Returning to the Dark Moon
Chapter 18. I Won
A rumble tore through the dry sky as it spat out a bolt of lightning.
It was then that a cluster of twinkling stars brushed past beneath the feet of the two martial artists.
Ilgyeokmujeok's unique martial art, Hyeongroebo, and Ilgwangchoyawol's Seongwol Sword Ki.
The faint scent of blood seeped into my sensitized nose.
It was the smell rising from Ilgyeokmujeok's pale white leg, which had been cut by the Seongwol Sword Ki right from the start.
The girl, wreathed in lightning, was indeed a madwoman obsessed with fighting.
Normally, the Seongwol Geomgi should never have been able to pierce Tamrang's body.
But she had used Banrohwandong to revert to a younger body and was circulating only a small amount of true ki, creating a physical state equal to mine.
It would be more accurate to say she was dividing her focus, which should have been solely on the duel, in multiple directions.
She was willing to undertake such a troublesome task just to have an equal fight with me.
If that's the case, then it's my job to satisfy her expectations.
Then and now, the followers of the Dark Moon Society were a handful.
Ilgyeokmujeok's tiny fist flew at me, and I ducked my shoulder to deflect the blow.
It was surely just a graze, but a sharp jolt of lightning passed through the Gyeonjeong acupoint on my shoulder and coursed through my entire arm.
The characteristics of Lightning Ki Arts are that they are martial arts of extreme yang, their superior speed, and a unique Sensory Path.
For now, what was important was to focus solely on grasping the lightning flowing through her body and her rapid movements.
In an instant, Ilgyeokmujeok's foot shot toward my abdomen without any warning.
My waist bent like a scythe as a result.
She was only matching her physical condition to mine; the enlightenment in the Martial Way that she had polished her entire life hadn't disappeared.…
I let my guard down for a moment.
In the first place, it was normally impossible to lower one's martial prowess to match an opponent's body.
It was a divine skill only possible for someone of her level.
Sent flying by her kick, I gripped my sword in a reverse hold and dragged it along the ground with a scraping sound.
As my speed decreased, I was able to regain my footing.
The moment I righted myself and opened my eyes, Ilgyeokmujeok's knee was already shooting up toward my chin.
I immediately lifted my chin, barely dodging it.
Of course, the chilling, blade-like wind from Ilgyeokmujeok's kicking arts sent a slight shiver down my spine.
I instantly grabbed her leg and threw her.
Kwang!
Tamrang crashed into the lapis lazuli, shattering it. The instant a crackling sound reached my sharpened ears.
I thrust the iron sword I held in a reverse grip straight back.
Hearing the sound of Ilgyeokmujeok stepping back, I realized she had dodged the sword, and immediately spun around and swung it.
Her flexibly extended leg and my chipped iron sword crossed.
Her legs, belonging to one older than anyone, were as pale white as a child's.
But the worn iron sword showed the marks of time.
As I continued to exchange blows with her, I thought, I can't last long.
As I poured more and more sword ki into the iron sword, only a shimmering white sword ki, blazing like a fire, remained.
Sword ki is an art of tempering the mind through intent.
For sword ki to blaze fiercely means that the intent comprising it is immense.
In the end, intent is a way of revealing how you are mad through martial arts, so I, too, was a madman.
To begin with, you had to assume there were no normal people among the denizens of the Jianghu.
What could possibly remain in a forest of monkeys who fight with swords every day?
Ilgyeokmujeok was the same.
I don't know her life story.
Who she formed bonds with, what losses she suffered...
But it's certain that Tamrang, too, has lived a life at the bottom.
Because there's no reason for someone who hasn't to become a person of the Jianghu.
Every time Ilgyeokmujeok took a step, a circular ripple spread out from under her feet.
Just like a droplet falling on water.
It's about to be revealed.
The true power of Hyeongroebo.
At that moment, the sky spat out lightning, and her eyes began to glow with a blue light.
