A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 445

445. Insufficiency

The first of the Heavenly Mountains Five Lords was banished to the Heavenly Mountains by the Yellow Crane Immortal, but his skills were definitely worthy of an Outer Palace Master. The second Lord, who later joined the Heavenly Mountains Five Lords, was also acknowledged by the first Lord for his skills, and although the third Lord was slightly lacking, he was not far behind those just entering the Outer Palace. Therefore, the first and second Lords present here could be said to be no less skilled in martial arts than the Enlightened Buddha or Azure Rain Master.

“Kuaaaaack.”

The first and second Lords clutched their chests and writhed in agony. They couldn’t withstand Sohn Bin’s sword, which had merely cut through the air. That wasn’t all. The first Lord’s sword energy was severed, and the reversed internal energy was rampaging, destroying his blood vessels and internal organs. The second Lord was in a similar state. The shock of having his Buddhist Staff cut off and the long gash across his chest were driving him to his death every moment.

“Kkeueueueu.”

The first Lord gritted his teeth and controlled the reversed internal energy. His face turned crimson, and his blood vessels bulged. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been able to avoid Qi Deviation [a dangerous imbalance of internal energy], but as befitting a master of the Outer Palace, the first Lord succeeded in controlling his rampaging internal energy. However, the price was not small.

“Keoheok.”

The first Lord vomited blood. He had avoided Qi Deviation, but his already injured internal organs and ruined blood vessels were beyond repair. It would take a long time, perhaps a lifetime, for his body to recover.

“Second!”

The first Lord quickly approached the second Lord. He immediately tapped the second Lord’s pressure points to forcibly calm the rampaging internal energy and stop the bleeding.

“Keok.”

The second Lord vomited dark red blood and lost consciousness. Looking at the second Lord’s eyes rolled back and unconscious, it was uncertain whether he would regain his sanity even if he survived.

‘Keueuk.’

Hugging the second Lord with one arm, the first Lord raised his head.

Swish.

The wind blew, and the reeds swayed. And Sohn Bin was still standing there. In one hand, he held the beautiful blade of the White Dew, scattering moonlight, and the other hand was behind his back.

Clench.

The first Lord gritted his teeth. Blood spread in his mouth, but he had no time to care about that.

‘That bastard, daring to…….’

While he was recovering his internal energy and helping the second Lord, Sohn Bin didn’t move at all. The meaning was clear. Sohn Bin was saying that the first and second Lords were no match for him.

‘Daring to do this to me…….’

The first Lord trembled without realizing it, feeling an immense sense of humiliation. He had been banished to the Heavenly Mountains, but that was by the Yellow Crane Immortal, one of the Heavenly Outlaw Star. Above all, he was an Outer Palace Master. How could he have ever imagined being humiliated like this by a greenhorn like Sohn Bin?

“This is troubling.”

Sohn Bin quietly opened his mouth.

“To be like this when we haven’t even started yet, how can we have a martial arts contest like this?”

Sohn Bin frowned slightly as if he was really troubled. However, Sohn Bin’s eyes looking at the first Lord were as cold as ever.

“Keuheuhe.”

The first Lord chuckled. He stared straight at Sohn Bin, laughing as if he had lost his mind.

“You haven’t even started yet?”

His eyes were full of resentment, as if he would tear Sohn Bin apart right away. Perhaps the first Lord’s reaction was natural. To unleash such a tremendous sword technique and say he hadn’t done anything, there was a limit to the insult to the opponent. But Sohn Bin didn’t bat an eye.

“That’s right.”

Sohn Bin replied with a still cold gaze.

“Where is there a martial arts contest where you warn in advance to dodge and then swing your sword? But even that, you couldn’t handle properly…….”

A chilling sneer appeared on Sohn Bin’s lips.

“You can’t call something this pathetic a martial arts contest.”

Gritting.

The first Lord gritted his teeth once again. It was then.

Sreuk.

The White Dew moved.

‘Heok.’

