Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 365 – Sword (4)

Drip!

The face of Ou Cheonmu, Master of the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary, was instantly covered in cold sweat.

His eyes wouldn’t leave the single character for ‘Sword’ (劍) that Mok Gyeong-un had engraved.

Though it appeared he was just staring on the surface,

-Slash! Clang clang clang!

He had already fallen into a mental state where he was competing against the sword intent contained in the ‘Sword’ character.

No, the expression ‘competing’ wasn’t accurate.

Overwhelmed by the sword intent, despite having achieved the Way of the Sword, Extreme of the Sword, he was struggling just to defend against it.

‘How could this be…’

Though it was just a single character, this sword intent contained immeasurable power.

To handle that power, he tried to unleash all the sword techniques containing his enlightenment, but he couldn’t approach it in any way.

‘There are no openings.’

He employed all the sword techniques he knew to find a weakness, but he couldn’t compare to this ‘Sword’.

This was truly the sword close to the extreme that he had been longing for.

How could such a thing happen?

It made his generations of crafting and training with swords seem futile.

“Ah…”

He wasn’t the only one who had fallen into shock.

More than half of those present had fallen into a mental state upon seeing the ‘Sword’ Mok Gyeong-un had engraved, and they couldn’t come to their senses, gripped by trembling.

This was especially true for those who had dedicated everything to the sword.

The same was true for Jeong Myeong Sa-tae of the Hangshan Sect.

‘…How could this be.’

She was quite intelligent, enough to gain enlightenment just from seeing the Way of the Sword, Extreme of the Sword.

But this was on a completely different level.

If Master Ou’s Way of the Sword, Extreme of the Sword was like seeing the soliloquy of a lofty blade user who had climbed to the peak of a mountain, this ‘Sword’ was on an entirely different track.

Rather, it showed the ultimate through the sharpness of the sword itself.

It was truly arrogant, no, boundlessly presumptuous.

It was as if it was saying that under heaven, only this was a ‘Sword’.

‘It’s a sword that subjugates everything.’

This was the honest feeling she had.

Any sword disciple would inevitably fall into shock, trembling, and a sense of defeat.

-Clang!

Eventually, even the sword she was holding fell.

The Sword Valley was dyed in silence as if everything had stopped.

The only sounds that could be heard were the helpless dropping of swords here and there.

-Clang! Clang!

Watching this, Ou Yeonwoo, who was prostrated, couldn’t hide his inner excitement.

‘Is this… the one the Order has been waiting for?’

Although he had directly seen Mok Gyeong-un’s strength, he had inwardly expected that he wouldn’t match his father, who could be called the pinnacle of the current martial world, one of the Six Heavens.

Yet here were his father, Master Ou Cheonmu, and these many sword disciples, unable to hide their shock at the ‘Sword’ character engraved on the cliff.

The reactions around were the same.

Just looking at this, the winner of this sword discussion had been decided.

Ou Yeonwoo’s eyes reddened.

He had been afraid of losing his love, Ye Song-ah.

But with this, neither his father Ou Cheonmu nor anyone else here would hold her responsible, so it seemed he could rest easy.

-Thud!

Feeling so grateful, Ou Yeonwoo bowed deeply to Mok Gyeong-un, hitting his forehead hard on the ground.

He was truly a savior.

But then,

“Huk!”

At that moment, someone’s shout was heard from somewhere.

Looking in that direction, they saw Ou Woong-seong, the second son of Master Ou, holding onto the ground with one hand near the cave leading out of the Sword Valley.

When had he gone there, when he had been nearby until just now?

As they were wondering,

“Where are you going?”

“Y-you…”

“Come here.”

-Grab!

Mok Gyeong-un, who was walking on air down towards the cliff, made a gesture of pulling him with his hand.

Then Ou Woong-seong, who had been holding onto the ground with his left hand, was forcibly pulled.

“Aaaah!”

-Scrape scrape scrape scrape!

He struggled so hard that his fingernail marks were left on the ground.

Eventually, even his fingernails were torn off, leaving blood marks.

“Young Master Ou!”

“Catch the Young Master!”

Hearing his screams, some of the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary’s sword disciples who had shallow mental states due to lack of enlightenment were startled and tried to stop this.

However,

-Thud!

