Chapter 132: Myojinmun (6)

*Swish!*

The tip of the short sword sliced through the air.

‘When did he move?’

The man who had been standing there just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.

‘I was sure I measured the distance and moved.’

Stabbing at empty air felt like being haunted by a ghost.

“If you want to end the conversation, I’ll oblige.”

Startled.

Hearing the voice from beside him, Jeong Yang hurriedly stepped back.

“How did you avoid it?”

“Would you even understand if I explained?”

The playful voice carried an eerie undertone.

“If you’re curious, experience it yourself.”

*Swish.*

A sword was suddenly in his hand.

‘This is dangerous.’

Before his mind could even register the danger, his body moved instinctively.

Drawing all the energy from his dantian, he executed a swift retreat.

*Boom!*

The ground where he had been standing exploded as the surrounding scenery blurred.

*Swish!*

It was a hair’s breadth escape.

Seeing the flash of silver where he had just stood, Jeong Yang’s heart pounded.

‘What an incredibly fast sword. If I had faced it head-on…’

If he hadn’t moved instinctively, it would have been disastrous.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Retreating about three steps, Jeong Yang ground his teeth.

“You. You’ve been hiding your true strength.”

“You just couldn’t see it.”

“From now on, I’ll fight with all my might.”

One step.

He swung his right hand to gauge the weight of the sword, drawing forth his energy to deliver a decisive strike.

Two steps.

The energy from his dantian flowed steadily into his limbs.

Three steps.

He sent energy to the Yongchun point on his soles, ready to spring like the wind, while drawing demonic energy into his left hand.

A secret technique to double his energy.

‘I don’t know how you avoided my sword, but there won’t be a second chance.’

In three steps, he prepared for a perfect kill.

Then.

‘Huh?’

For some reason, the energy from his dantian didn’t flow to his shoulders.

‘Why isn’t the energy…’

No matter how many times he tried to draw energy from his dantian, it refused to move.

Like a man standing before a broken bridge.

Then he noticed the Bandit King, who had been standing dumbfounded, mouthing words.

“Y-your neck…”

Neck? What about his neck?

When he touched his throat, he saw blood on his fingers and finally understood the situation.

‘I was already cut?’

He realized that avoiding the silver flash had been an illusion.

With that realization, he understood why he could still breathe and think despite his throat being cut.

‘My body hasn’t even realized it’s dead.’

It was something far beyond intuition or instinct.

His unconscious breathing, his beating heart, his blood flowing through his veins—all continued unaware of the impending death.

To achieve this, one would need to be at an incredibly high level.

‘How high a level must one reach?’

Thinking of the depth of the swordsmanship, his hostility vanished.

It was replaced by reverence.

A voice spoke.

“Your breath will stop within seven steps.”

The reaper spoke.

A being of the unfathomable said so it must be true.

So, if he had already taken three steps.

‘Only four steps left?’

Suddenly, he felt anxious.

He wasn’t regretful about losing thirty years of life.

The hard life vanishing in an instant was indeed sad, but it was part of being human.

Taking the fourth step, Jeong Yang asked.

“What is the name of that technique?”

“There is none. I just came up with it.”

Taking the fifth step, Jeong Yang begged with reverence.

“Please. Let me name the technique that brought me death.”

Let me name it.

The reaper nodded playfully.

“I’ll listen.”

Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness.

Taking the sixth step, he didn’t speak.

“……”

He had to save his strength.

Gathering all his mental and physical energy, he thought of a fitting name for the ghostly sword technique.

Taking the seventh step, blood trickled from his throat, and he spat out frothy blood.

His vocal cords must have been severed, but Jeong Yang managed to think of a name with all his might.

“Seven Steps Soul Severing.”

Seven steps.

Soul Severing.

‘Who in the world could withstand this technique?’

He felt honored that the technique that would send many strong warriors to hell began with him.

“This Jeong Yang dies to the Seven Steps Soul Severing… Ugh.”

Jeong Yang’s head fell, severed along the bloodline.

His head, frozen in a smile, fell to the ground.

Seeing the smiling head, Cho Un-hwi chuckled.

“Seven Steps Soul Severing, huh?”

Not a great name.

“There’s a better name than Seven Steps Soul Severing…”

After a moment’s thought, Cho Un-hwi snapped his fingers.

“Seven Steps Enjoyment is perfect.”

Seven Steps Enjoyment.

Using the character for ‘enjoyment’.

“Enjoy seven steps and then die with a ‘pop!’ Isn’t that the best?”

Turning his head, he saw the Bandit King, trembling as he tried to re-tie the severed ropes around himself.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes.”

As Cho Un-hwi approached, the Bandit King knelt and straightened his spine.

“Were you trying to escape?”

“No, sir.”

Watching him struggle to re-tie the ropes around himself, Cho Un-hwi asked again.

“Which do you prefer, Seven Steps Soul Severing or Seven Steps Enjoyment?”

The Bandit King, looking like he might choke on his fear, answered.

“I-I prefer Seven Steps Enjoyment!”

“Right. Don’t you?”

I’m good at naming things.

Seeing him think he had found a lifeline, the Bandit King showered him with praise.

“Seven Steps Soul Severing sounds so outdated.”

“Seven Steps Enjoyment fits perfectly.”

“Your insight is truly remarkable.”

“You know your stuff.”

After listening to his praise for a while, Cho Un-hwi chuckled.

“I was debating whether to kill you, but now I’m conflicted.”

“I-I promise not to tell anyone about today. Please spare me.”

“No. I was going to spare you, but now I think killing you is better.”