The first Lord flinched and stepped back without realizing it. The terrifying memory of being cut in half a moment ago, and of his sword carrying his sword energy being cut off as if it were a lie, enveloped the first Lord.

“Not yet.”

Sohn Bin’s voice echoed in the first Lord’s ear.

“I told you, I haven’t started.”

The first Lord raised his eyes to look at Sohn Bin. And he saw a light sneer flitting across Sohn Bin’s lips. Sohn Bin simply readjusted his grip on the White Dew. Before the first Lord could feel insulted, Sohn Bin let out a soft sigh.

“It seems you people…….”

Sohn Bin said with a calm expression.

“Are still insufficient to enter the Outer Palace.”

The blue moon shining overhead coldly looked down on the first Lord.

“……Heu.”

The first Lord chuckled. At this moment, he was expelled from the Outer Palace. Not just pushed to the Heavenly Mountains, but he had received a verdict that he didn’t even have the qualifications for the Outer Palace. And this verdict would never change as long as Sohn Bin existed.

“Keuheuheuhe.”

The first Lord shook his shoulders and laughed. Then, he suddenly stopped laughing and raised his head.

Ahdeuk.

“Kill him.”

The first Lord said, grinding his teeth. Sohn Bin calmly met his venomous gaze.

“I won’t stop you if you want to take your own life.”

Sohn Bin said, looking down at the first Lord.

“But I have no reason to defile the White Dew for you.”

It was an extremely cold and resolute refusal. And that was the end of the conversation.

Sabak.

Sohn Bin turned his body. It was then.

“Kehahaha!”

The first Lord burst into insane laughter.

“The reason I hid in the Heavenly Mountains like a lowly dog was only to wait for the time of revenge! Now that the Yellow Crane is dead and even the path to avenge my grudge has disappeared, how dare you say I don’t have the qualifications for the Outer Palace!”

The first Lord shouted as if spitting out blood. He didn’t care that the internal energy he had barely stabilized a moment ago was boiling again.

“I’d rather die on the spot than endure any more humiliation……!”

Ping.

With a soft sound tearing through the wind, something rushed towards the first Lord. And it struck the first Lord’s exposed head directly. Ppeoeok.

“Keok.”

The first Lord couldn’t continue speaking and collapsed as he was. Normally, he would have been able to avoid or block it, but the first Lord, who had lost his composure and whose internal energy was twisted, couldn’t avoid the suddenly flying iron piece.

“Humiliation? The fact that you’re still alive is an insult to this world, you bastard.”

The Old Lord clicked his tongue and said.

“If you’re old, you should know what’s shameful. What nonsense are you spouting now? Guys like this always end up struggling later, saying, ‘You die and I die too.'”

As he said, a moment ago, the first Lord was trying to detonate all of his internal energy and attempt mutual destruction with Sohn Bin. The Old Lord, who was familiar with the affairs of the Jianghu [martial arts world], sensed it and threw the iron piece to stop the first Lord. Of course, whether the first Lord’s mutual destruction would succeed was another matter. The grumbling Old Lord suddenly tilted his head.

“Hmm? Now that I think about it, did I meddle in the martial arts contest like a busybody?”

“No.”

The Soul-Reaving Blade, who had approached from the side, said in a heavy voice.

“It doesn’t matter. As Sohn Gongzi [young master] said, the martial arts contest hasn’t even started yet.”

The eyes of the Soul-Reaving Blade, who was speaking, were burning with a light excitement. The sword that Sohn Bin had shown was making his heart race.

‘A sword that can never be blocked…….’

A sword that ignores distance and even obstacles to cut down the opponent. He says you can dodge it, but you can’t even see it, and there’s no sign of it. And if you can’t even block it, it’s as good as exposing yourself to the opponent’s blade.

The Soul-Reaving Blade clenched and unclenched his hands, unable to hide his excitement and tension. If it weren’t for this situation, he might have been the first to apply for a martial arts contest with Sohn Bin.