As Mok Gyeong-un lightly raised his hand upward,

-Thwack!

The body of the second son Ou Woong-seong, which had been dragged along the ground, floated up, flew past them to near Mok Gyeong-un, and was thrown down onto the ground.

‘Damn it!’

Ou Woong-seong, sprawled on the ground, didn’t know what to do.

Seeing his father, Master Ou Cheonmu, and most of the sword disciples unable to hide their amazement and shock, he thought everything had gone wrong and believed he needed to escape this place somehow.

But to be caught like this before he could even run away…

Feeling dismayed, Ou Woong-seong seemed to think better of it and shouted,

“Wh-what are you doing? The Master took a step back and agreed to end this by discussing swords, so why are you committing such violence?”

“Violence? What an interesting thing to say.”

At that moment, the sword disciples of the Spiritual Sword Sanctuary hurriedly ran over to try to protect Ou Woong-seong.

“Don’t touch Young Master Ou!”

“Protect Young Master Ou!”

Just as they were about to get close to the second son Ou Woong-seong,

-Slash!

Mok Gyeong-un drew a line of sword intent in front of them.

A line made of sword energy was created on the ground, and they had no choice but to stop momentarily.

Mok Gyeong-un warned them in a dry voice,

“I advise you not to cross that line.”

Though there wasn’t particularly any killing intent in it, the pressure made the sword disciples unable to easily cross the line with stiffened faces.

However, just because they couldn’t cross the line didn’t mean their mouths were frozen too.

“Is this how you repay the kindness shown by the Master?”

“Do you really want to go against our sect?”

Mok Gyeong-un ignored their protests.

Instead, he approached the second son Ou Woong-seong and said,

“Not content with coveting something that wasn’t yours, you’ve been quite troublesome.”

“Wh-what are you talking about? I didn’t covet anything, I was just trying to protect against the dangerous Fire Faith Order…”

-Slash!

Before he could finish speaking,

‘!?’

-Thud!

Something fell to the ground, flapping.

At that moment, a scream of pain burst from Ou Woong-seong’s mouth.

“Aaaaargh!”

This was because his one remaining left arm had been cut off.

He had just stopped the bleeding on his right arm, but now with his left arm cut off too, his face instantly turned pale due to the blood gushing out like a fountain.

“Y-you madman!”

“Young Masterrrr!”

Seeing the second son Ou Woong-seong rolling on the ground, staining it with blood, the sword disciples shouted and tried to cross the line.

Right at that moment,

-Rumble rumble! Whoosh!

On the cliff ground lay the swords of the sword disciples who had died because of the blade user.

Suddenly, these masterless swords all rose up at once and flew like living things to block the path of the sword disciples.

Their expressions hardened at the eight or so swords blocking their way.

“This… Sword Control with Energy?”

It was the marvel of Sword Control with Energy.

With not just one, but eight swords blocking their way, they were momentarily at a loss, caught off guard by the pressure of this amazing sight.

They had occasionally seen Master Ou Cheonmu, one of the Six Heavens, demonstrate Sword Control with Energy.

But even then, it was just one sword, or at most two or three.

Yet seeing eight swords being controlled simultaneously before their eyes, they even began to doubt.

‘This can’t be.’

‘No matter what, he can’t be stronger than the Master, right?’

‘Is it just a bluff? No, for a bluff, this is…’

The movement of the swords was not ordinary.

Each sword felt as if it were truly alive.

If he could really control this many swords not just with simple air grasping but with the marvel of Sword Control with Energy, he would be nothing short of a monster beyond imagination.

As they were suppressed by these controlled swords, unable to move, Mok Gyeong-un approached the second son Ou Woong-seong rolling on the ground and continued speaking.

“It’s not over yet.”

“Urgh… Wh-what are you going to do to me…”

“That tongue.”

-Swish!

Mok Gyeong-un reached out his hand.

Then,

“Uuuurgh! Hak!”

The second son Ou Woong-seong’s mouth was forcibly opened, and his tongue stuck out.

The eyes of Ou Woong-seong, who was even shedding tears from the pain of his severed arms, shook wildly.

No matter how you looked at it, this monster-like guy’s goal was clear.

It was his tongue.