“W-what?”

Seven Steps Enjoyment.

*Slash!*

The short sword on the ground flew up and pierced his heart.

“Ugh.”

As the Bandit King gasped for breath, Cho Un-hwi growled.

“I hate people who change their words based on the situation.”

*Thud.*

Another life ended.

Returning to his usual demeanor, Cho Un-hwi muttered.

“Seven Steps Soul Severing. Not bad.”

The word ‘soul severing’ had a nice ring to it.

It sounded strong and powerful.

“Maybe I should always add ‘soul severing’ to the end.”

A decent name had come up.

“Seven Steps Soul Severing, Three Steps Soul Severing, Fiancée Soul Severing.”

(TLN:……. aight chill the F down hwi)

Ah, maybe the last one is different?

Well, it doesn’t matter.

*Thud!*

The light shattered, and darkness returned.

***

*Bang. Bang.*

The noise from the morning was loud, followed by people running around.

Rubbing their eyes and lifting the blanket, the kids who hadn’t slept well blinked sleepily.

“What’s going on? Why is it so noisy?”

Ugh. This instructor likes to sleep in! Asserting this, Jegal Tan ran off and returned in a hurry.

“The Bandit King has been killed.”

“The Bandit King?”

“The unfortunate thing is… Jeong Yang has also…”

“What?”

Nothing special, let’s just sleep.

As he buried his face in the blanket again, Instructor Shim and Seo Tae-myung rushed over.

“Instructor Cho. Instructor Cho.”

“Yawn. Why do you keep bothering me?”

“You know him, right? Did anything happen last night?”

Staring blankly at the urgent question, Cho Un-hwi replied bluntly.

“I went to bed early.”

“Right. You insisted you couldn’t stand watch.”

“Why do you keep bothering me instead of asking the person who said they’d watch over them?”

Instructor Shim, looking flustered, replied awkwardly.

“Well… I was so exhausted from yesterday’s fight that I fell into a deep sleep.”

Unable to meet his gaze, Instructor Shim looked embarrassed, and Seo Tae-myung asked Cho Un-hwi.

“Was there anything unusual? Did he say anything?”

“Hmm.”

Thinking this would never end, Cho Un-hwi answered casually.

“Last night, he was boastful but embarrassed by his poor performance.”

“Did he really say that?”

“Believe it or not.”

Turning over, the two talked for a while and then left.

It seemed they concluded that ‘he was embarrassed by his poor performance and killed the Bandit King to make up for it, but died in the process.’

“Now I can sleep.”

As he snuggled back into the blanket, Mo Yong So-hye scolded him.

“Really. Aren’t you sad that an acquaintance died?”

“Not sad. I have no friends, no lover, and live alone.”

“You’re really heartless.”

“Heartless Soul Severing.”

Laughing to himself, he soon fell back asleep.

***

The journey had some setbacks, but there were also gains.

“Here’s a certificate of your achievements.”

Showing a document stamped with the seal of Cheongyang Sect, Seo Tae-myung said.

“Congratulations on your first achievement. You’ve made progress even before the real Murim Excursion began.”

“What luck.”

Grumbling, Seo Tae-myung looked annoyed.

But unlike the stingy people he had met so far, he had something else.

“Take this.”

Looking at the heavy pouch, Cho Un-hwi asked.

“What’s this?”

“The reward. As you know, Shinmu Academy resolves conflicts for sects, and the sects provide appropriate compensation.”

What? Was there such a good tradition in the Shinmu Murim Excursion?

His eyes lit up, and Seo Tae-myung’s eyes sparkled.

“You didn’t know?”

“I knew.”

Seo Tae-myung opened the pouch and took out just a handful.

“Then you know why.”

The large pouch shrank.

Putting on the most pitiful expression, Seo Tae-myung looked uncomfortable.

“This reward is for all the students who participated.”

“Aren’t I their guardian? I’ll keep it and give it to them later.”

“I’ve never trusted anyone who said that.”

Seo Tae-myung stared into space with hollow eyes.

“My mother used to take my New Year’s money, saying she’d keep it safe.”

“But even at fifty, I’ve never seen that money.”

“Later, I found out my New Year’s money became my father’s new horse.”

His regretful voice was so sad that it was hard to argue.

“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, the villagers are safe.”

Saying this, Seo Tae-myung added.

“Now, hurry and leave.”

“Are you kicking us out now that you’ve used us?”

Gritting his teeth, Seo Tae-myung frowned.

“Don’t you know the real Murim Excursion started yesterday?”

Has it already been that long?

“If you don’t leave now, the next group will catch up. Are you okay with that?”

“Gasp!”

That’s dangerous.

Yeo Mae-hong and Mo Yong Seon-ya, who were serious about reaching Myojinmun, must be rushing towards Suzhou.

‘Arriving late after everyone else?’

They might really strangle him.

Cho Un-hwi’s face turned serious.

“This is no joke.”

“I’ve prepared horses. Thank you again.”

Before he could finish, Cho Un-hwi kicked the ground and disappeared, leaving Seo Tae-myung shaking his head.

“What should I say about him?”

He couldn’t think of how to start the letter to the Jegal Clan.

Finally, Seo Tae-myung thought of the opening line.

– To Jegal Yang-so.

From what I’ve seen, he’s somewhat rude and frivolous.

Writing the lengthy letter, Seo Tae-myung smacked his lips.

“Something’s missing.”

He remembered Instructor Shim, who had vowed to change, and added a line.

– As an instructor, he doesn’t seem bad.

The request from Cheongyang Sect was complete.