Meanwhile, Sohn Bin, who had turned his gaze away from the first and second Lords, turned his body towards the Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master.

“I apologize for making you wait.”

The Enlightened Buddha unconsciously chanted the Buddha’s name. The Azure Rain Master was no different, and the sound of him softly chanting the Taoist name could be heard.

Before their eyes, the first and second Lords of the Heavenly Mountains Five Lords collapsed in an instant. The Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master, who knew them, couldn’t believe it, but from the perspective of those who had directly experienced Sohn Bin’s sword, it was by no means someone else’s business. No, it would soon definitely become their own business.

“……Enlightened Buddha.”

The Azure Rain Master softly called out to the Enlightened Buddha. The Enlightened Buddha glanced at the Azure Rain Master.

“Is it possible?”

It was a meaningless question, but the Enlightened Buddha immediately understood. The Azure Rain Master was asking if the two of them could face Sohn Bin’s sword if they combined their strength. It was also a statement that the Azure Rain Master himself couldn’t handle Sohn Bin alone. The Azure Rain Master, a master of the Outer Palace and the best sword of Mount Hua, had admitted defeat.

“If it were just that sword strike, it’s not like there’s no way…….”

The Enlightened Buddha replied in a hollow voice. The reason he didn’t use telepathy to secretly convey his words was because it was clear that such tricks wouldn’t work, and there was no need to hide the conversation.

“It’s impossible if Sohn Gongzi is the opponent.”

In fact, if it were just the invisible sword strike, it’s not like there’s no way. He says you can’t block it, but as Sohn Bin said, you just have to dodge it somehow. Of course, it would be a precarious tightrope walk, but that’s what the fight between Outer Palace masters is like anyway. The problem is that even such a tremendous sword strike is nothing special to Sohn Bin.

“Why?”

The Azure Rain Master frowned and asked. The Enlightened Buddha chanted the Buddha’s name like a sigh and said.

“If he unfolds the Nameless Emperor’s Mysterious Heaven Swordplay with that kind of sword, can you block it?”

At those words, the Azure Rain Master felt a chill run down his spine. Sohn Bin is walking the path of the Nameless Emperor. If he unfolds the Mysterious Heaven Swordplay of Saja Hyuk, who was called the Heavenly Outlaw Star even in the Outer World, with such an absurd sword strike, could the Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master really handle it alone?

“Heoeo.”

The Azure Rain Master let out a long sigh. And only then did he realize the meaning of the words the Enlightened Buddha had said. The reason the Enlightened Buddha had asked Sohn Bin to step down, even mentioning the greater good, and the reason the Enlightened Buddha had told him that he didn’t know anything.

“If that’s the case.”

Sreung. The Azure Rain Master drew his sword. His sword, Lotus Flower, engraved with Mount Hua’s unique plum blossom pattern, revealed its appearance.

“We have no choice but to die here.”

Sohn Bin had already said it. He would never step back or pass by. Moreover, he had already drawn his sword, the White Dew. If so, he would never put away that sword without anything happening. That’s what a martial artist is.

“That’s right.”

The Enlightened Buddha said softly, raising the hand holding the rosary. His robe slowly swelled, and the thick one hundred and eight beads made a sound.

“I hope it ends with just our lives.”

It is unknown whether the White Dew will be satisfied with the lives of the Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master. In the worst case, of course, it is unlikely for someone walking the path of the Nameless Emperor, but the Shaolin and Mount Hua might disappear.

“There’s nothing we can do. We have no choice but to prove that our lives are worth that much.”

Huuuuk.

A storm-like internal energy began to pour out of the two. It was by no means resignation or a last-ditch effort.

They are Buddhist monks and Taoist hermits, and at the same time, martial artists who have entered the Outer Palace. The clash of swords and swords, the struggle of force and force, is one of the world’s undeniable truths.

For them, who understand it better than anyone else, this moment was a moment they would have to face someday, perhaps like fate.

Uuuuuung.

