He had no interest at all in the whole story of why they had started fighting or what had happened. What he was curious about was the skill of the blue-robed man, who was clearly the owner of the "Great Heavenly Steel Sword."
'Has he truly become a sword and gone out into the world, or did he just come out to the martial world for a brief breath of fresh air? Let me see it once.'
If it was the latter, it would be better for him to quietly return to the mountain where he originally was.
The blue-robed man stopped.
He slowly turned his head and body back.
From between his shaggy hair, his flashing eyes swept over the Mount Hua Sect disciples and the Kunlun Sect disciples, then inadvertently turned toward the second floor of the inn.
His eyes met Eulji Tae's, and then also collided directly with Dong Gwangcheon's gaze as he sat in front of him. However, it was literally only for a brief moment, just enough to pass by.
"A beast."
It was Eulji Tae's short evaluation, as brief as that momentary clash. To him, the blue-robed man was a completely unrefined, raw beast.
On the other hand, Dong Gwangcheon's evaluation was completely different.
The glance of the blue-robed man's eyes that had passed by for a moment felt as though it could blow his brain apart. It was intense. And yet, strangely, in that raw gaze, there was no greed. It was simply pure and transparent.
It was a gaze he had once seen while hunting in that other world. Back then, that guy had that kind of look because he mistakenly believed himself to be justice, but this one was different. He was completely, purely looking only at the "sword," believing only in strength. He was not a human who could be judged as right or wrong. In some sense, he was the same kind of existence as himself.
He was truly a sword. A human who was the sword itself.
Dong Gwangcheon had never seen such a human in his life. All humans are animals, omnivores that mainly eat plants. Occasionally, there are carnivores, and those are his hunting targets.
But that one was not such a predator. And yet, he was extremely intense. Intense enough to make the back of one's head feel hot with competitive spirit.
He was not an animal that survives by attacking others, taking from them, or killing them.
He was a herbivore. A herbivore, but extremely strong... should he call him a herbivorous beast? He was such a strange type of human that no suitable word came to mind.
If he had to compare him to something.
'An elephant, perhaps...?'
An elephant is practically the king of animals. If it did not eat plants, no one would be able to stand against it, the strongest creature on land.
Is that the king of herbivores?
Dong Gwangcheon's heart began to pound, just a little. To feel this kind of emotion toward someone who was not a hunting target. No, even among his prey, it was very rare to feel something like this.
Then is that guy... a hunting target?
Dong Gwangcheon became interested in the blue-robed man in a different sense from Eulji Tae. His eyes focused on the blue-robed man more than before. Of course, since his face was covered by hair, no one could tell.
"If you do not immediately apologize to Young Lady Hua and this young master, then according to the rules of the martial world, we will give you a harsh lesson."
Perhaps gaining confidence as their numbers increased, Woo Sim-gi stepped forward again and threatened the blue-robed man first.
"I did... not. I... did ... n-nothing..."
The blue-robed man's words were jumbled and extremely clumsy. It was as if he had lived for years having forgotten how to speak, and had only just now uttered his first words.
"You did nothing? Did you not keep sending those filthy eyes at Young Lady Hua?"
Saying that, Woo Sim-gi glanced around inside Qingqing Pavilion for a moment. His tone and posture were as if he were boasting, like, am I doing well? Probably that Young Lady Hua was inside Qingqing Pavilion, and it was certain that he had impure intentions toward her.
"I did... not. I...."
The blue-robed man repeated the same words. He was still clumsy, but somehow his tone had grown a bit stronger.
"This young master clearly gave you a chance to apologize."
"...…."
"Earlier, it was because this young master did not use his sword, but you dare act so insolently just believing in that paltry bit of martial arts. This Hundred-Shattering Sword will gouge out those lewd eyes of yours."
Saying that, Woo Sim-gi half-drew the sword he was wearing at his waist.
His nickname, Hundred-Shattering Sword, was something he had earned by defeating a hundred experts active around Mount Kunlun in matches. If he were to draw his sword, he would surely attack the blue-robed man with sharp sword strikes, living up to that reputation.
A moment where a clash could erupt at any time.
"Do not... draw it. You will regret it...."
The blue-robed man spoke in a low voice. Those stammering words were strangely chilling.
However, Woo Sim-gi, who had already drawn his sword halfway, had no choice but to draw it all the way. He had already been humiliated once. If he were to not draw it fully and put it back, or forgive the opponent here, he thought he would never be able to hold his head up in front of his fellow disciples and Young Lady Hua in the future.
Clang!
Woo Sim-gi finally drew his sword. No, he tried to.
When his sword blade was about seven or eight tenths of the way out, the blue-robed man finally moved.
Srrrk.
"...!?"
Clearly his feet were stepping on the ground, yet at the same time it was like he was stepping on empty space and sliding forward. A strange movement technique. What was peculiar was that the way he placed his feet seemed to follow some fixed form—almost like a formation—and rules, yet also looked chaotic. And yet, it was incredibly fast. So fast that the blue-robed man's body looked like several strands of blue afterimages.
Only seven steps.
Seven steps that felt like a single step.
"...!"
The blue-robed man came to stand in front of Woo Sim-gi.
Woo Sim-gi's sword was still not fully drawn.
On the other hand, the blue-robed man already had a longsword in his hand—no one knew when he had drawn it—and the tip of that sword was striking down on the end of Woo Sim-gi's sword hilt from behind.
Bang!
Woo Sim-gi was forced to sheath his sword again in the same posture he had been drawing it.
Even then, the blue-robed man's longsword did not stop. After returning Woo Sim-gi's sword to its original position, his sword rose to about the height of Woo Sim-gi's neck, then swiftly swept around his neck like peeling an apple.
Saaak-.
His neck was cut. Not completely severed, but a thin line was carved around his neck as if it had been peeled.
Naturally, blood seeped out from Woo Sim-gi's neck like fruit juice and streamed down below his neck.
"U-uaaah!"
Judging by the fact that he was screaming, he was not dead. But that pain and terror... were dreadful. If his neck could be carved like that, it meant he could have been killed any time. Woo Sim-gi collapsed to the ground, not only bleeding but also wetting himself with urine.
"You bastard…!"
Only then did the Mount Hua Sect and Kunlun Sect disciples react. However, no one could move as nimbly as the blue-robed man.
Sssshk.
Moving as if drawing the Big Dipper, the blue-robed man inflicted the same wound on everyone's necks as the one he had made on Woo Sim-gi's.
Soon, everyone was clutching their necks and rolling around on the ground like Woo Sim-gi.
Even after turning the official disciples of the Mount Hua Sect and the Kunlun Sect into such a state, the blue-robed man's face was extremely cold and stern. As if it had nothing to do with him at all.
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