Before I could even register it, dozens of kicks rained down on my body.
I operated the Ilwolcheonbeop and barely managed to parry only the attacks from Ilgyeokmujeok's barrage that aimed for my vital points.
Neck, eyes, solar plexus, the top of my foot, and even my groin.
Not there!
Surrendering my body to a burning rage, I immediately infused my intent into the iron sword and swung it at her neck.
Ilgyeokmujeok's leg, which had been flying toward my groin, was hastily withdrawn as she stepped back.
I panted heavily, aiming my sword at her.
“It's sad enough being born a beggar, but you're trying to make it so I can't function as a man? This Hwaja, as a representative of all beggars, cannot tolerate your actions.”
Ilgyeokmujeok's head tilted to the side.
“Hwaja (a eunuch)?”
Not that Hwaja, the Hwaja that means beggar.
Feeling no need to answer, I charged straight at her. In the end, who is this duel for?
Everyone I once knew is already dead.
It will become a matter for the distant future, and from the moment a beggar like me became a regressor, they will not cause the bloodbath.
Because the Dark Moon Society's targets are the three masterminds.
Even if time was turned back to the past, the people I knew wouldn't return.
As the Sect Leader, I still remember the final moments of Baekhae, who met a cold death.
Eung-sam, who died clutching a single saber, and Elder Un, who fell while wildly swinging his massive fists.
War devastates the human heart.
War was what turned a lush pine forest into a desolate ruin.
Ilgyeokmujeok and I were the ones who had lived for over a decade in that hellish Asura's Path, swinging our blades relentlessly.
But the version of her from that time is not here now.
Those memories had long since faded into the starlight and turned to ash.
Tukwaang!
It was the sound of Tamrang's small leg colliding with my sword.
Ilgyeokmujeok revealed a deep smile between her teeth.
An arm imbued with bluish lightning suddenly shot toward my waist.
Her attacks, due to her short stature, were mostly predicated on groundwork.
Normally, she would be freely traversing the air with the Heogongtappo technique, but that was impossible in the current situation.
I raised my knee and shook off Tamrang's arm.
Fighting a master who had undergone Banrohwandong was no simple matter.
Because her body was small, I had to re-gauge my sword's range.
There were even times when I'd miss and hit empty air at a distance that should have been a direct hit, all because of her child's body.
In an instant, Ilgyeokmujeok pulled her leg far back and then kicked up toward my solar plexus with terrifying wind pressure.
It was where the lower dantian was located.
The place where internal energy is stored and cultivated.
I hastily and barely blocked her kick with my iron sword.
With a loud jjeo-eong, the sword shattered into pieces.
I immediately controlled each of the blade fragments, making them rain down on Ilgyeokmujeok like a shower of petals.
It was then that a murmur, followed by a cry of admiration, erupted from the audience.
“Mancheonhwaru!”
Mancheonhwaru. Most people know it as a secret hidden weapon technique of the Sichuan Tang Clan, but in truth, the Beggars' Sect is its orthodox origin.
Pishit, pishit, pishit.
Ilgyeokmujeok's skin was cut, sounding like rainfall.
But there were no fatal wounds.
Because she had caught one of the blades with her bare hand and parried most of the hidden weapons.
Tamrang also had an immense amount of combat experience.
After the rain of blades stopped, Ilgyeokmujeok smiled and spoke.
“Did you find that Beggars' Sect hidden weapon technique in some old archive? I know that the Beggars' Sect disciples of this era have not learned Mancheonhwaru.”
I flinched at her words, unable to hide my slight surprise.
This was because not many people, even within the Beggars' Sect, knew that Mancheonhwaru was one of their techniques.
“How did you know that?”
Tamrang suddenly moved her short legs to draw a semicircle on the lapis lazuli floor and answered.
“I have a comrade who was part of the Beggars' Sect.”
I intuitively knew she wasn't talking about Muhunshingae. Because a master of Ilgyeokmujeok's level was failing to contain her intent, letting it leak out.