The Azure Rain Master’s sword, Lotus Flower, emitted a soft red sword energy. The plum blossom sword that the Azure Rain Master unfolds with the Lotus Flower is often praised as being like a single, deadly plum blossom.

Not to be outdone, the Enlightened Buddha’s robe fluttered like a sail holding a storm.

Pararararak.

“Haaaap!”

The Enlightened Buddha took a stance with his hands clasped together and let out a shout. At the same time, his entire body, from his forehead where he stamped the seal to the fingertips holding the one hundred and eight beads, began to turn black. At that sight, the Old Lord’s pale eyebrows twitched in convulsions. The expression of the Soul-Reaving Blade also hardened.

“What is that? Old Lord.”

“I don’t know either.”

The Old Lord groaned.

“Shaolin has more than one or two divine arts? But…….”

Looking at the Enlightened Buddha’s appearance turning black, the Old Lord said with a serious expression.

“It’s clear that the Enlightened Buddha has achieved something great in the meantime.”

In the past, the Enlightened Buddha had faced the Sword Demoness together with Dharma Heo, but he did not win. No, to be precise, he suffered a one-sided defeat. It was not difficult to guess that that experience had led the Enlightened Buddha to achieve that divine art. Sohn Bin also saw the unusual spirit of the two.

“……Indeed.”

Sohn Bin said, straightening his posture.

“It’s a sight that doesn’t shame the name of the Outer Palace.”

He said it calmly, but Sohn Bin’s eyes were shining. The storm of pouring momentum seemed as if it would sweep Sohn Bin away right away, but that ferocious momentum rather made Sohn Bin’s heart race.

Sarak.

Sohn Bin held the White Dew with both hands. And he slowly raised it and pointed it at the two. It was just that movement, but the Enlightened Buddha, who was turning black, and the Azure Rain Master, who was emitting sword energy, couldn’t take their eyes off the White Dew’s movement.

It wasn’t just because of the beautiful blade of the White Dew, which contained the blue moonlight. It was because the simple trajectory that Sohn Bin’s White Dew was drawing was creating a fascinating line, like the hem of a dress flowing along the body of a peerless beauty.

“Hehehe.”

The Azure Rain Master laughed. The Enlightened Buddha also softly chanted the Buddha’s name. With just that movement, the result of this martial arts contest was already known. But now, none of that mattered anymore. The end of martial arts, which they had pursued all their lives, and enlightenment, or Nirvana [a state of perfect peace], perhaps the possibility that it might reveal its appearance at the end of this martial arts contest, that secret and irresistible temptation, began to rise like a flame in their hearts.

Huuuuuuk.

The storm of internal energy surrounding the Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master became even fiercer. But the fire burning in the hearts of the two was even more intense. The moment that flame completely covered the two.

“Haaa!”

“Taha!”

Kwaang.

The explosion of the earth swallowed the shouts of the two. And the Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master rushed towards Sohn Bin at the same time.

Kwagagagak.

The Enlightened Buddha’s black divine fist, soaring into the sky, fell on Sohn Bin as if to crush the earth. At the same time, the sword energy emitted by the Azure Rain Master’s sword, Lotus Flower, tore through the wind and flew towards Sohn Bin.

Who will die, who will survive?

Or who will see the end of the ultimate Dao [the absolute principle underlying the universe]?

A single move that bets everything at once, a move of Qianlong [a powerful, decisive move], without looking back, was rushing towards Sohn Bin.

But Sohn Bin was not surprised, nor did he emit a world-shaking momentum.

Sarak.

The White Dew began to slowly draw a circle, cutting through the air. Without stopping, without delay, and without rushing.

When that beautiful circle was completed at the tip of the White Dew, Sohn Bin disappeared from the eyes of the Enlightened Buddha and Azure Rain Master.

And what was revealed was the moonlight filling the world and the image of a giant Azure Dragon that revealed its appearance above it.

(Author’s words)

Since everyone is serious, I will also seriously omit the author’s words.