“Uh… uhma… ple… plehaa…”

Unable to pronounce properly because his tongue was caught, he made unintelligible sounds.

It looked like he was pleading to anyone who saw.

At that moment, someone hurriedly ran over and knelt on the ground.

They were none other than Ou Yeonwoo and Junior Master Ou Woong-hwang.

“Master of the Holy Fire, please stop.”

“Sir! I will apologize, so please show mercy to my brother!”

As if they had coordinated beforehand, they tried to protect the second son Ou Woong-seong.

Seeing this, Mok Gyeong-un smiled slightly and said,

“What close brothers you are. But that’s that, and consequences are consequences.”

-Swish!

“Aak!”

As Mok Gyeong-un moved his hand slightly, the second son Ou Woong-seong’s tongue began to twist and turn.

It seemed he wasn’t going to cut it off, but twist and tear it out.

At this, Ou Yeonwoo desperately shouted, hitting his head on the ground,

“Please! Please! Save my brother!”

“Who said anything about killing him? I’m just extracting the price for carelessly wagging that three-inch tongue.”

Mok Gyeong-un’s attitude was utterly firm.

But then, someone’s voice was heard.

“You shall stop.”

‘!?’

At that moment, the surroundings stirred.

The owner of the voice was none other than Master Ou Cheonmu.

He had somehow regained his senses after being immersed in a mental state, unable to take his eyes off the ‘Sword’ engraved on the wall.

As Master Ou, one of the Six Heavens, was the only one in this place who could stop that monster-like person, everyone’s eyes showed relief.

As if responding to these expectations, Ou Cheonmu approached where Mok Gyeong-un was and said,

“Are you trying to pull out that child’s tongue?”

“Rather than pulling out, tearing off would be a more fitting expression.”

-Roar!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Master Ou Cheonmu’s true energy burst out in all directions.

Anyone could see he was enraged.

Seeing him like this, all those around first felt relief, but then couldn’t help feeling anxious inside.

They had thought that with the Master taking a step back, a fight wouldn’t break out.

But because of that person’s actions, the atmosphere had changed.

No matter how good-natured Master Ou was, from the standpoint of a parent with children, this wasn’t a situation that could be tolerated.

‘So it’s come to this after all.’

‘The aftermath might be huge.’

Everyone watched tensely.

But right at that moment,

-Swish!

Master Ou Cheonmu’s body trembled slightly, and then, suppressing his anger, he clasped his hands together and showed respect to Mok Gyeong-un.

Everyone couldn’t hide their bewilderment at this sight.

Why on earth was he doing this?

Then Master Ou spoke.

“The child has already paid enough of a price with both arms cut off. If you take his tongue as well, his situation would be no different from death. Please, in your generosity, show mercy.”

‘!?’

Everyone was shocked.

They had thought he would surely be unable to contain his anger and fight, but Master Ou suppressed this and stepped back once again.

Was it parental love? Or patience to prevent greater sacrifices?

Despite this, Mok Gyeong-un seemed not to care at all, smiling slightly and saying,

“I apologize. It seems I’ve shown enough mercy by not killing him. And decisively, I don’t possess a generous heart.”

-Swish!

With those words, Mok Gyeong-un slightly moved his finger.

Then the second son Ou Woong-seong’s tongue, which was already half-twisted, turned even more.

-Crunch!

“Aaaaargh!”

Ou Woong-seong screamed and rolled on the ground in such pain.

He was already deathly pale from excessive blood loss, and if the bleeding wasn’t stopped quickly, he might lose his life.

Then,

-Shing!

Master Ou Cheonmu drew his sword from its scabbard.

Would this finally lead to a fight?

At that moment,

-Slash!

Something no one expected happened.

Master Ou Cheonmu grabbed his sword with the opposite hand and cut off his own right arm.

-Thud!

His right arm fell helplessly to the ground.

‘!!!!!!!!!’

Everyone was too shocked to speak as they stared at it.

For him, a craftsman and sword disciple, his right arm was as precious as a thousand-year treasure.

Yet he cut it off without a moment’s hesitation.

As everyone stood there with their mouths open, Master Ou Cheonmu, gripping his bleeding wrist and enduring the pain, spoke.

“Haa… haa… A child’s wrongdoing originates from the parents who taught them. Let this serve as the price instead.”

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