Longing and regret.
But those emotions vanished in an instant.
All that remained was the girl with clear, dark eyes meeting my gaze.
In a flash, with a KWAANG sound, the lapis lazuli floor shattered and rose into the air.
It happened when she and I simultaneously shot toward each other.
The power loaded into the Yongcheon points on the soles of our feet was so immense that the solid lapis lazuli stage groaned.
But neither of us had imbued more true ki than necessary.
Because a peerless master was someone who could unleash techniques with the power of Mount Tai using only a small amount of force.
No matter how much of a swordsman I was, did they think I couldn't use fist and palm techniques?
In the first place, the Beggars' Sect had no decent sword arts besides the Gyuji Sword Art.
I was a martial artist born for all kinds of dogfights, including fists, palms, and kicks.
The explosive power of Hyeongroebo continued to flow into me, tormenting the acupoints all over my body.
As I struck her cheek, I made a cold judgment.
I can't win.
It was something I knew from the start.
No matter how much she controlled her body, Ilgyeokmujeok would never be knocked unconscious.
Because the body of a master who has surpassed the mortal realm is harder than anything else.
It was only because Tamrang had lost the muscles she'd spent a lifetime honing due to Banrohwandong that a fight like this was even possible for her.
About twenty percent of the internal energy in my lower dantian remained.
I immediately wrapped a golden current of ki around both my arms.
The aura of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms surged like a wildfire, shimmering like flames.
Ilgyeokmujeok, her entire body wreathed in the bluish radiance of lightning.
For a moment, an image of lightning in the night sky overlapped with her body.
Her mental image was so intense that it had manifested externally.
This, too, was an effect of the spirit in the upper dantian.
This is the final exchange.
Ilgyeokmujeok and I felt it instinctively.
We even grinned at each other at the same time.
I revealed a final sliver of hatred, while she showed considerable enjoyment.
With this, I intended to shake off my feelings toward the Dark Moon Society.
Our forms vanished in an instant. Ilgyeokmujeok had failed to defeat me in a single blow.
But the same was true for me.
That was why the fight had come this far.
The star Tamrangseong is the first star of the Big Dipper.
Since ancient times, the Lords of the Northern Dipper have been known as the deities who decide the deaths of mere mortals.
Every time she and I clashed, a staggering amount of lightning and a long, golden dragon roared into existence.
The dueling stage had long since been completely destroyed.
Tamrang, swinging her leg like a whip with an indifferent expression, was quite fierce.
In an instant, her leg let out a terrifying roar.
She had decided to pour all her remaining true energy into this one strike.
I, too, extended my index and middle fingers, forming the Sword-Forming Finger.
A fleeting moment.
The unique, lazy flow of time known only to martial arts masters unfolded.
Ilgyeokmujeok, about to bring her leg, which she had raised to the sky, crashing back down to the ground.
I had to stop it.
I immediately thrust the Sword-Forming Finger out straight and charged toward her.
A white flash sprinted toward the lightning bolt that was Ilgyeokmujeok.
Sunlight-Over-Moonlit-Night Quick Sword Style: Moonlight Flash.
My body shot past the constellation known as Tamrang.
I felt it instinctively.
I missed.
CRACKLE—
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from a clear sky.
She had finally slammed her leg into the ground.
She must have struck a piece of the shattered dueling stage, yet an explosive pain erupted as if someone had stomped on my back.
That was the end.
I couldn't recover.
When I closed and opened my eyes, I saw a beautiful young girl looking down at me, her hands clasped behind her back.
With her was a sky that spun and spun, as if the Wudang Sect's ultimate technique, the Taiji Wisdom Sword, had been unleashed.
I slapped my cheek once with a trembling hand, and my blurred vision returned.
It was Ilgyeokmujeok, a faint smile on her face.
Finding that smile somehow a little infuriating, I muttered.
“…If only my sword were fine, I would have won.”
Geolshin had a petty side to him.
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